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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Mary J. Blige has sung her way to nine Grammy Awards and sold 40 million albums worldwide. "I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting," Mary J. Blige said. With music credentials like that, the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" needed a new challenge. So Blige decided to stretch her range to the big screen. The singer stars in the new Tyler Perry film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" alongside Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Perry and Gladys Knight. Being in the film allows Blige to test her acting chops and sing as well. Her character, Tanya, is a club owner who takes the mic at least twice in the film. And whether she's in character or not, Blige's ability to communicate a song can take your breath away. CNN spoke with Blige about Tyler Perry, her acting angst and music. The following is an edited version of that interview: CNN: What does the title of the film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" mean? Mary J. Blige: Well, the title "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" is basically saying "I don't need anyone to help me do worse or feel worse than what I already feel." So if you're coming with negative energy, please keep it moving, you know? If you're coming with negative deposits, you've gotta go. That's basically what it's saying. CNN: Were you nervous about acting in this film? Blige: I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession, so I had to go and get an acting coach and really figure this thing out. It helped a lot. It relaxed me to have a little more information about it. And I find that actors are highly underrated; they don't get all the credit they deserve, because this is a hard job. That's a hard job. CNN: Were you bitten by the acting bug? Blige: Well, I'm gonna be open to scripts, and I'm ready to receive more scripts from anywhere. I know I'm definitely gonna pursue this as a profession, acting. I was definitely bitten by the acting bug. CNN: Did you feel any pressure to write songs for this film, as opposed to writing for one of your albums? Blige: There's not any pressure in writing songs. Writing a song for the movie versus writing songs for my album because ... you get it all from inspiration from somewhere, you know? I got all the lyrics from the actual movie, and I got all the lyrics for my songs from my life so, and other people's lives. CNN: Do you want to hear poetry in your lyrics? Blige: I would love to hear poetry in my lyrics. CNN: Tell me about Tyler Perry. Blige: Wow, working with Tyler Perry was -- it's always a treat. He's the most kind, generous, you know, supportive professional man. He's a really good person to have in such a tough business. It's like a pillow for your head. ... You just get to lay on it after laying on rocks for so long. CNN: What is the link between spirituality and music in the film and in life? Blige: Well, I think the link with the spirituality and the music is that we all have a place where we need to go to heal, and most of the time people go to music to heal. Whether it be gospel or secular, but it all comes from some song that pulled you through your life or helped you through college or something like that. CNN: Do you think this film is about redemption? Do you think people can really change? Blige: I definitely feel this film is a lot about redemption. You saving yourself first of all, and believing you can be saved and wanting the help. I think it takes time | [
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] | Singer Mary J. Blige stars in new Tyler Perry film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"
Film allows Blige to test acting chops and sing as well as owner of club .
"I was definitely nervous, because acting is not my first profession," Blige says .
Blige: Movie is about redemption, saving yourself and healing from wounds . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Misdemeanor assault charges have been dropped against "24" star Kiefer Sutherland in a head-butting incident at a New York City nightclub, according to Alicia Maxey Greene, spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Kiefer Sutherland turns himself in to the NYPD on May 7. Charges against him have been dropped. "We decided to drop the charge after a full investigation, including after speaking to a complaining witness, who was uncooperative," Greene told CNN Tuesday. The charges stem from an incident in which Sutherland allegedly head-butted designer Jack McCollough at a New York City nightclub in May. McCollough had claimed he was "the victim of a vicious, violent, unprovoked assault," according to a statement released after the incident from McCollough's publicist.. Several weeks after the incident, Sutherland and McCollough issued a joint statement, through Sutherland's attorney, in which Sutherland apologized. | [
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"When did this happen?",
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"an incident in which Sutherland allegedly head-butted designer Jack McCollough at a New York City nightclub in May."
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] | Manhattan DA's office: Misdemeanor assault charges against actor dropped .
Charges stemmed from alleged head-butting incident at New York club in May .
Kiefer Sutherland stars in the hit television drama "24" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- More than $20 million from dozens of clients is unaccounted for in the aftermath of what police say was a murder-suicide by the attorney who invested the money, according to a source with direct knowledge of deceased lawyer William Parente's financial dealings. Police say Stephanie Parente's father killed his family and himself in a Baltimore hotel Monday. Some investors fear their entire life savings have been wiped out, said the source, who based the $20 million amount on knowledge of Parente's finances. Some other investors are missing what could amount to another $7 million, CNN has learned, so the total of missing money tied to Parente could be upwards of $27 million. Baltimore County, Maryland, police say Parente, 59, killed his family before committing suicide. The bodies of Parente, his wife and their two daughters were found in a hotel room in Towson, Maryland, on Monday. The source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive financial information involved, said one investor had been involved with Parente for more than 15 years, receiving regular monthly payments from Parente until April 16, four days before the bodies were found. The source said Parente solicited personal loans from clients at high interest, promising to use the money for bridge financing of real estate projects such as shopping centers. The source did not know whether Parente, of Garden City, New York, had actually used the money for any legitimate investments. The source, who knew Parente for more than 15 years, described him as "serious, somber and conservative." Parente told investors he was generating returns of more than 13 percent even in down markets, according to the source. Investors were not given investment statements and were not charged a management fee, but Parente did provide notices informing investors that he owed them money, according to the source. In other developments Friday, police said Parente bought a set of knives from a Crate and Barrel store in Towson, and one of the knives is believed to be the one Parente later used to take his own life. Baltimore County police said that knife is being tested as evidence in the murder/suicide case. Investigators say they found a receipt for the knife in the hotel room where the deaths took place, and the time stamped on the receipt was 5:25 p.m. Sunday. Police have said Parente's wife, Betty, 58, and daughters Catherine, 11, and Stephanie, 19, were killed by asphyxiation and blunt force trauma Sunday afternoon. Authorities said Parente took a call about midnight Sunday from his elder daughter's college roommate asking whether she was returning to her dormitory. Police believe Parente's daughter was already dead. He told the roommate his daughter was spending the night at the hotel with the family. Also Friday, other details emerged about some of Parente's other clients. One of Parente's investors was Queens lawyer Bruce Montague, and Montague's office has heard from 10 Parente clients whose investments are unaccounted for. Together, those clients had invested about $7 million. Through a law partner, Craig Gardy, Montague said he is missing $450,000. The clients are from New York, New Jersey, California and Florida, according to Montague's office. The office has referred those clients to the FBI. Gardy said Montague, who considered Parente to be a personal friend, remains too devastated about the deaths to provide details himself, but he authorized his partners to speak on his behalf. The scenario as given by his partners was that after the Bernard Madoff scandal broke last fall, Montague got "cold feet" and repeatedly asked Parente for his investment money back. On April 16, Montague tried to deposit a check from Parente for $245,000. On Tuesday, April 21, when Montague's bank notified him the check did not clear, he called Chase bank, where Parente's funds were held. Montague was told Parente's account was empty, according to Gardy, and it would be useless to deposit other checks received from Parente. Then Montague called | [
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] | Police say William Parente killed wife, 2 daughters and himself .
Parente may have taken more than $27 million from dozens of clients .
Clients got no investment statements and were not charged a management fee .
A client nervous after Madoff case found there was no money in Parente's account . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- NYPD officers on counter-terrorism patrol helped deliver a baby during morning rush hour in the middle of New York's bustling Penn Station Wednesday. Caesar Penn Boothe was delivered under the Penn Station departures sign at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday. "Forget the ambulance, forget everything else -- I'm going to have the baby right here," new mother Marie Boothe recalled at a news conference later in the day. Three members of the police department's counter-terrorism patrol team who were in the station and an Amtrak police officer stepped in to help deliver the seven-pound baby boy under the departures sign at 7:20 a.m. The newborn was greeted by fellow commuters in typical New York City fashion. "They started yelling, 'Name him Penn, after Penn Station!'" said Marie Medina, one of the NYPD officers who aided in the special delivery. Caesar Penn Boothe, whose middle name reflects his birthplace, was taken to Bellevue Hospital along with his mother, and the two were reported to be doing well. | [
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] | "Forget the ambulance ... I'm going to have the baby right here," said mother .
Baby named Caesar Penn Boothe; middle name reflects his birthplace .
Three counter-terrorism patrol officers and Amtrak police officer helped deliver baby . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Natasha Richardson, a film star, Tony-winning stage actress and member of the famed Redgrave acting family, died Wednesday after suffering injuries in a ski accident, according to a family statement. She was 45. Natasha Richardson fell on a beginners' slope in Canada. Richardson, wife of actor Liam Neeson, was injured Monday in a fall on a ski slope at a Quebec resort about 80 miles northwest of Montreal. Richardson's family released a statement saying, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." According to a statement from Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, Richardson fell during a lesson on a beginners' trail. Watch a report on Richardson's life » "She did not show any visible sign of injury, but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor," the statement said. Richardson, accompanied by her instructor, returned to her hotel, but about an hour after the fall was "not feeling good," the statement said. An ambulance was called, and Richardson was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal. From there she was transferred to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Friends and colleagues were saddened by her death. "Natasha was brilliant, beautiful, funny, talented beyond measure, as emotionally raw as she was razor sharp," said Jodie Foster, who worked with Richardson in "Nell," in a statement. "Tasha loved fiercely and that love continues in all of us who knew her. May Liam, her beautiful boys and her loving family hold her close as they move through this tragic moment." "Natasha combined the best of [her parents, Vanessa] Redgrave and [Tony] Richardson: the enormous depth and emotional force of a great actor on the one hand, and the intelligence and objectivity of a great director on the other. She was a one-of-a-kind, a magnificent actress," said director Sam Mendes in a statement. Mendes directed Richardson in her Tony-winning "Cabaret" performance. Richardson was practically born to perform. Her grandfather, Sir Michael Redgrave, was a famed British actor. Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is an Oscar-winning actress, and her father, the late director Tony Richardson, helmed such films as "Look Back in Anger," "The Entertainer" and the Oscar-winning "Tom Jones." Natasha Richardson's uncle Corin Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave, and sister Joely Richardson are also noted performers. But being part of a family of actors wasn't always easy for Richardson. Her parents divorced when she was 4 and her mother, involved in controversial political causes, gave away a lot of money, putting the family in financial straits, according to the BBC. Then there was the family heritage, of which Richardson once said, "Though my name opened doors it didn't get me work, and a lot of pressure comes from having a mother who is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation," the BBC reported. In 2007, Richardson worked with her mother in the film "Evening." Richardson said she made one point to director Lajos Koltai about the relatives working together. "This is a unique opportunity," she said she told him. "This is the one time my mother and I are going to play mother and daughter on screen, so you've got to take advantage of it." Watch Richardson talk about working with her mom » Richardson's first film role was a bit part in her father's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1968), made when she was 4. After a handful of roles through her teens and early 20s, she broke through as Mary Shelley | [
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"injuries in a ski accident,"
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"on a ski slope at a Quebec resort about 80 miles northwest of Montreal."
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] | Actress Natasha Richardson fell Monday while skiing .
Richardson appeared fine, but became ill soon after .
Actress, 45, was daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, wife of Liam Neeson .
Family says they are "shocked and devastated," thank all for support . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly 27 years ago, amid a crowd of people in Central Park, Ruth Bendik's wallet was stolen. The culprit is still at large, but the wallet has been found -- in the hollow trunk of a cherry tree. Nearly 27 years ago, amid a crowd of people in Central Park, Ruth Bendik's wallet was stolen. The wallet was snatched on October 24, 1982, while Bendik, now 69, was in Central Park watching the New York marathon. She went to greet runners at the end of the race and, "when I got out of the crush of people, I realized my purse was much lighter," Bendik told CNN. "I was just so grateful not to have been harmed." Last week, Josh Galiley, tree-care supervisor for the Central Park Conservancy, was chopping down a hazardous black cherry tree near Rumsey Playfield when he discovered her blue leather wallet in the trunk of the tree, which he estimates is around 65 years old and 50 feet high. "I started poking in the soft stuff and this wallet turned up. Having been that low in the tree ... the location indicated it had been there for quite some time," Galiley told CNN. The old wallet was a unique find, he said. "When you're cutting a tree and it's hollow, you expect stuff inside, shreds of material, old marbles, really just knickknacks compared to this," he said, "Nothing with a story. ... We peeked in and there were dates from the early '80s. We figured this was different." After the wallet was recovered, Galiley said, officials were careful to inform Bendik properly. "We thought she may not want to relive it," he said. Bendik sang praises for the individuals who returned her wallet, including detective Frank Irizarry, who helped track her down. "The lengths they went to find me, the extent that they went through and the fact that they were concerned about my feelings really impressed me," she said. The wallet still contained her old driver's license and credit cards, she said, although $20 was missing. "Twenty dollars was a lot of money then," she said. After two decades, much more has changed. Referring to two of her old bank cards from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank and Banker's Trust, Bendik said, "I was shocked that both banks had closed." But some things haven't changed. Bendik continues to have fond memories of Central Park. The Ohio native, who has lived in New York for 40 years, still describes the park as one of her favorite areas in the city. "It's a public place in an impersonal city," she said, "It brings everyone together in a pleasant way of reconnecting with nature and beauty." Today, Bendik smiles at the idea of her wallet buried in a cherry tree in Central Park for nearly 30 years, and she's happy to have it in her hands again. "After all these years it's still available as a time capsule of my life." | [
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] | Ruth Bendik's wallet was snatched in 1982 during the New York marathon .
Worker found wallet while chopping down a black cherry tree in Central Park .
Wallet still contained driver's license and credit cards, but $20 was missing . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly a year after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina, disc jockey Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found dead in his New York apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist said. He was 36. Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was one of two people who survived a 2008 plane crash in South Carolina. "The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," his publicist, Jenni Weinman, said in a statement confirming the performer's death. "Out of respect for his family and loved ones, please respect their privacy at this time." Goldstein was found unconscious and unresponsive in his lower Manhattan apartment Friday afternoon, New York police said. The cause of death would be determined by medical examiners, but "there is no criminality suspected at this time," a police statement reported. Goldstein and Travis Barker, the drummer for rock band Blink-182, were the only survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina that left both critically injured. Four others aboard the plane were killed when the Learjet skidded off a runway during takeoff from Columbia. Watch more about his career » "Daily I live with the guilt and grief of what happened that night, what I saw, who was lost and why I was spared," he wrote in a December post on his Web site. "I have no words to express the pain that comes with knowing four people died, while I lived." In addition to spinning beats at clubs and festivals, Goldstein was known for dating reality-TV star Nicole Richie and singer-actress Mandy Moore. "I am absolutely heartbroken," Moore said in a statement. "For those of us lucky enough to have known him, Adam radiated a contagious exuberance for life and also personified the very definition of a true friend. To say that he will be missed beyond words is an understatement. My heart goes out to his loved ones." iReport.com: DJ AM "bridged communities" At the time of his death, he had been working on an MTV show about drug addiction that had been scheduled to debut in October. Goldstein himself had been a crack cocaine addict who said he wanted the show to help others recover. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report. | [
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] | Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found unconscious in his apartment .
There is no criminality suspected at this time," police say in statement .
"The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear," Goldstein's publicist says .
He was one of two survivors of a September plane crash in South Carolina . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Obesity is the No. 1 health crisis in the United States, and the nation could be at risk without immediate action, former President Clinton said at CNN's first Fit Nation Summit.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and former President Clinton lead the discussion at the first Fit Nation Summit.
"We need to do something about it for our children, and for our country, because something like this could easily collapse our nation if we don't act now," Clinton said.
Clinton and CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, gathered with experts from across the country Wednesday to explore solutions to America's obesity crisis.
Two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight or obese; the same is true for one-third of U.S. children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity carries increased risk of myriad health problems, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
Gupta, Clinton and a panel of experts addressed such proposed solutions as healthy school lunches, elimination of trans fats, the need for healthier food in urban communities and the importance of supporting community-based efforts to fight obesity. Watch Gupta explain the solutions proposed at the Fit Nation Summit »
Clinton, who's been tackling the obesity issue over the past few years with his Alliance for a Healthier Generation, stressed the need to help educate people about the importance of a healthy diet and exercising together.
Motivating Americans, especially kids, won't be easy, Clinton said. "They need to be handled with care. Kids need to know it's important, but [fitness] can't be boring," he said. "There's no shame, there's no embarrassment. We have to let them know it's all good, but you have to do it."
Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a strong advocate against trans fats in foods, stressed that the Food and Drug Administration should ban trans fats altogether and stop leaving it up to local and state governments.
Trans fats, at one time, thought to be good fat substitutes, over the years have been shown to raise LDL or bad cholesterol in people and lower their HDL, or good cholesterol. "They're just not good for our health, Jacobson said.
However, Dr. Robert Eckel, former president of the American Heart Association, warned, "Although we support the removal of trans fats, our biggest concern is what they'll be replaced with. We need to think about that, because there will be a substitute."
The panel took questions from an audience of 150 people -- mostly obesity experts or those who work in industries that deal with obesity.
Gupta was inspired to launch Fit Nation, an ongoing, multiplatform, grass-roots initiative against obesity. Over the past three years, Gupta and the CNN Medical Unit have crisscrossed the country, asking Americans to take charge of their weight by exercising more and eating healthier.
This year, Gupta traveled from Michigan to California asking the public to pledge to add 1 million hours to their collective lives by getting off the couch and exercising. Since he began the tour in April, the campaign has surpassed its goal, with exercise pledges close to four times that amount.
Gupta said he hopes that legislators and administrators who can make a difference in policy and perhaps change attitudes about obesity will hear the solutions discussed at the summit.
"I''ve covered a lot of stories on obesity," Gupta said. "There's a battle going on, and we need to win the battle. I've talked to people out there and many are just blasé.
"This is our opportunity to make them care." E-mail to a friend | [
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"Which former president appeared at the summit?",
"Experts called for which types of fat to be replaced?",
"What has been suggested to fight obesity?",
"What problem is being discussed at the Fit Nation Summit?",
"Who organised the Fit Nation Summit?",
"Where are experts gathering?",
"Which former president spoke at the summit?",
"What did Former President Clinton say?",
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] | Experts gather at CNN's first Fit Nation Summit to propose obesity solutions .
Former President Clinton: Without obesity solution, nation risks "collapse"
Motivating youngsters, removing shame, embarrassment called key .
Experts: Removing trans fats, finding healthy replacements also critical . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- One summer night in 2004, 3-year-old Riley Fox lay asleep on a couch not far from her 6-year-old brother on a chair in the living room. Their father was sleeping in a nearby bedroom. The FBI joined the search for the killer of 3-year-old Riley Fox last month. Just before 8 a.m., Kevin Fox was awakened by his son. The boy told his father that Riley was missing from the sofa. Fox searched for his daughter for 40 minutes inside and outside their Wilmington, Illinois, home and then called police, according to authorities. His wife, Melissa, was in Chicago participating in a charity walk, and when she found out, she rushed home. Nearly 500 volunteers, along with police and family, searched for the little girl. Her body was found later that day in a river in Forked Creek, Illinois, just 4 miles from the family's home. She'd been bound and gagged with duct tape, raped and drowned, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office and the coroner's report. It was June 6, 2004, the start of a horrific ordeal for the family. Fox was arrested and charged with the killing, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence. More than five years later, authorities have yet to capture Riley's killer. Kathleen Zellner, Fox's attorney, said that the crime scene was brutal and that the theory is that Riley was snatched from her home, sexually assaulted and then thrown from the bridge overlooking the river where she drowned. Because her hands were bound and her mouth covered with duct tape, she was unable to swim or save herself, Zellner said. According to Zellner, Fox says that the night his daughter disappeared, he had gone to a street fair while the children's grandparents looked after them. On his way home, about midnight, Fox picked up his two sleepy children from their grandparents and put them to bed in the living room of the 500-square-foot cement box family home. Riley often fell asleep on the sofa and her 6-year-old brother on the chair near her while watching TV, Zellner said. Fox has said the front door was wide open when he awoke, Zellner said, as was the back door. He has said he locked the front door before he'd gone to bed. The back door's lock had been broken weeks ago; they typically propped a stack of laundry baskets against it to keep it shut. According to the family, those baskets had been removed and placed on top of the laundry machine by someone other than family members. "From the beginning, we believed that someone was already inside the house waiting when Kevin got home with the kids that night, " Melissa Fox said. "But it was clear that police were looking at Kevin suspiciously." Indeed, five months later, Will County sheriff's officers arrested and charged Kevin Fox with the sexual assault and murder of his daughter. Zellner says the arrest came after authorities coerced a confession from him after 14 hours of relentless questioning. Fox spent eight months in jail, but DNA evidence from the rape kit conducted on Riley's body finally exonerated him. There was no semen found during the autopsy, Zellner says, but saliva of an unidentified male was found on the duct tape covering Riley's mouth and elsewhere on her body. In late 2007, the family won a $15.5 million wrongful-arrest suit against the sheriff's detectives. The Foxes believe that the perpetrator was someone in the community who had been watching and targeting their daughter for some time. "For weeks before her disappearance, I couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness, strange noises at night outside our house, as if someone were lurking and watching us," Melissa Fox said. Zellner believes that another big clue was a red car similar to a Chevrolet Cavalier parked outside the Fox home that night, before Kevin Fox and his children returned home. "It's only been in the last few weeks that investigators have actively begun | [
"What sort of evidence exonerated Riley's father?",
"When was Fox slain?",
"When was her body found?",
"What was the age of Riley Fox when she died?",
"What is the name of the child who was slain?",
"Who was initially charged with her killing?"
] | [
[
"DNA"
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"One summer night in 2004,"
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"June 6, 2004,"
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"3-year-old"
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"Riley Fox"
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"Kevin Fox"
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] | FBI joins investigation into death of 3-year-old Riley Fox, slain in 2004 .
Riley was reported missing from home; her body was found that day .
Authorities initially charged father in the killing, but DNA exonerated him .
Attorney for family blasts law enforcement for lack of progress on case . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Oooooooshie the clown knows the instant effect he has on patients. The Lev Leytzan clowns perform for children and patients in hospitals to spread laughter and joy. "When you walk out of a room hearing people laugh and smile, you hear them talking about it," said the clown, whose real name is Asher Mechanic. He entertains children and patients as part of a clown troupe in New York called Compassionate Clown Alley, bringing laughter to those in hospitals. "It's the spreading of giving from one person to another, like a chain reaction," Mechanic said. The clown organization is also known as Lev Leytzan, a name derived from the program's roots working with Jewish youth. In Hebrew, lev means heart, and leytzan is a clown, so the translation is "The Heart of the Clown." Watch the clowns talk about their work. » "Lev Leytzan allows me to take [something] scary and mundane for the patient and into something exciting beautiful and playful," said the group's founder, Dr. Neal Goldberg, a Woodmere, New York-based clinical psychologist. For the last two and half years, the clowns have been bringing cheer to the patients at the South Nassau Communities Hospital. "The patients get satisfaction from having some sunshine coming to them in the hospital," said Phyllis Citera, director of volunteer services at the hospital. "Sundays at the hospital are typically quiet, especially for those patients who don't have visitors stopping by. The clowns especially cheer them up." A positive approach empowers people who are ill, said Goldberg, who works with children, teenagers and young adults. Six years ago, while working on a bereavement project, he realized he was making a clown of himself and others in an effort to help people cope with pain. He wondered what would distract the patients from their pain and bring joy. Inspired by the work of Dr. Patch Adams, who was portrayed by Robin Williams in the 1998 film "Patch Adams," Goldberg thought of running a similar program in which he and others could bring joy to people in orphanages, hospitals and retirement homes using the same whimsical approach. Goldberg researched the subject before putting on a red nose and trying out therapeutic clowning for himself. "I found it powerful in terms of my own growth and freedom of expression and creativity, and thought it would be something wonderful and powerful to bring back to the community, to teens in particular," he said. Goldberg's clowns range from 13 to 22 years old and say they find it both empowering and humbling. "As a clown, you get more than you give," said Dassy Newman, a former clown. "You can't hold back, you have to give it all. You have to give your heart, your soul, your energy, everything. It's the most exhausting thing you've ever done, but at the same time it's the most exhilarating." Dr. Carolyn Fein-Levy, a pediatric oncologist at Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, New York, said Goldberg's clowns provide relief to the patients. "Whenever the clowns are around, the children are happier," Fein-Levy said. "When they are happier, their parents enjoy watching them. They recapture their childhoods lost as a result of being sick. Clowns are a good distraction and it helps them feel normal. Nothing is more important for them than feeling normal, because their lives are not normal while going through therapy." She also teaches an oncology class to the Lev Leytzan clowns. "It adds another dimension to their training and gives them an overview and an understanding to know what it's like to be a kid with cancer," she said. Fein-Levy also draws from her own experience, having survived ovarian cancer as a child after a year of chemotherapy. "I teach in the clown school but I'm not worried about patients being harmed," she said. " | [
"What did the clowns say?",
"Where does Lev Leytzan perform?",
"What is the Clown group Lev Leytzan?",
"What did the founder say?",
"How long has Lev Leytzan been together?",
"What is the name of the clown group?",
"Who is in the clown group?"
] | [
[
"\"When you walk out of a room hearing people laugh and smile, you hear them talking about it,\""
],
[
"for children and patients in hospitals"
],
[
"perform for children and patients in hospitals"
],
[
"\"Lev Leytzan allows me to take [something] scary and mundane for the patient and into something exciting beautiful and playful,\""
],
[
"two and half years,"
],
[
"Lev Leytzan"
],
[
"Lev Leytzan"
]
] | Clown group Lev Leytzan gets name from working with Jewish youth.
Founder says he was inspired by Dr. Patch Adams to bring joy to patients .
Clowns who perform for patients say experience is humbling .
Mantra of group is "serious clowning, a story behind every smile" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Obama mixed policy discussion with personal reflections on his daughters and, yes, a few jokes in an appearance on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." President Obama jokes with David Letterman in New York in an interview taped Monday afternoon. It was the first time a sitting president has been a guest on the popular late-night entertainment show, according to the CBS Web site. It was taped Monday afternoon. After taking the stage to a huge ovation, Obama teased Letterman about being surprised to see the event on his daily schedule, saying: "That's one of those where you ask your advisers, 'Who's responsible for this?' " Later, when talking about summer activities of daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, Obama said that they "goofed off," which he added was something he couldn't do. Letterman quickly quipped: "Well, others have," prompting a big laugh from both the audience and the president. On topical issues, Obama promised to ask "tough questions" before deciding whether to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, saying it was necessary to have a clear strategy in place before deploying resources. Watch Obama talk with Letterman » He said his "No. 1 job" is to make sure the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks can never harm the United States again. Asked about the economy, Obama called the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed in his first month in office a "tourniquet" that prevented the recession from getting worse. Complete economic recovery will take time, he warned, but added that the situation appeared to be getting better. On the hostile debate over his push to overhaul the nation's health care system, Obama disagreed with the analysis by some that the public anger against him is fueled by racism. He drew a big laugh by pointing out he was black before he became president, then noted that his election by the American public "tells you ... a lot about where the country is at." "I think that what's happened is that whenever a president tries to bring about significant changes, particularly during times of economic unease, then there is a certain segment of the population that gets very riled up," Obama said. Previous presidents including Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan also generated emotional opposition, Obama said. "This is not untypical," he said. "One of the things you sign up for in politics is, folks yell at you." | [
"What did Obama's daughter do this summer?",
"What will Obama ask before sending more troops to Afghanistan?",
"What was Obama's first time sitting president as?",
"What will Obama ask before sending in more troops?",
"Obama will be asking what?",
"What did daughters Malia and Sasha do this summer?",
"Who was the first sitting-president to be a Letterman guest?"
] | [
[
"they \"goofed off,\""
],
[
"\"tough questions\""
],
[
"a guest on the popular late-night entertainment show,"
],
[
"\"tough questions\""
],
[
"\"tough questions\""
],
[
"\"goofed off,\""
],
[
"President Obama"
]
] | President Obama's visit first time a sitting president has been "Letterman" guest .
Obama says he'll ask "tough questions" before sending more troops to Afghanistan .
President says he doesn't think racism fuels opposition to health care overhaul .
What did daughters Malia and Sasha do this summer? They "goofed off," he says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Prodding Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restart talks aimed at a permanent resolution of their decades-old conflict, President Obama dropped a demand for an Israeli settlement freeze, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Benjamin Netanyahu, left, President Obama and Mahmoud Abbas. "Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward," Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals," Obama said. Obama first met separately with Netanyahu and Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what he called "frank and productive" talks. The session was the first among the three leaders since Obama took office in January. George Mitchell, Obama's envoy for the Middle East, attended Tuesday's talks. He said the talks were "at all times cordial," but "direct" and sometimes "blunt." Obama told Abbas and Netanyahu that, "The only reason to hold public office is to get things done," and that everyone "must take risks for peace," Mitchell said. Mitchell told reporters the U.S. is "not identifying any issue as being a precondition or an impediment to negotiation." But the United States and Israel have publicly disagreed on Israeli plans to build more housing on land the Palestinians regard as theirs. Previous Obama administration demands for a freeze have been ignored by the Netanyahu government. Watch Netanyahu address peace, settlements » Abbas has so far rejected resuming talks with Israel until the Jewish state halts all settlement building in the occupied West Bank and in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem. Arab states also have balked at the U.S. request to take confidence-building measures toward Israel until Israel freezes settlement construction. Sitting with Netanyahu and Abbas, Obama softened his regular language on a settlement "freeze," saying that Israel has had meaningful discussions about "restraining" settlement activity. "But they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues," he said. "Obama told Abbas that he couldn't get the settlement freeze and promised to keep trying, but that it shouldn't be a condition for talks and it was time to move on," one Palestinian aide to Abbas said. Several U.S. officials said that Obama told Abbas that although the U.S. believe a settlement freeze would create a better atmosphere for talks to begin, the lack of one should not be used an as excuse not to talk. "Let's not have the perfect be the enemy of the good," Obama told Abbas, according to the officials. Watch Obama: 'We have to find a way forward' » "It's been apparent for some time that the Israelis were going to fall short of what is necessary on the settlement freeze," one senior U.S. official said. "But our view is let's get to negotiations and settlements will be addressed within those final status issues" A senior Israeli diplomat said Israel agreed to not building any new settlements, no outward expansion of existing growth and to only build for "natural" growth within existing settlements. He said Israel also agreed not to encourage Israelis to move to settlements, which would increase the population. "A complete settlement freeze wasn't physically or politically possible, especially in the absence of any Arab or Palestinian concessions," the Israeli diplomat said. "There was a time the gaps had significantly narrowed, but now they were starting to widen. The administration recognized, rather than have them widen further, we should start negotiating." The Palestinian aide to Abbas said Obama's failure to secure a settlement freeze has weakened him in the eyes of the Palestinian delegation, because it casts doubt on his ability to move Israel during final status negotiations. The Palestinians did win an important point, however, with Obama making clear that the peace talks would not start from scratch, which Netanyahu had favored | [
"who does obama meet",
"Who did Obama meet with?",
"What did President Obama say?",
"What Obama says about it?",
"What did Israel agree to on West Bank settlement growth?",
"what does obama say",
"what does israel agree to",
"With who Obama met that day?"
] | [
[
"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas"
],
[
"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
],
[
"\"It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals,\""
],
[
"\"It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals,\""
],
[
"resolution of their decades-old conflict,"
],
[
"\"Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward,\""
],
[
"not building any new settlements,"
],
[
"Benjamin Netanyahu,"
]
] | NEW: Israel agrees to some limits on West Bank settlement growth .
"It is past time to talk about starting negotiations," President Obama says .
Obama meets separately, then jointly, with Netanyahu and Abbas .
Meetings come as hopes for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks have dimmed . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language, comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X. Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X. The imams called the recorded comments from al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri "an insult" from people who have "historically been disconnected from the African-American community generally and Muslim African-Americans in particular." "We find it insulting when anyone speaks for our community instead of giving us the dignity and the honor of speaking for ourselves," they said in a statement read during a news conference at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational and Cultural Center. The al Qaeda statement, an 11-minute, 23-second audio message in Arabic with subtitles in English, appeared on the Internet on Wednesday. Its authenticity has not been confirmed. The message said Obama represents the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X. Watch al Qaeda official criticize Obama » The speaker also said Obama, former and current Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and "your likes" fit Malcolm X's description of "house slaves." An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites. The term refers to slaves who worked in white masters' houses. Malcolm X said those slaves were docile compared with those who labored in the fields. iReport.com: Should Obama react to comments? Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s, was an early member and leader of the Nation of Islam. He left that group in 1963 over disillusionment with its then-leader, Elijah Muhammed, but remained a Muslim. After months of death threats, he was assassinated in 1965 by members of the Nation of Islam, who shot him 16 times at close range. The three men who were convicted of the crime have been paroled. On Friday, Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, recalling Malcolm X's legacy, said that he "stood for human rights and the principle of self defense ... international law. He would have rejected, and we who are Muslim African-Americans leaders reject, acts of political extremism." The Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned Zawahiri's comments in a statement issued Thursday. "As Muslims and as Americans, we will never let terrorist groups or terror leaders falsely claim to represent us or our faith," the statement said. "We once again repudiate al Qaeda's actions, rhetoric and world view and re-state our condemnation of all forms of terrorism and religious extremism." | [
"Who fit Malcolm X's definition of house negro?",
"Who responded to comments made by an al Qaeda official?",
"What did the official say about Obama?",
"Who compared Obama to a house Negro?",
"President-elect Barack Obama fit whose definition of a \"house Negro\"?",
"What group was the official from?",
"What did U.S. Muslim leaders respond to?",
"Who else did the official attack?",
"Which secretaries of state were denigrated?",
"What was the response of US Muslim leaders?"
] | [
[
"Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice"
],
[
"Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities"
],
[
"\"direct opposite of honorable black Americans\" like Malcolm X."
],
[
"Ayman al-Zawahiri"
],
[
"Ayman al-Zawahiri"
],
[
"al Qaeda"
],
[
"at a purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language,"
],
[
"Obama"
],
[
"Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice"
],
[
"lashed out"
]
] | U.S. Muslim leaders respond to comments reportedly made by al Qaeda official .
