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NewsQA
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(CNN) -- This week's shooting death and subsequent dragging of a black man in South Carolina are being investigated as a possible hate crime, the Newberry County Sheriff's Office said Friday.
Sheriff Lee Foster said the body of 30-year-old Anthony Hill was found early Wednesday on a road near an elementary school in the town of Pomaria, 35 miles west-northwest of Columbia.
Hill had a single gun shot wound to the head, his body was nearly nude and a rope was around his neck and upper torso, Foster said.
Foster said Hill's body -- which carried no identification -- was found around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday by a motorist, who called 911. Officers followed a trail of blood and human tissue nine miles to the trailer park where Hill's co-worker Gregory Collins lives, surrounded his trailer for nearly four hours and finally resorted to tear gas, Foster said. "He came outside and gave himself up," Foster added.
Collins, 19, who is white, is charged with murder. Both men worked in Newberry at the Louis Rich turkey processing plant, said Foster.
"They did know each other; they worked in the same industry, on the same shift but different divisions," said Foster. "Neighbors told us the two spent most of the day together Tuesday. They were seen on a porch drinking together."
Hill, an Army veteran who lived in the neighboring county of Fairfield, was estranged from his wife and had two children, Foster said.
Investigators have not concluded that the killing is a hate crime, but are looking at it as one, according to Foster. "We called the FBI out of an abundance of caution," he said. "We have no motive whatsoever as to why these two gentlemen would have been together, then one shoots the other in the head and drags him down the road. It's a horrific act of violence."
Collins, who is being held in the Newberry County Detention Center, has been assigned a public defender.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
|
3117079dfab440099784d1a42ebf3a00
|
Where both man worked?
|
[
"Louis Rich turkey processing plant,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Four men gathered in a parking lot were shot and killed Sunday in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and a warrant was issued for a suspect, police said.
"We don't feel that this was a random event, if that does help put the community at ease," Mount Airy Police Chief Dale Watson said at a news conference Sunday night.
He refused to elaborate or identify the victims except to say, "We do have an idea why they were there."
Watson described the victims as "four Hispanic males, all shot," from the surrounding Surry County area. He said two died at the scene while the other two were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Read local coverage from CNN affiliate WXII
The shooting occurred shortly after 2 p.m. ET in the parking lot of a store that sells satellite dish and cable TV equipment in the town, about 50 miles north of Winston-Salem.
Watson said an arrest warrant charging four counts of murder was issued for a suspect he identified as Marcos Chavez Gonzalez, 29. He said police believe the suspect fled the Mount Airy area in a pickup.
Watson said local and state authorities were searching for the suspect, who was considered "armed and dangerous ... he may be in the possession of an assault rifle."
|
8ea3fa84f78c4d2da3906a4c4e1924e9
|
What is the shooting suspect's name?
|
[
"Marcos Chavez Gonzalez,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The doctor who implanted six embryos in octuplets' mother Nadya Suleman last year has been expelled from a fertility medical society, a spokesman for the group said.
Nadya Suleman gave birth to eight babies after being implanted with six embryos by Dr. Michael Kamrava.
Dr. Michael Kamrava demonstrated "a pattern of behavior that violated the group's standards," American Society for Reproductive Medicine spokesman Sean Tipton said.
An employee at Kamrava's Beverly Hills, California, clinic -- the West Coast IVF Clinic -- said the doctor would not be commenting on the expulsion.
The expulsion, which was imposed last month and just announced, does not affect Kamrava's ability to practice, because affiliation with the professional association is voluntary.
Suleman was 33 years old in January 2009 when she gave birth to eight babies. She was a single woman who already had six young children conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
The reproductive medicine society recommends no more than two embryos for women under 35 years old and no more than five for women over 40, for whom it is harder to get pregnant, according to guidelines published on its Web site.
Suleman, in an interview in February on NBC, said Kamrava told her about risks for the children, but she did not want to have only one or two embryos implanted.
"Of course not, I wanted them all transferred," she said. "Those are my children. And that's what was available and I used them. I took a risk. It's a gamble. It always is."
Two of the six embryos split in utero, resulting in the birth of eight babies.
Doctors say giving birth to extreme multiples comes with tremendous risks for the mother and the babies. Risks for the children include bleeding in the brain, intestinal problems, developmental delays and lifelong learning disabilities.
Suleman's children, six boys and two girls born nine weeks premature, all went home after an extended stay in the hospital. No indication has been given on whether any problems have emerged.
Suleman and her children will star in a "quasi-reality TV series" about the family, it was announced in June.
CNN's Carey Bodenheimer contributed to this report.
|
1382907b130a4cd997203c8b12ce0296
|
Who did Kamrava implant with six embryos?
|
[
"Nadya Suleman"
] |
NewsQA
|
Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) -- Nepal's parliament on Sunday elected a leader of the former Maoist rebels as the new prime minister with a simple majority.
Baburam Bhattarai, 57, vice-chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will become the fourth prime minister since Nepal became a republic in 2008.
After his election Bhattarai said he would attempt to complete the peace process and the long-delayed new constitution.
Bhattarai received 340 votes in parliament, beating his rival Ram Chandra Poudel, 66, of the Nepali Congress, who received 235 votes.
Bhattarai, who has a degree in architecture and a doctorate in regional planning, was able to get the crucial support of the regional Madhesi parties from southern Nepal.
The 65 votes of the five parties of the Madhesi front were crucial for Bhattrai, whose party is the biggest in the 601-member parliament but lacks a majority.
Media reports say the Madhesi parties have been promised 12 ministerial posts in exchange for their support.
Bhattari is the second leader of the former rebels to become prime minister.
The Maoists became the biggest party in the 2008 elections and their chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was prime minister for nine months. He resigned in a dispute with the president, who reinstated an army chief Dahal had fired.
Earlier this month Jhalanath Khanal resigned as prime minister after he was unable to persuade the former Maoist rebels to demobilize and reintegrate their fighters in a deal that was agreeable to the other political parties.
The Maoists fought a ten-year insurgency from 1996 to 2006 in which about 16,000 people were killed.
According to the peace deal that ended the uprising, 19,602 United Nations-verified combatants should be integrated into the security forces, but the political parties are yet to agree on the number and the method.
Nepal also faces the challenge of preparing a republican constitution and political parties have twice extended the deadline to prepare the constitution.
The new deadline expires on Wednesday and political parties look likely to have to come to an agreement to extend the deadline a third time.
|
447d089a3b11478ea3de79a0894958d7
|
Who won a majority
|
[
"Baburam Bhattarai,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Tenino, Washington (CNN) -- Authorities in Alaska are examining two wolves to see if they are the animals that killed a jogger last week, said a wildlife biologist investigating the attack.
The two gray wolves were tracked down Monday and shot to death from a helicopter near the town of Chignik Lake, Alaska, said wildlife biologist Lem Butler.
The wolves are suspected of killing special-education teacher Candice Berner last week. Berner, 32, was attacked while jogging near the town, authorities said.
"We had a systematic search," he said. "These were the only two wolves we could find tracks for."
The wolves appeared to be the same ones that left tracks at the scene of the attack, and they matched witnesses' descriptions of the animals seen near Berner's body, Butler said.
Officials will conduct tests on the wolves' carcasses to determine whether they killed Berner, Butler said.
The carcasses will also be examined to see whether the animals were rabid or starving, or suffering from some condition that led them to attack a human, he said.
The rare wolf attack shook Chignik Lake, population 105.
"We see wolves a lot," said Johnny Lind, president of the Village Council. "But we've never had anything like this happen."
The killing is thought to be only the second fatal wolf attack in North America in more than a century. In 2005, a wolf pack killed a geology student in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Wolves typically avoid human contact and do not threaten people, said John Blankenship, executive director of Wolf Haven.
"They are not human predators. It's healthy to have awareness of them, for sure. But to be afraid of them is too strong an emotion," he said.
Wolf Haven in Tenino educates the public about wolves and serves as a haven for about 50 rescued wolves, many of them once kept as pets.
|
a0cde88da40f454895dc4502f0febc06
|
Where did the attacks occur?
|
[
"near the town of Chignik Lake, Alaska,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Yahoo! announced Monday that the search is on for the Internet giant's next CEO.
Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder, speaks at an electronics show in Las Vegas in January.
The new CEO will replace Yahoo! co-founder, Jerry Yang, who assumed the position in June 2007 and has since come under fire for failing to turn around the company.
Yang will step down when a replacement is selected.
Just two weeks ago at the Web 2.0 Summit, Yang was asked if he was the right guy to lead the battered portal.
Yang dodged the question by defending his passion for the company he co-founded 13 years ago.
"I didn't make the decision of being the CEO lightly," he said. "I wanted to make a change at Yahoo! that I believe I can make ... That's a dream that I felt I could achieve by being CEO and that's still the dream today."
Now, Yang plans to return to his former role as "Chief Yahoo" and will still have a seat on the board, Yahoo! said.
During his short tenure, Yahoo! has had two major rounds of layoffs and has seen its search market share shrink significantly while a series of reorganizations led to the departure of senior executives.
Wall Street and shareholders criticized Yang for falling short of reaching an agreement to sell the company to Microsoft.
Yang also was taken to task when Google pulled out of a controversial ad agreement earlier this month that would have boosted Yahoo's revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yahoo! said the search for a new CEO will encompass both internal and external candidates.
"Over the past year and a half, despite extraordinary challenges and distractions, Jerry Yang has led the repositioning of Yahoo! on an open platform model as well as the improved alignment of costs and revenues," said Chairman Roy Bostock.
"Jerry and the Board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level."
|
514fcc4729db4bbc98b38204ddfa9302
|
Who planned to resume his former role as "Chief Yahoo" ?
|
[
"Yang"
] |
NewsQA
|
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.
|
eb43fb5ddd004024a786e2050ab1aa87
|
Which department is having staff cut?
|
[
"R&D"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 42 people were killed and 154 were wounded in five attacks on a religious holiday Friday, an Interior Ministry official said.
Shiite Muslim women light candles early Friday at a shrine in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq.
The first four attacks, which together killed 36 and wounded 124, targeted Shiites; the fifth attack was against a Sunni target.
In the latest attack, a parked motorcycle bomb exploded in the marketplace of al-Khadra in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of eastern Baghdad. Six people died, and 30 were wounded, the official said. The attack appeared to have targeted a police patrol; three of the fatalities were police, the official said.
But most of the carnage was directed at Shiite targets, with the highest single toll exacted in the northern city of Mosul, where a suicide car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque as a funeral was taking place, killing 30 people and wounding 100, the official said.
In another attack, a roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying pilgrims in the Sadr City neighborhood, killing three and wounding eight, the official said.
Also in Sadr City, a roadside bomb exploded near a car, killing one person and wounding seven.
And in eastern Baghdad, a car carrying pilgrims was targeted, killing two people and wounding nine.
Friday was the end of a Shiite Muslim celebration in Karbala celebrating the birthday of Imam Mohammed al-Mehdi, the last of 12 historic imams revered by Shiites. Pilgrims participating in such celebrations have been the target of similar attacks by Sunni Muslims.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Imam Mohammed al-Mehdi "is expected to return at the end of time as the messianic imam who will restore justice and equity on Earth."
Last Friday, bombs detonated after prayers near five Shiite mosques nearly simultaneously, killing 29 people as they were leaving the mosques.
The attacks fueled fears that sectarian violence could be reigniting in the country and called into question the ability of security forces to safeguard the population as U.S. troops have taken a back seat to their Iraqi counterparts.
Though the number of casualties has dropped over the past year, Friday's attacks show that an insurgency capable of wreaking havoc remains.
CNN's Arwa Damon and Yousif Bassil contributed to this story from Baghdad.
|
a3533f62f63d4cd6b32d8231e482be9f
|
Where did the bombing occur?
|
[
"holy city of Karbala, Iraq."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Hundreds of inmates using pipes and shanks as weapons trashed a California prison, burning a courtyard, ripping beds to shreds and tearing bathroom sinks from walls, a new video of the weekend riot's aftermath shows.
A dormitory is trashed after a riot at the California Institution for men, in Chino.
Video shot by CNN affiliate KABC-TV gave the first glimpse of the damage to the California Institution for Men in Chino from a riot that authorities said was ignited by racial tensions.
"This certainly is probably the worst that we've seen, especially adding the extensive damage to the unit that has been burned," prison spokesman Lt. Mark Hargrove told reporters outside the prison Tuesday. "That has never happened at this facility before."
The riot erupted Saturday night and raged until Sunday morning, injuring 250 inmates. Fifty-five inmates were taken to hospitals with serious injuries, including stab wounds and head trauma. Watch the aftermath of the violence »
"The prison is still under a state of emergency," George Kostyrko, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told CNN, which means no visitors were allowed and the prison could not take any new inmates.
Corrections officials said they transferred about 1,150 inmates to other facilities. "The ones that are there are likely in a lockdown mode until an investigation can determine whether or not they were directly responsible for the riot," Kostyrko said.
The decision to lock down the Chino prison and nine others in southern California was still in effect Tuesday.
"The lockdowns will remain in effect until all the staff that we deployed to Chino from other areas go back home," Kostyrko said.
The measure was taken to prevent copy-cat violence.
Though other races were involved, the altercations at Chino mostly involved Hispanics and African-Americans, Kostyrko said.
About 80 officers responded to the scene, but none of the staff was injured.
A housing unit was heavily damaged by fire. Prisoners broke windows and pulled down pipes to use as weapons, Kostyrko said.
The facility has seven units, each of which houses about 200 inmates.
In one of the torched dormitories, burned red prison uniforms were strewn everywhere, the floor was covered with ankle-high ashes, windows were shattered and there was a large hole in the roof.
In the mounds of trash that littered the floor of the dorm, a rusty foot-long pipe could be seen.
Most of the residential areas were badly damaged and some inmates were being temporarily housed in tents, the spokesman said.
Chino is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.
|
728c03845cf34772a154f5ce8cf90100
|
How many people remain in lockdown?
|
[
"1,150"
] |
NewsQA
|
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Casey Johnson, heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, died of natural causes related to diabetes, the Los Angeles County coroner said Thursday.
The 30-year-old socialite was found dead at a friend's home January 4, authorities said.
Johnson was one of the great-great-granddaughters of Robert Wood Johnson, a co-founder of the pharmaceutical giant, and was the daughter of Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets professional football team.
She died of diabetic ketoacidosis, the coroner found. The Mayo Clinic describes the condition as a serious complication of untreated diabetes.
Johnson was in the news recently because of her relationship with Internet and reality television star Tila Tequila.
Several messages on Tequila's official Twitter page mentioned Johnson in the wake of her death.
"I can't stop these haunting visions of her and I. We made such a lovely couple, only beginning to spend the rest of our lives together," a posting said the day after Johnson died.
"Everyone please pray 4 my Wifey Casey Johnson," Tequila wrote the day of Johnson's death. "She has passed away. Thank u for all ur love and support but I will be offline to be w family."
Johnson's family also expressed sadness.
"The Johnson family is mourning their tragic loss and asks for privacy during this very difficult time," a family representative said in a statement on the Jets' Web site.
"The entire New York Jets organization is saddened at the news that Casey Johnson ... has passed away."
CNN's Tim Langmaid and Brittany Kaplan contributed to this report.
|
4dbfd6e7921847a293717b0ffe90d5df
|
What does the coroner say?
|
[
"She died of diabetic ketoacidosis,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Liverpool are waiting to learn the extent of the injury which prevented captain Steven Gerrard playing in the club's 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, manager Kenny Dalglish has said.
England international Gerrard, 31, missed the match after picking up an infection in his right ankle, having only recently recovered from a groin injury which has restricted the midfielder to just four English Premier League appearances this season.
Dalglish also faced questions on the fitness of former England defender Jamie Carragher, who was ruled out of the match at the Hawthorns with a calf strain.
"Carragher has a calf strain. Steven Gerrard has an infection in his ankle," Dalglish, 60, told a press conference. "Steven was in my mind for the game today but it just flared up.
"We are off tomorrow, so we'll have a more accurate idea on Monday or Tuesday when we return to training. We will be more accurate next week than what we can be now."
Dalglish, who also managed the Anfield club between 1985 and 1991, praised the injured duo, while also expressing his delight at seeing his charges pick up three points without two of the team's most influential players.
"We are certainly much better with them in the squad than out of it," he said. "They have done magnificently for this football club and they will continue to do magnificently for us too.
"They will continue to make a contribution, even now. I suppose it is a reflection on the strength of the squad when the two talisman figures are not playing and you still come and put on such a top performance."
Gerrard and Carragher are products of the Liverpool youth academy, with both players part of the team which earned a penalty shoot-out victory over Italian side AC Milan in the 2005 European Champions League final.
Dalglish will hope to have the duo available for the home match against Swansea City on Saturday.
|
2e56ca1859474b88b19f728f727e743a
|
Which Liverpool player was injured?
|
[
"Steven Gerrard"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- Two people without invitations crashed President Obama's first White House state dinner, the U.S. Secret Service said Wednesday.
The Secret Service confirmed a Washington Post report that the couple who crashed Tuesday night's dinner were Tareq and Michaele Salahi. The Post described the couple as polo-playing socialites from northern Virginia.
A Secret Service checkpoint "did not follow proper procedures" to determine if the two were on the guest list for the dinner, said Edwin M. Donovan, a Secret Service special agent, in a statement.
Playing down any security threat, Donovan's statement said: "It is important to note that these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of security, as did all guests attending the dinner."
The incident represents a security breach for the White House at the Obama administration's biggest social event to date. More than 300 guests, including Cabinet members, diplomats and Hollywood celebrities, attended the dinner in honor of visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The Secret Service has tasked our Office of Professional Responsibility with conducting a comprehensive review of the incident," Donovan's statement said.
Video footage of the dinner showed the couple walking past journalists into the event. On Wednesday, Michaele Salahi's Facebook page included photos of the couple at the dinner, including two pictures with Vice President Joe Biden and another with Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, who was identified on the page as "Ron" Emanuel.
The couple's names did not appear on the guest list distributed Tuesday by the White House.
In an e-mail to CNN, Mahogany Jones, who identified herself as a publicist for the Salahis, said the couple had "full clearance to attend the state dinner."
Fran Townsend, a homeland security adviser to former President George W. Bush, said the incident likely involved a breakdown at the "perimeter" security for the event, which is the first checkpoint that guests encounter.
Lying to the Secret Service could bring a felony charge, Townsend said.
|
61d56fec038b4bb6bbe122a6c9f90e0b
|
Where are the couple from?
|
[
"northern Virginia."
] |
NewsQA
|
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani forces in the last month foiled a planned attack on the parliament building, the intelligence agency and other federal institutions, the country's interior minister told CNN Sunday.
Pakistan's parliament building was one target of a planned attack, an official says.
In the last four weeks, authorities arrested three men with suicide vests who were plotting to carry out the attacks, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Malik would not say exactly when the men were caught.
Pakistan is in the midst of an intense military offensive against Taliban militants. The militants are suspected of launching attacks inside Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan from their haven in the mountainous tribal region along the northwestern border.
On Sunday, a suicide bomber in volatile northwestern Pakistan killed at three people and wounded 15 others, police said.
The bombing rocked the Pakistani city of Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province.
The incident took place when police approached a man acting suspiciously. The man ran away, police chased him and a gunfight ensued. The man ran out of bullets and blew himself up.
Two women and seven children were among the injured. Remains of the alleged attacker were found, police said. Five houses were destroyed.
The incident follows a car bombing on Saturday in Peshawar that killed two people, including the spokesman for an extremist group called Ansar ul Islam. Two suspects are in custody.
