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(Tribune Media Services) -- Frank Santa Maria buys two tickets to Italy on Expedia. But when an agent misspells his wife's name, he must embark on an odyssey to ensure she'll be allowed to use her tickets. Will he be successful? Q: I recently bought tickets to Italy by calling Expedia. I spelled my wife's first name to the agent. That afternoon we left town for a trip. When we returned the tickets were at the front door and a confirmation e-mail was waiting. My wife's first name was spelled Crista instead of Christa. I immediately called Expedia, and was told I should have contacted them the day the e-mail was sent to me and that there would be a $150 re-ticketing fee. After several more calls and being put on "hold" for more than half an hour, a supervisor told me that there was nothing they could do. They couldn't even change the name on the ticket. I contacted the airline directly and they told me they would make a note on my wife's passenger record. My wife's tickets are still wrong and I'm afraid we may have a problem with our connecting airline or with customs. What can I do? -- Frank Santa Maria, New Braunfels, Texas . A: Expedia should have spelled your wife's name correctly. When it was clear that the company had made an error, it should have done everything in its power to fix it instead of giving you the runaround and forcing you to deal directly with your airline. Then again, it should have never come to this. First, why are you phoning an online travel agency to buy tickets? It may be more convenient, but online agencies are built to handle your purchases online. It's more efficient and reduces the chance of an error being introduced -- like misspelling a passenger's name. Second, you should always check your verification e-mail immediately. Expedia could have made a change to your ticket if you had caught the mistake earlier. It's essential that you review your itinerary as soon as possible. Believe me, I know. I just made this mistake and had to spend an extra day at my destination because I put the wrong date in my reservation. (See? It can happen to anyone.) I've dealt with too many wrong-name cases to count, and here are a few things I've learned. Passengers aren't turned away at the gate because of a typographical error on their tickets. Reservations systems have limitations that sometimes truncate last names or render non-English names in funny characters. Last names and first names are frequently flip-flopped. Ticket agents, gate agents and security screeners know that, and will let you through. I haven't heard of anyone being denied boarding because of a one-character difference in a name. I'm reasonably sure your wife would have been allowed to travel using her ticket, even if this had happened after the May 15 implementation of the first phase of the Transportation Security Administration's "Secure Flight" initiative, which requires that you provide your full name as it appears on your government-issued identification. Incidentally, the "notation" in her reservation would have almost certainly been visible to any connecting airline. And a customs agent wouldn't even pay attention to your ticket under normal circumstances. It's your customs form and passport that matter to them. Next time you buy tickets by phone -- and I hope there's no next time -- do yourself a big favor: When you offer your name to the agent, ask to have it spelled back. That way, you'll catch any errors before the transaction goes through. Once you have a reservation, it becomes much more difficult (or even impossible) to make a change. It shouldn't be that way. In an ideal world, you'd be able to change a name on a ticket. Airlines say they can't allow name changes for "security reasons" but I'm inclined to believe it has more to do with the fact that they would lose lots of money if passengers could give their tickets to friends and family. Or resell them. I contacted Expedia on your behalf, and it issued a new ticket with your wife's name spelled correctly. Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. E-mail him at celliott@ngs.org. Copyright 2009 CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT, DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

Passenger purchased airline tickets from Expedia by phone . When he received the tickets, his wife's name was misspelled . Troubleshooter urged him to purchase online and to verify information . Expedia issued a corrected ticket when contacted by the Troubleshooter .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Internet-based rip-offs jumped 33 percent last year over the previous year, according to a report from a complaint center set up to monitor such crimes. The report said that about 77.4 percent of perpetrators of Internet fraud were men. The total dollar loss from those crimes was $265 million. That's $26 million more than the price tag in 2007, the National Internet Crime Center said. For individual victims, the average amount lost was $931. "This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet," said Shawn Henry, the FBI's assistant director of the Cyber Division. Americans filed 275,284 reports claiming to be ripped off on the Internet, the highest number reported since the center began keeping statistics in 2000. The dollar loss has been on a steady increase since 2004, while the number of cases referred to law enforcement has decreased steadily since that same year. Complaints to the center have resulted in several arrests, the center said, although information comes only from agencies that voluntarily provide the results of investigations. Henry said the figures show the need for computer users, in businesses and in homes, to be wary and use sound security practices while using the Internet. The center said the top three most frequent complaints were about merchandise that wasn't delivered or payment that wasn't received, Internet auction fraud and credit/debit card fraud. Other scams include confidence frauds such as Ponzi schemes, check fraud, the Nigerian letter fraud and identity fraud. One popular identity fraud scam used during 2008 involved sending e-mails crafted to appear as if they'd been sent by the FBI. Sometimes the scammers went so far as to say the mailings were from FBI Director Robert Mueller himself, according to the center. The e-mails would ask the recipient for personal information, such as a bank account numbers, claiming the FBI wanted the information to look into an impending financial transaction. One variation of the scheme, according to the center, was to send an e-mail saying the recipient is entitled to lottery money or an inheritance and the funds can be moved as soon as bank account information is supplied. The FBI has issued warnings about such scams in the past, and Monday's report included a new one: "The FBI does not contact U.S. citizens regarding personal financial matters through unsolicited e-mails." The report said that about 77.4 percent of perpetrators of Internet fraud were men, and about half lived in either California, New York, Florida, Washington, Texas or the District of Columbia. More than 55 percent of those who filed complaints were men. But the report noted that anyone who uses the Internet can be a victim, and that the ages of victims have ranged from 10 to 100. Internet crime offers unique challenges to investigators. The report said the offender and victim often live in different states and sometimes different countries, requiring multiple law enforcement agencies to cooperate and conquer any issues of jurisdiction. Another big problem is the anonymity of using the Internet. In most instances, a victim never meets the criminal. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Internet users said they were scammed out of a total of $265 million last year . FBI: Report shows "sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish" Americans filed record 275,284 reports claiming to be ripped off . Report said that about 77.4 percent of perpetrators of Internet fraud were men .

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MARIANNA, Florida (CNN) -- Leaning against his cane, Bryant Middleton shuffled toward the makeshift cemetery. Tears welled in his eyes as he leaned down to touch one of the crosses. Bryant Middleton kneels by a row of white crosses on the grounds of a former reform school he attended. "This shouldn't be," he said. "This shouldn't be." Thirty-one crosses made of tubular steel and painted white line up unevenly in the grass and weeds of what used to be the grounds of a reform school in Marianna, Florida. The anonymous crosses are rusting away but their secrets may soon be exposed. When boys disappeared from the school, administrators explained it away, said former student Roger Kiser. They'd say, "Well, he ran away and the swamp got him," Kiser recalled. Or, "The gators got him." Or, 'Water moccasins got him." Kiser and other former students believe authorities will soon find the remains of children and teens sent to the Florida School for Boys half a century ago. Watch Middleton kneel by the crosses » . On the orders of Gov. Charlie Crist, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement last week opened an investigation to determine if anyone is buried here, whether crimes were committed, and if so, who was responsible. A group of men in their 60s, who once attended the school, have told investigators they believe the bodies are classmates who disappeared after being savagely beaten by administrators and workers. The FDLE is just beginning its investigation, so there is no way to know if there is any truth to the allegations. The investigation will be challenging. Finding records and witnesses from nearly half a century ago will be difficult if not impossible. Many of the administrators and employees of the reform school are dead. Read more about the investigation . Middleton is 64 now, a former Army Ranger. He was 14 then, a wayward boy. He was sent to the Florida School for Boys for breaking and entering. He recently accompanied CNN to the school grounds. "This is a travesty against mankind and the state of Florida should be ashamed of themselves," he said, choking back tears. "It's as if they were tossed out here like they were nothing but garbage. And it's just downright criminal. Somebody needs to be accountable for this." A single-story, nondescript building anchors the other side of the property. The white cinder block structure looks so simple, so bland, that it is difficult to imagine the pain, terror and torture it conjures up in the men who say their childhoods were ravaged within its four walls. The building was known as "the white house." Watch a former student return to the building » . Middleton said he was brought there six times. He recalled that his tormentors, including one known as "the whipper," would turn on a large industrial fan to muffle the screams of the boys who were beaten with long leather straps, reinforced with metal. See photos from Middleton's reform school days » . Dick Colon said he went to the white house 11 times during his 30 months at the school. He's one of four men known as "the White House Boys." Colon, Kiser, Robert Straley and Michael O'McCarthy, the original four White House Boys, spoke out about the 31 crosses and their boyhood abuse and pushed for an investigation. Colon recalls his visits to the white house as if they were yesterday: . He said he was forced to lie face down in a blood-soaked pillow -- a pillow with small pieces of lips, tongue and skin on it from the previous boy. He'd clench the metal bar of the bed. The ceilings were low. He would hear the strap hit the ceiling and make a "tick" sound before it swung down on him. "After that tick, you'd go 'Aaaahh,' and then you'd grab that bar, and go 'Ooooohhhhhhh,' and the spindles of the bed would bounce, and sometimes the bed would come off the ground," Colon told CNN. Watch Colon's face contort as he relives the beatings » . Kiser, a fellow White House Boy, said the beatings provided entertainment for the guards and administrators. "There were bets, and money changed hands on who could draw blood on the first blow," he said. He recalled his reaction when he went into a bathroom to clean up after enduring another beating. "I looked up into that mirror and I just screamed," he said. "I just saw this monster. I couldn't even tell who I was." Colon said his reaction was to bury the pain inside. He told a story about how another boy's terror left him wrestling with his own best and worst instincts even to this day. He walked into the school's laundry room one day and saw a black teenager inside a large tumble dryer that was running. He wanted to save the boy, and tried to talk himself into being brave. "I said, 'Do it! Do it! Do it!' " he recalled, his eyes beginning to tear. "And then I thought to myself, 'If you do it, they're gonna put you in there. You're gonna be next.' And I walked away." After a long, tearful pause, Colon continued. "I've been married to my wife for 42 years, and never told her," he said, wiping tears away with a handkerchief. "I don't know how often in a week I think about that." "A chicken s---, I was," he sobbed. Still, Colon's is ultimately a success story. At the reform school, he studied to be an electrician and now owns a multimillion-dollar company in Baltimore, Maryland. Colon founded a scholarship fund for high achievers at the very same school that haunts his memories. It is called the Arthur Dozier School for Boys, and Colon returns every year to talk to the students about hope and hard work. "They need to know they can do things and have a future," he said. "Many just accept that they will be in prison someday."

Former students talk about brutal days at a Florida reform school . One recalls hearing the tip of a whip hit the ceiling before it came down on him . Another regrets being too afraid to help a boy left in a tumble dryer . Third remembers beatings by a guard called "the whipper"

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will undergo a routine medical examination at a hospital in the Indian capital on Tuesday, his spokesman Tenzin Taklha told CNN Sunday. The Dalai Lama with French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on a recent visit to France. The check-up in New Delhi is likely to take several hours, but the Dalai Lama will not be admitted to the hospital, the spokesman said. The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in the north Indian hill town of Dharamsala, will travel to the Indian capital on Monday. The 73-year-old Tibetan leader was hospitalized in Mumbai in August for abdominal discomfort. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will undergo a routine medical examination at a hospital in the Indian capital on Tuesday.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will undergo a medical exam this week . Dalai Lama was recently admitted for tests after suffering abdominal discomfort . The check-up in New Delhi is likely to take several hours .

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- A power-sharing deal has been reached between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, South African President Thabo Mbeki said. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, left, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mbeki, who mediated the talks in Harare for the Southern African Development Community, said the deal would be signed Monday but did not give details of the agreement. Zimbabwe has had no Cabinet since the March presidential election that started the impasse. Opposition lawmakers booed and heckled Mugabe when he spoke at the opening of the country's parliament August 26. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in that election, but not enough to avoid a runoff, according to the government's official count. He withdrew from the June 27 runoff days before the vote, saying Mugabe's supporters had waged a campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition supporters. The main sticking point in the talks had been how much power Mugabe would retain. Tsvangirai had said he would sign a deal only if Mugabe gave up some power and his presidency became a ceremonial position. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the agreement, according to a statement released by his spokesperson, and "hopes that this agreement will pave the way for a durable peace and recovery in the country and contribute to rapid improvement in the welfare and human rights of the people of Zimbabwe." The country is also reeling from hyper-inflation. In August, the country's Central Statistical Office said inflation was at 11.2 million percent, the highest in the world. Analysts have said the Zimbabwean government's official inflation rate figures are conservative. One of Zimbabwe's leading banks, Kingdom Bank, said the country's inflation rate was more than 20 million percent. The economic crisis has destroyed Zimbabwe's currency and made it difficult for Zimbabweans to buy basic commodities, electricity, fuel and medicines.

Zimbabwe leaders agree terms for sharing power, South African president says . Thabo Mbeki, who led mediation talks, said deal will be signed Monday . Zimbabwe has been in political deadlock since controversial election in June .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- American fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers, one of which buzzed a U.S. aircraft carrier in the western Pacific on Saturday, U.S. military officials told CNN Monday. Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that there was no violation of flight regulations during the incident. A ministry official said the flights are standard operating procedure for air force training. One of them twice flew about 2,000 feet over the deck of the USS Nimitz Saturday while another flew about 50 miles away, officials said. Two others were at least 100 miles away, the military reported. U.S. defense officials said four F/A-18A fighter jets from the Nimitz were in the air. The Russians and the U.S. carrier did not exchange verbal communications. Watch U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz » . Four turboprop Tupolev-95 Bear bombers took off from Ukrainka Air Base, in Russia's Far East, in the middle of the night, Japanese officials told The Associated Press, adding that one of the planes violated Japanese airspace. Russian bombers have been making flights over the western Pacific for several months. There have been eight incidents off Alaska since July. Among the latest, on September 5, six F-15s from Elmendorf Air Force Base, adjacent to Anchorage, Alaska, intercepted six Russian bombers about 50 miles from the northwest coast of Alaska. Two similar incidents occurred in August, one near Cape Lisburne, Alaska, and the other near Cold Bay, Alaska, west of the Aleutian Islands. E-mail to a friend .

Russia's Defense Ministry says there was no violation of flight regulations . One bomber twice flew about 2,000 feet over USS Nimitz deck, U.S. military says . U.S. Defense officials say four F/A-18A fighter jets from the Nimitz were in the air . Japanese officials tell AP one of the planes violated their country's airspace .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state said Tuesday. James Baker, left, and Warren Christopher led a panel that recommended a new War Powers Act. The current War Powers Resolution is "ineffective, and it should be repealed and it should be replaced," James Baker said in a joint appearance with Warren Christopher, announcing the results of the study they led. The recommendation follows failed efforts by Democrats in Congress to put a stop to the war in Iraq or to put conditions on President Bush's conduct of it. Congress passed a joint resolution to authorize armed force against Iraq in 2002, but some Bush opponents say it should not have been interpreted as a blank check for the United States to invade and occupy the Persian Gulf nation. Baker, who served in George H.W. Bush's administration, and Christopher, who served under President Bill Clinton, said their project was not prompted by any specific war, with Christopher adding that the commission had "tried very hard not to call balls and strikes on past history here." "We didn't direct this report at any particular conflict," Baker added. The existing law, the War Powers Resolution of 1973, has been regarded as unconstitutional by every president since it was passed as a response to the Vietnam War, Baker and Christopher said. It requires presidents to report regularly to Congress about ongoing conflicts, but the provision has been flouted. "No president has ever made a submission to Congress pursuant to the War Powers Resolution since 1973," former Sen. Slade Gorton, a Republican member of the committee, said Tuesday. The panel, formally called the National War Powers Commission, said a new law should be created requiring the president to consult with key members of Congress before sending troops into combat expected to last more than a week, or within three days of doing so in the case of operations that need to be kept secret. It should also make clear exactly who the president needed to consult. The panel suggests that the president talk to "a joint Congressional committee made up of the leaders of the House and the Senate as well as the chairmen and ranking members of key committees." The new committee would have a permanent professional staff with access to intelligence information, Baker and Christopher said. Congress, in turn, would have to declare war or vote on a "resolution of approval" within 30 days, they said. If a resolution of approval failed, any member of Congress could introduce a "resolution of disapproval," but it was not clear that such an act would stop a war in progress. Christopher was unable to say in the news conference what practical effect congressional disapproval would have. Baker said the commission had been in touch with the presidential campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, as well as leaders of Congress. He declined to reveal what they thought of the proposal, but said: "We haven't gotten a negative reaction." Congress has not officially declared war since 1942, when the United States entered formal hostilities with the Axis powers in World War II. But since then, presidents have sent troops into countries including Korea, Vietnam, Grenada and Iraq. The Constitution makes the president the commander in chief of the armed forces, but gives Congress the power to declare war and approve military budgets. Baker and Christopher's group included both Republicans and Democrats and held seven meetings over 14 months.

War Powers Act is "ineffective" and should be repealed, blue-ribbon panel says . Former secretaries of state James Baker and Warren Christopher led the study . They say the project was not prompted by any specific war . Panel proposes new law requiring president to consult with Congress .

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(CNN) -- FBI agents Monday raided a rural Georgia peanut butter plant suspected as the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak, a CNN affiliate reported. The Food and Drug Administration launched a probe of Peanut Corporation of America on January 30. The Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, was sealed off by federal authorities Monday morning, WALB reported. The company is accused of knowingly shipping tainted products now linked to nearly 600 illnesses, including eight deaths, in 43 states. The recent outbreak has led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history, encompassing more than 1,000 products. The Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations launched a probe of the company on January 30. Previously, the Peanut Corporation of America had said said it shipped products only after subsequent tests came back negative for salmonella. Representatives from the company have not returned repeated calls from CNN.

Peanut Corporation of America plant is accused of knowingly shipping tainted goods . Those goods are linked to nearly 600 illnesses, including eight deaths, in 43 states . The outbreak has led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history .

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(CNN) -- The Northwest braced for blizzards Friday night while cities from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Boston, Massachusetts, were cleaning up after a major storm delayed air travel and created havoc on the ground. A commuter waits at a Detroit, Michigan, bus stop Friday morning. "This is essentially the reincarnation of the same storm that brought the heavy snow to parts of California, southern Nevada and northern Arizona," Steve Corfidi, lead forecaster with the weather service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, told CNNRadio. Icy roads created from storms this week paralyzed much of the greater Seattle, Washington, area, where schools were closed and bus routes were suspended Friday as roads were too icy to navigate. Two charter buses carrying 80 people that collided and skidded off a road were pulled to safety, CNN affiliate KOMO reported. The buses crashed through a metal railing and hung precariously over Interstate 5 for several hours before tow trucks pulled them back on the road, KOMO reported. "We hit it and everyone is in shock for a minute, and [the driver] says 'go to the back of the bus.' And people threw each other out the windows," passenger Tamera Vasquez told KOMO. Saturday was expected to bring heavy snows in Washington, damaging winds and power outages to a region still recovering from storms earlier in the week. Hurricane-force winds are possible in the eastern foothills of Snohomish, King and Pierce Counties. Further west, several inches of snow are possible in the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Everett metro area Saturday afternoon. Toward the Olympic Mountains, they could be measuring new snowfall in feet. Flights at most airports in the Midwest and Northeast were up and running after experiencing delays as long as three hours throughout the day. But storm warnings and watches remained in effect for most of region. Corfidi said the storm is expected to maintain intensity into Saturday, continuing east and "spreading a swath of very heavy snow and freezing rain" into Pennsylvania and New York. "There could easily be up to a foot of snow over parts of Illinois, northern Indiana, perhaps into parts of Michigan and southern Wisconsin, eastward into parts of New York and Pennsylvania," Corfidi said. In Milwaukee, snowfall closed the airport for several hours and cut into local business hours for retail shops during the busiest shopping season of the year. Malls and shopping centers in Milwaukee, Glendale, Wauwatosa and Greendale opened later than usual, dealing another blow to retailers already struggling with a severe economic downturn. To compensate, some stores in the area, including Kohl's, Boston Store, J.C. Penney and Macy's are staying open until midnight on some days, the Journal-Sentinel Online reported. "The snow has me concerned," Southridge Mall manager Mary Wenger told the newspaper. Another four to seven inches of snow is expected over the weekend. In New Hampshire, still reeling from an ice storm last week, crews worked feverishly to restore electricity service to more than 30,000 customers remaining in the dark, CNN affiliate WMUR-TV in Manchester reported. Southern New Hampshire could get 10 new inches of snow before midnight Friday, WMUR said. Elsewhere, police in Buffalo, New York, shut down the city's Skyway highway because of winds and snow, CNN affiliate WGRZ-TV reported. Western New York had several inches of snow on the ground by noon, the station reported. To the north in Ontario, Canada, southbound Highway 400 was shut down outside Toronto after an multivehicle accident in near whiteout conditions, CNN affiliate CTV reported. "Lots of blowing snow. Visibility is next to nothing," CTV senior cameraman Tom Podolec reported from the scene. Ontario Provincial Police reported 70 accidents in less than five hours Friday morning. The system should move quickly, Corfidi said. It was not shaping up as an extraordinary event, he said. "It is December, and winter storms certainly raise their ugly heads this time of year," Corfidi said.

NEW: Tow trucks pull two buses to safety after they skidded off road . NEW: Blizzards, hurricane strength winds anticipated in Washington . NEW: Snowfall cuts into shopping hours for retailers struggling with downturn . Up to a foot of snow is expected from Illinois to New York .

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(CNET.com) -- The HP Pavilion Media Center TV m8120n is proof positive that quad-core processing is ready for mass consumption. This $1,150 entertainment-minded desktop serves up Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU, a quad-core chip that up to this point we've seen only in much higher-end systems meant for gaming. While HP's own Pavilion Slimline or Apple's Mac Mini might be better fits for most people looking for a PC to pair with their plasma, the m8120n is a great buy if you need a high-end PC that can do pretty much everything outside of gaming. This fixed-configuration retail PC serves up a host of audio and video connections, plenty of hard drive space, more memory than we were expecting, and integrated Wi-Fi -- all inside a functional and good-looking case. The result is a surprisingly powerful media PC; you won't find a better performer for less. Only its lack of a next-gen optical drive prevents a higher recommendation. We're also not thrilled with the amount of shovelware. Aside from its black exterior, the m8120n is similar in design to the Pavilion Media Center m7780n we reviewed at the start of the year (HP moved to its current Media Center chassis in the spring). We turned on the system and looked over the components, expecting to find a few incremental upgrades from the previous models. Instead, we were shocked to find not only a quad-core processor but also 3GB of fast 1,066MHz memory -- 1GB more than we anticipated. A quick scan of our quad-core reviews confirmed our suspicion: this is by far the cheapest quad-core PC we've reviewed. HP is able to keep the price down in large part by not going after gamers with this system (the preloaded trial offers -- shovelware -- also help subsidize the cost of the PC). Instead of putting money toward a powerful but pricey graphics card, HP uses a low-end Nvidia GeForce 7350LE TurboCache card. It borrows resources from the main system memory when it needs more than its 128MB of dedicated video RAM, but it's more than capable for everything but supplying suitable 3D framerates as our tests show. Beneath the graphics card is a TV tuner card that features an NTSC tuner, an over-the-air ATSC HD tuner, and an FM tuner. It allows you to connect it to your cable box or grab over-the-air channels via an HD antenna (which you'll need to supply yourself). The m8120n uses Vista Home Premium, which includes the Media Center shell. You can use it as your subscription-free DVR front-end to watch, pause, and record TV. It also lets you access other media files--photos, music, videos--via the included Media Center remote. A slick, slim wireless keyboard is also included, but it lacks a mouse control nub or ball, which means living-room use will require mousing on your thigh, the arm of the couch, or coffee table if it's something you can't control with the remote. A pair of 320GB hard drives provides ample storage out of the box, and you can add more via the Personal Media Drive bay on the front panel that can accept HP's external hard drives. The drives come in 160GB, 300GB, and 500GB capacities and require no wires to connect -- just slide them into the slot. They also feature a USB port should you need to connect them to another PC. Aside from that, there isn't much room for expansion. All four memory slots are occupied, as are both PCI slots. You can easily get rid of the modem card if you need a free PCI slot, however, and there is an available x1 PCI Express slot. Beneath the 15-in-1 media card reader conveniently located across the top of the front panel are two 5.25-inch drive bays. We were hoping HP's hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD drive would occupy one of the two slots, but, alas, we discovered a LightScribe DVD burner that might have excited us two years ago. Then again, it's probably too much to ask for that hybrid drive at this price. The Pavilion Media Center m8120n is a fixed configuration retail model, but you can customize a similar model on HP's site. The hybrid drive adds $760 to the cost of the system plus a necessary yet reasonable $130 graphics upgrade. Alternatively, you can configure the online model with a $200 HD DVD-ROM drive if you want to watch next-gen discs but not write to them. By comparison, the hybrid drive writes to Blu-ray and only reads HD DVD. The lack of a next-gen optical drive is disappointing on this type of PC because it offers so much media-consuming goodness. In addition to the TV tuner, the Pavilion Media Center m8120n serves up useful AV ports on the front panel. Along with the usual FireWire, USB, headphone, and microphone connections, the system gives you composite and S-Video ports along with two RCA audio ports. The front panel ports make it a snap to connect a camcorder or other video device should you have the PC tucked into your home theater setup where getting to the back-panel ports may prove difficult. Back-panel ports of note include digital audio in and out. The integrated Wi-Fi also increases its living-room appeal because it lets you connect to the Internet without running Ethernet all over your house. And for such a powerful PC, the system is remarkably quiet. About its power. The advantages of a quad-core processor are obvious when you compare the results of the Pavilion Media Center m8120n with two dual-core systems, the $1,470 Gateway DX430X and the $1,499 Velocity Micro ProMagix E2035, on our Photoshop and Cinebench tests. The m8120n completed our Photoshop CS2 benchmark 7 percent faster than the Velocity Micro system and 19 percent faster than the Gateway. The difference in performance is far greater on our Cinebench test that taxes multiple CPUs; the m8120m enjoyed a huge 69 percent advantage over the Velocity Micro and a 75 percent lead over the Gateway. Our Multitasking test provides a good glimpse of overall application performance under a typical workload. The Pavilion Media Center m8120n's showing on this test is particularly impressive when you consider that it easily outpaces a Gateway PC that costs a few hundred more. While Dell's original XPS 710 cost nearly five times more than the m8210n when we reviewed it in November 2006, it's used here by comparison to show what the scores of an overclocked, high-end, quad-core gaming PC look like. Also note that the Dell XPS 710 was running Windows XP, which isn't nearly as demanding as Vista. HP backs the Pavilion Media Center m8120n with an industry-standard one-year part-and-labor hardware warranty (software support ends after 90 days). Toll-free phone support and live chat are available 24-7. One piece of preloaded software we do appreciate is HP's Total Care Advisor, a suite of support tools that can help you schedule updates and backups and diagnose and repair problems. The included printed materials are thorough and clearly written, from the huge, full-color start-up poster to the lengthy Getting Started manual. E-mail to a friend . © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. CNET, CNET.com and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CBS Interactive Inc. Used by permission.

