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(CNN) -- Jon Opsahl said he doesn't think domestic terrorist-turned-housewife Sara Jane Olson served nearly enough time for his mother's murder, but he's relieved the saga ended with Olson's Tuesday release from prison. Sara Jane Olson was released from a California prison Tuesday after serving seven years. Olson, a member of the self-styled revolutionary Symbionese Liberation Army -- perhaps best known for kidnapping Patricia Hearst -- was released from a California prison after serving seven years, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. She was released to her husband just after midnight and is expected to serve her yearlong parole term in Minnesota -- over the the objections of police unions and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Her sentence stems from her involvement in the 1975 attempted bombings of two police cars and the slaying of Myrna Opsahl during a bank robbery that same year. Back then, Olson went by her birth name, Kathleen Anne Soliah. After her 1976 indictment in the attempted bombings, she changed her name and started a new life in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was not apprehended until 1999. "I've really got nothing to say. She did her time, as minimal as that may have been," said Jon Opsahl, who was 15 when his mother was killed. "One of those years -- just one -- was for the murder of my mom and the bank robbery up in Carmichael." Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four, was depositing money at the Crocker National Bank for her church when she was shot by Olson's co-defendant Emily Montague Harris, according to court documents. Harris was sentenced to eight years; she served four and was released on parole in February 2007. Jon Opsahl, now 49, said he never understood why it took so long to bring his mother's killers to justice. While charges were filed in the bombings within months, no charges were brought in his mother's murder until 2002. "You expect thugs to do what thugs do, but you don't expect the district attorney to turn a blind eye to the murder of an upstanding citizen," Jon Opsahl said Monday. Olson's release Tuesday will cap an oft-strange storyline that spans more than three decades and which saw Olson wear the hats of college student, 1970s radical, housewife and philanthropist. Attorney Andy Dawkins met Olson, now 62, shortly after she moved to St. Paul through friends in the reggae band, Pressure Drop. Fred Peterson, Olson's husband, played trumpet in the band, Dawkins said. "She did good deeds everywhere. She raised three wonderful daughters. It was always a shock to all of us that the Sara we know had that past," Dawkins said. After attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, Olson moved to Berkeley in the early 1970s. There, she met Angela Atwood in 1972, and the two became best friends and roommates, Olson told L.A. Weekly in a 2002 interview shortly before she was imprisoned. After Atwood and five other SLA members were killed in a 1974 gunfight with the Los Angeles Police Department, Olson appeared at a memorial in Berkeley's Ho Chi Minh Park to eulogize her friend. "SLA soldiers, although I know it's not necessary to say, keep fighting. I'm with you, and we are with you," Olson told the crowd. Almost a year later, Olson took part in two bank robberies to help fund the SLA, according to court documents. During the Carmichael robbery, Olson "entered the bank with a firearm and kicked a nonresisting pregnant teller in the stomach. The teller miscarried after the robbery," the documents said. In August 1975, Los Angeles police found homemade bombs under two squad cars. They were designed to explode when the car moved, but neither device detonated. Authorities cast the attempted bombings as payback for the bloody shootout that left Atwood and other SLA members dead. A probe into the gunbattle helped police arrest Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst, who claimed she had been kidnapped, raped and brainwashed by the SLA. In her book "Every Secret Thing," Hearst put Olson at the center of the Carmichael robbery. Olson soon left California. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "she evaded capture for 23 years, and in the meantime, became a doctor's wife, mother of three, community volunteer, veteran of charity work in Africa and practicing Methodist living in an upscale neighborhood in St. Paul." Though authorities said a 1999 "America's Most Wanted" episode marking the 25th anniversary of the L.A. shootout led to Olson's arrest, the show's Web site mentions neither Olson nor Soliah among its almost 1,100 "captures." Her Minnesota friends and neighbors were shocked, even incredulous, when she was arrested. They pleaded with a judge to grant her bail. The Sara Olson Defense Fund began selling cookbooks, titled, "Serving Time: America's Most Wanted Recipes." It would help that Olson was generous with her time. She was active in the church. She volunteered for political campaigns. Dawkins said he had a blind client to whom she used to read The New York Times. Olson's philanthropy, coupled with the connections of her husband, a respected emergency room doctor, made raising the $1 million bail relatively easy, said Dawkins, who remembers that some members of the community had so much faith in Olson they put up their children's college funds. On October 31, 2001, Olson pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to ignite a destructive device or explosive. She later tried to rescind the plea, saying "cowardice" prevented her from telling the truth. A superior court judge, however, denied her request and in January 2002 sentenced her to 20 years to life in prison, a sentence the parole board later reduced. Olson was charged with Opsahl's slaying that same week and pleaded guilty in 2003 to second-degree murder. Olson received a sentence of five years to life. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that Olson's sentence was reduced for good behavior and for her work on a maintenance crew that cleaned the main yard of the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Dawkins said "it's right" that Olson served time, but he is glad she is being released. He expects many hugs await her in St. Paul and that she will soon be back to her generous ways. "I really believe who we knew in St. Paul was the true Sara Olson," he said. The Los Angeles Police Protection League disagrees and has loudly opposed her early release. Sgt. Paul Weber, the league's chief, called her a sociopath who "never said she was sorry." He also lashed out at those who rush to defend her. "Enough with the BS that she was unfairly targeted by law enforcement for her youthful indiscretions -- she is a criminal," Weber said in a Monday statement. Corrections officials say it's important that she be reunited with her family during her parole -- it helps reduce recidivism -- but Minnesota legislators, the governor and the St. Paul Police Federation have asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to keep her in California over the next year. "Letting a domestic terrorist like Kathleen Soliah set the terms of her parole is an insult to the memory of Myrna Opsahl and all the men and women of LAPD past and present," the St. Paul union said in a letter last week. Jon Opsahl, however, just wants to put Olson out of his mind. "Get her out of here," he said. "I don't want to see or think about her again."

NEW: Governor, police unions oppose Olson serving parole in Minnesota . Olson evaded capture for more than 20 years living as Minnesota housewife . Olson was member of Symbionese Liberation Army, which nabbed Patricia Hearst . Court documents say Olson kicked pregnant teller during 1975 bank robbery .

(CNN) -- Liz Lee is not your typical MTV reality show star. As friend Jake Fogelnest puts it, "While (the "Jersey Shore" cast) is out fist-pumping, Liz is in her dorm room watching Netflix." Lee's show, "My Life as Liz," chronicled the self-described nerd's senior year of high school in Texas during its first season last year. Its second season, centering around Lee's time in college in New York, premiered February 8 at 11 p.m. ET, with an 89% increase in viewership from the series premiere, according to MTV. "The executives at MTV are really smart. The fact that a show like that is on now is amazing and great," said Fogelnest, who hosted his own show on MTV as a teenager (from his bedroom, no less), "Squirt TV," in the mid-1990s. "My Life as Liz" is "the one thing where someone's not pregnant or drunk; it's what real people are like." The show has quickly amassed a big following on Twitter -- not just the hundreds of thousands who follow Lee and her co-stars, but in Twitter feeds like "@thelizalliance." More than 1.8 million people have viewed a clip of the most memorable moment from the show on Youtube, in which a nervous Lee stepped in front of a microphone at a talent show and blew everyone away with her singing. Like many MTV reality shows, it's not without its share of controversy. Its detractors have criticized its level of "reality." For the record, Lee told CNN, "The people, the places, they're all real. All the people on the show, I actually know them, and we actually have relationships." MTV also told the Los Angeles Times last year that neither the terms "reality show" nor "sitcom" fully captured the show. But "My Life as Liz" is unique for another criticism that has been leveled against the show's star: "My nerd cred is attacked all the time. People think that that was fabricated by MTV. That's the hardest rumor for me to deal with." During its first season, one anonymous message board posting, especially, claimed that Lee fell in with her school's geeky crowd as a way to remain "cool" after losing favor with the popular students, and even alleged that she didn't know who Luke Skywalker was. "When people (online) say, 'You're not a real nerd,' " said Lee, "I'm sitting in my room with shelves overflowing with stacks of comic books." Benjamin Nugent, author of "American Nerd," noted, "When you have people choosing to be nerds, questions of authenticity can come up. Before, you had no choice to be a nerd. Now that it's an acceptable option, you can accuse someone of being that way just to be cool. When it was uncool, you never had to worry about authenticity." As a reflection of the rest of pop culture, something it has captured for nearly 30 years, MTV has embraced geeks in a big way (the sitcom "The Hard Times of RJ Berger" will start its second season soon, and there's even a site called "MTV Geek" now). In fact, even though MTV means "Jersey Shore," "Teen Mom" or "The Real World" to most, it has had its moments over the years of standing up for nerds ("Squirt TV" among them). "Liz" something of a sister show to "The Paper." The show evolved from what would have been a second season of that show, which had focused on journalism geek Amanda Lorber. It's also a cousin to "Made," MTV's long-running series where someone, usually someone who is socially awkward, gets coached into improving something in their life, whether it be working up the nerve to ask out their crush or becoming an athlete or a hip hop dancer. The network's best known example of a nerd -- a fellow nerd girl, no less -- is "Daria," the animated spinoff of "Beavis and Butt-Head," which started in 1997 and lasted for five seasons. Lee herself sees Daria as an inspiration. "Daria made it cool to be a smart chick," said writer Jennifer Vineyard, who worked at MTV for eight years. "Just the presence of people or characters like Daria help make it cool to be yourself. There's a tendency for young girls to play dumb. Characters like Daria show you that you don't have to." MTV's dabbling in nerd culture goes back even further, however. Adam Curry was a VJ for the network for seven years as it made its transition away from only playing music videos. Around the time he started in the late 1980s, Toby Radloff was a special correspondent for the network. Those who have seen the movie "American Splendor," or read the comic book it was based on, might remember Radloff having adopted the title "genuine nerd." "He was completely real," said Curry. "It was just something completely weird and different, that in a way it made so much sense to use him." Curry, who considers himself a geek -- he registered the MTV.com domain before most people knew what such a thing even meant, then went on to become an early adopter to podcasts -- sees "My Life as Liz" as similar to other reality shows. "The objective gives the viewer the illusion that they can be famous. 'Hey, it's OK to be a nerd, you can be famous. You're a pregnant teenager? Hey, you can be famous.' Nerd culture has exploded because nerds can be successful." Then there's the show that introduced "Beavis and Butt-Head" to the world, "Liquid Television," an anthology of experimental animation that aired in the 1990s that appealed to animation buffs. "MTV has always experimented with alternative forms of programming," said Curry. "I believe they were running 'Monty Python' in ('Liquid Television's') slot. Here's something different and irreverent, and the rights were cheap. When Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head' creator) came on the scene, it was pure genius at the time." MTV recently announced that "Beavis and Butt-Head" are returning to the network in some form: Can "Daria" be far behind? Two other memorable shows that were launched off the success of "Beavis and Butt-Head" in the 1990s were "Aeon Flux" and "The Maxx," both series with tremendous appeal among hardcore comic book and animation fans. "'The Maxx' was one of the best comic book adaptations ever made. All of that kind of stuff has been a great part of MTV's history," said Rick Marshall, editor of MTV's Splash Page, a blog devoted to comic books and comic book adaptations. Marshall has been in charge of the blog nearly from its inception almost 2½ years ago. "What's been amazing has been the ability to give comic books and creators the same level of promotion and attention that you do the actors and directors," he said. In just these last couple of years, Marshall has seen a change in the way comic books have been accepted. "I can actually have conversations with significantly more people about 'Green Lantern' and people will actually know what I'm talking about," he said. "I love that I can go on the subway, and people are reading 'The Walking Dead.'" Marshall said that the success of Splash Page shows that "this audience is actually important," and he sees MTV having recognized that as well with "My Life as Liz." "(MTV was) able to take fan culture and market a show specifically to it," said Nugent. "If you tap into the market of people at fan conventions, they're really loyal to an entertainment product when you market it to them." Nugent also pointed out, "Because it's now being put on MTV, teenagers are seeing it as more acceptable. I'm surprised how many kids come up to me and introduce themselves as geeks."

MTV's "My Life as Liz," about a self-described nerd, has taken off on Twitter . Unique to this MTV show is controversy on Liz Lee's "nerd cred" MTV's popular series "Daria," which started in 1997, is an inspiration for Lee . MTV's embrace of nerd culture reflects culture as a whole .

(CNN) -- Far beneath our feet, amazing caverns yawn and twist. The heart of anyone who stumbles on one must race with the thrill of discovery as well as a terror of encountering creatures in the dark. Formed by geological processes over thousands of years, caves in the United States were often used by Native Americans well before Europeans arrived. Though mapped, excavated and fitted with lights and guard rails, "show caves" -- those open to the public for tours -- are still fascinating to explore, especially when the sun burns hot above. Underground streams, spectacular rock formations and cool, consistent temperatures of about 44 F to 56 F (about 7 F to 13 C) lure visitors underground. Here are eight spectacular U.S. caves: . Carlsbad Caverns . Carlsbad, New Mexico . The most famous of America's underground destinations is the 46,000-acre Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the main rooms, or a ranger-led foray into creepily named niches such as the Hall of the White Giant, the Rookery and Spider Cave. Speaking of creepy, swarms of bats make a great show for visitors during summertime, leaving the cave each evening and returning in the early hours; call the park (575-785-3012) for exact times to watch their flight. Entrance fee is $10 for adults, free for children 15 and under. Guided tours are extra and vary in difficulty, length and age requirements. For guided tour reservations, call 877-444-6777 or visit recreation.gov. Glenwood Caverns . Glenwood Springs, Colorado . In the 1890s, the Fairy Caves in Glenwood Springs became some of the first caves in the world lit with electric lights. Following an 82-year closure, they reopened in 1999, and today visitors ride gondolas up a 4,300-foot tramway to the entrance. The original Fairy Caves, which contain nooks such as the Exclamation Point lookout and Eternal Towers underground canyon, were damaged by exposure early on but are undergoing gradual restoration. The fully preserved Glenwood Caverns section can be seen on foot or via a more challenging crawling tour. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park also offers thrill rides such as roller coasters and the Giant Canyon Swing. Entrance and cave tour are $25 for adults, $20 for children; Wild Cave Tour $60. 800-530-1635; www.glenwoodcaverns.com . Luray Caverns . Luray, Virginia . At Luray Caverns in the Shenandoah Valley you'll find resplendent limestone formations, cascading like endless dollops of rich ice cream. They're also reminiscent of giant church organs, and in the 1950s mathematician Leland Sprinkle rigged up the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a contraption with mallets that strike stalactites to produce an otherworldly sound. It's played for every tour by an automated system. Admission -- including tour and entrance to Luray Valley Museum -- is $29 adults, $17 children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Tickets to a Garden Maze and Rope Adventure Park on site can be bought separately. 540-743-6551; www.luraycaverns.com . Howe Caverns . Howes Cave, New York . In a pasture 40 miles west of Albany in 1842, Lester Howe noticed his cows gathered on a spot where cool breezes could be felt. His investigations led him into dark recesses extending 15 stories below ground, including a subterranean lake extending for a quarter mile. Contemporary visitors to Howe Caverns can take a 90-minute walking tour with boat ride, a two-hour lantern tour that recreates the lighting of Howe's early descents, or a two-hour spelunking tour. The traditional tour is $25 adults, $13-$21 for children 5-15 and free for children under 5. Reservations are required on lantern and spelunking tours, which are $35 and $108, respectively, and have age and fitness requirements. Outside attractions such as a rock wall, air jumper and ropes course are ticketed separately. 518-296-8900; www.howecaverns.com . Niagara Cave . Harmony, Minnesota . Like Niagara Falls, Niagara Cave has made a name for itself as a home for romance and matrimony: Its underground wedding chapel has been the site of more than 400 nuptials. Located in Minnesota's Amish country southeast of the Twin Cities, the cave also boasts a 60-foot waterfall. Well-preserved marine fossils dating back hundreds of millions of years are another highlight of the hourlong tour, which costs $14 for adults, $8 for children 4-12, and is free for children 3 and under. 800-837-6606; www.niagracave.com . Oregon Caves . Cave Junction, Oregon . Nicknamed "the Marble Halls of Oregon," the Oregon Caves National Monument is one of the few marble caverns to be found. It features rooms such as Paradise Lost, the Ghost Room and Banana Grove; an underground stream called the River Styx; and hunger-inducing formations named for popcorn, bacon and soda straws. Discovered by a 19th-century bear hunter, the cave contains the 50,000-year-old remnants of a grizzly, among other fossils. Tours are $8.50 for adults, $6 for 16 and under. Children must be 42 inches or taller to take part in the 90-minute guided cave tour, which covers 500 stairs and climbs 230 feet. Spelunking tours are available by reservation for $30 per person. 541-592-2100; www.nps.gov/orca . Marengo Cave . Marengo, Indiana . Accounts of Marengo Cave's discovery differ in their details, but the story of a young brother and sister who ventured in with candles in 1883 is enchanting enough to be represented on the attraction's logo. Choose from a 40- or 60-minute guided walking tour; the latter takes in the Penny Ceiling, an upside-down wishing well where coins tossed upward stick to thick silt. Tours are $14.50-$16.50 for adults, $8-$9 for children 12 and under. Also: cave exploring tours for $29-$99 per person and canoe trips on the nearby Blue River. 888-702-2837; www.marengocave.com . Penn's Cave . Centre Hall, Pennsylvania . Don't feel like trekking? Consider Penn's Cave, where you cruise along an underground stream, watching trout swim below and formations drift by. One stalagmite is dubbed "the Statue of Liberty," but these caves were known well before that landmark was built. A fanciful legend describes an 18th-century French trapper who eloped with the Indian maiden Nita-Nee against Indian custom and was left to perish in the cave's far reaches. Tours cost $17.50 for adults, $9.25 for children 2-12, children under 2 free. Combination tickets also cover a bus tour of the adjacent wildlife park. 814-364-8778; www.pennscave.com . .

Formations at Virginia's Luray Caverns are reminiscent of giant church organs . Swarms of bats are part of the show during summer at New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns . Minnesota's Niagara Cave has a 60-foot waterfall .

(CNN) -- The recipe for bingsu, Korea's beloved shaved ice dessert, used to be simple. A little bowl of shaved ice, red beans boiled in sugar water, a little bit of condensed milk and maybe some fruit or ice cream heaped on top. That was before the Park Hyatt Seoul debuted the first so-called luxury bingsu three years ago, to spectacular sales and a frenzied following. Competing Seoul hotels promptly entered the fray with spoons blazing. With bingsu now at the top of every hotel restaurant's summer agenda, the battle to come up with the most luxurious, inventive, delicious variation of the dessert has gotten more intense this year. Here are the hotels that are currently winning the war. Park Hyatt Seoul . This Gangnam luxury hotel started it all. In 2010, the hotel dreamed up a sweet pumpkin bingsu, made with a base of dunggulle tea made from the dried root of Solomon's seal, and an omija bingsu using shaved frozen berries. While most bingsu in Korea is made with frozen ice, the hotel debuted bingsu with a frozen milk base, and found that customers loved the change. They bought an expensive shaving machine in 2011 and also ordered traditional Korean pottery known to keep cold food insulated longer. Seoul's bingsu fanatics promptly fell in love with the new menu. The hotel's berry bingsu in particular came as a shock. Korea's best bars for summer . The combination of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, black currant compote with handmade dark chocolate, whipped cream, pistachios and mint created a completely new taste. The hotel became mobbed at meal times and on the weekends, and raked in several hundred thousand dollars of profit in a season, to the amazement -- and likely some envy -- of its competitors. Since that memorable debut, the Park Hyatt has had to top its own bingsu menu each year. In 2012, it introduced a peach bingsu and a chocolate bingsu. And this summer? The Bingsu Colada, made with pineapple, coconut chips, caramel sauce and macademia nuts, is new to the menu. Another new addition is the Tirami Bingsu. It's made with mascarpone cream, espresso sauce, Kahlua, Amaretti cookies and almonds. Despite the new dishes, the Berry Bingsu remains the hotel's most popular. Park Hyatt Seoul, 606 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul; +82 2 2016 1205; bingsu prices start at ₩33,000 ($29) a bowl . Intercontinental Seoul Coex . The effort that the Intercontinental Seoul Coex has put into its bingsu menu has been extreme. Since the beginning of the year, the hotel's top chefs have created approximately 30 variations of the dessert, presenting a different version each week for tastings and deliberation. From this process, a final three bingsu have ended up on the menu. The Kurumba bingsu is made with shaved frozen pure coconut water from the Philippines, mixed with coconut biscuits and coconut jelly, all made at the hotel. The Mango Rosa Sparkling bingsu is dubbed the "19-plus" bingsu, for its alcoholic content (19 is the legal drinking age in Korea). The sweet Rosso Degli Anjelli Rose Sparkling Wine is frozen, shaved, then blended with frozen mango shavings and fresh mangoes. 10 best Korean restaurants in Seoul . When creating the latter bingsu, hotel chefs went through dozens of trials to capture the "sparkling" aspect of the wine in the actual bingsu. In order to make the perfect red bean paste, which can be ordered separately with each bingsu, a designated red bean chef has the arduous job of boiling the red bean until wrinkles form, then pouring cold water until the wrinkles are stretched out again, and repeating the process over and over until the perfect moist texture is reached. Some of the hotel's bingsu are sweetened with natural xylitol from Finland. Intercontinental Seoul Coex, 521 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul; +82 2 3430 8603; bingsu prices start at ₩29,000 ($25) The Westin Chosun Seoul . The green tea bingsu at the Westin Chosun's The Circle uses the top-shelf ingredients: matcha (fine green tea powder) from Shizuoka, Japan, and red beans from Ganghwado, South Korea. The lounge takes its bingsu ice seriously -- in order to recreate ice most similar to natural ice, a "maturing process" is used to make the ice "smoother." Chef Jun Sung-kyu did the research for his recipe by visiting restaurants in Japan famous for their ice desserts. World's 50 best foods . Upon returning to South Korea, he created green tea syrup using a maturing method at low temperatures, and also came up with the perfect red bean recipe by soaking the beans in water for a day, then boiling them for eight hours and adding three kinds of sugar at varying intervals. The result is the chewiest and shiniest red bean paste imaginable. Westin Chosun Seoul, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul; +82 2 317 0365; bingsu price is ₩28,000 ($24) Sheraton Grande Walkerhill . The variety of bingsu at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill is impressive. The basic menu lists apple mango, persimmon, triple berry, affogato and milk bingsu that are all served with organic red bean sauce, ddeok (sticky rice cakes) and ice cream. The hotel uses shaved frozen milk as its bingsu base, somehow managing to make the shaved ice is as soft as cotton candy. Each of the five bingsu has several layers of ingredients. It's fun to eat layer by layer, but mixing it all vigorously is the Korean style and recommended. On Saturdays and Sunday from 2-5 p.m., diners can create their bingsu with the option of 10 different types of fruit, various nuts and cookies. A variety of sauces, including melted chocolate, are available. Bingsu is served with complimentary tea and coffee. Sheraton Grande Walkerhill, Walkerhill-ro 177, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul; +82 2 450 4467; bingsu prices range from ₩15,000-42,000 ($13-36) The Shilla Seoul . While The Shilla Seoul has been under renovation since the beginning of the year, it still receives calls asking when its apple mango bingsu will be available again. One commenter on the hotel's website even left a note saying he couldn't forget the taste of the dessert and was planning to visit Seoul again for that specific reason. Explosively popular since its 2011 debut, the apple mango bingsu has had customers literally lining up for bowls -- an unusual sight in the austere luxury hotel. "We use the highest quality apple mangoes from Jeju Island and have opted to use a minimum amount of ingredients to keep the taste very clean and healthy," says hotel a representative. The sought after bingsu will return with The Shilla's reopening on August 1. The Shilla Seoul, 202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul; +82 2 2230 3389 . CNN Travel's series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy.

Park Hyatt Seoul debuted the first luxury "bingsu" shaved-ice dessert three years ago . Since then, Seoul luxury hotels have been battling to roll out the best bingsu . It's not just a vanity chase -- dessert sales are big business . Hotels are debuting fancy new bingsu this summer .

(CNN) -- You pull yourself out of bed, bring your coffee to the front porch, and there, right in front of you, is the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon. That's the appeal of staying at El Tovar, which has graced the rim of the canyon since 1905. But it's hardly alone; you'll find great national park lodges all over the U.S. and Canada. And staying at one doesn't mean camping and freeze-dried dinners. The best lodges offer gourmet food, personalized service and rustic yet often elegant interiors. See more of the best national park lodges . Many are landmarks dating back to the park system's early days. In 1903, officials at the Northern Pacific Railroad were inspired to create a lodge with local logs and stone. The result, Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, has a towering lobby that became a model for national park architecture. Travel + Leisure: America's most underrated national parks . From Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to Alaska's Glacier Bay, these historic lodges deliver location and creature comforts. Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier National Park, Montana . Evening glacier tours are, naturally, one of the popular activities during a stay here. Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, the hotel feels like a Swiss chalet, with windows opening to Swiftcurrent Lake and a dramatic lobby with tree trunks as the support poles. Opt for a suite with lake view and balcony, or a refurbished lakeside room. Then go outside and fly-fish in a setting that will soothe your soul, or take the ferry across the lake and hike to Grinnell Glacier. The Ahwahnee, Yosemite National Park, California . Art Deco, Native American, Middle Eastern and Arts and Crafts influences all contributed to this 1927 landmark's design. More recently, a renovation drew upon Yosemite's historical archives to determine appropriate textiles and colors, giving an English country-house look to the interiors -- rich tapestries, stained glass and hand-stenciled beams. The most elaborate rooms feature balconies and views of Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls or Half Dome. After a day in the great outdoors, take your complimentary afternoon tea on the patio overlooking Glacier Point. Glacier Bay's Bear Track Inn, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska . Yes, you really can see black bears and moose from your bedroom at this gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Guests praise the personal service -- look for appetizers and homemade cookies each afternoon -- and innkeepers can help arrange excursions from watching humpback whales to taking a dogsled ride. Ice climbing, fresh- and salt-water fishing, guided kayak trips, and visits to Admiralty Island to view brown bears are also popular. On your return, sink into the suede sofas and warm yourself by the lobby fireplace. Travel + Leisure: America's best national park views . Greyfield Inn, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia . If an island with wild horses doesn't sound romantic enough, consider that secluded 16-room Greyfield -- the only inn on the island -- was the choice of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette for their 1996 wedding party. The former home is exuberantly southern, with a sprawling front porch, extensive gardens, and homegrown collards and kale on its locally sourced menu. The all-inclusive price includes everything you need to have a good time: three daily meals, bikes, kayaks, fishing equipment, beach gear and excursions with a naturalist to spot birds and wildlife. Sun yourself on 18 miles of wide beaches, or stroll through the exotic terrain of a maritime forest. Crater Lake Lodge, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon . Oregon may not bring to mind images of volcanoes, but the state has an explosive past. Crater Lake Lodge is positioned right at the end of a caldera (or huge crater) formed by the collapse of an ancient volcano. The upheaval produced lava walls stretching 2,000 feet high and the nation's deepest lake, an exquisitely clear, jewel-toned blue. You can learn about the park's geology on boat tours that run from late June to mid-September. At the lodge, ask for a lakeside guest room for the best views. Alta Crystal Resort, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington . Alta Crystal Resort lies just outside the northeast entrance to the park, giving it the closest proximity to Sunrise, the area's highest point. Each of Alta Crystal's 23 renovated suites has a fireplace and a small but fully equipped kitchen. An arched log entry and handmade doors enhance the appeal of the two-story honeymoon cabin. The pool and hot tub stay heated year round, and you can join the resort's bonfires, barbecues, and other nightly events in July and August (on weekends in other months). Zion Lodge, Zion National Park, Utah . This is the only lodging option that puts you inside Zion National Park. Western-style 1920s cabins combine fir flooring and oak-and-wicker dressers with modern amenities like 300-thread-count cotton sheets. Another 82 guest rooms and suites include private porches or balconies. A 100-foot-high cottonwood tree marks the front lawn, which has a great vantage point for stargazing. The lodge does its part to be a good park tenant. Cabin rooms include an on-demand water heater and LED lighting, and suites have filtered drinking water faucets (no water bottles are sold on site). A recent redesign of the restaurant's walk-in coolers will save a million gallons of water a year. Travel + Leisure: Best national parks for wildlife spotting . El Tovar, Grand Canyon, Arizona . Built on the rim of the Grand Canyon in 1905, El Tovar was once so far from civilization that fresh water had to be delivered by train. It's since become one of our greatest national park treasures, with plenty of civilized touches, including suites with sitting rooms. Bring your morning coffee out to the front porch or lounge deck and gaze at the play of light on the canyon. Then head back inside for a hearty breakfast of Sonoran Eggs, with beans, chorizo, an array of salsas, and fry bread. Jenny Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming . Authentic log walls, handmade quilts, and down comforters make nights cozy in the cabins here at the base of the Tetons. The inclusive room rates cover breakfast and a five-course dinner daily, plus horseback rides, bike rentals, and the joy of having a front porch in one of the nation's most photographed mountain ranges. As part of a new sustainability effort, rooms have high-efficiency lighting and recycled carpet, and guests earn a $10 credit each day they decline laundry services. Volcano House, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii . Closed for several years, Volcano House reopened in 2013 following a $7 million renovation that preserved the character of architect Charles Dickey's original 1941 design. Talk about a view: some rooms overlook Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, while others face native Hawaiian rainforest of ohia lehua and koa trees, accented by tall hapuu tree ferns. Watching the crimson-feathered apapane fly from branch to branch while Halema'uma'u Crater erupts about two miles away is an otherworldly sensation. Even the fireplace in the hotel's Grand Lounge is made of lava rock. See more national park lodges . Planning a getaway? Don't miss Travel + Leisure's guide to the World's Best Hotels . Copyright 2012 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

The best lodges offer gourmet food, personalized service and rustic yet often elegant interiors . Guests can see black bears and moose from rooms at Glacier Bay's Bear Track Inn . Some rooms at the Volcano House lodge overlook one of the world's most active volcanoes .

(CNN) -- So you want to become a pro golfer. The top players rake in millions of dollars each year, and you want a piece of the action. Whether you're a promising five-year-old, an amateur trying to make the next step or a professional seeking to kickstart your career, the best way forward is generally to work with the people who've been there and done that. They might not always be cheap, but golf academies offer training techniques that have taken the likes of Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Ernie Els to the top of the tree. But fear not, CNN has some tips from one of the sport's leading instructors, David Leadbetter. There are three areas where beginner golfers struggle, he says. First off, you need to hold the club right. "Most people grip the club too much in the palm of the hand, which creates tremendous tension and doesn't allow the wrist to work correctly," says Leadbetter, who helped Nick Faldo go from a nearly man to the winner of six major titles between 1987-1996. "People who do this wear a hole in their glove. It's important to hold the club out towards the fingers, not the palm. It helps more golfers than you can believe." Next, learn how to bow. "So much of golf is based around how you set your foundations. It's really important that when golfers set up for the ball that instead of having slouchy round shoulders, pull your shoulders down, then your arms can actually get to your chest," the 59-year-old says. "Almost like how the Japanese how bow: rear end out, slightly bend your knees, pull your shoulder blades down and arms resting in your chest, and you're in perfect position." From there, it's all about the arms. "Make sure your arms and chest always stay together through the swing," Leadbetter advises. "Practice little wedge shots -- put a club-head cover or towel under the left armpit and make little half-swings." Along with Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Pete Cowen, Leadbetter is one of the most renowned coaches in the golf world. Their success with major champions such as Faldo, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen has helped them launch golf schools around the globe. An hour with Harmon would cost you $600, according to Golf Digest, while Haney charges $500 and Leadbetter brings in $3,500 for a three-hour tuition. But unless you are a top player, or paying hefty corporate rates, it's unlikely you'll get one-on-one time with these gurus. The next best thing is their schools, which range from short workshops to full-year programs for school-age players. These aren't cheap, either. A student accepted into Haney's International Junior Golf Academy, based on Hilton Head Island in the U.S., needs a $7,000 deposit just to reserve their place. However, there are cheaper holiday programs available. Haney, who worked with 14-time major winner Woods from 2004-2010, also lent his name to an academy in China, at the Mission Hills Haikou resort on Hainan Island, where 2005 PGA teacher of the year Peter Krause was installed as head instructor. Harmon, whose father Claude won the 1948 Masters at Augusta, took on Woods as a top young amateur in 1993 and helped transform the American into a global phenomenon -- spending a record 264 weeks as world No. 1 -- until their split in 2004. His Las Vegas-based golf school offers three-day courses with the man himself for $5,900 (including four nights' accommodation at Caesars Palace), and a similar package with his staff professionals for $2,400. Junior deals cost just $225, while video lessons are offered for $30 an hour. Leadbetter became a coach after failing to qualify by one shot at the European Tour School as a hopeful young professional. "I went and studied with some of the top coaches at the time," he told CNN of his early days before making his name refining the swing of fellow Englishman Faldo. "He was a successful player by the time he came to see me, but he realized he needed an extra gear if he was going to win the big ones," Leadbetter said. "He was very much a perfectionist, and the challenge was we didn't see immediate results, it took a couple of years. We had to work through that period where we weren't getting good results, but it all worked out in the end." Leadbetter's Florida-based academy, with 36 holes designed by former client Norman, has become the headquarters for a worldwide empire located in 13 countries including Spain and China. Former child prodigy Michelle Wie was one of his most famous students, and he has worked with four players who have reached golf's No. 1 position. "A coach these days is much more than just a swing instructor, you're almost a part-time psychologist as well," Leadbetter said. He expects the trend of Asian players dominating the women's pro ranks to spill over onto the men's circuit soon. "They have the discipline. It's a great sport for the Asian mind: they're very methodical, very even-keeled and have tremendous work ethics. Not only in golf but in all walks of life. It's an ideal sport for them to play." Els, another of Leadbetter's success stories, is also helping to teach young players in his native South Africa. The 41-year-old, a three-time major champion and the European Tour's all-time leading money winner, set up a foundation in 1999 that focuses on kids from families with limited resources. His players take on those from Woods' foundation in an annual Ryder Cup-style match play competition. The most successful graduates so far are Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. Oosthuizen stunned the golfing world in 2010 by winning the British Open after making the halfway cut in only one of his eight previous major appearances. "Things weren't going that great on the farm, and we just heard of this foundation which had just started," Oosthuizen told reporters at St. Andrews about his early days. "It was an unbelievable three years with what Ernie did for me, traveling around the country, helping with expenses, giving clinics, things like that. He's such a good mentor, probably without him I wouldn't have been here." Oosthuizen has also worked with Cowen, a coach who helped Northern Irishman McDowell win the U.S. Open last year and Clarke the 2011 British Open. Cowen, who has academies in his native England and Dubai, counts eight-time European No. 1 Colin Montgomerie and Oosthuizen's 2011 Masters-winning compatriot Schwartzel among his former clients. He also helped Lee Westwood to become world No. 1 last year, and move within striking distance of overhauling Els' European money record. Westwood is another player giving back to the golfing community. The 38-year-old runs clinics at courses across England, and has branched out with sessions in Spain at La Manga. Non-residential academies cost about $235 for three days, with entrants having the chance to win equipment and a day playing with Westwood. Els believes that such schools are vital for golf's continued development. "I don't think there's another sport that does more for its young participants," he wrote on Links Magazine's website. "Tiger, myself and a lot of other guys on tour all can remember those who helped us when we were growing up. It is why we give back to the game at the junior and grass-roots level. "The future of the game is bright, but only if we continue to make golf accessible to the younger generation. If we all do our bit, the combined effect is significant. "I believe that introducing and encouraging a youngster in golf gives them a step up on life's ladder. If they go on to become great players, that's a bonus."

Golf's best-known coaches have set up academies all around the world . They cater for young players, professionals and weekend warriors . One-on-one tuition is expensive but cheaper options are available . Working with golf's top names helps coaches establish their empires .

(CNN) -- Witches, ghosts, a haunted house and a deadly plane crash: "The Night Strangers" has all the hallmarks of a good ghost story, but bestselling author Chris Bohjalian has put his own 21st-century spin on the supernatural genre in his frightening new novel. In the story, the haunted house is a charming fixer-upper in rural New Hampshire. Don't forget to ask the real estate agent about the mysterious basement door, nailed shut with 39 6-inch-long carriage bolts. The witches are self-proclaimed herbalists who go to great lengths to find the organic ingredients for their feel-good tinctures; just don't call them "potions." The ghosts are the victims of a commuter plane crash on Lake Champlain, but don't look for a "Miracle on the Hudson" finish to this water landing. At the heart of this creepy yarn is a not-quite-typical American family: Chip and Emily Linton and their twin 10-year-old daughters. Chip is an airline pilot with a bad case of survivor's guilt. Emily is suspicious of her new neighbors' intentions and her husband's sanity. While the twins try to fit in at their new school, one of the young girls begins to hear voices. With more than a dozen novels under his belt, "The Night Strangers" marks new territory for Bohjalian, who's tackled domestic violence in "Secrets of Eden," a World War II love story in "Skeletons at the Feast," and mental illness and "The Great Gatsby" in "The Double Bind." CNN recently spoke to Bohjalian (pronounced Bow-jail-yen) and the real-life inspiration behind "The Night Strangers." The following is an edited transcript: . CNN: What was the spark behind "The Night Strangers"? Bohjalian: Along one of the foundation walls of the basement of my house in Vermont is a door. It's about five and a half feet tall and three feet wide and made of rough wooden planks. My guess is that it was added at some point after the 1898 Victorian above it was first constructed. When my wife and I moved into the house, it was nailed shut. That's right: nailed. There was a moldy pile of coal beside it, and so I convinced myself the door was merely a part of an old coal chute. Sure, I never found the exterior entrance to the chute, but that was a detail. Perhaps it was under a porch added at some point in the 1940s. A few years later, in the early 1990s, I finally pulled the door open. The project demanded a crowbar, a wrench and at one point an ax. After hours of toil, behind that door I found ... nothing. There was a slender cubicle the height and width of the door and maybe 18 inches deep. The walls were made of wood, and behind them was nothing but earth. In no way did it resemble a coal chute. It was more like a closet -- or a crypt behind which you might wall up a neighbor alive. So I nailed the door shut and made a mental note to steer clear of that corner of the basement for as long as we lived in the house. Nevertheless, on some level I understood even then that the basement door was going to lead to a novel. Now, it would take an airplane ditching one January afternoon in 2009 in the Hudson River before I would begin to understand what was going to exist behind that door. Like many thousands of other people, I raced to my television set and watched the evacuation of US Airways Flight 1549 as it occurred, staring enrapt as passengers stood on the wings and the plane floated amidst the waves. Perhaps it was the shape of the jet's cabin doors, but at that moment I thought of the door in my basement. The next morning, I wrote the following sentence: "The door was presumed to have been the entry to a coal chute, a perfectly reasonable assumption since a small hillock of damp coal sat moldering before it." And so begins "The Night Strangers." CNN: There's a plane crash in your book, reminiscent of the "Miracle on the Hudson." You went to great lengths to research plane crashes for the novel? Bohjalian: I did. I read a disturbing number of black box transcripts from doomed airliners, watched a lot of terrifying NTSB computer animations of crashes and interviewed pilots. But the most important thing I did to add authenticity to the novel was to visit Survival Systems in Groton, Connecticut. There I climbed into a flight suit, got strapped inside a Modular Egress Training Simulator and lowered into a 100,000-gallon tank of water. I was rolled 180 degrees so I was upside-down. The point of this, other than determining if my flight suit should have a diaper, was to get a taste of what it's like to exit a plane that has just crashed in the water. The METS is a cylinder that resembles an aircraft cabin. It has interchangeable exits, so Survival Systems can replicate egress from most types of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. The device is lowered into the tank, submerged underwater and then rolled upside down or to an off-angle, depending upon the scenario. The ceiling can be set on fire because, let's face it, when your plane or chopper has become a lawn dart, there's a chance that something is ablaze. The day I was dunked, there were three National Guardsmen being trained as well. I had an instructor in the simulator with me, and there were divers in the water around it to make sure that all of us got out with, worst case, a snootful of water. Altogether, I was dunked three times, twice rolled until I was upside-down. Escaping the simulator the two times I was strapped into a seat and had to push out exit windows while upside-down were particularly satisfying. CNN: Without giving away too much, your book features ghosts and witches, a first for you. What prompted you to write about the supernatural? Bohjalian: If you look at my personal library, you will notice that it ranges from Henry James to Steig Larsson, from Margaret Atwood to Max Hastings. There's Jane Austen and Tom Perrotta and volumes of letters from Civil War privates. It's pretty eclectic. And there's Shirley Jackson and Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe. The Poe is a paperback I bought when I was a boy. It cost 45 cents when it was brand new. It's a little more squat and a little more wide than a traditional mass market edition, and has a red moon and a raven on the cover. I wrote my name atop the first page with a blue Magic Marker, the ink bleeding through the thin sheet onto page three, and the letters are evidence that my mother was on to something when she would insist that our dog had better handwriting than I did. It is one of the only books from my childhood I still own. I loved Poe when I was a boy. I loved all ghost stories. So I guess it was only a matter of time before I wrote one. Moreover, I hope I will never write the same book twice. So, why a ghost story? Well, I love them. They're fun to read -- and, yes, fun to write. And when I imagined the subject matter of a plane crash and a pilot's post-traumatic stress disorder, ghosts seemed as good a way in as any. CNN: What's next for you? Bohjalian: I just finished a love story set amidst the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and the World War I battle of Gallipoli. A young Boston graduate from Mount Holyoke and an Armenian engineer are two of the main characters. It's called "The Sandcastle Girls." I am half-Armenian, and three of my four Armenian great-grandparents died in the Genocide, and so I found the research particularly wrenching. Read more about Bohjalian's writing life in Vermont on the "Idyll Banter" blog on his website.

Chris Bohjalian's latest novel is about a fixer-upper haunted house in New Hampshire . "The Night Strangers" has witches, ghosts, a haunted house and a deadly plane crash . Bohjalian has put his own 21st-century spin on the supernatural genre .

Seoul (CNN) -- North Korea's underground nuclear test site, Punggye-ri, is set amid terrain appropriate for its purpose: The mountainous, northeastern province of Hamgyong, which borders China and Siberia, is one of the most inhospitable winter landscapes in Asia. But this grim, forbidding province, which is also home to the notorious Yodok labor camp, seized the attention of the wider world half a century before Pyongyang's nuclear tests and claims of human rights abuses made headlines. Hamgyong witnessed arguably the most harrowing battle fought by U.S. or British troops since World War II, a forgotten epic that offers every ingredient for the perfect war movie: an embattled force, towering odds, murderous combat and treacherous weather. Yet 60 years after the Korean War ended, and with the number of surviving veterans rapidly dwindling, the dramatic story of what took place at Chosin Reservoir has so far eluded the silver screen. "It's an amazing story," said Brian Iglesias, a former U.S. Marine, Iraq veteran and independent film producer. "It's unbelievable what they did, from both a military and a human standpoint." In November 1950, a United Nations force -- including U.S. Marines, U.S. Army units and British Royal Marine commandos -- deployed around the strategic Chosin Reservoir, a frozen, man-made lake high in the Hamgyong mountains that supplied hydroelectric power to the industrial cities on the coastal plain. They were preparing for what they believed would be the Korean War's final offensive. The North Korean Army teetered on the brink of defeat; men expected to be "home for Christmas." What they did not know was that China, in a brilliant feat of mass infiltration, had intervened to support its North Korean ally, then led by Kim Il Sung, late grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. As a Siberian cold front descended over the highlands, the 30,000-strong U.N. force found itself surrounded by eight Chinese divisions with an estimated 80,000 men. Around 65 miles from the sea, in temperatures of minus 37 degrees Celsius (minus 34 degrees Fahrenheit) and winds of 60 knots, the British and U.S. troops' only hope of escaping annihilation was to hack their way through massed enemy in a fighting withdrawal. Combat and cold claimed a gruesome toll: Of the 15,000 U.S. troops involved, more than 3,000 died during the 17-day struggle. But the Chinese forces paid a much greater price forcing the allied troops from their positions -- some 60,000 replacements were required to replace men lost to firepower and cold. The fight remains seared into veterans' memories. "Six decades later, it's still vivid," said Warren Wiedhahn, a retired U.S. marine. "The biggest part of the battle in my mind was not being able to evacuate our wounded; if they couldn't walk to keep warm, it meant almost certain death." It was a brutal campaign featuring a range of near-unbelievable events. An Anglo-American force battled 9-1 odds in an ambush in "Hellfire Valley." A marine company somehow held off a Chinese division for five nights at a strategic pass. Chinese soldiers blew up a bridge over a 4,000 feet deep valley, forcing the U.S. to carry out an unprecedented operation: The airdropping of a replacement bridge. Lyle Bradley, a marine fighter-bomber pilot, recalled that during one strafing run, he could only use the cannon in one wing, as Chinese and U.S. troops were fighting so closely. On one freezing night, embattled marines watched in awe as a single star appeared through the clouds above their base. (That star later became the veterans' emblem.) And as Chinese advanced and U.N. forces evacuated North Korea, a single ship, the SS Meredith Victory, carried 14,000 desperate refugees to safety in the South, earning the title "Ship of Miracles." Such scenes demand cinematic treatment. In 2010, New York-based Iglesias produced an award-winning documentary, "Chosin," and has since been working on a feature film: "17 Days of Winter." Two years ago, all looked rosy. Oscar-winners signed on: Eric Brevig (Best Effects, Visual Effects for "Total Recall") as director and Frank Pierson (Best Writing, Original Screenplay for "Dog Day Afternoon") as scriptwriter. Then tragedy struck. After finishing the script, Pierson died last year, complicating revisions. The project then hit a funding gridlock, leaving the movie in indefinite limbo. But Iglesias remains philosophical. "Obstacles are not uncommon for these kinds of projects," said Iglesias. "Sometimes, it takes a year; sometimes a decade; sometimes they never happen." If the project never happens, it would be par for the course for the Korean War. The conflict left such little mark on popular culture that it is dubbed "The Forgotten War." "Korea was not a war like the Spanish Civil War, that intellectuals went to fight in," said Mike Breen, author of "The Koreans." "There are books and movies about it but no classics; it needs to be revisited in modern times." Despite its near invisibility in art, the Korean War marked numerous Cold War milestones. It was the Cold War's first "hot war;" the first U.N. war; and the only time troops from the "free world" advanced into a communist state, North Korea. Beijing's shock intervention also marked the first and only battlefield clash between the U.S. and China. But it ended with an inconclusive armistice, and while North Korea remains 21st century news, the unfinished 1950-53 war lacks much of a cinematic image. Although Hollywood has produced numerous classics on World War II and Vietnam, perhaps the only memorable Korea-set films are "Pork Chop Hill" (1959) and "MASH" (1970). A 1952 film on Chosin, called "Retreat Hell" barely does the material justice, some believe. "Korea is too hard to define in Hollywood terms: They put out movies of heroism and derring-do in World War II or arrogance and stupidity in Vietnam, and people understand," said Don Kirk a veteran Asia-based U.S. correspondent. "We can't do that with Korea." "One problem with the Korean War is generational: it happened after 'The Greatest Generation' but before the 'Baby Boomers,'" added Mark Russell, a culture critic and author of "Pop Goes Korea." "So for much of Hollywood, it never really happened." But poignantly for the war's aging veterans, this year may mark probably its last significant commemoration: July 27, 2013 is the 60th anniversary of its end. The anniversary has raised some hopes for a filmic treatment. "I'm disappointed that Hollywood hasn't done a feature film on this largely overlooked battle," said Wiedhahn. "It would contain drama, horror and suspense, and would be a major attraction on the 60th anniversary of the armistice." Since December, Iglesias and business partner Anton Sattler, another ex-Marine, have raised more than $30,000 on Kickstarter, a fundraising website, to produce a 3-D animated short on the battle and are finalizing a graphic novel. "There is a collective purpose with our Chosin products: Create awareness," Iglesias said. "We decided to continue the story on different platforms." Iglesias' passion for Chosin is such that, with his proposed movie having just a "50-50" chance of production, he would applaud competing projects. "If someone else makes this movie, I'll support them," he said. "For the Korean War, there's not enough consciousness."

Dramatic battle took place at freezing Chosin Reservoir over 17 days in 1950 . United Nations troops were surrounded by large number of Chinese soldiers . China sustained heavy losses as troops succumbed to firepower and cold . Efforts to translate the battle to the big screen have largely failed .

(CNN) -- A Mexican woman -- a former inmate in Maricopa County, Arizona -- claims in a lawsuit that sheriff's officers mistreated her during and after her pregnancy, including shackling her while she was in labor and after her Caesarean section. The federal suit filed by Miriam Mendiola-Martinez this week comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice alleged the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, under the leadership of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, engaged in a pattern of discrimination against Latinos. Mendiola-Martinez's suit is against the sheriff's office, Arpaio, the Maricopa Medical Center and unidentified male and female officers, doctors and nurses. Mendiola-Martinez, a Mexican citizen, alleges in the suit she was arrested October 23, 2009, by Scottsdale, Arizona, police, and was booked into Maricopa County's Estrella Jail on charges of identity theft. She was held without bond under Arizona law. According to the police report filed at the time of her arrest, Mendiola-Martinez was accused of using someone else's name, date of birth and Social Security number to obtain work. She was arrested at her place of employment, a department store, while she was vacuuming the floor. When arrested, she was six months' pregnant and had developed gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, according to the suit. On December 10, 2009, Mendiola-Martinez pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit forgery under a plea agreement. Her sentencing was set for December 24. While incarcerated, in what her attorney, Joy Bertrand, called "two months of hell," Mendiola-Martinez says in the suit that she was told by jail staff she would receive a "special" pregnancy diet. That diet, she claims, consisted of "items such as two slices (of) cheese or ham, two slices of bread, indistinguishable cooked vegetables and occasionally a piece of fruit." She also said she was given two small cartons of milk a day and a pill that she was told was a vitamin. On days when she was transported to court, Mendiola-Martinez said, she was given no food during the day. In one instance, she alleges in the suit, an officer taunted her and other inmates with his food, telling them there was no food for them. On December 20, four days before her sentencing, Mendiola-Martinez began to have contractions, according to the suit. She was shackled at her ankles and taken to the Maricopa Medical Center, where medical personnel determined she was not in labor and returned her to the jail. By the following day, however, her pain had increased. "Ms. Mendiola-Martinez had been left in the jail visitation room, in extreme pain," the suit says. Guards ignored her attempts to speak to them in Spanish, so she asked an English-speaking person in the room to tell them she needed help. She was again taken to the Maricopa Medical Center, where she gave birth to a son via Caesarean section. She was shackled before and after the surgery, according to the suit. While she was recovering, a male correctional officer "insisted that she be shackled to the hospital bed," and the shackles on her feet were painful, according to the lawsuit. Asked about the allegations in 2010, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brian Lee said in a statement that Mendiola-Martinez "was not shackled during or directly after her medical procedure. After the procedure, she did have a soft restraint attached on one leg to her bed to prevent escape." Maricopa County sheriff's spokesman Justin Griffin referred to the earlier statement when asked about the suit. Lee said Mendiola-Martinez was treated the way any other inmate would be while receiving treatment "in an unsecured facility. Although she was being held on a Class Three felony, MCSO would have treated other inmates in the same manner." Mendiola-Martinez was not initially shackled, thanks to a "guardian angel" guard, Bertrand said, but "she has her C-section, the guards change and this new guard comes in as she's recovering from this major surgery and insists on shackling her to the bed." "It's incredibly painful, it's incredibly dangerous because now she can't move around, she can't avoid clotting, and he refuses to take the shackle off," Bertrand said. Mendiola-Martinez was not allowed to hold or nurse her baby, the suit alleges. She was discharged on December 23, but was not given a wheelchair to leave the hospital, the suit says. "Wearing only a hospital gown, Ms. Mendiola-Martinez was forced to walk through the hospital with her hands and feet shackled," according to the suit. Meanwhile, she began to bleed, the suit says. A nurse "scolded" the corrections officer for taking her "so quickly and without Ms. Mendiola receiving her pain medication or discharge paperwork," so she was again chained and forced to walk back to the nurse's station, according to the suit. "Ms. Mendiola-Martinez was in so much pain she could hardly walk," the suit says. "Shackled at her hands and ankles, with a bleeding surgery wound, Ms. Mendiola-Martinez was returned to the Estrella jail." She spent the nights following her discharge "in pain and crying," the suit says. Maricopa County Medical Center spokesman Michael Murphy, asked about shackling inmates in labor, said hospital staff defers to law enforcement, according to the suit. Hospital spokeswoman Judy Cane declined comment on the matter Wednesday. "I'd like to think that any woman held in that jail is going to be treated with respect and dignity," Bertrand said. Mendiola-Martinez declined to be interviewed, saying she fears retaliation by the sheriff's office. International standards say using restraints on pregnant women "is cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and given medical or other factors impeding pregnant or birthing women from attempting escape or becoming violent, the presumption must be that no restraints should be applied," the suit says. "A woman's privacy and dignity must be respected during labor and birth." International standards also say a pregnant woman in her third trimester should not be restrained while being transported, and efforts should be made "to afford the mother reasonable access to the baby without impeding her movements by restraints," according to the suit. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association oppose the shackling of women in labor or after delivery, the suit says. The Arizona Department of Corrections, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have all eliminated the practice. The suit claims officers violated Mendiola-Martinez's rights, including her right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment. Hospital staffers' deferring to law enforcement officers regarding the shackling of women in labor and after delivery also "demonstrates an ongoing policy of deliberate indifference to Ms. Mendiola-Martinez's serious medical needs," according to the suit. It also alleges that a U.S. citizen in a similar situation would be less likely to be shackled. "Ms. Mendiola-Martinez was subject to a lower standard of medical care -- and a higher degree of danger to her and (her) fetus -- than similarly-situated women who are United States citizens," the suit says. "This disparate treatment is consistent with the findings of the United States Department of Justice regarding the systemic bias towards Latinos demonstrated by Sheriff Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office." Arpaio is known as "America's toughest sheriff" for his stance against illegal immigration. He and his attorneys last week condemned the Justice Department civil rights investigation as politically motivated and a "witch hunt." Mendiola-Martinez seeks a jury trial and damages in the suit. Journalist Valeria Fernandez in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Miriam Mendiola-Martinez was arrested for using another identity to get a job . She says she was shackled while in labor and afterward in Maricopa County custody . She says she was also shackled while recovering from a C-section .

New York (CNN) -- The United States and China could play a crucial role in helping finally to resolve the conflict that plagues the Korean Peninsula, says analyst Fareed Zakaria. In one of the most violent incidents in decades, North Korea shelled a South Korean island Tuesday, killing four people. North Korea accused the South of provoking the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island by holding a military exercise in the Yellow Sea. And South Korea responded by charging that the North's actions were a "definite military provocation." In an interview with CNN, Zakaria said a long-term solution to the Korean conflict would require high-level secret talks aimed at assuring the government of China that if the two Koreas were reunified, it would not be faced with a nuclear-armed U.S. ally on its border. He said China "has the power to make the North Koreans pay a very, very high price were they not to listen to the Chinese, because the Chinese provide the vital food and fuel that keeps the country alive. Remember, this is a country with almost no indigenous economic activity, and so it would be very difficult for them to meet their most vital supply needs." "The Chinese have a lot of influence. They have so far been very careful to apply some pressure, but they have almost never cut off food or fuel -- except for a day or two when they have really wanted to send a strong signal, and, by the way when they have done that, it's worked, it gets the North Koreans' attention." The author and host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" spoke to CNN on Tuesday. Here is an edited transcript: . CNN: What's the significance of North Korea's actions? Fareed Zakaria: I think it's very worrying, very troubling. Combined with the sinking of that South Korean ship, it is the most provocative thing the North Koreans have done in years in terms of instigating hostilities. The regime is unpredictable but ruthless, and we know that the South Koreans are feeling some substantial pressure to respond in some way, and then you have all the other great powers in the region watching anxiously. The whole thing has the potential to spiral out of control. CNN: Do you think it's connected to the succession process in North Korea? Zakaria: I think that's probably the most plausible theory that I've heard. They're clearly going through a succession process. It appears to be one that is fairly complex -- there are different factions that are being accommodated or tussled with. Sometimes it feels like something out of a Shakespearean play where the aging king is appointing his dauphin as the successor, but there will be a regent who will actually administer, and by the way his sister has just been made a four-star general in the army. But outside that kind of theatrics what it suggests is that the family is trying to consolidate power, that there is perhaps some opposition in some quarters, perhaps in the military, perhaps in other quarters. And by creating an external diversion, the regime is trying to consolidate power and unify the various parts of the government. But one has to admit, this is just a theory. The regime is a black box; we have so little contact that nobody really knows. CNN: There's been a suggestion by some that North Korea is really hoping to force the issue about getting direct talks with the United States rather than be part of a six-nation diplomatic process. Zakaria: I don't buy the idea that people send you these signals by killing soldiers, sinking warships, sinking ships. If the North Koreans want to talk to the Americans, they can ask to talk to the Americans, and they could ask to do it within the six-party talks; they could ask outside the framework; they could bring that up -- the issue of bilateral talks with the Americans in the six-party talks. Do they really have to kill the South Koreans to make that point? I think this idea of brutal violence as some kind of sophisticated signaling device strikes me as highly unlikely. Far more likely is that this is a pretty thuggish regime that is consolidating power by creating external threats and enemies, but we probably should be open to any signs that they do want to have negotiation. I myself doubt that this is the moment that they want to do anything. They know that that door is open; the president has a very capable emissary, Stephen Bosworth, who is his envoy on this topic, very well-versed in this issue, former ambassador to South Korea, and my sense is that the North Koreans have not reached out to him. CNN: Bosworth made a statement that he talked to the Chinese about this, but it didn't seem like there was any special progress on that front. Zakaria: The Chinese have been pretty helpful on managing the situation, making sure that it doesn't spiral out of control, but we haven't been able to get to the next level with the Chinese, which is to say that the Chinese sustain this regime. The Chinese provide about 90 percent of their energy and about 40 percent of their food aid. It's pretty reasonable to say that without Chinese support their regime would collapse, but the Chinese have legitimate concerns about what the future of the Korean Peninsula would look like if there were a North Korean implosion. There is in their minds the kind of scenario in which Korea unifies on the South's terms and becomes a unified much larger nation sitting on China's border with American troops in the unified Korea, with an American security alliance, and by the way with nuclear weapons. They would view it as a kind of threatening or destabilizing presence. And so I think that is what makes the Chinese very reluctant to do anything that would cause the regime to implode or cause the regime to start a downward spiral. I think what needs to happen at some point, is that the United States and Beijing need to engage in a very high-level and very secret conversation about the future of the Korean Peninsula -- a conversation in which the United States should make certain informal or perhaps even formal guarantees regarding the role of nuclear weapons on the peninsula and the nature of American troop deployments. ... We should make clear that we would denuclearize Korea or we would encourage the South Koreans to denuclearize Korea, and then we would not move the troops that we have north of the North/South border. CNN: This is all in the event of a unification? Zakaria: Right, so we make clear that in the event of a unification we understand the Chinese concern, and we would try to respond to it, without obviously in any way jeopardizing the historical relationship with South Korea. Unless we have some kind of long-term strategic conversation with the Chinese about what the future of the Korean Peninsula would look like, they don't have an incentive to in any way push the North Koreans. So we've got to get into a conversation with them to say, "We understand your problem. We should talk about those concerns now, and would you be willing to get tough on North Korean nukes and North Korean behavior?" CNN: Here's a different view, which some have raised -- what is the United States doing in Korea decades and decades after the end of the hostilities, and should the U.S. stay indefinitely? Zakaria: Well, I think that's very shortsighted. Look, I am in general someone who believes the United States is overcommitted around the world. I believe we have to draw down and pare back many of our commitments, but I think maintaining a stabilizing role in Korea is absolutely crucial. The center of power is shifting to Asia, and Korea is probably the single place in Asia where there's the greatest potential for a war between the great powers -- Russia, China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, all get involved in this. So for the United States to be able to play a constructive role will be absolutely vital to its ability to be a Pacific power, to be in what is now the new geo-economic cockpit of the world. I think there is a perfectly reasonable case to be made to have us draw down in places like Germany, where the threat to American security is nonexistent, to draw down from Iraq and the Middle East to where we have an overly large military presence, but Korea is a vital national interest of the United States, and I think that the major players in the region, particularly South Korea, strongly want an American presence there.

Fareed Zakaria: China has tremendous influence over North Korea . He says China supplies much of the North's vital supplies and can play a positive role . Zakaria says U.S. needs to work secretly with China to bring an end to conflict . He says U.S. assurances could go long way toward gaining Chinese OK for reunification .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson "had a real monkey on his back" with a longtime drug addiction, his family kept it secret from the world and it led to his overdose death, a lawyer for AEG Live said. The concert promoter's defense against the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit began Tuesday and will include testimony from "all of the many, many doctors" who treated Jackson over the past decades, AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam said. AEG Live executive John Meglin, who is the CEO of the Concerts West division, returns to the stand Wednesday after testifying Tuesday that Dr. Conrad Murray's request for $5 million to work as Jackson's personal physician was a topic at a meeting of the company's executive committee. Jackson lawyer Brian Panish said that was an important revelation that would help his case. Panish pressed Meglin on the question of if he agreed with his boss, AEG Live President Randy Phillips, who testified that he thought Jackson was the greatest artist of all time. "I think that Michael's very big in the pop world, but the Rolling Stones are bigger, or Led Zeppelin," Megline said. "I'm a rocker." Defense witnesses will also include a parade of Jackson family members, including a return appearance by matriarch Katherine Jackson, who just concluded two days of testimony as her lawyers presented their case. "They kept his private world private as best they could and now they would like to blame somebody else for things that only they knew privately," Putnam said. Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live, which was producing and promoting his comeback concerts, is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Murray. Jackson's mom faces cross examination in death trial . Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, which the coroner ruled was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. The doctor told investigators he was using the drug to treat Jackson's insomnia as he prepared for his "This Is It" debut in London. Jackson, not AEG Live, chose and controlled Murray, Putnam argued. He said in his opening statements at the start of the trial 12 weeks ago he would show jurors "ugly stuff" about Jackson to prove that AEG Live executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving in the privacy of Jackson's bedroom. Michael's mom speaks . The appearance of Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's 83-year-old mother, as a concluding witness in her case gave Putnam a chance to probe what family members knew about Jackson's drug abuse history. "There are a lot of enormous inconsistencies in what is being said and what the truth is," Putnam told reporters Monday after he finished his cross-examination of Katherine Jackson. She "reported to the world and to the press that he never had a problem with prescription drugs," that he never entered drug rehab and that the family never attempted an intervention to stop his drug use, he said. "As we now know, Michael Jackson had a longtime problem with prescription drugs, so what had been told to the world during his lifetime wasn't true." The Jackson family's lawyer, Brian Panish, said AEG Live executives were "in the best position to help Michael Jackson" when they saw his health deteriorating in the last two months of his life. Show director Kenny Ortega sent a series of e-mails to top AEG Live executives warning them that Jackson showed "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" at a rehearsal. "I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP," Ortega wrote. "It's like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not waiting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state." Production manager John "Bugzee" Houghdahl sent an e-mail to producers saying he "watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried now." "They knew he was having a problem," Panish said. "He needed them for this concert. They could have easily told him, 'Look, until you go see the appropriate doctor and come back, we're not going on with the rehearsal.' They're the only ones that really had the ability to do something about it and they chose not to." Ortega testified this month that he thought AEG Live should have halted production on the show until Jackson was well. Mother: 'I want to know what really happened' Despite the e-mail evidence and testimony, Putnam insisted Monday that AEG Live executives knew nothing about Jackson's failing health. "They had little interaction with Michael Jackson in terms of the production and promotion of that," Putnam said, adding that the executives "certainly" did not know "that he was having any problems." But Panish said the executives should have known: "He was deteriorating in front of their own eyes." "They watched him waste away," Katherine Jackson testified. Jackson testified in her first day on the stand Friday that she filed the lawsuit "because I want to know what really happened to my son." During cross-examination, the AEG Live lawyer played a clip from an interview she gave to NBC a year after her son's death in which she said Michael Jackson had hired the doctor. In response, her lawyer argued she made the statement before seeing AEG e-mails indicating that the company hired him. Putnam questioned her about a statement she and several of her children signed in 2007 accusing People Magazine of publishing "untrue and inaccurate information" about Michael Jackson's drug use. "We categorically deny ever planning, participating in, or having knowledge of any kind of intervention, whatsoever," the statement read. Katherine Jackson acknowledged, however, that she participated in an attempted intervention with her son at his Neverland Ranch in 2002. "I wanted them to stop lying," she testified, referring to the magazine. "I was worried about all the lies they were telling about the family." "Was it a lie to say your son had a problem with prescription drugs?" Putnam asked. "He did not have a problem," she insisted. Putnam later asked Jackson's mother if she liked to "shut your ears to bad things." "I don't like to hear bad news," she said. Jackson appeared combative at times when Putnam cross-examined her, punching back at his questions. "What does this have to do with my son dying?" she replied at one point. "I think she was badgered, but that wasn't the first time," Panish told reporters later. "In her deposition, she was asked questions like, "Does your husband ever beat you?'" Doctor: Promoter knew about Jackson's drug dependency . For the pretrial deposition, she was questioned for about 12 hours over three days. Putnam denied he was being overly aggressive in his questioning of her. "I just wanted to know the facts from her and there was no reason to be aggressive with her," he said. "She was combative, but you can't blame Mrs. Jackson for that. None of us want to find ourselves in a situation where we're having to confront the very public death of our child." Putnam refused to discuss why he asked Katherine Jackson in the deposition if her husband, Joe Jackson, ever beat her. "What occurred in those depositions was confidential at Mrs. Jackson's request, therefore I am not at liberty to go into to the private matters that we went into in that deposition," Putnam told CNN. However, Katherine Jackson and her lawyer both brought up the question in court Monday. "I am not going to go into what we went into about the very tragic history Michael Jackson had with his parents and father over the period of his life," Putnam said. "That is something we did not go into on the stand because it is not relevant. I'm not bringing that up." Testimony is expected to last into September, the judge told the jury.

AEG Live will question "all of the many, many doctors" who treated Jackson, lawyer says . AEG lawyer: The Jacksons want "to blame somebody else for things that only they knew" The lawyer "badgered" Michael Jackson's mom during cross-examination, her attorney says . AEG's lawyer won't comment on questioning Katherine Jackson about beatings by husband .

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Samar Saed Abdullah's entire body trembles as she speaks about her impending execution. She thinks of the gallows room, the noose around her neck and that moment when she will take her final breath. Samar Saed Abdullah is sentenced to die by hanging in connection with the killing of three relatives. "My life is meaningless," she said, choking on her tears. "I can't think of anything else. The other women, we try to help each other, but we cannot escape the reality that we are on death row and they can take us at any second." The 27-year-old Iraqi woman is sentenced to die in connection with the slayings of three relatives in January 2005. She looks pale and frail, her face sallow, her eyes bloodshot. She shakes with each sob, anxiously twisting a tissue in her hands. We first met Samar in spring 2007, at al-Kadhimiya Women's Prison in Baghdad. She had been on death row for about two years, and she was terrified. Watch a tearful plea from death row » . "I don't sleep at all on Wednesdays," she said then. "I stay up from morning until night, because that's the day they pick for executions." Samar was sentenced to death by hanging for being an accessory to murder in the killings of her uncle, aunt and cousin -- slayings that she says were carried out at their home by her husband-to-be, who remains on the loose. She maintains that she is innocent, and there are disturbing questions about her conviction. Samar has now been moved a step closer to death: to Baghdad's maximum-security prison, where there are more than 500 prisoners waiting to be executed. It's the same facility where Saddam Hussein was hanged in December 2006. CNN was not allowed to film her face inside the prison. During the interview, the wardens also seemed to make motions to try to stop CNN from broaching the subject of her allegation that she had only confessed under torture. The day of the killings is seared into her mind. "I think about it every day, every hour. I wake up with it in my head," she said. "It's the reason I am here." There was a point in time when Samar was happy, when her life had meaning and joy. She had a fiancé, Saif Ali Nur, in winter 2004. "I was so happy at the time, when he asked for my hand in marriage," she remembered bitterly. "I thought that he was honest, that he did not lie to me. It all happened in just two months." At first, her family didn't approve of the romance, but they eventually relented. One day, she says, Saif duped her into taking him to her wealthy uncle's house. He locked her in the kitchen and, she says, shot her uncle, aunt and cousin. Then, he turned the gun on her. Samar says he stole less than $1,000 after threatening to kill Samar and her family if she went to the authorities. The Iraqi police picked Samar up the next day, after Saif dumped her in front of her house and disappeared. "There was nothing that made me suspect that this was a guy who would do something like this," she said. She's filled with regret that she fell in love with him. "And now I am here in prison, and he is out on the streets, happy." Her parents sold everything to pay for her defense. They swear she's innocent. She says she was tortured by the police into confessing that she went to her uncle's house with the intent to steal. "They kept beating me, and they told me, 'Say whatever we want you to say, and do not say anything else, and say yes, I was an accomplice to this crime.' Although I had nothing to do with it. Finally, they made me sign a blank piece of paper, and they filled it out afterwards." She was tried and convicted in a single day: August 15, 2005. Court documents obtained by CNN read that "the court discussed the case file with her and she said that all that she had confessed came as a result of duress and torture." Under Iraqi law, the court should have investigated her claim that she confessed under torture. But it did not. After learning of Samar's case from CNN, former Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said Tuesday he spoke with the Iraqi Presidency Council, which promised to look into the matter. He also said he had spoken separately with top Iraqi officials, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and urged for a new trial. Human rights groups say Samar's case is just one of many in which justice has failed. And they say that what makes implementing capital punishment even more disturbing is that the Iraqi judicial system does not guarantee a fair trial. Amnesty International issued a report Tuesday saying that at least 1,000 prisoners sit on Iraq's death row and that Iraq now has one of the highest execution rates in the world. The report says Iraq's court system does not meet international standards and that authorities "provide very little information on executions, and some have been carried out secretly." According to a Western official with in-depth knowledge of the Iraqi judicial system, Iraq's judicial failures are "rooted in the legal culture rather than the law. ... The entire legal culture remains heavily confession-based, a situation exacerbated by the frequently imperfect investigative skills of the police, judicial investigators and investigative judges." In his years in Iraq, this official says he observed judges taking payments in exchange for certain decisions and the physical abuse of suspects, either as an end in itself or to "encourage" confessions. "It is my firmly held opinion that Iraq should immediately reinstate the moratorium on executions," the official said. "There are serious problems plaguing the administration of justice in Iraq in criminal cases, and this fact is widely acknowledged by the Iraq judges, prosecutors and defense counsel." The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority abolished capital punishment in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. But the death penalty was reinstated in August 2004, shortly after the government was handed back to Iraqis. Iraq's Ministry of Justice maintains that the judicial system is "fair and just." Local organizations like the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq have for years been fighting to get the death penalty abolished in Iraq, especially when it comes to flawed trials and women being put to death. But they struggle against a government that turns a deaf ear. "I wish there was some kind of response. But the response is totally passive. We've reached a degree of despair," said Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq. "As a human rights organization in Iraq, we find that we need some backup from abroad to put pressure on our government as a first step to stop the executions of these women, some of whom we know are innocent." But even as doubts surface about many convictions in Iraq, there are signs that the pace of executions is picking up. Over the past two months, Mohammed's group says, between two and four women were executed. "They were taken out of the extreme-protection prison," Mohammed said. "It is a very scary story for us, because if it starts with a few women in a jail cell ... it could happen to hundreds, thousands of people later on." As for Samar, she doesn't sleep, haunted by the image of her body that could be hanging lifeless -- plagued by the gut-wrenching fear of death that consumes her nights and most of her days. "Every night, I stay up thinking that if tomorrow comes, who will be next? Me? Or my friend sitting next to me?" She sobbed. "I will never trust a man again. I will never love anyone again. I just want to stay with my parents." Samar feels betrayed, both by the man she once loved and by a judicial system that is about to send her to her death. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

Woman sobs about impending execution: "I can't think of anything else" Samar Saed Abdullah, 27, was convicted as accessory to murder of 3 relatives . She says police coerced and tortured her into confessing . Ministry of Justice maintains that judicial system is "fair and just"

Venice, Louisiana (CNN) -- A wind shift could push more oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon gusher into the Mississippi Delta and areas west of the river, which is "bad news for Louisiana," Gov. Bobby Jindal said Monday afternoon. Louisiana has been mostly spared since the oil rig exploded April 20 and sank two days later about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the southeast coast of Louisiana. The catastrophe is sending 210,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico each day. Most of the slick has been centered in an area east of the environmentally sensitive delta. "We've said all along that the oil coming west of the river would pose a whole new set of challenges," Jindal said at a news conference. He detailed efforts to place booms and other restraining devices into four passes near Grand Isle to prevent the oil from reaching land. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters had warned over the weekend that the Mississippi Delta and areas to the northeast of it, including Breton Sound, Chandeleur Islands and the mainland behind them, could see oil hit the coast by Tuesday. Further east, scientists were analyzing tar balls found on a beach on Dauphin Island, Alabama, to determine whether they were caused by the oil spill, Coast Guard spokesman Erik Swanson said. The tar balls are "pieces of emulsified oil" shaped like pancakes, ranging in size from dimes to golf balls, Swanson said, adding they can sometimes occur naturally. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry confirmed the presence of tar balls in some areas, but said they were "easy to clean up." She said booms were being moved toward Grand Isle in anticipation of oil reaching the area soon. In addition to the use of dispersants on the surface and controlled burns, weather allowing, officials were carrying out a third test of sub-sea dispersants to determine their impact, said Landry. She said officials were trying to do in a few weeks what normally would take a few years. So far, the spill has had little impact on wildlife, said Mark J. Musaus, deputy director of the southeast region for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Only a few birds have been taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, he said. Two of them, a gannet and a pelican, were released Monday back into the wild. Another oiled pelican was still in the treatment center, as was a green heron, he said. The stakes are high for residents of coastal Louisiana who make their living from fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The government has closed parts of the Gulf to fishing. The affected area, which is east of the Mississippi Delta, comprises about 4.5 percent of the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA said. Hundreds of thousands of feet of boom and large volumes of dispersants continued to be deployed in an effort to capture or break up the spilled oil moving toward the Gulf coastline. Thousands of workers and volunteers also have been skimming the water's surface. A BP executive said Monday the energy company is working "parallel paths" to fix the oil well. The failure over the weekend of a four-story dome to cap the leak has led BP to move on to other options, including the use of a smaller chamber over the leak and shooting garbage into the gaping hole to try to plug the gusher, said Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer for exploration and production. The company also is considering placing a valve or a new blowout preventer on top of the existing one, which is not functioning as well as it should, Suttles told CNN's "American Morning" program. As the name suggests, a blowout preventer is a device that is supposed to clamp shut over a leaking wellhead. David Nagel, executive vice president of BP America, said the blowout preventer may be working better than some people believe, limiting the gusher to 5,000 barrels of oil a day. "We have a blowout preventer that we think is mostly shut," Nagel said in an off-camera briefing with reporters Monday in Washington, adding that the situation seems to be stable. He said remote-control inspection machines had not been able to check how the blowout assembly was working but "something is constraining the leak" from what would have been a flow estimated between 40,000 to 60,000 barrels a day. Suttles said BP is drilling a relief well to try to divert the flow to another pipe. "What we're going to do is keep developing options until we get this flow stopped," Suttles said. "That started about a week ago," Suttles said. "That work continues. The well is at about 9,000 feet. "About 5,000 feet of that is the water depth. Then the rest is drilling below the seafloor. We're slightly ahead of plan here. These are complex tasks, but we're making very good process." It may take up to three months to reach the target area, Nagel said. And progress will slow the deeper the drill bit goes, he said. "The rock gets harder, and every time you have to replace a worn-out drill bit, it takes more time to withdraw and stack the drill pipe," in 90-foot sections on the construction vessel to change the bit, re-assemble the sections and lower the drill pipe back into action, said Nagel. On Friday, BP lowered the massive containment vessel over the well to cap the larger of two leak points. But that plan was thwarted Saturday after ice-like hydrate crystals formed when gas combined with water blocked the top of the dome and made it buoyant. BP has built the smaller dome and it is already available, Suttles said Monday. That device would keep most of the water out at the beginning of the capping process and would allow engineers to pump in methanol to keep the hydrates from forming, Suttles said. Methanol is a simple alcohol that can be used as an antifreeze. Called "Tophat," the 5-foot-tall, 4-foot-diameter structure weighs less than two tons. The structure is to be deployed this week by the drill ship Enterprise, to which it is to be connected by two strings of pipe -- one inside the other with a space in between for hot water, he said. The process of stopping the gusher with garbage is called a "junk shot." Under that procedure, debris such as shredded tires, golf balls and similar objects would be shot under extremely high pressure into the blowout preventer in an attempt to clog it and stop the leak. That procedure would be done late next week, Suttles said Monday. Federal investigators are still trying to determine what caused the explosion that sunk the Deepwater Horizon, which was owned by BP contractor Transocean Ltd. BP is legally required to cover economic damages from the spill up to $75 million. But Florida Sen. Bill Nelson has introduced legislation that would raise the liability cap to $10 billion. "If this gusher continues for several months, it's going to cover up the Gulf Coast and it's going to get down into the loop current and that's going to take it down the Florida Keys and up the east coast of Florida, and you are talking about massive economic loss to our tourism, our beaches, to our fisheries, very possibly disruption of our military testing and training," Nelson said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." BP has received 3,400 claims for lost income and damages and 295 of those claims have been paid, at a price of $3.5 million, Nagel said. "It's a host of things," he said, "The immediate loss of income is being handled very quickly." None of the payouts are for liability, but Nagel stressed "the interim plans are in no way meant to be final." Also Monday, organizers announced a "Gulf Aid" benefit concert for south Louisiana fishermen and wetlands restoration. The concert, to be held Sunday, is slated to feature Lenny Kravitz, Allen Toussaint, Mos Def and the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars featuring Dr. John, Cyril Neville and Tab Benoit. CNN's Paul Courson contributed to this report.