Malik said Sunday the government's anti-Taliban operations will continue during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month considered to be a time of peace.
Militants in North Waziristan, part of the tribal region, have said they will observe a unilateral ceasefire throughout the month.
"There will not be a ceasefire during Ramadan. We are not interested in a ceasefire," Malik said. "They haven't kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban."
Malik also said the Taliban killed the father-in-law of its leader Baitullah Mehsud and several other relatives, accusing them of leaking information about his whereabouts.
Pakistan and U.S. officials contend Mehsud was killed in an August 5 drone attack in Waziristan at his father-in-law's house.
The Taliban claims Mehsud is alive but ill.
|
c79ec3cb9a3a4f2fba85394499b92ea3
|
How many men plotted to carry out the attacks?
|
[
"three"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy -- Mauro Camoranesi scored with 13 minutes left to earn Juventus a 1-1 home draw with Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Sunday.
Julio Cruz is mobbed by team-mates after giving Inter the lead in their 1-1 draw at Juventus.
Camoranesi picked up a headed knock-down from substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta before seeing his shot deflect off defender Walter Samuel to leave goalkeeper Julio Cesar helpless.
Inter took a first-half lead when Argentine striker Julio Cruz broke Juve's offside trap and latched onto Brazilian midfielder Cesar's through ball before firing past Gianluigi Buffon.
The result means Inter retain their unbeaten record this season, despite injury problems that saw the likes of Patrick Vieira, Francesco Toldo, Marco Materazzi and Dejan Stankovic ruled out.
The defending champions are now two points clear of Fiorentina at the top of the table, with Roma a point further behind and Juventus in fourth place.
Earlier in the day, Roma missed out on the chance to close the gap on Inter when a late collapse saw them throw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Empoli.
First half goals from French winger Ludovic Giuly and Matteo Brighi had put the visiting Romans in charge and for more than an hour they looked set to cruise to victory.
But with 23 minutes remaining Ighli Vannucchi reduced the deficit and Sebastian Giovinco snatched an injury time equaliser to deny Luciano Spaletti's injury-depleted team.
Siena snatched a share of the spoils from Parma in a 2-2 draw as Daniele Galloppa scored in the last minute while Napoli needed an injury time goal from striker Ezequiel Lavezzi to deny rock-bottom Reggina their first win of the season, forcing them to settle for a 1-1 draw in the south. E-mail to a friend
|
87ae8c9bb1a1419d859c85c9d5084eec
|
What does a Mauro Camoranesi goal earn?
|
[
"Juventus a 1-1 home draw"
] |
NewsQA
|
VATICAN CITY, Vatican (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI called for peace in the Middle East and an end to the exploitation of children in the homily he delivered early Thursday during the annual Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Benedict XVI calls for a "conversion of hearts" to help children.
He later delivered the traditional Christmas address in St. Peter's Square, sending Christmas greetings in languages including English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Slovak and many others. The address is known as "Urbi et Orbi" -- Latin for "To the City and the World."
Benedict, 81, called for the faithful to pray for peace to come to "the land in which Jesus lived, and which he loved so deeply."
"Let us pray for mutual understanding, that hearts will be opened, so that borders can be opened," he said.
The pontiff also called for special consideration for suffering children who are homeless, forced to serve as soldiers or exploited in pornography "and every other appalling form of abuse."
"The Child of Bethlehem summons us once again to do everything in our power to put an end to the suffering of these children; to do everything possible to make the light of Bethlehem touch the heart of every man and woman," he said. Watch Pope Benedict deliver his message during midnight Mass »
"Only through the conversion of hearts, only through a change in the depths of our hearts can the cause of all this evil be overcome."
Thousands heard the pope, in white and gold robes, speak inside the basilica at St. Peter's -- although Vatican cameras captured some sleeping children who had been unable to stay awake for the late ceremony.
Those who could not get inside watched on giant television screens outside in the square.
As Benedict was leaving down the main aisle, someone wearing red jumped the barrier. The person was swiftly tackled by security.
The pope appeared to slow his step momentarily and take a slight step back as the action took place, but he quickly resumed the processional, waving to the audience. Watch as security steps in »
Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi told CNN she did not appear to pose any risk.
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7c31c4aaef3e49c98ee6efd953770bd8
|
Who quickly tackled a person as the Pope was leaving?
|
[
"security."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An international footballer who played for the United Arab Emirates, and who became an internet sensation after scoring a backheeled penalty, has died following a car accident near the country's capital, Abu Dhabi.
Theyab Awana, a 21-year-old winger for local club Bani Yas, was one of the country's brightest prospects after winning the 2008 AFC Under 18 Cup and was instrumental in the UAE reaching the quarterfinals of the 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Cup.
"Theyab Awana has passed away on Sunday night after a horrible traffic accident on Sheikh Zayed Road in Abu Dhabi," the UAE Football Association confirmed in a statement on Monday.
"God blesses his soul and wholehearted condolences to his family, friends and fans."
Last year he won a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games after the UAE reached the final and had been picked for both senior and Olympic national teams.
But it was his actions during a friendly against Lebanon in July that brought him international recognition.
With the UAE leading 5-2, Awana stepped up to take a penalty.
Instead of conventionally striking the ball he twisted around and backheeled the ball into the corner of the net.
He was immediately substituted by then coach Srecko Katanec, who was angry at what he saw was a lack of respect for the opposition.
Yet the fans didn't agree. Instead the YouTube clip of his penalty went viral. More than 1.2 million people have since viewed it.
"On behalf of AFC and the Asian football family, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the UAE football community, family and friends of Awana," the Asian Football Confederation's acting president Zhang Jilong said in a statement.
Awana's death comes soon after another young Emirati player Saeed al Nooby, who played for second division side Al Dhafra, also died in a car accident.
"We had just returned last night with the club officials and players after visiting the family of Saeed al Nooby and paying our condolences," Bani Yas' Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira told the Dubai-based newspaper the Gulf News.
"An hour later I got a call from the club's manager informing me of the accident and I rushed to the hospital but Awana had died.
"It will take some time for the club and his teammates to get over Awana's death. We have lost a man, a player and a boy and it will be hard to replace him."
|
cb7715b95bbb4700be19d5701fa8324c
|
What was a world wide sensation?
|
[
"international footballer"
] |
NewsQA
|
DUNN, North Carolina (CNN) -- Barack Obama's campaign announced Sunday the Democratic presidential candidate raised $150 million in donations in September, setting a new high-water mark in campaign fundraising.
Barack Obama calls a prospective voter from a headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday.
In a campaign video, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said a record 632,000 new donors gave to the campaign, with the average contribution under $100. More than 3 million donors have given so far.
The Obama campaign raised $65 million in August.
Regardless of the stunning haul, Plouffe told supporters the campaign still needed more money because of "the slime that we're getting from the McCain campaign." Plouffe cited recent attack ads and automated phone calls in battleground states and said the campaign needed to have every resource to "fight back."
"Their campaign is going to descend even more into the gutter," he said.
Plouffe also said the campaign was expanding its reach to compete "aggressively" in West Virginia.
Tightening polls in Georgia and North Dakota meant more money and resources could be sent to those two states in the remaining days, he said.
"We can't afford to make any cuts. We have to execute everything we think is required to win," Plouffe said of their battleground strategy. "None of us can look back on the night of November 4 or the morning of November 5 and wished we had done something extra."
The McCain campaign accepted $85 million in federal matching funds for the last two months of the campaign.
The Obama campaign opted out of the matching funds program and is free to raise and spend as much money as it can.
CNN's Paul Steinhauser and Sasha Johnson contributed to this report.
|
d9b5a897d3004b3da1fb88c93e1c289a
|
Who added 632,000 new donors in September?
|
[
"Obama campaign"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon's South Rim, authorities said Tuesday.
About 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona each year.
The Arizona park's regional communications center received several reports of a car driving off the edge about 6 a.m. Monday, according to a written statement.
"Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found tire tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge and received reports of a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge," the statement said.
Rescue personnel descended on ropes and found the vehicle about 600 feet into the canyon. The man's body was recovered shortly afterward, the statement said.
The incident occurred near the El Tovar hotel in a village on the canyon's South Rim, park spokeswoman Shannan Marcak said.
Authorities have not ruled the death a suicide, she said. "It has not been ruled anything at this time."
The statement said the National Park Service is investigating. Typically, Marcak said, such investigations take at least a few days.
The man has not been identified, she said.
Marcak said that within the past five years, she knows of only one other time a car was driven off the edge of the canyon.
The Monday statement said plans were being made to retrieve the vehicle and the body.
The Grand Canyon, a world famous landmark, receives close to 5 million visitors yearly, according to the National Park Service Web site.
|
5e1e08d0089643149c2a9b0775623408
|
Who is investigating ?
|
[
"National Park Service"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- In anticipation of more flooding next week, residents of Fargo, North Dakota, began stacking sandbags Wednesday for the second time in just over two weeks along the banks of the Red River.
A trucker relaxes April 1 on sandbag pallets in Fargo, North Dakota, which is preparing for more flooding.
They hoped to fill 1 million, said Fargo spokeswoman Karena Lunday.
"If we get a million, that will be a total of 4 million we've made since the flood started," she said.
The first sandbag effort began about March 23. The Red River crested at nearly 41 feet at Fargo on March 28, breaking a record that had held since 1897, when the Red River reached 40.1 feet.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Tuesday, predicting that melting snow -- and possibly rain -- will start to raise river levels on the Red River south of Oslo, Minnesota, this week.
Lunday said forecasters expected the river to crest there between April 16-18, possibly reaching 35 feet on April 14.
"I don't think people are as worried as they were the last time, but the possibility of getting up to 40 feet is a concern," Lunday told CNN.
The Red River meanders along the border between North Dakota and Minnesota, so many other cities also were bracing for flooding.
|
f1610e881853484e81202a81edf21b68
|
What city was filling sandbags?
|
[
"Fargo, North Dakota,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- It certainly isn't your average help wanted ad.
A publication in Denver, Colorado, is looking for a journalist to review marijuana dispensaries.
"Do you have a medical condition that necessitates marijuana? Do you have a way with words? If so, Westword wants you to join the ranks as our freelance marijuana-dispensary reviewer."
The local "burgeoning medical marijuana scene" in Denver, Colorado, is growing and the weekly publication Westword wants to be on the forefront, said Joe Tone, the paper's Web editor. "We want someone who can get in and relay to our readers what it is like inside these dispensaries."
It's not exactly like a food critic job. The online-only reviewer won't be showing up anonymously and sampling the wares.
"They are to review the places, not the weed," Tone said.
"We can't have our reviewer be stoned all the time," he quipped.
But, he said, the ideal applicant should have "the ability to write and be in the position of holding a state medical marijuana card." The reviewer, he said, should know his or her way around dispensaries and be "passionate about the issue of medical marijuana."
Colorado is one of 14 states where medical marijuana is legal by state law -- federal law still bans its use. But this week, the Obama administration announced a new policy loosening the rules regarding prosecuting criminal activity associated with medical marijuana.
The Justice Department now says that prosecutors can go after traffickers but not medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.
Though Westword is no longer accepting applicants for its dispensary reviewer position, they are actively working through the 120 they received and have culled the list down to under 20. The applicants run the gamut of 20-something stoners to well-educated engineers in their 50s.
Some have even offered to work for free, Tone said, adding "We won't accept that." The pay is "meager," he said, but it's legitimate.
|
3c3e6be141624de9987ca070898fd5ae
|
In how many states is medical marijuana legal?
|
[
"14"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Cleanup efforts unfolded Monday in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, after torrential monsoon rain over the weekend killed dozens, cut power to 15 million and broke a 32-year record.
Pakistanis push a stranded auto-rickshaw along a flooded street in Karachi on Sunday.
Officials combed the city looking for bodies. The health department confirmed 32 deaths and said it received reports of more.
"Most of them are either from drowning or they were deaths when the walls or roofs of their houses collapses," said Dr. A.D. Sajnani of the health department.
"The entire city is disrupted," said Muhammad Aly Balagamwala, a Karachi businessman. "Most places lost power for 28 to 30 hours, and some are still without power. The rain flooded offices. We lost water. Everything is shut down."
Many residents took to the streets to protest the massive power outage in the southern city. They threw rocks at the offices of the power company and burned tires.
"I guess there comes a point you just snap and you can't take it anymore," Balagamwala said. "To the credit of the government, a lot of cleanup work has been done since last night."
The rain began Friday night, and by Sunday the city had received almost 9 inches (22.9 cm), the most since 1977, said Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal.
Storm drains overflowed, water-logging streets and alleyways.
Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June to September. While they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, they also leave a trail of landslides, home collapses and floods that sometimes claim dozens of lives.
|
1b5aa647973d42c9af1f07ef1c7fab8f
|
When was the last time the city had as much rain?
|
[
"1977,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Another body was found in the same 92-acre parcel west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the remains of 10 other people have been discovered, police said Thursday.
An Albuquerque, New Mexico, police forensics team member digs at the burial site.
The latest discovery was made Tuesday, and the remains were recovered Wednesday, Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said. Like the others, it was sent to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, he said.
A woman walking her dog found the first bodies earlier this month on the property, which had been graded in preparation for development. The graves are on about 10 acres, police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby said earlier, but that area keeps expanding.
So far, 11 bodies have been found, including those of a first-trimester fetus with those of a pregnant woman.
Police believe the bodies were buried sometime in the earlier part of the decade, Walsh said Thursday.
Authorities have identified two of the remains, Walsh said. Body No. 8 belongs to Gina Valdez, who was born in 1982, he said. Valdez was pregnant, and the remains of her fetus were with her.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz told reporters that Valdez had a prior criminal history that included arrests for prostitution and drug charges, according to CNN affiliate KRQE-TV.
Earlier, police had identified another set of remains as belonging to Victoria Chavez, a prostitute and drug user who was last seen in 2003 and reported missing in 2004.
Authorities are investigating how the two women's paths may have crossed, Walsh said.
Valdez's father, Dan Valdez, told KRQE she was 22 when he reported her missing four years ago. Despite her rough lifestyle, he said, "she was my daughter and didn't deserve to be buried in the desert."
Hamby said earlier there is housing south and east of the vacant land. After rain caused flooding, surrounding neighbors complained to the developer, who made culverts to divert the water, apparently bringing the first remains to the surface.
|
4b3812a01aeb4e9d9df9b296dcb3ba52
|
When was the mssing prostitute reported missing?
|
[
"in 2004."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Brazil turned on the style to defeat their South American rivals Chile 3-0 on Monday and set up a World Cup quarterfinal against the Netherlands.
The five-time world champions, who showed little of their usual dazzling play during the group phase, sent an ominous warning to their rivals as they comprehensively outplayed Chile in Johannesburg, with Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robinho all on target.
"We have to improve in all sectors of our play, but it was a nice game against Chile," Brazil coach Dunga told AFP.
"We have already said we are trying to play the open football which everyone wants to see. The players did well and we got forward a lot.
Dutch outclass Slovakia to reach quarters
Brazil, who welcomed playmaker Kaka back from a one-match ban, took the lead after 34 minutes from a straightforward corner routine.
Right-back Maicon crossed for central defender Juan, who rose above the Chilean defense to power his header into the net.
Brazil's second goal, four minutes later, was more characteristically Brazilian in its style and execution.
Robinho carried the ball down the left flank before squaring to Kaka, who cushioned a pass into the path of Luis Fabiano, who rounded the goalkeeper and scored.
The third goal, after 60 minutes, stemmed from a swift counter-attack, with Ramires charging down the center with the ball and passing to Robinho, who curled his finish around the goalkeeper.
Chile, who reached the semifinals on home soil in 1962, struggled to break down a well-drilled Brazilian back line and were restricted to half chances for Humberto Suazo and Jorge Valdivia.
Robinho came close to adding a fourth when he was released down the right, but his low shot was tipped around the post by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
The victory was Brazil's eighth in a row over Chile, who became the first South American side to go out of the tournament.
Brazil will play the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in Port Elizabeth on Friday, July 2.
"We know the Netherlands are a very difficult team to beat and they are very able technically, they play their football like South Americans," said Dunga.
Meanwhile, the president of the French Football Federation Jean-Pierre Escalettes said he will resign following the country's disastrous World Cup showing.
France, the 1998 winners and 2006 runners-up, were eliminated in the group stage after collecting just just one point and scoring one goal in a campaign marred by infighting.
"After a weekend of reflection during which I consulted my elected colleagues and those close to me, I have decided that I must resign," Escalettes said in a statement on the federation website.
|
599bf4c8e06f471e8af74b3d789b24e2
|
who met with Brazil?
|
[
"Chile"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Prince William has helped the U.S. Coast Guard bust a drug smuggling boat carrying cocaine worth a minimum of $80 million.
Prince William has helped bust a speed boat smuggling $80 million worth of cocaine.
William, who is serving in the Royal Navy, helped make the bust last weekend when he spotted a speedboat found to be carrying nearly a ton of cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.
William, 26, was one of the crew members aboard a helicopter attached to the frigate HMS Iron Duke who spotted the ocean-going speedboat hundreds of miles northeast of Barbados, the defense ministry said
The 50-foot-long power boat raised suspicions because it was a small vessel far out to sea and resembled a "go-fast" boat commonly used for drug smuggling, the ministry said. The boat's location suggested it was en route to Europe or North Africa, it said.
The chopper's crew informed the ship's captain about the boat, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel who were on the frigate then boarded the boat. They found 45 bales of cocaine weighing a total of 900 kilograms (just under a ton), the defense ministry said.
The cocaine has a minimum street value of $80 million, the ministry said.
The bust went smoothly with no violence, defense officials said. Navy crew detained the five men on the boat, which was in poor condition and later sank.
William is in the middle of a two-month attachment with the Royal Navy as part of his continued experience with various branches of the military. The prince, who is called sub lieutenant Wales in the navy, is also expected to spend time aboard a mine hunter and submarine during his attachment, which ends August 1.
William's vessel, the Iron Duke, is a patrol boat which supports overseas British territories in the event of a hurricane and carries out counter-narcotic operations.
William completed a four-month attachment with the Royal Air Force earlier this year and received his pilot's wings on graduation in April. He learned to fly three different aircraft during the attachment and is known as Flying Officer Wales within the RAF.
William is already a second lieutenant in the British Army, where he serves in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry.
The attachments are designed to give the prince, who as king will be the head of the armed forces, experience with the military.
|
de0652fa3e3d4cd7af2c8a3d0671bc34
|
What did the Prince William help?
|
[
"the U.S. Coast Guard bust a drug smuggling"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Wisconsin man accused of poisoning his wife with antifreeze and convicted of murdering her was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Mark Jensen's chin quivers as a letter from his sons is read in court Wednesday before his sentencing.
Mark Jensen, 48, was found guilty Thursday in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, of killing his wife, Julie Jensen, in 1998.
The prosecution said the murder culminated years of torment.
"Your crime is so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations," Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder said before pronouncing the sentence. Watch the judge lower the boom »
Prosecutors contended that Jensen poisoned his 40-year-old wife with antifreeze and then suffocated her in 1998, but the defense argued that Julie Jensen was a depressed woman who killed herself and framed her husband.
Julie Jensen had given a neighbor a letter pointing an accusing finger at her husband should anything happen to her.
She also made foreboding comments to police and to her son's teacher, saying she suspected her husband was trying to kill her.
Her letter, read aloud in court, said in part: "I pray I'm wrong + nothing happens ... but I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors + fear for my early demise." Read the letter »
The case turned on the admissibility of the letter, which would have been considered unusable "hearsay" evidence if Schroeder had not ruled that it was a "dying declaration." In such cases, the defendant has no opportunity to face his accuser.