The HP Pavilion Media Center TV m8120n retails for $1,150 . It boasts a quad-core Intel processor and outstanding overall performance . No next-gen optical drive on this retail model, little room for future expansion .

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(CNN) -- In tests for teacher Tom Farber's high school class, students can demonstrate their mastery of calculus and find out where to get braces or even a haircut. Calculus teacher Tom Farber is selling ad space on tests to defray printing costs. Squeezed by classroom budget cuts, the Rancho Bernardo High School teacher is selling ads on his exams to cover the costs of printing them. "It raises money for the teachers and it's amusing for the kids, so it seems like a win-win," said Luke Shaw, 18, a student at the suburban San Diego, California, school. Parents and administrators also praise Farber, 47, for his creative classroom funding, but he doesn't want it to become the norm. "My intention is, [selling ads] is a stopgap measure," said Farber. "I don't want to be doing this year after year." Instead, he says, government must do more to help educators provide what students need. Farber started letting parents and local businesses sponsor tests this fall after learning budget cuts would limit his in-school printing allowance -- tracked by the school's copy machines -- to $316 for the year. The cost of printing quizzes and tests for his 167 students will easily be more than $500, he said. That meant Farber, whose courses prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam, would have to give fewer or shorter tests, or find money. Farber, who says 90 percent of his students got a 5 -- the top score -- on AP exams last year, said skimping wasn't an option. "It has to be a certain quality, or they won't be ready," he said. So Farber, who says he'd never asked for money from parents in his 18 years of high school teaching, pitched the ad idea to parents at a September back-to-school night. For checks made to the math department -- $10 a quiz, $20 a test or $30 for a final exam -- they could insert an inspirational quote -- their own or someone else's -- or a business advertisement at the bottom of the first page. Watch how teacher came up with ad idea » . Of the seven to run so far -- one per test or quiz -- five were quotes, and two were ads from local businesses connected to the parents or someone close. "Brace yourself for a great semester! Braces by Henry, Stephen P. Henry D.M.D.," read one of the ads in small type at the bottom of a quiz's first page. Farber said orders took off after recent media reports. He's collected more than $300, and he believes he'll top $1,000, with some ad buyers paying more than required. All amounts beyond his shortfall will cover colleagues' printing costs, he said. Farber said students and parents have gotten a kick out of the sponsorships. Student Scott Robison, 18, said: "I liked it because all the teachers complain about budget cuts, and he did something about it. It hasn't hurt in any way." Luke Shaw's father, Jay Shaw, said he wants to sponsor a test next semester. And while Jay Shaw praised Farber's idea, "It's just sad it came to the point where he needs to do that," he said. Farber said he doesn't want quiz ads "to become the standard." "What I'm doing now is ... dealing with the economic situation and making sure kids get what they need," Farber said. "Teachers shouldn't have to scrounge for funding. To me, this is what our government is for, to provide necessities, and that's why we pay taxes." But California's budget crisis has forced Farber's school district, Poway Unified, to cut costs, district Superintendent Don Phillips said. The California Federation of Teachers says the state cut more than $4 billion in education spending this year. Phillips said that when the district sought to chop $11 million from its $265 million annual budget, it wanted to keep teachers but cut other areas. Among the things to go was 30 percent to 40 percent of Poway schools' materials spending -- including copying. Phillips praised Farber's ad idea as creative. But he said district officials are weighing whether to set guidelines, especially for business ads. Farber said he'd prefer to keep ads to local "mom-and-pop" operations. He's accepting one from hair salon Fantastic Sam's, noting that although it's part of a chain, the store that's buying the ad is locally owned. Farber and Phillips said they don't know of any Poway teachers wanting to replicate the ad idea, but they said educators there have long spent out-of-pocket for supplies. Susan Carmon of the National Education Association said a 2003 study on the issue found U.S. teachers spent an average of $450 of their own money yearly for school resources. "You can only imagine -- with tighter school budgets in almost every state this year -- that this number can only get higher," said Carmon, the NEA's associate director for teacher quality. Fred Glass, the California Federation of Teachers' communications director, said things could get worse for teachers in the state, with California considering $2.5 billion in mid-year education cuts. Glass said he hopes Farber's ad selling "will underscore for disinterested observers that this [funding shortfall] can't go on." Glass said he wouldn't like to see any classroom ads. "The student needs not to be distracted by anything on the test. This is not instructionally sound," he said. But he said he doesn't blame Farber. "This teacher shouldn't be put in this position," Glass said. To those who don't like his idea, Farber suggests asking legislators to better fund education or writing a check to a school. But he said most of the feedback has been positive. "One person said, 'Too bad you're not a bank, because you might qualify for $700 billion,' " he said. "I thought that was pretty clever."

California calculus teacher had budget for classroom supplies cut . Parents or businesses can sponsor exams with small ad on first page . Teacher Tom Farber expects to raise $1,000 with ads this school year . Farber, education officials hope stopgap measure doesn't become the norm .

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(CNN) -- From cyberspace to college campuses, many young conservatives are worried that Sen. John McCain is not appealing to their generation. Sen. John McCain says he knows how important young voters are. At a town hall meeting in Ohio this month, a student told McCain that Republicans were a dying breed on his campus. "I understand the challenge I have, and I understand that this election is really all about the people of your generation," McCain said. Many young Republicans said Sen. Barack Obama, the 46-year-old junior senator from Illinois, is inspiring voters their age, but McCain, the 71-year-old Arizona senator who has been in office since the early '80s, is not. Eric Perlmutter, a Republican and student at the at the University of Southern California, said the roaring enthusiasm that follows Obama is missing among conservatives his age. "We try to get people out to our college Republican meetings, but ... we can't seem to draw the same kind of vocal support," he said. At the July town hall meeting in Portsmouth, Ohio, McCain said he knows that he has "a lot of work to do" with the younger voters. The senator said he needs young conservatives to help spread his message for him, because "there's nothing that convinces young people like other young people." McCain also acknowledged the importance of using the Internet to reach out to a generation that stays in touch via social networking sites. On MySpace, Obama has more than 427,000 friends, compared with fewer than 60,000 for McCain. Perlmutter said he cringed when McCain admitted he doesn't use e-mail. Obama, however, is frequently seen with Blackberry in hand. Additionally, Perlmutter pointed out that the images used in McCain's campaign -- such as a message about small businesses showing a barber shop with a traditional red and blue pole -- hardly connect to the younger generation. "Well, when you see the Main Street barber shop image, you think of 1950s America. An entrepreneur, a Silicon Valley guy would definitely make him more attractive," he said. Obama also has increased his college-age appeal by holding rallies and giving speeches at hundreds of campuses. McCain has said he recognizes that he needs to get out to those venues "where young people are engaged and receiving their information and forming their opinions." "Sen. McCain should demand that these same colleges and universities host him or else their tax-exempt status could be in jeopardy," said Jason Mattera, spokesman for Young America's Foundation, a conservative outreach group. McCain must work to connect young voters to conservative principles, Mattera said. "So if they are suspicious of Uncle Sam telling them what Internet sites they can view, they should be equally suspicious of the federal government telling them what health care plan they are going to be a part of," he said. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted between October and March, McCain has a big numbers gap to close. The study found that the current generation of young voters, those who came of age during the President Bush years, are giving the Democrats a wide edge. Fifty-eight percent of voters under 30 identified or leaned toward the Democratic Party, compared with 33 percent who said they identified or leaned toward the Republican Party. The McCain campaign said it plans to increase the senator's presence on sites such as Facebook and MySpace in addition to the candidate making appearance on shows that appeal to younger viewers, such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and the "Late Show with David Letterman." In past elections, both parties have tended to put less focus on younger voters because historically, their turnout has been low. With fewer than four months until the November election, McCain said he's confident he can convince young voters that he is the candidate for them. "I believe that I can convince them that I have the plan of action and the ideals and the goals and the inspiration that, as next president of the United States, I can serve better their interests than my opponent," he said.

Young GOP voters say enthusiasm for Sen. John McCain missing in their age group . McCain: "This election is really all about the people of your generation" McCain says he doesn't use e-mail; Sen. Barack Obama has big MySpace presence . McCain campaign says it plans to increase presence on MySpace, Facebook .

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(CNET) -- Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing. Under a Microsoft proposal, consumers would receive heavily discounted PCs, then pay fees for usage. U.S. patent application number 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, details Microsoft's vision of a situation where a "standard model" of PC is given away or heavily subsidized by someone in the supply chain. The end user then pays to use the computer, with charges based on both the length of usage time and the performance levels utilized, along with a "one-time charge." Microsoft notes in the application that the end user could end up paying more for the computer, compared with the one-off cost entailed in the existing PC business model, but argues the user would benefit by having a PC with an extended "useful life." "A computer with scalable performance level components and selectable software and service options has a user interface that allows individual performance levels to be selected," reads the patent application's abstract. The patent application was filed June 21, 2007. "The scalable performance level components may include a processor, memory, graphics controller, etc. Software and services may include word processing, email, browsing, database access, etc. To support a pay-per-use business model, each selectable item may have a cost associated with it, allowing a user to pay for the services actually selected and that presumably correspond to the task or tasks being performed," the abstract continues. Integral to Microsoft's vision is a security module, embedded in the PC, that would effectively lock the PC to a certain supplier. "The metering agents and specific elements of the security module...allow an underwriter in the supply chain to confidently supply a computer at little or no upfront cost to a user or business, aware that their investment is protected and that the scalable performance capabilities generate revenue commensurate with actual performance level settings and usage," the application reads. 'A more granular approach' According to the application, the issue with the existing PC business model is that it "requires more or less a one chance at the consumer kind of mentality, where elasticity curves are based on the pressure to maximize profits on a one-time-sale, one-shot-at-the-consumer mentality." Microsoft's proposed model, on the other hand, could "allow a more granular approach to hardware and software sales," the application states, adding that the user "may be able to select a level of performance related to processor, memory, graphics power, etc that is driven not by a lifetime maximum requirement but rather by the need of the moment." "When the need is browsing, a low level of performance may be used and, when network-based interactive gaming is the need of the moment, the highest available performance may be made available to the user," the document reads. "Because the user only pays for the performance level of the moment, the user may see no reason to not acquire a device with a high degree of functionality, in terms of both hardware and software, and experiment with a usage level that suits different performance requirements." By way of example, the application posits a situation involving three "bundles" of applications and performance: office, gaming, and browsing. "The office bundle may include word-processing and spreadsheet applications, medium graphics performance and two of three processor cores," the document reads. "The gaming bundle may include no productivity applications but may include 3D graphics support and three of three processor cores. The browsing bundle may include no productivity applications, medium graphics performance and high-speed network interface." "Charging for the various bundles may be by bundle and by duration. For example, the office bundle may be $1.00 [68 pence] per hour, the gaming bundle may be $1.25 per hour and the browsing bundle may be $0.80 per hour. The usage charges may be abstracted to 'units/hour' to make currency conversions simpler. Alternatively, a bundle may incur a one-time charge that is operable until changed or for a fixed-usage period," the document reads. Microsoft's patent application does acknowledge that a per-use model of computing would probably increase the cost of ownership over the PC's lifetime. The company argues in its application, however, that "the payments can be deferred and the user can extend the useful life of the computer beyond that of the one-time purchase machine." The document suggests that "both users and suppliers benefit from this new business model" because "the user is able to migrate the performance level of the computer as needs change over time, while the supplier can develop a revenue stream business that may actually have higher value than the one-time purchase model currently practiced." "Rather than suffering through less-than-adequate performance for a significant portion of the life of a computer, a user can increase performance level over time, at a slight premium of payments," the application reads. "When the performance level finally reaches its maximum and still better performance is required, then the user may upgrade to a new computer, running at a relatively low performance level, probably with little or no change in the cost of use." © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. CNET, CNET.com and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CBS Interactive Inc. Used by permission.

Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing . Under its plan, a standard PC would be given away or heavily subsidized . Consumers would then pay regular fees to use the computer . Charges would be based on length of usage time and PC performance levels .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man who police say dressed as Santa Claus and killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party lived with guilt from an incident that left his son from a previous relationship a paraplegic, according to an attorney who once represented the woman in that relationship. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo went on a shooting rampage in a Los Angeles suburb on Wednesday, police say. Prime suspect Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who police said committed suicide hours after he went on a shooting rampage and started a raging house fire in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina, had a son who sustained severe brain damage several years ago in an apparent swimming pool accident while he was in Pardo's care, according to attorney Jeffrey Alvirez. Police have said Pardo targeted his rampage at his former wife, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, and her family at the family's Christmas Eve party. The Los Angeles Times reported that Pardo had kept his son's existence and condition a secret from his wife. When she found out, her anger over the situation and also finding out that Pardo had claimed the child as a tax dependent for several years became a major factor in divorce proceedings, the paper said, quoting an unidentified source close to the investigation. Covina Police Chief Kim Raney said Friday that a divorce between the two was finalized in court December 18 in a "somewhat contentious proceeding." On Saturday, Covina police released the names of the nine people unaccounted for since the shooting and fire. Nine bodies were recovered from the rubble of the house, but authorities said they are having to work with dental records to establish identities. "The bodies were so badly burned they cannot be identified any other way," Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan said. The nine unaccounted for are Sylvia Pardo, her parents, her sister, her two brothers, both brothers' wives and a nephew. Ages of the nine range from 17 to 80, police said. Police said Sunday a car believed to have been rented by Pardo on December 19, a gray Toyota RAV4, was found in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale. Authorities had cautioned the missing car might be booby-trapped or contain explosives, but it was unclear whether any had been found. Another rented car that Pardo used to flee the scene was found booby-trapped after the shooting, police said. That car burned as the Covina bomb squad was trying to disconnect an explosive device in it, police said. In an interview Saturday with CNN, Alvirez -- who represented Pardo's former girlfriend Elena Lucano in a child support case against Pardo -- said that Pardo and Lucano were in an "off-and-on again relationship" in 2001 and that Pardo was watching their 13-month-old son, Matthew, one Saturday while Lucano went grocery shopping. When Lucano returned a short time later, she found Pardo frantically holding the unconscious toddler, Alvirez said. "The child did get away from him for a few minutes and managed to crawl out of a patio door and slip into the pool," Alvirez said. The couple rushed the child to a nearby hospital, where paramedics resuscitated him. Later, the gravely traumatized child was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, a world-renowned trauma center that specializes in severe pediatric care, for specialized treatment, Alvirez said. During the first week in the intensive care unit, Pardo never left his son's bedside, Alvirez said. But a few weeks after the child was stabilized, doctors concluded that severe brain damage would confine him to a wheelchair for life, Alvirez said. Less than six months later, Pardo and Lucano ended their relationship, and Pardo stopped visiting his son. Pardo also neglected to contribute to Matthew's medical costs, which surged up to $340,000 within the first year, Alvirez said. "We had to sue [Pardo] on his $100,000 homeowner's insurance policy, and I recommended that Elena sue Bruce beyond the policy," he said. "She was not a vindictive type, and she knew he was living with overwhelming guilt and wanted to only pursue his policy." Alvirez said he never had any problems with Pardo and was able to collect the $100,000 policy to pay off medical bills and set up a special needs trust of $240 per month for the rest of Matthew's life. The boy is now 9 years old, Alvirez said. "Once the settlement was reached in August 2002, Bruce stopped communicating completely and never saw Matthew or Elena again," Alvirez said. He said Lucano had maintained occasional contact with Pardo's mother over the years but she was unaware that Pardo had remarried and never anticipated the violent path that ended his life and left nine other people dead. "She is overwhelmed by all of this, but Elena has managed to provide for Matthew as a single parent with a part-time nurse and a full-time job," Alvirez said. Lucano declined to be interviewed by CNN, Alvirez said.

Bruce Pardo's son from previous relationship was brain damaged, attorney says . Secret of boy's existence was factor in divorce, newspaper reports . Police are looking for car Pardo might have rented . Authorities release information on those unaccounted for after fire .

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(CNN) -- An internationally renowned paleontologist will plead guilty to stealing dinosaur bones from federal land, his attorneys said in a court filing. Paleontologist Nate Murphy is expected to plead guilty to stealing fossils from federal land. Nate Murphy, whose famous finds include Leonardo, one of the best-preserved dinosaurs in the world, will make that plea in federal court in Billings, Montana. Earlier this month, Murphy pleaded guilty to state charges of stealing a fossil from private land in order to sell it. An expert cited in that case said Murphy's find was worth between $150,000 and $400,000. The self-taught dinosaur expert, who is director of vertebrate paleontology at the Judith River Dinosaur Institute, could face jail time. Murphy and his attorney did not immediately respond to phone messages Friday from CNN. Jessica Fehr, lead prosecutor in the case, said the U.S. Attorney's Office would not comment until after the plea is entered. In court papers, federal prosecutors say Murphy knowingly took fossils from federal property between about August 2006 and August 2007. The "paleontological resources" were said to be worth at least $1,000. In the state case, Murphy pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft. As part of the plea, the state recommended Murphy's sentence be deferred for five years. Douglas Erwin, president of The Paleontological Society and curator of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said "theft of fossils from pubic lands has long been a problem." In a written statement sent to CNN on Friday, he said such thefts "can often result in the loss of important scientific information and the disappearance of specimens that belong to the public. "At the same time, however, fossil collecting, particularly of common invertebrate fossils, has been a pastime enjoyed by many for decades, and is an important way of connecting people with their natural heritage." An omnibus public lands bill, which the U.S. Senate passed Thursday, includes penalties for fossil theft from public land.

Attorney says well-known paleontologist will plead guilty to stealing dinosaur bones . Nate Murphy, of the Judith River Dinosaur Institute, has made major fossil finds . Murphy is accused of taking fossils from federal lands in Montana . Smithsonian: "Theft of fossils from pubic lands has long been a problem"

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe published a draft constitutional amendment in the government gazette Saturday, paving the way for the power-sharing agreement reached after violence disrupted this year's presidential election. President Robert Mugabe, left, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed the deal in July. Constitutional Amendment 19 details the posts and institutions that were created by the power-sharing deal, including the position of prime minister intended for Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change. The publication of the draft is the first step in creating a law in Zimbabwe. For the law to pass, it must be appear before parliament in 30 days, according to the country's constitution. If it is approved, it will be sent to Mugabe for his signature. The deal arose after Tsvangirai withdrew from a June 27 runoff days before the vote, saying Mugabe's supporters had waged a campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition supporters. The two leaders signed the initial agreement, brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, in July but have failed to agree on how to form a cabinet. The MDC, the main opposition party, noted that Mugabe's latest move does not legalize the amendment. "Gazetting the bill -- which was done by [Mugabe's party] Zanu-PF -- does not automatically translate into passing it into law," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. "That can only take place if outstanding issues have been addressed. Otherwise we will not support the bill." The two parties agreed last month to the draft amendment during talks in South Africa, but Chamisa warned then that problems remained. "We have differed with Zanu-PF for a long time while the citizens suffer, but fortunately we have agreed on something. I need to hasten to mention that we still have some outstanding issues, such as the cabinet, appointment of diplomats," he said in late November. Zanu-PF lost its majority in the parliament in the March elections. As no party has the two-thirds majority to pass the law, its passage relies on MDC support. If parliament does not approve the amendment, Mugabe may call for new elections, Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told state-run daily newspaper The Herald. "I envisage that it will require two weeks for it to be debated and passed through both Houses. If no support is forthcoming, it means that Amendment Number 19 Bill will be dead matter," Chinamasa is quoted as saying The Herald. "In the event that the collaboration that we envisage is not forthcoming, then that will necessitate fresh harmonized elections at some point in time," he said, according to The Herald. Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March election, but not enough to avoid a runoff, according to the government's official count. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, chairman of the Southern African Development Community, welcomed the draft. "The gazetting of Amendment 19 of the Zimbabwean Constitution is indeed a major step towards the formation of an inclusive government in Zimbabwe," he said in a written statement. "We urge the Zimbabwean political parties to establish an inclusive government." Meanwhile, the country is battling a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 800 people since August, according to the World Health Organization. More than 16,000 people have been infected, WHO said. This week, Mugabe declared that "there is no cholera in the country." His spokesman later said Mugabe was sarcastically ridiculing what he believes are Western designs to invade the country. Another Zimbabwean official, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said Friday that the disease was a "calculated, racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power, which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they can invade the country." Britain ruled the country as a colony until 1965. Ndlovu's claims triggered quick and pointed reaction from Britain and the United States. In Washington, State Department spokesman Rob McInturff called Ndlovu's accusations "patently ridiculous."

Amendment paves way for power-sharing deal after violence disturbed election . President Robert Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed deal in July . Amendment describes prime minister post intended for opposition leader Tsvangirai . Parliament must approve amendment before Mugabe can sign it into effect .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Screening Room went to the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in the heart of London's West End, where a spectacular musical version of "The Lord of The Rings" is enjoying a successful run, to meet Indian composer A. R. Rahman, whose blend of Asian culture with rock and Western classical styles has revolutionized the Indian film industry. And now Rahman is about to make his mark in Hollywood. A. R. Rahman, interviewed by CNN's Screening Room . Virtually unknown in Europe and the U.S., Rahman has sold 200 million albums worldwide -- more than the Beatles -- and is worshipped throughout much of Asia, where he's known as the Mozart of Madras. Now he has added a Hollywood film score to his vast repertoire of movie music. Rahman explained to CNN what he thinks makes great movie music. "A great soundtrack is like 'Laura"s theme', the 'Love Story' theme, 'Chariots of Fire' and all those sorts of things, where it stood by itself," he said. But recently, he's noticed a changing mood. "Now it is becoming too abstract and more ambient and more... I don't know, soundscape-ish, more than melody. People are afraid of melody: 'Oh, that melody is distracting my scene,' it is becoming like that." And that brings fresh challenges for the makers of film music. "Now the challenges of the composer are much more," he told CNN. "One needs to know of recording, production, it is not enough to compose a great theme and [know] how it can intertwine with the movie. And with Indian film it is an even greater challenge, because we need to be like Michael Jackson, John Williams, Hans Zimmer and an Indian folk composer all put together. So they expect finesse and they expect versatility." Rahman's compositions are versatile enough to be used by both Bollywood and Hollywood, a case in point being his music for the Hindi film "Dil Se," which was used almost a decade later by Spike Lee for "Inside Man." But for Rahman, the process to create film music is being challenged by increasingly crammed movie schedules. "There used to be a time where the director and the composer would work together," he explained. "They would develop themes and the director would shoot a scene, but now the world's so fast that people are finishing the movie even before going to a composer." As well as writing songs and scores, Rahman has featured in many Bollywood films singing the songs which are mimed by the acting superstars. He recently completed a sell-out tour of the U.S. performing highlights from his songbook to devoted fans. He explained to CNN how playback singing is a normal part of Indian film music. "Well, until I worked in 'Bombay Dreams' six or seven years back, I never realized that it is not cool to have playback singing. Until then, it was the story of Indian films where somebody else lip synchs and somebody else sings." And Rahman has been converted to the Western model, where those singing on-screen usually provide the vocals themselves. "In my future projects I would rather have a star who sings," he said. Director Shekhar Kapur recruited Rahman and fellow composer Craig Armstrong to provide the score for Cate Blanchett's sequel to "Elizabeth," "The Golden Age," which premieres at Toronto Film Festival in September this year. Kapur described the thrill of working with two such different -- and complementary -- composers. He told CNN, "Here are two totally different cultures. Craig Armstrong is strings and heart, the skies, choir, angels and devils, and A. r. is modern, restless music." "Just to get them together was very interesting for me. To sit there and see both of them jamming together, that was fascinating. They wouldn't talk, they would jam, and out of the jamming came the music. It was great." Rahman is still getting used to his new-found status as darling of both East and West -- and it leads to a somewhat chaotic lifestyle, as he explained. "It is terrifying sometimes. I suddenly wake up in Scotland doing music for 'Golden Age,' and suddenly wake up doing an Indian superstar film, but I think after all these years I am probably getting a balance." E-mail to a friend .

Composer A. R. Rahman has sold over 200 million albums worldwide . The 'Mozart of Madras' works in both the Indian film industry and Hollywood . Rahman's work includes the music for 'The Lord of the Rings' stage production .