Louisiana has been mostly spared since oil rig exploded and sank off southeast coast . BP hit with 3,400 claims for lost income and damages; 295 paid, to tune of $3.5 million . Concert Sunday to benefit south Louisiana fishermen and wetlands restoration .

(CNN) -- As Washington pundits watch the carnage in Kiev, images of a rapacious Russian President Vladimir Putin, puppet master of Ukraine and of its president, Viktor Yanukovych, stalk the headlines. Putin, the theory goes, is willing to stoke a civil war in order to keep Ukraine from turning to the West. America's obsession with Putin, however, does not explain the complex realities fueling the uprising in Ukraine or the uneasy relationship between Putin and Yanukovych. Long before the uprising began, if Yanukovych had carried out real economic and political reform, he would not have been caught between a long-term promise of a closer relationship with Europe and an immediate hand-out from Moscow and with it the Kremlin's demand that he toughen up and put down the opposition's demonstrations. But Yanukovych, up for re-election in 2015, was not willing to bite the bullet and carry out the measures the West was demanding. Yanukovych tried to play both sides against the middle. "Yanukovych has played Putin against Europe and the United States quite masterfully. So there is no love lost between them and no trust there," says Eugene Rumer, who, until this month, served as U.S. national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the CIA. He's now director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. "The quality of the discussion here in Washington has really been appalling," he adds. "A lot more has been said about Russia and Russia's role ... but it ignores the fact that Ukraine has had an independent life for the last 25 years, and this crisis is really a domestic political crisis in Ukraine. Not that the Russians haven't helped, but it is a Ukrainian domestic political crisis." Opinion: Can Ukraine sustain fragile peace? Putin does have interests in Ukraine: a desire to keep NATO and U.S. military bases out, ties with Ukrainian aircraft and shipbuilding enterprises closely linked with Russia's military-industrial complex, his own Black Sea Fleet, in Ukraine's port of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, as well as ensuring unimpeded transit of natural gas to Europe. What's more, Harvard University's Simon Saradzhyan says, Putin and his advisers essentially see Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians as one people and "therefore, seek to draw Ukraine into Moscow's orbit." "The size of Ukraine's population and, to a less extent, of its economy would make it a valuable asset in the Eurasian Union, which Putin is building in the post-Soviet landscape." Yanukovych, however, "has never been Russia's man," says Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. "I think it's a myth. He's been a very difficult partner for Russia, a very unreliable partner, someone who let the Russians down on many occasions. Someone absolutely not to be trusted." Yanukovych's only goal is to stay in power and to protect his wealth and the wealth of his family, says Trenin. "With Yanukovych vacillating between Russia and Europe and always having his own private interests in mind, it's mind-boggling. So the Russians have long given up on Yanukovych." Putin's envoy to Kiev refused to sign the latest truce between Yanukovych and the opposition, in which they agreed on early elections and a return to a constitution that would shift more power from the president to the Parliament. "I think the Kremlin feels cold-shouldered," Trenin says. "I think it feels betrayed by Yanukovych. Betrayed may be too strong a word, but certainly Yanukovych has managed to play the Europeans off the Russians." Putin is not rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect of an epic battle with the West over Ukraine. In fact, says Carnegie's Andrew Weiss, who worked on policy toward the region in the Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations, "I think if you're sitting in the Kremlin the prospect of a Yugoslav scenario in Ukraine is quite scary." "As much as the political narrative in Washington and the West is that Putin, the puppet master, has guided all of this," he says, "I think there's reason to believe that he's more worried and more cautious about how dangerous this is. He's set a policy framework which, obviously, has made the situation worse but at the same time, the really scary stuff that's out there as possibilities, I think, scares the Kremlin no less than it scares Europeans and Americans." Weiss calls it a "four-way political fiasco" involving the Ukrainians, the Europeans, the Russians and the United States, where "people didn't want to get engaged in the early stages of the conflict and events were quickly hijacked by politicians and self-interested actors on the ground." The Partnership agreement, in which the European Union offered Ukraine eventual economic and political cooperation, was too long-term to solve Ukraine's immediate financial problems. Russia, angered by the move, stepped in to offer $15 billion. In the anti-Putin narrative, that is depicted as "blackmail," but if the Russian President, angered by Yanukovych's deal with the opposition, does not follow through with aid for Ukraine, then the ball will be back in the court of the United States and Europe, "who are not willing to dig deep in their pockets like the Kremlin has," Weiss says. The Yanukovych government must pay back more than $15 billion in debt payments to creditors over the next two years. And without Russia's money, the U.S. and the EU would be forced to come up with some form of emergency support. "I don't believe there's any receptivity in Brussels or Washington to do a major financial bailout for the Ukrainian government," Weiss says, "which has a terrible track record on economic reform, a completely unsustainable currency peg, and its long track record of cozy deals for tycoons." Clan struggles among Ukraine's oligarchs, social and political crisis, regional differences between western and eastern parts of the country -- Ukraine's home-grown problems are deepening, even without meddling by Vladimir Putin. "What we see in Ukraine is, unfortunately, in the 20 years of independence, Ukrainian leaders have done little or nothing to create a single Ukrainian nation," says Trenin, "and the divisions within Ukraine have persisted and they have also become much more pronounced in the last few months." Keeping Ukraine together is a priority for the Obama administration but, says Trenin, it's also a Russian policy priority. "Despite what you may hear from various Russian figures," he says, "it's very much Mr. Putin's preference, in fact, priority, that Ukraine stays in one piece. Otherwise, a civil war very close to home, next door, essentially, could be too dangerous for Russia itself." Russia would fight to protect the ethnic Russian population and Moscow's base in Crimea, says Harvard's Saradzhyna, quoting a senior Russian government official who told the Financial Times, "If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war. ... They will lose Crimea first (because) we will go in and protect (it), just as we did in Georgia." Tenin isn't so sure. "I don't think the Russians are about to invade Crimea," he says. "What I think is more likely is that, in the future, the various regions of Ukraine will present their own claims and may go in different directions on a number of issues. And attempts by Kiev to clamp down on those autonomous or regionalist tendencies could lead to a new spike in tensions in Ukraine." Kiev is burning, and Ukraine is unraveling. Yanukovych -- or the leader of a new government -- will have to find a new way to keep the country together. Vladimir Putin will not simply stand by and watch it happen, but he is not the puppet master of Yanukovych -- or of Ukraine. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jill Dougherty.

Jill Dougherty: The popular image is that Putin is manipulating the Ukraine crisis . She says reality is that Yanukovych is to blame for avoiding economic, political reform . The turmoil in Ukraine is a major headache for Putin's regime, she says . Dougherty: Putin not eager for an epic battle with the West over Ukraine .

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late as 2000. A former Alaskan lawmaker says it seems unlikely that Gov. Sarah Palin was unaware of Wasilla's policy. Former state Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla, where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002. "It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla," Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging them." Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000. Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, often talks about her experience running Wasilla, population approximately 7,000, and that has prompted close scrutiny of her record there. Wasilla's practice of charging victims for their rape exams while she was mayor has gotten wide circulation on the Internet and in the mainstream media. Watch CNN's Jessica Yellin check the facts in Wasilla » . Some supporters of Palin say they believe she had no knowledge of the practice. But critics call it "outrageous" and question Palin's commitment to helping women who are the victims of violence. For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national average. Interviews and a review of records turned up no evidence that Palin knew that rape victims were being charged in her town. But Croft, the former state representative who sponsored the law changing the practice, says it seems unlikely Palin was not aware of the issue. "I find it hard to believe that for six months a small town, a police chief, would lead the fight against a statewide piece of legislation receiving unanimous support and the mayor not know about it," Croft said. During the time Palin was mayor of Wasilla, her city was not the only one in Alaska charging rape victims. Experts testified before the Legislature that in a handful of small cities across Alaska, law enforcement agencies were charging victims or their insurance "more than sporadically." One woman who wrote in support of the legislation says she was charged for her rape exam by a police department in the city of Juneau, which is hundreds of miles from Wasilla. But Wasilla stood out. Tara Henry, a forensic nurse who has been treating rape victims across Alaska for the last 12 years, told CNN that opposition to Croft's bill from Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon was memorable. "Several municipal law enforcement agencies in the state did have trouble budgeting and paying for the evidence collection for sexual assault victims," Henry said. "What I recall is that the chief of police in the Wasilla police department seemed to be the most vocal about how it was going to affect their budget." Croft has a similar memory. He said victims' advocates suggested he introduce legislation as a way to shame cities into changing their practice, and Wasilla resisted. "I remember they had continued opposition," Croft said. "It was eight years ago now, but they were sort of unrepentant that they thought the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for that." He does not recall discussing the issue with then-Mayor Palin. The bill, HB270, was before the legislature for six months. In testimony, one expert called the practice of billing the victim "incomprehensible." Others compared it to "dust[ing] for fingerprints" after a burglary, only "the victim's body is the crime scene." During a rape exam, the victim removes her clothing and a medical professional gathers DNA evidence from her body. There is also a medical component to assess her injuries. That component has led some law enforcement agencies to balk at paying. Henry, the forensic nurse, said charging victims "retraumatizes them." "Asking them to pay for something law enforcement needs in order to investigate their case, it's almost like blaming them for getting sexually assaulted," she said. The Alaska Legislature agreed. The bill passed unanimously with the support of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the Alaska Peace Officers Association and more than two dozen co-sponsors. After it became law, Wasilla's police chief told the local paper, The Frontiersman, that it would cost the city $5,000 to $14,000 a year -- money that he'd have to find. "In the past, we've charged the cost of the exams to the victim's insurance company when possible," Fannon was quoted as saying. "I just don't want to see any more burden on the taxpayer." He suggested the criminals should pay as restitution if and when they're convicted. Repeated attempts to reach Fannon for comment were unsuccessful. Judy Patrick, who was Palin's deputy mayor and friend, blames the state. "The bigger picture of what was going on at the time was that the state was trying to cut their own budget, and one of the things that they were doing was passing on costs to cities, and that was one of the many things that they were passing on, the cost to the city," said Patrick, who recalls enormous pressure to keep the city's budget down. But the state was never responsible for paying the costs of local investigations. Patrick was also a member of Wasilla City Council, and she doesn't recall the issue coming before council members, nor does she remember discussing the issue with Palin. She does recall Palin going through the budget in detail. She said Palin would review each department's budget line by line and send it back to department heads with her changes. "Sarah is a fiscal conservative, and so she had seen that the city was heading in a direction of bigger projects, costing taxpayers more money, and she was determined to change that," Patrick said. Before Palin came to City Hall, the Wasilla Police Department paid for rape kits out of a fund for miscellaneous costs, according to the police chief who preceded Fannon and was fired by Palin. That budget line was cut by more than half during Palin's tenure, but it did not specifically mention rape exams. In a statement, Jill Hazelbaker, communications director for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, said that "to imply that Gov. Palin is or has ever been an advocate of charging victims for evidence gathering kits is an utter distortion of reality." "As her record shows, Gov. Palin is committed to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice," Hazelbaker said. "She does not, nor has she ever believed that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence gathering test." Those who fought the policy are unconvinced. "It's incomprehensible to me that this could be a rogue police chief and not a policy decision. It lasted too long and it was too high-profile," Croft said. The rape kit charges have become an issue among Palin critics who say as governor she has not done enough to combat Alaska's epidemic problem of violence against women. They point to a small funding increase for domestic violence shelters at a time when Alaska has a multibillion-dollar budget surplus. Victims' advocates say that services are lacking and that Palin cut funding for a number of programs that treat female victims of violence. In the past week, Alaska's challenges with sexual assault have been in the spotlight again -- in connection with an ongoing inquiry into whether Palin abused her power by firing the head of Alaska's Department of Public Safety. Palin's office released e-mails showing that one area of disagreement between her and Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan was his lobbying in Washington for $30 million to fund a new program of sexual assault response teams. The McCain-Palin campaign insists that fighting domestic violence and sexual assault are priorities for Palin. And they say she has been looking at other programs to support. As governor, Palin approved a funding increase for domestic violence shelters -- $266,200 over two years. And she reauthorized a Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

While Sarah Palin was mayor, Wasilla charged victims for their rape exams . Interviews, review of records show no evidence Palin knew victims were charged . Former state representative says it seems unlikely Palin was not aware of issue .

(CNN) -- We began breakfast one recent morning delivering this news to Luna: Rosanna, her caregiver, was going on a two-week vacation. "Who is going to take care of me?" she asked. And then she gave me "the look." I call it pouty face. Her dime-sized brown eyes squeeze together, the lower lip rolls out, the hands ball up. Every time she looks like that, my crazy Mama Head empties of sugarplum fairies and fills with fears of pedophilia and child snatching. Previously on CNN: I'm her mom, not the nanny! We have had the same babysitter since Luna was born. Rosanna would step in front of a train for Luna. She is not easily replaced. But when Luna was a baby, we figured we had options. There is a reason God gave us mothers, tias (aunties), abuelitas (grandmothers) and the occasional BFF you call "co-madre" regardless of whether they are actually your kid's godmother and hence your "co-mother." The problem is every Latina in New York works until death. There is no cotton-topped Grandma on standby sitting in her house-dress feeding chickens. I don't think all Latinas are so overprotective of their kids. But this one is. Luna was just a baby the first time Rosanna went on vacation. I called my mother who lives in DC and laid on the guilt. I recited the CDC statistic that 1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before age 18 (it's all about sexual abuse with the Mamas). She hopped on a train and I left for work. She called me an hour later with Telemundo blaring in the background. Luna had early pouty face. She must be malnourished by my lousy parenting and in need of chicken soup. I told my mother she drinks only breast milk and to look in the fridge. Luna began throwing up at 3 a.m. I called the pediatrician, who yelled through the speakerphone to call 911. "You ate soup when you were a week old," my mother admitted sheepishly. Arce: My nanny's sadness is also my own . Rosanna demanded to vet her next replacement. She hangs out with a legion of sitters representing all the nations of Central and South America, and they have their special ways. Children should be stuffed with comfort food; pock marked by lipstick kisses, wrinkled from hugging and rocking, and wear fuzzy socks because their feet can never be too warm. I'm not saying other ethnic groups don't coddle their kids, but Latinas just seem to excel at it. I remember being handed a worksheet at a Mommy and Me group that mapped out three goals for toddlers: adaptation, separation, and integration. My sitter and her gang laughed at me. Adaptation? Baby will do it when she's ready. Take potty training. For months my toilet was surrounded by Latina sitters staring at Luna, waiting for poo. Separation? Never happens. Mamas, grandmas, nanas, your 400 tias and most particularly your girlfriends are in this with you cradle-to-grave. Integration? Yes, they are allowed to play with children being raised by their friends. That's plenty. I wasn't going to be drawn into this kind of ethnocentricity. My employer offers a service providing bonded, certified, triple-A, recommended, backup babysitters. My sitter threatened to pull my Latina card. "You're leaving your/my child with a total stranger in a strange land?!" I reminded her I was born here. The next morning "Grace" arrived. Luna gave me pouty Face, but I walked out the door with my head high. I got a call an hour later. One of Rosanna's snitches was at my apartment. "She's feeding her cold plantains," she whispered in Spanish. I told her to butt out. Then came call No. 2, this time from my neighbor. "The Spanish nannies are icing the replacement," she warned me. "Luna has pouty face." Call No. 3 came from the sitter herself. "Luna doesn't want to take a nap or eat her porridge," she said. "Luna no longer naps, and what is porridge?" I asked. I came home after Call No. 5 to a troupe of nannies staring down this poor woman from "a Caribbean country where they don't even speak Spanish." I accused everyone of bigotry and got that stare that says "new mom." Grace revealed she had never cared for a child "this particular age" and said she had to go. The specter of Grace reigned over our household for months. If you don't behave, Grace will be coming for the weekend. Clean up your toys, or Grace will pick you up from preschool. If only I could find that woman, I'd hire her one more time just to revive the memory. The next replacement sitter was an aging woman sent by an agency with hearts and fairies dancing across their logo. Not an hour after her arrival came phone call No. 1. "Mama, it's Luna. I'm on the phone upstairs." Let's start with the fact that Luna had never dialed the phone on her own. "Why are you upstairs?" I inquired. "I don't nap. I don't want bath." I could feel pouty face through the phone. Then came call waiting. The nanny was on the other line complaining that Luna wouldn't bathe at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I clicked to Luna. "Mama come!" I was home in an hour. Rosanna had won. During her next vacations, she outsourced Luna to her tribe -- Monica from Chile, Delma from El Salvador, Jaime from Guatemala. It was a brilliant solution for about a year, until all their kiddies started school. Suddenly, mamas were ditching their Latina sitters left and right in exchange for grimy after-school programs and college students trying to make an extra buck toward tuition. Those who didn't soon lost their sitters to more fulltime jobs. We clung to Rosanna. But her next vacation left us in a lurch. We requested a Spanish speaker from an agency, and they sent a woman from Puerto Rico. An hour later, my building superintendent called. "Your baby sitter is a freak," he said. "Luna told me to call. And she's not Puerto Rican." Who pretends to be Puerto Rican to get a job? I couldn't come home. I posted a cry for help to my faux friends on Facebook, which elicited only sympathy. The super called again. "Would you like me to take her?" he asked, he of the four kids who've scampered our halls chatting in Albanian since they were toddlers. Great! He even has the keys! I expressed my glee on Facebook and the replies poured in. In short order, my super was accused of being a pedophile, a child trafficker, a canonize-able saint, and a shyster looking to rob me. I got home to find Luna with his daughter, Ana, all grown up, making paper bag puppets. Pouty face no more! Ding Ding Ding -- sitter Lotto! I had found an unemployed college graduate who lives down the hall and is great with kids. I was all set until I got altruistic and recommended her to a friend. Less than a year later she had a fulltime job. That brings me back to this week. As soon as I mentioned back-up care, Rosanna sprung into action and ran it all by Luna who now talks in full sentences. They announced a girl named Yomaris would be monitoring Luna. I also hired a lovely girl from back-up care who they allowed to hang out with them. I still had Luna cruising from play-date to play-date. Rosanna somehow managed to monitor the entire thing from the Dominican Republic. By week's end, everyone had it covered. I was out of it, sitting totally detached at work, sporting my own pouty face.

Rose Arce was lost when her regular baby-sitter, Rosanna, took a vacation . Arce's daughter, Luna, chased away the women an agency sent to watch her . Rosanna arranged an army of Latina sitters to sit in for her, which seemed to work .

(CNN) -- There is an old saying: Out of sight, out of mind. T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, has mentored at-risk students as part of his community service. But when rap star T.I. disappears from the hip-hop scene to complete his one-year, one-day sentence in federal prison, several music experts say, that won't be the case. The self-proclaimed "King of the South" will be sticking around, thanks to the success of his most recent album -- the double-platinum, Grammy-nominated "Paper Trail," released last September -- his community service efforts and a reality show on MTV that has resonated with fans, they say. "I think that if anything, it will gain him more fans and actually support his fan base, because he's talked about making a mistake," said Emil Wilbekin, editor in chief of Giant Magazine, which focuses on urban music and lifestyle and featured T.I. on its November 2008 cover. "He's talked about taking care of the error of his ways." T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was sentenced to prison in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, last week on weapons charges. He will be taken into custody no earlier than May 19. In addition to serving prison time, the court asked T.I., 28, to pay a $100,300 fine on weapons charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers. "I would like to say thank you to some and apologize to others," Harris said at his sentencing Friday. "In my life, I have been placed in the worst-case scenario and had to make the best of it." Though he had been in legal trouble before, Harris' current situation began when he was arrested just hours before he was to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. The rapper had provided a bodyguard with $12,000 to buy weapons. Harris was not permitted to own any guns, however, because he was convicted in 1998 on felony drug charges -- possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute -- in Cobb County, in suburban Atlanta. After his arrest, he entered a plea agreement, which federal authorities called unique because it allowed the rapper to remain out of prison for a year while he performed community service. Harris has already left a strong mark on the hip-hop genre, music experts say, which should position his career well when he is released. Harris had been named to the Forbes list of top-earning rappers, making an estimated $16 million in 2006. His fan base has expanded in the last year, with some of the growth due to "Paper Trail," which has sold close to 2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This year, Harris went on to star in the MTV reality show "T.I.'s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go," which chronicles his efforts to shave years off his sentence by completing his community service. The show features him talking to schools and community groups "about how to avoid the trouble he now finds himself in," according to the network's Web site. To keep Harris in the spotlight, Jason Geter, part owner of Harris' record label Grand Hustle Entertainment, said the company will release a remixed copy of "Paper Trail" with five new songs this summer. He says Harris is shooting music videos set to be released when he is in prison. "We come from a world if you don't work, you don't eat," Geter said. In addition to music, Harris' television production company Grand Hustle Productions, which produced the MTV reality show, is filming a second reality television series for MTV about celebrity racing. Also, in the heist film "Takers," produced by Screen Gems and set for release in January 2010, Harris will appear alongside actor Matt Dillon. And Grand Hustle Entertainment officials say Harris' clothing line for young men, AKOO, will continue to be available in stores. Geter said that even in prison, his partner Harris will stay focused on his career. "His [Harris'] music reflects his experiences," Geter said. "He makes himself vulnerable, and that's why people like him so much. And people always love to hear a good drama." Music experts say Harris' fans are an extremely dedicated group that will probably remain loyal until his release. They say that since fans have known for more than a year that their celebrity rapper would be facing jail time, they have had time to prepare for his departure and the decision doesn't come as a shock. Furthermore, experts say, one year is too short of a time to forget such a popular artist. "This will give him some time to do some great thinking and creating," said Gail Mitchell, senior correspondent for R&B and hip-hop at Billboard. "This time around, he is going to be OK." Stacey Richman, a New York-based attorney who has worked with hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule, said there is some threat that going to prison may cause a artist to burn out. But she adds that properly managed talent can help the artist survive. "It comes down to where he stands in his career," said Richman, who has been practicing law for nearly two decades. Prison time can, perhaps ironically, serve to raise the profile of some hip-hop stars. A handful have been able to resume their careers at an even higher level after concluding their sentences. One of the most infamous examples involved 2Pac, also known as Tupac Shakur, who entered prison in 1994 on a sex abuse conviction. In 1996, after his prison stint, he released his album "All Eyez on Me," which had sold 9 million copies by 1998, according to the Record Industry Association of America, a trade organization representing the U.S. recording industry. It was the first double-disc album of original material in hip-hop history, according to Billboard. More recently, Grammy-winning rapper Lil' Kim, also known as Kimberly Jones, is making her comeback on the popular ABC reality show "Dancing With the Stars." She served a year in prison after being convicted of perjury in a federal case involving her friends and a 2001 gunfight in New York City. She has not released an album since leaving prison. But incarceration doesn't promise success. Rapper Foxy Brown spent eight months in prison for violating her probation; her first post-incarceration album, "Brooklyn's Don Diva," was given mediocre reviews and floundered in sales. It has sold only about 30,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Hip-hop artist Jamaal "Shyne" Barrow, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for two counts of assault and a list of other charges for involvement in a much-publicized New York City nightclub shootout with Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez, released an album while incarcerated in 2004, "Godfather Buried Alive," that struggled to make a splash on the charts. Since his plea agreement, Harris has worked to differentiate his personal life from his rapper image. In multiple interviews with the media, he often mentioned that he is a father of five who lost a daughter to a miscarriage in 2008. His best friend died at a post-party shooting, which he says was the motivation for arming himself. "Most often, things I have learned have been from trial and error," Harris told CNN. "I knew no way to protect myself than to arm myself." Watch the rapper's interview with CNN's T.J. Holmes » . In Harris' latest single, "Dead and Gone" with Justin Timberlake, the lyrics indicate a changed Harris, trying to shed his previous image. He writes in the song that the "old me is dead and gone." The fan support for Harris continues to pour in since he received his sentence Friday. On Facebook.com, one fan, Hendrick Garner in Tupelo, Mississippi, wrote, "Like you said this [is your] defining moment, and I think we all have had that moment, but it only makes us stronger."

Rapper T.I. will be taken into custody no earlier than May 19 . Music experts say one year away is too short a time for fans to forget him . T.I.'s Grammy-nominated album "Paper Trail" has sold nearly 2 million copies . Other rappers like 2Pac and Lil' Kim have found success after prison .

(CNN) -- Winter travelers trek thousands of miles to the frozen north each year seeking the sky's "dancing lights," which provoke awe, excitement and, some say, sex. CNN iReporter Bruce Barrett shot this rare red aurora in Canada's Whitehorse, Yukon. Scientists call the natural phenomenon aurora borealis: cascading beams of greens, yellows, blues, purples or reds -- which paint a breathtaking backdrop across the wilderness and attract thousands of tourists annually. "Usually it starts slowly as kind of a hazy greenish color -- like a mist -- building up in frequency dancing across the sky ... and to me that's religion," said photographer Dave Brosha of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, who's seen more than 100 Canadian auroras. "It's just one of the most incredible feelings a person can have -- sitting there watching that." To the west in Canada's Yukon province, tour operator Torsten Eder likes to tell a story about a marriage that was forged under the glowing curtains of light. See spectacular photos of auroras » . "I had one guy from Mexico, and he wanted to surprise his girlfriend by proposing marriage with a ring under the northern lights," said Eder from his office in Whitehorse. "We got lucky and the lights were visible ... so our guest went down on his knee and proposed to his girlfriend and she was totally blown away. The funny thing was -- she wouldn't wear gloves for the first three days -- so she could show the ring off." The otherworldly lights also have provided inspiration for almost sacred pilgrimages, Eder said. Guests who said they were going blind or battling cancer told him they wanted to view the auroras at least once in their lives. "It puts enormous pressure on us," said Eder. "You can't guarantee that the lights will be visible because it's a natural phenomenon." The display is generally visible at least every three days, he said. Scientists say the northern lights are created by the sun's super hot atmosphere, which blasts particles into the protective magnetic field surrounding the Earth. The magnetic field forces the particles toward the north and south poles. About 60 to 200 miles overhead, the particles bump into the Earth's atmosphere and become electrically "excited" -- throwing off light of various colors, said Prof. Dirk Lummerzheim of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. "The forecast for this winter is a continued quiet sun, in general," he said. The sun is on the upswing of an 11-year cycle. "Maybe we will have a few periods once a month where the aurora can get a little bit more active." Although the phenomenon occurs around the clock, the lights are only visible at night. The best time of year to see them is during winter, when darkness in the upper latitudes stretches up to 24 hours. See map where northern lights can be seen » . Eder's Northern Tales tour company picks up guests at their hotels about 10 p.m. and takes them to an area about 20 minutes outside Whitehorse's city lights. There, travelers can enjoy nature's colorful show from a heated, walled tent until around 2 a.m. "We almost take it for granted sometimes," said Brosha. "No matter how many times you've seen the aurora borealis -- when they really dance, when you get some really unique colors -- you just kind of say, 'Wow, I'm so lucky to see that.' " A warmer way to enjoy the northern lights is a shallow, natural rock lake at Chena Hot Springs outside Fairbanks, Alaska, which allows bikini-clad guests to enjoy the lights in temperatures of 106 degrees Fahrenheit. "I mean, honestly, it's the best way to see them," said spokeswoman Denise Ferree. "Because you're warm and toasty and you're watching the northern lights above." Chena's owner, Bernie Karl -- who's often as colorful as the lights themselves -- said the auroras sometimes spark the libido. "Having sex under the northern lights -- it's an awesome experience," Karl said. "Have you ever been out in nature at 35 below zero with northern lights bouncing over your head and your bare ass? Well, you need to try it." If the hot springs aren't for you, Chena also takes guests up a nearby mountain to observe the auroras from heated Mongolian-style tents called yurts. The resort prides itself on its environmental initiative, which has led to the generation of clean electricity from geothermal heat produced by the hot spring. "Iceland is probably one of the best places to see the northern lights," said Reykjavik tour guide Arni Magnusson of AM Tours. That's especially true as the U.S. dollar gains value against the Icelandic krona -- offering some attractive hotel and shopping opportunities. Guests are picked up at their hotel for a 20-minute drive outside the city to view the lights from higher elevations. "People say they feel closer to Earth and to the forces of nature," said Magnusson. "The lights totally overwhelm them." Dan Hershman's life changed dramatically after he photographed a spectacular aurora in Washington state in 2000, which was a peak year in the solar cycle. "These things are just dynamic and they seem just alive and organic," said Hershman, who at the time was a high school music teacher. The photo was unique enough to attract the attention of NASA, which ran the image on its Web site, Hershman said. This spurred his interest in photography and soon, as Hershman put it, "my hobby became my profession and my profession became my hobby." Now Hershman performs as principal bassoonist in local orchestras as a hobby -- and he teaches high school photography in Federal Way, Washington, as his profession. The trick to photographing the auroras, Hershman said, is choosing to take the picture when the lights aren't moving as much. "Otherwise it looks like nothing but a big blob," he said. IF YOU GO . WHITEHORSE . Activities . Yukon Brewing Company offers tours of this award-winning brewery, the home of such libations as Espresso Stout, made with local espresso from Midnight Sun Coffee Roaster. Mac's Fireweed, an independent bookstore and a Whitehorse institution, offers a nice selection of magazines and a huge catalogue of book titles. Northern Tales tour company picks up guests at their hotels and takes them a short distance outside Whitehorse to view the auroras from heated, walled tents. Stay: . Just north of Whitehorse, see the northern lights from Takhini Hot Springs, which offers cabins and camping facilities. Two bed and breakfasts come recommended by Whitehorse residents: Casey's and Hawkins House, at 867-668-7638. YELLOWKNIFE . Activities . Enjoy warm tepees as well as food and drinks while viewing the northern lights at Aurora Village, which gets up to 20 hours of darkness in the winter months. FAIRBANKS . Stay: . Chena Hot Springs resort offers accommodations and viewing tours of the northern lights. Locals also recommend Mount Aurora Fairbanks Creek lodge for those seeking views of the spectacular lights. ALASKA WILDERNESS . Stay: . If you're looking for a trip deeper into the wilderness, Tolovana Hot Springs offers views of the auroras about 45 miles from Fairbanks -- accessible by trail or plane only. Northern lights tours: . Travel to the Brooks mountain range above the Arctic Circle can be arranged with Out in Alaska at 877-374-9958. Northern Alaska Tour Co. offers wilderness tours to see the auroras in Coldfoot. ICELAND . Northern lights tours: . Visitors interested in guided views of the northern lights can contact AM Tours at 011-354-898-6581. Activities: . Enjoy the hot springs and spa facilities at the famous Blue Lagoon. Find general information on touring Iceland at Iceland Travel.

Sex under northern lights is an awesome experience, says resort owner . People diagnosed with terminal or blinding diseases seek out aurora borealis . Brilliant green, blue "dancing lights" inspire marriage proposals, says guide . Spectacular phenomenon occurs when solar particles hit near Earth's poles .

Paris, France (CNN) -- No matter whatever else happens in tennis' clay-court season, Rafael Nadal is almost an automatic at the French Open. Nadal won an unprecedented ninth title at Roland Garros and now only trails Roger Federer on the men's grand slam ladder after seeing off Novak Djokovic 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 on a third consecutive day of steamy weather in Paris, which did no favors for the Serb -- who appeared to vomit slightly in the last set. Their tussle couldn't compare to last year's five-set classic in the semifinals or their six-hour duel at the Australian Open in 2012 but the final outcome, to Nadal's delight, is that he tied Pete Sampras on 14 majors, three behind the 32-year-old Federer. "You are a great champion, Rafa," Sampras said in an email sent to CNN. "Congratulations on number 14." Nadal was supposed to be vulnerable here. He merely won one European clay-court title this year before Paris, his lowest haul since 2004 -- and that year the Spaniard skipped the campaign's second major. There were upset defeats in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and Nadal's coach, Toni Nadal, admitted he only won in Madrid because his opponent, Kei Nishikori, was hurt. With every passing encounter against Djokovic at the French Open, the Serb had won more games and kept Nadal on court for longer. He was getting closer. His victory over Nadal in the Rome final in May, his fourth straight overall against the left-hander, gave his backers greater hope. "My best wasn't (like it was) against him in Rome," Djokovic told reporters. Nadal, however, stormed into this year's finale in record time -- for him -- playing a near flawless three final sets against 2013 finalist David Ferrer, crushing Andy Murray in the semis and lifting his game when it mattered against Djokovic, minus a rare hiccup late in the fourth set. "Mentally I was so strong," said Nadal, 28. "I really wanted to defeat him. When there were problems cropping up, I managed to find the solutions." Yes, if Djokovic needed any reminding, Nadal at the French Open -- in a best-of-five format -- is a different character to the one that competes in prep tournaments in a shorter format. He's 66-1 at the French, with those nine titles alongside. Despite that, the notoriously tough Toni Nadal said his nephew was "not special." "If Rafa has done it, I'm sure another can do it," he told reporters. "Rafael is not special ... another can do the same. But it's not easy. To win nine in 10 years is for me, unbelievable." Djokovic, in tears during the trophy presentation, will have to wait to complete his grand slam collection. He missed out, too, on reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Nadal. While Nadal's knees have constantly troubled the Mallorcan throughout his career, the heat has never been Djokovic's friend. He suffered against Ernests Gulbis on Friday, the first time high temperatures were a factor this fortnight, but had enough to see off the rejuvenated Latvian in four sets. On Sunday -- unlike two days ago -- he donned a cap from the outset in an attempt to lessen the effects of the sun. Djokovic said in his post-match news conference it was "normal that you have ups and downs" physically against Nadal at the French Open but his influential co-coach, Marian Vajda, blamed his two-match dip on a "stomach problem." He lamented his charge's normally splendid return game. "I was not happy with his return today," Vajda told reporters. But he added, "Rafa changed his serve very good, mixed it up and caught him a bit off balance. He served very smart, where to serve and Novak was a bit unsure." As popular as Djokovic is for his dance moves, humor -- and chatting to ball kids during rain delays -- it was Nadal who received the louder applause as they walked on court. Djokovic is always playing catch up when it comes to matching Federer, Nadal, and even Murray, in support, at least at the start of proceedings. Both players were untroubled on serve until the eighth game, when Nadal's forehand -- uncharacteristically -- went off. He missed three inside-out forehands to gift Djokovic a 5-3 lead. For the first time in six tries at Roland Garros, Djokovic claimed the opening set against Nadal. A more aggressive Nadal broke for 4-2 in the second, yet he didn't cruise thereafter. A double fault contributed to an immediate break back and the set went on serve until 6-5. Serving to stay in the second set for a second time, Djokovic crumbled. Nadal let out a large roar after pummeling a forehand winner for 7-5. The tennis was hardly scintillating but by the end of the second, Nadal's forehand returned. The points and games were becoming extended, exactly the type of battle that favored Nadal. The outlook shifted. "Without that second set, I don't know if I have this trophy with me now," said Nadal. A fired-up Nadal, the crowd still on the defending champion's side and the issues with his body all seemed to weigh down Djokovic. He dumped a simple looking backhand volley into the net on a serve-and-volley to trail 2-0. Djokovic's frustration boiled over when he slammed his racket to the court after erring on a cross-court backhand at 2-4. That seventh game would be pivotal. Nadal couldn't convert a handful of game points but slammed the door shut when Djokovic suddenly found himself with a break point. He sealed the 10-minute game with the aid of trademark defense -- and an unforced backhand error from the Serb. It was a matter of "when" not "if" Nadal would break in the fourth and it came in the sixth game. But what happened next wasn't in the script: A shaky Nadal forehand, double fault and errant smash handed Djokovic a lifeline, 4-3. Such a nervy game from Nadal in a grand slam final is almost never witnessed. Wanting more tennis, the fans, for the first time, began chanting, "Novak, Novak." A re-energized Djokovic obliged to make it 4-4. Djokovic's time to pounce was now, but he let Nadal off the hook. Allowing Nadal to convert a forehand winner down the line, Djokovic pounded his head with his racket. Djokovic blew a 30-0 lead in the final game, undone by a double fault on match point after a fan called out during his earlier service motion, forcing him to start over. "I was happy with (Novak's) performance" in the tournament, said Vajda. "Maybe he had these problems a bit, he was fighting himself. It's always tough to lose in the final but I think he's a fighter. He will move to the (next) grand slam." Nadal sunk to his knees, and like women's champion Maria Sharapova on Saturday after her victory over Simona Halep made the trek to the players' box. The outcome was even sweeter for Nadal after a back injury rendered him less than 100% in January's Australian Open final against Stan Wawrinka. Before turning his thoughts to Wimbledon, where Nadal has been upset the previous two years, you can be sure he'll be doing some celebrating Sunday night. And it's in southwest Paris, again.

Rafael Nadal wins French Open for record ninth time . Beats Novak Djokovic in four-set final . Victory confirms Nadal in world number one spot . Djokovic still searching for first French Open title .

(CNN) -- World Oceans Day, June 8, arrives this year at a time when people are especially focused on the safety of waters threatened by the Gulf oil disaster. Yet it is also a time when more people are committing to work to preserve the oceans than ever before. Among them is Roz Savage, who last week completed the third and final leg of her effort to row across the Pacific Ocean. Savage was one of dozens who took part in the Mission Blue cruise in April, organized by the nonprofit group TED to develop a strategy to save the oceans. In her talk on the Mission Blue cruise, taped before the final leg of her Pacific journey, Savage estimated that her trip across that ocean required more than 8,000 miles of rowing, spending 312 days on her own in a 23-foot rowboat. Savage is the first woman to row solo across the Pacific, from the West Coast of the United States to Papua New Guinea. (Maud Fontenoy rowed a shorter route from Peru to Polynesia in 2005.) Learn more about the "Mission Blue Voyage" Once a management consultant based in London, England, Savage says she knew from day one that the career wasn't right for her. But she didn't get serious about making a change until she was in her mid-30s. "I sat down one day and wrote two versions of my own obituary, the one that I wanted, a life of adventure, and the one that I was actually heading for which was a nice, normal, pleasant life, but it wasn't where I wanted to be by the end of my life." Watch a revealing look at the oceans' glory and shame . She wound up competing in the Atlantic Ocean rowing race, from the Canary Islands to Antigua, a 3,000-mile run. "Sure, I had wanted to get outside of my comfort zone, but what I'd sort of failed to notice was that getting out of your comfort zone is, by definition, extremely uncomfortable. And my timing was not great either -- 2005, when I did the Atlantic, was the year of Hurricane Katrina. There were more tropical storms in the North Atlantic than ever before, since records began. And pretty early on those storms started making their presence known." All four of her oars broke before she reached the halfway mark -- and Savage was forced to improvise using a boat hook and other equipment on the boat. The Mission Blue Voyage was a product of undersea explorer Sylvia Earle's 2009 TED Prize wish "to ignite public support for a global network of Marine Protected Areas, hope spots large enough ... to restore the blue heart of the planet." The Galapagos cruise attracted leading scientists and celebrities such as Glenn Close, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jackson Browne, Edward Norton, Elizabeth Banks, and Chevy Chase -- and resulted in $15 million in pledges to protect the seas and advocate for new policies. In her talk making the wish, Earle pointed out that in the past 50 years, 90 percent of the big fish in the oceans have been consumed and nearly half of the ocean's coral reefs have disappeared. Less than 1 percent of the ocean is protected from destructive fishing, and Earle believes the seas will go into irreversible decline unless a much larger portion -- some experts say as much as 30 percent -- is protected. Earle said the world needs to act swiftly to protect what she calls "the blue heart of the planet that basically keeps us alive." A filmmaker explains how he became fascinated with sea creatures . In Savage's view, the environmental problems the world faces don't result from the big incidents such as the Exxon Valdez or the Gulf oil disaster. "Mostly it's been an accumulation of bad decisions by billions of individuals day after day and year after year. And, by the same token, we can turn that tide. We can start making better, wiser, more sustainable decisions. And when we do that, we're not just one person. Anything that we do spreads ripples. "Other people will see, if you're in the supermarket line and you pull out your reusable grocery bag. Maybe if we all start doing this, we can make it socially unacceptable to say yes to plastic in the check-out line. That's just one example." Watch other talks from Mission Blue . Savage's first effort to cross the Pacific ended in failure in 2007 when her boat capsized three times in 24 hours and she was rescued -- against her wishes. The next year, she completed the first leg, to Hawaii, but only after nearly running out of water. She managed to meet up with the crew of the "Junk Raft," a boat made mostly of plastic water bottles that Savage said was built to call attention to "the North Pacific garbage patch, that area in the North Pacific about twice the size of Texas, with an estimated 3.5 million tons of trash in it, circulating at the center of that North Pacific Gyre." Earlier on that voyage, Savage said, the crew had caught a mahi mahi and found that its stomach was full of plastic. Savage wrote this post for CNN.com after her Pacific journey was completed: . In the couple of months since this TEDTalk was recorded, I have rowed 2,000 miles from Kiribati to Papua New Guinea in the third and final stage of my Pacific crossing, becoming the first woman to row solo all the way across the Pacific. During those two months the ocean has suffered new assaults -- notably the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but also smaller insults, as I have witnessed with my own eyes. On a beautiful calm day, with sunlight glinting off the waves, it is heartbreaking to see a plastic bottle floating on the water. Even thousands of miles from land, the ocean wilderness is no longer pristine. Mankind's impact is felt everywhere. When I have been alone for a long time at sea -- sometimes over a hundred days without seeing another human -- this evidence of our carelessness is especially jarring. There are times when I feel ashamed to be a human being, and feel obliged to apologize to the small community of fish that congregate beneath my boat for the mess we have made of their home. And it doesn't impact just the fish. Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth, and are an integral part of our weather systems, climate control, and food supply. How can we have a healthy planet -- or healthy bodies -- if we don't have healthy oceans? I row across oceans to inspire people to take action on environmental issues. Something the ocean has taught me is that any challenge, no matter how huge, can be tackled if you break it down into little steps. Crossing the Pacific has taken me about 2.5 million oar strokes. One stroke doesn't get me very far, but you take all those tiny actions and you string them all together and you get across 8,000 miles of ocean. You can achieve almost anything, if you just take it one stroke at a time. And it's the same with saving the oceans. On a day like Oceans Day, when we feel part of a huge global community, it's easy to believe we can change the world. But there will be other days when maybe we feel alone, and that anything we do as individuals won't really make a difference -- that it's just a drop in the ocean. But every action counts. We all have it in our power to make a difference. In fact, we're already making a difference -- it's just up to us to decide if it's a good one or a bad one. Every time we say no to a plastic bag or refuse to drink bottled water, it matters. If I can row 8,000 miles to make a point about the state of our oceans, then you can do your part too. Start by going to http://ecoheroes.me/ and log a single green deed that you are going to do today, Oceans Day, to help save our seas. We have a lot of work to do, but the longest journey starts with a single step -- or oarstroke.

Roz Savage gave up a career as a management consultant to seek adventure . She rowed in a race across the Atlantic and then completed a three-leg journey across Pacific . Savage spoke on Mission Blue Voyage, which sought to accelerate efforts to save the oceans . She said environmental damage results from bad decisions made by billions of people every day .

New York (CNN) -- A New York judge dismissed sexual assault charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the prosecutor's request Tuesday. A grand jury indicted Strauss-Kahn in May over allegations he sexually assaulted hotel housekeeper Nafissatou Diallo in his New York hotel suite. But in July, prosecutors began to back off the case, asking Judge Michael Obus to release Strauss-Kahn from house arrest after information surfaced that they said called Diallo's credibility into question. On Monday, prosecutors asked Obus to dismiss the charges entirely, while Diallo's attorney filed a motion asking that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance be disqualified from the case and that a special prosecutor be appointed. Obus rejected the request from Diallo's attorneys and then, at a hearing Tuesday morning, approved the request to dismiss charges. He had stayed implementation of the order to give Diallo's attorneys time to appeal his decision on the special prosecutor. The New York Supreme Court rejected the appeal Tuesday afternoon, according to court attorney Lauren Holmes. Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, decried the decision. "District Attorney Vance has abandoned an innocent woman and has denied an innocent woman a chance to get justice in a rape case," he said. Vance, in a news release Tuesday, said prosecutors had no choice because they were "not persuaded -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- that a crime has been committed, based on the evidence we have." He said Diallo's testimony "was fatally damaged, for several key reasons." In a statement, Strauss-Kahn -- who has always denied the charges -- thanked his attorneys and Obus for his decision. "These past two and a half months have been a nightmare for me and my family," he said, adding that he was "obviously gratified that the district attorney agreed with my lawyers that this case had to be dismissed." Later, speaking to reporters outside his house, he said, "I am thankful for my wife, my children, my friends, and those who supported me during this period. I look forward to returning to my country, but I still have some things to do before I leave. I will explain more fully when I return." Strauss-Kahn's attorneys said in a statement Monday after prosecutors filed their request that it vindicated their consistent claim that their client is innocent. "Mr. Strauss-Kahn and his family are grateful that the district attorney's office took our concerns seriously and concluded on its own that this case cannot proceed further," attorneys William W. Taylor and Benjamin Brafman said in a statement. In a Paris news conference before the hearing, one of Diallo's attorneys said dismissing the charges would be a travesty. "For the district attorney to now dismiss this case or seek to dismiss this case and turn his back on this victim because of so-called credibility issues is an affront not only on Ms. Diallo but an affront on all victims and sexual victims who come forward in the future," attorney Douglas Wigdor said. Prosecutors filed a "recommendation for dismissal" in the case Monday, noting more questions about Diallo's credibility. "The nature and number of the complainant's falsehoods leave us unable to credit her version of events beyond a reasonable doubt, whatever the truth may be about the encounter between the complainant and the defendant," the document states. "If we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so." Prosecutors voiced concern that the case appeared to rest exclusively on the housekeeper's account, predicting her "falsehoods" would be "devastating" if revealed during a trial. They claim she "has not been truthful in matters great and small," including lying about a "gang rape, as well as other details about her life in (her native) Guinea." Diallo lied about the specifics of her whereabouts after the incident and past details of an asylum application and information on tax forms, prosecutors said. She also admitted lying on the asylum application about having been a victim of a gang rape, even providing details of an attack and later admitting it never happened, according to prosecutors. In their court filing, prosecutors said that DNA testing indicated semen on her dress matched Strauss-Kahn and shows there was a sexual encounter. There was "no trauma to her body or oral cavity" and "scrapings from underneath her fingernails ... yielded no results." Moreover, prosecutors claim Diallo's current story of her "prompt outcry to her first supervisor is inconsistent with certain aspects of that supervisor's account." "All of the evidence that might be relevant to the contested issues of force and lack of consent is simply inconclusive," wrote the prosecutors. Thompson said Strauss-Kahn's power and prestige played a role in the outcome of the case, saying prosecutors would not "run from DNA evidence" if Strauss-Kahn "was a plumber." In Paris before the hearing, Wigdor disputed almost every aspect of the prosecution's claim, saying a medical examination following the alleged rape showed bruises on Diallo's vagina and that she suffered a "tear" on her shoulder and rips in her stockings. A "mountain of physical evidence" points toward a violent sexual assault during a nine-minute period inside Strauss-Kahn's New York hotel suite in May, Wigdor told reporters in France, where he is gathering evidence for a civil lawsuit against the French citizen and onetime contender for that nation's presidency. Diallo quickly reported the incident to five co-workers and was visibly upset after the incident, shaken up, spitting and nearly vomiting, Wigdor said. He rejected explanations by Strauss-Kahn's attorneys that any sexual encounter that may have occurred was consensual, questioning how he could persuade a woman he had never met before to have sex during a nine-minute encounter. "There is no other plausible explanation" but sexual assault, Wigdor said. A crowd of protesters gathered near the courtroom in New York in support of Diallo, carrying handwritten signs reading "No impunity 4 rapists in power" and "Nafissatou we believe you," among other things. In Tuesday's news release, Vance said, "As prosecutors, we don't work in a world where we expect or require perfect witnesses. The tens of thousands of victims who come to our office each year come from varied and often difficult circumstances, and sometimes with imperfect pasts. If we are convinced they are truthful about the crimes committed against them, and will tell the truth at trial, we will ask a jury to consider their testimony to prove a crime. If we are not convinced, we cannot, should not and do not take the case to a jury." He asserted that "seeking justice for sex crimes victims, and protecting immigrants, are among the highest priorities in this office," but "we have to judge each case by its own unique set of facts." Attorneys for Diallo said claims that Diallo told a friend in prison that she was going to cash in on the incident were untrue and accused the district attorney's office of treating Diallo like a criminal defendant and not an alleged victim. In their now-rejected motion to have Vance removed from the case, Diallo's attorney cited allegations of "abuse of confidence, unfair treatment and bias and prejudices" by Vance that they say disqualify him from the case. "Are we telling (sexual assault victims) that if they dare to name a powerful, politically connected man as their abuser, they will see their whole life laid out to be judged publicly?" asked New York City Councilwoman Letitia James. "What does it take for a low-income immigrant -- a woman of color -- to publicly name one of the most powerful men in Europe as a sexual abuser?" CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said before the hearing that Strauss-Kahn should now be able to breathe easier and "return to some semblance of his former life." But he said that no one involved in the case "comes out of it looking very good." "This is a case that looks like it has nothing but losers -- the alleged victim, the defendant, and the prosecutor," Toobin said. "The conclusion is likely to be entirely satisfying to no one."

A judge approves dismissal of sexual assault charges against Strauss-Kahn . DA: Prosecutors were "not persuaded ... that a crime has been committed" The past weeks were "a nightmare," Strauss-Kahn says . Diallo's lawyer says there's a "mountain of physical evidence" that Strauss-Kahn assaulted her .

(CNN) -- The jarring sounds of war have longed echoed over Mogadishu. Now it's time for music to rock the Somali capital. Armed with powerful songs and bold lyrics, a daring group of hip-hop musicians has defied death threats and violent attacks from militant extremists to spread its message of peace in war-torn Mogadishu. Waayaha Cusub, a popular collective of Somali refugee musicians based in Kenya, traveled to the coastal city to stage the Mogadishu Music Festival, expected to be the country's biggest music event since the eruption of a vicious civil war in 1991. "Through this tour and our music we are trying to pass the Somali people a message to stop the killing, to stop the dying, because, there is no need for all these people dying for nothing," says Shiine Akhyaar Ali, lead singer and manager of Waayaha Cusub, a group famous for its lyrics attacking Somali warlords. "We want to finish this war for good." 'We will continue' Waayaha Cusub, whose name translates as "new era," was formed in 2004, featuring the talents of a revolving collective of exiled rappers and singers who moved to neighboring Kenya to escape the horrors of Somalia's conflict. Led by Ali and fellow singer Falis Abdi, who are now married, the group's energetic rap and soulful R&B struck a chord with the youth in East Africa. From their makeshift studio in Nairobi, they first tasted success with songs touching on themes such as love, poverty and human rights. Yet as the crisis in their homeland deepened, Waayaha Cusub's lyrics soon broke into more dangerous territory. "Shocked shocked/Who is behind this trail of destruction?/Al-Shabaab is/They galvanize people on the street for their wicked cause/They profess to be pious but they wield machetes," raps Ali in Somali on "Yaabka al Shabaab" (Reject the Extremists), one of the group's most popular songs. Al-Shabaab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. As it expanded its reach in the East African country, the al Qaeda-linked insurgent group started implementing cruel punishments for behavior it deemed un-Islamic: women were stoned to death for adultery, amputations and beheadings became common, while in some areas Al-Shabaab banned listening to the radio. Read this: Somali women defy danger to write history . Popular musicians were also a target; Waayaha Cusub, which had caused a stir by having women dance on stage and in its videos, received several threats and was ordered to stop making music. "They sent us a lot of threatening messages and also phone calls," recalls Ali, who is from the town of Dhusamareeb. "They were saying, 'you are doing propaganda for anti-Islam or anti-jihad, so we will finish you,'" he adds. And that's what they tried to do. In late 2007, militants broke into Ali's Nairobi house and shot him several times. The rapper, who managed to escape, took five bullets and suffered internal organ injuries, as well as an arm wound. Since then, several more incidents have followed, with radical militants threatening members of the band and in some cases assaulting them. Yet all these attacks have failed to deter Waayaha Cusub. Its members have continued risking their lives, remaining on the front line to promote their message for peace. "If we stop, I think these people will win, they will reach their aim," says Ali. "So if we continue, we are the winners because we need to tell our people that terrorism is not good, that killing people is not good, that suicide bombing is not good. So we will continue." 'Blow their minds with hop-hop' Somalia moved a step closer to stability last September after picking its first president elected on home soil in decades. Following months of ironing out planning details and security arrangements, Waayaha Cusub is now set to put on an array of free concerts and other related artistic activities in Mogadishu, with the support of local and international officials. Read this: 'New hope for Somalia' Joining them, fellow Somali musicians and performers from the United States, Afghanistan, Kenya and other countries will unite their voices in a crescendo of "stealth events" that will pop up around Mogadishu over the next few days. Organizers say these events are designed to rally would-be fighters to peacefully resist extremism. Music workshops and open mic events with at-risk youth and former militia will kick-start the proceedings, followed by a solidarity show featuring international musicians such as Afghani-American folk singer Ariana Delawari, Filipino reggae fusion artist Jahm-Eye and Sudanese soul singer Alsarah. The event will culminate in the main Somali Reconciliation Concert, headlined by Waayaha Cusub and featuring cameo appearances by other Somali and international performers. "It's always been Waayaha Cusub's way to respond to violence in the community by pulling youth away from the fray and into a venue where they give them an open mic to share their feelings, and then blow their minds with Somali hip-hop about ending the war," says Daniel J Gerstle, the festival's lead producer and founder of Humanitarian Bazaar, a group organizing music events promoting peace. "Countering the terror groups and extremist rebels who use surprise bombings to destroy, these singers launch surprise flash mob concerts to bring back the message of love and peace," he adds. For security reasons, each event will be held at a different venue, organizers say. The exact locations and times will only be revealed shortly before each event by phone or text message. Even though insurgents have fled Mogadishu and guns have largely fallen silent, security is still a risk -- at least 10 people were killed in the suicide bombing of a bus outside Mogadishu's National Theater on March 18. Portions of Somalia still remain lawless as large parts of the country are under the control of militants, such as Al-Shabaab. 'Somali Sunrise' The festival in Mogadishu is the latest event in Waayaha Cusub's tour aiming to win over youth and convince them to turn away from violence. Starting with concerts in the United States last summer, Waayaha Cusub then brought its Somali Sunrise Concert Tour back to East Africa. True to their intrepid reputation and message of peace, the rappers staged a string of "stop-the-violence" surprise shows in one of Nairobi's toughest neighborhoods in November 2012 in response to a chain of blasts that had rocked the Kenyan capital. The group's performances will be featured in "Live from Mogadishu," a documentary following the band's death-defying journey to bring modern live music back to their homeland. "I have worked and supported musicians also in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq -- really, this group, they're the most willing to risk their lives and really go straight against the extremism," says Gerstle, who is also behind the documentary, set to be released later this year. "A lot of music and human rights projects around the world are just about being happy and love and stuff like that, but this one is much more specifically trying to persuade youth to make a better choice," he adds. "They are risking their lives and being much more on the front line than any of the other musicians." For Ali, the time is now right to take his music back to Somalia. "At this time, we need to start to reach the youth in Somalia to pass our message," he says. "We need to tell them that this jihad is not good, is not right, so this time I think in Somalia most people don't want the extreme ideas. I think this time it's better than before."

The Somali capital of Mogadishu is set to host its biggest music festival in over two decades . The Mogadishu Music Festival is aiming to rally would-be fighters to peacefully resist extremism . The stealth event is put together by Waayaha Cusub, a group of Kenya-based Somali rappers . The collective is famous for its powerful lyrics attacking militant extremists .

(CNN) -- Great Britain can legitimately claim to have invented ice hockey, and even won gold at the 1936 Winter Olympics -- but its modern-day heroes are struggling to uphold that heritage in the face of adversity. When some British solders first ventured on to the ice in Ontario, Canada in the mid-19th century to play a modified version of field hockey, they could never have dreamed a multibillion-dollar business would be the legacy. However, while the sport has flourished in North America and other European nations, in the UK it battles a chronic lack of funding and fights for snippets of media coverage in a country where football dominates the back pages. Team GB has not played in the Winter Games since 1948, and suffered another heartbreaking failure last week in the final round of qualifying in Riga. Despite the setbacks, stalwart player David Clarke remains optimistic for the future of the sport. "Great Britain isn't renowned for its ice hockey talent, but it's growing and we've made a great account for ourselves over the last four or five years," Clarke told CNN's Human to Hero series. "So, I think gradually we are getting more respect but with that comes expectation." A squad coached by Scotsman Tony Hand, who briefly played alongside Wayne Gretzky in the NHL, lost to 11th-ranked hosts Latvia, France and Kazakhstan, ending their hopes of going to Sochi in 2014. "We gave a decent account of ourselves, but it would have been nice to have been able to get together as a team for more than just two days to properly prepare," said Clarke. Andy French, general secretary of Ice Hockey UK, which now boasts over 10,000 registered players, is dismayed they receive no funding from the British sports authorities. "Extra backing would create more revenue to enable all our teams from junior to senior level to have four international breaks per year to prepare for world championships, to bring on board a sports psychologist, team nutritionist, better preparation," he told CNN. Clarke could have followed Hand over the Atlantic to try his hand in the toughest league of all, but decided to stay home after becoming a father at the age of 18. He also had trials for his local professional football club Peterborough, but chose hockey. Star player . If he has any regret at missing out on the possible riches in the NHL, or even the EPL, the 31-year-old does not show it. He has forged a reputation as one of the star players in the British domestic league, being the all-time top scorer, and has helped Nottingham to a Playoffs and Challenge Cup double the past two seasons. Matches are played in purpose-built arenas, with the capital cities of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland hosting the Cardiff Devils, Belfast Giants and Edinburgh Capitals before audiences of between 5,000 to 8,000 partisan fans. London had a team, for which Clarke briefly played, run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group -- one of the world's largest sporting owners and investors. The London Knights were wound up in 2003 after only five years when the competition they played in folded and their home stadium was sold. The NHL hosted two fixtures between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings at London's 02 Arena in 2007, but French bemoans the fact the English capital is not represented in the GB professional league. "I think having the NHL play here is great for the fans and also does encourage people to find out where their nearest ice rink is either to go and watch a game or for the youngsters to start playing," he said. "But one big issue that we have is that we do not have a professional team playing in London. We used to have the London Knights but they finished a few years ago now." But Clarke is encouraged by the rise of homegrown talent in a GB team which used to be packed with dual nationality players, often of Canadian and U.S. heritage. So can a GB team make it to a future Olympics and take a short step towards emulating the 1936 heroes? "Without a doubt," he said. "But if we don't start now we are going to miss the opportunity. "It's a case of getting that talent to play to the best of their abilities. Slovenia, who we have beaten, came through the qualifying to make it to Sochi, and so can we at future Games." Clarke shows no signs of hanging up his sticks, and playing for his country remains the ultimate goal. "It's a massive honor. Any sport you're involved in, the pinnacle is to represent your country," he said. That he has been able to survive at the top of the tree for that long is testament to Clarke's commitment and a fitness program that begins at 7 a.m. each morning. He practices on the ice for about two hours, in the gym for an hour and a half followed by about 45 minutes of rehabilitation and stretching. "We consume lots and lots of food, way over the recommended daily allowance," he said. "Especially for me because I struggle to keep my weight on." Physical sport . The world over, ice hockey is a tough and physical sport and Clarke has his tales of woe. "Broken leg twice, a few knee ligament injuries, concussions. A few pucks, sticks in the head but we have good dentists and good doctors on hand." He first picked up a stick at his local rink when only six years of age and, aside from the brief flirtation with football, was dead set on representing Britain at ice hockey. He progressed through the under 18 and 20 ranks, eventually taking his place in a GB lineup with players he had considered "his idols" when watching as a youngster. "When he first broke into the British squad at the turn of the century his talent was obvious," said Ice Hockey UK's media officer Chris Ellis. Clarke's regular position is as an offensive forward "expected to contribute goals and in assists" and his standout abilities earned him a one-year contract with Alleghe in Italy in 2007. "He is one of the few British players to play abroad at the top level," said Ellis. But the lure of home proved too strong and he returned to Nottingham for another successful spell. The Elite League has a heavy schedule, ending in April when Clarke will again hurriedly form up with the GB team as they bid to erase memories of their Latvian disappointment. "We've got the world championship which is in Budapest this year and that will be our next focus ... we'll give it our all," he said. Britain plays in the second tier of competition -- the top pool dominated by the likes of the United States, Canada and Russia -- but will be bidding to improve its 21st ranking. It's a far cry from the days when a GB team took bronze in the 1924 Games in Chamonix, and capped that with gold in Germany 12 years later. The sport's powerhouses Canada and the United States took the silver and bronze, but with the NHL going to strength to strength in North America the foundation for their later domination was forged. The break-up of the Soviet Union also made it tougher for the likes of Britain to take a place at the top table, with countries such as Latvia and the Belarus forming strong national teams, with many of the players competing in the Russian league. Early roots . After those early Olympic successes, the British influence at the highest levels faded fast, but it has been a popular spectator sport and in the late 1980s enjoyed a revival with top teams featured on national television. Sadly, momentum was lost, and the likes of Clarke have the satisfaction of taking part in a sport with strong regional identity, but without the sponsorship to attract widespread TV coverage. He is already looking to the future, and believes that in the junior group he coaches, there are players with potential to do "very big things" in the future. Maybe one of his charges will find their way to the NHL, and if they show the dedication to the cause -- "never leave anything behind on the ice" is his motto -- that Clarke has displayed over his long career, then his predictions could prove spot on.

Great Britain won Olympic gold medal in ice hockey in 1936 . GB has not qualified for the Winter Games since 1948 . Sport suffers from a lack of government backing and TV coverage . David Clarke has been a stalwart of GB team for over 10 years .

(CNN)A stuffy, overcrowded cell. Perhaps two or three men to a single bunk. Lockdown for most of the day. Is this what awaits South Africa's Oscar Pistorius when he's sentenced for culpable homicide in the death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp? Legal experts say it's impossible to predict what sentence Judge Thokozile Masipa may hand down. But many will be watching to see if the Olympian's dramatic fall from grace ends with time behind bars. If that's indeed the case, the chances are that life would not be easy for South Africa's most famous disabled athlete. A double amputee, he needs prosthetic limbs to get around. And rights campaigners warn that South African prisons -- which they say are notorious for overcrowding, gang violence and unsanitary conditions -- are often a difficult environment even for the fittest of inmates. Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi, project coordinator for the Johannesburg-based Wits Justice Project, a civil society group, believes Pistorius would likely receive far better treatment than the average prisoner -- as he has throughout the judicial process, she says. That means he might get a cell to himself. Even so, she told CNN, "I don't think anyone with a disability necessarily will be able to be provided for at the moment in a way that ensures that they would have the correct medical treatment, that they have the correct physical structures." Some of South Africa's prisons are better than others, of course. But whichever one might house Pistorius, there's no question that conditions would be a far cry from those in the $560,000 home in the luxury Silverwoods Estate, on the outskirts of Pretoria, where he shot Steenkamp dead last year. Pretoria Central . South Africa's department of correctional services has policies in place for dealing with physically disabled inmates, Erfani-Ghadimi said. "Policy and practice, however, are often poles apart. Unfortunately, prisoners with disabilities face the same inhumane conditions as other able-bodied inmates." Correctional Services Department spokesman Koos Gerber previously told CNN that South Africa's detention facilities, whether for remand prisoners or those serving prison terms, "can accommodate people with any disabilities." There's been speculation that Pistorius could be sent to Pretoria Central Prison, although no one really knows. It's not easy for rights researchers to get access inside, Erfani-Ghadimi said. But the prison does not have the best reputation. The Pretoria News reported last year on a case brought by six inmates who told Pretoria High Court of having to share a single cell with others, with no ventilation, dirty mattresses and no bedding. They were locked up for 18 hours a day, the court heard, and threatened with sexual violence by gangs. Steenkamp's mother stunned by verdict, wants to meet Pistorius . Medical care 'overstretched' On average, Erfani-Ghadimi said, South African prisons are overcrowded, putting a strain on sanitation, ventilation and medical care. The overcrowding means three men may share a single cell, or communal cells for 40 people are jammed with double the number they were intended to hold, with men sleeping in double or triple bunks, according to the Wits Justice Project. One of the biggest risks associated with that is contracting tuberculosis, labeled the biggest killer in South Africa's prisons in a recent report, Erfani-Ghadimi said. The disease spreads easily in packed, steamy cells with little air. In some prisons, overstretched nurses can never see all the people needing help on any day. Inconsistent treatment regimens mean drug-resistant TB strains develop and spread, while disruptions to antiretroviral programs also impact detainees who are HIV-positive. "Also in terms of health management we've seen stories of people who are diabetic and have gone into insulin shock because they've been arrested and haven't been able to get to their medication," Erfani-Ghadimi said. Speaking earlier this year, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said that "overcrowding at correctional facilities is a global challenge," and that South Africa's prison population had dropped over the past decade. As of April this year, there were about 157,400 inmates, of whom nearly 28% were on remand -- a term used for pretrial custody, according to official figures. The country's total population is about 54 million. Who is the judge that'll be sentencing him? Double-edged sword . There's no doubt that Pistorius' case has put South Africa's justice system under the international spotlight. While the scrutiny may have been uncomfortable at time for South African authorities, it appears to have worked in the track star's favor until now. When he was first detained after Steenkamp's killing, the African National Congress Women's League complained that he got special treatment, both in where he was held and in access to his family. Some impoverished suspects who can't afford a lawyer or bail spend months or even years waiting for their cases just to come to court. But Pistorius was released on bail with relaxed conditions, and his trial began little more than a year after Steenkamp's death on February 14, 2013. Erfani-Ghadimi describes his progress through the legal system as "an anomaly" in terms of both speed and the expert resources dedicated to it. "Other cases normally take much longer, and both the victims and the accused face the strong probability of a miscarriage of justice," she wrote in a piece published on The Conversation website. However, when it comes to serving time in prison, the athlete's fame -- and the extra attention that goes with it -- could be a double-edged sword when it comes to getting special privileges, she told CNN. "A lot of people are able to subvert (the system) and pay bribes and get away with things, but he hasn't been able to," she said. "But on the other hand he has been able to get advantages that other people haven't." 'Living here is very hard' Some of these differences may be stark. The Wits Justice Project has highlighted the case of paraplegic inmate Ronnie Fakude, held on remand for 28 months before being freed on bail earlier this year with an electronic tag, in a pilot monitoring project. Before his release, he described his experience to Carolyn Raphaely, a senior journalist with the project. "I'm a 50-year-old paraplegic and have been awaiting trial for more than two years since my arrest on fraud charges in December 2011. I can't walk, I can't control my bowel or bladder and have to wear disposable baby nappies which my family buy for me. I'm paralysed from level four and don't have a wheelchair," he said, according to the project. "If I use my [crutches] I have to pull my legs and throw them to the front. That's how I walk. Living here is very hard. We are 88 men in this cell which is meant for 32. Sometimes there are more. Twelve people sleep in two bunks pushed together, that's six on the top and six on the bottom. I have my own bed on the bottom, which is a privilege. Luckily, I don't have to share because of my medical status. "There are eight or 10 people with TB in this cell and four or five we know are HIV-positive. A guy with multi-drug resistant TB sleeps on top of me. I feel vulnerable all the time." Erfani-Ghadimi argues that as a severely disabled man, Fakude should never have been in detention at all. And if she had her way, the same would be true for Pistorius. Rise of 'cyberathletes' could change sport as we know it .

Oscar Pistorius is due to be sentenced for the negligent killing of Reeva Steenkamp . This raises the prospect that the double amputee may be given a prison sentence . South Africa's prisons are notorious for overcrowding and poor sanitation, activists say . A paraplegic inmate told the Wits Justice Project of being detained in awful conditions .

San Diego (CNN) -- Hannah Anderson, the California teenager whose abduction triggered a manhunt across the West, has survived "a tremendous, horrific ordeal" and faces a slow healing process, her father said Monday. "I am very proud of her and I love her very much," Brett Anderson said. "She is surrounded by the love of her family, friends and community." But authorities kept the detail of that horrific ordeal close to the vest Monday, two days after the man accused of abducting Hannah and killing her mother and brother was killed by an FBI agent. The 16-year-old was found alive after a frantic, week-long search that stretched from southern California to the wilderness of central Idaho, more than 1,000 miles away, where she was found at a campsite by a mountain lake. At a news conference in San Diego, Brett Anderson thanked investigators as well as reporters and social media users who spread the story "across and beyond" the United States. How to help Hannah Anderson . "Have no doubt that this did make a difference," he said. But he said it was time "for us to grieve and move on to the healing process," and he pleaded for the "respect and time" needed for that to happen. Hannah's ordeal came to an end after a tip from horseback riders sent FBI agents swarming to a camping spot outside Cascade, Idaho. James DiMaggio, the man investigators had sought in her disappearance, was shot in a confrontation with an FBI tactical agent. Hannah told authorities that DiMaggio fired at least once before being shot, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said. "Obviously we would have liked for Mr. DiMaggio to surrender and face justice in the court of law," Gore said. "But that's not going to be the case." Hannah did not appear to have significant physical injuries and was reunited with her father Sunday. She was unaware that her mother and brother were dead until after DiMaggio was killed, when she was told of their killings by FBI interviewers, Gore said. Gore would discuss no details of Hannah's abduction except to say she was under "extreme duress" the entire time. He said the investigation is still going on, but cautioned, "We might never know some of these answers." "When you get a completely irrational act like we've seen here, with two murders and a kidnapping, sometimes you're not going to come up with a rational explanation of what happened," he said. Grief to euphoria: Teen rescued, suspect killed . 'Uncle Jim' and his interest in Hannah . DiMaggio's friendship with the Anderson family had been long and close, predating Hannah's birth. Hannah referred to him as "Uncle Jim." But there were some signs that DiMaggio was infatuated with Hannah and signs he was trying to lure the family to his home in rural San Diego County, near the Mexican border, her grandparents said. The signs were subtle, according to grandparents Ralph and Sara Britt, also of San Diego. "He seemed to enjoy being with Hannah and her friends ... more and more," Ralph Britt said, shaking his head. "But he's been with the kids for years." "There was no danger sign, nothing that you would act on, say it was wrong," he said. "It was just friendly." But a friend of Hannah's said she saw a different side to the relationship between DiMaggio and the teen. Marissa Chavez told CNN that she was in a car with Hannah and DiMaggio, 40, a few months ago when he told Hannah he had a crush on her. Suspect's father once held teen at gunpoint . He followed it up by saying if he was her age, he would date Hannah, Chavez said. Hannah was unnerved by the comments, but did not tell her mother because she did not want to ruin the close relationship that her parents had with DiMaggio, Chavez said. But Hannah did not want to be alone with DiMaggio after that, according to Chavez. "I don't think she would have gone willingly with him at all," she said. In an earlier episode, Chavez recalled a trip that DiMaggio and Hannah took to Hollywood. The trip was supposed to be for one week, but Hannah told Chavez that they came back after two days because DiMaggio was upset that she wasn't paying enough attention to him. 'You can't really tell the book by its cover' Sara Britt said DiMaggio would have done anything for them and they would have returned the favor. "My message is to parents: Just be more aware, more conscious of what's going on," Britt said. "Life gets busy, but take the time. If anything, learn something from this and that is just to be more aware for your children." Ralph Britt added: "I guess you can't really tell the book by its cover," he said. "It was just complete shock. We didn't have any idea. I don't know what you would look for." In the weeks before DiMaggio's home in rural San Diego County went up in flames, he pleaded for the Andersons to visit him one last time. He had lost the home to foreclosure and said he was moving back to Texas. "We feel it was planned at this point based on the information that's out there," said Sara Britt. "It's so unfortunate. Apparently he tried to get her up there before, but she couldn't go and so ... she went, took the dog and the kids." Hannah went missing after cheerleading practice on August 3. The next day, the bodies of her mother, Christina Anderson, 42, and 8-year-old brother, Ethan, were found about 45 miles east of San Diego, in DiMaggio's burned house in Boulevard. The body of a dog was also recovered, police said. The horror spurred an Amber Alert and a manhunt, which zeroed in the Idaho highlands after DiMaggio's blue Nissan Versa was found outside Cascade. Then there was a sighting of the pair by horseback riders, who considered them poorly equipped for the environment. 'Red flags' Mark John, one of those riders, said Sunday that they saw multiple "red flags" during their brief encounter, including the brand-new camping equipment they carried and the pajama-like bottoms Hannah was wearing. It was "just like a square peg going into a round hole," John said. "They didn't fit." Another rider, Mike Young, said it looked like Hannah "had a scared look on her face," adding about DiMaggio: "I just had a gut feeling about him." Unaware of the Amber Alert, however, the horseback riders continued on, and only after seeing a news report on the pair upon returning home did the group put the puzzle pieces together. "When I seen that picture on the screen, I told my wife, I said, 'That is the girl that was up on that mountain,' " John recalled. Hundreds of law enforcement agents started to scour 300 square miles of rough terrain -- dense forests, steep valleys and peaks over 8,000 feet -- hampered by the smoke from nearby wildfires. Key moments in the manhunt . Late Saturday afternoon, they spotted the pair's campsite near Morehead Lake, about 30 miles from Cascade. But the topography was so steep, helicopters had to drop authorities off far away from the camp. Hostage rescue teams had to hike more than two hours to get to the scene, local sheriffs' departments said. They moved in carefully so they wouldn't alert DiMaggio that they were coming. They moved in after DiMaggio and the girl were separated, unshering Hannah to an area where a helicopter could whisk her away. At some point, a "confrontation" ensued between authorities and DiMaggio, Gore said. The confrontation ended when an FBI tactical agent shot and killed the murder and kidnapping suspect. CNN's Greg Botelho, Holly Yan, Gregg Canes, Miguel Marquez, AnneClaire Stapleton, Mariano Castillo and Alicia Eakin contributed to this report.