Official said President-elect Barack Obama fit Malcolm X's definition of "house Negro"
Official also denigrated Secretaries of State Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The British are coming, the British are coming -- to Brooklyn? By subway? Barclays has paid $300 million for the naming rights to the New Jersey Nets arena. New York's struggling Metropolitan Transportation Authority has sold the naming rights to the second-busiest subway stop in Brooklyn. The Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street Station will now have the name of a British bank, Barclays, added to it. Several subway riders are outraged that Barclays has purchased the naming rights to this subway stop, which sees about 10 million people go through it each day. One straphanger said, "A London Bank shouldn't be the name of this train station; it's something that belongs to the public domain." Another said, "It's just everywhere we go, everything we do, it's just branding, branding, branding. It's America now." Renaming the Atlantic-Pacific Station is tied to the construction of Barclays Center, the new sports arena for the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Barclays is paying developer Forest City Ratner $300 million for naming rights to this arena. Ratner, in a separate deal, will be paying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $200,000 a year for the next 20 years to rename this commuter hub. Authority Press Secretary Jeremy Soffin said, "Like transit systems all over the U.S. and around the world, we are facing budget deficits." In an effort to bridge the authority's $1 billion deficit, the transit giant that oversees the operation of the city's subways, buses and rail lines wants to follow the Barclays example with stations throughout the system. Though the Atlantic-Pacific subway station is the first in New York for which naming rights have been sold, across the country, there have been several cases of public transportation systems using naming rights to increase revenue. In 2003, the Las Vegas monorail system signed a 12-year, $50 million deal with Nextel to put its name on the station in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Cleveland Bus System sold station names to two hospitals for $1.1 million a year. Internationally, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority has been selling the naming rights of 23 metro stations. However, not all naming rights deals are successful. In 2001, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority tried to raise $22 million by auctioning the naming rights to four historic "T" stations. It received no bids. Reassuring the public that there are certain lines they won't cross when it comes to renaming stations of historical value, Soffin said, "It's a very clear line there, and we want to be as open as possible, but we're not sort of selling the shop here." | [
"Where is Atlantic Avenue located?",
"Where did the money come from?",
"Which is the second busiest station in Brooklyn?",
"What is the second busiest station in Brooklyn?",
"How much did the basketball arena developer pay?",
"How much did the developer pay for rights?"
] | [
[
"in Brooklyn."
],
[
"Barclays"
],
[
"Atlantic Avenue-Pacific"
],
[
"The Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street"
],
[
"$300 million"
],
[
"$300 million"
]
] | Basketball arena developer pays $200,000 a year for 20 years for rights .
Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street station is second busiest in Brooklyn .
Riders express disappointment at "branding" of subway stop . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The FBI has begun interviewing clients of deceased Garden City, New York, lawyer William Parente as part of an investigation into his financial dealings, according to FBI spokesman James Margolin.
Stephanie Parente, 19, was found dead along with her sister and parents in a Baltimore hotel Monday.
Margolin said the investigation was launched at the request of police in Baltimore County, Maryland, where Parente, his wife and their two daughters were found dead in a hotel room earlier this week.
"We're looking into Parente's business interests and whether there's any impropriety there and any crime was committed," Margolin said.
Baltimore County police say Parente, 59, killed his family before committing suicide. There have been allegations of financial impropriety in the course of the investigation, said police spokesman Cpl. Mike Hill at a news conference Wednesday.
A law enforcement source told CNN a cell phone belonging to Parente was recovered in the hotel room where the bodies were found. In an attempt to locate surviving family members, investigators contacted people in the phone's directory, and some of those people said they were Parente's investment clients.
The New York attorney general's office confirmed it received a complaint alleging financial wrongdoing from attorney Bruce Montague of Queens, New York.
CNN spoke with Montague's law partner, Steve Drelich, who said he was speaking on Montague's behalf because Montague is distraught over the death of Parente, whom he considered a personal friend as well as a financial adviser. Drelich confirmed Montague was a client of Parente's, and said the two had known each other about six years and that Montague had been investing with Parente for about that long.
Drelich said Montague's estimated losses in investments with Parente total about $450,000.
Drelich said recently Montague "got nervous and asked [Parente] for his money back," in light of highly publicized scandals involving other investors and financial advisers.
Drelich said when Montague kept asking Parente about the money, he was told "it was in a Canadian bank and [Parente] was having trouble getting the money back."
Montague finally received six checks late last week, Drelich said.
"Four of the six checks bounced. We were told there was no money in the account. ... We were told by the bank that the checks were bouncing," Drelich told CNN. Drelich said he doesn't know the amounts of the two checks that did clear for Montague.
It was not until news broke about the Parente family deaths and apparent murder-suicide investigation that Montague contacted authorities, Drelich said.
But Drelich emphasized that Montague was more upset with the deaths than any financial loss.
"You can always make more money," Drelich said. "But Bruce is devastated about the family. He considered [Parente] a friend, but he's especially concerned about the family."
Drelich said his office received calls from at least five other people who said they invested money with Parente, with callers claiming more than $4 million in total investments with Parente. Drelich said his office referred those callers to the state attorney general's office.
Baltimore County police said Parente killed his wife, Betty, 58, on Sunday, April 19, using "blunt force trauma" and asphyxiation.
Police said he killed his daughter Catherine, 11, around the same time, using the same method.
Later that day, his daughter Stephanie, 19, a Loyola College sophomore, was killed also by blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, according to police. Citing hotel records, police said the room was accessed by its electronic key at around 4 p.m. on Sunday, making it plausible that Stephanie entered the room.
Later that evening, police said, Stephanie's college roommate, worried that she had an exam the next morning and hadn't come home, called the room and spoke to William Parente. Parente told the roommate Stephanie would be spending the night. Police believe she was dead at the time.
Parente died some time later by cutting himself, police said, but would not elaborate further | [
"What was Parante's profession",
"What was the FBI looking for",
"Who did Parente kill?",
"who is looking for financial impropriety?",
"Who are the clients?",
"What did William Parente do?"
] | [
[
"lawyer"
],
[
"Parente's business interests"
],
[
"his family"
],
[
"Margolin"
],
[
"Montague"
],
[
"killed his family before committing suicide."
]
] | FBI looking for financial impropriety after man's clients talked about money loss .
Police say William Parente killed wife, two daughters in hotel room .
Family ID'd as William and Betty Parente, Stephanie, 19, Catherine, 11 .
Police say Parente, an attorney, fatally cut himself . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York State Assembly passed a same-sex marriage bill Tuesday evening, bringing New York one step closer to legalizing such marriages. Gov. David Paterson has said he'd sign a same-sex if it's passed by the New York Senate. The bill, which passed 89-52, will now go on to the state Senate for a vote. If it is passed there, it will go to Gov. David Paterson, who has made it clear he will sign the bill. "I applaud ... members of both parties for moving this historic legislation forward," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement released by the mayor's office. "I hope New York will soon become the latest state to adopt a law whose time has come." State Sen. Thomas K. Duane, a Democrat, said in a statement, "I am confident that this year my Senate will uphold this fundamental legal principle and vote for my right, our right, to be married this year." This is the second time New York's Marriage Equality Legislation has been approved by the State Assembly -- it passed in 2007, but subsequently stalled in the then Republican-controlled Senate. | [
"Which bill will go to the state Senate?",
"Who is the mayor of New York City ?",
"did many oppose it?",
"Which State Assembly passes bill?",
"will the bill go to the senate"
] | [
[
"a same-sex marriage"
],
[
"Michael Bloomberg"
],
[
"89-52,"
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"on"
]
] | New York State Assembly passes bill by vote of 89 to 52 .
Same-sex marriage bill will go to the state Senate .
Gov. David Paterson has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill .
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg applauds legislators for vote . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The U.S. government paid more than $1.7 million in defense contracts over the last decade to companies owned by leaders of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, with tens of thousands allegedly winding its way back to Jeffs and his church. The Pentagon had contracts with three companies with ties to Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect. In fact, some of the deals were made after Jeffs was named to the FBI's "Most-Wanted List" and remained in place while he was on the run. CNN has learned that between 1998 and 2007, the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency purchased more than $1.7 million worth of airplane parts from three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy. Those companies are Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing. Today, the companies all operate under the name NewEra Manufacturing, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that says it supplies precision components "for the aerospace, military, medical, recreational and other commercial entities." "It was my understanding that Western Precision was paying roughly $50,000 a week into the coffers of the church," former sect member Richard Holm said. "It would have been close to $200,000 a month." Holm said he helped build Western Precision. A court affidavit signed by a man whose father was the president of Western Precision makes similar allegations. "During 2003, the amount being sent to the storehouse and the FLDS was around $100,000 per month," John Nielsen said in the October 26, 2005, affidavit. "I have personal knowledge that checks sent to the FLDS Church/Warren Jeffs by [Western Precision] are payable to the FLDS Church and/or Warren Jeffs." Private investigator Sam Brower, who monitors the sect, said money earned through business dealings with the U.S. government was used to build Jeffs' compounds across the country, including the one recently raided in Eldorado, Texas. More than 400 children, including teenage girls, were removed from that ranch amid claims of child abuse and forced marriage and motherhood. Watch a mom plead: 'We need our children' » Brower says dozens of companies tied to FLDS are working on contracts with federal or local governments. The Pentagon would confirm only it had contracts with three. A man who answered the phone at NewEra Manufacturing said it had no comment. The companies have not been charged with wrongdoing. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell emphasized that point. "The Department of Defense awards contracts on the basis of who can most effectively meet our requirements for supplies or services at the most reasonable cost to the taxpayer," he said. "We do not consider religious affiliation or marital status when selecting vendors, but illegal activity is certainly cause for termination of a contract and perhaps even debarment, which could prevent a contractor from doing business with department ever again." He added, "However, DoD is not aware of any criminal allegations against anyone managing the companies in question." Bob Maginnis, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who now works with a contractor for the Pentagon, said the department does background checks before signing contracts. "The DoD is obviously abiding by the law, and if we want them to look deeper and discriminate on religious or other activities we need to tell them." But he added, "If there was a direct line between Jeffs and this company, and his name was associated with a contract, then that should have come to attention of those that were bidding contract." It's unclear whether Jeffs' name was on any contract, but other senior members of his church were managing the companies. What might taxpayers think of it all? "They're just going to shake their head and say here's another example of our tax money going down the drain to support this polygamist in Texas who abuses children and women," Maginnis said. "They'll be appalled and rightly so." Jeffs is serving time in Utah after his 2007 | [
"Who bought airplane parts from companies tied to Warren Jeffs?",
"Jeffs was placed on what list?",
"What list was Jeffs on?",
"what did the pentagon do",
"The Pentagon bought airplane parts from whom?",
"where Pentagon bought airplane?",
"what about the colonel",
"What armed force was the retired colonel?",
"Nothing illegal happened according to whom?"
] | [
[
"the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency"
],
[
"the FBI's \"Most-Wanted List\""
],
[
"FBI's \"Most-Wanted List\""
],
[
"had contracts with three companies with ties to Warren Jeffs' polygamous"
],
[
"three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,"
],
[
"Utah Tool and Die, Western Precision and NewEra Manufacturing."
],
[
"who now works with a contractor for the Pentagon, said the department does background checks before signing contracts."
],
[
"Army"
],
[
"Geoff Morrell"
]
] | Pentagon bought airplane parts from companies tied to Warren Jeffs .
Contracts continued even after Jeffs was on FBI "Most-Wanted List"
Pentagon defends contracts, stands by them as appropriate .
Retired Army colonel says nothing illegal happened, but people will be "appalled" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The YouTube and Carnegie Hall generations collided Wednesday night in New York City as a nearly sold-out audience looked on in amazement.
Images from musicians' videos are projected during the YouTube Symphony Orchestra concert in New York.
Almost 100 musicians from around the world -- the world's first symphony orchestra comprised of members who auditioned solely online -- played their debut gig. They may have forever changed the audition process in their journey.
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra bore a new era of classical performance at Carnegie Hall, and according to a YouTube employee, that's exactly what they wanted to do.
"We hope this is game changing in the sense it redefines audition space, it brings people closer together and lets them collaborate, transcending geographical and linguistic boundaries," said marketing manager Ed Sanders.
Participants were chosen from more than 3,000 YouTube video submissions from more than 70 countries and territories spanning six continents, according to a press release. Watch orchestra play »
Their YouTube channel has received more than 15 million page views thus far with members hailing from more than 30 countries. The symphony orchestra's members participated in the three-day Classical Music Summit at Julliard and their Carnegie Hall debut served as the finale.
Michael Tilson Thomas directed the performance and also served as the artistic adviser and conductor to the orchestra. He refined and nurtured each member through their musical selections online until the entire orchestra met in the real world a few days ago.
"For us it's somewhere between a classical music summit conference and a scout jamboree with an element of speed dating thrown in," Thomas said.
While some participants traveled from as far as South Korea, Malaysia and Lithuania, bass player Kurt Hinterbichler lives in New York City. A theoretical physicist working on his doctorate at Columbia University, Hinterbichler was enamored at being chosen to participate.
"Carnegie Hall is still sort of the unofficial pinnacle of achievement of the classical music world," he said. "You know once you've made it to Carnegie Hall you've really made it."
So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? "Upload, upload, upload [YouTube videos]," joked Thomas, updating the old "practice, practice, practice" punchline.
Violin player Jennifer Lindsay, who is a systems engineer by day, said she was floored when she learned she was selected. "YouTube gave me this opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall. There's no other way that someone like me who is not even a professional musician would have ever made it."
World-renowned composer Tan Dun created a piece especially for the orchestra titled "Internet Symphony No. 1, Eroica." Dun told YouTube his inspiration for this piece came from the streets of many international cities.
"On the streets of New York, London, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, I heard the street noise...then I thought this is the spirit beyond, this is the spirit of today."
Dun has also created music for the movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" and the Beijing Summer Olympics.
The symphony orchestra played to a Carnegie Hall audience that was almost 90 percent of capacity.
Audience members seemed to love not only the performance, but the idea as a whole. Peter Newton and his wife were on vacation in New York from London and decided to attend the concert.
"The mixture between the music and democracy... it's interesting that at the end of the day, you bring them together for this performance," he said.
Aaron Polsky attended the performance in support of his sister, who helped organize it. He was amazed at how limitless the performance seemed. "I think it's great... there are really no boundaries other than owning a computer and an Internet connection."
Musicians Lindsay and Hinterbichler both said they had no doubts the event would be a success.
"Absolutely do not underestimate the motivational power of playing at Carnegie Hall," Lindsay said. Hinterbichler agreed, "We've got world class conductors, it will come together." | [
"which orchestra played?",
"What music was played?",
"Who had the concert?",
"what did YouTube Symphony Orchestra play",
"Who assembled the musicians from around the world?",
"what was assembled from musicians around the world",
"What is the name of hall where the event occurred?",
"Where did generations collide on Wednesday?",
"what is the answer to how do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
] | [
[
"YouTube Symphony"
],
[
"Classical"
],
[
"YouTube Symphony Orchestra"
],
[
"Carnegie Hall,"
],
[
"YouTube"
],
[
"first symphony orchestra comprised of members who auditioned solely online"
],
[
"Carnegie"
],
[
"New York City"
],
[
"\"Upload, upload, upload [YouTube videos],\""
]
] | The YouTube and Carnegie Hall generations collided Wednesday in New York City .
YouTube Symphony Orchestra played a live concert to an amazed audience .
Orchestra assembled from musicians around the world who "auditioned" online .
So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? "Upload, upload, upload videos" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The husband of a woman who authorities say was impaired by marijuana and alcohol when she caused a head-on collision that killed eight people, including herself, has rejected claims of substance abuse by his wife. Daniel Schuler, left, and his attorney, Dominic Barbara, speak at Thursday's news conference. "I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her," Daniel Schuler, referring to his wife, Diane, said Thursday. "I'm not angry at her. I'd marry her again tomorrow." Accompanied by his attorney, Schuler held a news conference to counter claims by authorities, who said Tuesday that Diane Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent -- more than twice the legal limit for drivers -- and had marijuana in her system when she drove a minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and ran head-on into an SUV. Three adults in the SUV were killed in the July 26 collision, as were Schuler and four children -- her daughter and three nieces -- who were in the minivan. A fifth child in the minivan, Schuler's son, survived. On Thursday, Dominic Barbara, Daniel Schuler's lawyer, cited a list of medical aliments inflicting Diane Schuler before the crash. She apparently had a tooth abscess for two months, diabetes at "various levels" and a mysterious lump on her leg that seemed to move, he said. Watch Daniel Schuler defend his wife » "I think she had a stroke," said Barbara, who admitted he had no evidence to support his claim. "And I think from the stroke came all the other issues of what happened." The crash happened about 30 miles north of New York after Schuler and the children left a campground where her family had stayed. Barbara said nobody at the camp saw Diane Schuler with alcohol. He said investigators interviewed nine people who spoke with Diane Schuler before she embarked, and those people did not smell marijuana or alcohol on her breath. "Actually, it was the opposite," Barbara said. "She was happy. She was talking to people." Authorities said Tuesday that a broken vodka bottle was found in the minivan after the crash. Barbara said he couldn't explain the bottle, but he said, "Something had to have happened." Daniel Schuler and his lawyer said they have yet to decide on whether they want another autopsy. Jay Schuler, Daniel Schuler's sister, said Thursday that Diane Schuler was reliable and loved children. "There's no way she'd do this," Jay Schuler said. "She was responsible." The statements by Schuler and his attorney differed from the toxicology report released Tuesday by the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Besides the 0.19 percent blood alcohol level and marijuana, tests showed Diane Schuler had 6 grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to be metabolized, according to Maj. William Carey of the New York State Police. Meanwhile, an attorney representing families of two SUV occupants who died in the wreck said a lawsuit is likely. "If I could prognosticate, it appears that there will be a civil suit," said Marshall Nemark, an attorney representing the families of Michael Bastardi and his son, Guy Bastardi, who were killed in the crash along with a friend. | [
"Where did the crash occur?",
"What did Authorities say her condition was when she caused the fatal crash?",
"How many people killed Wreck?",
"What did Diane Schuler's husband say?",
"What was the cause of the crash?",
"What Diane Schuler's husband says?",
"How many people were killed in the wreck?",
"How many people did the wreck kill?"
] | [
[
"about 30 miles north of New York"
],
[
"impaired by marijuana and alcohol"
],
[
"eight"
],
[
"\"I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her,\""
],
[
"marijuana and alcohol"
],
[
"\"I've never seen her drunk since the day I met her,\""
],
[
"eight"
],
[
"eight"
]
] | Diane Schuler's husband says she didn't abuse alcohol, drugs .
Authorities: Schuler was intoxicated when she caused fatal crash in New York .
Wreck killed eight people, including Schuler, her daughter and three nieces .
Attorney: No one saw Schuler with alcohol before she began drive . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The largest mass transit project in the country got under way Monday with the help of federal stimulus dollars, as public officials broke ground on a second passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. Work on the country's largest mass transit project began Monday. The new tunnel will link New Jersey with New York and eventually will double capacity on the nation's busiest rail corridor, running from Washington to Boston, Massachusetts, officials said. Officials participated in the groundbreaking for the $8.7 billion project as commuter trains passed behind them in North Bergen, New Jersey, before entering the existing train tunnel, which went into operation in 1908. "As we start digging this tunnel, I think that what really it means, we are digging our way out of an economic crisis," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey. "As we're getting under way, we're seeing the dividends of the Recovery Act being paid right now." The Department of Transportation announced Monday that it will commit $3 billion to the project over its lifespan. Of that, $130 million is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the department said.. It is the largest commitment to any transportation project anywhere in the United States in the history of the Department of Transportation, according to administrator Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transportation Administration. "This is what President Obama means by recovery. It means putting people back to work now to improve the lives of so many others for years to come," Rogoff said. The project -- known as ARC, for Access to the Region's Core -- is expected to create 6,000 design and construction jobs. "This is going to promote mobility, reduce commuter congestion, staunch carbon emissions, enhance regional competitiveness and lay a foundation for an extraordinary expansion of mass transit in the most densely populate state in the nation, New Jersey," New Jersey Gov. John Corzine said. New Jersey Transit says 170,000 passengers now travel through the existing train tunnel beneath the Hudson River to New York each day. When completed, the second tunnel will enable that figure to increase to 255,000 passenger trips. The additional passengers will disembark at a new concourse to be built at Penn Station in New York, 150 feet below street level. | [
"What will link New Jersey and New York?",
"what will the tunnel link",
"What is Part of project financed by?",
"Where will tunnel link?",
"who is financing",
"What is Access to the Region's Core, expected to create?",
"How many jobs will be created?",
"Who financed the project?"
] | [
[
"passenger rail tunnel"
],
[
"New Jersey with New York"
],
[
"The Department of Transportation"
],
[
"New Jersey with New York"
],
[
"The Department of Transportation"
],
[
"6,000 design and construction jobs."
],
[
"6,000"
],
[
"Department of Transportation,"
]
] | Tunnel will link New Jersey with New York, doubles commuter rail capacity .
Part of project financed by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act .
ARC, Access to the Region's Core, expected to create 6,000 jobs . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The wife of accused swindler Bernard Madoff pulled $15.5 million out of a Madoff-related brokerage firm in Massachusetts in the weeks before his arrest, authorities there disclosed Wednesday.
Bernard Madoff is under 24-hour house arrest in his Upper East Side luxury apartment.
The withdrawals by Ruth Madoff took place in November and December, according to a complaint filed by state regulators against Cohmad Securities, a firm they said was "intertwined" with Madoff's New York-based company.
The regulators say Cohmad has refused to provide information about its ties to Madoff, who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme that may have cost investors up to $50 billion.
Daily wire transaction reports show Cohmad was aware of transfers to and from Madoff-related accounts, the filing states.
"For example, the few reports produced by Cohmad show that Ruth Madoff withdrew $5.5 million on November 25, 2008 and withdrew $10 million on December 10, 2008," investigators said.
Bernard Madoff, 70, was arrested December 11 and is currently under house arrest in his Manhattan luxury apartment. He faces one charge of securities fraud in connection with an international scheme that has cost some investors their life savings and could face up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted.
In January, prosecutors tried to revoke his $10 million bail after he mailed more than $1 million worth of diamond-studded jewelry to friends and family, a move they said showed he was trying to move assets out of government hands. But a judge ruled Madoff was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk.
Prosecutors and Madoff's lawyers have agreed for a second time to push back the deadline for an indictment or probable cause hearing for the former investor, sources close to the case said Wednesday. The previous deadline of Wednesday -- which was itself a delay -- has now been moved back another 30 days.
Madoff and the Securities and Exchange Commission already have agreed to a partial civil judgment against the disgraced investment manager, one that could eventually force him to pay fines and return investors' money.
Under the terms of the deal, Madoff will keep a previously reached agreement to freeze his assets and not to violate any other securities laws, but it does not require him to admit or deny any allegations.
CNN's Allan Chernoff and Amy Sahba contributed to this report. | [
"What is Madoff charged with?",
"What is the possible punishment Madoff faces?",
"what money was taken",
"Where was the money taken from?",
"What does Madoff face?"
] | [
[
"He faces one charge of securities fraud in connection"
],
[
"up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted."
],
[
"$15.5 million"
],
[
"brokerage firm"
],
[
"up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine if convicted."
]
] | NEW: Ruth Madoff made withdrawals in November and December .
Money taken from Massachusetts company "intertwined" with New York company .
Madoff faces one charge of securities fraud and could face up to 20 years in prison . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three Staten Island men are charged with violating voting rights, accused of assaulting African-Americans after Barack Obama's win in the November presidential election, authorities said Wednesday. A grand jury indicted Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21, on charges of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights. All three pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon. According to the indictment, the three "knowingly and intentionally" conspired to intimidate African-Americans "in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right ... and because of having so exercised that right, to wit, the right to vote." Nicoletti and Carranza are white, and Contreras is Latino. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. At the arraignment, Nicoletti and Contreras were ordered held without bail, while Carranza was released on a $200,000 bond but ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device. Contreras' attorney, public defender Len Kamdang, could not be reached for comment. Nicoletti's attorney, Bob LaRusso, had no comment. Prosecutors said in court filings that on the night of November 4, the defendants were at a "makeshift outdoor clubhouse" in the Rosebank section of Staten Island when they learned of Obama's victory. At that point, prosecutors said, Nicoletti drove Contreras, Carranza and another friend to the predominantly African-American Park Hill neighborhood in Staten Island. Their purpose, prosecutors said, was to assault African-Americans because of Obama's win. Their first victim, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, was 17-year-old Ali Kamara, whom they beat with a metal pipe and a collapsible police baton. Kamara escaped after suffering a concussion and injuries to his legs. "The first swing that swung -- it hit my head. It cut my head," Kamara told CNN affiliate WABC. "I got staples on my head now." Kamara said he hid in a neighbor's backyard until the boys moved on. Continuing to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island, the group assaulted a second African-American man, pushing him down, the federal prosecutors alleged. They then allegedly accosted a Latino man, demanding to know how he voted, and shouted profanities about Obama at a group of African-Americans at a hair salon. Next, prosecutors said, the group targeted Ronald Forte, a man they mistakenly believed to be African-American who was walking along Blackford Avenue in predominantly African-American Port Richmond. Forte is white, but because he was wearing a hoodie, the men were unable to identify his race and assumed that he was African-American. According to the indictment, the men decided to assault Forte with the police baton as they drove by, but at the last moment, Nicoletti swerved the vehicle directly into the 38-year-old man instead. Forte was thrown onto the hood of the car, shattering the front windshield. According to Staten Island Real Time News (silive.com), Forte was in a coma for 45 days, returning to his family's home in New Jersey in mid-December, said his mother, Eileen. She added that her son now has serious brain damage and motor control problems. "He's not good. He's never going to be good," she said. "Every day, I just see something different, and it's so scary." U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell decried the attacks. "Violence and intimidation aimed at interfering with the constitutional rights of every citizen, including the right to vote, will not be tolerated," he said in a written statement. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Nicoletti has an extensive history of violent criminal activity including burglary, car break-ins, firebombing, assault, and marijuana and cocaine distribution. He is also a member of the "Rosebank Crew" (RBK) founded by his now-incarcerated younger brother, Anthony Nicoletti. Investigators found a cache of weapons and police batons stolen from vehicles owned by police, as well as letters from Nicoletti's brother | [
"What three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans?",
"who is held without bail",
"How many men were involved in the conspiracy to intimidate?",
"What two were held without bail while the other was out with a monitoring device?",
"who conspired to indimidate",
"Who was being intimidated?",
"who did the intimidate"
] | [
[
"Ralph Nicoletti, 18, Michael Contreras, 18, and Brian Carranza, 21,"
],
[
"Nicoletti and Contreras"
],
[
"Three"
],
[
"Nicoletti and Contreras"
],
[
"Three Staten Island men"
],
[
"intimidate African-Americans"
],
[
"African-Americans"
]
] | Indictment says three men conspired to intimidate African-Americans .
They've pleaded not guilty of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights .
Two held without bail; other out on bail with monitoring device .
Prosecutors: Men went to African-American neighborhoods, assaulted 3 people . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College received hate mail this week, the New York Police Department said. It's the campus that was shaken by several bias crimes directed at black and Jewish professors in 2007.
Columbia University's Teachers College is once again the target of a hate campaign.
Three professors received manila envelopes Tuesday with images of swastikas in them.
The fourth, a former professor who is an African-American, was sent a manila envelope containing an image of a noose, according to NYPD deputy commissioner Paul Browne.
Among those receiving a swastika image was Elizabeth Midlarsky, a Jewish psychologist who has studied psychological principles in the context of the Holocaust, police said.
In 2007, her office door was spray-painted with a swastika. (A swastika is the right-angles cross symbol used on Nazi Germany flags).
The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading the investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made.
"The TC community deplores these hateful acts, which violate every Teachers College and societal norm," said an e-mail Wednesday to faculty and students from the college's president, Susan Fuhrman; and dean, Tom James.
No arrests were been made in the 2007 incidents. Police declined to say if they believe there is a connection between those cases and the mailings this week. | [
"what are the professors names?",
"What agency is in charge of the investigation?",
"what is the Jewish psychologist name?",
"Who received hate mail this week?",
"What happened to three professors?",
"who is the head of NYPD?",
"What happened to the psychologist's office door in 2007?"
] | [
[
"Elizabeth Midlarsky,"
],
[
"The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit"
],
[
"Elizabeth Midlarsky,"
],
[
"Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College"
],
[
"received hate mail"
],
[
"Paul Browne."
],
[
"spray-painted with a swastika."
]
] | Three professors, one former one at Columbia University receive hate mail this week .
Jewish psychologist at Teachers College among those receiving swastika .
In 2007, same psychologist's office door was spray-painted with a swastika .
NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading investigation; no arrests made . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College received hate mail this week, the New York Police Department said. It's the campus that was shaken by several bias crimes directed at black and Jewish professors in 2007. Columbia University's Teachers College is once again the target of a hate campaign. Three professors received manila envelopes Tuesday with images of swastikas in them. The fourth, a former professor who is an African-American, was sent a manila envelope containing an image of a noose, according to NYPD deputy commissioner Paul Browne. Among those receiving a swastika image was Elizabeth Midlarsky, a Jewish psychologist who has studied psychological principles in the context of the Holocaust, police said. In 2007, her office door was spray-painted with a swastika. (A swastika is the right-angles cross symbol used on Nazi Germany flags). The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading the investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made. "The TC community deplores these hateful acts, which violate every Teachers College and societal norm," said an e-mail Wednesday to faculty and students from the college's president, Susan Fuhrman; and dean, Tom James. No arrests were been made in the 2007 incidents. Police declined to say if they believe there is a connection between those cases and the mailings this week. | [
"Who received hate mail?",
"Whose door was spray painted",
"Who is leading the investigation into these hate crimes?",
"what crime unit is leading the investigation",
"Who received a swastika?"
] | [
[
"Three professors and a former professor at Columbia University's Teachers College"
],
[
"Elizabeth Midlarsky,"
],
[
"The NYPD"
],
[
"NYPD Hate"
],
[
"Three professors"
]
] | Three professors, one former one at Columbia University receive hate mail this week .
Jewish psychologist at Teachers College among those receiving swastika .
In 2007, same psychologist's office door was spray-painted with a swastika .
NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is leading investigation; no arrests made . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Toward the end of her marriage, Rabia Iqbal said she feared for her life. Robina Niaz said the Quran "condemns" abuse of women. "If we witness injustice, we're required to speak up." Iqbal was born in New York to parents who had immigrated to the United States from the tribal areas of Pakistan. She had a strict Muslim upbringing and when she was 16, her parents arranged her marriage to a 38-year-old man. She claims her husband turned violent during their 10 years of marriage. When she finally left him, she did not know where to turn. Going home wasn't an option, she said. "My parents ... made clear that they would disown me," Iqbal said. "My father even said ... 'You're lucky you live in America because if you lived back home, you would have been dead by now.' " She was hiding out in her office at work when a friend put her in touch with Robina Niaz, whose organization, Turning Point for Women and Families, helps female Muslim abuse victims. "It was such a relief ... to speak about things that ... I thought no one would understand," said Iqbal, who has received counseling from Niaz for more than two years and calls Niaz her "savior." "Robina understood the cultural nuances ... the religious issues," Iqbal said. Watch Iqbal tell her story » A devout Muslim, Niaz stresses that there is no evidence that domestic violence is more common among Muslim families. "Abuse happens everywhere," said Niaz. "It cuts across barriers of race, religion, culture." But, she said, Muslims are often reluctant to confront the issue. "There's a lot of denial," she said. "It makes it much harder for the victims of abuse to speak out." When Niaz launched her organization in 2004, it was the first resource of its kind in New York City. Today, her one-woman campaign has expanded into a multifaceted endeavor that is raising awareness about family violence and providing direct services to women in need. Niaz said she firmly believes that domestic violence goes against Islamic teachings, and considers it her religious duty to try to stop abuse from happening. "Quran condemns abusive behavior of women," she said, noting that the prophet Mohammed was never known to have abused women. "Allah says, 'Stand up against injustice and bear witness, even if it's against your own kin. So if I see injustice being done to women and children, I have to speak up. It's my duty." Niaz's mission began after a difficult period in her own life. Born and raised in Pakistan, she had earned a master's degree in psychology and had a successful career in international affairs and marketing when she moved to the United States to marry in 1990. "It was a disastrous marriage," she said. As Niaz struggled to navigate the American legal system during her divorce, she said she appreciated how lucky she was to speak English and have an education. She realized that many immigrant women without those advantages might be more likely to stay in marriages because they didn't know how to make the system work for them. "If this is how difficult it is for me, then what must other immigrant women go through?" she remembered thinking. After volunteering with South Asian victims of domestic violence, Niaz, who speaks five languages, got a job using those skills to advocate for immigrant women affected by family violence. But Niaz's focus changed on September 11, 2001. "I was no longer a Pakistani-American ... I looked at myself as a Muslim." Niaz said the backlash many Muslims experienced after the terror attacks made abuse victims more afraid to seek help; they feared being shunned for bringing negative attention to their community. Watch Niaz explain the effects of 9/11 on abused Muslim women » "Women who were caught in abusive marriages were trapped even | [
"who helps domestic violance victims",
"Whose organization helps female Muslim domestic violence victims?",
"What goes against Islamic teachings?"
] | [
[
"Turning Point for Women and Families,"
],
[
"Robina Niaz,"
],
[
"domestic violence"
]
] | Robina Niaz's organization helps female Muslim domestic violence victims .
Turning Point for Women and Families was first resource of its kind in New York City .
Niaz: Domestic violence goes against Islamic teachings, but "denial" is a problem .
The Top 10 CNN Heroes will be announced on October 1 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two undocumented workers from Mexico and one from Ecuador have reached court settlements in recent weeks for a total of $3.85 million in damages for New York construction-site accidents, an attorney for the men announced Wednesday. "All three cases involve construction and terribly unsafe working conditions," the attorney, Brian O'Dwyer, said in a news conference. "We're here today to re-emphasize -- as we have in the past -- to the Latino community and all undocumented workers that they have the same rights once they're on the job as any New York citizen." A 33-year-old undocumented plumber from Mexico who was scalded by an exploding pipe at a Wall Street construction site in 2004 settled his damage claim for $2.5 million, according to a statement given to reporters at the news conference. The married father of two, who says he still has nightmares from the accident, hopes to open a restaurant or bar with the settlement money, his cousin told reporters. In a separate statement, owners of the Wall Street site said only that the injured plumber was "employed directly by [the] contractor and not by the owner of the property nor the managing agent." Reached through a public relations firm, a spokesperson for the contractor, Swig Equities, had no comment. Another undocumented Mexican worker suffered severe injuries to his left foot and other parts of his body when a steel beam fell on his lower body at a building site in downtown Manhattan, the news conference statement said. The 52-year-old settled his damage claim against Beway Realty Corp. and F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Inc. for $750,000, according to the statement. David Koeppel, a managing member of Beway Realty, said he was not familiar with the case. F.J. Sciame Construction, the site's contractor, did not respond to inquiries. A 36-year-old Ecuadorian laborer who worked at the Arverne by the Sea community in Queens -- a neighborhood The New York Times has called a "bright spot" in the housing market for its strong sales and low foreclosure rates -- settled a damage claim for $600,000, the news conference statement said. He was injured when three large 44x10-foot trusses, each weighing 200 pounds, collapsed onto him in August 2007, fracturing his hip and causing other injuries, according to the statement. The father of three, who had worked in construction for more than a decade and owned his own company at the time of the accident, said he was very sad after the accident because he did not know how he would support his family. His two sons, now 7 and 8, and his 16-year-old daughter were all born in the United States. "The contractor tried to blame me," he said at the news conference, speaking in Spanish. What message would he give other workers? "Don't be afraid to talk to a lawyer." Although he had not yet recovered enough to resume construction work, he hopes to use the settlement money to build a home for his family in New Jersey. Messages left for The Beechwood Organization, developers of Arverne by the Sea, were not returned. Joel Magallan, executive director of Asociacion Tepeyac, an immigrant advocacy group, said that while construction work is often dangerous, undocumented workers are likely to work at sites that lack safety equipment and OSHA regulation compliance. "This is a great day for the undocumented immigrants," Magallan said. "They have to know today that they have rights -- the same rights as other workers who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents." "Many workers are threatened by their employers with deportation or discharge if they bring their cases to court," O'Dwyer said. "What we find normally on work sites in New York is that deaths occur to the undocumented far out of proportion to their work in the workplace, and that is because of the fact that they just do not receive the safety protections," he said. In 2005, O'Dwyer won a historic $4 million settlement for a 33-year-old Mexican worker who had fallen 30 feet in a | [
"How many workers from Mexico reached settlements?",
"In what city did the workers receive there injuries?",
"Where are the undocumented workers from?",
"According to the attorney, what is it undocumented workers have?",
"what Advocate says undocumented construction workers?"
