Datasets:

girrajjangid

/

mini-platypus

like 0

(CNN) -- Manchester City took a crucial step towards winning the English Premier League title after coming from behind to beat Everton, move top of the table and pile the pressure on to their championship rivals. An early Ross Barkley wonder goal had given Everton the lead at Goodison Park before Sergio Aguero leveled. Bosnia international Edin Dzeko scored twice alowing City to take control of the match before Romelu Lukaku's goal ensured a tense end to the second half. After Liverpool's capitulation against Chelsea last week, City knew they had to win to keep the destination of the title in their own hands. Both Chelsea and Liverpool had hoped that Everton could do them a favor by taking points from City, and the signs were good when Barkley's early strike gave the home side a first half lead. But City came back strongly and, despite a late Everton rally, held on to victory. At the full time whistle the City players collapsed on the pitch, perhaps knowing that the toughest test of their title race was behind them. With two games to go just two points separate Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool. But City's vastly superior goal difference means that if they win their last two games they will secure the Premier League title. "That's what we wanted ultimately," City captain Vincent Kompany said after the game. "If we hopefully play like we can we have goals from all over the pitch so that will make the difference." Earlier in the day, Cardiff City and Fulham tasted the pain and ignominy of Premier League relegation after both teams lost crucial matches. Meanwhile Sunderland, who spent most of the season rooted to the bottom of the table, all but secured survival by improbably defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was an afternoon of high drama across England as promotion and relegation places were being decided in all four professional divisions in warm spring sunshine. But the highest stakes were at play in the Premier League. This was Cardiff City's first ever season in the Premier League, a season that has been defined by defeat, fan unrest and boardroom chaos. Former coach Malky Mackay was controversially fired mid-way through the season by the club's billionaire Malaysian owner Vincent Tan, much to the fans' unhappiness. Mackay's replacement, former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could not spark a renaissance as his team fell into the relegation zone for the majority of the rest of the season. Cardiff traveled to Newcastle United, another club engulfed by boardroom and personnel chaos, needing victory. Instead Shola Ameobi, Loic Remy and Stephen Taylor all scored to secure a 3-0 victory for Newcastle and see Cardiff limp back into the Championship, English football's second tier. Fulham, owned by US billionaire Shahid Kahn, headed the same direction after a 4-1 capitulation against Stoke City. Despite a late season revival led by new coach Felix Magath -- Fulham's third of the season -- there was little fight from the West London team as Stoke pushed Fulham towards relegation. Yet both teams were condemned by an unlikely result at Old Trafford. Sunderland, like Fulham and Cardiff, had changed managerial personnel mid-season as Paolo Di Canio was removed and replaced by former Uruguay international Gus Poyet. A late season Sunderland revival led by young striker Connor Wickham -- once tipped at as a future England international who had instead been farmed out on loan -- had raised the unlikely prospect of survival. And a goal midway through the first half by Swedish international Sebastian Larsson was enough to secure a stunning victory for the Black Cats. The only team that can now catch Sunderland is Norwich City, who play league title chasing Chelsea Sunday. Defeat would all but ensure Sunderland's Premier League safety.

Edin Dzeko scores twice as Man City beat Everton 3-2 . City go top of EPL with two to play . Cardiff and Fulham relegated . Sunderland beat Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-0 .

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Blood clots from a long period of inactivity killed a woman who died last month on a waiting room floor at a New York hospital, the state's medical examiner said Friday. Surveillance video shows Esmin Green on the hospital floor for more than an hour before anyone helps her. The death of Esmin Green attracted media attention worldwide when a security camera captured hospital employees and other patients appearing to ignore her when she slumped out of a chair and began convulsing on the floor. The Jamaican immigrant had been involuntarily admitted to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18 for what the hospital described as "agitation and psychosis." The security video, released earlier this month by the New York Civil Liberties Union, showed that the mother of six waited in a chair for nearly 24 hours before she fell on the floor on June 19. An hour went by before a hospital employee nudged Green, 49, with her foot and summoned help. The NYCLU alleged that hospital records were falsified to show that Green had been "sitting quietly in the waiting room" a little more than 10 minutes after she had stopped moving and 48 minutes after she slid to the floor. Green's autopsy reveals that she died from pulmonary thromboemboli -- blood clots that formed in her legs and eventually made their way into her lungs, according to Ellen Borakove, the medical examiner's spokeswoman. The clots came from deep vein thrombosis, which complicated Green's chronic paranoid schizophrenia. Many people afflicted with deep vein thrombosis are unaware they have the condition, but symptoms including pain or swelling in the leg or shortness of breath. Drugs that stop the clots from forming can help and can also prevent existing clots from growing larger. Doctors recommend that people with deep vein thrombosis avoid long periods of inactivity and frequently exercise their legs during long trips. After the security videos were released, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the hospital, said it was "shocked and distressed by this situation. It is clear that some of our employees failed to act based on our compassionate standards of care." Seven workers, including doctors, nurses and security guards, have been fired or suspended since Green's death, the corporation said. It's not clear whether any of the employees have appealed the disciplinary actions against them. The agency, which acknowledged the discrepancy in the hospital records, said it referred the matter to law enforcement and is cooperating with the investigation. Green's relatives say they plan to file a $25 million lawsuit against the city and the hospital and have called for criminal charges against hospital workers. Kings County Hospital is already the subject of a lawsuit filed in May 2007 alleging that conditions at the facility are filthy. Patients are often forced to sleep in plastic chairs or on floors covered in urine, feces and blood while waiting for beds, the groups allege, and often go without basic hygiene such as showers, clean linens and clean clothes. The lawsuit claims that patients who complain face physical abuse and are injected with drugs to keep them docile. The hospital lacks "the minimal requirements of basic cleanliness, space, privacy, and personal hygiene that are constitutionally guaranteed even to convicted felons," according to the suit. The video of Green's death sent the organizations back into court July 1, demanding immediate reform. Among the reforms agreed to in court by the hospital are additional staffing; checking of patients every 15 minutes; and limiting to 25 the number of patients in the psychiatric emergency ward, officials said. In addition, the hospital said it is expanding crisis-prevention training for staff; expanding space to prevent overcrowding; and reducing patients' wait time for release, treatment or placement in an inpatient bed.

Autopsy says blood clots caused by long period of inactivity killed Esmin Green . Video of Green's June 19 death has received worldwide attention . The video appears to show hospital workers ignoring her lying on the floor . Her family says they intend to sue Kings County Hospital in New York .

(CNN) -- Father Alberto Cutie, an internationally known Catholic priest who admitted having a romantic affair and breaking his vow of celibacy, is joining the Episcopal Church to be with the woman he loves, he said Thursday. Father Alberto Cutie will deliver a sermon Sunday at a Florida Episcopal Church. "I will always love the Catholic Church and all its members," he said at a news conference. "But I want to start today by going into a new family. "Here before this community where I have chosen to serve and where I live, I am going to continue to proclaim the word of God and my love for God," Cutie said. Cutie (pronounced koo-tee-AY) was received into the Episcopal Church earlier Thursday at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami, Florida. He will pursue the priesthood in the Episcopalian faith, the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida said in a written statement. It was not immediately clear how long the process would take. John C. Favalora, archbishop of the Catholic Church's Miami archdiocese, where Cutie served, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the news. "Father Cutie's actions have caused grave scandal within the Catholic Church, harmed the Archdiocese of Miami -- especially our priests -- and led to division within the ecumenical community and the community at large," Favalora said in a written statement. "Today's announcement only deepens those wounds." Cutie -- sometimes called "Father Oprah" because of the advice he's given in Spanish-language media -- shocked the Catholic community when photographs of him embracing a bathing-suit-clad woman emerged this month in the pages of TV Notas magazine. The Cuban-American priest admitted having a two-year relationship with the woman, a long-time friend. She has not been publicly identified. "This is something I've struggled with," he said this month. "I don't support the breaking of the celibacy promise." Of his relationship with the woman, he said, "Through the photos, it looked like a frivolous thing on the beach, you know, and that's not what it is. It's something deeper than that." After the photographs surfaced, Cutie was removed from his duties at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Miami Beach and on the Radio Paz and Radio Peace Networks. In Thursday's statement, Favalora said that, in the eyes of the Catholic church, Cutie now has the worst of both worlds: He may no longer perform a priest's sacraments and any mass he might perform would be "invalid," but he must abide by his vow of celibacy. "Father Cutie is still bound by his promise to live a celibate life, which he freely embraced at ordination," Favalora said. "Only the Holy Father can release him from that obligation." He had been president and general director of Pax Catholic Communications, home of Radio Paz and Radio Peace. In addition to his television and radio appearances, Cutie has written newspaper advice columns and a self-help book, "Real Life, Real Love." The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida said Cutie will deliver a sermon Sunday at a church that diocese leaders are looking to restore: the Church of the Resurrection in Biscayne Park. Cutie will be a part of this effort to revitalize this church and others, the diocese said. Cutie was the first Catholic priest to host a daily talk show on a major secular television network, according to his information on the LinkedIn online professional network. Favalora also had harsh words for the Episcopal church's decision to accept Cutie. "This truly is a serious setback for ecumenical relations and cooperation between us," he said.

NEW: Archbishop at Miami archdiocese "deeply disappointed" Alberto Cutie leaves Catholic church to be with woman he loves . Cutie joining Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida . Priest had been photographed with woman in bathing suit last month .

(CNN) -- Mexico is not heading to Brazil simply to make up the numbers -- it's looking to go all the way. That is the belief of Javier Hernandez, who has his eyes firmly fixed on leading his side all the way to the World Cup final. El Tri face a challenge to get out of a tricky group, which also features Cameroon and Croatia in addition to host and tournament favorite, Brazil. But Hernandez insists a nation which has never gone further than the quarterfinal stage in the past can make history this time around. "Our mind is on the final, really," he told CNN. "I think every national team has the same possibilities to win the World Cup. "It's a very short competition and anything could happen, so our goal is to get into the final and to try to win it. "There's no point going to a competition and just thinking: 'We're just going to play three games.' That's not the point if you want to make history." The striker will take heart from his side's performance at the 2010 World Cup after it progressed from a group which included France, Uruguay and host nation, South Africa. The 25-year-old scored twice in the tournament before Mexico eventually crashed out to Argentina with a 3-1 defeat in the second round. Should El Tri get that far this time around it could come up against reigning champion Spain or 2010 runner-up Netherlands in the last 16. Hernandez, though, says the big boys of the tournament hold no fear for a nation competing at their sixth straight World Cup. "If you want to win the World Cup you need to play against the best national teams in the world. We know that if we have a very good group stage and get through, obviously the teams that we could face in the next match are going to be very difficult," he said. "But there's no easy national team really -- you need to play against the best." Mexico's most impressive World Cup campaigns to date came in 1970 and 1986, where they made the quarterfinal stage as the tournament's hosts on both occasions. And Hernandez feels that with Brazil sharing similar conditions to his country of birth, El Tri have a better chance than many this summer. "It's normal and it's logical that Mexico are going to find it a little bit easier because of the way the weather in Brazil," he added. "It's quite similar to our country, and obviously for countries like England or other European countries which are colder or have a different type of weather, it's going to be a little more difficult for them." Hernandez joined Manchester United in 2010 after impressing as a youngster at local Mexican side Club Deportivo Guadalajara, where he came through the youth ranks. Despite enjoying initial success at Old Trafford, he found life tough under manager David Moyes last season and was limited to just six Premier League starts. But Hernandez, who has racked up 58 caps for Mexico since making his international debut in 2009, is determined to put a frustrating campaign behind him and get back to his best in Brazil. "It was a very difficult year for me especially because I couldn't play and I couldn't help my team," he said. "But my head now is 100% on the national team. I'm very focused and very concentrated on this World Cup. "I want to do my best, to give my best to my teammates and to the coaching staff. Like I told you, [I want] to try and make history in this World Cup." Hernandez was reticent about his future at United and refused to talk about it while on international duty. But when asked to comment, he said: "I think there is going to be time after [the World Cup] that I am going to speak about that."

Javier Hernandez says Mexico are looking to make history at the World Cup . The 25-year-old believes El Tri can reach the final in Brazil . Mexico have never been past the quarterfinal stage at a World Cup . Manchester United striker has won 58 international caps .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Tyler Perry has, for the first time, revealed graphic details about the sexual, physical and emotional abuse he says he suffered as a child. "I'm tired of holding this in," Tyler Perry wrote on his Web site, "... so I've decided to give some away." Perry recounts in a message posted on his Web site and in an e-mail to fans that a prescreening of the film "Precious," due out later this year, dislodged "some raw emotions and brought me to some things and places in my life that I needed to deal with but had long forgotten. It brought back memories so strong that I can smell and taste them." Perry is an executive producer of the movie, which tells the tale of Claireece "Precious" Jones, an illiterate, obese 16-year-old girl from Harlem who is emotionally and physically abused. The 40-year-old producer says he can identify with the character, and he recalls a number of incidents from his childhood. Emmitt Perry Sr., a construction worker, uttered profane insults at him and relentlessly beat and belittled him, Perry says. The random, violent beatings were commonplace until Perry was 19, he said. "You ... jackass! You got book sense but you ain't got no ... common sense," he quotes his father as saying. "I heard this every day of my childhood," says Perry. Attempts to reach Emmitt Perry Sr. for comment were unsuccessful. Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. but changed his name to distance himself from his father. One night when his mother was gone, Perry says, his drunken father "got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back." Perry says that while at a playmate's house when he was about 10 years old, his friend's scantily clad mother locked the friend in the bathroom and told Perry to leave. "I was at the front door trying to get out, when she came in and laid on the sofa and asked me if I wanted the key. I told her I had to go home as it was getting dark. "She put the key inside of herself and told me to come get it, pulling me on top of her," Perry writes on his site. Perry said he was sickly as a child, and that made his father angry. His grandmother contended the family was wasting money on allergy shots. She said Perry had germs on him. One day when Perry's mother was away, he said, his grandmother decided "to kill those germs on me once and for all. She gave me a bath in ammonia." The violence in the home caused Perry's mother to pack up the car with him and his sisters and drive from Louisiana to California. Her husband reported the car stolen, and the family members went to jail until the father came to get them. Perry said his father beat his mother all the way home. The producer said he got through by turning to God, and he forgave his tormentors to help himself heal. Perry, who previously has spoken publicly in more general terms about his childhood abuse, explains his latest revelations this way: "I'm tired of holding this in. I don't know what to do with it anymore, so I've decided to give some away." In October 2008, he told Ebony magazine: "I tell people, if you're thinking about suicide, all that stuff I've attempted and thought about it. If you think about it, life gets better. The key to life when it gets tough is to keep moving. Just keep moving." Perry also is the writer, director and actor in boisterous comedies such as "Madea's Family Reunion" and "I Can Do Bad All By Myself."

Tyler Perry said seeing "Precious" brought back memories of abuse . Perry, who co-produced the film, wrote a blog entry about "raw emotions" it stirred . Turning to God helped him forgive and heal, Perry says . "Precious" is about an illiterate, obese Harlem girl who is abused .

(CNN)On Wednesday night, Jimmy Fallon opened "The Tonight Show" with a big reveal: a first look at the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, featuring model Hannah Davis, and quite a lot of her at that. The ultra-revealing cover shows Davis pulling down her already-minuscule bikini bottoms to within a millimeter of an area typically reserved for intimate partners and gynecologists. She's been waxed, it is evident, to bald perfection. One wrong breath, and she'd expose actual labia (how's that for newsstand-appropriate?) Of course, Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit spectacular has never been without controversy. It's almost intended for controversy. Last year's cover featured three topless models, although they faced away from the camera. Supermodel Kate Upton's 2012 cover featured her in similarly barely there bikini bottoms. Putting aside the fact that a woman is more likely to end up on the cover of Sports Illustrated for her ability to look amazing in a bikini than for her accomplishments as an athlete -- and indeed few press mentions of Davis' cover have noted that she is a former tennis champion, while few have omitted the fact that she is Derek Jeter's girlfriend -- it's possible to consider the notion that the issue's purpose is to celebrate the female form, with a side of swimwear. I'm not opposed to celebrating beauty, especially when a woman works hard to achieve and maintain it. The idea of "if you have it, use it" is OK by me, even if the beauty the swimsuit issue tends to show off is a very specific sort of beauty. (Indeed, perhaps the biggest disappointment is that Davis' headline-generating cover overshadows what truly is a positive step for female empowerment: the issue's first-ever inclusion of a plus-size model, Robyn Lawley, and in a bikini of her own design, no less. But you're hearing far less about that.) This year, though, Sports Illustrated has gone too far. In the photo, Davis eager pulls down her bikini bottom and thrusts forward her pelvis in a way that's clearly meant to draw the eye to that very spot between her legs -- far more so than her eyes, or even her breasts. It's an invitation to picture her naked, and more. And in case there was any ambiguity of what the image is supposed to evoke, there's the clever cover line that begins: "Hannah Davis Goes Down South. ... " It is explicitly explicit, and as such impossible not to view it as intending to reduce women to billboards and sex objects. Claiming to portray Davis this way in the name of "celebrating the female form" is a lie balder than her nether region. Plus-size models give SI's swimsuit edition more curves . After all, if the point isn't to objectify women for the pleasure of the male gaze, why has no one created a counterpart magazine featuring a scantily dressed man? Why are men so rarely offered up as objects to behold? Men aren't the only ones who like to "appreciate the beauty" of the opposite sex. If the point isn't to objectify women, and subvert them in some way, then why isn't there a similar model for men? Instead, most examples of men gracing magazine covers with their bodies on display are for men's magazines, with a male readership. Why is it normal to "celebrate the female form" but not the male one? Maybe that's next. But it's highly doubtful. The only thing remaining that could be more shocking than this year's cover image would be if the magazine decided next year to run a cover of a supermodel in a (gasp!) one-piece swimsuit. Risqué indeed!

Peggy Drexler: SI swimsuit edition cover baldly about reducing women to sex objects . Drexler asks why is there no heralded magazine cover showing a man . Why is it only normal to "celebrate the female form"? she asks .

Boston (CNN) -- You might not consider baseball or basketball players to be your typical business travelers. But the realities of life for professional athletes, whose job requires them to spend months on the road each year, means they become every bit as travel hardened as the most experienced sales executive. Golf legend Gary Player claims to have racked up about 15 million miles during his career, while Major League Baseball teams play 162-games a season, traveling across the United States in the process. Bill Acree, director of team travel for baseball outfit the Atlanta Braves, says his team spends nearly a third of the year on the road, so they look for comfort. The team stays in luxury hotels, with good 24-hour room service, and privacy and security are major concerns. Sporting events are big business for the travel industry, with the U.S. Travel Association estimating they account for more than a quarter of the entire travel market -- worth about $182 billion a year in the United States alone. For the hotels that do play host to traveling sports clubs, although those teams might only comprise a relatively small percentage of a hotel's trade, their reliability makes them an important part of their business. Increasingly, hotels are pulling out all the stops to cater to the particular needs of their high-profile guests. See also: Gary Player, road warrior . That means many hotels boasting state-of-the-art gym equipment, to allow athletes to work out on the road. But it also means putting special procedures in place to give sports stars the most comfortable guest experience. Boston is a sports-mad city. Its teams -- including baseball's Red Sox, football's Patriots, basketball's Celtics and hockey's Bruins -- have won championships in every major American sport. Local hotels The Liberty and The Westin are no strangers to visiting sports stars. Mike Jorgensen, general manager of the Westin Copley Place, said about half of the baseball teams that come to town to play the Red Sox stay at his hotel. "When you get into the summer months, we might be checking one baseball team out and checking another one right back in," he said. Acree said that typically, when the Braves check in, the hotel staff have each player's key packet laid out on a desk ready to go, so the entire team can be checked in a matter of minutes. Jorgensen explained: "The key is to get them in and up as quickly as possible, so that the big stars ... aren't bothered by the autograph seekers and that sort of thing." At The Liberty, general manager Rachel Moniz says her staff whisks athletes in via a secret entrance unknown to the general public. "We have a private back entrance and no other hotel guests know about this," she said. "We always have two elevator attendants, so both elevators are used exclusively for the professional sports teams that's coming in." Moniz said that by bypassing the regular check-in in the lobby, her team can have the arriving athletes in their rooms in "four minutes door to door." Athletes have certain requirements that the average guest doesn't. Some need extra-long beds and, because they spend so much time on the road, some have complicated family arrangements, requiring tact in deciding which rooms to place them in. "I would say that things can get a little complicated when families start to arrive, especially if somebody has multiple ex-wives, kids," said Moniz. "You really get to understand a little bit better somebody's family dynamic, and how to handle that and where the connecting rooms should be and which floors they should be on." Jorgensen said football teams in particular had special demands around food and drink. "Football teams want to make sure we have on every floor Gatorade, Powerade, fruit," he said. "You know football players eat a lot so we need to keep them with enough food all the time to keep them busy." As for the best behaved athletes? Moniz and Jorgensen agree that hockey players are the most hassle-free guests.

Professional athletes are valued regular guests at luxury hotels . They can have special requirements for check-in, privacy, food -- even bed size . Hockey players are the best behaved, according to two Boston hotel managers .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- It probably would have been just another ho-hum city council budget meeting. Except that the leader of Atlanta's police union, and second-highest ranking member of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said he wanted to beat Atlanta's mayor with a bat. "I want to beat her [Mayor Shirley Franklin] in the head with a baseball bat sometimes when I think about it," Sgt. Scott Kreher said into a microphone earlier this month in an apparent off-hand remark during a presentation he was giving to the council. Within days, the 17-year department veteran was suspended. Kreher said the "it" that made him want to club the mayor was that, despite repeated complaints, the police union contends the city is not honoring workers' compensation claims for cops whose careers ended when they were seriously injured on the job. Franklin, one of the nation's high-profile mayors, told CNN on Tuesday that the officers' complaints are a "separate issue" from Kreher's comments. "Some people think I'll just shake it off," she said of the sergeant's threat. "I can't shake off an officer at City Hall -- not in his shower or in his front yard, but in official capacity -- threatening to hit me in the head with a bat. That is a severe act of violence. When you hit someone with a bat, you intend to kill them." The police officers union called a news conference Thursday, in part, to defend Kreher, who's their second-highest ranking member. Three officers in wheelchairs were there, at times crying, their voices raised, as they told their stories of being shot on duty and paralyzed for life. They say they've made repeated calls for months to city officials to get help with their medical claims and have been ignored. They are part of a group of officers alleging that NovaPro, a San Diego-based private insurance company, has refused or made it difficult for them to get the medication they need to alleviate pain and repair or replace medical equipment. "I've been calling the mayor's office for more than a year, and no one has called me back or I've been told to talk to another department. Kreher called me back the same day," said Ryan Phinney, a 43-year-old paraplegic whose squad car was T-boned in 1989. He said he suffered with kidney stones, made more painful due to his paralysis, because NovaPro either ignored or rejected his claims for months. "Kreher was defending us against people who refused to listen, and that is so offensive. It's no wonder he got upset," Phinney said. The city used to provide its own services, but "there were concerns about internal management," Franklin's office explained to CNN, so it began contracting in 2004 with NovaPro. The police union complained for months about the company. Atlanta officials this month renewed the city's agreement with NovaPro for $3.7 million over three years, saying no other company they're aware of was in position to do a better job. Russ Whitmarsh, chief operating officer of NovaPro, referred all questions about the officers' allegations to city officials. Mayor Franklin's spokesperson issued this statement to CNN: . "We are aware of the complaints of the five injured former Atlanta police officers. We greatly respect the service of these officers on behalf of Atlanta and the sacrifice they have made. The City of Atlanta has worked and will continue working with the employees' attorneys to address their current complaints. We take that responsibility and obligation seriously and intend to address every complaint within the framework of the Workers' Compensation Act." A few days after the bat comment, Kreher apologized to Franklin in a letter, which was published on the union Web site. He called his remark "inexcusable," explaining that it sprung from "frustration and anger."

Atlanta police union head says he got frustrated at city meeting . Other cops quick to defend him, saying mayor is ignoring larger issue . Police: Company refusing to help cops injured in the line of duty . Mayor Franklin's spokesperson says mayor will work to address complaints .

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit to Baghdad on Friday to congratulate its citizens for last weekend's "remarkable" Iraq-led provincial elections, a process he said "augurs well for the transition process and the solidifying of Iraq's national reconciliation." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, meets Friday in Baghdad with Iraq President Jalal Talabani. On a tour that also has taken him to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ban met with Iraqi leaders and appeared at a news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose allies won big in nine of the 14 provinces where the local elections were held. "I have been following the electoral process closely from the early days of the parliamentary debate over the elections law last summer to the final stages of adjudication of the complaints and yesterday evening's release of the provisional results," Ban said at the news conference, according to prepared remarks issued by the United Nations. "It will be some days before final results are known, but current indications are that the elections have been successfully carried out." Ban last visited Iraq in 2007. In March of that year, he got a taste of the violence that often rocks the Iraqi capital. An explosion rattled Baghdad's International Zone, where he was holding a televised news conference with al-Maliki. Apparently used to such blasts, al-Maliki remained stoic, while Ban briefly ducked before regaining his composure and continuing. Now, he said, he's "very much impressed to have witnessed myself the great success and progress the Iraqi government and people have made under the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki, and I congratulate you," he said, emphasizing the improvements in security. The secretary-general praised the turnout of millions of voters in "an environment free of violence," a development he called a "remarkable achievement" in a strife-torn nation. "Iraq has come a long way in taking their own affairs in hand, this being the first Iraqi-led and Iraqi-owned electoral process. It is a tribute to the growing effectiveness of the Iraqi security forces, and testifies to the increasing stability in the country," he said. Ban praised Iraqi election officials, the local U.N. office and its special representative, Staffan de Mistura, and election workers. Voters in 14 of 18 provinces turned out last weekend to elect provincial councils. The nation's three Kurdish provinces will hold elections in May, and voting in Tameem province has been suspended because of political disputes in Kirkuk. "This marks an important event, these being the first polls to affect the day-to-day lives of Iraqi voters," Ban said. "In fact, these elections are about real power, in the sense that local leaders are nominated to be accountable for the delivery of basic services." The United Nations helped Iraq with logistics in its election process and plans to help in this year's parliamentary elections and to deal with sticky disputes, such as the status of Kirkuk and disputes over some internal boundaries. Al-Maliki thanked the United Nations for the supportive role it played. He noted that the provincial elections "changed the political map" of Iraq, but he said the elections were successful for all Iraqis. He said he was proud people voted for blocs based on political goals and not along sectarian and ethnic lines. Ban also met with the three members of the presidency council -- Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

U.N. secretary-general visits Iraq, lauds "remarkable" elections there . Ban Ki-Moon last visited Iraq in 2007, when violence was still raging . Voters in 14 of 18 provinces turned out last weekend to cast ballots . Iraq prime minister thanks United Nations for assistance, support .

(CNN) -- As Facebook continues the slow rollout of a tool to let users search out others by using common interests or other personal information, the site emphasized Thursday that minors will get special privacy protections. Graph Search capitalizes on Facebook's massive bank of data about its users, or "social graph," to seek out friends, or other users who have made their information public, using information about them. So, for example, you could seek out friends who "like" director Quentin Tarantino to make an invite list to see "Django Unchained" Friday night or remind yourself which of your friends are over 21 and live in Austin, Texas, to do some bar-hopping while you're in town. But privacy advocates are worried. While Graph Search won't show you any information that you couldn't see otherwise, it does pull all that data together in one place in a way that could have some creepy uses. Say, searching for the names of girls who attend a certain middle school. That's the sort of thing Facebook aims to prevent. Details including birthday, school, hometown and current city will only be available about users under 18 to their friends and friends of friends. And friends of friends will only be able to see them if they, too, are under 18. "What we really wanted to do was try to identify things that could be even more sensitive for minors -- that would identify them by their age and location," Nicky Jackson Colaco, Facebook's manager of Privacy & Safety, told CNN Thursday. "Those kind of things are more sensitive and we wanted to really make sure they had an even more restrictive experience." Of course, she noted, the extra protections only kick in if minors are honest about the age they give to register for the site. "This is true across Facebook. It's really important to us that minors represent their real age," she said, urging parents to make sure their children are doing so. "If they tell us they're 25, they're not getting these protections and a lot of other protections we offer." Separate from Graph Search, Facebook already limits some content posted by minors to "Friends of Friends" only, even if the young user has made it public. The site's minimum age is 13. The tool was announced last month by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The new search feature lets you draw connections between people, their profile information and their interests on Facebook. In theory, it's a good recipe for finding recommendations for doctors, businesses, products, TV shows or bands. It can also be used to find people that fit a specific profile, such as "men over 30 who live in Cleveland." Users will be able to seek out people who aren't their Facebook friends using the tool. But the only information they'll see are things that a user has posted as "public" to the site. Graph Search currently has only been made available to a handful of early testers. But some of them have used it in ways they say raise privacy concerns. British tech blogger and "gadget geek" Tom Scott created a blog called "Actual Facebook Graph Searches." While some are humorous (people who like both the anti-gay marriage Focus on the Family and openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris) others suggested something more troubling. For example, he shows a search for family members of people of Chinese descent who like Falun Gong, the religious movement banned in China. Or one for Islamic men living in Tehran, Iran, who are romantically interested in other men. (Homosexuality is illegal there). The searches could then be refined to see photos of the users, their friends and places they've worked. Facebook has emphasized privacy settings to keep such information from being publicly visible and said they're continuing to fine-tune the tool as it rolls out. In December, Facebook overhauled it's privacy controls, adding a handful of features while simplifying and clarifying how existing features work.

Facebook Graph Search to have extra protections for minors . Info on users under 18 will be hidden from the search . That info includes birthday, school, current city and hometown . Graph Search lets users search for others by common interests .

(CNN) -- Colin Montgomerie might have masterminded Europe's charge to wrest the Ryder Cup back from the United States in 2010 but a hat-trick of the continent's best players are adamant he should not be allowed to reprise his role. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy reiterated his support for 2012 vice captain Paul McGinley on the day he announced a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Nike. The 23-year-old -- a two-time major winner -- claimed Montgomerie would have "nothing to gain" from taking the job on again and his stance was backed by English pair Ian Poulter and Luke Donald. McGinley, a three-time Ryder Cup winner as a player, captained McIlroy at the Seve Trophy in 2009, when Great Britain and Ireland played against Continental Europe. "It's something I feel quite strongly about; I feel Paul deserves his chance," McIlroy told CNN from Abu Dhabi. "He's been vice captain a few times, he's holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup. "I played under him as a captain in the Seve Trophy a few years ago and thought he was the best captain I've ever played under. "I think he's very deserving and I think it would almost be a little unfair if he didn't get it." Earlier, at his Nike press conference, McIlroy said: "I personally don't feel Monty has anything to gain over this. "If we go to Gleneagles and lose, he's already a winning Ryder Cup captain. I'm fully behind Paul and I think Paul should get the job and hopefully he does." Poulter was instrumental in Europe's comeback against the U.S. in the latest installment of the biannual team competition, as they recovered from a 10-6 deficit to retain the trophy in what was known as 'The Miracle of Medinah' in October. Donald delivered two vital points -- one in Saturday's fourballs and again in the crucial opening singles match against 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson. Along with McIlroy, both were instrumental in Montgomerie's winning turn at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010 but none of the trio think the legendary Scot should be appointed again. It had seemed to be a straight battle between 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke, and Irish compatriot McGinley, who both served as vice captains to Jose Maria Olazabal in Chicago. But when the Americans turned once again to Tom Watson, the last U.S. captain to triumph on European soil in 1993, Montgomerie's name began to circulate. Boulden: What kind of Nike poster boy will Rory McIlroy be? Ahead of the announcement on either Tuesday or Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, Montgomerie has emerged as favorite and the 49-year-old has confirmed he would do it again if asked. But Poulter took to micro-blogging site Twitter to say: "Darren (Clarke) has taken his name out of the running for Ryder Cup captaincy. It would be fantastic to have Paul McGinley as the 2014 captain." His view was shared by Donald, who became the first man to top the money lists on both the European and PGA Tour in 2011. He tweeted: "I hope Paul McGinley gets his chance, he's been an amazing Vice Captain and deserves an opportunity." The announcement will be made after a 15-man committee that includes Montgomerie, Clarke and McGinley meets to decide.

Rory McIlroy reiterates support for Paul McGinley in Ryder Cup captain race . World No. 1 backs Irishman for Europe's 2014 contest with United States in Scotland . McIlroy says Colin Montgomerie has "nothing to gain" by doing job again . Ian Poulter and Luke Donald also back McGinley to take captaincy .

(CNN) -- Jacqueline Kennedy was still wearing the blood-stained watermelon pink suit when she got to the White House in the early-morning hours after her husband was shot dead. She had refused to take it off at Parkland Hospital in Dallas or on the flight back to Washington with the body of her husband. Once at the White House, her personal maid put the suit in a bag so Mrs. Kennedy wouldn't have to look at it. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, she looked "smashing" in the suit, which may be why the President asked Jackie to wear the now-famous outfit to Dallas on November 22, 1963. The suit looked like a Coco Chanel, it was actually a knockoff, made in the United States. The first lady wore it at least six times before that fateful day. She was known for her fashion sense. Museums have hosted collections of her gowns, hats and jewelry. In Fort Worth on the morning of November 22, the President even joked about his wife's style. "Two years ago, I introduced myself in Paris by saying that I was the man who had accompanied Mrs. Kennedy to Paris. I am getting somewhat that same sensation as I travel around Texas. Nobody wonders what Lyndon (Johnson) and I wear," Kennedy quipped. Hours later, Jackie Kennedy was trying to crawl out of the presidential limo, her suit spattered with her husband's blood. When aides suggested she change her clothes, she refused. "Her remark, I think she made it more than once is, 'No, I'm going to leave these clothes on. I want them to see what they have done,' " author Philip Shenon said. JFK assassination a collective memory for American children . Hours later, Kennedy continued to wear the suit during the emergency swearing in of Johnson as President. "That whole scene is obviously just surreal," Shenon said. "She arrives in the cabin in Air Force One in these clothes, covered with the President's blood, and she's expected to stand there and witness the swearing in of her husband's successor." The suit today is in the National Archives building in Maryland. It came in a box, along with a handwritten note from Jackie Kennedy's mother on her personal stationery. It read simply: "Jackie's suit and bag - worn November 22nd, 1963." The suit was never cleaned. The public hasn't seen the suit since the assassination and won't for another 90 years. Opinion: 50 years on, the enduring lessons of JFK's presidency . In 2003, nine years after her mother's death, Caroline Kennedy gave the suit as a gift to the people of the United States with the understanding that it would not be put on display until 2103. And even then, the Kennedy family will have to be consulted before any attempt is made to display it. They want to avoid sensationalizing the horrible act. Also hidden from view in the new archives building in Maryland: the blue blouse Jackie Kennedy wore beneath the pink suit, her stockings, blue shoes and blue purse. What they don't have is the first lady's iconic pink pillbox hat. "The hat is a mystery," said Shenon, who wrote "A Cruel and Shocking Act." "The hat apparently goes to the Secret Service initially and the Secret Service turns it over to Mrs. Kennedy's private secretary, and then it disappears. It has not been seen since." The archive has the suit stored in a windowless vault, in an acid free container, where the air is changed three times an hour to properly maintain the wool and cloth. It is kept at a temperature of 65 to 68 degrees, which is best for the fabric. Boy who witnessed JFK assassination recalls the day .

The suit was a knockoff of a Coco Chanel design . Jacqueline Kennedy had worn it on several occasions before Dallas . It will be stored safely until 2103 under Kennedy family orders . The whereabouts of the pink pillbox hat remain a mystery .