NEW: "We might never know some of these answers," sheriff says . 16-year-old Hannah Anderson is reunited with her father after rescue in Idaho . Her accused captor fired at least one shot before being killed by authorities, sheriff says . "They didn't fit," a horseback rider says of seeing Hannah, alleged abductor .

(CNN) -- It may be a time of fasting, but the Muslim holy month of Ramadan can also be a time of indulgence. (Ramadan begins this year on June 28 or 29, depending on which part of the world is observing.) In several countries, there's a tendency toward overeating as the traditional light dawn meal, the suhoor, and post-fast iftar get super-sized. In Dubai, health warnings are issued -- cases of diabetes and chronic indigestion have been known to spiral. For those who can control their appetites and savor the experience, there's a lavish world to be enjoyed in Bedouin-like tents laid on by luxury hotels in the United Arab Emirates. These elaborately decorated pool, beach or desert-side pitches compete with each other for Ramadan tent wow factor. Some mega-tents seat hundreds. Live cooking stations and superstar Lebanese performers are all part of the fasting-to-feasting scene. So are shisha parlors -- where revelers smoke multi-flavored tobacco with the hookah or hubble bubble water pipe. These are some of the best under-canvas candidates. Kempinski Hotel Palm Jumeirah (Dubai) Despite the luxury location on Dubai's palm tree-shaped island, this is less of a glittery taste-fest and more a traditional at-home celebration. Albeit in a very swanky home. Diners can recline in the tiered Ottoman-style seating areas or swan about the terrace with garden glimpses over the lagoon. Energy-rich substances dominate the Ramadan menu including assafiri, a sweet crepe filled with an Arabic cream. Dried fruits and nuts also take center stage. Dates are Ramadan royalty, with some 400 varieties eaten during the festivities -- molded by chefs into pyramids and other eye-catching culinary arrangements. Kempinski Palm Jumeirah, Crescent West, Palm Jumeirah; +971 4 444 2501; open to hotel guests only . Atlantis The Palm (Dubai) Tahina addicts take note: a showpiece of the white billowy-walled Asateer Tent at the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah is a fountain from which the sesame paste flows like Niagara Falls. Big enough for 900 eaters, the tent spreads along the beachfront and features a mod Oriental decor of strawberry sofas and oval lights. Chocolate-coated dates, macaroons and other iftar treats peer from alcoves of minaret-shaped cake displays. A towering construction of Turkish delight, nougat, Emirati dates and baklava tops off the sweet intake. Jumbo-sized Arabic coffee pots loom over mosaic-patterned brass cooking stations where chefs whip up lamb with spiced rice, and fish with caramelized onions. Those who manage to tear themselves away from the food can dabble with PlayStation consoles, traditional Arabic board games and free Wi-Fi. Atlantis The Palm, Crescent Road, Palm Jumeirah; +971 4 426 0800 . Madinat Jumeirah (Dubai) It's a less family-oriented affair at the Arabian coastal resort of Madinat Jumeirah's Al Majilis tent. No one under 21 years old is allowed in. Beneath a massive shimmering star chandelier, dripping with hundreds of diamond-cut crystal beads, the tent's creamy fixtures are set within golden Moorish arches and Jali latticework. Around the walls, more intimate raised seating areas are soft lit with pendant lights. The suhoor experience is particularly chilled out. Crisply presented mezze and salads of crumbled Lebanese cheese balls, onion, olive oil and parsley are delivered by waiters in red fez hats. Fresh tamarind drinks and beverages are made from fermented barley, vegetable juices and warm infusions of rosemary, fennel and mint to ward off indigestion. Al Majilis, Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Road; +971 366 6730 . World Trade Center (Dubai) This elegant Arabesque venue is a world away from the fashionable hotel crowd who talk of "apres Iftar" lounging on beachfront hotel sofas. Here the contemporary souk atmosphere of carved trellis tables, white sofas and golden brass lanterns is crowned by a constellation of ceiling lights, casting a blue night light over the gazebo. The award-winning buffet of 50-plus dishes includes Ramadan staples such as kibbeh meatballs in yogurt sauce, vegetarian potato kibbeh, grilled meats and halloumi cheese infused with fresh thyme. This iftar is considered reasonably priced at $38 compared to the standard $50-60 charged by luxury hotels. The WTC also offers mini majlises for private celebrations. Ramadan Majilis, Sheikh Saeed Hall 3, World Trade Centre; +971 4 308 6322 . Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi) This is the UAE's largest tent, housing 730 guests and serving up to 1,200 diners per day in its 25,833 square foot (2,400 square meters) beachfront pavilion. The Mega Tent's menu takes three months to prepare and 150 chefs to deliver. As the sun sets, fasters descend on the marquee to graze on hot and cold mezze, goat with Oriental rice, kebab with saffron and herbs and the energy-bolstering apricot Ramadan drink Qamar al Din. Many iftar essentials are super sweet. Kunafa is a cream-filled pastry drowned with pistachios and sugar syrup; qatayef, sometimes called Arabian pancakes, are filled with walnuts or white cheese and then fried and dipped in orange blossom syrup. Mega Tent, Emirates Palace, W. Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi; +971 2 690 9000 . Bab Al Shams Desert Resort (Dubai) A Disneyesque version of the true Arabian tent experience can be found in the sand dunes. No matter if July temperatures rise toward their usual 108 F (42 C), this tent is climate controlled. Food from the dune-side cooking stations might be spicy but the hotel says guests can "chill" inside, entertained by musicians and whirling Sufi-style Tanoura dancers. Out in a courtyard resembling an Arabian fort and decked out with palms, flickering candles and stained glass lanterns, a gang of cooks whips up regional specialties including barbecued meats, grilled fish, chicken, hot breads and baklava. On the rooftop lounge overlooking the desert, guests can watch belly dancers, Arabian horse shows and camel caravans fading into the desert haze. Bab Al Shams Desert Resort, Dubai; +971 4 809 6194 . Community tents and Ramadan bazaars . Beyond the hotels there are numerous convivial public iftar events organized by city councils, religious associations and embassies. Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque feeds up to 15,000 people every night with platters spread out on carpets in its parking lot. The Emirates Red Crescent dishes up 800,000 free iftar meals in 112 tents across the UAE during Ramadan. The charitable tents are open to non-Muslims, non-fasters and passersby.

Lavish Bedouin-like tents are laid on by luxury hotels in the United Arab Emirates . Live cooking stations and superstar Lebanese performers are part of the fast-to-feast scene . At Bab Al Shams Desert Resort in Dubai, guests watch belly dancers and Arabian horse shows .

(CNN) -- President Obama answered the following 10 questions on Reddit during a live online "Ask Me Anything" chat Wednesday afternoon. Read about Obama's Reddit AMA chat here . Below are the questions and answers as they appeared on Reddit. -------- . Q: gobearss . How do you balance family life and hobbies with, well, being the POTUS? A: PresidentObama . It's hard - truthfully the main thing other than work is just making sure that I'm spending enough time with michelle and the girls. The big advantage I have is that I live above the store - so I have no commute! So we make sure that when I'm in DC I never miss dinner with them at 6:30 pm - even if I have to go back down to the Oval for work later in the evening. I do work out every morning as well, and try to get a basketball or golf game in on the weekends just to get out of the bubble. Speaking of balance, though, I need to get going so I'm back in DC in time for dinner. But I want to thank everybody at reddit for participating - this is an example of how technology and the internet can empower the sorts of conversations that strengthen our democracy over the long run. AND REMEMBER TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER - if you need to know how to register, go to Gottaregister.com. By the way, if you want to know what I think about this whole reddit experience - NOT BAD! ------ . Q: hmlee . I am recent law school graduate. Despite graduating from a top school, I find myself unemployed with a large student loan debt burden. While I'm sure my immediate prospects will improve in time, it's difficult to be optimistic about the future knowing that my ability to live a productive life -- to have a fulfilling career, to buy a house, to someday raise a family -- is hampered by my debt and the bleak economic outlook for young people. I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way. Many of us are demoralized. Your 2008 campaign was successful in large part due to the efforts of younger demographics. We worked for you, we campaigned for you, and we turned out in record numbers to vote for you. What can I say to encourage those in similar situations as I am to show up again in November? What hope can you offer us for your second term? A: PresidentObama . I understand how tough it is out there for recent grads. You're right - your long term prospects are great, but that doesn't help in the short term. Obviously some of the steps we have taken already help young people at the start of their careers. Because of the health care bill, you can stay on your parent's plan until you're twenty six. Because of our student loan bill, we are lowering the debt burdens that young people have to carry. But the key for your future, and all our futures, is an economy that is growing and creating solid middle class jobs - and that's why the choice in this election is so important. The other party has two ideas for growth - more taxs cuts for the wealthy (paid for by raising tax burdens on the middle class and gutting investments like education) and getting rid of regulations we've put in place to control the excesses on wall street and help consumers. These ideas have been tried, they didnt work, and will make the economy worse. I want to keep promoting advanced manufacturing that will bring jobs back to America, promote all-American energy sources (including wind and solar), keep investing in education and make college more affordable, rebuild our infrastructure, invest in science, and reduce our deficit in a balanced way with prudent spending cuts and higher taxes on folks making more than $250,000/year. I don't promise that this will solve all our immediate economic challenges, but my plans will lay the foundation for long term growth for your generation, and for generations to follow. So don't be discouraged - we didn't get into this fix overnight, and we won't get out overnight, but we are making progress and with your help will make more. -------- . Q: silent1mezzo . What's the recipe for the White House's beer? A: PresidentObama . It will be out soon! I can tell from first hand experience, it is tasty. -------- . Q: suzmerk . What are you going to do to end the corrupting influence of money in politics during your second term? A: PresidentObama . Money has always been a factor in politics, but we are seeing something new in the no-holds barred flow of seven and eight figure checks, most undisclosed, into super-PACs; they fundamentally threaten to overwhelm the political process over the long run and drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. We need to start with passing the Disclose Act that is already written and been sponsored in Congress - to at least force disclosure of who is giving to who. We should also pass legislation prohibiting the bundling of campaign contributions from lobbyists. Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United (assuming the Supreme Court doesn't revisit it). Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change. ----- . Q: FifthSurprise . What was the most difficult decision that you had to make during this term? A: PresidentObama . The decision to surge our forces in afghanistan. Any time you send our brave men and women into battle, you know that not everyone will come home safely, and that necessarily weighs heavily on you. The decision did help us blunt the taliban's momentum, and is allowing us to transition to afghan lead - so we will have recovered that surge at the end of this month, and will end the war at the end of 2014. But knowing of the heroes that have fallen is something you never forget. ----- . Q: daveforamerica . What is the first thing you'll do on November 7th, win or lose? A: PresidentObama . Win or lose, I'll be thanking everybody who is working so hard - especially all the volunteers in field offices all across the country, and the amazing young people in our campaign offices. ------- . Q: PartyInYourMouth . How are you going help small businesses in 2013 and 2014? and what if any bills are you going to implement for small businesses, in 2013, and 2014? A: PresidentObama . We've really focused on this since I came into office - 18 tax cuts for small business, easier funding from the SBA. Going forward, I want to keep taxes low for the 98 percent of small businesses that have $250,000 or less in income, make it easier for small business to access financing, and expand their opportunities to export. And we will be implementing the Jobs Act bill that I signed that will make it easier for startups to access crowd-funding and reduce their tax burden at the start-up stage. -------- . Q: SharkGirl . We know how Republicans feel about protecting Internet Freedom. Is Internet Freedom an issue you'd push to add to the Democratic Party's 2012 platform? A: PresidentObama . Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too. We will fight hard to make sure that the internet remains the open forum for everybody - from those who are expressing an idea to those to want to start a business. And although there will be occasional disagreements on the details of various legislative proposals, I won't stray from that principle - and it will be reflected in the platform. ------- . Q: ormirian . Are you considering increasing funds to the space program? A: PresidentObama . Making sure we stay at the forefront of space exploration is a big priority for my administration. The passing of Neil Armstrong this week is a reminder of the inspiration and wonder that our space program has provided in the past; the curiosity probe on mars is a reminder of what remains to be discovered. The key is to make sure that we invest in cutting edge research that can take us to the next level - so even as we continue work with the international space station, we are focused on a potential mission to a asteroid as a prelude to a manned Mars flight.

Obama answers questions on Reddit in Ask Me Anything chat Wednesday . Obama: Key to future is "growing and creating solid middle class jobs" President says 6:30 p.m. dinner with family helps work/life balance .

(CNN) -- The growth of e-commerce in China has outpaced that of western countries during the past five years. This is largely due to the rapid growth of Internet users, improved online payments, increasing coverage and improving services. Such a trend will continue in the next five years with sales volume predicted to remain at 27% cost of goods sold. Among all the e-commerce business models, business-to-consumer e-commerce is outgrowing others due to its credibility, scale, and services variety and scope. By 2017, business-to-consumer e-commerce in China is predicted to double its share and reach 46% of the total online sale, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. Yihaodian's fast growth illustrates this trend. In the five years since its launch in July 2008, Yihaodian has increased its selection from 3,000 stock-keeping units to over 2 million, fulfillment centers from one in Shanghai to 17 in seven cities, revenue from 4 million yuan to over 6 billion yuan, and employees from 40 people to over 9,000. Yihaodian, which started as an online supermarket by offering mostly fast-moving consumer products, now boasts categories ranging from consumer electronics, apparel, books to mom and baby products. China, in its current state, lends itself perfectly to e-commerce. The rising incomes of its massive population pave the foundation for a growing user base and this population's density and residential infrastructure allow for efficient logistics. And that's only the beginning. China's Internet user penetration is barely 43% compared to the United States, which is near 80%, and its online shopping penetration is less than 40% of its Internet user base, about half of the U.S. If these statistics reach the U.S. levels, e-commerce in China will triple its scale. 1. Characteristics of Chinese e-commerce . China's e-commerce industry has many unique characteristics, some a result of its nascent state and some a result of China's intrinsic cultural behaviors. Yihaodian exemplifies several of these characteristics. Cash on delivery (COD) is still a popular means of payment due to lack of trust in both online payment systems and the e-commerce providers themselves. However, when people start to gain trust through trial purchases, they shift towards online payment. When we launched Yihaodian in 2008, we had more than 70% of orders paying COD, but now it is less than 20%. Last mile delivery is mostly done on mopeds and motorcycles due to dense city traffic and the high cost of delivery by trucks. The logistics industry is very fragmented in China, with the likes of UPS and Fedex in China still unable to provide nationwide coverage and quality service. Many large e-commerce companies have chosen to build their own last mile delivery capabilities to ensure a better customer experience and to facilitate faster growth. In 2011, Yihaodian started our own last mile delivery alongside 30 third party logistics partnerships, allowing us to cover the entire nation. Such a decision was based on the fact that more than 60% of our customers' complaints were centered around delivery services. Very soon, our own last mile delivery services started to bear fruit with a significantly improved customer experience and a 10% improvement in our CSAT (customer satisfaction) score. As our order density increases over time, our delivery cost also declines. In 2012, we launched the Service by Yihaodian (SBY) model to provide our merchants with logistics, marketing, platform, and data services. Through SBY, our last mile delivery fleet not only serves our own customers, but also merchants who sell through their own website or through other marketplace platforms. This has further helped us reduce our last mile delivery costs. Chinese shoppers' behavior is quite different from western countries. For example, online shoppers in the U.S. are used to opening one window at a time and flipping back and forth via navigation buttons, but Chinese online shoppers prefer that each click opens a new window allowing them to navigate a site by jumping between several windows. The user interface of e-commerce websites in the U.S. are usually very simple and clean with plenty of images, but Chinese shoppers favor crowded websites with information and links all packed into one page providing the impression of a high-energy shopping atmosphere. Yihaodian's first homepage was simple and clean mimicking that of such model websites in the western countries, but after receiving our users' feedback, we quickly made changes. In general, Chinese consumers are very price sensitive and right now, Chinese e-commerce is primarily a promotion driven business. Shoppers do not yet value the concept of "time is money." Whereas, in the western countries, shoppers are willing to pay considerable fees for expedited delivery, this behavior in China is rare. 2. Challenges faced by multi-national companies . Not many successes for multi-national Internet companies (not only e-commerce companies) can be found in China. Failed or struggling examples include eBay, Google, Yahoo and Groupon. Reasons include: a) Insufficient understanding of Chinese consumers' shopping behavior, simply copying global business models to fit China's market; b) Management is not localized, not adapting for local competition; c) Higher operational cost than local companies due to compliance and operational overhead; d) Improper organizational structure, resulting in low decision efficiency. E-commerce is a fiercely competitive field, needing much faster and dynamic decisions and local management teams need to be more empowered to respond to the dynamics of the local market. Yihaodian received an investment by Walmart in 2011, establishing our strategic partnership. We share resources in sourcing, logistics, e-commerce technology, and private label products. This partnership has helped Yihaodian to provide Chinese consumers with more choices, better service and even better prices. It is more beneficial for multi-national companies and brands to conduct e-commerce in China through strategic partnerships or through an e-commerce solution provider to ensure a higher success rate. 3. Trends in e-commerce in China . China's e-commerce industry is experiencing a transition from online shopping as more of a niche market towards online shopping becoming a lifestyle. It is evolving from tasting new, special, and hard-to-find products to buying daily consumption needs such as food, drinks, toothpastes and shampoos. Mobile commerce is growing at an even faster rate. Consumers using mobile apps exhibit different buying behavior from those using personal computers. For example, Yihaodian's traffic on personal computers and on mobile apps peak at different hours of the day and different days of the week. Our mobile traffic peaks in the evenings and weekends while personal computer traffic peaks in the early afternoons and during weekdays. Orders on apps are usually smaller, but with a higher frequency and people using both devices are more loyal and sticky. E-commerce in China is also rapidly penetrating third and fourth tier cities, predominantly due to growing Internet penetration, a local shortage of shopping malls and supermarkets, and an overall lack of available products. Social commerce is also starting to blossom in China. People trust their friends, opinion leaders and fellow consumers. The advancement of Weibo and social networking sites has accelerated this. Yihaodian started social commerce five years ago by embedding our website into a well-know social networking site Tianya. Yihaodian's official Sina Weibo site has attracted over 2 million fans and some of this site's marketing events have resulted in over one million message forwards. There is also a trend of integration in the Internet world in China. In the past, we have independent portals: search sites, navigation sites, game sites, social networks, and e-commerce, but many are being integrated to provide customers with one-stop service. On November 11, 2012, China's e-commerce industry single handedly created a nationwide promotions holiday which we referred to as "Single's Day." Online sales reached 30% of total national retail, a number that will no doubt become the norm in the near future. We are fortunate to witness this change and proud to be a part of making this happen.

By 2017, business-to-consumer e-commerce in China is predicted to double its share . Yihaodian, an online grocery business, has boomed since 2008 launch . Facets of Chinese e-commerce differs from U.S. websites, writes Yu Gang .

(CNN) -- It all started with ice cream. "I saw a long line of people waiting for a free scoop at the Baskin Robbins next to my store," said Joe Field, owner and operator of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord, California. "Knowing that comics are even cooler than ice cream, I was convinced that publishers, retailers and our major distributor, Diamond, could all band together to do something powerful to attract people of all ages and interests to check out their local comics shops." Thus, Free Comic Book Day was born. It was during a tough time for the comic book industry. The first one came in 2002, the same year "Spider-Man" became a blockbuster in theaters. Just six years earlier, however, Marvel Comics filed for bankruptcy, and comic books had been struggling ever since. The idea of Free Comic Book Day is simple: Publishers put out one or two comic books each year for free on the first Saturday in May for the 300,000 to 500,000 customers who show up at local comic book stores. Saturday's event will be the 10th. Store owners like Kyle Puttkammer, of Georgia's Galactic Quest, see it as a big success. "It's the biggest sales day of the year for us, and many people discover us for the first time," he said. Many store owners make the day into an all-out event. Puttkammer plans to have an '80s cover band, a replica of the 1960s Batmobile and actors from AMC's zombie-themed TV show "The Walking Dead," among other things, at his two stores. At Earth 2 Comics in Los Angeles, customers will be able to meet popular writer and DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. "I consider it to be like a national holiday celebrating comic books, where the industry metaphorically opens their doors to the public," said Valerie D'Orazio, editor of MTV Geek. "Gaining new -- and especially younger -- readers is absolutely crucial to the health of the comic book industry, now more than ever before." Comic book publishers usually offer titles with storylines that can be easily followed and, in many cases, issues aimed at younger readers. "We try to make them as new-reader-friendly as possible," said Axel Alonso, editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics. "We usually don't push the envelope in terms of content." "Our hope is that the comic books that fans pick up on Free Comic Book Day, for a lot of them, might be their first one," DC Comics co-Publisher Jim Lee said, explaining how it chooses which issues to offer. "We want to take a character that's well-known and accessible to the readership and at the same time, tie in to some of the future plans we have for publishing." "When I was growing up, there were comics in the barber shop. Not any more," said Bob Bretall of the Comic Book Page podcast. "Today, comics are mostly in specialty comics shops. They are not anyplace that a kid is likely to see them by happenstance, so having an event that will draw people to the 'few and far between' locations that offer comics is crucial to getting this key demographic interested in comics." According to trend-watching magazine ICv2, the industry is starting to see growth. "ICv2 has tracked industry sales since 2005, when North American comic and graphic novel sales were $565 million," Publisher Milton Griepp said. "In 2009, industry sales were $680 million." "We anticipated that this year's event would be the biggest ever based on the best selection ever of free comics based on well-known properties, and based on the record orders for comics to be give away, it will be," he added. So why is "FCBD" so highly anticipated this year? Here's what some of the major publishers have on tap for Saturday's big event: . Marvel Comics . Marvel's superheroes have had movies in theaters over the weekend of "FCBD" for several years now. This year, it's "Thor," and this year's free comic is an all-ages story starring Thor and Captain America (who has his own movie in July), entitled "Captain America/Thor: The Mighty Fighting Avengers." Alonso compares it to "a Pixar movie that's accessible for adults and children. It's meant to be a jumping-on point into comics, essentially." The "Spider Island" story arc is going to be big for the company this year, and so many fans, as well as new readers, will probably seek out the free "Amazing Spider-Man" comic, by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, that ties into it. "It's two of our top talents on a full-length story," Alonso said. DC Comics . Not to be outdone, one of DC's characters is headed to the big screen for the first time next month, and "Green Lantern Special Edition" will be a hot issue this year. It also includes a preview of the big crossover "Flashpoint." "We've seen some orders that have been better in the past than Free Comic Book Day," co-Publisher Dan DiDio said. "The preview of 'Flashpoint' is exciting a lot of our retailers." DC will also offer a "Young Justice/Batman: Brave and the Bold" issue aimed at young readers, based on the two animated series on Cartoon Network (both Cartoon Network and DC are owned by Time Warner, which also owns CNN). Dark Horse Comics . The company best known for "Hellboy," as well as the adaptations of "Star Wars" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," will also be aiming for readers of all ages with an issue that features "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." "We have an expanded library of 'Star Wars: Clones Wars' comics but are just beginning our Last Airbender program," Editor Sierra Hahn said. "I think we're constantly trying to find material that will appeal to younger readers. When you discover something you love at a young age, chances are you'll stick by it through adulthood, and the material will age with you." Like many of the other companies, it also has something for older readers in two horror comics, "Baltimore" from "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola and "Criminal Macabre." Image Comics . "The Walking Dead" has been a runaway hit for this company in recent years, but its "FCBD" offering is decidedly tamer in the "Super Dinosaur Origin Special," written by "Dead" creator Robert Kirkman. "Super Dinosaur" made its debut in stores last month, and the company hopes Kirkman will hit another home run, this time with a broader audience. "Whether you're talking comics or movies or music or television -- any form of entertainment -- a graying fan base is going to be your undoing just through attrition," Publisher Eric Stephenson said. "You have to continually find ways to appeal to a younger audience, and I think what Joe Field has come up with Free Comic Book Day is a great way of doing that." IDW Publishing . It made its name with licensed properties like "True Blood," Transformers," "G.I. Joe" and "Doctor Who," and this year, IDW is offering up an original issue of its cult hit "Locke & Key." "It was recently nominated for four Eisner awards," CEO and Publisher Ted Adams said. "Fox just shot a pilot for it, and hopefully it will be on air this fall." "Locke & Key" is usually intended for mature audiences, but this issue is different: "We purposefully chose a story that was all ages. It's an action-based story, so it's OK for kids, but the actual book is intended for adults." No matter their ages, Adams, like others in the industry, hopes readers will enjoy Saturday's festivities at their nearby comic book store: "It's sort of like Christmas and Halloween and Thanksgiving rolled into one."

Free Comic Book Day celebrating its 10th year Saturday . Comic publishers and store owners aim for new, younger readers . Issues often tie in to major events in comics and on the big screen .

(CNN) -- Delayed flights, long lines, TSA pat downs—flying isn't what it used to be. But stepping aboard one of these hot air balloons is a guaranteed way to rekindle a love of air travel. It's an opportunity to revel in the world's most beautiful landscapes, high above the fray. And it's the kind of worthwhile splurge that you'll be talking about long after you're back on solid ground. There's nothing quite like floating over the yellow grasses of the Serengeti while lions and zebras frolic just a hundred feet below. Or watching the first rays of sun paint Myanmar's ancient pagodas and temples in hues of gold. On average, baskets carry four to eight people, so the ride can be as intimate and romantic as it sounds. Festivals also celebrate ballooning as a lofty spectator sport. Fans turn out in droves each October to watch as hundreds of jaunty balloons ascend en masse into the cerulean skies above Albuquerque, New Mexico, making it the world's most photographed event. Whether you choose the birds'-eye view over a French château à la the Montgolfiers' original flight or prefer to skim the treetops of the Costa Rican rainforest, your spirits are destined to soar. Travel + Leisure: America's most scenic waterside drives . Melbourne, Australia . Greet the day, and Australia's second largest city, from high above the glistening skyline with a one-hour Balloon Over Melbourne flight. You'll take in views of the city's central business district, its parks and gardens, and notable landmarks like Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena, site of the Australian Open. Back on terra firma, toast your adventure with an optional champagne breakfast. From $320 per person; balloonovermelbourne.com.au . Napa Valley, CA . The Kimball Family and Napa Valley Aloft were floating people above the Napa Valley long before it became a world-famous food and wine destination. Weather is best between April and October in Yountville, the launch site and picturesque town that's home to the French Laundry restaurant. Soar over green rolling hills and small and large family vineyards—with views to the Sierras and San Francisco on clear days. Individual flights from $200 per person; group flights and private tours available; nvaloft.co . Travel + Leisure: Great spring getaways . Serengeti, Tanzania . Lions, hippos, leopards, giraffes and zebras thrive on the grassy plains of the Seronera River Valley, as you'll witness on a Balloon Safari. Flights also catch sight of the estimated two million wildebeest that migrate from Kenya to Lake Victoria each year, often passing through the valley between May and early June and again from late October to December. One-hour flights are followed by champagne, an English-style breakfast under an acacia tree and more amazing photo ops. $529 per person; balloonsafaris.com . Albuquerque, New Mexico . Each October, more than 500 colorful balloons take flight during early-morning mass ascensions at the International Balloon Fiesta, the largest such event and the most photographed event worldwide. The dedicated 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park just north of Albuquerque also hosts special-shape balloon rodeos and the popular evening balloon glow, when pilots fire up their burners at the same time and leave the balloons tethered. If you're feeling inspired, Rainbow Ryders operates flights from within the park during the fiesta. Prices range from $299 to $499 per person for a 60-minute ride; rainbowryders.com. Advance-purchase festival admission for adults, $12. Travel + Leisure: world's longest bridges . Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada . An inflatable amusement park for kids adds to the appeal of the Montgolfières Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu International Balloon Festival, just 20 minutes from Montreal. This nine-day August festival invites local folk groups and international musical acts to perform on several stages at night. Watch balloons, some in unusual shapes, inflate and take off into the sky; check out the Balloon Interpretation Centre to discover the world of hot-air ballooning; or get into the action by reserving morning or evening flights online. From $170 per person; ballooncanada.com . Cappadocia, Turkey . Twisted rock formations—the handiwork of 2,000 years of erosion—lend this Turkish landscape an otherworldly look best appreciated from above. Royal Balloon flies year round, though suggests dates between March and December for the most favorable weather. The 60- and 90-minute balloon rides soar up to 1,000 feet over spires and pillars known as fairy chimneys, plus subterranean churches and dwellings hewn into limestone. A prelaunch breakfast is also included. From $242 per person; royalballoon.com . 9 intriguing fringe festivals . Letchworth State Park, New York . Follow the Genesee River as it rolls through the Letchworth Gorge, flanked by towering slate cliffs, some 600 feet high. Balloons Over Letchworth is the only company operating within the park from May to mid October. The hour-long flight swoops over lush woods and the middle and upper falls. Visibility is great in July and August when the weather is warm and dry, while September sees the foliage at its Technicolor finest. $249 per person; balloonsoverletchworth.com . Reno, Nevada . Held over three days in September at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, the Great Reno Balloon Race is a free event for the whole family. Expect food vendors, craft activities for kids and popular morning glow shows—a predawn spectacle with balloons twinkling against the dark sky. More than a dozen specially shaped balloons are on display, including an 86-foot-tall Darth Vader (enter a drawing on the event's Facebook page facebook.com/renoballoon for the chance to win a ride). It's neat to watch the actual race, in which pilots maneuver toward targets and attempt to hit them with beanbags. Tethered rides for kids, $5; renoballoon.com . Bagan, Myanmar . This journey over Bagan defines awe-inspiring—especially when the sun's golden rays light up the white surfaces of more than 4,000 pagodas and temples in what was the capital of the first Myanmar Empire. Since the monuments are scattered around an area of more than 15 square miles, an aerial view is an efficient way to take in the scope of this enchanting landscape. Book with Eastern Safaris for a dawn ride that begins with tea, coffee and refreshments. From $320 per person; easternsafaris.com . Colorado Springs, Colorado . The Colorado Balloon Classic has been held each Labor Day Weekend since 1977 and draws local, national and international crowds to the foot of Pikes Peak to watch hundreds of jewel-toned balloons mass-launch in front of the 14,115-foot mountain. Balloon rides, evening concerts, coloring and photo contests, a children's play area and tons of local food and merchandise are the many ways the event raises money to share with local charitable organizations. Balloon rides during the festival are $295 per person; balloonclassic.com . See more best hot air balloon rides . Planning a getaway? Don't miss Travel + Leisure's guide to the World's Best Hotels . Copyright 2012 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

A hot air balloon ride above your favorite travel destination may rekindle a love of flight . More than 500 colorful balloons take flight above Albuquerque each October . Spot lions, hippos, leopards and zebras from the Serengeti skies . Twisted rock formations of Cappadocia, Turkey are caused by 2,000 years of erosion .

(CNN) -- Olympic officials discounted an e-mailed threat to the upcoming Winter Games in the Russian city of Sochi on Wednesday, but the reported warning raised new concerns about security at the events. Olympic organizing committees in the United States and several European countries got an e-mailed warning of a terrorist attack against visitors to Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin's government has mounted a massive security effort to protect the events. "The IOC takes security very seriously and passes on any credible information to the relevant security services," International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Sandrine Tonge told CNN. But the e-mail received by the national organizations "contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public," she said. At least two countries, Slovakia and Hungary, reported receiving e-mails in English that warned about threats to their citizens and Olympic athletes. The Olympic committees for Italy and Germany also confirmed that they had received the e-mail. Others said the warnings had been forwarded to them from other countries or the IOC. The e-mail received in Hungary suggested that "there might be a terrorist attack against nationals of Hungary and the Hungarian team, and that members of the team may be blown up," Zsigmond Nagy, director for international relations for Hungary's National Olympic Committee, told CNN. Nagy said the Hungarian Olympic Committee had shared the letter with the organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympics as well as the IOC. Hungary's counterterrorism agency was analyzing the e-mail, but Hungary does not intend to change its plans to attend the Games in Sochi, Nagy said. The U.S. Olympic Committee also received the message and sent it "to the appropriate authorities," committee chief Scott Blackmun said. "The safety and security of Team USA is our top priority," he said in a written statement. "As is always the case, we are working with the U.S. Department of State, the local organizers and the relevant law enforcement agencies in an effort to ensure that our delegation and other Americans traveling to Sochi are safe." Medvedev: Huge security buildup . The warnings come as Russian authorities are clamping down on suspected Islamic militants in the region surrounding Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea coast. Russia has been battling a low-level Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region for more than a decade, and militants have vowed to strike at the Olympics. Among those hunted by Russian security forces are three women suspected of being "black widows" -- a group of women who have carried out high-profile suicide bombings after government forces killed their insurgent husbands. Police have handed out fliers with the women's names and pictures to hotels in Rostov-on-Don, a southwestern Russian town through which the Olympic Torch relay was due to pass Wednesday, and in the Sochi area. In an interview set to air Wednesday on CNN's "Amanpour" program, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said "there are always some threats" to public events, "not only this country, but also in others." But Russian authorities are aware of those threats and are planning accordingly, he said. "I am referring to the mobilization, buildup, of police forces, and a huge number of policemen will watch the progress of the Games," Medvedev said. Over the weekend, as Putin told reporters that his government has a "perfect understanding" of the threat and how to stop it, a video posted online warned that insurgents had "a present" for Olympic visitors. 'Well-fortified' U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told CNN's "New Day" show from Moscow that there were no guarantees when it comes to safety, but the security operation in Sochi "is the most impressive and well-fortified that we've ever seen in Olympic history." McCaul, who has been in Sochi to assess the security situation, said cooperation between U.S. and Russian security teams was good, but there was room for greater intelligence sharing. The Russians "have been not quite as candid with us," he said. "I think we could help them a great deal if they would open up information sharing more to us." FBI agents are now going to Sochi to work with their Russian counterparts on counterterrorism efforts, McCaul said. Amid the concerns, the top U.S. military officer discussed sharing high-tech equipment to counter improvised bombs with his Russian counterpart Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman told CNN. The matter came up "on an exploratory level" in a meeting between Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said Col. Edward Thomas, a Dempsey spokesman. McCaul said President Barack Obama had also spoken with Putin about the issue. A tight security cordon is in place around Sochi, the Texas congressman said, but it's hard to be sure that no hidden threat exists. "The problem is, how many of these 'black widows' ... came into this area before the ring of steel came up?" he said. "We also know that one of these black widows actually was able to penetrate the ring in the Sochi area." Russia has deployed huge numbers of security officials, McCaul said, "but it only takes one suicide bomber to get in to cause a real problem." 'Eyes of the world' McCaul said it was likely that insurgents would carry out more bombings on softer targets outside Sochi, like those that hit a train station and trolley bus in the southern city of Volgograd at the end of last year. "They know the eyes of the world are on these Olympics, and what better way to make a statement," he said. Besides U.S. security officers deployed through the diplomatic security service, Olympic teams themselves are also hiring private security teams, he said. "My concern is the 10,000 to 15,000 Americans who will be at these Games and our Olympic team itself being protected from these potential suicide bombers," he said. "It's very eerie when you go into Sochi to see the mountains and to think about these black widows, as they call them, who've had their spouses killed by the FSB (intelligence agency), now retaliating through suicide bombing." However, the Olympic Village itself is "very well fortified," McCaul said, and there's an impressive show of force on the ground. "We are all very hopeful these will be safe and protected Games," he said. The radical extremists in the region are historically more interested in targeting Russia than the United States, he added. Giuliani: 'Tremendous security' Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who's involved in the planning for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, told "New Day" that it was "too late" to reconsider the decision to hold the Winter Olympics in Sochi. "When you look back on it, it's awfully close to one of the worst situations in the world in terms of terrorism, exportation of terrorism," he said. But, at the same time, "it happens to be in a country that has tremendous security." Giuliani said he was familiar with the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah, only months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Those Games were almost canceled, he said, and had "an enormous amount of security." As for Sochi, Russia has "devoted more resources to security than frankly I've ever seen," Giuliani said. "In retrospect, could you have picked a place that's safer? I guess you could ... (but) the minute you hold the Olympics in a place, whether it's Salt Lake City or it's Rio de Janeiro or it's London, you have actually brought all the world's problems to you," he said. "So yes, Sochi is dangerous because it's close to the Caucasus. However, the minute you have an Olympics, every one of these causes gets attracted to you and you gotta have enormous security." CNN's Joseph Netto, Stephanie Halasz, Lucy Pawle, Matt Smith and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

An e-mailed threat to national Olympic committees isn't seen as credible, IOC says . The U.S. Olympic Committee and several European countries received the threat . The warnings come amid a Russian security clampdown ahead of the Sochi games . Police are hunting suspected Islamist insurgents, including so-called black widows .

(CNN) -- His trial's over. And now it turns out that George Zimmerman might need the same thing millions of Americans are looking for: a job. As Zimmerman and his legal team mounted their defense, they convinced people across the country to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to help him. Living expenses, bodyguards and expert witnesses were costly, they argued on websites set up to raise money in the case. So what's next, now that a jury has acquitted him? For the 29-year-old Florida man, the financial picture is cloudy. Critics have already accused Zimmerman of profiting from the case. Will the donations keep pouring in? Will he win a monetary reward in his defamation lawsuit against NBC? Could he cash in on his personal story with a book or movie deal? Beyond the legal costs, Zimmerman's attorney says the case has come at a high price. Fear for his safety has made him live off the grid for months. "I don't know how he gets a job where he is out in public," Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara said, "without having the fear of somebody finding out where he works." Expert to Zimmerman: Pick a new career path . Before he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012, Zimmerman had studied criminal justice. He applied to become a police officer in Virginia in 2009, but was rejected due to bad credit, according to testimony in his trial. Even with more money in his bank account, that career path shouldn't be on the table anymore, an expert told CNN. "That is the absolute worst thing you can do," said reputation management counselor Mike Paul. "It might be your old passion; you need to find a new passion. And it needs to be helping people in a very different way -- a way that is much more compassionate, not just involving law enforcement." So far, Zimmerman's lawyers and family have been tight-lipped about his next steps. O'Mara describes his client as a marked man, arguing that his options are limited due to death threats he faces. "The first time that he got out of jail, he slept a lot. I think he is going to have to take a lot of time to relax, to center himself, to get used to his new reality, which is a free man, exonerated," brother Robert Zimmerman Jr. told CNN en Español on Sunday. "And he is going to have to take his own steps as he sees fit, whatever brings him the best result." Whatever he does, his brother said, it will have to be under the radar. "As he engages the world, as anyone in his situation would, without restrictions," Robert Zimmerman said, "he's going to have to learn to move about in a very low-profile way and keep to himself." Race perhaps simplest disagreement in Zimmerman post-trial interviews . Donations fueled defense, led to wife's arrest . But online, at least, being low-profile hasn't exactly been Zimmerman's style. Through websites set up for his defense, he raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars. One site, gzdefensefund.com, raised more than $330,000 in just over a year, according to a spokesman for Zimmerman's lawyer. That's in addition to about $200,000 Zimmerman raised on his own through a PayPal account before O'Mara took the case. Where did that money go? A summary on the website gives examples of how Zimmerman spent some of the donations: $95,000 for bail bond, about $56,000 for security and a whopping $61,747.54 for living expenses over an eight-month period. "If $61,747.54 sounds like a lot of money for living expenses for 8 months -- you are right," the website says. "It's more than most people earn in a year. Most of George's living expenses for the first several months were allocated to providing a safe, secure place for George and his wife, Shellie, to live." At one point after his arrest, the site says, Zimmerman was hiding out in a location that was so remote that it cost $2,500 to connect a phone line. Raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from supporters for your case is a good thing, right? Well, it wasn't for Shellie Zimmerman, who now faces a perjury charge. Prosecutors allege she lied when she told a Florida judge during a bail hearing for her husband in April 2012 that the family was indigent. In fact, they argue, George Zimmerman actually had about $135,000 at the time. She's pleaded not guilty, and has a court date in the case scheduled for next month. Even if donations keep pouring in, Zimmerman shouldn't necessarily take all the money he's offered, said Gene Grabowski, a crisis public relations manager. "He's got to be careful to avoid the appearances of creating more divisions by accepting money or support openly from groups that, maybe, that would create more friction because of the tenor of this case," he said. "He's got to be careful about who he associates with afterwards, even if they are offering financial support." Despite outrage, federal charges uncertain in case . What about a book? A juror in the high-profile case has already inked a deal with an agent for a possible book. Could a book or a made-for-TV movie be in Zimmerman's future? Last week HLN's Nancy Grace said a multimillion-dollar book for Zimmerman would probably be in the offing. And that possibility is already drawing sharp criticism. In an editorial titled "Zimmerman's acquittal shouldn't lead to riches," The Philadelphia Inquirer argued Monday that Zimmerman is "likely to be offered millions through lucrative book and movie deals." "It would be a shame," the newspaper said, "if the unnecessary death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin produced more paydays for the man who fatally shot the unarmed black teenager in the heart during a scuffle." Civil lawsuits surge to the forefront . Even with the criminal trial over, Zimmerman still is likely to face several legal battles. Activists are pushing for the federal government to file civil rights charges against him. And it's possible Martin's family will file a civil wrongful death case, which could threaten Zimmerman's pocketbook. They haven't said yet if they will. That could be more likely, some analysts say, if it appeared Zimmerman was profiting from the case. A book or movie deal could make Zimmerman more vulnerable to a wrongful death suit, criminal defense attorney Randy Reep told USA Today. And then there's another case that Zimmerman started, suing NBC Universal over edited versions of a 911 call Zimmerman made. That lawsuit alleges that NBC deliberately edited an audio tape of his 911 call to make Zimmerman sound racist. "Because of NBC's deceptive and exploitative manipulations, the public wrongly believes that Zimmerman 'use(d) a racial epithet' while describing Martin during the call to the dispatcher on that fateful night," the suit says. NBC Universal has disputed the accusations. "There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly," the company said last year. "We intend to vigorously defend our position in court." The lawsuit says Zimmerman is seeking "damages in excess of the jurisdictional limit," but doesn't specify a dollar figure. Zimmerman's brother says the family is focusing on getting a fresh start. But so far, the verdict hasn't put a stop to debate over the controversial case. And it's unclear what that could mean for Zimmerman's cash flow. CNN's Thom Patterson, David Mattingly, MaryLynn Ryan, Gustavo Valdes, Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan, HLN's Graham Winch and In Session's Jessica Thill contributed to this report.

Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, won't likely find a safe job, his lawyer says . Zimmerman has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars . Zimmerman's wife faces a perjury charge for allegedly lying about their financial situation . Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal, but hasn't specified a dollar figure .

Hong Kong (CNN)A Hong Kong housewife has been found guilty of imprisoning and abusing a young Indonesian maid whose case has prompted protests and calls for reform of the city's laws governing domestic workers. Over several months last year, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih was kept as a prisoner in the home of Law Wan-tung, a 44-year-old mother of two who regularly deprived her of food, sleep and payment for long hours of grueling work. After the verdict, Erwiana thanked her supporters and called for the governments of Hong Kong and Indonesia to do more to protect the rights of migrant workers. "What I hope together with my fellow domestic workers are just fair and humane treatment and for people to stop treating us like slaves," she said. Law was convicted of grievous bodily harm, common assault, and failing to pay Erwiana's wages or give her statutory rest days. Sentencing has been deferred until February 27 to give the defense time to compile character references and psychological reports. In delivering her verdict, Judge Amanda Woodcock described the 23-year-old victim as "a simple young lady who tried to financially better her life and that of her family." She said Erwiana had no reason to fabricate the evidence, and that the abuse had been so frequent and over such a long period of time, it was reasonable that the young maid might not be able to recall specific dates. Woodcock said Erwiana thought she was under surveillance at all times, and believed Law's threats that her family would be killed if she told anyone about the abuse. "They made her compliant and more subservient," Woodcock said. Erwiana started work in Law's home in May 2013. However, within one month she tried to escape because she hadn't been paid her wages. The court heard she called the building's security guard who contacted her agency. Later, an Indonesian woman turned up and took her back to the flat, saying there was no need to find a new employer. That's when the physical abuse started. It began with punches, then progressed to beatings with a mop handle, coat hangers, and the rod from a vacuum cleaner. By the following January, she had become too weak to work and was escorted to the airport with a one-way ticket by her employer, who told her to wear a diaper because she was too ill to stand. "(Law) asked me to put on six layers of clothes and two pairs of pants," Erwiana told the court. " She also asked me to wear Pampers because I was unable to go to the toilet because I was very weak. She put make up on me so I don't look like someone who'd just been tortured." She also repeated threats to kill her parents if she told anyone of the abuse, Erwiana said. Even before the trial, Erwiana's case became a cause celebre for campaigners who say that Hong Kong rules dictating that domestic workers reside at their employers' homes expose hundreds of thousands of foreign workers -- mostly women -- to potential abuse. Last April, Erwiana was named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, which commended her bravery for drawing attention to "the plight of a vulnerable often invisible population." The Hong Kong government started allowing foreign domestic helpers to work in the Chinese territory in the 1970s to fill a shortage of local staff. Now, around 320,000 come here from Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as other Asian countries, to earn more money than they could at home. Many who come via agencies direct from their home countries don't meet their employer before signing a two-year contract requiring them to live and work in their homes. They're paid a minimum wage of HK$4,110 ($530) a month and by law are only entitled to one day off a week. After the verdict, Amnesty International said the case should serve as a "wake-up call" for the government to stop the "widespread exploitation" of domestic workers. "The Hong Kong authorities can no longer bury their heads in the sand and dismiss horrific abuses as isolated incidents," said Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific migrant rights researcher. Amnesty says workers are under pressure to stay in abusive situations because Hong Kong law demands they leave the city within two weeks of terminating their contract, if they can't find a new job. During the trial, Erwiana told the court the only time she was allowed to rest was between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. She was made to clean doors at 3 a.m., she said, so the neighbors didn't see her. Desperately hungry, on one occasion she said she knocked on a neighbor's door and asked for food. He immediately shut it. Erwiana said Law's children overheard and told their mother who then threatened her again. Erwiana slept on the floor, moving the vacuum cleaner and bags of books to make room to lie down when permitted. By day, she was so tired that on at least one occasion she fell asleep while doing the vacuuming. Her employer, Law, grabbed the vacuum, she said, and shoved it in her mouth, twisting it so the metal tube cut her lips and her "mouth was bleeding." Another time when she fell asleep while vacuuming, Erwiana said Law stripped her in the bathroom and sprayed her with cold water. When the water was turned off, she was forced to stand naked in front of a fan. After one to two hours, she was allowed to dress and resume work, the court heard. Law and Erwiana were not the only ones living in the flat during the abuse. Law's two children -- her 18-year-old son Edmund Tsui Wing-kit and 16-year-old daughter referred to only as"Kelly" to protect her identity -- provided no evidence against their mother. Tsui testified that she was "gentle" to maids. His sister said she didn't pay much attention. Erwiana said Law's husband was never there and she had only seen old wedding photos of him in the flat. During questioning by the defense, Erwiana became upset when it was suggested she was making up the threats. Why didn't she call for help? Erwiana said it was because she wasn't let out, her passport had been taken, and she feared that Law would make good on her threats to kill her family. She tried to escape twice; both attempts failed. Her employer watched her every move, she said, even on CCTV via her mobile phone when she wasn't there. Indonesian maid says she was tortured with vacuum cleaner . Two other domestic workers were involved in the case, who alleged they too were the victims of assault and criminal intimidation while working in Law's home. Judge Woodcock found Law guilty of assaulting and threatening Tutik Lestari Ningsih sometime between April 2010 and March 2011. However, she found Law not guilty of the same offenses against another domestic worker, Nurhasanah, dating back to late 2011. Despite abuses, foreign domestic workers still flock to Hong Kong . When Erwiana's employer escorted her to the airport in early January 2014, other Indonesian women noticed her condition and pressed her to tell them what had happened. One of them, Riyanti, told CNN Erwiana tried to blame her scarred and blackened skin on allergies, before admitting, "I was tortured." Erwiana's claims led to protests in Hong Kong, demands for justice and calls for the law to be changed to allow domestic foreign workers to live outside their employers' home. After the verdict, Erwiana said she wouldn't be returning to Hong Kong and to her former life as a maid. "My body is not as strong anymore. Being a domestic helper is heavy work that needs strength and energy," she said. She said she's been offered a scholarship to a private university and plans to finish school, with the aim of helping other victims of abuse. "I have a dream of putting up a foundation that will help other migrant workers," she said. Cousin tells of Filipino maid's horrific burns . CNN's Kathy Quiano contributed to this report.

Judge said she believed Erwiana Sulistyaningsih was kept prisoner in her employers' home . Law Wan-tung found guilty of grievous bodily harm, assault and failing to pay wages . Erwiana was sacked and escorted to the airport after becoming too weak to work .

Washington (CNN) -- Setting up a showdown with the White House and Senate Democrats, House Republican leaders Thursday proceeded with plans to vote next week on a proposal to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits while easing the path for approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Meanwhile, the Senate blocked competing Democratic and Republican proposals to extend the payroll tax cut from proceeding Thursday, with both failing to get the 60 votes necessary. Senate Republicans halted the Democratic proposal on a 50-48 vote. It included a surtax on income over $1 million to help pay for the lower payroll tax rate. Republicans seeking to shrink the size of government oppose such a tax increase. Opposition from both parties blocked the Republican measure, with only 22 votes in favor and 76 against it. The measure would have been paid for by freezing federal pay as well as reducing the federal work force by 10%, provisions rejected by President Barack Obama and Democrats. The outcome means party leaders and Obama must work out a compromise by the end of the year, when the payroll tax cut is set to expire, or face the wrath of Americans facing higher taxes in the election year of 2012. On the House side, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told a closed-door meeting of GOP members that he was ready for a "fight" with Obama over the pipeline issue, according to two senior Republican leadership aides in the meeting. Cheers went up in the room after Boehner's comment, the aides said. On Wednesday, Obama said he would reject any attempt by Republicans to tie the pipeline project to the payroll tax extension issue. The House proposal would shift authority from the State Department to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approving the proposed pipeline from Canada's oil sands production in northern Alberta to Texas. It also would shorten the time frame for a decision. The State Department recently said its decision would be delayed until 2013 to examine environmental issues raised by critics, a move Republicans labeled as political to put off the issue until after next year's presidential election. Boehner told reporters after Thursday's meeting that the pipeline project would generate "tens of thousands of jobs immediately." He also noted that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper supports the plan. The State Department puts the jobs figure at 5,000-6,000, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, slammed the House GOP proposal on Thursday as a "partisan joke that has no chance of passing the Senate." The impasse sets up another countdown clock on congressional action, this time before the end-of-year holiday recess scheduled to begin at the end of next week. Obama told reporters Thursday that he was willing to stay in Washington "as long as it takes to make sure that the American people's taxes don't go up on January 1st and to make sure that folks who desperately need unemployment insurance get that help." "There is absolutely no excuse for us not getting it done," Obama said, adding that his response to efforts by Republicans "to see what can they extract from us in order to get this done" was "just do the right thing." Referring specifically to the Keystone project, Obama said that "however many jobs might be generated by a Keystone pipeline, there are going to be a lot fewer than the jobs that are created by extending the payroll tax cut and extending unemployment insurance." The House proposal, which Boehner and other leaders outlined to GOP members at Thursday's meeting, was largely similar to one they discussed last week, according to several aides. It would extend the payroll tax cut for one year, continuing savings of $1,000 for families earning $50,000. It also includes unemployment assistance but gives states the ability to reform the program -- including removal of a federal ban from the 1960s that prohibited states from drug-testing those who apply for unemployment benefits. The GOP legislation would also shorten the time period for receiving jobless aid benefits from the current level of 99 weeks, phasing it down to 59 weeks by the middle of 2012. In addition, the bill would avoid a scheduled cut in payments for Medicare physicians for two years -- the so-called "doc fix." Boehner noted that the bill is "fully paid for," and aides said the bulk of the cost would be offset from a freeze on salaries of federal employees and members of Congress through 2015. The measure would use funds from health care programs to pay for the Medicare "doc fix" provision. Last week, GOP leaders encountered significant resistance from conservatives when they outlined their plan, with a bloc of members opposing any renewal of the payroll tax cut because the bill uses spending cuts over 10 years to pay for a one-year extension. Some of those critics later said that after they talked through their concerns with leaders, they don't want to see a tax increase during the tough economy, even though they don't support the structure of the payroll tax cut. Republican leaders also added a couple of new spending cuts to help attract conservative support. One would eliminate the child tax credit for those in the country illegally, and another would not renew a research-and-development tax credit focused on energy programs. Some Republicans noted that Obama's comments the day before opposing any effort to link extending the payroll tax cut to the Keystone pipeline helped rally support for the plan. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, leader of the fiscally conservative Republican Study Group, said he supports the bill, adding: "Frankly, the fact that the president doesn't like it makes me like it even more." Asked about overcoming divisions among Republicans, Boehner said feedback on the proposal was good and that "I feel confident about our ability to move ahead." The House is expected to vote on the bill early next week, according to several aides. Even though the Republican plan could muster a majority of votes in the House, it is likely to encounter major obstacles in the Democratic-led Senate. The payroll tax issue, a headache for Republicans already, threatens to become a major campaign theme for 2012. Obama touched on it Tuesday in a policy address in Kansas, saying Republicans protected wealthy taxpayers from a tax increase during deficit negotiations this year, but now threaten to block the payroll tax cut extension. Blocking it would cause most Americans to pay higher taxes next year. Republicans, who oppose tax increases in keeping with their push to shrink the size of government, argue that Obama and Democrats are forcing votes on proposals they know won't pass in order to score political points. So far, the public backs the Democratic position, with polls showing majority support for increasing the tax burden on wealthy Americans to help pay for the measure. Republicans are on the defensive due to their history of arguing that tax cuts end up paying for themselves because they stimulate economic activity by letting consumers keep more of their money instead of giving it to the government. Democrats are quick to point out that the mounting federal deficits dominating the Washington discussion were caused in part by reduced revenue due to tax cuts from the Bush administration. Now both parties agree that any measure to extend the payroll tax cut should include provisions to reduce spending or raise revenue to offset the cost. As part of a budget-cutting deal last December, Obama and Congress negotiated a reduction of 2 percentage points in the payroll tax rate -- from 6.2% to 4.2%. With the reduced rate expiring on January 1, Obama and Democrats seek to expand the provision by lowering the rate even further -- to 3.1% -- for another year. Republicans initially opposed the idea, saying the provision failed to create jobs last year. Republican leaders now say they support an extension, but they differ with Obama and Democrats on how to pay for it. The latest Senate Democratic plan calls for a 1.9% surtax on income over $1 million, as well as increased fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge mortgage lenders to guarantee repayment of new mortgage loans to cover the $180 billion cost. Republicans oppose the plan because they say it will increase the tax burden on small-business owners, a contention the White House says is false. In their compromise, Collins and McCaskill included a provision to exempt the income of small-business owners from the surtax. However, House Republicans questioned whether it was possible to legislate such a distinction. CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

NEW: Senate Democratic leader rejects planned House proposal . Separate Democratic and Republican proposals are blocked in the Senate . Raising taxes remains an unresolved issue dividing Democrats and Republicans . House GOP proposal links payroll tax cut to an oil pipeline project, defying Obama .

(CNN) -- The year is almost out of here, and boy has it been a whopper. No, we don't mean the economy or politics. We're talking about the ups and downs of Hollywood celebrities. For some, 2013 has been an amazing year filled with all the good things fame can bring: fans, sales and awards. For others, not so much. The less fortunate have had to deal with criticism, lawsuits and blaring headlines. Here are five stars who rocked it out in 2013 -- and five who had the rock fall on them: . Miley Cyrus . Cyrus may not have been named Time's Person of the Year, but for a minute there it seemed possible. At one point Cyrus was leading in an online poll for the coveted title, but ultimately the magazine's editors chose Pope Francis (thank God, right?). Yet even without the honor, it's hard to dispute the obvious: Cyrus kind of owned 2013. Her scantily clad performance with singer Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in August had everyone talking, and spawned everything from infographics to Halloween costumes. "You can call Miley Cyrus a lot of things after her bizarre 2013, but poor, uneventful and un-newsworthy aren't some of them," wrote Scott Davis for Forbes. "In one of the most calculated exercises in Marketing 101, Cyrus schooled major brands by understanding that it is not just about becoming the dialog, but orchestrating it and the ecosystem that surrounds it." Much like her Disney Channel character Hannah Montana, Cyrus seemed to emerge in 2013 as two different people. One, the young woman crazy in love with her gorgeous (now-ex) fiance Liam Hemsworth, and the other an edgy singer who hung out with rappers and twerked in a unicorn onsie. (You can probably thank Cyrus for the fact that you even know what "twerking" is despite the dance style having been around for years.) And she didn't stop there. The video for her ode to heartbreak, "Wrecking Ball," featured a nude Cyrus swinging on a wrecking ball, showing the singer suggestively licking a sledgehammer. In November she lit up what appeared to be a joint on stage at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards, performed alongside a crying kitten at the American Music Awards, and she was one of only three female solo artists in 2013 to debut an album with more than 150,000 copies sold (Lady Gaga and Katy Perry were the other two). Cyrus charmed while hosting "Saturday Night Live"; her cache allowed her to celebrate her 21st birthday by "taking over" MTV for the day, and her more than 15 million Twitter followers are happy to retweet her candid photos of anything and everything, including the singer in bed and kissing her dog. Cyrus may be the most visible, but she's not the only celebrity to have a big year. There is also: . Justin Timberlake . The former boy bander had the biggest album of the year, "The 20/20 Experience," which sold 968,000 copies when it debuted in March, held the No. 1 position for weeks and followed that with a second volume, "The 20/20 Experience -- 2 of 2" last month. He joined the elite "Five-Timers Club" of hosts for "SNL," and his history of rap performances with Jimmy Fallon are viral gold. Timberlake's "reunion" with 'N Sync at the VMAs almost exploded the Internet, and he toured with the equally cool Jay Z. Oh, and did we mention he continued to bring sexy back by looking adorable the whole entire time? Kerry Washington . Her success in 2013 was, dare we say, "Scandal"-ous. Not only does she star on one of the hottest TV shows of the year, but she also graced countless magazine covers, was named best dressed by People and was the Emmy "It" girl of the season. Washington also managed to pull off a secret marriage, keep her pregnancy under wraps and host "SNL" during a firestorm of controversy regarding the comedy show's lack of diversity. Jennifer Lawrence . Don't you just love her? Lawrence has continued to build a reputation as incredibly approachable and just downright cool. Whether it's giving the best quotes during interviews or inspiring amazing gifs, she is helping to shape pop culture. Along the way she also starred in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," one of the biggest and most eagerly awaited films of the year, and "American Hustle." We aren't the only ones enthralled by the actress: Barbara Walters selected her as one of the 10 most fascinating people of 2013. Sandra Bullock . Bullock continued to be America's sweetheart. She was equally comfortable in the pages of Vogue as she was dressed up for Halloween with son Louis. Early buzz has her pegged as an Oscar contender for "Gravity." She also scored with lighter fare such as the female buddy-cop film "The Heat" with Melissa McCarthy. And how many movie stars know the lyrics to the classic hip-hop tune "Rapper's Delight"? While these celebrities enjoyed a great year, there are a few who didn't fare as well: . Justin Bieber . The poster child for a not-so-great 2013 would have to be Bieber. Where to begin even? It seemed like he stayed in the news with everything from losing his monkey to a car accident and a run-in with a neighbor. There was also lots of speculation about his time spent in Brazil. To pull it all together for you, we prepared a guide to Justin Bieber's bad year. Amanda Bynes . Bynes easily assumed the mantle of troubled starlet that Lindsay Lohan had previously owned. Bynes had quite a bit of legal trouble and some bizarre tweets in which she attacked fellow celebs. Nick Cannon penned a letter of support. After being placed on a psychiatric hold, she eventually went into treatment and now appears to be on the mend. Lindsay Lohan . Speaking of Lohan, her "comeback" fell kind of flat. The New York Times painted a less than flattering portrait of her on the set of "The Canyons" which, despite having an actual porn star acting opposite her, failed to generate much heat (the SXSW festival passed on it). Even what was billed as a super confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey didn't seem to get people very excited about her and her career. Kimye . It should have been a great year for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. A new baby and an engagement and a new album for him. But the pair spent 12 months being raked over the coals from the body shaming of Kardashian's pregnant body to further shaming after she lost weight and posted a selfie of her ample curves in a revealing bathing suit. Meanwhile, West seemed to court contention every time he opened his mouth -- be it comparing Kardashian to Michelle Obama or deeming himself the No.1 rock star on the planet. It got so bad that people wanted to believe West really said he was "the next Nelson Mandela," but even he wouldn't say that. And let's not forget that now notorious music video. Chris Brown . There is probably little sympathy for Brown for landing on the list of those who had a bad year. The singer has never fully rebounded from pleading guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, in 2009. Many didn't know what to make of it when the pair briefly reconciled in 2013. Brown was booked on a hit-and-run charge in July that was later dropped, and in October was accused of assaulting a man in Washington. Brown later entered rehab to deal with anger management issues and consequently was kicked out for "acting violently." Here's to continued success for those who did well and a better 2014 for those who didn't.

The year brought highs and lows for some stars . Miley Cyrus definitely had a big year . Others -- such as Justin Bieber and Chris Brown -- not so much .

(CNN) -- At dinner tables throughout the United States, there are tough conversations about the exploding cost of college, the rough job market, the pain of debt. For parents and students, it adds up to the same question: Is college worth it? But American University economics Professor Robert Lerman is asking something different: If college isn't worth it, what else is out there? Lerman, an Urban Institute fellow, has studied youth unemployment for decades, and thinks the United States ought to try an updated version of an old technique for education and employment: apprenticeships. They're not the same as an after-school fast food job or a summer internship at dad's office, he said. Apprenticeships require skill development in a workplace over a number of years. The education, which might be supplemented by classroom training, leads to a credential -- maybe a title, certification or diploma -- that proves mastery of a skill. During that time, apprentices are paid, and employers are getting another worker. "In many countries, apprenticeship training and mastery is thought of as a big advantage in innovation -- you have people seeing things, but have skills to understand them, make adjustments and achieve high quality," Lerman said. It's been a long time since apprenticeship dominated in the United States. Despite the Obama administration's focus on community colleges, which often house workplace-learning programs, apprenticeship programs draw few government resources, and reach relatively few fields, mostly construction and manufacturing. In a paper published last year, Lerman said about 468,000 people were in 27,000 apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor in 2008. That was about .3% of the workforce at the time. Up to 1 million more were in unregistered programs, the report said. But in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, 50% to 70% of young people are trained through apprentice programs, according to "Training Tomorrow's Workforce." Lerman suggests the United States follow the example of countries that developed apprenticeships in fields including health care, information technology, finance, advanced manufacturing and maritime occupations. But that means getting through to politicians, educators, students and parents first. A Pew Research Center study published in May said 94% of parents who responded expected their kids to go to college. The Pew study "Is College Worth It?" pointed out that the median gap in yearly earnings between those with only a high school diploma and those who have a college degree is nearly $20,000, according Census Bureau data from 2010. But students doing poorly in high school aren't likely to thrive in a college classroom, Lerman said, at least not right away. More options that don't require a traditional college education might help lead people to higher-paying jobs, he said. "The fact is that no matter how quickly we move on expanding apprenticeship, college and academics are still going to have a big draw, and that's fine," he said. "But I think what we want to see is that diversification of routes to rewarding careers." Former auto worker: 'Bypassing' college a mistake . Here's what Lerman had to say about changing the way we think about paths for students after high school. CNN: What is apprenticeship, and how is it different than an after-school job or a summer internship? Lerman: It is far more in-depth than any internship and far more structured than a standard job. It involves in-depth learning on the job, as well as related instruction in classroom work. The employer has obligation to train the individual; employers are getting production out of the apprentice. The apprentice is also being paid, and usually, almost always, there is an upward trajectory of pay over a two- to four-year period. Alain Ducasse's Weapon Against Poverty: Cooking Classes . CNN: How did apprenticeships play a larger role in our past in the United States, and why did it fade away? Lerman: I don't think we ever had the scale of apprenticeship training that existed in other countries. We have become so academic-based in our thinking that we don't take seriously the workplace learning component and occupational component. The whole field of vocational education is a very contested one. Some people see vocational education as something to divert people away from higher goals of education. We went through a period when school-based vocational education, people argued, was used to discourage minority groups from going to college. CNN: How could we implement programs that would avoid tracking certain classes, races or ethnicities into non-college programs? Lerman: I'm personally not worried. If you look at the college graduation rate of African American males, it's well under 20%. Let's say we can double that, which is not easy to do -- the other people (who don't graduate) should not be doomed to bad careers, nor should people be pushed only one way. Sameness is not equality. I see entering apprenticeship as entirely voluntarily. You can have career-focused education and training that provides education at very high levels with outlets for people to move back into a purely academic programs if they so choose. Some of the very good programs, it's harder to get into an apprenticeship than to get into elite colleges. We need more good options. (With paid apprenticeships,) there's incentive. That reward would come much faster than trying to stay in school for 16, 18 years and then maybe getting a good job. I am a professor of economics and I do not discourage people from taking higher education courses, but there are so many opportunities to do that over time. I met, for example, in Germany, a sales person in a steel mill. Before he went to college, he went through a three-year apprenticeship at the steel mill in sales management. When we went to college, college was a lot easier. He had all that background. He was probably more mature then. He could recognize which things were going to be helpful to him. Study: For grads of color, it's prison or unemployment . CNN: Is part of the issue the word apprentice? It's tied to certain professions -- manufacturing, construction -- even if it describes work-based learning in fields like medicine and teaching. Lerman: It doesn't have as good a connotation as in other countries. The current administration is using "career pathways." The problem is that "career pathways" is a vague term. It isn't clear you're doing something in a serious and concerted way. An apprentice who completes a program, they have genuine expertise. That gives people a sense that, 'If I mastered this field, I can continue learning. I can learn other things as well.' To me, one of the great advantages is the sense of confidence it can give. Ideally, we should try to make more and more fields have that high quality of productivity, but also a sense of pride. People in the welding field should have that same sense. Laser welding, the design of welding, all of that can be very complicated, technical, advanced, productive and rewarding. Maybe we should have a contest. What name would capture the full notion, and perhaps be considered snazzier than apprenticeship? Community colleges step in to fill 'skills gap' CNN: Is there an opening for apprenticeship programs now that hasn't existed in the recent past? Lerman: College costs are rising dramatically, not only for individual families, but for governments. We're seeing increasing concern that many people are not doing well at high school levels. There is starting to be an openness to these kinds of initiatives, but you cannot understate the purely academic bias that is existing in policymakers and a strong education lobby. A public initiative has to recognize it's a very different model than supporting slots in community college or training program. What apprenticeship investments require is marketing and technical assistance to get employers to adopt apprenticeship programs. That's where government investment needs to be. I'm not trying to knock college, especially for the broader learning you can get if you devote yourself to it ... but we have to create a wider range of options for people.

As college costs rise and job hunts get tougher, some question: Why go to college? Economics professor says United States should develop more apprenticeships . Apprenticeships teach people a skill -- and pay them -- as they work toward certification . Lerman says apprenticeships have been valuable in other countries .

(CNN) -- Days of violent unrest in the Thai capital have left dozens dead and hundreds injured as security forces clash with anti-government protesters. The latest victims include a key opposition leader, Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng -- who died days after being critically wounded by a sniper's bullet. But the current crisis follows a months-long standoff between Thai authorities and protesters opposed to the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The protesters -- known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) -- support Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, before he was ousted in a bloodless coup. What is happening now? The latest violence follows a government pledge to hold an election in November in an attempt to halt the protests. However, amid ongoing anger over a crackdown by security forces last month and a refusal by the protesters to comply with a deadline to vacate the district of Bangkok they have been occupying for weeks, authorities say the election date is now under threat. Prime Minister Abhisit declared a state of emergency April 7, hours after anti-government demonstrators (known as "Red Shirts" for the clothes they wear) stormed the country's parliament. Three days later, the deadliest clash in more than a decade between protesters (in this case the Red Shirts) and the military erupted, leading to the deaths of more than two dozen demonstrators and military forces. Violence erupted again last week when protesters once again ignored an ultimatum to end their occupation in downtown Bangkok by Wednesday. Seh Daeng's subsequent shooting by an unknown assailant raised tensions further and at least 35 people have been killed and 240 wounded in the latest wave of unrest. The government has imposed a state of emergency in 22 provinces and metropolitan Bangkok. What happens next? Authorities have urged protesters to evacuate the protest area by Monday afternoon or face up to two years in prison for violating the order. But around 5,000 protesters remained on the streets in defiance of the authorities. On Sunday protest leaders offered to resume talks with the government in U.N.-mediated negotiations if security forces were withdrawn from the streets. But the government has not accepted the offer. A senior official told CNN that authorities were under pressure to be more decisive in taking action to end the protests and claimed the government had been showing patience and restraint. Media and analysts in Thailand say civil war may be looming, between the Red Shirts and the so-called "multi-colored shirts" (who support Abhisit). They are displeased with the disruption caused by the protests. They are generally middle-class city dwellers. They are not pro- or anti-government, they simply want the government to shut down the Reds to end the violence and interruptions to daily life. The red and multi-colored shirts have clashed in Silom Road, Bangkok's business and financial district. How will Seh Daeng's death affect the protest movement? CNN's Sara Sidner said it was unclear what the immediate impact of Seh Daeng's death would be. "Not all the protesters followed him as some thought he was too much of a hardliner," Sidner said. Some protesters argue that the Red Shirt movement should negotiate with the government to reach a settlement. But militant armed factions loyal to Seh Daeng and known as "Black Shirts" reject negotiation and appear ready to use violence to achieve their goals. Haven't these protests been going on for a long time? Yes, Thailand has been embroiled in political chaos for years and many here are growing weary with the instability. Ever since Thaksin came to power, there have been protesters opposing his allegedly corrupt and autocratic rule. Those protesters donned yellow shirts (the color of the king) and occupied the two main airports in Bangkok, until finally the pro-Thaksin government was brought down by a court ruling. In revenge Thaksin's supporters copied the yellow shirt tactics and took to the streets in red shirts. Why do the sides divide on colors? It's an easy way for them to create an identity. It all started with the Yellow Shirts wearing a color associated with Monday, the day of the week that Thailand's revered king was born on. That was designed to show their allegiance to the king, and more broadly the traditional elite which has dominated Thai politics for years. Thaksin's supporters then picked a color to distinguish themselves from the Yellow Shirts. Why are they arguing? Essentially this is a classic power struggle. It's easy to portray this as simply rich against poor, but it is much more complicated than that, as illustrated by the fact that the Reds' leader is in fact a multi-billionaire. Thaksin rode to power by enacting populist policies which gained huge support from the rural poor. His radical approach ruffled a lot of feathers among the elite, who felt he was in danger of becoming too big for his boots, and could erode their position. The "civil society" also become concerned over allegations of corruption and his brutal war on drugs, which saw summary executions. He was also criticized for his heavy handed response to violence in the Muslim-dominated south. Finally the army decided to oust him in a coup, which had the backing of the aristocratic elite and much of the middle class, who were becoming uneasy with the cult of personality growing around Thaksin. That set the stage for an embittered power struggle, between Thaksin loyalists and those loyal to the army, aristocracy and their traditional Democrat Party. So who is Thaksin? Visionary leader or venal despot: Opinions vary, like the color of the shirts his supporters and detractors wear. If you sport red, you think Thaksin was the only prime minister to offer the rural poor a voice and real benefits; if you wear yellow, you view him as akin to Ferdinand Marcos: greedy, self-serving and dangerous. What is not in dispute is that he won two elections, was the only Thai prime minister to serve a full-term in office and is still hugely popular. But critics say he bought his support and was only in politics to help himself. As a businessman, Thaksin made billions of dollars from his communications company Shin Corporation. In 2008 he was found guilty and sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for a land deal that enabled his wife to buy a valuable city plot for a fraction of its true value and he faces other corruption charges. More than $2 billion in Thaksin's family assets are currently frozen in Thailand but there is speculation he has a great deal more money elsewhere. What are the wider implications of the protests? If the divisions in Thailand can't be healed it could lead to a deteriorating security situation which would have wider implications for the region. Thailand's relations with Cambodia are especially frosty since Thaksin was appointed economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The worst case scenario would see Cambodia drawn into the dispute, with Thaksin using the country as a political base, adding to the already considerable tensions on the border. Is Thailand safe for visitors? Many western embassies have shut their doors and are warning their citizens against travel to Bangkok as violence in the city continues. "Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok, including gunfire near the U.S. Embassy, demonstrations in Chiang Mai, and other incidents throughout Thailand, U.S. citizens should defer all travel to Bangkok and defer all non-essential travel to the rest of Thailand," the U.S. State Department has warned. As well as advising against travel to Bangkok, the UK Foreign Office warned of protests and violent incidents in popular tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Ayutthaya. But Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport is operating as normal it said. CNN's Dan Rivers contributed to this report.

Thaksin supporters say that he gave the rural poor a voice and real benefits . Detractors say that as prime minister he was greedy, self-serving and dangerous . Current premier Abhisit Vejjajiva keen to show no one is above the rule of law . Current court case relates to shares transfer in Thaksin communications company .