After the verdict, jurors told reporters that the letter gave them "a clear road map" to conviction, as one female juror phrased it.
Another female juror said he believed Mark Jensen was trying to push his wife over the edge. "He tortured Julie hoping she could be classically diagnosed as a nutcase," she said.
Several of the jurors were in the court gallery for the sentencing hearing Wednesday.
Jensen, dressed in blue jail fatigues, sat stoically while Julie Jensen's four brothers asked for the harshest possible sentence.
"I hope the court shows the same mercy and compassion that the defendant showed our sister," Patrick Griffin, the victim's youngest brother, said. Watch brothers demand justice »
But Jensen's chin quivered and his eyes watered when his attorney read a letter from Jensen's two sons, David and Douglas.
"He never failed to support us throughout this ordeal," the sons wrote in requesting mercy for their father. "... If anyone in this world is the epitome of loyalty, it is our dad." E-mail to a friend
CNN's Jim Kavanagh contributed to this report.
|
4002da6cdb8d4e958562868bcbb5cbe5
|
With what was the victim poisoned?
|
[
"antifreeze"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Forty-three soldiers suffered heat-related illnesses Friday during a 12-mile road march at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an Army spokesman said.
The march was the culmination of a week of "expert field medical badge training," during which soldiers are tested on their medic and general soldier skills in order to receive an "expert" badge, Fort Bragg spokesman Benjamin Abel said.
Sixty soldiers were on the march, which started at 6 a.m., and they were carrying backpacks, helmets, weapons and other combat gear, Abel said.
About an hour and a half into the march, the people running the event noticed some personnel "were having difficulties," and medical transports were begun, he said.
Eighteen of the soldiers were transported to Womack Army Medical Center, and one was admitted to the intensive care unit, he said.
Humidity levels Friday morning were higher than expected, but "this is odd, out of the norm, to have this many people treated," Abel added.
The expert field medical badge is deemed by the Army as "the utmost challenge to the professional competence and physical endurance of the soldier medic," Fort Bragg officials said in a statement earlier this week.
"It is the most sought-after peacetime award in the Army Medical Department, and while the combat medical badge is the 'portrait of courage' in wartime, the expert field medical badge is undoubtedly the 'portrait of excellence' in the Army all of the time," officials said.
"To wear the EFMB means you passed a grueling series of hands-on-tests on communications, common skill tasks, emergency medical treatment, evacuation of the sick and wounded, litter obstacle course, day/night land navigation courses, comprehensive written test, 12-mile foot march, CPR, physical fitness test, and weapons qualification," the base said.
In June 1965, the Department of the Army established the badge as a special skill award for the recognition of exceptional competence and outstanding performance by field medical personnel.
|
1cf514d180c64552a1988f98a79f9d75
|
How many are in intensive care?
|
[
"Eighteen"
] |
NewsQA
|
London, England (CNN) -- A 15-year-old schoolboy is planning to make history as the youngest person to ski to the North Pole.
Parker Liautaud, who attends the prestigious Eton College in southern England, will begin his two-week odyssey on March 31.
Led by experienced adventurer Doug Stoup, Parker hopes to raise awareness among young people about environment issues.
"The idea is to inspire, inform and engage young people on the issue of climate change and bring to light what's been happening in the arctic region in particular," Liautaud, who was born in California, told CNN.
"The best way to do this is to show what is happening right now through direct and live coverage."
"The Arctic ocean is in a state of emergency," Stoup said on his Web site, www.iceaxe.tv. "Scientists are reporting this Arctic Season to be been one of the warmest in recorded history.
"As a veteran polar adventurer, I have seen huge differences in the state of the Arctic Ocean over the last decade. I have witnessed less multi-year ice."
Parker's expedition will include a large social media component, with Parker rallying young people around the world to become catalysts for change.
Twice a day, he will update his location on Facebook via Google Earth. This will show the progress being made, as well as possible ice shifts that occur throughout the day.
Parker's Facebook followers can join the expedition by following his progress and approximating when he will arrive at the summit.
|
51f67797fa2d4cf783620ed7b3229514
|
What is Liautaud's first name?
|
[
"Parker"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck eastern Venezuela on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The quake's epicenter was about 25 miles from Carupano, near the Caribbean coast in northeastern Venezuela, the agency said. It was 7 miles deep.
The geological survey revised its estimates after initially reporting the quake as having a 5.7 magnitude and an epicenter slightly closer to Carupano. The revised location is about 235 miles east of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Are you in Venezuela? Share your images, video
|
68ab1ac51dae4c18848766d7b651c117
|
What casualties are reported?
|
[
"There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries."
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A retired U.S. Army colonel pleaded guilty Tuesday to awarding contracts in Iraq to a Kuwait-based firm in exchange for gifts.
Levonda Selph of Virginia admitted accepting $4,000 in cash and a $5,000 vacation to Thailand from the unidentified contractor, which was awarded $12 million in contracts to operate Defense Department warehouses in Iraq.
She pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and conspiracy. She was secretly indicted on those charges in October; the charges weren't disclosed until her court appearance Tuesday.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Selph could receive up to 33 months in jail. She promised to repay the government $9,000 and to cooperate in an ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors said Selph was a lieutenant colonel at Camp Victory in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 when she led a committee that awarded the warehouse contracts.
The Justice Department said she will be free until her sentencing October 14 but will not be allowed to leave the country.
|
f67c1267e269483fb93c951799f8196a
|
who pleads guilty to bribery and conspiracy?
|
[
"Levonda Selph"
] |
NewsQA
|
Beijing (CNN) -- China's former President Jiang Zemin appeared in Beijing on Sunday, the first time he's been seen publicly since rumors surfaced months ago that he had died.
Jiang, 85, was among many current and former dignitaries attending a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of China's 1911 revolution, which led to the toppling of the Qing Dynasty. China became a Communist state in 1949, under the leadership of Mao Zedong.
At the start of the ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, live footage on China's state-run television showed Jiang for a few seconds as he walked on the stage, closely followed by an assistant.
In another segment, Jiang appears to sing along with others during the playing of the Chinese national anthem.
Death rumors spur reflections on Jiang legacy
Former Chinese premier Li Peng was also in the crowd, among other retired party and government leaders. So were active government ministers, private entrepreneurs and Beijing-based ambassadors from other countries.
In the event's keynote speech, current President Hu Jintao extolled the "thoroughly modern, national and democratic revolution" of 1911. And among other stances, he urged mainland China and Taiwan to work together for a "peaceful reunification of China," according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
Reaching an accord with Taiwan had been one of Jiang's focuses in his tenure as president, during which he made conciliatory overtures to the island nation including a "One Country, Two Systems" proposal.
It was one of many efforts he pursued in his time, between 1989 and 2002, as the general-secretary of China's Communist Party and, from 1993 to 2003, as the nation's president.
As China's ruler, he generally pushed market reforms while working to keep the country politically and socially conservative.
China's economy boomed under his leadership, growing at an annual average rate of over 9%. China also regained control of Hong Kong in 1997 and Macau in 1999, while national pride soared in 2000 when Beijing was picked to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
With rare exceptions, Jiang largely has been out of the public eye in recent years. This summer, Chinese authorities dismissed as "pure rumors" reports that he was on his death bed.
|
46eb215995504c108d802b4b771109fc
|
What were the rumors about his health?
|
[
"he had died."
] |
NewsQA
|
New York (CNN) -- As the world mourns the untimely conclusion of professional famous person Kim Kardashian's marriage to professional tall person Kris Humphries, how are you coping? Probably not very well, particularly if you watched their televised $20 million wedding (for which they allegedly spent $0 -- various sponsors took care of the costs for this impoverished but hardworking young couple) on August 20. They were so in love.
Sports fans and sex fans alike have shed countless tears over the breakup of a man who bounces a ball for living and a woman who once videotaped herself making sexy time with Brandy's little brother. But while we all acknowledge that Kim and Kris are the greatest living beings on Earth or any other planet, we may not all agree on what lessons to take from this sad state of affairs. Fortunately, as the Voice of My Generation, I'm available to explain the five most important things you and your friends ought to learn from Kim and Kris' impending divorce.
1. Providing $400,000 of Perrier-Jouët at one's wedding does not ensure the success of a marriage.
You need Cristal for that.
2. Fish and relatives stink after three days, but spouses can last 24 times as long.
Have you ever been stuck in a car with your beloved family for more than three hours? It's awful, and you probably love them more than any other folks in the world. Kim and Kris made it work for 72 whole days. That's 1,728 hours of uninterrupted togetherness! Rather than tear them down, let's salute them for their longevity. Considering that they probably ran out of new words after the first day, it's pretty amazing they lasted as long as they did.
3. Contrary to popular belief, it's a bad idea to marry a dude with the same first name as your mom.
Especially when Mom describes herself on Twitter as "MOM, MANAGER, MOMAGER, LOVER OF LIFE, LOVER OF CHRIST."
4. If at first you don't succeed ... you'll probably also fail the second time.
Like many other members of her generation, Kim fell in love and launched a starter marriage that didn't last so long. I'm talking, of course, about her first marriage -- she married producer Damon Thomas when she was 19 and divorced him four years later. Just remember, third time's a charm. Maybe.
5. One's posterior-to-waist ratio does not correlate to one's marriage-to-divorce ratio.
'Nuff said.
And now, let the healing begin.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sara Benincasa.
|
6c44449b48294d29a1041cf5197658d6
|
What will fans not agree on?
|
[
"lessons to take from this sad state of affairs."
] |
NewsQA
|
DECATUR, Georgia (CNN) -- One falling tree saved John Kiefer from another.
Windstorms in Atlanta, Georgia, uprooted several trees, including this one that fell through John Kiefer's home.
Kiefer was sitting on his sofa Monday morning while a brief but intense windstorm blew through the Atlanta, Georgia, area, including Decatur. He heard a tree crash in his backyard and got up to investigate.
That tree knocked down a chain-link fence, and Kiefer was getting worried about several other large backyard trees that were swaying in the wind.
"And as I'm watching those move and sway, this crashed down," he said.
"This" was a 50-foot red oak in the front yard that fell onto his living room, splitting his house in half and coming to rest a few inches above where he had been sitting on the couch.
"Yeah, it's a mess," he said as he surveyed the tangle of broken wood beams, plaster, bricks and gray insulation.
Curiously, Kiefer's electricity was still on, and cable TV was still playing less then 10 feet away from the massive tree trunk in his living room. An ancient upright piano and various collectibles on it were unharmed.
Kiefer had been away over the weekend, visiting a son in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his three dogs were still at the kennel where he boarded them. They'll be staying there a bit longer.
Three years of drought in Georgia have weakened trees' root systems, and recent heavy rains loosened the soil around them, said Kiefer, who works at a plastics recycling company in nearby Stone Mountain. The windstorm brought down hundreds of trees in the area, including one that crushed a car, killing the person inside, and one that fell on a nursing home, where no one was hurt, CNN affiliate WGCL reported. Service was disrupted on Atlanta's MARTA rail transit system, according to WGCL.
Power and traffic signals were out in many areas. Watch CNN report about dangerous storms »
Despite having a tree lying across his living room, Kiefer seemed remarkably calm, but that was a new development.
"Couple of hours ago my knees where shaking pretty good," he admitted. But, he said, God was looking out for him.
"Actually, he saved my life," Kiefer said. "When I came outside to investigate that noise, that was my warning to get up off that couch. And then, not to go back in the house when it got real windy, but to stand right there where that tree stopped. There are no coincidences."
|
fe76234137fd4d34ab38bc7c9cf58464
|
What did another tree fall on?
|
[
"his living room,"
] |
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(CNN) -- A statue worth more than $10,000 that was stolen from the Palm Beach, Florida, estate of Wall Street investment adviser Bernard Madoff has been recovered, police said Thursday.
The statue was found with a message apparently aimed at the owner, who is charged with securities fraud.
Palm Beach police Sgt. Chris Proscia said the 4-foot-high statue was found Wednesday morning with a message attached to it reading: "Bernie the Swindler, Lesson: Return stolen property to rightful owners."
The statue was stolen December 19, eight days after Madoff was arrested in New York on suspicion of operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
He was charged with securities fraud and is under house arrest in New York while awaiting court proceedings.
Police said the statue, which depicts two lifeguards sitting on a bench, was discovered undamaged in some bushes a few blocks from Madoff's million-dollar Palm Beach estate. Watch what neighbors think of the statue case »
The note on it was signed, "The Educators."
The theft, which was discovered by a property manager for Madoff, is under investigation, authorities said.
The investor was charged in December with one count of securities fraud. Watch Jeanne Moos report on how people are mad at Madoff »
His $10 million bail is secured by properties owned by him and his wife, including the Manhattan apartment and the Palm Beach estate.
CNN's Christian Chinnici contributed to this report.
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5c5cccf6e7cf4a6a9be40bee4f630377
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Who was arrested and accused of operating a 50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme
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[
"Bernard Madoff"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, the hero pilot who safely landed a full passenger jet in the Hudson River, was once again honored with cheers and applause Tuesday during a ceremony for him hosted by the governor of his home state.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger a flag and license plate.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, first lady Maria Shriver and other dignitaries greeted Sullenberger at the state Capitol rotunda in Sacramento.
Taking a break from difficult negotiations over a troubled state budget, the governor presented Sullenberger with a jacket with the state seal, a California state flag that had flown over the state Capitol, a proclamation and a "California Hero" license plate.
"Today is a very important day," Schwarzenegger said. "There are legislators upstairs that are negotiating and working on a budget -- [we] need a great hero in a state capitol."
The Sullenberger family lives in Danville, California.
Sullenberger's response was understated -- as it has been at other ceremonies, including a New York City Hall event when he was given the key to the city by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"On behalf of the other four crew members of Flight 1549 and also on behalf of the many thousands of aviation professionals whose daily devotion to duty keeps air travel safe, I gratefully accept this recognition," he said.
Sullenberger and his crew safely landed the damaged airplane, believed to have hit a flock of birds, in the Hudson on January 15. All 155 passengers aboard the US Airways flight survived.
CNN's Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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d9f5319c2c2d4347b332ae1e0bf0d388
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Who does the California governor honor?
|
[
"Chesley Sullenberger"
] |
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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A Japanese food corporation has recalled five products after determining they contained the chemical melamine that has been blamed for the deaths of four children and sickening thousands of others.
Officials stresses though that there were no reports of anyone becoming ill from consuming the sweets, which were made with ingredients imported from China, according to a representative of Tokyo's Marudai Food. The recall was issued several days ago.
Tests found a ratio of 37 milligrams of melamine per kilogram of the products, the company said Friday.
Japan is the latest country to report products tainted with melamine after thousands of Chinese children fell ill. The illnesses were traced to infant formula to which the toxic chemical had been added in Chinese dairy plants.
Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by the formula or other products containing melamine. Four babies have died, and five Hong Kong children have suffered melamine-related illnesses. Dozens of countries have banned or recalled Chinese milk products. Watch how the scandal has spread beyond milk »
Hong Kong officials said Friday that a type of Heinz cereal and wasabi crackers were recalled after they were found to contain excessive melamine. Test results for another 40 samples of baby food are pending, said Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety.
Earlier Friday, the maker of a widely distributed Chinese candy linked to the melamine scandal said it would stop selling the confection in China. The manufacturer, Guanshengyan, had already recalled exports of White Rabbit Creamy Candies, and food-safety authorities worldwide have pulled them from shelves.
On Thursday, the European Union joined authorities worldwide in banning the import of Chinese milk products for children.
Chinese authorities have arrested 18 people in a nationwide investigation. They include two brothers who face charges of selling contaminated milk; the brothers could face death if convicted, according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper. Watch Chinese government reaction »
The raw milk used to produce powdered baby formula had been watered down, and the chemical melamine was added so it would pass quality checks, the newspaper said. Adding melamine makes a product seem to have a higher protein level.
Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. It is the same industrial contaminant that was found last year in pet food produced in China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats. Watch the fallout from the scandal »
Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.
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86cc8a75e225478f8fb0e02ca61e5c24
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What did five recalled products contain?
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[
"the chemical melamine"
] |
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(CNN) -- Murder and rape charges will be filed against a North Carolina man in the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, police said Thursday.
Mario Andrette McNeill had already been charged with kidnapping the Fayetteville, North Carolina, girl. She was reported missing last week, and her body was found Monday beside a road near Sanford, about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate the child was asphyxiated, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters Thursday, but testing is still being completed and a final report has not been issued.
McNeill will be charged with first-degree murder and rape of a child, Bergamine said. The new arrest warrants were being served Thursday night.
The girl's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Police have said they believe Davis was prostituting the child.
According to police, surveillance video taken November 10 from a hotel in Sanford, North Carolina, shows Shaniya in the company of McNeill.
Authorities had said Wednesday they would need to determine where Shaniya was killed before filing additional charges. Fayetteville is in Cumberland County, while Sanford is in Lee County. Bergamine said Thursday jurisdiction in the case would remain in Cumberland County. "We started it from the beginning and wanted to finish it out," he said.
Police still are not sure exactly where Shaniya was killed, Bergamine said. Police earlier had said they believe the child was alive when she left the hotel.
"Current charges on Ms. Davis are standing as they are right now," Bergamine said. But he told reporters the investigation was ongoing.
He and other officers spoke about the emotional toll the investigation has taken on them. Grief counseling has been under way for officers at the department, he said.
"It's been a tough case," said Fayetteville Police Capt. Charles Kimball, the toughest in his 14 years, he said. "Our mission was to find Shaniya and we did it."
"This case here has reached out and touched all of us," Bergamine said.
Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, made a tearful appeal before reporters Tuesday afternoon, asking that "everybody makes it a point not to ignore, to look past a situation where a person, a child, or anybody might be in danger ... so that we don't have another tragedy like Shaniya."
The girl went to her mother's last month, he said.
CNN's Gabriel Falcon contributed to this report.
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2da79f0d3f504daba83af33d74316c63
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what is the childs age
|
[
"5-year-old"
] |
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(CNN) -- A 28-year-old Oregon woman has been charged with murder after the body of a new mother was found in the crawl space of her home.
Police released a photo of Korena Roberts, who is charged with murder.
Rescue crews first went to Korena Roberts' home in Washington County on Friday in response to a call of a newborn in distress. They found Roberts' boyfriend unsuccessfully trying to revive the baby using first-aid techniques.
Roberts told deputies the baby was hers, the county sheriff's office said. Medics noticed a lot of blood at the home, and sent Roberts and the baby to a hospital.
"Doctors at the hospital were not able to revive the baby," said Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office in a news release. "They also discovered that Ms. Roberts had not delivered a child at anytime in the recent past."
Deputies returned to the home, where they found the body of 21-year-old Heather Snively in the crawl space under the kitchen, Thompson said.
Authorities learned Snively had been pregnant at the time she was attacked, and they determined she was the mother of the infant.
An autopsy will now determine how the baby was delivered, and whether he died before or after birth, Thompson said.
The outcome could result in another murder charge for Roberts, deputies said.
Residents in the woman's Mill Creek Drive neighborhood said Roberts had told them she was expecting a child, according to CNN affiliate KPTV.
"She didn't appear to be pregnant to us," neighbor Doug King told KPTV.
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52191636d0cb442b9d1ef298befb6609
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What did the doctors learn about Roberts?
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[
"had not delivered a child at anytime in the recent past.\""
] |
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A meeting between the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan was canceled Friday when bad weather prevented Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari from traveling to the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (pictured) has met Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai before.