Paris, France (CNN) -- The fiery crash that brought down a Concorde supersonic jet in 2000, killing 113 people, was caused partially by the criminal negligence of Continental Airlines and a mechanic who works for the company, a French court ruled Monday. Continental Airlines was fined 202,000 euros ($268,400) and ordered to pay 1 million euros to Air France, which operated the doomed flight. Mechanic John Taylor received a fine of 2,000 euros ($2,656) and a 15-month suspended prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. The aircraft manufacturer EADS was also found partly responsible for the crash and ordered to pay 30% of damages to victims involved in the case. Air France has already paid an unspecified sum in damages to the families of most of the victims of the only crash ever of a Concorde. The mechanic was the only person found guilty in the trial before a judicial panel in the Paris suburb of Pontoise. He was not present for the verdict. His former supervisor, Stanley Ford, and three French officials were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Henri Perrier, Jacques Herubel and Claude Frantzen were responsible for the design, testing and certification of the Concorde. The charges had said the engineers could have acted much earlier to correct well-known design flaws in the plane. Lawyers for Continental and Taylor rejected the guilty verdicts. "I am shocked by this verdict, Taylor's lawyer Francois Esclatine said. "I haven't had a chance to speak with my client yet, but I will tell him that he should appeal." Olivier Metzner, a lawyer for Continental, said the airline "will not let itself be pushed around in this way and we will definitely appeal." The airline called the verdict "absurd" in a statement. Saying that the airline and Taylor were "the sole guilty parties shows the determination of the French authorities to shift attention and blame away from Air France," which operated the flight and maintained the aircraft, Continental said. "To find that any crime was committed in this tragic accident is not supported either by the evidence at trial or by aviation authorities and experts around the world," the statement said. Air France, which was a plaintiff in the Concorde trial, posted a statement on its website saying, the French national carrier "welcomed the decision of the criminal court which recognizes Continental's full criminal and civil liability in the Concorde accident." The Concorde burst into flames and smashed into a hotel on takeoff on July 25, 2000. Air France stopped flying the supersonic jets in 2003. A Continental Airlines plane that took off shortly before the doomed flight was found to have played a key role in the crash. A titanium strip allegedly fell off a Continental DC-10 which took off just before the Concorde. Judicial investigators say the strip was improperly installed on the DC-10 engine, prompting the charges against the airline, Ford and Taylor. A lawyer for the American airline had argued that Concorde's problems were apparent decades before the crash and that Continental was not to blame. An investigation revealed a tragic chain of events that brought down Air France Flight 4590 shortly after takeoff from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport: a tire under the left wing blew on takeoff when it struck the small strip of titanium on the runway. The blown tire sent debris into the wing, causing the fuel tank to rupture and sparking the catastrophic fire that led to the crash that killed 100 passengers, nine crew and four people on the ground. CNN's Ayesha Durgahee contributed to this report.

NEW: Aircraft maker EADS is also ordered to pay damages . French authorities are trying to shift blame away from Air France, Continental says . Mechanic John Taylor is the only person convicted . The crash killed 113 people in 2000 .

(CNN) -- The man they call the "Wizard of Ballydoyle" has got a master apprentice. Irish champion trainer Aidan O'Brien has a reputation as a brilliant tutor of horses, but his most prized protege is now his eldest son, Joseph. The pair galloped into the history books last season as the first father and son -- in the role of trainer and jockey -- to win England's Epsom Derby, one of the world's most famous flat races, with Camelot. "It works well," Joseph, who is his father's first-choice jockey, told CNN's Winning Post. "We both discuss what way we're going to ride the horse and it doesn't always go to plan -- it usually doesn't -- but when it does it is great." Joseph is lean, rosy-cheeked and softly-spoken -- and modest too. The 20-year-old rode his first winner, trained by his father, at Leopardstown in 2009 just days after his 16th birthday. Since then the O'Brien father-and-son combination has claimed high-profile victories in England, Ireland, the U.S. and Dubai on celebrated horses including Camelot and St Nicholas Abbey. "I suppose Joseph has never known anything else since he was a baby," said O'Brien, surveying the Ballydoyle yard tucked away in the heart of the Irish countryside in County Tipperary. "He probably knows how we think better than anybody. He knows when it goes wrong too -- he's the first to admit it." O'Brien learnt his trade from his own father, a farmer and small-scale trainer in County Wexford, Ireland, before becoming a jockey, who dabbled in training on the side. The 44-year-old was Ireland's amateur champion jockey but it was his knack of training horses that saw him snapped up by Coolmore, Ireland's global breeding and training powerhouse, in 1995. He has been Ireland's champion trainer since 1998 and British champion trainer four times, guiding great horses such as Giant's Causeway, Galileo and High Chapparal. With such a prestigious brand to protect, not to mention family honor, does O'Brien treat his son differently? "No, I don't think so," answered O'Brien in a straightforward manner. "He's seen it all and heard it all good and bad. "It's obviously a much closer relationship as we all live together but it's more or less the same." Joseph agrees that he is not treated any differently by his father to the other jockeys charged with riding potential winners home. "There's always a little bit of pressure," he explained. "But I like pressure because when the pressure's on it means you'll be sensible." Dynasty in safe hands . The pressure just might increase on Joseph at some point in the future. As well as being his father's favored jockey, O'Brien has named him as his potential successor. "I'd be delighted," said O'Brien. "He'd have to be finished riding at that stage but those things are a long way down the road. "We'll look forward to it when it does happen." At least Joseph does not have to worry about sustaining the O'Brien dynasty alone. The 20-year-old is the eldest of four children and O'Brien -- whose wife Anne-Marie was also a trainer -- already has them all riding out to exercise the horses. No wonder Ballydoyle has a reputation for breeding future stars of the turf -- and the training yard.

The rising star of champion trainer Aidan O'Brien's stable is his own son Joseph . The pair are the first father-and-son to win the Epsom Derby as trainer and jockey . Joseph jokes their plans "don't always go to plan" but the pair have had great success . O'Brien says Joseph could one day take over training at the prestigious Coolmore stable .

(CNN) -- Even the prospect of rain is little help to the crews fighting an Arizona wildfire that killed 19 of their comrades. But firefighters battling the Yarnell Hill blaze did get a boost from the U.S. military, which committed four specially equipped C-130 transports to the effort Tuesday. About 400 ground personnel and 100 incident management staff are working to control the fire, shadowed by the near-total loss of an elite team that was overrun by the spreading blaze Sunday. "You have to acknowledge it," Karen Takai, a spokeswoman for the firefighting effort, told reporters Tuesday morning. "You can't push it behind in your head, but acknowledge it, and then they get their head back in the game. They have to focus very hard on the ground, or we'll be in that same circumstance again." And though Tuesday's forecast calls for about a 25% chance of thunderstorms, those squalls could bring gusts of 50 to 80 mph, lightning and only "spotty" rain, National Weather Service forecaster Jim Wallmann told reporters. "Although 80 miles per hour is unlikely, the potential there is for stronger winds than what we saw on Sunday afternoon," Wallmann said. Meanwhile, temperatures in the 90s are expected to prevail throughout the week, he said. The fire had scorched about 8,400 acres Tuesday morning and was largely unchanged Tuesday afternoon, incident commander Clay Templin told a public meeting. How to help the families . The region has been suffering from an extreme drought, and the winds whipping through the mountains can blow embers into new patches of parched woodland and mesquite grass, Takai said. "That mesquite is extremely oily, and once that starts, an ember gets into those extremely dry fuels, that fire is going to rip," she said. "It's very difficult to control at that degree, especially with the winds that we're having out here." The fire has scorched about 13 square miles of the mountains outside Prescott, 80 miles northwest of Phoenix. It remained completely uncontained Tuesday morning, Takai said. Late Monday afternoon, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office advised residents in the communities of Peeples Valley and Yarnell to evacuate their dwellings. An estimated 200 homes and other structures have burned in Yarnell. Though firefighters got a break with higher humidity and brief showers Tuesday morning, "The winds are just drying out that fuel right after the rain is hitting the ground," Takai said. "It's a pattern that is very difficult to work with." Remembering those who were killed . The C-130 crews now joining the fight will have their work cut out for them in battling what is now considered the deadliest fire in state history. Equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, or MAFFS, the planes, loaded with water or fire retardant, can drop 3,000 gallons in less than five seconds. The retardant covers an area one-quarter of a mile long and 60 feet wide, and the aircraft can land, reload and be airborne again in under 20 minutes. "They'll be capable of actually dropping a lot of liquid on that ground in areas where it will be most effective," Takai said. The planes are from Colorado, where crews had been working on fires for the last several days. But they are now considered more vital for Arizona. The military deployment is coming at the request of civilian firefighting authorities. A Defense Department official confirmed the details to CNN but declined to be identified because an announcement has not yet been made. CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

80-mph wind gusts are "unlikely" but possible, forecaster says . The Yarnell Hill blaze killed 19 firefighters Sunday . Four C-130s are bound for Arizona firefighting efforts . The planes can drop massive amounts of water or fire retardant .

New Delhi (CNN)The military option is out, President Barack Obama said Sunday, but the U.S. will be looking at all other options to "ratchet up the pressure on Russia" on the issue of Ukraine. "We have no interest in seeing Russia weakened or its economy in shambles. We have a profound interest, as I believe every country does, in promoting a core principle, which is: Large countries don't bully smaller countries," Obama told reporters. Speaking in New Delhi after a lengthy flight on Air Force One, Obama said Sunday he will "look at all the additional options that are available to us short of military confrontation." On Monday, Obama will be the first U.S. leader to headline India's annual Republic Day parade, a colorful military spectacle featuring marching bands, dancing and lots of heavy machinery rolling down the stately Rajpath Boulevard. The parade will be a reminder of the decades of sometimes-tense relations between India and the U.S. A military demonstration at heart, the vehicles and equipment parading before Obama will be mostly Russian-made, a vestige of India's stance during the Cold War. Russia remains India's largest supplier of weapons, and while their share is steadily decreasing, Russian military imports still amount to three-quarters of India's stockpile. With U.S.-Russia relations worsening to Cold War levels, Obama hopes to balance Moscow's influence in India during his visit this week. His visit comes a day after city officials in Mariupol, Ukraine, said shelling in southeastern Ukraine killed at least 30 people, including two children. Another 102 people were injured, at least 75 of whom needed hospital treatment, and many suffered shrapnel injuries, Mariupol City Council said. Pro-Russian separatists are blamed for the attack on residential areas in the port city, Donetsk regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said on his Facebook page. Monitors with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said they conducted a crater analysis which showed the use of Grad and Uragan rockets that likely originated from areas controlled by the pro-Russian rebel group Donetsk People's Republic. The shelling comes amid a surge in fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed Ukraine and Syria during a phone call, the State Department said. "On Ukraine, the Secretary reiterated our condemnation of the separatists' grad missile attack on civilians in Mariupol ... and other separatist attacks," a statement said. "The Secretary reiterated the need for an immediate resumption of the ceasefire, a withdrawal of heavy weapons, and closing the border. "He also underscored U.S. readiness to participate in serious settlement efforts, making clear that deescalation is in everyone's interests, that Russia will be judged by its actions, and that the costs to Russia will only increase if attacks continue." Kerry has previously warned of increased international pressure on Russia. "We call on Russia to end its support for separatists immediately, close the international border with Ukraine, and withdraw all weapons, fighters and financial backing," Kerry said in a statement Saturday. The White House says Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday. They "expressed grave concern over Russia's blatant disregard for its commitments under the September Minsk agreement and unilateral escalation of the conflict," the White House said. Thousands have been killed since the conflict broke out in the spring of last year. A ceasefire agreed to in September in Minsk, Belarus, crumbled long ago. CNN's Elise Labott, Laura Smith-Spark and Radina Gigova contributed to this report.

Obama says U.S. not interested in seeing Russian "economy in shambles" Remark comes a day before Obama attends parade in India featuring Russian-made military vehicles . And it comes a day after Mariupol city officials say shelling kills 2 children, 28 others .

(CNN) -- The CEO of Levis Strauss, Chip Bergh, has some advice for you: Don't wash your jeans. As in don't wash them ... ever. Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference, Chip said he was sporting a pair that had "yet to see a washing machine" in over a year. Worried about germs, you germaphobes? No problem, he says. Just stick your jeans in the freezer once a month next to the frozen waffles to kill off the bacteria. Apparently getting them icy will neutralize the sweat, coffee spills and other bodily fluids that might collect in the zipper or "seating" area. He also suggests spot cleaning with a sponge or a toothbrush. While that could work for the stuff on the outside of your jeans, what about all the stuff your body cooked up that's on the flip side? Once you get 'em back up to body temperature, won't you be warming up those germs again? Yuck. Jean freezing has become quite the craze in the past few years. It even comes with its own video tutorials and folding techniques posted online by bloggers around the country. Interesting, but somehow I doubt an overnight stay in the freezer is going to silence the filth festival that accumulates on a pair of jeans over the course of wearing them for 30 days straight. The only time I tried jean freezing was during a family fishing trip a few years ago in the Wind River Range. We "washed" a load in the river and hung a line up for our laundry to dry overnight. I woke up to unexpected frost and a pair of Carhartts that felt like plywood. If you think it's hard to pull on your jeggings, ladies, try cracking open a pair of jeans that are frozen solid. Bergh claims that not washing your jeans keeps them in mint condition and helps conserve water. Both noble pursuits. But what about conserving the cleanliness of your lower extremities and not subjecting your colleagues to the stench of dirty denim? Have you ever cooked bacon or mucked a stall in a pair of jeans? It's a gift that keeps on giving. And with this thought, it has dawned on me. He's not talking to people like my Uncle Warren, who rise with the sun to work the Angus cattle farm that's been in my family for generations. He's talking to people who like to look fancy in their jeans. The people that benefit most from not washing denim are the ones who'll throw down what is for many Americans a monthly salary to buy something they'll never wash, because, quite frankly, they'll probably be worn no more than four times before their next new pair of jeans. And listen, science says this "freezing jean" phenomena doesn't stand up to analysis. In plain English: No, freezing your jeans will not kill all bacteria, but throwing them in the microwave just might. Stephen Craig Cary, a University of Delaware expert on frozen microbes suggests "you either raise the temperature to 121 degrees Celsius for at least 10 minutes or just wash them! The latter surely is the best alternative to save energy." He adds: "One might think that if the temperature drops well below the human body temperature they (bacteria) will not survive, but actually many will. Many are pre-adapted to survive low temperatures." Then again, since much of a CEO's job is to drum up as much marketing buzz as possible, it's no wonder that Bergh is making this unsanitary claim -- thereby bringing Levi's back to the forefront of a conversation. Even if it makes him smell like a farm animal.

Mel Robbins: Levi's CEO says save water, don't wash your jeans, freeze them to freshen . Robbins: That's gross . She says science doesn't support this, even though there's lots of online info on how to do it . Robbins: People who buy new jeans frequently could do it; for the rest of us, it's unsanitary .

(CNN) -- A major clean-up operation is underway along the north coast of New Zealand's North Island as debris and oil leaking from a cargo ship that ran aground on a reef wash ashore, officials say. The Rena, a Liberian-flagged vessel, struck the Astrolabe Reef, about 12 nautical miles off the city of Tauranga, last week. New Zealand's oil spill response agency, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), estimates that as much as 300 tonnes of fuel oil has leaked from the vessel, which was carrying 1,700 cubic meters (450,000 gallons) of fuel. The country's environment minister, Nick Smith, has called the spill New Zealand's most significant maritime environmental disaster. As of Friday, clean-up teams collected 95.45 tonnes of solid waste and 6 tonnes of liquid waste from beaches in the Bay of Plenty, MNZ said. About 60 kilometers of coastline, from the towns of Maketu to Mount Maunganui, is contaminated with oil, the agency said. Pubic access to some waterfront areas has been restricted due to health concerns. "We are now coordinating a team of around 1,000 people involved in operations on land, sea and air and covering areas like field operations, planning, logistics, wildlife recovery and community and iwi [indigenous Maori people] liaison," said National On Scene Commander Nick Quinn. MNZ said that 500 dead birds have been found following the oil spill. The agency said 140 people scoured the coast yesterday for wildlife affected by the spill and 51 oiled animals are being treated at a center that has been set up in Tauranga. A team has been established to capture seals and five of the animals are being kept in captivity. Greenpeace has expressed "extreme concern" about the spill and urged the government to avoid using further toxic dispersants. "This is an unfortunate illustration of just how difficult it is to deal with oil spills at sea," the organization's Steve Abel said. "Even a slow and relatively accessible oil spill like this one has clearly stretched New Zealand's response capability to its limits," he said. "It is also a potential disaster for the blue whales and dolphins presently calving in the area, as well as numerous other marine species." MNZ said that 88 containers had fallen off the ship, 20 of which have washed ashore. Due to the hazard the containers pose to shipping, the agency said navigational warnings had been issued and major maritime traffic has been re-routed. The Rena has suffered substantial structural failure and there is a concern that the stern of the vessel may break up, MNZ said. Salvage teams have three tugs mobilized either to hold the stern on the reef while efforts continue to remove oil from the ship, or to tow the stern to shallow water to extract the oil, the agency said. Containers remaining on the vessel continue to move, making it dangerous for salvage crews to work on board. Salvors have worked to build a platform to attach to the side of the vessel today to be used to assist fuel recovery operations, MNZ said. The ship's second officer appeared in Tauranga District Court yesterday to face a charge of "operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk," MNZ said. The Rena's captain was remanded on bail on Wednesday on the same charge, on the condition he surrender his passport. His name has not been released. If convicted, they face a maximum fine of $7,800, or up to 12 months imprisonment. CNN's Karen Smith and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

About 60 km of northern coastline of North Island is contaminated with oil . 500 dead birds have been found; 51 oiled animals being treated . Government: Spill is country's most significant maritime environmental disaster . Rena cargo ship began leaking oil after hitting reef off New Zealand's North Island .

(CNN) -- So much for Roma's sizzling start to the season. Roma set a record by becoming the first Serie A team to win its opening 10 games of a season but after Sunday's 3-0 loss to Juventus when it finished with nine men, it slipped well behind the Old Lady. Even though Roma hadn't been beaten in the division until Sunday, a run of five draws in seven games allowed in-form Juventus to grab the lead and now Juve -- with an eight-point cushion -- is in pole position to make it three league titles in a row. For all its possession, Roma was always playing catch up, since Juventus struck early through free-scoring midfielder Arturo Vidal -- he beat Morgan de Sanctis from close range following Carlos Tevez's good work in the 17th minute. Juventus all but put the game away in the 48th minute when defender Leonardo Bonucci connected with Andrea Pirlo's teasing free kick at the back post. Roma was out of sorts and Daniele de Rossi received a straight red in the 75th minute for his two-footed tackle on Italian international teammate Giorgio Chiellini. Pirlo, back from a knee injury, took the ensuing free kick and seconds later Leandro Castan saw red for his hand ball on the line. Mirko Vucinic sent de Sanctis the wrong way from the penalty spot to end Roma's miserable evening. Elsewhere in Italy, Fiorentina beat Livorno 1-0 but Giuseppe Rossi -- the league's leading scorer -- limped off with a knee injury after a challenge from defender Leandro Rinaudo. It was the same knee that has troubled the Italian international in recent years and forced him to miss Euro 2012. "We are all worried," Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Montella told reporters. AC Milan plays Monday but manager Max Allegri confirmed Sunday that he would be leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season. Allegri led Milan to the Scudetto in his first season of 2010-11 but the Rossoneri has struggled since off-loading an array of world-class internationals two years ago. Milan currently sits 13th in Serie A, much closer to relegation than Juventus, and was paired with Spanish high-flyer Atletico Madrid in the next round of the Champions League. "We still have objectives to reach and we have to do everything we can to get back up the table," Allegri told Milan's website. "We have the Italian Cup and the Champions League to play in and I have faith that we'll do well. "I want to finish my time here in the best way possible." Showdown set in Spain . Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will face off next week tied on points atop Spain's La Liga after Barca thrashed Elche 4-0. Alexis Sanchez netted a hat-trick for the home team, which was still without multiple world player of the year Lionel Messi -- although he has looked sharp in his return to training -- and didn't start Brazilian ace Neymar. Barcelona's website said Sanchez was chosen ahead of Neymar because he was "better prepared to play." "Alexis was in better condition and we have to pick one of the two," Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino told the club website. Barcelona overtook Atletico on goal difference ahead of the showdown in Madrid. Atletico edged Malaga 1-0 on Saturday. "Atletico Madrid can win it all," said Martino. "They are built to do great things, it doesn't matter who plays."

Juventus ends Roma's unbeaten run in Serie A by winning 3-0 in Turin . Juventus takes an eight-point lead over Roma atop the Italian divison . Barcelona reclaims top position in Spain's La Liga by easing past Elche 4-0 . Alexis Sanchez nets a hat-trick for Barcelona, which was still without Lionel Messi .

(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal will face Roger Federer in Sunday's final ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London. Federer dispatched semi-final opponent Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-1 6-4 on Saturday evening, while Rafael Nadal beat a determined Andy Murray 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (8-6) in the first semi-final earlier in the day. Federer was in ruthless form in the opening set, holding his opening service game to love and then wasted no time breaking the Serb's serve in the next. Djokovic managed to open his account in the fourth game, but there was no stopping the World No.2 after that as he secured a double break in the sixth, before polishing off the set with trademark efficiency. The Serb started the second set more promisingly, holding his opening two service games and breaking Federer in between to establish a 3-0 lead. But Federer broke back in the fifth to restore parity, and broke again in the ninth with a series of wonderful forehand winners, before holding serve to win the set and the match. Tennis aces feel like rock stars . Earlier in the day, World No.1 Nadal narrowly overcame Britain's Andy Murray in an epic three setter 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (8-6). Despite a spirited display, Murray's pre-match pessimism earlier in the week turned out to be well-founded, as the Spaniard eventually prevailed in a grueling encounter. Murray produced his best tennis of the week and there was little to choose between the two men in the first set as they traded some thumping forehands. But there were few alarms on serve as the set progressed and a tiebreak was the inevitable conclusion. Nadal secured the first mini-break to go 3-1 up and soon extended his lead to 5-2. But Murray fought back, winning the next three points to level up at 5-5. But a miscued running forehand by the Scot handed Nadal his first set point which he seized, attacking Murray's serve before delivering a deft drop volley. The first six games of the second set went with serve, but in the seventh Murray earned himself three break points. Nadal managed to save them all, but an over-hit return at deuce handed Murray a fourth opportunity which, this time, he secured with a crosscourt backhand winner. Murray held his next service game to lead 5-3 and when Nadal faltered again on his serve Murray took full advantage and ensured -- to the delight of a rapt crowd at the O2 Arena -- that the match would go to a deciding third set. Nadal started it the stronger, breaking Murray in the third game and looked as if he would close out the set and the match comfortably. But Murray claimed the 10th game to level the scores at five games apiece as the match headed towards a deciding tiebreak. Murray had the better of the early exchanges and opened up a 4-1 lead only for Nadal to level things up at 4-4. The Spaniard then seized the initiative which saw him close out the tiebreak 8-6 and take the match to set up a 22nd meeting with Federer. Nadal has an impressive 14-7 head-to-head record against the 16-time Grand Slam champion, according to atpworldtour.com. Their last meeting was on clay at ATP Masters event in Spain earlier this year, where Nadal won in straight sets and in their last ten meetings the Spaniard has prevailed seven times. But it's currently honors even in their hard court meetings with each player having won on three occasions.

Rafael Nadal overcomes spirited Andy Murray to book place in ATP World Tour final . Roger Federer earns comfortable win over Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in other semi . Pair have met on 21 previous occasions, with Nadal currently leading 14 matches to seven .

London (CNN) -- A bill to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales is now law, though the unions aren't expected to take place until 2014. Queen Elizabeth II has given her assent to the landmark bill, which the British House of Commons passed Tuesday, the house's speaker, John Bercow, said Wednesday. The first same-sex wedding could be held as early as next summer. The law does not come into force immediately because government departments need time to make changes. New processes must be drawn up for registrars, and new forms will also have to be drawn up. The government expects to announce a more formal timetable for the implementation of the law in the fall. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill cleared the House of Lords and the House of Commons this week, just before the summer recess. The monarch's assent -- a formality in the United Kingdom -- makes the measure official. What you need to know about same-sex marriages in the U.S. and worldwide . The bill had the backing of British Prime Minister David Cameron, but his commitment to it put him at odds with many in his Conservative Party and its grass-roots supporters. The Conservatives govern in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The bill was also opposed by religious groups, including the Church of England. The Catholic Church in England and Wales said that the law's passage "marks a watershed in English law and heralds a profound social change," and that it regretted that the bill had been "rushed though" Parliament. "With this new legislation, marriage has now become an institution in which openness to children, and with it the responsibility on fathers and mothers to remain together to care for children born into their family unit, are no longer central. That is why we were opposed to this legislation on principle," a statement said. 'Go forth and propose' The debate over the legislation became heated at times in the House of Commons, where the issue exposed divisions within Cameron's party. Conservative MP Gerald Howarth angered many when he referred to "the aggressive homosexual community" that would "see this is as but a stepping stone to something even further." Responding to the news that the law had passed, Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant tweeted: "The Queen has given Royal Assent to Same Sex Marriage. Aggressive homosexuals, please note. Go forth and propose." The new law will allow same-sex couples to marry in civil or religious ceremonies. However, religious organizations must explicitly "opt in" if they want to perform such ceremonies, and the religious minister conducting the ceremony must also agree. The law also protects religious organizations and their representatives who don't wish to conduct marriages of same-sex couples from being challenged in the courts. It will allow couples in civil partnerships to convert to marriage if they wish. The new law also allows married men or women who wish to change their gender to do so without ending their marriage. A law recognizing civil partnerships in England and Wales was passed in 2004. The issue of same-sex marriage has also divided other nations. A law that allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt was passed by France this year, despite large street protests and vocal opposition from religious groups. The move made it the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage. In the United States, two landmark rulings by the Supreme Court last month gave the gay and lesbian rights movement huge political and legal momentum. By the numbers: Same-sex marriage . The justices said legally married same-sex couples will now enjoy the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples, striking down a key provision in the Defense of Marriage Act. And although not granting a sweeping right of gays and lesbians to marry nationwide, a separate high court ruling effectively allows same-sex marriage to resume in California, the nation's most populous state. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.

The new law allows same-sex couples to marry in civil or religious ceremonies . The first same-sex weddings could take place as early as next summer . The law was backed by PM David Cameron but divided his Conservative Party . Religious organizations have to "opt in" if they want to perform same-sex marriages .

TUNIS, Tunisia (CNN) -- Polls closed late Sunday in Tunisia, the torchbearer of the so-called Arab Spring, but voters will not see results of national elections until Tuesday, officials said. On Sunday, long lines of voters snaked around schools-turned-polling-stations in Tunis's upscale Menzah neighborhood, some waiting for hours to cast a vote in the nation's first national elections since the country's independence in 1956. "It's a wonderful day. It's the first time we can choose our own representatives," said Walid Marrakchi, a civil engineer who waited more than two hours, and who brought along his 3-year-old son Ahmed so he could "get used to freedom and democracy." Tunisia's election is the first since a popular uprising in January overthrew long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered a wave of revolutions -- referred to as the Arab Spring -- across the region. More than 60 political parties and thousands of independent candidates competed for 218 seats in a new Constitutional Assembly, which will be charged with writing a new constitution and laying the framework for a government system. Voters appeared jubilant on Sunday, taking photos of each other outside polling stations, some holding Tunisian flags. "It's a holiday," said housewife Maha Haubi, who had just taken her position at the end of the long line of more than 1,000 voters waiting outside an elementary school in Menzah. "Before we never even had the right to say 'yes' or 'no.'" Nearby, banker Aid Naghmaichi said she didn't mind the long wait to vote. "We have waited years for this," Naghmaichi said. Ali Bergaoui burst out of a classroom waving a Tunisian flag and smiling broadly moments after he voted. He said he and his wife, Miriam, had a sleepless night in anticipation of the vote. They showed up at 7 a.m. when polls officially opened and waited for three hours. "We waited 50 years for this," a triumphant Bergaoui said. Miriam Bergaoui's eyes filled with tears as she tried to express the emotion of the moment. But partisan politics were already on display here. The Bergaouis both said they came in part to vote against Ennahada, the once-banned moderate Islamist party that consistently scored highest in public opinion polls in the weeks leading up to the election. The campaign period marked an escalation in tension between secular and religious Tunisians. Religious groups staged angry protests that sometimes turned violent at universities and a private TV channel, to show opposition to the broadcast of the animated film "Persepolis," which included a depiction of god. Meanwhile, prominent secular politicians, like the Progressive Democratic Party's Ahmed Nejib Chebbi campaigned on anti-Ennahada platforms, warning voters that a victory for the party would mark a setback for Tunisia's development as a secular state. Tunisia's election -- nearly 9 months since the overthrow of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali -- has been praised by U.S. President Barack Obama. "Today, less than a year after they inspired the world, the Tunisian people took an important step forward," Obama said Sunday. In December, a wave of protests began in Tunisia that led eventually to the ousting of President Ben Ali and his prime minister. Tunisia's dramatic protests were triggered by a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire to protest government harassment. Bouzazi, who died at the age of 26, became a symbol for the frustrations of the Arab people, with those frustrations erupting in waves of demonstrations and protests across the region.

"We waited 50 years for this," a voter says . The Arab Spring began in Tunisia . Candidates are competing for 218 seats in the Assembly . The Assembly will be charged with writing a new constitution .

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- At the stroke of midnight Sunday, Pakistan made history. It marked the first time a democratically-elected government served a full five-year term in the country's 65-year history. In its short existence, Pakistan has experienced three military coups, been ruled by generals for half its life, and it remains mired in near-constant political turmoil. "Despite all the odds, completion of the term is an extraordinary and historic achievement," Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said in an address to the nation Saturday night. Ashraf said his country has a long history of confrontation between democratic and nondemocratic forces, but that democracy has now notched a victory. In the next few days, a caretaker government will be put in place to oversee the country through its next elections scheduled for May. Success at a price . While the five-year term completion is a milestone well worth nothing, it has come with a price. The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party rode to power on the back of a populace disillusioned with then-President Pervez Musharraf's policies that led to shortage of essential food items, power cuts and a skyrocketing inflation. Pakistanis also disapproved of the way Musharraf carried out his end of the "war on terror" -- and used it as a crutch to explain away many of his unpopular moves. And the nation was collectively mourning the death of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated just months before the . last elections in February 2008. Very few held out hope the PPP would resolve the many problems that plagued Pakistan. And throughout its five-year term, it seemed it couldn't. Minister after minister were tainted with accusations of corruption. The power outages and food shortages that Pakistanis complained about remain. Terror attacks in city centers continued with depressing regularity. Violence directed at the Shiite minority reached new heights. And Pakistanis called the government stooges of the United States, while Washington grumbled that Pakistan was not doing enough to confront militants. Through it all, the shaky coalition the PPP cobbled together seemed on the verge of collapse every few months as partners threatened to walk away at the slightest disagreement. "We could not provide rivers of milk and honey but tried our best to alleviate the country's problems," Ashraf said in his Saturday speech. Staying the course . But credit goes to two factors that helped the government stay the course: . The military was content to sit on the sidelines through the topsy-turvy turns -- even when it seemed that the widening rift with the government would force it to intervene as it has in the past. And President Asif Ali Zardari -- Bhutto's widower -- proved surprisingly agile at survival. Three years ago, he handed over much of his power to the prime minister -- and in the process, robbed his critics of the accusation that he was amassing power like his predecessor. He also transferred some power from the central government to the provincial level. Musharraf's return . Against this backdrop comes news that Musharraf plans to return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, and lead his party in upcoming elections. Musharraf plans to fly on a commercial airline into Karachi on March 24, then attend a rally with 50,000 people, including more than 200 Pakistani expatriates from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, he said in a statement. Five years is often enough time for a populace to forgive and forget. It remains to be seen whether Pakistan, now soured by PPP's reign, welcomes him back with open arms. CNN's Nasir Habib reported from Islamabad; Saeed Ahmed wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Saima Mohsin also contributed.

Pakistan has had three military coups . Next, a caretaker government will oversee elections . The milestone has come with a price . Musharraf has said he will return this month .

(CNN) -- In what country would the presidential palace auction off some of its finest wines to buy more wine and boost state coffers? France, bien sûr! The Élysée Palace -- the official residence of the French president -- has dipped into its wine cellars and put 1,200 bottles up for auction in Paris. Mainly from Bordeaux and Burgundy, the wines would normally have been served to ambassadors or visiting dignitaries as they dined with the president, showing off the finest of French viticulture in the process. The funds raised will allow the renewal of the palace's wine stocks, auction house Drouot said. "More modest" wines will be bought in place of some of the fine vintages put under the hammer, with any extra money left poured back into the state budget, it said. The Élysée's head sommelier, Virginie Routis, picked the wines to be auctioned off in two sales, on Thursday and Friday. The 1,200 bottles represent about a tenth of the cellar's total stocks. Some date back decades, while others are newer but represent great vintages. The auction house expects the bids to range between 15 euros ($19) for the most ordinary and an estimated 2,200 euros ($2,800) for a 1990 Petrus. Many bidders should be able to get their hands on a bottle for less than 100 euros, the auction house said. All the bottles auctioned off will sport a label stating that they came from the Élysée Palace, with the date of their sale, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. The palace cellar was set up in 1947, during the presidency of Vincent Auriol, and was reorganized in 1995 to ensure the best conditions for keeping the wines. Built up over decades, it includes wines from Alsace, the Champagne region, the Rhône Valley and the Loire alongside those from Burgundy and Bordeaux. "All these wines were served at the table of the President of the Republic, and some of them have accompanied important moments in the history of the Fifth Republic," said Drouot. The Fifth Republic was established in 1958 and continues to this day, under President François Hollande. Elected last year, he has sought to boost tax revenues from the wealthy to try to cut France's large deficit. The history and associations of the Élysée wine may be expected to push prices up beyond what would be paid for similar bottles sold elsewhere. Chris Smith, investment manager at the Wine Investment Fund in London, told CNN the Élysée Palace auction would be likely to draw buyers who are attracted by the kudos of the wines' provenance rather than serious investors. The wines are mostly mature and ready to be drunk sooner rather than later, which makes them less of an investment buy, he said, although the 1990 Petrus is a very good wine. "The wine is not especially rare or unusual -- they are the sort of wines that crop up at auction every now or then," he said. "The fact that they are from the Élysée Palace gives them a certain sort of extra kudos that people may be prepared to pay a small premium for." A recent sale from the cellars of the UK government saw just that effect, Smith said, with wines fetching more than might have been expected. This was in part because of their good provenance, he said, but also because they "have that slight cachet that wines from the same stock that's been drunk by President Obama, or whoever's drunk the poshest wine from the cellars, have."

1,200 bottles from the wine cellar of the Élysée Palace are being auctioned off . The money will pay for new, "more modest" bottles to be bought, says the auction house . Any extra funds will be poured into the state budget, it says . The presidential wine cellar, set up in 1947, showcases some of France's finest vintages .

(CNN) -- Army troops and rebels clashed on Wednesday in the violence-ridden eastern part of Congo, threatening to undermine an already fragile stability. Hundreds of people in North Kivu fled toward the city of Goma by road trying to escape the fighting. The sound of heavy artillery echoed through the hills. The Congolese army continued a second day offensive to recover the cities of Rugari and Rumangavo, and to takeover these positions held by the insurgency. "The situation is deteriorating because of the fighting between various groups," said Ronald Paul Veilleux, the International Rescue Committee's provincial director for North and South Kivu. As of January 2009, an estimated 1.5 million people in North and South Kivu provinces have been internally displaced, and the number continues to rise, according to the United Nations. "People are losing their homes, their livelihoods and their hope," Veilleux said. The massive displacement has also led to an increase in gender-based violence. According to Veilleux, reported cases have gone up by 75% nationwide since April, and many go unreported in a nation that is already known as the rape capital of the world. In addition, this past week the World Health Organization reported a sharp increase in the number of cholera cases in North Kivu. "There is potential for this to turn into an epidemic if the situation continues to deteriorate," said Veilleux. The eastern part of Congo has been embroiled in violence since 1994, when Hutu forces crossed the border fearing reprisals following the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. In 1998 the vast nation -- previously known as Zaire -- became a battleground for eight African countries. More than 5 million people died in the war and its aftermath, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the eastern part of Congo between various rebel groups and the Congolese army, which is back by U.N. peacekeepers. There are many different forces on the ground, all of whom are armed. "The fighting is like a view through a kaleidoscope," said John Campbell, an Africa expert with the Council on Foreign Relations. Amid growing concerns of an escalating conflict, the U.S. government announced last week that it will cut military aid to Rwanda. The United States has accused Rwanda of supporting rebels in Congo. "The United States government is deeply concerned about the evidence that Rwanda is implicated in the provision of support to Congolese rebel groups, including M23," said Hilary Fuller Renner, a State Department spokeswoman. The M23 -- named after a failed peace agreement signed on March 23 three years ago -- is a rebel group that split from the Congolese army earlier this year. It has been accused of killing hundreds of people. One of the M23 commanders, Bosco Ntaganda, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. In a report to the U.N. Security Council in June, a U.N. expert panel on Congo found "substantial evidence" attesting to support from Rwandan officials to armed groups operating in the eastern region. It documents a "systematic pattern of military and political support provided to the M23 rebellion by Rwandan authorities" in the form of recruits, weapons and military equipment. Rwanda has denied allegations that the M23 are backed by their country's Tutsi leadership. "As we have made clear from the outset, Rwanda is neither the cause nor the enabler of instability in the eastern (Congo)," said Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister. Journalist Gemma Parellada contributed to this report.

