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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Embattled Sen. Larry Craig accused police after his June arrest of trying to entrap him, but CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says he puts little faith in such a defense. A police mug shot of Sen. Larry Craig after he was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in June. In a police recording released Thursday, the Idaho Republican denied that he was trying to engage in lewd behavior in a men's bathroom at a Minnesota airport. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. "You shouldn't be out to entrap people," Craig said on the tape. The arresting officer denied Craig's accusation of entrapment. Listen to police interview Craig » CNN.com asked Toobin about how an entrapment defense might work in court. CNN.com: What's the legal definition of entrapment? TOOBIN: The key concept with entrapment is the idea of predisposition. A person is entrapped if they are lured into committing a crime that they are not otherwise predisposed to commit. Basically an entrapment defense shifts the burden of proof to the prosecution to prove that the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime. The question is, did the police entice you to do something that you didn't want to do in the first place? And the important point to raise about entrapment defenses is that they're rarely successful. And most juries tend to think that if you commit a crime, you did it of your own volition. CNN.com: What tactics do police employ to protect their sting operations from the entrapment defense? TOOBIN: Well, what they often do, which was not done here, is use tape recordings or video so the jury can see how anxious the defendant was to commit the crime. Tape and video is the best refutation of an entrapment defense. I think Craig had the possibility of raising an entrapment defense in this case. Now, I don't know if it would have been successful. What you have to remember about that tape is the officer's report says that Craig did a heck of a lot more than just pick up a piece of paper in the stall. Watch how fellow Republicans are pressuring Craig to quit » He rubbed his hand along the side of the stall, and he lingered outside and looked through the crack and rubbed his fingers together. I mean there were a whole series of signals. And the jury might very well have believed the officer rather than Craig. I don't mean to suggest that entrapment defense would have necessarily been successful, but it was not an implausible defense given the facts. The whole issue is moot because he pled. I don't take seriously his protestations of entrapment because he pled guilty. You know, he's not innocent until proven guilty. He's guilty. He's an intelligent, sophisticated man with access to lawyers, and he actually told the authorities that he'd consulted a lawyer. He had weeks to reflect on whether to plead guilty. It would have been one thing if the day of the offense, he signed a paper pleading guilty. He could have made the argument that he just panicked on the day of the offense. But there were weeks between the offense and the guilty plea. CNN.com: Is there any way that Craig could use entrapment as a defense to improve his case -- to work backward legally toward vindication? TOOBIN: Out of the question. No way. E-mail to a friend | [
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"what political party does Larry Craig represent",
"What did the Idaho Republican plead guilty to?",
"What did he plead guilty to?",
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"What did Larry Craig tell the arresting officer?"
] | [
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"Sen. Larry Craig"
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"a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge."
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"\"You shouldn't be out to entrap people,\""
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] | "You shouldn't be out to entrap people," Sen. Larry Craig told arresting officer .
Entrapment defense possible, but juries don't often believe it, says CNN analyst .
Idaho Republican pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after arrest in men's room . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Enya is an anomaly. Think about it: How many recording artists have enjoyed 20 years of success while never having toured? Enya sets her own pace when making albums. "And Winter Came" is her first CD in three years. "The fans are very, very loyal," says the Irish chanteuse. "They're always saying, 'When is the next album?' They know when I finish in the studio it's got to be a few years before the next album." Perhaps it's the vast gaps between releases that help make Enya, 47, the Emerald Isle's second-biggest-selling artist of all time (after U2). Thanks to a stipulation in her recording contract, the Grammy winner has the luxury of setting her own pace with each project, another rarity in the music business. She'll devote two to three years to each album, flitting between her Dublin castle and the studio, where she works tirelessly to perfect every celestial chord and layer harmony upon harmony. "I always felt that the music sells by itself," she says. "The music has always been the successful aspect on my career and that means that, to me, I can always still stay very focused on music." Watch Enya revel in harmony » Her latest album -- the seventh of her career -- celebrates both the drama and quiet contemplation that come with the winter season. Called "And Winter Came," the release has reached the top 10 on album charts across Europe and in the U.S. since its November release. And while Enya won't commit to the idea of taking her tunes on the road, she does hint at the possibility. "To actually tour with the songs would be wonderful. It would be very much on a large scale: the orchestra, the choir. There'd be a lot of rehearsals, but it'd be very exciting," she says. Enya spoke to CNN about how her music is like an onion (think layers, not tears), keeping a low profile, and marking the 20-year anniversary of "Watermark," her breakout album. CNN: What does wintertime mean to you? Enya: Wintertime for me is a time when I do a lot of my writing in the studio. It's a time I enjoy. And it's very reflective and a very calming time of the year. Throughout the year I gather a lot of musical inspirations and this is where I bring them to the studio and see what will evolve musically. CNN: You set out to make a Christmas album. How did the project evolve? Enya: I've always wanted to put together a Christmas album. So I was writing some Christmas carols and what happened was some of the songs started to veer more into winter themes. And when I discussed it with [producer and lyricist] Nicky and Roma [Ryan], they felt, well, within winter is the celebration of Christmas, so let's infuse the two themes together. CNN: A lot of people think of Enya as a soloist, but really you're kind of a trio, aren't you? Enya: I work with two other people, the producer Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan, the lyricist. The way I work with Nicky and Roma is firstly I do the writing of the melodies in the songs, and that's kind of the solitude moment for me in the studio, which I enjoy very much. When I have the melody -- the idea of the melody -- I play that to Nicky and Roma. ... I get to see their reaction immediately. Is this a song for the album? And I can see from their reaction -- "Yes, this is going to work," or perhaps it's not. There are a lot of ideas that Nicky had wanted to experiment with. When I met with him first he had this idea of using a voice -- one voice -- as an instrument to layer many times and he knew my love of harmonies. Some people who | [
"Who is the Irish singing star?",
"What does the Irish singing star do?",
"What is Enya's new album called?",
"What does the Irish singer do while she works on albums?",
"What is the name of Enya's new album?"
] | [
[
"Enya"
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[
"writing of the melodies in the songs,"
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[
"\"And Winter Came,\""
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[
"sets her own pace"
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[
"\"And Winter Came\""
]
] | Enya's new album is "And Winter Came"
Irish singing star keeps a low profile, works on albums for years .
Enya's voice may be overdubbed hundreds of times for each album . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Every weekend for more than four years, Fred Murray has walked the road where his daughter, Maura, vanished. Family, friends and volunteers help him look in the woods and mountains near Haverhill, New Hampshire, for clues to what happened to her. Maura Murray, 21, disappeared while driving in the New Hampshire woods on a snowy night in 2004. Maura Murray, a 21-year-old nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, disappeared on a cold and snowy night in February 2004. She was last known to be driving from Massachusetts through New Hampshire. It is still unclear where she was heading in her black 1996 Saturn. The car was found abandoned, its front end crashed against a tree. It apparently had skidded off a road at a sharp curve. Shortly after the accident, a passing bus driver stopped and asked Murray if she needed help. She said no. Ten minutes later, police arrived. Inside the crumpled Saturn, they found some of Murray's belongings -- school books, running gear, snack foods and alcohol -- police won't say what kind. But Murray was gone, along with her car keys and a backpack she always carried. There was nothing to hint she'd be motivated to run away, according to her fiancé, William Rausch, and her father, Fred Murray. Watch why this cold case is a true mystery » Maura Murray had just gotten engaged to Rausch, her college sweetheart and an Army lieutenant stationed in Oklahoma. They planned to marry after she graduated from nursing school in June 2005. She'd found a summer nursing job in Oklahoma. She had everything to look forward to. "She was in good spirits and had no worries or reason to run away from her life," Fred Murray said. Investigators initially operated under the theory that the dean's list student was troubled and had decided to escape from the demands of her life for a while. As a result, they did not immediately begin to look for her. The search did not begin until 39 hours after her crashed car was found. When it finally got under way, helicopters, search dogs and ground teams covered the area near where Murray's car was found. The dogs picked up her scent for about 100 yards, leading investigators along the road to an area between two homes. There, the dogs lost the trail. Murray's credit cards and cell phone have not registered any activity since the night she disappeared, February 9, 2004. Tom Shamshak, a private investigator hired by the Murray family to continue the search, said police and volunteers looked for her for two days. "No footprints were even found in the snow," he said. "Luckily there hadn't been any fresh snowfall in those two days." Shamshak has concluded that only two scenarios could explain what happened to Murray. Either she was picked up by someone driving on the road, or she walked to a nearby house to ask for help. Police say they did not treat Murray's case as an abduction because they saw no signs of a struggle at the scene. Before she left campus, police learned, Murray had e-mailed her professors and informed them she'd be absent for a few days because of a death in the family. Murray's family and friends said no one in the family had died. Police also noted that Murray had enough food and other items in her car to suggest she might be taking a short getaway vacation. Murray is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and blue-green eyes. She was last seen wearing a dark coat and jeans and carrying a black backpack and Samsung cell phone. A $40,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to her whereabouts or the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance. The tip line is 603-271-2663, New Hampshire State Police. | [
"What was found crashed into a tree?",
"What is the number to call?",
"What number do you call?",
"What is the reward amount?",
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] | Maura Murray told her professors there had been a death in the family .
There was no death, relatives say .
Car was found crashed into a tree along snowy New Hampshire roadway .
A $40,000 reward is offered. Tips? Call 603-271-2663 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Fans of Michael Jackson lined the streets outside Harlem's Apollo Theater on Tuesday for a chance to pay their respects to the late "King of Pop" at the hall that helped launch his career. A hat and glittery glove represent Michael Jackson at the Apollo Theater tribute. The crowd stood eight to 10 abreast in the sun and 80-degree weather for 10 blocks, waiting for hours for a chance to enter the theater. Fans were allowed in 600 at a time, where they lay flowers and other mementos at the foot of the stage and danced to Jackson's music as it played over the sound system. "We left our house at 4 o'clock in the morning and got here at 9, and we were lucky to get here," said Angela Staples, who came to New York from Pennsylvania with her daughter Jasmine. "I'm so happy about the outpouring of love and the crowd and the people. It's so respectful to Michael." Those in the hall observed a moment of silence at 5:26 p.m. -- the time Jackson was pronounced dead Thursday in Los Angeles, California. The cause of the 50-year-old singer's death has not yet been determined. An autopsy on the 50-year-old singer was was inconclusive, leaving authorities waiting on the results of toxicology tests to determine what killed him. Fans have been gathering outside the theater since last week to remember Jackson, who at age 9 won a 1967 Apollo amateur night showcase with his brothers in the group the Jackson 5. "While he went on from the Apollo stage to achieve international fame on an unprecedented level, to us and all of you, he's family because he started out here," said Jonelle Procope, the legendary venue's CEO. Jackson became an idol of both black and white fans and was among the first African-American artists to get widespread play on the music-video channel MTV. But in later years, he was known more for a roller-coaster personal life, including extensive plastic surgery, financial woes and a 1995 trial and acquittal on child-molestation charges. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York civil rights activist who became a friend of the Jackson family, urged Jackson's fans not to let critics "scandalize" a groundbreaking performer. "Michael wasn't no freak," Sharpton said. "Michael was a genius. Michael was an innovator. You can't take someone with extraordinary skills, extraordinary talent, and make him an ordinary person. He was extraordinary. He lived extraordinarily, and we love him with an extraordinary passion." The Apollo had been one of the top venues for jazz, gospel and soul artists for decades before the Jacksons' breakthrough. Sharpton said the theater was home to "the best and the baddest." "You've got to come from the stage of the Apollo and go all over the world to understand Michael," Sharpton said. "We understand his journey, because we were with him every step of the way." The Jackson brothers' amateur night win led to a $1,000 deal for 31 shows at the Apollo, said Bobby Schiffman, whose family owned the theater. "Shortly after their appearance, Diana Ross took them on an NBC special that she did, and there was no looking back after that. They just skyrocketed," Schiffman said. Jackson at the time "was a sweet little boy," he said. "He was extremely talented, extremely easy to get along with," Schiffman said. "He always had a smile on his face, and it was a pleasure to see him working in the theater." CNN's Aspen Steib contributed to this report. | [
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"when did they win?",
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"what did they lay down?",
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] | Fans line streets for blocks to pay tribute to Michael Jackson at Apollo Theater .
Fans lay flowers, mementos at the foot of the stage, dance to Jackson's music .
Jackson 5 won amateur night contest at Apollo in 1967 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Federal, state and municipal agencies staged an elaborate drill in the waters off New York City on Tuesday to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear or dirty-bomb attack from the water. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel passes a container ship in New York Harbor as part of Tuesday's terror drill. "We're a big city, and there are vulnerabilities," said Ray Kelly, commissioner of the New York Police Department. Agencies involved in Tuesday's test emphasized they did not undertake it because of a specific threat against the city. However, Kelly said the city was taking no chances after a proclamation years ago by Osama bin Laden. "We do know that Osama bin Laden several years ago obtained a fatwah to use nuclear weapons, and our goal is to make certain that that fatwah does not come to fruition," he said. In addition to increasing various agencies' preparedness for a seaborne radiological attack, Kelly said Tuesday's well-publicized drill was meant to deter those who would perpetrate such an attack. "It pays to advertise to a certain extent. We want anyone who would do us harm to know that we're out there, that we have the capability to detect," Kelly said. Eight government agencies participated in the drill, ranging from the NYPD to the U.S. Coast Guard. The exercise took place at the entrance of New York Harbor, just south of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge linking Staten Island to Brooklyn. Per the drill's plan, eight boats were to cross a checkpoint set up by authorities. They were on the lookout for abnormally high concentrations of radioactivity -- a telltale sign of an improvised nuclear device or a radiological dispersal device, more familiarly known as a dirty bomb. Some of the boats were decoys with no radioactive substances aboard, while others had actual radioactive isotopes planted in them. A radioactivity detector in the hull of the authorities' boats was to identify which vessels had radioactive substances in them. The devices are highly sensitive -- so much so that people who have recently had certain medical treatments can set them off. It was up to the authorities participating in the drill to sort the good boats from the bad -- and to intercept the bad. Only minutes into the six-hour exercise, equipment aboard a police boat detected radioactivity within a small white pleasure craft passing through the checkpoint. Two patrol vessels then converged on the pleasure craft, while officials began to question the driver and his two passengers. Soon after, authorities boarded the boat and used a radiation detector, officially known as a radiological isotope identification detector, to produce a "spectrum" of the radiological material. They then transmitted the spectrum to the Department of Homeland Security's Joint Analysis Center (JAC) in Washington to determine precisely what radiological material was aboard the boat. Within moments, the JAC radioed back with a positive identification: Caesium-137, an industrial radioactive isotope that if used in large enough quantities could power a devastating dirty bomb. Sure enough, when a separate boat containing press and police officers sidled up to the apprehended craft soon afterward, the portable radioactivity detectors of officers onboard began to sound excitedly. NYPD Sgt. Art Mogil said that, in part, the agencies chose to practice on leisure craft to illustrate that radiological weapons could be transported in deceptively benign-looking boats. "It doesn't require a large vessel. A device can be just a few pounds and still be a major threat," Mogil said. James Waters, counterterrorism chief for the NYPD, said exercises like Tuesday's were vital because the stakes involved are so high. "Someone bringing in a radiological or nuclear device would be very serious if not catastrophic," he said. On an average day, not all incoming maritime traffic in New York City is subjected to the radioactivity tests performed at Tuesday's drill. An NYPD official declined to specify what percentage of boats normally undergo such screening. | [
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] | NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly: "We're a big city, and there are vulnerabilities"
Participating agencies stressed that the drill was not in response to a specific threat .
Authorities were to decipher sinister intent from any of eight boats in waterway .
They were on lookout for abnormally high concentrations of radioactivity . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Five new cases of the H1N1 virus in New York City schools will force three schools to close for a week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference Thursday evening. The city is temporarily closing the schools to "slow transmission" of the virus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The two intermediate schools and one primary school are in Queens, and all three will be closed for at least five days, the mayor said. "We are closing the schools to slow transmission" of sickness, he said. Bloomberg, flanked by New York Gov. David Paterson and New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein, said four students at one of the intermediate schools have the virus and an administrator was critically ill Thursday with H1N1. Bloomberg indicated the school administrator had a pre-existing medical condition. Fifty students at that school have been sent home with flu-like symptoms since May 6. At the two other schools, the primary school had an overflowing nurse's office Thursday, reporting 29 students suffering from flu-like symptoms. The other intermediate school had 241 students absent with illness Thursday. The New York City Department of Health and the Department of Education have been in nearly constant contact, said Jason Post, a spokesman from Bloomberg's office. When there's a spike in students absent from classes, the Department of Health is alerted. "There's always good communication, flu or no flu," Post said. "But our senses have been sharp for a while now." The Health Department has seen a general increase in flu activity in Queens, officials said in a news release. While the symptoms of H1N1 flu seem to resemble those of seasonal flu, the H1N1 virus appears to spread more extensively, at least in schools, warranting closures to slow transmission in the community, the release said. Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, the deputy commissioner of the city's Department of Hygiene and Mental Health, said although concern is legitimate, there's no solid evidence that suggests the H1N1 flu -- also known as swine flu -- is more dangerous than the flu in general. "The bottom line is if you're sick, stay home," Weisfuse said. "And don't go back to school until you're better for one whole day." In late April, St. Francis Prep, a high school in Queens, was closed because of a flu outbreak. Since then, the school reopened and the stricken students have recovered, according to the mayor's office. "As we have said from the outset of the appearance of H1N1 in our city last month, we will share with New Yorkers what we know and not speculate on what we don't know," said Bloomberg in a statement. According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Thursday night 7,412 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed worldwide. The organizations said 63 deaths attributed to the virus have been confirmed worldwide. The CDC said 4,298 cases of the virus and three fatalities have been confirmed in the United States as of Thursday night. New York had 224 confirmed cases of H1N1, the CDC said. It was not clear whether the five cases cited by Bloomberg and the other New York officials were included in the latest CDC total. | [
"Students reported what symptoms?",
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] | [
[
"flu-like"
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"H1N1"
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] | Officials cite five new cases of H1N1 virus in New York City schools .
One school administrator critically ill with the virus, officials say .
Administrator had a pre-existing medical condition, mayor indicates .
Dozens of students have reported flu-like symptoms at the 3 closed schools . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For actress Jane Alexander, the criticism of a $50 million boost in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts is a sequel. Tony-award winning actress Jane Alexander says giving money to the arts will save and create jobs. She was chairman of the agency from 1993 through 1997 when arts funding was cut sharply by the Republican-led Congress, which questioned whether it was an appropriate way to use government money. Now the issue is whether giving money to the arts should have been part of the economic stimulus program. Among those who have criticized the new spending this year is Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's message to Congress Tuesday. On Monday's "Larry King Live," Jindal said, "Fundamentally, I don't think $30 million for the federal government to buy new cars, $1 billion for the Census, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts is going to get the economy moving again as quickly as allowing the private sector to create jobs." It's no surprise that Alexander disagrees and argues that arts spending can give a vital boost to the economy. The actress, who will appear later this month in a new comedy at the New York theater company Primary Stages called "Chasing Manet," won a Tony Award for her role in the "The Great White Hope." She has been nominated eight times for an Emmy and four times for an Oscar for films including, "All the President's Men" and "Kramer vs. Kramer." Alexander spoke to CNN.com last week. CNN: What do you think of the controversy over the $50 million in increased government spending for the arts? Alexander: I think it's long overdue and I was very, very happy to see it. Since 1995-96 we had an incredibly decreased budget for the NEA. Finally we're getting back to where it was when I came in [as chairman]. It's all vitally needed. In fact, the endowment has not kept pace with inflation as other agencies have. ... This $50 million will certainly help a great deal. What people forget is that there are over 2 million people in the United States of America who are professional artists. Those are jobs like any other jobs. The artists have families, they have people for whom they're responsible and they give to their communities. We all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The life part would be health and housing. The liberty part would be our civil rights. And the pursuit of happiness, the arts would come under that. And it's as vital a part of well-being in the United States as anything else. CNN: When you say 2 million artists, could you define artist? Alexander: Well they include everything from writers, painters, all the visual arts spectrum and that's pretty large, including graphic arts. Theater and so on, music, ceramicists, costume designers, makeup artists, filmmakers, it's a huge panoply. CNN: How far can $50 million go? Alexander: Well for the endowment which has had a budget of around $144 million currently, it can go quite a way. When I came in it was about $175 million and then it was cut under my aegis by Congress down to $99 million. CNN: Some people will say that while the NEA may consider this a victory, it's really a pittance, a drop in the bucket, so little money given the challenges many arts organizations are facing today. Alexander. It will help, it will help enormously, because every single NEA grant that goes out is a challenge to the community to come up with the same amount of money, or a 3 to 1. ... By the way, the public should know that within this coming year, we're going to see an awful lot of arts organizations closing. I just came from working at a theater in Pittsburgh, [Pennsylvania] and the International Poetry Forum, | [
"What did Alexander say would quickly support jobs?",
"What are 2 million Americans employed as?",
"Approximately how many Americans are employed as artists?",
"What will increasing funds for arts be?",
"What did Congress cut?",
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"When did she chair the NEA?"
] | [
[
"giving money to the arts"
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"save and create jobs."
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"1993 through 1997"
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] | Jane Alexander: Increasing funds for the arts is a good way to boost economy .
She chaired the NEA when Republican-led Congress sharply cut its budget .
She says about 2 million Americans are employed as artists of all kinds .
Alexander: Injecting funds into the arts will quickly support jobs . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For more than a half-century Jerry and Marilyn Damman wondered what happened to their 2-year-old boy, who mysteriously vanished into thin air outside a Long Island bakery. Steven Damman and his sister disappeared from outside a bakery in 1955. His sister was found safe. Now, 54 years later, a Michigan man claims he is the missing child whose name was Steven Damman. Within the last six months, the unidentified man contacted Nassau County, New York, police and said he had credible evidence that would link him to the case of the missing toddler, according to police Detective Lt. Kevin Smith. Nassau County police turned the case over to the FBI in Detroit. So far, authorities will not release the Michigan man's identity and won't say why he believes he is Steven Damman. The FBI is conducting DNA testing, Smith said. Sandra Berchtold, spokeswoman for the FBI Detroit bureau, said only, "The FBI investigates all leads in kidnapping cases, but cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation in this matter." In 1955, Marilyn Damman took her toddler, Steven, and his baby sister, Pamela, to a bakery in East Meadow. The mother went inside to do some quick shopping, leaving her 2-year-old and baby girl in the stroller outside. But when Damman returned, her children were gone. A short time later, blocks away, the baby girl was found unharmed and the stroller was intact, but Steven was missing, Smith said. Thousands of searchers looked for the toddler, but the boy was nowhere to be found. Hitting one dead end after the next, the Dammans packed up and moved from New York back to Iowa, Jerry Damman said. And until now, they thought there was little chance of ever seeing their son again. Jerry Damman, who lives on a farm in Iowa, told CNN, "You never give up hope, [but] things dim after all those years." He said he isn't ready to comment on the latest developments for various reasons. Damman says authorities have contacted him, but he has not yet given DNA samples. A few years back, Steven Damman's sister gave a DNA sample in connection with the 1957 Philadelphia case of a young boy's body found in a box. In that case, all indications were it was not Steven Damman. | [
"What service is the FBI providing in this case?",
"What doe an unnamed Michigan man claim",
"what Unnamed Michigan man says?",
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"Which organization is conducting DNA testing",
"where 2-year-old Steven Damman vanished from?",
"Where did the child vanish from",
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] | [
[
"is conducting DNA testing,"
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"outside a Long Island bakery."
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"outside a Long Island bakery."
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"Steven Damman"
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] | Unnamed Michigan man says he was toddler who went missing in 1955 .
2-year-old Steven Damman vanished from in front of a Long Island, New York, bakery .
Toddler's father: "You never give up hope, [but] things dim after all those years"
The FBI is conducting DNA testing, says Nassau County police detective . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For someone who claims to be incredibly laid back, Jason Mraz is certainly piling up the accomplishments. Jason Mraz was recently honored with a songwriting award for his work, which includes the hit "I'm Yours." The singer-songwriter was the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award at last week's Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee ceremony in New York. The honor typically goes to newcomers striking a chord in the music industry. Or, as Mraz puts it, "I hope it has something to do with their savvy freshness." Mraz, who turned 32 this week and took his parents to the celebratory dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square June 18, says he feels great about the honor. "I never thought my songs would escape my bedroom," he said. "To have the music shared all around the world, and to be acknowledged by communities like this ... it's inspiring." Mraz's 2008 album "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things" has been a runaway success, with more than 2.5 million copies sold worldwide. It also led to three Grammy nominations, including song of the year and best male pop vocal performance for the reggae-inflected hit "I'm Yours." Mraz (whose name reflects his family's Czech heritage) hits the festival circuit overseas before kicking off his stateside "Gratitude Café Tour" July 25. The tour's quirky title was inspired by a wholesome San Francisco, California, restaurant Mraz loves. A fan of maintaining a diet of predominantly raw foods, Mraz is also a farmer of sorts: He owns an avocado farm in his home city of San Diego, California. He's also a juggler, a skill Mraz taught himself during the downtime that comes with touring. Watch the multitalented Mraz perform » Mraz shared tales of his avocado farm, as well as what it's like to get the cold shoulder from Simon Cowell, when he sat down with CNN recently. CNN: So, you live on an avocado farm. What's that like? Jason Mraz: It's fantastic. Anytime you're harvesting something in your yard -- whether you have a small herb garden or I've got avocados, and now we have a solar system so we're also harvesting sun energy, which is great -- for me that's when I became an environmentalist. I was like, "Wait a second. This is my environment. This is my piece of the Earth that I'm responsible for." Yes, the trees give me avocado and fruit that we sell and we eat tons of, but I feel like I have a role to play back to that, too. So it's cool. CNN: So if you're at home, daily how many avocados would you eat? Mraz: At least two. Sometimes three or four. CNN: So you must have very nice oily skin. Mraz: I do, thank you. It's the avocado. I just lather it on. CNN: Do you really? Mraz: I do. Yeah, why not? I've got tons of them! CNN: Do you cook? Mraz: I prepare. There's not much cooking in our household. We do a lot of raw food so it's more about putting the right ingredients together to create something scrumptious. See Mraz's chocomole recipe CNN: When eating healthy is so important to you, how difficult is that to maintain when you're traveling around the world so much? Mraz: Well, I bring tons of backup supplies with me. CNN: How did you like performing on the "American Idol" final? (Mraz performed "I'm Yours" with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.) Mraz: I loved it. It was such a great event. And I have compassion for every one of those kids that dares audition. I wasn't a contestant. I was just there to sing, and when I saw Simon at the end of | [
"What is Mraz's first name?",
"Did Mraz appeared on \"American Idol\"?",
"Who was recently honored with songwriters award?"
] | [
[
"Jason"
],
[
"(Mraz performed \"I'm Yours\" with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.)"
],
[
"Jason Mraz"
]
] | Jason Mraz recently honored with songwriters award .
"I'm Yours" artist amazed at where music has brought him .
Mraz intimidated by appearance on "American Idol" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For three years, family, friends and her college sorority sisters have been looking for Jennifer Kesse, wondering what happened to her.
Jennifer Kesse would be 26 now. She has been missing since January 24, 2006.
Last week, on the third anniversary of Kesse's disappearance, an inmate in a Florida prison said he might have the answer.
David Russ, a convicted killer being held at the Seminole County Jail, spoke last week with the missing woman's father, Drew Kesse, claiming he had information that could lead to a break in the case.
Details are being withheld from the public. In a jailhouse phone call with CNN, Russ hinted he'd eavesdropped on other inmates. He also was outspoken about his skepticism toward investigators.
"The investigators have messed this case up from the beginning and cannot be trusted," he said. That's why he asked to speak directly with the missing woman's father, he said.
Orlando police are just as skeptical of Russ. They said he provided information they already had.
"His information is not some big break in the case," said Sgt. Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department. "We are still hoping for new tips that could lead us to finding Jennifer Kesse."
The 24-year-old financial adviser was just back from a Caribbean vacation with her boyfriend and was getting back into her routine. She went to work at her new job, came home to her new condominium and called her parents. Watch an update on the case »
At 10 p.m., she called her boyfriend, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Then, her family believes, she went to bed.
The next morning, she got up and showered for work. Her clothes were neatly laid out on her bed, her family says, suggesting she may have tried on a few outfits before deciding what to wear to the office. Then, she disappeared, her family said.
She did not show up for work that Tuesday morning and her employer reported her missing.
Police found Kesse's Chevy Malibu two days later. It was parked in a gated lot about one mile down the road from the condominium complex where she lived. Inside the vehicle, police found some of Kesse's personal items, but her purse, wallet, two cell phones and briefcase were missing. The car doors were locked and the car keys were not found.
Police later released a video surveillance tape of the car being parked in the lot by someone other than Kesse.
The grainy video partially shows a person walking away from the car, past a parking lot gate. Police are uncertain if this person of interest is a man or a woman, because the image is partially obscured by the gate.
The person is described as 5 feet 4 inches, with a short haircut, wearing light-colored clothes and dark shoes. The video is time and date-stamped at noon on the day Kesse disappeared.
Forensic tests on the vehicle came back inconclusive, Sgt. Jones said. No blood or other trace evidence was found to show that Kesse had been injured in the vehicle.
Drew Kesse said that every Tuesday, landscapers worked at the condo complex near his daughter's parking space. The landscapers said they didn't see Kesse leaving her apartment and getting into her car, which she did every weekday morning between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m.
"The only theory we could come up with is that she walked out her front door and was kidnapped somewhere between her front door and the parking lot where her car was. We think since the landscapers didn't see her, she must not have even made it out of the hallways or stairwells of the condo complex," Drew Kesse said.
He added that there weren't any surveillance cameras in the hallways or stairwells at the time his daughter was living there.
Sgt. Jones said investigators have developed forensic evidence from Kesse's car that could someday match with a person of interest and identify a suspect. Police have also released a photo of a | [
"Who called the father/",
"Who says inmate's information is nothing new?",
"when did she disappear?"
] | [
[
"David Russ,"
],
[
"Sgt. Barbara Jones"
],
[
"January 24, 2006."
]
] | Inmate calls missing woman's father, says he heard other inmates talking .
Police say inmate's information is nothing new .
Jennifer Kesse was 24, disappeared three years ago near Orlando, Florida .
Information? Call 1-800-423-TIPS. A $10,000 reward is offered . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For three years, family, friends and her college sorority sisters have been looking for Jennifer Kesse, wondering what happened to her.
Jennifer Kesse would be 26 now. She has been missing since January 24, 2006.
Last week, on the third anniversary of Kesse's disappearance, an inmate in a Florida prison said he might have the answer.
David Russ, a convicted killer being held at the Seminole County Jail, spoke last week with the missing woman's father, Drew Kesse, claiming he had information that could lead to a break in the case.
Details are being withheld from the public. In a jailhouse phone call with CNN, Russ hinted he'd eavesdropped on other inmates. He also was outspoken about his skepticism toward investigators.
"The investigators have messed this case up from the beginning and cannot be trusted," he said. That's why he asked to speak directly with the missing woman's father, he said.
Orlando police are just as skeptical of Russ. They said he provided information they already had.
"His information is not some big break in the case," said Sgt. Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department. "We are still hoping for new tips that could lead us to finding Jennifer Kesse."
The 24-year-old financial adviser was just back from a Caribbean vacation with her boyfriend and was getting back into her routine. She went to work at her new job, came home to her new condominium and called her parents. Watch an update on the case »
At 10 p.m., she called her boyfriend, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Then, her family believes, she went to bed.
The next morning, she got up and showered for work. Her clothes were neatly laid out on her bed, her family says, suggesting she may have tried on a few outfits before deciding what to wear to the office. Then, she disappeared, her family said.
She did not show up for work that Tuesday morning and her employer reported her missing.
Police found Kesse's Chevy Malibu two days later. It was parked in a gated lot about one mile down the road from the condominium complex where she lived. Inside the vehicle, police found some of Kesse's personal items, but her purse, wallet, two cell phones and briefcase were missing. The car doors were locked and the car keys were not found.
Police later released a video surveillance tape of the car being parked in the lot by someone other than Kesse.
The grainy video partially shows a person walking away from the car, past a parking lot gate. Police are uncertain if this person of interest is a man or a woman, because the image is partially obscured by the gate.
The person is described as 5 feet 4 inches, with a short haircut, wearing light-colored clothes and dark shoes. The video is time and date-stamped at noon on the day Kesse disappeared.
Forensic tests on the vehicle came back inconclusive, Sgt. Jones said. No blood or other trace evidence was found to show that Kesse had been injured in the vehicle.
Drew Kesse said that every Tuesday, landscapers worked at the condo complex near his daughter's parking space. The landscapers said they didn't see Kesse leaving her apartment and getting into her car, which she did every weekday morning between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m.
"The only theory we could come up with is that she walked out her front door and was kidnapped somewhere between her front door and the parking lot where her car was. We think since the landscapers didn't see her, she must not have even made it out of the hallways or stairwells of the condo complex," Drew Kesse said.
He added that there weren't any surveillance cameras in the hallways or stairwells at the time his daughter was living there.
Sgt. Jones said investigators have developed forensic evidence from Kesse's car that could someday match with a person of interest and identify a suspect. Police have also released a photo of a | [
"what says police?",
"Who is Jennifer Kesse?"
] | [
[
"\"We are still hoping for new tips that could lead us to finding Jennifer Kesse.\""
],
[
"24-year-old financial adviser"
]
] | Inmate calls missing woman's father, says he heard other inmates talking .
Police say inmate's information is nothing new .
Jennifer Kesse was 24, disappeared three years ago near Orlando, Florida .
Information? Call 1-800-423-TIPS. A $10,000 reward is offered . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- For years, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout made millions of dollars delivering weapons and ammunition to warlords and militants, officials say. On Thursday, Bout and his associate, Andrew Smulian, were arrested in Thailand after a series of events that officials said could have come straight out of a spy novel. The men's capture involved law enforcement agencies from at least five countries, including two undercover agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posing as Colombian rebels. Bout and Smulian are accused of conspiracy to provide surface-to-air missiles and other weapons to Colombian rebels, said Michael Garcia, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. In a complaint filed by a DEA agent, they are said to have conspired to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The U.S. Department of State designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization in 2003. "This marks the end of the reign of one of the world's most-wanted arms traffickers," Garcia said of Bout. "Someone will undoubtedly write a book about this case someday, and I can tell you that it will read like the very best work of Tom Clancy, only in this case, it won't be fiction," said Michael Braun, assistant administrator and chief of operations for the DEA. Secret meetings The operation began in January, when Smulian began meeting with two men who claimed to represent FARC but who were actually confidential sources working for the DEA. The men expressed interest in buying millions of dollars worth of weapons. At meetings in the Netherlands Antilles, Denmark and Romania, Smulian discussed the details and logistics of the arms deal with the two agents. At one meeting, the agents were given a digital memory stick containing an article about Bout and documents containing photos and specifications for 100 surface-to-air missiles and armor-piercing rocket launchers. Smulian explained that a delivery system was in place that would allow the weapons to be air-dropped into Colombia, and he told the men that it would cost $5 million to transport the weapons. During one meeting, Smulian introduced the DEA sources to Bout over the phone. After that conversation, Smulian told one of the sources that the weapons were ready in Bulgaria. Smulian and Bout set up a face-to-face meeting with them to finalize the deal, and that is what happened Thursday. The arrests were made Thursday afternoon. The charges against Bout and Smulian cover the period from November through February, according to a written statement from the U.S. attorney's office and the DEA. The United States plans to pursue the extradition of Bout from Thailand, the statement said. There was no mention of Smulian's fate. Bout and Smulian are charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, each could get a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, the statement said. 'I'm not a diamond guy' Intelligence agencies around the world have tracked Bout for years. Although some of his work has been legitimate, most has not. He has made deliveries to Africa, Asia and the Mideast using obsolete or surplus Soviet-era cargo planes. Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who speaks multiple languages, has what is reputed to be the largest private fleet of Soviet-era cargo aircraft in the world, according to U.S. officials. He acquired the planes shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in 2005. At that time, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was freezing the assets of Bout and his associates, who are all tied to former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor is being tried on war crimes charges by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Intelligence officials said Bout shipped large quantities of small arms to civil wars across Africa and Asia, often taking diamonds in payment from West African fighters. A 2006 article in Foreign Policy magazine said that although Bout served many third-world leaders | [
"what does U.S wants from Thailand?",
"Who is Bout accused of selling weapons to?",
"who is viktor bout",
"what did british official say about bout shipping?",
"what are associates accused of?",
"what did bout do",
"Who do the United States want extradited from Thailand?",
"Who does the US want extradited from Thailand?",
"To whom did Bout ship arms?",
"To what rebels are Bout and his associate accused of conspiring to sell weapons to?"