] | [
[
"Two"
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"Ecuador"
],
[
"the same rights"
],
[
"Brian O'Dwyer,"
]
] | Two undocumented workers from Mexico, one from Ecuador reach settlements .
The three had been injured in different construction accidents around New York .
Attorney says undocumented workers have same rights once they're on the job .
Advocate says undocumented construction workers often have less-safe sites . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- When filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested Saturday in Switzerland, he was on his way to accept an award for Lifetime Achievement at the Zurich Film Festival.
Peers of Roman Polanski have praised him for his talent and lamented his arrest.
Polanski's friend, Swiss filmmaker Otto Weisser, was among the first to publicly run to his defense.
"This is for me a shock. I am ashamed to be Swiss, that the Swiss is doing such a thing to brilliant fantastic genius, that millions and millions of people love his work," Weisser said upon learning the director had been detained by Swiss authorities. "He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland."
By Tuesday, more than 130 heavyweights in the movie industry had taken up Polanski's cause.
An online petition has been signed by directors such as Marin Scorsese, Woody Allen and Pedro Almodovar, as well as actors.
Studio chief Harvey Weinstein told CNN in a statement: "We are calling every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation." Watch a report on celebrities' feelings about Polanski's arrest »
Roman Polanski first stormed Hollywood with his psychological thriller, "Rosemary's Baby," in 1968. He remains one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood and the world, despite not having set foot in the United States in more than three decades.
"We stand by and await his release and his next masterwork," said Zurich Film Festival Jury President Debra Winger on Monday on behalf of Polanski.
Adrien Brody, who Polanski directed in 2002's "The Pianist," had glowing words when it came to his experience working with Polanski.
"If you have the guidance from someone you admire, like Roman Polanski, who not only is a gifted director and actor, but who knows the subject matter and in my opinion the character that I portray, implicitly, then, it's a huge gift," Brody said.
"I learned a great deal about film and the process," the Academy Award winning actor added. "I spent six weeks without another actor on the set, just Roman and I and a crew -- and that's, that's a dream come true for an actor. I cherished those memories."
"He is sweet and very strong and is very, very demanding, in the tradition of an auteur," said Sigourney Weaver about being directed by Polanski in 1994's "Death and the Maiden."
It's a reputation Polanski's earned and maintained, despite his 1977 guilty plea on a statutory rape charge of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. Watch the mixed reaction in Switzerland to Polanski's arrest »
The celebrated director fled the United States and settled in France to escape jail, but by the standards of those in Hollywood, the case is ancient history.
"We hope today that this latest order will be dropped," Winger said. "It is based on a three decade old case that is all but dead, except for a minor technicality."
Matthew Belloni, who has has been following the Polanski case for The Hollywood Reporter's legal blog, said the outpouring of support from the film industry is not surprising.
"It is a criminal conviction of a terrible crime, but it is something that the industry is willing to look the other way on," Belloni said. "If Hollywood really gets to look at itself and judge the personal character of a lot of the artists in the community, there would be a lot of empty seats at the Oscars because a lot of people have personal problems. This sort of is at the extreme level of that."
As Polanski's star rose after his Oscar-winning hit, "Rosemary's Baby," the world got to know the director's back story.
He was the son of Polish Jews whose mother died in a concentration camp even as a young Polanski escaped the Nazis.
Polanski grew up to become a famous director and married | [
"whaty did the presdient say",
"who continues to hail him as a hero",
"What did the film festival president say?",
"where had polanski remained an insider",
"Who supported Roman Polanski after his arrest?"
] | [
[
"\"We stand by and await his release and his next masterwork,\""
],
[
"Peers of Roman Polanski have praised"
],
[
"\"We stand by and await his release and his next masterwork,\""
],
[
"Switzerland,"
],
[
"Swiss filmmaker Otto Weisser,"
]
] | Some industry heavy hitters support Roman Polanski after his arrest .
Many in the international film community continue to hail him as a hero .
Polanski has remained a Hollywood insider while living as a fugitive .
Film festival president: "We hope today that this latest order will be dropped" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- "Guiding Light" will go dark in September after 72 years and 16,000 episodes, CBS announced Wednesday. Gina Tognoni is one of many performers who have appeared on "Guiding Light" over the years. The daytime soap opera's declining viewership led to the decision, according to a CBS spokeswoman. The show, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as the longest-running television drama, first aired on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute serial, the spokeswoman said. It moved to television on the CBS network in 1952. The last episode is set to air on September 18, she said. The show is produced in New York. | [
"where was the show moved to",
"Where the TV show moved?",
"when did the serial debute",
"when is the last episode",
"In which radio station?",
"When did \"Guiding Light\" first appear on TV?",
"When will the last episode air?",
"When did \"Guiding Light debut?"
] | [
[
"television on the CBS network in 1952."
],
[
"to television on the CBS network in 1952."
],
[
"first aired on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute"
],
[
"September 18,"
],
[
"NBC"
],
[
"1937"
],
[
"September 18,"
],
[
"1937"
]
] | "Guiding Light" originally was radio serial on NBC, debuted in 1937 .
Show moved to CBS, which put it on TV in 1952 .
Last episode of show to air September 18 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- "Late Show With David Letterman" bandleader Paul Shaffer is a walking Wikipedia of rock 'n' roll history -- and now he's added his own story to the mix. Paul Shaffer has been David Letterman's bandleader for 27 years. Shaffer's new memoir, "We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Showbiz Saga" (Flying Dolphin Press) offers his take on a colorful career, from piano lessons in his native Canada to a "Saturday Night Live" stint to the gig he's had, and relished, for 27 years -- Letterman's sidekick. Oh yeah, and he co-wrote the hit disco song "It's Raining Men." Shaffer appeared this week at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble to sign books and give a performance. Among those who dropped by were the Beach Boys' Al Jardine -- who joined in for "Help Me, Rhonda" -- Martin Short and girl group belter Darlene Love. Shaffer also took questions from the audience. Though the topic of Letterman's recent troubles was off-limits, one audience member did ask Shaffer what the host was really like -- emphasis on "really." Shaffer responded that the boss he's respected and admired for nearly three decades is "very transparent on the air and you can see exactly what he's like." Shaffer talked to CNN about how he picks songs to introduce guests, his renowned Passover celebrations and his chance to be on "Seinfeld." The following is an edited version of the interview: CNN: When guests are introduced on the "Late Show," you usually add a musical accompaniment that's an obscure reference to their name. My favorite was when Dustin Hoffman was a guest, and you played "Dust in the Wind." Can you tell me how you come up with those, and what some of your favorites have been? Paul Shaffer: We think of them in rehearsal before the show. I have about 15 minutes, and I often throw it open to the floor. And by the floor, I mean the musicians, the band [the "Late Show's" CBS Orchestra members]. And I say "Who has an idea for this?" And I pick the one that I like the best. [Once we] had a new actor named Aziz Ansari, and one of the guys in the band says, "I'm Sorry" [referring to the Brenda Lee song]. So we did it, and it cracked Dave [Letterman] up so I know that I got my one laugh -- and the most important laugh. CNN: What's the story behind using Ray Charles' "Busted" for Tom Brokaw? Shaffer: He was particularly difficult to come up with something for because he's on all the time, and we didn't want to play a news theme or a song about the news. So Will Lee, my bass player, suggested "Busted" ... "I'm broke, aw -- I'm busted." And Brokaw asked about it once: "Why do you play Ray Charles' 'Busted' when I come on?" He asked on camera, and I said, "I'm broke -- aw -- I'm busted." CNN: What is your favorite song of all time? Shaffer: As far as favorite "overall package" record of all time, I'd have to say "My Girl" by The Temptations. I like everything about it, not only the composition -- but the arrangement, the production, the lead vocals, the background vocals, the horns, the strings. That one I listen to over and over again. And, of course, "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes. Maybe that's my favorite song, and "My Girl" is my favorite record. CNN: For some reason I thought it was "He's a Rebel" by the Crystals. Shaffer: Well that's way up there. I consider that my national anthem. When I hear "He's | [
"Does Shaffer have a new memoir?",
"What does Shaffer's new memoirs have?"
] | [
[
"\"We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Showbiz Saga\""
],
[
"his take on a colorful career,"
]
] | Paul Shaffer: The David Letterman viewers see on air is who he really is .
Shaffer's new memoir has stories of "Saturday Night Live," Letterman .
Shaffer was offered chance to play Jerry Seinfeld sidekick at one point .
Bandleader legendary for his "Celebrity Seders" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A $15.5 million payout made by oil giant Shell to settle a lawsuit brought against it by relations of executed Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and other activists will allow the families of the victims to move on with their lives, Saro-Wiwa's son has told CNN. Saro-Wiwa said the settlement would allow the families of the victims to draw a line under the past. The New York lawsuit -- brought to court by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Saro-Wiwa's family and others in 1996 -- accused Shell's Nigerian subsidiary of complicity in the writer's 1995 hanging and the killings or persecution of other environmental activists in the Niger Delta. Nigeria's Ogoni people have complained for years that Shell was allowed to pollute its land without consequences. Saro-Wiwa's death sparked a worldwide outcry, and his movement ultimately forced Shell out of the oil- and gas-rich Ogoniland region. "It enables us to draw a line under the past and actually face the future with something tangible, some hope that this is the beginning of a better engagement between all the stakeholders in this issue," Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr. told CNN. Shell said it "had no part in the violence that took place" but called the settlement "a humanitarian gesture to set up a trust fund to benefit the Ogoni people." Shell fought the lawsuit until last week, when a federal appellate court ruled that the plaintiffs could sue the company's Nigerian subsidiary in American courts, overturning a March decision in the company's favor. Saro-Wiwa said the case set a precedent for oil companies operating in regions such as West Africa by demonstrating that they could "be brought to trial in America for human rights violations in Africa." Watch Saro-Wiwa discuss how he hopes the case will set a precedent » "Justice is always hard won... It took 13 years to go through the legal process but clearly before we started this corporations throught they could almost operate with impunity but now the legal landscape has changed," he said. Roughly half of the settlement will go into a trust fund to help the people of Nigeria's Ogoni region, according to court papers. | [
"Residents have long complained that which company was polluting the land?",
"What have residents long complained?",
"Half of the settlement will go to help who?",
"Executed environmental activist's family sued what type of company?",
"Who's son says Shell payout will let families move on with lives?",
"What region's people will be helped?",
"What will let families move on with their lives?",
"What does Ken Saro-Wiwa's son say?"
] | [
[
"Shell"
],
[
"that Shell was allowed to pollute its land without consequences."
],
[
"the people of Nigeria's Ogoni region,"
],
[
"oil giant"
],
[
"executed Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa"
],
[
"Nigeria's Ogoni"
],
[
"$15.5 million payout"
],
[
"\"It enables us to draw a line under the past and actually face"
]
] | Ken Saro-Wiwa's son says Shell payout will let families move on with lives .
Executed environmental activist's family sued oil company .
About half of settlement will go to help people of Ogoni region .
Residents have long complained that Shell was polluting land . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy remained in a psychiatric facility Tuesday after Monroe, New York, police arrested him in connection with a plot to attack his former high school on the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, police said.
Police say the boy targeted Monroe-Woodbury High School, although he was no longer a student there.
He was charged as a juvenile and faces two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon, Monroe Police Chief Dominic Giudice said.
Police withheld the name of the teen, who was arrested Monday after police executed a search warrant at his residence.
There they found four bottles filled with gasoline, a torch, machete, black trench coat, three propane tanks, two computers, items that could be used as fuses and several other electronic devices, according to a Monroe Police Department press release issued Tuesday.
The supplies were found in the garage, Giudice said, but the teen's parents had been unaware of their son's intentions until he told police what he had planned to do.
Police also discovered the teen had actively been seeking a military assault-type weapon that could "hold as many rounds as possible."
The boy told police investigators he had been bullied by fellow students and had been told that he resembled Columbine shooter Eric Harris, the press release said.
A detective on the case told Giudice that the teen appeared to be composed during the interview, as if he were just having another conversation.
Police said the plot was planned for April 20 at Monroe-Woodbury High School, which is the anniversary of the Columbine shooting in Colorado, in which 12 students and a teacher were killed. The date also is Adolf Hitler's birthday.
"He said that he had a lot of hatred toward a lot of the kids who attend that school," the press release said.
The boy had attended the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District but recently began attending another school, police said.
In a statement released by the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District today, superintendent Joseph DiLorenzo indicated that students had come forward with information that may have averted the alleged plot.
"We are working closely with law enforcement to do everything possible to keep our children safe," he said. | [
"Which statement about the teen did police release?",
"Who did the teen resemble?",
"Which boy had bomb materials?",
"Where were items located?"
] | [
[
"the boy targeted Monroe-Woodbury High School, although he was no longer a student there."
],
[
"Columbine shooter Eric Harris,"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"at his residence."
]
] | Monroe, New York, police say boy, 15, had bomb materials .
Police: "He had a lot of hatred toward a lot of the kids" at his former school .
Police say boy had bottles of gasoline, a torch, black trench coat, other items .
Teen had been told he resembled Columbine shooter, police say . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A 15-year-old girl with a 500-texts-a-day texting habit thumbed her way to the $50,000 grand prize at the L.G. National Texting Championship in New York on Tuesday. Kate Moore, 15, of Des Moines, Iowa, out-texted more than 250,000 participants for the texting title in New York. Over 250,000 participants of all ages entered the competition, whose championship rounds were held in New York on Monday and Tuesday and won by Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa. Some challenges were straightforward tests of speed and accuracy, but others required a little extra texting savvy. In one round, texters had to send texts while blindfolded. Another round quizzed contestants' knowledge of texting acronyms. The only acronym to stump every texter was PAW -- parents are watching. The fourth-place finisher, 21-year-old Jordan Rowe, saw her dreams of texting glory vanish in the "pressure cooker" round, where actors dressed as emoticons attempted to distract contestants tasked with texting tongue-twisters. Rowe failed to accurately text "Which wicked witch wished which more wicked witch in the well?" while a human emoticon talked trash about her sister. Riffing off texters' sometimes dangerous tendency to text while performing other tasks, another round required contestants to complete an obstacle course while firing off difficult-to-type texts. "I felt like I was gonna die," the eventual champion said of the texting gauntlet, getting a big LOL from the audience. The finals on Tuesday afternoon pitted Dynda Morgan, 14, of Savannah, Georgia, against Moore. The two went head to head in a best-of-three showdown to see who could most quickly pound out lengthy texts predetermined by the judges -- with no errors. Morgan, whose stepsister also made it to the championships, took the first round. Faced with a do-or-die situation in the second round, Moore seemed to bet on accuracy over speed, finishing well behind her opponent but winning the round. In the tiebreaker, the two girls furiously raced to thumb the final text: "Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy...MY oh MY, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine Comin' my way....Zippitty Do Dah Zippity Aay! WondeRful Feeling Wonderful day!" The pregnant pause before the winner was announced stretched into a seeming eternity because Moore apparently forgot to hit send after finishing her text. But then Moore's phone began to vibrate, signaling that she was the grand champion. Kate's beaming mother, Claire, acknowledged that she has confiscated her daughter's phone on occasion, but said she appreciates that her daughter's texting habit means she's in constant touch. "I can get ahold of [her] at all times," she said. Nor does Moore's mother have to foot an appallingly large phone bill each month, because her daughter is on an unlimited texting plan. She did concede that the texting portion of one of Moore's recent phone bills stretched to 294 pages. Moore's victory was all the more awe-inspiring because she got a phone with text capability less than a year ago. Moments after her victory, Moore agreed to an exclusive text message interview with CNN. CNN: OMG U r ltrlly the wrld's bst txter. How does it feel? Moore: It feels the best! Im so prd of myself & it feels aswm that ive gottn so far! :) CNN: How mny txts do u snd a day? A month? Moore: Uhhh about lyk 400-500 in a day, an avrg of 12014 thousand a month? CNN: Wht r u going to do w the 50 k? Moore: Idk yet! Prlly spend a good amount of the $$$......but ya gotta save some 2 b smart of course! CNN: Do u ever get in trubl in skwl 4 txting 2 much? Moore: haah just once or 2ce, teachers hv seen it and taken it away...lol that sux when that | [
"Who said \"I felt like I was gonna die\"?",
"what Text messaging competition includes texting?",
"What kind of competition included blindfolding?",
"what Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, says?",
"What was the prize money amount?",
"Where is KAte Moore from?",
"how much Of the $50,000 prize, Moore texts she'll \"prlly spend?",
"What competition did Kate Moore win?"
] | [
[
"the eventual champion"
],
[
"Championship"
],
[
"L.G. National Texting Championship"
],
[
"\"I felt like I was gonna die,\""
],
[
"$50,000"
],
[
"Des Moines, Iowa,"
],
[
"a good amount"
],
[
"L.G. National Texting Championship"
]
] | Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, says "I felt like I was gonna die"
Of the $50,000 prize, Moore texts she'll "prlly spend a good amount of $$$"
Text messaging competition includes texting while blindfolded . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A 31-year-old Ecuadorean man who was beaten last Sunday in what New York City authorities say may have been a hate crime has died at a Queens hospital, his brother said Saturday.
Jose Sucuzhanay was beaten after leaving a party at a Catholic church.
Jose Sucuzhanay and his brother, Romel, had left a party on December 7 at St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church when several men approached them in a car in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, police said. The men allegedly began shouting anti-gay and anti-Latino vulgarities at the two men.
Jose Sucuzhanay suffered severe head trauma and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital. He died Friday night from his injuries.
Romel Sucuzhanay, 38, escaped with minor scrapes and has talked with detectives on the case.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she was "horrified to learn that anti-LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) and anti-Latino slurs were used by one or more of the assailants, raising this event to the level of a hate crime." Watch how attack has outraged the Latino community »
Quinn said she was in touch with the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force. According to police, however, the attack has not been categorized as a hate crime.
"This is a wake-up call and shows how far we still must come to address the devastating problem of hate crimes in our communities," said Diego Sucuzhanay, Jose's brother, in a written statement. "Only by exposing these crimes and working together will we be able to make a difference."
No arrests have been made in the case. Police are offering a $22,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the attack.
Sucuzhanay's mother arrived Saturday in New York from the family's home outside Quito, Ecuador, only to learn that he son had died, said family spokesman Francisco Moya.
He said the victim had lived in the United States for more than a decade and was a legal resident, working as a real estate broker.
A news conference is expected to be held Sunday afternoon. | [
"Where did the mother arrive from?",
"What do police believe the motive is?",
"Was the immigrant injured?",
"Where is the mother from?",
"What is the name of the person assaulted?",
"Name one of the victims?",
"From which county did the mother of the victim arrive",
"What did the group allegedly yell"
] | [
[
"Quito, Ecuador,"
],
[
"hate crime"
],
[
"has died"
],
[
"Quito, Ecuador,"
],
[
"Jose Sucuzhanay"
],
[
"Jose Sucuzhanay"
],
[
"Quito, Ecuador,"
],
[
"anti-gay and anti-Latino vulgarities"
]
] | Immigrant dies from injuries sustained in possible bias attack .
Jose Sucuzhanay, brother assaulted by group of men after leaving party .
Group allegedly yelled anti-gay, anti-Latino vulgarities at men .
Mother learned of son's death shortly after arriving from Ecuador . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor was found strangled Thursday in his Upper East Side apartment, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner said Friday. Felix Brinkmann dances at a 2008 party marking his 90th birthday. Felix Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, escaped death for a year while he was in the Nazis' Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz concentration camps. Five times he had been slated for the gas chambers, but each time he used his fluency in German to talk his way out. After the war ended, he was stunned to discover that his wife, who had also been shipped to Auschwitz, was alive and well in Poland. The Brinkmanns immigrated to America, where Felix spent years in the bar and nightclub business, co-founding in 1971 Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan. In recent years, he had served as the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, working "seven days a week, without fail," said his son Rick Brinkman, who spells his last name differently than his father. On Thursday, the building's superintendent grew concerned when Brinkmann did not show up to work. He notified Brinkmann's son and received permission to enter the father's apartment, where he had lived alone since his wife died last year. Brinkmann's body was found lying face down in his bedroom, his hands bound, his body showing blunt-force trauma wounds, police said. Brinkmann's blue 2009 Honda Civic may have been stolen and a safe in his apartment tampered with, police said. A police spokesman said authorities were looking for "a man and a woman" in connection with the homicide. Rick Brinkman speculated that the killing was random in nature. "Anybody who knew him really liked him," the son said. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies." | [
"Brinkmann is a native of which country?",
"When did Felix Brinkmann's wife die?",
"Brinkmann was a survivor of how many concentration camps?",
"What is Brinkmann's first name?",
"Who are being sought in connection with the homicide?",
"Where did Felix Brinkmann live before his death?",
"Where did Mr and Mrs Brinkmann emigrate from?",
"Who is Felix Brinkmann?"
] | [
[
"Latvia,"
],
[
"last year."
],
[
"in the Nazis' Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz"
],
[
"Felix"
],
[
"\"a man and a woman\""
],
[
"Upper East Side"
],
[
"Latvia,"
],
[
"A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor"
]
] | Felix Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was a survivor of three concentration camps .
Brinkmann spent years in the nightclub business after he and his wife immigrated .
He had lived alone in an Upper East Side apartment since his wife died last year .
Police: "Man and a woman" being sought in connection with the homicide . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Bronx woman has been charged with murder and robbery in the death of an 89-year-old Nazi concentration camp survivor, and police said a man is still being sought in connection with the death. Felix Brinkmann dances at a 2008 birthday party. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies," his son says. Angela Murray, 30, was arrested Saturday, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and is accused of strangling Guido Felix Brinkmann on Thursday in his Upper East Side apartment. Murray was arraigned Sunday and charged with one count of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery. Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was a Holocaust survivor who escaped death for a year while he was in the Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz camps. He had been slated for the gas chambers five times, but each time, he used his fluency in German to talk his way out, said his son, Rick Brinkman, who spells his last name differently. After the war, he was stunned to discover his wife, who had also been shipped to Auschwitz, alive and well in Poland. The Brinkmanns immigrated to America, where Brinkmann spent years in the bar and nightclub business, co-founding the Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan in 1971. In recent years, he had been the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, working "seven days a week, without fail," Rick Brinkman said. On Thursday, the building's superintendent grew concerned when Brinkmann did not show up for work. He notified Brinkmann's son and received permission to enter the father's apartment, where he had lived alone since his wife died last year. Brinkmann was found face-down in his bedroom, his hands bound behind his back and his body showing blunt-force trauma wounds, police said. Brinkmann's blue 2009 Honda Civic had been stolen, along with one of two safes in his apartment, police said. The vehicle was later recovered in the Bronx. Rick Brinkman speculated that the killing was random. "Anybody who knew him really liked him," the son said. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies." CNN's Jason Kessler contributed to this report. | [
"Who was charged with murder?",
"Who was killed",
"Where was Guido Brinkmann from?",
"Where was the woman from",
"Where was he a native of?",
"The victim was how old",
"Who was strangled to death?",
"What is the name of the woman charged with murdering Guido Brinkmann?",
"What is the sex of the person being sought by the police",
"Was the killing premeditated"
] | [
[
"Angela Murray,"
],
[
"Felix Brinkmann"
],
[
"Latvia,"
],
[
"Bronx"
],
[
"Latvia,"
],
[
"89-year-old"
],
[
"Felix Brinkmann"
],
[
"Angela Murray,"
],
[
"a man is still"
],
[
"random."
]
] | Bronx woman charged with murder, robbery; police say a man is still being sought .
Guido Felix Brinkmann, 89, was found strangled Thursday in Manhattan apartment .
Latvia native had lived alone since wife died last year; son suspects killing is random . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Fort Drum soldier has been arrested in the deaths of two fellow soldiers found stabbed in an apartment near the upstate New York military base, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said. The suspect, Joshua Hunter, 20, is being held at an undisclosed location in Ohio after being charged with two counts of second degree murder, Undersheriff Tim Dowe told CNN. The sheriff's office identified the victims as Spc. Waide T. James, 20, of Cocoa, Florida, and Spc. Diego A. Valbuena, 23, of Port St. Lucie, Florida. The two men were found dead with multiple stab wounds Tuesday in an apartment at Meadowbrook Apartments in LeRay, New York, Dowe said. The complex houses mostly military families near the main entrance of Fort Drum, he said. The motive is unknown at this time, Dowe said. Sheriff's deputies were called to the apartment complex after the soldiers were reported missing for duty, but the sheriff's office could not say when that report was filed. James and Valbuena, who joined the Army in 2007, worked as motor transport operators with the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, according to a Fort Drum press release. Both had served in Iraq, it said. Police and Fort Drum officials would not release information about the suspect, including his rank or relationship to the victims. CNN's Evan Buxbaum contributed to this report. | [
"Who are the victims?",
"The soldiers were found where?",
"What is the age of the man charged?",
"What is the number of soldiers found stabbed?",
"Who was charged with 2 counts of second degree murder?",
"What was Hunter charged with?"
] | [
[
"Spc. Waide T. James, 20, of Cocoa, Florida, and Spc. Diego A. Valbuena, 23, of Port St. Lucie, Florida."
],
[
"in an apartment at Meadowbrook Apartments in LeRay, New York,"
],
[
"20,"
],
[
"two"
],
[
"Joshua Hunter,"
],
[
"two counts of second degree murder,"
]
] | Soldier Joshua Hunter, 20, charged with two counts of second degree murder .
Two soldiers were found stabbed at apartment near Fort Drum base .
Victims identified as Spc. Waide T. James,and Spc. Diego A. Valbuena . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Latino group Tuesday expressed outrage over the slaying of an Ecuadoran man, allegedly at the hands of seven teenagers in what police are calling a hate crime.
Marcello Lucero, 37, was stabbed to death in an attack that police say was a hate crime.
The teens' parents bear some of the blame, along with community leaders who have created an inhospitable environment for immigrants, Fernando Fernando Mateo, founder of Hispanics Across America, said at a news conference.
"We understand that some may not welcome us in their neighborhoods, but killing us will not drive us away," Mateo said. "Those that hate us allow us to cut their lawns, build their homes, paint their homes, cook for them, serve their children -- and yet they teach them hate."
Marcello Lucero, 37, was walking to a friend's apartment in Patchogue, New York, when he was attacked late Saturday, police said. He was stabbed in the chest and died of his injuries. A friend walking with Lucero was not injured.
The seven teens were trying "to find Latinos and to assault them," said Suffolk County Police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick. "That was what they went out to do that night, and that's exactly what they did do. ... They were actively seeking victims."
At a court hearing for the seven Monday, a prosecutor quoted the youths as saying, "Let's go find some Mexicans to f--- up."
Jeffrey Conroy, 17, faces charges of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the attack, police said. He and the other six -- Jordan Dasch, Anthony Hartford, Nicholas Hausch, Christopher Overton, Jose Pacheco and Kevin Shea -- also face charges of first-degree gang assault.
The additional charge against Conroy stems from authorities' belief that he was the one who stabbed Lucero. All of the suspects are 17 except for Overton, who is 16, according to police.
The "hate crime" designation would enhance any sentence imposed upon conviction.
Upon their arrest, all seven of the youths "admitted their involvement and their role in this crime," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.
However, all seven pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned Monday in Suffolk County Criminal Court.
Mateo said that Hispanics Across America and Lucero's relatives have retained a law firm and may file suit against the youths' families "to make sure the parents of these seven kids pay the consequences."
But he and other community leaders also laid blame at the feet of Steve Levy, Suffolk County executive.
"He has brought this hate that exists here amongst the Hispanic community," Mateo said. "He has legislated over and over again against Hispanic immigrants. ... He should be the person not welcome in this community."
The Rev. Alan Ramirez of Brookville Reform Church said, "We all know that Mr. Levy, along with these seven young men, has blood on his hands. And we consider that unacceptable. We ask a responsible Democratic Party to seek Mr. Levy's resignation or removal from office. We do not need our communities to be separated by hatred, intolerance and racial discord."
Attempts by CNN to contact Levy on Tuesday were unsuccessful, as his office was closed for the Veterans Day holiday. On Sunday, however, Levy issued a statement saying Lucero's death "wasn't a question of any county policy or legislation; it was a question of bad people doing horrific things," according to Newsday, which reported that Levy answered no further questions.
In a statement issued by police Sunday, Levy was quoted as saying, "This heinous crime that led to the death of an individual because of his race will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. The suspects will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
New York Gov. David Paterson, in a statement Monday, also condemned Lucero's death.
"Suffolk Police tell us that Mr. Lucero and a friend were attacked late Saturday by seven teenagers who were driving around | [
"Who was attacked on Saturday night?",
"Who was charged with the crime?",
"how many teens were involved?",
"How many years old is Lucero?",
"Did all seven teenagers plead not guilty?",
"who was stabbed?",
"what is jeffery conroy charged with?"
] | [
[
"Marcello Lucero,"
],
[
"seven teenagers"
],
[
"seven"
],
[
"37,"
],
[
"pleaded"
],
[
"Marcello Lucero,"
],
[
"first-degree manslaughter"
]
] | NEW: Officials condemn attack, fatal stabbing of Ecuadoran in Long Island .
Marcello Lucero, 37, and a friend were attacked late Saturday night .
Jeffrey Conroy, 17, was charged with manslaughter as a hate crime .
Six other teenagers charged with gang assault; all seven plead not guilty . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A New York Post cartoon Wednesday drew fire from civil rights activist Al Sharpton and others who say the drawing invokes historically racist images in suggesting an ape wrote President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package.
Al Sharpton says he wonders whether the cartoon "is making a less-than-casual inference" to a form of racism.
The artist, Sean Delonas, called Sharpton's reaction "ridiculous," and the newspaper defended its decision to run his cartoon. But other African-American leaders joined Sharpton, who has been the butt of previous Delonas panels, in attacking what they called the cartoon's racial overtones.
"Sean Delonas' cartoon in today's New York Post is insensitive and offensive," National Urban League President Marc Morial said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon. "Comparing President Obama and his effort to revive the economy in a manner that depicts violence and racist inferences is unacceptable."
The cartoon showed two police officers standing over the body of a chimpanzee they just shot, a reference to this week's mauling of a Connecticut woman by a pet chimp, which police killed after the attack. In the cartoon, one of the officers tells the other, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." New York Post: See cartoon
The nearly $800 billion stimulus package was the priority for Obama, the first African-American U.S. president, who signed it Tuesday. Watch Sharpton raise racism concerns, and see the cartoon »
"The cartoon in today's New York Post is troubling at best, given the racist attacks throughout history that have made African-Americans synonymous with monkeys," Sharpton said.
Sharpton questioned whether Delonas "is making a less-than-casual inference to this form of racism."
"The Post should at least clarify what point they were trying to make in this cartoon, and reprimand their cartoonist for making inferences that are offensive and divisive at a time the nation struggles to come together to stabilize the economy if, in fact, this was yet another racially charged cartoon," he said.
In a brief phone interview with CNN, Delonas called the controversy "absolutely friggin' ridiculous."
"Do you really think I'm saying Obama should be shot? I didn't see that in the cartoon," Delonas said.
"It's about the economic stimulus bill," he added. "If you're going to make that about anybody, it would be [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, which it's not."
Col Allan, the Post's editor-in-chief, said the cartoon "is a clear parody of a current news event." Watch CNN panel discuss the cartoon »
"It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist," Allan said in a written statement. But Sharpton and Morial were not alone in their criticism. Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said the Post showed a "serious lapse in judgment" by running the cartoon.
"To think that the cartoonist and the responsible editors at the paper did not see the racist overtones of the finished product should insult their intelligence," Ciara said in a written statement. "Instead, they celebrate their own lack of perspective and criticize those who call it what it is: tone deaf at best, overtly racist at worst."
Jeff Johnson, a former activist turned Black Entertainment Television host, said provocative cartoons are good, but that "none of this is appropriate on any level."
"The Post ultimately has to answer ... [for] a specific reference to the president of the United States to violence and to his connection to an animal likeness," Johnson said.
In California, civil rights leader Earl Ofari Hutchinson called on the Post to apologize.
"In times past, that depiction of African-Americans has been vigorously condemned as racially offensive," Hutchinson said in a statement issued from his Los Angeles Urban | [
"Who said objections were ridiculous?",
"What did the cartoonist say about Sharpton's objections?",
"What does the cartoon make references to?",
"What invokes historically racist images?",
"Who called Sharpton to be a publicity opportunist?",
"What did the cartoon reference?",
"Who are other?",
"Who is the newpaper's editor?",
"What cartoonist drew the criticized image?",
"Who is the cartoonist?"
] | [
[
"The artist, Sean Delonas,"
],
[
"reaction \"ridiculous,\""
],
[
"a form of racism."
],
[
"A New York Post cartoon"
],
[
"Col Allan,"
],
[
"this week's mauling of a Connecticut woman by a pet chimp,"
],
[
"African-American leaders"
],
[
"Col Allan,"
],
[
"Sean Delonas,"
],
[
"Sean Delonas,"
]
] | NEW: Others join Al Sharpton in saying cartoon invokes historically racist images .
Cartoon makes references to recent chimp attack, stimulus bill .
Cartoonist calls Sharpton's objections "ridiculous"
Newspaper's editor: Sharpton showing himself to be a "publicity opportunist" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A New York appeals court Thursday overturned terrorism convictions for a Yemeni cleric and his personal assistant, saying they did not receive a fair trial. Sheik Mohammed Ali al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Zayed, were sentenced in 2005 to 75 and 45 years in prison, respectively, after being convicted of conspiring to provide material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations. They now can have new trials under a different judge. The lawyer for al-Moayad, Robert Boyle, said, "I'm extremely gratified at the court's decision. I believe it is legally and factually correct. I hope my client, who is elderly and not in good health, will be given the opportunity to return to his family in Yemen." The three-judge panel was unanimous in its decision, citing evidentiary errors that likely influenced the outcome of the trial. The judges found that certain pieces of evidence presented by prosecutors were prejudicial and had the effect of denying al-Moayad and Zayed a fair trial. Zayed and al-Moayad were arrested in 2003 in a sting operation that culminated in Germany. The government's case relied largely on secretly videotaped conversations between the defendants and a pair of undercover FBI informants at a Frankfurt hotel in 2003. One of the informants, Mohamed Alanssi, testified that al-Moayad boasted about giving money, weapons and recruits to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The charges were brought in the Eastern District of New York because al-Moayad allegedly collected terrorist funds at the al-Farooq mosque in Brooklyn. Now that the appeals court has vacated the convictions, prosecutors have the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court if they feel there is a constitutional issue. They can retry the case or move to dismiss. Al-Moayad, who is in his 60s, is incarcerated at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, as is Zayed. Boyle said he had called the prison and as of 4 p.m. Thursday was still waiting to speak to his client. CNN's Deborah Feyerick contributed to this report. | [
"who is al-moayad",
"What did the court say?",
"Who did al-Moayad boast about giving money to?",
"who supported terrorism?",
"Who gave money to Osama bin Laden?",
"What denied the pair a fair trial?",
"what does court say",
"Who was convicted of supporting terrorism?"