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama toasted a growing U.S. friendship with India at the first state dinner of his administration Tuesday, an evening of regal pageantry and symbolic politics in a tent on the White House South Lawn. "To the future that beckons all of us," Obama said with glass raised toward his guest of honor, visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "Let us answer its call. And let our two great nations realize all the triumphs and achievements that await us." A tradition dating back to 1874, state dinners are the most treasured and formal honor a U.S. president can offer a foreign dignitary, and the most coveted invitation in Washington. The Tuesday night dinner showed Obama's intention to signal strong ties with the world's largest democracy and go his own way in navigating the pomp and tradition of White House customs. Traditionally, a new administration's first invitation goes to the leader of neighboring Canada or Mexico, though recent presidents also haven't followed that precedent. The event planned by first lady Michelle Obama emphasized eco-friendly themes such as White House-grown herbs and lettuce served to guests and sustainably harvested magnolia branches -- from species native to both India and the United States -- in arrangements adorning the tent where more than 300 guests wearing tuxedos and gowns were wined, dined and entertained. A White House document said common themes of state and official visits are "forging friendships, exchanging knowledge and building bridges that last for years." In a toast that followed Obama's, Singh praised his host's leadership and prompted applause by citing the charm of the U.S. first lady. Obama's election was "an inspiration to all those who cherish the values of diversity, democracy and equal opportunity," Singh said, adding that India "warmly applauded" the Nobel Peace Prize awarded Obama this year for "the healing touch you have provided and the power of your idealism and your vision." "We need to find new pathways of international cooperation that respond more effectively to the grave challenges caused by the growing interdependence of nations," Singh said. "As two leading democracies, India and the United States must play a leading role in building a shared destiny for all humankind." Obama, in a black tuxedo, and the first lady, in a dazzling cream gown with silver accents, greeted Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, as they arrived, shaking hands on the White House steps and posing for pictures before leading their guests inside. Guests in tuxedos and evening gowns streamed into the White House for the historic social event, passing a line of journalists. In one humorous mishap, the cummerbund of Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, fell off as he and his wife walked in. The guest list included political allies, a few opponents, celebrities and members of the Indian diplomatic community. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the list, but not her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Democratic colleagues of the president including other Cabinet ministers, several senators and top aides made the list, including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts (but not his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and White House Budget Director Peter Orszag. Ticker: See the list of expected attendees . A couple of Republicans also made it, notably Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Celebrities included Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, actors Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood, CBS News anchor Katie Couric and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. However, one name rumored to be included, but not appearing on the list, was Oprah Winfrey. The dinner, in a tent set up on the White House South Lawn with a view of the Washington Monument, featured round tables for 10 set in resplendent colors -- apple green, ruby, gold -- with floral arrangements of roses, hydrangeas and sweet peas in plum, purple and fuchsia. Place settings in fine china from three previous administrations -- Eisenhower, Clinton and George W. Bush -- were flanked by five pieces of silverware and crystal glasses. Place cards were in script -- "The President" and "Mrs. Obama" read two. A seasonal menu reflecting both American and Indian flavors started with a potato and eggplant salad made with White House-grown arugula and accompanied by an onion seed vinaigrette, according to the White House. Red lentil soup with fresh cheese followed, and then a choice of entrees -- roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas and okra for vegetarians, or green curry prawns, caramelized salsify and smoked collard greens. Dessert was pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin with whipped cream and caramel sauce. Each course was paired with a different wine, all of American vintage. The herbs and lettuces were harvested from the White House Kitchen Garden started by Michelle Obama, with honey from the White House beehive used to poach the dessert pears. Entertainment was by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, Grammy and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson, the National Symphony Orchestra directed by award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, Academy Award-winning Indian musician and composer A.R. Rahman, and The President's Own United States Marine Band. "It's not every day you get to sing at the White House or even get invited to the White House," said Hudson, who said she would dress in a purple and black gown "with the longest train I've ever worn" and sing standards including "The Very Thought of You," "What a Difference a Day Makes" and "Somewhere." Veterans of state dinners said the planning for such a trend-setting event is meticulous. "It's stressful, it's very stressful," said Lisa Caputo, a press secretary for Hillary Clinton when she was first lady. "What is the first lady going to wear? What will be served? How are the flower arrangements being done? There's a lot of protocol in terms of the serving line." Every unit in the White House weighs in on the dinner's guest list, Caputo said, with a lot of thought going into who sits where. "There's particular protocol in terms of who is seated at the president's table and the prime minister's table," Caputo said. "But don't forget that an enormous amount of thought goes into that with the White House social office and the president and first lady in terms of who will round out the appropriate table, who will get along with who, what will be the dynamics of each table. "Yes, of course it's social, but, of course, there's business done," Caputo said. The final list is ultimately decided by the president and the first lady, said Anita McBride, who was chief of staff for first lady Laura Bush. "Of course, having friends and supporters is really important to share that kind of event, and it's also important for all the other guests that are there and the Indian members of the delegation to meet these people that are a cross-section of America," McBride said. Amy Zantzinger, who was a social secretary for President George W. Bush, said all state dinners are different, and an administration's first one is a big one. "First they'll bring the newness -- the newness of the whole day because it's their first big dinner," she said. What makes a successful dinner? It's what you don't plan, Zantzinger said. During a Reagan state dinner, Princess Diana and actor John Travolta took to the dance floor. "What made it so special was that it was so absolutely spontaneous," she said. "You had one of the most beautiful women in the world and one of the best dancers in the world come together in this incredible place, and I think the spontaneity of it and the combination of the two of them was perfection." CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, Samantha Hayes, Kiran Chetry, Ed Hornick, Becky Brittain and Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

NEW: Obama toasts India prime minister, urges greater cooperation between two countries . Tuesday's event is the first state dinner of Obama administration . State dinners are deemed one of the most treasured and formal honors . Menu includes greens from White House garden, honey from White House bees .

Beijing (CNN) -- At first glance, Chinese President Xi Jinping enters 2014 as the country's most powerful and popular leader in recent memory. A year into his expected decade-long reign, he has amassed more titles than his two immediate predecessors. Heading not only the ruling Communist Party, the 1.5-million strong military and the state, Xi also sits atop two newly created entities with ultimate authority on the most important issues facing the government: a national security council and a leadership group that decides on the course of the country's "overall reform." His star power has soared, too. Xi's recent visit to a Beijing restaurant for some cheap steamed buns has turned the eatery into an instant shrine -- with crowds lining up to snap pictures of the table he sat on and order the so-called "presidential set." Even his brief New Year's address won admiration on social media for its human touch, when viewers noticed family photos in the background featuring his glamorous singer wife. With all the apparent political capital and personal charisma at his disposal, is Xi strong enough to launch bold reform amid slowing economic growth and rising public discontent? In answering the question, people on opposite ends of the political spectrum are surprisingly united in their skepticism. Flies and tigers . One of Xi's most applauded moves since he became the Communist Party chief has been an intensified fight against corruption, a lightning rod for mass discontent across the country. He pledged to target "flies and tigers" alike in describing his resolve to spare no one regardless of their position. According to state media, some 108,000 officials were disciplined in the first nine months of 2013 and almost 20 minister-level senior officials have fallen from grace since late 2012. State media has cited the trial and conviction last year of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai -- though called politically motivated by Bo supporters -- as one prime example of Xi's determination. Bo Xilai: From rising star to scandal . China watchers have also detected signs of a possible investigation into Zhou Yongkang, the former domestic security czar and one-time patron of Bo. If announced, Zhou would be the highest-ranking official ever to face corruption charges. "Xi has made good on his word," said Han Deqiang, an economics professor at Beihang University in Beijing well known for his passionate advocacy of Maoism. "There is an obvious link between Xi's move and the revival of Maoism -- which emphasized the principle of 'serve the people' and a frugal lifestyle, and allowed Chairman Mao to establish a relatively corruption-free bureaucracy." Pointing to a series of recent orders to ban official extravagance -- from banquets to year-end gifts -- as well as Xi's visit to the steamed bun eatery, Han says the new leader is taking a leaf out of the late chairman's book. However, economist Mao Yushi -- no relation to Chairman Mao -- says Xi has failed to address the roots of corruption. "Without systemic reform, new cases of corruption will pop up while old ones are being addressed," he said. "The fundamental solution is to destroy the soil that breeds corruption -- the opportunities for officials to take bribes in areas like land control and family planning." War and peace . On December 26, Xi paid homage to Mao Zedong in his mausoleum on the 120th anniversary of the late chairman's birth. The same day, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defied Chinese warnings and visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, capping a year of fast-deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations stemming from competing claims over a chain of islands in the East China Sea. China, Japan deploy Harry Potter villain in latest spat . China has certainly flexed its military muscles since Xi took control, sending its only aircraft carrier for a month-long training mission late last year in the South China Sea, where it is also locked in territorial disputes with several neighboring countries. Most noticeably, though, the Chinese military last November declared an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea that includes the disputed islands. Despite objections from the United States and its allies, the Chinese military has warned that it would identify, monitor and respond to any air threats or unidentified flying objects coming from the sea. China's air defense zone: What you need to know . Cheered by nationalists, who have yearned for the return of Mao-era hardline stance against the Americans or Soviets, the ADIZ move is seen by some hawks as a sign of Xi's increasing strength and confidence. Following Abe's shrine visit, the Beijing government has declared him "not welcome" in China. "Abe's shrine visit has given Xi the perfect excuse to project his power both at home and abroad," said Hu Jia, one of China's most prominent human rights activists, who was imprisoned for more than three years for his advocacy. "Abe helped Xi, who needs a rallying cry and an angle to divert public attention from domestic problems. "But more and more ordinary citizens are seeing through this and no longer willing to be used as the government's pawn." 'Who am I?' Left, center or right -- no matter where one stands ideologically -- Xi seems to keep sending everyone mixed signals. Before Maoists could finish savoring the news of Xi bowing in front of Mao's preserved body in his mausoleum and praising the late chairman on his anniversary, the president reportedly made no mention of Mao in his extensive remarks to senior government advisers on New Year's Eve and emphasized "liberating our thoughts" instead. Xi's fight against corruption and populist style have won him genuine admiration from a young, well-educated urban crowd. But he has also stifled freedom of speech in social media and cracked down on a nascent civil society movement -- often alienating or antagonizing the same demographic. China 'employs 2 million to police internet' Most controversial of all, in a widely circulated speech, Xi raised the notion of "not using the second 30 years (of the People's Republic) to repudiate the first 30 years, and vice versa." The first three decades of Communist rule after 1949 -- commonly referred to as the Mao era -- was largely remembered in the West as an isolated regime, a failed planned economy and a nation thrown into chaos by Mao's Cultural Revolution. The second three decades started in the late 1970s when late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping launched economic reform and re-opened the country to the outside world -- a period marked by breakneck economic growth as well as rising social tensions brought by a widening income gap and rampant corruption. For Maoists, the "two 30 years" concept appears to be a natural correction to Deng and his successors' deviation from the orthodox system. "Chairman Mao is our founding father -- rejecting him means the rejection of the regime's legitimacy," said Professor Han, who has expressed disapproval of what happened to Bo, a big proponent of reviving Maoism. "The top leadership has noticed the grassroots support for Maoism and taken action to reaffirm the regime's foundation." Economist Mao holds a more nuanced view. He says Xi has made some progress with reforms amid strong resistance from entrenched interest groups. "Maoists are his biggest threats because they are against reform and opening-up, which they consider to be a path of capitalist exploitation," he said. "Why bother reform at all if you don't thoroughly reject the Maoist ideology? "So the fundamental questions about Xi remain: What does he stand for? What does he want? What are his values?" Other than an ambiguous notion of fulfilling the great Chinese Dream, it seems that Xi hasn't given clear answers to these challenging questions. And as divisions in Chinese society grow deeper, time may not be on his side -- and the future of 1.3 billion people is at stake.

President Xi Jinping has assumed complete control of China in past 12 months . One of Xi's most applauded moves has been an intensified fight against corruption . He's pledged to spare no one regardless of their position or influence . China has also flexed its military muscles since Xi took control .

(CNN) -- If the pre-vote predictions had been accurate, football heavyweights Italy would be preparing to host the 2012 European Championship. It wasn't a shock on the scale of Qatar's swoop for the 2022 World Cup, but the joint bid from Poland and Ukraine was at one stage considered third favorite to host Euro 2012 -- out of three candidates. But taking advantage of the hooliganism and match-fixing allegations making ugly headlines in Italy back in 2007, Poland and Ukraine stole up on the outside to pip both the 1968 champions and another joint bid from Hungary and Croatia to the honor. Racism, rather than Ronaldo and Ribery, dominates Euro 2012 storylines . Fulfilling UEFA chief Michel Platini's ambition of balancing the power in European football, this will be the first major football tournament in the former Iron Curtain. But as early as 2008, Platini was telling Ukraine to "get going" as the building of new stadiums and improvements in the transport network slipped behind schedule. At one stage, there was even talk of Scotland stepping in as emergency host. By the end of 2011, Platini was diplomatically describing the buildup as a "complicated adventure." "Difficult births often lead to beautiful babies," the French football great concluded in March as Poland and Ukraine finally declared they would be ready for the June 8 kickoff when an estimated worldwide audience of at least 150 million is expected to be watching. Only time will tell whether Platini will return to UEFA's headquarters in Switzerland a proud father. Most major sporting tournaments experience a rocky buildup, Poland and Ukraine's has been at the turbulent end of the scale -- understandably so, given the countries' lack of major event experience coupled with ambitious improvement plans that are reported to have cost $38 billion combined. The stadia are breathtaking. Five of the eight on show during the tournament are brand new, and the existing venues in Kiev, Donetsk and Kharkiv have undergone major developments. The 50,000-capacity, newly-constructed National Stadium in Warsaw will host the opening game between Poland and Greece. Kiev's 60,000-capacity Olympic Stadium, which began life in 1923 as the Red Stadium of Lev Trotsky and hosted games during the 1980 Moscow Olympics, has been completely renovated with a new transparent roof and will host the final on July 1. While the venues have been tested, the transport network will come under scrutiny for the first time when an estimated one million fans descend on the two countries. Ukraine faces a race against time to complete the planned 1,750 kilometers of new roads in time for the start of the tournament. It has also shipped in high-speed trains from South Korea to ease travel between the two host countries. Poland has already accepted that some of its transport improvements -- including the construction of 750 km of new motorways -- may not be ready. "We know not everything will be completed in time for Euro 2012," Poland 2012 communications director Mikolaj Piotrowski told CNN late last year. "But today we can say that a lot of important investment projects will be completed three to five years sooner than without the Euros scenario, so I think it was worth it to see Michel Platini opening the envelope in Cardiff in 2007." If getting around should be manageable for fans, finding somewhere affordable to stay once they get to their destination is an altogether trickier task. England -- traditionally one of the best-supported European teams -- failed to sell out its original allocation of tickets for its group games in Kiev and Donetsk, with many fans opting to stay at home as Ukrainian hotel owners seek to make hay from the tournament by ramping up prices. In April the Football Supporters' Federation said fans were being quoted as much as $1,000 a night for a three-star room. The England team avoided that problem by choosing a base in Krakow, Poland -- even though it will mean thousands of miles of travel between the two countries. If it isn't financial concerns putting off fans, it is the fear of the kind of reception they'll get. The English Foreign Office warns that there has been a recent "increase in hostility" toward gay people in Ukraine and that "travelers of Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent and individuals belonging to religious minorities should take extra care." The families of black England players Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have already decided against traveling to Ukraine -- and that was before a BBC documentary highlighting racism and violence in the host countries was screened . "It's a major concern," said Oxlade-Chamberlain's father Mark, himself a former England player. "I think your safety is more important than a game of football." Poland, too, has suffered serious problems with racism. "Monkey chanting, banana throwing, that has happened in Polish matches unfortunately," Rafal Pankowski from the campaign group Never Again told CNN. "We want to use the Championships to highlight some of the issues and make a difference in a positive way in terms of anti-racism education." A series of bomb blasts in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine's fourth largest city, in late April only added to the pervading nervousness over traveling to the country, while several EU leaders will boycott the tournament over Ukraine's treatment of imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Amnesty International, meanwhile, has warned of "widespread police criminality" in Ukraine, leading to concerns that any crowd trouble could be met with a particularly brutal response. UEFA has always accepted that giving Euro 2012 to Poland and Ukraine was a risk. "From the beginning, it was a big challenge to go to Poland and Ukraine," Platini told CNN last month. "Four years ago when all the signs were red, red, red -- stadium, roads, accommodation -- it was not easy. "But I say it was a good risk." And Kiev could witness a historic moment if Spain can follow up 2008's victory and become the first team to successfully defend the title since the tournament began 52 years ago. On a lighter note, we await the predictions of Ukraine's "Psychic Pig" and Poland's "Citta" the elephant with interest. They follow in the footsteps of 2010 World Cup soothsayer Paul the Octopus in what seems to be becoming a curious tradition at major football tournaments. For most pundits, the Spanish are favorites for the title, but they have their problems. Record scorer David Villa and veteran defender Carles Puyol have been ruled out of the tournament, while striker Fernando Torres -- who netted the only goal of the 2008 final -- has endured another torrid season for Chelsea. Their competition looks set to come from Joachim Low's youthful Germany side, 2010 World Cup finalists Netherlands, and perhaps a France team that appears to be back on an even keel under the calming influence of Laurent Blanc. Italy, six years on from the scandal that so seriously damaged the country's chances of hosting the tournament, is embroiled in another match-fixing crisis that led defender Domenico Criscito to be cut from the squad. The English are even less fancied, particularly so among their own pessimistic supporters. Roy Hodgson took up his coaching job just 29 days before the first game against France and has to get the best out of a squad that must survive the first two games without the suspended Wayne Rooney, one of the team's few world-class players. As for the hosts, Poland looks to have the easier group with Czech Republic, Greece and Russia. Ukraine must contend with France, England and Sweden. For 35-year-old national icon Andriy Shevchenko, the tournament is a chance to put the perfect full stop on a 17-year international career. "Ukrainians, our time has come!" declares the team's slogan. UEFA might be hoping it also applies to the country as a whole.

Euro 2012 kicks off on June 8, with 16 nations taking part . Buildup to the four-yearly tournament has been difficult for the co-hosts . There have been fears that infrastructure in Ukraine will not be sufficient . Country has also been criticized over human rights and racist football fans .

Washington (CNN) -- Big tech firms and private prisons represent two industries vigorously lobbying to influence the scope of legislation aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration policy, a political priority in Washington. Microsoft, Facebook, and Intel want lawmakers to support increasing the number of visas available to highly skilled workers, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money in politics. Others, like Corrections Corporation of America, which builds detention facilities to house illegal immigrants, have contributed heavily to the campaigns of lawmakers who take tough stances on the issue. In all, 359 lobbying clients pressed their positions on immigration reform to officials at nearly every level of government, including the White House, Congress and the Homeland Security Department, according to the analysis for 2012. The figure is up from the 317 clients lobbying on immigration from the previous year. It is difficult to track exactly how much each spends on lobbying an issue, campaign finance experts say. However, tracking the number of times something specific is mentioned on disclosure reports indicates its importance to a company or industry. "They're not spending this money just willy-nilly. They have a goal and they're trying to achieve that goal legislatively," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group. "You have to be sure they're writing the legislation for the right reasons and not just trying to benefit one particular company," Ellis said. President Barack Obama underscored the need for comprehensive immigration reform earlier this year stressing the need to better enforce related laws, provide a path to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented workers already in the country and reform the legal immigration system. The so-called "Gang of Eight" in the Senate and a similar bipartisan group in the House are working on crafting a reform framework leading up to what could be one of the year's biggest legislative showdowns. What's in Senate immigration plan? "The reason immigration is on the table now is the outcome of the last election," said Judith Gans, manager of the immigration policy program at the University of Arizona. "No political party likes to lose and the Republican party realized that their unfriendly stance toward immigrants was creating a coalition in the Democratic Party." The upcoming legislative battle will create winners and losers, and businesses are doing everything they can to ensure they can influence the outcome. "We will see Congress make it easier for that high-skilled, cutting-edged talent to come to the U.S. But if they don't address the channels for low skilled workers to come to the U.S., illegal immigration will continue," Gans said. The nation's tech sector, which has come to rely strongly on highly trained and science-savvy foreign workers, has long had a vested interest in immigration policy. When Congress failed to take action on the issue, big business and their lobbyists turned their attention to agencies and lawmakers for support in increasing the number of H-1B visas. Those are used by companies to temporarily employ foreign workers with special skills. But H-1B visas are capped at 65,000 annually for those with undergraduate or professional degrees. Another 20,000 are reserved for candidates with graduate-level credentials. The competition is fierce for slots and available caps are often exhausted quickly. Microsoft spent $8 million last year in broader lobbying efforts and filed 33 disclosure reports dealing with immigration — twice the number of lobbying reports of companies like Intel. Microsoft, which contributed $814,645 to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, submitted four reports showing that some of its lobbying efforts were directed at the executive office of the president. The company also lobbied Congress and 22 other federal agencies and offices on issues like corporate tax reform and antitrust law. But the second-highest number of lobbying reports filed by the company dealt with immigration. Other tech companies also lobbied heavily. Intel spent $3.7 million in overall lobbying and filed 16 reports. Facebook spent $3.9 million in overall lobbying and filed eight reports, including those for lobbying the executive office of the president and the White House. "The reality is that in the United States, we are creating unfilled jobs faster than we are creating new filled positions," Brad Smith, Microsoft's executive vice president and general counsel, said during a speech at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution last year about his industry's need for more highly-skilled workers. Tech companies say they look for qualified U.S. workers first, but are having a tough time finding college graduates with the needed skills to work in science and technology fields. A significant portion of these corporate workforces are comprised of well educated, highly-skilled foreign nationals who are highly sought after and can only go to work for an American company if they are extended an H1-B visa. Intel says it is encouraged by legislative changes in the works. Several proposals to expand the available number of visas are working their way through Congress. These include a bipartisan measure sponsored in part by Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, considered a potential 2016 presidential candidate. The lawmaker is also part of the "Gang of Eight" working on comprehensive immigration reform, which both parties view as a priority for capturing support from Hispanics, whose influence politically is growing. Politicians also are weighing the impact on business and how attracting the best workers helps innovation, product development and productivity. "Immigration reform is critical issue for Intel," said company spokeswoman, Lisa Malloy. "In the last year, we have seen growing bipartisan support for high-skilled, employment-based visa reform. This is very encouraging to Intel." Another "Gang of Eight" member, Sen. John McCain has changed his views on immigration over the years. For instance, the Arizona Republican first supported and later opposed a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He is also the fourth-highest recipient of campaign donations from Corrections Corporation of America. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Kentucky Republicans, are other notable recipients of that company's campaign donations, according to Center for Responsive Politics data. "The private prison industry is responsible for 16% of federal prisoners in the U.S. and makes a substantial portion of its profits from detention centers for illegal immigrants," the group said. "Illegal immigration creates a pool of potential prisoners and there's some incentive to them wanting to have input on those policies," Gans said. In one case last year, lobbyists representing CCA were paid $60,000 to monitor "issues pertaining to the construction and management of private prisons and detention facilities," according a federal lobbying disclosure report. Corrections Corporation of America spent $970,000 last year to lobby Congress and the U.S. Marshals Service on a variety of issues. It says it supports a bipartisan group of lawmakers who support or are "open minded to the merits of public-private partnership and the related services we provide." The company says its lobbying effort has been aimed at ensuring it understands reforms related to new civil detention facilities being pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Not a single firm hired by CCA lobbies on our behalf for or against immigration enforcement or detention policies. Every firm we engage with is contractually bound to adhering to this strict policy. The primary focus of our lobbying efforts is education on the merits and benefits of public-private partnership in corrections and detention generally, and the relevant services CCA provides," said company spokesman Steven Owen. Construction, agricultural, leisure and hospitality were among other industries also lobbying Congress and federal agencies heavily last year on such issues as changing the nation's guest worker program. Whether spending on immigration lobbying will have any impact remains to be seen, policy and lobbying experts say. "Lobbying on immigration reform is like lobbying on any complicated legislation in DC: messy and unpredictable. Just as with tax reform and health care reform, every affected constituency in the immigration debate is pushing their own agenda," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a veteran immigration attorney. "Sometimes the stars align and a bill gets passed," Yale-Loehr said. "Often, however, the effort fails, despite or because of everyone's efforts."

Companies push immigration reform lobbying blitz for different reasons . Microsoft, Intel, Facebook want more visas for highly-skilled workers . Private prisons want tough immigration laws to help keep detention facilities filled . Lobbying efforts could help craft immigration reform legislation .

(CNN) -- Now that the midterm elections are over, the presidential election begins. A significant number of potential candidates in both parties participated in the midterm elections, understanding that this was an important opportunity to enhance their national profile and to demonstrate what they could do for their party. The candidates are also shrewd enough to understand that the congressional environment and legislative relations with President Barack Obama will shape the political landscape for 2016. So, how did all the big players do? Hillary Clinton . The results were mixed for the former secretary of state. Without any question, the defeat of the Democrats in the Senate campaigns and the plummeting approval ratings of the President for whom she served pose a big challenge for her. The candidates she supported didn't do so well. The new Congress will offer a powerful platform for the Republican Party to keep chipping away at the President, and Obama will have trouble passing any bills that she can in turn boast about on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, the results are no doubt going to embolden some Republicans, someone such as Jeb Bush perhaps, to step into a presidential fight they might otherwise have skipped. One bit of good news for her, though, is that the Republican Congress will offer a perfect foil. Nobody has been better at using the theme of Republican extremism than Clinton, an approach she honed while first lady as a way to push back against an aggressive GOP in the 1990s. If Republicans have trouble controlling themselves as the party in power, Clinton will be in perfect position to bring back the arguments about the dangers of right-wing extremism and to remind voters that while she served in the Senate, she was able to build rather than burn bridges. Chris Christie . Speaking of bridges, the New Jersey governor received a much-needed boost from these elections. The governor has been struggling to regain his standing ever since "Bridgegate" ended the air of inevitability that surrounded his candidacy. Until recently, Christie was damaged goods. The pundits speculated as to whether he would survive. Yet Christie resisted the pressure to close up shop. And, most importantly, he used his position as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association to rebuild his national profile and demonstrate that he could still deliver Republican votes -- and campaign contributions. With high-profile gubernatorial victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and possibly Massachusetts, Christie comes out of the elections in much better shape. Though he suffered some losses in states such as New Hampshire, there were enough big wins to strengthen his reputation. Of course, the irony is that the victories of several high-profile Republicans, such as Scott Walker in Wisconsin, will create new problems, since that particular governor might very well run in 2016. Scott Walker . So far, Walker has survived controversy of his own, and this strong re-election win is sure to energize his supporters. He is clearly much more damaged as a candidate than a few years ago after facing a recall election. That came about from a row over curtailing the bargaining rights for public employee union members. But many Republicans are enamored with the tough-on-unions Walker, with his executive experience in a Democratic state. Martin O'Malley . The relatively unknown Democratic outgoing governor from Maryland doesn't come out of the elections in any better shape than when he started. Unlike Republican Rand Paul or Democrat Elizabeth Warren, O'Malley didn't shine on the campaign trail. Worse, in a major upset, Democrat Anthony Brown lost out in the race to succeed him to Republican Larry Logan. O'Malley's critics will be asking why he couldn't deliver. Elizabeth Warren . She continues to insist that she won't run. But the midterms were good for Sen. Warren, even if Democrats took a thumping. Warren has positioned herself as a critic of her own party, warning President Obama and others that they have not been doing enough for struggling middle class Americans. Exit polls suggesting economic concerns were front and center for much of the electorate seem to bolster her approach. The thumping Democrats suffered Tuesday night will surely prompt more soul-searching within the party and pressure for a candidate who, unlike Clinton, seems to offer fresh ideas. Ted Cruz . On the surface, the midterm results look like a great thing for Sen. Cruz. After all, he is the conservative firebrand who has spent the past year campaigning for candidates and making the case that the Republican Party is alive and well. He has been a superstar as he has shaped the conversation within the GOP. But now that Cruz is in the majority, he will also be under greater scrutiny, and his ability to govern will be tested -- until now, the senator has seemed to enjoy the role of maverick and the freedom that comes from being the party of opposition. At a time when many Republicans will see the 2014 elections as evidence that the establishment is in better shape to win than the tea party, he can also expect to start receiving push back from his own party. Marco Rubio . Rubio was once the clear frontrunner for the GOP in 2016. But his star has faded over time, not least because his party killed most efforts to pass immigration reform. Other candidates, such as Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul, also stole some of his conservative thunder. Still, as part of the Senate majority, Rubio now has an opportunity to show what he can do. With Cruz dismissed by critics as the ultraconservative Republican, Rubio has a chance to show that he can govern and form the kind of coalitions -- within his own party and maybe with centrist Democrats -- that would be attractive to voters frustrated with Washington. If he could somehow build momentum on immigration reform, Rubio could yet emerge as one of the stronger Republican candidates in the 2016 primaries. Rand Paul . If anyone doubted that Rand Paul is thinking of running for president, his intentions now should be crystal clear. Paul posted photographs on his Facebook page of Clinton campaigning with candidates who lost. And in Kentucky, Paul said in an interview that voters had rejected both Clintons and what they stood for. Paul has shaped himself into one of the more exciting voices in the GOP. But he still has many potential liabilities, including the anti-interventionist foreign policy position he has staked out, at a moment when there seem to be multiple crises demanding U.S. attention. However, he has also consistently drawn huge crowds on the campaign trail, and he has been able to position himself as a new voice in the party. This suggests he might be able to tap into the enthusiasm of tea party Republicans, while still appealing to younger voters who usually shy away from the GOP. He might also be able to appeal to mainstream Republicans looking for a candidate such as then-Sen. Barack Obama back in 2008. Being part of the majority will give him a greater opportunity to showcase his arguments. Jeb Bush . The former governor of Florida comes out of this election with a party that has momentum and feels that a presidential victory is possible in 2016. They will be searching for a candidate who can win, and for many Republicans, that person is Jeb Bush. The voting Tuesday seemed to confirm that establishment Republicans are the way forward for the party, and no one represents the establishment like Bush. Bush also continues to stick to his position on issues such as immigration that separate him from others in his party. Mitt Romney . Though he insists that he won't run, the truth is that the midterms have bolstered the notion that he should. Romney showed that he is still a valuable asset on the campaign trail, and that he can deliver on fundraising. And as the speculation about him running intensified ahead of Tuesday's vote, there was a distinct sense that he wasn't quite as set against the idea as before. The odds remain slim that he'll run, never mind win. But those odds look shorter than they did. These aren't the only potential candidates whose stock rose or fell Tuesday night. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, for one, will likely be trying to figure out what this election means for his aspirations. As will John Kasich, Ohio's Republican governor, who won re-election soundly. And that is one thing that Tuesday did not change -- the possibility that a candidate could come out of nowhere. In the meantime, even as some votes are still being counted, Democrats and Republicans across the country will be mulling over this week's election to determine whether there is enough in the results to suggest that they might be the best candidate for 2016.

Midterms have only just finished, but 2016 race has begun, Julian Zelizer says . Hillary Clinton had a mixed night Tuesday, Zelizer says . Zelizer: Rand Paul surely laid to rest doubts he's running .

(CNN)We're in a dimly lit shebeen (pub) in Soweto sharing beer from a communal cup and the conversation is getting heated. We're discussing President Jacob Zuma's house refurbishment using more than 200 million rand of state funds -- a move being investigated by the country's anti-corruption watchdog. "Pah, he lives there in his own Hollywood, and we have nothing," spits a drinker while whacking his fly swatter furiously against the bench we're sitting on, lashing one unfortunate drinker. It's just another afternoon in Africa's most famous township -- a hotbed for political dissent since its creation in 1903 as part of the forced resettlement of black workers from Johannesburg. Soweto, now incorporated into wider Joburg, is a generally safe and culturally rich place to visit that's gone through substantial regeneration in the past few years. We're seeing it by bicycle, a far more direct way to appreciate the street life than from behind the windows of a tour bus. Our guide is local man Tshepo Mokone, from Lebo's Soweto Backpackers. The roads are good, although be warned: Soweto has hills -- but they're a great place to catch the views including of the new Soccer City stadium and Orlando Towers, which you can bungee jump from. Shebeens . Shebeens were originally a type of illegal pub, normally run by women in shacks to service men living in workers' hostels. Now they're legal and a place to while away the hours drinking umqombothi, a traditional beer made from maize, as we discover during a visit to a shebeen in the poor Soweto quarter of Mzimhlophe. With communal toilets and taps, and raw sewage running in the streets, living conditions are tough and the shebeen a kind of refuge. Tshepo explains the strategies shebeens used to employ during police raids. "The shack had no windows, so you couldn't see inside," he says. "People were told not to make any noise but that's hard after a few drinks, so if the police came they would start pretending to worship -- as if it was a church service." Another cunning plan was to dress in traditional African attire, as if the drinkers were in the midst of a Zulu ceremony. Tshepo gives an example as he dons a beaded head-dress and jewelry, much to the mirth of the assembled clientele. Other typical places to eat and drink in Soweto include The Spot, a tavern (corner of Vilakazi and Baqwa Streets); Nambitha (Vilakazi Street; +27 11 936 9128) and Sakhumzi (Vilakazi Street; +27 11 536 1379) serve upmarket township fare. Lebo's Soweto Backpackers . Owner of the first and apparently only black-run backpackers hostel in South Africa, Lebo Malepa started offering overnight accommodation at his great-grandparents' house in 1998 before officially opening the guesthouse and bike tour business in 2003. "I came into the industry because I wanted to see people getting off the [tour] bus," Lebo says. "Soweto is a great place to learn about the history of South Africa. Every person and every building has a story to tell." Set on a hill with views over the more affluent Soweto suburb of Orlando West and near the much-visited Vilakazi Street, Lebo's backpackers feels a bit like a laid-back beach hotel. There's even a sandy bar area out back where you can enjoy a beer and fried fish before setting out on a bike or walking tour. Or you can just sit around and chat with the employees, including Lebo's Swedish wife Maria who came to work for him and never left. 10823A Pooe Street, Orlando West; +27 11 936 3444 . Vilakazi Street . This buzzy road was home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, who, like Soweto, are icons of the struggle against apartheid. It's also where successful locals come to rev up their Mercs and blare out the latest kwaito (a form of South African house music) from booming speakers -- it makes our bike tires judder. You can learn about Soweto's past as a center of resistance at the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum off Vilakazi Street (8287 Khumalo St.; +27 11 536 2253), named after a 13-year-old boy shot dead by police during a peaceful student protest in 1976. Nelson Mandela lived on Vilakazi Street with his first and second wives. His house has since been turned into Mandela House Museum (8115 Orlando West; +27 11 936 7754) featuring exhibits and personal items such as the first shoes he wore as a free man. The road has some cool street art, the result of a competition among 130 local artists. The winning wall murals, sculptures and mosaics are inspired by daily township life and Soweto's history. Learn the lingo . If you want to interact with Sowetans as you peddle through the streets, you should learn a few words of the local slang. Sowetans have a wicked sense of humor and the lingo is fast, furious and funny. On being greeted by us white folk on Vilakazi Street, one guy solemnly told us: "Don't talk to me, talk to my lawyer." Take your choice of how to say hello. The common South African handshake involves the normal gesture, followed by a clasping of the thumbs and then back to a normal handshake. Variations on the ending include a slow sliding of the palms together or a snapping of your thumbs in tandem (tricky at first). In Soweto it's popular to use the Spanish greeting "hola" to say hi (the reasons why are obscure). Or the Zulu "sanibonani" for "how are you?" to which the streetwise reply is "yebo" -- "cool." A popular expression is "shap shap," meaning anything from "agreed" to "hello," "bye" or "great." If you hear someone saying it, you can be sure they're happy. In Soweto, a "kota" is a kind of local version of a burger. A quarter loaf of bread is hollowed out and filled with various delights such as chips, egg, mince and achaar (a kind of pickle salad). And if kids run up to you on your bike and plead with you to "shoot" them, they don't have a death wish but want you to take a photo of them. Boutique hotel . Kliptown is one of Soweto's oldest neighborhoods and the venue for the signing of the Freedom Charter in 1955, when thousands of activists agreed on a document that would form the basis of the country's post-apartheid Constitution. Freedom Square is a vast and impressive area of modernist architecture with an unusual monument and art gallery, shops and a bustling marketplace. You can hop off your bike and walk into Soweto Hotel on the square (+27 11 527 7300). A funky boutique hotel featuring black and white photos by the late great black South African photographer Alf Khumalo, Afro-retro decor and friendly staff, it's a great place to recover while listening to live jazz and sipping a cocktail. The hotel's founding partner Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo trained in Switzerland and worked for luxury chains abroad but returned to South Africa to launch her vision for a high quality Soweto hotel. "My vision was to start a company with a typical African flavor -- a place where we could begin to define South African hospitality," she says.

Cycling is one of the best ways to see this huge former black township . You can drink a beer in a "shebeen," an informal bar . Vilakazi Street has been home to two Novel Peace Prize winners -- Mandela and Desmond Tutu .

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Monday appeared to call out Mitt Romney over what he said about going after Osama bin Laden on the campaign trail four years ago, as opposed to on the eve of the first anniversary of the raid that killed the terrorist leader. Asked about Romney's comments earlier in the day that the decision to go after bin Laden was a clear one and that "even Jimmy Carter would" have made the call, Obama referred to a difference between what Romney said during his 2008 presidential campaign and on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack. "I assume that people meant what they said when they said it," Obama said during a joint appearance with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. "That's been at least my practice. I said that I'd go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him, and I did. If there are others who said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, I'd go ahead and let them explain." Obama also appeared to take exception with a reporter's question that suggested there was excessive celebration around the anniversary of the al Qaeda leader's death, repeating a charge that Republicans have made. "I hardly think that you've seen any excessive celebration taking place," Obama said. "I think that the American people likely remember what we as a country accomplished in bringing to justice somebody who killed over 3,000 of our citizens." Romney's spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, responded in a statement that Obama was using the anniversary of bin Laden's death as "a cheap political ploy" that she said distorted Romney's policies on fighting terrorism. "While the Obama administration has naively stated that 'the war on terror is over,' Gov. Romney has always understood we need a comprehensive plan to deal with the myriad threats America faces," Saul said. U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden on May 2, 2011 during a raid in Pakistan. The war of words around the bin Laden death anniversary started last week when Obama's campaign made it an issue in a Web ad that questioned whether Romney would make the same call in the Oval Office. Former President Bill Clinton narrates parts of the video, in which he praises Obama's decision to order the attack. It also points out Romney saying in 2007 that, "It's not worth moving heaven and earth, spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person." Days later, he said, "We'll move everything to get him (bin Laden)." Asked by a reporter at an event Monday morning whether he would have made the call, Romney said "of course" he would have. "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order." Surrogates took up the argument over the bin Laden raid on the Sunday talk shows. Senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs defended the campaign, while senior Romney adviser Ed Gillespie characterized it as a "bridge too far." Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, said the video was "not over the line" and criticized comments Romney made on the issue during his first White House bid as "foolish." "There's a difference in the roles they would play as commander in chief, and I certainly think that's fair game," Gibbs said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." Gillespie, a former aide to President George W. Bush and former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said using the raid for political purposes is one of the reasons Obama has "become one of the most divisive presidents in American history." "He took something that was a unifying event for all Americans, and he's managed to turn it into a divisive, partisan political attack," Gillespie said in a separate interview on the same NBC program. "I think most Americans will see it as a sign of a desperate campaign." The day Osama bin Laden died . Arizona Sen. John McCain, Obama's 2008 opponent, called the minute-long spot "a cheap political attack ad." White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan avoided politics and praised the president's decision-making skills on the talk shows and in an address Monday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "One year ago today, President Obama faced the scenario that he discussed here at the Wilson Center five years ago, and he did not hesitate to act," he said. "The death of bin Laden was our most strategic blow yet against al Qaeda," Brennan said. "Credit for that success belongs to the courageous forces who carried out that mission, at extraordinary risk to their lives; to the many intelligence professionals who pieced together the clues that led to bin Laden's hideout; and to President Obama, who gave the order to go in." Vice President Joe Biden previewed the theme in a Thursday campaign-style address. "If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it's pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive," he said during a speech at New York University. Clinton appeared in a fundraiser with Obama on Sunday night, characterizing Romney as "an opponent who basically wants to do what they did before -- on steroids. Which will get you the same consequences you got before -- on steroids." Obama will pick up the message with what the campaign has billed as his re-election kick-off Saturday. He is expected to attend campaign rallies in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia, two likely battleground states in the November election. He cited Ronald Reagan on Monday as he rallied building trade union members, trying to draw a distinction between the conservative icon and the Republican Party that the president is running against now. "Ronald Reagan once said that rebuilding our infrastructure is common sense; an investment in tomorrow that we need to make today," Obama told the Building and Construction Trades Department Legislative Conference. "Ronald Reagan said that -- that great socialist Ronald Reagan said that. Couldn't get through a Republican primary these days." Biden will attend campaign events in Missouri and Indiana on Monday and in Washington on Thursday. Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, said that Saturday will mark the end of the Republican "monologue." Romney's campaign, meanwhile, announced that its candidate will mark the anniversary of the bin Laden raid in an event with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was dubbed "America's mayor" for his response in the days after bin Laden's 9/11 attacks against the U.S. Romney's Jimmy Carter comments came at an event in New Hampshire with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, another of those believed to be on Romney's vice president candidate search list. The freshman senator was an early backer of Romney's and appeared with him repeatedly on the stump ahead of her state's primary. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida got the VP scrutiny treatment last week when he appeared with Romney in Pennsylvania. Many political observers see Rubio as the favorite for Romney's vice presidential pick, given his ties to the swing state of Florida, the Hispanic community (he is the son of Cuban immigrants) and members of the grassroots tea party movement. Rubio was one of three potential candidates mentioned by House Speaker John Boehner in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Boehner said there is a "long list" of qualified candidates for the GOP ticket, including Rubio, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, all of whom fit his criteria that the pick be capable of serving as president. Romney will spend much of the coming week fundraising, with events in Pennsylvania and Virginia. He is expected to meet with former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Friday, a long-awaited rendezvous, given that the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania has yet to endorse his party's presumptive nominee. Santorum danced around the issue last week with CNN's Piers Morgan during his first televised interview since he suspended his candidacy on April 10. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to announce the suspension of his campaign Wednesday, at which point he will back Romney, sources told CNN.

Obama seems to call out Romney on what he has said about bin Laden . Romney was reacting to Obama ad questioning his resolve on bin Laden . Obama says Ronald Reagan wouldn't have made it out of 2012 GOP primaries . Romney campaigns with another potential vice presidential candidate in New Hampshire .

(CNN) -- Keeping up with the changes in coaching personnel on the men's tennis tour can be difficult these days. Just ask Goran Ivanisevic. "When I came into the locker room, I see the guys," explains the 2001 Wimbledon champion. "I thought I might be mistaken. Are we on the Champions Tour?!" The Croat's tongue-in-cheek remark made at the start of the Australian Open serves to illustrate a novel situation where former grand slam winners are suddenly all the rage with today's top players. Ivanisevic -- coach to compatriot Marin Cilic since 2010 -- and Ivan Lendl (who has been with Andy Murray since 2011) are old hands compared to the likes of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who surprised everyone at the end of last year when they accepted roles with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively. The German and the Swede met 35 times in the 1980s and 1990s, famously contesting three consecutive Wimbledon finals. Edberg won that particular battle 2-1 with both men finishing their careers with six grand slam titles. But how will they fair as coaches? Pat Cash, a former rival of both and host of CNN's Open Court, admitted to "surprise and disbelief" when he got wind of Becker's appointment. He wasn't the only one. "When Novak announced that Boris was going to be working with him I was honestly very surprised for a couple of reasons," two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin told CNN. "Novak had such a strong fall -- he was undefeated since the final of the U.S. Open where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He was 24-0 in the fall, so he was playing so well," she added. "The other thing that came to mind was that I was surprised Boris wanted to do it. He seems to have such a full life with family and commentary. It's a big commitment to travel on tour with a player full-time. But it seems like Boris is really, really excited about doing it." Excited and confident, judging by his comments prior to the Australian Open. "I've been in 10 grand slam finals, I know exactly what a player feels like when he's in the later stages of a tournament," Becker told reporters. "When you're 25 -- in my case -- I was better with a tennis racket and now I'm better with my mouth." Net gains . Djokovic has retained the services of long-time coach Marian Vajda, but will be hoping to learn from Becker's much feted skills at the net, Austin thinks. It was here, after all, that the German made a name for himself during a 15-year career, winning thousands of points and millions of fans with his unique brand of athleticism and never-say-die attitude. "(Djokovic) already has that from the baseline -- great defense, great offense -- but maybe he wants to round out his game a little bit more and be more forceful at the net, maybe have some better technique at the net," she says. Retired doubles ace Mark Woodforde is more familiar than most with Djokovic's game. The Australian, who won 11 grand slam doubles titles with his partner Todd Woodbridge, coached the world No. 2 for a time in 2007. "He likes to evolve his game and take advice from great tennis players and obviously he's gone for one of the all-time greats in Boris Becker," Woodforde said. "I just wonder whether in the back of Novak's mind is the way Boris played -- trying to finish points a little more cleanly than what he's been doing in the past. "Maybe he's trying to pick up on the style that Boris brought to the court himself -- the knowledge, the hustle bustle. You've got to think that the elongated points that he has to play these days, it's got to mount up." Long points inevitably lead to long games, as Djokovic's fans in Melbourne are all too aware. In 2012 he clinched his third title beating Rafael Nadal in a match lasting five hours 53 minutes -- the longest grand slam final ever -- and last year he took just over five hours to get past Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round. However, the Serbian's three-year Australian Open reign came to an end against Wawrinka on Tuesday as the Swiss upset the odds to win a grueling four-hour clash and reach the semifinals. While Djokovic tries to transition from baseline to net, Becker is plotting an entirely new path away from the commentary box. The 46-year-old has reigned in his TV duties since accepting the coaching role, but his former Davis Cup coach Niki Pilic has urged Becker, whose private life since retiring in 1999 has been colorful and, at times, scandalous, to go a step further. "There is no doubt he needs to change his lifestyle completely," Pilic said, Reuters reported. "He needs strict discipline and a certain modesty. It won't be easy for him but he has no choice. "He should not give too many interviews, must be restrained and do his work quietly. Above all, he must understand that he is not more important than the player. It will be an interesting experiment." Can Ed help Fed? Whereas Becker and Djokovic's partnership has caused a degree of head-scratching, the news that Federer had sought out the services of Edberg was much easier to understand. "That one didn't surprise me," says Austin. "He looks up to Stefan. He was one of his idols. Roger, when he first came on tour, to me, would serve and volley and infrequently chip and charge, and now he doesn't do that as much. Of course, that was Edberg's style of play, so maybe he's looking for that little extra element to elevate his game." Edberg, now 48, has agreed to a part-time coaching role, spending 10 weeks with Federer this season, but is confident he can help the 32-year-old Swiss to an 18th grand slam title. "He's such a great player, but there's always minor things you can work on," Edberg said recently. "That's why I do it, because I really think I can make a little difference. And if I can make a little difference, maybe that will take him back to where he was." Woodforde is relishing the prospect of watching the partnership evolve. "We all liked to watch Stefan Edberg play. It's almost when we watch Roger play now, everyone covets to see him. They always want him to win," Woodforde said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how Federer profits from that. I think it's going to be so beneficial for him because that is probably that style is probably what Roger needs to move towards if he is going to have an elongated career." Fine margins . With the business end of the year's first grand slam approaching, Federer will hope he can execute the strategies discussed with Edberg as he takes on Andy Murray -- his successor as Wimbledon champion last year -- in Wednesday's quarterfinals. "The key thing for me is that this really shows how important these tiny little things can make," says Austin. "These are all champions that we are talking about, they're already top players, but they are looking for any different margin to set themselves apart. "In a match when they are playing against each other, it could be two or three points. It could be something that a former champion says -- the light bulb goes and maybe makes them feel more comfortable, more confident. If that makes the difference then it's all worth it." Read more: Federer reverts to bigger racket . Read more: Who will be ace in 2014?

1980s tennis greats answering calls for help from today's top stars . Boris Becker helping Novak Djokovic; Stefan Edberg coaching Roger Federer . Former coach Mark Woodforde says Djokovic could be looking to shorten points . Edberg's serve and volley expertise could help Federer prolong career, Woodforde says .

(CNN) -- Roots ripped out of the ground as a large oak tree fell toward Olga Raymond's front door. With it came a power line. Raymond had just left her one-story home in Mansfield, Connecticut. Neighbors told CNN affiliate CTNOW that a smaller pine tree had already snapped off onto Raymond's roof, startling her. She had a flashlight in hand and was on her way to a neighbor's house when the bigger tree crashed down. Interactive: Remembering the victims . The 90-year-old woman -- a "spirited" bowler and grandmother of four -- was killed instantly. Across the Northeast, more stories such as Raymond's are being reported. Another tree, another town, another broken home. And the death toll from Superstorm Sandy climbs. New York after Sandy: A tale of two cities . Sandy battered the coast with 90-mph winds, leaving at least 165 dead from Haiti to Canada. More than 95 were killed in the United States. Many of the victims were believed to be safely holed up in their homes. "When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy, and so all we can do is stay prayerful and do the best that we can," Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford told CNN. How you can help . 'This is our friend' Friends of Angela Dresch, 13, were walking along a tattered road in Tottenville on New York's Staten Island when they spotted a photo lying among some debris. They rushed to give it to their pastor, the Rev. Francis Dias. "They picked it up and showed it to me and said 'This is our friend, Angela,' " Dias said. "It had floated from the house onto the road." Angela was one of the first victims of Superstorm Sandy identified on Staten Island. The teen's body was found not too far from her home early Tuesday after a surge of water demolished her family's house on the edge of the borough's south shore, according to SILive.com. Neighbors told SILive.com that the family had evacuated from Irene last year and were robbed. This time, they decided to stay behind. George Dresch was reported missing shortly after the storm passed through. His body was discovered late Wednesday blocks from his house, according to SILive.com. His wife, Patricia, was found earlier in the week and transported to the hospital, where she is reportedly in stable condition. The Dreschs were dedicated parishioners at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Dias said. Patricia Dresch is the secretary to the religious education program's coordinator. "Patricia has served our community for over 20 years as a dutiful and faithful catechist," Dias said. "The parishioners -- both parents and students -- love her and respect her very much." George Dresch was always at the church helping out, Dias said, whether it was for the education program or the Christmas pageant. Support has been pouring in for his wife as she struggles to recover and deal with the loss of her husband and youngest child. Angela's friends have set up a memorial page for her on Facebook. "Her classmates are devastated," Dias said. "Can't sleep, dying inside knowing that this nightmare is the reality we have to face," the page's admin Giovanna Cocuzza posted. "I know you're up there Ang, please help us get through this. We love you and miss you so much. Why did you have to go?" 'All-star' angels . Shortly before her younger brother was killed, Ashley Robson was weathering Superstorm Sandy like many others in New York. "Collecting rain that is coming through the roof #thankssady (sic) #couldbedoingsomethingsomuchbetter," the teen tweeted at 5:52 p.m. Monday. Less than two hours later, Michael Robson, 13, and his friend Jack Baumler, 11, were killed by a 100-foot oak tree that crashed into the family room where they were seeking shelter. The small suburban town of North Salem is now in mourning. "Waking up this morning and realizing it wasn't just a bad dream. ... My love prayers go out to both families #ripjackandmichael," Camilla Fay tweeted Tuesday. "My heart is breaking a thousand times over," Talyah Fae posted. Michael and Jack used to play basketball near their homes on Bonnieview Street. Neighbors and friends told The Journal News that they were good kids and tight friends. "Heaven got two all-stars too soon," said Daniel Seymour, Jack's uncle. Katrina, Joplin survivors offer advice to Sandy victims . In the line of duty . #LODD stands for line of duty death. It's used to describe the brave men and women who fall while serving their communities -- working to save others in times of need. Russell Neary, 55, a lieutenant with the volunteer fire department in Easton, Connecticut, was killed Monday night while responding to a call, according to CNN affiliate CTNOW.com. Debris blocked his truck's route on Judd Road; he was working to clear a path when a tree limb struck him. "It was a line of duty death," Easton Fire Chief James Girardi told NewsTimes.com. "It's the first one we've ever had. And we're not over the shock of it. His death is a tremendous loss to his family, our department and the community." New York Police Department Officer Artur Kasprzak may have been off-duty on Monday night, but he was hard at work saving the lives of those in a house on Doty Avenue on Staten Island. With flood water "surging" into his house, Kasprzak was able to shepherd six adults and a 1-year-old child into the attic, according to James Duffy, a police spokesman. Around 7:30 p.m., he told one of the adults he was going back down to check the basement. When he didn't return, someone called 911. "NYPD personnel from the Emergency Service and SCUBA units immediately responded to the residence using Zodiac boats and Jet Skis," the spokesman said, "but could not access the home due to down, electrified power lines in the water." Officers discovered Kasprzak's body "unconscious and unresponsive" the next morning. "My boyfriend was an amazing man," Kasprzak's girlfriend told HLN in a Facebook message. "He had a heart of gold. He always put others before himself. He was my everything. I am just too upset to speak. Just know that the world lost an amazing person with a huge heart. He will forever be missed." Sandy's flooding: 5 things you need to know . Trapped . At 7:38 Monday night, New Jersey's Mendham Township police received a 911 call about a car accident on North Gate Road. Richard Everett was driving with his wife, Elizabeth, and two of their children when a 100-foot tall, 3-foot wide tree fell on the hood of their pickup. The Everetts were returning from the Blue Crest Riding Center in Long Valley, which they owned and operated. By the time officers arrived, the children, 11 and 14, had managed to free themselves from the wreck. Their parents were still trapped inside. Two passers-by stopped to help police officers as they worked to free the Everetts from the crushed cab. Soon after the fire department and first aid squad arrived to help. Despite rescuers' best efforts, the couple died at the scene. "My thoughts and prayers to the Everett family," @CoreyJett tweeted. "Horrible tragedy no one should ever go through. We're all with you in this terrible time RIP." Have you lost a loved one to Superstorm Sandy? Share your story on iReport. Post-Sandy water safety tips . CNN's Matthew Mochow contributed to this report.

NEW: Angela Dresch, 13, was among the storm's first victims on Staten Island . Sandy leaves at least 165 dead, including more than 95 in the U.S. Other victims include teen friends, a firefighter and off-duty police officer . "When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy," Atlantic City mayor says .

(CNN) -- A potential terror plot may have involved synchronized attacks in several countries with "at least a dozen" people taking part, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. Earlier, a German counterterrorism source said that a man captured in Afghanistan had tipped off investigators to a potential "Mumbai-style" plot in Europe. Mumbai, the financial hub of India, was the site of a three-day terror attack two years ago that left more than 160 people dead. Ten men launched the carefully planned assault, targeting prominent sites such as the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, the Oberoi-Trident hotels, the historic Victoria Terminus train station and a Jewish cultural center. The intelligence gathered so far, the law enforcement official said, indicated that sites in the United Kingdom, France and Germany as well as Italy and Belgium may have been targets in the potential plot. Investigators believe al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden signed off on a European attack plan, a separate law enforcement source said. But U.S. and international officials say they have seen no sign of an imminent attack. U.S. officials said the alleged plot has no U.S. component -- at least none that has been found. One official stressed that the plot is serious and credible but that the intelligence available lacked specificity: no who, where or how. Some names of "known operational planners" are possibly connected with the plot, but there is "no precise insight" into who may be planning an attack, the official said. Soft targets such as hotels and economic targets are of particular concern, but there is "no precise" intelligence on the mode of attack, said the official. Another official said there are different threads coming from different places, and it's not clear how or even if they will come together. The European countries involved -- primarily Germany, France and Britain -- are tackling the perceived threats as they see fit, the official said. The "threat has certainly caught our attention" and that of our allies, the official said. Although no "U.S. dimension" to the plot has been uncovered, the official said, the "U.S. is only a seven-hour plane ride away" from Europe. The potential plot is one reason for a dramatic increase in the number of missile strikes by unmanned drones against terrorist targets in Pakistan, according to a U.S. official. The number of suspected U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan jumped to 20 this month -- more than in any previous month and twice the monthly average, according to a CNN estimate based on information from Pakistani officials. A federal law enforcement official in the United States, meanwhile, said "the volume seems to be turned up" on the threat information coming out of Europe. The intelligence indicates there is interest in using people with Western passports in an attack, that official said. The official said the potential operatives may be a mix of Europeans and others, possibly including North Africans, Pakistanis, Turks, Uzbeks and Tajiks. There is concern about an "active shooter" scenario that would create as many casualties and as much chaos as possible in a short period of time. The Mumbai attacks showed how effective this kind of an attack can be in drawing attention. Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat . Economic institutions in Europe, including banks and stock exchanges, could be possible targets, according to the federal law enforcement source. The man who described a potential attack, Ahmed Sidiqi, was detained in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July and transferred to U.S. custody, the German official said. Sidiqi, a German of Afghan descent, attended the same Hamburg mosque as Mohammad Atta -- a leader of the September 11 attacks on the United States -- and was part of Atta's circle, the official said. The man in custody has "revealed details about the terror plot," said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media. Germany's Interior Ministry said Wednesday that authorities are aware of recent published reports about planned terror attacks in Europe and are analyzing the intelligence information. "Presently this has produced no concrete indications of directly imminent attacks in Germany. The current accounts do not lead to a change in [our] assessment of danger," the ministry said. Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of homeland security, declined to say Wednesday whether there was concrete information about a plan to attack the United States. "There are constantly threats of all types that we need to be able to be proactive against, and be proactive even when there aren't specific threats," she told CNN's "American Morning." Sidiqi, the man who was captured, traveled with several other Germans from Hamburg, Germany, to the Afghan-Pakistan border area in 2009, where he joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an extremist group allied with al Qaeda, German intelligence officials said. One he was captured, Sidiqi "started to talk a lot" and detailed a "Mumbai-style" attack in Europe, the German official said. Sidiqi is from Hamburg, where he worked for a cleaning company at the Hamburg international airport, the German official said. He attended the Masjid Taiba mosque, formerly known as the Al-Quds mosque, in Hamburg, which became known as the meeting place of those behind the September 11 attacks. Hamburg shut down the mosque this year, not long after Sidiqi's capture. U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper would not talk about a plot Tuesday evening. "We are not going to comment on specific intelligence, as doing so threatens to undermine intelligence operations that are critical to protecting the U.S. and our allies," he said. "As we have repeatedly said, we know al Qaeda wants to attack Europe and the United States." The German government is increasingly concerned about the number of Germans becoming jihadists. According to a senior German counterterrorism source, about 200 individuals have traveled to train with jihadist groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region since the September 11 attacks. The potential plot against Europe is apparently one reason for the increase in attacks by unmanned aerial drones in Pakistan. "We would be remiss not to try to take action to thwart what might be underway in Europe," the official said, though the official emphasized it was not the sole factor. U.S. officials say they are taking advantage of what they call "precise intelligence." Most of the drone attacks this year have been focused on North Waziristan, a mountainous area bordering Afghanistan where Pakistani security forces have little control. That has continued to be the pattern this month. Napolitano declined to comment on the increase in drone attacks. But acknowledging the spike, one U.S. official said: "Our operational tempo has been up for a while now, we have good information driving it, and given the stakes involved, we hope to keep the pressure on as long as we can." According to the official, the mix of threats remains the same. It comes from groups like the Haqqani network, al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistan Taliban. The threats they pose are "all deadly," said the official. Pakistani officials say many recent strikes have been aimed at compounds in or around the town of Miramshah, a stronghold of the Haqqani network. Western intelligence officials have long regarded the Haqqanis as one of the most dangerous terror groups and have linked them to several attacks in Kabul. Intelligence analysts point to other reasons for the escalated drone attacks. Those include better information from sources in the border area and better surveillance technology, including the growing use of spy balloons fitted with high-powered cameras. In addition, the rising number of drone strikes is designed to deprive the Afghan Taliban of "strategic depth," as the Obama administration's campaign to defeat the insurgency enters a crucial phase, and to tighten the noose on the senior al Qaeda leadership. Pakistani officials say one strike last weekend killed Sheikh Mohammad Fateh al Masri, described as the group's senior operational commander. CNN's Pam Benson, Tim Lister and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.

NEW: United States officials see "no U.S. dimension" to possible plot . German Interior Ministry: There are no "concrete indications" of imminent attacks . A man captured in Afghanistan talks about a "Mumbai-style" attack in Europe, an official says . He attended the same mosque in Hamburg as 9/11 hijacker Mohammad Atta .

(CNN) -- Attorney General Eric Holder called the leaks about U.S. surveillance programs "extremely damaging" and vowed that the person responsible would be held accountable. Appearing at a U.S.-European Union ministerial meeting Friday in Dublin, Ireland, Holder was asked by a reporter why the United States hasn't requested the arrest of Edward Snowden, the self-avowed National Security Agency leaker. He is believed to be in Hong Kong, and authorities are trying to keep track of his whereabouts. Singapore Airlines has received an alert from the British Home Office urging it not to let Snowden board a flight to the United Kingdom, a representative for the airline in London said Friday. In his remarks, Holder didn't mention Snowden's name and said the case remains under investigation. Snowden provided documents to journalists revealing the existence of secret programs to collect records of domestic telephone calls in the United States and the Internet activity of overseas residents. "The national security of the United States has been damaged as a result those leaks. The safety of the American people and the safety of people who reside in allied nations have been put at risk as a result of these leaks," Holder said. "We are presently in the process of that investigation, and I'm confident the person who is responsible will be held accountable." A glance at opinions about the NSA leaker . The leaks have spurred great concern in Europe. EU officials in Dublin raised questions, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told CNN in an interview that European officials are particularly concerned about the PRISM program -- the secret set of tools used to collect data about overseas Internet communications. The NSA and FBI have obtained massive numbers of U.S. phone logs through a court order. Merkel intends to discuss the PRISM surveillance program with President Obama, she told CNN in Berlin on Friday. She wants the greatest possible transparency on all these issues, she said. The European Union has "serious concerns" about the reported large-scale surveillance of online data by U.S. authorities, European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding said. Holder discussed the leak about Verizon turning over details of phone calls. The Obama administration invoked the Patriot Act's Section 215 -- as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- as the basis for a secret court order demanding Verizon records that show originating and terminating phone numbers, their location, time and duration. That information, called telephony metadata, requires a court order. Holder explained that the surveillance programs are overseen by courts, strictly monitored and focused on wrongdoing such as terrorism. He said the program does not allow the government to listen in on anyone's phone calls and the information required doesn't include "the content of any communication or the identity of any subscriber." "The court only allows that data to be queried when there is a reasonable suspicion based on specific facts that the particular basis for the query is associated with a foreign terrorist organization," he said. "Only special cleared counter-terrorism personnel who are specifically trained in the court-approved procedures may even access those records. All information that is required under this order is subject to strict restrictions on handling and is overseen by the Department of Justice and the FISA court. And only a very small fraction of the records are ever reviewed because the vast majority of the data is not responsive to any terrorism-related query that might be posed," he said. Holder was referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. As for PRISM, he said the program "facilitates the targeted acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning foreign targets located outside the United States under again court oversight." He stressed that the program is subject to extensive "internal and external" oversight. "The government cannot target anyone under the court-approved procedures for this program unless there is an appropriate and documented foreign intelligence purpose for the acquisition, such as for the prevention of terrorism, hostile cyber activities or nuclear proliferation," he said. "The foreign target is reasonably believed to be outside the United States. We cannot target even foreign persons overseas without a valid foreign intelligence purpose." Intercepted data called critical in terror investigations . Snowden went public about NSA surveillance programs Sunday in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian. As an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, a contractor for the U.S. electronic intelligence agency, he had been working at an NSA facility in Hawaii and had worked for the CIA in the past. He provided fresh fuel Wednesday for the controversy he has sparked, telling a Hong Kong newspaper that U.S. intelligence agents have been hacking networks around the world for years, including hundreds of computers in China. China quiet about Snowden . As for Snowden's whereabouts, the Singapore Airlines representative has not seen the alert and could not offer any other details. The British Home Office declined earlier to comment on reports that it was asking airlines not to let Snowden board flights to the UK. British Airways also declined to comment. China has remained tight-lipped about its stance on Snowden, who is believed to be holed up in a safe house somewhere in the semiautonomous territory of Hong Kong. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, he also said he planned to stay in Hong Kong to fight any attempt to force him to return to the United States because he has "faith in Hong Kong's rule of law." His comments come as the FBI is investigating his case. Chinese Internet users call on government to 'protect' Snowden . His presence in the southern Chinese territory, which has a separate system of government from the mainland, has raised questions about how an effort by the U.S. government to extradite him would unfold and what role Beijing might play in the process. "We have no information to offer at the moment," a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said in response to a question about Snowden at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. She repeated the same answer to several follow-up questions. There are "no signs or indications" that Snowden had accomplices or tried to sell secrets, a U.S. official said. Investigators think the leaker is still in Hong Kong and have a general sense of where he is in that Asian metropolis. Snowden's case has become a hot issue in that coastal city, making local newspaper front pages, stirring legal debates and prompting plans for a rally in support of him over the weekend. Progressive group fundraises for NSA leaker's legal defense . The reaction in mainland China, on the other hand, has been muted. State-run media outlets have covered the case cautiously, appearing to try to avoid focusing too much attention on some of the sensitive issues his disclosures have raised, such as government surveillance of citizens. The Snowden story has also so far failed to make big waves among China's tens of millions of highly active social media users. Some Chinese state media have taken the opportunity to highlight Snowden's comments to the South China Morning Post alleging that the U.S. government has hacked Chinese targets. In recent years, the Global Times newspaper said in an editorial, "the United States has always claimed itself to be a victim of Chinese hacking activities. Many speculate that it's a coverup for hacking activities conducted by the U.S. government. Now, Snowden's revelation proves that such activities have already been going on for a long time." Among some 61,000 reported targets of the National Security Agency, Snowden told the Hong Kong newspaper, are hundreds of computers in China. U.S. officials have increasingly accused China of being the source of thousands of attacks on U.S. military and commercial networks. Beijing has denied such attacks. The South China Morning Post said it had seen documents provided by Snowden but was unable to verify their authenticity. The newspaper also said it was unable to independently verify allegations of U.S. hacking of networks in Hong Kong and mainland China since 2009. Snowden told the paper that some of the targets included the Chinese University of Hong Kong, public officials and students. The documents also "point to hacking activity by the NSA against mainland targets," it reported. The claims came just days after Obama pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to address cyberattacks emanating from China that Obama described as "direct theft of United States property." CNN's Joe Sterling, Jethro Mullen, Bridget Fallon and Richard Quest contributed to this report.

NEW: Singapore Airlines: Britain requested that Snowden not be permitted to board flight to UK . Holder said the leaks are under investigation . Edward Snowden went public about the surveillance program Sunday . German leader Angela Merkel says she aims to talk about PRISM program with Obama .

Myitkyina, Myanmar (CNN)On the surface, this riverfront town looks prosperous, peaceful and green; a trading hub that profits from lucrative gemstone mines located in the hinterland of Myanmar's northern Kachin State. Dig deeper, though, and a dark undercurrent exists -- what community leaders say is a major heroin epidemic. Even on the campus of Myitkyina University, used syringes spill out of metal garbage bins marked with signs urging users to properly dispose of drug paraphernalia to avoid the spread of infections like HIV. More needles litter the rocky banks of the Irrawaddy River, near the terminal where boatmen ship fuel, vegetables and the occasional foreign tourist up and down the waterway. Community leaders offer shockingly high estimates for drug use among young people in this part of Myanmar. "Every family has this drug problem... I think 65% or 70% of young people use drugs," says Reverend Samson Hkalam, the head of the Kachin Baptist Convention, the largest group of churches in the state. "The drug is the first enemy of the Kachin people," he adds. How heroin kills you . Conflict zone . The Kachin are an ethnic and predominantly Christian religious minority in Myanmar, which is a majority Buddhist country. For much of the last half century, Kachin State has also been a battleground in a conflict between Myanmar's military and an insurgency led by militants from the Kachin Independence Army. Some Kachin community leaders argue drug abuse now claims more lives than the decades-long conflict, which is estimated to have forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in the last three years. But this claim is challenged by the top counter narcotics police commander in Myitkyina. In a phone conversation with CNN, Sai Thein Zaw downplays the sight of used heroin syringes on the town's streets. "Drug problems are not unique to Kachin state or Myanmar for that matter," he says, before claiming that government efforts to combat the region's drug problem have been successful. But a recent United Nations report suggests otherwise. The United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime says poppy production in Myanmar more than doubled between 2006 and 2013, while opium production jumped 26% from 2012 to 2013. Myanmar ranks as the world's second largest producer of opium after Afghanistan. Desperate measures . In Myitkyina, desperate times call for desperate measures. Community leaders send out volunteers to clean used needles off the streets, while church groups organize raids against suspected drug dealers, sharing photos and videos of what they say are confiscated narcotics that they subsequently burn. In one unusual video filmed and released by the group Ram Hkye (or "Save Youth"), a pastor wearing a motorcycle helmet preaches through a megaphone at more than a dozen men squatted on a dirt road with syringes bulging from their biceps and hands. The pastor, backed up by a man playing guitar, distributes religious pamphlets to the heroin users, one of whom claps listlessly along with a hymn as a needle protrudes from one of his veins. Community groups have also gotten into the business of addiction treatment. At least a half dozen faith-based rehabilitation centers have sprung up in areas around Myitkyina in the last two years. One of them, the Light of the World camp, is a compound on the banks of the Irrawaddy surrounded by 10-foot high aluminum walls as well as a guard tower. The main gate to the compound locks from the outside. There is no handle on the inside of the gate. "We need to have the walls," says Zau Tu, a pastor leading the team who was treating at least 18 patients at the camp. "If they (the patients) can't see anything around them, it calms them down." For those patients who can't control their urges, there are more drastic measures available, including a cage next to the camp's bamboo chapel. "If they commit crimes, if they fight each other, they go in the penalty box," says Zau Tu. 'Jesus not methadone' At faith-based rehabilitation camps like Light of the World, counselors don't administer methadone -- the synthetic opioid often used to treat heroin addicts. "We use the words of Jesus instead of methadone," explains Nding Ahga, a recovered heroin addict and former rock star who runs the Youth for Christ Center, about a mile up the river from Light of the World. Ahga's camp is not walled. But patients spend their first week in rehabilitation overcoming drug withdrawal symptoms while locked in a prison-like room that Ahga called the "prayer room." All 12 of Ahga's patients are laborers who said they had come from the jade mines of Hpakant, located several hours' drive northwest of Myitkyina. No San, 29, showed the track marks and scars left in his arms and veins after years of heroin abuse. "I was hot, I was burning," he recalls, describing his first agonizing week of heroin withdrawal. He and the other patients say heroin and other drugs are bought and sold in the open in an outdoor market near the jade mines. "We can get drugs easily everywhere in Hpakant," No San adds. "All of the miners take drugs. It's not strange for us. You can buy drugs at the store easily." Nding Ahga shares footage he filmed secretly during a recent visit to one of the heroin bazaars in Hpakant. The video shows a row of crude shops and stalls that also served as a "shooting gallery," an area where drug users could inject heroin in the open without fear from law enforcement officers. Asked why counter narcotics officers do not intervene in Hpakant, Sai Thein Zaw of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control in Myitkyina blames the Kachin insurgency. "It is difficult to work in places like Hpakant because peace has not been achieved between the government and Kachin State," he says. "So it is hard to implement programs that work toward eliminating drugs in the region." Worst yet to come . Despite state and community-led efforts to battle the drug trade, many community leaders predicted the worst was yet to come in Kachin. Due in part to high unemployment in the region, Reverend Hkalam says many recovering addicts quickly relapse after rehabilitation treatment. "We see that the main problem is follow-up and vocational training," he says. "Because if they go back home, jobless, it's very easy to return to the drugs again." The scene at an overgrown cemetery near a camp for families displaced by the conflict underscores the scale of the heroin epidemic. Hundreds -- if not thousands -- of empty syringe wrappers litter the ground around crypts and tombs that had been nearly swallowed by vegetation. Used syringes and glass vials lay amid the graves. Against this macabre backdrop of death and drug abuse, our team encounters a couple of men injecting heroin at sunset. Surprised by foreign visitors, the men hastily hide their needles. One of the men, who identifies himself only as a 30-year-old farmer, uses leaves from a bush to wipe away blood dripping down his arm as he speaks. He says he can buy a dose of heroin for as little as 4,000 kyat, which is roughly equivalent to four U.S. dollars. "If I have more money, I will use more [heroin]," the man says. "There are no limits if I have money." After a 10-minute conversation, both drug users climb onto a motorcycle and ride away along the syringe-strewn path between the tombstones. Their used needles lie discarded in the grass.

CNN team encounters problem with heroin addiction in Myanmar's northern Kachin State . Region has been unstable for decades due to conflict between government forces and rebels . Community leaders estimate 65% to 70% of young people use drugs here . Church and community groups battling to help addicts rehabilitate .

(CNN) -- Fat Tuesday is rolling up fast, so we asked for your recommendations for New Orleans' very best dishes. "Excess is the new moderation," one iReporter proclaimed. Debatable, but not a bad mantra for a trip to diner's paradise. If you're not hungry now, you will be. Oysters every which way . Tucked into a baguette, charbroiled, fried, smothered in butter and cheese, sprinkled with bacon or just slurped right out of the shell, oysters turn up in many a New Orleans memory. The charbroiled variety from Drago's made a big impression on Heather Ackerly, a South Louisiana transplant. "The rich butter and garlic mixed with the fresh saltwater taste of the oyster is heaven. And before you know it -- the oysters are gone. But that wonderful butter and herb sauce remains, waiting for you to soak it up with the French bread." Felix's Oyster Bar gets iReporter Lulis Leal's vote. "Whether served ice cold on the half shell, chargrilled and sizzling in garlic butter or fried to golden perfection, Felix's oysters are some of the best you'll ever have," Leal said. Eatocracy: What NOT to do during Mardi Gras . There's nothing better than the standard oyster po' boy, "dressed, lots of Crystal," said Judy Pfau Hull of Rochester, New York. She likes Domilise's, Tracey's, Franky & Johnny's and Central Grocery for sandwiches. "The wonderful thing about New Orleans cuisine is it really doesn't matter if you have $100 to spend or $10, you can always get something truly special," she said. Local Ed Killeen goes just blocks from his home in Old Metairie to Zeke's for the "most stupendously crisp and fresh oyster po' boys!" A proper po' boy requires lightly toasted French bread, real butter, crisp lettuce and pickles, thin-sliced tomato and "most of all, freshly fried oysters," Killeen wrote in his iReport. Mardi Gras beyond bare breasts . A sandwich known 'round the world . Po' boys aren't the only world-famous sandwiches to come out of the Crescent City. The Central Grocery on Decatur Street is widely touted as the source of the original muffuletta, a sandwich of layered Italian meats, cheeses and olive salad on a flat round loaf of muffuletta bread. The sandwich has been replicated and interpreted, but Leal calls the Central Grocery's sandwich "definitive." "Yes, other restaurants now make fatter ones on artisan breads with more exotic cold cuts and fancier ingredients in the olive salad, but Central Market's muffuletta has a classic dignity that simply cannot be bettered," she said. Eatocracy: Lick-the-screen muffuletta . Steven Wolfe of Houston urges diners to order a whole sandwich to stave off regrets. "No other sandwich is so perfectly designed for proportion, texture and combination of tastes." He's a fan of really communing with the muffuletta, so he suggests taking it back to your hotel room, "where you can have a private experience with the sandwich, away from the eyes of strangers," he wrote on iReport.com. Recline after you dine. "By the time you're ready to walk around, cocktail hour should be creeping up on the Quarter. A cold Abita and a few oysters sounds lovely. Give in," Wolfe advised. Eatocracy: What we ate in New Orleans . More fruits of the sea . Kristen Hendrix had an unforgettable taste of her husband's crab cake pasta at Oceana Grill. "It was so rich and creamy, just the right amount of seafood flavor to it," she said. "We have tried to replicate it at home with no success so far," said Hendrix, who lives in Charleston, Illinois. The alligator sausage cheesecake appetizer at Jacques-Imo's received two iReporter endorsements. Richard Senger of The Woodlands, Texas, called it "inexplicable." Mariel Metzenthin of Overland Park, Kansas, went for it with this description: "The look on everyone's face at the table was the same, 'Damn!' -- eyes wide, mouths full and forks going in for seconds. The texture was smoother than a quiche, yet not as rich as the traditional cheesecake and the alligator sausage gave the right amount of bite." When he's in New Orleans, former Louisiana resident Anthony DiFatta always stops at Coop's Place for the cajun pasta, a spicy creamy dish featuring crawfish, oysters, shrimp, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and cajun Tasso ham. He calls this "little dive" of a restaurant the city's best-kept secret. For true home cooking, Marissa Turner recommends Val's Marina in Maurepas, Louisiana, about an hour's drive from the New Orleans airport. "I make the drive to Val's Marina because it feels like having dinner at my momma's house. And that's saying something," said Turner, who lives in Prairieville, Louisiana. New Orleans: The food that got them through . A cloud of powdered sugar . What's not to love about fried things doused in powdered sugar? The famous Café du Monde, established in 1862, popped up several times among iReport contributors. Beignets, French-style square doughnuts, are the main attraction, but coffee mixed with chicory is a natural complement. "Don't get me wrong, I love étouffée, gumbo, po' boys, muffuletta, but I gotta have my oysters and beignets," said Diana Nguyen, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. More sweet treats . For a more unusual, sucré salé treat, head to Green Goddess. "The standout, not-to-be-missed creation I'm crazy about is the bacon sundae," said Lynn Chen of Los Angeles. She tucked into this concoction -- pecan praline ice cream drizzled with bacon caramel sauce, topped with Applewood bacon and whipped cream -- instead of cake on her 35th birthday. And of course bananas Foster, bread pudding and pralines are well-loved New Orleans standards. See the gallery above for recommendations on where to indulge in those. Breaking away from the local standards . When you've had more oysters, crawfish and beignets than you can bear, veer away from tradition and make new ones. The dining scene in New Orleans is always evolving with fresh twists on the classics and totally original dishes. "Now really, about all you have to do is walk or drive down the street until you see an eatery. Go inside and 99.9% of the time you will be delighted!" wrote former New Orleans resident Duane Putnam. Eatocracy: The great gumbo debate . Very fine eateries rub shoulders with casual favorites. Port of Call has earned hearty praise from Sharon Curole, who first encountered this hole-in-the-wall bar's tremendous burger with baked potato before her wedding in December 1995. "Every year since, my husband Chris and I make sure we get down to New Orleans to enjoy it again." "Get it loaded or 'dressed,' as they say in NOLA," said Curole, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire. Melinda Green Harvey of Lubbock, Texas, offered another rave for a well-loved sandwich: the Cuban. She found a very tasty version at Cochon Butcher, a hybrid sandwich shop, butcher and wine bar. "I get it. People go to New Orleans for gumbo, or red beans, or beignets. But when you get tired of that and just want something simple and delicious, head to Cochon Butcher."