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(CNN) -- For a little while, it looks like "Up," Pixar's 10th feature-length film, is going to be a downer. In "Up," a curmudgeonly senior citizen, Carl, tries to cope with the enthusiasm of Russell, a young boy. Not that there's anything wrong with an animated film tugging at our tear ducts. But you can sense unease rippling through the younger halves of the family audience when, about five minutes into a spunky prologue, intrepid pre-pubescents Carl and Ellie abruptly morph into newlyweds, and then not-so-newlyweds. They gray and stoop before our eyes, youthful dreams of exploration traded in for the comforts of home and domestic bliss. Ellie wants a baby but can't have one. Their savings for the holiday of a lifetime are eaten up by this rainy day, that domestic disaster, until there's no more lifetime left -- not for Ellie, anyway. That leaves us with Carl, a grumpy homebody voiced by Ed Asner, who makes WALL-E look like a chatterbox. And he's one of the main characters. No, I didn't hear anyone demanding when the dancing penguins were going to show up, but I'll wager someone was thinking it. Watch a preview of "Up" » . Such misgivings are ill-founded. As far as razzmatazz goes, "Up" delivers the goods. Not penguins, precisely, but more than the airborne house promised by the commercials. There's a mythical multicolored bird, which may or may not be a snipe, but which answers to the name of Kevin and exhibits a sweet taste for candy bars. There are zeppelins and old-time explorers and talking dogs -- a whole pack of dogs, in fact. Dogs that serve wine and play cards and fly biplanes. And there's Russell, a chubby Boy Scout -- or "Wilderness Explorer" -- who turns up on Carl's doorstep when he least expects it. After all, Carl wants to be free, and to get there, he launches his house into the sky thanks to thousands of balloons. How was he to know Russell was around? "Up" doesn't always fly high. The dogs' canine high jinks are closer to "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" than we'd expect from Pixar, which tends not to play so fast and loose with the laws of nature for the sake of a few cheap laughs. But if the muttering mutts keep the kids happy, well and good. The movie is on surer ground teasing out the relationship between Carl and Russell, floating well above the Earth. Russell is all wide-eyed innocence and boundless enthusiasm, haplessly helpful. He's the mirror image of the child Carl used to be, if only the old man were capable of recognizing it. But instead of looking around him, Carl is focused on landing that prize home of his in the prime location he mistakes for his ultimate destination (the lost world of Paradise Falls). The image of Carl valiantly dragging his house through jungle and over mountains will strike a chord with anyone holding down a mortgage. iReport.com: Share your review of "Up" Written by Bob Petersen and directed by Petersen and Pete Docter -- both Pixar veterans -- "Up" mixes allegory with adventure and dumb imaginative exuberance. The balance isn't quite as tight as in Pixar's best movies, but the lightness is appealing, and Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai) is an irresistible character. He's already carrying his own emotional baggage at 8 years old, but he's all heart, the kind to give kids a good name. Screening in 3-D where possible, "Up" doesn't go overboard on stereoscopic gimmickry, but does exploit depth of field in a string of exhilarating cliffhangers and dogfights. Funny and poignant and full of life, "Up" easily qualifies as one of the best movies of the year so far. Go with someone you care about. "Up" is rated PG and runs 96 minutes. For Entertainment Weekly's review, click here.

CNN.com's Tom Charity: "Up" is another winner from Pixar . Film concerns the adventures of an old man and a young boy ... and a talking dog . There are some unlikely moments, but warmth and richness always come through .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- They've been teasing and tantalizing female readers with images of muscular men oozing sensuality and the pretty women they are destined to save and then fall in love with. The "beefcakes and bodices" book covers have helped Harlequin sell their romance novels for more than half a century. Powerful men and demure women were stock in trade in early Harlequin novels. "It's always great to feel like you're the girl in the book and the handsome guy is coming to rescue you," said Liz Lenz, 25, who has been reading Harlequin novels since she was a teen. "It's always fun for the reader." Those covers also seduced Winnipeg, Canada, teacher Louann Bergen. "There's usually good-looking males on the covers or something intriguing to make you want to read more," she said. "I guess they change with the times, but they still have that same allure and that same passion behind them." As sort of a 60th anniversary gift to its faithful readers, Harlequin is displaying original artwork for its covers in an New York exhibit called "The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009." And before you sniff disdainfully at romance novel art, be reminded: That artwork sells a lot of books. Romance fiction is responsible for $1.375 billion in book sales every year, according to Romance Writers of America. The organization says more than a quarter of all books sold are romance novels, satisfying 51 million readers every year. The Harlequin exhibit comes from boxes and boxes of old novels that employees discovered at the company's headquarters in Toronto, Canada. "I pawed through literally thousands of paintings," curator Elizabeth Semmelhack said, adding that she saw apparent shifts in women's historical desires began to emerge. Watch the curator discuss some favorites » . "Rather than being retardataire [outdated], many of these images are extremely cutting edge," she said. "There are images of women doctors before women were really embraced by the workplace. There are women who are adventuring around the world before independence is really part of women's culture." Many early Harlequin covers, like that of Elizabeth Houghton's "Island Hospital," in which a man, woman and grizzly bear stand poised in confrontation, depict more than one (fully clothed) character in the crux of a suspenseful moment. "You don't know, is the couple going to get together? Is the hero going to save the heroine? The happy ending is not on the cover," Semmelhack explained. The illustrations have changed their tone over the years. Where cover art used to hint at psychological intrigue, it's grown to instead promise a passionate physical conclusion. "From the earliest covers, there's sort of an implied sexual tension, but there isn't much direct imaging of passion. That doesn't happen until the late '70s and into the '80s," she said. "By the time you hit the sexual revolution and passion becomes of primary importance on these covers, then that lover's embrace in many ways signals the happy ending right there on the front of the book." And in recent decades, the once revolutionary depictions of the lovers' raw embrace have been reduced further. "Today, covers might just be the undressed male body. He might even be headless. He's so truncated that all you're doing is looking at the object of desire, his masculinity." Although Harlequin romances are predominantly written for and read by women, according to Semmelhack, the majority of the publisher's cover illustration artists have been male. "It is interesting that you have men imaging female desire," she said. "It seems to work; the books certainly sell." This year, Harlequin books, which publishes 1,200 new titles annually, reported first quarter earnings up more than 13 percent. Debbie Macomber, who has published 153 books since 1983 -- and is most recently author of a May New York Times Harlequin best-seller, "Summer on Blossom Street." -- visited the "Heart of a Woman" exhibit on opening night. "There were some that really made me laugh out loud," Macomber said. "It was amazing to see the role and the progression of the women's movement in the cover art itself. I get letters from 13-year-old girls and women who are in their 90s, and that's one of my goals as a writer: to write books that are relevant to my readers."

Decades of busting bodices, bulging biceps, intrigue and glamour in exhibition . Harlequin displays half a century of romance book covers in New York . Curator: Covers go from psychological intrigue to passionate physical conclusion . Reader says books "still have that same allure and that same passion"

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CORAL SPRINGS, Florida (CNN) -- Authorities solved a 31-year-old disappearance this year when they found the remains of Jeff Klee, missing since 1977, in a van in a canal. Jeff Klee had been missing since 1977; his remains were found this year. But prosecutors have announced that no charges would be filed against the man who, authorities say, admits that he put Klee's body in the van three decades earlier. "Today is a sad day for our family," Klee's sister, Laurel Steele, told reporters Thursday. "It tests my family's faith to its very core." Klee's remains were found in March during a routine police sweep for stolen vehicles in the C-14 canal in Coral Springs, Florida. The van was in neutral when police discovered it. DNA confirmed Klee's identity, but authorities say there was not enough evidence to determine how he died -- and whether he had been killed. Watch Klee's sister react to the decision » . The Broward County State Attorney's Office said the statute of limitations on possible manslaughter charges expired in 1980. As for a more serious charge such as first-degree murder to which a statute of limitations would not apply, prosecutors said they don't have any evidence of premeditation or that the death was caused by a criminal act. Police had long thought Klee's best friend, David Cusanelli, was the last person to see him alive June 21, 1977. According to a memorandum released Thursday by the Broward County State Attorney's Office, Cusanelli told authorities this July 28 that he put Klee's body inside his black Chevy van after he was dead and that his brother, Carl Cusanelli, helped shove the van into the canal. But Cusanelli denied involvement in Klee's death, prosecutors said. Mitch Polay, the defense attorney for the Cusanelli brothers, reiterated that denial. He said the brothers' statements "were taken out of context, and they were posed as hypotheticals to drum up potential memories of the event." "My clients, for 31 years, have denied any involvement," Polay told CNN. "They had no involvement with pushing any van into the water, nor did they have any involvement with the death of Jeff Klee." According to the prosecution memorandum, Cusanelli told police that he and Klee had an argument over a former girlfriend. Cusanelli said Klee began to chase him out at the canal that night, the document alleges. Cusanelli said that "all he remembers is, he turned around and saw that Jeff had fallen and was on the ground, and his head was split open, and there was a lot of blood," according to the document. "There was definitely a confrontation that night, which resulted in Jeff Klee's death," lead Detective David Weissman said Thursday. Cusanelli told police that he ran away from Klee because he was in fear of his life and that he has no idea how Klee fell. Cusanelli concedes that he may have thrown a rock at Klee, according to the prosecution memo. Cusanelli, according to the memo, said he panicked and put Klee's body inside his van. He then called his brother Carl, who helped push the vehicle into the canal, the memo alleges. In the state attorney's memorandum, Cusanelli said Klee was bleeding from a serious head wound and was not breathing. He told authorities he would never have put Klee's body into the van and rolled it into the canal if Klee wasn't dead, the memo says. Carl Cusanelli told police he helped push the van into the canal, the memo says, but denied any knowledge that Klee may have been in the van at the time. David Cusanelli also told police that he thinks he blocked the whole incident from his memory and that only recently did some details begin to materialize, according to the prosecution memo. "It's turned their worlds upside down. They are very upset," said Polay, the defense attorney. "Thirty-one years ago, David was best friends with Jeff Klee." Coral Springs Police Chief Duncan Foster expressed frustration that no charges are being brought. "Jeff Klee was a loved member of someone's family, and that has no time limits," Foster said. "It's just very, very frustrating for us." Steele, Klee's sister, said, "Victimized by the loss of Jeff so many years ago, we are victimized once again." Klee's mother, Florence Klee, clutched a framed photo of her son but did not speak during Thursday's news conference. Klee's father died about two years ago. Authorities said the case remains open. The family and the police are asking for the public to help them find any possible evidence of what happened that summer night in 1977 at the canal. "Justice has been denied," Steele said.

Prosecutors say they won't pursue charges in death of man from 1977 . Remains of Jeff Klee were found in van in a canal in Florida this year . Authorities say there's not enough evidence to determine cause of death . "Justice has been denied," Klee's sister says .

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(CNN) -- Reclusive author J.D. Salinger has emerged, at least in the pages of court documents, to try to stop a novel that presents Holden Caulfield, the disaffected teen hero of his classic "The Catcher in the Rye," as an old man. J.D. Salinger has stayed out of the public eye for most of the past half century. Lawyers for Salinger filed suit in federal court this week to stop the publication, sale and advertisement of "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye," a novel written by an author calling himself J.D. California and published by a Swedish company that advertises joke books and a "sexual dictionary" on its Web site. "The Sequel infringes Salinger's copyright rights in both his novel and the character Holden Caulfield, who is the narrator and essence of that novel," said the suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in New York. Published in 1951, "The Catcher in the Rye" is an iconic take on teen alienation that is consistently listed among the greatest English-language novels ever written. Salinger, 90, who has famously lived the life of a recluse in New Hampshire for most of the past half-century, last published in 1965. With the exception of a 1949 movie based on one of his early short stories, he has never authorized adaptations of any of his work, even turning down an overture from director Steven Spielberg to make "Catcher" into a movie. "There's no more to Holden Caulfield. Read the book again. It's all there," the court filing quotes Salinger as saying in 1980. "Holden Caulfield is only a frozen moment in time." The filing refers to the new book's author as "John Doe," saying that the name John David California probably is made up. The first-time novelist's biography on Amazon.com says California is the son of a Swedish mother and American father who was named after the state where he was born. It claims he is a former gravedigger and triathlete who found a copy of Salinger's novel "in an abandoned cabin in rural Cambodia" and that it helped him survive "the most maniacal of tropical fevers and chronic isolation." The Web site's description of the book is written in the same choppy, first-person stream of consciousness that Salinger employs as Holden wanders the streets of New York. It describes a character, "Mr. C," who flees his nursing home and "embarks on a curious journey through the streets of New York." The lawsuit names Swedish publisher Nicotext; its offshoot, Windupbird Publishing Ltd.; and California-based SCB Distributors as defendants. The Web site for Nicotext advertises such books as "The Macho Man's (Bad) Joke Book" and "Give It To Me Baby," which it describes as an erotic "flick book." Marcia Paul, Salinger's New York-based attorney, declined to speak on the record, citing her client's private nature. E-mail messages to Nicotext were not returned Wednesday. Aaron Silverman, president of SCB Distributors, said the people behind the new book plan to defend it against the lawsuit. "We believe we have the right to distribute this book and the publishers believe they have the right to publish it," he said. Silverman, whose company distributes books by about 150 publishers, called "60 Years Later" a work of "social science fiction," saying that California doesn't plagiarize, but sets a well-known character in an alternate place and time -- as literature has done for centuries. "It's amazing," he said of the book. "If it was something else, or it felt like a knock-off or whatever, I would have told the publisher we wouldn't do it. But it's really just amazing." Despite his cloistered lifestyle, Salinger nods to the contemporary marketplace in the lawsuit, noting that, as of last week, " 'The Catcher in the Rye' currently sells more copies on Amazon.com than 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'The DaVinci Code,' 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or 'Of Mice and Men.' " A hearing in the case is expected Monday. Salinger's lawyers will ask a judge to freeze publication of the book until a final ruling is made. The book is already available in Europe and the United Kingdom, and is scheduled to be released in the United States in September. The lawsuit asks that sales be halted and that books already distributed be recalled and destroyed. The argument is reminiscent of the legal tussle over the 2001 novel "The Wind Done Gone," a parody of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" told from the perspective of a slave. Mitchell's estate argued that the book, by novelist Alice Randall, infringed upon her copyright. But the 11th District U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in Randall's favor, saying the book was protected as a parody of a well-known work. Salinger's lawyers say "60 Years Later" deserves no such protection. "The sequel is not a parody and it does not comment upon or criticize the original," the lawsuit argues. "It is a rip-off pure and simple."

Lawsuit seeks halt to "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye" J.D. Salinger says "sequel" infringes on copyright of his classic novel . New author says he's former gravedigger, discovered "Catcher" in Cambodia . Court hearing scheduled for Monday in New York .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The mysterious disappearance of Flight AF 447 over the Atlantic Ocean has fueled speculation among aviation experts about what caused the state-of-the-art airliner to come down. An airliner is struck by lightning strike at Washington's Dulles airport last year. According to Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the Airbus A330-200 encountered heavy turbulence about 02:15 a.m. local time Monday (10:15 p.m. ET Sunday), three hours after the jet carrying 228 people left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Paris, France. At that point, the plane's automatic system initiated a four-minute exchange of messages to the company's maintenance computers, indicating "several pieces of aircraft equipment were at fault or had broken down." The jet, which was flying at 35,000 feet and at 521 mph, also sent a warning that it had lost pressure, the Brazilian air force said. Its last known contact occurred at 02:33 a.m., the Brazilian air force spokesman added. The assumption is that these electrical problems led to a catastrophic failure of the aircraft's controls. What brought Flight AF 447 down? » . Some experts have said that a lightning strike was a possibility, particularly since the plane disappeared in a storm-prone area along the equator known as the Intertropical Convergence zone (ITCZ). This is where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres converge. The intense sun and warm water of the equator heats the air in the ITCZ, raising its humidity and making it buoyant. Aided by the convergence of the trade winds, the buoyant air rises, releasing the accumulated moisture in an almost constant series of thunderstorms. The airliner's route » . According to CNN's Mari Ramos, these storms can reach altitudes of 52,000 ft -- way beyond the capacity of commercial airliners to fly over. Watch more about the weather systems » . Retired airline pilot John Cox told CNN that modern aircraft receive a constant stream of real time weather data which allows them to plot a course around storms. "Because safety is the paramount concern, airliners don't fly into storms. They fly around them," he said. "The ITCZ is no different. Planes fly through it every day. "At 8 miles per minute, modern jets can easily fly around storms. Even if they encounter turbulence, they're designed to absorb it." When lightning strikes a plane, the bolt typically hits a sharp part of it, such as a wing tip. Huge amounts of energy surge through the aircraft before exiting out of another sharp point, such as the tail. But sometimes high voltages can cause electrical damage if components are not well-grounded. Unlike other aircraft where the pilot's controls are manually attached to the flaps and rudders, Airbus 330 airliners are equipped with a "fly by wire" system that sends electronic signals from an onboard computer to move key control surfaces. Experts say that it is possible for this system and its back-up computers to be disabled by lightning. "If you have a massive electrical problem it's possible that you could cut off all the commands out to the control surfaces," said aeronautics expert John Hansman. However, Kieran Daly, from the online aviation news service Air Transport Intelligence, told CNN that this scenario, while not impossible, is inconceivable. "It's more likely that lightning would cause a fire or punch a hole through the aircraft structure," he said. "It could be significant that the jet reported a loss of pressure." He added that the aircraft would be able to continue without the fly-by-wire system. The "trim tab," which enables the pilot to manually manipulate controls such as the rudder, would allow the crew to fly the aircraft safely. "Pilots are routinely trained for these kinds of events in a simulator," he said. Former Airbus pilot John Wiley said on average every airliner is hit by a strike once a year. "They don't go down," he said. According to Air France, the captain of Flight AF 447 had a record of 11,000 flight hours and had already flown 1,700 hours on Airbus A330/A340 aircraft. Of the two first officers, one had flown 3,000 flight hours (800 of which on the Airbus A330/A340) and the other 6,600 (2,600 on the Airbus A330/A340). The aircraft had totaled 18,870 flight hours and went into service on 18 April 2005. Its last maintenance check in the hangar took place on 16 April 2009.

Air France Airbus A330-200 encountered heavy turbulence . CEO: "Several pieces of aircraft equipment were at fault or had broken down" Some experts have said that a lightning strike was a possible cause . Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was carrying 228 people .

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(CNN) -- Everything you know about the world of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous character has changed. Thomas Dekker, Lena Headey and Summer Glau star in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." In the season finale of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," John Connor, the boy destined to lead humanity's battle against Armageddon, gets jolted into the future -- the one he was supposed to lead. But here, he has no identity. No one has heard of him. In this new future, he'll be fighting alongside his father, his uncle and a girl who looks just like the robot he came into the future to save. None of them has any idea who he is. Confused? Don't be. It was a daring, surprising, brilliant cliffhanger for a show that's gained a loyal following, particularly among people like me who are in awe of it. It also opens the door to anyone who hasn't discovered this show yet, allowing for a fresh start. Unfortunately, it may be too late. For fans, the big question is whether the "Chronicles" will be back, or canceled for inadequate ratings. We find out in a couple of weeks when Fox announces its schedule. The speculation online doesn't look good. Ending on this Season 2 cliffhanger would be a shame. When Fox picked up this "Terminator," it took on one of the most successful sci-fi franchises in modern entertainment history. It courted "Terminator" fans, as well as people like me who never gave much thought to the movies but appreciate deep, high-quality TV storytelling. Ending on this "what happens now" cliffhanger would leave a gaping hole in the franchise's history. But of bigger concern, of course, is that "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is just really good TV -- the kind that you want to believe can last. And that's thanks to Josh Friedman, the inspired executive producer. For him, "Terminator" isn't about special effects and metal monsters. It's a family drama; a mother and son entrusted with a huge secret and the responsibility to change the future, no matter what the cost. Without clobbering you with messages, Friedman gets you thinking -- about people whose secret struggles you can't know, about living with trauma and moving forward, about the strength and fragility of teenagers, and about the otherwise impossible things parents manage to do to protect their children. Sarah is parental adrenaline personified. It's also a show about cancer. We know Sarah can successfully battle robots, evil people and well-meaning authorities who want her locked up. But will cancer ultimately do her in? Friedman has talked about the show serving as a catharsis for his own real-life battle against cancer. Fans can't wait to find out what happens with Sarah (Lena Headey) in the new reality. Did she follow her son into the future? If not, what happened to her? Friedman might be the best storyteller on TV right now. He packs episodes with twists you don't see coming but make sense in retrospect. He changes up his style, drops lead characters for entire episodes, uses biblical references left and right and delivers dialogue that's simultaneously believable and eloquent. He lets major characters die. And the show's directors coax subtle, nuanced performances from the actors. You wouldn't guess any of this from Fox's promotions, which have focused too heavily on Cameron (Summer Glau), the robot who helps protect John Connor (Thomas Dekker), sending the signal that it's a show just for teenage fanboys. Cameron and John's relationship is actually a very clever exploration of something adults quickly recognize: the teenage boy with the mysterious girl who seems to have his best interest at heart but might be the most dangerous thing in his life. It's in some ways the reverse of "Buffy." Speaking of which, Fox may have done better promoting "Chronicles" as a family drama and then pairing it with one, rather than "Dollhouse," the latest from "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon. (Insider question for fans: Is Josh Friedman the new Joss Whedon? Weigh in here or here.) It's also not clear how, or if, the new movie "Terminator: Salvation" affects the show's chances of survival -- though strictly in terms of storylines, there's apparently no overlap and no conflict. The weekly adventures of Sarah and John Connor just aren't done. There's too much unanswered, too much left to explore. So here's my pitch to network heads: You can still change the future. Don't terminate these "Chronicles" before their time. What are your thoughts? Think Josh is right -- or misguided? Weigh in at Facebook or Twitter.

Future of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is up in the air . CNN's Josh Levs believes show is one of best on TV and is taking interesting turns . Levs: Fox has misplaced promotion, which should be focusing on mother-son bond .

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(CNN) -- Brazilian star Kaka has agreed to join Real Madrid from Italy's AC Milan in a $92 million deal, the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported on Tuesday. Former World Player of the Year Kaka has agreed to join Real Madrid in a $92m move according to reports in Spain. Cadena Ser claimed that Real president Florentino Perez had thrashed out a deal with AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani and Bosco Leite, Kaka's father and agent. Kaka is currently in Brazil with the national team ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay and earlier in the day had appeared to rule out a move from Italy's Serie A. "I'll say it for the last time. The last time. I don't want to leave Milan," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "In this period I prefer to remain silent because I don't want to be misunderstood. Or, worse still, to be used. "To the millions of Milan supporters, I say that I have made my choice. I have said what I want to stay. Leave me in peace, please." However, AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi also hinted at Kaka's departure just before Cadena Ser's claim. "I do not know if we can keep Kaka at Milan because they (Real) have offered him so much money," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by Italian press agency Ansa. Spanish reports said Kaka will sign for five years with a salary worth nearly $13 million a year. Former team-mate Paolo Maldini, who retired at the end of the season, admitted he still had doubts about Kaka's future at the San Siro. "I don't know if he'll still stay at Milan," Maldini told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Ancelotti might have been cryptic about his future but Kaka has been even more so." Last January, Kaka rejected a move to Premier League Manchester City who were prepared to pay the 2007 world player of the year $750,000 per week. Kaka's coach at Milan Carlo Ancelotti was on Monday appointed manager at Premier League Chelsea who have also been linked with a bid for the Brazilian.

Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claim Kaka agrees $92m Real Madrid move . Kaka currently in Brazil with the national team ahead of a World Cup qualifier . Reports said Kaka will sign for five years with salary worth nearly $13m a year .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Italian football manager Carlo Ancelotti has gone from Milan to London in less than a day. Carlo Ancelotti will take over as manager of Chelsea from July 1 this year. Just 24 hours after resigning from his highly-successful eight-year stint at Italy's AC Milan, he has been announced as the new manager of English Premier League club Chelsea -- replacing temporary manager Guus Hiddink. Chelsea, who won the FA Cup at the weekend, were looking for a permanent manager for the start of next season -- and Ancelotti has been signed on a three-year deal to the west-London club. A statement on Chelsea's web site read: "Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions." Ancelotti, who turns 50 next week, has been in management since 1995, when he took charge of Italian Serie B club Reggiana. Although he only spent one season at Reggiana, he managed to earn them promotion to the top-flight Serie A league. Since then he has managed Parma and Juventus, before taking on the San Siro-based giants AC Milan. Is Ancelotti's appointment the right move for Chelsea? Tell us in the Sound Off box below. As a manager he has enjoyed plenty of success, particularly in his time at the Rossoneri. He steered Milan to the Coppa Italia in 2003, the Serie A title in 2003--04, the UEFA Champions League in both 2002--03 and 2006--07, the UEFA Super Cup in 2003 and 2007 and the FIFA Club World Cup crown in 2007. Before entering management, Ancelotti had a significant playing career as a midfielder with AS Roma and AC Milan. During his time at both clubs he amassed three Serie A titles, two European Cups, and he also won the Coppa Italia four times with Roma. He is one of only six people to ever win the Champions League as both a player and manager -- a list which includes current Barcelona manager and this year's winner, Josep Guardiola. Ancelotti also represented Italy on 26 occasions, scoring once. He played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups alongside players such as Roberto Mancini and the recently-retired Paolo Maldini. Despite his management success at AC Milan, it has been widely reported that his relationship with the club's owner, Silvio Berlusconi, has not been strong in 2009. He takes over at Chelsea as the permanent replacement for Luiz Felipe Scolari, although Guus Hiddink has been in charge since Scolari was sacked from Stamford Bridge in February.

London football club Chelsea appoint Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager . Ancelotti has been in charge of Italian giants AC Milan for the past eight years . As a manager, Ancelotti has enjoyed multiple Italian and European successes . The Italian previously represented his country as a player, scoring one goal .