] | [
[
"a Yemeni cleric"
],
[
"not receive a fair trial."
],
[
"al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden."
],
[
"Sheik Mohammed Ali al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Zayed,"
],
[
"al-Moayad"
],
[
"prosecutors"
],
[
"they did not receive a fair trial."
],
[
"Sheik Mohammed Ali al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Zayed,"
]
] | Mohammed Ali al-Moayad, aide were convicted of supporting terrorism .
Court says prejudicial evidence denied pair a fair trial .
Al-Moayad, Zayed may be retried or cases may be dismissed .
Witness said al-Moayad boasted about giving money to Osama bin Laden . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A New York nightclub hostess identified by a supermarket tabloid as Tiger Woods' mistress has called allegations that she is romantically involved with the golf superstar false and "ridiculous."
In an interview published Tuesday, Rachel Uchitel told The New York Post that a disgruntled acquaintance sold the story to the National Enquirer and that "not a word of it is true."
"I work in clubs, and I am a businesswoman," Uchitel said. "I do not have sex with celebrities, and I have not had an affair with Tiger Woods."
Speculation has swirled around Woods since a wreck outside his Florida home early Friday left him with minor injuries and a citation for careless driving. The Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday that its citation closes its investigation of the crash.
Woods was not required to talk to state police about the wreck and did not sit for an interview with investigators. He issued a statement Sunday saying he alone was responsible for the crash and denouncing "the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me." Opinion: Woods is only human
The 33-year-old golf phenomenon has won the Masters tournament and the PGA tournament each four times, as well as three U.S. Open titles.
Investigators have said they don't have details on why Woods was driving away from his home at such an early hour. A police report says the wreck was not alcohol-related.
Uchitel said she has met Woods twice, once in her capacity as the VIP director at a club in Manhattan's trendy Meatpacking District and another time through a mutual friend.
"That's my job: to know these people, to have a relationship with them, to hang out with them," she told the Post. "It doesn't mean I am having sex with them or an affair with them."
She said the allegations "must feel horrible" to Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren.
"The worst part of it, it's not true," Uchitel said. | [
"What was the tabloid?",
"Who said the allegations came from a disgruntled acquaintance?",
"The false rumor must feel horrible to who?",
"What was the rumor?",
"What did the nightclub hostess say?",
"How many times did Uchitel meets Woods?",
"What did Rachel Uchitel tell New York Post?"
] | [
[
"National Enquirer"
],
[
"Rachel Uchitel"
],
[
"Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren."
],
[
"she is romantically involved with the golf superstar"
],
[
"\"not a word of it is true.\""
],
[
"twice,"
],
[
"that a disgruntled acquaintance sold the story to the National Enquirer and that \"not a word of it is true.\""
]
] | NEW: Rachel Uchitel to New York Post: I met Woods only twice .
Nightclub hostess says tabloid allegations came from disgruntled acquaintance .
False rumor "must feel horrible" to Woods' wife, Uchitel says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Somali suspect in the hijacking of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama has been charged with piracy, a count that carries a minimum life sentence. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse arrives in the United States on Monday. He was charged with piracy Tuesday. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse also has been charged with conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage-taking and two firearm charges, according to a criminal complaint released by the U.S. attorney's office in the southern district of New York. Muse "conducted himself as the leader" of the pirates who allegedly took over the Maersk Alabama, according to the criminal complaint. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Muse could be tried as an adult. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck had ordered the media and public out of the courtroom earlier while he evaluated Muse's age. Muse's father in Somalia told defense attorneys the young man was born on November 20, 1993 -- making him 15, the defense attorneys said. However, the prosecution argued otherwise, saying Muse made statements that suggest he is older. Before Peck closed the courtroom, Muse wiped his hand over his face at one point, and it appeared he was crying. He had worn a broad smile late Monday when he arrived in New York escorted by a phalanx of law enforcement officers. See timeline of events that led to piracy case » Muse was arrested in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship that pirates attacked on April 8 about 350 miles off the Somali coast. See an interactive map of 2009 pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa » Peck read the young man his rights and said attorneys had been appointed to represent him because the suspect did not have the resources to hire representation himself. Muse said through an interpreter that he understood and said, "I don't have any money." Pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship, on April 8 about 350 miles off the Somali coast. According to the criminal complaint, two of the 20 crew members -- all Americans -- saw lights heading toward the Maersk Alabama around 4:30 a.m. on April 8, while the ship was in the Indian Ocean. After a "brief time," the lights disappeared, the complaint said, but about two hours later, the same crew members saw a small boat approaching and later heard "what sounded like" gunshots, the complaint said. Crew Member 1 then heard the ship's captain -- later identified as Capt. Richard Phillips -- on the radio saying that two pirates were on the ship's bridge. A third crew member, Crew Member 3, also heard the radio message and began shutting down the ship's power, the complaint said. The complaint said Muse, who was carrying a gun, was the first alleged pirate on the ship, and said the attackers used a portable ladder to climb on board. According to the complaint, Muse had fired his gun at Phillips, the captain said, and then took $30,000 from the ship's safe after he forced Phillips to open it. Watch Muse being hauled into court » Muse demanded that the Maersk Alabama be stopped and that the crew give him the number of the ship's owner, the complaint said. The captain then ordered the crew to the bridge after Muse ordered him to do so, the complaint said, citing Crew Member 2. Muse then began canvassing the dark ship with Crew Member 2 as a guide, the complaint said. While they were going through the ship, Crew Member 3, who had not come to the bridge, tackled Muse to the ground, the complaint said. Crew Member 2 helped subdue Muse, and the two tied the young man's hands with wire and took him to the ship's safe room, where several crew members were hiding. After several hours, the remaining pirates said they would leave the ship if Muse was returned to them, and if a lifeboat was given to them. Phillips boarded the lifeboat with them and the ship's crew freed Muse, who then boarded the lifeboat, | [
"The judge made what ruling with regards to the piracy suspect?",
"What is the name of the person who also faced conspiracy charges?",
"Who faces conspiracy charges?",
"who was charged?",
"Who is conducting himself as the leader?",
"Who will be tried as an adult?",
"What did the father say regarding the suspect's age?",
"What does the criminal complaint say?",
"What did the judge rule about piracy suspect?"
] | [
[
"U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama has been charged"
],
[
"Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse"
],
[
"Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse"
],
[
"Maersk Alabama"
],
[
"Muse"
],
[
"Muse"
],
[
"making him 15,"
],
[
"Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse also has been charged with conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage-taking"
],
[
"Muse could be tried as an adult."
]
] | NEW: Criminal complaint says pirate suspect "conducted himself as the leader"
Judge rules piracy suspect will be tried as an adult .
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse also faces conspiracy charges .
Suspect's father says he's 15; prosecution says boy indicated he's older . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Staten Island Ferry lost power and hit a pier Wednesday at full speed, resulting in one serious injury and nine minor injuries, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
The New York Fire Department estimates that 750 to 800 passengers were aboard the Staten Island Ferry.
Coast Guard boats were on the scene, the St. George Terminal on the north shore of Staten Island.
The Coast Guard spokesman compared the ferry's loss of power as it neared the pier to a car losing its brakes.
The hard landing occurred at 7:10 p.m., according to the Coast Guard. The New York Fire Department estimated that 750 to 800 passengers were aboard. The impact did not send any passengers overboard, the spokesman said.
Emergency responders were transferring the injured to Staten Island's Richmond University Medical Center.
Representatives for the Staten Island Ferry did not respond to calls for comment. | [
"Where did it happen?",
"What did the ferry do?",
"What loses power and hits a pier at full speed?",
"What happened at St. George Terminal?",
"Where did accident happen exactly?",
"What Coast Guard said about the incident?",
"What happened to people?"
] | [
[
"the St. George Terminal on the north shore of Staten Island."
],
[
"lost power"
],
[
"A Staten Island Ferry"
],
[
"Staten Island Ferry lost power and hit a pier"
],
[
"St. George Terminal"
],
[
"compared the ferry's loss of power as it neared the pier to a car losing its brakes."
],
[
"A Staten Island Ferry lost power and hit a pier"
]
] | Ferry loses power and hits a pier at full speed, Coast Guard says .
1 person injured seriously, 9 others hurt .
Accident happens at St. George Terminal on north shore of Staten Island .
Impact did not send any passengers overboard, spokesman says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Syrian arms dealer was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. federal prison for conspiring to sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia, according to prosecutors. Syrian-born arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar, seen in a file photo, tried to sell weapons to undercover U.S. agents. Monzer al-Kassar was also ordered Tuesday to forfeit all of his assets, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Al-Kassar's co-defendant Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy received a 25-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy. Both men were convicted in November of five charges, including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, conspiracy to provide support for FARC guerrillas in Colombia, and money laundering. The federal indictment paints al-Kassar as an international arms dealer with a hand in conflicts in nearly every part of the world, with a web of bank accounts and front companies across Europe and the Middle East. Al-Kassar was arrested in Spain in 2007 on a U.S. warrant and his associate Moreno Godoy was arrested in Romania. Both were extradited to the United States. The arrests stemmed from an undercover sting operation involving U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as members of FARC. During the 16-month operation, the agents arranged to buy more than 12,000 weapons from the two men, according to the indictment. Al-Kassar agreed to provide surface-to-air missiles for the FARC to shoot down American helicopters, and also offered to send 1,000 men to fight with the FARC, plus explosives and men who could train the FARC in how to use them, the indictment charged. Al-Kassar demanded 3,500,000 euros ($4.4 million) as "partial payment" for the weapons, it said. Justice Department officials say al-Kassar has been a source of weapons and military equipment for armed combatants since the 1970s. Kassar had told journalists before he was arrested that he had retired from arms dealing, but the United States says he had been involved since the 1970s, providing weapons and military equipment to armed factions in Nicaragua, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere. CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report. | [
"what is the conspiracy",
"what was his plan",
"Who did the US Drug Enforcement Agency arrest?",
"What sentence did the co-defendant get?",
"who was arrested",
"What did the US call Monzer al-Kassar?",
"How long was the co-defendant's sentence?",
"What was the plan?"
] | [
[
"to sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia,"
],
[
"sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia,"
],
[
"Monzer al-Kassar"
],
[
"25-year prison"
],
[
"Monzer al-Kassar,"
],
[
"Syrian-born arms dealer"
],
[
"25-year prison"
],
[
"to sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia,"
]
] | Syrian sentenced in conspiracy to sell weapons in a plot to kill Americans .
Co-defendant gets 25 years; plan was to kill Americans in Colombia .
U.S. calls Monzer al-Kassar an international dealer arming many wars .
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency arrested arms dealers in sting operation . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A construction company and three supervisors were indicted Monday on manslaughter and related charges in the deaths of two firefighters battling a 2007 blaze at the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan. Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, left, and Robert Beddia died in the Deutsche Bank building blaze. Prosecutors also reached an agreement with the city of New York requiring the implementation of new fire safety measures. "Our goal is to put in place procedures which will prevent a disaster of the magnitude of the Deutsche Bank fire and to make sure that firefighters are never again exposed to the risks they faced in that fire," Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said. The indictments against the John Galt Corp., Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and Salvatore DePaola also allege negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. The indictment is the result of an investigation into an August 18, 2007, blaze that consumed nine floors of the Deutsche Bank building. The building had been scheduled for demolition after being contaminated by debris, asbestos and other hazardous substances after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings. The two firefighters killed in the blaze -- Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33 -- were caught in a smoke-filled stairwell that prosecutors say was improperly blocked off by barriers erected to seal off floors being stripped of contaminants. In addition to the deaths of Beddia and Graffagnino, 105 other firefighters were injured combating the blaze. The agreement with the city of New York mandates the creation of a new civilian inspection unit at the city's fire department, the sole purpose of which will be to perform inspections at construction sites throughout the city. "The regulatory measures we have put in place and the additional reforms set out today are designed to prevent any firefighter again confronting the conditions that firefighters faced at the Deutsche Bank building that tragic day," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a written statement. The father of one of the firefighters killed in the blaze, Joseph Graffagnino Sr., said the indictments did not go far enough. "I don't understand if the [city] agency can't be indicted, why can't individuals be indicted who we already know should have been responsible for doing their jobs and did not do their jobs," he said to reporters. Graffagnino was referencing the lack of criminal charges brought against employees of the city fire department, the city's department of buildings and the building's landlord, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. | [
"who died when caught in smoke-filled stairwell?",
"Who had been killed?",
"How many firefighters were injured?",
"who alleged that doorway was improperly sealed?",
"What made Prosecutors determined that the alleged doorway was improperly sealed?",
"How many supervisors?",
"how many firefighters were injured?"
] | [
[
"Robert Beddia"
],
[
"Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino,"
],
[
"105"
],
[
"prosecutors"
],
[
"blocked off by barriers erected to seal off floors being stripped of contaminants."
],
[
"three"
],
[
"105"
]
] | John Galt Corp., three supervisors indicted; city to change procedures .
Firefighters died when caught in smoke-filled stairwell .
Prosecutors allege doorway was improperly sealed .
105 other firefighters were injured fighting blaze . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A crude bomb made from a water bottle was used in an explosion that damaged a Starbucks coffee shop on New York's posh Upper East Side, New York police said. Monday's explosion shattered glass at the Manhattan Starbucks coffee shop. No one was injured. The Memorial Day explosion damaged the shop, but no one was injured and no motive has been identified for the bombing. "We believe it to be ... a six- to 10-ounce water bottle that was wrapped in black tape," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN on Wednesday. He said the bomb's powder may have come from fireworks components, including a fuse. The powder was placed inside the bottle in a way that made it "more powerful," Kelly said. He said a forensics unit is working on finding fingerprints. The homemade bomb, which went off around 3:30 a.m., shattered glass, but no one was injured. The store was not open. Police have said the device was planted under a wooden bench outside the coffee shop. "We have a witness who believes he saw two young people he describes as teenagers, both white males," the commissioner said. One is described as blond, wearing a red shirt, and the other had brown hair and wore a gray shirt. Kelly said the witness saw the two approach the Starbucks, then looked away. After the witness heard the blast, he said he saw the two young people run away from the building. Kelly said that for now, it's impossible to say whether the bombing was politically motivated. "We don't know if they were a corporate target or somebody had a problem [with] what was going on on that corner, in general ... we're not ruling anything out." In 1999, a Starbucks in Seattle, Washington, was vandalized during a world trade conference. In February 2008, a Vancouver Starbucks and another restaurant were damaged by an overnight explosion. New York police say they're aware of both incidents, but Kelly says it is too early to draw any conclusions. "In the past, they [Starbucks] sort have been identified with the globalization movement. ... We're not saying that this is the case in this matter." | [
"where did the blast take place",
"what time did the blast take place",
"Who tried to blow up a starbucks?",
"Where was the bomb?",
"What was it mnade from?",
"What time did the blast occur?"
] | [
[
"coffee shop on New York's posh Upper East Side,"
],
[
"3:30 a.m.,"
],
[
"teenagers, both white males,\""
],
[
"coffee shop on New York's posh Upper East Side,"
],
[
"fireworks components, including a fuse. The powder"
],
[
"3:30 a.m.,"
]
] | New York police say the bomb outside a Starbucks was made from a water bottle .
The Memorial Day explosion damaged store but injured no one .
The blast happened about 3:30 a.m. on the posh Upper East Side of Manhattan .
Suspects and motive -- including possibility of political motivation -- still being sought . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A day after publishing a cartoon that drew fire from critics who said it evoked historically racist images, the New York Post apologized in a statement on its Web site -- even as it defended its action and blasted some detractors.
A New York Post cartoon has sparked a debate over race and cartooning this week.
Many of those critical of the cartoon said it appeared to compare President Obama to a chimpanzee in a commentary on his recently approved economic stimulus package.
"Wednesday's Page Six cartoon -- caricaturing Monday's police shooting of a chimpanzee in Connecticut -- has created considerable controversy," the paper said about the drawing, which shows two police officers standing over the body of a chimpanzee they just shot.
The drawing is a reference to the mauling of a woman by a pet chimpanzee, which was then killed by police. In the cartoon, one of the officers tells the other, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."
The Post said the cartoon was meant to mock what it called an "ineptly written" stimulus bill.
"But it has been taken as something else -- as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism," reads the statement. "This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize." Watch reaction to Post's apology »
But the statement immediately swerves to fire back at some of the image's critics.
"However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past -- and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback," the statement says. "To them, no apology is due. Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon -- even as the opportunists seek to make it something else."
Several African-American leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, attacked the image, which was drawn by artist Sean Delonas.
Sharpton said Thursday he and the leaders of "various groups" would respond at 5 p.m. Friday outside The Post's offices in midtown Manhattan.
"Though we think it is the right thing for them to apologize to those they offended," the statement appeared to blame those who raised the issue "rather than take responsibility for what they did," Sharpton said.
He accused the newspaper of having "belatedly come with a conditional statement after people began mobilizing and preparing to challenge the waiver of News Corp in the city where they own several television stations and newspapers."
Delonas has made Sharpton the butt of previous cartoons in The Post.
In a brief phone interview with CNN, Delonas called the controversy "absolutely friggin' ridiculous."
"Do you really think I'm saying Obama should be shot? I didn't see that in the cartoon," Delonas told CNN.
"It's about the economic stimulus bill," he added.
Col Allan, the Post's editor-in-chief, said Wednesday that the cartoon "is a clear parody of a current news event."
"It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist," Allan said in a written statement.
But Sharpton was not alone in his criticism. Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said The Post showed a "serious lapse in judgment" by running the cartoon.
"To think that the cartoonist and the responsible editors at the paper did not see the racist overtones of the finished product should insult their intelligence," Ciara said in a written statement. "Instead, they celebrate their own lack of perspective and criticize those who call it what it is: tone deaf at best, overtly racist at worst." iReport.com: Share your reaction to the N.Y. Post cartoon
"Comparing President Obama and his effort to revive the economy in a manner that depicts violence and racist inferences is unacceptable," said National Urban League President Marc Morial in a statement issued Wednesday.
The nearly $ | [
"who drew the cartoon",
"Who would respond at 5pm?",
"What was cartoon meant to do?",
"what was on the website",
"who is responsible for the website",
"Who has apologized?",
"Who apologises on Web site?",
"What was the cartoon meant to mock?"
] | [
[
"Sean Delonas."
],
[
"leaders"
],
[
"it called an \"ineptly written\" stimulus bill."
],
[
"racist images,"
],
[
"the New York Post"
],
[
"New York Post"
],
[
"the New York Post"
],
[
"it called an \"ineptly written\" stimulus bill."
]
] | Sharpton: "Various groups" would respond at 5 p.m. at Post headquarters .
New York Post apologizes on Web site; blasts some "opportunist" detractors .
Paper said cartoon was meant to mock what an "ineptly written" stimulus bill .
Paper also said "no apology is due" to those who want payback for the past . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A federal judge on Monday ruled against a Web site operator who was seeking to publish an encyclopedia about the Harry Potter series of novels, blocking publication of "The Harry Potter Lexicon" after concluding that it would cause author J.K. Rowling "irreparable injury." Steven Vander Ark speaks to the media outside the U.S. District Court on April 15, 2008 in New York City. U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson awarded Rowling and her publisher $6,750 in statutory damages and permanently blocked publication of the reference guide. Harry Potter fan Steven Vander Ark sought to publish the book, a reference guide to the Harry Potter series, through a small Michigan-based publishing house called RDR Books. Vander Ark operates a Web site called "Harry Potter Lexicon." Rowling sued RDR Books in 2007 to stop publication of material from Vander Ark's Web site. Vander Ark and RDR Books claimed the book should not be blocked from publication because it was protected by the "fair use" doctrine, which allows for commentary and critique of literary works. Patterson, in his ruling, said the defendants failed to demonstrate fair use. Rowling issued a statement after Monday's ruling, saying, "I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favorably." Vander Ark did not immediately return calls from CNN on Monday. "We are obviously disappointed with the result, and RDR is considering all of its options, including an appeal," attorney David S. Hammer said. Rowling, who said she has long planned to publish her own encyclopedia, and Warner Brothers Entertainment, producer of the Potter films, filed suit to stop RDR from publishing the book. Warner Brothers is owned by Time Warner, CNN's parent company. | [
"What has Rowling long planned to publish?",
"WHat does the website operator want to publish?",
"What does the author say she plans to do",
"What does Rowling say she has long planned?",
"How much was awarded in damages",
"What does the web site operator want to publish?",
"Who won a monetary award?",
"Who is the author of the Harry Potter books",
"How much did the judge awars J.K.Rowling?"
] | [
[
"her own encyclopedia,"
],
[
"an encyclopedia about the Harry Potter series of novels,"
],
[
"publish her own encyclopedia,"
],
[
"to publish her own encyclopedia,"
],
[
"$6,750"
],
[
"an encyclopedia about the Harry Potter series of novels,"
],
[
"Rowling and her publisher"
],
[
"J.K. Rowling"
],
[
"$6,750"
]
] | Web site operator wants to publish encyclopedia about Harry Potter novels .
Judge awards "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and publisher $6,750 in damages .
Rowling says she has long planned to publish her own encyclopedia . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A female marketing executive is suing the chief executive officer of a famous toy manufacturer, accusing him of sexually harassing and assaulting her. Steiff CEO Martin Frechen denies all the allegations. Both the company, known as the makers of the original Teddy bears, and another executive named in the lawsuit also deny the allegations in the lawsuit. The plaintiff, Jane Collins, now 32, joined Steiff as a temporary receptionist in 2000. She became Frechen's executive assistant in 2002, when he was named CEO of Steiff North America. Collins' lawsuit, filed Monday in New York state Supreme Court, contends that the harassment began in fall 2004, shortly before Frechen was to leave for Germany. After Collins rebuffed Frechen's advances in a hotel room and parking lot, he asked for her assistance in moving his wife's car to a storage unit, where he raped her, Collins alleges in her court filings. Collins' attorney, Chris Brennan, said his client was afraid that reporting the assault could jeopardize her job. She did not call police. "I was a single mom at the time, and I simply couldn't afford to lose this job," Collins said in a statement issued by her attorney. The suit alleges that Frechen's unwanted advances continued after the assault, until as recently as February 2009. "I had put it out of my mind, because I thought there was nothing I could do," she said. Brennan said, "The company had in place no policies and procedures to inform her otherwise. "This is a company that makes millions a dollars a year here in North America, and they didn't invest a dollar in training or educating their employees on sexual harassment policy." Collins is seeking $80 million in damages. In addition to the allegations against Frechen, the suit alleges that the company, Margarete Steiff GmbH, Steiff North America Inc. and the company's head of U.S. operations, James Pitocco, are culpable for failing to take appropriate measures to stop Frechen's harassment after Collins reported his behavior. "Steiff North America is committed to providing a safe and comfortable working environment for all of its employees. It does not comment on pending litigation. However, Steiff North America, Margarete Steiff and James Pitocco resolutely deny the allegations in Ms. Collins' complaint and will vigorously defend the claims made by her in court," David Rosenthal, an attorney for the company, said in a statement. "They are confident that when all of the facts and circumstances relevant to this case are revealed during this litigation, Ms. Collins' claims will fail." Michael Rosen, attorney for Frechen, issued a similar statement on behalf of his client. "Mr. Frechen believes the plaintiff's claims are entirely without merit," he said. "He intends to vigorously defend himself against these claims and believes he ultimately will prevail." Founded by German seamstress Margarete Steiff, the Steiff toy company produced its first plush animal, a felt elephant pincushion, in 1880. In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt was president when Steiff launched the plush bear that would become the company's signature. Quickly dubbed "Teddy's bear," 3,000 Steiff bears -- now collectors items -- were sold worldwide that year. Collins, a mother of two, continues to work for Steiff as an assistant marketing manager. | [
"What did he do to her",
"Who is suing Steiff CEO alleging sexual harassment and assault?",
"Did the company do anything about the harassment after she complained?",
"Who denies all the allegations?"
] | [
[
"sexually harassing and assaulting"
],
[
"A female marketing executive"
],
[
"failing to take appropriate measures to stop Frechen's"
],
[
"Steiff CEO Martin Frechen"
]
] | Female manager sues Steiff CEO, alleging sexual harassment and assault .
Lawsuit also claims company did not stop the harassment after she complained .
Steiff and CEO Martin Frechen deny all allegations . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A few hundred people on Sunday marched in Brooklyn to protest last week's fatal beating of a 31-year-old Ecuadorean man -- an incident authorities say may have been a hate crime.
Jose Sucuzhanay was beaten December 7 after leaving a party at a church.
The demonstrators -- holding signs reading "No more hate crimes" -- walked a half-mile in the neighborhood where police say Jose Sucuzhanay was hit in the head with a bottle and beaten with an aluminum baseball bat on December 7.
Sucuzhanay died of his injuries Friday at Elmhurst Hospital, hours before his mother arrived in New York from Ecuador, his family said.
Police said Sucuzhanay's attackers yelled racial slurs; no arrests have been made in the case. One of his brothers, Diego Sucuzhanay, said Sunday he is convinced the attack was a hate crime.
"Nothing was taken from him," said Diego Sucuzhanay, who didn't join the demonstration, opting instead to help his mother make arrangements to return the body to Ecuador. Watch marchers protest against hate crimes »
Police said Jose Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel had left a party at a church when several men approached them in a car in Brooklyn's Bushwick section, about a block from the brothers' home. The men shouted anti-gay and anti-Latino vulgarities and attacked the brothers, police said.
Romel, 34, escaped with minor scrapes and has talked with detectives. Police have released a sketch of one possible suspect in the case.
Police are offering a $22,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the attack.
In a statement, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the attack "a pointless and gutless crime." He promised authorities would find and prosecute those responsible.
Family spokesman Francisco Moya said Jose Sucuzhanay had lived in the United States for more than a decade and was a legal resident.
Diego Sucuzhanay said Jose set up a successful real estate business in a low-income area, thinking he could make a difference there.
He said his brother wanted to help everyone and hired a diverse team, including four African-Americans and two Latinos. He was raising two children: a 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
"We were proud of him," Diego Sucuzhanay said.
He said the family had wanted Jose's mother to get to his bedside before he died. Doctors told them Jose was brain dead since the attack, and that machines kept him alive until his heart failed Friday.
At a press conference Sunday outside the hospital, Diego Sucuzhanay touched his chest and said: "My heart is broken, but my brother's [memory] will live on. "
Asked in an interview with CNN how his brother would be remembered, he paused several seconds and answered: "For being the victim of a hate crime."
Though he didn't participate in the demonstration, he said he was grateful to those who did, and that everyone needs to practice tolerance.
"We definitely have to speak out," he said. | [
"When was Jose Sucuzhanay beaten?",
"Whose beating on December 7 may have been a hate crime?",
"When did Sucuzhanay die?",
"What did attackers shout, according to authorities?",
"Who will be remembered as a victim of a hate crime?",
"What did the police say?",
"What did victim's brother say?",
"What were his brother's thoughts on the crime?"
] | [
[
"December 7"
],
[
"Jose Sucuzhanay"
],
[
"Friday"
],
[
"racial slurs;"
],
[
"31-year-old Ecuadorean man"
],
[
"Jose Sucuzhanay was hit in the head with a bottle and beaten with an aluminum baseball bat on December 7."
],
[
"wanted to help everyone and hired a diverse team,"
],
[
"he is convinced the attack was a hate"
]
] | Police say December 7 beating of Jose Sucuzhanay may have been a hate crime .
Authorities say attackers shouted racial slurs; Sucuzhanay died Friday .
Brother: He'll be remembered as "a victim of a hate crime" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A former New York City bouncer was sentenced to life without parole Wednesday for the brutal slaying of a graduate student from Boston, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said. Darryl Littlejohn, 44, is already serving prison time for the attempted kidnapping of another student in 2005. Darryl Littlejohn, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder last month in the 2006 death of Imette St. Guillen, 24, who had been studying criminology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Littlejohn, who is already serving 25 years to life for the October 2005 attempted kidnapping of a 19-year-old Queens college student, will serve out the sentences consecutively, said Sarah McNaughton of the Brooklyn district attorney's office. During the trial, witnesses said they saw Littlejohn and St. Guillen leaving The Falls bar in lower Manhattan together early February 25, 2006. Littlejohn was working as a bouncer at the bar. Hours later, St. Guillen's nude body was found in an isolated lot in Brooklyn. Her face was covered with strips of packing tape, and a sock was stuffed into her throat. She died of asphyxiation, and investigators determined she had been raped. Littlejohn was charged with murder after investigators linked his DNA to blood found on plastic ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands behind her back. Littlejohn's attorney, Joyce David, has filed an appeal on behalf of her client and maintains his innocence. She said that although Littlejohn has a long criminal record, he has no history of violence against women. The horrific incident spread shockwaves through New York City nightlife, which relies heavily on unlicensed bouncers to keep order in the city's bars and nightclubs. Littlejohn is being held at New York's Rikers Island maximum security facility. CNN's Chris Kokenes and Kristen Hamill contributed to this report | [
"What was Darryl convicted of?",
"What date were they seen leaving a bar?",
"who is leaving Manhattan bar?",
"Who is Darryl convicted of killing?",
"what is name of bouncer?",
"who was convicted?"
] | [
[
"of first-degree murder last month in the 2006 death of Imette St. Guillen, 24,"
],
[
"February 25, 2006."
],
[
"Littlejohn and St. Guillen"
],
[
"Imette St. Guillen,"
],
[
"Darryl Littlejohn,"
],
[
"Darryl Littlejohn,"
]
] | Darryl Littlejohn was convicted last month of murdering Imette St. Guillen, 24 .
Witnesses saw the two leaving Manhattan bar the morning of February 25, 2006 .
Investigators linked his DNA to ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands behind her back .
Lawyer for the former bouncer says he is innocent . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A grand jury Tuesday indicted three New York police officers on charges related to the alleged sodomy of a man on a Brooklyn subway platform in October.
Michael Mineo says New York Police officers sodomized him inside a Brooklyn subway station.
The indictments came after two other officers told the grand jury they saw Officer Richard Kern assault 24-year-old Michael Mineo with a police baton in October, authorities said.
"I think that both officers who stepped forward acted in a responsible, if not a heroic, way," Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said Tuesday. "I think both of them deserve a great deal of praise for doing that."
Kern, 25, faces charges including aggravated sexual abuse, a felony that could put him in prison for up to 25 years if convicted.
Officers Andrew Morales and Alex Cruz, both 26, face charges including hindering prosecution. Both are accused of trying to cover up the incident by falsifying records.
All three pleaded not guilty Tuesday at their arraignment before Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge John Walsh.
Authorities say Kern and Morales approached Mineo, a Brooklyn tattoo artist, on October 15 after seeing him walking down a street smoking what they believed to be marijuana.
As the uniformed officers approached Mineo, he fled. The officers chased him into a Brooklyn subway station, where they apprehended him on the platform, authorities said.
Cruz and a transit policeman, Kevin Maloney, joined the other officers and helped to subdue Mineo, who was then handcuffed with his hands behind his back, according to authorities.
Mineo claims Kern used his retractable police baton to sexually assault him on the subway platform. Witnesses said they heard Mineo's cries.
Mineo's lawyers said he showed officers he was bleeding, but they provided no medical attention and didn't call a supervisor as Mineo requested.
Kern gave Mineo a summons for disorderly conduct, and Mineo was released, authorities said. Mineo sought treatment at an area hospital, and hospital staff notified police that they treated a patient who claimed to be a victim of police brutality.
Hynes said that based on forensic information gathered by a medical examiner and the police lab, there was enough evidence to move the case to a grand jury.
The grand jury started hearing testimony October 28. Maloney and another officer testified that they had seen Kern assault Mineo with his baton.
After Tuesday's arraignment, Kern was released on $15,000 bail; the other two officers were released on their own recognizance.
Cruz's defense attorney called the case "paper thin."
Kern's attorney said Mineo's accusations were motivated by money, saying Mineo is planning to file a civil suit.
Mineo's attorneys would not explain why their client ran from police. The attorneys said they plan to file a civil suit, but they did not give information on the damages they plan to seek.
Mineo said he still suffers the effects of the attack.
"I relive this every day," Mineo said Tuesday. "Nobody should have to go through something like this." | [
"What was the man accused of?",
"How many other officers are accused of trying to cover it up",
"At which station did the incident take place",
"How many officers were involved?",
"Does the officers deserve to be praised for what they did?",
"What did the district attorney say?",
"Who did the two officers who witnessed the assault tell",
"Were accused of covering the incident up?"
] | [
[
"sodomy"
],
[
"two"
],
[
"Brooklyn subway"
],
[
"three"
],
[
"a great deal of praise"
],
[
"\"I think that both officers who stepped forward acted in a responsible, if not a heroic, way,\" Brooklyn"
],
[
"told the grand jury"
],
[
"Andrew Morales"
]
] | Officer accused of assaulting man with police baton at Brooklyn subway station .
Two other officers accused of trying to cover up the incident .
Two officers who aren't charged told grand jury they saw assault .
District attorney: Testifying officers "deserve a great deal of praise" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A lawsuit filed January 30 by baseball great Roberto Alomar's ex-girlfriend alleges he engaged in unprotected sex with her while suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Roberto Alomar's ex-girlfriend says he had unprotected sex with her while infected with HIV.
Ilya Dall is asking for $15 million for "personal injuries" suffered due to Alomar's negligence. She and her two children lived with the former New York Mets slugger for three years.
She alleges that he started exhibiting signs of HIV as early as 2005, but twice refused recommendations for an HIV test by his doctor, saying that earlier tests for the disease had come back negative, according to court papers.
Alomar's lawyer, Charles Bach, was not available for comment, but attorney Luke Pittoni, who also represents Alomar, said, "We believe this is a totally frivolous lawsuit -- these allegations are baseless, he's healthy and he'd like to keep his health status private. We'll do our talking in court."
Anthony Piancentini, who is representing Dall, said he has "no comment" at this time.
Dall says in court papers that Alomar told her "I don't have HIV." She alleges he "lied and purposefully misrepresented his physical condition" and "that he was endangering the health and well being of [Dall] by continuing to have unprotected sexual relations with [her]," according to the lawsuit.
Court papers list several physical ailments that Dall says Alomar exhibited from early 2005 on, including white spots on his mouth and throat, extreme fatigue, back and vision problems, and shingles.
In early 2006, Alomar submitted to an HIV test that, according to court papers, confirmed he was HIV positive in February 2006. Dall says she went for an HIV test shortly afterward and the results were negative.