Oysters every which way rank high with New Orleans visitors . Standards such as Café du Monde's beignets are still favorites . For an excellent burger, head to Port of Call, says one iReporter .

CNN chief national correspondent John King could be ousted from the network in favour of new Chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper, MailOnline can reveal. King, 49, has already moved out of his office to make way for Tapper, 43, who was poached by new CNN boss Jeff Zucker from ABC. And now sources have revealed that King has not signed a new contract - and has instead signed an extension to his existing deal, leaving his future at the network unclear. Exes: CNN chief national correspondent John King with his ex wife, CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash at a White House bash in May 2009 . Popular: CNN's new Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper has already been given his own weekday show . Tapper, who debuted on CNN last week, has already been given his own weekday show by Zucker, most likely set to launch in March or April. Both Jake and John are uber forces in Washington and a source said: 'People are wondering what Jeff has planned for John. His own show didn't work and it was dropped, so where can he go? What would be the best place for him?' King disappeared from the airwaves and Twitter for nearly a month between December and January until Media Bistro reported he had been on an extended vacation with his family - a post-election break. The longtime CNN correspondent who hosted 'John King USA' until disappointing ratings forced it off the air last summer, signed a short-term contract extension at the end of last year. He split from CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, 40, last March after four years of marriage less than a year after she gave birth to their son Jonah Frank King. The petite blonde is a favourite at the network. Tapper is now in King's former office - and the correspondent left him a bottle of Johnny Walker Black as a moving in gift. A CNN source told MailOnline: 'This was purely out of convenience. Jake's team are going to be based by that office, so it made sense. John has a got a new office, it's really gorgeous.' Tapper said he expects to take over the 4 p.m. hour currently occupied by Wolf Blitzer’s ‘Situation Room.’ Blitzer will be cut back to 5 to 7 p.m. If all goes well, it could be a prelude to Tapper breaking into the prime-time lineup and he told Media Bistro: 'It’s a little premature, but anything’s possible. Jeff says he wants to do a lot of different things. 'Everything’s on the table. But maybe 4 p.m. will ultimately be a great place to be. It’s when viewers start getting serious about news. It’s valuable real estate.' A CNN spokeswoman said: 'We never discuss contracts.' This week, Zucker - who was hired from NBC to shake up CNN after it suffered its worst rating slump in 21 years last summer - hired and fired six big names in his first two days in the job. The first departuree was political power couple James Carville, the veteran political analyst, and his wife Mary Matalin, who have been with CNN since 2005. CNN network's managing editor Mark Whitaker then announced that he was going to quit as it emerged Tapper's former ABC colleague Chris Cuomo was coming over to start a new morning show. Shake-up: CNN's new boss Jeff Zucker, pictured left, has hired and fired six big names in his first two days in the job. However, the former editor of Britain's Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan, right, will keep his job . RedState's Erick Erickson will also be leaving and will reportedly be heading to Fox News, which recently parted ways with Sarah Palin, who, according to close sources, declined to sign a new deal with the network. But perhaps the biggest news of all is that the voice of James Earl Jones will once again speak the 'This is CNN' greeting. The Oscar nominee and voice of Darth Vader has not been featured on the network for years but Zucker asked that it be brought back on Monday to coincide with President Obama's inauguration - also his first day in the job. The former editor of Britain's Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan, will remain in his position as host of Piers Morgan Tonight, which he began hosting on 17 January 2011, as ratings continue to grow. The changes show just how serious Zucker is about turning CNN around, but for so much to happen so soon has raised eyebrows. His actions also leave huge questions over others whose fate rests in his hands, namely Ann Curry who wants to leave NBC for CNN. Another who will be feeling anxious is Soledad O'Brien, who currently hosts the CNN morning show 'Starting Point,' which has struggled in the ratings despite being critically applauded. Gone: The first departure was political power couple James Carville, right, the veteran political analyst, and his wife Mary Matalin, left, who have been with CNN since 2005 . Co-anchors: Chris Cuomo, left, will reportedly be paired with Erin Burnett, right, who currently hosts her prime time CNN show 'OutFront' O'Brien faces being ousted for Cuomo . who will reportedly be paired with Erin Burnett, who currently hosts her . prime time CNN show 'OutFront.' Getting . Cuomo, the son of New York governor Andrew Cuomo, is quite a coup for . CNN as he is a former anchor on ABC's Good Morning America and is . extremely experienced. But . O'Brien will now have to renegotiate her role and try to avoid being . put on the dreaded 'special assignment' duty which will see her . consigned to graveyard slots and obscurity. A CNN spokesman said: 'Soledad is very important to the network, and we're discussing various options with her.' Carver's firing seems less controversial. He claimed that he was 'completely cool' with being axed and that it . was to do with the fact he lives in New Orleans and not Washington. Fate unclear: It's not clear whether Ann Curry, right, will be able to leave NBC for CNN and Soledad O'Brien, right, who currently hosts the CNN morning show 'Starting Point,' could be out . Switch: Erick Erickson, left, is out, but James Earl Jones, right, is rehired for the CNN jingle . He . told Politico: 'I was told that they wanted the contributors to be more . available -- essentially, closer to Washington. I'm not always . available, I don't live there.' Matalin told Politico in an email: 'Agree with everything James said. 'I loved my time in and out at CNN and more, the many lifelong friendships made there.' Whitaker, . a former Newsweek editor, left with a barb and sent out an email to . staff saying that he stepped aside because Zucker has what he called . 'forceful ideas.' Gone: CNN's managing editor Mark Whitaker has resigned . He then tried to smooth things over . and said: 'For him to succeed, I believe he deserves his own team and . management structure and the freedom to communicate one clear vision to . the staff. 'I have shared that conclusion with him and he has agreed to let me step down as Managing Editor and move on from CNN. Zucker . will in fact take over Whitaker's role overseeing editorial content at . CNN and there will no new managing editor appointed. Zucker said in a statement: 'I want to thank Mark for his service at CNN. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him the best in the future.' Right-leaning Erickson has been with CNN since 2010 when he started as a contributor on John King, USA, which has already been axed, before becoming a contributor across the network. The worst affected by the switch seems to be his daughter and on his RedState blog he wrote: 'When I told my 7 year old I had decided to leave, she laid on the sofa for an hour crying that she'd never see Anderson Cooper again.' He also wrote that even though he was not an 'easy fit' at CNN and that the first month was 'tumultuous,' he was grateful for the chance to 'learn to be friends with people who I disagreed with.'

New CNN chief Jeff Zucker continues to make sweeping changes at network . John King has been given an extension to his contract - and NO new deal .

(CNN) -- Once described as "sterile," the birth city of the iconic Singapore Sling is experiencing a cocktail renaissance. Since 2012, the city has seen a rush of cocktail bar openings, and the boom isn't showing signs of slowing. In 2013, UK-based liquor-producing giant Diageo reported a 58% spike in spirits sales in Singapore over the previous financial year. "Singapore's cocktail scene has grown tremendously in the past few years," says Colin Chia, Asia Pacific manager of Diageo Reserve World Class, which hosted the World Class South East Asia Finals in Singapore in May to showcase top bartending talents in the region. "The scene has moved toward the opening of independent bars with talents concentrating on craft cocktails and introducing the consumer to new techniques, ingredients and spirits, while still keeping true to the classics. "They have collectively invested time and energy in putting Singapore on the global cocktail map." In the last year alone, some 20 new bars have sprouted across Singapore. Tron Young, who founded the inaugural Singapore Bar Industry Accord to recognize the industry's future luminaries, says the city-state is at the forefront of Asia's cocktail and bar scene. "Other Asian cities like Tokyo may have a longer reign at the top, but Singapore is taking the lead in pushing boundaries and drinking ideals, researching trends as well as exploring techniques," says Young, a former bartender at Singapore hotspot Tetsuya's and ex-bar manager of Waku Ghin. "One of the ways to gauge the progress of the beverage industry in a country is to look at the range of products available -- a bigger range and variety is generally driven by the volume of demand." More suppliers are indeed joining the spirits distribution game in Singapore, brandishing an alluring arsenal of artisan spirits by independent distilleries. La Maison du Whiskey joined the fray in 2009; followed by Proof & Company Spirits (stablemate of the acclaimed 28 HongKong Street) in 2012; with Liberty Spirits Asia coming on board most recently. "As consumer demand for artfully prepared cocktails has grown, the spirits industry has responded and is now going through its own renaissance," says Spencer Forhart of Proof & Company Spirits. Where cocktails are as important as food . According to Forhart, Singapore has a strong community of professionals treating bartending as a proper vocation and pushing each other to achieve. "The result -- even restaurants and hotels are taking their cocktails and spirits seriously," he says. The seeds of all this growth were sown in 2008, when the trendsetting Tippling Club introduced its cocktail-paired tasting menu, a first in Singapore. Today, Tippling Club has been joined by a host of restaurant-bars where cocktails are treated with as much reverence as food -- Bacchanalia, Catalunya, Sugarhall and Tess Kitchen Bar are examples. "One of the best ways to judge the F&B trends in a city is also to see what the hotels are doing," says Young. "Recently Anti:dote at Fairmont Hotel and Manhattan Bar at Regent Singapore hotel opened while Four Seasons hired one of the greatest bartenders in history -- Javier de lad Muelas -- to consult on its beverage and cocktail list at One Ninety bar." In addition to adding a touch of glitz to the city's bibulous culture, hotel bars such as Anti:dote and Manhattan Bar have brought in talented craftsmen -- Tom Hogan and Ricky Paiva, respectively -- who are rapidly shaking up the craft cocktail movement started by stalwarts such as Aki Eguchi, bar manager of Jigger & Pony. Today, Eguchi, a 2011 and 2012 Diageo Reserve World Class Singapore champion, has about 30 types of homemade infusions and syrups in stock at any one time. "Singapore is enjoying a cocktail boom that New York and London experienced over the last 15 years," concludes Forhart. "It started a bit later than those cities, but it's really developing at a much faster pace." Thirsty yet? Here's a roundup of Singapore's best new cocktail bars. Anti:dote . Fairmont's latest F&B addition showcases inventive cocktails and a raft of tonics concocted by head craftsman, American-born Tom Hogan. He uses freshly plucked herbs from the hotel's garden and personally makes a clutch of bitters and liquors, like spiced orange bitters fortified with Cognac. Hogan cocktails such as Corpse Reviver #2 (made with gin, Absinthe and house-made orange liqueur) are best paired with the tapas by Spanish chef, Carlos Montobbio. Anti:dote, Level 1 Fairmont Singapore, 80 Bras Basah Road; +65 (0)6 431 5313 . Manhattan Bar . Former Rickhouse barman, Ricky Paiva, puts the spotlight on craft cocktails at the artful grand hotel bar at the Regent Singapore hotel, which features a menu of 25 seasonally rotating cocktails inspired by the neighborhoods of Manhattan. In addition to showcasing the world's first in-hotel "rickhouse," where the Sacramento native finishes whiskeys, ages cocktails and brews bitters, the bar offers cocktails mixed table-side via a trolley. Manhattan Bar, Level 2 Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road; +65 (0)6 725 3377 . The Library . This secret bar tucked behind the recently re-branded The Study isn't spanking new but it's worth the schlep for the new-to-Singapore barman, Nicholas Quattroville. An Australian formerly of The Blind Pig (London), he prepares most of his cocktail ingredients in-house -- horseradish-infused vodka, walnut orgeat and burnt butter whiskey are favorites. The Library, 47 Keong Saik Road; +65 (0)6 221 8338 . Operation Dagger . Located in an underground, window-less space near Oxwell & Co, this progressive speakeasy helmed by head bartender Luke Whearty makes its own infusions via sous vide cooking technique and bottle-ages carbonated cocktails with champagne yeast. It also grows its own herbs on a rooftop garden with a beehive where honey is harvested and fermented to make mead. Operation Dagger, 7 Ann Siang Hill, #B1-01; no telephone . Sugarhall . This grill restaurant that pairs flame-kissed fare with rum-based cocktails concocted by Aki Eguchi (bar manager of next door stablemate Jigger & Pony) has a lively atmosphere. Sugarhall, 102 Amoy St.; +65 (0)9 732 5607 . Studio 1939 by Potato Head Folk . Set on the third floor of an art deco building on Keong Saik Road, this reservations-only bar serves small plates paired with cocktails made with artisan spirits, courtesy of Dre Masso, head mixologist for the Potato Head group. Studio 1939 by Potato Head Folk, 36 Keong Saik Road; +65 6327 1939 . Tess Bar . Former Bitters & Love bartender Steven Leong calls the shots at the long bar of this eatery/bar near Raffles Hotel. He shakes classic and quirky cocktails to go with the menu of modern European fare served on small, medium and large plates. Tess Bar, 38 Seah St.; +65 6337 7355 . Evelyn Chen is a former Time Out food critic and current editor of Zagat Guide. Her food and travel features have been published in Destin Asian, Travel+Leisure SEA and Conde Nast Traveler.

In the last year, more than 20 new bars have opened in Singapore . Local cocktail aficionados say Singapore is at the forefront of Asia's cocktail scene . Even restaurants and hotels are taking their cocktails seriously, says local expert .

(CNN) -- Until authorities know what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, they'll look for clues in the histories of everyone on board. The cruel reality is that every one of the 239 people on board is both a possible victim and a possible suspect -- until proved otherwise. Already, some passengers and the pilots have fallen under increased scrutiny, and more are likely to come into focus as the search for answers continues. "You have to look at everybody that got onto that plane," Bill Gavin, former assistant director of the FBI in New York, told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Monday. "You can start peeling the onion there by eliminating some of the people immediately -- you know, like children, and maybe very elderly people, or infirmed people. You might be able to eliminate those folks. "But, by the same token, you really have to look through the whole category of people that are on the plane," he said. Here's what we have so far about some of the people investigators want to know more about: . Pilot: Zaharie Ahmad Shah . Malaysia's Prime Minister has said that somebody deliberately steered the plane off course. That means the pilots have become one obvious area of focus. On Saturday, Malaysian police searched Zaharie Ahmad Shah's home. The 53-year-old pilot and father of three lives in an upscale, gated community in Shah Alam, outside Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian police said Sunday they were still investigating a flight simulator seized from that house. It's somewhat common among aviation enthusiasts to use online flight simulator programs to replicate various situations. An initial search of the personal computers and e-mails of the pilots found nothing to indicate that a sudden deviation in the Boeing 777's route was preplanned, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, after being briefed by Malaysian authorities. U.S. officials reviewed cockpit conversations between the flight and air traffic controllers and again said they saw nothing suspicious or anything that would explain why the jetliner deviated from its course. The pilot's political beliefs are also being questioned. Zaharie is a public supporter of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Just hours before the flight took off, a court ordered Anwar to prison on charges of sodomy, a sentence the opposition leader says is a political vendetta. Despite the timing of the decision, there is no evidence to tie the plane's disappearance to the pilot or his politics. "He likely was upset at the verdict that had just been announced several hours before he boarded the aircraft, but to down an airline because of that I think at this point is pure conjecture. Again, I would take any of these accusations with a huge grain of salt," the RAND Corporation's Seth Jones told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." Peter Chong, a friend of Zaharie's, similarly said it's unfair to imply the pilot had anything to do with what happened to the plane. He said he'd been to Zaharie's house and tried out the flight simulator. "It's a reflection of his love for people," Chong said, "because he wants to share the joy of flying with his friends." Zaharie joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and has more than 18,000 flying hours. Who were the pilots? Co-pilot: Fariq Ab Hamid . Fariq Ab Hamid, 27, started at the airline in 2007 and has 2,763 flying hours. Two vans were loaded with small bags, similar to shopping bags, at the home of the co-pilot, according to a CNN crew that observed activities at the residence. It was unclear whether the bags were taken from the home, and police made no comment about their activities there. U.S. intelligence officials are leaning toward the theory that "those in the cockpit" -- the captain and co-pilot -- were responsible for the mysterious disappearance, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the latest thinking has told CNN. The official emphasized that no final conclusions have been drawn and that all the internal intelligence discussions are based on preliminary assessments of what is known to date. Acting Malaysian Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has told reporters the pilots didn't request to work together. Passenger: Mohammed Khairul Amri Selamat . The 29-year-old Malaysian civil aviation engineer works for a private jet charter company. Although police are investigating all passengers and crew, he is likely to be of particular interest because of his aviation knowledge. "I am confident that he is not involved," his father said Monday. "They're welcome to investigate me and my family." The bottom line, investigators say, is that whoever flew the plane off course for hours appeared to know what they were doing. They are looking into the backgrounds of the passengers to see whether any of them were trained pilots. "There are still a few countries who have yet to respond to our request for a background check," said Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector general of the Royal Malaysian Police Force. "But there are a few ... foreign intelligence agencies who have cleared all the(ir) passengers." Passengers: Pouri Nourmohammadi and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza . In the first few days after the plane went missing, investigators focused intensely on two passengers who boarded the plane using stolen passports. Authorities have since identified them as Nourmohammadi, 18, and Reza, 29, both Iranians. The men entered Malaysia on February 28 using valid Iranian passports, according to Interpol. Malaysian police believe Nourmohammadi was trying to emigrate to Germany using a stolen Austrian passport. His mother contacted police after her son didn't arrive in Frankfurt as expected. Malaysian investigators say neither of the men has any apparent connection to terrorist organizations. Stolen passports don't necessarily indicate terrorism. In fact, passengers flew without having their travel documents checked against Interpol's lost-and-stolen passport database more than a billion times in 2013, according to the international police organization. Terrorist link? While investigators continue their search, one possibility that has been talked about is that an act of terrorism downed the airliner. There has been speculation that Uyghur Muslim separatists in China's far western Xinjiang province might have been involved in the plane's disappearance. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group who live in Xinjiang, an area the size of Iran that is rich in natural resources, including oil. One of the two long corridors where authorities say the plane was last detected stretched over Xinjiang, and unconfirmed reports have suggested the possibility that Uyghurs might be connected to the case. Chinese authorities have accused separatists from Xinjiang of carrying out a terrorist attack this month in which eight attackers armed with long knives stormed a train station in Kunming, a city in southwestern China, killing 29 people and wounding more than 140. However, on Tuesday, China said it found no evidence that any of its citizens on board the missing plane were involved in hijacking or terrorism. Background checks on all passengers from the Chinese mainland on the plane have found nothing to support such suspicions, said Huang Huikang, the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, according to the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua. Authorities have said they are investigating all 239 people who were on board the flight. According to the airline, 153 of the 227 passengers came from mainland China or Hong Kong. By effectively ruling out suspicions for most of the passengers, Chinese authorities appear to have significantly shortened the list of possible suspects in the investigation. Snapshots of passengers . CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet, Steve Almasy, Chelsea J. Carter, Jethro Mullen, Kyung Lah, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Evan Perez and Jim Clancy contributed to this report.

NEW: Pilots' computers show nothing to indicate sudden deviation was preplanned . Every one of the 239 people on board is both a possible victim and suspect . The plane's pilots have become one obvious area of focus . A 29-year-old Malaysian civil aviation engineer is also under the spotlight .

(CNN)Four top environmental scientists raised the stakes Sunday in their fight to reverse climate change and save the planet. Climate and energy scientists James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel and Tom Wigley have released an open letter calling on world leaders to support development of safer nuclear power systems. Wait -- pro-nuclear environmentalists? Isn't that an oxymoron? Apparently, not so much anymore. Embracing nuclear is the only way, the scientists believe, to reverse the looming threat of climate change which they blame on fossil fuels. Depending who you ask, they're either abandoning -- or leading -- traditional environmentalists who for a half-century have rejected clean-burning nuclear power as too expensive or too dangerous. Opponents cite disasters at Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile island. Related: Fukushima update . The fear is that time is running out. Without nuclear, the scientists believe global energy consumption will overtake the planet's ability to reverse the buildup of carbon dioxide pollution from burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels. At risk, said Hansen, are disintegrating polar ice sheets and rising sea levels which will threaten coastal regions. The letter is among the scientists' strongest public statements backing nuclear power. It also comes as CNN plans to air "Pandora's Promise," a documentary about environmentalists and longtime nuclear opponents who've done complete 180s on nukes. By releasing the letter, the scientists are "putting their reputations on the line to do something that the ultra-greens regard as treason," said Stanford University Nobel-winning physicist Burton Richter. Nuclear power is burgeoning in some parts of the world and shrinking in others. Asia is embracing it -- except Japan -- which is still struggling to figure out how to safely deal with the dangerously radioactive Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Japanese disaster left Germany so unnerved that they've chosen to phase out their 17 nuclear facilities by 2022. "We've got four top guns in the environmental movement telling [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel, 'You're wrong to shut down nuclear,'" said Richter. "I think that's a relatively big deal." Are we witnessing the birth of a mutiny within the environmental movement? Will typical 21st-century environmentalists eventually embrace the power of the atom? A leading environmental group opposed to nuclear power says no. "I don't think it's very significant that a few people have changed their minds about nuclear power," said Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Nuclear fuel may burn cleaner, the NRDC says, but comes with too many safety issues and too high of a price tag. The letter admits "today's nuclear plants are far from perfect." However, "... there is no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial role for nuclear power." Read the letter . The four scientists say they have no connection to "Pandora's Promise," which blames resistance to nuclear energy on groundless fears rooted in the Cold War, Chernobyl in 1986 and 1979's Three Mile Island. Related: Chernobyl's local health problems . Map: Closest nukes to your home . In the documentary, which debuts on CNN Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, climate change activist and author Mark Lynas says he knew publicly supporting nuclear energy would put his entire career at risk. "I'd have been much better just to keep my mouth shut," he admits in the film. "But I couldn't do that." Cavanagh said the "movie attempts to establish the proposition that mainstream environmentalists are pouring into nuclear advocacy today. They aren't. I've been in the NRDC since 1979. I have a pretty good idea of where the mainstream environmental groups are and have been. I've seen no movement." Selling nuclear energy to environmentalists is a tough pitch. Hansen acknowledged that many of them won't easily buy into it. Parts of the community operate like "a religion of sorts, which makes it very difficult," Hansen said. "They're not all objectively looking at the pros and cons." The NRDC hasn't rejected nuclear power out of hand, Cavanagh said. It constantly evaluates nuclear power and "everything else," he said. "I think that's our obligation." Is it possible to be both an environmentalist and a supporter of nuclear power? "You can be," Cavanagh said. Hansen has been spreading his message to the community's top influencers. He tells of a recent meeting with Al Gore where he tried to sell the former vice president on how advanced nuclear technology might stabilize climate change. Gore invited two anti-nuclear advocates to the meeting, Hansen said, and by the time it was all over, Gore was unmoved. "I mean, Al essentially understands that we had better try to develop safer, better nuclear power," said Hansen, "but he won't come out and say that." Here's what Gore did say publicly about it during a recent Reddit "Ask Me Anything" chat: nuclear energy "will continue to play a limited role, and IF the ongoing [research and development] produces cheaper, safer, smaller reactors, they may yet play a more significant role." Decarbonizing . Among nuclear energy supporters, France remains a hero nation. In the 1970s, it chose to invest heavily in nuclear power creating a system that boasts some of the cheapest energy and cleanest air on the planet. Germany puts out about 18% of its power with nuclear. But with the upcoming nuke phase-out, there are doubts about whether Germany can offset its nuclear output with wind and other clean energy sources. Michael Limburg, vice president of the European Institute for Climate and Energy, told CNN in September that the government's energy targets are "completely unfeasible." "Of course, it's possible to erect tens of thousands of windmills but only at an extreme cost and waste of natural space," he said. "And still it would not be able to deliver electricity when it is needed." There are 65 commercially operating nuclear plants in the U.S., including 104 reactors. Five new reactors are currently being built, in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. In the past year, utilities have permanently shut down four others and plan to take a fifth out of service in 2014. At least two other planned projects have been shelved. "Nuclear power is dying a slow death in the market place, which is what matters in determining its future," said Cavanagh. As an alternative, the NRDC is touting efficiency. Energy-saving technology is becoming so successful, according to a new NRDC report, that efficiency has "significant potential to dramatically reduce power plant emissions." Total U.S. energy use peaked in 2007 and has been trending downward ever since, the NRDC says. On the other hand, scientists in "Pandora's Promise" claim energy consumption globally could double by 2050 -- and perhaps triple or quadruple by 2100 -- as growing nations like China, India and Brazil start to want more energy. A United Nations report released last month re-confirmed Hansen's fears. The study concluded that the planet is heating up, the oceans are rising and there's more evidence that neither development is natural. Hansen, who was among the initial wave of scientists warning about climate change in the 1980s, said Friday he fears most its "irreversible effects." "Once we get to a certain point and the ice sheets start to disintegrate, then you can't stop it." Then Hansen paused. "And we're getting very close to that point." If we stay on the current path, he said, "those are the consequences we'll be leaving to our children. The best candidate to avoid that is nuclear power. It's ready now. We need to take advantage of it." CNN's Matt Smith and Oliver Joy contributed to this report.

Top enviro-scientists call on world leaders to embrace nuclear power . Only nukes can make enough clean power to slow climate change, they say . Nuclear energy is too expensive and risky, says Natural Resources Defense Council . Scientist: Al Gore supports safer, better nuclear power, "but he won't come out and say that"

Hong Kong (CNN) -- When the new names of China's elite political committee were announced Thursday they didn't come as a surprise to one leading China expert. Rather, they reinforced the sense of "a major opportunity lost." "This Party congress has sent a very clear signal that this leadership is politically conservative," said Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution, who predicted that the lineup wouldn't go down well with the Chinese people who he said were looking for signs of political reform. "You can imagine the Chinese public may start to express some dissatisfaction with the dominance of princelings (sons of revolutionary leaders), with the elder and retired top leader Jiang Zemin's interference in the process of succession, and also that two liberal leaders Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang are excluded in the new Politburo Standing Committee (PSC)," he said. As expected, the number of seats on the PSC shrank from nine members to seven and included the names at the top of many speculative lists: Xi Jinping (President), Li Keqiang (Premier), Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli. "Of these seven people, it's really five-versus-two or maybe even six-versus-one because only two people are Tuanpai," Li said. Tuanpai are Party members who rose through the ranks of the Communist Youth League and typically have ties to outgoing president Hu Jintao. "One of the Tuanpai members -- Liu Yunshan -- is actually very close to Jiang Zemin. So this lack of balance will potentially be a serious problem in the months or years to come," Li added. CNN asked Li for his immediate reaction to the lineup and the possible implications for Xi's term as China's new president. After months of mystery, new leaders revealed . What do you make of the new lineup? It is not a surprise but a disappointment. The disappointment is based on several reasons: First, apparently there was no intra-party multiple-candidate election for the Politburo and its standing committee. They were still selected through the old way of "dark-box" manipulation by departing Politburo Standing Committee members. Also, it's dominated by Jiang Zemin's protégés, especially the so-called princelings. Despite a profound sense of disappointment, I should say there are some positive things coming out of this leadership transition. One is that Hu Jintao stepped down as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making the succession more institutionalized and complete. By and large, this leadership transition is another orderly transition in PRC history. The leadership change follows the rules and norms of age limits, and the turnover rates in all leadership bodies are all very high: 64% for the Central Committee, 77% for the Disciplinary Commission, 68% for the Secretariat, 71% for the PSC. The size change (from nine to seven members of the PSC), including the elimination of the police czar and the propaganda czar, is a welcome development. These are all positives but, in my judgment, this leadership lineup does not generate an uplifting spirit for the nation; I think this is a major opportunity lost. Some leaders, particularly the Tuanpai leaders, will be very unhappy. You need to give an explanation to the Chinese public why Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang -- two strong advocates for political reform -- are out. Opinion: Why China's reforms have hit a wall . Why are they out? The reason, in my view, Wang Yang is out because he is seen by many conservative leaders as a threat. Particularly as Wang's main political rival Bo Xilai is out, they don't want him to be in -- previously Wang and Bo tended to balance each other in terms of power, influence and policy preference. In many ways, both are very outspoken, very courageous, very innovative in politics -- they reach out to the public for support -- so in a way, some conservatives are very scared. In my view, this group of seven leaders is very capable in economic and financial affairs, but politically they are quite conservative. Read more: Bo Xilai stripped of last official title . How long will it take for Xi to make his presence or policies known? Xi will enter a short honeymoon period despite all the criticism and worries that have already emerged. The criticism may not be against him but rather against Jiang Zemin, against the dominance of princelings. He needs to demonstrate that he can provide new hope and confidence for the public with new economic policies. He should do so relatively quickly. He can't wait too long because a large number of people are very unhappy with rampant official corruption and growing economic disparity. He needs to do a lot on the economic front, but I'm a little bit concerned that because of the composition of the new Politburo Standing Commitee the political reform will be delayed. These leaders are not famous for political reform -- not like Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang. How will Xi rule? I think he will emphasize economic reform -- to make the middle class happy -- and to promote the private sector, to introduce more economic reform mechanisms, including banking reform and state-owned enterprise reform, basically with the goal to promote private sector development. Some of his team members, like Wang Qishan, Yu Zhengsheng and Zhang Gaoli, are all pretty capable in that regard. The problem is that economic reform needs serious political reform; otherwise, it can not go too far because of the political bottleneck. This leadership lineup has sent a very clear signal that it is politically conservative. What can Li Keqiang bring as Premier? In many ways, he's surrounded by Jiang Zemin's people who will tremendously restrain his power. There were previously a lot of people who wanted to block him from the premiership -- that failed. But now even in the state council, certainly in the standing committee, he's quite alone. What does it say about the enduring influence of Jiang? The backlash against Jiang Zemin will be overwhelming. Yes, Jiang's camp wins many seats in the Politburo Standing Committee, but in the future they may pay a huge price for this "victory." The public resentment will be very strong. These leaders are still selected by old-fashioned, behind the scenes deal-making and retired leaders' influence, not really through an intra-party multiple-candidate election. That's a big opportunity missed. That will undermine their legitimacy and credibility. Read more: Hu warns of enemy within . Why and how is Jiang still able to wield such influence? Because of the need to protect his interests and his family interests. To a certain extent his protégés also want to have him to help them, in a way. Jiang Zemin is strong largely because his protégés are in important positions. People like Xi Jinping, Zhang Dejiang and Wang Qishan, they're already well-positioned. Why has Hu failed to be the type of leader who could win out against Jiang's people in the PSC? It's still too early to give a well-grounded answer due to a lack of reliable information about what happened inside Zhongnanhai (Communist Party headquarters in Beijing). There are several possible reasons: One is, Hu wants to make a contrast between himself and Jiang Zemin. Jiang stayed in power for two more years after the transition at the 16th Party Congress. But Hu wants to immediately give up that position. So it is an institutional improvement. Secondly, his volunteering to give up that position makes Jiang's activity to promote his protégés in the past few months very problematic. The balance in the Politburo Standing Committee is broken, but the balance in the Politburo and the Central Military Commission -- between the two camps -- largely stays intact. There are many of Hu's people in the central committee. Consequently, this may create structural tensions between these very important leadership bodies. Read more: Can Hu retain clout after handover?

Cheng Li of the Brookings Institute expresses disappointment at lineup of PSC . Politiburo Standing Committee stacked with supporters of former president Jiang Zemin . Premier Li Keqiang, part of Hu Jintao's camp, is "quite alone," Li said . Li: "This leadership lineup does not generate an uplifting spirit for the nation"

(CNN) -- Which way will the housing market go? That's the million-dollar question for so many Americans who are underwater on their mortgages and for the one in three who rents and represents the homeowners of tomorrow. We've all heard about how real estate prices have crashed. But in every time of hazard, there's also great opportunity to build long-term wealth. You just need the guts to zig when others zag. In this chapter, I'll show you how you can score a deal on a distressed property, reduce your mortgage interest rate, lower your property taxes and save money on some of the major purchases for your home, like appliances. I'll also warn you about common pitfalls, including burglar alarm monitoring and home warranties and other things that are way out there, like electronic mortgage fraud. Before you buy: Short sales and deeds in lieu are the new foreclosures . Whether you're a buyer or a seller, a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure may present a way to get out from underneath an upside-down house or get a great deal on distressed real estate. For a seller, a short sale is one in which you work with a lender to market your home and sell it for less than the mortgage balance. While short sales were once considered more favorable than foreclosures, now both harm your credit to the same degree, lowering your score by roughly 140 to 150 points. As a mark on your credit file, they'll each stay with you for seven years. For a buyer, a short sale can mean getting a home at a great price if you're willing to play what can be a long waiting game. About two years ago, lenders agreed to guidelines in which they were supposed to acknowledge an offer on a short sale in four days and answer back in 45. But that never happened in practice, and typical wait times on an offer are substantially longer. Joel Larsgaard, at 27 the youngest producer on my radio show, recently put bids in on seven short-sale properties, month after month, for the better part of a year. All his offers were turned down. Finally, his eighth attempt worked, and he got his short sale for $89,000 with a 15-year loan at 4.375%. The property had last sold for $155,000! It took great sacrifices for Joel to come to the closing table with enough money for a 20% down payment. But he did it, and now his monthly mortgage note is $560, not including taxes and insurance. Think about that. Some people have monthly car payments that are higher than his mortgage payment. One special warning for sellers: Be careful with the paperwork your lender gives you as part of the short-sale agreement. Some lenders are behaving immorally and slipping in legalese that makes their financial loss your legal obligation to pay back. That is not the intent or purpose of a short sale. In today's market, deeds in lieu offer what I believe is a better alternative to short sales for sellers. With deeds in lieu, the bank agrees to take your home back without foreclosing on it. It also agrees not to seek deficiency, which is loss on the loan that banks are entitled to in most states. As a bonus, deeds in lieu have much less impact on your credit score than does a short sale or a foreclosure. So at this point I'm recommending that if you absolutely need to get out from under your house, a deed in lieu should be your first choice and a short sale your second. Never buy property without looking at it . Over the years, con artists got notoriously rich by selling people Florida swampland. This rip-off was especially popular in the 1960s and 1970s when future retirees bought property that was basically worthless because it was all wet. It became such a well-known scam that it didn't work anymore -- until the mid-2000s when what was old became new again and the con artists came back to prey on another generation. Sometimes people are all too quick to buy a dream and will suspend disbelief to buy land without seeing it. One of the new equivalents of swampland in Florida has been desert land in Utah. The New York Times reported that Box Elder County, Utah, intended to file charges against cons who had sold parcels of land over the phone and Internet to 3,000 people in the United States, Europe and Australia. The land was supposedly adjacent to a city. But when people would go to Utah to see their new homestead, they'd find that no such city even existed. Worse still, the land they'd purchased could not be developed because to do so would violate local and state zoning laws. This new twist on the old rip-off scheme of land speculation started when cons took advantage of a Utah land rush and bought up property that was parched and desolate. Then they illegally subdivided the land and sold five-acre spreads. The New York Times article was cute in a way. They sent a reporter to find one of these "conveniently located" parcels in Lucin, Utah. The reporter got to the location -- some 150 miles away from the nearest big city -- and found an area where the only inhabitants were a snake, a beetle and large ants! I have two simple rules to follow when buying land. First, never buy property without seeing it. Second, make sure the land has water rights or it's going to be useless to you. This second caveat is especially important if you're buying in one of the mountain states, like Utah. Use a home inspector before buying or selling . If you are considering buying a house, I urge you to have your own inspection. First-time homeowners often skip the inspection because they think government workers have somehow inspected the house. Although they have, these kinds of inspections are not enough. Think about when a hospital, school, or office building is erected. There is a construction manager who makes sure things are being done as they should be. You want someone who does the same thing for you. It's especially important if you're having the house built. Be sure you don't hire an inspector your real estate agent recommends. Recent reports show that 70% of people do this. Agents suggest only those inspectors who they know will not kill their deal, and that is not in your best interest. You want someone who will kill the deal if the house is not in good shape. Two sites that offer great referrals are the American Society of Home Inspectors' website at ASHI.com and the National Institute of Building Inspectors at NIBI.com. NIBI requires that its inspectors carry errors and omissions liability insurance, which means they accept responsibility for any oversight. You also want someone who is certified by the Council of American Building Officials (CABO), which means they are current on all building codes. Spend some additional money when buying a house and get an inspection. It's worth it. And before you sign a contract with a home builder, make sure you inspect the contract. Some builders forbid you from hiring an inspector and that wording is included in the contract. So if you see it in there, give that builder the boot. The same idea applies when you're selling a home. Before you go to market, you should hire an inspector to carefully vet your home. Be sure to fix whatever needs repair, and have the inspector's report and your receipts available for prospective buyers to examine. As a seller, you have to psychologically try to get inside the head of a buyer. Even though a buyer might consider a used home, they still want it to be as perfect as a doll house. So let's say a corner of your roof needs repair and you don't spend the money to fix it. When their inspector finds it, the buyer is more likely to blow the cost of the potential repair out of proportion and make a lower offer on your house accordingly. Watch Clark Howard Saturday and Sunday at 6am, 12pm, and 4pm ET on HLN. For the latest from Clark Howard click here.

Clark Howard's book features ways to buy smarter, spend smarter and save money . This excerpt is on housing; book also covers student loans, starting a business and more . Howard says people quick to buy a "dream" make the mistake of buying land site unseen . He says people who buy a used home "still want it to be as perfect as a doll house"

(CNN) -- Jesse Ray Beard said he was constantly in trouble, even when he behaved. It took being accused of the racially charged attempted murder of a white classmate in the Deep South to turn his life around. Living with attorney Alan Howard, right, has afforded Jesse Ray Beard a bevy of new experiences. Beard, 18, now interns at a New York law firm as he prepares for his senior year next month at Canterbury School, a Connecticut prep academy where Beard is highly regarded among peers and teachers. "I didn't change the way I act. I didn't do nothing different. It was just that I was at Canterbury instead of Jena," he said. "It was like Jena was out to get me -- and not just me, but other people, too." If not for the controversy surrounding the Jena Six and the palpable racial tension in the Louisiana town, Beard never would have met the attorney who changed the course of Beard's life by removing him from everything he knew. Watch Beard describe his reaction » . Alan Howard met Beard, the youngest of the African-American teens who made up the Jena Six, in January 2008 when he began representing him in a lawsuit filed by beating victim Justin Barker. The fight followed months of disquiet among Jena High School students, including off-campus skirmishes, a school arson and nooses hung from a campus tree. In September 2007, thousands of protesters, alleging the teens were treated harshly because they were black, converged on middle Louisiana. Protesters were particularly angered at the jailing of Mychal Bell, one of the six, who was charged as an adult. Later in September, he was reclassified as a juvenile and released. The Jena Six were lionized and vilified; donations for their defense poured in, as did threats on their lives. Howard said his first impression of Beard -- that he had "tremendous character, tremendous resilience and tremendous potential" -- was so strong he invited the teen to live with his family in New England. It's been a tidal shift, Beard said, moving from a Louisiana town of 3,000 to Bedford, New York, a well-to-do city of 18,000 situated an hour north of the Big Apple. The biggest shock? "Where I'm from in Jena, I think the only time it snowed is when I was 6, and it was like 1 inch." Another difference, he said, is not living in a town where everyone associates him with one of the most controversial events in contemporary race relations. See history of Jena Six » . The Howards say Beard meshes seamlessly. Though he struggled with the curriculum at Canterbury -- a Catholic school in New Milford boasting a six-to-one student-teacher ratio -- he is seeing tutors and showing improvements. He spent the summer helping attorneys at Howard's firm prepare for court cases and looks forward to his senior year as a three-sport athlete. Head football coach Ken Parson said he "can't wait to unleash" the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Beard. Beard is a candidate for team captain, Parson said, and the coach hopes Beard's leadership and "quiet confidence" will draw recruiters from Division I schools. Division II schools are already snooping around, he said. "When he gets going, he's like a freight train. He's also got the softest pair of hands you could ever imagine on a high school football player and can make moves in the field like Barry Sanders," Parson said, invoking the Detroit Lions' legendary running back. Though football, baseball and basketball are his preferred sports, Beard has picked up lacrosse from playing with Howard's sons -- Nick, 14, and Tommy, 11 -- and tennis from playing with Howard's daughter, Jessie, 17. She said his tennis skills are "ridiculous." Other fresh experiences include snowboarding in Utah, surfing in Long Island, visiting the Hamptons and attending baseball games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. Around the house, he's a big brother, said Howard, whose children welcomed Beard immediately. "My kids were the ones who said, 'If it means getting out of Jena, let him stay here,' " Howard said. "My 14-year-old son said, 'He can share my room,' and he doesn't even let his 11-year-old brother in his room." Beard is prone to the same gaffes as any teenager, Jessie said, giggling as she recalled a time he replaced a box of snacks in the cabinet after finishing the last one. Her mother, Patti, left the box on his sneakers with a note: "Would you like more of these?" "He's just another member of the family," Jessie said. "Now, when people ask me how many brothers I have, I say three, not two." Beard said he could never be proud of his involvement with the Jena Six, but he believes God put him through tribulations to deliver him to a better place. "I'm not glad it happened, but I'm glad I came to a good family," he said. Beard's mother, Stella, is a "remarkable woman," Howard said, but Beard didn't have much supervision at home. Howard thought to himself in 2008, "It's not just enough to keep the kid out of jail one time because the system is stacked against him." Five of the Jena Six had already made tracks -- to Texas, to Georgia, to other parts of Louisiana -- but Beard had nowhere to go. That he was on house arrest for another juvenile offense confounded matters. "I promise you I will get you out of Jena, whatever it takes," Howard told Beard. "You promise me that you'll hang in there, keep doing what you're doing, going to school and keep out of trouble." Beard's mother made "the ultimate sacrifice," allowing Howard to pursue guardianship and ferry her son 1,500 miles to New England. She put aside Jena Six donations to help Howard pay Canterbury's $40,000-a-year tuition, he said. She declined to be interviewed. Beard left Jena in spring 2008. About a year later, Beard, Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones and Bryant Purvis pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery. Fines and probation were doled out and civil suits settled. The terms were undisclosed. Bell, who served as the face -- and lightning rod -- of the Jena Six, had separately pleaded guilty to a second-degree battery charge in December 2007. Weeks after completing his 18-month sentence at a juvenile facility, Bell shot himself in the chest in December after an arrest on shoplifting charges. He later said the pressure to be perfect prompted him to pull the trigger. Read Bell's remarks after the suicide try . Jena is often painted as a town of bumpkins who pursued draconian criminal charges and exorbitant bails for a school fight but turned a blind eye when three nooses dangled from a campus tree. Beard, however, bristles at the portrait and defends his hometown. "No, sir. There's not more racists in Jena," he said. "There's racism everywhere. I just can't blame it on Jena because I did get along with the white folks and they did like me." As he and his five cohorts pursue educational and athletic endeavors around the nation, Beard hopes they won't be dogged by racial matters but that they'll be "superstars, not from being the Jena Six, but from whatever we go to college for." Howard and Parson have confidence Beard will succeed, no matter his occupation. "Whatever he ends up doing," the coach said, "he's going to be great."

In spring 2008, Jesse Ray Beard went to live with his attorney's family in New York . Once accused of attempted murder in Louisiana, Beard now attending prep school . Attorney Alan Howard's daughter, Jessie, says she considers Beard a brother . Football coach says he "can't wait to unleash" Beard at linebacker, wide receiver .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An ill-tempered CONCACAF Gold Cup match between Mexico and Panama recently saw three players and Mexico coach Javier Aguirre sent off amid violent scenes in Houston, Texas. Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer (left) and Kieron Dyer turn against one-another. The 1-1 draw, which saw the referee add on 10 minutes at the end for all the various stoppages, got Fanzone thinking about some of the most controversial match melees that have occurred. Do you agree with our worst 11? Post your comments in the Sound Off box below. 1 The Battle of Santiago, Chile v Italy, World Cup 1962 . Surely the most violent match in history. The tone was set when the first foul was committed after 12 seconds. Two Italian players were sent off as the teams spent the whole 90 minutes punching, spitting and scuffling with each other, with Chile managing to score two goals in-between the fighting. Police had to come onto the pitch three times to sort out the chaos while Italian Giorgio Ferrini had to be escorted off by armed officers when he refused to leave the pitch after his dismissal. Referee Ken Aston remarked: "I wasn't reffing a football match, I was acting as an umpire in military maneuvers." 2 Valencia v Inter Milan, Champions League 2007 . Six yellow cards were handed out during the game, but it was events that followed which marred Valencia's passage through to the quarterfinals. On the final whistle, Inter midfielder Nicolas Burdisso came together with Valencia defender Carlos Marchena, sparking a brawl. Unused Valencia substitute David Navarro then ran onto the field, to join in - the result of which was a broken nose for Burdisso. Navarro, retreated to the sidelines chased and kicked by Inter players Julio Cruz, Ivan Cordoba. The melee continued in the tunnel, with the Spanish Civil Guard eventually needed to quell the problem. UEFA, European football's governing body, subsequently fined Navarro $200,000 and banned the player for eight games, Burdisso was slapped with an eight-match suspension, Maicon for six, Córdoba for three games and Julio Cruz for two. 3 Turkey v Switzerland, World Cup play-off 2006 . Violence erupted after Turkey missed a place in the 2006 finals after going out on the away goals rule following a 4-2 win in Istanbul. Players and technical staff were seen throwing punches in the tunnel as the Swiss side ran for their lives against a torrent of Turkish anger. Turkey assistant-coach Mehmet Ozdilek was banned from all football for one year, while two Turkish players, and one Swiss, were handed six-match bans. Turkey were also ordered to play their next six competitive home matches behind closed doors at neutral venues. Have we missed a famous punch-up out? Leave your suggestions below . 4 Manchester United v Arsenal, English Division One 1990 . These two rivals have been involved in some juicy encounters over the years, but this is one of the most infamous. Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn went in late on Manchester United's Denis Irwin prompting chaos, as 21 players, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman proving the exception, joining in the fracas. Remarkably nobody was sent off but the English Football Association took a dim view and deducted Arsenal two league points and United one. Arsenal won the match 1-0 and still went on to lift the title. 5 France v Italy, World Cup final 2006 . The great Zinedine Zidane had led an unfancied and ageing French side to the World Cup final. With the match level in extra time, the attentions of notorious Italian hard-man and chief agitator Marco Materazzi finally proved too much for the France No.10 - who responded to some choice words by the Inter Milan central defender by turning around and viciously head-butting his rival in the stomach. Zidane was sent off. France eventually lost on penalties and the Real Madrid playmaker bizarrely went on to be voted 'Player of the Tournament'. 6 Kevin Keegan v Billy Bremner, Liverpool v Leeds Charity Shield 1974 . England striker Keegan blamed Bremner for "taking him out" in an off the ball. Bremner was not one for holding back and Wembley stadium, home of some famous boxing matches over the years, played host to another as these two diminutive players slugged it out like two featherweights challenging for the WBC world title. Unsurprisingly both were sent off and added to their charge list by hurling their tops to the ground and walking off the pitch bare-chested. Each player was fined £500 ($810) and banned for 11 games, although shirt-throwing accounted for eight of the matches! 7 Rudi Voeller v Frank Rijkaard, Netherlands v Germany World Cup 1990 . Not the most violent, but certainly one of the funniest. The pair were sniping at each other throughout the match. Rijkaard came in late on Voeller, who later took his revenge with a lunge on goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen. Rijkaard took exception and, after a melee, the pair were sent off, with the Dutchman then notoriously spitting as hard as he could into the German's curly perm as the disgraced pair left the pitch. 8 Lee Bowyer v Kieron Dyer, Newcastle v Aston Villa English Premier League 2005 . Punch-ups are rare in modern football, but between teammates they are non-existent. These two hot-heads got into a debate over Dyer's refusal to pass Bowyer the ball. Both players had made news for their off-field activities in the past - but they took their behavior to a new low when they exchanged blows in the middle of the Newcastle half soon after Villa had gone 3-0 up. The pair later appeared alongside manager Graeme Souness to apologize for their conduct, but pointedly did not say sorry to each other. 9 LDU Quito v Barcelona, Ecuador league 2006 . A mass brawl at the end of the match on the final day of the season shocked Ecuador - and resulted in a host of suspensions being handed out. A total of 11 players were banned for between two and 12 months for taking part in the punch-up which saw four Barcelona players receive injuries. The incident started with a clash between former Ecuador striker Agustin Delgado and his marker Victor Montoya. 10 Cruzeiro v Atletico Mineiro Brazilian league 2007 . Atletico Mineiro defender Coelho did not take kindly to the seal dribble of talented teenager Kerlon - who collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area, flicked it up and performed his trademark dribble by bouncing the ball on his head as he ran towards goal. Coelho crashed into him and was given a straight red card and a four-month suspension. Other Atletico players remonstrated angrily with Kerlon, leading to an angry pushing match which interrupted the game for five minutes. Atletico coach Emerson Leao warned that Kerlon could get seriously injured if he tried the trick again. 11 Chelsea v Arsenal English League Cup final 2007 . With Chelsea winning 2-1 Arsenal defender Kolo Toure reacted angrily to a late challenge. Both sides had a number of African players in their line-ups and a mass brawl erupted which saw three of them, Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor, Toure and Chelsea's John Obi Mikel sent off. Adebayor refused to leave the pitch and it needed respective managers - the hot-headed pair of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho - to stride onto the turf and defuse the situation.

Football Fanzone presents a rundown of 11 infamous pitch punch-ups . The tension of competition has even seen teammates turn against one-another . Let us know what you think by commenting in the Sound Off box .

(CNN) -- New ships, expanded technology and pop culture phenomena are some of the factors making 2014 an alluring year for a vacation at sea. January through March is known as "wave season" -- when cruise lines roll out perks and promotions to entice travelers. But don't fret if you're not ready to plunk down your credit card. Experts are predicting more year-round savings at sea. The traditional wave season booking window can be a great time to snag a deal such as 2-for-1 fares, on-board credits and suite upgrades, according to online cruise guide Cruise Critic, but it doesn't always reflect rock-bottom pricing. Cruise Critic Editor-in-Chief Carolyn Spencer Brown says that she's expecting this year to bring "especially competitive pricing" in the Caribbean, because of an influx of ships plying those waters. And if Alaska is on your cruising bucket list, she says now is a great time to book and take advantage of discounts for travel in April or May. Blood Falls and other natural oddities . "The first tip for saving money is not to primarily focus on saving money," Spencer Brown says. Good value comes from not only getting the right price but also in finding the right trip for your vacation needs and preferences. To that end, Christine Duffy, president of Cruise Lines International Association, says online research is fine, but ultimately working with a trained agent will get you the best prices because cruises are "much more complicated than booking a flight from point A to point B." Agents familiar with all the options can help with cabin selection, shore excursions and even packaging airfare to get the lowest price. Follow your preferred cruise line on social media to keep up with flash sales and seasonal specials. Once you're on board, amazing add-ons can boost your experience, but they usually come with a hefty price tag. Check to see if your cruise line offers any advance-purchase deals for dining, alcohol or spa treatments. And "keep an eye out for specials advertised in the daily program," Spencer Brown advises, as those can be big money savers. 12 months, 12 amazing adventures . Stick to a set budget for a la carte purchases for a vacation free of financial surprise and use the on-screen feature on your cabin TV to track your daily spending. "Be sure to resolve any concerns before the final day," Spencer Brown says. Cruising in 2014 is a far cry from the lazy stereotypes of bygone years; today's cruiser can plan on zip lining and skydiving between meals shared with "The Cat in the Hat" or a favorite musician. Pop culture has invaded the oceans. Here are five things cruise lines are doing to lure new and repeat cruisers: . Creating exotic and intimate experiences . Cruise ships are getting a warm welcome in Asia, where Cruise Lines International Association says 3.7 million passengers per year are expected by 2017. From the wilderness of the Russian Far East to ports in Myanmar and Malaysia, there's an emphasis on taking passengers to places far off the beaten path. Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan are also beckoning cruise ships. What's more, exotic destinations can also equal top cruising value, according to Spencer Brown. "Destinations like Japan, Norway and Australia offer exceptional value for money, as exploring them by land tends to be extremely expensive, but traveling by cruise ship costs much less and is often more convenient," she says. The Cruise Critic editor also flags the Panama Canal as a hot spot; it turns 100 this year, with a new visitors' center ready to welcome cruise passengers. The rivers of the world are also commanding more attention, with tailored itineraries and smaller, luxury vessels attracting globetrotters. River cruising is the fastest-growing segment of the cruise industry, says Duffy, with eight of the 17 new ships due out in 2014 destined for river journeys. Offering shorter -- and longer -- voyages . To attract first-timers wary of an entire week at sea, cruise lines are offering more weekend-length cruises. At the same time, lines have realized that sometimes, the typical shore excursion doesn't allow enough time to revel in all that a port has to offer, so itineraries have changed. For example, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean spend more than a day in Bermuda, Carnival ships stop overnight in Nassau, Bahamas, and a Seabourn sails with a three-day stopover in St. Petersburg, Russia. Improving connectivity . Connectivity is at an all-time high on the high seas, with bow-to-stern Wi-Fi and less expensive communication services than in years past. Cruise lines have spent millions revamping their wireless infrastructures, increasing bandwidth for faster connection speeds and even offering perks such as 500 minutes of free Wi-Fi that's given to concierge-level cruisers aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises. These are especially appealing to the social media-loving millennial crowd, who can't wait to share their vacation experiences via Twitter and Instagram. Harnessing the power of pop culture . The "wow" factor of cruising is still strong, with ships constantly trying to outdo each other, not only with bigger and better berths but also with unique activities and elite celebrity associations. This year marks the debut of "Seuss at Sea," a family program on Carnival Cruise Lines, featuring Dr. Seuss-themed fun including "Green Eggs and Ham" breakfasts, costume parades and character events. Adults will have no problem finding their pop culture fix afloat, thanks to programs such as "Dancing With the Stars at Sea" competitions on Holland America, which will lead to a complimentary seven-day "champions cruise" for 15 finalists and their guests in December. For the less competitive, every Holland America cruise offers free dance classes based on routines from the hit TV show. Rolling out new ships . Every year brings new vessels designed to convince landlubbers of the advantages of a journey at sea. While this year brings fewer "mega ships" than in the past, innovation remains in the forefront on ships of all sizes. Here is a handful of this year's newcomers: . • Quantum of the Seas: This Royal Caribbean ship gets the "wow factor" award, with a skydiving simulator, bumper cars, an aerial viewing pod and inside cabins with "virtual balconies" thanks to giant LCD screens showing an ocean view. • Norwegian Getaway: The Broadway musical "Legally Blonde" will be on board as well as the line's signature special-effects magic show. Miami pop artist David "Lebo" Le Batard was commissioned for the ship's impressive hull art, which features a whimsical mermaid. • Costa Diadema: Diadema is Italian for tiara, and this ship will be the largest and most modern built for Costa Cruises. Set to launch in late 2014, it will hold more than 3,700 passengers and feature public areas that resemble a beachfront resort. • Avalon Waterways' Illumination: This is one of three Avalon Suite Ships coming out in 2014; each features two decks of panorama suites with wall-to-wall windows, complimentary Wi-Fi and alfresco dining options. • Viking Cruises Longships: Fourteen of these will launch from Avignon, France. Each will hold fewer than 200 passengers and offer five cabin sizes, including massive 445-square-foot Explorer Suites with balconies off the bedrooms and living rooms. • Regal Princess: An adults-only pool, a glass-enclosed "SeaWalk" extending 128 feet over the water and balconies for all outside cabins are among the highlights on this 3,560-passenger vessel. • Pearl Mist: All 108 staterooms have private balconies on this new luxury ship being built for Pearl Seas Cruises. What's more, a dozen of the cabins were built for solo travelers. 11 places to go in 2014 .

Expert expects "especially competitive" cruise prices in the Caribbean this year . Follow cruise lines on social media for flash sales and seasonal specials . New ships, itineraries and pop culture tie-ins are spicing up the options in 2014 .

(CNN) -- They've lost their homes, their businesses and many are still stranded, but residents in the battered Northeast are overcoming the aftereffects of Superstorm Sandy with a gritty resolve. "It's sort of like the transit strike a few years ago," said Elizabeth Gorman, 40, a Queens resident, who walked across the Queensboro Bridge on Wednesday. Gorman was part of a steady stream of commuters forced to walk or bike into Manhattan after Sandy roared ashore barely two days ago, wiping out roads, bridges and mass transit systems across the region. Commuters, homeowners and businesses struggled with the loss of power and waterlogged or burned homes. Seven ways to manage stress in a disaster . New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a "transportation emergency" Wednesday night, saying New York City subways, buses and commuter rails would be free of charge Thursday and Friday as a way to encourage people to use mass transit. Gridlock on Wednesday was "dangerous," he said. But not all of the city's transit was operating. Fourteen of the city's 23 subway lines are opening Thursday, with buses helping to cover the unserved areas, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota said. But there will be no subway service to lower Manhattan, which is still dealing with flooding and power outages, he said. And bus service, which resumed Thursday, was stopped below 23rd Street because the area is still dark and too dangerous, Lhota said. The three major New York-area airports will all be open Thursday, albeit with limited service, authorities said. John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty reopened Wednesday with limited service, and LaGuardia -- where floodwaters covered runways and taxiways -- will reopen Thursday. Many people across the region are still in need of basic supplies. President Barack Obama visited a shelter Wednesday in the hard-hit town of Brigantine, New Jersey, where he said he met a woman with an 8-month-old who has run out of diapers and formula. "Those are the kinds of basic supplies and help that we can provide," he said. Obama promised the federal government "will not quit" until communities are cleaned up. "We are not going to tolerate red tape, we are not going to tolerate bureaucracy," Obama said. "And I've instituted a 15-minute rule, essentially, on my team. You return everybody's phone calls in 15 minutes, whether it's the mayor's, the governor's, county officials. "If they need something, we figure out a way to say yes." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asked for patience as crews worked to turn the power back on for more than 2 million people still in the dark. He toured Brigantine with Obama, who said utilities from across the country have pledged to send crews to New Jersey as soon as possible. Sandy came ashore late Monday in southern New Jersey, wiping out houses, pushing sand four blocks inland in places and leaving people stranded. Seventy people were rescued Wednesday from the barrier island in Toms River, New Jersey -- people who ignored orders to evacuate, Police Chief Mike Mastronardy said. "Everyone that we've encountered during evacuations today wish they'd left prior to the storm," he said. Authorities are still working to extinguish 11 of 30 gas fires that broke out in the storm, he said. Flooding was still a problem in many areas. Over its entire path, the storm killed at least 124 people -- 67 in the Caribbean, 56 in the United States and one in Canada. The fire that broke out in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Breezy Point during the storm destroyed 110 homes, Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Pfeiffer said. Search and rescue teams were going through each home to check for victims. "The number of homes lost in Breezy Point by fire is just tragic," Cuomo said Wednesday. "That no one lost their life in Breezy Point is a miracle." Staten Island saw no such miracle. Half of the state's 28 deaths were on Staten Island, and two boys were missing. Borough President James Molinaro said the waters have mostly receded, but the damage is severe. Post-Sandy water safety tips . In Seaside Heights, New Jersey, Mayor Bill Akers said his hard-hit town will tough it out. "We're going to just do the best we can and give the support," he said. "When it's tougher, we're the best community." On Wednesday, the storm sputtered over the Great Lakes region, where its strong winds are expected to trigger some lakeside flooding as well as additional snowfall in parts of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. More than 5.3 million customers across the eastern United States were still in the dark Wednesday, down from the nearly 8 million who lost power shortly after the storm hit. Christie described the damage along the Jersey Shore as "unthinkable." Akers said crews are trying to get each and every person to shelters from his battered community, which he called he the storm's "ground zero." Speaking to CNN, Akers' voice cracked a bit as he described the enormity of the destruction and the resolve to rebuild. "I just want to try to keep the emotion out of it," he said. "For everybody, it's -- this is a loss for everybody ... not just Seaside Heights. "If there's any good news," he added, "the water (has) receded, the roadways are accessible. But we still have downed power lines. We are not letting anybody in at that particular time." Hurricane safety: When the lights go out . Some 10,000 Army and Air National Guard forces were on duty in the 13 states affected by the storm. The Army Corps of Engineers was also helping, deploying water pumps and generators to New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Defense Department said. They're also going to send 80 truckloads of water to West Virginia, where snow generated by the storm has left some areas inaccessible. Other military branches have also been deployed to help in the storm's aftermath. The U.S. Coast Guard sent airboats normally used for ice rescues in the Great Lakes, and the U.S. Navy was moving three landing ships to the affected coastlines. Some 730,000 New Yorkers were still in the dark Wednesday night, with utility Con Edison estimating another three days before it can restore power to Manhattan and Brooklyn, and as many as 10 days for other boroughs and the suburb of Westchester. Keep your food safe in a natural disaster . Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan evacuated its 700 patients because the pumps that supply oil to the generators are in the basement under 8 feet of water, a source familiar with the evacuation plan said. New York University Langone Medical Center had to evacuate more than 200 patients because of a generator problem a day earlier. The Lincoln Tunnel was open, but the Holland Tunnel, the other tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, was still full of water. The Port Authority said it can't start pumping out the water until power is restored. Still, there were hints amid the aftermath Wednesday that New York City was slowly getting back to normal. The New York Stock Exchange reopened after a two-day closure, Broadway's trade association said all shows would be curtains up on Thursday and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday's New York Marathon would go on as scheduled. "For cooped-up New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors who are staying in hotels and can't get home, now is a great time to see a show!" said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League. That said, Thursday's game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn was postponed. And while traffic gridlock returned, for some it was a welcome sign that New Yorkers were at least trying to move forward. How you can help . CNN's Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

NEW: New York's governor declares a transporation emergency . The storm's death toll reaches 124, with 56 of those in the U.S. New Jersey Gov. Christie asks for patience as crews try to restore power . 10,000 National Guard troops are on duty to help .

Sendai, Japan (CNN) -- Wednesday broke in Japan with news of a new blaze at the damaged nuclear plant that crews have struggled to control since last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami, adding to radiation fears in a country racing to avoid a full-on nuclear crisis. The fire was discovered Wednesday morning in the northwestern corner of the No. 4 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, an official with Tokyo Electric Power Company told reporters. It was the latest setback for a country struggling to dig its way out of the wreckage wrought by last week's earthquake and tsunami. At least 3,676 people have died, the National Police Agency said Wednesday morning. Another 7,558 people are missing and 1,990 were injured, it said. Shell-shocked survivors huddled in cramped shelters, grieved over lost loved ones and worried about relatives who are missing across villages and towns inundated by the tsunami waves spawned by Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake off the east coast of Honshu. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called the disaster the country's worst crisis since World War II, and one firm says that the earthquake and tsunami are likely to surpass Hurricane Katrina as the most expensive disaster in history. Stocks in Japan opened higher Wednesday morning, one day after the nation's main market index suffered one of its biggest drops on record. Tuesday, the Asian economic powerhouse reeled as stocks plummeted, sending shock waves through global markets. "The scale of this event has taken everyone by surprise," said Patrick Fuller, a Red Cross spokesman. "It's stretched resources to the max." The latest fire at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan comes one day after another fire there and an explosion at the plant's No. 2 reactor. Radiation level readings spiked at the building gate during the first fire but went down after the blaze was extinguished. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said amounts returned to a level that would not cause "harm to human health." Radiation levels in Tokyo were twice the usual level Tuesday, but they were too negligible to pose a health threat, officials said. But Japanese authorities could not rule out the possibility of a meltdown at the troubled reactors. While sea water was being pumped into the reactors in an effort to prevent further damage, "it cannot necessarily be called a stable situation," Edano had said Tuesday. A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods cannot be cooled, thus melting the reactor core and causing a release of radioactivity. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the containment unit and spread toxic radioactivity through the air and water. That, public health officials say, can cause both immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer. The plant's owners have taken precautions to protect the people in Fukushima Prefecture, where the reactors sit. The plant is about 138 miles (225 kilometers) from Tokyo. They evacuated all but about 50 workers from the facility and urged people within 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors. The government imposed a no-fly zone over the 30-kilometer radius "because of detected radiation after explosions" there, the country's transportation ministry said. Edano said analysts also have their eyes on reactors No. 5 and 6 at the plant, where cooling systems weren't functioning well, though the temperature had dropped slightly Tuesday. Concerns about hot radioactive fuel boiling off cooling water and catching on fire continued into Wednesday, with plant operators and government officials considering a plan to use helicopters to drop water into the cooling pond through the damaged roof of the reactor building, according to a Kyodo News report. For many across Japan, calming jittery nerves is becoming increasingly difficult as the situation at the damaged facility looks increasingly dire. "I think, from a sanity standpoint, I'm trying to side with the cool-headed point of view because I don't want to think about the possibly of a full-blown meltdown," said Osaki resident Tyler Martin. "So far, the winds are blowing north-northeast, so if a lot of radiation leaks, Tokyo shouldn't get a lot of the exposure," said Robert F. Mendel, who lives in suburban Tokyo. "Of course, if the winds change, that's a different story. We've been advised to wear long sleeves, a cap, a surgical mask to reduce the amount of exposure -- that is, cover as much skin as possible." Across the country, emergency workers from Japan, foreign governments and international aid groups continued to scour tangled and displaced piles of debris, searching for survivors. Ninety-one countries and regions and six international organizations have offered assistance, according to the Japanese foreign affairs ministry. Public broadcaster NHK reported that 450,000 people were living in shelters, and many schools had turned into emergency shelters. In the area of Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, several tractor-trailers with cars on top had flipped over. Personal belongings -- a child's doll, an empty shoe, wedding photos covered in mud -- lay in heaps where houses once stood. Cold weather has increased the hardship for disaster victims and rescuers. Rescuers report that some victims have been exposed to cold weather and water, in some cases for days. Conditions are expected to worsen, with temperatures forecast to drop below freezing by Wednesday across portions of the earthquake zone, accompanied by snow, heavy rain and the threat of mudslides. Already in Sendai, cold rain and sleet fell on the decimated city Tuesday, and snow fell in parts of northeastern Japan. Rescue work is also being complicated by the hundreds of aftershocks that have rocked Japan since Friday's quake. The U.S. Geological Survey reported Tuesday at least three quakes with magnitudes of 6.0 or greater, and more than a dozen others greater than 5.0 or greater. Experts predict that the earthquake and tsunami will rank among the costliest natural disasters on record. Jayanta Guin, senior vice president of research and modeling for AIR Worldwide, said it is clear that the total losses will "be far greater than we experienced in Katrina." That 2005 hurricane, which devastated New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf Coast, had estimated losses of $125 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute. While agencies are working to raise money, donations have been slow to come. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper covering nonprofit organizations, says donations to nonprofit organizations have reached about $25 million so far. The total is far below the first four-day totals of other recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the crisis in Haiti, it said. Wide-scale economic problems also loom. Japanese stocks closed down 10.55% Tuesday, the third steepest percentage fall in the Nikkei's history. That was on top of a 6.2% drop Monday, the first full trading day after the quake. Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index, the most prominent measure of Tokyo market stocks, rose 520 points, or 6%, shortly after the market opened. All three of the major U.S. stock indexes closed down about 1.2% Tuesday, after plunging much deeper earlier in the day on fears of the Japanese economic downturn. Friday's quake was the strongest in recorded history to hit Japan, according to USGS records that date to 1900. The USGS revised the magnitude of the quake from 8.9 to 9.0 on Monday. CNN's Gary Tuchman, Anna Coren, Jill Dougherty, Kyung Lah, Anderson Cooper, Paula Hancocks, Dean Irvine, Stan Grant, Kevin Voigt, Jaime FlorCruz, Sean Morris, Holly Yan and Alanne Orjoux contributed to this report.

NEW: More than 11,000 are dead or missing in the wake of the disaster . A new fire is discovered at the Fukushima Daiichi plant . A fire and explosion Tuesday at the nuclear plant led to temporary radiation spike . One company says the disaster could be the most expensive in history .

Jinan, China (CNN) -- Calling his former deputy a "liar with extremely bad character," fallen high-flying politician Bo Xilai on Sunday rebutted the testimony of the prosecution's star witness as his increasingly dramatic trial stretched into a fourth day. The former Communist Party chief of the sprawling southwestern metropolis of Chongqing has denied abusing his power -- the third and final charge being heard in court in Jinan, eastern China, long after he was stripped of his posts and expelled from the party. Prosecutors accuse Bo of threatening and improperly firing his former police chief Wang Lijun after learning about a murder investigation involving Bo's wife Gu Kailai, who is currently serving a suspended death sentence for killing British businessman Neil Heywood. On Sunday, Bo insisted that Wang was lying throughout his court appearance, and said his words lacked any credibility or legal standing. Wang took the witness stand Saturday, providing the first opportunity for the two former allies to confront each other since Wang's attempted defection to the United States in early February 2012. Analysis: How, why Chinese politician veered off script . Wang told the court he fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu because he feared for his safety following a tense encounter in Bo's office, just one day after Wang told Bo about his wife's suspected involvement in murder. "He started verbally assaulting me... and about three minutes later, he walked around the left side of his desk and stood in front me. He suddenly attacked me with his fist, hitting on my left ear -- it was not just a slap," Wang recalled, according to a court transcript. On Sunday, Bo said: "He said I didn't just slap him but punched him. I never practiced martial arts -- I don't possess such striking power," according to a transcript released by the Jinan Intermediate People's court. Bo added: "After being convicted for abuse of power and defection, he still argued that he didn't defect but engaged in diplomacy in accordance with regulations. "All this shows this man has extremely bad character and lies on the spot." The trial was adjourned after the Sunday morning session and will resume Monday morning. During trial, Xilai keeps up his counterattack . The story behind the 'slap' On Saturday, Bo conceded he had made mistakes but denied he broke the law to protect his wife. "I have made mistakes. I feel regret and I'm willing to take responsibility," Bo said. "But whether or not I've committed a crime is a different issue." "I didn't bend the law to protect Gu Kailai," he said. "I didn't force Wang Lijun out or force him to defect to the United States." Bo did acknowledge slapping Wang in the face -- a key moment long considered a turning point in the two men's relationship -- during the office confrontation, claiming he believed Wang was trumping up charges against Gu and thus furious at his "double-faced" deputy who had faked his loyalty to the Bo family. According to a court transcript, Wang said it was more than a slap and that the blow had caused a "discharge" from his ear. "My body shook a little... and I found blood at the corner of my mouth and discharge in my ear," he continued. "I wiped the blood off with a tissue, but when he heard me calmly tell him again that he had to face the reality, he threw a glass on the ground while saying 'I'll never accept it.'" Wang told prosecutors that Bo's physical violence against him as well as the disappearance of his aides and investigators led to his decision to seek refuge in the U.S. diplomatic mission in Chengdu. When Bo was allowed to question the witness, Wang revealed in an exchange that Gu had told him about her intention to kill a day before the murder. And when Bo asked Wang: "Did you think I was forcing you out in an attempt to cover up (my wife's murder) case?" Wang replied: "Yes." The trial by social media . Embezzlement and corruption charges . Earlier Saturday, Bo kept up his vigorous defense against embezzlement charges and, as he did Friday on corruption charges, and dismissed testimony from his jailed wife as a desperate attempt to reduce her own sentencing. Gu was sentenced last August for killing Heywood in a Chongqing hotel room in November 2011. She gave her testimony to the court via video and said that Bo was well aware of multi-million dollar dealings to fund their and their younger son's jet-setting lifestyle. "I have feelings for Gu Kailai," Bo said Saturday morning, after admitting to an extramarital affair. "She is a vulnerable woman... and who else could she turn in? That's why all accusations against me originated from her." Prosecutors allege that Bo received five million renminbi ($820,000) of public funds from a local urban planning official in Dalian, Liaoning Province, in the early 2000s when he was mayor and later the provincial governor. Bo slammed the allegations as "contradictory" and denied that he needed to take the money as his wife earned millions of dollars from her five law firms. Under the bribery indictment, prosecutors accuse Bo of using his political posts to secure influence for others. They say that between 2000 and 2012, Bo, Gu and their son, Bo Guagua, received about 22 million renminbi ($3.6 million) in bribes from businessmen in Dalian. Bo Guagua hopes father can 'answer his critics' Bo's fall from grace . Bo is a princeling, a term that refers to the children of revolutionary veterans who boast of political connections and influence. His late father, Bo Yibo, was a revolutionary contemporary of Chairman Mao Zedong and the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Over the past three decades, Bo rose to power as a city mayor, provincial governor, minister of commerce and member of the Politburo, the powerful policy-making body of the Communist Party. A charismatic and urbane politician, Bo -- with the help of Wang -- was credited with a spectacular, albeit brutal, crackdown on organized crime during his time as the top party official of Chongqing. Bo's glittering career, in which he drew admirers and detractors for his populist policies, fell apart last year amid a scandal involving murder, corruption and betrayal. Wang's attempted defection precipitated Bo's political demise. After Gu's sentencing last August, Wang was convicted of bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking. He received a 15-year prison sentence. Bo's trial is seen as a potentially concluding chapter in the scandal. His high profile and connections among the nation's ruling elite have made his case -- with its tales of greed and wrongdoing by a top official and his family -- an extremely delicate matter for Chinese authorities. It's taken more than a year, during which time the Communist Party has undergone a major leadership change, to bring him to trial. Many observers had expected proceedings to stick closely to a pre-planned script, seeing the trial's outcome as the result of a political deal struck between Bo and China's top leaders. But as he often did in his political career, Bo has so far stolen the show, mounting a robust attack on the prosecution's case and ridiculing witness testimony. That has left China watchers trying to figure out how far he's veered off script. Journalists from the international news media haven't been allowed inside the courtroom. But the court's official microblog account has delivered updates on developments inside, attracting more than half a million followers on Weibo, China's Twitter-like service. CNN hasn't been able to verify how accurate and comprehensive the court's version of proceedings has been. But many observers have interpreted it as a reasonably close, albeit filtered, account. Timeline: Bo Xilai scandal . CNN's Jethro Mullen, David McKenzie and Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report.

Bo Xilai slams his former police chief as a "liar with extremely bad character" Trial adjourned after half a day on Sunday, to resume for day 5 on Monday . Bo facing trial for corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power . Wang says he tried to seek U.S. asylum because he feared for his safety .

