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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Violence echoed across a volatile Pakistani province and an adjacent tribal region on Saturday, with dozens reported killed in the latest military push, a drone strike, and a car bombing targeting a school bus. A Pakistani girl displaced by the military's offensive against the Taliban rests at a camp Saturday north of the capital. Pakistan's artillery and airstrikes against Taliban militants in North West Frontier Province left 47 suspected militants dead in operations over the last 24 hours, the military said. "Security forces are closing in from different directions and have been able to inflict more casualties," the military said in the daily roundup of its offensive in the Swat district and adjoining regions. The troops have been fighting to oust militants from districts across Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Forty-five people were killed in various areas of Dir, where four militants were arrested. The military conducted search-and-destroy operations in Shangla district, where they targeted terrorist hideouts and reported the arrest of one militant leader and the death of another. In Swat, the military said it killed a militant commander and were getting closer to the city of Mingora, where they isolated and blocked "the movement of fleeing terrorists," amid the sound of intense exchanges of fire. Watch Pakistani troops pound Taliban positions » . In the adjacent tribal region, a missile believed fired by a drone overnight struck a madrassa, a religious school, a Pakistani intelligence official said. More than 20 people were killed, according to local and Taliban sources. The strike was near the village of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, one of seven districts in Pakistan's tribal regions. The official asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media. According to a count by CNN, this is the 16th suspected missile strike in Pakistan this year. Pakistan has complained repeatedly about what it says are American airstrikes on its territory. The U.S. military in Afghanistan has not commented on the strikes, which typically target Taliban fighters in the border region. But the United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from remote-controlled drones. In Peshawar, at least nine people were killed and 33 hurt Saturday when a car bomb exploded while a school bus passed on a road, local authorities said. The school bus was carrying handicapped children. It is not clear if any of them were killed, but as many as seven were injured. Peshawar is the capital of North West Frontier Province. More than a million people have been displaced in northwestern Pakistan as a result of the two-week-old military offensive with the Taliban, the U.N. refugee agency said Saturday. Antonio Guterres, high commissioner for refugees, said 1,171,682 people have been registered as internally displaced people. These are in addition to the 553,916 displaced people who've fled eruptions of fighting in the tribal areas and North West Frontier Province since August. CNN's Reza Sayah contributed to this report.

Pakistan military says it killed 47 militants in 24 hours in North West Frontier Province . Local sources say 20 killed in suspected U.S. missile strike on religious school . Pakistani troops fighting to oust Taliban militants from volatile province . In Peshawar, nine killed when a car bomb exploded as school bus passed .

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared set for a second term as his Congress party and its allies scored a decisive lead over their opponents on Saturday in a vote count after the country's monthlong general elections. Congress supporters in Banglaore Saturday celebrate the party's lead in election results. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance surged ahead in more than 255 of the 543 federal parliamentary boroughs, outpacing the main opposition composed of a grouping led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). BJP leader Arun Jaitley conceded defeat, stating that the ruling party will win the election. "We respect this mandate and accept it," Jaitley said. India's communists, who last year parted ways with the federal government for its civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, also suffered a massive blow in their stronghold state of West Bengal as they trailed their rivals in more than half of its boroughs. Singh drove down to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the Congress party, after trends gave out a clear mandate in favor of the ruling coalition. Standing beside Gandhi, who once again endorsed the choice of Singh for her party's top job, he thanked voters for their support. He vowed to maintain a stable government that he said would remain committed to secular values. Singh also remarked that he would like Rahul Gandhi, son of his party chief, to become a member of his new Cabinet. Deepak Sandhu, the prime minister's spokeswoman, told CNN that Singh is expected to hold a meeting of his current Cabinet on Monday. The prime minister, whose coalition may need some extra backing to be able to reclaim power with a majority of 272 lawmakers on its side, threw up an invitation to all secular parties to come and support his government. The fifth and final phase of India's marathon general election to choose a federal government ended Wednesday. Most of the results of the will be out by the end of the day, election officials said. India is home to about 714 million voters. About 100 million voters registered for Wednesday's polling.

NEW: Victory looks certain for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's second term . NEW: Singh stands with Sonia Gandhi, head of Congress party, to thank voters . NEW: Singh vows to maintain stability, invites support of secular parties . Hindu nationalist coalition Bharatiya Janata Party concedes .

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(CNN) -- Richard Deitsch struggled through several days of denial before facing the fact that he was thousands of miles from home and he had no idea where his passport was. It's most important to make copies of your passport, say experts. Web sites offer easy-access digital storage. The Sports Illustrated reporter was covering the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, where he should have been having the time of his life. But his emotions were all over the place -- and none of them were good. His passport, he assumed, had fallen out of his backpack. "When I realized it was missing, I went through a number of stages -- panic, fear, anger, and finally, acceptance," he wrote while enjoying a recent vacation in Russia. "I looked for three days in every possible spot before I finally admitted to myself it was gone." Deitsch's bureaucratic nightmare reached a low point when he found himself inside a police station telling his story to five police officials who spoke no English. "I was a wreck," he wrote later in a Sports Illustrated piece. He had brought his own translator, an SI China reporter whom Deitsch credited with negotiating through the red tape and eventually saving his entire assignment. Fortunately for Deitsch, he had prepared well for such an emergency. The best thing Deitsch did, said travel experts, was to make several copies of his passport and work visa before departing for China. As a result, he had a replacement passport in his hands within a few days after he reported it missing. Experts seem to come from two schools of thought on how to protect a passport. Some prefer to lock the document away once they arrive in a destination, while others say keeping the passport with you is the best way to safeguard it. Whatever option you choose, the bottom line is, if you lose your passport you must be able to prove your identity and citizenship to the U.S. government. The best way to do it is to have a copy of your passport handy. Deitsch's experience has prompted him to become "hyper-vigilant" about his passport, he wrote. He usually chooses to lock the document in a safe during his travels, rarely carrying his passport on him. "And when I do, I find myself grabbing the front of my pants-pocket every couple of minutes to make sure that it remains where it should," he wrote. Once it's clear your passport is lost, bring your passport copy and any other traveling or ID-related paperwork to the nearest embassy or consulate during business hours. Be prepared to spend at least four hours waiting in line, filling out forms and answering questions from officials. If you didn't bring extra ID photos with you on your trip, have some taken before heading to the embassy or consulate. Make sure the photos are cropped to the correct size for your country's passport. If you have no paperwork, take someone in your traveling party with you. They will have to vouch for you. U.S. citizens who are traveling alone and have no other way to prove their identification will be allowed to call "family, friends or associates" in the United States to confirm their identity, according to the U.S. State Department Web site. Laura Kidder, editorial director of Fodor's travel guides, suggested making color copies of the passport's data page and sticking them inside your luggage; you can scan them into a computer and e-mail them to yourself; or you can use an online document storage company. "There's one [online company] that is particularly geared for passport and travel documents," Kidder said. She recommends the Australian Web site www.passportsupport.com, which costs about $15 Australian per year. "This is the safest way to do it, which is more secure than you e-mailing it to yourself," said Kidder. Storing your passport data on a server offers higher security, she said, because the data is encrypted. In addition to passport documents, such services also will safely store data for tickets, drivers licenses, medical papers and lists of critical contacts. Passportsupport.com users are asked to scan their documents in jpg files. Users can then upload these files to the passportsupport.com server with the Web site's interface. Kidder said she keeps copies of her documents in her luggage when traveling, and her passport secure in the hotel -- either in a self-service safe in the hotel room or a safe operated by the front desk. Rather than safes, Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, said he prefers to hold his passport himself. Siciliano said he always carries his passport (and other valuables) on him, even when he heads down to a beach to relax with his laptop. He says if you plan to go in the water, know that someone is waiting to steal your stuff. Invest in portable alarms and don't lose sight of your possessions. Siciliano said locking passports in a room safe leaves you open to the possibility of a forgotten combination. In those cases, a hotel will send someone to the room who can unlock the safe. Devices that unlock room safes can easily be bought online, Siciliano said. It's a good example of how many people can access your room and safe if they want to go through your stuff. "There are people out there that are focusing on you not paying attention, on you being trusting, you being naive," he says. "You're putting your faith and trust in someone who might have problems. People are flawed." The best way to protect yourself is to buy a passport holder for $10-$20 and always keep it on you, Siciliano said. Wear it under a shirt and pull it out only if needed. Never put it in a backpack or a purse. Experts said preparation is most important; you need to do your research and have multiple copies of everything. "I always have backup for my backup," Siciliano said.

American who lost passport in China: 'I was a wreck" Most important: Always bring backup proof of identity; keep it safe . Consider uploading copies of documents to secure Web site .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly two out of three Americans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, according to an average of the most recent national polls. President Obama is still being evaluated on how he does his job, CNN's polling director says. In a CNN Poll of Polls compiled Thursday, 64 percent of those questioned in various surveys say they approve of how Obama is handling his duties as president. Twenty-eight percent disapprove. The president's approval rating also stood at 64 percent in a CNN Poll of Polls compiled in January, just after his inauguration. "Most polls have shown Obama getting fairly high marks on most of the issues he has handled so far," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "One exception has been the way he has handled government assistance to failing banks and automakers. His numbers on the federal deficit are also low in comparison to his approval ratings on the economy and foreign policy." So how does Obama compare to his predecessors in the White House around the 100-day mark? George W. Bush stood at 62 percent in a CNN/USA Today Gallup poll in April 2001, Bill Clinton was at 55 percent in a CNN/USA Today Gallup poll in April 1993, George H.W. Bush stood at 58 percent in a Gallup poll from April 1989, and Ronald Reagan was at 67 percent in a Gallup poll taken in April 1981. Learn more about previous presidents' approval ratings » . "The hundred-day mark tends to fall during a period when Americans are still evaluating a new president. The danger period for most presidents comes later in their first year in office," Holland explained. "Bill Clinton, for example, still had good marks after his first 100 days, but his approval rating had tanked by June of 1993. Ronald Reagan's approval rating stayed over 50 percent until November of his first year in office, but once it slipped below that mark, it stayed under 50 percent for two years. So Obama's current rating certainly does not indicate that he is out of the woods yet." The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of three national surveys taken over the past week: Gallup Tracking, Pew and AP/GfK.

64 percent of Americans in various polls approve of Obama's work so far . Rating is similar to recent predecessors' around 100-day mark . Approval tends to slip later in the year, CNN polling director says .

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(CNN) -- Internet giant Google has been stopped from gathering images in Greek cities for its Street View service until it provides further guarantees about privacy. One of Google's Street View camera cars capturing images in central London. Launched in the U.S. two years ago, Street View provides users with access to 3-D "pedestrian's-eye" views of urban areas by zooming into the lowest level on its Google Maps and Google Earth applications. It has since been rolled out in more than 100 cities in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy, Britain and the Netherlands. The images are obtained from cars specially-fitted with cameras that drive around towns and cities taking panoramic 360 degree shots of everything from pedestrians in the street, to customers sitting in street cafes. Despite pledging to recognize local privacy laws, Google has come under fire from privacy campaigners who fear the application could be abused by criminals or even snooping government agencies. Do you agree? Share your thoughts below . In April, a group of villagers in a picturesque English village chased away one of the search engine's camera cars as it attempted to photograph their homes. Fearing the appearance of their well appointed properties on the Web site would attract criminals scouting for burglary targets, villagers in Broughton, north of London, summoned the police after blocking the car. A month earlier, the BBC reported that Google was forced to pull a number of images from Street View after receiving complaints about pictures that included a man entering a London sex shop, and a drunken reveler being sick at a bus stop. The search giant has now run into trouble in Greece after being blocked by the country's privacy watchdog from expanding its service there. The Hellenic Data Protection Authority wants further clarification from Google about how long it will store images for and the measures in place to make people aware of privacy rights. In a statement, a Google spokesperson told CNN: "Street View has not been banned in Greece. We have received a request for further information from the Greek DPA and we are happy to continue discussing these issues with them and provide information they request. "Google takes privacy very seriously, and that's why we have put in place a number of features, including the blurring of faces and license plates, to ensure that Street View will respect local norms when it launches in Greece. "We believe that launching Street View in Greece will offer enormous benefits to both Greek users and the people elsewhere who are interested in taking a virtual tour of some of its many tourist attractions."

Greek watchdog wants more information from Google about privacy measures . Privacy campaigners say Street View could be abused . Residents of one UK village say it will help burglars scout targets . Google says it isn't breaking any laws and takes privacy very seriously .

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(CNN) -- Australian authorities have declared several coastal areas near Brisbane disaster zones after a massive oil spill earlier this week, according to the Queensland government. Large stretches of Queensland's coastline are being affected by the oil. "This is a very serious situation," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, according to a news release on Friday. "It appears the volume of oil involved is much greater than originally reported by the Pacific Adventurer. And the effect of the oil spill is more widespread." The Pacific Adventurer sustained damage early Wednesday when Cyclone Hamish struck the waters of eastern Australia with more than 125 kph (77 mph) winds. The cargo ship lost 30 of its 50 containers of ammonium nitrate about 13 kilometers (8 miles) off the coast of Cape Moreton. Those containers are still missing. The damaged ship also spilled a large amount of oil that is covering at least 60 kilometers (37 miles) of beach in and around Brisbane, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Watch sludge washing up on shorelines » . The ship's owner, Swire Shipping, initially said no more than 42,000 liters (11,100 U.S. gallons) of oil escaped from the ship, but now says that "substantially more oil was spilled," ABC reported Friday. The ship is currently in the custody of Australia's Maritime Safety Authority in Brisbane, as the investigation into the spill continues. A massive clean-up effort is also under way. So far, 13 oil-covered birds have been recovered, according to the Queensland government.

Pacific Adventurer sustained damage when Cyclone Hamish struck . Damaged ship spilled large quantity of oil and chemical cannisters . Ship now in the custody of Australia's Maritime Safety Authority .

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) -- Doug Ward drives through a subdivision made up of rows of trailers. You can hear the sadness in his voice as he says, "This just doesn't feel like home." He longs for the life he lived before devastating floods destroyed his Cedar Rapids neighborhood. The A&W Drive-In in Cedar Rapids was Doug Ward's life for 30 years. "I want to come back. I miss (my friends) very much," Ward said as he escorted CNN on a tour of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nearly a year after the floods. Ward, 64, is an institution in the historic Time Check neighborhood just across the Cedar River from downtown. He owns the A&W Drive-In on Ellis Boulevard, a fixture on this street since 1948. Historian Mark Stoffer Hunter calls the drive-in Cedar Rapids' "Eiffel Tower." "It's been there for us over the decades," Hunter said. "It's one of those landmarks that tells you you're in Cedar Rapids." When floodwaters ravaged Cedar Rapids last June, Ward's drive-in drowned in almost 10 feet of water. Now, the drive-in sits in ruins. A&W root beer mugs covered in dried mud sit on the restaurant floor. The stench of floodwater lingers in the air. Putting together the pieces of Ward's life hit a snag in the fall of 2008 when an economic storm swept across the country. In a matter of months, the financial support Ward needed to rebuild dried up. "Life's got to go on. If you sit and worry about it too much, you'd probably be at my funeral today," Ward said. Watch as Ward talks about the devastation in Cedar Rapids » . Ward estimates that it will cost close to $1 million to rebuild the A&W Drive-In at its current location. He's been able to line up $350,000 in loans, but that's far short of what he needs. "The idea that he might not be able to rebuild the business here, it hurts," said Stoffer, the Cedar Rapids historian. "It's happening not just in this neighborhood, but in all the neighborhoods that were affected by the floods." So now Ward spends a lot of time driving around Cedar Rapids scouting new locations. He wants to stay on Ellis Boulevard, but the surrounding neighborhood sits mostly empty. If people don't move back, then there are no customers to feed. "If the neighborhood were normal again, we'd be up and running. But it's not," Ward said. Ward not only lost his business, but the house he and his wife lived in for 28 years was destroyed, too. The house today sits gutted. The flood weakened the foundation. Three estimates show it will cost $85,000 to make the needed repairs. FEMA gave the Wards $28,000 toward the costs of rebuilding their home or buying a new one. But without home insurance, it's another cost in Ward's mounting pile of financial troubles. Ward said if he can't get his business up and running soon, he'll have to find another job. He's tapped into retirement savings extensively, and he's received some financial support (he won't specify how much) from other sources. Ward is soft spoken, yet tough. He's faced difficult struggles all his life. His father died when he was 5. He dropped out of school after eighth grade to earn money for his family. At 13, he worked in a dry milk factory and spent 10 years working as a Coca-Cola delivery man. Owning the A&W Drive-In was a dream that produced a comfortable living. Now he misses the days serving his friends icy-cold root beers. But you won't hear him complain about the battle he's facing. "I've been knocked around, but we'll get up and get going," he said.

The A&W in Cedar Rapids was Doug Ward's life for 30 years until last year's flood . Almost a year later, the drive-in sits in ruins, the root beer mugs still muddied . The drive-in has been a landmark in the Time Check neighborhood since 1948 . It will cost upward of $1 million to rebuild or change locations .

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(CNN) -- Police say they believe they know who killed a 31-year-old Southern Illinois woman and her two young sons, but are waiting for prosecutors to build a strong forensic case against the suspect before disclosing his identity. Chris and Sheri Coleman are shown with their two boys, Garret and Gavin. "We don't have a warrant for his arrest at this time, so we don't feel it would be prudent to give his name out until the state's attorney determines whether or not there's enough to charge him," said Maj. Jeff Connor of the Major Case Squad. Connor heads the squad that is part of the St. Louis, Missouri, homicide task force. He made the comments during an appearance on HLN's Nancy Grace. Police found the bodies of Sheri Coleman and the children, Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, in the bedrooms of their two-floor home in the St. Louis suburb of Columbia, Illinois, on the morning of May 7. Indications were they had been strangled. The killings shocked the suburb of about 10,000 residents. The Monroe County, Illinois, state's attorney's office is awaiting forensic test results, more interviews, documents and reports, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Watch Nancy Grace on the case » . Connor said threatening messages were found on the walls inside the home, but he would not disclose the exact wording. According to Connor, Christopher Coleman -- the boys' father and Sheri Coleman's husband -- left the house at 5:43 a.m., and drove to a gym to work out. "Shortly thereafter he started calling his house, realized that nobody was answering and on his way back at around 6:50 is when he made the phone call to the Columbia Police Department," Connor said. Connor said Coleman told police he started calling his house shortly after leaving it because he "was making sure the kids were getting up for school."

Bodies of woman and her two children found in Southern Illinois home last week . Police: State's attorney to decide whether to file charges against certain person . Threatening messages found on the walls inside the home, police say . Woman's husband says he left home for gym before slayings, police say .

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Editor's note: The Rev. Donald Cozzens is writer in residence and adjunct professor of theology at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. A priest of the Diocese of Cleveland with a doctoral degree, he is the author of several books on the Catholic Church, including "Sacred Silence: Denial and the Crisis in the Church" and "Freeing Celibacy," both published by Liturgical Press. For another view on this topic, read here. The Rev. Donald Cozzens says the debate over celibacy for priests will be around for decades. (CNN) -- It's an issue that simply won't go away. In spite of signals from the Vatican discouraging even discussions of obligatory celibacy for Catholic priests, the almost 1,000-year-old rule is under the microscope. And it will be for decades to come. Here's why. In the Catholic tradition, even though sex is cast as sinful unless expressed in the conjugal embrace of husband and wife, it is held as fundamentally good, a part of God's creation. The church even holds that marriage (including spousal lovemaking) is a sacrament -- something sacred that contributes to the sanctity of husbands and wives. In light of this official teaching, it is dawning on many Catholics that mandatory celibacy for priests, a canonically imposed discipline of the church, is precisely that -- a discipline. They are asking, "How is it that a discipline of the church has been allowed to trump a sacrament of the church?" In effect, the church is saying that should God call a man to the priesthood, God will not, at the same time, call that individual to the sacrament of marriage. It's right to ask, how does the church know this? Public opinion surveys indicate that most Catholics, priests included, believe the discipline of celibacy needs a serious review. Recently the retired archbishop of New York, Cardinal Edward Egan, observed that obligatory celibacy is open for discussion. It is not, Egan noted, a matter of dogma. For decades now, bishops from Asia, Europe and the Americas have asked Vatican officials to consider optional celibacy for priests. The church's official response is consistent and succinct: As a precious gift from God, the discipline of celibacy for priests will remain in place. This, in spite of the inherent paradox lying just below the claim that the gift of celibacy is a precious gift of God to the priesthood and the church: How can a gift be legislated? The church answers that if a man is called to the priesthood, God will grant him the gift of celibacy. Many priests today wonder how church leaders know this. Reading the mind of God in this matter -- in any matter of church discipline -- is risky business. More and more Catholics today are coming to understand that celibacy as a universal law for priests had its origins in the 12th century and that during the church's first millennium, priests and bishops -- and at least thirty-nine popes -- were married. Still, most well-read cradle Catholics are surprised to learn that St. Anastasius, pope from 399 to 401, was succeeded by his son, Pope St. Innocent I, and that a century later Pope St. Hormisdas' son, St. Silverius, also was elected to the papacy. Even in our secular world, it's common to speak of church-based ministry as a calling, a vocation. Isn't it possible that God would call an individual to the priesthood and to the sacrament of marriage? God apparently did so for more than half the church's history. How do we know that God isn't doing so today? For some years now I've been teaching in the religious studies department at John Carroll University in Cleveland. I've asked dozens of serious, healthy young students if they have given any thought to being a priest. They seem flattered by the question. With only one exception, each has answered, "Yes, I've thought about being a priest, but I want a family." There are, of course, other factors, urgent and pressing, that will keep the celibacy issue alive. The Catholic priesthood is aging. The average age of active priests hovers at 60, and if retired priests are factored in, it is considerably higher. Moreover, Catholic seminaries are lucky to be half full. Parish staffing challenges alone will press for a review of the celibacy rule. Catholic bishops simply do not have enough priests to meet the pastoral and sacramental needs of the Catholic faithful. Closing and merging parishes may offer some temporary relief for overworked priests, but the shortfall of priests will continue to challenge the vitality of Catholic parishes and the health of Catholic clergy for decades to come. But the most human, existential factor that should keep the celibacy issue on the table is the spiritual and emotional health of priests. Celibacy really isn't the issue -- mandatory or obligatory celibacy is. There are many priests who do possess the gift of celibacy -- it is their "truth" so to speak -- and their humanity, warmth and pastoral effectiveness give abundant evidence of their authentic celibate lives. But there remain other priests who believe deep down they are called to the priesthood but not to celibacy. And for these men, the burden of mandated celibacy threatens their spiritual and emotional well-being. The priesthood may be their "truth," but mandated celibacy wraps them in a cloak of loneliness and struggle. I don't know Father Alberto Cutie. He appears to have touched the lives of many and preached the gospel with power and conviction. I suspect he feels called by God to be a priest, but not a celibate priest. Surely he knows that Easter Rite Catholic priests are allowed to marry and that the church welcomes into the priesthood married convert ministers from other Christian denominations. Surely he knows that in many parts of the Catholic world, clerical celibacy is openly flouted, and church authorities choose not to notice. I wonder if church officials understand the burden they place on the shoulders of a man who believes he is called to priestly ministry but not to celibacy. Certainly, a married priesthood will have burdens of its own and, sadly, scandals of its own -- infidelity and abuse among others. But it should be left to the individual priest and seminarian to determine whether or not he is blessed with the gift of celibacy. A mandated "gift," after all, is really no gift at all. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the Rev. Donald Cozzens.

The Rev. Donald Cozzens: Celibacy is 1,000 years old but not intrinsic to the church . Many popes were married in the first millennium of the church, Cozzens says . Cozzens says church views marriage as sacred; why should priests be denied it? Cozzens: Celibacy is a gift that should be optional, not mandated by the church .

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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI completed his eight-day tour of the Holy Land on Friday with an exhortation to both Israelis and Palestinians to work through their decades-old conflict. Pope Benedict XVI prays in Jerusalem on Friday at what's believed to be the burial site of Jesus. "No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing," the pontiff said. Benedict made the comments at a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv before Israeli President Shimon Peres and other religious and secular leaders. In his concluding remarks, Benedict called his visit to Israel's Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem and his conversations with survivors a "deeply moving encounter." He seemed to address some criticism he received within the country for not speaking in stronger terms about anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Referring to the Holocaust, Benedict spoke of the victims who "were brutally exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred." After Benedict's Monday speech at Yad Vashem, the memorial's chairman, Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yisrael Lau, criticized the pope, saying the pontiff did not "participate in the pain of the Jewish people" and "used the term 'killed' when talking about Holocaust victims and not the word 'murdered' as his predecessor did." Benedict drew the ire of Jews and German Catholics earlier this year by rehabilitating an excommunicated bishop who had disputed the number of Jews killed in concentration camps during World War II. The bishop's excommunication was unrelated to his Holocaust denial. Friday, Benedict repeated his call for Palestinians to enjoy a "sovereign independent homeland" and "to live in dignity and to travel freely." He remarked that "one of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands was the wall" -- a reference to the 20-foot concrete barrier he saw in Bethlehem during his visit to a Palestinian refugee camp. Israel says the structure, which it calls a security fence, was built to prevent terrorist attacks; Palestinians consider it an illegal land grab. Benedict began the day with a busy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, including meeting the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. Between sessions with the patriarchs, Benedict toured and prayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, believed to be located on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried. On his Middle East visit, the pope has navigated the region's treacherous political landscape, which often pits Jew against Muslim and Muslim against Christian. Benedict has repeatedly called for reconciliation between the peoples of the region during his visit, urging Israelis and Palestinian to put aside their grievances and divisions. "Just and peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the Middle East can only be achieved through a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, in which the rights and dignity of all are acknowledged and upheld," the pope said. Celebrating Mass on Thursday, Benedict covered similar territory in his message to over 30,000 parishioners gathered at the Mount of the Transfiguration, outside Nazareth. Watch the reaction of one visitor who attended Mass » . "Christians readily join Jews, Muslims, Druze and people of other religions in wishing to safeguard children from fanaticism and violence, while preparing them to be builders of a better world," he said. Benedict's trip marks the first papal visit to some of Christianity's most holy places since Pope John Paul II made the pilgrimage in 2000.

NEW: Benedict XVI winds up Mideast trip with call for "peace based on justice" Pope revisits Old City after similar outing on Tuesday . Pope calls for spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in the Middle East . Trip marks first papal visit to Holy Land since Pope John Paul II in 2000 .

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(CNN) -- Australia's National Rugby League apologized on Tuesday for the behavior of its players after ABC's "Four Corners" current-affairs program revealed allegations of group sex in 2002 between players and a New Zealand woman. Two other women told the program they were sexually abused by NRL players. Former Cronulla player Matthew Johns said he was unable to say "sorry enough" regarding the incident . "Violence against women is abhorrent, and sexual assault and the degradation of women is just that," said David Gallop, the NRL's chief executive. "So much of what we saw [during Monday night's program] was fundamentally indefensible. And if anyone in the game today is ignoring the importance of that message, then frankly they will need to find another career." The allegations of group sex involved NRL personality Matthew Johns, who played for Cronulla at the time of the alleged incident in Christchurch, New Zealand. Watch more on the scandal » . Johns was suspended indefinitely by the Nine Network on Wednesday. "The fact is, whatever the arguments about the details of the New Zealand incident involving Cronulla players in 2002, the conduct and its aftermath was simply unacceptable, full stop," David Gyngell, Nine's chief executive officer, said in a statement on the network's Web site. "I fully endorse David Gallop's comments concerning the indefensible conduct of some players and the lack of respect for women -- and the critical focus on all stakeholders to help eradicate it from our game." "I join with him in extending my apologies and sympathy to the young woman involved in the incident, who clearly is still distressed as a consequence," Gyngell said. In the ABC report, the then-19-year-old woman said she met Johns and his Cronulla teammate Brett Firman when she was working as a waitress. She said she went back to their hotel room, where she alleges six Cronulla players and staff had sex with her, while a half-dozen others watched. "They were massive, like big rugby players. I felt that I just had no idea what to do. There was always hands on me," she said. "I thought I was worthless, and I thought I was nothing. I think I was in shock. I didn't scream. They used a lot of mental power over me and belittled me." Less than a week after the incident, the woman made a complaint to police and about 40 Cronulla players and staff were questioned, ABC reported. Those involved said the sex was consensual and no charges were filed. The woman told ABC she's speaking out now because she wants the wives and girlfriends of the players to know what they did. "If I had a gun, I'd shoot them right now," she said. "I hate them. They're disgusting." Before the ABC report, Johns addressed the allegations last week on the Nine Network. "It was an incident that was investigated by police. It caused all parties enormous pain and embarrassment," Johns said. "For me personally, it's put my family through enormous anguish and embarrassment, and has once again. And for that, I just, I can't say sorry enough." In his statement, Gallop pointed to NRL initiatives put in place since 2002 to promote positive attitudes toward women, including programs developed with the help of a rape crisis center. "Rugby League means an enormous amount to millions of people and, in many ways, the football we see today and the strength of the competition is better than it has ever been," he said. "No amount of on-field success, though, can take away from the need to face up to these issues."

Allegations of group sex involved NRL personality Matthew Johns . He played for Cronulla at the time of alleged incident in Christchurch, New Zealand . Nine Network suspends Johns; CEO apologizes, extends sympathy to woman . Woman tells ABC she's speaking out to let players' wives, girlfriends know .

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(CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed, and an unknown number remained missing Wednesday, after a boat authorities believe was used for human smuggling capsized off the coast of Florida. The Coast Guard said it rescued 26 people from a capsized boat off the coast of Florida. Almost all of the victims are believed to be from Haiti and the Bahamas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard -- which said a dangerous number of people was packed onto a small pleasure cruiser. The Coast Guard said it rescued 26 people from the boat, and searchers didn't know how many more people had been on the boat. "You don't put 26 people on a small boat. It was way overloaded, completely unsafe," said Capt. Jim Fitton, the Coast Guard's sector commander in Miami, Florida. "With smugglers, you have the potential for this because smugglers aren't interested in people's welfare. They're interested in making money." The boat capsized about 15 miles east of Boynton Beach, Florida, some time around 2 a.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. The agency was notified more than nine hours later by someone who saw the boat. There were women and children on the boat, Fitton said. A pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, while most of the victims remained onboard a Coast Guard cutter that was being used in the continuing rescue efforts, he said. Only eight of the people rescued by Wednesday afternoon were wearing life jackets. The Rev. Luke Harrigan, a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pastor to members of the Haitian community who is working with the Coast Guard, said he is contacting family members of the victims who were killed. "Most of them now didn't even know they were coming to the United States," he said. "Sometimes the person organizing the trip doesn't even tell them where they are going." He said it's not uncommon for smugglers to charge people from the impoverished island nation as much as $4,000 for passage into the United States. Coast Guard rescuers were continuing to search the area of the crash Wednesday evening.

Coast Guard rescues 26; searchers unsure how many others missing . Almost all of the victims are believed to be from Haiti and the Bahamas . Boat capsized about 15 miles east of Boynton Beach, Florida .

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(CNN) -- The European Commission handed down its ruling in a landmark anti-trust case against Intel Wednesday, fining the computer chip giant a record $1.45 billion for abusing its dominant position in the computer processing unit (CPU) market. On Wednesday the European Commission fined Intel a record $1.45 billion for violating anti-trust laws. The ruling, which Intel plans to appeal, may have future implications for American companies accused of "jurisdiction shopping" to avoid anti-trust verdicts against them, says CNN's Jim Boulden, who explains the basics of the Intel case. The commission has hit Intel with the biggest fine ever -- what were its reasons? The European Commission says Intel has been abusing its dominant market position in semiconductors for years. The EC says Intel has systematically given PC makers and stores rebates to keep computers with AMD chips off the shelves. AMD (another American company and Intel's only competitor) first raised the red flag in 2000. Why does the commission have the power to impose such fines? EU law does not regard market dominance as illegal, but it is allowed to fine a company that abuses its position as the biggest in any given market. It has a guideline of fining a company based on a percentage of profits. EU law is set up to "protect consumers," and the anti-trust office says consumers were hurt. Yet as Intel likes to point out, consumers did not launch this case -- AMD, a competitor, launched this in Europe (and in Japan and South Korea) as the U.S. antitrust officials under George W. Bush were unlikely to pursue a case on these merits. The EU could fine Intel (or any company) based on 10% of global annual revenues, but chose to fine it on a smaller percentage made in the EU. Can Intel afford to pay this fine? What state is the company in at the moment? Intel reported first quarter revenue of $7 billion. It can easily afford this. Interestingly, it lost 4 percent of its market share to AMD so far this year. The company says it will appeal -- when is that likely to be heard? Another appeal will take months. Intel already appealed a preliminary part of this ruling last year and lost. Meanwhile, the EC can argue that Intel is still abusing its position and increase the fine during the appeals process, as it did to Microsoft. Intel is not the first tech company to be hit by the European Commission. What about Microsoft? The anti-trust unit has launched another round of investigations against Microsoft. It has already paid its fine and the EU continues to watch the company's behavior on the previous matters. What kind of precedent does the Intel case set? The EU has fined all kinds of cartels and market abusers, but rarely does it fine big American companies based on complaints from American competitors -- so the case catches the eye, especially with critics who accuse American companies of "jurisdiction shopping" to get a favorable outcome.

European Commission fines Intel a record $1.45 billion for anti-trust violation . EC says Intel has been abusing its dominant market position . Competitor AMD brought the case to the attention of European officials . EC anti-trust has commenced another round of investigations into Microsoft .

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(CNN) -- Farrah Fawcett, the actress known worldwide for her beauty and her role on "Charlie's Angels," is reportedly seriously ill and may be close to death after a long battle with cancer. Farrah Fawcett, seen here in 2004, is featured in a documentary about her fight with cancer. A documentary, which airs Friday night on NBC, will feature an intimate look at her life since being diagnosed with the disease. On Thursday, Larry King talked with Candy Spelling, a close friend of Fawcett. Her husband, the late Aaron Spelling, produced "Charlie's Angels." Spelling talks about her relationship with Fawcett and why she believes she did the documentary. The following is an edited version of the interview. Larry King: Did you first meet Farrah in connection with getting that part? Candy Spelling: Yes. Actually, she did a lot of small, little parts in the movies for Aaron starting around 1973. So it's been, my God, 36, 37 years since I, you know, first met her. Watch Candy Spelling talk about her friendship with Farrah Fawcett » . King: So you knew her well during all that time? Spelling: Yes. King: Did you know about her getting picked to be on "Charlie's Angels?" Spelling: I remember. She did some small roles. I think the one that Aaron really decided he was really going to use her was this American beauty pageant and, also, it was like "Murder on Flight 502." He did the 90-minute versions. King: Movie of the week? Spelling: Right. Movie of the weeks. King: When did you know she had cancer? Spelling: I found out about a year -- when I first heard, I don't know if it was a year or two years ago when we first heard, and I contacted her. I hadn't talked to her in a while. She said, "I'm going to be all right, Candy. Everything is going to be all right." King: Why do you think, Candy, she did the documentary? Spelling: I think that she wanted to give other people courage that, you know, are fighting this kind of thing. I know how, you know, devastating the press, you know, was with Aaron when he had cancer. And it's just so difficult. And I mean, you know, it's hard to have a private life at that point. King: Why do the tabloids get so tough on someone in such pain? Spelling: It's news. It's kind of a sad thing. I'm always so sorry to see it. But, you know, people believe what they see, and a lot of times, we don't know how true it really is.

Candy Spelling talks about the "Angel" her late husband made famous . Aaron Spelling produced "Charlie's Angels" featuring Farrah Fawcett . Fawcett, the subject of an upcoming documentary, is fighting cancer .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The contentious debate over so-called enhanced interrogation techniques took center stage Wednesday on Capitol Hill as a former FBI agent involved in the questioning of terror suspects testified that such tactics -- including waterboarding -- are ineffective. From left: Sens. Lindsey Graham, Sheldon Whitehouse, . Patrick Leahy and Dianne Feinstein listen Wednesday. Ali Soufan, an FBI special agent from 1997 to 2005, told members of a key Senate Judiciary subcommittee that such "techniques, from an operational perspective, are ineffective, slow and unreliable and harmful to our efforts to defeat al Qaeda." Soufan's remarks followed heated exchanges between committee members with sharply differing views on both the value of the techniques and the purpose of the hearing. Soufan, who was involved in the interrogation of CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah, took issue with former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has said that enhanced interrogation techniques helped the government acquire intelligence necessary to prevent further attacks after September 11, 2001. The techniques, which the Bush administration approved, are considered torture by many critics. Watch analysts discuss harsh interrogations and torture » . "From my experience -- and I speak as someone who has personally interrogated many terrorists and elicited important actionable intelligence -- I strongly believe that it is a mistake to use what has become known as the 'enhanced interrogation techniques,' " Soufan noted in his written statement. Such a position is "shared by many professional operatives, including the CIA officers who were present at the initial phases of the Abu Zubaydah interrogation." Soufan told the committee that within the first hour of his interrogation of Zubaydah, the suspected terrorist provided actionable intelligence. But once the CIA contractors took over and used harsh methods, Zubaydah stopped talking, Soufan said. When Soufan was asked to resume questioning, Zubaydah cooperated. After another round of more coercive techniques used by the contractors, however, Soufan said it was difficult for him to re-engage Zubaydah. One of four recently released Bush administration memos showed that CIA interrogators used waterboarding at least 266 times on Zubaydah and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected planner of the September 11 attacks. "People were given misinformation, half-truths and false claims of successes; and reluctant intelligence officers were given instructions and assurances from higher authorities," Soufan testified. "I wish to do my part to ensure that we never again use these ... techniques instead of the tried, tested and successful ones -- the ones that are also in sync with our values and moral character. Only by doing this will we defeat the terrorists as effectively and quickly as possible." Watch as Soufan makes his case before the panel » . Soufan was hidden behind a protective screen during his testimony before the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Staffers for the committee cited "documented threats" against him, noting his previous interaction with al Qaeda terrorists as well as his undercover work against Islamic extremists. Philip Zelikow, who was a top aide to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, repeated an accusation during the hearing that Bush officials ordered his memo arguing against waterboarding to be destroyed. The order, "passed along informally, did not seem proper, and I ignored it," Zelikow said. He said that his memo has been in State Department files and is being reviewed for possible declassification. Zelikow slammed the "collective failure" behind the government's adoption of "an unprecedented program of coolly calculated dehumanizing abuse and physical torment to extract information. This was a mistake, perhaps a disastrous one." He added that some "may believe that recent history, even since 2005, shows that America needs an elaborate program of indefinite secret detention and physical coercion in order to protect the nation. ... If they are right, our laws must change and our country must change. I think they are wrong." Watch Zelikow tell CNN's Kiran Chetry how U.S. leaders came to the wrong conclusions on interrogation policy » . Committee Republicans warned that the hearing ultimately could contribute to diminished national security. "As we harshly judge those who had to make decisions we don't have to make, please remember this: that what we do in looking back may determine how we move forward," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. "And let's not unnecessarily impede the ability of this country to defend itself against an enemy who, as I speak, is thinking and plotting their way back into America." A top intelligence source familiar with the Bush administration's interrogation program was dismissive of Soufan's credibility as a witness. "It's puzzling that someone who questioned a single high-value detainee for just a few months claims to be able to talk about the value of a program that lasted nearly seven years after he was part of it," the source said. "Suffice it to say, there are varying accounts of the facts and circumstances surrounding the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah." Soufan wrote an op-ed in The New York Times in April arguing that there "was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn't, or couldn't have been, gained from regular tactics." He said that "using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions. ... The short-sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process." While at the FBI, Soufan was involved with investigations of sensitive international terrorism cases, including the East Africa bombings, the 2000 attack on the USS Cole and the September 11 attacks. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, opened the hearing by accusing Bush administration officials of lying about the use of techniques that had damaged the country's standing in the world. Watch Whitehouse and Graham at the hearing » . "The truth of our country's descent into torture is not precious. It is noxious. It is sordid," Whitehouse said. "It has also been attended by a bodyguard of lies. ... President Bush told us America does not torture while authorizing conduct that America has prosecuted. ... Vice President Cheney agreed in an interview that waterboarding was like a dunk in the water, when it was used as a torture technique by tyrannical regimes from the Spanish Inquisition to Cambodia's killing fields." CNN's Pam Benson contributed to this report.