The couple visited a disease specialist shortly after Alomar's diagnosis, who found a mass in Alomar's chest and advised the couple that he was suffering from full-blown AIDS, according to the lawsuit. Dall alleges that a few days later, Alomar's skin was turning purple and he was foaming at the mouth; a spinal tap on February 21, 2006, confirmed he had full-blown AIDS, court papers said.
Dall claims in the lawsuit that Alomar's negligence caused her severe "emotional distress" over the health of her children. Court papers say that because the couple lived with the children, they may have been exposed to Alomar's saliva or blood in the bathroom, through things like toothbrushes and other items.
Dall claims to suffer from "permanent emotional distress" even after repeatedly testing negative for HIV. The lawsuit claims her fear of contracting the disease is known as "AIDS phobia" and that she suffers from permanent post-traumatic stress disorder.
Alomar requested Tuesday that the suit be moved to Brooklyn, New York, federal court. It was originally filed in Supreme Court in Queens, New York. An initial conference on the case is expected on April 15 in Brooklyn federal court.
Alomar is the son and brother of major leaguers -- father Sandy Alomar was a second baseman with several teams between 1964 and 1978 and brother Sandy Alomar Jr. is a former catcher who played from 1988 to 2007.
Roberto Alomar retired in 2004 with a .300 lifetime batting average, 12 All-Star game selections and 10 Gold Gloves. He was the All Star Game MVP in 1998 and played on two Toronto Blue Jays World Series champion teams.
Alomar, then playing for the Baltimore Orioles, is also known for an incident in 1996 during a game against the Blue Jays when he spat in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck following a heated argument over a third strike. After the incident, Alomar claimed the umpire uttered a slur to him during the argument. | [
"What did the woman say that Alomar did?",
"What did the ex-girlfriend say he denied having?",
"What does the ex-girlfriend say?",
"What did the court papers say about the tests in 2006?",
"What did Alomar endanger?",
"What did he lie about?"
] | [
[
"he had unprotected sex with her while infected with HIV."
],
[
"unprotected sex with her while suffering from HIV/AIDS."
],
[
"he had unprotected sex with her while infected with HIV."
],
[
"confirmed he had full-blown AIDS,"
],
[
"ex-girlfriend"
],
[
"sex with her while suffering from HIV/AIDS."
]
] | Ex-girlfriend says he denied having HIV/AIDS, had unprotected sex with her .
Woman says Alomar endangered her health by lying to her about disease .
Court papers say tests in 2006 showed Alomar had full-blown AIDS .
Alomar's representative says claims are part of "frivolous lawsuit" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A letter penned by George Washington praising the new Constitution sold for $3.2 million at an auction, the highest price for a letter by America's first president.
The four-page letter in Washington's slanting penmanship was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1787, according to Christie's, the company that auctioned it.
It was in the possession of an unidentified British descendant of his family, Christie's said.
Washington led the Philadelphia Convention, at which the Constitution was drafted in 1787. After the Constitution was produced, a nationwide debate ensued on whether to ratify it.
In the letter written from Washington's Virginia estate, Mount Vernon, he endorses the Constitution and highlights the benefits of compromise and of states merging into one nation.
"The central issues must be consolidated -- and local views as far as the general good will admit, must be attended to," he says in the letter, according to Christie's.
The company said the president confided in his nephew.
"Washington professed neutrality in public, but to Bushrod expressed his unequivocal conviction that the new Constitution must be ratified, in spite of opposition from many special-interest groups," Christie's said.
The buyer was not identified.
Christie's had earlier estimated that the letter would fetch $1.5 million to $2.5 million at Friday's auction.
Washington served from 1789 to 1797, then died of a throat infection two years later. He died at his beloved Mount Vernon at age 67, plunging the nation into months of mourning.
Last year, a 1864 letter in which President Abraham Lincoln replies to the abolitionist pleas of youth sold for $3.4 million. | [
"How many pages long was the letter?",
"What letter was sold last year?",
"How much did the letter sell for?",
"When did Bushrod write the letter?",
"What was the price",
"Who auctioned it off",
"Who had written the letter?",
"What did he pen",
"When was the letter written?",
"Who was the letter for?",
"How many pages was the letter?",
"What price did the letter bring?",
"How much did the letter sell for?",
"Which president wrote the letter?",
"How much did Washington's letter sell for?",
"Which president's letter sold for highest price ever?",
"What year was the letter dated?"
] | [
[
"four-page"
],
[
"penned by George Washington praising the new Constitution"
],
[
"$3.2 million"
],
[
"November 1787,"
],
[
"$3.2 million"
],
[
"Christie's,"
],
[
"George Washington"
],
[
"A letter"
],
[
"November 1787,"
],
[
"Bushrod Washington"
],
[
"four-page"
],
[
"$3.2 million"
],
[
"$3.2 million"
],
[
"George Washington"
],
[
"$3.2 million"
],
[
"George Washington"
],
[
"1787,"
]
] | Highest price ever paid for a letter penned by America's first president .
Four-page letter sold for $3.2 million at auction by Christie's on Friday .
Letter was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1787 .
Last year, a 1864 letter by President Abraham Lincoln sold for $3.4 million . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A long line of hospital staff wraps around the corridor outside a small conference room in New York to catch a glimpse of the precious cargo. A worker looks at the mummified skull of King Tut in November 2007. Inside are the three frail bodies in open wooden crates causing all the commotion. Another body -- a prince no less -- is a few rooms down in a computer tomography scanner. The bodies are part of the Brooklyn Museum's collection of 11 Egyptian mummies, transported to the North Shore University Hospital to be scanned. The goal: Find out who they are, how they might have died and establish a chronology of advances in ancient Egypt's mummification techniques. The process is not necessarily new. Egyptian mummies have been exposed to radiographic study since 1896 and CT scans, which conducts imaging by sections, for more than two decades. Perhaps the most famous of them, King Tutankhamun (c. 1355-346 B.C.), was scanned in 2005 right outside the vault that holds his sarcophagus. The scan resulted in more than 17,000 images that were analyzed by an international team of radiologists, pathologists and anatomists, led by the world-renowned Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The scope and ability of CT scan technology are proving invaluable in learning more about the funeral rituals of ancient Egyptians and the mummies themselves. Whereas conventional X-rays cannot clearly distinguish soft tissue from bone and can see only two planes, CT scanning can differentiate among the various types of bone and soft tissue, and reconstruct three-dimensional images that "show fine detail inside coronary arteries down to 0.6 millimeters" said Amgad Makaryus, director of cardiac CT and magnetic resonance imaging at North Shore, providing a better chance at diagnosis and differentiation among diseases. "CT has proved to be exceptionally well-suited for studying the fragile, wrapped figures of Egyptian mummies, especially those still contained within their decorated plasterlike shells, or cartonnages," according to an article by a team of eight researchers, led by Derek N.H. Notman, published in the American Journal of Roentgenology. CT scanning is fast and non-invasive, Makaryus agrees. A scan of one of the four bodies brought to North Shore quickly revealed that the mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man. The body never had to leave its cartonnage for the procedure. In the case of King Tut, initial X-rays of his mummy decades ago showed fragments of bone inside his skull, causing speculation that he might have been killed by a blow to the back of the head. The scan immediately revealed that his skull was intact; and the team found no other indication of foul play, according to its report. "King Tut is the icon of Egyptian history, but he is only one of thousands of mummies we can study. Through CT scans, we can, in a way, bring the dead back to life," Hawass told National Geographic magazine. In another famous case, a CT scan helped identify the mummy of the Pharaoh Ramses I (1293-1291 B.C.) in 2000. It had been bought from a Canadian museum by the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Heidi Hoffman, a former radiology resident at Emory now practicing in Chicago, Illinois, and part of the team of scientists who analyzed the pharaoh's body, was able to observe a type of bone erosion, and "coalescence of air cells can be seen in cases of chronic mastoiditis," an inflammatory condition usually due to chronic ear infections. Though easily treatable with antibiotics today, the pharaoh's untreated ear infection could have spread and caused his death. At North Shore, Jesse Chusid, director of Imaging Informatics at the Department of Radiology, said the 64-slice CT scanner takes 0.6 mm-thick sectional scans and combines and magnifies them to provide extraordinary detail. Curators of the Brooklyn Museum reached out to North Shore for the first time in 2007, to scan Demetrios, a 2,000-year-old mummy, before he was to join a traveling exhibit called "To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures From | [
"What have they found?",
"what was analized",
"What did recent scan reveal?",
"what does the ct testing allow",
"What does CT testing allow?",
"what was revealed",
"What is being analysed by radiologists?"
] | [
[
"that his skull was intact; and the team"
],
[
"the pharaoh's body,"
],
[
"that the mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man."
],
[
"Find out who they are, how they might have died and establish a chronology of advances in ancient Egypt's mummification techniques."
],
[
"differentiate among the various types of bone and soft tissue, and reconstruct three-dimensional images"
],
[
"the mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man."
],
[
"17,000 images"
]
] | Radiologists at NY hospital analyze Egyptian mummies .
CT testing allow radiologists to study mummies without doing damaging procedures .
Recent CT scan reveals Egyptian mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man brutally beaten in New York City was targeted because he is openly gay, the New York Police Department said Monday. Two men shouting "anti-gay remarks" viciously beat Jack Price, 49, as he left a 24-hour deli on College Point Boulevard in Queens early Friday morning, police said. No further details where available about the attack. Price is being treated at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, where "he is in fair condition and his vital signs are stable," said hospital spokeswoman Camela Morrissey. Police arrested Daniel Aleman, 26, and charged him with assault and aggravated assault as a hate crime. "When someone is attacked for being who they are, and for being proud of who they are, there is no other explanation for that attack than hatred and bigotry," said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first openly gay speaker of the city council. "I know the Queens community is outraged that hate has tainted their streets, and I know they will join with us in helping the local authorities find the second suspect." The police department's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. No court date has been set for Aleman. | [
"What group is investigating?",
"Where is Jack Price being treated?",
"What is Aleman charged with?",
"What is Jack Prices age?",
"What is Daniel Aleman charged with?"
] | [
[
"Hate Crimes Task Force"
],
[
"New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens,"
],
[
"assault and aggravated assault as a hate crime."
],
[
"49,"
],
[
"assault and aggravated assault as a hate crime."
]
] | Jack Price, 49, who is being treated at New York Hospital, "is in fair condition"
Daniel Aleman, 26, is charged with aggravated assault as a hate crime .
Second assailant sought; Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man who allegedly set off a small bomb at a Starbucks coffee shop was arrested after he made the mistake of bragging about his exploit to friends, police said Wednesday. An NYPD officer stands guard outside a Starbucks where a bomb went off on Memorial Day. New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters that Kyle Shaw, 17, was arrested Tuesday night at his Manhattan apartment after a police investigation revealed that he bragged to his friends about planting the explosive outside an Upper East Side Starbucks on May 25. Shaw allegedly told his friends prior to the explosion that "Project Mayhem" was about to begin, Kelly said, and that they should watch the news on Memorial Day. Shaw was a fan of the movie "Fight Club" and imitated Brad Pitt's character from the film, the police commissioner said -- although he apparently failed to adhere to Pitt's famous line in the film: "The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club." The movie, released in 1999, also includes a scene in which a Starbucks is destroyed. Kelly said there is no evidence at this time to suggest that Shaw was behind other recent small explosions in the city, such as the bombings at the Times Square Army recruiting center and the Mexican consulate. Shaw made the small explosive out of a plastic bottle, firework powder, a metal cap and electrical tape, Kelly said. The blast, at 3:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, damaged a nearby bench and shattered the store's windows, the commissioner said. No one was injured in the explosion, but the bomb was powerful enough to have caused serious injuries if anyone had been nearby, Kelly said. Shaw has been charged with arson, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, he added. | [
"Is the suspect a fan of violent movies?",
"Was anything damaged in the Memorial Day bombing?",
"what was the suspects aim",
"what is the age of the suspect",
"Who wanted to launch Project Mayhem?",
"Where did the Memorial Day bombing take place?"
] | [
[
"Shaw was a fan of the movie \"Fight Club\""
],
[
"a nearby bench and shattered the store's windows,"
],
[
"\"Project Mayhem\""
],
[
"17,"
],
[
"Kyle Shaw,"
],
[
"Starbucks"
]
] | Police: Suspect, 17, wanted to launch "Project Mayhem" with bomb .
Suspect is fan of Brad Pitt film "Fight Club'
Memorial Day blast damaged a bench outside a Manhattan Starbucks . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A massive anti-Mafia sweep that stretched from New York to Sicily has not only cut off the head of the Gambino crime family but lopped off "the shoulders and chest" too, prosecutors said Thursday. John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico, shown in 1992, is one of 62 people indicted. Sixty-two members of the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno families face 80 charges, ranging from money laundering to illegal gambling and murder. "These charges strike at the very core of the Gambino family," said Benton Campbell, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The Gambino family profited from extortion within the New York construction industry and its labor unions, according to the charges. Watch the perp walk » Several companies allegedly paid a "mob tax" in return for "protection" and "permission to operate," said Gordon Heddell, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Labor. Other charges involve an alleged illegal gambling ring, said Richard Brown, Queens County district attorney. Nicholas Corozzo -- a reputed captain in the Gambino family -- was involved in a sports gambling enterprise that relied in part on toll-free telephones, Brown alleged. Meanwhile, four members of the Gambino family are charged with eight crimes involving murder, according to the indictment. Those charges include the felony murder of Jose Delgado Rivera, who was shot and killed in an armored truck during a robbery in 1990. "Today we are able to bring closure to crimes from the past that have never been forgotten," Campbell said. He said the crimes span back over three decades. Watch feds say they've 'cut off the head' of crime family » Key to the Gambino arrests Thursday was a member of the Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force who infiltrated the Gambino family and recorded hundred of hours of conversations, said John Milgrim, a spokesman for the attorney general. Forty-five of those charged are already in custody, police said. Arrests were made in New York City; Long Island, New York; and New Jersey. "It is as unrelenting as weeds that continue to sprout in the cracks of society," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said of organized crime. "We will not rest until organized crime is a distant memory." In addition to the arrests in the New York area, police in Italy detained 77 people in connection with organized crime. Those arrests netted important members of a powerful clan in Sicily linked to Mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo, who was believed to be the successor of the boss of bosses, Bernardo Provenzano. Watch the prosecutor explain why authorities acted now » Police say that in his attempt to rise to power, Le Piccolo tried to mend fences with New York-based Mafia families after those ties were broken during the bloody Mafia wars of the 1980s. Those families included the Gambinos of New York and the Inzerillos of Italy. Provenzano was arrested two years ago in Corleone. "It is evident that the intent of the Mafia in Palermo was to re-establish a dialogue through the Inzerillo family in the U.S," Francesco Messineo of the Italian Police said. "A dialogue that was never interrupted because the relationship between the American and the Italian Mafia is historic, based on long tradition. But there was certainly an attempt to re-establish that connection." Investigators believe mob clans wanted to collaborate on illegal commercial ventures such as money laundering and drug trafficking. Italian officials said the arrests were aimed at preventing these illegal activities, but they warned that other Mafia clans in Sicily oppose the return of the Inzerillo family to the island, and therefore were concerned about a new Mafia war. E-mail to a friend CNN's Deborah Feyerick and Alessio Vinci contributed to this report. | [
"What is the number of people facing charges?",
"Where did police also make 77 arrest in connection with organized crime?",
"What is the Gambino family accused of?",
"What number of arrests did police make?",
"What are the charges?",
"Who is accused of profiting from extortion?",
"What family is accused of profiting from extortion?",
"Who faces charges?",
"Who makes 77 arrests in connection with organized crime?"
] | [
[
"62"
],
[
"Italy"
],
[
"eight crimes involving murder,"
],
[
"62 people indicted."
],
[
"money laundering to illegal gambling and murder."
],
[
"Gambino family"
],
[
"Gambino"
],
[
"Sixty-two members of the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno families"
],
[
"police in Italy"
]
] | Dozens of people face charges, ranging from money laundering to murder .
Gambino family accused of profiting from extortion .
Several companies allegedly paid a "mob tax," Department of Labor official says .
Police in Italy also make 77 arrests in connection with organized crime . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A model who was slammed with derogatory terms by an anonymous blogger has the right to learn the identity of her online heckler, a judge ruled. Google complied with the court's ruling, submitting the creator's IP address and e-mail address. In August 2008, a user of Blogger.com, Google's blogging service, created "Skanks in NYC," a site that assailed Liskula Cohen, 37, a Canadian-born onetime cover girl who has appeared in Vogue and other fashion magazines. The blog featured photos of Cohen captioned with terms including "psychotic," "ho," and "skank." On Monday, New York Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden ruled that Google must hand over to Cohen any identifying information it possesses about the blog's creator. Steven Wagner, Cohen's attorney, said Google complied with the ruling Tuesday evening, submitting to his legal team the creator's IP address and e-mail address. Only a valid e-mail address is required to register for a blog on Blogger.com. Wagner said that once his legal team tracks the e-mail address to a name, the next step will be to sue Cohen's detractor for defamation. He said he suspected the creator of the blog is an acquaintance of Cohen. The blog has not been operational for months. The unidentified creator of the blog was represented in court by an attorney, Anne Salisbury, who said her client voluntarily took the blog down when Cohen initiated legal action against it. Salisbury suggested that Cohen is more interested in attracting publicity than restoring her reputation. She contended her client's blog would have languished harmlessly in obscurity had Cohen not filed suit. The site had negligible traffic and only five posts on it, all written on a single day, she said. In her ruling, the judge quoted a Virginia court that ruled in a similar case that nameless online taunters should be held accountable when their derision crosses a line. "The protection of the right to communicate anonymously must be balanced against the need to assure that those persons who choose to abuse the opportunities presented by this medium can be made to answer for such transgressions," the judge said, quoting the Virginia decision. Cohen's attorney said he was "happy that the court recognizes that the Internet is not a place where people can freely defame people." But the blogger's attorney strongly disputed the judge's reasoning. Salisbury asserted that her client's invective was not unusual for the Internet, and that hyperbolic online name-calling is so rampant -- "in comments sections, on Twitter, on blogs" as to practically be part of the Web's DNA. She warned that Monday's ruling has "potentially damaging implications for free speech on the Internet." After the ruling, a Google spokesman expressed sympathy for targets of Internet insult-slinging, but said the company divulges user information only when ordered to do so by a court. "We sympathize with anyone who may be the victim of cyberbullying. We also take great care to respect privacy concerns and will only provide information about a user in response to a subpoena or other court order," Google's Andrew Pederson said. | [
"When did Judge say this"
] | [
[
"Monday,"
]
] | Judge orders Google to hand over blogger's identifying information to woman .
Blogger had anonymously slammed model Liskula Cohen .
Judge: Anonymous online taunters can be held accountable .
Cohen's legal team intends to sue the blogger . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A nude photograph of pop singer Madonna was sold for $37,500 Thursday afternoon at a Christie's Art House auction. Christie's auctioned this nude photo of Madonna (partially shown) taken by Lee Friedlander for $37,500. The photo, originally expected to go for between $10,000 and $15,000, was purchased for more than double its original estimated selling price, a Christie's spokesperson confirmed. The 13-inch by 8 5/8-inch framed photograph was purchased by an anonymous bidder over the phone. The full frontal photograph was one of several taken by American photographer Lee Friedlander in 1979. Madonna, then a cash-strapped student, received $25 for the entire photo shoot. Most of the pictures from the shoot were ultimately featured in Playboy magazine in 1985. | [
"When was the photograph of Madonna taken?",
"how much amount was paid for pic?",
"who made purchase over the phone?",
"when Nude photograph of Madonnawas taken?",
"When was the auction?",
"Who was photographer?",
"Who purchased it?",
"Who sold the photograph?"
] | [
[
"1979."
],
[
"$37,500"
],
[
"an anonymous bidder"
],
[
"1979."
],
[
"Thursday afternoon"
],
[
"Lee Friedlander"
],
[
"an anonymous bidder"
],
[
"Christie's Art House"
]
] | Nude photograph of Madonna taken when she was student in 1979 .
Lee Friedlander pic sold by Christie's for $37,500 .
Anonymous bidder made purchase over the phone . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rare and original manuscript of one of America's most patriotic songs has been discovered in a flea market bargain. The manuscript of the song could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. A shopper browsing through the market in New York bought a framed picture of a flower for $10 and found handwritten manuscript of "America" (My Country 'tis of Thee) tucked behind the picture, the manuscript's owner said Thursday. The manuscript of the song whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831 could be worth tens of thousands of dollars, said the owner, art collector Keya Morgan. He said he bought it from the flea market shopper, who has asked not to be identified. The song was intended to be played in schools to inspire and teach children and was first played in public on July 4, 1831, in the First Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts, Morgan said. The song is written to the tune of "God Save the Queen," the national anthem of the United Kingdom. Take a look at the manuscript » The authenticity of the document was confirmed by Morgan, a handwriting expert who has been authenticating historical documents for nearly a decade, and Diana Yount, an archival specialist at Andover Newton Theological School. Yount reached her conclusion after comparing the handwriting with that in a hymn written by Smith. Morgan, whose collection includes artifacts from Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses S. Grant, was ecstatic. "It's the biggest high I could get," said Morgan. "It shaped the nation and reminds us that this nation is just a baby." | [
"How much did the picture sell for?",
"how much did it sell for",
"How much the picture fetch at the flea market?",
"How much is the manuscript reortedly worth?",
"When did America first play in public?",
"what was found",
"where was it found",
"What was tucked behind a picture?"
] | [
[
"$10"
],
[
"$10"
],
[
"$10"
],
[
"tens of thousands of dollars."
],
[
"July 4, 1831,"
],
[
"A rare and original manuscript of one of America's most patriotic songs"
],
[
"market in New York"
],
[
"handwritten manuscript of \"America\" (My Country 'tis of Thee)"
]
] | "America" (My Country 'tis of Thee) found tucked behind a picture .
Picture sells for $10 at flea market; manuscript reportedly worth thousands .
"America" first played in public on July 4, 1831 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rash of bank robberies in New York has the city's police commissioner worried that criminals have turned banks into "virtual cash machines" and some wondering whether tough economic times are fueling the trend.
A surveillance camera captures a bank robbery suspect in New York on December 2.
On Monday alone, robbers targeted five banks in the Big Apple, some striking in broad daylight and near famous landmarks.
Police called the incidents unrelated, but they're just the latest examples of the growing tally of hold-ups.
Bank robberies in New York have risen 54 percent compared with last year, with criminals committing more than 430 in the past 12 months, according to the New York police department.
"As it stands now, they've turned [banks] into virtual cash machines," New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Bank robberies are also up in many areas across the country, including San Diego, California, and Houston, Texas, federal law enforcement experts told CNN.
It's enough for some to link the trend to the rash of layoffs, the plummeting stock market and the bust in the real estate values, all of which have left many Americans in dire financial straits.
"It makes me think that the recession is making people go to extreme measures," a woman who frequents one of the banks robbed Monday told The New York Times. Watch where the robbers struck »
But Kelly said it's not clear whether the bad economic times are fueling the unusual spike.
"People want to say... it's because of the economy. I think it's too early to make that statement," he said.
CNN security analyst Mike Brooks agreed, adding that although there are typically many bank robberies during the holidays, there are no data to suggest that any recent spike was caused by the economy.
Another expert said it's possible that the difficulty of finding a job right now may be a factor, but he doubted that law-abiding citizens are turning to crime to make ends meet.
"It's hard to attribute the bank robberies to people who were let go from Lehman Brothers or other organizations that are in trouble," said Alfred Blumstein, who has researched criminal justice for 20 years and is a professor of operations research at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College.
"I would anticipate that people who rob banks have been involved with crime before because that's not where one is likely to start," Blumstein said.
A person who might turn to robbing banks is someone in their late teens or early 20s who has already broken the law and has decided to move on to a bigger target, he added.
"Bank robbery is a very high-risk activity, because most banks have various surveillance equipment in place, and it requires a degree of aggressiveness that otherwise law-abiding folks are not likely to take on," Blumstein said.
Some officials say the modern, customer-friendly design of banks -- with easy access to tellers and cash -- is too tempting for robbers.
"We don't like the business plan that makes a bank look like a living room," Kelly said "We [advise] just some common sense provisions, such as so-called bandit barriers, so that tellers have some option to act when somebody puts a note in front of them."
In fact, bank robbers have simply handed tellers a note in a vast majority of hold-ups in New York. Kelly put the figure at 80 percent and added that although the rest of the robbers claimed to have a gun, many didn't actually show it.
Mike Smith, president and CEO of the New York Bankers Association, is meeting with the NYPD to see what more can be done to discourage robbers. He said banks have a significant amount of security, some of which may not be visible to the public.
"Are there enhancements? Obviously. Criminals talk to each other, they know what's going on, but typically they are apprehended," Mike Smith said | [
"What is not clear?",
"How much robbers targeted?"
] | [
[
"whether the bad economic times are fueling the unusual spike."
],
[
"five banks"
]
] | Bank robberies in New York have risen 54 percent compared with last year .
On Monday alone, robbers targeted five banks, some striking in broad daylight .
NYPD: Not clear whether the bad economic times are fueling the spike .
Expert doubts law-abiding citizens are turning to crime to make ends meet . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rash of bank robberies in New York has the city's police commissioner worried that criminals have turned banks into "virtual cash machines" and some wondering whether tough economic times are fueling the trend. A surveillance camera captures a bank robbery suspect in New York on December 2. On Monday alone, robbers targeted five banks in the Big Apple, some striking in broad daylight and near famous landmarks. Police called the incidents unrelated, but they're just the latest examples of the growing tally of hold-ups. Bank robberies in New York have risen 54 percent compared with last year, with criminals committing more than 430 in the past 12 months, according to the New York police department. "As it stands now, they've turned [banks] into virtual cash machines," New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Bank robberies are also up in many areas across the country, including San Diego, California, and Houston, Texas, federal law enforcement experts told CNN. It's enough for some to link the trend to the rash of layoffs, the plummeting stock market and the bust in the real estate values, all of which have left many Americans in dire financial straits. "It makes me think that the recession is making people go to extreme measures," a woman who frequents one of the banks robbed Monday told The New York Times. Watch where the robbers struck » But Kelly said it's not clear whether the bad economic times are fueling the unusual spike. "People want to say... it's because of the economy. I think it's too early to make that statement," he said. CNN security analyst Mike Brooks agreed, adding that although there are typically many bank robberies during the holidays, there are no data to suggest that any recent spike was caused by the economy. Another expert said it's possible that the difficulty of finding a job right now may be a factor, but he doubted that law-abiding citizens are turning to crime to make ends meet. "It's hard to attribute the bank robberies to people who were let go from Lehman Brothers or other organizations that are in trouble," said Alfred Blumstein, who has researched criminal justice for 20 years and is a professor of operations research at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College. "I would anticipate that people who rob banks have been involved with crime before because that's not where one is likely to start," Blumstein said. A person who might turn to robbing banks is someone in their late teens or early 20s who has already broken the law and has decided to move on to a bigger target, he added. "Bank robbery is a very high-risk activity, because most banks have various surveillance equipment in place, and it requires a degree of aggressiveness that otherwise law-abiding folks are not likely to take on," Blumstein said. Some officials say the modern, customer-friendly design of banks -- with easy access to tellers and cash -- is too tempting for robbers. "We don't like the business plan that makes a bank look like a living room," Kelly said "We [advise] just some common sense provisions, such as so-called bandit barriers, so that tellers have some option to act when somebody puts a note in front of them." In fact, bank robbers have simply handed tellers a note in a vast majority of hold-ups in New York. Kelly put the figure at 80 percent and added that although the rest of the robbers claimed to have a gun, many didn't actually show it. Mike Smith, president and CEO of the New York Bankers Association, is meeting with the NYPD to see what more can be done to discourage robbers. He said banks have a significant amount of security, some of which may not be visible to the public. "Are there enhancements? Obviously. Criminals talk to each other, they know what's going on, but typically they are apprehended," Mike Smith said | [
"What do experts doubt",
"What number of banks were targeted on Monday alone?",
"how many banks were targeted",
"Bank robberies in NYC have risen how many percent?",
"what is fueling the problem",
"What does the NYPD say is not clear?",
"what has risen 54 percent",
"How many banks were targeted on Monday",
"By what percentage have bank robberies increased from last year"
] | [
[
"that law-abiding citizens are turning to crime to make ends meet."
],
[
"five"
],
[
"five"
],
[
"54"
],
[
"tough economic times"
],
[
"whether the bad economic times are fueling the unusual spike."
],
[
"Bank robberies in New York"
],
[
"five"
],
[
"54 percent"
]
] | Bank robberies in New York have risen 54 percent compared with last year .
On Monday alone, robbers targeted five banks, some striking in broad daylight .
NYPD: Not clear whether the bad economic times are fueling the spike .
Expert doubts law-abiding citizens are turning to crime to make ends meet . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A small, rural town in the hills of New Hampshire was jolted by a home invasion over the weekend that left a mother dead and her young daughter severely injured. Steven Spader, 17, is accused of using a machete to kill a woman and injure her daughter. "This type of murder does not happen very often," New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker said. "This is something out of the ordinary." Four teenagers have been charged in connection with the incident early Sunday morning along an isolated dirt road in Mont Vernon, a town of about 2,000. In a news release Tuesday, the New Hampshire Department of Justice identified the victim as 42-year-old Kimberly Cates. The medical examiner determined that she died from "multiple sharp injuries to the head, torso, left arm, and left leg." The victim's 10-year-old daughter sustained serious knife injuries that required hours of surgery. "She's still in the intensive care unit," Delker said. "Her injuries weren't life-threatening, but you shouldn't minimize the severities of the injuries she suffered." Delker said Kimberly Cates' husband was away on business at the time of the attack. Cates was a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire. "She worked part time in our maternal and labor department and also in our emergency department," Sarah Ward, director of marketing and communications for the hospital, said Tuesday. "The staff is pretty upset about it. They were pretty close to her." "The people up here aren't used to this kind of thing," Don Himsel, senior photo editor for the Nashua Telegraph, said Tuesday. "This never really happens." Himsel also said violent crime is extremely rare in Mont Vernon. "I think we may have had one assault in town in the last 10 years." The Mont Vernon Congregational Church opened its doors Wednesday for people who want to grieve, pray and meditate. "This is a way to come together peacefully; that's what we are trying to do," church official Jane Nilles said Wednesday. "The church understands that there are people hurting on both sides. This is a time to pray and ask for God's presence right now. It is a time to gather and to pray." On Tuesday, the state Department of Justice announced the arrests of the four teenagers accused of taking part in the crimes. Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, were charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, were charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and armed robbery. "The allegations are that Spader wielded the machete and Gribble used the knife, and each of them struck the victims," Delker said. Delker, who described the case as being in its earliest stages, said prosecutors will evaluate whether additional charges will be brought or upgraded. "Under New Hampshire law, anyone 17 and older is charged as an adult," Delker said. A probable cause hearing for the suspects will be held October 20. | [
"Who was killed?",
"Who has been charged in the Sunday incident in Mont Vernon?",
"Who was severely injured?",
"What did the state official say?",
"Where was the woman's husband at the time of the incident?",
"Where was woman's husband?"
] | [
[
"Kimberly Cates."
],
[
"Four teenagers"
],
[
"young daughter"
],
[
"announced the arrests of the four teenagers"
],
[
"away on business"
],
[
"away on business"
]
] | Four teens charged in Sunday incident in Mont Vernon .
42-year-old woman was killed; 10-year-old daughter severely injured .
Woman's husband was away on business at time of incident .
"This type of murder does not happen very often," state official says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A store owner in New York who is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a 4-year-old boy from a burning building said he plans to visit the child in the hospital Friday. Horia Cretan climbed up a fire escape and helped save a boy through the window of a burning building. Horia Cretan, who owns an electronics store in the Bronx structure where the fire broke out, also hopes to meet Christopher's parents for the first time, he told CNN's "American Morning." The boy is expected to recover, Cretan said. The child was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where a nurse said she couldn't provide his condition. Cretan, who moved to the United States from Romania 15 years ago, said he was inside his store Wednesday when he heard a child's screams. It was about 4 p.m., he said, about the time children play outside after getting out of school, but he said the screams he heard were "totally different." He reached a fire escape and climbed to the fourth floor, where a firefighter handed the boy to him through a smoke-clouded window, video from the scene shows. "What I was worried about is, is he still alive? Because his head just dropped, and he wasn't helping himself or helping me," Cretan said. "He just couldn't hold his weight and he was unconscious." While the firefighter was handing over the boy, other crew members were trying to get into the building's main entrance to make their way to the apartment where the fire was, the store owner said. Cretan covered himself and the boy with a blanket or curtain to shield themselves from falling debris and glass, which cut the boy on the leg. Watch Cretan describe the rescue » During the rescue, the boy's brother stood below, yelling, the rescuer said. Christopher was given oxygen on the ground and taken to the hospital. Cretan said it wasn't the first time he rescued someone. He said he rescued his sister from a fire in Romania that killed their father. The 33-year-old Cretan said he was 12 years old at the time. "It was a sad story, a tragic moment at the time," he said, referring to the Romanian incident. "And you know, it had an impact on people around the neighborhood like it does right now. It's amazing. This just skyrocketed." Cretan said he's received messages across the globe about the Bronx incident. "This has become famous because somebody happened to be on the corner with the camera pretty much. You don't do things like this for merit. The merit in itself is you save somebody," Cretan said. "And the whole community's just being great. Adopting me like a son, and I'm a part of a big family and I'm happy to have them in my life." | [
"Who was working in the store",
"What does Cretan plan to do?",
"Who did Cretan rescue at 12?",
"Who else did Cretan rescue",
"Where was Cretan when he heard screams?",
"what does Horia cretan says about when he heard a child's screams?",
"what happended to Cretan when he was 12 years old?",
"what does Cretan says about the boy?",
"Who is expected to recover",
"What has he received?",
"What was Horia Cretan doing?",
"What was the age Cretan when he rescued his sister?",
"What says Horia?"
] | [
[
"Horia Cretan,"
],
[
"visit the child in the hospital Friday."
],
[
"his sister"
],
[
"his sister from a fire in Romania"
],
[
"inside his store"
],
[
"still alive?"
],
[
"rescued his sister from a fire in Romania that killed their father."
],
[
"is expected to recover,"
],
[
"The boy is"
],
[
"messages across the globe about the Bronx incident."
],
[
"climbed up a fire escape and helped save a boy through the window of a burning building."
],
[
"12 years"
],
[
"\"What I was worried about is, is he still alive? Because his head just dropped, and he wasn't helping himself or helping me,\""
]
] | Horia Cretan says he was working in his store when he heard a child's screams .
The boy is expected to recover, says Cretan, who plans to visit the child .
He says he has received messages from around the world .