] | [
[
"extradition of Bout"
],
[
"Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,"
],
[
"Russian arms dealer"
],
[
"shipped large quantities of small arms to civil wars across Africa and Asia,"
],
[
"conspiracy to provide surface-to-air missiles and other weapons to Colombian rebels,"
],
[
"made millions of dollars"
],
[
"Viktor Bout"
],
[
"Bout"
],
[
"warlords and militants,"
],
[
"militants,"
]
] | NEW: The United States wants Viktor Bout extradited from Thailand .
Bout, associate are accused of conspiring to sell weapons to Colombian rebels .
British officials say Bout shipped arms to the Taliban and al Qaeda .
Russian is said to have inspired Nicolas Cage role in movie "Lord of War" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty Thursday to a weapons charge stemming from a shooting incident at a nightclub last year, the Manhattan district attorney said. Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress will serve two years in prison after pleading guilty to weapons charges. Burress, 32, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon and will serve two years in prison, according to Alicia Maxey Greene, spokeswoman for district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau's office. Two years of supervised release will follow his jail term, she said. Burress is free on bail and will be sentenced September 22. A grand jury indicted the former New York Giants football player earlier this month on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and a single count of reckless endangerment in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty to those charges earlier this year. Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg November 29, 2008, with a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol he was carrying in the waistband of his jeans. The incident occurred in the VIP area of the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan. A teammate who was with Burress, linebacker Antonio Pierce, drove him to a hospital and arranged to have the pistol delivered to Burress' New Jersey home, according to an August 3 statement from the district attorney's office. The district attorney also sought charges against Pierce, but the grand jury did not indict him. Burress was not licensed to carry a pistol in either New York or New Jersey. No one, including employees of the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the NFL, called the police to report the gunshot wound, as required by law. One of the hospital workers was suspended after the incident. Burress became a hero to New York Giants fans in the 2008 Super Bowl when he caught the game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning with 35 seconds remaining in the game. In the following year, however, Burress' career with the Giants was marred by a series of incidents in addition to the shooting. He was suspended from the team in early October for missing a practice, and later that month the NFL fined him $45,000 after he argued with a referee and threw a football into the stands during a game. Burress was suspended from the Giants immediately after the shooting incident. The team released him in April. CNN's Chloe Melas contributed to this report | [
"What date did the ex New York Giant accidentally shoot himself?",
"Who pleaded not guilty to other charges this year?",
"Plaxico Burress will serve how many years in prison?"
] | [
[
"November 29, 2008,"
],
[
"Plaxico Burress"
],
[
"two"
]
] | Former wide receiver pleaded not guilty to other charges earlier this year .
Plaxico Burress will serve two years in prison, two years supervised release .
Ex-New York Giant accidentally shot himself in the leg November 29, 2008 .
Burress was not licensed to carry a pistol . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former New York City police Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday to a revised indictment charging him in a corruption and tax evasion case, according to a spokesman for the New York District Attorney. A revised indictment brings to 15 the number of counts against former police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. The revised indictment includes two new counts of aiding the filing of false returns and a charge involving making false statements while applying for a housing loan, spokesman Herbert Hadad of the district attorney's office told CNN. Kerik is accused of failing to report more than $500,000 in income between 1999 and 2004, said Patricia Haynes, the IRS agent in charge of the case. Prosecutors allege Kerik received and concealed benefits of about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, New York, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York. Revisions to the original indictment, which included charges of corruption, conspiracy and tax evasion, bring to 15 the number of counts against Kerik. Barry Berke, Kerik's attorney, declined to comment. The indictment also charges that Kerik made several false statements to the White House and other federal officials when he applied for the position as adviser to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and in connection with his nomination to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson did not rule Monday on whether the two counts that include charges of lying to White House officials will be tried in Washington or White Plains, New York. Kerik is due back in court February 3 for a hearing on pretrial motions, Hadad said. A trial date has not been set. Kerik, 53, is a longtime friend and former protege of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. President Bush nominated him to be secretary of homeland security after winning re-election in 2004, but Kerik withdrew his name amid allegations that he employed a nanny who had a questionable immigration status. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson began investigating allegations that Kerik had traded payment on repairs to his Bronx apartment for favors, including city contracts. The former chief pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts while he worked as city corrections commissioner. He was fined $221,000 and avoided jail time under his plea agreement. Before tapping Kerik for a Cabinet post, Bush dispatched him to Baghdad to train Iraqi police after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. He left three months into an expected six-month stint, with Iraqi officials telling reporters that he had completed his assignment. In 2004, he campaigned for Bush's re-election and spoke at the Republican National Convention in New York. CNN's Mary Snow contributed to this report. | [
"What is Kerik accused of?",
"What job did Kerik formerly have?",
"How much money did Kerik fail to report?",
"Who did he make false statements to?",
"How much money did he not report?",
"What is Bernard Kerik being accused of?",
"Who is Bernard Kerik?",
"What is Bernard Kerik ccused of?",
"Has a trial date been set?"
] | [
[
"corruption and tax evasion"
],
[
"New York City police Commissioner"
],
[
"more than $500,000"
],
[
"the White House and other federal officials"
],
[
"$500,000 in income"
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[
"of failing to report more than $500,000 in income between 1999 and 2004,"
],
[
"Former New York City police Commissioner"
],
[
"corruption and tax evasion"
],
[
"not"
]
] | Bernard Kerik is accused of failing to report more than $500,000 in income .
Kerik is the former New York City police commissioner .
Indictment also charges that Kerik made false statements to the White House .
A trial date has not been set . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Global markets were reeling Monday after a historic day on Wall Street that saw two famous names become the latest victims of the credit crunch. The leading U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and brokerage Merrill Lynch was the subject of a $50 billion buyout by Bank of America. The fate of other big name financial institutions remained in doubt and stock prices plunged in Asia, Europe and the United States. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 504 points down, or about 4.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite lost 3.6 percent, its worst single-session percentage decline since March 24, 2003. It left the tech-fueled average at its lowest point since March 17 of this year. In Europe, FTSE index in London declined 3.92 percent while the Paris CAC 40 was down 3.78 percent. It was the worst day for the index since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. Major Asian indexes were closed but India's Sensex fell 5.4 percent, Taiwan's benchmark dropped 4.1, Australia's key index dropped 2 percent and Singapore fell 2.9. Check markets The turmoil at Merrill Lynch and Lehman is bound to mean job losses in the already hard-hit financial services industry, but so far neither company has indicated how many will be cut. "This crisis is clearly deeper than anybody had imagined only a short time ago," Peter Stein, an associate editor at the Wall Street Journal in Asia, told CNN. The chaos followed a roller-coaster weekend for a Wall Street already concussed by woes at other major financial firms and mortgage-financing titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sound off: What do you think? At one point the U.S. Federal Reserve was forced to step in, announcing plans to loosen lending restrictions to the banking industry in an effort to calm markets, while a consortium of 10 leading domestic and foreign banks agreed a $70 billion fund to lend to troubled financial firms. U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday he is confident that the markets are resilient and can deal with the latest financial blows. "We are working to reduce disruptions and minimize the impact these financial market developments on the broader economy." Watch what went wrong » He added: "In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful for people worried about their investments and for employees of the firms." U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said eight years of Bush "brought us the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression." His Republican rival said John McCain said he was happy the federal government decided not to use taxpayer dollars to bail out Lehman Brothers. In an effort to calm market jitters, the European Central Bank on Monday said it has pumped $42.6 billion into money markets. The Bank of England in London also took steps, offering nearly $9 billion in a three-day auction. In another development, American International Group, the world's largest insurer, was reportedly struggling to secure billions of dollars in capital after months of seeing its share values slide. Police cordoned off Lehman's headquarters in New York on Sunday as staff, some in suits, others in casual clothes, left the building with cardboard boxes while tourists and onlookers gathered to watch the spectacle. The 158-year-old bank, which has weathered previous financial upheavals and saw its offices destroyed in the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which grants protection while it works out a plan to pay back creditors. The collapse of Lehman came after shares declined 94 percent in the space of a year, prompting speculation over its fate. It took a turn for the worse Sunday when Bank of America and British bank Barclays, both viewed as potential "white knights," pulled out of deal talks, sources told CNNMoney.com. Both Lehmans and Merrill have been caught with huge exposures to unsecured mortgages, the bad debts at the heart of the so-called credit crunch that has devalued the U.S. housing market and sent financial shockwaves worldwide. Analysis: Different rules for different names » Lehman | [
"what happened for dow jones",
"which bank file for bankruptcy?",
"Who is to file for bankruptcy?",
"Which markets tumbled?",
"which bank is going to take care of Merrill Lynch?",
"Who agrees to be taken over?",
"Who is to be taken over by Bank of America?",
"Who filed for bankruptcy?",
"what did bank of america do"
] | [
[
"closed 504 points down,"
],
[
"Lehman Brothers"
],
[
"Lehman Brothers"
],
[
"Global"
],
[
"of America."
],
[
"brokerage Merrill Lynch"
],
[
"Merrill Lynch"
],
[
"Lehman Brothers"
],
[
"$50 billion buyout"
]
] | U.S. investment banking giant Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy .
Merrill Lynch agrees to be taken over by Bank of America .
Job losses certain but numbers not yet known .
NEW: Dow Jones suffered worst day since 9/11; Asia, Europe markets tumbled . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Gov. David Paterson of New York has told state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states and countries where they are legal, his spokeswoman said Wednesday. The governor's legal counsel told state agencies in a May 14 memo to revise policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in California and Massachusetts as well as Canada and other countries that allow gays and lesbians to marry, said Erin Duggan, the governor's spokeswoman. The memo informed state agencies that failing to recognize gay marriages would violate the New York's human rights law, Duggan said. The directive follows a February ruling from a New York state appeals court. That decision says that legal same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions are entitled to recognition in New York. "This was in direct response to a court ruling," Duggan told CNN. "Just to make sure all the state agencies are on the same page." See what rules your state has about same-sex unions » Duggan says that the court's decision was consistent with the findings of several lower courts in New York State. The governor's legal counsel sent the memo one day before the California Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay marriage in that state. Court officials in California counties may begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 17, state officials said Wednesday. Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages in 2004, and gay couples need not be state residents there to wed. However, then-Gov. Mitt Romney resurrected a 1913 law barring non-resident marriages in the state if the marriage would be prohibited in the partners' home state. Subsequent court and agency decisions have determined that only residents of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Mexico may marry in Massachusetts, unless the parties say they plan to move there after the marriage. New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut permit civil unions, while California has a domestic-partner registration law. More than a dozen other states give same-sex couples some legal rights, as do some other countries. | [
"What state legalized marriages?",
"what will violate a human rights?",
"who legalized the marriages",
"What other states have legalized same-sex marriage?",
"what follows the rulling?",
"what breaks the law"
] | [
[
"Massachusetts"
],
[
"failing to recognize gay marriages"
],
[
"Massachusetts"
],
[
"New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey"
],
[
"The directive"
],
[
"failing to recognize gay marriages"
]
] | Memo: Failing to recognize gay marriages would violate New York's human rights law .
The directive follows a February ruling from a New York state appeals court .
Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages in 2004 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- He is iconic, there's no doubt. George Hamilton gets his life story on screen in "My One and Only." With the elegant suit and tie, the impeccable grooming, the tan (Did I mention the tan?), George Hamilton is still a charmer, and he comes across like a born bon vivant. Sure, his acting may have taken a backseat to his bronzed visage years ago, but what did happen to him years ago? Well, there's a story there, one now coming to the big screen. Hamilton's formative years are loosely depicted in the film "My One and Only," opening in wide release September 4. "My One and Only" has the style of a film produced during Hollywood's golden age, but the tale is easily relatable to today. In the film, Hamilton's mother, Anne, played by Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger, walks in on her bandleader husband and another woman. She hits the road in a brand new Cadillac Coupe de Ville with her two sons, George and Robbie, en route to find a new husband and a new life. Watch a preview of 'My One and Only' » Hamilton, 70, spoke with CNN about the film, old Hollywood and his mother. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: There is a lot of heartache in this story. Why did you want to share it? George Hamilton: I don't know that I really did want to share it. It's a fictional story based on a real story loosely about me. And I went to the movie to hate it. And I looked at the movie and I thought, my God, [Zellweger] looks nothing like my mother, but she was able to portray the emotions just the way it was then. I couldn't speak. I was completely overwhelmed by what Renee did. That's a great actress. CNN: Do you think that your mother shaped your life more than your father? Hamilton: I think they're kind of like sand and a rock, kind of -- you keep rubbing up against them and they form you. I knew that I was the man of the family from the time I was 10, 12 -- you know, I had to be. But I knew I had to get away from it. So I signed onto military school. Then my mother said, if you're bad I'm sending you to your father, and I said, send me. I ... lived a whole year with my father -- I got to know him, I got to understand the two sides to the story. My mother didn't say bad things about him. I presumed that he was this foreign person who left and abandoned us. He didn't at all. And when I made it in Hollywood and I didn't want to be an actor, there they arrived. It was their triumph, not mine. I wanted to be a doctor. CNN: Now in hindsight, do you understand what your mom was doing? Hamilton: That's a very good question. No, I didn't, I didn't get her. What I knew was I would work -- I was ... with people who had millions of dollars, and they just accepted me, and I would go out and buy a tuxedo in the thrift shop, and go to the coming-out party of a very wealthy socialite, and they would say oh, now chic. You wore your grandfather's or your father's tuxedo. And I had bought it for $5. And I realized there was a whole reverse way of acting, and people just presumed you were old money, and I played that. That was my game. But when I looked at my mother I realized that she was born almost like a child, with the theory that we would be divinely supported. Always trust that, don't be afraid. Poverty, or [being] poor, is a mentality, it | [
"Who wrote My One and ONly?",
"What does Hamilton remember?",
"What is the subject of \"My One and Only\"?",
"Who was the subject of \"My One and Only\"?",
"What did Hamilton want to be?",
"What did Hamilton originally want to be?",
"What actor is perpetually tanned?",
"What actor wanted to be a doctor?",
"What did Hamilton say about old Hollywood?"
] | [
[
"George Hamilton"
],
[
"old Hollywood and his mother."
],
[
"Hamilton's formative years"
],
[
"George Hamilton"
],
[
"a doctor."
],
[
"a doctor."
],
[
"George Hamilton"
],
[
"George Hamilton"
],
[
"think they're kind of like sand and a rock, kind of -- you keep rubbing up against them and they form you."
]
] | George Hamilton's formative years subject of "My One and Only"
Perpetually tanned Hamilton fell into acting; he wanted to be a doctor .
Hamilton remembers thrill of old Hollywood, then one day it was gone . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- He performed at Ellen DeGeneres' wedding this past summer, and he's as quick-witted as Adam Sandler. Could Joshua Radin be the next great wedding singer?
Joshua Radin got a push from old friend Zach Braff, but has been making his own fans.
"No, don't say that," the singer-songwriter says good-naturedly. "Wedding singers play covers and they're usually Motown songs. I don't know any Al Green."
Maybe not -- and Al Green didn't record for Motown, either -- but Radin hopes to put a little love in your heart with his sophomore album, "Simple Times."
"It's about my whole life. Every song I write is an honest account of my life. They're sort of like journal entries," he says. "So this one's about falling in and out of love, it's about my friends, it's about my family. It's about the world we live in."
Radin's world has been anything but simple these past few years. Since actor Zach Braff -- a buddy from Northwestern University -- promoted the Cleveland, Ohio-born musician's tunes on the TV sitcom "Scrubs," Radin's vulnerable lyrics and whispery delivery have caught on. Primetime programs like "Grey's Anatomy" and "American Idol" also used his music, and before long Radin had a debut album -- 2006's critically acclaimed "We Were Here" -- and a reason to hit the road.
Radin (who has a loud, hearty laugh for a guy whose songs are pretty melancholy) dropped by CNN's New York offices to talk about how he landed that wedding gig, and some of the unusual surfaces he uses to jot down lyrics. The following is an edited version of the interview. Watch Radin cause hearts to melt »
CNN: A lot of your songs are about heartache and heartbreak. Are you sad all the time?
Joshua Radin: No, not at all. Just tired.
CNN: Why so tired?
Radin: Because I play a lot of shows all the time. When you're trying to get your music out to as many people as humanly possible, you gotta go places ... all the time, and talk about it and play songs and you get a little less sleep than you might like. It's cool. But in terms of the heartache I guess I get my sad out by writing songs.
CNN: How do you get your happy out?
Radin: Hanging out with people I like.
CNN: Speaking of people you like, Zach Braff [is] a big buddy of yours ...
Radin: Never met him.
CNN: Liar!
Radin: He's a very close friend and he's been very supportive.
CNN: Some might say that without Zach Braff's support you might not have come to the fore as you have ...
Radin: I wouldn't even be born.
CNN: Do you sort of feel like you are going to be indebted to him for the rest of your life?
Radin: No, he's pretty much indebted to me. I mean he got to launch my career (laughs). I'm just kidding.
CNN: You sang at Ellen DeGeneres' wedding. How did that come about?
Radin: I played her show in January and she came up to me after we soundchecked the song ["Today"] and said, "That's the song I want to walk down the aisle to." And I thought she was just being nice, really.
And then about two days before the wedding -- I was on tour -- I got a call saying she wanted me to come in and she was going to have her wedding for a very intimate gathering at her house. And she wanted me to play about five or six of my songs ...
CNN: The happy ones, I hope.
Radin: Yeah, I only have about five or six songs about falling | [
"What is Josh radins new album called",
"What wedding did he play at?",
"What is the name of the album?",
"Who is a friend of Zach braff",
"What show were his songs on?"
] | [
[
"\"Simple Times.\""
],
[
"Ellen DeGeneres'"
],
[
"\"Simple Times.\""
],
[
"Joshua Radin"
],
[
"\"Grey's Anatomy\" and \"American Idol\""
]
] | Joshua Radin's new album is "Simple Times"
Radin, a friend of Zach Braff, had songs played on "Scrubs"
Ellen DeGeneres liked one tune, asked Radin to play her wedding . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- He's the other hero. After pulling child to safety, firefighter Jimmy Senk went back into burning building in case another was inside. Jimmy Senk is a Bronx, New York, firefighter who went inside a burning apartment with black smoke billowing out of the windows on Wednesday, pulled out a 4-year-old boy and handed him to a bystander. "I'm just glad he's alive, you know?" Senk told CNN. The boy has since been released from the hospital. The bystander, shopkeeper Horia Cretan, climbed four floors up a fire escape to try to help the boy before firefighters arrived. Cretan couldn't reach the youngster. But when firefighter Senk and his fellow battle blazers arrived on the scene, they sprung into action. Senk couldn't use the fire escape. Too many apartment residents were using it to get out. "When I looked up," Senk said, "I could see the boy's arm sticking out the window." But the window was blocked by a bunk bed. Senk couldn't fit through the window. One of Senk's fellow firefighters put him on a ladder and got him to a different window. But then the boy did something unexpected. He disappeared into the black smoke back inside his bedroom. "What am I gonna do now?" Senk recalled. "I masked up and went in." Senk says there was intense heat. The smoke was so thick that he couldn't see a thing. He felt around for the boy with his hands. Senk found him near a doorway. In video that's been aired repeatedly on local, national, and international TV, Senk is seen leaning out the window and handing the boy to Cretan. Senk says he knew the boy wasn't in good shape. "He was unconscious. The body was limp. He was foaming at the mouth." "I didn't think he was going to make it," Senk added. Watch Senk talk about the rescue with CNN's Susan Candiotti » He says he yelled to his team to get some oxygen. Then, thanks to the helping hand from Cretan, he went right back in. Senk said he had to. He remembered seeing that bunk bed. "You see bunk beds; you gotta figure there's two kids in there, right?" Meantime, Cretan said he was holding the boy. "He was lifeless. I cleaned up his mouth and his nostrils,' said Cretan. He pushed on his chest and he says the boy opened his eyes. 'Once he did that, I was happy," said Cretan. Then, he carried the boy downstairs and into the waiting hands of firefighters. Senk didn't find anyone else inside the bedroom. When he eventually made it to the ground, his team patted him on the back. "I said, 'I just hope that kid lived. And he [another firefighter] goes, 'He lived.' He was talking before he left,' " said Senk. "It was just incredible. I couldn't believe it because he was completely unconscious." Cretan has been congratulated on several TV shows for his efforts, but he acknowledged the role firefighters played. "Trust me. Firefighters are heroes," Cretan said. Senk says such rescues are a team effort. "It's the greatest job in the world. You get to save lives every day," he said. | [
"Who carried the boy from the burning building?",
"What event turned Hori Cretan into a hero?",
"Who was the other hero?",
"Who was also noted as a hero and went into the building?",
"What did Senk say about the experience and rescue?",
"Did anybody think the boy would make it?"
] | [
[
"Jimmy Senk"
],
[
"climbed four floors up a fire escape to try to help the boy before firefighters arrived."
],
[
"Jimmy Senk"
],
[
"Jimmy Senk"
],
[
"\"I'm just glad he's alive, you know?\""
],
[
"\"I didn't"
]
] | Horia Cretan became a hero for carrying boy from burning building .
The other hero is firefighter Jimmy Senk, who went into the building .
Senk saw boy disappear back into the smoke, so "I masked up and went in"
"I didn't think he was going to make it," Senk said . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Her identity revealed, a blogger who posted rants about model Liskula Cohen said she was the real victim in the case and plans to sue Google for violating her privacy. Rosemary Port says she plans to sue Google for not doing enough to protect her identity. Rosemary Port and her lawyer said Monday that they will file a $15 million lawsuit against the search engine giant for not doing enough to protect her identity. "I not only feel my client was wronged, but I feel now it sets precedent that anyone with money and power can get the identity of anyone that decides to be an anonymous blogger," said Salvator Strazzullo, Port's lawyer. A New York Supreme Court judge ordered Google to reveal Port's identity after Cohen sued the company to acquire information about the anonymous blogger. Watch model explain her persistence » "I wanted it gone," Cohen said. "I didn't want it to be there for the rest of my life. And I knew the only way for it to be gone was to call my lawyer." In August 2008, Port, a user of Google-owned Blogger.com, created "Skanks in NYC." The site assailed Cohen, 37, a cover girl who has appeared in Vogue and other fashion magazines. The blog featured photos of Cohen accompanied by derogatory terms. The judge rejected Port's argument that blogs on the Internet "serve as a modern-day forum for conveying personal opinions" and should not be regarded as fact. Cohen's attorney, Steve Wagner, said he couldn't believe Port's nerve in suing Google. "Her being a victim here? I have trouble understanding that in its entirety," he said. Legal experts said Port is not likely to win her case. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's senior legal analyst, said Google was complying with a court order and that disclosing Port's name cannot be viewed as violating her rights. "Google never promises anyone absolute anonymity," Toobin said. "There are all sorts of circumstances when Google cooperates with law enforcement." Blogger.com requires only a valid e-mail address to register for a blog. After the court demanded Port's identity, Google handed over her e-mail address to Cohen's lawyers so they could track her down. In response to CNN's request for an interview, Google issued a statement: "Google does comply with valid legal processes, such as court orders and subpoenas, and these same processes apply to all law-abiding companies. At the same time, we have a legal team whose job is to scrutinize these requests and make sure they meet not only the letter but the spirit of the law." Online activists have closely followed the model blogger's case. Nick Thompson of Wired magazine said the case will force people to recognize that the blogosphere, however anonymous, is not above the law. On the other hand, it could deter some bloggers who fear the cloak of anonymity could be lifted at any moment. "There will be people who won't publish things that maybe they should publish or that would be good for society," Thompson said. | [
"what did judge order Google to reveal",
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] | [
[
"Port's identity"
],
[
"Rosemary Port"
],
[
"\"Skanks in NYC.\""
],
[
"reveal Port's identity after Cohen sued the company"
]
] | Rosemary Port created "Skanks in NYC," a site that assailed cover girl Liskula Cohen .
Judge ordered Google to reveal Port's identity after it was sued by Cohen .
Legal experts said Port is not likely to win her case . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hip-hop artist Lil Wayne pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
Lil Wayne is expected to receive a one-year jail sentence for his guilty plea.
He is expected to receive a one-year jail sentence, the office said. The Grammy Award-winning artist, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, is due for sentencing in February.
His trial had been scheduled to begin in January.
When he was indicted in February 2008, Carter pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal possession of a weapon, the district attorney's office said. His guilty plea Thursday was to a reduced charge.
He was arrested in July 2007. Police officers said Carter and another man were smoking marijuana on a street, and the officers found a .40-caliber pistol in Carter's possession.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Carter launched his solo career at age 16 with the release of "Tha Block is Hot" in 1999. He won two BET Awards in 2007 and four Grammy Awards in 2009. | [
"How many Grammy Awards did he won in 2009?",
"When is sentencing due ?",
"Who was arrested in July?",
"What charge was Lil Wayne arrested for in July 2007?"
] | [
[
"four"
],
[
"February."
],
[
"Lil Wayne"
],
[
"of criminal possession of a weapon,"
]
] | Lil Wayne was arrested in July 2007 on weapons charge .
Hip-hop artist pleaded guilty to reduced charge Thursday; sentencing due in February .
Lil Wayne launched solo career at age 16 with release of "Tha Block is Hot" in 1999 .
He won two BET Awards in 2007 and four Grammy Awards in 2009 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- His was one of the first photos of a missing child to appear on a milk carton. Almost 30 years later, Etan Patz is still missing. Etan Patz, 6, disappeared while walking to a school bus stop. It was the first time he'd gone alone. Etan was 6 when he disappeared on May 25, 1979, the Friday before Memorial Day. He was on his way to school in what is now the upscale Soho neighborhood of New York. It was the first time he'd walked to the bus stop by himself. It was just a few blocks away. Etan, like any 6-year-old, argued that all of his friends walked to the bus stop alone, and his parents relented. His mother, Julie Patz, learned that Etan hadn't been in classes when he failed to return home. She called the school at 3:30 p.m., then called the homes of all his friends. When no one had seen Etan, she called police and filed a missing person's report. By evening more than 100 police officers and searchers had gathered with bloodhounds. The search continued for weeks, but no clues to Etan's whereabouts were found. Watch an update on the case » The boy's disappearance was one of the key events that inspired the missing children's movement, which raised awareness of child abductions and led to new ways to search for missing children. Etan's case was the first of the milk carton campaigns of the mid-1980s. "In our minds there were only two possibilities," said Stan Patz, the boy's father. "Either Etan was taken by a stranger and killed or he was taken by a very sad woman desperate for a child of her own, and we hoped that such a woman would at least take care of him and keep him safe." Patz lived with this hope until 1982, when he learned of Jose Antonio Ramos' arrest and the surprising connection between him and a former babysitter of Etan's. Ramos was a drifter who in 1979 lived in Alphabet City, a neighborhood not far from Soho. In 1982 he was arrested after boys in a neighborhood in the Bronx complained that he had stolen their book bags while trying to coax them into a drainpipe under a bridge, where he lived, said the Patzes and federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois, who spent years investigating the case. When police found Ramos in his drainpipe home, they found he had many photographs of small blond boys. They noticed that they looked a lot like Etan Patz, according to author Lisa R Cohen's book about the case, "After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive." Bronx police questioned Ramos, and he denied having anything to do with Etan's disappearance. But he did tell police that his girlfriend used to baby-sit for the boy, GraBois said. Prosecutors in the Bronx and Manhattan pursued this lead, but concluded they did not have enough evidence to connect Ramos to Etan's disappearance, GraBois and a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said. Ramos was released when the parents of the Bronx boys chose not to press charges against him, according to published reports. He left town and disappeared for six years -- until GraBois reviewed Etan's case. GraBois said he focused on Ramos as the prime suspect. GraBois said he learned in 1988 that Ramos had been arrested and convicted of child molestation and was serving time in a Pennsylvania prison. GraBois said he brought Ramos to New York for questioning and surprised him with the question: "How many times did you have sex with Etan Patz?" Ramos told GraBois that he'd taken a little boy to an apartment he had on the lower East Side on the same day that Etan went missing. "He was 90 percent sure it was the same he'd seen in the news that was missing," GraBois said. According to GraBois, Ramos claimed he released the boy and brought him to a subway station so the boy could go visit his aunt in Washington Heights. | [
"What year did the boy disappear?",
"When did Etan Patz disappear?",
"Where did the boy not show up at?",
"Who disappeared on May 25, 1979?",
"who begged to let him walk?"
] | [
[
"disappeared on May 25, 1979,"
],
[
"May 25, 1979,"
],
[
"a school bus stop."
],
[
"Etan Patz,"
],
[
"Etan Patz,"
]
] | Boy, 6, begged his parents to let him walk to school bus stop for first time .
He never showed up at school in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood .
Etan Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979 .
Know something? Call the FBI/NYPD Etan Patz hotline: 212-384-2200 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hugh Hefner founded Playboy magazine 55 years ago and turned the adult-oriented publication into a multimillion-dollar empire. CNN anchor John Roberts recently sat down with Hefner, now 82, and talked about Steven Watts' new book, "Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream."
Hugh Hefner, 82, says that "staying young is what it is all about for me."
John Roberts, CNN anchor: Mr. Hefner, good to see you.
Hugh Hefner: It is my pleasure.
Roberts: You have over the decades certainly supported political causes, you've supported Democratic causes. I'm wondering what your thoughts are regarding the pending inauguration of Barack Obama and where you think the country is headed in the next four years.
Hefner: Well, where the country is headed is obviously a question we would all like to know. But I, certainly, [say] this [is] a time for a change. I supported Obama. I'm delighted that I lived to see a black president. I think he's a very good man. I think we've had ... eight of the worst years in my memory. And we hope that Obama can make some difference. Watch the interview with Hugh Hefner »
Roberts: You know in the 1950s and through the '60s and the early '70s you were such a factor in the sexual revolution in this country. With the election of Barack Obama, do you believe that the cultural revolution has come to an end?
Hefner: It's always ongoing. You know, we remain essentially a puritan people. And so I think that conflict is always there. One got a remarkable revolutionary change in pop culture and in moral values in the '60s and '70s, and then there was a backlash. And that backlash, I think, has influenced government. And, um, the Christian right has had, played a major role in all of that. And I think that the complicated problems with religion being involved with politics hopefully will come to an end for a while at least.
Roberts: Now in 1953, when you first launched Playboy magazine, you seemed to be the right publication for the right time. I know that you were very heavily influenced by the Kinsey Report, which had come out not too long prior to that. But 55 years later, is Playboy magazine still relevant? And if it is, how do you keep it relevant?
Hefner: Well, I don't think obviously it will ever play the same kind of role that it played back in the 1950s and '60s. But I do think that a magazine of quality always has a place. Increasingly, obviously fewer people are reading magazines and fewer people are reading newspapers and books, but I think that part of that is a change that Playboy is always, is also embracing. We're very much involved with the Internet. We were the first magazine to use [the] Internet and have our own Web site. So I think that we'll continue to publish and publish both the magazine and then publish through electronics.
Roberts: The new Steven Watts biography is a fascinating, very fascinating look at your entire career, from your roots all the way up until the present. And he says, looking back over it, that "the key to his approach was that he edited Playboy for himself. Aiming it at his own tastes and values." Was that also a key to your success as well that you approached this with such a personal passion?
Hefner: I think so, but I think that is one of the things that makes magazines unique. They do speak with a personal voice. And I think it is one of the things that makes magazines special.
Roberts: Now this, of course, has been a family enterprise. You founded the magazine, your daughter Christie took over as CEO of the company in 1982. She has been there for 26 years, but she's stepping down later on this month. Will you be able to still maintain that | [
"What is the name of the new book?",
"what is new book about?",
"what did hefner say",
"Who is mr. playboy?",
"what was the new book about",
"what age is publisher-playboy"
] | [
[
"\"Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream.\""
],
[
"Hugh Hefner"
],
[
"it is all about for me.\""
],
[
"Hugh Hefner"
],
[
"Hugh Hefner"
],
[
"82,"
]
] | New book about publisher is "Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream"
Now 82, publisher-playboy says he still has no plans to "grow up"
"You know, we remain essentially a puritan people," Hefner says .
Hefner's latest girlfriends are a pair of 19-year-old twins . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hundreds of people converged on New York's Union Square Friday for the May Day Immigration Rally, calling for workers' rights and a path to citizenship for the country's nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants. New Yorker's support the rights of undocumented workers on Friday at a May Day rally. The annual event, which began in 2006, was organized by the May 1st Coalition for Workers and Immigrants Rights. Similar rallies were scheduled across the nation in Boston, Massachusetts; Detroit, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco in California, and San Antonio, Texas, according to the group's Web site. Following rally cries from speakers in both English and Spanish, demonstrators braved a rainstorm and marched approximately two miles to New York's Federal Plaza. Among the participants was Saul Linares, who emigrated from El Salvador six years ago and works at a Long Island factory making equipment for the U.S. Army. Linares is particularly concerned about children who are American citizens, yet whose illegal immigrant parents have been deported. "The children are living alone, sometimes with relatives, at churches or with neighbors," he said. Teresa Gutierrez, a co-coordinator of the event, blames current government policy for the United States' immigration woes. She said she believes the Clinton administration's landmark 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA -- which was meant to promote cross-border growth between the United States and Mexico -- actually had exploitive effects on the Mexican population. "Immigrants came because of NAFTA. They don't risk their lives crossing the border because they want to, but because they have to," she said. A smaller anti-illegal immigration rally assembled across the street, organized by the New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement. Charles Maron, a New York firefighter and husband of a first generation Pakistani, believes illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be deported. "Someone who comes, teaches their kids the American way, I support that." Participants in the May Day rally included people from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. According to Gregory Jesus Luc, who is producing a documentary about the plight of Haitian immigrants, "It's about awareness, letting media and America know that we are immigrants and we are the backbone of this country." | [
"May Day rally seeks path to what?",
"What draws a smaller crowd?",
"what is the name of the rally?",
"where did the anti-illegal immigration rally take place?",
"What is the May Day rally seeking?",
"What does the rally seek to do?",
"What else will take places across United States?",
"A rally in New York was for what?"
] | [
[
"citizenship"
],
[
"anti-illegal immigration rally"
],
[
"May Day Immigration"
],
[
"New York's Union Square"
],
[
"calling for workers' rights and a path to citizenship for the country's nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants."
],
[
"citizenship for the country's nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants."
],
[
"Similar rallies"
],
[
"May Day Immigration"
]
] | May Day rally seeks path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants .
Similar rallies take place in cities across United States .
Anti-illegal immigration rally in New York draws a smaller crowd . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In 2009, some units of the New York Police Department still function more like "Dragnet" than "CSI." They rely on typewriters. Records show New York City signed a $432,900 contract for typewriter maintenance with in 2008. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne confirmed the department's continued, if limited, use of the 20th-century writing devices, explaining that they're mainly used for filling out property vouchers -- forms that officers must file when they seize items during case investigations. The typewriters also are retained in case a technological meltdown disables the NYPD's computers, he said. The vintage typing machines do not come cheap. Public records show that the city signed a $432,900 contract for typewriter maintenance with Afax Business Machines in 2008, as well as a $99,570 contract with that company in 2009. Typewriter company Swintec received a $982,269 contract from the city in 2007. Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York police officer who now lectures at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the typewriters are an anachronism -- and a waste. "The two places you'd find typewriters are the museum and the police department," O'Donnell said. Typewriters create significant efficiency and storage problems for the department, he added, causing extra labor and unwieldy paper trails. Deputy Commissioner Browne emphasized that "we have a $4 billion budget" and the financial resources devoted to typewriters are relatively miniscule. Officers interviewed by CNN on the street had no soft spots for the contraptions. "It's so antiquated," said one officer who did not want to be identified. Her partner shared her frustration. "It's very inconvenient -- you have to find ink, you have to find this, find that." | [
"What did one officer say?",
"Typewriters were mainly used for what?",
"Are they using antiquated methods",
"What did public records show?"
