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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A soldier who reported for duty with her children in tow has been granted her request for a discharge, her lawyer said Monday.
Lisa Pagan was recalled to the Army after being honorably discharged four years ago.
Lisa Pagan, of Davidson, North Carolina, reported for duty Monday morning at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her two preschool children. She had been honorably discharged from active duty at the rank of specialist nearly four years ago but was recalled as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program.
The former Army truck driver asked for a reprieve from deployment because her husband travels for business and they would have no one to care for their children if she was sent overseas. Until Monday, her request had been denied.
Late Monday afternoon, Pagan's lawyer told CNN the Army would grant her request and begin the process of discharge again, this time for good.
"We are definitely heading in the right direction for Lisa and her family and her children," said Mark Waple, Pagan's attorney. "She has been told by her chain of command they plan on doing everything they can within reason to do this as expeditiously as possible."
Pagan enlisted in 2002 and was honorably discharged from active duty in June 2005. She was never deployed.
Before she left for Fort Benning, Pagan, 27, told CNN affiliate WCNC that her relatives weren't able to care for her children for various reasons, including her relatives' health.
She said her family couldn't afford having her husband give up his job. They would lose their house, she told the Charlotte, North Carolina-TV station.
"I'm a human being. I need to take care of my children. They don't have anybody else," Pagan told WCNC.
Since September 11, 2001, the Army has recalled about 25,000 soldiers. Nearly half requested a delay or a full exemption. Some just wanted to finish their school semester before reporting. Others had financial or medical problems that made it difficult to report for duty.
The Army says it granted nearly nine out of 10 delay requests and six out of 10 requests for exemption.
|
f2b68f4c12854acb9bde437925709142
|
Who else could have cared for the kids?
|
[
"no one"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- T-shirts and other official merchandise from what were billed as Michael Jackson's last concerts are up for sale, the shows' promoter told fans by e-mail Thursday.
Official merchandise from Michael Jackson's "This Is It" tour is for sale, according to the shows' promoter.
The e-mail, which went to people with tickets to London tour dates that were to start in July, reaffirmed an earlier announcement that ticketholders will receive a full refund or, if they chose, a commemorative ticket for the tour.
The concert merchandise includes Jackson belt buckles, socks, hats, wallets, music and a myriad of T-shirts.
"Early in June, Michael Jackson approved a line of official merchandise for you, his fans," said the e-mail from concert promoter AEG Live. "As we mourn the loss of one of the greatest talents the world has ever seen, we are only beginning to feel the impact that Michael left upon us all. A variety of official merchandise commemorates this incredible talent and preserves the legacy that is Michael Jackson."
Fifty sold-out Jackson concerts were scheduled for the O2 Arena in London, starting July 13. The shows were billed as the final concerts of his career and were called "This Is It."
Jackson was expected to earn $50 million from the London shows.
The singer died with debts estimated at $500 million, and his estate will take years to unravel legally.
On Wednesday, Paul McCartney refuted media accounts about the fate of the Beatles song catalog, which Jackson co-owned.
"Some time ago, the media came up with the idea that Michael Jackson was going to leave his share in the Beatles songs to me in his will, which was completely made up and something I didn't believe for a second," a statement on McCartney's Web site said.
"Now the report is that I am devastated to find that he didn't leave the songs to me. This is completely untrue. I had not thought for one minute that the original report was true and, therefore, the report that I'm devastated is also totally false, so don't believe everything you read folks!"
|
800e82a65dd94aaf8079d353c3376026
|
who refuted media accounts about the fate of the Beatles song catalog?
|
[
"Paul McCartney"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The number of stray and abandoned dogs in the United Kingdom jumped by 11 percent in the past year -- the biggest surge in a decade -- possibly because of the financial crisis, a British dog charity said Wednesday.
A dog looks through the door of its kennel at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London.
Dogs Trust said local authorities picked up 107,228 stray and abandoned dogs from British streets in the past year.
It called on the government to make microchipping compulsory for all dogs to help reunite owners with pets, whether lost or abandoned.
"The latest stray dog survey is very disappointing," said Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive of Dogs Trust. "Even more tragically is the number of dogs that are being put down, which has gone up from 7,000 to just below 10,000, a very worrying trend." Has recession hit your pet? Send us your thoughts
The 11 percent rise is the highest yearly increase since recordkeeping began in 1997, Dogs Trust said.
The rise may be due to the financial crisis, Dogs Trust said. Some households tighten their belts by giving up the dog.
Another possible reason for the jump: England and Wales last year changed the law to make local councils, not police, responsible for taking in stray dogs, Dogs Trust said.
Cash-strapped councils might lack resources to pick up or temporarily shelter dogs.
"You've got a lot of latchkey dogs that are just left to wander the streets," said Natalie Dexter, who works at the education center at Dogs Trust. "Their homes aren't secure, gardens aren't secure, and so they're just left to wander around."
Local authorities handle an average of 12 dogs each hour, Dogs Trust said. Only five are reunited with their owners -- a number that could increase if more dogs were microchipped, Dogs Trust said.
A microchip is an electronic device, coated in plastic, that is the size of a grain of rice. It is implanted just under a dog's skin, beneath its shoulder blades, which causes no harm to the animal and cannot be felt, veterinarians and campaigners say.
The microchip carries the owner's information, which can be updated. The information can be read by a scanner that works through a radio frequency.
|
6b77162cc3fe4df2b9b3a4dfe0872175
|
What would be made compulsory?
|
[
"microchipping"
] |
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|
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A wildfire threatened to decimate historic Angel Island, the largest in the San Francisco Bay, and a Marin County fire official warned it could take up to four days contain the blaze.
At 9:15 p.m. Sunday the fire was burning only on the southeast side of the island.
The fire, which began about 9 p.m. Sunday, had consumed about 250 acres of vegetation near the top of Mount Livermore's 788-foot peak, Battalion Chief Mike Giannini said Monday.
iReporter Bob Austrian, 45, of Tiburon, said he could see the blaze from his home about 4 or 5 miles from the island.
He noticed the blaze at 9:15 p.m. Sunday. It "started as a little red glow" on the southeast side of the island and worked its way over the top and around the side of Mount Livermore, he said early Monday morning. Watch the island burn »
"It's still ripping right now," Austrian said at 5 a.m., noting that the blaze posed "quite a spectacle" with the town of Belvedere in the foreground and the Bay Bridge that connects Oakland and San Francisco serving as a backdrop.
Fire crews and equipment were being ferried to the island to battle the blaze, Giannini said. About 200 firefighters were already involved in the effort or en route, he said.
None of the blaze is contained, and Giannini said he expects the firefighting effort to last for three to four more days.
Austrian, who has visited the island at least a dozen times, said he's concerned that firefighters won't be able to douse the blaze. The island is mostly vegetation with a few historic buildings, foot trails and access roads. iReport.com: See, share images of the blaze
Even with the necessary manpower and firefighting resources, he said, it will be difficult to reach the actual blaze.
"It's just the saddest thing because there's no way to stop it," Austrian said.
Fire officials said earlier that all of the park workers and campers on the island were safe.
Angel Island -- a hilly grass- and forest-covered island -- is the largest in San Francisco Bay.
The island was used as a quarantine station for immigrants suspected of carrying diseases starting in the late 19th century.
It's now a place for hiking, biking, camping and boating.
|
75aafb0536b14cc89c99a70a36a1bd81
|
Who is safe according to fire officials?
|
[
"all of the park workers and campers on the island"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Honduras suspended diplomatic relations with Argentina on Tuesday in retaliation for having its ambassador expelled from Argentina last week.
Riot police stand in front of marchers supporting ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday.
The move stems from tensions between the two countries over a June 28 military-led coup in which Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya was replaced by congressional leader Roberto Micheletti. When Honduran Ambassador Carmen Eleonora Ortez Williams, who had been appointed by Zelaya, did not protest the coup, Argentina took exception.
Most countries in the world -- as well as the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the European Union -- have denounced the coup and demanded that Zelaya be restored to power. Those nations still consider Zelaya president and do not recognize any officials from Micheletti's government or any functionaries who support him.
Argentina asked Ortez to leave last week "for supporting the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti." On Tuesday, Honduras suspended relations with Argentina and asked the South American nation's diplomats to leave within 72 hours. Honduras' relations with Argentina will be "channeled" though the Argentine embassy in Israel, said a release issued in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital.
"With regards to Argentine personnel stationed in Tegucigalpa and who are finishing their functions in Honduras, they will be granted, based on the principle of strictest reciprocity, the same treatment, time and facilities that was conceded to Honduran functionaries accredited in Argentina," the Honduran release said.
The Honduran political crisis stems from Zelaya's desire to hold a referendum that could have led to extending term limits by changing the constitution, despite the country's congress having outlawed the vote and the supreme court having ruled it illegal.
Zelaya vowed to hold the vote anyway but was ousted before the voting started. The congress named Micheletti provisional president shortly after Zelaya was detained by the military and sent into exile.
Micheletti said Zelaya was not overthrown in a coup, but rather removed from power through constitutional means.
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1e09f3a83a884c5c8aa02ca680f110f0
|
What caused the ambassador to be expelled?
|
[
"tensions between the two countries over a June 28 military-led coup in which Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya was replaced by congressional leader Roberto Micheletti."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A California judge ruled Wednesday to allow cameras in a federal courtroom to document a challenge to Proposition 8, a measure banning same-sex marriage.
The courtroom footage will not be streamed live, but will be uploaded on the Web site YouTube daily, CNN affiliate KGO reported.
Proposition 8 passed with about 52.5 percent of the vote in November 2008. A lesbian couple and a gay couple who were banned from marrying filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the new measure, the affiliate reported.
The nonjury trial is to begin on January 11 in federal court in San Francisco.
The rare decision to allow cameras in a federal courtroom was influenced by intense media attention, court officials said.
The legal battle over Proposition 8 has prompted passionate debate and in the past has spurred protests outside courtrooms.
Opponents of the ban say it improperly altered the state's Constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state charter.
Ban supporters say Californians long have had the right to change their state Constitution through ballot initiatives.
|
9bad8f9d4e8949adb3f8ce16a8ac9291
|
Who rules to allow cameras in a federal courtroom?
|
[
"A"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On their son's last night as president, a melancholy former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, made an impromptu visit to the White House's press briefing room and told reporters how much they'll miss the building.
Ex-President George H.W. Bush says he'll miss coming and going from the White House.
"We will miss coming and going, but it's time to move on," said the former president, who was a frequent visitor during his son's two terms in office.
"The Bushes are going to a happy life."
When a reporter suggested that perhaps one of their other sons, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will take the White House someday, the former president smiled.
"Maybe Jeb will do something. I'd like to see him try," the former president said.
Barbara Bush, who was first lady from 1989 to 1993, said the hardest part of the night was saying goodbye to the White House residence staff a second time.
"In tears twice," she said, her eyes red.
She added that she and her husband are looking forward to attending Tuesday's inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
"Very exciting day," she said.
In addition to the inauguration, the former first couple was to attend a final dinner at the White House with current President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and the first couple's two daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
As the former first couple left the briefing room, some reporters and photographers spontaneously started clapping out of respect. Your view of history
The ex-president, who was using a long walking stick to get around, quipped, "You didn't clap when I was president, what the hell is going on?"
|
1c4a9420322d44cda2764a5b7ee19201
|
What is G.W. Bush's mother's name?
|
[
"Barbara"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- From Captain Kirk on "Star Trek" to Denny Crane on "Boston Legal," William Shatner has been a fixture on television for decades.
William Shatner has a new talk show and has written an autobiography.
Even as his latest series comes to an end, the actor is busier than ever.
He has written an autobiography, "Up Till Now," and he has a new talk show -- "Shatner's Raw Nerve" on the Biography channel --billed as an "edgy and off-beat celebrity interview series."
Shatner talked with CNN's Kyra Phillips about his career, past and present.
CNN: "Boston Legal," what a finale: a wedding between Denny and fellow lawyer and best friend Alan. Don't they know that Proposition 8 [passed]?
Shatner: It was all a financial guise, as you learned to your dismay. There was nothing sexual about our marriage. It was all designed to bequeath my fortune to him as [my character] got ready to die.
CNN: "Boston Legal" was a brilliant show: the writing, your famous wit. You must have had a blast doing the show.
Shatner: We laughed our way through five years of great joy, great entertainment, and we got some wonderful awards during the years and the beauty of it all was that when we came in this season, we knew we were going to do 13 shows and be out. So the writing reflected the fact that we knew we were ending and it wrapped the whole show up.
CNN: I cannot believe you have a porn queen [Jenna Jameson] on your talk show.
Shatner: We like to call her an adult film star. She turns out to be highly sensitive, vulnerable. ... This is a remarkable interview of a woman who is terribly vulnerable and expresses it. It was so good, we're doing a two-parter.
CNN: Who has been your favorite leading lady?
Shatner: They go down in the hoary mists of history. The effects of age -- they all meld into one and it looks like my wife.
CNN: You reveal a lot in your book. Who would you say your ultimate mentor has been through your life?
Shatner: I've thought about that over the years and it comes up that I don't have anybody who ever mentored me, ever was particularly interested in furthering my career. I had to do it stumbling around, trying to do it as most people do themselves.
|
de29d6ec8c504b6a9081772644659dd4
|
What is the name of Shatner's book?
|
[
"\"Up Till Now,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Los Angeles-area man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife while on a cruise along the Mexican coast, an FBI spokesman told CNN sister network HLN.
Shirley McGill, 55, was found dead on Tuesday in her cabin on the Carnival Elation.
Shirley McGill, 55, was found dead in her cabin on the Carnival Elation on Tuesday as the ship, after a five-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas, was heading back to its origination point of San Diego, California, authorities said.
Robert McGill, who is in his mid-50s, is charged with murder on the high seas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter told HLN.
The FBI and the Carnival cruise line said that a domestic dispute Tuesday night resulted in the woman's death, but did not elaborate on how she was killed. The FBI said the cause of death would be determined through autopsy.
Another passenger became suspicious that foul play had taken place "for a variety of possible reasons," Slotter said, and notified ship security. When security checked the couple's room, Shirley McGill was found dead inside, he said. Authorities believe she had been dead for no more than a couple of hours. Watch Slotter describe how the body was found »
Robert McGill was arrested on board the ship and was kept in its brig for the remainder of the cruise, the FBI said. After the ship docked, he was taken into federal custody, as crimes on the high seas fall under federal jurisdiction. FBI agents boarded the ship to start the investigation as the vessel neared San Diego, with the Coast Guard transporting the agents about 10 miles offshore.
Agents were completing their work on the ship Thursday, having interviewed about 50 passengers and processed the crime scene, Slotter said.
He would not elaborate on the domestic dispute, saying authorities are still trying to piece together what happened.
The 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation had departed on the cruise July 11.
CNN's Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
|
c49fa7cfeaee4234abb6eb2b73067e15
|
Where was Shirley found dead?
|
[
"in her cabin on the Carnival Elation."
] |
NewsQA
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Barack Obama is in excellent health, according to a statement from his doctor, released by the campaign.
Besides being an "intermittent smoker," Sen. Barack Obama is in excellent health, his doctor says.
Obama, 46, last saw Dr. David Scheiner in January 2007, shortly before he declared he was running for president.
Scheiner, who has been Obama's primary doctor since 1987, observed that the Illinois senator's diet, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol were all healthy.
"In short, his examination showed him to be in excellent health," Scheiner said.
Obama "exercised regularly, often jogging three miles. His diet was balanced with good intake of roughage and fluids. ... On physical examination, his blood pressure was 90/60 and pulse 60/minute," Scheiner wrote.
The Illinois senator has been an "intermittent" cigarette smoker who has "quit on several occasions and is currently using Nicorette gum with success."
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, released his health records last week.
McCain's doctors also described him as being in "excellent health," despite a history of skin cancer, and said there appears to be no physical reason why the 71-year-old candidate could not carry out the duties of the office.
Obama released a one-page statement from his primary care physician. He did not release any medical records or make his doctors available to the media.
By contrast, McCain made more than 1,000 pages of medical documents available to journalists, including CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Four of McCain's doctors held a conference call with reporters after the records were made available.
McCain has had four malignant melanomas removed. Three of them -- on his left shoulder, left arm and left nasal wall -- were limited to the top skin layer and were not invasive. They were removed in 1993, 2000 and 2002.
But a fourth melanoma proved to be invasive and was removed from his left lower temple in 2000, said Dr. John D. Eckstein, an internist who has been overseeing McCain's treatment for 16 years at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Scottsdale, Arizona.
|
386bd0cd17c04dc8a39112aa2cbe0397
|
Who is a smoker?
|
[
"Obama"
] |
NewsQA
|
Mexico City (CNN) -- A Mexican mayor campaigning for the president's sister in a gubernatorial race was fatally shot in the southeastern state of Michoacan, the state attorney general's office said.
The killing of La Piedad Mayor Ricardo Guzman Romero on Wednesday is the latest in a number of mayoral killings dating to last year. According to CNNMexico, 18 mayors have been killed in 2010 and 2011.
But Guzman's death garnered extra attention because he was killed in President Felipe Calderon's home state, and because he was campaigning for the president's sister, gubernatorial candidate Luisa Maria Calderon. She is running as a candidate for the National Action Party, or PAN, the same party to which the president belongs.
The attack came just 11 days before the state elections, where in addition to a governor, 40 lawmakers and 113 mayors will be chosen.
Guzman was elected mayor in 2008, and his term was to end in January.
"At the moment, the federal authorities and military are in charge (of the case)," Michoacan attorney general's office spokesman Armando Soto La Marina said.
According to authorities, Guzman was participating in a campaign event, walking down one of his town's boulevards, when a black vehicle approached and a gunman shot from inside.
The shooter escaped, and the mayor was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Luisa Maria Calderon said she was saddened by the killing, but that "we're not going to stop our fight for Michoacan."
Michoacan has long been a center of drug cartel violence. It was where President Calderon initiated his campaign against the cartels in 2006.
Last year, the PAN and an allied party declined to run candidates in at least 20 mayoral races in Michoacan because of insecurity.
|
159bea8302b24f45897ef779bb392501
|
When was Romero killed
|
[
"Wednesday"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Space shuttle Discovery launched just before midnight Friday on a mission to the international space station.
Space shuttle Discovery lifts off late Friday from Kennedy Space Center in a photo from iReporter Alan Walters.
The crew of seven astronauts includes one from Mexico and another from Sweden. One of those seven, Nicole Stott, will remain on the station as a flight engineer, while astronaut Timothy Kopra is to return home aboard the shuttle.
Also on board: The Leonardo logistics module, science experiments and the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT), named for fake newsman Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."
Colbert won an online poll conducted by NASA to name the newest space station compartment, but Colbert and the space agency compromised to give the moniker to the treadmill. The new compartment was given the name Tranquility.
NASA astronaut Cady Coleman said the treadmill is an essential addition to the space station. Watch shuttle launch »
"We have the treadmill now to keep them healthy, which is really part of being able to come home in one piece. So it is an essential part," Coleman said. iReport.com: Discovery lights night sky
Discovery's liftoff, originally set for Tuesday, had been postponed three times -- first for bad weather, and twice more while mission managers checked out indications of a faulty valve.