An official in Pakistan's Foreign Office said the meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and top government officials will be rescheduled for the near future.
The visit was to have taken place amid ongoing warfare and tension along the Afghan-Pakistan border and was to have focused on the nations cooperating in the fight against terror.
Some of the Taliban militants conducting attacks in Afghanistan have been based in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and nearby tribal regions.
The group's resurgence has prompted U.S. commanders and the incoming Barack Obama administration to put more of a focus on confronting militants along the volatile border.
In the past, Afghan and Pakistani leaders have blamed the other for the security problems in the region.
Zardari was to have been accompanied on the trip by the governor of North West Frontier Province, as well as his foreign minister and adviser on internal affairs.
The two presidents also planned to discuss the expansion of bilateral relations and trade.
Both men have met before, when Karzai visited Pakistan in September to attend Zardari's swearing-in ceremony.
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d15d0a5b67fe4f869c6e3f500063e699
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The visit took place amid what?
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[
"ongoing warfare and tension along the Afghan-Pakistan border"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Chinese government is bracing itself for a rush of people wishing to marry when the summer Olympics kick off on August 8 -- because the number carries a special significance in Chinese culture, the state news agency said Sunday.
A traditional Ming-style wedding is held in Nanjing, China, last December.
The number "eight" (ba) is considered auspicious by many in China because it sounds like the word for "wealth" and "fortune," the news agency Xinhua said.
"We've long been prepared for a stampede of newly-wed couples this year," Guo Xusheng, spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, told Xinhua.
Every year, many couples choose the 8th of August -- the eighth month of the year -- hoping "eighth of the eighth" luck will rub off on them, the news agency said.
Nearly 3,400 couples got hitched on the day last year, some waiting all night outside the marriage registration office in Beijing.
This year, the civil affairs bureau is accepting online reservations for marriage registrations for the day.
The significance that numbers carry in Chinese culture often dictate various aspects of the people's lives there.
And of all the numbers, eight is considered one of the luckiest. Beijing, itself, opted to kick off the Olympic Games at 8 p.m. on 8/8/08. E-mail to a friend
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b4f9f0ab89c44252889016bff983c042
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When is the opening day?
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[
"August 8"
] |
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(CNN) -- Colombia's main leftist rebel group shot and killed four hostages held for more than a decade, President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday, vowing to fight the rebels with everything in reach.
A fifth hostage, a policeman, was found alive, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters.
"This is yet another example of how brutal and cruel the FARC is. ... When faced with security forces, they (the rebels) had no qualms about killing them in cold blood," Santos said.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. While severely weakened in recent years, the guerrilla group has continued to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces.
Chains were found near the bodies of the four hostages, who were kidnapped "more than 12 or 13 years" ago, Santos said.
The president called the killings a "crime against humanity" and swore their only effect would be to make police and soldiers more determined to fight "with everything in reach."
The bodies of the four men, all of whom were security force members, were found in the morning, according to Pinzon.
They were executed in the southern region of Caqueta, where the military was conducting operations against the rebel group, he said.
Three of the hostages were shot in the head, while the fourth was shot in the back, the defense minister said.
The fifth hostage, identified as Luis Alberto Erazo, had been held for roughly 12 years, Pinzon said. He reportedly ran from the rebel camp at the start of a firefight between rebels and Colombian troops. His condition is "acceptable," Pinzon said.
Earlier this month, a military operation killed then-FARC leader Alfonso Cano. Following his death, the FARC released a statement in which its leaders said they would not end their guerrilla struggle.
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3968b4994ebf4e4a83450594f382ad7f
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What did the defense minister say?
|
[
"A fifth hostage, a policeman, was found alive,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Japanese protesters took to the streets Saturday to demand safer energy as the nation marked the three-month anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that sparked the worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
The massive quake on March 11 triggered a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, forcing the evacuation of thousands. Months later, crews are still working to control radioactive emissions.
"We need electricity, but we cannot put lives at risk," said Kentaro Morisawa, a railway worker who took part in the Tokyo protest.
"We have the responsibility to protect our children's lives as much as our lives. Safer energy, such as fuel and water, is what we need today.
Crowds sang, chanted and beat drums in protests held nationwide.
"Because we are letting radioactive material leak into the environment, we are getting a bad reputation from overseas," protester Mamoru Matsuda said.
"So we need to end this Fukushima crisis as soon as possible."
Some of the protesters gathered near the headquarters the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear plant.
The protests comes three months into the crisis, which is the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
One of three operating reactors at the plant melted down after the March earthquake and tsunami, and others suffered extensive damage to their radioactive cores.
The resulting contamination has forced authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 people from towns surrounding the plant.
In addition, restrictions on various agricultural and fisheries products have devastated Japanese farmers and fishermen since the disaster started, though some of those bans have been lifted in recent weeks.
The protests are the latest show of discontent for embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who survived a no-confidence vote in this month.
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c9b576f2bb4448129e27af1a01c1b328
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What did Kentaro Morisawa say?
|
[
"\"We need electricity, but we cannot put lives at risk,\""
] |
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|
(CNN) -- A marijuana bust along the U.S.-Mexico border revealed 30 pounds of the drug stuffed into framed pictures of Jesus Christ, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Wednesday.
"This is not the first time we have seen smugglers attempt to use religious figures and articles of faith to further their criminal enterprise," said William Molaski, port director of the agency's office in El Paso, Texas, in a statement.
"What some might find offensive or sacrilegious has unfortunately become a standard operating procedure for drug smugglers. This would include using religious symbols, children and senior citizens in their attempts to defeat the CBP inspection process."
Authorities said a 22-year-old woman in a Jeep from Juarez, Mexico, told federal border patrol officers that she had nothing to declare besides the framed art. The officers checked out the vehicle with Cesar, a federal drug-sniffing dog, who alerted them to three framed pictures of Jesus in the vehicle.
The officers pulled the backing of the pictures and found numerous bundles, authorities said. The woman was arrested.
The bust was one of three marijuana seizures made Tuesday at the El Paso point of entry. Officers said they seized 214 pounds of marijuana in the two other busts.
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798e48fc95644c7f958e5160311af937
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Where was the marijuana stuffed?
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[
"pictures of Jesus Christ,"
] |
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(CNN) -- For astronaut Jose Hernandez, his first space flight, scheduled to be aboard the space shuttle Discovery, marks a remarkable journey from the farm fields of California to the skies.
Astronaut Jose Hernandez is an American-born son of immigrants from Michoacan, Mexico.
Hernandez, an American-born son of immigrants from Michoacan, Mexico, is getting plenty of attention at home and abroad for his journey from working the fields to operating some of the most advanced mechanics on the space shuttle.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon called the 47-year-old astronaut over the weekend to congratulate him. A transcript of the entire conversation was promptly posted online by the Mexican government. Hernandez is also reaching out to fans through Twitter, where he posts updates under the name "@Astro--Jose."
"I come from a very humble family and what I would call a typical migrant farm working family," Hernandez said in a NASA interview.
As a child, Hernandez's family split their time between Mexico and California, where they worked as migrant farm workers.
During the school year his parents emphasized his education, but on the weekends Hernandez would help the family, he said in the interview, posted on the NASA Web site.
Growing up in Stockton, California, it was Hernandez's job as the youngest child to hold up the rabbit ear antennas on the family's television set in order to get the best reception while everyone watched the Apollo missions.
"Now I kid around with my family saying that, you know, it was through osmosis that I became an astronaut because I was closest to the whole situation," Hernandez told NASA.
The real catalyst for his dream to become an astronaut, however, came when Franklin Chang-Diaz, became the first Latin American astronaut in 1981.
"There was a lot of parallels and that's when I challenged myself. I said, "Hey, if Franklin can do it, why can't I do it?" Hernandez said in the interview.
Hernandez earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering, and before joining NASA worked on a number of high-tech projects, including an X-ray laser to be deployed in space, a digital mammography system and the disposal of excess nuclear material in Russia, his official biography states.
According to NASA, there are nine Hispanics currently in the astronaut program, and 13 total in the program's history. Astronaut Danny Olivas, also of Mexican descent, will also fly on Discovery's upcoming 13-day mission.
The scheduled launch of Discovery on Tuesday was scrubbed twice, once because of weather and then hours later because of of mechanical issues involving a drain valve. NASA did not announce a new launch schedule.
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f3462c0787d84cdc82c9705aceec0aa8
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Which Space Shuttle will Hernandez by aboard?
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[
"Discovery,"
] |
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Up to 30,000 additional U.S. troops could be sent to Afghanistan next year, military officials said Saturday.
Helicopters are the main transportation of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, with its high mountain terrain.
Roughly 31,000 U.S. troops currently are in Afghanistan.
Of the additional troops, 20,000 will comprise four ground/maneuvering brigades, said Col. Gregory Julian, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. That number is consistent with what Gen. David McKiernan, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, called for in October, he said.
The additional 10,000 likely refers to support personnel, Julian said.
McKiernan requested the additional 20,000 troops be sent to fight the increasing violence by the resurgent Taliban forces in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
On Friday, military officials said Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed a deployment order to move an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan next year. Those troops will be part of a combat aviation brigade, the latest approved by Gates for the expected buildup of U.S. troops in the country in 2009.
The brigade will send a number of much-needed helicopters to the region. Helicopters are the main mode of transportation for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, where high mountain roads and passes make it difficult for large transport vehicles to move troops and supplies.
The additional troops would nearly double the level of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Troop levels are likely to be maintained at this increased level for three to four years, Julian said Saturday, as U.S. forces continue to try to "clear and hold" more parts of Afghanistan from insurgents and militants and train Afghan military and police to be self-sufficient.
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7a075acc6ee24dfb91bf61f7e8704ae6
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Who ordered additional troops for Afghanistan in the coming year?
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[
"Gen. David McKiernan,"
] |
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ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- A suburban Washington man was bitten Monday by a rattlesnake that found its way into his luggage, a fire department spokesman said.
An Eastern diamondback rattlesnake appears in a photo from the U.S. Geological Survey.
"He felt a sharp pain, brought his hand out and saw the bite," said Benjamin Barksdale, assistant chief and chief fire marshal of the Arlington County, Virginia, Fire Department.
Andrew Bacas zipped his bag shut and called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. ET, the official said.
"He was conscious and alert but a little anxious," Barksdale said of the victim. The bite from the young Eastern diamond rattlesnake was not life-threatening, and the man is being treated at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, he said.
"We took the bag outside and used a [carbon dioxide] fire extinguisher to freeze the snake," killing it, Barksdale said.
Bacas, a high school rowing coach, had been on a six-day trip to Summerton, South Carolina, with about 80 students, said Mike Krulfeld, director of student activities at Yorktown High School in Arlington.
Krulfeld said he did not think the incident was a student prank. "It's been rare to find a coach who is as well-liked and highly regarded as Andy. I would find it hard to believe they would do anything even in the name of a prank that would cause harm to him," Krulfeld said.
The Web site of the school's crew team warned members to take precautions unpacking from the trip, adding, "It's advisable to open bags and unpack outdoors."
"It got into his bag somehow at the location where they were staying," said Kay Speerstra, executive director of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. "Nobody noticed it until he was unpacking, and then he definitely noticed it."
Speerstra said the snake was about 10 inches long and appeared to be a juvenile. E-mail to a friend
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e98fbf05eca04ce6873821651a3d6938
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Where did the students go on the trip?
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[
"Summerton, South Carolina,"
] |
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(CNN) -- AC Milan have swooped to sign Standard Liege defender Oguchi Onyewu on a three-year contract -- making him the first American to appear in Serie A since Alexi Lalas in 1996.
Onyewu will become the first American since Alexi Lalas to appear in Italian Serie A after joining AC Milan.
Onyewu, who has also played in the English Premier League with Newcastle United, has moved to the San Siro on a free transfer after impressing with some superb displays during the United States' run to the Confederations Cup final.
The 27-year-old has played 38 times for his country, scoring five goals.Latest transfer gossip and rumors
"This transaction shows once again the excellent friendly relationship between our club and Belgian club Standard Liege, particularly their executive vice-president Luciano D'Onofrio," said a statement on Milan's official Web site.
The six-foot four-inch player was born in Washington DC to Nigerian parents but began his club career at Metz in France in 2002.
He was loaned out to La Louviere in Belgium in 2003 and his form there earnt him a move to Liege, where he won two Belgian titles.
He then joined Newcastle on loan, playing 11 league matches.
However, the transfer is unlikely to appease the Milan supporters who are unhappy with the summer sale of Brazilian superstar Kaka to Real Madrid -- and the departure of coach Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea.
About 300 fans protested outside the club's Milanello base on the first day of pre-season training on Monday, complaining at the lack of big name signings.
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40c79b40bf1341ee9ab44959b45e70eb
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Who di AC Milan swoop to sign?
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[
"Standard Liege defender Oguchi Onyewu"
] |
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(CNN) -- Jose Mourinho has admitted he was left angered by the decision to sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona, although the Inter Milan coach reveals he is delighted to welcome Samuel Eto'o to the San Siro.
Jose Mourinho believes Inter Milan have done good business in selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona.
Inter are on the verge of completing a deal which will see them receive 45 million euros ($64m) plus Eto'o for Ibrahimovic after both players agreed terms with their prospective clubs.
Mourinho knows it will be a blow to lose last year's leading goalscorer in Serie A but, speaking about the deal for the first time, admitted it is a fantastic bit of business.
"I was a bit angry because no coach is happy to lose Ibrahimovic," the Portuguese told Sky Italia.
"But no one is not happy to have Eto'o -- we have lost a top player but we have taken another one. If I talk as a coach and a man on the pitch, I say that I don't want to lose this player. If I talk as a manager, I say that Inter have done great business," added Mourinho.
Mourinho feels Ibrahimovic will adapt to life at the Nou Camp in no time but insists he would not make a similar move.
"He had this dream and wanted to go," added the Nerazzurri coach. "He told me he would miss me and I told him exactly the same thing. He's going to a club in which I worked for four years, Barcelona are an extraordinary club and he will be happy.
"I didn't give him any advice but I spoke to him a few days before the final decision. I told him that if he wins the Champions League with Barcelona he won't be doing anything extraordinary, seeing as they have won it twice in three years. I like doing something extraordinary, not what's normal."
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c442fd6020c14f918d2235aa7e70c6ae
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Who is angered by the decision to sell to Barcelona?
|
[
"Mourinho"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- London commuters crammed onto buses, scrambled for taxis, cycled or simply walked on Wednesday as a strike by Tube workers shut down most of the subway network.
Commuters queue for packed buses in London on Wednesday morning.
The strike began Tuesday at 7 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) but the first full effects were felt during Wednesday's morning commute. The strike was set to last for 48 hours with a normal service resuming Friday morning, according to Transport for London (TfL), which runs the city's transportation network.
The RMT trade union called the strike after talks with management over pay, job cuts, and disciplinary issues broke down.
"RMT doesn't resort to industrial action lightly," General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement. "The fact is that Tube workers have been driven into walking out today."
Transport Commissioner Peter Hardy said the talks had been making progress on all issues and he urged the RMT to return to the table.
"The RMT leadership says we were close to a deal," Hardy said in a statement. "If that is the case, then they should call off the strike, return to talks ... and resolve this issue without any more disruption to Londoners."
TfL was running extra buses and free shuttle services across the River Thames during the strike. Electronic travel cards used for the TfL network were temporarily being allowed on all train lines in greater London, it said.
While most services on the Tube were shut because of the strike, one line -- the Northern line -- was running normally and five others were running on a reduced schedule, TfL said.
"It's been really good," a girl on Oxford Street told CNN about her commute. "The Northern line is running perfectly."
Still, some bus services were packed with commuters who normally ride the underground trains or who failed to find a taxi.
"I think we'd all like to strike for more money, but unfortunately we can't," said one woman at Oxford Circus, where the Tube is closed.
Others hit the pavement and walked.
"It's OK -- quite refreshing," said a man on Regent Street. He said he had just walked from Liverpool Street Station, a train station as well as a Tube stop that is more than 2.5 miles away.
The RMT represents about half of the 20,000 employees on the Tube, a TfL spokeswoman said. Other unions including Unite and TSSA represent the rest, she said, and were not on strike.
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5ee1ce74da6941ffb18a41a229d4943f
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what caused the strike
|
[
"talks with management over pay, job cuts, and disciplinary issues broke down."
] |
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(CNN) -- A sex tape allegedly showing former Sen. John Edwards survived a fire that torched a North Carolina courthouse on Thursday.
Actually, the tape that was the subject of a February court hearing at the historic Chatham County Courthouse was not at the courthouse during the blaze, city officials said.
The tape, said to show Edwards and his former mistress Rielle Hunter, had been moved to another facility, said Debora Henzey, community relations director for Chatham County.
Seven fire departments responded to the blaze at the courthouse in downtown Pittsboro about 4:45 p.m. Thursday. It took firefighters hours to quell the blaze, which severely damaged the courthouse.
In February, the courthouse was the scene of the legal battle over the sex tape, with Hunter suing for its return.
At the hearing, Judge Abraham Penn Jones found former Edwards aide Andrew Young and his wife, Cheri, in civil contempt of court and ordered them to hand over the tape to the court.
In court documents, the Youngs had said that the video showed "Senator Edwards engaged in sexual activities with a woman who, from all indications, is not his wife and who the Youngs believe to be Ms. Hunter, based upon her appearance."
In January, Edwards admitted that he had fathered a child with Hunter, a videographer who worked on his 2008 presidential campaign.
Edwards had publicly denied paternity for more than a year. About a week after his admission, he confirmed reports that he had legally separated from his wife, Elizabeth.
Those announcements came just before Andrew Young released an embarrassing book about the Edwardses and his campaign.
CNN's Jessica Jordan contributed to this report.
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c97246168e984b48a30a3eceee9f7177
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when is Chatham County Courthouse in North Carolina burned
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[
"Thursday."
] |
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(CNN) -- Tiger Woods was forced to pull out of the final round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday with a neck injury.
Woods lasted until the seventh hole before calling it a day. He was two-over for the round and two-under for the prestigious tournament, but trailing the leaders, when he quit.
South African Tim Clark eventually won the 'fifth major' with a superb five-under-par 67 to close on 16-under 272.
"I've been playing with a bad neck for a while," Woods told gathered reporters.
"I might have a bulging disk. They want me to get a picture on it next week.
"I've been playing through it. I can't play through it any more," he said. "I know playing doesn't help it," he added.
Woods revealed he had been troubled by the pain before last month's Masters, where he finished tied for fourth.
It was his first tournament of the year after a self-imposed exile following his revelations of marital infidelities.
The world number one was in action again at the Quail Hollow tournament in North Carolina last week where he easily missed the cut after two sorry rounds.
"I'm having a hard time with the pain," Woods said.
"There's tingling down my fingers, just the right side. Setting up over the ball is fine but once I start making the motion, it's downhill from there."
Woods is under pressure for his world number one spot from Phil Mickelson, who won the Masters and has been in tremendous form on the PGA Tour.
The 34-year-old last pulled out of a tournament in 2006 at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles when he had flu.
If the injury proves long-standing it could affect his build to the second major of the season, the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in mid-June.
Mickelson could have leapfrogged Woods if he had won the Players, but he shot a closing 74 to tie for 17th.
England's Lee Westwood led going into the back nine on the final day, but a series of lapses, including a double bogey on the notorious short 17th, ended his hopes.
Clark, who was winning for the first time on the PGA Tour, charged through the field to set the clubhouse target, with Australian Robert Allenby finishing second, one shot behind, after failing with birdie attempts on the final two holes.