] | [
[
"typewriters are an anachronism"
],
[
"filling out property vouchers"
],
[
"\"It's so antiquated,\" said one officer who did not want to be identified."
],
[
"the city signed a $432,900 contract for typewriter maintenance with Afax Business Machines in 2008, as well as a $99,570 contract with that company in 2009."
]
] | Typewriters mainly used for filling out property voucher, says NYPD official .
Public records show city signed $432,900 contract for typewriter maintenance .
"It's so antiquated," said one officer . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In a column appearing in Newsweek, world affairs expert and author Fareed Zakaria said he thinks it would be best for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain if Gov. Sarah Palin bowed out as his vice presidential running mate. "For him to choose Sarah Palin to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible," says Zakaria. Zakaria says McCain did not put the country first in making his V.P. choice, and he says Palin is not qualified to lead the United States. CNN spoke to him about his commentary titled, "Palin is ready? Please." CNN: What did you initially think when Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican vice presidential nominee? Zakaria: I was a bit surprised -- as I think most people were. But I was willing to give her a chance. And I thought her speech at the convention was clever and funny. But once she began answering questions about economics and foreign policy, it became clear that she has simply never thought about these subjects before and is dangerously ignorant and unprepared for the job of vice president, let alone president. Watch Zakaria slam Sarah Palin » CNN: You don't think she is qualified? Zakaria: No. Gov. Palin has been given a set of talking points by campaign advisers, simple ideological mantras that she repeats and repeats as long as she can. But if forced off those rehearsed lines, what she has to say is often, quite frankly -- nonsense. Just listen to her response to Katie Couric's question about the bailout. It's gibberish -- an emptying out of catchphrases about economics that have nothing to do with the question or the topic. It's scary to think that this person could be running the country. Here is their exchange: Katie Couric: Why isn't it better, Gov. Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess? Gov. Sarah Palin: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the -- it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that. CNN: But Dan Quayle wasn't very qualified and that didn't seem to matter, did it? Zakaria: This is way beyond Dan Quayle. Quayle was a lightweight who was prone to scramble his words, or say things that sounded weird, but you almost always knew what he meant. One of his most famous miscues was to the United Negro College Fund when he said, "What a terrible thing to have lost one's mind. Or not to have a mind at all." Now he was trying to play off a famous ad that the group used to run, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste." And he screwed it up in a funny way. But read Gov. Palin's answers and it does appear that she doesn't have any understanding about the topic under discussion. CNN: But she has a lot of supporters. Zakaria: Look, I'm not saying that she is not a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. It is just we are talking about a person who | [
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"What did Fareed Zakaria say Sara Palin should do",
"Did John McCain put his country first when he chose Palin as VP",
"Who said it was a hell of a time for Palin to start thinking about national, global issues?"
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] | Fareed Zakaria says John McCain did not put country first with his choice .
Palin should bow out saying she wants "to spend more time with her family," he says .
Zakaria: This is "hell of a time" for Palin to start thinking about national, global issues . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In a dramatic reversal, the Florida state attorney's office announced Monday it will seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony, the 23-year-old woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of her daughter Caylee, 2, Trial is set for October. The state had previously said it would not ask for the death sentence for Anthony. The development could have a major impact on how the case plays out at trial, including whether defense attorney Jose Baez can stay on the case. Baez has not been certified by the court to defend capital punishment cases. Prosecutors announced their change in strategy in a letter of intent. Read the letter of intent (pdf) Meanwhile, Anthony's defense filed a motion on Friday with Orange County Circuit Court, seeking more phone records from a dozen people involved in the case. The motion asks for any and all records for "phone calls, text messages, P2P communications, Internet usage, WAP usage, and cell tower pings." The defense wants records from the defendant's parents, George and Cindy Anthony; her former fiancé, Jesse Grund; her brother, Lee Anthony; a friend, Amy Huizenga; and Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found Caylee's remains in December of last year. Kronk had called authorities as early as last August to report he had seen a suspicious bag in the area. Other names on the list include several former boyfriends, two private investigators, a volunteer searcher and Richard Cain, an Orange County Sheriff's deputy. Cain was fired after an internal investigation found he failed to respond to repeated calls from Kronk about the suspicious bag. Cain has refused to leave the job and is awaiting an appeal. "Various cell phone service providers are in possession of certain items which are material to the preparation of the defense in this cause,'' the motion says, adding, ''the items sought by this application cannot be obtained through normal discovery." The motion says the release of these records could lead to admissible evidence in Anthony's trial, which is set to begin in October. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder of Caylee, whose remains were found in woods near her grandparents' home in Orlando. | [
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"What does the motion ask?",
"What did Caset Anthony's defense do?",
"who filed motion for more phone records?",
"What could florida's turnaround have a major impact on?",
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"who asks for all \"phone calls, text messages\"?"
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] | Florida's turnaround could have a major impact on how the case plays out .
Casey Anthony's defense filed motion for more phone records from a dozen people .
Motion asks for all "phone calls, text messages" of those associated with case . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In the days after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, it will be tempting to reach two hasty conclusions: that she was Pakistan's last great hope and that her geo-politically crucial country has revealed itself to be inherently hopeless. Irshad Manji is a controversial Muslim feminist and activist from Toronto, Canada. On each front, I take a different view. While far more liberal and democratic than Gen. Musharraf, Bhutto disappointed moderate, modern Pakistanis with her adherence to feudal politics. Writing to me through my Web site, American feminists say they are "aching" over the loss of "our dear, sweet, brave Benazir." I understand the sentiment. But "brave" is not the word used by Pakistani women from whom I've also heard. They're hurting more over Bhutto's "self-imposed" conformity. "She never realized her potential," a woman from Karachi tells me. "And not because she was killed but because when she had the chance, she did not effectively challenge the backward mindset that has now led to her demise." For example, during Bhutto's time in office, Pakistan didn't defy the anti-female rape and adultery laws. Those notorious ordinances, known as Hudood, took their inspiration from tribal politics masquerading as Islam. Watch Manji argue on CNN why Bhutto's legacy is mixed » Imagine the opportunity: Bhutto could have championed a purer faith by tackling corrupt cultural practices. In so doing, she might have created allies among conservatives, who can be persuaded that although Islam is God-given, culture is man-made. Last year, a media campaign to strike down the Hudood Ordinances achieved this fine balance. But not because of her. And that, say many progressive Pakistanis, amputates Bhutto's legacy. The fact that cruel laws against women can be publicly debated at all should suggest that Pakistan has hope anyway. An exceptional leader can tap into it. History tells us so. There was a time when Pakistan's democratic politicians stuck it to the feudal fanatics. Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was once heckled by a religious fundamentalist. "You drink alcohol!" shouted the critic. "Yes," retorted the elder Bhutto, "but I don't drink the blood of the people!" His response captured the spirit of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder. In 1947, Jinnah exuded high hopes for his people: "You are free. You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques, or to any other place of worship in the State of Pakistan. "You may belong to any religion or caste or creed. That has nothing to do with the business of the state. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens of one state... You will find that in due course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense ... but in the political sense as citizens of the state." Jinnah meant every word of his unconventional vision because he, himself, lived as a maverick. He adored his non-Muslim wife, and his sister often appeared with him on the campaign trail. Her visibility attested to Islam's embrace of women as partners of men. In the months ahead, the people of Pakistan will need to recall Jinnah's vision. It may be of comfort know that they're not alone. Countless Americans are now asking about their founders' intentions, desperate to re-discover the better angels of their country after eight years of George W. Bush. Still, Pakistan must avoid America's enduring mistake. The United States lapsed into profound divisiveness following the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Many would argue that today's politics of polarization can be traced to the unresolved trauma of the King-Kennedy murders. For Pakistan, it's high time to transcend both trauma and tribalism. I pray that in death, Benazir Bhutto will | [
"Who disappointed Bhutto?",
"Who must transcend?",
"Who did not defy anti-rape laws?",
"Who said Bhutto disappointed some?",
"Who was in office?",
"Who must transcend trauma and trbalism?"
] | [
[
"moderate, modern Pakistanis"
],
[
"Pakistan,"
],
[
"Pakistan"
],
[
"moderate, modern Pakistanis"
],
[
"Benazir Bhutto's"
],
[
"Pakistan,"
]
] | Manji says Bhutto disappointed some because she adhered to feudal politics .
During Bhutto's time in office, writer says, she did not defy anti-rape laws .
Pakistan must "transcend both trauma and tribalism," Manji says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In the midst of the ongoing culture wars, can it be a good idea to put out a comedy about two Stone Age men who wander into the Bible? In "Year One," Jack Black stars as an inquisitive Stone Age man, with Michael Cera as his sidekick. Harold Ramis thinks so. "Year One," which he directed, concerns two men -- played by Jack Black and Michael Cera -- who leave their home and, in their travels, meet biblical characters such as Cain, Abel, Abraham and Isaac. Among the locales: ancient Sodom, which "didn't seem worse than Las Vegas to me," Ramis told CNN. "Year One" comes out Friday. Ramis, whose writing and directing credits include "Groundhog Day" and "Analyze This," said it was time for a new biblical epic -- of sorts. "No one had done this film for our generation," he told CNN. It's like, you know, when 'Animal House' [which Ramis co-wrote] came out, there were college films. Every generation had college films, but our generation didn't have one yet, and I don't know that our generation - this young, new generation of kids has a, you know, a sandal epic yet, and this is the one. This is for them." Ramis rounded up a cast of comedians familiar to any watcher of Judd Apatow-produced movies -- no surprise, since Apatow is a producer of "Year One." Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("Superbad"), Horatio Sanz ("Saturday Night Live," "Step Brothers") and Bill Hader ("Tropic Thunder") all have parts. "A lot of them were new to me," said Ramis. "[But] Jack knew them, Michael knew them, they were connected -- all connected through Judd Apatow, through 'Saturday Night Live' ... the comedy world is a club." Black joked that everyone's a member of a secret society, requiring retinal scans, that meets "inside the O of the Hollywood sign -- the first O," he noted.. "All the projects are laid out on a table," he said. "And we talk generally about how we're gonna take over the planet, take over the comedy and keep a vise grip on it." Black said he revels in the chance to find the humor in the Bible. "That was the fun of this thing," he said. "It's like, we are going to have some fun with the Bible; you don't see it very often. It hasn't really been done since Monty Python days. 'Life of Brian.' " However, the film could get more than it asked for. Films poking fun at the Bible -- or, indeed, treating the Bible with anything less than reverence -- have been the subject of protests and criticism. "Life of Brian," the Python troupe's 1979 comedy about an assumed messiah that parodied the story of Jesus, was protested by clergy in the U.S. and banned outright in Ireland. French protesters threw Molotov cocktails into a Paris theater showing "The Last Temptation of Christ," Martin Scorsese's 1988 film version of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel. More recently, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," though a huge financial success, was criticized by some observers for alleged anti-Semitism, as well as its violence. Ramis, who observed that a number of biblical films focus on the New Testament, said he deliberately chose to make the Old Testament his subject. "I told people that I wanted to do for the Old Testament what Monty Python did for the Gospels," he said. "Which is just to kind of take a funny look and project a contemporary sensibility back to these treasured myths of Western civilization. "It wasn't so much to attack any particular religion," he added. "I figure all religions are | [
"Who says the film uses comedy to make points?",
"Have biblical films sometimes met protest?",
"Who stars in Year One?",
"Who is the director?",
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"What type of film is it?",
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"What film are Jack Black and Michael Cera starring in?",
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"Year one stars who?",
"Who stars as Stone Age men?",
"Who directed the film?",
"What does Jack Black and Michael Cera play as in \"Year One\"?",
"in what year Jack Black stars as Stone Age?"
] | [
[
"Harold Ramis"
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],
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] | "Year One" stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as Stone Age men in Bible .
Director and co-writer Harold Ramis says the film uses comedy to make points .
Biblical films are sometimes met with protest; will "Year One" qualify? |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that he won't push to visit the site of the destroyed World Trade Center during his visit to the United Nations next week. Iran's president said he wanted to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks. The controversial leader asked to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks, but New York city officials on Wednesday denied that request, citing safety concerns at what is now a construction site. Ahmadinejad said he would try to visit the site "if we have the time and the conditions are conducive." But if local officials cannot make the proper arrangements, "I won't insist," he said in an interview to be aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes." The Bush administration considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism, and State Department spokesman Tom Casey called the request "the height of hypocrisy." CBS correspondent Scott Pelley told Ahmadinejad he "must have known that visiting the World Trade Center site would infuriate many Americans." "Well, I'm amazed," he said, surprised by the question. "How can you speak for the whole of the American nation? The American nation is made up of 300 million people. There are different points of view over there." 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. Iran is ruled by a Shiite Muslim government hostile to the fundamentalist Sunni al Qaeda. Ahmadinejad's predecessor, Mohammed Khatami, condemned the attacks and cooperated with the U.S.-led campaign to topple al Qaeda's Taliban allies in Afghanistan that followed. But the United States calls Iran the world's top state sponsor of terrorism because of its support of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah and other militant groups. Washington and Tehran 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 Bush administration has also accused Iran of meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are battling Taliban and al Qaeda remnants more than six years after the September 11, 2001, attacks. It accuses Iran of supplying advanced explosives to Shiite Muslim militias, some of which have used the devices against U.S. troops. Ahmadinejad also has drawn fire for his hard-line anti-Israel stance and his insistence that Iran will defy international 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 create a nuclear bomb. The Iranian leader has made statements suggesting that Israel be politically "wiped off the map," though he insists that can be accomplished without violence. He has questioned the existence of the Holocaust, the genocidal Nazi campaign against European Jews, and warned Europeans that they may pay a heavy price for its support of Israel. Ahmadinejad is also slated to speak on the campus of Columbia University during his visit, university President Lee Bollinger said. His presence is likely to spark protests on and off campus. Bollinger said the appearance is part of the World Leaders Forum -- an annual university event "intended to further Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate." E-mail to a friend | [
"Where did the Iranian president want to visit?",
"Who has asked to visit ground zero?",
"What did the Iranian leader question ?",
"Who is the Iranian President?",
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had asked to visit what?",
"What is the name of the Iranian president?",
"What does the United States calls Iran ?",
"What did the Iranian president question?"
] | [
[
"site of the destroyed World Trade Center"
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[
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"
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"destroyed World Trade Center"
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[
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"
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[
"sponsor of terrorism"
],
[
"the existence of the Holocaust, the genocidal Nazi campaign against European Jews,"
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] | Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had asked to visit ground zero .
City officials turned down request; Iranian president says he won't insist .
The United States calls Iran the world's top state sponsor of terrorism .
The Iranian leader questioned why such a visit would be considered insulting . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It is one of the most notorious cold cases in recent memory. A 6-year-old girl, a child of beauty and privilege, was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, on the day after Christmas 1996. The strangulation of JonBenet Ramsey is also among the coldest of cases. Twelve years have passed, and again it is Christmastime, the season of JonBenet's death. The investigation has taken many heartbreaking twists and turns, including a false confession and baseless suspicions cast for a time on the child's parents. After years of false starts, there are no solid leads. For many, the images of this tragic story are indelible: A doll-like child smiling flirtatiously at the camera in flamboyant costumes, heavy makeup and grown-up hairstyles parading on a beauty pageant stage. A tiny, lifeless body, dressed in long johns, found on the basement floor by her father. Watch how this case touched nearly everyone » Just this past July, John and Patsy Ramsey were exonerated by police of having any role in their daughter's death. Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June 2006. FBI lab results confirmed that a man, yet to be identified, touched JonBenet's long underwear. This so-called touch DNA also was found in JonBenet's underpants, mixed with the child's blood. Police believe the DNA belongs to the killer. They just don't know who he is. They are waiting for a match. From the beginning, police focused their attention on Patsy Ramsey, placing the entire family under what authorities later would admit was a cloud of suspicion. The investigators' working theory was that JonBenet's mother may have struck her in anger as punishment for bed-wetting, causing the little girl's death on Christmas night. Investigators theorized that a strangulation was then staged to direct suspicion toward an intruder or sexual predator. Patsy Ramsey told police she awoke early December 26 and found a two-page, handwritten ransom note on a back staircase. It said JonBenet had been kidnapped by a "small foreign faction" and that she'd be executed if the Ramseys did not pay a $118,000 ransom. The Ramseys checked JonBenet's room, discovered she was missing and immediately called 911. When police arrived, they suggested that John Ramsey and a family friend, Fleet White, search the house. Shortly afterward, Ramsey and White found JonBenet's body in a wine cellar in the basement. The child's body was wrapped in a blanket, with duct tape across her mouth and white cord wrapped around her neck and wrists. An autopsy showed the child had eaten pineapple shortly before she died. She'd been sexually assaulted, strangled by the cord and struck on the head. Crime scene photos show two small burn-type injuries on JonBenet's head. Private investigators Ollie Gray and John San Augustin, working as consultants on the case, said the burns are consistent with marks made with a "stun gun." Investigators also concluded that the paper the ransom note was written on came from a notepad in the Ramsey home, as did the broken paintbrush handle used to form the garrote. However, the sources for the cord and duct tape were not found anywhere in the home. Other nagging clues include an open basement window near where the child's body was found. A suitcase stood directly below the window, and appeared to have been used as a step. There was a scuff mark on the wall beneath the window. A footprint of a Hi-Tec hiking boot was found in the dust in the wine cellar and cannot be connected to anyone in the Ramsey family or their friends. Police say they were initially suspicious of the Ramseys because there were no footprints in the snow outside the house. Lou Smits, a lead police investigator on the case, resigned because, he said, the investigation "was misdirected and had developed tunnel vision, only focusing on the Ramseys as suspects and not following alternative leads." The contradictory facts have caused problems in the case | [
"What new technology cleared the family?",
"Which family is under suspicion?",
"Where did the crime take place?",
"Who did the new touch DNA test clear?",
"How many years were the Ramsey's suspected of the murder?",
"When did the crime occur?"
] | [
[
"touch DNA"
],
[
"Ramsey,"
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[
"basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, on the day after Christmas 1996."
],
[
"John and Patsy Ramsey"
],
[
"Twelve"
],
[
"the day after Christmas 1996."
]
] | False suspicions, unsecured crime scene plague investigation from start .
Ramsey family spends years under "cloud of suspicion"
New touch DNA test cleared all family members earlier this year .
Anyone with information is asked to call 303-441-1636 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It was a typical November day in 1971 when an eighth-grader left her house in a sleepy New Hampshire town with her pet dog, Tasha, in tow. Kathy Gloddy was found murdered a mile from where she was last seen. The German shepherd returned home that day without its 13-year-old master, Kathy Gloddy. To her family's horror, the little girl's body was found the next day, three miles from her home. She had been beaten, raped, strangled and run over by a car repeatedly until she was dead. Her body was found clothed only in her kneesocks. At the time, police had several possible suspects, but not enough evidence for an arrest, said Sgt. Scott Gilbert of the New Hampshire State Police. In 2006, Gilbert said, Kathy's body was exhumed in search of further clues, but authorities were unable to obtain forensics from the remains. Kathy's family asked private investigator Tom Shamshak to aid in the investigation and he agreed to volunteer his services. So far, investigators have only been able to piece together a timeline of the day Kathy went missing. Watch an update on the case » It is believed that she left her family's home at 5 p.m. to go to a convenience store, where she bought ice cream and potato sticks. Soon after leaving the store, she was spotted at Franklin High School, where one of her older sisters was attending a banquet. It is unclear where Kathy went next, but what is known is that later that evening her dog returned home acting frantic and anxious, family members said. "When Tasha came home without Kathy, we were worried," said Kathy's sister, Janet Young. "And then the dog was running around in circles, acting crazy and pawing at the door as if looking for Kathy. We always came home when we said we would and never stayed out late worrying our parents." Private investigator Shamshak said he believes the killer may not have been a stranger. "This kind of brutality and rage-driven crime can only come from someone that knew her or her family," he said. Jim Conrad, a former New Hampshire State Police trooper who worked on the case, said Kathy was found in the woods not far from a small gravel road near a popular swimming hole in Franklin, New Hampshire. Investigators believe the area -- which is only one mile from where she was last seen at the high school -- was merely a dumping site for the body and not the actual crime scene. "One of the things my team is working on is trying to get the post-mortem DNA evidence collected by the forensic pathologist who examined her," Shamshak said. While there is not a lot of evidence left, it is the one piece of evidence the family hopes could link potential suspects to Kathy's murder. "We have waited so long for justice and closure," said Karen Beaudin, another of Kathy's sisters. Gilbert said there are at least two persons of interest authorities have focused on and both were acquainted with Kathy Gloddy and her family. Gilbert said police thought they'd caught a break in 2004 when convicted sex offender Edward Dukette, who served time in a Florida prison for raping and nearly killing a young girl, unexpectedly came forward to police claiming he had key information about Kathy Gloddy's murder. Dukette was a former neighbor of the Gloddys and had been evicted from the multiple-family dwelling eight months before Kathy's murder. Gilbert was one of several investigators who traveled to Florida to question Dukette, but the potential suspect recanted his earlier statements and refused to speak further with officials. The Gloddy family and Tom Shamshak have said they believe there is more than one person responsible for Kathy Gloddy's murder. The family is organizing a reward fund in conjunction with the Carole Sund Foundation. Anyone who has information that could lead to the arrest of the individuals responsible for Kathy Lynn Gloddy's murder is asked to call the New Hampshire | [
"HOw many persons of interest do the police have?",
"What was the girl found wearing?",
"What was the girls name?",
"What did Kathy Gloddy leave home with?",
"What was the teen girl wearing"
] | [
[
"Gilbert said there are at least two"
],
[
"her kneesocks."
],
[
"Kathy Gloddy"
],
[
"pet dog,"
],
[
"found clothed only in her kneesocks."
]
] | Teen girl found wearing only socks after being raped, murdered .
Kathy Gloddy left home with her pet dog, who returned without her hours later .
Police have few clues and at least two persons of interest .
A former neighbor came forward claiming information, but later recanted . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's been five years since Carrie Bradshaw journeyed to Paris in search of true love on the series finale of "Sex and the City." She appeared to have found it in the arms of Mr. Big, and she returned to New York -- and her now-settled friends -- ready for a new start. Sarah Jessica Parker was a driving force in creating the "Sex and the City" movie. Then came the inevitable cry: That's it? What happens next? Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Carrie, wanted to find out as well. But the situation had to be right, she said, which prompted a cascade of rumors as plans for a movie came together, fell apart and came together again. Now that the movie is out, Parker -- who's a producer of the film as well as one of its stars -- talked about the journey to making a big-screen "Sex and the City" with "Showbiz Tonight" anchor A.J. Hammer. The following is an edited version of that interview. CNN: I think a lot of fans, maybe a lot of people, and those of you among the cast, didn't think this day would actually ever come ... but here we are. So how are you feeling deep inside, Sarah? Sarah Jessica Parker: I feel extraordinarily privileged. I've spent the last two years cobbling this movie together. ... It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of professional experience and one really shouldn't be greedy enough to ask for it twice. Watch the cast talk about the thrill of "Sex" » I have to say that, this last six, eight months, was better than those seven years [the show aired] and I think it's because we all recognize how lucky and unique those seven years were and that this is a story that you don't get to tell twice. It has been, I must say, worth every obstacle and dead end, and fit and start, and every moment that was seemingly impossible. It has been a dream. CNN: And I imagine sitting down for the first time in that room together for the table read, which was, from my understanding, the first time you all actually were in the same room [together] regardless of how much you kept in touch. Tell me a little bit about that moment. Parker: I started putting [the] script back together in April of 2006 ... and that [table read] was a really extraordinary day, because just the perfunctory details of getting people to a table read were complicated. Kim [Cattrall] had been away and Kristin [Davis] had been away and Chris [Noth] had been [doing] his other job, and this magnificent script had arrived and had been everything we hoped for and more. It was basically like being in an alternate universe for about three hours. ... It was a kind of reunion that is very, very special, because you really want to be there. It's not the reunion where you're forced by your parents to meet your aunts and uncles that you see rarely. It's the reunion that you want. I think even more so was that first day on [the] set. When we thought, good God, [writer/director] Michael Patrick [King] and I are actually making this movie, like we got it done, we're here, we're doing it -- what a privilege. CNN: I think we as fans and viewers actually got a sense of what that feeling was like when we saw you all together on "Oprah," because the energy was ... palpable. ... But we're talking about the perceived drama around this whole project. (Rumors have abounded about friction between the stars.) One of my producers said while we were watching the TV, "Are they going to sit near each other?" "Why are they putting Chris in the middle of all of them?" Hearing that, does it make | [
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] | Sarah Jessica Parker: "Sex and the City" "has been a dream"
Rumors of friction? "Beneath me to keep defending myself"
Marriage to Matthew Broderick works because pair lives normal N.Y. life . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Jamaica's Usain Bolt is officially the fastest man on the planet as he set a new 100 meters world record of 9.72 seconds at an international meeting in New York.
Bolt served notice of his immense talent ahead of the Beijing Olympics by breaking the world 100m record.
Bolt was trimming two hundredths of a second off the record previously held by fellow-Jamaican Asafa Powell and for good measure relegated world champion Tyson Gay to a distant second.
The 21-year-old had served notice of his excellent form by running a world's second fastest time of 9.76 seconds in Jamaica last month and he quickly took control of Saturday night's Reebok Grand Prix showdown with Gay, who finished in 9.85 seconds, still a personal best.
Bolt gave credit to a big contingent of Jamaicans who were in the crowd to watch his feat. "Just coming here, knowing a lot of Jamaicans were here giving me their support, it meant a lot," Bolt told the Associated Press. "I just wanted to give them what they wanted."
"He ran a perfect race," Gay said. "I've got to take my hat off to him."
"An awesome athlete," said Shawn Crawford, who finished sixth and witnessed history from two lanes inside of Bolt. "The time shows it."
The lanky 1.95 meter Bolt had produced his previous best performances before this year over 200 meters and finished second to Gay at this distance in last year's world championships.
With doubts over his starting ability in the 100 meters, Bolt was even pondering a move up to 400 meters in favor of the 100.
But the record changes all that and with Powell, who is recovering from a chest injury, and Gay he will be among the favorites for the 100 meters at the Beijing Olympics.
He faces a showdown at the end of June with Powell at the Jamaican national championshps. Also at the Jamaican event will be Veronica Campbell-Brown, who won the women's 100m on Saturday in 10.91, the fastest time of 2008.
The start of the night was delayed by an hour because of threatening weather the area and the meeting was briefly hit by a storm which left the track shimmering with a moist sheen ahead of the race of the night.
Bolt was assisted by a healthy tailwind of 1.7 meters per second, just under the limit at which a record can be set. | [
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] | Jamaica's Usain Bolt sets 100m world record of 9.72 seconds in New York .
Fellow-Jamaican Asafa Powell held the previous world record of 9.74 seconds .
World champion Tyson Gay of United States finishes second in 9.85 seconds . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Joey "Jaws" Chestnut unseated the six-time defending champion in Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest on Wednesday, eating 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Chestnut -- veins throbbing in his forehead -- wolfs down a dog on his way to the title and a world record Wednesday. Six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, nursing a sore jaw after wisdom tooth surgery, scarfed down 63 hot dogs. Last year, he edged out Chestnut by nearly two dogs, eating a then-record 53 and three-quarters to Chestnut's 52. Chestnut, who hails from San Jose, California, set a record with Wednesday's feat of eating 66 hot dogs, the event's organizers said. Not since Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in the 1971 bout coined the "Fight of the Century" have two contestants battled so hard. Perhaps. At one point, Kobayashi expelled some of his half-mashed hot dogs from his mouth; those did not count in his total. Chestnut toiled beside him, a vein throbbing in his forehead and his face bright red. Watch how the wiener-off went down » "My body worked for me," Chestnut said in an interview after the contest. Kobayashi, 29 years old and weighing in at 154 pounds, was listed as questionable prior to the event. He was receiving acupuncture treatment Wednesday morning to relieve pain in his jaw after wisdom tooth surgery. Video from Tuesday's weigh-in showed that he could open his mouth only half way. Chestnut, 23, weighing 215 pounds, had broken Kobayashi's 2006 record by downing 59½ hot dogs at a qualifying contest in Phoenix last month. Chestnut claims the "Coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt" and wins a one-year supply of hot dogs from Nathan's, the sponsor of the annual event, which has been held on the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn since 1916. Organizers said 50,000 people attended Wednesday's contest. Chestnut is a civil engineering student at San Jose University. E-mail to a friend | [
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] | Joey "Jaws" Chestnut unseats six-time defending champion, sets record .
Reigning champ possibly was slowed down by wisdom tooth woes .
"My body worked for me," winner says after hard-fought swallowing scrap . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- John and Elizabeth Calvert enjoyed the good life on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, friends said, but they were growing more and more suspicious of the way their business books were being handled. Things weren't adding up. Money appeared to be missing.
John and Elizabeth Calvert are featured on missing persons posters on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
So they scheduled a meeting with accountant Dennis Ray Gerwing to address their concerns, recalled one close friend, Nancy Cappelmann.
The Calverts said they were meeting with Gerwing at his offices in the upscale resort community at 6 p.m. last March 3, she added.
It would be the last time anyone would see or hear from the couple.
The Calverts lived part-time on their yacht, docked at the island's Harbor Town Yacht Basin, the same marina where they managed boat slips. They spent the rest of the year in Savannah, Georgia, and also had a home in Atlanta.
They were an active, affluent couple in their mid-40s, and their absence was quickly noticed. On the evening of March 3, 2008, the evening they were to meet with their accountant, both of the Calverts' phones were turned off. Family members said it was very unusual for either John or Elizabeth Calvert to shut off their cell phones. Watch an update on the case »
Family and friends called police and reported the Calverts missing on March 4, after they missed appointments and still couldn't be reached.
"I was supposed to meet John that night and he is never late, so when 20 minutes went by, I got worried and called his cell, but it went straight to voicemail, like it was turned off," Cappelmann said. She was a good friend of the couple's and worked at one of their harbor businesses.
Police and search teams scoured the island. Divers and dogs searched the harbor and found nothing.
The Calverts' small airplane was still at the island's airport and provided no clues. Their 2006 Mercedes Benz was found parked at a hotel in Palmetto Dunes, a gated community six miles from where the Calverts' yacht was docked. The Mercedes also contained no forensic clues.
In reconstructing the Calverts' last days, investigators concluded that Gerwing was worth a deeper look. They now say they believe the 54-year-old accountant was the last person to see the Calverts alive.
Gerwing ran the management company that kept the books on the Calverts' four businesses on Hilton Head Island. Authorities were already looking into possible financial improprieties involving the company, The Club Group.
They named Gerwing as a person of interest in the case about a week after the couple disappeared. An internal audit later revealed that Gerwing had embezzled $2.1 million from the Calverts and others, police said.
Gerwing committed suicide within hours of learning he was a person of interest, slashing his neck and legs with a steak knife, authorities said. He also left behind suicide notes with vague references to the Calvert case, said Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
Tanner said the notes indicated some acknowledgement of responsibility for his actions, but didn't say specifically what those actions might have been.
Police also gathered circumstantial evidence that seemed to point to Gerwing, including drop cloths large enough to use to wrap bodies and latex gloves purchased on the day the Calverts disappeared.
In addition, police learned that Gerwing's cell phone had been turned off for 12 hours after he was scheduled to meet with the Calverts.
If Gerwing were alive, Tanner said, police wouldn't have enough corroborating evidence to name him a suspect and arrest him.
Police executed search warrants on Gerwing's office, home and vehicles and found soil in Gerwing's kitchen. Investigators hope analysis of the dirt might provide clues to the origin of the dirt and a new location to continue searching for John and Elizabeth Calvert.
Friends and family are offering a $65,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the Calverts' disappearance.
Police urge anyone with information about John and Elizabeth Calvert | [
"who are growing?",
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[
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] | John and Elizabeth Calvert were last seen on March 3, 2008 .
They couple lived on board their yacht at Hilton Head Island .
They were growing suspicious of their accountant; set up a meeting .
Have information? Call (843) 524-2777. A $65,000 reward is offered . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Juliana Redding was 21, an aspiring actress and model who, like so many others before her, had moved from Arizona to southern California in pursuit of the Hollywood dream. She wound up the victim in a real life murder mystery -- one few people are willing to talk about in any detail. Juliana Redding, an aspiring model and actress, was found murdered in her Santa Monica apartment. By the age of 18, Redding had earned her first film credit, appearing in a 2005 independent film called "Kathy T Gives Good Hoover," about college students and the graffiti culture. In 2006, she moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica, California, with her pet Yorkshire terrier. She was also taking college courses while working part-time in a trendy Venice Beach bar. Friends grew worried in March when they couldn't reach Redding for a few days. They called her mother in Redding's hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Her mother called the Santa Monica police. Watch why this case is so baffling » Police found Redding dead inside her apartment. "The manner of death is homicide," said Sgt. Rinaldi Thruston of the Santa Monica Police Department. Although there are unconfirmed reports that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office denies that. "Those media reports are not accurate. The cause of death was not blunt force trauma. The file has been sealed by police, so we cannot disclose the actual cause of death." Police also would not disclose whether a weapon was used or whether Redding's apartment had been broken into, which would give clues as to whether she knew her assailant and opened the door for him or her. Thruston also refused to say whether Redding had been sexually assaulted. "We have made no arrests in this case nor do we have any suspects or persons of interest at this time," Thruston said. He said police have collected evidence from the crime scene that could link a potential suspect to the crime. Police are hoping they will continue to get tips and leads from the public. According to friends, Redding had been dating another actor for two years and they had broken up about six months before her slaying, but remained friends. It is unclear whether she had a new boyfriend, but police have been interviewing all of Redding's known friends and neighbors. "We believe the police are doing what they can to solve this case, but we really prefer no media attention," her mother said. Early in the investigation, there were reports of blood found on the sidewalk or wall outside Redding's apartment. Police will not comment on the forensic results of that blood or any specific evidence at the crime scene. They also will not reveal whether any of Redding's neighbors heard screams or other sounds of a struggle. At this point, there are more questions than answers. If anyone has any information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Juliana Redding's death, please call the Santa Monica Police Department tip line at (310) 458-8449. | [
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"When was the actress found?",
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"What number should you call for information?",
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]
] | Aspiring actress found dead in Santa Monica apartment in March .
Police have released few details about the crime .
File sealed by police; coroner unable to disclose cause of death .
Have information? Call (310) 458-8449 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Just blocks from where U.N. diplomats debate their interpretations of tyranny and democracy, what may be the first document to articulate the difference is going up for sale.
The version of the Magna Carta up for auction has been on display at the National Archives in Washington.
Sotheby's will auction off one of the earliest versions of the Magna Carta later this year, the auction house announced Tuesday.
This will be the first time any version of the Magna Carta has ever gone up for auction, according to David Redden, vice chairman of Sotheby's.
The Magna Carta is expected to fetch at least $20 million to $30 million, Redden said.
Redden, who has also sold dinosaur bones, space race artifacts and a first printing of the Declaration of Independence, called the Magna Carta "the most important document on earth."
The charter mandated the English king to cede certain basic rights to his citizens, ensuring that no man is above the law.
Many believe the Magna Carta was the first document to recognize the legal right to freedom from tyranny, an influential concept to American political philosophers -- from the founding fathers to the modern presidency.
The version to be auctioned is one of fewer than 20 known copies of the Magna Carta, which means "Great Charter" in Latin. The document was first devised in 1215, but not confirmed into English law until 1297 -- the year this version was issued and sealed by King Edward I.
The document is one of only two copies of the charter that exist outside of England, according to Sotheby's. This Magna Carta and another version in Australia are the only two ever to have been privately sold.
The version up for auction rested for six centuries with the Brundell family in Deene Park, England, until being bought in 1984 by businessman Ross Perot. Since then, the Perot Foundation has kept the copy on display at the National Archives in Washington.
The Perot Foundation plans to distribute the money from the auction to various causes such as medical research and helping wounded soldiers.