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a19700ed49d14252a44fb0cd565b4b80
|
When does shuttle launch?
|
[
"late Friday"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A man has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly displaying hangman's nooses from the back of a pickup truck during a civil rights march last year in Jena, Louisiana.
A photo taken by I-Reporter Casanova Love shows a noose hanging from a pickup in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Jeremiah Munsen, 18, of Grant Parish, repeatedly drove slowly past a group of marchers gathered at a bus depot in Alexandria, which is near Jena, as they awaited buses to return them to Tennessee, federal authorities said Thursday.
As many as 20,000 marchers had taken part in the huge protests in Jena. Authorities there had been accused of injustice in the handling of racially charged cases, including the hanging of nooses in a tree after a group of black high school students sat in an area where traditionally only white students sat.
The noose incident at Jena was the beginning of months of racial tension that included the beating of a white student, allegedly by six black classmates. The black students were prosecuted, but the three white students responsible for the nooses in the tree were not.
Munsen and an unnamed conspirator had attached nooses to their pickup on September 20 and driven to Alexandria specifically to threaten and intimidate the marchers, the authorities said. View a series of photos of the truck »
A juvenile passenger was apprehended with Munsen, according to the arresting officer's report.
The juvenile told police he and his family are in the Ku Klux Klan and that he had "KKK" tattooed on his chest, the police report said. He also said that he tied the nooses and that brass knuckles found in the truck belonged to him, the report said.
"This indictment accuses the defendant [Munsen] of conduct that constitutes a federal civil rights conspiracy violation and a federal hate crime," said U.S. Attorney Donald Washington.
Washington and Grace Chung Becker, acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, announced the indictment, issued by a grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana.
A photograph of the truck was sent to CNN by I-Reporter Casanova Love, 26, who said he is in the U.S. military. He was visiting his family in Louisiana and said he witnessed the event.
Love added, "If the police had not stepped in, I fear what might have happened." E-mail to a friend
|
3e1fec70b0b649c786fdb8decffd0076
|
What did the driver have on his pickup truck
|
[
"hangman's nooses"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Charging chesty women more for their bras doesn't win a lot of support, British retailer Marks & Spencer acknowledged Friday as it announced an end to the surcharge on its larger lingerie.
Marks & Spencer have apologised for charging chesty women more for bras.
"We boobed," screamed a full-page Marks & Spencer ad, which appeared in British newspapers Friday.
Marks & Spencer gave in to campaigners who argued that the higher prices of the bigger bras was unfair. The retailer charged as much as £2 ($3) more for all sizes DD and up.
"It's true that our fantastic quality larger bras cost more money to make, and we felt it was right to reflect this in the prices we charged," the ad said. "Well, we were wrong."
It follows a nearly year-long campaign by members of the Facebook group Busts 4 Justice.
The women behind the site argued other chain retailers didn't charge extra for bigger sizes, so Marks & Spencer shouldn't, either. And it pointed out that the store doesn't charge extra for larger sizes of clothing, so it shouldn't charge more for larger undergarments. What's your view?
"We would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this issue; especially the thousands of brilliant, busty women that have joined forces with us. We couldn't have done this without you," the two administrators of the group, Becky Mount and Beckie Williams, posted Friday on Facebook.
"Busts 4 Justice remain committed to making things better for busty women on the high street, but for now we're happy just to be able to encourage all ladies to reward themselves and their boobs with some properly fitted, fairly priced lingerie."
Marks & Spencer is a stalwart British chain, known for classic wardrobe staples and low prices. Its underwear department is the first stop for many British shoppers and is especially famous for reliable basics.
And to give customers an added lift, Marks & Spencer also announced it is cutting the prices of all of its bras by 25 percent for the rest of May.
"I think even though we all obviously held a bit of a grudge against buying our bras from M&S we should really be grateful they got rid of the surcharge and have given us the super generous 25 percent off," Mount wrote on the group's site Friday. "They may get cleared out by the time the weekend is over!"
|
52d1dbc230a84996bc844f22f8139ae8
|
What is marks and spencer ending?
|
[
"surcharge on its larger lingerie."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- "Gossip Girl" actor Chace Crawford was arrested on a marijuana charge in his hometown Plano, Texas, early Friday morning, police said.
The misdemeanor charge involves possession of less than two ounces of marijuana, according to the police report.
Crawford, 24, was riding in a 2003 Nissan 350Z when police stopped him, the arrest report said.
The charge carries a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, although a first offender can usually expect a year or less probation, according to Texas criminal lawyer George Reul. Jail time is rare in such cases, he said.
Many defendants get "deferred adjudication," under which they are not technically convicted and it is removed from their criminal record if they successfully complete probation, Reul said.
Crawford has won two Teen Choice acting awards for his role as Nate Archibald in "Gossip Girl," which is in its fourth season on the CW network.
CNN's Jack Hannah contributed to this report.
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f24b6fae75a54a36a20930f65c6b7056
|
what says texas lawer?
|
[
"The charge carries a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, although a first offender can usually expect a year or less probation,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN) -- Rio de Janeiro's special police forces declared Sunday that they were in full control of one of the city's biggest and most notorious shantytowns, Rocinha, after a predawn operation aimed at wresting control from drug traffickers.
The operation, involving 3,000 police and security forces, had successfully occupied Rocinha and neighboring slums Vidigal and Chacara do Ceu, the Rio de Janeiro government said on its website.
"The next stage will be looking for the criminals that were able to get out of the places we are working," military police Col. Alberto Pinheiro Neto told reporters Sunday morning.
About 100,000 people live in Rocinha.
Some 200 navy commandos with armored personnel carriers and helicopters also participated in the operation. Roads were blocked at 2:30 a.m. and troops started moving in around 4 a.m., according to the local government.
CNN affiliate Band News TV showed military assault vehicles rolling in and heavily armed police patrolling the streets.
The massive operation is part of Rio's efforts to eliminate crime and arrest drug traffickers in one of the country¹s most violent cities ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral said the so-called "Shock of Peace" operation was a "historic chapter."
"We are rescuing communities that were abandoned for decades and dominated by parallel powers," he told reporters. "These are people who need to be able to raise their children in peace."
Residents told Band News TV that they were happy that police had stepped up their presence.
The operation will have an impact beyond Rocinha, which supplies 80% of the drugs in Rio de Janeiro, Congresswoman Marina Magessi told Band News TV.
"We are certain that from now until the end of the year, there will be a shortage of drugs present in Rio," said Magessi, a former police inspector responsible for catching some of Rio's top criminals.
Police have already "pacified" dozens of favelas since they began operations in 2008, but it's an uphill battle. About one-fifth of Rio¹s residents live in the city's 1,000 shantytowns, many of them perched on steep hills overlooking beachside condominiums.
Sunday's operation stands in stark contrast to the invasion of the Alemao favela last year when more than 30 people were killed in shootouts.
Police arrested Rocinha's top suspected drug trafficker days before they moved in. They found Antonio Francisco Bomfim, known as Nem, in the trunk of a car.
On Sunday, police reported capturing a handful of automatic guns and other weapons. They also found the steep and winding roads leading into Rocinha covered with oil, apparently an attempt to make it more difficult for police to enter.
CNN's Marilia Brocchetto contributed to this report.
|
e403121635c34f29afe90c7fe93fabdf
|
What does the Governor say?
|
[
"the so-called \"Shock of Peace\" operation was a \"historic chapter.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to the country Tuesday and accused Israel of attempting to carry out "genocide" against the Palestinian people.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the Israeli army "cowards."
"In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished," the Venezuelan foreign minister said in a statement read by an anchor on state television.
The statement added that the government "condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law" by Israel and "denounces their planned utilization of state terrorism."
"For the above-mentioned reasons, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the ambassador of Israel and some of the personnel of the Israeli Embassy in Venezuela," it added.
In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military.
"They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!"
It said that Chavez "makes a fraternal call to the Jewish people throughout the world to oppose these criminal policies of the state of Israel that recall the worst pages of the history of the 20th century.
"With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the state of Israel will never be able to offer its people the perspective of a peace that is both necessary and long-lasting."
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was unswayed.
"I haven't heard the details yet, but you know the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists, and it doesn't surprise me that they have affinity with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah," he told CNN.
He predicted that other countries would not follow suit, even in the Middle East.
"I think, even in the Muslim and Arab countries, there is a fair amount of understanding for what Israel has had to do here," he said.
|
7890bfdb08454b38b59b437ee78cdc29
|
What did Hugo Chavez say?
|
[
"\"They are cowards,\" he said. \"It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The America's Cup is the oldest sporting trophy in the world, first held in 1851, forty-five years before the incarnation of the modern Olympic Games.
The "Auld Mug" as it is known in the sport of sailing has attracted some of the world's most powerful men to create teams and invest millions to try and get their hands on the trophy.
This month on MainSail, Shirley Robertson takes the viewer inside the world of the America's Cup, looking back to when it all started and meeting some of the major names associated with the Cup. This includes the two most successful skippers ever to compete, America's Dennis Connor and New Zealand's Russell Coutts.
She also has an exclusive one to one with U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison, the man in charge of the American team, BMW Oracle Racing, who is plotting and planning how to bring the Cup back to the U.S., the nation that won every edition of the Cup from 1851 to 1983.
The next America's Cup final is scheduled to be held in 2010, with Ellison and his team taking on the Defenders of the Cup, European team Alinghi. But this Cup has been a battle in the New York courts and all teams who want to compete have been locked out of the game until the head-to-head between the U.S. and Europe has been settled -- a compelling story even before the first match between the two teams has been held.
When the first match takes place, it will be in the two fastest, most extreme boats ever to have competed in the America's Cup. Having already sailed the European Alinghi entry, Shirley Robertson becomes the first person in the world to have sailed both boats, as she joins the BMW Oracle Racing team in San Diego on board their spectacular multihull, and heads out for a Pacific Ocean training session.
|
d09d3acfd0c642969fe9c08cf86a3aaf
|
Who sailed on the team's mulihull yacht?
|
[
"Shirley Robertson"
] |
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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eed461949f3649898e355a92399bbe87
|
What is the name of the former first lady?
|
[
"Nancy Reagan"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Slave labor in developing countries such as Brazil, China and India is fueling part of their huge economic growth, according to a State Department report released Wednesday.
Amnesty International activists protest human trafficking during an event in Greece in March.
The department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" found increased allegations of forced labor made in connection with a variety of agricultural products and manufactured goods in developing countries.
In Brazil, the report found a "trafficking phenomenon." It said thousands of trafficked and forced laborers had been found on plantations growing sugar cane for Brazil's booming production and export of the biofuel ethanol.
The report cites shrimp processed in Thailand and Bangladesh; clothing from Bangladesh, India, Jordan and Malaysia; and bricks made in India, China and Pakistan as being among the products of booming industries in which workers are subjected to forced labor, debt bondage and hazardous working conditions. Laws are not adequate to punish those responsible, it adds.
China was found to have a "significant" problem with forced labor, including forced child labor. Children as young as 12 are reportedly subject to forced labor under the guise of "work and study programs" and subject to excessively long hours, dangerous conditions, low pay and physical abuse. The report found China's growing brick industry is fraught with cover-ups of the problem.
For the fourth year in a row, China was put on a "watch list" of countries that could face sanctions if they don't improve their efforts to combat trafficking.
India was also placed on the watch list for not doing enough to solve its trafficking problem, according to the report. While commercial sexual exploitation remained a problem in India, the State Department found internal forced labor "may constitute India's largest trafficking problem." It said men, women and children are forced to work in brick kilns, rice mills, agricultural businesses and embroidery factories.
Once again, the report found U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf to have dismal records on trafficking.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman were listed as destination countries with widespread trafficking abuses. The report cites forced laborers trafficked from Asia and Africa who are subject to restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, and physical and sexual abuse. The report found those countries made weak efforts to rescue the workers and prosecute the traffickers.
The other countries on the blacklist are Algeria, Myanmar, Cuba, Fiji, Iran, Moldova, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Sudan and Syria.
|
a5eec2231df94e439a3c2044c5cd0d92
|
What is significant about the Persian Gulf in this story?
|
[
"dismal records on trafficking."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Federal authorities indicted 24 people Wednesday on charges of selling, buying or exchanging archaeological artifacts stolen from Native American lands -- part of what Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar called a crackdown on smugglers of such relics.
The artifacts include burial and ceremonial masks, decorated pottery and a buffalo-hide headdress, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. "Let this case serve notice to anyone who is considering breaking these laws and trampling our nation's cultural heritage that the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], the Department of Justice and the federal government will track you down and bring you to justice," said Salazar, who was in Salt Lake City, Utah, to announce the crackdown.
President Obama is "committed to a new relationship with America's first Americans," Salazar said, adding that Wednesday's announcements of indictments was a show of that commitment.
Officials said the artifacts -- some stolen from grave sites -- were taken from the Four Corners area, so called because it is the intersection of four states: Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The area also has a rich history of Native American culture. The Navajo Parks and Recreation Department manages the Four Corners Monument, which attracts tourists as the only point in the United States where four states come together at one point.
Authorities recovered 256 artifacts worth about $335,685, said Deputy Attorney General David Ogden.
About 150 agents assisted in an undercover investigation that tracked the suspects for more than two years, Ogden said. They had the help of an individual who knew about the smuggling ring, officials said. The investigation is ongoing, said Ogden.
The recovered artifacts are evidence, but at some point after the investigation those that are privately owned will be returned to their owners, said Craig Leff, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management.
The suspects face charges carrying sentences ranging from one to 10 years in prison for violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation, Ogden said.
|
8361523833164d3b9f23fb07ee768efe
|
What was stolen from North American lands?
|
[
"archaeological artifacts"
] |
NewsQA
|
(EW.com) -- "Real Steel" showed what it was made of, as the robot-boxing action drama won the weekend with an estimated $27.3 million. That's the strongest opening ever for a boxing-themed picture, beating "Rocky IV"'s $20 million debut in 1985 (when not adjusting for inflation).
DreamWorks' $110 million film, which was released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures, scored a superb "A" rating from CinemaScore graders. That bodes well for the movie's box-office stamina, especially since there are no other major family films hitting theaters until "Puss in Boots" pounces on October 28.
Unsurprisingly for a movie about mechanical fighters beating up one another, "Real Steel" skewed male -- 66 percent of the audience according to Disney. It also attracted a younger crowd, with 44 percent under the age of 25. The PG-13 movie's respectable opening must also come as a relief to star Hugh Jackman, who hasn't had a non-X-Men film open to more than $20 million since 2004′s "Van Helsing."
In second with $10.4 million was the political thriller "The Ides of March." The R-rated film -- which George Clooney directed, co-wrote, and co-stars in along with Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei -- particularly appealed to older women. According to Sony, 58 percent of the audience was female and 60 percent was over the age of 35. The $12.5 million movie earned a "B" grade from CinemaScore participants, which is a bit lower than expected considering its awards buzz and positive reviews. "The Ides of March" will need to hold up well the next few weeks if it wants to keep its Oscar hopes alive.
The rest of the top five consisted of prior releases that all dropped around (a very commendable) 35 percent from last week. In third place, the family film "Dolphin Tale" slipped 34 percent for $9.2 million, pushing the film's cumulative tally to $49.1 million. The Brad Pitt baseball drama "Moneyball," a critical darling, grossed $7.5 million for a 38 percent decline. And the well-reviewed cancer comedy "50/50," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, fell 36 percent for $5.5 million.
In limited release, the why-does-this-movie-exist horror sequel "The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence" stitched together a decent $54,000 from 18 theaters, with most locations only offering late-night showings.
1. Real Steel -- $27.3 mil
2. The Ides of March -- $10.4 mil
3. Dolphin Tale -- $9.2 mil
4. Moneyball -- $7.5 mil
5. 50/50 -- $5.5 mil
See the full article at EW.com.
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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0b8263d60bb1471d91dd908450e3e94f
|
How much did the political thriller "The Ides of March" cost?
|
[
"$12.5 million"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A leader of the Sons of Iraq anti-al Qaeda group was killed Saturday when a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.
U.S. soldiers arrive on the scene of a suicide bombing Saturday in Kirkuk, Iraq.
Two civilians were wounded in the explosion in southern Baghdad's Dora district, the official said.
The Sons of Iraq, or Awakening Councils, are mainly composed of former Sunni insurgents who turned against al Qaeda in Iraq. They are considered a major factor in the reduction of violence in Iraq over the past two years and are frequently targeted by al Qaeda.
In other violence across Iraq on Saturday:
• At least 19 people were wounded in a bombing at a coffee shop in Baquba, a security official in Diyala province said. The coffee shop is frequented by U.S.-backed anti-al Qaeda fighters. The explosion wounded 17 group members and two civilians, the official said. Baquba is about 35 miles north of Baghdad.
• At least seven people, including three Iraqi Army soldiers, were wounded when a roadside bomb struck an army patrol in northern Baghdad's Qahaira neighborhood, the Interior Ministry official said.
• At least one police officer was killed and nine people -- seven police and two civilians -- were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest near a police academy in Kirkuk, according to a police official. Kirkuk is located in oil-rich northern Iraq, about 150 miles north of Baghdad.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Yousif Bassil contributed to this report.
|
2ac442e2e13e43bc8d16d7258f623d1f
|
Where was the bomb attached?
|
[
"vehicle"
] |
NewsQA
|
On CNN's "State of the Union," host and chief national correspondent John King goes outside the Beltway to report on the issues affecting communities across the country. This week, King traveled to New Hampshire, where diner patrons shared their thoughts on President Obama and the economy.
The Tilt'n Diner hosted all the major presidential candidates during the primaries in 2008.
TILTON, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Kate O'Leary voted for Barack Obama and began the year full of energy. But her hope is giving way these days to a sense that some things never change.
"I trust his motives," she said of President Obama. "I feel like he is an honorable guy, I am not sure if he can do it. That's the problem."
Too much too soon is one of her worries. Too much politics as usual is another. Add in too much bailout money and Kate O'Leary is more sober now than she was when Obama took the oath of office.
Across from O'Leary sat Debbie Lurvey, who took a job at the Tilt'n Diner after losing her job in the mortgage business.
"It was a forced unemployment because of the economy," Lurvey said. "So, you know, I decided that it was best to move on to something a little more stable."
O'Leary and Lurvey are among those who think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. But our third guest for our weekly diner conversation, Jim Wells, isn't so sure.
"I think most of it is psychological," said Wells, a Republican who believes consumers need to be more confident. "The secret out of a recession like this is to spend money. And you have got to spend your own, you can't expect somebody else to spend it for you."
He makes the distinction between consumer spending and what he sees as too much government spending.
"We are going to have to pay the bill in another two or three years and it is going to be scary when it happens," Wells said.
All three agreed one thing missing from Washington is a spirit of cooperation and compromise.
Lurvey said the pain of losing her job and dealing with foreclosure have taught her there are some things the government can't do.