(CNN) -- Friends have asked Brianne Bricker to be their bridesmaid so many times, that this summer she finally had to say "no." It's not that the 24-year-old didn't want to be in her friend's wedding, but after spending more than $5,000 on nine weddings over the last two years, she literally just can't afford one more. "It's hard, because she's somebody I'd want to have in my wedding," Bricker said, referring to the bride she turned down who is a close college friend. But Bricker isn't the only bridesmaid to feel the burden of wedding expenses. After adding up the cost of the dress, accessories, travel expenses, wedding gifts and more, WeddingChannel.com found that it costs about $1,695 to be a bridesmaid. The estimate was based on a 2010 Real Weddings study that surveyed more than 20,000 brides nationwide. The highest expenses include travel to the wedding, shower and bachelorette party, which each can cost an average of $300. Stars talk about "Bridesmaids" Many bridesmaids don't realize how quickly the expenses can add up, says Amy Eisinger, associate editor of WeddingChannel.com. "From the moment they announce the engagement, to the day your friend walks down the isle, if that's a year and a half, you don't realize that you've spent $1,600," she said. As the economy struggles out of a slump, the price of weddings -- and the cost of being a bridesmaid -- is starting to rise. "We saw the cost go down during the recession because brides were incredibly cost conscious in what they were asking their friends to do," Eisinger said. Now, brides are asking for more formal weddings with larger price tags. While women want to be in their best friend's wedding, some just can't spend all their savings on the big day. So how do you break it to the bride that you can't be her bridesmaid? "Be honest up front," says Jodi R.R. Smith, author of "The Etiquette Book," which includes advice on everything from the proper music selection to the wording on wedding invitations. "If you try to be able to do it, then you end up maxing out your credit cards and going into debt," Smith said. "You should never be going into debt for a friend's wedding." Smith advises women to turn down bridesmaid offers in person, but never during a wedding-related event like the bridal shower. Instead, grab coffee or find a time to talk outside of work. Don't "throw a fit" about the expenses, but just tell the truth, Eisinger says. "You are allowed to say, 'Look, I'm just not going to be able to afford the $200 wedding dress and the trip to Mexico for the bachelorette party and the fact that it's a destination wedding in Key West,' " she said. Destination weddings and honeymoons . Brides who want their friends to walk down the aisle with them will probably offer to pay for expenses like the dress or plane ticket to the wedding, Smith said. "If it's a choice between having somebody be in your wedding party or having them all wear designer bridesmaid dresses, I would choose the people and the cheaper bridesmaid dress," Smith said. Bridesmaid Christina Barkel was allowed to pick her own dress for a wedding as long as it was royal blue. After months of scouring sale racks and thrift stores, she found the perfect dress for only $40. Barkel, an AmeriCorps member who earns a small stipend, is paying for only the dress and $450 plane ticket from Michigan to California to be in her friend's wedding in San Diego. Barkel said the bride offered to pay for three of her four nights in a hotel because she understands Barkel can't afford the expense. Knowing what bridesmaids can and can't afford can be a tricky situation for brides. It's not polite to ask directly, so Smith advises brides to give a spreadsheet with an estimated cost of expenses to their bridesmaids. That way, women can see if their bank accounts can handle the final total. More "Bridesmaids" coming down the aisles? But like in the movie "Bridesmaids," unexpected surprises like a bachelorette party in Las Vegas do happen. In these cases, bridesmaids shouldn't be shy to offer alternatives. "Instead of the bachelorette party in Vegas, [if] you're all East Coast people, have it in Atlantic City," Smith says. University of Michigan graduate student Katie Okonowski, 23, will be a bridesmaid in her younger sister's wedding next spring. Okonowski said she was thrilled to hear that her sister chose a venue in their hometown of Dearborn, Michigan. "The fact that it's not out of town, and I don't have to pay for a hotel or travel cost, is really a big cost saver," she said. Travel is the biggest expense, but bridesmaids shell out an average of $75 for shoes and another $60 for jewelry, according to the Wedding Channel study. Tack on $100 for manicures, hair and makeup. Celebrity wedding gowns through the decades . Katie Tobin, a 26-year-old student at Loyola University's Law School, is attending nine weddings this summer and is a bridesmaid for two of them. She's having a relative do her hair for her friend's wedding after the previous hair salon bill was twice as much as expected. Tobin said she feels "a little overwhelmed" with wedding costs because there are so many at once, and she estimates that she'll spend close to $1,300 as a bridesmaid. While she's using her savings to pay for the dresses and bachelorette parties, she can afford only inexpensive kitchen accessories as wedding gifts. "I'm still in law school, so luckily, my friends understand I can't do anything too extravagant giftwise," she said. Bricker, whose friends compare her to the main character in"27 Dresses," says she has had second thoughts about being in some of the weddings in which she wasn't as close to the bride. "I think you underestimate how much it's going to cost," she said with a knowing laugh. "To be honest, it's probably some of the reason that I'm as poor as I am." Being a bridesmaid drained my bank account . Tips for bridesmaids on a budget . 1) The dress: If the bride picks a dress that costs $300, don't feel like you don't have any right to speak up. Do a little research, and see if you can find a similar dress that costs less, Eisinger suggests. Or suggest to the bride that she choose a color and you pick your own dress. That way, you can find something more affordable. 2) Party planning: Hold the bridal shower and bachelorette party on the same weekend so you don't have to fly somewhere two separate weekends. 3) Gifts: Consider group gifting when it comes time to buy the gift for the bridal shower and for the wedding. 4) Lodging: If you're going to stay in a hotel room, find out who the other single girls are in the bridal party or ask the bride if she has any other single friends who will be coming. Then find out if you can split a hotel room with another girl so you're cutting back on hotel costs. 5) Balancing the budget: At the very beginning, come up with a total number of how much you want to spend on the wedding, and then keep a running tab somewhere on your computer or your iPhone of how much you're really spending. If the wedding is spread out over the course of a year and a half, that will help you keep your spending more in check.

Bridesmaids spend about $1,695 for dress, travel, gifts and other expenses, website says . According to etiquette expert, "You should never be going into debt for a friend's wedding" WeddingChannel advice: Hold the bridal shower and bachelorette party on the same weekend .

(CNN)The estate of the late comedian Joan Rivers filed a lawsuit Monday in New York County Supreme Court detailing alleged missteps by the outpatient endoscopy facility and the physicians caring for Rivers during an August 28 procedure that the New York medical examiner said ultimately led to her death. Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital on September 4, 2014. Attorneys for the estate said they are suing for damages and said the family wants to "make certain that the many medical deficiencies that led to Joan Rivers' death are never repeated by any outpatient surgery center." The lawsuit alleges that the doctors who performed the procedure at Manhattan's Yorkville Endoscopy clinic were "reckless, grossly negligent and wanton." The lawsuit says they performed procedures to which Rivers did not consent. It also alleges that one of the doctors did not have credentials or privileges to treat patients at the facility. Clinic that did Joan Rivers' procedure to be cut off Medicare . The comedian went to the medical center for a procedure to evaluate her "voice changes" and to determine what was causing her stomach reflux, according to the New York medical examiner. The lawsuit says Rivers signed an authorization and gave her consent to let the doctors perform an upper endoscopy, or EGD, with possible biopsy/possible polypectomy and possible dilation of the esophagus. It was unclear if Rivers had given verbal consent to any other procedure before being sedated. The lawsuit maintains she did not. During an upper endoscopy a camera is inserted to examine the upper part of the digestive system. A doctor controls the tiny camera on the end of a flexible tube. It is used to diagnose stomach, esophagus and small-intestine problems. A biopsy would be done if a doctor found an area that looked like there was some kind of cancer. Voice changes can be a sign of throat cancer. Federal agency claims major violations by clinic that treated Rivers . A polypectomy is done to remove nasal polyps, which are benign growths originating in the mucous membrane that can block the nasal passages. During esophageal dilation doctors dilate or stretch the narrowed area of the esophagus, which they may do as part of a sedated endoscopy procedure. It's most commonly done because the esophagus has narrowed from acid reflux. Often patients with this problem have trouble swallowing and sometimes have pain. Less commonly, narrowing happens because of cancer of the esophagus. Rivers first underwent a laryngoscopy. This is a procedure she did not consent to in writing. It is used by doctors to get a look at the vocal folds and glottis. It was during this first procedure that her doctors had "difficulty maintaining" her oxygen saturation at an "appropriate and safe level to ensure that her airway was not compromised" the lawsuit says. Then Dr. Lawrence Cohen and Dr. Renuka Bankulla performed the upper endoscopy, the procedure for which they did have written consent. When Bankulla noticed the oxygen saturation level again dropped, the lawsuit says she requested that the EGD be stopped and the endoscope removed to increase Rivers' oxygen level. Once her level was raised, Cohen reinserted the laryngoscope and continued the EGD. The lawsuit argues that during this part of the procedure Cohen and Bankulla failed to ensure Rivers' airway was appropriately maintained and that they "failed to properly observe and monitor Joan Rivers' vital signs which were deteriorating" and that her blood pressure "dropped significantly" as did her pulse and oxygen saturation level according to the lawsuit. After Cohen completed the EGD he took a selife with Rivers while she was under sedation during the procedure, without her consent, according to the lawsuit. When he took the photo, the lawsuit says, Cohen announced that maybe Rivers would "like to see these in the recovery area." Dr. Gwen Korovin then said she wanted to "go down again" and take another look, doing another laryngoscopy, the procedure for which the facility did not have written consent, according to the lawsuit. E!'s 'Fashion Police' to continue without Rivers . Korovin performed the laryngoscopy despite a concern voiced by Bankulla that the procedure could compromise Rivers' airway, the suit says, adding that Cohen told Bankulla she was just "being paranoid," and the doctors proceeded with the second laryngoscopy. According to an October investigation by the medical examiner's office, the cause of death was "anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest," a medical description of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen "that happened during the laryngoscopy." 25 of Joan Rivers' best jokes . Rivers had a laryngospasm, a spasm of the vocal cords that makes it difficult to breathe, according to the investigation. Her body was unable to take in enough oxygen and eventually her heart stopped delivering fresh oxygenated blood to her brain, which shut down. When the doctors did notice that Rivers' vital signs had dropped, as had her oxygen saturation level, they tried to get her breathing better. When 10 minutes of ambu bagging didn't work, the lawsuit says Bankulla asked another doctor to get the tracheotomy kit ready. In that case, the lawsuit says the doctors should have performed an emergency tracheotomy. Bankulla looked for Korovin to perform a cricothyrotomy, but the lawsuit says Korovin had left the room. Korovin is a well known doctor who has successfully treated an impressive list of celebrity clients who have come to her with voice trouble. The list of famous patients who have sung her praises include actors Hugh Jackman and Nathan Lane and singers Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Korovin is a licensed medical doctor, but she "did not have privileges to perform surgical procedures" at Yorkville Endoscopy nor was she credentialed to perform procedures at the facility, according to the lawsuit. After Rivers started to deteriorate further, the lawsuit alleges that Korovin left the room "because she knew she was not permitted to perform medical services or procedures" at that particular clinic and wanted to "avoid getting caught." Joan Rivers gave misfit girls permission to dream . The lawsuit also says the doctors were inadequately trained to handle an emergency like the one they encountered. CNN left voice messages and emails for all the individuals and facilities named in the suit. So far, none has responded to CNN's inquiries. In relation to this case in the past, the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic has said, "Our anesthesiologists monitor the patient continuously utilizing state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, and remain at the bedside throughout the procedure and into recovery." It added that all its doctors are certified for advance cardiac life support. Korovin's lawyer sent a statement in relation to past stories that said the doctor "is respected and admired by her peers in the medical community and she is revered by her patients." "As a matter of personal and professional policy, Dr. Korovin does not publicly discuss her patients or their care and treatment. Further, Dr. Korovin is prohibited by state and federal confidentiality laws from discussing her care and treatment of any particular patient. "For these reasons, neither Dr. Korovin nor her attorneys will have any public comment on recent press reports regarding her practice. We ask that the press please respect Dr. Korovin's personal and professional policy of not discussing her patients, as well as the privacy of her patients," the statement said. In reaction to the lawsuit, Rivers' daughter, Melissa Rivers, released a statement. "Filing this lawsuit was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make," said Rivers. "What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, Cooper and I have been through. "The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect and outrageous behavior is shocking and, frankly, almost incomprehensible," Rivers said. "Not only did my mother deserve better, every patient deserves better. It is my goal to make sure that this kind of horrific medical treatment never happens to anyone again." Debra Goldschmidt of CNN contributed to this report .

Joan Rivers died in September after a medical procedure went wrong . Rivers did not consent to the procedure that may have killed her, according to the lawsuit . One doctor took a selfie with the comedian while she was sedated, the lawsuit says .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sixteen years is a long time, but "it still feels just like yesterday" to 39-year-old Penny Malphrus. Her father disappeared while flying home from Swainsboro, Georgia, to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in February 1996. "I honestly do not know where the time has gone," she said this week, as efforts continued to determine whether plane wreckage recently found 80 feet down in the Atlantic Ocean 20 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, will answer her family's uncertainty. "I may or may not find my answers in my search, but I really feel like I am not alone searching," she said. Read more: Underwater wreckage could provide answer to missing-plane mystery . On February 17, 1996, Malphrus' father, Stewart Dunbar, was piloting his twin engine Piper Aerostar home after going to show the plane to a prospective buyer who failed to show up for the scheduled appointment. Shortly after he took off around 7:45 p.m., Dunbar, 58, reported feeling dizzy and said he was having trouble seeing. He radioed a distress call and advised the radio control tower in Jacksonville, Florida, of his coordinates. In what would be his last communication, he said he was placing the plane on autopilot and turning toward the ocean. Then, several weeks ago, diver Joe Kistel and another diver came across plane parts which Malphrus hopes will shed more light on where and how her father's plane disappeared. Kistel posted video and photos on his company's website, hoping it might draw attention from aviation buffs. See the photos and videos . Malphrus, who routinely checks the Internet for any news about missing aircraft, heard about the plane wreckage and decided she wanted to meet the 31-year-old Kistel before he made the dive to further investigate the wreckage. "This could be it. This dive could be what ultimately answers 16 years of not knowing," Malphrus e-mailed to CNN prior to her face-to-face meeting with Kistel. "If it is my Dad's plane, I want to (meet) the man before he goes to find that my Dad has actually touched the face of God. Somehow it seems comforting to me." "I guess I feel like if I can't be the person to go dive down there and find the answers myself, then what I really want is for that person to at least know me and more about my Dad and what an incredible person my Dad is," she said. "Right now, to me, my Dad is still alive, so this for me could be my goodbye." The weather looks favorable this weekend for Kistel and a volunteer search and recovery team from TISIRI (Think It Sink It Reef It), a marine conservation company based in Jacksonville, which has unexpectedly found itself in the middle of an underwater mystery, far from its main mission to help build artificial reefs. On Wednesday afternoon, Malphrus drove the three-and-a-half hours that separates her home from the man who might provide the closure she's looking for. Kistel and Malphrus both predicted their first meeting would be emotional. "I was greeted by a man with a very sweet smile and what started as a handshake turned into a comforting hug," she reflected. "I instantly felt comfortable like I had known him for years." She said she could tell instantly Kistel takes a lot of pride in what he does. "For me to see her kinda stepped things up a level," Kistel later said. "Through our conversation ... you would see the hope and the sadness at the same time. Seeing her emotions was very motivating for us." But he also didn't want to raise expectations. "He was very careful to not give me false hopes," she said. But Malphrus said it was important that Kistel knows everything about her father. "This isn't just anyone he is diving down there looking for. This could be my Dad. Joe could be diving down to find the last answer I may need. I want to know Joe." Wishful thinking aside, the two principals in this drama were realistic about how it may turn out. The chances that this is the plane are hard to know because no one saw exactly where it went down. Not long after communications were lost with Dunbar, fighter jets were scrambled. A Falcon jet based in Charleston, South Carolina, went out as soon as the report came in while the plane was still over land, Malphrus recalls. Then two C-130's were scrambled including one off a Navy ship to relieve the Coast Guard's Falcon which was running low on fuel. "The first jet did get a visual," said Malphrus, but since night had fallen, the pilot was unable to see inside the cockpit, lit only by the light from the instrument panel. "From what I understood, the two C-130 jets never could find him again. This has always led me to believe his Aerostar may not have stayed on the course they predicted with his last known coordinates and estimated fuel expiration recorded in his flight plan." One of the more emotional moments during their three-hour meeting occurred when Kistel pulled out of a bag a piece of the Lycoming engine retrieved during the initial dive last month. "She held it in her hand knowing this could be a piece of her father's plane," said Kistel. "I got a little tearful looking at this sand and shell encrusted piece of wreckage balanced in Joe's hand. That was a moment where the reality of there is really wreckage down there and it could be my Dad's kinda merged into my reality. Seeing that piece was at best indescribable," Malphrus said. Kistel said the plan is for a team of at least six divers to go down three times for up to 30 minutes each on Saturday and then again on Sunday. Kistel said they will use Saturday's dive to locate, mark and rig cables to the two engines which are 38 feet apart and 75% buried in the sand. Using lift bags that are like giant inflatable pillows provided free of charge by two companies, Prolift and Subsalve, Kistel will attempt to place the two engines on blocks on the level sea floor to get a better look at the motors, the propellers and any possible serial numbers. Each of the propellers on the two engines of Dunbar's plane had three blades. "If that engine comes out and it's a two-bladed prop, we can pretty much conclude it was not Penny's father's plane," Kistel said. "If it's three-bladed, it means more investigation." Ironically, CNN coverage about the plane's disappearance and dive has resulted in more than a dozen other families contacting Kistel, wondering if perhaps the plane wreckage is related to their missing loved ones. Whether it turns out to be Dunbar's plane, Kistel said, "The goal is to identify the plane. It won't change anything on our end." "If it is not his plane, then it is somebody else's answer, someone else's closure," Malphrus said. Kistel said his company and others are shouldering the costs of the search. "Every dollar spent is a financial loss as it is not like we are recovering treasure or goods of fiscal value. The hope of providing someone or some family closure is keeping us motivated and moving forward regardless," he acknowledges. "The reality will most likely be that we will be unable to pursue investigations (after this weekend) without support of fiscal sponsors." Back at her home in Hilton Head Island, waiting to see what Kistel finds, Malphrus can only wonder. She said she's going to drive back to Jacksonville this weekend. "You know I sit in my dad's old chair, I still have his hair brush, I even have an old undershirt sealed in a Ziplock bag that still has his smell, but I don't have him. I never got to say goodbye," she said. "I have so many things that he touched and that were his, but so far none of these things has been enough to take away this pain of just not knowing."

Pilot Stewart Dunbar disappeared off Florida coast in 1996 . Daughter newly found wreckage will bring closure in father's disappearance . Dive planned for this weekend may confirm if wreckage is Dunbar's .

(CNN) -- By the time Edward Lee Elmore won his freedom at age 53, he had spent 30 years -- most of them on death row -- imprisoned in South Carolina for a crime he says he did not commit. Law enforcement planted evidence and prosecutors manipulated facts to cast Elmore as the only suspect in the 1982 murder of 75-year-old Dorothy Edwards, his lawyers claim. Even with seemingly overwhelming evidence in Elmore's favor, it took nearly two decades to win his release, in what an appeals court called "one of those exceptional cases of 'extreme malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems.' " Read the U.S. Court of Appeals opinion on the case (PDF) His experience raises nearly every issue that shapes America's capital punishment debate: DNA testing, mental retardation, a jailhouse snitch, incompetent defense lawyers, prosecutorial misconduct and "a strong claim of innocence," said author Raymond Bonner, who wrote about the case in "Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong." In other words, a prime example of when "innocence is not enough," Bonner said. Elmore would probably still be on death row if not for Diana Holt, who began investigating his claims of innocence in 1993. When Holt met Elmore, she was surprised that a convicted killer on death row could be "so docile and gentle." Two post-conviction review courts rejected Elmore's claims, though one noted that he "may well not be guilty." But Holt never considered giving up. "If I throw in the towel, a client dies. If I stop working, they stop breathing," Holt said. "Sometimes, I am the first person who ever stuck by them or treated them with respect." A bloody crime scene . Elmore was arrested in January 1982 for the rape and murder of Edwards, a wealthy widow in Greenwood, South Carolina. Edwards' longtime neighbor and friend, Greenwood City Councilman Jimmy Holloway, told police he let himself into her house after noticing newspapers piling up in her driveway. Inside the house, he discovered her bloody corpse in a bedroom closet and alerted police. Holloway also identified Elmore, who had cleaned Edwards' windows and gutters the month before, as a possible suspect. Within 48 hours, police arrested Elmore based on a thumbprint found on Edwards' back door. By April, a Greenwood County jury had convicted Elmore of murder and sentenced him to death. It would be the first of three times he would stand trial in the case, followed by years of appeals and post-conviction reviews. When Holt took on the case, she says, she discovered a disturbing chain of events that led to Elmore's conviction, starting with law enforcement's willingness to build a case around Holloway's timeline. From there, Elmore's lawyers say, prosecutors suppressed blood and fingerprint evidence that could have cast doubt on their case. Instead, Elmore's lawyers claim that prosecutors deliberately introduced falsely incriminating statements from a jailhouse informant and hairs from Elmore that were not found at the crime scene. A breakthrough finally came in 2011, when the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed Elmore's conviction and ordered a new trial, based partly on findings that Elmore's trial lawyers blindly accepted the prosecution's case without bothering to examine the evidence in his first trial and retrial. "A healthy skepticism of authority, while generally advisable, is an absolute necessity for a lawyer representing a client charged with capital murder," a judge wrote in the majority opinion. "Elmore's lawyers disregarded their professional obligation to investigate critical prosecution evidence, thereby engendering 'a breakdown in the adversarial process that our system counts on to produce just results.' " 'Couldn't believe my eyes' None of it would have come to light if not for Holt. She was in her mid-30s when she joined the case the summer before her third year of law school. Her journey to law school had been hard-fought, with a history of abusive relationships and a stint as a teen serving time in a Louisiana prison for armed robbery. At 28, she began taking community college classes and earned the grades to enter Southwest Texas State University. Given her past, Holt was pleasantly surprised when the University of Texas accepted her law school application in 1991. Her professors nudged her in the direction of death penalty litigation when she began to show a knack for the persistent digging the job demands. Through internships at the Texas Resource Center, Holt met lawyer John Blume, executive director of the South Carolina Death Penalty Resource Center. During an internship there, Blume asked her to help with Elmore's case by interviewing jurors. "I started reading the trial testimony and couldn't believe my eyes," Holt said. "All the forensic evidence evaporated under the smallest measure of scrutiny." She became immersed in the case, "all Elmore, all the time," and "classes became more like an annoying distraction," she said. Blume offered her a job as a staff attorney once she graduated, but she couldn't wait and moved to South Carolina before the final spring semester, for "Elmore and John Blume," she said, half-joking. A few things about the case jumped out at her. For one, police said they had seized pubic hairs from Edwards' bed and identified them as belonging to Elmore. If that was true, Holt wondered, where were crime scene photos of those hairs on the bed? Why weren't they packaged like other evidence taken from the scene? Why didn't investigators collect the bedsheets for further analysis? Elmore conceded that hairs introduced into trial evidence belonged to him but claimed that police pulled them from his head and groin area after his arrest. Meanwhile, fibers and hairs collected from Edwards' body and marked "item T" on an evidence log were never introduced into evidence. For years, the state claimed they were missing, until 1998, when they were found in the private office of an investigator in the case. Testing revealed a "Caucasian pubic hair inconsistent with Mrs. Edwards" that Elmore's team claims could have cast doubt on the state's theory that he was the only possible killer. Holloway's "farcical" trial testimony also led Holt to question his portrayal by prosecutors as a shocked neighbor and longtime friend. When Holt interviewed Holloway in 1993, within five minutes, she said, he told her, "I am the only one who could kill her and get away with it, the way she trusted me so." Holloway died in 1994. And yet, when Elmore walked out of prison in 2012, he was not fully exonerated. Elmore agreed to a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to maintain his innocence while pleading guilty. In exchange for pleading guilty to murder, the state dropped a burglary charge and agreed to a 30-year sentence with credit for time served. In the 2012 hearing, prosecutor Jerry Peace said that the state still believed it had a strong case against Elmore but that the victim's daughter supported the plea as a means of ending the case. Read more about the plea deal (PDF) Holt, however, told the court that his defense team believed Elmore is "100% innocent" but also sought to end the case. He could have gone to trial, but she has seen other clients wait years for a retrial. She also would have preferred an all-out acquittal, but "immediate freedom stymied ongoing justice," she said. "That the justice system provided an avenue for an immediate release to freedom for Mr. Elmore that was previously not available to him is more justice than injustice," she said. "Justice was better served with his freedom." If you were in Elmore's shoes, would you plead guilty to a crime you did not commit, in order to get out of prison? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Edward Lee Elmore was sentenced to death for a murder he says he didn't commit . Lawyers: Law enforcement planted evidence and manipulated facts to convict him . Federal appeals court blamed "extreme malfunctions" in the justice system . To win his freedom, Elmore pleaded guilty to murder while maintaining innocence .

AURORA, Colorado (CNN) -- An Afghan native facing terrorism charges planned to bomb a target in New York on the anniversary of the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001, a federal prosecutor said Friday. Najibullah Zazi gets off an NYPD helicopter in New York on Friday. He was taken to a Brooklyn detention center. Najibullah Zazi intended to be in New York "with the intent of using" a bomb on September 11, federal prosecutor Tim Neff said during a court hearing Friday. A federal judge ordered Zazi to remain in custody at the hearing. A few hours later, he left Colorado for New York, where a grand jury indicted him on one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against unspecified targets in the United States. Bill Muller of the U.S. attorney's office said Zazi's arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m. Prosecutors said in court that Zazi had been to Pakistan three or four times in the last decade and that he traveled to Canada twice. Investigators said Zazi plotted to make bombs from household chemicals. He made several recent purchases from beauty supply stores in suburban Denver, Colorado, employees said Thursday. Zazi was "a regular" at the Beauty Supply Warehouse here, one store worker said. Exclusive: Denver suspect caught on tape » . Another worker, who identified himself only as Oscar, said Zazi had made several recent purchases and told workers he had "a lot of girlfriends." Employees at several beauty supply stores in Aurora told CNN that federal agents visited their stores as part of the investigation, which led to Zazi's arrest Saturday. Some visits by federal agents were as recent as last week, they said. Federal agents visited at least two other stores in recent weeks, workers at those stores told CNN, while a third said it had received phone calls from the FBI. Store workers said agents showed them photographs of several people during one visit, and a worker at one store said he recognized Zazi after seeing pictures of him on television. Video from Beauty Supply Warehouse in Aurora from July 25 and August 28 show a man believed to be Zazi in the store. In the first video, the man is seen at the checkout counter putting a hydrogen peroxide product bottle on the counter, while the rest of the bottles are in his cart. He also purchases hair rollers and pins and a shower cap. The second video shows the same man walking up and down a store aisle until he reaches some hydrogen peroxide product bottles. He puts a dozen of them into his shopping cart. Receipts from the store show that CNN obtained show that the man bought six bottles of peroxide in July, and a dozen in August. The store said it provided the same receipts to the FBI. Beauty Supply Warehouse CEO Karan Hoss tells CNN he also voluntarily provided the two surveillance videos to the FBI. He said they approached his store last week. "They asked, 'Have you had any customers buying large numbers of hydrogen peroxide?' " he said. Hoss said his staff examined its records and found they had video surveillance that appeared to correspond to the sales in question. If convicted, the 24-year-old Zazi faces a potential sentence of life in prison. "We believe any imminent threat arising from this case has been disrupted, but as always, we remind the American public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. Zazi's father, 53-year-old Mohammed Wali Zazi, also from suburban Denver, and Ahmad Wais Afzali, a 37-year-old Muslim cleric and funeral director from the New York borough of Queens, also have been charged with lying to federal agents in the case. Both have been released on bond. According to the indictment, nine pages of notes found on Najibullah Zazi's laptop computer include formulas for making triacetone triperoxide, or TATP. The highly volatile, highly explosive compound can be made from widely available chemicals, including acetone -- the main ingredient in nail polish remover -- hydrogen peroxide, flour and muriatic acid, a diluted form of hydrochloric acid used to clean metal. TATP was used in the 2005 London transit bombings, the 2001 Richard Reid "shoe bomb" plot and other overseas attacks. The indictment states Zazi conducted Internet research on components for explosives and made several purchases of substances that can be used to make TATP and other explosives. According to GlobalSecurity.org, an online resource for security information, TATP is extremely sensitive to impact, temperature change and friction. Just a few hundred grams of the material produce hundreds of liters of gas in a fraction of a second, the Web site reports. The government has said in court papers that Zazi has extensive ties to Afghanistan and that his wife and children apparently live in Pakistan. Zazi "and others" traveled to Pakistan in August 2008, returning in January 2009. While in Pakistan, he attended courses and received instructions on weapons and explosives at an al Qaeda training facility in one of Pakistan's northwestern tribal districts, federal authorities have said. Zazi moved to the Denver area from New York shortly after returning in January and lived with family members. His father moved to Aurora in July, and they moved in together, the detention motion states. In July and August, Zazi and unidentified others associated with him bought "unusually large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and acetone products from beauty supply stores" in the Denver area, investigators say in court documents. Notes found on his computer mention that acetone is found in nail polish remover and hydrogen peroxide can be found in "Hair Salon 20-30%," and the "bomb-making notes contemplate heating the components in order to make them highly concentrated." "The notes discuss formulations for mixing hydrogen peroxide with flour, and list ghee oil as a type of fuel that can be used to help initiate the explosive device," the government states. Ghee is clarified butter most often used in Indian cuisine. In the documents, federal agents say Zazi checked into a hotel suite in Aurora that has a stove on August 28, the same day he was seen on surveillance video purchasing 12 large bottles of "Ms K Liquid 40 Volume," a peroxide-based product. He checked back into the same hotel suite on September 6-7. Testing later revealed the presence of acetone residue in the vent above the stove. And Zazi searched the Web site of a home improvement store near the Flushing neighborhood of Queens for muriatic acid on September 8, the documents state. The following day, he started driving from Colorado to New York City in a rental car with his laptop, the memo says. He arrived in Flushing, Queens, on September 10 and apparently became suspicious he was being tracked by law enforcement. He purchased an airline ticket and returned to Denver on September 12, two days before he was scheduled to turn in his car in New York. He spent the night of September 10 at a Queens residence, where federal agents later found his fingerprints on a scale that FBI experts say could be used to weigh the ingredients for explosives. Originally from Afghanistan, Najibullah Zazi and Afzali and are permanent legal residents of the United States. Mohammed Wali Zazi is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Thursday, a federal magistrate in New York ordered Afzali released on bond. His attorney, Ron Kuby, has said his client was trying to help investigators find Najibullah Zazi, whose family had attended his mosque several years ago. Kuby said the imam "consistently cooperated" with police in previous investigations and now "feels ill-used." CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Susan Candiotti and Katie Glaeser contributed to this report.

Zazi's arraignment scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m., U.S. Attorney's office said . U.S. says Najibullah Zazi, 24, had bomb-making instructions on his computer . Zazi's father another man charged with lying to federal agents in the case . Zazi, two others arrested earlier, accused of lying to federal agents in terror inquiry .

(CNN) -- U.S.-Russian sniping over Syria's growing conflict isn't the early frost of a new Cold War, but it highlights the chilly spots that remain between the onetime foes, longtime observers say. The Obama administration came into office promising a "reset" of relations with Moscow after the 2008 conflict between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a prospective NATO ally. That helped pave the way for a new strategic arms control treaty, a revamping of U.S. missile defense plans that Russia opposed and greater Russian support for sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear development. "I think that the good ties that are associated with the reset came from an analysis from both sides that there were issues where both sides had a set of common interests, and both sides could pursue those interests and do business with one another," said James Goldgeier, the dean of the American University School of International Service and a veteran Russian analyst. G-20 nations must 'do what's necessary' to boost world economy, Obama says . However, Goldgeier added, "What we've seen recently is there are still issues that divide the United States and Russia, on issues where there aren't common interests." And topping that list today is Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on a popular uprising spawned by the "Arab Spring" revolts across the region now threatens to become a full-blown civil war. At least 10,000 people have been killed -- opposition groups say 13,000 -- and a U.N.-Arab League cease-fire plan has all but collapsed. The United States, its Western allies and leading Arab states have condemned al-Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1971. But Russia has stood behind its longtime allies in Damascus, blocking action in the U.N. Security Council and warning against outside intervention on behalf of the opposition. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, and discussed the Syrian conflict. It was the first face-to-face talk between the two leaders since Putin returned to the president's office this year. After the nearly two-hour talk, Obama said the two had "agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war." About a third of the session was devoted to Syria, said Mike McFaul, U.S. ambassador to Russia. Both Obama and Putin "wanted to make sure the other side of the table understood the true motivations for what they're trying to do and what they're trying not to do." The tension between Washington and Moscow flared last week when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Russia of shipping helicopters to Syria, where opposition groups say they are being used against civilians. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that his government isn't selling al-Assad any equipment that could be used against protesters, just delivering air defense systems under contracts struck years ago -- though another Russian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN that Russia is refurbishing older copters it had sold previously. On Monday, U.K. marine insurer The Standard Club said it had stopped coverage for Russian operator Femco's cargo ship, MV Alaed, amid allegations that the ship is carrying weapons to Syria. Ship-tracking data showed the Alaed was off the northern coast of Scotland on Monday. U.S. officials have said the ship is heading for Syria with attack helicopters and munitions. American officials said Friday they were tracking the Nikolay Filchenov, a Russian military cargo ship believed to be bound for Syria. RIA Novosti, Russia's state-run news agency, denied the report Monday, citing a source in the Black Sea Fleet as saying the Nikolay Filchenov remained docked at its base in Sevastopol. Russia stood aside as the Security Council authorized international intervention in the Libyan revolt that toppled longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. But Syria "is a place where Russia has real interests at stake," said Matt Rojansky, deputy director of the Russia-Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. "The problem for the Russians is Assad just isn't very effective," he said. Rather than crushing the revolt against him, "It seems that everything he does just inflames it even more." That gives the U.S. and its allies the opening to put more pressure on al-Assad, who took power after his father's death in 2000. "The Russians would love to see those arguments go away and get back to geopolitics," Rojansky said. "But those arguments are not going to go away while more civilians are getting killed, and the Russians understand that." 'Entire families trapped under the rubble,' Syrian opposition says . Meanwhile, he said officials in Moscow see U.S. support for the Syrian opposition as another "encroachment" on their backyard. "They see this in part of the same continuum of what's been happening in post-Soviet states over the past decade," Rojansky said. Previous American support for reform movements in former Soviet republics "creates a bunch of problems in the neighborhood," while the U.S. stance against Iran's nuclear program is seen as another push for "regime change," he said. And Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration, told CNN's "Amanpour" program that the top Russian priority is "that at the end of the day, Syria not be taken out from the Russian column and put in the American column." "We don't have a very good track record on reassuring them of that, because essentially, that's what we've gone around doing since the Cold War," he said. "So, there's a real mistrust of our intentions there, notwithstanding assurances that we might be trying to give there." But neither side wants to see the Syrian conflict spread to neighboring countries such as Lebanon, which has been torn between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in recent years. And the United States needs Russian help with Iran, which has defied U.N. demands that it stop producing nuclear fuel amid Western and Israeli accusations that it is driving toward nuclear weapons. Opinion: Why Putin can't be forced to deal . That could leave Washington in a grim position, Indyk said. "It is a real irony that on the one hand, we're expecting Lavrov to go off to Tehran in these coming days and deliver a more flexible position on the part of Iranians towards the offer that's on the table in the nuclear talks that are going to take place in Moscow, in which we're heavily dependent on the Russians to cooperate with us and pressure the Iranians," he said. "And at the same time, we're beating them over the head for being too supportive of the Assad regime, particularly by providing these attack helicopters. "It's a very hard balancing game, and there is this tension between them that is not easily reconciled," Indyk said. "So, ultimately, I think we're going to have to decide which one is more important to us. And I suspect that, at the end of the day, it will be the Iranian issue and the nuclear weapons programs we run that trumps concern about what's happening in Syria." And Goldgeier said the Syrian crisis is a reminder that "fundamental differences" remain between the former Cold War antagonists, "and what's happening in Syria exposes the limits of the relationship between U.S. and Russia." "It's not the Cold War. It's not going to be the Cold War," he said. But the dispute over Syria "could be as serious as the Georgian war, because it does expose a Russian approach that is fundamentally at odds with Western interests -- really, in this case everyone else's interests." Syria-bound Russian cargo ship loses insurance . CNN's Tim Lister contributed to this report.

Syria may strain U.S.-Russian ties, but they still need each other, observers say . Syria "is a place where Russia has real interests at stake," Carnegie analyst says . The United States needs Russian help in the Iran nuclear talks, former diplomat says .

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- This is a story of two test drives, albeit two very different ones. Recently I got behind the wheels of two highly anticipated new-model electric cars -- the first of what could be a new wave of electric vehicles in the United States. Made available for my scrutiny as a typical driver were the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt. I drove the Leaf about five miles around the city streets of Atlanta (with a brief highway detour) and the Chevrolet Volt 630 miles from Orlando, Florida, to Raleigh, North Carolina. It was 15 minutes in the Leaf versus 10 hours in the Volt. Both driving experiences showed me that these cars are very much like piloting a "normal" vehicle -- with one difference -- it's much easier to sneak up on people. Electric range/gas mileage . We drove the Leaf at a Georgia Power/City of Atlanta/Nissan event near the CNN headquarters. The route was about 2 miles and we deviated another couple of miles by taking it exit-to-exit on the Downtown Connector (luckily it was before our 180-minute rush hour). With such a short drive, neither we nor any of the other 20 drivers who came out to the test drive came close to wearing down the battery. When I took my turn behind the wheel, we had 73 miles of electric range left. When I exited the vehicle, there were 68 miles remaining. Nissan says the car should go 100 miles on a full charge, but that depends on weather conditions and driving style. A few days later we hopped in the Volt in Orlando. A team of Chevy engineers and PR folks were traveling north to Raleigh for some public events. Heading east on I-4, I had about 40 miles of electric range. As I accelerated I paid scant attention to the green ball on the digital display that tells you how economical you're driving. With a half-day's drive in front of me, I wasn't interested in saving power, only time. About 38 miles east of Orlando, driving about 70 mph, the batteries were down to the minimum. Now, in a purely electric-powered car you'd have to pull over and charge up. But the Volt has a gas-powered generator that comes on when the batteries are nearly depleted. It creates electricity to keep the batteries minimally charged to drive the car (and at certain points it helps turn the wheels). We traveled the remaining 600 miles on gas-powered electricity, and at speeds about 8 to 10 mph over the limit, we averaged about 37.1 mpg. Related story: Range-anxiety a concern for electric car buyers . Noise . It's nearly impossible to describe the absence of noise, but both cars are eerily silent. It's like riding in a golf cart; you turn it on but there's no sound. Even when you're merging into traffic at 70 mph in the Leaf (hey, I was going with traffic), the vehicle makes very little noise. When I ran down the Volt battery, the gas engine kicked on without much fanfare. I was told it was about to happen and I still didn't really hear it start. I pretended to notice, but I was guessing. With the radio on, I doubt you'd hear it at all. When we drove into Savannah, Georgia, for lunch, we took the car down an alley to park. A happy couple -- full of local food and sunshine -- sauntered aimlessly in front of us, oblivious to the fact that our car was creeping up three feet behind them. So I pulled the bright lights bar to activate the horn designed to let pedestrians know there's a Volt nearby. The pedestrian horn is quieter and more polite sounding than the regular Volt horn, which is accessed from where you'd expect it to be on the steering wheel. Pickup . Electric cars can get up and go. At least initially. Both cars responded impressively to a foot mash on the pedal from a dead stop. I never got a chance to test the Leaf's passing ability on the highway, but I sure did during the Volt journey. We encountered a few slower cars in the left lane. I drive an old Acura TL, with 210,000 miles accumulated in my own journeys to North Carolina. Based on my car's performance, I guessed the amount of time my TL needs to make a highway pass and applied it to the Volt. Most of the time, I'd clear the car enough to pass -- but not with the same amount of room to spare. And a couple of times I had to slow down, fall back and get in line again. It just seemed to take a long time to go from 60 mph to 70 mph. Comfort . The Leaf and the Volt are smaller cars and I'm a semi-big man (6-1, 240). Both had comfortable front seats, but the leg room in the back was a little cramped, especially if the driver is my height or taller. My back did get a bit tight after three hours straight in the Volt's driver's seat, but I switched on the heated seats. Although my glutes got a bit toasty, it did help with my lower back. We drove about four hours at a time and each time I got out to stretch my legs, I wasn't stiff or leg wobbly at all. My colleagues who came along on the Leaf ride were a bit shorter than me, and they had no problems with legroom or headroom. Styling . These cars aren't going to get looks at stoplights, until people realize they are electric cars. That's when you get the questions. But to me, they're both nicer looking cars when you see them in person. The Leaf was red -- and it drew raves from the test drivers. One said she thought even her teenage daughter would approve. We caught a few people on the highway snapping camera-phone pictures of the Volt. (There were four Volts in the caravan, so by the time you passed the third one, you had time to figure out what was going on). Many buyers will care more about how the cars are fueled than they will about the cars' styling. But they also won't be caught driving a car as ugly as some of the previous electric vehicles on the market. Overall . Both cars live up to their hype. The Leaf is cute and peppy and has enough room for five people for a short trip. The extras -- like satellite navigation that can find charging stations and the ability to start the air conditioning or heater a few minutes before you get in the car -- are great. It will cost $32,780 before a federal credit of $7,500 and state credits of up to $5,000. Details on electric car tax breaks . A hundred miles should cover most commutes and errands, so the Leaf would make a good second car, a car for a high school driver, or the in-town resident who has easy access to charging. The Volt is a car for people who want to run on batteries during the workweek and be able to go on a weekend trip without renting another car. It's a small car on the outside, but has the feel of an expensive car on the inside (although at $41,000 before a federal tax credit, it is a bit pricey for most people). Chevy is throwing in bells -- like a free OnStar driver assist package for five years -- and whistles -- like an automatic climate system that warms the front seats and passenger cabin to a comfortable temperature when it's cold outside. Second opinion: CNNMoney's car critic drives the Volt . These cars will be on the road soon, and you might not even notice, unless you happen to see them plugging into to an electrical source to charge their batteries. While they have much in common with their totally gas-powered brethren, that's what makes these two electric cars significant, and possibly, game-changing.

Writer test drives Nissan Leaf in Atlanta and drives Chevy Volt up the East Coast . Cars are zippy off the line, and super quiet even at 70 mph . They look better in person, writer says . Most buyers will be interested in environment, but will also get good, fun car .

Frederick, Maryland (CNN) -- Nearly two years after arriving in America with the promise of a new nose and ears, Aesha Mohammadzai has finally begun the process of reconstructive surgery. The young Afghan woman, whose face was mutilated by her Taliban husband and in-laws, checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, early Thursday morning. After nearly six hours, the first of about six anticipated surgeries -- which will be performed over the course of up to two years -- is now complete, said Mati Arsala, who along with his wife has been caring for Aesha. "I woke her up at 5 a.m.," he said Thursday night, recounting how the day began. "She said, 'Momo Mati' -- that's what she calls me, Uncle Mati -- 'let me sleep.' I said, 'You have an operation today,' and she jumped. As soon as I said that, she jumped! She was ready!" Her spirits were high going in, he said. She was laughing and chatting with her doctors. Because of privacy regulations, CNN was not on hand Thursday and doctors were prevented from speaking directly about her case. The haunting story and image of Aesha, now 22, became known the world over after her face appeared on the cover of Time magazine in August 2010. That same month she arrived in California, welcomed with the best of intentions by people wanting to help her start over with a new and restored face. But Aesha, who effectively became a poster child for the oppression of women in Afghanistan, wasn't emotionally prepared for the grueling process that awaited her. Until now, and amid several moves, that hoped-for surgery remained elusive. In May, 16 months after meeting Aesha, CNN published an exclusive piece documenting her complicated and winding journey in America. We set out to tell her story because the last the world knew, she was well on her way to a fairytale ending. We wanted readers to understand the truth: that fairytale endings aren't always possible, especially for someone with Aesha's challenges. The responses from readers were overwhelming. Some messages we received were more surprising than others. Many wanted to give donations to support Aesha. Others offered their own stories, tips to pass along to those caring for Aesha, as well as medical and psychological diagnoses. People in Afghanistan -- U.S. troops, NGO workers and a Kabul blogger -- reached out, as did a man who knew her on the base where she first was brought after being brutalized and left to die. A New Yorker in the fitness business asked to send Aesha workout clothes -- with the hope that someday she might interview Aesha for a program she calls "Celebrity Sweat." Someone in Atlanta offered to choreograph and teach Aesha her very own Bollywood dance. A poet penned a piece to honor her. Aesha and the Frederick, Maryland, couple caring for her, Mati Arsala and Jamila Rasouli-Arsala, need the well wishes and good vibes now more than ever. This medical odyssey will be a long and difficult one. The team assembled to work with Aesha did their best -- even putting together a three-hour presentation, the Arsalas say -- to prepare all of them for what was to come. "Finally, she took the first step," Jamila said Thursday night. "I hope everything will be good." A week before her surgery, we sat down with Aesha and her adopted family, including her 14-year-old "sister," Miena Ahmadzai, to talk about how they were feeling. "I'm not scared. I'm happy," Aesha said, sitting between Jamila and Miena, all three of them wearing necklaces Aesha created. Given all she's been through, the years of abuse and the mutilation of her face, surgery is nothing to be afraid of, she said in Pashto. "I suffered a lot in my life," she said, as Jamila translated. "Now I feel that a light comes into my life." She held hands with Miena, with whom she's become very close, the two only letting go to unwrap and chomp on chocolates plucked from a heart-shaped candy box in front of them. The next day Miena, Jamila's daughter by her first husband, was boarding a plane to spend a month in Germany with her father and family there. Miena said she was sorry she wouldn't be around after the initial surgery, but she knows that she and Aesha will talk and visit with each other by Skype. Miena looked over at Aesha with a grin and gave her own prediction of how things will go: "I'm pretty sure, once she gets all her surgery, she'll have a lot of guys drooling." "Aii, Miena!" Aesha screamed, her eyes as wide as her smile as she play-swatted her friend. The Arsalas and Aesha said they were ready for what awaits them. This is what she's wanted for so long, and they take great comfort in the confidence they have in the doctors who will be caring for her. Walter Reed Bethesda, the shortened name for the facility that combines the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center, is the world's largest military medical center. U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett and his office secured Aesha's treatment at the medical center. That the military, so often associated with violence, would step up to do this fills the Maryland Republican with pride. People "know we take care of wounded soldiers. That's kind of an obligation; what else could you do? But this -- you don't have to do this. ... It puts a real human face on our military," he said. "How can your heart not go out to Aesha?" Aesha will also have additional support from Fahima Vorgetts, Jamila's cousin, who introduced Aesha to the Arsalas. Vorgetts, who lives in West Virginia about an hour away from the Arsalas in Maryland, travels often. But she said she has carved out time to be there after the surgery and is prepared to help care for Aesha during her recovery. Vorgetts marvels at Aesha's smile and ability to be loving, despite all she's been through. "She has this innocence about her, but she's also very smart and she understands things, Vorgetts said recently of Aesha. "I think she has, and I hope she has, a brighter future." The road will not be an easy one to travel. Over the course of her multiple surgeries, there will be plenty of pain and discomfort, not to mention the emotional toll she will experience as she watches herself look far worse before she will look better. Thursday's surgery, which set her up to have skin in her forehead expanded for future use in rebuilding her nose, is only the beginning, Mati said. But by the time he left her room Thursday evening, he said she seemed more than up for the challenge. "She's in a private room. She's awake. She ate. She had a hamburger, fruit, ice cream and yogurt. And did I say fruit? She ate like a pig, " he said with a tired laugh. "It's only beginning, but it was very successful." To support Aesha in her surgical journey, CNN iReport is asking people who have undergone reconstructive surgery to share their stories. Some already have. Submitted videos will be pieced together and played for Aesha so she knows she is not alone. The family caring for Aesha has also set up a website, Aesha's Journey, so people can follow her progress, send her notes, make direct donations to her personal account and even reach out to buy her handcrafted jewelry. All this, the Arsalas hope, will help Aesha gain the life she deserves. To contact the author of this piece, e-mail [email protected].

First of many surgeries to rebuild Aesha's nose and ears completed at Walter Reed . Young Afghan woman was mutilated by her Taliban husband and in-laws . Her haunting story and image became known worldwide after she appeared on TIME cover . Last month CNN published exclusive story documenting her complicated journey in the U.S.

(CNN) -- Many observers gazing upon the current bloodshed in the Middle East have wondered aloud if we are seeing the disintegration of the nation-state boundaries established in the region nearly a century ago. But the crises in Iraq and Syria have simply laid bare a phenomenon that has been under way for quite some time. What's more, this process is now almost certainly irreversible, and will lead to a radically different Middle Eastern map than we have known. In the heady early days of the Arab Spring, many people imagined that the Arab world might finally be entering a period of greater democratization, one that would inevitably lead -- so the thinking went -- to greater social unity. That didn't happen. The "people's revolution" in Egypt was subverted, and the fledgling democracy movement in Bahrain was crushed with Saudi military assistance. But more devastating than that is the ongoing fracturing of nations into their historical component parts. The world may be focused on the rifts in Iraq between its Shiite, Sunni and Kurd communities -- but the same "Balkanization" has already occurred in Libya, which is now effectively split into three de facto states. Almost surely next on the chopping block is Syria. Syria's savage civil war has divided the nation into a patchwork of government and rebel-held zones, and there is now talk within Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime of slicing off the Alawite-dominated western portions of Syria to create a more defendable mini-state. READ MORE: Map of Iraq's sectarian divide . Just how did we get here? To answer that, one would do well to look at a map of the region during the Ottoman Empire. In order to keep the peace and hold together their fantastically diverse and far-flung realm, the Ottoman sultans devised a clever system known as the "millyet." So long as they pledged ultimate allegiance to the sultan and paid their taxes, the empire's various religious and ethnic communities were allowed to largely govern themselves. It was hardly a trouble-free arrangement, but this system of autonomy was probably what enabled the weak Ottoman Empire, the proverbial "sick man of Europe," to survive into the twentieth century. That all ended in 1914, when the Ottomans joined forces with Germany and Austro-Hungary in World War I. To the rival empires of Great Britain and France, the Ottoman lands now became known as "the Great Loot," the last great frontier for European control and economic exploitation. Of course, Britain and France first had to win the war -- and well into 1915, they displayed scant ability to do so. In desperation, the British forged a secret agreement with Emir Hussein, the ruler of the Hejaz region of western Arabia, to raise an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks. In return, Hussein and his rebels were promised independence for virtually the entire Arab world. READ MORE: The terror group taking Iraq by storm . No sooner had Britain made the pact with Hussein, however, than it surreptitiously entered into negotiations with France. Under the terms of the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, the future Arab independent nation was to be relegated to the wastelands of the Arabian Peninsula -- oil hadn't been discovered there yet -- while Britain and France would take possession of most everything else. Continuing in this vein, Britain also penned the Balfour Declaration, encouraging Jewish emigration into the Palestine region of Syria, an initiative that would ultimately prove to be the catalyst for the creation of Israel. This double-cross of the Arabs was not fully revealed until the postwar Paris Peace Conference, then put to paper in the 1920 San Remo Agreement. Despite the furious protestations of Arab nationalists, greater Syria was divided into four parts -- Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Lebanon and modern-day Syria -- with the British taking the first two, the French the latter. Even more volatile, as events would soon prove, were British machinations in Iraq. In their first negotiations with Emir Hussein, the British had asked for "special administrative arrangements" in those southern regions of Mesopotamia where oil had been discovered. But by the war's end, oil had also been discovered in the north and, with the promise of Arab independence long discarded, the British simply joined three of the Ottoman's semi-autonomous regions together and called it a country. Through their blithe hubris, British and French imperialists had built themselves a volcano and then sat atop it. For the next three decades, they managed to weather the periodic eruptions of Arab rage by propping up pliant local leaders or rushing in troops to quell the inevitable revolts. But by the early 1950s, their sway in the region had collapsed along with their empires. Into the vacuum stepped a generation of ardently nationalist military dictatorships that would eventually stretch from Libya all the way to Iraq. But how did this transmogrify into the chaos and dissolution we see in the region today? I think the answer lies in a subtler, more psychological, legacy of the "order" that was imposed by the European powers a century ago. READ MORE: How Iraq crisis may redraw borders . Ever since that grand betrayal, the Arab world has tended to define itself more by what it is opposed to -- colonialism, Zionism, Western political and cultural imperialism -- than what it aspires to, and even if Arab leaders have capitalized on this culture of grievance to channel popular discontent away from their own misrule, it is a mindset that has become internalized. In twenty-five years of covering conflict zones around the world, I've found that guerrillas or dissidents most everywhere can articulate what they are fighting for; in the Middle East, by contrast, it is almost always an articulation of what they are fighting against. One result, I believe, is that there's little in the way of consensus going forward once the existing order of things -- artificially-imposed or otherwise -- has been swept aside. Instead, a vacuum is created, and the "Arab street" fills it by turning to those allegiances that predated the object of their rage: their faith, their clans, their tribes. While the result is less devastating in a place with a strong national identity like Egypt -- there, the lack of consensus simply means the "people's revolution" can be gradually smothered -- in an "artificial" nation like Iraq, a centrifugal force takes over that, once given full power, is almost impossible to reverse. We are now at that point in Syria. Since none of its warring factions can be militarily defeated -- and the various regional powers backing their respective proxies will see to that -- the slaughter there will continue until the creation of de facto mini-nations. In Iraq, Kurdistan is already independent in all but name, and has no reason to give it name lest its chief protector, Turkey, become alarmed. The only larger question is whether ISIS -- the Sunni terror group that has taken Iraq by storm in recent weeks -- will manage to consolidate its current hold in the center of the country and join it to the great swath of eastern Syria it controls. Perversely, there may soon come a time when both the Shiite-dominated regime in Baghdad and the Alawite-dominated one in Damascus both decide such a terror-state might be the best way to be rid of their Sunni enemies. Surely the biggest surprise thus far has been the relative calm in Jordan, a nation cut from whole cloth by the European powers after World War I. Despite concerns that it too will fall into the abyss, Jordan might well be saved by the need for all its warring neighbors to have a "Switzerland" in the neighborhood. What might explode next? Here, the old map of the Middle East actually offers some solace. We're simply starting to run out of places that the European imperialists screwed up. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of Scott Anderson.

Anderson: Conflicts in the Middle East are disintegrating region's post-World War I borders . British, French imperialists "built volcano in Middle East and then sat atop it" World may be worried about "Balkanization" of Iraq, "but that's already happened to Libya" Anderson: We're running out of places that European imperialists screwed up .

(CNN) -- When European explorers were planting their flags all over North and South America, they referred to the territory as the "New World." That was a misnomer. For while the Americas might have been "new" to the Europeans, they weren't new on the world timeline. Things were happening in the Western Hemisphere a long, long time ago, as the sites on this list (a very small sampling) demonstrate. Some you might know already; others might come as a surprise. Many of them are sites of active archaeological research that continues to unearth new examples of very interesting old stuff. 15 ancient ruins you might not know . Tiwanaku, Bolivia . Theorists have explained Tiwanaku as everything from a temple complex built by nomads to the work of an extraterrestrial society. Its truth is only slightly less extraordinary, and it tantalizes with questions of why and how a city of temples, public buildings, homes, streets and irrigation systems was built at 13,000 feet above sea level in the Altiplano of the Bolivian Andes. Between 500 and 900 A.D., the Tiwanaku civilization numbered in the hundreds of thousands. By 1200, they were gone. Archaeologists continue to study the site, even constructing reed boats to demonstrate how stones weighing several tons might have been transported from one shore of nearby Lake Titicaca to the other. You'll need imagination to picture Tiwanaku as it was; a visit during the winter or summer solstice celebrations can enhance its mystical qualities. Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada . About 75 million years ago, western Canada was part of an island continent called Laramidia, and this 30-square-mile expanse of badlands was populated by creatures great and small. Sounds like the start of a fantasy novel, but it's a dream come true for anyone fascinated by dinosaurs. UNESCO adds 19 sites to World Heritage List . Since the turn of the last century, when paleontologists began working here in earnest, the park has yielded thousands of prehistoric remains, including hundreds of complete dinosaur skeletons from the Late Cretaceous Period. At the park you can join in or observe current fieldwork. There are activities for families and kids, guided and self-guided tours, and sunset excursions for photographers. To see more specimens recovered from the park, visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, two hours away. Tikal, Petén, Guatemala . With its five towering pyramids, probably built between 250 and 900 A.D. (ongoing research regularly revises the dates) and situated to correspond with the position of the sun, Tikal is the site by which other Mayan archaeological sites are measured, both in scope and significance. Tikal National Park also encompasses Uaxactún -- once a separate city -- as well as nearly 55,000 acres of rainforest that add to its beauty and mystery. The Petén Region in northern Guatemala continually yields archaeological discoveries from the Maya, such as the stunning frieze found in Holmul earlier this year. The murals at San Bartolo are under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage site status. In neighboring Honduras, is the Mayan site of Copán -- founded by a splinter group from Tikal. Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico . Monte Albán is a marvel of urban planning, especially when you consider that the Olmecs -- and later the Zapotecs -- who built it did so by carving its terraced landscape out of the mountainside. And they began construction sometime around 500 B.C. It was built to be grand, from the ceremonial pyramids to the stadium surrounding the ball court, and because it's so impressive Monte Albán tends to be heavily visited today. The most famous artifacts are the series of Olmec carved stone slabs known as Los Danzantes (The Dancers) because it was originally assumed they depicted dancing men. Current scholarship says they depict disemboweled prisoners of war, which would be strange, yet in keeping with the unusual artistic sensibilities of the Olmecs. Parque Museo La Venta, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico . It's hard to know what to think about the Olmecs. They practiced ritual human bloodletting and raised dogs that they subsequently ate as part of their regular diet. On the other hand, they're probably responsible for introducing chocolate to the world. They also left a wondrous legacy of carved stone sculptures, especially the enormous stone heads for which they're known. Many Olmec sculptures discovered at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán in Veracruz and at La Venta in Tabasco -- Olmec settlements dating back to 1200 B.C. -- have been relocated to museums where they're more accessible for public viewing. You'll find more than 30, including three 20-ton heads, at Parque Museo La Venta in Villahermosa. The 16-acre park is known for its tropical foliage and for the dramatic sound and light show that illuminates the sculptures at night. Chan Chan, Peru . Machu Picchu is the most widely known archaeological site in Peru, the Nazca Lines are arguably the most mysterious, but Chan Chan, located about three miles from Trujillo, deserves mention because while its past is documented, its future is uncertain. The capital of the Chimú culture, Chan Chan probably dates back to before 850 A.D. At its peak in the early 1400s it had a population of 30,000 before the Inca came and wiped it all out. What remains of the huge earthwork city is still astounding -- networks of beautifully carved and sculpted adobe walls delineate enclaves devoted to work, worship and family life. About five square miles of the Chan Chan site is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, but even UNESCO can't stop the wind and weather from slowly eroding Chan Chan. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Illinois, United States . Cahokia Mounds looks like a grouping of giant lumps in the earth -- hills where no hills should be, built by the Mississippian culture more than 1,000 years ago. The largest is 100 feet high and bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza at its base. Around it once stood wooden houses and plazas where people gathered for ceremonies that involved a potent concoction called Black Drink and competitions in a vigorous sport called chunkey. Inside the mounds, archaeologists have found a wealth of objects including unexpected specimens like shark's teeth carried from the Gulf of Mexico to western Illinois in some way yet to be determined. In fact, much of what went on at Cahokia is still undetermined, including why this thriving community -- the oldest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico -- disappeared in the early 14th century. Rock Art of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands, Texas, United States . Around Comstock, Texas, where the Pecos River meets the Rio Grande, acres of unremarkable terrain hold a remarkable surprise: cave paintings (pictographs) and carvings (petroglyphs) made by the prehistoric hunter-gatherers who lived here thousands of years ago. They're not especially easy to reach, which has been their salvation, having left them largely unmolested throughout the centuries. Recently archaeologists have been working to raise awareness of the sites in order to catalog, preserve and protect them. Guided tours at Seminole Canyon State Park take you on a rigorous 1.5-mile hike to the Fate Bell Shelter. Other tours conducted by members of the nonprofit Rock Art Foundation visit sites located on private land. Panther Cave and Parida Cave in the Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio are accessible by boat.

Things were happening in the 'New World' a long, long time ago . See where the dinosaurs roamed at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta . Explore marvels of the Olmec culture in Tabasco and Oaxaca, Mexico .

O'Fallon, Missouri (CNN) -- Nathan Halbach is 22, with a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. He knows that "horrible stuff" lies ahead. His mother, Pat Bond, has been taking care of him full time. But when she needed help, she reached out to the Roman Catholic Church. After all, his father is a priest. Nathan was born in 1986, during a five-year affair between his mother and Father Henry Willenborg, the Franciscan priest who celebrated Nathan's baptism. In a story first reported in the New York Times, it was revealed that The Franciscan Order drew up an agreement acknowledging the boy's paternity and agreeing to pay child support in exchange for a pledge of confidentiality. Now her son -- the youngest of four children -- may have just weeks to live. And when the Franciscans balked at paying for his care, she decided she was no longer bound by her pledge of confidentiality. "I never asked for extraordinary amounts. I asked for the basic needs and care of my son," Bond told CNN's "AC 360." But she said the church told her, "No, we are not Nathan's biological father, we have no legal obligation to your son." Willenborg, whose priestly vows require celibacy, has been suspended from his most recent assignment, in northern Wisconsin, as Catholic leaders investigate allegations that he was involved with another woman -- then in high school -- around the same time he was seeing Bond. Willenborg has acknowledged his relationship with Bond, but denies any inappropriate relationship with the other woman while she was a minor, according to his current bishop. And his order acknowledges its agreement to support his son, telling CNN they have paid about $233,000 to support Nathan over his lifetime. Since the affair has become public, the Franciscan Order has agreed to pick up Nathan's medical bills and the costs for the funeral that now appears likely. Willenborg refused to speak to CNN. But a statement to his parishioners in Ashland, Wisconsin, in September, said, "My failure to be faithful to my vows has caused me and many others pain and disappointment. I have regretted this for a long time." And in October, he told The New York Times, "We've been very caring, very supportive, very generous over these 20-something years. It's very tragic what's going on with Nathan." Bond, then Patricia Halbach, said she and Willenborg began their affair in 1983. At the time, Willenborg was a priest in her hometown of Quincy, Illinois, about 130 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri. Bond, then a 27-year-old, married mother of three, went to a retreat for women with troubled relationships. Willenborg was the retreat's spiritual director, and she said he was a "terrific" priest -- "incredibly charismatic, very sought-after." He began to counsel her on a regular basis. After about three months, at the end of one of their sessions, she said he kissed her. Bond said she went home and immediately asked her husband for a separation, and she said she began a romantic relationship with Willenborg. Bond said she knew he was forbidden to have sex with her. But she said when in love, "You don't think clearly." "I make stupid decisions in my life," she said. "I am not perfect, far from sainthood, and I loved him." During their relationship, Bond was a lay leader in the church, and "We were a very good team, a very dynamic team," she said. But in 1985, she learned she was pregnant. The pregnancy ended with a miscarriage that October. She said in its aftermath, she ended her sexual relationship with Willenborg, only to resume it the following spring. It was during that period that Nathan was conceived, she said. Nathan was born in December 1986. Willenborg had to disclose the affair and Bond's pregnancy to his superiors. A deal was negotiated by Father Robert Karris, who told CNN the Franciscans insisted on confidentiality "to protect Nathan, his mother, and the priest." But Karris, now on the research faculty of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York, also acknowledged the goal in part was to protect the church. The agreement was reached about a year after Nathan's birth. Afterward, Willenborg was removed from his job, and it was 17 years before he would lead a congregation again. He told his superiors that his relationship with Bond was over, but she said it continued. "That was the statement, and they bought it," Bond said. "But the truth of the matter is during those eight month of negotiations, we were living together physically, sexually and every form of relationship there was under their nose." The relationship went on until Nathan was nearly 2 years old, Bond said. She and Willenborg went on family outings, including a trip to Florida, with Nathan and her children from her previous marriage. Back in Quincy, where she grew up, Bond said she had a simple answer to questions about Nathan's parentage: "He's my baby." But things ended in 1988, after Bond learned that Willenborg was seeing another woman. She eventually moved from Quincy to a St. Louis suburb. "You had to go away, you had to take your story, you had to take your children, you had to get out of this town. We're a small community, everybody knew everybody," she said. Nathan grew up as a popular, athletic boy, a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club and the Blues hockey team. He has autographs of the entire hockey team and a Cardinals uniform signed by All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols. For years, he said, he wanted a relationship with his father. "He's popped in and out of my life, but I've never gotten the full respect and love out of him that I would always want," he said. But several years ago, after Willenborg took him out to dinner on their first night out in years, he said his father didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. "When it comes to this person who's my dad, who should be helping me out more than a person on the street, he hasn't done so throughout my 20-plus years of life," Nathan said. Nathan was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. Over the summer, he and his mother went to New York's Sloan-Kettering cancer center in a last-ditch effort to halt the disease. It was unsuccessful, and doctors give him a prognosis of weeks. "If I just live my life as happy as I can, I can have a lot of fun until this horrible stuff happens," he said. The church had paid for some medical expenses and gave her $1,000 toward travel expenses for the trip, but not room and board or treatment costs, Bond said. And in the past week, she said, the church was questioning the cost of a looming funeral. "They were concerned with getting us out of their lives, and I guarantee you, the day my son goes, the church will rejoice," she said. Since she went public, the Franciscans wrote a letter to Bond telling her they will cover 100 percent of her son's funeral costs -- and added, "Please advise if there is any additional assistance that the Franciscans can provide to Nathan at this time in connection with his day-to-day expenses and comfort." The order also has since said it will not take Bond to court for breaching the confidentiality of the agreement. For four years before September, Willenborg was a priest at Our Lady of the Lake church in Ashland, Wisconsin. Bishop Peter Christensen, whose diocese includes the church, said Willenborg was a good priest -- but added, "Because of his behavior 23 years ago, the community is now suffering." Nathan will not be going back to the hospital and will die at home, Bond said. She can't afford a part-time nurse to help take care of him in his last days, but said she hopes the church lives up to its word.

Nathan Halbach's father is the priest who baptized him, Henry Willenborg . Nathan's mother made a confidential agreement with the church to keep Willenborg's identity secret . His mother went public about the secret agreement after he contracted cancer .

(CNN) -- Futuristic. Space-age. A 'world symbol.' An 'icon for an icon.' Given Real Madrid is listed by Forbes as the world's most valuable sports team, perhaps it's understandable there is a tinge of hyperbole in the marketing of the redevelopment of Real Madrid's home -- the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu . "We were inspired by medieval cathedrals, with all their sculptures and paintings around the building telling their stories," Volkwin Marg, who heads up the German architectural firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners that designed the new arena, told CNN. When its proposed refurbishment ends in around six years' time, the Bernabeu -- where Real beat great rivals Barcelona on Saturday -- will be wrapped in a skin of LEDs and 'polished mirror.' Housing a retail area, restaurants and hotel among the attractions under its metallic membrane, the multipurpose arena will transform a stadium where construction began 70 years ago today. Its new exterior will also be able to beam out the most famous moments of the 10-time European champions upon completion, although that date is still uncertain due to legal wrangles. "For this 'holy grail', we have created a glass podium designed as a communications screen displaying the history of Real Madrid -- which appears as a huge screen from the outside," said Marg. "The stadium's skin is polished like a mirror and it will glow and vibrate thanks to the LED lighting system." Bold, state-of-the-art and televisual --the venue will be unimaginably distant to the wartime rubble where Real Madrid began its rise from the ashes. Literally so since the wooden stands at the old Chamartin stadium, adjacent to where work started on the Bernabeu on October 27 1944, had been broken down for firewood by those trying to survive the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. That was far from the only damage inflicted upon both the Chamartin and Madrid during the fighting. The Spanish capital suffered immensely as it became the first European city to ever be bombed but the Republican stronghold held firm against General Francisco Franco's Nationalists until just four days before the war's end. Five years later, it was the legendary figure of Santiago Bernabeu -- who had been elected Real president in 1943 -- who wielded the pickaxe that first broke ground on the stadium that would bear his name. Yet a betrayal within Real meant the former youth team player, captain and manager almost never had the chance to shape the club's destiny. "On the outbreak of war, Bernabeu, unsure of how the wind was to blow, went into hiding, taking refuge in the French Embassy," wrote Phil Ball in his book 'White Storm: 101 years of Real Madrid'. "As a good example of how Republican Real Madrid was at that time, Carlos Alonso, coordinator of the club's administration and an outspoken Communist, actually reported Bernabeu to the authorities. "In this overwhelmingly anti-fascist atmosphere, it was only the intervention of the Spanish Ambassador to France that saved Santiago's bacon." Whether this incident prompted Bernabeu to turn against the Republicans is unclear but what is known is that he fought for the Nationalists -- with distinction -- during the war. "If Franco hadn't won the war, nobody would ever have heard of Bernabeu -- that much is true," Ball told CNN. Despite his initial uncertainties, the qualifier lawyer had backed the right side in the war and having helped the Francoists take power, they assisted his revival of a club that had been largely destroyed by the fighting -- with even its trophy cabinet stripped bare. With a bank of credit from his experiences at war and with Real -- for whom the former striker scored nearly 350 goals -- Bernabeu used his connections to create his phoenix. "To buy a stadium, you need to buy land and you need credit for that," Ball explained. "Bernabeu was quite well known, and had been decorated in the Civil War." "The Banco Mercantil lent him the money but they weren't stupid -- there was a future in earning collateral through Real Madrid." Even if they were ranked below city rivals Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona at the time. The stadium, which opened in 1947, took shape in what was then a verdant part of northern Madrid but the city's growth means the prestigious bank-lined Paseo de la Castellana is now in the center. The challenge for today's architects is to build the stadium, whose capacity will increase from 85,454 to 90,000, within its urban confines. "I think it will become one of the most iconic stadiums in the world, and the special thing is that it will sit very tightly in the center of a vital town," said Marg. "Normally if you have a stadium in the middle of town, then it tends to be a big black dirt box. It's not a shiny thing living together with the life of the town and this will be the new effect of this building." "It's a very complex building and it's going to be a 24-hour stadium -- open all the time." That's because Real Madrid will effectively play their home games alongside a massive mall, crammed with shops, restaurants and business lounges to sit alongside the hotel, improved club museum and underground parking. "It was a challenge to make a new type of stadium -- a real urban stadium, which is not just one-functional, as in a pitch surrounded by spectators, but a multipurpose arena with a retractable roof," said Marg. "Everybody who comes will say 'where is the old stadium?' It will be hidden in the new one." "Florentino Perez, who was absolutely engaged in this project, wants to write history in stadium building," added Marg, referring to Real's current president. "He asked for an 'icon for an icon' but as a clever businessman, he also wanted this icon to earn more money than the existing stadium." The retractable roof, which can open in 15 minutes, will allow the stadium to host events such as music concerts safe in the knowledge that inclement weather will be no danger. Fittingly for an arena that installed the first ever video screens, the stadium will also present a video screen 'ring' under the roof that can be seen from every seat in the stadium -- including those in the hotel rooms and business lounges that open onto the pitch. "We want it to be the best stadium in the world, with maximum comfort, an icon of architecture and cutting edge," said Perez when the plans were unveiled earlier this year. "It will be a world symbol." The construction magnate has a big call to make though. To fund -- or partly fund -- a project costing a reported 400 million euros ($507 million), Perez is looking to sell naming rights to the refurbished Bernabeu. One heavily linked party is the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), with whom Real are set to announce a partnership agreement on Tuesday. This will initially be in relation to general sponsorship but Spanish media is also tipping the Abu Dhabi group to buy the naming rights. A report by website 'Soy Madridista' even suggests IPIC could have full naming rights, removing any mention of Santiago Bernabeu -- a move which could upset Real fans, should they cough up over a billion euros to build a new stadium in a different part of town. This rumor has arisen given the legal obstacles currently challenging the refurbishment plans, with a Spanish court suspending the plans because Real is currently under investigation by the European Commission. This is in relation to possible illegal state aid, meaning a key agreement between Real and the Madrid government with regard to the remodeled Bernabeu is temporarily suspended. Nonetheless, a Real spokesperson told CNN last week that the work on the existing site will start in "around two years' time." Meanwhile, the architects of a space-age stadium are pressing ahead with plans for takeoff. "We are now preparing everything," said Marg. "We are just waiting for the green light."

Construction work on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium started 70 years ago today . Stadium is set to undergo spectacular refurbishment should existing plans go ahead . Arena will have increased capacity, a hotel and retail, leisure and restaurant zones . Plans are in danger due to an ongoing legal investigation .

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama faces a long list of issues when he steps to the podium in the White House East Room on Friday for a news conference. The last time he took questions from reporters was June 30, during his trip to Africa. Since then, the White House has embarked on a campaign-style tour pushing its economic agenda, while unforeseen issues like the recent unprecedented embassy closures because of a terror threat and the strained relationship with Russia over NSA leaker Edward Snowden have taken center stage. With all those as possible topics for reporters to press the president on -- here are some questions that could come up. 1. The administration recently made the decision to close embassies around the world, evacuate diplomatic staff in Yemen and Pakistan and elevate the terror alert. Does the fact al Qaeda is capable of causing such a reaction contradict your administration's claim that it has been decimated? The State Department this week closed nearly two dozen embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa amid fears of an al Qaeda attack. Many in the diplomatic and intelligence community called the decision, which was sparked by an intercepted message among senior al Qaeda operatives, unprecedented. In an interview on Tuesday on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, Obama called the threat "significant enough that we are taking every precaution." Just before Election Day in 2012, Obama made an impassioned speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in which he said, "The war in Afghanistan is winding down. Al Qaeda has been decimated." This latest revelation that a message from al Qaeda led to the closures has called the assessment into question. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the White House stood by that idea this week. "It's leadership decimated and there's no question it's on the run," Carney said, drawing a distinction from the terrorist group's leadership and splinter groups. "There's no question that core al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been severely diminished." 2. Long before admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden entered the picture, relations between the United States and Russia were deteriorating. Your administration said that your planned summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin would probably have been canceled even with Russia granting Snowden asylum because there would be little to talk about. How does the United States improve relations with Russia with so many issues between the two countries? On Wednesday, the White House officially announced what many in the media had been speculating: Obama would not meet Putin in September ahead of the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. The White House cited a lack of progress on a number of bilateral issues, but admitted that Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked classified documents, was a factor in the decision. In the past, Obama has been dismissive of Snowden. While on his trip through Africa, Obama said he wasn't "going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker" and in the "Tonight Show" interview, Obama said he wanted to see Snowden back in the U.S. to face trial "with a lawyer and due process." A senior administration official told CNN on Wednesday that "we just hadn't gotten any traction" on issues that the summit would have addressed, including missile-defense and a reduction in nuclear missiles. Attempts to find common ground on economic and trade agreements as well as differing approaches on Syria also were problematic. 3. Your campaign and other Democrats leveled a number of hard "War on Women" charges against Mitt Romney and Republicans. Yet, in the past month, three Democratic politicians -- Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer in New York and Bob Filner in San Diego -- have put their issues with women front and center and are asking for support. As the leader of the Democratic Party, how do you feel that these three men represent your party? And would you vote for them if you were able to? During the 2012 campaign, Democrats and the Obama campaign regularly hit GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney for some of his socially conservative positions. In July 2012, the Obama campaign released an ad attacking Romney's stance on women's issues. "I've never felt this way before, but it's a scary time to be a woman," a woman, staring directly at the camera, said. "Mitt Romney is just so out of touch." But in the past few months, Weiner, Spitzer and Filner have made headlines for their issues with women. Eleven women have accused Filner, the mayor San Diego, of sexual harassment while he was mayor or a congressman from California. Weiner -- whose "sexting" scandal forced his resignation from Congress in 2011 -- is now running for mayor of New York, all while being dogged by new revelations around the same issue. And Spitzer, who resigned as New York governer in 2008 after it was revealed he had an solicited prostitutes, is now running for New York comptroller. Obama has yet to comment on the issue, but Carney told reporters last month that the president was more focused on economic growth, and that the White House would not comment on Weiner or Filner. 4.) The state exchanges and marketplaces for Obamacare will go into effect in a few months and some states have already begun publishing their new premium costs. What are your thoughts about the increased premiums? Do you think the fact that some states will experience such high increases discredits the law? Will it make it more difficult to meet enrollment goals? Although enrollment in Obamacare state exchanges begins on October 1, with the coverage the plans provide actually kicking in at the start of 2014, many states have been preparing for the health care changes by releasing preliminary plans and rates. In some states, insurances purchasers wouldn't be blamed for suffering from a bit of sticker shock. According to Florida officials, premiums for the mid-level insurance plan will rise between 7.6% and 58.8%, depending on the insurer. The average increase in the state would be 35%. Ohio officials, meanwhile, compared trade association's report of premiums available today with the average premiums expected for the exchange and found the price would increase 41%. Earlier this week, Carney said the implementation of Obamacare "is very much a high priority of the president's, and he is engaged in discussions about progress being made on implementation, as you would expect, and certainly the rest of the administration is." 5.) You told Democrats on Capitol Hill last week that you wouldn't negotiate on the debt ceiling when Congress returns in September. Why did you choose to take such a hard line so early? And you have been in these congressional negotiations before -- what have you learned from past debt negotiations that many have said did not go well? When Obama met with Capitol Hill Democrats last week, a senior Democrat told CNN that the president told legislators that he is "not negotiating on debt ceiling," but that he will "look at a reasonable plan if the Republicans have one." Jack Lew, Obama's treasury secretary, backed up those comments on multiple Sunday show appearances, including with CNN. "Congress has to do its work," Lew told Fox News Sunday. One of the first things lawmakers must do in September is fund the government past September 30, when the 2013 fiscal year ends. On top of that, according to estimates by economists and budget experts, the nation's borrowing authority, or debt ceiling, will need to be raised sometime before mid-November. Obama has been here before. In 2011, he and House Speaker John Boehner negotiated with one another over the debt ceiling. Those negotiations eventually collapsed -- ultimately ending in acrimony. "If I look back over the year and a half or so that I've been speaker, my greatest disappointment was that the president and I couldn't come to an agreement in solving our debt crisis," Boehner told CNN White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin in a 2012 interview.