The Magna Carta will be coming up for auction during the week of December 10. E-mail to a friend | [
"Who is Ross Perot?",
"how much is it expected to go to",
"what is magna carta",
"what is expected price",
"who bought the version",
"Where will the auction be held?",
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] | Sotheby's to auction one of the earliest versions of the Magna Carta .
Document expected to go for at least $20 million to $30 million .
Charter mandated king to cede certain basic rights to citizens .
Ross Perot bought this version in 1984 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Kenneth Cole is the first to admit he has a bit of a language problem. Pun-loving Kenneth Cole pays tribute to inspiring people in his new book. "I need to distort not just leather and fabric, but also words," he said. "It's a disorder I have." The pun-loving fashion designer has raised plenty of eyebrows with advertising copy that ranges from the provocative and the political to the lighthearted and cutesy. Browse his online store and you can buy a T-shirt that reads "In war is it who's right, or who's left?" A canvas tote bag says, "Use me again and again and again ... (I'm used to it)." Should you purchase either product, you're assured that all your money will go to Cole's "Awearness Fund," an initiative designed to draw attention to social issues like homelessness and AIDS. To that end, Cole has just released a new book called "Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference" (DK Adult). It's a collection of essays from influential types intended to encourage readers to get involved in service and volunteerism in their communities. Watch Cole talk about 'Awearness' » Former President Bill Clinton contributes a piece on the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Actress Rosario Dawson writes about empowering young Latinos to vote, and cyclist Lance Armstrong discusses the merits of starting a movement like Livestrong, his effort to energize the fight against cancer. As Cole says: "No good deed should go unpublished." Pun intended. The book commemorates 25 years in the fashion business for the New Yorker, as well as a quarter century as an advocate for social activism. Cole spoke to CNN about the book, the belief, his wife and the cover. (OK, so not everyone is brilliantly punny.) The following is an edited transcript of the interview. CNN: What is the big message you're hoping to get across with this book? Kenneth Cole: The message is that these are extraordinary times. They're transformative in so many ways. And America recently expressed the reality that there is an appetite for meaningful, significant, social change like we've never seen before. CNN: In the introduction of your book, you talk about how you've met a lot of people who have inspired you. Is there one person who stands out above the rest? Cole: There are so many people that inspire me, and there are 90 role models in this book, some of whom I've been very close to. I am the closest of all to my wife, who is in and of herself a change agent and has committed to impacting the realities of homelessness -- and making sure I get out of the house every day to do what I have to do. So she's inspired me and she's done great stuff. So I think I'll stay with that answer. CNN: In Robert Redford's essay on freedom of speech, he encourages the use of humor when speaking out about a cause someone feels passionate about. Has humor helped you? Cole: I think it does. I agree with Mr. Redford, and he's been a model of mine. ... And I think we also have these walls around us, and when people disagree, we're inclined not to listen, but to a degree you can break through that wall often with humor. Jon Stewart has shown us how to do that, as have some other people who are in the art of doing it well. CNN: What's your biggest hope for President-elect Barack Obama's presidency? Cole: He has already surpassed my greatest hopes. I think he's created a sense of spirit and energy and opportunity in this country that we've never seen. And I think it has transformed, in a sense, who we are as a nation globally within 24 hours. We saw that happen. CNN: How does a successful fashion designer, who also | [
"Who highlights public spirited people?",
"What is the name of the fashion designer?",
"What use of humor leavens passion?",
"What does Kenneth Cole highlight?",
"What fashion designer admires use of humor?"
] | [
[
"Kenneth Cole"
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[
"Kenneth Cole"
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"And I think we also have these walls around us, and when people disagree, we're inclined not to listen, but to a degree you can break through that wall often"
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] | Kenneth Cole highlights public-spirited people in "Awearness"
Fashion designer Cole admires use of humor to leaven passion .
Cole: Fashion is relevant, even in tough times . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Late-night talker David Letterman married his longtime girlfriend, Regina Lasko, last week, according to a transcript of the taping of his Monday night show. Late-night host David Letterman says he "avoided getting married for ... 23 years." The wedding was at the courthouse in Choteau, Montana, on Thursday, he said, according to quotes from CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" provided to CNN by Letterman's publicist, Tom Keaney. "Regina and I began dating in February of 1986, and I said, 'Well, things are going pretty good, let's just see what happens in about 10 years ... ," he joked during the taping. Watch Letterman spill the beans » "I had avoided getting married pretty good [sic] for, like, 23 years, and ... honestly, whether this happened or not, I secretly felt that men who were married admired me -- like I was the last of the real gunslingers." Lasko is a former "Late Show" staffer. The couple have a son, Harry. Letterman told his audience that the wedding almost didn't happen after the couple, son in tow, got their pickup truck stuck in the mud on the way to the ceremony. "So I get out of the truck and I walk two miles back to the house into a 50 mph wind. It's not Beverly Hills, it's Montana, for God's sakes,' " he said. "And the whole way, I'm thinking, 'See, smartass? See? See? You try to get married, this is what happens.' " When he returned with a car, he said -- presumably joking -- that his son was disappointed, "because mom had told him if I wasn't back in an hour, the deal was off." | [
"What Monday night show?",
"Where were Lasko and Letterman married?",
"The talk show host married whom?",
"What person got married in Montana?",
"Which talk show host married Regina Lasko?",
"Do they have a child?",
"What talk-show host?",
"What did he talk about on Monday night?"
] | [
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] | Talk-show host marries Regina Lasko, who he began dating in 1986 .
Letterman talks of last week's wedding on his show Monday night .
Letterman and Lasko have a son; were married in Montana . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Latino immigrants living in Suffolk County, New York, have been living in an environment of intolerance and attacks against them, a report released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center said. The atmosphere of intolerance is stoked in part by anti-immigrant groups, an indifferent police department, and county leaders themselves, according to the report. The law center, which researches and keeps tabs on hate groups, became interested in the Long Island county after the November 8, 2008, murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant in Patchogue, New York. Prosecutors allege that the killers were a group of teenagers who targeted Latinos as part of a sport they called "beaner-hopping." After four months of research in Suffolk County that included interviews with more than 70 Latino immigrants, 30 local religious leaders and other community leaders, the law center said it found a pattern of ethnic intolerance going back 10 years. Low-level harassment of Latinos in Suffolk County is common, the report said. "They are regularly taunted, spit upon and pelted with apples, full soda cans, beer bottles and other projectiles," the report said. Latino residents riding bikes have been run off the road and others have been beaten with baseball bats or shot at with BB guns, the report said. "Our feeling is that what we found is really the tip of a very ugly iceberg," Mark Potok, who edited the report, said at a news conference Wednesday. "We were told stories that are absolutely hair-raising." The findings point to a disturbing larger trend, the report said. The situation in Suffolk "is a microcosm of a problem facing the entire United States, where FBI statistics suggest a 40 percent rise in anti-Latino hate crimes between 2003 and 2007," the report said. Tuesday night in Patchogue, the same city where Lucero was killed, a church frequented by Latinos was vandalized with anti-Mexican graffiti, Potok said. The climate of fear in Suffolk County was created in part by anti-immigration voices that found sympathetic ears in the area, according to the report. Anti-immigrant groups, such as the now-defunct Sachem Quality of Life, "heavily influenced the tone for public discourse on immigration in the area," the report said. This stance was adopted by county leaders themselves, the law center said. In August 2001, county legislator Michael D'Andre said that if his community were "attacked" by Latino day laborers, "we'll be up in arms; we'll be out with baseball bats." In March 2007, another county legislator, Elie Mystal, said of Latino day laborers looking for work, "If I'm living in a neighborhood and people are gathering like that, I would load my gun and start shooting, period." Both men later apologized for their remarks, according to news reports. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who was also criticized in the report for employing measures seen as anti-immigrant, responded to the report Wednesday with a list of facts he says were distorted or taken out of context by the law center. For instance, a statement in the report that raids evicted day laborers from their homes in Suffolk County was distorted, Levy's office said. The action in question affected a condemned house where 60 people were living in hazardous conditions, the statement said. The law center's contention that Levy tried to downplay the significance of the Lucero murder was a misrepresentation of a comment the executive made to a reporter, the statement said. The law center report also said Latinos who had suffered harassment and crimes against them seldom reported them to police because they seemed indifferent. "Many said police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim instead," the report said. The law center recommended that police receive training to take hate-motivated crimes more seriously, and that area leaders avoid language that could be conducive to inciting violence against immigrants. | [
"Who studied New York county after the slaying?",
"Who is being \"regularly taunted, spit upon and pelted\" with objects?",
"Who's death are prosecutors calling a race crime?",
"What does law center spokesman say?",
"What year was an Ecuadorian immigrant killed?",
"Who was killed in '08?",
"Who are \"regularly taunted, spit upon and pelted\"?",
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] | [
[
"Southern Poverty Law Center"
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[
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[
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"Latinos in Suffolk County"
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[
"\"They are regularly taunted, spit upon and pelted with apples, full soda cans, beer bottles and other projectiles,\""
]
] | New York county studied by Southern Poverty Law Center after slaying .
Ecuadorian immigrant was killed in '08 in what prosecutors call a race crime .
Latinos "regularly taunted, spit upon and pelted" with objects, report says .
"What we found is really the tip of a very ugly iceberg," law center spokesman says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Layoffs for sea lions? Furloughs for frogs? Is there no job security, anywhere? State budget cuts mean New York's 76 zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums will lose $9.1 million in funding. The recession may be coming to a zoo near you. State budget cuts mean many zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose crucial state funding for their exhibits. New York's 76 zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose $9.1 million in state funds next year. "We're faced with this very difficult problem of firing the animals, as it were," said Steve Sanderson, the CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium. They will lose $3 million to budget cuts. The Bronx Zoo has made a short video posted on its Web site www.bronxzoo.com/ to draw attention to the cuts. In the video, the zoo director fires a porcupine and a frog. "I am sure you have heard that Gov. [David] Paterson's proposed budget will mean severe cuts here at the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium," the zoo director says. "Next year, all 76 zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in the state will lose all of their state funding. There is no easy way to say this: Even though you bring record numbers of people to New York and help the economy, we are going to have to let you go." Firing a porcupine and a frog may be a cute way to get publicity for their budget woes, but it's a serious matter and zoo officials say the recession will certainly affect the animals. Zoo officials say some collections with "short life cycles" will not be replaced when they die, and other animals could be sent to other zoos or wildlife sanctuaries. The state of New York funds just 2.7 percent of the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium's budget, but zoo officials say it will be difficult to make up. Between the state budget cuts, the loss in the value of their endowment and fewer people renewing memberships -- times are so tough for the zoo and aquarium -- they say they may lay off 120 to 130 people. "Two-thirds of our budget is people, and so two-thirds of the cuts will come in cutting positions," Sanderson said. "And we'll also cut back what we provide in the way of education and entertainment and nature experiences for people. So it affects everything." Zoo officials questioned the state's priorities. But just about everybody getting taxpayer funds has to cut back. Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the New York State Budget Office told CNN the cuts are regrettable but necessary considering the state's current financial crisis. Citing a "dramatic reduction in revenue," Gordon said, "Every entity that receives state funds must do what the state has done, which is to review its operations and identify ways to operate at lower costs." The Bronx Zoo isn't the only one affected; cutbacks are happening everywhere. The Los Angeles Zoo in California stopped work on its $42 million elephant exhibit last year, and there are big budget cuts for zoos in Maryland, Missouri and North Carolina. There's no relief for the zoos in the $819 billion economic stimulus package. Section 1109 of the stimulus bill which passed this week in the House forbids the use of federal taxpayer money to plug the budget gaps. Taxpayer watchdog groups lobbied to keep zoos, aquariums, swimming pools, golf courses and casinos out of the stimulus, arguing that there are higher priorities for Americans' money during a recession. | [
"What did the state budget cut threaten?",
"how much loss the zoos?"
] | [
[
"zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums"
],
[
"$9.1 million"
]
] | State budget cuts threaten funding for zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens .
New York's 76 zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens will lose $9.1 million .
Bronx Zoo: Some animals won't be replaced; others may go to zoos, sanctuaries .
Zoos in Florida, Maryland, Missouri and North Carolina face budget cuts . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Michelle Crawley says she's a "freak" about putting sunscreen on her two girls. Emily Crawley and her dad, Jere, hit the pool on the first day of a Florida vacation, which left Emily sunburned. "They are both pretty fair skinned," says the West Chester, Ohio, mother of two. So every time Emily, 6, and Claire, 3, go out into the sun, she slathers them with SPF 30 or higher . But during a recent trip to Key Largo, Florida, Crawley's vigilance wasn't enough. "I wasn't sure if it was my technique, the sunscreen or being in Florida," Crawley said, but "that evening they were just fried beyond belief." Slathering on sunscreen has become as much a part of the summer ritual as the vacation itself, but a consumer advocacy group has a warning for parents like Crawley who think they're protecting their family with sunscreen: You may be getting burned. The Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit, has released an investigation of nearly 1,000 brand-name sunscreens that says four out of five don't adequately protect consumers and may contain harmful chemicals. The group says that some of the products of the nation's leading brands -- including Coppertone, Neutrogena and Banana Boat -- are the poorest performers. Read about the study Coppertone was named by the Environmental Working Group as having 41 products that failed to meet the group's criteria for issues ranging from failing to protect adequately to containing potentially harmful ingredients to making unsubstantiated claims. But in a statement to CNN, the company says it "rigorously tests all its products in the lab and in the real world" to ensure that they're safe and effective. Watch more on what to look for in sunscreen » The makers of Banana Boat, which also failed to meet the Environmental Working Group's standards for various reasons, did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Neutrogena says its sunscreen products have been "embraced by dermatologists and consumers for their efficacy" and says its new Helioplex technology provides broad-spectrum UV defense against sun damage. The science of sunscreens is simple: Active ingredients are compounds that absorb, reflect or block ultraviolet light. Sunscreens are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration not as cosmetics but as over-the-counter drugs. Sunscreens are rated based on their SPF, or Sun Protection Factor. The higher the SPF, the better the protection against sunburn. The Environmental Working Group says that the SPF rating on a sun product is only part of what consumers need to know and that one of the biggest problems with sunscreens is that they don't fully protect against sunlight. "A good, effective sunscreen must prevent against a broad spectrum of rays," said Sonya Lunder, a senior researcher at the Environmental Working Group. Sunlight is composed of two types of ultraviolet light: UVB rays, which cause sunburns, and UVA rays, which tan. Although both may increase the risk of skin cancer, sun damage and wrinkles, the FDA doesn't require sunscreens to protect against both, just UVB. The FDA acknowledges that new rules mandating UVA testing and labeling requirements are being evaluated, but the Environmental Working Group wants tougher standards now. "The fact most sunscreens still don't don't offer UVA protection and the fact the FDA has been working for years to finalize its rules is really what provoked us to look at this issue," Lunder said. Another issue: Is a key sunscreen ingredient safe? Oxybenzone is a a popular UV filter in many sunscreens, one evaluated by the FDA as safe. The Environmental Working Group says its analysis of hundreds of studies of more than a dozen sunscreen chemicals finds that oxybenzone can penetrate the skin and pose health concerns, anything from hormone disruption to cancer. The industry group representing sunscreen makers denies that oxybenzone causes harm and deems such claims irresponsible. "Questions about the safety of oxybenzone unnecessarily alarm consumers," said John Bailey, the chief scientist for the Personal Care Products Council, which | [
"What doesn't adequately protect?",
"Who allows the chemical in sunscreens, says it is safe ?",
"What can penetrate skin and pose health concerns?",
"What can the chemicals in sunscreen do?",
"Who says their products are safe and effective?",
"What do sunscreen manufacturers say?",
"How many sunscreens tested don't adequately protect ?",
"What in sunscreen does FDA say is safe?"
] | [
[
"sunscreens"
],
[
"the Food and Drug Administration"
],
[
"oxybenzone"
],
[
"penetrate the skin and pose health concerns, anything from hormone disruption to cancer."
],
[
"Coppertone"
],
[
"its new Helioplex technology provides broad-spectrum UV defense against sun damage."
],
[
"four out of five"
],
[
"Oxybenzone"
]
] | Environmental Working Group: 4 out of 5 sunscreens tested don't adequately protect .
Group says chemical in sunscreens can penetrate skin and pose health concerns .
FDA allows the chemical in sunscreens, says it is safe .
Sunscreen manufacturers say their products are safe and effective . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- More than two years after her death, Carol Anne Gotbaum's children are expected to receive a $250,000 settlement from an insurance company on behalf of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, and its police department. Carol Gotbaum, shown in an undated family photo, died accidentally, a medical examiner said. The 45-year-old Gotbaum accidentally strangled herself while in police custody after behaving erratically in a terminal at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport when she missed her connecting flight, according to both family and police accounts. Gotbaum, the stepdaughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, was traveling alone and unescorted on her way to an alcohol rehabilitation center in Tucson, Arizona. Gotbaum's family had originally sought $8 million but subsequently reduced that to $5.5 million. They accused the city and its police department of negligence in leaving Gotbaum chained and unattended in an airport police cell. Her three children, all still under age 10, will be the beneficiaries of the settlement once it is approved by a New York surrogate court, whose duties are to deal with issues concerning the deceased. According to the Phoenix Police Department, its insurance carrier had spent $500,000 so far on the case and anticipated spending another $750,000 in litigation. It was a financial decision by the insurance carrier to settle in order to minimize further costs, the department said. Witnesses reported that Gotbaum may have been drinking on her flight and had been drinking heavily in an airport bar just before the altercation with police. She had missed her connection and was bumped from another one after airline personnel would not allow her to use a boarding pass given to her by another passenger. She grew incensed, threw her phone and started running down the concourse yelling, "I am not a terrorist," according to witness accounts. Police said they had no information regarding her physical or psychological state when they responded to a call from gate agents. In a security video she is seen struggling with officers as they drag her down a concourse. An internal police investigation and one by the city found that the police did not violate any laws. But Gotbaum's husband, Noah, filed suit claiming the officers were negligent in leaving her unattended in a disoriented state. | [
"Who are expected to receive a $250,000 settlement?",
"What happened in custody?",
"How much are the children receiving?",
"Where is the custody footage?",
"Who was taken into custody after acting erratically at airport?",
"Where does the money comes from?"
] | [
[
"Carol Anne Gotbaum's children"
],
[
"accidentally strangled herself"
],
[
"$250,000"
],
[
"Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport"
],
[
"Carol Gotbaum,"
],
[
"an insurance company on behalf of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, and its police department."
]
] | Carol Anne Gotbaum's children are expected to receive a $250,000 settlement .
Money comes from insurance company on behalf of police and city of Phoenix .
Gotbaum accidentally strangled herself while in police custody .
Woman was taken into custody after acting erratically at airport . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Most people like gossip. Come on! You do too. Don't you glance every once in a while at US Weekly, In Touch, Page Six? And how about that Spitzer scandal -- even I can't get enough of that one. A freshman talks about how cruel postings on the Juicy Campus web site have tainted her college experience. But what happens when the gossip is about you or your boyfriend or your kid? And what if it's there on the Internet, for the entire world to see on a Web site called Juicy Campus? That's what happened to Jane Smith (her name has been changed to protect her privacy), a college freshman I spoke with recently. She said she learned from a friend that her name had been posted on the Web site and people were anonymously posting not so nice things about her. Things like she was promiscuous, "ugly," "overrated," "racist." Things she says are not true. Her post has received over a thousand page views -- in non-techie speak, everyone is reading and writing about her. She even got a request for a "hook up" from a guy hundreds of miles away at another college. She told me that when she read the posts, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. She called her parents in the middle of the night crying. She has lost weight, has trouble sleeping, and has become suspicious of those around her. She told me that it has ruined her freshman year -- and will likely taint her entire college experience. Watch how campus poison pens inflict pain » So what is Juicy Campus and who is behind it? Juicy Campus is a Web site, founded on August 1, 2007, which claims to have "the simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses." The site allows and encourages posters to anonymously post uncensored gossip and rumors -- the juicier the better -- about others. There is a separate section on the site for each college or university, over 60 campuses at last count. Some recent posts discuss the breasts of a professor, sluttiest girls and sexiest guys on campus. Some posts even contain racist, sexist and anti-Semitic remarks. Juicy, huh? It was founded by a Duke alum, a former frat house president who has gone to lengths to keep his identity secret. We tried to reach him for comment. He didn't return our calls or e-mails. Instead, we received this not-so-juicy statement from a publicist: "While there has been much attention given to the critics ... Thousands of students from across the country have written in to request that their campus be added." Come on! Why is he hiding? Jane can't even sue him. In fact, there is little she can do. Juicy Campus and similar Web sites are protected under Communications Decency Act of 1996. The Act aims to shield Web publishers from liability for libelous comments posted by third parties. The section states "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Juicy Campus is one of those sites that openly hides behind its immunity. The site's Frequently Asked Questions page states: "There is no way for someone using the site to find out who you are. And we at Juicy Campus are not keeping track of who you are or what you post. In fact, we prefer not to know who you are. We like to think that famous people like Justin Timberlake and Beyonce are using our site. We love them ..." But what about those cowards, I mean posters, who like to call people names behind the wizard's curtain of protection provided by the Communications Decency Act? The First Amendment certainly protects free speech, even unpopular speech. Opinions are protected. The truth is protected. But lies are not. To successfully sue the posters, Jane would have to show that they made false and | [
"What gossip site allows anonymous posting?",
"What is not protected under the law?",
"what is juicy campus",
"What site allows anonymous posting?",
"which are protected under the law"
] | [
[
"Juicy Campus web"
],
[
"lies are"
],
[
"is a Web site, founded on August 1, 2007, which claims to have \"the simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses.\""
],
[
"Juicy Campus?"
],
[
"Juicy Campus and similar Web sites"
]
] | College gossip site Juicy Campus allows anonymous posting .
Some of the postings are gossipy, others are cruel .
Opinions are protected under the law, lies are not .
Legal action may be difficult unless site cooperates in identifying posters . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly a year after being beaten into a coma, Bryan Steinhauer said Wednesday he does not hate the Serbian basketball player witnesses said brutally assaulted him. Bryan Steinhauer, who was beaten into a coma, is making significant progress in his rehabilitation. "I am not full of hate; hatred kills progress," he said. Appearing alongside his parents and doctors at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, Steinhauer struggled to speak but his message was clear. "Please don't feel sorry for me," he said. "Tragedy leads to wisdom, and this experience has taught me so much about life." Watch Steinhauer talk about his recovery » The 22-year-old from Brooklyn was about to graduate and had a job lined up at accounting giant KPMG when he got into an argument last May that nearly cost him his life. According to police, witnesses said Steinhauer and college basketball player Miladin Kovacevic had exchanged harsh words at an upstate New York bar near Binghamton University after Steinhauer danced with the girlfriend of one of Kovacevic's friends. The witnesses said the fight went outside the bar, where several men attacked Steinhauer, with Kovacevic beating him about the head, according to police. Kovacevic is 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds while Steinhauer was 130 pounds. Kovacevic was arrested but jumped bail and fled to Serbia with the help of Serbian consular officials in New York. The case strained relations between the United States and Serbia.Hillary Clinton intervened, first as U.S. senator from New York and later as secretary of state, as did Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, to make sure Kovacevic was prosecuted. Serbia has no extradition treaty with the United States, but Serbian officials arrested Kovacevic last October and are working on prosecuting him with the assistance of the district attorney of Broome County, where the beating took place. In addition, the Serbian government recently paid the Steinhauer family $900,000 in recognition of the misconduct of Serbian government officials and the financial burdens placed upon the Steinhauer family as a result of the beating. Steinhauer awoke from his coma last August, three months after the beating that left him with skull fractures, a severe brain injury and no memory of the attack. He weighed less than 100 pounds, could not speak or walk, and was fed through a tube, doctors said Wednesday. "He had hemorrhages and contusions affecting almost every lobe of his brain," said Dr. Brian Greenwald. Working with specialists and boosted by the support of his family, Steinhauer surprised even his doctors in his quick recovery, they said. He now has outpatient rehabilitation four times a week, goes to a gym, and receives acupuncture treatments. While he can eat on his own now and is making significant progress, Steinhauer continues to undergo intensive therapy. Steinhauer says he doesn't think about Kovacevic because he's not concerned about other people. "I've had a second birth and raising at Mount Sinai," he said. "Live long and prosper." | [
"Who was beaten?",
"to whom experience has taught life lessons?",
"How long ago was the attack?",
"what has the experience taught him?",
"who jumped bail, fled to Serbia?",
"Who beat Bryan Steinhauer into a coma?",
"who was beaten into a coma ?",
"Where is the suspect now?",
"Where did the suspect flee to?"
] | [
[
"Bryan Steinhauer"
],
[
"Steinhauer"
],
[
"a year"
],
[
"so much about life.\""
],
[
"Kovacevic"
],
[
"Miladin Kovacevic"
],
[
"Bryan Steinhauer"
],
[
"Serbia"
],
[
"Serbia"
]
] | Witnesses: Bryan Steinhauer was beaten into a coma by college basketball player .
A year after attack, victim says he does not hate the man who beat him .
Steinhauer says experience has taught him life lessons .
Suspect jumped bail, fled to Serbia where he is now being prosecuted . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York celebrates the centennial of its most famous New Year's tradition Monday, as organizers of the Times Square ball drop have given the crystal globe an environmental makeover.
Technicians prepare the New York Times Square ball Thursday for the event's 100th anniversary.
This year the 1,415-pound ball has been outfitted with more than 9,500 energy-efficient light-emitting diodes that will illuminate the ball's more than 600 crystals. The LEDs will use the same amount of electricity as about 10 toasters, say event officials.
That's a dramatic overhaul from 1907's first Times Square ball, which was made from iron and wood and was covered with about 100 light bulbs. Watch the computer-controlled ball »
New York police estimate about a million people will crowd Times Square to watch the ball drop from a flagpole atop the One Times Square building at midnight.
Another billion people worldwide are expected to watch the spectacle on video, said Tom Chiodo, a spokesman for the Times Square Alliance. Of those viewers, 100 million will be in the United States, he said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be joined by Iraq war veteran Karolina Wierzchowska, who was also a Ground Zero guard worker and a New York Police Academy valedictorian -- to push the button for the ball drop at 11:59 p.m.
Weather forecasts indicate clear skies for the celebration, with temperatures in the 40s -- a mild departure from inclement weather gripping much of the Northeast.
In an effort to help people stay warm, New York City sanitation workers will be passing out "goody bags" from the Times Square Alliance that will include mittens and hats, said Chiodo.
The event will include musical performances from Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Lifehouse, The Bravery, and alums from Fox TV's "American Idol," Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.
Security inside Times Square will be tight and everyone should expect to have their bags searched at least three times, said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on CNN's "American Morning."
In addition to a heavy police presence on the ground, Kelly said the NYPD's counterterrorism unit, radiation detectors and helicopters will also be patrolling the crowds.
Kelly said that once the Times Square attendees pass the entrance gates, they will not be able to leave.
New York's terrorist threat level remains at orange -- the nation's second highest level -- as it has since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
"We certainly haven't let our guard down," Kelly said.
As the ball drops, the new year will be greeted with a massive fireworks explosion, some 168 shots in the first five seconds alone, and a downpour of two tons of fireproof confetti. Some of the confetti includes New Year's wishes that were written by visitors to the city in nearly two dozen languages.
Over the past week, visitors from across the country wrote their messages on a Times Square "Wishing Wall."
"I want to turn the world green and the water clean," one person wrote.
"Let my husband stop snoring," another wrote, while others were more serious: "That my mom will get her kidney transplant" and "Peace in Pakistan." E-mail to a friend | [
"1907 ball was covered with how many bulbs?",
"who many people were expected to attend?",
"what kind of power usage is it?"
] | [
[
"100"
],
[
"about a million"
],
[
"energy-efficient light-emitting diodes"
]
] | Times Square ball fitted with energy-saving light-emitting diodes .
A million people to attend, officials say, a billion expected to watch on video .
Performers: Hannah Montana, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Carrie Underwood .
1907 ball was made of iron and wood and covered with about 100 light bulbs . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York police have made an arrest in the case of an Ecuadorian immigrant beaten to death in an apparent anti-Latino and antigay hate crime in December, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced Wednesday. Jose Sucuzhanay was beaten after leaving a party at a church. Police arrested Hakim Scott, 25, on Tuesday and charged him with second degree murder as a hate crime. Police are still looking for a second suspect. On December 7, 2008, police say Jose Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel had left a party at a church and were embracing each other to keep warm in the cold when Scott and another man approached them in a car in Brooklyn's Bushwick section, about a block from the brothers' home. Police say the two assailants shouted antigay and anti-Latino vulgarities and attacked the brothers. Scott first assaulted Jose with a beer bottle before chasing after Romel, police said. The second assailant proceeded to "savagely beat Jose about his ribs, shoulders," head and back with an aluminum bat, according to Kelly. Jose Sucuzhanay, 31, died of his injuries in December hours before his mother arrived in New York from Ecuador. Romel Sucuzhanay, 34, suffered minor scrapes. Police were able to identify two suspects after inferring that they had crossed the Triborough Bridge in the course of their flight from the crime scene. They interviewed bridge toll booth employees and combed through videotape of cars passing through cash-only lanes on the bridge. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said the incident should send a message that antigay violence endangers straights and gays alike. "If there was ever a message to the people of this city or anywhere as to why heterosexuals have to stand up and not permit this type of violence ... it is this case," Hynes said. | [
"what is the age of Hakim Scott?",
"for which crimeHakim Scott is charged with?",
"What were they charged?",
"Who was charged?",
"Who beat Jose and Romel Sucuzhanay?",
"who were hugging to stay warm?",
"Who is charged with 2nd degree murder?"
] | [
[
"25,"
],
[
"second degree murder"
],
[
"second degree murder as a hate crime."
],
[
"Hakim Scott,"
],
[
"Hakim Scott,"
],
[
"embracing each other"
],
[
"Hakim Scott,"
]
] | Hakim Scott, 25, charged with 2nd degree murder in New York case .
Second suspect sought in beating of Jose and Romel Sucuzhanay .
Brothers were hugging to stay warm; assailants made antigay remarks . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York suspended all construction crane activity in the city Friday after a crane collapse on the Upper East Side killed two construction workers. Crane wreckage lies on Manhattan's Upper East Side on Friday in a photo by iReporter Michael Schuman. Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced the suspension, in effect until Monday, and unveiled a $4 million plan to assess high-risk construction activities, including crane operations, and make recommendations to improve safety. "This year we have seen an increase in accidents and injuries related to high-risk construction activities," LiMandri said. "We must make sure that as construction activity in the city continues to increase, the department's ability to hold the construction industry to higher safety standards keeps pace." Friday's accident was the second deadly crane collapse in the city in less than three months. Seven people were killed and 24 were injured in March when a construction crane toppled, plowing through several residential buildings. Crane operator Donald Leo, 30, died in the initial collpase Friday morning. Construction worker Ramadan Kurtij, 37, died Friday afternoon of cardiac arrest after being rushed to the hospital. Another construction worker remained critically injured, a city official said. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the cranes in the two incidents were different types. "Two crane collapses in a short period of time look like a pattern, but there's no reason to think that there's any real connection," he said. On a radio program Friday, Bloomberg vowed that an investigation would be conducted and changes would be made if necessary. "I don't need any developer or union leader or anybody else telling me about the consequences of slowing things down," he said. "Nobody wants this economy to grow more than me. But we're not going to kill people." The accident happened shortly after 8 a.m. Bridget Barrett, who lives two buildings away, said she was just leaving for work. "We heard a loud crash as I was walking down my stairwell. I went to the front door of the building, and it was all white smoke everywhere," she said. "The crane had fallen in the middle of the street and was on fire. There was water spewing out of the apartment building all over the place. And I dialed 911." See photos from the scene of the collapse » Witnesses said the cab and the arm of the crane crashed more than 20 stories to the ground, smashing the penthouse on a building across the street and gouging chunks out of balconies all the way to the ground. "It sounded like a large metal structure slowly falling on itself, sounded like a prolonged car accident," said iReport contributor Daniel Miranda, who lives a block away. "Construction workers were peering over the edge. Some of them were crying out in grief." A pedestrian had minor injuries, Bloomberg said at a news conference, adding that nearby buildings with about 160 apartments were evacuated "strictly as a precaution." Watch how latest crane collapse raises questions » The collapse occurred a day after a building inspector rescinded a partial stop-work order that had been issued April 24. The order was issued after an inspection found that employees had been working without a permit and operating a crane in an "unsafe manner," according to the city's Building Department. No other details were available. The collapse left a pile of wreckage at the foot of the Azure, an apartment building under construction at the northwest corner of East 91st Street and First Avenue, a mainly residential area on the city's Upper East Side. The falling crane also damaged the Electra, a 20-plus-story building on the southwest corner. See where the crane fell » Michael Schuman, another iReporter, said he heard a loud crash, grabbed his camera and went to the scene, about five buildings away. "I got there before the emergency vehicles. It looked like the crane had broken into three or four large pieces. I saw water pouring out | [
"How many remain critically injured?",
"How many people remain critically injured?",
"Who suspended all construction crane activity?",
"What activity did the city suspend?",
"What did the city suspend?",
"How many were killed in the first accident?",
"A previous crane collapse killed how many people?",
"How many were killed in a similar accident?",
"What killed the second construction worker?",
"Where did a similar incident recently occur?",
"What is the number of people that remain in critical injured status?"
] | [
[
"Another construction worker"
],
[
"24"
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"construction crane"
],
[
"all construction crane activity"
],
[
"two"
],
[
"Seven"
],
[
"Seven"
],
[
"a crane"
],
[
"NEW YORK"
],
[
"24"
]
] | NEW: City suspends all construction crane activity, unveils assessment plan .
Death toll rises after second construction worker dies of cardiac arrest .
One person remains critically injured in Manhattan crane disaster .
Collapse comes less than three months after seven killed in similar accident . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York's iconic Plaza Hotel will lose a figure nearly as synonymous with it as Eloise when its longest-serving doorman retires Thursday after 46 years on the job.
Ed Trinka, whose retirement coincides with his 65th birthday, joined the hotel 1963.
Ed Trinka, whose retirement coincides with his 65th birthday, joined the hotel's staff in 1963 as a teenager. He spent 40 years at the fabled lodging's Fifth Avenue entrance, relocating to its doorway facing Central Park South during the property's renovation and partial conversion to condominiums several years ago.
Now as much a Central Park South fixture as the horse-drawn carriages that line the park's southern perimeter, the gregarious Trinka is known as the "mayor of 59th Street." On a recent afternoon, he seemed to know every other passerby, exchanging a constant stream of hellos with chauffeurs and doormen from adjacent tony apartment buildings and, of course, the Plaza's residents.
Over his more than four decades manning the Plaza's entrance, Trinka has met countless celebrities -- or "all of them," as he puts it. After his first celebrity encounter at the hotel with the Beatles, he's catered to a long procession of big names, including Joe DiMaggio, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Liza Minnelli.
Marla Maples, ex-wife of one-time Plaza owner Donald Trump, would regularly peck Trinka on the cheek when she saw him. Trinka says he has an autographed photo of Richard Nixon -- a token of gratitude from the former president -- hanging on proud display at his home.
Trinka says he has thoroughly enjoyed his lengthy stay at the portal to history and glamour. "I never had a bad day in all the years."
Nonetheless, with all those years at the hotel under his belt, Trinka felt it was time to "bow out gracefully."
As he transitions to retirement, Trinka says he'll miss the front-row view of Central Park and the hotel's clientele -- the "greatest people in the world." He also concedes he'll miss "the women."
The building's inhabitants are not eager for his departure.
"He's a gentleman, refined -- you don't find these people anymore," lamented resident Joan Spain.
Trinka's replacement, Jimmy O'Connell, is keenly aware of the large shoes he'll have to fill, saying he'd be satisfied if he "could be half the doorman" Trinka is.
The hotel will bid farewell to Trinka in characteristically grand fashion on Thursday afternoon. After a champagne send-off in the hotel's landmarked Oak Room, its management will present him with an opportunity to view the Plaza from the vantage point of the countless guests he's greeted over the years: He'll be given a free stay at the hotel.
In addition to a trove of anecdotes about celebrities, Trinka acquired something else during his tenure at the Plaza: a new name.