"It is a good time to get back to what this country was made on -- it's the family," she said. "And you know I think for awhile we were all going crazy and overspending and living beyond our means and this has kind of been a reality check for most people."
|
2057d46000ae4af08ca1d607dc36b2f8
|
What does Kate O'Leary think about Obama?
|
[
"\"I feel like he is an honorable guy, I am not sure if he can do it. That's the problem.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended two air traffic controllers over last week's collision of two aircraft over the Hudson River that killed nine people, a spokeswoman said.
The wreckage of a plane that collided with a helicopter is lifted this week from the Hudson River.
A controller at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport handling the flight of a Piper airplane carrying three people "was involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said in a statement Thursday.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the controller was on the phone with his girlfriend "after he cleared the pilot for takeoff; he was still on the phone at the time of the crash."
In addition, "the supervisor was not present in the building as required," Brown said.
"While we have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident, this kind of conduct is unacceptable, and we have placed the employees on administrative leave and have begun disciplinary proceedings," she said. Watch amateur video of the moment of impact »
"These are serious violations of the FAA regulations," said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the Transportation Department.
The union for air traffic controllers urged caution.
"We support that any such allegation is fully investigated before there is a rush to judgment about the behavior of any controller," said a statement from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The National Transportation Safety Board is working with the FAA in investigating Saturday's collision of the Piper, which had taken off from Teterboro, with a sightseeing helicopter that was carrying five Italian tourists and a pilot.
No one aboard either aircraft survived the crash.
The NTSB has said the pilot of the small plane was cleared electronically and handed off to Newark, New Jersey, air traffic controllers, a standard procedure.
However, Newark's control tower never got a verbal response from the pilot of the small plane.
The controller put on leave was described as a longtime employee, the source said.
He and the supervisor face disciplinary action that could include their firing.
Also Thursday, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the agency may reissue advisories to pilots using the busy airspace over the Hudson.
Pilots are urged to use a radio frequency dedicated to traffic in that corridor, fly no faster than 140 knots and turn on their lights as they enter that airspace.
Babbitt made the comments at an event at the agency's research facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
|
2da99275fc6c4eac80aca211301fa7a8
|
What was controller doing during the accident?
|
[
"on the phone with his girlfriend"
] |
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.
|
4b0a939fc20942e585b4683b9ba9099a
|
who is repsonsible
|
[
"Tamil Tiger rebels"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Jersey City, New Jersey, police officer shot in the line of duty last week died of his injuries Tuesday, a day before his 38th birthday, a spokeswoman for the city's mayor announced.
Police officers gather at the site of a shootout in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Thursday.
Jennifer Morrill said Officer Marc DiNardo, who was wounded last Thursday in a shootout, passed away Tuesday morning.
Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey told reporters Monday night that DiNardo was not expected to live.
DiNardo was one of five officers injured early Thursday as they moved in for a tactical entry into an apartment where a shooting suspect and another person were holed up. Officials say the officers were met with gunfire, and a shootout ensued. Both suspects were killed, and DiNardo suffered two gunshot wounds to the face.
Melissa Bartholomew, a family friend and fellow police officer, read a statement Monday from DiNardo's family, which includes his wife Mary, three young children and his parents. She said DiNardo, whose 38th birthday is Wednesday, had a personality that no one could forget.
"Marc was not a selfish man. He was a moral man; a man who gave himself for those who couldn't care for themselves," she said.
DiNardo's family plans to donate his organs, said Joe Scott, president of LibertyHealth and its Jersey City Medical Center. "This unselfish act will live on in the lives that Marc will impact through organ donation."
Officer Michael Camacho, who was also wounded in the shootout, was upgraded from critical to serious condition and moved out of the intensive care unit, Scott said Monday. Camacho was shot in the neck during the gun battle.
The other three officers were treated at a hospital and released.
|
7adba81074ec4a6b86bffc02deb85f13
|
Who was hot twice in the face?
|
[
"Marc DiNardo,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rapper and actor Clifford Smith, better known to fans as Method Man, was arrested Monday and faces charges of failing to pay taxes, the district attorney in Richmond County, New York, said.
Clifford Smith, better known as Method Man, failed to file tax returns and owes $33,000, authorities say.
Smith, 38, owes the state nearly $33,000 for New York State income tax returns that he did not file between 2004 and 2007, district attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. said in a statement.
The Grammy-winning rapper, an original member of the Wu-Tang Clan, was arrested at his home on Staten Island. He faces a felony charge of repeated failure to file taxes and a misdemeanor charge of failure to pay tax.
The felony carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.
Smith was to appear at an arraignment in Staten Island Criminal Court on Monday.
Smith's attorney Peter Frankel was not immediately available to comment.
|
c2d462f43b3643229f2c707ae0a53b3b
|
How long are charges for evading taxes?
|
[
"four years"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Embattled former Detroit, Michigan, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail early Tuesday.
Kwame Kilpatrick appears for his sentencing October 28, 2008, in Detroit, Michigan.
Kilpatrick, his beard overgrown and bushy, was escorted out of Michigan's Wayne County jail as he dodged a crowd of reporters before getting into a car and was driven away, according to television footage from CNN affiliate WXYZ.
Kilpatrick spent 100 days in jail as part of a plea agreement connected to a sex scandal that rocked Detroit and caused the city council and governor of Michigan to push to impeach him.
Kilpatrick also agreed not to run for public office during his five years of probation.
He was expected to immediately leave the state for a job interview, WXYZ reported.
Kilpatrick pleaded guilty in September to two felony counts of obstruction of justice stemming from his efforts to cover up an extramarital affair.
He also pleaded no contest to charges of assaulting a police officer attempting to serve a subpoena on a Kilpatrick friend in that case.
He was accused of blocking a criminal investigation into his office and firing a police deputy to cover up the affair.
|
4a2552bf00b7488fbcfb8e28b8a96e4e
|
What did the former Detroit mayor try to cover up?
|
[
"an extramarital affair."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A plane crashed early Sunday in the southern port city of Karachi, killing at least eight people on board and sending flames shooting through the night sky, a Pakistani official said.
The cargo plane took off at 1:45 a.m. from the Jinnah Karachi International Airport for Khartoum, Sudan, said Pervez George, a spokesman for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority. It went down a few minutes later in the Gulistan-e Johar section of Karachi, an area where many Pakistani naval officers live.
Masood Raza, a Karachi district government official, told CNN affiliate GEO News in Pakistan that the pilot appeared to deliberately bring the plane down in a less densely populated residential area in order to save lives.
"If the plane would have crashed in a (more crowded) residential area, it would have been a very big disaster for the city of Karachi," Raza said.
All eight people confirmed dead were members of the downed aircraft's crew and all are Russian nationals, said George.
A local hospital spokesman told CNN that the hospital had received five bodies by 4 a.m.
The Russian-made cargo plane was carrying relief supplies, including tents, to Africa before it went down. The plane arrived in Karachi on Saturday from Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, George said.
An eyewitness told CNN that he saw fire on one of the plane's wings before it crashed.
Firefighters, rescue personnel and area residents rushed to the scene, with jet fuel fanning the large flames and huge plumes of smoke.
The blaze was put out by 4 a.m., according to George, at which point rescue personnel continued to comb through the rubble looking for other people possibly killed or hurt.
The plane appeared to hit several buildings under construction.
Hospital sources told GEO News that Mohammed Raees had burns over 60 percent of his body, resulting from the crash and subsequent fire. Raees told GEO News that he was hurt after flaming parts of a building hit him and the motorcyle he was preparing to ride.
|
c22dffd3cf904a3eba6df9f11f5c8732
|
Where the cargo plane crash occured?
|
[
"Gulistan-e Johar section of Karachi,"
] |
NewsQA
|
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- International troops in Afghanistan endured another deadly attack Tuesday, a day after 10 NATO-led troops were killed in that country.
The body of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan arrives in the United States on Monday.
A U.S. coalition service member "died as a result of injuries" on Tuesday afternoon in a roadside bombing attack on a convoy in western Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.
This follows 10 NATO-led deaths on Monday, the highest single-day total in Afghanistan in nearly a year, according to NATO and U.S.-led coalition numbers.
Seven Americans, two Canadians and one Briton died in four separate incidents Monday.
On August 18, 2008, 10 French soldiers were killed when about 100 insurgents attacked a patrol in Kabul Province, and a British soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan when insurgents attacked a patrol with a roadside bomb.
A month before that, 10 American troops were killed in two separate incidents on July 13, 2008.
The latest deaths came as U.S. troops cranked up their fight against the Taliban, a push that includes a major Marine-led offensive against the militants in the southern province of Helmand.
Roadside bombs Monday killed four Americans in the northern province of Kunduz and two in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.
A seventh American died in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF confirmed.
Two Canadian air crew members and a British soldier were killed when a helicopter crashed during takeoff in Zabul province, the Canadian and British defense ministries said.
|
7e6c50c5fbf34f12b93c6757f366c1e5
|
What was the number of americans that died?
|
[
"Seven"
] |
NewsQA
|
Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish fishing boat repelled an attack by suspected pirates Sunday morning in the Indian Ocean off the African coast, Spain's ministry of defense said.
The Spanish Ortube Berria fishing vessel was in waters southwest of the Seychelles when pirates aboard two skiffs opened fire on the ship with light arms and a grenade shot from a launcher, according to a defense ministry news release. The Seychelles are a group of islands located north of Madagascar and southeast of Somalia, whose coastal waters have become known for piracy.
The attack happened at about 5:40 a.m., the ministry said.
A private security company aboard the fishing vessel returned fire and thwarted the attack, the statement said.
No one was injured, and the ship did not suffer any material damage.
Following the attack, the Ortube Berria was sailing southward away from the area, the defense ministry said.
Pirates have captured more than 50 ships this year off Somalia and are currently holding 11, according to information from Spanish Defense Minister Carme Chacon.
Earlier this month, the crew of another Spanish fishing boat, the Alakrana, was released by Somali pirates after 47 days in captivity.
The Alakrana was hijacked off the coast of Somalia.
On Sunday, the commander of a European Union anti-piracy operation, deployed a Portuguese frigate based in the area toward the site of the attack, Spanish authorities said.
CNN's Per Nyberg contributed to this report.
|
3c8e63e0ad12461681a0cd3206269cc1
|
Who returned fire?
|
[
"A Spanish fishing boat"
] |
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(CNN) -- Actor Edward Norton already wanted to be in better shape for his 40th birthday than he was on his 30th when the idea hit -- why not join members of an African tribe famous for its runners and run the New York marathon?
"Incredible Hulk" star Edward Norton, second from left, has trained for a marathon with Maasai tribesmen in Kenya
Before he knew it, the star of "The Incredible Hulk" and "Fight Club" had signed on to the effort, despite never having run a marathon before.
"The idea picked up traction pretty quickly," said Norton, who turned 39 in August. "Then, I was like, 'Wait a minute. What have I just done?'"
The run is a benefit for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization working to promote sustainable development while protecting the east African grasslands that the Maasai tribe calls home. Both the traditional tribe's way of life and its environment have been threatened by rapid industrial development.
Norton discovered, and became a supporter of, the trust about 10 years ago during his first visit to Kenya, where he met founder Luca Belpietro.
"I was impressed at the way he was really genuinely working with the community to create value out of being good stewards of the land," Norton said.
Belpietro will be one of nearly 30 runners joining Norton on the Nov. 1 marathon. Also running will be magician David Blaine and three Maasai tribesmen.
The Maasai are at the heart of Kenya's long tradition of distance running. Norton said one of the runners, safari guide Parashi Ntanin, is so fast he could probably leave the rest of the group behind and run the race in less than 2½ hours.
Norton said he's run as much as 15 miles twice during his training for the 26.2-mile marathon and that despite some leg and knee pains, he's confident he'll finish the endurance race.
"I'm really enjoying it," he said after a workout Wednesday in New York. "I'm enjoying having a goal."
A competitive rower at Yale, Norton said he's experienced the so-called "runner's high" during his training, which fans can follow on his Twitter account, @EdwardNorton.
"Running in the park, I got a taste of what people say about the New York marathon. There were people of every shape and size out there," he said. "I really got a lift out of it."
Norton's latest film, the independently produced "Leaves of Grass," is set to premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and his company's "By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama," a documentary about President Obama's historic campaign for the White House, debuts on HBO on November 3.
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711012c4a962401fbd9d67fff2d05aa4
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Who is also running?
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[
"David Blaine and three Maasai tribesmen."
] |
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BREMEN, Germany -- Carlos Alberto, who scored in FC Porto's Champions League final victory against Monaco in 2004, has joined Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for a club record fee of 7.8 million euros ($10.7 million).
Carlos Alberto enjoyed success at FC Porto under Jose Mourinho.
"I'm here to win titles with Werder," the 22-year-old said after his first training session with his new club. "I like Bremen and would only have wanted to come here."
Carlos Alberto started his career with Fluminense, and helped them to lift the Campeonato Carioca in 2002.
In January 2004 he moved on to FC Porto, who were coached by José Mourinho, and the club won the Portuguese title as well as the Champions League.
Early in 2005, he moved to Corinthians, where he impressed as they won the Brasileirão,but in 2006 Corinthians had a poor season and Carlos Alberto found himself at odds with manager, Emerson Leão.
Their poor relationship came to a climax at a Copa Sul-Americana game against Club Atlético Lanús, and Carlos Alberto declared that he would not play for Corinthians again while Leão remained as manager.
Since January this year he has been on loan with his first club Fluminense.
Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart said on Sunday that they would sign a loan agreement with Real Zaragoza on Monday for Ewerthon, the third top Brazilian player to join the German league in three days.
A VfB spokesman said Ewerthon, who played in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund from 2001 to 2005, was expected to join the club for their pre-season training in Austria on Monday.
On Friday, Ailton returned to Germany where he was the league's top scorer in 2004, signing a one-year deal with Duisburg on a transfer from Red Star Belgrade. E-mail to a friend
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c2916320cd224711896acc656885d1ef
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where has he been since January
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[
"on loan with his first club Fluminense."
] |
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(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.
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03a1061f64ec4ef3865841ff7cb12157
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How many people were inside?
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[
"About 70"
] |
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(CNN) -- A Texas inmate escaped from a prison van near Houston after pulling a gun on two guards who were transporting him between prisons, according to a Texas prison statement Monday.
Arcade Joseph Comeaux Jr., 49, ran away with the guards' guns and wearing one of their gray correctional officer uniforms, the statement from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
Comeaux was serving a life sentence for indecency with a child, aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, it said.
The escape happened near Baytown, Texas, about 25 miles east of Houston, it said.
He was being taken from the Estelle prison in Huntsville to the Stiles prison in Beaumont, a 150-mile drive, when he "brandished a firearm and directed the officers to stop the vehicle," the statement said.
"He took the officers' weapons and apparently handcuffed them together in the back of the transport vehicle," it said.
Police found the handcuffed guards unharmed in the vehicle at 10 a.m. CT, the statement said.
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f4d5731ae206425eb161958afee0c875
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What authorities said about his escape?
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[
"Arcade Joseph Comeaux Jr., 49, ran away with the guards' guns and wearing one of their gray correctional officer uniforms,"
] |
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(CNN) -- A woman who gave birth to a stillborn boy was left distraught after she discovered his body was kept in a jar for four years by the hospital.
Jo-Ann Burrows believed for years that her son had been cremated before making the grim discovery about his fate.
The mother-of-five is now taking legal action against the hospital authorities in Hampshire, southern England, the UK's Press Association reported Thursday.
PA reported that Ms Burrows had daughter Ellie in April 2004 at the Hythe Birthing Centre, in Hampshire, but gave birth to the stillborn twin two days later at home.
She said that an ultrasound scan taken the previous December had not revealed that she was carrying a twin, according to PA.
After the stillbirth, Ms Burrows, 44, was taken to the Princess Anne maternity hospital in Southampton, also in southern England, where she gave her consent for the body to be cremated.
PA reported that she has spent the past four years asking for the funeral papers and ashes.
The 44-year-old is now organizing a naming ceremony and funeral for the stillborn, whose twin sister survived.
Ms Burrows was quoted in her local newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo, as saying: "This experience has made me suicidal, if it wasn't for my friends and family I wouldn't be here.
"I kept asking for my baby's funeral papers because I was always worried that he might be in a jar somewhere. I still couldn't believe it when I found out."
She was informed through her solicitor in February that the hospital still had the baby and has now filed a medical negligence claim against Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.
It claims the Trust failed to "exercise reasonable care and skill when performing the ultrasound and also focuses on Ms Burrows' repeated requests for confirmation of the cremation," PA reported.
A Trust spokeswoman told the news agency: "Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust confirms that legal proceedings have been brought against it by Ms Jo-Ann Burrows.
"The chief executive has already written to Ms Burrows apologizing for shortcomings in the treatment provided to her and, in particular, for the circumstances which led to Ms Burrows' second twin not being cremated in 2004 as they had previously advised and for the distress this discovery may have caused."
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what will the mother do now
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[
"organizing a naming ceremony and funeral for the stillborn,"
] |
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(Entertainment Weekly) -- Actor Jude Law is expecting his fourth child, his spokesperson said.
Actor Jude Law's publicist confirmed he is expecting his fourth child.
In a statement released to Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, the single actor confirmed that he will once again become a father.
"Jude Law can confirm that, following a relationship last year, he has been advised that he is to be the father of a child due in the fall of this year," the statement said.
"Mr. Law is no longer in a relationship with the individual concerned but he intends to be a fully supportive part of the child's life. This is an entirely private matter and no other statements will be made."
The statement was released exclusively to Entertainment Weekly, whose site broke the story on Wednesday.
Law, 36, has three children with ex-wife Sadie Frost.
The handsome British actor known for appearing in movies such as "Cold Mountain" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and headlines a few years ago after an alleged fling with his children's caregiver and a broken engagement with actress Sienna Miller.
He is scheduled to appear in "Hamlet" on Broadway in October and will star opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the movie "Sherlock Holmes" slated to open Christmas Day.
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
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8ac55ff067a7402a98eda38e89227508
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Which did Law not reveal?
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"individual concerned"
] |
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(CNN) -- Iran tested a missile-launching system and several types of short- and medium-range missiles Sunday, the state-run Press TV said.
A short-range missile is test-launched during war games in Qom, Iran, south of Tehran, on Sunday.
Earlier, the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had said it would stage missile exercises beginning Sunday to promote the armed forces' defense capabilities.
The tests, which are expected to last until Monday, are code-named "Payghambar-e Azam 4" or "The Great Prophet 4," Press TV said.
The missiles, fired at targets around the country Sunday, included the Fateh-110, a short-range ground-to-ground missile, and Tondar-69, a short-range naval missile, the station said. Several models of medium-range Shahab missiles were tested at night, Press TV reported. Watch Iranian missile tests »
The final stage of the tests will be held Monday morning, when Iran plans to test the long-range Shahab missile, the station said.
In May, Iran said it tested a surface-to-surface missile that is capable of reaching parts of Europe.
At the time, a White House official said actions in Iran were noteworthy.
"Of course, this is just a test, and obviously there is much work to be done before it can be built and deployed. But I see it as a significant step forward in terms of Iran's capacity to deliver weapons," said Gary Samore, special assistant to the president on nonproliferation.