Army troops and rebels clashed on Wednesday . Numbers of internally displaced people continues to swell . Disease and violence against women also are seen rising sharply . U.S. has accused Rwanda of supporting rebels in Congo .

(CNN) -- To the people of the Internet who knew his work, he was an "enormous intellect," a "brilliant and determined spirit" and a "hero of the open net." To federal prosecutors, he was a criminal. The suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz continued to send shock waves Monday through the hacker community, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the larger online world. Swartz, a digital prodigy who helped develop social-news site Reddit and RSS, the technology that allows websites to send updates to subscribers, was found hanged Friday in his Brooklyn, New York, apartment. His death has inspired a flurry of online tributes and mobilized Anonymous, the loosely defined collective of so-called "hacktivists" who oppose attempts to limit Internet freedoms. Swartz, 26, faced allegations that he stole millions of online documents -- mostly scholarly papers -- from MIT through the university's computer network. Some saw it as a harmless stunt, but U.S. prosecutors disagreed and slapped Swartz with federal charges for which he could have faced decades in prison. His family issued a statement Saturday criticizing prosecutors for seeking "an exceptionally harsh array of charges (for) an alleged crime that had no victims," and claiming that decisions made by prosecutors and MIT officials "contributed to his death." Swartz's suicide also prompted some soul searching at MIT. President L. Rafael Reif has requested an analysis of MIT's involvement in the case against Swartz, from the time the university first perceived unusual activity on its Web network in 2010 to the present. "I have asked that this analysis describe the options MIT had and the decisions MIT made," he said in an e-mail Sunday to members of the MIT community. "All of us at MIT are extremely saddened by the death of this promising young man who touched the lives of so many," Reif added. "It pains me to think that MIT played any role in a series of events that have ended in tragedy." That didn't stop Anonymous from claiming credit late Sunday for defacing several MIT websites. Users of MIT's network lost access to most sites for nearly three hours Sunday night, according to the Tech, the campus newspaper. Someone claiming to represent Anonymous posted a statement online calling the government's prosecution of Swartz "a grotesque miscarriage of justice." The statement then listed four "wishes," including reform of computer crime laws and a renewed commitment to "a free and unfettered Internet." The defaced pages appear to have been removed Monday. MIT's news office did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice, declined to comment to CNN on Swartz's case, citing respect for the family. Carmen M. Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, quietly dropped the charges against Swartz on Monday. Swartz's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Highland Park, Illinois. Meanwhile, by Monday afternoon scores of people had posted tributes to Swartz on Reddit and on a memorial site, Remember Aaron Swartz. "I and others like me feel his death so keenly in part because we aspire to be the misfit, the wunderkind, the maker that he was," wrote blogger David Brunton. "Aaron had an unbeatable combination of political insight, technical skill, and intelligence about people and issues," wrote his friend Cory Doctorow, co-editor of tech blog Boing Boing. "I think he could have revolutionized American (and worldwide) politics. His legacy may still yet do so." Using the hashtag #pdftribute, hundreds of academic researchers also posted their papers online via Twitter Sunday and Monday to honor Swartz's memory.

Suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz sends shock waves through the Web . Swartz faced allegations that he stole millions of online documents from MIT . His death prompted Anonymous to claim credit for a hack on MIT's websites . Episode also has prompted soul searching at MIT, which will hold an internal investigation .

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Consumers in Beijing's malls and shops are shunning the milk and poultry sections -- for good reasons. Poultry products, including eggs, may be contaminated with melamine through animal food. They are shocked and scared by the news headlines: some food produced in China is tainted with melamine. "Of course I'm worried," says a woman shopping in Nanxiaojie Market. Stop eating eggs? "That's not possible," she tells CNN. "If there's a problem with eggs, it should be solved fundamentally." Chinese premier Wen Jiabao says China will take steps to win back consumers. "We will use our actions and high quality of our food products to win the trust and confidence of Chinese people and people around the world," he told reporters at the end of a two-day summit of Asian and European leaders in Beijing last weekend. Watch more about the tainted food scandal » . "Three minister-level officials have resigned and a government investigation is going on. Whoever is responsible must be brought to justice. We need to protect the Made in China brand," said Chinese analyst Victor Gao. But the problem could be more pervasive. The state-run Nanfang Daily published an investigative story saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an "open secret." The report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago, as a way of faking higher protein levels. Learn more about chemical melamine » . It then spread into other agro-industries such as poultry. Even more shocking is the allegation that the melamine added is from industrial waste material. CNN contacted the Ministry of Agriculture about the story, but got no immediate response. Two years ago, reports revealed pet food exported from China to the United States was spiked with melamine and had sickened and killed dogs. Several weeks ago, the food scandal spread to milk, biscuits and candies. Now, it is tainted eggs. So far, no illnesses or deaths have been linked to eggs. Tests in Hong Kong last week showed eggs exported by a Chinese company are contaminated with excessive levels of melamine. In recent days three other brands of eggs have also been found to contain the chemical. Small wonder egg sales at the Xinfadi, a wholesale market in Beijing, dropped by 10 percent this week, according to the state-run China Daily. Chinese officials say the source of the problem is melamine, an industrial chemical used to produce plastics and fertilizer. Melamine is high in nitrogen. Unscrupulous milk suppliers would water down milk and spike it with melamine -- but in amounts that allowed it to still pass quality tests. Agriculture experts speculate that eggs tainted with melamine may be the result of tainted feed given to hens. That begs the question: if melamine was in the animal feed, will it make into the meat, and into consumers' bodies? Ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses, agriculture and health experts say. But taking in a small amount of melamine poses no such danger. "If it's taken over a long period of time, maybe, but if it's ingested only for short period of time it does not pose harm on animals," says He Jiguo, a professor of food science and nutrition at the China Agriculture University. He says the animals that end up being slaughtered do not live that long and do not actually ingest enough melamine for it to build up in their systems. The dogs and cats that were sickened in the United States were probably eating treats and meals tainted with melamine over a long period of time, he explains. Until the situation is resolved, worried grocery shoppers in Beijing say they'll just have to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products, like soybeans.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao says China will try to win back consumers . Melamine is said to have been added to animal food products . Report: Adding melamine to feed started in aquatic farming 5 years ago . Some grocery shoppers say to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products .

(CNN) -- Al Sadd coach Jorge Fossati praised his team for overcoming a "big injustice" to become the first Qatari football club to reach the Asian Champions League final. The former Uruguay coach saw his Doha-based team record a 2-1 aggregate victory over Suwon Bluewings after losing 1-0 to South Korea's two-time Asian champions on Wednesday, despite having key players suspended following an ill-tempered first leg last week. "Of course we are very, very happy," the 58-year-old told the Asian Football Confederation website. "To overcome them was difficult. There were many problems and yet we won and that's why I am happy. "You know we had to play this game with big injustice. We didn't have some players because of non-football issues. In this situation, we tried to do our best with whatever resources we had." Five players and coaches were suspended for the match at the Sheik Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, after a mass brawl broke out following Al Sadd's controversial second goal in the 2-0 win in Suwon on October 19. The fighting erupted after Senegal striker Mamadou Niang scored his and Al Sadd's late second goal while Suwon's players were tending to an injured teammate, presuming play had been halted. Former Marseille forward Niang was later sent off and missed the return leg along with Ivory Coast attacker Kader Keita and goalkeeping coach Suhail Saber Ali, while Suwon were missing Macedonian striker Stevica Ristic and coach Ko Jong-Su. But even without their star players, Al Sadd held on after Oh Jang-Eun had given Suwon a 1-0 lead with a sixth-minute volley, as Khalfan Ibrahim hit the Koreans' crossbar with a vicious long-range shot before halftime. Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors advanced to the November 5 final courtesy of a 5-3 aggregate win over Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad. After a 3-2 away success last week, the 2006 Asian champions won 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Brazil forward Eninho. Al Ittihad's only response was a late consolation goal from former Bordeaux winger Wendel Geraldo, after both teams had been reduced to 10 men. Al Ittihad, the 2004 and 2005 champions, suffered an early blow when Naif Hazazi -- the scorer of both first-leg goals -- was sent off in the 11th minute for a headbutt, while Jeonbuk substitute Krunoslav Lovrek received a second yellow card late in the match. Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-Hee was pleased his team would have home advantage at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium. "We got what we wanted," said Choi, a former Suwon coach. "We are at home for the final and that is an advantage for us. The lead we took from the first leg gave us some breathing space at home but we knew well that Al Ittihad are a very good team. "We expected them to come at us strongly and we were ready for that. Eninho's goals were a big help but we still had work to do and were able to get the result we needed." Jeonbuk will attempt to keep the Champions League title in South Korean hands for the third year in succession, after Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma's victory in 2010 and the Pohang Steelers' 2009 triumph.

Al Sadd the first Qatari football club to reach Asian Champions League final . Jorge Fossati's team beat South Korea's Suwon Bluewings 2-1 on aggregate . Al Sadd will face Jeonbuk Motors, after Koreans beat Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad . The final will be at Jeonbuk's Jeonju World Cup Stadium on November 5 .

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- As Saudi women artists, Reem Al Faisal and Lulwah Al Homoud, feel they are fighting against multiple stereotypes. They are caught between conservative attitudes at home and western critics who expect them to address women's rights in their work. "They want you to talk about very limited things like sexual oppression, search for identity and if you don't fit these criteria you're excluded and you are not considered a good artist," said Al Faisal. Al Faisal, a photographer, has another reason for being wary of people's expectations: She is a princess, a granddaughter of the first king of Saudi Arabia. She avoids being photographed or showing her face in interviews to allow her to travel the world anonymously without bodyguards. Her work has taken her to China, Japan, India, Europe, America and all around the Middle East, capturing striking black-and-white photographs of people and landscapes. Al Homoud, a single mother who brought up her two sons in London, creates abstract art, often geometric black-and-white drawings. She said: "People kind of concentrate on you and give you more attention because you have female Saudi artists, but it's kind of upsetting because it's related to stereotype, and I think what we are doing is changing this stereotype." Her work includes "infinite square," in which she uses the word Allah -- the Arabic word for God -- to create geometric shapes and lines connecting the artist to a timeless world unlimited by borders. Al Homoud said: "I am trying to say that I am not a prisoner of a moment or a place. My work is -- I would say -- eternal. It's not restricted to an event or an experience or anything. It's spiritual, it's higher than senses." Al Faisal and Al Homoud, along with other Saudi artists, displayed their work at the Nabatt exhibition of modern Saudi artists in Shanghai last year and more recently in Beirut. The position of Saudi women has gained attention worldwide after King Abdullah announced in September that women will in future be allowed to serve as members of the Shura Council, the appointed consultative council that advises the king. He also said women will be allowed to run as candidates and nominate candidates in the next set of municipal elections. They could not participate in municipal elections that were held last month for only the second time in the kingdom's history. Women are also subject to male guardianship laws, in which they have to seek permission from their husband, father or even son to work, travel, study and many other activities. Saudi women have been campaigning for the right to drive. Last month King Abdullah revoked a flogging sentence of 10 lashes for a woman allegedly arrested for driving a car. Nuha Al Sulaiman, who founded the Saudi Women Revolution earlier this year to campaign for greater rights, welcomed King Abdullah's announcements but said they did not go far enough. "We are afraid that it's not going to happen the way we want it to," she said. "Also we think that this decision is good but it's not enough." Al Sulaiman said she still wanted to see the end of male guardianship, the introduction of laws to protect women from violence and discrimination, and driving licenses for women. She said: "We suffer every day. The improvement process is so slow we wish the next step won't delay more. "The king mentioned very impressive and effective words in his speech towards women's dignity and rights, we hope it's an obligation to give Saudi women back their dignity step by step." Al Faisal, too, wants to see an improvement in women's rights, but believes sometimes the issue of driving has distracted from more important issues. "I would like to see women in the judiciary system as far more important for me. A car will come naturally if she is a supreme court judge or traveling without a permission."

Critics expect our work to address women's rights, says Reem Al Faisal . Having women judges is more important than driving, she adds . People stereotype us as Saudi women, says artist Lulwah Al-Homoud .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- "It's the queen's diamond jubilee soon!" I recently babbled excitedly to some of my American friends. "Let's have a party like we did for the royal wedding -- I'll provide Union Jack hats and streamers, jugs of Pimm's and a gargantuan amount of chocolate Hobnobs!" There was barely a murmur in response. Just one year previously, they'd been a stampede of Yanks at 5am on my doorstep, desperate to get prime position in front of the television as Kate walked up the aisle. "You know, the queen?" I battle on in my local Los Angeles coffee shop. "Helen Mirren played her, remember? She was Colin Firth's daughter? She's the great-great-granddaughter of Judi Dench, when Judi was into Scotsmen and horses?" None of my film tidbits cause a swirl of interest, despite my Hollywood crowd. In Tinseltown years, Queen Elizabeth II is about 405 -- roughly the same as Dumbledore, they imagine -- and far too old to get excited about. "Will the princes be there?" one Californian chum finally responds. "Of course! She's their grandma!" I reply indignantly. "Well, in that case," she nods, "I'm sure we'll all be there. Any glimpse of those boys is worth getting up early and facing traffic for." I must admit, after living as a Brit in America for seven years, I have found we share surprisingly few traits or interests. We Brits love Take That; Americans have never heard of them. We crave a simple hot cup of tea with a splash of milk while they insist on adding ice cubes and a slice of lemon. We're scared of guns, they're scared of boobs. But one place where our old and new world tastes collide is with Prince Harry. "Don't you just love him?" I hear as much as "I love your accent!" Watching my adopted homeland fall under the spell of the young royals has encouraged me to dismiss any cynicism I might have toward them (paying for a round of shots at Boujis, are we? A skiing trip -- how lovely, I wish I could afford to get piste!) and embrace the great international marketing campaign they are doing for the UK right now. I admit feeling a smug superiority watching Jennifer Lopez fawn over Kate and William on their trip to my city last year. Our future monarch and his Mrs. have the X factor -- without the help of publicists, agents or Botox. Our history makes them dazzling, our traditions make them awe-inspiring. And combining that -- at last! -- with great bone structure, a sense of humor and the slightly-common touch (thanks to Diana's legacy and high street fashion). The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the duke's naughty little brother are a triumvirate of British charm, to be exported all over the world as a symbol of our greatness, much like Downton Abbey. I love that Kate wears the same outfit time after time and does her own supermarket shopping; I like that Wills enjoys a Sunday roast round "Mike and Carol's," (his in-laws) adore Harry's incessant need to take the mickey out of his brother, be it wearing a mask of his face on a fun run or asking him embarrassing questions in front of journalists. As much as I think the queen has done a brilliant job, and I look forward to celebrating her jubilee with glee, we have the kids to thank for the detoxification of this once staid, fusty old brand. And I'm sure no one would agree more than Her Majesty. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sarah Ivens.

Sarah Ivens is a British journalist living in America . Young royals have injected excitement into the royal family, Ivens argues . Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Harry are triumvirate of British charm, she says .

Austin, Texas (CNN) -- The battle over Texas' attempts to change its law on abortion ran well into the night at the state capitol in Austin, with thousands milling around, all wanting to be heard during a public hearing. People representing both sides of the issue signed up to testify Tuesday at a House committee meeting on HB2, a bill that would impose strict new regulations on abortions in the state. The measure seeks to ban abortions past 20 weeks of gestation, mandate abortion clinics to become ambulatory surgical centers, and require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic at which they're providing abortion services. Critics said the measure would shut down most abortion clinics in Texas, denying access to many, while proponents say it will raise the standard of care for women in Texas. It was a heated night and middle ground was hard to come by. Anti-abortion activists, all wearing blue shirts, joined together in shared prayer, telling stories of how abortions destroy lives. "In 1979 I paid a registered physician $300 to kill my second child. I hated myself it almost destroyed me," Susan Collins said. Texas governor says 'no mob rule' in Legislature on abortion . Nearby, abortion rights activists, dressed in orange, tried to drown out their opponents with drumming, cheering, and chanting slogans about personal liberty. The opinions of many were summed up by a young woman who yelled, "I'm (expletive) tired of men trying to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body!" The initial House bill failed last week after a day and night of drama in which state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, talked for more than 10 hours in an attempt to run out the clock on the legislative session. But Gov. Rick Perry called a special session so the legislature could take up the measure again. Can Rick Perry overcome last presidential run? Almost 2,000 people signed up to speak for three minutes, but by the end of the night, fewer than 100 were able to share their thoughts with the committee. Registered nurse Vivian Femmy, who works at a pregnancy crisis center, said she supports the measure. "I have been there on the front lines with the woman we are talking about today," she said. "I am pro-choice, and I am pro-woman. I am pro-woman getting the kind of abortion care that is the finest care she can get. I support this bill because of what it will do to improve medical standards." Elizabeth Grune arrived at the capitol at 8 a.m. and finally got her chance to speak at 6:45 p.m. "Christians, we need the separation of church and state," she said. "I don't believe in abortion but it is legal and as such all women deserve equal access." The room used by the House committee filled almost immediately, and most people watched the proceedings in nine other rooms. One man who had been waiting to speak against the bill for hours angrily stormed out of the committee room when testimony was closed. "My grandmother died from a back alley abortion!" he shouted. Many abortions rights activists fear the legislation would restrict access to safe abortions and make women turn to more dangerous methods. Outside of the hearing room in an outdoor courtyard, it was prayer circles versus drum circles for more than eight hours. At the end of the night, with more than 1,000 people still waiting to testify, the bill cleared the committee with an 8-3 vote. The Texas Senate must now vote on the version of the bill in one of its committees before both bills can be brought to the full House and Senate floors. A final vote is expected next week. Opinion: The truth about the Texas filibuster and abortion .

Groups from both sides of the abortion debate crowd the Texas capitol . Almost 2,000 people sign up to speak at a House committee hearing . The bill would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy . It passes a committee with an 8-3 vote; the Senate is looking at its own version .

(CNN) -- Months before my son was born, I began searching for a nanny. The prospect of leaving my first child home with a stranger while my husband and I worked wasn't ideal, but the only day care center in our neighborhood had a year-long wait list and our families weren't in a position to help. Entrusting Jake, now 12, to a babysitter seemed like our only option. The catastrophic story unfolding in New York City of a nanny who has been arrested for stabbing to death two young children she was paid to care for is unimaginable for any parent. While I could never have envisioned anything as demonic as what 50-year-old Yoselyn Ortega is now accused of, I was anxious in those early weeks nearly every morning before I left for work: Would our new nanny shake my son if he cried? Would she scald him accidently, even intentionally, when she bathed him? I was so concerned that my husband and I installed nanny-cams around our apartment and hired a private company to perform criminal background checks. The Krim family likely followed their own safety checklist and never could have anticipated such a horror either. Their tragedy highlights the question turning in the pit of every parent's stomach: Is my child truly safe with this woman? Ms. Ortega was hardly a stranger to the husband and wife who hired her. On the mother's blog (which has since been taken offline) she apparently wrote about spending more than a week visiting with her nanny's family in the Dominican Republic. "We spent the past 9 days in the Dominican Republic. We spent half the time at our nanny, Josie's sisters home in Santiago," she reportedly wrote. "We met Josie's amazing familia!!! And the Dominican Republic is a wonderful country!! More pics to come!!" As soon as I heard news of this story, it reminded me of the New York Times Magazine piece written by Lisa Belkin in 2007 about her babysitter, Noreen. Noreen Mulholland cared for Lisa's two sons, but went on to become a nurse in Ireland who was later convicted of assaulting two patients, poisoning one of them. One day when Lisa's son was 5, he confided in her that he didn't want Noreen to come anymore. "Noreen scares me," Alex told her. Alex was never hurt, but her son's words and her nanny's reaction to them made Lisa start thinking that something wasn't quite right with Noreen. How can any family really know all there is to know about their nanny? Nanny- cams can't see into a person's soul and mental illness won't necessarily show up on a background check. I asked New York State's Office of Children and Family Services what parents can do during a nanny search to make the best (and safest) choices. The agency recommends obtaining a prospective caregiver's school records, criminal history, credit background and driving record. New York parents have access to this information in part because of Kieran's Law, passed in 1998 and named for Kieran Dunne, a 10-month-old boy who died in 1993 after a nanny threw him across a room. While all of the above might be helpful, the guidelines seem utterly toothless in the face of the evil we've seen in New York. The Krims could have done everything in their power to investigate their nanny before hiring her -- and none of the research could have predicted a mental snap of such massive proportions. My son grew up unscathed and developed a loving relationship with our nanny. And two years later when our daughter was born, our nanny was still with us, providing love and much-needed support. Clearly we were lucky. The opinions expressed are solely those of Allison Gilbert.

A New York nanny was arrested for allegedly stabbing two children to death . Allison Gilbert describes her fear when entrusting her children to a nanny . Background checks are a good idea but can't guarantee a child's safety .

(CNN) -- Summer has not yet officially arrived, but the country's midsection is burning up. Denver broke a heat record Monday -- and Tuesday promises more sweltering heat. Farther east in Baltimore, a storm threw down a tornado Monday, destroying houses and causing flash flooding. And on the Gulf Coast, rip currents have killed at least four. Heat wave . On Monday, Denver broke its all-time heat record, when the temperature climbed to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun is expected to bake the Colorado capital again on Tuesday. That's nearly a cool spell for residents in parts of northern Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, where temperatures are expected to break 100 degrees. Many parts of all four states are suffering from extreme drought, and the National Weather Service has issued numerous fire weather warnings. The service warns that winds will be high, and any fires that start in the parched landscape could spread with extreme speed. Gulf drownings . Treacherous currents took at least four lives on the Alabama Gulf Coast and led Florida officials to shut down a popular beach. Dawn Wood had a friendly chat with two vacationers sitting on the beach next her in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Minutes later, she watched as one of them, a 62-year-old man, drowned, after a rip current pulled him away from the beach, CNN affiliate WPMI reported. His 13-year-old granddaughter, who was swept out with him, tried to drag him from the waves, Wood said. She didn't have the strength. Rescuers in boats rushed to save them, but "it was just a little too late for him, unfortunately," Wood told WPMI. He was one of at least four who died in the currents off the Alabama coast since Sunday. In spite of the drownings and red flag warnings on the beach, people continued to swim, including small children. Two deputies from the sheriff's office in Bay County, Florida, struggled to save a swimmer who became exhausted fighting the current, after being whisked out by the waves. The county was inundated with "water related calls" for help Monday, eventually posting double red flag warnings on Panama City Beach, closing it to swimmers to protect them from the currents. Beachgoers entering the water in spite of the warning risk arrest. Eastern tornadoes . Thunderstorms spawned a handful of twisters in Maryland and Kentucky, destroying homes. A funnel cloud in Baltimore was caught on video and made a formidable impression on YouTube. Aside from tearing a hole in a roof of a warehouse in the city's port, it did little damage. A few miles to the west in Sykesville, the violent rumble of wind compelled Dennis Davison to have a look outside, he told CNN affiliate WBAL. He opened his front door to watch pieces of a garage ascend into the sky. "There is no doubt in my mind that was a tornado," he told WBAL. The weather service confirmed two twisters in his area. Baltimore motorists gingerly cruised through streets filled with flood waters left by heavy rains, and more is in the forecast for Tuesday. Flood warnings extend from Washington, DC, up into Philadelphia and New Jersey. Racing away in his pickup truck, Steve Adair tried to outrun what may have been a tornado in southern Kentucky, according to CNN affiliate WTVF. The storm caught up with him. "You just see a bunch of debris in the air and wind started blowing hard," he said, while standing in the ruins of his destroyed countryside home. "It's just amazing to me how a little bit of wind can do all of this." Kentucky tornado 'snuck up on us' Nearby, two elderly women hunkered down in a bathtub, while the storm destroyed their home. They survived.

Denver's new heat record pales in comparison with Oklahoma's 100 degree forecast . Baltimore's tornado makes for dramatic video, but twisters in Kentucky demolish homes . Rip currents kill four in Alabama, close beaches in Florida . Despite warnings in Alabama, beach goers, even children, still enter the water .

(CNN) -- Fewer crowds and pleasant weather make autumn a great time to explore Europe, but for many Americans the destination has suddenly become fraught with worry and potential danger. A day after the United States issued a general travel alert for Americans in Europe amid concerns that al Qaeda is planning attacks similar to the 2008 massacre in Mumbai, India, many travelers may be trying to figure out what to do next. Still, the alert should scare no one from going to Europe, said current and former U.S. State Department officials -- a sentiment echoed by some travel experts. "I don't think anyone should cancel a trip. The chances of something happening to a particular individual are very, very slim," said George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog.com, who just returned from London, England, on Sunday. Travel alert issued for U.S. citizens in Europe . Travel agents said they've seen limited impact from the alert so far. Two people with trips booked to London and Paris, France, have called Altour in New York asking what they should do, said Martin Rapp, senior vice president of leisure sales at the travel agency. He was able to offer the worried clients few answers beyond letting them know how much money they might lose if they decide to cancel. "That's all we really can say since it's a rather nebulous warning," Rapp said. "I expect more calls. Nobody has canceled yet; they're just questioning, seeing what their options are." There may be few new bookings this week because of the alert, but most travelers with plans already in place likely will not cancel them, said Jill Jergel, a travel agent who specializes in France and works for Frontiers International Travel in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Not only do most affluent travelers like to go in September and the first half of October because schools are back in session, but it is a particularly busy time in Paris because of fashion week, she added. "I've had one client say, 'Gee it's a little intense right now,' but I've certainly have not seen any effect on bookings," Jergel said. Not intimidated . American tourists already in Europe are on alert, but many continue to flock to popular landmarks, refusing to be intimidated by the threat. Susan Smith, who arrived in London last week from Texas to celebrate her birthday, went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and said the place was packed. She's also not changing her travel plans. "The only thing we've changed is we've elected not to go downstairs [at the hotel] in the evening to have a drink in the very large lobby bar," Smith said. "I don't believe in allowing terrorists to do what they do, which is to terrorize me. If we act terrorized, then they win." Because the alert is so vague, travel agents said people should take the same kinds of precautions they always would when traveling: Be cautious, stay alert and look for anything suspicious. How to protect yourself abroad . Watch out when you go to a large gathering, added Marion Harbison, a travel agent who specializes in Germany and works for Sterling Brownell in Birmingham, Alabama. Most of her clients avoid the big cities and go to southern Germany, where she believes there is little or no threat. Travelers should also look beyond their activities and sightseeing. "Just be aware of your surroundings, keep an ear on the international news -- people don't always do that when they're traveling," Jergel said. Meanwhile, travel agents are watching and waiting to see what kind of a long-term impact the alert will have. "Certainly, we're always worried when something like this happens because it always affects travel. There are always going to be people who are going to say, 'I'm going to put it off,' " Rapp said.

Alert should scare no one from going to Europe, U.S. State Department officials say . "I don't think anyone should cancel a trip," Airfarewatchdog president says . Travel agents say they've seen limited impact from the alert so far . Some American tourists already in Europe refuse to be intimidated by the threat .

(CNN) -- Yaya Toure believes that Manchester City can become like his all-conquering former club Barcelona, the midfielder told CNN. After being criticized for defensive play last season, City boss Roberto Mancini has taken the English Premier League by storm with an all-out attacking style. Ivory Coast international Toure, who moved to Eastlands from the Camp Nou in a $38 million deal in July 2010, said that with the current wealth of expensive talent City can rival the European and Spanish champions' free-flowing passing style. The arrival of Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri has meant City have not missed wantaway former captain Carlos Tevez, while David Silva has blossomed along with Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli for the 2011 FA Cup winners. "Last year was difficult, because some of the media criticized City for defending more than attack," Toure said. "(Now) the boss plays with a different system ... Sami Nasri, Edin Dzeko is playing fantastic now, Aguero, Silva is unbelievable." Toure scored the goal that ended City's 35-year wait for a trophy at Wembley in May, and he said that if Mancini's men can maintain the form that has taken them top of the English table then they can be a serious threat to Barca's dominance. "For me it's important that you have to first win something, and last year we did it. But this year, I think if we continue like that, if we win a couple more cups, maybe we can be like them, because Barcelona is this fantastic machine of football," the 28-year-old said. "I'm full of confidence this year, I think this year is going to be amazing for us." City qualified for the Europe's top club competition for the first time since 1969, and have a great chance of progressing into the knockout stage of the Champions League despite being drawn in a so-called "Group of Death" along with Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal. "I think you have to go step by step because for me, for the moment, the Premier League is the most important league," Toure said. "But we focus on the Champions League. "The Champions League is one of the best competitions in the world, so many great teams there. I think if we get some luck, we can go far." Toure will miss a vital chunk of City's season when he heads to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in January for the month-long African Cup of Nations. The Ivory Coast's "Elephants," drawn in Group B with Burkina Faso, Sudan and Angola, are among the favorites to win the tournament for the first time since 1992, with several of the usual big-name countries not qualifying. Toure's home country is recovering from the civil war that broke out in March after former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to stand down despite losing the November 2010 elections, plus floods that hit Abidjan in June. "Everybody in my country they are waiting for this cup. And, I think we can only give them the happiness if we win this cup, because the guys from there they need it a lot." While Manchester United's status as one of the world's most popular clubs remains intact, Toure's presence at City along with his older brother Kolo has helped change the balance among supporters back home. "Now I see the fans are very proud to put on the blue shirt of the club," he said. "And now I think the image of City is starting to change. I hope God helps us to continue to win something, which will make a lot of people happy."

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure says the club can potentially rival Barcelona . City on top in England this season after the arrival of several big-name signings . Toure hails manager Roberto Mancini's switch to a more attacking style of play . He will miss part of the season when he goes to Africa Cup of Nations in January .

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Dancing in public is not allowed in Iran, but thousands could hardly contain themselves at a recent presidential campaign rally in the capital city, Tehran. Supporters hope Zahra Rahnavard will become Iran's future first lady. On this day, the deafening cheers were not for presidential hopeful Mir Hossein Mousavi, but rather for his wife -- a woman some are calling Iran's Michelle Obama. The comparisons to the first lady of the United States stem from the role Zahra Rahnavard is playing in her husband's quest for the presidency. Never in the history of Iranian presidential elections has a candidate put his wife in the forefront of his campaign. Wherever Mousavi -- a centrist candidate -- goes, Rahnavard is usually nearby. Watch more about Zahra Rahnavard » . "We look at her and we say, 'we want to be like her in the future, ' " said Shakiba Shakerhosseie, one of 12,000 people who packed into Tehran's indoor Azadi (Freedom) sports stadium to hear Rahnavard speak. Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile. The revolution also ended the ceremonial role of first lady that the last queen, Farah, enjoyed. At this rally, Rahnavard -- a writer and art professor -- spoke for her husband, who was campaigning elsewhere. Wearing a floral headscarf and a traditional black chador -- a full-length loose robe that women in Iran wear like a cloak -- Rahnavard called for freedoms she says were lost during President Mahmoud Ahmadijenad's term. "I hope freedom of speech, freedom of the pen and freedom of thought will not be forgotten," she said. The crowd, which was clad in Mousavi's trademark color green, cheered wildly. It waved placards with his picture and swayed from side to side, chanting and beating drums. The women sat on one side; the men on the other. The overwhelming majority were young voters, many of whom said they attended because of Mousavi's wife, a mother of three. Iran's population -- estimated at more than 66 million -- has a median age of 27. "I am really angry here in Iran with the position of women," said Saghar Kouhestani, adding that she supports Mousavi because of his wife. Mousavi, a former prime minister, is considered a threat to Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner, in the June 12 elections. He is credited for successfully navigating the Iranian economy during a bloody eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. Over the weekend, the Iranian government blocked access to the social networking site Facebook, where Mousavi has a page with more than 5,000 supporters, the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) said. Those attempting to visit Facebook received a message in Farsi saying, "Access to this site is not possible." Political science professor Mohammad Marandi downplays Rahnavard's impact. She may win over reformists and women, he says, but what will win the election is a solution to the floundering economy and a strong performance in the debates. "If Ahmadinejad does well in the debates, I don't think anyone will be able to defeat him," Marandi said. But try selling that to Rahnavard's enthusiastic supporters. "This is the first time after the Revolution we see a lady behind the president," said Farhad Mahmoudi. "And this is why we're so happy because we can have a first lady."

Wife of presidential hopeful Mir Hossein Mousavi generates huge crowds . Never in the history of Iranian presidential elections has a wife been in the forefront . "This is the first time after the Revolution we see a lady behind the president" Could draw young voters in Iran, where median age is 27 .

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed murder charges against two men suspected in the deaths of a charter boat crew, authorities said. The Joe Cool charter boat was found abandoned last month in the Florida Straits. Kirby Archer, 34, and Guillermo Zarabozo, 19, are scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon. The men are being held without bail on suspicion of killing the four-member crew of the Joe Cool fishing boat last month. "Four individuals were killed in this case," Alex Acosta, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, told reporters Wednesday in announcing the charges. "Four families have been torn apart." Watch what led to the charges » . Archer and Zarabozo paid $4,000 in cash for a one-way trip to the Bahamas on the pleasure boat. The U.S. Coast Guard found the abandoned vessel about 160 miles south of the island of Bimini on September 23. It was unmanned, and its contents were in disarray. Zarabozo and Archer were found a few hours later on a life raft 10 miles from the boat. Missing are the boat's captain, Jake Branam; his wife, Kelly; and crew members Scott Gamble and Samuel Kairy. Zarabozo reportedly told a Coast Guard agent that three armed Cuban men hijacked the boat as it headed toward Bimini. Zarabozo, a licensed security guard, said the hijackers shot the crew members and forced him to throw their bodies overboard. But, according to court documents filed in the case, Zarabozo and Archer gave inconsistent stories during interviews with authorities regarding what occurred. Statements given by the pair were not consistent with physical evidence, according to an affidavit supporting the murder charges. Zarabozo, for instance, told federal authorities he did not own a gun, but an investigation showed he had bought a lock box for a gun he kept at his home. That lock box contained various documents, including a receipt for a February 2007 purchase of a Glock 9 mm magazine and four boxes of bullets. "Little of the defendants' story rings true," Acosta said. At a bond hearing last week, the Coast Guard agent said two bullet casings and suspected blood were discovered inside the Joe Cool's cabin. A third bullet casing was found outside the cabin, he said. All three casings were 9 mm. A fourth 9 mm casing was found on the boat later by family members, who turned it over to the FBI, a relative said. "Now you have four casings and four people [presumed] dead," said Jeffrey Branam, the uncle of the boat's captain. Archer is charged with unlawful flight on an Arkansas warrant, accused of stealing more than $90,000 in cash from a Wal-Mart where he once worked. Last week, a judge said he believes circumstantial evidence shows four homicides took place. "Your theory is [Archer and Zarabozo] killed the four?" the judge asked the assistant U.S. attorney at the bond hearing. "Yes, your honor," the prosecutor replied. The Coast Guard spent five days searching for the crew before giving up. Acosta said it is unlikely their bodies will ever be found. Jake Branam and his wife leave behind two small children, he said. "It's difficult," Jeffrey Branam said last week. "Some relatives still think the four are alive and are still searching for them." He said the name of the boat has been removed from the stern, and the name will be retired from the charter fishing business. The boat probably will be retired, too. Referring to Archer and Zarabozo, Branam said: "I'd like to use them as shark bait." E-mail to a friend .

Two defendants to make initial appearances in federal court Thursday . Four-person crew of the Joe Cool are missing and presumed dead . Men who hired boat reportedly say hijackers killed crew but let them go .

