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Washington (CNN) -- Republicans and outside groups used anonymous Twitter accounts to share internal polling data ahead of the midterm elections, CNN has learned, a practice that raises questions about whether they violated campaign finance laws that prohibit coordination. The Twitter accounts were hidden in plain sight. The profiles were publicly available but meaningless without knowledge of how to find them and decode the information, according to a source with knowledge of the activities. The practice is the latest effort in the quest by political operatives to exploit the murky world of campaign finance laws at a time when limits on spending in politics are eroding and regulators are being defanged. The law says that outside groups, such as super PACs and non-profits, can spend freely on political causes as long as they don't coordinate their plans with campaigns. Sharing costly internal polls in private, for instance, could signal to the campaign committees where to focus precious time and resources. The groups behind the operation had a sense of humor about what they were doing. One Twitter account was named after Bruno Gianelli, a fictional character in The West Wing who pressed his colleagues to use ethically questionable "soft money" to fund campaigns. A typical tweet read: "CA-40/43-44/49-44/44-50/36-44/49-10/16/14-52-->49/476-10s." The source said posts like that -- which would look like gibberish to most people -- represented polling data for various House races. Posting the information on Twitter, which is technically public, could provide a convenient loophole to the law — or could run afoul of it. "It's a line that has not been defined. This is really on the cutting edge," said Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization focused on campaign finance issues. "It might not be legal. It's a cutting edge practice that, to my knowledge, the Federal Election Commission has never before addressed to explicitly determine its legality or permissibility." At least two outside groups and a Republican campaign committee had access to the information posted to the accounts, according to the source. They include American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove; American Action Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, and the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the campaign arm for the House GOP. Accounts deleted . The accounts that CNN reviewed were active in the months ahead of this month's election, which gave Republicans their largest majority in the House since World War II and control of the Senate. They were live until Nov. 3 but deleted minutes after CNN contacted the NRCC with questions. Representatives for American Crossroads, American Action Network and the NRCC declined repeated requests for comment for this story. CNN captured screenshots of the Twitter communications before contacting the parties involved. American Crossroads dropped $21.6 million during the most recent election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The American Action Network, meanwhile, spent nearly $9 million on federal elections in 2014. It's difficult to determine whether Twitter posts prompted ad buys or other spending in specific races. Two of the profiles were named @TruthTrain14 and @brunogianelli44 but it's unclear which group used specific accounts. Still, the tweeting through special code could raise questions about whether the groups illegally coordinated, according to Kenneth Gross, a former head of the FEC enforcement division who now advises Democrats and Republicans on campaign finance issues. 'Decoder ring' "If it truly requires some sort of Ovaltine decoder ring to make heads or tails of the information, then there certainly is the possibility that there was some pre-arrangement," Gross said. "Just making it public is not enough. You have to further meet the requirement of no pre-arrangement or coordination. But it is the burden of the government to demonstrate that." Beyond coordination, the social media operation could also raise questions about whether the polling data contained in the tweets constituted a donation to the NRCC that should have been reported. The groups could have violated election rules by not reporting the information in the tweets as a donation. The tweets captured by screenshots stretched back to July, but the groups have communicated in this manner for four years, the source said. Staffers for each group deleted individual tweets every few months, so only the past few months of data were available when CNN first viewed the Twitter accounts. The social media strategy isn't the first time parties and outside groups have used Twitter to communicate. In April, it was Republicans who accused Democrats of attempting to "subvert campaign finance laws" when the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's official Twitter accounts posted messages that Democratic super PACs later incorporated into their ads. And both parties are working hard to find ways to work more closely with well-financed outside groups. Earlier this year, for instance, the National Journal reported that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, posted what appear to be ad scripts on her websites that Republicans say telegraphed messages the campaign would like to see on the air. In the North Carolina Senate race this year, Republican Thom Tillis' campaign posted a detailed memo on its website specifically laying out its needs for television and digital ad buys. Meanwhile, outside groups also share details of their plans by releasing spending plans to the media or posting the information on their websites as press releases. But the Twitter accounts in this case are unique in that they did not publicly identify their association with the groups who posted to them or advertise their existence. Citizens United . The Twitter operation underscores the uncertain state of campaign finance rules after the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision upended limits on outside spending in politics. Regulations provided by the FEC in the wake of the court ruling leave much to interpretation about what constitutes "coordination," creating a Wild West environment that, according to campaign finance experts, gives outside groups ample opportunity to share information while arguing they stayed within the confines of the law. "It may bend common sense, but not necessarily the law," said Daniel Tokaji, a professor of Constitutional Law at Ohio State University who co-authored a study this year examining the relationship between outside groups and campaigns. "A lot of things you and I would consider coordination are not coordination under the law. I don't think sharing polling data is going to be enough to establish that the campaign was materially involved in decisions about content, target audience or timing." In response to this story Monday, FEC vice-chair Ann Ravel said the commission may address the use of social media to share campaign information, but conceded that the rules governing campaign finance are "murky." The strategy, Ravel wrote on Twitter, "shows that tech changing politics... but coordination rules sadly murky." The practice also serves as another reminder of Washington's revolving door between campaign committees, party leadership and outside groups. The spokesman for American Crossroads, Paul Lindsay, and the president of American Action Network, Brian Walsh, both formerly worked at the NRCC though there's no evidence that they were involved in the Twitter posts. Despite the questionable nature of the Twitter communications, experts doubt the FEC will do much to act. Members of the commission have been deadlocked along party lines for years and attorneys for these groups often develop legal arguments before engaging in such practices to avoid acting outside the bounds of the law, Ryan said. "In many instances, we have very sophisticated political players with really good lawyers who know where the legal lines are and know where to push them to their client's advantage," he said.

NEW: FEC vice-chair: Coordination rules are 'sadly murky' Laws ban outside groups from coordinating with campaigns . GOP and outside groups shared internal polling data on Twitter accounts . Practices raises questions about whether election laws were broken .

(CNN) -- Christy Wolford describes her first child, Lauren, as a wedding gift. She also says it was her daughter who saved her life. Wolford found a lump in her breast while she was breastfeeding. Had she not been weaning Lauren, she probably wouldn't have noticed that something was unusual with her breast, let alone have had it checked out. Wolford was only 28. "When you're in your 20s, you think you're invincible," she said. At first she thought she might have a clogged milk duct, but she went to the doctor anyway. What followed were mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and then the diagnosis: She had breast cancer. Doctors told her other bad news: She had an 80% to 90% chance of being sterile after her treatment. She and her husband, Bubba, really wanted another child. They were hoping for a son to carry on the family name. "That was shocking. ... It was a very hard pill to swallow," Wolford said. Luckily, she found another option: an ongoing clinical trial designed to help preserve a woman's fertility during chemotherapy. The study's results were published Friday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago. Hope in a trial . Since there would be about a month between surgery and chemotherapy, her doctor initially suggested that the couple seek fertility treatment. That way they could set aside embryos to be used later. The Wolfords thought about it, but the treatment's $30,000 price tag was too much. They also struggled with what they felt was a moral dilemma of what they'd do with the embryos they didn't use. Ultimately, they decided that fertility treatments weren't for them. It's a good thing, too: Wolford later learned that she had hormone-negative cancer. The fertility drugs she would have needed for egg harvesting could have made her cancer worse. When Wolford went in for her treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, she learned about the clinical trial, which is funded largely by the National Institutes of Health. "Honestly, I don't know if my poor husband even had a vote in this. I saw it as my only hope," she said. Trial researchers wanted to know whether the drug goserelin (brand name Zoladex) could preserve the fertility of hormone-negative cancer patients. "It's a drug that suppresses ovarian function or puts the ovaries at rest," said the lead study author, Dr. Halle Moore. Goserelin is normally prescribed to women with advanced hormone-positive breast cancer to put them into menopause and stop estrogen production, which can fuel cancer growth. Studies have shown high rates of return of menstrual function, Moore says, but there have been no conclusive trials looking at ovarian function over the long term. A new approach . The goal of the trial was to temporarily halt ovarian function and then assess it two years after treatment. "Basically, if the ovaries are inactive, then they would hopefully be less sensitive to the chemotherapy effects," said Moore, a breast cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. More than 200 women between the ages of 18 and 49 were recruited for the trial. All were given standard chemotherapy, but half added goserelin to their treatments. Wolford was in the latter group. "I put my ovaries into menopause, without the chemotherapy doing it first, with the hope that (the ovaries) would wake up afterwards," she said. She had to get an injection one week before starting chemotherapy and then once every four weeks as long as she was on chemo. "The drug is actually quite painful. It's like a shooting a rice grain into your abdomen," Wolford said. Wolford's chemotherapy lasted six months, finishing in September 2006. Her menstrual cycle returned about four months later. "Obviously, at that point, it doesn't mean that you're ovulating, and at that point, we were trying to figure out what to do next for our family," Wolford said. A life change . Two months later, she was laid off from her job. Believing Lauren would probably be their only child, the couple decided to open a preschool in Colorado, "because if we can't have more children, then we'll spend time with other parents' children," Wolford sasaid. In late 2008, they decided to see if they could get pregnant again. When Wolford informed her doctors at MD Anderson, they asked her to come in for more tests, particularly because triple-negative breast cancer has the highest recurrence rate five years after diagnosis. Only 135 women (including Wolford) met the criteria for ovarian function testing at the two-year mark, and among those patients, researchers found that 22% of the women in the chemo-only group had premature ovarian failure, compared with 8% in the group that also got goserelin. "That's a two-thirds reduction," Moore said. Researchers also found that the women in the goserelin group were nearly twice as likely to have a successful pregnancy. Wolford was one of them. She found out she was pregnant in February 2009 and believes she delivered the first baby in the goserelin group. Alexander was born eight months later. 11 myths fertility doctors hear . Then came Everett and finally baby Lukas. All told, among the 218 women enrolled in the trial, 22 patients in the goserelin group became pregnant, compared with 12 in the chemotherapy-only group. An important post-cancer issue . "Finding a simple and accessible way to protect fertility in young breast cancer patients while not harming cancer outcomes is an important issue," said Dr. Lori Minasian, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Prevention and one of the study's co-authors. "I think this is convincing enough that we can use this standard practice" (for women with hormone-negative breast cancer), Moore said. MD Anderson breast cancer expert Dr. Jennifer Litton, who was not involved in the study, cautions that the study size was small. She says the research does show that it's not harmful to take goserelin to preserve fertility. But she suggests "for patients who are sure they want to have children after chemotherapy, it is still imperative to meet with a reproductive endocrinologist to understand all their options and not just rely on goserelin." More research needed . Although the study results are narrowly applicable to hormone-negative breast cancer, the concept may have broader applications in other cancers, said Dr. Clifford Hudis, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a breast cancer expert at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Moore agrees, saying that goserelin may also be applicable with cancers that are treated with similar chemotherapy drugs, like lymphoma, but that more research is needed. Wolford is now almost nine years cancer-free. Her message to other young women in a similar situation: Be strong. It's a hard road fighting cancer, she says, but do your research and consider participating in clinical trials that could help you and other women in the future. "To have the life you always hoped to have -- it's a really huge thing," she said. "It was definitely a painful experience, but the upside was my three sons, and I would do it again in a heartbeat." IVF helps Nigerians overcome infertility stigma .

Treatments for cancer increase chances for a woman to become sterile . Women who added one drug in trial were nearly twice as likely to get pregnant . Goserelin may be useful after treatment for other cancers, study author says .

(CNN) -- For many girls in Afghanistan, the simple act of walking to school can be a life-threatening journey. "You close the door behind you, and you enter a war zone," said Nushin Arbabzadah, an American-based author and scholar who was raised in Afghanistan. There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan last year, according to the United Nations, and the majority of those attacks were attributed to armed groups opposed to educating females. But "the walk from home to school is -- and has always been -- the most dangerous part," Arbabzadah said. "You are told to stay covered, keep your head down and walk quickly ... and stare at your toes." The life of a schoolgirl in Afghanistan is a far cry from reading, writing and arithmetic. Some girls have been maimed by acid attacks. Others have had their drinking water poisoned or been targeted by bombers who think females should be forbidden from school -- as they were during the Taliban's rule. "It is unfathomable that anyone would want to hurt them. But that is the reality," said Beth Murphy, a documentary filmmaker who recently traveled to Afghanistan to work on a feature film about girls' education. Amid the violence, however, there is promise: In a country where just 6% of women 25 and older have received any formal education, millions of girls are at long last enrolling in school. Ten years ago, fewer than a million Afghan children attended school, according to UNICEF. Today, more than 8.2 million children are going to schools like the one founded by Razia Jan, one of the Top 10 Heroes of 2012. Jan and her team at the Zabuli Education Center are providing a free education to about 350 girls in rural Afghanistan. "Most of the (local) men and women are illiterate," Jan said. "Most of our students are the first generation of girls to get educated." Who should be CNN Hero of the Year? Cast your vote . The obstacles facing Afghan girls are both "Herculean and heartbreaking," Murphy said. While she was filming at one school, there was an attack at another school nearby that killed 100 children. That very same day, Murphy watched as young students embraced their opportunities to learn. "To see these girls walking to school, delighted to be learning and spending time together in the classroom, writing their own names for the first time, reading their first words -- I felt hope for the future," Murphy said. "Not in a naive way but with the realization that if it's working here, it can work other places, too." Although the violence against Afghan schoolgirls has dominated news headlines recently, reports from humanitarian groups like UNICEF, Oxfam and Save the Children say that a great deal of progress has been made. "The overall education of girls in Afghanistan is a great success story," said Christine Roehrs, spokeswoman for Save the Children in Afghanistan. "Basically, you didn't have girls educated in 2001. And now we have 3 million girls in school." Roehrs says there's still much work to be done, however, because there are approximately 4 million children in Afghanistan -- most of them girls -- who are not enrolled in school. One major area of focus is the number of female teachers. "In Afghan culture, parents don't consider it appropriate for girls to be educated by a man," Roehrs said. "There is a high dropout rate of young girls after the early grades because there are not enough female teachers. So the secret of getting and keeping girls in school is to get more female teachers." Only 31% of all teachers in Afghanistan are female, Roehrs said, and a disproportionate amount of those women are in urban areas. The lack of infrastructure in rural areas also makes it even more difficult for girls to get an education there. "There are 400 rural districts. In 200 of them, there are no female teachers or girls' schools," Roehrs said. "When I am talking to parents, they are favorable to girls' education. But the schools and teachers need to be close and safe." To improve those rural numbers, Save the Children has implemented high school training programs so girls can become teachers right after graduation. Another obstacle to girls' education is early marriage. The legal age for marriage is 16 in Afghanistan, but there have been many reports about girls being forced to marry well before that. Murphy and her production crew met a 12-year-old student named Khudija whose marriage had been arranged by her brother, the oldest man in her family. "The way kids in America might trade baseball cards on the playground, these boys traded their sisters: 'My sister will marry you; your sister will marry me,' " Murphy said. "Now it is Khudija's fiance and her fiance's father who dictate her life. "Among the first decrees: No more school." Knowing this is often the case, Jan goes to the homes of some of her young students and asks for permission to delay marriage. In some cases, she's had success. In others, she has seen students forced to withdraw from school. "My heart breaks for them," Jan said. "Hopefully, things will change. Many fathers and grandfathers are proud to see their girls learning, so there are positive signs." Still, across an already greatly divided country, old gender biases are hard to undo. "You can have these huge kinds of variations and attitudes about education within the same family," Arbabzadah said. "I met a young female math teacher whose own family was split greatly on the topics of education. She told me her own cousin was very proud that he never sent his daughters to school. He thought it was the worst thing you could do." In some cases, physical and emotional abuse keep girls out of the classroom. Many young women are accustomed to being hit and working as virtual slaves at home. Jan recalls asking a young student a question and seeing the child put her hand in front of her face, afraid she would be struck. "She and her sister had burn marks and scars on their bodies," said Jan, who stepped in to provide clothes and food for the children and threaten the girl's aunt with arrest. According to the U.N., violence against women has been persistent in Afghanistan due to women's low status and the country's long exposure to hostilities and conflict. Gender discrimination can also be traced to a combination of factors, including poverty, local tradition and the effects of war. But female students still have high aspirations. In a recent Oxfam survey (PDF), more than 70% of the girls interviewed said they want to continue their education. "Once they enter the classroom, they are so involved being a student and trying to learn as much as they can," Jan said. "They want to learn. They want to get educated." Advocates like Jan and Save the Children agree that if true change is to come in Afghanistan, it's crucial to educate this next generation. Afghanistan has one the highest proportions of school-age children in the world: About one-fifth Afghans are between the ages of 7 and 12. Roehrs said that 57% of all Afghans are children. "They form the future Afghanistan that some in the international community are afraid of and others might want to ignore," she said. "But it is paramount to look at these children and get the best education for them. "These children are the Afghanistan we are looking at in 10 or 15 years."

Millions of Afghan girls are now getting the education that their mothers couldn't . But as a result, the girls and their schools are often targets for violent attacks . Girls' education is also hamstrung by arranged marriages at an early age . Top 10 CNN Hero Razia Jan founded a school that teaches Afghan girls for free .

(CNN) -- Imagine seeing masterpieces by Van Gogh, entertaining your kids with activities and strolling a hilltop garden with waterfalls and beautiful views at sunset. Now imagine doing it all for free. That's how your day could play out at the Getty Museum in L.A., where admission doesn't cost a thing. Enjoying what America has to offer can get expensive fast: in 2011, the U.S. travel industry made $813 billion, and some of America's most popular cities are also its most expensive. With high gas prices and airline fees, it's refreshing to know that there are still some venues like the Getty that give another meaning to the land of the free. In our search for the top free attractions, we bypassed public parks and train stations to focus on experiences you wouldn't necessarily expect to be free. Find out just how far $0 can get you from coast to coast. Smithsonian Museums, Washington, D.C. The National Zoo, National Museum of Natural History, and National Air and Space Museum—which displays The Spirit of St. Louis—are the biggest crowd-pleasers among the 18 Smithsonian institutions in D.C., otherwise one of the country's priciest cities. Indeed, making knowledge accessible is key to the mission of the world's largest museum and research complex. Affordable-travel expert Tim Leffel observed that the three museums he visited with his wife and daughter would have set them back more than $100 in most European capitals. And here's a bonus: you can download a free app about the National Mall sites from the National Park Service. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park . Most national parks encourage you to tune in to nature; this one celebrates jazz in its birthplace, New Orleans. There's live music at the visitor center in the French Quarter and the Old U.S. Mint six days a week, and a kids' music workshop on Saturdays at Perseverance Hall in Louis Armstrong Park. The visitor center also hosts free talks, video documentaries and exhibits on local jazz history. You can pick up one of two self-guided audio tours, "Jazz Sites in New Orleans" or "Jazz Walk of Fame." Travel + Leisure: Best U.S. cities for affordable getaways . The Getty Center, Los Angeles . Maximize your time at the Getty by visiting on a Friday or Saturday, when this sprawling hillside art complex is open late—allowing you to take in sunset views. The light-filled museum interiors display an impressive collection of European and American art including Vincent van Gogh's famous irises. Debbie Dubrow of the family travel blog Delicious Baby recommends the Family Room's interactive exhibits, giant illuminated manuscripts and an art treasure hunt. "And whenever you need a break, just pop outside to the Getty's fabulous gardens," she says. While parking is admittedly expensive ($15), the Getty is also accessible by public transit. Staten Island Ferry, New York City . Even in the most expensive city in America, you can find great deals like free admission nights at MoMA (otherwise $25), discounted Broadway tickets, and lower hotel rates in July and August. Then there's the thrill of one of the world's most beautiful ferry rides on the Staten Island commuter ferry—which also happens to be free 24/7. Board at sunset, when Lady Liberty is silhouetted against a pink-and-orange sky. You'll pass the Statue of Liberty, with a panoramic view of glittering downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City. Affordable-travel expert Tim Leffel says: "It's one thing I always recommend when people ask what they should do in New York." Travel + Leisure: Best affordable all-inclusive resorts . Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia . Folks line up to see the 2,000-pound Liberty Bell—enshrined in glass—and tour Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution drafted. (Look for George Washington's "rising sun" chair.) Mara Gorman of the blog The Mother of All Trips also enjoyed visiting the Second Bank of the United States, "which houses a wonderful portrait gallery with paintings of many of the principle figures of the American Revolution." Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross and Washington all attended services at nearby Christ Church. Go underground: Cave hotels . Conservatory at Bellagio, Las Vegas . Take a breather from the hectic win-or-lose atmosphere of Vegas at the Bellagio's 13,000-square-foot Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Horticulturists create seasonal over-the-top displays, rearranging the gardens and their trappings—gazebos, bridges and giant topiaries. After the free live musical performance at the gardens (5 to 6 p.m. daily), step out onto the Strip to witness the light-and-music show put on by the Bellagio fountains. Royal Hawaiian Center, Honolulu . Free cultural programming sets the remodeled Royal Hawaiian Center apart from your average shopping mall. You can drop by for a traditional Hawaiian massage (lomilomi), lei-making, Hawaiian quilting or a crash course in playing the ukulele or dancing the hula. There are also free performances, including Polynesian song and dance and hula 'auana, which is hula's modern form. It's an added bonus that parking is unusually affordable for Waikiki: free for an hour with validation. 7 amazing island rentals . The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas . "Remember the Alamo!" became a rallying cry after a small group of Texans stationed at this Catholic mission was defeated in March 1836 by a Mexican army after a 13-day siege. These days, the Alamo chapel is an official Texas State Shrine—and the state's most popular site with more than 2.5 million annual visitors. After your visit, stroll the nearby River Walk, lined with shops and restaurants like Boudro's for homemade guacamole and prickly-pear margaritas. Pike Place Market, Seattle . This iconic Seattle waterfront market occupies nine acres with an assortment of vendors selling fresh, locally produced food—most famously, flying fish. The market was established in 1907 with the explicit aim of connecting citizens and farmers, and it's still home to more than 200 independent small businesses, including bakeries, flower and butcher shops, and casual seafood restaurants. Markets with a similar ethos have sprung up across the country; look for one on your next trip. National September 11 Memorial, New York City . Pay your respects at twin reflecting pools that occupy the footprint of the former World Trade Center towers. The memorial is inscribed with the names of all who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and of February 26, 1993. Hundreds of white oaks help create a peaceful atmosphere. While admission is free, advance reservations are required. See more of America's top free attractions . What are your favorite free attractions in the U.S.? Planning a getaway? Don't miss Travel + Leisure's guide to the World's Best Hotels . Copyright 2012 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

The travel industry rakes in billions each year, but not every great attraction charges a fee . The Smithsonian museums in Washington make for fun, educational outings at no cost . In Las Vegas, the Conservatory at the Bellagio offers free live music in the gardens .

(CNN) -- There's nothing broken about being the fourth-most valuable company in the world, which is exactly what Microsoft is today. That same company, however, is valued at half what it was 10 years ago. It's not exactly thriving, either. Regardless if the glass is actually half empty or half full, consumer confidence in Microsoft is at a low. It is ignored or considered uncool by younger generations. Older generations are often required to use the company's software at work, but turn to Apple or Google devices in their free time. A month from now Microsoft will release Windows 8, a bold new operating system that seeks to bring touchscreen interfaces to desktop computing. It's the company's biggest product since Windows XP and yet the only thing the tech world has seemingly talked about over the last 12 months is what the iPhone 5 might look like. In that sense, Microsoft is broken. Sure, the company that Bill Gates built has had a few bona fide hits over the last decade, most notably from its gaming division: Xbox Live, which is sort of the nighttime Facebook for gamers, and Kinect, a hands-free game controller that caught fire for a year before fizzling somewhat. Bing, Microsoft's search engine, also is gaining traction in the market. But when it comes to mobile devices -- the biggest area of growth in consumer tech -- Microsoft still lags behind its rivals. How Apple's story is like 'Breaking Bad' So how can the company right the ship? According to some of its biggest critics, here are eight ways Microsoft can reinvent itself, return to relevancy and dominate the tech world once more instead of just following it. 1. Make fewer things extremely well. Microsoft has been accused of many things. Being too focused isn't one of them. "They spread themselves too thin across too many product lines," says blogger Mary Jo Foley, a longtime observer of the company. "They let broken products hang on for far too long," resulting in mediocre stuff that few people care about, she says. The good news: "They're getting better at this," Foley says. 2. Move all their software to the Web. Microsoft is in a bit of a pickle. Consumers want to manage, view and manipulate their files from any device connected to the Internet (aka cloud computing). But Microsoft still makes most of its money from locally installed software, so it has been very reluctant to offer its wares online at a discount (if not for free like Google). Keep it up, though, and Microsoft will be a goner, says Joe Wilcox, editor of Beta News. "On phones and tablets, Microsoft's presence is insignificant or too low to quantify. If the so-called post-PC era is about cloud-connected devices, Microsoft operating systems have no meaningful presence." 3. De-emphasize the desktop. Microsoft has made a fortune selling desktop operating systems. While the desktop will certainly remain an important computing tool for the foreseeable future, it's no longer the primary tool. It's really just one of many available portals now. "Who cares about a desktop?" says my twenty-something brother-in-law. So long as a device is portable and lets him access the Internet, he doesn't care who makes it or what it looks like. So, in addition to moving all its products online, Microsoft should make those products available on any device, independent of the operating system, like Google does across Macintosh, Android, iPhones, Windows and even their new Google Chrome OS. In other words, it's all about the apps, regardless of how you access them. 4. Lead instead of follow. Whether fair or not, the perception exists that Microsoft largely follows what Apple and Google do rather than making its own waves (think delayed Zunes, Bings, Windows Phones, Surface tablets and retail stores). Heck, even Kinect was a reaction to Nintendo's Wii. To really excite consumers, it would do well to try zigging while others zag. "Even if Microsoft fails to be as successful during the cloud-connected device era as the PC, its efforts (good or bad) should pressure Apple, Amazon, Google and others do to better," says Wilcox. 5. Serve only one master. The last thing Microsoft needs right now is to further reduce its already dwindling market share. Yet that's what the upcoming Windows 8 might do as it tries to serve both touch users and traditional keyboard and mouse ones. "I fear Windows 8 is too focused on touch-friendly computing," says Tim Stevens, editor of Engadget. Foley agrees: "I think Microsoft may be too far ahead of its users in its decision to de-emphasize the old and familiar Windows for a touch-centric one." It's OK to offer both touch and traditional software, as Apple does. But it works best when you keep 'em separated (as Apple has done with Mac and iOS). 6. Be "cool" in its own way. As dominant as Microsoft was in the '90s, its products were never a status symbol like Apple's are today. That's a fact. At the same time, there are varying degrees of coolness; you don't have to be hip so long as you're confident and unapologetic about who you are. The sooner Microsoft realizes this, the better it will embrace its potential as a respected and reliable maker of computing again, rather than just something the establishment makes you use. What's more, Microsoft is now in the ironic position to brand itself as David to Apple's Goliath, the counterculture to Apple's mainstream. You know, turn the tables on the very upstart company that used to "think different," but that now suffers from groupthink because its products are so widely used. 7. Don't do what IBM did. IBM used to be a household name in computing. After it stopped selling to consumers, it found success in targeting big business. But it is less relevant and smaller than it used to be. This will also remain true of Microsoft if it fails to embrace the cloud-connected devices that are replacing PCs. "If Microsoft retreats to the enterprise and cedes the consumer market, like IBM, they'll lose their relevance," says Wilcox. 8. Be the developer's favorite again. Microsoft Windows didn't become a juggernaut by being a better experience than Macintosh. It became a juggernaut because it offered third-party developers more money, which in turn resulted in more programs, which in turn brought in more users. Not any more. "The roles are reversed," says Wilcox. "Where are the most exciting apps today? Not Windows. They are on Android and iOS." If Microsoft wants to dominate once more, it will need to entice more developer support to ensnare more consumers. As for the company's chances, insider opinion ranges from OK to great. "I think it has enough cash reserves to swing and miss a few times and still come out looking good," says Stevens. "But I don't know if it will ever regain the top spot." Foley shares his skepticism. "I'm not sure they can ever be a consumer powerhouse," she says. "Do three rights undo 10 years of wrongs? I don't know." Wilcox, on the other hand, says he's seen other decimated companies regain their luster -- most notably Microsoft's longtime rival from Cupertino. "If Apple can rise from near ruin in 15 years to become the world's largest company, surely Microsoft can."

Microsoft's products are ignored or considered uncool by younger generations . The company will soon release Windows 8, but most people are fixated on iPhone 5 . According to some of its biggest critics, here are eight ways Microsoft can reinvent itself . One suggestion: Move all its software to the Web .

(CNN) -- Ten years before comic book heroes dominated box office real estate, there was a small-screen superhero named Veronica Mars. She didn't have the strength and speed (or technology, for that matter) of the caped fantasies that we now see with regularity at the movies, but she did have capabilities that made her heroic in the eyes of teens and adults who craved a young, female character with intelligence, wit and, most of all, confidence. Created by Rob Thomas, "Veronica Mars" was introduced in 2004, starring Kristen Bell ("Frozen") as Veronica, a high school student living in fictional Neptune, California, who went from popular to outcast after the murder of her very wealthy best friend (played by Amanda Seyfried). Veronica was determined to find out who committed the crime to the point of ostracizing herself, which wasn't hard to do after her father was raked over the coals for pinning the murder on the wrong guy. Fairly typical mystery series stuff, right? Yet the real beauty of the show was never in Veronica's search or the cases she cracked along the way; it was in her total embrace of her outsider status and her refusal to be treated differently because of it. Life could suck, and many unfair things happened to Veronica and her friends, but she always rebounded with spunk and smarts. "Other girls on television, like Buffy (on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer') or 'Alias,' they could literally kick a**," creator Thomas recently said. "I felt like Veronica's superpower could be that she just doesn't give a s*** what people think about her." That attitude has gone a long, long way. While "Veronica Mars" the TV series was a cult hit that wound up canceled after three seasons, those who did watch were so devoted to the character and her multicultural, multiclass beach town that they single-handedly got a film version off the ground via Kickstarter. CNN Money: Will 'Veronica Mars' be a hit? For those who never got into the teen drama, the idea of a fan base strong enough to drum up $2 million in less than 12 hours to resurrect a TV character was nothing short of insane. But that would be underestimating the world Thomas and his crew created. "Veronica was the best friend I would beg not to go to Europe," Bell told Entertainment Weekly in a February issue. The actress, 33, reprises her role in the film version, which sees Veronica returning to Neptune to solve a murder case that involves her ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring). "I feel so much responsibility to the girls that this show affected," Bell went on. "There is a role model here that I care about. I think when you get that amount of love from a fan base, you would be an a**hole not to give it back." Those who supported reuniting the "Veronica Mars" team on film -- and it does reunite everyone, from main characters to actors who had guest arcs -- are getting that love returned on March 14, when "Veronica Mars" the movie will debut in theaters and as Video On Demand. 'Veronica Mars' love triangle resolved? It's still up in the air whether Veronica will have better luck as a big-screen hero than she did on TV, and can draw in a larger audience this time around. Yet even if "Mars" doesn't find much life at the theaters, Thomas, Bell and company can rest easy knowing they've already left an indelible mark on pop culture. Here are five ways they did: . 1. It featured a smart, young, kick-a** heroine. When "Veronica Mars" debuted, it arrived in a TV landscape populated by soapy teen dramas like "The O.C." and "One Tree Hill," and reality series like "America's Next Top Model." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" had staked her last vamp the year before, and the best place to find women who weren't presented as being one-dimensionally focused on looks or their romantic lives -- or damaged and in need of being rescued -- was in prime time, with shows like "Charmed" (about a trio of sister witches) and "Alias" (about a take-no-prisoners international spy). But "Mars" was the place to go if you wanted a character who felt like a teen girl you would actually meet in high school, albeit one who had way better one-liners and better time management skills. (This was a character with the caseload of a working private investigator who was still dead serious about her homework.) Fearless, focused and funny, she made individualism look so much better than fitting in. 2. It featured a strictly platonic relationship. The TV trope of an opposite sex friendship is so well-worn that we know as soon as we see a pair of male and female buds that there will be something more eventually. But on "Veronica Mars," the plot refreshingly never went there. One of Veronica's closest friends is a guy named Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III), a companion whose shoulder she can cry on and whom she would readily help out in a jam, but with whom she's an equal, not a romantic interest. For once, the teens who tuned in were shown that yes, a nonsexual friendship between men and women can work. 3. It had a strong father-daughter relationship. After "Mars" fans kicked in the funds needed to launch a "Veronica Mars" movie, their collective breath was held until stars like Enrico Colantoni were a sure deal. As Keith Mars, Veronica's dad, Colantoni was the older, wiser heart of the series. He wasn't always the best parent but he was a realistic one, and his relationship with Veronica was the foundation of the show. When everything else came crashing down around her, Veronica always had her dad -- the sort of comforting story that you don't see in a lot of teen TV, where the parents are often worse off than their kids. 4. It proved that teen dramas could thoughtfully deal with tough issues. From rape to class tensions, bullying to predatory older men, "Veronica Mars" had an endless supply of plot lines that wouldn't be out of place on an after-school special. What saved the series wasn't its commitment to talking about complex problems but the way in which they were talked about. The script brought real issues into a fictional world, and still made them relatable. The topic of race, for example, wasn't danced around; it could crop up in a natural exchange between characters. The subject of classism was virtually the backbone of the entire series, as much of the plot's tension revolved around the wealthy kids who came from a rich ZIP code and the have-nots they shunned. 5. It showed that nothing ever really dies in Hollywood. By industry logic, this show should have fallen to the wayside and enjoyed a life only on fan sites and in DVD sales of its three seasons. But thanks to the on-demand era we now live in, where Netflix can craft an entire series based on what its users want most, "Veronica Mars" and its fervent fan base have proven that anything can have a second life. 11 reasons we love Kristen Bell .

"Veronica Mars" was a teen drama that ran from 2004 to 2007 . It starred Kristen Bell as a teen detective out to find her best friend's murderer . The show was so distinctive and beloved that fans have resuscitated it for a movie . Bell: "There is a role model here that I care about"

(CNN) -- Steven Soderbergh's movie "Contagion," which opened in theaters Friday, speaks to globalization in an era when risk is shared by the entire planet, but benefits remain prioritized to exclusive, usually wealthy populations. This terrible global risk/benefit calculus means viruses may now swiftly enter every region of the world, but the protective gear, treatments and vaccines necessary to save lives remain primarily available to lucky residents of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan and a handful of other countries. There is no governing structure for a pandemic, and little more than vague political pressure to ensure limited access to life-sparing tools and medicines for more than half the world population. "Contagion" is an action-thriller about the outbreak of a deadly virus. The producers behind "Contagion" asked me to serve as a consultant because I wrote "The Coming Plague" in the 1990s and worked as a reporter in at least 20 epidemics, including those of HIV in the 1980s, Ebola and SARS. From my very first meeting with "Contagion" director Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, I stressed that the days when epidemics could be tackled locally had long passed. I argued that the movie had to demonstrate that disease threats in the 21st century are global threats, but the world lacks an appropriate system of governance and trade to permit a genuinely equitable response. Without equity, pandemic battles will fail. Viruses will simply recirculate, and perhaps undergo mutations or changes that render vaccines useless, passing through the unprotected populations of the planet. A man lucky enough to receive an effective vaccine against a new viral threat in Los Angeles may be re-exposed a year later to a mutated version of that germ that circulated among unimmunized populations in poor countries, only to slam North America in a second wave. That is what happened with influenza in 1918, which spread across Europe in a mild form, returning months later in its terrifying virulence and killing more than 50 million people (by recently adjusted estimates perhaps 100 million people). Those who see "Contagion" will recognize these themes in its plot: Chinese villagers clamor for vaccines, Internet users gravitate to false claims and order anything they think may help, the entire world sees the pandemic unfold on TV and the Internet and grows universally fearful. Fear spreads globally, even as governments fail in their ineptitude and exhaustion, with police, fire, public health and political leaders themselves falling victim to the virus. Drs. Larry Brilliant and Ian Lipkin, the other scientific consultants to "Contagion" and I did everything we could to make the movie accurate. But of course it is not a documentary, and the events depicted have, thankfully, not transpired. What audiences see is the best rendition of events likely to unfold in such a pandemic as can be estimated, based on how governments, public health leaders, scientists, drug companies, communities, law enforcement and international agencies have responded to recent outbreaks of less virulent germs. The hypothetical MEV-1 in "Contagion" is based in parts of the Nipah virus that first surfaced in Malaysia in 1998, the Chinese SARS outbreak of 2003, H1N1 swine flu in 2009, Ebola in Kikwit in 1995 and government reactions to the anthrax mailings of 2001. It is part fantasy, part reality and totally possible. As was believed by many in 2000 of the idea of al Qaeda successfully attacking the United States, and in 2004 of the likelihood the levees protecting New Orleans would collapse, the ideas shown in "Contagion" constitute a low probability event that would have high consequences. Assessing how likely such things as the 9/11 attack and Katrina are and determining how to prepare and respond are the jobs of government. But governance is a tricky concept. A country may be authoritarian, even brutal, but govern its infrastructure quite well. Of course, the preferred goal is democracy that is well guided, resilient and strong. We live in a time, however, when people are angry at their governments, both locally and nationally, and austerity is the maxim in all but the over-heated emerging markets of China, Brazil and perhaps India and Indonesia. "Government" is the official dirty word of most of the candidates for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. Internationally, mechanisms of global health governance are very weak. The World Health Organization is running a $1 billion budget deficit, laying off more than 20%, or 300, of its employees this year. Among the other players in the multilateral health picture only GAVI, the alliance responsible for child vaccinations, is financially stable and has vibrant leadership. Most other global health entities are struggling, both financially and politically. In the United States, politicians post-2001 grew tired of our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, long the world's premier disease-fighter. As I delineate in my new book, "I Heard the Sirens Scream: How Americans Responded to the 9/11 and Anthrax Attacks," political leaders blamed the CDC for failures in the response to the anthrax mailings. By the end of the Bush administration, Congress tilted in a new direction, demanding spending on obesity and diabetes. Under the Obama administration, the CDC is led by the very able Dr. Thomas Frieden, but congressional mandates have shifted its resources and focus from epidemics and outbreaks to obesity management and chronic disease issues. Billions of dollars were spent post-2001 to create systems of high security laboratories around the world, and stockpiles of vaccines and drugs. But the biggest chunk of change in that pursuit went for smallpox readiness, despite the dearth of evidence that al Qaeda or any other terrorist entity possessed smallpox with intent to use the germ as a weapon. All the fancy technology invented post-anthrax will be of little use against a previously unknown, novel entity as depicted in "Contagion." Moreover, technology for public health is useless if the workforce of doctors, nurses, lab technicians, scientists and other public health workers is weak. In these recessionary times, public health budgets are falling to budget axes from Maine to Manila. When moviegoers watch "Contagion," I hope they will ask themselves a few very important questions and demand answers from their leaders. When an outbreak occurs, what agency is responsible for spotting it, assessing the threat and responding? If World Health Organization funding is diminished and its staffing cut, what organization deals with governing global responses and striving for equitable access to the treatments and vaccines? When lies and exploitation fill the internet, how can health leaders counter the deceptions, conspiracy theories and profiteering? When drug companies push pandemic exigencies aside amid concerns about profit-losses, what government can exert appropriate pressure to get billions of doses of drugs and vaccines made in a rapid, safe manner? "Contagion" should serve as a wake-up call not only about the germs, but perhaps more importantly about the frailty of governance, nationally and worldwide. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Laurie Garrett.

Laurie Garrett says movie "Contagion" shows global risk of pandemic shared by rich, poor . She says without global equity in the ability to respond, everyone would be affected . She says politics, economy have lead to shifting priorities, leaving world poorly prepared . Garrett: Movie a warning: Global coordinated, equitable response to a pandemic needed .

Berlin (CNN)Fans and film critics battled to be the dominant voice at the international premiere of "Fifty Shades of Grey" in Berlin Wednesday night -- and it was the unrestrained exuberance of the fans that won the day. The scene was apparently different at the two press screenings earlier in the day, after which many critics were eager to pour out their abhorrence -- not at the movie's sado-masochistic sex scenes but to the causes of greater offense in the critical mind -- script, plot and performance. Some traumatized refugees of these screenings stood alongside me at the red carpet outside Berlin's swanky Zoo Palast cinema, awaiting the arrival of the stars for the film's international premiere. Their sense of outrage had not been cooled by the chilly evening air. "It was Fifty Shades of sh*t!" exclaimed one appalled journalist. But on the other side of the carpet a different story was playing out. Several hundred fans huddled together for warmth, spurred on by a shared devotion to the books of E.L. James and the anticipation of catching an eyeful of Jamie Dornan, the handsome actor who plays her bondage-loving billionaire, Christian Grey. They had come from Germany, of course, but as far afield as the United States. A man from Uruguay was in attendance with his wife and daughter. Had he read the book? "I read some of it," he told me rather sheepishly, "but then I gave it back to my wife. She loves it and my daughter does too." Male opinion was relatively hard to find among a crowd in which women outnumbered men by about 20-1. Some fans had come along as couples, revealing different approaches to "Fifty Shades." "I'm Fifty Shades of sex," offered a young German man, to which his girlfriend countered: "And I am Fifty Shades of romance." Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away in the UK, London firefighters are anticipating an increase in call-outs when the film hits general release in a few days. London Fire Brigade says it is "concerned" that the event could lead to a "spike" in people being trapped in handcuffs or genital rings. Pandemonium broke out when the stars arrived, as fans went into ecstasy at first sight of their heroes. The camera crews and reporters bawled out equally hysterically, not in delight but frustration as the enormous entourage of minders and PR managers accompanying the cast obscured all but a glimpse of them. Scuffles broke out between camera crews defending their inadequately-allocated space. I was wedged between a sharp piece of camera equipment from a rival broadcaster to my left and my CNN colleague to the right -- and it was he who inadvertently provided the most jarring moment of the evening, catching me full in the face with the back of his camera as he gamely fought to hold the line against a brute on a stepladder. Not journalism's finest hour, perhaps. For Dornan and Dakota Johnson, who plays submissive Anastasia Steele to Dornan's dominant Grey, it's been a long road from the film's notorious bondage dungeon, the "Red Room of Pain," to the red carpet. Having been virtually gagged from discussing the movie for almost a year since filming ended, both seemed relieved to be able to talk about the film. Dornan addressed the mayhem surrounding him. "We knew how many people read the books and how many cared about the film and we were kinda ready for this in a way, I'm not shocked, I mean it's a little bit shocking but I was aware there'd be a lot of heat, so this is kinda mad." The "Fifty Shades" books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 50 languages -- the film's forthcoming Valentines Day release is this year's hot ticket. But it's not everyone's idea of pleasure. Voices have been raised in concern that the film could be seen as glamorizing domestic violence. That was denied by the film-makers on the carpet. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson told me: "I think they haven't seen the movie because I feel like I empower this woman and I give her the final word and the message is very strong and the message is really 'No,' when someone crosses the line, so I'm really hoping that people won't feel that, of course, and that they'll see it very differently." Her leading lady Dakota Johnson agreed. "Everything that Anastasia does, it's completely her choice and consensual and no person is abused in the movie and I think it's kind of a closed-minded outlook (to say it glamorizes domestic violence)." Author and director are reported to have indulged in a few verbal lashings on-set but their creative partnership could tie them together for several more years with unofficial reports of sequels in the works. Could Taylor-Johnson make those reports official? "It's not official, no, but they are waiting to see how this does, so you can imagine it might do well enough for them to consider it." At the box office, first signs indicate that it might indeed do well. Some online ticket sites have reported record advance sales for an R-rated movie, with a $60 million opening weekend predicted. It will likely fare less well with most critics. During the screening which followed the red carpet there were several muted expressions of derision but they were more than matched by applause. Unscheduled moments of laughter punctuated Grey's post-coital visits to the piano but there were also moments of well-crafted mirth, notably a scene in which Christian and Anastasia sit at opposite ends of a business meeting room table and discuss the contract intended to govern their relationship. A series of kinky clauses are discussed with admirably straight faces as Ana instructs Christian to strike out those concerning some more extreme sexual acts. It's one of several scenes which support Taylor-Johnson's claim to have empowered her heroine. Dakota Johnson's Anastasia may not hold the key to the cuffs but she does hold the key to the relationship and what she may or may not consent to. The sex scenes account for little more than ten minutes in a film approaching two hours and I'd be surprised if many considered them shocking. One scene involving the erotic deployment of an ice cube could have been cut straight out of "9 1/2 Weeks," that other notorious S&M movie which starred Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, whose character would have kicked Christian Grey's butt. We do get to see the Grey butt in action, but no full-frontal nudity, a modesty which is not afforded to Dakota Johnson. Sure it has its cheesy moments and its flaws -- but it's not aimed at winning Best Picture. ("American Sniper" on the other hand won a nomination despite its shockingly obvious fake baby scene). Just as the books have been derided for literary inadequacies there's plenty here to allow critics to take pot-shots. But if you're a fan of the books, chances are you may well love it. And when a movie becomes an "event movie," drawing crowds in vast numbers for a fun night out, the cheers of "Fifty Shades" fans may effectively pop a gag into the mouth of the most po-faced critic.

Hyped movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" premiered Wednesday at Berlin Film Festival . Critics were derisive, but unrestrained exuberance of fans won the day . Filmmakers denied critics' assertion that film glamorized sexual violence . Director Sam Taylor-Johnson: "I feel like I empower this woman"

Niger (CNN) -- Dark shadows were lifting themselves off the sidewalk, slowly stretching, shaking the slumber from their limbs. It was 6:15 a.m. in Niger's capital, Niamey, and I was setting off on a 12-hour drive, leaving its lush boulevards for Agadez, the sands of the Sahara, the desert trails to Libya, and the chaos Moammar Gadhafi's war there is causing. The sun had yet to raise itself over the roofs but already the first hints of day were breaking the sleep of the destitute at the roadside. I have seen poverty before, but even shrouded in the predawn gray, there is no mistaking it: People with little of anything save a public place to lay their heads. Despite tough lives, the people here are warm, welcoming and hospitable. "Bonjour," they say, hinting at their recent French colonial past. It seems to have overlaid, in part at least, their far earlier conversion to Islam. "As-Salaamu Aleikum," the Arabic greeting, is rarely used. Long French loaves -- not Arabic flatbread -- are on sale at tiny stalls. We've already passed through the checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital before the countryside begins to take shape. Gendarmes in what look like fading French military fatigues checked the car's documents and a man in orange overalls took a few dollars' road toll for the 950 kilometers, or 600 miles, we will drive. The rope blocking our way across the road was dropped and we were released onto a strangely empty highway. Slowly the countryside began to show is colors. Gray shaded to blue, to a dark olive green. Then in an instant the sun smothers everything, washing away the stains of the night. Our journey lurches into gear, no longer feeling like we're sluggishly passing anonymous vegetation. Our momentum, at least in our minds, increases as we streak past the newly revealed rich green towering maize, the thickly leaved luxuriant trees. This land is green and fertile. Everything is vibrant in a way Timothy Leary could truly appreciate. In the villages, strange, bulging, round mud buildings - like an oversize, slightly squashed rugby ball - mingle with mud and straw shacks. They have no door, only a scant straw roof: grain stores hinting at the bounty of the land. Village after village, we pass them. The more there are, the bigger they are, the more grain is held and the more prosperous the people who own them. Lest this give an illusion of wealth, consider this: Most children we see are barefoot, and that's almost half Niger's people. Within a few hours of leaving the capital, none of the villages have electricity, running water, sanitation, a building that's not made out of mud and straw. The slightly larger towns have slightly more. But that's all. The farther we go, the villages become fewer and farther between. The muddy ponds, courtesy of the recent rains, shrink, and the striking longhorn cattle and goats jostle for a place to slake their thirst. The tarmac on the highway begins to break apart. We slam into potholes, lurching, juddering forward. The bright greens are gone, the vegetation paler and browner here. The great trees have shrunk to tiny shrubs. We are still 200 miles from Agadez. Grass covers some of the land, the grain huts are long gone, and quickly so is the road. We are no longer dodging potholes, we are driving in one big long one. The cell phone service that has surprisingly kept us company so much of the journey has also disappeared. In over a hundred miles, we pass but two tiny towns. This is what it means to be remote, where the land and sun are so unforgiving none can live, and this is where the bonds that tie a nation together begin to fray. The crowds that gathered about the car with rounded faces we saw in the morning have by afternoon given way to the thinner, lighter features of the Touareg. Those features are often hard to see, shrouded as they are by turbans that wrap around the face. By instinct, by life, by tradition, they are desert mountain people. Twice in the past two decades, they've risen up in armed rebellion against the government. Some joined Gadhafi's forces over the border in Libya. The government in Niamey worries Libya's war will create instability in Niger. Officials publicly say they fear Gadhafi's weapon stockpiles could be falling into al Qaeda's hands. Privately there's another fear, that the newly liberated guns could one day be turned on the government in another Touareg rebellion. But for now a Touareg rebellion seems the more distant possibility, because al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is exploiting the Arab spring and every crumb of opportunity that might fall unnoticed from the battlefield. Their drug-, gun- and people-smuggling routes through the sparsely populated land we are crossing are hungry for the sustenance turmoil can bring. The more confusion and chaos there is, the easier it is to keep their networks hidden. It is these last few miles to Agadez that worry us the most. Al Qaeda has kidnapped several foreigners in this remote region in the past few years. We don't want to be unlucky names added to the list. While our driver is holding up well, almost 12 hours at the wheel, our fuel light has been on for a while. We've been running on reserve. He stops to top up the tank from a solitary liter bottle of fuel we purchased earlier in the day. There have been no milestones for a while and the sun is edging down to the dirt of the desert. We're hoping Agadez will soon come into view. How far can a four-wheel-drive off-road truck go on a liter of gas? Then we see a red-topped stone marker come into view. It reads 30 kilometers, 20 or so miles, to go. And not a soul around. We're racing the sun, our dwindling fuel and our fears. Each bend in the road I hope will be our last. Can the red light on the fuel gauge be any brighter? Probably not; it's a trick of the fading light easily worked on tense, tired eyes. Then, as if by clockwork, almost exactly 12 hours after we left Niamey, Agadez slips into view - low, dusty, dilapidated, but a delight to see. Uniformed gendarmes and a man in orange overalls greet us at the checkpoint, lower the rope and wave, their job for the day almost done; there can be few more drivers behind us. The litter-strewn streets are cluttered with vendors packing up their shabby wares. Dust and smoke cloud the air, making it hard to see much of this town. With better light tomorrow we'll get a good look at this place where Gadhafi is rumored to have spent millions paving roads, putting up lights, even building a hospital. A few hours later as I settle in to my bed, I can only wonder at the irony. Gadhafi is out there somewhere on the run, and I'll be getting a good night's sleep in the Agadez hotel he built.

Niger's goverment worries Libya's war will destabilize the country . Al Qaeda has kidnapped several foreigners outside Agadez in recent years . Moammar Gadhafi is rumored to have spent millions on Niger's infrastructure .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Imagine the Batmobile busting bad guys in Bismarck, North Dakota, or "Knight Rider's" KITT corralling criminals on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Carbon Motors Corp.'s E7 concept vehicle was on display recently near the U.S. Capitol. Carbon Motors Corp.'s new high-tech cop car prototype might not be quite up to superhero specs, but some police say it could be a welcome addition to their arsenal. "I don't see any downside to this car," said Carl Latorre, a Pennsylvania State Police dispatcher who served 35 years as a Philadelphia police officer. "I am so excited about this car. This car rates up there with cops carrying automatic weapons to combat what the criminals carry now. It's about time that something like this came about." OK, so it doesn't have a nanotech cloaking capability or rocket boosters, but every feature on the Carbon E7 concept vehicle draws on suggestions from more than 3,000 law enforcement professionals. The result is a futuristic prowler with a 300-horsepower clean diesel engine, flashing lights visible from all angles, an ergonomic cockpit, an onboard computer with voice command and instant license plate recognition, integrated shotgun mounts, and more. (Weapons of mass destruction detectors are available as an option -- seriously.) See how the E7 stacks up against KITT and the Dark Knight's Tumbler » . The E7 was designed by cops for cops, breaking the tradition of recruiting family sedans into the force, company co-founder Stacy Dean Stephens said. "The current vehicles that they (police departments) use were designed for driving around, going to the grocery store, taking kids to school -- things like that," Stephens said. "You don't have an engineer sitting at one of the other automakers who says, 'Y'know, I think what we need to do is we need to take this car, and we need to run into a curb at 50 miles an hour and see how many times it takes before the wheels and the suspension fails on it." The rear passenger compartment alone is enough to make experienced cops get teary-eyed. The rear-hinged "suicide doors" make it easier for handcuffed passengers to get in and out, and the seat is designed so "guests" can ride comfortably with their hands cuffed behind their backs. For officer safety, Latorre likes how the seat belts are anchored in the center of the seat and buckle near the door so the officer doesn't have to lean across the prisoner. "When you put a prisoner in the back seat, you're supposed to strap him in," Latorre said. "Nowadays, you have to make sure your gun isn't going close to his hands, and how are you going to strap somebody in doing that?" Perhaps most popular among cops is the rear compartment, which is sealed off from the front and made entirely of seamless, washable plastic, with drain plugs in the floor. "Numerous times I've had less than pleasant experience" with prisoners vomiting or relieving themselves in the back seat, said Stephens, a former Texas police officer. The seat innovations are up front, too, where the seats have recesses to accommodate officers' bulky gun belts. "The front seat -- I couldn't believe the front seat. They thought of everything," Latorre said. "You don't know how difficult it is to get out of a car. The first thing you've got to do is adjust your gun belt. The gun belt shouldn't be a problem." The E7 can go 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, has a top speed of 155 mph and can withstand a 75-mph rear impact, according to the company's Web site. It has bullet-resistant panels in the doors and dash and has push bumpers incorporated into the aluminum frame. The upper flashing lights are integrated into the roof panel, eliminating the need for a bolted-on light bar that causes aerodynamic drag -- reducing fuel economy -- and can lead to rust. Watch police check out the car and hear the engine growl » . Despite the technological "wow" factor and officer enthusiasm, the E7 could prove to be a tough sell. "The people are very intelligent and smart that are setting this up," said Lt. Michael Arnold, fleet manager of the Bismarck, North Dakota, police department. "What scares me is they don't give you a price." Company officials say the price -- possibly around $50,000 per unit -- will be "competitive" considering the cost of equipping a conventional car for police work and how long each vehicle lasts. The Carbon E7 will be built to last 250,000 miles, compared with 75,000 to 120,000 miles for the typical patrol car, Stephens said. "When it's all said and done it's a matter of how much it costs per mile," said Bismarck Deputy Chief Fred Wooten. Regardless of how good it looks on paper, a state or big-city agency won't be willing to take a chance on a vehicle with no track record, said Detective Mary Wheat, spokesperson for the Portland, Oregon, police department. "If they do cost $50,000, nobody's going to buy them," Wheat said. "Nobody's going to buy them. No, police agencies can't afford $50,000 cars. We have huge fleets of cars. We have hundreds of them; hundreds and hundreds of cars. And we turn them over. I mean, we ride them hard. Those cars are used on a 24-hour basis. That wouldn't work." But municipalities don't balk at paying large sums for other purpose-built vehicles such as firetrucks and ambulances, countered Latorre, the Pennsylvania officer. "They don't say, 'Oh, here's a box truck; go fight fires with it' or 'Here's an E-250 cargo van; go pick up patients with it,' do they?," he said. "So I don't see why the municipality wouldn't say, 'You know what? This [police car] is nothing but a plus for us.'" The company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, doesn't yet have a factory, but has named five states where it could locate: Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. Production is scheduled to begin in 2012, Stephens said. Carbon doesn't expect to take over the market quickly, instead counting on a few "early adopters" willing to take a risk on a few vehicles and work out the kinks to everyone else's satisfaction, Stephens said. Hundreds of agencies already have made online reservations for thousands of Carbon Motors vehicles, putting the company "very well on our way to selling out our first year," he said. Wheat praised the Carbon team's entrepreneurship and suggested the company market its car first in smaller towns with less red tape and simpler bidding processes. That works for Wooten, the deputy chief in Bismarck. "We'll be more than happy to field test one," he offered. "If it works as advertised, we'll probably have a fleet of them someday."

Carbon Motors' E7 prototype is not your father's Crown Victoria . Vehicle designed bumper to bumper by cops, for cops . Car features high-performance engine, integrated gadgets, ergonomic cockpit . Whether governments will buy it is the big unanswered question .

(CNN) -- Jenna McCorkell has spent her career dancing on a knife edge. Upon the razor-slim width of her ice skates hinges more than just success or failure at the top end of the sport. Every year that skating travels further, every leap seemingly more intricate than the last, but one thing remains the same -- the unforgiving surface on which they perform. "How the sport of ice skating is evolving, it's insane," McCorkell, an 11-time British champion from Northern Ireland, told CNN's Human to Hero series. "You're seeing a lot more injuries, a lot more accidents with the tricky things we're being pushed to make our bodies do. "You've got to take off, jump up, turn around three times in the air in a split second. You've got to be perfectly straight to make sure you've got that landing on one foot. "It's not even on one foot -- it's on a tiny blade of a few millimeters. "You haven't got much leeway to be out of balance. It does take an incredible amount of strength, balance and coordination to be able to perform those jumps." Things weren't quite as daring when McCorkell's obsession with figure skating began. A newspaper article that featured a little girl in a sparkly dress clutching a shiny trophy had her pestering her parents for an introduction to the ice. "They took me over to the ice rink and I started my first lessons. I just didn't stop from there," she explains. "I was a nightmare. I wanted to do every public session, every club hour, everything. I was addicted from the start." Three years later, she became the youngest skater to ever make the Great Britain team, aged just 10. Seventeen years after that, after 11 national championship titles, she is preparing to put the brakes on her skating career. But not before she competes at next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi, aiming to banish the memories of her performance in Vancouver four years previously. And yet, despite an ocean of time having passed since that first enchanting step onto the ice, there is still an element of that thrill present whenever she competes. "The first time I ever performed, I remember being so excited. I remember I just couldn't wait to get my dress on," she recalls. "It changes a lot as you get older but it's always fun to compete when you're at such a young age -- you've got no worries, no pressure and no stress. You're just so excited, bouncing to get on the ice. "You go through a lot of different emotions and changes throughout the years -- some good, some bad." All those early memories certainly filter into the former category. Her prodigious rise after first picking up her skates culminated in that unprecedented inclusion in the Great Britain squad for someone so young. McCorkell has enjoyed success on the international stage, winning gold medals at several prestigious events, and finishing in the top 10 at two European Championships. But it is on her own territory that she is peerless -- last year's British title success was her eighth in a row. "Winning 11 titles is quite something," she said of her epic run. "Somebody asked me how does it feel and I said, 'Old!' After 11 years of being British champion, it's quite an achievement and I'm really, really proud of it and proud of everyone that has supported me. "You start to learn to cope with the fact that more and more is expected of you. I think the motivation to continue comes from wanting it more and more for myself." There is an epic beauty about figure skating that resonates with the public. The effortless grace of competitors performing to music has produced iconic moments in the sport, sparked by a flawless sequence at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's pairs routine in Sarajevo enchanted the public and judges alike, securing the British pair a perfect score from the judges -- a feat that had never been done before. It won't happen in the future either, after a change in the judging system on the back of a controversial ruling at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze took gold in the mixed pairs despite many believing Canada's Jamie Salé and David Pelletier should have triumphed. The new code means each skater gets a base value for every move they perform in a routine, based on its difficulty, even if they fall while doing it. That means a skater who has fallen can still score higher than a competitor who has skated cleanly. Consequently, routines are become more audacious, and some skaters are now pushing the boundaries by attempting quadruple axels -- four aerial revolutions on a jump. "I love skating because on the ice you just feel free," McCorkell says. "You're never at your limit. "You can always try more -- there are so many goals, so much more you can do with the sport developing like it is, with the new judging system. "It's more difficult for people like me who've been in the sport a long time to adapt to new things because our bodies are not like the fresh 15-year-olds who've been brought up in the new judging system. "So that's something that's quite difficult. For the older generation, I think it's getting quite exciting, especially in the men's events -- it's getting crazy with the quad jumps. "Before, it was unbelievable if they did one quad and now you've got guys, maybe five or six guys, doing three different quads in a program so it's quite exciting." Looming large on the horizon is the pinnacle of any figure skating career -- the Winter Olympics. McCorkell made her first appearance at Vancouver 2010, and though she says her memories will last a lifetime, a disappointing 29th placing will also linger. "It was an amazing experience I'll never forget," she says. "Walking out at the opening ceremony, the feeling was just overwhelming. "That's something nobody can ever take away from you -- no matter what those results are, you always have those memories. "In Vancouver, I didn't have my best skate. It was probably my worst performance in the previous four years and I have no explanation as to why. It was just one of those days. "It just didn't happen, so I think that it can always be better than that and I think I'm in a better place mentally now than I was then so hopefully it will all be OK. "I'm pretty excited about Sochi now. It's getting closer and closer. "The training is starting to pay off in the competitions so my results have been gradually increasing through the season and I hope that will continue and I hope I skate my best there for myself." A strong performance in Sochi would represent a fitting finale to a distinguished and illustrious career that will officially end in March. "After Sochi, I'll go to the world championships in Japan and then I'll retire, that'll be my last competitive season," McCorkell added. "I think after so long, I've achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of and I hope to have a good end to the season and then that'll be me -- done."

Jenna McCorkell is an 11-time British figure skating champion from Northern Ireland . McCorkell was included in the Great Britain team when she was just 10 years old . She's preparing to compete in her second Winter Olympics at Sochi in February . The 27-year-old says it is "insane" how skating is evolving .

(CNN)I am a Muslim, but I wasn't always. I converted to Islam in November 2001, two months after 9/11. I was 21 and living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was a bad time to be a Muslim. But after four years of studying, poking and prodding at world religions and their adherents, I decided to take the plunge. Questions and answers . I am the product of a Creole Catholic and an Irish atheist. I grew up Catholic, then was agnostic, now I'm Muslim. My journey to Islam began when I was about 15 years old in mass, and had questions about my faith. The answers from teachers and clergymen -- don't worry your pretty little head about it -- didn't satisfy me. So I did what any red-blooded American would do: the opposite. I worried about it. For many years. I questioned the nature of religion, man, and the universe. After questioning everything I was taught to be true and digging through rhetoric, history and dogma, I found out about this strange thing called Islam. I learned that Islam is neither a culture nor a cult, nor could it be represented by one part of the world. I came to realize Islam is a world religion that teaches tolerance, justice and honor, and promotes patience, modesty and balance. As I studied the faith, I was surprised many of the tenants resonated with me. I was pleased to find that Islam teaches its adherents to honor all prophets, from Moses to Jesus to Muhammad, all of whom taught mankind to worship one God and to conduct ourselves with higher purpose. I was drawn to Islam's appeal to intellect and heartened by the prophet Muhammad's quote, "The acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim, whether male or female." I was astounded that science and rationality were embraced by Muslim thinkers like Al-Khawarizmi, who invented algebra; Ibn Firnas, who developed the mechanics of flight before DaVinci; and Al-Zahravi, who is the father of modern surgery. Here was a religion telling me to seek out answers and use my intellect to question the world around me. Taking the plunge . It was 2001 and I had been putting off converting for a while. I feared what people would think, but was utterly miserable. When 9/11 happened, the actions of the hijackers horrified me. But in its aftermath, I spent most of my time defending Muslims and their religion to people who were all too eager to paint a group of 1.6 billion people with one brush because of the actions of a few. I was done being held hostage by the opinions of others. In defending Islam, I got over my fear and decided to join my brothers and sisters in the faith I believed in. My family did not understand, but it wasn't a surprise to them since I had been studying religion. Most were very concerned for my safety. Luckily, most of my friends were cool about it, and even curious to learn more. The scarf . These days, I am a proud wearer of hijab. You can call it a scarf. My scarf does not tie my hands behind my back, and it is not a tool of oppression. It doesn't prevent thoughts from entering my head and leaving my mouth. But I didn't always know this. Studying Islam didn't immediately dispel all my cultural misconceptions. I had been raised on imagery of women in the East being treated like chattel by men who forced them to cover their bodies out of shame or a sense of ownership. But when I asked a Muslim woman "Why do you wear that?", her answer was obvious, and appealing: "To please God. To be recognized as a woman who is to be respected and not harassed. So that I can protect myself from the male gaze." She explained how dressing modestly is a symbol to the world that a woman's body is not meant for mass consumption or critique. I still wasn't convinced and replied, "Yeah, but women are like second class citizens in your faith?" The very patient Muslim lady explained that, during a time when the Western world treated women like property, Islam taught that men and women were equal in the eyes of God. Islam made the woman's consent to marriage mandatory and gave women the opportunity to inherit, own property, run businesses and participate in government. She listed right after right that women in Islam held nearly 1250 years before women's lib was ever thought of in the West. Surprisingly, Islam turned out to be the religion that appealed to my feminist ideals. Getting married . It might shock you to know that I had an arranged marriage. That doesn't mean I was forced to marry my father's first choice suitor, like Jasmine from Aladdin. Dad didn't even have a say. When I converted, it wasn't a good time to be a Muslim. Feeling isolated, alienated and rejected by my own society pushed me to want to start a family of my own. Even before converting I had always wanted a serious relationship, but found few men looking for the same. As a new Muslim, I knew there was a better way to look for love and a lifelong partnership. I decided that if I wanted a serious relationship, it was time to get serious about finding one. I wanted an arranged marriage. I made a list of "30 Rock"-style deal breakers. I searched. I interviewed. I interrogated friends and families of prospects. I decided I wanted to marry another convert, someone who had been where I was and wanted to go where I wanted to go. Thanks to parents of friends, I found my now-husband, a convert to Islam, in Mobile, Alabama, two hours from my New Orleans home. Twelve years later, we are living happily ever after. Not every Muslim finds a mate in this manner, and I didn't always see this for my life. But I am glad Islam afforded me this option. Living in a post-9/11 world . I never had to give up my personality, American identity or culture to be a Muslim. I have, at times, had to give up on being treated with dignity. I have been spat on, had eggs thrown at me, and been cursed at from passing cars. And I have felt terror when the mosque I attended in Savannah, Georgia, was first shot at, then burned down. In August 2012, I moved back home to New Orleans, where being different is the norm. I finally felt safe -- for a while. But now, with the continuous news coverage of the un-Islamic group known as ISIS, I have been subjected to much of the same treatment I received in other cities. And I now feel less safe than I ever have. It enrages me to know there are some who call themselves Muslims and who distort and misappropriate Islam for political gains. It weighs on me knowing that millions of my countrymen see only these images as a representative of my religion. It is unbearable to know that I am passionately hated for my beliefs, when those hating me don't even know what my beliefs are. In my journey to Islam, I came to learn that Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes, ethnicities, cultures and nationalities. I came to know that Islam teaches disagreement and that shouldn't lead to disrespect, as most Muslims want peace. Most of all, I have faith that my fellow Americans can rise above fear and hatred and come to learn the same. The opinions expressed in this story are solely those of Theresa Corbin.

Theresa Corbin converted to Islam at age 21 . She found the religion appealed to her intellect and feminist ideals . "Muslims come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes, ethnicities, cultures and nationalities," she writes . Have a personal essay of your own to share? Submit at CNN iReport .