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(CNN) -- Big Ben, arguably the world's most famous clock, celebrates on Sunday 150 years of keeping London on time. The British landmark has lived through war, bad weather and disasters. Big Ben's distinctive bongs have been a part of the London scene for 150 years. Big Ben is the 14-ton bell inside the world's largest four-faced chiming clock, although most people use the name to describe the tower that houses it. The clock is perched on a 96-meter (310-foot) elegant tower at the Westminster Bridge end of the Palace of Westminster. The Victorian masterpiece, which provides distinctive chimes known as bongs, was voted Britain's favorite monument in 2008. It has been featured in films such as "101 Dalmatians" and "Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix." Big Ben has been disrupted a few times over the years for various reasons, including weather and breakages. Its bongs went silent for about two months in August 2007 to allow a crew to repair its mechanism system. During that time, the rest of the clock was running on an electric system. It was fully restarted again October 1. The clock pays tribute to Britain's royal history: It has a Latin inscription of the phrase: "O Lord, save our Queen Victoria the First." The ornate masterpiece has some quirky features. The hour hand, which weighs 300 kilograms (661 pounds), is made of gun metal while the minute hands are made of copper sheet. The minute hands would not work when they were first made of cast iron because they were too heavy. The clock started working on May 31, 1859, after the lighter copper hands were installed. The origins of the landmark's name are obscure. Some say it was named after the 1850s heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt while others suggest it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a former member of parliament. Hall, the commissioner of works in 1859, was responsible for ordering the bell. Alan Hughes, the director of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that made the bell, prefers the latter. "I suppose I like it chiefly because it was a nickname of a man who was big and loud and pompous, and never used one word if 27 would do," he said in a 2008 interview. Hughes' company also made America's Liberty Bell and a number of others for cathedrals and churches around the world.

London's Big Ben turns 150 years old on Sunday . Last year, Victorian masterpiece was voted Britain's favorite monument . No one is quite sure where the clock's moniker came from .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Shortly before President Obama departs for a trip to the Middle East, a new national poll suggests that one in five Americans has a favorable view of Muslim countries. President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit an Istanbul mosque in April. That view compares with 46 percent of the people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey who say they have an unfavorable opinion of Muslim countries. That's up 5 percentage points from 2002, when 41 percent indicated that they had an unfavorable view. Meanwhile, three in 10 say they have a neutral opinion of Muslim countries. The poll also suggests that most Americans suspect people in Muslim countries don't think highly of the United States. Nearly eight in 10 questioned say people in Muslim countries have a unfavorable opinion of the United States, with 14 percent saying Muslims hold a favorable view. iReport.com: Your perspectives on the Muslim world . But the poll indicates Americans seem to be split on whether such negative opinions by Muslims matter. Fifty-three percent of those questioned say they think Muslim views of the United States matter greatly or moderately, with 47 percent saying that Muslim opinions of the United States don't matter very much or at all. The poll's release comes hours before the president flies to Saudi Arabia for meetings with King Abdullah. Following the stop in Saudi Arabia, Obama will head to Egypt, where he'll deliver a long-awaited speech Thursday on relations between the United States and the Muslim world. Watch the challenges Obama faces with the speech » . At a town hall in Turkey earlier this year, the president declared that "the United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam." Many Americans seem to agree with the president: Sixty-two percent of those surveyed say they don't think the United States is at war with the Muslim world, with 36 percent indicating that the country is at war with Muslim countries. Those numbers have remained stable since CNN's 2002 poll. But the poll suggests that six out of 10 think that the Muslim world considers itself at war with the United States. "The feeling seems to be mutual. We distrust Muslims. They distrust Americans. Views of Americans have not changed very much over the past seven years. There are some indications that Muslims' views of Americans have improved a bit since Barack Obama took office, but they are still not positive," said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst. The CNN/Opinion Research poll was conducted May 14-17, with 1,010 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Poll: One in five Americans has a favorable view of Muslim countries . Poll released on eve of President Obama's speech in Cairo, Egypt, to Muslim world . Poll: Americans say they aren't at war with Muslims but think Muslims at war with U.S.

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(CNN) -- North Korea has completed preparations for launching what it says is "an experimental communications satellite," the reclusive nation's state news agency reported early Saturday. A satellite image shows a rocket sitting on its launch pad in northeast North Korea. "The satellite will be launched soon," KCNA reported. How "soon" was anyone's guess. On Friday, President Obama reiterated that the United States strongly opposes any such launch. "We have made it very clear to the North Koreans that their missile launch is provocative, it puts enormous strains on the Six-Party Talks and that they should stop the launch," Obama said while on a stop in France. Obama warned that the United States will join with its allies to take "appropriate steps" to let North Korea know it can't violate United Nations rules and get away with it. Western nations fear that North Korea plans a ballistic missile test rather than a satellite launch, but the administration's special envoy to the Six-Party Talks, Stephen Bosworth, said it didn't matter if the North Koreans were trying to put a satellite in space or testing a ballistic missile that could threaten Japan or the United States. "Whether it is a satellite launch or a missile launch, in our judgment makes no difference. It is a provocative act," Bosworth said. Bosworth said the United States stands ready, in the event of a launch, to participate in U.N. deliberations on new sanctions against North Korea. A commentary carried by KCNA recently blasted critics for opposing its plans. "This is nothing but a groundless outcry of the political philistines ignorant of any legality of the study of space for peaceful purposes," the commentary said. The U.S. Navy is monitoring the expected launch with at least four ships in the region around the Korean Peninsula and northern Japan, according to U.S. military officials. The ships -- three destroyers and one cruiser -- are capable of tracking and shooting down ballistic missiles using powerful Aegis radar systems aboard each vessel. Two ships are in the Sea of Japan, the USS Curtis Wilbur and the USS Stethem, both guided-missile destroyers. Two other ships are on the Pacific Ocean side of Japan to monitor the missile if it flies over that nation. Those ships are the USS Shiloh, a guided-missile cruiser and the USS Fitzgerald, another guided-missile destroyer, the officials said. All four U.S. ships are working with Japanese naval ships in the same region that are also equipped with Aegis radar. Watch report on launch preparations » . U.S. military officials say Pyongyang seems to still be on track to launch the missile as early as Saturday, but one official told CNN that winds strong enough to delay a launch are predicted for Saturday in the area of the launch site, in northeastern North Korea.

N. Korea says rocket containing "communications satellite" is ready for launch . U.S. military officials anticipating Saturday launch, but windy weather could delay it . Obama: U.S. opposes any such launch, which puts "strain" on Six-Party Talks . Aegis-equipped U.S., Japanese naval ships are monitoring in Sea of Japan, Pacific .

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(CNN) -- The Scottish Rugby Union has appointed Andy Robinson, formerly coach of bitter rivals England, as the new national team boss. Andy Robinson will be seeking to revive the fortunes of Scotland's struggling rugby side. The 45-year-old won eight caps as a flanker for England, and was assistant coach in Clive Woodward's 2003 World Cup-winning set-up before taking over for an ill-fated reign himself in 2004, winning just nine of 22 matches. Robinson returned to top-class coaching with Celtic League team Edinburgh in 2007, and has sufficiently impressed Scottish officials in the 20 months since then to win favor as the replacement for Frank Hadden. He had been part of Hadden's backroom staff, and had already been chosen to coach Scotland A this summer. Hadden resigned on April 2 after Scotland again struggled in the Six Nations, finishing second from bottom with just one win from five outings. Robinson was delighted to be given the chance to return to the international stage. "With the World Cup in New Zealand in 2011, I believe we have a crop of players who can really challenge the world's best, and preparation for that starts now," he told the SRU Web site. "I'm looking forward to leading Scotland A into the IRB Nations Cup in Romania next week and thereafter preparing for our Autumn Tests at Murrayfield against Fiji, Australia and Argentina." Robinson is believed to have headed off the likes of South Africa's World Cup-winning coach Jake White and former Australia boss Eddie Jones for the job. Former Scotland captain and British and Irish Lion Gordon Bulloch was part of the interview panel that determined the appointment. "Andy was the outstanding candidate from a quite exceptional shortlist which underlines the allure of coaching the Scotland team," he told the SRU's Web site. "I know from having had the privilege of his coaching and guidance on Lions tours that he is passionate about his rugby, is a skilled communicator and has values and an ethos which are absolutely at one with developing a winning Scotland team." Scottish Rugby chief executive Gordon McKie said he was confident Robinson would prove to be successful. "Andy has proved himself at every level of the game and we are thrilled that he will now be leading the Scotland team as we look towards the challenges of the next three years, including the 2011 World Cup," McKie said. "He has been part of the Scottish Rugby family for the past two years and has brought success both to Edinburgh Rugby, with their highest ever Magners League finish in successive seasons, and has also guided the Scotland A team to notable successes."

Andy Robinson appointed new coach of Scotland's national rugby team . Robinson replaces Frank Hadden, who resigned in April after poor results . The 45-year-old has played for and coached England's national side . He rebuilt his career with Edinburgh after being sacked by England .

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PARIS, France (CNN) -- Friends and relatives of the 216 passengers and 12 crew members on Air France Flight 447 are coming to terms with the news that wreckage from the flight was found in the Atlantic Ocean. Eithne Walls, who danced with Riverdance on Broadway, was aboard Air France flight 447. Among those on board were a member of Brazil's former royal family, a one-time performer with the Riverdance troupe, a Rio city official, executives from major international companies and an 11-year-old British schoolboy. Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, 26, was a descendant of the family that ruled Brazil until 1889, a branch of the former Portuguese royal family. The Orleans and Braganca family considered him to be fourth in line to the throne. Pedro Luis was the oldest son of Prince Antonio and Princess Christine, the family said. He was the only member of the family on the flight, his relatives said. Eithne Walls, who danced with Riverdance on Broadway, was also on the plane, said Julian Erskine, senior executive producer of the troupe. "I never saw her without a smile on her face," Erskine said in a statement. "It is hard to believe that such a bright light could be quenched so early and while burning so brilliantly." She joined the Irish dance troupe in 1998 and performed with them for most of a decade, studying medicine at the same time, Erskine said. Watch CNN's Paula Newton report on families awaiting news of Air France Flight 447 » . "Anyone who traveled with Eithne will remember the medical books always on the go and her constant attention to her studies," he said. "Without doubt she was someone with a rich future stretching out ahead of her." The wife one passenger said Tuesday she was only beginning to come to grips with the likelihood that he is dead. "I have to say, maybe today I'm realizing he might not come back," Patricia Coakley told a reporter about her husband, Arthur. The structural engineer and designer had completed a business trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was flying to Paris, France, on his way back to their home in Whitby, North Yorkshire, near England's northeast coast. Coakley said her husband hated his cell phones and usually left them switched off. "But yesterday it was ringing, so maybe they're not at the bottom of the sea. That's my hope. But I think it's maybe fading today." He had originally planned to return home on May 19, but his boss asked him to stay in Brazil until Sunday, she said. "He shouldn't have been on that flight," she said. "He should have been on the earlier flight." In a telephone call he told her he was excited about returning to see their three children and their plans to go on vacation Friday to the Greek island of Corfu, she said. "All his stuff's ready should he turn up," she added. "We had so many plans, and they've taken it all away, haven't they?" she asked rhetorically, without identifying "they." "God wouldn't be so cruel." She described her husband as a religious man. "It used to drive me mad. He used to read the Bible every night. And if he thought he was going to get pissed [drunk], he used to read it before he left the house." The two loved to travel, and he would ask her, "Where should we go next, darling?" she recalled. But they had been based in England for 25 years to give their children a sense of stability, she said. "His priority was sea view and mine was trees and we found it," she said, pointing to both, her eyes welling. "It was just going to be repainted next week." Thinking about the moment when an apparent catastrophic failure caused the jet and its 228 occupants to plunge into the ocean, she said, "I hope Art was asleep and I hope he wasn't frightened." "I know if he was awake, he would have been thinking of us." The passengers on Flight 447 also included Marcelo Parente, chief of staff in the office of Rio de Janeiro's mayor. Two executives of Michelin, one of the world's leading tire manufacturers, also were aboard the plane, a Michelin spokeswoman said. They were Luiz Roberto Anastacio, president of Michelin Latin America, and Antonio Gueiros, another top regional executive. Michelin employee Christine Pieraerts was also among the passengers, the company said. The spokeswoman said that Michelin was saddened by the tragedy. Alexander Bjoroy, 11, was on his way home to England after a vacation in Brazil, the headmaster of his school said. He was a "well-liked and respected boarder who will be sorely missed by his fellow pupils and staff," said John Milne, the head of Clifton College Preparatory School in Bristol, England. Milne expressed the school's "deepest sympathies" to the boy's family. The passengers included 61 people from France, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans and people from 29 other countries, Air France said. An official list of victims by name was not available early Tuesday, but two Americans -- Michael Harris, 60, and his wife, Anne, 54 -- were identified by the couple's family and his employer. "Anne and Mike were indeed a beautiful couple inside and out, and I miss them terribly already," said Anne Harris' sister, Mary Miley. Michael Harris was a geologist in Rio de Janeiro for Devon Energy, a U.S.-based natural gas and oil producer, according to a company spokesman. The Harrises were traveling to Paris for a training seminar and vacation, Miley said. CNN's Isa Soares, Helena DeMoura, Alysen Miller and Lianne Turner contributed to this report.

Member of Brazil's former royal family among 216 passengers on missing plane . One-time performer with Riverdance troupe, British schoolboy also aboard . Air France flight disappeared over Atlantic after taking off from Brazil . Majority of the presumed dead came from Brazil, France and Germany .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Going to the prom is a highlight in many teenagers' lives. But attending a prom isn't always an option for some young people, including those with special needs. Alex Gonzales passes under the Marines' sword arch Saturday in Washington as he arrives at the prom. That's where Helen McCormick comes in. "We are dreaming for children who are excluded from their proms, and ... you're going to see people walk through the doors who are going to be just absolutely mesmerized," said McCormick, president of a Virginia-based nonprofit called The House, Inc. For the past four years, McCormick has organized a prom specifically for children with special needs. This year's prom, dubbed "The Cinderella Ball," was held Saturday night at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington. More than 150 teens attended the gala, where they were greeted by 41 Marines. Each one of the teens went down a red carpet, under a Marine Corps sword arch, before being seated for dinner. Watch scenes from the spectacular prom » . "The children that will be coming are various disabled children with kidney (ailments), children that are literally terminally ill, children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and autism," McCormick said before the event. Norman Gonzales brought his 13-year-old son, Alex. "Their social life is very limited at school and outside school as well, so something like this is very good because they come to a place where they find themselves with people that they can relate to," Gonzales said. This was Alex Gonzales' first prom and he said he had a great time. "Coming to an event like this -- I think it's a great experience," he said. The entertainment for the evening was 2007 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks. "I think it's so amazing with all the kids that they get to have their prom. They get to dress up and feel really beautiful and have this night dedicated to them," Sparks said. Most of the teens attending the prom were accompanied by a parent or friend. Some of them brought dates. It was a night many of them said they wouldn't forget anytime soon. Victor Padgett attended the festivities with his daughter, Dede. He said events like these prove that the human spirit is alive and well. "There is hope. There is love, and there is compassion for everyone," he said.

"The Cinderella Ball" is held at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington . Teens with illnesses, autism, Down syndrome get to attend a prom of their own . Teens go down a red carpet and under a Marine Corps sword arch before dinner . Organizer Helen McCormick arranges top talent -- 2007 "Idol" winner Jordin Sparks .

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Debris located early Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil is wreckage from the Air France jet that disappeared Monday, Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said. A French search and rescue crew scans the Atlantic for wreckage Tuesday. No survivors have been found, he said. Jobim made the announcement after meeting with relatives and friends of Brazilians who were among the 228 people aboard Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France. Two debris fields were found about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west, the Ministry of Defense said on its Web site. One of the fields was 5 km (3 miles) long and that both lie near the flight path between Rio de Janeiro and Paris. Among the wreckage was an airplane seat, metal debris, an orange float, a drum and an oil spill, the posting said. See map of suspected crash zone » . Brazilian air force planes spotted the debris field Tuesday morning, but it was not until a French commercial vessel arrived on the scene that the debris' origin was confirmed. The planes searched 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles) of ocean throughout the day and will continue to search for more debris overnight, the Brazilian Air Force Said. Two Netherlands-flagged vessels were expected to arrive in the area later in the day; a Brazilian navy ship was expected to arrive Wednesday, officials said. Brazilian air force jets were continuing to comb the area for other debris, and a U.S. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft was assisting as well. Watch how wreckage has been spotted in Atlantic » . The searchers also want to find the cockpit voice and data recorders, which might shed light on what caused the jet to disappear before any of the three pilots was able to issue a mayday. "That really is an ominous sign," said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Managing Director Peter Goelz. "It means, whatever happened, it happened so quickly that the pilots were not able to radio out. It probably indicates a catastrophic failure at altitude." He said that meteorologists have been checking weather data over the area "to see if there was some phenomenon that was taking place -- so far, we haven't seen it." The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence early Monday, about three hours into what was supposed to be an 11-hour flight, according to the airline. The plane carried 216 passengers -- 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby -- and 12 crew members, Air France said. The majority of the people on the flight came from Brazil, France and Germany. Other victims were from 29 other countries, including three from the United States. Of the crew, 11 were French, and one was Brazilian. A team of approximately 20 Air France staff members, including two doctors and a nurse, arrived Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro to assist families of the victims, the airline said. An inter-religious ceremony is to be held Wednesday afternoon inside Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral for family and friends of the victims. Though it will be closed to news media, a sound recording of the ceremony will be broadcast into the square outside. An official list of victims by name was not available Tuesday afternoon, but two Americans on board -- Michael Harris, 60, and his wife, Anne, 54 -- were identified by the couple's family and his employer. Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a member of Brazil's non-reigning royal family, was also on the flight, his family said Monday. Pedro Luis was 26. Also on the flight were two executives of the French tire company Michelin: Michelin Latin America President Luiz Roberto Anastacio and Antonio Gueiro, director of informatics. Read more about victims on Air France Flight 447 . The jet was 4 years old and had last undergone routine maintenance April 16. The Air France plane has built-in homing devices, said Greg Feith, a former investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Homing devices such as "pingers," which are underwater locator beacons attached to flight data and cockpit voice recorders, can transmit signals from as deep as 14,000 feet, about the maximum depth of the waters in the area. The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is about 12,000 feet: more than 2 miles. "They're water-activated, so if they're sitting at the bottom of the ocean, of course, then the military assets will have to go in there with listening devices and try and home in on those particular signals," Feith said. Shortly before it disappeared, the plane's automatic system initiated a four-minute exchange of messages to the company's maintenance computers, indicating that "several pieces of aircraft equipment were at fault or had broken down," Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said Monday. The jet, which was flying at 35,000 feet and at 521 mph, also sent a warning that it had lost pressure, the Brazilian air force said. There was no contact with the crew during or after the time that the automatic messages were sent, Gourgeon said. "It was probable that it was a little bit after those messages that the impact of the plane took place in the Atlantic," he added. CNN's John Zarrella, Kim Segal and Nesta Distin and journalist Helena DeMoura contributed to this report.

NEW: Pilots' failure to issue mayday "ominous sign," former NTSB spokesman says . NEW: Memorial service to be held Wednesday at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral . 2 debris fields found about 400 miles northeast of Fernando de Noronha Islands . Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was carrying 228 people .

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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- When Japanese police arrested three sumo wrestlers and their stable master on Thursday over allegations they beat a 17-year-old wrestler to death, the case sent shockwaves across a country that links its national identity to the sport. Sumo stablemaster Junichi Yamamoto following the young wrestler's death in October. In scenes unprecedented in Japan's history, where wrestlers are seen as national heroes, the sumo stars were shown handcuffed and with jackets over their heads surrounded by cameras and reporters. Police arrested sumo wrestlers Masakazu Kimura, 24, Yuichiro Izuka, 25, Masanori Fujii, 22, and their stablemaster, Junichi Yamamoto, 57, who is also known as Tokitsukaze. Aichi prefectural police allege Yamamoto ordered the three wrestlers to beat a 17 year old junior wrestler so brutally that he died. Takashi Saito, 17, collapsed at his sumo stable and was rushed to the hospital. Initially, the boy's death was listed as "ischemic heart failure", until his family viewed his body. They say his body was covered in bruises, cuts and burns. They begged police to open an investigation, believing he'd been punished for trying to flee the stable. "He said he'd be a good boy, I just need to come get him (from the stable)," his father told reporters last summer, through choked tears. "I should have listened and trusted him." Police say on June 25, Yamamoto instructed the wrestlers to beat the boy using sticks and a metal bat. Yamamoto publicly denied striking Saito inappropriately, though he did admit to striking him on the head with a beer bottle during dinner that day. He told reporters shortly after Saito's death, "This was an ordinary practice. How could you think I would do anything to hurt someone I consider my child?" The results of an autopsy conducted last year by Niigata University concluded that Saito died of shock caused by multiple injuries. In a separate autopsy, specialists at Nagoya University confirmed earlier this month that shock caused by multiple external injuries contributed to Saito's death. The arrests have shaken Japan's national sport to its core. The Prime Minister, on the floor of the Parliament, urged the nation to carefully examine its sport. The Sumo Association says it will look at how young sumo are hazed, a process that often batters them to toughen them up. "There will be some change in the short-term, but in the long-run, nothing will change," says sumo analyst and Japan Times sumo columnist Mark Buckton. "These are bad apples who took it too far." E-mail to a friend .

Police arrest three sumo wrestlers and their stablemaster over wrestler's death . Police allege the trainer ordered the wrestlers to beat the 17-year-old wrestler . The case has shocked Japan where sumo is regarded as near-sacred sport .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Dressed as Santa, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo walked up to his ex-in-laws' home in Covina, California, on Christmas Eve and knocked on the door. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo was sought for a Christmas party shooting before taking his own life, police said. An 8-year-old girl, elated to see Santa, ran toward the door. That's when, police say, Pardo lifted a gun and shot her in the face. Pardo, 45, with a gun in one hand and a wrapped present in the other, began shooting indiscriminately, police said at a news conference Thursday. He sprayed the living room with bullets. Watch police describe the child getting shot » . Nearly 25 friends and family members were at the home for an annual Christmas party. Some ran, some took cover under furniture, some broke windows in an effort to escape -- one woman jumped from the second-story of the home, police said. Neighbors heard gunfire and called 911 shortly before 11:30 p.m. Police said they arrived within three minutes to find the home engulfed in flames. Police said Thursday afternoon that six bodies had been recovered. The Los Angeles County coroner's office later said two more bodies had been recovered. The names of the victims have not yet been released by authorities. Police said they have not accounted for three people: Pardo's ex-mother-in-law, ex-father-in-law and ex-wife -- whom he recently divorced. The 8-year-old, whose injuries indicate the bullet went straight through her face, is recovering at a hospital in Los Angeles, police said. "She has a very, very severe injury to her face. It's not life-threatening, but she's got a very tough road ahead of her," Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department said Thursday. A 16-year-old with a gunshot wound and the woman who jumped out the window were also being treated at the hospital. Police believe that after Pardo stopped shooting he unwrapped his gift -- a home-made device used to spread fire -- and used it to set the house ablaze. Watch firefighters on the scene of the inferno » . Buchanan said the device was "something we have never seen before." Covina Police Chief Kim Raney described it as a pressurized tank attached to another tank filled with accelerant. Police believe that after Pardo set fire to the home, he changed into his regular clothing, went to another relative's home in the nearby Sylmar area and committed suicide. Authorities identified Pardo's body, said Buchanan. Police have not released the identities of any of his alleged victims. At the news conference Ed Winter, assistant chief Los Angeles County coroner, said the recovered bodies were "severely burned and charred," making it necessary to use dental and medical records, and X-rays to establish identities. The intense fire caused the top floor of the two-story house to collapse onto the first floor, according to Winter. Raney said Pardo's former in-laws regularly have a party Christmas Eve and that one neighbor always arrives dressed as Santa. This year, that neighbor was away, police said. Police suggested marital problems as a possible motive for the attack and said they believe Pardo and his wife of one year finally settled a contentious divorce last week. Authorities said Pardo's name was given to them by people who were at the party. Police also said they recovered multiple weapons from inside the house.

Pardo shot 8-year-old at ex-in-laws' home as she ran toward him . Pardo carried gift-wrapped, homemade device to spread fire . Eight found dead after shootings, fire at the Los Angeles-area house . Suspected gunman found dead at relative's house, police say .