(CNN) -- One of the longest-lasting effects of conflict is one that is all too often hidden away, breaking down social fabric and affecting those it touches for the rest of their lives. Rape and sexual violence are easy to overlook -- private tragedies with public stigmas. According to a new report from Save the Children, children bear the brunt of this unseen crisis, enduring the unthinkable when they are most vulnerable. And sexual violence against children is more common than we dare to think. More than half of the victims of sexual violence are children, according to our report. In places of active or past conflict, from Liberia to Colombia to Afghanistan, children -- both boys and girls -- have been afflicted by this horrendous crime. One study cited in the report shows that in post-conflict Liberia, a staggering 80% of victims of sexual violence were children, and the majority of those had been raped. The time has come to change those horrific numbers, and we are glad to see that G8 leaders have taken a step in the right direction As chair of the G8, the government of the UK is making sexual violence a priority, pledging new funds dedicated to preventing rape in places of conflict, and to make sure that those who survive it are given the care and treatment they need and deserve. Read more: G8 nations pledge action to halt sexual violence in war . The scale of the problem is staggering -- in so many conflicts, sexual violence is adding to an already terrifying situation for children. Earlier this week, I spoke to a working group for the U.N. Security Council about the threat of sexual violence facing Syrian children, who have already been uprooted by a bloody two-year old conflict. Save the Children spoke to girls from Mali who saw their friends raped and killed by armed men; children in the Congo subjected to vicious sexual attacks in recent fighting around Goma; and mothers in Colombia whose young children had been raped as the rule of law broke down around them. This problem is not isolated, something happening in just one corner of the world, but instead a troubling pattern that we have seen in too many places. Male victims, often young boys, have been overlooked when it comes to sexual violence, despite evidence that attacks on them, especially in war zones, are significant -- and go unreported. We need to face the full scale of sexual violence so that all children, boys or girls, receive that protection and support. Tackling this problem means shifting attitudes toward sexual violence in war. Where help is available, it is often geared toward the needs of adults. We know in any conflict, children are the most vulnerable, and their needs are unique. Our report cites the devastation -- physical and psychological -- that sexual violence inflicts on the young. With proper support, we can help them heal. The problem is not an easy one to tackle, but it must be done. Funding for protection of children in conflict zones has been difficult to secure. It is not as easy to show as items like food and tents, things that donors can see and grasp easily. Child protection in humanitarian crises is consistently the least funded area of humanitarian response. This pledge will help it get the resources a problem of this magnitude deserves. It is imperative that we continue to demand that this changes. Survivors are often too afraid or embarrassed to speak out on what they have been through, sometimes isolated from their communities and lacking confidence those who abused them will face justice. We must be vocal in insisting that their needs be met. Those needs won't be met overnight, but on Thursday, G8 leaders took a bold step to combat this grave violation of children's rights. Ensuring proper resources and attention are given this critical issue is the first step in fighting this widespread crime against children. The opinions expressed in this commentary are soley those of Carolyn Miles.

Sexual violence is often treated as a private tragedy with a public stigma, Carolyn Miles says . A Save the Children report found that in post-conflict Syria, 80% of victims were children . The G8 has pledged new funds dedicated to preventing sexual violence in places of conflict . Giving proper resources to tackle the problem is a bold first step, Miles says .

KEY WEST, Florida (CNN) -- It's one of the few New Year's Eve parties in America where straight guys think twice about kissing a stranger at midnight. The red paint was still wet when Sushi took the first ride on the ruby slipper. Key West, Florida, the southernmost point in the continental United States, has long been known for its pristine blue ocean, key lime pie, mega bars and margaritas. But it's also known for a female impersonator who rings in the new year in a giant, ruby-red, high-heel shoe live on CNN. The magnificently gowned, stylishly coiffed Sushi is about to enter his eleventh year in the eight-foot shoe. At the stroke of midnight, he'll be lowered from the second-story balcony at the Bourbon Street Pub to ring in 2009 as only he can. "I never thought growing up that I'd be on television in a giant red heel", said Sushi, whose real name is Gary Marion. "That's not something that a young kid aspires to, but I'm so thankful that I live in a country that lets us do what we want to do, as long as we don't hurt anybody else." This extravaganza has long been a featured part of CNN's Live New Year's Eve coverage, hosted this year by CNN's Anderson Cooper and comedian Kathy Griffin. iReport.com: Show us what happens in your town . "This has got to be one of the most unique drops in the world," said Andy Newman, director of media relations for the Florida Keys tourism council. "The whole thing of a drag queen coming down in a bright red shoe is just wild and could only happen in Key West." Leading up to the stroke of midnight, thousands of partygoers are treated to an elaborate drag queen show in the middle of Duval Street. Sushi, or Marion, is the leader of an acclaimed troupe of drag performers, called the 801 Girls, who dance the night away at the 801 Bourbon Street Pub. The owners of the bar, Jimmy Gilleran and Joey Schroeder, dreamed up the event 11 years ago to get more tourists down to Key West. The first event was thrown together in about two weeks, and the shoe was made of papier-mâché and two-by-fours, and painted red. "The paint was still wet, and I had a white dress on, and I sat in it," Sushi said. "They didn't have a permit, and the cops kicked me out, and then we had to call the mayor, and he gave us the OK. ... It was just a mess", he said. CNN correspondent John Zarrella is covering the show. It's been his assignment for several years now. "The very first year ... standing on the stage with two drag queens, not knowing what to expect, and when they both kissed me on the cheeks at the same time, I thought to myself, I hope my mother and my wife weren't watching -- but they were," he said. Zarrella says he's seen the event change over the years that CNN has been carrying the show live. "Every year, it seems to get bigger, and more and more families come every year," he said. A costume designer by profession, Marion has designed most of the 801 Girls' stage outfits and has created costumes for Keys theatrical productions. But he continues to gain widespread fame as Sushi. "A lot of feedback from the straight community, who are like, 'that's really cool,' " he said. "I get a lot of people from Montana, and they think the only gay thing is Brokeback Mountain. Now they see me in the shoe."

New York has a crystal ball, Atlanta has a peach, Key West has a ruby-red shoe . Shoe will carry drag queen Sushi when it's lowered from balcony of bar . The performer has ridden the shoe since the first trip 11 years ago .

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Watching the news out of Mexico is causing a case of déjà vu for Dr. Lo Wing-Luk. The sight of people wearing masks became common in Hong Kong after the SARS outbreak of 2003. "Seeing the people in masks today reminds me of Hong Kong during SARS," said Lo, an epidemiology expert who was among those on the frontline during the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong in 2003, which within three months infected 8,000 and killed nearly 800 in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Toronto. Historically, Hong Kong has been center stage for recent infections that threatened to spiral across the world, such as SARS and Avian Influenza, which first struck and killed people here in 1997. Southern China -- with the close proximity of its rural agriculture to population centers and globally connected transportation -- has been an ideal conduit for past animal diseases that spread to humans and then to the rest of the world. But with the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States, Hong Kong suddenly finds the world looking to it for lessons on how to stop the spread of disease. "Managing a (potential) pandemic can't be from the top down, it must be from the ground up," said Lo, a former Hong Kong legislator representing the medical community. In the early days of SARS, cooperation was lax between Hong Kong health officials and public officials across the border in mainland China, where the live animal wet markets in Guangdong province is suspected in the virus' jump to humans. "One of the most important lesson of SARS was the importance of good communication," says Dr. KY Yuen, head of the microbiology department of Hong Kong University, which found the first human cases of Avian Influenza in 1997 and first identified SARS in 2003. "There were outbreaks in the middle to late November in Guangdong Province, but the first cases were reported in Hong Kong three months later," he said. "We could have reduced the impact (of SARS) if there had been better communication" between Hong Kong and mainland China health authorities. The communication channels have improved between China and Hong Kong, health officials said, as well as better surveillance of the disease. Every visitor who comes through Hong Kong International Airport now is scanned by infrared monitors and immediately isolated if suffering from a fever or respiratory illness. "Quarantine and isolation of people (suspected to be ill) is crucial now," Yuen said. As the disease spreads, there is a conflict between the need for a quick response and the time required for appropriate scientific study -- which can result in some bad decisions, Yuen said. For example, in the case of SARS health experts wore full-body protection suits because of initial hunches the disease was being spread by airborne causes. More people were exposed to the disease because of the harried medical staff's improper use of the cumbersome equipment. "It turned out globes, masks and hand washing were far more effective" than a breathing apparatus, Yuen said. "Presumptions are dangerous," he added. If Hong Kong is any example, governments who fail to meet the challenges of an outbreak will face rising public heat. In July 2003, half a million Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest the government, in part because of frustrations over the response to the SARS outbreak, says Cecilia Chan, director of the Center of Behavioral Health at Hong Kong University -- adding to the woes of the already beleaguered administration of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Wah, who later stepped down in the middle of his second five-year appointment.

Hong Kong at center of recent infections that threatened to spiral across world . First human cases of Avian Influenza reported in 1997, SARS identified in 2003 . Disease expert: Managing a (potential) pandemic can't be from the top down . Lack of good communication during SARS outbreak was a key failing .

(CNN) -- There are happy songs -- and then there is "Happy." The bouncy tune by singer/composer/producer/rapper Pharrell Williams has occupied the No. 1 spot on the charts for more than a month. It's spurred countless covers -- including one by Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, reprising her guest star role in the 100th episode of "Glee." There is even a YouTube version of "Happy" that has gone completely to the dogs. What is it about this song, which is so infectiously enjoyable that Meryl Streep had to shimmy to it when Williams performed at the Oscars? Is it the catchy melody? Is it the insistent nature of such lyrics as "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth"? Is it that extra bounce you feel when the back up singers airily croon "Because I'm happppppyyyy"? Or is it the joy of watching Williams and several other folks dance, bounce and lip-sync along with the song in the music video? Yes. Simply put, the song is all those things, even as it has managed to seemingly capture the rush of happiness in its lyrics and melody. Not a bad trick for a tune that slowly grew from a single on last summer's "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack to such popularity that Robert Morast, a writer for the Virginian-Pilot, recently entered into a debate of whether it should be considered for the official state song of Virginia. "Pharrell's hit track is a jolt of mood-lifting music," wrote Morast, who was more partial to the Carter Family's "Can the Circle Be Unbroken." "And while it's fine to be happy, the best art is crafted with a range of emotional perspectives." Even with its slow build, "Happy" caught ears from the beginning. Upon release it was quickly dubbed "an instant contender for 2013's Song of the Summer" by Rolling Stone. Since then, it's topped the charts in more than a dozen countries besides the United States, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland. Violinist Lindsey Stirling, who's worked with John Legend and mixes classically styled music with electronic dub-step beats, asks simply, how "can you not love ('Happy')?" "I was with a friend, and when ('Happy') came on, her baby started kicking and trying to dance," Stirling said. "We were laughing hysterically and saying 'Even babies love this song.' " She said she believes the reason "Happy" is so beloved is because of its uplifting message. "I get so excited when something this positive goes this big," said Stirling, whose album "Shatter Me" will be released at the end of April. "It's spreading good feelings and isn't at all controversial. It's just something that is making people really happy." Williams has partnered with the United Nations Foundation in celebration of Thursday's International Day of Happiness, encouraging fans to donate to the organization and submit content to his 24Hoursof Happiness.com site. Visitors were asked to tag their submissions, be they dancing, singing or just "being happy" with the #HappyDay. At noon Thursday, in each time zone around the world, Williams will highlight some of the best. "Happy" is also one of the lead singles on Williams new album "Girl," which has already shot to No. 1 in almost 80 countries and on streaming music giant Spotify. The singer is overwhelmed by the goodwill. "This is probably the most I've ever been humbled in my entire life," Williams told the Los Angeles Times about his song and the reaction to it. "Because it's something bigger than me, bigger than anything I've ever done." No doubt that makes him happy.

Fans across the world seem to be in love with the infectious "Happy" The song has shot to No. 1 in more than a dozen countries . Pharrell says he is overwhelmed by the reaction .

(CNN) -- The president of Paris Saint-Germain says fans of the French club have overcome initial reservations about their new Qatari owners and have bought into their mission to make PSG the biggest team in the world. Nasser Al-Khelaifi told CNN World Sport that his vision for the club centers around attracting the finest players on the planet to ply their trade in the French capital and turning PSG into a profitable enterprise. Currently led by former AC Milan and Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti, PSG are in contention to win their first Ligue 1 title since 1994 and are close to securing their dream of competing in the European Champions League. So can PSG conquer the footballing world and become as big as Spanish and European champions Barcelona? Arsenal back coach Wenger as club post profits of $78m . "This is our strategy to bring PSG on long term to be one of the biggest in the world," he told World Sport anchor Pedro Pinto. "We are not saying we are going to be the best club in the world, because it's really tough; you've got history behind other clubs in the (English) Premier League or Spanish or Italian leagues so we are going to try and make it. "For us, of course, with the passion of football you know we love football, we love Paris. Paris is a great city and it's really that Paris deserved to have a big club in the world and that's why we came to Paris and bought PSG. "In the beginning some of the people for sure, they were against us but now I believe most of them or all of them they are with us, supporting us and PSG. Honestly I am so proud today of where we are." Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani bought a 70% share of PSG through his Qatar Sports Investments company in June 2011 and installed 38-year-old Al-Khelaifi as president. The ex-tennis professional recruited Leonardo as general manager and the Brazilian World Cup winner wasted little time in utilizing the new wealth at his disposal to splash a reputed $57 million on Argentina midfielder Javier Pastore. Ronaldo backheel keeps Real 10 points clear in Spain . Another signal of the club's intent to make waves in Europe came with their failed pursuits of Manchester City's Argentina striker Carlos Tevez and former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham. But despite the vast sums of money being spent, Al-Khelaifi insists it is a long-term target of PSG to make the club profitable, and recruit players from the pool of young talent available in the French capital. "That is our strategy," he said. "In five years we want to make money -- also you know we love football, we came to Paris as I said to be one of the biggest clubs in Europe. "You know, our advantage for sure it's Paris, it's the capital, twelve million people live in and around Paris, you have got a lot of talented kids around Paris. "You know the best French players come from Paris. If you see Thierry Henry, (Lilian) Thuram, Nicolas Anelka you know it's really worth it to look for them and look for the new (Lionel) Messi. Why not from Paris?" But for now, the immediate target is to end the club's 18-year wait for the French league title, and the lucrative rewards it would deliver in terms of a Champions League place. "It's going to be great in this stadium to see us playing against Barcelona or Real Madrid," Al-Khelaifi said. "This is one of our dreams."

Paris Saint-Germain president tells CNN he wants to make club biggest in the world . Nasser Al-Khelaifi in charge of running club after Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani's takeover . PSG are coached by former AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti and are second in French league . Al-Khelaifi says it is the aim of PSG's owner to attract the best players in the world .

(CNN) -- Borussia Dortmund moved a big step closer to a first German Bundesliga title in nine years on Saturday with a historic 3-1 victory over defending champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Jurgen Klopp's team moved 13 points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who visit Werder Bremen on Sunday, and 16 ahead of Bayern -- who lost at home to Dortmund for the first time in 20 years. Louis van Gaal's team dropped to fourth after the home defeat, occupying Germany's final Champions League position for next season with 10 rounds to play. Paraguay striker Lucas Barrios opened the scoring in the ninth minute with his 11th goal of the season after Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger lost posesssion to Kevin Grosskreutz, who threaded a perfect pass into the penalty area. Welcome win for struggling Wolfsburg . Brazilian defender Luis Gustavo equalized seven minutes later with his first goal for Bayern since arriving from Hoffenheim in January, sidefooting in a volley from Franck Ribery's corner. Dortmund immediately went back in front through a wonderful effort from Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin, who curled a 20-yard left-foot shot past goalkeeper Thomas Kraft. Bundesliga top scorer Mario Gomez thought he had leveled again in the 20th minute, but the striker was ruled to be offside. Former Bayern defender Mats Hummels sealed the Westphalian team's victory with a header from Mario Gotze's corner on the hour mark. With 15 minutes left, Dortmund's 22-year-old Australian keeper Mitchell Langerak capped a solid Bundesliga debut when he denied Germany international Gomez from close range. Hanover claimed third place after central defender Christian Schulz's last-gasp header was enough to see off St. Pauli. The 27-year-old converted from Portuguese winger Sergio Pinto's 87th-minute corner to put Mirko Slomka's team two points ahead of Bayern,. Mainz remained in fifth place after also needing a late goal to snatch all three points away to Hoffenheim. Former Austria midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz put the visitors in front before his compatriot David Alaba looked to have rescued a draw for ninth-placed Hoffenheim in the 84th minute. But with just four minutes left, 30-year-old Colombian midfielder Elkin Soto secured victory for Thomas Tuchel's Mainz with his second league goal of the season. Germany international Lukas Podolski scored an 88th-minute winner to help Cologne beat SC Freiburg and climb into 11th position, eight points behind their opponents. Sixth-placed Hamburg could only manage a 1-1 draw away to relegation-threatened Kaiserslautern. Marco Kurz's Kaiserslautern drew first blood through Adam Hlousek's first-half goal, but Marcell Jansen's leveler for Armin Veh's Hamburg left the home team in 15th position and above the relegation play-off place on goal difference. Schalke's disappointing Bundesliga season continued with a 1-1 draw at home to Nuremberg. Nuremberg, currently eighth in the table, took the lead through Jens Hegeler, only for former Real Madrid and Spain striker Raul to equalize after 52 minutes.

Borussia Dortmund record first win away to Bayern Munich since 1991 . The 3-1 victory leaves Jurgen Klopp's team 13 points clear at the top of the table . Hanover move up to third above Bayern after a last-gasp 2-1 triumph at St. Pauli . Second-placed Bayer Leverkusen will travel to Werder Bremen on Sunday .

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama's commission investigating last year's oil disaster is giving environmental groups hope that some change is on the horizon, but not the full scope of what they're looking for, two groups told CNN Thursday. "If you take the findings to heart, you wouldn't start drilling again," said Kert Davies, research director with Greenpeace. On Wednesday, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released a chapter of its coming report, saying "systemic" problems caused the blowout and that only "significant reform" would prevent another. "The Macondo blowout was the product of several individual missteps and oversights by BP, Halliburton, and Transocean, which government regulators lacked the authority, the necessary resources, and the technical expertise to prevent," the report says. Macondo was the name of the well. BP, Halliburton and Transocean all were involved in the drilling operation. Greenpeace and the Sierra Club told CNN there were no surprises in the released chapter. "It kind of confirms our worst fears that we've had about the oil industry all along -- that they cut corners where they can," said Athan Manuel, director of lands protection with the Sierra Club. "And that sometimes threatens the safety and operation of their rigs." Manuel said he believes the president will take the commission's findings seriously. "Administratively, we're confident that the Obama administration will change the way oil companies do business in the Gulf." But, he said, his group is not holding out hope for major legislative change. "I imagine that the Republicans in charge of the Natural Resources Committee, and now the new speaker, don't want to see any new restrictions on the oil industry," he said. Greenpeace's Davies said the chapter released "puts an exclamation point on the fact that the corporations were at fault," though he noted that a lack of government oversight also is to blame. "What we hope is that the commission's recommendations are taken to heart by the president," he said. But Davies added, "We don't have very high hopes for the reforms that should happen -- a massive overhaul of the regulatory apparatus and oversight." "Ultimately," he said, "I think the oil industry will succeed in blocking things like that." The group Ocean Conservancy also weighed in with a statement, saying the early draft indicates the commission "will recommend important reforms." The group added, "We now look to the government and industry to step up to the plate." The American Petroleum Institute, the main group representing the oil industry, told CNN Thursday it did not yet have a response to the chapter released by the commission. Halliburton issued a response, accusing the commission of having "selectively omitted information we provided to them." The company also disagreed with certain specifics, saying the report mischaracterized foam stability tests. Transocean issued a statement saying its crew had taken "appropriate actions to gain control of the well. They were well trained and considered to be among the best in the business." BP spokesman Robert Sholars said Wednesday the oil giant "has cooperated fully with the commission's investigation," stressing that "the accident was the result of multiple causes, involving multiple companies." "BP is working with regulators and the industry to ensure that the lessons learned from Macondo lead to improvements in operations and contractor services in deepwater drilling," Sholars said. The U.S. Department of the Interior said it, too, is already implementing reforms. "The agency has taken unprecedented steps and will continue to make the changes necessary to restore the American people's confidence in the safety and environmental soundness of oil and gas drilling and production on the Outer Continental Shelf, while balancing our nation's important energy needs," spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said.

A single chapter of a report into the Deepwater Horizon disaster is now public . "We don't have very high hopes" for major reforms, a Greenpeace official says . Ocean Conservancy: "We now look to the government and industry to step up to the plate"

(CNN) -- Novak Djokovic has plenty of reasons to feel on top of the world -- but one more victory at the ATP World Tour finals will mean he ends 2014 as the leading ranked player on the planet. The current World No.1 cruised past Stan Wawrinka in straight sets in his latest group match on Wednesday to secure his second successive victory at London's O2 Arena and take his astonishing indoor record to 29 matches without defeat. Djokovic, who got married and became a father for the first time earlier this year, lost his serve in the opening game of the contest before roaring back to claim victory with the style and panache with which his admirers have become so accustomed. "It was a great match, no question," Djokovic said in his post-match interview. "The opening three games were quite long but after that I managed to get back in the first set. I swung through my shots and he made a lot of unforced errors. He wasn't close to his best and I succeeded very well with what I wanted to do." Not once has a singles tie at this year's tournament made it to three sets and this never looked likely to become the first. This 6-3 6-0 triumph in just over an hour meant the crowd was treated to yet another one man show. And yet, Wawrinka could scarcely have made a better start to the contest, breaking his opponent in the opening game and consolidating by serving to take the second. But from there on it was all Djokovic as the Serb star reeled off 17 of the next 18 points. In fact, Wawrinka only managed to win another four points in the opening set and just the seven in the second. The seven-time grand slam winner is hoping to win his third consecutive title in London and it would take some showing to stop him. Djokovic has won 59 of his 68 matches this calendar year and is 17-5 against the world's top 10 players. He can seal the end of year No.1 spot when he faces Tomas Berdych in his final group game on Friday. Berdych bounces back . In the day's other game, Berdych cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory over U.S Open champion Marin Cilic. Berdych, who was beaten in his opening match by Wawrinka, required just 74 minutes to see off a disappointing Cilic. The Czech could yet qualify for the semifinals with victory over Djokovic in his final group game. "I think today was more about fighting and getting through it," Berdych said. "It's not my first year. I have the experience of losing the first match in the past and I know how to come back. I think that was the biggest difference. "I just want to try to bring my best tennis and we'll see what happens. I hope I can have a great match." Cilic has endured a difficult time at the finals having lost both of his matches in straight sets. The 26-year-old, who has won just six games in his two matches, made 30 unforced errors during Wednesday's defeat. "It's disappointing to play like this. I was not expecting it. But my body feels a little bit tired on the court," Cilic told reporters. "Especially with these guys at this kind of level, even small mistakes, or if you're not at your best, the outcome is not going to be going in your favor." Thursday's action sees Roger Federer take on Andy Murray, while Kei Nishikori will be hoping for a second victory at this year's tournament when he faces Milos Raonic.

Novak Djokovic defeats Stan Wawrinka in straight sets . Djokovic can secure end of year World No.1 spot with victory in final group match . Tomas Berdych overcomes Marin Cilic in straight sets . Roger Federer faces Andy Murray on Thursday .

Istanbul (CNN) -- A Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman expressed hope Wednesday that only a temporary "technical issue" led the Iraqi government to deny permission for Turkey's energy minister to fly to the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz's plane was forced to turn around in mid-flight Tuesday. He was in a private plane flying to Irbil, the Kurdistan region's capital, to attend a three-day conference on oil and gas. "We had applied for flight permits. We were issued one, and the plane was on the move," said a Turkish foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to government protocol. "But in the meantime we were notified by the Iraqis that they have banned all VIP flights to Northern Iraq." But Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman Safeen Dizayee told CNN on Wednesday that officials there hope the denial was only temporary. "There are new regulations by the central government for private planes to enter Iraqi airspace, and apparently energy minister's plane had not complied with the new regulations" Dizayee said. "Iraqi airspaces are completely controlled by the central government. The cabin crew of the Turkish minister's plane was directly in touch with Baghdad to get permission and Kurdistan Regional Government has no control on it" he added. "We hope it is only a technical issue and it will be resolved soon," he said. Opinion: Why U.S. should rethink policy over Syria's Kurds . Iraqi government officials have not commented on the aborted flight. The incident came at a time of heightened tension between Ankara and Baghdad. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iraqi counterpart, Nuri al-Maliki, have engaged in a public war of words, accusing each other of pushing their respective countries towards civil war. For months, Turkey has also offered sanctuary to Iraq's fugitive vice president, Tarek al-Hashemi, who was sentenced to death in absentia by an Iraqi court for murder. And last August, the Iraqi central government loudly objected after Turkey's foreign minister made a short visit from Iraqi Kurdistan to the contested oil-rich city of Kirkuk, apparently without Baghdad's permission. Iraqi Kurds have witnessed a remarkable reversal over the past decade, as Turkey has gone from being a major adversary to being one of the Kurdistan Regional Government's largest trading partners. "To ensure access to Kurdish oil and gas, Turkey has eased its trade, economic, diplomatic relations with the KRG. Even in some cases, it has acted as the protector of the Kurds in Northern Iraq," wrote Yerevan Saeed, an Iraqi Kurdish energy security analyst at Tufts University. "This has made both Baghdad and Tehran angry, and they have been trying to limit Turkish influence," Saeed added, referring to Iran, another regional player that is seen by many observers as one of the chief patrons of the Baghdad government. The intrigues in Iraq have been complicated by the fact that relations are also deteriorating between al-Maliki's government and the Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government have been at odds for years over who has final authority over Iraq's vast oil wealth. In recent weeks, that tension has flared around Kirkuk. Last month, Iraqi Kurdistan deployed troops and tanks to cement the Kurds' claim over the strategic city. The Kurdish forces have been engaged in a tense standoff with units of the Iraqi Army, which were recently deployed to areas near Kirkuk. NATO: 'Don't even think about attacking Turkey'

Kurdish spokesman: "We hope it is only a technical issue and it will be resolved soon" Energy Minister Taner Yildiz's plane was forced to turn around in mid-flight Tuesday . He was on his way to a conference in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq . The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between Ankara and Baghdad .

(CNN) -- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that same-sex marriages can resume in California, a move that the Supreme Court paved the way for on Wednesday. Three judges on the appeals court made it possible for local governments to issue marriage certificates for gay and lesbian couples with a few words: "The stay in the above matter is dissolved effective immediately." Very soon after, cheers erupted and camera flashes flickered as Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier obtained a marriage license and wed at San Francisco's city hall. The two were one of the couples who sued to stop a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage from taking effect. "This is a profound day for our country, and it's just the right thing," said California Attorney General Kamala Harris, shortly before presiding over Perry's and Stier's wedding ceremony. "Justice is finally being served." California's Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage in May 2008, ruling that the state's constitution gives "this basic civil right to (marry to) all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples." But months later, 52% of voters backed Proposition 8 to once again restrict marriages so that they can only be between a man and a woman. The measure put gay and lesbian marriages on hold in the state, though lawsuits followed. State officials declined to stand behind Proposition 8 -- and, thus, its prohibition on gay marriage -- though private parties did step in and offer to do so. A federal appeals court later ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, though it still issued a stay on same-sex marriages until the U.S. Supreme Court could weigh in. That happened in a 5-4 decision Wednesday, when the high court dismissed an appeal of that federal court ruling on jurisdictional grounds. That meant Friday's news -- the resumption of same-sex marriages in the Golden State -- was expected, even though no one knew when it would happen. The Supreme Court ruled that the private parties backing Proposition 8 did not have "standing" to defend the ballot measure. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by fellow conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and more liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. "We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend a state statute when state officials have chosen not to," wrote Roberts. This decision was cheered by gay marriage supporters in California, though it skirted the larger issue of whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional "equal protection" right that should apply to all states. So, too, did another landmark ruling that same day on United States v. Windsor: It struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and found that the federal government must recognize legal same-sex marriages, though it did not compel them to be legalized in the 37 states where they currently are not. Supreme Court cases rest of citizens who sued, made history . Still, both decisions were resoundingly cheered by gay rights supporters. Many who believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman, however, were disappointed. And that held to form on Friday as well, after the 9th Circuit's ruling allowing same-sex marriages in California. "This outrageous act tops off a chronic pattern of lawlessness, throughout this case, by judges and politicians hell-bent on thwarting the vote of the people to redefine marriage by any means, even outright corruption," the Proposition Legal Defense Fund said in a statement. "...If our opponents rejoice in achieving their goal in a dishonorable fashion, they should be ashamed." CNN's Erica Henry contributed to this report.

Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier wed at San Francisco City Hall . They do so after a federal appeals court lifts an order banning same-sex marriages . The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for the move with a ruling Wednesday . Prop 8 supporters say those cheering "should be ashamed"

(CNN) -- The president of Florida A&M University announced his resignation Wednesday, more than seven months after a drum major for the university band died following a hazing incident. "After considerable thought, introspection and conversations with my family, I have decided to resign from my position as president in order to initiate my retirement on October 11, 2012," James H. Ammons wrote in a letter to the chairman of the school's board of trustees, Solomon Badger III. Ammons said he is leaving the post he has held for five years, effective this fall, but would remain as a tenured professor. He made no direct reference to hazing in his letter. Recommendations for suspension preceded FAMU band death . Last month, the school's trustees supported by 8-4 a no-confidence vote over Ammons' performance. "I hear you loudly and clearly," Ammons told the board at the time. "I understand there are some measures that I have to take as president of this university to fix things, and I am going to fix them." In a statement, Badger said Wednesday that he was saddened by Ammons' decision to resign, "but it is his choice to do so. Given all that has transpired, it seems to be in the best interest of the university, and I applaud him for putting FAMU ahead of his personal goals." The resignation comes after the November 19 death of Robert Champion, 26. In a statement, Champion's family said "the rampant culture of hazing found at FAMU would not and could not be eradicated without some major housecleaning of those who turned a blind eye to the problem." Champion died within an hour of being badly beaten during a hazing ritual on a band bus after a football game in Orlando, Florida. The ritual, called "Crossing Bus C," is an initiation process in which pledges attempt to run down the center aisle while being assaulted by senior members, according to some university band members. FAMU president gets no confidence vote amid hazing scandal . An autopsy found "extensive contusions of his chest, arms, shoulder and back," and "evidence of crushing of areas of subcutaneous fat," the medical examiner reported, ruling the death a homicide. A police investigation resulted in charges against 14 people. Eleven face one count of third-degree felony hazing resulting in death. Each also is accused of two counts of first-degree misdemeanor hazing. Three people each face a single count of misdemeanor first-degree hazing. FAMU said it took steps to eradicate the problem of hazing after Champion's death, and the board of trustees approved an anti-hazing plan that includes an independent panel of experts to investigate hazing allegations. Since then, Julian White has retired as band director, the Florida A&M board of trustees issued a vote of no confidence against Ammons and the marching band has been suspended through the 2012-2013 school year. Champion's parents met Wednesday with prosecutors to receive an update about criminal charges being pressed against those involved in their son's death. The Champions have filed a lawsuit suit against the school's board of trustees, the company that owns the bus in which the abuse occurred and the bus driver. The 33-page document, which was filed Tuesday in circuit court in Orange County, Florida, does not specify damages being sought. It claims the bus driver participated in or allowed hazing rituals to occur on the buses she was operating. Witnesses paint violent blow-by-blow picture of FAMU hazing . Band members say FAMU drum major gave in to hazing . Florida A&M president keeps band on suspension . CNN's Adam Reiss contributed to this report.

NEW: Drum major's parents file lawsuit . Robert Champion, 26, was badly beaten after a football game in Orlando . "It seems to be in the best interest of the university," board chairman says of resignation . The marching band has been suspended through the 2012-2013 season .

KINGLAKE, Australia (CNN) -- Two men, who were arrested Thursday in connection with the deadly wildfires that have swept through southeastern Australia, were released without being charged, police said. Bushfires have destroyed huge tracts of the Australian countryside. Victoria state police had told CNN that the two -- who had been taken into custody and were "assisting" police earlier -- had been behaving suspiciously in or near Marysville, a town where roughly 100 people have died in the fires. It was not immediately clear what the behavior was or why the men were released. Meanwhile, authorities said they fear the death toll from the fires, which sat at 181 on Wednesday, could reach as high as 300. Authorities are basing that figure on the number of people who remain missing and the number of homes that have been destroyed. Rescue workers have not been able to thoroughly investigate many of those homes because of the intense heat. Firefighters have battled blazes since Saturday -- including several new fires that broke out Tuesday night and which officials say almost certainly were the result of arson. About 35 separate fires continued burning Thursday morning, authorities said. But none of those blazes posed an immediate threat to villages and their intensity had lessened, according to police. Authorities were saying Wednesday that more than 500 people have been injured, nearly 1,000 homes destroyed, thousands left homeless and at least 365,000 hectares (901,935 acres) of the Australian countryside burned black. See a map of the area » . Those numbers were expected to continue to rise Thursday. Arson is thought responsible for all the destruction in the towns of Marysville and Kinglake. As many as half the homes in Kinglake have burned to the ground, police say. Watch how survivors of the fires are facing looters, scammers and vandals » . John Brumby, the premier of the hard-hit state of Victoria, said many of 20 fires burning Wednesday were suspected to have been started by arsonists -- an act described earlier by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "mass murder." "There seems little doubt these were deliberately lit -- a number of them last night," Brumby said on national television. "I think words escape us all when it comes to describing deliberate arson." Seven Network reporter Sarah Cumming said two major fires blazing west of Melbourne at Healesville and Bunyip State Park were in danger of joining up despite being 18 kilometers apart. Watch as residents return home to destruction » . Several fires started by lightning between the two blaze fronts were exacerbating the situation, she said. In Marysville, officials warned that as many as 100 people, or one-fifth of the town's population, might be dead, with many bodies believed to be still buried under debris. Photos: Bushfires leave path of destruction » . Likely to add to the fatality figure was the discovery by forensic scientists that some skeletal remains initially thought to be single bodies were actually two people fused together by searing temperatures. iReport.com: Raging fire approaches home . As efforts to help those affected by the wildfires gather pace, tent cities have sprung up in Whittlesea, just north of Melbourne. Relief agencies have pitched camps for those forced out of their homes. Many fire victims have grown increasingly frustrated, kept from returning home -- or to what is left of their homes -- by authorities because of safety concerns. Watch a koala bear being rescued » . Fires were Wednesday threatening a gas plant and a reservoir supplying Melbourne, Cummings added. She said firefighters were counting on three days of relative calm weather before high winds were expected to fan flames again. CNN's John Vause contributed to this report .

NEW: Released men had been behaving suspiciously . NEW: Authorities say death toll may have jumped from 181 to around 300 . NEW: About 35 separate fires continued burning Thursday morning . Arson thought responsible for the destruction in the towns of Marysville and Kinglake .

(CNN) -- The United States are aiming to win the Solheim Cup for a fourth successive occasion when they face Europe in the 12th edition of the women's team golf tournament, which begins at the Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Ireland on Friday. The competition, an exact replica of the men's Ryder Cup, begins on Friday morning with four foursomes, where the players alternate playing the same ball, before the afternoon's four fourballs -- which sees each player playing their own ball. Saturday's two sessions then follow exactly the same format, before Sunday's 12 individual singles, which will determine the winners. With a total of 28 points up for grabs, the winning team is the first to reach 14 1/2 points, with the Americans securing 16-12 triumphs in Illinois in 2009 and Sweden in 2007. Alison Nicholas, who is captaining Europe for a second time following their 2009 defeat, has paired Maria Hjorth and Anna Nordqvist in the opening foursomes match -- with the Swedish duo lining up against Michelle Wie and Cristie Kerr. The English duo of Karen Stupples and Melissa Reid face Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome in the second of the foursomes, while the third sees veteran Scot Catriona Matthew and Spanish rookie Azahara Munoz against Stacy Lewis and Angela Stanford. And Friday's morning session is completed by Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Sweden's Sophie Gustafson facing Brittany Lang and Juli Inkster -- who becomes the oldest-ever Solheim Cup player at the age of 51. The United States lead Europe 8-3 overall and both Nicholas and her American counterpart Rosie Jones are aware of the need to get a good start in the competition. Nicholas told the official Solheim Cup website: "I think I have a good blend in my team and I am very happy with the way the draw has worked out. "Catriona, for instance, is a great leader and gets on so well with everyone. She has lots of experience and I think she will make a great pairing with Azahara. They are both steady players." The United States come into the match as favorites to retain their title, with four of the world's top 10 amongst their ranks. "I've put Michelle and Cristie out first because they are both good leaders," Jones told the official website. "They have played a lot together and had success. I want them to get out there and put up a point." She continued: "I've got heavy hitters in every match. I have a master plan and I'm going to stick to it as much as possible. But you have to wait and see how the matches go and maybe adjust." European team: (number of previous Solheim Cup appearances in brackets) Melissa Reid (Eng) (-) Laura Davies (Eng) (11) Karen Stupples (Eng) (1) Suzann Pettersen (Nor) (5) Sophie Gustafson (Swe) (7) Maria Hjorth (Swe) (4) Anna Nordqvist (Swe) (1) Caroline Hedwall (Swe) (-) Catriona Matthew (Sco) (4) Azahara Munoz (Sp) (-) Sandra Gal (Ger) (-) Christel Boeljon (Net) (-) United States team: . Michelle Wie (1) Julie Inkster (8) Cristie Kerr (5) Paula Creamer (3) Angela Stanford (3) Brittany Lang (1) Brittany Lincicome (2) Morgan Pressel (2) Christina Kim (2) Vicky Hurst (-) Ryann O'Toole (-) Stacy Lewis (-)

Europe and the United States begin the 12th edition of golf's Solheim Cup on Friday . The American women are aiming to win the title for a fourth successive time this weekend . The action starts at the Killeen Castle Resort in Ireland with the opening fourballs .