Apex, Nevada (CNN) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that he is "very proud" of having told Barack Obama early on that he believed he was a viable candidate for president and could win election. Responding to the controversy surrounding a newly published remark he made privately about Obama's race in 2008, Reid sought to emphasize his longstanding support for the nation's first African-American president. "I can still remember the meeting that took place in my office with Sen. Barack Obama, telling him that I think he can be elected president," Reid said. Obama "was kind of surprised that the Democratic leader was calling this new senator over to suggest that he could be elected president," he added. A new book quotes Reid, D-Nevada, as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Reid said Monday that numerous prominent African-American officials, including NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and Attorney General Eric Holder, have called him to offer support amid the controversy that began over the weekend. "I've apologized to everyone with the sound of my voice that I could have used a better choice of words," he said after an event announcing a new energy project in his home state. "And I'll continue doing my work for the African-American community." Reid said that "as a very young man," he became a leader of civil rights efforts, including the integration of the gaming community. He added that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called him to say he should "tell everybody that you have done more for diversity in the United States Senate than all the rest of the people put together." Asked whether he should apologize to voters, Reid -- who had issued a statement over the weekend apologizing "for offending any and all Americans" -- did not answer directly and instead cited the support he has received from around the country and within his own state. "I'm not going to dwell on this any more," Reid said. "It's in the book. I've made all the statements I'm going to make." iReport: What do you think about the words Reid used? The book he referred to, "Game Change," went on sale Monday. The authors write that "Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination." Reid apologized in a statement sent to CNN over the weekend. "I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words," he said. He added, "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans, for my improper comments. I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama's legislative agenda." Reid called the president Saturday and apologized. In a statement issued after the call, Obama expressed support for Reid, saying, "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed." Speaking to CNN contributor Roland Martin, Obama described Reid as "a friend of mine. He has been a stalwart champion of voting rights, civil rights." "This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history. For him to have used some inartful language in trying to praise me and for people to try and make hay out of that makes absolutely no sense," he said in the interview, which will air this month. "I guarantee you the average person, white or black, right now is less concerned about what Harry Reid said in a quote in a book a couple of years ago than they are about how we are going to move the country forward, and that's where we need to direct our attention." A senior administration official said Monday that Obama will go to Nevada in February to campaign on behalf of Reid. iReporter: "I don't think he should be kicked out of the Senate" Reid also called a host of African-American political figures, including House Democrats Barbara Lee of California and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina; the Rev. Al Sharpton; CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile; and the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Wade Henderson. Republicans pounced on the controversy. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, head of the GOP's Senate campaign arm, called for Reid to give up his leadership posts after the "embarrassing and racially insensitive" remarks. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," also called for Reid to step down. "Racism and racist conversations have no place today in America," the first African-American GOP chairman said. Steele also was on the defensive for a remark he made last week. Speaking to Fox News, Steele said the GOP platform "is one of the best political documents that's been written in the last 25 years, honest Injun on that." "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace said lawmakers from both parties have called that a racial slur. "Well, if it is, I apologize for it. It's not an intent to be a racial slur. I wasn't intending to say a racial slur at all," Steele said. iReporter: Mixing race and politics equals trouble . Numerous Democrats came to Reid's defense. The Congressional Black Caucus said Sunday that it had accepted his apology and dismissed calls for the Nevada Democrat to step down. "Sen. Reid's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities," Lee, chairwoman of the caucus, said in a written statement. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia, a former chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, issued a statement saying, "Like President Barack Obama, African-Americans are likely to accept Majority Leader Reid's apology for an obvious reason. He has earned it." She added, "Harry Reid's opponents will not find a welcome mat in the black community if they seek to capitalize on the Reid remark. While Sen. Reid has been producing for African-Americans, many of his critics were opposing him on these same issues." Democrats rejected a parallel drawn by some Republicans between Reid's remark and one by former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, in 2002. Lott lost his post as Senate majority leader after saying the nation would have been better off if Strom Thurmond had been elected president. Thurmond had run as a segregationist candidate in 1948. "There is a big double standard here," Steele said on NBC. "When Democrats get caught saying racist things, you know, an apology is enough." Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, chairman of the Democratic Party, shot back, telling NBC that "there is no comparison" between the two sets of remarks. Reid is embroiled in a tough re-election campaign to stay in the Senate. Only one-third of Nevada voters have a favorable opinion of him, while 52 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the four-term senator, according to a survey by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research for the Las Vegas Review-Journal released over the weekend. The poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday, before news of Reid's comments broke. CNN's Dana Bash, Mark Preston, Rebecca Sinderbrand and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

NEW: Obama: Reid is friend who "has always been on right side of history" Sen. Harry Reid apologizes to Obama for remarks made during 2008 campaign . Key Republicans have called Reid's comments racist and say he should step down . Reid emphasizes longstanding support for President Obama .

Jinan, China (CNN) -- With the hotel front desk clerk busy checking me in, her co-worker picked up the ringing phone. "Do we have any foreign journalists staying here?" she repeated the question being asked at the other end of the phone. "No," she replied, before the clerk helping me threw her a look. "Oh yes, three just got here." With the local authorities now presumably alerted to our presence, any hope we had of maintaining a low profile at the start of our reporting trip to cover the most anticipated trial in China in recent memory had ended. We arrived in the eastern city of Jinan on Tuesday, two days before the local Intermediate People's Court was set to try disgraced Communist leader Bo Xilai, who was once tipped to be a future president but now faces charges of bribe-taking, embezzlement and abuse of power. Bo's spectacular downfall -- complete with tales of murder, corruption and betrayal -- triggered the greatest political crisis for the ruling Communist Party in decades. During his trial, the charismatic and controversial politician is expected to make his first public appearance since April 2012 when he was stripped of his top Party posts. Timeline: The Bo Xilai scandal . Given the high drama and political stakes, it seems prudent for China's top leaders to pick one of the country's blandest cities for the spectacle. Jinan is far away -- more than 780 miles (1,200 kilometers) -- from Chongqing, Bo's former powerbase, or other places where he had held senior positions. The presiding judge is said to be a tested and reliable official in the eyes of Beijing. Coincidentally, Shandong province -- with Jinan being the capital -- is also home to the ancient sage Confucius, whose philosophy emphasizes respect to authority -- an idea that nervous local officials probably wish "unruly" foreign journalists would learn quickly. The courthouse sits at the end of a narrow, tree-lined downtown street, surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings. All looked normal and quiet as we exited the car, if not for the dozen soldiers unloading plastic barriers from trucks across the street from the court's main gate. A press pen was in the making. While our cameraman tested satellite signal strength for potential live shot locations, an official directed us to a nearby hotel, where the government had set up a media center. After going through a metal detector and a hand-wand inspection, we entered the building and reached the first position in what seemed to be an assembly line for the credential application process -- involving passport check, form distribution, information verification, data entry and photo-taking. Five steps later, we were told our press cards would be ready the following afternoon. But officials there didn't seem to know much else about the "open" trial -- questions about likely courtroom access, live broadcast opportunities or press conferences went unanswered. Almost as soon as the trial date was set last weekend, we had been calling the court trying to apply for a spot inside the courtroom -- only to be kicked around by different departments. As night fell Tuesday, we started live broadcast near a side entrance to the court. A notice posted in the bulletin board by the gate announced Bo's trial information. Pedestrians stopped to snap photos of the notice with their phones. Meanwhile, I received a text message from human rights activist Chen Guangfu, elder brother of the blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng, who had intended to "witness" the trial. He said, after he got off the train, state security agents awaiting him at Jinan's west railway station forced him to return to his home village some 125 miles (200 kilometers) away. Hu Jia, another prominent rights advocate, tweeted that the authorities in Jinan had tightened their grip over all activists ahead of the trial. The day before the trial brought a new excitement and a degree of chaos to the courthouse's doorstep. Despite a heavy police presence, some Bo admirers -- he retains considerable support in Chongqing and elsewhere in China -- showed up in the morning, along with onlookers and petitioners with various grievances -- all eager to take the rare opportunity to share their stories and opinions with the gathering foreign reporters. "During Chairman Mao's time, everyone was equal and we had no corruption -- 'singing red and smashing black' was achieving that and benefited people," declared a 66-year-old local resident who only identified herself as Ms. Li, as she referred to Bo's famous campaign to revive Maoist ideology and crack down on crimes. "He's not a god or perfect, but the masses supported him," she added. "They can't just condemn him to hell -- I want him to have a fair trial." "Why bother?" scoffed 62-year-old retired worker, named Mr. Liu, who stood next to her. "Bo's a victim of political struggles." "You think he actually believed in this 'singing red and smashing black' stuff? It was all for appearance's sake," he continued and turned sarcastic. "We ordinary people should just feel happy to be fed and clothed, and watch whatever news they put on TV." As the crowd grew larger and louder, the police decided to intervene, shooing off the speakers for disrupting traffic and ordering reporters to stay inside the designated media zone across the street. But an elderly petitioner's cry for help briefly caused new commotion. Wearing a paper headband with the character "wronged" written on it, the woman kept yelling at policemen who were dragging her away in front of news cameras: "I'm 80 years old and have a heart condition -- stop pushing me!" The atmosphere among the assembled press was just as excitable -- at one point a number of reporters rushed to the city's west railway station as a rumor circulated that a train carrying Bo would be arriving. By late afternoon, a legion of newly accredited journalists -- almost all from overseas media as most domestic outlets are barred from covering politically sensitive events -- had settled in. Some journalists questioned whether a day spent running around in the summer heat to cover a trial where the outcome is all but certain was really worth it. The conviction rate for first- and second-instance criminal trials in China -- where the Party controls the police, prosecution and courts -- stood at 99.9% in 2010, a U.S. State Department report cited the Supreme People's Court as saying. The only "unknown" in the Bo case seems to be the sentencing. After a long day of stakeout and live reports, we finally headed back to the hotel two blocks away from the court. As we walked into the Hyatt Regency Jinan, part of a sprawling mixed-use development, I was reminded by the sign that the hotel's Chinese name is Jinan Wanda Hyatt -- a nod to the property's owner, the Dalian-based Wanda Group. The real estate conglomerate -- headed by China's richest man -- saw its business take off in the 1990s, propelled by land deals with the local government when Bo was mayor of the coastal city in northeastern China. Wanda is not implicated in the Bo case, but it seems -- despite the top leaders' best efforts to choose a "neutral" location for the trial -- Bo's shadow looms large even in Jinan.

Bo Xilai set to be tried at the local Intermediate People's Court in Jinan . Former political star faces charges of bribe-taking, embezzlement and abuse of power . Jinan is far away -- more than 780 miles -- from Chongqing, Bo's former powerbase . It will be Bo's first public appearance since April 2012 when he was stripped of his posts .

(CNN) -- Even in retirement Black Caviar -- arguably Australia's most celebrated racehorse with 25 victories from 25 starts -- shows no sign of fading from the media glare. Only recently the mare grabbed plenty of headlines after a statue was erected in her honor. But another equine retirement in recent weeks has passed without quite the same fanfare -- Vote for Lust being put out to pasture. Vote for Lust is the cart horse to super mare Black Caviar. "He's just really, really bad," the horse's owner and trainer John Castleman told CNN. "He just doesn't go fast." Retirement came after its 90th run out -- ninety rides that came and went without a solitary victory. For all his lack of pace and panache on the race track -- Vote for Lust's career fittingly ended with him being 12-and-a-half lengths off the pace in his racing finale -- he has enjoyed something of a cult following in Australia, with both a Facebook and Twitter page set up in his name. Vote for Lust is indisputably Australia's worst race horse, with his closest rival being Jordi, who had 67 starts without a win. As for laying claim to being the world's worst, Vote for Lust is in with a good shout, although he has some serious competition. British horse Quixall Crossett was the first thoroughbred to lose 100 races in England in 2000 while the American horse Zippy Chippy also went 100 races without a win and also even lost a race with a minor-league baseball player. Fan favorite . But even Vote for Lust's owner and trainer John Castleman struggles to believe that there could possibly be a worse horse on the planet. Despite the track record of ignominy, Castleman admitted that hundreds of suitors had been lining up to buy this Australian underachiever after his retirement was announced. But family came first for Castleman, who gave Vote for Lust to his 14-year-old granddaughter. She is able to give him the sort of slow-speed riding that the 10-year-old specialized on the race course during his career. During Vote for Lust's career punters laid all manner of bets on him to win -- all to no avail -- though Castleman was wily enough never to dip into his pocket to back the ultimate no hoper. "He's beaten one or two out there at home but never in a race," said Castleman. Twice on Melbourne Cup day, Vote for Lust ran in a two-horse race and on each occasion came home a distant second. His last realistic chance for victory came at the Horsham Maiden in June 2009, a race specifically for horses that have never won. True to form Vote for Lust was nowhere to be seen at the winning post. Sociable horse . Even jockey Glenn Boss -- a three-time Melbourne Cup winner -- could not get anything out of the luckless horse in a one-off outing. With the horse sponsored by the betting company Betfair, Boss was brought in to ride him in his 87th outing in a public relations gimmick. "There was a point where I thought 'here we go', but that lasted all of about 100 meters before his usual canter kicked in," said Boss, who attributed Lust for Last's lack of competitiveness to his amiability. "He likes the outing but he's sociable and just wants to stay in the pack with his mates. If he could have a beer and a steak sandwich, I reckon he would." At the time, the jockey was asked if he felt Vote for Lust might finally pull off a victory in what was then the twilight of his career. His answer was, "never say never," though Castleman's assessment, admittedly with a chuckle, was more brutal -- "never." There is a certain parental pride from the owner in just how bad Vote for Lust was. "If he'd have won that would have been no good would it?" he said. "Anyway, it just was not meant to be." In the yard, he was known as either 'Bogey' or 'Lusty' although Castleman admitted: "There might have been other names too depending on what sort of mood I was in!" Australians love a trier and to his credit there were times when Vote for Lust showed a glimmer of form -- usually in adverse weather conditions. "There were a couple of occasions early on in his career when the rain was lashing down and he just kept on ploughing through. I thought he might have done it then. When he didn't do it then, I think I knew he'd never do it." Calm nature . So why did Castleman keep on entering him in races? "Well, horses don't pay for themselves do they?" said Vote for Lust's owner. "And anyway he'd still pick up some money for his places which would cover his feed and keep really." For all the negativity about his racing prowess, or lack of it, Vote for Lust was invaluable as a horse for all occasions away from the track. "He was good to have around the place, he was everyone's mate," said Castleman. "He was quiet as hell and we'd take him to partner horses. He was so good natured, the calming influence on the more jittery horses. He just did everything you'd ever ask of him, that is apart from going fast. "When we were breaking in horses, we'd have him tied up at the side and he'd just calm everyone down. He's just a bloody good bloke. For us, he was gold dust." At races, Vote for Lust would welcome bigger crowds than the faster more successful horses. "He's got quite a cult following, don't you worry about that," added Castleman. "Everyone would want to get his picture taken with him. It's crazy to think someone put him on the internet and he ended up with hundreds of people following him. "Just as he retired, we had seven radio stations ring up for interviews, and people rang up asking if he was for sale. He's much loved, just sadly not for the right reasons." Equine genealogy . Vote for Lust would still be racing had it not been for an abscess on his foot. Castleman had hoped to take him to at least 100 runs, after which he planned to host some sort of a party. In the end, that was not to be. As for how he might have fared against Black Caviar, Castleman is certain that would have definitely have been a one horse race. "There was a suggestion that he'd challenge Black Caviar in a race," said Castleman. "That would have been the mother of all mismatches." It is just a few weeks since he handed over the horse to his granddaughter, and he readily admits he misses having him around the place. But there is the potential for someone to follow in his footsteps. He has a half-sister and half-brother in Castleman's stable. The latter has been named 'He Ain't My Brother' to distance himself from his equine genealogy. Despite that, he can't quite break the family shackles. In his few races to date, he has yet to taste victory.

Vote for Lust failed to win a single race in 90 appearances before his recent retirement . Ranked as Australia's worst racehorse -- by some distance . Horse recently retired and now is being ridden by the owner's granddaughter . There was once talk of a one-sided showdown with Aussie great Black Caviar .

(CNN) -- David Zyla remembers when he was 5 years old and his parents were getting ready for a dinner party. He spied his mother reaching for a necklace, and he recommended that she wear a different one. Then he turned to his father and boldly suggested he wear a different tie with his shirt -- and not be afraid to mix patterns. "That was the moment," Zyla said. "I think I was instinctively choosing things that suited them more. I've always felt there was an appropriateness for each person." It is no surprise that Zyla followed his passion to New York University to study costume design, then pursued a career in fashion. For a new season of warm-weather fashion trends, the Emmy-winning stylist is sharing his "Style DNA" philosophy that has aided his celebrity clients. In Zyla's eyes, not only is each person unique in their appearance, but they have "true colors" that are inherent, and indicative of their personality and style -- found in a person's eyes, hair and skin tones. The stylist also offers help in his book, "The Color of Style," which came out in paperback last year. Zyla sat down with CNN for an interview last week to talk about spring and summer fashions, how to wear them in your own way and why everyone should embrace their true colors. The following is a transcript edited for length and clarity. CNN: What is your style philosophy? Zyla: If you think about it like this, you are the subject of a great painting and what you chose to fill in around you illuminates you, or it can make you recede. I feel there has been a lot of mystery around what looks good on people. My goal with all of this is I really believe that everyone has the right to look and feel fantastic. Everyone loves compliments, especially the compliment "You look great," as opposed to "Great fill-in-the-brand-name-skirt-here." Color is not that much of a commodity -- it's attainable and the perfect way to express who we are. Your clothes and color should be used as raw materials to illustrate you -- you are the focal point. Your skin tone is your skin tone, you can either embrace it and illuminate it, or you can distract from it. Your skin, eyes and hair exist as givens, then you fill in the rest around it. It's very important to be who we are, we're all so unique, and I really want to triumph the individual. CNN: What are those key looks for spring and summer? Zyla: One of the things I would say is an important piece is the draped skirt. If you never have worn a pencil skirt, and you know it's not your best, don't do a draped pencil skirt. But if you always wear a-line and feel great in it, do a draped a-line skirt if you want to update. Take the trends and customize them for you. Also, white is a huge thing right now, which every couple of years it comes back, and this year is a more diaphanous approach where you're layering and so on. Individualize it by choosing your white. If you never wear stark white, and you look better in ivory, wear ivory. You don't have to follow the trends to the runway level, you should follow them to the customized version of you level. The way to find your white is you should match the white of your eyes. Another big trend are baroque patterns -- big chains and medallion prints. These very large prints can be overpowering. A great rule of thumb is if the print repeat is bigger than your head, it's too large. If you are someone who feels much better in solids, do it in an accessory -- a scarf or handbag that has that print on it. CNN: Were there any designers whose styles you were particularly excited to see in the spring or summer collection? Zyla: There are several. Tracy Reese makes me excited every year. The fact that she creates the scale of the collection that she does every year and it has just enough theatricality to it to make the pieces stand out, yet they don't look like costumes. She really is a talented designer with the perfect mix -- the balance is fantastic. I also love the dress designer Jay Godfrey. His dresses for spring are completely up-to-the-minute exciting, and a variety of silhouettes. Nanette Lepore is very good, I'm loving what I'm seeing there. I really think it is a very exciting spring season. The reason I'm excited about the designers I'm mentioning is they aren't just connected to one thing, they are doing nice variety. CNN: How do you embrace your style amidst the changing seasons? Zyla: Dressing in layers is always a good idea and prepare for what you're going to do that way as well. Atlanta, San Francisco, there area a lot of cities like this where each particular day can be drastically different. Throw a sweater in your bag, dress with a layer that can come off and think ahead of time. The best thing to do is think about the fabric of your clothing. As beautiful as linen is, it's not going to last until lunch -- it's going to be a wrinkled mess. Cotton is going to breathe. Natural fabrics that have a little weight to them are always going to be your friend because they will last through the day. CNN: Because the styles are more open this season, are there any key pieces that a lot of people can wear? Zyla: One of the trends is very bright, neon, what I call hyper-Popsicle colors -- very, very vivid, and I would say that if you want to have that, take one of the colors the looks great on you, and do it in an unexpected piece, like a skirt or coat. A lot of times, we think of these vivid colors in accents or smaller things, I think this is the season to embrace the vividness. I'm not saying just because tangerine tango is the color of spring that everyone should wear it. If the brightest color on your palette is an American beauty rose pink, why don't you use that in an unexpected way? Wearing a color that doesn't suit you, you're not going to be comfortable. CNN: What do you address in your book, "The Color of Style"? Zyla: I address the idea that we all have an authentic style and true colors. In the first part of the book, I lead you to finding these true colors and what is your dramatic, romantic and energy color, and they all do very different things. Some make you feel very friendly and approachable, some make you feel sexy. In the second part, I lead you to one of 24 archetypes -- I believe there are 24 archetypes of women. With each archetype, I give you fragrance ideas, style ideas, fabrics, artists that represent your type, the must-haves, the must-avoids, the super power and the kryptonite. It's a read on the personality as well and really how to put a palette and a wardrobe together. In part three of the book, I teach you how to utilize all of these tools in shopping and cleaning out your closet. When you shop, do it with intention. And I also lead you to how to dress for every occasion. I really want people to honor their true colors and honor who they are in their authentic style. Then, I want them to really love themselves and flourish with this material.

David Zyla writes in "The Color of Style" that individuals have "true colors" that suit them . This spring, he recommends draped skirts, baroque patterns and shades of white . He's excited by designers Tracy Reese, Jay Godfrey and Nanette Lepore .

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's decision to seek congressional authorization of a military attack against the Syrian government is in part his way of trying to fix a legal problem. The president's decision to launch military strikes that would be "limited in duration and scope" is illegal under international law, legal experts say. The United Nations charter generally doesn't allow nations to attack other nations unless the attack is in self-defense or has the approval of the U.N. Security Council, neither of which is the case in Syria. That's a problem for a president, who has tried to distinguish his administration from that of President George W. Bush on the idea that he is bringing the United States back into compliance with international law. CNN has learned that the Justice Departments' Office of Legal Counsel provided the president with a preliminary legal opinion on carrying out the Syrian attack. OLC lawyers are the ones who advise the president on whether he is acting lawfully under federal statutes and the Constitution. The opinion was provided verbally to the White House and is expected to be followed with a formal written opinion in coming weeks. The exact legal reasoning in the opinion could not be learned but sources familiar with the matter said the president's legal team believes he is acting lawfully. Is it 'High Noon' for Obama on Syria? To help bolster the president's legal case, the Obama administration over the weekend asked Congress to authorize the use of military force. It's a departure for the president, who didn't seek similar approval when the United States joined a United Nations-sanctioned bombing campaign in Libya. But it is more in line with the view that Obama expressed as a senator and presidential candidate, that presidents need congressional approval to wage war. Congressional approval wouldn't solve the problem with international law, a senior administration official said, but it would enhance the legitimacy of military action. Obama, in a Rose Garden statement Saturday, spoke of the humanitarian and moral reasons to respond to what the United States says is clear proof that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used chemical weapons against civilians. Obama called the most recent alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus "an assault on human dignity." A senior administration official acknowledged the international legal constraints but said the president is authorized to take action with or without Congress, in part for U.S. national security reasons. The president in his Saturday statement said the use of chemical weapons against civilians poses "a serious danger to our national security." The administration uses similar language in the Authorization for Use of Military Force proposal it is presenting to Congress, citing the need to protect the United States and its allies and partners from the threat of chemical weapons. A second senior administration official said the United States is acting on humanitarian as well as security grounds. "We are not trying to address all of the humanitarian aspects of the crisis, but the security and humanitarian elements of the situation are inextricably linked and it would be artificial to separate them," the official said. "The security situation endangers the welfare of the populations in the region, and the humanitarian situation -- including the flows of refugees and displaced persons -- endangers the security and stability of countries in the region. "Left unanswered, there is serious danger that the August 21 use of chemical weapons would lead to further use in this and future conflicts, posing a humanitarian threat both to those victims who would suffer these weapons' scourge and a security threat to neighbors, others in the region, and the international community as a whole." The thorny political and legal problems the president faces were on display over the weekend as some lawmakers returned to Washington early to receive intelligence briefings and to prepare to vote on the authorization. The administration's proposed authorization for action in Syria is broad and open-ended, and many lawmakers emerged from briefings with deep misgivings. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said that among about 100 members present, the biggest single concern was the "very broad request for authority" that is at odds with the narrow scope of the mission the president outlined. Syria vote could have consequences for 2016 . Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Sunday told reporters he would propose a more narrowly tailored authorization. Fears grew over the weekend that the administration's broad proposal could lead to a wider conflict and perhaps U.S. military strikes in Iran or Lebanon, because Iran's Lebanon-based Hezbollah allies are providing support to the Assad regime. The administration official said the military authorization was written narrowly to address Syria but asserted it also has to take contingencies into account. If the United States found chemical weapons were being transferred to Iran, and the only way to stop such a move was by striking in Iran, then the proposed authorization wouldn't prevent Obama from ordering such strikes. John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the State Department and the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, said Obama's international law problem is of his own making. "This particular president has boxed himself into a corner to distinguish himself from his predecessor," he said. Of Obama's planned Syria military strikes, Bellinger said, "even if it's with the purest of motives, it makes him look hypocritical." Robert Chesney, a University of Texas law professor, drew parallels to the Clinton administration's bombing against Serbian forces to protect Kosovo. In that case, President Bill Clinton ignored the fact that a proposed military force authorization was voted down in Congress. Chesney said the problem is that international law doesn't necessarily take into account events like those in Syria or Kosovo. In these cases the argument becomes, Chesney said, that "it was legitimate, but illegal (under international law). It was the good thing to do because of the moral reasons." Some human rights groups have long pushed for international law to allow outside intervention to stop atrocities. The United States and other nations have been reluctant to accept such a broad change, Bellinger said. The administration's lawyers have been careful to guide the choice of words used by top officials. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who made a forceful case for military action on Friday, have carefully portrayed al Assad's actions as violating "international norms." That's in part because Syria isn't among the 188 countries, including the United States, that signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty that prohibits the production and use of such weapons. Obama has long grappled with the issue of how to deal with civil war atrocities when international law doesn't offer a way to stop them. In his December 2009 speech to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama endorsed a call for an "evolution of human institutions." On one hand, he said, it is important for the United States and other nations to respect international rules, saying "when we don't, our actions appear arbitrary and undercut the legitimacy of future interventions, no matter how justified." But then he also noted the need to "prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region." Obama added: "I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That's why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace." Military has concerns about Syria mission .

NEW: The Justice Departments' Office of Legal Counsel provides the president with a preliminary legal opinion . Obama's plan to strike Syria is not legal under international law, experts say . Congressional approval would lend it some legitimacy, an administration official says . Lawmakers briefed on the administration's proposal say it is too broad .

(CNN) -- Imagine a mother, ostracized and isolated for years because her son is mentally ill, suddenly receiving thousands of messages of support, thanking her for coming forward and calling her heroic. That's what Stephanie Escamilla experienced after CNN Digital published my story and Evelio Contreras' video, "My son is mentally ill," so listen up. The response has been overwhelming. Thousands of messages via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook have poured in -- from across America and from around the world, including Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and South Africa. Many were from mothers fighting their private struggle with their own children, from fathers, from nurses, from psychiatrists. Others opened up their hearts, describing years of agony dealing with their own mental illness before stabilizing. My inbox was flooded with supportive messages that were forwarded on to Stephanie. Many carried this message: Please know that it can get better. "I can't thank you enough on behalf of all the mothers out there that deal with mentally ill children," one mom e-mailed. "I admire that woman so greatly for what she does and for the entire family allowing to share their story." Legislation seeks to improve mental health system . Stephanie risked much in coming forward, especially the fear it could send her son in a downward spiral. One family doctor even objected to her doing so. But she felt that educating the nation about the struggles of raising a child with mental illness was worth it -- and that in so doing, her son could improve, too. Her risk seems to have paid off. Stephanie shared some of the messages sent to the family with her son, Daniel, who suffers from bipolar disorder with episodes of psychosis. His response astonished her: "Mom, I wanted to tell you that I finally can say that I accept myself for who I am," he said. "I am not my mental illness; I am me." For Stephanie, that statement marked tremendous progress and underscored why she decided to speak out. Her resolve has only intensified. The family has set up a website, SavingDaniel.com, for people to communicate with Stephanie and Daniel and seek help. Stephanie hopes to create a foundation in the coming months to help change the stigma around mental illness. She also hopes to realize a longtime dream to speak to middle and high school students in San Antonio. Anything to better educate. Mental illness in children: Where to turn . One woman messaged via Facebook that she had endured a similar struggle as Stephanie in raising her son, now a highly functioning 23-year-old. "My advice to the mom you interviewed: Be a bulldog on britches, never let go," wrote Marie Bond. "It will get better, I promise you that." Readers also thanked us for our understanding and sensitivity in telling Stephanie and Daniel's story. Many parents raising mentally ill children said they wished they had the courage to tell their story like Stephanie. On Twitter, I received hundreds of messages echoing @crosscutlureRVA's sentiment: "Thank you for telling her story. Represents so many stories around the country." "This was a fantastic article, and I am heartened to see it published on CNN," Allison McKenzie said in an e-mail. "So many families and people are suffering under the incredible burden of dealing with mental illness, and it's particularly difficult when it involves children." Many called the issue of mental illness the most important story of our time, yet one that is routinely ignored. They pointed out that children can now stay on their parents' health care plans until the age of 26, yet a mentally ill son or daughter can make all their own health care decisions when they turn 18 -- regardless of parental input. That's resulted in our jails and prisons being filled with people with mental disorders, readers pointed out, and all too often our cemeteries, too. "The problem no one seems to address is when these kids turn 18, we as parents no longer have control," e-mailed Mia St. John, a world champion boxer who cares for her mentally ill son. "The parents will tell the same the story: There was nothing we could do or our hands were tied. I have been fighting the system for years and nothing will change until we are granted rights to help our sick children." Wendy Sefcik knows the pain of losing a child to mental illness. "On December 1, 2010, my intelligent, outgoing, athletic 16-year-old-son T.J. died by suicide," she wrote. "T.J. battled depression, but was a master at hiding his struggle. Since losing my son, I have tried to learn everything I can about depression and other mood disorders. I was shocked to find out how many people battle mood disorders and how difficult it is to get treatment." Sefcik emphasized another key point: Mental illness affects rich and poor alike. The Sefciks had money and resources, yet it wasn't enough. The most poignant outpouring came from those who could relate to Daniel. They shared very private struggles. Most asked not to be identified, but said they wanted Daniel to know there was hope. "I have a history of mental illness too, but am successfully functioning with medicine and years of support," one reader wrote in an e-mail. "I celebrate all the parents and professionals who quietly, bravely fight for the sick ones. They suffer when they help, but we all suffer if we don't help. "Stephanie and Daniel are my heroes. I pray that we will be stronger and more compassionate after reading their story." One of the most touching messages came from a mother who said her 9-year-old son was hospitalized last year for 16 days for delusions, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. "I have learned a lot since then about his illness, and even more the startling lack of available mental health resources and treatment options, even in a large city," the mom wrote. The mother asked not to be identified, but she said Stephanie and Daniel's story inspired her to put into words what she has been through. She wrote this poem, titled Cherry 784, that she said could be shared with others: . Cherry 784 . We hid the knives . But you really only wanted . To fall from your window . Nine years is enough . I've had a good life . You told me during a visit . The one where you still weren't sure . If I was really your mom . We played basketball in the dayroom . And snuggled on worn bean bag chairs . With our shoes off and our hopes high . That the next day you'd come home . I took weary walks between visiting hours . Through corridors, concrete walkways . And parking decks in the August swell . Texting 1A, 4C, 3D to myself . Digital bread crumbs . For the evening return . The contraband I carry . Fits in an empty locker . Lift the phone . Speak the code . Cherry 784 . Hold for the buzz . Open one door . Wait for it to close . So the other will open . You, always on the other side, anxiously waiting . Reminding me I was 2 minutes late . (As if I didn't know) And squeezing the remaining breath from my lungs . With your little boy hugs . I brought you fresh fruit in labeled cups . Cantaloupe, grapes, oranges, and pineapple chunks . The scent embedded in my flesh from cutting . Something sweet for you, my love . My baby . My boy . My son .

San Antonio woman and her son shared their journey with mental illness . Readers responded to story and video with messages of support and compassion . Thousands of emails, tweets and Facebook posts have poured in . Her son's reaction to readers' messages surprised his mom -- and gave her hope .

(CNN) -- The United States and Iran cut diplomatic ties during the 1979 hostage crisis, and relations between the two countries today can only be described as tense. But that didn't stop a sharp-shooting U.S. basketball player from winding up his professional career in the Islamic republic. Kevin Sheppard -- a six-foot point guard who competed internationally for 10 years after playing college ball -- was one of 13 Americans recruited by the Iranian Super League in the fall of 2008. He joined Iran's only non-government-sponsored team, in the cultural center of Shiraz, mostly "out of curiosity" -- and immediately fell in love with the country. "Iran was beautiful," Sheppard said. "I saw something I'd never really seen on the news, heard from people or read in the newspaper." What he saw was the generosity of the people -- they treated him to dinners, took him on tours of historic landmarks and welcomed him, a non-Muslim from the West, into their homes. A native of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Sheppard starred in both basketball and soccer for Jacksonville University in Florida. He decided to pursue a professional basketball career overseas, excelling as a shooter and playmaker on teams from Cuba and Venezuela to Australia and Israel. He stunned family and friends when he decided to play in Iran, where he averaged 26 points a game and eight assists as the team captain. Now retired from playing, his memories extend well beyond the basketball court. "Sometimes you have to go out there and see it for yourself," the 32-year-old said. "I thought if it's nice then I'm going to see one of the best things a lot of people on this side of the world will never see." Sheppard was taken aback with the level of admiration and respect Iranians showed toward Americans. Despite being the highest-paid player, his teammates welcomed him, introducing Sheppard to their culture and hoping to benefit from his professionalism. "They brought me in as a brother," Sheppard explains. "And my job was to teach them how to play the game the mental way. They had skills, they could dunk and guys could shoot, but they lacked mental discipline." Sheppard says he taught his teammates how to prepare for games, watch film and learn from scouting reports. He quickly emerged as the undisputed star and captain of Shiraz; regularly swarmed by young Iranian fans for his autograph. Every Thursday, sell-out crowds jammed the gym, with more than 3,000 fans cheering, "Kevin! Kevin!" That first year in Iran, Sheppard, along with another import, Serbian Zoran Majkic, led their team to the playoffs for the first time. "I brought a sense of belief to them," Sheppard recalled. "When I got there, they had no playoff aspirations. Once we started winning, they realized we can do something special." By this time, American filmmaker Till Schauder, intrigued with Sheppard's Iranian adventure, had begun shooting a documentary of his success with the team and how he was adapting to life in a faraway land. Schauder and his Iranian-American wife Sara Nodjoumi said they were fascinated by the notion of an American playing basketball "in a land allegedly full of nukes" and enjoying every minute of it. In his initial conversations with the couple, Schauder said, "he had us on the floor laughing." "Sara and I looked at each other and said if he's as clever and funny as he is on Skype then I'll stay in Iran and we'll make this film," Schauder said. But Sheppard, who also played for Azad University in the Iranian league until this year, had no idea he was about to become the star of what initially struck him as a 24/7 reality show. "I was starting to think this was like 'Jersey Shore,' or some craziness," he said. "I was like, man, I ain't gonna do this." But Schauder and Nodjoumi hoped to make Sheppard's story much deeper than his basketball because he was breaking cultural barriers. For instance, Sheppard became close friends with three Iranian women, rare in a country where the sexes are forbidden from interacting in public. The bonding began with Hilda, the team physical therapist, and two friends who became Sheppard's translator and driver. The relationships gave Sheppard his first sense of human rights issues in Iran, especially the inequality between the sexes. "It was really bad for women. Once I got to know some of the ladies it was so ... it was even worse," he says. "Most of the women are so highly educated and can't use it to their potential. It was so sad." But the filmmakers insist their documentary -- "The Iran Job"-- is not meant to be a heavy-handed political documentary on a Middle East country fighting for its freedom. They felt that Sheppard's witty personality attracts colorful characters that bring playfulness and humor to an unusual story. "Through sports we wanted to get into a society that is often misrepresented and misunderstood," Schauder said. "Kevin had the same perception about these places as many Americans; he just goes there and shatters them." Schauder continued filming the discussions and cultural exchanges Sheppard encountered both on and off court, but as the 2009 presidential elections and violent street protests took hold, it became increasingly difficult to gather footage of him on the streets of Tehran. Working as a one-man band, Schauder found himself filming non-stop for three to four hours at a time. With nothing but a backpack and endless tapes, he was extra cautious not to attract attention, often trying to blend in as a tourist. He would mail footage to his mother in Germany who would send it to his wife in New York -- in one case, 90 hours' worth. "I mailed 80 tapes and kept the 10 I felt had the biggest nuggets with myself," Schauder says. "I hid them in my underwear and socks out of fear. "That was the scariest time for me because I knew that was great footage. I knew this was potentially a really good film if it ever gets to America." Schauder, who had been denied a journalist's visa, freely traveled in and out of the country before his last planned trip near the end of the basketball season. Shortly before the June elections he was detained in Iran. He spent 24 hours in confinement before being sent back to the United States with no explanation. On the basketball court, Sheppard was unfazed by the street protests. However, off court he found himself enmeshed in the tangle of politics, current affairs and sports. "I could see it on my teammates' faces," he said. "Their relatives were being hurt and kidnapped. That's when it really hit me that this thing is real, and I just couldn't escape it." Sheppard is now focusing on his after-school education program mentoring children in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The most talented are given the opportunity to meet basketball scouts in hopes of one day following in his footsteps. While still interested in visiting his friends back in Iran, he admits that might be difficult. "After this documentary is released, I don't think I will want to go back -- they'll lock me up!"

American Kevin Sheppard played basketball in Iran from 2008 . His experiences were documented in a film called "The Iran Job" Sheppard says he was surprised by the friendly welcome he received . But he also experienced the downsides of life in the Muslim republic .

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Abdul Hakeem Belhaj, one of the most effective commanders among anti-Gadhafi forces in Libya, has seen plenty of combat in his 45 years. A well-built, bearded man with dark, serious eyes, he fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan -- and alongside al Qaeda in the dying days of the Taliban regime. Now he is commander of the anti-Gadhafi forces in Tripoli, and swears loyalty to the National Transitional Council, describing himself as an "ordinary Libyan" fighting for a common cause. But there's not much ordinary about Belhaj. As a young man in the late 1980s, he was one of scores of jihadists in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group that went to fight in Afghanistan. His military prowess soon made him a commander among his fellow fighters. After the fall of the Taliban, Belhaj left Afghanistan and was arrested in Malaysia in 2004. After some questioning by the CIA, he was sent back to Libya and jailed. Belhaj was released from Moammar Gadhafi's notorious Abu Salim jail last year. He and dozens of others of LIFG fighters negotiated with the Gadhafi regime for their freedom -- in return for denouncing al Qaeda and its philosophy of jihad. The negotiations were led by a former LIFG member in exile, Noman Benotman, and Saif al Islam Gadhafi, one of the sons of the Libyan leader and a man that Belhaj is now hunting. The Gadhafi regime had jailed hundreds of Islamists, among them fighters of the LIFG who had launched a short-lived insurgency in the 1990s. Many were massacred during a prison revolt in 1996. Western counterterrorism experts are now at best concerned -- and at worst alarmed -- by the prominent role Belhaj and the LIFG cadres have played in Libya's revolt. But sitting in an air-conditioned room in one of Tripoli's most exclusive hotels, Belhaj was keen to dispel the notion that he is part of an Islamist fifth column preparing to make a power grab in the new Libya. "I am an ordinary citizen of Libya. I am a part of the fabric of this nation, a normal Muslim," he said in long-winded and carefully worded classical Arabic. The LIFG "was not a terrorist organization," he said. " All our activities were inside our country with the aim of liberating our people from Gadhafi. That's why we met and that's why we worked. We did not give any blessing to any act that would hurt civilians or destroy public sector establishments, and anyone who has kept up with our activities knows that." Belhaj has played a crucial role in liberating Tripoli. Units under his control seized Gadhafi's sprawling Bab al Aziziya compound days after the rebels entered Tripoli. He insists his goals are at one with those of the NTC. "We are part of the Libyan people. We did not carry out any military acts with a particular ideology or under any flag," he said. Flanked by his press assistant, a former LIFG member who became an accountant in London, Belhaj continued: "We treated everybody equally with one purpose, and that is to achieve the goals of the February 17 revolution." "I have not seen anything that would potentially damage the relationship between everybody who worked on the liberation of the cities that they were in," he added. But there have been signs of tensions between former LIFG members and rank-and-file fighters who joined the revolt and are perturbed to see such a prominent Islamist figure gain so much power. For his part, Belhaj is now focused on finding Gadhafi. "A lot of the information that we receive points to more than one area because we are focusing on more than one area," Belhaj said. "He might be between Bani Walid (a pro-Gadhafi town in the desert) and Sirte, trying to find a route to the south of the country as the pressure increases on him." Gadhafi "is trying to secure a location for himself and is releasing ridiculous statements to incite some naïve people, to motivate some people he describes as his loyalists to alter the current security situation." Belhaj expressed hope that the violence in Libya would soon be over. "We hope that will happen without any more bloodshed or destruction of public property," he said. "We call for the surrender of those who continue to support the regime." That was why, he said, the NTC had extended the deadline for Gadhafi forces in Sirte to lay down their weapons. Belhaj also said he had spoken to one of Gadhafi's sons, Saadi, who has called for an end to the fighting. "I told him that we would assure his safety and that no one would harm him," Belhaj said, but added: "The legal matters we do not control. We are striving to establish a nation of laws. We want justice to prevail -- that we have lacked for 40 years." Belhaj also reflected on his time in Afghanistan, stressing that he and others in the LIFG were not affiliated with al Qaeda. "Our presence in Afghanistan with or without al Qaeda does not mean that we agree with them. Our presence in Afghanistan was to support the just cause of the Afghan fight against the Soviets," he said. "We went to support the people, and we extended a hand to them in education and aid. ... We also helped to defend and fight, as did many other nations that joined, including the United States," Belhaj said in what seemed like an effort to reassure Washington. "As for our presence in Afghanistan, (just because it) coincided with the presence of al Qaeda does not mean that we agree or believe in the same ideology." Whether Belhaj and others who belonged to the LIFG will continue to sing in tune with the National Transitional Council is the great unknown. I have followed the group's evolution for years, and it seems they truly came to perceive Osama bin Laden's nihilistic campaign against the west as counter-productive, and al Qaeda's indiscriminate attacks on "non-believers" as unjustifiable. While in jail at Abu Salim, a prison less than a mile from the Gadhafi compound that Belhaj helped seize, the LIFG fighters wrote a long theological treatise that attacked al Qaeda's core principles. At the end of our interview, Belhaj again took pains to reassure the wider world of Islamists' role in the Libyan uprising. "I want to take this opportunity to assure to all that the revolutionaries in Libya are united, and there is nothing frightening," he said. "They all joined hands against this tyrant and now the revolution is achieving its goals. ... There is nothing more important than securing our nation." There are plenty of political models for Libya's Islamists to adopt and adapt -- in Egypt and Tunisia for example, where newly resurgent Islamist parties and groups profess to be committed to democracy and constitutional government. The question is: will they?

Abdul Hakeem Belhaj is one of Libya's top anti-Gadhafi rebel commanders . Some western analysts are concerned with his prominent role, given his past association with Islamist forces . Belhaj was part of a group of Libyans that fought alongside al Qaeda against the Soviets in Afghanistan . Belhaj says the fact that he fought alongside al Qaeda doesn't mean he agrees with the aims of the organization .

(CNN) -- High-stakes lawsuits, overlapping investigations and a bitter battle over blame are spreading across Europe in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the meat industry. Horse meat was discovered in products that are supposed to be 100% beef, sold in Sweden, the United Kingdom and France. On Sunday, a major company under scrutiny called one of its suppliers a "villain" responsible for the fraud. The supplier, in turn, insisted it was "fooled" by a subsupplier. While authorities say there is no immediate cause for health concerns, the discovery was a new shock to an industry already reeling from a bombshell last month when Irish investigators found horse and pig DNA in numerous hamburger products. The blame chain . Swedish food producer Findus has been a focus of the uproar since it announced Thursday that it had withdrawn its lasagna from stores as a precaution. The products were pulled Monday after French supplier Comigel raised concerns about the type of meat that was used, Findus Sweden said. Findus said a letter from Comigel dated February 2 informed Findus that the contamination may date back to August 2012. Horsemeat found in hamburgers in Britain and Ireland . Findus is only one of several companies that receive products from Comigel. Others include Axfood, Coop and ICA, which have recalled some meat products in Sweden, and Aldi, which has pulled some products from shelves in Britain. Six big French retailers -- Auchan, Casino, Carrefour, Cora, Picard and Monoprix -- said Sunday that they were recalling lasagne and other products. Findus Nordic, which oversees Findus throughout the Nordic region, said it has begun legal action against Comigel and its subsuppliers. "We are only at the beginning of our legal process. Comigel will end up in a lot of legal processes going forward, I imagine," Findus Nordic CEO Jari Latvanen said Sunday in an interview with CNN. "Comigel is the villain." Comigel has not responded to CNN's requests for comment. The company did not answer its phones when CNN called repeatedly, and did not respond to an e-mail request for comment. Neither did CEO Erick Lehagre. But Lehagre told French news agency Agence France-Presse on Sunday that his company had been "fooled" by a French supplier. "We were victims," he said, according to AFP. Comigel apparently took its website down, posting a sign that it is "under construction." Previously, the site described the company as offering a wide array of products through partners, including major European retailers. Criss-crossing investigations . Probes are under way in France, Sweden, and Britain. The supply chain being studied includes still more countries. France's consumer affairs minister, Benoit Hamon, ordered an immediate investigation and said results will be available by midweek. In a statement, Hamon said a provider in Luxembourg and traders in Cyprus and the Netherlands are part of the chain being probed. The Swedish National Food Agency announced Sunday that it is reporting Findus to police, which is the standard course of action when products have been sold with the wrong labels. British police are investigating as well. British officials held an emergency meeting Saturday in London. Participants agreed "meaningful results" must be achieved by Friday, UK Food Standards Agency spokesman Brad Smythe said. Officials discussed what tests are possible, what laboratory capacity is needed, and what can be done to protect consumer confidence, he said. The evidence so far suggests "either criminal activity or gross negligence," Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said, adding that "more bad news" could come. UK food businesses have been ordered to test all processed beef products for authenticity and report back to the authorities by Friday. "I am determined that we get to the bottom of this and that any wrongdoing discovered is punished," Paterson said in a statement. Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in Friday on Twitter. "This is completely unacceptable -- this isn't about food safety but about proper food labeling and confidence in retailers," he wrote. Legal action under way . Latvanen credits his company with uncovering "a serious case of fraud." "What has happened with Comigel is a crime, a scandal," he said in an interview with CNN. Burger King finds horse meat at European supplier . While Findus has begun legal action in Sweden, Findus France previously said it will file a legal complaint Monday against a Romanian business that is part of the supply chain. It did not name the business publicly. "There are two victims in this affair: Findus and the consumer," Findus France said in a statement. The British arm of Findus said it is considering legal action against suppliers as well. Early results of an internal investigation "strongly suggest" the horse meat contamination of a beef lasagna product "was not accidental," the company said. Tests showed up to 100% horse meat . Aldi said tests on random samples demonstrated that the withdrawn products contained between 30% and 100% horse meat. "This is completely unacceptable and like other affected companies, we feel angry and let down by our supplier. If the label says beef, our customers expect it to be beef." Samples of the affected Findus lasagna contained between 60% and 100% horse meat, according to UK and Irish food safety inspectors. In January, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found that 10 out of 27 hamburger products it analyzed in a study contained horse DNA, while 23 of them -- or 85% -- tested positive for pig DNA. In nine out of the 10 burger samples, the horse DNA was found at very low levels, the inspectors said. But in one sample from Tesco, Britain's largest retailer, the horse meat accounted for about 29% of the burger. Tesco apologized and vowed to make sure it never happens again. Irish officials blamed ingredients from Poland. Concerns about a veterinary drug . While horse meat is not itself a food safety hazard, food inspectors are concerned it may contain the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or "bute," commonly used to treat horses. Meat from animals treated with phenylbutazone may pose a risk to human health and is not allowed to enter the food chain as it may pose a risk to human health. Findus has been ordered to test the lasagna withdrawn from shelves in the United Kingdom for the drug's presence. The revelations have revolted many meat eaters in the United Kingdom, where horse meat is generally considered taboo, although it is commonly eaten in neighboring France, as well as countries including China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Italy. The discovery of pig DNA in beef products is of particular concern to Jews and Muslims, whose dietary laws forbid the consumption of pork products. Jewish dietary laws also ban the eating of horse meat. The UK Justice Ministry confirmed last week that a number of meat pies and similar items supplied to prisons in England and Wales were labeled and served as halal -- prepared in compliance with Islamic dietary law -- but contained traces of pork DNA, the Food Standards Agency said. Horse meat is not commonly eaten in the United States, but the country does export it to Canada and Mexico. Congress passed a bill in November 2011 that lifted a 5-year-old ban on the slaughter of horses for meat in the United States. Horse: Coming soon to a meat case near you? CNN's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

NEW: Six big French retailers pull lasagne and other products . Comigel CEO tells a French news agency his company was "fooled" Findus Nordic CEO calls Comigel "the villain" Horsemeat isn't a health hazard, but could contain a veterinary drug unsafe for humans .

(CNN) -- A spokesman for a national registry of radiologic technologists declined Friday to say whether the group was aware of a 2010 incident in which David Kwiatkowski allegedly tested positive for illegal drugs and was fired from an Arizona hospital. After being fired from the Phoenix hospital, Kwiatkowski went on to work at four more hospitals in four other states. He was arrested this month in New Hampshire in connection with stealing drugs from a hospital, and it's believed he infected 30 people in that state with hepatitis C through infected syringes. Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire said it consulted the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists before hiring Kwiatkowski and he held the required certification for his cardiovascular tech position. The registry's website says Kwiatkowski's certification was "summarily suspended" as of July 2012. Kwiatkowski was working at Arizona Heart Hospital in 2010 when a fellow employee found him passed out in the men's bathroom, according to documents obtained by CNN. Hepatitis C outbreak in New Hampshire strikes fear in 7 other states . "I looked in the toilet and spotted a 5 cc syringe and a needle floating in the water," the employee said in a statement submitted to the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency. "The label was a blue fentanyl label... He then said 'Shit ... I am going to jail.'" Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic frequently used in hospitals. Kwiatkowski flushed the syringe and needle down the toilet, according to the employee. Kwiatkowski was immediately fired from Arizona Heart Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman. He then relinquished his license as a radiologic technologist. "I don't have the resources nor money to fight the accusations," Kwiatkowski wrote at the time. A few weeks later, he was working at Temple University Hospital in Pennsylvania, and then went on to work in Kansas and Georgia before working in New Hampshire. The agency that placed Kwiatkowski in the Arizona job reported the incident to the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, according to a spokeswoman for the agency, Springboard, Inc. A spokesman for the national registry said they're investigating the allegations against Kwiatkowski. "Because we have strict confidentiality policies, the status of an ongoing investigation is not released," the registry said in a statement. Christopher Cook, a spokesman for the registry, declined to comment further. The director of the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency said officials stopped their investigation when Kwiatkowski moved out of state. "We had no jurisdiction," said Aubrey Godwin. "If drugs or alcohol were involved, we would want to get blood tests done, but he was out of state, so it was sort of hard to implement." An expert in so-called "drug diversion" said it's not uncommon for healthcare professionals to leave a state when they're being investigated for drug use. "They just move on to the next job," said John Burke, president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. "This is a much bigger problem than most people realize." Godwin, the director of the Arizona licensing board, said he's not sure if his group reported the 2010 incident to the national registry. "It's not clear. I can't say. It would have been just a phone call, and I don't remember a phone call, but I'm not sure on that one," he told CNN. In the Exeter case, Kwiatkowski has been charged with obtaining controlled substances by fraud and tampering with a consumer product, namely a hospital syringe, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. He is suspected of stealing fentanyl, the affidavit said. Hepatitis C is considered to be among the most serious of hepatitis viruses. It is typically asymptomatic, going undetected until liver damage shows up, according to the Mayo Clinic. New Hampshire's health department is asking everyone who was a patient in Exeter's operating rooms and the intensive care unit between April 1, 2011, and May 25 of this year be tested. Those are two areas that Kwiatkowski visited during his "routine duties to transport patients," an Exeter Hospital statement said. But it added he "was not involved with procedures or patient care." Exeter, in a statement, said it conducted a background check and took other steps before hiring Kwiatkowski full time. U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas said his office interviewed employees at Exeter who said they had seen Kwiatkowski acting strangely, one time sweating profusely and with bloodshot eyes. "One of them described him as unfit to provide medical care and his supervisor sent him home," Kacavas said. "He provided a plausible explanation for his condition, which was that he had been crying his eyes out because his aunt had died and he was an emotional wreck." According to state, county and hospital officials, he worked as a radiology technician and medical technician in cardiac catheterization labs in the following locations: . -- Oakwood Annapolis Hospital in Wayne, Michigan, January to September 2007; . -- Saint Francis Hospital, Poughkeepsie, New York, November 2007 to February 2008; . -- UPMC Presbyterian, Pittsburgh, March 2008 to May 2008; . -- Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, May 2008 to November 2008; . -- Southern Maryland Hospital, Clinton, Maryland, December 2008 to February 2009; . -- Maryvale Hospital, Phoenix, March to June 2009; . -- Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, July 2009 to January 2010; . -- Maryland General Hospital, Baltimore, January 2010 to March 2010; . -- Arizona Heart Hospital, Phoenix, March 2010 to April 2010; . -- Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, April 2010; . -- Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas, May 2010 to September 2010; . -- Houston Medical Center, Warner Robins, Georgia, October 2010 to March 2011. -- Exeter Hospital, Exeter, New Hampshire, April 2011 to July 2012. Institutions say they are calling former patients and offering free testing, and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping state health officers and hospitals tackle the problem. Kwiatkowski was arrested earlier this month after police found him in a Massachusetts hotel room "in an intoxicated state" and took him to a hospital, the affidavit states. He is now being held in the Strafford County, New Hampshire, jail. He could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted. Kwiatkowski appeared in New Hampshire federal court Tuesday and waived his right to a detention hearing. Kacavas said it is possible more charges could be filed. Bjorn Lange, a public defender representing Kwiatkowski, told CNN Friday he would have no comment. Former hospital worker accused of transmitting hepatitis C . CNN's Jennifer Bixler, John Bonifield, William Hudson and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

NEW: Arizona did not complete investigation of David Kwiatkowski . NEW: Public defender declines to comment . Kwiatkowski worked in at least eight states as a lab technician . He also worked at a New Hampshire hospital where 30 patients got hepatitis C .

Hong Kong (CNN) -- They live largely unseen, in towering Hong Kong apartment blocks, trapped in a life of servitude to pay back crippling debts to unscrupulous recruiters who've lied to convince them to sign up. According to a new report from Amnesty International, thousands of domestic workers from Indonesia are being duped into working in the city by brokers and agencies solely focused on profit. "Every step of the way, from the moment their documents are confiscated in Indonesia their movements are controlled in Hong Kong," said Norma Muico, the author of the report "Exploited for profit, failed by governments." "The recruitment agency tells the employer, 'don't let your workers out for the first seven months when they pay their recruitment fees. Don't let them talk to other Indonesian workers.' Every aspect of their lives is controlled for the purpose of getting the money," said Muico, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific migrants' rights researcher. The report accuses the Indonesian and Hong Kong governments of turning a blind eye to the problem because domestic workers provide a valuable service to the city, and send much of the money they earn back to Indonesia. In response to the report, the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong released a statement saying "the protection of the Indonesian citizens abroad is the priority of the Indonesian government," and "we have a full commitment to do that with all possible means and resources." The Hong Kong Labour Department also issued a statement saying, in part: "We do not allow abuse of FDHs [foreign domestic helpers] including underpayment of wages, non-granting of weekly rest days and statutory holidays etc. Any abuse that is supported by sufficient evidence will be prosecuted." Hong Kong's domestic help . As of September, almost 150,000 Indonesian domestic workers, or "helpers" as they're known, were living and working in Hong Kong, almost half the total number of 319,000. The others are mainly Filipino. Almost all are women. While they come to do the same job, Filipinos receive more support from their own government, and don't have to pay the same extortionate recruitment fees that tie their Indonesian counterparts to months, if not years, of debt, Muico said. "It's more problematic with the Indonesians because they don't get the support they need from the Indonesian government and the recruitment companies can pretty much do what they like," she said. While the report is based on in-depth interviews with 97 workers who sought help, Amnesty said its findings were backed by an independent survey of nearly 1,000 women by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) conducted in Hong Kong in 2011. Signing up for debt . The typical story starts back in Indonesia where brokers convince poorer women to seek work in Hong Kong. They're taken to training centers, sometimes hours from home, where they spend anywhere between 10 days and 15 months learning the skills and language -- Cantonese -- to do the job, according to the report. In many cases, their documents are taken, along with their phones, and they're allowed only limited contact with their families. Some women told researchers they were forced to cut off all their hair, while others were given mandatory contraceptive injections to avoid pregnancy on short visits home. Once in Hong Kong, Amnesty says local recruitment agencies step in to ensure workers repay their debts. According to the IMWU survey, 85% of women said recruitment fees of around HK$3,000 a month were deducted from their monthly wage for seven months, taking the total recruitment cost to HKD$21,000 (US$2.700). The fee far exceeds the limits set by both the Indonesian and Hong Kong governments. Under Hong Kong law, employment agencies are not allowed to charge more than 10% of a worker's monthly wage, or HK$401 (US$52). Indonesia limits the fee to IDR 14,780,400 or HK$13,436 (US$1,730). In October, the minimum wage for domestic workers rose to HK$4,010.00 (US$517), leaving little left after the monthly fee deduction. And for some it doesn't end there. "If they want more recruitment fees, they'll manipulate it," Muico said, explaining that some recruitment agencies tell employers to terminate their workers after seven months so they can be placed with another employer, with a new set of fees. Nowhere to go . The pressure to repay their recruitment fees prevents many domestic workers from leaving abusive employers, the report said. Stories of the mistreatment of foreign domestic workers aren't too hard to find in Hong Kong. Recently, an extreme example made headlines when a couple was jailed for subjecting their Indonesian helper to "cruel" and "vicious" abuse. The court heard Kartika Puspitasari, 30, was whipped with bicycle chains and bound with cables during her two-year contract. READ MORE: Despite abuses, foreign domestic workers flock to Hong Kong . Under Hong Kong law, it's illegal for domestic workers to live-out so they sleep in their employers' flats. No limits are imposed on daily work hours, though they're entitled to 24 hours off each week, usually on a Sunday, when thousands gather in public areas in Hong Kong to catch up with friends. Standard duties include cleaning, general household chores and childcare, but some report having to work, illegally, in employers' businesses. One woman told Amnesty she'd been told she'd be taking care of an elderly woman. Instead, she had to carry vegetables at a market and sort trash. "Without gloves, I had to pick through the rubbish to find items that could be recycled. I then carried them, which were often very heavy, to a center where I could sell them. It was truly horrible work, but I remained because I needed to pay off my recruitment fees," she said. What needs to be done . Amnesty has called on both governments to do more to stop unscrupulous recruiters, end the requirement for workers to live-in and make it easier for them to seek help. Both Hong Kong and Indonesia say they've taken steps to clampdown on recruiters, and they're already distributing information letting domestic helpers know how and when to file a complaint. In its statement to CNN, the Hong Kong Labour Department said in 2012 it revoked two employment agency licenses, one of which was due to overcharging. It added: "The issue of overcharging Indonesian domestic helpers of agency fees back in Indonesia is beyond our jurisdiction and should be tackled at source by the country of origin." The Indonesian consulate said it had an annual system for evaluating and accrediting agencies in Hong Kong. Since 2009, it said 26 agencies had "received punishments for their misconducts," ranging from warnings, to suspensions and cancellation of licenses. And as of June, 190 employers had been banned from hiring domestic workers, it added. Amnesty International said it's not enough. "We need to see current laws enforced and people face justice for the exploitation. Only then will we start to see an end to forced labor from Indonesia to Hong Kong," Muico said.

Amnesty report claims Indonesia, Hong Kong ignoring problem of unscrupulous recruiters . Says Indonesian domestic workers being overcharged, underpaid with little or no recourse . Hong Kong, Indonesia say they're committed to helping foreign domestic workers . Amnesty says huge fees prevent many workers from leaving abusive employers .

ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar and Martin Scorsese have "demanded the immediate release" of fellow filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was arrested in Switzerland on a U.S. arrest warrant related to a 1977 child sex charge. A supporter displays a "free Polanski" tag on his shirt during the Zurich Film Festival. They were among 138 people in the film industry who signed a petition against the arrest. Polanski was on the way to the Zurich Film Festival when Swiss police detained him in response to the American warrant. The filmmaker pleaded guilty in 1977 to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but fled before he could be sentenced. He settled in France, where he holds citizenship. Investigators in the United States say Polanski, then 43, drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl. The filmmakers objected to his being arrested en route to the film festival, which held a tribute to him this year. "It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him," said the petition, backed by France's Societe des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers). "The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance ... opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects," said the signatories, who also included actresses Monica Bellucci and Tilda Swinton and directors David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, John Landis, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Wim Wenders. In the United States, powerhouse movie producer Harvey Weinstein is trying to recruit more supporters for Polanksi. "We are calling every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation," his company told CNN in a statement. Polanski has filed an appeal against his extradition to the United States, Swiss authorities said. They added that they would act on the case within weeks. Polanski won an Academy Award for Best Director in 2003 for "The Pianist." He was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for "Tess" and "Chinatown," and Best Writing for "Rosemary's Baby," which he also directed. See examples of Polanski's work » . On Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that he hoped authorities would respect Polanski's rights "and that the affair [will] come to a favorable resolution," the ministry said in a statement. The French culture and communications minister, Frederic Mitterrand, said he "learned with astonishment" of Polanski's arrest and expressed solidarity with Polanski's family. Polanski, 76, was arrested Saturday on his arrival at Zurich's airport. A provisional arrest warrant had been issued last week out of Los Angeles, California, after authorities learned that he was going to be in Switzerland, Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, said Sunday. In a written statement, Polanski's California counsel said Monday that "an issue related to the Swiss extradition matter is presently being litigated before the California Court of Appeal. We had hoped that this would be determinative of this case." "We were unaware of any extradition being sought, and separate counsel will be retained for those proceedings." The lawyers -- Douglas Dalton, Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton -- said prior deputy district attorneys had told them that no efforts were being made to extradite Polanski, who "owned a home in Switzerland for many years and worked throughout Europe during that time." There have been repeated attempts to settle the case over the years, but the sticking point has always been Polanski's refusal to return to the United States to attend hearings. Prosecutors have consistently argued that it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow a man who "drugged and raped a 13-year-old child" to go free. The Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was "in provisional detention." But whether he can be extradited to the United States "can be established only after the extradition process judicially has been finalized," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer said in an e-mail. "It is possible to appeal at the federal penal court of justice against an arrest warrant in view to extradition as well as against an extradition decision," Balmer wrote. "Their decisions can be taken further to the federal court of justice." Gibbons said the extradition process will be determined in Switzerland but said authorities are ready to move forward with Polanski's sentencing, depending on what happens in Zurich. Polanski was accused of plying the teenage girl with champagne and a sliver of a Quaalude tablet and performing various sex acts, including intercourse, with her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house. Nicholson was not at home. Polanski's lawyers tried this year to have the charges thrown out, but a judge in Los Angeles rejected the request. However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza left the door open to reconsider his ruling if Polanski shows up in court. Espinoza also appeared to acknowledge problems with the way the director's case was originally handled. According to court documents, Polanski, his lawyer and the prosecutor thought they'd worked out a deal that would spare Polanski from prison and let the young victim avoid a public trial. But the original judge in the case, who is now dead, first sent the director to maximum-security prison for 42 days while he underwent psychological testing. Then, on the eve of his sentencing, the judge told attorneys he was inclined to send Polanski back to prison for another 48 days. Polanski fled the United States for France, where he was born. In the February hearing, Espinoza mentioned a documentary film, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," that depicts backroom deals between prosecutors and a media-obsessed judge who was worried his image would suffer if he didn't send Polanski to prison. The documentary was first broadcast in June 2008. "It's hard to contest some of the behavior in the documentary was misconduct," Espinoza said. But he declined to dismiss the case. Polanski's victim long ago came forward and made her identity public, mainly saying she was disturbed by how the criminal case had been handled. Samantha Geimer, now 45 and a married mother of three, sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement. She is among those calling for the case to be tossed out. In court papers filed in January, she said, "I am no longer a 13-year-old child. I have dealt with the difficulties of being a victim, have surmounted and surpassed them with one exception. "Every time this case is brought to the attention of the court, great focus is made of me, my family, my mother and others. That attention is not pleasant to experience and is not worth maintaining over some irrelevant legal nicety, the continuation of the case." CNN's Jennifer Wolfe, Morgan Neill, Frederik Pleitgen, Brooke Bowman, Karan Olson and Ann O'Neill contributed to this report.