Years ago, the hotel gave him a nametag that mistakenly read Edward, even though his full name is Edwin. He came to embrace the errant nametag, neglecting to correct people when they called him Edward and even naming his own son Edward. | [
"in what year joined the hotel?",
"Who is Ed Trinka?",
"who gets a free stay?",
"When did Ed Trinka join the hotel?",
"How many years did he stay at his job?"
] | [
[
"1963."
],
[
"longest-serving doorman"
],
[
"Ed Trinka,"
],
[
"1963."
],
[
"46"
]
] | Ed Trinka, who joined the hotel in 1963, turns 65 and retires after 46 years on the job .
The gregarious Trinka is known as the "mayor of 59th Street"
Doorman gets a free stay at the hotel as part of his retirement gift . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nonnie Dotson, a nurse in the U.S. Air Force, was decompressing from a hard-fought child support battle when she disappeared hundreds of miles from her home base.
U.S. Air Force nurse Nonnie Dotson disappeared on the way to the mall on November 19, 2006.
Dotson, 33, was staying with her brother at his home outside Denver, Colorado, when she vanished on November 19, 2006. She was supposed to meet friends at the mall for a smoothie.
She never showed.
The single mother and her 16-month-old daughter, Savannah, lived in San Antonio, Texas, where Dotson worked on a military base as an intensive care nurse. They were staying with Dotson's brother, Tony, for a few days. Watch why Dotson's disappearance puzzles investigators »
Dotson had recently emerged from a court battle with Ed Vehle, Savannah's father. Vehle, who also lived in San Antonio, was ordered by the court to pay $10,000 in back child support, as well as $900 each month. Dotson won the court order two months before she disappeared.
Dotson was just months away from completing her military duty and was trying to decide whether she would move back to her hometown in Colorado or remain in San Antonio.
Vehle had declared he had no interest in being a part of their lives. The two met in 2004 and the relationship ended when Dotson became pregnant. Vehle did not want her to have the baby, she told friends at the military base. The friends spoke on condition that their identities would not be made public. Vehle is not a suspect or person of interest in the case, police said.
Because things appeared to be going well in Dotson's life, her sudden disappearance is a mystery to her family and to police. She was hundreds of miles away from home in a safe Denver suburb. She left her brother's home on Sunday afternoon, and the mall was within walking distance,Tony Dotson said.
"She asked me to look after Savannah for a couple hours and she walked out that door and we never saw her again," Tony Dotson added. "She would never have intentionally left Savannah behind like that." Police agree.
Since Dotson vanished, there has been no activity on her bank accounts, credit cards or cell phone, police said. Her case is still an open missing persons investigation being handled by the Jefferson County homicide department.
"Unfortunately, we have no real leads as to who is responsible for Dotson's disappearance," said sheriff's office spokeswoman Jacki Kelley.
"She could be alive and being held against her will. She could have been kidnapped and then murdered. We are not ruling anything out at this time," Kelley said.
For several weeks after Dotson's disappearance, Vehle refused to answer questions. He retained counsel. In mid-December 2006, Vehle and Jay Norton, his attorney, met with police, answering all their questions.
Norton said they were able to provide investigators with receipts and cell phone records accounting for Vehle's whereabouts. Police confirmed that Vehle was nowhere near Colorado before, during or after Dotson's disappearance.
After Dotson's disappearance, Vehle decided to go to court to pursue full custody of his daughter. Dotson's parents had been taking care of Savannah. The court last year gave Vehle shared custody with Dotson's parents.
Family and police urge anyone with information about the whereabouts of Nonnie Dotson to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at (303) 271-5612. Nonnie Dotson is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. | [
"Who was an Air Force nurse?",
"In what city does Nonnie Dotson's brother live in?",
"What did Nonnie Dotson do for a living?",
"Who won a court battle?",
"Where was Dotson visiting?",
"What was Nonnie Dotson's job?",
"Who should be called with a tip?",
"When did Nonnie Dotson disappear?",
"What Sheriff's office should you call if you have tips?",
"Who was Nonnie Dotson?",
"Who was Nonnie Dotson visiting when she disappeared?",
"What court battle did she win?"
] | [
[
"Nonnie Dotson,"
],
[
"outside Denver, Colorado,"
],
[
"nurse in the U.S. Air Force,"
],
[
"Nonnie Dotson"
],
[
"Denver, Colorado,"
],
[
"a nurse in the U.S. Air Force,"
],
[
"Jefferson County Sheriff's Office"
],
[
"November 19, 2006."
],
[
"Jefferson County"
],
[
"a nurse in the U.S. Air Force,"
],
[
"her brother"
],
[
"child support"
]
] | Nonnie Dotson was visiting brother in suburb of Denver, Colorado .
She was an Air Force nurse based in San Antonio, Texas .
She won court battle before November 2006 disappearance .
Have a tip? Call Jefferson County Sheriff's office at (303) 271-5612 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Off a desert highway, about 15 miles from her home in the southern tip of Nevada, the mystery of Maureen Fields' disappearance began with the discovery of her abandoned car. The body of Maureen Fields, seen here in June 2005, hasn't been found since she went missing in 2006. Investigators found the 41-year-old woman's 2004 green Hyundai just across the California border on February 16, 2006. It was one day after her husband, Paul Fields, said he last saw her. Investigators say they discovered Fields' purse and wallet, the keys in the ignition and a fully reclined driver's seat. There were slippers and eyeglasses beneath the gas pedal, religious pamphlets, a knotted pair of pantyhose as well as three bottles of prescription tranquilizers and pain killers. Watch an update on the case » A small spot of her blood and vomit stained a blanket strewn across the ground beside the car. But Fields, who'd been working as a Wells Fargo bank teller in the small town of Pahrump, Nevada, has never been found. "Just looking at the circumstances, it could appear staged" by whoever was responsible for her disappearance, said Detective Dave Boruchowitz, an investigator with the Nye County, Nevada, Sheriff's Office. Reported inconsistencies in her 60-year-old husband's story, police said, paired with the fact that the couple was described as having a stormy relationship, made Paul Fields the initial suspect. A lack of physical evidence, however, has made the case unprosecutable, said Detective Joe Close, also with the Nye County Sheriff's Office. Paul Fields, who runs an auto business out of the double-wide trailer he and his wife shared, maintains his innocence. He's speculated that she faked her death before running off with another man. A message left at his home was not returned. But his attorney, Harold Kuehn, said, "His contention is and my belief is that if she's truly dead, and the court says she is for civil purposes, then he didn't do it. ... What he told police is what he told me. Basically she left one day, never to be seen again." In a new twist, Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett says an unknown male's DNA was found on key items at the scene of the abandoned car. "What we have to explore is the possibility of another suspect," Beckett said. "We have to find out who this male was and whose DNA was found at the scene. It's a lot more complicated than one may think it is." The prosecutor said he's sure a jury would have reasonable doubt if presented a case with this question mark looming. "We have a duty to make sure we're doing the right thing," he said. "There are too many unanswered questions at this time." Maureen Fields has been declared dead, and the search for her body, and her killer, continues. Her father, Jim Fitzgerald, has been doing some investigating of his own. The former detective with the Newark, New Jersey, Police Department -- and now a national director with the conservative John Birch Society -- has made repeated trips from his Randolph Township, New Jersey, home to speak with his daughter's former friends and co-workers. He's also consulted with a psychic in his search for clues. No matter when her body is found, a serial numbered metal jaw implant -- which served to combat Fields' teeth grinding habit -- will stand as proof of her identity, Fitzgerald said. Since murder carries no statute of limitations, time is on the law's side. "The case isn't dead to us," said Boruchowitz, one of the detectives still on the investigation. "We're going to continue to work it until we prove who did it." Anyone with information about this case should call the Nye County Sheriff's Office at 775-751-7000. | [
"Where was found the car?",
"Is there any suspect to be her killer?",
"has her body been found?",
"Where was Maureen Fields from?",
"When did Maureen Fields go missing?",
"who went missing in 2006?"
] | [
[
"just across the California border"
],
[
"Paul Fields"
],
[
"hasn't"
],
[
"southern tip of Nevada,"
],
[
"2006."
],
[
"Maureen Fields,"
]
] | Maureen Fields of southern Nevada was 41 when she went missing in 2006 .
Her abandoned car, with keys, purse and pill bottles, was found off a desert highway .
Presumed dead, there's been no sign of her body and no evidence pointing to a killer .
Unknown male's DNA, however, was recently discovered and may hold new clues . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Olga A. Mendez, a ground-breaking Puerto Rican politician from New York City, has died after a long battle with cancer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced. Mendez, widely reported to be the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in the mainland United States, was 84. "Olga's election to the state Senate as its first Puerto Rican woman was a tremendous symbol of hope for a community that now had a seat at the table," Bloomberg said in a release Wednesday. "But Olga's life was an inspiration to countless others, because the doors she bravely pushed opened stayed open for everyone else." Mendez served in the New York state Senate 13 consecutive terms, from 1978 until being defeated in 2004. A long-time Democrat, she had switched to the Republican Party in 2002 and failed to win re-election to her heavily Democratic 28th district, which included East Harlem and parts of the Bronx. "Mendez was brash, bold and aggressive because she had to be," New York's El Diario newspaper said Thursday. "She cut her teeth in the Senate and became a battle-ready politician. And she balanced what few politicians were able to do well -- an on-the-ground constituency services with the ability to achieve critical legislative negotiations. This, in a Senate that was controlled by Republicans during the entire 26 years she served." Bloomberg noted Mendez's bipartisanship. "When I first entered public service eight years ago, Olga sat me down and impressed upon me -- in her inimitable way -- the importance of reaching across partisan lines to do what's right for your constituents," the mayor said. "That's a lesson I carry with me every day." El Diario noted that "Mendez successfully fought for an increase in the state's minimum wage, ushered in legislation that provided basic rights to migrant farm workers and secured funding for senior citizen centers. She also fought for resources for early childhood development and gained bipartisan support for affordable housing and economic development initiatives in her district." Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Mendez moved to the Mainland U.S. after receiving a bachelor's degree from the Universidad de Puerto Rico in 1950. She received a master's degree in psychology from the Teacher's College at Columbia University in 1960 and a doctorate's in educational psychology from Yeshiva University in 1975. An early widow, she had no children. Mendez underwent surgery for breast cancer in 1993. "Olga didn't recoil from public life or attempt to hide her condition," Bloomberg said. "Instead, she shared her story and her struggle with others." | [
"What did she die of?",
"How many terms did Mendez serve in the New York state Senate?",
"What did Mendez die of?",
"What nationality is Mendez?",
"Who is Mendez?",
"What happened in 2002?"
] | [
[
"cancer,"
],
[
"13 consecutive"
],
[
"cancer,"
],
[
"Puerto Rican"
],
[
"a ground-breaking Puerto Rican politician from New York City,"
],
[
"switched to the Republican Party"
]
] | Mendez said to be first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in U.S.
She died after a long battle with cancer, Mayor Bloomberg says .
Mendez served in the New York state Senate 13 consecutive terms .
A long-time Democrat, she had switched to the Republican Party in 2002 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has acknowledged he engaged in "regrettable" behavior and "demonstrated bad judgment," after a British newspaper published a photograph of the swimmer smoking from a bong. Sports attorney Ryan Smith thinks Michael Phelps should speak to public about his opposition to drug use. Ryan Smith, a sports attorney and BET talk show host, on Monday spoke to John Roberts on CNN's "American Morning" about how the incident could affect Phelps' career. John Roberts: What was your reaction to news of this picture of Michael Phelps surfacing? Ryan Smith: The thing with Michael Phelps is, he's not only been an outspoken athlete against drugs so he's done a lot of testing, he's been supportive of WADA, which is the World Anti-Doping Agency. But he's really a guy of high character. So you look at this, and my first thought was, "What about his endorsement deals? What's going to happen in those?" A lot of endorsement deals have clauses that say that you can't do bad actions like this, not only crimes, but just things that you do bad in public could result in the termination of your contract. So he could lose a lot of money on this. Roberts: Now he never really admitted to smoking marijuana. ... The United States Olympic Committee isn't going to sanction him, it looks like, but did call his actions disappointing. But to the greater issue that you were talking about, in terms of his endorsement deals, do you think anybody is going to say, well, this is the straw that broke the camel's back with this guy? He had one incident back in 2004. But are you going to dump Michael Phelps because of this picture? Smith: It could happen, and the reason why is because a lot of these companies that are sponsoring him really are focused on kids and how actions of their athletes affect children. So that can be a big problem. The other thing is, unlike an athlete that plays sports every year in the public spotlight, the Olympics for swimmers comes only every four years. So he doesn't have that chance to rehabilitate his image immediately like a lot of other athletes, a basketball player or a football player would. So companies might say, you know what, let's not work with Michael Phelps right now, because he doesn't really have a chance to redeem himself. A picture says a thousand words, and how can he fight that? Roberts: How could you turn this around? If you were his attorney, if you were advising him what would you do? Smith: The first thing I would suggest is a drug test. And I know that that's not required. And I also know that he's not really going to have a problem with swimming in 2012. But I would just show that hey, I'm clean, I'm doing great. The next thing I would do is go out there in the public and talk about the troubles with working with drugs and really show the public that you are not about drug use, you are not about doing bad things in public. You are only about supporting the rules of WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and supporting their drug testing program. So you can show that, hey, this is a minor incident, not a big deal. And really what it's all about is remaining clean. Roberts: If you were to lay a bet, would you say anybody drops him? Smith: I would say he'll have some problems. I don't know if I would say that a big sponsor would drop him, but I would say that a more wholesome-oriented sponsor might. | [
"What did a newspaper publish a picture of Phelps doing?",
"What did the newspaper publish?",
"What did Ryan Smith adivse Phelps to do?",
"What could Michael Phelps lose?",
"Name of the attorney?",
"What could Phelps lose a lot of?",
"What can Michael Phelps lose a lot of?",
"What may Michael Phelps lose because of the bong photo?",
"What was Michael Phelps caught using?",
"What job does Ryan Smith have?"
] | [
[
"smoking from a bong."
],
[
"a photograph of the swimmer smoking from a bong."
],
[
"a drug test."
],
[
"endorsement deals"
],
[
"Ryan Smith"
],
[
"of endorsement deals"
],
[
"money"
],
[
"endorsement deals"
],
[
"smoking from a bong."
],
[
"Sports attorney"
]
] | Michael Phelps could lose a lot of sponsor money, attorney says .
Newspaper has published photo of Olympic swimmer using a bong .
Attorney Ryan Smith would advise Phelps to get drug test . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of America's pre-eminent political power couples made a rare joint appearance Friday, when Bill and Hillary Clinton took the stage at the former president's Clinton Global Initiative conference. Bill Clinton says his wife Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the "best public service our family has ever produced." "I want to begin by expressing my extreme indebtedness to the Clinton Global Initiative, to all of you who participated, for giving me the first chance I have had in a week to see Hillary," Bill Clinton told the audience of social activists and business leaders at the closing session of CGI, a week-long conference designed to find solutions to global problems through public and private partnerships. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at the session to unveil a new State Department initiative on food security. As he introduced her, the former president was effusive in his praise for his wife, saying that her approach to food security -- helping farmers around the world grow their own food to earn income and alleviate poverty -- was much smarter than the decades-long policy of simply giving humanitarian aid and food to countries. Watch Clinton pay tribute to his wife » "It was a wrong-headed policy. It persisted through Democratic and Republican policies alike, including mine. We were all wrong, and she is determined to reverse it," Bill Clinton said. Watch portion of Anderson Cooper's interview with former President Clinton » "Most of what I know about what I do today, I learned from her and she has become the best public servant our family has produced," he added. "I am very proud of her and honored that she came here." Hillary Clinton, who received a standing ovation, had equally kind words for her husband. "It won't surprise you to hear that I am very proud of my husband, and I think what he has invented and brought to life here is extraordinary," she said, adding that the new State Department food initiative, in part, was an idea she developed by seeing the kinds of partnerships the Clinton Global Initiative produced. The Clintons posed for a photo-op with State Department officials and executives from General Mills and other organizations, who pledged at the conference to start a program to help farmers around the world. And then, for fans of the former first couple, a rare treat. As she walked off the stage, Bill Clinton drew some more cheers when he gave his wife a kiss. Bill Clinton continued to read off the million-dollar commitments he received at the conference for additional social programs. Hillary Clinton left to meet with 15 ministers from the Caribbean. | [
"What does Hillary Clinton what farmers to do to earn income?",
"Who praised their wife?",
"What policy was \"wrong-headed\" for humanitarian aid?",
"Whose approach did Clinton praise to food security?",
"What does Hillary Clinton want?",
"What are Hillary Clinton's approaches to food security?"
] | [
[
"grow their own food"
],
[
"Bill Clinton"
],
[
"and food to countries."
],
[
"his wife,"
],
[
"new State Department initiative on food security."
],
[
"earn income and alleviate poverty"
]
] | Bill Clinton praises wife's approach to food security at global issues conference .
Hillary Clinton wants farmers worldwide to grow own food to earn income .
Clinton admits "wrong-headed" policy toward humanitarian aid . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- One of the perks of using search engine Google's home page is checking out the frequently changing seasonal, current-event, and holiday-inspired "doodles" used for the logo. Christin Engelberth's "doodle" beat out more than 28,000 entries in Google's annual contest. Soon the work of 12-year-old Christin Engelberth will occupy the Google spotlight to be viewed by millions of online searchers worldwide. On Wednesday, Google announced that Christin, a sixth-grader at Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, is this year's winner of "Doodle 4 Google," a yearly competition that asks K-12 students to dream up their own variation of the logo. Her work will be featured on Google's main site for 24 hours on Thursday. The theme of this year's contest was "What I Wish for the World." "Both our country and the world are undergoing significant change," Google said on the contest's Web pages. At Google we believe in thinking big, and dreaming big, and we can't think of anything more important than encouraging students to do the same." "A New Beginning," the title of Christin's doodle, depicts the Google logo as a land and sea naturescape intertwined with trees, a frog and leaping dolphin, a curious lizard, a turtle and fish, and a butterfly set against an orange and yellow background with a rising sun represented by the second "O" in "Google." In an interview with CNN, Christin said she portrayed a dawn as a symbol of a new day. Her wish was that "out of the current crisis, discoveries will be found to help the Earth prosper once more." She added that wanted to portray a brighter tomorrow and "discoveries being made lead to a better Earth for everyone." Christin said her initial idea for a doodle was for animal conservation, but then she decided "it shouldn't just include animals; it should include the rest of the world." Christin did check out her competition, and said she thought the other doodles were "much better than mine." But a panel of independent judges and Google employees, along with close to 6 million online voters, disagreed, and chose her sketch as the overall winner from a field of over 28,000 other submissions. Google's Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, and Dennis Hwang, webmaster manager, said on the Google Blog that Christin's design was part of "a very creative pool of doodles." As the national winner, Christin will receive a $15,000 college scholarship, a laptop, and a $25,000 technology grant for her school, in addition to having her artwork featured on the Google site. She was presented with her award at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, where Google also unveiled an exhibit of the top doodles. They will be on display until July 5. National finalists also were selected in three grade groups. Each will receive a laptop computer. All winners were treated to a day in New York that Google said "included activities which promote peace, sustainability and wellness -- all inspired by this year's theme." The winners also will participate in a doodling class led by Dennis Hwang and the Google doodle team. Grand prize winner Christin -- who told CNN she was excited to visit New York City -- said she's been "drawing for as long as she can remember." When she grows up, she said, she hopes to do "anything to do with art." | [
"Where does the winner of \"Doodle for Google\" live?",
"What was the name of the contest?",
"Where will the winning entry be displayed?",
"What did the winner say about her dreams?",
"Who is Christin Engelbert?",
"Who won the contest?",
"How much is the college scholarship that Christin received?",
"Who won the $25,000?"
] | [
[
"San Antonio, Texas,"
],
[
"\"Doodle 4 Google,\""
],
[
"Google's main site"
],
[
"\"out of the current crisis, discoveries will be found to help the Earth prosper once more.\""
],
[
"this year's winner of \"Doodle 4 Google,\""
],
[
"Christin"
],
[
"$15,000"
],
[
"Christin Engelberth's"
]
] | San Antonio, Texas, 12-year-old wins "Doodle for Google" national contest .
Christin Engelberth's work will grace Google's main site for 24 hours Thursday .
Other prizes: $25,000 college scholarship, laptop, tech grant for her school .
When she grows up, she said, she hopes to do "anything to do with art" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pam Biggers, a 52-year-old woman from Hueytown, Alabama, disappeared while on a business trip to the Florida Panhandle. Pam Biggers disappeared while on a business trip to the Florida Panhandle in January 2008. She drove to the La Quinta Inn at Panama City Beach on January 27, 2008, a Sunday. She checked in and talked with her husband over the phone about 5:30 p.m. She told him she was going out to eat with a colleague who was staying across the hall. After an early dinner, the two women returned to their rooms about 7 p.m., police said. And then Pamela Biggers simply disappeared. "It's completely baffling," said her husband, Don Biggers. "All of her belongings, clothes, purse, cell phone, were left in her room." Biggers' bed did not look slept in, police said, but it appeared that she had been reading in bed. Her open book and glasses were on the bedside table, and the pillows were propped up against the headboard. She had not changed into her pajamas, and her hotel room key and car keys were in the room. There was no sign of struggle, police said. Watch Rupa's report on this baffling cold case » Biggers' family believes that she left the hotel and either lost her way or became the victim of foul play. "We think she may have initially wandered off on her own," Don Biggers said. "She had some episodes ... complaining of voices in her head and paranoia." She'd been on medication but had decided to stop taking it, he added. Biggers said he was concerned about his wife's health and urged her to not go on the business trip. Police searched for Biggers for weeks. Her family brought in Texas Equusearch, a specialized search and rescue operation. The group conducted ground and air searches and used cadaver dogs but was unable to find any clues. The hotel did not have surveillance cameras, so it is not known when Biggers left or whether she was alone. Hotel staffers did not recall seeing Biggers leave. She had driven to Florida in the family car, which was in the hotel parking lot. According to her family, Biggers had never wandered off before, nor had she suffered from memory loss. She had just learned that her son, Jacob, was to be dispatched for a tour of duty in the military to Afghanistan and may have been stressed about that, her husband said. Police and the Biggers family are asking the public for help. Anyone who has seen Pam Biggers or has more information leading to the person or people responsible for her disappearance is asked to call the Bay County Sheriff's Office tip line at 850-747-4700. A $20,000 reward is offered. Biggers was last seen wearing a white sweater, black pants with white pinstripes, a wedding band and an aquamarine ring. She is a white female who stands 5'8" tall, weighs 135 pounds and has green eyes and gray hair. | [
"Who should you call if you know something?",
"How much is the offered rewad?",
"What is the reward being offered for information?",
"What age was Pamela Biggers?",
"Who went on a business trip?",
"What phone number is used for the reward?",
"Where was Pamela Biggers last seen?",
"Who is Pamela Biggers?"
] | [
[
"the Bay County Sheriff's Office tip line at 850-747-4700."
],
[
"$20,000"
],
[
"$20,000"
],
[
"52-year-old"
],
[
"Pam Biggers,"
],
[
"850-747-4700."
],
[
"trip to the Florida Panhandle."
],
[
"52-year-old woman from Hueytown, Alabama, disappeared while on a business"
]
] | Pamela Biggers was last seen in Panama City, Florida, on January 27, 2008 .
The 52-year-old from Huey, Alabama, was on a business trip .
She talked to husband on phone, went to dinner with colleague before vanishing .
Know something? Call 850-747-4700. A $20,000 reward is offered . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Paul McCartney has come to New York and he wants to shout it from the rooftops. Paul McCartney performs Wednesday on the roof above the marquee of New York's Ed Sullivan Theater. To promote his concert at Citi Field this Friday, the former Beatle performed Wednesday afternoon on the roof above the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee before his appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman," which is taped in the theater. Wednesday's performance began at 5:30 p.m. ET and included a set of classics including "Get Back," "Band on the Run," "Helter Skelter" and "Back in the USSR." Sporting a pink button-up shirt and suspenders, McCartney played to a huge crowd that blocked off traffic near the intersection of 53rd Street and Broadway. McCartney occasionally waved to occupants of nearby buildings as they gathered at their windows to listen to the concert. McCartney will be the first music act to play at Citi Field, and that concert will kick off his summer U.S. tour. The Ed Sullivan Theater, named for the late variety-show host, has special meaning for McCartney as it was the site of the Beatles' historic televised performance in 1964. | [
"What Theater was the Beatles historic TV performance?",
"Which former Beatle is performing a concert at New York's Citi Field?",
"What year was the historic TV performance?",
"McCartney performed songs before appearing on which US TV show?",
"Who performed songs before appearance on \"Late Night with David Letterman\"?",
"Where was the historic 1964 \"Beatles\" performance?",
"Which TV show is McCartney appearing on?",
"Who performed on \"Late Night with David Letterman\"?"
] | [
[
"New York's Ed Sullivan"
],
[
"Paul McCartney"
],
[
"1964."
],
[
"\"Late Night with David Letterman,\""
],
[
"Paul McCartney"
],
[
"The Ed Sullivan Theater,"
],
[
"\"Late Night with David Letterman,\""
],
[
"Paul McCartney"
]
] | McCartney performs songs before appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman"
Former Beatle promoting his Friday concert at New York's Citi Field .
Ed Sullivan Theater was site of Beatles' historic 1964 TV performance . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Perhaps he should be called Captain Phoenix? Captain America will return in a new comic book series July 1. Its title: "Captain America Reborn." Rising from the dead after being killed off over two years ago, Captain America is being resurrected by Marvel Comics. Though the circumstances of his return are being closely shielded, the star-spangled superhero returns July 1 in a five-comic-book series, "Captain America Reborn." A big-budget movie in development by Marvel is also expected in 2011. After close to 60 years in print, Marvel Comics killed off Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in 2007, one of its most famous and beloved superheroes, amid a controversial story line. He fought and triumphed over Hitler, Tojo, international Communism and a host of super-villains, but a sniper's bullet cut Captain America down in 2007, a move that shocked many of his fans. "The reaction was amazing," says Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. "It certainly was like the world went crazy for three days. Everybody had a point of view about it, including fans who hadn't read the comic for 30 years." In the comic series, Rogers was to stand trial for defying a superhero registration law passed after a hero's tragic mistake causes a 9/11-like event. Marvel said the comic story line was intentionally written as an allegory to current real-life issues like the Patriot Act, the war on terror and September 11. Rogers eventually surrenders to police. He is later mortally wounded as he climbs the courthouse steps. It was a violent and strange end for an American hero and icon. The primary shooter, Crossbones -- working under the orders of Captain America's longtime nemesis, the Red Skull -- was caught. The identity of a second shooter is revealed in issue 600, which goes on sale Monday. Many felt Captain America's death in 2007 was symbolic of the time. And his return now? "The tenor of the world now is when we're at a point where we want to believe in heroes. Someone who can lead the way," said Brevoort. "It just feels like the right time." Captain America first appeared in 1941, just as the United States entered World War II. He was a symbol of American strength and resolve in fighting the Axis powers. As originally conceived by creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Rogers was born before the Great Depression in a very different America. He disappeared after the war and only reappeared recently in the Marvel timeline. Keeping superheroes dead and buried does not come easy. Even Superman, who was killed off by DC Comics in 1993, came back to life a year later. And what of Captain America's sidekick, Bucky Barnes? After taking up the shield and mission of Captain America for the past year, it'll be time to relinquish the mantle. Is there room for two sentinels of liberty? Stay tuned. Glenn Perreia contributed to this report. | [
"Which superhero is being resurrected?",
"Which publication shed light on the plot behind Captain America's death?",
"which studio is making",
"What type of charcter is Captain America?",
"Who is being resurrected?",
"when will it be released"
] | [
[
"Captain America"
],
[
"\"Captain America Reborn.\""
],
[
"Marvel"
],
[
"superhero"
],
[
"Captain America"
],
[
"July 1."
]
] | Captain America being resurrected; superhero was killed off over two years ago .
Recent issues of Marvel comics shed light on plot behind superhero's death .
"It just feels like the right time," says Marvel Comics editor . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pfizer is near a deal to buy rival drugmaker Wyeth for $68 billion, according to news reports late Sunday citing people familiar with the deal. Pfizer's world headquarters is in New York. A deal was imminent and likely to be announced Monday, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported. "It is our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation," said Michael Lampe, a Wyeth representative. Pfizer was not immediately available for comment. Pfizer, the world's leading drugmaker in terms of sales, has been in talks to buy Wyeth. Pfizer's stock slipped 1 percent on the news Friday, while Wyeth gained about 8 percent. On January 13 Pfizer said it was cutting up to 8 percent of its R&D staff, about 800 jobs. Spokesman Raymond Kerins said that was to "raise productivity." But analysts say Pfizer is clearly trying to beef up its drug pipeline through an acquisition, adding that the company seems to have given up on its own R&D staff coming up with a blockbuster to replace Lipitor. This cholesterol-cutting drug peaked in 2006 with nearly $13 billion in annual sales but will lose its patent protection in 2011, when generic versions will become available. Les Funtleyder, pharma analyst for Miller Tabak, said Pfizer is "not feeling that they're getting the efficiency out of their R&D unit." He said Pfizer would probably rather do a deal with Wyeth over other competitors, because there is less overlap in the companies' pipelines. Funtleyder said Pfizer already has a diabetes franchise, which would overlap with Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb, both of which also focus on diabetes treatments. Pfizer probably has its eyes on Wyeth's Alzheimer's drug pipeline, he said. But he cautions that a merger won't be a success unless Wyeth's pipeline is successful, which remains to be seen, he said. "If Wyeth comes out with an Alzheimer's drug that works, then the deal works," he said. Pfizer is probably also focused on Wyeth's blockbuster children's vaccine Prevnar, as well as its experimental biotech drugs, said Michael Krensavage of Krensavage Asset Management. Sales of Prevnar, which combats meningitis and blood infections, jumped 12 percent in the first nine months of 2008 compared with the same period the prior year, to $2.1 billion. If a deal does go through, Funtleyder warns, Wyeth staffers should brace for layoffs. "I can say with pretty good confidence that this is going to lead to some head count reduction," he said. | [
"What did the rep say?",
"How many jobs are being cut?",
"Which department is having staff cut?",
"What are the rumors about Wyeth?",
"Who said it's not their policy to comment on rumors?",
"Who was not immediately available?",
"What kind of company is Wyeth?",
"What did the Wyeth rep say?",
"Number of jobs Pfizer was cutting?",
"Who was not available for comment?",
"What was the policy of Pfizer?",
"What is Wyeth's policy?",
"What was the rumor for?",
"What was the name of the company?",
"What month was the lowest percent?",
"What is the policy?>",
"How many jobs are being cut?"
] | [
[
"\"It is our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation,\""
],
[
"800"
],
[
"R&D"
],
[
"Pfizer is near a deal to buy rival drugmaker"
],
[
"Michael Lampe, a Wyeth representative."
],
[
"Pfizer"
],
[
"drugmaker"
],
[
"\"It is our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation,\""
],
[
"about 800"
],
[
"Pfizer"
],
[
"not to comment on rumor or speculation,\""
],
[
"not to comment on rumor or speculation,\""
],
[
"Pfizer is near a deal to buy rival drugmaker Wyeth"
],
[
"Pfizer"
],
[
"January"
],
[
"not to comment on rumor or speculation,\""
],
[
"about 800"
]
] | "It is our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation," Wyeth rep says .
Pfizer was not immediately available for comment .
Pfizer said this month it was cutting up to 8 percent, or 800 jobs, of its R&D staff . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Poet and punk rocker Jim Carroll has died at age 60. Funeral arrangements are pending. Poet, punk rocker and author Jim Carroll performs at a 2002 benefit in New York. A respected poet and musician, Carroll also was the author of "The Basketball Diaries," which was adapted into a 1995 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Carroll died Friday at his home in Manhattan after suffering a heart attack, said his former wife, Rosemary Carroll. In 1980, he released the popular album "Catholic Boy," which, according to his fan Web site, expressed the "[b]omb-fear anticipation, the optimistic nihilism and glittering darkness of the 1980s." The track "People Who Died" was one of the most-requested songs on FM radio at the time, and as Newsweek's Barbara Graustark noted then, "it propelled [Carroll] from underground status to national attention as a contender for the title of rock's new poet laureate." The release of the song coincided with the death of John Lennon. The success of the album was attributed to the powerful combination of pure rock 'n' roll with Carroll's poetic sensibility and ability to write from his own experience. The fan Web site Catholicboy.com sums up Carroll's approach to music by quoting him as saying, "There ain't much time left, you're born out of this insane abyss and you're going to fall back into it, so while you're alive you might as well show your bare ass." In addition to two follow-up albums, Carroll was a best-selling author of six books. "He was a sweet, sweet man, and I'm going to really miss him," said Cassie Carter, a close friend for more than 20 years who operates Catholicboy.com. Carroll was born in New York in 1949 and spent his childhood living on the city's Lower East Side, attending Catholic schools, said Rosemary Carroll, whom he met in 1973. At 12, he began keeping a journal that eventually was published as "The Basketball Diaries" in 1978. In it, he recorded the highs and lows of his youth. He first experimented with drugs at 12 and soon was addicted to heroin, but he was able to kick that habit in the 1970s, his former wife said. He had just completed a novel, tentatively titled "The Petting Zoo," which is about a young painter who experiences spiritual crises. The date of its release has not been set. Carroll is survived by a brother, according to his ex-wife. | [
"what happened to jim carroll",
"when was the movie made",
"what addiction is to blame",
"What did Jim die from?",
"What year was the album Catholic Boy released?",
"What did Catholic Boy feature?",
"Who did the movie star?"
] | [
[
"died at age 60."
],
[
"1995"
],
[
"heroin,"
],
[
"heart attack,"
],
[
"1980,"
],
[
"expressed the \"[b]omb-fear anticipation, the optimistic nihilism and glittering darkness of the 1980s.\""
],
[
"Leonardo DiCaprio."
]
] | Poet and punk rocker Jim Carroll dies after heart attack at 60, ex-wife says .
Drug addiction as teen chronicled in "The Basketball Diaries"
Book made into 1995 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio .
Carroll's 1980 album "Catholic Boy" featured popular "People Who Died" track . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Police in Connecticut say they have arrested a woman suspected of robbing at least six banks in the past week. Police released photos of a suspect in the robberies of six New England banks. Detectives from the Major Crimes division of the Connecticut State Police took Heather Brown into custody at about 3:15 p.m. The 34-year-old resident of Norwich, Connecticut, will be formally charged with robbery in the first degree, police said. Investigators believe Brown robbed the banks, often while claiming to have a bomb. "When she goes into the banks, she gives the teller information through a note or verbally that she has a bomb," said Sgt. Jim Keeney of the Connecticut State Police. "However, there haven't been any reports of an actual bomb." Authorities say they believe the woman has held up banks in the Connecticut towns of Middletown, Montville, East Hartford and Windsor, as well as banks in West Springfield, Massachusetts and Westerly, Rhode Island. Women commit 6.2 percent of bank robberies nationwide, up from 4.9 percent in 2002, according to recent FBI figures. The one-woman crime wave in New England apparently began September 21 at the Citizens Bank in Montville, Connecticut. State police said "a lone white female ... entered the bank with a bag in her possession. The suspect approached the teller indicated she was in possession of a bomb and demanded cash." The woman left the bag on a counter and bolted, police said. Four days later, a woman entered a branch of the New Alliance Bank in East Hartford, Connecticut. Investigators with the East Hartford Police Department said she "left a note indicating that she had a bomb and demanded $1,000. She fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money." Police suspect she struck again the next day in Windsor, Connecticut. | [
"Did heather brown have a bomb?",
"What did heather brown do?",
"Where is Heather Brown from?",
"What age is Heather Brown?",
"Who do police have in custody?",
"Suspect lives in what state?",
"Police have who in custody?",
"How many banks has she held up in the past week?",
"What is Heather Brown's age?",
"What does Heather Brown say to bank tellers?",
"What age is Heather Brown?",
"What crime did Heather Brown commit?",
"Where does suspect live?",
"Where does Heather Brown live?",
"How many banks did she hold up?"
] | [
[
"there haven't been any reports of an actual bomb.\""
],
[
"robbed the banks, often while claiming to have a bomb."