Islamabad (CNN) -- In a period of about three weeks she went from being a virtually unknown 14-year-old Pakistani girl to making headlines around the world as a Christian teen facing a life sentence for allegedly burning pages of the Quran. In her first-ever public interview since being released on bail, Rimsha Masih said she's happy to be back with her family but still fears for her life. "I'm scared," she told CNN by phone. "I'm afraid of anyone who might kill us." Rimsha spoke in short sentences -- often answering "yes" or "no" in a shy and nervous voice. She wouldn't reveal where she was because she was speaking from her hideout. Judge grants bail to 'blasphemy teen' In Pakistan, suspects accused of blasphemy often face vigilante justice, with some cases even resulting in murder. When we asked Masih how she was doing, she said she was good. We asked her if she ever burned pages of the Quran. "No, no," she replied instantly. Were you falsely accused? "Yes," she said. However, Rimsha wouldn't answer questions about what exactly happened on August 16 this year. Pakistani investigators said Rimsha's neighbor accused her of burning pages of the Quran to use as cooking fuel. The young man accused the teenager of blasphemy, shouted in protest, and attracted an angry mob, police said. But Rimsha's lawyers denied she desecrated the Muslim holy book in this way. They said the neighbor wanted to settle a personal score with Rimsha because the two didn't get along. The lawyers told CNN this may have been because he liked her but she didn't like him back. Within minutes hundreds of residents from this poor Islamabad neighborhood surrounded the terrified girl, witnesses said. There are conflicting accounts about what happened next. Some neighbors said Rimsha was beaten, while others claimed she frantically raced back home and locked herself inside. The police eventually arrived and took Rimsha into custody . Her case made international headlines and sparked outrage among rights groups who have long accused the Pakistani government of allowing the country's controversial blasphemy laws to be used to settle scores and persecute religious minorities. According to rights groups such as the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Human Rights Watch, most innocent victims of Pakistan's blasphemy laws belong to minority Muslim sects like the Ahamadis, who are often viewed as non-believers by Pakistan's majority Sunnis. Rimsha's father -- a Christian house painter who earns a few dollars a day -- said no one in his family would dare dishonor the Quran. "We respect the Quran just like we respect the Bible," said Mizrak Mashi. "We couldn't imagine committing blasphemy let alone doing it. Our children would never do this either." Last week, under growing pressure from rights groups who were outraged that a juvenile had spent more than three weeks in jail, a judge finally approved Rimsha's request to be released on bail. Her case is still pending but she seemed to gain fresh support earlier this month when police arrested a Muslim cleric and accused him of planting torn pages of the Quran in Rimsha's bag in an apparent attempt to bolster evidence against her. Meanwhile, a family spokesman said aid groups from the U.S., Italy and Canada have already offered to give Rimsha and her family a home outside Pakistan. But Rimsha said, for now, she doesn't want to go anywhere other than back to life as she knew it, away from the spotlight. "I love Pakistan," Masih said. "I won't ever leave my country." Police: Muslim cleric framed girl in Pakistan blasphemy case .

Rimsha Masih was jailed after she was accused by a neighbor . The neighbor says she burned pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book . Rimsha denies accusation, her lawyers say neighbor was settling a score . A Muslim cleric has been accused of planting evidence against her .

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- The cholera epidemic already blamed for more than 1,100 deaths in Haiti could worsen because of poor sanitation in the earthquake-ravaged country, U.S. medical researchers reported Thursday. A lack of treated drinking water, coupled with poor hand hygiene and food-preparation practices, make the 1.3 million people still living in camps particularly vulnerable, according to a new study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The course of the cholera outbreak in Haiti is difficult to predict," the report states. "The Haitian population has no pre-existing immunity to cholera, and environmental conditions in Haiti are favorable for its continued spread." Jordan Tappero, a CDC epidemiologist in Haiti, said Haitian authorities and aid agencies are working to limit the epidemic by emphasizing clean water and sanitation. But he added, "We expect we will be working very hard for many months to come." Haiti has not reported a cholera outbreak in more than a century. The current epidemic was first reported in October and has now spread to eight of the Caribbean nation's 10 provinces, the CDC found. Reports linking the outbreak to Nepalese troops from the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH sparked riots in the northern port city of Cap-Haitien on Tuesday. A new round of violent protests erupted Thursday in the capital Port-au-Prince, eyewitnesses told CNN. U.N. officials have denied the Nepalese were to blame for the outbreak. The CDC has said the strain of the cholera bacteria responsible is "indistinguishable" from one found in other parts of the world, including south Asia, but researchers are unlikely to be able to pinpoint how it arrived in Haiti. "The reality is that we have a serious problem here," CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said. The emphasis is on controlling the outbreak, "so that more people do not become ill and potentially die from cholera." The epidemic comes as Haiti -- already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere -- struggles to recover from the January earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people. Even before the quake, only 12 percent of the Haitian population of 9.8 million received treated tap water and only 17 percent had access to adequate sanitation, the CDC noted. "The water safety and sanitation systems in Haiti were weak be before the earthquake and made weaker by the earthquake, so conditions are ripe for the further spread of cholera," Tappero told CNN. Some symptoms of cholera, an acute, bacterial illness caused by drinking tainted water, can be mild or even nonexistent. But the disease can cause profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting, leading to death by rapid dehydration. The heart of the outbreak is the Haitian province of Artibonite, north of Port-au-Prince. Interviews with victims hospitalized in the first days of the outbreak found that two-thirds of them had been drinking untreated water from rivers or canals, the same percentage did not routinely use chlorine to sanitize drinking water and nearly four out of five defecated in the open. And as the current outbreak spreads, infected people could spread the disease further by preparing food without proper hygiene, the CDC reported. "The way to prevent acquiring cholera when sanitation is poor is to take your water from a clean water source or treat water yourself in the home, and use good sanitary practices with clean water when preparing and cooking food," Tappero said. CNN's Miriam Falco and Matt Smith contributed to this report.

U.S. report says the cholera outbreak's course is "difficult to predict" Haiti hasn't seen a cholera outbreak in more than a century . The epidemic has killed more than 1,100 in the earthquake-ravaged nation .

(CNN) -- A 52-year-old California woman identified last month as one of two suspects sought in connection with a child pornography case linked to the San Fernando Valley was indicted Tuesday on federal charges. Letha Montemayor Tucker, also known as "Butterfly," was named in the four-count indictment returned by a grand jury. It accuses her of conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of children. If convicted on all counts, Tucker would face from 10 years to life in prison. The woman's tattoos helped identify her. They include a sleeping, curled up cat on her right shoulder blade, a butterfly on her right-upper thigh and the word "butterfly" across her left outer wrist. Tucker's public defender, Myra Sun, said she had not seen the indictment and had no comment. The indictment comes a month after tips from the public led to Tucker's identification and arrest as one of two individuals allegedly involved in the production of child pornography images that were shot about 11 years ago. The pictures show an unidentified man and a woman, believed to be Tucker, sexually molesting a girl who was then 11 to 13 years of age, according to the indictment. The time estimate is based on a 2001 calendar visible in some some pictures. According to the seven-page indictment, Tucker and the girl -- identified in the indictment only as JMM -- lived together at about that time in a residential hotel in the Los Angeles area. Tucker worked as a prostitute, gave JMM -- who was born in 1988 -- crack cocaine and directed her to engage in sexual acts with Tucker's male clients, it says. In or about May 2001, Tucker contacted "John Doe" and asked if he would be interested in having sex with the girl in exchange for money, it says. Tucker then took the girl to his residence, where the girl and "John Doe" engaged in sex acts, which were photographed, it adds. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children concluded that the images were likely produced in the San Fernando Valley, a center for the production of pornography. Homeland Security agents discovered the images in 2007, but did not locate the victim or determine the identity of the woman until January, when they appealed to the public for help. Tucker is being held without bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in United States District Court on February 13. The victim, now an adult, "is safe and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation," it said. "The victim in this case was devastated when she learned from investigators that these sexually explicit images had been distributed over the Internet," said ICE Director John Morton. "The reality is, every time such images are viewed, the children shown are exploited yet again. That is why we owe it to these young victims to vigorously pursue these cases and hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible crimes." The images of the victim remain on the Internet. "They've been found in more than 300 separate locations," said Joey Blanch, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case and the deputy chief of the violent and organized crime section. "They're just out there, and there's almost nothing we can do to get them back." The name and whereabouts of "John Doe" -- who appears to be 40 to 50 years of age in the images -- have not been determined. His face is obscured in the images, Blanch said. "If somebody knew him well, they might be able to recognize him from his hairline, and might recognize the apartment," she said. Nationwide child porn investigation leads to couple's arrest in Oregon .

Suspect's tattoos helped identify her, authorities say . She was identified only after ICE put out a public call for help . "John Doe" remains unidentified . The victim "is safe and is cooperating"

LILONGWE, Malawi (CNN) -- Like most African countries, Malawi has suffered from a severe shortage of nurses and key health workers. Godfrey Mdzudzuma, a nurse at Embangweni Mission Hospital, delivers a baby in the maternity ward. In the past, workers in the tiny southeast African nation of just 13 million inhabitants have been lured abroad by the promise of higher wages and better working conditions. But, the country best-known as the homeland of Madonna's adopted children now has another claim to fame: It has succeeding in halting -- at least for now -- its crippling brain drain of nurses. Malawi's solution? To expand educational opportunities for nurses at all levels and keep them out of poverty by paying modestly more money. Countries don't come much poorer than Malawi, but its healthcare system worked well back in the 1970s and early 1980s. When the former British colony gained independence in 1964, president Hastings Banda, himself a physician, maintained a high level of training for nurses that included teaching all classes in English. By the late 1990s, however, Malawi was reeling from the AIDS epidemic. As if that weren't bad enough, the government also had to cut spending on health care and education as a condition for getting help from the U.S. and other countries to liberalize its trade and economy. The publicly funded health system, on which more than 95 percent of Malawians still depend for treatment, quickly started to fall apart. Watch a report about the impact of Malawi's nursing shortage » . Registered nurses began leaving in droves. "Every day I received reports from Nurses' Council that so many nurses are now at the airport," Ann Phoya, the former head of nursing services for all Malawi told CNN. "It was obvious that we needed to do something drastic." Phoya worked with others in Malawi's Ministry of Health (MOH) to come up with an emergency plan that focused on nurses as they provided most of the primary care. The MOH then applied for around $160 million (£100 million) in international funding for their six-year initiative, primarily from the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. The money was to be used to pay higher salaries to nurses -- quite a radical move in global development as donors worry it is unsustainable in the long haul. However, the situation in Malawi was getting desperate. The gamble paid off: The number of registered nurses leaving Malawi fell from a high of 111 (the equivalent of two years of Malawi's entire nursing graduates) in 2001 to just six in the first half of 2008. Enrollment at Malawi's nursing schools jumped up by 50 percent. Success in one area has revealed a different problem -- that of an internal brain drain. As more international aid groups and universities set up health programs in Malawi, they are hiring nurses, all trained at Malawi taxpayer expense, away from publicly funded hospitals and clinics. The problem is even more acute in the rural areas, where most of Malawi's people live. Embangweni Mission Hospital in northern Malawi has a good reputation but is located at the end of a long, dusty road, far from major towns, let alone cities. "Young nurses with families do not really want to work here," said Catherine Mzembe, head of nursing at Embangweni. "The local market is very small and although the hospital has running water, that is not the case in many homes." Even so, the hospital has made impressive strides in the past five years preserving mothers' lives during pregnancy, as well as cutting the number of deaths due to malaria among children and adults. And that is perhaps the most important lesson to draw from Malawi's efforts: it pays to look at how much has been accomplished with so little.

Malawi's innovative national program lifts nurses out of poverty . Since 2001 the external brain drain has slowed to a trickle . Many challenges still remain as the public health service is depleted .

(CNN) -- Doctors and hospital officials from Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are notifying 18 neurosurgery patients that they might have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a serious and incurable neurological disorder. "Today we are reaching out to 18 neurosurgery patients who were exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease over the last three weeks at Forsyth Medical Center," said Jeff Lindsay, president of the center, according to CNN affiliate WGHP. The hospital is in the process of contacting the 18 people, spokeswoman Jeanne Mayer said Tuesday. She was not sure how many had been reached. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, CJD affects about one person in every 1 million people per year worldwide. "It is important to note that there are multiple variations of CJD and this case is not related to mad cow disease," Novant Health said in a statement. The hospital confirmed that on January 18, an operation was performed on a patient with CJD symptoms who later tested positive for the illness. Even though the surgical instruments were sterilized by standard hospital procedures, they should have gone through enhanced sterilization procedures used when there are confirmed or suspected cases of CJD. The original patient "had neurological symptoms that could have been attributed to CJD or another brain disease," Novant Health said. "There were reasons to suspect that this patient might have had CJD. As such, the extra precautions should have been taken, but were not." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the World Health Organization, recommends that surgical equipment used on CJD patients be destroyed or decontaminated through an intense disinfecting process. Although CJD can be transferred through surgical equipment, hospital officials say the likelihood of these patients contracting the disease is very low. The CDC corroborates that assessment. It says that no cases of the disease have been linked to the use of contaminated medical equipment since 1976. But Lindsay made no excuses. "On behalf of the entire team at Novant Health, I apologize to the patients and their families, for having caused this anxiety." CJD is a rare, degenerative and fatal brain disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health. It's characterized by rapid, progressive dementia. Initial symptoms can include problems with muscular coordination, personality changes including impaired memory and thinking; and impaired vision. CJD is believed to be caused by a type of protein called a prion. It can be sporadic, hereditary or acquired; the acquired type is the rarest form, according to the NIH, and seen in fewer than 1% of cases. It is not contagious through casual contact. Asked whether the 18 people would be tested, Mayer said there is no quick test for CJD. The original patient underwent brain surgery and then the disease was found through a number of tests afterward, she said. In some cases, CJD can take years to show up, Mayer said. The hospital has instituted the enhanced sterilization process on all surgical instruments used in brain surgery, Novant Health said. In September, 13 patients received similar warnings from two hospitals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, when a patient who had undergone neurosurgery was later suspected to have CJD. The hospitals shared the specialized surgical equipment that was used to operate on the patient and continued to use it until the suspicion of exposure to the disease surfaced. Learn more about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease . 30,000 in Britain may carry human form of mad cow .

CDC says no one has been known to get CJD from surgical instruments since 1976 . 18 surgery patients getting news: They may have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob . The disease is a serious and incurable neurological disorder . Hospital says instruments used in a surgery didn't get the approved sterilization .

(CNN) -- A big part of being president is making decisions, and one of the key decisions a would-be president can make is who he or she marries. Cindy McCain has a master's degree in special education. She is part owner of her father's business. It's not like deciding whether to press the nuclear button, but first ladies in the United States can wield enormous influence in politics and in society. They're not elected. They're not paid. There's no precise job description. But whether it's an elegantly dressed Jacqueline Kennedy giving Americans a tour of the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt speaking on civil rights or Hillary Clinton saying "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies," first ladies are praised, criticized, adored and scorned -- but never ignored. The two women poised for the job, 54-year-old Cindy McCain, wife of Republican Sen. John McCain, and 44-year-old Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, come from strikingly different backgrounds. Watch the different styles of potential first ladies » . McCain is the only child of a wealthy Arizona businessman, James Hensley, founder of Hensley & Co., a major distributor of Budweiser beer. Her stake in the business is estimated to be at least $100 million. She refused to release her full tax returns, saying "I am not the candidate," but later provided summary pages of her 2006 taxes without details. Cindy McCain has a master's degree in special education. She met John McCain in 1979 when he was the U.S. Navy's liaison to the Senate. He was 18 years older than she. He divorced his wife and married Cindy in 1980. The McCains have four children, including a daughter adopted from an orphanage in Bangladesh. A tall, striking blonde with blue eyes, Cindy McCain has had health issues including a near-fatal stroke in 2004 and a battle with prescription drugs that she says is behind her. In an interview with CNN, McCain said her priority in life is charity. "I've been internationally involved in many, many things," she said. "Land mine removal, children's health care, poverty around the world -- and I will continue that." On the campaign trail, always dressed impeccably, she stays "on message" but did take a swipe at Michelle Obama after her statement, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." "I don't know about you," McCain said in February, "...I'm very proud of my country." Michelle Obama has a blunt style and a wry, quirky sense of humor that goes over well with supporters. She doesn't mince words. In an interview with CNN, she said, "I think race is always -- still, in this country, it's always on the table." Michelle Obama was raised in a working-class family in Chicago, Illinois, but educated at some of America's elite universities: Princeton and Harvard Law School. She was hired by a top-flight law firm in Chicago and met Barack Obama when she was assigned to mentor him. They married in 1992 and have two young daughters. Michelle Obama cuts an impressive figure -- tall, slim and dressed in Jackie-Kennedy-like sheath dresses. If her husband is elected, she will make history as the first African-American first lady. She has given insights into her husband's domestic behavior: He doesn't pick up his socks. Cindy McCain praises her husband as a fighter who won't give up. Will we learn more of substance? Their husbands offer starkly different views of what they would do in office and Americans often look to their first ladies as a window into the thinking of the president. We're all ears.

First ladies can wield enormous influence . Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain have sharply different backgrounds . But both are well-educated and successful in their own careers .

(CNN)In 1982, songwriter San Bao fell in love with musical theater -- then an alien art form in China -- when he saw a videotaped version of CATS, which became the longest running musical in Broadway history. Fast forward three decades, and San Bao, who has enjoyed a successful career writing pop songs and helming music production at the Beijing Olympics, wants to make home-grown musicals to rival some of Andrew Lloyd Webber's biggest hits. "This is what I want -- a real musical with Chinese characteristics," he told CNN. San Bao has made seven musicals since 2005 and his latest "Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen" -- currently on tour in China -- draws on a collection of supernatural tales written during the early Qing Dynasty. Underwritten by government funding, none of his musicals has yet made a profit, let alone smashed box-office records -- although a 2005 production called "Butterflies" made it to South Korean stages in a 2008 tour. "It takes time for people to appreciate this art form," said San Bao. "Ten years ago, nobody in China would spend money buying a movie ticket, but now? People don't talk about what movies they watched but about which ones they missed." READ MORE: Shanghai Culture Plaza: Building Asia's Broadway . Rave reviews . Some Broadway shows have captivated Chinese audiences. French revolution epic "Les Miserables" was a hit when it debuted in Shanghai in 2002. More recently, a Chinese-language version of "Mamma Mia!" that toured in August 2011 grossed 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) in less than a month and according to the China Daily, a 2013 production of "The Phantom of the Opera" sold out five months before its premiere. But high ticket prices mean these shows reach a limited audience, and it's typically only the most accessible Broadway hits that resonate with a Chinese audience, says Zhou Yinchen, the head of the Folk Music and Musical Research Center at Peking University's Academy of Arts. "'Mamma Mia!' is entertaining, that's why Chinese accept it," she says. "Of course there are other Broadway musicals but it's only those with the highest entertainment value work in China," she adds. Nonetheless, the rave reviews audiences have given to these shows make musical producers like San Bao confident that combining Broadway showmanship with Chinese plot lines will one day result in a sure-fire hit. Cartoon character . As well as China's imperial past, San Bao has also made shows about a Chinese cartoon character similar to Tintin, and the Chinese Communist Party's Long March -- a 6,000 mile journey that helped cement Mao Zedong's stature as a great leader. San Bao says one of the biggest challenges he faces is the dearth of all-round performers. Few Chinese actors and actresses have equally strong singing and dancing skills that musical theater requires, he said. And while China does offer some undergraduate courses in musical theater, these departments are relatively new and the level of expertise is not deep. Xu Luyang​, a classical music critic, also says that musical productions often can't afford the high pay necessary to attract top talent. "The musical industry is China is still immature," he said. ​ . Rather than continuing to rely on the government's largesse, San Bao says he is looking for investors to fund his next project and hopes that will give him freer creative rein. "The reason why I produce musicals and will keep doing it is because I like it very much." READ MORE: 'Spin': Chinese musicals take center stage . Serena Dong reported from Beijing, Katie Hunt wrote from Hong Kong.

China has no musical theater tradition, although musicals like "Mamma Mia!" have been big hits . San Bao wants to combine Broadway showmanship with Chinese plot lines . He's produced seven musicals since 2005 and his latest is on tour .

(CNN) -- As Sen. John McCain prepares to promote free trade during a high-profile trip to Colombia and Mexico, a poll out Tuesday suggests the issue may be a political hurdle as the general election campaign heats up. Sen. John McCain's free trade stance could pose a problem in November, according to a new poll. According to the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 51 percent of Americans view foreign trade as a threat to the economy -- the first time in a CNN poll that a majority of Americans report holding negative views on free trade. That compares with only 35 percent of Americans who felt free trade posed a threat to the economy in 2000, and 48 percent who felt it was a threat in 2006. Now, only four in 10 Americans say free trade presents an opportunity for economic growth, a sentiment that clearly makes the issue a challenge for McCain, especially in the crucial Rust Belt states most affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs over the last decade. "It's possible that John McCain's decision to highlight his free trade position may wind up losing him some votes among Americans who feel threatened economically by competition from other countries," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. "Recent polls in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan have shown McCain well behind Barack Obama. Calling attention to his stand on an issue like trade may be a part of the problems he apparently faces in those Midwestern states." The poll also shows that some of the key voting blocs McCain is courting are most against free trade. Women, older Americans and lower-income voters report feeling the biggest threat from unfettered trade. Many of these voters were particularly receptive to Sen. Hillary Clinton in key states during the Democratic primary as she increasingly developed an anti-trade stance. The survey results come as McCain, who is a strong supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement, heads to Colombia and Mexico to promote the advantages off a free trade policy and economic cooperation. He made a similar trip to Canada earlier this month. Campaigning Monday through Pennsylvania -- one of the crucial political battleground states most affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs -- the presumptive Republican presidential nominee acknowledged many voters disagree with him on the issue. "I understand it's very tough. But for me to give up my advocacy of free trade would be a betrayal of trust," he told reporters Tuesday. "And the most precious commodity I have with the American people is that they trust me." In another challenge for McCain, the new CNN survey indicates Americans continue to rank the economy as the most important issue in deciding their vote for president. Nearly six in 10 voters say the country's poor economic conditions will be extremely important -- ranking the economy as the No. 1 issue in this campaign out of 15 issues tested in the poll. That finding represents a clear change from the beginning of this year, when the war in Iraq and the economy were tied as the top campaign issues. Now, the economy is eight points ahead of Iraq -- a fact that could pose a threat to McCain, who has admitted he is more comfortable discussing foreign policy issues than economic ones. Rising gas prices are also among voters' concerns, with nearly 50 percent saying the issue will play an important role in their vote for president. That number is just behind those that say the economy and Iraq are important, a clear sign that higher prices for gasoline are the primary reason for voters' economic worries, though not the only one. "It also means that a significant number of voters are concerned about other economic woes, like the stock market or unemployment, rather than gas prices," Holland said. "Unless there is a noticeable upturn in the country's economy between now and November, this election is likely to be dominated by economic concerns." The poll, conducted June 26-29, surveyed 906 registered voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

New CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll released Tuesday . It suggests the free trade issue may pose a problem for McCain . Poll: 51 percent of Americans view foreign trade as a threat to the economy .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A paper cape sits loosely around your shoulders, covering your naked chest. A radiology technologist directs you toward an imposing-looking machine. As you hold your breath, one bare breast at a time is tightly compressed between two flat panels and X-rayed. You'll undress from the waist up for a mammogram; wearing two pieces, not a dress, makes it easier. It's a scene that's been repeated more than 35 million times in the past year at certified mammogram facilities around the United States. No matter what their age, race or medical history, the female patients probably shared a similar experience during the 20-minute procedure. "Mammograms are known to be uncomfortable," concedes Dr. Sujatha Reddy, an Atlanta, Georgia,-based gynecologist. "The harder they squeeze and squish that breast, the less tissue the X-rays have to go through and the more likely they are to find something." The American Cancer Society reports two to four mammograms out of every 1,000 lead to a diagnosis of cancer. About 10 percent of women who have a mammogram will require more tests. Accuracy often depends on patient cooperation, but Reddy reveals there's another side as well: "A mammogram is only going to be as good as the technician and the doctor who read it, so you want to go to a good place." A recent study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports that doctors reading mammograms miss an average of two in every 10 cases of breast cancer. Medical experts remind women that mammograms alone don't guarantee a clean bill of health. "I wish I could say the mammogram could find 100 percent of breast cancers," Reddy said. "I think we have to rely on having a clinical breast exam once a year at a health care provider and doing your self-breast exam on a monthly basis." Reddy recommends having mammogram screenings at a reputable facility that is certified. She also suggests going to the same office every year so that old X-rays can be compared with new films. A convenient location is another factor that makes it more likely that someone will actually show up for an annual mammogram appointment. Health Minute: Watch more on what to expect during a mammogram. » . Fear of discomfort is what often keeps some women away. Reddy advises her patients to schedule a screening appointment for the early part of their menstrual cycle. "The best time of your cycle to do a mammogram is going to be when your period is over, maybe the week after your period is done when the breasts are not going to be tender." Caffeinated coffee, tea and soft drinks may also contribute to tender, lumpy breasts. Experts recommend avoiding caffeine for a week before the procedure. Before having any type of imaging test, the Cancer Society warns patients to tell technicians if they think they might be pregnant or are breast feeding. Similarly, reveal any unusual breast symptoms or problems before a mammogram. The screening requires women to undress from the waist up. You'll be given a disposable wrap to put around your shoulders and chest. Wearing a two-piece outfit will make the process easier and more convenient. Technicians tell patients not to wear deodorant, antiperspirants, perfumes or powders. They might leave a residue that can be picked up on the X-rays, interfering with the results. All mammogram facilities are required to issue results within 30 days, but many will contact patients within a week if there is a problem with the mammogram. The Cancer Society recommends women 40 and older get a mammogram every year. Younger women may be advised to be screened earlier if there is a family history of breast cancer. E-mail to a friend . Judy Fortin is a correspondent with CNN Medical News. CNN medical producer Linda Saether contributed to this report.

More than 35 million mammograms performed annually in the U.S. Be screened at the same place every year; makes comparing images easier . Minimize discomfort by going early in your monthly cycle .

(CNN) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council urged Sri Lanka Thursday to thoroughly investigate allegations of atrocities committed during the island nation's long and brutal civil war. The Geneva-based U.N. body adopted a U.S.-initiated resolution calling on the Sri Lankan government to "initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans." The measure was adopted in a 24-15 vote; eight nations abstained. Sri Lanka's 26-year war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers, ended three years ago when government forces declared victory. A U.N. report last year found credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides during the final stages of the fighting. The Sri Lankan government, however, rejected the findings as "biased, baseless and unilateral." Between September 2008 and May 2009, the Sri Lankan army advanced into Vanni, an area of northern Sri Lanka where tens of thousands of civilians were killed, according to the U.N. report. Questions of accountability for the mass killings of civilians remain unanswered. "There cannot be impunity for large-scale civilian casualties," Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. council, said last month. "If governments cannot tell the truth about large-scale atrocities, whatever else they're doing that's positive can't eradicate the despair that will be there on the part of the victims," she said. "If that despair isn't acknowledged or dealt with in some way by the government, it will sow seeds of future violence." Last year's U.N. report was issued by a panel appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2010 as a way to address accountability in the Sri Lankan war. The panel's report last April gave credence to allegations of serious human rights violations by both government forces as well as the rebels that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many civilians were killed in the final phases of the war because of government shelling, the U.N. report found. It said the government attacked no-fire zones after encouraging the civilian population to gather there. Those places included food distribution lines, front-line hospitals and Red Cross ships picking up the wounded. The Sri Lankan government continued to shell these areas in spite of knowing its impact from its own intelligence systems and notification from the United Nations and other international humanitarian agencies, the U.N. report said. U.N. investigators said the Sri Lankan government deprived people of humanitarian aid and deliberately underestimated the number of civilians who remained in the conflict zone. The report also blamed the Tamil Tigers, known as a terrorist group responsible for the assassinations of two world leaders -- Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The U.N. report accused the rebels of forced labor, suicide attacks, using civilians as human shields, killing civilians attempting to flee, using military equipment in the proximity of civilians and recruiting children. Donahoe said it was imperative for Sri Lanka to reconcile its bloody past. "I think this outcome is also important not only for the people of Sri Lanka, but for human rights generally and for the international human rights principle that when there are mass-scale civilian casualties and human rights violations, there must be some credible investigation and some form of accountability," she said. "Without that element, there cannot be real reconciliation or lasting peace."

The U.N. Human Rights Council urged Sri Lanka to probe alleged war crimes . A report last year blamed the government as well as the Tamil Tigers . The U.S.-initiated resolution was adopted in a 24-15 vote . The U.N. says Sri Lanka must hold accountable perpetrators of alleged war crimes .

Cairo (CNN) -- The case against the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader Mohammed Badie and 682 other supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy was adjourned Tuesday at a Egyptian court until next month, defense lawyer Gamal Abdel Meguid said. It comes a day after the same court sentenced 529 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death. They were convicted on charges related to violent riots in the southern Egyptian city of Minya in August, including the murder of a police officer, the country's official news agency said. Only 147 of the defendants were reportedly in court Monday. Sixteen people were also acquitted at the hearing. Tuesday's case against another 683 defendants relates to the same unrest. Sixty-two of Tuesday's accused were in attendance for the proceedings at Minya Criminal Court, Meguid said. They had no legal representation in court because defense lawyers boycotted the trial in protest over the death sentences handed down Monday to the 529 Morsy supporters, he said. He was among those boycotting proceedings. Badie, who is being held in custody in the capital, Cairo, did not attend court Tuesday due to security concerns. A verdict is due to be delivered on April 28. Will Egypt carry out sentence? Amnesty International: 'Grotesque move' Monday's mass sentencing prompted wide criticism, with rights group Amnesty International condemning it as "a grotesque move." "This is injustice writ large and these death sentences must be quashed," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director for Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa. While Egypt's courts are quick to punish Morsy supporters, Sahraoui said, they "ignore gross human rights violations by the security forces." The Muslim Brotherhood also issued a statement Monday saying the sentence "violates judicial norms." However, the head of the Justice Ministry's press office, Abdel Azim el-Ashry, rejected criticism in a statement published by Egypt's State Information Service on Tuesday, saying the court's ruling was not final and that all the defendants have the right to appeal. He also said the more than 350 defendants sentenced to death in absentia could seek new legal proceedings if they appeared in court. Students protest death sentences . For the second consecutive day, students held a protest at Minya University against the death sentences handed down Monday. Omar Abdel Baset, head of the students' union, told CNN that security forces had dispersed Tuesday's demonstration. Several students were injured by pellets that security forces fired at protesters, he said. The demonstration was in support of three students who are among the defendants in Monday's case. Last summer's riots in Minya took place after a deadly crackdown by security forces on two large sit-ins in Cairo, where demonstrators were supporting Morsy, the former head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm. Morsy, who was elected president in 2012, was ousted in a coup in July amid widespread protests against his rule, with opponents accusing him of pursuing a divisive and Islamist agenda. He and other Brotherhood leaders were rounded up after the coup and now face a variety of charges. In December, Egypt's interim government officially declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. What is the Muslim Brotherhood? Report: Egypt's army-backed government resigns . Five killed in clashes between Egyptian police, Muslim Brotherhood protesters . CNN's Kellie Morgan and Heba Fahmy reported from Cairo, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.

Verdict against 683 accused Muslim Brotherhood supporters expected on April 28 . On Monday, at least 529 supporters of the movement were sentenced to death . The cases relate to violent riots in the southern Egyptian city of Minya in August . Spiritual leader Mohammed Badie was not among the 62 defendants in court Tuesday .

(CNN) -- The U.S. military could provide logistical and intelligence support in the French effort against Islamist rebels in Mali, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday. Conflict explained: What's behind the instability in Mali? The U.S. will "provide whatever assistance it can" as part of what Panetta said was the U.S. global efforts against al Qaeda. "We have a responsibility to go after al Qaeda wherever they are. And we've gone after them in the FATA (Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas). We're going after them in Yemen and Somalia. And we have a responsibility to make sure that al Qaeda does not establish a base for operations in North Africa and Mali," Panetta told reporters traveling with him to Europe. The State Department said Monday the United States is in consultation with the French now on a number of requests that they have made for support. French defense minister: Islamist rebels gaining ground in Mali . "We are reviewing the requests that they have made," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday. The U.S., she said, is "not in the position to support the Malian military directly until we have democratic processes restored by way of an election in Mali. We are not in a position to train the Malian military until we have democracy restored." Read more: Is this al Qaeda's 'last chance' for a country? Panetta described the assistance as both logistical and intelligence. The United States already has started sharing intelligence from satellites and intercepted signals with the French, defense officials said Monday. In addition, the Pentagon is considering sending refueling tankers so that French jets can fly longer, more sustained combat mission, according to the officials. Drones "are under consideration," according to defense officials, though the military's stash of unmanned aerial vehicles are in heavy demand. "That's one of the things we're working through now, is how many and from where we'd be able to provide those assets," said one of the officials, noting that drones are being used in other conflict areas such as Afghanistan and Yemen. Although both caveat that these would be surveillance drones and said there are no plans yet to deploy armed unmanned aerial vehicles. Read more: France determined to 'eradicate' terrorism in Mali . The officials also say another intelligence-gathering assets under consideration are piloted planes. "There's no real air defenses to speak of in Mali, outside of AQIM firing guns in the air. So anything we send does not have to be our most secretive, less detectable equipment," one of the officials aid. The US also considering giving "airlift capacity" to the effort, similar to what the British have provided in two cargo planes, according to the officials. This "would help the French with moving equipment, vehicles and people" to where they're needed in Mali, the officials said. Panetta said al Qaeda's Mali affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is not an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland but does pose a risk if it gains a foothold. U.S. officials have said the group was tied to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. "While they might not have any immediate plans for attacks in the United States and in Europe, that ultimately still remains their objective and it's for that reason that we have to take steps now to ensure that AQIM does not get that kind of traction," Panetta said, according to a transcript of Panetta's remarks to reporters. CNN's Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

Panetta: "We have a responsibility to go after al Qaeda wherever they are" The U.S. military could provide logistical and intelligence support for the French, Panetta says . State Department's Nuland says the U.S. would not support the Malian military directly . Nuland: "We are not in a position to train the Malian military until we have democracy restored"

London (CNN) -- John Terry, one of England's biggest soccer stars, was found not guilty Friday of racially abusing fellow soccer player Anton Ferdinand, ending a high-profile trial in London. Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said of Terry: "No one has been able to show that he is lying." Reading his ruling, Riddle said it was a crucial fact that no one heard what Terry said. Terry, the Chelsea captain, sat impassively in the courtroom as the verdict was read out at Westminster Magistrates' Court. It was greeted by cheers from the public gallery. What's your reaction to the verdict? Have your say on iReport . Riddle said he accepted it was possible that Terry himself thought Ferdinand had accused him of using racial abuse. But he also said he considered it "highly unlikely" that Ferdinand had accused Terry of calling him a "black c---." Terry, who has received strong backing from Chelsea Football Club throughout the trial, left the court without addressing the public or media. A statement issued on behalf of Terry by his legal team said he had been acquitted of all charges. "He did not racially abuse Mr. Ferdinand and the court has accepted this. John would like to thank his legal team for their hard work and his family, friends and Chelsea Football Club for their support," the statement said. Chelsea's chairman, Bruce Buck, welcomed the verdict, saying: "We at Chelsea are pleased that John Terry can now put his mind back to football." The football club also said it respects the magistrate's decision to clear Terry. "We are pleased that John can now focus on football and his preseason preparations with the team," it said in a statement on the official Chelsea website. The English Football Association, which could still open its own disciplinary proceedings against Terry, said it noted the court's verdict and would "now seek to conclude its own enquiries." Alison Saunders, chief crown prosecutor for London, defended the decision to bring the case to trial. "The very serious allegation at the heart of this case was one of racial abuse. It was our view that this was not 'banter' on the football pitch and that the allegation should be judged by a court," she said in a prepared statement. "The chief magistrate agreed that Mr. Terry had a case to answer, but having heard all of the evidence he acquitted Mr. Terry of a racially aggravated offense. That is justice being done and we respect the chief magistrate's decision." The weeklong trial, during which the normally staid chambers got an earful of shockingly foul language, gripped the British press. Terry, who was captain of the England national team at the time of the incident, was accused of calling Ferdinand, who plays for Queens Park Rangers, a "f------ black c---" as the pair traded insults during a game last October. Terry did not deny directing a barrage of foul language at Ferdinand and referring to him as "black," but he denied engaging in racist abuse. He told the court that he was repeating what he mistakenly thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying. The highly unusual criminal prosecution over words uttered on a soccer field comes as English soccer officials fight to stamp racism out of the sport, with mixed results. Lord Herman Ouseley, the chairman of UK football's anti-racism campaign, Kick It Out, said it would wait to hear the conclusions of the Football Association with regard to the Terry case. "It will be interesting to hear from other organizations this will impact on, from governing bodies to leagues and clubs, and how they deem matters like this to be dealt with in the future," he said in a statement. Terry was stripped of his England captaincy after a preliminary court hearing on the racism charge in February. CNN's Matthew Chance and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

NEW: The English Football Association says it will "seek to conclude" its own inquiries . Terry is found not guilty of racially abusing fellow soccer player Anton Ferdinand . Prosecutors defend the decision to bring the case to trial . "We are pleased that John can now focus on football," Chelsea Football Club says .