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d7dcbdcef8a74d5e88e4fdc5e8dc0802
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What kind of injury did Tiger Woods have?
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[
"neck"
] |
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|
Washington (CNN) -- Only one-quarter of Americans think the federal stimulus plan has helped the middle class, while a majority say it has helped bankers and investors, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday morning indicates that 25 percent of the public thinks the stimulus has benefited the middle class.
One-third of the people questioned think the stimulus has helped low-income Americans, with just over four in 10 saying the plan has benefited business executives. A majority, 54 percent, think the stimulus has helped bankers and investors.
"Opinions on the economic stimulus bill are colored by the perception that it has helped fat cats, but not ordinary Americans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "It's possible that the belief that the stimulus bill helped bankers and CEOs is due to the public confusing the stimulus bill with the various bailout bills that were passed at roughly the same time last year."
The survey also indicates that one-quarter think the stimulus has helped people in their own community, with three in 10 saying it has hurt people in their community and 45 percent saying the plan has had no effect.
According to a CNN poll released Sunday, 56 percent of the public opposes the stimulus, with 42 percent supportive of the plan. Last March, just weeks after President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law, a CNN survey indicated that 54 percent supported the program, with 44 percent opposed.
The program, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, attempts to stimulate the country's economy by increasing federal spending and cutting taxes, at a total cost to the government of $862 billion.
No Republicans in the House of Representatives and only three in the Senate voted for the bill.
The stimulus was initially thought to have a price tag of $787 billion, but the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday increased its forecast for how much the stimulus will add to the nation's deficit, raising its estimate by $75 billion.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted January 8-10, with 1,021 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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b018356bc2ae4409944d8998969957ec
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How much more than expected will the stimulus cost?
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[
"$75 billion."
] |
NewsQA
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- French speed sailing trimaran,l'Hydroptere has broken yet another world record as its crew draw closer to two major milestones.
The flying yacht: French trimaran l'Hydroptere is closing in on two major speed sailing records.
L'Hydroptere is now the fastest yacht in history over 500 meters and one nautical mile, after its average speeds of 46.88 knots and 43.09 knots respectively were ratified by the British World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).
The records were set by Alain Thebault and his crew off Port Saint-Louis du Rhone near Marseille in the south of France.
The boat is now poised to pass the 100km per hour mark (54 knots) after reaching a peak of 53.69 knots in training last month.
The major record the l'Hydroptere is trying to claim is the world "absolute speed sailing record," which is currently held by American kite surfer Robert Douglas, who achieved 49.84 knots over 500m earlier this year.
Thebault and his crew now have until 22 December to establish new records this year. These attempts will be presided over and measured by a representative from the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
Thébault told CNN he had a long-held dream of skippering a boat that could "fly."
He said several subtle design changes had been made to the boat in 2008 and he's confident the crew can produce the record speed in the near future.
"I think the boat is ready now. I have always dreamed about a flying yacht. It was a big emotion for all of the crew and myself when we passed 50 knots," he said.
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8362ed5228124d35900cd46d5feb73aa
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What is based in Marseille?
|
[
"l'Hydroptere"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- The commander of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton has been relieved of his command amid an inquiry into misconduct by crew members, the U.S. Navy said Friday.
The USS Hampton appears in an undated photograph.
Cmdr. Michael B. Portland lost his post "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the Navy said in a statement. Cmdr. William J. Houston will replace Portland.
The crew neither maintained inspection records nor conducted the required inspection of chemical levels associated with the cooling system of the ship's nuclear reactor, Navy officials said. The crew then went back and falsified existing records to make it appear the work had been done.
"There is not, and never was, any danger to the crew or the public," the Navy said.
Portland's demotion brings to 10 the number of people relieved of duty on the submarine in the wake of the misconduct probe.
Six personnel have been punished for forging inspection records for the cooling system, the Navy officials said Monday. Those six -- one officer and five enlisted personnel -- received a "nonjudicial punishment" after other Navy personnel discovered their actions, the officials said.
The Navy said Friday that one officer and two enlisted crew members have been temporarily reassigned to Submarine Squadron 11. Portland also will be temporarily reassigned to that squadron.
The misconduct was discovered September 17 but not made public until after completion of an initial inquiry.
A fact-finding investigation is under way, and further action against Navy crew members is possible, a Navy official said.
The Hampton remains in port in San Diego, California. In all, the $900 million vessel's crew includes 13 officers and 116 enlisted personnel. E-mail to a friend
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be0c1d416470495090c28b3d47e8bb4a
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What had been faked?
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[
"inspection records"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- A self-help expert said Tuesday that he has hired his own investigators to determine what happened at his Arizona retreat last week, when two people died after spending considerable time in a sweat lodge.
Self-help author James Arthur Ray has hired investigators to investigate two deaths at an Arizona sweat lodge.
Tuesday's tearful speech before about 200 supporters was the first time that best-selling self-help author James Arthur Ray had publicly discussed the case.
Authorities said James Shore of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York, died Friday at the Angel Valley Resort after spending up to two hours in the sauna-like sweat lodge. Nineteen others were treated for injuries.
"I have no idea what happened. We'll figure it out," Ray said, adding that he had hired investigators. "I've lost people I love and really care about."
Police are also investigating the incident at the central Arizona resort, located in a secluded valley 20 minutes from Sedona.
Ray is the author of the best-selling book "Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want." Ray, described on his Web site as a "personal success strategist," has appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" and the "Oprah Winfrey Show," and is featured in the self-empowerment film "The Secret."
On Tuesday, Ray told the crowd that he is struggling with the deaths.
"These are challenging times," he said. "I've faced many; none like this. I don't know how to deal with it really."
The use of sweat lodges for spiritual and physical cleansing is a part of several Native American tribes' cultures.
A traditional Native American sweat lodge is a small dome-like structure made up of willow branches carefully tied together and covered in canvas. Rocks are heated in a nearby fire pit and placed inside the lodge, and water is poured over them to create steam.
CNN's Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
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4d1994391a994729a3ee947ae52897ae
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James Arthur Ray hired investigators for what purpose?
|
[
"to investigate two deaths at an Arizona sweat lodge."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Polish court has ordered the detention of a man accused of holding his daughter captive for six years and repeatedly raping her, ultimately fathering two children with her.
The accusations recall the case of Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter captive for 24 years and fathered seven children.
The man, whose name was not released, was arrested Monday, Polish national police said in a statement. The court on Tuesday ordered him jailed for three months pending a trial.
The charges against him were not immediately known.
Police said they arrested the man at the train station in Siedlce, a town between Warsaw and the border with Belarus. Police said they believed he was trying to escape abroad.
The investigation began last week when the man's 21-year-old daughter approached police in Siemiatycze, in eastern Poland, accompanied by her mother, police said.
The daughter spent several hours talking with a policewoman, detailing her alleged ordeal over the past six years, police said.
She described living through a "hell" that involved rape, beatings, and being kept as a slave, police said.
In 2005, the woman said, she gave birth to a boy at a hospital in Wroclaw, in southwestern Poland, police said. Two years later, in 2007, she gave birth to a boy at a hospital in Siemiatycze, in eastern Poland, also near the border with Belarus, police said.
Both times, the woman told police, she left the baby in the hospital, a common practice in Poland when the mother wants to give her children up for adoption, police said.
Police did not say how the daughter managed to escape her alleged ordeal or whether the mother was aware of what had gone on. Police themselves acknowledged many facts were still unclear.
"There are still a lot of questions to which answers have to be found," the statement from the national police said.
The case has drawn comparisons to the shocking incest case in Austria in which Josef Fritzl is accused of holding his daughter captive in an underground network of tiny rooms for 24 years.
Fritzl repeatedly raped his daughter, Elisabeth, and fathered seven children with her, six of whom survived. All of the children were born in captivity.
That case became public when Elisabeth's oldest child, 19-year-old Kerstin, became ill and fell unconscious in April. Elisabeth persuaded her father to let her bring Kerstin to a hospital, where staff grew suspicious and called police, who opened an investigation and uncovered the abuse.
Kerstin and her family are now recovering and slowly adapting to modern life, Austrian authorities have said.
CNN's Diana Magnay in Berlin and Antonia Mortensen in London contributed to this report.
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c35eba686e364b6eb7548c609d7252d7
|
Who did police detain?
|
[
"Josef Fritzl,"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- It's not quite the achievement of a lunar landing, but astronaut Mike Massimino made Twitter history with a 139-character post to the micro-blogging site -- the first person to do so from space.
A seven-member crew aboard space shuttle Atlantis is headed to the Hubble Space Telescope to make repairs.
"From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!" he wrote at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.
With the tweet, Massimino kept his promise to file updates from the space shuttle Atlantis as it readies to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Massimino began tweeting in early April as he prepared for the mission. By early Wednesday, his Twitter feed, astro_mike, had more than 241,000 followers.
Atlantis launched Monday afternoon with Massimino and six other crew members. It is NASA's fifth and final repair visit to the Hubble. The crew was expected to arrive at the space telescope on Wednesday. Watch Atlantis launch for Hubble mission »
"I'm going to put my spacesuit on, next stop: Earth Orbit!!" Massimino posted on Twitter on Monday morning before the launch.
Ironically, another Twitter user, astromike, has tweets that are more down-to-earth: "House-cleaning day. I dusted everything that has a horizontal surface," and "Will make "blender waffles" when the girls wake up. From whole wheat kernels to waffles in 10 minutes!"
Another astronaut, Mark Polansky, is posting Twitter updates as he prepares for the next planned space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
Polansky, who is tweeting as astro_127, will be the commander of the mission, scheduled for June.
|
dc960b066c6b48cebe8c7ae9b419be99
|
who post to Twitter from space?
|
[
"Mike Massimino"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Insurgents' use of roadside bombs has increased dramatically in Afghanistan this year, according to Pentagon statistics, and the United States' top military official is calling them the "No. 1 threat" to troops there.
An IED is exploded by U.S. Marines near the remote village of Baqwa, Afghanistan, in March.
In June there were 736 incidents in Afghanistan involving roadside bombs, called improvised explosive devices or IEDs, and 82 "effective attacks," ones that caused casualties among coalition forces, the figures show.
That was up from 263 incidents and 25 effective attacks in February, with the numbers increasing each month, said the Pentagon's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, an agency dedicated to thwarting roadside bombs.
The number of coalition forces killed and wounded by such bombs has climbed, though not steadily, from 18 killed and 33 wounded in February to 23 killed and 166 wounded in June, the agency said.
No numbers were provided for July, but such attacks have continued this month. In the latest, roadside bombs killed two NATO-led troops on Thursday, one in eastern Afghanistan and the other in southern Afghanistan.
The military has called IEDs the weapon of choice for insurgents in that country.
And at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in response to a reporter's question that the biggest threat to coalition troops in Afghanistan is improvised explosive devices. Watch Adm. Mullen address efforts in Afghanistan »
He noted that they "have become more and more sophisticated over time" and that they are being combined with "more and more sophisticated attacks from the Taliban, where they use IEDs as well as other tactics to inflict or to fight our troops."
|
0cd9511b8d4945b3af4761e5331b85ac
|
how many coalition troops were injured in june
|
[
"166"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Singer Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, checked herself into "a medical facility to address some personal issues," her London publicist confirmed Friday.
Kelly Osbourne is struggling with "some personal issues," according to her spokeswoman.
The British Press Association cited an unnamed source saying Osbourne, 24, is being treated at the Hazelden retreat in Oregon.
"Kelly Osbourne has voluntarily entered a medical facility to address some personal issues," spokeswoman Caroline Barrett said in a statement e-mailed to CNN. "Her family stands by and supports her."
Osbourne was jailed in London in January on a charge of assaulting a British newspaper gossip columnist at a London nightclub last summer. She was freed on bail.
She's been absent in recent weeks from a British radio talk show in which she dispenses life advice to young people.
Her father, who rose to fame with the heavy metal group Black Sabbath, and mother Sharon revealed nearly five years ago that Kelly Osbourne entered the Promises rehab facility in Malibu, California, for treatment of a painkiller addiction.
Their revelation came in an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" in May 2004.
"We just had to take evasive action very quickly, because the amount of pills that was found in her bag was astounding," Ozzy Osbourne told Larry King.
Kelly Osbourne gained fame as a teenager when her family opened up their lives to cameras for an MTV reality show "The Osbournes."
She used the exposure to launch her own music career.
|
c6a1cf4ff4c94e9eb9ce22fc938c610a
|
What is she known for?
|
[
"an MTV reality show"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A strong earthquake struck off the south coast of Japan on Sunday night local time, "jolting Tokyo and wide areas of eastern Japan," the country's Kyodo news agency reported.
The 7.1 earthquake hit 200 miles (320 kilometers) south-southwest of Tokyo at 7:55 p.m. (6:55 a.m. ET), the United States Geological Survey reported.
Its epicenter was 188 miles (303 kilometers) deep, the USGS said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported its magnitude as 6.9, Kyodo said.
There were no immediate reports of damage, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning.
|
9957ba59015246238f3ed6e2901b9f59
|
What did Geological Survey measure?
|
[
"7.1 earthquake"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama's punch lines targeted a diverse group Saturday -- from teen sensations the Jonas Brothers to comedian Jay Leno, whom he described as the only person with worse ratings than his.
"Jonas Brothers are here tonight," the president said at the annual White House Correspondents' dinner. Daughters "Sasha and Malia are huge fans. But boys, don't get any ideas. Two words: predator drones."
Obama said he was happy to address the crowd before Leno, who headlined the annual event.
"Glad to see the only person whose ratings fell more than mine last year. ... I'm also glad that I'm speaking first," he said.
"We've seen what happens when someone takes the time slot after Leno," the president added, referring to comedian Conan O'Brien leaving NBC after an unsuccessful stint hosting "The Tonight Show."
Members of the Obama administration, including Vice President Joe Biden and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, were not safe from the zingers either.
Former rivals and volatile current issues were also part of the stand-up.
The president noted that Arizona Sen. John McCain did not identify himself as a maverick this year -- a title he frequently touted when he was running for presidency against Obama.
"And we all know what happens in Arizona when you don't have an ID. ... Adios amigos," Obama said.
The president's quip referred to a new immigration law requiring officers in the state to question people about their immigration status if they think they're in the country illegally. Arizona is McCain's home state.
Leno also took a dig at the Arizona law.
"I got stuck behind the Arizona congressional delegation -- luckily all their papers were in order so I didn't have any trouble getting in," the comedian said while describing the event's tight security.
On the president, Leno said he's not as antisocial as some critics accuse him of being.
"He loves to socialize ... health care, car companies, things of that nature," Leno said.
The first White House Correspondents' Association dinner was held in 1920 to boost communication between the press and the president, according to the association's website.
It was open only to men until 1962, when President John F. Kennedy said he would not attend unless women were invited.
Saturday's glitzy event featured various big names, including lawmakers, celebrities and journalists.
|
b88b1963f648483781af77a44a8fac87
|
What happens in Arizona?
|
[
"immigration law requiring officers in the state to question people about their immigration status"
] |
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|
Washington (CNN) -- International arms dealer Viktor Bout has been indicted by federal authorities on a series of new charges, including counts of illegally purchasing U.S. cargo planes to ferry weapons to warring parties and regimes in Africa and the Middle East.
The new indictment, announced in New York and Washington Wednesday, comes as the United States steps up efforts to extradite Bout to New York from Thailand, where he has been jailed since 2008.
The indictment charges Bout, a Russian native, and his alleged American co-conspirator, Richard Chichakli, with the illegal purchase of a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 737 and with money laundering and wire fraud. Chichakli remains at large, authorities said.
The Justice Department said Bout has been an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s, carrying out a massive weapons trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo planes to transport weapons to parts of Africa, the Middle East and South America.
"The arms that Bout has sold or brokered have fueled conflicts and supported regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan," the Justice Department said.
Bout "allegedly made a career of arming bloody conflicts and supporting rogue regimes across multiple continents, even using the U.S. banking system to secretly finance a private fleet of aircraft," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
The superseding indictments were returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York. The previous indictment of Bout centered on his alleged efforts to send millions of dollars worth of weapons to arm guerrilla fighters in Colombia.
Thai courts to date have balked at extraditing Bout to the United States on the basis of the original charges.
"The United States has apprised Thai authorities of the new charges against Bout ... and will continue to work closely with them on this matter," the Justice Department statement said. "The United States is also coordinating with Interpol to locate and arrest Chichakli."
Tuesday, a Thai court rejected a request by Bout to be released on bond.
|
ab75dbc2dead47d0a618a3903f31664a
|
What was Bout accused of?
|
[
"illegally purchasing U.S. cargo planes to ferry weapons to warring parties and regimes in Africa and the Middle East."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Juventus came from behind to defeat Bologna 4-1 on Saturday to put pressure on Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
Alessandro Del Piero celebrates the first of his two goals in Juventus' 4-1 victory over Bologna.
Massimo Mutarelli put Bologna ahead in the 24th minute, but a dominant second half display from the Bianconeri gave them all three points.
Hasan Salihimidzic equalised in the 49th minute before Sebastian Giovinco put the home side ahead in the 71st minute.
A brace from Alessandro Del Piero in the 75th and 88th minutes sealed a win which takes Juve to within four points of leaders Inter, who face a tricky home match against Fiorentina on Sunday.
In Saturday's other match, Genoa boosted their hopes of playing in the Champions League next season thanks to a 1-0 win at 10-man Cagliari to move above Fiorentina into fourth place.
Cagliari lost Andrea Cossu to a red card in the 39th minute but held out until five minutes from the end when Ruben Olivera grabbed the decisive goal.
Meanwhile, veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi scored his 300th career goal to help Milan crush Siena 5-1 on Sunday to consolidate third place in the table.
The 35-year-old scored twice, while Alexander Pato also netted a brace and Andrea Pirlo scored the opener from the penalty spot, as Milan proved too strong for their opponents -- for whom Massimo Maccarone was on target.
Roma lost further ground in the race for the fourth Champions League place as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Sampdoria.
Julio Baptista gave the visitors a seventh-minute lead but Giampaolo Pazzini headed home an equalizer before the same player put the home side ahead after a mistake from goalkeeper Doni.
But Baptista levelled from the spot after Marco Padalino was penalized for fouling Max Tonetto -- the player who missed the decisive spot-kick in the midweek Champions League defeat by Arsenal.
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b001f28019ae4ea58fa4fc2639721fb7
|
Who reached 300 career goals?
|
[
"Filippo Inzaghi"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The center of the earthquake was approximately 175 miles west of the city of Vancouver and nearly 50 miles underground.
Many people on Vancouver Island felt the quake, especially those in high-rises, which swayed back and forth, said John Cassidy of the Geological Survey in Victoria, British Columbia. He described the quake as originating 30 miles offshore.
The shaking lasted 10 to 20 seconds, Cassidy said, and there were no reports of damage or injuries Friday afternoon.
Earthquakes of such magnitude happen every decade or so, he said.
There was no immediate danger of a tsunami as a result of the earthquake, authorities at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
CNN's Deanna Proeller and Michael Martinez contributed to this report.
|
f3fa1918c06648f3956a6bf3f056237a
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How long did the shaking last?
|
[
"10 to 20 seconds,"
] |
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|
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Five Europeans rescued Saturday after an Indonesia diving trip went wrong had to fight off a Komodo dragon while they were waiting to be found, according to reports.
Rescued diver Kath Mitchinso embraces fellow diver Ernest Lewandowsky as they arrive on Flores island.
The group was found at Mantaolan, on the island of Rinca off the Komodo National Park, after going missing Thursday.