Cretan says at 12 he rescued his sister from a fire in which his father died . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A three-vehicle crash north of New York killed eight people, including four children, state police said on Sunday. One of the vehicles in the three-vehicle wreck was heading the wrong direction, police said. A fifth child is being treated for injuries suffered in the crash near Pleasantville, about 30 miles north of New York. Police initially reported no survivors. The crash happened when a minivan carrying the five children and one adult was heading the wrong way on a northbound lane of the Taconic State Parkway, police said. It crashed head-on into an SUV carrying three adults. The minivan then careened into a third vehicle before rolling over and bursting into flames, state police said. Watch investigators examine wreckage » The two adults in the third vehicle were being treated for minor injuries, police said. | [
"How many people are being treated for injuries?",
"Where did the crash happen?",
"How many died?",
"How many adults were killed in the crash?"
] | [
[
"A fifth child"
],
[
"near Pleasantville,"
],
[
"eight people,"
],
[
"eight people, including four children,"
]
] | Police: Four children, four adults killed in crash 30 miles north of New York .
Three other people, including one child, being treated for injuries .
Police: Wreck involved three vehicles, including one going the wrong direction . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A young man carrying what turned out to be a hairbrush died Monday night in a hail of bullets fired by New York police. Khiel Coppin's brother Joel Coppin spoke briefly with reporters saying, "We want justice." Authorities were responding to a 9-1-1 call his mother made about a "family dispute with a gun," police said. In the background of the call, played at a news conference Tuesday, 18-year-old Khiel Coppin can be heard saying, "I've got a gun, I've got a gun," New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told CNN. The teen put an object under his shirt and told his mother around the time she phoned 9-1-1 that he was going to say he had a gun, said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The teen told her, " 'I'm prepared to die,' " Kelly told reporters. When authorities arrived at the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, the teenager had something stuffed under his shirt and several times showed a knife to police. "Shoot me, kill me," he shouted, according to Kelly. "Come get me. I have a gun. Let's do this." Coppin ignored repeated commands to stop and get on the ground. Witnesses said the teen appeared to be holding an object underneath his shirt and pointed it at the officers. Coppin continued to approach officers, as they ordered him to stop, said Kelly. Twenty shots were fired; Coppin was struck eight times, Kelly said. "This was a terrible tragedy for Khiel's family, no doubt about it," said Kelly. But the commissioner stressed that officers reasonably believed they were about to receive fire. Kelly said the teen's mother reported he had not taken his anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medication. Police have not recovered a gun and do not believe that Coppin was armed, Kelly said. A reporter asked Kelly if it's possible the young man was goading police to shoot him, a phenomenon known commonly in law enforcement circles as suicide-by-cop. "That's certainly a possibility," said Kelly. "The boy didn't have no gun, he had a brush on him," said Andre Wildman, a neighbor who told CNN that he saw the shooting. Listen to mother's 911 call » Another neighbor, Wayne Holder, said police should be required to see a weapon before opening fire on a suspect. "At least see a gun before you start to discharge it," Holder said. Police "don't even have to see it, [if] they think you got one, you're going to get shot." Coppin was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, the medical examiner's office said. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network is expected to hold a news conference on Tuesday about the shooting. Police said they were investigating whether Coppin had a history of mental illness and whether his mother had tried to have him hospitalized earlier Monday. The shooting came a year after unarmed groom Sean Bell, 23, was killed hours before his wedding in a shooting involving New York police. In 1999, unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo, 22, died when police in the Bronx shot him 19 times. Bystander Dyshawn Gibson described Monday's shooting to CNN affiliate WABC-TV. "He dropped the brush," Gibson said. "He put his hands up. Police just started firing." Coppin was seen pacing around the apartment prior to the shooting, according to an initial police statement issued Monday night. "He began screaming from the window at his mother and the police," the police statement said. "At some point, the male climbed out of the window and began crossing the sidewalk toward the police." That's when police began firing, a police spokesman said. E-mail to a friend CNN's Jennifer Rizzo, Janine | [
"What did he shout?",
"What did Coppin have under his shirt?",
"What did the police fear?",
"What did the teen shout?",
"What did the unarmed teen shout?",
"What was the teen carrying?",
"Who was carrying a hairbrush?"
] | [
[
"\"Shoot me, kill me,\""
],
[
"hairbrush"
],
[
"they were about to receive fire."
],
[
"\"I've got a gun, I've got a gun,\""
],
[
"\"I've got a gun, I've got a gun,\""
],
[
"hairbrush"
],
[
"A young man"
]
] | Official: Unarmed teen hid object under shirt, shouted, "Kill me."
New York Police Commissioner: Police feared being fired upon .
Police confirm Khiel Coppin, 18, was carrying hairbrush under shirt .
Police say he ignored orders to halt; cops fired 20 shots, killing the teen . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage has pretty much got this acting thing down. After all, he started acting at the age of 15 and, well, he's got that Oscar. Nicolas Cage says that Academy Awards are "not as important as children and making them happy." So he doesn't really need to deliver another gut-wrenching performance to demonstrate his chops. In fact, he can deviate from a traditional film and venture into animated territory. He's voiced animated characters in the past, but in Disney's new 3-D tale "G-Force," Cage lends his voice to a mole. Speckles the star-nosed mole comes to life thanks to the film's impressive digital animation and Cage's voice. At first it's unclear that Cage is the voice behind Speckles, because he changes his sound for the critter, er, character. CNN talked to Cage about playing a mole, animated films and his taking walks in the forest. The following is an edited version of that interview: CNN: What do you play in this film? Nicolas Cage: I'm playing Speckles, the mole, and he's an outsider. He's an iconoclast -- he doesn't fit in. He doesn't get into the fray with the "G-Force," the other guinea pigs. But his IQ is off the charts, and he's a technological wizard. CNN: So, you're an Academy Award-winning actor, and you decided to play (this role). How did this come about? Cage: To me, nothing's more sacred than the magical world of children, and with everything that's going on in the world, it gets increasingly more challenging to keep our kids smiling -- people are losing their jobs, families are tense. So anything I can do to give families something to look forward to and to put a smile back on children's faces -- I'm gonna do. Disney has a great tradition of enchanting children and giving them something to behold. I mean, you mention Academy Awards -- I mean, that's not as important as children and making them happy. CNN: Tell me about your voice: Why did you decide to really change it when you read the script? Cage: Mel Blanc is a hero because of what he could do with his voice for all the Looney Tunes, the Warner Brothers cartoons, to be the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig. To me, he's a great actor. I mean, one of the great character actors, and I knew that if I was gonna be in this movie, I'd want to do something like that and transform my voice. CNN: So you're clearly comfortable playing a mole? Cage: I'm comfortable with the mole, yeah. I mean, yeah, he's different, he's got issues, you know? I don't want a perfect character, I want a character who has, as strange as it sounds, some humanity, some flaws, some needs. But to be fair, I'm not in a lot of this movie. This is Darwin's movie, um Sam Rockwell and Penelope Cruz's movie -- they're the stars. I'm only in it at the beginning and the end. CNN : You seem to be a big fan of animated films. Cage: I do enjoy animated movies. I really love anime and movies like "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle." I like movies where you feel like you're going into another world, and no matter how many times you watch it, you're gonna see something new in that world. That level of detail really inspires me. CNN: Is there less pressure doing an animated film and lending your voice to a character as opposed to a traditional film? Cage: Well, you don't have the pressure of the camera. And that's -- that's very liberating. And you do | [
"Who voices character of Speckles the mole in \"G-Force\"?",
"What is cages characters?",
"What did cage say?",
"Which actor voices the character Speckles in the film G Force?",
"Whom does Nicolas Cage voice in \"G-Force\"?",
"What character does Nicolas Cage voice in the film G Force?",
"What did Cage say?",
"What does Cage do?",
"What kind of movies does Cage like?"
] | [
[
"Nicolas Cage"
],
[
"Speckles the star-nosed mole"
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[
"that Academy Awards are \"not as important as children and making them happy.\""
],
[
"Nicolas Cage"
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[
"Speckles the star-nosed mole"
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[
"Speckles the star-nosed mole"
],
[
"that Academy Awards are \"not as important as children and making them happy.\""
],
[
"acting"
],
[
"animated"
]
] | Nicolas Cage voices character of Speckles the mole in "G-Force"
Disney's "G-Force" opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, July 24 .
"I like movies where you feel like you're going into another world," Cage says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- After arguing with her husband, Liza Murphy walked out of their home in Emerson, New Jersey, leaving behind her purse, her cigarettes, her cell phone and her three children, her husband told police. There has been no sign of her since August 19, 2007. Liza Murphy has been missing from her home in Emerson, New Jersey, since August 19, 2007. Murphy's friends and family reported her missing the next day. "In my heart, I fear the worst, that my daughter is gone," said her mother, Sophia Stellatos. Police searched extensively for Murphy, especially around a reservoir not far from her home, but they found nothing. Cadaver dogs caught her scent near the George Washington Bridge, but the trail went cold, police told the family. Deepening the mystery, her husband, Joe Murphy, tried to take his own life a few days after his wife disappeared by walking into oncoming traffic and throwing himself in front of a fire truck, police say. He was hospitalized and recovered from his injuries, but police say he hired a lawyer and is no longer cooperating with investigators. His lawyer said Murphy, an Irish immigrant, has nothing to hide from the authorities. He said his client has no criminal record and no history of violence. Attorney Joseph Rem added that there was no physical violence in the marriage. According to her family, Liza Murphy, 42, was not the type of person to take off on her own without letting her family know. Watch an update » "She would never leave her three children behind voluntarily," her mother insisted. "What doesn't make sense is Liza leaving her house without her purse, cell phone, wallet, keys or cigarettes," she added. "She was a heavy smoker, and if she took off after a fight for a walk to cool off, she definitely wouldn't leave without her cigarettes!" Liza Murphy and her husband were having marital problems, her family said. Stellatos described Joe Murphy as possessive of his wife, never allowing her to go out with her friends. She said he was even jealous if she spent time with her parents. Rem pointed out that his client has not been named as a suspect or a person of interest in the case. He said police have not asked to speak to his client recently. Liza Murphy's children are 15, 13 and 10 years old now. Joe Murphy has full custody of them, and the Stellatoses have not seen their grandchildren since shortly before their daughter disappeared. Murphy and her children had spent the week before her disappearance visiting with her parents, who live about 125 miles away. They returned the Friday before Murphy's disappearance. Police say both the Murphy home and their vehicles have been processed for forensics, but they found no evidence of foul play or struggle. Liza Murphy had been suffering from depression and was on medication for fibromyalgia, a painful condition that affects the muscles and soft tissues. Police say she may have been accosted after she left home, still stewing over the argument. The police seek the public's help in this case. Anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of Liza Murphy or the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance is asked to call the Emerson Police Department's tip line at 201-262-2800. | [
"Where did the dogs detect her scent?",
"What is the disappeared woman's name?",
"What number do you call if you have information?",
"When did the woman disappear?",
"What did the husband try after wards?"
] | [
[
"near the George Washington Bridge,"
],
[
"Liza Murphy"
],
[
"201-262-2800."
],
[
"August 19, 2007."
],
[
"to take his own life"
]
] | Woman disappeared after argument with husband .
Husband tried to kill himself after disappearance, denies involvement .
Cadaver dogs detected Liza Murphy's scent near George Washington Bridge .
Know something? Call 201-262-2800 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- All the news that's fit to print -- the motto of The New York Times -- does not necessarily apply to photos. The newspaper published an editor's note Thursday stating that pictures used in a photo essay in its most recent Sunday Magazine were digitally manipulated without the paper's knowledge. The Times commissioned Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins to shoot a Sunday magazine color photo essay titled "Ruins of the Second Gilded Age" to capture physical evidence of the real estate bust that took place across the United States. In the text that preceded the six photos that were published, the magazine stated that while the photographer "creates images with long exposures," he does so without digital manipulation. "A reader ... discovered upon close examination that one of the pictures was digitally altered, apparently for aesthetic reasons," the Times editors wrote. "Editors later confronted the photographer and determined that most of the images did not wholly reflect the reality they purported to show. Had the editors known that the photographs had been digitally manipulated, they would not have published the picture essay, which has been removed from the NYTimes.com," the note concluded. Numerous attempts by CNN to reach Edgar Martins by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful. The newspaper's decision to withdraw the photos left a publisher of Martins' book "Topologies" released in 2008, intrigued and surprised. "I think he's a great artist and we're very proud to have published his prior works," said Lesley Martin, publisher of Aperture books. She said that Martins' prior works frequently verge on abstract landscapes, including forests ravaged by fire and nighttime beaches. "His work has a certain visual effect. A distinct look and feel to it." However, Martin said she understands the newspaper's decision. Aperture books, which publishes a variety of photographic styles, including photojournalism, "would not have published this work in a strict journalistic context had we known there would be manipulation used," she said. | [
"What did Edgar Martins' photo essay showcase?",
"Photos in Sunday Magazine were changed for what reasons?",
"What was the reason for the edited photos?",
"What did New York Times admit?",
"What does Martins photo essay showcase ?",
"What did the New York Times admit?"
] | [
[
"titled \"Ruins of the Second Gilded Age\" to capture physical evidence of the real estate bust that took place across the United States."
],
[
"aesthetic reasons,\""
],
[
"aesthetic reasons,\""
],
[
"were digitally manipulated"
],
[
"the real estate bust that took place across the United States."
],
[
"one of the pictures was digitally altered,"
]
] | New York Times admits pictures in recent photo essay were digitally manipulated .
Editors say photos in Sunday Magazine were changed "for aesthetic reasons"
Photographer Edgar Martins' photo essay showcased real estate bust . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An Oscar-winning songwriter was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting women whom he would fly in to New York under the impression they were auditioning for movie roles, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Tuesday. Songwriter Joe Brooks is best known for writing "You Light Up My Life" and directing the movie. Joseph Brooks, 71, faces multiple charges including rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, grand larceny and criminal mischief. The charges involve 11 women, authorities said. Brooks won the Oscar for best original song for the 1977 song, "You Light Up My Life." He also directed the movie, which is about a director who has a one-night stand with an actress. "I'm flabbergasted," said actress Melanie Mayron, who starred in "You Light Up My Life." Mayron said she did not stay in contact with Brooks over the years but described him as a "lovely man." In the indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau alleges that Brooks would fly women in from California, Florida and Oregon for private auditions. He would serve the women one or two glasses of wine, said Lisa Friel, assistant district attorney. The women described feelings that suggest a date-rape drug was used, she said, but added that toxicology results were unclear. Shawni Lucier, Brooks' personal assistant, was also charged with criminal facilitation in connection with arranging some of the encounters. Brooks pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. Bail was set at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash. The suspect agreed to the terms and left the courthouse. He is set to return Thursday morning and meet the bail agreement, said Jeffery C. Hoffman, his lawyer. Hoffman said some of the women who made the accusations were trying out for a role in a screenplay Brooks wrote. None of the girls was chosen for the part and may feel "upset about that fact," the lawyer said. Hoffman said he is looking forward to proving his client's innocence. "All I can say is, my client is anxious to clear his name of these false charges," he added. | [
"What office charged Brooks with rape?",
"Who was the songwriter of \"You Light Up My Life\"?",
"Who wrote 'You Light Up My Life'?",
"What did the D.A.'s office charge Brooks with?",
"What son did Joseph Brooks write?",
"Brooks won an Oscar in what year?",
"What actor won 1977 Oscar?",
"What did Brooks win an Oscar for?"
] | [
[
"Manhattan District Attorney's"
],
[
"Joe Brooks"
],
[
"Joe Brooks"
],
[
"mischief."
],
[
"\"You Light Up My Life\""
],
[
"1977"
],
[
"Joseph Brooks,"
],
[
"\"You Light Up My Life.\""
]
] | "You Light Up My Life" songwriter Joseph Brooks indicted .
Manhattan D.A.'s office charged Brooks with rape, sexual abuse, other counts .
Brooks won Oscar for 1977 No. 1 song . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An actor who played a wannabe mobster in "The Sopranos" was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for a botched burglary that left an off-duty New York police officer dead.
Lillo Brancato Jr. appeared on "The Sopranos" and played alongside Robert De Niro in "A Bronx Tale."
The Bronx County District Attorneys Office had sought the maximum of 15 years for Lillo Brancato Jr., who was convicted last month of attempted burglary stemming from a fatal encounter with police officer Daniel Enchautegui.
Before the sentencing, Enchautegui's sister addressed the court to deliver a victim impact statement.
Enchautegui, 28, was shot in the chest when he interrupted an alleged break-in at a neighbor's home in the Bronx but managed to shoot both suspects multiple times before dying.
Brancato was cleared in Enchautegui's death, but his accomplice, Steven Armento, 51, was convicted in the shooting and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the trial, lawyers for Brancato argued that there was not a break-in. Brancato testified that he knew the owner of the home, a Vietnam veteran who had given him permission to enter the house and take painkillers or other pills whenever he wanted.
Brancato testified that he and Armento, 51, were drinking at a strip club when they decided to go hunt for valium. He admitted breaking a window at the home but said it was strictly because he was going through intense heroin withdrawal that night and was trying to wake up his friend to get drugs.
Brancato appeared on six episodes of the hit HBO series "The Sopranos" in 2000. As a teen, he starred alongside actor Robert De Niro in "A Bronx Tale." | [
"What was the charge?",
"What was Brancato cleared of?",
"Who played a wannabe mobster?",
"Who sought 15 years?",
"Who was cleared in officer's death?",
"What was the allegation?",
"Who sought 15 years for Lillo Brancato Jr. ?"
] | [
[
"attempted burglary"
],
[
"Enchautegui's death,"
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[
"Lillo Brancato Jr."
],
[
"The Bronx County District Attorneys Office"
],
[
"Brancato"
],
[
"attempted burglary"
],
[
"Bronx County District Attorneys Office"
]
] | Prosecutors sought 15 years for Lillo Brancato Jr. for attempted burglary .
Last month, Brancato was cleared in officer's death during alleged home invasion .
Actor said homeowner allowed him to enter home to get drugs when needed .
Brancato played a wannabe mobster on "The Sopranos" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An actor who played a wannabe mobster in "The Sopranos" was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for a botched burglary that left an off-duty New York police officer dead. Lillo Brancato Jr. appeared on "The Sopranos" and played alongside Robert De Niro in "A Bronx Tale." The Bronx County District Attorneys Office had sought the maximum of 15 years for Lillo Brancato Jr., who was convicted last month of attempted burglary stemming from a fatal encounter with police officer Daniel Enchautegui. Before the sentencing, Enchautegui's sister addressed the court to deliver a victim impact statement. Enchautegui, 28, was shot in the chest when he interrupted an alleged break-in at a neighbor's home in the Bronx but managed to shoot both suspects multiple times before dying. Brancato was cleared in Enchautegui's death, but his accomplice, Steven Armento, 51, was convicted in the shooting and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the trial, lawyers for Brancato argued that there was not a break-in. Brancato testified that he knew the owner of the home, a Vietnam veteran who had given him permission to enter the house and take painkillers or other pills whenever he wanted. Brancato testified that he and Armento, 51, were drinking at a strip club when they decided to go hunt for valium. He admitted breaking a window at the home but said it was strictly because he was going through intense heroin withdrawal that night and was trying to wake up his friend to get drugs. Brancato appeared on six episodes of the hit HBO series "The Sopranos" in 2000. As a teen, he starred alongside actor Robert De Niro in "A Bronx Tale." | [
"Who had the sentence?",
"What role did Brancato play on \"The Sopranos\"?",
"Who did Brancato play?",
"Who did he play?",
"How many years did prosecutors want to charge Lillo Brancato Jr. with for attempted burglary?",
"How many years?",
"What is Brancato's occupation?",
"Who was cleared in the officer's death?",
"How many years are sought for Brancato?"
] | [
[
"Lillo Brancato Jr."
],
[
"wannabe mobster in"
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[
"wannabe mobster"
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[
"wannabe mobster in \"The Sopranos\""
],
[
"15"
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[
"10"
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[
"actor"
],
[
"Brancato"
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[
"15"
]
] | Prosecutors sought 15 years for Lillo Brancato Jr. for attempted burglary .
Last month, Brancato was cleared in officer's death during alleged home invasion .
Actor said homeowner allowed him to enter home to get drugs when needed .
Brancato played a wannabe mobster on "The Sopranos" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An expert on Lincoln photography thinks a photograph found in Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's family-owned album showing President Abraham Lincoln in front of the White House could be one of the last photos taken of the 16th president before he was assassinated in 1865. A photo found in Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's family album is verified to contain an image of Abraham Lincoln. Grant's great-great grandson Ulysses S. Grant VI had seen the previously unpublished image in the general's personal photo album, but didn't think much of it until he scrutinized it earlier this year. "I started to think that it might be the White House," said Grant, a construction business owner from Springfield, Missouri. "Then I started to look at the height difference between the people in the photo." Thinking that the towering individual commanding the attention of the other people in the image could be Lincoln -- who stood 6-foot-4 and is the nation's tallest president -- Grant called Keya Morgan, a renowned collector and scholar of Lincoln and Gen. Grant photographs, to see whether his suspicions could be verified. Morgan, who owns the world's largest collection of Lincoln artifacts and original photographs, persuaded Grant to take the small photo out of the album to see whether any clues could be found on the back -- particularly the name of the photographer. "If you don't know who the photographer is, it's like not knowing who your father and mother are," Morgan said. Sure enough, the seal of photographer Henry F. Warren appeared on the back, along with an inscription: "Lincoln in front of the White House," dated 1865. Grant recognized the handwriting as that of his great-grandfather and Gen. Grant's youngest son, Jesse Grant. Those indicators, along with a revenue stamp used from 1864-66 to raise money during the Civil War, helped convince Morgan that the photograph could be the well-documented missing photo from Lincoln's last "sitting." Watch how photograph was verified » According to Morgan -- who cites Lincoln's secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay -- Warren took the last three photographs of Lincoln on March 6, 1865, just two days after his second inauguration. Morgan says Warren was desperate to take pictures of Lincoln, so he staged the first act of paparazzi photography. According to Morgan, Warren first took photos of the president's son Tad on his pony. The following day, Warren gave the pictures to Tad and told him to summon his father. Morgan says that Warren was already set up to take the photo outside the White House, and that Lincoln gave him access afterward to take two more portraits on the White House balcony. Will Stapp, founding curator of the National Portrait Gallery's photography department and a professional photograph appraiser, agrees with Morgan's assessment of the long-lost image. "The figure itself, the physique -- in looking at it under a magnifying glass, I can see the shape of his beard; I can see the hairline," Stapp told CNN. "It's similar to the impression you get from other photos taken of [Lincoln] from the same distance, like at the Gettysburg Address and his inauguration." Stapp and Morgan also say it appears that Lincoln is wearing the same clothes in the outdoor photo as he wore for the portraits taken the same day. As one of only 130 photographs of Lincoln, it is an extraordinary find not only because of its proximity to Lincoln's death, but because it shows him in a natural stance. "You could put yourself in the shoes of the people around [Lincoln] and see what it was like to live at the White House," said Morgan, who says he receives 10 to 20 requests a day asking him to verify potential Lincoln photographs. Morgan, who purchased the photo from Grant, says he has received thousands of e-mails from Lincoln aficionados commenting on the find. His Web site, lincolnimages.com, received more than 5 million hits on Tuesday and crashed because of the traffic overload. | [
"Whose seal was on the back of the photograph?",
"What was on the back of the photo?",
"Who was the photographer whose seal was on the back of the photographs?",
"When did Warren take the last three photos?",
"On what date were the last three photos of Lincoln taken?",
"Who verified the family photo?",
"Whose family portrait was taken for verification?",
"What did Grant's great-great grandson take to a scholar for verification?",
"Who took the last three photos of Lincoln?"
] | [
[
"of photographer Henry F. Warren"
],
[
"the seal of photographer Henry F. Warren"
],
[
"Henry F. Warren"
],
[
"March 6, 1865,"
],
[
"March 6, 1865,"
],
[
"Morgan, a renowned collector and scholar of Lincoln and Gen. Grant photographs,"
],
[
"Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's"
],
[
"image of Abraham Lincoln."
],
[
"Ulysses S. Grant's"
]
] | Ulysses S. Grant's great-great grandson took family photo to scholar for verification .
Seal of photographer Henry F. Warren appeared on the back of photograph .
Warren took the last three photographs of Lincoln on March 6, 1865 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An investigation commissioned by the city of New York found private gun vendors selling weapons to buyers who admitted not being able to pass background checks, breaking federal law, a report released Wednesday says.
It is illegal for unlicensed sellers to sell a gun if there is reason to think the buyer would fail a background check.
The sales were made at seven gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada, the report says. Hired investigators with hidden cameras were able to purchase guns from private sellers after announcing to the vendors they could not pass a background check, it says.
Nineteen of the 30 private sellers the undercover investigators dealt with failed the integrity test, according to the report.
The law does not require private unlicensed sellers at gun shows to do background checks on their customers. However, it is a federal felony for unlicensed sellers to sell a gun if they have a reason to believe the buyer would fail a background check.
There were no arrests and no lawsuit were filed.
"Closing the gun show loophole has nothing to do with the Second Amendment," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference Wednesday. "It is basic law enforcement, plain and simple."
He said he does not want to shut down gun shows but to change the law.
He cited a 2000 study from the then-Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms saying 30 percent of guns involved in federal illegal gun trafficking investigations are connected in some way to gun shows. The figure is disputed by gun proponents.
"We believe anyone who breaks the law should be arrested, prosecuted and punished," the National Rifle Association said in a statement supplied to CNN. "Instead of working with law enforcement to bring those who may have broken the law to justice, Mayor Bloomberg chose to use this information for a press conference. Bloomberg's priorities are clearly media first, justice later."
But Bloomberg has support from some in Washington, including Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey.
"This investigation reveals how easy it is for criminals and even terrorists to purchase firearms at gun shows and is further proof that we must close the gun show loophole," Lautenberg said in a written statement. | [
"how many private sellers are?",
"19 of 30 private sells failed what test?",
"What \"has nothing to do with the Second Amendment\"?",
"What did the NYC mayor say was \"basic law enforcement\"?"
] | [
[
"30"
],
[
"the integrity"
],
[
"\"Closing the gun show loophole"
],
[
"\"Closing the gun show loophole"
]
] | Sales made at gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee, Nevada, report says .
19 of 30 private sellers in sting failed the integrity test, according to the report .
Closing gun-show loophole "is basic law enforcement," NYC mayor says .
It "has nothing to do with the Second Amendment," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ariel Binns is cute, smart, outgoing and looks remarkably like first daughter Sasha Obama. Young model Ariel Binns, right, resembles Sasha Obama. The similarity has not gone unnoticed by the fashion industry. Harper's Bazaar magazine cast the 6-year-old Brooklyn, New York, first-grader with model Tyra Banks in a photo spread showing an African-American family in the White House. Binns, a child model, was peering out from under a big wooden desk in an image reminiscent of John F. Kennedy's time in office. When it comes to fashion there's nothing like a powerful brand to boost sales, especially if that brand is a dynamic first family. "Marketers are finally waking up to it -- you know -- black is beautiful," says global branding expert David Rogers who predicts African-American models will play a more prominent role in fashion photography as a direct result of the Obamas. "It's just going to become part of the fabric of the fashion imagery of pop culture, which is a great thing," says Rogers. Watch young first daughter look-alike model » At Wilhelmina Kids, a modeling agency in New York for kids and teens, agents say there is increased demand for first daughter look-alikes. "It's a trend because, what little girl doesn't want to emulate the first kids?" said Marlene Wallach, president of Wilhelmina, which represents Binns. Unlike the Bush twins or Chelsea Clinton, global branding experts say the appeal of the Obama girls is unique -- and infinitely marketable. After the first kids appeared in their J.Crew outfits on Inauguration Day, the company's Web site got so many hits, it crashed. "The most visible, most exciting family in America is this beautiful black family and so people are ready and looking for those kinds of images," says branding expert David Rogers, adding that a lot of Americans want to identify and, "find some sort of connection with this family." There is a downside. The Obamas were not happy when toy manufacturer Ty Inc. came out with African-American dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia even though the company said the dolls did not look like the Obama girls. First lady Michelle Obama's office said it was "inappropriate to use young private citizens for marketing purposes." New York clinical psychologist Judy Kuriansky says many famous families face similar problems. "I can certainly understand Michelle Obama being protective of her children. Many celebrities in Hollywood feel that way too. They don't want their children exposed to the public, because once the child is exposed to the public image, not only are they owned, but they could be used in many different ways and it takes away from the child growing up as a normal, average child." Still, some say the celebrity of Sasha and Malia has a positive effect by presenting a positive and prominent image of young African-American girls. Asked whether she believes the Obama girls will open up possibilities for her own child, Ariel Binns' mom Dawn Crooks says, "I think it will. I hope it does." As for the overall effect, branding expert Rogers says he believes using look-alikes will take diversity to a whole new level. | [
"What website crashed?",
"What is the tagline that marketers are using?",
"What company's site crashed after Obama daughters wore its clothes?",
"What are marketers finally waking up to?",
"Who does a young model look like that is getting her jobs?",
"Who does the model look like?"
] | [
[
"J.Crew"
],
[
"black is beautiful,\""
],
[
"J.Crew"
],
[
"black is beautiful,\""
],
[
"Obama."
],
[
"Sasha Obama."
]
] | One young model is getting jobs because she looks like an Obama daughter .
Expert: "Marketers are finally waking up to it -- you know -- black is beautiful"
J.Crew's Web site crashed after Obama girls wore the brand on Inauguration Day . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- As Britain's Prince Harry neared the end of his second and final day in New York City on Saturday, he described his experiences as "fantastic." Prince Harry smiles whilte touring the Harlem Children's Zone on Saturday during a 36-hour visit to New York. The 24-year-old visited the Harlem Children's Zone, a nonprofit organization that offers free programs and classes in a low-income area, then went to Governors Island in New York Harbor to play in the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic. Profits from the match will benefit Sentebale, a charity for orphans in Lesotho, Africa, a cause Harry's mother, Princess Diana, had promoted. The prince was accompanied by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who also lost his mother when he was young. The men toured the Children's Zone with founder Geoffrey Canada, and spent time in a classroom where some students were studying for a math test. A 10-year-old girl sitting at a desk covered with drawing paper and colored markers gave Harry a picture. "Is this for me?" Harry asked as he accepted it. Pointing to the desk and pens, he then asked, "You find yourself very lucky to have all this?" When she nodded, he replied "Good." A young boy gave Harry a bowl containing a dish he had prepared, and the prince ate it while the child sounded off the ingredients. Throughout the classroom visit, the prince smiled and chatted easily with students. Watch Soledad O'Brien's report on the Children's Zone » Cheering people lined the street as Harry entered the building. As he left, reporters shouted questions. Asked how he liked his first official visit overseas and meeting the children, the prince responded, "It's been fantastic -- really, really worthwhile." "It's my first visit to New York. I'm hopeful I'll come back to visit again." He also was asked whether he thought his appearances would change any image the public might have of him, apparently referring to some of his wild exploits ways when he was younger. Those incidents included a one-day stint in drug rehab in 2002 and accusations of racism in January. "I don't know what the image is of me. There is always the image that's been given to me, but people have their own opinions, it's the media that likes to stamp on the image which isn't really me." On Friday, the youngest son of Princess Diana offered his condolences to September 11 victims at the former site of the World Trade Center. The prince met New York Gov. David Paterson and briefly spoke with family members of 9/11 victims. The prince then laid a wreath at the site and bowed his head in a moment of silence. Watch Prince Harry's visit to Ground Zero » He left a handwritten note tacked to the wreath, citing an "the courage shown by the people" of New York on September 11, 2001. Harry later paid tribute to his fellow citizens at Lower Manhattan's British Garden at Hanover Square, where he honored the 67 British victims of the September 11 attacks, officials said. The third in line for the British crown, Harry is active in the British Army. He received a promotion to lieutenant in April 2008 and is currently training for an Army Air Corps pilot position, according to the prince's Web site. | [
"Where does Prince Harry visit?",
"What does the Prince take part in?",
"who visit Prince Harry?",
"Prince Harry takes part in what Manhattan sport?",
"What did Prince Harry say about his first trip to New York?"
] | [
[
"New York City"
],
[
"touring the Harlem Children's Zone"
],
[
"Seeiso of Lesotho,"
],
[
"Polo"
],
[
"\"fantastic.\""
]
] | Prince Harry visits a nonprofit that offers free programs and classes in Harlem .
Harry also takes part in the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic .
On first visit to New York: "Fantastic. ... I'm hopeful I'll come back to visit again"
24-year-old plays down criticisms of past, says media "stamps on" false image . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- As with many jokes, it started with a small jab at the expense of New Jersey. Talk show host Conan O'Brien is locked in a playful feud with the mayor of Newark, New Jersey. The gags continued Monday night when "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien ventured into "the biggest scandal in the country that's now involving a late-night host." O'Brien was, of course, referring to his continuing comical conflict with the city of Newark, New Jersey, and its mayor, Cory Booker. It all began on September 23, when O'Brien, in his nightly comical spiel, joked that Booker's plan to improve citizens' health care in New Jersey's largest city "would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark." The Internet-savvy mayor, who has more than 800,000 followers on Twitter, fired back on YouTube, stating that O'Brien is no longer welcome at Newark International Airport. "I'm officially putting you on the Newark, NJ, no fly list -- try JFK, buddy," Booker quipped. That video has since amassed more than 119,000 hits on YouTube. The verbal melee didn't stop there. Watch the jousting escalate » O'Brien retaliated by sarcastically stating that Newark is "one of America's greatest cities," and proceeded to pair its "thriving arts scene" with an image of a graffiti-ridden wall and its "exciting regional cuisine" with a Dunkin Donuts sign. He then banned Booker from an airport in Burbank, California, near Los Angeles. On October 1, Booker, claiming solidarity with all New Jersey's mayors, retorted by posting another YouTube video outlawing O'Brien from the entire state. "Now listen, you may like Boardwalk and Park Place, but the only way you're going to get to them is on a Monopoly board," the mayor said. O'Brien, forced to pull out the big guns, Friday banished the mayor from California entirely. In his latest barb on Monday, O'Brien revealed that the mayor of a neighboring New Jersey city, Elizabeth, had sent him a letter welcoming him "with open arms to Elizabeth." Mayor Chris Bollwage claims that Newark airport's Terminal A actually lies within his municipality and he intends to rename it the Conan O'Brien Terminal if and when the talk show host ever decides to visit. O'Brien then launched a "campaign to surround and crush" Newark and the "drunk on power" Mayor Booker by making courteous tongue-in-cheek overtures to other adjacent towns, forming a "geographic toilet seat around the city of Newark." The charismatic Booker, widely popular in a state often plagued by corrupt politicians, was elected in 2006. He has promoted a sense of urban renewal in Newark, New Jersey's largest city, which has suffered high crime and poverty rates over the past few decades. Booker's office had no statement available early this week regarding the newest swipe at his city. The humorous altercation illustrates a recent shift in the media landscape. "The Tonight Show," catering to a traditional broadcast audience, now competes with the Web's constantly streaming flow of viral videos, which are popular amongst O'Brien's target audience. What will become of the sparring remains to be seen. While O'Brien did invite Booker to be a guest on "The Tonight Show" and the mayor extended O'Brien an invitation to Newark, such visits could pose a problem, seeing as how each is banned from the other's state. "I think we have to meet in neutral territory" O'Brien said on Friday's show. "I think we're going to meet in Lebanon, Kansas." That community is often billed as the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. On Friday, the dispute was widened by Joe Territo, content director for NJ.com, a Web site affiliated with 13 major New Jersey newspapers. Territo declared through an article on the site that O'Brien is barred from using NJ.com because of his anti-Jersey sentiments. "Perhaps O'Brien has never been to NJ.com, and perhaps he has never been interested | [
"When did the feud begin?",
"Who has been trading barbs with the mayor of Newark, New Jersey?",
"Where was Conan O'brien banned from?",
"Who \"banned\" the \"Tonight Show\" host from Newark airport?",
"Who has been trading barbs?",
"When did the \"feud\" begin?",
"Who has been trading barbs with the mayor of Newark?"