Committee Republicans say hearing could help diminish national security . Ali Soufan: "People were given ... half-truths and false claims of successes" Ex-FBI agent takes issue with Dick Cheney, who says such tactics helped U.S. The techniques, OK'd by Bush administration, are considered torture by some .

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The fifth and final phase of India's marathon general election to choose a federal government ended Wednesday. Indians voters hold up their voter ID cards at a polling station in northern India. Home to about 714 million voters, India is now due to hold a single-day vote count Saturday for 543 seats in the lower house of its parliament. India's election commission spokesman Rajesh Malhotra told CNN that a 62 percent voter turnout was recorded in the last phase of polling Wednesday. Voting in the month-long exercise was spread across 28 states and seven federal territories. Stock markets closed 138.4 points down -- as voting drew to a close Wednesday -- apparently over fears of political uncertainty ahead. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party, which came to power in 2004 as head of a communist-backed coalition, is seeking re-election. The party mainly faces opposition from an alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Watch more about one village refusing to vote » . Over the years, regional parties have emerged as key players in government formation in India, creating a situation in which federal power is now shared by a coalition of groups. Last year, Singh's Congress party lost the support of the communists, who opposed India's civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States. The party was able to survive primarily with the backing of a powerful regional party.

Voting in the month-long exercise was spread across 28 states . India is scheduled to hold the vote count on Saturday . Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party seeking re-election .

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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- So much for Southern hospitality. The attack took place on April 27 at Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta, Georgia. When Pearl Jam -- the Seattle, Washington-based grunge rock band -- was in the Atlanta area late last month, bass guitar player Jeff Ament and a band employee were mugged outside a recording studio, a police report shows. According to the DeKalb County Police Department, Ament and Mark Anthony Smith were attacked shortly before noon on April 27 when they arrived at Southern Tracks Recording. Southern Tracks is the home base of producer Brendan O'Brien, with whom the band has worked before. According to Rolling Stone, the band is recording a new album with the producer. Three men reportedly emerged from a nearby wooded area wearing masks and brandishing knives. They smashed windows of the rented Jeep Commander, snatched a BlackBerry phone and other belongings, and demanded money, the police report shows. The suspects allegedly got away with more than $7,300 in goods and cash. Ament jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle and started to run, but he was chased by a suspect and knocked to the ground, said Mekka Parish, a public information officer with the police department. Watch surveillance video of the attack » . She said he "suffered some lacerations" on the back of his head and was treated at the scene. His backpack was also snatched, she said, and included inside was Ament's passport. "At this time detectives believe the victims were not specifically targeted," Parish said. "But they believe the suspects were familiar with the studio because of its isolated location." Though surveillance cameras captured the incident, the masks worn by the attackers have made identifying suspects difficult. Witnesses reported seeing the suspects flee through the woods and hop into a waiting black Maxima, Parish added. Anyone with leads on this case is encouraged to call 770-724-7850.

Pearl Jam's bassist was mugged in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 27, police say . Jeff Ament and one of the band's employees were outside recording studio . Police say masked men with knives snatched more than $7,300 in cash and goods . Ament suffered head lacerations, which were treated at the scene .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- As Ryan O'Neal walked the red carpet at the premiere of "Farrah's Story," he stopped every few feet to answer reporters' questions about Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer. Farrah Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. 'Farrah's Story,' a documentary on her battle, will air Friday. CNN's Douglas Hyde was at the end of the line and the last to interview the actor, who was almost in tears after a string of intense explanations about his longtime companion's condition. "She was OK in the first interview, but now I'm worried," O'Neal said, visibly drained after focusing on Fawcett's battle. The documentary, which airs Friday night on NBC, is not a celebration of Fawcett's career, but an intimate look at her life since being diagnosed with anal cancer three years ago. "Basically, it's a gonzo trip," O'Neal said. It was shot by Fawcett's close friend, Alana Stewart. "It shows you every detail, how she found out and how she dealt with it," O'Neal said. Early in 2007, Fawcett said she was told her cancer had gone into remission. Her official Web site has posts from February 2007 celebrating the news. But the cancer returned later that year. Anal cancer affects more women than men, and the illness is usually found in people who are in their early 60s. The American Cancer Society estimates that 5,000 new cases of anal cancer are diagnosed each year and about 680 people die from it annually. While cancer keeps Farrah in her bed, a legal fight has begun over the documentary. Producer Craig Nevius filed a lawsuit this week against O'Neal and Stewart, claiming they stole creative control of the film from him. Nevius told CNN he was kicked off the project more than two months ago. "I have been banned from talking to or seeing Farrah for about ten weeks, which is highly unusual, considering that healthy or sick, I spoke to this woman at least twice a day from the time of her diagnosis on," Nevius said. Nevius said his goal was to do the film "based on Farrah's artistic visions that are a reflection of her and while at the same time maintaining and protecting her privacy to the extent that she wants it maintained and protected." "I take no joy in this," Nevius said. "I tried to avoid this, but I am doing it for Farrah." A spokesman for O'Neal called it "horrific" that Nevius would file the lawsuit. "We hope and we pray that Farrah Fawcett does not find out about this lawsuit, because we know it would impact her health even more so," said O'Neal spokesman Paul Bloch. CNN's Douglas Hyde and Marc Balinsky contributed to this report.

Documentary "Farrah's Story" is a "gonzo trip," Ryan O'Neal says . Producer claims he was robbed of creative control . Craig Nevius: "I have been banned from talking to or seeing Farrah" O'Neal spokesman: "We hope and we pray" Fawcett does not learn about lawsuit .

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LONDON, (England) CNN -- Natalia Vodianova is best known as the supermodel who has graced the cover of Vogue, walked the catwalk for the likes of Chanel and Versace. Supermodel Natalia Vodianova's charity plans to build hundreds of play parks for children in her native Russia. But Vodianova has a dream that couldn't be further from the glitzy world of fashion -- to build 500 play parks in her native Russia. Vodianova, born and raised in Russia, was in the country during the 2004 Beslan school siege, in which at least 339 hostages, around half of them children, were killed. Deeply affected by the tragedy she returned to New York, where she was living at the time, determined to do something to help the surviving children. Vodianova organized a fundraising event that generated $350,000 to build the children a playground and she founded her charity, the "Naked Heart Foundation." With an ethos that play is not only therapeutic for children, but a necessity, the foundation aims to provide playgrounds for Russia's urban youth. So far the charity has built 23 playgrounds around the country, starting in her home town of Nizhnii Novgorod, and there are 15 more in the pipeline. "For me, since I started my charity, it has been a very different way of life," Vodianova told CNN. Watch Vodianova take CNN around Moscow » . "Giving back just feels so great. I always try to open each play park with myself present for the children, because it makes it more special for them. I go to very remote parts of Russia are far from Moscow and it gives these children an extra message of love." For Vodianova, this is just the start. She told CNN that her dream is to build 500 play parks in Russia. The charity's play parks can cost anywhere between $27,000 and $400,000, depending on their size and range of play equipment. Vodianova admits, "It's a big dream -- an expensive one!" When it comes to fundraising, Vodianova's secret weapon is her connections in the fashion world. Last year she organized a "Love Ball" in Moscow -- a Valentine's Day fundraiser that counted among the guests the likes of designer Valentino, actress Lucy Liu, singer Natalie Imbruglia, and supermodel Eva Herzigova. See photos of "The Love Ball." » . The event was held in a former royal residence, Moscow's 16th century Tsaritsino Estate. It featured an ice palace made from 220 tons of ice and music provided by British band Razorlight, among others. The highlight was a Valentine's-themed auction, with lots including a private performance from rock star Bryan Adams, bought for $120,000, and a painting by British artist Damien Hirst called "Love is All Around," which sold for $1.6 million. The auction alone raised $6.7 million for the charity. Vodianova admits that the global economic crisis is making it harder to get sponsorship for this year's event and says it will be more low-key than last year. "We are not going to make it a very extravagant event; it's very disrespectful of what's going on in the world right now, with the recession and a lot of people losing their jobs. "We're not gong to spend a lot of money on it, but it's important to keep going," she told CNN. With a husband and three young children, Vodianova says it can be hard to divide her time between family, career and her charity. She describes her charity work as a 24-hour job. "I feel a huge sense of responsibility for my foundation because it's really very important to me. Somehow it became my most difficult baby to raise," she says. But she has no doubt about the value of her work, both for Russia's children and herself. "The biggest thing I can do for my soul is to hear that laughter and to see all these children that come and play on the play parks that my foundation built." CNN Producer Deborah Rivers contributed to this report .

Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova runs the "Naked Heart Foundation" Her dream is for the foundation to build 500 play parks across Russia . The "Love Ball" was a celebrity-filled fundraising event held in Moscow .

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ATHENS, Georgia (CNN) -- The body of accused triple killer and University of Georgia professor George Zinkhan was claimed by a relative Friday, nearly a week after Zinkhan was found dead, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. A studio proof shows professor George Zinkhan and his wife, Marie Bruce. A mortuary shipping service in Atlanta picked up Zinkhan's body at the request of a son from a previous marriage, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said. Details on plans for the body weren't immediately available. Earlier Friday, Bankhead had said Zinkhan's body -- found Saturday in a self-dug shallow grave -- could be headed to a pauper's grave if the family didn't claim the body from the Athens-Clarke County coroner's office by Saturday morning. Such a grave is typically reserved for unidentified bodies, unclaimed bodies or people without family members. Bankhead said the situation was rare and that it was unclear why the family had taken that long to claim the body of the professor, described by colleagues and acquaintances as aloof and eccentric. Neighbor Bob Covington remembers a lot of "forced moments" with Zinkhan. The last such interaction came the afternoon of April 24, the day before witnesses said Zinkhan, 57, killed his wife and two others outside a community theater in Athens. Covington was walking down the driveway of his Bogart home to check the mail. Zinkhan had just done the same and was walking back to his house. Covington said hello and told Zinkhan that his son, a UGA student who used to mow the Zinkhans' lawn, had recently seen Zinkhan on campus. "He said, 'Yeah, that's where I hang out,' and turned and walked into the house," said Covington, who lived next door to Zinkhan for eight years."That's mostly what it was with George, forced moments." It was odd for Zinkhan to say more than five or 10 words before disengaging, while his wife, Marie Bruce, was the "polar opposite," Covington said, describing the 47-year-old thespian as engaging and vivacious. Despite the contrasts in personalities, Covington never saw evidence that there were problems between the two, he said. "He never raised his voice at his kids. I never heard that. I never heard him raise his voice at Marie," he said. Neighbors, students and fellow faculty members all concur that Zinkhan was standoffish, but their accounts also paint a contradictory image of the marketing professor who would occasionally walk the halls of UGA's business college barefoot. Some faculty members were quick to defend Zinkhan, but reluctant to do so on record. One said he felt it was a university matter. Another was reluctant to be on record defending an accused mass killer. "He's being painted as an ogre, which doesn't fit," said the former. Two faculty members said Zinkhan was introverted but friendly. He was close to some colleagues. He remembered their birthdays and was generous with gifts at Christmas. His quirky behavior was generally overlooked because of his brilliance, a colleague said. One fellow professor went so far as to call him a genius, and not just with marketing, either. Zinkhan apparently was well-versed in a wide range of topics -- art, opera, architecture -- and he loved sports. Faculty members recalled that the strapping 6-foot-2 Zinkhan played on the intramural softball team with some of his graduate students, and he liked to boast of his home runs. He also loved his son, 8, and daughter, 10, and regularly brought them to work. Neighbors said they saw him outside playing soccer with the kids on a miniature goal that still sat in the yard this week. A basketball goal with a rim a foot or two below regulation stood over the Zinkhans' driveway, and a miniature yellow house sat dormant in his wooded backyard. A neighbor who asked not to be named said the cedar front door on the house Tuesday was new. A SWAT team had burst through the old front door shortly after Zinkhan allegedly shot Bruce; attorney Tom Tanner, 40; and Ben Teague, 63. Bruce was the president of the board of the Town and Gown Players, a theater group holding a reunion picnic on the theater's deck when the shooting took place. Tanner and Teague were identified as set designers for the theater. Covington saw Zinkhan shortly after the April 25 slayings. He was grilling bratwursts for lunch when Zinkhan rang the doorbell. "He asked if I'd mind watching the kids because there'd been an emergency," Covington said. Covington agreed. He thought it was strange when Zinkhan immediately sprinted out of the garage, but didn't pay it much attention because Zinkhan said he had an emergency. The children, Covington said, seemed oblivious that their mother had just been slain. It was less than an hour later, when Covington's wife noticed two police officers with shotguns behind the hedges in a nearby yard, that Covington learned his neighbor was accused of a triple killing. The police told Covington they were looking for Zinkhan in connection with the shootings. "I was incredulous," he said. Covington's daughter, who had baby-sat for the Zinkhans, drew a floor plan of the Zinkhan home for police and told them where the spare key was hidden. Covington allowed police to use his home in their stakeout and summoned Zinkhan's daughter to see whether she knew anything about what had happened. It was clear the girl hadn't seen the slayings, but one of her remarks was chilling, Covington said. Asked what her father's emergency involved, she replied, "Something about a firecracker." Though many expressed astonishment that Zinkhan was linked to the slayings, some UGA faculty members said they suspected Zinkhan was having problems at home before police confirmed it this week. He lost an estimated 50 pounds in the two months before the shootings, they said. To others, the signs of problems were more obvious. Professor Barbara Carroll, who had once worked under Zinkhan, wrote an e-mail to her colleagues at the business school saying she went into protective custody after police found a map to her house in Zinkhan's vehicle. In the e-mail, she said she had told previous department heads, deans and provosts "that George Zinkhan was dangerous." "Many people in this college and this department have known about Zinkhan's 'troubled past' and did nothing about it. Those people also bear responsibility here," she wrote. Carroll did not return phone messages or open her door for reporters Tuesday. However, one of Zinkhan's former students said he and his classmates also thought Zinkhan was more than just odd. David Sackin, 43, was a graduate student and took classes with Zinkhan in 1996 and 1997. Zinkhan's lectures were delivered in monotone, his teaching style was dry and he didn't seem to care what was happening in the classroom, Sackin said. When students convened outside the classroom, they surmised that something darker than a lack of enthusiasm drove Zinkhan's behavior, he said. "If anyone asked any of my classmates if there was one professor who'd go on a rampage, who would it be? They'd unanimously say Zinkhan," Sackin said."He was strange, definitely." In her e-mail, Carroll told colleagues they may never know the whole story. Indeed, police have said only that one of the victims, Tanner, "appeared to be a specific target in the shootings and was shot first." The prospect of learning specifics about what could have propelled a painfully private introvert to homicide probably died in a shallow grave behind a Bogart elementary school. CNN's Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

NEW: Son from previous marriage claims University of Georgia professor's body . Acquaintances, colleagues remember George Zinkhan as eccentric, aloof . Neighbor: Children unaware of mother's slaying; daughter mentioned "firecracker" Student, colleague both thought Zinkhan may be dangerous before triple killing .

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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida state investigation has determined that 31 crosses on the grounds of a former reform school mark graves of teens and employees who died in a fire and an influenza outbreak. Crosses mark graves of reform school students killed in a fire and flu outbreak in the early 1900s, investigators say. One grave even contains the body of a student who was slain by another student, the investigation found. The five-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement rules out claims by a group of reform school survivors that students who were beaten by guards are buried there. The former students, now in their 60s, call themselves the "white house boys," after a concrete-block building where boys were taken for punishment. They said that they witnessed murders, and that students suddenly disappeared after they suffered severe beatings at the school, in Marianna, Florida, in the 1950s and '60s. The men believed the graves, marked only by white steel crosses that are rusting with time, were those of the teens who were beaten and killed by reform school workers and administrators. But authorities found documents that pointed to the fire and the flu outbreak. They said they plan no exhumations. "This is our conclusion, based on what we know today," said Mark Perez, the chief of investigations for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "Enough information has been corroborated on who is buried there. We went and identified all of the individuals who perished while in custody," he said. The FDLE released its results in an 18-page investigative report. It says that no information confirms that any of the administrators or workers at the facility contributed to the deaths of any of the students. Their investigation into the charges of physical abuse, made by the former reform school students, continues. However, the investigators concluded that claims by the former students of slayings and disappearances of boys could not be corroborated. "None of the former students were able to provide any first-hand information which would have identified any of these alleged victims, or the persons responsible for their purported demise," the report states . Roger Kiser is one of the former students who pushed for the investigation. He's written a book on the alleged abuse at the school and says that the FDLE has yet to contact him, despite, he says, witnessing two deaths at the school. "My personal feeling is that the State of Florida does not want to know the truth. It is just too horrible a tragedy for the general public to learn about," he wrote in an e-mail to CNN. Florida's governor, Charlie Crist, had ordered an investigation to determine who is buried in the 31 unnamed graves. The graves are in a secluded area on the property of what was the Florida School for Boys in Marianna, a town near the Georgia border. The FDLE says that records have determined that the cemetery was known to everyone back in the early 1900s, and the details got lost in time. "There was enough information available to establish their identities and the cause of death," said Mark Perez of the FDLE. However, the FDLE has not been able to determine why the graves are not marked with headstones or any other identifiers. "That's the million-dollar question. We can't find any records why they weren't marked," he said. But records have determined that the remains are those of boys who died in a fire at the reform school in 1914. Many of these victims were orphans and indigents whose families could not afford to have the bodies shipped home. And so, the FDLE said, they were buried at the school. Others died in a flu epidemic, in about 1918. According to the FDLE, among the remains are those of one reform school boy who was slain by another student. Other graves are those of pets. The deaths were reported extensively in local news coverage, and even in a newsletter that was published, at the reform school, called "The Yellow Jacket."

NEW: Investigation continues into whether staff abused boys in 1960s . Florida School for Boys hit by 1914 fire, 1918 flu outbreak . Authorities say they found no evidence boys were killed by school officials . Governor ordered investigation of what lies beneath 31 white crosses .

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(CNN) -- The body of their 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee Anthony, was found in Florida in December. And their daughter, Casey Anthony, is charged in her death. She could be executed if convicted. It's a case that has gripped America. George and Cindy Anthony, parents of murder suspect Casey Anthony, on "Larry King Live" Wednesday. George and Cindy Anthony answered their critics in an exclusive interview on "Larry King Live" Wednesday night. Appearing with their lawyer, Brad Conway, they talked about whether they still support their daughter completely and what their lives have been like under the media glare. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity: . Larry King: We are amazed because we've received -- get this -- thousands of blog responses to your appearance here tonight. And, honestly, most of them are critical. Why do you think people are angry at you? Cindy Anthony: Because they don't understand. They've never been in our shoes. So a lot of people, especially bloggers, ... like to pick things apart. And, you know, we're a target. King: But what are they picking apart? Cindy Anthony: They're picking apart the fact that we're standing behind our daughter. They're picking apart the fact that we are trying to make something out of Caylee's tragedy. King: Do you talk to Casey a lot? Cindy Anthony: I haven't spoken to Casey in person since October the 14th. We write. King: Why not? Cindy Anthony: Because every time we go to the jail to see her, it's videotaped and then it's all over "Nancy Grace" and, you know, the six o'clock news. King: How do you explain the body being found so close to home? Cindy Anthony: I can't explain it. I don't know if anybody can right now. Watch how Anthonys cope with granddaughter's death, daughter's incarceration » . King: But you have thoughts, don't you, George? George Anthony: Well, I mean there's so many things I really would like to know, but there's a lot of things I just don't know. King: But you've got to ask. George Anthony: I wish I had an opportunity to talk to my daughter. But, again, we don't have that chance. King: But logically, if she's not involved, what could be said that could harm her? Cindy Anthony: You know, people pick everything apart. If Casey cries, she's not crying enough. If she smiles at us like she did in court the first time she saw us, then she's smiling for the wrong reasons. King: [Caylee's] body is stuffed in a laundry bag. The skull is wrapped in duct tape. Could you imagine your daughter would do that? Cindy Anthony: No. Attorney Brad Conway: The duct tape probably was not wrapped around the skull. We know that there was no flesh and no hair attached to the duct tape, yet that's what goes out in the media and that's what people assume to be true. And that's the unfair part: This young lady has not had her opportunity in court, yet people have drawn conclusions from discovery that's out there. King: Cindy, the meter reader who found the body alerted the authorities as far back as August about a suspicious bag. This tip wasn't acted on. Do you think there would be any difference if the body were found earlier? Cindy Anthony: I'm sure there would be, if she was really there back in August. I'm not convinced of that yet. King: Are you trying to find a murderer? I mean do you have a private detective? Cindy Anthony: We have a private investigator who's still investigating Caylee's disappearance. The defense has private investigators. And we're leaving them to their job. King: Brad, is this a rock and a hard place [for George and Cindy Anthony]? Conway: It is. What the Anthonys are trying to do is deal with the grief of the loss of their granddaughter while trying to help other people out. And, unfortunately, there are going to be a lot of people that go through what they go through. The only way to take a negative thing and make a positive is share their grief publicly and let people know that it's OK to do this. King: The Anthonys have written a Web exclusive [for CNN] responding to their critics. You won't see it anywhere else. See the Anthonys' blog and comments from readers . King: Did you ever try to harm yourself? Cindy Anthony: I wrote suicide notes, but I never acted on it. King: Because? Cindy Anthony: You know, when you are away from someone and something is ripped out of your life so suddenly ... Imagine a child -- not having that child around. And, weeks into it, not knowing where she was and what had happened to her was devastating. It was hard to get up in the morning and, you know, go on with your day. King: What stopped you? Cindy Anthony: My faith. You know, I knew that's not the right thing to do. King: Do you completely believe she didn't do it? Cindy Anthony: Yes, I do. King: Completely? Cindy Anthony: Yes. I see the love in Casey's eyes. Every single picture that you see of Caylee and Casey together, you can see the love in their eyes. King: Cindy, you were the first to call authorities last July to say you hadn't seen Caylee for a month and that your daughter's car smelled like it had a dead body in it. Didn't you worry that that would be kind of presumptive from the state to make a case out this? Cindy Anthony: You know, Larry, on July 15th, all I wanted was the police department out to my house out to help me look for Caylee. King: Did you smell the smell? Cindy Anthony: I smelled a smell in the car. I smelled it in my refrigerator with sour food. King: Do you have any idea why [Casey] didn't call police all the time her daughter was missing? Cindy Anthony: I can't answer that. Casey was probably grieving as best as she could. It doesn't make her guilty. King: No, but weird. Cindy Anthony: It doesn't make her guilty. Yes, but a lot of people do weird things under stress, under tragedy. So it doesn't make you guilty. King: Would you favor that whoever did this crime should face the death penalty? Cindy Anthony: You know, I'm not a fan of the death penalty for anybody. King: George? George Anthony: I'm opposed to it. King: Let's take a call. Caller: I have a question for the Anthonys. What will they do if their daughter is found guilty? Will they still support her or will they cut all ties? Cindy Anthony: I can't cut tie from my own flesh and blood, so no. King: Do you expect to testify, George? George Anthony: I'm sure we'll be in court when everything comes, probably sometime next year. King: Do you think they'll be called, Brad, both? Conway: Yes, sir, they will. Another caller: Where do you find the strength to support your daughter when everyone seems to be against her? Cindy Anthony: You know, my faith has gotten stronger and stronger every day through these last nine months.

George and Cindy Anthony say media attention prevents them from visiting Casey . They say public doesn't understand their situation, people pick their actions apart . Cindy Anthony said she wrote suicide notes but never acted on them . Their attorney expects they'll be called as witnesses in daughter Casey's trial .

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Editors' Note: Below is an excerpt from Larry King's new autobiography "My Remarkable Journey" published by Weinstein Books. Larry King anchors "Larry King Live at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. In 1959, Bobby Darin, left, was Larry's first major guest on his WKAT radio program. Larry Zeiger left Brooklyn, New York, for Miami Beach, Florida, at the age of 23 to try to find a job in radio. This is how he got his new name: . I went to stay with my Uncle Jack in Miami Beach. I was so excited that I started knocking on doors the next day. I stopped at a small station on First Street, WAHR. The guy in charge liked my voice. "We get a lot of people coming and going," he told me. "If you hang around, you'll get the first opening." I sat and watched in fascination for a few weeks. It was a tiny operation, but the sight of the UPI and AP machines furiously clicking out news made me feel like I was on the brink of something big. Miami Beach was like a dream. The palm trees. The ocean. I remember walking past Joe's Stone Crab. Joe's is more than a restaurant, it's a landmark. It was full when I arrived in 1957, and I guarantee you, people will be waiting in line tomorrow night. I stopped outside the front window with only a few dollars in my pocket, unable to afford a meal, looking at the happy faces, wondering what it would take to get into a place like that. Then came my big break. There was a morning deejay named Tom Baer. He was making sixty dollars a week and his alimony was sixty-five. He claimed to be living off the coconuts falling from trees. He quit on a Friday, and the general manager told me I could start on Monday. I must have rehearsed the entire weekend. I don't even think I slept. On Monday morning I showed up at WAHR with the record that would play my theme song, "Swingin' Down the Lane." The general manager called me into his office to wish me good luck. "By the way," he said, "what name are you going to use?" "What do you mean?" "You can't use Larry Zeiger," he said. "It's too ethnic. People won't be able to spell it or remember it. You need a better name." There was no time to think about whether this was good or bad or what my mother would say. I was going on the air in five minutes. The Miami Herald was spread out on his desk. Face-up was a full-page ad for King's Wholesale Liquors. The general manager looked down and said, "King! How about Larry King?" "OK," I said. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. I wasn't going to blow it. "Fine. You'll host The Larry King Show." Nine o'clock was approaching. That's when the news came on. A few minutes later, The Larry King Show would make its debut. I went through the control-room door, sat down, and set up my record. The news ended. I started my theme song, then faded down the music so I could introduce myself. I opened my mouth. It was as dry as cotton. For the first time in my life, I couldn't speak. So I brought "Swingin' Down the Lane" up again and faded it once more. Again, not a single word came out of my mouth. I could only wonder if listeners were hearing the pounding of my heart. I'd waited for this moment my whole life. How could I be blowing it? Once more, I cranked up "Swingin' Down the Lane" -- but not a word came out of me. The next thing I knew, the general manager was kicking open the door to the control room. "This is a communications business!" he roared in a way that only a general manager can. Then he turned, walked out, and slammed the door behind him. Shaken, I leaned in to the microphone and said, "Good morning. This is my first day ever on the radio. I've always wanted to be on the air. I've been practicing all weekend. A few minutes ago, they gave me my new name. I've had a theme song ready to play, but my mouth is dry. I'm nervous. And the general manager just kicked open the door and said, 'This is a communications business!'" That's how my career started on May 1, 1957. Years later, Arthur Godfrey would tell me, "The only secret in this business is...there is no secret." He was right. I learned a great lesson on my first day. There's no trick to being yourself. I don't think I've ever been nervous on the air since then.

Larry Zeiger moved from Brooklyn to Miami in 1957 in pursuit of a radio hosting gig . Zeiger became Larry King when his first boss called his name "too ethnic" Larry recalls being unable to speak his first time on-air . He quickly overcame his first-day jitters and has felt at home on the air ever since .

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(CNN) -- European intelligence agencies are on alert for new al Qaeda terrorist plots following the arrest of two men at an Italian port and investigations into the activities of an alleged al Qaeda network based in Brussels. Bassam Ayachi officiated at the wedding of Malika el Aroud (pictured), who became an al Qaeda "icon." The two are closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, Belgian counter-terrorism officials have told CNN. They are Bassam Ayachi, 62, and Raphael Gendron, 33 -- and they were detained in the port of Bari on November 11 last year after allegedly trying to smuggle three Palestinians and two Syrians into Italy in the false bottom of a camper van they were driving. Now they face much more serious allegations following a counter-terrorism investigation by Italian, French and Belgian police. Italian authorities have officially charged them with being leaders of a logistical support team for al Qaeda. A bug planted by Italian police in the suspects' detention facility picked up snatches of conversation about an alleged scheme to attack Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. A partial transcript of one of their alleged conversations has now been released. "I'll hit de Gaulle," Gendron tells Ayachi. "We'll hit it there," Ayachi replies. "At night when there will be a lot of people." Later in the conversation they appear to discuss buying grenades off contacts in the Middle East. French authorities have said that they were never aware of a concrete plot to attack the airport. Italy suspects well known to Belgian Security Services . Ayachi and Gendron were detained after Italian authorities allegedly found Jihadist propaganda in their possession when they arrived on a ferry from Greece. Belgian police say they alerted Italian authorities that the pair were known extremists. Ayachi is a naturalized French cleric of Syrian descent, and in the early 1990s had founded the Centre Islamique Belge (CIB), an organization Belgian authorities say espoused hard-line Salafist and pro al Qaeda views. Gendron, described by Italian police as a computer expert, was the main administrator of the CIB's Web site in Belgium. In 2006 Gendron and Ayachi's son Abdel Rahman Ayachi were convicted in Belgium for posting threatening anti-Semitic messages on the site. Their prison sentences were later reduced to a fine by an Appeals court. A Belgian counter-terrorism source tells CNN that the CIB has clandestinely continued its operations in Belgium. When CNN reporters visited its headquarters on the Rue Memling in Brussels in February, Islamists appeared to still occupy the premises. In previous interviews with Belgian journalists, Avachi said his organization concentrated on pastoral care for Muslims in Brussels and did not promote pro-al Qaeda views. In April 1999 Ayachi officiated at the wedding of two protégés at CIB, Abdessattar Dahmane and Malika el Aroud. The couple would later become "icons" of the al Qaeda movement, according to Belgian counter-terrorism officials. Two days before 9/11, Dahmane assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, the head of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, in a suicide bombing operation in Afghanistan. After his death Malika el Aroud, a Belgian citizen of Moroccan descent who had accompanied him to Afghanistan, returned to Europe and founded Minbar.SOS -- a Web site promoting Bin Laden's Jihad. She also remarried. In a CNN interview in 2006 el Aroud demonstrated how she and her new husband Moez Garsallaoui ran the site, which contained postings of attacks on coalition troops in Iraq and translations of the speeches of al Qaeda leaders. Alleged recruitment for training in Pakistan . According to Belgian police el Aroud and Garsallaoui moved to Brussels in 2007 and worked in tandem to recruit operatives to train in the tribal areas of Pakistan. El Aroud, it is alleged, inspired young men to volunteer for Jihad through her incendiary Web postings. Garsallaoui, the police say, went out to the streets to recruit people. El Aroud was arrested last December in Brussels and charged along with five others with participation in a terrorist group. She denies the charge. El Aroud and Garsallaoui allegedly recruited six individuals in all, four from Belgium and two from France, according to legal documents obtained by CNN. Those documents include the interrogation report of one of the French recruits who traveled to Pakistan and was arrested when he returned to Europe. The recruit, who can only be named by his initials W.O., told French authorities that several members of their traveling group including Garsallaoui, were given explosives training by al Qaeda trainers in Pakistan's Federally Administered tribal areas early in 2008. During the two-week course, according to the legal documents, W.O. alleged that Egyptian and Syrian instructors taught them how to assemble weapons, fire rocket launchers, and how to handle explosives. One trainer even set off a small charge of TNT in demonstration, telling them that the explosive was used to attack U.S. convoys in Afghanistan and in suicide vests. Belgian security services went on high alert after members of the group started to return from the tribal areas in late 2008, concerned they might have been tasked to launch attacks in Europe. According to [Belgian] counter-terrorism sources, the trigger for the Brussels arrests was an intercepted e-mail sent by one of the alleged recruits, Hicham Beyayo, in early December shortly after he returned to Belgium. The e-mail allegedly suggested that Beyayo had been given the green light to launch an attack in Belgium. However no explosives were recovered by Belgian police, and some terrorism analysts are skeptical that an attack was imminent. Beyayo's lawyer Christophe Marchand told CNN the email was merely "tough talk" to impress an ex-girlfriend. Belgian authorities continue to insist that the alleged cell was a potential national security threat. The alleged role of Ayachi and Gendron . A senior Belgian intelligence source told CNN that Ayachi and Gendron -- the two men detained in Italy -- were known to provide ideological support for members of the alleged Brussels terrorism network, but at this time were not suspected of having played a direct role in recruiting young European Muslims for training in Pakistan. Questions on their role, however, have been raised by a new revelation by Italian investigators, who allege that when they were arrested, Ayachi and Gendron were carrying the last will and testament of Beyayo, whose e-mail had caused such alarm. In the alleged will Beyayo made clear he was ready for martyrdom. "When you hear of my death...don't wear black and most importantly don't display my photo," Beyayo purportedly wrote. "I will emigrate to the field of Jihad to triumph for the religion of God, to defend the Muslim countries and to protect the sacred lands of the Muslims. And I will be a great help to the Mujahedeen brothers." Marchand told CNN that such a document in no way indicated that his client was preparing an attack in Europe. [He said Beyayo had traveled to the tribal areas of Pakistan to fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan, not to become an al Qaeda operative]. "Writing a will was hardly unusual behavior for somebody whose aim was to go and fight jihad in Afghanistan," Marchand said. According to Belgian counter-terrorism officials, Ayachi's CIB and Malika el Aroud's Web site served as focal points for many of those linked to the alleged Brussels network. The officials say that, Ayachi, Gendron, el Aroud, Garsallaoui and Beyayo belonged to a tight-knit 20-30 strong community of militants in Brussels. CNN, through its own investigation and through Belgian legal and police sources, has identified the user names under which several of these individuals, including Gendron, Garsallaoui and Beyayo posted messages on El Aroud's site Minbar SOS. Continued security concerns . According to Belgian counter-terrorism officials, three of the seven individuals who traveled to the Afghan-Pakistan border region in 2008 for training are still at large in the area. Some European counter-terrorism officials believe this is a significant security concern, given the Brussels network's track record In smuggling people into Europe. In an interview with CNN, Alain Winants, the director of Belgian Intelligence said: "Every secret service will tell you that individuals who are already radicalized and who are in addition are being specialized in some fighting techniques or techniques of propaganda are representing a big risk when they come back." Those still at large, Belgian counter-terrorism sources say, include Moez Garsallaoui, (Malika el Aroud's husband) who they believe has developed close ties with the top leadership of al Qaeda in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Belgian counter-terrorism officials told CNN that Garsallaoui was in regular email contact from the region with his wife before her arrest last December. According to a lawyer briefed on the legal dossier in the Belgian case, in June 2008 Garsallaoui allegedly sent el Aroud an e-mail claiming to have killed five Americans in Afghanistan. His wife congratulated him, according to the legal source. Garsallaoui also purportedly posted messages on el Aroud's radical Web site from the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, including a message posted last September urging militants in Europe to launch attacks. "The solution my brothers and sisters is not fatwas but boooooooms," the posting stated. The posting was discovered by CNN under Garsallaoui's purported user name on the Minbar SOS Web site. Earlier this week Garsallaoui purportedly posted a new statement on Minbar.SOS. In the message which was entitled "We Need You" he said he had joined up with Taliban forces who were making raids against American troops in Afghanistan from the tribal areas of Pakistan. "The Jihad is going well and the Taliban are stronger than ever, they are gaining territory every day and more important than that they are winning the trust of the local population," he claimed. But Garsallaoui purportedly also had this sobering message for Belgian authorities: . "If you thought that you could pressure me to slow down through the arrest of my wife you were wrong. It won't stop me fulfilling my objectives...those who laugh last, laugh more."

Italy arrests of two men spurs European terror alert . Pair closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, officials say . Italy charged them with being leaders of a logistical support team for al Qaeda .

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(CNN) -- He's the man who helped make "Slumdog Millionaire" an international hit, scoring the soundtrack of the Oscar winning film. Despite his performance at the Oscars ceremony and being caught up in all the glitz and adulation, Rahman is a reluctant star. Feeling like a millionaire: AR Rahman picked up two Oscar's for best original song and best score. He's worked on films since he was a teenager, taking over the role of family breadwinner after his father died and followed in his footsteps as a composer. While he had stints writing advertising jingles in India, composing for films has been his life's work so far, yet from his studio in Chennai he admitted to CNN he didn't want to score films. "I kept saying next year I'll quit, next year I'll quit. And finally because I was sucked into it more and more, now I have the Oscars" he said. His Oscar performance and acceptance speech was one of the most memorable at this year's awards. "I thought if I get it I'll be quiet, if I don't get it I'll be quiet, so I was training my mind not to get over-emotional. So when I first got it I didn't feel it at all, it was like a rehearsal for me. When I finished my performance then I felt at ease and then I became very philosophical as you know, and I chose love over hate and all this stuff," he told CNN. Feted by many in media, his hit "Jai ho" was covered by the Pussy Cat Dolls, but the softly spoken Rahman doesn't find it hard to remain grounded. Rahman runs a music school in Chennai, the KM Music Conservatory that keeps him motivated and reminds him that music has a potency that can transform lives. "Music can do so many things. I have my foundation, I have my music school. I have people teaching, kids are learning, so I take this as an advantage, the popularity and taking that and putting it into good things, which motivated me to work harder," he said. As well as working on more Hindi films, Hollywood beckons, if only for a new experience. There have also been rumors he may score the next James Bond film. "I have a couple of offers from Hollywood. Pure American movies which I thought for the heck of it let's do it and a couple of other surprises that you'll know very soon if it works out. Big surprises I think," he said.