NEW: Harvey Weinstein recruiting supporters of Roman Polanski . Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese among group protesting peer's arrest . Acclaimed director was arrested on his way to Zurich Film Festival . Petition: Arrest "opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects"

(CNN) -- Perhaps more important than the newest mystery surrounding CIA contractor Raymond Davis -- who paid the purported seven-figure sum to the Pakistani victims' families who blessed his release from jail? -- will be the political reaction within Pakistan, where the populace is already outraged over Davis' fatal shooting of two men there, analysts said Wednesday. The other potential impact of the "Raymond Davis Affair," as one analyst dubbed it, is whether it will damage diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan, in which Americans depend on Pakistan in fighting terror and the Pakistanis enjoy substantial U.S. aid. "There is the curious question of who made the payment. I suppose it's going to remain a mystery for a while," said Mark Quarterman, director of the Program on Crisis, Conflict, and Cooperation of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "His presence there and the story about his presence were kind of a mystery from the start," Quarterman added. "Now his presence in Pakistan ends with one more curiosity. I think the fallout from this is far from over. It will be interesting to see what the reaction is in Pakistan. It's been the lead story" in media there, he added. Davis was released under a Sharia practice called diyat, or compensation, which is enshrined in Pakistan's penal code and allows victims' families to pardon a murderer with or without being paid "blood money," said the former chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, Saeed U Zaman Saddiqi. Although the origins of the payments in the Davis case are a significant political matter, the more imminent concern is whether average Pakistanis will accept how "blood money" was paid to the victims' families, analysts said. "What we're watching for," analyst Scott Stewart of the online global intelligence firm Stratfor said in a statement, "is to see which way public sentiment rules: whether it will accept this resolution as acceptable or whether they will be outraged and take to the streets." On Wednesday, it wasn't known who paid the compensation to the families, and there were conflicting accounts over how much. A lawyer closely connected to the case said the payment was $1.4 million, but Punjab province law minister Rana Sanaullah said that $2.34 million was paid to the legal heirs by the U.S. government. A U.S. official not authorized to speak for attribution insisted that the release of Davis was a decision made by the Pakistanis and that there was "no quid pro quo" between Washington and Islamabad. It was Pakistani officials who worked with the family in making the arrangements for what is referred to as "blood money," the official said. The United States "did not sit across from the families" to work out an arrangement, but the official acknowledged that there were "interagency discussions and a policy decision" for the United States to agree to the arrangement, the official said. The official said "cooperation continues" between the United States and Pakistan despite the recent controversy. "Flareups happen periodically," the official said, pointing to the Davis incident and the public disclosure of the name of the CIA's chief of station in Islamabad. The U.S. relationship with Pakistan "has evolved over the years" and "increasingly has the ability to withstand these kinds of disagreements," said the official. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said "we are very grateful" for the families' decision, which enabled Davis to leave Pakistan, stressed that the U.S. government didn't pay any compensation to the families, and she wouldn't say whether the Pakistanis or a third party did. "We also have a Department of Justice investigation that has begun into what happened in Lahore. And we've communicated our strong support for the relationship between Pakistan and the United States, which we consider to be of strategic importance," Clinton said during a press conference Wednesday. Analyst Robert Grenier, the former CIA station chief in Islamabad, said the Sharia practice allowed both countries to save face in a difficult controversy. "It had become such a huge domestic political issue in Pakistan, and both sides had a very strong interest in finding some way out of the corner that they had been painted into," Grenier said. In recent years, the U.S. government has compensated families accidentally injured during counterinsurgency warfare, said Grenier, who's now chairman of ERG Partners, a financial advisory firm in Westport, Connecticut. "Let's not forget that the U.S. government has frequently paid blood money to people who have fallen victim to collateral damage in Afghanistan and Iraq. So albeit that the details of this case are quite extraordinary and quite different from the usual ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of paying blood money under Sharia is not new," Grenier said. In Highland Park, Colorado, where Davis lives, his wife, Rebecca, defended him in an interview with reporters outside her their home. "I knew it was self-defense. He's not a Rambo as the L.A. Times said," Davis' wife said. "He's not an agent. He's not Jason Bourne. He's not any of these kind of crazy things that have been portrayed of him." After being released from jail where he had been held since January, Davis was taken to Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, where he was resting and receiving a medical exam, said the U.S. official who asked not to be identified. Sanaullah, the Punjab province law minister, first told Pakistani media Wednesday that the victims' families did not want to press charges and added that Davis would be free to go. The statement came just hours after the American was charged with murder in connection with January shootings that left two Pakistani men dead. Sanaullah later said that $1,169,500 was paid to 11 legal heirs of one victim and the same amount was paid to eight legal heirs of the others. The court asked the legal heirs whether there was any pressure on them to make this agreement, and they told the court that they forgave Davis on their own free will, Sanaullah said. Davis claimed self-defense in the shootings and asserted the two men attacked him as he drove through a busy Lahore neighborhood, but Lahore Police Chief Aslam Tareen said "it was clear-cut murder." Many Pakistanis wanted Davis to be tried, and hard-line Pakistani clerics demanded that their government not release Davis to the U.S. government. On Wednesday, Davis appeared in the Lahore court after the payment was made and was acquitted of the charges, in accordance with diyat, said the lawyer closely connected to the case. The court released Davis from two cases, the double murder and the carrying of an illegal gun. In the gun charge, the court fined Davis $250 and credited him with time served in jail, Sanaullah said. The amount of diyat was not paid in front of the court to the legal heirs because the court needs only affidavits from the legal heirs saying that they have pardoned the accused, Sanaullah said. Carmela Conroy, the U.S. consul general in Lahore, escorted Davis after his release, Sanaullah said. The United States had been seeking the release of Davis from a Lahore jail on the grounds that he has diplomatic immunity. U.S. officials originally said Davis was a diplomat and later revealed that he is a CIA contractor, intensifying the already highly charged situation. CNN's Pam Benson and Adam Levine and journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report.

CIA contractor Raymond Davis was charged with killing two Pakistani men . He was released after a purported seven-figure sum was paid to victims' families . "Blood money" is allowed under a Sharia practice called diyat, or compensation .

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Even in the darkest, deadliest days of Iraq's war, you'd find people still hopeful it would all work out. That the killings would stop, the bad guys would be routed and a stability of some sort would return. That the Americans would leave with their Humvees and their private security companies and the country would -- perhaps -- get on with the freedom the U.S. promised upon Saddam Hussein's removal. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised as much, and pledged an inclusive system for all. Power-sharing politics and making all Iraqis -- Sunni, Shia, Christian -- feel they shared national values. Now, there a plenty of Iraqis who believe he had his fingers crossed when he said such things. Just over two years ago, I watched as the last of 110 or so U.S. military vehicles crossed the border from Iraq and into Kuwait -- the same border crossing I'd gone through in at the start of the war in 2003 with a U.S. Marine convoy headed to the Iraqi capital. I've had nearly a dozen trips in between and now here I am, back in Baghdad. The city feels much the same as it did during some of those other trips -- and that's not a good thing. Actually, it feels worse. READ MORE: Are things worse than ever in Iraq? The U.S. departure may have ended the war for Americans, but for Iraqis, the violence, the bombs, the shootings and the torrents of blood barely skipped a beat. A lull here and there, periods of what might (for Iraq) pass for stability, but really, the deaths never stopped. More than 8,000 people were killed here last year, mostly innocent civilians, according to the U.N. The feeling in Baghdad today is one of dread -- dreading the next car bomb or suicide attack or assassination. The city isn't lacking a security presence -- it is awash in it. Two years ago there were checkpoints, but nowhere near the number we've seen these past days, nor were those manning those checkpoints as, let's say, fastidious as they are now. Just moving around the city is an exercise in moving from one checkpoint to the next, each manned by young men who themselves, one imagines, fear the next car could be the last one they ever inspect. Getting around the city is as difficult as ever. Traffic jams are a way of life here, but they seem worse because of the security presence. Check points and police posts are everywhere, but they can't stop every attack -- eight bombs have gone off in Baghdad in the past two days as I write this. READ MORE: 26 killed in bombings in northern Iraq . People have to get on with life, and do the best they can. One target of the terrorists is marketplaces, where locals put their lives on the line just to shop for dinner. Many buildings damaged during the war sit unrepaired, but there are signs of construction too. There's even a mall of sorts being built not far from where we're staying. Many parts of the city retain a tattered feel, like it's a tired city, weary of the tribulations of the last decade. Public services are a problem -- electricity can still be patchy, there's no shortage of roads needing repair, unemployment is high, sewage systems are in desperate need of repair. Iraq's to-do list, despite growing oil revenues, is a long one. In the "bad old days" of, say, 2005-2007, barely a day went by when, sitting in our bureau, we would not hear a boom or gunshots, some dulled by distance, others rattling our windows. One day, a stray bullet pierced one of those windows. Those booms are back. Plenty has been reported about the violence in Ramadi and Fallujah and the resurgence of al-Qaeda linked radicals, but the killing is widespread -- from Mosul in the north to Baghdad to the south of the country. Dr. Ayad Allawi was Iraq's first post-Saddam head of government, serving as interim Prime Minister in 2004 and 2005. Tough as nails, but a committed secularist, he looks at his country today with more than a dose of pessimism. "Unfortunately the country is moving on a sectarian road now," he tells me as we sit in his office, hidden behind blast walls and protected by government and private security. "It was very dangerous to start with, and I warned leaders in the region. (Now) Iraq has started a civil war -- it hasn't reached the point of no return, but if it does then the whole region will burn up." He points the finger of blame in many directions, from Syria to the U.S. to Iran, but mainly at the man who now holds his old job -- Prime Minister al-Maliki. "He doesn't believe in power sharing, he doesn't believe in reconciliation," Allawi says. "He promised to do these things once he became Prime Minister, but in effect he talks against this -- accusing everyone else of being a terrorist, or corrupt, or extremist and so on. "Authoritarian regimes don't work in this country -- we tried this before and it didn't work. No one sect can rule, no one party can rule, no one man can rule -- we want a democratic country but this is not, unfortunately, what this government wants." READ MORE: Zakaria on why Iraq is in turmoil . There is no shortage of those who also point to al-Maliki, a Shia Muslim, and his sectarian brand of governing and say his alienation of Sunnis is why al Qaeda-linked fighters could reappear so easily to once again wreak havoc. Extremists thrive on disaffection, and there is plenty of that in Anbar and Mosul and other places. Allawi is also unhappy with the U.S., saying they have made a "huge mistake" by supporting al-Maliki without also turning the screws on him to engage Sunni leaders and include them in a meaningful way in the running of the country. "They can support al-Maliki -- that's up to them," he says. "But they should clarify to him that their support is conditional on inclusivity of the political process and respecting the constitution and respecting human rights." I suggest to him that the Americans have of late been applying some of that pressure, but he disagrees. "Of course the Americans are not doing this," he says. "I don't know if they are pushing, frankly speaking -- I do believe they may pay lip service, but they don't fully use the influence they have as friends of Mr. al-Maliki." Over the course of more than a dozen trips to Iraq since the war began, I've always encountered angry Iraqis -- angry at the American troops, angry at the lack of services, angry at the insurgents and the sectarian bloodletting. But on this visit, I've found a hardening of attitudes right down the sectarian line -- Shias who feel Sunnis are al Qaeda-supporting extremists, and Sunnis who tell terrible tales of persecution, exclusion and fear of being detained based on their religion alone. The moderates who wish to embrace their fellow Iraqi, regardless of sect, are becoming harder to find.

CNN's Michael Holmes returns to Iraq for first time in 2 years . Holmes: Mood in Baghdad is one of dread over where next bomb will go off . Public services are spotty and deadly bombings are daily occurrence across country . Former Prime Minister tells CNN Iraq seems stuck on path to sectarian war .

(CNN) -- Luci Baines Johnson was just 16 years old when she approached her father, President Johnson, with what she considered a reasonable request. Luci Baines Johnson, left, and her older sister, Lynda Bird, pose inside the White House in 1963. "I asked my father if we could have the Beatles come to play at the White House," she recalled. "I was very excited about it." His response? A decisive no, "without even any moment of trying to soften the blow," Johnson said in a recent phone interview. The president thought the move would be viewed as self-serving. His daughter, however, saw it as a chance to honor "a great talent" and strengthen ties between the United States and Great Britain -- not to mention a golden opportunity for her and her friends. "I could see how different sets of folks could have either perspective. And I suspect my father could see that too," she said. Luci Baines Johnson learned quickly of the scrutiny that came from being a first daughter. Her family moved into the White House in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Johnson was catapulted into the exclusive fraternity of White House families and embraced what she describes as a role she landed simply by chance. That fraternity has most recently expanded to include President Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia. "I was an eyewitness to history, over and over, during my father's five years in the White House. And I wasn't elected to that option. I had no qualifications that provided me that privilege except an accident of birth," she said. See famous first kids who grew up in the White House » . Johnson speaks fondly of the opportunity she was afforded to dine with kings and queens, meet the movers and shakers of her time, engage with the body of America and hold a front-row seat to history. While most of her memories fall into two categories -- "the fond personal memories" and "the fond memories of public privilege" -- there's one in particular that was a combination of both. "My 17th birthday, I received a handwritten note from my father, the only handwritten note I have, telling me how much he loves me and how much he has delighted in having me as his daughter for all those 17 years," she said. The note was dated noon, July 2, 1964. Six hours later, in the East Room of the White House, Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination based on race or gender in public places, schools and places of employment. "Can you imagine ever receiving a more momentous, glorious, exciting, thrilling birthday present that lasted forever and ever than something like that, that would change the world for all time and make it a much more decent place? That took place on my birthday," she said. Life in the White House, however, came at a cost. Johnson and the first children before and after her will always have to "pay a big price in terms of personal time," she said. More than 45 years after she moved into the White House, she still receives requests for interviews about the time she spent there. But the public's interest in first daughters is nothing new. Fanny Hayes, for example, who was about the same age as Malia when she moved into the White House in 1877, was followed by the media until the day she died. "She was an American celebrity," said presidential historian Doug Wead. While the interest in first daughters has stayed steady, the pressure on the children has intensified, said Wead, author of "All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families." "It's like the Miss America contest -- it's a real dilemma for the daughter of a president. She's supposed to be gracious. She's mocked and ridiculed if she isn't pretty," he said. When Chelsea Clinton was just 13 years old, for example, she was ridiculed in a 1993 "Saturday Night Live" sketch that declared her "not a babe." Actor Mike Myers later apologized, and the skit was cut from replays of the show. Amy Carter, who was 9 when she moved into the White House, was also mocked for her appearance and for her poor manners, after she pulled out a book during a state dinner. Her parents enrolled her in public school, illuminating the already bright spotlight on her. An infamous photograph of her first day at school shows the young girl with her head hanging low, carrying a Snoopy book bag and surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi. To this date, no other presidential children have attended public school. But other presidential children have taken on power roles in their fathers' administrations. Anna Roosevelt, for example, was a "super aide" to Franklin D. Roosevelt during his last year in office, Wead said, describing her as a combination of a personal secretary and chief of staff, not to mention popular in the public eye. And Alice Roosevelt, a fashion icon who was known to have quite the rebellious streak, also played a pivotal role for her father, Theodore Roosevelt. She went on an around-the-world junket for the purposes of American foreign policy -- a move that diverted attention from her father's efforts to bring about a peace treaty in the Russo-Japanese War, Wead said. The president later won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on various peace treaties. Under the administration that followed, William Taft's daughter became one of the unsung heroes of women's rights, Wead said. Taft credited his daughter, Helen, for helping to change his mind about women's suffrage. But for all presidential children, Wead said, there remains a lifelong battle of seeking approval from their fathers while struggling to carve their own identities. Many presidential daughters have gone on to author books about their time in White House, in what Wead describes as an attempt to restore their fathers' reputations. "It's like sitting in front of a big window ... and seeing a billboard with misspelled words on it. It's just irritating," he said. "And the writing of a book, if it doesn't change history, it is a purifying experience for the child." Susan Ford Bales once told the San Francisco Chronicle that while in the White House, "I kept thinking, I want to be normal. But I can't be normal. .... Everyone was watching. It was like living out loud." But Ford also cashed in on some of the perks of her high-profile position and took Alice Roosevelt's advice to "have one hell of a good time." Ford roller-skated through the White House, held her prom in the East Room and scored VIP treatment at concerts -- including a backstage pass to see Rod Stewart. (That move ignited the public's interest in her, sparking rumors that she and Stewart were engaged.) Johnson said that some of the best advice she received while in the White House was to just recognize that she couldn't change things or make the attention go away. "There are inevitably going to be moments when you feel like the pressures of the goldfish bowl seem unfair or more than you can bear, but so are the opportunities to learn, to understand, to grow, to love, to make friends, to witness," she said. "I describe it as the best of times and sometimes the worst of times, but whatever the times, it was a time of extraordinary privilege."

Luci Johnson describes being a first daughter as an "extraordinary privilege" It was "the best of times and sometimes the worst of times," she says . First daughters often followed by media for remainder of their lives . The pressure on first daughters has intensified over the years, historian says .

(CNN)Juergen Todenhoefer's journey was a tough one: dangerous, but also eye-opening. The author traveled deep into ISIS territory -- the area they now call their "caliphate" -- visiting Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in Syria, as well as Mosul in Iraq. Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, was taken by ISIS in a Blitzkrieg-like sweep in June. Todenhoefer managed to visit the mosque there where the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, gave his only public address. And he saw the realities of daily life under ISIS, with all shops having to close for prayers in the middle of the day. "There is an awful sense of normalcy in Mosul," Todenhoefer said in an exclusive interview with CNN. "130,000 Christians have been evicted from the city, the Shia have fled, many people have been murdered and yet the city is functioning and people actually like the stability that the Islamic State has brought them." Nonetheless, he says, there is an air of fear among residents: "Of course many of the them are quite scared, because the punishment for breaking the Islamic State's strict rules is very severe." According to ISIS's leadership, the group's fighters managed to take Mosul with only about 300 men, even though more than 20,000 Iraqi army soldiers were stationed there when the attack was launched. Todenhoefer spoke with several ISIS fighters who took part in the operation. "It took us about four days to take Mosul," a young fighter told him. "So you were only about 300 men and you defeated 20,000 troops in four days?" Todenhoefer asked. "Well, we didn't attack them all at once, we hit their front lines hard, also using suicide attacks. Then the others fled very quickly," the fighter explained. "We fight for Allah, they fight for money and other things that they do not really believe in." Glow in their eyes . Todenhoefer told CNN the enthusiasm the ISIS militants showed was one thing that stood out. "When we stayed at their recruitment house, there were 50 new fighters who came every day," Todenhoefer said. "And I just could not believe the glow in their eyes. They felt like they were coming to a promised land, like they were fighting for the right thing. "These are not stupid people. One of the people we met had just finished his law degree, he had great job offers, but he turned them down to go and fight ... We met fighters from Europe and the United States. One of them was from New Jersey. Can you imagine a man from New Jersey traveling to fight for the Islamic State?" He went on to say that one of ISIS's main points of strength is their fighters' willingness -- even their will -- to die on the battlefield. Todenhoefer met one somewhat overweight recruit in a "safe house" who said he wears a suicide belt to every battle because he is too chubby to run away if he is cornered and would choose to blow himself up, rather than be captured. ISIS also has a track record of abusing, torturing and executing prisoners of war. Todenhoefer was briefly able to speak to a Kurdish captive while in Mosul. The captive claimed he had not been tortured, but Todenhoefer said he found that hard to believe. "This was a broken man," Todenhoefer said. "It was very sad to see a person in this state. He was just very weak and very afraid of his captors." Todenhoefer conducted the interview with the prisoner while several ISIS fighters stood guard. He asked the man whether he knew what would happen to him. "I do not know," the captive told him. "My family does not even know I am still alive. I hope that maybe there will be some sort of prisoner exchange." Child ISIS fighters . Todenhoefer was also taken to see child soldiers outfitted with Islamic State gear and brandishing AK-47s. One of the boys seemed very young but claimed he had already gone to battle for ISIS. "How old are you?" Todenhoefer asked. "I am 13 years old," the boy replied -- though he looked even younger than that. One of the most remarkable episodes of Todenhoefer's trip to the ISIS-controlled region came when he was able to conduct an interview with a German fighter who spoke on behalf of ISIS's leadership. The man -- clearly unapologetic about the group's transgressions -- vowed there was more to come; he also issued a warning to Europe and the United States. "So you also want to come to Europe?" Todenhoefer asked him. "No, we will conquer Europe one day," the man said. "It is not a question of if we will conquer Europe, just a matter of when that will happen. But it is certain ... For us, there is no such thing as borders. There are only front lines. "Our expansion will be perpetual ... And the Europeans need to know that when we come, it will not be in a nice way. It will be with our weapons. And those who do not convert to Islam or pay the Islamic tax will be killed." Todenhoefer asked the fighter about their treatment of other religions, especially Shia Muslims. "What about the 150 million Shia, what if they refuse to convert?" Todenhoefer asked. "150 million, 200 million or 500 million, it does not matter to us," the fighter answered. "We will kill them all." Beheadings . The interview became testy when they reached the topic of beheadings and enslavement, especially of female captives. "So do you seriously think that beheadings and enslavement actually signal progress for humanity?" Todenhoefer asked. "Slavery absolutely signals progress," the man said. "Only ignorant people believe that there is no slavery among the Christians and the Jews. Of course there are woman who are forced into prostitution under the worst circumstances. "I would say that slavery is a great help to us and we will continue to have slavery and beheadings, it is part of our religion ... many slaves have converted to Islam and have then been freed." The ISIS spokesman blamed the beheading of captured Western journalists and aid workers on the policies of the United States. "People should really think about the case of James Foley," he said. "He did not get killed because we started the battle. He got killed because of the ignorance of his government that did not give him any help." Even with recent gains by Kurdish forces against ISIS in northern Iraq, Todenhoefer sees the extremist group as entrenched, building state institutions, and that it shows no sign of losing its grip in the main areas it controls in Iraq and Syria. "I think the Islamic State is a lot more dangerous than Western leaders realize," he said. "They believe in what they are fighting for and are preparing the largest religious cleansing campaign the world has ever seen."READ MORE: Fighting for Kobani -- from a distance . READ MORE: Pentagon now calling ISIS "DAESH" READ MORE: ISIS: Enslaving 'unbelieving' women OK .

German journalist and author Juergen Todenhoefer journeyed deep into ISIS territory . He interviewed ISIS fighters, prisoners, and members of the public caught up in the battle for Iraq and Syria . One ISIS spokesman told Todenhofer: "slavery and beheadings [are] part of our religion" ISIS "preparing the largest religious cleansing campaign the world has ever seen," says Todenhoefer .

Washington (CNN) -- At a gathering of his safety-minded peers, John Lee had a confession to make. Last month, while driving to Madison, Wisconsin, Lee glanced down to review a playlist on his car's MP3 player. He scrolled through the titles, looking for Bruce Springsteen songs, "wanting to avoid the Adele songs that my wife had put there." Then Lee looked up... and continued driving. There was no crash. No one died. Unremarkable? Lee doesn't think so. Lee, an expert at human-machine interactions at the University of Wisconsin, had just co-authored a paper titled "Scrolling While Driving." And despite his own heightened awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, he had spent three to five seconds with his eyes off the road, a time lapse that placed him well into the danger zone. The incident, he said, demonstrated the insidious creep of distracting technology into the automobile. "It seems like the old technology," he said of his car's audio system. "It seems like a radio. But it isn't." And if Lee -- who has forsworn cell phone and text messaging in his car -- can be lulled into a distracting experience, anybody can, he said. "I've been very well-trained to the dangers of distraction, and yet I'm vulnerable," he said. Lee's anecdote at a National Transportation Safety Board all-day forum Tuesday hit upon two themes -- the invasion of pernicious technology in automobiles and the precious few seconds it takes to go from an attentive driver to a distracted one. Lee and a panel of experts said that any distraction of two seconds or longer significantly increases the likelihood of a crash. Novice drivers are 16 times more likely to take a dangerous glance inside the vehicle than experienced drivers, the experts said, citing one study. And the risk of a crash increases "four-fold" if a driver was on the phone, regardless of whether they were using a hand-held or a hands-free device, they said. Some agreement; some dispute . The forum comes at a time when the NTSB and the Department of Transportation are at odds over just how far the government should go to restrict digital devices in cars. The Department of Transportation is recommending that states ban the use of handheld cell phones and text messaging devices. But the NTSB wants to take it a step further, banning the use of hands-free devices, except those that aid driving. "Things that are hands-free are distracting too," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "We'd like to see requirements and standards that look at all distractions, not just the manipulative or the visual distractions, but recognizing that there's a cognitive distraction," she said. Experts call it "looking but not seeing." "The issue of cognitive distraction seems to have been left off the table -- forgotten a little bit," she said. Distractions everywhere . Driver distractions are hardly new, safety board members and panels acknowledged. Everything from billboards, to beautiful scenery, to pretty girls, have distracted drivers since the advent of automobiles, they said. But new texting technology creates a "perfect storm" of activities that create danger, prompting users to look and engage. In addition to taking a driver's eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, texting devices can engage people's minds so that they're paying less attention to the task of driving, the experts said. And the technology is evolving faster than its impact can be appreciated, Lee said. "The pace of change is daunting. The pace of change far outstrips the pace of regulatory response," he explained. An often-quoted study on distracted driving known as the "100 car study" was conducted in 2003 and 2004 -- before the introduction of Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), the iPhone (2007), and iPhone apps (2008), Lee said. Driver distraction is a growing contributor to U.S. traffic fatalities, said Jeff Caird of the University of Calgary. In 1999, there were 4,563 distracted driving fatalities, accounting for 10.9% of all fatalities. In 2008, there were 5,870 distraction fatalities, 15.8% of the total. But police reports are not a reliable source of information for the cause of distracted driving accidents, said Anne McCartt of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The cause of accidents is frequently not reported, and there are very large differences across the states, McCartt said. The best studies, she said, used phone records to determine if drivers were possibly distracted at the time of a crash, she said. Cell phones vs. conversations . Cell phones are more distracting than conversing with passengers, said Donald Fisher of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A passenger is "an extra set of eyes," and can moderate their conversation during challenging driving periods, unlike a person on a phone, Fisher said. They can serve as a collision avoidance system, "pointing out hazards and screaming in the extreme case," said Lee. Passengers can be distracting too, said Caird. Some modulate conversations; some don't, he said. But for all the study on distracting driving, a lot is still unknown, the experts said. Experts, for example, don't know to what extent drivers self-regulate, confining dialing and texting to less dangerous times, such as at stop lights. And they don't know whether people who choose to buy hands-free devices differ from those who use hand-held devices, and how that may impact test results. But experts at the NTSB forum say distractions of two seconds or more appear to divide safe driving from dangerous driving. The challenge, they said, was getting drivers to understand just how fleeting two seconds is. Fighting fire with fire . The experts say the solution to technological distraction may be technology itself. Already, smart phones have applications that can regulate use, restricting the use of cell phones or texting services while the device is moving, for instance. Industry has become a major force, using dashboard cameras to keep tabs on fleet drivers. Increasingly, new cars are equipped with collision warning systems. And those systems are becoming more sophisticated. At the University of Iowa's National Advanced Driving Simulator, scientists have tested a seat belt that tightens to warn the driver of a possible crash. "What we've learned is that auditory displays can be a nuisance," said Daniel McGehee, of the NADS lab. "They are annoying. They alert other passengers that something is going on and that's embarrassing to the driver." However, a seatbelt that tightens, a vibrating seat or a pulsing brake are "very driver-centric." "The driver can say, 'Oops, something's going on here' and sort of reorient their attention." Back to those play lists . In John Lee's study, 50 people searched for songs on playlists of varying lengths using either an MP3 player or an aftermarket controller while driving on a simulator. The results: searching through long playlists containing 580 songs resulted in poor driving performance and required long glances of two seconds or more. "Drivers did not adequately adapt their behavior to roadway demand, as evident in their degraded driving performance," his study concludes. Lee says he now knows that from scientific research and from personal experience. CNN's Lizzie O'Leary contributed to this report.

Experts say a distraction of more than 2 seconds is dangerous . The NTSB wants to ban use of hands-free devices in cars . Cell phones are more distracting than talking to passengers, experts say .

(CNN) -- After scathing criticism from the son of slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, police in Los Angeles, California, have apologized for including the clothes the senator was wearing when killed in an exhibit of high-profile homicide cases. The clothing -- a shirt, tie and jacket, with what appears to be bloodstains on the shirt -- was removed from the exhibit, "Behind-The-Scenes: The LAPD Homicide Experience," at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley and Police Chief Charlie Beck, in an open letter Thursday, apologized to any other victims' family members who might have been offended by the other items in the exhibit, running Tuesday through Thursday at the California Homicide Investigators Association's 2010 conference. "Based on the feedback we have received, it is now clear that a few of the items on display have offended some crime victims' families," the letter said. "We have both been to hundreds of murder scenes in our law enforcement career and we have consoled many family members. It was never our intent to cause grief to victims of crime or their families." In a statement issued last month, the LAPD had billed the exhibit as "a glimpse into some of the most notable homicides and critical incidents that occurred in Los Angeles over the past 100 years." "It's about the history of Los Angeles, as told through the eyes of homicide investigators of the Los Angeles Police Department," Beck said Tuesday on CNN's "Larry King Live." "This is an opportunity for homicide investigators from all over the country to get together, to share ideas, to share best practices and to talk about some of the most famous cases in Los Angeles history, as well as their current cases." But in an opinion piece in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times newspaper, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, son of the late senator, called the display of his father's clothing "a cheap bid for attention." "The chief of police and the district attorney took my father's blood-soaked clothing and displayed it, as part of a macabre publicity stunt," he wrote. "It is almost incomprehensible to imagine what circumstances would have led to a decision to transport these items across state lines to be gawked at by gamblers and tourists. It is demeaning to my family, but just as important, it is demeaning to the trust that citizens place in their law enforcement officers." The exhibit also features evidence associated with the death of Marilyn Monroe, the 1963 "onion field" case in which LAPD Officer Ian Campbell was slain, the O.J. Simpson and Charles Manson cases, and the so-called "Black Dahlia" murder, according to the LAPD statement announcing it. Family members of some victims in those cases told "Larry King Live" the LAPD should have notified them about the exhibit. "From my perspective, it's very disturbing," said Debra Tate, sister of actress Sharon Tate, slain along with six others in 1969 by the Manson family killers. "Number 1, I didn't get any notice that this was going to occur. But these are very personal artifacts to me. These are things that bring back horrible memories, not only for myself, but other Manson family victims." The items include ropes used in the murders of Tate and others, and a fork used to stab one of the victims, said retired LAPD Sgt. Glynn Martin, the curator of the exhibit. "We certainly try to concern ourselves with the thoughts and concerns of victims, and certainly our hearts go out to them," Martin told King. "... Likewise, we have an obligation, both as a museum and then the bigger one as the police department, to train, educate and inform officers and the public about people that do this particular job of investigating people that have lost their lives." Debra Tate said she can see the educational value, and might consider seeing the exhibit, but "I think a little bit of notice for people to prepare themselves would have been very, very nice." Also featured are the bloody gloves from the Simpson trial and a watch cap collected as evidence, Martin said. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. "Had we been given a little bit of notice, it would have been easier to avert your eyes," Goldman's sister, Kim, told "Larry King Live." "... I think there is an educational value, and I understand that." But, she said, "it just comes back to sensitivity." "If we've offended anybody, certainly we extend our apologies to them," Martin said. "But the intent here is to inform and educate, with the idea that we're going to serve a greater public good." The exhibit opened to the public Wednesday, and "thousands of guests have stood in lines for up to two hours to glimpse Los Angeles' history," said the letter from Cooley and Beck. "A number of the exhibits show evidence that was collected during various well-known incidents, and they were carefully designed so visitors would gain a better appreciation for the tragedy of murder and the difficult jobs law enforcement detectives have in solving often very complicated cases," the letter said. "Murder is the absolute worst thing one human being can do to another and the displays were designed to provide a unique insight into the sacrifice of victims and their families as well as the emotional toll murder takes on homicide detectives and the district attorneys who prosecute the cases." "Homicide is by nature horrific, but the entertainment media often portrays it as sterile and benign," the letter said. "When people see the reality of murder, it becomes an unthinkable act." The exhibit "was designed to be educational and show the public how murder cases are very carefully investigated," the letter said. Kennedy was a New York senator running for president when he was shot to death in June 1968 at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel, shortly after declaring victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. His killer, Sirhan Sirhan, is serving a life sentence at a California prison. In his op-ed, Maxwell Kennedy said that he had contacted Beck and that he was pleased the chief had agreed to remove the items. "When I called to express my surprise and disappointment, the chief maintained to me that hanging my dad's bloody shirt from a mannequin in a casino was part of an effort to train detectives," he wrote. "Perhaps he believes that, but to me it seems like a cheap bid for attention. It is almost like a traffic cop inviting motorists to slow down and take a good look as they go past a tragedy." The California Constitution guarantees crime victims and their families will be treated with dignity and respect, he wrote. And as a former assistant district attorney, Maxwell Kennedy said, "I understand that proper storage of property and legal evidence is a critical part of the judicial process." He said he requested the return of his father's clothing nearly 10 years ago, and the district attorney's office refused, but he was promised the items would be treated with care and kept out of the public view. Beck, he wrote, should remember that "such items are personal property, entrusted to the state's care, not to be exploited. He relies on crime victims to prosecute virtually every criminal. He cannot long succeed if he continues to put victims' pain on display for publicity."

LAPD apologizes after son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy objects to Las Vegas display . Tie, jacket, shirt senator wearing when slain removed from exhibit . Chief calls exhibit, which includes evidence from other high-profile crimes, educational . In editorial, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy calls clothing display "a macabre publicity stunt"

(CNN) -- One was the archetypal military strongman, intent on maintaining the social order and saving his country from "catastrophe." The other was a charismatic shipyard electrician and trade union leader who was just as determined to lead his countrymen to freedom. Wojciech Jaruzelski and Lech Walesa attend the first multi-party session of the Polish parliament in 1989. Yet nowadays Wojciech Jaruzelski, the last leader of communist Poland, and Lech Walesa both claim, in their different ways, to have played their part in setting Poland on the path to democracy. The rise of Solidarity, the union and social movement which Walesa founded among the dockers of Gdansk in 1980, was crucial to the ultimate collapse of communism in Poland and across the Soviet bloc. Feted in the West, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 after spending nearly a year locked up as Jaruzelski clamped down on dissent, becoming a symbol of a rising tide of resentment behind the Iron Curtain. By 1989, Solidarity had become an unstoppable social movement, sweeping to victory as the communist authorities relinquished their grip on power by allowing free elections. Walesa describes the union as a screw turning in the opposite direction to the communist regime, ultimately "destroying the engine." "The system was 10 times less efficient than the western system," Walesa told CNN, recalling his decade-long struggle. "It paid less, life was worse. Each country enslaved by the Soviets was different and in Poland we had TV and people could travel so we knew life could be better... and we'd never given up." But Jaruzelski still believes that without his decision to impose martial law in 1981, Poland's revolt against Soviet domination would have been as ruthlessly and violently quashed by Moscow as had those in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. "For me personally it was a great tragedy, the consequences of which I've felt to this day," Jaruzelski told CNN. "Martial law was evil. But it was less evil than the real and inevitable threat we were facing. There was a threat of an explosion -- and an explosion in Poland would have meant an explosion throughout Europe." As a key link in the Soviet Union's chain of Eastern European satellite states, Jaruzelski believes Moscow would never have allowed Poland to break away peacefully: "I feared a terrible catastrophe. If martial law had not happened, Poland might have been flooded by a sea of blood." Walesa admits the threat of Soviet intervention in the early 1980s was real, but says Solidarity had already won the argument against communism by the time Jaruzelski imposed martial law. "I knew we were not going to fight," he said. "Because in Poland there were over 200,000 Soviet troops, they had nuclear arms, and they shot better than us. We could conquer them only this way: You can arrest us, but when we come out we do the same, and we will never work for communism again." Even his arrest and imprisonment only deepened Walesa's belief that Jaruzelski's government could be toppled: "My friends advised me to run away but I made a different decision. When they came to arrest me, I said, 'You have lost, I have won. You have just put the last nails into the coffin of communism.'" These days Jaruzelski is no defender of the system which he served, describing communism as "beautiful and noble, but utopian." Yet he believes Solidarity's demands in the early 1980s amounted to an "economic time bomb" and that Poland was not ready for democracy at the time. "The system was bad, I admit it today," he said. "But at the time, I wasn't aware of that. Everything has to ripen -- corn, fruit, man and societies. Western countries took centuries to arrive at democracy. Except for six or seven years after World War I Poland had never been democratic so it was a difficult process." The Polish authorities also realized the urgency of economic and political reform, Jaruzelski adds, and had already begun the process before the Round Table talks with Solidarity in 1989 that led to elections. "It was a difficult and painful process for both sides," he said. "I can talk primarily of the government side, and what huge resistance I had to overcome among the people who were in power -- in the party, in the state, the army and the security apparatus." Both men pay tribute to outside forces which made the leap to democracy possible. For Jaruzelski, Mikhail Gorbachev's emergence in the Kremlin marked a "breakthrough moment" in which the threat of Soviet military intervention in Poland was lifted, and a possible end to the Cold War loomed into sight. Walesa and Jaruzelski also acknowledge the unique role of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II and the Catholic church in brokering peaceful talks between the two sides. For Jaruzelski, though, the fall of communism was not the product of Solidarity alone or a single summer of upheaval but "a great river made up of numerous streams." "Nobody should monopolize that victory," he said. "Because in this stream there was Gorbachev; there was Reagan and then Bush, who caused the weakening of the Soviet Union by the arms race; there was Solidarity; there was the pope, and there were also -- which I will say without humbleness -- the reformists within the authorities at the time." Both Jaruzelski and Walesa paint themselves as reluctant leaders. Jaruzelski describes his decision to become Polish prime minister as "one of the greatest mistakes of my life," while Walesa, who was elected Polish president in 1990, says it was never his wish to lead his country -- "but who else could have done it?" Jaruzelski remains a divisive figure in modern Poland, derided by many as a living symbol of an oppressive past and occasionally summoned to court rooms to answer charges relating to his career as a leading servant of the communist regime. "My generation, which remembers those times and can evaluate them in a balanced way, is passing away," he said. "And the new, younger generation, through school, books and TV, are being indoctrinated to be critical of martial law. Still, a large part of the society -- the majority, I think -- considers martial law to have been inevitable and justified." Yet even Jaruzelski says Poles can be "proud" of their role in the downfall of communist regimes across Europe: "The Polish elections preceded the revolutions in Hungary and in Czechoslovakia and the fall of the Berlin Wall. That impulse, that example that came from us, was of great significance and I think it is our great historical tribute." Walesa, unsurprisingly, offers a more direct assessment: "Poland knocked out the teeth of the Soviet bear. Once we had done that, knocking down the Berlin Wall, the Velvet Revolution, all was made possible -- but only once the bear had no teeth." CNN's Claudia Rebaza interviewed Wojciech Jaruzelski. CNN's Fredrik Pleitgen interviewed Lech Walesa.

Former Polish leaders Jaruzelski, Walesa speak to CNN . Jaruzelski was military leader who declared martial law in 1981 . Walesa was leader of Solidarity, first president of post-communist Poland . Both men claim to have played key roles in Poland's transition to democracy .

(CNN) -- When doctors had to remove Aaron Loy's lower legs in November after he contracted meningococcal disease, his parents hoped students at his university would receive protection against it. So far, they're still waiting. Loy, a promising lacrosse and soccer player at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), was the victim of an outbreak of meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection that causes bloodstream infections and meningitis. Meanwhile, across the country at Princeton, eight cases of meningitis B were reported last year. Princeton was given special permission to use a new vaccine. Four meningococcal disease cases were reported at UCSB, but the vaccine is not being used there. Some of the UCSB cases were caused by type B bacteria, the same strain as at Princeton, although officials found no link between the two outbreaks. European, Canadian and Australian students have access to a meningitis B vaccine called Bexsero, but the Food and Drug Administration still hasn't approved it for routine use in the United States. Loy's parents hope that will change. "It's absolutely devastating to have Aaron, in the prime of his life, be stricken" with the disease, Mike Loy said previously. "We hope that Aaron's horrific illness brings increased awareness and rapid approval by the FDA of the vaccine" for the type B strain. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a team of scientists to study the outbreak in California in December. It recently amended a letter it wrote to the FDA to get special permission to use the unlicensed vaccine to include UCSB students, but permission has not yet been granted. "You don't go online and order 10,000 doses and get next-day delivery of this vaccine," said Dr. Tom Clark, chief of the CDC's meningitis branch. "It takes time." Fortunately, he said, a meningitis B outbreak moves more slowly than others. "It smolders. You have a bit more time to get everything in place." 8th case of meningitis confirmed at Princeton . In December, the FDA agreed to the CDC's request to give Princeton special permission to bring the vaccine over from Europe to protect its students. The CDC had been carefully monitoring the Princeton cases since the first couple of students had been diagnosed about nine months before. Meningitis B outbreaks are rare but can be deadly, according to the CDC. In 2012, there were 480 cases of bacterial meningitis; some 160 of those were group B, the agency said. There's an approved vaccine for other types of meningitis. There is none for group B, which is the one the CDC describes as "pack(ing) the most powerful punch." College dorms are perfect breeding grounds for an outbreak. This infection of the protective tissue around the spinal cord and brain called the meninges can spread when someone coughs or sneezes. It can spread if people forget to wash their hands or belongings, or through sharing a glass or a kiss. Excessive alcohol use leaves people susceptible to it. And it's tricky, because students who get sick with it may think they merely have flu. Patients experience flu-like symptoms: fever, headache, stiff necks, vomiting and delirium. But if the bacteria spreads to the meninges, patients can suffer hearing loss, permanent neurological damage, and even death. Novartis, the Swiss company that makes the group B vaccine, declined CNN's interview request, but confirmed it is working with the FDA for approval. A press release on its website from December said: "Over the last few weeks, we have been working closely with officials at Princeton and the CDC to put in place a timely and decisive response to the outbreak. This situation serves as a reminder that MenB can strike anyone at any time." Novartis successfully tested the vaccine on almost 8,000 infants, children, adolescents and adults. That qualified the vaccine for a license in European Union last January. Australia approved it in August, and Canada in December. In an e-mail to CNN, the FDA explained it is kept from legally "discussing investigational drug applications." However, the fact that the vaccine hasn't been approved yet has been criticized by at least one former FDA scientist. "The FDA's demands are excessive," said Dr. Henry Miller, the Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Miller spent 15 years at the FDA and founded its office of biotechnology. He has written extensively about his belief that the FDA has gotten "fanatically risk-averse." In the past five years, the FDA has approved only a couple of new vaccines on average every year. But a 2012 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the FDA review time is comparatively faster than Europe's or Canada's. Miller believes the California students could have been vaccinated by now if the FDA had granted accelerated approval. Accelerated approval means the FDA would temporarily allow U.S. use of the vaccine without this extra step involving the CDC letter requesting special permission. Accelerated approval, he said, still leaves the FDA a legal mechanism to withdraw the vaccine. Meningitis outbreak: California students wait for vaccine . "The FDA should have negotiated in good faith for reciprocity with their foreign counterparts," Miller said. Dr. David Gortler, a former FDA senior medical officer and FDA regulatory expert, said vaccine approvals generally require special caution. "When our FDA gives its approval to a drug, this is the gold standard for drug approval in the world," said Gortler, who is now an associate professor of pharmacology and medicine at Georgetown University. If a drug is going to be approved in the United States, he said, there should be "no room for doubt of its clear safety and efficacy." Gortler points to the 1960's Thalidomide scandal as the primary example of why the FDA's strict standards are essential. The morning sickness drug had been approved in the United Kingdom and in Europe, but pregnant women who took Thalidomide had babies with severe birth defects. In the FDA's careful review of the drug, medical officer Dr. Frances Kelsey discovered Thalidomide had never been tested on pregnant animals. Her discovery and her agency's refusal to approve it averted a major public health catastrophe in America. The FDA's drug and vaccine approval process is exhaustive. Pharmaceutical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on testing that can take several years. Scientists must prove vaccines are safe and effective in the lab, in animal tests, and then in larger and larger groups of humans. The companies send the FDA test results throughout the testing phase. Before digital records, Gortler said it took more than one loaded 18-wheeler of paperwork for the FDA review. "It's not an easy process to review such voluminous amounts of data, while simultaneously being mindful to enforce the heavy federal regulations concerning new drug approval in the USA," Gortler said. The FDA is still reviewing the results for the meningitis B vaccine. Novartis, meanwhile, said on its website it is "committed to continuing the dialogue with the FDA to find a licensure pathway to bring a MenB vaccine to the U.S. to fulfill this unmet public health need for the future."

A meningitis B outbreak hit students at Princeton and UCSB . Princeton students got special permission to get unlicensed vaccine, UCSB's still waiting . Vaccine approval is a complicated and time-consuming process .

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will announce the U.S. troop strategy for Afghanistan in a speech at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday. In the speech, Obama will explain why the United States is in Afghanistan, its interests there and his decision-making process, Gibbs said, but "the president does not see this as an open-ended engagement. "Our time there will be limited, and I think that's important for people to understand," he said. "We are in year nine" in Afghanistan, Gibbs told reporters. "We're not going to be there another eight or nine years." Obama will meet with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday afternoon before the speech. Cost issues are among the topics the president will address, Gibbs said. "It's a million dollars a troop for a year," he said. "Ten thousand troops is $10 billion. That's in addition to what we already spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That also does not include training, and it doesn't include the maintaining of a security force. It's very, very, very expensive." But, Gibbs added, "I think the president, throughout this process, has talked about the cost in terms of American lives and in terms of the cost to our treasury, and I think he'll continue to talk about it." The president ordered more than 20,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in March. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, reportedly has called for up to 40,000 more to wage a counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban, the Islamic militia originally ousted by U.S. military action in 2001. Obama has weighed several options for bolstering the American contingent, ranging from sending a few thousand troops to the 40,000 McChrystal requested. A defense official told CNN earlier this week the Pentagon is making detailed plans to send about 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of Obama's decision on the 8-year-old war. There had been no final word on Obama's decision as of Tuesday, said the Defense Department official, who has direct knowledge of the process. But the official said planners have been tasked with preparing to send 34,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan with the expectation that Obama was leaning toward approving that many. iReporters sound off; share your views on sending more troops in Afghanistan . Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to receive the paperwork Thursday to approve orders to deploy 1,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to Afghanistan in late December -- the first of the new troops to be sent, a U.S. military official told CNN on Wednesday. The official is not authorized to talk about the plans because they have not been officially announced. The 1,000 Marines are part of a battalion task force that has been preparing and training for the deployment, the official said. The president held a lengthy meeting with top advisers Monday night, and he told reporters Tuesday that he would announce new plans for Afghanistan after Thanksgiving. McChrystal took part in the meeting Monday, along with Vice President Joe Biden, Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen and Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan. Obama said Tuesday that the deliberations had been "comprehensive and extremely useful." "It's going to be important to recognize that in order for us to succeed there [in Afghanistan], you've got to have a comprehensive strategy that includes civilian and diplomatic efforts," he said at a news conference Tuesday with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The defense official said Tuesday that the military is planning to send three U.S. Army brigades, totaling about 15,000 troops; a Marine brigade with about 8,000 troops; a headquarters element of about 7,000; and between 4,000 and 5,000 support troops -- a total of about 34,000 troops. CNN reported last month that this was the Pentagon's preferred option. However, the official said Wednesday that the Marines are expected to deploy 8,000 combat, aviation and support troops, plus 1,000 to 1,500 Marines as part of a headquarters unit -- a total of between 9,000 and 9,500. They will be in addition to the 11,000 Marines already in Afghanistan. After the first deployment, the remaining Marines will deploy over the next three to four months, the military official said. The troops would be dispatched throughout Afghanistan but would be focused mainly on the southern and southeastern provinces, where much of the recent fighting has taken place. Currently, brigades from Fort Drum in upstate New York and Fort Campbell in Kentucky are among those next in line to deploy. About 68,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, along with about 45,000 from the NATO alliance. Two U.S. military officials have told CNN that NATO countries would be asked to contribute more troops to fill the gap between the 34,000 the Pentagon expects Obama to send and the 40,000 McChrystal wants. The request is expected to come during a December 7 meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Brussels next week to meet with allies, State Department sources told CNN. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell would not discuss specific numbers, but he said NATO would be asked for additional help. Obama's Afghanistan plan will include "very broad terms" that show how and where the United States is succeeding in the nation, a senior U.S. military official told CNN. Those points will be used to determine how and when troops can be brought home. Another senior military official said McChrystal will take his orders from Obama and will do the best he can with what he has. The question, he said, is not the number of troops, but is whether the United States has "the right resources to do what we need to do." "We can't just go and blow people up and win this war," the official said. "We have to gain the trust of the people, and that is a major part of the plan here." U.S.-led troops invaded Afghanistan in response to the al Qaeda terrorist network's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The invasion overthrew the ruling Taliban, which had allowed al Qaeda to operate from its territory -- but most of the top al Qaeda and Taliban leadership escaped the onslaught. Taliban fighters have since regrouped to the mountainous region along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, battling U.S. and Afghan government forces on one side and Pakistani troops on the other. Al Qaeda's top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, remain at large and are suspected to be hiding in the same region. The conflict has so far claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops. CNN's Jill Dougherty, Deirdre Walsh, Elaine Quijano and Mike Mount contributed to this report.

Obama to explain why U.S. is in Afghanistan, its interests there and how he made decision . Official: Papers seeking orders to deploy 1,000 Marines next month are expected Thursday . NATO allies will also be asked to send more troops, officials say . Obama met with national security team Monday night to discuss Afghanistan .

(CNN) -- Blanche Lincoln The League of Conservation Voters has targeted the senator from Arkansas by placing her name on the "Dirty Dozen" list of candidates it hopes to defeat in mid-term elections. Politico.com reports that the environmentalist advocacy group selected Lincoln, a Democrat up for re-election this year, because she opposed passing comprehensive climate legislation and for supporting Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski's resolution that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. According to Politico, the League raised more than $1.5 million to topple candidates in the last election. The Hill reports that Lincoln is fighting back. "I have built a practical, common-sense record on energy and environmental issues while working closely with Arkansas environmental advocates," Lincoln said in a released statement. "Threats from extremist groups from outside our state tell me I'm doing something right for Arkansas." In 1998, Lincoln made history when she became the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 38. Politico: Environmentalists target Blanche Lincoln . The Hill: Lincoln responds to 'dirty dozen' designation . J.D. Salinger The famously reclusive author whose 1951 novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," became a touchstone for generations of readers, has died. He was 91. Salinger never gave interviews or appeared in public, and "in keeping with his lifelong, uncompromising desire to protect and defend his privacy there will be no service," according to a family statement that his literary agent, Phyllis Westberg, provided Thursday. He wrote more than 30 short stories and a handful of novellas, many published in The New Yorker and collected in works such as "Nine Stories" and "Seymour: An Introduction." But Salinger's fame rests on "Catcher," his only novel. The book is narrated by a teenage boy, Holden Caulfield, who is expelled from fictional Pencey Prep, a private school in Pennsylvania. He then spends the next three days wandering around New York, railing against corrupt adults and "phonies." Holden Caulfield says, "It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to." Lots of Pencey Prep merchandise is for sale online today. CNN: Author J.D. Salinger dies at 91 . Matthew Belmonte Not all stimulus money goes to building bridges. The Recovery Act is funding a lot of research, too. For example: Why do some children become autistic when others do not? How can understanding what goes wrong in autistic brain development help us to understand what goes right in normal brain development? Matthew Belmonte, an assistant professor of human development at Cornell University, received a National Science Foundation award of $700,000 -- funded by stimulus dollars -- to study the differences in autistic and non-autistic brains. To do this, children in both categories are undergoing experiments embedded within video games with science fiction themes. Once the kids learn the games, Belmonte and his team will study their brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-density electroencephalography (EEG). Belmonte says that his research is driven by personal circumstances. He told the Science Works for U.S. Web site, "I was always fascinated by order and regularity," and as a child, he shared that fascination with his older brother, who has autism. "There was always a certain empathy between me and my brother," Belmont said. It was always clear to me, even before I had words for it, that he and I thought in the same way and saw the same things." Recovery.gov: Award summary . Charlie Wilson The 57-year-old R&B singer was once homeless, living on the streets of Los Angeles, California, between 1993 and 1995. This Sunday, Wilson will find out if he's won a Grammy Award -- or two. He's been nominated for best R&B album for "Uncle Charlie" and best R&B vocal for his hit single, "There Goes My Baby." USA Today reports that Wilson and his two brothers, Robert and Ronnie, had great success in the 1970s and 1980s as The Gap Band. But unable to cope with the financial side of the business, his life took a spiral downward. "I had no home, no money," he says. "You could still hear my records on the radio. People gave me drugs because they thought I was still on top. Nobody knew I was down and out." Wilson eventually got into rehab and married the director of the treatment program he was in. Then, in 1996, Snoop Dogg asked him to be part of his recordings and his career -- this time in hip-hop -- blossomed again "My blessings are ahead of me," Wilson told USA Today. "I've cleaned out the garbage can. I don't have fear of anybody taking anything anymore. You can't steal my joy." Wilson has also been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. USA Today: Charlie Wilson fills the gap in his life's winding road . Nathan Contreras The Tucson 5-year-old has cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that can lead to life-threatening lung infections. KVOA-TV reports that Nathan's parents, Leslie and Patrick Contreras, were not able to keep up with the cost of the expensive prescription drugs needed to treat their son. So they turned to Facebook for help, and people started making donations. The TV station reports that on Wednesday -- Nathan's birthday -- an anonymous donor met the family at a local Walgreen's and gave them $2,300 for his medications. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the disease affects some 30,000 children and adults in the United States. KVOA: Anonymous donor helps pay for child's medication . Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: What you need to know . What makes a person intriguing? There are people who enter the news cycle every day because their actions or decisions are new, important or different. Others are in the news because they are the ones those decisions affect. And there are a number of people who are so famous or controversial that anything they say or do becomes news. Some of these people do what we expect of them: They run for office, pass legislation, start a business, get hired or fired, commit a crime, make an arrest, get in accidents, hit a home run, overthrow a government, fight wars, sue an opponent, put out fires, prepare for hurricanes and cavort with people other than their spouses. They do make news, but the action is usually more important than who is involved in the story. But every day, there are a number of people who become fascinating to us -- by virtue of their character, how they reached their decision, how they behaved under pressure or because of the remarkable circumstances surrounding the event they are involved in. They arouse our curiosity. We hear about them and want to know more. What they have done or said stimulates conversations across the country. At times, there is even a mystery about them. What they have done may be unique, heroic, cowardly or ghastly, but they capture our imaginations. We want to know what makes them tick, why they believe what they do, and why they did what they did. They intrigue us.

Arkansas senator defends environmental record . Reclusive "Catcher in the Rye" author dies at 91 . 5-year-old cystic fibrosis patient gets treatment thanks to anonymous donor .

Washington (CNN) -- You probably recognize Sen. Rob Portman from his tireless campaigning for Mitt Romney in 2012. He was even on the short list to be Romney's running mate. He's been a leading Republican voice on economic issues for four decades. Now, the prominent Ohio conservative will be known for something else: reversing his hardline position against gay marriage. He invited CNN to his Senate office to reveal the news. "I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry," Portman told CNN. Portman stirs mixed reaction with same-sex marriage reversal . It has to do with another revelation, one deeply personal. His 21-year-old son, Will, is gay. "I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay," said Portman. Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he was a freshman at Yale University. "My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it's just part of who he is, and that's who he'd been that way for as long as he could remember," said Portman. What was the Republican senator's reaction? "Love. Support," responded Portman. The president and the nation have evolved on same-sex marriage . And complete surprise. He told CNN that he never suspected that his son was gay. Portman says his son, now a junior in college, helped him work through his decision to announce his change in position on gay marriage and blessed the idea of publicly announcing Will Portman's sexuality. "I think he's happy and, you know, proud that we've come to this point, but he let it be my decision just as you know, it's going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue," said Portman. Until now, this was a secret to most people in politics, but not everyone. Last year, when Romney was vetting Portman to be his running mate, the Ohio Republican informed both Romney and his top campaign advisers that he has a gay son. Activists hail watershed moment in the gay rights movement . "I told Mitt Romney everything," said Portman with a laugh. "That process is, intrusive would be one way to put it. But, no, yeah, I told him everything." Portman, who was ultimately passed over as the GOP vice-presidential candidate in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan, said the fact that his son is gay was not the deal breaker for Romney. How does he know? "Well, because they told me," said Portman. Portman told CNN he sought counsel from a Republican who did serve as vice president: Dick Cheney, the highest-ranking Republican with an openly gay child, his daughter Mary. 5 turning points in gay marriage debate . "I spoke to him personally; I actually met with him," said Portman. He said Cheney's advice was simple: "'Follow your heart.'" "He was a good person to talk to because he also was surprised by the news, in that case, you know, his wonderful daughter, who he loves very much. And it forced him to re-think the issue too, and over time, he changed his view on it," said Portman. "I followed his advice. You know, I followed my heart," he said. Though he is a staunch conservative, Portman was never outspoken against gay marriage. But he consistently voted against it. Top Republicans sign brief supporting same-sex marriage . While in Congress, he supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and voted for a bill prohibiting gay couples in Washington from adopting. In 2011, 100 University of Michigan law school graduates walked out of Portman's commencement address to protest his position on gay rights after circulating a petition trying to get him removed as the event's speaker. "The decision to host a graduation speaker who is openly hostile to LGBT rights is deeply unfair to the LGBT students who will be in the audience this year celebrating their graduation," read the petition. Portman admitted that when the protest occurred, he already knew his own son was gay. "It was a little odd. Look, and to be honest with you, it didn't affect that decision-making much, because it was, I didn't think it was appropriate," Portman said. "But look, they had their freedom of speech rights to be able to do what they wanted to do." Will Portman 'especially proud' of father . "But you know, what happened to me is really personal. I mean, I hadn't thought a lot about this issue. Again, my focus has been on other issues over my public policy career," said Portman. Asked about why he is announcing this change of heart, since his son revealed it to him two years ago, Portman cited two reasons. He just recently became comfortable with his decision to shift his position on gay marriage, and also he said he knew the Supreme Court is considering a pair of gay marriage cases, and reporters would likely ask him for his position. "I thought it was the right time to let folks know where I stand so there's no confusion, so I would be clear about it," said Portman. What would Portman say to gay constituents who may be glad he's changing his position on gay marriage, but also wondering why it took having a gay son to come around to supporting their rights? "Well, I would say that, you know, I've had a change of heart based on a personal experience. That's certainly true," he responded with a shoulder shrug. Obama on same-sex marriage: Everyone is equal . But he also repeated a reality. His policy focus has been almost exclusively on economic issues. "Now it's different, you know. I hadn't expected to be in this position. But I do think, you know, having spent a lot of time thinking about it and working through this issue personally that, you know, this is where I am, for reasons that are consistent with my political philosophy, including family values, including being a conservative who believes the family is a building block of society, so I'm comfortable there now." To be sure, Portman was anything but comfortable discussing something as private and personal as his son's sexuality, even noting how foreign it felt for someone with his Midwestern upbringing and sensibilities to talk publicly about such issues. At times, the press-savvy politician even seemed to tremble a bit. But it was also clear he was willing to endure the discussion in order to publicly tell his son that he is proud. "He wanted to tell us that there's something about him that we didn't know," Portman said, reflecting on the day two years ago his son Will first told his parents he was gay. Portman quickly added that it "of course hasn't changed our view of him at all." Read the latest news on CNN.com . Do you have a close friend or family member who has come out of the closet? Did it change the way you think about same-sex marriage or gay men, lesbians or bisexuals in general? Did coming out change your relationship with someone you care about? Share your personal stories in the comments below, or you can post a longer essay at CNN iReport.

Ohio conservative Sen. Rob Portman is changing his stance on gay marriage . A driving force in his decision was his son, who revealed to him that he is gay . The Republican senator has voted against same-sex marriage many times .

Walland, Tennessee (CNN)Jim Sanford and his dog Tom poked around the hazelnut grove on Blackberry Farm, a 9,200-acre luxury resort set in the foggy foothills of Tennessee, one Wednesday morning in December. They were on the hunt again, though not for deer or waterfowl or the usual Tennessee fare. The man and his curly-haired dog were searching for something fancier: Tuber melanosporum or black Périgord truffles. Black truffles are one of the most sought after (and expensive) delicacies in the world. Often referred to as a "black diamond," the subterranean fungus can retail for $1,000 a pound or cost a diner upward of $75 extra for a simple shaving on a dish of creamy pasta or slow-scrambled eggs. Sanford and Tom's morning hunt proved fruitless. But the pair has had better luck than most sniffing out truffles on American soil -- a relatively new and wholly unpredictable ground for cultivation. "This is not something where you just plant your trees and wait for your fortune to grow," Sanford said as Tom trotted behind him. Truffles are a funny fungus; they grow underground, typically among hazelnut and oak trees, and keep most of their secrets there with them. There is a primitive understanding of the climactic and soil conditions required for the fungus to flourish, but cultivation methods are far from foolproof. Stateside, those practices are in their infancy. Chefs such as Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson of Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, Colorado, certainly wouldn't mind sourcing truffles closer to home. He hosts an annual truffle dinner series and features them prominently in dishes when in season. Every year, he buys domestic truffles from budding regions like the Pacific Northwest, but the quality isn't as reliable as he'd like it to be. "We're counting down the minutes," he said with a hopeful tone. "Once it clicks, whether it's Blackberry or someone else, once there's a tipping point, it will really blow up." Enthusiasts describe the truffle's olfactory Siren song, which is part of its allure, as "dank," "earthy," "musky," "pungent" -- the gist is its aroma and taste are unparalleled. "It transforms an otherwise ordinary dish into something very extraordinary," Sanford said. Different types of truffles are found all over the world, but the Périgord and white variety from Alba, Italy, are the top dogs of the gastronomic set. The elusive truffle hunt is often romanticized: Man and beast wander into the woods of southwest France with a shovel and a calling. A bird chips, a breeze flows and the storybook closes with "happily ever after." If only it were that simple. Until recently, the black truffle had been solely imported to the United States. Less than 100 miles away from Blackberry Farm -- in Chuckey, Tennesee, of all places -- that began to change around 2007. It all started with another Tom. Tom Michaels, who grew up mushroom hunting and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation at Oregon State University on black truffle cultivation, set his eyes on eastern Tennessee to try out his fungal knowhow in 1999. As if the truffle business doesn't sound risky enough, it takes about six to 10 years for a tree with roots that have been inoculated with truffle spores to potentially produce a truffle. The season for harvesting runs three months from December to February. "I'll have done everything to two trees next to each other, and one will have truffles and one won't," Michaels said. Luckily for Michaels, something clicked. Soon, he showed up at the kitchen of Blackberry Farm's restaurants with his basket of epicurean delights and a brochure for Tennessee truffles, though it was only his third sale. The first question from proprietor Sam Beall: "How come I didn't know about this?" Beall and Michaels teamed up to seed and sniff out truffles locally. Enter the four-legged Tom, who was sourced by local breeder Hilarie Gibbs-Sykes from Italy to simplify the hunt. Sanford, a Blackberry employee for 14-plus years who had previously run the resort's horse program, was recruited to handle the truffle-hunting canine. At the height of Michaels's truffle business, Tom helped haul in 200 pounds in one season. "It was a thousand dollars a pound so if you do the arithmetic, that's a good dog," Sanford said. In 2009, Michaels and his product were written up in GQ magazine, where food writer Alan Richman called it the "hillbilly truffle." Two years earlier, storied New York Times food writer Molly O'Neill devoted an entire column titled "Coveted, French, and Now in Tennessee" to his endeavors. If we know anything about agriculture, though, it's that Mother Nature holds the reins. Michaels' hazelnut trees were hit with blight after his initial success, and he had to start over with a new blight-resistant variety. "You have to have a temperament that can deal with a lot of anxiety for many years," Michaels, 67, said. Last year, Michaels yielded about 60 pounds on his land and sold the majority off to hyper-local ingredient-focused chefs such as Sean Brock in Charleston, South Carolina, and Linton Hopkins in Atlanta. This year, after a series of unseasonable cold snaps, and only a few days left in the season, he hasn't unearthed any truffles of sellable quality. "Mother nature took its course," Michaels said with the matter-of-factness of someone who has been here before. Back at Blackberry Farm, Sanford's pin that read "Truffle Dog Trainer" reflected the sun as he crouched beneath a tree to dig up a truffle-scented practice tube that Tom found. On the days when there isn't any luck, training is a commitment to the cause. Blackberry found only one Périgord truffle last winter on its property. If it seems like a wild goose chase, that's because it is. But Tom is a Lagotto Romagnolo; he not only enjoys the chase -- it's in his DNA. According to the American Kennel Club, Tom's breed is the only one recognized as a "specialized truffle searcher." "We wouldn't be talking about any of this if it wasn't for Tom," Sanford said. "He has really put everything we're talking about in cultivating truffles in North America on the map." Working like a dog at a Long Island vineyard . Now 13 years old, Tom is passing the baton through his bloodline by breeding and sharing his skills. He and Sanford travel around the country to help train other canines in areas like Oregon with an eye on the truffle prize. At Blackberry and every where else, they're hoping it's not a matter of if, but when, a consistent yield will happen. As they say, every dog will have its day.

American truffle production is in its infancy . Tom the truffle dog from Tennessee has led the pack in truffle hunting . The Tennessee truffle yield spiked years ago and has been inconsistent since .

(CNN) -- On Sunday evening, as I was diligently not watching the Super Bowl, the e-mails started arriving: Had I seen that Chrysler commercial of Bob Dylan's? Wasn't it ridiculous, Dylan selling out to an Italian-owned car company in the most expensive television ad buy of the year? Because I've written about Dylan as well as for his official website, friends and occasional strangers contact me from time to time furious about his latest corrupt outrage, proclaiming he has finally destroyed whatever shred of integrity he had left. I heard it in 2011, when Dylan supposedly sold out by performing a concert in repressive China. I had heard it four years earlier, when he appeared in his first car ad for Cadillac, which just happened to be sponsoring a satellite radio show he was hosting at the time. I heard it three years before when he turned up in his cowboy troubadour duds wandering around a beautiful scantily clad model in a Victoria's Secret ad. To borrow one of the late Pete Seeger's lyrics: When will they ever learn? Dylan has been accused of selling out for 50 years, beginning in 1962 when he signed a recording contract with a big-time label, Columbia Records. Two years later, the left-wing commissars of the folk revival denounced him for writing inward-looking emotional songs instead of "protest" anthems. Soon thereafter came the rage at his writing for and playing with electric blues and rock musicians, a supposed betrayal of folk purity. And so it has continued, from the sellouts of his going country on "Nashville Skyline" and later, writing gospel music, to today's shilling for soft-core porn lingerie and poisonous gas guzzlers. Always, the sanctimonious detractors cling to a bygone Dylan: a skinny, tousled-haired genius in a work shirt singing "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin." This, supposedly, is the true Dylan that the actual man has desecrated. In fact, the profane actual Dylan is worse than corrupt: He is the vile betrayer of a revolution in consciousness of which he had once been the avatar. But Dylan renounced that role 50 years ago. Choosing art over politics, he broke free of the moral absolutism of "protest" music that he mocked in "My Back Pages" in 1964: "Ah, but I was so much older then/I'm younger than that now." He rejected the idea of his being the avatar of anything, let alone of a revolution in consciousness. "It's never been my duty to remake the world at large," he sang in "Wedding Song," from 1973, "nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge." And so I started to write back to my complaining friends to say that they had totally missed what Dylan has been about for decades -- not a moral or spiritual guide, let alone an exemplar, or a prophet, or a savior, but a working songwriter and musician, doing his job as best he can -- which, astonishingly often, turns out to be sublime -- and making the money he deserves. Then I watched the commercial on YouTube and saw that my riposte was inadequate. For Dylan, breaking free of the folkie left and choosing art over politics never meant renouncing political concerns or themes, any more than turning to rock meant repudiating folk music. Any conception of art as broad as Dylan's necessarily includes politics, as politics is part of the human endeavor. And the Chrysler ad, while captivating us with Dylan's very presence, contains a political subtext. Although the ad is dopey as all ads are, and even though it is plainly hawking Chrysler, Dylan never once hypes the virtues of Chrysler's product over that of any other automobile maker. This may be a cunningly subtle pitch to Dylan's baby boomer fan base, but it's also an abnormal nonspecific celebrity endorsement. Instead, Dylan celebrates America as a car-loving country. The ad begins with a clunky, even insipid piece of ad copy -- "There's nothing more American than America" -- only barely redeemed by being spoken by Dylan's singular voice. But then comes a jumble of images out of Dylan's familiar Americana landscape -- old-fashioned diners, Route 66 in Missouri, bronco busters, carnivals, Marilyn Monroe -- evoking a particular nostalgic national mystique, rooted in the 1940s and 1950s and redolent of Jack Kerouac. Footage of old Detroit follows -- "Yeah...," Dylan says, "Detroit made cars, and cars made America" -- and then a paean, in prose almost certainly written by Dylan himself, to "the American road and the creatures who live on it" and to how we Americans "believe in the zoom and the roar and the thrust." The ad is saying that America is what its people make and make of it, cars above all, which makes sense -- and which also makes it a workingman's film: The ad doesn't single out Chrysler and its cars but the Americans who build those cars, and their conviction and pride -- "the heart and soul of every man and woman working on the line," Dylan intones. "So let Germany brew your beer, let Switzerland make your watch, let Asia assemble your phone. We ... will build ... your car" -- the last sentence delivered in Dylan's cool halting cadence. It's all, of course, a cleverly deceptive way to elide the fact that supposedly all-American Chrysler is now owned by Fiat. But the cars are still American-made -- and for Dylan, that's important. In one of his early protest songs, "North Country Blues," Dylan sang of the mines of his native Minnesota Iron Range being shut down and people left in despair, because for the greedy owners it was "much cheaper down/ in South American towns/where the miners work almost for nothing." Twenty years later, in "Union Sundown," he bitterly lamented what had now become known as outsourcing, including American cars being assembled in Argentina "by a guy making 30 cents a day." "Workingman's Blues #2," from 2006, complained of how "they say low wages are a reality/if we want to compete abroad." Pro-labor protectionism does not spring to mind as one of the great causes of the 1960s. But for Bob Dylan, a product of the 1940s and 1950s, one article of simple justice has always been that American working people, so vital to his vanishing American landscape, ought not to be victimized by bosses who will happily exploit the pauper labor of the rest of the world. Apparently, Dylan is sold on the idea that, in Detroit anyway, that injustice has been halted and even reversed. And that, he wants us to know, is a good reason, and maybe the best, to buy one of Chrysler's cars. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sean Wilentz.