The latest test follows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disclosure Friday that Iran was building a second uranium enrichment facility. Watch analyst's view on missile tests, nuclear tensions »
The United States and Israel believe that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program.
Iran has denied the allegation.
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bda7d39207f243b8aed176ec6f7dfb36
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What type of range missiles has Iran included in their tests?
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"short- and medium-range"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel, police said.
"American's Next Top Model" is hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks.
Six people were injured, and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said.
Police said they didn't know what provoked the bedlam, which resulted in three people being charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot in connection to the incident at the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan.
The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said.
Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned on Saturday.
The "Top Model" competition, hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks and aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle.
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88f73a954680440ca21d5d79fa0b2daa
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What audition is being held?
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[
"\"America's Next Top"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A company accused of encouraging hundreds to illegally enter the United States and then hiring them using fake Social Security numbers has agreed to pay the largest settlement ever in a workplace immigration bust, the Department of Justice said Friday.
Relatives of people arrested in IFCO raids gather for a news conference in July 2006.
IFCO Systems North America, a pallet and crate company, will pay a $20.7 million settlement, which includes $18.1 million in fines and $2.6 million for overtime violations, the Department of Justice said.
In early 2006, immigration officials raided 45 IFCO sites, arresting almost 1,200 low-level workers. Federal officials also charged several managers, accusing them of using "as a business model the systematic violation of United States law."
To date, nine IFCO managers and employees have pleaded guilty to criminal conduct, the Justice Department said. Four managers are awaiting trial on felony charges and the investigation is continuing, it said.
The Justice Department said it will not pursue criminal charges against the company if it complies with the terms of the settlement.
"The agreement severely punishes IFCO for its serious immigration and employment violations," acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter said. "But it also allows the corporation to continue its operations, so that its lawful employees and innocent shareholders do not suffer the consequences of a business failure in this economy."
IFCO's violation of the law was flagrant, officials said. More than half of the company's 5,800 workers during 2005 had invalid Social Security numbers, and the company ignored at least 13 letters from the Social Security Administration about questionable Social Security numbers.
IFCO records suggests that as many as 6,000 illegal immigrants worked at company plants from 2003 to 2006, the Justice Department said.
Federal officials said Friday that IFCO "acknowledges and accepts responsibility for the unlawful conduct of its managers and employees." An IFCO official could not be reached for comment.
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f2de0c5e0e3a42a5a20e2d1c412ca4d9
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Who is accused of luring workers?
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[
"IFCO Systems North America,"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British Museum plans to display a statue of supermodel Kate Moss that it bills as the largest gold statue built since ancient Egypt.
The statue of Kate Moss will be displayed in the British Museum in a gallery holding anicent Greek sculpture.
Called "Siren," the statue will be part of a group of major sculptures by leading British artists to go on display at the museum in October, the museum announced.
The museum says the artist, Marc Quinn, claims it's the largest gold statue since ancient Egypt.
His previous work included the marble sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant, which appeared on a plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.
The Kate Moss statue, weighing 50kg, will be displayed in a gallery of the museum that houses ancient Greek sculpture. The museum calls it a "fitting setting" for the statue of Moss, "interacting with the great Greek beauties that surround it."
Moss, whose slight frame was at the forefront of the waif look in the mid-1990s, is now nearly as well known for her celebrity lifestyle as her modeling career.
The one-time girlfriend of British rocker Pete Doherty is a tabloid newspaper and celebrity magazine favorite, and now dates Kills guitarist Jamie Hince.
She has recently mixed her modeling work with designing collections for the British clothing giant, Topshop.
Other artists exhibiting include Damien Hirst, who most recently created a $100 million diamond-covered skull, and Angel of the North creator Anthony Gormley.
The exhibit is expected to run from October 4 through January 25, 2009.
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9f5280ee093a4dc5b463434a1a8c07dd
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What is the statue called?
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[
"\"Siren,\""
] |
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(CNN) -- Juventus have sacked coach Ciro Ferrara after a string of poor results and have installed Alberto Zaccheroni in the hot seat until the end of the season.
Ferrara's position has been threatened after a dismal run which has seen them slip out of contention in the Serie A title race as well as being eliminated from the Champions League at the group stages.
Thursday's 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Italian champions Inter Milan proved the final straw and the club released a statement to confirm his departure and Zaccheroni's arrival.
"Zaccheroni will take over the team immediately and will guide this afternoon's training session in Vinovo before being officially unveiled to the media," it read.
Ferrara joined Juve late last season and steered the Turin powerhouses to second place in Serie A behind Inter.
But his first full campaign in charge proved challenging after a promising start to the season.
The Bianconeri have lost five of their last six games in Serie A and have slumped to sixth in the standings, four points behind Napoli, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.
Zaccheroni will hope to get them on track with his first game against Lazio on Sunday.
The 56-year-old has coached at a number of leading Serie A clubs and helped AC Milan to the 1999 Italian title, but it is his first job since being sacked by Torino in February 2007.
Ferrara, a former Italy international and Juventus defender, was given the reins despite his lack of experience, succeeding current Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, who was fired.
Zaccheroni's appointment ends, for now, media speculation that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez would take charge at Juve, but the short-term nature of his contract until June raises questions about the permanence of his stay.
Benitez acknowledged the speculation in his weekly press conference on Friday.
"I am focused on preparing my team for the game against Bolton. I know they (Juventus) were interested, that is part of the game now in football, but I am not ready to talk too much because I don't want to lose my focus.
"When you are a manager and you have clubs asking (for you), you have to be proud because they are a top side in Europe, but I am really happy here and want to do my job as best I can."
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e8823697b89f4fbf9740acb9ee9efca2
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Who has been sacked by Juventus ?
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"coach Ciro Ferrara"
] |
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide car bomb blast near a voter registration site killed 16 people, 14 of them children, and wounded 58 in southeastern Afghanistan on Sunday morning, according to a senior police official and the U.S. military.
The U.S. military released this photo of the blast near a voter registration site.
A Taliban spokesman said one of his group's fighters carried out the attack.
When security guards stopped the car at the entrance to the Mandozai district headquarters, the driver detonated the explosives inside the car, Khost provincial security chief Mohammad Yaqoub said.
A security guard and an Afghan National Army soldier were among the dead. There were no military casualties, said U.S. Col. Gregory Julian. Coalition and Afghan forces worked together to evacuate the wounded to military and civilian hospitals, he said.
The military released photos of the incident, saying they "provide further proof the Afghan militants are not interested in the welfare nor benefit of the Afghan people."
Dozens of tribal elders were meeting nearby in the district administrative office at the time of the bombing, the police official said. The Mandozai district is in the Khost province.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman speaking by phone from an undisclosed location, said the suicide bombing was carried out by Qari Hameedullah, a Taliban fighter.
Elsewhere, a rocket attack in Kabul killed three teenage sisters and injured four other people Saturday night, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said in a statement.
The girls died when one of two rockets fired on Kabul crashed into a house in the southern part of the city. In the statement, Karzai called those who fired the rockets "enemies of Afghanistan" who "can't achieve anything by firing rockets but the killing of innocent civilians."
The president called the suicide bombing an "un-Islamic act" and said those behind it "are not aware of the Islamic teachings which outlaw the killing of innocent people. Those who ordered and executed this attack cannot escape the revenge of Afghans and God's punishment."
Journalist Farhad Peikar contributed to this report.
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188b415815e5458cac278766046d253b
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Who is their spokesperson?
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[
"Zabiullah Mujahid,"
] |
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. missile struck a village Wednesday in Pakistan's tribal region, killing three Taliban militants and wounding four others, according to local officials and media reports.
People inspect the damage from a suspected U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan last month.
The strike is the 12th missile attack this year, compared with three attacks during the same period in 2008.
The missile -- fired from an unmanned drone -- was targeting a pickup truck carrying suspected militants near the town of Wana in South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to Nasim Dawar, an official with the South Waziristan administration.
Witnesses and intelligence sources said the drone was flying low and the militants fired at it before the missile strike, Dawar said. Two nearby shops were destroyed in the missile attack, he said.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan routinely offers no comment on reported cross-border strikes. However, the United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely.
Journalists Janullah Hashimzada and Nazar Ul-Islam contributed to this report.
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85e4b6cb894646cf9241cef402d318eb
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how many strikes were in last year?
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[
"12th missile attack"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Michael Jackson on Thursday, showing the late entertainer in a pose from the concerts he had planned to hold this month.
The new waxwork of Michael Jackson -- only Queen Elizabeth II has been portrayed more times by Madame Tussauds.
Sculptors at the wax museum started working on the figure four months ago. They had intended to display it this month, to coincide with the start of Jackson's "This is It" comeback tour in London.
The new figure is modeled on a Jackson pose from the concert poster, the museum said. It shows him "arms outstretched, pelvis thrusting and tip-toed, with his trademark trilby angled forward," the museum said.
It is the 13th Jackson waxwork by Madame Tussauds, the museum said. Only Britain's Queen Elizabeth II -- who has been on the throne for almost 60 years -- has been portrayed more often.
"It is extremely unusual for a personality to have been portrayed so many times," said Madame Tussauds spokeswoman Liz Edwards.
"But Michael Jackson was totally unique and his iconic status made him one of the most popular stars here."
The London museum has two other Jackson waxworks -- one in a pose from "Thriller" and another from his "Dangerous" album. The other 10 Jackson waxworks are in other Madame Tussauds museums around the world.
The museum said it decided to proceed with the figure after Jackson's death last month "as a tribute to one of the greatest musicians of all time and to celebrate his amazing 40-year career."
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8e9f6de9681d4dd695735f61706b7623
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How many waxworks of Jackson have there been?
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[
"13th"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama raised more than $40 million from more than 442,000 donors in March, his presidential campaign announced Thursday.
Sen. Barack Obama greets campaign volunteers during a stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wednesday.
More than 218,000 of the donors were giving for the first time, the campaign said.
The figures are estimates, a campaign spokesman said. "We're still calculating."
Sources in Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign said the New York senator raised $20 million in March.
Impressive as the $40 million figure is, it is well below the $55 million Obama raised in February. Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, raised about $35 million in February.
Political analysts say this kind of fundraising power catches the attention of voters.
"They add to the so-called 'bandwagon effect' -- the sense that Obama is building, that he's going to be the nominee," said Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report.
With its March totals, the Obama campaign has raised approximately $234 million, which surpasses the Democratic record of $215 million that 2004 nominee Sen. John Kerry raised in that presidential primary season.
Obama is $25 million shy of President Bush's presidential primary fundraising record of $259 million, set in his uncontested campaign in 2004.
Obama raised $194 million through the end of February. Official fundraising tallies for March are due to the Federal Election Commission by April 20.
Clinton raised $156 million through the end of February.
The Clinton campaign said Thursday morning it would not release March figures until required to file its FEC report, two days before the critical Pennsylvania primary April 22.
But later, campaign sources provided the figures, which show March to be Clinton's second-highest fund-raising month for the campaign.
A Clinton spokesman downplayed the importance of Obama's fundraising total.
"We knew that he was going to out-raise us. He has out-raised us for the last several months," Howard Wolfson said after Obama's figures were released. "We will have the resources that we need to compete and be successful in the upcoming primary states."
Wolfson also said he expected Clinton's tax returns to be released soon.
Clinton pledged March 25 she would release her returns within a week.
Sen. John McCain, the expected Republican nominee, raised $11 million in February. He has not announced his March total. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand and Rob Yoon contributed to this report.
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c1129be1e82d4579bf88737ef8fcf51e
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Who raised $20 million in March?
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[
"Sen. Hillary Clinton's"
] |
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(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania soccer mom was chatting with a friend via webcam when she was shot to death by her husband, who then went upstairs and shot himself, police said Friday.
Pistol-packing soccer mom Meleanie Hain was shot dead while chatting with a friend on a webcam, police said.
Meleanie Hain, 31, made national headlines last year as the mother who carried a loaded, holstered handgun to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game.
She was found dead in her Lebanon, Pennsylvania, home along with her husband, Scott Hain, 33, on Wednesday evening, Lebanon police said.
Hain was in her kitchen talking with a friend via webcam just before her death, police said. Watch why Hain caused controversy »
The friend, who police will not name, was looking away from the computer screen when he heard a shot and a scream, police said. He turned back to the monitor, he told police, and no longer saw Meleanie Hain but instead saw Scott Hain firing several rounds from a handgun toward where his wife had been.
Police said that the woman's body had already fallen to the floor by the time the friend turned back to the screen.
Scott Hain then went upstairs to a bedroom, where he shot himself in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun, police said.
Meleanie Hain was shot several times with a 9 mm handgun, police said. Her fully loaded 9 mm handgun was found in her backpack hanging on the back of the front door.
The couple's three children were home at the time of the killings, police Capt. Daniel Wright said. They were unharmed and took refuge at a neighbor's house before police arrived, he said.
Investigators have confiscated the webcam and computer, but cannot review what the friend says he saw because the online conversation was not recorded.
The death of the couple came four months after Meleanie Hain told her attorney she was separating from her husband, her attorney, Matthew B. Weisberg, told CNN Thursday. However, police said the couple still appeared to be living together.
Meleanie Hain drew media attention on September 11, 2008, when she carried a Glock strapped to her belt to her daughter's soccer game.
Nine days later her permit to carry a gun was revoked by Lebanon County Sheriff Michael DeLeo, who claimed she showed poor judgment by wearing the weapon to a child's game. County Judge Robert Eby later reinstated the permit.
CNN's Edmund DeMarche and Susan Candiotti contributed to this story
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e2cba276cfca4f088e0743343bc69a5e
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What did the friend hear over the webcam?
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[
"a shot and a scream,"
] |
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(CNN) -- When Kellogg's dumped its endorsement of Michael Phelps after a photograph surfaced of the Olympic gold medalist using a bong, the company was stuck with thousands of boxes of cereal featuring the swimmer's image.
Kellogg's ended its Michael Phelps endorsement, so it sent two tons of cereal with his face on it to a food bank.
No problem. The company, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, made short order of the already-printed and filled boxes, donating two tons of cereal to the San Francisco Food Bank late last month.
With food banks across the country reporting shortages of food, the donation was a welcome one, said the food bank's director of development, Christopher Wiley. It took only two weeks for about 3,000 boxes to move through warehouse.
"Thousands of families benefited from the donation" Wiley said. "It was a surprise to us. We were lacking a lot of cereal. It is a great product many low-income families really need."
"The real story for us was not the box but what's inside the box. The food is so valuable for the community. It's making good from bad," Wiley said.
The food bank has seen a 6 percent increase in its customer base since the beginning of the year, he said.
Phelps, 23, won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
He admitted "regrettable behavior" after a British newspaper published the controversial photograph in early February. The tabloid News of the World showed Phelps using the bong during what it said was a November party at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
A bong is a device commonly used to smoke marijuana.
The Phelps box attracted considerable attention to the food bank. Administrators received several calls from people wanting to get the box as a novelty item. But, said Wiley, all the cereal went to food bank customers.
Kellogg's was the only one of Phelps sponsors to drop the athlete, although U.S.A. Swimming, the nation's governing body for competitive swimming, suspended him for three months, withdrew financial support and barred him from competition during the period of his "reprimand."
CNN's Jackie Castillo and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.
|
f3cce16ad1f14ad197b36657b464e1d3
|
Whose face was on the cereal boxes that were dumped?
|
[
"Michael Phelps"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Buy a $175,000 package to attend the Oscars and you might buy yourself trouble, lawyers for the Academy Awards warn.
The 81st annual Academy Awards will be held on February 22 from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
The advertising of such packages -- including four tickets to the upcoming 81st annual Academy Awards and a hotel stay in Los Angeles, California -- has prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to sue an Arizona-based company.
The Academy accused the company Experience 6 of selling "black-market" tickets, because tickets to the lavish movie awards show cannot be transferred or sold.
Selling tickets could become a security issue that could bring celebrity stalkers or terrorists to the star-studded event, says the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court in the Central District of California.
"Security experts have advised the Academy that it must not offer tickets to members of the public and must know identities of the event attendees," the lawsuit says.
"In offering such black-market tickets, defendants are misleading the public and the ticket buyers into thinking that purchasers will be welcomed guests, rather than as trespassers, when they arrive for the ceremony."
Experience 6 did not return calls from CNN for comment. On Tuesday morning, tickets to the event were still being advertised on the company's Web site.
The Oscars will be presented February 22 from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
The Academy Awards broadcast will air on ABC. Hugh Jackman is scheduled to host.
|
091c5c8fbdb34715a8009a5a4015dc50
|
What does the package include?
|
[
"including four tickets to the upcoming 81st annual Academy Awards and"
] |
NewsQA
|
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombia will freeze prices for gasoline and other petrofuels through March, the government has announced.
Hernan Martinez Torres, in a photo from September, says gas prices will be frozen in Colombia through March.
The freeze takes effect Thursday and sets prices at December levels, the minister of mines and energy said Monday.
The measure will be funded through a $170 million Fund for the Stabilization of Prices for Combustibles, which goes into effect January 1, a release on the Colombian president's Web site says.
"All this is being done to give consumers a clear signal of stability," Minister of Mines and Energy Hernan Martinez Torres is quoted as saying in El Pais newspaper.
Gas prices also will not decrease, although there has been a significant drop in crude oil prices in the past few months, Martinez said.
The price freeze pertains to gasoline, biogasoline (oxygenated gasoline), a product called ACPM (combustible oil for motors), and the mix of ACPM and biodiesel.
For the time being, El Pais said, only propane will see a decrease in price, with the price going down 25 percent. It's the second price drop for propane, which decreased 10 percent in November.
|
1b23de3c6a3f4eb486d2df53b54750db
|
When does the price freeze take effect?
|
[
"Thursday"
] |
NewsQA
|
OSLO, Norway (CNN) -- A week of events to mark the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize to former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari continues Thursday with a stellar concert in Oslo to be broadcast on CNN.com Live.
Former Finnish president Martii Ahtisaari was cited for his work in Namibia and Aceh, Indonesia.
Actors Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson are due to host the gala event which features performances from Diana Ross, operatic quartet Il Divo and Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn.
The concert will be carried by CNN.com live beginning at 2 p.m. ET Thursday (7 p.m. GMT Thursday).
In an interview Wednesday, Ahtisaari called for a fresh Middle East peace initiative and warned that western powers risked losing credibility unless they acted to solve the conflict.
Ahtisaari told CNN's Jonathan Mann that peace was a "question of will."
"All conflicts can be settled and there are no excuses for letting them become eternal," said Ahtisaari, who was cited for his work promoting Namibian independence in southern Africa and for his "central role" promoting peace in the conflict-stricken Indonesian province of Aceh.
"It is simply intolerable that violent conflicts defy resolution for decades, causing immeasurably human suffering and preventing economic and social development."
Ahtisaari said that finding a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians was crucial to the future development of the entire Middle East and Muslim world.
"As Western nations we are losing our credibility... because we can't keep on talking, year after year, that we are doing something. And no one sees any results," he said.
"People are suffering on both sides, and the saddest thing is that if we don't help the parties to solve those problems that are in the way of getting the agreement in the Middle East, the situation will become even worse for both parties."