(CNN) -- At least two confirmed tornadoes descended upon towns in western Massachusetts on Wednesday, leaving at least four dead and smashing homes and buildings across a 40-mile stretch, state officials and witnesses reported. One person was killed in Springfield, two in nearby Westfield and one in Brimfield, about 20 miles east, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told reporters Wednesday night. The storms struck shortly after 4 p.m. in Springfield, about 90 miles west of Boston. Dylan McDonald told CNN he watched the tornado knock down trees and scatter debris across town as he was driving with a co-worker. "As the light turned green, a tree fell and everything took off," McDonald said. "We saw a roof fly off an apartment building. The car was tilting, but didn't turn over." As many as 19 communities reported tornado damage Wednesday evening, Patrick said. The governor declared a state of emergency as the storm system that spawned those twisters moved east, with watches posted all the way to the Atlantic coast until late Wednesday. "It's been particularly devastating in downtown Springfield," Patrick said. And he said a local official told him, "You have to see Monson to believe it." Monson resident Dolly Opper said state police were setting up roadblocks around the town, and a neighbor described the town's center as "war zone." "I haven't been home," she said. "The steeple's off the church across the street. It's lying right in the front yard." At J.T.'s Sports Pub, on Springfield's Main Street, owner Keith Makarowski said he and the 10 or so patrons intially went outside to watch the darkening skies -- then retreated as the storm blew into downtown. "There was a ton of debris flying around, lots of roof shingles and random siding," Makarowski said. Several century-old buildings were damaged -- "roofs torn off, facades ravaged, trees uprooted" -- and a woman across the street was blown up against a building after being caught outside. "Luckily, two people from inside the building were able to pull her in, and she seemed like she was OK," Makarowski said. Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Michael Popovics said Springfield, Monson, Westfield and seven other towns -- Agawam, Charlton, Oxford, Palmer, Sturbridge, West Springfield and Wilbraham -- reported severe damage. Sandra Ahearn, a spokeswoman for the Western Massachusetts Electric Co., said 12,000 customers were without power in the utility's service area and that hard-hit areas might not have electricity until the end of the week. Patrick said he has mobilized 1,000 National Guard troops to assist with cleanup and search-and-rescue operations. The Massachusetts State Police said it had activated dog teams to look for people in damaged buildings and described many streets in Springfield as "impassable" due to fallen power lines and trees. The damage came amid a wave of heavy thunderstorms that moved through the Northeast on Wednesday afternoon. Tornado watches were also issued for northern Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine until 11 p.m. Wednesday. Though not as tornado-prone as much of the Midwest or South, Massachusetts has averaged two to three twisters per year since 1950, according to figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In 1953, a massive tornado that struck Worcester and nearby towns killed 90 people, according to NOAA; the last tornado to hit the state was in 2008. CNN's Jennifer Westhoven, Anna Gonzalez, Matt Smith, Leigh Remizowski, Julia Talanova and Sean Morris contributed to this report.

NEW: "There was a ton of debris flying around," a witness says . Deaths have been reported in Springfield, Westfield and Brimfield, Massachusetts . "Particularly devastating" tornado damage reported in Springfield . Gov. Deval Patrick has mobilized National Guard troops to aid cleanup .

(CNN) -- When Sada Mire fled war-torn Somalia as a frightened teenager, the nation was descending into darkness, mired in the grip of a long civil conflict. But several years later, when she returned to the Horn of Africa as an ambitious archaeologist, her fierce determination and meticulous fieldwork brought to light the region's rich cultural heritage. In 2007, her archaeological pursuits resulted in the discovery of 5,000-year-old rock art in Somaliland, a breakaway state in the northwest corner of Somalia. The prehistoric findings, which include renderings of animals as well as human figures, are significant in enhancing understanding about the prehistoric way of life across the region, says Mire. Somaliland's first archaeologist, Mire is now on a mission to preserve and protect what she says is a heritage at risk of disappearing. Ancient findings like the rock paintings, which were discovered at Dhambalin, in a sandstone shelter near the Red Sea, not only have historic importance, but also help restore a sense of self-esteem and cultural pride in the people of Somaliland, she says. Many were completely unaware of the existence and significance of archaeology before the discovery of the cave paintings. "I would bring them to the site and explain how important the site is potentially for helping them," Mire says. "Initially it was very difficult to communicate that but after a while I managed to get their attention -- they even ended up sort of feeling a sense of dignity that actually 'this is our site' -- a feeling that 'we have nothing but we have this.' Somaliland declared independence in 1991, but isn't internationally recognized as a separate state. Mire spent her early years in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, along with her identical twin sister Sohur. There, the two sisters enjoyed a normal childhood until a bloody conflict erupted in 1982. Their mother decided that their future would not be in Somalia and started to plan an escape to Sweden. When the two sisters arrived in the Scandinavian country, they encountered a completely different reality to the one they were used to before. "I remember the first feeling was like a glass of milk in a fridge -- sort of thinking why is it so cold? But I think we got used to it," Mire recalls. "The fact that it was totally, completely different to what we had experienced was in a way healing itself, because now you had nothing to associate with what we had been through -- you could sort of reinvent yourself in a new world," she says. Determined to make the most of their new opportunities, Mire and her sister settled for a few years in Sweden before relocating to the United Kingdom to pursue their studies. Mire's professional journey brought her back to Somaliland a few years ago, where she embarked on a mission to unearth its cultural heritage. But while discovering significant archaeological findings, she also saw first-hand the tough conditions people lived in. "There was no access to clean water, there was no access to basic education especially in the rural areas where the archaeology was," she says. "So for me, finding an extraordinary archaeological site I had to think how is this going to help these people and not just me as a researcher." Stemming from that sense of social responsibility, Mire helped set up and now heads Somaliland's Department of Antiquities, a branch of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Dividing her time between Somaliland and the UK, she is determined to educate her fellow Somalis about their history as well as raise awareness across the world about Somali cultural heritage. "I feel very committed," she says. "My hope for this is to be able to set up an institution which can help produce students -- Somali archaeologists, Somali cultural heritage managers."

Sada Mire is on a mission to raise awareness about Somali cultural heritage . The archaeologist discovered prehistoric cave art in Somaliland in 2007 . Mire is the head of Somaliland's Department of Antiquities .

(CNN) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor will be transferred to the United Kingdom to serve a 50-year sentence for aiding war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone, the U.K. Ministry of Justice said. No date for his transfer was provided by the ministry. The announcement comes two weeks after United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled to uphold the sentence, rejecting an appeal. Another country like the United Kingdom had to offer to enforce the sentence against Taylor because the special tribunal doesn't have a prison facility. Taylor, 65, was found guilty last year of supplying and encouraging rebels in Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror, involving murder, rape, sexual slavery, looting and the conscription of children younger than 15. He was also convicted of using Sierra Leone's diamond deposits to help fuel its civil war with arms and guns while enriching himself with what have commonly come to be known as "blood diamonds." Both the defense and prosecution lodged appeals after the court convicted the former president of all 11 counts against him, following a trial lasting nearly four years. Taylor's defense appealed the court's judgment and sentence on multiple grounds, arguing that the trial chamber had made mistakes in evaluating the evidence and in applying the law. But the appeals judges rejected those arguments, saying that the trial chamber had "thoroughly evaluated the evidence for its credibility and reliability," and that its assessment of Taylor's criminal responsibility and liability was in accordance with international laws. The appeals judges also dismissed defense claims that Taylor was not given a fair trial. The defense also argued that the 50-year sentence handed down was "manifestly unreasonable," while the prosecution had argued that it should be increased to 80 years to adequately reflect the gravity of his crimes. The appeals judges dismissed both claims, saying the sentence was fair and reasonable. Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the ruling, saying it sent a clear message to leaders around the world. "The Court's landmark ruling underlines that no one is above the law," said Stephanie Barbour, head of Amnesty International's Centre for International Justice in The Hague. "The conviction of those responsible for crimes committed during Sierra Leone's conflict has brought some measure of justice for the tens of thousands of victims. The conviction of Charles Taylor must pave the way for further prosecutions." Role in atrocities . Taylor was the first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes since the Nuremberg trials that followed World War II. The trial chamber heard that rebels from the Revolutionary United Front, which the former president backed, committed horrendous crimes against Sierra Leone civilians, including children. Some were enslaved to mine the diamonds used to fund the rebels' fight. The presiding trial judge described Taylor as responsible for "aiding and abetting as well as planning some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history." But Taylor said during his sentencing hearing in May 2012 that his role in the conflict was much different than represented. "I pushed the peace process hard, contrary to how I have been portrayed in this court," he said. A pivotal figure in Liberian politics for decades, he became president in 1997 and was forced out of office under international pressure in 2003. He fled to Nigeria, where border guards arrested him three years later as he was attempting to cross into Chad. The United Nations and the Sierra Leone government jointly set up the special tribunal to try those who played the biggest role in the atrocities. The court was moved to the Netherlands from Sierra Leone, where emotions about the civil war still run high. Opinion: Do war crimes trials really help victims? CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report.

Charles Taylor to serve war crimes sentence in UK . Court in The Hague upheld Charles Taylor's conviction and 50-year sentence . He was president of Liberia from 1997 until 2003, when he fled under pressure . He was convicted of supplying, encouraging rebels in Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror .

(CNN) -- Quick math question: What has 78 fingers, 22 arms, and no brain? Answer: "Z-Machines," the robot band with a surprisingly human sound. Listen to this three-piece with your eyes closed and it could be any group of musicians plucking a guitar, twinkling on an electric keyboard, or beating a drum. Sure, there's a synthesized quality to the music -- which sweeps from orchestral to experimental rock -- but what band doesn't get a little help from computers these days? Open your eyes and you'll find something very different indeed. For starters, the guitarist is a humanoid looming two-meters-tall, with 78 fingers sweeping across the glowing instrument strapped to its torso. The rocking robot -- called March -- bangs its impressive mane of multi-colored cables in time to the music, albeit a little jerkily. Seated a little behind is Ashura, the drummer with 22 arms extending like a futuristic octopus and playing four times faster than any human ever could. And then there's Cosmo, perhaps the most alien band member of all, a keyboardist with green lasers hitting each key with pinpoint accuracy. "The footage of the robot performer is almost like watching a broken human, with a skeleton of steel, and oil for blood," said Tom Jenkinson, better known as British recording artist Squarepusher, who composed the music for the mechanical band's new EP. "Using robots has this eerie narrative associated with it -- the twilight area between human and machine. It's just a box of tricks, but it still haunts us because we see it as an impression of ourselves." Big in Japan . Created by engineers at the University of Tokyo, the robot band uses around 300 kilowatts of electricity, which designer Kenjiro Matsuo admitted: "Is a big amount of power." "We just bought a power board which has a switch -- many people can try to make this kind of robot in their house now." The machine musicians made their stage debut at a "Future Party" in Tokyo last year, performing an electro-rock mash-up for the screaming crowd. Girls in space-age outfits gyrated around guitarist March, whose screen face flashed slogans like "Party!" Each time the audience raised their drinks in the air, the band would play faster, in an event sponsored by the drinks company. Soul music? Now the machine musicians are set to release a five-track album, with the first single "Sad Robot Goes Funny," a more melancholy tune than you might expect from a band without hearts. "Can these robots play music that is emotionally engaging?' asked Jenkinson, who composed the song and has experimented with electronic music in a career spanning two decades. "It's a fascinating question, and one that I've tried to explore in this project. I'll let people make up their own minds." So how do you create music for a machine with 78 fingers, which can hit a note every eight milliseconds? "It's just another way of making sound, but in this case what's interesting is the aesthetics of the instrument," said Jenkinson. "Just like when you're writing music for a human, there are certain possibilities and certain limits. The robot guitarist for example, can play much faster than a human ever could, but there is no amplification control." Electronic evolution . If you imagine that this is the start of a robot revolution, never fear, we've still got a fair way to go before people tire of flesh and blood performers, said Jenkins. "Is the performance going to be less compelling because it's robots?" he asked. "For me, part of the appeal has to do with hearing a familiar instrument being 'played' in an unfamiliar fashion." And behind every robot musician, is a human being bringing it to life.

Futuristic robot band created by engineers in Tokyo, Japan . Three-piece includes guitarist with 78 fingers, drummer with 22 arms . Music composed by British recording artist Squarepusher .

(CNN) -- After months in hiding, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi was finally tracked down in Libya's southern desert by fighters from the western Zintan mountains. Once seen as a potential successor to his slain father, Moammar Gadhafi, Saif al-Islam 's capture may mark the end to hopes held by loyalists that the Gadhafi family might seize power again. As the unrest in Libya began to swell earlier this year, Saif emerged as one of the regime's most visible defenders. He was the first to address the nation about the unrest and detail a plan to address it. Saif al-Islam later made very public vows to fight to the "last bullet." His alleged involvement in the bloody crackdown led the International Criminal Court to accuse him of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. It is not yet clear whether he will be brought to trial in Libya, as many military commanders would like, or handed over to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, in the Netherlands. His support for his father, if not altogether unexpected, surprised some who had previously seen the 39-year-old as the opposite of the elder Gadhafi. Whereas Moammar Gadhafi years ago launched a program to "destroy imported ideologies, whether they are Eastern or Western," his son speaks fluent English, earned his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times and was a frequent go-between in talks with international officials. Moammar rarely went anywhere without an ornate Bedouin tent and wearing distinctive tribal dress. The well-traveled Saif, meanwhile, was more likely to appear in Western business attire: a suit and tie. While the father ran the nation, his son's main job -- at least before his 2009 appointment as general coordinator, a position like many in the nation's government with few guidelines -- was heading a charity, the Gadhafi Foundation. And lastly, while the elder Gadhafi was known for his heavy-handed rule in Libya and its restrictions on civil rights and more, Saif fashioned himself as a human rights advocate and pushed for democratic and institutional reforms that could give more power and freedoms to the people -- at least before the popular uprising. Yet for all their differences, Saif's standing in the world was always defined by his father's role. While some saw the son as more open to change, there was little question -- particularly after the uprising began -- that his loyalty remained first with his father. At one point during the war, sources close to the elder Gadhafi said that any transition in Libya would have to involve Saif al-Islam, long seen as a possible successor to his father. He denied having any such desire to rule. Saif al-Islam had been on the run since shortly after the fall of his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound in the capital in August. His promised fight to the end was finally stopped in its tracks by rebels who had pursued him across the desert. His hand apparently bandaged from previous clashes but in good health, his final battle may now mean explaining his family's actions before a judge and jury. Responding to news of his capture, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, said Saif al-Islam had been a principal actor in the violence seen in Libya after February 13. "He's arrested, he's alive, and now he will face justice. And that is the most important news." CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in Tripoli and Laura Smith-Spark in London contributed to this report.

"He's arrested, he's alive, and now he will face justice," chief prosecutor says . Saif al-Islam was seen as a potential successor to his father, Moammar Gadhafi . He studied at the London School of Economics and speaks fluent English . The International Criminal Court accuses him of war crimes .

(CNN) -- If you access Facebook via the Web browser on a "feature phone" -- a simpler, less powerful cousin to the smartphone -- your experience might improve significantly over the next few weeks. On Friday, Facebook announced an upgrade to its "lean" mobile site m.facebook.com. This upgrade integrates the full range of features found in Facebook's mobile site for smartphones and other phones with touchscreen browsers: touch.facebook.com. This update is being rolled out gradually to Facebook users. Facebook product designer Lee Byron explained: "With the new m.facebook.com, users with high-end touch devices will see a rich touch-friendly interface; for users with feature phones, the site will look and work great. ...There will no longer be a difference between m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com, we'll automatically serve you the best version of the site for your device." Here's why this is a smart move -- one that I wish more online sites and services would emulate. Too often, as popular sites and services upgrade their mobile offerings, they cater primarily to smartphone users -- which means they end up leaving the vast majority of mobile users further behind. According to new numbers from ComScore, currently only 29% of handsets in use in the U.S. are smartphones. A brief definition: While the lines between the two types of devices are becoming blurred, smartphones are defined as having operating systems capable of running "native" apps with a wide range of sophisticated functions, and fully featured web browsers (usually based on the Webkit browser). Feature phones tend to be cheaper, simpler, and more limited. Often feature phones lack touchscreens, and they usually run simple apps based on Java. While smartphones are getting more popular, and many feature phones are getting smarter -- well, at least getting better Web browsers -- most mobile users aren't yet willing to handle the costs and complexity associated with smartphones. Consequently, feature phones will likely continue to be a huge part of the mobile market for at least a few more years. MSNBC reports that Facebook currently has about 600 million users worldwide, and about 250 million of them already access Facebook from their cell phones. With an enhanced experience for simpler cell phones, I'd expect that Facebook might quickly grow its mobile user base -- and probably also pick up a lot of new website users. That's the point: Facebook's business model hinges on getting as many people as possible engaged as much as possible. This means finding a way to efficiently serve the mobile devices they're using today -- not just targeting the mobile devices they might be using a few years from now. The move to upgrade and unify Facebook's mobile Web experience also will streamline Web development for Facebook. As if it isn't complicated enough to maintain native apps for each major smartphone operating system (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, etc.), maintaining multiple mobile website versions consumes considerable time and resources. "Every time we launched a new feature, we had to build it multiple times across different code bases," wrote Byron. "Once for facebook.com, then again for m.facebook.com, touch.facebook.com, and in native applications as well. Honestly, we weren't very good at doing this, so certain features were missing on different devices." Coupled with Facebook's recent acquisition of Snaptu -- a popular platform for Java-based apps that runs on most feature phones -- this consolidation of the company's mobile Web efforts indicates an unusually inclusive mobile strategy. Facebook is clearly taking a hard look at the mobile market that actually exists, rather than the one that most developers and wireless carriers seem to believe, or wish, exists. If Facebook can move fast to serve feature phone users well, while other social media services -- except Twitter, of course -- tend to treat feature phones as an afterthought, it's more likely to maintain loyal users for the long term. The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran.

Facebook announced an upgrade to its "lean" mobile site m.facebook.com . This upgrade integrates the full range of features found for smartphones . MSNBC reports that about 250 million users access Facebook from their mobile phones .

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- CNN President Jim Walton announced a major shakeup of CNN management Friday, replacing the head of CNN/US with a long-time CNN executive known for his business turn-around skills. HLN head Ken Jautz takes over as executive vice president of CNN/US, replacing Jonathan Klein, who headed the network for six years. CNN's chief marketing officer Scot Safon will run HLN, replacing Jautz. Walton also said he would hire a managing editor to "help leverage our newsgathering resources across multiple platforms." "Ken is a rarity -- a working journalist who is an even better news executive," wrote Walton in a memo to staff. "Ken has launched, made profitable and turned around businesses for our news organization, Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner literally around the world." Jautz, who joined CNN in 1989 as a bureau chief in Germany, has held a wide variety of jobs at the company, including executive vice president in charge of CNN's business news operations. During a stint with Turner Broadcasting Europe, he helped launch channels in several European markets. Most recently, Jautz has presided over the revamp and rebranding of the HLN channel, introducing signature programs such as Nancy Grace, Joy Behar, ShowBiz Tonight, Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell and Morning Express with Robin Meade. The new evening line-up doubled the network's prime-time ratings. "I look forward to working with CNN's many fine journalists and launching two new shows that I think will make our prime-time lineup more engaging and lively," Jautz said, "and will continue CNN's strategy of delivering smart, informative news and analysis from across the political spectrum." Safon takes over HLN after heading CNN's marketing for the last eight years, winning wide industry accolades for his marketing campaign for CNN and CNN=Politics. Before joining CNN, Safon oversaw marketing for one of CNN's sister channels, TNT. "Scot is one of the most creative and passionate executives at Turner Broadcasting," said Walton. The moves come as CNN/US has suffered declining prime-time ratings in recent years as other cable channels have taken on partisan tones in their programming and news coverage. CNN/US recently announced a new prime-time lineup, hiring global media personality and former newspaper editor Piers Morgan to host an interview program to replace Larry King Live, and pairing Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kathleen Parker and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer in an 8 p.m. time slot. The memo sent to staff said Jonathan Klein is leaving CNN. During Klein's six years at CNN/US, the network won many awards for its aggressive coverage, including Hurricane Katrina, the South Asia tsunami, the 2008 U.S. elections and the devastating Haiti earthquake. "Jon has made important contributions to the CNN story, and he leaves with our respect and friendship, and with my sincere thanks," Walton wrote to staff. Walton said that a search is under way for the new position of company-wide managing editor. The assignment for the new editor, Walton wrote to staff, is to generate "the kind of front-page reporting and analysis that captures a news event, translates its meaning and shapes the dialogue about the story." Phil Kent, CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, the parent company of CNN, also highlighted the role of the new managing editor position, saying it would "build on the network's unique strengths in journalism and on CNN's quality editorial voice across all platforms." "Jim Walton is a world-class leader, and I'm in full support of his newly announced organizational structure and leadership team," Kent said. "I believe these changes will position CNN/U.S. and HLN for future growth and success."

HLN head Ken Jautz replaces CNN/US President Jonathan Klein . Marketing guru Scot Safon given helm of HLN . CNN announces plan to hire managing editor for CNN Worldwide .

(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo provided the perfect riposte to FIFA president Sepp Blatter after scoring a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 7-3 on a night when Gareth Bale grabbed his first goals at the Bernabeu. Days after Blatter had made a bizarre impersonation of the Portuguese while saying the star spent "a lot of money at the hairdressers", the 28-year-old scored his third career hat-trick against Sevilla to go top of the scoring charts in Spain with 11 goals. He celebrated his first goal from the penalty spot with a military salute in a mocking response to Blatter's description of him as a "commander" last week. The absorbing victory also allowed Real to put Saturday's defeat by Barcelona behind them, not just because of the three points but also because Bale, the most expensive footballer in history, began to repay some of his fee. Making his first start as a home player at the legendary Bernabeu, the Welshman scored twice, made another two and also managed to complete his first 90 minutes in his seventh appearance for Madrid. Despite Bale's largely anonymous display at Camp Nou, which was blamed on a lack of match practice, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti was wholly vindicated by his decision to keep faith in the 24-year-old, who curled home a fine opener before a free-kick was deflected in as he handed Real a 2-0 lead. On a satisfying night for the hosts, for whom substitute Xabi Alonso made his first appearance of the season after injury, Karim Benzema also grabbed a brace as Real moved up to third in the table, six points behind Barca. Sevilla were reduced to 10 men late on when Stephane Mbia received his second yellow card. In Italy, both Napoli and Juventus closed the gap on Roma to just two points, but the league leaders can extend their lead -- and register a perfect 10 victories from their opening 10 league games -- when hosting bottom side Chievo on Thursday. Goals from Jose Maria Callejon and Dries Mertens helped Napoli win 2-1 at Fiorentina, with both sides reduced to 10 men late on, while Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez were among the goals as Juventus thumped Catania 4-0 at home. Elsewhere, Brazilian Kaka scored his first goal since returning for AC Milan as the seven-time European champions were held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Lazio. One of the most surprising results of the night came in France, where big spending Monaco suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of fellow Ligue 1 side Reims in the League Cup. Fielding a weakened side that was deprived of the suspended Radamel Falcao, Monaco were knocked out of the cup after suffering their first defeat since May -- as midfielder Antoine Devaux fired home in the first half. Claudio Ranieri's side travel to Lille, who have not conceded a goal in six league games, at the weekend in a battle of the two sides immediately behind Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table. In England, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both progressed to the quarterfinals with respective victories over Hull City and Newcastle United. City won 2-0 in extra-time thanks to goals from Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko, while Spurs won through 8-7 on penalties after drawing 2-2 at home against Hull. Spurs' win capped a miserable week in London for Egypt's Ahmed Elmohamady, who missed the decisive penalty just days after being penalized for a harsh handball in Tottenham's 1-0 league win against the same opponents on Saturday.

Ronaldo hits a hat-trick and Bale a double as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 7-3 . Napoli and Juventus close the gap on league leaders Roma in Italy . Monaco suffer first defeat of the season in French League Cup .

(CNN) -- Dreaming of a white Christmas? Then you're in for a rude awakening. The only thing white about this riotously multiethnic black comedy is the blizzard of cocaine that flies through the air as Bing Crosby croons his yuletide standard at an out of control Christmas Eve party. If I said the latest sortie from cultural subversives Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) has something to offend everyone, I'd probably be over-estimating the sensitivities of at least some of the 17.4 million Americans who are estimated to use marijuana at least once a month. Still, I imagine that the running gag about an infant inadvertently exposed to pot, coke and ecstasy might strike some people as pretty near the knuckle. Others will choke when the always game Neil Patrick Harris -- playing himself -- explains his miraculous resurrection with reference to a run-in with Jesus, who didn't take kindly to Harris making out with His groupies. Then there are the gags -- good, bad and indifferent - that deliberately play up ethnic stereotypes: jailbird Latinos, gangsta African-Americans, tight-fisted Jews, bloodthirsty Slavs, square and boring WASPS. The subtler joke being that Harold and Kumar's own ethnicity is invisible -- except to the occasional bigots they encounter. ("Sorry, I don't date black guys," says the Ukrainian virgin, Mary, as she rejects Kumar in favor of Korean-American Harold.) You want a plot? It's set six years after the boys escaped from Guantanamo. Harold is now a successful Wall Street executive, married, clean and sober. He's washed his hands of Kumar, who's still a bonafide pothead and no further along in life than he ever was. But the ex-best friends are reunited in a typically quixotic quest to get their hands on a 12-foot Christmas tree before Midnight Mass comes out. Maybe the movie does pander to a certain slacker sexism -- but even that's tempered by an eye-watering item when one of the boys gets stuck to an icy pole, "A Christmas Story"-style (only it's not his tongue that's stuck). That's male bonding of an especially painful kind -- and marks the natural culmination for a buddy dynamic that's deeply engrained in our movies, from Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Hope and Crosby, Martin and Lewis, Cheech and Chong, and Bill and Ted all the way to "Dumb & Dumber." It's a tradition that Cho and Penn sustain with as much charm as circumstances allow. In a week when a French satirical magazine was firebombed for publishing an issue guest-edited by the prophet Mohammed (or so they claimed), there is definitely something to be said for a movie that takes a blowtorch to political correctness and even puts a bullet in the head of old Saint Nick. By offending everyone, the theory goes, no one needs be offended. It's a patchy affair, these things almost always are, but a commendably trim 90-minute running time keeps things hopping. The film hits an early high with a series of inspired gags breaking the fourth wall to poke fun at its own 3D gimmickry. Director Todd Strauss-Schulson throws in a horrific claymation fantasy, doffs his cap at Busby Berkeley and shoots an egg-throwing sequence as if he's John Woo, just because he can. The yolks on us, I guess. At regular intervals he sends clouds of pot wafting towards the audience. You don't need to be an expert in smoke signals to catch the drift: Lighten up, America.

There are the gags that deliberately play up ethnic stereotypes . The subtler joke being that Harold and Kumar's own ethnicity is invisible . The ex-best friends are reunited in a typically quixotic quest .

Cairo (CNN) -- Thousands of Egyptians filled Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, exactly one year after the start of the revolution that ousted longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak but, many say, accomplished little else. At times the mood in the square was somber and tense amid fears that violence could break out between protesters and the military. Many people held banners as they chanted slogans against the country's military leaders. But some celebrated the anniversary and said Egypt has progressed since Mubarak's ouster. "This time last year, every person in Egypt was enslaved to Mubarak's regime, and those who dared speak or write about his tyranny paid a high price," said Yasmeen Khalil, a teacher. "Yes, the revolution may not be complete, but I think we have come a long way, and no one can deny it." Are you there? Share your perspective from Egypt. Egypt's revolution last year came on the heels of Tunisia's revolt that led to the ouster of that country's leader in January 2011. Since then, protests against longtime rulers swept across North Africa and the Middle East, including uprisings in Libya, Yemen and Syria. Signs of progress toward a more democratic system in Egypt after the revolution contrasted with the feeling that the real changes protesters had hoped for have not been realized. Egypt's democratically elected parliament met Monday for the first time since Mubarak was ousted after decades of authoritarian rule. But the country's influential military, which stepped into the vacuum as Mubarak teetered last year, retains much of the decision-making power. Pro-democracy activists, frustrated by what they say is the slow pace of change, have clashed with the military in Cairo's streets in recent months. "It is ironic that the most times I've ever been beaten, the most times I've ever felt the threat of danger, was after Mubarak stepped down," Nour Nour, an activist who was 20 at the time of Mubarak's fall, said in a recent interview. "And all of these are very basic indications that the regime that is ruling us at the moment is merely a continuation of the Mubarak regime." Photos: Looking back at Egypt's uprising . In the recent parliamentary elections, established Islamist parties like the Muslim Brotherhood performed much more strongly than the liberal parties that represented some of the protesters. And a new constitution has yet to be drawn up. Some Egyptians have said the hopes forged by protesters in the heady days of January and February last year were doomed to fall short. "There were too many expectations," said Hisham Qasim, a newspaper publisher and human rights activist. "Raising the expectations was probably the biggest mistake, and media probably have a great part to do with that." Khalil said she was planning to spend the night in Tahrir Square with her friends, hoping to put pressure on military junta to reaffirm their transfer of power on time, end military tribunals of civilians, increase wages and reimburse families of the of those killed during Egypt's upheaval. But most of all, Khalil said, she wanted a guilty verdict for Mubarak, whom she said robbed the nation for decades and "watched his people die in the hundreds without ordering his soldiers to stop." The ailing Mubarak is on trial on charges of corruption and ordering the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the clashes last year that led to his downfall. He has denied the charges. CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

"I think we have come a long way, and no one can deny it," one woman says . Some Egyptians are frustrated with the pace of change after Hosni Mubarak's ouster . There are fears of fresh clashes between protesters and the military on Wednesday . Mubarak is on trial facing charges of corruption and ordering the deaths of hundreds .

Toronto (CNN) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford would have admitted to smoking crack cocaine long before his eventual admission, he says. It's just that no one asked him the right question. After more than five months of denials, Ford admitted that he had indeed smoked crack in a "drunken stupor" about a year ago. The admission came amid a drug investigation that has led to charges against a friend and occasional driver, though not so far against Ford himself. In a weekend interview with CNN, the leader of Canada's largest city repeated his insistence that he would remain in office and let voters decide his fate next year. And he defended his earlier denials, saying he never lied to reporters who asked about his drug use. "If someone would have said, came up to me and said, 'Have you ever smoked crack? Have you ever smoked weed? I would have said, 'Yeah, I have,' " Ford said. "But when you come and accuse me of being a crack addict and say, 'Do you smoke crack?' No I don't. Have I? Yeah, OK. Have I drank, have I acted like an idiot when I drank? Yeah, I did." Ford said he's not a drug addict. He said his conduct was "absolutely wrong," but added, "I am moving on." A man of contrasts, Ford leads his 'nation' in controversy . Speaking at a weekend toy drive in the blue-collar City Council district that his brother Doug now represents, Ford said he was "sick and tired of all the allegations and all this bulls--t." "Sorry, kids -- I shouldn't have sworn in front of the kids," he said. "But after a while, I know what I'm doing is right. I'm serving people. I'm saving taxpayers money. And you know what, I made mistakes, I drank too much, I smoked some crack sometime. What can I say? I made a mistake, I'm human." The Toronto Star has reported that Ford was asked "countless times" whether he had used drugs while mayor, without an answer. Ford accused the newspaper of mounting a vendetta against him on behalf of his "rich and elitist" political opponents. Ford was elected to a four-year term in 2010 and has touted tax cuts and streamlined government under his administration. But while he's often characterized as conservative, Doug Ford said his brother is "a huge, massive social liberal" who loves U.S. President Barack Obama. Reporter's notebook: In the heart of Ford nation with embattled mayor . Rob Ford added, "My specialty is taking care of people that have been totally ignored their whole life, and I'm not going to stop doing it." Since his November 5 admission, documents released by a court have outlined more allegations of drug use, drunkenness and alleged verbal and physical abuse of aides. In the course of answering those allegations on Thursday, he denied a female staffer's allegation that he sought to perform oral sex with graphic language of his own, stunning reporters and leading to another apology. On Wednesday, Toronto's City Council called for him to take a leave of absence. On Friday, the council voted to strip him of his ability to govern in an emergency and to appoint and dismiss committee chairs. Monday, members are expected to take up a measure that would delegate duties not assigned by statute to the mayor, effectively stripping Ford of most of his responsibilities. But in the northwestern neigborhood of Rexdale, a diverse community in the heart of the "Ford Nation," the mayor and his brother were met with cheers by the knot of well-wishers who joined him at the toy drive. "The people love you," one woman told him. Ford apologizes for lewd remark, gets TV show .

"'Do you smoke crack?' No I don't. Have I? Yeah, OK," Ford tells CNN . Embattled Toronto mayor says "rich and elitist" opponents are attacking him . City Council members have voted to strip him of powers and urged him to take leave . "The people love you," one woman tells Ford .

(CNN) -- The United States warned the Indian government about a potential maritime attack against Mumbai at least a month before last week's massacre in the country's financial capital left nearly 180 dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN. Onlookers in Mumbai read messages posted outside the Oberoi Hotel, scene of one of the attacks. U.S. intelligence indicated that a group might enter the country by water and launch an attack on Mumbai, said the source, who refused to be identified due to the ongoing investigation into the attacks and the sensitivity of the information. Indian security forces have confirmed to CNN that not only did U.S. officials warn them of a water-borne attack in Mumbai -- they were told twice. The area entered a higher state of alert for a week, including tightened security measures at hotels, but those efforts were eventually reduced, Indian officials said. Local fisherman in Mumbai said they witnessed a group of gunmen dock their boat Wednesday night, before heading toward the busy causeway. Also, sources have told CNN-IBN that officials found phones and a global navigational device on an abandoned boat floating off the coast of Mumbai. The boat had been hijacked, intelligence officials told CNN-IBN. Watch Nic Robertson's report about U.S. warning . Four crew members who had been on board were missing. The captain was found dead, lying face down with his hands bound behind his back. India has made clear that it believes last week's coordinated attacks in Mumbai originated in Pakistan, but the Indian government is under pressure to explain the lapse of security that allowed the siege to occur. Indian police say 179 people were killed in the attacks on 10 targets in Mumbai. Most of the deaths occurred at the city's top two hotels, the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal. Watch report about nanny saving infant . Pakistani authorities say Islamabad has not received any evidence that militants from within its borders carried out the attacks, but have vowed to fully cooperate in the investigation. Suspicion has fallen on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda, even though it has denied responsibility. Watch how attacks could damage relations » . Pakistan banned the group in 2002 after an attack on India's parliament that brought the two countries to the brink of war. Indian security forces say they arrested a member of the group in February, noting that the man was casing Mumbai for an attack. U.S. counterterrorism officials continue to say signs are pointing to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and they haven't seen anything to rule it out. However, they will not definitively say the group is responsible. A team of FBI agents is in Mumbai to assist in the investigation, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to New Delhi on Wednesday to try to ease strained relations between the nuclear neighbors. Watch Pakistan's PM say his country will defuse tensions » . At the center of India's investigation is the lone suspect in police custody, who Indian authorities say is Pakistani and trained by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Indian officials have identified the suspect as a clean-shaven young man who was photographed during the attack on Mumbai's Victoria Terminus train station. One of the still images shows him walking with one arm outstretched and a gun in his other hand, lowered by his side. He is wearing a black T-shirt, cargo pants and a backpack. Watch Anderson Cooper talk with Fareed Zakaria about the attacks » . Indian police say the other nine attackers were killed in three days of battles with police and the Indian military. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson contributed to this report.