] | [
[
"September 23,"
],
[
"Conan O'Brien"
],
[
"Newark International Airport."
],
[
"Cory Booker."
],
[
"Conan O'Brien"
],
[
"September 23,"
],
[
"Conan O'Brien"
]
] | Conan O'Brien has been trading barbs with the mayor of Newark, New Jersey .
The "feud" began after the comic joked the mayor's health care plan .
Mayor Cory Booker then "banned" the "Tonight Show" host from Newark airport .
Conan: "It's your move, Mayor Booker" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Asa Hill was 7 years old when he died. Although the boy was pulled out of a burning car alive in a horrific accident on the Niagara Thruway on Thursday, his injuries proved critical, and he passed away the following night. Amilcar Hill and Rahwa Ghirmatzion hug at their son's funeral, which ended with their wedding. The Buffalo, New York, community, shaken, turned out in large numbers at his funeral Monday to support his parents, Amilcar Hill and Rahwa Ghirmatzion, and were pleasantly surprised when the couple ended the service with a wedding ceremony, a fulfillment of their son's wish. The Rev. Joel Miller of The Unitarian Universalist Church of Elmwood, where the service was held, was unsure at first when the idea of a wedding was proposed by the couple and their family. "I asked twice, 'We're doing a wedding?' This was new for me. I never did a funeral service and a wedding ceremony at the same time, and normally wouldn't, but they have known each other since they were teens," Miller said. "And they had been providing for Asa, and they made a home together for all of Asa's life. ... It was clear they were following through on something they had been talking about for some time." Watch the funeral and wedding ceremony » Hill and Ghirmatzion have been best friends since they were 15 and have been together for almost half of their lives. After Asa was born, marriage had always been something that they considered but, according to Hill, both felt that a wedding was "superficial and not necessary." Asa, however, was insistent that they make their union official. "Asa really wanted us to do it, and every time he would ask us we would say, 'Yes, we'll get married,' " said Hill. But the couple never did get around to figuring out the logistics for a ceremony. While holding his lifeless son in his arms at the hospital, Hill was moved to finally officially propose to his lifelong partner. "Rahwa was overwhelmed at that moment and just looked at me. When the family sat down to plan the funeral service, she said 'Let's get married.' And everyone broke down at the table," he said. The marriage took place after a service filled with African drums, dancing, sermons and family and friends sharing memories of Asa, all in celebration of his life. Miller said about 1,100 people attended the service, with hundreds overflowing onto the church lawn, where sound systems were set up so they could hear the service. When the wedding was announced, there were shocked cheers and applause from those in the church pews. "We wanted it to be a surprise," Hill said. "We knew it would be a joyous moment. You could see how it lifted them, and we figured, why not make it a surprise at the end." The Unitarian Universalist Church was chosen because its non-denominational tradition would welcome all the diverse groups of the Elmwood community, Hill said. The family has strong ties to the community and, according to Miller, who had known Asa since he was 5, Asa embodied this. "He was a powerful presence: direct, smart, and had a way of bringing people together," Miller said. "When you met him, you knew you met someone. We all didn't know each other, but we knew Asa and his family." | [
"What did the parents decided to do after his death?",
"who died last week",
"Did boy died who has been involved in traffic accident?",
"What did Asa HIll want his parents to do?"
] | [
[
"ended the service with a wedding ceremony,"
],
[
"Asa Hill"
],
[
"he passed away the following night."
],
[
"make their union official."
]
] | 7-year-old Asa Hill had asked his parents over and over to get married .
The boy died last week after being injured in traffic accident .
As parents dealt with his death, they decided to marry at the end of his funeral .
Wedding came as a joyous surprise to mourners who filled the church . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- At 80, Maya Angelou says her "knees are not all that swift and my lungs need some extra help but other than that, my desire to learn and to share, that has not abated." Maya Angelou urges politicians to "aim for the high ground" in her new book, "Letter to My Daughter." She shares what she's learned in an eventful life in her best-selling new book, "Letter to My Daughter." Angelou achieved fame for her autobiographical writing, including "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and her poetry. She read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Clinton's first inauguration. She was only the second poet invited to read at the swearing in of a new president. But her career has had many facets -- Angelou has been a singer, dancer, playwright, director and teacher. In 166 pages, "Letter to My Daughter" distills stories from Angelou's life into universal lessons. She writes about birth, life and death, about the ways people misunderstand each other and then transcend their conflict. She calls on national leaders to raise the country's spirit and on Americans to remember that this is the nation that defeated the Nazis and expanded people's freedom through the civil rights movement. "Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow," she writes. "Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone." In an interview last week in her 1881 brownstone in Harlem, decorated in vibrant, bright colors, Angelou sat at the round table in her dining room, sipping coffee, as she talked about the election and her work. She supported Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination and then backed Sen. Barack Obama once the primaries were over. CNN: In the chapter called "National Spirit," you call on political leaders to raise the level of discussion. Could you elaborate on that? Maya Angelou: What I've encouraged voters to do is to vote for the person I am extolling, and also don't expect that if your man or woman gets in, that all things will be rectified immediately. It's taken us a long time to come to this place of weariness and almost hopelessness. So because Obama gets in or McCain gets in, it's not going to be repaired overnight. The economy is not going to be repaired, the schools -- the disaster in our schools -- will not be repaired overnight. Nor will the social conversation be repaired overnight. However, I would encourage every voter to say to his or her candidate, go in and do it, and you will not do it alone. I will help. You have to get up off that sofa or off that couch and give something to the country -- even if it's one hour every other week to an old people's home -- I will read, go into the children's ward and read, or give to your church or your synagogue or your mosque. ... Offer something to the country. So you don't just sit there. CNN: What does it say about the country that Barack Obama is a candidate to be president? Angelou: The country is growing up and confessing to something we've known all along. What prevented us from admitting that we knew that? And I was taken back to slavery. If you will have a person enslaved, the first thing you must do is convince yourself that the person is subhuman. The second thing you have to do is convince your allies so you'll have some help, and the third and probably unkindest cut of all is to convince that person that he or she is subhuman and deserves it. Well, such a job has been done on all of us that people found it very difficult to admit that human beings are more alike than we are unalike. We've known it. But to admit it, you have to | [
"What should not be expected?",
"Who says that politicians should raise the level of discussion?",
"What did Maya Angelou says?"
] | [
[
"rectified immediately."
],
[
"Maya Angelou"
],
[
"\"knees are not all that swift and my lungs need some"
]
] | Maya Angelou: No matter who wins, don't expect an overnight turnaround .
Angelou says politicians should raise the level of discussion .
She says voting is not enough, people need to volunteer to help others .
Angelou: You will encounter defeats, but don't be defeated . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Barely six months after being crowned the winner of "American Idol," David Cook has released his self-titled debut album. David Cook recently released his debut album, which includes songs about his family. The Missouri native (no relation to the author of this article) described the recording process as "squeezing a year's worth of work on a record into 2½ months." But he's very happy with the result. "It's a very accurate definition of where I'm at, where I was and where I want to be," he said. Cook sticks to his rock roots on the release, eliciting help from ex-Soundgarden member Chris Cornell to write the lead single, "Light On." He also keeps loved ones close: The track "Heroes" is a tribute to his family. "Permanent" (which Cook describes as having a "delicate and lullaby feel") and "A Daily AntheM" ("sing-alongy and grandiose") acknowledge his older brother, who is battling brain cancer. The latter song was written three years before Cook's "Idol" run, when he was cutting his teeth as a grass-roots rocker. Watch David Cook show his chops » Cook, 25, dropped by CNN's New York offices (with his mother, Beth Foraker, in tow) to talk about keeping creative control, losing his privacy and his responsibility as Idol No. 7. The following is an edited version of that interview. CNN: You were very involved in the making of your debut album, weren't you? David Cook: Yeah. Out of 12 songs on the record, I wrote or co-wrote 10, and the label was even kind enough to let me get involved with the art direction on the record. So it was a busy summer. CNN: You actually have a degree in graphic design, don't you? Cook: I spent five long years at the University of Central Missouri. It should've been four, but I enjoyed college a little bit more than I should have. CNN: There's skepticism that American Idols have very little control over the music they ultimately make. That wasn't the case for you? Cook: Well, I can't speak for anybody else except myself, and I guess in that sense, I lucked out. I mean, 19 [Entertainment] and RCA really [gave] me a little bit of carte blanche to allow me to make a record that is me. And to that end, I think we managed to pull something really cool off. CNN: What was your approach with the music? Cook: I tried to put music down on this record that [translated] live. I want these songs to make people feel things and invoke certain responses in an audience. And so it's a lot of very epic choruses and open bridges and stuff like that. Something that will give a show some room to meander and feel like a unique experience for everybody. CNN: [Lead single "Light On"] debuted on the Billboard charts at No. 17, and then several weeks later -- about four -- it dropped to No. 80. Was that discouraging? Cook: No, not really. I think, for us, it's all about the long-term results. And I feel like the song seems to be getting speed now, especially with the record coming out. It just feels like everything's headed in the right direction, so I'm definitely not one to hang my head on immediate results. I'd rather the song hit No. 1 four months from now if it's gonna do it. I'm just excited to get this record out. I'm excited to have people hear it. CNN: When you were catapulted to fame, did you ever experience any self-doubt or feelings of insecurity? Cook: I'll be the first to admit there are [musicians] out there who are way better than me | [
"What did David Cook win?",
"Who was the 7th American idol?",
"What did Cook cowrite?",
"Who won American Idol?",
"Who became the seventh American Idol?",
"Who wrote the songs?"
] | [
[
"\"American Idol,\""
],
[
"David Cook"
],
[
"\"Light On.\""
],
[
"David Cook"
],
[
"David Cook"
],
[
"David Cook:"
]
] | David Cook became the seventh "American Idol" in the spring .
Cook wrote or co-wrote most songs on debut, even helped design art .
Cook and "Idol" runner-up David Archuleta get along fine . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Before Monday, Eliot Spitzer was a rising star in the Democratic Party -- his squeaky-clean image as a corruption buster led to his being mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate and possibly even a future White House contender. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer arrives with his wife Monday for a press conference. Now, after federal investigators have linked the New York governor to a top-dollar prostitution ring, political advisers are split over whether Spitzer has any political future at all. "There's no way he can survive it," said Ed Rollins, a Republican political consultant and adviser to former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. "All the facts aren't out there, but as they're being reported, there's no way you can survive. "Not only is he a hypocrite, he may also end up being a charged felon." On Monday, Spitzer publicly apologized for an undisclosed personal matter. He did not specifically mention the prostitution sting, nor did he resign. Watch Spitzer's apology » The apology came four days after federal prosecutors announced the arrests of four people in an international prostitution ring that charged clients up to $5,500 an hour. A source with knowledge of the probe said that wiretaps in the case identify Spitzer as an unnamed client who met a prostitute on February 13 at a Washington hotel. Many political professionals said they were stunned by Monday's developments regarding Spitzer, a man who once made a name for himself going after organized crime and Wall Street corruption as New York's attorney general. "Obviously, the facts are going to come out in the next several days and the story will be told," said Robert Zimmerman, a political adviser and Democratic National Committee member. "But if the facts are as we suspect, it's very hard to imagine him staying in office." But James Carville, a CNN political analyst and onetime adviser to former President Bill Clinton, said Spitzer could hold on to his position if the scandal remains strictly about sex -- or if it's revealed that his political enemies were responsible for leaking the story. Carville mentioned other high-profile politicians who have weathered sex scandals, including Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after his arrest in a men's room sex sting, and his own former client, President Clinton. "All of us remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the immediate rush to judgment," he said. "A lot of people said, 'How could Bill Clinton survive a scandal like that?' Yet, he managed to survive. "If it's not a financial or monetary thing involved, I don't know." Watch a discussion of Spitzer's political future » On a more personal level, Dina Matos, the estranged wife of former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey -- who resigned after an alleged affair with a male political aide -- said Spitzer should step down whether he thinks he can salvage his political career or not. McGreevey, who announced he is gay and is now attending an Episcopalian seminary, and Matos are in the midst of divorce proceedings. Matos said "was very difficult for the family" when her husband tried to hang on to the governor's office for several months after stories about the relationship with the aide surfaced. "I thought Gov. Spitzer was going to announce his resignation today," Matos told CNN's "Larry King Live." "By not doing so, he's only prolonging the pain and and anguish and humiliation for his wife and family." Watch responses to the question: Will Spitzer have to resign? » If Spitzer resigns, Lt. Gov. David Paterson would complete his term in accordance with the New York state constitution. Paterson, 53, is the highest-ranking African-American elected official in New York state. Paterson, who is legally blind, is a leading advocate for the visually and physically impaired. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who is the govenor?",
"Who was a hard-charging ex-prosecutor?",
"Who is the estranged wife?",
"Who said Spitzer should resign?"
] | [
[
"Eliot Spitzer"
],
[
"Eliot Spitzer"
],
[
"Dina Matos,"
],
[
"Dina Matos,"
]
] | N.Y. governor, a hard-charging ex-prosecutor, falls far amid link to prostitution .
"There's no way he can survive" scandal, GOP consultant and adviser says .
Ex-Bill Clinton adviser: He has a chance if scandal's enemy-driven or only about sex .
Estranged wife of ex-N.J. governor says Spitzer should resign to spare family grief . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Before heading out for a trio of well-publicized meetings with foreign dignitaries Tuesday, Sarah Palin received a briefing from the director of national security, Adm. Michael McConnell. Gov. Sarah Palin is in New York to meet with leaders from around the world. The appearances with world leaders, taking place on the sidelines of the United Nation's General Assembly meetings in New York, come as the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain tries to convince voters that Palin is ready for the world stage. Palin's top foreign policy adviser informed reporters of the meeting at a small briefing after Palin's visits with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The adviser, Stephen Biegun, formerly a top member of the National Security Council under President Bush, characterized the intelligence briefing as "routine" and said it was the sort of meeting that "is standard for candidates for the vice president and president." Biegun said several officials were present to brief Palin. Although Palin held photo-ops with the leaders, she refused to take questions from any reporters. The Alaska governor initially said that no reporters would be allowed to sit in on her meeting with Karzai. She planned to allow in only photographers and one television crew, but she changed her position after at least five U.S. news networks protested. CNN does not send cameras into candidate events where editorial presence is not allowed. Nonetheless, Biegun said, "these are relationships that she intuitively understands are very important for the next president and vice president of the United States." In those get-togethers, Palin kept the focus primarily on energy issues and the growing influence of Russia, according to Biegun. Palin found Kissinger particularly engrossing; their meeting had been scheduled to last 30 minutes, but the two met for nearly an hour and a half. "In talking to Dr. Kissinger," Biegun said, "she certainly had a lot of questions about how the United States can develop a cooperative relationship with Russia, what are some of the unique challenges to the current state of Russia's political development, and having been in particular, some of the recent developments we've seen with Russia: backsliding democracy, Russia's incursion into Georgia." Asked about her meetings with Karzai and Uribe, Biegun said Palin "liked them very much" and "established a great personal rapport." With Karzai, Palin chatted for half an hour about McCain's desire to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. With Uribe, she listened for about 20 minutes as the president discussed the country's security situation and its handling of guerrillas. According to Biegun, "rather than make specific policy prescriptions, she was largely listening, having an exchange of views, and also very interested in forming a relationship with people she met with today." Biegun is helping prepare Palin for her debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden on October 2 in St. Louis, Missouri. He would not say what specific topics Palin was concentrating on in her study sessions. James Hoge of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Palin meetings are meant to "show, just as [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack] Obama did when he went to Germany and gave a speech in Berlin, that she is comfortable on the international scene, that she can hold her own in conversations with foreign leaders. Watch what's on Palin's agenda » Democrats warn that Palin's carefully scripted photo-ops, some of which will include McCain, could backfire by bringing attention to the holes in her résumé. "The big risk that they run with this strategy of having her meet with these leaders individually is that they end up with three days of stories about how she doesn't have foreign policy experience," said Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist and CNN contributor. But Republicans point out that Palin is just following in the footsteps of other national candidates such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, former governors who needed to beef up their international policy credentials. "The first thing you | [
"What state was Palan gorvernor of?",
"What was the duration of the meeting with Kissinger?",
"Who did she meet for an hour and a half?",
"Who does Palin debate next week in St. Louis?",
"who is kissinger?",
"Who is Palin meeting on the sidelines?",
"Where was Palin born?",
"who palin debates?",
"who palin meets with?",
"Who will she debate with next week?"
] | [
[
"Alaska"
],
[
"nearly an hour and a half."
],
[
"former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger."
],
[
"Sen. Joseph Biden"
],
[
"former Secretary of State"
],
[
"world leaders,"
],
[
"Alaska"
],
[
"Sen. Joseph Biden"
],
[
"leaders from around the world."
],
[
"Sen. Joseph Biden"
]
] | Palin meets with world leaders on sidelines of U.N. world summit .
Meeting with Kissinger stretches into an hour and a half .
Palin debates Sen. Joe Biden next week in St. Louis, Missouri .
Palin has had to defend herself against charges she lacks foreign policy experience . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Bidding failed to meet expectations Saturday on a uniquely complete skeleton of a Jurassic-era dryosaurus -- a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur -- so it was no-sale for the centerpiece at an auction of rare skeletons, fossils and other prehistoric memorabilia. Fossils including dinosaur skeletons are on display at the I.M. Chait Gallery on Saturday. Auctioneers at the I.M. Chait Gallery had hoped the 150-million-year-old, 9-foot-long dryosaurus would sell for as much as $500,000, but the bidding did not add up. Two museums are said to still be interested in acquiring the skeleton, being sold by Western Paleontological Laboratories out of Utah. An 18,000-year-old, 7-foot-tall and 15-foot-long skeleton of a teenage woolly mammoth from Siberia took the auction's top price, fetching close to $60,000. A completely opalized green, blue, yellow and red ammonite fossil measuring 2½ feet in diameter went for close to $50,000. Both were bought by private collections. "The woolly is so special because it wasn't fully grown and can therefore fit in someone's living room," says Josh Chait, director of operations at the gallery. "A collector's dream." Watch collectors stroll among fossils » The ammonite, an extinct marine animal, turned to opal as part of the fossilizing process. Ammonite fossils have been found in ancient seabeds in Alberta, Canada. | [
"What had auctioneers hoped for?",
"Where was the 9-foot skeleton from?",
"What sold for almost $50,000?",
"What did auctioneers hope?",
"What sold for $60,000?",
"What did an extinct sea creature fossil sell for?",
"What sold for 60,000 at auction?",
"What did the fossil of a teenage wooly mammoth fetch?"
] | [
[
"as much as $500,000,"
],
[
"Jurassic-era"
],
[
"opalized green, blue, yellow and red ammonite fossil"
],
[
"the 150-million-year-old, 9-foot-long dryosaurus would sell for as much as $500,000,"
],
[
"skeleton of a teenage woolly mammoth"
],
[
"close to $50,000."
],
[
"An 18,000-year-old, 7-foot-tall and 15-foot-long skeleton of a teenage woolly mammoth from Siberia"
],
[
"close to $60,000."
]
] | Auctioneers had hoped remains of dryosaurus would fetch half a million dollars .
Bids didn't measure up, so 9-foot skeleton from Jurassic Period remains unsold .
Fossil of a teenage woolly mammoth sold for close to $60,000 at auction .
Huge opalized fossil of an extinct sea creature went for almost $50,000 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Billionaire oil man T. Boone Pickens is shelving plans to build the world's largest wind farm. T. Boone Pickens says the capital markets will not support his plans to build the world's largest wind farm. The chairman of BP Capital Management announced Tuesday that his plans for the Pampa Wind Project, designed to generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity using thousands of wind turbines, is on hold. "I had hoped that Pampa would be the starting point, but transmission issues and the problem with the capital markets make that unfeasible at this point," Pickens told CNN's Ali Velshi. "I expect to continue development of the Pampa project, but not at the pace that I originally expected." The Pickens Plan was an attempt to wean the United States off foreign oil and switch to wind and natural gas. The project was to be set in four Texas Panhandle counties. Pickens said he faced hurdles in routing the power from Texas to a distribution system. His plans were also stymied by a plunge in natural gas prices and a tightening credit market. "The capital markets have dealt us all a setback, and I'm less aggressive with the Panhandle project than I have been," Pickens said. Watch Pickens respond to criticism that the U.S. can't shake it's oil addiction » He said he was still committed to 667 wind turbines that he has already ordered and would find homes for them. The Texas billionaire pushed The Pickens Plan in television commercials and lobbying efforts that started last summer. Pickens had hoped to complete his $12 billion plan in 2014 and provide enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes. Renewable energy is the source of only a small portion of electricity used today, but in 2008, the United States became the world's leading provider of wind power. Pickens, 81, made his fortune in oil production and trading and is listed in Forbes magazine as the 117th richest person in the United States with a net worth of about $3 billion in 2007. | [
"Who shelves plans for building world's largest wind farm?",
"What problems did the project have?",
"How many homes would the wind farm have powered?",
"When did the US become the world's leading provider of wind power?",
"In what year does US become world's leading wind power provider?",
"Who has shelved plans for building world's largest wind farm?",
"Pickens says project is unfeasible because of?",
"How many homes would the project have powered?",
"When did the US become the leader in wind power?"
] | [
[
"T. Boone Pickens"
],
[
"capital markets will not support"
],
[
"1.3 million"
],
[
"2008,"
],
[
"2008,"
],
[
"T. Boone Pickens"
],
[
"capital markets will not support his plans"
],
[
"1.3 million"
],
[
"2008,"
]
] | T. Boone Pickens shelves plans for building world's largest wind farm .
Pampa Wind Project in Texas Panhandle was to have powered 1.3 million homes .
Pickens says transmission issues, capital markets make project unfeasible .
In 2008, United States became world's leading provider of wind power . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old college student who wanted to be a doctor, called 911 as she was being attacked by a stranger, police say. Brittany Zimmerman's screams and struggle for her life were captured by a 911 tape. But the police did not come for 48 minutes. By that time, Zimmerman was dead. Her fiance found her body. Although the dispatcher claimed later to have heard nothing, the 911 tape captured screams, gasps and what sounds like a struggle, according to the court documents. Spring was in the air when college student Zimmerman returned April 2 from classes at the University of Wisconsin to the off-campus apartment she shared with her fiance, Jordan Gonnering. He was out when she arrived home. He discovered her body when he returned. Zimmerman had been stabbed multiple times in her chest, near her heart. She'd also been beaten and strangled, according to warrants released recently. Watch an update on the case » Zimmerman managed to call 911 at 12:20 p.m. The call was taken by the Dane County 911 center and an internal investigation revealed the dispatcher did not hear any sounds that would signal an emergency. Because of that, police were not sent to the apartment until 48 minutes after Zimmerman made the call. Her fiance was already there. Dane County has taken some harsh criticism from the public regarding the delay, and tough questions have been raised about whether a prompt response might have saved Zimmerman's life. Police are still looking for her killer. "We are working diligently on this case, have generated significant leads, and are making progress," said Joel De Spain of the Madison Police Department. The police said they believe Zimmerman was attacked by a stranger. Her apartment door showed signs of forced entry. After interviews with Zimmerman's family, friends and acquaintances, investigators determined there was no personal motive for the attack. "In fact, we have not been able to determine any motive yet in this case," De Spain said. He emphasized that police have no reason to believe Zimmerman was the victim of a serial killer. During the investigation, police have tracked leads pointing to vagrants in Zimmerman's off-campus neighborhood. The vagrants often would knock on doors and beg for money. "We are still investigating this avenue, but at this time we have not been able to develop any specific suspects," De Spain said. Zimmerman's family and friends describe her as a loving, warm young woman, who had much to look forward to. She was engaged to the love of her life and had dreams of earning a medical degree, they said. She was idealistic, and her goal was to help people, not to earn a large salary, they said. Other details in the released warrants reveal that Zimmerman was murdered in her bedroom, that her cell phone was found in "parts," and that her bloody slippers and bloody computer paper were recovered. The murder weapon is described as a knife, two to five inches long. Police are not saying whether they have recovered it. DNA was collected from Zimmerman's body, as well as hair, blood samples, footprints and fingerprints. So far, no match has been made to a suspect. Zimmerman's family is offering a $14,000 reward, and Crime Stoppers is offering $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest and/or conviction of anyone responsible for Zimmerman's death. Please call the tip line at 608-266-6014. | [
"How long did police take to respond?",
"Who found her body?",
"What was caught on the 911 tape?",
"Police suspect who attacked Zimmerman?",
"What did the college student do?",
"How long did it take for police to respond?",
"who foud Brittany zimmerman's body?"
] | [
[
"48 minutes."
],
[
"fiance"
],
[
"Brittany Zimmerman's screams and struggle for her life"
],
[
"a stranger,"
],
[
"called"
],
[
"48 minutes."
],
[
"Her fiance"
]
] | College student's battle for her life caught on 911 tape .
Police did not respond to her call for help for 48 minutes .
Brittany Zimmerman's fiance found her body .
Police suspect she was attacked by a stranger and are eyeing vagrants . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- CNN's Lou Dobbs is no fan of the $700 billion bailout plan that went down to defeat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. He spoke with Kiran Chetry of CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday about how he thinks there are better ways to solve the financial problems plaguing the U.S. economy. Lou Dobbs: Americans "don't want to hear this nonsense about $700 billion to bail out financial institutions." Kiran Chetry, CNN anchor: CNN's Lou Dobbs joins us this morning from Suffolk, New Jersey. You expressed delight I guess you could say, at the fact that it did go down yesterday in defeat. We saw the largest point-drop on Wall Street ever. What happens now? Lou Dobbs, CNN host of "Lou Dobbs Tonight": Well, what happens now is that it sounds like the same fools who brought you this effort are going to try again. Henry Paulson saying he's going to come right back, suggests he's not learning. And he's not paying attention to the Congress. These Congress people are all at home in their home districts, nearly every one of them and they're hearing an earful. The American people don't want to hear this nonsense about $700 billion to bail out financial institutions. Frankly, Kiran, they don't need it. Economist after economist, with whom I've spoken, CEOs, they acknowledge that there are far better ways to deal with the issues confronting our financial system than this bailout. And it's absolutely obscenely irresponsible of House Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Treasury Secretary [Henry] Paulson, President Bush, Sen. Harry Reid, the leader of the Senate; for these people to be clucking about like hysterical -- so hysterically. It really must stop. And to hear there -- go ahead. Chetry: I was just going to ask you -- Dobbs: Go ahead. Chetry: You say that there's other ways around this. One of the things that everyone keeps talking about is the fact that credit markets are frozen and there has to be some way to free that up so that everyday business from Wall Street to Main Street can continue. Do you buy that? Dobbs: No, not at all. And neither do most of the CEOs and economists with whom I'm speaking certainly. The real issue, they say, is liquidity. The Fed has injected more than half a billion dollars in liquidity into this banking system. Watch Lou Dobbs and economists discuss bailout effort » What we are watching are business -- quote, unquote -- leaders who won't surface and put their faces before the American public who are hysterical. Absolutely hysterical. These are not leaders of moment. They are not leaders of great character or vision. Only Warren Buffett has had the courage to step forward. And that's after he puts $5 billion into Goldman Sachs. To watch our political leaders, they have no idea in the world, Kiran, what they're doing. Literally. And the arrogance with which this administration asks for, not only money, almost $1 trillion, and surely more in the months ahead. But the absolute power for Treasury Secretary Paulson. Give me a break. The American people want this stopped. Those Congressmen and women at home right now, in their districts, are getting an earful because this is an absurdity and it has to end. Chetry: So in one way, you're knocking Congress. But on the other way you're saying that, I guess the system works in that the brakes were pulled. Whether or not you agree with the reasons why it didn't go through. So, weren't they doing their job and showing leadership? Dobbs: Let me be clear, Kiran. I'm saying leadership -- I'm saying the Democratic leadership of this Congress was absolutely in the same situation as this president. They don't know what they're talking about. They're trying to ram this thing down the people's throats and Congress. And those House Republicans | [
"Who said better ways to deal with finanicial problems?",
"What did Dobbs say?",
"Who is going to try again?"
] | [
[
"Lou Dobbs"
],
[
"Americans \"don't want to hear this nonsense about $700 billion to bail out financial institutions.\""
],
[
"the same fools"
]
] | "Same fools" who brought you this effort are going to try again, Dobbs says .
House Republicans, Democrats who voted against bailout deserve thanks, he says .
Far better ways to deal with financial problems than this bailout, Dobbs says .
Dobbs: First thing that should be addressed is mitigating foreclosure crisis . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Candace Bushnell is a New Yorker and the author of five novels, including the best-selling "Sex and the City" and "Lipstick Jungle". She tells My City_My Life about her marriage, real life in New York and the secrets of her success.
Candace Bushnell. "In New York you're going to see sides of human nature that you're going to be shocked by."
CNN: How would you describe your work?
Candace Bushnell: I try to write about the human condition, and shopping, materialism and consumerism comes into that, because America is a very consumerist economy.
CNN: Tell me about when you first arrived in New York.
CB: I first arrived in New York in 1979. I was 19 and I was going to University in Houston, Texas, and I decided that I knew what I wanted to do and it was time to go and do it. I literally ran away from college.
Then I went to an acting school, "HB Studio" and I moved into this apartment with three other girls who wanted to be actresses. Of course, they were all waitresses so I was a waitress.
Watch Candace Bushnell take CNN on a tour of New York. »
I was incredibly determined -- I wrote short stories, I wrote the beginnings of novels. I wrote a little children's book and sent it to the editor-in-chief of the children's division of Simon and Schuster and she asked me to write a little children's book for a series she was doing.
I got paid $1,000 for it and I was like "Oh my god, who says you can't make it in New York right away!" Of course that little dream crashed in about a month.
CNN: So you didn't have an overnight success?
CB: I was a freelancer all through my twenties. I did about one story a month and I wanted to write fiction, so the stories that I would do were precursors to "Sex and the City."
I started working for the NY Observer when I was 33. After I had been writing for them for about a year and a half the editor said, "Your stories are the most talked about stories in the Observer, you should have your own column." I was paid $1000 a column and the reason was that the column "Sex and the City." was so popular that they sold newspapers and advertising off it.
See photos of Candace Bushnell's New York. »
People in New York were faxing it to their friends who worked in the movie business in LA and almost immediately I was getting phone calls from movie producers who wanted to buy it and ABC and HBC wanted to buy it.
It started as a seed, with an absolute truth that people may agree with or it may disturb them. It disturbs me sometimes when I read it because it's very wrong and very honest. I think most call it cynicism but I call it realism -- it is absolutely raw reality. It was never written for a big audience and it was never written to make people feel good. It was written as the truth in a humorous way.
CNN: How do you feel about the TV series?
CB: I think the reason why the TV series has continued, and has continued as a movie, is that they have never lost the authenticity of the column.
CNN: How would you describe New York today?
CB: It's a very, very busy place and it's a city where everybody has a place to go and a million things to do. It certainly can be a very stressful city but it can also be an incredibly exciting city. It is a place where your dreams can come true.
It's also a city where you're going to see sides of human nature that you're going to be shocked by. New York is a city where, if you are open minded, when you walk out of your apartment you don't know what | [
"How many novels were written by Candace Bushnell?",
"Who was cynical?",
"What was NOT written to make people feel good?",
"What is she the author of?",
"Who wrote Sex and the city?"
] | [
[
"five"
],
[
"Candace Bushnell"
],
[
"\"Sex and the City.\""
],
[
"\"Sex and the City\""
],
[
"Candace Bushnell"
]
] | Candace Bushnell is the author of five novels, including Sex and the City .
For over 30 years she has lived in New York, "a city of energy vampires"
"Sex and the City was never written to make people feel good," she says .
She was cynical about relationships until she met her husband Charles . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Charges have been dropped against four men accused of raping an 18-year-old student at Hofstra University after the woman recanted her allegations, prosecutors said. A Hofstra University student recanted her claims that she was lured to a dorm and assaulted in a bathroom stall. A judge dismissed all charges Wednesday night and ordered the release of the four men -- Jesus Ortiz, 19; Stalin Felipe, 19; Kevin Taveras, 20; and Rondell Bedward, 21; all of the New York metropolitan area, according to Nassau County, New York, District Attorney Kathleen Rice. They had been arrested, arraigned and jailed, with bail set at $500,000 each. Each was facing five counts of first-degree rape. "Late this evening, during the continuation of the Nassau County Police Department's investigation of the allegation, and under questioning by my office's chief trial attorney and chief sex crimes prosecutor, the alleged victim of the sexual assault admitted that the encounter that took place early Sunday morning was consensual," Rice said. She said her office has launched a criminal investigation into the statements and reports given by the woman. The student had told Nassau County police that she had been lured from a club, forced into a men's bathroom at a university dormitory, bound and assaulted. The woman then called the university public safety office, which alerted local police. The reported rape shocked the Hofstra University community. The university had announced that it was increasing safety patrols on campus, as well as establishing a support hotline for students and parents. | [
"What did the judge order?",
"What was the judge's verdict?",
"What will the DA do?",
"What did the judge do?",
"What did the Hofstra student say?",
"What did the student claim?",
"What were investigators told?",
"What is the Hofstra student claiming?",
"What did the woman tell investigators?"
] | [
[
"the release of the four men"
],
[
"dismissed all charges"
],
[
"her office has launched a criminal investigation into the statements and reports given by the woman."
],
[
"dismissed all charges"
],
[
"claims that she was lured to a dorm and assaulted in a bathroom stall."
],
[
"that she was lured to a dorm and assaulted in a bathroom stall."
],
[
"she had been lured from a club, forced into a men's bathroom at a university dormitory, bound and assaulted."
],
[
"that she was lured to a dorm and assaulted in a bathroom stall."
],
[
"she had been lured from a club, forced into a men's bathroom at a university dormitory, bound and assaulted."
]
] | Hofstra student who claimed she was gang-raped recants claims .
Woman told investigators sex was consensual .
Judge dismisses rape charges against four men, orders their release from jail .
District attorney's office launch criminal investigation into woman's statements . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III was "the right guy at the right time at the right moment" to guide a jet safely onto the surface of the Hudson River, a neighbor and friend said.
Chesley Sullenberger is an Air Force veteran who has been with US Airways since 1980.