Sean Wilentz: People outraged by Bob Dylan's Chrysler ad, saying he has no credibility . Wilentz: But Dylan accused of selling out for 50 years, for musical changes and ads . He says everybody wants the skinny genius in a work shirt singing "Blowin' in the Wind" Wilentz: Dylan's promoted American workers for years, and that's what his ad does .

(CNN) -- The likely failure of Friday's Geneva 2 conference to produce a credible political process to end Syria's civil war points up the painfully obvious: Syria -- a conflict seemingly without end -- is a moral, humanitarian and strategic tragedy. But it is neither an American tragedy nor the Obama administration's fault nor responsibility. This does not mean the United States is free to ignore the Syrian conflict; nor that its continuation doesn't negatively affect American interests. What it does mean is that the President's risk-averse policy -- containment, humanitarian assistance, helping to organize and supply certain rebel groups, and keeping open the possibility of a political track -- is absolutely right. The administration should continue to ignore its critics' call for a more assertive policy, particularly if after a failed Geneva conference, there are calls for military action. Here's why: . We can't fix Syria . With 130,000-plus dead, thousands more wounded, a traumatized nation, and the social fabric of its society in shreds, Syria is beyond immediate repair or rescue. Short of a major international military intervention, followed by a massive humanitarian and reconstruction effort in the billions and thousands of peacekeepers whose stay would be measured in years not months, the Syrian conflict will go on. The notion that America can now intercede -- or at any point in the past three years, could have intervened -- in a way that would have stabilized the situation, let alone put Syria back together in some new form, is an illusion. With 140,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and trillions expended over a decade, we have not been able to fundamentally alter the politics of either nation in a way that promises security or good governance. In Egypt, where the United States supposedly had leverage from $1.3 billion in military assistance over its closest Arab partner, Washington has been unable to alter the course of Egypt's politics and has become the object of antipathy by almost every faction in the country. These failures have little to do with U.S. policy, and much more to do with the reality that America doesn't control the world and cannot dictate to societies composed of corporatist, religious and tribal elements who have their own interests and vision. To think we could dictate, let alone significantly influence Syria -- the poster child for sectarian and ethnic conflict and regional intervention -- is sheer folly. We can't even help the Syrians fix Syria . The notion that in 2011, the United States had a major opportunity to avoid the current situation, pre-empt the radicalization of the country through an infusion of jihadi groups, and unify a secular or moderate Islamist opposition is also illusory. Had the Obama administration been willing to supply a vetted opposition with sophisticated weaponry, including shoulder launched ground to air missiles, sophisticated anti-tank weaponry, and been willing to neutralize President Bashar al-Assad's air force through offensive no-fly zones, there would still have been no guarantees that a divisive and inchoate opposition could have remained unified and effective. Even military strikes in the wake of Syria's use of chemical weapons would likely have had to have been followed by a sustained military campaign of some kind. And nobody in the administration, least of all Obama, was prepared to embark on such an open-ended military campaign (for which the American people have shown no appetite). At the end of the day, such an effort would still not have answered the question: Who or what would have been able to hold the country together, stop the vendettas, police the borders and intervene to stop the inexorable struggle for control between Sunnis and Alawis? Military intervention was always a trap . The liberal interventionists and neoconservatives who have accused the administration of failing to lead never laid out an effective case as to what the relationship between U.S. military action and the political end state in Syria would be. The Iraq/Afghanistan wars are a false analogy. Nobody was talking U.S. boots on the ground in Syria. Instead the correct analogy from the two longest and among the most profitless wars in U.S. history was how precisely military action was going to achieve the objective of a stable, pluralist Syria in an Arab neighborhood in which there is not one example of such a state. President Obama was right to resist the use of force and will be right again, if in the wake of Geneva's failure there is more talk of resorting to force. The horrific revelations of mass executions will only strengthen the arguments of those who see U.S. military intervention as the only recourse. Still, the last thing the United States needs right now is a proxy war with Iran, Hezbollah and Russia in a neighborhood where they have distinct advantages. Iran is the priority . Governing is about choosing. And the president clearly made a choice that preserving the possibility of a deal with Iran on the nuclear issue was much more important than involving the United States in a war with Tehran over Syria that Washington could never win. There's no evidence to support this, but I have a strong suspicion that the decision not to respond to Syria's use of chemical weapons with military force was partly shaped by this calculation, particularly the possibility that U.S. military action might have killed Iranian forces in Syria, or to be sure increased not ameliorated tensions at a time the administration was already involved in secret talks with the mullahs who control Iran. There is no foreign policy priority more important to the Obama administration right now than getting an agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue that would prevent an Israeli military strike and make an American one unnecessary. The conventional wisdom is that a proxy war with Iran in Syria would have weakened the mullahs. But it could easily have led to the opposite reaction -- increasing Iran's sense of encirclement and an acceleration of its nuclear program. Amoral but not immoral . Syria isn't Rwanda or the Nazi Holocaust. But it is an arena where mass killings and war crimes by the regime in particular, but also by its opponents, take place routinely. The Obama administration, particularly Secretary of State John Kerry, feels deeply about this. But not so deeply that it's prepared to intervene. That reluctance to intervene militarily reflects a policy that isn't immoral. America has been more active than any other nation in providing humanitarian assistance and helping organize the Syrian opposition. If any kind of sustainable local ceasefires emerge from the Geneva process, the United States will have done much to better a horrible situation. But it is an amoral approach where moral considerations do not dictate. That is to say what drives U.S. policy in the main isn't moral or ethical; instead it is shaped by a variety of other factors, including the public's opposition to military intervention, the President's own priorities for his legacy (the middle class, not the Middle East) Iran and a general sense that the last thing this country needs is another major foreign policy failure or obligation. As a result, the administration has rightly pursued a course that is risk-averse, not risk-ready; one that understands that it cannot act alone and that even multilateral action will only have limited results, and above all, one that recognizes that there are no solutions to Syria right now, only outcomes. It's certainly not a morally or emotionally satisfying course of action. But it is the right one. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Aaron David Miller.

Aaron Miller: Even if Geneva talks fail, U.S. shouldn't intervene in Syria conflict . Syria is a tragedy but Obama has followed the right course, Miller says . He says president has rightly concluded that U.S. can't resolve the conflict . Miller: Preventing a war over Iran's nuclear program is a higher priority for U.S.

(CNN) -- The stock photo, posted on a Facebook fan page for the accused Colorado shooter, shows two young men in a movie theater turning around to tell the people behind them to be quiet. "If you don't shut up," it says, "we'll James Holmes your a--." It's not new for Facebook pages to pop up in support of accused killers and other distasteful figures, but a few dozen Holmes fan pages -- including one with more than 800 followers that appeared the day Holmes is accused of opening fire on a theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding dozens -- are raising new questions about what constitutes free and appropriate speech in the digital age, especially on Facebook. The network, which has 900 million monthly active users, has long been regarded as a sort of brightly lit town square in an Internet that has some dark and seedy corners. People must sign up for Facebook under a real identity, so the trolling habits that anonymity seems to encourage tend to be less tolerated on Facebook than on sites such as 4chan or even YouTube. Still, Facebook can be fairly lenient about what it will let people say on its network. The company has decided not to take down the James Holmes fan pages, although employees are monitoring them closely for types of speech that would violate the social network's community guidelines, spokesman Fred Wolens said. The most popular page, "while incredibly distasteful, doesn't violate our terms," he said. For that fan site to be taken down, it would have to post "credible threats" against specific people or post something that was intended to incite violence, Wolens said. Facebook declined to comment on whether particular messages or comments on that particular page had been removed because they met either of those two criteria. Facebook sometimes will remove comments, posts or photos without taking down an entire page. Wolens added that the Holmes fan pages are not representative of how Facebook users are responding. He pointed to several pages where Facebook users are rallying around the victims of the Colorado shooting by posting memorials, messages of support and by trying to raise money for a victim who was shot and now is in an intensive care unit. "We are heartened that the vast majority of activity on Facebook surrounding this tragedy has been focused on helping the community cope and beginning the healing process in the wake of these events," the company said in an e-mailed statement. In the past, Facebook has been criticized both for leaving up certain Facebook pages and images and for taking down others. Last year, the site sparked outrage when it removed a support page for nursing mothers because it featured breastfeeding photos, but reinstated it two days later. It is now part of the site's guidelines to allow such images to be posted on the site. The social network in March 2011 took down a page calling for a Palestinian intifada after the Israeli government complained. It left up a Holocaust-denial page in 2009, saying that "being offensive or objectionable" does not mean a site can be removed. At the time, Dallas, Texas, attorney Brian Cuban urged the network to set tighter controls, saying: "There is no First Amendment right to free speech in the private realm. This isn't a freedom-of-speech issue. Facebook is free to set the standard that they wish." Facebook's "Community Standards" document, which is posted online, addresses violent and threatening speech in this way: "Safety is Facebook's top priority. You may not credibly threaten to harm others, or organize acts of real-world violence. We remove content and may escalate to law enforcement when we perceive a genuine risk of physical harm, or a direct threat to public safety. We also prohibit promoting, planning or celebrating any of your actions if they have, or could, result in financial harm to others, including theft and vandalism." The site also does not tolerate speech that promotes self-harm, hate speech, bullying or "graphic content," nudity or pornography, according to that online policy. Other technology companies have become embroiled in similar debates about what is and isn't appropriate communication on online platforms. Apple is regarded as running one of the tightest ships, since it pre-approves apps that will be sold in its App Store. It also has been criticized, however, for rejecting apps that would compete with the company's own offerings or that it finds distasteful for one reason or another. In 2010, for example, the company initially rejected an app that featured the work of a Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist. The app later was approved by Apple, following pad press. Google+, that technology giant's social network, came under fire for initially requiring its users to sign in using their real names. Some groups protested the policy, saying that political dissidents in authoritarian regimes, for example, couldn't use the service without fear of violence. The company softened the policy in January, allowing nicknames. Twitter bans users from impersonating others, infringing on trademarks, using the service unlawfully and threatening violence, according to its standards document, called "The Twitter Rules." It bans using pornographic images "in either your profile picture or user background," but does not seem to ban users from posting links to such material. Facebook is letting the Holmes fan page saga play out. Many users have commented that they find the page "disgusting" and "sick minded." "You mock the death of these poor people? Seriously?" one wrote. Others are calling for Facebook users to ignore the page in order to avoid giving it more power. "He's just a troll with nothing better to do than to fish for negative attention on the internet. I actually feel sorry for him," one commenter wrote. The page's administrator, who has not revealed his or her identity on that fan page, doesn't seem bothered. "Whatever you have to say to me, I don't care. Whenever you report me. This page isn't affected. (I've been reported over like a billion times and nothing has happened)," the page's administrator writes, adding: "Also, I don't believe in karma, and I don't believe in hell. Please keep this in mind when you post. Unless its something smart or funny, Please know; I'm just going to laugh at you and all you're doing is wasting your time." While the page is whipping some people into a fury, Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, cautioned against reading too much into a tiny piece of the Internet that has little value to the larger public discourse. "Probably the amount of attention that we give to this stuff is totally disproportionate to how most people feel," he said by phone. "But because anybody with the Internet has got an international distribution system at their fingertips, if you start something that is a pro-mass-murderer fan page, it's going to get the attention of people." It's understandable that people would be outraged by the Facebook page, he said, especially since it mocks the victims of a mass murder that is not even a week old. But the page might be written in an ironic tone, he said, and it certainly isn't representative of mainstream views in America -- or anyone's view, other than its creator. "The mistake is made when people say what does this page mean about America?" he said, "This page doesn't say thing about America, besides maybe that there are too many Facebook pages."

Facebook pages backing the suspect in Colorado theater killings have popped up . James Holmes is accused of killing 12 moviegoers early Friday morning . A Facebook fan page for Holmes had more than 800 likes on Wednesday . Professor of pop culture warns against reading too much into a tiny piece of the Internet .

Washington (CNN) -- In mid-October, political pundits wondered how House Republicans could have put their sizable majority in jeopardy by forcing a government shutdown. Polls showed Republicans getting most of the blame for the shutdown and Democrats taking a lead in generic match ups against GOP congressional candidates. But those gains were quickly wiped away by the disastrous roll out of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. Within weeks, Democrats were panicking that their support of Obamacare could cost them their Senate majority and risk losing more House seats. House Democratic campaign chief Rep. Steve Israel of New York shrugged off GOP declarations that the new health care law's failures spelled doom for Democrats in the midterms, telling CNN in an interview, "if Republicans are going to run on rooting for failure, then so be it." Instead Israel insists House Republicans owned the shutdown and "2014 will not be referendum on the President, it's a referendum on whether you want to elect a Republican who will continue to do damage, it's about a do-nothing or do-damage Congress." Poll suggests Obamacare could have cost Obama second term . GOP confident Obamacare will continue to hurt Democrats in midterms . Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, who heads the effort to recruit GOP candidates to unseat Democrats and expand the House GOP majority, told CNN any blowback from the "brief moment" of shutdown in October will "melt away" but health care problems will persist. "The shutdown ended. Obamacare will still be painful six months from now and a year from now," he said. House Democrats need to pick up 17 GOP Congressional seats to win back the majority in the House of Representatives. But they also need to protect a list of roughly two dozen incumbent Democrats who represent red-leaning and purple districts. GOP members say while Obama isn't on the ballot, he remains a major factor in the midterms. The president's record low poll numbers and questions about his credibility after failing to follow through on a key promise about his health care plan are causing a drag on Democratic incumbents and challengers. Some already compare this midterm and Obamacare to the one that cost the Republicans their House majority in 2006, when then-President George W. Bush faced questions about his handling of Hurricane Katrina and the unpopular Iraq war pulled down his approval ratings. "President Obama is very close to the low point of where President Bush was," Rep. Greg Walden, chair of National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters last week. "Those of us who were here in those days remember how it felt going into the '06 election and it wasn't good." Poll: Voters split over Democrats, Republicans in 2014 . The House GOP midterm playbook is a straightforward one -- highlight the problems with Obamacare and its economic impact. Walden says for now Congressional Republicans don't need to supply an alternative health care plan of their own because the Democratic-led Senate and the White House would never consider a GOP proposal. While a group of 39 House Democrats sought to put distance between themselves and the President last week by backing a House GOP bill that allows insurers to offer current health care policies for another year, House Democratic leaders continue to stress Obamacare will turn out to be a net positive for the party by next fall. "Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with NBC on Sunday. Pelosi defends Obamacare claims, can't predict effect on Dems in midterms . The Democratic National Committee distributed a memo this week using examples of GOP candidates like Mitt Romney and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli who ran against Obamacare and lost. The memo concluded, "while Republicans are campaigning to bring back a broken health care system, Democrats will be campaigning on Obamacare." For those new Democratic candidates who weren't in Washington when Obamacare was passed, Israel says he advises new candidates to run as "problem-solvers, running on solutions." And he points to internal polling across competitive districts that shows that voters prefer a candidate who wants to "fix and improve" Obamacare rather than one who vows to "repeal and defund" the law 55%-40%. But a new ABC/Washington Post poll out on Tuesday found that four in 10 Americans were more likely to oppose a candidate who backed the law, and only about one-fifth saying they are likely to vote for a politician who supports the law. McHenry points to House Republican challengers who have personal experiences with the new health care law, saying they will work tirelessly to link Democrats to it. Stewart Mills, who oversees 6,000 employees in his family's business in northeastern Minnesota, is a top GOP recruit running against Democratic Rep Rick Nolan. He talks about his company's health care costs and highlights his opposition to Obamacare as a key reason for entering the race. Republicans believe several candidates who narrowly lost to Democrats in 2012 in competitive districts in Arizona, North Carolina, and Utah will prevail in rematches in 2014 because this time House Democrats won't have the help of a presidential ticket boosting turnout. House Democrats say GOP record of dysfunction will cost them seats . The focus now is squarely on Obamacare, but Democrats believe the political debate will move into better territory for them as attention returns to fiscal fights on Capitol Hill. The short-term deal to reopen the government created a mid-December target for Congress to agree to a budget, and a January deadline for funding the government. The Treasury's borrowing authority runs out in mid-February. House Dems cool down after Obamacare meeting . The number two House Democrat complained on Tuesday that House Budget Conference Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and other congressional Republicans weren't serious about budget negotiations, and warned the government could again be facing a shutdown. "Paul Ryan ought to lead, not follow his caucus down a road, which would lead to shutdown. That would be irresponsible and harmful and I hope he doesn't do that," Rep Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday. The Democratic Congressional campaign committee believes the shutdown was a recruiting bonanza for them, and helped contribute to some recent GOP retirements. Israel points to eight GOP seats that were put in play directly because of the extended standoff. Omaha City Councilman Pete Festersen jumped in the race against Nebraska GOP Rep. Lee Terry after Terry said he needed his government paycheck to afford his home. On his campaign website, Festersen positions himself as an outsider: "I am running for Congress to help change a dysfunctional Washington. The time has come for moderate minds and respectful leaders to work together." Democrats also say Republicans' lack of diversity and inability to reach out beyond their base -- a major factor in their national loss in 2012 -- will also hurt their chances to make inroads in Democratic districts in 2014. "The movement is underway and it takes time," McHenry admitted. But he pointed to GOP candidate Carl DeMaio in San Diego, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Scott Peters. DeMaio is openly gay and backed by the House GOP campaign arm. Seven keys to the 2014 midterms .

Democratic gains brought on by shutdown wiped away by Obamacare fiasco . Republicans believe shutdown fallout will fade, but Obamacare problems will persist . Democrats believe sentiment will swing back to them in fiscal fights ahead with GOP .

(CNN) -- When Neil Armstrong took one small step onto the moon in 1969, it seemed only a matter of time before the advent of thriving space colonies and summer vacations on distant planets. But after an initial flurry of moon landings, manned lunar expeditions dwindled: the last time an astronaut left his footprints on the moon was in 1972. Plants such as lettuce, peppers and tomatoes will be on the menu at Moon Base One. Then, in January 2004, President Bush announced NASA's intention to return humans to the moon by 2020, and in 2006, NASA announced plans to set up a manned lunar outpost by 2024, with the European and Russian Space Agencies now planning bases of their own. After years in limbo, the dream of living in space is alive once more. Sustaining long-term space habitation presents space agencies with a whole new set of technological and logistical challenges. Currently, the International Space Station supports three astronauts in a low Earth orbit, with food supplied periodically by space shuttle. But, just as home cooking is cheaper than getting takeout, when it comes to more permanent settlements, this kind of supply voyages would be prohibitively expensive: we will need to grow our own food in space. Raymond Wheeler, a plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center, explained to CNN, "In the near term it's not needed, for example on the space station and initial short sorties to the moon, but as you go further and stay longer, regenerative systems become much more cost effective." Wheeler sees this development of space farming as a gradual process in which space outposts become increasingly self-sufficient. "It would probably be evolutionary," he said. "The first human missions to Mars might set out with everything stowed, but they might set up the beginnings of an in-situ production system -- maybe a plant chamber -- that you could use to grow perishable foods. You wouldn't be providing everything, but in subsequent missions if you returned there you could expand the infrastructure." Of course, this means growing plants in conditions very different from those on Earth. Yet research has shown that plants are surprisingly adaptable. For example, while plants normally use gravity to direct the growth of their stems and roots, in low gravity conditions they can use light to orient themselves. And research suggests that plants can grow well even at very low atmospheric pressures. That reduces the leakage of oxygen and carbon dioxide from their growth chamber out into space, but crucially, it also reduces the structural requirements of a "space greenhouse," meaning less construction material needs to be shipped into orbit. Nor is the absence of soil a problem. Many supermarket vegetables are already grown hydroponically in nutrient-enriched water, and research indicates this technique could work well in space. Some have even suggested the loose rock regolith on the surface of the moon or Mars as a growing medium, although additional minerals would need to be brought from Earth. So what's on the menu at Moon Base One? Well, initial crops would need to be small in stature and grow well in controlled environments with artificial light. Plants such as peppers and tomatoes are already extensively grown hydroponically, while lettuce, with its short lifecycle, would yield fast returns for pioneering space colonists. But again, Wheeler sees the choice of crops as part of an evolutionary process. He tells CNN, "The first things you might grow would be perishable foods -- maybe vegetables or fruits -- things that don't keep very well if you're on a journey to Mars. Even though you're not providing a lot of calories, these things could have a strong impact in terms of adding color, flavor and texture to the diet." "The other reason for considering freshly consumed foods on early missions is that they don't require any processing," he continued. "If you were to grow grains, like wheat, you'd have to thresh the seed out of the head, then clean it and mill it to make flour. Staple crops like wheat, soy bean, rice and potato -- things that would provide carbohydrates, protein and fat -- they're the final end point." Crops need a sheltered environment, protected from the extreme temperatures and frightening levels of radiation found on the moon's surface, with water, carbon dioxide and light. Researchers at the University of Arizona's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC), in collaboration with Sadler Machine Company (SMC), have come up with one solution: to house plants and astronauts in an inflatable habitat. They are working on a full-scale prototype Mars Inflatable Greenhouse. Space-worthy inflatable structures have been around since the 1960s and are lightweight, compact in transit and easy to assemble on landing. But what's novel about the CEAC design is that it incorporates a bio-regenerative life-support system -- the kind of technology that could one day not only feed an outpost on the moon or Mars, but also provide it with oxygen and recycle its water. Gene Giacomelli, Director of CEAC, told CNN, "If people get to Mars we want to be able to feed them, but maybe even more importantly revitalize the atmosphere -- allow the plants to consume the carbon dioxide as they do so well here on Earth, and provide oxygen." In the prototype designed by Phil Sadler (SMC) and evaluated by Giacomelli and graduate student Lane Patterson, plants are grown hydroponically. As water evaporates from their leaves, air moisture is condensed and re-used for irrigation. The inedible bits of plants, the stems and leaves, are fed into a composter that breaks down the biomass, releasing carbon dioxide that can be re-used by growing plants. In a working moon base, waste water from the astronauts' showers and laundry could also go into the composter, where it would be cleaned by microbes and then used in the plants' hydroponic system, before being condensed and re-used by the astronauts once again. The CEAC team intends to test the finished prototype in Antarctica, a harsh and remote environment that provides a realistic analog of conditions on the moon. The team has already provided a food growth chamber for the Amundsen-Scott South-Pole Station and the time Sadler and Patterson have spent there has provided a unique insight into some of the other benefits that bio-regenerative life support might provide for inhabitants of a space base. "It's not just oxygen, fresh water and food that it provides, but it's also the green, living plants that psychologically become so important to people living and working in a confined, harsh, black and white space at the South Pole or in a moon or Mars base," says Giacomelli. Patterson adds, "Bright lights, high humidity, green plants and the fragrance as well -- these are things that are missing in that environment. Those things shouldn't be underestimated." The CEAC project offers a tantalizing glimpse of the kind of habitat that may house settlers in the space colonies of the future. And perhaps one day, as you relax in your inflatable villa by the Sea of Tranquility, plants will provide much more than just your dinner. ................................................................................................................... Do you think farming on the moon will be a reality by 2024? Should man be developing stations on the moon? Send us your thoughts by using the "Sound Off" below.

NASA plans lunar outpost by 2024 . Long-term space habitation will require space farming . CEAC and SMC working on prototype Mars Inflatable Greenhouse . Greenhouse could provide food, oxygen and recycle water .

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Had this custody drama played out in the United States, Christopher Savoie might be considered a hero -- snatching his two little children back from an ex-wife who defied the law and ran off with them. A Tennessee court awarded Christopher Savoie custody of his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca. But this story unfolds 7,000 miles away in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, where the U.S. legal system holds no sway. And here, Savoie sits in jail, charged with the abduction of minors. And his Japanese ex-wife -- a fugitive in the United States for taking his children from Tennessee -- is considered the victim. "Japan is an important partner and friend of the U.S., but on this issue, our points of view differ," the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Tuesday. "Our two nations approach divorce and child-rearing differently. Parental child abduction is not considered a crime in Japan." The story begins in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee, with the January divorce of Savoie from his first wife, Noriko, a Japanese native. The ex-wife had agreed to live in Franklin to be close to the children, taking them to Japan for summer vacations. Savoie in March requested a restraining order to prevent his ex-wife from taking the children to Japan, saying she had threatened to do so, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WTVF and posted on the station's Web site. A temporary order was issued, but then lifted following a hearing. "If Mother fails to return to Tennessee [after summer vacation] with the children following her visitation period, she could lose her alimony, child support and education fund, which is added assurance to Father that she is going to return with the children," Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin III noted in his order on the matter. After that ruling, Christopher Savoie tried to have Martin recuse himself, as he was a mediator in the case prior to becoming a judge, said Marlene Eskind Moses, Noriko Savoie's attorney. But that request was denied, as Savoie earlier said he had no concerns about Martin hearing the matter. Following the summer trip, Noriko Savoie did return to the United States, and Christopher Savoie then took the children on a vacation, returning them to his ex-wife, his attorney, Paul Bruno, told CNN. Watch latest report on Savoie's situation » . But days later, on the first day of classes for 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca, the school called Savoie to say his children hadn't arrived, Bruno said. Police checked Noriko Savoie's home and did not find the children. Concerned, Savoie called his ex-wife's father in Japan, who told him not to worry. "I said, 'What do you mean -- don't worry? They weren't at school.' 'Oh, don't worry, they are here,' " Savoie recounted the conversation to CNN affiliate WTVF earlier this month. "I said, 'They are what, they are what, they are in Japan?' " The very thing that Savoie had predicted in court papers had happened -- his wife had taken their children to Japan and showed no signs of returning, Bruno said. After Noriko Savoie took the children to Japan, Savoie filed for and received full custody of the children, Bruno said. And Franklin police issued an arrest warrant for his ex-wife, the television station reported. But there was a major hitch: Japan is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction. The international agreement standardizes laws, but only among participating countries. So while Japanese civil law stresses that courts resolve custody issues based on the best interest of the children without regard to either parent's nationality, foreign parents have had little success in regaining custody. Japanese family law follows a tradition of sole custody divorces. When a couple splits, one parent typically makes a complete and lifelong break from the children. In court documents filed in May, Noriko Savoie denied that she was failing to abide by the terms of the couple's court-approved parenting plan or ignoring court-appointed parent coordinators. She added she was "concerned about the stability of Father, his extreme antagonism towards Mother and the effect of this on the children." Noriko Savoie could not be reached by CNN for comment. Bruno said he helped Christopher Savoie pursue legal remedies to recover the children, working with police, the FBI and the State Department. "We tried to do what we could to get the kids back," Bruno said. "There was not a whole lot we can do." "Our court system failed him," said Diane Marshall, a court-appointed parent coordinator who helped Savoie make decisions about the children. "It's just a mess." But Moses, Noriko Savoie's attorney, told CNN that the children's father had other legal options. The International Association for Parent-Child Reunion, formed in Japan this year, claims to know of more than 100 cases of children abducted by non-custodial Japanese parents. And the U.S. State Department says it is not aware of a single case in which a child taken from the United States to Japan has been ordered returned by Japanese courts -- even when the left-behind parent has a U.S. custody decree. Facing such statistics and the possibility of never seeing his kids again, Savoie took matters into his own hands. He flew to Fukuoka. And as his ex-wife walked the two children to school Monday morning, Savoie drove alongside them. He grabbed the kids, forced them into his car, and drove off, said police in Fukuoka. Watch CNN panel discuss Savoie's legal options » . He headed for the U.S. consulate in that city to try to obtain passports for Isaac and Rebecca. But Japanese police, alerted by Savoie's ex-wife, were waiting. Consulate spokeswoman Tracy Taylor said she heard a scuffle outside the doors of the consulate. She ran up and saw a little girl and a man, whom police were trying to talk to. Eventually, police took Savoie away, charging him with the abduction of minors -- a charge that carries a jail sentence of up to five years. Bruno said if the situation were reversed and a Japanese parent had abducted a Japanese child and fled to America, U.S. courts would "correct that problem, because it's a crime." He said he has "concerns about Japan ... providing a place for people to abduct children and go to. The parent left behind does not have recourse." He added, "the president and his administration should do something to correct this." The consulate met with Savoie on Monday and Tuesday, Taylor said. It has provided him with a list of local lawyers and said it will continue to assist. Meanwhile, the international diplomacy continues. During the first official talks between the United States and Japan's new government, the issue of parental abductions was raised. But it is anybody's guess what happens next to Savoie, who sits in a jail cell. CNN's Kyung Lah in Tokyo, Japan, and Aaron Cooper, Saeed Ahmed and Carolina Sanchez in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Ex-wife's attorney says dad had other legal options besides grabbing kids . American dad tries to snatch children from ex-wife who took them to Japan . She is a fugitive in Tennessee, but has broken no law in Japan . Father, who has legal custody in U.S., charged in Japan with abduction .

London (CNN) -- Rebekah Brooks was once feted as one of the rising stars of the British media: She was the youngest person ever to edit a national British newspaper, and made a stellar rise through the ranks of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. She held the top job at News International, News Corp.'s British subsidiary, for two years after editing the country's best-selling daily tabloid, The Sun, and its best-selling Sunday tabloid, News of the World. But following allegations of illegal eavesdropping by News of the World journalists when she was editor, she saw her fortunes fade. Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International in July 2011 amid public outrage over hacking allegations and was summoned by police the following week. It was the first time she was arrested and questioned by police investigating phone hacking claims. Brooks kept a low profile after her resignation but was ridiculed in the British press when it was revealed that London's Metropolitan Police had lent her a retired police horse in 2008. As politicians became engulfed in the scandal, with allegations that ministers acted improperly in their dealings with News Corp., Prime Minister David Cameron -- a family friend of Brooks' husband -- admitted he had ridden the horse. When Brooks appeared before the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2012, she was grilled about her relationship with Britain's current and former prime ministers and detailed her frequent contacts with Cameron in the run-up to the 2010 election. In October 2013, Brooks was among seven people to go on trial for phone hacking. She denied all charges of conspiracy "to intercept communications in the course of their transmission, without lawful authority," conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to obstruct a police investigation. On June 23, jurors found her not guilty of the charges, the UK's Press Association news agency reported. Before she took the stand in February 2014, the defense reminded the jury that Brooks was not on trial "because she was the editor of a tabloid newspaper" or for working for media baron Rupert Murdoch or for "any political views she may hold" or for "the support newspapers she edited gave to one party or another." Rather, the defense said, her trial hinged on whether she knew about and endorsed a "practice of phone hacking at News of the World during her editorship"; whether she had encouraged a Sun reporter to pay a public official; and whether she had asked her husband, Charlie Brooks, and her personal assistant, Cheryl Carter, to "get rid of things ... to cover up the practice of phone hacking or of paying public officials." Brooks denied any wrongdoing. Asked by her lawyer if she was ever asked to sanction the practice of phone hacking while editor of News of the World, from 2000 to 2003, Brooks said: "No." During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Brooks had a clandestine affair with co-accused Andy Coulson from 1998-2004, which they argued showed the pair's level of trust. Giving evidence, Brooks described her personal life as a "car crash for many years," the Guardian newspaper reported. She denied there had been a long-standing affair but acknowledged there had been periods of physical intimacy. Coulson edited the News of the World from 2003 until 2007, having served as Brooks' deputy at the tabloid for three years before that. He went on to be David Cameron's director of communications, resigning from his role with the prime minister in 2011, when police launched a second investigation into newspaper eavesdropping. When Coulson gave evidence in April - with his wife watching from the public gallery - he said the affair "shouldn't have happened," the BBC and Guardian newspaper reported. But he denied that it meant he and Brooks had shared sensitive stories, the outlets said. The revelations were seized on by UK media covering the case, with one newspaper - The Independent -- headlining its story "The affair they didn't expose," a reference to the tabloid newspapers' history of revealing other people's cheating. In June, Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones. Hard lessons learned . Brought up in Cheshire, northern England, in the 1970s, Brooks is said to have decided on a career in journalism at the age of 14, beginning with a job as a "tea girl" at her local paper. In her late teens, she moved to Paris, where she is reported to have worked at architectural magazine L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui and studied at the Sorbonne. On her return to the UK, she worked in regional papers before making the move to Sunday tabloid News of the World in the late 1980s. Starting out as a secretary, Rebekah Wade -- her maiden name -- swiftly made her way up the editorial food chain, becoming deputy editor by the age of 27. She tells of how, at a corporate golf day shortly after she was appointed, one senior executive ordered her to sew the buttons back on his shirt. Her response is not known. Sexism in the workplace aside, Brooks' rise through the ranks continued. She was named deputy editor of the hugely popular Sun newspaper, the News of the World's sister title, in 1998. In 2000, she returned to the News of the World, this time in the top job, becoming the youngest-ever editor of a national British paper. While editor of the weekly, Brooks argued for the creation of a U.S.-style "Sarah's Law," which would allow parents with young children to know about anyone convicted of child sex crimes living close to their homes. As part of the controversial campaign, which was inspired by the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in July 2000, Brooks took the decision to name and shame offenders in the pages of her paper. The lists sparked witch-hunts and riots, as communities across Britain tried to hound pedophiles out of their neighborhoods. It was condemned by police, but Brooks remains unrepentant. In a 2009 speech, she admitted the campaign was "a blunt and contentious way of informing the public ... hard lessons were learned but I don't regret the campaign for one minute." She married soap star Ross Kemp, famous for his hard-man role as Grant Mitchell in long-running British TV show "Eastenders." In 2003, she was promoted again, becoming editor of the Sun, a post she held until 2009 when she was handpicked for the role of News International chief executive by Rupert Murdoch. In the same year Brooks and Kemp divorced and she remarried horse trainer Charlie Brooks. The couple's wedding party was attended by a host of big names, including the Murdoch clan (Rupert, James and Elisabeth), the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and future-Prime Minister David Cameron. Brooks and Murdoch had been close for many years: before her downfall Rupert Murdoch was said to have treated Brooks like a daughter. Whether the relationship has survived the scandal remains unclear.

NEW: Rebekah Brooks has been cleared of all charges against her at a phone-hacking trial . Brooks was chief executive of News International until she resigned in July 2011 . She became the youngest-ever editor of a national British newspaper in 2000 . Rupert Murdoch was said to have treated Brooks like a daughter .

(CNN) -- Ray Rice is out of a job. An increasing number of critics think National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, the man in charge of disciplining the star player, should be next. The commissioner told CBS News on Tuesday that he was sickened by what he saw on a newly released video that showed Rice knocking out his now-wife with a ferocious punch, but insisted that Monday was the first time he or anyone in NFL headquarters had seen the full scope of the February incident. He also deflected criticism of his handling of Rice's case and his initial lenient penalty for the Baltimore Ravens running back's act. When asked did he really need to see a video of the brutal knockout punch to decide on the length of Rice's punishment, the commissioner said, "No." "What we saw in the first videotape was troubling to us in and of itself," Goodell said, referring to another video that surfaced in February after the incident, showing Rice dragging his fiancee, Janay, out of the elevator. "But what we saw yesterday was extremely clear. It was extremely graphic and it was sickening." The new footage from inside an Atlantic City hotel elevator prompted Goodell to suspend the veteran player indefinitely. It also made many sports commentators even angrier about the league's botched reaction to the incident -- an initial two-game suspension for Rice -- something Goodell has admitted he didn't get right. Outspoken ESPN personality Keith Olbermann called Goodell an "enabler of men who beat women" and demanded the commissioner resign or be fired. "Mr. Goodell's ineptitude has not merely rendered this football season meaningless and irrelevant by contrast, it has not only reduced supporting or watching football to a distasteful, even a disrespectful act, but most importantly it has comforted the violent and afflicted the victim," Olbermann opined Monday. "His push to increase NFL punishment of domestic abusers to roughly that one-third that of repeat pot smokers, his decision today to suspend Rice indefinitely, after the Ravens had fired him, are elements of classic tragedy, wherein the right thing is finally done only after it's too late to matter." San Francisco Chronicle sport columnist Ann Killion agreed. "Roger Goodell should follow Rice out the door -- his leadership has no integrity and no longer can be trusted by the public. He should resign," she wrote. Goodell told CBS that the league assumed an in-elevator video existed and asked law enforcement for it, but was never given the opportunity to view it. It wasn't until Monday, when he arrived at the office and staffers told him there was something he needed to see, that he viewed the video. Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels, in a column posted on Football by Football, blamed Goodell for a colossal failure, but didn't call for him to step down. "Roger Goodell is powerful. He is connected. He has unlimited resources at his disposal. He can make things happen. He didn't do his job. He failed in epic proportions," Rosenfels wrote. In a tweet, the former player wrote of suspending Rice indefinitely: "Roger Goodell made $44 million last year to make really difficult decisions. This was an easy one." Goodell has admitted that his initial two-game suspension of Rice was the wrong decision. He said so when he announced a new policy penalizing acts of violence like domestic abuse or sexual assault. The new rules meant a minimum six-game ban, but the penalty didn't apply to Rice's case. The policy was greeted with commendations, but the fact that Rice was going to be back in uniform soon even though the league knew he had knocked Janay Rice unconscious drew loud condemnation. The criticism intensified after the new video surfaced Monday. "Goodell elected himself the league's top cop. Is he Barney Fife?" wrote ESPN's Jason Whitlock. "Did he not talk to the police or hotel security personnel who saw the tape?" Goodell told CBS that he wasn't going to step down and that criticism was an everyday part of the position. Did NFL do what it could to see video? While the league said it never saw the new video until it was posted online, many question whether the NFL tried hard enough to view it before Monday. TMZ ran a story Tuesday, citing anonymous sources, saying the NFL never asked the casino for the video, and had it asked, the video would have been handed over. Reacting to that report, NFL officials said they asked state police for evidence related to the case, but authorities did not give the video to them. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that security for Atlantic City casinos is handled by New Jersey State Police. In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, McCarthy said: "Any videos related to an ongoing criminal investigation are held in the custody of the state police. As we said yesterday: We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us." Coy Wire, a former NFL player-turned-Fox sports analyst, told CNN that he doubted the NFL was unaware of the TMZ video. The NFL should have done more to find it, he insisted. "There should have been a way for them to find out," he said. "And if not, well then, they need to hire someone from TMZ to do the investigative services for them because I think that's absurd. "For them to not make a concerted effort to find out what really happened inside the elevator, it baffles me." Former Ravens offensive lineman Wally Williams said that he agrees. "They (the NFL) are just trying to save themselves on this one," he said. "I think they all had an opportunity to see this video." In June, Goodell met with Rice and his wife at the NFL office in New York to hear their versions of what happened. Janay Rice reportedly sat beside her husband as she described what happened. After hearing that and taking another month to evaluate the evidence the league had gathered, Goodell suspended Rice for two games of a 16-game season. He also was to forfeit a third game's pay -- reportedly a total of $529,411. Now Rice's career appears all but over. After the in-elevator video surfaced, he was released by the Ravens and was suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He's not even eligible to play in the Canadian Football League, which honors NFL bans. Goodell, however, told CBS it would be possible for Rice to make an NFL comeback if the running back proved he had addressed the domestic violence issue and that he had paid a price for his actions. The commissioner would have to lift his suspension. A league spokesman said Monday that the commissioner's office would want to provide direction on any potential new contract. Players blast Goodell . Other players and former competitors have expressed their disgust about the entire matter on Twitter. Green Bay Packer T.J. Lang on Monday tweeted, "2 games. Disturbing." Former NFL player London Fletcher's message of disappointment was retweeted more than 1,800 times. "@nflcommish to say you got that wrong is an understatement. Very disappointed in you. Wow...unbelievable." Opinion: Lesson of Ray Rice case -- stop blaming victim . CNN's Jill Martin and Jennifer Bernstein contributed to this report.

Commissioner Roger Goodell tells CBS that the league was unable to obtain in-elevator video . Current and ex-players slam NFL commissioner for how he handled Ray Rice case . Rice was seen in a newly released video punching out his then-fiancée on an elevator . Before the video, Rice was suspended two games and fined .

(CNN)My daughter occasionally goes on a hugging and kissing strike. She's 4. Her parents could get a hug or a kiss, but many people who know her cannot, at least right now. And I won't make her. "I would like you to hug Grandma, but I won't make you do it," I told her recently. "I don't have to?" she asked, cuddling up to me at bedtime, confirming the facts to be sure. No, she doesn't have to. And just to be clear, there is no passive-aggressive, conditional, manipulative nonsense behind my statement. I mean what I say. She doesn't have to hug or kiss anyone just because I say so, not even me. I will not override my own child's currently strong instincts to back off from touching someone who she chooses not to touch. I figure her body is actually hers, not mine. It doesn't belong to her parents, preschool teacher, dance teacher or soccer coach. While she must treat people with respect, she doesn't have to offer physical affection to please them. And the earlier she learns ownership of herself and responsibility for her body, the better for her. The trial of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach accused of sexually abusing young boys, has only strengthened my resolve to teach my kid that it's OK to say no to an adult who lays a hand on her -- even a seemingly friendly hand. Sandusky's comments on child rape allegations . "When we force children to submit to unwanted affection in order not to offend a relative or hurt a friend's feelings, we teach them that their bodies do not really belong to them because they have to push aside their own feelings about what feels right to them," said Irene van der Zande, co-founder and executive director of Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International, a nonprofit specializing in teaching personal safety and violence prevention. "This leads to children getting sexually abused, teen girls submitting to sexual behavior so 'he'll like me' and kids enduring bullying because everyone is 'having fun.' " Protection against predators . Forcing children to touch people when they don't want to leaves them vulnerable to sexual abusers, most of whom are people known to the children they abuse, according to Ursula Wagner, a mental health clinician with the FamilyWorks program at Heartland Alliance in Chicago. None of the child victims of sexual abuse or assault she's counseled was attacked by strangers, she said. Readers react strongly to this article . Sometimes a child picks up on something odd about your brother-in-law that no one knows. It may not be that he's a sexual predator. He may just have no sense of boundaries or tickle too much, which can be torture for a person who doesn't like it. Or he may be a predator. "It sends a message that there are certain situations [when] it's not up to them what they do with their bodies," said Wagner. "If they are obligated to be affectionate even if they don't want to, it makes them vulnerable to sexual abuse later on." Why wait until there's trouble? Parenting coach Sharon Silver worked hard to cultivate her children's detector. Silver says her sons easily pick up on subtle clues that suggest something isn't quite right about particular people or situations. In your child's case, it may be that something's off about Aunt Linda or the music teacher down the street. "It's something inside of you that tells you when something is wrong," said Silver. Training your child to pay attention to those instincts may protect him or her in the future. Having sex to please someone else . Would you want your daughter to have sex with her boyfriend simply to make him happy? Parents who justify ordering their children to kiss grandma might say, "It's different." No, it's not, according to author Jennifer Lehr, who blogs about her parenting style. Ordering children to kiss or hug an adult they don't want to touch teaches them to use their body to please you or someone else in authority or, really, anyone. "The message a child gets is that not only is another person's emotional state their responsibility but that they must also sacrifice their own bodies to buoy another's ego or satisfy their desire for love or affection," said Lehr. "Certainly no parent would wish for their teenager or adult child to feel pressure to reciprocate unwanted sexual advances, yet many teach their children at a young age that it's their job to use their bodies to make others happy," she said. We can't be rude . You might think my daughter's shiftless parents are not teaching her manners, but that's not true. She will shake your hand in greeting or give you a high-five when we're saying goodbye. She knows how to set the table and place a napkin in her lap. She even has me saying a little all-inclusive blessing she brought home from school. We've trained her to say please and thank you so often that she'll say it back to me when I ask her anything. "What did you say?" I sometimes ask her when I didn't hear her. "Please?" she'll answer. No, I meant what did she actually say? (Maybe we're overdoing it.) Once a cheater, always a cheater? She has to be polite when greeting people, whether she knows them or not. When family and friends greet us, I give her the option of "a hug or a high-five." Since she's been watching adults greet each other with a handshake, she sometimes offers that option. We talk about high-fives so often she's started using them to meet anyone, which can make the start of any social occasion look like a touchdown celebration. "When kids are really little and shy, parents can start to offer them choices for treating people with respect and care," said van der Zande. "By age 6 or 7, even shy kids can shake somebody's hand or wave or do something to communicate respect and care. Manners -- treating people with respect and care -- is different than demanding physical displays of affection." It creates more work . Refusing to order her to hand out hugs or kisses on demand means there's more work to keep the relationships going and keep feelings from being hurt. Most of our extended family live far away, so it's my job to teach my kiddo about people she doesn't see on a daily basis. We make sure to keep in contact with calls and Skype and presents. In advance of loved ones' visits, which usually means an all-day plane ride, I talk a lot about how we're related to our guests, what they mean to me and what we're going to do when they arrive. I give them plenty of opportunity to interact with her so she can learn to trust them. I explain to relatives who want to know why we're letting her decide who she touches. And when she does hug them, the joy is palpable. Not from obligation or a direct order from Mom. And while I hope I'm teaching my child how to take care of herself in the future, there are benefits to allowing her to express affection in her own way and on her own timeline. When my child cuddled up to my mother on the sofa recently, happily talking to her about stories and socks and toes and other things, my mother's face lit up. She knew it was real. Did your parents make you hug and kiss relatives? Are your kids required to give grandma a hug? Share your experience in the comments section below.

Katia Hetter does not tell her daughter she must hug or kiss visiting relatives . The Sandusky case solidified her resolve to let her child make choices about her own body . A personal safety expert agrees that children shouldn't be compelled to touch anyone .

(CNN) -- "What # are you at?" The brief e-mail arrived late on the morning of January 24. I keep looking at it. It was from Jeff Zaslow. We first became friends more than 25 years ago. We got together as often as we could when we found ourselves in the same town, usually for long, laughter-filled dinners; Jeff, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, in recent years became the author of multiple big bestselling books, most of them on inspirational themes. "What # are you at?" He was going to be making appearances for his latest book, "The Magic Room," and he had looked at his schedule and saw that he had a few days between speeches in the South. He knew that I'd been holed up in a hotel on the west coast of Florida, trying to get some writing done. He was going to take those two days between speeches to join me and just hang out. So we talked on the phone, and arranged the days. Today -- Sunday, March 4 -- is the day he was to arrive. On February 10, on his way back to his home in suburban Detroit from a book signing in Petoskey, Michigan, the night before, Jeff was killed instantly when, according to police, his car skidded on a snowy road and was hit head-on by an oncoming semitrailer truck. He was 53. Jeff's wife, Sherry, his three daughters, Jordan, Alex and Eden, and his parents, Harry and Naomi, have suffered an unfathomable loss. The obituaries and tributes written by his friends and colleagues have all centered on Jeff's never-ending thoughtfulness and compassion. The tributes have been entirely accurate; the constancy of Jeff's kindness was one of life's rarities. Today, when Jeff should have been arriving for our time together, I'd like to pass on a lesson from him that I believe can be used to great effect by anyone, regardless of his or her line of work. It has to do with the book that first made him a bestselling author, "The Last Lecture," written with Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University. The book was a publishing phenomenon: 5 million copies sold in the English language alone, translations into 48 languages around the world. Some people thought that Jeff got lucky with that book. But luck had nothing to do with it. In early September 2007, Jeff was working on a Wall Street Journal column about a trend he was hearing about at U.S. universities. Professors were thinking what they might say if they had to deliver one last lecture, and were in fact giving those lectures, summing up what had been meaningful in their lives. As he was reporting the piece, Jeff learned that a professor at Carnegie Mellon -- Pausch -- was going to give what might literally be his last lecture. Pausch was dying from pancreatic cancer. It was going to be inconvenient for Jeff to go from Detroit to Pittsburgh for the speech; there was a problem with the price of the flight, and the schedule, and he also had obligations to attend to in Michigan that day. It would have been much easier just to call the professor and get a quote, or have the university send him an audio or video recording of the lecture. Remember: Jeff didn't even know, at that point, whether Pausch's lecture would warrant a whole column. But he got up that morning in Detroit and -- Jeff being Jeff -- decided that he really ought to see for himself. He was an established and respected Wall Street Journal staff member; no one at the paper would have faulted him for doing a quick interview with Pausch on the phone. Jeff got in his car and drove more than 300 miles from Detroit to Pittsburgh to sit in the audience and listen to the speech. A five-hour drive there, and then a five-hour, 300-mile drive back. It paid off spectacularly, of course. The column -- moving, tender, insightful -- was a sensation, and the book that he ended up writing with Pausch gave Jeff a new career in the top echelon of American authors, and provided financial security for his family. But -- and this is what is important -- it was nothing he didn't do all the time. In his work, he always went the extra step -- the extra hundred steps. He never took the easy way. I remember, seven or eight years ago, well before "The Last Lecture," Jeff had come to Chicago to interview an old-time vaudeville performer. To the best of my recollection, the newspaper story was going to have something to do with audiences, or audience reactions. The old performer was going to be one sliver of a longer piece. An easy phone-call interview. But Jeff didn't do things that way. He flew to Chicago and, suitcase in hand (he hadn't checked into his hotel yet), met me at the restaurant where we had arranged to have dinner. At one point we talked about why, at this stage in his career, he still pushed himself so hard. He said he just wanted to look into the man's eyes when he interviewed him the next day. He felt the story would be a little better that way. At the end of the meal we went to the coat-check window; they had taken Jeff's suitcase down a long flight of stairs to store it on a basement level. Jeff didn't want the young woman to have to carry it up the stairs, so he went down to get it. I stood there and watched as he came up the steep flight of stairs, visibly weary, huffing, sweating, lugging the heavy bag; we looked at each other and both of us burst out laughing. "Look at you," I said. "You look like 'Death of a [cuss-word-adjective] Salesman.'" "I know," he said. "Why do I do this?" We both knew the answer. He did it because it was the right way to do a job. And it doesn't matter what a person does for a living. It can be the lawyer who stays late to look up a few more citations of case law, to give his client the best possible chance. It can be the teacher who goes over the lesson plan one more time, adding something vital to it at midnight, even though the students or the school administrators will never be aware of the effort she has put in. It can be the factory worker who takes it upon himself to check the specifications a third and fourth time, wanting to be absolutely certain that the product will be as close to perfect as humanly possible. Does it always pay off, as Jeff's 10 hours on the road paid off with "The Last Lecture"? Of course not. It hardly ever pays off that big. Most times, your boss, your colleagues, your own family will never know that you put in the extra effort when you didn't have to. But you'll know. That's what counts. And when the day finally comes when you have your big success, when you get your big break, it won't be because you made the extra effort once. It will be because you made the extra effort every time. Jeff did. And that's the lesson I'd like to pass on for him. Especially today. The silence at the dinner hour tonight is going to be awfully loud. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Bob Greene says he heard from friend, Jeff Zaslow, 2 weeks before his death in a car crash . He says writer Zaslow's integrity, both personal and professional, was inspiring . He once drove hundreds of miles for a story that he easily could have "phoned in" Greene: Over and over in his life, he took extra steps to get it right -- a lesson for us all .

(CNN) -- "Who's the treasurer?" Brothers Brant and Dylan Ozanich and Wyatt McCall were at a motorcycle shop in Hamilton, Montana, ordering a part for Dylan's bike when they met two old bikers from Texas and talked with them about their trip across the country. Although they had no treasurer, Brant pointed to McCall to answer the question. "You guys are going to need this, trust me," said one of the older men, handing him $200 in cash. The three friends, all in their early 20s, admit they looked a little raggedy at the time. "It was straight kindness," said McCall, and typical of the generosity of the bikers they met across the country. And it turns out, "we did need it the next day for more bike repairs." The generosity of strangers repeated itself during the two-month summer journey of three young men on the cusp of adulthood to find and document Main Street culture and people across the United States. And making the trip on motorcycles connected them not just to the towns and people they visited, but also to the country's biker community. An exploration of biker culture . Contributing their own money and raising funds from family, friends and Kickstarter, the trio started a blog, raised over $10,000 to fund the trip and pay for the pre- and post-production costs of documenting their journey. They documented the journey on their blog and the reddit online community, and they hope to have a documentary and book out sometime next year. Traveling on motorcycles turned out to be key. Dylan rode a 1982 Yamaha XJ 750 Seca ($500 cost); Brant rode a 1980 Yamaha XJ 650 Maxim ($500); and McCall rode a 1985 Honda V65 Magna ($1500 cost). "On Maxim, On Magna, On Seca" was a mantra they picked up for the trip. "We didn't know motorcycles were going to be that much of a connection between people, but they were," said McCall. "Every time you get to a new place, you're part of this new community." "With motorcycles you feel the scenery and the microclimate change and smell the fields you drive through," said Brant. "Besides, it's just plain badass." Finding their first Main Street . They packed up their bikes and left around noon on July 6. They planned to head north, turn east to get to New York, south to Mississippi and then through Texas and the Southwest to return home to California, But they decided not to keep to a strict schedule, allowing for fellow travelers to guide them on their way. It didn't take long to hit pay dirt. A few hours after they hit the road, they found their first Main Street in Point Arena, a small town north of San Francisco. As they hopped off their bikes, the locals they met convinced them to come back the next day for a parade marking Independence Day. "The whole community came out and let us be a part of it and accepted us into the community," Dylan said. That serendipity set the tone for the rest of the trip. The best sandwich in Idaho, or anywhere . The travelers only had a guarantee of places to stay (and eat) in New York and Los Angeles. Everything else would be an exploration, local recommendations and possibly, information from their not-guaranteed Internet connections. The road led them to a Mennonite deli in Clark Fork, Idaho, that "made the best sandwiches we've ever tasted," said McCall. They bought sandwiches and drove a mile down the road into Montana near a bridge to picnic and more. "We jumped off the bridge to swim," Dylan said. And the drive through the Bitterroot Mountain range that cuts Idaho and Montana wasn't too shabby either. They also explored the source of their food, working for five days at Echo Valley Farm in Wisconsin in exchange for room and board. "It was some of the most gorgeous, breathtaking American looking farmland I've ever seen, with rolling green hills and grain mills," Brant said. "It felt like what we were looking for the whole time -- true America heartland." The farm's kindness was typical of the people who gave them shelter on their journey. "We pulled up, three dirty bikers, to this nice sustainable farm," he said. They "showed us a nice place to park the bikes, took us on a tractor up around the whole property and told us about everything they were doing." A willingness of strangers to share their stories was also typical. Shortly after they crossed the Mason Dixon Line into Maryland and found a good campsite at Catoctin Mountain Park, they heard music coming through the woods. "Was it a violin or cello?" said McCall, so they went to explore it. They discovered two older Korean men playing songs about Korea on their saxophones. "We found the coolest guys on the whole trip," said McCall. Busted shocks and other struggles . The trip wasn't without its troubles. Dylan's shocks stopped working somewhere in Montana. "For a few days I didn't know if my bike would be able to make it," he said. But they were able to fix it. "We pulled it all apart in the forest, drained it and put in new fluid." Brant also had the smallest gas tank, holding a gallon less than the other two bikes. He also had the worst gas mileage. And so he ran out of gas at least five times on the trip, and coasted into gas stations on fumes at least three times. "I learned toward the end of the trip to carry a water bottle or two of gas." By the time they arrived home in San Francisco on August 28, everyone was glad to sleep in their own beds again. "For the first six days back, McCall was at his girlfriend's house, and Dylan and I sat on the couch watching movies," said Brant. 'An adult within my society' Giving up the benefits of home for a couple months was worth the journey. Dylan left San Francisco thinking it would be a way to transition from his youth to adulthood. Along the way, he hoped to learn "what it means to be a man in my society." While he doesn't have any specific answers, "seeing my country and understanding what my country is about ... helped me understand that more." While Brant has always liked to travel and experience new things, he thought he would graduate college, get a job and save for his next planned trip. Not anymore. "Being out there in America on the road, and roughing it, inspired me to book a plane ticket to South America with my last $400," he said. "I thought, 'If you did this, you can do pretty much anything without a lot of resources.' " McCall, who had graduated in May not knowing what he wanted to do, thinks travel and video may be his calling.(And he learned how to ride a motorcycle along the way.) The three friends credit each other with making it an amazing experience. "We did get in fights and have problems, but we wouldn't have been able to do it without each other," said Dylan. "Every different leg of the trip, there was one pushing, one dragging and one on a stretcher," he said. "It would change every single day." "We wouldn't have made it across the country and back without the others."

Three young men set out to discover America from their motorcycle seats . The best meal of the trip wasn't in Seattle, New York City or Los Angeles . A national park in Maryland delivered a surprising musical interlude .

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Yemen foiled an al Qaeda plot to capture oil and gas facilities and seize two key southern ports early this week, a spokesman for the prime minister said Wednesday. However, another Yemeni government official said it did not appear that the plot was the terror threat that prompted the United States on Tuesday to urge Americans to leave the country. That official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, downplayed the report of the plot disruption, saying that "these are ongoing threats to oil and gas installations in Yemen." Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula "has neither the manpower nor the capabilities to capture ports or seize pipelines," the official said. "Security precautions are always in place regarding all oil installations and energy infrastructure in Yemen." News of the foiled plot comes after the United States, acting on intelligence information, issued a worldwide travel alert and closed a number of embassies and consulates over large areas of the Middle East and Africa this week. Rajeh Badi, a spokesman for Yemen's prime minister, said that Yemen "ended an al Qaeda plot to attack strategic locations in Mukalla and Shabwa," referring to a Yemeni port city and a southern province. "Large numbers of government forces are making sure the Yemeni coasts are safe from any al Qaeda attack. Al Qaeda sought to attack the oil pipelines, but failed and tried to attack through the coast of Mukalla but failed as well," he said. However, the state news agency Saba denied there was ever an al Qaeda plot to take over Mukalla. It cited a security source it did not name. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. Embassy there remains closed "because we believe that a threat remains." On Tuesday, two U.S. military transport aircraft landed in Yemen to evacuate American citizens. The UK Foreign Office has also withdrawn its embassy staff. A senior Yemeni Interior Ministry official told CNN that "a few" al Qaeda operatives arrived in Sanaa over the past three days, which has forced government authorities to put Yemeni forces on high alert. The official could not be named, as he is not authorized to speak to the media. "We are confident that government security forces will be able to stop any attack from taking place in Sanaa, but the militants do have a good history of operating in Sanaa," he said Tuesday. "It's not a secret that al Qaeda also has sleeper cells in Sanaa," the source said. Bergen: What's behind timing of terror threat . Evacuation troubles Yemen ministry . Psaki said Tuesday that the United States has "a close partnership" with Yemen and that Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken with President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to thank him for his efforts. But in a sign of possible tensions with its international allies, Yemen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the evacuation of embassies "serves the interests of the extremists" and undermined its efforts. List of U.S. embassies and consulates closed this week . "Yemen has taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions in the capital Sanaa," a statement said Tuesday. "While the government of Yemen appreciates foreign governments' concern for the safety of their citizens, the evacuation of embassy staff serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism." Meanwhile, Sanaa residents told CNN of their concern about long-term security issues and fears of possible U.S. intervention in Yemen. University student Sara al-Shibani said she felt Yemen had no option but to concede to "international powers," since the country is weak and poor. She also worries that "many Yemenis will die because of ... foreign involvement in Yemeni politics." "The United States is making Yemenis feel that we are ... the next Afghanistan," said local banker Nasser al-Maqdashi. Drone strikes kill 6; helicopter shot down . Six militants in separate vehicles were killed in two drone strikes in Shabwa province Wednesday morning, according to several official sources in Yemen not authorized to be named. This was the fifth such strike in two weeks, and the second in Shabwa. A local security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN that he does not believe any of those killed were senior al-Qaeda members. The latest strikes came a day after a pair of suspected U.S. drone strikes killed four al Qaeda militants in Yemen. Security sources told CNN about those strikes but didn't offer additional details. None of those killed Tuesday were among the 25 names on the country's most-wanted list, security officials said. It was unclear whether Tuesday's strikes were related to the security alert in place in the country since U.S. officials intercepted a message from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to operatives in Yemen telling them to "do something." The message was sent to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of AQAP, the terror group's Yemeni affiliate. U.S. intelligence believes al-Wuhayshi has recently been appointed the overall terror organization's No. 2 leader. Security Clearance blog: What al Qaeda wants to do . Three sources told CNN that the United States has information that members of AQAP are in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack. Recent jailbreaks in Pakistan, Iraq and Libya all have the fingerprints of al Qaeda operations. Meanwhile, a Yemeni government official not authorized to speak to media told CNN that a Yemeni military helicopter was shot down in Mareb province Tuesday. He said that the helicopter had been inspecting the country's main oil pipeline -- one that has been subject to repeated attacks -- and added Wednesday that "AQAP is now the prime suspect." At least eight people were killed, including the 107th Brigade commander, six army escorts and at least one crew member, he said. AQAP's recent attacks have included a suicide bombing on a pro-government militia in the south in March that killed 12, and an attempted suicide bombing attack on a gas pumping facility in the port city of Balhaf in June. In July, several soldiers were killed by a bomb in Sanaa after a lull in attacks in the capital. AQAP has not mounted a large-scale suicide attack on Yemen's security forces since May 2012, when more than 100 soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber as they trained for a parade in Sanaa. Many of AQAP's operatives, including its leadership, retreated into remote areas after the Yemeni military offensive last year and regrouped. The Yemeni security forces, extensively reorganized under Hadi, have over the past 18 months recaptured swathes of territory that were briefly held by AQAP, particularly in the south of the country. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reported from Beirut and journalist Hakim Almasmari from Sanaa, while Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Elise Labott, Barbara Starr, Tim Lister and Paul Cruickshank contributed to this report.

NEW: The state news agency denies there was a plan to take over Mukalla . A Yemeni official says the foiled plot doesn't appear linked to the threat that concerned the U.S. "Yemen has taken all necessary precautions" for safety, the government says . Two drone strikes in southern Shabwa kill six militants .

(CNN) -- Bullets were pinging off our armor, all over our vehicle, and you could hear multiple RPGs being fired, soaring through the air every which way and impacting all around us. All sorts of crazy insane Hollywood explosions were going off. I've never felt fear like this. I was like, this is it, I'm going to die. Army machine gunner Colby Buzzell posted unfiltered blog entries from Iraq about his combat experiences. When U.S. Army machine gunner Colby Buzzell began blogging about his combat experiences from a military base in Mosul, Iraq, he wasn't looking for attention or trouble. Buzzell just wanted a way to chronicle what he saw and did and felt during the Iraq war. But his visceral, first-hand accounts were a bracing antidote to dry news reports and bloodless Pentagon news releases. In the first major war of the Internet age, Buzzell and other soldier bloggers in Iraq offered readers around the world unfiltered, real-time glimpses of an ongoing conflict. "Here's a soldier in a combat zone ... writing about it and posting it on the Internet. I don't think that's ever been done in previous wars," Buzzell said. "It just provides another perspective that no embedded journalist can ever do," said the veteran, now a freelance writer in San Francisco, California, and the author of "My War: Killing Time in Iraq." "An embedded journalist is just there observing. But a soldier writing about it -- you can't get more embedded than that." See an interview with Buzzell » . A suburban skateboarder with punk-rock sensibilities, Buzzell had no background in creative writing before he joined the Army in 2002. Inspired by a Marine buddy and burned out by a string of dead-end jobs, he signed up after a smooth-talking recruiter offered a signing bonus and sold him on the Army "like it was some [expletive] Club Med vacation." When Buzzell arrived in Iraq in November 2003, he didn't know what a blog was. But after he read an article about a blogger in Time magazine in June 2004, he began posting anonymous journal entries on the Web under the nickname CBFTW (Colby Buzzell F--- The War). "The only writing I knew how to do was ... like I was telling a story to the person next to me," he said. "I'd go to the Internet cafe [at the Army base], and my ears would still be ringing from whatever the experience [was] that day. There were times when I couldn't type fast enough." Over the next six weeks, Buzzell wrote brutally frank, profanity-laced posts about the terror, tedium and misadventures of an infantryman's life in Iraq. At first, few people seemed to notice. But word spread, and before long he was getting hundreds of e-mails a day from readers. Parents of troops in Iraq wrote to thank him for helping them understand their children's wartime perspective. One reader said they found Buzzell's blog more informative than the war coverage in The New York Times. Buzzell even heard from a sympathetic Iraqi in Baghdad who prayed for his safe return to America. But almost nobody -- not even Buzzell's wife -- knew that he was the blogger. Then came August 4, 2004. Mosul erupted in gunfire, and Buzzell's platoon survived an ambush by swarms of black-clad insurgents wielding rocket-propelled grenades. Buzzell witnessed his platoon sergeant survive a bullet through his helmet and narrowly missed being killed himself. The next day, Buzzell went online and found a few brief news reports of the firefight that killed at least 22 Iraqi insurgents and civilians. In his mind, the stories didn't begin to capture what happened. So he wrote a long blog post, titled "Men in Black," about the ambush. I observed a man, dressed all in black with a terrorist beard, jump out all of sudden from the side of a building, he pointed his AK-47 barrel right at my f------ pupils, I froze and then a split second later, I saw the fire from his muzzle flash leaving the end of his barrel and brass shell casings exiting the side of his AK as he was shooting directly at me. I heard and felt the bullets whiz literally inches from my head. The "Men in Black" post attracted media attention, and Buzzell was flooded with e-mails and interview requests from around the world. Based on his descriptions of the Mosul attacks, his commanding officers soon figured out that he was the blog's author. The Army confined Buzzell to the base and began monitoring his posts. Then, after he posted an anti-Iraq war rant by Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, they ordered him to stop blogging. Buzzell's Iraq blog lasted just 10 weeks, but it helped pave the way for others to follow. Today, according to the Army, thousands of active-duty soldiers write some form of online journal, often known as a military blog or "milblog." Pentagon security policy forbids soldiers to publish sensitive information, such as unit locations or the timing of military operations, that might put troops in harm's way. But beyond that, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are encouraged to blog about military life, said Army Public Affairs Spc. Lindy Kyzer. "We're actually entering an era of transparency, where we need to have our soldiers talk. It does open up risks. Once you post something, you can't get it back. But we trust our soldiers with a lot," she said. "They are our best spokespersons. They know what the life of a soldier is like, and it's important to convey that to the American people." Blogging also helps soldiers process traumatic combat experiences that can be hard for them to talk about, Kyzer said. Since leaving Iraq, Buzzell collected his wartime blog posts and journal entries into "My War," which was published in 2005. Excerpts from his Iraq blog also appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience." The war cost Buzzell his marriage and left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, a diagnosis that helped him avoid being redeployed to Iraq last spring. Now 32, he contributes regular features to Esquire magazine and hopes to write another book, the contents of which he's not ready to discuss. Buzzell is no fan of the Iraq conflict, although he's heartened that active-duty soldiers are still reading "My War." "The book is being passed around over there, which is kind of surreal," he said. "I do get e-mails from soldiers over there. Guys will say, 'Thanks for getting our story out,' or 'Things haven't really changed that much since you were here.' "Looking back now, I don't think we had any business [in Iraq]," said Buzzell, who wants to see President-elect Barack Obama end the war. "Hopefully, he gets us out of Iraq in a way that's not a disaster or that gets a lot of soldiers killed."

Army machine gunner Colby Buzzell began blogging from Iraq in 2004 . His blog gained media attention for its refreshing, unvarnished candor . The Army encourages active-duty soldiers to blog as a way to educate the public . But soldiers are prohibited from posting details that could compromise troops' safety .