Oscar-winning composer scored the soundtrack for 'Slumdog Millionaire' Began work as a 13-year-old to support family after his father died . Will continue to score films in India and Hollywood; runs music school in Chennai .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Friday resumed -- with expanded legal protections -- the Bush administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees. President Obama says the commissions are OK, "provided that they are properly structured and administered." On the heels of Obama's shift this week to block the release of photos showing prisoners allegedly being abused by U.S. personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military commissions announcement further infuriated the president's most ardent supporters while winning cautionary praise from some of his political foes. Obama said he supports the idea of the military commissions but opposes the version of the law that had been governing such trials in recent years: the Military Commissions Act put in place under the Bush administration in 2006, but subsequently struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The president said military commissions "are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered." But, he said, the 2006 act "failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capability to ensure swift and certain justice against those detainees." He said he plans to enhance due process rights for detainees held at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in order to improve the widely criticized approach created by his predecessor. Statements that have been obtained from detainees through interrogation and cruel treatment, such as waterboarding, will no longer be admitted as evidence before the commissions, Obama said, and hearsay evidence will be limited. The revised system also will give detainees greater latitude in selecting legal representation and afford basic protections to those who refuse to testify. Military commission judges also will be able to establish the jurisdiction of their own courts. "These reforms will begin to restore the commissions as a legitimate forum for prosecution, while bringing them in line with the rule of law," Obama said. He said he plans to ask Congress to enact other reforms to the 2006 law. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, applauded his former opponent. "Today's announcement is a step -- but only a step -- toward a comprehensive detainee policy that will deal with the detainees held at Guantanamo and elsewhere in a fashion that both accords with our values and protects our national security," McCain said in a written statement. But Obama's announcement infuriated some of his core supporters -- with the revisions hardly calming the concerns of groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU chided the military commission decision as "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law." "These military commissions are inherently illegitimate, unconstitutional and incapable of delivering outcomes we can trust," said Anthony D. Romero, the group's executive director. "Tweaking the rules of these failed tribunals so that they provide 'more due process' is absurd; there is no such thing as 'due process light.' " he said. "If the administration's proposed rules really bring these proceedings in line with constitutional requirements, there is no reason not to use our tried and true justice system. If they don't, these tribunals have no place in our democracy." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs countered that military commissions have a long history in the United States. "First and foremost, the president of the United States is going to do what he believes is in the best security interest of the people of the United States," Gibbs told reporters. Obama suspended the military commissions by signing an executive order on his third day in office, the same day he signed an order to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo within a year and announced a 120-day review of the whole process. The review deadline is next week. Gibbs said he does not know where and how trials for alleged terrorists will unfold on American soil. Nor did he disclose how many suspects would face legal proceedings under the revised commissions. Three Guantanamo detainees' cases have gone through the commission so far. The Bush administration established the military trial system after the U.S. military began capturing detainees in Afghanistan in late 2001. The next year, it opened the Guantanamo facility, saying suspects were treated properly and received due process through the system. But legal organizations and human rights agencies have repeatedly challenged the system on grounds that detainees were mistreated. One lawyer representing a client at Guantanamo said closing the detention facility, which Obama is advocating, is a "meaningless gesture" if the military commissions continue. "The military commissions are fundamentally flawed and can't be fixed," said Army Maj. Jon S. Jackson, a lawyer for Mustafa al-Hawsawi, one of five 9/11 defendants charged in the military commission process. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is the most high-profile of those defendants.

Obama revives Bush system that was suspended in January . New system to include expanded due-process rights for the suspects, Obama says . ACLU calls move "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law"

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(CNN) -- Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom should leave office during the investigation into whether he was connected to three recent slayings, his 2007 presidential opponent said Thursday. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has said he has no intention of giving up power over the slayings inquiry. Retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina, who lost to Colom in a runoff, said Guatemala is suffering its worst crisis since the democratic process began in 1985 after years of civil war. Demonstrations will continue and anger will mount unless Colom temporarily steps out of the way to allow an unblemished probe, he said. "We want an impartial investigation, a transparent investigation," Perez told CNN. "The president must leave his post." The crisis started Monday with the surfacing of a video in which Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg said Colom, the president's wife and a top aide would be responsible if something happened to the lawyer. Rosenberg was gunned down Sunday while riding his bike in Guatemala City. He had recorded the video last week. Rosenberg was being threatened with death, he said, because he had blamed Colom and his associates for the April slayings of a prominent businessman and his daughter. Rosenberg had represented the businessman. They were killed, Rosenberg said, because they had refused to participate in acts of corruption as the president wanted. "It's the time-honored tradition in Guatemala that if someone gets in your way, there's likely to be a violent outcome," said Donald J. Planty, the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala from 1996 to 1999. Colom took to the airwaves Monday night to vehemently deny that he, his wife or the aide had any connection to the slayings. He promised a full investigation and said he would accept international help, asking the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to become involved. A Guatemalan newspaper reported Thursday that an FBI agent had arrived in the country in connection with the investigation. But Rosenberg supporters say they don't believe the Guatemalan government can carry out an impartial and thorough investigation and want Colom out. Perez said Vice President Jose Rafael Espada could take over until the investigation is complete. "We are only asking that the state be strengthened," Perez said. "If he doesn't do this, we believe the situation will get worse." Colom said in an interview Tuesday night with CNN en Español that he has no intention of resigning or otherwise giving up power. He blamed the deaths on unnamed people who want to bring down his government. "It is evident that [Rosenberg's video statement] was written by someone who has been in on this plan to destabilize the government and for reasons that I don't know, because I don't know why Mr. Rosenberg mentions us in that video," Colom said. For Perez and other critics, that's not good enough. "The president has not wanted to confront this and has given evasive answers," Perez said. "Until the president confronts this, indignation will increase." Some analysts say Colom needs to get the nation under control immediately. "It's a very worrisome situation," said Planty, the former U.S. ambassador. "The country is in very serious trouble." There were rumors two to three weeks ago that the military might stage a coup, Planty said. "The security situation is out of control," he added. Heather Berkman, a Latin America analyst with the Eurasia Group consulting firm, calls it "a major political scandal." Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a Washington policy institute, agrees with that assessment. "It's very damning for the president. Very damning," he said. Fernando Carrera Castro, a fiscal analyst and executive director of the Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales, said the upheaval could further tear apart a poverty-ridden nation trying to heal from a deadly civil war. The three recently slain Guatemalans -- Rosenberg, businessman Khalil Musa and his daughter -- came from the upper economic class. As a result, Carrera said, many wealthy Guatemalans are being "radicalized" against the government. Likewise, he said, many poor and disenfranchised Guatemalans also are becoming radicalized and are rallying behind Colom and the government. "I fear that this crisis will lead to violence and destabilization of the government," Carrera said from Guatemala City. "We all want justice. That is clear." Juan Tornoe, a Guatemalan who has lived in the United States for seven years, rejects what he says are efforts to forge a class divide. "The powers that be are trying to make it a social issue -- the wealthy against the poor," he said. "This is not a social issue. This is Guatemalans are fed up." Tornoe has personal connections with some of the key actors in the crisis. Rosenberg was his wife's law professor at La Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Tornoe said. And he said he went to high school with Gustavo Alejos, the presidential aide Rosenberg mentioned in the video. In his conversations with friends in Guatemala, Tornoe said, he sensed "a sense of desperation, of hopelessness." He believes people are fed up. "They're saying, 'OK. Let's do something. Let's not let this happen again and again and again,' " he said. Carrera, the fiscal analyst, holds out hope. The investigation, he said, will be handled by an independent attorney general who does not report to the president. And the probe will be conducted under the watchful eye of a U.N.-Guatemalan commission set up to investigate corruption and political violence. "That gives me more confidence," he said. But Perez and others note that the attorney general, Jose Amilcar Velasquez Zarate, met privately with Colom on Tuesday morning, the day after the scandal broke. The meeting was not disclosed until reporters uncovered it and questioned Velasquez on his way out. Colom's critics accuse the president of already meddling in the investigation. Colom and Velasquez said the meeting had been planned days ahead of time. "There is no interference in the investigation," Velasquez told reporters afterward. Guatemala has "a culture of corruption," said Planty, the former U.S. envoy. A just investigation is necessary, he said. "Until they fix it, they will limp along -- and that's the good scenario," he said. "They are in serious danger of becoming a failed state, if they're not already. There is complete impunity. Nobody is punished for anything." Rosenberg said the same thing in the video, bemoaning the "narcos, assassins and thieves" who have taken over the country. "Those thieves are sinking all of Guatemala," he said. "They kill people like dogs." The lawyer's niece, Mariela Rosenberg, said her uncle learned to accept his fate. "He had many threats," she told CNN en Español, "and when he saw it was inevitable, he taped a video." Radio journalist Mario David Garcia told CNN en Español that Rosenberg was supposed to detail his allegations Monday afternoon on Garcia's program, "Hablando Claro" (Speaking Clearly). Instead, his funeral was held that day.

Lawyer who blamed Guatemala's president for two slayings was killed Sunday . In video released after his death, lawyer says to blame president if he is slain . President should step aside during inquiry, says man who lost '07 presidential race . President blames deaths on people he says want to bring down his government .

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two attacks on Christian families in the city of Kirkuk on Sunday evening left three people dead and two others wounded, police said. Due to persecution, Christians in Iraq have had to rely on Iraqi security forces, as shown here on Easter Sunday. The first occurred in a neighborhood in southern Kirkuk when a Christian woman and her daughter-in-law were murdered in their home late night Sunday. Police told CNN the attackers slit the women's throats. In a neighborhood close by, gunmen attacked a Christian family in their home, shooting a father and his three sons, police said. One of the sons died instantly and the other son and the father were wounded. Many of Iraq's estimated 1 million Christians have fled the country after targeted attacks by extremists. In October, more than a thousand Iraqi families fled the northern city of Mosul after they were reportedly frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists, who apparently ordered them to convert to Islam or face possible death. At least 14 Christians were killed in Mosul in the first two weeks of October. Kirkuk is 150 miles (240 km) north of Baghdad.

Christian woman and her daughter-in-law's throats slit in their home late Sunday . In nearby neighborhood in Kirkuk, gunmen shoot father and three sons; one dies . Targeted by extremists, many of Iraq's 1 million Christians have fled country .

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MANAMA, Bahrain (CNN) -- Suryavathi Rao entered her 40th year in what can be called no man's land. A protestor locked in a suitcase reading "Stop Human Trafficking" in Germany last year. A domestic worker from India, she arrived at a shelter in the Gulf state of Bahrain one morning with only a nightgown, slippers, and a prayer for a better life. "I had to leave because it was getting too difficult for me," she said. "I have not brought any clothes, I have not brought personal belongings, all I brought with me is a Bible." Rao says her employer -- a family with eight children who sponsored her journey here -- did not pay her the monthly salary of just over $100 for six months. Having fled her employer's home, she is now considered an illegal resident on the island. Marietta Dias, who runs the Migrant Workers Society, says the mind-set regarding immigrant workers here has got to change. Some employers treat their help as "not a person but a machine (that) starts in the morning: Put on a switch (and) work consistently right through the day. Take care of the children, washing, cleaning, cooking, right down to cleaning (the) car." The exploitation of workers is a huge business worldwide. People forced to work without pay collectively lose more than $20 billion a year in earnings, according to a report from the United Nations International Labour Organization released Tuesday. Global profits from human trafficking and forced labor have reached $36 billion, according to the United Nations, and that sum is climbing. "Forced labor is the antithesis of decent work," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in a statement as the report became public. "It causes untold human suffering and steals from its victims." "It is the vulnerable who suffer the most" in times of economic crisis like the present, the report says. It took years for governments to acknowledge the problem. Now the biggest challenges, officials say, are the implementation and enforcement of laws. "Eighty percent of forced labor is in the private economy, but this is very, very rarely been prosecuted, if at all in most countries," said Roger Plant, one of the authors of the ILO report. Part of the problem is that the law is often hazy. "There's a whole lot of gray areas where intermediate agents, sub-brokers, are taking advantage of loopholes in the law in order to extract large amounts of money from vulnerable people, uninformed (people) who are going off to work in a country where they don't speak the language," Plant said. But for him, the bottom line is clear. "There is some absolutely flagrant forced labor where the offenders must be put behind bars. Forced labor is a serious criminal offense and must be treated as such," he said. Labor markets need a regulatory overhaul like the one financial markets are now facing, he argued. "Because labor markets are too deregulated there are too many options for people to act in an unethical way," he said. "After the havoc in the financial markets, people are realizing they need some monitoring, licensing, regulation. You've got to do the same on the labor markets," he said. The ILO tried to set standards for private agencies that place workers, he said. "But we're finding is that there is a number of totally unknown, unlicensed and unregulated labor workers at the bottom end of the market, and there is broker after broker, intermediate after intermediate getting cash -- getting some money from the worker," he said. "Usually it is in the very much down the bottom in the informal sector, in the developing countries, but we are finding that sometimes this is pervading even larger recruitment agencies." Bahrain, where Suryavathi Rao fled her employer, is considered a reformer on labor issues. The Gulf state has introduced the Labour Market Regulatory Authority to register and track workers of all types. "People were not familiar with the definition of human trafficking and most of the time they weren't accepting that is phenomena is actually here in our region," Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. A top priority is to reduce the role of middlemen who take sizable fees -- sometimes a year's salary plus interest, he said. But worldwide, prosecutions are comparatively rare, said Antonio Maria Costa, under secretary-general of the United Nations. "Only a few thousand people were criminalized in the underworld in the past 2-3 years -- a fraction of the criminals who actually prey upon victims." The average, according to labor officials, is one prosecution for every 800 cases -- a rate that keeps workers like Suryavathi Rao, and millions more, vulnerable to exploitation.

Global profits from human trafficking, forced labor reach $36 billion, U.N. says . Eighty percent of forced labor is in private economy, says ILO report author . Bahrain has introduced the Labour Market Regulatory Authority to register workers . Bahrain Foreign Ministry: Top priority is to reduce role of middlemen .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Five new cases of the H1N1 virus in New York City schools will force three schools to close for a week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference Thursday evening. The city is temporarily closing the schools to "slow transmission" of the virus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The two intermediate schools and one primary school are in Queens, and all three will be closed for at least five days, the mayor said. "We are closing the schools to slow transmission" of sickness, he said. Bloomberg, flanked by New York Gov. David Paterson and New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein, said four students at one of the intermediate schools have the virus and an administrator was critically ill Thursday with H1N1. Bloomberg indicated the school administrator had a pre-existing medical condition. Fifty students at that school have been sent home with flu-like symptoms since May 6. At the two other schools, the primary school had an overflowing nurse's office Thursday, reporting 29 students suffering from flu-like symptoms. The other intermediate school had 241 students absent with illness Thursday. The New York City Department of Health and the Department of Education have been in nearly constant contact, said Jason Post, a spokesman from Bloomberg's office. When there's a spike in students absent from classes, the Department of Health is alerted. "There's always good communication, flu or no flu," Post said. "But our senses have been sharp for a while now." The Health Department has seen a general increase in flu activity in Queens, officials said in a news release. While the symptoms of H1N1 flu seem to resemble those of seasonal flu, the H1N1 virus appears to spread more extensively, at least in schools, warranting closures to slow transmission in the community, the release said. Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, the deputy commissioner of the city's Department of Hygiene and Mental Health, said although concern is legitimate, there's no solid evidence that suggests the H1N1 flu -- also known as swine flu -- is more dangerous than the flu in general. "The bottom line is if you're sick, stay home," Weisfuse said. "And don't go back to school until you're better for one whole day." In late April, St. Francis Prep, a high school in Queens, was closed because of a flu outbreak. Since then, the school reopened and the stricken students have recovered, according to the mayor's office. "As we have said from the outset of the appearance of H1N1 in our city last month, we will share with New Yorkers what we know and not speculate on what we don't know," said Bloomberg in a statement. According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Thursday night 7,412 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed worldwide. The organizations said 63 deaths attributed to the virus have been confirmed worldwide. The CDC said 4,298 cases of the virus and three fatalities have been confirmed in the United States as of Thursday night. New York had 224 confirmed cases of H1N1, the CDC said. It was not clear whether the five cases cited by Bloomberg and the other New York officials were included in the latest CDC total.

Officials cite five new cases of H1N1 virus in New York City schools . One school administrator critically ill with the virus, officials say . Administrator had a pre-existing medical condition, mayor indicates . Dozens of students have reported flu-like symptoms at the 3 closed schools .

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The father of missing child Haleigh Cummings' married his 17-year-old-girlfriend, who was the last one known to have seen the child alive, the girl's grandmother told Nancy Grace producers. Ronald Cummings proposes to Misty Croslin Sunday at a local Chili's restaurant. On Sunday Ronald Cummings asked his teenage girlfriend, Misty Croslin, for her hand in marriage at a local Chili's restaurant. While he was with several family members, Cummings got down on one knee, asked Croslin to marry him and gave her Haleigh's grandmother's diamond ring. Because Croslin is only 17 years old, her mother filled out the paperwork so the two could be married. On Thursday, the pair tied the knot, after the three-day waiting period required by Florida law. Croslin, who was beaming earlier in the week after the engagement, told CNN affiliate WJXT-TV that while she knows there will be critics of the marriage and the timing, "everything is still about Haleigh." Croslin said she wanted to be together as a family, just as Haleigh would have wanted. "Everybody is probably going to take this marriage thing the wrong way," Croslin told WJXT. "This is what Haleigh wanted. She has always talked about it, and even if she's not with us, she is still with us." Croslin told police she tucked Haleigh and her 4-year-old brother into bed about 8 p.m. February 9 in their Satsuma, Florida, home. She said she went to sleep herself about 10 p.m. but woke at 3 a.m. to find Haleigh missing and a back door propped open by bricks. Police are still actively searching for the girl, with a new search happening this week, and investigators Wednesday took the back door that was found propped open. In the middle of the search for the girl, the newlyweds will fly to New York Thursday night for their honeymoon and an exclusive appearance on the Today show. Haleigh's grandmother, Teresa Neves, also acknowledged the timing might seem "unusual." "Well, it is unusual for some onlookers, but those people didn't live with my two grandchildren," she told Nancy Grace. "My grandchildren, both Haleigh and Junior, have very often said that they would love for their daddy to marry Misty and that they wanted Misty to be their mommy. And so I feel like they are just trying to fulfill a wish for Haleigh so that when she comes home she will have that extra happiness to come home to." Before the wedding, Neves told CNN affiliate WKMG-TV the wedding would be difficult without Haleigh. "It's an event that Haleigh really should be at, but when she comes home, we'll have a great big wedding so she can be the flower girl and see it all again," Neves said.

Ronald Cummings, Misty Croslin, 17, wed after getting engaged at Chili's Sunday . Croslin acknowledges critics, but says "this is what Haleigh wanted" Grandma Theresa Neves says Haleigh, brother, both wanted the pair to get married . Neves: "When she comes home she will have that extra happiness to come home to"

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(CNN) -- Your husband, an avid gamer and techie, dies of a heart attack, leaving his vast online life ­-- one you don't know much about ­-- in limbo. Eternal Space lets loved ones create customized online gravesites and memorial pages. His accounts, to which you don't know the passwords, go idle. His e-mails go unanswered, his online multiplayer games go on without him and bidders on his eBay items don't know why they can't get an answer from the seller. Web site domains that he has purchased, some of which are now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,­ will expire, and you may never know. It's a scenario that's becoming more likely as we spend more of our lives online. And it's raising more questions about what happens to our online lives after we log off for the final time. The answer, until recently, was nothing. But now, as online usage increases and social-media sites soar in popularity, more companies are popping up to try and fill that void created in your digital life after death. Jeremy Toeman, founder of the site Legacy Locker, recognized that when he was on a plane and wondered what would happen to his online life if it crashed. While his will leaves everything to his wife, including all of his digital assets, Toeman realized how difficult it would be for her to access his accounts. "My GoDaddy account would belong to her, but it doesn't solve the practical reality of how she would get access to it," he said. He experienced a similar scenario after his grandmother died, and he tried to get the password for her e-mail account -- only to give up because of the hassle. So Toeman built his company to change all that. Legacy Locker allows users to set up a kind of online will, with beneficiaries that would receive the customer's account information and passwords after they die. "We know it's a hard thing to think about -- to get people to face mortality. We know it's kind of morbid, but for those who live their entire lives online, it's also very real." A Legacy Locker account costs $29.99 a year. Users can set up their accounts at www.legacylocker.com to specify who gets access to their posthumous online information, along with "legacy letters," or messages, that can be sent to loved ones. If someone contacts Legacy Locker to report a client's death, the service will send the customer four e-mails in 48 hours. If there's no response, Legacy Locker will then contact the people the client listed as verifiers in the event of his or her death. Even then, the service would not release digital assets without examining a copy of the customer's death certificate, Toeman said. Eddie Lopez is the kind of tech-savvy guy for which a service such as Legacy Locker was made. The St. Paul, Minnesota, man has three online banking accounts, a PayPal account, domain names, Web-hosting accounts, multiple e-mail addresses and many social-networking accounts. "I do think this is something people should be really considering these days," Lopez told CNN when asked about services such as Legacy Locker. He wants to hire a service to handle his digital assets but is concerned about privacy. "Although I'm glad there's people breaking ground in this area, I don't think I would jump at the first opportunity to sign up," Lopez said. "My concerns are turning over such an exhaustive list of user names and passwords to a single business. That's one-stop shopping for any hacker to get access to just about every detail of my life." Lopez would prefer to entrust half of his digital-security information to a service such as Legacy Locker and the other half to family members, so that each side's information would be useless without the other's. "I hope Legacy Locker and similar services can address these privacy-security concerns with some real-world solutions," he said. "I just don't feel comfortable turning over my digital life -- built over 15 years -- to a kind promise." Legacy Locker isn't the only new company helping techies plan for death in the digital age. AssetLock (formerly YouDeparted.com) offers a "secure safe deposit box" for digital copies of documents, wishes, letters and e-mails. Deathswitch and Slightly Morbid also offer similar services in a variety of prices and packages, depending on how many accounts are involved. Not all of these services deal with online assets. There's also a growing trend towards giving all aspects of death --­ the grieving process, the funeral, the memorial and even the grave site --­ a digital makeover. FindaGrave.com claims to have cemetery records for 32 million people in its searchable database, while EternalSpace.com offers a new spin on the traditional grave site by offering virtual memorial pages ­full of videos, pictures and tributes. On Eternal Space, loved ones can choose from different headstones and bucolic landscape backgrounds -- the mountain lake is a popular option -- to create a customized online grave site. Loved ones can add "tribute gifts" such as roses, candles, stuffed animals and other items, while mourners can access photos and videos in a "Memory Book" and leave remembrances of their own. Jay Goss, president of Eternal Space president, is trying to bring the funeral experience to anyone who can access the Web. In that way, he hopes to provide a gathering place, and a voice, for mourners who may not be able to attend the real-life memorial service. "It'd be the equivalent of a funeral where everyone can attend and everyone can spend 30 minutes behind the podium," Goss said. "It gives everyone a chance to put a 360-degree wrapper on the life the person lived and celebrate that life from how every person knew them." Eternal Space's virtual memorial sites are currently only being offered through select funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoriums. Goss' hope is that the site will help allow the deceased's memory to be "eternally" passed on. "All of these stories and videos are being left, in essence, to this Eternal Space Web site so that everyone can share, not just that day, not the days after, but the weeks after and years after," he said. Some funeral-industry professionals believe these online memorials and virtual grave sites provide a valuable service. "Assuming the site is handled with respect, virtual memorials respond to a basic human need to remember our deceased family, friends and colleagues," said Robert M. Fells, general counsel for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. "Based on our members' feedback, I'd have to say that virtual memorial sites are gaining popularity with the public as a very practical alternative to being present at the grave site," he added. "There's nothing 'weird' about them as far as we have seen." "There are funeral homes out there that will help families create virtual memorials, but ... we've also seen Facebook and MySpace profiles of deceased persons being turned into memorials," agreed Jessica Koth, spokesperson for the National Funeral Directors Association. "Consumers have become increasingly comfortable with expressing their grief online." "While not a replacement for a funeral, online memorialization can help people work through their grief after the funeral," she added. "We've all become accustomed to communicating and expressing ourselves electronically -- via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter. Expressing one's grief online is an outgrowth of what's happening in other areas of our lives." CNN.com's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.

New services are helping people organize their digital assets after their death . Customers can designate loved ones to access their posthumous online accounts . Legacy Locker allows users to set up a kind of online will, with beneficiaries . Eternal Space lets loved ones create customized online grave sites .

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(CNN) -- The Marine accused of killing Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was more than eight months pregnant, was not the father of her unborn child, a law enforcement source close to the murder investigation said Saturday. Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who is being held on a murder charge, is scheduled for arraignment in June. The source, who has seen a report completed earlier this month by the Defense Department's Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, said Cpl. Cesar Laurean's DNA does not match that of the unborn child, who also died. Laurean and Lauterbach were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. An autopsy showed that Lauterbach, 20, died of blunt force trauma to the head. Police unearthed her charred body from beneath a barbecue pit in Laurean's backyard in January 2008. She disappeared the month before. Laurean was 22 when he was arrested in Mexico in April 2008. At the time, a Mexican reporter asked Laurean whether he had killed Lauterbach. The Marine replied, "I loved her." Laurean has been indicted on charges that include first-degree murder, financial card transaction fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses. North Carolina prosecutors allege he killed Lauterbach on December 14 and used her ATM card 10 days later before fleeing to Mexico. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. The law enforcement source familiar with the case said a DNA swab was taken by court order from Laurean after he was extradited from Mexico in March to face charges in North Carolina. Mexican authorities agreed to the extradition, in part because prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. Mexico does not have a death penalty. Before her death, Lauterbach told the Marines that Laurean raped her. The month before she disappeared, Lauterbach's mother says Maria told a military investigator that she no longer believed Laurean was the father of her unborn child. However, Lauterbach's mother, Mary, says her daughter remained adamant that Laurean raped her. Laurean denied it. A few weeks before a scheduled rape hearing at Camp Lejeune, Lauterbach disappeared. Dewey Hudson, district attorney for Onslow County, said Laurean is scheduled for arraignment in early June, and is expected to enter a plea. "I cannot comment on any of the tests," Hudson said. He would not say how the DNA results might affect his case against Laurean. Through her attorney, Mary Lauterbach said the DNA test results don't answer bigger questions she has about whether the Marines did enough to protect her daughter or moved quickly enough to investigate her claims. "We do not believe that the result will have any effect on the continuing investigation or the trial," said Lauterbach's attorney Merle Wilberding.

DNA taken from suspect Cpl. Cesar Laurean doesn't match child's, source says . Swab obtained after suspect was extradited from Mexico to United States . Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's body was found in Laurean's backyard in 2008 .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six life insurance companies have qualified to receive billions of dollars in bailout money under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Allstate is one of six life insurance companies who are qualified to receive TARP money. Treasury Department spokesman Andrew Williams said Allstate, Ameriprise Financial, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Lincoln National Corp., Principal Financial and Prudential Financial Inc. have qualified for TARP money. "These life insurers met the requirements for the Capital Purchase Program because of their bank holding company status and each applied for CPP capital investments by the deadline of November 14, 2008," Williams said. Williams also said other financial institutions in the Capital Purchase Program "will be reviewed and funded as appropriate on a rolling basis." In April, about $135 billion remained from the original $700 billion allocated for the bailout last October. No current figures were immediately available. No funding amounts were announced by the Treasury Department, but Hartford said it had been preliminarily approved for $3.4 billion. "We are pleased that we received preliminary approval to participate in (the) Treasury's Capital Purchase Program," said Ramani Ayer, chairman and chief executive officer of Hartford. "These funds would further fortify our capital resources and provide us with additional financial flexibility during one of the most volatile market climates in our nation's history." Investors have been increasingly worried about the health of life insurers, which have been hit hard by worries about capital requirements and growing losses. A number of insurers that are also bank holding companies or thrifts have been eligible for funds from TARP since last fall. Last year, the Office of Thrift Supervision approved applications from Hartford and Lincoln to become bank holding companies, because of their planned bank purchases. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Lincoln is buying Newton County Loan & Savings FSB in Goodland, Indiana. Hartford, based in Hartford, Connecticut, is buying Federal Trust Bank in Sanford, Florida.

Six life insurance companies to receive TARP money, U.S. Treasury says . As of April, about $135 billion remained from original $700 billion allocated for bailout . Industry has suffered amid concerns with capital requirements, growing losses .

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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI completed his eight-day tour of the Holy Land on Friday with an exhortation to both Israelis and Palestinians to work through their decades-old conflict. Pope Benedict XVI prays in Jerusalem on Friday at what's believed to be the burial site of Jesus. "No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing," the pontiff said. Benedict made the comments at a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv before Israeli President Shimon Peres and other religious and secular leaders. In his concluding remarks, Benedict called his visit to Israel's Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem and his conversations with survivors a "deeply moving encounter." He seemed to address some criticism he received within the country for not speaking in stronger terms about anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Referring to the Holocaust, Benedict spoke of the victims who "were brutally exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred." After Benedict's Monday speech at Yad Vashem, the memorial's chairman, Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yisrael Lau, criticized the pope, saying the pontiff did not "participate in the pain of the Jewish people" and "used the term 'killed' when talking about Holocaust victims and not the word 'murdered' as his predecessor did." Benedict drew the ire of Jews and German Catholics earlier this year by rehabilitating an excommunicated bishop who had disputed the number of Jews killed in concentration camps during World War II. The bishop's excommunication was unrelated to his Holocaust denial. Friday, Benedict repeated his call for Palestinians to enjoy a "sovereign independent homeland" and "to live in dignity and to travel freely." He remarked that "one of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands was the wall" -- a reference to the 20-foot concrete barrier he saw in Bethlehem during his visit to a Palestinian refugee camp. Israel says the structure, which it calls a security fence, was built to prevent terrorist attacks; Palestinians consider it an illegal land grab. Benedict began the day with a busy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, including meeting the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. Between sessions with the patriarchs, Benedict toured and prayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, believed to be located on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried. On his Middle East visit, the pope has navigated the region's treacherous political landscape, which often pits Jew against Muslim and Muslim against Christian. Benedict has repeatedly called for reconciliation between the peoples of the region during his visit, urging Israelis and Palestinian to put aside their grievances and divisions. "Just and peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the Middle East can only be achieved through a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, in which the rights and dignity of all are acknowledged and upheld," the pope said. Celebrating Mass on Thursday, Benedict covered similar territory in his message to over 30,000 parishioners gathered at the Mount of the Transfiguration, outside Nazareth. Watch the reaction of one visitor who attended Mass » . "Christians readily join Jews, Muslims, Druze and people of other religions in wishing to safeguard children from fanaticism and violence, while preparing them to be builders of a better world," he said. Benedict's trip marks the first papal visit to some of Christianity's most holy places since Pope John Paul II made the pilgrimage in 2000.

NEW: Benedict XVI winds up Mideast trip with call for "peace based on justice" Pope revisits Old City after similar outing on Tuesday . Pope calls for spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in the Middle East . Trip marks first papal visit to Holy Land since Pope John Paul II in 2000 .

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(CNN) -- Humanitarian aid agencies scrambled Monday to offer help to the tens of thousands of people in need after Tamil separatists declared an end to their quarter-century struggle in Sri Lanka. A Tamil refugee holds her child at a tented site in Vavuniya. The United Nations said Monday that over the past few days some 65,000 people had fled what had been the fighting zone in northeast Sri Lanka, bringing to 265,000 the number of internally displaced people, which it refers to as IDPs. "This latest massive influx of people, who have endured extreme conditions, will put an even greater strain on the transit and IDP sites that are already buckling under the pressure of the existing IDP population," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a written statement. The agency pledged to erect an additional 10,000 shelters to accommodate people streaming from the combat zone. It reiterated its request for the Sri Lankan government to set aside land for the construction of emergency shelters, water and sanitation facilities and public buildings in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Kilinochchi. And it called on the government to improve conditions at 42 sites already hosting the displaced people, and to ensure adequate care and maintenance for them. But the United Nations said its access to the sites in Vavuniya had been curtailed in recent days "and this affects our ability to monitor and distribute aid to the displaced. We hope this ends quickly." Suresh Bartlett, aid agency World Vision's national director, said, "The conventional war may be over but the real challenge now is to foster an environment where fractured and displaced Tamil communities can heal and have a real chance at creating a future for themselves and their children." Among the pressing issues, he said, is getting people back to their land and homes as quickly as possible, which in some cases will require that land be demined and buildings be repaired. About 80,000 of the displaced -- a third of the people in camps -- are children, who need emotional, psychosocial and educational support in addition to physical aid. "It is important to get people home as quickly as possible so they can feel a sense of ownership over their own lives, recover their dignity and livelihoods and create an environment where their children feel safe," he said. In a telephone interview from Colombo, Sri Lanka's most populous city, Bartlett said that the displacement camps are overcrowded, with two and three families staying in shelters intended for a single family. "A lot more needs to be done," he said. "More land needs to be cleared, more shelters set up" and safe drinking-water supplies assured. "It's not easy and it's not straightforward." He said many of the people still streaming into the camps are malnourished. Though the end of the conflict marks a great opportunity, "we can do with all the international support that we can get at this time," he said. Estimates put the number of civilians killed in the conflict at 70,000 to 80,000, but Bartlett acknowledged that the true number may never be known. Medecins Sans Frontieres, the aid group also known as Doctors Without Borders, was trying to scale up on Monday, a spokeswoman said. The group's head of mission, Hugues Robert, said the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization is staffing three hospitals in the region, where it was screening people seeking help to determine their needs, stabilize them, then treat them. With fighting apparently ended, Robert predicted that the organization's team of 343 national staff and approximately 50 international staff will focus many of their efforts on providing post-operative care. "We have a lot of wounded people," he said. One area of need that remains largely unaddressed, he said, is mental health. Amnesty International called for steps to be taken to ensure civilians and captured fighters are protected. "The Sri Lankan government must ensure that its forces fully respect international law, including all provisions relating to protecting civilians from the effect of hostilities," said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director, Sam Zarifi. Amnesty International called on the Sri Lankan government to give humanitarian agencies full access; to allow independent observers to monitor the situation to guard against human-rights violations; and to register displaced people as a safeguard against enforced disappearances. Zarifi called on the international community to deploy monitors. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly called the end of fighting "an opportunity for Sri Lanka to turn the page on its past and build a Sri Lanka rooted in democracy, tolerance, and respect for human rights." He said it is "vital for the government to provide for the needs of the civilians now living in relief camps. Providing food, water, shelter, basic health care, and sanitation as well as expediting their return to their homes should be a top priority for the government."

U.N.: 65,000 people flee fighting zone in northeast Sri Lanka in past days . Brings total number of internally displaced people to 265,000 . About 80,000 -- a third of the people in displacement camps -- are children . U.N. pledges to erect an additional 10,000 shelters to accommodate people .

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CANNES, France (CNN) -- As award-winning Iranian film-maker Bahman Ghobadi walked down the Cannes red carpet for the premiere of his new feature Thursday, the real star of the show was conspicuously absent. Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, director of "No One Knows About Persian Cats," which was co-written by Roxana Saberi. American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, credited as co-writer and executive producer of the faux-documentary "No One Knows about Persian Cats," was still in Iran, having been released from jail only days earlier. The woman Ghobadi describes as his fiancée was freed from prison last Monday after being jailed on espionage charges following a one-day trial that was closed to the public. She had served three and a half months, not all time served, of her eight year sentence and at one point was on hunger strike. "For four months, she was in prison. For me, four months is like four years," Ghobadi told CNN. "In there, what did they do with her? How did she live in there?" "I couldn't understand why the government sent her to prison," he continued. "She is like an angel. She is really so clean. I believe her. For example, if you ask me about my mum and her, I believe her first." After much to-ing and fro-ing by the Iranian authorities, Ghobadi says he couldn't believe it when he found out Saberi had finally been freed, before the end of her sentence. "When [I found out] she was free ... I couldn't understand," the 40 year-old director told CNN. He said it felt as if the the authorities were playing games with himself and other supporters of Saberi as they gave different timescales for her release -- "two weeks, four years, eight years." But just after the pair were reunited Ghobadi -- who won Cannes' first-time film-maker award the Camera d'Or in 2000 with "A Time For Drunken Horses" -- had to leave for the French film festival. "Persian Cats," which chronicles the hardships facing young rock musicians as they seek to evade censorship from the authorities, had been selected to play in the Un Certain Regard slot. Although Saberi was unable to be with Ghobadi on the red carpet, Ghobadi says she have kept in close telephone contact since her release, checking on how the film has been received. Ghobadi himself has already suffered at the hands of the Iranian authorities. His 2008 film "Half Moon" was banned and says he was left feeling depressed and suicidal after spending three years unsuccessfully trying to get permission from the Iranian authorities for another previous film. He thought about leaving Iran because he felt unable to work and cites Saberi as the inspiration behind "Persian Cats," which was filmed in Tehran. Shot illegally in just 17 days using a small, cheap digital camera -- the state owns all 35mm equipment in Iran, according to film industry trade magazine, Screen International -- the faux-documentary chronicles the hardships facing two young musicians who are trying to put together a band. The story which combines comedy and tragedy to great dramatic effect showcases music and performances from real musicians who are part of the Tehran underground music scene. It is estimated that there are 2,000 illegal bands in Tehran, all practising and performing in a hidden world of hand-built recording studios in basements and rooftops around the city. Ghobadi says that he feels some responsibility for Saberi's time in prison because she stayed in Iran to help him with "Persian Cats:" "She wanted to go back to the U.S. [She] just stay for me and for my film and help for this film and give me the idea for the music." Ghobadi wrote an open letter in April this year calling for Saberi's release when she was jailed after initially being arrested buying a bottle of wine, describing her as being caught in a "game of politics." "My Iranian girl with Japanese eyes and an American ID, is in jail. Shame on me! Shame on us!" he wrote of Saberi, who has a Japanese mother, in the letter. Saberi was jailed on January 31 this year, tried on April 13 and sentenced on April 18 to eight years. Her appeal was on May 10 and she was freed the next day. Now, Ghobadi says, he is planning to go to New York this week to be with Saberi, who is currently staying in Vienna with her family. They both plan to write books and then, maybe, do another film together. Ghobadi says he wants to start a family and get married to Saberi as soon as they can. But first they will take a few weeks to process everything that has happened: "We need the time," he says.

Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi talks about his film's co-writer Roxana Saberi . American journalist Saberi was recently released from jail in Iran after three months . Ghobadi says he feels responsible for her time in jail and that they will marry soon . "No One Knows about Persian Cats" chronicles underground musicians in Tehran .