],
[
"Norwich, Connecticut,"
],
[
"34-year-old"
],
[
"Heather Brown"
],
[
"Connecticut"
],
[
"Heather Brown"
],
[
"six"
],
[
"34-year-old"
],
[
"she has a bomb,\""
],
[
"34-year-old"
],
[
"robbery in the first degree,"
],
[
"Norwich, Connecticut,"
],
[
"Norwich, Connecticut,"
],
[
"six"
]
] | Police say they have Heather Brown, 34, in custody .
Investigators say she held up at least six banks in the past week .
She informs teller she has a bomb, but no actual bomb has been seen, police say .
Police: Suspect lives in Norwich, Connecticut, has served time for bank robbery . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Obama spoke at the Pentagon on Friday to those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, telling them no words would heal their pain yet calling for a renewed resolve against the ones who attacked the country eight years ago. President Obama addresses family members and friends who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Obama laid a wreath of white flowers at the Pentagon, where 184 people lost their lives when a hijacked jet smashed into the military icon outside the nation's capital. "No words can ease the ache of your hearts," Obama told a crowd of relatives and friends standing under umbrellas in a steady rain. The plane, American Airlines Flight 77, struck the Pentagon's west wall. Earlier in the day, the president and first lady Michelle Obama held a moment of silence outside the White House to mark the eighth anniversary of the al Qaeda attacks that killed 2,752 people. At the Pentagon, Obama was introduced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who spoke of the "great pinnacle of sacrifice" shown that day. "Eight Septembers have come and gone," Obama said. "Nearly 3,000 days have passed, almost one for each one who has been taken from us. "We recall the beauty and meaning of their lives," he said. "No passage of time, no dark skies can dull the meaning of that moment. Watch a slideshow of Obama's speech and the day's events » "Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this violent act," Obama said. The nation paused at the moments when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon -- symbols of America's financial and military might -- and at a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe that plane's target was either the White House or the Capitol. There was silence at the site of the former World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane struck the North Tower, followed by another at 9:03 a.m. when a jet struck the South Tower. iReport.com: 9/11 emotions surge back in sculpted tributes, memories on video Family members and friends of those killed read their names in solemn roll calls at each site as bells tolled. In London, England, U.S. Ambassador Louis Susman and his wife, Marjorie, laid a wreath at the September 11 Memorial Garden in Grosvenor Square. At ground zero in New York, a woman whose husband worked on the 94th floor of one of the twin towers recalled that day. "The pain can still be so sharp. ... I realize how much my life has changed," she said, mentioning that her children have now grown and she has grandchildren. Her husband left many lessons, she said, including "the courage to be kind." Just before the first moment of silence, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the newly established September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, designated by Obama. "Appropriately, the city of New York has taken up that call. From this day forward we will guard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service and help keep us strong," Bloomberg said. At the Web site set up for that day, people were listing their charitable acts. One man who spoke to the crowd at ground zero remembered his brother, a partner at a law firm near the twin towers and a longtime volunteer firefighter. He rushed "toward the inferno," to do what he could to help, the brother said. "He was there when the tower collapsed." Near Shanksville, people gathered at a field where the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 died. The passengers and crew, aware of the fate of other hijacked planes, fought the men who had taken control of their aircraft, leading to its crash. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave the keynote address at the 2,200-acre site, where a $58 million memorial is scheduled to open in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. More than 1 | [
"Who spoke in Pennsylvania?",
"Who read roll calls?",
"Where do services take place?",
"Who read the names of those killed?",
"What happened in Shanksville, Pennsylvania?",
"What did Obama say?",
"Who spoke at the services?",
"How many people died?"
] | [
[
"President Obama"
],
[
"Family members and friends of those killed"
],
[
"at the Pentagon,"
],
[
"Family members and friends of"
],
[
"planes crashed"
],
[
"\"No words can ease the ache of your hearts,\""
],
[
"President Obama"
],
[
"184"
]
] | Obama: "Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this violent act"
Family, friends of those killed in attacks read names in solemn roll calls .
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks at Pennsylvania site .
Services take place in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Radio host Don Imus has prostate cancer. Radio shock jock Don Imus has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The shock jock made the announcement on his radio show Monday morning. Imus learned of the Stage 2 prostate cancer diagnosis last Wednesday, said Laurie Cantillo, program director for WABC-AM of New York. A bone scan indicated that the cancer has not spread, she said, and doctors believe it is fully treatable. Stage 2 prostate cancer means the cancer can be felt on exam but has not spread beyond the prostate gland. Imus, 68, said he's been on an organic diet for the past 10 years, avoiding meat and fish and eating mostly fruits and vegetables. "It wasn't great, but I was surprised," Imus said after learning the results of a biopsy that was performed last Monday. He added that he plans to go to San Francisco, California, for a second opinion. Imus said he's spoken with Sen. John Kerry and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani about his diagnosis. Kerry and Giuliani are both prostate cancer survivors. Imus exuded confidence while discussing his situation. "They are predicting they can treat it. They can cure it." Imus returned to the radio in December of 2007, months after his inflammatory remarks caused the cancellation of his morning radio show on the CBS radio network. His four-hour program is syndicated nationally by the Citadel Broadcasting Corp. Known for decades for his outspoken comments and off-color humor, Imus sparked a public outcry with his comments in April 2007 about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. The controversy eventually led to the cancellation of his show by CBS Radio. He called the Scarlet Knights "tough girls" and "nappy-headed 'hos" during a national broadcast a day after the team lost the NCAA championship to the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers. He later apologized. | [
"What did Imus say he will seek?",
"Who was surprised by the biopsy results?",
"What did the doctors believe?",
"Who announced his diagnosis?",
"Who will seek a second opinion?",
"What did bones scans do?",
"What was Imus surprised by?",
"What do doctors believe about his cancer?"
] | [
[
"a second opinion."
],
[
"Imus"
],
[
"it is fully treatable."
],
[
"shock jock"
],
[
"Imus"
],
[
"indicated that the cancer has not spread,"
],
[
"learning the results of a biopsy"
],
[
"it is fully treatable."
]
] | NEW: Imus says he was "surprised" by biopsy results, will seek a second opinion .
Radio shock jock announces the diagnosis on his show Monday morning .
Bone scan indicates the cancer has not spread, his program director says .
Doctors believe it is fully treatable, she says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rapper and actor Clifford Smith, better known to fans as Method Man, was arrested Monday and faces charges of failing to pay taxes, the district attorney in Richmond County, New York, said. Clifford Smith, better known as Method Man, failed to file tax returns and owes $33,000, authorities say. Smith, 38, owes the state nearly $33,000 for New York State income tax returns that he did not file between 2004 and 2007, district attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. said in a statement. The Grammy-winning rapper, an original member of the Wu-Tang Clan, was arrested at his home on Staten Island. He faces a felony charge of repeated failure to file taxes and a misdemeanor charge of failure to pay tax. The felony carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. Smith was to appear at an arraignment in Staten Island Criminal Court on Monday. Smith's attorney Peter Frankel was not immediately available to comment. | [
"How long are charges for evading taxes?",
"What is Method Man's real name?",
"What is Clifford Smith known more as/",
"How long a prison sentence do the charges carry?",
"What didn't he file?",
"How much does he owe in taxes?"
] | [
[
"four years"
],
[
"Clifford Smith,"
],
[
"Method Man,"
],
[
"four years in"
],
[
"tax returns"
],
[
"$33,000,"
]
] | Clifford Smith, aka Method Man, didn't file state income tax returns, authorities say .
State of New York says he owes $33,000 for 2004-2007 .
Felony charges carry four-year prison sentence . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Reigning hot dog-guzzling champ Joey Chestnut and nemesis Takeru Kobayashi of Japan attempted to psych each other out Thursday at the weigh-in for the 94th annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. Competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi take part in an official "staredown." Chestnut and Kobayashi glared long and menacingly into each other's eyes in an official "staredown." At last year's contest, 25-year-old Chestnut, a civil engineering student at San Jose State University, eked out a win over Kobayashi, 31, in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece. It was Chestnut's second slim victory over Kobayashi in as many years. Kobayashi vowed he will avenge those two defeats on Saturday. He also said he no longer suffers from the "jawthritis" that some cited as the culprit for his 2007 defeat, which snapped his six-year winning streak at Coney Island. Chestnut, for his part, said he had no intention of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt -- competitive eating's answer to golf's green jacket. He is setting his sights this year on 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Saturday's competition will be partially about redemption for Chestnut, too. In May, he suffered a stinging defeat to Kobayashi in a loss he said "really set a fire underneath me" and "made me hungry for this contest." Chestnut revealed the extreme dietary regimen he is following in the days leading up to the contest. He said he is sticking to water to make sure he is "empty" when the mountain of hot dogs is placed in front of him. In addition to Chestnut, Kobayashi admitted to keeping a watchful eye on 32-year-old Tim "Eater X" Janus, whose signature painted face was described by Major League Eating impresario Richard Shea as an attempt to mask his "inner torment." In a recent trial round, Janus downed a personal-best 55 hot dogs -- a weiner's throw from the 59 that Chestnut and Kobayashi wolfed down last year. As a lead-in to the main event, Major League Eating on Friday will hold a first-of-its-kind "cross-species" eating contest between three competitive eaters and three Asian elephants. MLE's Shea described it as the realization of one of his two lifelong dreams, the other being a scenario in which a dozen competitive eaters eat the entire contents of a convenience store. Twenty finalists will compete in the championship on Saturday. They were culled from 18 preliminary contests and comprise a Who's Who of the world of competitive eating. For people who stuff their faces with record-breaking quantities of food, many of the contestants at the weigh-in boasted surprisingly svelte physiques. Juliet Lee, a 44-year-old Maryland salon owner fresh off the feat of downing 13.23 pounds of cranberry sauce in 8 minutes, clocked in at a mere 105 pounds. Kobayashi, at 123 pounds, lifted his T-shirt to reveal the sort of chiseled abdomen one would expect at a bodybuilding competition. Others contestants were not quite as disconcertingly trim. Fearsome world matzo ball-eating champion Eric "Badlands" Booker tips the scales at 400 pounds. | [
"Who was the runner-up last year?",
"Who did Chestnut stare down?",
"Who won last year?",
"Who is the hot dog eater champ?",
"Who is the reigning hot dog-guzzling champ?",
"Who vowed to avenge defeat?",
"Who was the tiebreaker between?",
"What is the contest about?",
"What did Kobayashi vow to do?",
"what did Chestnut say about the contest in May?",
"Which person won the title last year?",
"who won last year",
"What is the name of the champion?",
"in what sport do they compete?",
"who is the hot dog eating champ",
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] | [
[
"Kobayashi,"
],
[
"Takeru Kobayashi"
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Kobayashi"
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Hot Dog-Eating"
],
[
"avenge those two defeats"
],
[
"of ceding the coveted mustard yellow belt"
],
[
"Chestnut,"
],
[
"Reigning hot dog-guzzling champ Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest."
],
[
"Joey Chestnut"
],
[
"Takeru Kobayashi"
]
] | Reigning hot dog-guzzling champ Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi have staredown .
Last year Chestnut won after a tiebreaker with Kobayashi .
Kobayashi vowed to avenge defeat from last year .
Chestnut: Kobayashi beat me in May contest and "set a fire underneath me" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rep. Charles Rangel said he is satisfied with the steps New York police are taking in response to the death of Officer Omar Edwards, but renewed his call for a federal investigation into instances of police friendly fire. Officer Omar Edwards was shot to death by another officer on May 28. Edwards, 25, a black officer, was shot to death May 28 by a fellow officer, Andrew Dunton, who is white. Edwards was off duty at the time. Edwards was in plainclothes and carrying a handgun as he chased a suspect past a police car, authorities said. Dunton shot him after Edwards failed to drop his weapon when ordered to, they said. Officials said Dunton said he didn't realize Edwards was an officer. "Every white cop that shot down a black cop, I would believe it was a mistake and not because of racism, but it takes special training for them to know," Rangel , D-New York, told CNN's Don Lemon on Saturday. In the wake of Edwards' death, the New York Police Department has implemented sensitivity training and provided guidance to officers on identifying themselves. In a statement, Rangel asked the Department of Justice to look into "police department practices, training of police officers and whether and to what extent race was an issue in the tragedy." The shooting prompted New York Gov. David Paterson to commission a task force to investigate shootings between police officers statewide, spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein told CNN on Saturday. NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne pledged Saturday to assist Paterson's investigation. Also Saturday, the NYPD released a list of 10 New York City officers killed in cases of mistaken identity since 1930. Five of the officers were African-American or Hispanic; five were white. The list does not include officers who were injured by friendly fire, and does not specify whether the officers killed were on or off duty. The formation of the New York task force came after Paterson met with state officials, clergy members and civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, in a closed-door meeting Friday. The group called for an independent investigation and the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into the NYPD incident. "We are handling this sensitively," Paterson told reporters after the meeting. "There may be issues that involve race, [but] we are not discussing any institutional or direct racism." The governor spoke of what he described as a "high percentage of African-American and Hispanic police officers who were shot either on or off duty by friendly fire." However, the commission will examine friendly fire incidents between all officers regardless of race, according to Shorenstein. The task force will ask NYPD and police departments across the state to provide any data related to shootings where officers were either killed or injured by other officers. The governor said the task force will look at the statistics to "determine if there's any disproportionate sense that any particular group has been victimized more than any other." Paterson said that he would "not close the door" on an independent investigation or special prosecutor to look into the death of Edwards, but would rely for now on the investigation by the New York City district attorney and the NYPD. The focus of the task force, the governor said, would be to prevent friendly fire among all police officers, regardless of race, and to instill confidence in the state and community that such incidents are investigated properly CNN's Alona Rivord contributed to this report. | [
"What is the Justice department asked to do?",
"What killed officer Omar Edwards?",
"What has New York Gov. David Paterson set up?",
"What has Charles Rangel asked for?",
"Who killed Officer Omar Edwards?",
"Who shot Edwards?",
"What did Paterson do?"
] | [
[
"practices, training of police officers and whether and"
],
[
"shot to death by another"
],
[
"commission a task force to investigate shootings between police officers statewide,"
],
[
"extent race was an issue in the tragedy.\""
],
[
"Andrew Dunton,"
],
[
"Andrew Dunton,"
],
[
"commission a task force to investigate shootings between police officers"
]
] | Officer Omar Edwards of NYPD killed in friendly fire incident last month .
Edwards, who is black, was shot by white officer who didn't realize he was fellow cop .
Rep. Charles Rangel asks Justice Department to look into police training, practices .
New York Gov. David Paterson has set up task force to look at issue statewide . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sean Kingston was talking about his hit song "Fire Burning" when his cell phone suddenly started to ring. The device blasted a familiar tune. Sean Kingston has one of the summer's hottest hits with "Fire Burning." She's fire burning, fire burning on the dance floor. Wait a minute. His own song is his ringtone? "I've got to support it, man," said Kingston, 19, with a cheeky smile. "It goes right back in my pocket, but hey." There had better be plenty of room in those pockets. "Fire Burning" is shaping up to be one of the summer's hottest tracks, with more than a million downloads sold, and is the second best-selling song on iTunes this week. For mainstream radio listeners and nightclub goers, the reggae-trance track is inescapable. Even for Kingston. Watch how Kingston sets the dance floor ablaze » "Three days ago I was in an elevator," he said. "A lady came in and she had her iPod and she was playing my song. She didn't know who she was standing next to. That was kind of funny." But hearing his music in public doesn't mean he's allowed to get too cocky, he said. "It actually motivates me to make even more music, because that's kind of big. Coming from where I'm from -- coming from nothing -- it's just amazing to hear people react to my music like they do." The Miami-born artist, whose real name is Kisean Anderson -- he changed his name to Kingston to reflect his Jamaican heritage -- got a taste for the big time in 2007 when his debut song "Beautiful Girls" became a No. 1 hit in the United States. His sophomore album, called "Tomorrow," comes out September 22. Kingston just wrapped filming in Los Angeles for the music video for its second single, "Face Drop." Kingston dropped by CNN to share his thoughts on his abilities on the dance floor and the leading ladies of pop. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: How much time do you actually spend on the dance floor? Sean Kingston: I spend a lot of time on the dance floor, [though] ... I'm more the type of dude to sit back and pose and act cool. But I had to make a song for it because there's a lot of stuff that's going on in the world today ... people want to dance. People want to let loose and "Fire Burning" is a song that you can do that to. CNN: You were born in Miami. You grew up in Kingston. Then you moved to L.A. Where do you feel most at home? Sean Kingston: I feel really at home, I can't even lie, in Miami. Because it's just like I know a lot of people, my friends that are there. That's where I started doing music when I was in Miami. CNN: Why call your sophomore album "Tomorrow"? Kingston: Because I feel like it's so futuristic. I felt like my last album was yesterday. Nobody's going to be able to expect what Sean Kingston is bringing on this new album. CNN: The first track that came off the new album was a collaboration with Lil' Wayne. It didn't take off like your previous hits. Why do you think that is? Kingston: We never sent it to radio. That record got leaked. It got leaked from the Internet and we just kept it going. But it never really got that push from the label. But I mean it did good. I mean 4 million plays on YouTube, 3 million on MySpace. Sometimes you've got to give free music to get people to pay attention and to build a buzz. So I basically gave my fans free music. CNN: You collaborate with punk-pop band Good Charlotte on | [
"When is Kingston's album due?",
"Which album is due in September?",
"What is the title of one of Sean Kingston's hits?",
"When is his new album going to be released?",
"Which was one of top hits of summer?"
] | [
[
"September 22."
],
[
"\"Tomorrow,\""
],
[
"\"Fire Burning.\""
],
[
"September 22."
],
[
"\"Fire Burning.\""
]
] | Sean Kingston's "Fire Burning" one of top hits of summer .
Kingston melds reggae, pop, hip-hop; he calls it "hip-pop"
New album, "Tomorrow," is due in September . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday the Bush administration is trying to "blame the fire on the person who calls 911" by suggesting he had a role in one of the costliest U.S. bank failures. Sen. Charles Schumer said the OTS "ought to stop pointing false fingers of blame." Federal regulators with the Office of Thrift Supervision were "asleep at the switch" when it came to IndyMac's "reckless" behavior, the New York Democrat complained. The OTS announced Friday that it was taking over the $32 billion IndyMac and transferring control to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The OTS pointed the finger directly at Schumer for the failure, accusing him of sparking a bank run by releasing a letter that "expressed concerns about IndyMac's viability." Watch what's next for IndyMac » "In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts," the OTS said in a statement announcing the California-based lender's takeover on Friday. The statement included a quote from OTS Director John Reich saying, "Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process." Schumer, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, chairman of Congress' Joint Economic Committee and the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, rejected any suggestions of responsibility for IndyMac's collapse "OTS ought to stop pointing false fingers of blame and start doing its job to protect the future of the banking system, so that there won't be other IndyMacs," he said. Schumer's June 26 letter said he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers." In a Sunday news conference, he said everything in his letter was already known to the public. "IndyMac was one of the most poorly run and reckless of all the banks," he said. "It was a spinoff from the old Countrywide, and like Countrywide, it did all kinds of profligate activities that it never should have. Both IndyMac and Countrywide helped cause the housing crisis we're now in." The embattled Countrywide Financial Corp. was recently purchased by Bank of America. Schumer argued that the "breadth and depth" of the problems at IndyMac were "apparent for years, and they accelerated in the last six months." But OTS, he said, "was asleep at the switch and allowed things to happen without restraint. "And now they are doing what the Bush administration always does: Blame the fire on the person who calls 911." The White House had no immediate response. Schumer said OTS is "known as a weak regulator," and added, "my job was to try and toughen them up and that's what I tried to do." IndyMac, with assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion, is the fifth bank to fail this year. Between 2005 and 2007, only three banks failed. And in the past 15 years, the FDIC has taken over 127 banks with combined assets of $22 billion, according to FDIC records. IndyMac will reopen Monday with a new charter and a new name -- IndyMac Federal Bank. | [
"Who does the OTS accuse?",
"Who is taking control?",
"What does Schumer reject?",
"what did the FDIC take control of?",
"WHAT DID SCHUMER say about IndyMac?"
] | [
[
"Schumer"
],
[
"Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."
],
[
"any suggestions of responsibility for IndyMac's collapse"
],
[
"$32 billion IndyMac"
],
[
"Federal regulators with the Office of Thrift Supervision were \"asleep at the switch\" when it came to IndyMac's \"reckless\" behavior,"
]
] | FDIC taking control of the $32 billion IndyMac .
OTS accuses Sen. Charles Schumer of sparking a bank run .
Schumer: IndyMac "one of the most poorly run and reckless of all the banks"
Schumer rejects any suggestions of responsibility for IndyMac's collapse . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- She survived a bloodbath at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, Illinois, by playing dead. The only survivor, she gave police a detailed description of the gunman.
The Illinois State police worked closely with the survivor to come up with a composite of the gunman.
Police aren't identifying their witness to protect her safety. Five other women lost their lives at Lane Bryant on February 2, 2008. The gunman is still at large.
The crime began to unfold shortly after 10 a.m. when a man posing as a delivery man walked into the store. He chatted briefly with two customers and two employees. Then, police said, he pulled out a gun and announced a holdup.
He forced the four women into the back room, police said. He bound them with duct tape and placed them face down on the floor. Two more women who later entered the store also were taken to the back room, tied and placed next to the others. Watch an update on the case »
Store manager Rhoda McFarland managed to call 911 from her cell phone at 10:44 a.m., just before she was shot to death. She got to her phone while the gunman was distracted, even though she was bound by the duct tape.
On the call, posted on the Tinley Park police Web site, a man can be heard saying, "I'm losing it."
The six women were shot execution style. Five of them were dead by the time police arrived, a few minutes after McFarland's call.
A sixth woman survived. She, too, had been shot and left for dead, but tricked the killer by pretending to be dead.
The killer was not wearing a mask or disguise, so she was able to describe him in detail. She told police he was a 6 foot African-American male, average weight, medium to dark skin tone, with braided hair and cornrows, husky build, and between 25 and 35 years old.
His hair was pulled back, but one braid hung along his right cheek with light-green beads at the end of it, she told police. Police have released a composite sketch based on the witness' description.
Besides store manager McFarland, the other women slain were Jennifer Bishop, Connie Woolfolk, Carrie Hudek Chiuso and Sarah Szafranski.
The investigation remains open and active, and all theories are still being investigated, police say. The investigation has included a thorough vetting of the victims' backgrounds to determine whether any of them had any enemies.
"None of the victimology so far has led to any suspects yet," said Commander Pat McCain of the Tinley Park Police Department.
Police aren't ruling out any theories, including robbery. The gunman took a few hundred dollars, police said.
"Certainly, the surviving witness didn't seem to recognize the killer, but maybe one of the dead victims knew him. We don't know," McCain said.
The weapon used was a .40-caliber Glock. Bullet casings were left at the scene and the killer took the weapon with him.
More than a year later, forensics from the crime scene are still being processed, police said. Investigators won't comment on whether the gunman left any fingerprints, hair or other trace evidence.
Police say they have received more than 5,000 tips and feel this case will be solved. But at this point, they have not named a person of interest or a suspect.
Investigators are asking for the public's help. There is a $100,000 reward for the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the Lane Bryant shootings.
Have information? Please call the Tinley Park Police tip line at (708) 444-5394 or go to the tip line on the department's Web site. | [
"What is the tip hotline number?",
"Who called 911 before being shot to death?",
"What store did the shooting take place?",
"Who said \"I'm losing it\"?",
"Who was the store manager?",
"Who released a detailed composite of Lane Bryant shooting suspect?",
"How much is being offered for tips?"
] | [
[
"(708) 444-5394"
],
[
"Rhoda McFarland"
],
[
"Lane Bryant"
],
[
"a man"
],
[
"Rhoda McFarland"
],
[
"Illinois State police"
],
[
"$100,000"
]
] | Police release detailed composite of Lane Bryant shooting suspect .
Store manager called 911 before being shot to death .
On call, man can be heard saying, "I'm losing it"
$100,000 reward offered. Information? Call tip line at (708) 444-5394 . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Summer excursions seem out of reach to many struggling young professionals, and the faltering economy isn't helping. But one New York City company, offering trips aimed at the young and thrifty, is capitalizing on the urbanite's desire to get away -- and finding success despite the downturn. A group of Urban Escapes NYC hikers stops for a snack during an expedition in New York's Harriman State Park. As a slightly broke young professional myself, with a taste for adventure but living in a very expensive city, the idea behind Urban Escapes NYC was intriguing. The company offers an array of activities -- from short hiking, sky diving or canoeing trips to international journeys that combine various activities. On the company's user-friendly Web site, I scrolled through the offerings. There were trips ranging from one-day hiking or fruit-picking excursions priced at around $60 to $800 weeklong international expeditions. The average trip includes ground transportation, the cost of the activity, guide fees, equipment rental and meals. Jumping out of planes put the company's founder and CEO, Maia Josebachvili, 25, on the path to becoming a business owner. While attending Dartmouth College, Josebachvili developed a passion for sky diving. To pay for the pricey dives, she began to lead trips for her friends and her friends' friends. Soon she realized that the people she was guiding were outside of her original social network, and an idea began to emerge. After graduating from Dartmouth and working as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange, Josebachvili decided working in the concrete jungle was not for her. At 24, Josebachvili started a business out of something she had been doing for years during college -- leading outdoor adventure trips. The company launched in early 2008, just months before the economy tanked. "I started to wonder if this is really going to work," Josebachvili said. But with trips designed with budget and value in mind, the suffering economy did not stunt the business. Josebachvili said the company was able to break even within six months. The business relies on social networking avenues for promotion, and word spread rapidly. It also quickly developed a reputation as a great way to meet people and make new friends. "I was the market," Josebachvili explains, "My friends were the market. Anyone just out of college working on Wall Street didn't have the time to plan and research the trips. There is no shortage of those kinds of people in New York." After perusing the site, I rather nervously picked a $59 six-mile hike. This may not sound so cheap, but after factoring in the planning of the trip, transportation, gas, experienced guides and a post-hike discount at a local restaurant, the value becomes apparent. I hadn't been hiking in years and still am sadly out of shape. My imagination ran wild with images of young, sporty folks racing up high peaks as I huffed and puffed behind. Terrifying. After a rainy start to the morning, our upbeat guides for the day, director Bram Levy and guide Roget Lerner, drove a group of 12 north of the city to Harriman State Park. They encouraged us to get to know each other and joked that we would be quizzed on it later. Waiting to get into the van, I asked a man standing next to me why he was on the trip. "I moved from San Francisco a year ago," public relations professional Michael Lindenberger said. "I need some trees." After an hourlong drive, we arrived at our hiking destination. Levy and Lerner checked our sneakers, water supply and told us a bit about how the day was going to unfold. And then we began the hike. Throughout the day, there was lots of laughing, squealing and helping each other over rocks and through slick patches of mud. I was surprised how quickly a team mentally developed among the group. We were all strangers, but after a day of hiking, I knew everyone's name, profession and a good deal | [
"Where is Urban Escapes located?",
"What price does Day trips out of New York start at?",
"What is Urban Escapes?",
"What was the company able to do within six months?",
"how much day trips out?",
"Who is Urban Escapes' founder?"
] | [
[
"New York City"
],
[
"around $60 to $800"
],
[
"New York City company,"
],
[
"break even"
],
[
"$60 to $800"
],
[
"Maia Josebachvili,"
]
] | Urban Escapes NYC offers trips aimed at the young and thrifty .
Day trips out of New York start at about $60; company also offers trips abroad .
Urban Escapes NYC founder, 25, was a stock trader before starting company .
The company was able to break even within six months, founder says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sunday night's "2009 MTV Video Music Awards" will feature a personal tribute from Janet Jackson to her late brother, MTV said. Michael Jackson receives the Legend Award during the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Michael Jackson fans also will get their first peek during the MTV show at the behind-the-scenes documentary of the pop star's final three months, the network said. MTV announced this week that Janet Jackson "will help open" its video music awards show Sunday night with a tribute to her brother. No other details about her "special appearance" were released. The trailer for the upcoming documentary "Michael Jackson: This Is It" will also debut on the MTV show. It comes a month after concert promoter AEG Live handed over to Sony Pictures about 100 hours of video captured between April and June, when Jackson was preparing for his concert comeback. Fans who miss the MTV show, which will air live at 9 p.m. ET Sunday at New York's Radio City Music Hall, can preview the documentary online at www.thisisit-movie.com beginning Sunday night, the network said. See guests arrive to awards show » British comedian Russell Brand will return to host Sunday's Video Music Awards for the second straight year. It will be the first time the awards show has aired from New York since 2006. | [
"The documentary will look at the pop star's what?",
"What have MTV promised?",
"MTV says Janet Jackson will give tribute to who?",
"What does MTV say?",
"What is also promised?",
"When does the live show air?",
"Who will give tribute to Jackson?",
"The show is due to air when?",
"When does the show air?",
"Who will give tribute to her late brother?",
"What did MTV say?",
"Who gave tribute",
"When does the show air",
"What is the documentary title?",
"Documentary covers what part of pop stars life?"
] | [
[
"final three months,"
],
[
"Janet Jackson \"will help open\" its video music awards"
],
[
"Michael"
],
[
"Janet Jackson \"will help open\" its video music awards"
],
[
"will get their first peek during the MTV show at the behind-the-scenes documentary of the pop star's final three months,"
],
[
"9 p.m. ET Sunday"
],
[
"Janet"
],
[
"9 p.m. ET Sunday"
],
[
"live at 9 p.m. ET Sunday"
],
[
"Janet Jackson"
],
[
"\"2009"
],
[
"Janet Jackson"
],
[
"9 p.m. ET Sunday"
],
[
"\"Michael Jackson: This Is It\""
],
[
"final three months,"
]
] | MTV says Janet Jackson will give tribute to her late brother .
Also promised: First look at documentary of pop star's final three months .
The show airs live starting at 9 p.m. ET Sunday . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Supermodel and television host Tyra Banks said Sunday she's "concerned" about Saturday's melee at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel but said she didn't know what caused the disturbance. Supermodel Tyra Banks, who hosts "America's Next Top Model," says she's not certain what triggered the fight. "We are concerned by the events that occurred Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of the New York City casting call for the next cycle of 'America's Next Top Model,' " Banks, who hosts and produces the show, said in a joint statement with executive producer Ken Mok. "At this time, we still don't know all the details of what happened or what triggered the incident. We appreciate the efforts of the NYPD and will assist them in any way possible in this matter," the statement said. It remained unclear Sunday what happened in the crowd waiting for the audition at the Park Central New York Hotel in Manhattan. Three people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot, police said. Six people were injured and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said. Watch police try to control the screaming crowd » The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said. Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned Saturday. The "Top Model" competition, aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle. | [
"Who is the show's host?",
"where were auditions held?",
"Where was the audition held?",
"Where were the auditions held?",
"What is the number of people arrested?",
"What is the name of the host?",
"how many people were arrested?",
"who said she didnt knew what triggered melee?"
] | [
[
"Tyra Banks"
],
[
"Park Central New York Hotel in Manhattan."
],
[
"Park Central New York Hotel in Manhattan."
],
[
"a New York hotel"
],
[
"Three"
],
[
"Tyra Banks"
],
[
"Three"
],
[
"Tyra Banks,"
]
] | Police: 3 people were arrested Saturday after melee at a TV show audition .
"America's Next Top Model" audition was held at a New York hotel, police say .
Tyra Banks, show's host, says she doesn't know what triggered the melee .
Authorities: Six people were injured; two sought treatment at a hospital . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ten members of an international smuggling ring have been arrested and charged with paying more than $500,000 in bribes to smuggle millions of dollars in fake designer goods from China to the United States, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Authorities say a sting targeted a smuggling ring pushing counterfeit goods through a New Jersey port. The defendants were expected to appear Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas. The counterfeit goods included designer jeans, Nike shoes, Burberry and Chanel handbags, and Polo and Baby Phat clothing, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. The estimated value of the genuine versions of the goods would be more than $200 million, prompting U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia to describe the case as "one of the largest counterfeit smuggling cases ever brought in United States history." The suspects arrested Wednesday are accused of smuggling or attempting to smuggle scores of 40-foot-long shipping containers through the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, since June 2006. The Chinese-made knockoffs were placed in containers with false bills of lading, which are the shipping documents used to determine a cargo's point of origin and destination. "One bill of lading claimed a container held 'noodles,' when in fact it contained counterfeit Nike sneakers," the news release said. After the bogus goods cleared inspection at the New Jersey port, they were transported to New York-area warehouses, where they awaited distribution to retail customers. According to the news release, the bribes were paid directly to an undercover agent whose "near-daily" conversations with the suspects were secretly recorded or monitored. The undercover agent posed as a "corrupt longshoreman's union official, stationed at Port Newark, who had the ability to clear imported cargo through the United States customs and border security measures without detection or seizure," the news release said. The 10 suspects are charged with conspiring to smuggle goods into the U.S., smuggling goods into the U.S. and trafficking in counterfeit goods, the news release states. If convicted, they face up to 35 years in prison, at least $2.5 million in fines and an obligation to pay restitution to the manufacturers of the genuine versions of the goods. Among those arrested in the sting were Robin Huff, 46, of New York, a federally licensed customs broker who is accused of using a Customs and Border Patrol database to help push goods through the port. Also arrested were Chi On Wong, 36, and Man Wai Cheng, 34, both of New York, who operated a Brooklyn-based trucking company, KT Express Inc. Authorities allege Wong and Cheng charged smugglers a premium to transport goods around the New York area. On Wednesday, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents raided a house in Brooklyn used as KT Express' base of operations and three other locations. Federal agents seized $80,000 in cash and two KT Express trucks allegedly used in the operation, the news release said. Also arrested Wednesday were: • Grace Quezon, 38, of Jersey City, New Jersey, who is alleged to have paid at least $400,000 to the undercover agent. She also is accused of smuggling or attempting to smuggle more than 25 containers of counterfeit goods. • Michael Chu, 70, of New York, who is accused of paying more than $100,000 to the undercover agent and smuggling more than 20 containers through the port. • Hsi Feng Li, 61, of New York, aka "the General," who is accused of telling the federal agent he could send the agent 50 containers of bogus goods a month. • Yee Khiong Ting, 44, of New York, who is accused of coordinating shipments, paying bribes to the federal agent and selling the goods once they cleared customs. • Troy King, 37, of New York, who allegedly worked with Chu and Quezon, and whom authorities accuse of arranging payments and overseeing operations. • Wing Ki Lee, 36, of Jersey City, who is accused of working with King to | [
"Who posed as a \"corrupt longshoreman's union official\"?",
"What did the undercover agent pose as?",
"How much did officials say the original versions are worth?",
"What was the original version worth?",
"What was the customs broker and trucking company operator?",
"What did undercover agents pose as?",
"What are worth more than $200 million?"
] | [
[
"The undercover agent"
],
[
"posed as a \"corrupt longshoreman's union official, stationed at Port Newark, who had the ability to clear imported cargo through the United States customs and border security measures without detection or seizure,\""
],
[
"more than $200 million,"
],
[
"more than $200 million,"
],
[
"Chi On Wong, 36,"
],
[
"a \"corrupt longshoreman's union official,"
],
[
"The estimated value of the genuine versions of the goods"
]
] | Officials say the original versions of the goods are worth more than $200 million .
News release: One container said it was carrying "noodles" instead of fake Nikes .