(CNN) -- You have a brain with billions of neurons. You have thoughts, and you do things because of those thoughts. But how do tiny cells translate into thoughts and actions? The Brain Activity Map initiative is seeking answers to that question. As described in a proposal published online Thursday in the journal Science Express, a group of prominent researchers is proposing a large-scale effort to create new tools to map the human brain in unprecedented detail. This could lead to treatments for brain disorders such as epilepsy, autism, dementia, depression and schizophrenia, as well as ways to restore movement in paralyzed patients. "We don't actually understand (how circuits of neurons) generate all these interesting behaviors we have, like speech and language and thoughts and memory," said John Donoghue of Brown University's department of neuroscience. "What we're hoping is that as the tools develop -- and they will continue to develop -- we have additional insights that will lead to better medical devices." Donoghue and his colleagues are eagerly waiting to see if the federal government will approve new money to pump into the project; the recent spending cuts known as the sequester could affect that prospect. But the scientists' proposal states that the project should be "funded by a partnership between federal and private organizations," and they're already beginning to ramp up their collective efforts, according to George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, who is one of the key minds behind the project. There are already indications of federal interest. President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address in February, said, "If we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas," and alluded to scientists "mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's." Along with talking about drug development and materials science, Obama stated, "Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation." Fixing and manipulating the brain . A big goal of the initiative is to create ways of stimulating neurons that are less invasive than what's currently available, said Church. There is already research being done on brain implants. Parkinson's disease, for example, is being treated with deep brain stimulators, electrical devices in the brain that restimulate specific circuits of neurons that have become faulty. Donoghue is working on a project called BrainGate2, where scientists are developing technologies to reconnect the brain to the body in patients with paralysis. Researchers implant a small sensor -- about the size of a baby aspirin -- in the motor area of the brain. The sensor picks up a person's thoughts about moving, and transforms brain signals into movement signals. Through this technology, researchers have demonstrated that patients can move a computer cursor by thinking and manipulate a robotic arm as if it were their own. A next step will be to connect to the person's own arm or -- if a person has an amputated limb -- to a prosthetic limb that they could control with thoughts. So far, the movements of the robotic arm don't seem as natural, coordinated or quick as a real arm. That's because scientists do not yet understand the precise brain processes involved. The Brain Activity Map project could help, for instance, look at the neural connections involved in brushing teeth. "If we truly understand the code of how the brain does that, we could reproduce it," Donoghue said. Further into the future, if scientists better understand the neural bases of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, it could be possible to also develop treatments by targeting groups of neurons with electrical impulses. "If you understood how thinking emerges from the interaction of many neurons, then you would have ideas about what a disordered thought would look like," Donoghue said. Another set of tools in the project that looks promising is called optogenetics. Ed Boyden of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is well-known for this technique. It involves using proteins that are sensitive to light, derived from other organisms such as algae, and putting them into neurons. Researchers can then use optic fibers to manipulate those neurons. High-density optical fiber arrays would offer more, and thinner, probes for neuronal exploration than bulky electrodes. "About a thousand groups are using these right now to study the brain because it lets you turn on one cell, or one kind of cell, and figure out what it does," Boyden said. "Although we don't have a complete list of the parts of the brain, we know that some cells are different than others, and people can turn on and off those cells to figure out how they work." From worms to humans to cars . The intention of the Brain Activity Map project is to study the human brain, but there is also a lot of work going on in animal models, as they allow opportunities for testing devices before they are deemed safe for human trials. Worms, flies and leeches are good invertebrate candidates, and zebra fish, mice and rats provide another level of depth. "Within 5 years, it should be possible to monitor and/or to control tens of thousands of neurons, and by year 10 that number will increase at least 10-fold," Donoghue and colleagues wrote in the Science article. "By year 15, observing 1 million neurons with markedly reduced invasiveness should be possible." Donoghue anticipates that there will be insights that come out of the Brain Activity Map project that go beyond the human brain. After all, as a result of the space program, we have GPS. We have the Web because a primitive version of it was developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research so that particle physicists could communicate better. How particle smasher and space telescopes relate . In the case of this project, next-generation sensors that work in the brain could also be used to make cars smarter, Donoghue said. For instance, a car could automatically slow down if a soccer ball is detected in the road, anticipating that a child may dart out next. About that money... Researchers compare the economic benefits of brain mapping to the Human Genome Project, which generated $800 billion in economic impact as a result of a $3.8 billion investment, according to the Science Express article. The genome project, for which Church was a key leader, was another one of the "best ideas" Obama mentioned in his State of the Union. The Human Genome Project started out in 1990 with $30 million in funding a year, and was ramped up to $300 million a year, Church said. But Church and his colleagues involved in the brain project have a vision that is akin to what happened after that project ended in 2003. Between 2004 and 2011, Church said, there was a "million-fold" reduction in the cost of genome sequencing, and it's still happening. "Every person who does molecular biology now is a million times more effective because of the cost drop that came after the genome project was over," he said. Cost reduction of brain mapping is also a big aim of the Brain Activity Map project. As technology gets better, it will also get cheaper, Church said. "Rather than have some monolithic juggernaut goal, where we're compulsively going to get this neuron and this neuron and this neuron, I think it's more, we want to enable all the creativity, and maybe even jostle the creativity a little bit, because people can dream different dreams," he said.

Brain Activity Map project wants to study brain in great detail . This could lead to treatments for paralysis, Parkinson's and other brain disorders . Budget cuts may affect funding, but scientists are working with existing resources .

(CNN)If the King had lived, he would have been 80 on Thursday. For Henrik Knudsen, this year brings another significant anniversary worth celebrating. Twenty-five years ago, he decided to quit his job selling power tools to become Denmark's only professional Elvis Presley fan. "I was a sales agent for a long time and I decided I didn't want to be that anymore. I thought, imagine if I could be a full-time Elvis fan," he says. "I knew it was a big leap but I felt like I just had to do it. And a few years later I was." Even by the obsessive levels of fandom still inspired by the defining entertainer of the 20th century nearly four decades after his death, Knudsen takes his duties seriously. He's sitting in a diner booth in the replica of Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion he's built on the outskirts of his hometown of Randers in central Jutland. "We get a lot of Norwegians stopping off. If not for the memorabilia, then for the food," says Knudsen. Elvis sandwiches . There are not, it has to be said, too many other dining options for the bequiffed Nordic trucker with a penchant for blue suede shoes, fresh off the ferry from Stavanger and hungering for a peanut butter, jam, banana and bacon sandwich -- the diner's tribute in cholesterol to its hero's all-American appetite. Like the ebullient Knudsen, Graceland Randers is larger than life. From outside, the neo-classical entrance, guarded by stone lions, and green shutters are unmistakable, but it's twice the size of the Memphis original where Elvis lived from 1957 until his death in 1977. As well as the diner, the mansion houses Knudsen's $1.6 million-valued collection of memorabilia -- instruments and outfits, plus more idiosyncratic items such as cufflinks given to Elvis by U.S. President Richard Nixon, and a baseball glove he used while serving as a soldier in Germany. The collection also features a photo of Denmark's current Queen Margrethe and other Scandinavian royals meeting Elvis during a visit to Hollywood in 1960. "That's a great piece, because you can talk about it to Danes, who are very proud of their queen, and to Americans because they like royalty," Knudsen says. The shop is a treasure trove for vinyl collectors. A casual browse uncovers exotic albums from the former Yugoslavia, India and Japan, and a Dutch rarity featuring alternate tracks by Elvis and swivel-hipped 1980s Welsh wonder Shakin' Stevens. 'All in good taste' Downstairs in the museum, "Aloha from Hawaii" -- Elvis's seminal satellite broadcast from 1973 -- plays on a perpetual loop, while Graceland Randers also broadcasts "Always Elvis," a 24-7 radio station available via a smartphone app astutely summed up by one reviewer as "brilliant if you like Elvis." Knudsen's personally led tours and boundless enthusiasm are a big part of the attraction. "In 1972 I became an Elvis fan, and I was 13 when he died," he says. "For me it started with the music. It's hard to explain. I listened to all kinds of music back then and still today but there is nothing that catches my interest like Elvis." Disappointingly for more morbid-minded Elvis obsessives, there's no replica of the upstairs bathroom suite where he famously left the building for the final time, with the first floor instead serving as a function room. "We realize we are on a thin line here," explains Knudsen. "Is it tacky? Is it cool? Is it a joke? Most people who come here get it. We think we have done this in good taste." Knudsen hit on the idea of building a Danish Graceland in 2006 when he saw a replica of Sun Studio during a visit to Nashville. By then he'd been successfully staging exhibitions since 1993 and was looking for a permanent home for his expanding collection. "I wondered how much it would be, and thought maybe five million kroner ($822,000). I contacted an architect -- I knew his wife was an Elvis fan and that was why I dared even call him. "We went to Memphis to see the real thing. And when we came home he did some drawings and said 'It's not five million kroner, it's 20 million.'" Birthday treat . Backed by local business and civic leaders, the house opened at an eventual cost of 26 million kroner ($4.27m) in 2011 and now draws almost 120,000 visitors a year. "There was never a business plan, but one step just led to the next," says Knudsen. "If someone had told me in 1972 that I would be living off Elvis I'd have said they were crazy. If you'd told me in 1990 that I'd have people working for me then I'd have said you were crazy. "And if somebody had told me that we would build Graceland in Randers I wouldn't have believed it." These days Knudsen is a major player in the Elvis industry, even without the blessing of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which licenses official products and ventures, and has been touted as a potential buyer of Elvis's planes, which were put up for sale last year. "I have a nice letter which Priscilla [Presley, Elvis's ex-wife] wrote to Graceland Randers with a smiley face, but EPE don't like us at all. I think they should be grateful that someone is putting money in their pockets. "All the merchandise we sell is licensed, and I am bringing Danes to America on Elvis tours." Still, Knudsen's devotion has delivered a birthday treat for local fans with the TCB Band, Elvis's backing musicians during his Las Vegas years, and others who shared a stage with him set to perform in Randers on Thursday night. "We have the TCB Band, which is the band he used from 1969 until his death. Then we have his backup singers, the Imperials, and we have his musical director, Joe Guercio. "For them to be here in Randers, of all the places in the world, on his birthday, I think it's pretty remarkable." Graceland Randers, Vej 3, 8960 Randers, Denmark; +45 86 42 96 96 . Simon Hooper has worked as a journalist covering international news, politics and sports for websites and publications including CNN, the New Statesman, Sports Illustrated and The Blizzard. He was named Freelance Writer of the Year at the 2014 Online Media Awards. He tweets @simonbhooper.

Elvis Presley fan Henrik Knudsen has created a larger-than-life replica of Graceland in Denmark's Jutland region . Graceland Randers features a $1.6 million-valued collection of Elvis memorabilia . The venue will mark Elvis's 80th birthday with a performance featuring some of the King's old backing band .

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Two of Moammar Gadhafi's sons, who had been reported captured over the weekend, were free early Tuesday as forces loyal to the embattled Libyan leader battled rebels trying to consolidate their hold on Tripoli. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi showed up at the Rixos Hotel, one of the remaining strongholds of pro-Gadhafi forces, in a convoy of armored Land Cruisers. In a brief interview with CNN's Matthew Chance, he said his father and several of his sisters were safe in Tripoli, and that loyal troops had "broken the back" of the rebels who moved into the capital over the weekend. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, had been reported captured on Sunday along with two of his brothers. Another of those siblings, Mohammed Gadhafi, was reported to have escaped Monday, according to the Libyan ambassador to the United States. There was no immediate explanation from the National Transitional Council, the rebel leadership that had announced their capture Sunday. The younger Gadhafi said news of his arrest had been a trick by the rebels, and that he had been traveling around Tripoli in his armored convoy the entire time. He said that government forces had lured the rebels into a trap in the capital, and that Gadhafi loyalists "have broken the spines of those rats and those gangsters." Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, had said Sunday that he would seek Saif al-Islam Gadhafi's extradition following his capture. Asked about the warrant for his arrest, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi told reporters, "To hell with the ICC." The rebels had most of Tripoli under their control late Monday, but pitched battles continued at various points around the city and Moammar Gadhafi's whereabouts remained unknown. Gun battles in the area around the longtime Libyan strongman's former Bab al-Aziziya compound echoed until after nightfall Monday. "The real moment of victory is when Gadhafi is captured," NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil told reporters in Benghazi. Gadhafi has held power in Libya since a September 1969 coup. The rebellion against him began in February and has been aided by NATO airstrikes that began in March, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians. The revolt gained momentum rapidly in the past two weeks, with rebel forces launching their push on Tripoli over the weekend. In a statement to reporters from his vacation on the Massachusetts resort island of Martha's Vineyard, U.S. President Barack Obama said that while situation remained fluid, it was clear that "Gadhafi's rule is over." "The pursuit of human dignity is stronger than any dictator," he said. On Sunday, Gadhafi took to the airwaves several times urging citizens, including women, to fight the rebels -- whom he called "very small groups of people who are collaborators with the imperialists." "Get out and lead, lead, lead the people to paradise," he said. Under Gadhafi, Libyans lived "as slaves," a 23-year-old Tripoli woman, who agreed to be identified only as Noura, told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." Though Gadhafi is the only Libyan leader she has ever known, his ouster "will be the best thing that ever happened to me," Noura said. "I will thank Allah for every moment I will live without him, without his control and without his sons' control as well," she said. If the Gadhafi regime falls, it would follow revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt this year in what is known as the Arab Spring. A spate of other countries in the region -- including Bahrain, Yemen and Syria -- have also seen protests by citizens demanding more freedom and a change in regime. In many cases, these demonstrations have been met with brute force. But pro-Gadhafi forces were still fighting into the early hours of Tuesday. Tracer fire, anti-aircraft guns and artillery could be seen and heard around Zawiya, about 30 miles west of the capital, which was a strategic steppingstone for the rebel advance into Tripoli over the weekend. NATO warplanes flew overhead at times, and ambulances raced through the town after the fighting erupted. Gadhafi's forces also fired at least three missiles at the rebel-held city of Misrata, east of Tripoli, on Monday evening, the NATO alliance reported. NATO said it had no reports of damage or injuries, but called the launches a "direct threat to innocent people." "Although the surface-to-surface missiles in Gadhafi's arsenal are highly inaccurate, and are not designed to hit a specific target, they are a weapon of terror," NATO said. "Their use against an urban or industrial area is utterly irresponsible." At least one missile was a Soviet-era Scud, launched from near Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, said a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday evening. NATO forces destroyed another of the missiles on the ground over the weekend, and another of the short- to medium-range missiles was fired at rebel forces last week but exploded harmlessly in the desert, a senior NATO official said. U.S. and NATO officials said they were concerned forces loyal to Gadhafi might stage a last-ditch attack against civilians. Senior levels of NATO were watching closely for any sign of a massing of Libyan government forces or the movement of weapons such as rockets or artillery, said a senior allied official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of sensitive intelligence matters. Former U.S. diplomat Nicholas Burns told CNN that it was "imperative" that Gadhafi be found quickly and the fighting brought to an end. "The danger here is that this insurgency could continue, the fighting could continue, as long as Gadhafi believes he's still in power," Burns said. The rebels on Monday also arrested Hala Misrati, an anchor from Libya's state-run television. Misrati had brandished a gun on air over the weekend and said that staffers at the television station were prepared to become martyrs. "With this weapon, I either kill or die today," she said Sunday. Rebels said they found her in her car near a coffee shop Monday, and pandemonium ensued when word got out that Misrati had been arrested. Witnesses said Misrati was unharmed but would not be speaking to reporters. A cordon of soldiers quickly formed to isolate her from media representatives, other rebels and gawkers. CNN's Sara Sidner, Jomana Karadsheh, Kareem Khadder, Raja Razek, Christine Theodorou, Kamal Ghattas, Roba Alhenawi, Holly Yan, Chelsea J. Carter, Josh Levs and Barbara Starr and journalist Mike Mount contributed to this report.

NEW: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi appears at Tripoli hotel after report of capture . Another of Gadhafi's sons is reported to have escaped . Sporadic fighting persists in Tripoli as Gadhafi's whereabouts remain unknown . Scud missile fired from Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte; target undetermined .

(CNN) -- Intan Suci Nurhati was on her way to a religious gathering when her sisters called to say they were under attack. "They were running for their safety as they called," she said. "When I heard, I realized how far it was to the main compound, and I was like, 'Oh, my God.' " Nurhati and her family are members of a Muslim minority sect called the Ahmadi, who hold annual gatherings in each country where they have a community. It was in July 2005 that the Indonesian gathering came under attack by -- Nurhati estimates -- 10,000 people throwing stones. The protesters outnumbered the Ahmadi by 100 to 1. Nurhati was on her way to the gathering in Parung, West Java province, from the capital Jakarta with a member of the Indonesian Parliament when the attack happened. By the time she arrived, houses and books had been burned, she said. "No one was killed, but there were some minor injuries from the throwing of rocks. We decided to call off the conference. It was unsafe to go on with the gathering," said Nurhati, 27, a graduate student studying climate change at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. "There was so much anger in their faces," said Nurhati, a native of Indonesia who has been living in the United States for 10 years. Police provided buses to get the Ahmadi community to safety, but Nurhati does not know of any arrests or prosecutions as a result of the attack. "It was really disappointing. We have the right to be there. But the police were trying to minimize the clashes, rather than trying to say we have the right to be there," she said. Indonesia -- the most populous Muslim country in the world -- is often touted as an example of tolerance and democracy in the Islamic world. But a huge new study suggests it's actually among the most restrictive countries in the world when it comes to religion. The study charted publicly reported incidents of religious violence, intolerance, intimidation and discrimination in 198 countries and territories from mid-2006 to mid-2008, its authors said. Brian Grim, the lead researcher on the project, said he worked on the study for more than three years. The report looks not only at legal restrictions, but also at how laws are implemented and how social tensions restrict freedom of religion, even where there is no official or legal bar against the practice. Indonesia has both. In fact, more than two out of three people around the world live in countries with high or very high restrictions on religion, according to the report, which claims to be the first to systematically measure religious discrimination. It produced some surprising findings and makes it possible to compare countries in ways that could not be done before, its authors say. "Most reports don't try to quantify," Grim said. "What you are left with is studies that don't allow you to see patterns." The study, "Global Restrictions on Religion," found some interesting ones. For example, "religion-related violence happens in the majority of countries, but only in one in 10 does that escalate" to terrorism causing casualties, Grim said. The study tracked violence between religious groups in 126 countries -- 64 percent of the countries in the survey. But there was religion-related terrorism leading to injury or death in only 17 countries -- 9 percent of those in the study. In about a quarter of all countries, majority groups use force or threat of force against minority religions, according to the study, from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington. Nearly half of all countries restrict the activities of foreign missionaries or prohibit them altogether. Ninety percent have some requirement that religious groups register with the government, usually in return for some benefit such as a tax exemption. But in 40 percent of countries, those registration requirements result in major problems for those groups. "Others often focus on naming and shaming, but this one is looking more in depth at what goes on on the street in countries -- what affects a person's ability to freely practice religion in society," Grim said. "Sometimes, one incident of violence can affect a whole country." The report also makes it possible to compare what kinds of restrictions are placed on religious practices in different countries. China, for example, has tight legal controls on the practice of religion, but has has relatively little social conflict over faith. India, by contrast, has only moderate government restrictions on religious observance, but very high levels of social hostility -- primarily between Muslims and Hindus. Brazil has the lowest ratings in both categories among the 25 largest countries in the world, while Pakistan has the highest, followed closely by Indonesia. Egypt, Iran and Bangladesh also rate poorly for religious freedom, while Japan, the United States, South Africa, Italy and the United Kingdom score well. European governments place more restrictions on religion than do governments in sub-Saharan Africa or South America, the survey concluded. While the U.S. has a low level of government restriction on religion, it does experience a moderate amount of social tension, the report found. "The test is not whether someone who belongs to the majority faith and is affluent and is socially advanced feels restrictions, but whether religious minorities do," said Alan Cooperman, associate director of research at the Pew Forum. "So in the United States, what does a Muslim woman who wears a hijab in a small city feel?" Religious discrimination in the United States is not simply a matter of people feeling uncomfortable, he added. "Law enforcement officials report to the FBI every year on hate crimes, including religious bias," he said. "There were about 1,400 each year [in the study], and they were reported in nearly all 50 states. Those crimes run the gamut, but they include arsons." The U.S. was also marked down because of the Bush administration's "global war on terror," Grim said. "The fact [is] that we have detainees from a war that at least one side is calling religion-related -- the Guantanamo detainees," he said. Neither the September 11, 2001, attacks and their aftermath, nor the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas this year were included in the time period covered by the study, he said, but both could have increased the U.S. score for social hostilities based on religion, Grim said. "Scores are not fixed. Situations can change, which is why we are looking at this as an over-time study," he said. "Countries and societies will change in how they respond to the situations they face." In fact, the authors plan to revisit the question of religious restrictions regularly, so they can track changes over time, and the U.S. might rank differently when the Fort Hood shootings are included -- if investigators rule that they were motivated at least partly by religion. The study authors do not assign motives to incidents of discrimination, instead relying on local sources to determine the causes. The study does not rank countries from "best" to "worst" -- saying such a list would not be meaningful -- but instead groups them into those with very high restrictions, high restrictions, moderate or low. It does not include North Korea, because there is not enough reliable data from the reclusive communist state, the authors said. CNN's Tricia Escobedo in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Study charts discrimination, violence, intimidation in 198 countries, territories . It looks at how legal restrictions, social tensions restrict freedom of religion . Brazil rates lowest in religious legal controls, social conflict among 25 largest nations . Japan, U.S., S. Africa, Italy, UK score well in religious freedom; Egypt, Iran, Bangladesh don't .

(CNN) -- It's hard for today's generation to imagine watching TV in the 1960s -- there was no TiVo or DVR (or even VCR). You watched what the networks put on and that was it. And oh yeah, there were only three channels. Yet television made some groundbreaking advancements in this decade as we learned from this week's episode of "The Sixties," and here are a few of them: . 1. Television becomes a political force . By 1960, most American households had a television, and that year's Nixon/Kennedy debate was the first televised presidential debate. For many Americans, it was their first introduction to John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy was approached about the idea of debating his political opponent on television, he agreed immediately. Kennedy was comfortable on-camera and sure he'd win. Nixon, however, began to sweat during the televised debate, and the American people began to doubt him. No one realized just how much TV mattered until after those 1960 debates. Later that election season, Kennedy appeared as a guest on NBC's "The Jack Parr Tonight Show"; and when Nixon ran for president again in 1968, he made a brief appearance on the sketch comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and uttered the show's famous catchphrase, "Sock it to me." It was the first time a presidential candidate had appeared on a comedy show. For the rest of his life, Nixon maintained that his appearance on "Laugh-In" won him the 1968 election. So while TV arguably cost Nixon the election once, it may very well have snagged him the election the second time around. If you enjoyed President Barack Obama's appearances on "The Tonight Show" and Letterman, you can thank Richard Nixon. From "The Sixties: Television Comes of Age" episode: Watch infamous "Tonight Show" tomahawk demo . 2. The rise of TV journalism . Before the Kennedy presidency, television was far behind print journalism in terms of sources audiences relied upon for news. But soon, people relied on TV news for the day's headlines as well as information on American troops in Vietnam, particularly the numbers of those killed or wounded. When something major happened on TV, it affected the whole country at the same exact time. TV news was the polar opposite of entertainment TV. The civil rights era, the JFK assassination and the space race all unfolded on TV. As David Brinkley stated, "Television showed the American people TO the American people." During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, 83 million Americans were glued to their television sets as 10,000 antiwar protesters outside the Chicago Hilton chanted, "The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!" over and over as police pushed the crowd off Chicago's Balbo Drive. 3. TV reaches a broader audience . "The TV was the center of the house," recalled Tom Hanks, one of the executive producers of CNN's "The Sixties" series. "I don't remember a time without TV." Remember, there were only three channels (CBS, NBC and ABC) during the decade, and usually only one TV set per household. There were no "for mature audiences only" warnings. The syrupy sitcoms of the 1950s made way for shows such as "The Dick van Dyke Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show." These showcased more realistic situations, although there were still the same idealized versions of humanity as the previous decade. Griffith has stated that he put the best parts of himself and the people in his life into the inhabitants of the fictional town of Mayberry to achieve a blend of emotional honesty and laughs. That blueprint served as the benchmark for sitcoms for decades to come. "Leave It to Beaver," which aired from 1957 to 1963, was the first show shot from the perspective of a child, bringing to life those universal embarrassing moments from childhood that kids were certain they'd never overcome, such as bringing home a bad grade or approaching the object of one's affection. Related: Archive of CNN's May 29th Facebook Q&A with Jerry Mathers . That kid-centric model was later replicated in TV shows such as "The Wonder Years" and, more recently, "The Goldbergs." Eventually, shows began blending that "reality" with fantasy, which led to copycats: "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters," "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie," and "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres." 4. The advent of the variety show . During the '60s, there were 18 variety shows going on three networks! It's safe to say that television went "variety show crazy" for a while. Sunday night at 8 meant Ed Sullivan; but Dean Martin, Danny Kaye, Danny Thomas and Carol Burnett, to name a few, had eponymous variety-hour programs, too. Beatles + Sullivan = Revolution: Why Beatlemania could never happen today . Variety was considered a man's game at the time, but Burnett broke down a lot of walls with her three-wall sketch show. She and her cast mates sang, danced and did pratfalls -- often breaking character and cracking one another up in the process. Kind of a precursor to SNL's Debbie Downer sketch or most of Jimmy Fallon's SNL sketches. Burnett felt that if she was having fun, her audience would, too. From "The Sixties: Television Comes of Age" episode: Carol Burnett's pratfalls . 5. Television begins to tackle serious issues . Through a fantasy/sci-fi lens, "The Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling often told stories of racism and fascism. Similarly, "Star Trek" addressed the notion of a time where social evolution has eradicated prejudice and mankind possesses no bias whatsoever. The space age series even featured TV's first interracial kiss, in which Capt. James Kirk tells Lt. Uhura, a black woman, "Where I come from, size, shape, or color makes no difference." What you might not know about the 1964 Civil Rights Act . When Bill Cosby won the Emmy Award for male lead in "I Spy" in 1968, he stated in his acceptance speech, "We need more people in this industry to ... let it be known to the bigots and the racists that they don't count." Incidentally, race was a nonissue in "I Spy." Cosby and actor Robert Culp, who was white, were equals in the series in which they played intelligence officers. BONUS: There actually IS a legit reason why The Flying Nun can "fly" The explanation: She weighs 90 pounds and the combination of her cornet and the wind lifts her. Totally makes sense. Now if only someone could explain how The Professor made all those nifty contraptions -- usually out of coconuts -- but couldn't cobble together a (coconut) raft to get the gang off "Gilligan's Island." Related: How Sally Field's 'Gidget' broke the rules . Related: Television today is much better, right? Related: 20 groundbreaking moments from '60s TV .

In the '60s, Americans came to rely on TV for information and entertainment . With the Kennedy-Nixon debate, TV changed political campaigns . Shows, like "The Twilight Zone," tackled hot-button issues like racism .

(CNN) -- It says something about the popularity of "Dancing With the Stars" that the show's professional dancers have become almost as famous as the celebrities they're paired with. Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson celebrate after winning last season's "Dancing With the Stars." Take Mark Ballas, who last season waltzed and tangoed his way to a first-place finish with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson -- his second mirror ball trophy since he joined the hit series in 2007. At just 23, Ballas is already recognized on the street, he's in a band with fellow "Dancing" pro Derek Hough, and he's thinking about branching out into acting. For the new season of "Dancing With the Stars," which begins Monday, Ballas is paired with Melissa Joan Hart, best known for her roles in the television series "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "Clarissa Explains It All." Ballas spoke to CNN about his new celebrity partner, his training routine and whether former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul could find a new home on the show. The following is an edited version of that interview. CNN: What is Melissa Joan Hart like as a dancer? Mark Ballas: She's doing really well so far. I think she's going to shock a lot of people, and I think they will love her personality. She's really bright and bubbly. CNN: Does she have any dancing experience? Ballas: No, she's never danced before. I mean, she took a couple of ballet classes when she was a child, but everyone's done that. She's never danced like this before, so it's been a bit of a learning curve for her, but hopefully she'll smooth it out. CNN: Did you know who she was before you were matched? Ballas: Oh, yeah. I used to watch her shows all the time when I was younger. I would watch "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" after school. CNN: Do you get any input in what celebrity you are paired with? Ballas: No, we get no choice whatsoever. It's basically [dependent on] whether they think our personalities will be compatible and also on height. You have to be the right height, because if someone is 6 feet and your partner is 5 feet, it won't work out. CNN: How do you choreograph dances? Do you like to use certain routines over again? Ballas: I start fresh every time. Having a good song is definitely helpful, and when you get a new song, it's really inspiring and makes you want to move, and that's the fun of it. You always want to keep things fresh, and I always keep challenging myself, like how can I outdo what I did last time? CNN: The facial expressions seem so important in ballroom dancing. How do you teach that to your celebrity partners? Ballas: That's something you can't teach. Obviously, you explain what the dance is and how you have to act and what you should be thinking, but you don't choreograph facial expressions. That's got to come from the heart and the soul, and you just have to feel it. CNN: If you have a celebrity partner like Kim Kardashian, who was criticized for being wooden on the dance floor, is there anything you can do? Ballas: The best thing to do is to make them feel comfortable. Kim got very shy when the cameras were on, and she would always dance a lot better off camera. But sometimes, dancing just isn't for certain people. Kim and I had a great time together and still are good friends to this day. But dancing wasn't her thing, she just didn't take to it. CNN: Do you keep in touch with your former partners? Ballas: Yes, I talk to Shawn [Johnson] and Kristi Yamaguchi all the time; I talked to Kim Kardashian about an hour ago. We stay good friends. Kristi Yamaguchi was amazing to work with -- great temperament, really eager to learn, she was like a machine. Kim Kardashian was a doll. We talk all the time, we hang out when we can, she's a lot of fun. Shawn Johnson was just a joy to work with, from start to finish. Just an absolute sweetheart. We had a lot of fun, we laughed a lot. CNN: A lot of people were surprised that actor Gilles Marini didn't win last season. What's your take on that? Ballas: I definitely feel that Shawn was the better dancer. Gilles was a great performer, but technically -- if you were looking at technique and you're looking at dancing -- Shawn was the stronger dancer. Her routines were a lot harder, her technique was a lot stronger ... especially in the last four weeks. I definitely feel like it was a fair result. CNN: Your father, Corky Ballas, who is also a professional dancer, made quite a splash when he was paired with 80-something Cloris Leachman on "Dancing" last year. Is he coming back to the show anytime soon? Ballas: I hope so. It was a lot of fun having him around, and I thought he was amazing, of course. They were a great team, absolutely hilarious. I'm sure if they ask him back, which I'm hoping they do, that he would definitely come back. CNN: There were some suggestions that Paula Abdul might join the show as a judge. What do you think about that? Ballas: I think that Paula would be great as a contestant. If she wanted to be on our show, she should come on to compete and be partnered with one of us. As far as the judges, I love our judges. I think our judges are great, and I think we've got a great system, and I don't think there would be any need for an extra judge. I love Paula -- I've met her several times because "American Idol" is right next door to us. I would love for her to come on the show and be my partner. CNN: Are you recognized on the street? Ballas: I have loads of people come up to me. They ask questions about the season. It's really nice, and I really appreciate it. CNN: Your fellow pros on "Dancing," Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, broke off their engagement recently. Is that going to affect the show in any way? Ballas: We're all very professional. These things happen. It will definitely not affect the show, we'll keep on dancing. You won't even be able to tell. I've talked to Max several times. He's doing OK. These things are never easy, and Max is a dear, dear friend of mine. I've known him for 13 years. CNN: What are your career goals beyond dancing? Ballas: I'm actually a guitar player and a singer/songwriter. I studied musical theater and music and vocals. Anything to do with music is definitely a big goal of mine. I've studied acting for 10 years, so I'd love to do film at some point as well.

Professional dancer Mark Ballas is paired with Melissa Joan Hart this season . The two-time champ of "Dancing With the Stars" finds her "bright and bubbly" Ballas: Paula Abdul would be great as a contestant, but isn't needed as a judge . Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff's breakup won't affect the show, he says .

(CNN) -- A young woman, her face wet with tears, stares into the lens of a video camera. "Believe me when I tell you," she says, her voice breaking, "that if this wasn't necessary, that if my dad knew that he could make us survive in Mexico, he would have never brought us here." She and two other young people, all of whom live in Los Angeles, are the subjects of Eliot Rausch's new film "Limbo." The 19-minute film was to premiere Friday in New York as part of the 2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards. Held every 18 months, the event is hosted by video-sharing site Vimeo to celebrate the Internet as a medium for film and bring together members of the Vimeo community who interact regularly online but rarely meet. Vimeo reports more than 8 million users and more than 65 million unique visitors per month. "So much in our daily lives now, we only meet people online," said festival co-director Jeremy Boxer. "We wanted to do something that was a hybrid between a conference and a film festival." An emerging showcase for online film, this year's festival features lectures by industry veterans like filmmaker Ed Burns and Academy Award-nominated documentarian Lucy Walker plus workshops and screenings. Thirteen films were selected for top awards out of a pool of 14,567 submissions from 147 countries. A panel of judges, including Rausch and actors Aziz Ansari and James Franco, chose which films received the $5,000 prizes. The festival's $25,000 grand prize was awarded Thursday night to directing collective Everynone for its lyrical three-minute film, "Symmetry." All the award winners -- films must be no longer than 20 minutes -- can be viewed online. "Limbo" will be posted on Vimeo within the next few days, said Deborah Szajngarten, the site's global communications director. From 'Oden' to 'Limbo' Rausch won the grand prize at the first Vimeo Festival + Awards, held in late 2010, for his short film "Last Minutes with Oden." The film documents ex-convict Jason Wood's emotions as he must euthanize his beloved dog, Oden, who had been suffering from cancer. A poignant chronicle of love between human and pet, it has been viewed on Vimeo 2.5 million times. But after winning the award, Rausch felt guilty. "I think the project was exploiting the life of a friend and his suffering," he said. So, in the months that followed, Rausch came up with the idea to use his $25,000 prize money to create a film that might empower his subjects instead of simply chronicling their struggles. Rausch, 30, was working with students who benefit from the California DREAM Act when he stumbled upon the spark for "Limbo." The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors), a legal means of providing paperless illegal-immigrant youth access to higher education and financial aid, was signed into California law in October 2011. The federal version of the bill, which has stalled in the Senate, may become a divisive issue in the presidential election. Three "Dreamers" caught Rausch's attention when they shared their life stories with him last year in a private meeting. All three are undocumented teenagers from Mexico who are living with family members in East Los Angeles, Rausch said. "All three of them came over the border [between Mexico and the United States] illegally at a very young age where they didn't have a choice," he said. He declined to reveal names or other personal details about his subjects, who risk deportation. Rausch saw a film taking shape from the narratives of the man and the two young women but couldn't figure out how to construct it. Then he noticed the first-person video being posted online during last year's Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and elsewhere, and it occurred to him that he could give his three subjects the tools to tell their own story. Last September, Rausch gave them point-and-shoot video cameras and asked that they use them to document their lives. "I quickly realized that the technology is there, that each individual is becoming his or her own journalist," Rausch said. "I thought, could there be a chance to empower the subject matter themselves to capture the story? Could they present their own film? And I could just step out of the way and be there as a teacher?" This approach, Rausch believes, is in keeping with our mobile digital age, in which every person with a smartphone or a Flip camera is a potential journalist. "We're in a time where all these resources and tools are available to everybody," agreed Boxer, the festival director. 'Giving the voiceless a voice' After an introduction to filmmaking and three months of daily shooting, the three apprentice filmmakers presented Rausch with more than 100 hours of intimate, sometimes gut-wrenching footage. One young narrator used her video camera to document her family's painful search for her father after his arrest and deportation to Mexico. Since he was deported, she and her family members have been trying to support themselves by baking and selling bread. "I know that under the law what we're doing [being in the U.S. illegally] is a crime," says the teary young woman in the film. "But we're just trying to survive." She said the ordeal has given her new respect for her mother. "She's the strongest woman I've ever known. No matter what life throws at her, she's always been able to get up." The woman, who wants to be a lawyer, said that documenting herself on video was a learning process. "It was hard," she said. "I didn't want to take the camera at times." The other young woman in the film also hopes to become a lawyer, while the man aspires to be a journalist, Rausch said. He and producer Mark Schwartz spent countless hours pruning down the trio's footage to make the film. Rausch said he didn't make "Limbo" as a political statement about the hot-button issue of immigration. "It was more about giving the voiceless a voice," he said. While he ceded control of the narrative to the students, Rausch still assigns his own meaning to the final cut. "It's ultimately a social experiment," he said. Rausch said he hopes "Limbo" can represent a new, unfiltered form of cinematic storytelling. "We're at a point in time now where myself, documentarians and filmmakers should start finding ways to actually empower the story to tell itself rather than putting our own spin on it," he said. "So let's find ways to purify, simplify and get to the core of the experience rather than waiting for the perfect production or perfect way to articulate it." After "Last Minutes with Oden," his conscience has been appeased. "I know for a moment in time, [these] three teens felt valued," he said. "Their voices were heard and I can sleep OK tonight."

"Limbo" was to premiere Friday in New York as part of the 2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards . The short film by Eliot Rausch chronicles the lives of three young illegal immigrants . A previous Rausch film, "Last Minutes with Oden," has been viewed 2.5 million times . Thirteen films were selected for top Vimeo awards out of a pool of 14,567 submissions .

(CNN) -- Never during its 92 year history has the NFL experienced anything like this: battles everywhere, but not inside stadiums. They're occurring in federal courtrooms, where more than 100 former players are suing the league over various health issues they claim were caused by negligence on the part of everybody from the commissioner to trainers to coaches. Then there is The Dissenter. The more Lester Hayes spoke on the other end of the phone from his home in Modesto, California, the more he delivered a blindsided sack to conventional wisdom. This was after I asked the former cornerback great for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders whether coaches, team executives or even leagues are responsible for the epidemic of long-term injuries to current and former players. Does brain injury link NFL players, wounded warriors? Hayes responded with the speed of a blitz. Despite his lifelong battle with stuttering, he said clearly, "It's all on the players, not anybody else, because the players have the same gladiator genes that existed in Rome over 2,000 years ago. They have a love of football to the 10th power. So the players make the final call. Trust me. No matter what they are told by doctors or anybody else, they will fight to play." Let that sink in for a moment. Now consider that a slew of Hayes' former NFL peers disagree. Big time. In fact, Pro Football Hall of Fame runner Eric Dickerson just joined all those other retired players in filing lawsuits in federal courts alleging that the league hasn't done enough to protect players from concussions and other football-related injuries. Ohio State linebacker choosing career over concussions . There also have been at least 12 suicides involving former NFL players during the last 25 years, including perennial Pro Bowl defenders Junior Seau and Dave Duerson within the last 14 months. According to the suing players, such tragedies are related to the league's negligence in fully explaining the health risk of concussions to players. Not only that, the suing players claim the league isn't allocating enough of its estimated $9 billion in total revenue each season toward the proper care of its current and former players suffering from head trauma and other football-related injuries. All Hayes knows is that, at 57 and in the midst of his decades-long run as a football youth coach in Modesto, his health is just fine after his 10 years with the Raiders through 1986. No knee or back troubles. Definitely no post-concussion woes. Remember, too, that Hayes played during that generation of Raiders teams noted for mixing it up so much that he said the collisions "sounded like a 12-gauge shotgun blast." He contributed to more than a few of those blasts with noted enforcers for the Raiders such as Jack Tatum, George Atkinson, Ted Hendricks and John Matuszak. Along Hayes' way to five Pro Bowls, two Super Bowl rings and 1980 NFL Player of the Year honors, he was known as everything from Lester The Molester to The Judge to The Only True Jedi. Now just call him The Dissenter. "Lord, have mercy. It's so much safer to play in the NFL these days than during my time," Hayes said, referring to the NFL Players Association joining former players in urging the league to make things even safer. The league has responded. You've had NFL commissioner Roger Goodell doing everything from moving kickoffs up five yards (to reduce the number of injuries on kickoff returns) to delivering heavy fines to defenders who slam into quarterbacks too harshly. There also are strict guidelines for teams to follow when a player has just the hint of a concussion. Hayes chuckled, saying, "We didn't have any guidelines. You could actually lead with your face mask (as a defender) -- putting your face mask on an opposing player's face mask, without a $15,000 fine. You could throw a forearm shiver to the throat. People played with broken bones. Guys would carry smelling salt in their socks, so if you got a little woozy on the field, you'd reach into your sock for help." Then there was the "secret room." According to Hayes, it was a staple for the Raiders. "I don't know what other teams had, but I'm sure they had something that was similar," he said, referring to the place at stadiums that players visited on game days to receive a series of painkilling shots. That said, Hayes said Raiders team doctor Robert Rosenfeld spent more time trying to talk him and other players out of taking the shots than otherwise. "It was 1985, and I had never missed a game, and me and Dr. Rosenfeld were going at it -- back and forth, and I'm begging him, just pleading and screaming at him, 'Doc, I've got to play. Give me the shot,' " said Hayes, recalling what was a lengthy shouting match at the time on how to handle his strained calf muscle. "The Doc is telling me, 'Lester, take a few days off. I don't like shooting muscle.' But it's going back and forth, with me yelling. And God rest his soul, he wouldn't back down, not until I just forced him to do it. He always showed a lot of love and compassion." I encountered Rosenfeld, who died in 1994, as a Raiders beat writer for the San Francisco Examiner during the early 1980s, so I know Hayes speaks the truth -- for some Raiders. As for others, not so much. While offensive lineman Curt Marsh blamed the amputation of his right foot on a misdiagnosis by Rosenfeld, defensive end Pat Toomay once told ESPN that the typical response of Rosenfeld to most injuries was, "You're OK. It's just a bruise." Hayes said in response, "Listen, I'm waiting there outside of the secret room, observing, listening to Doc tell players, 'Sit out. Sit out.' They wouldn't do it, because they were gladiators, and Mr. Davis had instilled such a will of winning into each of us that we had to get out there." That is Mr. Davis, as in the late Al Davis, the notoriously hard-driving owner of the Raiders from 1963 until his death in October. His motto was "Just win, baby," which makes you wonder. "No, no, no. Mr. Davis never pressured us to play," Hayes said. "He never, never did. It was always the player's call. You can't blame Mr. Davis, and you can't blame the doctors, because a lot of guys see stars (as in being physically dazed) on the field, but that gladiator gene takes over. I never saw Dr. Rosenfeld apply pressure in the secret room, except to try to put us in street clothes on game days." The Dissenter laughed, adding, "In the 21st century, I don't know if secret rooms still exist." If we knew, they wouldn't be secret.

Terence Moore says there's an "epidemic of long-term injuries" to past and present NFL players . Former players' lawsuits allege NFL didn't help protect them from concussions and other injuries . Former Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes argues injuries are players' faults . Hayes told Moore players will essentially ignore doctors' orders for love of the game .

(CNN) -- In 2011, Brittany Miles considered food to be her enemy. Having been tormented by schoolmates for being overweight since she was 7, she decided to fight back the only way she knew how. At the beginning of her senior year of high school, at a size 18, Miles began compulsively dieting and exercising. By the time she started college the following year, she was down to a size 4 and was obsessed with losing weight. "Our society and my peers told me that I wasn't loveable when I was fat. That when I was fat, I couldn't be anything else," said Miles, now a senior and a biology major at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. "So, I was determined to be the farthest thing from fat possible." She began what she called a war against calories, and it quickly spiraled out of control. She limited herself to 400 to 600 calories and did 90 minutes of intense cardio daily. Yet at her lightest, Miles never dropped below a size 4. "Just because my bone structure stopped me from being the size 00 everyone pictures, doesn't mean that I wasn't in an incredibly unsafe and unhealthy place," she said. Although she was 15 pounds underweight, no one caught onto her habits because they were too busy praising her for her weight loss. "We constantly push people to lose weight, but sometimes that's not right for everyone," Miles said. In the United States, some 20 million women and another 10 million men suffer from a clinical eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. Many people also struggle with some form of body dissatisfaction or unhealthy eating behaviors that can lead to the development of clinical disorders. Studies suggest half a million teens are suffering from eating disorders, and that their concerns about weight begin as young as 6. Going to extremes: Eating disorders in America . Miles says she didn't treat her body like she loved it when she began to lose weight. "I deprived it, punished it and tortured it," Miles said. "I was convinced that a smaller dress size was the key to happiness." Breaking the cycle . The day after Miles moved into her college dorm, she said hello to a girl down the hall who was moving in with the help of her family. Her hall mate's sister noticed that Miles was unnaturally thin. A recovering bulimic who was studying to be an eating disorder psychiatrist, the sister had a feeling about Miles and asked the hall mate to keep an eye on her. After only a few months, the hall mate realized that Miles wasn't in a good place, mentally or physically. Her restrictive diet and obsessive exercise was obvious, so she confronted Miles on the issue, finally allowing her to get it all out. "The thing about eating disorders is that you realize you have one. You don't need someone to tell you that you're sick," Miles said. "What I needed was someone to understand and to help me understand that weight gain was OK." The process was slow and difficult. She spent the first six months convincing herself that things such as pizza and chocolate were OK -- that eating them wouldn't be the end of the world. Over time, she began to exercise less, eat more and reshape her attitudes toward food and her body. "During recovery, you realize that you have to make a choice," Miles said. "You can choose to try and fit some predetermined mold, or you can focus on being the happiest and healthiest, both mentally and physically, version of yourself." While Miles said starting her recovery was the hardest thing she's done, she also knows it was necessary to get her life back. She found support in an online community, a judgment-free zone where she could voice her fears. Miles says that the people she communicated with weren't experts but real people who had been where she was and could share their own experiences. She's gained 60 pounds since she began recovery and has maintained her weight for 15 months now. Currently wearing between a size 10 and 14, she says the most important part is that she's happy and her body seems to "like to be this weight." "At the end of the day, weight doesn't even really matter in an eating disorder because it's a mental disease," Miles said. "Yes, there's a physical manifestation of this mental illness, but it's not a problem that stems from your physical health." A complex illness . Many people with eating disorders don't look like they have one, said Claire Mysko of the National Eating Disorder Association. It's important to remember that there's no universal picture of how anorexia or bulimia manifests itself physically, she says, and that a person can be struggling mentally without looking "sick." "Eating disorders are complex illnesses with complex roots," she said. "There's a strong cultural influence to be thin, and many people are vulnerable to that." Most people can't overcome an eating disorder on their own and need professional help. On its website, the association offers several options to find help, such as phone support, live chats with counselors and referrals for treatment and support groups. There's a link between issues such as depression or anxiety and eating disorders, Mysko said. The media and popular culture often push the message that thinness is the solution to any and all problems, she said, and a person suffering from depression can be easily influenced by that. Mysko oversees Proud2BeMe, a site working in conjunction with her eating association that was formed in 2011 in response to the increasing use of the Internet to promote eating disorders and unrealistic body images. "There's a proliferation of messages on social media and a steady stream of images that promote weight loss," Mysko said. "But we're also seeing an increase in online communities that have positive messages and offer support to those suffering from eating disorders." For more fitspiration, subscribe to our Flipboard magazine . Another upside to social media is that users have the ability to curate their own feeds, choosing the people and groups that they want to appear in their news feed. For someone in recovery or struggling with an eating disorder, the ability to "turn off" the negative pictures and messages can be a big step in the right direction, Mysko said. "There's no straight line to recovery," she said. However, the first step is reaching a place where they want help and seeking that support from friends, family or through a doctor or counselor. Paying it forward . Miles now hosts a site on Tumblr that encourages people to embrace their bodies and reminds them that eating disorders don't manifest themselves in a certain appearance. She said beginning her own blog was her way of supporting other people in her situation, especially those who recover to be plus-sized. She no longer sees food as her nemesis and eats what makes her happy, not letting calories control the choices she makes. She's proud that she's experienced foods that she wouldn't have dared to eat during her illness. "People who don't know me look at me now and see a 'before' photo. Little do they know that I'm an 'after' photo over 14 years in the making." Now 21 and loving her body, she's no longer the insecure 7-year-old who was bullied at school. "I believe that body positivity is for everyone. There is no weight limit or fitness test in order to be happy with yourself."

Never a size 0, Brittany Miles says her eating disorder went unnoticed for years . Her recovery involved both mental and physical changes . Now she tells online followers that loving your body is the key to happiness .

(CNN) -- Adrien Niyonshuti is unlikely to win an Olympic medal, and he will do well to even finish his event, but his story is surely one of the most inspirational in the history of the Games. In April 1994, when he was just seven, Niyonshuti's family became victims of the brutal genocide in Rwanda which left nearly 800,000 people slaughtered. He fled the Hutu killers who came to his village, but six of his brothers were murdered and up to 60 of his wider family perished. He miraculously escaped with his mother and father, living off scraps in the countryside, almost starving to death before aid came in the form of the rebel Tutsi army from neighboring Uganda. "The memory of the genocide is a really hard time for me and for a lot of people in Rwanda," he told CNN's Human to Hero series. "Cycling gives me the opportunity to keep my past time away and really focus on what I want to do." Read more: Rwanda's wooden bike riders . Not only did he survive one of the worst atrocities in modern history, but Niyonshuti has overcome the odds to carry his country's flag at London 2012. He will have to wait until the final day of the Games before he can actually compete, but the fact that the 25-year-old from the small east African country has qualified for the men's mountain bike final is an achievement in itself. A way forward . Black African competitors are few and far between in this highly technical discipline, which is dominated by riders from the traditional powerhouses of cycling in Europe. Lack of specialist equipment and top-class competition are almost insurmountable barriers to even the most physically gifted athlete such as Niyonshuti, but by finishing fourth in last year's African Mountain Bike Championships he booked his place on the starting line at Hadleigh Farm. As he grew up, initially encouraged by his uncle Emmanuel, who lent him an old steel bike, Niyonshuti used cycling as an escape from the realities of his past. But youthful enthusiasm can only take you so far in any sport, particularly from a war-ravaged country with little competitive structure. Niyonshuti's life changed when he was noticed by a trio of top international riders who came to Rwanda to help with a local race: Jonathan "Jock" Boyer, the the first U.S. cyclist to compete in the Tour de France in 1981; fellow international competitor Tom Ritchey; and Swiss mountain bike legend Thomas Frischknecht. They all spotted Niyonshuti's raw talent and set about giving him the chance to achieve his potential. See also: From war child to U.S. Olympic star . Team Rwanda . Boyer returned, having secured some funding in the United States and backing from cycling's world governing body, the UCI. His goal was to set up Team Rwanda and, based in Ruhengeri, in the north east of the country, he tested young prospects for their physical capabilities. As Boyer remembers, Niyonshuti stood out from the rest. "He tested higher than than anyone, but his whole demeanor was different, really dedicated to what he wanted to do," Boyer told CNN. The veteran retired pro and young hopeful even raced together in the 2007 Cape Epic -- the Tour de France of mountain bike racing -- and finished a creditable 33rd overall and top Rwandan pair. Yet Niyonshuti and his teammates were concerned that Boyer and other helpers would eventually leave them. " 'How long is this going to last?' they asked me. In a country like Rwanda they were well used to aid projects which lasted for about six months and then departed." But Boyer stayed, helping Niyonshuti to achieve his potential in a professional team. Professional contract . He contacted Douglas Ryder, the boss of South Africa's MTN-Qhubeka and after a trial Niyonshuti was signed in 2008. What followed has been the stuff of dreams, and in 2009 Niyonshuti became the first black African to compete in a professional peloton when the team raced in the Tour of Ireland. Not only that, he was introduced to seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who was also in the stage race that year as he returned from his first retirement. Niyonshuti quickly realized that although Armstrong was a legend, the American was still flesh and blood like everyone else. "When I saw him on the news, I thought Armstrong was a big, big man!" he recalled. "But when I saw him face to face, he was quite small!" Niyonshuti has excelled in road racing and individual time trialing against the clock, but cross-country mountain biking offered him the best chance of Olympic qualification. After gaining his spot, he has been honing his skills with Frischknecht in Switzerland, staying at the former world champion's home. "His technical skills were poor but he was very strong," said Frischknecht. At the Olympics, seeded riders start in the front rank, giving them a massive advantage on the narrow and highly technical course. Olympic goal . For riders like Niyonshuti, who will be starting towards the back, the aim of the game is to avoid being lapped and therefore eliminated, which is no easy task. "We have one big goal: to actually finish the race," Frischknecht confided. "He can only afford to be about 10 minutes behind the leader, but I have some hope he can actually do it. He has developed his skills a lot." So no Olympic glory, just survival, but Niyonshuti's life has been all about just that and his efforts will hopefully inspire a generation of cyclists from his country. Boyer has no doubt of that. "Each country always has a hero and Adrien for Rwanda is the ignition point, the spark that is going to get kids into cycling," he said. Longer term, Boyer believes Niyonshuti can prosper in the professional peloton and one day ride the Tour de France with MTN, which wants to acquire a higher UCI pro continental team status next year. "They have a two-year plan to achieve it," Boyer said. Flag bearer . MTN has signed 20-year-old Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay, as well as two Eritrean riders, Meron Russom and Jani Tewelde, so it is not inconceivable there could be sizable African representation in the greatest cycling race in the world. Given Niyonshuti's tragic past, it would complete a remarkable journey for him -- and if sheer determination was the only factor, he will surely take his place. "I will never give up, I will try my best," is Niyonshuti's racing philosophy. He will be putting it to the test against the best mountain bikers in the world as the London Olympics come to a climax on Sunday. Having already carried Rwanda's flag at the opening ceremony, Niyonshuti knows that the hopes and dreams of his nation rest on his slim shoulders -- and he will surely not let them down.

Adrien Niyonshuti carried Rwandan flag at opening ceremony of 2012 Olympics . Six of his brothers were killed in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 . The 25-year-old will compete in the men's mountain bike final on Sunday . He has received coaching from mountain bike great Thomas Frischknect .

(CNN) -- Deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled in the past 20 years, a development that a human rights group called "scandalous and disgraceful" Friday. In addition, the rights group said, about 1.7 million women a year, one-third of pregnant women in the United States, suffer from pregnancy-related complications. Most of the deaths and complications occur among minorities and women living in poverty, it noted. Amnesty International issued a report Friday that calls on President Obama to take action. "This country's extraordinary record of medical advancement makes its haphazard approach to maternal care all the more scandalous and disgraceful," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. "Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and the best doctors. Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies," Cox said in a news release. The report, "Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA," notes that the lifetime risk of maternal deaths is greater in the United States than in 40 other countries, including virtually all industrialized nations. The report also noted that severe pregnancy-related complications that nearly cause death -- known as "near misses" -- have increased by 25 percent since 1998. Up to 40 percent of near misses are considered preventable with better quality of care, according to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Minorities, women living in poverty, Native Americans, immigrants and those who speak little or no English are particularly affected, Amnesty International said. "The thing that really struck us was that these problems hit women of color, low-income, particularly hard," said Nan Strauss, researcher and co-author of the Amnesty report. "But every woman who is going through pregnancy in this country is at risk." Figures compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, show that black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than their white counterparts. White women have a mortality rate of 9.5 per 100,000 pregnancies, the CDC said. For African-American women, that rate is 32.7 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies. "This has been known for a while and no one has a good handle on it," said Dr. Elliot Main, chairman and chief of obstetrics at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. "This is a national disgrace and a call to action. Both numbers are a call to action -- maternal mortality and racial disparity." The CDC analysis shows that deaths during pregnancy and childbirth have doubled for all U.S. women in the past 20 years. In 1987, there were 6.6 deaths for every 100,000 pregnancies. The number of deaths had climbed to 13.3 per 100,000 in 2006, the last year for which figures were available. A report called "Healthy People 2010" by the Department of Health and Human Services says that number should be around four deaths for each 100,000 pregnancies. Statistics for other highly industrialized countries show that the U.S. goal of four deaths for every 100,000 pregnancies is attainable. Great Britain, for example, has fewer than four deaths for each 100,000 pregnancies, Main said. "Women's health is at risk," said Strauss. "We spend the most, and yet women are more likely to die than in 40 other countries. And that disconnect is what makes it such a problem." Amnesty International points out that nearly 13 million U.S. women of reproductive age (15 to 44 years old), or one in five, do not have health insurance. Minorities account for 32 percent of all women in the United States but 51 percent of uninsured women, the rights group said. Furthermore, Amnesty International said, one in four women do not receive adequate prenatal care, starting in the first trimester. The number rises to about one in three for African-American and Native American women, the human rights group said. Amnesty International also cited what it called "burdensome bureaucratic procedures in Medicaid enrollment [that] substantially delay access to vital prenatal care for pregnant women seeking government-funded care." In addition, the group said, a shortage of health care professionals poses a serious obstacle to timely and adequate care, especially in rural areas and inner cities. In 2008, 64 million people were living in "shortage areas" for primary care, Amnesty International said. "Obstacles to care are widespread, even though the USA spends more on health care than any other country and more on pregnancy and childbirth-related hospital costs, $86 billion, than any other type of hospital care," the rights group said. In its call for Obama to take action, Amnesty International said a health care reform proposal before Congress does not address the issue. "Reform is primarily focused on health care coverage and reducing health care costs, and even optimistic estimates predict that any proposal on the table will still leave millions without access to affordable care," said Rachel Ward, one of the authors of the "Deadly Delivery" report. "Mothers die not because the United States can't provide good care, but because it lacks the political will to make sure good care is available to all women," said Cox, Amnesty International USA's executive director. Medical professionals and researchers note that although the percentage of maternal deaths is increasing, the overall number still remains low. "They are low in absolute number sense," said Main in San Francisco. "These are rare events. They serve as a canary in the mine shaft -- tell us that we need to look more carefully at the system of maternity care. Overall, childbirth is very safe." More of an alarm is not sounded, analysts said, because most practitioners don't see many -- if any -- deaths each year. There is now approximately one death for every 6,000 to 10,000 births, Main said. A typical hospital has about 1,500 births a year, so any hospital can go years without a maternal death, he said. "It's still, thank heavens, quite rare," said Debra Bingham, executive director of California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative. But that doesn't mean there's not a problem, she said. "When you see trends worsen in such a short period of time, it requires thoughtful examination," said Bingham. "And you can't just dismiss that." Rivka Gordon, director of strategic initiatives at the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, also believes something should be done. "It's unacceptable in a resource-rich country like the U.S. that we are seeing maternal- and pregnancy-related deaths trending upward," she said. "We have to look very, very carefully at this." CNN's Ashley Wennersherron contributed to this report.

Amnesty International report calls for better maternal care in United States . "Women are more likely to die than in 40 other countries," Amnesty says . CDC: Whites' mortality rate is 9.5 per 100,000 pregnancies, blacks' rate is 32.7 .

Washington (CNN) -- Abdullah al-Kidd -- a U.S. citizen -- was held in jail by the U.S. government for 16 days as a "material witness" in an ongoing terror investigation. He was never charged, and never called to testify. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the Kansas native can hold former Bush administration officials -- especially onetime Attorney General John Ashcroft -- personally liable for wrongful arrest and detention. In oral arguments Wednesday, the justices appeared split along conservative-liberal lines about both the immunity question and the larger issue of when the government can hold in custody citizens it is unable to charge, for fear they may commit future crimes, including terrorism. Chief Justice John Roberts said allowing such a lawsuit to proceed would impose a "heavy burden" on government officials and police as they do their jobs, for fear "if they guess wrong, it comes out of their pocket." But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called al-Kidd's experience "obvious mistreatment" that perhaps should leave someone accountable. The case -- with its issue of the limits of "preventive" detention, especially in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks -- is the only national security case the high court will address this term. Material witness laws allow officials to detain those who may have knowledge of crimes committed by others to ensure they would testify in criminal proceedings, including before a grand jury and at trial. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers representing al-Kidd say the government has warped the law to allow open-ended arrests and confinement of citizens, without being later held accountable for those wrongfully held. Al-Kidd was a college football player at the University of Idaho when he converted to Islam, changing his name from Lavoni Kidd. He eventually began volunteering at an Islamic charity led by a person being investigated for possible terrorism ties. He was never implicated in wrongdoing, but was interviewed repeatedly and voluntarily by the FBI. He was never told his testimony would be needed in any prosecution, nor was he forbidden to leave the country. Six months later, in March 2003, al-Kidd was about to board a plane at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, headed for Saudi Arabia study region for his doctorate. But he was arrested by government agents armed with a material warrant. An affidavit submitted to a federal magistrate said al-Kidd had a one-way first class plane ticket, and that he was "crucial" to the prosecution of Sami Omar al-Hussayen. It was later revealed the ticket was two-way -- indicating he planned to return to the United States -- and he would fly coach class. In his lawsuit, al-Kidd says he was held in three prisons in Virginia, Oklahoma, and Idaho, under high security with convicted criminals. He says he was routinely shackled, strip-searched, and left naked in a freezing cell while male and female guards watched. He was freed after more than two weeks, but only after agreeing to surrender his passport and confine his travel, among other conditions. He now teaches in Saudi Arabia and did not attend oral arguments at the high court. Al-Hussayen, meanwhile, was charged with visa fraud and making false statements. He was acquitted one some of the charges but the jury deadlocked on others. He agreed to be deported to avoid a retrial. Al-Kidd later sued corrections officials; that suit was settled out of court. But it is his separate suit against Ashcroft, holding him personally accountable as head of the Justice Department, that is the heart of the current legal fight. A federal appeals court had allowed his civil lawsuit to continue, but Ashcroft argues officials under his supervision obeyed the letter and spirit of the material witness law. An arrest warrant was properly obtained under the law they said, and even if there were improper motives behind this particular detention, Ashcroft would still enjoy "absolute" immunity. Previous lawsuits by a variety of civil liberty and human rights groups naming Ashcroft and other top Bush officials -- including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and FBI Director Robert Mueller -- have almost unanimously been tossed out by federal courts on immunity grounds. In oral arguments, the justices debated the immediate intent of al-Kidd's detention: Was it to ensure his assistance in an ongoing prosecution, or was it aimed at unlimited detention and investigation? Al-Kidd claims investigators held him in a desperate attempt to implicate him in the investigation of his friend. Some members of the bench were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of blanket immunity for the highest government officials, whatever their reasons. "Prosecutors can out of spite, out of pure investigative reasoning, out of whatever motive they have, just lock people up," said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while clarifying that may not be what happened in al-Kidd's case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was more blunt, calling some of the allegations "very disturbing." "We are talking about the attorney general and the attorney general's immunity," she told the Justice Department lawyer arguing the case. "But there are allegations here that this man was kept awake, the lights shining in his cell for 24 hours, kept without clothes. Now that doesn't sound like the way one would treat someone whose testimony you want. Is there a remedy that he has for that obvious mistreatment?" On the other side, Roberts warned making it easier to sue for violations of the law would open the floodgates to endless lawsuits. "The allegation can so readily be made in every case under the material witness statute ... that this is one of those 'bad intent' cases, and the case has to proceed so that we can prove that." Roberts wondered what an officer faced with deciding whether to proceed with a terror investigation or similarly serious matter would think. "If I'm the officer in that situation, I say, 'Well, I'm just not going to run the risk of having to sell the house'" because his decision could be overturned someday by a court. Justice Elena Kagan is not participating in the case because she helped brief the case for the government last year as solicitor general, just before joining the high court. That leaves the possibility of a 4-4 tie, which would give victory to al-Kidd, allowing his lawsuit to proceed. Ashcroft has the support of the Obama administration, which argued the case in the high court, as well as several former attorneys general. "We think the way that one vindicates one's rights is to use the process that is available to those that are arrested to seek their release," said Richard Samp of the Washington Legal Foundation, who filed the supporting brief. "And in fact, Mr. al-Kidd did exactly that. He had a lawyer appointed for him. He went into court on several occasions and within 15 days after the time of his arrest he was released." But about 30 former federal prosecutors are backing al-Kidd. Lee Gelernt, the ACLU attorney, told CNN the government should not be allowed to do an "end run" around the law. "Our client would like vindication for his own rights. He would like to see his reputation cleared. But I think, perhaps most of all in his mind, he would like to see the court say that this cannot be done anymore and so it doesn't happen to people in the future." The case is Ashcroft v. al-Kidd (10-98). A ruling is due by late June.

Abdullah al-Kidd was held for 16 days as a material witness . He wants to sue former Bush administration officials for wrongful detention . The justices appear split along conservative-liberal lines .

(CNN) -- North Korea kept the world on tenterhooks Wednesday, when the funeral of leader Kim Jong Il was expected to take place in Pyongyang. On Wednesday morning, state television began broadcasting previously aired video of Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un and other mourners paying respects in front of the late dictator as his corpse lay in state. The secretive nation had revealed no details about the funeral, where thousands of North Koreans were expected to file past a glass case housing the body of the elder Kim, revered as a godlike "dear leader" by his people. State television on Wednesday morning also showed historical footage recounting the life of Kim Jong Il, from the legend of his birth on a sacred mountain to his years as leader of the communist state. Kim's funeral likely will be modeled after that of his father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994, said Han Park, a professor at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs who is also director of the Globis Center for the Study of Global Issues. However, the funeral is expected to spotlight his son Kim Jong Un, the man designated the "great successor" by the nation's Worker's Party. Questions have been raised about Kim Jong Un's ability to take the reins of the reclusive communist nation, given his young age -- he is thought to be in his late 20s -- and relative inexperience. "The system will try to make sure that Kim Jong Un, this young man, is a legitimate leader, so probably he will be spotlighted in the funeral procession," said Park. While there is no official religion in North Korea, the funeral will probably touch on the Confucian tradition of ancestor worship, Park said. Denny Roy, a North Korea analyst at the East-West Center in Honolulu, said observers outside North Korea will be performing "the usual Kremlinology -- except in this case it's Pyongyangology." They will be watching the ceremonies for clues as to where leading figures stand in the new hierarchy, comparing the event to the 1994 funeral of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. "What I expect to see is no sign that there's any hiccup or difficulty in Kim Jong Il's plan to have his son Kim Jong Un succeed him," Roy said. Among those expected to be at the side of the "great successor" are his aunt and uncle. The late ruler's sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and her husband, Jang Sung Taek, are expected to serve as regents for the young Kim as he builds leadership experience, Roy said. "They will be very prominently featured in all of the public ceremonies," he said. "They'll have places that are very close to Kim Jong Un. If it was otherwise, it would be a dramatic new development, but I don't expect that." The ceremony is to be followed by a memorial on Thursday. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said when the national memorial service is held Thursday, gun volleys will be fired in the capital, Pyongyang, as well as provincial seats. "All the people will observe three minutes' silence and all locomotives and ships (those on voyage included) will blow whistles and those units with sirens will sound them all at once," KCNA said. While the public "outpouring of grief" will be present at the funeral, it may not be as overwhelming as it was following the death of Kim Il Sung, said Park, who has visited North Korea frequently and is in close contact with high-ranking officials there. As loved as he might be among the North Korean people, he said, "Kim Jong Il is no Kim Il Sung." Kim Il Sung was much more charismatic, and his death was much more unexpected, he said. While Kim Il Sung was 83 to Kim Jong Il's 69, the elder Kim was thought to be in excellent health. "Two weeks before his death, (Kim Il Sung) received Jimmy Carter," Park said, referring to the former American president. "In North Korea, no one actually anticipated or suspected the coming of his death ... Kim Jong Il, his health was failing. Everyone knew that." The glass case to house Kim Jong Il's body was ready upon his death, he said. In Kim Il Sung's case, "it took days ... to make that arrangement preparation." And John Park, research fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said Kim Jong Un is "following a script laid out by his father," who had a major stroke in 2008. "Basically, we are seeing a man who planned his own funeral," he said. North Korea has said the funeral will be a "low-key" affair, with no foreign heads of state invited, John Park said. That's "the one factor that Kim Jong Il couldn't control" -- the possible embarrassment, if invitations were issued, that heads of state might not accept. One point of interest will be who is going to be in the Chinese delegation, John Park said. "That will be done through party-to-party connection," with those attending likely to be a senior representative of the Communist Party of China. There have been rumors that Chinese President Hu Jintao may attend, he said. John Park believes if Hu shows up, he will use the title of party general secretary, not president. And one notable omission from the guest list is Kim Jong Il's oldest son, Kim Jong Nam, who fell from favor after being caught trying to sneak a visit to Tokyo Disneyland using a forged passport. He told Japan's TV Asahi in 2010 that he opposed having his family hold power for another generation, but had "no objection nor interest" in the matter. Roy said Kim now lives in the Chinese casino haven of Macau and is "more or less exiled." "It's rather significant that in a Confucian society, the oldest son won't play a significant role in the funeral," he said. "That speaks to a very strained relationship between him and the current leadership." Han Park referred to "government by legacy" in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il succeeded his father, he also inherited much of Kim Il Sung's policies and philosophies, which have been "the backbone of policy-making," he said. Because of that, neither he nor Roy said they expect to see drastic policy changes under Kim Jong Un. Observers say upcoming events will also provide North Korea with opportunities to reinforce the succession and provide a window on how smoothly that process is going. Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote Tuesday that the leader's upcoming New Year's address may already have been written, "but can be scoured for deviations from the past and for evidence of possible rewriting post-Kim Jong Il's death." Kim Jong Un's first birthday as leader, on January 8, may also provide some clues. So could Kim Jong Il's 70th birthday on February 16 -- still within the mourning period -- or the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung on April 15. CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report.