Ahtisaari also called for fresh efforts to eradicate world poverty: "We must all be able to contribute to our future and to the future of our communities. If the present trend continues, we will be faced with a situation where hundreds of millions of young people will be out of work in countries that are in the early stages in development.
"If nothing is done, we will be creating an effective breeding ground for crime, instability and war."
|
c3e2dcfa153d4e3baa272140a20d683b
|
Where is the concert taking place?
|
[
"Oslo"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Actress Lindsay Lohan's father jumped from a third-floor balcony Thursday to try to escape re-arrest, police said, but officers soon caught up with him and took him into custody -- again.
Officers detained Michael Lohan after his girlfriend, Kate Major, said he violated terms of his release from jail earlier this week by calling her, the Tampa Police Department said in a statement. Investigators arrested Lohan on suspicion of domestic violence after an incident on Monday night, but they let him out of jail after he posted bail.
Just after 1 a.m. Thursday, Lohan's girlfriend called police to say Lohan had violated the terms of his release by calling her, the police statement said. Lohan called his girlfriend again while she was talking with police, and she put him on speakerphone, it said.
After prosecutors authorized Lohan's re-arrest, officers went to a hotel, the Tahitian Inn, where he was staying.
"Upon seeing officers, he jumped out of a third-story balcony in an attempt to escape arrest," the police statement said.
Officers took him into custody after a short chase and discovered after taking him to jail that he may have broken his foot, police said. Doctors were evaluating him.
Lohan is not expected to be released from Tampa General Hospital Thursday and has been admitted for overnight observation, said Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis.
Police responded to a domestic violence call at Michael Lohan's home Monday and arrested him for the battery of his live-in girlfriend, police said.
Lohan told reporters Wednesday he "didn't lay a hand" on his girlfriend.
"I did not hurt her," he said.
Lohan also said he never was served with a restraining order to stay away from the woman. According to CNN Tampa affiliate WFTS, a Sarasota County judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday.
Lohan, 51, was arrested in Los Angeles in March in connection with alleged domestic violence and was charged with one misdemeanor count of corporal injury to a cohabitant.
The relationship between Lohan and his daughter has been publicly strained for years, although the two did undergo family counseling together during her treatment at the Betty Ford Center.
CNN's Rich Phillips contributed to this report.
|
f9bafbc8f4c94179a0998c8888d461e1
|
What crime did Lohan commit?
|
[
"domestic violence"
] |
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.
|
f6e41cfec2dd4bd391560e17bb559a6a
|
how much straight are?
|
[
"fourth"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A body found Monday beside a North Carolina road is that of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who was reported missing a week ago, police said Tuesday.
The official cause of death was undetermined as of Tuesday afternoon, Fayetteville police said in written statement. An announced afternoon media briefing was rescheduled for Wednesday morning.
Earlier Tuesday, police said additional charges are expected in connection with the case and any charges will be made public as soon as they are filed.
Shaniya's mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Davis was "prostituting her child," police spokeswoman Teresa Chance said after Davis' arrest over the weekend.
Another suspect, Mario Andrette McNeill, has been charged with kidnapping in the case.
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."
He said authorities have given him limited information, but he was to meet with them later.
"It's not the result I wanted, it's not the result any father or family would want for their children," he said. "But God has a greater calling for all of us."
Shaniya's mother reported her missing from their Fayetteville home in a mobile home park on November 10. According to police, surveillance video taken that day from a hotel in Sanford shows Shaniya in the company of McNeill.
"The investigation at this point indicates that Shaniya Davis was alive at the time she left the Sanford hotel," police said in the statement Tuesday.
The road where the body was found is near Sanford, which is about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville.
Shaniya's half-sister, Cheyenne Lockhart, said on HLN's "Nancy Grace" Monday that she found it difficult to believe Davis had treated her daughter so poorly.
"She seemed like the sweetest woman. She didn't come from much, but ... she had the sweetest voice, she had the sweetest personality, and especially toward me. I would never think that she would do anything like that," said Lockhart, who shared a father with Shaniya.
Their father said Shaniya went to her mother's home on October 9.
CNN's Gabriel Falcon contributed to this report.
|
e96f67fb71414b5cbae7708a689d5622
|
Who was reported missing ?
|
[
"Shaniya Davis,"
] |
NewsQA
|
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- For Pittsburgh International Airport, the Group of 20 summit is like the Sunday after Thanksgiving: the busiest flying day of the year, with world leaders instead of holiday travelers.
Officials greet Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, left, on Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport.
After weeks of logistics and planning, the airport and the adjacent Air Force Reserve Base will see 23 heads of state arrive in the space of a few hours.
President Obama is hosting the G-20 summit -- a two-day meeting of representatives of the world's largest economies -- Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh.
"This is unprecedented," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said. "We've never seen anything like it."
The county runs the airport and coordinated the arrivals along with the White House, U.S. State Department and law enforcement officials.
The arrivals will take place away from the commercial passenger terminals on the huge airport property. With different areas being used, some of the presidents and prime ministers will show up at the same time. Watch Pittsburgh's security preparations for protesters »
"It is all scheduled. No one will be sitting out" on the tarmac waiting, Onorato said.
There are no welcoming ceremonies planned at the airport. The leaders quickly will get into separate motorcades and be whisked to downtown Pittsburgh.
A formal greeting will take place Thursday evening at a conservatory in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.
The heads of state invited to Pittsburgh include the leader of the European Union and the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
Many leaders are bringing hundreds of delegates and support staff with them as well. At least two countries are bringing jumbo jets into the airport. Members of Saudi Arabia's delegation landed Wednesday evening.
The leaders are arriving from New York, where they attended the U.N. General Assembly.
Airport officials say the VIP landings will not mean delays for passengers, though they warn trips to and from the airport could take extra time because of road closings for motorcades.
It's Obama's second trip to Pittsburgh in nine days. He addressed the AFL-CIO Convention on September 15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where the G-20 summit also is being held.
This time, Air Force One will have plenty of company.
|
469d85cc756c4011a1707de28e554fcc
|
How many heads of state are going?
|
[
"23"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Shark attacks on humans were at the lowest levels in half a decade last year, and a Florida researcher says hard economic times may be to blame.
Fewer people in the water means less chance for sharks to attack, ichthyologist George Burgess says.
Sharks attacked 59 people in 2008, the lowest number of attacks since 57 in 2003, according to George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, part of the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
There were 71 attacks in 2007.
"One can't help but think that the downturn in the economy played a part in it," Burgess said.
Fewer people, especially outside of the United States, have the resources to go to the beach, he said.
"To have a shark attack, you have to have humans and sharks in the water at the same time," Burgess said. "If you have a reduction in the number of people in the water, you're going to have a reduction in the opportunities for people and sharks to get together."
"We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001, despite the fact that human populations continued to rise," the ichthyologist said.
Sharks killed four people in 2008, Burgess said: one in California, one in Australia and two in Mexico.
Forty-one of the 59 attacks worldwide came in the United States, and 32 of those occurred in Florida.
Surfers accounted for 57 percent of shark attacks, swimmers and waders were the targets in 36 percent of the attacks, and divers the rest, he said.
Burgess said the U.S. tends to see more attacks because of a large number of surfers, who are a favorite target of sharks.
And neither the economy nor the attacks tend to keep American surfers from practicing their sport.
"All they have to do is drive to the beach with the board and get into the water, and the rest is free," he said.
And while an attack may make them a bit more wary, he said, "I've yet to find a surfer who says he or she won't go back into the water after a bite or a nip."
When the economy improves, shark attack numbers are likely to go up again, according to Burgess, predicting the number of attacks in the next decade will surpass those of the past 10 years.
"We're putting so many people in the water that humans are dictating the shark attack situation," he said.
|
33779e3ac54d4b3a9ffa2cc5e0495e9c
|
How many people were killed?
|
[
"four"
] |
NewsQA
|
San Francisco, California (CNN) -- Officials have agreed to pay $1.5 million to the daughter of a man fatally shot in the back by a transit police officer on New Year's Day 2009 in Oakland, California.
A bystander's cell-phone video of the shooting on a transit platform was widely circulated on the Internet and on news shows.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit train system late Wednesday announced the settlement over the killing of Oscar Grant, 22.
"It's been a little over a year since we experienced the tragic death of Oscar Grant," BART Board President James Fang said. "No matter what anyone's opinion of the case may be, the sad fact remains this incident has left Tatiana without a father. The $1.5 million settlement will provide financial support for her." Grant's daughter, Tatiana, is 5.
The video showed then-Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, pulling his gun and shooting Grant in the back as another officer kneeled on Grant.
Mehserle might have intended to draw and fire his Taser rather than his gun, according to a court filing by his attorney.
The shooting sparked large protests in Oakland and led to Mehserle's arrest on a murder charge. The case against him is pending.
Initially, attorney John Burris asked for $50 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of Grant's daughter. Burris was not immediately available for comment on the settlement.
The transit system's police department has made several changes since the shooting. The department has increased training hours for officers, is requiring them to report all "use-of-force incidents," and is tapping the public's help in searching for a new police chief, the transit system said in a statement.
"This settlement is critical in our efforts to move forward," said Carole Ward Allen, a BART board member. "We're working hard to make the police department the best it can be for our officers, our customers and our community."
|
22caa24953774598853f6e93f3a42257
|
Who is San Francisco's BART paying?
|
[
"Tatiana"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit near the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It struck at 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. ET), the USGS said. It was centered about 80 miles (130 kilometers) off the city of Iraklion on Crete, the USGS said.
An earthquake with a 6.7 magnitude is capable of causing significant damage, especially in areas of poor construction.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
A staff member at Iraklion Airport told CNN they didn't feel the earthquake. Similar reports came from staff members at hotels just outside Iraklion and in western Crete.
A spokesman at the Greek Ministry of Health in Athens, 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the epicenter, also said he didn't feel the quake.
David Booth, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, explained that the earthquake happened deep below the sea, leading to little risk of tsunami and reducing the likelihood that people would feel tremors.
-- CNN's Claudia Rebaza and Krsna Harilela in London, England, contributed to this report.
|
34f436acb94e4c19a3942b962a624583
|
Where was the earthquake?
|
[
"near the Greek island of Crete"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man who allegedly set off a small bomb at a Starbucks coffee shop was arrested after he made the mistake of bragging about his exploit to friends, police said Wednesday.
An NYPD officer stands guard outside a Starbucks where a bomb went off on Memorial Day.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters that Kyle Shaw, 17, was arrested Tuesday night at his Manhattan apartment after a police investigation revealed that he bragged to his friends about planting the explosive outside an Upper East Side Starbucks on May 25.
Shaw allegedly told his friends prior to the explosion that "Project Mayhem" was about to begin, Kelly said, and that they should watch the news on Memorial Day.
Shaw was a fan of the movie "Fight Club" and imitated Brad Pitt's character from the film, the police commissioner said -- although he apparently failed to adhere to Pitt's famous line in the film: "The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club." The movie, released in 1999, also includes a scene in which a Starbucks is destroyed.
Kelly said there is no evidence at this time to suggest that Shaw was behind other recent small explosions in the city, such as the bombings at the Times Square Army recruiting center and the Mexican consulate.
Shaw made the small explosive out of a plastic bottle, firework powder, a metal cap and electrical tape, Kelly said.
The blast, at 3:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, damaged a nearby bench and shattered the store's windows, the commissioner said.
No one was injured in the explosion, but the bomb was powerful enough to have caused serious injuries if anyone had been nearby, Kelly said.
Shaw has been charged with arson, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, he added.
|
61cc2a43412643eba162dcf593b96aae
|
Who wanted to launch Project Mayhem?
|
[
"Kyle Shaw,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- Ten million Americans a year are victims of identity theft. It's a growing problem in the United States, but fighting it doesn't appear to be a priority, a new report says.
A report by the Justice Department Inspector General released Tuesday cites the wide-ranging costs and dangers of ID theft. Although the report has no new numbers, the financial losses are believed to be substantially higher than the $15.6 billion documented in 2005.
Inspector General Glenn Fine found the effort to combat the problem, however, has lagged since the President's Task Force on ID Theft was established in 2007.
"We found that to some degree identity theft initiatives have faded as priorities," said Fine. He said the Justice Department has not developed a coordinated plan to combat ID theft and that some recommendations of the President's Task Force have not been addressed. No one has been appointed to oversee the efforts, the report says.
The report says "the specific crime of identity theft is not a top FBI priority." However, the report adds that the FBI often addresses the issue through the Cyber Division's criminal intrusion program, which is a priority of the agency.
Similarly, ID theft investigations are often part of larger federal criminal investigations into health care fraud, mortgage fraud and credit card fraud.
"Identity theft can also be a significant element of violent crimes, such as domestic abuse, and even terrorism, and a significant number of ID theft-related crimes originate overseas," the report said.
|
5a41fac47dc9400fbd28c9d0b8da4d36
|
what are the costs thought to be?
|
[
"substantially higher than the $15.6 billion documented in 2005."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Heavy rain that has killed at least 60 people in Central America is not expected to let up soon, authorities said Monday.
El Salvador is the country hit hardest so far. The government has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations.
At least 32 people have died in El Salvador, including several children, according to the country's civil protection director. Some were swept away attempting to cross swollen rivers, while others were killed when the walls of their homes collapsed.
"The temporary evacuation of the population in some parts of the country is meant to avoid casualties caused by mudslides," said Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, who also ordered the cancellation of school classes.
In Guatemala, the death toll stands at 28 and close to 110,000 people have been affected by the rain.
President Alvaro Colom said that 15,000 more people are at risk and roughly 12,000 are in shelters, according to a statement on his website.
"We're praying to God for help," said Celida Yesenia Lopez, a Guatemalan flood survivor who lost her home. "It's very sad."
Honduras was similarly struck. The majority of the country's 18 departments are under alert and some 13,000 people have been affected.
Central America has been hammered by torrential rain since last week. Jova struck Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane late Tuesday. It weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression as it moved over western Mexico. At the same time, Tropical Depression 12-E, which never reached tropical storm strength, brought the heavy rain to El Salvador and its neighbors.
More rain is forecast in the region.
|
5cbc6ade73f344228308e97e0bebf640
|
where are evacuations in effect?
|
[
"El Salvador"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Five days of gunbattles between the Indian army and separatist militants in Indian-administered Kashmir have left at least 25 dead -- eight Indian army troopers, including one officer, and 17 militants, the Indian military said Tuesday.
An Indian army soldier lays a wreath during the funeral of a slain soldier, northeast of Srinagar on Tuesday.
Defense Minister A.K. Antony, meeting with India's military chiefs in Delhi, reviewed the situation in the Himalayan region and told the Army to deal with the situation in the Himalayan region with "utmost firmness."
Kashmir has been in the throes of a violent separatist campaign for nearly two decades during which authorities say 43,000 people have been killed. However, various NGOs and rights groups put the number of dead at twice the official count.
In Srinigar, Kashmir, Army spokesman Lt. Col. J.S. Brar told CNN the Army was moving against the militants "based on sound intelligence inputs as well as human intelligence provided by our own sources."
The battles in the Shamsbhari forests of north Kashmir Kupwara district have caused "minimum collateral damage to property," Brar said.
The spokesman denied media reports that helicopter gunships and heavy weapons had been used by the army during these operations against the militants.
This month's encounter between the Indian Army and the militants is the second longest in Kashmir this year. In January, a fierce encounter raged for seven days in the Poonch district of Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir. Two soldiers, a policeman and four militants were killed in that encounter.
Kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between India and neighboring Pakistan. Both control parts of the region which is predominantly Muslim.
|
cb8442628fa74f3bbd8ad8f24395b49f
|
What is Kashmir in the throes of?
|
[
"violent separatist campaign"
] |
NewsQA
|
(WIRED) -- Microsoft released an Xbox Live app for iOS devices on Wednesday, bringing features of Microsoft's gaming service to Apple devices for the first time.
My Xbox Live lets users edit their 3-D avatars, chat with Xbox Live friends and revel in their achievements. You can also check out more information about the newest apps and games on Xbox, as well as gaming tips and breaking news.
Windows Phone users have had Xbox Live services packaged into their mobile experience for a while now, but now iOS users can get a piece of the action. And whether they like it or not, iOS users who download the app are also getting a screen similar to a Windows Phone-style user interface.
The iPhone app features the horizontal bar across the bottom of the screen that houses the same sort of circular icons you'd find in a Windows Phone 7 app. Also included: a clever browser-based demo that lets you virtually explore the UI of a Windows Phone from your Android or iPhone handset.
While you may already be on a phone of a different OS, it has potential to lure potential defectors over to Microsoft's mobile platform.
It's been a good week for Microsoft. On Tuesday, the company unveiled the details of its upcoming Windows Store for Windows 8, the newest version of the world's most popular desktop platform.
And on Monday, the company announced that the Xbox was getting a user interface refresh, with dozens of new content channels and the addition of a Windows Phone app you can use to control your Xbox. Microsoft's iOS apps are now icing on top of the cake.
Now when are we going to get those Microsoft Office apps on the iPad?
My Xbox Live is available free for download on the iPhone and iPad in the App Store.
Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!
|
39c7c2efbfa143b8a963b48a5a5dd8fe
|
How much does My Xbox Live cost?
|
[
"free"
] |
NewsQA
|
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton became visibly emotional at a New Hampshire campaign event Monday after a friendly question from a voter.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's eyes welled with tears as she spoke in New Hampshire Monday.
At the close of a Portsmouth campaign stop, Marianne Pernold-Young, 64, asked Clinton: "How do you do it? How do you keep up ... and who does your hair?"
Clinton said she had help with her hair on "special days," and that she drew criticism on the days she did not.
Then she added: "It's not easy, and I couldn't do it if I just didn't, you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do.
"You know, I have so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards," she said, her voice breaking a bit. The audience applauded.
"This is very personal for me, it's not just political, it's [that] I see what's happening, we have to reverse it," she said emotionally, adding that some "just put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds.
"But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us ready and some of us are not. Some of us know what we will do on day one, and some of us really haven't thought that through enough."
"So as tired as I am and I am. And as difficult as it is to try and keep up what I try to do on the road, like occasionally exercise and try to eat right -- it's tough when the easiest food is pizza -- I just believe so strongly in who we are as a nation. So I'm going to do everything I can and make my case and you know the voters get to decide." Watch Clinton become emotional as she's answering a question »
The New York senator is under pressure after some weekend surveys show opponent Barack Obama with a sudden almost double digit lead, with less than a day to go until the New Hampshire primary.
At a New Hampshire campaign event, presidential rival John Edwards told reporters he was unaware of Clinton's emotional reaction and would not respond to it.
But he did say, "I think what we need in a commander in chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are a tough business, but being president of the United States is also a very tough business.
"And the President of the United States is faced with very, very difficult challenges every single day, difficult judgments every single day." E-mail to a friend
|
54d78d2aa1e14659a6f96f63ab2b4890
|
Who talked about others criticizing her?
|
[
"Clinton"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Panama City Beach, Florida, police are looking for a hotel security guard accused of raping an Alabama student and throwing her off a sixth-floor hotel balcony, a police spokesman told CNN.