The divers -- three Britons, a Frenchman and a Swede -- spent two nights on the deserted island, which is home to the large Komodo dragon, before rangers found them Saturday.
Frenchman Laurent Pinel, 31, said the group had to fight off one dragon with rocks and scavenged for shellfish as they waited to be rescued, Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
"On the beach a Komodo dragon came amongst us [Friday] afternoon," Pinel said, describing how the group had to pelt the dangerous reptile with rocks to scare it away.
"We had nothing to eat. We ate some kind of mussels scraped from the rocks," Pinel told the newspaper.
The husband of one of the other divers said he was told they were in good condition, although dehydrated.
"I'm just so relieved," said Mats Kohler, husband of Helena Neva Lainen. They are both from Sweden.
An official said they were being taken to a hospital for examination.
Searchers using boats located the missing divers at 11 a.m. Saturday (11 p.m. ET Friday), the official said.
They arrived at a hospital in Labuan Bajo, on the western tip of the island of Flores, about two hours later, an official said. Watch a report on the discovery of the missing group »
They were one of two groups of divers who entered the water off Komodo National Park on Thursday and were supposed to be gone for an hour, said an employee of the dive company, Reef Seekers. The second group came back after the hour passed, but the first group failed to resurface, she said.
Earlier, an official with the Komodo Divers Association said the group that returned comprised six snorkelers.
Among those who went missing was one of the owners of the dive company, Kathleen Mitchinson, the employee said.
The seas that the divers were in are known to be dangerous because of their strong tides, and that's one theory being investigated in the divers' disappearance, the employee said.
|
83030e17ff7046f6a69999753647a730
|
Where were the divers found?
|
[
"Mantaolan,"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Australia's cricketers will pay tribute to Jane McGrath at their one-day international against West Indies in St Vincent on Tuesday.
Jane McGrath died on Sunday at the age of 42.
The English-born wife of former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath, died on Sunday, aged 42, after a long battle with cancer.
The McGraths had two children, James, who is eight, and Holly six.
The Australian players will wear pink ribbons and batsmen will use pink grips on their bats.
The color pink represents the McGrath Foundation, an organization set up by the McGraths to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.
The McGraths were recognized for their charity work this year when they were appointed as Members of the Order of Australia.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: "Jane was a wonderful person who fought and maintained grace and dignity during her long-term illness."
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "Jane was an inspiration, whose legacy will continue to benefit so many others."
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, best man at the McGrath's 1999 wedding, said: "Courage is often associated with feats on a sport field but the true meaning of it lies elsewhere and someone like Jane best exemplifies that."
|
a765f0311d2b4a128f77f87c45b15c63
|
What will the players wear?
|
[
"pink ribbons"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Last week's "balloon boy" incident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency representative said Tuesday.
The Heene family -- including Falcon, second from right -- on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week.
Richard and Mayumi Heene, whose son Falcon was thought for several hours to have flown away in a homemade balloon, are facing a number of local charges, a Colorado sheriff said this week.
The Fort Collins couple could be charged with conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said Sunday. The family also probably will be charged with filing a false police report, which is a misdemeanor, Alderden said.
Their lawyer, David Lane, said the sheriff was overreaching and that the family deserves the presumption of innocence. Watch the Heenes' friends talk about the incident »
FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere confirmed Tuesday that the agency was "investigating the circumstances" of the incident, in which police and military scrambled to rescue the 6-year-old boy, who later turned out to be hiding in his family's attic.
A source familiar with the investigation said no record has been found indicating that Richard Heene called the FAA. The agency does not record all of its calls, and the search for a record of any call is continuing, the source said.
The Heenes may have violated FAA regulations barring people from flying balloons or kites within 5 miles of an airport, an FAA official said. The official declined to be named because the case is under investigation.
The giant silver balloon was apparently not visible on radar, the official said, and the FAA is relying on pilot reports to determine its approximate flight path during the roughly three hours it was aloft Thursday.
CNN's Mike M. Ahlers in Washington contributed to this story.
|
ae9f68c0da034ebaaf1f6353f4cbf535
|
What are balloon's owner facing?
|
[
"number of local charges,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of the final two of nine victims of Saturday's collision between a helicopter and small plane over the Hudson River, police said.
The wreckage of a PA-32 that collided Saturday with a helicopter is lifted Tuesday from the bed of the Hudson River.
"They were inside the wreckage when we pulled it up," said New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.
Earlier Tuesday, police divers had attached chains and straps to the plane's fuselage and used a crane to lift it from the riverbed 60 feet below the surface.
On Saturday, the Piper PA-32 Saratoga carrying three people collided with a helicopter carrying six people, five of them Italian tourists, killing all nine people aboard both aircraft.
The wreckage of the helicopter, operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, was lifted Sunday nearly intact from the Hudson.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision, which occurred shortly after the helicopter took off from a heliport in Midtown Manhattan on what was to have been a 12-minute sightseeing tour around New York.
The Piper took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport and was bound for Ocean City, New Jersey. It began its flight Saturday morning at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-area airfield.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Mary Snow contributed to this report.
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1a6847af1b60492487327a58b1b92011
|
How many people died in plan crash
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[
"nine victims"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will likely not seek re-election once his term ends.
Jalal Talabani says he will not run for Iraq's president again, but he plans to stay in the political arena.
Talabani, 75, has been president since April 2005. The ethnic Kurd was re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term.
Although he "has expressed his willingness not to seek another presidential nomination ... it does not mean that he will withdraw from the political and partisan arena," a message on Talabani's Web site said.
"President Talabani, on various occasions, sought to emphasize the importance and the need to devolve the power, tasks and responsibilities of leadership in the country to local authorities, especially at this stage when the country is going through political efforts by the parties to expand their bases," the statement said.
In Iraq, the prime minister wields most of the power. However, Talabani played an important role in maintaining the country's delicate ethnic balance.
The Iraqi parliament picks the president and two vice presidents, a Sunni and a Shia. All will leave office when parliamentary polls are held in December.
Talabani is the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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cd0c1ff85cfb468fa883bf72997893f7
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Who is the Iraq president?
|
[
"Jalal Talabani"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House did not intend to show any disrespect toward Nancy Reagan when it failed to invite the former first lady -- a vigorous supporter of stem-cell research -- to a bill-signing ceremony on the subject, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
Nancy Reagan watches President Obama sign the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act Tuesday.
"I think she speaks in real personal terms about the issue," Gibbs told reporters.
"And I think her candor and her courage have been heartening, and we certainly meant no slight to her whatsoever."
On Monday, Vanity Fair published an interview with Nancy Reagan on its Web site in which she suggested the Obama administration missed an opportunity by not inviting her to witness President Obama signing a measure in March expanding federal support for stem-cell research.
The former first lady has long promoted such steps despite objections from many in the GOP.
She has argued that expanded stem-cell research could have helped her husband, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
"I would have gone, and you know I don't like to travel," she told the magazine. Watch more on Gibbs' reaction to the controversy »
"Politically, it would have been a good thing for (Obama) to do. Oh well, nobody's perfect. He called and thanked me for working on it. But he could have gotten more mileage out of it," she said.
Gibbs' comments also come the same day Mrs. Reagan attended a White House ceremony marking Obama's signing of legislation authorizing a Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission.
The 11-member commission will plan activities marking Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday on February 6, 2011. Watch Obama laud Reagan's optimism »
Mrs. Reagan is slated to attend the unveiling of a new statue of President Reagan on Wednesday morning at the Capitol and then share a private White House lunch with first lady Michelle Obama.
Obama issued an apology to Mrs. Reagan earlier this year after joking in a news conference that she held seances during her years in the White House -- an apparent reference to reports she consulted with astrologists during her husband's presidency.
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5dba90d913854b029e204299a4531113
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Which statue will be unveiled
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[
"President Reagan"
] |
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|
London, England (CNN) -- Reports that Iran has sentenced a British embassy employee to four years in prison are "deeply concerning," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Thursday.
Hossein Rassam "is a hardworking embassy official" who was "doing work that was wholly within the boundaries of diplomatic work," Miliband said at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium.
The reported sentence is "wholly unjustified and represents further harassment of embassy staff for going about their normal and legitimate duties," Miliband had said earlier, in a statement issued Wednesday.
Rassam is one of several British embassy employees arrested in the wake of Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest the official results declaring President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner.
Iran accused Britain and the United States of fomenting the unrest.
Rassam was put on trial in August. The European Union, France and the United Kingdom denounced the proceeding.
Rassam's lawyer has not officially been informed of the embassy worker's sentence, and he does not know where Rassam is, he told Iranian media.
Abdolsamad Khorramshahi told the Fars News Agency that the terms of Rassam's bail did not prevent him from leaving the country. He said Rassam had been in Iran recently, but he did not know his current whereabouts.
He said he could not express an opinion on the verdict before the court officially informs him of it, which he said normally happens after it is issued.
The European Union condemned the reported verdict as "unjustified and harsh," and urged "the Iranian authorities to overturn it swiftly," the Swedish presidency of the 27-nation bloc said in a statement Thursday.
"Any action against one EU country (a citizen or member of embassy staff) is considered an action against the entire EU, and will be treated accordingly," the statement said.
France also condemned the sentencing of Rassam.
Miliband said he understood the sentence could be appealed and urged "the authorities to conduct this quickly and overturn this harsh sentence."
"This will be seen as an attack against the entire diplomatic community in Iran," he said in a statement late Wednesday.
The Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador to London, and Britain's envoy in Tehran spoke to Iran's deputy foreign minister, Miliband said.
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a954ae791009487eb9f226025065a27d
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Who protested the results of the presidential election?
|
[
"Thousands of Iranians"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Britain's Amir Khan has lost his International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) world light-welterweight titles after a controversial split points decision defeat to American Lamont Peterson in their showdown at the Washington Convention Center.
Khan was given the fight 115-110 on one of the judge's scorecards. However, the other two judges awarded local fighter Peterson the decision by scores of 113-112, enough for Khan to lose his belts.
The result proved contentious with referee Joe Cooper twice deducting Khan a point for pushing, in the seventh and 12th rounds, decisions that ultimately turned the fight in Peterson's favor.
A stunned Khan was clearly frustrated with the decision, saying in his post-fight interview: "It was like I was fighting two people in the ring, the referee and Lamont.
"I can see why there hasn't been a big fight in Washington in the last 20 years, because of decisions like this," added 25-year-old Khan -- who suffered only his second defeat from 28 professional bouts.
Meanwhile, Peterson, who improved to 30-1-1 after his win, said: "A lot of people thought I was the underdog but I followed my game plan the entire time and it worked.
"It was a long road but all the hard work paid off for me and it couldn't have been a better night."
Khan dominated the early stages of the fight, knocking down the challenger with a fierce right hand with just 28 seconds remaining of the opening round.
However, the fight began to harder to call as it progressed, and the moment when Khan was deducted a point for repeated pushing with his left forearm in round seven proved pivotal.
"Every time I tried to keep him away from me he kept coming in low," Khan continued. "I was the cleaner fighter. He was either going to head butt me or push me all night and the referee wasn't giving me a chance."
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94d463f9106d4d7298149391dd05fea5
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what was khan deducted points for
|
[
"pushing,"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Caroline Wozniacki has earned a career-high world No. 2 tennis ranking after winning through to the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in California.
The second-seeded Dane will move above the injured Dinara Safina and close the gap on No. 1 Serena Williams when the latest standings are released on Monday.
The 19-year-old will play former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the final of the Californian outdoor hardcourt tournament after defeating close friend Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-3 on Friday night.
Wozniacki, who reached the U.S. Open final last year before losing to comeback queen Kim Clijsters, will be seeking her seventh title on the WTA Tour.
She dominated against fifth seed Radwanska, winning the first five games of the opening set and then taking the final four points off the Pole's serve in the match-clinching game.
"We know each other so well. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses," Wozniacki told the tournament's official Web site.
"Agnieszka is a great fighter. She doesn't give up. I knew that I had to fight till the last point to win this match.
"She actually owes me an ice cream. She thought we were going to play first match, and I said, 'No, we're going to play late, or 7:30.' Then we made a bet, as well, and I won, so at least I get an ice cream. But I have to buy dinner."
Wozniacki has lost all four previous encounters with sixth seed Jankovic, who defeated Australian eighth seed Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-4 earlier on Friday.
The Serbian, now ranked ninth, has reached the final at Indian Wells for the first time in nine appearances, and will be looking to emulate compatriots Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic by clinching the title there.
"I thought the key to today's match was my return," Jankovic said. "Samantha has an unbelievable serve, one of the best serves in women's game, and I was able to return a lot of her first serves.
"I was putting a lot of pressure on her second serve. So I think that was the key, because I was able to break her quite a few times. And then it made everything easier for me."
Stosur, who knocked out defending champion in the fourth round, will break into the top-10 following her exploits this week.
"Today was a bit disappointing, but it's still my best result in a tournament like this. I think there's a lot to build on," she said.
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0667a263456a4e0dbddc5dcdcb165809
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Where will Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic play their final at?
|
[
"Indian Wells in California."
] |
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|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four U.S. soldiers have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of four subordinates in Iraq after a suicide investigation brought to light alleged wrongdoing, the military said Friday.
There is no confirmed evidence that the suicide, which involved a fifth subordinate in the unit, was a result of any mistreatment, said Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for Multi-National Division-South, who said the military is looking into that possibility.
Charges were brought Wednesday against three sergeants and a specialist with the 13th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Bliss, Texas, accusing them of engaging in "verbal abuse, physical punishment and ridicule of subordinates," according to Olson. He described the physical punishment as falling into the category of "undue calisthenics."
"Accusations of cruelty and maltreatment are taken very seriously, and we will investigate this isolated incident thoroughly," said Brig. Gen. David Elicerio, deputy commanding general for Multi-National Division-South.
Olson said the Army does not believe the maltreatment of subordinates went beyond the soldiers' unit.
The four were identified as:
All four soldiers have been removed from their unit.
Olson said Army officials have spoken to the four subordinate soldiers and are offering them any help they need.
The suicide investigation began on August 4, Olson said.
On that day, a Defense Department news release said that Pvt. Keiffer P. Wilhelm, 19, of Plymouth, Ohio, died in Iraq of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident. He was assigned to a unit from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, the release said.
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e3974b6f3036483ea938344135b79b95
|
what were they charged with
|
[
"cruelty and maltreatment of four subordinates"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Most conservationists would agree that you should not interfere with mother nature. But there are exceptions to every rule.
Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge in Zambia were caught by surprise when a mother and baby elephant became trapped in mud.
Saying they couldn't just "stand by and watch them slowly die," what ensued was a dramatic rescue.
Together with the South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) and the local wildlife authority, the team devised a plan to get the elephants out. The rest of the herd initially tried to help the screaming mother and baby escape, but they were stuck too deep.
Team managers from the conservation society slipped a rope around the baby and after a few attempts managed to pull her out of the muddy pit. The team says it took a lot of coaxing to get her out and on her feet though, adding that she "was terribly frightened and wouldn't leave her mum's side".
Getting the adult elephant out of the mud was a far more challenging task -- by the time the baby had been rescued, its mother was dehydrated and exhausted. But the SLCS team eventually pulled her out too, using a tractor and rope.
Staff at Kapani Lodge say it was "heart-warming to see how many local people joined in the efforts to free the two elephants... it was the happiest possible ending."
|
230b20c0303848548968e170c8dfdd8e
|
Who rescued the elephants?
|
[
"Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge"
] |
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Washington (CNN) -- President Obama proposed nearly doubling the child care tax credit for middle-class families Monday, the latest administration initiative meant to reassure Americans nervous about the slow pace of the economic recovery.
The proposal is one of five new recommendations from the president's Middle Class Task Force, which was established one year ago this week.
It comes as an increasingly populist White House struggles to regain the political advantage among swing independent voters who have flocked to the GOP in recent elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia.
"The middle class has been under assault for a long time," Obama said in remarks delivered near the White House.
"None of these steps alone will solve all the challenges facing the middle class," he said. "But hopefully, [they] will re-establish some of the security that's slipped away in recent years."
Specifically, Obama will push to increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit rate from 20 percent to 35 percent for families making under $85,000 a year. Families making from $85,000 to $115,000 also would see an increase in their tax credit, the statement said.
At the same time, lower-income families would receive a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding, the largest one-year increase in two decades.
In addition, the White House will propose limiting federal student loan payments to 10 percent of a student's income above a basic living allowance.
The administration also will push for the creation of a system of automatic workplace individual retirement accounts, requiring all employers to give workers the option of enrolling in a direct-deposit IRA.
The "saver's tax credit" would be expanded, with a government match of 50 percent of the first $1,000 of contributions for families making $65,000 or less.
Fourth, the White House will propose expanding tax credits to match retirement savings, while also enacting new safeguards to protect retirement savings.
Fifth, the administration will push to expand federal support for families caring for elderly relatives, "helping them manage their multiple responsibilities and allowing seniors to live in the community for as long as possible," a White House official said.
Since its establishment, the Middle Class Task Force has held 11 meetings around the country and at the White House, according to the statement.
All five task force recommendations will be included in Obama's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget, which is set to be unveiled February 1. The president is also widely expected to stress middle-class economic themes in Wednesday's State of the Union address.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report.
|
b88ced10106a415a9deb23c4c0032572
|
Who is to also propose limits to a student's federal loan payments?
|
[
"the White House"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- The United States and other Western powers have "exacerbated Somalia's downward spiral" and must revise their policies in the east African country, a Human Rights Watch report has warned.
Recent image of Islamist fighters at a camp in the northern outskirts of Mogadishu
The report, released Monday, blames the policies under President George W. Bush for "breeding the very extremism that it is supposed to defeat."
"The new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should urgently review U.S. policy in Somalia and the broader Horn of Africa and break with the failed approach of his predecessor," the report said.
It also cites key European governments for failing "to address the human rights dimensions of the crisis, with many officials hoping that somehow unfettered support to abusive TFG (Somali transitional government) forces will improve stability."
Somalia's weak transitional government, backed by Ethiopian forces, continues to battle Islamic militias with the fighting concentrated in the capital, Mogadishu. Ethiopian forces have not withdrawn from the country, as required under a recent cease-fire agreement.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia two years ago and successfully routed the Islamic militia that seized control of the capital. The HRW report states that the United States "directly backed Ethiopia's intervention."
Since the 2006 overthrow of the Islamic Courts Union, Somalia has suffered from "unconstrained warfare and violent rights abuses" by all warring parties.
"All sides have used indiscriminate force as a matter of routine, and in 2008 violence has taken on a new dimension with the targeted murders of aid workers and civil society activists," the report states.
"The human rights and humanitarian catastrophe facing Somalia today threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions of Somalis on a scale not witnessed since the early 1990s."
Heavy fighting in Mogadishu and across Somalia has driven more than a million people from their homes. The lawlessness has also spilled onto the seas off the Horn of Africa, where international vessels are routinely hijacked by suspected Somali pirates who demand large ransoms.
Human Rights Watch offers specific recommendations to the Somali and Ethiopian governments, the main militias, and the international community to address the human rights abuses.
It calls on the West to "insist upon an end to the impunity that has fueled the worst abuses - and the right place to start is by moving the U.N. Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to document abuses and lay the groundwork for accountability."
Journalist Abdinasir Mohamed Guled contributed to this report.
|
0448887a949a47288327e91ca495a4bb
|
What did the report say?
|
[
"blames the policies under President George W. Bush for \"breeding the very extremism that it is supposed to defeat.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The illegal export of U.S. military technology to Iran and China poses a growing threat, the Justice Department said Thursday as it announced plans to combat the practice.