U.S. warned India about potential Mumbai attack, source says . Attacks that killed 179 people have strained India-Pakistan relations . Suspect is from Pakistan, Indian authorities say . Pakistan PM rejects accusations his country had role in Mumbai massacre .

New York (CNN) -- Thursday's opening of the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York was 13 years in the making. Museum officials consulted hundreds of people -- survivors, relatives of the victims, rescue workers, community leaders and others -- as they determined what should be included in the exhibits occupying the halls beneath the footprints of the Twin Towers. While that effort has been applauded by many for being a fitting, emotional telling of one of the darkest days in U.S. history, it is not without its controversies. Among them is a seven-minute film entitled "The Rise of Al Qaeda." The documentary tells the story of the growth of a worldwide terrorist organization. The film, which features video of al Qaeda training camps and previous attacks, plays next to a room where photos of the 9/11 attackers are on display. The inclusion of that story is not the problem. But the use of words like "jihad" and "Islamist" in the narration prompted some Muslim Americans and others to call for edits. "We feel that there is unfortunate messaging in referencing to Islam," said Zead Ramadan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. His wife was a first responder who aided in the search-and-rescue effort after the attacks. Ramadan fears that millions of visitors will walk away from the documentary believing that Islam is to blame for 9/11. The Rev. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York, was part of a museum advisory council that was given an opportunity to view the documentary. "The film loosely and without sufficient definition or context describes the rise of al Qaeda and uses terms that are confusing and controversial," she said. Breyer said the the film is the only museum display that appears to assign blame. "It's the one thing in there that suggests who to blame," she said. "And to do that, it requires the kind of depth and nuance and sophistication that the rest of the museum has. It's a very delicate and difficult complex question, and they don't go anywhere near addressing it." She said interfaith leaders unsuccessfully recommended a "contextual statement at the very beginning that says this video is about the historical rise of al Qaeda and does not relate to the history of Islam." Ramadan and Breyer belong to a group of interfaith leaders who claim the museum's leadership has turned a deaf ear to their concerns. Museum officials disagree. "No one will come through this exhibit and, in any way, think that we are indicting an entire religion, which we in no way are," said Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial Museum. In a statement, museum officials said: "A major part of preserving the history of September 11 is to show who was responsible for the monstrous attack on America that led to the deaths of thousands of innocent people of various ethnicities and religious beliefs. This brief film, within the context of surrounding exhibits, focuses on the roots of al Qaeda with the express purpose of helping visitors understand who perpetrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It does not purport to be a film about Islam or in any way generalize that Muslims are terrorists." National security expert Haroon Moghul, a fellow at the New America Foundation, a think tank, said the film needs a more nuanced approach to telling the story of the terrorists. "They acted in the name of their religion. I don't dispute that," said Moghul. "I want that when an American or anyone else goes through the museum, that when they watch the movie, they leave more informed." 9/11 museum: Tragedy turns the mundane into memorial .

National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York opens Thursday . A seven-minute museum film entitled "The Rise of Al Qaeda" is controversial . The use of words such as "jihad" and "Islamist" is criticized by Muslim Americans, others . "No one will ... think that we are indicting an entire religion," museum president says .

(CNN) -- The drought of 2012 will be one that farmers and ranchers remember for years to come. My husband, Kevin, and I are fifth-generation farmers. This is the first drought we have experienced since we were married and started farming together in 1995. Our farm, like most other U.S. farms, is really suffering right now and in desperate need of rain. The media have pegged it right: it definitely is the worst drought of our generation. Kevin and I own and raise hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans and alfalfa hay on our farm. Typically, we don't have a lot of crops to farm, but this year we decided to rent an extra 200 acres for that purpose, doubling our row-crop acreage. We were able to purchase crop insurance for most of our crops, but unfortunately that alone will not help make our farm or equipment payments to the bank since most of our crops are ruined. Our crop failure isn't what keeps me awake at night these days; it's worrying about our animals. No crops means no feed for livestock. We can't stop feeding cattle and hogs. We own 60 head of cattle, and our family has 1,500 sows on our farm. Bountiful crops are needed for an adequate feed supply, but so too are healthy pastures for cattle grazing. Both need rain. Hogs eat mostly corn and soybeans because they are not ruminant animals, which means they do not have four stomach chambers like cattle, which can digest hay and grass. The price to purchase corn and soybeans is skyrocketing because of crop losses across most of the United States. Unlike crop farmers, livestock farmers and ranchers do not have insurance programs to ease the losses during disaster years. When our feed costs get out of control, or when a disease devastates our herd, there is no relief from insurance. This is a total loss for farmers and ranchers. To pay the bills, we have to go to the bank and borrow more money to help us survive the storm. This means yet another loan payment. When my expenses increase on our farm, it would be nice to tell the packer who buys my hogs that I need to be paid more so I can make ends meet. But it doesn't work that way. Hogs feel drought's pinch . We are price takers; supply and demand drive the price we are paid for hogs. Even though my feed bills are increasing at alarming rates, right now it doesn't mean that pork demand has increased in line with my expenses. Farmers have to wait for an increase in demand, or decrease in supply, to see their prices increase. I have been asked before why I just don't hold on to our hogs and wait for someone to pay me what I need to pay my feed bills. This is because packers only accept a certain weight so they can meet consumer demand. Consumers want a consistent size piece of pork -- not too big or too small --and they want their chops to look the same each time they go to the store. To meet this demand, farmers can't sell hogs that are overweight or underweight. The pain of this drought doesn't stop with farmers and ranchers. Everyone has a vested interest in how Mother Nature is behaving. Food availability will be affected because farmers will be producing less food. In the end, this will lead to increased food prices. A number of livestock farmers and ranchers will be faced with difficult decisions. Some will be forced to leave the farm or ranch and find new jobs in neighboring towns, while others may have to sell their family farm or ranch. The bottom line is: If you eat, this drought will affect you. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Chris Chinn.

Chris Chinn's farm has been badly affected by the drought . She says the bill to feed her livestock is increasing fast because of crop losses . Chinn: The drought means taking on more debt and possibly selling off livestock . The drought will change lives on farms and will raise food prices for all, she says .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates in ships are searching for the lifeboat containing four pirates and their hostage -- the captain of a freighter they failed to hijack earlier this week -- according to a U.S. military official with knowledge of the situation. Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama is being held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia. The pirates are using ships they have already hijacked and larger ships from which they are launching skiffs, the official said Friday. One of the pirated ships is the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized April 4 off the coast of Somalia. The U.S. military has been monitoring communications between the pirates, the official said. The guided missile frigate USS Halyburton, with helicopter capabilities, has now joined the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge in the area. A third ship, the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, which has a large medical facility on board, will be there within a day. Richard Phillips, the hostage, tried to escape from the pirates Thursday night by jumping out of the lifeboat, a U.S. official said Friday. Watch what it's like inside a lifeboat » . Phillips was believed to be trying to swim to the USS Bainbridge, which is in communication with the four gunmen holding Phillips in the 28-foot boat off Somalia's coast, the official said. Some of the kidnappers jumped into the water, recaptured Phillips, and returned him to the lifeboat, according to the official. Watch what happened when captain tried to escape » . The pirates fired shots, the military official said, but had no further details. A Defense Department official told CNN that Phillips appeared to be tied up by the pirates after the escape attempt. The U.S. official -- who did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the situation -- said the escape attempt is being viewed by negotiators as an "optimistic sign" that Phillips is in good health. He has been held since Wednesday, when the hijackers seized control of his U.S.-flagged ship, the Maersk Alabama. Watch expert talk about hostage escape attempts » . The captain's wife Andrea Phillips thanked everyone for their support in a statement. "My husband is a strong man and we will remain strong for him," she said. "We ask that you do the same. " Phillips' 20-man crew regained control of the vessel, and they and the vessel are en route to Mombasa, Kenya, according to the father of one of the crew members. The ship's owners -- the Norfolk, Virginia-based Maersk company -- would not say how the crew regained control. "There will be time for due diligence and retrospective review once we have the safe return of all parties and the opportunity for a full debriefing," it said in a statement. For the U.S. Navy, the show of strength is more than just a means to resolve a hostage situation, said Chris Lawrence, CNN's Pentagon correspondent. Attacks in the area have picked up so drastically in recent months that the Navy has to reposition some of its fleet to deal with the threats, he said. iReport.com: How should the U.S. respond? The pirates have shown no signs of giving in. The Maersk Alabama was on its way to Mombasa, Kenya, with a cargo of food aid when it was attacked Wednesday. It was the first time in recent history that pirates had targeted an American ship. The ship was hijacked some 350 miles off Somalia's coast, a distance that used to be considered safe for ships navigating in the pirate-infested waters. CNN's Mike Mount and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

NEW: Shots fired in escape attempt, captain apparently tied up, military officials say . Pirates using other hijacked ships to look for lifeboat as Navy ships arrive . Captain's escape attempt viewed as "optimistic sign" of his vitality . Richard Phillips, captain of a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, is being held by four gunmen .

(CNN) -- They are football's royalty, the marquee players whose almost super human ability on the ball wins cups and championships; their faces adorn billboards and magazine covers from China to Colombia. Lionel Messi could miss out on the 2010 World Cup if his team Argentina fail to improve. But, amazingly, the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry may all be absent from the World Cup finals in South Africa. Qualification for next year's tournament has thrown up a host of surprise results with a number of top teams, including Argentina, Portugal, France and Egypt all in serious danger of missing the tournament. The 2010 World Cup missing stars? » . The highest profile strugglers are Diego Maradona's Argentina, who were defeated by Paraguay in the last round of qualifiers and remain outside of the automatic promotion places in their group. Would you miss Argentina at the World Cup finals? Portugal, featuring World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, are playing catch up to Sweden and Denmark in their group and may not even make the playoffs. Add fellow-strugglers France to the mix and, suddenly, Africa's first World Cup could be remembered more for the teams that didn't make it, rather than for those that did. But would the failure of football's heavyweights to qualify for the World Cup necessarily be as apocalyptic as many have suggested? Does it actually open the door for less established football nations to write their own sporting histories? When England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, just eight years after lifting the Jules Rimet trophy, it was a relatively unknown Polish side that benefited. The Poles went on to take the tournament by storm, losing the semifinal to eventual winners West Germany 1-0. "The Polish team was just as perfectly structured as our team in 1972," admitted Paul Breitner, the German defender who scored the opening goal in the final against the Netherlands, to FIFA.com. Other teams have also benefited from the profligacy of more established footballing nations. Portugal were pipped to the 1982 World Cup in Spain by Northern Ireland, then the smallest national association to ever qualify for the finals. The team went onto to set the tournament alight, disposing of the hosts en route to the quarterfinals. And the great Bulgarian trio of Hristo Stoichkov, Yordan Letchkov and Trifon Ivanov would never have shone on the world stage at USA 94 if their team had not qualified at the expense of a talented France side containing the likes of Eric Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin and David Ginola. This year a host of talented minnows like Gabon, Bosnia and Bahrain are all hoping to take advantage and make it to their first-ever finals. Whilst the likes of Argentina take qualification for granted, an appearance at the World Cup for a fledgling nation can have a dramatic social, as well as sporting, effect as qualification by Cameroon, Iran and South Africa has proved in the past. For other teams coasting towards South Africa, though, the failure of the bigger teams brings unexpected benefits. "It's good for England," explained England captain John Terry before his team's qualifier against Croatia tonight. "When we didn't qualify, I went back to Chelsea and the attitude of the foreign players was: 'We have a better chance of winning the World Cup.' First and foremost, we think about ourselves. If we go there without some big teams in the competition, then it's even better." What do you think? Would the World Cup really miss Argentina, Portugal or France? Or would a new generation of stars step in to fill the void?

A host of top teams are in danger of missing out on the 2010 World Cup finals . Argentina, Portugal and France are all struggling to reach South Africa . The likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery could miss out . Would you miss teams like Argentina being at the World Cup? Sound Off .

(CNN) -- China's economic success has created a fast-growing middle class and an explosion in domestic travel. Cashing in on the travel boom is one hotel chain that's expanding so fast, it's opening a new property every two days. Budget hotel chain Hanting Inns was founded by billionaire businessman Ji Qi seven years ago. Today it has 1,000 properties in China, across four brands, and Ji expects Hanting to be the world's biggest hotel chain by 2020. The company takes inspiration from Western low-cost hotel chains that cater for frequent business travelers on a budget, such as Accor, Ibis and Premier Inn. "I first got the idea from a book introducing Accor, about how they open small hotels with less expensive but cozy, clean rooms," Ji told CNN's Richard Quest. "I realized there's a gap in the Chinese market for such hotels as well so I decided to invest experimentally in that niche." See also: China's unique boutique hotels . Ji identifies three things that Chinese customers look for in a hotel room -- all of which will chime with Western travelers: a soft bed, free internet access and a good hot shower after a long, tiring day. He says his ultimate target is to open 10,000 hotels. His big draw is clean, no-frills rooms that start from as little as $15 a night. "We only invest in crucial parts (of the hotels). In our lobby you don't see fancy decorations like marble surface or crystal lights," said Ji. "We keep everything simple because our clients don't really pay much attention to that. But we put serious money into our rooms -- in that way we manage to keep our hotels cost-effective." The sheer scale and speed of economic development within China over the last 20 years has forced hoteliers the world over to sit up and take notice. The number of Chinese people traveling outside China has risen to 65 million a year, overtaking Japan as the largest source of outbound travelers in Asia. See also: Asia's budget airlines go long haul . International hotel chains are adapting their business plans and services to cater for the increasing number of Chinese travelers. Marriott launched its Li Yu program -- meaning "serve with courtesy" -- earlier this year, while Hilton Worldwide introduced its Huanying program last August -- tailor-made for the Chinese market, with a name that means "welcome" in Mandarin. Paul Brown, brand president at Hilton, told Quest that Huanying offers services including Chinese foods on the breakfast menu, and guest rooms that come with green tea, slippers, and Chinese TV channels. "We wanted to create a program that made them feel comfortable and welcome when going outside their country for the first time," he said. But international players are also moving into China. Accor has tried to gain a foothold in the Chinese market with its Grand Mercure brand, known locally as Mei Jue, and Marriott plans to more than double the number of its hotels in China in the next three years. "We've got to make sure that we are succeeding with the Chinese traveler and winning their loyalty," said Marriott CEO Arne Sorensen. "The loyalty that we build here can get translated ultimately to loyalty of Chinese travelers going around the globe." See also: 55 years of Marriott hotels . But Ji believes that foreign competitors will find it hard to compete with Hanting on its home turf. "We are faster. We are more cost-effective. We know our clients better," he said. Ji says he welcomes international customers, but currently 90% of Hanting guests are Chinese business travelers. And with 1.3 billion Chinese people, whose average incomes have quadrupled in the last four years, it's small wonder that for the time being, Hanting is concentrating on the local market.

China's domestic travel sector is expanding at great pace . Hanting Inns aims to be the world's biggest hotel chain by 2020 . International hotel chains are trying to tap into China's travel boom .

(CNN) -- Two by two, the tandem skydivers leapt into the clouds over southern Mississippi, a routine plunge from thousands of feet in the air. James "Jimmie" Horak Jr. and his student were the last out of the plane Saturday morning. A videographer captured the moment when the veteran instructor opened his parachute, shifting a rapid freefall into a slow descent. But something tragic happened in the final seconds of the drop. Horak, 56, and his student never landed at the airport where they were supposed to. Instead, Horak's body was found in heavy mud in a swampy wooded area about a mile from the airport in Lumberton, Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said. His student, a 26-year-old man whose name was not released, was in critical condition with broken bones and head injuries. It's unclear what went wrong. But based on evidence on the ground, Horak cut away the main parachute and deployed his backup, Gold Coast Skydivers owner Leanne Igo said. "We just know that the main was cut away and the reserve was deployed," Igo said. "Everything else beyond that is speculation." Rigel said the others on the ride noticed there was some kind of equipment trouble, perhaps a problem with the lines. When the other students landed at the airport in Lumberton and noticed the pair weren't with them, they started a search that quickly included 30 skydivers on foot, a skydiving plane, a helicopter and local authorities, Igo said. The son of a nearby landowner eventually found Horak and the student while riding his Four Wheeler in the woods, she said. Horak and the student were so far inside the woods that "there was no way anybody could spot them from overhead." Deputies had to carry them out for a "considerable distance" to get them out of the woods, and the student was then airlifted to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Rigel said. The Federal Aviation Administration will inspect the parachutes to determine if they were properly rigged by a qualified parachute rigger, and if the parachute operation was in compliance with federal regulations, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Sunday. Local authorities will investigate the event and determine probable cause, she said. Horak's cause of death won't be known until after an autopsy, likely to take place Monday, Rigel said. A skydiving fan since the 1970s, Horak served with the Army Special Forces and was a pilot who also worked for the Veterans Administration as a physician's assistant, Igo said. "Very professional, soft-spoken, kind-hearted, hard worker, a genuine person and highly experienced," she said of Horak. "He had a wonderful wife and three children and everybody who ever met Jim never had anything ugly to say about him. He loved what he did." Horak was also meticulous about safety, his friend and fellow skydiver Timber McKinney said. "I've never met a more outstanding instructor in all my years of skydiving, 27 years now," McKinney told CNN affiliate WEAR. "He really emphasized the safety side of it. He was about the fun side of it too, but he would definitely make sure that everyone that he touched understood the rules and that they follow them." Horak was a safety and training advisor appointed by the U.S. Parachute Association, Igo said. Along with being a tandem instructor, he was a tandem examiner who trained other tandem instructors, she said. Woman on first date plunges to her death off 17th-floor balcony . January: Two riding inside inflatable ball go over cliff .

The body of James "Jimmie" Horak Jr. was found in heavy mud in a swampy, wooded area . His student was found in critical condition and was airlifted to a hospital . Company owner: Horak apparently cut away his main parachute and deployed a backup . Sheriff: Other jumpers noticed some kind of equipment trouble .

Beijing (CNN) -- The Chinese newspaper at the center of a censorship storm hit newsstands in the capital Thursday for the first time since journalists went on strike in protest against apparent editorial interference from the government. However, the Southern Weekly was not widely available in southern Guangdong province, where it is published. The controversy surfaced last week when a group of former Southern Weekly journalists said, in an open letter, that a local propaganda chief had dramatically altered the paper's traditional New Year message, which had called for certain reforms and greater respect for constitutional rights. While newspapers in China are often subject to censorship, the journalists wrote in the letter that the changes, which included praise for the Communist Party, were excessive and took place after editors had signed off on the final proofs. Victor Li, a Chinese writer living in Beijing, told CNN China's new leadership would have taken a dim view of these calls by a newspaper known for pushing the boundaries. "For these new bosses, what they do not need from Southern Weekly is that kind of advice! Just think about it, they have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and finally they are in charge. "They believe they know what they should do and when to do it as well as how to do it. They do not want to be told what to do by a local newspaper!" But soon enough, editors, reporters and their supporters protested on the Internet, on social media and in front of the office complex of the embattled media group. Protesters carried posters calling for press freedom. Some came with flowers to "mourn the death of press freedom," while others wore facemasks to symbolize the gagging of the media. Even celebrities voiced their support via their micro-blogging accounts. Han Han, one of the most influential contemporary writers and bloggers in China, recently wrote on his blog post: "The Southern Weekly has informed me a lot as a reader. It gives power to the weak and hope to the hopeless. So, in its moment of weakness and desperation, I hope we can all lend them some strength, even if just a little, and help it carry on." Chinese actor Chen Kun tweeted: "I am not that deep and don't play with words, I support the friends at Southern Weekly." Others used more subtle language. "Hoping for a spring in this harsh winter," posted Li Bingbing, an actress with some 19 million followers on Weibo, China's Twitter-like service. Another actress Yao Chen, who has more than 31 million followers, used a quote from Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: "One word of truth outweighs the whole world." The street protests, although small in scale, posed a challenge to the Chinese leaders. Twenty or so years ago, the public would not have known of the controversy if the authorities had wished to cover it up. They could simply have arrested protesters as trouble makers and shut down the newspapers. Even if it were publicly known, it would have been difficult for the embattled journalists to secure public support. But with an estimated 400 million Internet users and some 200 million micro-bloggers, this protest gained traction. Some media reports suggest the authorities may have reached a compromise with the protesters -- an editor may be replaced, the Guangdong propaganda chief has been absolved of responsibility, the protesters will not be harassed, and the paper will not be shut down. Though this has still to be confirmed. Yet the fact an earlier commentary from the People's Daily, the communist party's official mouthpiece, was republished in Thursday's edition may support these reports. Tucked in a small corner of the paper, it says "it's fundamental that the party regulates the press but its method of regulation needs to be advanced and must keep pace with the times."

Southern Weekly was not widely available in Guangzhou where it is published . The newspaper's journalists accused officials of heavy-handed censorship . Protesters gathered outside the paper's offices this week demanding more press freedom . Thursday edition reprinted People's Daily editorial that regulation must follow times .

(CNN) -- Egypt and Algeria will have to face each other again in a winner-takes-all World Cup playoff match after Emad Moteab scored a dramatic goal in the fifth minute of injury time to give the Pharaohs a 2-0 win in Cairo. Amr Zaki had put Egypt ahead in the second minute in the Group Three clash but Algeria's defense stood firm and they looked set to progress to the tournament in South Africa as the clock ticked past the 90-minute mark. But Moteab scored a sensational second goal which ensured the teams have identical qualifying records and will have to play again in a special one-off match in Sudan on Wednesday. In Group Two, Obafemi Martins struck twice to help Nigeria record a 3-2 victory over Kenya in Nairobi and clinch their place at the finals. Dennis Oliech had given Kenya the lead at half-time after his opened the scoring in the 16th minute but Wolfsburg striker Martins helped the 'Super Eagles' hit back as he equalized in the 62nd minute. Everton forward Aiyegbeni Yakubu put Nigeria ahead but Nigeria's were pegged back in the 78th minute when Allan Watende punished some poor defending. But Martins hit the winner in the 83rd minute when he swiveled and struck his shot past Kenya goalkeeper Willis Ochieng and into the net. Nigeria only secured their fourth appearance at the finals after they leapfrogged Tunisia -- who slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Mozambique -- to finish a point ahead of them at the top of Group Two. Dario Monteiro was the hero for Mozambique when he grabbed the winner in Maputo in the 83rd minute after he beat the offside trap and slammed the ball home from the edge of the penalty area. Paul Le Guen's Cameroon booked their place with a 2-0 win over Morocco in Group One while Gabon's dreams of qualification ended with a 1-0 defeat in Togo. Achille Webo and Samuel Eto were both on the scoresheet for the 'Indomitable Lions' who will set a new African record of six World Cup appearances in South Africa. Webo opened the scoring for Cameroon in Fez in the 18th minute when his left-footed shot cannoned into the net off the post. Inter Milan striker Eto'o effectively made the result safe in the 52nd minute when he headed home Geremi's corner as Cameroon finished top of the group. Gabon's slim hopes of qualifying were dependent on Cameroon slipping up but ultimately their campaign ended in defeat to Togo. Lome Floyd Ayite struck in the dying moments which rubberstamped Togo's place at the African Nations Cup in Angola. Sudan's woeful run continued as they slipped to 2-1 home defeat to Benin and ended their Group Four campaign with just one point. A Razak Omotoyossi penalty gave Benin the lead before Mudathir El Tahir also converted from the spot but Romuald Boco gave the visitors the points. In Group Five, Ivory Coast ended their campaign unbeaten after they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Guinea in Abidjan thanks to two goals from Gervinho and one from Siaka Tiene. Malawi qualified for only their second ever African Nations Cup despite a 1-0 defeat to Burkina Faso with Moumouni Dagano on target in Ouagadougou.

Egypt and Algeria will face a special one-off World Cup playoff match after the hosts claimed a dramatic 2-0 win in Cairo . Nigeria secured their place at the 2010 World Cup after two goals from Obafemi Martins gave them a 3-2 win over Kenya . Cameroon confirmed their World Cup berth with a 2-0 win over Morocco as Gabon slipped to a 1-0 loss to Togo .

New York (CNN) -- Fashion models have often been accused of being beautiful, but plastic. On one block in the heart of Manhattan, they really are. A stretch of Broadway has been transformed into a "Sidewalk Catwalk" -- 32 life-sized synthetic models on pedestals seeming to strut their stuff through New York City's fashion district. From Hilfiger to Von Furstenberg, the latest trends and brand image from 32 designers are on display. "What makes this experience really fantastic is all these fashions are really meant to make a statement about why this area is so important, why this area has to be zoned and [to] keep it for fashion," Geoffry Gertz, a professor of fashion at Parsons School of Design, said. Historically, New York fashion designers manufactured and produced their product in the city. In recent years, Gertz said about 90 percent of fashion goods production has been shipped overseas, where labor and materials are less expensive to mass produce. "I think it's key to all of this, is how to inspire the youth? How do we protect an industry where they can come and buy fabric, buy trim, buy threads, find a factory to make it all?" said the fashion professor. The show was created by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District, and is aimed at showing tourists and New Yorkers the historical and artistic representation of the industry. "It's just beautiful to see, to walk down Broadway and see all these things," said Ben Issacs, who works near the display. "I hope to see a lot more of these beautiful things in the future." "The way the designers present themselves to the consumer is in retail -- we wanted to give them a way to present themselves creatively as artists," said Barbara Randall, executive director of the Fashion Center Business Improvement District . "Giving them a public place for art is a way to do that, rather than presenting themselves commercially." Designers protected the dummies from the elements by wrapping the mannequins in materials. They face extreme heat in the summer in the city and prodding and poking tourists, though on one weekday morning, the models stood quietly while tourists and locals sat reading and eating nearby. To build the models, designers used metals, sequins, glass, paint, hemp and stone -- and in the case of designer Yeohle Teng, brick and cement to enclose a mannequin with a wall. "The mannequins are so different from each other, there's no main theme at all, and the people are just as diverse as the mannequins," Randall said. Designs ranged from Victor Alfaro's mannequin, draped in tailored parts of a real parachute, to Diane von Furstenberg's mannequin covered in leopard print and the personally painted insignia "love is life," to Betsy Johnson's streetwalking pink and platinum doll drawn in black and covered in sunflowers. Tommy Hilfiger recreated the American flag much as Jimi Hendrix recreated the national anthem at Woodstock in '69, with a mannequin walking through a torn waving plastic American flag. Similar to Los Angeles's street angels, and New York City's former cows and bulls statues, the mannequins are being auctioned off to private donors. These mannequins have been posted on eBay, with starting bids of $500 -- all proceeds will go toward the Material for the Arts organization -- the biggest contributor of materials to public schools and charities in New York City. Randall said she has received offers from one individual donor who may purchase a series of mannequins, and put them on private display in another city. The unique fashion show runs until September 3, on Broadway between Times Square and Herald Square. CNN's Gabriella Casanas and Richard Roth contributed to this report .

"Sidewalk Catalk" is a unique display of 32 synthetic models in New York's fashion district . The street show makes a statement about why the area is vital to its industry . Prominent designers created diverse displays that are attracting tourists and locals .

(CNN) -- Fourteen alleged members of the Gambino crime family have been indicted on charges including murder, racketeering, prostitution of minors and trying to locate and intimidate a sequestered jury, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan, New York, said Tuesday. "Today, the Gambino family has lost one of its leaders, and many of its rising stars have now fallen," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI to eradicate the mafia and to keep organized crime from victimizing the businesses and the people of this city." Twelve people, including Daniel Marino, named by the U.S. attorney as the current boss of the Gambino crime family, were arrested Tuesday morning. One was arrested last week, and another was at large Tuesday afternoon, Bharara's office said. Marino has been charged with murder in various cases, including the 1989 killing of Thomas Spinelli, a member of the family who testified before a federal grand jury about the mafia's members and activities. The other defendants, who authorities say include some high-ranking members of the Gambino crime family, also have serious charges brought against them. Onofrio Modica is charged with jury tampering, which stems from 1992, when then-boss John J. Gotti was on trial on federal racketeering and murder charges. According to the U.S. attorney, Modica and other members of the Gambino family tried to locate the anonymous, sequestered jurors sitting on the trial. Modica was able to penetrate security measures and locate the hotel where the jury was sequestered, but the plan was called off after Gotti decided that the jury would not convict him, authorities allege. The U.S. attorney alleges several of the defendants also operated a prostitution business from 2008 to 2009, where young women and girls as young as 15 allegedly were recruited to be prostitutes and advertised on websites such as Craigslist. According to Bharara, the defendants drove the women to their appointments and kept approximately half the money paid to them. The women allegedly were made available for sex to gamblers at weekly high-stakes poker games that authorities say were run by the defendants. Read how rare it is for women and children to be involved . A press release from Bharara's office detailed the other charges against the defendants, including extortion; assault; trafficking of narcotics, such as cocaine, OxyContin and marijuana; wire fraud, which includes the alleged defrauding of several high-end New York restaurants by inflating invoice costs; loansharking; and gambling. "This case shows that it's still about making money illegally, by whatever means," FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos said. "No crime seemed too depraved to be exploited if it was a money-maker, including the sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old." According to the U.S. attorney's office, the fourteen defendants are Marino, Modica, Thomas Orefice, Dominick DiFiore, Anthony Manzella, Michael Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, David Eisler, Salvatore Borgia, Steve Maiurro, Keith Dellitalia, Suzanne Porcelli and Anthony Vecchione. Maiurro remains at large. The 13 defendants all entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday, according to the U.S. attorney's office, and they are expected to appear Wednesday before a federal judge who has been appointed to the case.

Boss of Gambino crime family, other members arrested, U.S. attorney says . Daniel Marino, who U.S. attorney says is group's boss, charged with murder . One of Marino's charges connected to '89 killing of man who testified about mafia . Some defendants accused of operating prostitution business with girls as young as 15 .

Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. Marine reservist was detained early Friday after being found acting "suspiciously" in Arlington National Cemetery before dawn, setting off a security scare that closed commuter routes around the Pentagon for a few hours to snarl morning rush-hour traffic, authorities said. Information from the detained man, identified as 22-year-old Yonathan Melaku, led authorities to a car parked in bushes on the side of a road near the Pentagon and prompted explosives experts to examine the red 2011 Nissan, according to an FBI statement. A security perimeter set up to divert traffic from the area closed Route 27 and other roads around the Pentagon and national cemetery in northern Virginia just across the Potomac River from Washington. The roads were reopened later in the day. No explosives or other suspicious material were found in the vehicle, FBI Special Agent Brenda Heck said. A backpack the detained man was carrying held bags of a "non-explosive unknown material" that was being investigated, she said. At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney said that "there were no dangerous materials or explosives found." The FBI statement said Melaku, of nearby Alexandria, Virginia, was detained for trespass in Arlington National Cemetery when it was closed. Public safety concerns over items Melaku was carrying led to the road closures, according to the FBI. After the car parked near the Pentagon was searched and removed, the FBI and Fairfax County Policy also searched Melaku's Alexandria residence, the FBI statement said. "At this time, law enforcement believes Melaku acted alone and that there were no other locations or activity involved," said the FBI statement. According to the U.S. Marine Corps, Melaku joined the Marine Corps Reserve in September 2007 and currently is listed as a Marine Corps reservist lance corporal and a motor vehicle operator with the Combat Engineer Support Company of the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion in the 4th Marine Division. He has been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, and he was not deployed overseas, said the information from the Marine Corps. A source in the military said Melaku had "fallen off the radar as a Marine." He has failed to pass required fitness tests, and records show that he was given a non-recommendation for promotion, according to the source. The security perimeter set up in the incident was part of the normal response to what Heck called suspicious activity by Melaku. "From the FBI's perspective, it was just due diligence to protect this area," she said. No charges have been filed against the detained man, Heck said, emphasizing that the investigation was still in an early stage. A law enforcement official said the material in Melaku's backpack, which Melaku told authorities was ammonium nitrate, turned out to be inert. The official also said that contrary to some early news reports, no al Qaeda literature was found, but Melaku had a notebook in his backpack in which the words "Taliban" and "al Qaeda" were scrawled. In addition, the source said some spent 9mm shell casings were found but could not say whether they were in the car or the backpack. According to U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser, the detained man "wasn't forthcoming" about his identification or what he was doing in the national cemetery after midnight. The security response was based on how authorities handle situations involving suspicious individuals or vehicles, Schlosser said. A Department of Homeland Security statement called the situation "a law enforcement matter at this time, with the U.S. Park Police and the Arlington County Police Department as leads and other federal agencies on the scene." CNN's Carol Cratty, Larry Shaughnessy and Eric Marrapodi contributed to this report.

NEW: Detained man is a U.S. Marine reservist . Roads reopen after security closures . A White House spokesman says no explosives are found . The FBI searches a house in connection with the investigation .

(CNN) -- While his jockey starved himself to make the weight limit, one of horse racing's new stars delivered the goods again despite piling on the pounds. Australia, a three-year-old trained by champion Aidan O'Brien, romped to his fifth win in seven starts on Wednesday to add another notable victory to his resume. The chestnut colt with an impeccable bloodline fueled speculation that he could become the next Frankel or Black Caviar by making light work of his return to action at the Juddmonte International Stakes at York. He comfortably claimed the $750,000 first prize at the English venue's richest race of the season -- the same one where in 2012 Frankel won a record eighth consecutive Group One event. It was Australia's first run since late June, when he won the Irish Derby to add to his victory at the Epsom Derby earlier that month. "He was ready for a racecourse gallop, that was where he was at," said O'Brien told reporters. "His weight rose alarmingly in the last three weeks but the lads at home were very happy. He was a lot of kilos up on his Derby run -- he was 15-20 kilos heavier -- and that's a lot of weight. O'Brien's 21-year-old son Joseph -- who won the York race last year on Declaration of War -- had to drop considerable weight to continue his regular ride on Australia. "I can't tell you the massive part Joseph plays," his father said. "He can do 8 stone 12 pounds (56 kg) but we don't like him doing it. "We're quite happy for him to put overweight up when he does. In the big days we want Joseph to be on and this is one of them." Australia's physical development since the prestigious Epsom win was remarkable, according to O'Brien. "Joseph said that leaving the paddock in the Derby he felt like he was a two- or three-year-old, but today leaving he felt like a five-year-old," he said. "There's such prize-money here and it's such a prestigious race that it's very hard to gallop him at a racecourse rather than bring him here." Next up, the O'Briens will likely return to their homeland with Australia for the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 13, where the trainer has a leading seven career wins. "The more we trained him when he came back, the heavier he got, and I'd imagine the run will leave him right," the 44-year-old said. "I'll speak to the lads but hopefully he will go to Leopardstown. I'd love him to go there and get him back to Ireland." Australia was sired by Galileo, who also won the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes, while his mother is a two-time European Horse of the Year. He was ranked 10th in the Longines World's Best Racehorse list ahead of Wednesday's victory, with a rating of 123. Galileo, meanwhile, sired the top-three finishers at the International Stakes, with The Grey Gatsby second ahead of Telescope. Frankel, who retired unbeaten in 14 races in late 2012, was the world's top-ranked racehorse with a rating of 140 -- considered the best of all time. Champion Australian sprinter Black Caviar then took over from Frankel at the top last year before retiring undefeated in 25 races.

Australia wins third consecutive race at Juddmonte International Stakes . Colt had put on "15-20 kilos" after his Irish Derby triumph in June . Trainer Aidan O'Brien is now targeting Irish Champion Stakes next month . His jockey son Joseph has now ridden winner at York event two years in a row .