Observers will be watching the funeral for succession clues, analyst says . Kim Jong Il's eldest son is a notable omission from the guest list, he says . Kim's funeral is expected to follow the template of his father's in 1994 . Experts say no dramatic policy changes are likely in the short term .

Washington (CNN) -- More than a dozen Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials faced punishment Wednesday after a long-awaited report on the botched gun probe known as "Operation Fast and Furious." That probe and a previous investigation were marked by "a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment and management failures" that allowed hundreds of weapons to reach Mexican drug cartels, the Justice Department's independent inspector general concluded. Within minutes of the report's release, Justice announced rthat former acting ATF chief Kenneth Melson was retiring and another official, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein, had resigned. Read excerpts from the report . Weinstein and Melson were among 14 people who "bore a share of responsibility for ATF's knowing failure in both these operations to interdict firearms illegally destined for Mexico, and for doing so without adequately taking into account the danger to public safety that flowed from this risky strategy," the report states. Weinstein failed to pass along key information about the flawed tactics being used in Fast and Furious, while Melson and other ATF officials didn't properly supervise the probe, the report states. The report referred them and another 12 officials in Washington and the ATF and U.S. attorney's offices in Phoenix to Justice officials to determine "whether discipline or other administrative action" was required. Holder reacts to report . "Fast and Furious" became public after guns traced to the probe turned up at the scene of a Border Patrol agent's December 2010 killing. The resulting investigations discovered similar tactics in a 2006-2007 operation dubbed "Wide Receiver," also run out of Phoenix. Revelations that ATF agents watched suspected gun traffickers cross into Mexico with weapons purchased at U.S. gun shops outraged lawmakers. Larry Alt, one of the ATF agents who blew the whistle on the operation, told CNN that it was "egregious" that agents were watching people transfer guns to people who were handing them over to the cartels, "and we were not taking an enforcement action." "I would say that the persons responsible for this case ... at the field level, the division level, and the headquarters level and as far as it went into the Department of Justice, should be held accountable for any decision that they made that allowed these guns to go out on the street unmonitored," Alt said. Making matters worse, the Justice Department initially denied guns were being allowed to "walk" across the border, only to have to formally retract that statement in December 2011. The controversy forced Melson out at ATF, but he remained in another post at Justice until Wednesday. Acting ATF Director B. Todd Jones, meanwhile, said his agency "accepts full responsibility" for failing to oversee the Arizona probes. What was 'Fast and Furious,' and what went wrong? "This hurts. This hurts people here," Jones told reporters. But he added that the ATF has been tightening up its procedures and won't shy away from tough operations. "All we can do is get off the mat again and keep swinging," he said. The controversy fueled Republican accusations of a cover-up by the Obama administration and led to an unprecedented vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. The report found that Holder was not informed of the controversial ATF operation until 2011, after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed. In a written statement on the findings, Holder said the inspector-general's report upholds "what I, and other Justice Department officials, have said for many months now" -- that the tactics used pre-dated the Obama administration and that Justice Department leaders didn't try to hide the facts from lawmakers. "It is unfortunate that some were so quick to make baseless accusations before they possessed the facts about these operations -- accusations that turned out to be without foundation and that have caused a great deal of unnecessary harm and confusion," Holder said. "I hope today's report acts as a reminder of the dangers of adopting as fact unsubstantiated conclusions before an investigation of the circumstances is completed." The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal . But Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who brought ATF whistleblower complaints to the department's attention in early 2011, said the report "reaffirms virtually everything" that congressional investigators turned up. "It's clear that both the ATF and the Justice Department failed to provide meaningful oversight of Operation Fast and Furious," Grassley said in a written statement. Those agencies "ignored warnings from employees" and refused to acknowledge how bad the problem was until after months of congressional pressure, he said. And Grassley said the report inaccurately lets Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer "off the hook" regarding a February 2011 letter to Congress that denied guns were being allowed to cross the border. Along with the statement, Grassley released e-mails he said contradict the report. Breuer acknowledged last November he had learned that guns were allowed to "walk" to Mexico, and apologized for not informing other senior Justice Department officials. The February 2011 letter to Grassley was later retracted by Justice officials. Wednesday's report criticized Breuer and another top official, Gary Grindler, who was acting deputy attorney general when the events took place, for failing to pass along information to the attorney general and other top officials. But they remain with the department. A standoff over internal Justice documents erupted after the Obama administration said it was asserting executive privilege in the Fast and Furious case to shield documents that include internal deliberations traditionally protected from outside eyes. That prompted the House of Representatives to vote a civil contempt charge against Holder -- the first time a Justice Department chief has been held in contempt by Congress. Democrats protested the vote vehemently as being purely political, and the citation passed along party lines. The House took the issue to court, where it is expected to linger until well beyond November's presidential election. By the numbers: Fast and Furious . Some of the documents the White House withheld under the privilege claim were included in the report. Grassley said that inclusion "proves that this subset of documents could have been released earlier," and the president "was merely thumbing his nose at Congress" before the contempt vote. Rep. Darrell Issa, who pushed for the contempt vote against Holder as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, the report shows "widespread failures" and "a near-total disregard for public safety." "Attorney General Holder has clearly known about these unacceptable failures, yet has failed to take appropriate action for over a year and a half," added Issa, R-California. Holder had said he was awaiting the report to determine what actions to take against individuals involved in the case. But he has promised Congress that such "gun walking" of weapons into Mexico would never again be allowed. Issa called on President Barack Obama to "step up and provide accountability" for the program. And Inspector General Michael Horowitz, whose office produced the report, is scheduled to appear before Issa's committee on Thursday. Tell us what you think: Share you reactions to the report. CNN's Joe Johns and Carol Cratty contributed to this report.

NEW: ATF whistleblower calls botched probe "egregious" Inspector general's report refers 14 for discipline; 2 already out . ATF will "get off the mat again and keep swinging," acting chief says . Firearms traced to the probe were at the site of the killing of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry .

(CNN) -- In the age of Amazon and e-books, common wisdom claims that brick-and-mortar bookstores are going the way of the dinosaurs. If a national chain such as Borders, which folded in 2011, couldn't succeed in this climate, what are the odds of an independent shop going the distance? Surprisingly good, it turns out. I've published three novels over the past three years, and each time I head out on tour, I discover amazing bookstores. While it's hard to beat the Internet for sheer efficiency, virtual book-buying can't satisfy the same itch for discovery that browsing in person can. Moreover, it's become easy to love e-books and local stores since Kobo started partnering with independents to make some 3 million titles available electronically. The stores that are succeeding offer a mix of author visits, staff recommendations and community outreach that's impossible to replace. While there are incredible indies all over North America, these are my favorites: . BookPeople: Austin, Texas . They say everything is bigger in the Lone Star State, and BookPeople seems determined to make that point. This three-story shop has sat on a prime plot of downtown Austin real estate since 1970, and its marquee sign out front lists that day's special guests, which have included former presidents, rock stars and best-selling novelists. What makes BookPeople special is that it's just as welcoming to newly minted authors, too. While every department is fully stocked, crime novels get a lot of love here, especially since the 2012 launch of MysteryPeople, a store within the original store. Big as the store is, it's still a place where handwritten notes from staff line the shelves, personally recommending favorite reads. 6 incredible artist studio tours . The Poisoned Pen: Scottsdale, Arizona . While its name suggests a criminal enterprise, The Poisoned Pen specializes in fiction -- not only mysteries, but historical novels, literary fiction and works set in the Southwest. Still, crime fiction is close to its dark little heart -- beating since 1989 -- and this is a place that stocks its shelves with British and Canadian titles that are often impossible to find elsewhere. The store's owners are so passionate about books that they founded the Poisoned Pen Press in 1997, and it's since become one of the largest hardcover publishers of English-language mysteries in the world. I think of it as the little press that could. Ben McNally Books: Toronto . If I could give an award for the most beautiful bookstore in North America, this one in Toronto's Financial District would win. With its soaring ceiling, elegant chandeliers, slender columns and leather wing chairs, Ben McNally looks like an idyllic private club for book lovers. Some dedicated bookworms have even tied the knot in the store. Beautiful as it is, the shop's biggest strength is its charming staff, who are adept at sussing out any visitor's interests and recommending what to read next. Seductive as their home base is, they also sponsor readings and events around the city. Mysterious Galaxy: Redondo Beach, California . The first time I encountered the staff of this shop wasn't at the store itself, but at a Noir at the Bar reading in Los Angeles -- a popular crime fiction reading series that takes place in cities across the country. Home base is a shiny new space that only opened in 2011 (the original San Diego store has been operating since 1993), but Mysterious Galaxy is hardwired into the local community, hosting author events at schools, its popular Ladies, Lunch & Literacy program at independently owned restaurants, and organizing the Passion & Prose conference for romance readers. Subterranean Books: St. Louis . When Subterranean opened in 2000, it carried a mix of new and secondhand books; since then, it's shifted its focus to carrying only new books. But they don't try to stock everything. Instead, they've carved out a niche with cult-classic novels, intriguing offerings from small presses, and books about film, pop culture and history. Everything in the store has been personally selected by staff members, so their recommendations are deeply personal. The Tattered Cover: Denver . Technically, there are three branches of the Tattered Cover, and each one is spectacular in its own right. The downtown store near Union Station, which boasts 20,000 square feet of retail space, is where the Dalai Lama reads when he comes to town, and there's the gorgeous Highlands Ranch outpost in the suburbs. My personal favorite is the location on East Colfax Avenue, which remade the historic Lowenstein Theater into a bibliophile's paradise with cozy corners and couches. McNally Jackson: New York . It looks like an elegant, old-fashioned bookstore, with its tightly packed rows of bookshelves, overstuffed international newsstand and a café that serves rose water and cappuccino. But underneath that elegant surface beats the heart of an innovator. That was clear when McNally Jackson introduced its Espresso Book Machine, which takes mere minutes to print library-quality paperbacks from a catalog of almost 4 million titles. (That same machine also allows authors who wish to self-publish in print easy access to a press.) Book Passage: San Francisco . This shop has two locations, but the tiny one in the San Francisco Ferry Building is the one that grabbed my heart. I discovered it while attending a conference, and I was instantly charmed by its towering shelves, spectacular travel section and inspiring view of the water. Two years later, I returned on tour and found the same staff I'd met the first time still working in the store. "We never want to leave," one told me. I didn't either. La Maison Anglaise: Quebec City . In a city where fewer than 5% of the population is Anglophone, what hope could there be for a store specializing in English-language books? La Maison Anglaise, whose name translates as The English House, has been going strong since 1984 in its small space near Laval University. That's partly because its owner, Guy Dubois, is an extraordinary organizer who co-founded the QuebeCrime literary festival, which has drawn superstar writers such as Lawrence Block, Ian Rankin and Daniel Woodrell to town. Parnassus Books: Nashville . This is the one store on my list that I haven't visited -- yet. But I'll be in Nashville for a conference in August, and Parnassus Books is at the top of my sightseeing list. One reason why is that the store was co-founded by Ann Patchett, the author of "Bel Canto" and one of my favorite novelists. I love the fact that she opened this store at the end of 2011 when independent bookstores appeared to be in steep decline. (Patchett decided to open the store after Nashville lost its last local bookshop, saying she had "no interest in living in a city without a bookstore.") Where do you like to find your next book, whether it's a local bookstore, the library or the Internet? Please share in the comments below.

An Austin, Texas, bookstore features a mystery store within the larger store . A Redondo Beach, California, store hosts mystery and lunch events beyond its borders . You can print out paperbacks or your own work on a New York store's Espresso Book Machine . Some dedicated bookworms have even tied the knot at Ben McNally Books in Toronto .

Beijing (CNN) -- Following a day of talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese leaders said their two nations would work together to press North Korea to tone down its provocations, amid soaring regional tensions. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Kerry said both the United States and China are calling on North Korea to refrain from any provocative steps -- including any missile launches. But, he said, both nations want to focus on a peaceful solution, not "threat for threat or confrontational language. There's been enough of that." No option was left off the table in his talks with Chinese leaders, he said. Among those he met with Saturday were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Yang. Kerry said there was no question that China was very serious about upholding international standards. As he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kerry said, "Mr. president, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues -- issues on the Korean peninsula, the challenge of Iran and nuclear weapons, Syria and the Middle East, and economies around the world that are in need of a boost." Kerry in Japan amid heightened Korean tensions . In a joint statement before dinner, Kerry and Yang reaffirmed their intention to work together toward the peaceful denuclearization of North Korea. "We agreed that this is critically important for the stability of the region and indeed for the world and for all our nonproliferation efforts," said Kerry. "We are committed to taking actions in order to make good on that goal and we are committed to make that goal a reality." China's position is "consistent and clear cut," Yang said. "China is firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the peninsula." Beijing will work with its international partners to help restart the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program and hold it accountable to its international agreements, he said. Opinion: Why I fled North Korea . 'Mutual respect' Meeting earlier with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Kerry said there were "enormously challenging issues" in front of the two nations. "I look forward to having that conversation with you today ... (to) define for both of us what the model relationship should be and how two great powers, China and the United States, can work effectively to solve problems," he said. Wang said he hoped the two nations could work together to handle sensitive issues with "mutual respect." Kerry landed in Beijing after leaving Seoul, South Korea, where he pledged unbending U.S. military support against any attack from the North. Washington wants Beijing to "stop the money trail into North Korea" and give Pyongyang a strong message that China wants the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons, two U.S. administration officials said. U.S. officials said China has recently expressed frustrations over Pyongyang's actions. "We hear a growing tone of frustration ... in official statements from the Chinese," an administration official said. "China is increasingly concerned about the downstream effects of North Korea's reckless pursuit of a nuclear missile capability and complications for China's foreign strategic environment." Kerry will seek to define the areas of common interest with China. "We have a common interest in putting an end to North Korean proliferation," a senior administration official said. "In stopping the highly destabilizing behavior and the provocative actions of the North Koreans." Kerry is also expected to address computer hacking coming from state-sponsored sources inside China. Should the U.S. shoot down a missile? Support for Seoul . During his visit to Seoul on Friday, Kerry said the United States would talk to North Korea, but only if the country gets serious about negotiating the end of its nuclear weapons program. "North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power," Kerry said in Seoul. His trip to South Korea came a day after a Pentagon intelligence assessment surfaced suggesting North Korea may have developed the ability to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at its foes. Disclosed first by a congressman at a hearing Thursday, and then confirmed to CNN by the Defense Department, the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment is the clearest acknowledgment yet by the United States about potential advances in North Korea's nuclear program. U.S. officials think North Korea could test-launch a mobile ballistic missile at any time in what would be seen by the international community as a highly provocative move. But a senior administration official said there's no indication that any such missiles are armed with nuclear material. Pentagon spokesman George Little said that "it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced" in the DIA study. The DIA has been wrong in the past, producing an assessment in 2002 that formed the basis for arguments that Iraq had nuclear weapons -- a view later found to be incorrect. Nevertheless, Kerry said any launch by North Korea would be a "huge mistake." North Korea's propaganda machine grips defector 11 years on . Bellicose North . Despite weeks of bellicose rhetoric from Pyongyang threatening nuclear attacks on the United States, South Korea and their allies, U.S. officials have characterized the North's saber rattling as largely bluster. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, speaking with Kerry on Friday, urged North Korea to open talks. "We urge North Korea to cease its reckless behavior and to stop issuing threats," he said. A joint statement issued by South Korea and the United States before Kerry's departure emphasized Washington's commitment to defending Seoul "in the wake of recent unacceptable provocations" by the North. Before departing for Beijing, Kerry attended a meet and greet, where he called the children of diplomats to join him on stage. He told the group that their work was about making the world a safer place for the children. "This is one of the most important places on earth," he said, referring to the divided Korean Peninsula. It shows what life is like when people are presented with no choices." North Korea issued a scathing warning to Japan on Friday, saying via its state news agency, KCNA , that Tokyo should "stop recklessly working for staging a comeback on Korea, depending on its American master." Japanese foreign minister spokesman Masaru Sato said such remarks only hurt North Korea. "Japan would not be pushed around by rhetoric of North Korea," he said. Japan's Transport Ministry has issued a notice requiring its airplanes to report to the U.S. military if they fly near the U.S. military's Kadena base in Okinawa prefecture, the Kyodo News Agency said. The notice, made at the request of the U.S. military in Japan, is believed to be part of precautions taken against possible North Korean missile launches. Five things we still don't know about North Korea's nukes . CNN's Jill Dougherty reported from Beijing, Jethro Mullen reported from Hong Kong and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Barbara Starr, K.J. Kwon, Tim Schwarz, Kyung Lah, Judy Kwon, Chris Lawrence, Elise Labott, Adam Levine and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

NEW: Kerry: Both China and the U.S. call on Pyongyang to refrain from provocative steps . The U.S. Secretary of State meets with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing . Both nations voice commitment to peaceful denuclearization of Korean peninsula . The U.S. will talk to North Korea, but Pyongyang has to talk giving up nukes, Kerry says .

GITARAMA, Rwanda (CNN) -- What does Macy's have to do with healing from genocide? Nothing and everything. Iphigenia Mukantabana sits with Jean-Bosco Bizimana, her family's killer, at her home after church. Fourteen years after Hutu extremists killed between 800,000 and 1 million people -- mostly Tutsis -- in a devastating slaughter, Rwandan women are weaving peace baskets for sale at Macy's in the United States. Not only does the work bring them a regular salary, the business is also fostering reconciliation between victim and perpetrator. Iphigenia Mukantabana, a master weaver, sits in front of her house in Gitarama -- an hour from the capital, Kigali -- making beautiful baskets with her friend Epiphania Mukanyndwi. In 1994, Mukantabana's husband and five of her children were hacked and clubbed to death by marauding Hutu militias. Among her family's killers was Jean-Bosco Bizimana, Mukanyndwi's husband. "In my heart, the dead are dead, and they cannot come back again," Mukantabana said of those she lost. "So I have to get on with the others and forget what has happened." Forgetting and forgiving everything she lost, everything she witnessed. "Women and girls were raped, and I saw it all," she told CNN. "The men and boys were beaten and then slaughtered. They told others to dig a hole, get in, then they piled earth on top of them, while they were still alive." Watch Mukantabana say how she survived » . Yet today, Mukantabana shares her future and her family meals with Bizimana, the killer she knew, and his wife, her friend Mukanyndwi. Bizimana did spend seven years in jail. He then went before a tribal gathering, part of a return to traditional ways by the new government in 2002 with Rwanda's justice system unable to cope and process hundreds of thousands of imprisoned perpetrators. The government decided that the master planners and worst perpetrators would face formal justice. But lower-level killers were allowed to publicly confess and apologize to the families of their victims at gacaca courts, where elders would hear grievances and decide on the punishments. "In the gacaca court, I told them how we killed our fellow men, and I asked for forgiveness in front of the court, and the whole district was there," Bizimana said. "The people who died in this very area -- I knew all of them because they were our neighbors." Watch Bizimana describe how he killed Tutsis » . He places blame squarely on the extremist Hutu government at the time and on vile radio broadcasts that urged on the killers during the 100-day slaughter. "They were giving instructions all the time that was from the government, and so we thought it as the right thing because we were getting this instruction from the government," Bizimana said. He showed where he and a Hutu mob had killed 25 people, including members of Mukantabana's family, a few yards from where he had just shared lunch with her. "We used machetes, hoes and wooden clubs," he told CNN. Mukantabana admits that it was difficult to forgive. She said she did not speak to Bizimana or his wife for four years after the killings. What put her on the road to healing, she said, was the gacaca process. "It has not just helped me, it has helped all Rwandans because someone comes and accepts what he did and he asks for forgiveness from the whole community, from all Rwandans," she said. Bizimana said he did just that. "You go in front of the people like we are standing here and ask for forgiveness," he said. But despite his confession and apology, Mukantabana said, reconciliation would not have happened unless she had decided to open her heart and accept his pleas. "I am a Christian, and I pray a lot," she said, the pain etched in the lines on her face and around her sad eyes. But the basket business also played a key role in forging forgiveness and reconciliation after the horror. "We knew how to weave baskets," Mukantabana explained. "It helped unite Rwandans in this area because they accepted me as the master weaver, and I could not say, 'I am not taking your basket' or 'I am not helping you because you did something bad to me.' " See photos of the women who have learned to forgive » . Macy's sold the first "peace baskets" in 2005, and officials say the deal generates between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. A Rwandan weaver can earn about $14 per week -- a king's ransom in a country where so many live on less than $1 per week. The international project is a far cry from 1994, when the United States, Europe, the United Nations and the rest of the world turned away while the genocide went unchecked in Rwanda. "They didn't care; they were totally indifferent," Rwandan President Paul Kagame told CNN in his office in Kigali. He said the world thought Rwanda "was just another bloody African situation where people just kill each other and that's it." Watch Kagame explain why he sought reconciliation » . Today, Rwanda is an African success story. It has one of the fastest economic growth rates in the region, one of the lowest crime rates and the lowest rate of HIV-AIDS. About one-third of Rwanda's cabinet are female ministers, and 48 percent of parliamentarians are women -- the highest anywhere in the world, according to the United Nations. The country looks squeaky clean thanks to many local and national programs, including a mandatory policy that sees even government ministers participate in clean-up once a month. Plastic bags are banned. The international business community praises Rwanda's good governance and the absence of official corruption or graft. Kagame is credited not just with turning Rwanda around, but with being the driving force behind rejecting revenge. "We were in danger of having another genocide," he said. "People were so badly aggrieved they could easily have turned on those they thought were responsible for this and actually killed them in another wave of killings. But that did not happen," he said. "We said building a nation is the most important thing." Now no one talks about Hutus or Tutsis, he explained. "There is Rwanda, there are Rwandans, and the common interest we have for a better future for this country is more important than any other interest." In Gitarama, Bizimana said, "It hurts my heart to see that I did something wrong to friends of my family, to people who we even shared meals with," he said. "I am still asking for forgiveness from the people I hurt." Amazingly, many seem to have forgiven.

Basket weaver's husband, five children were hacked and clubbed to death . One of killers was neighbor, caught up in hatred of Rwanda's genocide . But now, victim and perpetrator share lunch, forgiveness and a future . President Paul Kagame says Rwanda is healing, moving beyond 1994 genocide .

Hong Kong (CNN) -- When North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test, a vast array of global sensors will detect the detonation almost immediately. But key questions about the size of the explosion, the number of bombs tested, or whether plutonium or uranium was used, may never be answered conclusively, analysts say. North Korea appears to have conducted an underground nuclear bomb test Tuesday, as the U.S. Geological Survey reported a seismic disturbance centered near the site of the secretive regime's two previous nuclear tests. The area around the reported epicenter of the magnitude 4.9 disturbance has little or no history of earthquakes or natural seismic hazards, according to U.S. Geological Survey maps. Despite international condemnation, North Korea has said it would conduct its third underground nuclear test. A third nuclear test could enable North Korea the technical data needed to miniaturize a warhead, according to a recent paper in the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists." Coming on the heels of December's successful launch of a satellite, the threat of an atomic test has raised concerns. Pyongyang's efforts seemed hapless when a rocket launch failed earlier in 2012. But its spotty record changed in early December when North Korea launched the long-range Unha-3 rocket carrying a satellite, showing the world it had the technology to launch a long-range missile -- with analysts suggesting parts of the United States, Pyongyang's stated arch rival, were now within range. Following the U.N. condemnation of the launch in January, Pyongyang says it plans a new nuclear test and further long-range rocket launches. "An additional nuclear test or two would greatly increase the likelihood that Pyongyang could fashion warheads to fit at least some of its missiles -- a circumstance that would vastly increase the threat its nuclear program poses to the security of Northeast Asia," wrote analyst Frank Pabian and Siegfried Hecker, a Stanford University professor who visited North Korean nuclear sites in 2010. How does an underground test work? Satellite photos showed the preparation of a third tunnel in Punggye-ri area, located 232 kilometers northeast of Pyongyang near the Sea of Japan, where the two previous tests were located. Work appeared to begin in 2009 and now is largely completed. Analysts estimate the new tunnel is one kilometer long and 380 meters deep. Tests are typically conducted in vertical shafts, according to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO). Holes are cut 1 to 3 meters wide and up to a kilometer deep. The atomic devices are assembled on site and placed in the hole, usually accompanied by lead-protected diagnostic canister that contains sensors to record the explosion. The tunnel is then filled with layers of pea gravel, sand and other materials to prevent radioactive material from being released into the atmosphere. During a test, the explosion energy is released in less than a millionth of a second, according to CTBTO. The temperature will reach about a million degrees within a few microseconds, and shockwaves from the blast, depending on the size, can be detected by seismographs around the planet. Is underground testing dangerous? Of the more than 2,000 nuclear detonations since 1945, 75% of the explosions have been tests conducted underground, largely by the major nuclear powers of the United States, the former Soviet Union (now Russia), Britain, France and China, according to the CTBTO. Underground testing is much safer than above-ground testing. "With underground testing, you can contain the radiation," said Annika Thunborg, CTBTO spokesperson. Still, nuclear particles can be accidentally released into the atmosphere. North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006 leaked radiation into the air which was picked up at a CTBTO monitoring station in Yellowknife, Canada -- more than 4,500 miles away. There is always a danger of radiation seeping, hence the total test ban treaty, Thunborg said. "The U.S. tried to control radiation release with its underground tests, but in 150 cases radiation was released into the atmosphere," Thunborg said. But if Pyongyang plans to explode an even larger device, risks elevate as well. "One of the risks Pyongyang takes in trying to demonstrate a test at a higher level is that they may produce fissures that allow radioactive seepage or possibly cause a major blowout from the tunnel," Hecker wrote in Foreign Policy on February 4. "The U.S. testing program experienced such problems even after having conducted hundreds of tests. Unrecognized complex geological conditions apparently led to a blowout during the 1970 underground Baneberry nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. The blowout released a radioactive cloud nearly 10,000 feet high." Such a blowout would also release a lot more data on the test to outside observers, but "spewing a radioactive cloud over the skies of Northeast Asia would create an enormous political storm from the nearby countries," Hecker wrote. Why is underground testing controversial? North Korea is the only country to have carried out atomic explosions on the planet since 1998, when Pyongyang conducted underground nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Before that, both India and Pakistan conducted underground tests in 1998, according to CTBTO. The 1996 treaty, which has been signed by 183 nations, aims to ban all nuclear testing on the planet, whether in the atmosphere or underground. While the comprehensive test ban treaty hasn't formally become law (it awaits ratification by China, Egypt, India, Iran Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the U.S.), only North Korea, India and Pakistan have broken the moratorium on nuclear testing, according to the CTBTO. Testing in the atmosphere and underwater was banned by the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, after public concerns over radioactive fallout from tests. The U.S., the Soviet Union and Britain signed the treaty, but nuclear powers France and China did not. France conducted its last above ground nuclear test in 1974; China in 1980. To develop the technology for its atomic weapons program, North Korea needs to conduct tests to perfect the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so that it can be mounted on a missile, delivered without mishap and hit its intended target. How will we know if North Korea carries out an underground test? Once a nuclear device is exploded, seismographs around the world will detect the movement. "Manmade explosions have a very different signature than natural events," Thunborg said. "Seismic technology is the core function of any monitoring system, and we are running the only international system that is dedicated to ensure that no nuclear explosion will go undetected in compliance with the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty." The CTBTO operates a global system of more than 300 monitors -- such as seismic, sonar or radiation sensors -- in 85 countries across the world. Even if no radiation escapes into the atmosphere, underground explosions leak noble gases into the atmosphere which CTBTO sensors can detect, Thunborg said.

A vast array of global sensors will detect any North Korea nuclear detonation almost immediately . Key questions about the size of explosion and the number of bombs tested may never be known . Underground tests are used to help Pyongyang perfect technology to deploy a working atom bomb . Tests "increase the likelihood that Pyongyang could fashion warheads to fit at least some of its missiles"

(CNN) -- Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced she will resign from Congress this week -- but not before finishing her "Congress On Your Corner" event that was interrupted by the shooting rampage that left six people dead and Giffords with a gunshot wound to her head. At the private gathering Monday, Giffords will meet with some of the people who were at the event last year, including some who aided injured people and some who subdued the gunman, according to a statement from her office. "A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that," Giffords, 41, says in a video on her website, speaking in a halting manner. She said she will resign to continue her recuperation from the brain injury she suffered when she was shot on January 8, 2011. "I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," Giffords continues. "Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery. So to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week." Giffords, a Democrat, will submit a letter of resignation during the week to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Brewer told reporters Sunday that within 72 hours of receiving that resignation, she expects to call a primary election sometime in April for political parties to pick their candidates for the state's 8th congressional district seat. That would be followed by a general election -- likely in June, according to the governor. The winner will head to Congress for the rest of Giffords' term, which ends in January 2013. "Her recovery has been nothing less than a miracle," said Brewer, noting she spoke with Giffords' husband Mark Kelly earlier Sunday about the decision. "Who knows what's going to happen in the next two years. I don't believe we've seen the last of Gabby Giffords." Before she steps down, Giffords will attend the State of the Union address Tuesday in Washington, her office said in a statement. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the Democratic National Committee chair, told CNN that Giffords -- a close friend -- came to the conclusion that she couldn't devote her full energies to both her job and her recovery. The congressman's recent return to Tucson for the one-year anniversary of the shooting showed her "how challenging it would be. It came into focus then," her friend said. "This decision is really quintessential Gabby Giffords," Wasserman Schultz added. "She needed to step aside for herself, so that her constituents could get full-time representation. She cares about them so much, that was her number one priority -- taking care of them." President Barack Obama was effusive in his praise for the congresswoman, saying Giffords "embodies the very best of what public service should be." He added that her "cheerful presence will be missed in Washington (and) she will remain an inspiration to all whose lives she touched -- myself included." "Over the last year, Gabby and her husband Mark have taught us the true meaning of hope in the face of despair, determination in the face of terrible odds, and now -- even after she's come so far -- Gabby shows us what it means to be selfless as well," Obama said in a statement. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said that Giffords "will be missed." And Brewer, the Arizona governor, lauded Giffords as a "noble public servant ... and a model of what can be accomplished with persistence and determination." House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, called Giffords a "bright star" whose "message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in Washington and the nation should honor and emulate." "Her legacy in the Congress and her leadership for our nation will certainly continue," Pelosi said in a statement. In her website video posted Sunday, Giffords says her public service career has not ended. "I will return, and we will work together for Arizona and this great country," she says. Earlier this month, Giffords joined thousands for a vigil in Tucson, one of several emotional events over the weekend to mark one year since the shootings. In addition to those killed, 13 people were injured in the shooting. Prosecutors accuse Jared Lee Loughner, 23, of carrying out the attack, which purportedly targeted Giffords during the constituent meet-and-greet event outside a supermarket. Giffords is still recovering from her injuries, and her right side remains weak. She has made few public appearances since the incident with some rare exceptions, such as casting a vote in Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling and conducting an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. She has been undergoing intensive rehabilitation in Houston, Texas, but returned to Tucson several times, according to her office. Pia Carusone, the congresswoman's chief of staff, said recently that Giffords had steadily increased her workload as her condition improved. "As the year wore on, we were able to plug the congresswoman in more," Carusone said. "Now we talk regularly over video chats and telephone. She's gotten more and more involved the better she gets." Still, Wasserman Schultz said Sunday night that Giffords now realizes that "her recovery now is more likely to stretch into years, rather than months." "I know she's coming back; she wants to come back to public service," the Florida congresswoman said, adding that Giffords is stepping down thinking "it's better to focus on coming 100% back." Loughner, the man accused of targeting her last year outside a Tucson supermarket, potentially faces the death penalty if convicted on charges of murdering six people -- including the chief federal judge of Arizona, John Roll. Loughner has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and has spent time on suicide watch while in custody and is undergoing treatment in Springfield, Missouri. A federal appeals court in May cleared the way for him to be forcibly medicated over the objections of Loughner and his attorney. Giffords herself worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and as CEO of El Campo Tire, her family's business, before being elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2000. Two years later, she became the youngest woman elected to the Arizona state senate. She won a November 2006 election to earn her spot in the U.S. Congress, then captured two other terms. Kelly, her husband, is a retired Navy captain and astronaut. A flood of people posted comments on Giffords' Facebook page Sunday under her video -- praising the congresswoman for her courage, voicing their continued support and expressing hope that she'll one day return to public office. One person wrote, "I am so thankful you are taking care of you. We can wait." Another commenter called Giffords an "inspiration" and a "great example." "It's so sad to see you leave but I know we'll see you back soon. Be well. You are loved," he wrote. CNN's Tom Cohen and Dana Bash contributed to this report.

Giffords will finish the "Congress on Your Corner" event she started before she was shot . Giffords announces she will resign in a video on her website . She was shot in the head on January 8, 2011, in a rampage that left 6 dead . Gov. Brewer says she expects the general election for Giffords' seat will be in June .

(CNN)A year ago at the Australian Open, Stan Wawrinka achieved something not done in five years. He became the first man outside tennis' "Big Four" to win a major since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009. The women's champion was less surprising, in the form of the now retired Li Na. With this year's opening grand slam starting Monday, here are seven things to watch as the tennis season bursts into life. Rafa's comeback . If Rafael Nadal wins in Melbourne, he might cherish his second title more than his first. That's because after beating Roger Federer in a thrilling five-set final in 2009, Melbourne Park has been less than kind to the 14-time grand slam champion on the health front. Check out this list: In 2010 he retired with a knee injury, a year later he suffered a hamstring injury in his quarterfinal and last year a back problem surfaced while warming up for the final. It was the clear turning point and Wawrinka took advantage. It was his long-time rival Federer who wept after losing to Nadal in 2009, but it was the Spaniard's turn to cry in 2014. Nadal hasn't competed at a grand slam since Wimbledon, having skipped the U.S. Open with a wrist complaint, and his buildup has been marred by two bad losses in the Middle East. But Friday's draw for 2015's first major was kind to Nadal. He appears to have a smooth path to the semifinals. Should Nadal somehow be the last man standing, only two triumphs would separate him and 17-time grand slam winner Federer. Serena's quest for 19 . If it was an odd-numbered year over the last decade, chances are that Serena Williams won the Australian Open. She took home the title in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. But Williams' recent appearances mirror Nadal's. There was the ankle she hurt at a warm-up tournament in 2012 that led to a fourth-round exit in Melbourne. In 2013 a back injury was probably to blame for a quarterfinal loss and last year the back flared up again in the quarterfinals. Williams' play early in 2015 is sure to have worried her fans, too. The 18-time grand slam singles winner complained of a lack of energy at the Hopman Cup in Perth and subsequently split two of her four singles matches. Like Nadal, Williams' longest grand slam drought now happens to be in Melbourne. She won the U.S. Open in September by topping her BFF, Caroline Wozniacki, but they can't face off in the Australian Open final since they're in the same quarter. Roger's bid for one more major . With Nadal's performances patchy, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic getting off to a less than stellar start in 2015 and Andy Murray struggling for grand slam form, the 33-year-old Federer can't be discarded. While Federer didn't have to face any of his fellow "Big Four" members as he shone in Brisbane -- where he collected his 1,000th match win -- he defeated two players thought of as outside grand slam contenders in 2015. He dispatched Milos Raonic in the final having routed Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals. Aiding Federer would have been a kind draw, but unfortunately for him, it didn't happen. He found himself in the same quarter as Murray and same half as Nadal. Eugenie Bouchard and the Genie Army . Can the "Genie Army" propel Eugenie Bouchard to glory? Although she showed flashes in 2013, last year in Melbourne was when the tennis world truly took note of the 20-year-old. Her semifinal showing wasn't an anomaly, with Bouchard then reaching the last four at the French Open and the final at Wimbledon. But Bouchard couldn't duplicate her success from August onwards, the low point perhaps coming at the year-end championships where she failed to win a set in her three matches. Fatigue no doubt played a role. Bouchard arrives in Melbourne this year without a permanent coach, and you wonder how high her confidence is. The return of Juan Martin del Potro . Only The Grinch wouldn't be happy that del Potro is back playing tennis. Skipping most of last year with further wrist troubles, his supporters must have been holding their breath when the Argentine pulled out of Brisbane. But he returned in Sydney this week -- unsure of how his left wrist would cope -- and made the quarterfinals. The pain hasn't gone away yet, he said. None of the contenders would want to face del Potro early, though only the very optimistic would suggest he could win a second major over the coming fortnight. Maybe claiming a few rounds and coming through the tournament unscathed would be enough for him. He doesn't face a top-10 player in his opener but it's still an enticing -- and imposing -- encounter. The 6-foot-6 "Tower of Tandil" plays 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz, who stands 6-foot-8. Simona Halep's opening major? In an era where players on the women's tour all seem to be towering 6-footers, Simona Halep -- 5-foot-6 -- is an exception. She still packs a punch from the baseline, but it's her use of angles that so often gets her into winning positions in rallies. Her backhand is one of the best around. If Halep's breakthrough was in 2013, she went one better last year by making the difficult jump into the top 10 and top five. How close was the Romanian to winning the French Open? Very. She extended one of the game's top competitors, Sharapova, to 6-4 in the third set of the final. Halep -- the most clicked on player on the WTA's website last year -- began this year with a title in Shenzhen. A high-profile home hope . Who is the top Australian hope? The rankings will tell you it's Samantha Stosur, who like del Potro is a U.S. Open winner. She's the world No. 20 on the women's tour. But Stosur has never really flourished at the Australian Open, and she hasn't been shy to admit that nerves have been a huge factor. Only once since 2007 has Stosur -- armed with arguably the best second serve in the women's game -- exceeded the third round. Australians are probably banking on Nick Kyrgios, the athletic 19-year-old who stunned Nadal at Wimbledon, to have an extended run. Kyrgios chose to take a break in September, saying he was "burnt out," and injuries have crept up. He missed the Hopman Cup with a sore back. So expecting too much from Kyrgios may be a mistake.

The Australian Open starts Monday in Melbourne . Rafael Nadal makes his grand slam comeback . Serena Williams seeks a 19th career major . Roger Federer enters with momentum after 1,000th win .

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- No one at the Railway Golf Club in the heart of Nairobi quite remembers if Barack Obama, Sr., the father of the 44th U.S. president, ever played here when he was a high-flying civil servant in the 1960s . Perhaps he played up the road at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club, the oldest of the city's six golf establishments, someone suggests. The club scene was certainly the natural ecosystem for the pipe-smoking Harvard-educated economist, and the hordes of other young Africans just returned from the world's top universities to take over their newly independent country. Map: World weighs in on U.S. election . Memories of Dr. Obama are fading, but his son is a popular man in Kenya. From the clubs to the teeming barrios for which Nairobi is notorious, President Obama is spoken of with enthusiasm and pride. Dr. Simeon Onyango, is in the pharmaceuticals business and a widely travelled man. He thinks the world of President Obama. "I believe he deserves a second term. War is very expensive and with the Iraq and Afghan war, he has done a great job in managing this and even eliminating Osama [bin Laden]," said Onyango at the Railways Golf Club, whose course is part of a longer green belt that girdles Nairobi's fat midriff from south to north. Postcard: Nigerians enjoy election soap opera . The Kenyan capital is a land of dramatic contrasts. From a rooftop bar on Mombasa Road, the main highway to the airport and on to the coast, you can sometimes see in the distance herds of buffalo, giraffe and the odd lion. Once in a while, when the big cats wander into the villages and kill their cattle, Maasai warriors take out their spears and hunt them down. It is a city that likes to keep in touch with its wild side. Kibera, Kenya's biggest slum, is Obamaland. Here, the people are less guarded, more passionate about politics. Their living conditions are terrible. They have given rise to a peculiar activity, slum tourism, where wealthy people journey from all over the world to come and see squalor. The ring of slums to the south co-exist cheek-to-jowl with Lavington, one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods. Every morning crowds of workers stream through Lavington for their 15-kilometer walk to the city's industrial zone. Postcard: Obama finds support among Chavistas . In Kibera, Obama's story resonates strongly maybe because when you are scrapping the bottom of the barrel, the only thing keeping you going is a dream: the slum is home to amazing innovation and creativity in film, comedy, music and -- believe it not -- IT. James Mwanzia, 25, sells charcoal, used by thousands of poor household for fuel. "The highlight of his term was killing Osama bin Laden, which is something other presidents have not been successful in doing," he says. Al Qaeda and its fanatical Somali affiliate, Al-Shabaab, which has been carrying out a campaign of terror in Nairobi and on one occasion lobbed a grenade into a Sunday school, is solidly hated. Postcard: Why Berliners, U.S. are kindred spirits . Unlike many Kenyans, Mwanzia didn't wake up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the second U.S. presidential debate on TV. Kenya will hold its own general election next March, and for the first time a series of presidential debates has been planned ahead of election day. He says he will watch the local ones. For Kenya's Muslims, however, the attitude towards America is more complex. Munir Mohammed Abbas, 35, another Kibera resident, is full of praise for Obama, whom he describes as "a very eloquent speaker with a very good grasp of national matters, especially on managing the economy" -- before adding, "I will not comment on terrorism." Postcard: War-scarred Baghdad has little faith in election . Among Muslims, there is suspicion that the fight against al Qaeda targets their religion -- and U.S. campaign talk of an invasion of Iran and the enthusiastic support for Israel are not popular ideas in the mosques. The thrill here over Obama's 2008 election has dwindled over time. "Enthusiasm for President Obama is probably 40 percent what it was in 2008," said Henry Owuor, Foreign Editor of the Daily Nation, Kenya's biggest newspaper. "People used to call and demand that I publish Obama's pictures and stories. Not any more." In 2008, the Daily Nation sent a team to cover the U.S. election; this year it is relying on its correspondents and the wire services. While Obama is admired because he is smart, calm and dignified, a brave black man doing his duty for his country, he has been in office for four years and the novelty has worn off. Postcard: Obama's 'hope' a mirage for hostile Pakistanis . Kenyan perception of America has also changed over the years. The U.S. is recognized as a powerful actor not just in regional affairs, but in national affairs. There is a growing belief in Kenya that America exercises its immense power only in its own interest -- sort of like a wealthy friend who comes to a party with lots of food, but does not share. Last October, Kenyan forces crossed the border into Somalia in pursuit of Al-Shabaab. The region's first contact with jihadist terrorism was in August 1998 when al Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. There was an outpouring of sympathy for America. But when Kenyan forces entered Somalia, the U.S. stayed out of it. James Thumi, who sells software, feels Obama has not been sufficiently engaged with Africa. While his predecessors had big initiatives such as the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which offers African companies preferential access to the U.S. textiles market, Obama has been pre-occupied with domestic issues. Postcard: Obama, Romney ignore Afghans at own peril . America also uses travel advisories to chide the Kenyan government for policies with which it disagrees, according to Thumi. "Placing travel advisories on countries like Kenya because of a few security threats is not the way to go, because we do not do the same when America has had its share of scares," said Thumi, echoing the common perception that the U.S. government uses travel advisories, which discourage travel to countries at risk, as a big stick to get the Kenya government to do its bidding. In K'ogelo, a village about 400 kilometers west of Nairobi and the home of the Obamas, a victory party is being planned. At the Railway Club, golfers pay no heed to the scorching sun and are out on the green. In the club house, members speak quietly into their cell phones. A few are on their iPads, most likely keeping a worried eye on RealClearPolitics.com to see which ones are leaning and which ones are toss-ups.

President Obama's father, Barack Sr., was born in Kenya . Obama fervor has faded since 2008, but he remains source of pride for Kenyans . Many Kenyans believe the killing of Osama bin Laden is Obama's top achievement .

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Fourteen mothers, whose children prosecutors say were sexually abused by a Los Angeles teacher facing 23 felony charges, sued the school district on Tuesday seeking damages for "generalized shock and trauma." The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, also seeks unspecified "compensatory economic and special damages for medical expenses," which include psychological therapy, according to court papers and attorneys for the plaintiffs. The suit also seeks reforms to the Los Angeles Unified School District, which "has a practice and custom of maintaining a 'Culture of Silence' to hide teacher misconduct, and to ignore teacher misconduct," the suit said. The legal action stems from a criminal case against former teacher Mark Berndt of Miramonte Elementary, who is being held on $23 million bond and faces 23 felony counts of lewd acts on children. Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students, then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces, among other graphic depictions. L.A. schools review past 40 years of teacher discipline cases in misconduct crisis . The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old, and all but two of them were girls, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. The 14 mothers' lawsuit says Berndt took photographs of their children "with cookies in the mouths of plaintiff's children, and/or blindfolded the children, and/or placed cockroaches on the bodies of plaintiff's children, for the intent of arousing and gratifying the lust, passions and sexual desires of Mark Berndt." One of two mothers who spoke at a press conference on Tuesday said her now 10-year-old daughter was victimized by Berndt while a student at Miramonte from 2009 to 2010. CNN, which has interviewed the mother in recent months, isn't identifying the mother or other parents in order to protect the identities of the children. "I am asking for justice and I want justice to be done to this man," the mother, 43, said. She wants the district to be held accountable for its "negligence," she said. In a recent CNN interview, the mother said her daughter went to Berndt's classroom, where "he would give her some cookies. My daughter told me that the teacher would say the cookies had sugar and some white stuff that was on it," the mother said. In that CNN interview, the mother was joined by her daughter, who told CNN: "We would help him clean his class and he would give us cookies. "They were white and they had a white stuff on top, and he would put some sort of powder" on the cookie, the girl said. The parents told CNN they didn't tell their daughter what could have been on the cookie. The girl's father, 46, who joined his wife at Tuesday's press conference, told CNN the couple doesn't want money but rather justice, so other families won't "suffer what's happening to us," the dad said. Their daughter is now enrolled at another school. The daughter and mother are both in counseling, he said. "We don't want money, because our children's health physically and mentally is not going to be the same," the father said. California teacher pleads not guilt in student 'bondage' case . The other mother at Tuesday's press conference told reporters that her daughter is now rebellious and is also in counseling. Five of the children in the civil lawsuit are among the 23 alleged victims in the criminal case, said Luis A. Carrillo, the attorney for the 14 mothers. Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives are investigating the accusations of the nine other children identified as victims in the civil suit, Carrillo said. Sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez, the lead investigator in the case, said Tuesday that detectives interviewed more than 100 Miramonte students and have presented all those cases to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for review. It's up to the district attorney whether to bring charges on behalf of additional victims, beyond the current 23, Marquez said. Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, declined to comment Tuesday on whether additional charges would be filed. Berndt's attorney, public defender Victor Acevedo, declined to comment Tuesday because he hadn't seen the lawsuit. David Holmquist, general counsel for the Los Angeles school district, said student safety was the system's "paramount priority." "The district is committed to working with the Miramonte community and everyone impacted by these incidents to improve trust and promote healing," Holmquist said in a statement. "While the district has yet to receive the latest complaint, we are continuing our efforts to ensure that we are doing everything possible to provide a safe learning and working environment for our students and staff." In May, another civil lawsuit was filed against the school district on behalf of 22 children who claimed they were sexually abused by Berndt, said Carrillo, who also is the attorney for the plaintiffs in that case. The lawsuit, also filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged that Berndt "engaged in sexual assault, sexual harassment, which includes sex discrimination per LAUSD's policies, and/or sexual exploitation of the plaintiffs that included lewd, obscene and/or lascivious acts" with the 22 children age 6 to 9 years old between 2002 and 2011, court papers said. The children of the 14 mothers in Tuesday's lawsuit are also part of the May lawsuit, Carrillo said. In December 2010, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began investigating Berndt after authorities learned of hundreds of "questionable photographs of children on film that Mr. Berndt had brought (to) a local store to have developed," according to Tuesday's lawsuit. Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation, authorities said. Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom. A teacher for 30 years, Berndt initially challenged the school district's decision to dismiss him. But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned in spring 2011. His arrest in January led to broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school's students and the prospect of more victims. Days after Berndt was taken into custody, another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer, 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14. He has pleaded not guilty. The Los Angeles Unified School District board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days, during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school. Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Misconduct scandal prompts L.A. schools to send 604 teacher discipline cases to state .

Fourteen mothers suffer "shock and trauma" as result of a school's child sex abuse case . At least one mom says she doesn't want money, but rather justice and reform . Five of the 14 kids are also victims in criminal case against a former teacher, attorney says . Former teacher Mark Berndt of Miramonte Elementary faces 23 felony lewd acts upon children .

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- With at least five people dead and massive expanses of land and roads under water, Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency Monday in the 17 counties hardest hit by flooding from severe weather. Atlanta firefighter Stephen Webb carries a dog to safety Monday at the Peachtree Park Apartments. Gov. Sonny Perdue's announcement followed three deaths in north Georgia's Douglas County, one death in Gwinnett County and another in Carroll County, where a 2-year-old child was ripped from her father's arms by fierce floodwaters while he struggled to hold on to bushes, officials said. Those counties, near Atlanta, were among the 17 included in the state-of-emergency declaration . About 100 miles north of Atlanta, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one person was swept into rushing water and is presumed drowned, said Jeremy Heidt, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in Nashville. Three missing children in Douglas County, west of Atlanta, were found, but their mother was one of the flood's fatalities, said Dena Brummer, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. "We're in rescue-and-recovery mode," said Wes Tallon, spokesman for fire and emergency management services in Douglas County. "It has not stopped raining, and another line of thunderstorms is coming." Watch flooding one CNN.com staffer recorded » . Until just a few months ago, the area was gripped by drought. Watch what caused the torrential rain » . Several storms moving northeast from the Gulf of Mexico brought the downpours, which forecasters expected to continue through Monday night. Rains were expected to taper off by Tuesday morning but scattered showers were expected for the next couple of days. Just west of Atlanta, some areas have received about 22 inches of rain since last week, CNN meteorologists reported. About 12 of those inches fell in a 12-hour period from Sunday night to Monday morning. After Georgia creeks and rivers burst, swollen by days of rain, residents struggled to escape. In Cobb County's Austell, two rescuers paddled their way through rising flood waters searching for stranded victims, video from CNN affiliate WXIA showed. The pair on the inflatable, yellow raft ushered a stranded woman to a section of black-tarred street that was not under water. Nearby, three men pushed their valuables in a kayak as they waded through the shoulder-high muddy waters. Another two men floated on what looked like air mattresses linked together by rope. Watch men float on inflatable mattresses » . Near Marietta northwest of Atlanta, a flooded bridge blocked the only road out of a residential area surrounded by a national park and the Chattahoochee River. Two buses picked up elementary school children Monday morning, but flooding prevented them from picking up older students later, and the buses couldn't return with the first batch in the afternoon, said iReporter Pritam Jaipuriar, who lives there. See Pritam Jaipuriar's iReport . Some elementary students used a walking trail -- the only other path out of the area -- to return home. Some parents arranged for friends beyond the bridge to pick their children up from school and keep them for the day. "My first-grader son is staying with a friend of mine," said Jaipuriar, who was unable to go to work Monday. Some ground-level apartments in the area were flooded, but his unit was fine, he said. Unable to drive for supplies, some residents walked the path to a store a few miles away and returned with bags of groceries, said iReporter Jeff Cofer, who also lives there. See Jeff Cofer's iReport . Near northwest Atlanta's Vinings area, floodwaters encroached upon multimillion-dollar houses. Rescue personnel rode in boats over flooded streets Monday night, going home to home to pick up residents and take them away. Water levels were high enough at one home that the people there stood on a roof to await rescuers, a fire and rescue official said. On Monday morning, a couple inches of water had entered the Villa Rica, Georgia, home of iReporter Walid Zeid, damaging suitcases and other things that were on the floor. Water from a flooded lake lifted his boat to the roof of his boathouse, crushing the boat's canopy, Zeid's iReport video showed. Zeid, a flight attendant, was supposed to be on an international flight Monday, but flooding prevented him and his family from leaving home, which is in Carroll County. See Walid Zeid's iReport . "You can't go anywhere. The roads are washed up," he said. The flooding from torrential rains drenching the metropolitan Atlanta area "has to rank as one of the worst," Matt Sena of the Peachtree City, Georgia, National Weather Service told CNN. Watch home's yard become a lake » . Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport in five days has received about 4.5 inches more rain than it usually would in all of September, he said. iReport.com: Floodwaters seep into Carroll County home . "Hundreds of roads have been closed" in the Atlanta area, Brummer said, adding that Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties "have been impacted the most." Watch I-75/85 under water » . Two of the Georgia fatalities involved people trying to drive through floodwater. A vehicle with one man in it was swept off a road in Douglas County, and a car carrying a woman was swept off a road in Lawrenceville in Gwinnett County, east of Atlanta, Brummer said. Seydi Burciaga, 39, was driving to her Lawrenceville home from work when flash flooding trapped her in her vehicle, Gwinnett County police said. She called 911 and police tried to locate her, but Burciaga could not tell them exactly where she was. Floodwater moved her car about 500 feet after she was swept off the roadway, and her attempts to guide rescuers to her by mentioning landmarks were unsuccessful, police said. By the time rescuers found her minivan, she was dead, police said. In Tennessee, the presumed drowning victim was forced into a culvert, or underground storm water drain, about 6 p.m. Sunday, Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner told CNN. Sylvester Kitchens Jr., 46, was with a friend, Albert Miller, when the two decided to swim in a large, flooded ditch, Garner said. He said a Miller family member told him that "basically it was a bet." Both managed to grab onto a chain link fence while being buffeted by the strong current, Garner said. A neighbor threw a garden hose for them to grab onto, and Kitchens reached for it but was unable to hold on. Miller clung to the fence for about 20 minutes and was eventually rescued by firefighters, Garner said. Kitchens' body has not been found, said Garner, who added that it "doesn't appear he could've survived." CNN's Mallory Simon, Nicole Saidi and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

Georgia's governor declares emergency in 17 counties . Girl who was swept from father's arms is among five killed in Georgia . Person in Tennessee swept into rushing water, presumed drowned, official says . Hundreds of roads closed, official says; more rain expected before finally ending .

Washington (CNN) -- Former federal judge and conservative legal scholar Robert Bork died early Wednesday at his Virginia home, his family confirmed to CNN. He was 85. Perhaps best known for his nomination to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, Bork was rejected for the post after a contentious confirmation battle led by left-leaning groups that opposed his conservative judicial philosophies. Bork had recently served as a senior legal adviser to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He was a solicitor general during the Nixon administration and first gained notoriety for carrying out the president's order to fire the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal in 1973, an episode known as the Saturday Night Massacre. But it was the Senate's rejection of his high court nomination that earned the conservative Bork a political legacy -- symbolic of the contentious, partisan nature of congressional confirmations. Bork was also known as a staunch advocate for "originalism," a principle that defends the original intent of the Constitution. In recent years, Bork became a well-regarded conservative voice on legal and constitutional matters, as well as the author of several books including "Slouching Toward Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline." He was also a frequent commentator. He told CNN in 2005 that he had to endure his failed nomination as a metaphor. To "Bork" someone has entered the popular lexicon as attacking a public figure in the media for partisan gain. "My name became a verb," he said. "And I regard that as one form of immortality." Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a longtime friend, described Bork as "one of the most influential legal scholars of the past 50 years." "His impact on legal thinking in the fields of Antitrust and Constitutional Law was profound and lasting," said Scalia. "More important for the final accounting, he was a good man and a loyal citizen. May he rest in peace." Photos: 15 Supreme Court cases that changed America . Scalia and fellow conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas followed Bork's example of a strict interpretation of the Constitution. That position made Bork "one of the intellectual godfathers of the conservative movement in this country," according to CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Robert Heron Bork was born in Pittsburgh in 1927 and attended the University of Chicago Law School, where his conservative leanings were forged. He was a Marine Corps veteran. After private practice and a teaching stint at Yale Law School, he was named to the Justice Department in 1973 at the height of the Watergate crisis. When Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus abruptly resigned rather than carry out orders to dismiss special prosecutor Archibald Cox, Bork stepped in and carried out Nixon's demands. He was criticized for bowing to political pressure but remained on the job. Nixon resigned a year later. Reagan named Bork in 1981 to the high-profile U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he served with future justices Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Bork was seriously considered for the 1986 high court vacancy that eventually went to Scalia, who still serves as the senior associate justice. The retirement a year later of Justice Lewis Powell promised an ideological sea change on the divided high court. Powell was a centrist and the court's key swing vote. The Reagan White House quickly focused on Bork, hoping it would move the court to the right. One major roadblock: Unlike the Scalia confirmation a year earlier, Democrats now controlled the Senate and were prepared for a fight. Bork's confirmation was the most bitter Washington had seen in years, and he was ultimately rejected by the Senate 58-42, the largest margin of defeat ever for a court nominee. From Robert Bork to Instagram in 7 steps . The concern for many senators was not one of qualification but of temperament. Bork's paper trail was extensive. He was an outspoken and prolific jurist with a clear, unapologetic conservative record. Civil rights groups and liberal lawmakers attacked his writings and rulings on voting, free speech and, especially, on reproductive rights. "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said at the time. "The doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens." During the nationally televised hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bork sparred with lawmakers, strongly defending his "originalist" judicial philosophy and rejecting suggestions the Constitution was a "flexible" document that offered new rights in changing political and social times. Bork believed in "strict constructionalism," that judges should rule based only on the text of the Constitution as it was originally enacted, and should not be seen as righting all social ills. In 2005, Bork told CNN's "Larry King Live" what made a good justice: "A willingness to apply the Constitution according to the principles that are actually in it rather than what they call the 'evolving' or the 'living' Constitution," he said, "which simply means the judges begin to make it up." Friends and colleagues offered tributes to the conservative legal icon. "Robert Bork was one of America's greatest jurists and a brilliant legal mind," said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a onetime constitutional lawyer and friend of the judge. "He was an expert on issues ranging from antitrust to privacy laws and was deeply influential in promoting constitutional originalism. Despite the unfortunate and unnecessary controversy surrounding his Supreme Court nomination, Judge Bork remained an inspirational figure for those seeking to enforce constitutional limits on the federal government. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bork family." That political fight raised the stakes for future Supreme Court nominations, bringing a new level of intensity and partisanship to the process. Groups on both sides of the ideological debate saw advantages in pointing out the impact the high court and its nine justices have on the rule of law and the hot-button issues decided. The Supreme Court in June made a landmark opinion, upholding the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Obama. Rulings on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage can be expected by next June. Justices order another look at key health care provision . Years after the political fight, Bork admitted that the partisan rejection of his nomination was personally trying. He had stepped down from the bench a year after it. Bork suffered in past years with heart disease. Before his death, he was a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute, which researches and analyzes issues involving defense policy, international relations, health care, technology culture and law. The foundation's president and CEO, Kenneth Weinstein, said Bork will be missed. "Robert Bork was a giant, a brilliant and fearless legal scholar, and a gentleman whose incredible wit and erudition made him a wonderful Hudson colleague," Weinstein said in a statement on the organization's website. People we've lost in 2012: The lives they lived . CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

Conservative judge Robert Bork died Wednesday . He was best known for the confirmation battle over his 1987 Supreme Court nomination . Bork was a staunch advocate for a strict interpretation of the Constitution . He was 85 .

(CNN) -- Some die-hard fans are getting all wrapped up in a campaign to defend Paula Deen. They're sending cleaned and origami-folded butter wrappers to Food Network and other companies that dropped the popular chef and cookbook author in the wake of allegations of racism and sexual harassment. Deen later admitted to "of course" using the n-word. The wrappers are intended as signs of protest -- physical declarations of "we're sticking with Paula." John Schmitt, a hotel night auditor in Indianapolis and the man behind the campaign, says he couldn't abide by the "betrayal" of Food Network, QVC and others. He felt he had to do something to express his disgust at the situation. "She made a mistake 20 years ago," he says. "We all make mistakes. I've said things I regret." First, he thought about mailing actual sticks of butter. Then he considered two things: the waste of butter (something true Deen fans could never forgive), and the physical ickiness of envelopes steeped in melted butter. He opted for an empty wrapper on which he wrote in black block letters: "Where is Paula?" and began cooking up a plan. Deen critics say credit is past due . Wrapping things up . Schmitt created the Facebook page, "We Support Paula Deen," on June 21 and announced the butter wrapper campaign the following week after Deen's now-famous interview with "Today" anchor Matt Lauer. "People on the page are a lot like me," he says. "They support Paula and who she is as a person." Schmitt and many others say they have sent wrappers to Food Network, the QVC, Wal-Mart, Ballantine Books and other companies that have dropped Deen. Food Network, QVC, Wal-Mart and Smithfield Foods declined to comment. The idea for the butter wrapper campaign arose from Schmitt's desire to do something "tangible" as a show of support for Paula, something beyond Facebook posts. Opinion: Half-baked apology is recipe for racial indigestion . Talking with iReporter Chris Ford inspired him to try something different. "That's when I said, 'You know, this is actually perfect,'" Ford remembers. "'The butter itself is Paula, and these wrappers are void of butter just like these companies are void of Paula.' And [Schmitt] said, 'My God, that's it. That's our slogan.'" The slogan that came out of it -- "A corporation without Paula Deen is like a butter wrapper without butter" -- inspired countless posters to pledge their own wrappers for Paula's benefit. Soon the page was smothered in posts and comments from users, gushing over the cleverness of the campaign and pledging to send their own wrappers to the list of companies Schmitt had posted on the site. "Perhaps somebody somewhere in mail rooms is keeping track," Schmitt says. "I would've loved to see their face for the first one. Like, 'Ew, is this butter?'" Schmitt sent his in the first week of the campaign, but he hasn't received a formal response yet, just "canned answers" from Sears and Wal-Mart. He wasn't necessarily expecting one; the campaign, he says, is more intended for self-expression than for results. Many, like Schmitt, say they weren't expecting personalized responses from Food Network, Smithfield's or any Deen-dropping company. "I sent a butter wrapper knowing that the chuck-a-lucks down at the Food Network probably wouldn't even open it," wrote Liz Vannah, a supporter from Connecticut, in a Facebook message. "But I felt compelled to do something to show that this kind of railroading, for whatever hidden-agenda-ed reason it happened, is not looked kindly upon by the consuming public." Comfort food, uncomfortable topics . Paula Love-fests . Schmitt says he's been a Paula Deen fan for years, mainly because it was something he shared with his late mother, Laura Schmitt. They both enjoyed watching the show and shared a deep belief in Deen's "goodness" -- a belief that has not been shaken, even following news of Deen's alleged racism. "In a lot of ways, she reminds me of my mom -- this funny, gracious lady from a different era," he says. "My mom probably used that word and she wasn't a racist." He points to Deen's work with the charitable Bag Lady Foundation and the sweet stories people have shared on the page as intrinsic signs of this goodness. Joyce Dixon, a Deen fan from Claxton, Georgia, says Schmitt's page caught her eye because of its emphasis on personal stories. She joined as fan No. 102 and later became the volunteer manager of the site. Dixon says she believes the page grew in popularity so quickly because people were attracted to the "lovey-doviness" of the stories, videos and photos shared by fans. Now, the page holds regular "Love-Fest" nights for followers to share their Deen stories. Dixon has been a fan of Paula Deen since 1997, when she first visited Deen's Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, and there met Deen personally. "She just had black hair with a bit of salt and pepper in it," Dixon remembers. "She wasn't a big personality or nothing. She was very involved with the customers." Dixon recalls how at the end of the meal, Deen took the time to sit down at their table to ask how Dixon and her friends had enjoyed themselves, even asking if there were any items they'd like to see on the menu. "That's when she won me over: the one-on-one, the face time," Dixon says. "It's Business 101, and she's got it down." Since then, Dixon says the characterization of Deen in the media is "so wrong." "You know what? They're the ones that did this," Schmitt says, referring to the companies that dropped Deen. "People [visiting those pages] were angry and upset and saw something they could get behind." Paula Deen: From the frying pan to the firestorm . Sticking with Paula . Deen supporters from the page argue this "punishment" has gone too far. They say Deen has become a scapegoat for media attention -- and Dixon says that is why she dedicates so many hours to a mere Facebook page. She wants to correct the public's perception of the former Food Network star. "It wasn't about the n-word; it was about the extortion thing, about this one crazy employee," Dixon says. "My interest is in Paula's business. To me, it's about a self-made woman. You have to ask yourself, 'If she was a man, would this happen? If she was from the North would this happen?' And you know, I don't think it would." Follow Julia Carpenter on Twitter and Google+ and keep up with CNN Living on Facebook. Are you a current or former Paula Deen fan? Do you agree with how she's been treated by sponsors and the media? Weigh in with your comments below.

Fans are sending butter stick wrappers to Food Network and other companies that have dropped Paula Deen. The Facebook page, "We Support Paula Deen" has more than 600,000 followers. Fans are decorating butter wrappers and getting creative with boycott letters. Fans say they support Deen and believe she should be forgiven for her mistakes.