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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Several years ago, in honor of the new millennium, Playboy magazine asked musicians for lists of their top 10 songs of the previous 1,000 years. The Beatles placed six albums in Tom Moon's "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die." Most of them stuck to the era of recorded sound, but guitarist Richard Thompson cheekily took Playboy's request seriously and submitted a list that included such songs as "Sumer Is Icumen In," a hit from the 13th century, and "Blackleg Miner," a folk ballad of the 1800s. Playboy was not amused, and did not print Thompson's list. Such is the fate that awaits many people who compile expansive lists of the greatest or most influential songs, movies, TV shows, romantic getaways or baseball players shorter than 5 feet 9. Everybody's a critic. At best, your list will inspire furious discussion; at worst, it will be ignored by your prospective debaters and sink as forlornly as a pebble in the Atlantic Ocean. Which hasn't stopped a slew of new entries in the list-making business -- and not just simple top 10s, either. A handful of authors and publications have released, or are planning to release, works with up to 1,001 suggestions you should know about right now. Tom Moon, author of "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die" (Workman), knew what a daunting task he had been assigned. "Could one person be counted on to do all kinds of music?" says Moon, the former music critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer and a regular contributor to NPR, describing himself as apprehensive about the project. But he found himself warming to the idea. As a music journalist, he prides himself on being a generalist, though he admits he's mostly stayed close to the pop realms. A book such as "1,000 Recordings," he says, can help people see past their particular favorite artists or genres and tap into the whole world of recorded music. "It's like having a tour guide with a flashlight shining into unknown places," he says in a recent interview at CNN Center. "It's someone saying, 'This is cool. Check this out.' " Watch Moon defend the inclusion of Britney Spears' "Toxic" » . Moon isn't the only one marking time by making lists this season. Movie critic David Thomson put out " 'Have You Seen ...?': A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films" (Knopf) in October. The January issue of Blender magazine blares "1,001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now" on its cover. The minds behind the music Web site Pitchfork have "The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present" (Simon and Schuster). And then there are the other big lists, past and future, including Dave Marsh's 1989 singles compendium "The Heart of Rock and Soul" (Marsh chose 1,001 influential singles) and Robert Hofler's forthcoming "Variety's 'The Movie That Changed My Life' " (120 notables pick their favorites). So where does one start? Thomson and Moon wanted references that included well-known titles and obscurities, often cheek by jowl. "I wanted a 'bumper' book for your laps," writes Thomson in his introduction. "I wanted old favorites to be neighbors with films you've never heard of. I wanted you to entertain the unlikely possibility that 'everything' is here. Of course, it is not -- everything remains out in our scattered 'there.' " So "Have You Seen ...?", which is organized in alphabetical order by title, includes some interesting juxtapositions. The laconic Humphrey Bogart film "The Big Sleep," directed by the no-nonsense Howard Hawks, precedes Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." The Frank Capra-directed "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring an earnest James Stewart, resides next to David Lynch's loopily creepy "Mulholland Dr." Thomson picks some films for their artistry, others because ... well, because he wanted to, and it's his book. Moon says he set some ground rules. He wanted to stick with albums, not singles or specific cuts. He knew he'd have to include certain essential recordings, but wanted room to roam. "There's no way to be definitive about music," he says. "My thought was, let me find some of the best of the best ... then find stuff as thrilling, but perhaps not as accessible." So "1,000 Recordings" includes the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced" and Glenn Gould's two albums of Bach's Goldberg Variations, but also Guided By Voices' "Bee Thousand" and Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko's "New Ancient Strings." "Born to Run" makes the list; so does Henry Mancini's score for "Breakfast at Tiffany's." But like Thomson's film book, it has some idiosyncracies. The Beatles get six selections; the Rolling Stones get two, and one is a singles collection. There's a Beau Brummels album, but only a Dion single (yes, Moon breaks his own rules occasionally). And the curmudgeonly listeners at Pitchfork, Down Beat and the classical magazine Gramophone no doubt are wondering where some of their favorites are. For Moon -- as with probably anyone who's ever tried to make a comprehensive list of anything -- that's all part of the fun. Go ahead and argue; passion is better than indifference. "These are starting points," he says.

Critics offering mega-lists of albums, films, other things to know about . Critic Tom Moon on his "1,000 Recordings": "It's someone saying, 'This is cool' " Moon says he's not providing be-all and end-all: "These are starting points"

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- It is one of the most notorious cold cases in recent memory. A 6-year-old girl, a child of beauty and privilege, was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, on the day after Christmas 1996. The strangulation of JonBenet Ramsey is also among the coldest of cases. Twelve years have passed, and again it is Christmastime, the season of JonBenet's death. The investigation has taken many heartbreaking twists and turns, including a false confession and baseless suspicions cast for a time on the child's parents. After years of false starts, there are no solid leads. For many, the images of this tragic story are indelible: A doll-like child smiling flirtatiously at the camera in flamboyant costumes, heavy makeup and grown-up hairstyles parading on a beauty pageant stage. A tiny, lifeless body, dressed in long johns, found on the basement floor by her father. Watch how this case touched nearly everyone » . Just this past July, John and Patsy Ramsey were exonerated by police of having any role in their daughter's death. Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June 2006. FBI lab results confirmed that a man, yet to be identified, touched JonBenet's long underwear. This so-called touch DNA also was found in JonBenet's underpants, mixed with the child's blood. Police believe the DNA belongs to the killer. They just don't know who he is. They are waiting for a match. From the beginning, police focused their attention on Patsy Ramsey, placing the entire family under what authorities later would admit was a cloud of suspicion. The investigators' working theory was that JonBenet's mother may have struck her in anger as punishment for bed-wetting, causing the little girl's death on Christmas night. Investigators theorized that a strangulation was then staged to direct suspicion toward an intruder or sexual predator. Patsy Ramsey told police she awoke early December 26 and found a two-page, handwritten ransom note on a back staircase. It said JonBenet had been kidnapped by a "small foreign faction" and that she'd be executed if the Ramseys did not pay a $118,000 ransom. The Ramseys checked JonBenet's room, discovered she was missing and immediately called 911. When police arrived, they suggested that John Ramsey and a family friend, Fleet White, search the house. Shortly afterward, Ramsey and White found JonBenet's body in a wine cellar in the basement. The child's body was wrapped in a blanket, with duct tape across her mouth and white cord wrapped around her neck and wrists. An autopsy showed the child had eaten pineapple shortly before she died. She'd been sexually assaulted, strangled by the cord and struck on the head. Crime scene photos show two small burn-type injuries on JonBenet's head. Private investigators Ollie Gray and John San Augustin, working as consultants on the case, said the burns are consistent with marks made with a "stun gun." Investigators also concluded that the paper the ransom note was written on came from a notepad in the Ramsey home, as did the broken paintbrush handle used to form the garrote. However, the sources for the cord and duct tape were not found anywhere in the home. Other nagging clues include an open basement window near where the child's body was found. A suitcase stood directly below the window, and appeared to have been used as a step. There was a scuff mark on the wall beneath the window. A footprint of a Hi-Tec hiking boot was found in the dust in the wine cellar and cannot be connected to anyone in the Ramsey family or their friends. Police say they were initially suspicious of the Ramseys because there were no footprints in the snow outside the house. Lou Smits, a lead police investigator on the case, resigned because, he said, the investigation "was misdirected and had developed tunnel vision, only focusing on the Ramseys as suspects and not following alternative leads." The contradictory facts have caused problems in the case. Many experts have said they believe Boulder police botched the investigation by failing to preserve the crime scene properly. When, for example, police arrived and directed John Ramsey to search his own home, Ramsey not only found his dead daughter but also picked her up and brought her upstairs, disturbing the crime scene. Police investigators, friends and family were allowed to walk in and out of the house freely, again contaminating evidence that could have been gathered. The District Attorney's Office has taken over the investigation, said spokeswoman Caroline French. "This case is still an open and active investigation," French said. Prosecutors seek tips and ask anyone with information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for JonBenet Ramsey's death to call 303-441-1636.

False suspicions, unsecured crime scene plague investigation from start . Ramsey family spends years under "cloud of suspicion" New touch DNA test cleared all family members earlier this year . Anyone with information is asked to call 303-441-1636 .

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(Coastal Living) -- The Little Dipper's seven patio tables overlook a twinkling Caribbean. Tonight, the chef -- who's also waiter and hostess -- prepares Creole fish with vegetables. Although the small restaurant is one of the best in Grenada, it's the vista that stands out. Founded in the late 17th century, the capital city of St. George's sits on the island's southwest coast. Sailboats sway at anchor on Clarkes Court Bay, and lights blink on against dark green hills. The island's hidden treasure is its views -- and not just from quaint seaside cafés. Take the nearby resort of Laluna, on Portici Bay. With 16 hillside cottages huddled around a private cove beach, it overflows with scenic panoramas. Founded by a former fashion consultant from Italy, Laluna is chic, but not pretentious -- a stylish retreat on one of the Caribbean's quietest islands. Eco-inspired rooms feature fabric-draped four-poster beds from Bali, individual plunge pools, and bamboo-topped verandas. The most distant cottage sits 150 feet from the beach, making the resort a barefoot, lounging kind of place. Ultracasual dress code aside, Laluna takes meals seriously. Dinner comes prepared by an Italian chef who mingles his home country's techniques with Caribbean flavors. You can start with octopus salad with potatoes and chickpeas, then make your way down the menu to pappardelle with a nutmeg cream sauce. It won't be the last time you see nutmeg on a menu here. Grenada provides a third of the world's supply of the spice, which can be sampled as a powder, syrup, or jam. Almost every visitor brings some home, usually in a small basket also packed with cloves, cinnamon, mace, bay leaves, and ginger. The country may not claim flashy casinos or high-rise resorts, but Grenada grows more spices per square mile than any other place on the globe. Coastal Living: The other Caribbean . It takes a lush climate, such as the rain forest at Grenada's center, to produce these flavors. Grand Etang National Park preserves the island's tropical flora and fauna. Visitors can book guides to lead them through terraced banana farms and forests of giant gommier trees, teak, and wild orchids. From a mountain peak, 90 percent of the island is visible, vivid green after a midday rain. As one might expect, the cities here move at a sleepy, island pace. But the township of Gouyave on Grenada's western coast jumps to life on Fish Fridays, which are part street-food festival, part outdoor concert, and part extended-family gathering. Beginning late afternoon, the fishing village's streets and side passages fill with tables of seafood. Vendors sell sample-size servings of everything from lobster to jerked marlin to deep-fried fish cakes. Music lifts the spirit, as do the enthusiastic greetings of friends and relatives. Visitors to Gouyave are a little reluctant to leave. But eventually they'll head back to Laluna, along a cliffside road illuminated by stars on a cloudless night -- yet another unforgettable view. Island Info . Laluna's cliffside cottages start at $390. Rates do not include meals, but all snorkeling and kayaking is included; 866/452-5862 or laluna.com. Guided hikes from Henry's Safari Tours cost $40 to $55 per person. Denis Henry offers trips tailored to your experience level. His taxi tours are also the best on the island; 347/721-9271 or henrysafari.com. Reservations at Little Dipper on Clarkes Court Bay in Woburn can be made through Laluna, or by calling 473/444-5136. From Laluna, a round-trip taxi to Fish Fridays in Gouyave costs roughly $100. Food at the festival will run between $15 and $20 per person. Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright © Coastal Living, 2009 .

Grenada provides a third of the world's supply of nutmeg . The casual, quiet island offers a wealth of spectacular views . The township of Gouyave jumps to life on Fish Fridays .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- After shooting several people at the home of his former in-laws, police say Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, still dressed as Santa Claus, sprayed gasoline throughout the home intending to set it on fire. Police carry the homemade device they believe Bruce Jeffrey Pardo used to set the home on fire. But his plan went awry. The home exploded, windows were blown out, and part of Pardo's Santa suit melted onto his skin. He suffered third-degree burns. That's why police say he decided to kill himself rather than use the airline ticket to Canada that was in his pocket. Pardo killed nine people, police said. Three others were injured, including an 8-year-old. A 16-year-old girl was wounded by gunfire and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. A woman who jumped out a second-floor window broke her leg and was hospitalized. None of the victims has been identified. Police said Pardo showed up at the home dressed as Santa and had $17,000 cling-wrapped to his legs and inside a girdle. Watch police talk about what was found on the gunman's body » . He knocked on the door. And when the 8-year-old ran to greet him, he shot her in the face. Watch police describe the girl's injuries » . Terrified people inside the home called 911. "Stay away from the window!" a woman can be heard pleading, "Please come immediately ... he's shooting! He's shooting!" See photos from the scene » . Some fled the house any way they could. Others sought shelter inside, some ducking under the dining room table, one witness said. Pardo was targeting his ex-wife's family, police said, shooting some of them "execution-style." Afterward, he prepared to set the home on fire using a homemade device designed to spread fuel. Watch investigators at the burned-out home » . After the home exploded, Pardo removed his Santa suit, put on street clothes and began to knock out lights in the area as he fled the scene, according to a witness on a recording of a 911 call. Pardo fled to his brother's home in nearby Sylmar, California, police said. When Pardo realized his brother wasn't home, he broke in and eventually shot himself to death, police said. Police later found his rental car with the remnants of the Santa suit on the seat. It was rigged to explode if the costume was removed. During a search of Pardo's home in Montrose, California, police found five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns, two high-powered shotguns and a container of "racing fuel." Police said they recovered four handguns at various locations. Watch how the massacre unfolded » . Investigators have yet to identify the charred remains recovered from the burned house. Ed Winter, assistant chief Los Angeles County coroner, said the intense fire caused the top floor of the two-story house to collapse. Winter said the bodies were "severely burned and charred," and dental and medical records and X-rays will be used to establish identities. Police said they have not accounted for Pardo's ex-mother-in-law, ex-father-in-law and ex-wife. Police suggested marital problems as a motive for the attack and said Pardo and his wife of one year settled a contentious divorce last week. Covina Police Chief Kim Raney said Pardo's former in-laws regularly have a party Christmas Eve and that one neighbor always arrives dressed as Santa. This year that neighbor was away, police said.

Police say suspect had flight scheduled from Los Angeles to Canada . Police believe Bruce Jeffrey Pardo's injuries prevented him from fleeing . Pardo, who killed nine people, committed suicide after the attack, police say . Police found $17,000 cling-wrapped to Pardo's legs, inside a girdle .

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(OPRAH.com) -- Every holiday season we are cursed with the same challenge: to articulate exactly how fond we are of our friends and family in the language of purchasable objects. Appreciate specific virtues of the people you're buying for and connect those qualities to fabulous presents. This begs a couple of questions, like, "How do I shop for gifts that please both my brother and his wife without offending my own soul?" Even if you love your brother dearly, you might spend way too much and give him a French designer tablecloth covered with a really terrific artichoke print, which would prompt his cute but rigidly uptight wife to say something like "Artichokes? Wow. Ha ha; only you would give us something like that! No, really, it's great!" And another deep and philosophical question: "How the hell am I supposed to express fondness for my extremely fancy friends when I have only $40?" Deciding I needed a psychic obstacle course that would train me to emerge victorious in this upcoming battle, I arrived at a strategy: I would theoretically buy gifts for people who were absolutely impossible to shop for. Oprah.com: Free (or really cheap!) gift ideas . If I could climb these holiday Matterhorns, I could find presents for anyone. I asked myself: "Who in the world would best represent my worst nightmares in the area of budget holiday shopping?" And I came up with a holy celebrity trinity: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (the mind-bogglingly fashionable, ex-supermodel wife of the president of France), Brad Pitt (the half-Brangelinian father of six, at last count), and ultracouple Jay-Z and Beyoncé (who I technically counted as one since I wanted to get something they'd both like). My budget for each: around $40. Obviously, this mission was going to require an insane level of creativity -- especially in a city like New York, where everything is so monstrously expensive. So I called women's clothing designer Gary Graham at his new boutique inside ABC Carpet & Home, a posh yet quirky department store filled with enormous golden Buddhas and strange chandeliers, and asked him to accompany me. "We should get my friend Charlie to take us to Flatbush," he offered. I knew immediately what Gary was getting at. The Flatbush section of Brooklyn is a fertile mix of Caribbean families, art school hipsters, neighborhood discount stores, and specialty shops crammed to the ceiling with exotic imports. Charlie -- writer and artist Charles Beyer -- met us at Phat Albert, a legendary discount store that sells everything from leather baby pants to Lucite shower fixtures. We agreed that when shopping on a budget for people rich enough to buy their own islands, the goal was to find objects that would underline qualities we liked about them, and let them know we understood their particular needs. "I think Brad Pitt would appreciate something that helps him control his children," I suggested. "I mean, he has so many of them. We need to find him a six-headed lollipop, or something that can keep the kids consolidated in space for a few minutes so he can rest." Oprah.com: The secrets of thrifty shoppers . We found a gift that, with just a little bit of creative doctoring, might do the trick: an XXX-large T-shirt featuring the late hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. "We could cut five more neck holes in it and call it a six-pac," said Charlie. It was tempting. This masterpiece of modern babysitting cost only $8.99, which would enable us to buy more child management aids. But I wasn't satisfied that Brad would be as thrilled with it as I wanted him to be. "Hey, check this out," said Charlie, having already moved on to Carla. "It's a camouflage duffel bag featuring a fake McDonald's logo." Even more beguiling was a secret pocket outside the bag, the fabric of which was printed with the image of a cheerful, anthropomorphic French fry. The price: only $4. Oprah.com: Gifts that give back . True, Madame Sarkozy might love it. She is, after all, a tastemaker. Still, we wanted to see what they had at a few smaller shops. Hmmm. A bobble-headed decoy owl? Perhaps Carla could use it to keep pigeons off statues of her husband? No... Then we came upon the Goodwill Gospel Store, which promised that we'd be able to "Give a Gift with Spiritual Importance." "Look, hanging in the window!" I screamed. "It's the gift that perfectly reconciles Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's rock 'n' roll, freewheeling past, her new diplomatic role as a high-profile political wife, and her much-maligned singing career!" It was perfect: a tambourine in the shape of a peace dove. It really said it all, and for the low, low price of $21.99. Score! With that, we turned to the grueling task of shopping for Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Since they are quintessential show people and are no doubt on the road a great deal of the time, living out of Louis Vuitton steamer trunks in six-star hotels with SWAT teams of hair and makeup artists, we wanted to find them something that would strike the right balance of sophisticated flair and down-home comfort. We came upon a $14 pair of boxer shorts covered with bags of money hanging on a rack in front of a clothing store (unlike Phat Albert, many of the smaller places have no visible names), which we thought Mr. Z might appreciate. Another nameless discount store had a fantastic 3-D chart for identifying the different hair bun attachments it sold. Perhaps, we agreed, we could buy Beyoncé half a dozen of the various $7 "donut buns" and throw them into a Krispy Kreme box for extra whimsy! But neither of these options was really singing to us, maybe because they didn't speak to the couple's celebrated togetherness, which was the original sentiment behind buying them one gift. "Oh, stop -- these are it," Charlie suddenly enthused as we passed a small, anonymous shoe store. "These bandanna slippers are absolutely Runway Collection 2009!" "Actually," said Gary, "they are really nice." The price: $19.99. We decided to buy red slippers for Beyoncé and blue for Jay-Z. Besides satisfying our criteria (snazzy yet relaxing), since Mr. and Mrs. Z "tied the knot," this matching-scarf footwear could serve as a lasting symbol of a peaceful Hollywood marriage. I was very pleased so far ... but I didn't feel we'd completely succeeded with Brad, so we wandered into a store called Gran Bwa that featured items of a West Indian nature. "Hey, these could be great for Brad," said Gary. The air in the room started shimmering, because he had, indeed, found some divine objects: a stack of six child-size straw porkpie hats. They were utterly hip, as if designed for miniature jazz musicians. We figured if Brad could manage to get all of his adorable children to wear the hats at the same time, like a global version of the Partridge Family, he could sell the photo to a tabloid for more than $4 million and donate the proceeds to the charity of his choice. At $10 each, the hats were a tad beyond our price range. But we decided we'd splash out and spend the extra $20, since eventually they could end up housing, say, 30,000 displaced persons. We'd put Angelina on the gift card, too, and then we wouldn't have to buy her anything at the last minute. We were suffused with the joy of giving. Mission accomplished, we found ourselves considering the plight of the Three Kings. Even with an unlimited royal budget, it still must have been difficult to shop for a newborn Messiah. But they looked around their respective kingdoms and gathered up the swankiest stuff they could find. In the earliest example of holiday gift giving, it was the thought and the effort that counted. All in all, I came away with one really valuable lesson. You can learn a lot by shopping outside your ordinary consumer comfort zone. And during our practice pilgrimage, Gary, Charlie, and I remembered what's important about the whole insane gift hunt: appreciating specific virtues of the people we're buying for, and connecting these qualities, with love, to fabulous presents. And you gotta figure your brother's wife is going to hate everything you give her anyway, so you may as well save a few bucks, right? 'Tis the season! By Cintra Wilson from "O, The Oprah Magazine," December 2008 . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Author decides to buy three gifts under $40 for have-it-all people . She picks Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Brad Pitt and ultracouple Jay-Z and Beyoncé . Author and friends buy six child-size straw porkpie hats for Pitt . They also buy Jay-Z and Beyonce matching slippers .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- As Zimbabwe battles a cholera epidemic that has already killed hundreds, one company thinks it may have found a potential solution to the world water crisis. A shortage of clean drinking water has unleashed a cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. Element Four, a small Canadian firm, has applied its water technology to create the WaterMill, a novel electricity-powered machine that draws moisture from the air and purifies it into clean drinkable water. The compact WaterMill, which goes on sale in the spring, is designed for household use. More crucially for countries such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Element Four is also working on another device, the WaterWall, which could potentially supply an entire village in the developing world. The team at Element Four shares an ambitious goal: to quench the world's growing thirst for water. Now the 10-person company is taking on a challenge that global multinationals have struggled to meet. Rick Howard, the CEO of the company, says it was at a U.N. conference on water in New York last summer that he realized just how revolutionary Element Four's technology might be. "There we were on the same stage as GE, Dow Chemical and Siemens, and it was a complete shock to us when we heard the solutions they were offering. We realized we had something that could effect change," Howard tells CNN. The WaterMill draws in air through a filter and then cools it into water droplets. This water then passes through a special filter and is exposed to ultraviolet light, which rids it of bacteria. The product Element Four is designing for the developing world is called the WaterWall and is constructed by taking several of the water-making cells of the consumer appliance and hooking them up in series on a wall. The U.N., which has declared 2005-2015 the International Decade for Water, expects 1.8 billion people to live in regions with absolute water scarcity by 2025. It's no wonder then that Element Four is being closely watched by the tech world. The WaterMill is being displayed at the Wired Store in New York, a temporary store the magazine opens every holiday season that showcases the future of technology. About one in five people in the world lack access to safe drinking water, and shortages pose serious health problems for much of the developing world. Lack of clean water, coupled with poor sanitation practices, can lead to outbreaks of water-borne diseases, such as cholera and dysentery, which in turn, can cause life-threatening forms of diarrhea. More than 500 people have died in Zimbabwe. Diarrheal disease is the third leading cause of death from infectious diseases, and the majority of those deaths are among children under the age of 5, according to the WHO and UNICEF. Most of those deaths could be prevented if improvements to sanitation and drinking water were made. But can an invention like the WaterWall really help ease the world's water shortage and help prevent health disasters like the outbreak in Zimbabwe from occurring in the future? "There are some brilliant inventions out there, but they are expensive and difficult to get hold of," says Paul Jawor, an emergency water and sanitation consultant with international aid organization Doctors Without Borders. The WaterMill retails for about $1,300, but Howard estimates that a pared down version -- without the bells and whistle -- for use in places like Africa would cost about $300. The biggest challenge of a product like the WaterWall, Howard says, is the power consumed by the water-making cells. To counter that, the product is designed to turn on in stages so it doesn't overload fragile power grids. In comparison to solutions like desalination, which can cost billions of dollars to develop, that's cheap. "For about $300 we can start saving lives. Ours is a very scalable product," Howard says. But there are skeptics. Frank Lawson, an engineering adviser at international charity WaterAid, said the solution Element Four is devising wouldn't be appropriate for the charity's projects. For one, the technology doesn't work in very dry climates. The machine only functions at or above about 35 percent relative humidity levels. Furthermore, it requires an energy source. "Our technologies have to be within the capacity of the benefiting community -- both technically and financially," Lawson says. WaterAid uses a number of low-cost and sustainable solutions, such as rainwater harvesting and hand-dug wells, to help communities in more than 17 countries access water. But those solutions depend upon the availability of water in the area, and fresh water supplies worldwide are feeling the squeeze from population growth, pollution and climate change. Howard admits the company needs to focus on growing its business first, so it may be some time before the Element Four's products make their way to the developing world. "We quickly came to realize that if we didn't first build a business to perfect the product and application, then we weren't going to be able to get to a point where we could have a significant humanitarian impact," he says. But Howard and partner Jonathan Ritchey are in various stages of discussions with several humanitarian groups in the field. Howard declined to name the organizations. It's early, but the company's core principle is "to do good as we do well," he says. "That's part of truly what drives us -- knowing that at some point we will be able to do some significant good."

Element Four has developed a machine that creates clean water out of air . Growth of water use has been outpacing the rate of population increase . Shortages of clean water pose health challenges in the developing world . Zimbabwe's water crisis has unleashed a devastating cholera epidemic .

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SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- What if we offered illegal immigrants a path to citizenship that included a stint in the U.S. military? Ruben Navarrette: Be wary of offering military service as a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The idea has been trumpeted by thoughtful people such as Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who thinks this is the time for a "freedom legion." He's talking about a unit of the military made up entirely of the foreign-born -- including illegal immigrants -- where the compensation would include U.S. citizenship. About 70,000 foreign-born men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces, or about 5 percent of the total active-duty force, according to the Pentagon. Of those, nearly 30,000 -- or about 43 percent -- are not U.S. citizens. Roping illegal immigrants into military service could accomplish two goals at once: helping alleviate the military's recruitment worries while giving the undocumented a chance to prove that their commitment to this country extends beyond a paycheck. We're already talking about requiring illegal immigrants to learn English, pay fines, and return to their home countries to earn legal status. Why not, some say, raise the stakes and require men and women between 18 and 42 to serve a couple of years in the military to earn something even more precious: U.S. citizenship for themselves and their children? The idea appealed to a reader in upstate New York who called me to gauge my reaction. I told him that I hadn't made up my mind, but that the concept did fit with my view that any conferring of legal status be laden with onerous conditions so that it really is earned. To earn it, illegal immigrants should have to do everything but walk across broken glass. Still, I told him, I'm not sure how those who oppose comprehensive reform but support turning illegal immigrants into cannon fodder go about squaring that circle. Restrictionists and racists have argued that illegal immigrants are invading this country, and that they're a dangerous menace to society that is prone to all sorts of violent and criminal behavior. Of course, many native-born U.S. citizens are just as menacing. But for those who believe that illegal immigrants are inherently violent, do they really want to give these folks military training and a M-16, to help them graduate from menacing to lethal? After all, assuming they survive their stint in the military, they eventually have to return stateside. Then they're our problem. Consider the ghastly events in Newark, New Jersey, where three African-American students were killed execution-style and a fourth was shot in the head but survived. The accused ringleader is Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru, who was previously charged with raping a 5-year-old girl and threatening her parents. Twice indicted by grand juries, Carranza slipped through the cracks and was released on bail. Authorities say that the 28-year-old construction worker led at least four other individuals in attacking the youths with a gun and a machete. If convicted, Carranza could get the death penalty. Glad to hear it. If half the things they say about this creep are true, Carranza belongs on death row. But guess what? He sure doesn't belong on an Army recruitment poster, or handling heavy artillery. Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend .