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(CNN) -- When "La Bamba" hit movie screens in 1987, audiences flocked to see the true story of singer Ritchie Valens, who died as a teen in an airplane crash almost three decades earlier. "La Bamba" starred Lou Diamond Phillips as singer Ritchie Valens. It's one of 40 films featured in the festival. But it was memorable for another reason. The film was the first box office hit directed by a Latino filmmaker and starring mostly Latino actors, said Chon Noriega, a professor of cinema and media studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. "La Bamba" is part of the Latino Images in Film festival, which begins Tuesday and runs through May on Turner Classic Movies. The event features 40 films that show how Latinos have been depicted on the big screen and is part of the network's "Race and Hollywood" series. (Turner Classic Movies, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.) Noriega, who chose the films and also co-hosts the festival, talked with CNN.com about what he hopes viewers will take away from the movie line-up. Watch clips from some of the classic films » . The following is a edited version of that interview. CNN: What was your selection process? Chon Noriega: I decided I was going to focus specifically on Hollywood films that look substantively at either Latino characters or the Latino community. I came up with a master list of films, and it's only about 70. There really haven't been that many that have dealt explicitly with the Latino population. And then, from there, we looked at what was available. CNN: When you talk about Latino images, who do you include in that description? Noriega: It's a kind of pan-ethnic, multiracial category. But basically in terms of the series, what it reflects is Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cuban-Americans. There really haven't been, as far as I can tell, many Hollywood films that go beyond those three major groups. CNN: What do you hope to accomplish with this movie lineup? Noriega: By and large, these are films that really haven't been seen since their original release. We really don't have an idea of what the history has been in terms of how Hollywood has dealt with or represented what is now a pretty sizeable part of our population. We have an idea of what the stereotypes have been in terms of the kind of expendable characters that emerge within Westerns or action films, background characters like maids. CNN: What do you mean by expendable characters? Noriega: If I'm watching a science-fiction film and there happens to be a Latino character, I know that that character is going to be the first one to die. (laughs) It is almost inevitable. Or in a Western. They're really not there as characters; they're there as foils for the largely white characters that are defining the film and the story. To my mind, it's valuable just to go back and just see that these are the films that at different points represent how not just Hollywood but our society was trying to figure out where Latinos fit within the national culture. CNN: As people watch these movies, from very early Hollywood to the 1990s, what is the progression of Latino characters? Noriega: I don't know that we see a single trajectory of going from either one thing to another or from bad to better. You see certain recurring figures or types. You see different versions of the gangster kind of morphing into the gang member. But it's more or less an urban outlaw type, and that persists. I think you see little shifts in terms of when they're being made and who is making them. You have some of the same characters in "My Family/Mi Familia," but it's being made by a Chicano filmmaker as part of an attempt to show a very diverse view of what a family can be. CNN: What's your take on white actors playing Latino characters? Noriega: Actually, [co-host] Robert Osborne and I kind of went back and forth on that throughout the series because I think there are two views. One is: Actors are actors, and they play make-believe, and they pretend to be different types of characters, and in an ideal world, actors should be able to play anything they are able to do effectively. But when you look at it sociologically, you see it's only working one way, and that's where I think there's a problem. In the history of Hollywood, we're maybe able to identify 70 films that really focus on Latino characters, family or community, and a third of those have white actors playing the Latinos. And Latino actors are not really getting the same opportunity to play other types. CNN: How did the industry try to "transform" actors into Latino characters? Noriega: The Latino population -- and it's part of the irony of this -- it's not a racial group. It's a multiracial, multi-ethnic group. We talk about that in terms of "West Side Story," where everybody's identified how Natalie Wood was in brownface playing a Puerto Rican. But in 1980, there was a revival of it on Broadway, and they actually cast a Puerto Rican actress. In the makeup room, they started putting brownface on her, [because] she wasn't dark enough to meet the expectations of what a Latina character would look like on stage. I've done focus groups with Latino actors in the Screen Actors Guild, and they continually talk about that there are these expectations of what a Latino character is going to look like and more often than not, Latino actors don't look like that. (laughs) CNN: What do you think about how Latinos are portrayed in film today? Noriega: We have a somewhat broader cohort of actors who are known, who are included in films, not always starring, but they get secondary roles in films and so there's in some sense more of a presence. When you look at the statistics in terms of the overall presence of Latinos in film and television, the numbers really haven't changed that much. So it's a kind of a subtle shift.

Turner Classic Movies begins month-long Latino Images in Film festival . Event features 40 films that show how Latinos have been depicted on the big screen . Discussion tackles controversial practice of white actors playing Latino characters . Scholar: Films show how Hollywood tried to figure out where Latinos fit in culture .

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ATHENS, Georgia (CNN) -- The body of accused triple killer and University of Georgia professor George Zinkhan was claimed by a relative Friday, nearly a week after Zinkhan was found dead, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. A studio proof shows professor George Zinkhan and his wife, Marie Bruce. A mortuary shipping service in Atlanta picked up Zinkhan's body at the request of a son from a previous marriage, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said. Details on plans for the body weren't immediately available. Earlier Friday, Bankhead had said Zinkhan's body -- found Saturday in a self-dug shallow grave -- could be headed to a pauper's grave if the family didn't claim the body from the Athens-Clarke County coroner's office by Saturday morning. Such a grave is typically reserved for unidentified bodies, unclaimed bodies or people without family members. Bankhead said the situation was rare and that it was unclear why the family had taken that long to claim the body of the professor, described by colleagues and acquaintances as aloof and eccentric. Neighbor Bob Covington remembers a lot of "forced moments" with Zinkhan. The last such interaction came the afternoon of April 24, the day before witnesses said Zinkhan, 57, killed his wife and two others outside a community theater in Athens. Covington was walking down the driveway of his Bogart home to check the mail. Zinkhan had just done the same and was walking back to his house. Covington said hello and told Zinkhan that his son, a UGA student who used to mow the Zinkhans' lawn, had recently seen Zinkhan on campus. "He said, 'Yeah, that's where I hang out,' and turned and walked into the house," said Covington, who lived next door to Zinkhan for eight years."That's mostly what it was with George, forced moments." It was odd for Zinkhan to say more than five or 10 words before disengaging, while his wife, Marie Bruce, was the "polar opposite," Covington said, describing the 47-year-old thespian as engaging and vivacious. Despite the contrasts in personalities, Covington never saw evidence that there were problems between the two, he said. "He never raised his voice at his kids. I never heard that. I never heard him raise his voice at Marie," he said. Neighbors, students and fellow faculty members all concur that Zinkhan was standoffish, but their accounts also paint a contradictory image of the marketing professor who would occasionally walk the halls of UGA's business college barefoot. Some faculty members were quick to defend Zinkhan, but reluctant to do so on record. One said he felt it was a university matter. Another was reluctant to be on record defending an accused mass killer. "He's being painted as an ogre, which doesn't fit," said the former. Two faculty members said Zinkhan was introverted but friendly. He was close to some colleagues. He remembered their birthdays and was generous with gifts at Christmas. His quirky behavior was generally overlooked because of his brilliance, a colleague said. One fellow professor went so far as to call him a genius, and not just with marketing, either. Zinkhan apparently was well-versed in a wide range of topics -- art, opera, architecture -- and he loved sports. Faculty members recalled that the strapping 6-foot-2 Zinkhan played on the intramural softball team with some of his graduate students, and he liked to boast of his home runs. He also loved his son, 8, and daughter, 10, and regularly brought them to work. Neighbors said they saw him outside playing soccer with the kids on a miniature goal that still sat in the yard this week. A basketball goal with a rim a foot or two below regulation stood over the Zinkhans' driveway, and a miniature yellow house sat dormant in his wooded backyard. A neighbor who asked not to be named said the cedar front door on the house Tuesday was new. A SWAT team had burst through the old front door shortly after Zinkhan allegedly shot Bruce; attorney Tom Tanner, 40; and Ben Teague, 63. Bruce was the president of the board of the Town and Gown Players, a theater group holding a reunion picnic on the theater's deck when the shooting took place. Tanner and Teague were identified as set designers for the theater. Covington saw Zinkhan shortly after the April 25 slayings. He was grilling bratwursts for lunch when Zinkhan rang the doorbell. "He asked if I'd mind watching the kids because there'd been an emergency," Covington said. Covington agreed. He thought it was strange when Zinkhan immediately sprinted out of the garage, but didn't pay it much attention because Zinkhan said he had an emergency. The children, Covington said, seemed oblivious that their mother had just been slain. It was less than an hour later, when Covington's wife noticed two police officers with shotguns behind the hedges in a nearby yard, that Covington learned his neighbor was accused of a triple killing. The police told Covington they were looking for Zinkhan in connection with the shootings. "I was incredulous," he said. Covington's daughter, who had baby-sat for the Zinkhans, drew a floor plan of the Zinkhan home for police and told them where the spare key was hidden. Covington allowed police to use his home in their stakeout and summoned Zinkhan's daughter to see whether she knew anything about what had happened. It was clear the girl hadn't seen the slayings, but one of her remarks was chilling, Covington said. Asked what her father's emergency involved, she replied, "Something about a firecracker." Though many expressed astonishment that Zinkhan was linked to the slayings, some UGA faculty members said they suspected Zinkhan was having problems at home before police confirmed it this week. He lost an estimated 50 pounds in the two months before the shootings, they said. To others, the signs of problems were more obvious. Professor Barbara Carroll, who had once worked under Zinkhan, wrote an e-mail to her colleagues at the business school saying she went into protective custody after police found a map to her house in Zinkhan's vehicle. In the e-mail, she said she had told previous department heads, deans and provosts "that George Zinkhan was dangerous." "Many people in this college and this department have known about Zinkhan's 'troubled past' and did nothing about it. Those people also bear responsibility here," she wrote. Carroll did not return phone messages or open her door for reporters Tuesday. However, one of Zinkhan's former students said he and his classmates also thought Zinkhan was more than just odd. David Sackin, 43, was a graduate student and took classes with Zinkhan in 1996 and 1997. Zinkhan's lectures were delivered in monotone, his teaching style was dry and he didn't seem to care what was happening in the classroom, Sackin said. When students convened outside the classroom, they surmised that something darker than a lack of enthusiasm drove Zinkhan's behavior, he said. "If anyone asked any of my classmates if there was one professor who'd go on a rampage, who would it be? They'd unanimously say Zinkhan," Sackin said."He was strange, definitely." In her e-mail, Carroll told colleagues they may never know the whole story. Indeed, police have said only that one of the victims, Tanner, "appeared to be a specific target in the shootings and was shot first." The prospect of learning specifics about what could have propelled a painfully private introvert to homicide probably died in a shallow grave behind a Bogart elementary school. CNN's Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

NEW: Son from previous marriage claims University of Georgia professor's body . Acquaintances, colleagues remember George Zinkhan as eccentric, aloof . Neighbor: Children unaware of mother's slaying; daughter mentioned "firecracker" Student, colleague both thought Zinkhan may be dangerous before triple killing .

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(CNN) -- Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom should leave office during the investigation into whether he was connected to three recent slayings, his 2007 presidential opponent said Thursday. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has said he has no intention of giving up power over the slayings inquiry. Retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina, who lost to Colom in a runoff, said Guatemala is suffering its worst crisis since the democratic process began in 1985 after years of civil war. Demonstrations will continue and anger will mount unless Colom temporarily steps out of the way to allow an unblemished probe, he said. "We want an impartial investigation, a transparent investigation," Perez told CNN. "The president must leave his post." The crisis started Monday with the surfacing of a video in which Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg said Colom, the president's wife and a top aide would be responsible if something happened to the lawyer. Rosenberg was gunned down Sunday while riding his bike in Guatemala City. He had recorded the video last week. Rosenberg was being threatened with death, he said, because he had blamed Colom and his associates for the April slayings of a prominent businessman and his daughter. Rosenberg had represented the businessman. They were killed, Rosenberg said, because they had refused to participate in acts of corruption as the president wanted. "It's the time-honored tradition in Guatemala that if someone gets in your way, there's likely to be a violent outcome," said Donald J. Planty, the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala from 1996 to 1999. Colom took to the airwaves Monday night to vehemently deny that he, his wife or the aide had any connection to the slayings. He promised a full investigation and said he would accept international help, asking the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to become involved. A Guatemalan newspaper reported Thursday that an FBI agent had arrived in the country in connection with the investigation. But Rosenberg supporters say they don't believe the Guatemalan government can carry out an impartial and thorough investigation and want Colom out. Perez said Vice President Jose Rafael Espada could take over until the investigation is complete. "We are only asking that the state be strengthened," Perez said. "If he doesn't do this, we believe the situation will get worse." Colom said in an interview Tuesday night with CNN en Español that he has no intention of resigning or otherwise giving up power. He blamed the deaths on unnamed people who want to bring down his government. "It is evident that [Rosenberg's video statement] was written by someone who has been in on this plan to destabilize the government and for reasons that I don't know, because I don't know why Mr. Rosenberg mentions us in that video," Colom said. For Perez and other critics, that's not good enough. "The president has not wanted to confront this and has given evasive answers," Perez said. "Until the president confronts this, indignation will increase." Some analysts say Colom needs to get the nation under control immediately. "It's a very worrisome situation," said Planty, the former U.S. ambassador. "The country is in very serious trouble." There were rumors two to three weeks ago that the military might stage a coup, Planty said. "The security situation is out of control," he added. Heather Berkman, a Latin America analyst with the Eurasia Group consulting firm, calls it "a major political scandal." Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a Washington policy institute, agrees with that assessment. "It's very damning for the president. Very damning," he said. Fernando Carrera Castro, a fiscal analyst and executive director of the Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales, said the upheaval could further tear apart a poverty-ridden nation trying to heal from a deadly civil war. The three recently slain Guatemalans -- Rosenberg, businessman Khalil Musa and his daughter -- came from the upper economic class. As a result, Carrera said, many wealthy Guatemalans are being "radicalized" against the government. Likewise, he said, many poor and disenfranchised Guatemalans also are becoming radicalized and are rallying behind Colom and the government. "I fear that this crisis will lead to violence and destabilization of the government," Carrera said from Guatemala City. "We all want justice. That is clear." Juan Tornoe, a Guatemalan who has lived in the United States for seven years, rejects what he says are efforts to forge a class divide. "The powers that be are trying to make it a social issue -- the wealthy against the poor," he said. "This is not a social issue. This is Guatemalans are fed up." Tornoe has personal connections with some of the key actors in the crisis. Rosenberg was his wife's law professor at La Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Tornoe said. And he said he went to high school with Gustavo Alejos, the presidential aide Rosenberg mentioned in the video. In his conversations with friends in Guatemala, Tornoe said, he sensed "a sense of desperation, of hopelessness." He believes people are fed up. "They're saying, 'OK. Let's do something. Let's not let this happen again and again and again,' " he said. Carrera, the fiscal analyst, holds out hope. The investigation, he said, will be handled by an independent attorney general who does not report to the president. And the probe will be conducted under the watchful eye of a U.N.-Guatemalan commission set up to investigate corruption and political violence. "That gives me more confidence," he said. But Perez and others note that the attorney general, Jose Amilcar Velasquez Zarate, met privately with Colom on Tuesday morning, the day after the scandal broke. The meeting was not disclosed until reporters uncovered it and questioned Velasquez on his way out. Colom's critics accuse the president of already meddling in the investigation. Colom and Velasquez said the meeting had been planned days ahead of time. "There is no interference in the investigation," Velasquez told reporters afterward. Guatemala has "a culture of corruption," said Planty, the former U.S. envoy. A just investigation is necessary, he said. "Until they fix it, they will limp along -- and that's the good scenario," he said. "They are in serious danger of becoming a failed state, if they're not already. There is complete impunity. Nobody is punished for anything." Rosenberg said the same thing in the video, bemoaning the "narcos, assassins and thieves" who have taken over the country. "Those thieves are sinking all of Guatemala," he said. "They kill people like dogs." The lawyer's niece, Mariela Rosenberg, said her uncle learned to accept his fate. "He had many threats," she told CNN en Español, "and when he saw it was inevitable, he taped a video." Radio journalist Mario David Garcia told CNN en Español that Rosenberg was supposed to detail his allegations Monday afternoon on Garcia's program, "Hablando Claro" (Speaking Clearly). Instead, his funeral was held that day.

Lawyer who blamed Guatemala's president for two slayings was killed Sunday . In video released after his death, lawyer says to blame president if he is slain . President should step aside during inquiry, says man who lost '07 presidential race . President blames deaths on people he says want to bring down his government .

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(CNN) -- Army Maj. Steven Hutchison fought battles in the jungles of Vietnam. Then he fought an epic battle on the home front. And at age 60, he still wasn't done fighting for his country. Maj. Steven Hutchison served 22 years in his first Army stint, then returned at age 57. He died Sunday. The battle ended for Hutchison on Sunday. He died in Basra, Iraq, of wounds from a roadside bomb in Al Farr. He is the oldest U.S. service member to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. Hutchison joined the Army in 1966 and served two one-year tours in Vietnam, according to a news release from Fort Riley, Kansas, home of Hutchison's 1st Infantry Division, the famous "Big Red One." Over the next 22 years, he was a platoon leader in Germany and commander of a basic training company at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Along the way, he earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Delaware and became an assistant professor of military science at Claremont College in California. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal, among others. Hutchison retired from the military in 1988 and took up the quiet life of a college professor. He taught at several small colleges in California and became a researcher for a health care company in Scottsdale, Arizona, said his brother, Richard Hutchison. But Hutchison felt compelled to return to military service after the terrorist attacks of September 11. His wife, Kandy, vetoed that idea, however. That decision proved fateful, as Hutchison was able to stand by his wife's side through her battle with breast cancer. She died of the disease in January 2006. The always-athletic Hutchison channeled his grief by whipping himself into shape and returning to active duty at age 57 the following year, his brother said. Military rules say retirees may be recalled up to age 64 for general officers, 62 for warrant officers and 60 for all others. Hutchison served a tour in Afghanistan and then was sent to Iraq, where he was part of a team training Iraqi forces to secure their own country. "He's been a soldier his whole life," Richard Hutchison, of Mesa, Arizona, told CNN affiliate KNXV-TV. Watch a report on Hutchison's life » . "He was a great guy," he said. "We hung around together; we went to the movies together, went out to dinner together. He loved to shoot pool; we used to shoot pool all the time, either at my house or at his house. He was just a great friend and a great brother." The soldier-psychology professor, who is also survived by two daughters and two half-siblings, had a mischievous side, too. "He liked to tease me about him being younger than me, even though he was five years older than me," Richard Hutchison said with a soft chuckle. "He would tell everyone he was the youngest one. And they would believe him. Made me feel real good." Richard Hutchison plans to fly to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware over the weekend to claim his brother's body and return it to Scottsdale for burial. The last communication the brothers had was a routine e-mail Steven Hutchison sent from Iraq about two weeks ago. He rarely wrote about his experiences in Iraq, Richard Hutchison said. However, there was one matter on the ground that the soldier involved his brother in. "When he was in Iraq, they found a dog and were taking care of it. He sent me an e-mail asking me to send some dog food and dog supplies," Hutchison said. The Army made Hutchison's team give up the dog, but they left it in good hands, his brother said. "He had a big heart." CNN's Adam Levine, Larry Shaughnessy, Barbara Starr and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

Army Maj. Steven Hutchison, 60, becomes oldest American killed in Iraq . Hutchison retired after 22-year Army career, volunteered to return years later . Psychology professor served tours in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq . During interim, he stood by wife during her fight against cancer .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Friday resumed -- with expanded legal protections -- the Bush administration's controversial system of military trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees. President Obama says the commissions are OK, "provided that they are properly structured and administered." On the heels of Obama's shift this week to block the release of photos showing prisoners allegedly being abused by U.S. personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military commissions announcement further infuriated the president's most ardent supporters while winning cautionary praise from some of his political foes. Obama said he supports the idea of the military commissions but opposes the version of the law that had been governing such trials in recent years: the Military Commissions Act put in place under the Bush administration in 2006, but subsequently struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The president said military commissions "are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered." But, he said, the 2006 act "failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capability to ensure swift and certain justice against those detainees." He said he plans to enhance due process rights for detainees held at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in order to improve the widely criticized approach created by his predecessor. Statements that have been obtained from detainees through interrogation and cruel treatment, such as waterboarding, will no longer be admitted as evidence before the commissions, Obama said, and hearsay evidence will be limited. The revised system also will give detainees greater latitude in selecting legal representation and afford basic protections to those who refuse to testify. Military commission judges also will be able to establish the jurisdiction of their own courts. "These reforms will begin to restore the commissions as a legitimate forum for prosecution, while bringing them in line with the rule of law," Obama said. He said he plans to ask Congress to enact other reforms to the 2006 law. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, applauded his former opponent. "Today's announcement is a step -- but only a step -- toward a comprehensive detainee policy that will deal with the detainees held at Guantanamo and elsewhere in a fashion that both accords with our values and protects our national security," McCain said in a written statement. But Obama's announcement infuriated some of his core supporters -- with the revisions hardly calming the concerns of groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU chided the military commission decision as "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law." "These military commissions are inherently illegitimate, unconstitutional and incapable of delivering outcomes we can trust," said Anthony D. Romero, the group's executive director. "Tweaking the rules of these failed tribunals so that they provide 'more due process' is absurd; there is no such thing as 'due process light.' " he said. "If the administration's proposed rules really bring these proceedings in line with constitutional requirements, there is no reason not to use our tried and true justice system. If they don't, these tribunals have no place in our democracy." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs countered that military commissions have a long history in the United States. "First and foremost, the president of the United States is going to do what he believes is in the best security interest of the people of the United States," Gibbs told reporters. Obama suspended the military commissions by signing an executive order on his third day in office, the same day he signed an order to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo within a year and announced a 120-day review of the whole process. The review deadline is next week. Gibbs said he does not know where and how trials for alleged terrorists will unfold on American soil. Nor did he disclose how many suspects would face legal proceedings under the revised commissions. Three Guantanamo detainees' cases have gone through the commission so far. The Bush administration established the military trial system after the U.S. military began capturing detainees in Afghanistan in late 2001. The next year, it opened the Guantanamo facility, saying suspects were treated properly and received due process through the system. But legal organizations and human rights agencies have repeatedly challenged the system on grounds that detainees were mistreated. One lawyer representing a client at Guantanamo said closing the detention facility, which Obama is advocating, is a "meaningless gesture" if the military commissions continue. "The military commissions are fundamentally flawed and can't be fixed," said Army Maj. Jon S. Jackson, a lawyer for Mustafa al-Hawsawi, one of five 9/11 defendants charged in the military commission process. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is the most high-profile of those defendants.

Obama revives Bush system that was suspended in January . New system to include expanded due-process rights for the suspects, Obama says . ACLU calls move "a striking blow to due process and the rule of law"

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Many Americans are finding ways to trim their holiday budgets this year, but reports are showing that buying video games is one place consumers are not cutting back. Through November, video game sales are up 22 percent over 2007. According to market researcher NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of video games totaled $2.91 billion in November, a 10 percent jump from a year ago. Overall sales this year through November are more than $16 billion, up 22 percent from 2007. Anita Frazier, an analyst from NPD, cites the industry's wide content variety on newer generation consoles such as Nintendo's Wii, Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's XBOX 360 as a reason for the strong performance. Frazier also says that video games are a relatively cheap form of entertainment, considering the hours of value they provide. Matt Helgeson, senior editor at Game Informer magazine, agrees. "Video games can take between 10 and 40 hours, sometimes 50 hours, to complete" depending on the title, Helgeson said. "Gamers can often get two to three months out of one game." Furthermore, during these recessionary times, Helgeson explains that video games "provide the ultimate escapism." According to NPD, some of the top-selling game titles in November include "Gears of War 2," which sold 1.6 million copies, and "Call Of Duty: World At War," which sold 1.4 million. Nintendo's "Wii Play" and "Wii Fit" put up impressive numbers, as well. With those kinds of sales, video games have potential to be one of the most popular stocking stuffers for kids this holiday season. Helgeson says that these days, games are a core part of being a kid, and it's no longer a question of "do you play video games?" Instead the question is "what games are you playing?" "Ages, races, social groups -- video games cut across all platforms," Helgeson said. Whether you're shopping for a hardcore gamer or something for the family, "there is something for everybody."

Video game sales were $2.91 billion in November, a 10 percent jump from last year . Game Informer editor: Video games provide good value . "Gears of War 2," "Call of Duty: World at War" two popular games this season .

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(CNN) -- A grand jury has indicted polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on a second sexual assault charge in connection with a probe of his Texas compound, prosecutors said Wednesday. The charge against Warren Jeffs stems from a probe into his sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas. The Schleicher County, Texas, grand jury charged Jeffs, who already could be sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of a different charge in Utah, with a first-degree felony count of aggravated sexual assault. The indictment is Jeffs' second in Schleicher County. In July, he was charged with sexually assaulting a child under 17. Grand jurors have also indicted three more members of Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, prosecutors said Wednesday. One member faces a count of conducting the unlawful marriage of a minor, another faces three counts of bigamy and a third faces three counts of bigamy and one count of tampering with evidence. The Texas charges stem from a state and federal investigation into the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch outside Eldorado, about 190 miles northwest of San Antonio. In April, child welfare workers removed more than 400 children from the compound, citing allegations of physical and sexual abuse. After a court battle, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the children returned in June, saying the state had no right to remove them and there was no evidence to show the children faced imminent danger of abuse on the ranch. To date, 12 people associated with the compound have been indicted as part of the investigation, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. Jeffs, 52, is the leader and "prophet" of the estimated 10,000-member FLDS, an offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church. The FLDS openly practices polygamy at the YFZ Ranch, as well as in two towns straddling the Utah-Arizona state line -- Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. In Utah, Jeffs was convicted on accomplice to rape charges for his role in the marriage of a sect member to a 14-year-old. He is awaiting trial in Arizona, where he faces similar charges. He faces a sentence of up to life in prison for the Utah conviction, and he also could face another life term if convicted of the Texas charges. His attorney in Arizona, Michael Piccarreta, has questioned the motives of Texas authorities, telling CNN in a July interview that the state's investigation into Jeffs and his followers is an effort "to cover themselves up on the botched attack on the ranch in Texas."

Warren Jeffs indicted on second Texas sexual assault charge in four months . Grand jury also indicts three other members of polygamous sect . Charges stem from probe of sect's ranch outside Eldorado, Texas . Jeffs convicted in Utah of accomplice to rape for role in member's marriage to teen .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Another Hollywood marriage is ending -- but this one was no flash in the pan. Robin Wright Penn and Sean Penn had been married 11 years. Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn are divorcing, according to their representative, Mara Buxbaum. People magazine first reported the split Thursday night. The actors began dating after they met making the 1990 movie "State of Grace." They married in 1996, and have two children, Dylan Frances, 16, and Hopper Jack, 14. Previously, Penn was married to Madonna for four years, while Wright was married to actor Dane Witherspoon for two years. In addition to "State of Grace," Penn and Wright appeared together in 1997's "She's So Lovely" and 1998's "Hurlyburly," and both are set to appear in Barry Levinson's next film, "What Just Happened?," due out in 2008. Penn, 47, won a best actor Oscar for 2003's "Mystic River," and was nominated for best actor for "Dead Man Walking," "Sweet and Lowdown," and "I Am Sam." His latest directorial effort, "Into The Wild," has received four SAG Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Wright, 41, is best known for her title role in "The Princess Bride" and for starring opposite Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump." E-mail to a friend .

Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn had been married 11 years . Pair met while making 1990's "State of Grace" Couple has two children; has made three films together, with fourth due out .

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ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Remains found last week in a wooded area have been identified as belonging to missing Florida toddler Caylee Anthony, authorities said Friday. Caylee Anthony, 2, had been missing since June in a case that has received national attention. The cause of the child's death will be listed as homicide by undetermined means, said Jan Garavaglia, medical examiner for Orange County, Florida. She said she does not expect enough additional evidence to surface for that finding to be revised. The remains were identified through DNA testing, comparing a sample from the remains to a sample known to be from Caylee. Some of the remains had been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for testing. The skull was found December 11 a half-mile from the home of Caylee's grandparents, where the girl and her mother, Casey Anthony, 22, lived before the girl disappeared. She was last seen in June. Casey Anthony faces charges including first-degree murder in the case. Watch a Nancy Grace video tribute to Caylee Anthony » . Orange County Sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said Thursday that searchers at the site had found "significant skeletal remains" since the discovery of the skull. A "large percentage" of Caylee's skeleton has been recovered, Garavaglia said Friday. The bones showed no sign of trauma before death. A child's skeleton has many more bones than an adult's, she said, and not all are fully developed. Some of the bones recovered are no larger than a pebble, she said. Watch the medical examiner discuss her findings » . Garavaglia said the manner of Caylee's death -- an opinion based on factors including an examination of the body and circumstantial evidence -- was determined to be homicide. Caylee's grandmother Cindy Anthony was notified of the test results by the medical examiner's office, Garavaglia said. Officials at the Orange County Corrections Department said Casey Anthony was notified of the results by a chaplain about 1:45 p.m., per jail policy. One of Casey Anthony's defense attorneys, Jose Garcia, entered the jail earlier, corrections officials said in a written statement. "Due to happenstance, not policy, attorney Garcia was not in the presence of the inmate when the notification was made," the statement said. "We will not be commenting on the demeanor of inmate Anthony or her reaction to the news." The Anthony family's pastor, Thomas Shane Stutzman of Eastside Baptist Church, arrived at the jail about 2 p.m. but left 19 minutes later because Casey Anthony had refused his visit, as she was meeting with Garcia at the time, jail officials said. Casey Anthony could face a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors said this month that they will not seek the death penalty against her. Garavaglia would not disclose specific information regarding the remains other than to say they were completely "skeletonized." Toxicology tests on the remains are pending, she said. "Our number one priority from day one was to locate little Caylee Anthony," Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said. "We have stayed the course, and we will continue to do so until we have thoroughly completed our investigation into this tragedy." The sheriff grew emotional while responding to a reporter's question about the effect of the case on him personally. "Having a kid ... I've raised two girls, goodness gracious," Beary said, his voice breaking. "The bottom line is, no child should have to go through this." The case has left an "open wound" in the community, he said, but he thinks closure will not come until after trial. George and Cindy Anthony, Casey Anthony's parents, did not give up hope that Caylee was still alive until they were notified of the test results, their attorney, Brad Conway, said Friday. He took no questions but read from a statement. "They now know that their precious granddaughter is safe and hope that she will serve as the angel that protects thousands of missing children and their families," he said, adding that the Anthonys want "the same answers as everyone who has been assigned to investigate and prosecute this case" and will be available to authorities. "As you can imagine, the Anthonys are grieving deeply over this loss," he said. "Please respect their privacy and understand they will stand together as a family in order to get through this. ... This is a tragic moment in the lives of good and honorable people. Please treat them respectfully so they can grieve with dignity over the loss of this precious child, Caylee Marie Anthony." On Thursday, the sheriff's office said that the utility worker who found the skull December 11 had called police three times -- August 11, 12 and 13 -- regarding the site where the remains were found. That utility worker, Roy Kronk, came forward Friday. Reading from a statement, he said that "back in August of this year, I previously reported to Crimeline and to the sheriff's communications center that I had spotted something suspicious, a bag in the same area." "I have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation by the sheriff's office and the FBI," Kronk said. He refused to provide details of what he saw at the site where the remains were found. Watch Kronk talk about his calls to police » . His attorney, David Evans, said Kronk "has no connection whatsoever to this case, has no connection whatsoever to the Anthony family or any of the proceedings that have gone on before. He is here as a concerned citizen and no more. Those who have specified to the contrary could not be more wrong." Evans said Kronk was asking for privacy for his co-workers, who have been the subject of "intrusive news-gathering activities." Some of those colleagues, he said, "protected his privacy and sacrificed their own in doing so." Kronk will not be granting interviews at this time, Evans said. Police said Thursday that in his first call August 11, the worker reported seeing a gray bag on the side of the road. A deputy responded, Nieves said, but the worker was no longer at the scene, and the deputy did not see the bag. On August 12, the worker called a police crime line. The call was sent to a detective, who told the meter reader that the area had been searched and cleared by cadaver dogs, police said. On August 13, the worker reported finding a bag in a swampy area, and a deputy was dispatched. The deputy looked at the area but found nothing, thinking the "bag" may have just been trash, Nieves said. The meter reader revisited the site last week, apparently while working in the area, authorities said, and found the skull. The site was searched earlier, Beary said, but was flooded at the time. Nieves said Thursday that police were conducting a thorough review of the tips and their response but emphasized that the meter reader has been cooperative and is not a suspect. Beary acknowledged Friday that there were questions surrounding those tips but said the only way to find the answers was to conduct an investigation. CNN's John Couwels and Natisha Lance contributed to this report.

NEW: Casey Anthony's parents express grief, ask for compassion . Meter reader Roy Kronk comes forward, says he saw bag in wooded area . Casey Anthony notified that remains are her daughter's, authorities say . Medical examiner declares Caylee's death a homicide .

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(CNN) -- The jury that convicted O.J. Simpson of robbery and other charges relied mostly on audio and video evidence -- and very little on testimony from prosecution witnesses -- jury members said Sunday. O.J. Simpson, convicted of robbery and kidnapping last week, could be sentenced to life in prison on December 5. "We honestly felt we could not rely on that witness testimony," said Michelle R. Lyons, one of seven jurors who spoke to reporters in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday. "There was not one decision we made that was based only on witness testimony." Jury foreman Paul Connelly said some of the prosecution's witnesses didn't seem trustworthy. At least three former Simpson co-defendants who cut deals to testify in the case had criminal records. Asked whether the jury trusted the witnesses, Connelly answered: "Not entirely, no." Watch jurors explain their verdict » . Prosecutors produced an audiotape of the confrontation in which authorities said Simpson and five men burst into a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel on September 13, 2007. The men allegedly made off with pillowcases containing Simpson sports memorabilia. Several jurors said audiotapes of the incident and conversations between Simpson and others that were recorded surreptitiously before, during and after the heist made the prosecution's case. "It would have been a weak case" without the tapes, juror Dora Pettit said. The jury of nine women and three men found Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart guilty Friday of 12 charges, including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon. Simpson, 61, could get life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December 5 in Las Vegas. Prosecutors alleged that Simpson, a former football star, led a group of men who used threats, guns and force to take the memorabilia and other items from memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley. Four men who had been charged with Simpson cut deals with the prosecution and testified against him. One testified that Simpson instructed him to bring a gun to the hotel encounter. "Everything was based on the recordings," juror Dora Pettit said of the panel's decisions. Simpson, who did not testify during the trial, told police he didn't know the people with him were armed. He also claimed the items had been stolen from him, and the hotel encounter was just about him retrieving his items. Simpson's lawyer has indicated he plans to appeal the conviction, partly because some of the jurors had indicated during jury selection that they disagreed with a 1995 verdict in which he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Watch Fred Goldman hail the verdict » . Teresa Owens, one of the jurors in the Simpson robbery case, said any suggestion that the jury found Simpson guilty because of the verdict 13 years ago is "terrible." "There's reports right now that we've had some kind of vendetta against Mr. Simpson for ... 13 years ago," she said. "That in no way had anything to do with this case whatsoever." Connelly said the murder trial "never came up." "I don't think it was on anybody's minds. For that, I can say I'm proud of the jury," he said. Before the robbery and kidnapping trial, the jurors promised they could disregard Simpson's past and solely consider the evidence against him and Stewart, 54. Owens also said it would be "preposterous" for anyone suggest that the makeup of the jury -- 11 jurors were white, and one said she was Hispanic, while Simpson is black -- hurt the defense's chances. "They chose us. Five hundred people ... filled out these questionnaires," Owens said. "They had the [opportunity] to pass us." Pettit said the jury has been painted by some "as an all-white jury that hates O.J." "That's just not true," she said. "It couldn't be further from the truth." Asked whether they felt the crime was bad enough to warrant life sentences, Connelly said that was up for the court to decide. Pettit said that "if he walked out tomorrow, I'd be fine with that." However, she said Simpson had to be found guilty and that his argument about just wanting to recover his own things didn't work. "Under Nevada law ... even if you're recovering your own stuff, you can't do it in the manner that they all went in and did it," Pettit said.

Some witnesses didn't seem trustworthy, jury foreman says . At least three witnesses who cut deals to testify had criminal records . "Not one decision" was made based solely on testimony, juror says . Jurors: Simpson's 1995 acquittal on murder charges never came up .

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BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A third baby has died and at least 6,200 children have fallen ill after drinking formula tainted with the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year, Chinese officials said Wednesday. China's largest producer of milk, Mengniu Dairy Group, announced the recall of three batches of formula made in January after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine, said Li Changjiang, China's director of quarantine and inspection. Though it should not be added to food ingredients, suppliers in China sometimes put it in food to make a product appear to be protein rich. Melamine has nitrogen, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen. More than 1,300 infants are hospitalized with illnesses including malnutrition, kidney stones and acute renal failure. On Monday two brothers were arrested who Chinese officials say supplied three tons of milk each day to the Sanlu Group, which makes baby formula. Watch crowds of moms get their babies tested » . They could face death if convicted, according to state-run newspaper China Daily. The siblings' raw milk had been watered down and a chemical added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said. Watch who has been arrested » . Sanlu Group, one of China's leading dairy producers, has recalled more than 8,200 tons of the tainted formula following reports of sickened babies, news agency Xinhua reported. The manufactured also sealed off more than 2,100 tons of contaminated product, and another 700 tons still need to be recalled, according to Xinhua. Watch angry parents demand answers at Sanlu » . Investigators said the brothers confessed to watering down the raw milk and mixing in tripolycyanamide, also known as melamine. The paper reported the siblings did it to recover losses suffered when the factory rejected earlier milk shipments, and that 19 other people have been detained for questioning. Recalls of the products by the Yashili and Suokang companies have been made, and of China's 175 baby milk powder production companies, 66 have already stopped production, Li said. Investigators are testing samples at the remaining factories. Learn more about the chemical melamine » . China's Xinhua news agency reported that worried parents started lining up at 5 a.m. Wednesday to see doctors at Renmin Hospital in Shijiazhuang, the capital of the northern Hebei Province. Wang Lifang said she went to the hospital after medics at her local hospital 28 miles (45 kilometers) away in Xingtang County found problems with her two-month-old daughter. "The county hospital found my daughter has kidney stones that are smaller than 4mm [less than a fifth of an inch]," the farmer in her 30s told Xinhua. "My daughter is so young that the doctors worry the stones might not be washed out themselves so they told me to go to the provincial hospital." The report said the girl had drunk a little water. "Doctors said I better not feed her powdered milk," Xinhua quoted a "tearful" Wang as saying. "In the past few days, I fed her fresh milk bought from a neighbor who raises a cow but once I left home I did not know what to do." Other parents told Xinhua they wanted their children scanned for kidney stones as a precaution. Peng Jing, a mother in her 20s, said her 2-month-old son had drunk about two small bags of Sanlu powdered milk. "He seems OK, but we want to be 100 percent sure he is healthy so we came to have the tests," she told Xinhua at Renmin Hospital. The food safety scandal prompted China agricultural officials to start a nationwide inspection of its dairy industry. Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. The chemical is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Chinese investigators have found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies, Li said Wednesday. Products made by Sanlu had the highest concentration of the chemical. It is not the first time Sanlu has been connected to a scandal involving tainted milk powder, according to China Daily. In 2004, at least 13 infants in the eastern Anhui province died of malnutrition after drinking milk powder that had little to no nutrition. The illegally manufactured milk was falsely labeled with the Sanlu brand, according to the paper. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said no Chinese baby formula has been allowed on the market in the United States. In a statement on its Web site, the FDA said it had reached out to all five companies making formula in the United States and none has used formula or source materials from China. This episode marks the latest in a string of tainted products produced in China: . CNN's John Vause and Yuli Yang contributed to this story.

More than 6,200 babies now known to be ill, official says . China's largest milk, Mengniu Dairy Group, recalls three batches of formula . Concerned parents line up to get their infants scanned, Xinhua reports . Melamine in milk is same chemical that killed U.S. pets from tainted pet food .