Police released this photo of Shawn Wuertly, who worked as a hotel security guard in Panama City Beach, Florida.
The 18-year-old woman from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, remains hospitalized, but her injuries are not life-threatening, Lt. Dave Humphreys said.
The incident happened early Monday at the Sandpiper Beacon Beach Resort in Panama City Beach during spring break.
Police have issued an arrest warrant for Shawn Wuertly, 29, who worked as a security guard at the resort, Humphreys said.
He is wanted for attempted felony murder, sexual battery and false imprisonment.
Wuertly had been questioned by police regarding the attack, but they lacked the evidence to hold him, the spokesman said.
The police investigation has found that the suspect had seen the girl "several times" at the hotel and had "taken a liking to her at some point," Humphreys said.
Around 1 a.m. on Monday, the suspect grabbed the woman and pulled her into an unoccupied room on the sixth floor, using his key to get in, Humphreys said.
She said he sexually assaulted her and, after a brief altercation, threw her over the balcony, the police spokesman said.
She hit two smaller roofs on her way down, which likely saved her from more serious injuries, before she came to rest in a second floor stairwell, Humphreys said.
After his initial questioning, Wuertly told police he was leaving for Tennessee and would return on Wednesday. Wuertly has an outstanding arrest warrant, something that police did not discover until after he was released.
"Obviously no one checked his warrants because he has an outstanding warrant in Indiana," Humphrey said, noting that police are "not happy and will address that."
CNN's calls to the hotel's manager regarding Wuertly's outstanding warrant were not returned. E-mail to a friend
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8838a954bea8421e8c9215caca4e79e3
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What were the injuries?
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[
"not life-threatening,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Two Italians, a Dane, a German, a Frenchman and a Brit walk into a space station... or will, in 2013, if all goes according to European Space Agency plans.
Europe's six new astronauts hope to join their American counterparts on the Internation Space Station.
The six new astronauts named Wednesday were chosen from more than 8,400 candidates, and are the first new ESA astronauts since 1992, the space agency said in a statement.
They include two military test pilots, one fighter pilot and one commercial pilot, plus an engineer and a physicist.
"This is a very important day for human spaceflight in Europe," said Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of Human Spaceflight at ESA.
"These young men and women are the next generation of European space explorers. They have a fantastic career ahead, which will put them right on top of one of the ultimate challenges of our time: going back to the Moon and beyond as part of the global exploration effort."
Humans have not walked on the moon since 1972, just over three years after the first manned mission to Earth's nearest neighbor.
The six will begin space training in Germany, with an eye to being ready for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond in four years.
They are: Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, a fighter pilot with degrees in engineering and aeronautical sciences; Alexander Gerst, a German researcher with degrees in physics and earth science; Andreas Mogensen, a Danish engineer with the private space firm HE Space Operations; Luca Parmitano of Italy, an Air Force pilot with a degree in aeronautical sciences; Timothy Peake, an English test pilot with the British military; and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, an Air France pilot who previously worked as an engineer at the French space agency.
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b526016d12db4a0da8cd3496e1b9a3b2
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what Group will undergo four years of training?
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[
"Italians, a Dane, a German, a Frenchman and a Brit"
] |
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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.
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d9daddf2921a439ea21c1ba7328f9d17
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What lead officers to suspect's house?
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[
"a trail of blood and human tissue"
] |
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Toyota City, Japan (CNN) -- The head of Toyota Motor Corp. told his employees on Friday that the company must begin again if it is to regain its legacy of quality that helped make it the world's largest automotive company.
"We must make February 24, the day of U.S. congressional hearing, as the day of restart for Toyota," said Akio Toyoda, referring to his appearance in Washington before a U.S. congressional committee investigating the recall of Toyota vehicles for problems related to stuck brakes and accelerator pedals.
"We should throw away all our past success and review our value of existence once more," he told an assembly of 2000 employees, while 7000 more watched by video.
"I'd like to revisit, not only with words but with action what our real duties are. We must go forward step by step. We must unite and do our best."
The speech was part of an aggressive charm offensive by Toyoda to bolster the company's image after 8.5 million cars were recalled in North America, Europe, China and Japan in recent months. Toyoda was widely criticized for not appearing in public for two weeks in January as the global recall crisis spiraled.
The morale-boosting talk to employees comes a week after his trip to Washington and a visit to Beijing earlier this week to apologize to customers there. "The quality problems we face now have not been solved yet. And a mountain of work has to be done," he said.
"But what I can reconfirm (through the U.S. visit) was not only remorse, but also our strength ... the strength of the bond that all of the Toyota family share," he said.
The meeting was dubbed "Urgent meeting for all Toyota --towards the new start of Toyota" and was organized by Toyota's middle managers, many of whom packed the hall of Toyota's world headquarters wearing their gray work uniforms.
They applauded often during the speeches by all five Toyota executives who participated at the U.S. congressional hearings, including Jim Lentz, head of Toyota Motor Sales USA.
"We are confident that Toyota vehicles are safe, and we will do everything we can to ensure that our customers are satisfied with repairs that we are making," Lentz said.
Lentz added, "We are going to continue to face with criticisms, and that's going to be a long road ahead."
Mitsuru Kawai, a Toyota factory head who has worked for the company for 44 years, said after the meeting that it was good "we could share what the executives went through in their own words. We would like to work as one to serve the customers' demands."
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785a865770fe4c788664e22ae0d54a13
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what number of cars have been recalled?
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[
"8.5 million"
] |
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(CNN) -- A massive search and rescue mission continued late Friday for nine people who may have plunged into chilly Pacific water off the Southern California coast after a Coast Guard plane and a Marine helicopter collided.
"We're still in the search and rescue phase. We are not standing down from that at this point," Coast Guard Capt. Thomas Farris told reporters at a news conference. "We have every hope that we'll be able to find survivors."
The search will continue, he said, "Until I stop."
The Coast Guard plans to continue the search at least throughout Friday night and Saturday morning, Petty Officer Henry Dunphy of the San Diego Coast Guard told CNN.
The Coast Guard C-130 plane and its seven crew members had been searching for a missing person when it collided Thursday with the Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter, with a two-person crew, on a military training exercise, Farris said.
None of the names of those on either aircraft has been released.
A pilot reported seeing a fireball about 7:10 p.m. Thursday near the crash site. The crash occurred about 16 nautical miles (18 miles) off the coast, near San Clemente Island, said Cpl. Michael Stevens of U.S. Marine Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
Helicopters, cutters and patrol boats, aided by the Navy, were scanning a 644-square-mile area for survivors, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Castillo.
Castillo earlier said an investigation "to determine what exactly happened" was beginning. The investigation will be done in "lockstep" with the Marine Corps, he said.
A large debris field has been located, and debris has been collected, he said.
"The debris is what you'd expect, I think, from a midair collision," he said.
The two Marines on the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton chopper were one of four helicopter crews involved in the training exercise, Stevens said.
The Coast Guard plane had been on a search mission for a couple of days before Thursday's crash.
"They were searching for a possible person in the water who was reported to have gotten in a dinghy and attempted to row to Catalina [Island]," Farris said. "We were searching in that area because of the drift that would have naturally occurred after that event."
With water temperatures in the 60s, Farris earlier Friday estimated survivability could be up to 20 hours.
The missing person the Coast Guard members were searching for prior to the collision is still missing, Farris said.
CNN's Sonya Hamasaki and Larry Shaughnessy contributed to this report.
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db4630f2317341cabb883e8aeafe0b06
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who were aboard the airplane
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[
"nine people"
] |
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Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court for the third time this year has stopped the pending capital punishment of a Texas inmate, giving lawyers for the man more time to file their appeals.
The justices on Tuesday issued an order granting a stay of execution for Cleve Foster, about 2 1/2 hours before his scheduled lethal injection. The Gulf War veteran was convicted along with another man of the 2002 murder of Nyanuer "Mary" Pal, a Sudanese immigrant he met at a Fort Worth bar.
The court indicated it would need more time to rule on the inmate's claims of prior ineffective assistance of counsel, and related claims of innocence of the murder.
This is the third time Foster, 47, has been granted a high court reprieve. His previous scheduled execution was stopped in January and April, once after he had already been given his last meal.
His April procedure was to be the state's first execution using a new sedative, the first in the lethal drug cocktail. A nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental forced corrections officials to announce they would use pentobarbital, a barbiturate that has alternately been used to put animals to sleep. Foster's lawyers had challenged that change, saying Texas foisted the new protocols so late, with little time for legal or medical review.
The state has since executed several inmates with the new drug mixture, without noted complications.
Foster has blamed his co-conspirator for the murder. His lawyers in their Supreme Court appeal presented letters from three fellow inmates who said co-defendant Sheldon Ward told them he acted alone in Pal's murder. The state countered Ward's statements to a psychologist implicating Foster as the mastermind behind the killing. They also said DNA from both men were found in the victim.
Texas has a planned lethal injection Wednesday. Lawrence Brewer, 44, was one of two white men convicted in the 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr., an African-American. That widely reported crime led to national movement to step up prosecutions and penalties for hate crimes.
Brewer has no pending appeals. It would be the 11th execution this year in Texas, the most active death-penalty state.
The current case is Foster v. Texas (11-6427).
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12e37fd6cf81491dbf5401518d76fd29
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What was scheduled 2 1/2 hours later?
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[
"lethal injection."
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Florence Henderson, "The Brady Bunch" mom, may be one of America's best-loved mothers.
Florence Henderson is often asked for hugs by complete strangers.
As Henderson travels the United States with her one-woman road show, "All the Lives of Me," fans respond as if they grew up in her 1970s TV family.
"Every day, I'm asked 'Can I have a hug?' " Henderson said. "And I do. I hug a lot of people."
And on Mother's Day every year, her mailbox fills with cards from people she doesn't know but who think of her as Mom.
"I get mail from all over the world, 122 countries," she said.
Henderson is using her fame as the iconic TV mother to help other moms who suffer from "lackus appreciatus," which she says is "a condition caused by years of under-appreciation and neglect" of mothers by their kids.
Her role as spokeswoman for the "Center for Lackus Appreciatus Prevention" is part of a tongue-in-cheek campaign sponsored by Kodak to promote an online service where Mother's Day cards can be sent for free.
A video posted on YouTube points to the Mom-a-thon.com Web site, which aims to close the "appreciation deficit" between what your mom does for you and what you do for your mom.
Although just five seasons of "The Brady Bunch" were produced, starting in the fall of 1969, children still grow up with the Bradys in syndication.
"It's never been off the air in the United States," she said.
Henderson said she sometimes encounters mothers who tell her "You know, I really didn't like you when my kids were small, because they preferred you to me."
She knows the power of her motherly voice, using it to make a reporter feel special with a scolding: "Don't play ball in the house!"
For a moment, the interviewer feels like a Brady.
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0ff95e1038384bf9914c57fcc2d4c840
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Who is most famous ?
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[
"Florence Henderson,"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Toyota-owned Fuji International Speedway circuit will stop hosting the Japanese Grand Prix from next year -- the track operators have announced.
The Toyota-owned Fuji circuit will not be hosting the Japanese Grand Prix due to financial concerns.
Fuji Speedway hosted the Formula One race in 2007 and 2008.
The race is set to return to the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit this year, and was due back at Fuji for the 2010 race -- as the 16th leg of the 18-race Formula One series.
The two venues were originally due to alternate hosting the Japanese Grand Prix but, due to the current downturn in the global economy, Fuji Speedway have confirmed they will no longer host the event.
Fuji Speedway opened in 1965. It staged F1 races in 1976 and in 1977, when a spectator and steward died after a Ferrari driven by Gilles Villeneuve ploughed into the crowd.
"We decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix in view of sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery," Fuji International Speedway said in a statement.
"I apologize deeply for being unable to live up to expectations. It is truly heartbreaking," Hiroaki Kato, president of the the company that runs the circuit, told reporters.
Kato said the economic downturn was causing a dramatic fall in the number of people attending motor sports events as the world's second-largest economy struggles through its worst recession since World War II.
"We are afraid that unless we circuit operators and promoters grit our teeth and support domestic motorsports, it will not be able to keep on going," he added.
Toyota's decision to pull outcomes as the global economic crisis forces Japanese automakers to slash costs.
Honda has sold its Formula One team while Suzuki and Subaru have withdrawn from the world rally championship. Motorcycle maker Kawasaki has exited the MotoGP and Mitsubishi is quitting the Dakar Rally despite a dozen victories.
Toyota overtook American rival General Motors in 2008 as the world's top selling automaker but fell into the red for the first time in the year to March with a net loss of 436.9 billion yen ($4.6 billion).
It expects a bigger net loss of 550 billion yen this year.
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b7987a5596554405859eac9dcb6ef0f6
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Will Fuji International Speedway continue to host the Japanese Grand Prix?
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[
"stop hosting the"
] |
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QUEBEC, Canada -- Third seed Julia Vakulenko will face comeback queen Lindsay Davenport in her first WTA Tour final at the Bell Challenge on Sunday.
Julia Vakulenko will seek her first victory on the WTA Tour at the Bell Challenge in Quebec.
The Ukrainian battled through with a 6-1 4-6 7-5 victory over American qualifier Julie Ditty in the semifinals.
The 24-year-old, who reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open, had previously twice lost at the last-four stage this year in Las Vegas and Berlin.
She reached a career high of 33rd in the world rankings back in May, but is now 36th.
"Sometimes you play your best and win easy, but sometimes you don't play your best and really have to fight hard," said Vakulenko, who squandered points for 5-3 leads in both the second and third sets.
"I'm just going to try my best -- I've never played her and I'm looking forward to it."
Former world No. 1 Davenport is seeking her second win in three tournaments since returning from a one-year hiatus to have a baby.
The 31-year-old, who is unseeded after accepting a wild-card to enter the Canadian tournament for the first time, also had to battle to beat Russian second seed Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in the semifinals.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has surged back up the rankings from 234th to 126th after winning her comeback tournament in Bali and then reaching the last four in Beijing.
The American has now beaten Zvonareva in all six encounters between the two players.
"I played well in the first set and had some chances early in the second set, but I didn't quite capitalize on them. I was able to come back but at 4-4 and 5-5 I just didn't return well enough," Davenport said.
"I was happy I was able to regroup in the third set. Physically I feel good. There are lots of positives I can take from it, especially beating a really good player and now being in the final.
"I want to be the one on the offensive and not the defensive, and that's what I'm going to try to do.
"I was trying to watch the first semifinal and see if that helped, but I play so much differently than Julie Ditty that it was hard to get anything from it." E-mail to a friend
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7588c883124e4a6499800b678d6e8faa
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What did Vakulenko do?
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"reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open,"
] |
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UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United Nations humanitarian chief Wednesday criticized a two-day pause in the fighting between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels as "inadequate."
U.N. Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes said he would have liked a "proper humanitarian pause."
John Holmes, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters that the 48-hour break in hostilities was not sufficient, even as fighting resumed in the northeast of the country.
The brief cessation of hostilities was announced by the Sri Lankan government on April 12 and allowed the U.N. and its partners to bring in necessary aid, said Holmes. He said he would have liked a "proper humanitarian pause" that lasted longer than two days, but hoped the break allowed for some progress to occur.
Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon had originally welcomed the announcement by the Sri Lankan government. However, Ban also expressed his concern that, "This is less than the full humanitarian pause of several days I had pressed for."
But Ban added that the pause "is nevertheless a useful first step and an opportunity to move towards the peaceful and orderly end to the fighting now so badly needed."
The government of Sri Lanka has been battling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) rebels in a civil conflict that has lasted nearly 25 years. The LTTE has been declared a terrorist organization by 32 countries, including the United States and the nations of the European Union. As many as 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict officially began in 1983.
The most pressing concern now, according to Holmes, is the fact that over 100,000 people are currently crowded in a "very small pocket of land" that is about five square miles, or about twice the size of New York's Central Park. "It is a very small area indeed for what we believe is very large number of people" Holmes explained. The crowded population, primarily comprised of Tamil civilians, is subject to the continuing Sri Lankan government assaults.
The British and French foreign ministers released a joint statement as well on Wednesday, claiming that the LTTE is also using Tamil civilians as human shields.
Holmes also called attention to the fact that the press has been barred from covering the civil strife in Sri Lanka. Ultimately, Holmes and the United Nations would like to see a peaceful end to the hostilities, but "its pretty clear, frankly, that a ceasefire as such is not something available at present circumstances."
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8c5fce04f09e49e49af70091c08f55be
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how long is the cessation
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"two-day"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- One year before the FIFA World Cup kicks off, 26 teams of gay and lesbian footballers are battling for global supremacy in the Gay Soccer World Championships.
Players from the London Stonewall Lions hold the 2008 Gay World Soccer Championship trophy aloft
Co-ordinated by the International Gay & Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA), the tournament, which began on Sunday, is being hosted by the Federal Triangles club in Washington D.C., and supported by the local Major League Soccer (MLS) side D.C. United.
IGLFA spokesman Michael Pranikoff told CNN that the competition has been running annually since 1992.
"We started very small. There were just a few clubs from around the world. But we have gone from strength to strength. Last year the tournament was in London and sanctioned by the Football Association."
Pranikoff said there are no professional players involved, but the standard of play is strong and the teams in the top divisions are very competitive.
Although the tournament involves club sides -- rather than national teams, there is still a strong international feel with players from the U.S., United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Argentina, Italy, and Norway all taking part.
The London Stonewall Lions are the reigning champions in the men's division and expected to figure in Sunday's final at Trinity Washington University, he said.
Despite the competitive nature of the event, Pranikoff said there are also less serious divisions where there is a more important message.
"When you are on the pitch it's all about the game. But it's also about providing an environment where people can be free to be who they are.
"It's a lot about camaraderie too. There are a lot of places in the world where gays and lesbians aren't accepted."
So, is the competition restricted to only gay and lesbian players?
Not at all, said Pranikoff. "It's very open, we don't discriminate."
He said gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and heterosexual players were all welcome to play.
Pranikoff said he is happy with how the 2009 event is unfolding, despite numbers being slightly down on what was expected -- due to the effects of the recession, swine flu and the upcoming Out Games in Denmark which has made attending the football tournament unaffordable for some teams.
"This year we didn't have as big a global turnout as we hoped for but there have been a lot of challenges -- so we're pleased to have 26 teams here."
Outside of organizing the current world championships, the IGLFA has also been involved in helping other organizations at stamping out homophobia, Pranikoff said.
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972b0abe02854244a7faa5fe4f934416
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What is being held in Washington DC?
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[
"2008 Gay World Soccer Championship"
] |
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(CNN) -- A pregnant bartender says she is fighting to keep her job at a gentlemen's club in New York.
Jennifer Paviglianiti, of Centereach, N.Y., claims her employer, Café Royale, discriminated against her because of her pregnancy. She filed a claim with the EEOC earlier this month.
Paviglianiti says she feared how her boss would react to her pregnancy and wanted to wait a few months to tell him. However, John Doxey found out before she could tell him, and that's when Paviglianiti claims her job became threatened.
Up until she became pregnant, the 29-year-old says she had been one of the club's most popular bartenders. Read the complaint
She says she "bonused 9 times" since August and it was only toward the end of her pregnancy that she asked for different hours.