Is it time for a military "freedom legion," made up of all foreign-born troops? Is military service as a way to citizenship for illegal immigrants a good idea? Jose Carranza, accused in the Newark killings, makes the proposal problematic . Illegal immigrants are considered dangerous menaces by some .

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(CNN) -- Four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal slid to an astonishing 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6 defeat to Sweden's Robin Soderling at the French Open on Sunday. Soderling savors his unlikely triumph against Nadal in the French Open fourth round. Soderling, the 23rd seed, was a rank outsider against the world number one who had never lost a match on the clay at Roland Garros and was a short-priced favorite to win a record fifth straight title. But Soderling never looked back after breezing through the first set of their fourth round match and closed out victory as Nadal sent a volley wide after bravely saving a matchpoint in the fourth set tiebreak. The Spaniard tried to look on the positives after his shock defeat. "It's not a tragedy, losing here in Paris," he told the official tournament Web site www.rolandgarros.com . "It had to happen one day, and this is an excellent season for me. "Of course it's a bit sad, but I have to overcome this as quickly as possible. No one remembers defeats on the long run. People remember victories. So I have to move forward and try and prepare the best I can." King of clay Nadal had compiled a 31-match winning streak at the French Open and was attempting to win the second grand slam of the year after beating world number two Roger Federer in the final of the Australian Open. Soderling took advantage of a strong serve and big forehands to give Nadal a torrid time in front of a stunned crowd on the Philippe Chatrier court. Defeat for Nadal opens up his side of the draw with world number three Andy Murray a possible beneficiary. Murray, who was seeded to meet Nadal in the semifinals, beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5 7-6 6-1 in their earlier fourth round match. He will play Fernando Gonzalez of Chile for a place in the semifinals. Gonzalez beat Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-2 6-4 6-2 in their fourth round match. Soderling will next play Nikolay Davydenko of Russia as the 10th seed beat eighth-ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-2 6-2 6-4.in the final last 16 match of a dramatic day.

Four-time defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal crashes out . Top seed beaten in four sets by Sweden's Robin Soderling in Paris . Britain's Andy Murray powers into quarterfinals with straight sets win .

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(CNN) -- U.S. military forces landed at a compound in Pakistan to battle targets linked to recent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official confirmed Wednesday. Security in the South Waziristan area of Pakistan has deteriorated in recent years. The official declined to be identified, citing the extreme sensitivity of U.S. forces operating within Pakistan's borders. The action was an uncommon one for the U.S. military. Generally, NATO forces do not enter Pakistan except when pursuing insurgents in Afghanistan who slipped over the border or, in an extreme case, to pursue a high-value target. The Pentagon has refused to comment officially on the attack, but several defense officials acknowledged that U.S. military activity had taken place inside Pakistan. The senior U.S. official said a small number of U.S. helicopters landed troops in the village near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have hunkered down over the years. Local media reports said the troops came out of a chopper and fired on civilians. The U.S. official said there may have been a small number of women and children in the immediate vicinity, but when the mission began "everybody came out firing" from the compound. He said the U.S. troops specifically attacked three buildings in the compound. They were believed to contain individuals responsible for training and equipping insurgents who have been crossing the border into Afghanistan in increasing numbers in recent months and staging large-scale, high-profile attacks against U.S. and coalition forces. The official could not say if the troops were going after a specific individual. Officials told CNN there was no indication the target was Osama bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lodged a protest against U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces for what it said was a "helicopter-borne ground attack" from Afghanistan into Pakistan, an uncommon tactic in the coalition's fight against militants along the violent border. The coalition and NATO have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants launching attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border. They have become frustrated with Pakistan over the years, saying it is not being proactive enough against militants, a claim denied by Pakistan -- now in political flux after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf. Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials last week met on an aircraft carrier regarding American concerns that Pakistan hasn't been cracking down hard enough on the Taliban. Several times this year, U.S.-operated drone aircraft launched attacks inside Pakistan . The Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the strike as "a helicopter-borne ground attack supported by air assets based in Afghanistan" and called it a "gross violation of Pakistan territory." Pakistani officials were still counting the casualties. One local official said the raid left 20 civilians dead. Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said seven civilians died and others were critically injured. "It is, indeed, most unfortunate that coalition/ISAF in Afghanistan have resorted to cross-border use of force against civilians," the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. ISAF is NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan was summoned to provide an explanation of the incident. "Such actions are counterproductive and certainly do not help our joint efforts to fight terrorism," the ministry said. "On the contrary, they undermine the very basis of cooperation and may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish. Moreover, any attack on Pakistani territory is unacceptable and constitutes a grave provocation." Owais Ahmed Ghani, the administrative head of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, called the strike "a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan. And the people of Pakistan expect that the Armed Forces of Pakistan would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply to all such attacks."

NEW: Assault targeted compound in area linked to Taliban, al Qaeda . NEW: Individuals in compound suspected of helping Afghan attacks . Pakistani reports say from seven to 20 civilians killed in raid . Pakistan calls on U.S. ambassador to explain attack .

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(CNN) -- Dr. George Tiller, whose Kansas women's clinic frequently took center stage in the U.S. debate over abortion, was shot and killed while serving as an usher at his Wichita church Sunday morning, police said. Dr. George Tiller was one of the few U.S. physicians that performed late-term abortions. Wichita police said a 51-year-old man from the Kansas City, Kansas, area was in custody in connection with the slaying of Tiller, who was one of the few U.S. physicians who still performed late-term abortions. The killing, which came about 16 years after Tiller survived a shooting outside his Wichita clinic, took place shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday at Reformation Lutheran Church. Officers found the 67-year-old dead in the foyer, police said. Witnesses provided a description of the car and a license number of the killer's getaway vehicle, Wichita police spokesman Gordon Bassham said. Police stopped a blue Ford Taurus matching the description about three hours later in Gardner, about 30 miles southwest of Kansas City, and took the driver into custody. No charges had been filed Sunday evening and no motive for the killing was immediately known, but Wichita police Detective Tom Stoltz told reporters: "We think we have the right person arrested." "We will investigate this suspect to the Nth degree -- his history, his family, his associates -- and we are just in the beginning stages of that," Stoltz said. See what people are saying about Dr. Tiller's murder » . Tiller's slaying drew condemnation from supporters, from some of those who tried to shut down his practice and from President Obama, who just two weeks ago urged Americans to seek "common ground" on the issue of abortion. "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. The shooting prompted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to direct federal marshals to "offer protection to other appropriate people and facilities around the nation," according to a statement from the Department of Justice. Tiller had been practicing medicine for nearly 40 years, said Peter Brownlie, president of the Kansas City-based regional Planned Parenthood office. His patients were "almost always in circumstances where something had gone horribly wrong with a pregnancy," and where a woman's health would be endangered if the pregnancy continued, Brownlie said. He and his staff had been picketed for years, with some activists distributing leaflets around his neighborhood, Brownlie said. His clinic suffered serious damage from a bomb in the mid-1990s, and he was shot through both arms in 1993 by an anti-abortion activist who is currently serving time in federal prison. "He endured that kind of stuff on a very frequent basis," Brownlie said. "As recently as early this month the clinic sustained serious vandalism that put them out of commission for a week or so." Watch Tiller describe the philosophy of his clinic in 1999 » . Tiller had armed security at his clinic and a "pretty rigorous" security procedure at home, Brownlie said. But he "made an effort to live his life as normally as possible knowing he could be a target at any time," he said. In a statement issued through Tiller's lawyers, his family -- a wife, four children and 10 grandchildren -- said their loss "is also a loss for the City of Wichita and women across America." "George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence," his family said in a written statement. "We ask that he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere." In March, Tiller was acquitted of 19 counts of performing procedures unlawfully at his clinic. In 2008, a probe initiated by abortion opponents who petitioned state authorities to convene a grand jury ended without charges. Leading anti-abortion groups condemned Sunday's shooting, emphasizing they wanted to shut down Tiller's practice by legal means. Operation Rescue, which has led numerous demonstrations at Tiller's clinic, called the shooting as a "cowardly act." And the National Right to Life Committee, the largest U.S. anti-abortion group, said it "unequivocally condemns any such acts of violence regardless of motivation." "The pro-life movement works to protect the right to life and increase respect for human life," it said. "The unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal." But Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, who is no longer affiliated with the group, called Tiller "a mass murderer." "We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," Terry said in a written statement. "I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder, and we still must call abortion by its proper name." The National Organization for Women, which supports abortion rights, called Tiller's killing an act of "domestic terrorism." And NARAL Pro-Choice America said Tiller had worked for years under "intense harassment tinged with persistent threats of violence." If Tiller was killed because of his work, he would be the fourth U.S. physician killed over abortion since 1993. See all abortion-related attacks since 1993 » . In 1998, a sniper killed Dr. Barnett Slepian in his Amherst, New York, home. Anti-abortion activist James Kopp was later arrested in France and is serving life in prison. In 1994, Dr. John Bayard Britton and one of his volunteer escorts were shot and killed outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Paul Hill, a former minister, was convicted of the killings and executed in 2003. And in 1993, another doctor, David Gunn, was shot to death outside another Pensacola clinic. His killer, Michael Griffin, is serving a life sentence. In addition, a nurse at a Birmingham, Alabama, clinic was maimed and an off-duty police officer was killed in a 1998 bombing by Eric Rudolph, who included abortion among his list of anti-government grievances. Rudolph admitted to that attack and three other bombings -- including the 1996 attack on the Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia -- and is currently serving life in prison. CNN's Matt Smith contributed to this report.

Suspect in shooting death of Dr. George Tiller in custody, police say . Tiller shot Sunday at his church in Wichita, Kansas, according to police . Motive unknown; Tiller was one of few U.S. doctors performing late-term abortions . Supporters, President Obama and anti-abortion groups condemn killing .

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(CNN) -- Growing up in a small Sri Lankan fishing town, cricket changed Sanath Jayasuriya's life. But his association with the game and humanitarian work has also helped transform the lives of many others. Jayasuriya's stature and shot-making led to comparisons with India's Sachin Tendulkar. "Without cricket I would have a small job in my home town. My mother is happy to say my name," he told CNN in Hong Kong. His mother's pride in his success has an extra poignancy as Jayasuriya's fame in some part helped his mother survive the south Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004. She was swept away by the first wave and only by calling out to get attention, saying she was Jayasuriya's mother, did a rescuer manage to spot her among the debris and destruction and pull her to safety. Thousands of others, including many of Jayasuriya's friends and neighbors, were not so fortunate, and the impact that the disaster had on Jayasuriya's hometown of Matara and many other parts of Sri Lanka is still felt today. "Even now when many people hear the word (tsunami), they are still scared. When my mother hears it, she still can't run," he said. After nearly 20 years of international cricket, the 39-year-old is now just as happy to put bowling attacks to the sword as well as working as a UN Goodwill Ambassador. "Coming from Sri Lanka you need to do a lot of charity work and help in anyway you can. People love cricket and they look to cricketers, so as a team Sri Lanka also does a lot for charity. It's a personal commitment," he told CNN. On the pitch he has always been just as committed to helping his team. Making his international Test match debut in 1991, he captained the Sri Lankan team for four years until 2003 and hit memorable centuries against every other Test side, bar the West Indies and New Zealand. He retired from the five-day version of the game in 2007. However it was in the one day game that the all-rounder has really made his mark. As part of the Sri Lankan team that won the World Cup in 1996, he played an explosive innings of aggressive shot-making that has been credited with revolutionizing the way in which batsman play the game. In 2005 he became only the fourth batsman to reach 10,000 runs in one-day matches and his current stats stand at 12785 runs from 421 one-day internationals. Having made his name in the 50-over version of the game he's still involved in cricket's latest revolution; the even shorter Twenty20 game that is being touted as the future of popularizing the sport. "Cricket has changed all over the world. For the public to watch this game we need for it to change. You can now enjoy all that in around 3 hours (with Twenty20). The Indian Premier League (IPL) is good for cricket and good for cricketers. The one-day game will be phased down." Throughout his career he's shown his own resilience adapting to changing circumstances on the cricket pitch as well as off it. Before the 2003 World Cup he took the decision not to sign a contract with the Sri Lankan cricket board, citing the loss of potential earnings it would mean for him and fellow players. Despite not being a confrontational personality, the tension between himself and the Sri Lankan cricket board led to his resignation from the captaincy in 2003. With no Test cricket to play this year, Jayasuriya found himself omitted from the Sri Lanka squad for 2008 series one-day series against the West Indies. However his fine form while playing in the IPL -- he ended its inaugural season as the third highest run scorer with 514 runs and hitting 31 sixes -- convinced the selectors to pick him for the upcoming one-day series between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. "Looking back I could never have thought I would have come this far. Buddhism helped me a lot. It says that you should take the middle path and you will never go wrong," he said. "But I've done a lot of hard work and everyone, my family and coaches, have given me support. Without that I wouldn't have got here." When he does finally retire you can expect Jayasuriya to keep giving all he can to the game and causes he loves so much.

Sri Lankan cricketer recognized as changing the way one-day cricket is played . The first cricketer to be a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador . Sri Lanka's highest run scorer in Test matches and one-day internationals .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An extended trip to Ecuador by two Americans changed from a dream to a nightmare after a brutal attack last week, according the couple's blog and U.S. officials. State Department spokesman Robert Wood confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador had been told that two Americans from Bend, Oregon, were attacked in the city of Esmeraldas, on Ecuador's northern coast. But he said he could provide no further information because of privacy laws. Two State Department officials, however, said that the man was stabbed more than 24 times and that his fiancée was beaten and raped. CNN does not name the victims of sexual assault and has removed publication of the man's name to help protect the identity of the woman. The couple was evacuated to the United States on Tuesday for treatment, the officials said. The couple wrote a blog throughout their trip. In the most recent post on Monday, the woman wrote that her fiance was in intensive care after three surgeries. "I was informed by the head surgeon there is no certainty he will survive," she wrote. The earlier postings were happier reflections on their visit to Ecuador, a year-long trip they planned after getting engaged and selling all their belongings. In the blog, the couple seems unconcerned about safety, posting that they occasionally hitchhiked, visited the homes of strangers and posed for pictures with new friends they made on their travels. One senior official told CNN that the victims' parents complained to U.S. consular officers in Ecuador that the Embassy did not do enough to warn Americans that many people have been attacked in Esmeraldas. The State Department's Web site advises caution when traveling to the northern border region of Ecuador, including Esmeraldas. The travel advisory section notes that "U.S. government personnel are under limitations with respect to traveling alone and over-nighting in these areas due to the spread of organized crime, drug trafficking, small arms trafficking, and incursions by various Colombian terrorist organizations." The Web site says that since 1998, at least 10 U.S. citizens have been kidnapped and one killed near Ecuador's border with Colombia. Wood on Tuesday expressed the State Department's "deep sympathy" for the victims and said the department worked with the victims' families to provide assistance. "It's a horrible and shocking incident" he said.

U.S. officials say man was stabbed repeatedly, his fiancée raped and beaten . Relative tells media that couple was attacked on beach in northern Ecuador . Fiancée writes in blog that her companion may not survive despite three surgeries . State Department site advises caution when traveling to parts of northern Ecuador .

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(CNN) -- The worst cholera outbreak in Africa in 15 years has killed more than 4,000 Zimbabweans, and the crisis threatens to worsen when the rainy season hits, the U.N. Children's Fund said Thursday. A cholera patient sits in his bed at a hospital in Harare. The rainy season could threaten more lives. The preventable disease has spread through the southern African country in the past 10 months because of faulty sewage systems, uncollected refuse and a lack of clean water, UNICEF said. "Last year, we had a near collapse of basic social services," said Tsitsi Singizi, a spokeswoman for the organization. "Municipal services were not providing clean water anymore and they were not collecting refuse anymore. There was also a collapse of the health-delivery system. So if you went to the clinic and you were affected by cholera, you would not be attended to." The possibility of a new wave of cholera cases looms, Singizi said. "We might have another spike in the number of cases once we have our first rain, because cholera is waterborne and the contaminated water will be flowing towards open sources and people will be drinking from unprotected wells," she said. Nearly 100,000 people have been infected since the current epidemic broke out, according to a new Red Cross report. The cholera crisis comes as Zimbabwe is struggling with an economic meltdown. In May, Zimbabwe announced that it would receive a $22 million grant from the World Bank to help the country's battered economy.

The cholera crisis has killed 4,000 Zimbabweans and could to worsen, the U.N. said . A new wave of cholera looms as the rainy season approaches, UNICEF said . The crisis comes as Zimbabwe is struggling with an economic meltdown .

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(CNN) -- Leszek Balcerowicz, Poland's former finance minister, recently said his country is enjoying "its best period in 300 years." CNN looks at how the country emerged from communism to become one of eastern Europe's most stable and thriving democracies. Solidarity leader Lech Walesa addresses striking workers in Gdansk, Poland in 1989. Modern Poland gained independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Almost six million Poles, including the majority of the country's large Jewish population, died during the devastating six-year conflict. The shadow of Stalin continued to loom large over Poland after the war, when the communist-dominated government ensured that Poland would become a Soviet satellite state for the next 40 years. The following decades were punctuated by revolts against the repressive authoritarian regime in Warsaw, but none had a greater impact on Poland's political future than events in 1980 at a shipyard in western Poland. With a struggling economy and rumors of corruption and mismanagement within the state causing widespread discontent, a series of strikes by workers paralyzed the country. Eventually the government was forced to negotiate and on August 31, 1980, workers at the massive Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, led by an electrician named Lech Walesa, signed a deal giving workers the right to strike and form trade unions. This heralded the creation of the Solidarity movement, which would ultimately be instrumental in bringing Poland's communist era to an end. The presence in the Vatican at the time of Polish-born Pope John-Paul II was also a significant influence on the movement throughout the 1980s, as the Catholic church had remained a very potent force in Polish life. The Pope even made a visit to the country in 1979. Despite Soviet-endorsed attempts to slow the erosion of the regime's grip on power -- including the declaration of martial law by General Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 which outlawed Solidarity -- Poland's worsening economic situation, compounded by further nationwide strikes, meant that the government had no alternative but to negotiate a date for free elections with Walesa and the Solidarity movement. Solidarity members won a stunning victory in the election of 1989, taking almost all the seats in the Senate and all of the 169 seats they were allowed to contest in the Sejm or parliament. This gave them substantial influence in the new government. Activist and journalist Tadeusz Mazowiecki was appointed prime minister, while Lech Walesa was elected as president the following year. Were you in Poland in 1989? Send us your memories . After years of economic mismanagement under the communists, Poland embarked on a painful reform program under finance minister Leszek Balcerowicz -- especially in traditional heavy industries such as coal and steel -- which moved away from the inefficient state-controlled system of economic planning. Despite growing unemployment and a dilapidated infrastructure, Poland was slowly transformed into an investment-friendly, market economy. Banking and lending policies were reformed, while newly reshaped ownership relations, independent enterprises and strengthened domestic competition all had a massive impact. Over a relatively short period of time, Poland had become one of the most dynamically developing economies in Europe and by the mid-1990s, it became known as the "Tiger of Europe." Poland also liberalized its international trade during this period. The national currency -- the zloty -- became convertible to other currencies and internal convertibility was also established, providing another platform for dynamic economic growth. New markets in countries that had been treated not so long before as ideological as well as economic enemies were opened up to Polish companies. The EU and U.S. were now the key markets for Polish goods. This realignment of policy was emphasized by its accession into the European Union in 2004. It had also joined NATO in 1999. Unfortunately the continuing problem of high unemployment and the promise of better salaries encouraged many Poles to work in other EU countries after 2004. However this trend started to reverse in 2008 as the Polish economy enjoyed a boom period. Politically, Poland has also successfully transformed itself into a fully democratic country. Since 1991 the Polish people have voted in parliamentary elections and four presidential elections -- all free and fair. Incumbent governments have transferred power smoothly and constitutionally in every instance to their successors.

Poland was ruled by Soviet-backed regime after the Second World War . Solidarity movement became a key factor in the fall of communist regime . Centrally-planned economic system replaced by free market economy . Poland joined the European Union in 2004 .

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(CNN) -- Solomon Brown of San Jose, California, is one of the millions of voters who helped elect Barack Obama to be the future president. He's also one of the voters in California, Arizona and Florida who cast ballots in support of same-sex marriage bans that got considerable support in each state. Jim Smotherman, left, and Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, rushed to get married in June. His voting choices are a picture-perfect model of the paradoxical results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. They also illustrate how Obama's inclusive strategy won over many voters who didn't necessarily toe the Democratic Party line. The war in Iraq and the economy were the main issues Brown, 18, a first-time voter, said he considered in choosing a president. But when the time came to vote on the "one man and one woman" issue, he followed his moral beliefs and voted in support of California's Proposition 8. He said he isn't at all surprised that many voters did the same. "They did that because of religion," Brown said of voters. "They wanted change for the country but weren't going to change their religion." He had no qualms about voting for Obama, either, and adds that his choice wasn't related to race. But he worries what moral beliefs will be taught in coming years. iReport.com: Read Brown's thoughts on Proposition 8 . "I don't want a man and a man to be married," Brown said. "When I have kids, I don't want them to see that." Still, he says he doesn't hate gay people and has several gay friends. He emphasizes that he dislikes the fact that people are gay, but not the individuals themselves. "I can't be prejudiced against them, with me being an African-American," Brown said. "That would be hypocritical in my eyes." But Maggie Cassella of Toronto, Ontario, said she watched the U.S. elections and couldn't help but feel thankful for being in Canada. iReport.com: Watch Cassella express her disdain over the election . "I'm tired of talking about it, because I live in a country where I have all my rights now," she said. "I talk about politics, but it's never gay rights because we're done." She said she felt upset by the election and couldn't help but wonder why voters would want to make the decision to elect a black man as president and then outlaw gay marriage at the same time. "I would just like someone to talk to an African-American gay person from California or any person from California and ask them what it feels like to have your rights to be an equal citizen taken away concurrent with this great day in history," she said. "My guess is it actually doesn't feel so great. After all, civil rights are civil rights. I don't care what anybody says." iReport.com: Share your story or opinion of same-sex marriage . The issue hits close to home for Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, who married his partner, Jim Smotherman, in June. He says he doesn't like seeing the animosity from both sides and has personally lost friends over the issue. "A lot of ugliness and nastiness has come out. I don't know how these people have a direct connection to God," Wright said. "How can people be so badly informed, why are they qualified to vote on my marriage, and should 52 percent of the population be able to take away my rights? A very ugly situation." Wright said the couple rushed their marriage because of Proposition 8 and campaigned against it. They were saddened to see "Yes on 8" signs in nearby yards, but never expected the proposition to succeed. iReport.com: "We are still numb and in mourning" Two states away, Fred Thorne of Washington Terrace, Utah, said he was disappointed about the same-sex marriage decisions. Thorne says he comes from a long line of Mormons and that locals' views are highly shaped by their religion and the church. He describes his parents as "freethinkers" who encouraged him to break away from the church's views and support "equal rights." Thorne said he thinks religious organizations in Utah have a huge local and national political influence that oversteps the separation between church and state. iReport.com: Watch Thorne discuss "sexual equality behind the Zion curtain" "Gays have the right to marry and be openly gay, in my opinion," Thorne said. "If it offends somebody, I'm sorry. I'm offended that you're offended by it." Jason Dinant of Las Vegas, Nevada, said the election of Obama made great strides for equality but didn't signify much "progress for equal rights" overall. iReport.com: Watch Dinant's retro black-and-white commentary . "Even though it's 2008, we really are still in the 1950s when it comes to gay rights," he said. Dinant, who is gay, said he feels Obama must make the legalization of gay marriage part of his agenda for change as he assumes the nation's top post. The move to outlaw gay marriage adds "discrimination into a state's constitution," he said. But the legal side of the issue looms large for John Riolo, a Rhode Island voter who prefers not to state the results of his last-minute voting decision. Riolo says both sides like to dig in their heels, and he wishes they would see eye to eye. iReport.com: Watch Riolo talk about his complex views . "My liberal and some, but not all, of my gay friends see same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue," Riolo said. "My conservative friends see gay marriage as fundamentally altering society and/or a violation of religious tradition." Riolo doubts both religious consequences for gay marriage and violation of civil rights if the unions are banned. He said the decisions should be drawn up in courts and that both sides of the issue should maintain a clear head whatever the result. "Marriage is little more than a license," Riolo said. "It is a privilege given by the state and, like a driver's license or any other type of license, the state can set up rules and criteria." But for Wright, who feels fortunate he got to marry his partner, the decision boils down to legislating personal lives and Proposition 8 stings hard. iReport.com: Watch the scene of protests in California . "It has been a kick in the teeth," he said. "I can't imagine voting on someone's marriage."

Solomon Brown voted for Obama and supports Proposition 8 . Maggie Cassella upset that black president elected, gay marriage opposed . Pat Wright rushed marriage to partner in light of the upcoming vote . iReport.com: What do you think? Share your thoughts on the issue .