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(CNN) -- CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has just finished a long assignment: living on food stamps during all of February. He tracked his experiences on the American Morning blog. CNN's Sean Callebs with a meal he prepared living on a food-stamp budget. This meant no eating out, no food on the run while covering stories and no enjoying king cake and other New Orleans specialties during Mardi Gras. The food stamp program, newly named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is run by the Department of Agriculture and provides food to those in need. The latest numbers show 31 million Americans are relying on supplemental food assistance to get by every month. Callebs is based in New Orleans, so he worked through the Louisiana Department of Social Services. The agency gave him a gift card worth $176, the maximum amount of assistance for which he was eligible, instead of an actual EBT card or food stamps. This week, he reflected on what he learned in an interview with House Call. House Call: Did living on a limited food budget have an impact on your health? Callebs: I wouldn't say it had a big impact on my health. I think that towards the end, I wondered if having fewer calories than I normally eat and also not having as much meat and fish -- I wondered if that affected my energy levels. I was running maybe 4 to 5 miles and toward the end of this diet when I got to three miles I just got kind of winded. I don't know why that happened. Watch Sean Callebs talk about his experience » . HC: Were there also some benefits? Callebs: I think I lost weight. I wouldn't say noticeable. It's not like I came out of this 30 days later and people were like "Wow, what happened to you?" but all my clothes are looser. I don't have a scale, but I can tell you my pants are much looser. HC: You write in your blog about your love of diet soda and how you had to drop it. Callebs: (Laughing) It's funny, because for the first 10 days it was really on my mind a lot. It was probably more than anything else I missed -- probably a sad commentary on my lifestyle. Then toward the end, I didn't even think about it and my photographer, as a joke the last day, he brought over two 20 ounce bottles of diet soda and said, "At midnight tonight you can have these," and I didn't drink them. I don't miss it as much and, I can't guarantee this is what caused it, but I've always had a problem with acid reflux and once I got started eating on the food stamp diet, it seemed to go away. I can't conclusively say that that was the cause, but I sleep better and I feel better. HC: How does your $176 compare with the average food stamp allotment? Callebs: I think it's difficult to say that there's an average food stamp allotment because it really breaks down to how many people you have in the family and to what degree you live at or below the poverty level. I went to the state, and I said, "I want to pretend I have no income so how much can I get?" and they said this is the maximum you can get: $176. I did get a lot of e-mails, A LOT of e-mails, from people who have lived with government assistance and they said, "Look, $176 is a ton of money to live on. So you think it's hard? You should put yourself in our shoes." That was sobering because I thought $6.28 a day -- that's basically a super-sized fast-food meal. (According to SNAP, the average monthly stipend was about $96 per person and about $215 per household in 2007.) HC: So, what did you learn? Callebs: I think that I learned that you can stretch $176. It sounds intimidating if you've always had enough, but if you haven't had enough then you learn pretty quickly how to make ends meet. That's what I learned pretty quickly. Snacks went out the window, name brands went out the window but, all in all, I ate pretty healthy. HC: Are you going to continue with this new way of living? Callebs: I am. I just got back from the grocery store and I spent $27 and I got plenty of food to last me for a few days. I've already wrapped it up and put it in the freezer. I'm still buying the stuff I bought before. It's a diet I'm sure I'll stick to. I feel good.

CNN's Sean Callebs talks about his month living on a food-stamp budget . He lost some weight but learned how to better cook, budget and bargain-hunt . Callebs cut out diet soda "treat" and experienced less acid reflux . Range of responses from readers, from "can't be done" to "welcome to my world"

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(CNN) -- "Slumdog Millionaire" took home eight Oscars on Sunday night, a surprising achievement for a film once thought to be straight-to-DVD fodder. "Slumdog Millionaire" with Dev Patel and Freida Pinto has a "rags-to-riches" storyline with wide appeal. The colorful story, which mixes the gritty life of Mumbai's poor with the shiny aspirations of the new India, features no stars recognizable to Western audiences, but it may have made one of its native country. So, is it time for Bollywood -- as India's huge Mumbai-based film industry is called -- to come to America? "International cinema comes in cycles in the United States," said Frank Lovece, a film critic with Film Journal International. "Now, it's Bollywood's time." But "Slumdog" is a far cry from the lavish movie musicals made by Bollywood, which releases nearly 1,000 films annually. And it's not authentically Indian -- it was directed by Briton Danny Boyle, and the leading actor, Dev Patel, was born and raised in England. Watch the "Slumdog" principals talk about their victories » . However, the film is a celebration of India -- from the slums to the Taj Mahal. It pays homage to Bollywood by incorporating many of the industry's norms -- vibrant colors, fast-paced editing, a fairy-tale love story and a feel-good musical dance ending. " 'Slumdog' is the reason why people go to the movies. It's the whole package," said Gene Newman, editorial director at Premiere.com. "It's an incredible story ... and it makes you feel good." Memorable moments from the Oscars » . Priya Joshi, associate professor of English at Temple University and author of the forthcoming book, "Crime and Punishment: Nationalism and Public Fantasy in Bollywood Cinema," said the film's "rags-to-riches" storyline has a lot to do with its wide mainstream appeal. "Hindi film and Bollywood, in particular, is a profoundly political cinema about the crisis of the day," she said. "Today, the typical American feels like the poor in the world. ... This sense of vulnerability is what the film is able to capture." Watch the "Slumdog" stars talk about bonds between the cultures » . Hollywood often has used international styles and filmmakers to its advantage. In its early days, the U.S. film capital embraced European directors such as Fritz Lang and Jean Renoir. The 1960s saw the influence of French New Wave cinema. Japanese films inspired "The Magnificent Seven" and "Star Wars"; Hong Kong works inspired Hollywood blockbusters such as "The Departed" and "The Matrix." "Slumdog" isn't even the first film centering on India to attract Hollywood's attention. "Indian cinema has been around in the United States since Satyajit Ray in the early 1940s," Lovece said. Ray, who won the Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992, made films in Bengali, a language spoken in eastern India. Despite that fact, his movies, notably "The Apu Trilogy," have had universal appeal. Since Ray, many Indian actors have emerged on the Hollywood scene. Aishwarya Rai, one of Bollywood's leading ladies, starred in 2004's "Bride and Prejudice" and appeared, more recently, in "The Pink Panther 2." "India's movie stars are essentially the country's ambassadors," said Gitesh Pandya, box-office analyst and founder of BoxOfficeGuru.com. "A lot of people going to see ["Pink Panther 2"] are learning about Bollywood through [Aishwarya Rai]." From Ray to Rai, Indian influence in American cinema is vast. Many Hollywood films also have been influenced by Bollywood. Baz Luhrman's 2001 musical "Moulin Rouge," a tragic romance told with song and dance, borrows heavily from Bollywood. "These big, epic numbers are very reminiscent of Bollywood," Newman said, also referring to "Chicago," "Mama Mia!" and "West Side Story." "Musicals have always been part of the tradition of American cinema, and Bollywood really just took it to the next level." Hollywood films such as 2008's "The Love Guru" and 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" -- which ends with a musical dance number -- also borrow from Bollywood, Newman said, but are comedies that parody the enchantment in Bollywood films. "There's innocence and playfulness in a lot of the cinema in India," he said, which is why Bollywood, in its authentic form, would not appeal to American audiences. "We're a little more cynical," said Newman. " 'West Side Story' is kind of laughable by today's standards. ... But, for some reason, in India, that innocence is still acceptable." Joshi said the cultural differences between Bollywood and Hollywood could make it difficult for Bollywood films to cross over to America. "India is still clinging on to its social values, which explains Bollywood's success everywhere but in America," she said. "Bollywood films don't have any kissing in them or tend not to. Warner Bros. used to make movies like this in the past. ... If it's ready to ready to return to its roots, then it's ready for Bollywood." American audiences may want to explore Bollywood films after seeing "Slumdog Millionaire," Pandya said, but it is unlikely that they will find another film like it. "The film is obviously very successful, but it is its own entity so it doesn't necessarily mean that people in this country will wake up to Bollywood overnight," he said. "Bollywood is not for everybody. ... People who love to see Adam Sandler movies are not going to line up to see Bollywood films." Newman agreed, saying that, for now, America will see Bollywood only in small traces. "I think a lot of filmmakers have been enamored with Bollywood," he said. "They're investing over there, like [Steven] Spielberg." But in American cinema, "for the most part, there will be little tinges of Bollywood."

"Slumdog Millionaire" is not authentically Bollywood or Indian . Hollywood has often used international styles and filmmakers to its advantage . Film critic: It's Bollywood's time to influence American cinema . Box-office analyst: Bollywood will have a hard time crossing over to America .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A watchdog group critical of pork barrel spending released its latest findings Wednesday targeting the top Congressional "porkers." Some of the pork projects, according to the group, include a Lobster Institute; the Rocky Flats, Colorado, Cold War Museum; and the First Tee, a program to build young people's character through golf. Members of Congress requested funds for all these pet projects and thousands of others last year, according to the latest copy of the annual "Pig Book" released by Citizens Against Government Waste. "Congress stuffed 11,610 projects" worth $17.2 billion into a dozen spending bills, the group said in the report released Wednesday. The "Pig Book" names dozens of what the citizens group considers the most egregious porkers, the lawmakers who funnel money to projects on their home turf. Interactive: Pork barrel spending » . Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, requested the most money, $892.2 million, according to the group. In a statement to CNN, Cochran said he doesn't "accept the premise" of the group's claim that "any and all federal spending not specifically requested by the Executive Branch is wasteful and irresponsible." "The Congress is vested with the power to appropriate funds to be spent by the federal government by the U. S. Constitution. We will continue to carry out that responsibility with care and a commitment to serve the public interest," he said. "There were several candidates for the Narcissist Award," Tom Schatz, the president of the group said. Read the group's 2008 report . "But this one went to House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel for the Charles Rangel Public Service Center at the City College of New York -- $1,950,000 [for a project] that he named after himself." Rangel, a Democrat from New York, said last summer he was "honored that City College chose to have my name attached to what is an important project, not just for the residents of my congressional district, but for New York City and this nation." Some lawmakers defended their earmarks, such as Rep. Mike Thompson, D-California, who channeled $742,764 to olive fruit fly research. "The olive fruit fly has infested thousands of California olive groves and is the single largest threat to the U.S. olive and olive oil industries," he said. Schatz responded that his organization is criticizing the way lawmakers direct money to specific projects, not the projects themselves. "There are existing programs for virtually everything in the 'Pig Book.' If members [of Congress] believe they should be given additional funding, give them to the agencies rather than to specific projects," he said. The problem with earmarks, he said, is that "we don't know if [the projects] are valuable or not." Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, the third ranking Democrat in the House, defended his earmark for a program that funds a youth golf program for children on U.S. military bases. "It's a character building program, that seems to be working well for low income kids and that's why we do it throughout the United States of America. I just feel that children living on military installations ought to have this program as well," Clyburn told CNN. Clyburn also defended the practice of earmarking federal funds. "I can name earmark after earmark, there's absolutely nothing wrong with congresspeople responding to their constituents and funding programs that they feel are necessary to improve the quality of life of the people who live in their districts." Clyburn also raised questions about the group releasing the "Pig Book" saying, "they're not telling the truth about this earmark no more than them telling the truth about where they get their money from. The committee against government waste isn't against government waste." He cited press reports from the St. Petersburg Times that the Committee Against Government Waste received money from the tobacco industry and other private groups to lobby Congress. Both parties came in for criticism, with the Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, topping the Republicans in spending. The Democrats were behind 5,199 projects worth $5.5 billion, while the Republicans earmarked 3,408 projects worth $4.4 billion, the citizen's group said. And in a sign bipartisanship is not dead, the two parties jointly backed 2,518 projects worth $3.8 billion. Interactive: Map of pork per capita by state » . The three senators running for president were not among the top targets of criticism, and one got an entirely clean bill from the watchdog group. "Sen. [Barack] Obama had 53 earmarks worth $97 million dollars, and Sen. [Hillary] Clinton had 281 earmarks worth $296 million. Sen. Obama recently said he would not request any project for this upcoming fiscal year," said Tom Schatz, the president of Citizens Against Government Waste. "And of course Sen. [John] McCain has never requested them and he won't be doing so in 2009. So now the question is if Sen. Clinton will join the other major candidates in saying that she will not request any earmarks for 2009." To qualify for the Pig Book, a project must meet at least one of these standards: it was requested by only one chamber of Congress; was not specifically authorized; was not competitively awarded; was not requested by the president; greatly exceeded the president's budget request or the previous year's funding; was not the subject of congressional hearings; or served only a local or special interests. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Ed Hornick and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

NEW: GOP Sen. Thad Cochran, Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn respond to report . Citizens Against Government Waste releases annual pork spending report . Some of the biggest pork projects, according to the group, include a Lobster Institute . Democrats were behind 5,199 projects, while Republicans were behind 3,408 .

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(CNN) -- The U.S. government has dropped charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspect in the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole, according to a Pentagon spokesman. Parents and friends at the funeral in 2000 for a sailor killed during the bombing of the USS Cole. The charges were dropped "without prejudice" by Susan Crawford, convening authority at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon. The proceeding did not address specifics of the government's case against al-Nashiri, who remains a "high value" detainee held at Guantanamo. In removing the charges without prejudice, prosecutors can resubmit charges at a later date while at the same time complying with President Barack Obama's order to the military to hold off on cases for four months. On his first day in office, Obama ordered the halt, requiring prosecutors to seek delays in the 14 active cases before military commissions there. But the judge, Col. James Pohl, ordered arraignment for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri to go ahead as scheduled on Monday. With this move, all cases at Guantanamo are now in line with the president's order to halt court proceedings at the detention center, according to Gordon. Al-Nashiri is accused of planning the October 2000 bombing of the Cole while it was in the Yemeni port of Aden. The attack killed 17 American sailors and crippled the vessel, which returned to service in 2002. The Office of Military Commissions, which manages the prosecutions of suspected terrorists, said last week that it might have to temporarily drop charges against al-Nashiri to comply with the presidential order. When prosecutors asked for a continuance in the trial, Pohl denied the request, saying the government's "argument for continuances were unpersuasive," according to a copy of his opinion. Pohl noted there had been no previous requests for a delay, and that the public's interest in a speedy trial would be harmed by further delay. Al-Nashiri was captured in 2002. He was held in secret locations until being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. Meanwhile, the White House has invited families of sailors who died in the Cole bombing to meet with Obama on Friday. A number of the families were called Thursday afternoon, according to Andrew Hall, the lawyer who represented families. The invitation was for the families to attend "without their lawyers," according to Hall. They were not told why they were going to meet with Obama, he added. According to the White House schedule for Friday, Obama will meet privately with families of the Cole attack and also with families of victims of the 9/11 attacks. "The president wants to talk with these families about resolving the issues involved with closing Guantanamo Bay -- while keeping the safety and security of the American people as his top priority," the schedule said.

NEW: Obama meeting privately with families of bombing Friday . Charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri dropped "without prejudice" Move done to comply with President Obama's ruling to shut Guantanamo Bay . Nashiri was scheduled to go on trial Monday, will remain "high value" detainee .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain feared that it would have been overwhelmed in the event of a Soviet attack because of the depleted state of its armed forces, according to secret files made public on Tuesday. U.S. President Jimmy Carter watches UK PM James Callaghan speak at a 1979 meeting in Guadeloupe. Papers released by the National Archives, under the 30-year rule, reveal that Royal Air Force fighter jets only had sufficient ammunition for two days of combat and the Royal Navy would fail to defend the country from Russian submarines. The army would have been too over-stretched to cope with a widescale campaign of sabotage and subversion by Soviet special forces, the papers show. Prime Minister James Callaghan called the situation a "scandal" when he discovered the scale of the problem and demanded resignations among the military. "Heaven help us if there is a war!" he scrawled on one note. But ministers could do little until the Tornado fighter plane became available in the mid-1980s along with other military hardware. The problem became clear when senior intelligence officers warned in late 1977 that, in the event of a conventional war, the Russians could unleash up to 200 bombers and 18 submarines against the UK. The assessment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was that British forces would be unable to cope. "UK forces cannot match the threat postulated by the JIC assessment," the chiefs noted in January 1978 in a document marked Top Secret UK Eyes Alpha. "Air defenses would be outweighed because aircraft would be outnumbered and stocks of air defense munitions would sustain operations for only two or three days. "Maritime forces need better anti-submarine weapons, and face a massive threat from submarine and air-launched missiles and also from mines; the most serious deficiency is in numbers. "The army in the UK would, until mobilization is complete, have insufficient forces to meet its commitments; after mobilization of the reserves, a process taking between 15-20 days, the Army would be able to counter the currently assessed Soviet land threat during the initial stages of the war but, lacking supporting arms and logistic support, it would be inadequate to deal with any more significant threat, including sabotage or subversion on a wide scale."

Britain feared it would have been overwhelmed in Soviet attack, papers reveal . Papers were released by the National Archives under the 30-year rule . Prime Minister James Callaghan called the situation a "scandal"

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(CNN) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt added yet another title to his tally after racing to victory in the Bupa Great CityGames 150 meter sprint in a new best time in Manchester on Sunday. Usain Bolt smashed the world 150m record in his first race of the season in Manchester on Sunday. The Jamaican, who broke both the 100m and 200m records before anchoring his country to the 4x100m relay title in Beijing, clocked 14.36 seconds -- smashing the previous world's best by 0.39 seconds. Bolt, in his first competitive outing of the season, finished well ahead of Britain's Marlon Devonish, who ran 15.07. The 22-year-old, who was only passed fit on Monday after a car crash which required minor surgery on his foot just over a fortnight ago, was given a bye into the final. But he did not disappoint and the breakdown of times in his sprint were staggering. He covered the first 100m in 9.90, which although well short of his record-breaking 9.69 in Beijing, was still impressive on a very damp temporary track constructed in the city center. Even better was his speed over what is termed "the flying 100" -- from 50-150m -- which he covered in just 8.72 seconds. It all added up to a run which eclipsed the previous best of 14.75 by American Tyson Gay, whose time was recorded during a 200m race and not a straight 150m sprint. "It is one more to the tally," Bolt told reporters when told of his world-best time. "I thought I would just go out there and run a good time. I am not in the best shape and I still have a lot of work to do but I am getting there," he added. Debbie McKenzie Ferguson of the Bahamas won the women's race in 16.54 seconds ahead of Olympic and world 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, who finished in 17.10.

Usain Bolt shatters world record by winning 150m in Manchester on Sunday . The Jamaican sprint king defeats Marlon Devonish in a time of 14.36 seconds . The 22-year-old old was only passed fit on Monday after a recent car accident .

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(CNN) -- A man accused of shooting into a crowd outside an under-21 nightclub -- killing two teenage girls and wounding seven other people -- before shooting himself was in critical condition Monday, police in Portland, Oregon, said. A shooting outside a Portland nightclub Staurday killed two people and injured seven others, police said. Investigators identified the gunman in Saturday night's shooting in Portland as Erik Salvadore Ayala, 24, and are trying to determine why the rampage happened, police said. "This is unprecedented in the city of Portland. We don't have this type of thing," Portland police Detective Mary Wheat said, adding that even seasoned police veterans were shocked by what she called "a random act of violence." "Nobody knows the motive at this time," Wheat said, noting that Ayala didn't have a police record. "We're trying to figure what drove him to this." Investigators believe Ayala sprayed bullets into a crowd of students outside a non-alcohol nightclub called The Zone on Saturday night and then shot himself, authorities said. The students were participants in a Rotary Club foreign exchange program. Slain were Ashley Wilks, 16, and a Peruvian exchange student, Marta "Tika" Paz De Noboa, 17, according to Wheat. Wilks, a Portland high school sophomore, was getting ready to spend her junior year in either France or Spain, her principal said. Two juveniles, four 18-year-olds and a man in his 40s were wounded, Wheat said, adding that exchange students were among those hurt. Scott Bieber, youth protection officer for the exchange program in northern Oregon and southwestern Washington, said the shooting was "nothing like anything we've ever seen in Rotary before, to have as many of our kids involved in something as tragic at one time." "Our main focus right now is to build a support structure for the students who were involved and their host families and their real families, and also for the families of the 28 other inbound students we have in our Rotary district," Bieber said. Eleven exchange students went to the club to celebrate a birthday and were waiting in line when the assault began, Bieber said. Wheat said a 9 mm handgun was used in the shooting. "It doesn't appear at this time that he reloaded," she said. Paz De Noboa was attending Columbia High School in White Salmon, Washington. School officials were helping students deal with their grief over the incident, and counselors were available, said Superintendent Dale Palmer and Vice Superintendent Jerry Lewis of the White Salmon Valley School District. "She was very shy and reserved," Palmer said. "I think she was a good student and helpful to other struggling students." Matt Utterback -- principal of Ashley Wilks' school, Clackamas High School -- issued a statement on the school's Web site confirming Wilks' death and the wounding of Susy De Sousa, an 18-year-old foreign exchange student from Italy. Wilks' was a "bright and curious student" who took honors classes and was a member of the swimming team, Utterback said. He passed along praise from her teachers and her swim coach. "An awesome student with a beautiful smile. She was the kind of person that lights up a room. A truly wonderful, delightful kid," Utterback said. About De Sousa, Utterback said: "Susy challenges herself to take rigorous classes despite the fact that English is her second language. She has a good sense of humor and is known for her persistence." De Sousa was in critical condition but improving, Wheat said. Classes were not in session Monday because it was a teacher workday. Utterback said counseling was available for students, and deplored the shooting. "Such a horrific act is impossible to accept or understand," he said.

Two teens killed, seven other people wounded in Portland, Oregon, shooting . Investigators "trying to figure out what drove [gunman] to this," detective says . Police identify shooter as 24-year-old man, say he shot himself . Students had gone to under-21 club to celebrate a birthday .

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(CNN) -- The forthcoming trial in Germany of John Demjanjuk could be the last occasion on which a Nazi war crimes suspect faces prosecution. German officials claim John Demjanjuk was an accessory to 29,000 murders in a Nazi death camp. But the legacy of decades-old efforts to bring the perpetrators of World War II atrocities to justice means that those who commit similar offences in the 21st century will not be able to hide from their past so easily, according to a leading war crimes prosecutor. Many leading Nazis such as Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess and Albert Speer were prosecuted by the main allies -- the U.S., the Soviet Union and the UK -- shortly after the end of the war at the Nuremberg Trials. South African judge Richard Goldstone, formerly the chief U.N. prosecutor for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, told CNN that Nuremberg had been the "first attempt of any importance to hold war criminals accountable" and had laid the foundations for the development of modern humanitarian law. Yet many lower-ranking servants of the Nazi regime and its allies were able to escape punishment for their crimes, assuming new identities, fleeing Europe or even finding employment with Soviet or western security agencies as determination to bring them to justice waned with the advent of the Cold War, according to Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "These murderers walked into small cities and killed men, women and children and walked away without a trace," Hier told CNN. "The sad thing is that had the world wanted to prosecute Nazi war criminals after Nuremberg, and had (countries) put up the budget and the resources then every one of these elusive criminals would have been brought to justice." But Goldstone said that the creation in 2002 of the International Criminal Court marked a "very important step forward" to ensure that future atrocities would not be so quickly forgotten. While previous tribunals investigating crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia were ad hoc creations set up by the U.N. Security Council, the ICC is a permanent institution with a specific remit to investigate and prosecute cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Goldstone said that developments in humanitarian law and the evolution of international justice meant that modern institutions were more sophisticated and fairer than Nuremberg had been, recognizing the rights of victims to representation but also ensuring a fair trial for defendants. "Modern international law requires trials that are a lot fairer than the trials that were put on at Nuremberg," he said. The jurisdiction of the ICC is currently recognized by 108 countries -- though not by the U.S., Russia or China. But Goldstone said the court was "moving quickly" towards universal ratification and said U.S. President Barack Obama's new administration was likely to be more cooperative and friendlier to the ICC than predecessor George W. Bush had been in office. "I'd love to see the day when there is universal ratification because when that happens there will be nowhere for war criminals to run to," he said. Demjanjuk, an 89-year-old native Ukrainian deported from the U.S. this week, is alleged to have been a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland and is accused of being an accessory to the murder of more than 29,000 people. Hier said Demjanjuk's extradition marked the culmination of greater efforts in the U.S. since the late 1970s to send suspected war criminals to face trial. An Office of Special Investigations was established in 1979 to hunt for war criminals on U.S. soil, while legislation allowed even suspects who had acquired U.S. citizenship to be extradited for lying on their naturalization papers about their Nazi pasts. But he said Demjanjuk's trial could be the last of its kind -- and not just because of the age of suspected war criminals still at large. "You can't just have a trial with documents. You have to have living witnesses," Hier said. "Most of those witnesses are very old, most of them are well into their 80s and beyond and they have to be in sufficient good health that they can be questioned and travel to take part in the trial." But Hier said it was very important that former Nazis were pursued to the grave, living out their final years with the fear that their past crimes could still catch up with them. "(Nazi hunter) Simon Wiesenthal talked about two kinds of justice. There is the justice of handcuffs and putting someone on trial. But there is also a psychological fear of a knock on the door," he said. "Every Nazi war criminal should live every night of his life with the possibility that in his case there will yet be a knock on the door."

Expert: Trial of Nazi war crimes suspect John Demjanjuk could be last of its kind . Leading Nazis prosecuted at Nuremberg but many lesser Nazis escaped justice . Struggle to prosecute Nazis influenced creation of International Criminal Court . ICC has remit to probe war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Syrian arms dealer was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. federal prison for conspiring to sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia, according to prosecutors. Syrian-born arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar, seen in a file photo, tried to sell weapons to undercover U.S. agents. Monzer al-Kassar was also ordered Tuesday to forfeit all of his assets, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Al-Kassar's co-defendant Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy received a 25-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy. Both men were convicted in November of five charges, including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, conspiracy to provide support for FARC guerrillas in Colombia, and money laundering. The federal indictment paints al-Kassar as an international arms dealer with a hand in conflicts in nearly every part of the world, with a web of bank accounts and front companies across Europe and the Middle East. Al-Kassar was arrested in Spain in 2007 on a U.S. warrant and his associate Moreno Godoy was arrested in Romania. Both were extradited to the United States. The arrests stemmed from an undercover sting operation involving U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as members of FARC. During the 16-month operation, the agents arranged to buy more than 12,000 weapons from the two men, according to the indictment. Al-Kassar agreed to provide surface-to-air missiles for the FARC to shoot down American helicopters, and also offered to send 1,000 men to fight with the FARC, plus explosives and men who could train the FARC in how to use them, the indictment charged. Al-Kassar demanded 3,500,000 euros ($4.4 million) as "partial payment" for the weapons, it said. Justice Department officials say al-Kassar has been a source of weapons and military equipment for armed combatants since the 1970s. Kassar had told journalists before he was arrested that he had retired from arms dealing, but the United States says he had been involved since the 1970s, providing weapons and military equipment to armed factions in Nicaragua, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere. CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

Syrian sentenced in conspiracy to sell weapons in a plot to kill Americans . Co-defendant gets 25 years; plan was to kill Americans in Colombia . U.S. calls Monzer al-Kassar an international dealer arming many wars . U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency arrested arms dealers in sting operation .

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CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- Venezuela temporarily seized a pasta-making plant Friday belonging to U.S.-based food giant Cargill, citing a production quota dispute. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government takes over a Cargill plant for the second time in recent months. Rafael Coronado, Venezuela's deputy minister for food, announced the takeover live on the state-run Venezolana de Television channel. He said the plant did not meet production levels for pasta sold at lower, government-mandated prices. An inspection of the plant Thursday found that 41 percent of its pasta met the government-established level, Coronado said at a news conference in front of the food plant. Fifty-nine percent was "out of regulation," he said. The Venezuelan government will take over the plant for 90 days, he said, and then will determine what steps to take next. It was the second time in recent months that the government of left-wing President Hugo Chavez has taken over a Cargill plant. Chavez announced in March that he had ordered the takeover of a Cargill rice plant. Cargill spokesman Mark Klein said Friday afternoon the Minnesota-based company did not have an immediate comment. But Klein said in March, when the rice plant was taken over, that Cargill "is committed to the production of food in Venezuela that complies with all laws and regulations." Cargill has been doing business in Venezuela since 1986, according to the company's Web site. Its operations include oilseed processing, grain and oilseed trading, animal feed, salt, and financial and risk management. The company has 2,000 employees in 22 locations in Venezuela, the Web site says.

Venezuela cites production quota dispute in takeover of pasta-making plant . Government will take over plant belonging to Cargill for 90 days . Minnesota-based food giant has no immediate comment on seizure . Cargill rice plant seized by President Hugo Chavez's government in March .

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(CNN) -- The mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, and his wife were arrested Wednesday on charges they defrauded the federal government and an insurance company of more than $220,000 in claims related to Hurricane Katrina, authorities said. Gulfport Mayor Gregory Brent Warr, shown in 2005, says the charges "will not change my commitment" to the city. Gregory Brent Warr and Laura Jean Warr were named in a 16-count federal indictment handed up last week by a grand jury, the Department of Justice said in a news release. They are accused of conspiracy, Federal Emergency Management Agency fraud, Department of Housing and Urban Development home grant fraud and insurance fraud, all arising from claims after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. If convicted on each count, the couple would face up to 210 years in prison and up to $4 million in fines, prosecutors said. "Understand that what has been alleged toward my wife and me has no connection to me as mayor," Brent Warr said in a statement issued Wednesday. "This has not and will not change my commitment to the progress and recovery of our city." He said he pleaded not guilty, but said he will not speak further about the case. "I am the mayor of Gulfport, and I will continue working to rebuild our city," Warr said. "We have hundreds of dedicated employees, department heads and directors, and everything we have achieved thus far is a result of their hard work and love for this city. "For Laura and me, personally, this is a difficult time, but I will continue the work as mayor." According to the indictment, the Warrs in 2005 applied for FEMA assistance regarding a Gulfport home, telling officials that home was their primary residence when it was not. In 2006, the indictment says, the couple applied to the Mississippi Development Authority for a Homeowner's Assistance Grant funded by HUD, again claiming they lived at the address. The indictment also alleges the Warrs made misrepresentations to Lexington Insurance Company regarding personal property in the insured home, payment of rent for alternative living after Katrina and the extent of damage to the home. The Warrs received a total of $222,798 "as a result of the said offenses, for which the defendants are liable," the indictment says. The couple was released on bond and ordered to appear for trial April 6, the Justice Department said. In his statement, Warr said the inquiry "has been going on for more than a year now, and we hope and pray for a much faster resolution." City spokesman Ryan LaFontaine issued a statement saying that while he was not in a position "to speculate what is happening in the mayor's personal life ... I can tell you that as for the city, we are continuing to carry out the people's business. "The mayor has indicated that he has every intention of coming to work tomorrow, and every day after that, as the mayor of Gulfport," LaFontaine said. "In the nearly four years that he has been here, Mayor Warr has created a framework and an agenda for the recovery of Gulfport. And he has assembled a very talented team of directors and employees that understand the enormity of the recovery challenges that lie ahead. "Under his continued leadership, I'm very confident that this city will continue to move along the path that he has set," LaFontaine said. "The people of Gulfport don't care about the mayor's personal issues. They only care about what he's doing to fix their issues."

Gulfport, Mississippi, mayor "will continue working to rebuild our city" Mayor Gregory Brent Warr, says he pleaded not guilty . Indictment: Couple received $222,798 "for which the defendants are liable" Couple, released on bond and ordered to court April 6, face up to 210 years .

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(CNN) -- A wheel from the main landing gear of a Colgan Airlines passenger plane fell off and rolled away as the aircraft was landing in Buffalo, New York, earlier this week. A wheel fell off the landing gear of Q400 Bombardier upon landing on Colgan Flight 3268 earlier this week. On Thursday night, The Toronto Sun posted a video of the incident shot by a passenger on the Q400 Bombardier -- the same type of plane involved in a fatal Colgan Airlines crash three months ago, also on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The video shows the wheel touch down on the ground and then roll away, followed by metal parts that are meant to keep the wheels in place. The plane was towed to the gate, where everyone on board "deplaned normally," said Joe Williams, a spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan's parent company. "At no time was any passenger or crew member at risk, nor were any injuries reported," Williams said of the Tuesday incident. "The aircraft was properly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer and Federal Aviation Administration procedures." Williams said the incident "appears to have been caused by the failure of the outer wheel bearing ... the bearing was relatively new, having been on the aircraft for five weeks." Colgan Flight 3268 originated in Newark, New Jersey. "I was scared, and the other passengers looked worried, too," one passenger told the Toronto newspaper. "For a moment, I thought the worst in that we may not make it." Three months ago, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed in nearby Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 passengers and crew members aboard. One person was killed on the ground. Hearings about the cause of that accident have been held in Washington this week. Investigators have focused on pilot fatigue as a possible cause of the crash.

Wheel from main landing gear fell off as aircraft was landing earlier this week . Colgan Airlines spokesman says no one on Flight 3268 was injured . One person on flight: "I was scared, and the other passengers looked worried, too" Three months ago, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed, killing all 49 people aboard .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The original judge has been dead for 15 years, and no one has been able to find the criminal case file since 2004. Yet a 1977 sex scandal involving famed director Roman Polanski and a 13-year-old girl continues to stalk the courts of Los Angeles. Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski hasn't left France in 30 years because of a U.S. fugitive warrant. Attorneys for the 75-year-old Academy Award-winning director asked a judge Tuesday to put the matter to rest once and for all. But a judge denied the request, saying the director must show up in court to obtain a ruling. That poses problems for Polanksi because prosecutors have vowed to seek his arrest on a bench warrant the minute he sets foot in the United States. The bench warrant was issued when Polanski failed to appear for sentencing more than 30 years ago. Lawyers Douglas Dalton and Chad Hummel last month filed a 239-page dismissal "request," citing allegations brought to light in the documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired." The documentary was first broadcast in June on HBO, which shares a corporate parent with CNN. The court filing alleges that a meddling prosecutor who believed Polanski should be behind bars improperly influenced a judge to ignore the terms of a plea bargain, as well as the wishes of the district attorney's office, the probation officer and the victim. None of them wanted Polanski to serve jail time. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza left the door open to reconsider his ruling if Polanski, who has lived in exile in France since 1977, shows up in court. "It's hard to contest some of the behavior in the documentary was misconduct," Espinoza said in court. But he declined to dismiss the case entirely, a decision that didn't surprise legal experts who said such rulings are extremely rare. "You have to give [Polanski attorney] Chad Hummel the creative lawyering of the year award," said legal analyst Laurie Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Espinoza in effect said he was tossing out the request without considering whether it has merit because Polanski hasn't shown up for court. But he suspended his ruling, writing that "if the defendant submits to the jurisdiction of this Court within 30 days, the Court shall consider the merits of the motion." Polanski's victim is among those calling for the case to be tossed out. Larry Silver, the victim's lawyer, said he was disappointed in the ruling and that Espinoza "did not get to the merits and consider the clear proof of both judicial and prosecutorial corruption." He argued in court that had "Mr. Polanski been treated fairly" his client would not still be suffering because of publicity almost 32 years after the incident. Levinson said the victim's support may offer a sliver of hope for Polanski. "The best thing he has going is the victim," she said. "In this age of victims' rights, if I were the lawyer I would be playing that card too." But prosecutors have consistently argued that dismissing the Polanski case would be a miscarriage of justice, allowing a man who "drugged and raped a 13-year-old child" to go free. Polanski's attorneys back up the allegation with a DVD of the documentary, a script, a copy of Polanski's 1977 pre-sentencing report and various court transcripts, interviews and declarations. They paint a picture of backroom conversations between a prosecutor itching for a piece of the case and a judge so image conscious that he kept a scrapbook of media clippings, asked lawyers to "stage" Polanski's sentencing hearing and feared criticism if he didn't send the director to prison. Allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct are commonly raised on appeal, but only a small percentage of these appeals succeed. Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The director, his lawyer and the prosecutor handling the case believed they'd hammered out a deal that would spare the young victim a public trial and Polanski jail time, according to the filing. The first surprise came when Judge Laurence J. Rittenband sent Polanski to prison for "diagnostic testing" to determine whether he was what then was called a "mentally disturbed sex offender." (The results came in after Polanski spent 42 days at a maximum security prison. He wasn't.) The second surprise came on the eve of sentencing, when Rittenband informed the attorneys that he was inclined to send Polanski back to prison for another 48 days. Polanksi fled the United States and has been living in exile in France ever since. Previous attempts to resolve the case failed, including a recently disclosed secret negotiation in 1997. The sticking point has always been Polanski's refusal to come to court because he would face almost certain arrest the moment he set foot in the United States. As a director, Polanski is best known for the films "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist," a 2002 drama about the Holocaust that won him the Oscar for best director. But he is also known for a personal life tinged with tragedy. He was born in France and moved to Poland with his parents as a small child. Later, he escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto and hid from the Nazis with the help of strangers. His mother died at Auschwitz. He endured the anti-Semitism of post-war Europe, attended film school and directed "Knife in the Water," which won a 1963 Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film. He then came to Southern California to make "Rosemary's Baby." As he was making his mark in Hollywood, Polanski was also making headlines in connection with two lurid Los Angeles crimes in the 1960s and '70s. Polanski was filming in Europe when members of Charles Manson's "family" butchered the director's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four others in August 1969. Eight years later, he stood accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and a sliver of a quaalude tablet and performing various sex acts, including intercourse, with her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house. Nicholson was not at home, but his girlfriend at the time, actress Anjelica Huston, was. According to a probation report contained in the filing, Huston described the victim as "sullen." She added, "She appeared to be one of those kind of little chicks between -- could be any age up to 25. She did not look like a 13-year-old scared little thing." Huston said Polanski did not strike her as the type of man who would force himself on a young girl. "I don't think he's a bad man," she said in the report. "I think he's an unhappy man." As she has from the beginning, the victim says Polanksi shouldn't go to prison. Samantha Geimer, now 45, married and a mother of three children, sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement. She long ago came forward and made her identity public -- mainly, she said, because she was disturbed by how the criminal case had been handled. Earlier this month she filed a court declaration accusing prosecutors of victimizing her yet again by publicizing graphic details of the sexual encounter. The makers of the documentary also talked with people who played roles behind the scenes. From those interviews, the tale of alleged backroom dealings emerged. Former prosecutor David Wells was regularly assigned to Rittenband's Santa Monica courtroom. He handled routine matters and told the filmmakers he had the judge's ear. "I was in the court every day," he said in an interview with the filmmakers. "So Rittenband [would] ask me questions about the thing because he counted on me, or whoever was his favorite DA at the time, to advise him on what the -- what the law was, criminal law. He was very good at civil law, but criminally, he left that to his DAs to do." Although he was involved in the early stages of the investigation, Wells was taken off the Polanski case. He said he was "miffed" at the way it was handled because he believed Polanski should go to jail. Wells recommended the 90 days of diagnostic testing to the judge because Polanski would be in a prison setting but couldn't appeal, he said. Wells told the filmmakers he showed the judge a photo of the director at an Oktoberfest celebration while the sentence was pending. "I took the picture into Judge Rittenband. I said, 'Judge,' I said, 'Look here. He's flipping you off ...' And I said, 'Haven't you had enough of this?' And then he exploded and what happened happened." Polanski's attorneys said the conversations were improper "ex parte" communications -- and nothing short of prosecutorial misconduct. Legal ethics and rules of criminal procedure usually bar one party in a case from discussing it with the judge unless the other side is present. Wells could not be reached for comment. His voice mail was full, and was not accepting new messages. But he recently told the Los Angeles Times that he did nothing wrong and that he still strongly feels Polanski should go to prison. It will be Judge Peter Espinoza's call on how to handle a celebrity case that appears to have been snakebitten from the start. CNN's Jack Hannah contributed to this report.

NEW: Judge denies motion to throw out charges, at least until director appears . Roman Polanski fled U.S. before his sentencing in '70s . Director acknowledged having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor . Previous attempts to resolve the 1977 sex case have failed .