Long list of questions Obama could be asked -- from terror threats to U.S.-Russia relations, to the economy . Obama's last news conference was in June during Africa trip; last at White House was in April . Since last news conference, Russia has taken in NSA leaker and terror threat has been elevated .

Hong Kong (CNN) -- As "Black Friday" follows Thanksgiving in the United States, "White Day" follows Valentines Day in Japan. Card makers, retailers and advertisers have young people planning weeks ahead to make their "Friendship Day" buys in India, clicking their favorite online purchases on "Singles Day" in China, and even eating their hearts out at fast-food giant KFC in Japan for Christmas. Much as Thanksgiving has spurred businesses to create Black Friday (and now Gray Thursday and Cyber Monday) to get shoppers into stores, countries around the world have turned average dates on the calendar into must-buy events. We take a look at a few such engineered days that promise love and happiness through retail therapy -- and, of course, profits for the companies behind it. White Day, March 14: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan . Cupid aims his bow and arrows a bit differently in Japan and reverses the western ways of lovers. On Valentine's Day, or Barentain Dei in Japan, women indulge their significant others with gifts and chocolates. And so, on White Day, celebrated exactly a month after Valentine's Day in February, men are supposed to return the favor of love and the giri choco, or obligation chocolates. White Day was first observed over 30 years ago by Japanese confectionary companies, according to Japanese media. In a ploy to boost marshmallow sales in the country, they started encouraging men to gift them to their female lovers, as a symbol of gratitude. Today, the Valentine's return-gift can be anything white -- white chocolate, jewelry, lingerie, flowers -- not just gooey and tender marshmallows. This holiday for the heart has now spread to South Korea and Taiwan. Friendship Day, first Sunday of August: India . While July 30 is the official, recently-declared United Nation's "International Day of Friendship," India celebrates it a few weeks later. The origins of Friendship Day in India though, are fuzzy at best. Some say the choice of day was cooked-up by Hallmark-founder Joyce Hall. Wherever the holiday came from, India's burgeoning youth and aspiring middle-class have welcomed it with open arms. It is frequently featured in Bollywood movies too. Typically, friends -- platonic or romantic -- exchange the popular friendship bands, woven hemp or jute bands meant to be tied on your friends' wrists. Retailers start their Friendship Day campaigns and deals weeks in advance. Flower vendors, restaurants, stores and e-commerce portals willingly add to the pomp and show, according to local media. On the day, the streets of urban India are teeming with young men and women on motorcycles, huddled in the popular markets, cafes and malls, celebrating this annual fête. Archies (Hallmark's India partner), a leader in India's "Social Expressions Industry" with over 50% of the market share, has seen a continuous increase in its gift sales segment but a weakening greeting cards segment. Click Frenzy, November 20-21: Australia . In Australia, online retail trade site Power Retail launched a 24-hour sale website called "Click Frenzy" as the country's version of "Cyber Monday." The newcomer to this slew of commercial holidays was launched on November 20 at 7 p.m. local time and it was the first online shopping event in Australia. Clickfrenzy.com.au aimed at aggregating and posting deals from over 200 retailers and redirecting shoppers to company websites of participants such as Dan Murphy's, Camera House, Lenovo, Fila, Expedia, Dick Smith, Clinique, Roxy and Dell. On the big day, the website experienced technical glitches and crashed under volumes of traffic. Organizer Grant Arnott apologized to shoppers for the inconvenience on its Facebook page . The Australian National Retail Association told the Australian Financial Review that technical difficulties like this were common to many big sales overseas. Click Frenzy generated a 200% increase in revenue for some retailers that participated, according to Arnnet, an Australian IT industry news website. The eWay payment gateway reported a 240% increase in the worth of goods purchased in those 24 hours when compared to the same time the previous week. Retail names Target, Chemist Warehouse and Dick Smith Electronics saw a surge in online traffic during the limited period, with boosts of 160,000, 120,000 and over 90,000 visits to their sites compared to the Monday before the sale, according to a local marketing and advertising industry publication. The debacle still spawned a fury online from the public, with the #clickfail hashtag trending heavily on Twitter. Singles Day, November 11: China . China, too, has its own shopping holiday called "Singles Day" which also takes place on the November 11. Local reports say the day is dubbed as China's busiest online shopping day. It originated in the 1990s with college students who were inspired by the date as when written numerically (11/11), represent four single people. "Singles Day" is China's version of Valentine's Day for people without romantic partners who treat each other to dinners and gifts bought online. Companies that cash in on "Singles Day" include Alibaba Group. Over 10 million people shopped on Toabao, a subsidiary company of Alibaba. Another online retailer, Tencent's 51buy saw a seven-fold increase in trade since last year, according to the Financial Times. T-mall, an online sales platform said its sales reached 13.2 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion). It's also a testament to China's growing online market. China's online shopping population outranks the U.S. with 193 million versus 170 million, according to the Boston Consulting Group. KFC Christmas, December 20: Japan . An unusual custom of eating KFC for Christmas has made its roots in Japan. The American fast-food chain has become synonymous with Christmas dinners in the country and orders are placed as early as December. It all started when a western man in Japan substituted KFC chicken for turkey in his Christmas meal in the early 1970s, according to the company. In 1974, the company launched the "Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakki" (Kentucky for Christmas) campaign and the finger licking tradition has stuck ever since. The marketing tactic has proved so successful for the fast-food chain that KFC's Christmas meals can be ordered up to two months in advance, according to the Financial Times. KFC has a special Christmas menu, offering roast chicken, smoked chicken and barbeque chicken for the limited period. Buy Nothing Day, last Saturday in November: International . A day to trump them all has also taken shape -- "Buy Nothing Day" -- to counter the global and manic consumer. Created for people to oppose retailer-driven consumerism, the day was first observed in Mexico in 1992, and later in the U.S. in 1997, according to its organizers. In the U.S., it is the day after Thanksgiving and is meant to offset Black Friday. Internationally, it is celebrated on the last Saturday in November. Proponents of Buy Nothing Day cite various ethical, environmental, personal, and moral reasons to dissuade shoppers. "Everything we buy has an impact on the environment," according to the UK-based Buy Nothing Day website. "Buy Nothing Day highlights the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism." The Canadian not-for-profit, Adbusters Media Foundation is one of the main campaigners for what they call "A 24-hour moratorium on consumer spending." People are encouraged to cut up their credit cards, participate in zombie walks (wandering around shopping malls with blank stares), go on Buy Nothing Day hikes, Buy Nothing Day paddles, and basically, buy nothing.

Thanksgiving has spurred businesses to create versions of Black Friday's globally . Artificially-engineered days that promise love, happiness and profits through retail therapy . A day to trump them all has also taken shape to counter the global consumer .

(CNN) -- For a preview of the next big thing in video gaming, look no further than the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the splashy industry showcase that kicks off Monday in Los Angeles. Will it be the oddly named Wii U, Nintendo's attempt to update its aging Wii console for a new wave of gamers? Or "Halo 4," the next chapter in the massively popular sci-fi action series? Or maybe a surprise device or game that comes out of nowhere to captivate attendees? This year's E3, as the annual trade show is better known, arrives during a time of upheaval for the multibillion-dollar gaming industry, which is scrambling to adapt to changing consumer habits. While home console gaming remains huge, more and more people are playing casual or social games on touchscreen phones and tablets. "I think we may be seeing the last generation of dedicated handheld gaming systems with the PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS," said Blair Herter, co-host G4TV's "X-Play." "What we've seen is the mobile gaming space really take over what used to be considered the handheld gaming market." Many analysts, including Herter, think this year's E3 won't have as much bang as previous shows. Herter said he thinks this is because of expectations for next-generation consoles being developed by Sony and Microsoft for release in 2013, and game developers' hesitation to make something that might have a short shelf life. As an industry-only event, E3 is geared toward gaming media, developers and insiders. But in an effort to reach out to the public, many companies will be streaming events and shows throughout the four days of the conference to give fans early glimpses at new games and let them hear from developers directly. The E3 show floor doesn't open until Tuesday, although festivities begin Monday with press announcements by Microsoft, Sony and several game developers. Here's a roundup of what to look for: . The Wii U, ready for its closeup . Most companies at E3 will be showing off what their existing hardware can do or emphasizing new video game titles. Nintendo is the only one of the Big Three console makers -- a trio that includes Microsoft and Sony -- that will be demonstrating a new gaming system this year -- the Wii U. While the Wii U was previewed in more primitive form at last year's E3, there have reportedly been some changes in how the console looks and what it can do. Official word has been hush hush, which is typical for Nintendo before a big announcement. However, some images and news have leaked out suggesting the touchscreen controller for the Wii U will be different from what was shown last year. There has been some confusion about whether the Wii U is just a new controller or a more powerful console. Nintendo hopes to clear that up next week by demonstrating a "final" version of the system with games designed specifically for the Wii U. At last year's E3, Nintendo showed a Wii U video demo featuring gameplay from Xbox 360 and PlayStation games. Pricing remains a mystery for the Wii U, which is expected to go on sale in fall 2012. In April, Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata said a price for the new console would not be announced at E3, but that the company would reveal its initial lineup of games. Some industry analysts think Nintendo needs to announce a price at E3 to generate buzz for the console. New offerings for Vita and Kinect . Some observers think the current lineup of consoles -- the Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 -- will all be replaced by newer systems by late 2013. "I think it is safe to assume this will be the last E3 where the current generation of consoles are talked about," said G4TV's Herter. At E3, both Sony and Microsoft will be focusing on new software for their current systems. Sony is expected to make a big push for games for its PS Vita handheld console. The new gaming platform, released in February, has been suffering from a lack of new content after its initial launch. Critics have praised the Vita as technologically impressive but agree the device needs major game franchises to make it more popular. Help may be on the way in the form of new Vita titles. "Little Big Planet Karting," a racing game featuring Sackboy, and "PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale," a fighting game with some of Sony's top characters, are likely to be announced next week as part of cross-platform gameplay with the PlayStation 3. There also have been strong rumors of a "Monster Hunter" game for the Vita to increase support for the console in Japan. Microsoft will concentrate its E3 efforts on development for the popular Kinect motion controller and additional games for the venerable Xbox 360. There also are rumors flying around that Microsoft will unveil a more refined recognition system for Kinect, including the sensor's ability to read individual finger movements. Microsoft also may announce new partnerships with TV broadcasters and programs in an effort to further transform the gaming console into a home entertainment center. Currently, HBO, ESPN, Hulu Plus, Netflix and others are part of the television lineup for the Xbox 360. Big game titles . On the software front for the Xbox 360, "Halo 4" will be showcased in a four-hour event with its new developer, 343 Industries, and the return of Master Chief as the main character. The game is due out in November. Other exclusive, unannounced titles for the Microsoft console and Kinect are also expected -- although some franchises may be holding out for a next-generation console in a year or so. While "Halo 4" is one of the biggest titles at E3, it is far from the only hotly anticipated game. We hope to see more from "Assassin's Creed III" (made by UbiSoft) and its setting in the American colonies, more from "Dishonored" (Bethesda) and its steampunk action, and more about "Resident Evil 6" (Capcom) and that game's multiplayer/co-op modes. "There are a lot of great [big-name] games that are going to be there and be talked about," Herter said. "But even the software is going to be a little less than what people expect because of the potential for next-gen consoles next year." On the other end of the gaming spectrum, there are also plans for several new massive multiplayer online games. One, "Defiance" (Trion Worlds), features a unique tie-in with a new sci-fi TV series, where what happens on the show can affect what happens in the game. What we won't see at E3 . For all the hype and excitement about E3 announcements, there are some notable titles and companies that are choosing to bypass this year's event. The makers of "BioShock Infinite," one of the most highly anticipated games for 2012, were originally scheduled to show off new gameplay and features. But the game's release was pushed back to February 2013, and creative director Ken Levine said the next time people will see the game is when it's ready to go in the box for delivery. "Grand Theft Auto V," the latest in the blockbuster urban action series, also may skip E3. Rockstar, developer for the game, said it has no plans for the show, although some watchers speculate that could change at the last minute. Despite persistent rumors, Valve Software has said it doesn't expect to reveal any new hardware -- or popular games such as "Half-Life 3" or "Portal 3" -- next week. But Valve does plan to attend E3, and misdirection from gaming companies has been known to occur before the show. By next week at this time, we'll know much more about the best gaming has to offer for the next 12 months. Gamers, what are you hoping to see at E3? And what are you most looking forward to later this year?

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo kicks off Monday in Los Angeles . Nintendo will demonstrate its forthcoming Wii U gaming system . On the software front for the Xbox 360, "Halo 4" will be showcased in a four-hour event .

(CNN) -- The crowd of farmers in the Nile Delta's Sharqiya Province cheered loudly whenever the neatly groomed candidate came out with a new promise. Jobs! Schools! Better social services! A better future! He smiled broadly as the cheering swelled, wiping the sweat off his brow with a white handkerchief. He wore a freshly pressed white shirt with an open collar, under a well-cut blue blazer. He was the picture of authority and self-confidence. Afterward, one of the farmers brushed off the other contenders in the presidential election as posers. "There is no one else," he told me. "The other candidates don't care about Egypt. They've been hired!" His candidate, Hosni Mubarak, easily won the election, back in September 2005, though there is little doubt it was rigged in his favor. It was another "historic" election, the first multi-candidate presidential election ever, though the challengers never had a chance against an incumbent backed by the vast resources and lack of scruples of the Egyptian state. Today, Mubarak is under armed guard albeit in a luxury wing of a Cairo hospital, awaiting the verdict from his trial in early June. Much has changed since the last presidential election, but much remains the same. Mubarak came from the military, and the military, in the form of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), still runs the country. While SCAF has tried to talk the talk of the new era, all of its members rose through the ranks of the Egyptian military with the blessings of Hosni Mubarak. According to the U.S. State Department cables posted on the Internet by Wikileaks, midlevel Egyptian army officers referred to Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of SCAF, as "Mubarak's poodle." SCAF has overseen the process that led to this presidential election, in which Egyptians had the opportunity to choose their president from among 13 candidates on the ballot (although two pulled out of the race). Since Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011, SCAF has stumbled from one crisis to another, reacting with violence and brutality against protesters, but often ceding ground when Tahrir Square filled and passions boiled. SCAF has pledged to hand over executive power to a civilian president by the end of June. In theory, Egypt is on the cusp of monumental change. These are heady days in Egypt. Everyone seems to be pontificating on politics, comparing candidates, pondering platforms. The election is everywhere. The airwaves are full of it, Facebook and Twitter are abuzz with it, the streets are festooned with posters and banners. On the surface it seems so different from the predictable, managed, officially sanctioned politics of the Mubarak years. But the choice facing Egyptians is, actually, little changed. Under the old regime, Hosni Mubarak made it clear he was the champion of the status quo, holding back the Islamist tide, led by the then-banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood. In this election, voters can choose the status quo -- with some lip service to post-revolutionary reality -- in the form of former foreign minister and later Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa or ex-civil aviation minister and briefly prime minister Ahmed Shafik. Or they can opt for a new Islamic order, either with the full-on Muslim Brotherhood candidate, U.S.-educated Mohamed Morsi, or the Islamic-lite candidate Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh. Add to the mix Hamdeen Sabahy, a Nasserist who appeals to the leftists and the nationalists. In recent days Sabahy's numbers have been rising, perhaps as a backlash against the paucity of choices among the front-runners. The establishment -- the bureaucracy, the military, the intelligence services and the business community -- clearly doesn't want to see the Islamists come to power. Tuesday, the semi-official Cairo daily, Al-Akhbar, ran an ominous page-three story with the headline: "Beware of a military coup: the future will be frightening if the Brotherhood reaches the summit of power." The source of this disturbing headline was none other than former vice president and veteran intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, quoted in the London pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. He painted a grim picture of the Brotherhood setting up a revolutionary guard, along the lines of Iran, to fight against the Egyptian military. The military, he warned, does not know how cunning the Brotherhood can be. Another Cairo daily ran banner headlines warning that if either of the Islamist candidates wins it would be "Apocalypse Now" -- A Mosaic plague of catastrophic proportions will descend upon Egypt, with a breakdown in security, violence, kidnapping, thuggery and theft, massive capital flight, political isolation, unemployment, poverty, and illness. On top of all that, once the Islamists have power, the paper predicted, they will murder all their political opponents. Those who are opposed to the Brotherhood tend to see them as forked-tongue Taliban in ties, eager to impose Islamic law, force women to cover up, and ban alcohol. But for Egyptians struggling with rising prices and low wages, the Brotherhood offers the promise of a better future. Indeed, the view is not so grim among those who have received only the crumbs off the status quo's table. Gamal, a bank clerk living in the old Cairo district of Sayida Zaynab, will be voting for Mohamed Morsi of the Brotherhood. "The health system is in bad shape, as is education," he says. "Conditions for people in Egypt are very, very bad." In the Nile city of Beni Suef, farmer Ashour Darwish attended a crowded Muslim Brotherhood rally, eager to hear Morsi speak. He supports the Brotherhood, he told me, because they are champions of what matters to him: "justice, transparency, implementation of Islamic law, the plight of the poor farmers, and unemployment." The Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, won more than 40% of the seats in Egypt's lower house of Parliament in recent elections. After being hounded by the police and intelligence agencies for decades, they are finally free to operate, and aren't shy about flexing their muscles. Jihad Haddad, a young Brotherhood member, sees no reason why the group should be shy about its power. "We came by the vote of the people and by the choice of the people," he says. "What we really want is application of real reform policies on the ground, and we can't have that opportunity if we are out of executive power." It would be rash at this point to make any predictions of who will actually win that executive power. The Muslim Brotherhood is a formidable organization that can mobilize its supporters and ensure a high turnout. They did it for the parliamentary elections and they'll doubtless be able to do it this time as well. But the prospect of both the legislative and executive branches dominated by the Brotherhood worries many. Magdi Zaki works in the Finance Ministry, and voted for the Brotherhood. But he feels they are novices in power, grandstanding on live broadcasts from the parliament, but doing little else. "They have no political background," he says dismissive contempt, like a seasoned theatre critic dismissing a flop. Polls of potential voters have been all over the place, but they do show that a majority of Egyptians have yet to make up their minds. They debate the choices in taxis and buses, in the subway, in cafes, over breakfast, lunch and dinner, over Twitter and on Facebook, changing their minds between meals. One seasoned veteran of Egyptian politics—who requested anonymity—chuckled over the fickle nature of the voters, and puts it this way: "This is the first time I've ever had people ask me, 'Who do you think is going to win the presidential election?' I honestly have no idea."

Much has changed since the last presidential election . Some unchanged: Mubarak came from the military, military still runs Egypt . Election presented varied choices: Islamists, leftists, former regime members .

(CNN) -- The man labeled the most powerful vice president in American history remains resolute in his steadfast defense of his time in the White House in a new documentary that begins airing Friday. "I did what I did. It's all on the public record, and I feel very good about it. If I had to do it over again, I'd do it in a minute," Dick Cheney says in "The World According to Dick Cheney," which debuts at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. The two-hour documentary tells the story of Cheney's life through his own comments, supplemented by a narrator and interviews with journalists, biographers, former aides and his longtime friend and mentor Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of Defense. While the film covers Cheney's unprecedented and controversial role as vice president, the first half of the film explores the surprising tale of his rise from a two-time Yale dropout with two drunk-driving arrests to the man who once stood behind the leader of the free world. In "The World According to Dick Cheney," produced by R.J. Cutler — also known for "The War Room" and "The September Issue" -- the former Washington powerhouse gets personal, but he still maintains his ever-steady, matter-of-fact tone. "When you came in at night after work, you'd go to the bar and down large quantities of Coors beer," he stated coolly, referring to the two times he was arrested for drinking and driving in his home state of Wyoming. Noticeably absent from the documentary are details about Cheney's post-White House life. The 72-year-old gives little to no insight about his heart transplant last year or his decision to support same-sex marriage. His younger daughter Mary wed her longtime partner Heather Poe in June. Cheney to co-author 'medical memoir' Cheney talks about growing up in spacious Wyoming during the 1950s, a simpler time, as he describes it. He met his wife, Lynne, to whom he's still married, in high school. He was the senior class president; she was a state champion baton twirler. Awarded a scholarship to Yale, Cheney left his comfort zone to find a "totally different environment" in New Haven. He flunked out twice and never finished his sophomore year. He returned home to work as a manual laborer and lay electrical cables. Following his arrests and feeling no sense of direction, he received an ultimatum from Lynne: She wasn't going to marry someone in his condition. That did the trick. Pressed by his interviewer for more details of the conversation, Cheney said the content remains "private." He decided to go back to school to study political science at the University of Wyoming, and 12 years later at the age of 34 Cheney became the youngest person to hold the position of White House chief of staff in the Gerald Ford administration. His ticket to the remarkable transition was a job with then-Rep. Rumsfeld. The two clicked and remained close as they shuffled through different White House positions. After avoiding the Watergate controversy that took down President Richard Nixon, their careers quickly escalated under Ford, with Rumsfeld becoming Defense secretary and Cheney becoming chief of staff. Filmmaker discusses time spent with Cheney . The documentary continues to tick through Cheney's resume of 40 years in public service, much of which is already well known. He represented Wyoming in Congress for 10 years. President George H.W. Bush picked Cheney as Defense secretary, and he helped lead Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq in 1991. When President Bill Clinton took office, he sought out on his own journey for the White House, traveling thousands of miles in a car to gauge whether there was support for his potential bid. "I thought that I was qualified by background of experience to do the job. I believed I could function effectively as president," Cheney says in the film. Despite raising money and forming a political action committee, he never surpassed 3% in pre-election polls. Cheney dropped the idea. He then retired to private life as the CEO of energy services company Haliburton for five years, but he felt a new calling when then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush asked him to lead his search for a vice presidential candidate. "Cheney really never extinguished his political ambitions," veteran journalist and editor Bob Woodward says in the film. "He always said he did, maybe in his own mind he did. Once you're a political animal, you know where the big seat in the zoo is, and it's being president of the United States." Cheney's scrupulous vetting ultimately ended in one request from Bush: He wanted Cheney, himself, as his running mate for the 2000 election. Not long after that, he was back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., an all too familiar place. "When I had first arrived (at the White House) back in 1968, I was one of the youngest people in the West Wing," Cheney says. "And this time around, I was the oldest." Narrated by actor Dennis Haysbert — famous for his Allstate commercials and his role as president on the former TV series "24" — the second half of the documentary zips through the Bush administration. It starts with the terrorist attacks on September 11 and jogs through the lead-up to the Iraq War and all the controversies — the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial, the warrantless wiretapping program, torture scandals — that surrounded it. "It was a wartime situation, and it does require tough programs and policies if you're going to be successful," Cheney says. "It was more important to be successful than it was to be loved." He also staunchly defends the infamous waterboarding technique used to mimic the sensation of drowning on detainees being interrogated. "Tell me what terrorist attack you would have let go forward because you didn't want to be a mean and nasty fellow," he says to Cutler, the film's creator. "Are you going to trade the lives of a number of people because you want to preserve your honor?" Cheney gained a reputation for his zealous quest to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil — a reputation that had sharp critics and steadfast supporters. But after Bush's re-election in 2004, a divide was growing between the president and Cheney as the administration faced a declining sense of patience among the public for the Iraq War and negative headlines over prisoner abuse. In 2006, Bush forced Rumsfeld's resignation, despite strong disagreement from Cheney. "The way that history works, you don't get a lot of credit for what didn't happen," Cheney says, referring to Rumsfeld's departure. "This is one of those kinds of situations. It isn't so much what you achieved, as is what you prevented. Now you've safeguarded against further attacks against the U.S. I think that's a major accomplishment." The split between the president and his No. 2 deepened when Bush refused to pardon Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators in the probe of the leak of the name of a CIA operative. "I pushed very hard for a pardon. I thought a pardon was appropriate," Cheney says, adding the disagreement became a "major strain" on their relationship and a "source of considerable friction" through the remainder of Bush's second term. The splintered relationship continues to this day, the film says. For his part, Cheney remains as satisfied as ever with his performance as vice president — and doesn't look back. "I don't run around thinking, 'Gee, I wish we had done this or wish we had done that.' The world is as you find it, and you've got to deal with that," he says. "You get one shot. You don't get do-overs. So you don't spend a lot of time thinking about it."

The two-hour documentary tells the story of Cheney's life through his own comments . He flunked out of Yale twice and never finished his sophomore year . The documentary ticks through Cheney's resume of 40 years in public service . Cheney remains as satisfied as ever with his performance as vice president .

Oxnard, California (CNN) -- A few years ago, during one of his lowest points, Ronney Jenkins decided to play a game of Russian roulette. He pointed the metal barrel of a gun at his head, he said, as one ominous click followed another. Eventually -- inevitably -- the gun discharged. What followed was both improbable and lucky: The bullet sailed over Jenkins' head and lodged into the wall behind him. "It's scary. I think about it all the time," said Jenkins, 36, wringing his hands as he recalled one of his two suicide attempts. "The way it happened, it clearly wasn't my time ... it wasn't my time to go." Jenkins, a former running back and kick return specialist in the National Football League, might look at that episode as something to forget -- except that the same dark thoughts, at times, still overwhelm him. In the 11 years since he retired from the NFL, Jenkins has dealt with serious cognitive issues: a memory that is feeble at best, crushing depression and rage he can neither understand nor predict. Report: Jovan Belcher's body exhumed for brain study . Jenkins believes that innumerable head impacts during his six-year professional career -- and during the decades leading up to the pros -- explain his struggles. He said that he has tried, in vain, to get help from the league and the NFL Players Association, a union representing players. "I've reached out and I'm not getting too many calls back," said Jenkins. The game that changed everything . Jenkins said the beginning of the end for him, cognitively, began in November 2001, when he was tackled during a game between his team, the San Diego Chargers, and the Denver Broncos. At the tail end of that tackle, Jenkins' neck bent so dramatically that the side of his head appeared, for a split second, to lie flat against his chest. At the same time, his head was being burrowed into the ground. After that hit, Jenkins was unconscious for several seconds. When he woke, his memory of who he was or what he had just been doing had vanished, he said. It is unlikely that his brain could have healed from such a traumatic injury, yet he played the following week. "Players on the other team ... they were not even understanding why I was playing in that game (the next week)," said Jenkins. "When you have players from the rival team acting like they're concerned, it must be something." First Major League Baseball player diagnosed with CTE . With recent NFL rules changes, that scenario is unheard of today. Under the current protocol, if a concussion is even suspected, players are sidelined. But that was not the case in 2001. And, at the time, Jenkins said he felt he needed to play to keep his spot on the team -- and his income flowing. "It just seems like there's an agenda and our well-being isn't a part of that," said Jenkins. "(The NFL is) changing all these rules and stuff to make it seem like they care but it's not about changing the rules. "It's about when something happens to your players and at the end of their career you need to take care of those who need to be taken care of." Slippery cognitive slope . After that horrifying hit, Jenkins played for four more seasons. During that time, memory problems, along with persistent migraines, would nag him. By the time he retired, Jenkins said a more persistent pall hung over him. "Everything was getting worse," said Jenkins. "My sleep was getting worse, my moods were getting worse. I'd never been that guy to just be angry. I never showed that type of behavior, and it just got worse." Curtis Richardson, Jenkins' cousin, said he has lately received troubling text messages from Jenkins, where he seems to be threatening harm. In one text, Richardson said, Jenkins told him he was going to "kill" someone he was meeting with at the time. "Ronney was such a mild-mannered person (before), very quiet, very shy," said Richardson, who said Jenkins usually calms down after venting via text. "For him to go from that, being that shy individual, to an individual texting me that he's about to hurt someone, that's where the level of concern really elevates." Lamar Campbell: Why I'm donating my brain . Before now, Jenkins was understandably reluctant to reveal such intimate details of his emotional life. But he feels that he is on the brink of something terrible. He hears echoes of his own experience in the lives of former players like Dave Duerson, Ray Easterling, and his former teammate and friend, Junior Seau. All three committed suicide and were later diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the dementia-like disease that is associated with repeat concussions. Jenkins believes that he, too, is suffering with CTE -- which is associated with the symptoms he has: memory loss, aggression and depression. "The depression and the rage," said Jenkins. "That's what I notice most." Jenkins' self-diagnosis is -- at best -- a guess, since CTE can only be diagnosed after death. But as the behavioral and mental health issues associated with the disease become clearer, former players are emerging to reveal their suspicions the disease is taking hold. Recently, NFL Hall of Fame player Tony Dorsett told CNN that he struggles with memory loss and wildly shifting moods, and that he suspects that CTE is the culprit. "I look in the mirror and I say, 'Who are you?'" said Dorsett during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "'What are you becoming?'" Self-diagnoses among former athletes, and nonathletes with a history of traumatic brain injury, may reflect a simple desire to give a name to what ails them. Realistically, there is more than one neuro-degenerative disease that could explain their symptoms -- not just CTE. "The problem is, people are diagnosing CTE clinically all over the place," said Robert Stern, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, in a recent interview. "There is no framework to make that diagnosis while someone is alive." Desperate for help . Jenkins found out last year that he is ineligible for the NFL's neuro-cognitive benefit, a program that could have provided him with financial help for living and medical expenses. He questions how someone who cannot think straight, who cannot remember what he was about to do or say from moment to moment, who has inexplicable rage, would not be eligible for help. Seau had brain disease that comes from hits to head, NIH finds . NFL spokesman Greg Aiello acknowledged that Jenkins has reached out to the organization for help, but that -- as of right now -- he is ineligible for disability programs to which he has applied. Aiello provided documentation of Jenkins' failure to establish test validity -- meaning his answers to a battery of questions did not prove neuro-cognitive problems. Jenkins has appealed the decision; the results of his appeal will be revealed by NFL this month. "They want to help you...when you're already done, when you only remember what you did two seconds ago," said Jenkins. "I don't want to get to that point before somebody wants to help me. Just, you know, give me some help." NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said that when players need help, in every case, the organization responds quickly to provide support. He did not elaborate. Meanwhile, Jenkins said his symptoms are getting worse. "It's hard to deal with, it's a hard subject, just not knowing what's wrong with you," said Jenkins. "Not knowing why these things are happening. "Your mind just goes crazy. And that's just where I'm at right now." Video: Scan may detect brain disease . Watch Sanjay Gupta MD Saturday at 4:30pm and Sunday at 7:30am ET. For the latest from Sanjay Gupta MD click here.

Ronney Jenkins says he's dealt with cognitive issues since retiring from the NFL . Jenkins has attempted suicide twice and struggles with depression and rage . CTE is a dementia-like disease stemming from repeated head impacts . Jenkins says he is desperate for help .

New York (CNN) -- Jack Alvo drives the streets of the New York City six days a week -- the 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift. He never imagined he'd be a cabdriver at his age. After all, a decade ago, he was pulling down $250,000 a year on Wall Street. He survived the 9/11 attacks while working in wealth management for Morgan Stanley on the 73rd floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower. He was a lucky man. But Jack lost his last finance job in 2009, not so long after the markets crashed during the Great Recession. He is still in its grasp, trying to raise two kids, his hair now gray, driving a yellow taxi through the steel and concrete caverns of Manhattan. "I got caught in-between and things got tough," he says simply. "Never would have thought that I could do this, but being a native New Yorker, I knew the streets. I learned the streets a lot better when I had to start paying attention to them." There's a rhythm to driving a cab -- "a bit of science to this game," as Alvo says. "In the morning, you don't want to be caught on the Upper East Side too early. They don't wake up 'til 7:30. But down on Hudson Street, they're younger, more aggressive. They're going to work at Goldman and Bank of America or wherever, and you take 'em." Then a note of sadness comes to his voice, a slight softening. "A lot of them don't even remember 9/11, you know. The younger guys, it doesn't mean much to 'em." It means a lot to Jack. He'd worked his way from Forest Hills, Queens, to Babson College in Massachusetts to a job on Wall Street. On that blue sky Tuesday morning, when the first plane hit the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., Jack remembers one guy in his office who'd lived through the 1993 bombing of the towers running out of his office hollering. "He moved so fast, he caught the last PATH train to New Jersey. He probably saw the second plane get hit from the Jersey side," he says with a half-laugh. "But to give you a juxtaposition, another guy who was also there in '93 had a gas mask in his desk drawer. He put it on and never left." In the chaos, Jack started to take the stairs down and then curiosity got the better of him. He stopped around the 56th floor and gathered with others in an office with windows facing the North Tower. "That's when you see the burning building, the smoke, the debris, the people falling, and people yelling 'my God, my God.' " He tried to call his wife, who was pregnant and at home that day, but it just went to voicemail. Then the second plane hit. "My knees buckled. It was like a crashing chandelier," he remembers. "It was above me, like crashing glass, but the impact was so strong it felt like it was underneath my feet. So I just knew I couldn't stay where I was. I got back out to the stairwell, and this time I started to make my way down a little bit faster, 50, 40, 30." His family thought he was still on the 73rd floor, near the impact zone. "They were actually taking a tape measure to the TV to try and figure out where the plane hit. They didn't think there was enough time." There was enough time, then. But the post-9/11 economy eventually led to layoffs and Jack bounced around -- trading commodities and working for a family firm that hedged precious metals. For a while, he was commuting to Palm Beach, Florida, for work, but cutbacks caused him to be an expensive option easily shed. And so began a year of unemployment, taking care of his kids at their rent-stabilized apartment off Columbus Avenue. It was the worst time to be looking for a job, and Jack found himself caught in a no man's land: too senior to be a quick hire, too junior to have a golden parachute. "Guys like me can be replaced at a much cheaper rate," Alvo says. "You know, a guy who's well into the six figure category, making 250 plus, he's easily replaceable by a guy who they can get for a hundred grand who thinks it's the best job in the world. Or they can replace me with two young guys." After months sending out resumes with no response, Alvo started driving a cab to make ends meet. More than a year later, he started to put his resume in the back of the taxi for riders to read. He thinks of it as fishing: "If you've ever been fishing, you know you can spend a whole day on a pond and never catch a fish. But if you know the lay of the land, your odds improve." Over time, he's gotten some help. A writer helped him tighten the resume, another suggested condensing it to one page and putting them in a basket. "It does keep my faith in humanity," Jack says. "One thing you learn driving a cab is that it's all connected." He's gotten some leads -- even a few interviews -- but nothing solid has come through, yet. "Citigroup just laid off 11,000. UBS laid off 10,000 worldwide, so I'm still in a holding pattern," Alvo says. "I've been in and out of markets for 25 years, and there's always an excuse -- there's an election coming up, or it's the end of the year, wait 'til the budgets get finalized. ... But as time passes, it gets more difficult. People look at you a little differently -- you've been out two and half years now, it's not one year -- that's my only discouragement." Driving through New York, almost anonymous now in the front seat, Jack sees deepening divides. "People who have a lot of money, they had their dip, but now they're back. Their bank account has been affected a bit, but their lives haven't. They cut back from four vacations a year to three. But if you've been caught in that downward spiral, coming back is extremely difficult." It's a riff reminiscent of the fiscal cliff debates we're hearing in Washington, reflecting the growing gap between the super-rich and the middle class. "We're a tale of two cities now," Jack says in a tone that's equal parts resignation and frustration. But that doesn't mean Jack is giving up -- far from it. "My New Year's resolution is to get out of the cab and back into a 9 to 5. It's just a matter of closing a deal. ... I also want to write a book. I could call it 'From Street to Street' -- from Wall Street to having to work the street, so to speak. I think it would be a story of survival -- understanding that you can have everything at times and sometimes when things get tough, you're forced to take other routes. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. And if you stay focused you can get through anything." It's not easy, but at 49, Jack remains determined, at turns realistic and optimistic. "I've been driving a taxi almost half my daughter's life - she's 6. I felt really bad about that idea," he says. "But every now and then, she'll whisper in my ear and say: 'Daddy, I wish for you that you'd get a new job and I'm proud of you.' She actually used those words, 'I'm proud of you.' So I'm stuck driving a cab right now. I never thought it would happen. But I still believe it's all gonna work out -- things do get better." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Avlon.

Jack Alvo once made $250,000 a year on Wall Street; now he drives a cab . Alvo keeps his resumes in the back seat, hoping it will help him land a job . With Wall Street companies still cutting jobs, it's not easy to get back into finance . He sees a deepening divide between the super-rich and the middle class .

(CNN) -- Childhood is confusing. It's difficult to fully understand things at the best of times and, occasionally, you'll experience something that is unlike anything that you've experienced thus far. One such example came early for me. During our regular family drives, my father would play a cassette from an old BBC radio program that he'd first listened to as a kid growing up in the 1960s. The show was called "Round The Horne" and it featured a couple of camp homosexual characters who went by the names of Julian and Sandy -- played by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams. The pair were out-of-work actors who could be found running various fashionable and niche enterprises that always started with the word "bona" -- such as "Bona Films." The sketches usually began with a very middle-class Kenneth Horne knocking on a shop door and asking "Hello, anybody there?" before Paddick answered "Ooh, hello! I'm Julian and this is my friend Sandy!" The audience loved them and their appearances became a highlight of the show thanks to a mixture of "Polari" language -- gay slang -- and ever more risque double entendres. Perhaps their best-known sketch is when Horne is looking for legal representation and pops into a little shop called "Bona Law." Horne: "Can you help me? I've erred." Sandy: "Well, we've all erred, ducky. I mean, it's common knowledge, ennit, Jule?" Horne: "Will you take my case?" Julian: "Well, it depends on what it is. We've got a criminal practice that takes up most of our time." Horne: "Yes, but apart from that, I need legal advice." This was my first exposure to homosexuality and, because it was through humor, ably explained by my father, it meant that the only confusion around the subject came as I wondered why the kids in my school playground called each other "bender" or "queer." As a 10 or 11-year-old kid, you ask yourself very obvious and basic questions about the things that you're unsure about. Why are the kids calling each other these names when the kid in question isn't funny? Gays are funny, aren't they? It was, of course, down to an ignorance brought about by a lack of exposure at my age. As you build up more encounters, so you build up a more complete picture of something. But the older I get, I do find myself continually amazed by the amount of people I meet who are still ignorant or underexposed to a whole range of things. It isn't necessarily their fault but it has a profound knock-on effect nonetheless. The fact is that there are millions of gay people all over the world and if you're a fairly relaxed person like me, well, that's just the way it is. Big deal. I'm not a religious fellow in any way whatsoever so, where homosexuality is concerned at least, Jesus Christ is not my barometer. Then again, maybe I'm the ignorant one. Until I typed that last sentence, that thought had never occurred to me. For some people, it is a big deal and I only really came into contact with that once I became a footballer. Up until then, my life had been fairly colorful, to say the least. In football, homosexual players remain scarce. There have been a couple of players who have "come out," most recently Robbie Rogers, the former Leeds United and United States forward, who took to his website to announce that he was gay ... and promptly retired from the beautiful game at the tender age of 25. It was unfortunate for football and the gay community -- football is in desperate need of a gay icon -- yet was completely understandable. "They (the players) often don't mean what they say," Rogers said. "It's that pack mentality. They're trying to get a laugh, they're trying to be the top guy. But it's brutal. It's like high school again -- on steroids." Rogers was talking about a changing room that doesn't know that it has a gay player in its midst. But I'm as certain as I can be that a changing room that does know that it has a gay player in its ranks would be a very safe place for a gay footballer. That pack mentality works the other way, too. The group protects its own. It doesn't matter whether you are white, black, straight or gay. I'm as certain of that as I can be. Sure, players will talk behind each other's backs, not necessarily in a disparaging way, but -- to the outside world at least -- the team is a united front. There are no veils, curtains or walls in a changing room because every team has a player who will call a spade a spade. Somebody who will point out that the king has no clothes on and, with one not-so-subtle comment, remove the awkwardness of almost any situation. The first time my roommate met the man at our club who has one hand, he said to him: "Are you right-handed or left-handed?" It was the ice-breaker everybody needed, especially for the man in question, who said that the worst thing about his disability is when people walk around him on eggshells. But it is difficult, if not impossible, for even the tightest of squads to protect a player from the taunts of tens of thousands of fans. Or, for that matter, even just a few people. As recently as 2008, a section of Tottenham Hotspur fans sang the following words to Sol Campbell as he lined up for Portsmouth against his former club: . "Sol, Sol, wherever you may be . Not long now until lunacy . And we won't give a f**k . When you're hanging from a tree . You're a Judas c**t with HIV." It's easy to see why Robbie Rogers gave the answer he did when a journalist asked him what he thought the reaction might be if he were to line up for Leeds against, say, Millwall. "Woah!" Rogers exclaimed. "I can't even think about that." I can tell you now, it would be horrendous for him. You know as well as I do that the abuse a homosexual player would receive from "fans" throughout the land would be intolerable. That isn't to say that it wouldn't ease off, but would you want to be the player who goes first? On England's south coast in Brighton -- an area with a large gay community -- the football team and its fans take a fair amount of stick both during home matches and at away grounds. I've heard "fans" singing to their counterparts: "Who's the f****t in the pink?" And once during a home match: "Does your boyfriend know you're here?" -- which, I won't lie, made me smile because of the laughter it generated among the traveling Brighton contingent. Interestingly, there are few, if any, headlines written about it either as a social commentary or by a journalist going for a bit of sensationalism. However, Brighton currently occupy a playoff berth in the Championship and, should they win promotion to the Premier League, I guarantee you that the headlines will begin in earnest next season -- something that will force the authorities to take a very public, zero-tolerating stance. Perhaps that will turn out to be the first step on the ladder to a player "coming out." Julian and Sandy broke down many of the social barriers that existed in post-war UK at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. It stands up because the writing is exceptional and the risque tone of it is expertly delivered on stage. Kenneth Williams, in particular, seemed to go about his role with such relish that it almost sounded as if he'd been freed from some terrible secret. Many years later, after his death, his private diaries would reveal a man at tremendous odds with his own sexuality. Imagine that; imagine not being able to live out the true meaning of your life with the same freedom as most other people. Imagine having to keep your true identity a secret. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Homosexual players in football remain scarce with Robbie Rogers the latest to come out and then retire . Footballers protect their own but cannot shield players from terrace abuse . Abuse for a gay player even in 2013 would be "intolerable"

(CNN) -- Even as they were rejecting as far-fetched an Australian company's assertion that it may have identified the resting place of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 -- thousands of miles from where investigators have been searching -- experts acknowledged Wednesday that they have little choice but to check it out. "The investigators are going to be hard-pressed to blow this off," said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the Department of Transportation. "I think, at this point, because of the lack of results where they've been searching for six weeks, they're almost stuck. They have to go look." The Adelaide-based firm GeoResonance has said that electromagnetic fields captured by airborne multispectral images some 118 miles (190 kilometers) off the coast of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal showed evidence of aluminum, titanium, copper and other elements that could have been part of the Boeing 777-200ER, which disappeared from radar on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. "The company is not declaring this is MH370, however it should be investigated," GeoResonance said Tuesday in a news release. GeoResonance Managing Director Pavel Kursa, citing intellectual property concerns, would not explain how the imaging works. Nevertheless, the company got its wish on Wednesday, when Bangladesh sent two navy frigates into the Bay of Bengal to the location cited by GeoResonance. "As soon as they get there, they will search and verify the information," Commodore Rashed Ali, director of Bangladesh navy intelligence, told CNN in Dhaka. The chief coordinator of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, retired Chief Air Marshal Angus Houston, held out little optimism that any such search would prove fruitful. He told Sky News International that the search area in the Indian Ocean had been set based on pings believed to have emanated from one or both of the plane's voice and data recorders. "The advice from the experts is that's probably where the aircraft lost power and, somewhere close to that, it probably entered the water." CNN aviation expert Miles O'Brien said GeoResonance's claims are not supported by experts. "My blood is boiling," he told CNN's "New Day." "I've talked to the leading experts in satellite imaging capability at NASA, and they know of no technology that is capable of doing this. I am just horrified that a company would use this event to gain attention like this." He called on company officials to offer "a full explanation" for their assertion, which he said appeared to be based on "magic box" technology. Sending investigators to the Bay of Bengal would draw away from the limited resources that are focused in the southern Indian Ocean, O'Brien said. But that won't stop them from going, he predicted. "I think they have to," he said. "It's a public relations thing now." David Gallo, director of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, also expressed skepticism. "It's so revolutionary, and I don't know anyone that knows of this kind of technology," he told CNN. "And I know most of the people in this business." 'We were being ignored' The company's director, David Pope, said he had not wanted to go public, but did so only after his information was disregarded. "We're a large group of scientists, and we were being ignored, and we thought we had a moral obligation to get our findings to the authorities," he told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday. GeoResonance's technology was created to search for nuclear, biological and chemical weaponry under the ocean's surface or beneath the earth in bunkers, Pope said. And the company's news release said its search technology was reliable. "In the past, it had been successfully applied to locate submersed structures, ships, munitions and aircraft," it said. "In some instances objects that were buried under layers of silt could not be identified by other means." The company began its search four days after the plane went missing and sent officials initial findings on March 31, Pope said. It followed up with a full report on April 15, which it would not make public. "We only send our report to Government authorities as it contains the exact coordinates of what we believe to be the wreckage of an aircraft," Pope said Wednesday in an e-mail. By going public with their conclusion, if not their data, the company says it hopes it will spur officials to take its claim seriously. Malaysian authorities contacted GeoResonance on Tuesday and were "very interested, very excited" about the findings, Pope said. Inmarsat, the company whose satellite had the last known contact with MH370, remains "very confident" in its analysis that the plane ended up in the southern Indian Ocean, a source close to the MH370 investigation told CNN. The Inmarsat analysis is "based on testable physics and mathematics," the source said, and has been reviewed by U.S., British and Malaysian authorities as well as an independent satellite company. Is GeoResonance on to something? Relatives hear new details . On Tuesday, relatives of the 239 passengers and crew heard new details from officials, including audio recordings of conversations between the plane and a control tower that had not been released before but appeared to contain nothing out of the ordinary. "Malaysia three seven zero, contact Ho Chi Minh 120.9, good night," says a voice identified by Malaysian officials as that of a radar controller in Kuala Lumpur. "Good night Malaysian three seven zero," answers a male voice believed to be a Flight 370 crew member. A preliminary report on the plane, submitted last week to the International Civil Aviation Organization, will be released to the public Thursday, the Malaysian Ministry of Transportation said Wednesday. "The report will be very basic, I assume -- most initial, preliminary reports are," said Schiavo, the aviation analyst. "Just the facts, basic things." But she predicted it will also lay out what is not known, as well as a blueprint for the path ahead and, as such, could prove helpful to family members of those who were aboard. Plane audio recording played in public for first time to Chinese families . More intense underwater search . Seven weeks of intense searching have found nothing linked to the plane. Though some ships will stay on the Indian Ocean to gather any debris, the international air effort to find the plane is over. The likelihood of finding any debris on the ocean's surface is "very remote indeed," since it has probably become waterlogged and sunk, Houston said. So crews will scour a larger area of the ocean floor -- 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) -- in a process that could take eight months, officials said. The next phase will use private contractors and could cost about $56 million. Houston said that could stretch to 12 months if any glitches with equipment or weather were to occur. He was confident the aircraft will be found, though perhaps not soon. "Nothing happens fast underwater," he said. "It could take months and months and months and months." The Bluefin-21, which has searched the 121-square-mile (314-square-kilometer) area around where pings were thought to have been detected, resumed searching a nearby area of the ocean floor at about 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday -- its 17th mission, according to a U.S. Navy source. New phase to include private contractors, may cost $60 million . Journalist Farid Ahmed reported from Dhaka; CNN's Anna Coren reported from Adelaide, Australia; Miguel Marquez and David Molko reported from Western Australia; Mitra Mobasherat reported from Kuala Lumpur; Tom Watkins, Holly Yan and Mariano Castillo reported and wrote from Atlanta; and Mike Ahlers contributed from Washington. CNN's Ivan Watson and Allen Shum contributed to this report.

Bangladesh sends two frigates into the Bay of Bengal to investigate . "The investigators are going to be hard-pressed to blow this off," says aviation analyst . More than 600 military members from around the world end their air search . Crews will now search a larger area of the ocean floor .

(CNN) -- You've fed the birds in London's Trafalgar Square. Lit a candle in Notre Dame in Paris. Enjoyed that relaxing cup of cafe con leche in Madrid's Plaza Mayor. What next? If the usual itinerary of cathedrals, palaces and souvenir shops has ceased to thrill, maybe it's time to abandon the well-trodden tourist circuit on your next trip to Europe and head to the river. During the past two decades, a number of European cities have invested heavily in redeveloping blighted industrial river fronts, turning them into charming urban retreats that emphasize sustainability, sports and local culture. Visitors can explore on foot, or cycle, skate and even skateboard along these riverfront renovations that artfully combine traditional and modern elements to reveal a bit of each city's soul. Madrid Rio . Spain's royal family once enjoyed pastoral views of Madrid's Manzanares River from Palacio de los Vargas. But until recently, the Manzanares, consumed by a major motorway constructed along its banks, was unrecognizable. The traffic-clogged highway cut the river off from the city center, barred public access and enveloped nearby neighborhoods in a cloud of pollution. What do you get for $60,000 a night? Today, a six-mile stretch of the Manzanares known as Madrid Rio is one of Europe's newest, most ambitious riverfront projects. The old motorway has been removed, replaced with a greenbelt that features more than 25,000 trees, foot paths, a variety of athletic and playground facilities and scenic vistas and bridges from which to observe city landmarks. Madrid Rio also links up with other green corridors, including cycling paths that extend throughout the city. Once an enormous slaughterhouse, Matadero Madrid is one of the most stunning transformations of Madrid Rio. It's now a contemporary cultural center featuring art exhibits, creative workshops, music festivals, documentary film and theatrical performances. 10 ultimate U.S. adventures . A short walk from Matadero, the newly expanded Arganzuela Park includes three large pools alongside the river for wading and playing amid lively fountains. Lounge chairs and umbrellas provide pleasant waterside spaces for sunbathing. Finally, visit La Huerta de la Partida, the long-neglected orchard of Palacio Vargas. It has been replanted with nearly 900 trees typical of the region, including olives, almonds, pears, figs and quince. Stop at the mirador (viewpoint) for a great view of many of the city's major monuments. Berlin - River Spree . Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, this progressive city has strived to maintain a balance between large corporate development projects that bring investment and jobs, and preserving the history and artistic character of its dynamic neighborhoods. It's a fascinating time to witness this struggle for the heart of the city, and a lot of it is playing out along the River Spree, in neighborhoods like Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. World's best hotel restaurants . After the wall fell, these areas—on either side of the river—flourished as hip, alternative havens. Vacant lots became vibrant community gardens and art spaces, and drab apartment blocks became artists' studios, cheerful cooperative living spaces and diverse underground nightclubs. These areas have gentrified considerably, but you'll still find eclectic flea markets, independent designer shops and great global cuisine. Consider taking a walking tour led by the nonprofit Institute for Creative Sustainability, which emphasizes grass-roots efforts to maintain the green, creative character of the neighborhoods. Finally, visit the East Side Gallery, one of the last standing segments of the Berlin Wall, which has become an inspiring artistic monument to peace and freedom. Next, head to Mitte, literally the center, or "middle," of the city. In the middle of the Spree, you'll find Museuminsel (Museum Island), home to several museums that collectively feature 6,000 years of artifacts and art. Close by is the historic Reichstag (German parliament building) with its strikingly modern glass dome and the Berlin Wall Memorial. It's not far from here to other important historic sites like the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Brandenburg Gate. Before you go, be sure to visit the famous "beach bars" on the banks of the river. As you sip your caipirinha or local brew in a beach chair surrounded by palm trees, you'll marvel at how rapidly this city evolves and changes. Lisbon -- Tagus River (Rio Tejo) Centuries ago, the Tagus River launched Portuguese explorers out to sea on their journeys to Asia, Africa and the Americas and guided immigrants into this port city. The exchange of cultures that gives Lisbon its distinctive architectural and culinary character is also apparent in the city's riverfront development, which began in the 1990s when Lisbon was named the European Capital of culture. There are several points from which to embark on the 4.5-mile walk along the river. One nice starting point is the enormous and colorful Praça do Comercio, one of Lisbon's best-known squares. Moving from tradition to trendy, the next stop is Cais do Sodre. Redevelopment rid the area of its reputation for seedy bars and brothels; today it's home to hot clubs and great restaurants. Visit the famous Mercado da Ribeira for fantastic fruits, vegetables and flowers. Fodor's 100 Hotel Award winners . Carry on and you'll arrive at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, with its river views and impressive collection of ancient art. Another opportunity for good food and drink awaits at the cafes along the Santo Amaro docks. You'll need your energy for the next leg of your journey to Belem, a neighborhood rich in museums, gardens and cafes. Then again, maybe it's best to save another full day for Belem's treasures. Instead, grab a pasteis de belem (a custard tart) from a traditional bakery, and lose yourself back at the river's edge. London - River Thames . The Thames is already a popular tourist destination, but until recently, most visitors didn't make it farther east than the Tower Bridge. That's changing with the impressive transformation of a once bleak wasteland known as the Docklands. Until the mid-20th century, East London's docks supported one of the busiest ports in the world. But between the 1960s and the 1980s, the docks closed as shipping traffic shifted to larger coastal ports, and London was left with more than 5,000 acres of derelict land. Since the government put a plan in place to revitalize the Docklands in the early 1980s, the area has grown to become a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial properties, with Canary Wharf—now a major business district and shopping destination—as its centerpiece. The 2012 Olympics provided another huge opportunity to expand waterfront redevelopment, accentuating the contrast between old and new. Today you can wander narrow cobblestone streets to find cafes and historic riverside pubs, and then ascend to spectacular views atop the Shard, a spire-shaped, gleaming glass skyscraper completed in 2012. Don't miss the Museum of London Docklands, which surveys the area's history from Roman times to its recent redevelopment. A fun way to see the Docklands is via the new Emirates Air Line cable cars that cross the river to Greenwich, home of the Royal Observatory, on the South Bank of the Thames. Rent a bike and take it on the cable car to explore the Thames Cultural Cycling Tour, which passes through Greenwich and eventually crosses back to Canary Wharf and historic neighborhoods like Wapping before returning to the South Bank via Tower Bridge.

Madrid Rio has been transformed from a highway to an urban river paradise . River Spree embodies the formerly divided Berlin's attempts to respect its history and future . Follow the River Thames to the Docklands for a tour of the city's shipping past .

(CNN) -- Four men behind what officials describe as the most serious Islamist terrorist plot ever hatched in Scandinavia were convicted of the plot Monday in a courthouse in Glostrup, just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. Three Swedish nationals and a Tunisian resident of Sweden were found guilty of targeting Jyllands Posten, the Copenhagen-based newspaper responsible for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The court ruled there was no doubt about their plan to attack and sentenced each of the men to 12 years in prison. Counterterrorism officials in the United States and Scandinavia believe the plot was directed by al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. Authorities contend the four suspects planned a gun attack on the newspaper, to be followed by "the execution" of hostages. It is possible a reception due to be attended by Denmark's crown prince in the same building as the newspaper was the intended target, a prosecutor said in court. The reception was to be held hours after the terrorist cell was arrested, but the prosecutor said there was no evidence the men were specifically targeting the crown prince. The cell's plans were thwarted by a joint operation of Swedish and Danish security services, which tracked the suspects in December 2010 as they drove from Sweden to Denmark with a submachine gun, a silencer, and several dozen 9mm submachine gun cartridges, authorities say. The four men convicted -- Mounir Dhahri, 46, a Tunisian citizen; Munir Awad, 31, of Lebanese descent; Sahbi Zalouti, 39, of Tunisian descent; and Omar Aboelazm, 32, of Egyptian descent -- are charged with plotting to kill a large number of people at the newspaper. They have denied the charges. Western security services believe the plot was part of a broader al Qaeda conspiracy, authorized by Osama bin Laden, to strike Europe with operations mirroring the Mumbai, India, attack in November 2008, which killed nearly 200 people. Dhahri, the suspected ringleader of the cell, Awad, and Zalouti had all traveled to Pakistan in early 2010. Awad and Zalouti, traveling separately, were arrested by Pakistani authorities in August 2010 before they could reach the North Waziristan region and were subsequently deported, according to a Swedish counterterrorism source. During the trial, prosecutors pointed to a map showing Miramshah in North Waziristan and told the jury the plot had links to Pakistan, according to Elisabeth Haslund, a reporter for Berlingske newspaper, who attended the proceedings. But while the court ruled that Dhahri spent time in Waziristan, few details emerged in court on his movements there. The court heard that Zalouti admitted to Swedish police he wired money from Sweden via Western Union to Dhahri in Bannu, a town bordering North Waziristan, according to Haslund. Dhahri evaded capture in Pakistan, and he is believed to have received training there prior to returning to Europe shortly before the group began to plot their attack, according to the source. At trial, it was revealed that Dhahri traveled back from Pakistan through Athens and Brussels, where Zalouti picked him up in a car. According to prosecutors, they then traveled to Copenhagen to case targets including the Jyllands Posten before traveling on to Stockholm. Awad, the Lebanese-born suspect, had long been on the radar screen of Swedish counterterrorism services. He was suspected of having joined up with jihadist militants in Somalia in 2006 before fleeing the country when Ethiopian troops launched a military operation against Islamist militants there, according to a Danish security source. By October 2010, Swedish security services had begun tracking the cell, placing listening devices in the men's apartments. A Swedish counterterrorism source told CNN the group did not settle on attacking the newspaper until shortly before the planned attack, and often squabbled. Prosecutors stated that in the weeks before the plot was thwarted, there were 75 calls from a SIM card used by Dhahri to a number in Pakistan linked to "Masror," an individual suspected of involvement in terrorist activity. In court Monday, state prosecutor Gyrithe Ulrich argued the men deserved a significant prison sentence because they were "fulfilling a task ordered from Pakistan" and came close to carrying out their operation, according to Haslund. On the evening of December 28, 2010, three of the cell members set off from Stockholm in a rental car with Dhahri at the wheel, authorities said. Security services continuously monitored their progress, including from the air. Zalouti bailed from the journey at the last minute, and was later arrested in Stockholm, according to court documents. The court heard that after his arrest, he claimed to Swedish police he was aware that Dhahri -- his best friend -- and the others were planning an attack on the Jyllands Posten newspaper, but wanted out, according to Haslund. Taking the stand in court, Zalouti said that at the time he only suspected a possible plot and had thought about calling police to alert them of his concerns after getting out of the car in Sweden, Haslund said. It was just after 2 a.m. when the vehicle carrying the other cell members crossed the iconic Oresund Bridge connecting the two countries, authorities say. When they reached Copenhagen, they were initially unable to find the address where they planned to sleep. Just after 10 a.m. on December 29, Danish police, concerned the men might be about to try launch their operation, moved in to make the arrests. Authorities say officials had already taken precautions. When they learned the group was planning to travel to Denmark, they secretly disabled their weapons, according to a Swedish counterterrorism source. Plastic wrist strips were also found in their car, according to court documents, and security services said they believed the materials were going to be used to handcuff hostages. Security services believe the plan was to try to take up to 200 journalists hostage at the newspaper and execute many of them, a Swedish counterterrorism source told CNN. The equivalent of $20,000 in cash was also recovered from the suspects, and a pistol and ammunition were found in one of their apartments, according to court documents. A Swedish counterterrorism source has told CNN that investigations have revealed a complex set of connections between the plotters and a network linked to Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior Pakistani al Qaeda operative who Western intelligence believe orchestrated al Qaeda's plans to hit Europe with Mumbai-style attacks. Dhahri and Awad had a connection to "Farid," a Stockholm-based militant of Moroccan descent who is suspected of acting as facilitator for Kashmiri's terrorist network, according to a Swedish counterterrorism source. At trial, the prosecutor stated that in the days before the cell set off for Sweden, Dhahri was in touch by phone five times with Farid, using Zalouti's phone. Also involved with Kashmiri's network was David Headley, an American of Pakistani descent who pleaded guilty two years ago to helping plot the Mumbai attacks. According to an interview of Headley by India's National Investigation Agency that was obtained by CNN, Headley met with Farid in 2009 in relation to a plot Headley himself was planning against the Jyllands Posten newspaper. The newspaper and its cartoonists have been targeted by several plots in recent years, including one by a Norwegian al Qaeda cell that was broken up in July 2010. Kashmiri was reported killed in a drone strike in June 2011. An attack strategy document seized on an alleged al Qaeda recruit in Berlin last spring indicates the terrorist group still hopes to launch a gun and hostage execution attack in Europe because of the publicity and fear such attacks would create.

Each of the four is sentenced to 12 years in prison . The four men are convicted of targeting a Danish newspaper . Authorities say they planned a gun attack, followed by hostage executions .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- She's not gonna make it. We give her 24 hours. Apryl Brown remembers lying on the hospital bed as the doctor uttered those words. A sense of relief came over her. "I didn't think about losing my children. I didn't think about leaving my mother," she said. She thought instead of how death would feel. "Although I will be dead, I will not be in pain anymore." That searing pain came from an unimaginable source: a silicone filler, like the one Brown assumed plastic surgeons use daily. Hers was injected into her buttocks, with the hope of improving her appearance. Brown never predicted the injections would land her here -- dying in a hospital bed in June 2010. Her body was shutting down from a staph infection that doctors said was connected to the silicone injections. Her limbs were curling and turning black, the visible signs of necrosis. Brown recalled seeing her hands in the hospital, thinking, "Oh, my God. I am going to lose my hands. I looked at my feet ,and they were dead, too." Doctors had no choice. To save Brown's life, they amputated her hands, feet and the flesh around her buttocks and hips in 27 surgeries. Somehow, she survived. Brown is still embarrassed as she talks about the vanity that nearly cost her everything. Living a good life, except for a flat 'flaw' At the time, she was a successful hair stylist and owned a salon. When she wasn't at her shop, she was busy raising two daughters. Life was good. But Brown always wanted to fix what she saw as her "flaw." Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Florida, Brown remembers being teased about having a flat butt. Growing up, she always wanted a fuller posterior and even had a mantra, "When I get me some money, I am going to get me some butt." In 2004, while she was working on a new client's hair, she got her chance. The client happened to mention she did silicone injections cheaply. With a few sessions, she told Brown, she could obtain the shape she had always wanted. Brown was sold. A week later, she found herself in a house lying down in a bedroom receiving her first of four injections into her butt cheeks. Following her second treatment, Brown remembers doubting her decision. "A voice just came to me like, 'What are you doing? Are you serious? You are going to allow somebody to inject something into your body and you have no idea what it is.'" Brown decided that day to stop doing the treatments and never went back. The true cost of the injections would come later, following years of pain and visits with doctors. Brown's story may be severe, but she is part of what the American Society of Plastic Surgeons calls a growing problem: patients bypassing doctors just to save some money on basic medical procedures. "I think that's awfully seductive to a person who doesn't know there's a problem," said Dr. Richard Glogau, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. He says he is seeing a disturbing trend, as patients turn to plastic surgeons such as him after getting botched facial filler injections. The injections are used to smooth out facial lines. Some of the patients Glogau sees have traveled out of country and had these cosmetic procedures done cheaply. Others are purchasing cosmetic fillers from websites and self-injecting these dermal fillers into their faces. Often, the patients have no idea what's in the dermal filler, nor do they receive the procedure from a licensed medical professional. "People assume it's just as easy as getting your hair colored, and at the end of the day it's a medical procedure," Glogau said. Would-be patients need to know the facts . In the United States, there are only 21 FDA approved dermal fillers. These must be administered by a medical provider or under the supervision of a physician. None of the FDA-approved dermal filler devices is approved for self-injection. There are hundreds of nonapproved dermal fillers available around the world. But Glogau cautions against having the procedure done out of country or trying to do it yourself. "I wouldn't do it. I think you belong in a doctor's office where a physician is supervising this and you can depend on where they have sourced the material." As far as buying it online, Glogau says it's easy for patients to take the leap. "If we live in a world where you buy your Manolo Blahniks shoes at Neiman Marcus or you can buy them online at Zappos and it's the same shoe, I think you're expecting what you see on a website as full value and true." One of his recent patients came to him after purchasing a non-FDA-approved dermal filler marketed on the Internet with just a credit card and a stroke of the keys. In a few days, the cosmetic filler she purchased from the website PMMA.com arrived postmarked from Brazil. She had her friend, who was a registered nurse, inject her face with the dermal filler. A week later, her cheeks started to react. Glogau says it appeared that there were "red, angry nodules in the cheeks." He had to surgically drain the area, which had "lakes of pus under the skin," and excise the material from her cheeks. After the surgery, Glogau had the material from her face tested. The UCSF dermatopathology results showed there was some type of "refractile material" found in her cheeks. Glogau describes the material as low-grade "glass or fiberglass." The patient's body was rejecting that material. After repeated attempts by CNN to contact PMMA.com for a comment about selling non-FDA-approved dermal fillers on its website, PMMA e-mailed, "It has nothing to do with the product but the procedure." Two days later, when CNN went to PMMA.com, all that appeared was a blank white screen and the words: "Access denied." Scars are a reminder of a bad decision . While Glogau's patient is on the road to recovery, she will always have some visible scars on her face. Glogau has a warning to people considering purchasing dermal fillers themselves. "What we want to do is at least make the patients aware that there is a danger lurking for them out there, and they have to be careful," says Glogau. Brown considers herself a living example of what happens when you're not careful. She doesn't hesitate to tell others about how she suffered in extreme pain for five long years after the silicone injections. She explains how she watched her buttocks harden and discolor, seeing doctor after doctor to try to get help. She lifts what's left of her arms and explains what was actually injected in her buttocks. When her doctors tested the substance injected into her body, Brown says it was bathroom caulk. Brown doesn't know what happened to the woman who injected her. At 47, Brown has had to learn to do everything all over again with prosthetics. She is able to live on her own with the help of an aide who comes in to help her for a few hours a day. She doesn't want pity; she wants people to listen to her cautionary story. "All I would ask them to do is, when you have that first thought, make sure they have a second thought about it and do a little research. And if they still want to do it, go for it. They won't be blindsided, saying, 'Oh, my God, I had no idea that a simple procedure like that can leave me with no hands, no feet and no butt cheeks.'" Brown has a new mission in life to spread the word about what happened to her and a different mantra: "We are enough and we were made to be enough." Singer charged with murder in botched cosmetic procedure . Watch Erin Burnett weekdays 7pm ET. For the latest from Erin Burnett click here.

Apryl Brown almost died after getting cheap butt injections . Some people are ordering cheap injections online and self-injecting . FDA-approved dermal filler devices are not approved for self-injection .

(CNN) -- At the end of first grade, 7-year-old Cameron Hale, an easy-going, cheerful little boy from a tiny rural town in western Washington, suddenly didn't want to go to school anymore. When Cameron adamantly refused to have a play date with a good friend, his mom, Kim Hale, 36, knew something was wrong with her middle child. His change in behavior just didn't make sense. "Cameron finally broke down in tears and told me that several boys at school had been teasing him relentlessly, making fun of his hair, his clothes, calling him names, and not letting him play at recess. And one of those boys was his good friend," Kim says. While the friend wasn't actively participating in the teasing, Cameron told his mom that he was doing nothing to stop it, which made it all even worse. At first Kim stayed silent, hoping the mean behavior would disappear over the summer. But when it picked up again at the start of second grade, Kim went to the principal with her concerns. Kim says that the principal dismissed the charge and convinced her that the behavior wasn't bullying, but instead, it was simply boys being mean. Unsatisfied, Kim visited the principal two more times -- now armed with both the definition of "bullying" that she printed from the website Bullying.org, as well as the Washington State statute on how it defined the term. Both times, Kim says, the principal (who declined to comment for this story) disagreed that Cameron was being bullied and refused to act -- the superintendent in Eatonville was no help either. Six months later the Hales moved to another town. With horror stories about girls who have been bullied dominating the news, some parents are asking whether we also need to focus as much attention on how boys respond to harsh or abusive interactions with their peers. Was the principal correct in assuming that the actions of 7-year-old boys were simply mean boy behavior, or did it constitute bullying? And does it make a difference? "Even if the behavior didn't technically match up to the definition of bullying, if the kids were being mean and there was a pattern of the kids ganging up on him -- which, by the way, does constitute bullying -- that still shouldn't be condoned and supported by not addressing it," says Rosalind Wiseman, author of "Masterminds and Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World." "The principal is literally telling those boys they have the carte blanche to not only continue the behavior, but increase the abuse because they can get away with it." Are we too quick to cry 'bully'? With "Masterminds and Wingmen," Wiseman set out to replicate with boys the success she had examining the social dynamics of girls in her book "Queen Bees and Wannabes," the inspiration for the movie "Mean Girls." In her latest book, Wiseman reveals the ways boys think, uncovers their complicated emotional lives and explores how the power of their social hierarchies influences their emerging identity. Historically, bullying among boys has been complicated and sometimes tough to identify. The belief in a "boys-will-be-boys" mentality still persists, whether it's on a playground or in a college fraternity. And it isn't always about targeting the weakest kid. Cruel taunts and physical tests can be also be a form of bonding among boys. The term bullying has become so radioactive in recent years with its strong links to adolescent suicide and school shootings, it has prompted state legislatures to take serious action, making bullying a crime in many states. Officially accusing kids of bullying can carry serious, long-term consequences. According to stopbullying.gov the definition of bullying is: unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. The types of bullying include: teasing, name-calling, taunting, inappropriate sexual comments, threatening to cause harm, leaving someone out on purpose, spreading rumors, trying to hurt someone's reputation, hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, spitting, taking or breaking someone's things or making mean or rude hand gestures. Should parents be liable for their children's bullying? About 16% of students report being bullied, while 7% report bullying others, according to "Bullying in U.S. Schools," a report published in 2013 by the Hazelden Foundation with research from the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Boys report they were most frequently bullied by other boys, while girls were bullied by both girls and boys. In almost all grades, girls and boys were victimized at similar rates. "Boys consistently bully other students more than girls do, and they do so at higher rates as they get older," the survey found. In her research, Wiseman has found that while boys might get more physical than girls, the psychological hallmarks of bullying are similar. The playing field has been further leveled with the spread of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is when a child or teenager is harassed, humiliated, tormented, embarrassed or threatened using digital technology. Mean texts or e-mails, pictures, videos and fake profiles can all be forms of abuse. And the pervasive reach of technology can make the bullying potentially more devastating. Parents, beware of bullying on sites you've never seen . "When you think of a child being bullied, maybe you think of a loner kid, the nerd, the geek, that's the picture that comes to my mind," says Janet Lymer of Calgary, Canada, and mom of 13-year-old Austin. "But my son plays Triple A football and he's a competitive hockey player and he was being bullied for years." Lymer says life got significantly worse for her son in sixth grade when the kids started ganging up on Austin on the popular app Snapchat. She says about half of the class, girls included, began making fun of Austin's clothes, his lunch, his hockey skills and the video games he liked. It got so bad that Austin announced to his mom one night that he wanted to kill himself and headed into the kitchen for a knife. The next morning Lymer went to school with Austin and headed straight for the principal. When Lymer shared with the principal that her son had threatened suicide, the school immediately jumped into action. The principal and teacher met with the students in Austin's class and they also sent a letter home to the parents discussing bullying and its effect on a classmate. Things at school did get better, but Austin switched to a middle school this year with none of his former classmates. "He now has a great group of friends and he helps other kids deal with bullying. He's the first one who stands up to bullying and he stands a little taller now," says Lymer. "But don't assume that if you bring the problem to the school they will handle it, parents need to stay involved. " While many schools and parents are hyper-aware of the dangers and prevalence of bullying, have we gone too far in labeling what some may argue has always been normal aggressive behavior between kids? "Every conflict is not bullying and if we call it that, then it loses the power of the word," says Wiseman. Not all conflict amounts to bullying and by overusing the word, we risk reducing the power of the word to describe real bullying, says Wiseman. She believes that, to a certain extent, allowing boys and girls to work out their own problems is useful training for resolving conflicts at every stage of life. The challenge is to stay on top of what's really happening in your child's life, particularly when kids routinely answer with an "I'm fine" -- even if they're not. "There's nothing wrong with kids trying to figure things out on their own," she says. "At the same time, there are kids who are being systemically denigrated and targeted in school and blown off by administrators and teachers."

Bullying among boys can be tough to spot because of societal expectations around rough play . Experts say boys might be more physical in their bullying but cyberbullying levels the playing field . Rosalind Wiseman, who studies social hierarchies, says it's important to let kids resolve conflict .