(CNN) -- South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn ripped through India's batsmen on the third day of the first cricket Test in Nagpur, taking eight wickets as the hosts were forced to follow on. Steyn took a career-best 7-51 as India, resuming on 25-0 overnight, were skittled for just 233 to concede a massive first-innings deficit of 325 runs. The 26-year-old, whose previous best figures were 6-49, then took the wicket of first-innings centurion Virender Sehwag as India reached 66-2 at stumps on Monday. The haul took Steyn to 193 wickets in his 37th Test and gave South Africa a great chance of winning the two-match series against a side who usurped their No. 1 ranking in the five-day format late last year. He claimed five wickets in less than four overs after tea as India collapsed from 221-4. "We actually had the ball changed when we came out after tea because the seam had popped open on the old one," Steyn told reporters. "We hoped to get a bit of reverse swing -- it worked in our favor." Steyn's strike partner Morne Morkel set the tone when he had Gautam Gambhir caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher with his first delivery of the day, with the opener not adding to his overnight score of 12. Steyn then bowled Murali Vijay for four as the No. 3 failed to play a stroke, and he took the vital wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer in Test history, when he tempted the veteran to edge a drive to Boucher for just seven. The belligerent Sehwag then added 136 with debutant Subramaniam Badrinath as he smashed his 18th Test ton before giving away his wicket to Wayne Parnell with an easy catch to J.P. Duminy deep in the cover field. Sehwag hit 15 boundaries in 139 deliveries -- the same amount that the 29-year-old Badrinath faced in making 56, who took India safely to tea along with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But Dhoni fell to left-arm spinner Paul Harris in the first over of the final session, and Steyn had Badrinath caught at midwicket before running through the tail. Proteas captain Graeme Smith made the Indians bat again, despite Boucher not being able to take the field due to a back injury. Morkel again accounted for Gambhir as the opener misjudged an inswinger and had his castle wrecked after shouldering arms, and Steyn had Sehwag caught by Smith at slip for 16. Vijay (27) and Tendulkar (15) added 44 in the remainder of the 23 overs scheduled to be bowled before stumps, but will face a massive task to prevent India going 1-0 down in the series. Meanwhile, New Zealand took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the one-day series against visiting Bangladesh, winning the second match by five wickets in Dunedin on Monday. The tourists managed only 183-8 in their 50 overs as Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored with 86, and the Kiwis reached their target from only 27.3 overs with Ross Taylor smashing 78 off in a 52-ball innings featuring five sixes.

South Africa paceman Dale Steyn takes eight wickets on third day of first Test in Nagpur . Steyn claims career-best 7-51 to skittle India for 233 to earn a huge lead of 325 . He then dismisses first-innings centurion Virender Sehwag as India reach 66-2 at stumps . New Zealand take unassailable 2-0 lead in one-day series against visiting Bangladesh .

(CNN) -- An organization of Christian physicians argued Wednesday against an impending rollback of a federal rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide certain reproductive services, saying it's discriminatory. The rule protects the rights of health care providers who refuse to participate in certain procedures. The Bush White House proposed the rule in August, and it was enacted January 20, the day President Obama took office. It expanded on a 30-year-old law establishing a "conscience clause" for health care professionals who don't want to perform abortions. Under the rule, workers in health care settings -- from doctors to janitors -- can refuse to provide services, information or advice to patients on subjects such as contraception, family planning, blood transfusions and even vaccine counseling if they are morally against it. The Obama administration is expected to reverse the rule shortly, touching off a new wave of heated debate over what remains one of the most sensitive and emotional hot-button issues in American politics. " 'Right of conscience' is under attack, and that is dangerous for our country, our health care system and our patients," said Dr. David Stevens, head of the 15,000-member Christian Medical Association. "When the state demands that we surrender our conscience, it becomes totalitarian and dangerous. Do we want our professional schools to ethically neuter doctors of all moral convictions that are not approved by the government?" Watch CNN's Sanjay Gupta discuss the 'conscience clause' » . Stevens was speaking on behalf of Freedom to Care, an umbrella organization of 36 groups working to prevent a rollback of the rule. Watch why one pharmacist says the "conscience clause" is needed » . Many health care organizations, including the American Medical Association, believe that health care providers have an obligation to their patients to advise them of the options despite their own beliefs. And critics of the current rule argue that there are laws on the books protecting health-care professionals when it comes to refusing care for personal reasons. "We don't make God-like decisions. ... That's not what it's about for us. It's about helping the patient make their own decision. ... No one appointed us to be the ultimate person to pass judgment," said Mary Jean Schumann, a member of the American Nurses Association. Dr. Suzanne T. Poppema, board chairwoman of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, praised Obama "for placing good health care above ideological demands." "Physicians across the country were outraged when the Bush administration, in its final days, limited women's access to reproductive health care," she said. "Hundreds of doctors protested these midnight regulations and urged President Obama to repeal them quickly. We are thrilled that President Obama [is taking steps] to ensure that our patients' health is once again protected." Stevens argued that there is "a well-funded and increasingly successful effort to discriminate against health care professionals based upon their deeply held religious and moral beliefs." Rescinding the rule will send "a clear message," he said: "It's open season on health care professionals of conscience. Discriminate at will. If anyone should understand the ugliness of discrimination, it is our first African-American president." Stevens predicted that a large number of specialists in obstetrics and gynecology would leave the medical profession if the rule is repealed. A final announcement from the Obama administration is expected with the conclusion of a 30-day public comment period on the proposed rule change. "We do not want to impose new limitations on services that would allow providers to refuse to provide to women and their families services like family planning and contraception that would actually help prevent the need for an abortion in the first place," a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official said in February. CNN's Saundra Young contributed to this report.

Christian doctors group says impending rollback of conscience rule is discriminatory . Rule lets health care providers refuse to provide services they're morally against . " 'Right of conscience' is under attack," one doctor says . Supporter says Obama is putting "good health care above ideological demands"

Washington (CNN) -- Shortly after Elena Kagan left the White House in 1999 to teach at her alma mater, Harvard Law School, the nationwide controversy over military recruiting on campus had just begun to heat up. Kagan and fellow academics had actively sought to block military recruiters from Harvard because of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on removing openly homosexual service members. Kagan later supported other schools challenging a federal law -- known as the Solomon Amendment -- requiring that recruiters be given equal access or face the loss of federal funding. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law on March 6, 2006. Just four months after taking the job as Harvard's dean, in October 2003, Kagan offered students her thoughts in a campuswide e-mail, saying that to give recruiters equal access to the campus "causes me deep distress. I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." She called it "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order." The same week as the high court's 2006 ruling in favor of the military, a top Pentagon official wrote colleagues in an internal memo of the department's efforts "to limit the polarizing nature of the anti-Solomonites who now rattle sabers over an intent to shout down the military." William Carr, then deputy undersecretary for military personnel policy, noted, "Dean Kagan is a case in point because she reportedly 'encouraged students to demonstrate against the presence of recruiters ... (and) to express their views clearly and forcefully.' Not a true fan of 'equality and scope' it would appear." In Rumsfeld v. FAIR, the high court unanimously upheld the Solomon Amendment. "A military recruiter's mere presence on campus does not violate a law school's right to associate, regardless of how repugnant the law school considers the recruiter's message," said Chief Justice John Roberts. Before that ruling, the issue at Harvard was how much access to allow the recruiters. Kagan sought to have campus visits coordinated by student veteran groups, not the Career Services office, and wanted the military not to appear alongside civilian recruiters. Negotiations with the Pentagon and Harvard continued for years, with frustration expressed by both sides. Documents released by the Pentagon over the weekend show that overall, Kagan's involvement was minimal and that the ultimate decision allowing military access was made by the school's president, Larry Summers. But the memos show the two apparently clashed over the issue. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said Saturday that Kagan acted responsibly and allowed military recruiters at the Harvard Law School. "The materials produced by the Department of Defense provide further documentation that military recruiters were never barred from the campus of Harvard Law School, neither before Elena Kagan became dean, nor during her tenure," Leahy said in a written statement. "The unfair charge made by some that Elena Kagan broke the law as dean continues to have no basis in law or fact." But the panel's ranking member, Sen. Jeff Sessions R-Alabama, has been very outspoken over Kagan's handing of the "don't ask, don't tell" controversy. "Don't ask, don't tell was created and implemented by President Clinton. Where was her outrage during the five years she served in the Clinton White House? Why would she blame the military? They didn't pass the rule. It was Congress and the president," Sessions said. "Instead of taking a stand in Washington, Ms. Kagan waited until she got to Harvard and stood in the way of devoted, hardworking military recruiters."

Kagan sought to block military recruiters from Harvard because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Said in memo, "I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy" Documents show decision allowing military access made by school president, not Kagan . Leahy says Kagan acted responsibly and allowed recruiters at Harvard Law School .

(CNN) -- Charles Barkley hasn't met a sensitive topic he couldn't dig into, and now he's speaking on what he calls a "dirty, dark secret" in the African-American community. During an interview with a Philadelphia radio station, Barkley expounded on claims that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wasn't liked by some of his teammates in part because he wasn't considered to be "black enough." Barkley said he wasn't at all surprised. "There are a lot of black people who are unintelligent, who don't have success," Barkley said. "It's best to knock a successful black person down 'cause they're intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school, and they're successful. It's crabs in a barrel. ... We're the only ethnic group that says, 'hey, if you go to jail, it gives you street cred.' " The concept of "crabs in a barrel" isn't new, and it's universal. If you've ever seen a bucket of crabs at the market, the ones at the bottom will try to pull down the crabs that are closer to the top. "I lived this, and if it weren't for my parents I wouldn't have pushed through it," one Twitter user said in response to Barkley's comments. Education advocate and CNN contributor Dr. Steve Perry is another observer who agrees with Barkley. Others have been irked by Barkley's delivery. When Perry tweeted that he applauded Barkley's remarks, some responded that they bristled at Barkley's tendency to generalize the experience of an entire group. "Unfortunately, as I tell my white friends, we as black people, we're never going to be successful not because of you white people but because of other black people," Barkley said. "When you're black, you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people. It's a dirty, dark secret; I'm glad it's coming out." The controversy began with an item from Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman, who said some of Wilson's Seahawks teammates don't care for him because "they think he's too close to the front office," he "doesn't always take the blame with teammates for mistakes he makes," and "some of the black players think Wilson isn't black enough." "There is ... an element of race that needs to be discussed," Freeman said of Wilson's relationship with his teammates. "My feeling on this -- and it's backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players -- is that some of the black players think Wilson isn't black enough. This is an issue that extends outside of football, into African-American society, though it's gotten better recently. Well-spoken blacks are seen by some other blacks as not completely black. Some of this is at play." (Bleacher Report shares a parent company with CNN.) The report has been denied by Seahawks player Richard Sherman, who said the accusations were "made up," and Wilson too has shaken off Freeman's point of view. "Black enough? I don't even know what that means," Wilson said. "I'm just an educated, well-spoken male." But to Barkley, Freeman's assertions are a very real part of being successful and black. "For some reason we're brainwashed to think if you're not a thug or an idiot, you're not black enough. If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent and don't break the law, you're not a good black person," he said. "It's a dirty dark secret. I hate to bring white people into our crap, but as a black person, we all go through it when you're successful."

Charles Barkley speaks on a "dirty dark secret" in the black community . It's in response to a story about racial tension for a Seattle Seahawks player . Some have responded positively to Barkley's comments . Others feel he was being too general .

(CNN) -- Actor-director Gary Sinise has touched the lives of thousands of U.S. service members. Sinise often travels overseas to honor and entertain the troops with his Lt. Dan Band, and his Gary Sinise Foundation helps support them when they return home. CNN's Denise Quan recently spoke with Sinise about CNN Heroes and his philanthropy, which also assists civilian first responders. Below are excerpts from that interview. Denise Quan: What is the Gary Sinise Foundation? Gary Sinise: Over the past 10 or so years, I have been very active with a lot of military charities, a lot of first-responder charities. ... It became clear that, in order for me to continue at the pace that I'm at without having to travel all the time, I needed an entity that I could use to draw in funds and point people in the right direction with regard to military and first-responder support. Quan: Why is this cause important to you? Sinise: I have veterans in my family. On my wife's side, I have Vietnam veterans. I remember all too well what happened to them when they came home from war. On my side, I have veterans. My dad was in the Navy, my uncles were in World War II, and my grandfather served in World War I. I have great respect for our veterans. And then I played one in "Forrest Gump" and I got involved with the Disabled American Veterans organization, and I became keenly aware of what people who lose their limbs and parts of their body have sacrificed in service of their country. So I feel it's important to keep them strong and do what I can to let them know that I'm a grateful American for what they provide, which is freedom for me and my children. Quan: How did the Lt. Dan Band get started? Sinise: I started taking a group of musicians with me to visit our troops in 2004. Prior to that, I would just go out and shake hands and take pictures and sign autographs and just pat them on the back and say "thank you" and sit down to have dinner with them -- just let them know they were appreciated. And eventually I asked the USO if they would let me take a group of musicians so I could entertain the troops at the same time, and they said "sure." I happened to have these guys that I played with out of Chicago. And my buddy Kimo Williams and I put some more guys and gals together, and we have a band of 13 people now. It's a big, big show. We've been all over the world several times. We probably will do 14, 15 USO shows this year alone. It's a good feeling to see the smiles on these people's faces. When I go over to Afghanistan, for example, and you're out there in the war zone and you bring those people together and you play for them, it's a great feeling to see them having a great time. Quan: What was it about CNN Heroes that made you want to be a part of it? Sinise: It's highlighting average Americans and what they do on a daily basis to serve and to give back. I'm glad CNN has created the Heroes project, because it's something that makes you feel good when you see what can be done and what people are doing out there in the shadows. A lot of people don't know the extraordinary sacrifice and service of certain people. And when these kinds of things are highlighted through a campaign like this, I think it gives incentive to other people: "Hey, wait a minute. There are things I can do in my community, even if it's small." Sinise and his band's efforts to support the troops are chronicled in the documentary "Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good."

Acclaimed actor Gary Sinise: I'm grateful for the freedom that our troops provide . His Gary Sinise Foundation provides support for veterans and civilian first responders . One of Sinise's iconic roles was a disabled veteran in "Forrest Gump" He says he also has many veterans in his family .

Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- The sound of taps echoed across the Texas plains Tuesday after President Obama pledged that the work of those killed in last week's Fort Hood massacre will go on despite their "incomprehensible" slayings. Speaking to an estimated 15,000 people at a memorial service at the post, Obama vowed that justice will be done in the attack that left 13 dead and 42 wounded. Though he told the families that "no words can fill the void that has been left," he added, "your loved ones endure through the life of our nation." "Their life's work is our security and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy," the president said. After his remarks, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama laid a presidential coin before each of the 13 battlefield crosses -- the helmet, boots and rifle representing each of those killed -- before family members and comrades filed past. Fort Hood Army Post has seen 545 soldiers killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the post's commander, "but never did we expect to pay such a high price at home." Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, added, "Grieve with us. Don't grieve for us." "Those who have fallen did so in the service of their country," he said. "They freely answered the call to serve, and they gave their lives for something that they loved and believed in." Obama called the wartime killings of American troops on their home soil "incomprehensible." But he said the values the dead volunteered to defend will live on and will be extended even to the man accused of carrying to the slayings. The suspected gunman in the attack is a 39-year-old Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who remained in intensive care at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Hasan, an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent, was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan but had told his family that he wanted to get out of the military. "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts," Obama said at the memorial service. But he said soldiers who responded to the attack "remind us of who we are as Americans." "We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes," he said. No charges have been filed, and authorities have not identified a motive in Thursday's attack. But in a statement issued Monday night, the FBI said its investigation "indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot." Thursday's victims included 12 soldiers and a retired soldier working as a civilian physician's assistant. Shortly before the ceremony and 1,200 miles away, the remains of one of the soldiers was carried off a chartered jet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An honor guard met the casket of Sgt. Amy Krueger on the apron at General Mitchell International Airport. Krueger, 29, was a high school athlete who joined the military after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. She was assigned to a medical unit that was doing checkups on soldiers bound for Afghanistan and Iraq when the shooting erupted. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and more than a dozen members of Congress were among who attended the service on the warm Texas afternoon. CNN correspondent Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.

"Grieve with us. Don't grieve for us," Army chief of staff says . Fact that soldiers died on base "makes the tragedy even more painful," Obama says . Troops, military brass, Congress members, Texas governor also attend memorial . Remains of one victim greeted by honor guard on return to Wisconsin .

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- As violence continues to wrack Iraq, another ethnic slaughter may be in the making by Sunni extremists from ISIS. ISIS fighters have besieged the ethnic Turkmen Shiite town of Amerli in the north for two months, and its fewer than 20,000 residents are without power and running out of food, water and medical supplies. "The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," said Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Iraq. He said the suffering was "unspeakable" and demanded that the Shiite majority Iraqi government "relieve the siege" on Amerli. Small town fights ISIS . About 5,000 families live in Amerli, which has been under siege for 70 days, according to Dr. Ali Albayati, head of the Turkmen Saving Foundation. He told CNN the town is running without electricity, is out of medicine and can only turn to wells for water. Nearly three dozen villages surrounding Amerli are already under ISIS control, Albayati said. The people of Amerli are relying on the Iraqi government to take them out by helicopter or support them with food drops, Albayati said. In the past 10 days, he added, only one flight has delivered food. Surrounded on four sides, the 17,400 residents have had to defend themselves with only the help of local police, said Masrwr Aswad of Iraq's Human Rights Commission. Their situation echoes the ordeal of Iraq's ethnic Yazidis, whose plight after they were forced to flee into the mountains to escape militants ISIS triggered U.S. aid drops and the first U.S. airstrikes against ISIS. ISIS has targeted Shiite, Christian and other minority communities with shocking violence, as it has advanced across Iraq. Yazidis braced for life in exile . Bombings, mosque shooting . Suicide bombers targeted the Interior Ministry intelligence headquarters in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least four people and injuring 35 others. In Kirkuk, a series of three car bombs and a roadside bomb killed at least 20 people. ISIS had warned on Friday there would be revenge for the killing of 50 of its members in a battle in Jalawla, Iraq. ISIS specifically promised to retaliate against the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The bombings came as the death toll rose to 70 from an attack on Sunni Muslims a day earlier at a mosque in northeast Iraq, when suspected Shiite militiamen opened fire on worshipers. The mosque attack threatened to derail efforts to form a new, inclusive government -- something world leaders have said is a must if the country hopes to defeat Islamic militants. Iraqi authorities did not immediately identify the attackers, but Sunni politicians have put the blame on Shiite militias. Outraged Sunni lawmakers withdrew from negotiations to form a new government, saying they would not return until those behind the attack were arrested, two party officials told CNN. U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized targeted airstrikes to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq -- including military advisers -- as well as minorities being brutalized by ISIS. And U.S. officials have said that Washington is mulling the possibility of going after ISIS fighters in their stronghold in eastern Syria. What will it take to beat ISIS? Where is ISIS? CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reported from Baghdad, Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Anna Coren and Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jessica Ravitz contributed to this report.

Death toll rises to 70 following mosque attack targeting Sunni Muslims . U.N. calls for action to help Amerli, a Turkmen Shiite town under attack by ISIS . Sunni lawmakers pull out of talks after the mosque attack .

(CNN) -- Extra-time goals from Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle spared Germany's blushes against Algeria in the World Cup last 16 tie at Port Alegre on Monday. Following 90 minutes of stalemate it was Joachim Low's side who finally broke the deadlock in the second minute of extra time when Thomas Muller squared the ball for Schurrle to cleverly back heal the ball past goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi. Ozil drilled in a shot to double the lead in the final minute of the second extra period before Abdelmoumene Djabou pulled one back for Algeria in injury time. It was a cruel end to what was a brave performance by Vahid Halilhodzic's side who were looking to settle an old score from the 1982 World Cup. Algeria were eliminated at the group stage at the tournament held in Spain after West Germany and Austria contrived a result (a 1-0 win to the Germans) which guaranteed both European teams would qualify for the knockout stages. Thirty-two years after the so-called "Disgrace of Gijon" it was fitting that Algeria's first last 16 match in the World Cup was against Germany. Spurred on by history, the Desert Foxes got off to a flying start and perhaps deserved more for their frequent early raids into the heart of the German defense. Islam Slimani served warning of Algeria's threat in the eighth minute as he scampered unchallenged down the left after a German attack broke down. The danger was only averted when Manuel Neuer rushed out of his area to tackle the Sporting Portugal striker. Nine minutes later Slimani looked to have scored his third goal of the tournament when he headed in El Arabi Soudani's superb cross, but was adjudged to be offside -- TV replays showed the referee's assistant had made the correct call. As the half wore on Germany came back into the game but were still vulnerable to the counter and were lucky when, in the 39th minute, Aissa Mandi's thunderous 25-yard drive ricocheted off the boot of defender Jerome Boateng and bounced narrowly wide. Moments later at the other end, Germany were denied themselves as Mbolhi pulled off an amazing double save from Toni Kroos then Mario Gotze. Schurrle replaced Gotze at the start of the second half -- a change which made Germany more purposeful in attack. In the 54th minute, Muller laid the ball on for captain Philipp Lahm whose shot from 18 yards out produced an outstanding fingertip save from Mbolhi. Algeria's rampant forays forward were less frequent but no less alarming for the Germany's back four who continued to struggle with Slimani's menacing runs. As the game entered the final 15 minutes of normal time it was Germany who increasingly looked likely to score. Muller looked certain to head in substitute Sami Khedira's cross in the 80th minute but could only fire straight at Mbolhi and ten minutes later Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the chance to head a late winner. Schurrle's 92nd minute strike calmed German nerves before Mehdi Mostefa got them jangling again eight minutes later with a close range strike which went wide. But when Ozil scored Germany's second in the 119th minute they were home and dry despite Djabou's late goal. Low's side can now look forward to a quarterfinal against France at the Maracana on Friday. Read more: France sees off Nigeria .

Germany edge past Algeria in thrilling last 16 match in Porto Alegre . Extra-time goals from Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle seal place in last eight . Algeria close to scoring on numerous occasions during 90 minutes . Joachim Low's side face France after 1998 winners saw off Nigeria earlier on Monday .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Obama administration is abandoning a controversial plan to charge private insurers for treatment of veterans' service-connected ailments. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel met with veterans' groups on Wednesday. In an statement Wednesday night, the White House said that although the president believes the plan would raise more money for veterans' care, the administration is dropping the idea after hearing the objections of veterans groups. "The President listened to concerns raised by the VSOs [veterans service organizations] that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families' ability to access health care," the White House said. "Therefore, the president has instructed that its consideration be dropped." News of the change of heart originally came from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who disclosed the decision to reporters while meeting with a group of veterans on Capitol Hill. "President Obama has listened to the concerns expressed by veterans' leaders and veterans' service organizations," Pelosi said. "We will leave no veteran behind." Veterans' representatives and members of Congress have angrily opposed the proposal, which White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said was never finalized. Leaders from 11 veterans groups discussed their position in a meeting Wednesday afternoon with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. "We stood firm on our stance that there is no way to support charging veterans' insurance companies for service-connected treatment," said Jim King, executive director of AMVETS, a leading veterans' advocacy organization. Emanuel indicated that the proposal was "a dead issue," King added. "The administration was quick to say [that if veterans were] going to fight it, [the White House wasn't] going to push it." Another attendee, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, said Emanuel was quick to come back after hearing the veterans' groups stand firm and tell them, "Let's clarify, it is dead." "They made the right move -- they listened to us. Now we can move on to bigger more important issues," Rieckhoff said. The meeting was very short, said King. Despite the difference in opinion, King said the atmosphere was cordial and "everybody seemed comfortable." On Monday, the groups met with President Obama, Emanuel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Steven Kosiak, director in charge of defense spending for the Office of Management and Budget. The administration saw the plan as a way of raising more than $500 million in revenues for the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, veterans groups saw it is a violation of what they said is the government's moral obligation to treat veterans injured during service to their country. In addition, they believed it would lead to veterans and their families losing their private insurance or premiums rising because of the high costs of treating many service-related injuries. The head of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said Tuesday his committee would "not advance any such legislation." His counterpart in the House, Bob Filner, D-California, said his committee wouldn't take up the proposal either. In a statement released by his office, Filner said the idea is "DOA" and said the budget "cannot be balanced on the backs (or legs, or kidneys, or hearts) of our nation's combat-wounded heroes." The president pushed back during the meeting on Monday, telling the groups that private insurance companies were getting a free ride. He challenged the veterans to come up with an alternative way to raise revenues. AMVETS planned to propose that billings be pursued more aggressively for injuries not related to service. But AMVETS director King said Emanuel didn't ask for suggestions in Wednesday's meeting. A 2008 Government Accountability Office study found that about $1.7 billion in treatment that could have been charged to private insurance never was, nor was it collected by the VA. CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

White House chief of staff meets with veterans groups . Administration wanted to charge private insurers for treatment of veterans . Vets' groups and members of Congress have angrily opposed the proposal .

(CNN) -- As a former Royal Navy officer, keen angler and the UK's heir apparent, it makes sense that Prince Charles would be inclined to worry about the future of fish and chips. Britons have been eating the iconic national dish since the mid-19th century, but with around 30% of the world's fish stocks thought to be over-exploited, the Prince of Wales has concerns. "When I was at school here in Scotland, I remember one occasion buying fish and chips from a shop in Inverness," he told an audience of scientists and fisheries executives at the sixth World Fisheries Congress. "It never occurred to me then that I was eating food that had such a reliance on how we treat a wild natural resource. But, of course, how we harvest the fish has a direct impact on how many are left to catch next time." Study: Organic yields 25% lower than conventional farming . In 2010, Prince Charles launched the International Sustainability Unit (ISU), a charity focused on monitoring and facilitating consensus on environmental management issues. Drawing on the ISU's latest research, the Prince noted that sustainable fisheries tend to have three things in common: "a strong economic rationale" for their efforts, "a robust management structure" under which rules are enforced, and a holistic approach that takes into account "the whole ecosystem, rather than individual stocks in isolation." "I am particularly encouraged to hear that the cod stocks in the North Sea have shown signs of recovery from what was, only a decade ago, a much depleted fishery," he said. "By reducing the effort at sea and other management techniques, the stock, I am told, has doubled over the past six years." Watch: Keeping fish on the menu . Prince Charles also met with members of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), winners of this year's Young Fish Frier of the Year competition, and fisheries executives gathered aboard a Scottish marine research vessel moored in Edinburgh's harbor to fry some sustainably sourced Scottish haddock, and discuss how to safeguard the future of a beloved national dish. Britons eat fish and chips twice as much as any other takeaway meal, with 382 million meals consumed a year, according to Denise Dodd, General Secretary of the NFFF. Collectively, Britain's 10,500 fish and chip shops use 10% of the UK's potato crop and buys 30% of its white fish, generating a turnover of $1.9 billion. "Many businesses are family owned independents, some second and third generation or more, and are the focal point of many communities," Dodd says. "Fish and chips have been firmly on the menu for 150 years and we'd like it to continue for at least another 150 years" Beauty trumps beast in conservation efforts . Although, Dodd says 90% of Britain's fish and chip shops "use frozen at sea fillets caught by large modern trawlers in well-managed waters." With input from Young Fish Friers, and from sustainability award-winning fish and chip shop owners, the NFFF, which turns 100 next year, intends to draw up a Responsible Sourcing Code to ensure that fish and chip shops are selling fish from sustainable fisheries. It will also work with the Marine Stewardship Council, which certifies sustainable seafood, to make it easier for fish and chip shops to gain Chain of Custody certification, so consumers can eat "conscience free" cod. Britons concerned about the provenance of the fish they're eating can consult the Marine Conservation Society's newly revised Good Fish Guide, which confirms that Scottish North Sea haddock, farmed organically or caught from sustainable or certified fisheries, is amongst the best choice they can make.

The Prince of Wales is concerned about sustaining stocks of fish, used in Britain's favorite meal. Britons eat fish and chips twice as much as any other takeaway dish. Industry reps plan to introduce a code to ensure fish is responsibly sourced.

(CNN) -- Afghanistan's president is speeding up the transfer of the U.S.-run prison at Bagram to Afghan control within a month after hearing a report citing problems at the facility, including human rights issues. President Hamid Karzai on Thursday assigned a commission to conduct the move. He made the decision after a briefing about the facility and the condition of its prisoners from the head of the country's Constitutional Oversight Commission, Gul Rahman Qazi. The commission is made up of top Afghan officials, including the defense, justice and interior ministers. "The report details many cases of violations of the Afghan Constitution and other applicable laws of the country, the relevant international conventions and human rights," the president's office said. A transfer has been planned for a while, and this effort is being made as the United States pledges to hand over more authority to the Afghans in the coming months and years. The original detention facility had been the Bagram Theater Internment Facility at Bagram Air Base. It has been replaced by a nearby prison built in late 2009 called the Detention Facility in Parwan, named for the province. Both facilities have been called Bagram prison. "The United States has repeatedly made clear we are committed to working with the Afghan government to complete a joint plan for transition of detention operations in Afghanistan," said Gavin Sundwall, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. "We will continue to work with the Afghan government to meet this objective." Sundwall said he believed the announcement referred to Parwan but added that the embassy only had the palace statement to refer to and had not been given a copy of the commission's report mentioned in the presidential news release. "We take seriously and investigate all allegations of detainee abuse. The United States respects the human rights of detainees at the Detention Facility in Parwan. Any specific allegations of detainee abuse should be addressed to ISAF," NATO's International Security Assistance Force. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States has been working with the Afghan government "on appropriate timing and pace for transfer of the detention facilities." "We're going to continue to work with the Afghan government to implement the transition -- that we have both agreed needs to happen -- of detention operations in Afghanistan. We need to do this in a manner that is maximally responsible," she said. Karzai's decision also comes amid tensions between the United States and Afghanistan over the announcement of a Taliban office in Qatar. Karzai withdrew his ambassador from Qatar last month, apparently unhappy that his Western allies -- and principally the United States -- were forging a channel for talks with the Taliban without his approval. The United States invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban after the al Qaeda terror network attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. The Taliban had ruled Afghanistan since 1996. Human rights activists have criticized detention practices at the Bagram facilities over the years. Last year, Human Rights First said the detainees "are, in fact, afforded far fewer rights than are those at Guantanamo, who have the right to challenge their detention in a U.S. court and to representation by a lawyer." "Some detainees at Bagram have been imprisoned for eight years or more without charge or trial, based largely on evidence they have never seen and with no meaningful opportunity to defend themselves," a report from the group said in May. A U.S. Forces in Afghanistan fact sheet issued in October said the Detention Facility in Parwan "enables security, transparency and rule of law in Afghanistan both now and when the facility is transferred to the Afghan government. The design of the DFIP allows for safe, humane and effective management of the detainee population." CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh contributed to this report.

Detention facility in Parwan, Afghanistan, was built in late 2009 . The U.S. Embassy in Kabul says it takes abuse allegations seriously . Human rights groups have criticized abuses at Bagram in the past .

(CNN) -- Can you be identified only by where you take your phone? Yes, according to a new study, which finds it's not very hard at all. While most of us are free to go wherever we want, our daily and weekly movement patterns are pretty predictable. We go to work, to school, to church, to our neighborhood gym, grocery store or coffee shop, and we come home -- all quietly tracked by the GPS in our phone. And with nothing more than this anonymous location data, someone who wanted to badly enough could easily figure out who you are by tracking your smartphone. Patterns of our movements, when traced on a map, create something akin to a fingerprint that is unique to every person. Those are the findings of a report by researchers from MIT and elsewhere, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports. They say that, throughout history, people have always yearned for some degree of privacy, and there have always been others who wanted to keep an eye on them. With modern technology, they say, tracking people is easier than ever. "Modern information technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones, however, magnify the uniqueness of individuals, further enhancing the traditional challenges to privacy," they wrote. "Mobility data is among the most sensitive data currently being collected. Mobility data contains the approximate whereabouts of individuals and can be used to reconstruct individuals' movements across space and time." The growing push to track your location indoors . For the study, the research team studied 15 months of anonymous mobile data for roughly 1.5 million people. What they found was that, if they got accurate hourly updates on a person's whereabouts, tracked by their mobile carrier's cell towers, four "data points" were all they needed to figure out the person's identity 95% of the time. That's the sort of thing that has privacy advocates, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, worried. In a wrap-up of last year's developments in mobile privacy, the group's Hanni Fakhoury and Marcia Hofmann noted that, in multiple cases, law enforcement has approached wireless carriers for mobile data to track users. At least one court has ruled that users have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their cell phone data. "(T)he government claims that cell phone users give up their privacy rights because they have voluntarily disclosed their physical location to the cell phone providers every time a phone connects to the provider's cell tower," EFF said in a statement related to an October court case. "... However, this theory undermines privacy in nearly any networked communication." Increasingly, the makers of mobile operating systems are opening up anonymous location data to developers designing apps that do things like target local advertising to the users. Apple, for example, states in its privacy policy that it can share anonymous mobile data with "partners and licensees." The study's authors said keeping data anonymous is not necessarily enough to ensure real privacy. "A simply anonymized dataset does not contain name, home address, phone number or other obvious identifier," they wrote. "Yet, if individual's patterns are unique enough, outside information can be used to link the data back to an individual." So, for example, say that you wake up at home every morning, head to the office five days a week, then hit the gym on three of those days. That's three data points already. Then maybe you go to the same church, or restaurant for brunch, every Sunday. There's the fourth -- plenty to figure out who you are, the authors say. Every additional location you hit regularly just makes it that much easier. Like EFF, the study's authors said that has troubling implications. "These findings represent fundamental constraints to an individual's privacy and have important implications for the design of frameworks and institutions dedicated to protect the privacy of individuals," they wrote.

Report: It's easy to identify smartphone users by their movements . Researchers from MIT and elsewhere tracked 1.5 million people for 15 months . Each mobile user's daily movements are unique and create a "fingerprint" Privacy advocates worry how law enforcement and others may use that data .

(CNN) -- Everyone aboard US Airways Flight 1549 survived when the plane crash-landed into the Hudson River, and that may be due as much to diligent rescue training as luck. Passengers and crew line up outside the plane as boats move in to rescue them. The Coast Guard rescuers who quickly got to the scene and many of the ferries and boats that first responded train for water rescues. "We, the Coast Guard, we do train for these type of events and these type of situations, scenarios, and one thing we do try to do is try to coordinate with our other maritime agency partners [so] that incidents like this go off without a hitch or as safely as possible," said Coast Guard Lt. C.K. Moore, who helped coordinate the response. Within minutes of the plane crash-landing into the water, the aircraft was surrounded by ferry boats that had been making their regularly scheduled trips across the Hudson and other boats coordinated by, and including, the Coast Guard. The passengers had begun exiting the plane -- getting into rafts or standing on the wings. But as more people began to exit, the plane started to become submerged and passengers' feet started getting cold. See photos of the crash and rescue . The quick response may have helped save the lives of passengers, who if not for the rescuers may have been subjected to the frigid Hudson water. It's one of the things Moore said the Coast Guard focuses on during water rescues, especially in the winter. After only three minutes in cold water, people can lose the use of their arms and legs, according to the Oregon State Marine Board. At the time of the crash it was 21 degrees outside, the water temperature in the Hudson was 32.5 degrees and winds were blowing at 15 mph. Oregon State Marine Board: Surviving cold water immersion . Thankfully for passengers, ferry captains like Brittany Catanzaro came quickly to their rescue. Watch passengers describe what happened » . She was at the helm of a New York Waterway ferry during a normal commute across the river when she looked to her right and saw a plane in the water. "I had to do a double-take," she said. But Catanzaro knew exactly what to do. She said she and her crew train each month for water rescues. "We have to do man overboard, and we're constantly drilling. Constantly," she said. "And when something comes, you already know how to take effect and how to put everything together, so it just went very smoothly." Catanzaro immediately told her crew to get life jackets on, take extras to throw in the water, and prepare a cradle to help bring passengers onto the boat. The boat was the second on the scene. "When I got there, my crew went to work and started pulling out people," she said. "Some people were sighing with relief, some people were crying. It was nerve-wracking." In all, Catanzaro's crew helped bring 24 people aboard. "I was telling my crew, even if we pulled out one person, that was one more person we saved," she said. "And to pull out 24 people, that's 24 people." The Coast Guard was able to pluck at least 35 people from the water and wing of the plane. Catanzaro's crew and the Coast Guard were able to take nearly half the plane's passengers out of the Hudson. That's a credit to their training, Moore said, which is done exactly for this scenario. "We do train with each other from time to time to understand what each other can bring to the table when it comes to -- to search and rescue," he said. "This is one of the situations where this has come to fruition, and it's a great -- it's a great thing to see it happen like this."

Coast Guard, ferry training enable quick response, rescue . Ferry captain says they drill each month for man overboard scenarios . Boats help pluck passengers off wings, out of the water . Coast Guard lieutenant: "It's a great thing to see it happen like this"