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(CNN) -- Police say they believe they know who killed a 31-year-old Southern Illinois woman and her two young sons, but are waiting for prosecutors to build a strong forensic case against the suspect before disclosing his identity. Chris and Sheri Coleman are shown with their two boys, Garret and Gavin. "We don't have a warrant for his arrest at this time, so we don't feel it would be prudent to give his name out until the state's attorney determines whether or not there's enough to charge him," said Maj. Jeff Connor of the Major Case Squad. Connor heads the squad that is part of the St. Louis, Missouri, homicide task force. He made the comments during an appearance on HLN's Nancy Grace. Police found the bodies of Sheri Coleman and the children, Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, in the bedrooms of their two-floor home in the St. Louis suburb of Columbia, Illinois, on the morning of May 7. Indications were they had been strangled. The killings shocked the suburb of about 10,000 residents. The Monroe County, Illinois, state's attorney's office is awaiting forensic test results, more interviews, documents and reports, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Watch Nancy Grace on the case » . Connor said threatening messages were found on the walls inside the home, but he would not disclose the exact wording. According to Connor, Christopher Coleman -- the boys' father and Sheri Coleman's husband -- left the house at 5:43 a.m., and drove to a gym to work out. "Shortly thereafter he started calling his house, realized that nobody was answering and on his way back at around 6:50 is when he made the phone call to the Columbia Police Department," Connor said. Connor said Coleman told police he started calling his house shortly after leaving it because he "was making sure the kids were getting up for school."

Bodies of woman and her two children found in Southern Illinois home last week . Police: State's attorney to decide whether to file charges against certain person . Threatening messages found on the walls inside the home, police say . Woman's husband says he left home for gym before slayings, police say .

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(CNN) -- No one expected to find Donna Molnar alive. Donna Molnar's body temperature was 30 degrees Celsius when rescuers found her Monday. Searchers had combed the brutal backcountry of rural Ontario for the housewife from the city of Hamilton, who had left her home three days earlier in the middle of a blizzard to grocery shop. Alongside his search-and-rescue dog Ace, Ray Lau on Monday tramped through the thick, ice-covered brush of a farmer's field, not far from where Molnar's van had been found a day earlier. He kept thinking: Negative-20 winds? This is a search for a body. "Then, oh, all of a sudden, Ace bolted off," said Lau. "He stooped and looked down at the snow and just barked, barked, barked." Lau rushed to his Dutch shepherd's side. "There she was, there was Donna, her face was almost totally covered except for one eye staring back at me!" he said. "That was, 'Wow!' There was a thousand thoughts going through my head. It was over the top." With one ungloved hand near her neck, Molnar, 55, mumbled and tried to scream as Lau yelled to other rescuers. Dressed in a leather coat, sweater, slacks and winter boots, Molnar was carefully extracted from a 3-foot-deep mound of snow that had apparently helped to insulate her. Watch how the rescuers found Molnar » . Then, rescuers got their second shock. "She was lucid, and said, 'Wow. I've been here a long time!' and then she apologized and said, 'I just wanted to take a walk, I'm sorry to have caused you any trouble,' " said Staff Sgt. Mark Cox of the Hamilton Police Department, one of the leaders in the hunt. "And we're all thinking this is incredible, this is really something." "I've been doing search and rescue for seven years, and this is the wildest case I've had in finding someone alive," he said. She was rushed to a hospital and immediately sedated to begin the agonizing steps of hypothermia treatment. "I think the snow must have worked to trap her body heat, and that's what really saved her," Cox said. "This really speaks to what's possible." David Molnar is calling his wife's survival his "Christmas miracle." He wasn't able to speak with her immediately after she was taken to the hospital. But while she was under sedation, he leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "Welcome back, I love you." "My wife, you know, doesn't pump iron. She is strong physically and spiritually," he said. "When people say to me how do I explain how she survived, I said I believe God reached down and cradled her until the rescuers could find her, because there's no rational explanation." In addition to hypothermia, Donna Molnar is being treated for severe frostbite, and her recovery will take months. But his wife's condition was upgraded Wednesday from critical to serious. "That may not sound like a great thing to everyone, but to us, that is the best news we could possibly get on Christmas Eve," David Molnar said. As for Ace, he's still awaiting his reward: a T-bone steak. It's the least that can be done for a dog who, in his own way, paid it forward. "A while ago, Ace was rescued from a home where he didn't belong, and now he got to rescue someone. I can't describe the magnitude of that, what that means to me," Lau said. "He's definitely getting his steak. I'm grocery shopping right now."

Donna Molnar went missing after she left her home to go grocery shopping . Housewife had been buried in snow for 72 hours when a rescue dog found her . She's in serious condition, being treated for hypothermia, severe frostbite . Dog, who had been rescued himself, will be rewarded with a T-bone steak .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Michael Martin, the speaker of Britain's House of Commons, said Tuesday he would resign in the face of widespread public anger over expense claims by lawmakers. Michael Martin, the House of Commons Speaker, has tendered his resignation. Martin, whose statement lasted barely a minute, said he would step down June 21. He is the first speaker to be forced out of office since 1695. Martin said he was stepping down in order to promote "unity" in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Gordon Brown later Tuesday announced recommendations for comprehensive reforms to the expenses system to put an end to the "abuses and misjudgments of the past." Watch how the rules have led to abuse » . He proposed a review of expense claims of the past few years by an independent panel, and the introduction of an outside agency to regulate expense reimbursements, which Parliament currently does itself. Parliament at "Westminster cannot operate like some gentlemen's club," he said. "There has got to be transparency. There has got to be a proper audit." Watch more of Brown's speech » . The reforms are currently only proposals. It is not clear if they will be implemented. Brown also paid tribute to Martin and added that he had chaired a meeting of party leaders Tuesday afternoon to discuss an overhaul of the expenses system. The speaker traditionally chairs debates and ensures protocol is followed. But part of the reason MPs are now focusing their anger on Martin is that his office also handles expense claims. Watch more on Martin's resignation » . Critics say he allowed claims to run amok and failed to recognize the depth of public disgust at the amounts being claimed -- into the tens of thousands of dollars for some lawmakers. Martin was savaged by MPs on Monday after he addressed parliament, with one lawmaker after another demanding to know when he would resign. Politicians across the political spectrum have been under fire after weeks of front-page headlines revealing their expense claims. What do you think about the expense scandal? They included requests for reimbursements for mortgages that had been paid off, members of the same family claiming the same expenses and reimbursement for lavish home furnishings. The justice minister, Shahid Malik, resigned from the Cabinet over his claims, which he insisted were within the allowable limits. The governing Labour Party also cut ties with MP Elliot Morley, a former Cabinet minister, over his expense claims. Watch London cabbies speak out against lawmakers » . The expenses scandal came to light in a series of recent front-page reports in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. The expense claims were to be made public in the summer, but the Telegraph obtained them early. Many lawmakers put in the spotlight by the newspaper insist they broke no rules. London's Metropolitan Police announced shortly before Martin's resignation that they would not investigate the leaking of the expense reports to the press. "The leak of documents is not something that the (Metropolitan Police) would condone," they said in a statement, but felt it was unlikely they would obtain the evidence they need to launch a successful prosecution. The police had not yet decided whether to investigate whether politicians broke the law in their expense claims, the statement added.

NEW: British PM announces recommendations for reforming system . Martin is the first Speaker forced out of office since 1695 . MPs had demanded he fall on his sword as part of changes to system .

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(CNN) -- Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabab seized control of Jowhar, the president's hometown, after a battle with pro-government forces Sunday. An Islamist fighter mans a position in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday. Jowhar is a major town 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Mogadishu, the capital. "All businesses are closed and residents are already fleeing while Al-Shabab are roaming the streets," a local journalist said. The town had been under the control of forces backing the transitional government, which is scrambling to cope with deadly advances from Al-Shabab in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. The United States says the group is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network, and the U.S. backed an Ethiopian invasion that drove the ICU from power in 2006. After seizing control of Jowhar on Sunday, the rebels started conducting "search operations in the police station and the provincial headquarters of the town," the journalist added. The clashes extended into the suburbs of the town, where sporadic fighting was going on between the rebels and government forces, said the journalist, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. The town's seizure comes amid escalating tension between Somalia's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia, which has waged days-long attacks in the capital. In the latest round of violence, one person was killed and 15 others wounded when mortars slammed into a police academy in Mogadishu on Sunday. Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded, Somali officials said Friday. The east African nation has not had an effective government since 1991. Last week, a spokesman for the rebel group said that it had successfully recruited more fighters. "It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government," said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub, a spokesman for Al-Shabab. "There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us." The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, the spokesman said. Somalia's new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, recently approved implementing sharia, but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form. Meanwhile, a powerful Islamist warlord defected to the government Saturday after he disagreed with rebel Islamist groups on the war against the transitional government. The warlord, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamud Siad Indha Ade, was the military commander of Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is suspected by the United States of being a terrorist.

Group Al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda, according to the U.S. Clashes between rebels and government killed 103, wounded 420, officials say . Al-Shabab recently said it has been successful at recruiting more members .

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A military offensive to rid Pakistan's northwest of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters has killed more than 1,000 militants since it began in full force earlier this month, the country's interior ministry said Sunday. A Pakistani girl displaced by the offensive against the Taliban rests at a camp Saturday north of Islamabad. Officials also said that only 2 percent of the North West Frontier Province remains under Taliban control as a result of the operation. Both claims were difficult to verify independently. The government did not say whether the operation resulted in civilian casualties, or how many people it displaced. The United Nations said Saturday that more than a million people have been displaced as a result of the two-week-old offensive. The U.S-led coalition and NATO -- based in Afghanistan -- have long said Pakistan is not being proactive enough in battling militants who are launching attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border. Pakistan has denied the claim. But the country's military launched an intense operation to rout out militants from the area after Taliban fighters took control of a district just 60 miles from the capital, Islamabad. The control of the Buner district brought the Taliban closer to the capital of the nuclear-armed country than it had been since it mounted its insurgency. Watch car bomb, drone attack in Pakistan » .

Pakistani troops fighting to oust Taliban militants from volatile province . U.S-led coalition and NATO, based in Afghanistan, have long criticized Pakistan . Islamabad, coalition says, not effective in halting border attacks from inside Pakistan . Pakistan has denied the claims, has launched operations to rout out militants .

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(CNN) -- Clashes between Somalia's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia left 103 people dead and 420 others wounded, Somali officials said Friday. The fighting in Mogadishu between the rebel group and the government has raged for nine days. The fighting in Mogadishu between the rebel group and the government has raged for nine days, said Farhan Ali Mohamud, information minister of the Somali government. Human rights groups deplored the high number of casualties, urging both sides to comply with international law in respect to the civilian population. Thousands of families have fled the capital, Mogadishu, seeking a safer environment in camps south of the city. "The people of Somalia have once again been subjected to unbearable violence," said Pascal Mauchle, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia. "The daily struggle for survival is exhausting their capacity to cope." Humanitarian groups expressed concern, too, that Somalis will not have access to medical care. The international medical agency Doctors Without Borders said it was forced to close an outpatient clinic in Mogadishu to ensure safety for its staff. "With so few medical facilities available in Somalia, it is crucial that people are able to access those that are still functioning," said Alfonso Laguna, head of the agency in the region. The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia law, or Islamic law, the spokesman said. Somalia's new President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has recently approved implementing sharia law, but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form. A spokesman for the rebel group said it has recruited many fighters for the battle against the government. "It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government. There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us," said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub, a spokesman for al-Shabaab. Abdiraman Abdi Shakur Warsame, minister of international cooperation for Somalia's transitional government, issued a stern warning to the rebels in an address to a young audience celebrating Somali youth day at the capital. "The government is determined to defend itself from these religious gangs who are covering in the name of Islam and I assure you that in the course of coming days, we will eliminate these elements and some of them will be forced out of the country," Warsame said. The U.S. Embassy in Kenya released a statement about the fighting. "The extremists who are instigating these attacks have no regard for the well-being of Somalis and are undermining the peaceful efforts of the legitimate government to further national reconciliation," the statement said. "The United States is particularly disturbed at reports that foreign fighters and those who rejected dialogue in 2006 are participating in this effort to forcibly remove a legitimate Somali government from power." Journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report.

Government forces are fighting a rebel group in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu . Somali officials say 103 people have been killed, hundreds more wounded . Rebel fighters want a stricter form of sharia law introduced in Somalia . Fighting started in early May, rebels say they're recruiting more supporters .

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(CNN) -- She had many plans for the future: to go to college, start a career, meet the man of her dreams, raise a family -- when the time was right. Expert: "There's a big disconnect between pregnancy rates and what Latina families want and value." It was all cut off by an unexpected pregnancy. The baby became her life, consuming her energy and forcing her dreams to the back burner of her life. She is 19 or younger and Latina, and has had her first baby. It's not what she wanted. Nor did her parents, who are the greatest influence on her decisions about sex, according to a wide-ranging survey released Tuesday by experts on the Hispanic community in the United States. The survey also found that 84 percent of Latino teens and 91 percent of Latino parents believe that graduating from college or university or having a promising career is the most important goal for a teen's future. Somewhere along the way, the aspirations fail to match up to reality. The survey attempts to examine some of the reasons for the disparity and why Latinas now have the highest teen birth rate among all ethnic and racial groups in the United States. "There's a big disconnect between pregnancy rates and what Latina families want and value," said Ruthie Flores, senior manager of the National Campaign's Latino Initiative. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 53 percent of Latinas get pregnant in their teens, about twice the national average. After a period of decline, the birth rate for U.S. teenagers 15 to 19 years rose in 2007 by about 1 percent, to 42.5 births per 1,000, according to preliminary data in a March 2009 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. In 2007, the birth rate among non-Hispanic whites ages 15 to 19 was 27.2 per 1,000, and 64.3 per 1,000 for non-Hispanic black teens in the same age range. The teen birth rate among Hispanic teens ages 15 to 19 was 81.7 per 1,000. Of the 759 Latino teens surveyed, 49 percent said their parents most influenced their decisions about sex, compared with 14 percent who cited friends. Three percent cited religious leaders, 2 percent teachers and 2 percent the media. Watch more on the survey results » . Three-quarters of Latino teens said their parents have talked to them about sex and relationships, but only half said their parents discussed contraception. The survey also found that: . • 74 percent of Latino teens believe that parents send one message about sex to their sons and a different message altogether to their daughters, possibly related to the Latino value of machismo. • Latino teens believe that the most common reason teens do not use contraception is that they are afraid their parents might find out. • 72 percent of sexually experienced teens say they wish they had waited. • 34 percent of Latino teens believe that being a teen parent would prevent them from reaching their goals, but 47 percent say being a teen parent would simply delay them from reaching their goals. • 76 percent said it is important to be married before starting a family. Flores said it is crucial to understand the beliefs and attitudes that influence teen behavior in order to reduce the high rates of Hispanic teen pregnancy. The survey, co-sponsored by the Hispanic advocacy group National Council of La Raza, was an attempt to to do just that. She said that despite a rich culture and the growing influence of Hispanics in America, the Latino community disproportionately suffers from troubling social indicators. Consider that fewer than six in 10 Latino adults in the United States have a high school diploma. Latino teens are more likely to drop out than their non-Hispanic counterparts, and of all the children living in poverty, 30 percent are Latino. "Teen pregnancy is not an isolated issue," Flores said. "It's related to poverty, to dropout rates. That's going to have an impact on our national as a whole." Flores said 69 percent of Latino teen moms drop out of high school, and the children of teen mothers are less likely to do well in school themselves and often repeat grades. "That has a big economic impact," Flores said. It's an impact that is sure to be noticed. The nation's 45 million Latinos constitute the largest minority group in the United States with a growth rate twice that of the general population. That means by 2025, one-quarter of all American teens will be Latinos.

53 percent of Latinas are pregnant by their 20th birthday, survey finds . Survey: Most feel that college, career are key to their future . Most teens in study believe that parents give conflicting messages .

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(CNN) -- Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabab seized control of Jowhar, the president's hometown, after a battle with pro-government forces Sunday. An Islamist fighter mans a position in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday. Jowhar is a major town 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Mogadishu, the capital. "All businesses are closed and residents are already fleeing while Al-Shabab are roaming the streets," a local journalist said. The town had been under the control of forces backing the transitional government, which is scrambling to cope with deadly advances from Al-Shabab in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. The United States says the group is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network, and the U.S. backed an Ethiopian invasion that drove the ICU from power in 2006. After seizing control of Jowhar on Sunday, the rebels started conducting "search operations in the police station and the provincial headquarters of the town," the journalist added. The clashes extended into the suburbs of the town, where sporadic fighting was going on between the rebels and government forces, said the journalist, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. The town's seizure comes amid escalating tension between Somalia's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia, which has waged days-long attacks in the capital. In the latest round of violence, one person was killed and 15 others wounded when mortars slammed into a police academy in Mogadishu on Sunday. Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded, Somali officials said Friday. The east African nation has not had an effective government since 1991. Last week, a spokesman for the rebel group said that it had successfully recruited more fighters. "It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government," said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub, a spokesman for Al-Shabab. "There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us." The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, the spokesman said. Somalia's new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, recently approved implementing sharia, but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form. Meanwhile, a powerful Islamist warlord defected to the government Saturday after he disagreed with rebel Islamist groups on the war against the transitional government. The warlord, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamud Siad Indha Ade, was the military commander of Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is suspected by the United States of being a terrorist.

Group Al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda, according to the U.S. Clashes between rebels and government killed 103, wounded 420, officials say . Al-Shabab recently said it has been successful at recruiting more members .

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Editor's note: Eve Ensler is the playwright of "The Vagina Monologues" and the founder of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day has funded over 10,000 community-based anti-violence programs and launched safe houses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. This commentary was adapted from remarks Ensler made Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs and the Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues. Playwright Eve Ensler says conflict in Congo is taking a terrible toll on women and girls. (CNN) -- I write today on behalf of countless V-Day activists worldwide, and in solidarity with my many Congolese sisters and brothers who demand justice and an end to rape and war. It is my hope that these words and those of others will break the silence and break open a sea of action to move Congolese women toward peace, safety and freedom. My play, "The Vagina Monologues," opened my eyes to the world inside this world. Everywhere I traveled with it scores of women lined up to tell me of their rapes, incest, beatings, mutilations. It was because of this that over 11 years ago we launched V-Day, a worldwide movement to end violence against women and girls. The movement has spread like wildfire to 130 countries, raising $70 million. I have visited and revisited the rape mines of the world, from defined war zones like Bosnia, Afghanistan and Haiti to the domestic battlegrounds in colleges and communities throughout North America, Europe and the world. My in-box -- and heart -- have been jammed with stories every hour of every day for over a decade. Nothing I have heard or seen compares with what is going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where corporate greed, fueled by capitalist consumption, and the rape of women have merged into a single nightmare. Femicide, the systematic and planned destruction of the female population, is being used as a tactic of war to clear villages, pillage mines and destroy the fabric of Congolese society. In 12 years, there have been 6 million dead men and women in Congo and 1.4 million people displaced. Hundreds and thousands of women and girls have been raped and tortured. Babies as young as 6 months, women as old as 80, their insides torn apart. What I witnessed in Congo has shattered and changed me forever. I will never be the same. None of us should ever be the same. I think of Beatrice, shot in her vagina, who now has tubes instead of organs. Honorata, raped by gangs as she was tied upside down to a wheel. Noella, who is my heart -- an 8-year-old girl who was held for 2 weeks as groups of grown men raped her over and over. Now she has a fistula, causing her to urinate and defecate on herself. Now she lives in humiliation. I was in Bosnia during the war in 1994 when it was discovered there were rape camps where white women were being raped. Within two years there was adequate intervention. Yet, in Congo, femicide has continued for 12 years. Why? Is it that coltan, the mineral that keeps our cell phones and computers in play, is more important than Congolese girls? Is it flat-out racism, the world's utter indifference and disregard for black people and black women in particular? Is it simply that the UN and most governments are run by men who have never known what it feels like to be raped? What is happening in Congo is the most brutal and rampant violence toward women in the world. If it continues to go unchecked, if there continues to be complete impunity, it sets a precedent, it expands the boundaries of what is permissible to do to women's bodies in the name of exploitation and greed everywhere. It's cheap warfare. The women in Congo are some of the most resilient women in the world. They need our protection and support. Western governments, like the United States, should fund a training program for female Congolese police officers. They should address our role in plundering minerals and demand that companies trace the routes of these minerals. Make sure they are making and selling rape-free-products. Supply funds for women's medical and psychological care and seed their economic empowerment. Put pressure on Rwanda, Congo, Uganda and other countries in the Great Lakes region to sit down with all the militias involved in this conflict to find a political solution. Military solutions are no longer an option and will only bring about more rape. Most of all, we must support the women. Because women are at the center of this horror, they must be at the center of the solutions and peace negotiations. Women are the future of Congo. They are its greatest resource. Sadly, we are not the first to testify about these atrocities in Congo. I stand in a line of many who have described this horror. Still, in Eastern Congo, 1,100 women a month are raped, according to the United Nations' most recent report. What will the United States government, what will all of you reading this, do to stop it? Let Congo be the place where we ended femicide, the trend that is madly eviscerating this planet -- from the floggings in Pakistan, the new rape laws in Afghanistan, the ongoing rapes in Haiti, Darfur, Zimbabwe, the daily battering, incest, harassing, trafficking, enslaving, genital cutting and honor killing. Let Congo be the place where women were finally cherished and life affirmed, where the humiliation and subjugation ended, where women took their rightful agency over their bodies and land. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Eve Ensler.

Eve Ensler: War in Congo is targeting girls and women . She says rape is being used as a weapon, with 1,100 raped each month . Western governments, including the U.S., need to protect Congo's women, she says .

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PARKLAND, Florida (CNN) -- Sherri and Ira Rojhani stopped paying the mortgage on their 2-year-old South Florida home in April, victims not of a troubled economy, but, they say, of drywall from China that they believe is making them sick. An air conditioning unit in a Florida, is blackened and corroded from Chinese drywall, homeowners say. They join a growing list of homeowners in 13 states who face foreclosure or the prospect of paying both their mortgage and rent on alternate housing as they seek relief from what they describe as corrosive gasses emitted from the Chinese drywall. The drywall is now the subject of several scientific studies. "Families are being forced to make health decisions based on financial consideration, and that is fundamentally flawed," said Sherri Rojhani, a homeowner in Parkland, Florida. "We shouldn't be in a position to stay in a home, based on our health," she said. Homeowners allege the gas is causing home appliances and copper wiring to fail and causes chronic, long-term upper respiratory infections. Federal authorities including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are studying the possible health effects of the drywall. Most of their results are still some time off. On Tuesday the EPA announced that it found sulfur, a corrosive material, in the Chinese drywall samples it tested and that sulfur was not found in the U.S. manufactured drywall samples it also tested. The EPA also found strontium in the Chinese drywall at levels about 10 times higher than in the U.S. drywall. Strontium is a metal often used in manufacturing the glass for television screens. The EPA also detected two elements typically found in acrylic paints in the Chinese drywall but not in the U.S. drywall. The EPA said these results are not intended to establish a definitive link between the drywall and the conditions being found by homeowners in their homes. The CPSC says representatives from the Chinese government are in the U.S. working on the issue. Pointing to the blackened copper on their home's corroded air conditioning unit as all the evidence they need, the Rojhanis say they aren't going to wait for the government studies. They say the air in the home they share with their son, Seth, 18, who is paraplegic with a history of cancer, is giving them headaches and causing sinus infections. Sherri says she's been coughing since February. "What we are doing is discontinuing our mortgage, and saving our money for moving expenses, and for a rental property," Sherri Rojhani told CNN. They stopped paying their mortgage in April. Their attorney contacted their mortgage company, Countrywide, recently bought by Bank of America, almost a month ago with details of their plight. A letter to the Rojhanis from Bank of America's counseling center said the bank intends to move forward with the foreclosure process. That doesn't make sense to Sherri Rojhani. "It's worth zero. They cannot sell it. They face the same issue we do for a potential buyer," she said. Countrywide / Bank of America did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Indeed, banks and mortgage companies across the country may soon find themselves in the same position if homeowners walk away and allow their homes to be foreclosed. "They're having to make choices about their credit and whether they are going to lose their home, but they're always going to pick their health first," said Michael Ryan, the Rojhanis' attorney. According to the Gypsum Association, a trade group that represents drywall manufactures, enough drywall was imported from China during the housing boom from 2005 to 2007 to build 30,000 complete homes. But it's possible that some of the Chinese drywall was used in smaller remodeling projects across the country. So, the number of homes affected is difficult to calculate. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has made clear that not all Chinese drywall is bad. Rather than foreclosing, the Rojhanis suggest the banks team with homeowners against those who supplied the drywall. "It's in their best interests to join us in going after ... the distributors and the manufactures to get remediation," she said. The Rojhanis are now suing their home builder. Joseph Espinal lives in the same Parkland, Florida, area as the Rojhanis, but his lender, HSBC, has given him and his family a three-month grace period in paying their mortgage. In an e-mailed statement, an HSBC spokeswoman, Kate Durham, told CNN: "HSBC does not comment on individual customer matters but we can tell you that our home preservation team members regularly work with customers facing various hardships, to offer assistance." But what happens after that three-month payment hiatus ends is anybody's guess. "It's a great start," Joseph Espinal told CNN. "But I don't see anybody coming up to the plate and saying, Mr. Espinal, I know we screwed you by building a house with toxic chemicals, here's a temporary home, while we repair what went wrong." He's moving his wife and two young daughters into a rental this month, after what he describes as almost two years of sickness and visits to doctors. "We have sinus headaches which lead to antibiotics, and then three weeks, four weeks later, I'm back asking for more," he said. Espinal made a 40 percent down payment on his home. He's concerned and angry about what's happened to his investment. "I don't want to lose my money," he said. CPSC says Florida leads the nation in complaints about Chinese drywall. Other complaints from homeowners are coming from Louisiana, Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, California, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, Tennessee and Washington D.C. Many homeowner's have turned to their home insurance companies for help, only to find that any problems would not be covered by homeowner's policies. "If it's defective, where they have to be recompensated, that would have to come from the manufacturer," said Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute, an insurance industry trade group. Last week, Florida Reps. Robert Wexler, a Democrat, and Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican, were successful in passing legislation that required the secretary of housing to examine the effect of Chinese drywall on mortgage foreclosures and to study the availability of property insurance coverage for these homes. "It is critical that we address this problem swiftly to avoid devastating results in our communities and long-term effects on the health and well being of our families," Diaz-Balart said in a written statement. Meanwhile, Florida's attorney general has warned consumers to be aware of fraudulent companies selling bogus test kits and quick fixes, costing thousands of dollars. There are no quick fixes according to state and federal experts. Sherri Rojhani says she won't be taking any chances. "If the fumes are strong enough to corrode metal, and copper pipe is turning black, I don't need a degree from the EPA to determine if my lung tissue is at risk."

Chinese-made drywall emits corrosive gasses, homeowners say . Mortgage relief sought as value of homes reduced to zero, homeowners say . Residents say they choose between health, foreclosure . Drywall-related problems not covered by insurance, insurer says .

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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Dozens of gay and lesbian rights activists planning a parade in southwestern Moscow Saturday have been detained, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. Gay and lesbian rights activists are detained in Moscow Saturday ahead of a planned march. The arrests included Nikolai Alexeyev, a prominent gay activist in Russia, and his associate Nikolai Bayev, Interfax said, adding that more people trickling into the location were being arrested without explanation. Officials of Moscow's gay community had announced earlier plans to rally at Novopushkinsky Park in central Moscow, Interfax said. The arrests came ahead of Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest, which is being held in Moscow. The contest has a strong following among the gay and lesbian community. Watch police break up the march » . Journalists from various countries gathered at the scene, as police barricaded the park with metal bars. Trucks with soldiers onboard were parked on nearby streets, Interfax said. UK gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, in a statement on his Web site ahead of the march, said it was being held to coincide with the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. "This parade is in defense of human rights. We are defending the often violated human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Russians. They want legal protection against discrimination and hate crimes. I support their cause. "Not all Russians are homophobic, but many are. Gay Russians suffer queer-bashing attacks, blackmail, verbal abuse and discrimination in education, housing and employment. This shames the great Russian nation." The Eurovision Song Contest, which began in 1956, sees singers and groups from a short list of European nations perform a specially written song before telephone votes from each nation decide the winner. In western Europe, the contest is regard as a light entertainment spectacular, with a strong following among the gay and lesbian community. Many fans dress up, hold parties and gather round the TV to watch the three-hour-plus televised marathon. In recent years, however, eastern European nations, which take the contest much more seriously, have come to dominate. The contest is also known for its political edge, as nations either give zero points to traditional enemies -- or, if they are enjoying good relations, the maximum number of points, as a sign of friendship. The most famous winners of the contest were ABBA, who came to attention as the Swedish entry with "Waterloo" in 1974. In 1988, Celine Dion won the contest while singing on behalf of Switzerland. The dance show Riverdance first came to attention as an interval act when the contest was held in Dublin, Ireland, in 1994. The organizers of the contest estimate it is watched by 100 million people worldwide.

News agency: Police barricade park where demonstrators due to meet . Arrests come ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest, being held in Moscow Saturday . Most famous winners of the contest were ABBA, who came to attention in 1974 . Contest is traditionally taken more seriously in eastern Europe .

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(CNN) -- The bodies of young elephants covered in the brown dirt of dried-up wells tell a heartrending story. A baby elephant in the Gourma region of central Mali had been trapped in a well for three days. Reaching desperately for drops of water, they had lowered their trunks, toppled in, remained trapped and died in Mali's scorching heat. The "last desert elephants in West Africa" have "adapted to survive in the harsh conditions" they face, Save the Elephants said Monday. But now, the group says, conditions have gone from bad to worse, and they are living "on the margin of what is ecologically viable." Save the Elephants distributed new pictures Monday that depict the devastating drought and the struggle for survival in Mali, one of the poorest nations in the world. "Six elephants have already been found dead," the group wrote in a news release accompanying the photos. "Four others, including three calves, were recently extracted from a shallow well into which they had fallen when searching for water. Only the largest survived." The youngest are in the most danger, since their smaller trunks can't reach deep into the few remaining wells, the group said. The worst drought in 26 years is threatening the existence of the "last desert elephants in West Africa," the northernmost herds in the continent, Save the Elephants said. The animals, now numbering only about 350 to 450, have been called "the last elephants of Timbuktu," said Jake Wall, a scientist with Save the Elephants. But they're south of Timbuktu, Wall told CNN in a phone interview from Bamako, Mali. "We tend to refer to them as 'the last Sahelian elephants.' " See a map of Mali » . Each year, the elephants trek farther on the fringes of the Sahara to find water. They have the longest migration route of any in the continent, traveling "in a counterclockwise circle" of about 700 kilometers (435 miles), Save the Elephants said. The images are signs of the crisis gripping the northwest African nation. The U.N. Development Programme ranks Mali near the bottom of its Human Development Index. It cites a 56 percent poverty rate in the country, with nearly a third of the population unlikely to live past age 40, and an illiteracy rate of 77 percent. The World Food Programme says the majority of infant deaths in Mali are due to malnutrition. The drought, combined with soaring temperatures, has also led to deaths of cattle, Save the Elephants said. "The stench of rotting corpses fills the air, and what little water remains is putrid and undrinkable by all standards." In areas where the elephants live and search for water, "the normal peaceful coexistence between the elephants and herdsmen is starting to break down and giving way to conflict over access to water," Wall said. There is some hope for the weeks and months ahead. "We're hoping the rains start in June, and that will allow the elephants to start drinking out of shallow ponds until the really heavy rains begin" in July or August, Wall said. But "urgent action" is needed in the interim "to secure water for the elephants," Wall's group said in its news release. Save the Elephants, which focuses on helping elephant populations worldwide, said it has partnered with a foundation and the Mali government in its fundraising appeal.

Elephants dying in Mali are among 350 to 450 left in the area . Save the Elephants releases photos of elephants struggling during drought . Soaring heat is killing cattle, which is leading to water pollution, group says . There is hope that rain in June may provide relief to elephants .

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BIHAR, India (CNN) -- Extreme flooding has displaced millions of people on either side of the India-Nepal border after a river burst its banks, authorities said Thursday. People walk along a flooded railway track in Madhepura, India. In India's northeastern state of Bihar, almost 3 million people have been affected by the worst flooding in decades, and more than 100,000 people have been displaced in southeastern Nepal after the breach last week. The Saptakoshi River in Nepal is the same one that flooded neighboring India's poorest state, although the Indians call it the Kosi River. In some stretches, it is three miles (5 km) wide. Nepalese Home Secretary Umesh Mainali said that of those displaced in Nepal, "more than 40,000 are living in government run camps." Many victims are taking shelter in schools and colleges. Residents were forced from their homes after an aged and damaged embankment on the river burst August 18 in Nepal. Water flowed so forcefully through the breach that it actually changed the course of the river, which now flows 75 miles (120 km) east of its original bed. Bad weather and washed-out roads -- including the region's main highway -- have hampered relief efforts, officials said. The heavy rains have also made repairing the breach difficult. Nepalese and Indian teams have been working separately to try to stem the flow of water, Mainali said. State-run Nepal Television reported Thursday that many Indian citizens are coming through the open border because of the availability of food and shelter. The Indian government said that about 50 people have been killed, revising the figure down from 87 deaths reported Wednesday. The Disaster Management Department in Bihar released a death toll of 12, an increase of two since Wednesday. There was no immediate explanation for the variance in numbers. "Flood is understatement," Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said. "It's a disaster." Watch how India is struggling to cope » . Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, flew over the four most flooded districts of Supaul, Saharsa, Araria and Madhepura, the news agency Press Trust of India reported. Singh announced immediate aid of about $238 million and promised the delivery of 125,000 metric tons of grain to the region. CNN's Sara Sidner traveled by boat Thursday with some of the soldiers and called the mayhem "enormous." "We have seen panic, we've seen sorrow, we've seen despair. ... Hundreds of people screamed to us from rooftops as we floated by." The soldiers were trying to pull people to safety, Sidner said, "but there are simply too many people to rescue and too few boats to do so. People were literally screaming, waving, running with suitcases in water trying to get to us." The Home Ministry said that nearly 153,000 people have been evacuated, and 31,000 are staying in 155 relief camps. About 228,000 homes have been damaged. There was no number provided Thursday on the number of homes destroyed. Madhepura district, where 1 million people live in 378 villages, is the worst hit, officials said. There are 900,000 residents in Supaul and 250,000 in Araria. More than 2.7 million people in 1,600 villages have been affected, thousands of them marooned on thin strips of dry land peeking out from cloudy brown waters of the swollen Kosi River. With heavy rainfall forecast for the next two days, officials worry that the situation will get much worse. Indians call it the River of Sorrow. Every summer, from June to September, the relentless monsoon rains cause the Kosi to overflow, bringing untold misery. This year, though, it swallowed entire villages in areas unaccustomed to water that deep -- with the worst flooding in 80 years in the landlocked rural state. Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and good Samaritans have begun doing what they can: using motorboats to rescue stranded residents, for example, or dropping thousands of food packets from the sky. Watch as boats deliver supplies, provide rescue » . The scale of the disaster is overwhelming. About half the state is under water, a submerged area the size of the entire U.S. state of Delaware. One man told CNN's partner network IBN that he scrounged together 2,000 rupees ($45) to pay a boatman to ferry his family to safety. "We agreed on 2,000 (rupees), and he upped it to 2,700 ($61) just like that," he said. "What can I do? I paid him." But many others stayed put. Nine hundred million Indians survive on less than 85 rupees ($2) a day, a British government study found this year. Many of them live in Bihar, the poorest and considered to be the most lawless state in India. They have nowhere to go. "It's raining here. People are on rooftops begging to be rescued," CNN's Bharati Naik said while touring some of the affected area Thursday. There are "not enough boats. Villagers are crying and extremely frustrated." Officials worry that in coming days, stranded residents may start drinking the contaminated river water, raising fears of an epidemic. "There is no water to drink," one man told CNN-IBN. "We are hungry. We're thirsty. We have to drink something." Roshan Kumar, a teacher from one of the flooded villages, arrived at an army base to seek help for his neighbors. About 30,000 people are stranded, he said. The army said it's doing all it can. Meanwhile, the water level in many areas continues to rise even as hope, among many, is beginning to falter.

India and Nepal battle worst flooding for decades . India says 3 million affected in northeast; Nepal says 100,000 displaced . River burst bank and now flows 75 miles east of its original course . Indian prime minister tours area and announces $238 million aid package .

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(CNN) -- Serbian police are conducting another search for war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic and another fugitive, the office of the war crimes prosecutor in Belgrade said Friday. Ratko Mladic, pictured in 1993, is the highest-ranking war crimes suspect still at large. The search, launched at the request of Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, is being conducted around the town of Arandjelovac, 45 miles (75 kilometers) south of Belgrade, the prosecutor's office said. Serbia is offering a reward of 1 million euros for information leading to the capture of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general wanted by the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in the Hague. A reward of €250,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest of Serbia's other fugitive, Goran Hadzic. Mladic is the highest-ranking figure from the conflict to remain at large following the July arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Mladic commanded the Bosnian Serb military during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The U.N. tribunal indicted Mladic in 1995, along with 51 others, on charges involving war crimes and atrocities committed during four years of civil war. In July 1996, an international arrest warrant was issued for Mladic after investigators collected evidence at the site of the Srebrenica massacre. Mladic stepped down as military commander in November 1996 and returned to Belgrade. But he disappeared after former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested in 2001. The 66-year-old faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over the killing of some 7,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995. He's also wanted for his role in the 1992 shelling of Sarajevo. In 1992, as hostilities broke out in Sarajevo, Mladic led the "shelling and sniping to target civilian areas of the city and its civilian population and institutions, killing and wounding civilians, and thereby also inflicting terror upon the civilian population," the war crimes tribunal contends. The status of Mladic is one of the major stumbling block's to Serbia's admission to the European Union. In April Serbia's government signed a preliminary agreement setting the country on the path to full EU membership. But ratification of the agreement was made conditional on Serbia sending Mladic to the Hague. CNN's Ben Blake in London, England, contributed to this report.

Serbian police search for former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic . Mladic is the highest-ranking Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect still at large . Search conducted in town of Arandjelovac, 75kms (45 miles) south of Belgrade . Serbian EU membership agreement conditional on sending Mladic to the Hague .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The then-senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee urged the CIA in 2003 not to destroy videotapes it had made of the interrogations of terrorist detainees, according to the newly declassified letter. Lawyers for several Guantanamo detainees say the government has defied orders to preserve evidence. Rep. Jane Harman wrote in a letter dated February 10, 2003, that destruction of the tapes would "reflect badly on the agency." The Democrat from California released the letter Thursday. Last month, the CIA acknowledged videotapes were made in 2002 of two terrorist detainees but were destroyed in 2005. Some of the tapes showed the harsh interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. In the case of Zubaydah, the tactics captured on videotape included waterboarding, which simulates drowning, a controversial technique that critics consider a form of torture. Shortly after becoming the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee in 2003, Harman was briefed on the CIA's interrogation and detention program, and the existence of the videotapes. She was told of the intention to destroy the tapes once an internal inquiry into the program was complete. Harman wrote her letter to the CIA's chief lawyer urging the agency to reconsider its plan. "Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future," she wrote. The release of the letter comes a day after the Justice Department announced there is enough evidence to warrant a criminal investigation into the destruction of the CIA tapes. The inquiry will look into whether the CIA or other government officials committed crimes in the handling of the tapes. Congressional oversight committees are independently investigating the tape destruction. The House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Jose Rodriguez, the former head of the CIA covert service who sources say ordered the destruction of the tapes, to testify before the panel January 16. CIA General Counsel John Rizzo, who opposed the tape destruction, has agreed to voluntarily appear before the committee. E-mail to a friend .

Letter: Rep. Jane Harman said destroying tapes would "reflect badly on" CIA . Last month, the CIA acknowledged videotapes were made in 2002 . Tapes showed the harsh interrogations of two terrorist suspects . In one instance, a tape shows detainee undergoing waterboarding .