Iran is the only country still flying the F-14 Tomcat.
The department said the United States will tighten monitoring of export licenses and increase export restrictions on technologies that could have both civilian and military applications and could pose a danger to U.S. national security in the hands of terrorists or potential enemies.
"China and Iran pose particular U.S. export control concerns," the Justice Department said in a statement issued Thursday. "Recent prosecutions have highlighted illegal exports of stealth missile technology, military aircraft components, naval warship data, night vision equipment, and other restricted technology destined for China or Iran."
Representatives of more than a half dozen federal agencies will jointly announce their plans at a Justice Department news conference Thursday.
Officials plan to highlight two recent cases. In the past week a Pittsburgh company, SparesGlobal Inc., was sentenced for lying about an illegal export of products that can be used in nuclear reactions and in the nose cones of ballistic missiles. The products ended up in Pakistan after being routed from the United Arab Emirates.
In Utah, two men were charged last week with attempting to illegally export restricted components for F-4 and F-14 fighter jets. F-14 components are widely sought by Iran, which is the only military in the world that still flies the jet. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Terry Frieden contributed to this report.
|
2a96316ec39847a59b5a490f37cf5ab4
|
Where are the illegal exports going?
|
[
"Iran and China"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Saudi lawyer who represented a woman kidnapped and raped by seven men said his license to practice has been reinstated.
A protest appeared in India in November against the Saudi sentence.
Lawyer and human rights activist Abdul Rahman al-Lahem told CNN's Nic Robertson that the Justice Ministry has reinstated his license.
Al-Lahem had previously told CNN that the Saudi judge revoked his license as punishment for speaking to the media about his client's case, which attracted international attention.
His client, an engaged teenager, was raped by seven men who found her alone with a man unrelated to her. She has said she was meeting with the man to retrieve a photograph. The attack took place in Qatif in March 2006.
The seven rapists were sentenced to two to nine years in prison but she also was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for having violated the kingdom's strict Islamic law by being alone with an unrelated man.
The woman's sentence provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabian law.
Under Saudi law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery.
In challenging what he said were his suspension and disbarment, al-Lahem said he had received threats on his life from the religious right.
Last month, Minister of Justice Abdallah bin Mohammed al-Sheikh, in a phone call to a Saudi Television newscast, said the lawyer's license had never been revoked.
"Such decisions are made through institutions in the kingdom," he said. "The punishment of the lawyer or any lawyer does not come from a reaction; it comes from a carefully examined procedure within a special council in the ministry."
He said the council charged with deciding law license revocations had not issued any decisions in the case. E-mail to a friend
|
462c77dcf4544ea4b583b2372dc11946
|
Who is the Saudi lawyer?
|
[
"Abdul Rahman al-Lahem"
] |
NewsQA
|
HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- President Obama misinterpreted Cuban President Raúl Castro's offer to start talks with the United States, Castro's brother Fidel said Wednesday, appearing to dismiss the U.S. leader's call for Cuba to release political prisoners.
Fidel Castro appears with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, left, and brother Raúl Castro in a photo released in June.
In an essay published in state-run newspapers Wednesday, the ailing revolutionary leader said the people Washington calls political prisoners are "in the service of a foreign power that threatens and blockades our homeland."
Fidel Castro's comments come after signs of a thaw in the decades-old impasse between the United States and the communist-ruled island to its south.
Obama lifted all restrictions on visits and money transfers between American citizens and relatives in Cuba this month, while Raúl Castro said Cuba is prepared to talk with the United States about "everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners."
Speaking at a conference of inter-American and Caribbean leaders Sunday, Obama said the Cuban leader's declaration was "a sign of progress."
He added that the Cuban government could send a much clearer, more positive signal by releasing political prisoners or reducing fees charged on remittances Americans send to relatives in the country.
But Fidel Castro wrote Wednesday, "There is no doubt that the president misinterpreted Raúl's statements."
"When the president of Cuba said he was ready to discuss any topic with the U.S. president, he meant he was not afraid of addressing any issue," Castro wrote. "That shows his courage and confidence on the principles of the revolution."
He said Cuba would be willing to release prisoners held since a 2003 crackdown on dissidents if the United States would release five Cubans convicted of spying in 2001.
And he criticized Obama for not doing more to lift the U.S. embargo on Cuba, imposed in 1962.
"Should we wait for so many years before his blockade is lifted?" Castro asked. "He did not invent it, but he embraced it just as much as the previous 10 U.S. presidents did."
Castro ceded power to his brother in 2006 before undergoing surgery for a still-undisclosed intestinal condition. But he remains head of the Communist Party, and his essay raises the question of who would be calling the shots in any talks with Washington.
"Who's in charge?" one Havana man asked Wednesday. "Raul -- ah, Fidel -- ah, Raúl."
But a woman who spoke to CNN said, "The president is Raúl. He's the one you have to listen to now."
|
990ed2c49bdb462c9d4d47920ed13fb8
|
What did Obama say to Cuba?
|
[
"release political prisoners."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Extra-time goals by Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady gave Celtic a 2-0 victory over Glasgow rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park.
Darren O'Dea (left) peels away after scoring the opening goal in Celtic's 2-0 victory over Rangers.
After 90 tense minutes had failed to produce a goal, the game moved in to extra-time and just a minute after the restart O'Dea, who had not scored since Celtic beat Livingston in February 2007, leapt to head a Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick past goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
Then, In the third minute of added time at the end of the match, Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot was red-carded for denying McGeady a clear goalscoring opportunity and the Ireland international scored from the resulting penalty.
There was little between the two sides in normal time but Celtic's superior fitness paid off, giving them a psychological boost in their bid for a fourth Scottish Premier League title in succession -- a race in which Celtic lead Rangers by three points.
The victory was Celtic's first major final victory over their arch-enemies for 20 years -- and ensured Rangers, who are also through to the semifinals of the Scottish FA Cup -- cannot now lift the domestic treble.
|
c9d6e2d31fc04e28bb60dcae3e8f5693
|
Celtic defeated the Rangers to win which league cup?
|
[
"Scottish"
] |
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|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The family of a British soldier serving in Afghanistan has been forced from their home after a poisonous spider hitched a ride back with him and apparently killed their pet dog.
The camel spider's bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals.
Lorraine Griffiths and her three children, aged 18, 16, and 4, moved out of their house in Colchester, southeast England, and are refusing to return until the spider is apprehended, the UK Press Association reported.
Griffiths told the East Anglian Daily Times that the spider appeared after her husband, Rodney, returned from a four-month tour of duty in Helmand province, the arid southern Afghan frontline in the fight against Taliban extremists.
"My son Ricky was in my bedroom looking for his underwear, and he went into the drawer under my bed, and something crawled across his hand," she told the paper.
She said their pet dog Cassie confronted the creature, which they identified on the Internet as a camel spider, but ran out whimpering when it hissed at her. Watch the family that has been terrorized by the spider »
"It seems too much of a coincidence that she died at the same time that we saw the spider," she said.
The desert-dwelling camel spider, actually an insect rather than an arachnid, can run up to 25 kilometers (15 miles) an hour and reach 15 centimeters (6 inches) in length. Its bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals.
|
8a6717e2f212475ab1d5704d49cbc059
|
What was the name of the pet dog?
|
[
"Cassie"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The man accused in the brutal killing of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly will appear next Thursday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, where he will enter a plea in the high-profile case.
Anne Pressly, 26, was a news anchor at KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, was formally charged Thursday with capital murder, rape, residential burglary and theft, Prosecutor Larry Jegley said Friday.
Neither he nor police would discuss details of the case because of a gag order imposed by the judge.
Jegley hasn't said whether he will seek the death penalty.
Jegley said Vance, who denies he was in Little Rock, Arkansas, when Pressly was killed, was being held at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility.
Vance was linked to the killing through DNA testing.
Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for Little Rock police, told CNN in December that investigators are "110 percent" certain Vance killed Pressly, 26, who was the morning news anchor for KATV, a CNN affiliate.
Pressly was found unconscious in her home October 20 and died five days later at a hospital.
"She fought for her life. She fought her attacker. Her left hand was broken from trying to fight this man off," Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told NBC.
"Six weeks ago this morning, I found my daughter beyond recognition with every bone in her face broken, her nose broken, her jaw pulverized so badly that the bone had come out of it; I actually thought that her throat had possibly been cut. Her entire skull had numerous fractures from which she suffered a massive stroke."
Hastings told CNN that DNA evidence also ties Vance to a rape in April in Marianna, Arkansas, about 90 miles east of Little Rock.
The affidavit related to the Pressly case, from Little Rock detective Tommy Hudson, said police made contact with Vance at his home in Marianna.
Hastings said investigators have found no link between Pressly and Vance, and they do not believe Pressly's being on TV had anything to do with the killing.
"I think he saw her someplace, probably followed her home with intention of robbing her. And then went from there."
The killer also took Pressly's purse, Hastings said.
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d457c408c64a465bbd79d44eeca67e3a
|
Was Preessly found alive?
|
[
"unconscious"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Singapore lawmaker was in intensive care Monday after a man set him on fire at a community event, a hospital official told CNN.
Seng Han Thong of the ruling People's Action Party underwent skin graft surgery at Singapore General Hospital Monday morning and was in stable condition, said hospital spokeswoman Junaidah Hameed.
Seng suffered burns to his face and chest after a man in his 70s came up behind him as he was sitting down for lunch, poured thinner on him and set him on fire, party official George Tan told reporters.
An event organizer who rushed to Seng's aid and tried to douse the flames was also injured, the hospital said.
Seng had gone to the community center in his parliamentary district to hand out money to residents -- a tradition among many politicians ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 26 this year.
The attacker was a 70-year-old former cab driver who has been in and out of a mental clinic in recent months, the English-language daily newspaper the Straits Times reported.
Tan, the party official, said the man had met Seng at several meet-and-greets and complained about "evil spirits in his house."
"No matter what the reason is, and whatever condition the person is in, that is no reason to commit such a crime against anyone, not just against an MP [member of parliament]," Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told reporters at the hospital.
Two years ago, Seng was attacked at another community event by another cab driver, the newspaper said. In that incident, the cab driver punched Seng because he was upset that the lawmaker was not helping him get his revoked license reinstated.
CNN's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report.
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3447d92aaa1d4af59120cd4827513c17
|
What was the attackers former position?
|
[
"cab driver"
] |
NewsQA
|
Atlanta (CNN) -- Engine problems forced the pilot of a Delta Air Lines aircraft to turn back Thursday night shortly after takeoff from Atlanta, the company said Friday.
The aircraft returned to Atlanta without incident, spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said.
Passengers aboard Flight 1442 from Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina, told CNN affiliate WSOC that they had been airborne about 10 or 20 minutes when one of the engines appeared to catch on fire. Laughlin could not confirm the report of flames, but said crew members reported smoke in the cabin following the incident.
Passenger Ginger Heath said the incident began with a shaking sensation, followed by "sparks, a great big boom and lots and lots of fire" from the engine. "After that smoke starting coming out of the air vents."
Other passengers told CNN affiliate WBTV that they heard a "huge crashing sound" and felt what seemed like "bad turbulence."
"I kind of thought I was going to die for a second," one passenger interviewed by WBTV said.
"A couple of people got hysterical," passenger Atiim Browne told WSOC. "The lady behind me was crying. A couple of people kind of looked at it, you know, as life flashing before their eyes and stuff like that. But again we got back on the floor within a couple of minutes so it wasn't too bad."
Delta mechanics were inspecting the aircraft Friday, Laughlin said.
CNN's Ayesha Durgahee contributed to this report.
|
4f77aae1aa884022b03af0a54f0f8bec
|
Which report does Delta spokesperson?
|
[
"The aircraft returned to Atlanta without incident,"
] |
NewsQA
|
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan's GDP fell 4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace on record, the government said on Wednesday.
A homeless man pulls his cart filled with possessions and goods for recycling on March 18 in Osaka, Japan.
The January-March quarter for Japan was 15.4 percent lower than the same time period last year, according to figures released by the Cabinet Office. Exports fell 26 percent on quarter, while imports were down 15 percent.
The GDP slide in the world's second-largest economy is the greatest drop among the world's leading economies. By comparison, GDP in the United States fell 6.1 percent on an annual basis.
This was the fourth straight quarter the Japanese economy contracted. Analysts say the drop reflects cuts in domestic spending with job cuts, factory closings and less capital spending as a result of spiraling sales abroad.
The news punctuates a month of poor economic news out of Japan in recent weeks. Panasonic, one of the world's largest makers of electronic devices, announced it lost nearly $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. Hitachi lost $8 billion in the fiscal year, with consolidated revenues down 11 percent from last year, the largest loss ever recorded by a Japanese manufacturer.
NEC Corporation lost $3 billion in the past fiscal year, down nearly 11.5 percent from last year. Meanwhile, Nissan lost $2.3 billion for the year.Sony Corp. announced net losses of $1 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, finishing a year in the red for the first time in 14 years.
|
e0bf3abc7fd44051b4ab4e044bb83576
|
What percentage did Japan's GDP fall last quarter?
|
[
"4 percent"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Police Wednesday arrested the suspected head of an Italian mafia murder squad following a two-day manhunt after he eluded police by crawling through sewer pipes, according to Italian media reports.
Italian police examine a sewer that may have offered an escape route for a suspected mafia boss.
Giuseppe Setola, 38, was arrested near Caserta north of Naples, according to Italy's state-run ANSA news agency and reports in the La Repubblica and Corriere Della Sera newspapers.
"This is a great moment for the (Italian) state," Naples anti-Mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti told ANSA after Setola's arrest.
"We were certain (Setola) was in a situation of great difficulty. We promised all the citizens that he would be caught. We have kept that promise."
Setola is believed to have slipped into a tunnel built under his hideout near Naples on Monday, as police closed in on him, according to the reports.
That tunnel connects to the sewer system in Caserta. Corriere published photos of anti-mafia police searching through what was described as Setola's trash-strewn bunker and the tunnel.
Anti-mafia police have been searching for Setola for months, and had already arrested his wife and two suspected members of his crew, according to the reports. Monday was the third time he avoided arrest.
Setola is allegedly the head of a killing team run by the powerful Casalesi clan which belongs to the Neapolitan mafia known as Camorra. He got out of jail last spring after a doctor ruled that he was legally blind. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into that ruling.
Corriere published a photo of Setola wearing sunglasses with his left eye bandaged.
The Casalesi clan is featured in the best-selling book "Gomorrah" -- a play on the word "Camorra" -- written by Roberto Saviano who now lives under constant police protection. Saviano recently said he may have to leave Italy to escape constant death threats from the mafia and its supporters.
Police began cracking down on Setola and his colleagues after the murder of six West African immigrants in the nearby town of Castel Volturno in September. After those killings, the Italian government activated the army to help bolster efforts against the Casalesi clan, which is believed to have killed more than 20 people since May.
The two suspected members of his squad have given police information about his movements.
In November, police arrested an Italian police officer suspected of informing Setola about police operations.
|
c7828f79c7af48e5aeb35087abde6261
|
How did the suspect escape?
|
[
"he eluded police by crawling through sewer pipes,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is hopeful that star striker Cristiano Ronaldo will return for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Lyon.
The Portugal captain will not feature in Saturday's La Liga game at home to Hercules, having sustained a thigh injury during Real's 7-0 defeat of Malaga on March 3.
"I am pretty sure he will play, but I do not like players who are not at 100%," Mourinho told reporters at a press conference on Friday.
"If Cristiano had to play tomorrow he wouldn't because he is not fully fit, but I am sure after training on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday he will play next Wednesday."
Real are looking to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European competition for the first time since 2004, having drawn 1-1 with the French side in the first leg of the last-16 tie on February 22.
However, despite recording a 3-1 win over Racing Santander last weekend -- and having an unblemished home record this season and Mourinho with any club for the past nine years -- Real remain 11 points behind defending champions Barcelona in the Spanish league.
Mourinho hit out at his arch-rivals, saying that he did not think that the two clubs were receiving the same treatment in terms of their match schedules.
"It's not fair for everyone. One team plays the Champions League on a Tuesday and La Liga on Sunday, and another play on a Wednesday and Saturday," he said.
"Real Madrid is not being given the same chances to compete. I am not stupid. We all know that the moment the lead increases the championship is lost."
Nevertheless, Mourinho said his side would not be taking anything for granted against 18th-placed Hercules, and hoped for a positive result before the home clash with Lyon -- who knocked Real out at the same stage last season before reaching the semifinals.
"Whoever's season is at stake isn't worried. It's not an easy match for us. Their players have a lot of personality and they will expect to earn a positive result," the Portuguese coach said
"We want to remain perfect at the Bernabeu. A solid match will boost our confidence before playing against Lyon."
|
b96273025536457988286cc89dc0dda6
|
Who picked up a thigh injury?
|
[
"Cristiano Ronaldo"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence, Saudi media reported Sunday.
It is OK to slap Saudi women who spend too much, a judge has told an audience.
Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper based in Riyadh, reported that Judge Hamad Al-Razine said that "if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment."
Women in the audience immediately and loudly protested Al-Razine's statement, and were shocked to learn the remarks came from a judge, the newspaper reported.
Arab News reported that Al-Razine made his remark as he was attempting to explain why incidents of domestic violence had increased in Saudi Arabia. He said that women and men shared responsibility, but added that "nobody puts even a fraction of blame" on women, the newspaper said.
Al-Razine "also pointed out that women's indecent behavior and use of offensive words against their husbands were some of the reasons for domestic violence in the country," it added.
Domestic violence, which used to be a taboo subject in the conservative kingdom, has become a hot topic in recent years. Groups like the National Family Safety Program have campaigned to educate the public about the problem and help prevent domestic abuse.
Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN that Saudi women routinely face such attitudes.
"This is how men in Saudi Arabia see women," she said in a telephone interview from the Saudi city of Dahran. "It's not something they read in a book or learned from a friend. They've been raised to see women this way, that they're less than a person."
Al-Huwaider added that "I'm not surprised to see a judge or a religious man saying that - they've been raised in the same culture - a culture that tells them it's ok to raise your hand to a woman that this works."
Another Saudi judge, in the city of Onaiza, was the source of a separate recent controversy: he twice denied a request from the mother of an 8-year-old girl that the girl be granted a divorce from her 47-year-old husband.
Last month, after human-groups condemned the union, the girl was granted the divorce.
|
8e00b537bcd043d6ad95711cf38dd691
|
What is domestic violence?
|
[
"abuse."
] |
NewsQA
|
YUSUFIYA, Iraq (CNN) -- Female suicide bombers, who often slip through security checkpoints untouched because of cultural norms, are taking a more deadly toll than ever across Iraq.
A female suicide bomber struck northeast of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 16.
But the U.S. Army has created a solution with "Daughters of Iraq," a program that trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers.
Women carried out eight bombings in all of 2007, according to the U.S. military. Halfway through 2008, the number of female suicide bombers is 20. A suicide attack carried out by a woman on Sunday in Baquba killed at least 16 people and wounded another 40.
"Daughters of Iraq" is a spinoff of "Sons of Iraq," which employs Iraqi men to run checkpoints and is credited with taking much of the steam out of the insurgency.
The goal of the women's program is twofold: to protect against female suicide bombers, and to provide much-needed income to Iraqi women with few chances for employment.
In the town of Yusufiya, southwest of Baghdad, some 30 women are being trained to search other females at security checkpoints -- something men are forbidden to do under Iraqi cultural norms.
In mid-May, a female suicide bomber killed an Iraqi army officer in this town.