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(CNN) -- Walk into Naughty Auties, a virtual resource center for those with autism, and you'll find palm trees swaying against a striking ocean sunset. Were it not for the pixelated graphics on the computer screen in front of you, you would swear you were looking at a tropical hideaway. David Savill, who has named himself Dave Sparrow in Second Life, has Asperger's syndrome. David Savill, 22, lives in Gloucester, England, in real life and created this spot within the virtual world of Second Life. Residents of this digital realm can represent themselves with 3-D images called avatars and connect with each other over the Internet. Savill has Asperger's syndrome and said he wanted Naughty Auties to serve those with autism spectrum disorders and their friends and family. Savill, who represents himself in the virtual world using an avatar named Dave Sparrow, said one benefit is that visitors can practice social interaction and find information about the condition. The graphical representations of real people create a "comfort zone" that can coax users out of their shells and get them communicating with others, he said. "You're on your own computer, in your own room, your own space," Savill said. "So you're not going out into the real world meeting people, you're going meeting people online and in your own home, so you're perfectly relaxed. It's just a fantastic tool to use to bring people together." Take a video tour of Naughty Auties with Savill » . Autism, more precisely the autism spectrum, is a range of brain disorders that can cause difficulties in social interaction, communication and behavior. Asperger's syndrome is at the milder end of this spectrum. People with Asperger's are often high-achieving but can have difficulty in social situations. CNN learned about Savill's Second Life place from an iReporter in England who has named herself Janey Bracken in Second Life. Bracken, who prefers not to share her real name, submitted stories to iReport.com describing Savill's resource center and providing information about other places where those with the condition can turn. "[Savill] said that his life changed when his family decided to get the Internet," Bracken wrote. "He was able to use chat rooms and soon realized that people used symbols to express themselves: the smiley signs, the angry signs, hug signs, etc., to enhance the text. He went on to say that subconsciously his brain was learning about communication from these sessions of chat." Second Life has its own economy and social scene, and Bracken and Savill hope it could become a haven for those seeking help for autism. While many think such computer interactions could eventually be helpful in treating autism, scientists say more information is needed to truly assess their value. Dr. Fred Volkmar, a professor in Yale University's Child Study Center, said he would want more concrete studies done before he could be sure. "Although not much research is yet available, there is clearly considerable potential in use of new technologies for fostering social skills," Volkmar said. To answer this need, scientists are beginning to explore the possibilities in Second Life. One such researcher is Simon Bignell, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Derby in Derby, England, who is running a project that is evaluating teaching and research in Second Life. Bignell, known in-world as Milton Broome, said Second Life is an uncharted but promising area for new applied psychological research. Virtual reality can be used to simulate new environments for people on the autistic spectrum, he said. "For people with autism, we've found it's a very nice way of setting up situations they might come across in their everyday lives," Bignell said. "For people who have social, emotional, communicational problems ... we can get them familiar with an environment before they actually try it out in real life." Watch more on autism research in a virtual world » . He started the "Autism Research" discussion group within Second Life to serve as an information-sharing tool for interested parties. He also has an office within Second Life and can sometimes be found working in SL-Labs, the university's in-world psychology lab space. The lab areas contain meeting spots, informational kiosks and games. A portion of these areas contain information about autism and Asperger's. Savill said Second Life excels at minimizing geographical separations between people and bringing people from all over the world to meet together quickly and easily. He added that he wanted to emphasize that virtual worlds are an emerging and important tool not just for autistic people, but for the people who know them. "It's not just to help people with autism, it's to help people whose lives have been affected by autism, be they family or friends or employees of people who have autism," Savill said. "Naughty Auties is a fantastic meeting place for people." E-mail to a friend .

People with autism spectrum disorders could find a haven within Second Life . Second Life is a virtual world where people represent themselves with avatars . David Savill, 22, has Asperger's syndrome and founded a virtual gathering spot . iReport: See your Second Life stories and news of a virtual world .

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HOLLYWOOD, California (CNN) -- Singer Christina Aguilera joins fellow Grammy Award winners Alicia Keys and John Legend for "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," airing Thanksgiving night on CNN. Christina Aguilera performed her hit single "Beautiful" at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." The show, taped before an audience of more than 2,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, pays tribute to the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008. Liz McCartney, dedicated to helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their homes, has been named the 2008 CNN Hero of the Year. McCartney, of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, received the honor at Saturday night's taping of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." The telecast airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Thanksgiving on the global networks of CNN. McCartney, who will receive $100,000 to continue her work just outside New Orleans, was selected from among the top 10 CNN Heroes after six weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 1 million votes were cast. "To the country and the world, I ask you to please join us," McCartney said. "Together we can continue to rebuild families' homes and lives. ... If you join us, we'll be unstoppable." Hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper, "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" features moving musical performances by Aguilera, Keys and Legend. Watch a preview of the show, including Aguilera's performance » . Aguilera performed her hit single "Beautiful." Legend, backed by the world-renowned Agape Choir, brought the audience of more than 2,000 to their feet with his powerful call to personal action, "If You're Out There," from his just-released album, "Evolver." Keys sang "Superwoman," her tribute to women around the world, from her hit album "As I Am." All three performances echoed the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which salutes everyday people accomplishing extraordinary things in their communities and beyond. "In this time of economic turmoil, it is such a relief to know that there are people like these heroes, people who care more for others than they do for themselves," Cooper said. The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 3,700 viewer nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter. Each of the top 10 Heroes receives $25,000. Watch a close-up look at the CNN Hero Award » . Actors Cameron Diaz, Salma Hayek, John Krasinski, Forest Whitaker, Meg Ryan, Terrence Howard, Lucy Liu, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale and Selena Gomez were among the stars joining in CNN's tribute to the top 10. See photos of the presenters » . In addition, actor Hugh Jackman presented People magazine's 2008 Heroes Among Us award to six recipients honored by the magazine. Award-winning producer-director Joel Gallen returned to executive produce this year's program. Among his credits, Gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, winning an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for "America: A Tribute to Heroes." The Kodak Theatre is best known as the first permanent home of the Academy Awards. In addition to its airing on CNN, the second annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" will air simultaneously on CNN International and CNN en Español at 9 p.m. ET Thursday (0200 GMT Friday). In alphabetical order, the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 as chosen by the blue-ribbon panel are: Watch the members of the blue ribbon panel » . Tad Agoglia, Houston, Texas: Agoglia's First Response Team provides immediate help to areas hit by natural disasters. In a little over a year, he and his crew have helped thousands of victims at more than 15 sites across the United States, free of charge. Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Moved by the lack of children's books and literacy in his native Ethiopia, Gebregeorgis established Ethiopia Reads, bringing free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of Ethiopian children. Carolyn LeCroy, Norfolk, Virginia: After serving time in prison, LeCroy started the Messages Project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents. She and volunteer camera crews have taped roughly 3,000 messages from inmates to their children. Anne Mahlum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: On her daily morning jogs, Mahlum used to run past homeless men. Today, she's helping to transform lives by running with them, and others as part of her Back On My Feet program. Liz McCartney, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana: McCartney moved to New Orleans to dedicate herself to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors move back into their homes. Her nonprofit, St. Bernard Project, has rebuilt the homes of more than 120 families for free. Phymean Noun, Toronto, Ontario: Growing up in Cambodia, Noun struggled to complete high school. Today, she offers hundreds of Cambodian children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump a way out through free schooling and job training. David Puckett, Savannah, Georgia: Puckett started PIPO Missions to bring ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care to those in need. Since November 2000, he has helped more than 420 people in southeastern Mexico, free of charge. Maria Ruiz, El Paso, Texas: Several times a week, Ruiz crosses the border into Juarez, Mexico, bringing food, clothing and toys to hundreds of impoverished children and their families. Marie Da Silva, Los Angeles, California: Having lost 14 family members to AIDS, the nanny funds a school in her native Malawi, where half a million children have been orphaned by the disease. Viola Vaughn, Kaolack, Senegal: The Detroit, Michigan, native moved to Senegal to retire. Instead, a group of failing schoolchildren asked her to help them pass their classes. Today, her 10,000 Girls program is helping hundreds of girls succeed in school and run their own businesses.

2008 CNN Hero of the Year is Liz McCartney of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana . Grammy winners Christine Aguilera, Alicia Keys and John Legend perform . The show honors the top 10 CNN Heroes as selected by a distinguished panel . It airs globally at 9 p.m. ET November 27 (0200 GMT November 28)

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(CNN) -- Switzerland's Lara Gut made history on Saturday when she became the youngest-ever winner of a women's World Cup race when claiming victory in the super-G at St Moritz. Gut holds the Swiss flag aloft after becoming the youngest skier to win a women's World Cup race. Cheered on by the local supporters, the 17-year-old finished ahead of compatriot Fabienne Suter with Italy's Nadia Fanchini -- the winner of the opening super-G in Lake Louise, Canada, finishing third. Gut gave a clear indication of her immense talent on Friday when finishing fifth in the super-combined and she produced a near flawless run of 57.38 seconds to finish well clear of her rivals. Suter, who finished third on Friday, moved up one place on the podium with a time 00.63 secs behind Gut. World Cup leader Lindsay Vonn failed to finish on a piste that had been considerably shortened to deal with poor visibility caused by falling snow. American Vonn, the defending overall champion, was one of many racers caught out by a bump in a fast section after a sharp right-hand turn. Vonn said Gut's maiden win was not a surprise. "She has been skiing well all season so far," said the 24-year-old. "She has got a lot to learn still, but on a day like today, going first, it was a perfect chance for her. She definitely executed and seized the opportunity." Gut added: "I was really nervous as I wasn't used to being the leader, but gradually I began to realise that in fact I had skied really well especially when I saw that Nadia and Fabienne were behind me."

Swiss Lara Gut makes history by winniing the women's Super-G at St Moritz . The victory makes Gut, 17, the youngest-ever woman to win a World Cup race . Fellow-Swiss Fabienne Suter finished second with Italy's Nadia Fanchini third .

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(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama visited military personnel and their families enjoying Christmas dinner at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii Thursday during his holiday vacation. President-elect Obama shakes hands with troops having Christmas dinner at a military base in Hawaii. Obama went to Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay on Oahu where he mingled with Marines and sailors. Obama and the troops also had a traditional dinner including turkey, roast beef, ham and trimmings. Obama, dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and dark khaki trousers, chatted casually, shook hands and posed for photos with men and women in the dining hall, which had been decorated with Christmas trees and Santa figurines. Shortly before Obama entered the room, a Marine shouted to the crowd scattered across 25 tables, "You need to take you seats, the president-elect is going to be coming." Obama, who spent about an hour at the Marine base, worked his way around the room, table by table. "Just wanted to say, 'Hi, hey guys,'" Obama said at one point while reporters were allowed in the room. "Hey guys, Merry Christmas," he said to another group. Obama also highlighted the service of the country's military men and women now overseas in a holiday message to be broadcast on radio this Saturday. "As we celebrate this joyous time of year, our thoughts turn to the brave men and women who serve our country far from home," he said in the message, which was posted online Wednesday. "Their extraordinary and selfless sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, and part of the unbroken line of heroism that has made our freedom and prosperity possible for over two centuries." Watch Obama's holiday message » . More than 140,000 soldiers are currently serving in Iraq, as well as roughly 30,000 in Afghanistan. In the broadcast message, Obama also called on Americans to "renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship." "These are also tough times for many Americans struggling in our sluggish economy," he said. "Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans -- that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. ... We must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country." Obama said that notion "will guide my administration in the New Year. If the American people come together and put their shoulder to the wheel of history, then I know that we can put our people back to work ... and reach the promise of a brighter day."

President-elect Barack Obama mingles with troops in Hawaii on Christmas Day . Obama praised country's military men and women in online message . Obama calls on Americans to "renew a sense of common purpose"

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(CNN) -- A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria's Josef Fritzl. The two daughters were made pregnant 19 times; there were nine births, five miscarriages and five terminations. Seven of the children are alive but suffer genetic deformities. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons banning the identification of his victims and the surviving children, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court, northern England, and was sentenced to serve 25 life sentences to run concurrently. The judge said the minimum term the 56-year-old rapist should serve in jail should be 19½ years. South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent Simon Torr said, "The victims of these terrible crimes have asked me to state the following: 'His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again. The suffering he has caused will continue for many years, and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives.' " Speaking for the police, Torr added, "The main concern ... is for those who have been so badly affected: the victims who have suffered a terrible ordeal. We will continue to offer them our full support to try and help them get on with their lives. "As far as the sentence goes, we are satisfied that this offender has received the strongest possible punishment for his heinous crimes. Now we need to ensure continuing support for those who have suffered as a result of his actions." The daughters first told police about their ordeal in June, but the abuse dated to 1981. It emerged that in 1998 one daughter rang Childline, a charity to help abused kids, and asked for assurances about being able to keep her children if she came forward. When Childline could not make that guarantee, the daughter did nothing more to raise her plight. Watch how the case came to light » . The UK's Press Association reported that the rapes began in 1981 with daily attacks and that for long periods, they would be raped up to three times a week, and the assaults would continue through pregnancies. Their only reprieve came after they had just given birth or when they were ill because of the abuse. If either daughter tried to refuse their father's attacks, they would be punched, kicked and or held to the flames of a gas fire, burning their eyes and arms, PA reported. Despite visiting hospitals and meeting with social workers over the 27 years of abuse, no investigation was launched into the family. The case comes in the wake of the death of a baby, known only as Baby P, which has dominated headlines in Britain. The baby endured horrendous torture and died despite being on the local authority's child protection register. In Austria this year, Josef Fritzl was arrested, accused of keeping his daughter in a basement dungeon and fathering seven children through the rapes.

Dad in UK sentenced to life in jail for subjecting daughters to rapes over 27 years . Rapes resulted in 19 pregnancies, nine births, seven children . Surviving children suffer genetic disorders . Judge questions why social workers, professionals did not find out about case .

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(CNN) -- The wreckage of a C-130 cargo plane that disappeared shortly after takeoff in the southern Philippines Monday night was found Tuesday about two miles (3km) offshore, the Philippines News Agency reported. Searchers have recovered items from the wreckage of the cargo plane. The bodies of two of the nine crew members on board were recovered, the report said. The Philippines Air Force plane was declared missing after the control tower at Davao International Airport lost radio contact with the pilot halfway between Manila and Davao, an Air Force official said. The plane, with two pilots and seven crew members on board, was to have picked up members of the Presidential Security Group for transport to Manila. The wreckage was found at 6am Tuesday by a search team just off the coast of Barangay, San Pedro Extension, Davao City, the news agency said.

The wreckage of a C-130 cargo plane is found close to Philippine coastline . The bodies of two of the nine crew members on board were recovered . C-130 cargo plane was was going to pick up the Presidential Security Group .

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Editor's note: The U.S. Marshals Service last week launched one of the largest weeklong fugitive sweeps in the southeastern United States. CNN takes you inside the operation. Authorities received a tip that a convicted child molester was living here. He was captured at a hardware store. ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The trail for the convicted child molester seemed to grow cold as the police combed his empty apartment. James Maurice Robinson, 25, a confessed sex offender, had been on the run for more than two years, and it looked as if he would elude capture yet again. The authorities huddled in a nearby parking lot to discuss Plan B, an air of disgust hanging over them. James Ergas, the U.S. Marshal helping to lead this operation, acts on a tip. He pulls out his cell phone and calls a hardware store where the suspect may be working. Using a ruse, he begins speaking to the manager and, at one point, Robinson himself gets on the phone and unknowingly talks to the very man trying to catch him. Gotcha! Authorities now know exactly where their man is. He's seven miles away, on the other side of town. It's 11:02 a.m. Ergas guns his unmarked sport utility vehicle at 95 miles per hour through downtown Atlanta, zipping in and out of the city's notorious traffic congestion. Hear cops bang door, see raid on a home: "Get down!" » . "I've got no place in my heart for pedophiles," he says, pressing down harder on the gas. The vehicle thrusts forward. Ten minutes later, he whips his SUV into the store's parking lot. The suspect's car, a burgundy, four-door Pontiac Grand Am, sits near a back stairwell. "When we go in there, he's going to run out the back," Ergas says. He parks near the front of the building and alerts his backup. Within minutes, the full team arrives. Two take position near the back stairwell. Ergas and other team members, dressed in black flak jackets, enter the front door at 11:19 a.m. Robinson doesn't have a chance. He tries to run, but slips. Ergas points his Taser and prepares to zap him. Robinson knows his gig is up. He surrenders peacefully. "He saw the Taser," Ergas says, with a smile. "Nobody wants to be Tased." More than 100 miles away, the man who first arrested Robinson in March 2004 gets word of the capture. "Anytime we can get a pervert off the street like that, it's going to make me happy," said Robert Tate, a detective with the LaFayette Police Department in northwest Georgia, near the Tennessee border. Robinson had been accused of exposing himself to a 10-year-old boy in a Wal-Mart bathroom and masturbating in front of him. Police records indicate the boy was so petrified he was afraid to leave the stall for 15 minutes afterward. Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of child molestation on May 26, 2005, according to the Walker County District Attorney's Office. But he skipped town and never made his sentencing hearing on February 14, 2006, authorities said. A warrant was then issued for his arrest. Robinson now faces five to 20 years in prison, the DA's office said. Robinson was one of 1,250 fugitives busted in Georgia last week as part of Operation Falcon, a nationwide sweep to arrest some of the most violent offenders. Of the arrests in Georgia, 724 came in metro Atlanta; two were suspected killers, authorities said. Multiple sweeps like these have already taken place in other cities in recent weeks as part of Falcon. More are coming to undisclosed regions of the country. Authorities would not release further details about the nationwide hunt due to the ongoing nature of the operation. "Our primary focus when we do this operation are violent offenders, sex offenders and gang members," says Keith Booker, the commander of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force leading this sweep that included 115 federal, state and local agencies. The fugitives were wanted on felony charges ranging from murder and aggravated assault to rape and armed robbery to child molestation and an array of parole violations. On this day, while Ergas and his eight- to 10-member team hit multiple spots where fugitives were believed to be living, another 150 agents, investigators, detectives, officers and deputies were working other parts of metro Atlanta. Of the 700-plus arrests made around Atlanta, authorities smashed through 154 doors. Not every suspect was captured, but the hunt generated leads that will be followed up. The work involved grueling and dangerous 14- to 18-hour days, but the officers still found time to laugh. There was one who Tasered himself while running after a suspect, and another who held up a bag of oregano thinking it was pot and quizzed his subjects. Both provided fodder for the watercooler. Then, there was the suspect wanted for aggravated assault who authorities said tried to jump over a 30-foot wall, breaking several bones when he landed. "He didn't want to go to jail. Instead, he went to jail crippled," Ergas said. The police kept close tabs on the six different teams' arrests, an internal competition to see who could bag more wanted felons. Team Vulture beat out Team Osprey with 147 arrests to 132. At the end of the operation, about 80 officers crowded into a large conference room and were briefed on the final results. "You prevented a lot of victims this week," Booker told them. Law enforcement studies, he said, indicate the typical fugitive commits an average of 13 crimes while they're on the run. If that's true, more than 15,000 potential victims have been spared. "These people can't commit crimes against other people while they're locked up," Booker said.

U.S. Marshals carry out massive fugitive sweep, nab 1,250 fugitives in Georgia . The operation was part of a larger nationwide hunt called Operation Falcon . One sex offender surrendered peacefully in hardware store: "He saw the Taser" Authorities message to those on the run: We're coming after you .

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe described the U.S. government and Western nations as "quite stupid and foolish" Tuesday for trying to be involved in the African country's affairs. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has ignored international calls for him to step down. Mugabe made the comments at the funeral for a former senior soldier, just days after a top U.S. diplomat said the United States no longer supports a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and his political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, that might pave the way for economic, health and other reforms. Jendayi Frazer, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said Sunday that the U.S. felt a viable unity government was not possible with Mugabe in power. At the funeral, Mugabe reacted: "The inclusive government ... does not include Mr. Bush and his administration. It does not even know him. It has no relationship with him. Watch U.S. say Mugabe needs to go » . "So let him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant and quite stupid and foolish. Who are they to decide who should be included or should not in an inclusive government?" Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, signed the unity deal September 15, but Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the MDC have failed to implement it because they cannot agree on who should control key ministries. Under the power-sharing proposal brokered by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki, Mugabe would remain president while Tsvangirai would become prime minister. Watch what options the international community has in Zimbabwe » . U.S. President George W. Bush and other leaders have urged Mugabe to step down amid a cholera epidemic that the United Nations says has killed more than 1,000 people since August. Mugabe blames Western sanctions for Zimbabwe's worst economic and humanitarian crisis since independence from Great Britain 28 years ago. The nation is facing acute shortages of fuel, electricity and medical drugs. The inflation rate -- the highest in the world -- is 231 million percent. Mugabe, referring to Bush's call for him to leave office, said: "We realize that these are [the] last kicks of a dying horse. We obviously [are] not going to pay attention to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe's fate lies in the fate of Zimbabweans. They are the ones who make and unmake the leaders of the country. Their decision alone is what we go by." Bush leaves office January 20. Tsvangirai announced Friday that his party will withdraw from efforts to form a unity government unless 42 kidnapped party members are released or brought to court to face formal charges by New Year's Day.

President Robert Mugabe describes U.S. and West as "stupid and foolish" Power-share deal is stalled because of dispute over control of ministries . Zimbabwe faces cholera epidemic, economic crisis . Mugabe has resisted international calls for him to step down .

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MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon met with the country's 32 governors Thursday to create a plan to combat the nation's staggering rise in crime and kidnappings. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has noted that kidnappings have reached an alarming level. In a heavily guarded meeting at Mexico's National Palace, the leaders devised a plan that detailed 65 specific actions to could be taken in the next several months. Those actions are aimed at helping families like that of prominent businessman Alejandro Marti. He told the group that the new focus on kidnapping has come too late for his 14-year-old son, Fernando. Fernando was grabbed from a car on a busy street at a fake police checkpoint this year. The next day, his chauffeur and bodyguard were found bound and strangled in the trunk of a car. Next to their bodies, police found a yellow chrysanthemum, a calling card from a gang that calls itself the Band of Flowers. Some investigators believed the flower was a coded message to police telling them not to investigate too closely, that the kidnappers were police, also. In July, Fernando's decomposed and bullet-ridden body was found stuffed in the trunk of a car. At least one police officer and one civilian have been taken into custody, accused of involvement in the kidnapping and killing, police and Alejandro Marti said. Marti told the group of leaders to do a better job to protect other children like his son. "There are university students who could do their jobs better than you can," Marti scolded the group. To address the crime increase, Mexican leaders called Thursday for building special prisons exclusively for kidnappers, bolstering the justice system, cleaning up corrupt police forces, clamping down on kidnapping tools such as prepaid cell phones and money laundering. Calderon noted at the meeting that kidnappings had reached an alarming level. "The truth is we are all responsible," Calderon told the group. "We must recognize the traditional way of combating crime has not been sufficient. We must act in a more coordinated and vigorous manner." According to official figures, there have been 314 kidnapping in Mexico this year. The numbers topped 700 in 2007. Authorities say the real figures may be even greater because victims often don't report crimes to a police force they don't trust. Experts say the rise is also a result of a perception sense that crimes go unpunished. Non-governmental groups estimate that there have been more than 1,500 killings in Mexico this year linked to organized crime. The group of leaders pledged to implement changes within the next three months. Activists said they hoped the one-day crime summit does not end up becoming just a photo-op.

Actions are aimed at helping families like that of businessman Alejandro Marti . Marti's son Fernando, his chauffeur and bodyguard were killed after kidnapping . Marti told group of leaders to do better job to protect other children like his son .

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SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Dust off every disaster plan from Washington to San Diego, scrutinize them to your heart's content, and it's still unlikely you'll find mention of the emergency services provided by Shary Shores. Eric Campbell of Palomar Mountain became a reluctant tailgater at Qualcomm Stadium with his two cockatiels. Shores, a volunteer registrar at San Diego's evacuee shelter, has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger." Every person she signs in gets a warm, heartfelt hug. Having lost her own home to foreclosure in March, Shores says she has empathy for the suddenly homeless. Her embraces may not be government-sanctioned, but they are appreciated. "I can't tell you how many people say 'Thank you. ... I needed that,'" Shores said. Welcome to Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers and, for the time being, thousands of people who have fled the California wildfires that destroyed nearly 1,600 homes and burned some 679 square miles. Some 76,000 people stayed in 42 San Diego County shelters Wednesday night, county emergency spokeswoman Lynda Pfieffer said. Those numbers were dropping as residents were allowed to return home. Qualcomm Stadium housed 11,000 evacuees at the peak of the disaster, but that number dropped to 5,000 Wednesday morning. Those staying in shelters represented only a small fraction of the nearly 1 million evacuees. "We believe many people are staying with family and friends or going to hotels," said Red Cross spokeswoman Jeanne Ellinport in Washington. Conceived on paper as a safe -- if uncomfortable -- refuge for thousands of people, Qualcomm Stadium has become in practice a wonderland of surprises. Were it not for the absence of a Ferris wheel, the tent city just inside the stadium's gates could be mistaken for a county fair. Watch volunteers make life easier at Qualcomm » . Stiltwalkers stroll around the grounds waving at gawking children. Food and drink are abundant. Signs hawk free massages, acupuncture treatments and spiritual aide. Math tutors -- admittedly not a staple of county fairs -- are available free of cost. "This is amazing, what's going on here," said Robert Norman, who sought shelter at Qualcomm with his wife and 1-year-old son. "They've made it very comfortable." The real purpose of this midway, however, becomes apparent only at second glance. At a booth where one might expect to buy cotton candy, a volunteer pharmacist dispenses aspirin and antacid. Other tents are labeled "Safeco Insurance" and "All State." Catholic Charities has erected a tent, as has a local politician. And, in a cold slap of reality, there is a drab tent where evacuees can privately read the list of homes that have been destroyed. The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone, an emergency official said. Watch how valiant efforts sometimes fall short » . The outpouring of help has been so massive that some volunteers are being turned away, and donated food and water is being stored in tents in the far reaches of the stadium's parking lot. "If you need kosher food, we've got it!," exclaims Phillip Dewitt, a defense department contractor who is volunteering at the site. On Tuesday, volunteer teachers outnumbered kids three to one, said Edwin Lohr, another volunteer. Anitra Means showed up to volunteer on Tuesday and found herself managing one of several food banks that seemed to spontaneously appear on the midway's fringes. She doesn't know who organized the food bank, whether it be a city, state, federal government or a private enterprise, nor does she seem to care. Her one concern is that pallets of donated soup and pudding are appearing quicker then they are disappearing, she said, leaving her to wonder if food will be left over. Meanwhile, nearly 400 Red Cross volunteers from across the country were to arrive in the San Diego area Wednesday, said Red Cross worker John Degnan, who came in from Massachusetts. Also, 75 emergency response vehicles were coming to the region to deliver meals and other supplies to shelters. Disaster experts say planners sometimes focus on the negative consequences of disasters, such as public panic or rioting, which are rare. And planners rarely focus on the more likely consequences of disaster -- massive outpourings of help. But whether by accident or design, San Diego is offering emergency planners a lesson in harnessing volunteerism. E-mail to a friend .