Feds: An undercover agent posed as a "corrupt longshoreman's union official"
Suspects include New York customs broker and trucking company operators . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Tess Sosa and her daughter have had a hard time forgetting US Airways Flight 1549's emergency landing in New York City's Hudson River in January. Tess Sosa holds her infant son, Damian, as her daughter Sophia, 4, plays on the couch. Sosa and Sophia, 4, have needed therapy, and the Sosas have had to pay out of their own pockets because US Airways' insurer says only three counseling sessions are covered. The family has private insurance and large deductible. The airline and insurer say compensation to the passengers has already exceeded US Airway's obligation, adding they gave $5,000 to passengers after the incident. But Sosa said she thinks the airline is still falling short "They have gone to incredible measures to get all of our belongings back, dry them out," she said. "However, I think in doing so, there was this huge oversight in 'Let's take care of these passengers.'" Watch Sosa explain her expectations » Relief over her family's survival can't undo the trauma she endured after the January 15 landing, during which she had to scramble over seats with her infant son, Damian, in tow. Water rushed into the plane as she turned and saw her husband, Martin, sitting at the back of the plane with their then-3-year-old daughter, Sophia. She recalled her husband "in shock with my daughter being held up high, the water coming in, and hoping they'd see me." Another passenger "bear hugged" her and Damian and escorted them to the exit. Today, Sosa still remembers how she felt that day: "the possibility, the imminent death, just waiting to see if the plane was going to plunge any further in the river." Following the emergency ditching of Flight 1549, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was quickly crowned a hero for ably landing the Airbus A320 after birds disabled its engines. He made the cover of several magazines, including People, which featured him holding Damian Sosa. See other notable air accidents » U.S. Airways hired a firm to restore and return thousands of personal items to passengers -- items ranging from boarding tickets to suitcases. The airline's insurer, American International Underwriters Holdings, a unit of AIG, says US Airways went above and beyond its obligations because the airline is not liable in the crash and the insurers' responsibility "is to pay valid claims on behalf of US Airways as a result of its legal liability." Commenting for AIU, Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said he concurred that the airline and insurer had fulfilled their obligations. "We have a flock of birds flying into jet engines for a perfectly well-functioning aircraft and a crew that exhibited extraordinary professionalism in this particular incident. This is very important to recognize, but again, the liability does not exist," he said. This is little consolation to the Sosas, whose private insurance has a $3,000 deductible. Sosa said the family still needs help dealing with the trauma, especially Sophia. The family just received another $1,000 bill for therapy sessions. "I expect my family to be taken care of in the very best way possible, and I don't feel like that's happening when you're balking at my claims to a therapist and you are setting limits on that," she said. | [
"In which river was the pilot's plane ditched?",
"The pilot ditched plane in which river?",
"What crippled the plane's engines?",
"For what is the family paying themselves?",
"Which month did the plane come down after birds crippled the engines?",
"What was the number of the flight that crash landed?",
"Where did the pilot crash the airplane?",
"Has US Airways exceeded their obligations to passengers according to US Airways ensurer?",
"What airline was involved in the crash?"
] | [
[
"Hudson"
],
[
"Hudson"
],
[
"birds disabled its"
],
[
"therapy,"
],
[
"January."
],
[
"1549,"
],
[
"New York City's Hudson River"
],
[
"airline is still falling short"
],
[
"US Airways"
]
] | Family paying for therapy out of pocket after Flight 1549's crash landing .
Pilot ditched plane in Hudson River in January after birds crippled engines .
US Airways, its insurer say they have exceeded obligations to passengers .
Mother says she, daughter still experiencing trauma from landing . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The CEO of Southwest Airlines said Friday he has ordered an investigation into charges the discount carrier flew airplanes that weren't properly inspected for safety. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly tells CNN the airline is surprised at FAA charges. Gary Kelly said Southwest was caught off guard when the Federal Aviation Administration notified it on Thursday that it may be hit with a record $10.2 million federal fine for alleged violations involving fuselage crack inspections. Kelly called the fine "unfair" and "unprecedented." The FAA on Thursday accused Southwest of operating the 47 airplanes last year without conducting mandatory checks for fuselage cracking. The airline has 30 days to respond. Kelly told CNN safety was never an issue. "In this particular situation, we identified a gap in our documentation. We voluntarily reported that to the FAA. We worked out with the FAA how to fix that problem, and we fixed it," he said on CNN's "American Morning." Asked why, then, the discount carrier was called on the carpet, Kelly replied, "We were surprised yesterday to get that notification by the FAA as well. The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported as late as last month the FAA said that it had no safety issues with Southwest Airlines." "I've ordered an investigation as to exactly what happened in this event," Kelly said. "It occurred in March of 2007. These aircraft are inspected inch by inch. In this particular incident, over 99 percent of the inspections were completed, according to documentation." Watch what's raising concerns about Southwest » He said that after fuselage cracks were discovered in about half a dozen of the airline's 737s, 47 planes were reinspected over a 10-day period. Boeing Inc., the plane's manufacturer, which was contacted when the problems arose, said that at no time were the cracks unsafe, Kelly said. "Cracks do occur. That's why we do inspections." He said Boeing issued a release Thursday saying Southwest "acted responsibly, and at no time were the aircraft operated in an unsafe manner." The FAA issued a statement saying that Southwest improperly inspected the planes for cracks, then allowed them to fly an additional 1,451 flights, knowing they weren't airworthy. Kelly was asked about FAA allegations that an inspector knew about the problems, but continued to allow the planes to be flown. He didn't answer the question directly, saying the airline has an ongoing relationship with the federal agency and there is a complicated system of inspections. "Our interpretation of the guidance that we got from the FAA at the time was that we were in compliance with all laws and regulations," Kelly said. "I think the FAA has a different view of that today, and that's something that we're investigating as well. But the important point is that at no time were we operating in an unsafe manner, and I think our history proves it." Calling the situation detailed in the FAA documents "one of the worst safety violations" he has ever seen, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minnesota, is expected to convene a hearing to ask why the airline may have allegedly put its passengers in danger. He heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Watch passengers react to the charges » The FAA documents allege that Southwest flew at least 117 of its planes in violation of mandatory safety checks. The 117 number includes the 47 planes alleged to have flown without fuselage checks and 70 additional planes allegedly flown without mandatory rudder inspections. In some cases, the documents say, the planes flew for 30 months past government inspection deadlines. It should have grounded them until the inspections could be completed. The planes were "not airworthy" according to congressional air safety investigators. Southwest Airlines, which carried more passengers in the United States than any other airline last year, said in a written statement Thursday that it looks forward to making details of the case public -- saying those details will support the airline's actions. The documents were prepared by two FAA safety inspectors who have | [
"What was the fine for fuselage inspections?",
"Who is the Southwest Airlines CEO?",
"What was skipped by Southwest airlines?",
"How many planes were skipped for mandatory inspections?",
"What CEO was surprised?",
"Who is Southwest's CEO?",
"Who was surprised at FAA charges?"
] | [
[
"$10.2 million"
],
[
"Gary Kelly"
],
[
"conducting mandatory checks for fuselage cracking."
],
[
"47"
],
[
"Gary Kelly"
],
[
"Gary Kelly"
],
[
"Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly"
]
] | Southwest Airlines CEO says airline was surprised at FAA charges .
FAA charged Thursday that Southwest skipped mandatory inspections of 117 planes .
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says safety was never compromised .
FAA has started process to fine a record $10.2 million over 47 fuselage inspections . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies are investigating not only what went wrong, but also what went right Thursday when a US Airways flight ended in the Hudson River without any deaths or major injuries. The aircraft remains in the Hudson River on Friday. Workers hope to lift it out Saturday morning. "Having a successful ditching is a very rare event," Kitty Higgins of the NTSB said Friday. "We'll not only celebrate what worked here, but also learn what worked. So many times you're only focused on what went wrong. A lot of things went right yesterday." Divers struggled against strong currents and frigid water temperatures to retrieve critical pieces of the puzzle from the Hudson River, where US Airways flight 1549 ended up less than three minutes after it took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport Thursday afternoon. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- both critical to determining exactly what happened -- remained attached to the tail section of the aircraft, which was still partially submerged but secured to moorings. Watch a former pilot tell how to water-land a plane » Workers will be at the site until midnight, rigging the aircraft so it can be lifted out Saturday morning, attached to a barge and moved to a secure location for investigation, Higgins said. Both engines from the Airbus A320 double-engine jet were on the river bottom, after the water landing's impact apparently detached them from the plane. Authorities are using side-scan sonar to locate the engines, Higgins said. iReport.com: Were you there? Send images The engines also will be brought in as part of the investigation into what happened, including the possibility of bird strikes. "I don't want to characterize anything at this point about this particular accident because we are just at the beginning stages," Higgins said, adding that this accident would be the first "in a very long time" where possible bird strikes may have been a factor. Watch water wash over the plane » Meanwhile, passengers, city officials and aviation experts heaped praise on pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger and his crew, as well as first responders who acted quickly to minimize passengers' injuries in below-freezing temperatures and frigid water. The White House said President Bush called Sullenberger to praise him for "his heroic efforts to ensure the safety of his passengers and the people in the area." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sullenberger executed an "incredibly skillful emergency landing." The pilot and crew of the flight will receive the key to the city, he told reporters Friday. "We typically like you to land at our airports," he joked, but said the water landing worked out with the best possible outcome. Watch Bloomberg honor heroism » "We saw a lot of heroism in the Hudson yesterday," Bloomberg said. The mayor also gave certificates of appreciation to first responders who scrambled to help passengers to safety. Shortly after the flight, bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, took off at 3:26 p.m. Thursday, passengers noticed quickly that something was awry. See a map of the plane's flight path » A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Sullenberger reported a double bird strike, which was taken to mean that birds were sucked into both the jet's engines. The FAA said witnesses reported seeing the plane hit a flock of birds. Sullenberger was given clearance to return to LaGuardia for an emergency landing, a source said, but instead, he was forced to find someplace else to ditch the plane. In crowded New York City, the Hudson River provided the best option. Watch how the landing and rescue happened » After the plane came to a stop, passengers quickly got out, standing on the partially submerged wings or on the emergency exit chutes, which also serve as life rafts. New York Waterway Capt. Vince Lombardi, operating a ferry in the Hudson, said he noticed something in the water as the boat pulled out of Pier 70. "I said to my deck hand, | [
"Who will the mayor give key to the city to?",
"What do the agencies hope for?",
"what its the temperatures?",
"what says the mayor?",
"Cold temperatures are hampering the efforts to do what?"
] | [
[
"The pilot and crew of the flight"
],
[
"lift it out Saturday morning."
],
[
"frigid"
],
[
"\"incredibly skillful emergency landing.\""
],
[
"to retrieve critical pieces of the puzzle from the Hudson River, where US Airways flight 1549 ended up"
]
] | NEW: Agencies hope to learn from plane in Hudson, spokeswoman says .
NEW: Currents, cold temperatures hamper efforts to retrieve engines, flight data .
First responders receive certificates of appreciation from mayor .
Mayor says he'll give key to the city to pilot and crew . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York Times endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination over Rudy Giuliani and the rest of the GOP field, strongly criticizing the former mayor of its home city. Sens. John McCain, left, and Rudy Giuliani took part in a debate in Florida on Thursday. In endorsements posted on its Web site for Friday's editions, the Times also endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. "Senator John McCain of Arizona is the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe," the paper's editorial board wrote. "With a record of working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation, he would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." The endorsement anticipated readers asking how the New York paper could reject Giuliani, a man it endorsed for re-election in 1997 and praised for his work cleaning up crime in the city and during the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. "That man is not running for president," the paper wrote. "The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city's and the country's nightmare to promote his presidential campaign," the paper writes, describing Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man." Giuliani played down the harsh words, suggesting that the Times has a liberal editorial staff that often disapproved of him. "I probably never did anything the New York Times suggested I do in eight years as mayor of New York City, and if I did, I wouldn't be considered a conservative Republican," Giuliani said during a Republican debate Thursday night hosted by MSNBC in Boca Raton, Florida. "I changed welfare, I changed quality of life, I took on homelessness -- I did all the things that they think makes you mean and I believe show true compassion and true love for people." His wasn't the only Republican campaign taking that tack. An e-mail from the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sarcastically noted that McCain had been endorsed by "[t]hat bastion of conservative advocacy." The editorial was hardly full of praise for McCain, despite calling him a "genuine war hero" and a "staunch advocate of campaign finance reform." "Mr. McCain was one of the first prominent Republicans to point out how badly the war in Iraq was being managed. We wish he could now see as clearly past the temporary victories produced by Mr. Bush's unsustainable escalation, which have not led to any change in Iraq's murderous political calculus," it reads. "At the least, he owes Americans a real idea of how he would win this war, which he says he can do." The paper praised Clinton's chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, but called Clinton more qualified for the job. "It is unfair, especially after seven years of Mr. Bush's inept leadership, but any Democrat will face tougher questioning about his or her fitness to be commander in chief," it reads. "Mrs. Clinton has more than cleared that bar, using her years in the Senate well to immerse herself in national security issues, and has won the respect of world leaders and many in the American military." The Democratic editorial contrasts Clinton and Obama -- calling her "the brilliant if at times harsh-sounding senator from New York" and him "the incandescent if still undefined senator from Illinois." The paper says Clinton "sometimes overstates the importance of [her] resume," but that upon hearing "her policies and answers for America's big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience." New York is one of a host of states that will vote during the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries. E-mail to a | [
"Who praises Barack Obama ?",
"What is Guiliani's response?",
"What happenen to Rudy Giuliani ?",
"Paper praised Obama, but called whom more qualified for the job?",
"What did the opinion piece say that McCain would do?",
"Who is more qualified for the job?",
"What did the Opinion piece says McCain wil do ?",
"Who will end George Bush style of governing?",
"Who is described as a \"narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man\"?"
] | [
[
"The paper"
],
[
"\"I probably never did anything the New York Times suggested I do in eight years as mayor of New York City, and if I did, I wouldn't be considered a conservative Republican,\" Giuliani said"
],
[
"took part in a debate"
],
[
"Clinton"
],
[
"offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field.\""
],
[
"Clinton"
],
[
"promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe,\""
],
[
"\"Senator John McCain of Arizona"
],
[
"Giuliani"
]
] | Paper rips Rudy Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man"
Giuliani responds: I wouldn't be a conservative Republican if I did what paper wanted .
Opinion piece says McCain will "end the George Bush style of governing"
Paper praises Barack Obama but calls Hillary Clinton more qualified for the job . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The agency that owns the space where the World Trade Center towers stood is freeing itself of the term "freedom" to describe the signature skyscraper replacing the buildings destroyed on September 11, 2001. The One World Trade Center skyscraper is expected to be completed in late 2013. The change from Freedom Tower was revealed Thursday at a news conference where the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced the signing of the first commercial lease in the building to a Chinese company. The building is expected to be completed in late 2013. "We've referred to the primary building planned for the site as One World Trade Center -- its legal name and street address -- for almost two years now, as well as using the name the Freedom Tower," said Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority, in a statement released to CNN. "Many will always refer to it as the Freedom Tower, but as the building moves out of the planning stage and into full construction and leasing, we believe that going forward it is most practical to market the building as One World Trade Center." Ten of the building's planned 108 above-ground floors have been built. "The fact is, more than $3 billion of public money is invested in that building, and, as a public agency, we have the responsibility to make sure it is completed and that we utilize the best strategy to make certain it is fully occupied," Sigmund added. He noted that the agency lost 84 colleagues in the September 11 attacks. Mary Fetchet, founding director of Voices of September 11th, a group that commemorates the lives of those killed in the attack, said she was not familiar with the decision made by the Port Authority and was not willing to make a statement. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on the John Gambling radio show taped Friday morning, said he was not upset by the Port Authority's decision. "It's up to the Port Authority," he said. "I have no idea what the commercial aspects are, and we can say, 'Oh, we shouldn't worry about that,' but of course you have to, particularly now. "I would like to see it stay the Freedom Tower, but it's their building, and they don't need me dumping on it. If they could rent the whole thing by changing the name, I guess they're going to do that, and they probably, from a responsible point of view, should. From a patriotic point of view, is it going to make any difference?" He added, "one of the things is, we call things what we want to call them. So, Avenue of the Americas is a good example, for it's Sixth Avenue to most people. Very few people use Avenue of the Americas. If they name this One World Trade Center, people will still call it the Freedom Tower." The building was named the Freedom Tower in the first "ground zero" master plan. Officials said at the time that the tallest, most symbolic of five planned towers at the site would demonstrate the country's triumph over terrorism. Representatives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Vantone Industrial Co. announced Thursday the signing of a lease that will create the China Center, a 190,810-square-foot business and cultural facility, to be on portions of the 64th floor and the entire 65th through 69th floors of One World Trade Center. Hailing it as a great day for the Port Authority and its partners in the China center, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward added, "this is the first step in a long journey as downtown is finally rebuilt." The lease is for 20 years and nine months, beginning when the building is completed, with rents starting at $80 per square foot and escalating afterward. The China Center also will have the right to lease up to two additional contiguous floors under the same terms, an option that expires at the end of 2009. The Port Authority also has commitments for | [
"Who will the agency be leasing first too?",
"What will the new skyscraper be called?",
"What was called Freedom Tower?",
"What was the building originally named?",
"Who signed the first to sign a commercial lease?",
"What is the name of the new skyscraper?",
"What was the building named in the first \"ground zero\" master plan?",
"What country has the first commercial lease be signed with?"
] | [
[
"a Chinese company."
],
[
"Freedom Tower,\""
],
[
"One World Trade Center.\""
],
[
"Freedom Tower"
],
[
"Vantone Industrial Co."
],
[
"One World Trade Center"
],
[
"Freedom Tower"
],
[
"Chinese"
]
] | New skyscraper will be known as One World Trade Center .
Port Authority: "It is most practical to market the building" under address name .
The building was named the Freedom Tower in the first "ground zero" master plan.
Agency says it has signed first commercial lease to Chinese company . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The body of a woman who authorities say was impaired by marijuana and alcohol when she caused a deadly head-on collision shows no signs of long-term alcohol use, according to an investigator hired by her family. Diane Schuler's minivan was heading the wrong direction as the wreck happened, police said. "I have looked at the autopsy, and the pancreas, liver and esophagus were clear," Tom Ruskin, lead investigator and president of CMP Protective and Investigative Group, told CNN. "I've never seen a case like this. No one has seen this woman drunk and we have interviewed over 50 people -- relatives, friends, colleagues and former employees from her company." The Westchester County medical examiner's office found that Diane Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of .19 percent -- more than twice the legal limit -- 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 crash, along with Schuler and four children in her minivan -- her daughter and three nieces. A fifth child, Schuler's son, survived and is in stable condition. Ruskin, a former officer in New York Police's narcotics division, said he is hesitant to fully accept the autopsy report. "I'm not saying the autopsy is wrong or right. I don't know if she smoked pot weeks prior. Marijuana stays in your system for up to 30 days," he said. The medical examiner's office released a statement on August 6, saying it stands by its autopsy results, and reiterated that Sunday. Schuler's family expressed shock when the details were revealed, saying she had no history of substance use. "There's no way she'd do this," Jay Schuler, Schuler's sister-in-law, said earlier this month. "She was responsible." Tests revealed that Schuler had an additional six grams of alcohol in her stomach that had yet to be metabolized, according to Maj. William Carey of the New York State Police. A vodka bottle was also found in the vehicle after the crash. Ruskin is adamant that it is necessary to go back through the day of the crash. "We are analyzing all of the data that we have to date. We have a staff that has consumed themselves with this case," he said. "We are trying to determine what happened here." Schuler's husband, Daniel, "would like to remind people that no matter what happened here he lost his wife, his daughter, his nieces and he also grieves for the Bastardi and Luongo families," Ruskin said, referring to the other crash victims. "He talks about that constantly in my daily conversations with him." | [
"What was said Diane Schuler?",
"What shown autopsy?",
"What autopsy showed after all?",
"What investigators says about her?"
] | [
[
"minivan"
],
[
"the pancreas, liver and esophagus were clear,\""
],
[
"no signs of long-term alcohol use,"
],
[
"she caused a deadly head-on collision shows no signs of long-term alcohol use, according"
]
] | Autopsy shows no signs of heavy alcohol use, investigator for driver's family says .
Investigator says Diane Schuler not known as heavy drinker .
Schuler, 7 others killed in head-on collision as she drove wrong way on parkway .
Schuler had high levels of alcohol, marijuana in system during crash, officials say . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The chairman of India's UB Group, which includes Bangalore-based Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries, made the winning $1.8 million bid on a number of Mahatma Gandhi's personal items on auction. Mahatma Gandhi was known for his peaceful opposition to tyranny, which led to India's independence. Vijay Mallya was expected to return the items to the Indian government, according to CNN-IBN, CNN's sister station in India. Controversy surrounded the sale Thursday of Gandhi's items -- among them his metal-rimmed glasses, pocket watch, sandals, bowl and plate -- prompting the seller, James Otis, to ask that the items be withdrawn from the auction. India voiced strong objections to the auction. Its Ministry of External Affairs said the bidding would "commercialize and thereby demean the memory of the Father of the Nation and everything that he stood for in his life, beliefs and actions." On Tuesday, a New Delhi court issued an injunction to stop the sale. Watch the auction stoke high interest » But the Antiquorum auction house in Manhattan went ahead with the auction as scheduled. The Indian government had rejected an offer from Otis, who had asked the Indian government to expand its spending on the poor in exchange for the items. India's government already spends a large amount of money on the country's disadvantaged sectors, India's culture minister Ambika Soni told reporters Thursday. Still, the government had hoped Otis would not allow the public to bid on the items. Soni, the culture minister, said that India's government exercised several options to stop the auction at the Antiquorum in New York. Gandhi, who waged a long struggle against British rule in India, was assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic on January 30, 1948. He is still widely revered for his insistence on non-violent protest to achieve political and social progress. Many Indians believe selling Gandhi's items for profit is outrageous. "I feel very sad about it because Gandhi himself never believed in private possessions," said Varsha Das, director of India's National Gandhi Museum, using a term of endearment for Gandhi. "He gave away everything. He did not even have a home to live in." CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report. | [
"Who is expected to return items to the Indian government?",
"The controversy caused James Otis to do what with the items?",
"What are the items?",
"What would bidding do to Gandhi's memory?",
"What items were on auction?"
] | [
[
"Vijay Mallya"
],
[
"be withdrawn from the auction."
],
[
"metal-rimmed glasses, pocket watch, sandals, bowl and plate"
],
[
"\"commercialize and thereby demean the"
],
[
"metal-rimmed glasses, pocket watch, sandals, bowl and plate"
]
] | Mallya expected to return items to Indian government, CNN-IBN reports .
India's Ministry of External Affairs: Bidding would "commercialize" Gandhi's memory .
Controversy prompted seller James Otis to ask that items be withdrawn from auction . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The crown of the Statue of Liberty will re-open to tourists on July 4, the Interior Department said Friday. The Statue of Liberty welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. The crown was closed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for safety and security reasons. The National Park Service closed the attraction amid worries that it would be difficult for visitors to evacuate quickly in the event of an emergency. Visitors must climb a narrow 168-step double-helix spiral staircase to get to the crown. Since the closing, tourists have been able to visit other parts of the statue. iReport.com: Show us your best Statue of Liberty shots The federal government planned to give "America a special gift" by re-opening the crown, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. "We are once again inviting the public to celebrate our great nation and the hope and opportunity it symbolizes by climbing to Lady Liberty's crown for a unique view of New York Harbor, where the forebears of millions of American families first saw the world," he said in a statement. Access to the crown will be limited to 10 people at a time, guided by a National Park Service ranger. "We cannot eliminate all the risk of climbing to the crown, but we are taking steps to make it safer," Salazar said. The measures include raising the handrails on the spiral staircase and stationing rangers throughout the Statue to help visitors. The Statue of Liberty will be open for the next two years, then closed again for "work on a long-term solution that will improve safety and security permanently," according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. A gift from France to the United States, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for its centennial on July 4, 1986. It stands just across New York Harbor from where the Twin Towers stood. | [
"how many poeple can visit the crown at a time?",
"when was the crown closed?",
"What closed after the attacks?",
"what does the government want to give to America?",
"Will they reopen the crown?",
"What does the government want to give America as a special gift?",
"What has been closed since September 11, 2001?",
"Tourists have been able to visit what?",
"How many people can have access to the crown at one time?",
"When was the crown closed?",
"What has been closed since 9/11",
"Tourists have been able to visit what parts?"
] | [
[
"10 people"
],
[
"after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,"
],
[
"crown"
],
[
"\"America a special gift\" by re-opening the crown, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said."
],
[
"on July 4,"
],
[
"re-opening the crown,"
],
[
"The crown of the Statue of Liberty"
],
[
"The crown of the Statue of Liberty"
],
[
"10"
],
[
"after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,"
],
[
"The crown of the Statue of Liberty"
],
[
"The crown of the Statue of Liberty"
]
] | The crown has been closed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 .
Tourists have been able to visit other parts of the statue .
Access to the crown will be limited to 10 people at a time, guided by a ranger .
Official: Government wants to give "America a special gift" by re-opening the crown . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen to tourists on July 4. The Statue of Liberty welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. The crown was closed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for safety and security reasons. The National Park Service closed the attraction amid worries that it would be difficult for visitors to evacuate quickly in the event of an emergency. Visitors must climb a narrow 168-step double-helix spiral staircase to get to the crown. Since the closing, tourists have been able to visit other parts of the statue. iReport.com: Show us your best Statue of Liberty shots The federal government planned to give "America a special gift" by re-opening the crown, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in May. "We are once again inviting the public to celebrate our great nation and the hope and opportunity it symbolizes by climbing to Lady Liberty's crown for a unique view of New York Harbor, where the forebears of millions of American families first saw the world," he said in a statement. Access to the crown will be limited to 10 people at a time, guided by a National Park Service ranger. "We cannot eliminate all the risk of climbing to the crown, but we are taking steps to make it safer," Salazar said. The measures include raising the handrails on the spiral staircase and stationing rangers throughout the Statue to help visitors. The Statue of Liberty will be open for the next two years, then closed again for "work on a long-term solution that will improve safety and security permanently," according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. A gift from France to the United States, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for its centennial on July 4, 1986. It stands just across New York Harbor from where the Twin Towers stood. | [
"On what date did the crown of the statue of liberty close?",
"Had there been pictures taken of the statue?",
"Where can one share Statue of Liberty photos?",
"What event triggered the closure?",
"What will reopen July 4th?",
"How long has the crown been closed?",
"When will Liberty's crown re-open?"
] | [
[
"September 11, 2001,"
],
[
"of Liberty shots"
],
[
"iReport.com:"
],
[
"the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,"
],
[
"The crown of the Statue of Liberty"
],
[
"after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,"
],
[
"July 4."
]
] | The Statue of Liberty's crown will reopen to the public on July 4 .
The crown has been closed since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks .
iReporters shared photos of the statue, which CNN combined in a mosaic .
iReport.com: See, share your photos of Lady Liberty . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The daughter of a man who died after falling four stories at Shea Stadium said her father was not sliding down the escalator when the accident happened, as police reported. A statement from the New York Police Department on Tuesday said witnesses saw 36-year-old Antonio Nararainsami of Brooklyn sitting on the banister of the escalator when he lost his balance and fell. Nararainsami's daughter, Emily, told CNN affiliate WABC on Tuesday that her father was walking down the escalator, not sliding on its banister, as fans left the stadium after the New York Mets-Washington Nationals game. She said she and another relative saw what happened. "He wasn't moving or nothing; he was just walking down. I guess he tried to say something to us or something, and I guess he just lost his balance and flipped over," she said. Nararainsami died at Booth Memorial Hospital about 25 minutes after the 10 p.m. incident. Police are investigating the death as an accident. E-mail to a friend | [
"Where did the man die?",
"Who has lost his balance?",
"what was the reason why he fell",
"What did the man fall off?",
"Who are investigating it?",
"where was the hospital he was taken to",
"Where was the man taken?",
"What are police investigating the incident as?"
] | [
[
"Booth Memorial Hospital"
],
[
"Antonio Nararainsami"
],
[
"lost his balance"
],
[
"Shea Stadium"
],
[
"Police"
],
[
"Booth Memorial"
],
[
"Booth Memorial Hospital"
],
[
"accident."
]
] | Police said man lost his balance on an escalator as fans left the stadium .
He died about 25 minutes later at Booth Memorial Hospital .
Police are investigating the death as an accident . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The family of a woman who died ignored on an emergency room floor has reached a settlement with Health and Hospital Corp., the family's lawyer and the company's top executive said Thursday. Surveillance video shows Esmin Green on the hospital floor for more than an hour before anyone helps her. The attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said the settlement, reached Wednesday, is for $2 million. Alan Aviles, the president and CEO of Health and Hospital Corp., said in a written statement that the company -- which operates Kings County Hospital, where Esmin Green, 49, died last year -- takes full responsibility for her death and offers a "full apology." He said the settlement "is not meant to put a value on a life and the loss of a loved one. That remains priceless." Last July, Green's relatives said they planned to file a $25 million lawsuit against the city and the hospital and called for criminal charges against hospital workers. A hospital security video showed that the mother of six waited in an emergency room chair for nearly 24 hours before she slid to the floor, where she convulsed for more than a half hour and then became still. An hour after she fell to the floor, the video showed, a hospital employee nudged Green with her foot and summoned help, but the 49-year-old woman was dead The New York Civil Liberties Union alleges that hospital records were falsified to say that Green was "sitting quietly in the waiting room" at a time when, the video shows, she had been on the floor for 48 minutes and had not moved for more than 10 minutes. An autopsy revealed that Green died from pulmonary thromboembolism -- blood clots that formed in her legs and eventually made their way into her lungs, according to Ellen Borakove, the medical examiner's spokeswoman. The clots came from deep vein thrombosis, which complicated Green's chronic paranoid schizophrenia, she said. | [
"What did Green die from?",
"Name the hospital where Green died?",
"What did the video show?",
"What caused Greens death?",
"What does Aviles do?",
"Who operates hospital?",
"Who took full responsibility for Green's death?",
"Where did Esmin Green die last year?",
"What did the workers ignore?"
] | [
[
"pulmonary thromboembolism"
],
[
"Kings County"
],
[
"Esmin Green on the hospital floor for more than an hour before anyone helps her."
],
[
"pulmonary thromboembolism"
],
[
"takes full responsibility for her death and offers a \"full apology.\""
],
[
"Alan Aviles,"
],
[
"Alan Aviles, the president and CEO of Health and Hospital Corp.,"
],
[
"Kings County Hospital,"
],
[
"Esmin Green"
]
] | Health and Hospital Corp., operates hospital where Esmin Green died last year .
CEO Alan Aviles, takes full responsibility for her death and offers a "full apology"
Green died from pulmonary thromboembolism, says medical examiner .
The video appears to show hospital workers ignoring her lying on the floor . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The former hedge fund manager who faked his own suicide to avoid prison time for fraud will spend an extra two years in jail for failing to surrender himself, according to the U.S attorney's office.
Sam Israel tried to get out of serving a 20 year sentenced by faking his suicide. It added two years.
Federal Judge Kenneth Karas sentenced Sam Israel III in White Plains, New York, on Wednesday, giving him two more years in addition to his previous sentence.
Federal guidelines call for a 12- to 18-month sentence, but Karas noted that Israel's crime "took a fair amount of planning," and he criticized the former hedge fund manager for "thumbing his nose at the system."
The additional sentence will begin after Israel serves his first 20 years for fraud.
Israel admitted to authorities in March that he had faked his own suicide to escape his jail sentence.
He was supposed to report to a Massachusetts prison in June of 2008 to serve a 20-year sentence for defrauding investors of Bayou Management out of approximately $450 million.
But he did not show up at the facility. Days later, his sport-utility vehicle was found abandoned on a bridge in upstate New York, with the words "Suicide is Painless" -- title of the theme song for the television show "M.A.S.H." -- written in dust on the the hood.
Authorities determined the suicide setup was a ruse and launched a major manhunt to find Israel.
He turned himself in to law enforcement July 2, 2008. | [
"What does the judge say?",
"Isreal faked his suicide to escape what?",
"What did Judge say about Sam Israel?",
"what says judge?",
"Hedge fund manager faced 20 years for what?"
] | [
[
"\"took a fair amount of planning,\""
],
[
"prison"
],
[
"crime \"took a fair amount of planning,\" and he criticized the former hedge fund manager for \"thumbing his nose at the system.\""
],
[
"\"took a fair amount of planning,\""
],
[
"fraud"
]
] | Judge says Sam Israel "thumbed his nose at the system"
Two-year sentence exceeds federal guidelines .
Israel faked his suicide to escape jail sentence for fraud .
Hedge fund manager faced 20 years for defrauding investors . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The home life Diana Krall shares with husband (and fellow musical brain) Elvis Costello and their 2-year-old twin boys is a little nutty. Diana Krall's new album, "Quiet Nights," was inspired by a trip she made to Brazil. "It's zany in the most wonderful way," says the 44-year-old jazz singer-pianist. "You have two little boys leaping off the furniture who think they're Buzz Lightyear while we're practicing and playing. It's just a happy house." Krall's domestic bliss -- "domestic" being a new concept for the ever-touring artist -- is suggested in the warm, intimate vibe of her latest album "Quiet Nights." "It's a very natural process for me, making a record. It ends up being a reflection of where I am at that time. My life is just tremendous right now. It couldn't be better," she says. No kidding. "Quiet Nights" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album charts last week, a career high for Krall. A memorable trip to Brazil in 2007 inspired the Canadian chanteuse to take her 12th album in a bossa nova direction: The title track is the English version of the bossa nova classic "Corcovado." She also covers "The Girl from Ipanema" -- though naturally in her whispery rendition she flips "girl" to "boy" -- and gives a fresh spin on Frank Sinatra's "Where or When." Watch Krall find bliss in Brazil » "There was something about turning 'Where or When' into a bossa nova that changes the feeling for me of the song," Krall said. "It's much more emotional than if I sang it in a swing feeling. I've always experimented with that." Krall brought arranger and conductor Claus Ogerman on board. He was a natural, having worked with Sinatra and Brazilian singer-songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim who wrote both "Ipanema" and "Corcovado." And Krall co-produced the album with frequent collaborator Tommy LiPuma. "One of the best parts of making a record is the dinner after where you all you go to the restaurant, you decompress, have some great wine and just tell stories and listen to Claus and Tommy and [engineer] Al Schmidt and all these people telling amazing stories," says Krall. Diana Krall recently sat down with CNN to share some stories of her own about a teenaged letter to Oscar Peterson, idolizing Harry Connick Jr. and Mickey Mouse pancakes. The following is an edited version of the interview. CNN: This is the first album you've made since becoming a mother. Does it feel different somehow? Diana Krall: I think [this album reflects my present] state of mind. It's not about loss, it's not preparing for loss. I'm not peeling grapes. Life has changed a lot and it's not just about performing and touring. It's motherhood and having a home for the first time, because I've always been on the road. So it's an incredible thing to be making Mickey Mouse pancakes in the morning while you're doing your interviews. CNN: You've been producing Barbara Streisand's new album. What has that been like? Krall: Incredible. I just am so thrilled with her performance on this album. [She gives] one of the most incredible performances I think of her career on a song called "You Must Believe in Spring" with a great pianist from New York named Phil Charlap. It's just piano and voice and it's so incredibly stunning. She said to me, "Maybe it needs some strings or something." I said "Don't touch it! Just leave it! It's gorgeous!" It's been great working artist to artist and we had a lot of fun. We played cards. So when there were moments in the studio where there was something technical that had to be fixed, we'd deal the cards and we'd play gin | [
"What instrument does she play?",
"Whose new album is she producing?",
"What is Diana Krall's new album?"
] | [
[
"piano"
],
[
"\"Quiet Nights,\""
],
[
"\"Quiet Nights,\""
]
] | Diana Krall's new album, "Quiet Nights," features bossa nova interpretations .
Singer-pianist is producing Barbara Streisand's new album .
She's doing what she loves; "How lucky am I?" she says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The members of the band Naturally 7 are experts at blowing their own horns -- and they do it without a trumpet or trombone in sight.
Naturally 7 engages in "vocal play" in performance, emulating the sounds of musical instruments.
In fact, you won't see a single instrument when they hit the stage. They are the instruments.
"People are always imitating instruments," said first baritone and arranger Roger Thomas. "People are driving; they hear their favorite song; it gets to the guitar solo part. ... They don't stop singing. They actually start imitating the instrument they hear. We just decided to be crazy enough to bring [that idea] to the stage."
The septet even came up with a name for it: "vocal play," a total reliance on the human voice to mimic a range of instruments and sounds, including the harmonica, bass guitar, trumpet and DJ scratches. Watch the band do its thing »
Warren Thomas takes beatboxing to a whole new level with his imitation of a drum kit, complete with snare. (He also impersonates a mean guitar.) Rod Eldridge has never played a real trumpet before, though you wouldn't think that if you saw him duplicate the sound of one, lips pursed, his hands in front of him, pressing on imaginary valves.
"To produce the sound, I have to visualize that I'm holding that instrument or whatever in my hand," he said.