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HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- The United Nation's International Maritime Organization (IMO) has gathered this week in the shipping hub of Hong Kong to draw up new rules on ship recycling. Ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh are responsible for pollution and health problems. As the delegates meet in the city's Convention and Exhibition center overlooking the harbor, many of the vast container ships that glide past them will end up 1,500 miles away on the beaches of south east Bangladesh. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh take 80 percent of end-of-life ships, according to the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking, but critics of the U.N. convention being discussed fear the problems of pollution and poor working conditions these countries experience through badly regulated shipbreaking will not be properly addressed. Lee Adamson, the IMO's spokesperson, is confident the convention will be "a tremendous step forward in terms of health and safety for workers in the industry and for protection of the environment from end-of-life ships. It will set standards where none previously existed." But those standards don't go far enough for lawyer and head of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Rizwana Hasan. She has been trying to clean up the dirty and dangerous industry through the law courts since 2003. Her passion and persistence led to a Bangladesh High Court ruling in March this year finally forcing the government to tighten its regulations of the trade. It has also brought her the Goldman Environmental Prize in April and increasing international attention. "Now I have an international connection, my opponents are taking me more seriously as a threat," she told CNN. The main objection of Hasan and the nongovernmental organization Platform on Shipbreaking against the IMO convention is that it fails to deal with the issue of pre-cleaning -- the removal of toxic materials from ships before they are beached and dismantled, which is often done by hand by laborers without any safety equipment. "Technical details about recycling are being discussed, but nothing about pre-cleaning of ships. It's the core issue. Pre-cleaning is when the majority of in-built toxic material of a ship is removed before being beached in a foreign country. Plus, nothing is being said against beaching -- Bangladesh's beaches have become a natural disadvantage," Hasan told CNN. Secretary-General of the IMO Efthimios E. Mitropoulos stated in his opening address of conference its aim "is to adopt a new convention on the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, while balancing the commercial and economic considerations of the industry." With perhaps too much emphasis on the economic considerations of the industry, Hasan believes the IMO is in effect legalizing shipbreaking in the name of ship recycling. "They're talking about the responsibility of the ship owners in building new ships, but not about the existing ships and what to do them," said Hasan. More ships to scrap . The ship breaking industry is booming. Single-hull oil tankers have to be taken off the high seas by 2010, but the financial downturn has also become a major factor. With less trade in goods, container ships are being taken out of service and scrapped, as shipping lines can no longer afford to keep them afloat. In turn shipbreaking industries fuels local businesses in iron milling and create local markets for parts from ships, including anything salvaged, from doors and tables to nuts and bolts. Shipping companies often sell their decommission ships to intermediary companies that then sell the ships to breakers yards. Less scrupulous companies will not ensure the ships are as free of toxic materials as they should be before they are dismantled and even change their flag of convenience so they are not bound by the UN Basel convention on the exporting of toxic material. In 2006 legal actions instigated by Hasan were successful in turning away two toxic-laden ships from being beached in Bangladesh. The dangerous job of breaking up ships has migrated from dry docks in industrial countries to other ports across the world, where labor and environmental laws are not strictly upheld. While still happening on a smaller scale in India, it was because of tighter laws there that more ships started being beached across the Bay of Bengal. The bulk of Bangladesh's shipbreaking is done on the beaches around Chittagong in southeastern Bangladesh. Casual laborers often include children and don't have the most basic of protection gear, such as gloves, hard hats or face masks while breaking up the ship by hand and have to handle a cocktail of toxic waste including asbestos, PCBs, lead and other heavy metals. See more photos of the shipbreaking yards » . Accidents and death are common, although Hasan says it's almost impossible to say how many accidents occur; the shipbreaking companies are cagey on the numbers. "I call it exploitation, I don't call it employment. The majority of the laborers are seasonal migrants from the north, the poorest of the poor. They will get three meals and day and rarely some payment, but they will definitely get diseases," said Hasan. Environmental devastation . As well as the human impact, the environmental damage has been equally devastating, with heavy metals contaminating the surrounding land, oil leaking into the oceans, and asbestos released into the air. Mangroves, natural protection zones against floods, have been cut down to make way for the shipbreaking yards and high value beachland leased out to the companies that run them. Fishing, the traditional livelihood of many in the region, has been ruined because of polluted water and few fish left in coastal waters. "Bangladesh is allowing its beach to turn into a dumping ground. It's a classic example of environmental injustice," said Hasan. Yet Hasan is not denouncing the industry completely but the way in which it is conducted. "It's a matter of disgrace for Bangladesh to have this industry in its current form. I'm not saying I want the industry to shut down, because the main stakeholders, the workers have a say in this. They should have a say whether we need the industry or not," said Hasan. There have been improvements in the treatment of workers since the High Court of Bangladesh ruled in March in favor of tighter regulations surrounding the industry. "Until very recently the owners [of the shipbreaking companies] didn't take responsibility for deaths or injuries. After we started filing the cases they have started paying compensation." The cases Hasan won were founded on the U.N.'s Basel Convention on the export and disposal of toxic waste. Although it has provided the means for Hasan and her team to score victories in the courts, the Basel ruling is a set of guidelines where the principal was to regulate toxic waste and not a legally binding rule for shipping. Adamson maintains that the Basle convention and other UN measures to protect ship workers and the environment were "heavily involved" in the draft convention. He also questions the usefulness of a convention that does not get universal agreement. "There is nothing that can force a sovereign state to become party to an international convention should it consider it not in its interests to do so. What would be the value of a convention to which those states were not party? That, I think, is very much at the heart of the matter," he told CNN. Regardless of the final wording of the convention, Hasan's attentions will focus on improving the situation in Bangladesh for shipbreaking workers and the environment. "There's something called natural justice. Enough is enough. Since the workers have been informed that there has been a ruling things have changed; they're getting their compensation. But that's not my goal -- to kill people and then give them compensation. My ultimate goal is to see this industry doesn't pollute and does not kill," said Hasan.

U.N. meeting in Hong Kong to draw up new convention on ship recycling . Eco lawyer Rizwana Hasan claims it won't stop dangerous shipbreaking practices . Bangladesh beaches sites of polluting and dangerous shipbreaking . Hasan succeeded in making Bangladeshi government clean up shipbreaking yards .

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- President George W. Bush called India's prime minister Thursday to push a proposed nuclear partnership that sparked an unsuccessful no-confidence vote against the Indian leader this week, a White House spokesman said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won a confidence vote despite opposition to the nuclear deal. "Both leaders expressed their desire to see the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear issue move forward as expeditiously as possible," Gordon Johndroe said. The phone call took place two days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh narrowly survived the no-confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament. The vote was sparked by concerns from the opposition that India was kowtowing to the U.S. The tentative deal was announced in 2006 and signed by Bush and Singh a year ago. Under the agreement, which will need to be approved by the U.S. Congress, India would have access to U.S. nuclear fuel and technology for its civilian nuclear power plants. That would happen even though New Delhi, which tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998, has declined to join international non-proliferation agreements. In return, India has promised that it would not transfer the fuel and equipment to its weapons program, and it would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect at least 14 of its 22 nuclear plants. The plan would also expand U.S.-Indian cooperation in energy and satellite technology. The plan was approved by India's Cabinet last year, and does not have to be ratified by the parliament. The leaders of India's two communist parties -- which hold about 60 seats in Parliament -- have accused Singh of surrendering India's sovereignty to the United States with the deal. A no-confidence vote would have forced Singh to resign, and required the government to hold early elections unless a new coalition could have been formed. The Congress Party-led coalition has governed India since 2004. Tuesday's 275-256 vote was so crucial to the survival of Singh's government that five members of parliament serving prison sentences were freed to cast votes -- under the watchful eyes of their jailers. Shortly after Singh survived the vote, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino praised the deal as "a good one for everybody." "It's good for India because it would help provide them a source for energy that they need, one that is nonpolluting and one that doesn't emit greenhouse gas emissions," she said. "And we think that we can move forward with this. If their legislature lets it move forward, then we can do the same here and then we'll be able to get this wrapped up."

President Bush calls India's PM to push a proposed nuclear partnership . Indian government won confidence vote in face of anger over U.S. nuclear deal . Five members of parliament serving prison sentences were freed to vote .

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(CNN) -- A struggling German soccer team is offering a refund to its fans who traveled to another city to watch it suffer a 4-0 loss. Cottbus are second from the bottom of the German Bundesliga. More than 600 Energie Cottbus supporters saw their team suffer its sixth loss in seven games when it received a 4-0 drubbing Friday at the hands of another team, Schalke. Cottbus are second from the bottom in the German Bundesliga's ranking and is in danger of being relegated to a lower league at the end of the season. The team posted a Web statement Saturday headlined, "Sorry, Energie Fans!" In it, the team said its players "did not manage at any time to stand up to a high-class opponent with our particular qualities of passion, dedication and one-on-one duels." "Certainly one can lose at Schalke," the team manager Steffen Heidrich said in the statement. "Nevertheless we did not put up enough defense against the class of the individuals of this opponent." The team said it will announce details in the coming weeks of how fans can receive a refund on their admission ticket. "I welcome the apologetic gesture of the team to its fans," Heidrich said. "Real compensation must actually be given in the coming matches." CNN's Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

More than 600 supporters watch their team suffer its sixth loss in seven games . Energie Cottbus are second from the bottom in its league's ranking . The team will announce details of how fans can receive a refund on their ticket .

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YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and an American man who swam to her lakeside home went on trial in the military dictatorship Monday behind closed doors inside a prison compound. Soldiers guard the entrance to Insein Prison on Monday in Yangon, Myanmar. The trial is expected to last about three months, said Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy party. Suu Kyi's lawyer asked the court to open up the hearings but was turned down because of security concerns, Win said. Police put up roadblocks on the streets leading to the Insean Prison near Yangon, with a half-dozen officers at each station. Shops around the prison were closed, according to opposition exile groups. A group of diplomats from Germany, Italy, Australia and Britain tried to pass through the barricades to attend the trial. They were stopped and turned away. "It was a way of signaling our concern at what's happening and the need for the proceedings in the court to take place in an open and transparent fashion," Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, told CNN. About 100 supporters of Suu Kyi waited outside. The American visitor, John Yettaw, is charged with immigration violations and trespassing into a restrictive area, charges that carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Watch more on Suu Kyi's trial » . He is accused of staying overnight in Suu Kyi's lakeside home earlier this month, violating the conditions of her house arrest, according to the country's ruling military junta, which rarely grants her visitors. The central Missouri man was appointed a lawyer selected by the U.S. embassy, Win said. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and two of her maids have been detained under Section 22 of the country's legal code -- a law against subversion -- according to Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Suu Kyi, 63, had been scheduled to be released from house arrest later this month after being incarcerated 13 of the past 19 years. She is now being held in a specially built area of Insein Prison, where Yettaw also is detained, a U.S. Embassy official told CNN on Friday. The timing of Suu Kyi's detention raised suspicion among her supporters, who said the government's action was an excuse to extend her house arrest. Watch former U.S. president Jimmy Carter discuss Aung San Suu Kyi » . "This is the cunning plan of the regime to put Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in continuous detention beyond the six years allowed by the law they used to justify the detention of her," said the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a pro-democracy group fighting for her release. "Daw" is an honorific. The southeast Asian country was known as Burma before the military government changed it to Myanmar. Those who oppose the junta still use the old name. Suu Kyi's lawyer, U Kyi Win, blamed her prison detention on Yettaw. Local media said Yettaw, a 53-year-old former military serviceman from Falcon, Missouri, swam almost two miles across Inya Lake on May 3 and sneaked into Suu Kyi's home. Police maintain a round-the-clock presence outside the house. And swimming in the lake is forbidden. U Kyi Win told CNN that Yettaw arrived at his client's house that day and that she asked him to leave immediately. U Kyi Win said Yettaw refused to leave, first saying he didn't want to swim in daylight for fear of being captured, and later blaming leg cramps. Yettaw finally left May 5. Suu Kyi didn't tell authorities about the visit because she didn't want Yettaw or anyone else to get in trouble, Win said, nothing that several of her party members and supporters are already in jail. He added that Yettaw would likely be in the courtroom during the trial. Little else is known about Yettaw's role in the Myanmar incident or his intentions, apart from local media reports that said Yettaw, a diabetic, told Suu Kyi's two housekeepers he was tired and hungry after the swim and they offered him food. Some previous media reports referred to him as John William Yeattaw. He appeared healthy and in good spirits at a hearing on Friday at Insein Prison, the U.S. Embassy official said. The defense will argue that Yettaw entered Suu Kyi's home due to poor government security, said Jared Genser, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who is one of the attorneys on her defense team. "Frankly, she does not believe she did any offense," Genser said. He noted that Insein Prison houses many political prisoners, and the conditions are poor for even a young, healthy person. Tuberculosis is rampant, mosquitoes and other insects are numerous, and nighttime temperatures at the prison frequently reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit (29-32 Celsius) with no fresh air traveling through the facility, Genser said. "There is deep reason to be concerned with her detention," he said. "Insein is a notorious prison. It is filthy. ... When you combine that with her health concerns, it is very worrying." Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement and the focus of a global campaign to free her. Her National League for Democracy party won over 80 percent of the legislative seats in 1990, but she was disqualified from serving because of her house arrest, and the military junta ignored the results. It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. CNN's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on trial with U.S. man . John Yettaw is charged with trespassing into restrictive area . Suu Kyi's supporters call charges an excuse to extend her house arrest . The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was scheduled to end 13 years of house arrest .

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(CNN) -- Move over Wonder Woman and Lois Lane - Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are breaking into the world of comic books. No capes, no tights: Female Force stars Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy. Washington-based publisher Bluewater Productions released a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on March 11. The company says it has already sold 7,500 copies of each to distributors. "We really want to show strong, independent, female role models in comics," said Darren Davis, president of Bluewater Productions. Another company released comics about President Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain during the presidential election. Then they decided that Hillary Clinton's story needed to be told. "She was the first [major] female presidential candidate, so we just started with [her], and there was so much interest in it," said Jason Schultz, executive vice president of Bluewater Productions. The first two issues in Female Force, already released, feature Clinton and Palin. The next two will feature Caroline Kennedy and First Lady Michelle Obama. The Michelle Obama comic is expected to be released in April, and has pre-sold 28,000 copies. The next set will feature other "strong, independent women" such as Princess Diana, Schultz said. Comic fans approve of the idea. "I think it just says, like, that women are important," one comic book fan told CNN. Another added, "It shows that comics aren't just about guys in tights beating each other up -- it's about information, it's about understanding people a little better," said another reader. Richard Laermer, CEO of a public relations firm and author of several books on marketing, said he's not surprised. "We're in a very politically minded time right now," he said. The creators expect to expand the comic book world to a larger demographic with the books. "It's bringing a whole new demographic to comic books," Schultz said. "It just shows little girls, young women, that they can be anything they want," he added. Mary Ellen Balchunis, an assistant professor of political science at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said "getting girls [interested in politics] at a younger age is brilliant." "I think it's great that they're doing these comic books," Balchunis said. "In the past, women have shown a low level of political efficacy." She said the choices are "fabulous," because "these are the women who are at the top of the totem pole right now." Each comic will be biographical, Schultz said. "With Hillary, it starts with her life and ends up with her as Secretary of State." "It would be fun to see how the superhero Hillary sort of pushes her way forth and shows people what she did in her life. To me that's just awesome," said Laermer. Another professor of political science said the way the women are portrayed will be important. "Comic books, by definition, are caricatures, but there are different ways of doing those caricatures," said Landon Storrs, an associate professor of history at the University of Houston. "So it's a question of what the artists go for. If they just tap into familiar stereotypes, then they could reinforce negative ideas about powerful women, even as they are trying to do the opposite," she added. The fact that real, living women are now in comic books is another barrier that Davis and Schultz have broken through, historian and author Trina Robbins said. "It's about time. They've never done a major living woman," she said. "I think what's good is they're doing women in politics and not Paris Hilton." LaNeice Collins reported from New York. Robyn Sidersky reported from Atlanta, Georgia.

A comic book series featuring real women of power has hit the stands . Bluewater Productions series features "strong, independent women" Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton are featured in the first Female Force . Heroes of upcoming issue are Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy .

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(CNN) -- Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, a 54-year-old drug cartel leader whose nickname means "Shorty," is the most wanted man in Mexico. He's also one of the most wanted men in the United States. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera leads the Sinaloa cartel, which is battling for turf along the border. For five years, the State Department has kept a $5 million bounty on his head, calling Guzman a threat to U.S. security. Guzman, who leads the Sinaloa cartel, is a key player in the bloody turf battles being fought along the border. He recently upped the stakes, ordering his associates to use lethal force to protect their loads in contested drug trafficking corridors, according to the Los Angeles Times. The cartel's tentacles and those of its chief rival, the Gulf cartel, already reach across the border and into metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Seattle, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; and Charlotte, North Carolina, Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Joseph Arabit told a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee in March. "No other country in the world has a greater impact on the drug situation in the United States than Mexico does," said Arabit, who heads the DEA's office in this year's border hot spot, El Paso, Texas. See where Mexican cartels are in the U.S. A December 2008 report by the Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center revealed that Mexican drug traffickers can be found in more than 230 U.S. cities. So far, the U.S. has largely been spared the violence seen in Mexico, where the cartels' running gunbattles with police, the military and each other claimed about 6,500 lives last year. It was a sharp spike from the 2,600 deaths attributed to cartel violence in 2007. Once again, drug war casualties are mounting on the Mexican side at a record pace in 2009 -- more than 1,000 during the first three months of the year, Arabit said. See who the key players are » . The violence that has spilled over into the U.S. has been restricted to the players in the drug trade -- trafficker-on-trafficker, DEA agents say. But law enforcement officials and analysts who spoke with CNN agree that it is only a matter of time before innocent people on the U.S. side get caught in the cartel crossfire. "It's coming. I guarantee, it's coming," said Michael Sanders, a DEA spokesman in Washington. Sinaloa cartel leader Guzman's shoot-to-kill instructions aren't limited to Mexican authorities and cartel rivals; they also include U.S. law enforcement officials, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing sources and intelligence memos. The move is seen as dangerously brazen, the newspaper reported. In the past, the cartels have tried to avoid direct confrontation with U.S. law enforcement. U.S. officials are trying to stop the violence from crossing the border. The Obama administration committed to spending an additional $700 million to help Mexico fight the cartels and agreed to double the number of U.S. agents working the border. But $700 million pales in comparison with the wealth amassed by just one target. Guzman, who started in collections and rose to lead his own cartel, is said to be worth $1 billion after more than two decades in the drug trade. He made this year's Forbes list of the richest of the rich, landing between a Swiss tycoon and an heir to the Campbell's Soup fortune. Popular Mexican songs, called narcocorridos, embellish the myth of the poorly educated but charismatic cartel leader. "Shorty is the Pablo Escobar of Mexico," said security consultant Scott Stewart, invoking the memory of the colorful Medellin cartel leader who also landed on the Forbes list and thumbed his nose at Colombian authorities until he died in a shower of police bullets in December 1993. Stewart, a former agent for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, gathers intelligence on the cartels for Stratfor, a Texas-based security consulting firm that helped document Guzman's worth. Just a decade ago, Mexican smugglers worked as mules for Colombians, moving their cocaine by land across the U.S. border when the heat was on in the Caribbean. But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's campaign of arrests and extraditions made ghosts of the Medellin and Cali cartels. The mules stepped into the power vacuum and never looked back. Now they buy cocaine from the Colombians and take their own profits. Mexican cartels now bring in about 90 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States, according to the DEA. Mexico also is the top foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine. Marijuana became the cartels' biggest revenue source for the first time in 2007, bringing in $8.5 billion. Cocaine came in second, at $3.9 billion, and methamphetamine earned $1 billion, a top U.S. drug policymaker told a group of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials last year. Watch how marijuana became the cartels' top cash crop » . The Mexican government recognizes seven cartels, but the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels are the major players along the U.S. border, according to the DEA agents, local police officials and security analysts who spoke with CNN. The cartels' enforcers -- Los Negros for Sinaloa, Los Zetas for Gulf -- are believed to be responsible for most of the violence. The status and alliances of the players continue to shift. Although the DEA and some analysts disagree, others say the Zetas, a paramilitary group of turncoat soldiers and anti-narcotics police, are now running the Gulf cartel. "From what we've seen, the Zetas have taken over the Gulf cartel," analyst Stewart said. "In violent times, soldiers tend to rise to the top." These soldiers are incredibly well-armed, police learned after a November raid that resulted in the arrest of top Zeta lieutenant Jaime "Hummer" Gonzalez Duran. It was the largest weapons seizure in Mexican history -- 540 rifles, including AK-47s; 287 grenades; two rocket launchers; and 500,000 rounds of ammunition. At the very least, the Zeta enforcers now have a seat at the table. The DEA's Arabit testified that the Gulf cartel is now run by a triumvirate. Included is Los Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, a former military man who is also known as "El Lazco," or "The Executioner." The past year witnessed unprecedented bloodshed as the two cartels battled for control of the border's lucrative drug-trafficking corridors. The cartels are fighting over control of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas; Sonora Nogales, across from Nogales, Arizona; and Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California. Two years ago, the turf battle was over Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. It's all about the highways that help move the drugs. Nuevo Laredo is close to the Interstate 35 corridor, and Juarez has easy access to I-10, a major east-west interstate, and I-25, which runs north to Denver, Colorado. Tijuana is also conveniently near I-10 and I-5, which heads north all the way to the Canadian border. Some of the battles are internal, Arabit said. Some are with other cartels. And some, he said, can be attributed to the cartels' "desperate" attempt to resist Mexican President Felipe Calderon's unprecedented attack on drug traffickers. As soon as he took office in January 2007, Calderon called out the cartels. He has deployed about 30,000 troops to back up and, in some cases, do the job of local police. Mexico also has extradited about 190 cartel suspects to the United States since Calderon took office. The violence involves beheadings, running gunbattles and discoveries of mass graves and huge arms caches. Police and public officials have been gunned down in broad daylight. The cartels' enforcers boldly display recruitment banners in the streets. "The beheadings started at the same time the beheading videos started coming out of Iraq," analyst Stewart said. "It was simple machismo. The Sinaloa guys started putting up videos on YouTube of them torturing Zetas." When Mexicans first stepped into the role of Colombians in the mid-1990s, the Juarez and Tijuana cartels were dominant, beneficiaries of their location. Today, they are shadows of their former selves, weakened by the deaths and arrests of their leaders. Juarez cartel leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes died of complications from plastic surgery in 1997. Known as "The King of the Skies" for his fleet of cocaine-carrying planes, he was said to be undergoing liposuction and other appearance-altering procedures to avoid arrest. Three of his doctors were charged with killing the cartel leader with an overdose of anesthetic during his surgery. Two of them later were killed. His death, along with the 2003 arrest of Gulf cartel founder Osiel Cardenas Guillen, set the stage for the ongoing turf battle. When Cardenas was extradited in 2007, Guzman set his sights on controlling Juarez as well as Nogales. Cardenas is awaiting trial in October in federal court in Houston, Texas, where he is accused of drug trafficking and attempting to kill two federal agents and an informant on the streets of Matamoros, Mexico. Arrests and extraditions crippled the Arellano-Felix Organization in Tijuana, and last year, Guzman made a move on that plaza as well. "Right now, they are fighting to survive much like Pablo Escobar," said the DEA's Elizabeth Kempshall, who heads the agency's office in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has become the nation's kidnapping capital, largely because of the cartels' increasing presence. Kempshall said that cartel leaders fear nothing more than extradition: "That is the worst thing for any cartel leader, to face justice in the United States." CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this story .

Sinaloa, Gulf cartels battle for control of drug routes across U.S. border . The turf war has spurred record death tolls with gunbattles, beheadings . U.S. is doubling number of agents at border, spending $700 million . Agents, analysts compare situation to '90s battle against Colombian cartels .

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YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and an American man who swam to her lakeside home went on trial in the military dictatorship Monday behind closed doors inside a prison compound. Soldiers guard the entrance to Insein Prison on Monday in Yangon, Myanmar. The trial is expected to last about three months, said Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy party. Suu Kyi's lawyer asked the court to open up the hearings but was turned down because of security concerns, Win said. Police put up roadblocks on the streets leading to the Insean Prison near Yangon, with a half-dozen officers at each station. Shops around the prison were closed, according to opposition exile groups. A group of diplomats from Germany, Italy, Australia and Britain tried to pass through the barricades to attend the trial. They were stopped and turned away. "It was a way of signaling our concern at what's happening and the need for the proceedings in the court to take place in an open and transparent fashion," Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, told CNN. About 100 supporters of Suu Kyi waited outside. The American visitor, John Yettaw, is charged with immigration violations and trespassing into a restrictive area, charges that carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Watch more on Suu Kyi's trial » . He is accused of staying overnight in Suu Kyi's lakeside home earlier this month, violating the conditions of her house arrest, according to the country's ruling military junta, which rarely grants her visitors. The central Missouri man was appointed a lawyer selected by the U.S. embassy, Win said. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and two of her maids have been detained under Section 22 of the country's legal code -- a law against subversion -- according to Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Suu Kyi, 63, had been scheduled to be released from house arrest later this month after being incarcerated 13 of the past 19 years. She is now being held in a specially built area of Insein Prison, where Yettaw also is detained, a U.S. Embassy official told CNN on Friday. The timing of Suu Kyi's detention raised suspicion among her supporters, who said the government's action was an excuse to extend her house arrest. Watch former U.S. president Jimmy Carter discuss Aung San Suu Kyi » . "This is the cunning plan of the regime to put Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in continuous detention beyond the six years allowed by the law they used to justify the detention of her," said the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a pro-democracy group fighting for her release. "Daw" is an honorific. The southeast Asian country was known as Burma before the military government changed it to Myanmar. Those who oppose the junta still use the old name. Suu Kyi's lawyer, U Kyi Win, blamed her prison detention on Yettaw. Local media said Yettaw, a 53-year-old former military serviceman from Falcon, Missouri, swam almost two miles across Inya Lake on May 3 and sneaked into Suu Kyi's home. Police maintain a round-the-clock presence outside the house. And swimming in the lake is forbidden. U Kyi Win told CNN that Yettaw arrived at his client's house that day and that she asked him to leave immediately. U Kyi Win said Yettaw refused to leave, first saying he didn't want to swim in daylight for fear of being captured, and later blaming leg cramps. Yettaw finally left May 5. Suu Kyi didn't tell authorities about the visit because she didn't want Yettaw or anyone else to get in trouble, Win said, nothing that several of her party members and supporters are already in jail. He added that Yettaw would likely be in the courtroom during the trial. Little else is known about Yettaw's role in the Myanmar incident or his intentions, apart from local media reports that said Yettaw, a diabetic, told Suu Kyi's two housekeepers he was tired and hungry after the swim and they offered him food. Some previous media reports referred to him as John William Yeattaw. He appeared healthy and in good spirits at a hearing on Friday at Insein Prison, the U.S. Embassy official said. The defense will argue that Yettaw entered Suu Kyi's home due to poor government security, said Jared Genser, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who is one of the attorneys on her defense team. "Frankly, she does not believe she did any offense," Genser said. He noted that Insein Prison houses many political prisoners, and the conditions are poor for even a young, healthy person. Tuberculosis is rampant, mosquitoes and other insects are numerous, and nighttime temperatures at the prison frequently reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit (29-32 Celsius) with no fresh air traveling through the facility, Genser said. "There is deep reason to be concerned with her detention," he said. "Insein is a notorious prison. It is filthy. ... When you combine that with her health concerns, it is very worrying." Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement and the focus of a global campaign to free her. Her National League for Democracy party won over 80 percent of the legislative seats in 1990, but she was disqualified from serving because of her house arrest, and the military junta ignored the results. It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. CNN's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on trial with U.S. man . John Yettaw is charged with trespassing into restrictive area . Suu Kyi's supporters call charges an excuse to extend her house arrest . The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was scheduled to end 13 years of house arrest .

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EL PASO, Texas (CNN) -- Marina Diaz knows each day could be her last when she leaves for school each morning. Marina Diaz and Alejandro Caballero cross a U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint on the way to school each day. But that doesn't stop her from making the trip from her home on the dusty outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a key battleground in Mexico's drug wars, to El Paso, Texas, where she attends high school. From the moment she catches a bus to downtown Juarez, she is mindful of her surroundings. This is a city that saw 1,600 homicides last year. She warily watches the federal soldiers patrolling the streets. Diaz, 18, finally relaxes after she clears customs at a border checkpoint and passes the "Welcome to Texas!" sign greeting pedestrians at the intersection of El Paso Street and 6th Avenue in downtown El Paso. From there, it's another five minutes to the Lydia Patterson Institute. She is not the only student making the trip across the border each day. In fact, most of the students in the school do it: About 70 percent of the institute's 459 students live in Juarez. Some are American citizens with Mexican parents; others are Mexican citizens who carry a student visa to any one of three U.S.-Mexico border checkpoints in El Paso that serve tens of thousands of students, white-collar workers and day laborers each day. Students describe their lives and daily challenges » . When she gets to the school each morning, Diaz changes out of her jogging pants and into her uniform skirt. "Because of the people over there, I don't feel comfortable with the men and stuff, so I wear pants," she explains. "You definitely see a difference here. The streets, they are more clean here than they are in Juarez, and I think the people respect you a little more. You don't have to worry about people giving you trouble." El Paso, population 734,000, has long enjoyed the benefits of strong community ties with its industrial sister city of approximately 1.5 million. But the violence and insecurity created by the war between the Mexican government and the drug cartels has strained that relationship. For students at Lydia Patterson, who live in Juarez and cross the bridge each weekday, the small, United Methodist preparatory school has become a safe haven in the months since drug-related violence in Juarez has intensified. "My school is a home for me because I have teachers and they treat me like parents," says Hazel Barrera, 18. "Here, they take care of us and they make us feel comfortable and safe." Lydia Patterson's faculty and administrators -- many of whom are graduates of the school, and also reside in Juarez -- say the school's mission is very much the same as it was when it was founded nearly 100 years ago as a sanctuary for Mexican families fleeing the violence of the Mexican Revolution. "Our students are exceptional, and I always tell them I respect them and I admire their courage because they're living through this horrible time," says the school's president, Socorro Brito de Anda. Watch de Anda talk about how cartel violence affects her school » . "There are some students who've had some very horrifying experiences, and we have to be there for them," she says. "Make them feel safe is mainly what we want to do here, make them feel that there's a place where they can go to school and concentrate on school without having to worry about their safety." Despite the Spartan aesthetic of the school grounds, which occupies a city block in downtown El Paso, most students might agree that Lydia Patterson lives up to de Anda's standards. Hazel Barrera and other Lydia Patterson students help clean the school to pay for their scholarships. By 7:30 a.m., the cafeteria is buzzing with chatter in English and Spanish of students who come in early for free breakfast. In the open-air courtyard that divides a pair of red-brick, two-story buildings of classrooms, students sit alone and in groups, reading books and exchanging gossip. In between classes, they gather in the office of their beloved student activities coordinator, an alumnus who helps them study history and plan activities. After classes, students linger as long as they can before it gets dark, chatting in empty classrooms with bars and gates over the windows and doors. Many stay for team sports or clubs, others contribute to the school's upkeep -- a stipulation of the scholarships that more than two-thirds receive. If a soccer game or yearbook meeting ends late, the school ensures that a teacher, coach or parent escorts the students over the bridge, oftentimes, all the way home. "There are teachers who can take us home because they are close to us and they want to be sure that we come home safe," Hazel says. "I don't feel like it's two countries, I feel like it's two homes." Watch Hazel talk about her two homes » . Since Mexican border towns became battlefields in the drug war, American towns like El Paso have become refuges for middle- and upper-class Mexicans. Many have moved their businesses stateside; the El Paso real estate market is seeing an influx of Mexican nationals and green card-carriers from Juarez purchasing homes and relocating their families. Families that cannot give up their lives in Juarez send their children to schools like Lydia Patterson, which has accepted 25 new students from Mexico since January. The instability in Juarez has sent ripple effects through the school. "We've had more inquiries from parents wanting to bring students to our school because of security, but on the other hand, they're struggling financially because many have had to close their business in Juarez due to the violence, so they're looking for a safe place for their children," de Anda says. "I've had parents in my office crying and pleading for us to take their children. They say the part of the day that their children are in school is the only time they don't fear for their safety," she says. Ask any student walking through Lydia Patterson's fluorescent-lit hallways how "narcotrafico" related violence has affected him or her, and most relay some vignette about a relative or neighbor who was robbed at gunpoint, extorted with death threats or caught in the middle of gunfire. Diaz remembers the time she and some friends were walking to the mall when they spotted a crowd swarming around a body. "They told us that it had happened just a few minutes before, and it was like, wow, if we were there only a few minutes earlier, maybe it could've been us," she says, smiling nervously at the thought. Many of the teens at Lydia Patterson appear trapped between two worlds: one in which society tells them they're not safe, and another in which they feel such fears are exaggerated. The violence in Juarez has curtailed the social lives of Diaz and her friends, as their parents forbid them from going out after school or after dark on the weekends. "It's not that they don't trust my friends or the things I do, but they're seriously worried that I may be in the wrong place at the wrong time and that something might happen to me," says Irvinn Ceja, 16. Watch Irvinn describe how drug violence has changed his life » . Ceja says he is concerned more for his parents' safety than his own. "I think that especially my dad, he's the one who works, he's a salesman, he works in the streets, he has to visit his clients, has to offer his products, so most of his time is on the streets driving and that's a big cause of stress because anything might happen," Ceja says. Parents view Lydia Patterson as a means of elevating their family above the instability of Juarez. "What would have become of my children if they stayed in Ciudad Juarez? Our lives changed the moment we were able to leave the danger, the fear of going out in the streets," says Maria Isabel Munoz Bustamante, whose daughter graduated from Lydia Patterson five years ago, and has a son, Alejandro, enrolled in his senior year. "We were nearly at the point of being another statistic in Ciudad Juarez, just a number." The situation is Juarez also affects students who live in El Paso. Mari Brito says her father's import business has taken a hit, and the family doesn't visit relatives in Juarez as much anymore. Also gone are the days when Brito would cross freely between El Paso and Juarez to hang out with friends. Their contact is now limited to the school day and the Internet. "We used to have all kinds of fun [in Juarez] and now we can't anymore because we don't know if it's safe," says Brito, whose parents sent her to Lydia so she could get in touch with her Mexican roots. Like many El Pasoans, Brito sympathizes with the plight of her classmates and considers it a problem that extends to her community. "I've learned to be grateful that I have the opportunity to live in El Paso and to probably care a little more about my neighbor city," she says. "We're all exposed to it because we know of it and we know the danger of it ... , so we've all been through it."

70 percent of Lydia Patterson Institute's students commute from Mexico . Students, parents say school provides sense of security in contrast to Juarez, Mexico . Lydia Patterson Institute has admitted 25 new students from Mexico this year . School founded as sanctuary for families fleeing Mexican Revolution .

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- India's military on Wednesday accused Pakistani forces of another cease-fire breach in Kashmir. Indian troops in Kashmir go through their drills. This week has seen tensions mount in the region. "Pakistani troops fired six 82-mm mortar rounds in a span of one hour... at our positions," Indian defense spokesman Lt. Col. A. K. Mathur said Wednesday. But the report was denied by Pakistan's army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, who said there had been no "exchange of fire from our side ... of the LoC [Line of Control]," that divides the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan . Mathur said no Indian forces were wounded in the incident, and they "maintained restraint and didn't retaliate." "We contacted the Pakistan army on the hotline and told them to stop the firing so that the situation doesn't escalate," the Indian spokesman said. But Abbas said he had no reports from local commanders of any incident . "This has been their [India's] allegation but as far as the local commanders are concerned ... there is no incident from our side of any kind," Abbas said. The reported incident came after Monday's border clash in Kashmir, the first major skirmish between South Asia's nuclear rivals since a 2003 cease-fire. India maintains that Pakistani crossed the LoC and fired on Indian soldiers, prompting a firefight. Pakistan blamed India for sparking the incident by crossing into its territory in Kashmir. Senior Pakistani and Indian military officials met briefly Tuesday to discuss the incident, in which one Indian soldier was killed. Pakistan denied reports that its forces sustained casualties. Indian and Pakistani forces have exchanged periodic gunfire since May, but Monday's clashes appear to be a serious setback to the ongoing peace process between the two nations. Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony blames Pakistan for 19 cease-fire violations since January, which Pakistan denies. Kashmir has been at the root of two wars between India and Pakistan, both of which tested nuclear weapons in 1998. An 18-year separatist campaign in the Indian-controlled portion of the largely Muslim territory has claimed more than 43,000 lives, according to government officials, although human rights groups and non-governmental organizations put the toll at twice that number. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting the separatists in Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies. India blamed militants from Pakistan for a suicide car bombing outside its embassy in Afghanistan that killed 58 people on July 7. CNN's Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar contributed to this report.

India's military accuse Pakistan of another cease-fire breach in Kashmir . Pakistani troops fired six 82-mm mortar rounds in hour, India says . Pakistani Army denies claim, saying no weapons were fired .

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Editor's note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith" and "Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America." Visit his Web site for more information. He is host of "No Bias, No Bull" at 8 p.m. ET on CNN while Campbell Brown is on maternity leave. Roland Martin says Michael Vick has served his sentence and should be allowed back on the field. (CNN) -- When Michael Vick completes home confinement in July, he will have served the 23-month prison sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges. After his release from a Kansas prison Wednesday, he headed to his home in Virginia to serve the final two months under home confinement, because all the beds at halfway houses in the area are taken. But that hasn't deterred the Vick haters who are still in an uproar over the heinous details of his dogfighting kennel. Yes, reading the details of the treatment of the dogs, including the killing of some of them, could make anyone sick. Yet what's the point of sentencing someone to jail, then having them serve their time and be released if we still want to imprison them for the rest of their lives? Frankly, I'm sick of Americans who talk all day about "do the crime, then do the time," then still want to treat a man like a criminal when he gets out of prison. This doesn't just apply to Michael Vick. Look at all the individuals who are sent to prison, get out and then can't find a job. Why? Because they have the Scarlet Letter on their record, which is a big fat "F" for felon. Don't think I'm looking for any sympathy for someone who goes to jail. I firmly believe that you deserve all that you get for breaking the law. But listening to some of these zealots go on and on and on about Vick needing to continue to be punished is ridiculous! The judge in Vick's case has imposed a number of restrictions. One of them is that he can't ever own a dog again. OK, gotcha. But to say the man shouldn't be allowed to play in the NFL is D-U-M-B. The crimes of which he was convicted had nothing to do with playing sports. Remember Wall Street star Michael Milken? When he was sent to jail for securities fraud, he was banned from working on Wall Street again. I get that. He was an insider and allowing him back into the financial game would have been atrocious. I get it when someone is convicted of molesting children that they can't live within a certain distance of a school or be left alone around children when released. But there is nothing related to Vick's crime that says he should not be allowed to play professional football. What is particularly galling is that, right now, you have any number of football players who have beaten people -- including their wives and girlfriends -- served time for drunk driving or committed other crimes, yet they have resumed their careers. The same goes for teachers, radio and television broadcasters, politicians and others. So is this any different because it involved dogs? Are we to say that the horrible treatment of dogs is vastly different than mistreatment of human beings? The critics will likely say, "These men are role models. Kids look up to them. They should have no business on the field." Yet some of these same kids are living with fathers and mothers who are felons. So are we supposed to remove them from the home as well? Enough with the public bullying. Vick was sentenced and served his time. And now he's gotten out. If you want to be angry with him, fine. But please, cut the sanctimonious crap. He deserves to make amends and get on with his life. If you were in his shoes, you would want to do the same. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin.