Washington (CNN) -- The year 2012 was supposed to herald Hillary Clinton's swan song, a golden departure amid speculation that she might consider another run at the presidency in 2016. Instead, the outgoing Secretary of State has found herself and her agency at the center of a scathing report about bloody attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. On Wednesday, four State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, were disciplined after a review of security failures there, senior State Department officials told CNN. One resigned, while three others have been placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. An independent review released Tuesday cited "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the agency Clinton heads. The review board completed its investigation this week. Clinton received a copy of the report on Monday and said in letters to the heads of those committees that she accepted every one of its recommendations, including strengthening security, adding fire safety precautions and improving intelligence collection in high-threat areas. Benghazi siege: The ambassador's last minutes . Citing health reasons, Clinton delays testimony . Clinton, who had been recovering from stomach flu last week and a concussion following a fainting spell, informed the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees over the weekend that, at the advice of her doctors, she would be unable to testify at upcoming hearings about the deadly events in Benghazi. In her place, deputies Thomas Nides and Bill Burns testified on Thursday. Read more about the Benghazi hearing . Initially, that did not sit well with some members of Congress, especially Republicans, who have been highly critical of the Obama administration's handling of the Libya attack. CNN Poll: Majority dissatisfied but don't think administration misled on Benghazi attack . "I know that Secretary Clinton was unable to be able to testify tomorrow in an open setting," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told reporters Wednesday. "I do think it's imperative for all concerned that she testify in an open session prior to any changing of the regime. I think that that's very important for her, I think it's very important for our country, and I think it's very important to really understand sort of the inner workings of the State Department itself." Clinton to testify before House panel in January . However late Wednesday, House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, indicated that Clinton will indeed testify in front of the committee sometime in mid-January. Ros-Lehtinen issued a statement saying, "We still don't have information from the Obama administration on what went so tragically wrong in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four patriotic Americans. We have been combing through classified and unclassified documents and have tough questions about State Department threat assessments and decision-making on Benghazi. This requires a public appearance by the Secretary of State herself. Other Cabinet secretaries involved should also be held publicly accountable." Lawmakers are right to demand answers of Clinton, said David Rothkopf, editor of Foreign Policy magazine. "Hillary Clinton must take her fair share of responsibility for the mismanagement that led to the Benghazi disaster. And I believe she has. Her response to it, the appointment of a serious review effort led by (Ambassador Thomas) Pickering and (Adm. Mike) Mullen, its swift, thorough and unflinching completion of its duties and her acceptance of all its recommendations has been a textbook case of how to handle a crisis responsibly," Rothkopf said. Sizing up Kerry as secretary of State . It is a crisis that has left an indelible mark on the careers of several high profile Obama administration officials. Rice attacked for Benghazi comments . U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration to become the top U.S. diplomat after drawing heavy criticism from Arizona Sen. John McCain and other Republicans over her public statements about the Benghazi attacks. In a letter to Obama, Rice said the Senate "confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly — to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities. That trade off is simply not worth it to our country." Clinton praised Rice as a capable leader and insisted "she made very clear in her appearances that the information was subject to change, as more facts were gathered and analyzed by the intelligence community" in a press conference at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference in Dublin earlier this month. Disciplinary actions at State . Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of diplomatic security, has resigned his post. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Charlene Lamb is among the other three officials placed on administrative leave pending further action, a source told CNN. Boswell and Lamb oversaw security for the Benghazi mission. Lamb testified before Congress about the security precautions. Documents show Lamb denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya. State Department resignations follow Benghazi report . But there is no reason to think Clinton's presidential prospects are dimmed, political experts say. Positive public support . Before the report came out, Clinton had enjoyed wildly popular approval ratings in nationwide polls. A Bloomberg National Poll released this month showed 70% of Americans have a mostly or very favorable view of Clinton, with 24% holding a mostly or very unfavorable opinion of the nation's top diplomat. Similar polls from Politico/George Washington University, ABC News/Washington Post and the Siena College Research Institute showed consistent high marks. "The report certainly isn't the 'hail and farewell' Hillary Clinton hoped for, and it isn't pretty. But two points: Clinton has been in the national public eye for 20 years, so any new piece of information is put into a much larger context. That will help her," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. Though the Benghazi attacks will likely come up should Clinton venture a presidential run, the impact will have lessened, Sabato said. "Think about 2012 when Benghazi was a fresh issue. How much did it help the GOP in the end? Somewhere between nada and zilch. Only a small portion of the electorate seemed interested, and overwhelmingly, they were already voting Republican," Sabato said. "I have a hard time believing that Benghazi will make much difference after the passage of four more years." Rothkopf agrees. "I do not believe the Benghazi case will have any impact on her presidential prospects. No one in public life for as long as she has been has an absolutely blemish-free record, and hers is vastly more distinguished and blemish-free than most," Rothkopf said. "Further, truth be told, the misfires prior to Benghazi really occurred much farther down the food chain within the State Department," he said. "Suggesting errors in judgment regarding a particular post in a particular country fall within the direct purview of the Secretary of State is a gross misreading of the nature and demands of her job." CNN's Dana Davidson, Dana Bash, Elise Labott , Adam Levine and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to step down from her Cabinet position in January . A review oF Benghazi cited "systemic failures" at the State Department . High-ranking State officials have resigned or been disciplined . If Clinton runs in 2016, the sting of the Benghazi report will have lessened, experts say .

(CNN) -- Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal, attempts to clarify in a new interview how he feels about his relationships with young people. "If I say, 'No, I'm not attracted to young boys,' that's not the truth," Sandusky said in an extensive interview with The New York Times in a story published Saturday. "Because I'm attracted to young people -- boys, girls -- I ..." His lawyer, who was present at the interview, spoke up at that point to note that Sandusky is "not sexually" attracted to them. "Right. I enjoy, that's what I was trying to say, I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people," Sandusky continued. "I mean my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young." A grand jury report, made public last month, detailed 40 charges against Sandusky in a child sex abuse scandal involving at least eight alleged victims and spanning 15 years. In a recent interview with NBC's Bob Costas, Sandusky was asked directly: "Are you sexually attracted to underage boys?" Sandusky repeated the question, paused, and responded, "No. I enjoy young people." The former Penn State defense coordinator has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation -- saying he only "horsed around" with the disadvantaged boys in his care -- and is currently free on $100,000 bail. An attorney -- this one representing Victim 6, as identified in the grand jury report -- predicted Sandusky's latest interview with the newspaper will not help his case. Howard Janet called the ex-coach's remarks "another failed attempt to manipulate the public and potentially manipulate the future jury pool." "He's not accomplishing ... his desired goal," Janet said, calling much of the interview "uncomfortable to watch" and "disingenuous." "Every time he opens his mouth, virtually, he puts his foot in it." According to the New York Times story, Sandusky stressed that he and legendary head football coach Joe Paterno never discussed the allegations of sexual misconduct. "I don't know that he didn't know," he told the newspaper. "I know that he never said anything to me. I know that." The Board of Trustees removed Paterno and President Graham Spanier on November 9, amid the allegations that also implicated high-level university officials. Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, and the school's vice president for finance and business, Gary Schultz, 62, have since been charged in the scandal. Each faces one count of felony perjury and one count of failure to report abuse allegations. Paterno, 84, has not been charged in the investigation, but has received criticism for not alerting authorities to the alleged misconduct. He has said he did his duty in referring the allegations to his superior; according to the grand jury report, Paterno called Curley to report allegations of Sandusky "fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy." Spanier also was informed of "a report of an incident involving Sandusky and a child in the showers on campus." The New York Times' with Sandusky honed in on two separate allegations of misconduct in 1998 and 2002. When Sandusky retired in December 1999, an investigation of his alleged actions a year before had never been made public, but were later detailed in the grand jury's report. A mother had come forward, saying the coach had showered with her son and hugged her boy, naked from behind. Two campus police detectives eavesdropped on conversations in May 1998 when the mother confronted Sandusky. Police later monitored a second conversation that month, in which the mother told Sandusky to stay away from her son. "I understand. I was wrong," Sandusky said, according to the grand jury report. "I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead." Four years later, the report said, graduate assistant Mike McQueary claimed to have seen Sandusky sodomizing a boy in a locker room shower. Sandusky told The New York Times that Curley, Penn State's athletic director at the time, confronted him about the alleged misconduct. "He was concerned about it," he told the newspaper. "He was coming to me with a concern because, in his words, somebody had talked to him about inappropriate behavior in the shower." Sandusky said he responded by saying "it didn't happen." "In my mind, there wasn't inappropriate behavior," he said. The former coach said Curley then told him that "he didn't want me to bring kids (into university facilities) and work them out anymore," according to the interview. But, he told the Times, Curley never commandeered his keys to the facility. "And I still went in there and worked out," the former coach said. The four-hour interview was conducted at the home of his lawyer over two days, where he insisted that his decades of work with troubled youths as part of his charity the Second Mile had been "twisted" by prosecutors. "They've taken everything that I ever did for any young person and twisted it to say that my motives were sexual or whatever," Sandusky said. "I had kid after kid after kid who might say I was a father figure. And they just twisted that all." But an attorney for a 29-year-old alleged victim of Sandusky's, who is not among the eight people named in the grand jury report, said the interview is further evidence that the former coach "cannot resist center stage." "Sandusky is making Joe Paterno look reckless and negligent," said Marci Hamilton, whose client is suing the school, Sandusky and the charity he founded for sexual abuse the man allegedly suffered at the hands of the former coach during the 1990s. Sandusky, meanwhile, told the the Times that he misses his old job at Penn State, as well as the work he did at the Second Mile. He added that children at the charity were like an "extended family," calling himself an "extended father." Sandusky described how the scandal has taken a toll on his life and relationships. "I miss coaching. I miss Second Mile. I miss Second Mile kids," he said. "I miss interrelationships with all kinds of people. I miss my own grandkids." But a lawyer for one alleged victim, who is part of the criminal investigation, said that the interview only further pains Sandusky's accusers. Justine Andronici, who is part of the legal team advising the client and other rape victims with the intention of later filing lawsuits, decried what she called Sandusky's "delusional rationalization" and said she was taken aback by his assertion that some victims' "got pulled into" the investigation and pointing out positive things he'd done for them. "Sandusky needs to know that with every denial, every attempt to cast himself as the victim in this case, he inflicts more suffering," Andronici said in a statement. CNN contributor Sara Ganim and CNN's Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt contributed to this report.

NEW: An alleged victim's lawyer rips what she calls Sandusky's "delusional rationalization" "I enjoy spending time with young people," Sandusky says . Sandusky says Paterno never spoke with him about allegations of misconduct . The scandal has left much missing from his life, Sandusky says .

(CNN) -- The saber-rattling between Iran and Israel conjures fears of mass casualties and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Israel has threatened to attack Iran to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and has threatened to strike first against enemies who threaten its national interests. The tough talk makes it easy to forget that Israel and Iran have not always been enemies. The Jews of Israel and Persians of Iran have had a rich and nuanced relationship dating back thousands of years. They have enjoyed an "overwhelmingly positive connection" for centuries, said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council and author of "Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States." In fact, Israeli Jews grow up reading a Bible story about the Persian leader Cyrus the Great, who is said to have liberated Jews and allowed them to return from exile to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, said David Menashri, an Israeli expert on Israeli-Iranian relations. "In the back of the historical memory of the Israelis, when you speak about Iran, Iran is considered to be a good friend of Israel," he said. After the birth of the nation of Israel in 1948, the countries enjoyed a "honeymoon" that lasted until just before the 1979 Islamic revolution, said Menashri, professor emeritus of Tel Aviv University and president of the Academic Center of Law and Business in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. Before the revolution, when the shah-led monarchy governed Iran, Israel and Iran shared a pro-Western bent. They cooperated overtly and covertly on economic, political and security issues. Israel viewed Iran as part of its strategy to develop ties with non-Arab states on the region's periphery, such as Turkey and Ethiopia. It also saw Iran as an important way station for Jews fleeing persecution in Iraq, said Uri Bialer, a professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Israel's ties with Iran were chiefly motivated by "a single word with three letters -- O-I-L," he said. Iran earned money selling oil to the Jewish state. The shah also saw in Israel another pro-American ally with influence in the United States. "Under the shah, Israeli-Iranian ties were multilayered and complex," said Haim Malka, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The shah had a similar interest in building strategic ties with a growing military power that had a record of defeating Arab armies, though he was careful not to publicly embrace Israel too warmly," Malka said. It was "a love affair without marriage," Menashri said, quoting an Iranian diplomat. "You don't need to have a formal contract to have a happy marriage. You are happy together." Even though Iran never formally recognized Israel, Israel operated a permanent delegation in Iran until the overthrow of the shah in 1979. That event ushered in an Islamic republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini and marked a turning point in ties between Israel and Iran. The Islamic republic, led by Shiite clerics in the predominantly Shiite nation, saw Israel as an illegitimate state with no right to exist, certainly not amid Muslim nations. Despite harsh rhetoric, though, Khomeini "didn't want to get into a confrontation with Israel," said Ervand Abrahamian, a professor of Iranian and Middle Eastern history at Baruch College of the City University of New York. One reason relations weren't worse in the 1980s: Israel and Iran had a common enemy in Iraq, a country that fought an eight-year war with Iran. Israel even supplied weapons to Iran to help it fight Iraq, Abrahamian and other analysts say. And Israeli warplanes bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, an act seen as beneficial to both Israel and Iran. Even as "Khomeini called Israel a 'cancerous tumor,' the Israelis lobbied Washington to boost Iran's defenses and bring Tehran 'back into the Western fold,' " Parsi said. In the years after the Iran-Iraq war, however, Israel began to regard Iran and its support of global terror as a chief threat. The Islamic republic supported anti-Israeli movements such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza -- groups that Israel and the United States classify as terrorist organizations. Iran also stirred anxiety in Israel by revving up its nuclear program. Iran harbored ambitions to lead the Muslim world in the fight to liberate Palestinians and wrest Jerusalem, one of Islam's holy cities and Judaism's holiest city, from Israel, said Vali Nasr, the author of the "Shia Revival." Yet Iran maintained a pragmatic instinct, said Parsi, who cited a 2003 Iranian idea to lower the political temperatures and stave off Iran's isolation. "Much like Malaysia, Iran would be an Islamic state that did not formally recognize Israel and would occasionally criticize Israeli policies, but would refrain from directly confronting Israel. Iran would get out of Israel's hair in return for an end to Israeli pressure on the United States to isolate and contain Iran," Parsi said. The concept didn't get off the ground. After he was elected in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began spouting anti-Israeli and anti-Western rhetoric. He enraged Jews by denying the Holocaust and alarmed them with virulent attacks on Israel. His rhetoric stoked fears in Israel and elsewhere that a major world leader would want to destroy the Jewish state. Yet it has been Iran's nuclear program that has raised the prospects of armed conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will act to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. U.S. President Barack Obama pledged support for Israel this week but also urged more time for diplomacy and harsh sanctions to have an effect. As the possibility looms of an Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear sites, the two countries appear to already be engaged in what many have called a shadow war. After Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated in Tehran, Iran blamed Israel. When attackers targeted Israeli diplomats this year in India, Thailand, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Israel blamed Iran. Underneath the political tensions, though, some measure of goodwill persists for some. "Despite three decades of animosity, tens of thousands of Iranian Jews in the United States and Israel still have a strong cultural attachment to Iran," said Malka, the Middle East expert in Washington. Many Iranian Jews maintain contact with friends and relatives who are among the roughly 20,000 Jews in Iran, Malka said, and Israeli radio beams programming in Farsi inside Iran. Connections between the two peoples are underscored by the Jewish holiday of Purim, which began Wednesday night. It commemorates a Bible story in which Haman, an adviser to the Persian king, plots unsuccessfully to kill Jews, . The story resonates with Israelis worried about the Iranian president. Many of them compare him to a figure far worse than Haman. "They speak about him as Hitler," Menashri said.

Israelis fondly think about Cyrus the Great, the ancient Persian king . During the rule of the shah, Israel and Iran forged "multilayered" ties . In the 1980s, Israel and Iran had a common enemy in Saddam Hussein . Iran now backs Hamas and Hezbollah, two anti-Israel movements .

(CNN) -- North Korea has entered a "state of war" with neighboring South Korea, according to a report Saturday from the state-run Korean Central News Agency that included a threat to "dissolve" the U.S. mainland. "Any issues regarding North and South will be treated in accordance to the state of war," North Korea's government said in a special statement carried by KCNA. "... The condition, which was neither war nor peace, has ended." North Korea and South Korea technically remain at war since their conflict between 1950 and 1953 ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty. On March 11, the North Korean army declared the armistice agreement invalid. This report represented Pyongyang's latest salvo aimed at South Korea and its ally the United States. Tensions in the area have been ratcheting up for months, with North Korea remaining defiant and, in some opinions, belligerent in the face of international efforts to halt its nuclear program. Saturday's report included a direct threat to the United States, while also asserting Pyongyang "will not limit (itself) to limited warfare but to all-out war and nuclear war." "We will first target and dissolve mainland United States, Hawaii and Guam, and United States military based in South Korea. And the (South Korean presidential office) will be burned to the ground," the KCNA report said. In a statement later Saturday, South Korea did not treat their neighbor's latest threat as anything new. Seoul noted scores of its personnel had entered the Kaesong Industrial complex -- a joint economic cooperation zone between the two Koreas situated on the North's side of the border -- on Saturday morning with hundreds more set to join them later in the day, seemingly suggesting they were going about business as usual. "The announcement made by North Korea is not a new threat, but part of follow-up measures after North Korea's supreme command's statement that it will enter the highest military alert" on Tuesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement. Map appears to show U.S. targets . A day earlier, same official North Korean news agency reported its leader Kim Jong Un had approved a plan to prepare standby rockets to hit U.S. targets. In a meeting with military leaders early Friday, Kim "said he has judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation," KCNA reported. The rockets are aimed at U.S. targets, including military bases in the Pacific and in South Korea, it said. "If they make a reckless provocation with huge strategic forces, (we) should mercilessly strike the U.S. mainland, their stronghold, their military bases in the operational theaters in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea," the report said. Analysis: Just what is Kim Jong Un up to? North Korean state media carried a photo of Kim meeting with military officials Friday. In the photo, the young leader is seated, leafing through documents with four uniformed officers standing around him. On the wall behind them, a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S." appears to show straight lines stretching across the Pacific to points on the continental United States. South Korea and the United States are "monitoring any movements of North Korea's short, middle and middle- to long-range missiles," South Korean Defense Ministry Spokesman Kim Min-seok said Friday. U.S. official: We're 'committed ... to peace,' unlike N. Korea . U.S. officials have said they're concerned about the torrent of threats coming out of Pyongyang in recent weeks. "I think their very provocative actions and belligerent tone, it has ratcheted up the danger, and we have to understand that reality," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday. Some observers have suggested that Washington is adding to tensions in the region by drawing attention to its displays of military strength on North Korea's doorstep, such as the flights by the B-2 stealth bombers. Hagel argued against that assertion. Threats of annihilation normal for South Koreans . "We, the United States and South Korea, have not been involved in provocating anything," he said. "We, over the years, have been engaged with South Korea on joint exercises. The B-2 flight was part of that." Washington and its allies "are committed to a pathway to peace," Hagel said. "And the North Koreans seem to be headed in a different direction here." Opinion: Why North Korea regime is scary . Amid the uneasy situation, China, a key North Korean ally that expressed frustration about Pyongyang's latest nuclear test, also called for calm. "We hope relevant parties can work together to turn around the tense situation in the region," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said Friday, describing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as "a joint responsibility." Behind North Korea's heated words about missile strikes, one analyst said, there might not be much mettle. North Korea's threat: Five things to know . "The fact is that despite the bombast, and unless there has been a miraculous turnaround among North Korea's strategic forces, there is little to no chance that it could successfully land a missile on Guam, Hawaii or anywhere else outside the Korean Peninsula that U.S. forces may be stationed," James Hardy, Asia-Pacific editor of IHS Jane's Defense Weekly, wrote in an opinion column published Thursday on CNN.com. Tensions have been rising for months . Tensions escalated on the Korean Peninsula after the North carried out a long-range rocket launch in December and an underground nuclear test last month, prompting the U.N. Security Council to step up sanctions on the secretive government. U.S. officials concerned about North Korea's 'ratcheting up of rhetoric' Pyongyang has expressed fury about the sanctions and the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises, due to continue until the end of April. The deteriorating relations have killed hopes of reviving multilateral talks over North Korea's nuclear program for the foreseeable future. Indeed, Pyongyang has declared that the subject is no longer up for discussion. The recent saber-rattling from Pyongyang has included threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea. Most observers say North Korea is still years away from having the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead on a missile, but it does have plenty of conventional military firepower, including medium-range ballistic missiles that can carry high explosives for hundreds of miles. Having already declared the armistice invalid, North Korea more recently said it was cutting a key military hotline with South Korea. North Korea has gone through cycles of "provocative behavior" for decades, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Thursday. "And we have to deal with them. We have to be sober, calm, cool, collected about these periods. That's what we're doing right now," he said. "And we are assuring our South Korean allies day to day that we stand with them in the face of these provocations." Korean nightmare: Experts ponder potential conflict . CNN's Dayu Zhang and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

NEW: South Korea doesn't consider latest threat "new," its unification ministry says . North Korea threatens "all-out war and nuclear war" on its enemies, state news reports . "We will first target and dissolve" the mainland U.S., Hawaii and Guam, the report adds . Pyongyang has been defiant in the face of efforts to halt its nuclear program .

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's army chief said the military -- one of Thailand's most powerful institutions -- would not step into the current political crisis, saying that the country's laws were enough to confront deadly protests that have punctuated a three-month power struggle. In a televised address, Gen. Prayuth Chanocha said the military did not want to exacerbate an already volatile situation. "If we use full military force, there is no guarantee that the situation would return to normalcy," he said, in an address widely seen as a signal to the Thai public. "The current conflict has spread wider than in 2010," he said, adding that the political impasse had more complicated conditions and involved more disparate groups. "The military does not want to use weapons and forces against our own Thai (people)," he added. "Under the current situation, constitution laws are perfectly effective. If there is a continuation of a loss of life, the country will fall." War of words . Meanwhile, Thailand's rival factions continued their war of words. Protest leader and former deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, warned that his rivals in the red-shirted United Front (UDD) were planning a coup. "At the UDD rally they also discussed the possibility of a separatist movement, dividing Thailand into two," Suthep said. "But we have never entertained this notion. We are fighting to keep Thailand united as one. They can rally around the 'red flag' but we will continue to salute our tricolor flag." At the "war drum" rally on Sunday, Jarupong Ruengsuwan, the Pue Thai Party Leader, said that violence threatened to escalate. "Let me leave a warning to all people and to those who want to harm the country and the People of Thailand that Thais own 10 million guns in this country," he said. "Whoever wants to insult the power of people, they will see." On Tuesday, violence simmered in the capital Bangkok where police said a series of blasts and gunfire took place in the early hours of the morning near Lumpini Park. Two people received minor injuries in the incident, police said. Attacks condemned . Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday condemned weekend attacks that killed four people -- three of them children -- and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. A six-year-old-girl, a four-year-old boy and a woman of about 40 died when a bomb exploded at an anti-government rally outside a shopping mall in the Ratchaprasong area of Bangkok, the Erawan Emergency Center reported. The children were siblings. The 22 wounded included a pre-teen boy who was in critical condition, said Lt. Gen. Paradon Patthanathabut, Thailand's national security chief. On Saturday night, a 5-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet when attackers opened fire on an anti-government demonstration in eastern Trat province, police Col. Jirawut Tantasri said. Another 34 were wounded, he said. Patthanathabut said police think the two incidents are connected. "We believed that there is an element which is armed and prone to use violence mean to achieve their goal." What's behind the Thai unrest? The deaths were the latest to punctuate three months of protests against the Shinawatra government. In a statement issued Sunday night, Yingluck said her government "will not tolerate terrorism" and would prosecute the killers "without exception." "I would like to ask all sides of the political divide that we may see things differently and there are many ways to express those differences," Yingluck said. "But the use of violence that lead to deaths are not the civilized way of the living." Protests to continue . Both the Ratchaprasong and Trat demonstrations were organized by the opposition People's Democratic Reform Committee, which vowed to continue protests despite the attacks. On its Facebook page, the movement called for supporters to donate blood at hospitals that were treating the wounded from the Ratchaprasong bombing. "Although we have lost several friends in these attacks, I would like to insist that we follow our course of peaceful, unarmed, and nonviolent demonstrations," party leader Suthep said in a statement on the Facebook page. "We are on the right course. We are fighting the good fight. Please carry on as we have." In Trat, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Bangkok, Jirawut said the girl who died was eating noodles with her grandmother when two cars passed the demonstration of about 1,000 people. The attackers threw grenades from the first car while the occupants of the second began shooting into the crowd, he said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement Sunday condemning the violence and calling for it to end. He "urges the parties to respect human rights and the rule of law, prevent any new attacks and engage in meaningful dialogue toward ending the crisis and advancing reform," the statement read. He added that he is ready to "assist in any way possible." Calls for change . The People's Democratic Reform Committee has called for the democratically elected Yingluck to be replaced with an unelected "people council," which would see through electoral and political changes. Yingluck is the brother of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile. Yingluck's critics accuse her of being a proxy for her brother, who was convicted of corruption charges in 2008 and sentenced to prison in absentia. Yingluck's government was largely stable until her party attempted to pass a controversial amnesty bill in November, sparking the current wave of protests. The bill would have nullified Thaksin's corruption conviction and allowed him to return to the country. Also Sunday, a group of protesters called the Red Shirts joined in the protesting. Between March and May 2010, thousands of opposition protesters known for the color of their shirts occupied parts of the shopping district in central Bangkok. For the most part, the Red Shirts were supporters of Thaksin. They wanted the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a new general election. In 2011, up to 30,000 Red Shirts descended on the same area, this time demanding a thorough investigation of a deadly government crackdown that May, along with the release of protest leaders, some of whom had been held in jail on terrorism charges for months. On Sunday, the Red Shirts gathered in Nakhonratchasrima, about 100 miles from Bangkok. There were about 3,000 protesters in the mostly peaceful protest, according to Paradon. The Red Shirts encouraged the government to prepare in case it needed to set up an exile office in the northern or northeastern parts of Thailand. The leaders of the protest asked members in each province to set up and train their own people in security techniques and be prepared for prolonged protests. CNN's Kocha Olarn reported from Bangkok; Ashley Fantz and Matt Smith reported and wrote from Atlanta.

NEW: Thailand's army chief says military will not step into current political crisis . The death toll from Sunday's bombing rises after a 6-year-old girl dies . Dozens are wounded in attacks on anti-government protesters over the weekend . U.N. secretary-general offers to help "in any way possible"

(CNN) -- As bloody month after bloody month goes by, the United States grows ever more committed to overthrowing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The cause is undoubtedly a just one: Avaaz, the human rights group that has been most deeply involved in the Syria crisis, reported Thursday morning that "17 civilians were beheaded or partially beheaded by regime security forces" outside of Baba Amro, the besieged Homs district that will likely soon fall to al-Assad's tanks, if it hasn't already. Last week, Syrian activists reported that regime soldiers had ambushed and killed 64 men fleeing Homs, dumping their bodies outside the city. And ousting al-Assad would bring strategic benefits, removing Iran's only Arab ally at a time when the Islamic Republic is on its heels, and taking out a patron of hard-line movements like Hamas and Hezbollah that oppose a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the United States has not done all it can to hasten al-Assad's exit. Syria is unquestionably a hard problem -- vastly more complicated than Libya: more ethnically diverse, with a far greater number of outside players involved. Turkey shares a long border with Syria and a fear of Kurdish nationalism; Russia sees al-Assad as its last remaining friend in the Middle East; Saudi Arabia would like to see the majority Sunnis in power; Iraq, Israel and Lebanon fear the inevitable chaos that will follow al-Assad's collapse; and, of course, Iran is deeply invested in the regime's survival. All this rightly makes U.S. policymakers queasy about getting sucked into a potential quagmire just as they are pulling out of two costly wars with little to show for it. Where advocates of military intervention see in Syria another Libya, or even a Kosovo, many see another Iraq in the making. It also means the United States has less leeway to pursue its interests (and values) unilaterally. As long as Turkey, for instance, opposes safe zones along the Syrian border, it's a no go. The man responsible for the carnage in Syria is Bashar al-Assad. Still, the Obama administration has made a number of blunders that, in hindsight, have made this problem harder to solve. Here are six: . 1. Underestimating al-Assad. To its credit, the administration was quick to recognize that al-Assad was in serious trouble. Obama was one of the first world leaders to call explicitly for al-Assad's ouster. But in doing so, was the administration too optimistic about his chances of survival, too naïve about the depths he would go to remain in power? 2. Taking force off the table. Yes, the Pentagon is reportedly preparing "detailed" contingency options for U.S. military action in Syria. That's what militaries do, and it's only prudent for the United States to monitor chemical weapons sites and eavesdrop on the regime's communications. It's also a good idea for the president to have a full understanding of what his options are and the risks and costs involved. But the administration has been unwilling to make the kind of threats that could make al-Assad think twice about what he's doing. That's understandable: It's hard to make a threat credible if it's obvious to all that you aren't willing to carry it out. But earnest denunciations and multilateral conferences don't seem to be working. Why undercut your diplomacy? 3. Handwringing about al Qaeda. The U.S. intelligence community is concerned about the presence in Syria of fighters from Iraq's al Qaeda branch, who are thought to be behind a spate of bombing attacks in Damascus and Aleppo. That's a reasonable worry. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went beyond caution this week, tarring the Syrian opposition -- which is overwhelmingly ordinary Syrians, conservative, yes, but not extremists -- with the same broad brush. "We know al Qaeda [leader Ayman al-] Zawahiri is supporting the opposition in Syria. Are we supporting al Qaeda in Syria? Hamas is now supporting the opposition. Are we supporting Hamas in Syria?" Clinton said. "If you're a military planner or if you're a secretary of state and you're trying to figure out do you have the elements of an opposition that is actually viable, that we don't see." 4. Failing to engage al-Assad's allies. If al-Assad is to fall, the pillars that prop up his regime must first be removed. Iran and Russia, both of which continue to send weapons and advice, if not more, must be convinced that a post-al-Assad Syria is something they can at least live with. Both countries have met with members of the Syrian opposition, indicating they want to explore their options. Perhaps these are merely insincere efforts to help al-Assad divide and conquer. But it's worth exploring what's real and what's not. The same goes for al-Assad's internal allies: Are we doing enough to convince senior military and security leaders that they're better off without al-Assad? 5. Ignoring China. Even if you believe the Russians will never dump al-Assad, what about the Chinese? China also vetoed the most recent U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria, in tune with its habit of standing with Russia against encroachment on the principle of state sovereignty. But Washington has made little effort to engage Beijing on this issue, or to enlist Arab oil suppliers like Saudi Arabia to lobby on the Syrian opposition's behalf. China has few tangible interests in Syria, and might be convinced that a post-al-Assad world is in its broader interest. That would leave Russia isolated and uncomfortable. 6. Focusing exclusively on the Syrian National Council. Underscoring its skittishness about the growing militarization of what is by now a civil war by any reasonable definition, the Obama administration has shied away from dealing with the Free Syrian Army's leadership in Turkey. Perhaps more is going on behind the scenes, but the United States has clearly put its energies behind the SNC. But it is unclear whether this fractious body of exiles truly represents Syrians on the ground, and its relationship with the FSA is poor. The SNC on Thursday announced it was setting up some kind of "military bureau" to funnel weapons to the FSA, but it's not yet clear the FSA is truly on board. The SNC has also had a hard time attracting support from minorities, who fear that al-Assad's ouster will put their communities at risk. These points are not an indictment of Obama's Syria policy. There are no good options here, only bad and worse ones. As al-Assad moves to consolidate his brutal victory in Homs and put the rebellion down once and for all, there's still time to rectify our mistakes and shape an outcome that saves lives and protects American interests. But not very much time. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Blake Hounshell .

Blake Hounshell says Hom is likely to fall as Syria regime continues brutal crackdown . He says U.S. committed to ousting regime but has not gone all in to end complex conflict . He lists 6 ways the U.S. faltered, including taking force off the table; worrying about al Qaeda . Hounshell: There are no good options, only bad and worse; time running short to save lives .

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Making great wine is like making a great film, according to director Francis Ford Coppola -- it's defying the impossible. During his 70 years, he has done both. Francis Ford Coppola is the movie-making talent behind some of the greatest films ever made -- he is also a successful winemaker. Coppola is the filmmaking talent behind some of the most highly-regarded films ever made -- "The Godfather," "The Conversation," "Apocalypse Now" -- a fact his stash of five Academy Awards attests to. "He's able to infuse a certain reality into the films that he's doing," director and long-time collaborator, George Lucas told CNN. "Human touches that take [them] beyond just a cardboard cut-out movie." He is also a cut above the rest as a winemaker. At his vineyard in California's verdant winegrowing region Napa Valley, the Italian-American has established a reputation as an outstanding vintner -- albeit accidentally. "As a six-year-old, my father drank wine at the table and the uncles and grandparents, they all drank wine and even the kids were given a little wine. It was just one of the good things of life like food," said Coppola. "I never thought it could be a business." But, 25 years after stumbling upon his vineyard (now known as the Rubicon Valley Winery) during the search for a family summer home, the wine business has become a lucrative day job for Coppola. With a bottle of Rubicon '79, his sought-after first vintage, selling for $200, Coppola realized he could use the profits to self-fund feature films. "I said, 'Maybe I'm wealthy enough that I could finance my own little films,'" Coppola told CNN in the garden of his refurbished Victorian estate mansion. Watch CNN Revealed: Francis Ford Coppola » . His latest "little film," "Tetro," starring Vincent Gallo, is a family drama that tells the story of a man who goes to Buenos Aires to find his long-disappeared poet brother. When he finds him, they try to come to terms with the rivalry that has driven their successful, creative family apart. It is clearly very autobiographical: Francis' father, Carmine, was a composer and many members of his family throughout the generations are well-known actors, directors and musicians. Francis Ford Coppola's Hollywood Family Tree » . "You know, some of the stuff in the movie is not untrue. The family always had these siblings in the same field... there was a lot of rivalry." According to Coppola, it's a film that would never have been made if he had needed a big budget or funding from a studio. "If you're making a film that will open all over the world then it has to appeal to the common denominator of all those people. "Unless you put the money up yourself, you can't do what you want, and that's why I always end up doing it. It just seems so much easier than to have to beg someone to make your film." Coppola has ample experience of studio-controlled filmmaking. He spent much of the 1990s working as a hired gun on films like "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "The Rainmaker." Coppola started his career making low budget films as the protege of "King of the Bs" Roger Corman. His career moved up a gear after the success of "The Godfather" in 1972, which became one of the highest-grossing films in history. "When I was young I wanted to write and direct little personal films," he told CNN. "I was offered a project that was from a book that turned out to be 'The Godfather' and that project changed my career to something very different from what I would have imagined. "I never would have imagined myself as a Hollywood or industry director. I mean, not at that level of success." One of the 1970s group of Hollywood film directors including George Lucas and Martin Scorsese known as the "movie brats," Coppola broke new ground in the "The Godfather," showing the ruthless Corleone gangster's family values, casting them in a sympathetic light. Who is the greatest American film director of the era? Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg? Tell us below in the Sound Off box . Coppola's wife, Eleanor, thinks his Italian-American background was fundamental. "'The Godfather' was a raw example of his experience at weddings, with family and he just took his experiences and viewed those characters with the familiar aspects that he had known from his uncles and his family," she told CNN. In 1979, perhaps his most infamous film, "Apocalypse Now," followed. It is considered by many to be the quintessential film about the nightmare of the Vietnam war. But the film that defined a generation almost ruined Coppola's career. Filming, which started in 1976 took almost three years to complete and ran into financial trouble almost immediately. "'Apocalypse Now' almost broke me because it was so expensive," Coppola remembers. "I had every nickel that I owned riding on a movie that was going rampantly over-budget and I was going to end up with the bill. In other words, I was going to end up owing somebody $30 million." Famously, what could go wrong did. A typhoon destroyed the film set, lead actor Martin Sheen had a heart attack aged 39, and Marlon Brando turned up on set grossly overweight and under prepared. "There's stuff I can't tell you, but it was pretty crazy," says actor Robert Duvall who played napalm-loving Lt. Colonel Kilgore. Robert Duvall: Francis Ford Coppola made my career . "Sometimes we'd get one shot in a day, if that. Everything was in disarray." Coppola was also battling the screenplay, which which proved to be an epic journey not unlike the one in the film. "I found myself making a film that was more and more surrealistic and psychedelic, and as I took that trip going up the river making the movie it got weirder and weirder. I couldn't figure out how I was going to end it." He successfully solved the puzzle and the film and went on to win the coveted Palme D'Or at Cannes film festival and a place in movie history. Today, Coppola seems like a man at peace with himself and his career -- "I'm in an extremely interesting place." He has not tired in his pursuit of making great movies and all his experiences have taught him some important lessons. "There are great films and great wines so it is possible. What is it when the impossible becomes possible? What does it take to do that? It takes incredible, fanatical devotion. Willingness to go through anything." Although, right now, sitting in the greenery of his Napa Valley estate, Coppola isn't enduring too many hardships. "I'm sitting here in paradise ready to write something new."

Master movie-maker Francis Ford Coppola on his other love: Winemaking . How his "day job" has helped to revitalize his film career, plus latest film "Tetro" Coppola is still writing and directing at 70: "I'm in an extremely interesting place" CNN's Revealed talks exclusively to the director at his Napa Valley winery .

(CNN) -- A crusading Sri Lankan journalist shot dead last week knew he would be killed -- he said so in a dramatic, posthumously published column touching a raw nerve in his war-torn island nation. A candlelight vigil in the Sri Lankan capital in memory of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga. Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor-in-chief of The Sunday Leader, was gunned down execution-style January 8 but spoke from the grave three days later when the newspaper published "And Then They Came For Me." That posthumous column anticipated his slaying by government forces and defended the craft of journalism in his country, a profession under fire during its bitter civil war. "Diplomats, recognizing the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice. But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience," Wickrematunga wrote. "People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it's a matter of time before I am bumped off." Wickrematunga wrote that he was twice assaulted and his house was fired upon. "Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended. "In all of these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me," he wrote. Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa, asked about threats to journalists, voiced assurance that no journalist or media institution had cause to fear any threats or attacks by the government, according to a statement on the government's official Web site. Watch Sri Lanka's foreign minister discuss press freedom » . "The government had no interest whatever in seeking disgrace through any attacks on the media," he said, and he assured media leaders that the culprits would be captured and brought to justice, the statement said. Hostility against journalists and their institutions has been high as the Sinhalese-dominated government forces work to eradicate the last vestiges of Tamil Tiger separatists in the Jaffna peninsula, the rebel-held northern region. The 25-year-old civil war has left more than 65,000 people dead. Sunanda Deshapriya, spokesman for Sri Lanka's Free Media Movement, said harassment of journalists has been common, and cited these examples from the past year: two journalists killed, another journalist shot at, more than 50 reports of intimidations and threats, 12 media personnel arrested, 16 journalists physically assaulted, one tortured, one assaulted in an abduction attempt, the circulation of a list with 27 journalists targeted for killings, the proposal of a censorship law, and the naming of some journalists as terrorists or terrorist supporters. On January 6, 15 masked gunmen entered Maharajah TV studios outside the capital, Colombo. The journalism watchdog group Committee to Protect Journalists said the attackers shot at and destroyed broadcast equipment, held staff members at gunpoint, and attempted to burn down the station's facilities. CNN on Wednesday interviewed the head of Maharajah TV, Chevaan Daniel, about the incident. Afterward, Sri Lanka's defense secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, called for the arrest of a person who had talked to CNN, Deshapriya said. CPJ said the government-run media has criticized Maharajah TV for its coverage of a suicide bombing in the capital and "undermining" a presidential victory speech after government troops took Kilinochchi -- which had been the de facto capital of the Tamil Tigers movement. Government officials have condemned strikes on Colombo and have ordered probes. Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program director, said that "far too often the government or its unofficial allies have been prime suspects behind attacks on journalists and media organizations," despite government condemnations and investigations. As the civil warfare first unfolded, Tamil journalists were targeted, Dietz said. But in the past year and a half, mainstream journalists, such as those who raise questions about the government's military activity, have been facing a crackdown -- even if they are from the majority Sinhalese ethnic group or sharply critical of the Tamil rebel movement. This includes Wickrematunga, who questioned the government's successes and value of its military actions. "That really got under the skin of the government," Dietz said. "It's one thing to insult the president, but another thing to insult the military during wartime." "This killing is the worst," said Dietz, who compared it to the impact that would be felt if a New York Times or Washington Post columnist were killed in the United States. Wickrematunga's killing spurred a demonstration in Colombo by 4,000 people, which Reporters Without Borders said was the largest since the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa took power three years ago. Another protest was to be held on Thursday in London. The title of Wickrematunga's column was inspired by a poem by a German theologian about how Germans failed to react to Nazism in the past century before it was too late. In his rendition of the poem, Wickrematunga wrote: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." Wickrematunga pronounces his pride in his profession's attempt to chronicle life in a country at war and his paper's work to bravely represent all people -- "Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled." He casts the paper as an independent organ that faithfully records events. He said the paper lacks a political agenda and wants to see Sri Lanka as a "transparent, secular, liberal democracy." "No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism," he wrote, adding that "countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honor to belong to all those categories and now especially the last." "I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not traveled this journey alone. Fellow journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off lands." He also castigates the country's president, who had been a long-time friend. "In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one too."

Lasantha Wickrematunga gunned down execution-style January 8 . Posthumous column anticipated his slaying by government forces . Govt.: Says no journalist, media institution should fear attack by government . Civil war with Tamil Tigers has killed more than 65,000 .

(CNN) -- There are thousands of football stadiums around the world, ranging from multi-million-dollar, all-seater arenas to traditional old grounds that could probably do with a bit of TLC and a lick of paint. Everyone knows about iconic structures such as Brazil's Maracana, the mark II Wembley in London and Spain's Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou, but many quirkier venues are also worth a visit. CNN has picked out eight that offer something slightly different to the norm. Tell us what you think, is your favorite ground missing off the list? 1. Estadio da Madeira, Portugal At first glance this 5,500-capacity stadium is not at all unusual, although two ends of the ground are wire fencing with no seats. But the location, high above Madeira island's capital of Funchal, qualifies this venue for attention. Games are often called off for fog and it is no wonder. The only road up to the ground is a narrow twisting track, easy to miss with just a single makeshift sign to indicate the right direction. Driving up the narrow road it is hard to believe you are heading to a ground which has hosted Europa League football, until after a couple of kilometers you can spot the floodlights, high above the tree line like a scene from the film "The Field of Dreams" and its imaginary baseball ground. This stadium is for real and boasts good facilities, including the Cristiano Ronaldo football academy, but its surreal setting takes some beating. 2. Braga Municipal Stadium, Portugal . Portugal's second entry in our list was designed by famed architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, winner of the 2011 Pritzker Architecture Prize, and is unique for its rugged beauty. Built in 2003, in time to be one of the venues for Euro 2004, Moura carved the stadium into the face of the adjacent Monte Castro quarry which overlooks the city of Braga. And, since it was built, the team's fortunes on the pitch have improved as well, culminating in them reaching the final of the Europa League last year. Moura received his Pritzker prize this year from a well-known statesman, who said: "This is Eduardo's most famous work -- he took great care to position the stadium in such a way that anyone who couldn't afford a ticket could watch the match from the surrounding hillside." That statesman? U.S. President Barack Obama. 3. Stadion Kantrida, Croatia . Situated in the Croatian city of Rijeka and home to the club of the same name, this stadium might be small, holding only 10,000 fans, but is perfectly formed. Like Braga's ground, one side of the arena is dwarfed by a giant cliff face. However, the Kantrida offers visual beauty on the other side as well, being perched alongside the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. The setting is so beautiful that since 1990 it has hosted some of Croatia's home international matches. 4. Allianz Arena, Germany . No apologies for the inclusion of Munich's new stadium. In an age when impressive new arenas are being built every year, this one takes the breath away for its unusual exterior. Despite the controversy that surrounded its huge cost (reported to be in the region of $400 million) and allegations of corruption and underhand dealings in its construction, this makes the list for its magnificent tire-shaped design that dominates its surroundings. But what really sets it apart is the paneling that makes up the facade, which can be independently lit with white, red, or blue light depending on which team is playing there -- something no other arena in the world can do. The Allianz Arena hosted the 2006 World Cup semifinal between France and Portugal and is the setting for the 2012 Champions League final. 5. Estadio Hernando Siles, Bolivia . Although not officially the highest stadium in the world -- that honor goes to a ground in Peru -- this one makes the list because of its national importance and controversial history. Situated in the capital city La Paz, at 3,637 meters (11,932 feet) above sea level, it is Bolivia's national arena and plays host to three club teams, including the appropriately named The Strongest. For years, international opponents claimed Bolivia had an unfair advantage playing there, and it's hard to argue with some of the results it has spawned. Just two years ago, the mighty Argentina were humbled 6-1 there -- the two-time world champions' worse defeat for six decades -- while Brazil suffered their first World Cup qualifying reverse in 40 years when losing 2-0 in 2003. FIFA has made attempts to ban the stadium from hosting such matches in the past, but the Bolivians fought tooth and nail to fight the suspension and -- in the end -- football's world governing body relented. 6. Stade Velodrome, France . Love it or hate it -- and most people hate it -- Marseille's famous old arena is just plain odd. It's the largest club ground in French football, holding 60,000 fans, and has hosted two World Cup semifinals (in 1938 and 1998) as well as numerous top rugby matches. Yet, despite its location on the windy Mediterranean coast, and repeated proposed renovation projects, spectators must suffer everything that nature has to offer, as the stadium has no roofing on the stands. Finally, work is now in progress to provide spectators with some respite from the elements, with work expected to be completed in plenty of time for when France hosts Euro 2016. 7. Svangaskard Stadium, Faroe Islands . This is a real gem of a stadium. Situated in the village of Toftir, it used to be the permanent home for all Faroe Islands home matches, although it has now been usurped as the national team venue by a newer ground in the capital Torshavn. The Svangaskard holds just 6,000 fans but once been, never forgotten. From afar it looks like it is perched precariously on the edge of rugged rocks and once up close, you realize just how near it is to the sea. Breathtakingly beautiful views surround the ground, so take a camera, and also some very warm clothing because you really will be at the mercy of the north Atlantic Ocean. 8. Cape Town Stadium, South Africa . Possibly the most beautiful stadium in the world for a variety of reasons. Built at a cost of $600 million in time for the 2010 World Cup, not only is it pleasing on the eye, but its location is simply stunning. With the landmark Signal Hill on one side, the Atlantic Ocean on the other and Table Mountain also in the background, it is a stadium that shows off Cape Town's natural beauty with sumptuous effect. And, as if it didn't have enough going for it, the stadium also played host to some of the best matches during the World Cup, with Germany beating Argentina 4-0 and the five-goal semifinal thriller between the Netherlands and Uruguay just two of its highlights.

CNN takes a look at some of the world's most unusual football stadiums . Portugal's Madeira island has a ground which is partly built into a cliff face . One of the grounds highest above sea level can be found in the Bolivian capital La Paz . South Africa's Cape Town Stadium has the scenic Table Mountain for a backdrop .

(CNN) -- Air travel these days can feel designed to make a harried flier feel like nothing more than a piece of cargo. From the interminable security lines to boarding cattle calls, anonymity is the order of the day, and that often extends to the food court. In a sea of endless soft pretzel vendors, undistinguished subs and sad, wan salads, it's always a treat for a hungry traveler to come upon an airport that's serving food specific to its city. While the fare might not always be quite on par with what's served at these restaurants' in-town flagships--hey, it's hard to cook in an airport!--these 10 offer up the next best thing to a long layover, a rental car and a trip back through security. The Varsity, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport . "What'll ya have, what'll ya have?" Servers at this Atlanta institution have been singing out that chorus for 85 years now, and your answer at the F- or C-Gate airport outposts should be the same as it would be at the downtown drive-in: a chili-cheese dog and a fried peach pie. Pair it with a Varsity orange drink and board your flight full and happy. The Salt Lick, Austin-Berstrom International Airport . The heady scent of smoked meat beckons hungry travelers the moment they step off the plane, and plenty of people have even been known to get to the airport early to enjoy some pit-smoked (obviously not on premises) brisket and sausage. Of course, it's nowhere near the same experience as you'd get driving out to to their decades-old, cash-only, BYOB restaurant in the Texas Hill Country, it's a darned sight better than having no barbecue at all (plus the line may be just a smidge shorter). Interstate Bar-B-Que, Memphis International Airport . Where Salt Lick stands strong for Texas-style brisket and sausage, Jim Neely's joint makes the case for slow-smoked, sauce-smothered pork ribs, served up Memphis-style. Follow your nose, grab a heap of napkins, and build in a little extra time if you're planning to eat in (service can be as sloooowww as the cooking process). And don't skip the BBQ spaghetti. It's an only-in-Memphis treat that you owe yourself to try at least once. Tootsies Orchid Lounge, Nashville International Airport . Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson and scores of other country legends got their start strumming and singing for customers at Tootsies Orchid Lounge. While the airport locale is miles away from the mini-chain's flagship behind Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the same caliber of live performers grace the stage while travelers munch on their burgers (the food isn't anything to write home about). As with most of the town's honky tonks, there is no cover charge, but it's awfully good manners to toss a few bucks in the tip jar, especially if they take a request. Dooky Chase's Restaurant, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport . Chef Leah Chase is often referred to as the "Queen of Creole Cooking," and for good reason. Her versions of Louisiana classics like shrimp etouffee, red beans 'n' rice and catfish are considered definitive, and the airport renditions stand faithfully. While you owe it to yourself to visit the original Treme location, where you can take in Chase's astonishing collection of African-American art, her bowl of gumbo at the airport will let you know where yat. Obrycki's Restaurant and Bar, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport . It's Bawlmer, hon! You gotta try a crabcake. Marylanders love few things more than debating the merits of various restaurants' renditions of their city's signature blend of lump crab meat, mayo, egg, seasonings (usually Old Bay) and just enough crumbs (either bread or saltines) to keep the whole mess together. Though the original Obrycki's, which had been slinging up crabby delights in Baltimore's Fell's Point since 1944, has closed, the BWI locale sticks pretty close to the formula that made the restaurant a Charm City classic. (You can also grab Obrycki's at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.) Gold Star Chili, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport . Where else in the world can you tell your significant other that you're just going to duck out for a three-way and have them ask if you can bring them back some extra crackers? Cincinnati natives will squabble 'til they're blue in the face over which chili parlor reigns supreme: Gold Star, Skyline, Empress or Dixie, but they'll all agree that this soupy, Greek-style chili is the single finest spaghetti topping, alongside handfuls of fluffy, shredded cheddar (three way), onions or beans (add one for a four-way) or all of the above (five way). Sop up any spare sauce with oyster crackers, or add a cheese coney (chili and cheese on a hot dog) for a perfect Queen City experience. Cowgirl Creamery/Acme Bread counter, San Francisco International Airport . If it's this seasonal and artisanal, it must be San Francisco. These two local legends team up to serve sandwiches that are not just excellent for airport eating, but worth wrapping up an extra to take take home. The cheese maker and baker take great care to source their ingredients from local farmers and purveyors, making this collaboration a perfect bite of the Bay Area. Tia Juanita's, Albuquerque International Sunport . Red or green? That's the state question, and it's ably answered by the New Mexico specialties served up at this airport food court counter. The question refers, of course, to the color of chiles -- served atop enchiladas, burritos (both standard and breakfast) and other regional delights. "Christmas" -- red and green together -- is also an acceptable answer, and the carne adovada (long-cooked, heavily-spiced pork) is a must for expats traveling through to less chile-centric destinations. National Coney Island Bar and Grill/Express, Detroit Metropolitan Airport . The Motor City takes its hot dogs as seriously as it takes its hot rods, and a Coney Island experience is a must. While the style isn't exclusive to this chain (there are more than 100 Coney Islands by name in the Detroit area), National Coney Island serves up a solid version of the grilled, natural-casing dog, nestled in a steamed bun, topped with all-meat beanless chili and chopped, sweet onions and a stripe or two of yellow mustard. It's a bit messy to eat on the run, so grab it and race on down to your gate to enjoy, or opt for one of the sit-down locations.

Get the Atlanta airport's finest chili-cheese dog and a fried peach pie . Look no further than the New Orleans airport for Leah Chase's Creole cooking . Land in Memphis and you can get some fine local barbeque within the airport walls .

Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- An empty chair stood in for imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo as he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia on Friday amid protests and condemnation from China. China has responded furiously since the Nobel committee announced on October 8 that Liu would be its peace prize winner. Officials have repeatedly called Liu a common criminal and declared the award a Western plot against China. The rhetoric continued Friday with China calling the awarding of the prize to Liu a "political farce." "The decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not represent the wish of the majority of the people in the world, particularly that of the developing countries," said Jiang Yu, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official. Liu, a professor of literature, is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison for what the government called "inciting subversion of state power." He was not allowed to travel to Norway to accept the prize, nor was his wife, Liu Xia. Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland, in awarding the prize Friday, likened Liu Xiaobo to Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who fought the apartheid regime. After announcing the award, Jagland placed Liu's medal in the empty chair, the second time such a symbol has been used in the event. Before the ceremony, some Twitter users who listed their location as Beijing had changed their profile pictures to an empty chair. In his speech, Jagland commended China for lifting millions out of poverty, but said democracy and free speech must go hand in hand with its economic development. "China, too, will grow stronger if its people are granted civil rights," Jagland said. While Chinese officials have said the prize represents a Western perspective, human rights activists in China "represent the world's common values and standards," Jagland said. He added that Liu has done nothing wrong and "must be released." U.S. President Barack Obama also called for Liu's immediate release. "Mr. Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law," Obama said in a statement. "The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible." As the awards ceremony was getting under way, a large number of officers stood guard outside the west central Beijing apartment complex where Liu's wife has been under house arrest since her husband's award was announced. Journalists were cordoned off in a small area next to the building. The police presence outside the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing had also increased early Friday as groups of protesters gathered there and at the city's U.N. offices. Jagland said Thursday that the award is not a protest. "It is a signal to China that it would be very important for China's future to combine economic development with political reforms and it is support for those people in China who are struggling for basic human rights," Jagland told reporters. Beijing also put pressure on its allies and other countries not to attend the peace prize ceremony, and it hastily announced its own honor -- the Confucius Peace Prize, which was awarded Thursday to former Taiwanese Vice President Lien Chan. That award was accepted by a 6-year-old girl on Lien's behalf. Lien did not know about the prize, his office said. Amnesty International said it had received reports from "reliable sources" that Chinese diplomats in Norway have been pressuring Chinese residents into joining anti-Nobel demonstrations. On Thursday, the U.N.'s human rights chief called for Liu's release from prison and criticized what she said were "recent restrictions placed on an ever-widening circle" of the dissident's associates. "In recent weeks, my office has received reports of at least 20 activists being arrested or detained and more than 120 other cases of house arrest, travel restrictions, forced relocations and other acts of intimidation," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told reporters. Jagland said the committee expected a "harsh reaction" from Beijing. But "we are very glad to see that two-thirds of the nations that have embassies in Oslo will be attending the ceremony, and most of them are very big, very important countries," he added. Among those attending was U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was part of the official delegation on behalf of Liu and his wife. Of the 19 countries that declined to come to Friday's ceremony -- including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran -- Jagland said Thursday that two had reconsidered: Ukraine and the Philippines. But the state-run China Daily newspaper reported Friday that "most nations" had expressed their support for China's stance, citing a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. The spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, said the award would not change the fact that "Liu committed crimes." Friday's ceremony included songs by a children's choir -- a special request made by Liu through his wife, according to Lundestad. And Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann was on hand to read one of Liu's "most interesting and beautiful texts," Jagland said. Jagland predicted that keeping Liu, 54, in prison for the entirety of his 11-year sentence may prove impossible after the prize was awarded. "The pressure from the outside world will be on China to release him. In today's world, it is totally impossible to close a country. We already know that a lot of Chinese know about the prize, and this is creating a huge pressure on China," Jagland said. Several foreign news websites -- including CNN and BBC -- were blocked in mainland China Thursday and Friday. Broadcasts of CNN International were blacked out intermittently, when news of the peace prize was reported. CNN reports about China's new Confucius Peace Prize were not blocked. Internet companies in China are treating Chinese characters for "Liu Xiaobo," "Nobel," and peace prize as "sensitive words," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of Danwei.org -- a website about Chinese media and Internet. Acting on government instructions, the companies are deleting text containing those words, preventing such text from being uploaded, or returning no results on searches for the words, he said. "I think the main aim is to reduce the chances of Chinese citizens seeing that the Liu Xiaobo Nobel Prize is big news internationally, and to make it more difficult for articles sympathetic to Liu Xiaobo and photos of him to be copied and circulated inside China," Goldkorn said. The last time an empty chair was used to represent an absent winner was when German peace activist Carl von Ossietzky won the 1935 award, according to Geir Lundestad, director of the Nobel Institute. Ossietzky was under "protective custody" in Nazi Germany and could not come to accept the award in person, nor was he represented by anyone. Three other Nobel peace laureates were also unable to attend their ceremonies for political reasons -- human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa, and Russian Cold War dissident Andrei Sakharov -- but spouses or other relatives accepted the awards on their behalf. CNN's Jaime FlorCruz, Jo Ling Kent, Stan Grant and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

NEW: Obama says Liu Xiaobo "should be released as soon as possible" Chinese state media says "most nations" support the country's stance . Nobel chairman says human rights activists in China "represent the world's common values and standards" An empty chair represented Liu at the event .

(CNN) -- As the number of suspected and confirmed swine flu cases continued to rise around the world, health officials announced new measures to contain the outbreak. Quarantine officers monitor arrivals with a thermographic device at Bangkok's main international airport. By Tuesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was suspected in 159 deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses, Mexican health officials said. So far, the World Health Organization says at least 104 cases have been confirmed worldwide, including 64 in the United States; 26 in Mexico; six in Canada; three in New Zealand; two each in Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel. With at least 11 other countries suspecting infections, the World Health Organization has raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale. The following is sample of what some countries are doing to combat the virus: . CANADA . Cases: Six mild cases . Measures: Issued a travel health notice, saying its public health agency was "tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico." Tell us what you think about the swine flu outbreak . CHINA . Cases: None . Measures: Banned pork imports from Mexico, and from California, Kansas and Texas in the United States. INDIA . Cases: None Watch how public health officials grade phases of pandemic alerts » . Measures: Indian health officials advised citizens to postpone their non-essential travel to the swine flu-hit regions. Stepped up surveillance at ports and airports. States asked to review their preparedness. INDONESIA . Cases: None . Measures: Increased surveillance; testing the temperatures of travelers flying into the country. ISRAEL . Cases: Two (a third is suspected) Israel's Health Ministry confirmed a second case of swine flu Tuesday. The man is in good condition, according to a spokeswoman at Meir Hospital. The first patient, who tested positive after a visit to Mexico, was recovering, and his 5-year-old niece was suspected of having the disease, said a spokeswoman at Laniado Hospital in Netanya. She is undergoing testing and treatment. Measures: The Health Ministry has not issued special instructions to the public, nor adopted measures for monitoring those returning from Mexico. The country is calling the outbreak "Mexico flu" so that citizens do not have to pronounce the name of an animal considered impure in Judaism and Islam. Watch efforts in Mexico to prevent spread of the virus » . JAPAN . Cases: None . Measures: The foreign ministry suspended visa waivers for visitors from Mexico. Airport officials are checking passengers before they disembark. KENYA . Cases: None . Measures: Screening passengers from Europe and the Americas at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Government encourages Kenyans to defer traveling to Mexico. Kenya set up 26 screening centers to test people for avian flu following that outbreak a few years ago, and will also use the centers for swine flu testing. MEXICO . Cases: 159 deaths are thought to have been caused by swine flu, according to Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico's secretary of health. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu? So far, however, only 26 cases -- 19 infections and seven deaths -- have been confirmed by laboratory tests in Mexico and reported to the World Health Organization. Measures: Mexico City has closed its schools and universities until further notice. It has also ordered restaurants only to serve takeaway meals, so customers do not congregate. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5. Troops passed out 4 million filter masks in the city of 20 million residents. Officials are considering shutting down the bus and subway systems. Citizens are asked to avoid large crowds, refrain from kissing, and stay at least six feet from one another. The World Bank is offering $205 million to deal with the outbreak. NEW ZEALAND . Cases: 11 . Nine students, a teacher and another person who returned to New Zealand from Mexico over the weekend have confirmed cases of swine flu. Health officials said their symptoms are mild, and they are responding well to treatment. The students and teacher were part of a group from Auckland's Rangitoto College who spent three weeks in Mexico. Measures: New Zealanders who traveled to Mexico or North America in the past two weeks are asked to get in touch with health officials if they have flu-like symptoms. RUSSIA . Cases: None . Measures: Banned all meat imports from Mexico and the southern United States. Announced it will screen incoming passengers from those two countries by taking their temperatures. Set up a government commission to plan response, and advised citizens against traveling to Mexico. SOUTH KOREA . Cases: A 51-year-old woman, who recently returned from Mexico, tested positive for type-A influenza. Tests are being conducted to see whether the influenza is of the swine flu strain. The woman remained quarantined Tuesday. Measures: Suspended pork imports from Mexico, the United States and Canada. Stepped up inspections of passengers returning from affected areas. Took steps to double its stockpile of Tamiflu anti-viral medicine -- enough to treat about 5 million people, or 10 percent of the country's population. SPAIN . Cases: Two cases confirmed and 32 others suspected -- all of whom had recently traveled to Mexico, according to the health ministry. None is in serious condition. Measures: The government is trying to reach passengers who were on flights with people suspected or confirmed with the flu. THAILAND . Cases: None. Measures: Airport officials are keeping a closer eye on passengers arriving from Mexico. The health ministry is calling the virus "the flu that has caused an outbreak in Mexico," so that the public does not confuse "swine flu" with "bird flu." The ministry also said it did not want to hurt the pork industry. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES . Cases: None . Measures: The ministry of health issued a circular, asking doctors to be prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases. UNITED KINGDOM . Cases: Two confirmed, in Scotland. The patients are recovering. Measures: The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Mexico. UNITED STATES . Cases: 64 confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has confirmed 10 cases in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas, one in Ohio and 45 in New York. Health officials in California, Indiana and Texas reported others Tuesday that the CDC had not yet added to its list. Measures: The government declared a public health emergency to free up federal, state and local agencies and their resources, should the need arise. The government urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for the use of two of the most common anti-viral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza. The authorization allows the distribution of the drugs by a broader range of health care workers and loosens age limits for their use. VENEZUELA . Cases: None. Measures: Security stepped up at airports and borders.

Health officials around world act to prevent swine flu from entering their borders . More than 150 deaths in Mexico are thought to have been caused by swine flu . Russia bans all meat imports from Mexico and southern United States . In the United States, the largest number of cases is in New York City .

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Afghan Taliban forcefully denied reports Monday that their leader is dead, dismissing them as "claims and rumors" from the "Kabul stooge regime's intelligence directorate." Mullah Mohammed Omar "is alive and well and is leading the Mujahideen in all aspects while living safely with reliance on Allah," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. His statement came after suggestions that Omar might have been killed recently. A spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, said Monday that Omar has disappeared in the past five days. Lutfullah Mashal said he "hopes" Omar is dead but cannot confirm it. "So far, we cannot confirm the death or killing of Mullah Omar officially. But we can confirm that he has been disappeared from his hideout in Quetta, Baluchistan" in Pakistan, he said. "Our sources and senior Taliban members confirm that they can't contact him," Mashal said, adding that Omar had been living in Quetta for 10 years. Taliban spokesman Mujahid said they "strongly reject these false claims of the enemy" and urged "our fellow countrymen, Mujahideen and the rest of the Muslims not to believe these intelligence lies and false reports." Pakistan's Interior Rehman Malik also denied that Omar was dead, saying in a news conference that the claims were "baseless." An official with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force told CNN there was no indication the rumor was true. A former top Pakistani intelligence official called the reports "nonsense" and "disinformation," but then said he had no idea whether the Taliban leader is alive or dead. "How should I know? I'm not concerned with it," Gen. Hamid Gul said on IBN television. The original news report suggesting Monday that Omar was dead, by Afghanistan's TOLOnews, quoted NDS spokesman Meshal as saying that Gul was moving him when he was killed. "Am I supposed to be transporting him from Quetta to Waziristan? It's nonsense," he said by telephone from Islamabad. Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency is thought to have had strong links with the Afghan Taliban over the years. Omar was a rural Islamic cleric when became a leader of a group of students -- or "taliban" -- who took over Afghanistan in the early 1990s and established a hard-line Islamic fundamentalist regime that gave shelter to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network. U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden on May 2 in Pakistan, nearly a decade after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The United States led an invasion of Afghanistan soon after the attacks, toppling Omar's Taliban and sending bin Laden into hiding. The reclusive Omar refused to be photographed or filmed and rarely traveled. He infrequently gave interviews and was thought to have met only two non-Muslims in recent years. Nonetheless what Omar said passed as law when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, and to challenge him was unknown. The "commander of the faithful," as he had become known, created the Taliban in the early 1990s and was their spiritual guide. Those who had met him said he cast an imposing figure -- bearded with a black turban and one eye stitched shut; the result of a wound sustained during a gunfight with Soviet troops during their occupation of Afghanistan. In the wake of the Soviet withdrawal, Omar created the Taliban to overcome what he saw as Afghanistan's descent into a lawlessness landscape dominated by warlords. His recruits came from the Islamic schools within Afghanistan and in the Afghan refugee camps across the border in Pakistan. Driven largely by faith, they swept across the country. Before the final assault on Kabul in 1996, Omar entered Kandahar's grand mosque and took out a rarely seen holy cloth thought once to have been carried by the Prophet Mohammed. Waving it from a rooftop he received an ecstatic response from his Taliban foot soldiers. Inspired by religious fervor, they moved on to take Kabul within a matter of days, bolstering Omar's belief in his spiritual destiny. With most of the country under Taliban control, he set himself the goal of transforming Afghanistan into the purest Islamic state in the world, declaring himself Amir-ul-Momineen, or head of the Muslims. While many ordinary Afghans disagreed with his hardline interpretation of Islam, others were willing to endure the Taliban's excesses in exchange for the relative peace they brought to the territory they controlled. In building the perfect Islamic state, though, he had little regard for the concerns of the outside world. Public executions and amputations were common and the Taliban's treatment of women attracted much international condemnation. In 2001, he rejected pressure from around the world -- including from many Muslim countries -- not to go ahead with plans to demolish two ancient statues of the Buddha carved into cliffs near the town of Bamiyan. The statues, described by many as world-class cultural relics, were blown to bits. Mullah Omar dismissed the global outcry, saying the statues' destruction was merely "breaking stones." Omar vanished after a U.S.-led coalition booted the Taliban and its leaders from power in Afghanistan in December 2001 for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks. His appearance remained a mystery to many, and that presented a challenge to those on his trail, according to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "If I come across him tomorrow in the streets of Kabul or Kandahar or Herat or Mazar in Afghanistan, I would not recognize him," Karzai told CNN in 2003. "How would you arrest someone that you don't know how he looks?" The Taliban, citing ultra-orthodox views of Islam, outlawed photographs of people, saying making any image of a human being was forbidden by the Quran. But intelligence agencies argued that another key purpose of that move was this: If the leaders of the Taliban could keep anyone from taking their pictures, it would be very hard to track them down or prove they were the men in charge during the Taliban's most brutal and repressive days. The U.S. government offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his capture. Many in the U.S. intelligence community believed he was holed up in or near Quetta, a city of 1 million people that is the capital of Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan. Pakistan has consistently dismissed those claims. Occasionally, the elusive leader would release a written message to reiterate that the Taliban had not given up its fight to regain control of Afghanistan from American and NATO troops. The battle "is forging ahead like a powerful flood" and "is approaching the edge of victory," said one such online message in 2009. CNN's Christine Theodorou, Brian Walker, Barbara Starr and Tim Schwarz and Journalist Matiullah Mati contributed to this report.

"We hope he is dead but we cannot confirm it," an Afghan intelligence spokesman says . Pakistan's interior minister rejects the reports . An ISAF official says there is no indication it is true . The Afghan Taliban reject "false claims" of Omar's death, saying he is alive and well .