(CNN) -- City life can be stressful. Johannesburg life can be hair-pullingly, nail-bitingly, heart-attackingly stressful. So leaving the city once in a while is essential. "I love the diversity and anonymity of Joburg," says management consultant Genevieve De Carcenac, who moved to Joburg from a sleepy village in northern Kwazulu-Natal 17 years ago. "People have such drive here and it's the hip and happening place to be in South Africa. But it's quite a pressurized environment and this forces you to get out when you can. "You need to unwind in big sky country." Here are four places to do just that. Pilanesberg National Park . Some Joburgers turn their noses up at this game reserve, saying it's like a zoo. That's because it has tarred roads and is only a couple hours drive away. But it's pretty big (220 square miles), malaria-free, has the Big Five and the animals are definitely wild, judging by the bull elephant that charged me last time I visited. The best way to appreciate the park is to pack a few cool ones and some meat and start the day with a fry-up at one of the many braais provided. It's very do-able to spend just a day at the park, located west of Pretoria. There are gravel roads to escape the crowds and although guided safari drives are available it's more fun to drive yourself. You'd be pretty unlucky not to see some impressive animals. South Africans are generous about sharing sightings so if someone waves you down, they may want to point out where to go. Accommodation ranges from camping to luxury lodges. If you like being in nature but not roughing it, an executive safari tent at Bakgatla Resort (Bakgatla Resort; Bakgatla Gate; +27 14 555 1045) is around R1700 ($160) in peak season. Or for a surreal experience, Sun City (Sun City; +27 14 557 1000) borders the park. The themed resort is South Africa's Las Vegas and takes kitsch to a new level -- but can be pretty fun. Pilanesberg National Park . Drakensberg mountains . South Africans refer to this range as simply the Berg (mountains) -- as if there were really only one that counts. Depending on where you go it takes three to five hours to drive here from Joburg, but it feels like another world. With peaks up to 3,500 meters high, the Berg are one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world and where Joburgers come for a complete change. The contrast with city life could not be more stark, from the wide open spaces instead of electric fences and a slower rural pace of life instead of constant rush. The Northern Berg are closest to Joburg and bounded by an eight-kilometer high rock escarpment. To lie on the grass gazing up at the escarpment from Thendele (uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park 036 438 6411; from R900 ($84.50)), a hutted camp in its shadow, is an uplifting experience. There are day hikes of varying lengths from here up the Tugela Falls waterfall. Avoid the R74 when driving to the northern Berg. An 18-kilometer section is still unfinished and avoiding the potholes and navigating through the frequent mists while trying not to drop off the edge is terrifying. The Central Berg encompasses some of the most challenging peaks such as Cathedral Peak and Giant's Castle. Detailed maps and preferably guides are needed for hiking here -- snow, floods, arduous climbs and snakes make it a serious prospect. Cathedral Peak is popular with South Africans families and has fantastic facilities, but the decor is decidedly 1980s. You can stay in a dorm (from R150 ($14)) or a traditional rondavel (from R250 ($23.50)) at Inkosana Lodge (Inkosana Lodge; R600; +27 36 4681202), which has a great asset in the form of owner and former mountaineer Ed. Midlands . Rolling green fields, cows, drizzle and mist. Not England, but the Midlands three hours drive south of Joburg in KwaZulu-Natal. The area was originally settled by British farmers. The dairy cows lead a happy existence here, making for a delicious cream tea. The Midlands are lovely to visit in autumn or winter, when you can warm up around the fire after a stroll over the hills and eat and drink in one of the many excellent hotels. Staying at Hartford House (Hartford House; Hlatikulu Road, Mooi River; +27 33 263 2713) is like being in the middle of a posh English country estate. It's also a working stud farm, housing famous stallions from racing history, which you can visit on a tour. The restaurant is one of the best in South Africa, a blend of classical and inventive use of local ingredients. The Midlands Meander isn't that easy to navigate, mainly due to the ridiculous ye olde worlde names given to places that tell you nothing about what they offer. There are several interesting micro-breweries and craft shops along the way. Tsonga shoes are locally made and benefit rural communities. (They're also the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn in my life.) The Midlands are a convenient base to visit the famous battlefields around the towns of Ladysmith and Dundee. It may seem like boring history but the stories behind the battles between British and Zulu warriors in the green foothills are spell-binding. Magliesberg . You'd describe this ancient mountain range as pleasant, rather than awesome like the Drakensberg. But it's under two hours from Joburg and a great place to breathe fresh air and recharge. There's a 120 kilometer-long mountain range to explore, as well as forests, streams and Hartebeesport Dam, which borders the Magliesberg in the east. I only have one moan, and that's the lack of public walking trails. The only way around it is to join a guided walk on private land, pay for day access or stay somewhere you can hike. You can burn off some stress walking at Mountain Sanctuary (Mountain Sanctuary; Maanhaarrand Road; +27 14 534 0114) nature reserve and cool off by jumping into the clear rock pools. This is also a lovely place to stay, either camping (R100 ($9.40)) or in a log cabin (R450 ($42.30)). I also like Kashan Country House (Steynshoop Mountain Lodge; Steynshoop Farm Hekpoort; 014 576 1035), right at the foot of the mountains and that does simple but delicious food. Magalies Sleepy River campsite (Magalies Sleepy River; R560; +27 82 555 9681) has lots of shady spots. Though many South Africans view camping as an excuse for a party and it can get pretty rowdy. The Magliesberg Canopy Tour (Magliesberg Canopy Tour; Sparkling Waters Hotel; +27 (0)14 535 0150) is not for those with a fear of heights. You slide down cables between platforms perched high on the rock face (R495 ($46.50). There's also a fantastic view of the mountains from a hot air balloon, operated by several companies. Claire Hu is a wine, food, culture and travel journalist based in South Africa.

The Drakensberg mountains are just a few hours from Johannesburg, but feel like another world . The Midlands are a convenient base to visit famous battlefields around the towns of Ladysmith and Dundee . Magliesberg is a great place to breathe fresh air and mess about on the river .

(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal may be more used to serving aces than strutting his stuff on a film set but that has not stopped the former world number one from appearing with Colombian rock star Shakira in her new music video. The scenes of the two stars used to accompany the global release of the "Gypsy" single were filmed in Barcelona, Spain last month where the chemistry between the 23-year-old Spaniard and the Latin American singer were such that denials were released by both parties to quash rumors of a love match. Though Nadal is in no danger of winning an Oscar for his acting skills, his cameo appearance was just one in a long list of tennis stars who have flirted with the silver screen. Any come to mind? Open Court sifted through the archives to find other famous examples of tennis stars caught on camera. Let us know if there are any we have missed by adding your comment at the bottom of the page. Anna Kournikova: . Given her status as a celebrity, which rather overshadowed her abilities as a tennis player, the former Wimbledon semifinalist and number one ranked doubles player, was inevitably going to turn her talents to acting. Rather in the Nadal mode, Kournikova does not have any lines to fluff when appearing with Spanish pop star Enrique Inglesias in a video to promote his 2001 single "Escape". Having been "seduced" in a variety of role-play settings by Enrique, the pair later dated in real life. The single reached number 12 in the United States listings. John McEnroe: . The former bad boy of tennis, famous for his rants and run-ins with umpires, would appear to have all the ingredients for a director looking to add a star name to his film credits and with a bit of acting ability to boot. McEnroe, who was once married to the movie star Tatum O'Neal, has in fact appeared in six films, the latest Adam Sandler's 2008 release "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" where he predictably plays himself. The film did well at the box office and, considering his other cameo alongside Robert De Niro in "Anger Management," the grand slam great could be set for further feature film parts. But whether he will follow soccer legend Eric Cantona in taking lead roles in critically acclaimed films may be open to question. Vijay Amritraj: . The Indian star's handsome profile and suave personality lent itself to the movie world and sure enough a Hollywood producer spotted him as he gave a post match television interview. He was given an immediate screen test between the second and third rounds while playing at Wimbledon and landed more than just a walk-on part in the 13th Bond movie "Octopussy." Rather predictably, Vijay's role did have a tennis angle with the baddie Kamal Khan playing at the same club as him, where he was able to keep watch for 007 Roger Moore. Vijay also kills a kukri-wielding Gurkha with his racket,before getting his come-uppance from one of Bond's enemies with a nasty knife. He dies muttering the immortal lines "It was Kamal's men." A later appearance in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" marked the end of his film career, but Vijay made regular appearances on a popular television show on American network NBC to extend his acting career. Althea Gibson: . Any history of tennis or indeed sport in general, will point to the pivotal role which Althea Gibson played in breaking down barriers for the African-American community. As a forerunner for the likes of the Williams sisters four decades later, Gibson became the first black player to win Wimbledon in 1957, before defending the title the year after to add to a career haul of five grand slam singles titles. Despite the success, Gibson had never profited from her triumphs as a lifelong amateur so on retirement in 1959 she took a career change that saw her release an album of songs and appear in "The Horse Soldiers", a John Ford-directed western -- where she played a liberated slave who rides alongside John Wayne. William Holden also appeared in the film, but sadly it was Gibson's first and last and she turned to playing professional golf to earn a living. Maria Sharapova: . Given her worldwide fame and celebrity, the Russian tennis icon would appear to be a Hollywood producer's dream but her chance of celluloid glory was thwarted by -- a Hollywood producer. The 2004 feature "Wimbledon" starred Kirsten Dunst as Lizzie Bradbury, a single-minded American tennis star who finds love in the form of a less than dedicated British player Peter Colt (Paul Bettany), who inspired by Bradbury does the impossible by winning the men's singles. A very unlikely scenario but highly predictable for a feel good film. Sharapova was supposed to have played one of Bradbury's hapless opponents, but according to the commentary on the DVD of the film, she was considered too much of a likeness to Dunst and did not get the part. A glut of players, Chris Evert, John McEnroe (inevitably) and Luke Jensen amongst others lend their faces to the film and CNN's Open Court presenter Pat Cash advised on the action shots. But one can't help but think that an appearance by Sharapova may have boosted box office takings even more, although she did appear at the glitzy premiere in Hollywood in September, 2004, towering over the diminutive Dunst. Bill Tilden: . Another infamous tennis star who is rated one of the all-time greats for his grand slam exploits, but attracted less than favorable headlines for his private life, was another to try his hand at entertainment without a tennis racket. The controversial life of tennis great Tilden . Tilden dominated the men's game in the 1920s before turning professional and was still a force into his 40s, playing to big crowds against the likes of Donald Budge and Fred Perry. But away from tennis, Tilden's great passion was movies and theater. He was a personal friend of screen icon Charlie Chaplin and ploughed much of his fortune into three Broadway plays, which he wrote and produced and also appeared in. All bombed spectacularly and Hollywood did not come calling. The Players (1979 movie) This makes our list because of the sheer numbers of star players, who have cameo roles or -- in the case of the great Pancho Gonzales -- starred in a major supporting role. Gonzales, who received a panning from critics for his pains, also has a credit in the more successful 1953 release "Pat and Mike" starring screen legends Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The corny plot of The Players (see "Wimbledon" above) has crooner Dean Martin's son (Dean Paul Martin) play a rising young tennis star who falls for an older woman Nicole (Ali McGraw). It is loaded with walk on parts for John McEnroe, his predecessor as the "enfant terrible" of tennis, Ilie Nastase, and the Argentine ace Guillermo Vilas. Tom Gullikson, John Lloyd, Dennis Ralston and Ion Tiriac also appear as well as legendary British tennis commentator Dan Maskell, but it proved a turkey. Roll credits . So that's Open Court's guide to the best and mostly worse in tennis acting careers, but while the sport remains a favorite among celebrities and rich Hollywood film moguls, the list is sure to grow and as we went to press reports from India say 11-time grand slam doubles champion Leander Paes is wanting to join the ranks of Bollywood after taking acting lessons for over a year. Judging by the efforts of his predecessors he might need them.

Tennis stars of past and present have turned their talents to land roles in films . American ace John McEnroe has appeared in the credits for no less than six features . 1957 Wimbledon champion starred alongside screen icon John Wayne in a western . Indian star Vijay Amritraj was talent spotted for a supporting part in Bond movie Octopussy .

(CNN) -- Embracing the hair you're born with sounds like it should be the easiest thing in the world, but for some, it's a huge challenge. Nikki Walton, a 29-year-old licensed psychotherapist whose own journey to hair acceptance has grown from a passion into a business, knows that hurdle all too well. As the founder of CurlyNikki.com, Walton now confidently boasts a lush, natural texture that lives up to her online nickname, "Curly Nikki." On her website, she leads the charge for a community of women seeking a resource and a space where they can let their hair down, just as it is, no straightening required. But Walton can vividly recall the days when straight hair meant beautiful hair, and if she couldn't be seen with it straight, she'd rather not go out at all. As a young adult, Walton would feel "gorgeous" and "ready" to take on the world when her dark hair's natural twists and turns were straight, sleek and swinging thanks to a stylist's heat tools. But when that style fell flat and the frizz began to appear, "I would become an introvert; I didn't want to do anything," she said. Eventually, the boyfriend who was driving her to and from hair appointments -- and who's now her husband and father to their 2½-year-old daughter -- intervened. "He said, 'This isn't healthy. I don't know if you've noticed, but you need to step back and assess this. You're pretty, and I want you to feel pretty no matter what the condition of your hair is,' " Walton recalled. "And he was right. My hair was running my life. My confidence was in flux with my hair." That conversation inspired Walton to take action, and she soon found herself researching ways she could work with the kind of hair she was born with. Once she unchained herself from her flat iron, she found not only a more genuine confidence but a new freedom to live her life as she chose -- not as her hairstyle mandated. "Once you get to that freedom," she said, "you'll be very excited to help those around you achieve that as well." Walton has been lending that helping hand on CurlyNikki.com for the past four years, and she recently compiled her accumulated wealth of hair care know-how into a book, "Better Than Good Hair: The Curly Girl Guide to Healthy, Gorgeous, Natural Hair." Walton describes the guide as a little like "What To Expect When You're Expecting," mixed with the approachable, easy-to-understand wisdom she extends on the Web. Depending on the person, opting to wear one's hair in its natural state can feel like a rebirth of sorts. Some women may choose to cut much of their hair off -- doing a "big chop," as it's called -- to get rid of heat-damaged or chemically straightened locks. For others like Walton, who opted to wear her hair more naturally but skipped the dramatic haircut, there's still a learning curve to figure out how to wear one's natural hair texture. "In my house," Walton said, "any time we had somewhere important to go, if it was Easter Sunday (or) Christmas Mass, we had to make sure our hair was pressed and braided neatly. That's what my mom knew, that's what her mom knew, so we didn't even question it." By the time she was in middle school, Walton would want to "shrink into a hole" at the salon while she waited for a stylist to blow dry her freshly washed hair. "I didn't want people to see my hair. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror," she recalled. "I didn't even know what my real texture looked like. ... I just knew that if it got a little bit wet, or if I sweat(ed) a little bit too much, I put my hands into my roots, and it felt terrible." As a result, Walton had to do both a habitual and a mental shift when she decided that having healthy hair was more important. That new way involved regularly trimming her hair herself and wearing what she calls "low-manipulation" styles, like buns, which meant she wasn't putting added stress on her hair with constant washing and styling. Celebrity hairstylist and salon owner Ted Gibson concurs with Walton's careful, routine trimming, which he says is essential whether you chemically straighten your hair or are as natural as can be. "Sometimes women, when they get a relaxer, they don't want to get a haircut, but that's part of the service for us," Gibson said. "Getting your ends trimmed is essential in growing your hair and making your hair so that it's in better shape. Hair will split after a period of time, and that's sometimes where thinning hair comes from." It took Walton about a year and a half to get rid of her damaged bits, and at the time, she was simultaneously working on being able to leave the house with her new, natural 'do. At first, "you have that spotlight effect, because you think everybody's staring at you, because you're very self-conscious," Walton said. "And most people aren't staring at you, and if they are, maybe they're thinking good things, not the negative things you're projecting onto them." On her site and particularly in her book, Walton emphasizes how necessary confidence is to the process. "This is your hair, and people have to accept it because you do. And when you exude that confidence, people get that from you and they don't bother you. Often, we have to fake it till we make it, because people will be able to detect that insecurity." The phrase "natural hair" is thrown around a lot, and it can mean different things to different people. There are those who would agree with celebrity stylist Laini Reeves, for whom being natural starts with the product. "Being a hairdresser, I look for two things: I look for performance, and I look for ingredients. It's hard to find completely 100% natural hair care that has the performance that you need, but technology is becoming so advanced that the chemists know how to alter ingredients that make it have the performance," said Reeves, who's worked with stars like Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. For example, if you're a curly, you might want to check out coconut oil to use as a conditioner, Reeves said, in an effort to rebuild the hair and get a softer texture. "My advice to anybody: Read the label and educate yourself," Reeves said. "I'm not an extremist. I'm not anti this or that; I just like to make more conscious decisions in my life." Walton, too, cautions against the perception that maintaining natural hair means standing against chemical straighteners or straight hair overall. "It's all about achieving versatility and achieving healthy hair and achieving the freedom to be able to wear your hair curly or straight," she said. "The goal that I had for myself was to feel just as attractive and just as professional and sexy with my hair curly as I felt when it was straight. I'm there in that place now, and I want other women to be able to experience that too. That level of confidence, we call it genuine self-esteem -- the kind that doesn't fluctuate." There's also a side benefit to all of that confidence, Walton added. "Accepting what your hair does naturally will help you attain a better quality of life," she said. "You can straighten your hair and do whatever you want to do, because we're women; we like to change it up. It's that key of getting comfortable in your own skin. My quality of life has greatly improved now that my first thought and consideration is not my hair." Have you struggled with going natural? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

Therapist and blogger Nikki Walton helps women find confidence with their natural hair . Walton's written a book, "Better Than Good Hair," to guide women in their hair journey . The keys for her have been regular trims and low manipulation . Embracing one's natural texture can improve your quality of life .

(CNN)Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said Friday that a ceasefire due to go into effect over the weekend between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine is in "big danger." Fighting continued ahead of the cessation of the bitter 10-month-long conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people and strained East-West relations. The peace plan hammered out Thursday during marathon four-way talks in Minsk, Belarus, had raised hopes of an end to the fighting. But Poroshenko said that after the agreement reached by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, the offensive against Ukrainian troops by pro-Russian separatists had intensified. "This is not just an attack on Ukrainian civilians, this is an attack of the Minsk results," he said in Kiev, adding the peace plan is in "big danger." The ceasefire agreement comes with many questions over how it will be implemented and whether it will stick. The first test will be whether the guns fall silent when the ceasefire comes into force at midnight local time Saturday to Sunday. Both sides are expected to start pulling back their heavy weapons from the front lines as of Monday, creating a buffer zone at least 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which already has a monitoring mission in Ukraine, has been given the challenging task of overseeing the process. "We need to have an effective ceasefire," said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, at a media briefing. "So I'm already concerned that we are seeing this morning a continuation of hostilities." The OSCE hopes to see a reduction in hostilities between now and the start of the ceasefire, he said. But reports from eastern Ukraine -- where separatist soldiers told CNN's Nick Paton Walsh on Thursday that they were highly skeptical of the peace plan -- suggest otherwise. Eight Ukrainian soldiers have died and 34 have been injured in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Friday morning. There were 40 incidents of militants opening fire and shelling in the conflict area overnight, including 25 in the Debaltseve area, it said. What will happen to the strategically important, government-controlled town of Debaltseve, under siege by separatist forces for weeks, is one of the big unanswered questions. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers remain there, almost surrounded, and it's unclear who will ultimately control the town when the ceasefire comes into effect. The water began running Thursday night for the first time in a week at the Konopliovi home in Horlivka. A bath was quickly drawn so the three children could clean up. The kids' mother went to another room to get a towel and the first shell hit, wiping out the bathroom but leaving the parents' bedroom -- even its windows -- intact. Nastya, 14; Dasha, 7; and Kiriusha, 2 1/2 , were dead. "What ceasefire? I curse every day those who killed my children, and all those of the country. People who want to live peacefully," Liuba Konopliovi told CNN, according to a translator. "We lived, grew up, took our children to school. They are not people." Doctors Without Borders said in a "crisis update" from one of its doctors in Horlivka that between five and 20 victims are brought to their facility each day. On one occasion, there were 60 victims. But on three days, there was no water with which to sterilize the equipment, so only urgent care was administered. Despite the uncertainties over the deal, all those at the Minsk talks said it was a better alternative than simply allowing the escalating violence to continue. "We had just two options: bad, and worse. So we decided at this particular period of time to get the bad option. Probably this option will save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, and I hope this option will save lives of Ukrainian civilians, of innocent people, who are under a constant shelling of Russian-led terrorists," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Kiev. "It's better to have this new deal rather than not to have (it). But we do not trust any words or any papers. We are to trust only actions and deeds," he said. The White House issued a statement with a tone of guarded optimism and urged all parties to take "immediate, concrete steps" to fulfill their commitments. "Heavy weapons must be withdrawn from the conflict zone, and Russia must end its support for the separatists and withdraw its soldiers and military equipment from eastern Ukraine," the statement said. While the Ukrainian forces have to pull back their heavy weapons from the front line as it stands Saturday night, the separatist forces must pull back theirs from the front line as it was on September 19, when a previous peace agreement was signed in Minsk. That swiftly disintegrated amid continued violence. The new ceasefire proposal represents a territorial gain for the separatists, who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after the talks wrapped up alongside French President Francois Hollande, said that what had been achieved gave "a glimmer of hope" but that big hurdles still lay ahead. European Union leaders who met in Brussels later Thursday "did not discuss any new sanctions against Russia," European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters in the Belgian capital. Tusk said that the EU wants "to encourage" Russia to implement the new Minsk agreement, but he also advised caution in light of how the first Minsk agreement unraveled. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's state-run RIA Novosti that while Russia had helped to bring about the Minsk agreement, it wasn't in its power to fulfill it. "We simply can't do this physically because Russia is not a participant in the conflict," Peskov said. Moscow hopes that all of the points drawn up in the Minsk deal will be fulfilled, he added. Russia has steadfastly denied accusations that it is sending forces and weapons into Ukraine. But top Western and Ukrainian leaders have said there isn't any doubt that Russia is behind surging violence and separatists' efforts to take over territory in eastern Ukraine. Zannier, the OSCE secretary general, said his organization intends to put 350 monitors into eastern Ukraine to oversee the ceasefire and withdrawal process. Under the terms of the Minsk agreement, it can use radar, satellite and drone technology to help it. But he warned that unless the environment becomes less hostile, there are limits to where the OSCE teams can go. Details of the new agreement, which is similar in part to the September 19 deal, were released Thursday, but it's still unclear how elements of it will work. The points include: . • An immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk starting at midnight on February 15. • The withdrawal of all heavy weapons by both parties at equal distances in order to create a security zone width of at least 50 kilometers (31 miles) from each other for artillery systems and more for longer-range weapons. • This process should begin no later than the next day after the ceasefire and should be over within 14 days. • A dialogue on new local elections and the special status of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will begin the day after the withdrawal. • A law will be created to give amnesty to people involved in events in Luhansk and Donetsk. • Both sides must ensure the release and exchange of all hostages and illegally held prisoners by no later than the fifth day after the withdrawal. • Withdrawal of all foreign troops and military equipment from Ukraine, including mercenaries, and the disarmament of militia groups. CNN's Nic Robertson, Nick Paton Walsh, Alla Eshchenko, Pierre Meilhan and journalist Victoria Butenko in Kiev contributed to this report.

Petro Poroshenko claims that pro-Russian forces have increased their attacks . Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine ahead of a ceasefire due to come into effect Sunday . OSCE chief says he hopes to see a reduction in hostilities before the ceasefire .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Oil prices have some drivers looking for new rides, but some truck and sport-utility vehicle owners are remaining true to their gas guzzlers. They say, $4-a-gallon gas be damned; they need the space. Gas prices have drivers reconsidering what they drive, but some SUV owners say they have no real alternative. "You've got to have that room when you're moving around," said Steve Sharp, who has three active children and whose wife owns a dance studio. "It would be impractical for us to own a Prius with everything we've got going on." Toyota's hybrid sedan just wouldn't work, said Sharp, 36. In addition to hauling their 11-year-old boy to soccer games and their 10- and 7-year-old daughters to dance recitals, Sharp's wife, Caren, also totes large props and background displays for her studio. In March, as consumer cynicism toward SUVs soared alongside gas prices, the Sharpsburg, Georgia, family purchased a new Chevy Avalanche truck, which gets between 17 and 20 miles per gallon on the highway. When GM chief Rick Wagoner announced Tuesday his company would close four North American plants by 2010, he cited skyrocketing gas prices as a factor in the automobile giant's decision. Watch how gas prices drove the move » . "These higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and rapidly," Wagoner said. "We don't think this is a temporary spike or shift. We think it is permanent." Peter Brown, the executive director of the trade publication Automotive News, said in an interview last month that SUV sales were down almost 33 percent this year, and sales of pickups were down almost 20 percent. He likened the behemoths to dinosaurs on the fast path to extinction. iReport.com: Still driving that gas guzzler, and loving it? "If gas prices stay where they are at or continue to rise, the body-on-frame SUV is an endangered species and the pickup truck as a personal car is an endangered species," he said. But some consumers say they'll strive to keep the beasts alive, even if it costs $100 or more to fill the tanks. See gas prices across the country » . Stephanie Torgerson, 32, of Pataskala, Ohio, said she simply can't put her three boys in her husband's Mazda 626. The 1-year-old needs a car seat, the 5-year-old needs a booster chair and she doesn't feel comfortable wedging her 8-year-old between the two. Sure, she could probably get better mileage in a minivan, but she doesn't like the stigma. "I don't want to be labeled as a soccer mom," she said. Torgerson said her 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, which gets about 20 mpg, affords her and her kids protection -- not to mention four-wheel drive traction in the snowy winter months. But security comes with a price. Torgerson's daily commute to Hilliard -- another Columbus suburb -- is 72 miles roundtrip. She spends about $82 a week on gas, she said. Watch a Florida driver document gas prices » . Asked if she had considered a hybrid SUV with four-wheel drive, she promptly said no. "They're all brand-new vehicles, and I can't afford a $500-a-month car payment," she said. Orlando Tapia, of Cabot, Arkansas, said he considered trading in his 2001 Chevy Suburban to buy his wife a new car. The 45-year-old U.S. Air Force education manager said he reconsidered after learning he'd get about one-seventh of the vehicle's market value. See how SUV sales are on the decline » . "They want to give you nothing for it," he said, lamenting the low demand and high supply of such vehicles. Tapia, who also owns a 1988 Chevy Silverado pickup (his wife drives a Toyota Camry), said his family uses the Suburban only about 10 times a year, for vacations, hauling his flatbed trailer and when piling friends and relatives into the Suburban saves driving two cars. Tapia decided to keep his cars simply because they're paid for. "Do I pay $5,000 a year in car payments, or do I put $5,000 of gas in the Suburban?" he asked. "Right now it's cheaper for me to just put gas in the Suburban." Tapia has felt the pinch of high gas prices, he said, but he has ways to alleviate the burden on his wallet without hocking his truck or SUV. "If I'm running to the store and the Camry's out there and the Suburban and pickup are out there, I definitely jump in the Camry," he said. Sharp said his family looks for similar ways to save money on gas. For instance, his wife will time trips to the bank or grocery store so she can pick up the children from school while she's out running errands. Extra trips mean extra gas, Sharp said. See how Lamborghinis, Bentleys fare on gas mileage » . But simple solutions don't work for everyone. "I've got several of these things that I've been pouring liquid gold in the tank of," said Mark Antley, 47, of Sharpsburg, Georgia. The computer and technology contractor used to drive his 1999 Suburban from Sharpsburg through Atlanta to the northern suburb of Alpharetta. The 145-mile roundtrip to work put a dent in his 45-gallon gas tank. Making matters more costly were his wife's car -- another '99 Suburban -- and his diesel 2002 Ford F250 pickup. So last month, Antley got on eBay, where he found a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire for $1,000. The car is a "piece of junk," he said, but it gets about 37 mpg, almost tripling his Suburban's mileage. He has already put 5,000 miles on it, which has saved him about the cost of the car in gas, he said. "Last month, before I bought this car, it was running in the neighborhood of $1,400 to $1,800 a month," Antley said of his family's gasoline budget. Though Antley has left his F250 parked since Christmas, his wife still needs her Suburban for carpooling to school and school events. The Antleys' daughter just turned 16, and is driving her own Toyota Corolla, but the couple's boys need rides to soccer practice and their sister's gymnastics meets. Antley said he doesn't think the SUV is on the verge of extinction. He laughs at folks willing to pay $1.25 for a pint of bottled water -- $10 a gallon -- but who gripe about $4-a-gallon gas. All products go up in price, he said. Gas prices eventually will level off and families will adjust their budgets accordingly. SUVs will either become luxuries for those who can afford the gas or necessities for those who need what SUVs have to offer, he predicts. "There will still be a niche market for them," he said. "I don't know what other vehicle affords you the luxury of carrying as much as they do." CNN's Wayne Drash and Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

Ohio woman says Trailblazer provides her safety without "soccer mom" stigma . Some owners are cutting back on or combining SUV trips to save gas . Man bought Pontiac on eBay after shelling out $1,400-$1,800 a month in gas . Gas guzzlers becoming increasingly unpopular, but some people still need them .

(CNN) -- Thomas Corless has been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, 101 times. "The Disney Parks are unlike anything else on the planet," he said. Corless, who runs the Disney fan site WDWNT.com, will be in Orlando this weekend to celebrate the theme park resort's 40th birthday. Since its opening on October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World -- or WDW, as it's often referred to online -- has become the world's most visited recreational resort. It's also more than twice the size of New York's Manhattan island. People get married there, they go there on their honeymoons (more than anywhere else in the continental United States), and of course it's a major destination for families. For those who go over and over again, like Corless, there is a big nostalgia factor. He counts attractions that no longer exist at the park among his favorites. "I think the fascination is partly nostalgia for characters & childhood memories and partly the promise of fun," the iReporter said. "You know when you go to Walt Disney World, you are going to have fun. There aren't many places you can take the family and have that guarantee." For other repeat visitors, like Pete Werner, a visit to the resort can mark an important point in their lives. "I was newly sober and only had one day to spend at Disney World while in Orlando for business [in 1993]," he said. "My first park was Epcot, and as a result of that visit, I became enamored with everything Disney. I promised myself for each year I stayed sober, I would reward myself with a visit to WDW." Werner eventually moved to Orlando and started the websites WDWinfo.com and DISboards.com. Werner doesn't think one thing in particular makes the parks so special. Like him, many who visit the parks have one special memory they take with them. "Everyone has a story -- a memory -- that they relive every time they return," he said. "Disney is really its own world -- and a place where you can escape from reality without any of the negative consequences that usually come with other forms of escapism." Check out more iReports of Disney memories . Ryan Wilson, another hard-core fan, iReporter and creator of Main Street Gazette, said he remembers specific moments instead of rides or attractions: "Sharing a great meal with a great collection of friends, watching my wife's face light up as she watches fireworks burst overhead, or wandering old stomping grounds with my mom and dad. Walt Disney World is, for me, the magical place that means so much to my friends and family, and they are the heart of my experiences there." Just before packing for his 102nd trip to the parks, Corless said that he believes Walt Disney World is "unlike anything else on the planet. Sure, there are other theme parks, but they aren't even close to Walt Disney World in popularity, quality, and most certainly in meaning to American culture." Watch an iReporter's home movie of Sea World and WDW in 1974 . For hard-core fans like Corless, Walt Disney World history is something that is discussed on the many websites devoted to the parks. Here are some important dates in WDW history: . October 1, 1971: Nearly five years after the death of Walt Disney, the resort bearing his name officially opens in an area that used to be swampland, with Magic Kingdom theme park attractions like "It's a Small World," the Haunted Mansion, the Country Bear Jamboree and the Mad Tea Party. The resort surrounding the park would bring in tourists from all over the globe over the next 40 years. December 15, 1973: Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the most popular rides of all time, opens in the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland. January 15, 1975: Two centerpieces of Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland -- the Space Mountain roller coaster and the Carousel of Progress show -- open to the public. June 11, 1977: The first Main Street Electrical Parade takes place in the Magic Kingdom, state of the art for its time. October 1, 1982: Walt Disney's vision of the future, EPCOT Center (consisting of Future World and World Showcase), opens with attractions such as Spaceship Earth, The Land's Kitchen Kabaret and World of Motion. Fan favorites Journey into Imagination (introducing the original characters Dreamfinder and Figment) and Horizons would open within the year. September 12, 1986: Michael Jackson stars in "Captain EO," which makes its world premiere at EPCOT Center. (It would return to the park in 2010, in memory of the pop star, after a 16-year absence.) Michael Jackson at the Magic Kingdom in 1983 . May 1, 1989: A third park, Disney-MGM Studios (which would herald a new spate of filmmaking in Orlando -- at least for a short time) opens. "Star Tours," the "Star Wars" thrill ride, would follow in December. October 2, 1992: Thrill ride Splash Mountain makes its debut at the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland. July 22, 1994: The "Twilight Zone" Tower of Terror makes its worldwide debut at Disney-MGM Studios. Thrill-seekers line up to take the plunge. April 22, 1998: A fourth park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, focused on nature and conservation, opens to the public. A roller coaster, Expedition Everest, would be added in 2006. September 7, 1998: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride closes. Fans protest with a "Save the Toad" campaign that doesn't pan out. (The ride is still going strong after 56 years at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride takes its place in the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland on June 4, 1999. October 10, 1998: Journey Into Imagination closes, to be reopened as a completely new ride, Journey Into YOUR Imagination, on October 1, 1999. The ride, which contains very little of the character Figment, and no Dreamfinder, is poorly received, and closes on October 8, 2001, only to return with major changes as Journey Into Imagination with Figment in 2002. However, some hard-core fans have campaigned to bring back the original ride, or at least Dreamfinder. December 19, 1998: Epcot (no more "Center" in the name) opens its first thrill ride, Test Track, replacing World of Motion. August 15, 2003: Mission: SPACE, a thrill ride simulating space travel, takes the place of Horizons at Epcot. July 7, 2006: Audio-Animatronic figures of "Pirates of the Caribbean" stars Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush are added to the original ride of the same name. July 4, 2009: A new version of the Hall of Presidents show opens at the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square with the addition of President Barack Obama. 2013: New Fantasyland, an expansion of the area in Magic Kingdom, is set to open, replacing Snow White's Scary Adventures with a Seven Dwarfs-themed mine ride, and adding a new version of Dumbo the Flying Elephant, as well as the Beast's castle from "Beauty and the Beast." Construction is also scheduled to begin on an "Avatar"-themed land in Animal Kingdom.

Fans headed to Orlando this weekend to celebrate theme park resort's 40th birthday . "The Disney Parks are unlike anything else on the planet," hard-core fan says . Other repeat visitors recall escapism, family fun and favorite memories .

(CNN) -- Sen. Ted Kennedy would have had a "very, very difficult" time politically surviving the drowning death of a young woman if it happened in the era of blogs, talk radio and 24-hour news cycles, experts said. Sen. Ted Kennedy hit the airwaves to say it was "indefensible" he didn't immediately report the accident. Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, drowned after Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile off a bridge following a regatta party in July 1969. The incident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, helped dash the youngest Kennedy brother's chances at the Oval Office in 1972 and 1980. Massachusetts was more forgiving than the rest of the nation, however, backing Kennedy by a 3-to-2 margin in his 1970 bid to keep his Senate seat. That his brothers, John and Robert, had been assassinated in recent years may have been a factor, experts said. Watch Kennedy attend brother Robert's funeral » . "Great expectations and great tragedy has always been the storyline of the Kennedys," said Christopher Arterton, dean of George Washington University's graduate school of political management. "The people of Massachusetts were prepared to forgive a lot of transgressions." Kennedy vanished to the family compound for days after the incident, huddling with advisers before emerging the following week to plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. A judge suspended his two-month jail sentence. Critics saw the plea as an attempt to stifle details that would have emerged during a trial. In a display of the senator's legendary oratory, he delivered a nationally televised explanation and apology, saying it was "indefensible" that he hadn't called police until the day after the accident. See how Chappaquiddick fit into Kennedy's legacy » . "If at any time, the citizens of Massachusetts should lack confidence in their senator's character or his ability, with or without justification, he could not in my opinion adequately perform his duty and should not continue in office," Kennedy said. Jim Baughman, author of "The Republic of Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America since 1941," said he recalls Kennedy's address being "less an explanation to the country than to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The nation's response was tepid. According to a Time-Harris poll in August 1969, about 44 percent of respondents said Kennedy failed "to tell the real truth," 51 percent said his explanation was inadequate and 77 percent said he was wrong not to report the accident immediately. However, 58 percent of respondents said "he has suffered, been punished and should be given the benefit of the doubt." Watch a timeline of Kennedy's tragedies, triumphs » . "I think the national repercussions would have been more severe [today]," Baughman said. In 1969, the national media were dominated by three TV networks and a handful of magazines and newspapers. New media and talk radio would be a "much more ferocious force" today, he said. Media reports from the time indicate few mysteries were solved by Kennedy's address. Then-Edgartown Police Chief Jim Arena was often lambasted for his handling of the case. He said Thursday he would handle it no differently today except that he would charge Kennedy with vehicular homicide, a charge that did not exist in 1969. "I will always contend that what happened that night was an accident. What happened afterward has never been completely explained," said Arena, who is now 79. In his national address, Kennedy said he was driving Kopechne to a ferry landing because she was tired. He denied "widely circulated suspicions of immoral conduct" and also refuted reports that he was "driving under the influence of liquor." Watch Kennedy's explanation » . Kennedy said his unfamiliarity with the bridge, which had no guardrails and met the road at an awkward angle, caused him to drive off the side and into Poucha Pond. "The car overturned in a deep pond and immediately filled with water," Kennedy said. "Water entered my lungs and I actually felt the sensation of drowning, but somehow I struggled to the surface alive." Kopechne did not. Kennedy said he dived back into the water several times, "but succeeded only in increasing my state of utter exhaustion and alarm." Conceding he did not seek a telephone, Kennedy said he returned to the party and summoned a cousin and friend to the scene. They, too, failed in saving Kopechne, he said. "All kinds of scrambled thoughts -- all of them confused, some of them irrational, many of them which I cannot recall, and some of which I would not have seriously entertained under normal circumstances -- went through my mind during this period," he said. He asked to be taken to the ferry slip, he said, where he jumped into the water, swam the 500-foot channel back to Edgartown, returned to his hotel room and collapsed. It wasn't until morning that he called police, and then, only after he called legal adviser Burke Marshall, he said. The media clamored with questions: Why had Kopechne left her purse and room key at the cottage and told no one she was going home? How did Kennedy get lost on a one-turn trip to the ferry? Was the ferry operating when Kennedy and Kopechne left? "The larger anger about it was the 10-hour lag [in reporting the accident], that he was more concerned about his reputation than this young woman's life," Baughman said. "He didn't take enough time to blame himself and take responsibility." Today, Baughman said, Kennedy could still survive a Chappaquiddick -- largely because of the Kennedys' clout and because Massachusetts is so enamored with the family -- but it would be tougher with the Slate.coms and Drudge Reports of the world hounding him. George Washington University's Arterton concurs that, like Jesse Helms' North Carolina or Strom Thurmond's South Carolina, Massachusetts would likely forgive one of its favorite sons today. If Kennedy survived his first re-election, as he did in 1970, he likely would have prevailed in later ones, though it would have been "very, very difficult to remain in office," Arterton said. He also doubts Kennedy would have been able to isolate himself with advisers for days without making a statement. Watch a newsreel of Kennedy's early years » . "In the cable news era, that would not have been possible," he said, explaining that blogs and other new media would have prodded the networks and newspapers. "There would have been much more effort to dig into that story nationally." At the least, Baughman said, "you'd have maybe a more diverse conversation about Kennedy's culpability and judgment." Then-Chief Arena remembers the intense criticism of his investigation from his own counterparts. Diver John Farrar, who pulled Kopechne from the car, told media outlets she may have lived had Kennedy called police immediately, and George Killen, a detective-lieutenant with the State Police, alleged at the time that Kennedy "killed that girl the same as if he put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger." Kennedy's explanation was a "weak defense," Arena acknowledges, but he insists there was no evidence of negligence to facilitate manslaughter charges. Arena said the Kennedys never pressured him during the investigation. He also never obfuscated details to benefit Kennedy -- in part, because of a paternal adage he has always held dear. "When you tell the truth, you don't have to worry about what you said the first time," he said. "The charge I came up with was the only one I thought we could prove. ... I did what I could, and I'll stick by it."

Media "more ferocious" today, wouldn't have left questions unanswered, expert says . Ex-police chief says he would have charged Kennedy with vehicular homicide today . Chappaquiddick incident credited with ending Ted Kennedy's presidential hopes . Chief: "What happened afterward has never been completely explained"

(CNN) -- Sen. Ted Kennedy would have had a "very, very difficult" time politically surviving the drowning death of a young woman if it happened in the era of blogs, talk radio and 24-hour news cycles, experts said. Sen. Ted Kennedy hit the airwaves to say it was "indefensible" he didn't immediately report the accident. Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, drowned after Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile off a bridge following a regatta party in July 1969. The incident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, helped dash the youngest Kennedy brother's chances at the Oval Office in 1972 and 1980. Massachusetts was more forgiving than the rest of the nation, however, backing Kennedy by a 3-to-2 margin in his 1970 bid to keep his Senate seat. That his brothers, John and Robert, had been assassinated in recent years may have been a factor, experts said. Watch Kennedy attend brother Robert's funeral » . "Great expectations and great tragedy has always been the storyline of the Kennedys," said Christopher Arterton, dean of George Washington University's graduate school of political management. "The people of Massachusetts were prepared to forgive a lot of transgressions." Kennedy vanished to the family compound for days after the incident, huddling with advisers before emerging the following week to plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. A judge suspended his two-month jail sentence. Critics saw the plea as an attempt to stifle details that would have emerged during a trial. In a display of the senator's legendary oratory, he delivered a nationally televised explanation and apology, saying it was "indefensible" that he hadn't called police until the day after the accident. See how Chappaquiddick fit into Kennedy's legacy » . "If at any time, the citizens of Massachusetts should lack confidence in their senator's character or his ability, with or without justification, he could not in my opinion adequately perform his duty and should not continue in office," Kennedy said. Jim Baughman, author of "The Republic of Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America since 1941," said he recalls Kennedy's address being "less an explanation to the country than to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The nation's response was tepid. According to a Time-Harris poll in August 1969, about 44 percent of respondents said Kennedy failed "to tell the real truth," 51 percent said his explanation was inadequate and 77 percent said he was wrong not to report the accident immediately. However, 58 percent of respondents said "he has suffered, been punished and should be given the benefit of the doubt." Watch a timeline of Kennedy's tragedies, triumphs » . "I think the national repercussions would have been more severe [today]," Baughman said. In 1969, the national media were dominated by three TV networks and a handful of magazines and newspapers. New media and talk radio would be a "much more ferocious force" today, he said. Media reports from the time indicate few mysteries were solved by Kennedy's address. Then-Edgartown Police Chief Jim Arena was often lambasted for his handling of the case. He said Thursday he would handle it no differently today except that he would charge Kennedy with vehicular homicide, a charge that did not exist in 1969. "I will always contend that what happened that night was an accident. What happened afterward has never been completely explained," said Arena, who is now 79. In his national address, Kennedy said he was driving Kopechne to a ferry landing because she was tired. He denied "widely circulated suspicions of immoral conduct" and also refuted reports that he was "driving under the influence of liquor." Watch Kennedy's explanation » . Kennedy said his unfamiliarity with the bridge, which had no guardrails and met the road at an awkward angle, caused him to drive off the side and into Poucha Pond. "The car overturned in a deep pond and immediately filled with water," Kennedy said. "Water entered my lungs and I actually felt the sensation of drowning, but somehow I struggled to the surface alive." Kopechne did not. Kennedy said he dived back into the water several times, "but succeeded only in increasing my state of utter exhaustion and alarm." Conceding he did not seek a telephone, Kennedy said he returned to the party and summoned a cousin and friend to the scene. They, too, failed in saving Kopechne, he said. "All kinds of scrambled thoughts -- all of them confused, some of them irrational, many of them which I cannot recall, and some of which I would not have seriously entertained under normal circumstances -- went through my mind during this period," he said. He asked to be taken to the ferry slip, he said, where he jumped into the water, swam the 500-foot channel back to Edgartown, returned to his hotel room and collapsed. It wasn't until morning that he called police, and then, only after he called legal adviser Burke Marshall, he said. The media clamored with questions: Why had Kopechne left her purse and room key at the cottage and told no one she was going home? How did Kennedy get lost on a one-turn trip to the ferry? Was the ferry operating when Kennedy and Kopechne left? "The larger anger about it was the 10-hour lag [in reporting the accident], that he was more concerned about his reputation than this young woman's life," Baughman said. "He didn't take enough time to blame himself and take responsibility." Today, Baughman said, Kennedy could still survive a Chappaquiddick -- largely because of the Kennedys' clout and because Massachusetts is so enamored with the family -- but it would be tougher with the Slate.coms and Drudge Reports of the world hounding him. George Washington University's Arterton concurs that, like Jesse Helms' North Carolina or Strom Thurmond's South Carolina, Massachusetts would likely forgive one of its favorite sons today. If Kennedy survived his first re-election, as he did in 1970, he likely would have prevailed in later ones, though it would have been "very, very difficult to remain in office," Arterton said. He also doubts Kennedy would have been able to isolate himself with advisers for days without making a statement. Watch a newsreel of Kennedy's early years » . "In the cable news era, that would not have been possible," he said, explaining that blogs and other new media would have prodded the networks and newspapers. "There would have been much more effort to dig into that story nationally." At the least, Baughman said, "you'd have maybe a more diverse conversation about Kennedy's culpability and judgment." Then-Chief Arena remembers the intense criticism of his investigation from his own counterparts. Diver John Farrar, who pulled Kopechne from the car, told media outlets she may have lived had Kennedy called police immediately, and George Killen, a detective-lieutenant with the State Police, alleged at the time that Kennedy "killed that girl the same as if he put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger." Kennedy's explanation was a "weak defense," Arena acknowledges, but he insists there was no evidence of negligence to facilitate manslaughter charges. Arena said the Kennedys never pressured him during the investigation. He also never obfuscated details to benefit Kennedy -- in part, because of a paternal adage he has always held dear. "When you tell the truth, you don't have to worry about what you said the first time," he said. "The charge I came up with was the only one I thought we could prove. ... I did what I could, and I'll stick by it."

Media "more ferocious" today, wouldn't have left questions unanswered, expert says . Ex-police chief says he would have charged Kennedy with vehicular homicide today . Chappaquiddick incident credited with ending Ted Kennedy's presidential hopes . Chief: "What happened afterward has never been completely explained"

(CNN) -- The Scottish Highlands and Speyside region. The back roads of Kentucky and Tennessee. Suntory's Yamazaki Distillery and Hakushu "forest distillery." For seekers of premium malts, these are some of the touchstones of whiskey travel. Now a new whiskey region is laying claim to world-class status. And at some distilleries, the youth movement is right out front and center. At age 26, Jane Overeem has been tasting whiskey since she was 18, primarily as a producer. She and her father, Casey Overeem, distill some of the world's finest single malt whiskey in the garage of their suburban home in Hobart, capital of the Australian island state of Tasmania. In the terms of whiskey bragging rights, the Overeems have already hit the distiller's sweet spot above 94 out of 100 -- the score needed to reach "liquid gold" status in the ranking system used by international critic Jim Murray in his annual Whisky Bible. Tasmania has a solid share of the world's single malt whiskeys that carry the "liquid gold" tag -- a testament to the island's pristine water, richly flavored brewing barley, highland peat and a favorable climate. Success on the global stage for names such as Overeem, Lark, Nant, Sullivans Cove and Hellyers Road has prompted a trickle of whiskey aficionados to drop into Tasmanian distilleries to taste the product and discuss firsthand with the makers their distinctive characteristics. And where single malt was once the preserve of the over-55 male, these days the buyers of $150-a-bottle premium whiskey are just as likely to be young and female. "When I first started going to whiskey shows eight years ago, usually I was the only female," says Overeem. "Now it's more like 50-50 men and women." The world's most southerly distillery . Visitor interest has given rise to a nascent Tasmanian Whisky Trail (with a website that launched just this week) that runs from Burnie on the north coast of the island, through the picturesque central highlands to the lush valleys around Hobart. At the end of the trail visitors find the world's most southerly distillery, William McHenry's operation at Mount Arthur, on the fringe of the Tasman National Park. At 43 degrees south, there's only the vast Southern Ocean between McHenry and the Antarctic. Some of these distilleries -- notably Hellyers Road at Burnie, Nant at Bothwell and Lark in the popular Hobart waterfront precinct -- have well established visitor centers and tasting bars. For the others, it's best to make an appointment. Belgrove Distillery near Kempton is a one-man operation where sheep farmer, sand sculptor and occasional distiller Peter Bignell makes Australia's only rye whiskey at the rate of one 100-liter barrel a month. "I may be the greenest distiller in the world," says Bignell. That's not a reference to a lack of experience, but to the size of his carbon footprint. His rye is grown, malted, fermented, distilled, barreled and bottled on the property. There's no transportation cost, no wasted heat to dry the malt and minimal water usage. This sort of boutique operation is a world away from the blended whiskeys that cater to the mass market, where brands such as Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniel's, Jameson, Suntory and McDowell's No. 1 Reserve dominate respectively for Scotch, American, Irish, Japanese and Indian whiskey. As Tasmania's whiskey godfather Bill Lark describes it, making a single malt is a mixture of science, art and passion. The big oily barley he uses in his Lark Distillers Selection gives it a spicy, aromatic flavor that earned it the title of Australia's best single malt whiskey in 2009 from the Malt Whisky Society of Australia. Growing global demand . Sullivans Cove Distillery, based at Cambridge on the outskirts of Hobart, has won its share of awards and praise, including a 96.5 score from the revered Whisky Bible. But with output of just 20,000 liters a year, chief distiller Patrick Maguire says it's difficult to meet domestic demand, let alone the numerous inquiries he gets from China and India. "The right attitude for us is quality," he says. "We're growing, but we'll never be a giant distillery." In the central highlands, where Nant Distillery operates Australia's only water-powered mill to grist its barley, owner Keith Batt aims to make Nant a global brand through a network of whiskey bars. "We have five whiskey bars now -- two in Brisbane, one each in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, and we'll open a new one in London soon," he says. "My goal in five years is to have 70 bars around the world in cities like New York. "We scored a gold medal and two silvers in Hong Kong in 2013, so the China market is very attractive for us." Batt says the highest rating Jim Murray has ever given is a 97.5. "We got a 95.5 for a three-year-old Nant. Our challenge is to find a 98 among our barrels," he says. At Hellyers Road Distillery overlooking Bass Strait, Mark Littler runs Australia's biggest whiskey distillery as a spinoff from the Betta Dairy Company. "These are exciting times for us," he says. "In a blind tasting at Whisky Live in Paris a few months ago, we were named best New World single malt whiskey." Hellyers Road hosts 25,000 visitors a year -- as part of the distillery tour, visitors can choose to fill and wax-seal their own bottle. At the other end of Tasmania, William McHenry's X factor is the spring water that bubbles up from Mount Arthur. "I came here for the pure water, to cool the spirit," he says. "It's a very small operation, so I have to aim high." Top Tasmanian whiskey distilleries . Hellyers Road Distillery, 153 Old Surrey Road, Burnie; +61 03 6433 0439 . Nant Distillery, 254 Nant Lane, Bothwell; +61 03 6259 5790 . Belgrove Distillery, 3121 Midland Highway, Kempton; +61 04 0914 4560 . Redlands Estate, 759 Glenora Road, Plenty; +61 03 6261 5728 . Lark Distillery, 14 Davey St., Hobart; +61 03 6231 9088 . Overeem Old Hobart Distillery, 37 Brightwater Road, Blackmans Bay; +61 04 1839 9077 . Sullivans Cove Tasmania Distillery, 1/14 Lamb Place, Cambridge; +61 03 6248 5399 . William McHenry & Sons Distillery, 229 Radnor Road, Port Arthur; +61 03 6250 2533 . Tasmanian Whisky Trail . Geoff Hiscock is a former Asia business editor for CNN.com and is the author of "Earth Wars: The Battle for Global Resources." He lives near Sydney, Australia.

The Tasmanian Whisky Trail runs to the world's most southerly distillery at Mount Arthur . Belgrove Distillery's Peter Bignell makes Australia's only rye whiskey . Demographics are changing. Buyers of $150 premium single malt whisky are just as likely to be young and female .

Cottonwood, Arizona (CNN) -- The cheering was raucous and the applause thunderous for a man who makes few public appearances. As he made his way gingerly across a gravel park, where he had just dedicated a nearly 40-foot statue representing the "Soul of the Earth," a voice shouted out: "I love you, Ilchi Lee." Lee, a South Korean businessman, is the founder of a national chain of yoga and wellness centers called Dahn Yoga. The company teaches that its physical exercises "can restore the vibrations of the body and brain to their original, healthy frequencies," according to a video introduction on its Web site. But Dahn Yoga is now defending itself from allegations by former employees that it is "a totalistic, high-demand cult group" that demands large sums of money from its followers and enshrines Lee as an "absolute spiritual and temporal leader." A lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Arizona, says that recruits "are unknowingly subjected to an intensive program of psychological manipulation, indoctrination and various techniques of coercive thought reform designed to induce them to become Ilchi Lee's disciples and devote themselves to serving him and his 'vision.' " Jade Harrelson, one of more than two dozen plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Dahn leaders "prey upon people like me who are ignorant about the way money works." The company denies the allegations and calls the plaintiffs "disgruntled former employees." "In our 30-year history, we have helped millions of people lead healthier and happier lives," corporate spokesman Joseph Alexander told CNN. Dahn Yoga set up its first shop in the United States in 1991, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It now has 127 storefront centers in the United States, more than 1,000 worldwide, and Forbes magazine estimates the company's 2009 profits at $34 million. Dahn Yoga teaches that what it calls brain wave vibration can ease some of the debilitating symptoms of illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis. Its publicity materials feature praise for Lee from a variety of sources, including Oscar Arias, Costa Rica's president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner; and Broadway producer/choreographer Tommy Tune. In addition, Elkhonon Goldberg, a clinical professor of neurology at New York University's medical school, praises the work of the International Brain Education Association, a group Lee founded. "IBREA is in a unique position to disseminate knowledge and to serve as a very effective platform for numerous worthwhile projects," Goldberg is quoted on the Dahn Web site as saying. "Ilchi Lee should be applauded for his pioneering creative vision in conceiving and launching this innovative organization with a truly international outreach." Goldberg did not respond to requests for comment from CNN. Harrelson and other former employees say Dahn Yoga instructors coerced them into taking out student loans, then transferring the funds to the company. Payments began in small amounts, she said, then progressively increased as fees for training and courses became more expensive. Harrelson said she eventually paid about $40,000 to Dahn. Alexander said no one was ever coerced into giving money to Dahn Yoga. The former employees "have misinterpreted natural business cycles, natural business goals, as some type of undue pressure," he said. "We make no excuses and no apology for the fact that we are a business," Alexander said. The plaintiffs, he said, "are after one thing -- they are after money." And Dahn Yoga attorney Alan Kaplan added, "Let's make it clear. My client, Mr. Lee, is not a cult leader. Dahn Yoga is not a cult." But Ryan Kent, the lawyer who filed suit on behalf of Harrelson and 26 other former employees in May, said Dahn Yoga leaders indoctrinate followers, then "take advantage of you and take all your money." Harrelson also said Lee singled her out for special attention and eventually sexually assaulted her while she was living and working in Seoul, South Korea. She said she trusted Lee and saw him as a father figure, eventually following him to Seoul -- where, she says, he assaulted her one night in 2007 at his apartment. "In my mind, there was no possible way I could have physically or verbally resisted him," Harrelson told CNN. "To say no to him was to say no to his soul. I became numb, and so what happened, happened not at my consent." Harrelson said she never filed a police report. The first time she publicly made the allegation was when she and other former employees filed suit in early 2009. Dahn Yoga's U.S. operations are now based near Sedona, Arizona, about 20 miles from Cottonwood -- where Lee appeared in December to dedicate the 39-foot statue of "Mago." The name is Korean for "Soul of the Earth," the mother figure in a seventh-century creation legend Lee cites as his inspiration. It was a rare appearance for Lee, who is seldom seen in public and routinely travels with a retinue of bodyguards. CNN requested an on-camera interview with Lee through his representatives, but was turned down. When approached at a dedication ceremony in this small Arizona town, he was surrounded by bodyguards, one of whom said the Dahn Yoga founder needed a translator to understand the questions. When a CNN photographer who speaks Korean translated, Lee said it was the first time he had heard of the sex assault allegation. Then his bodyguards forced the camera lens to point toward the ground, and Lee continued to the ribbon-cutting. Later, his attorney said any claims of sexual assault were not true, and "We are confident we will get those claims dismissed in court." Harrelson, who goes by "Jade," and college friend Liza Miller also say they were strongly urged to undergo extreme physical training at Dahn Yoga's retreat center in Sedona -- training they say left both women at the brink of exhaustion. One of the exercises, known as "bow training," involved deep knee bends to the floor to a prone position and back up again, with hands raised high over their heads. Miller, who has joined the lawsuit, says once she had to do 3,000 of the exercises -- "Which took about 10 hours, and we didn't eat or drink during that time." "People were screaming, people were throwing up, people were running away," Miller said. "People were rolling around, moaning, crying, wailing -- there was a lot of emotional distress. We were taught that because of this bow training, we were cleaning what was blocking us, to connect to our soul." Dahn Yoga calls Miller's description of the exercise inaccurate. "These are meditation practices," Alexander said. "They are common throughout Asia, especially in Korea. Generally, people do a smaller number of bows, and they build up to more. I know of no one who does 3,000 bows on a regular basis." And Dahn Yoga instructor Genia Sullivan told CNN, "The practices that we practice are very helpful." "They empower people to really use everything they have to become the best person they can be, and I've benefited greatly from it," Sullivan said. Other Dahn employees sent CNN e-mails supportive of the organization and its leader while this report was being prepared. All praised Lee, with one woman saying she had given her life to him and to the organization. The writers all condemned their former colleagues who have gone to court, and they deny the company is a cult. By all accounts, Dahn Yoga is a booming business. Lee is revered by most of its adherents. But some former employees who say they once loved the organization are now saying far different things. "The problem was way at the top, at the very, very top, things are completely dishonest," Miller said. "And that information trickled down so that everyone is believing one thing, which is a total lie."

Former employees allege Dahn Yoga is "a totalistic, high-demand cult group" The company denies the allegations and calls the plaintiffs "disgruntled former employees" An investigation of the claims about Dahn Yoga on tonight's Campbell Brown, 8 ET .

WOODBURY, Minnesota (CNN) -- At 14, Andrew Busskohl got a second chance at life when he underwent a heart transplant. But four years later, neighbors have more fear than compassion for him. Police say Andrew Busskohl plotted to kill a neighbor but was stopped before it got to that point. Busskohl, 18, has been charged with two felony counts relating to a break-in attempt. But police say he was up to something more sinister: a murder plot that involved cutting out the victim's heart or slicing off his eyelids. Busskohl posted $100,000 bail on condition he undergo psychological evaluation. He's living with his mother and brother in the same neighborhood where authorities say he had planned to carry out his attack. As condition of his release, he is allowed to leave the Woodbury, Minnesota, home only for medical, psychological and legal appointments. Defense attorney Joe Friedberg says that his client is a threat to no one and that his medications affected his mood. "The Woodbury police are excited because they got something that's more serious than a cat up a tree," Friedberg said. "This is a very unique case, and frankly, I don't know the ramifications of anything yet." Busskohl has been charged with one count of first-degree attempted burglary with a dangerous weapon and one count of aggravated harassment with a dangerous weapon. He has not entered a plea in the case. Busskohl's release has sent shockwaves through this quiet Minneapolis suburb of about 50,000 people. Residents say they survey their homes before entering, secure their windows and check behind curtains and other household items once inside. Once rarely used, alarm systems now are on constantly. "My whole family is feeling a lot more nervous," said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "We're just always looking out the windows. ... The whole neighborhood in general is feeling the same way." Tim Kinateder said that his alarm system is on "nonstop now" and that everyone in his family has taken extreme precautions around the home. He didn't mince his words when he spoke of Busskohl being out on bail. "That, to me, is ridiculous. I don't understand how that can happen," Kinateder said. Across the street, Jim Fratto has taken more security measures than most. Fratto sleeps with a baseball bat next to his bed and a flashlight on his nightstand. A 10-foot-long 2 by 4 barricades his bedroom door. He's installed lights with motion sensors on the outside of his home and added locks on his doors, both inside and out. Tour Fratto's high-security house » . It is Fratto who, authorities say, was to be Busskohl's possible victim. He lives just a few blocks from Busskohl. Walking through his home, Fratto shows off the locks on his interior doors. They rattle and clang with every movement. "He's going to have to bang a little bit to get in at me. And hopefully, I'll be able to wake up by then," he said through a wild-eyed gaze and booming laugh. "If not, sayonara." Busskohl admits breaking a window of Fratto's home, police say, in the early hours of August 6. Although it may not sound like much on the surface, police now say it was the first step of the plot. Busskohl was planning to return to that shattered window in the next couple of days for an easy entry, one without commotion, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. The complaint says one of Busskohl's friends, Eric Eischens, went to police shortly after the window-breaking incident. "Mr. Eischens stated that Mr. Busskohl told him that he had come up with a plan on how to murder someone," the complaint says. "Mr. Eischens stated that Mr. Busskohl wanted to find an adult male who lived by himself and within walking distance of the defendant's house." Eischens is quoted in the complaint as also telling police that "Mr. Busskohl stated that he would then either stab the potential victim in the chest or slash his throat. Mr. Busskohl told Mr. Eischens that he would then either cut off the eyelids of the victim or cut out his heart." The complaint alleges that Busskohl acknowledged to police his conversation with his friend but also told them, "I'm not even sure I would have gone through with it." Friedberg, the defense attorney, said he could understand Fratto being "frightened or mad." "The evidence I received, [Busskohl] discussed very openly these things with the police," Friedberg said. "When you said bizarre, that's probably an understatement." Busskohl was taking seven or eight medications -- a combination of anti-rejection medicine for his heart and anti-depressants -- at the time of his arrest, according to Friedberg. He said a doctor who evaluated him in jail recommended that he be taken off one medication and two others be substituted in its place. "Within eight to 10 hours, the bizarre type of thinking he was undergoing was gone," Friedberg says. "If anybody were to meet him and talk to him at this point, he represents no threat to anyone." He has advised his client not to talk with members of the media. In 2004, Busskohl became a common face on local Minnesota media when he underwent a successful heart transplant. Shortly after the surgery, according to the Star Tribune newspaper, he showed off his scar to a reporter and said, "I plan on becoming a surgeon." If convicted on the charges, Busskohl could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $17,500 for the first count and a maximum of 5 years and $10,000 fine for the second count. Busskohl has no prior arrests, and the prosecutor's office said that under the sentencing guidelines of Minnesota, it would be unlikely he'd serve more than 48 months if convicted. His arraignment is set for September 3. According to the criminal complaint filed this month, authorities obtained a search warrant for Busskohl's car and found a swim cap, black gloves, latex gloves, scrubs, gauze, an address card with Fratto's name and address, a map to Fratto's house, shoe covers, a pry bar, a black mask, two bags, one knife, two flashlights, one set of tweezers, two pairs of scissors and one scalpel. Busskohl told authorities the items were there "if [he] somehow went through with the act," according to the complaint. Fratto says it was difficult to grasp when police first informed him of the alleged plot. "I didn't even look at it as a murder plot until they actually started putting it on the news," he said. Standing in his backyard, he pointed into the air. "What bothers me is: If you throw a rock, he's about four blocks away." Although many neighbors said they believe that a much more serious charge of attempted murder should have been pursued, the prosecutor stands by his decision. Washington County attorney Doug Johnson said the two felony counts Busskohl faces are the only ones he could pursue under state law. For a charge of attempted murder, he said, an individual has to follow through on an act "which is a substantial step toward, and more than preparation for, the commission of the crime." "Now I'm not saying I'm happy with that [law]," Johnson said. "But if we have somebody that's just simply preparing to commit the crime and does not take a substantial step toward committing that crime, we can't charge an attempt. And that's what this is all about." As for Fratto, he'll still keep locking his doors, armed with his flashlight and baseball bat. He's thankful to still be alive. "If it wasn't for his friend and the grace of God, that'd be it."

Police: Heart transplant teen planned to cut out possible victim's heart . Andrew Busskohl, 18, charged with two felony counts relating to broken window . Prosecutor stands by charges; neighbors upset teen not facing attempted murder . Defense attorney says teen's medication affected his thinking .

(CNN) -- The same hands that are helping Haiti recover from a massive earthquake could cripple its long-term recovery. That's the concern voiced by some Haitian scholars, natives and relief workers. The world has rallied to Haiti's side since the January 12 earthquake killed at least 217,000 people and displaced at least a million in the impoverished island nation. Yet the same groups that have lined up to help Haitians the past two months -- foreign governments, relief groups and companies pledging to rebuild -- could hobble Haiti's long-term survival, some say. Ronald Agenor, a Haitian-American, says he's grateful for the world's assistance. But he doesn't want the earthquake to wipe out one of his native country's most precious assets: its independence. "We're not a country anymore," said Agenor, a former top-ranked professional tennis player. "It doesn't seem like we have a government. We're a place where people go to give money." How aid can hinder Haiti's government . Much of Haiti's national identity is shaped around its unique history. Haitians are the descendants of the only slaves who revolted against their masters in the 19th century. Haiti, though, has struggled since it broke away from its colonial rulers, the French. Even before the earthquake, unemployment hovered around 50 percent, and more than half of all Haitians live on a dollar a day. Ongoing political instability adds to Haiti's misery. Western nations and relief groups have stepped in over the years to help. But some of that help has backfired, says Alex Dupuy, a native of Haiti and a professor of sociology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. "Haiti has been transformed over the years into an aid-dependent country," Dupuy said. "Much of the aid has further weakened the ability of the state to deliver." In Haiti, the government doesn't provide basic services such as sanitation, electricity and drinking water, Dupuy says. Much of that is provided by non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, like relief groups, he says. "It becomes a vicious cycle," Dupuy said. "The state is never forced to face up to its responsibilities." Educated Haitians could stay and help their country, but many prefer to move elsewhere for more comfortable living, Dupuy says. "There are more Haitian doctors practicing medicine in Montreal than in Haiti," Dupuy said. Full earthquake coverage . Those educated Haitians who do stay are often siphoned off into working for the non-governmental organizations stationed there, says J. Phil Thompson, an urban studies professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has traveled to disaster zones around the world to help communities recover. Thompson says there are about 10,000 NGOs in Haiti. "Haitians often don't want to work for the government, because the salaries can't compete with the donations various intermediaries can pay," Thompson said. Profiting from Haiti's misery . Helping hands have hurt Haiti in the past, some Haitians say. Powerful outsiders took advantage of Haiti's weakened government for profit. Dupuy says that in the early 1970s, Haiti was self-sufficient in its rice production. Today, it is the fourth largest importer of rice from American farmers who are subsidized by the U.S. government. The change came about because much of the foreign aid to Haiti had strings attached. Haiti had to remove its tariffs and open its economy to foreign imports, he says. "All of which had devastating impacts on Haitian agriculture," Dupuy said. "Haiti has nothing to show for it. Now it imports 25 percent of the food it consumes." Haiti's impoverished condition also provides opportunity for companies that flock to the country. "It's being used as a haven for cheap labor in the textiles and garment industries," Dupuy says. "Those industries are going to Haiti because there is an abundance of the cheapest labor in the Western hemisphere." Even those companies that promise to help rebuild Haiti must be viewed with suspicion, one scholar says. Haiti's recovery could be hampered by unscrupulous outsiders and opportunistic Haitians who may seize land for themselves by passing their efforts off as "helping the recovery," Thompson said. After Hurricane Katrina wiped out the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana, a group of developers proposed turning the area into a golf course, Thompson says. After the 2004 Asian tsunami, developers proposed building luxury hotels on the fishing communities that had just been wiped out, he added. The same pattern could repeat itself in Port-au-Prince, the capital, to "redevelop" Haiti, Thompson says. "Everywhere I've worked, where there's been a disaster, there's been land grabs by the elite," Thompson said. Haitians say how their country can recover . Haitians can come out of this disaster stronger if they take more control of their destiny, Thompson says. Thompson suggests that Haitians create a social investment fund, which would be used to funnel money that expatriates send to their homeland into investments in renewable energy, education and housing. It's been estimated that up to 36 percent of Haiti's gross national product comes from remittances, or money Haitians receive from other Haitians abroad. "Because Haitians are investing in Haiti, they are going to make sure no one is ripped off," Thompson said of the investment fund. Agenor, the Haitian-American tennis player, recommends an even more subtle change for improving his country's prospects: teach more English to Haitian youth. Creole and French are the primary languages in Haiti. But the best employment opportunities for Haitians rest about an hour's flight away in the U.S., where English is the main language, Agenor says. "We have a French culture, but we're so close to America," said Agenor, who now lives in Los Angeles, California. "When Haitians go to America, they don't speak English. They can't go to college. When other English-speaking islanders go to America, 80 percent of the job is done." Relief groups can help Haitians in the short term by not only providing food, shelter and water but by hiring Haitian workers in reconstruction projects and soliciting their advice, one relief expert says. "There's nothing worse than a bunch of foreigners coming in to fix everything," said David Humphries, a spokesman for CHF International, a humanitarian organization that is in Haiti. "Self-esteem and buy-in are very important for any community. They need to say, 'This is our building, our hospital.' " iReport: Haiti's missing and found . Local input can also avoid wasting precious resources, Humphries says. "You can build a hospital, but if there's no functional road to it, it's a white elephant," Humphries said. "People will despise it. Go in the community, get their input and employ them." Despite the challenges ahead, some Haitians remain optimistic. News accounts of the earthquake's aftermath are filled with stories about the resilience of Haitian people. Maggie Boyer, a Haitian native who is communications director for World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian agency, says the street vendors and the colorful Tap-Tap taxicabs have returned to the streets of Port-au-Prince. "Given our history as the first black republic," Boyer said, "this has left us with the sense that we are good, we can win, and we can go forward."

Massive aid flowing into Haiti could hobble country's recovery, some say . Aid weakens ability of Haitian government to develop, sociologist says . "We're not a country anymore," one Haitian says . Powerful outsiders can use crisis for land grabs, professor says .

New York (CNN) -- Stores across the Northeast were packed with shoppers as people prepared for what could be a historic blizzard set to arrive on Friday. In Reading, Massachusetts, residents were preparing for several feet of snow that could leave them stuck in their homes for days. "It's a zoo in there. There's nothing left on the shelves. ... I think I got every bottle of water that they had in stock," Elizabeth Fraiser told CNN afilliate WHDH. At the Home Depot, another resident said she had essential supplies but wanted to be doubly sure she was ready. "I have a lot of it, but just want to be prepared. You never know," Joanna Spinosa said. A picture posted on the website of CNN affiliate WCVB showed long lines at a gas station in Boston. Travelers looking up flight details on airline websites were seeing the word "Canceled" over and over. And it wasn't just affecting travelers in the Northeast. Nearly 3,300 flights were canceled in anticipation of the storm as emergency crews geared up for inclement weather, most of which was expected late Friday into Saturday. According to the flight-tracking website Flight Aware, airports from Logan in Boston to O'Hare in Chicago to Reagan National in Washington were seeing significant number of flights -- inbound and outbound -- called off for Friday. More than 60 U.S. airports reported flight cancellations, Flight Aware said. Amtrak canceled many trips in the Northeast corridor. The rail transit company said on its website that northbound service from New York's Penn Station would be suspended after 1 p.m Friday. Two ferocious storm systems are expected to converge across the Northeast on Friday and spawn nightmares for a large swath of the country. A wintry blast churning across the nation and a cold front barreling up the East Coast will unite and could dump as much as a foot of snow in New York and up to 3 feet in Boston. Boston could see snowfall of 2 to 3 inches per hour, as frigid gusts swirl across the region. The system has already drawn comparisons to the "Great Blizzard" of 1978, when thousands were stranded as fast-moving snow drifts blanketed highways and left several people dead. The most severe weather is expected to hit Massachusetts between 2 and 5 p.m. on Friday. Gov. Deval Patrick announced Thursday that all non-emergency workers should work from home. He canceled all school classes on Friday. "Be a good neighbor. Check on the elderly," he said, advising residents not to bring portable stoves, charcoal or gas grill indoors out of concern for potential fire hazards or carbon monoxide poisoning. All vehicles must be off the roads by noon on Friday, and Boston's public rail system will halt service at 3:30 p.m. A fleet of 600 snow removers will be manned by municipal workers and contractors as authorities gear up for what they say could be a 36-hour storm. "We are hearty New Englanders and used to these kinds of storms, but I also want to remind people to use common sense and stay off the streets," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Forecasters warned of potential white-out conditions across New England and parts of New York. "If you are on the highway and you are stuck, you are putting yourself in danger," said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. Meanwhile, residents stocked up after authorities announced that public schools across several New England states would not hold classes Friday. "They're coming in buying shovels, ice melts and sleds," said Atton Shipman, who works at Back Bay Hardware in Boston. Social media was abuzz with chatter about the incoming weather. "Just a reminder of what the ground looks like in case anyone forgets in a couple of days," tweeted Ryan Pickering, after posting a close-up photo of a Rhode Island roadway. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency officials said that they were busy salting roadways. "Travel may become nearly impossible with blowing/drifting snow and near zero visibility during the height of the storm (Friday afternoon into Saturday morning)," the agency said in a statement. "Motorized vehicles are asked to stay off the roads if they can during the storm to allow snow plows to clear the roads." Crews began preparing snow plows at Logan International Airport, where officials said the storm is expected to cause more flight delays and cancellations. United Airlines said customers in storm-affected cities will be allowed to reschedule their itineraries "with a one-time date or time change, and the airline will waive the change fees." Delta, Jet Blue, Southwest and other airlines offered their customers similar assurances. In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy said utility companies were bringing additional crews from out of state to deal with potential power outages. Metro-North rail lines could also be closed at any time should winds exceed 40 mph. The Connecticut National Guard has moved equipment to staging places, including several Black Hawk helicopters at Bradley International Airport north of Hartford. In Rhode Island, 300 members of a military police brigade were scheduled to drill on Saturday and Sunday but the drill has been moved up because of the storm. A snow emergency went into effect in the southern Connecticut city of Stamford, beginning at 5 p.m. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the timing of the storm could actually benefit municipal workers. "If it's going to happen, having it happen Friday overnight into Saturday is probably as good timing as we could have," Bloomberg said. "The sanitation department then has the advantage of being able to clean the streets when there's normally less traffic." New York's Air National Guard unit on Long Island has some snowmobiles it can deploy to help with search and rescue or emergency transportation. If Gov. Andrew Cuomo were to order the National Guard to assist, each of New York's Guard's six operating areas will be ready to deploy 10 Humvees and 40 troops trained in disaster response. By late Thursday, the National Weather Service had issued a blizzard warning from 6 a.m. Friday until 1 p.m. Saturday, with wind gusts up to 50 mph, creating dangerous driving conditions with visibilities near zero in white-out conditions. Consolidated Edison, a main utility company for the New York region, said it is preparing additional crews to deal with potential power outages and advised customers to stay clear of downed power lines. Long island Power Authority, which received intense criticism over its handling of Superstorm Sandy, said it was preparing. Record-breaking snowfall could hit Hartford, Connecticut, as well. "We expect snow and then rain, and severe coastal flooding," said CNN meteorologist Sarah Dillingham. Wind will also be a major concern. Gusts could reach 75 mph along Cape Cod and 55 mph in the Long Island Sound and cause coastal flooding, with tides rising about three to five feet. As more miserable weather slams the region, those affected by Superstorm Sandy will be further hampered by high winds, cold temperatures and more beach erosion. Parts of the region are under a blizzard watch. In New Hampshire, there are people who actually want a lot of snow. "Natural snow definitely gets people to remind them that there are winter activities," Lori Rowell, director of marketing for Pats Peak ski resort in Henniker, told CNN affiliate WBZ. Steve Livingston said he usually sells 30 to 35 snowmobiles a week at his shop, but he hasn't sold any in the past week. Sales have been super slow," said Livingston, owner of Livingston's Arctic Cat in Hillsborough. "I hope we get as much snow as we can possibly deal with. That would be like a hot summer day for Hampton Beach for us." CNN's Larry Shaughnessy contributed to this report.

Shoppers pack stores, gas station lines before it begins to snow . More than 3,300 flights across the U.S. canceled for Friday and Saturday . Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy says utility companies bringing additional crews . Forecasters predict as much as 3 feet of snow for Boston this weekend .