Only one Naturally 7 member has ever played the instrument he imitates, and that's Armand "Hops" Hutton, who uses his incredibly deep voice -- you have to step closer when he speaks -- to portray a thumping bass guitar.
The group initially formed a decade ago in New York as an a cappella group (oh, yeah, they sing, too). But to make themselves stand out, Naturally 7 decided to be both a singing group and a band.
The concept caught on when video of them performing on a Paris subway -- to hilariously mixed reactions from Parisian commuters -- hit YouTube. It has racked up almost 3 million views. And standing ovations became a regular part of the group's experience touring as the opening act for crooner Michael Bublé in 2007 and 2008.
The musicians are about to embark on their own tour of Asia, Australia and Europe. With a recent performance of their aptly named song "Wall of Sound" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and a new album in the works, they hope to boost Naturally 7's profile in the United States over the next year.
Naturally 7 -- which also includes Jamal Reed, Dwight Stewart and Garfield Buckley -- spoke to CNN about the challenges of becoming instruments. The following is an edited version of the interview.
CNN: Traveling and sound checks must be very easy for you.
Roger Thomas: We don't have to lug around instruments with all the traveling we do, and that does make that part easier. The sound check part of actually becoming the band, where we're actually the singers and the instruments, that probably takes a longer time.
CNN: How so?
Thomas: I often call our sound man "Octopus Hands" because he's just got to do so many different things. We switch from being the backgrounds to being the lead vocals and then going back to doing a trombone. And these have different sounds and settings, so it's a lot of work on the performance side if we're using microphones.
CNN: Are your "instruments" ever out of tune?
Rod Eldridge: Every now and then. It is the voice, and if you're suffering and you have a cold, its not like you can have a guy come in and [say], "Oh, let me change my guitar string out." It's a human thing. Every now and then, you're not as perfect as you would like, but you are always working at it.
CNN: Are you continually adding new instruments? | [
"How many page views did the group get?",
"what kind of music do they play",
"Naturally 7 is a what?",
"who received 3 million page views?"
] | [
[
"almost 3 million"
],
[
"\"vocal play\""
],
[
"band"
],
[
"Naturally 7"
]
] | Naturally 7 is a seven-man band that sounds like musical instruments .
Video of group on YouTube received 3 million page views .
Touring with Michael Bublé helped band make new fans . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The missing engine from a US Airways jet that ditched in the Hudson River was recovered Friday, more than a week after the crash landing. A jet engine lost after Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River is hoisted from the water Friday. Icy conditions and strong currents hampered efforts to locate and raise the plane's left engine, which apparently tore from the Airbus A320 when it hit the water in an emergency landing January 15. The engine was found Wednesday in about 50 feet of water. The divers who found it reported that it was in one piece, said New Jersey State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones. A crane brought the engine up Friday afternoon as daylight began to fade. It was placed on a barge and hauled to the New Jersey side of the river, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was supervising the recovery. Watch the engine pulled from Hudson River » After an initial examination at the site, the engine will be shipped with the plane's other engine to the manufacturer, where "the NTSB will supervise and direct a complete tear-down of each engine," NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said. The right engine was still attached to the plane when it was pulled from the Hudson last week. It will be at least next week before any information from the initial examination is released, Knudson said. Investigators said this week that they found a single feather and evidence of "soft-body impact damage" on the aircraft. The find reinforces the pilot's report that the plane was brought down by a flock of birds. Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, 58, told investigators that his aircraft struck birds, disabling both engines, about 90 seconds after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York. Map » The feather, found on a flap track on the wing, was sent to identification experts at the Smithsonian Institution, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Samples of what appears to be organic material found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, a pilot program involving "birdstrike avoidance" radar systems will be expanded to include LaGuardia, said a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. See authorities' efforts to retrieve plane » The Air Force has been using such systems at its bases for years, and last year the Port Authority -- which operates five metropolitan New York airports -- struck an agreement with the Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration to install the bird-detecting system at John F. Kennedy International Airport. In the wake of the US Airways crash-landing, that program will be expanded to include LaGuardia and Newark International airports within a few months, according to Pasquale DiFulco, spokesman for the Port Authority. Newly released video captured seconds after the Airbus A320 ditched in the Hudson River showed passengers trying to flee the aircraft almost immediately after it settled in the water and began to float along the river current. All 155 crew members and passengers on the plane survived the incident, which Gov. David Paterson dubbed a "miracle on the Hudson." The video, which the Con Edison utility company released Thursday, first shows a long wake behind the plane before zooming in on the aircraft. Steam surrounds the plane as it floats with a slow counterclockwise twist. An exit hatch opens on the plane's left side, and several people file out onto one of the plane's wings. Seconds later, an inflatable evacuation ramp extends from the opposite side of the plane. Watch their escape » Passengers run onto the plane's other wing as the aircraft floats off-screen for a few seconds. The camera jerks, and when the plane reappears, passengers can be seen at the bottom of the inflatable ramp. Some passengers jump into the water, which was a chilly 41 degrees when the plane splashed down on the afternoon of January 15. Within minutes, a ferry and other boats come into the picture and begin to take the people aboard. The | [
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"What did the video show?",
"Where is the Hudson River?",
"Evidence of what kind of impact found on plane?",
"Why did the plane crash-land?",
"What was recovered from the Hudson?",
"How many passengers jumped into the river?",
"Where was the engine recovered from?",
"What does the video show?",
"What was recovered from the Hudson?",
"What did evidence found on the aircraft point to?",
"What river did the passengers jump into?",
"What plane part was recovered drom the river?",
"What was hauled to the New Jersey riverbank?",
"Where was the engine hauled?",
"What airline did the plane that crashed belong to?"
] | [
[
"US Airways"
],
[
"US Airways"
],
[
"showed passengers trying to flee the aircraft almost immediately after it settled in the water and began to float along the river current."
],
[
"New Jersey"
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[
"\"soft-body"
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[
"aircraft struck birds, disabling both engines,"
],
[
"The missing engine"
],
[
"Some"
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[
"Hudson River"
],
[
"showed passengers trying to flee the aircraft almost immediately after it settled in the water and began to float along the river current."
],
[
"missing engine"
],
[
"the plane was brought down by a flock of birds."
],
[
"Hudson"
],
[
"left engine,"
],
[
"missing engine from a US Airways jet"
],
[
"to the New Jersey side of the river,"
],
[
"US Airways"
]
] | Missing engine recovered from Hudson, hauled to New Jersey riverbank .
Video shows at least two passengers jump off plane's wings into chilly Hudson River .
Single feather and evidence of "soft-body impact damage" found on plane .
US Airways flight crash-landed in river after reportedly hitting flock of birds . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The mother of a 17-year-old girl who disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has identified her daughter on grainy hotel surveillance video.
Brittanee Marie Drexel's mother on Friday confirmed it was her daughter seen in a hotel surveillance video.
"When I saw her profile it was confirmed," Dawn Drexel said Friday on "Nancy Grace."
Drexel's daughter, Brittanee, was last seen on Saturday, several days after she traveled to Myrtle Beach against her mother's wishes.
In the video, a girl wearing shorts and flip-flops walks in and later out of the doors of a hotel on Saturday evening. Brittanee Drexel supposedly was on her way to meet friends at another hotel nearby. Watch her mom talk about spotting her »
Meanwhile, Myrtle Beach Police reportedly have shifted some search efforts about 40 miles to Georgetown County, based on tips. But there is still no sign of the high school junior from Rochester, New York.
Dawn Drexel said she had forbidden her daughter to go to Myrtle Beach, a popular destination for high school and college spring break. But Brittanee and her friends apparently drove the 850 miles to the coastal city anyway. Drexel said her daughter had about $100 with her.
Although they stayed in touch by phone and spoke on Saturday, Drexel said she believed the girl was calling from Rochester when she was actually in Myrtle Beach.
Drexel has now gone to the city where her daughter was last seen, helping in the search for Brittanee.
"We're going to all of the businesses and restaurants on Ocean Boulevard," Drexel said, but she admitted that she is concerned something may have happened to her daughter.
"I just have a gut feeling that because the stories don't match, things aren't making sense to me," Drexel said, referring to reported contradictions in the information Brittanee's friends have given police.
Authorities have not named any suspects or persons of interest in the case. | [
"What day was Brittanee Drexel last seen at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina?",
"Who was last seen Saturday?",
"Who tells CNN about forbidding the daughter?",
"when was she last seen",
"what does mom confirm",
"What did the mom confirm on a hotel surveillance video?"
] | [
[
"Saturday,"
],
[
"Brittanee Marie Drexel's"
],
[
"Dawn Drexel"
],
[
"Saturday,"
],
[
"it was her daughter seen in a hotel surveillance video."
],
[
"it was her daughter"
]
] | Mom confirms that her daughter is the girl seen in a hotel surveillance video .
Brittanee Drexel, 17, was last seen Saturday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina .
Dawn Drexel tells CNN she forbade daughter to go to resort city during spring break .
Mom has arrived in Myrtle Beach to assist police in search for her daughter. |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The number of homicides in New York City rose about four percent in 2008 compared with the previous year, preliminary figures from the city's police department showed.
There were 516 homicides in New York City in 2008, according to preliminary police figures.
The NYPD's CompStat data showed 516 homicides in the city last year, up from 496 in 2007.
That's still a dramatic change from 1990, when 2,262 homicides earned New York the title of "murder capital" of the nation.
Though the figures are subject to change, the 2008 tally also represents a drop from the 596 homicides investigated in New York in 2006.
The NYPD, which began compiling the report in 1963, cited its Operation Impact as a chief reason for the improvement in recent years.
The operation places more uniformed officers in concentrated areas where crime rates are high, the NYPD said. | [
"who cites operation impact for improvement?",
"when That's still a dramatic change?",
"where were uniformed officers deployed?",
"How many homicides was in 1990?",
"where The operation places more uniformed officers?",
"Where was 516 homicides?"
] | [
[
"The NYPD,"
],
[
"1990,"
],
[
"in concentrated areas"
],
[
"2,262"
],
[
"in concentrated areas"
],
[
"New York City"
]
] | There were 516 homicides in the city last year, up from 496 in 2007 .
That's still a dramatic change from 1990, when there were 2,262 homicides .
The NYPD cites its Operation Impact as a chief reason for the improvement .
The operation places more uniformed officers in areas where crime rates are high . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The numbers were good for "Knowing." In "Knowing," a physics professor (Nicolas Cage) ponders patterns in a list of numbers. The film, about a physics professor who sees clues for disastrous events in a time capsule's list of digits, overcame some pretty long odds at the box office -- going against the Paul Rudd-Jason Segel comedy "I Love You, Man," the Julia Roberts-Clive Owen romantic thriller "Duplicity" and some fairly scathing reviews -- to emerge as the weekend's No. 1 film. Though star Nicolas Cage wouldn't have predicted the outcome, in an interview before the film's release, he did talk about the power of positive thinking. "I'm a huge believer of the human spirit," he told CNN. "I think people are amazing. I think what we have accomplished is incredible. ... If you think positive and you apply the guts and ingenuity that mankind has been doing forever, at least in our existence, I believe we get through anything." Cage's character, John Koestler, is a science professor whom Cage describes as "someone who is reawakening to his faith." He begins the film believing that everything is random, but as the film continues -- and he seeks to alert the world of a coming catastrophe -- "he believes there is cause and effect and perhaps even a divine mind," Cage said. The film begins in 1959, with students burying items in a time capsule at an elementary school. One of the children, however, creates an image of seemingly random numbers. Fifty years later, when the capsule is opened, Koestler's son receives the page of numbers, and his father realizes that they correspond to major disasters of the past half-century. Koestler determines that three events have yet to occur and sets out to meet the clairvoyant child's now grown daughter. The final event threatens life on Earth itself, and the group begins a race against time, with unusual consequences. Critics were not impressed. The film earned a 25 percent rating on the review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, with some reviewers in full-on mockery mode. Watch Mr. Moviefone review "Knowing" and other films » "It's increasingly hard to believe that Cage won an Oscar in 1996 (for 'Leaving Las Vegas')," wrote USA Today's Claudia Puig in a 1½-star review. "In the past decade, he has made some awful choices, and his range has seemed to grow more limited." "It's so inept that you may wish you were watching an M. Night Shyamalan version of the very same premise," wrote Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman, referring to the director whose last two films, "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening," were two of the most detested films of recent years. But the film's apocalyptic theme obviously strikes a chord, something director Alex Proyas ("Dark City") saw early on. Proyas told CNN in a pre-release interview that "you can read [the film] as biblical if you choose to," but he prefers to see it as "spiritual." "I try to leave it very open-ended," he said. "I try to think of it as more a spiritual place than a biblical one." Cage's character, he said, is on a spiritual quest in the midst of what could be global destruction. Rose Byrne, who plays the clairvoyant child's daughter, Diana, called the film "kind of a theological discussion." "That's always an exciting topic," she said. "It's bridging the gap between science and spirituality. That always makes things thought-provoking, and I like that with any piece of art." Byrne said that "Knowing" taps into some of the end-times anxiety that's been in the air in recent years, which perhaps could help find an audience. (As she was talking before the film's release, she did | [
"Who stars in the film?",
"What was the weekend's number 1 film?",
"What themes are in the film?",
"What themes does \"Knowing\" tap into?",
"What was the weekend's number one film?",
"Who starts in \"Knowing\"?",
"Who was the leading male star in the film \"Knowing\"?",
"What was the No. 1 film?",
"What was the name of the weekend's No. 1 film?",
"What does the film tap into?",
"Who was the star of the movie?",
"Who is the star of the movie?",
"What are the most prominent characters?"
] | [
[
"(Nicolas"
],
[
"\"Knowing,\""
],
[
"apocalyptic"
],
[
"apocalyptic"
],
[
"\"Knowing,\""
],
[
"(Nicolas"
],
[
"(Nicolas"
],
[
"\"Knowing,\""
],
[
"\"Knowing.\""
],
[
"some of the end-times anxiety"
],
[
"Nicolas Cage"
],
[
"Cage)"
],
[
"science professor"
]
] | "Knowing" was weekend's No. 1 film .
Apocalyptic thriller stars Nicolas Cage as professor who sees clues in numbers .
Film taps into themes of religion, spirituality, end-times concerns, say makers . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The regional airline involved in a fatal February plane crash outside Buffalo, New York, contested a report Monday alleging the pilot did not have the training to handle the emergency that brought the plane down, and that he might have been fatigued on the night of the crash. Debris is cleared from the scene of Flight 3407's crash near Buffalo, New York, in February. Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by regional carrier Colgan Air, plunged into a house in Clarence Center, New York, on the night of February 12, killing all 49 on board as well as one man in the house. In a story Monday, The Wall Street Journal cited investigators as saying the crash resulted from pilot Marvin Renslow's incorrect response to the plane's precarious drop in speed: He overrode an emergency system known as a "stick pusher," which sends the plane into a dive so it can regain speed and avoid a stall. The Journal's report said Colgan had not provided Renslow with hands-on flight-simulator training for a stick-pusher emergency. Colgan, in rebuttal, issued a statement saying Renslow had received classroom instruction for such an emergency. Watch a Colgan official respond to questions » The company also emphasized that the Federal Aviation Administration does not require pilots to receive a stick-pusher demonstration in a flight simulator. "The FAA generally trains to standards of routine line operations. They don't focus on the edges of the envelope," stall recovery expert Doug Moss told CNN. Colgan further admitted that during his career, Renslow failed five "check rides" -- occasional tests of pilot proficiency -- including two that Colgan said he did not disclose on his application with the airline. His most recent failed check ride occurred 16 months before the crash. "In the cases while with Colgan, he received additional training and successfully passed the check rides," the airline said. Colgan stressed that despite his performance on check rides, Renslow nonetheless ultimately passed his pilot exams and had "all the training and experience to safely operate the Q400," the airplane involved in the crash. Colgan further insisted that pilot fatigue was not a factor in the crash, noting that Renslow had "nearly 22 consecutive hours of time off before he reported for duty on the day of the accident." In its statement, Colgan did not specifically address potential illness-related fatigue in 24-year-old co-pilot Rebecca Shaw, who, according to The Wall Street Journal report, said before takeoff that she probably should have called in sick. The National Transportation Safety Board begins a three-day hearing on the crash on Tuesday. Renslow's history as well as pilot training broadly will be examined. | [
"Flight 3407 crashed where?",
"What was the flight number?",
"What did Wall Street Journal say about the pilot?",
"How many people died?",
"What was the pilot's name?",
"Who was the flight operator?",
"What was the airline?",
"Where did flight 3407 crash?"
] | [
[
"near Buffalo, New York,"
],
[
"3407's"
],
[
"Marvin Renslow's incorrect response to the plane's precarious drop in speed: He overrode an emergency system known as a \"stick pusher,\" which sends the plane into a dive so it can regain speed and avoid a stall."
],
[
"49"
],
[
"Marvin Renslow's"
],
[
"Colgan Air,"
],
[
"Colgan Air,"
],
[
"near Buffalo, New York,"
]
] | Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo in February; 50 people died .
Wall Street Journal report says pilot didn't have hands-on flight-simulator training .
Colgan Air says Marvin Renslow got FAA-required classroom instruction .
Colgan, operator of flight, also insists pilot fatigue wasn't a factor in crash . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The son of the late Gambino family crime boss John Gotti is set to stand trial in federal court in New York on Monday on murder and racketeering charges that could put him in prison for life if he is convicted. 'Junior' Gotti's lawyer, Charles Carnesi, talks with reporters outside the federal courthouse. Three previous racketeering trials against John "Junior" Gotti, 45, have ended in mistrials in New York. The government says it has learned since his previous trial, "that Gotti had participated in three murders, that Gotti had run a multi-million dollar cocaine trafficking network, that Gotti had overseen a systematic effort to tamper with trial juries, grand juries and witnesses, and that Gotti had participated in various other violent crimes," according to court documents filed by prosecutors. The defense claims the newest round of charges is part of the government's ongoing quest to convict Gotti. The current case was moved to New York in December from Florida, where the original indictment was handed up. A superseding indictment was filed in the case on August 3. In the first indictment, Gotti was only charged with violating the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. The superseding indictment formally charged Gotti with the drug-related murders of two men -- allegations mentioned as part of the first indictment -- along with the RICO charge. The RICO law is used to target organized crime groups -- in this case, the Gambino crime family. Gotti's defense attorneys, however, allege in court filings that "the prosecution has engaged in a 'win at all costs' campaign riddled with misconduct." "The prosecution charges the same conspiracy, albeit with new garnishments," said one filing from July. "After having received frustrating results in three separate trials, the case was hijacked to the Middle District of Florida in a shameful attempt to forum shop or judge shop or both." Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, say in court filings that Gotti's allegations he is a victim of a government vendetta are unfounded. Since Gotti's previous trials, prosecutors maintain, they have "uncovered extensive new evidence of Gotti's criminal conduct in the course of investigating and prosecuting another Gambino family captain." The indictment alleges that Gotti was at times an "associate, soldier, captain and de facto boss" in the Gambino family, and also served on a "committee of captains" formed in the early 1990s to assist in family administration. "The principal purpose of the GCF (Gambino crime family) Enterprise was to generate money ... for the GCF Enterprise members," the indictment says. "This purpose was implemented," the indictment continued, "through various criminal activities, including criminal acts involving the felonious manufacturing, importing, receiving, concealing, buying, selling and otherwise dealing in narcotics and other dangerous drugs, extortion, armed and unarmed robbery, armed home invasions, illegal gambling, extortionate credit transactions, theft and bribery." To further their activities, family members threatened and caused economic injury, the indictment says, as well as threatening and using physical violence "ranging from simple assault to murder." The two murders Gotti is charged with are those of George Grosso, who died in December 1988 in Queens, and Bruce John Gotterup, slain in November 1991 in Queens. The indictment also accuses Gotti in connection with a third murder, that of Louis DiBono in October 1990 in the parking garage of the former World Trade Center, but does not allege that murder was drug-related. Although the murder charges carry a potential death sentence, prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty against Gotti. The trial will be the latest chapter in a long legal saga. In late 2006, a third mistrial was declared in a federal case against Gotti on charges including racketeering and extortion. Prosecutors said they would not retry Gotti, who was accused of ordering attacks on radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa after the Guardian Angels founder criticized Gotti's father on his program. Sliwa was shot three times but recovered and testified against the | [
"Who is Junior Gotti the son of?",
"Where was the original indictment filed?",
"When is Gotti scheduled for trial?",
"Who is Gotti's attorney?",
"Who is set to go on trial in federal court?"
] | [
[
"John"
],
[
"Florida,"
],
[
"Monday"
],
[
"Charles Carnesi,"
],
[
"The son of the late Gambino family crime boss John Gotti"
]
] | Junior Gotti, son of late "Teflon Don," set to go on trial in federal court .
Gotti is accused of racketeering, participating in two drug murders .
Original indictment was filed in Tampa, Florida; case moved to New York .
Gotti's lawyers say case is part of government effort to convict him at any cost . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The venerable CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" will go dark in September after 72 years and 16,000 episodes, the network announced Wednesday.
Gina Tognoni is one of many performers who have appeared on "Guiding Light" over the years.
The daytime drama'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 as 15-minute drama. It later went to 30 minutes, and on November 7, 1977, it expanded to one hour and introduced the wealthy Spaulding family as foils to the show's middle-class Bauers, who were a mainstay of the show for much of its run.
In 1979, the show did a groundbreaking storyline when the character of Roger Thorpe (played by the late Michael Zaslow) raped his wife, Holly (Maureen Garrett).
The marital-rape story line reflected a significant real-life case in 1978 -- the state of Oregon v. John J. Rideout. It was the first time in modern U.S. history that a man was charged with raping his wife and then put on trial. It prompted national debate about whether a man had absolute sexual rights with his spouse. Rideout was acquitted.
Among the actors who went on to greater fame after roles on the show: Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones and Taye Diggs.
The last episode is set to air on September 18, the spokeswoman said. The show is produced in New York. | [
"When was the last episode?",
"When did \"Guiding Light\" debut?",
"Where did \"Guiding Light\" debut on?",
"Where did the show move to?",
"What was the length of the serial?",
"When will the last episode air?"
] | [
[
"September 18,"
],
[
"1937"
],
[
"NBC radio"
],
[
"CBS network"
],
[
"72 years"
],
[
"September 18,"
]
] | "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 .
Kevin Bacon among the stars who got their start on show . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- They've been called "bromances": those buddy films and TV shows, such as the movies "Pineapple Express" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," that feature non-sexual but deep friendships between two or more males. Jason Segel and Paul Rudd star in "I Love You, Man," which opens Friday. The forthcoming "I Love You, Man," which opens Friday, appears to fit the bill. In the film, Paul Rudd plays a man who needs a best man for his wedding but has never made any male friends. Enter Jason Segel as Sydney Fife, whom Rudd's character, Peter Klaven, pursues on several "man-dates" that end up threatening his relationship with his fiancée (Rashida Jones). But don't call the film a "bromance" in the presence of Rudd and Segel. "We hate that word," Segel told CNN. "It was not part of the lexicon while we were filming," added Rudd. Still, both actors have plenty of experience in the, uh, guy-pal genre. Rudd has been in several comedies written, directed or produced by Judd Apatow, considered one of the leaders of the "bromance" trend with his softer, more openly emotional male characters. Segel has also been in Apatow projects -- including last year's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" -- and he stars in the TV series "How I Met Your Mother," which finds plenty of humor in male bonding. Segel observes that what helps the films work is the discomfort of two men trying to talk about their emotions while hoping to maintain a dispassionate, hard-edged, prototypically manly façade. And he knows he's good at bringing out that discomfort in his co-stars. "Judd Apatow told me that my special skill was that I am able to maintain my likability while getting incredibly close to the creepy line, and that's what I should try to cultivate," he said. "That's what he does," Rudd noted. "He just holds [the moment] a little too long." "It's the fraction of a second too long that makes people uncomfortable," Segel added. In "I Love You, Man," Segel's character is rougher and looser than his characters in "Sarah Marshall" and "How I Met Your Mother." He welcomed the change. "It was a real treat for me, to be honest for a minute, to play this character, because I've played sort of a puppy dog guy in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall,' and on ['Mother'] I play a husband, you know, a loving husband," he said. "So to get to play a character who is a bit more of a man of mystery was very exciting for me." In real life, claims Segel, he even has a man cave. "It's filled with puppets," he said. "And I keep wondering why I don't have a girlfriend. I'm like, 'hey, this is my house; come check it out. This is where I keep my 40 puppets.' ... I think that I have a reputation for being weird because of that." But he quickly turns serious and maintains that "I Love You, Man" does have a message to go along with its comedy. "I think we both had something to learn from each other," he said. "Paul's character had to learn that it's all right to take a little distance from your significant other and have some dude friends and someone to vent to about things you can't necessarily talk about with your girl." "Sometimes buddies hold a mirror up to the way you behave in ways that relationships with the opposite sex don't," Rudd said. "Yeah, and my character had to learn that maybe it's time to grow up a little bit," Segel added. So, this " | [
"The comedy makes serious points about what?",
"What are two men trying?",
"What is the name of the comedy?",
"What are the names of the stars?",
"What term do they not like?"
] | [
[
"\"Paul's character had to learn that it's all right to take a little distance from your significant other"
],
[
"to talk about their emotions while hoping to maintain a dispassionate, hard-edged, prototypically manly façade."
],
[
"\"I Love You, Man,\""
],
[
"Jason Segel"
],
[
"\"bromance\""
]
] | "I Love You, Man" stars Paul Rudd, Jason Segel as two men trying friendship .
Neither Rudd nor Segel likes the term "bromance"
Comedy makes some serious points about friendship, Segel says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- They've been teasing and tantalizing female readers with images of muscular men oozing sensuality and the pretty women they are destined to save and then fall in love with. The "beefcakes and bodices" book covers have helped Harlequin sell their romance novels for more than half a century. Powerful men and demure women were stock in trade in early Harlequin novels. "It's always great to feel like you're the girl in the book and the handsome guy is coming to rescue you," said Liz Lenz, 25, who has been reading Harlequin novels since she was a teen. "It's always fun for the reader." Those covers also seduced Winnipeg, Canada, teacher Louann Bergen. "There's usually good-looking males on the covers or something intriguing to make you want to read more," she said. "I guess they change with the times, but they still have that same allure and that same passion behind them." As sort of a 60th anniversary gift to its faithful readers, Harlequin is displaying original artwork for its covers in an New York exhibit called "The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009." And before you sniff disdainfully at romance novel art, be reminded: That artwork sells a lot of books. Romance fiction is responsible for $1.375 billion in book sales every year, according to Romance Writers of America. The organization says more than a quarter of all books sold are romance novels, satisfying 51 million readers every year. The Harlequin exhibit comes from boxes and boxes of old novels that employees discovered at the company's headquarters in Toronto, Canada. "I pawed through literally thousands of paintings," curator Elizabeth Semmelhack said, adding that she saw apparent shifts in women's historical desires began to emerge. Watch the curator discuss some favorites » "Rather than being retardataire [outdated], many of these images are extremely cutting edge," she said. "There are images of women doctors before women were really embraced by the workplace. There are women who are adventuring around the world before independence is really part of women's culture." Many early Harlequin covers, like that of Elizabeth Houghton's "Island Hospital," in which a man, woman and grizzly bear stand poised in confrontation, depict more than one (fully clothed) character in the crux of a suspenseful moment. "You don't know, is the couple going to get together? Is the hero going to save the heroine? The happy ending is not on the cover," Semmelhack explained. The illustrations have changed their tone over the years. Where cover art used to hint at psychological intrigue, it's grown to instead promise a passionate physical conclusion. "From the earliest covers, there's sort of an implied sexual tension, but there isn't much direct imaging of passion. That doesn't happen until the late '70s and into the '80s," she said. "By the time you hit the sexual revolution and passion becomes of primary importance on these covers, then that lover's embrace in many ways signals the happy ending right there on the front of the book." And in recent decades, the once revolutionary depictions of the lovers' raw embrace have been reduced further. "Today, covers might just be the undressed male body. He might even be headless. He's so truncated that all you're doing is looking at the object of desire, his masculinity." Although Harlequin romances are predominantly written for and read by women, according to Semmelhack, the majority of the publisher's cover illustration artists have been male. "It is interesting that you have men imaging female desire," she said. "It seems to work; the books certainly sell." This year, Harlequin books, which publishes 1,200 new titles annually, reported first quarter earnings up more than 13 percent. Debbie Macomber, who has published 153 books since 1983 -- and is most recently author of a May New York Times Harlequin best-seller, "Summer | [
"What do readers say?",
"Where does the exhibition took place?",
"who displays half a century of romance book covers in New York?",
"what reader says about books?",
"Where is the event?",
"Who said books still have that same allure and that same passion?",
"who go from psychological intrigue to passionate physical conclusion?"
] | [
[
"\"It's always great to feel like you're the girl in the book and the handsome guy is coming to rescue you,\""
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"Harlequin"
],
[
"\"It's always fun for the reader.\""
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"Louann Bergen."
],
[
"cover art"
]
] | Decades of busting bodices, bulging biceps, intrigue and glamour in exhibition .
Harlequin displays half a century of romance book covers in New York .
Curator: Covers go from psychological intrigue to passionate physical conclusion .
Reader says books "still have that same allure and that same passion" |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Thirty people joined National Park Service rangers Saturday in climbing to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, the first tourists to go into the landmark's crown since the 9/11 attacks. Chris Bartnick, 46, and daughter Aleyna, 8, of Merrick, New York, look out from the statue's crown on Saturday. The New York Harbor monument was closed after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for safety and security reasons, the Interior Department said. "Once again, Americans can climb to Lady Liberty's crown and gaze out over New York Harbor, where so many of our ancestors first saw the New World and first breathed the fresh air of freedom," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said as he welcomed visitors back on the Fourth of July holiday. "This is a celebration of America and the joy of being an American." Visitors on Saturday were grateful they could go inside the landmark. "It's just basically safety for our country and at least they opened it," visitor Ira Semapadilla told CNN affiliate NY1 before the visit. "That's one thing that I was like, wow, I'm never going to experience it. ... They ruined it for us. "Now that it's going to open again I'm excited, and I'm just really looking forward to being in there." Watch as CNN's Susan Candiotti treks to top » Gov. David Paterson, D-New York, Gov. Jon Corzine, D-New Jersey, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Salazar at the reopening ceremony. Even with the reopening of the monument, only a rare few will get to scale the 354 steps to the crown. Only 10 visitors are permitted to ascend the steps at any one time, meaning about 240 people can make the climb during the park's 8:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. hours of operation. The opportunity to climb Lady Liberty will end again in two years, when work will begin on further safety and security upgrades. | [
"When was it closed?",
"Who made the climb to reopen the crown?",
"Who said the reopening was a celebration of America?",
"What monument was closed?",
"What is a celebration?",
"What did the Interior say?",
"How many people made the climb to the crown?",
"What was closed in New York Harbor since the 9/11 attacks?",
"What has been closed since the 9/11 attacks?"
] | [
[
"after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon"
],
[
"Thirty people joined National Park Service rangers"
],
[
"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar"
],
[
"the Statue of Liberty,"
],
[
"Statue of Liberty,"
],
[
"The New York Harbor monument was closed after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for safety and security reasons,"
],
[
"Thirty"
],
[
"Lady Liberty's crown"
],
[
"Statue of Liberty,"
]
] | Monument in New York Harbor closed since 9/11 attacks .
Thirty people make climb to reopened crown .
"This is a celebration of America," Interior secretary says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- This classic chant of "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" -- barked out by battalions of newsboys hawking newspapers -- died decades ago, a casualty of home delivery, mass distribution and the advent of coin-operated newspaper machines. Some coin-operated newspaper machines have lasted for 30 years, but lack of sales may force their retirement. But now as newspapers across the country wage a battle to survive in a market where readers are increasingly gravitating to the Internet for information, the fate of another industry fixture seems inevitable. Could those steel machines on street corners, distributing newspapers since the '50s, be headed for the scrap pile? To begin to answer the question, all it takes is an early morning visit with a man who feeds those machines. It's 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday, and a white delivery truck for the New Jersey Record has just pulled into the parking lot outside the Plaza Diner in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The driver -- Mike, who asked that his last name not be used -- is at one of his 130 stops on an eight-hour shift that began at midnight. Mike's job, which takes less than a couple of minutes per stop, entails filling the coin-operated machine with the day's papers, collecting unsold copies and emptying the machine of its coins. Even though Mike has a full schedule and lots of stops, it doesn't equate to pushing as many papers as he once did. Mike loads 15 copies of the Record into one machine -- and that's a good load, he says. Other locations receive only five to seven copies. He's also tasked with filling machines for USA Today. Though he's been on this job for only two years, Mike has been on the route long enough to know business is down. He says newspapers sell better at train stations than from the street machines he services. The demise of newspapers across the country is getting a lot of front-page headlines. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in Washington was just one of the most recent victims, ceasing print publication in March as declining circulation and plummeting advertising sales forced it to retrench and become just an online provider of journalism. Even the legendary New York Times will force readers to dig deeper for more coins as it raises prices June 1, with the price of a paper going from $1.50 to $2. The publication that touts "All The News That's Fit to Print" has been relying less on newspaper racks. In 1999, the Times had 13,300 vending machines, but today that number has shrunk to 5,678, according to Diane McNulty, spokeswoman for the Times. "One of the factors is home delivery," McNulty said, adding, "This was due to our national expansion -- where once many readers could only get copies from the newsstand or vending machine, they can now enjoy home delivery service." But all the gloom-and-doom predictions that newspapers will one day disappear isn't scaring workers at the Kaspar Sho-Rack Company, based in Shiner, Texas. The company lays claim to being the world's largest manufacturer of coin-operated and no-charge newspaper vending machines. Don Kaspar is president and a fourth-generation member of a family business that began in 1898 manufacturing wire products. "There'll be printed newspapers for years and years" said Kaspar, president of a company that is actually part of the larger Kaspar Wireworks. Still, he concedes, "Business is down about 25 to 30 percent from about five years ago." It wasn't until the late 1950s that the privately owned company was approached by the now defunct San Antonio Light newspaper to develop an early version of coin-operated newspaper machines. The early versions of newspaper machines were simple and made mostly of wire, but by the mid-1960s they were all made of metal. The machines typically consist of a thick metal housing, shelves, doors and hinges. But the heart of any machine is the coin mechanism, which can have 150 moving parts | [
"Where is company that makes the machines based?",
"What will be printed for years and years",
"Who makes machines",
"Where do fewer customers buy from?",
"What state is the company from",
"Where do newspapers sell better?",
"Where are more newspaper sold then with street machines?",
"Who says newspapers sell better from train stations ?",
"Who says business is down?",
"Where is the machine maker located?",
"Where do newspapers sell better?",
"What is the main subject of this article?"
] | [
[
"Shiner, Texas."
],
[
"newspapers"
],
[
"Kaspar Sho-Rack Company,"
],
[
"street machines he services."
],
[
"Texas."
],
[
"at train stations"
],
[
"train stations"
],
[
"Mike"
],
[
"Mike"
],
[
"Shiner, Texas."
],
[
"train stations"
],
[
"distributing newspapers"
]
] | Fewer customers buy from coin-operated newspaper machines .
Delivery man says newspapers sell better from train stations than street machines .
Texas company that makes the machines says business is down .
"There'll be printed newspapers for years and years," firm's president says . |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel, police said.
A large crowd at the Park Central New York hotel got unruly Saturday during a "Top Model" audition.
Six people were injured, and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said.
Police said they didn't know what provoked the bedlam.
Three people were charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot in connection with the incident at the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan.
The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said.
Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned on Saturday.
The "Top Model" competition, hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks and aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle. | [
"What is the number of people arrested?",
"What network does the show air on?",
"Where was the audition being held?",
"What city held the auditions?",
"Who hosted the competition?",
"Where was the audition held?"
] | [
[
"Three"
],
[
"the CW"
],
[
"New York hotel,"
],
[
"New York"
],
[
"Tyra Banks"
],
[
"Park Central New York hotel"
]
] | Police: 3 people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at a TV show audition .
"America's Next Top Model" audition was being held at a New York hotel, police said .
Two people sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said .
"Top Model" competition is hosted by Tyra Banks and airs on CW network . |
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