"When he came out to meet her to help her with a problem she was having, she detonated the vest and killed him and injured some of his soldiers," said Michael Starz, a U.S. Army captain.
The women will work two or three days a month, making up to $300, an Iraqi military officer explained to applicants. In a community, where families struggle to survive, that's good money. Watch how "Daughters of Iraq" works »
The women come from small farming communities. Many of them are widows with numerous children and almost no income.
Such is the story of Fawzia, who has six children to support. Her husband was shot to death when his car broke down.
"I am ready (to work) as long as it helps me financially," she said. "I have five children in school."
Having women work in this tradition-bound society is a social revolution, according to Fatima, a volunteer leader, told CNN's Jill Dougherty.
"Many women would like to do it but their parents would not agree because it's a rural society and it's shameful for girls to go outside the home."
|
8342679e618e47e49ab8e9b985f6237f
|
What is the name of the group who trains the women?
|
[
"\"Daughters of Iraq,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Another body was found in the same 92-acre parcel west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the remains of 10 other people have been discovered, police said Thursday.
An Albuquerque, New Mexico, police forensics team member digs at the burial site.
The latest discovery was made Tuesday, and the remains were recovered Wednesday, Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said. Like the others, it was sent to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, he said.
A woman walking her dog found the first bodies earlier this month on the property, which had been graded in preparation for development. The graves are on about 10 acres, police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby said earlier, but that area keeps expanding.
So far, 11 bodies have been found, including those of a first-trimester fetus with those of a pregnant woman.
Police believe the bodies were buried sometime in the earlier part of the decade, Walsh said Thursday.
Authorities have identified two of the remains, Walsh said. Body No. 8 belongs to Gina Valdez, who was born in 1982, he said. Valdez was pregnant, and the remains of her fetus were with her.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz told reporters that Valdez had a prior criminal history that included arrests for prostitution and drug charges, according to CNN affiliate KRQE-TV.
Earlier, police had identified another set of remains as belonging to Victoria Chavez, a prostitute and drug user who was last seen in 2003 and reported missing in 2004.
Authorities are investigating how the two women's paths may have crossed, Walsh said.
Valdez's father, Dan Valdez, told KRQE she was 22 when he reported her missing four years ago. Despite her rough lifestyle, he said, "she was my daughter and didn't deserve to be buried in the desert."
Hamby said earlier there is housing south and east of the vacant land. After rain caused flooding, surrounding neighbors complained to the developer, who made culverts to divert the water, apparently bringing the first remains to the surface.
|
f790273ae6c147aaa2279d89f411bcbe
|
HOw many bodies were found?
|
[
"11"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A large ice shelf is "imminently" close to breaking away from part of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists said Friday.
Scientists are investigating whether the ice breakup is caused by global climate change.
Satellite images released by the European Space Agency on Friday show new cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf where it connects to Charcot Island, a piece of land considered part of the peninsula.
The cracks are quickly expanding, the ESA said.
Scientists are investigating the causes for the breakups and whether it is linked to global climate change.
The Wilkins Ice Shelf -- a large mass of floating ice -- would still be connected to Latady Island, which is also part of the peninsula, and Alexander Island, which is not, said professor David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey.
The ice shelf experienced a great amount of changes last year, the ESA said.
In February 2008, the shelf dropped 164 square miles (425 square kilometers) of ice. In May it lost a 62-square-mile chunk.
That meant the "bridge" of ice connecting Wilkins to the islands was just 984 yards wide at its narrowest location, the ESA said.
Further rifts developed in October and November, said Angelika Humbert of the Institute of Geophysics at Germany's Muenster University.
"During the last year the ice shelf has lost about 1800 square kilometers (694 square miles), or about 14 percent of its size," Humbert said.
Antarctica's ice sheet was formed over thousands of years by accumulated and compacted snow. Along the coast, the ice gradually floats on the sea, forming massive ledges known as ice shelves, the ESA says.
Several of these ice shelves, including seven in the past 20 years, have retreated and disintegrated.
The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been stable for most of the past century before it began retreating in the 1990s.
"It had been there almost unchanged since the first expeditions which mapped it back in the 1930s, so it had a very long period of real stability, and it's only in the last decade that it's started to retreat," Vaughan said.
Wilkins is the size of the state of Connecticut, or about half the area of Scotland. It is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened.
If the ice shelf breaks away from the peninsula, it will not cause a rise in sea level because it is already floating, scientists say. Some plants and animals may have to adapt to the collapse.
The Antarctic Peninsula is the piece of the continent that stretches toward South America.
|
85af2f98f1844424bce696e74ec5ffd8
|
What photos show cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf?
|
[
"Satellite images"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Fourteen people were missing after a cargo ship sank Monday in Egyptian waters, Red Sea Gov. Majdi Al Qubaisi told Egyptian television.
Nine survivors and the bodies of two crew members aboard the Cypriot-flagged Ibn Battuta cargo ship were recovered in separate operations Monday, the Nile TV News Web site said. A rescue boat was headed out to retrieve a 10th survivor.
The survivors were "on their way to the naval base, and preparations had been taken to carry out a medical check as soon as they arrive," the Web site said, citing an unnamed Egyptian official.
The Ibn Battuta's crew members are of Indian, Pakistani, Bengali, Somali, Iraqi and Sudanese nationalities, Nile TV News said.
The Ibn Battuta was carrying 6,500 tons of sand for use in the glass industry and was on its way from the Port of Abu Zenima in Egypt to the United Arab Emirates, the TV station reported.
The ship had experienced bad weather in the Red Sea, with low visibility and high waves.
The commercial ship Susan K retrieved the two bodies, while the survivors were rescued by the boat Sultan and an aircraft from an Egyptian Search and Rescue team, Nile TV News said.
-- CNN's Caroline Faraj and Yousef Rafayah contributed to this report.
|
9543936a5001466da4eedd646d707e09
|
Where did the ship capsize?
|
[
"Egyptian waters,"
] |
NewsQA
|
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Unilever is recalling four batches of Lipton Milk Tea sold in Hong Kong and Macau after finding traces of the chemical melamine in the product, the company said Tuesday.
Unilever Hong Kong Limited described it as a precautionary measure and said no other Lipton Milk Tea Powder products were affected.
The announcement came a day after British confectioner Cadbury said it has recalled all of its Chinese-made candy products after preliminary tests showed they contained trace amounts of melamine. Some of the products were exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Nauru and Christmas Island, according to the company.
They are the latest companies to get caught up in China's tainted milk scandal, which began earlier this month when authorities discovered melamine in powdered infant formula. Watch how scare affects companies outside China »
Contaminated milk has sickened nearly 53,000 children in China, killing four.
Countries around the world have since banned the import of Chinese products containing milk, or have withdrawn products that contain milk from China -- such as chocolates -- amid worries they contain melamine.
Authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the milk scandal, including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted.
Investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it, and added melamine in order to fool quality checks, Chinese authorities have said. The toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk.
Others arrested include 19 managers of pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations. Chinese authorities have said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine.
Authorities have implicated 22 Chinese dairy companies in the scandal.
Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.
Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said a company in Taiwan, the King Car Food Industrial Company, had recalled seven instant coffee and milk tea products that were sold in the United States under the Mr. Brown brand name. They contain a non-dairy creamer found to be contaminated with melamine.
The FDA also recommends that U.S. consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy, which in China has been found to contain unacceptable levels of melamine. The candy's maker, Guanshengyuan, has recalled its exports of White Rabbit Cream Candy.
|
557c499d52a2451fa0c5a28594eb0566
|
Which product was recalled?
|
[
"Lipton Milk Tea"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Republicans on Wednesday presented what they called a "sorely needed" alternative to Democrats' proposals to overhaul health care.
Rep. Eric Cantor says Republicans are drafting a plan to ensure all Americans have access to affordable coverage.
Republicans want to make sure all Americans have access to affordable coverage, Rep. Eric Cantor, the House minority whip, said Wednesday.
"We do so by making sure we keep down costs and incorporate the ability for folks to pool together to access lower costs, to bring private sector into the game and keep government out," Cantor said.
Neither Democrats nor Republicans have detailed how they would pay for their proposals. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said his party's plan will cost "far less" than that of the Democrats and "provide better results for the American people."
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Michigan, who co-authored the GOP plan, said it's important to make sure the bill is one with a "common-sense approach."
"We are not going to have a bill that is larger than the GDP [gross domestic product] of most countries, which is what we are beginning to see roll out," said Camp, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Clearly, if we move forward and this bill is on the floor, we are going to have to have a bill that is paid for and that's going to depend on what the scores come back."
A score is a preliminary estimate of the cost of proposed legislation. A preliminary review by the Congressional Budget Office of a plan being drawn up in the Senate found it would cost about $1 trillion over 10 years to extend health insurance to 16 million people who otherwise would not be covered, about a third of the roughly 45 million now uninsured.
Camp said that the House Republican proposal calls for refundable tax credits for lower-income Americans.
But Camp and Republicans have not determined key details for their proposal, including the amount of those tax credits or who precisely could be eligible.
House Republicans on Wednesday planned to release a two-page summary of Camp's proposal, which CNN Radio obtained.
Some highlights include:
This Republican alternative bill also contains several health care ideas that are increasingly championed by both parties.
This House Republican plan comes a day after fellow Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois and other moderates in the so-called Tuesday Group released their proposal, which spelled out many of the same ideas as the Camp bill.
Kirk contends his plan is less partisan but said he supports Camp's effort.
CNN's Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.
|
7b68bf9f9d0445ec85d81136810951cd
|
how long is the summary
|
[
"two-page"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Indigenous Indians located nine survivors of a plane that crashed in a river in the Amazon rain forest with 11 people onboard, according to the Brazilian air force.
The nine passengers were in good health, the air force said Friday.
Of the two people missing -- a passenger and a crew member -- one is believed to be dead. The air force did not provide further details.
The plane was on its way to deliver health supplies Thursday when it crashed. It had taken off from Cruzeiro do Sul in Acre state and was headed to Tabatinga in Amazonas state.
The plane landed in the Itui River between the tribe settlements of Aurelio and Rio Novo. Indians of the Matis tribe, who live in Aurelio, initially located the plane and alerted the Brazilian air force, which sent search planes to the site.
Before the passengers were located, at least eight aircraft had been dispatched for the search operation, the air force said.
Members of the Matis, an indigenous tribe of about 300, live deep in the rain forest.
Other area tribes were helping in a search for the two missing passengers along the shores of the Itui.
CNN's Mariane Teixeira contributed to this report.
|
954ea8f988704748867f260135363c0d
|
What number of people are missing?
|
[
"two"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Costa Rica's first female candidate held a two-to-one lead in the country's presidential election, as the second-place candidate, Otton Solis of the Citizen's Action Party, conceded defeat.
If the PLN -- the Spanish acronym for the ruling National Liberation Party party -- wins, Laura Chinchilla would become the nation's first female president.
Polls showed Chinchilla garnering 47.3 percent of the vote, with 24.9 percent of election sites reporting. Solis had 23.3 percent, while Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement had 21.9 percent.
Before noon Sunday, all three leading candidates had cast their votes in events broadcast live by local media.
If none of the candidates gain 40 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be used to select the next president.
In addition to president, Costa Ricans also cast ballots Sunday for two vice presidents, 53 congressmen and 495 councilmen.
Video footage showed flag-waving supporters of the main presidential candidates dressed in their respective campaign colors throughout the country.
International observers interviewed on CNN affiliate Teletica compared the election scene to a festival.
The festivities included election sites where children could vote in a mock presidential vote. The educational outreach let the children pick their candidate on a digital ballot not unlike the ones the rest of the electorate cast their votes with.
Some 2.8 million Costa Ricans are eligible to vote.
The legacy of outgoing President Oscar Arias -- a Nobel laureate who leaves office a popular, if polarizing leader -- has in many ways shaped the presidential race.
Although he has given Costa Rica a larger role in foreign affairs through his involvement in seeking resolution to the political crisis in Honduras, but his style has rubbed some the wrong way.
After casting his vote Sunday, Arias called the electoral process transparent and trustworthy.
"I would like to thank the Costa Rican people for filling the streets with color," he said.
CNN's Roberto Pazos contributed to this report.
|
44e34aadd18046909c6a4d696caa610b
|
Who bows out with 23.3 percent of the vote so far?
|
[
"Solis"
] |
NewsQA
|
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- At least 22 people were killed Friday in two bus bombings in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan security officials inspect the bus that was the target of the roadside bomb attack.
Initially, police said 21 commuters were killed and more than 53 wounded when an explosion hit a crowded bus in a town south of the capital of Sri Lanka on Friday, police said.
Police accused Tamil Tiger rebels of carrying out the attack in Moratuwa, a southern suburb of Colombo. Police said they also discovered and defused a Claymore mine in the same place, preventing another explosion.
A few hours later a bomb explosion in a bus outside Sri Lanka's hill capital of Kandy killing one person, police said.
The incident took place at Polgolla, some eight kilometres from the outskirts of Kandy where the bus was headed from the hill country town of Matale.
Police also blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for that explosion.
At Moratuwa, police and soldiers sealed off an area around the scene and searched for suspects. Authorities also intensified security in Colombo.
Initial reports said an explosive device was placed on the ground and detonated with a remote control device, police said. In an adjoining town, another bomb was discovered and diffused immediately, they added. Watch medics treat bus blast survivors »
The explosion came as rebel bomb attacks on civilian targets in Colombo and its suburbs have showed a marked increase. Pro-rebel web sites have accused Sri Lankan security forces of attacks on civilians in Wanni, the northern region dominated by them.
On Wednesday, a packed train heading to Colombo from the southern suburb of Panadura narrowly escaped severe damage when an explosion hit the track. The blast injured 23 commuters.
On May 26, an explosion on the same southern railway line killed nine and injured 84.
|
c5dba1836efd4696ac35f3ee1c4d3967
|
How many commuters were killed?
|
[
"21"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A motorcycle gang carried out a bold smash-and-grab raid on a jewelry store in the center of London -- right in front of a CNN camera.
One of the raiders can be seen clutching stolen watches as the gang makes its getaway.
CNN reporter Sasha Herriman and cameraman Peter Kavanagh were filming in Oxford Street, London's busiest retail area, when the raiders took a sledgehammer to the store's windows in broad daylight.
Kavanagh kept the camera rolling as the thieves helped themselves to handfuls of luxury watches before roaring off on their motorcycles, leaving a crowd of stunned shoppers in their wake.
"They always tell you to expect the unexpected when working in news, and this certainly was unexpected," said Kavanagh, an Australian cameraman with 19 years' experience. Images from the daring heist »
"As we were filming we heard a couple of motorbikes revving their engines loudly and saw a crowd forming. We couldn't tell what was happening at first.
"We saw the men yelling at the crowd and gesturing for them to stay back. Then they ran out of the store, climbed on their bikes and sped off."
Kavanagh says the daring heist nearly came unstuck at the last minute when the riders were forced to swerve to avoid a truck pulling into the road -- a moment he caught on film, along with a tantalizing glimpse of their booty. Watch raiders zoom away on motorcycles »
"As they went past, I zoomed in to get a clear shot. I noticed one of the passengers on the bikes was carrying a fistful of watches."
London's Metropolitan Police would not reveal the value of the items taken from the store, but said they were trying to establish if it was linked to other smash and grabs.
No one has been arrested in connection with the raid, they said, and witnesses were being sought.
Says Kavanagh, after the four raiders had fled, punching the air with victory signs, so did many of the passers-by who saw it happen.
"Afterwards we went over to the store and saw the glass from smashed cabinets and the sledgehammer lying on the ground. Most witnesses cleared off, but a few who had taken photos came forward."
|
789b538c825a4da6a0da2a3eed23f0d9
|
What is going on?
|
[
"a jewelry store"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An air-supported roof over the Dallas Cowboys' practice field collapsed during a heavy thunderstorm Saturday afternoon, leaving 12 people injured, authorities said.
An aerial view of the scene shows the Dallas Cowboys logo amid the ruins of the indoor practice facility.
About 70 people, including more than two dozen of the team's rookies, were in the facility when it was blown down shortly before 3:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET), team officials said.
Two or three suffered serious injuries, but none were believed to be in life-threatening condition Saturday night, said Dr. Paul Pepe, Dallas County's emergency medical services chief.
CNN affiliate WFAA reported Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, the son-in-law of former NFL head coach Dan Reeves, suffered a broken back. DeCamillis was seen on a stretcher wearing a neck brace.
A line of heavy thunderstorms was moving through the Dallas area at the time, he said, but no other damage to buildings was reported, said Mike Adams, a dispatcher for the Irving, Texas, fire department. Watch the roof collapse on players, coaches »
Arnold Payne, a photographer for WFAA, was shooting the Cowboys' practice session when rain began falling "tremendously hard."
"I noticed the walls started to waver ... and then I noticed that the lights that were hanging from the ceiling started to sway, and it wouldn't stop," Payne told CNN. Shortly after that, he said, "It was as if someone took a stick pin and hit a balloon." Watch Payne describe being inside when structure collpased »
Payne said Cowboys staff photographers were up in the metal framework beneath the canopy to film the practice session and "actually rode the building down with the storm." At least one was in surgery Saturday night, he said.
"There was nowhere for them to go, and it fell so fast -- it just collapsed as if it was being imploded," Payne said.
Video from CNN affiliate WFAA showed the roof caving in during a heavy storm, sending players, coaches and a handful of reporters and photographers scrambling to escape.
Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones told NBC that about 27 rookies from the NFL team and members of the team's coaching staff were inside the suburban Dallas facility at the time.
"They did not get good warning there, and the structure did collapse," Jones said, speaking from the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. "We're assessing who's injured at this particular time."
CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report.
|
2bbe4870a68d43a7b6bb1d14634d9124
|
How many people were injured?
|
[
"12"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Three people died Thursday when a medical helicopter crashed in western Tennessee, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The helicopter had dropped off a patient in Jackson, Tennessee, and was returning to Brownsville, Tennessee, about 30 miles west of Jackson, when the crash was reported, said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt said the crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m.
Three people were initially reported to be on board the helicopter, Lunsford said. All three were believed to be fatalities, as the aircraft -- a Eurocopter AS350 -- was burned, he said.
Investigators were en route to the scene of the crash, a field near Brownsville, Lunsford said.
CNN affiliate WMC-TV said the helicopter was operated by Hospital Wing. The organization identifies itself on its Web site as the Memphis Medical Center's air ambulance service.
Hospital Wing said in a statement, reported by WMC-TV, that the crash occurred just east of Brownsville, and that three crew members and no patients were on board. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating, the statement said.
"Nothing like this has ever happened in our history," Allen Burnette, Hospital Wing's director and chief operating officer, said in the statement.
"A weather report said there were thunderstorms in the area, but that they had passed, Lunsford said. "The big weather system moving through had stopped a few moments before."
Officials believe the helicopter was operating under a visual flight rules plan and not communicating with air traffic controllers, he said. Visual Flight Rules, or VFR, mean a flight is conducted under visual conditions.
"There are operating guidelines in any aviation operation, but ultimately the pilot is responsible for (the) safety of (the) aircraft and deciding whether to go forward or not," Lunsford said.
Hospital Wing was founded in 1985, the group's statement said, and is a nonprofit air medical transport service with direct alliances with the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Baptist Memorial Hospital, The MED, St. Francis Hospital in Memphis and Crittenden Memorial Hospital in West Memphis, Arkansas.
CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.
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8222e44d0ec1451b97bca558ac24555a
|
Where did the helicopter drop off a patient?
|
[
"Jackson, Tennessee,"
] |
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