Due to the tough economy, Paviglianiti says she needed this specific bartending job and feared she'd soon be out of work. To protect herself, she decided to secretly record her boss on tape.
On those recordings Doxey can be heard saying, "Customers don't wanna come in and see a pregnant woman behind the bar!" These recordings were also submitted in her EEOC discrimination claim.
In other recordings, Doxey is heard suggesting that Paviglianiti's appearance is hurting business. "Maybe they don't go there because the bartender is pregnant and doesn't look sexy."
Workplace attorney Robin Bond said it's within Doxey's right to do this if employees were informed that they had to maintain a specific "sexy look" to qualify for the job.
In this case, that means Paviglianiti would have had to be hired as a "model and a bartender" and get a written agreement to this -- as is done in the casino industry, Bond said on HLN Prime News with Mike Galanos.
When asked by Galanos if she signed any paperwork of that sort, Paviglianiti said, "not at all ... nothing."
Paviglianiti was taken off the bartending schedule for a few weeks, during which she hired an attorney. She later returned to the club as a cashier but claims she made much less than she did as a bartender.
However, Doxey's attorney says this proves she was never fired and her job duties were only adjusted to accommodate her pregnancy.
"My client declines to comment on pending legal action except to say it considers that Ms. Paviglianiti allegations are without merit," attorney Robert F. Milman said in a statement. "Ms. Paviglianiti was not terminated from her employment, she presently is on maternity leave and she has the right to return to work upon the conclusion of her leave."
Paviglianiti is due to have a baby girl this week.
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bf7358a93b4e4b169c74fa04ef5321e7
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what does the boss say in recording?
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[
"\"Customers don't wanna come in and see a pregnant woman behind"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney will serve as acting president briefly Saturday while President Bush is anesthetized for a routine colonoscopy, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday.
Bush is scheduled to have the medical procedure, expected to take about 2 1/2 hours, at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, Snow said.
Bush's last colonoscopy was in June 2002, and no abnormalities were found, Snow said.
The president's doctor had recommended a repeat procedure in about five years.
The procedure will be supervised by Dr. Richard Tubb and conducted by a multidisciplinary team from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Snow said.
A colonoscopy is the most sensitive test for colon cancer, rectal cancer and polyps, small clumps of cells that can become cancerous, according to the Mayo Clinic. Small polyps may be removed during the procedure.
Snow said that was the case when Bush had colonoscopies before becoming president.
Snow himself is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer that began in his colon and spread to his liver.
Snow told reporters he had a chemo session scheduled later Friday. Watch Snow talk about Bush's procedure and his own colon cancer »
"The president wants to encourage everybody to use surveillance," Snow said.
The American Cancer Society recommends that people without high-risk factors or symptoms begin getting screened for signs of colorectal cancer at age 50. E-mail to a friend
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144bfae75f4c4e009d575c6f2f0d5a05
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When was Bush's last colonoscopy?
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"June 2002,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Italian champions AC Milan climbed to the top of Serie A for the first time this season on Friday with a 2-0 win over 10-man Genoa that was delayed for 10 minutes due to supporters fighting outside the stadium.
The game was only 15 minutes old when tear gas started flowing into Genoa's Stadio Luigi Ferraris as police tried to control clashes between the clubs' supporters.
The mid-table home side held out for almost an hour against a Milan team unbeaten in seven previous games -- six of them victories -- but the match turned when Kakha Kaladze was sent off against his former club.
The Georgia international defender was booked for the second time after bringing down Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the Sweden striker netted the resulting penalty for his eighth goal in 10 league games.
"In the first half we had three chances that we could have scored from and that would have opened up the game," Ibrahimovic told reporters.
"We're playing well, we've got a lot of confidence, also away from home. We're getting a lot of possession and scoring goals.
Brazil forward Robinho was guilty of a shocking miss but Antonio Nocerino eventually doubled the lead with 10 minutes to play, scoring his fifth goal this season after being set up by fellow midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.
The victory put Massimiliano Allegri a point above Juventus -- who host second-bottom Cesena on Sunday -- with eight wins and three draws from 13 matches.
Third-placed Udinese could join Milan on 27 points with victory away to the Rossoneri's city rivals Internazionale on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen moved up to sixth place in Germany's Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at home to Hoffenheim on Friday.
In-form Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok headed his sixth goal this season in the 10th minute, while Sidney Sam lobbed goalkeeper Tom Starke with 11 minutes to play to keep Leverkusen unbeaten in five matches in all competitions -- and 10th-placed Hoffenheim winless in as many matches.
Leverkusen now trail Borussia Dortmund and Monchengladbach by four points ahead of the league leaders' clash on Saturday.
If that match ends in a draw, third-placed Bayern Munich can return to the top with a draw or better at home to Werder Bremen.
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19ef6737e23d4002906edf5490b7e8b8
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What Serie is AC Milan in?
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[
"A"
] |
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(CNN) -- Scientists have found the oldest fossilized footprints made by a four-legged creature, forcing a rethink on when fish first crawled out of water and onto land.
The discovery of the footprints in a former quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains in southeastern Poland are thought to be 395 million years old -- 18 million years older than the earliest tetrapod (a vertebrate with limbs rather than fins) body fossils.
The report published Thursday in the science journal Nature says the footprints of the tetrapod measure up to 26 centimeters (10 inches) wide, which scientists say is indicative of an animal around 2.5 meters (7.5 feet) in length.
The footprints are also 10 million years older than the earliest known elpistostegids -- creatures which displayed some animal characteristics but retained fins.
Philippe Janvier from the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, the reviewer of the paper, told CNN: "It is a really stunning discovery because it's the earliest evidence we have of tetrapods. These footprints are clear enough to attest that tetrapods were there 395 millions years ago."
The report's authors say their findings "force a radical reassessment of the timing, ecology and environmental setting of the fish-tetrapod transition, as well as the completeness of the body fossil record."
As well as finding fossilized footprints, Per Ahlberg, professor of evolutionary organismal biology at Uppsala University in Sweden, and his co-authors from the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw also report finding several tracks of different sizes and characteristics.
The tracks, they say, have distinctive "hand" and "foot" prints and no evidence of a dragging body.
Ahlberg said in a video on the Nature Web site: "The trackway shows pairs of prints -- the sort of tracks a salamander would leave if it walked. In order to make tracks like the ones found you need to have front legs and back legs that are about the same size."
Ahlberg said the disused quarry where the fossils were discovered has yielded some of the most exciting finds he has encountered in his career as a paleontologist.
Although Janvier describes the lack of skeletal evidence as "frustrating," it doesn't undermine the importance of the discovery. "It changes what we thought about the evolutionary tree concerning the part dealing with transition from fish to land vertebrae." Janvier said.
"The divergence between the tetrapods and their closest fish relatives is much younger than previously thought and it obliges us to find actual evidence -- skeletons or complete fossils -- in much earlier strata that could enlighten us between this divergence."
|
c542beca5ea44eb3880d308534e5df78
|
what does the discovery push back
|
[
"we thought about the evolutionary tree concerning the part dealing with transition from fish to land vertebrae.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery, plans to be back on the bench when the Supreme Court resumes oral arguments in 17 days.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also had surgery for colorectal cancer in September 1999.
Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Friday that the 75-year-old justice is expected to be on hand for the next public session February 23, when the court will hear appeals in two cases.
Ginsburg remains hospitalized at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center a day after undergoing surgery for the disease.
Sources close to Ginsburg say that she continues to do well after surgery and that doctors and family remain cautiously optimistic. Those sources said she was resting comfortably and speaking with her staff about the court's upcoming caseload. Watch friends talk about Ginsburg's resilience »
The justice could be released from the hospital next week. A court statement Thursday said she will probably remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days, according to her attending surgeon, Dr. Murray Brennan.
"Justice Ginsburg had no symptoms prior to the incidental discovery of the lesion during a routine annual check-up in late January at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland," the court said.
The justices are on a month-long recess but return for a closed door conference February 20. There is no word on whether Ginsburg will attend that meeting, among just the nine members of the court, to go over pending appeals.
President Obama was hoping to speak with Ginsburg by phone later Friday, said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Ginsburg underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in September 1999. Court sources said she continued to work on pending cases while in her hospital bed and her subsequent recovery.
Less than a month later, she appeared in public to give a speech and said, "I am still mending but have progressed steadily." She never missed a day on the bench.
The Brooklyn, New York, native has been on the federal bench since 1980, the past 15 on the high court, where she is the he only female justice.
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5d64309682474e0eaff1d4eaa7a6baf5
|
What is Ruth Bader Ginsburg's current occupation?
|
[
"Justice"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- French fishermen suspended their blockade at three English Channel ports Thursday, allowing ferry traffic and freight to move through after two days of disruption, union leaders said.
French fishing boats blockade the port of Boulogne.
The French ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne were open again after French unions met Thursday and agreed to stop the blockade.
Union leaders have yet to agree on how the rest of their protest will develop, and whether the suspension will become permanent.
The fishermen began their blockade of the three ports Tuesday to protest European Union fishing quotas, which they say threaten their livelihoods.
The flotillas forced a halt to all cross-Channel traffic, including passenger ferries and freighters, stranding tourists on both sides of the waterway and causing a backlog of freight trucks.
P&O, the largest ferry operator on the Channel, said it had resumed running normal services to Calais.
"It is our hope that we'll be able to continue doing that throughout the day," spokeswoman Michelle Ulyatt said.
LD Ferries, which operates services to Boulogne, said it had canceled four sailings Thursday as a result of the dispute.
"We do not yet have any information on whether any of our services will be affected beyond 16th April," the company said in a statement.
French fishermen held four hours of talks with Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier in Paris on Wednesday, the French news agency Agence France-Press reported. Barnier offered the local industry €4 million ($5.3 million) in aid, but refused to budge on the fishermen's key demand that the European Union increase fishing quotas, AFP reported.
Both France and the European Union have ruled out any renegotiation, pointing out that French cod quotas have already been raised 30 percent since 2008, AFP said.
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0fcb9bce27d548b481aac5b18f2ed513
|
What services were affected?
|
[
"passenger ferries and freighters,"
] |
NewsQA
|
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (CNN) -- A passenger train rumbling through the Czech Republic slammed into a collapsed overpass, causing the deaths of at least a half dozen passengers and the injuries of a few dozen more, according to a Czech News Agency account.
An areal view shows the scene of the train accident in Studenka, 360 kilometers east of Prague.
The EuroCity train, which was traveling about 140 kilometers, or 87 miles, an hour at the time of the accident, crashed around 10:30 a.m. near the Czech town of Studenka.
It had been headed from the Polish city of Krakow to the Czech Republic capital of Prague, and was carrying people who were planning to attend an Iron Maiden rock concert, the state-run news agency said.
Officials said the engine and its six passenger carriages derailed when part of a bridge under construction fell down as the train approached.
At least six people were killed and 41 others were injured, officials said. Initial estimates said 10 people were killed and around 100 were injured.
Zdenek Nytra, head of Moravian-Silesian firefighters, said rescuers extricated all survivors, according to the agency.
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57280e8873df483794eb59d3f4386d22
|
Wher did the train travel to?
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[
"Czech Republic"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Target Corp. this month will open 27 new stores employing a total of more than 4,300 people, the company said.
One of Target's two new Hawaii stores awaits its Sunday grand opening.
The stores' openings will come just weeks after the retailer cut 600 people from its headquarters staff amid what it called weaker-than-expected sales.
The retailer will hold grand openings for the 21 general merchandise stores and six full-grocery SuperTarget stores on Sunday. The new sites include the company's first two stores in Hawaii.
Each general merchandise store employs 150 to 250 people, and each SuperTarget has 200 to 300 workers, the company said.
In late January, Minnesota-based Target cut its headquarters staff by 9 percent and eliminated 400 open positions. The company, citing difficult economic conditions and sales that didn't meet expectations, also said it would soon close an Arkansas distribution center that employs 500 people and would cut back on planned new-store openings.
"We are clearly operating in an unprecedented economic environment that requires us to make some extremely difficult decisions to ensure Target remains competitive over the long term," Gregg Steinhafel, Target president and CEO, said in a news release that month.
Retailers in the United States took a hit last year as a weak economy weighed on consumer spending. Retail sales fell six straight months until January, when sales rose 1 percent, according to the Commerce Department. However, retail experts said they were skeptical a rebound had taken hold.
Still, two other retailers also announced plans to expand. Kohl's announced last month that it intends to open 55 stores in 2009, and Dollar General in February said it is looking to open more than 400 stores.
Target reported its fourth-quarter net earnings were 40.7 percent lower than the same quarter a year earlier. Same-store sales in January were 3.3 percent lower than a year earlier. December same-store sales fell 4.1 percent.
Target's new general merchandise stores are in Rogers, Arkansas; Santa Clarita, California; Pensacola, Florida; Bethlehem, Georgia; Honolulu and Kapolei, Hawaii; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Las Vegas, Nevada; Paramus, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Lebanon and Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Philadelphia and Exton, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; Houston, San Antonio and San Marcos, Texas; Midlothian, Virginia; and Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
The new SuperTarget stores are in Kissimmee, Florida; Canton, Georgia; Hillside, Illinois; and Pflugerville, Allen and Lewisville, Texas.
The new locations will increase the number of Target stores to 1,699, the company said.
CNNMoney.com's Parija B. Kavilanz contributed to this report.
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ed6066216ada4e0b8b431f598292df42
|
What company has announced headquarters job cuts?
|
[
"Target"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Singer Natalie Cole underwent kidney transplant surgery at a Los Angeles, California, hospital Tuesday, according to a statement from her publicist.
Natalie Cole holds one of the Grammys she received in February for "Still Unforgettable."
Cole, daughter of legendary singer-actor Nat King Cole, has been receiving kidney dialysis three times a week since September, the statement said.
Cole was "resting comfortably" at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, it said.
"Ms. Cole's physicians have advised her to postpone her summer tour dates as she recuperates for the next three to four months," it said.
Rescheduled concert dates will be announced soon for Cole's tour, which is in support of her current double-Grammy-winning CD, "Still Unforgettable."
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72724016f59e4b1aa2a71dc607068d48
|
What kind of surgery did Natalie Cole undergo?
|
[
"kidney transplant"
] |
NewsQA
|
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Thousands of Christian Copts in Cairo protested outside the offices of the Egyptian state broadcaster, witnesses said on Friday.
It was the seventh day of protests over what they're calling the "marginalization and lack of representation" of their concerns in state media.
There have been longstanding tensions between Muslims and Copts in Egypt, and 13 Copts were killed in sectarian clashes last Tuesday.
That erupted after a family dispute between Christians and Muslims resulted in a church burning south of Cairo.
|
ad529003bb214c3786a3d12dc19f31c3
|
What is the capital of Egypt?
|
[
"Cairo"
] |
NewsQA
|
New York (CNN) -- One wily coyote traveled a bit too far from home, and its resulting adventure through Harlem had alarmed residents doing a double take and scampering to get out of its way Wednesday morning.
Police say frightened New Yorkers reported the coyote sighting around 9:30 a.m., and an emergency service unit was dispatched to find the animal. The little troublemaker was caught and tranquilized in Trinity Cemetery on 155th street and Broadway, and then taken to the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, authorities said.
"The coyote is under evaluation and observation," said Mary Dixon, spokesperson for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Dixon said the coyote is a female, between 1 and 2 years old. She said the Department of Environmental Conservation will either send the animal to a rescue center or put it back in the wild.
According to Adrian Benepe, New York City Parks Commissioner, coyotes in Manhattan are rare, but not unheard of.
"This is actually the third coyote that has been seen in the last 10 years," Benepe said.
Benepe said there is a theory the coyotes make their way to the city from suburban Westchester.
He said they probably walk down the Amtrak rail corridor along the Hudson River or swim down the Hudson River until they get to the city.
|
20f57ec75d164ae3b762392fe0d48475
|
What happened with the coyote?
|
[
"then taken to the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Pennsylvania police have arrested a woman who authorities say fled Washington state 11 years ago with her two sons against a court order instructing her to return them to their father, police said.
Jill Haugen was arrested at her home in Milton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, days after she had contacted police saying she didn't want to take care of her sons any longer, Milton Police Chief Craig Lutcher told CNN.
Police in Spokane, Washington, said a felony warrant for first-degree custodial interference was issued for her in 1998. The Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, district attorney's office said she has been charged with being a fugitive from justice and is awaiting an extradition hearing. It was not immediately clear if she had retained legal representation.
Police made two trips to her house after her Saturday phone call, Lutcher said, and the sons, now ages 15 and 16, were placed into foster care after the second visit, on Sunday.
A caseworker discovered through an Internet search that there was a warrant from Washington state for Haugen's arrest and told police, Lutcher said.
Police said Haugen had provided them with two different names on two different occasions.
Haugen, who was known as Jill Connington when she was married to Bill Connington, did not win primary custody of the couple's children in 1998 after the two had divorced, police in Spokane said.
"They were with her on a visitation and she never brought them back," Spokane police Lt. Dave McGovern said.
When she disappeared, according to police, the felony warrant for first-degree custodial interference was issued for her, police said.
Bill Connington told CNN that he was a "little overwhelmed with everything."
"I've had thoughts of possibly never seeing [his sons] again but never gave up hope I would," he said.
He said he was speaking with caseworkers about getting the teenagers to Washington.
As she was escorted by police, Haugen told media she was a domestic abuse survivor and that her two sons were sexual abuse survivors. It was not immediately clear against whom she was leveling the sexual abuse accusations.
"We've been in this state since 2000," she said. "We are legal residents."
McGovern said a sexual abuse allegation was filed in 1995 on behalf of the children, but authorities were not able to substantiate anything from it.
Asked about the abuse, Connington denied any wrongdoing and said he had offered during the custody hearings to do whatever he needed to prove his innocence.
CNN's Shirley Zilberstein contributed to this report.
|
191207e2bf044a268744ba6acbd9daaf
|
Where did Jill Haugen leave?
|
[
"Washington state"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The reality television show personality who accused football player Shawne Merriman of choking her over the weekend has denied that she was drunk during the incident, her Twitter page said Monday.
Shawne Merriman is accused of restraining reality TV star Tila Tequlia as she tried to leave his home, police say.
"I am allergic to alcohol," said the posting for Tila Nguyen, 27, who goes by Tila Tequila.
"It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila 'Tequila' cuz the irony. I can't drink."
The incident began at 3:45 a.m. Sunday, when authorities responded to a disturbance call from Nguyen, the San Diego (California) County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.
"Nguyen told deputies she had been choked and physically restrained by Merriman when she attempted to leave his residence," it said.
Merriman, 25, was taken into custody on suspicion of battery and false imprisonment, the statement said.
Deputies saw no physical injuries on Nguyen, who is described on her Twitter page as 4 feet, 11 inches tall and 93 pounds, but she asked to be taken to a hospital, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell. Watch Caldwell talk about the incident »
The San Diego Chargers linebacker released a statement Sunday noting that no charges had been filed and saying he had done nothing wrong.