Roland Martin: By July, Michael Vick will have finished his 23-month sentence . He says some argue Vick shouldn't be allowed to play due to severity of his crime . He says the crime isn't connected to his career as a football player . Martin: We have to allow people who have served time to work productively .

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GAINESVILLE, Georgia (CNN) -- When 19-year-old Reid Overton wants to smoke a cigarette on his college campus, he has to walk to a distant parking lot and get into his car, but he doesn't seem to mind. "Even as a smoker, I don't like to walk past a cloud of smoke," he says. Reid Overton, a freshman at Gainesville State College in Georgia, heads to his car when he wants a smoke. Overton is one of 5,300 students at Gainesville State College, an hour north of Atlanta, Georgia. A 4-year-old ban prohibits anyone from using tobacco products on campus, including students, faculty and visitors. A smoke-free campus was the brainchild of longtime college president Martha Nesbitt, herself a former smoker. "It's just a healthier place to be," says Nesbitt, "because as you go in a building, you're not going to have to go through smoke. When you walk out, you don't see cigarette butts littered around. It's just a cleaner, healthier campus." Nesbitt reports there haven't been any problems enforcing the ban. Signs are posted around campus, and the policy is prominently displayed on everything from the school Web site to admissions applications. The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation reports nearly 60 college campuses around the United States have smoke-free policies that affect the entire campus. Other schools have limited restrictions, banning smoking indoors in residential housing and student facilities. Nesbitt believes her college is one of the first to fully prohibit the use of tobacco products. Watch more on efforts to curb smoking on campus » . The American Cancer Society says the movement is catching on. "The trend toward a smoke-free country is going on everywhere," says Daniel Smith, president of the American Cancer Society Action Network. "I think college campuses are simply reflecting the same trend we're seeing in society." With the 30th anniversary this week of the nationwide Great American Smokeout, the cancer society is pushing a smoke-free college campus initiative. It encourages campus coordinators to hold competitions and distribute survival kits that include gum and support information. The group is trying to convince students that if they can quit for a day, they can quit for good. According to the cancer society, the prevalence of smoking in the United States is highest among college-age students, ages 18 to 24. While other age groups are decreasing their tobacco use, the cancer society says college students are smoking at a greater rate. Those statistics worry Smith. "We know that 30 percent of all cancers are caused by smoking," he says. He blames the addiction rates among young adults on heavy marketing efforts on college campuses by tobacco companies. "Many people might initially think it's cool. But when they're educated about the health effects, by that time, they are addicted, and it's very hard to quit." Overton isn't all that worried about cutting back on his pack-a-day smoking habit, but he says that long walk to his car has provided some added benefits. "It doesn't encourage me to quit, but it does encourage me to cut back some." That's welcome news for some of his nonsmoking classmates. "I'm not forced to be around all of the smokers," says freshman Matthew Bradford, 19. "I'm not breathing it in all of the time, and it's nice to get some fresh air when you get out of class." E-mail to a friend . Judy Fortin is a correspondent with CNN Medical News.

American Cancer Society: Trend of smoke-free colleges is growing . Nearly 60 U.S. colleges have smoke-free policies that affect entire campus . Cancer society: U.S. smoking prevalence highest among people ages 18-24 .

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(CNN) -- Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood can return home Sunday after a chemical leak forced them to evacuate the night before. Hundreds of residents were forced to flee Saturday after a chemical leak in Petrolia, Pennsylvania. Authorities surveyed the neighborhood in Petrolia and determined that no traces of the toxic chemical remained, said Freda Tarbell, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. A leak at the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant in Petrolia on Saturday formed a cloud affecting at least 2,000 residents -- some of whom fled their homes. Others huddled indoors with their windows shut, authorities said. Three people were taken to hospitals, but officials could not immediately say why. Watch why residents were asked to evacuate » . It was not immediately clear how many people were injured, though plant manager Dave Dorko said all employees and inspectors at the plant were safe and accounted for. Tarbell described the chemical as fuming sulfuric acid, which is also known as oleum. The plant uses the chemical during its production process, she said. The plant produces a chemical called Resorcinol -- essentially a strong glue used in the tire industry. The leak affected between 2,000 and 2,500 residents, Tarbell said. Some stayed the night with friends and relatives and some sought refuge in shelters. Others opted to stay indoors and "shut their windows and doors to make sure the acid cloud was not entering their home," she said. Ed Schrecengost, a former Indspec employee, said firefighters showed up at his son's wedding reception, urging the guests to leave. "It's about as dangerous as you can get," Schrecengost told CNN affiliate WPXI. "It's a very fuming acid. A quart bottle of this material could fill a household in two seconds." Dorko said the leak was caused by an overflow from a tank. The material, he said, evaporates easily, creating a toxic cloud. CNN's Saeed Ahmed and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.

NEW: Environmental official says area surveyed, no traces of chemical remain . Toxic cloud forms Saturday after chemical leak at Pennsylvania plant . Three residents taken to hospital; extent of injuries not known .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Georgia man suspected of shooting to death a 21-year-old up-and-coming rapper at a ritzy Los Angeles shopping center Monday afternoon is being held on $1 million bail, Los Angeles Police said. Rap artist Dolla arrives at the Soul Train Music Awards in Pasadena, California, on March 10, 2007. Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was shot in the head about 3:10 p.m. at the Beverly Center, his publicist said. Police later arrested Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, at Los Angeles International Airport, a Los Angeles Police statement said. No other details were given about Berry, who was arrested on suspicion of murder. Dolla, who was based in Atlanta, Georgia, was in Los Angeles recording his debut album. He caught the attention of multiplatinium R&B singer Akon when the then-12-year-old Dolla was performing with friends at showcases around Atlanta. The two collaborated on Dolla's first single, "Who the F--- is That?" which also featured another high-profile singer, T-Pain. Another Dolla song, "Feelin' Myself," appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006 movie "Step Up." According to his MySpace page, Dolla was born in Chicago, Illinois. His twin sister died at birth due to complications from an enlarged heart. The family moved to Atlanta after Dolla's father committed suicide -- while Dolla, then 5, and another sister watched from their parents' bed, the Web page said. Dolla began composing rhymes in elementary school and decided to pursue a career in music. A source close to the record company said Dolla had just arrived in Los Angeles to work on his debut album. Funeral services, which will be held in Atlanta, will be announced later, publicist Sue Vannasing said.

NEW: Aubrey Louis Berry, 23, of Georgia, being held on $1 million bail in shooting . The rapper Dolla, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is shot in the head and killed . Dolla was at the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles, his publicist said . Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was 21 .

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PADUCAH, Kentucky (CNN) -- The aunt of former U.S. soldier Steven Green told jurors tearfully Monday that "We did not send a rapist and murderer to Iraq" as defense lawyers worked to save her nephew from a death sentence. Former U.S. soldier Steven Green has been convicted of raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl. Patty Ruth, a Texas elementary school principal, told a civilian jury about Green's childhood as a reader who loved to be hugged by relatives. "I do not know how we got to this spot," Ruth said in emotional testimony. "I do not know how this happened." Green was convicted last week in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of murder, rape, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with a 2006 rape-and-murder south of Baghdad. A jury found him guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl, then killing her and setting her body on fire to destroy evidence. Green also was found guilty of killing the girl's parents and 6-year-old sister. He could become the first former U.S. soldier to face the death penalty for war crimes before a civilian court, where he was tried because he had been discharged from the military before his crimes came to light. Four other former soldiers are in prison for their roles in the crimes and the cover-up that followed. Green faces either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. His fate will be in the hands of the jury by week's end. The defense has presented relatives and medical professionals who have pieced together a picture of Green's childhood as troubled and stressful. It included the breakup of his parents' marriage, routine beatings to the point of injury by an older brother and being moved about through Texas by his mother. Ruth, the final witness scheduled by the defense, said that when the idea of the military came up for her nephew, she was unsure the Army would accept him. Even after he received a high school diploma through a correspondence course, she said, "I could not picture or imagine how he could make it through basic training." Ruth said when she saw a picture of her nephew before his September 2005 deployment, she knew he wasn't "Stevie" anymore, standing as tall as his father in the photo at Fort Benning, Georgia. When he returned from Iraq 11 months later, he was "remarkably thin," Ruth said, and she noticed circles under his eyes. Green and his father spent a night at the Ruth home, his aunt said, and she remembered him pacing the yard while smoking. He fell asleep wearing his fatigues, she said. When asked by the defense about the rape-murder plot that left an Iraqi family dead near Yusufiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, Ruth responded, "He's my Steve. You can't stop loving someone." There were other family members in the court on Monday. Green's father, John, an oil field worker from Midland, Texas, looked on quietly. He did not testify. Ruth, who is John Green's sister, noted for the jury that Green's mother is not at the trial this week. The mother is moving and had to attend a going-away party, Ruth said. Final arguments are expected Wednesday.

Steven Green in sentencing phase after being convicted of rape, murder . Green found guilty last week of incident in Iraq while he was soldier . Aunt: "He's my Steve. You can't stop loving someone"

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LONDON, (England) CNN -- Natalia Vodianova is best known as the supermodel who has graced the cover of Vogue, walked the catwalk for the likes of Chanel and Versace. Supermodel Natalia Vodianova's charity plans to build hundreds of play parks for children in her native Russia. But Vodianova has a dream that couldn't be further from the glitzy world of fashion -- to build 500 play parks in her native Russia. Vodianova, born and raised in Russia, was in the country during the 2004 Beslan school siege, in which at least 339 hostages, around half of them children, were killed. Deeply affected by the tragedy she returned to New York, where she was living at the time, determined to do something to help the surviving children. Vodianova organized a fundraising event that generated $350,000 to build the children a playground and she founded her charity, the "Naked Heart Foundation." With an ethos that play is not only therapeutic for children, but a necessity, the foundation aims to provide playgrounds for Russia's urban youth. So far the charity has built 23 playgrounds around the country, starting in her home town of Nizhnii Novgorod, and there are 15 more in the pipeline. "For me, since I started my charity, it has been a very different way of life," Vodianova told CNN. Watch Vodianova take CNN around Moscow » . "Giving back just feels so great. I always try to open each play park with myself present for the children, because it makes it more special for them. I go to very remote parts of Russia are far from Moscow and it gives these children an extra message of love." For Vodianova, this is just the start. She told CNN that her dream is to build 500 play parks in Russia. The charity's play parks can cost anywhere between $27,000 and $400,000, depending on their size and range of play equipment. Vodianova admits, "It's a big dream -- an expensive one!" When it comes to fundraising, Vodianova's secret weapon is her connections in the fashion world. Last year she organized a "Love Ball" in Moscow -- a Valentine's Day fundraiser that counted among the guests the likes of designer Valentino, actress Lucy Liu, singer Natalie Imbruglia, and supermodel Eva Herzigova. See photos of "The Love Ball." » . The event was held in a former royal residence, Moscow's 16th century Tsaritsino Estate. It featured an ice palace made from 220 tons of ice and music provided by British band Razorlight, among others. The highlight was a Valentine's-themed auction, with lots including a private performance from rock star Bryan Adams, bought for $120,000, and a painting by British artist Damien Hirst called "Love is All Around," which sold for $1.6 million. The auction alone raised $6.7 million for the charity. Vodianova admits that the global economic crisis is making it harder to get sponsorship for this year's event and says it will be more low-key than last year. "We are not going to make it a very extravagant event; it's very disrespectful of what's going on in the world right now, with the recession and a lot of people losing their jobs. "We're not gong to spend a lot of money on it, but it's important to keep going," she told CNN. With a husband and three young children, Vodianova says it can be hard to divide her time between family, career and her charity. She describes her charity work as a 24-hour job. "I feel a huge sense of responsibility for my foundation because it's really very important to me. Somehow it became my most difficult baby to raise," she says. But she has no doubt about the value of her work, both for Russia's children and herself. "The biggest thing I can do for my soul is to hear that laughter and to see all these children that come and play on the play parks that my foundation built." CNN Producer Deborah Rivers contributed to this report .

Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova runs the "Naked Heart Foundation" Her dream is for the foundation to build 500 play parks across Russia . The "Love Ball" was a celebrity-filled fundraising event held in Moscow .

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VATICAN CITY, Vatican (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI called for peace in the Middle East and an end to the exploitation of children in the homily he delivered early Thursday during the annual Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Benedict XVI calls for a "conversion of hearts" to help children. He later delivered the traditional Christmas address in St. Peter's Square, sending Christmas greetings in languages including English, Spanish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Slovak and many others. The address is known as "Urbi et Orbi" -- Latin for "To the City and the World." Benedict, 81, called for the faithful to pray for peace to come to "the land in which Jesus lived, and which he loved so deeply." "Let us pray for mutual understanding, that hearts will be opened, so that borders can be opened," he said. The pontiff also called for special consideration for suffering children who are homeless, forced to serve as soldiers or exploited in pornography "and every other appalling form of abuse." "The Child of Bethlehem summons us once again to do everything in our power to put an end to the suffering of these children; to do everything possible to make the light of Bethlehem touch the heart of every man and woman," he said. Watch Pope Benedict deliver his message during midnight Mass » . "Only through the conversion of hearts, only through a change in the depths of our hearts can the cause of all this evil be overcome." Thousands heard the pope, in white and gold robes, speak inside the basilica at St. Peter's -- although Vatican cameras captured some sleeping children who had been unable to stay awake for the late ceremony. Those who could not get inside watched on giant television screens outside in the square. As Benedict was leaving down the main aisle, someone wearing red jumped the barrier. The person was swiftly tackled by security. The pope appeared to slow his step momentarily and take a slight step back as the action took place, but he quickly resumed the processional, waving to the audience. Watch as security steps in » . Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi told CNN she did not appear to pose any risk.

Pope Benedict XVI also calls for an end to exploitation of children . Pope seeks end to violence in to "the land in which Jesus lived" Person jumps barrier as Pope leaves; security quickly tackles person .

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Editor's note: Clark Howard, the Atlanta-based host of a nationally syndicated radio show, will be host of a new television show designed to help viewers save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off during these tough economic times. "Clark Howard" debuts on HLN January 3. The show will air Saturdays and Sundays at 6 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. Clark Howard says there are good bargains in store for those who wait until January to shop. ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Retailers have received the biggest lumps of coal in their Christmas stockings in memory. Americans have been on a buyers' strike all fall and have not been interested in 50 percent off sales, doorbusters or any other promotions to get them to pry open their wallets. In a normal year when Christmas season sales are strong, retailers offer whatever they have left after the holiday, just the unloved stuff that didn't sell, at incredible markdowns. This year is different. You may get some bargains after Christmas, but if you want really rock-bottom prices, wait until January 5. Retailers are going to be stuck with massive amounts of goods and those will be reduced to fire sale prices. If you have money that you can afford to part with, get out there the first full week of the New Year. Everything from electronics to clothing to appliances to furniture will be a deal. Be careful if you shop from December 26 through January 4. The bargains are mostly fake ones during those 10 days because patterns are completely disrupted by gift cards. Most people are off from work between Christmas and New Years, have the time to shop and have the gift cards burning a hole in their wallets. Stores are able to "pretend" to offer bargains in the immediate after-Christmas period and people feel like they "have" to spend right away with store credit from returns and that gift card dough. As a result, the discounts are relatively small. However, follow my way and your wallet will really smile on you. Wait to do returns until after the 5th and those long return lines are gone. Retailers usually give 14 or so days after Christmas to do returns so you are still OK on the deadline and you don't have to wait in lines, which I avoid like the plague. Then think about it: You get the pick of all the merchandise that people returned that has been marked down and you get access to all the stuff that didn't sell that is on final clearance. But that's not all: I love January shopping because you have the stores virtually to yourself. My favorite time to go is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night when you will find more employees than customers in the stores. I do have a special warning about all those gift cards. A lot of retailers that have been selling gift cards this season are not going to make it. Expect a wave of retailer bankruptcies in January, February and March. Over and over again bankruptcy court judges have wiped out the value of gift cards. Don't let your's lie around in a drawer gathering dust after Christmas. Use them over the next month before they go bad. Speaking of stores going bust, don't get fooled by "Going Out of Business" sales, known in the lingo of the trade as GOB's. They are as phony as a $3 bill. When any chain store goes broke, they hire a specialist company known as a liquidator. The liquidator is the one who puts those big going out of business sale banners on the stores and pays those guys to stand on street corners holding signs that say 40 percent, 50 percent, even 60 percent off. But the deals are usually fake. Many liquidators will sell the store's merchandise at a discount, but usually not as good as prices on a regular sale. The real money is made by the liquidator in many cases by bringing in what I call "fake" goods. They are not literally fake, just things that were never sold in the store in the first place. Those items are priced with high prices that are then "discounted" 50 percent or more to fool you into thinking you are getting a real deal. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Clark Howard.

Clark Howard: American consumers have been reluctant to buy this year . He says you may get bargains after Christmas, but big sales could come in January . Howard: January shoppers also won't have to face holiday crowds . He says consumers should beware of "going out of business" sales .

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(CNN) -- Police in Milwaukee are working to track down a serial killer linked to at least seven unsolved homicides dating back more than two decades, authorities said. Five victims (clockwise from top left): Debora Harris, Joyce Mims, Tonya Miller, Quithreaun Stokes, Sheila Farrior. Law enforcement officials in the Wisconsin city have matched the unknown man's DNA with seven women -- six prostitutes and a runaway involved in the drug trade. The deaths occurred between 1986 and 2007. "Six of the victims were women who were working as prostitutes -- high-risk behavior that makes them vulnerable to crime," authorities said. Police believe the killer had sex with the runaway, but she was killed by someone else. The developments have prompted officials to form a local, state and federal task force to investigate the homicides. A state lab is working to determine whether the DNA of at least 23 other slain prostitutes matches that of the killer. "In the past, we might have linked some of these homicides through their method of operation, but theory has given way to technology," said Edward Flynn, the Milwaukee police chief. "Within the last couple of weeks, we have been able to confirm a link." Flynn, who described the killer as an "unknown suspect who conducts his business in secret," said the investigation would require tips from the community. "This suspect has been able to avoid and evade law enforcement for these last 23 years. He has never been arrested for a felony as he does not appear in any DNA database," Flynn said. Police said 42 prostitutes were killed between 1986 and 2007, and that 31 percent of the cases have been solved. There has been a higher clearance rate -- 78 percent -- in other homicides. Of the seven killed, two were in 1986, three in 1995, one in 1997 and one in 2007. The runaway was one of the three killed in 1995. Flynn said there have been "patterned homicides" discovered across the country as a result of advanced DNA technology, citing investigations in Los Angeles, California; Mesa, Arizona; and Las Vegas, Nevada. However, he said there is no link with the Milwaukee cases. In discussing advances in DNA technology, Flynn said there were no matches in 1990s, two around 2000 and the seven have been linked in recent weeks. "We already have determined that five suspects in murders of other prostitutes -- completely unrelated to this investigation -- have been identified because their DNA match open homicide cases. Three of them already are in prison for cleared homicides of prostitutes," police said in a statement Tuesday. CNN's Joe Sterling contributed to this report .

Police in Milwaukee match unknown man's DNA with seven slain women . Six of the victims were prostitutes and the seventh a runaway . Suspect has avoided arrest for 23 years and is not on any DNA database . Investigation will require tips from the community, Milwaukee police chief says .

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(CNN) -- Congressional auditors have uncovered widespread abuse of techniques used to restrain or discipline special-education students in U.S. schools, with some deaths linked to the practices, a top congressman says. Investigators in Utah say a teacher left Garrett Peck in an isolation cubicle for at least two and a half hours. The findings are among those expected from a Government Accountability Office report scheduled to be released Tuesday. The report documented serious problems with the way children with disabilities are being treated in public schools, including cases of children being held face-down on the ground. The GAO report was prepared for the House Education and Labor Committee, which is considering new laws governing what actions teachers can take to rein in disruptive special-needs students. "I think what we're going to hear from the GAO is that very often, special-need children are subjected to the policies of seclusion and policies of restraint that have turned out to be lethal in a number of circumstances," said Rep. George Miller, D-California, the committee's chairman. In other cases, children as young as 6 have been locked away "for hours at a time," Miller said. "What the GAO is telling us is that that policy is fairly widespread," he said. "The state regulations about how to handle these incidents don't exist in about half the states, and in other states you have kind of a patchwork of regulations." The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that state laws governing the treatment of the more than 6 million children classified as having "special needs" -- conditions including autism and Down syndrome -- are patchy at best. Teachers and school staff frequently lack training in correct restraint methods, and in some cases, where improper restraints led to injuries, teachers often kept their jobs. Only five states keep track of incidents where special-needs students are separated or restrained. Parents contacted by CNN commonly said they were not told their child was being disciplined until he or she began to behave badly at home -- a sign of trouble at school. When confronted with complaints, school systems sometimes sought to minimize or deny the allegations, even after public investigations found the charges to be true. And parents told CNN that when they got into a dispute with the teacher, their child was made to suffer as retribution. Some of the most disturbing reports concerned the use of seclusion rooms. Experts have long recommended that children should only be isolated when they pose an immediate threat to themselves or others. But CNN found that isolation was often used as a punishment by teachers to compel the students to follow instructions. State investigators in Utah found a teacher left 7-year-old Garrett Peck in an isolation cubicle for at least two and a half hours after the teacher said he told her to "shut up." While the boy was in the cubicle, the teacher taunted him by playing his favorite video and telling him what he was missing. His parents, Joshua and Becca Peck, said the child has an attention span of about 10 minutes, and they believe that after the first few minutes, he had no idea why he was in the cubicle. "It was so sad. We felt it was a form of torture for him but he, being autistic, he had no way to express it," Joshua Peck said. "He couldn't tell." And Becca Peck said her son had been left in the cubicle with nothing but a magic marker -- which he used to scrawl all over himself. When she came to school to pick him up, "He was covered in marker -- on his eyelids, on his hair, face, clothes, arms, eyelids -- everywhere." "I started thinking, 'What was he thinking?' Was he thinking, 'Why is my mom letting this person do this to me? Why am I here? I trust no one now.' " In Garrett's case, like others cited by the GAO, the teacher remains on the job. And what frustrates experts is that efforts to force unruly children to comply don't actually work. At one school in Pennsylvania, however, teachers appear to have better results using sharply different methods. The Centennial School at Lehigh University serves severely emotionally disturbed children that have been passed from school to school, and even from juvenile justice centers. When school director Michael George came to Centennial in 1999, the school had documented more than 1,000 cases of restraint and seclusion that year. After the school revamped its approach, no such incidents were reported. When they get to Centennial, students can be violent and aggressive. But instead of trying to force a change in behavior, the school teaches the children new skills to get what they need. Children who might be violent because they are desperate to escape an uncomfortable task or environment learn to communicate their discomfort in nonviolent ways. Children who need to move frequently -- a common trait with conditions such as autism -- are permitted to do so, then re-directed to the task at hand. Staff are forbidden from saying anything negative about the children, parents or other teachers, even among themselves. And when a child acts violently, the staff is trained to step aside, rather than immediately attempt a potentially dangerous restraint. On a recent visit to the school, all students appeared to be calm and receptive to teachers. The school's philosophy can be summed up in a question George likes to ask teachers interviewing for jobs there: Which teacher you remember most from your own childhood? "No one ever mentions the person who yelled at them, who screamed at them, who told them to write a phrase a hundred times, who slammed them into closets, who was abrupt, who made them feel stupid. No one ever mentions those people," said George. "Our job is to teach. Sometimes the children we are teaching here present extraordinary challenges; it can be very, very difficult. But that's the job we chose to do."

GAO report uncovers abuse of techniques used to restrain or discipline children . Some deaths of special-needs kids have been linked to the practices, report says . Investigators: Utah boy with autism left in cubicle for at least two and a half hours . Only five states keep track of incidents; many states have no regulations .

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UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Former U.S. President Clinton has been tapped as a United Nations special envoy to Haiti, a senior U.N. official said Monday. Former President Clinton has been chosen to serve as a United Nations special envoy to Haiti. An official announcement will be made Tuesday, the official said. The two-term president has traveled to Haiti on several occasions, most recently in March with his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. At the time, the Clintons voiced optimism at Haiti's potential because of political stability and economic growth after decades of chaos. The Caribbean country is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Official announcement is coming Tuesday . Clinton visited nation in March with his wife and U.N. chief . It is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere .

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(CNN) -- Woody Allen's lawsuit against American Apparel for unauthorized use of his image on billboards ended Monday with a $5 million settlement to be paid to the actor-director by the clothing company. Woody Allen received $5 million to settle a suit with American Apparel. Allen said the case should discourage advertisers from using celebrities' images without permission, but American Apparel's head said he still thinks his company had a good defense. The settlement, announced just moments before jury selection was to begin in New York, interrupted a trial that lawyers had hinted could include a parade of witnesses testifying about Allen's sex scandals. "Threats and press leaks by American Apparel designed to smear me did not work, and a scheme to call a long list of witnesses who had nothing to do with the case was disallowed by the court," Allen said. "I hope this very large settlement will discourage American Apparel and others from doing this type of thing to myself or others in the future." Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel, issued a statement published by London's Guardian newspaper saying lawyers for his insurance company -- which will pay the money to Allen -- made the decision to settle the case. "For the record, I personally think we had a good case," Charney said. Allen filed his suit, asking for $10 million, against American Apparel in March 2008 after the company placed several billboards and online ads using an image of Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew in his 1977 movie "Annie Hall." "I sued American Apparel because they calculatingly took my name, my likeness and image and used them publicly to promote their business," Allen said Monday. "Testimony revealed that American Apparel believed that fear of publicity would keep me from ever taking action, and so they put my face on billboards, on the Internet, and my image on their building," he said. Charney, who said he finally could talk about the case, said the ad was a "an attempt to at least make a joke about" sexual harassment lawsuits filed against him and his company in recent years. "Today, two years later, all the claims in the lawsuits have been completely disproven and yet at the time, some writers characterized me as a rapist and abuser of women, others asserted that I was a bad Jew, and some even stated that I was not fit to run my company." Charney said it was "ironic that I have to explain this to Woody Allen when he has expressed similar frustrations in the past." American Apparel lawyers wanted to call as witnesses Allen's former companion Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn, Farrow's adopted daughter and Allen's wife. Allen's relationship with -- and eventual marriage to -- Previn was scandal material for tabloids beginning in 1992, when she was 21. Allen said the company's lawyers may have been persuaded to settle because the judge made it "clear that the court considered their phony First Amendment ranting and claims of parody, sheer nonsense."

Woody Allen's image was used by American Apparel without his authorization . Allen sued; insurance company made decision to settle, CEO says . American Apparel had used image of Allen from "Annie Hall" to promote products .

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(CNN) -- Pirates captured a Belgian ship and said they were taking it to the coast of Somalia after the vessel was reported missing early Saturday, NATO and pirate sources told CNN. The Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien tracked seven pirates Saturday back to their mother ship. The Pompei, a Belgian-registered ship believed to have a mostly Belgian and Croatian crew, was one of two vessels that came under attack near the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles on Saturday, the sources said. The second ship escaped the attack after a brief exchange of gunfire with pirate vessels, the pirate source added. Meanwhile, Dutch naval forces captured seven pirates and freed 20 captive fishermen after tracking the pirates to their "mother ship" in the western Gulf of Aden on Saturday, a NATO maritime spokesman said. The Belgian government tried to communicate with the Pompei "without success" before the ship was confirmed to have been hijacked, according to an official. See an interactive map of 2009 pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa » . "This morning we received two different channels, a silent alert, that there was a problem on the boat, which is a Belgian boat on its way to Seychelles," Belgium Government Crisis Center spokesman Peter Martens told reporters. "We tried to have a contact with the ship but without success until now." The archipelago where the attack occurred is roughly 800 miles off the Somali coastline. "Somali pirates are getting wilder and out of control," pirate spokesman Ali Sugulle said on April 11. "They go too far away from the Somali [coast] and go to the Kenyan coast even." The European Union, NATO and the United States have been patrolling the waters off Somalia since an upsurge in piracy in the region last year. No NATO vessels were in the region at the time of the attack, said Cmdr. Chris Davies from NATO's Maritime Component Command Headquarters in Northwood, England. Meanwhile, the Dutch rescue operation happened after pirates launched an unsuccessful attack on petroleum tanker MT Handytankers Magic, NATO Cmdr. Chris Davies told CNN. The Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien was with the NATO fleet patrolling the region. After the Dutch disarmed the pirates, they released them, Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman from the maritime headquarters, told CNN. Because the crew was on a NATO mission, they lacked the jurisdiction to hold them, according to reports. The MT Handytankers Magic is part of a fleet belonging to Handytankers, a company that distributes petroleum products in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the United States, according to the company's Web site. Last week pirates attacked a U.S.-flagged ship, the Maersk Alabama, off the Somali coast. The crew regained control of the ship but the captain was taken hostage and held for five days on a lifeboat. The crisis ended when U.S. Navy sharpshooters shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding the captain. Journalist Mohammed Amiin contributed to this report.

NEW: The Pompei, a Belgian-registered ship, was one of two vessels attacked . NEW: Islands where attack occurred are roughly 800 miles off Somali coast . Dutch naval forces captured seven pirates and freed 20 captive fishermen . Pirates were disarmed and freed because crew lacked jurisdiction to hold them .

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(CNN) -- The photograph was shocking: a hooded detainee, in U.S. custody, standing on a box with electrical wires hooked up to his fingers. Images of abuse at Abu Ghraib changed the discourse on the war, says Abdul Rahman al-Rashed of Al-Arabiya TV. That photo, as well as the others depicting detainee abuse inside Abu Ghraib at the hands of U.S. troops, came to symbolize "America in the eyes of the world at that time," said CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. "Those pictures unfortunately became symbolic, emblematic of all the troubles that the U.S. faced in the last four years of the Bush administration, particularly given its war in Iraq," Amanpour said. "Beyond that, it caused a great deal of outrage around the world." It was against this backdrop that President Obama reversed course last week, telling government lawyers to object to a court-ordered release of additional images showing alleged abuse of detainees. Military commanders urged him to fight the release of the photos, fearing it would endanger the lives of U.S. soldiers. The photographs first appeared in a report on "60 Minutes 2" in late April 2004, followed by an extensive story on the abuse by award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker. "It was a big shock," said Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, the head of the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television station. "It hurt mostly the ones who were for the fall of the Saddam [Hussein] regime. ... It was a heated debate in the Middle East at the time -- whether [the invasion] was the right decision and whether the Americans had bad intentions or not." iReport.com: Did Obama make the right call on photos last week? The fallout was immediate, both overseas and at home. A year into the Iraq war, the American public had grown increasingly uneasy about the direction of the war, and the Abu Ghraib photographs gave anti-war protesters the ammunition they needed to rally around their cause and question Bush administration policies. See Bush administration interrogation tactics » . A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll immediately after the photos were released showed that nearly three-quarters of Americans said the mistreatment of the detainees was unjustified under any circumstances. Bush's overall performance rating sank to what was then the lowest of his presidency, 46 percent. The poll also showed support for the war at its lowest since before it began, with only 44 percent saying they believed it was worthwhile. See some of the disturbing photos (discretion advised) » . It was a blow from which the administration, especially then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, never fully recovered. Amanpour said Obama's presidential victory and big wins by Democrats in the House and Senate were proof of that. "The American people said that they wanted their good name, the name of their country, the influence and credibility of their country's standing, to be restored in the rest of the world," she said. The photos did what a print report could not do. They showed front-and-center what human rights groups had been saying for months: that the Bush administration was abusing prisoners within U.S. custody. Some photos showed naked prisoners piled on top of each other like a pyramid. Another showed a smiling female U.S. soldier giving a thumbs-up next to a naked, hooded prisoner. As a result of the furor unleashed by the pictures, 11 American soldiers were tried and convicted of Abu Ghraib offenses, and some officers were reprimanded. Al-Rashed said he had expected violations in war, but nothing like "humiliating individuals in those kinds of scenes." The Middle East has a "bloody, long, bad record about torture of prisoners," he said, but what happened at Abu Ghraib was even more reprehensible because it undercut America's democratic values. "You talk about democracy, you talk about the respect of individuality, the freedom. ... The prison pictures just really made us speechless." "It was something completely new -- something that we had not seen before in all the dictionary of prisoners and torture and mistreatment. It just weakened the argument completely about the wisdom of getting rid of a regime like Saddam. It made the argument for the other side stronger." The photographs had a direct impact within the Iraq insurgency. Just days after the photos became public, American contractor Nicholas Berg was beheaded -- with his executioners saying they were retaliating for Abu Ghraib abuses. The insurgents posted video of the killing on the Internet for all to see. "The publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals," Obama said. "In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them would be to further inflame anti-American opinion, and to put our troops in greater danger." Watch Obama explain reversing course » . The court had ordered the release in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU said the Pentagon had agreed to release a "substantial" number of photographs by May 28. Officials at the Pentagon said the photographs are from more than 60 criminal investigations between 2001 and 2006 and show military personnel allegedly abusing detainees. Obama's decision has sparked a heated debate on what is best for democracy. Marc Thiessen served in the Bush administration from 2001 to 2009, including time as Bush's chief speechwriter. He has said that the "enhanced interrogations" of detainees worked and has opposed the release of the latest round of prisoner abuse photos. Watch more on the photo debate » . "If these photos had been released, within two seconds flat, they would have been up on jihadi Web sites, and al Qaeda would be using them to incite violence," he said. ACLU attorney Amrit Singh disagrees, saying terrorists already have plenty of information "at their disposal to conduct violence." "They can conduct all the violence they want without the release of these photographs," she said. "So to pick on these photographs as the cause of violence, I think, is a grave mistake. There were people who suffered immensely, the victims of torture depicted in these photographs. It's for their sake and for the sake of future victims of torture that these photographs must be aired." She added, "It is essential that these photographs be released so that the public can know the full scale and scope of prisoner abuse that took place in its name." Republican strategist Kevin Madden said Obama sided with national security instead of "the fury of propaganda that would be unleashed against U.S. forces overseas." He said the liberal left is trying to use the photos "as a vendetta against the Bush administration." "And in that process, what they're doing is essentially smearing the country as a country that condones detainee abuse and condones the torture, when in fact we don't," he said. To that, Singh shot back, "But what is the limit of that argument? If gross human rights violations have been committed, do you sweep them under the rug because they will cause outrage?" Al-Rashed of Al-Arabiya said Obama's decision didn't get much play in the Arab world last week, mostly because the alleged abuse isn't as "shocking anymore." "It's not as big news as it used to be," he said. CNN senior political analyst David Gergen, a former adviser to several Republican presidents and one Democrat, said Obama made a wise political decision, even if he upset the left. "I think in these situations, you can't think about who is going to be pleased and who's not. I think you have to think about what's the right decision for the president and assume good policies ultimately make good politics."

Head of Al-Arabiya says 2004 Abu Ghraib photos "just really made us speechless" Christiane Amanpour: Photos "symbolic ... of all the troubles that the U.S. faced" Obama's decision to fight the release of new round of photos sparks debate . ACLU says if more abuses occurred, "Do you sweep them under the rug?"

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his concern over the potential of a nuclear-armed Iran during meetings with top congressional leaders Tuesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks Tuesday with Reps. John Boehner, left, and Nancy Pelosi. He met with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee first, followed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner. An Iranian regime armed with nuclear weapons "is a great danger to all of us, to Israel specifically and to the moderate Arab regimes, [and] to America," Netanyahu said after his meeting with Pelosi and Boehner. "Especially if this regime were to arm itself or arm terrorists with nuclear weapons, the consequences could be unimaginable." Netanyahu also reiterated his call for normalizing relations between Israel and the "broader Arab world" while moving forward on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Watch where Mideast flash points could be » . "We have to do this in tandem," he said. "That's going to be our policy. ... If we do it together, we'll get a lot further, a lot faster." Pelosi said she endorsed a two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians, but emphasized that it "must be a solution that provides for a democratic Jewish state of Israel living side by side with her Palestinian neighbors." "The question of Iran is one that is of concern to us in Congress," she said. "... It is an issue for the world. It is important for all of us to work together to be sure that Iran does not develop a weapon of mass destruction." Netanyahu is on his first visit to Washington since becoming prime minister earlier this year -- his second time as head of Israel's government. He met Monday with President Obama at the White House and dined with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Obama offered the hawkish Israeli leader a small diplomatic victory, warning that he would not allow Iran to drag out talks as a way of buying time while it develops nuclear weapons. Speaking at an Oval Office news conference, Obama again refused to commit to an "artificial deadline" for Iranian negotiations. But he also warned that he would not allow such talks, which he expects to accelerate after the Iranian presidential election in June, to be used as an excuse for delay. Watch Obama start the clock on Iran » . "We're not going to have talks forever. We're not going to create a situation in which the talks become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds with developing ... and deploying a nuclear weapon," he said. He said the United States is not "foreclosing a range of steps, including much stronger international sanctions, in assuring that Iran understands that we are serious." The issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions has become increasingly urgent in recent months. Netanyahu wanted a time limit for negotiations relating to such ambitions, with the threat of military action if no resolution is reached. Both Israel and the United States believe Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program; Tehran denies the accusation. Israeli leaders have pointed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls for the end of Israel as a Jewish state, and argue that quick action is needed. Clinton and Netanyahu also talked about Iran, among other issues, during a 90-minute working dinner Monday night, according to a senior State Department official. "Clinton's messages were entirely consistent with President Obama's," the official said. "She reiterated our support for a two-state solution, and explained our strategy for direct engagement as a means to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability." In his appearance at the White House, Netanyahu emphasized that while "the common goal is peace ... the common threat we face are terrorist threats and organizations that seek to undermine [that] peace and threaten both our peoples." The prime minister called Iran the biggest threat to peace in the region. "If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, it could give a nuclear umbrella to terrorists, or worse, could actually give [them] nuclear weapons. And that would put us all in great peril," he said. Obama is considered to have a more conciliatory approach to the Arab and Muslim world than Netanyahu. Obama supports the idea of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Netanyahu has not endorsed the idea, arguing that Israel first needs security guarantees and a clear Palestinian partner for peace talks. The Palestinians issued a statement after the meeting criticizing Netanyahu for failing to more explicitly endorse a two-state solution. Netanyahu "missed yet another opportunity to show himself to be a genuine partner for peace," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat. "Calling for negotiations without a clearly defined end goal offers only the promise of more process, not progress." Watch how hard-liners have driven breakthroughs for peace » . Despite their differences, Obama and Netanyahu agree on numerous key issues, such as U.S. military and financial support for Israel. Obama also supports funding for Palestinian entities not controlled by Hamas, which controls Gaza and which the United States labels a terrorist organization. Before making his trip to Washington, Netanyahu met with leaders of Jordan and Egypt, viewed as potential partners in the effort to bring peace to the region. Obama will host Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on May 26 and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on May 28. CNN's Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.

Israeli PM meets with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader John Boehner . Iranian regime with nuclear weapons "is a great danger to all of us," Netanyahu says . He calls for normalized relations with Arab world, peace process with Palestinians . U.S. leaders also express concern over Iran's nuclear intentions .

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