(CNN) -- In a jailhouse interview with a Dutch television station, Joran van der Sloot said he is remorseful for telling so many stories regarding the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, but once again denied culpability in the case. "For everything that's happened since 2005, all the things said in the media and everything, I feel guilty for, yeah," van der Sloot, 22, said in the interview, portions of which were aired on NBC's "Today" on Tuesday. The Dutch citizen is jailed in Lima, Peru, where he is awaiting trial on a murder charge in the death of Peruvian student Stephany Flores. Her body was found in May in a hotel room registered to van der Sloot, which the two were seen entering on surveillance camera video. He also is charged with a count of wire fraud and a count of extortion in Alabama for allegedly trying to extort more than $250,000 from Holloway's family in return for disclosing the location of her body. Holloway was last seen in the early hours of May 30, 2005, leaving an Oranjestad, Aruba, nightclub with van der Sloot and two other men, brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. She was visiting the island with about 100 classmates to celebrate their graduation from Mountain Brook High School in suburban Birmingham, Alabama. Van der Sloot was arrested twice in Aruba in connection with Holloway's disappearance, but was never charged. He has denied responsibility for her disappearance. In the interview, van der Sloot said he feels guilty about his father's fatal heart attack, for not listening to his mother and for telling lies, as well as his past behavior. "I was doing a lot of things that I shouldn't have been doing, and mostly only going out all the night and sleeping all the day," he said, describing himself as "impulsive." Asked why he's told so many different stories about the Holloway case, he said, "There were people who were paying me to make up stories, and I was really good at making up stories. Everybody keeps coming at you asking questions ... if you want something, I'll tell you whatever you want to hear, sure." Still, he said, he has "misused the situation for my own advantage." He said he feels bad about that and would take it back if he had the opportunity. It's a familiar refrain, said John Q. Kelly, an attorney for Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty. "He's always a victim. He's always seeking attention. He's always misunderstood and someday he's absolutely going to tell the truth," Kelly said on NBC. "... He's a pathological liar." He said it was van der Sloot who contacted him about revealing the location of Holloway's body in exchange for payment. "We knew he was going to lie, and was going to make up the basis for wire fraud," Kelly said. "It's attention-seeking behavior, as simple as that," he said. "He wants to be in the spotlight ... he just can't help himself." Van der Sloot would not answer questions about the Flores case, saying it is "not in my best interest to talk about it at all." But he maintains police tricked him into making a confession, saying they would not let him call his mother, talk to anyone or arrange for an attorney. Police said van der Sloot admitted that he attacked Flores, 21, on May 30 after she read an e-mail in his computer connected with the Holloway case. After killing Flores, police say, van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested June 3. He was returned the next day to Peru. Asked about the extortion case, van der Sloot said, "I have had five years long that people have just been blaming me for something, and yeah, I have a lot of anger built up because of that." He said the Holloway family kept insisting he had information, and wanted to give him the money, so he thought, "I've already told a lot of different stories. I'll do it again." He added, "I know it's very wrong." On Twitty's reaction to that statement, Kelly said, "I think in deference to Beth, I won't repeat what she said about what he had to say." He said he isn't surprised that van der Sloot admitted the extortion, saying he has more than three weeks of e-mails between himself and van der Sloot, as well as audio and videotapes. Van der Sloot said in the interview he wished he'd gone along with his mother's plan and sought psychiatric treatment, but instead he took the money and went to Peru to gamble, according to NBC. Van der Sloot also spoke about Flores' family, saying, "I feel really bad that her family had to lose a daughter. It really does hurt me. I think about it all the time." Asked if he will ever disclose what happened, he said, "When I speak to the judge, and the time is right, I'm going to tell the whole truth, absolutely." "I've got 20 e-mails where he says he's very sorry for what happened, he's going to tell the truth, absolutely," Kelly said. "... He's just incapable of it." He said if van der Sloot ever does tell the truth, he believes it will be out of a sense of self-preservation and fear -- not his conscience or respect for either Holloway's or his own family. In the interview, van der Sloot acknowledged he has a "web of problems. But I created all of them myself, so yeah, I have to deal with it now, deal with the consequences." Van der Sloot also admitted he extorted money from Holloway's family in an interview with a Dutch newspaper. His attorney in the Flores case suggested Monday that his comments may have been mis-translated. In that interview, van der Sloot told the Telegraph he wanted to "get back at Natalee's family. Her parents have been making my life tough for years." "When they offered to pay for the girl's location, I thought: 'Why not?'" he said. "Maybe there were some mistakes in the translation," said attorney Maximo Alteza, who said he is not involved in the Holloway case. Also Monday, a Peruvian court voted 2-1 to reject van der Sloot's contention that he is being held unlawfully, but the court requires three votes to secure a decision. Alteza said that a fourth jurist will hear the case and cast a vote at a public hearing next week. If that judge votes in favor of van der Sloot, a fifth judge will hear the case to break the tie. Alteza said that van der Sloot's constitutional rights have been violated and he "could be released because of the mistakes made by the police during the investigation." But Kelly pointed out Tuesday that if he is released, van der Sloot will be held in Alabama on the charges related to extortion. In Session's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.

In an interview, van der Sloot expresses remorse for his behavior . He describes himself as "impulsive" An attorney for Holloway's mother says his remarks are familiar . Van der Sloot wouldn't talk about the Stephany Flores case .

(CNN) -- Pakistan, and Pakistani-American relations, confront their worst crises in recent memory. Pakistan's economy is in free fall, and its major cities are wracked by political violence, while Pakistani attitudes toward the United States have never been worse -- a legacy of the CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistanis in the city of Lahore this year, the campaign of drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions and the unilateral American raid to kill Osama bin Laden in northern Pakistan in May. On the U.S. side, there is considerable anger about Pakistan's unwillingness or inability to constrain Taliban groups based on its territory that are killing American soldiers in Afghanistan and a perception that while U.S. aid flows in large amounts to Pakistan, it continues to harbor enemies of America. As a result, the rupture in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship may be the most serious ever. Some members of Congress are calling for the freezing of U.S. aid to Pakistan, while the Pakistani government has demanded that U.S. Special Forces troops who have been training elements of its armed forces return home. A further rupture in relations between the two countries would mean placing crippling constraints on American aid, ending dialogue and curtailing cooperation on attacking terrorists. Pakistan is the second most populous nation in the Muslim world and is armed with nuclear weapons. The United States cannot allow such an important country and an ally of the past three decades to become an enemy. In fact, the two nations have many interests in common. The U.S. counterterrorism program in South Asia would be crippled without Pakistan's help. And fostering a stable and prosperous Pakistan would reduce the risks of a nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan, which has been a central goal of American statecraft since the late 1990s. Even many who support the relationship, from Washington Post columnist David Ignatius to members of Congress, have suggested the need for a partial separation, a cooling-off period or a more distant stance. Sens. Carl Levin and Dianne Feinstein, while encouraging a renewal of ties, reflected widespread official opinion when they called for steps to re-evaluate the relationship. The general consensus in Washington, in fact, though not endorsing more extreme calls for an outright divorce, appears to hold that the only realistic strategy for rebuilding U.S.-Pakistan relations is gradual, long-term and qualified. Such an argument is hardly unreasonable, given the mutual antagonism and distrust that exists today. Yet we do not agree. Waiting on events, we fear, could invite new crises and a more fundamental break in the relationship. Instead, we propose a new basis for a revised yet lasting U.S.-Pakistan partnership: a collaborative agenda for Pakistan to take its place as a major power in a modernizing South Asia. This concept, which we developed together with a study group of Pakistani economists, journalists and former government officials as well as their American counterparts with considerable experience in Pakistan, calls for actions within Pakistan to build the social, political and economic basis for this vision, as well as a U.S. commitment to support this agenda with critical actions -- on trade, peacemaking and technical support. One important step would be a shift from a relationship in which the U.S. sends aid to Pakistan to one in which the emphasis is on trade that benefits both sides. Textiles constitute 60% of Pakistani exports, half its manufacturing output and a third of its industrial employment. Yet Pakistani textiles make up less than 4% of U.S. textile imports. We recommend a new effort to reduce the disproportionately high American tariffs on Pakistani textiles — as well as parallel programs to enhance U.S. and international foreign direct investment in a range of Pakistani industries — as an alternative to most U.S. civilian aid, which theoretically could amount to as much as $1.5 billion a year if all the aid available to Pakistan was actually disbursed. Efforts to lower taxes on Pakistani textiles have foundered in the past because of opposition in Congress and from U.S. manufacturers, but if this effort was tied to reduced U.S. aid, it might have a better chance of being implemented. On security matters, extremism and terrorism threaten both nations. Yet there is a tendency for both sides to operate in secret, from Pakistani support for militant groups who are killing American soldiers in Afghanistan to U.S. covert operations in Pakistan and drone strikes in the Pakistani tribal regions. This only sets the stage for public outrage when secret activities are revealed without being grounded in the fundamental strategic justification, the shared threat that warrants working together. So the time has come for the two governments to move toward joint, sustainable actions — against terrorism, militancy and insurgency — that can be agreed upon and defended in the public sphere. Pakistani concerns about civilian casualties and infringements of their national sovereignty caused by American drones could be addressed with a more transparent drone program, perhaps involving the public release of some drone video footage, as well as more public explication about why certain individuals have been targeted by drones. all done more clearly under Pakistani government guidance. After all, the war against the militants in the tribal regions is Pakistan's more than America's, and polling in those regions indicates that if the Pakistani military were seen as more directly responsible for the drone program, opposition to it would subside dramatically. Pakistan must also get its own house in order. Economic growth has fallen to less than 3%, and inflation has run in double digits for years, reaching a peak of over 20% in 2008-09, while Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world, with less than 2% of the population paying income tax. Pakistan needs to make good on long-delayed tax reform that would boost state revenues and to pursue steps to improve the climate for foreign investment. The motivation for Pakistan to do that is the parlous state of its economy; if it maintains a 3% growth rate, given its high birth rate, the economic conditions of the Pakistani people, which are already bad, will steadily worsen. We also recommend initiatives to accelerate trade throughout South Asia. Improved trade with India represents a natural source of potential growth for Pakistan and a way to ease tensions between the two states. Just as after World War II former enemies France and Germany created the coal and steel common market that spawned the European Union, the more India, Pakistan and other regional players collaborate along economic lines, the more troubling political issues will be seen as nuisances in the way of an emerging regional prosperity. A number of short-term initiatives could jump-start this process: allowing multiple-entry visas for businesspeople, easing restrictions on direct shipping and on rail and air links, and allowing Indian and Pakistani banks to open branches in each other's countries. This will take political will in Pakistan amongst its politicians and the military, which retains a veto over all matters relating to national security. Political will also have to be exercised on the U.S. side to sustain faith in a challenging but essential partnership with Pakistan. The relationship has certainly had its bad patches, but it's one that neither side can live without. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.

Pakistani-U.S. relations are at their lowest ebb, authors say . Some argue that there needs to be a cooling-off period to calm tempers . Authors: Both nations should craft a new plan to change the game . Joint anti-terror operations and new trade policies would help, they say .

(CNN) -- Republicans appeared to have regained the majority of U.S. governorships Tuesday night, capturing 10 in states where the previous executives were Democrats, according to CNN projections of exit poll data. But Democrats scored two takeaways, including in California, where CNN projected that Jerry Brown will defeat Republican Meg Whitman for the governorship now held by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is stepping down under term limits. Brown returns to the governor's mansion in California 28 years after his last term ended. The other takeaway state was Hawaii. GOP women made major inroads, as New Mexico's Susana Martinez, South Carolina's Nikki Haley and Oklahoma's Mary Fallin all defeated their Democratic opponents. A widely publicized battle in New York ended with a projected Democratic victory as state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo slid past Republican favorite Carl Paladino, according to CNN analysis of exit poll data. Son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, the younger Cuomo squared off against Paladino, a businessman and developer, after the Tea Party-endorsed candidate scored an upset victory over former Rep. Rick Lazio earlier in the GOP primary. Cuomo added to Democratic wins in New Hampshire, Maryland and Arkansas, according to the projections. But governorships in Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa all have gone from Democrat to GOP, according to CNN analysis of exit poll data. Republicans, however, lost Rhode Island. But Democrats didn't win it either. That's because Independent Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican, was projected by CNN to defeat Republican John Robitaille and Democrat Frank Caprio for the governorship, which had been vacated by Republican Gov. Don Carcieri because of term limits. Chafee becomes Rhode Island's first governor since 1857 who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Often overshadowed during midterm campaigns, governorships can impact national politics by their influence in the redistricting of state electorates. Republicans needed a net gain of only three governorships Tuesday for a majority nationally. If the eight-state pickup margin holds, the GOP will have gained a national gubernatorial majority plus five. Tennessee became the first Republican pickup Tuesday evening, when Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam edged past Democrat Mike McWherter. Haslam will succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, who was precluded from running again by term limits. In Michigan, Republican Rick Snyder defeated Democratic Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero in Michigan. In Pennsylvania, CNN projected Tom Corbett, who had an 8-percentage-point lead with 84 percent of precincts reporting, as the winner over Democrat Dan Onorato. In Wisconsin, Republican Scott Walker was CNN's projected winner over Democrat Tom Barrett. In Kansas, Sam Brownback won easily over Democrat Tom Holland. In Wyoming, Republican Matt Mead was the projected winner over Leslie Petersen. In Oklahoma, Fallin defeated another woman, Democrat Jari Askins. In Ohio, Republican John Kasich, a former congressman turned pundit, defeated Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland, who was seeking a second term. In Iowa, Republican former Gov. Terry Branstad, who had the job in 1980s and 1990s, defeated Democratic Gov. Chet Culver. And in New Mexico, also a contest between female candidates, Martinez defeated Diane Denish in a race to replace Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson. Addressing her cheering supporters Tuesday night, Martinez hit repeatedly on one theme: "You were the ones telling me how desperately we needed to move New Mexico in a new direction," she said. "At the end of the day, New Mexico chose a new direction." In South Carolina, Haley became the state's first female governor by defeating Democratic opponent Vincent Sheheen in a tightly contested race. Haley, a 38-year-old state representative, is supported by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Tea Party activists, and has promised to tackle unemployment and excess government spending by way of a 10-year plan. During a bitter campaign run-up, Sheheen hammered Haley on reports of late tax payments while campaigning on the scandal surrounding the former governor. The governor's race in South Carolina had earned a prominent stage among a series of high-profile gubernatorial elections that some analysts speculate could be a bellwether for future presidential politics. Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Utah, Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina returned Republicans to their governor's mansions; Colorado, Arkansas, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland did likewise for Democrats. In Texas, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry defeated Democrat Bill White, and Democratic incumbents held on to governorships in Arkansas and New Hampshire, based on projections. In New Hampshire, incumbent John Lynch bested Republican challenger John Stephens, while in Arkansas, Democrat Mike Beebe has defeated GOP nominee Jim Keet. Democratic incumbents also held on in Massachusetts, where Gov. Deval Patrick was projected to defeat Republican Charlie Baker, and in Maryland, where Gov. Martin O'Malley was projected to prevail over Bob Ehrlich. In Baltimore, O'Malley thanked state employees and campaign workers, pledging to "move Maryland forward" by creating jobs and in what he described as a "new economy." In South Dakota, Republican Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard edged past Democrat Scott Heidepriem. In Georgia, former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, the Republican candidate, defeated former Gov. Roy Barnes, according to a CNN projection based on exit poll data. Deal narrowly defeated Tea Party favorite and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel for the state's Republican nomination. The national spotlight turned on the Georgia race when national GOP heavyweights Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney endorsed Handel, while Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich backed Deal. In Vermont, GOP Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie was up against Democratic challenger Peter Shumlin. Dubie ran uncontested in the GOP primary, while Shumlin, a state senator, couldn't declare victory in his crowded primary until a recount was certified almost three weeks after the voting. According to Vermont law, if no gubernatorial candidate wins a majority of the vote on Election Day, the responsibility of electing the governor falls to the state legislature, with each state senator and representative casting one vote. Democrats currently hold a decisive 117 to 55 lead in the legislature. In Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval, who had beaten scandal-plagued incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons in the primary, defeated Democrat Rory Reid. In Arizona, incumbent Republican Gov. Jan Brewer defeated Democrat Terry Goddard. In Alaska, Palin's successor as governor, former Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, beat Democrat Ethan Berkowitz, a former state representative. In Hawaii, Democrat and former Rep. Neil Abercrombie won back the governorship for his party by defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle left the seat due to term limits.

NEW: Republicans have knocked Democrats out of 10 governorships so far . NEW: Democrats score two takeaways from Republicans in California and Hawaii . Tea Party favorite Nikki Haley wins in South Carolina, CNN projects . Susana Martinez wins in New Mexico .

Paris (CNN) -- France's two presidential contenders continued to battle over the country's undecided voters Thursday, after sparring over the economy in their one head-to-head debate ahead of Sunday's runoff vote. In a combative televised debate Wednesday night, President Nicolas Sarkozy and challenger Francois Hollande focused on the economy, social issues and immigration. But despite the trading of personal insults, neither landed a killer blow, leaving both candidates keen to seize the advantage in the last two days of campaigning. Centrist candidate Francois Bayrou announced Thursday that he would vote for Hollande, but urged his supporters to vote with their conscience. Both candidates hope to pick up a share of the 9% of votes that went to Bayrou in the first round. Sarkozy, of the center-right UMP party, was to hold a rally in the southeastern city of Toulon Thursday, while Hollande, of the center-left Socialist party, addressed supporters in the southwestern city of Toulouse. The economy and immigration have been at the heart of campaigning, with France struggling to overcome with low growth and 10% unemployment. In his opening salvo Wednesday night, Hollande said he would be the president of unity, justice and recovery. "I want to unite all the French. ... It is in this way that we will recover our confidence," he said. Sarkozy's response was to highlight the imminent danger in which he sees the country. "We are not in a crisis, but among many crises," he said. In a direct appeal to the country's undecided voters, he then said: "Unity is when we talk to the people of France, not just to the left." He also accused Hollande of favoring union members over the general public interest, and said with his opponent as president there would be "more taxes and more debt." Hollande in turn attacked Sarkozy on divisions in the country, saying he has split the population. In one of several testy exchanges, he also accused Sarkozy of cronyism. "You appointed your close colleagues everywhere, in all the ministries and regional government. If I understand correctly, you appointed them everywhere," he said. In response, Sarkozy, who is trailing in opinion polls, questioned his rival's grasp on the truth. "Can I finish my sentence? What you are saying now is a lie. It is slander. You are nothing but a little slanderer," he said. Accusations of dishonesty again came to the fore in another exchange. "What is extraordinary about your answers is that whatever happens in France, you are happy, although the French are clearly not," Hollande said. "What you are saying is a lie," Sarkozy responded. "When you say I don't care about my responsibilities, that is a lie." Hollande, who in campaigning has sought to paint Sarkozy as more interested in looking after a wealthy elite than the common people, stressed his own commitment to social justice. "I will be the president who believes in justice, because we are living through a difficult crisis, which is hitting those who work the hardest, who have less money," Hollande said. "I want justice to be the foundation of all the decisions that we make." On immigration, Sarkozy repeated his position that France has too many immigrants to be able to provide the necessary jobs and housing. "France is an open country; I know myself where I am from. But we have welcomed in too many people, we have to reduce the number of those that we allow in, not because we do not love them," he said. He said France has always had very generous social benefits but immigration should be halved. Hollande agreed that economic immigration should limited, but was quick to say that Sarkozy is responsible for higher rates of immigration to France over the past 10 years, as interior minister for five years before becoming president. The two rivals have been competing to reach out to the 6.5 million voters who supported the third-place candidate in the first round of voting, the right-wing National Front leader Marine Le Pen. In the April 22 balloting, Hollande received 28.6% of the vote, slightly ahead of Sarkozy's 27.2%. Le Pen, who has called for sharply curbing immigration, received 18% of the vote. Speaking to CNN affiliate BFM-TV Thursday morning, Marine Le Pen said: "I got the impression that (Hollande) played his role as expected -- but of course you know perfectly well my fundamental opinions on socialism, and my total disagreement with it." She added, "Nicolas Sarkozy was not clear in his strategy. We see that he has a strategy that is quite varied ... from day to day. We don't know any more what his position is." Le Pen said Tuesday she would not back either candidate and would leave her voting slip blank on Sunday. She told supporters to vote "with your soul and your conscience." Socialist party leader Martine Aubry praised Hollande's performance in the debate. "He had the stature, he stayed on course, he knew where he was going, he held true to his values," she told French network TF1. "He put morality in the center of everything ... justice at the heart of France, and bringing together all of the French people." Jean-Francois Cope, of the UMP party, was equally appreciative of Sarkozy's performance. The debate exposed the rivals' very different characters, he told TF1, allowing voters to see "on one side, Nicolas Sarkozy, because of his maturity, his experience, of the competence of someone who for five years has carried on his shoulders and guided our country through a period of crisis, and Francois Hollande on the other side, hesitant, and naturally -- same as anyone who has difficulty with the subject -- arrogant." Wednesday's debate was the only head-to-head encounter for the two rivals. Paris voter Dominique Templier, 57, said she had already decided whom to back -- and the debate didn't change her mind. "They both stood their ground and I didn't hear anything new, and I don't have the feeling that it did much for those who are still making their minds up about Sunday's vote," she said. Olivier Poulizac, 26, said he found the discussion of the economy unenlightening because it lacked depth. "I had the impression that both of them were lying, so it's difficult to decide," he said. "I don't think there was a real winner in the debate and I don't think it's changed much for those who are still undecided." Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who received about 11% in the first round, will hold a rally in Paris Friday. He has already urged his supporters to back Hollande. Under French election rules, campaigning will end at midnight Friday. Voters go to the polls Sunday. If elected, Hollande would be France's first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995. Sarkozy has been president since 2007. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne, Anna Prichard, Rachel Ramsay, Basil Yousuf and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

NEW: Francois Bayrou says he's backing Hollande, tells supporters to vote with their conscience . Nicolas Sarkozy says his rival will raise taxes and create more debt . Francois Hollande says the president has caused divisions and helped the elite . The pair have two days of campaigning left before French voters go to the polls Sunday .

(CNN) -- By day, he dons a white lab coat. At the weekend, he terrorizes opposition teams in his bright red outfit. Even Humphrey Kayange struggles to define himself. On his Twitter biography, he asks: "Rugby player/research officer or is it the other way around?" In one walk of life, he is trying to help rid the world of disease as he works on new antibiotics at a British university. In another, he is one of the stars of the rugby sevens circuit, despite coming from a country best known for producing long-distance runners. For all his prowess both on and off the field, his nickname perhaps lacks imagination -- "Tall" -- although at 6 foot 6 inches it must be said he lives up to the billing. While he has bedeviled opposition defenses on the HSBC IRB Sevens circuit, it is his less heralded work behind closed doors at Bristol University that is of the greater consequence. Broadly, his studies come under the banner of chemistry and math, but more specifically it is a research project on antibiotics. "It's a massive project at the university," Kayange explains. "We're all trying to foresee antibiotics and developing resistance, so we're looking into developing new drugs. "It's more to do with bacterial infections and it's a very slow and steady process." The 31-year-old says the research is funded by British pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline, which trials the compounds and active ingredients that the chemists provide. "There's been some positive results but it's a long process," he says. "The potential to do good things for human beings is amazing. It's an interesting project to be a part of." It may not seem likely on the surface but his rugby and chemistry are intertwined, even though most sevens specialists don't have quite the same academic achievements on their CVs. It was while training at Bristol University with the Kenyan national team three years ago that he was spotted by rugby officials at the training facility. They were interested in his rugby skills as well as his chemistry qualities. So he applied for a place, was accepted and moved to the southwest city in February 2012. He struggled initially to adapt to rugby life in a wintery England, being used to warmer climes on the sevens circuit. "One weekend I was playing in the sunshine of Las Vegas or in a New Zealand winter, and next it was a mud bath in Bristol. England in February was a shock but I got used to it and love it." His time in the city is coming to a close, with his thesis on examining tablets that are fed to fight bacteria drawing to its conclusion. It is something he has juggled alongside his rugby commitments but later this year the sevens will once again become the major focus as he builds towards the 2014 Commonwealth Games and, bigger yet, sevens' debut at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Rugby was not an obvious sporting choice for Kayange, who grew up in Eldoret in the Rift Valley, a region renowned for producing Kenya's greatest long-distance runners. Many top athletes, such as double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah, go there to train each winter. "Growing up there, all you saw were long-distance runners, a lot of them," he says. "Because of our history, everyone expects sportsmen from Kenya to be runners." The long runs were never Kayange's forte. A sprinter in his youth, unlike most of his peers, he wanted to run fast but only over short distances. The other sporting passion was football, played out in often dust-bowl conditions on the dry pitches of the East African nation. Rugby was a mere afterthought. "I think I was 16 or 17 when I first played at high school," he recalls. "I wasn't interested -- I'd never really seen anyone play -- it was just a sport I had to try. I braced myself for it at first but, once I got used to the physicality of it, everything else was fine. "It was so confusing with the rules when I first started. I really remember in my first game just concentrating on throwing the ball backwards. But I think I had a good first game as I just wanted to run." He has kept on running to good effect ever since, scoring more than 130 tries in the international format for his country and starring in a series of victories against some of the true powerhouses of the sport. In fact, his family has produced three rugby stars -- Kayange's brothers Collins Injera and Michael Agevi also play for Kenya. Injera is his country's top try scorer and is third on the IRB Sevens' all-time list with 183 ahead of the next leg in Scotland next month. The Kenyans arguably first made a global name for themselves with their on and off-field theatrics -- they often perform a dance after competitions -- which earned them the tag of "everyone's second favorite team." "I think we're quite different as a team, we love our running rugby, it's quite instinctive and everyone tends to love it," Kayange says. "We've also come a long way in the sport and have been getting some good results." The next step is for greater consistency in their results against the top teams, plus to have Commonwealth and Olympic aspirations. A proposal has been lodged to host a leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series but it has not been helped by ongoing security fears in Nairobi following last year's terrorist attack on the capital's Westgate shopping mall, when 72 people were killed. At the time, Kayange was playing with his compatriots and visiting teams from abroad on the other side of the city in the Safari Sevens. "It was almost the end of the day when we first heard news of what was happening," he recalls. "By the time we got back to our hotel, we only then properly heard the news. We've just been running up and down a rugby field and something this terrible had been happening. "Thankfully, I didn't have any close friends or family in there. I knew of one guy who was there hiding in the basement. He was stuck in there for 12 hours but got out okay. Can you imagine going through that?" The impact on the country was immediate. Tourism is undoubtedly down and, in terms of rugby spectators, it dropped from 20,000 for the first day to a mere 2,000 -- throwing doubt over a potential place on the sevens calendar. "I can understand that as teams going to another place need to feel safe, that is No.1," Kayange says. With rugby and chemistry, Kayange -- who was named an IRB Sevens anti-doping ambassador in 2010 -- has set his sights on making the world a safer place. His work in science will go on, whether that's in the UK or Kenya when his research project ends. As for his rugby playing, he has set his sights on the Rio Games after which, if fit and selected, he looks set to end his remarkable sevens journey. Watch: The secrets to creating the world's best runners in Kenya .

Humphrey Kayange is the star turn in Kenya's rugby sevens team . But in his day job he works on research into improving antibiotics to fight disease . Kayange hails from the Rift Valley, an area renowned for long-distance running not rugby . Terrorist atrocities put bid for Kenyan IRB Sevens event under threat, he admits .

(CNN) -- Molly Pearce has had what her mother dryly calls "a very alternative life" since birth because of her chronic health issues. The 24-year-old Santa Monica, California, woman has Hirschsprung's disease, a rare congenital disorder that obstructs the large intestine due to an absence of nerve cells that regulate muscle movement. She never attended public school full time, has been in and out of hospitals since she was a newborn, and discovered that the one thing she can eat without getting sick is a bag of Cheetos. Now, Pearce needs four organs -- a liver, kidney, pancreas and small intestine -- from a deceased type O donor to live. "It's a pretty unusual circumstance," said Dr. Alan Langnas, chief of transplantation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where Pearce is being treated. "Fortunately, she's young, and youth trumps everything. She's in very good shape relative to her condition." At birth, Pearce was one of only three people in the world with her particular type of disease, and doctors predicted she wouldn't live beyond her first year. Growing up, "I would go to school when I could, but I didn't know anybody and always felt left out," Pearce said. "Most of the time I felt OK, but I was really in a fragile state. I just wanted to be a normal kid." Why I donated my bone marrow . Pearce managed her disease as well as possible but experienced a major setback at 12 when she was given a drug too powerful for someone of her size. It destroyed her small intestine and her kidney, forcing her onto a liquid diet. It wasn't until she was 17 that she received a small intestine transplant, and at 18 she accepted one of her mother's kidneys. Then, in 2011, a negative reaction to a blood transfusion caused widespread intestinal failure. Doctors removed both transplants last fall and advised her that they would have to remove her pancreas and her liver as well. By December, she was on dialysis and had lost all four organs. "I was so depressed that I was telling my mother and everyone that I didn't want to live anymore," Pearce said. "I just wanted to give up because of how many things had gone wrong. After a few months, I realized I could either die or try to get better -- and I at least wanted to try." After successfully overcoming pneumonia this year, she was exposed to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a skin-borne infection common to hospitals that is difficult to treat. With a severely weakened immune system, she remains in an isolation room, where is she being fed through a tube. She has not eaten solid food since November. "It's a complex operation," Langnas said of the quadruple transplant, "but it's her only opportunity for survival and a reasonably good quality of life." Fortunately, Pearce and her family are no longer alone in their quest for a donor. The New York-based Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of America has taken up Pearce's cause after reading about her on Facebook. CEO Jennifer Flood and her two sisters, Cynthia and Heather, started their organization after finding a kidney donor for their father in 2008 through the popular classified website Craigslist. They have since capitalized on the power of the Internet and social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter to give patients more publicity and pair them with donors more quickly. "We knew right away this was a rare and challenging case," Jennifer Flood said. "Molly's story reminded us of the journey we went through for our father, and we had faith and confidence in knowing we could help." A tale of two transplants . The foundation educates the public on the organ donation and transplant process through online efforts as well as at fund-raising events around the country. The Flood sisters have saved six lives so far -- and they said they hope Pearce is next. "It has been a unique, eye-opening, challenging and empowering experience," Jennifer Flood said. "We are confident that with more awareness and exposure ... we can help Molly receive a special family or individual to come forward and donate the gift of life." Typically, patients seeking organ transplants register as candidates for the national waiting list through the United Network for Organ Sharing after receiving medical clearance from their hospitals. They can either attempt independently to find a family member, friend or stranger to donate to them, or they can wait their turn on the list. Cases are reviewed based on how sick a patient is, but even though someone such as Pearce is near the top of the list, about 117,000 other patients vie for potential donations, according to United Network for Organ Sharing. The process can take anywhere from two to 10 years. The Flood sisters help patients expedite that waiting period by providing them with a list of potential donors, helping them choose the right hospital and referring them to organizations that can assist with medical expenses. Once matched with a living donor, a patient contacts his or her hospital, and the transplant occurs once the donor has been medically cleared by a series of tests. Patients who need the organs of a deceased individual must also wait on the list, as United Network for Organ Sharing determines where to allocate these organs. But patients can take the initiative to find a family with a terminally ill loved one and have them consent to donate that person's organs after he or she has died -- an option the Flood sisters are exploring for Pearce. Many people are unaware of that option, so it doesn't happen often. "We hope that Molly's story is the first step toward changing how families can choose where their loved one's organs are allocated," Jennifer Flood said. "It is such a confidential process when it doesn't have to be. This new procedure can make a family or individual feel empowered and not directed to a system. It makes the donation process more personable." Pearce's mother describes her daughter as a bright, inquisitive young woman whose resilience has always belied her physical condition. "She has a tremendous love for animals -- she's shown horses and done a lot of work at shelters," Melisa Pearce said. "She has never seen herself as weak -- she has always been the person who fights for the underdog." A race for life: Double lung transplant woman sails Atlantic . Molly Pearce's boyfriend of four years, Corey Eaker, stayed with her in the hospital for a month over the holidays. A geography major in his final semester at California State University, Northridge, he met Pearce when they were both enrolled at Santa Monica College. "It was tough to be there and see everything that she was going through," he said. "We're pretty positive, but we always look at the other side a bit and think, 'What if?' And then we use each other to remind ourselves that we can't think about that and to keep a positive outlook." Pearce said the support from her family, as well from as strangers who have written to her after reading her story, has been overwhelming. "I'm hopeful," she said. "We did it once, and I'm determined to do it again."

Doctors predicted Molly Pearce wouldn't live past her first year . She lost all four organs after a negative reaction to a blood transfusion . Pearce says she "at least wanted to try" to get better . Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of America tries to find Pearce a donor .

NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's been a year since the parents of a severely disabled child made public their decision to submit their daughter to a hysterectomy, breast surgery and drugs to keep the girl forever small. Today, the couple tell CNN, they believe they made the right decision -- one that could have a profound impact on the care of disabled children worldwide. The profoundly disabled girl known as Ashley, now 10, has achieved her full height, 4 feet 5 inches. "The 'Ashley treatment' has been successful in every expected way," Ashley's parents told CNN exclusively in a lengthy e-mail interview. "It has potential to help many others like it helped our precious daughter." While unwavering in their belief in the treatment, Ashley's parents continue to insist on anonymity. In the year since Ashley's parents went public, not only did the hospital that sterilized Ashley admit it broke Washington state law, but also the doctor who treated Ashley committed suicide. As scrutiny of the case deepens, so too does the chasm in the medical community: Is it mutilation, with doctors "playing God" -- or, is stunting growth a liberating option for caregivers and the disabled children who will need constant care for the rest of their lives? Ashley is now 10 years old and, at 4 feet 5 inches tall, has achieved her full height and weight, 63 pounds. The treatment permanently closed her growth plates and took more than a foot off her anticipated height. "Ashley did not grow in height or weight in the last year, she will always be flat-chested, and she will never suffer any menstrual pain, cramps or bleeding," say her parents, who felt it important to publicly address their decision after repeated interview requests, in the hopes of sharing their experience with other families. They responded by e-mail only, to protect the family's identity. (Read the complete interview) Ashley's current state -- to them -- is the definition of success. She was born brain-damaged, with a condition described as static encephalopathy, or cerebral palsy. One of her doctors described her mental capacity as that of a 6-month-old, dependent upon her parents to meet every need. She does not walk or talk; she's fed through a tube and wears diapers. When Ashley was 6, her parents approached Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, for the operations. They believed this would make it easier to cuddle and carry a child who can do little more than lie propped on a pillow. Weight and height are the "worst enemy," they write, for children such as Ashley, for whom they've coined the term "pillow angels." In 2004, Children's Hospital performed a hysterectomy, removed Ashley's breast buds and gave her high-dose estrogen to retard growth and sexual maturation -- a procedure that has risks, but to date has not harmed her, her parents say. While the "Ashley treatment" was first published in the October 2006 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, it wasn't until the family posted its blog last year that a firestorm erupted in the blogosphere, with responses from "inhumane" and "perverse" -- to "walk in our shoes." "If parents of children like Ashley believe this treatment will improve their children's quality of life, then they should be diligent and tenacious in providing it for them," her parents write. "We have a sacred duty to do what we believe is right for our children." But in Ashley's case, what her parents thought was right wasn't legal. In May 2007, Children's Hospital admitted it broke state law by giving Ashley a hysterectomy without a proper court review. To perform any such treatment today would require a court order, as well as review by a panel of experts in medicine and ethics and people with disabilities, says Dr. Douglas Diekema of Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, the consulting ethicist on Ashley's case. So, will doctors stop the growth of more children like Ashley? Right now, no growth-attenuation therapy is being administered by other doctors anywhere in the nation, according to pediatric experts. Supporters wonder whether another factor, the suicide in September of Ashley's endocrinologist, Dr. Daniel Gunther, may have slowed wider adoption of the treatment. "We know from reliable sources his treatment of our daughter was a source of energy and motivation for him," Ashley's parents write. "He was frustrated about being blocked from providing this treatment to other children in need. He strongly believed this treatment should be available to them." The family appears to be the lone voice with that opinion; CNN shared the family's comment with Children's Hospital, but did not get a response. In media reports, colleagues and family members were said to believe Gunther's suicide was not related to the treatment of the girl. Another complicating factor -- some doctors remain adamant the treatment shouldn't be available. "Adults can consent. But for a child, we're making decisions for them and hoping in our heart of hearts we are making the right decisions," says Dr. Nancy Murphy, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Children with Disabilities. Murphy will push for consensus among doctors at a pediatrics conference later this year, but acknowledges strong discord as critics continue to insist that keeping children small reduces them to a permanent infant-like condition, denying the basic human right to experience an adult body, adult feelings and adult relationships. But for Ashley, that may be moot. "[This disability] shatters the reason we become parents: to watch kids grow, to be part of their lives and to launch into their own lives," says Murphy. "When you have a child with lifelong dependency, you don't get to launch your kid, and your caregiver options are limited." But like many other people with disabilities, 43-year-old Anne Rader, who also has cerebral palsy but in a much less severe form than Ashley's, sees the treatment as dehumanizing -- and perhaps most significantly -- irrevocable. "The parents are not seeing the potential of the child; they are seeing a baby," says Rader. "People with disabilities have to look at the potential of our lives: of available new technology, new equipment, medical advances. Things can change so quickly now." Some ethicists, too, remain staunch in their assessment that the "Ashley treatment" is a violation of not only human dignity, but also of a physician's oath to do no harm. "I think mutilating surgery involving removal of breast buds is indefensible under any circumstances," says Arthur Caplan, the chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "Growth retardation is not a substitute for adequate home aides and home assistance." Ashley's parents remain convinced what they did for Ashley is the most loving choice they could have made for their daughter and want that for other disabled children. "We feel that if our time and effort ended up helping a single pillow angel... then it is worthwhile." E-mail to a friend .

Parents of severely disabled "pillow angel" say controversial treatment is success . Girl had hysterectomy, other treatments to stunt her growth . Parents' blog about "Ashley's treatment" created firestorm of Internet debate . Expert: No consensus among doctors on whether treatment is appropriate, ethical .

(CNN) -- Yesterday, Team USA lost to Belgium and is out of the running. But today, you'd think American goalkeeper Tim Howard actually won the World Cup on his own. Some 1,845,345 tweets heralded Howard's historic game -- 12 saves in regulation, a rare feat, and one that allowed American fans to focus on a winning performance while ignoring the understory: Belgium controlled the game from the beginning, and even the late goal by 19-year-old Julian Green could do little to change the writing that was on the wall. As the weary American team trudged past the 90 minute mark, Americans focused on the herculean effort by Howard, crowing that he had more saves than Jesus, starting a petition to rename Reagan National for Howard, and briefly appointing him Secretary of Defense on Wikipedia. To be sure, Howard's performance was one of legend, but the rapture over it, albeit well-deserved, seems to put on a Band-Aid on the one simple fact of the match: The United States lost. Again. In the World Cup. From the very beginning of its campaign, with its slogan of "I believe that we will win!" (a chant that began, appropriately enough, with U.S. Navy football) the United States seemed, well, relatively deluded that it could now contend with the world. On the upside? The campaign convinced millions upon millions of Americans to finally engage in the frenzy that absorbs the rest of the globe in the world's most popular sport. Downside? Rather than be shocked and grateful that that the U.S. men made it to the knockout round, many seemed to think that Belgium would be a small hurdle to American victory. The focus on winning, above all else, is likely the most important factor that has driven Americans to pay attention, finally, to the World Cup stages. But for 40 years -- 40 years -- the United States did not care about the Cup because the U.S. did not qualify. So America turned up its nose to soccer, disdaining it for generations. There are many reasons to think that America's disenchantment with the beautiful game is over -- obsessive interest in the first rounds of play is one of them. But what happens as the World Cup packs up and moves on? Will broken-hearted Americans still love soccer now? It is easy to link World Cup mania to the popularity of youth soccer in the United States. A 2007 FIFA study concluded that some 25 million American children play soccer, giving the U.S. the largest youth base of any country competing in Brazil right now. But after all, kids playing on a Saturday morning likely doesn't explain the seeming suddenness of American interest. And we didn't see this kind of interest back when the U.S. hosted the tournament back in 1994. We also didn't see it when the U.S. women won the whole thing in 1991 and 1999 (because, well, you know, women's sports and all). And we didn't see it when the U.S. men's national team reached the quarterfinals in 2002. So where did all of this frenzy come from? Answer: Americans hate being left behind. Americans prefer to lead, and until now, they have been the only ones missing this global party, one where the U.S. men have yet to build a winning reputation, something central to American identity. Indeed, some think the intense focus on Brazil has to do with this unfamiliar underdog status. Soccer has "been a bit of a subculture for a while now," says Greg Lalas, a former Major League Soccer player and current editor-in-chief of MLS.com "One that is incredibly vibrant, inclusive, and frankly, really fun. ... Who doesn't want to be part of that?" It's a good point. Down side? "There'll be no worse thing for American soccer than if we ultimately win a World Cup," says sportswriter Jeff Pearlman. "When that happens, and when we're on equal footing with the elites, it all becomes dull." For Lalas, though, the turning point has been that this World Cup "opened the eyes of many of the decision makers in the media that this culture exists." But it isn't just the gate-keepers. Social media has given the U.S. soccer nation subculture the space to crow from the rooftops their love of the game, and their enthusiasm has generated a contagion effect, building a collective excitement about soccer that's literally spilling into the streets. Remember that social media turned one of the worst things television has ever produced — "Sharknado" — into a revolutionary experience because viewers could complain, mock, and cheer all together. It's done the same for the World Cup, giving it the sense of camaraderie that sports fans need to unify around a team. Just think: Fans tweeted 15.9 million times during the first three U.S. matches. During the game against Germany, one of the most popular images throughout the Twittersphere was of companies who had brought in televisions and food so employees could watch. But don't get too excited. This may have not legs. That America caught World Cup fever doesn't tell us much about how soccer as a spectator sport will fare here, particularly in terms of the popularity of Major League Soccer or whether NBC's television audience for the Premier League will continue to grow. Sure, the United States has had diehard soccer fans of all kinds for some time now, but they aren't always rooting for those wearing the red, white, and blue. Mexico, eliminated by the Netherlands on Sunday, has traditionally been the most popular team in the United States, selling almost twice as many tickets to its "friendly" matches as the U.S. men's national team, which is relatively new by comparison. Many of the Americans in Brazil are there to support Latin American teams, representing communities like those who play at the Red Hook Ball Fields in Brooklyn, where league and pick-up games are accompanied by food trucks slinging the best pupusas, tamales, elote on a stick, arepa, and, of course, tacos. And it is still hard for some Americans to embrace a game that doesn't necessarily end when it is supposed to, and a tournament with groupings and strategies that mean a loss of yours is turned into a win because the team you tied the other day just beat someone else. Also, many sports fans may not have space to add soccer into their seasonal cycle of baseball, football, and so on. Thus, the appeal of the World Cup is not necessarily the game it features, as much as the lure of the United States finally sitting at the big table, qualifying regularly, and even winning a match or two. It is a situation somewhat akin to the Olympics, in which Americans become fascinated -- and sometimes fanatical --with curling and ice dancing and skeleton for the fortnight, but without question don't think about it again until the next one. So perhaps unless team USA's Clint Dempsey and John Brooks get into the next season of "Dancing with the Stars," it might be four more years before America obsesses about them again.

Amy Bass: American so nuts about Tim Howard you'd think he won the World Cup himself . But craze likely won't last: It was more about Americans wanting in on the party, she says . She says the Cup is suited to social media camaraderie, which has helped whip up interest . After the U.S. loss, soccer interest will probably wane, Bass says .

BURBANK, California (CNN) -- Laura Ling on Wednesday expressed the shock she and Euna Lee felt when former President Clinton showed up in Pyongyang, North Korea, to help secure the two journalists' release. The families of Euna Lee, left, and Laura Ling greet them Wednesday in California. "We feared at any moment that we could be sent to a hard labor camp, and then suddenly we were told we were going to a meeting," a tearful and emotional Ling said at a news conference Wednesday morning in California shortly after arriving by plane with Lee and Clinton. She spoke minutes after the two women were reunited with their families at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank outside Los Angeles. They had been detained in North Korea since March. North Korea pardoned Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, after Clinton's brief trip Tuesday to Pyongyang. "We were taken to a location, and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," Ling said, with Lee standing beside her. Watch the emotional return at the airport » . "We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end." She expressed her and Lee's "deepest gratitude" to Clinton and his "wonderful, amazing" team. Watch as Ling says, "We could feel your love" » . "The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives," Ling said. "We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home." She said that she and Lee are looking forward to spending "some quiet, private time" with their families. iReport.com: Share reaction to the freed journalists . Former Vice President Al Gore also spoke to the throngs of journalists at the news conference. He expressed his gratitude to Clinton and President Obama and his administration who "have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort." Watch Gore pay tribute to the people involved in the effort » . Lee and Ling are employed by Gore's California-based media company, Current TV. The women were arrested in March while reporting from the border between North Korea and China. In June, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign. On Wednesday morning, Lee bowed as she walked down the steps of the plane into a private hangar, and Ling raised her fists into the air. The women hugged their families, who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Lee's 4-year-old daughter, Hana, clung tightly to her tearful mother. Watch as the women reunite with their families » . Clinton walked off the plane minutes later but did not address the crowd. "I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones," Clinton said in a statement. "When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home." Journalist Lisa Ling said she never gave up hope that she would see her sister again. "We always maintained our hope and knew in our hearts that we would see Laura again; we just didn't know when," Lisa Ling said outside her home in Los Angeles, California. "We are just thrilled beyond words that the day has finally arrived." She said her sister was looking forward to eating fresh fruit and food for the first time in four months, after many meals of rice that often contained rocks. "I can tell she has gone through a lot," Ling said. "My sister has an amazing, amazing spirit, and she's a little bit weak right now, so I think it's going take a little time for her to gather up her wits and be able to talk about what she experienced." At the White House, Obama applauded the release of the two journalists, saying, "We are very pleased with the outcome." Their release is a "source of happiness not only for the families but for the entire country," he said. Watch as Obama says, "We are relieved" » . Obama also thanked the former president and Gore for their roles in winning the women's release. "I think that not only is this White House ... extraordinarily happy, but all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work," he said. Clinton made the trip to North Korea after the women's families asked him to travel there, a senior administration official said. Doug Ling, Ling's father, earlier reacted to the news of his daughter's release outside his home in Carmichael, California, saying it was "one of the best days in my life." "I figured, sooner or later, they'd be back," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also expressed her relief that the two women were released. She spoke from Nairobi, Kenya, where she is taking part in a multination visit to Africa. "I spoke to my husband on the airplane, and everything went well," she said. "It is just a good day to be able to see this happen." In July, Ling and Lee spoke to their families and told them that the North Koreans were willing to grant them amnesty if a high-level envoy, such as former President Clinton, were willing to travel to Pyongyang, the administration official said on condition of anonymity. North Korea said Clinton "expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il" for the journalists' actions, but the administration official said he knew nothing about an apology. He said Clinton met for three hours and 15 minutes with the North Korean leader but said he did not know what issues were discussed. But he said Clinton's views on a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are well-known. North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency said Clinton conveyed a message from Obama "expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries." But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said before the announced agreement that Clinton was not carrying any message from Obama. Gibbs added the former president last spoke with Obama during a White House visit in March. He described Clinton's trip as a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans." Clinton's mission came as the United States and its allies in the region are seeking to persuade North Korea to return to the stalled nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea conducted its second nuclear bomb test in May and has held several missile tests since then. The United Nations has responded by increasing sanctions on the nation. North Korea and the United States had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear program. North Korea agreed then to halt the development of nuclear weapons but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000, near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had gone to Pyongyang in 2000 to meet with Kim. She was the last high-ranking American official to do so before this week. CNN's Elaine Quijano, Charlie Moore and Ninette Sosa contributed to this report.

NEW: Sister says freed journalist is looking forward to eating fresh food, resting . Journalist Laura Ling expresses gratitude for her and Euna Lee's release . Clinton helps secure two journalists' release from North Korea . Two journalists arrested in March near North Korea-China border .

(CNN) -- Jill Thacker was dying for a cup of coffee when she recently ran into a 7-Eleven convenience store. To her pleasant surprise, the coffee was free -- as long as she would commit to drinking it in either a red Mitt Romney cup or a blue Barack Obama cup. "Which are you going to choose, Mom?" her son asked. Which, indeed. A gun-owning, big-government-hating Republican, Thacker's every instinct told her to buy a Romney cup. But Thacker, 56, and her daughter have asthma -- a pre-existing condition -- and with Obama as president they'll be guaranteed the ability to buy insurance. Thacker stood in the 7-Eleven and stared at the red and blue cups, stymied by the choice they represented. 7-Eleven tries to predict presidential election winner . A concrete issue . Perhaps no other election has posed such a difficult personal decision for some conservatives: How do you vote if you're ideologically conservative, but you're benefiting, or stand to benefit, from the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as "Obamacare"? "In 2008, health care was a very conceptual, a very theoretical issue," said Michael Traugott, a professor of political science and communication at the University of Michigan. "This year it's very concrete and real." Some Republicans told CNN they would never vote Democrat, even though they might benefit from Obamacare, while others said they will switch their vote because of health issues. "The real question is: Could defections in this group make a difference in states where the race is close, such as Virginia, Ohio or North Carolina?" Traugott said. "I think in those states it's so tight they could make a difference." Several groups of people would fare very differently under Romney's health care plan than they do under Obamacare, such as those with preexisting conditions, which can range from anything from back pain to cancer. Between 20% and 50% of all Americans have a preexisting condition, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Obamacare tells insurance companies they can't say no to people with preexisting conditions, or charge them more because of their health issues. According to his website, Romney's health plan calls for "preventing discrimination" against people with preexisting conditions as long as they've maintained continuous insurance coverage in the past, but does not define what "continuous coverage" means. Young Republicans could also fare differently under Romney's plan. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, some 3.1 million young adults now have health insurance because of Obamacare, which requires insurance companies to allow young adults to stay on their parents' policies up until the age of 26. Before Obamacare, insurance companies in many states took young people off their parents' policies at age 18 or 19. Romney has vowed to repeal Obamacare. In the presidential debate, the former Massachusetts governor said the "private marketplace" is already taking care of young adults who want to stay on their parents' plans so the United States doesn't need a government mandate. However, it's not clear that insurance companies will allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance up until age 26 without a mandate. If Obamacare is reversed, insurance companies "will make their own decisions about the coverage options they provide," according to a statement from America's Health Insurance Plans. The undecided: What will sway them? 'I feel torn' Jon Campbell may become one of the Republican "defectors" Traugott says could make a difference in battleground states. Campbell, 49, has voted Republican in nearly every presidential election since he cast his vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980, but this year might be different. For two years his 22-year-old stepdaughter, a self-employed dog trainer, didn't have health insurance. Then Obamacare kicked in and she was allowed onto her father's insurance. "If something had happened to her during those two years it would have been a disaster," Campbell says. The Olathe, Kansas, resident is leaning toward Obama, but not just because of his stepdaughter. Campbell's wife, Barbara, has diabetes and is in the final stages of breast cancer treatment. She's now on his insurance, but if he ever lost his job, his wife would be faced with trying to buy insurance on her own and would surely be rejected. "I'm really torn," he said. "Because of Obama, I now have a wife who can get covered. But really, at heart, I'm a limited-government kind of guy." Campbell said if the election were held today, he'd vote for Obama, but not without a lot of reservations. "It's really an intriguing conundrum," he said. Photos: From the campaign trail . 'I'm born to be a Republican' Like Campbell, Sara Nicastro feels conflicted about her vote. A popular diabetes blogger, Nicastro, 31, knew a woman who stopped taking her insulin regularly when she lost her insurance, and Nicastro thinks it might have contributed to her death. Nicastro said she herself would be "in a pickle" if she were ever laid off because insurance companies don't want to offer policies to diabetics. Still, Nicastro, a lifelong Republican who lives in south Florida, will vote for Romney in November. She cares about other issues besides health -- most notably the economy -- and she's voted Republican in every election. She even remembers the excitement she felt when she shook Bob Dole's hand at a rally at her high school 16 years ago. "The Republican party most closely matches the things I value and the beliefs I have," she said. "I'm pretty passionate about it." Katherine Weaver, who also has diabetes, hasn't considered voting for Obama for even a minute. "I'm born to be a Republican," she said. Weaver, 52, knows it would be difficult if not impossible to buy insurance on her own because of her disease, but she said she's not worried because she has good insurance through her job as a public school teacher in Dallas, where she's worked for 20 years. "It's very hard to get rid of teachers," she said. "I'm very protective of my job. I document everything I do." Voter issues . A choice to make . Jill Thacker felt "weird" as she stood there in the 7-11 in Sanford, Florida, thinking about which cup to take. She thought about her insurance, which covers her only if "I get hit by a bus." It's the only insurance she can afford given her preexisting condition. She thought about how she's still paying off a $22,000 emergency room bill from last year. She thought about her 25-year-old daughter, who's on her father's insurance only because of Obamacare. But she also thought about how, in many fundamental ways, she just doesn't like Obama. Then she reached for the blue cup with Obama's name on it. "I really do feel conflicted," she said. "But for me, it's all about health care. It's my number one thing." Did debate make undecided voters more decided? CNN's William Hudson contributed to this story.

Republicans benefiting from 'Obamacare' face a tough choice in November . People with pre-existing conditions, youth might fare differently under Romney's plan . Some Republicans will switch vote; others are still voting for Romney .

(CNN) -- Minutes after locking out a social worker who'd brought his two sons for a visit, a man in Washington state blew up his house on Sunday -- killing himself and his boys, whose mother went missing more than two years ago, a sheriff's spokesman said. Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer told CNN that the explosion "was done intentionally," saying Josh Powell committed a "double homicide" in addition to killing himself. "This was all on him," Troyer said of Powell and the blast. "He set this up, he did it." Days earlier, in an affidavit seeking custody of the children, Powell said that he had proven himself as a "fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity." "My inherent resilience as a person makes it increasingly difficult for (critics) to pursue their agendas," he wrote in the document, which was filed Wednesday in a Pierce County court, referring to those blaming him for his wife's disappearance. "I am standing tall for my sons." On Sunday, authorities said Powell met a foster-care worker who had brought his two boys -- ages 5 and 7, having both celebrated birthdays in January -- to their father's residence for what was supposed to be a supervised visit. As the children got close to the door, Powell brought them inside but prevented the case worker from getting in as well, according to Troyer. She tried "pounding the doors, trying to get in," with no success, he added. The case worker reported smelling something similar to gas, said Graham, Washington, Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Gary Franz. About two minutes later, as she was calling her supervisor, the house exploded. "All the walls in the house were on fire, almost immediately," neighbor Ryan Mickle told CNN affiliate KIRO, adding that the blast "shook my whole house." "I didn't hear anybody inside. It was quite a scene." Authorities first heard of the explosion in Puyallup, Washington, around 12:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. ET), according to Troyer. The fire was still "burning hot" and smoke continued to rise from it some four hours later. By 7 p.m., and despite initial concerns that the house collapse, the bodies finally had been recovered, said Troyer. While a medical examiner had yet to definitively identify the bodies, the sheriff's spokesman said Sunday night that "we believe it is the three of them" -- referring to Josh Powell and his two sons. "This was something that was done deliberately and intentionally, and the plan was carried out very quickly," he added of authorities' initial take of what happened, noting that "obviously" an "accelerant" was used to fuel the blast. There were no other injuries and no other houses in the neighborhood in Puyallup, which is about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, appeared to be damaged, said Troyer. He added a chaplain was at the scene with the social worker, who he described as physically OK but emotionally devastated by the blast. Troyer said the sheriff's department has copies of a brief e-mail that had gone out to Powell's family and friends, "stating that he couldn't live with what was going on." Authorities haven't confirmed the message came from Powell, but "we have no reason to believe it was not from him," he said. "It shows that there was intent, and this was what he intended to do -- which is to kill his children and kill himself," Troyer said of the e-mail. In the affidavit seeking custody of his children from his wife's parents that was filed last week, Powell claimed that his sons "sustained severe injuries in the care of their grandparents," adding that, "for the sake of my sons, we can all do better." "If anyone wants to be honest with themselves and the situation, the real story is not that anyone is a bad person, including me," he said. "The story is one of overcoming and rising above what many people think are insurmountable challenges." The Washington court denied the motion from Powell to gain custody, said Jeffrey Bassett, a Washington lawyer who was representing Powell. Troyer said a judge also ordered Powell to "go through different types of evaluations and counseling," though supervised visits could continue. Powell had said that he last saw his wife, Susan Cox-Powell, on a cold December night in 2009. That night, he said that he and his two sons -- then ages 2 and 4 -- left after midnight to go camping in below-freezing weather in a desert area in Tooele County, Utah. Powell-Cox's sister eventually reported the mother, who would now be 29 years old, as missing. A month later, Powell and his children moved from Utah to the state of Washington. While there have been no arrests or charges filed related to his wife's appearance, Josh Powell was identified as the lone "person of interest," according to Sgt. Mike Powell -- no relation to Josh or Susan Cox-Powell -- with the West Valley City, Utah, police. The woman has not been found. Through their attorney Anne Bremner, Cox-Powell family issued a statement Sunday asking "for time, privacy and prayers after today's horrific events." Since September 2011, Josh Powell had been engaged in ongoing custody battle with his wife's parents Judith and Charles Cox, according to Washington state court records. As part of the investigation after Cox-Powell's disappearance, authorities last year searched a house in Washington state where Powell, his two sons and his father, Steven Powell, were living. In the course of the search, detectives from West Valley City "discovered numerous images and recordings of adult and juvenile females," according to a release from the Pierce County sheriff's department. Steven Powell subsequently was arrested, in September, and charged with 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents. He was still in custody on those charges in Pierce County as of Sunday, according to official records posted online. The house that blew up was on a cul-de-sac, about four blocks from the one that had been searched in 2011, Troyer said. Authorities involved with the case were struggling Sunday to come to grips with what had happened, from the violence of the explosion and the two boys being caught up in it. Troyer said many law enforcement agents in Washington state have worked with their counterparts in Utah on the Susan Cox-Powell case, as well as spent time playing, coloring and getting to know her sons. "Our guys have spent a lot of time and effort and blood, sweat and tears on this case," said Troyer. "We have detectives who are close with the kids, ... and know them. The whole thing is just sad." CNN's Deanna Proeller, Greg Botelho and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.

NEW: In an affidavit filed last week, Powell said, "I am standing tall for my sons" NEW: Josh Powell killed himself and his sons in a "double homicide," an official says . "This was all on him. He set this up, he did it," the sheriff's spokesman adds . Powell has said he last saw his wife, Susan Cox-Powell, in December 2009 .

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese voters were heading to the polls on Sunday with their main choices to lead the next government a Hezbollah-backed alliance or a U.S.-backed coalition. Hezbollah party workers in the southern town of Nabatiyah hope for an election victory. Analysts say the race will be tight, with the Hezbollah-dominated "March 8 alliance" possibly winning a majority of seats in parliament. The polls opened at 1200 GMT and will close 12 hours later. Turnout is expected to be high among the country's 3 million registered voters. About 50,000 troops were on the streets, but the run-up to the balloting had been free of violence. The vote comes at a critical time for Lebanon as it sits amid a power struggle between a weakened pro-Western government and a stronger pro-Syrian Hezbollah political bloc that has gained political momentum in recent years. The United States considers Hezbollah -- which is supported by both Syria and Iran -- to be a terrorist organization. The group grew in popularity after its militant wing claimed victory over Israel after a 34-day military conflict in 2006. Since then, it has been more widely perceived by its supporters to be the "defenders" of Lebanon. Though U.S. President Barack Obama didn't mention the Lebanese general election in his address on Thursday, he did call for religious tolerance in the Muslim world, noting sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites and the struggles faced by religious minorities. "The richness of religious diversity must be upheld -- whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt," he said, referring to Christian groups in those countries. "And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq." In Lebanon's unique power-sharing government, the presidency is reserved for Maronite Christians, the speaker of parliament is always a Shia Muslim, and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim. The law was created to balance power among Lebanon's three main religious groups. Analysts say the Hezbollah-dominated "March 8 alliance" may win a parliamentary majority with the support of Christian opposition leader Gen. Michel Aoun -- the only prominent Christian politician to back the bloc. "They keep trying to scare the Christian voters with their stories about Hezbollah's weapons, so to all of those who complain about Hezbollah, can they tell us how they will disarm the party," Aoun told supporters Friday. "Hezbollah's weapons will no longer be a problem when the causes behind its existence disappear, including the borders' issues." A close look at Lebanon's political landscape reveals that the country's Christian voters are split on how they will cast their ballots. Some Christian voters want their representatives to step out of the shadows of Hezbollah and Saad Hariri, who leads the Sunni-dominated "March 14 coalition." Christian voters are divided between supporting Aoun and other Christian leaders who want Hezbollah to disarm. "In these elections, Christians look more divided than ever while others seem more unified than ever," said Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. For the Obama administration, the elections could be indicative of the president's odds of pushing stability in the region. Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jimmy Carter said the United States should work with whichever coalition wins. Carter was in Beirut as part of more than 200 international observers monitoring the election. He also oversaw balloting in Gaza during the elections in the Palestinian territory in January 2006. The Palestinian militant group Hamas won that race "fairly and squarely" by a huge margin, Carter said. The United States and Israel later refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas win. "And it's resulted in a split in the Palestinians and a very difficult situation there," Carter added. "I think they (the United States) learned a hard lesson that they should accept the results of an election." Two senior Obama administration officials -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden -- have visited Lebanon in recent months, signaling concerns with a possible Hezbollah victory. During his trip to Beirut two weeks ago, Biden warned the country that while the United States supports Lebanon's democratic process, it will reconsider its assistance to the country if its next government strays from certain "fundamental principles." Biden's visit followed Clinton's April trip to Beirut in which she called for an "open and free" election without outside interference -- a veiled reference to Iran and Syria. Such rhetoric has been dismissed by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as "meddling." The Hezbollah leader has been increasingly vocal in the lead-up to the election, blasting the current government as powerless. However, part of the reason Lebanon's government is crippled is that it made concessions to Hezbollah -- including giving them veto power -- in order to end a political stalemate that boiled over into violence of historic proportions last year. While some analysts are concerned Hezbollah could gain more control over Lebanon's government after Sunday's vote, a key Lebanese politician, Dori Chamoun, warned that assessment may be misleading. Chamoun, who opposes the March 8 alliance, said talk of Hezbollah's possible victory may be based on "rumors" and propaganda being spread by the Shiite militia and their political allies. "They (Hezbollah) think they can scare many but no one is scared," Chamoun told CNN. "They can spread all kinds of rumors on their four TV stations saying that they will win this upcoming elections." Chamoun, whose father, Camille Chamoun, was Lebanon's president in the 1950s, is running for a seat in parliament. Even if a Hezbollah-dominated government does move in, it could have trouble working with Christian and Sunni Muslim politicians who -- under Lebanese law -- must participate in the government. It would also be difficult to find a Sunni political figure willing to serve as prime minister in a Hezbollah-led government since the majority of Lebanon's prominent Sunni politicians are aligned with Hariri's March 14 coalition, which has declared it will not participate in any government if Hezbollah wins. Lebanon's political landscape could be shifting after a similar shift in neighboring Israel. Voters in the Jewish state overwhelmingly supported conservative parties over more moderate groups, bringing into power Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year. Netanyahu is viewed in the Arab world as more hawkish than his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, who ordered the war against Hezbollah in 2006. A Hezbollah victory in Lebanon could further inflame tensions with Israel, particularly with an estimated 30,000 rockets pointed at Israel from southern Lebanon -- all under the control of Hezbollah. CNN's Cal Perry, Octavia Nasr and Saad Abedine contributed to this report.

Analysts say the race will be tight . Some say the Hezbollah-dominated alliance may win a parliamentary majority . Turnout is expected to be high among the country's 3 million registered voters . About 50,000 troops deploy to the streets .

(CNN) -- International leaders expressed shock and dismay Monday over the Israeli Navy's pre-dawn storming of a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza that resulted in nine deaths. The situation rapidly escalated from a deadly incident at sea to a major diplomatic international crisis. "I condemn the violence, and Israel must explain," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Uganda after the official opening of the International Criminal Court Review Conference. In New York, the Security Council met in emergency session to discuss the matter. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the flotilla was trying to circumvent Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and defended its move as justified. "This happened after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israel navy that were issued prior to the action," it said in a posting on its website. "During the interception of the ships, the demonstrators on board attacked the IDF naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs." Q&A on Israel's Gaza blockade . But Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said there was no excuse for an attack "by armed forces on a humanitarian convoy." "The Palestinian government strongly condemns this crime, which portrays, once again, Israeli disrespect for the lives of innocent civilians, and its disrespect for international law," Fayyad said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for three days of mourning in the Palestinian territories, while Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the attack was "on civilians who came from all over the world peacefully with wheelchairs and food supplies and medical supplies." International response was overwhelmingly critical. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said: "The Israeli occupation tries to deny this massacre by saying that the activists on the boat are from Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood and this is a lying campaign, because the activists are international activists." The U.N. urged Israel to take no further steps that could endanger civilian lives. "We wish to make clear that such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza," said a joint statement from Robert Serry, U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, and Filippo Grandi, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. White House Spokesman Bill Burton said the United States "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy." That did not impress Namik Tan, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, who called the U.S. response "sort of weak." Tan called the attack "unacceptable" and an "act of piracy" and said he "expects a strong reaction from the United States." Asked what Turkey wants the United States to do on any potential statement or censure from the Security Council, the ambassador said the question was too "hypothetical." He added, however, "Israel should not get away with this." Turkey has long been Israel's only real Muslim friend in the Middle East. In Istanbul, demonstrators tried to storm the high-rise building in which the Israeli Consulate is located. "Zionist dogs!" some chanted. Indonesia condemned the Israeli raid, saying in a statement that the blockade against Gaza "constitutes a violation of international law." The government of Indonesia "will work closely with the international community to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its action in accordance with international law," it said. In Damascus, Syria, a senior adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, Buthaina Shaaban, called the attack "a terrorist crime against innocent civilians and supporters of the Palestinian people who had no weapons, no armaments with them." Moscow condemned the action as a "gross" violation of international law, according to the Interfax news agency. "Condemnation and deep anxiety are being expressed in Moscow, primarily in view of the fact that some of the participants in the humanitarian convoy were killed or injured," the Foreign Ministry said in a news release, according to Interfax. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak condemned Israel's use of force as "excessive and unjustified." Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, an envoy to the Middle East on behalf of the so-called Quartet, a group of nations working toward peace in the region, called for a "full investigation" and said in a statement: "I repeat my view that we need a different and better way of helping the people of Gaza and avoiding the hardship and tragedy that is inherent in the present situation." A number of nations, including Italy, France, Greece and Sweden, summoned their ambassadors to explain. According to CNN Swedish affiliate TV4, 11 Swedes were among the activists aboard the ships. In addition, three members of Germany's Die Linke party were among those on the boat where nine people were killed, the party said Monday. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called for a "thorough and transparent investigation" and called for border crossings to be opened to humanitarian aid convoys. "I hope that the tragic events of last night will not make even more difficult the indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians which have begun," he said. "We believe it vital that this process go forward." Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Norwegian citizens were aboard the convoy and called for an independent international inquiry "as soon as possible." After meeting with the Israeli ambassador, the Greek Foreign Ministry said that the visit of the Israeli Joint Chiefs -- scheduled for Tuesday -- was being postponed, and that the Greek-Israeli military exercise that was in progress had been discontinued. A Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry official could not say how many Greeks were aboard the six ships in the flotilla. Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel, canceled three planned military exercises with the Israeli military and called home its youth national football team, which had two games scheduled in Israel, said Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. "This operation will leave a bloody stain on the history of humanity," he said. Protests occurred Monday outside the Israeli Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri predicted the raid would inflame the region. "Lebanon strongly condemns this attack and calls on the international community, and specifically on the major countries which are supposed to be responsible about the peace process, to take action in order to stop this continuous violation of human rights, which is putting the international peace at risk," Hariri said. Pakistan said it was concerned about the well-being and whereabouts of two journalists who were aboard the flotilla. "The government of Pakistan strongly condemns the use of brazen force by Israel against a humanitarian mission that was embarked on delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza," the country's foreign ministry said. "The killing of members of this humanitarian mission, which also included women, is brutal, inhuman and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and norms." In a statement on its website, the Kingdom of Bahrain said it "strongly condemns the Israeli navy's barbaric attack." The Vatican said it was following the situation "with great attention and concern." CNN's Jill Dougherty and Cal Perry contributed to this story.

Egypt's Mubarak calls action "excessive and unjustified" Turkey calls raid "a bloody stain on the history of humanity" U.N. calls for Israel to end "counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza" British Foreign Office seeking "urgent clarification"