"I was concerned about her welfare given the intoxicated state she appeared to be in and I encouraged her to stay until safe transportation could be provided," Merriman said. "I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported."
Merriman said he was looking forward to clearing his name of the "false accusations."
Merriman's lawyer, Todd Macaluso, said Sunday that more than a dozen other people were at the house at the time, and "witness after witness after witness will back up his story 100 percent."
In a statement posted on the Chargers' Web site Sunday, team General Manager A.J. Smith said, "It is disappointing to hear about the issue involving Shawne Merriman.
"We'll continue to monitor the situation and let the legal process run its course," Smith said.
The 6-foot, 4-inch 265-pounder is entering his fifth year with the Chargers. The team begins its 2009 NFL regular-season campaign September 14 in Oakland, California, for a game against the Raiders.
Merriman, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, recorded at least 10 sacks in each of his first three seasons, but he was limited to one game last season because of a knee injury that required surgery.
|
f88f4fc4b152400dbaec4cefa26b1182
|
Who is allergic to alcohol?
|
[
"Tila Nguyen,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Serbian tennis player has been banned for life and fined $100,000 after being found guilty of match-fixing offenses.
David Savic has been punished for three violations of the 2010 Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program in October 2010, it was revealed on Saturday.
A Tennis Integrity Unit investigation found that the 26-year-old tried to contrive the outcome of an event, sought to persuade another player to not try to win and also offered money "with the intention of negatively influencing a player's best efforts in any event."
Savic is currently ranked 659th in singles, with a highest standing of 363 in October 2009. He is a compatriot of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who helped Serbia win the Davis Cup last year before winning three grand slam titles in 2011.
Savic is the second man to be banned for life over match-fixing, following Austria's Daniel Kollerer in May.
The Tennis Integrity Unit is run by the International Tennis Federation, the Grand Slam Committee and the men's ATP and women's WTA tours.
Meanwhile, world No. 4 Andy Murray will face Donald Young in Sunday's Thailand Open final after the American upset second seed Gael Monfils.
Young, ranked 55th, triumphed 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) against the Frenchman in Saturday's semis to reach his first top-level title match.
He has already beaten Murray once this year, at Indian Wells, but lost to the Briton in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Young will break into the men's top-50 next week, having started August in 128th place.
The defeat dented 14th-ranked Monfils' hopes of reaching the season-ending ATP World Tour finals in London.
Murray, who was runner-up in Bangkok in his first ATP final six years ago, is seeking his third title this year after winning 6-2 3-6 6-2 against another Frenchman, Gilles Simon.
Agnieszka Radwanska boosted her hopes of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Championships in Turkey by winning the Tokyo Open title on Saturday.
The Polish ninth seed defeated world No. 4 Vera Zvonareva for the third time this year, with the 22-year-old winning 6-3 6-2 to claim her sixth title.
Zvonareva has already qualified for Istanbul, and is joined by Tokyo semifinalists Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion.
"Before this tournament my chances of qualifying for the Championships were very small, but now they'll be better," Radwanska said.
The China Open has also begun, with Italian seventh seed Francesca Schiavone and Russia's No. 16 Svetlana Kuznetsova winning first-round matches in Beijing on Saturday.
Ninth seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany also went through, but Serbian 10th seed Jelena Jankovic was beaten 7-5 6-4 by Austria's Tamira Paszek.
|
0adc26edfeef4072907576a986ea2421
|
where is Agnieszka Radwanska wins?
|
[
"Tokyo Open"
] |
NewsQA
|
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (CNN) -- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, under investigation in the deaths of protesters, remained Saturday in a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital where he has been receiving treatment since Tuesday, officials said.
Earlier, a military official told CNN that Mubarak had been transferred to a military facility in Cairo. However, later in the day, an official with the military in Cairo said the former leader is still in the hospital in the Red Sea resort town.
Hospital and police personnel had insisted that Mubarak was still being treated at the facility and hadn't moved from a heavily guarded section of the building.
"As long as Mr. Mubarak is here, we will stay here," said police Capt. Karim Yusuf, one of the dozens of riot police standing in a human chain outside the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital.
Justice Minister Mohamed Abdel Aziz had earlier said that when the former leader's health improves, he will be imprisoned.
Despite his health issues, Mubarak has been questioned and been under investigation by the Egyptian prosecutor-general's office since Tuesday.
He is being investigated in connection with the deaths of hundreds of activists during the recent uprising that led to his departure from office February 11. He is also under investigation for allegations of corruption and misuse of state funds.
Mubarak has been treated at the hospital since Tuesday for heart palpitations and blood pressure problems and is listed in stable condition, officials said.
He and his sons were taken into 15-day detainment Tuesday, according to a Justice Ministry spokesman. His sons are in custody in Cairo.
Aziz also said Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, will be questioned by the ministry's Office of Illicit Profiteering.
CNN's Ivan Watson, Mohammed Fadel Fahmy and Dina Amer contributed to this report.
|
ddeb2fa5ec894debaac2f30a4db5f1bf
|
what The former leader is under investigation for?
|
[
"deaths of protesters,"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Turkey launched another round of airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, an Iraqi official said.
File photo from 2007 of Kurdistan Workers Party fighters at the Mahsun Korkmaz Academy in Northern Iraq.
Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in villages near Amadi in Iraq's Duhuk Province, a provincial security official told CNN.
The official said the Turkish military operation started at 5:30 p.m. and lasted an hour and a half. There were no reports of casualties.
Turkey said it was the sixth time in the past week it attacked the PKK in response to clashes that left at least 15 Turkish troops dead in the Turkey-Iraq border region last weekend.
The central Iraqi government has labeled the PKK a terrorist organization, banning its activities and closing its offices in the country two years ago. The United States and the European Union also consider the PKK a terrorist group.
It was the second round of Turkish strikes on northern Iraq this weekend. Late Friday and early Saturday, Turkish warplanes hit 31 targets in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq before returning. They "successfully completed the operation [and] safely returned to their bases," the Turkish military said.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces said Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed the region from around 11 p.m. Friday until 1 a.m. Saturday. The spokesman, Jabbar Yawer, said there were no reports of casualties.
Turkish artillery shells also hit border villages in the Zakho area, targeting PKK positions for about an hour on Saturday afternoon, Yawer said.
Though the Iraqi government opposes the PKK, the organization continues to operate in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq bordering Turkey and Iran. The separatist faction has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.
The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces provide security for Iraq's Kurdish regional government.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
|
38f67886ea1a4bf0af1988afa65aa22c
|
Who considers the PKK to be terrorists?
|
[
"central Iraqi government"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration on Monday announced a 20-year ban on new mining claims on more than 1 million acres of public land near the Grand Canyon, a move meant to protect the iconic landmark from new uranium mining.
Previously approved operations will be allowed to continue, as will new projects on valid existing claims.
"People from all over the country and around the world come to visit the Grand Canyon. Numerous American Indian tribes regard this magnificent icon as a sacred place and millions of people in the Colorado River Basin depend on the river for drinking water, irrigation, industrial and environmental use," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
"We have been entrusted to care for and protect our precious environmental and cultural resources, and we have chosen a responsible path that makes sense for this and future generations," he added.
The administration said the move will give officials more time to monitor the impact of uranium mining on the vital watershed, and in the mineral-rich area in general.
Conservation groups cheered the decision, which was slammed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Sen. John McCain.
"This is a great day for Grand Canyon National Park and all those who care about the park and the surrounding public lands and waters," said Sandy Bahr, Grand Canyon chapter director of the Sierra Club, a California-based environmental organization. "Today's decision protects not only the area around the Grand Canyon, but water that helps feed the Colorado River, which provides drinking water for millions of people downstream."
Brewer similarly stressed the significance of the park, but argued the move will needlessly cost Arizona jobs and stall economic growth.
"The 20-year ban comes at the expense of hundreds of high-paying jobs and approximately $10 billion worth of activity for the Arizona economy," she said. "Nobody wants to see it (the Grand Canyon) harmed. But I believe that environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. We could and should have both."
The Grand Canyon National Park is a major tourist attraction in Arizona; close to 5 million people visit it each year.
McCain, speaking Sunday before the ban's official announcement, said he had expected the decision and was disappointed.
"It's clearly another victory for the radical environmental community," he said.
|
0aa7196192bf4dc1861a68ffec751223
|
Who is the Arizona governor?
|
[
"Jan Brewer"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Petra Kvitova will face Victoria Azarenka in the final of the WTA Championships in Istanbul on Sunday.
The reigning Wimbledon champion recovered from a set down against Australia's Samantha Stosur to eventually win 5-7 6-3 6-3.
Belarussian, Azarenka enjoyed a more comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
Kvitova started brightly enough against Stosur taking a 4-2 lead in the opening set, but then a series of unforced errors let the increasingly confident Australian back into the contest.
It wasn't long though before the left-handed Czech soon found her rhythm grinding down the spirited Stosur with a series of forehand winners to take the second set and level the match.
Kvitova then raced into a 4-0 lead in the deciding set before Stosur pulled one break back but it was too late to save the match.
The 22-year-old Azarenka, meanwhile, enjoyed much the better of a series of baseline rallies with her Russian opponent, and despite her serve not being in the best order ran out an easy winner.
The victor on Sunday will rise to number two in the world rankings.
Kvitova will start as favourite as she has won the two previous meetings between the pair this year.
|
01644e58757349c0b5877876fb7c3dae
|
Who enjoyed a comfortable win over Vera Zvonareva?
|
[
"Azarenka"
] |
NewsQA
|
MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- The lawyer for the main suspect in last year's deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai was removed Wednesday, delaying the high-profile trial that was set to begin.
Soldiers patrol in Mumbai on the eve of the trial of a key suspect in last year's attacks in the Indian city.
The trial start for Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, 21, is expected to be moved to Thursday as officials scramble to settle the lawyer issue. Kasab is thought to be the only one of 10 gunmen to survive the three-day siege, which killed more than 160 people in November.
As the trial was to begin, the judge removed attorney Anjali Waghmare because she also was representing a witness in the case. Waghmare argued that she had no idea that the person was a witness in the terror case, and she was representing this person in a different case. But the judge declared that it was a conflict of interest.
An Indian court appointed Waghmare two weeks ago to represent Kasab, and it was unclear who would replace her.
Kasab demanded that his attorney be replaced with a Pakistani lawyer. But the judge denied that request and said that a Pakistani lawyer may be able to be brought in as a consultant from outside the courtroom.
Kasab, a Pakistani national, faces more than a dozen charges, including murder, conspiracy to wage a war against the nation and terrorism.
During the proceedings Wednesday Kasab seemed relaxed and smiled many time at the large crowd of journalists in the courtroom. Kasab also requested newspapers to be brought in so that he could see what the media was writing about him.
Prosecutors last month accused him of trying to delay the trial by insisting that the 11,000-page document detailing the charges against him -- which was written in English and the local Marathi language -- be translated into Urdu, the official language of Pakistan. The court rejected his request.
Wednesday's trial was to take place in a makeshift court set up in a jail where Kasab -- who has been communicating with the judge via videolink -- is being held.
Indian authorities have long blamed the Mumbai attacks on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based militant outfit, but the group has denied responsibility. The violence initially heightened tensions between the two nuclear states.
India has urged Pakistan to destroy what it calls terrorist infrastructure in that country. The two nations are longtime rivals that have fought three wars since their independence from the British, and conducted countering nuclear weapons tests in 1998.
CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this report.
|
01e9aaa89e2342eca52890a3ee6f4021
|
when will the trial start
|
[
"Thursday"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Monica Conyers, Detroit's embattled City Council president pro tempore, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to commit bribery, a federal court representative in Michigan told CNN.
Detroit City Council member, Monica Conyers, admits accepting bribes to sway a $1.2 billion contract vote.
Conyers, 44, admitted accepting bribes in exchange for her vote to sway the City Council to approve Synagro Technologies Inc.'s $1.2 billion contract in 2007.
It's unclear when Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, began her relationship with Synagro, but court papers say she received money from Synagro until December 2007.
Conyers voted in favor of the wastewater treatment contract on November 20, 2007, the same day she received an envelope filled with cash from Detroit businessman Rayford Jackson, court papers say.
Jackson pleaded guilty to providing Conyers with the money. He had been a paid consultant of Synagro.
On December 4, 2007, Conyers received another envelope of cash from Jackson in a McDonald's parking lot, said Terrence Berg, the U.S. attorney from the eastern district of Michigan.
"She was the swing vote in this deal," Berg said. "She used her power to get the deal done, and she acknowledged that."
The mood was somber at Conyers' office on Friday, an official there told CNN.
A few office workers cried. They found out about the developments through news reports, said Denise Tolliver, Conyers' deputy chief of staff.
"We've been going through this for a while," Tolliver said. "Reporters would ask us questions about anonymous sources, and we just didn't believe them."
Office workers were preparing for an afternoon meeting with City Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. later Friday.
According to state law, Conyers will have to forfeit her seat, Tolliver said.
Cockrel said there's language in the law that makes it unclear whether she needs to forfeit her seat immediately or after sentencing
"It hurts the City Council's image, for sure," Cockrel said. "But we need to remember, this is only one member of the council. You can't paint the entire council with the same brush."
For a seven-month period in 2008, Cockrel replaced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick after Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice. During that time Cockrel terminated the city's contract with Synagro because of rumors circulating about bribes, he said.
Conyers faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to prosecutors.
Synagro would not comment on Conyers' plea, but a spokeswoman said, "We have cooperated fully with the federal investigation and will continue to do so."
|
8691049dbee647a6ad8d58f5c138f815
|
Who sealed the treatment deal?
|
[
"Monica Conyers,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A memorial cruise is scheduled to set sail 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic, following the same trans-Atlantic route as the ill-fated ship, according to organizers.
A list of first class passengers for the R.M.S. Titanic is one of the artifacts that remains after the sinking.
The Titanic Memorial Cruise is to set sail in April 2012, departing from Southampton, England, on April 8, just as the Titanic did.
On April 15, the ship -- the Balmoral -- will arrive at the spot in the North Atlantic where the Titanic sank after it collided with an iceberg.
Passengers on the 2012 cruise will take part in a memorial service at the site, according to organizer Miles Morgan Travel.
Artifacts from the Titanic and a piece of the ship's hull have been recovered, but most of the wreckage remains where the luxury cruise liner sank.
The 12-night memorial cruise will then take passengers to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, so they can visit cemeteries where some of the Titanic victims are buried. The trip will end in New York, where the Titanic was headed. Prices for the trip start at $3,900.
Millvina Dean, thought to be the last survivor of the Titanic, died in June 2009 at age 97, according to friends.
Dean was an infant when the Titanic -- publicized as "practically unsinkable" and as the largest passenger steamship at the time -- struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, during its maiden voyage from Southampton in southern England to New York. The ship sank less than three hours later, killing more than 1,500 people.
Dean's brother and mother also survived the sinking.
|
3320ca6a97ce45c3bd1d6b0c114ef50e
|
Where will the trip end?
|
[
"New York,"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Negotiations between the United States and Libya that could result in compensation for past acts of state-sponsored terrorism by Libya are under way, a senior State Department official said Friday.
The wreckage of Pan Am 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland; the bombing killed 270 people in 1989.
U.S. and Libyan officials met Wednesday and Thursday, the official said.
The nations hope to hammer out a deal in which Libya would "resolve all outstanding claims in good faith" and offer "fair compensation" to victims and their families, he said.
"We are just at the beginning of this process. The goal is to get something that is fair and comprehensive," the official said.
The official said that any agreement would cover about eight acts, including the 1989 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 259 passengers and 11 people on the ground; and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle disco in Berlin, Germany, that killed two people and injured at least 120, including 40 Americans.
Outstanding terrorism claims have been a problem for Libya in its attempts to normalize relations with the United States and to begin development of its oil resources.
Libya has expressed disappointment that it has failed to reap any political and economic benefits promised by the U.S. government and others after Libya renounced terrorism and stopped development of weapons of mass destruction.
And some of the largest U.S. oil companies are eager to begin exploration and development of Libya oil fields, among the 10 largest in the world.
The new negotiations and development of an agreement would ideally fulfill all outstanding lawsuits against Libya and allow investment to move forward.
A joint U.S.-Libyan statement said, "Both parties affirm their desire to work together to resolve all outstanding claims in good faith and expeditiously in the establishment of a fair compensation mechanism."
|
1200106c36b54096b0e8bd3aaac2af8d
|
what would be covered in possible agreement?
|
[
"about eight acts,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Baseball legend Barry Bonds is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for his obstruction of justice conviction.
The hearing at 11 a.m. (2 p.m. ET) will take place in a San Francisco federal courtroom less than two miles from the ballpark where Bonds broke Hank Aaron's major league home run record in August 2007.
Federal prosecutors want Bonds, 47, to serve 15 months in prison, according to a sentencing memo filed in court earlier this month.
Defense lawyers argued in their filing that the judge should accept the probation office's recommendation that Bonds be sentenced to two years' probation, fined $4,000 and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.
Jurors who found Bonds guilty in April said he was "evasive" in his testimony to the federal grand jury investigating illegal steroids use by pro athletes.
"Because Bonds's efforts were a corrupt, intentional effort to interfere with that mission, a sentence of 15 months imprisonment is appropriate," the prosecution said in its memo to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
But jurors, who were deadlocked on three perjury counts, said that it was not proven that Bonds lied when he testified that he had not knowingly used steroids. Prosecutors decided not to pursue a retrial.
Prosecutors still argued in the sentencing memo that Bonds' denial that he was "taking steroids and human growth hormone were patently false."
Bonds' testimony in December 2003 was part of the investigation that targeted Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson and employees of the California drug testing laboratory known as the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO).
The testimony that led to Bonds' conviction came when a grand jury prosecutor asked Bonds if Anderson ever gave him "anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with."
Bonds told the grand jury that only his personal doctors "ever touch me," and he then veered off the subject to say he never talked baseball with Anderson.
Defense lawyers argued that Bonds thought the creams and ointments Anderson was giving him were made of flax seed oils.
Sentences for other athletes convicted in connection with the BALCO investigation have not included prison time.
CNN's Greg Morrison and Alan Duke contributed to this report.
|
546a87b1b6f74a39bad1a49ab029cdd7
|
federal prosecutors want baseball legend to serve how many months in prison?
|
[
"15"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will address the West in a new message, according to a banner ad from the group's production wing posted on Islamist Web sites known to carry messages from al Qaeda and bin Laden.
This image accompanied a message from Osama bin Laden in November.
"To the western nations, soon, God willing, A new speech by the Lion of Islam Sheikh Osama Bin laden, The reasons of the struggle in the 60th anniversary of the Israeli Occupation," the banner reads.
It was not known whether the message would be audio or video or when it might be posted. In the past, messages were available from an hour to two days after the initial posting.
Bin Laden's last message came March 20, when in an audiotape he called Iraq "the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine."
In an audiotape released the previous day, bin Laden condemned European countries for siding with the United States in Afghanistan and for allowing the publication of cartoons considered insulting to Islam's prophet, Mohammed.
|
0d3abcb5305a4811a0b9255c9ec3eb56
|
What did the banner ad say?
|
[
"Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will address the West in a new message,"
] |
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