Sullenberger has a cool, calm and collected style -- honed by decades of flight experience and research on safety issues, friend and neighbor John Walberg told the Contra Costa Times newspaper.
All 155 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1549 survived.
The 57-year-old former Air Force fighter pilot has been flying for more than 40 years, and has been with US Airways since 1980.
His two-page resume is packed with achievements and highlights his broad aviation experience.
The pilot speaks internationally on airline safety, and collaborates with the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California-Berkeley, whose researchers look for ways to avoid air disasters. Watch a pilot applaud Sullenberger's skills »
Passenger Joe Hart praised the plane's crew as "phenomenal, in all respects."
"Once the pilot said 'brace for impact,' the flight attendants made sure everybody knew they had to be buckled in and bent over," Hart said.
"Then they sat in their chairs, strapped themselves in, and in a regular cadence, until we hit the water, they just continued to chant 'brace, brace, brace' so that nobody would sit up. And that, I think, helped prevent a lot of injuries on impact."
CNN affiliate WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin, identified the co-pilot as Jeffrey Skiles, 49.
Barbara Skiles told WKOW that, in conversations since the incident, her husband has praised the rescue effort.
"He was really grateful and really impressed about the response that they got, how quickly boats were at the side of the airplane," she said.
Sullenberger was primed to help passengers aboard the Airbus A320 survive the crisis, said Karlene Roberts, a university professor who co-directs the center.
"I can imagine him being sufficiently in charge to get those people out," she said. "He's got that kind of personality, which is to his credit." Watch how passengers call pilot a hero »
Sullenberger's resume is packed with achievements.
After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1973, he had a brief but distinguished Air Force career during which he flew the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom fighter jet.
He was a flight leader and training officer with experience in Europe and the Pacific and at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where he was the mission commander for Red Flag exercises. The exercises are for advanced aerial combat training, a position delegated to top pilots.
Among those who congratulated Sullenberger was Lt. Gen. John Regni, the Air Force Academy superintendent, who graduated with Sullenberger.
"He not only showcased unbelievable airmanship, but exemplary character as well," Regni said.
"In addition to superb judgment under utmost pressure, by checking his aircraft twice to ensure there were no passengers left behind he epitomized the 'service before self' concept we strive to instill in our cadets," Regni said.
Sullenberger is president and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods Inc., a company he founded. The firm provides emergency management, safety strategies and performance monitoring to the aviation industry.
He was an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member, according to a biography on the Web site of his company.
He participated in several U.S. Air Force and National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations, and worked with NASA scientists on a paper on error and aviation, according to his resume.
He was widely praised after Thursday's forced water landing, apparently caused by a "double bird strike," which crippled the plane's engines.
"It was an amazing piece of airmanship," said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Even New York | [
"How many years of experience does this professional have?",
"How old is Sully?",
"Who is the former Air Force fighter?",
"What does Sullenberger usually speak about?",
"Age o Chesley B. Sullenberger?",
"Who is the Air Force Academy superintendent?",
"What branch of the military was Sullenberger in?",
"What did the superintendent do?",
"What is Chesley B. Sullenberger III's nickname?",
"Who has 40 years of flight experience?",
"What pilot's character was praised?"
] | [
[
"more than 40"
],
[
"57-year-old"
],
[
"Chesley B. \"Sully\" Sullenberger III"
],
[
"airline safety,"
],
[
"57-year-old"
],
[
"Lt. Gen. John Regni,"
],
[
"an Air Force veteran"
],
[
"congratulated Sullenberger"
],
[
"\"Sully\""
],
[
"Chesley B. \"Sully\" Sullenberger III"
],
[
"Chesley B. \"Sully\" Sullenberger III"
]
] | Air Force Academy superintendent praises pilot's character .
Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, 57, is former Air Force fighter pilot .
Sullenberger has 40 years of flight experience .
Sullenberger is frequent speaker on airline safety . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Chester French is giving its music away. Chester French, Max Drummey, left, and D.A. Wallach are earning buzz as a band to watch. Go to the duo's Web site and you can scoop up an entirely free "athletic-themed" album. The idea is that you'll be so impressed by the free stuff, you'll feel inspired to buy the band's official debut album, "Love The Future" (Star Trak/Interscope), which came out last month. "We're doing something that's never been done by a band before," says lead singer D.A. Wallach. "It's great because when you put out free music, people can spread it around as much as they want. And right now as we're just trying to expose ourselves to more people. Every new supporter helps." The band has even come up with a fancy name for its fans: "VIP Concierge Service." So who are these two clever, skinny dudes who jokingly claim to "put in a lot of burn at the gym"? Wallach and Max Drummey met at Harvard, but found music to be more interesting than their studies. Fortunately for them, sought-after producer Pharrell Williams liked what he heard and signed the group to his label. So far things seems to be working out for Chester French (named for sculptor Daniel Chester French, though the group is sick of explaining). They won a place on Rolling Stone's "Artists to Watch" list in 2008. HBO's "Entourage" showed some love for their catchy single "She Loves Everybody." Watch Chester French get punched by a pretty girl » And then there's the transportation situation. "Right now we're on the first tour bus we've ever had," says Wallach. "We were driving around in a van for the past year and a half and it's a real luxury now to be able to sleep while we're driving." The band spoke to CNN about the challenges of navigating a rapidly changing industry, getting punched by a pretty girl in a music video and why the Beach Boys have nothing on them. CNN: How does it feel to be called the next big thing? D.A. Wallach: You know what, we actually haven't been called that in those words too often. But if we did, that would be very flattering. CNN: Things get a bit violent in the music video for your song "She Loves Everybody." Who's idea was it to have you both get beaten up by an angry girl? Wallach: It was the director's. We worked with Paul Hunter on the video and it was our first music video. ... He had the concept that love hurts. So this girl was going to take it out on us and we were going to be all about it and still smiling and enjoying it. CNN: So it was a lot of fun? Wallach: Yeah it was great. It was painless. Actually we both got hit accidentally by her. I mean most of the hits were kind of staged punches. But we both got hit once each, and it was fun. CNN: You're both Harvard graduates. Does that make you the smartest dudes in pop music? Wallach: Probably not. We were kind of nerds in high school. And the hardest part about Harvard is getting in, people say. After that you take it at your own pace. And at different times we were more or less engaged there, but we met some other really intelligent, thoughtful people. Max Drummey: And there's definitely a lot of stupid people at Harvard. CNN: Tell me how you both met. Wallach: We met in the dining hall our freshman year and we started the band with three of our classmates. It was just a funny hobby at first and it wasn't until sophomore year that we really got serious about it and said, "OK, let's actually try and make this | [
"The band is a duo of who?",
"What type of music was it?",
"Where did the duo graduate?",
"What was the name of the Harvard grads?",
"Where are they \"probably not\" the smartest folks?"
] | [
[
"Chester French, Max Drummey,"
],
[
"pop"
],
[
"Harvard,"
],
[
"Wallach and Max Drummey"
],
[
"pop music?"
]
] | Chester French a duo of two Harvard grads .
Band praised for Beach Boys-like sound, highlighted on "Entourage"
Despite pedigree, "probably not" smartest folks in pop music, says one member . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Chris Cornell has taken to Twitter like Tweety Bird took to making mischief. Chris Cornell's new solo album, "Scream," was produced by Timbaland. He acknowledges it's an odd mix. Not to suggest he's using the popular social networking service to cause trouble. Hardly. The 44-year-old rock musician said he enjoys the open stream of chit-chat with his fans. "It's actually created an environment where I can answer simple questions that someone's probably had forever," said Cornell. "And I don't mind answering them. And I can actually have conversations with fans that are quick, but still more meaningful than the typical situations you're put into. I've really liked it." His more than 200,000 followers can revel in bite-size musings about life on the road ("crowd was amazing last night") or sweet tweets to his wife, Vicky ("hi baby! i miss you!"). Watch Cornell talk about his Twitter fascination » The former front man of Soundgarden and Audioslave -- who is also known for singing the James Bond theme "Casino Royale" -- is the first to admit he's a fan of experimenting. His new solo album, "Scream," has him meshing his rock vibe with dance-floor beats by the much sought-after producer Timbaland. The collaboration has left some people scratching their heads. Nine Inch Nails lead singer Trent Reznor took a swipe by twittering: "You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell's record?" Ouch. The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, but it took a substantial tumble the second week. But Cornell -- who said he's never met Reznor nor read or responded to his tweet -- was more than ready for criticism. "You could kind of see it coming," he said. "Some of it is a script that was written just by putting [me and Timbaland] together. And most of the negative responses fit that script perfectly: 'You can't put these two things together. We don't like it! We're not going to let you! So we're gonna say bad stuff.' " For Cornell, working with Timbaland required him to "rinse away everything that I knew about songwriting and recording." He said the biggest challenge was in having to relearn how to sing to a different rhythm, his raspy voice needing to match up with slick studio beats rather than sliding loosely around the live, loud accompaniment he's so used to. "To me it seemed like an exciting thing to just go and do," he said. "I think this is as good as any album I've ever made, and I listen to it probably more than any other record I've ever made." Cornell spoke to CNN about Timbaland, Twitter and throwing stuff out windows. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: Some people have said that you've lost your musical identity in this album. Chris Cornell: I don't have one, really. I don't want to have one. If I had a musical identity that was definable then it would be time to get into painting or something else. Race car driving. CNN: So you would be happy to be experimental on your next album? Cornell: Absolutely. CNN: So what was it like working with Timbaland? Cornell: He didn't really have a particular direction in mind in terms of what he wanted me to do. He did what Timbaland does, and I did what I do. We just wrote songs, which is really the best thing that came out of it. ... It doesn't sound like anybody else's record. It doesn't sound like music I've ever heard. It defies genre, and yet it's very much a song-oriented album as well as an album-oriented album. ... The music never stops. | [
"Whose new album is \"Scream\"?",
"What is the name of the album?",
"What was the name of the old band?",
"Who is he working with as a producer?",
"Who is he working with?",
"Who's new album is called Scream?"
] | [
[
"Cornell's"
],
[
"\"Scream,\""
],
[
"Soundgarden and Audioslave"
],
[
"Timbaland."
],
[
"Timbaland."
],
[
"Chris"
]
] | Chris Cornell's new album is "Scream"
Former Soundgarden, Audioslave front man working with producer Timbaland .
Rock star life takes work, Cornell says .
Singer once threw amplifier out window to sample old-school rock star activity . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- City officials in New York have denied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's request to visit the site of the destroyed World Trade Center next week, a police spokesman said Wednesday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked to visit ground zero, but New York city officials said no. The controversial, outspoken president wanted to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks during his visit to the U.N. General Assembly, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, citing Iranian officials. But workers are rebuilding the foundations of the site, "and it would not be possible for him to go where other people don't go," Kelly told CNN. Iranian officials have not put in any additional requests to visit the public platforms at ground zero, police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN. But, he said, "If there were a further request, we'd reject it" because of security fears. Watch why New York said no to Iranian leader » The Iranian mission to the U.N. said it had not been told of the decision, but in a statement issued Wednesday evening, it called the rejection "unfortunate." Iran is ruled by a Shiite Muslim government hostile to the fundamentalist Sunni al Qaeda. Ahmadinejad's predecessor at the time of the September 11 attacks, Mohammed Khatami, condemned them, and Tehran cooperated with the U.S.-led campaign to topple al Qaeda's Taliban allies in Afghanistan that followed. The United States and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980 after Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and held Americans hostage for 444 days. The United States considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism and has accused the country of meddling in Iraq and in Afghanistan where U.S. troops are battling Taliban and al Qaeda remnants more than six years after the September 11, 2001, attacks. More than 2,700 people died in the attack on the World Trade Center, when al Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked passenger jets into the twin towers. A third jet hit the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers resisted their hijackers. "It is appalling that President Ahmadinejad, one of the world's leading sponsors of terror, would find it appropriate to visit this hallowed ground," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. Several presidential candidates also condemned the requested visit. Hillary Clinton, the New York senator and Democratic front-runner, called the request "unacceptable." Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a leading Republican, called it "shockingly audacious." And former Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- whose leadership after the attacks is the cornerstone of his GOP presidential bid -- said that "under no circumstances" should Ahmadinejad be allowed to visit the World Trade Center site. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the site should not be "used as a photo op." Numerous critics have attacked Ahmadinejad's hard-line anti-Israel stance and his insistence that Iran will defy U.N. demands that it halt its production of enriched uranium. Iran insists it is producing nuclear fuel for civilian power plants, but Washington accuses Tehran of trying to produce a nuclear bomb. E-mail to a friend CNN Correspondent Deborah Feyerick contributed to this report. | [
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]
] | Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted to visit ground zero .
New York City officials said no because site is under construction .
The United States considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism .
Leaders call request "audacious," "unacceptable" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Coagulated sheep's blood. Pig knuckles. Snake bile. Fried crickets. Sound like ingredients you might see bubbling away in a caldron, right? Zane Lamprey raises a toast to alcoholic beverages the world over. Well, these are just some of the unusual items Zane Lamprey has eaten -- yes, eaten -- during the course of his day job. No, he's not a human garbage disposal. Lamprey is a comedian who hosts a TV program about drinking, "Three Sheets." The show follows him all over the world as he samples local libations. Lamprey also claims to be in search of the ultimate hangover cure, which is why he's often called upon to ingest the indigestible. Not that the drinks are any better. Anyone for a shot of Belize rum that's had a dead snake fermenting in it for about a year? If the locals drink it, so will Lamprey. "I'll try anything once," he said, adding that "there's certainly a lot that I won't drink twice." Watch Lamprey use sword to open champagne » Gross stuff aside, Lamprey has what many consider to be a dream job. And although he occasionally gets a little bleary-eyed, the Californian maintains that it's not a show about getting inebriated. "I drink to try new things, to learn about drinking cultures or new drinks," Lamprey said. "Sometimes levels of inebriation are the by-product of my job, but I'm certainly not going out looking to do that. If I did I think I'd be the wrong person for the job." We caught up with Lamprey in New York's Bubble Lounge, where he was preparing (soberly, mind you) to use a sword to lop off the end of a champagne bottle, glass neck and all. It's a ritual he says started in the Napoleonic era as a way to celebrate victories at battle. While Lamprey might not be as battle-scarred as Napoleon's men, he does have a victory to celebrate: "Three Sheets" has a new home after being put in limbo for several months after its original network went off the air. The show now airs on the Fine Living Network, which has just popped the cork on "Three Sheets' " fourth season. New episodes air Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET and repeat throughout the week. Besides demonstrating how one sabers champagne, Lamprey talked to CNN about dealing with thumping hangovers, staying in shape and other challenges of hosting a TV show about alcohol. The following is an edited version of the transcript. CNN: Do you consider yourself a professional drinker? Zane Lamprey: I get paid to drink. If I got paid to play baseball, I'd be a professional baseball player, right? Yeah. So I guess I am a professional drinker. CNN: By now you must have discovered a cure for a hangover. Lamprey: There is no cure. Actually, there's two. Either don't drink, or don't stop. Once you break one of those, you get into trouble. We've found remedies, things that'll make it a little easier. I've jumped in freezing water, I've done just about everything, and nothing has wiped out my hangover. CNN: Where were you when you had your worst hangover? Lamprey: Oddly enough, I was in a place that I was promised by several people I would not get a hangover: Champagne, France. They said if you drink good champagne, you can drink as much as you want, and you won't get a hangover. So I put it to the test, and the next day, I had the worst hangover yet. It was horrible. Oh. So bad. CNN: In Iceland, you drank something called "Black Death," the same name given to the pandemic that nearly wiped out Europe centuries ago. Taste good? Lamprey: I'm sure it tasted better than the plague, but not | [
"When does the program air?",
"Who hosts \"Three Sheets\"?",
"What does lamprey host?",
"Does Zane Lamprey travel on his show?",
"what network in this on?",
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] | [
[
"Monday nights at 10 p.m."
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[
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],
[
"a TV program about drinking, \"Three Sheets.\""
],
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"yes,"
],
[
"Fine Living"
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[
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]
] | Zane Lamprey hosts "Three Sheets" on Fine Living Network .
On show, Lamprey drinks things like "Black Death" and viper rum .
For all that, his liver's in good shape, says Lamprey . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Consumer advocates Wednesday hailed the settlement of a class-action lawsuit over Sears stoves in which the retailer agreed to install safety brackets for free to prevent the appliances from tipping over or provide other reimbursements.
Stoves in danger of tipping over can be fixed for free under terms of a settlement announced Wednesday.
According to the court-approved agreement, Sears will notify nearly 4 million customers who may have bought stoves between July 2000 and September 2007 that they either can get anti-tip safety brackets installed for free or receive gift cards or reimbursements of up to $100 to qualifying customers.
The brackets keep the appliances bolted to the floor or wall to prevent them from tipping over. Such accidents have caused more than 100 deaths or injuries, mostly from scalding and burns, according to the nonprofit consumer group Public Citizen.
The value of the settlement depends on how many customers respond to Sears' offer, but Public Citizen said it could end up costing the retailer more than $545 million. Watch to see if your stove is in danger of tipping »
In addition to paying $17 million in legal fees, Sears will install brackets on all new stoves for free for the next three years.
"This agreement by Sears and the lawyers for the consumer is a real deal," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "This is a fantastic deal for a lawsuit to make this headway and get the protection for the consumer."
Sears Holdings Corp. spokesman Chris Brathwaite said the plaintiffs' counsel is overestimating the settlement's monetary value.
"The parties dispute many aspects of the case, including the value on this settlement -- which Sears estimates to be a small fraction of what plaintiffs' counsel estimates," Brathwaite said in a statement.
Claybrook and other consumer advocates said they would like the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require anti-tip brackets for all stove installations. Installing brackets is now voluntary.
Claybrook said the agreement "sets a model for what the Consumer Product Safety Commission should do and should have done. They've known about it for 25 years and done nothing."
She said an amendment requiring anti-tip stove devices should be added to Senate legislation intended to beef up the safety commission.
Commission spokeswoman Patty Davis disagreed, saying, "The statistics and risk do not support mandatory rule-making at this time. We believe the voluntary standards are working."
Brathwaite said customers can visit the Web site http://www.searsrangesettlement.com/ for information. E-mail to a friend | [
"The amount of deaths blamed for faulty products?",
"How much could the settlement cost?",
"Which consumer group is being discussed?",
"The settlement may cost retailers how much?",
"Sears agree to do what?",
"What were tipping stoves blamed for?",
"What company will install brackets at no cost?",
"Stoves tipping over are blamed for how many deaths?",
"Amount of money that consumer group says settlement might cost?"
] | [
[
"100"
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[
"more than $545 million."
],
[
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[
"more than $545 million."
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[
"will notify nearly 4 million customers who may have bought stoves between July 2000 and September 2007 that they either can get anti-tip safety brackets installed for free or receive gift cards or reimbursements of up"
],
[
"more than 100 deaths or injuries,"
],
[
"Sears"
],
[
"more than 100"
],
[
"more than $545 million."
]
] | Sears agrees to install anti-tip safety brackets on stoves for free .
Stoves tipping over blamed for than 100 deaths or injuries .
Sears will install brackets for free on new stoves over the next three years .
Consumer group says settlement may cost retailer more than $545 million . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Criminal charges will not be filed against the 18-year-old college freshman who falsely accused five men of raping her in a dormitory bathroom at Hofstra University, an official said Friday. Instead, Danmell Ndonye must participate in a year-long psychiatric program and spend 250 hours in community service for lying to police about what was a consensual sexual encounter with four of the five accused men, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a written statement. Ndonye said she did not engage in sexual activity with Rondell Bedward, the only one of the men who attends Hofstra University. He has returned to classes. Rice said she retains the option of filing criminal charges against Ndonye if she fails to complete the course of therapy or community service. Rice added that filing criminal charges might have made any future false accuser reluctant to recant and tell the truth, possibly leading to an innocent person serving a lengthy prison sentence. Authorities dropped charges and freed the four men they had taken into custody after their accuser changed her story about having been tied up and sexually assaulted in a dormitory bathroom. The woman recanted after authorities told her that part of the incident was recorded on a cell phone video, Rice said. "That was when she began to tell the truth," she said. It is against the law to report a crime when there was not one, the district attorney said. "Her actions and her demeanor depict a very troubled young woman in need of much help," Rice said. Hofstra University has suspended Ndonye. | [
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] | [
[
"in a year-long psychiatric"
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
"Danmell Ndonye"
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[
"not be filed"
]
] | Danmell Ndonye, 18, will not face criminal charges for falsely accusing 5 men of rape .
Ndonye must participate in yearlong psychiatric program, do community service .
She recanted because part of the incident was caught on cell phone video .
Hofstra University has suspended Ndonye . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Diane Sawyer will take over nightly news anchor duties for ABC when Charlie Gibson retires from "World News" at the end of this year, a network spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer worked together on "Good Morning America." Sawyer, 63, will be the second woman to be the solo host of an evening newscast for an American broadcast TV network. Sawyer will take the chair in January, ABC's Jeffrey Schneider said. Gibson, 66, and Sawyer worked together for years on ABC's morning show -- "Good Morning America" -- before Gibson was promoted over Sawyer to anchor ABC's "World News" in May 2006. Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff co-anchored the newscast before Gibson. That duo came to an end after Woodruff was seriously wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Maria Brennan, president of the Washington-based American Women in Radio and Television organization, called the announcement a "watershed moment" and said Sawyer was the "obvious choice" to take over ABC's anchor chair. Asked about the significance of two out of three network nightly news anchors being women -- the other being CBS' Katie Couric -- Brennan said, "It comes with some excitement and some glee for groups like ours, who have worked for years to ensure that women have parity with their male counterparts." "When we get to a point in time when we don't even notice the gender, we can really celebrate," Brennan said. Sawyer worked for President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, first in his White House press office and later helping him write his memoirs after his resignation. After a stint with CBS News -- including five years as a "60 Minutes" correspondent -- Sawyer joined ABC News in 1989. She worked on news magazines for ABC -- including "Primetime Live" and "20/20" -- before being assigned to co-host "Good Morning America" with Gibson in 1999. CNN's Albert Lewintinn contributed to this report. | [
"Who is retiring at the end of the year?",
"On which show did the pair work together?",
"Who will take over \"World News\"?",
"What will Diane Sawyer do?",
"Who is Charlie Gibson?",
"Who's taking over from Charlie Gibson?",
"Who is the ABC news anchor?",
"When will Gibson retire?",
"Who presented Good Morning America?"
] | [
[
"Charlie Gibson"
],
[
"\"Good Morning America.\""
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[
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[
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[
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[
"Diane Sawyer"
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[
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]
] | ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson retiring at end of the year .
Diane Sawyer will take over "World News" beginning in January .
The pair worked together for years on "Good Morning America" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Director Barry Levinson is the star of his new film. Well, almost. Director Barry Levinson sizes up politics and media in his new film, "PoliWood." In the Academy Award-winning filmmaker's new documentary "PoliWood," Levinson takes a look at the world of policymakers and screen actors and ends up voicing his own ideas in the process. "The fact that my voice is in it always scares me to death, because I never like to be on camera, period," Levinson said. (The "Rain Man" director has appeared in a handful of films, notably the Robert Redford-directed "Quiz Show.") In "PoliWood," Levinson follows a group of politically active actors to the Democratic and Republican conventions as they take in the theater of it all. The journey leads to President Obama's inauguration. "PoliWood" also explores the idea that the media have become confusing catalysts that blur the lines of reality and myth. Television, which was once a romanticized invention that brought entertainment and public service announcements into our homes, is now a portal for manipulating what we see, feel and think, in the film's presentation. CNN talked to Levinson about the politics of the media, Hollywood actors supporting candidates and "PoliWood." CNN: Tell me about the celebrity-politician-media link. Barry Levinson: Well, I think what happened is, you have this television screen, and everything has to go through that screen -- and at a certain point, I don't think that we can tell the difference between the celebrity and the politician. They both have to entertain us in some fashion. That's why I think, in second half of the 20th century, you saw this kind of change where John F. Kennedy was probably the first television politician. He came across, he was good-looking, he was great in the way he spoke; he had a certain sense of humor. Then you had Reagan. Someone looked at him giving a speech for Goldwater and said, you know, he could be a politician. Two years after that, he became governor of California. So anyone that is pleasant enough on television suddenly gets credentials, whether they have earned it or not. And there's that blurring of it between celebrity and politics and everything else. CNN: Do you think that most celebrities have a good understanding of the politicians they support, or do some just jump on the bandwagon? Levinson: I think "PoliWood" shows it in some ways and talks about it. But basically, to be honest, there is no upside for any actor to be politically involved other than the fact that they are concerned citizens. It doesn't benefit their career at all. The term "celebrity" is sort of a bogus term, though, in a lot of ways. CNN: Why? Levinson: Well because Paris Hilton and Susan Sarandon, they're both celebrities, but Paris Hilton hasn't ever really done anything, in a way. Susan Sarandon has been an actress whose done a lot of different roles, been around a long time, has been politically active, extremely smart and knowledgeable about that. But there's two women, they get exposure, but there's a huge difference between that. Some have earned it; some get that attention just by the way they look or the way they have carried on in public. CNN: There's a scene in "PoliWood" where actors sit down with regular people, and they talk about relating to one another. Levinson: Well, how is that so-called celebrities -- how would they possibly relate to the ordinary person? But 90 percent of them come from those families -- they come out of the Midwest or the South or the Northeast. They come out of working-class families primarily. And because of the nature of America, that if you have certain dreams, and ultimately those dreams can in fact come true, they benefited by the society that they live in. But | [
"What does Levinson's new film show?",
"What does the director observe?",
"What did Levinson say?",
"What does Levinson say about politician?",
"What is the director observing?"
] | [
[
"takes a look at the world of policymakers and screen actors"
],
[
"the world of policymakers and screen actors"
],
[
"\"The fact that my voice is in it always scares me to death, because I never like to be on camera, period,\""
],
[
"I don't think that we can tell the difference between the celebrity and the"
],
[
"politics and media"
]
] | Barry Levinson's new film looks at how TV has influenced politics .
Levinson: Hard to tell politician and entertainer apart on television .
"Rain Man" director observes celebrities, ordinary people try to relate . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of the final two of nine victims of Saturday's collision between a helicopter and small plane over the Hudson River, police said. The wreckage of a PA-32 that collided Saturday with a helicopter is lifted Tuesday from the bed of the Hudson River. "They were inside the wreckage when we pulled it up," said New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. Earlier Tuesday, police divers had attached chains and straps to the plane's fuselage and used a crane to lift it from the riverbed 60 feet below the surface. On Saturday, the Piper PA-32 Saratoga carrying three people collided with a helicopter carrying six people, five of them Italian tourists, killing all nine people aboard both aircraft. The wreckage of the helicopter, operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, was lifted Sunday nearly intact from the Hudson. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision, which occurred shortly after the helicopter took off from a heliport in Midtown Manhattan on what was to have been a 12-minute sightseeing tour around New York. The Piper took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport and was bound for Ocean City, New Jersey. It began its flight Saturday morning at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-area airfield. CNN's Susan Candiotti and Mary Snow contributed to this report. | [
"Which two aircraft collided Saturday over the Hudson River?",
"How many victims have been recovered from plane wreckage?",
"What was used to lift the submerged wreckage of a plane?",
"How many people died in plan crash",
"When was the wreckage pulled from the iver?",
"Where did a helicopter and a single engine plane collide on Saturday?",
"where did helicopter collide",
"When was the helicopter's wreckage recovered?",
"when was wreckage pulled from the river"
] | [
[
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[
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[
"Tuesday"
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] | NEW: Bodies of 8th and 9th victims recovered from plane wreckage .
Single-engine plane, tour helicopter collided Saturday over Hudson River .
Divers attached chains, straps to lift submerged wreckage of plane .
Helicopter's wreckage was pulled from the river Sunday . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Dolores O'Riordan is singing "Linger" while playing a gleaming white guitar that's almost half her size. Dolores O'Riordan says the Cranberries are planning a tour, scheduled to begin in November. As the diminutive musician hums her way through the song's familiar intro, she smiles and nods her head a little as though she's just remembered an important kiss or something sweet one of her children told her. We weren't expecting her to play "Linger," arguably the Cranberries' most beautiful hit and the one that gave the Irish rock band its leg up to global stardom in the early '90s. In truth, we weren't expecting O'Riordan to perform anything at all, but when somebody shows up for an interview handling a guitar, you've got to ask for a tune. Come on! So when O'Riordan, 37, started to pluck away at that spine-tingling song that harks back to her days as the moody-cum-boisterous 'Berries lead singer -- wait, she didn't want to play something from her brand new solo album instead? -- I almost tripped over in my haste to get out of the way so our cameraman could capture the moment. O'Riordan's nostalgia, it turns out, has a purpose. Watch O'Riordan talk about the chills she had making her album » During our interview, which took place the same day O'Riordan's second solo disc "The Baggage" was released in the U.S., she officially shared the news that the Cranberries are to regroup. Technically, she says, they never split up and have merely been on hiatus since 2003. But there's no need to let that linger. Here's what you need to know, berry by berry (sorry): The weight of "No Baggage" Some might argue that solo Dolores sounds no different from front woman Dolores, but being in control of all her material allows O'Riordan to get personal as she does on "No Baggage" (Rounder Records). The song "Skeleton" deals with not being able to outrun the skeletons in your closet. "Lunatic" addresses the hassles of fame. Give lead single "The Journey" a spin, and check out the music video to see some lovely scenery from the Emerald Isle. It was filmed around Dublin Bay on a chilly, windy day. When she takes off her musician hat ... O'Riordan has four kids and divides her time between her homes in Dublin, Ireland, and Ontario, Canada (check out the "No Baggage" album cover for a peek at the lake outside the latter residence). She's been married to her manager, Don Burton, for 15 years, and in that time has never taken off her wedding ring. Even if she wanted to she couldn't. It's stuck on her finger. She also wears ... Funky shoes. In the '90's, O'Riordan was known for her chunky Doc Marten boots, but she showed up to our interview in sequin and gem-encrusted Converse sneakers ("They're deadly, aren't they?"). She bought them on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, which she says is one of her favorite places to shop. TV isn't normal ... She's relaxed and goofy in interviews, though she admits that live television gives her the willies. The Cranberries went on hiatus because ... Says O'Riordan: "We all had little children. We all had personal challenges going on in our life. I wanted to know who the heck I was if I wasn't in a Cranberry." She wants to be "in a Cranberry" again because ... A performance with fellow 'Berries Noel and Mike Hogan at an event in Dublin in January proved to be a bit of a wake-up call: "It made me realize that I actually feel really comfortable with them, more so than anyone." The Cranberries will ripen ... The Cranberries tour is slated to kick off in November in North America. But it won't be an all-out greatest | [
"Who says the Cranberries were on hiatus?",
"What was the name of the solo album?",
"What is the name of the new solo album just released by O'Riordan?",
"Who wears the Doc Martens?",
"For how long has the group \"Cranberries\" been on hiatus?",
"How long were the Cranberries on hiatus for?",
"What did singer O'Riordan just do?"
] | [
[
"O'Riordan's"
],
[
"\"The Baggage\""
],
[
"\"The Baggage\""
],
[
"O'Riordan"
],
[
"since 2003."
],
[
"since 2003."
],
[
"is singing \"Linger\" while playing a gleaming white guitar"
]
] | Singer Dolores O'Riordan says Cranberries were on hiatus .
O'Riordan just released new solo album .
New footwear for Doc Martens-wearing singer: gem-encrusted Converses . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Dr. David Ores, or Dr. Dave as he's referred to by his patients, isn't your average neighborhood doctor. It's not because his arms are covered with tattoos of nearly naked women or because he drives a Harley to work, but because eight months ago he started New York City's first health care cooperative for restaurant workers. The Harley-riding Dr. David Ores has started New York's first health care cooperative for restaurant workers. The Restaurant Worker's Health Care Cooperative, currently servicing 15 restaurants in lower Manhattan, provides free health care to all restaurant employees, from bus boys to bartenders. Every month the owner or manager of each restaurant contributes money into a common fund based on its number of employees. In return, their workers can go see Dr. Dave with any kind of health issue they may have. Dr. Dave, a graduate of Columbia Medical School, has been treating uninsured people for more than a decade. He decided to start the co-op after noticing a trend among patients working in the restaurant industry. "Over the past ten years, I've seen many patients that work in restaurants, and there were always two things in common: They had no real access to any kind of medical care, and they also waited a long time to come see a doctor," Ores says. "I decided to form this co-op in order to get them early, basic health care." Watch the doctor at work » The restaurant workers, many of whom have never been medically insured, can now make appointments, stop by the office, text medical questions and even send photos of their injuries to Dr. Dave, free of charge. "This is my first checkup ever," Asaf, a waiter at Macao Trading Co., told CNN in the waiting room. "It's an example of how someone finds an easy and fair solution to a serious problem or a need." And statistics show there is, in fact, a need. According to a 2005 study by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, about 73 percent of all New York restaurant workers -- about 160,000 people -- have no health insurance. The co-op comes as a relief to restaurant owners who would ideally like to provide medical insurance to their employees but cannot afford to do so. "Obviously we want to take care of our people, but financially we're only capable of doing so much," says restaurant owner Billy Gilroy. "This was the perfect opportunity to be able to extend the ability to find medical services through the restaurant, but in a way that's affordable." The price for use of the co-op's services ranges from as little as $50 a month for an establishment with a couple of employees to $400 a month for a larger restaurant. Dr. Dave, who works as a general practitioner and sees other patients, is able to support himself because both his office and apartment are located in rent-stabilized buildings operated by the Lower East Side People's Mutual Housing Association, a not-for-profit housing group that charges him only $800 a month for rent. With health care currently a hot-button political issue, Dr. Dave sees this local, not-for-profit health system as a model for how national health care in America could work. "I'm not against profit," he says. "I just don't think you can have a for-profit health system that provides everyone with proper health care. It's just never going to work." In the meantime, Dr. Dave has plans to expand. "In the next year I'd like for our little health co-op to offer more services. Maybe dental, more hours in the evening, maybe hire a second doctor." He also hopes to offer routine checkups for all workers, so he can catch illnesses early and hopefully prevent steeper medical costs down the road. Although Dr. Dave started the program only eight months ago, he's no stranger to | [
"Who now has plans to expand coverage, hours of service?",
"Who now enables workers to see a doctor when necessary?",
"Who helps New York restaurant workers?",
"What does it enable workers to do?",
"Who are helping New York restaurant workers?",
"Who has plans to expand coverage?",
"Who is a pioneer of health care?"
] | [
[
"Dr. Dave"
],
[
"Dr. David Ores,"
],
[
"Dr. David Ores,"
],
[
"make appointments, stop by the office, text medical questions and even send photos of their injuries"
],
[
"Health Care Cooperative,"
],
[
"Dr. Dave"
],
[
"Dr. David Ores"
]
] | Health care cooperative helps New York restaurant workers .
Not-for-profit system now enables workers to see a doctor when necessary .
"Dr. Dave" now has plans to expand coverage, hours of service .
"I would call him a pioneer in health care," friend says of Dr. Dave . |
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