Volunteer registrar Shary Shores has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger" Qualcomm Stadium has become a wonderland of surprises . Tent allows evacuees to privately read list of homes that have been destroyed .

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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Greg Melville's neighbors in Vermont looked at him like he was crazy 2½ years ago when he drove what he refers to as his "vegetable vehicle." It's a car that runs on vegetable oil instead of gasoline. Greg Melville converted a 1985 diesel station wagon to run on vegetable oil when his family needed another car. Back then, gasoline cost about $2.20 per gallon. Now that the cost of gas is nearly twice that, many Americans are starting to think that converting to a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil isn't such a bad idea. Melville, who now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, says the decision to convert a 1985 diesel station wagon to run on vegetable oil came about when his wife was in medical school and the couple needed a second vehicle. "We did some research and found out that the old Mercedes engines were very easy to convert, just because they are practically indestructible," Melville explained. After he found a good deal online, the couple purchased the car and found a conversion kit from a company in Massachusetts called Grease Car. The Melvilles then took the car and kit to an expert installer in their area and in no time, they were driving around -- with free fuel. The kit and installation cost about $1,000 each, and Melville says it took about 1½ years to recoup that cost. "We're kind of playing with house money, because we're driving on free gas, and it's paid for itself many times over," he said. Melville, who is a writer, has driven the gas-free vehicle more than 60,000 miles, including two cross-country trips he's written about in an upcoming book. Veggie car makes a cross-country road trip » . The converted car was outfitted with a 15-gallon tank. Melville says it gets about 20 miles per gallon, the same fuel economy it would have gotten with the original diesel system. But according to a recent editorial he wrote for The New York Times, Melville says his carbon footprint is cut in half while driving the car fueled by vegetable oil. But all is not golden -- or green, as the case may be -- in this veggie tale. Melville admits that there are a few downsides to having a vegetable-oil powered vehicle. The process of collecting and filtering the grease can be time-consuming and a bit messy. He's made arrangements to get most of his waste oil from local restaurants, and each week, his suppliers leave him five-gallon drums that he must pick up. But when he travels long distances, he has to find new restaurants on the road that are willing to give him their used grease. Once Melville gets the grease, he pours it into a large gas can that's been painted black. The dark color helps absorb the sun's rays, which heat the oil inside. The process helps thin the grease and makes it easier to filter bits of onion rings and other fried foods. "[It's] not always the cleanest thing. I've spilled it all over me a couple times," Melville said. Another side effect of using vegetable oil is the smell. The undeniable aroma of french fries and other deep-fried foods wafts up frequently from the exhaust. Depending on a person's palate, the aromatherapy could be a deal-breaker or a fringe benefit. Still, Melville says he would recommend a vegetable vehicle to anyone -- with the following caution: . "Make sure you have a supplier lined up, because suppliers are becoming harder to find." Even though many Americans love to eat fried food, there's not enough leftover oil to power all of the cars in the United States. The vegetable-oil powered cars have become so popular, there have been reports of cooking oil thefts from eating establishments across the country and talk of restaurants charging for the leftover oil. For now, Melville isn't concerned. "My hope is ... by the time that happens, some other alternative like plug-in hybrids will come along and make these cars obsolete," he said. "Then I won't have to be filling it up with vegetable oil, and I can have a plug-in hybrid and go to a regular gas station and not have to feel guilty or worry about it."

Greg Melville converted a 1985 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil . A car kit and professional installation cost about $2,000 . Restaurants supply Melville with free five-gallon drums of used oil, which he filters . Collecting and cleaning oil, smelly fumes are a few downsides of veggie cars .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Archaeologists have discovered what they say is the oldest surviving human brain in Britain, dating back at least 2,000 years to the Iron Age. A representation of the skull generated from the CT scans taken at York Hospital. The remains of the brain were found in a skull unearthed during excavations at York University in northern England, a statement from the university said Friday. The dig site was described by investigators from York Archaeological Trust as being in an extensive prehistoric farming landscape of fields, track ways and buildings dating back to at least 300 BC. They believe the skull, which was found on its own in a muddy pit, may have been a ritual offering. Rachel Cubitt, who was taking part in the dig, described how she felt something move inside the cranium as she cleaned the soil-covered skull's outer surface. Peering through the base of the skull, she spotted an unusual yellow substance. "It jogged my memory of a university lecture on the rare survival of ancient brain tissue. We gave the skull special conservation treatment as a result, and sought expert medical opinion," she said in a statement on York University's Web site. A sophisticated CT scanner at York Hospital was then used to produce startlingly clear images of the skull's contents. Philip Duffey, Consultant Neurologist at the Hospital said: "I'm amazed and excited that scanning has shown structures which appear to be unequivocally of brain origin. I think that it will be very important to establish how these structures have survived, whether there are traces of biological material within them and, if not, what is their composition." Dr Sonia O'Connor, Research Fellow in Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford added: "The survival of brain remains where no other soft tissues are preserved is extremely rare. This brain is particularly exciting because it is very well preserved, even though it is the oldest recorded find of this type in the UK, and one of the earliest worldwide." According to York University, the find is the second major discovery during archaeological investigations on the site of the University's $745 million campus expansion. Earlier this year, the skeleton of a man believed to be one of Britain's earliest victims of tuberculosis was discovered in a shallow grave. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the man died in the fourth century late-Roman period.

Skull found at site of York University's $745 million campus expansion . Investigator spotted an unusual yellow substance inside the skull . Hospital scanner used to produce clear images of the brain tissue . Expert: Survival of brain remains where no other soft tissues are preserved is rare .

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(CNN) -- The mother of an 8-year-old boy suspected in the shooting deaths of his father and another man said Monday that the youngster "loved his dad" and had a strong relationship with him. "He's a very good little boy," Eryn Bloomfield said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "What happened to being innocent until proven guilty?" For legal reasons, Bloomfield -- who is identified in court papers as Eryn Thomas -- could not discuss details of the case. She said she is not even allowed to discuss the case with her son. Prosecutors in Apache County, Arizona, filed a motion Friday to dismiss one of the two murder charges against the boy -- the charge involving the death of his father. The filing gave no explanation, saying only, "The state believes the interest of justice will be served by such a dismissal." Authorities last week released a videotape of the boy's police interview in which he initially denied any involvement in the shootings, but later said he had shot his already-wounded father "because he was suffering." Watch the boy talk to police » . Legal questions surround the interview. One of the boy's defense attorneys said he was not read his rights and had no attorney or parent present. Police have not responded publicly to those complaints. Asked what she heard on the interview tape, Bloomfield responded, "A scared little boy, that's what I hear -- someone who's very afraid of what's going on." "He had a very good relationship with his father. He did a lot with him," she said. "They did everything together. He loved his dad." She described her son as "very outgoing. He loves animals. He likes to ride his dirt bike, skateboarding, you know, outdoor things." Asked if he's ever been in trouble at school, she replied, "No. Not at all. I mean, acting out as far as not raising your hand when he needs to speak -- you know, just normal stuff like that." The boy lived with his father, Vincent Romero, 29, in St. Johns, Arizona. Bloomfield lives in Mississippi. The Apache County Superior Court clerk's office said the latest legal agreement between the boy's parents was from April 2006. The mother had weekly visitation rights and had the boy on some weekends and holidays, according to court documents. Romero and Tim Romans, who rented a room in Romero's home, were found dead inside the house November 5. Police said the next day that the boy had confessed to shooting the men with a .22-caliber weapon. Watch why observers find the interrogation troubling » . The killings shook the town of about 4,000 residents near the New Mexico border. Trying to hold back tears, Bloomfield told ABC that her son is scared and living alone at a juvenile detention center. The other children were removed so that older juveniles could not influence him "in the wrong way," she said. "So he's in there by himself, in his cell by himself," she said. Authorities have said the boy is attending school at the detention facility. Apache County Court Administrator Betty Smith said earlier this month, "Every effort is being made to see that he's comfortable." Bloomfield described heart-wrenching visits -- 30 minutes each day -- when she can speak to her son through a glass partition. "I get two visits with him that are physical visits -- to where we sit in a room and he will come and sit in my lap pretty much the whole time and hold onto me," she added. She will be allowed 48 hours with him at home over the Thanksgiving holiday, she said. "We're going to watch movies, play games, try to keep things normal as possible," she said, adding that the boy had picked out the movie "Kung Fu Panda." Officials from the juvenile detention center and a court-appointed guardian will be present during the visit, Smith said. According to a report in The Arizona Republic, Judge Michael Roca warned the media not to contact the juvenile. "The minor is off-limits," he said, according to the newspaper. "I think common decency should protect him, but, just in case, he is not to be contacted." Asked what she'll say to him on Thanksgiving, Bloomfield answered, "I tell him every day that I love him, and I don't know how much more I can express that, but I definitely plan on doing that -- just to let him know that I'm here for him and how much I do love him."

Mother: Son rarely in trouble outside of incidents like speaking out of turn in class . Boy will be allowed home for holidays, has asked to watch "Kung Fu Panda" movie . Boy is suspected in two shooting deaths, but prosecutors look to drop one charge . The 8-year-old is scared, in "cell by himself" but visits often with mother, she says .

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(CNN) -- At the time of his death, Heath Ledger had just concluded his work as the Joker in "The Dark Knight," the sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins." Heath Ledger died in January at age 28. He had been expected to hit new heights of stardom. The buzz surrounding his performance was electrifying. He was remaking the Joker; he wasn't a camp comedian like Cesar Romero or a malevolent clown like Jack Nicholson. He was pure nihilism, with his jagged makeup and ragged hair. Even glimpses of his smile on the "Dark Knight" movie posters were thrilling. And then he was gone. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," read the New York City medical examiner's office report, affectlessly. Who knows what could have happened? The hype surrounding "The Dark Knight," partly fueled by Ledger's death, turned out to have been warranted; the film earned critical praise and planeloads of money. Ledger has been posthumously nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award and is expected to receive an Oscar nomination, as well. Had he lived, he could have named his price. We'll never know. "Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future," the physicist Niels Bohr is credited with saying. Ledger's movie, "The Dark Knight" -- with its uncertain, bleak Gotham City --seemed symbolic of the year in entertainment. A writers' strike cast a pall over awards season. The paparazzi's favorite target, Britney Spears, was institutionalized for a time. Pixar's brilliant "Wall-E" depicted an Earth abandoned to the waste of consumerism. See some of the year's top entertainment stories » . Even the presidential campaign, source of so many laughs for late-night comedians, was fraught with 3 a.m. phone calls and "terrorist fist bumps." Why wouldn't people be attracted to change and hope? Hollywood, usually a prime provider of optimism, is littered with the stories of lights put out early. James Dean was 24 when a Ford coupe crossed into his lane and hit his Porsche Spyder head-on near Cholame, California. River Phoenix was 23 when he died of a drug overdose outside the Viper Room in Hollywood. They are two of too many. So: On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger was found dead in a New York apartment. He was 28. Asking "what if" is a dead end. "Saturday Night Live," many years ago, used to mock it: What if Superman grew up in Nazi Germany? What if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly? The past is past, what's done is done, and the future can be fickle, anyway. So many of the year's stories had unexpected outcomes. Consider: For almost two decades, movie audiences eagerly awaited a new Indiana Jones film. This year, they got their wish with "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and the film was widely criticized for taxing the credulousness of even its most dedicated fans. It's one thing to chat with a centuries-old Grail Knight, but surviving an A-bomb by hiding in a refrigerator? Not quite. Then there was the ultimate reality show: the election. If you'd polled media professionals last year, they might have named Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson as the future nominees. John McCain's campaign was on life-support; Barack Obama's was struggling. We all know how things turned out. And the election also made a star -- a celebrity, if you will -- of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate. Palin had a charisma -- the TV execs call it "breakthrough" -- that, at times, overshadowed the man at the top of the GOP ticket. iReport.com: What was your most memorable entertainment event this year? There was something else about Palin: She looked like Tina Fey, once the "Weekend Update" anchor and head writer for "Saturday Night Live," now the star of the smart "30 Rock." Fey went back on her old show and had great success parodying Palin, driving "SNL" to some of its highest ratings in years. (Palin also looked like "King of the Hill's" Peggy Hill, but unlike Fey, the animated character wasn't a Second City-trained comedy performer who could strike in real time.) Some observers foresee a bright future for the Alaska governor; others believe she'll wear out her welcome. Time, again, will tell. Cast members of "Saturday Night Live" are object lessons: John Belushi and Chris Farley, gone before their times; Robert Downey Jr. (1985-86) emerges from a lifetime of troubles with two hit movies and Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year distinction. Other notables had a chance to live out three rich acts. Paul Newman, who epitomized the best qualities of a performer and human being -- thoughtful, charitable, capable, courageous -- died in September. Visionary author Arthur C. Clarke died in March; elemental guitarist Bo Diddley died in June. And comedian George Carlin, who viewed life as "a ticket to the freak show" and "a zero-sum game," died in June. Carlin, who reveled in absurdity, had the right attitude to try to figure out "what if." In his surrealist way, he noted that the light at the end of the tunnel could be daylight -- or, maybe, an approaching train. Either way, it'll be here soon enough. "The future," he once said, "will soon be a thing of the past."

Heath Ledger died in January, had been expected to reach new stardom . Year's other events included Britney Spears institutionalization, "SNL" heights . Election crossed over into entertainment realms .

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(Mental Floss) -- 1. "Für Elise" Bob Dylan wrote "It Ain't Me, Babe" for Joan Baez. Written by: Ludwig van Beethoven . Written for: Some girl probably not named Elise. In fact, as far as most historians can tell, Beethoven didn't even know an Elise. Instead, the song was originally titled "Bagatelle in A minor" based on some handwritten notation a Beethoven researcher claimed to have seen on a now-lost copy of the sheet music. Further complicating things, Beethoven had hideous handwriting -- to the point that some scholars speculate the song was actually written "for Therese," as in Therese Malfatti, one of several women who turned down a marriage proposal from the notoriously lovesick maestro. 2. "Philadelphia Freedom" Written by: Elton John & Bernie Taupin . Written for: Billie Jean King, as a thank-you for a tracksuit she gave Elton. And what a tracksuit it must have been! The 1975 song remains one of the most popular disco hits ever, leaving thousands of Hustle enthusiasts wondering just what Billie Jean King had to do with Philadelphia, anyway. Turns out, the song was a reference to King's pro tennis team, The Philadelphia Freedoms. Prior to 1968, tennis players were all considered "amateurs" and weren't eligible to receive prize money. So, if you didn't have the wealth to support yourself, you couldn't play. Billie Jean King fought against those constraints, ultimately founding Professional World Team Tennis in 1974 and turning tennis into a paid league sport. 3. "Lola" Written by: The Kinks' Ray Davies . Written for: A transvestite. But the question is, which one? According to Rolling Stone, "Lola" was inspired by Candy Darling, a member of Andy Warhol's entourage, whom Ray Davies briefly (and cluelessly) dated. If that's the case, then "Lola" is just another notch on Darling's song belt -- she's also referred to in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side." ("Candy came from out on the Island/ In the backroom she was everybody's darlin'.") But, in the Kinks' official biography, Davies tells a different story. He says "Lola" was written after the band's manager spent a very drunken night dancing with a woman whose five o'clock shadow was apparently obvious to everyone but him. 4. "867-5309/Jenny" Written by: Jim Keller (of Tommy Tutone) and Alex Call . Written for: Unknown, as the songwriters apparently make up a different story about its inspiration every time they're asked. While the woman continues to remain a mystery, however, the phone number is all too real. In fact, it's been wreaking havoc ever since 1982 and the passage of time hasn't quelled of the number of crank calls. In 1999, Brown University freshman roommates Nina Clemente and Jahanaz Mirza found that out the hard way, when the school adopted an 867 exchange number for its on-campus phone system. Immediately, the girls' innocuous Room No. 5309 became a magnet for every drunk college kid with a 1980s fetish. Other unfortunate phone customers have fought back with creative and profitable solutions, like the holder of 212-867-5309, who put his phone number up for auction on eBay in 2004. Bids approached $100,000 before eBay pulled the item at the request of Verizon, the number's actual owner. 5. "Oh, Carol" Written by: Neil Sedaka . Written for: Carole King, naturally. Sedaka and King actually dated briefly in high school -- a romance Sedaka was able to successfully milk with "Oh, Carol," a then top-10 (if now somewhat forgettable) 1959 pop song. However, the real success of "Oh, Carol" came a few months later, when it inspired King to write a rebuttal entitled "Oh, Neil." At the time, King and her husband, Gerry Goffin, were fledgling songwriters in need of a hit tune. "Oh, Neil" wasn't that, but it did pay off. After Sedaka gave a tape of the song to his boss, King and Goffin landed jobs at the legendary Brill Building pop music factory, where the duo went on to write chart-toppers like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "The Loco-Motion." 6. "It Ain't Me, Babe" Written by: Bob Dylan . Written for: Joan Baez, though it clearly wasn't the nicest gift Dylan could have given her. The two met in 1961, when Baez was an up-and-coming folk singer and Dylan was a nobody from Minnesota. Desperate to make his break in the music biz, Dylan worked like crazy to get Baez's attention. He eventually ended up going on tour with her, which is how he first became famous, and also how the two began dating. For a while, they seemed like the golden couple, but things soon went downhill. During a European concert tour together in early 1965, they had a huge fight and parted ways. That May, Dylan was holed up in a hotel after being hospitalized with a virus, and Baez, hoping to remain friends, decided to bring him flowers. Sadly, that's how she found out that her ex was already dating someone else. That someone else was Sara Lownds, whom Dylan married a mere six months later. 7. "Our House" Written by: Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) Written for: Joni Mitchell. In December 1968, Nash and Mitchell moved into a cozy little house in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles. Though commonly left out of the hippy pantheon, Laurel Canyon was sort of a commune-home away from commune-home for San Francisco society -- not just CSN&Y, but also Jim Morrison, the Eagles, Frank Zappa, and more. "Our House" was directly inspired by a lazy Sunday in the Nash/Mitchell household. The couple went out to brunch, hit an antiques store, and then returned to find the house just a bit chilly, at which point Nash literally "lit a fire," while Mitchell "placed the flowers in the vase that she bought that day." No, really. The whole tableau seemed so ridiculously domestic to Nash that he immediately sat down and spent the rest of the day writing about it. E-mail to a friend . For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved.

Several famous songs written by men for a woman . Beethoven's "Für Elise" may have been written "for Therese" Songwriters make up stories about who is behind "867-5309/Jenny"

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MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Letters containing white powder were mailed to 16 U.S. embassies across Europe, according to the State Department on Wednesday. Emergency services surround U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain. The substance has proved to be harmless in 15 locations with results still pending for the final embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood said. He said the list of U.S. embassies where the powder was received includes Berlin, Germany; Bern, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium; Bucharest, Romania; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dublin, Ireland; Luxembourg; Madrid, Spain; Oslo, Norway; Paris, France; Reykjavik, Iceland; Riga, Latvia; Rome, Italy; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; and The Hague. An envelope, containing what testing revealed to be white flour, prompted the U.S. Embassy in Madrid to close the staff entrance on Wednesday, a U.S. embassy official told CNN. Mail at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid is received near the front entrance and was closed amid security concerns, he said, though most employees remained at work. "We know where the package is coming from," the official said, but declined to elaborate. The official spoke on coindition on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. He described the incident as "very serious" but went on to say there is probably "more commotion" outside the embassy, where local media reported police and ambulances had gathered. A similar letter was mailed to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Tuesday, embassy spokeswoman Melissa Ford said Wednesday. She said the contents of that envelope "still aren't in," contrary to Wood's statement. "It usually takes more than 24 hours (for the cultures), so perhaps we'll know later today or early tomorrow," Ford told CNN. CNN's Elise Labott and Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman contributed to this report.

Sixteen U.S. embassies in Europe receive mail containing white powder . Tests show powder harmless in 15 cases; results pending in 16th case . U.S. embassy official in Madrid: "We know where the package is coming from"

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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- In 1988, a relatively unknown rock and blues guitarist named Warren Haynes got some of his friends together to play music in Asheville, North Carolina. It was just an opportunity for local musicians to jam during the holidays, the one time of year they were all in town together. Warren Haynes' good work has been noted by the street named after him. The artists also wanted to give back to the community, so they gave the money raised by their show to various charities. The tradition has continued. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Haynes' Christmas Jam has evolved into an epic annual event for the musicians, fans, and particularly Habitat for Humanity. "We need Habitat For Humanity more now than ever, with the whole mortgage crisis that put us where we are now, and the fact that Habitat is about building homes for people that can't afford homes as opposed to lending money to people who can't afford homes," Haynes told CNN. Haynes and his wife, Stefani Scamardo, decided to donate 100 percent of the Christmas Jam proceeds to Habitat for Humanity years ago because they could see exactly where the money was going. They go back each year and meet the families they helped build homes for. Singer Joan Osborne echoed Haynes' thoughts. "It's a scary time. A lot of people are losing their homes so it's good to be able to do something that helps with that specific problem," she said. Going into 2008's shows, which were held December 12 and 13, the Christmas Jam had raised more than $665,000 for Asheville's Habitat For Humanity. The money has gone into building 12 houses in Enka Hills, a wooded community surrounded by mountains on a street the organization appropriately named Warren Haynes Drive. (In 2005 Habitat also built a house in the New Orleans Musicians Village.) The Thursday before the show, Haynes presented the key to a new home to single mother Suzie Cromer and her 8-year-old daughter. "Meeting the families and seeing the work that Habitat's doing with our help -- you know its hard to see that and not get emotional," Haynes said. "Warren is a hero in our mind," said Habitat's Arianne Kjellquist. "In western North Carolina, the housing costs are really out of whack with what the local wages are, so there's a big discrepancy there. There are more people that maybe would have been approved previously when the lending standards weren't so strict." This year's Christmas Jam lived up to the long-lasting and crowd-pleasing traditions of previous shows. The first night's show ran more than nine hours, ending with an Allman Brothers set after 4 a.m. The second night's show ended at 3:30 a.m. Performers included Ben Harper and Relentless 7, Travis Tritt, Michael Franti, Osborne, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Steve Earle and Haynes' band Gov't Mule. Perhaps the most anticipated addition this year among both fans and artists was former Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones, who played acoustic mandolin, bass and keyboards throughout the weekend with just about everyone. Jones said he was happy to pitch in. "In the economic climate like this, people really just want to get out and enjoy themselves and forget about the day to day stuff that they have to deal with. So it works on many levels," Jones said. "The fact that it is for a good cause is just a huge bonus." Haynes says the 20-year evolution of the Christmas Jam reflects his career. "We've grown up together. Its a parallel of the progress that I have achieved, and the event reflects not only the philosophy I share with these people but the mission." And as fans danced the night away while the artists played their hearts out, families' dreams of owning their perfect home come true. "I would have never imagined or dreamed that it would turn into what its turned into," Haynes reflected with a huge smile.

Guitarist Warren Haynes helped start Christmas Jam 20 years ago . Asheville, N.C., concert has raised thousands for charity . Money has built 12 Habitat for Humanity houses in a local neighborhood .

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(CNN) -- The leader of this week's coup in Guinea assured senior officials Thursday "they are safe," a journalist with the state-run newspaper told CNN. Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara with Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare. Coup leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara met with Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare and about 30 other top officials at a military camp in Conakry, the nation's capital, said Ousmane Barry, a correspondent for the state-run Horoya newspaper. Camara has declared himself president of the National Council for Democracy, which he called a transitional body that will oversee the country's return to democracy. In effect, that makes Camara president of Guinea, which was thrown into turmoil Monday after the death of President Lansana Conte. Souare called Camara "Mr. President" at Thursday's meeting, which was witnessed by journalists, Barry said. The two men also discussed Conte's funeral, scheduled for Friday. Camara has suspended the government, constitution, political parties and trade unions and formed his own government, Africa News reporter Mamdou Dian Donghol Diallo told CNN on Wednesday. The newly formed government, made up of 26 military personnel and six civilians, is negotiating a power-sharing deal that would reflect its ethnic make-up, Diallo said. International institutions, including the African Union, have condemned the coup. "What we want to see is the transition to a more democratic governing structure for the people of Guinea," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said earlier this week. Guinea, in western Africa bordering the Atlantic Ocean, has had only two presidents since gaining independence from France in 1958. Conte came to power in 1984, when the military seized control of the government after the death of the first president, Sekou Toure. The country did not hold democratic elections until 1993, when Conte was elected president. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2003 amid allegations of electoral irregularities. Worsening economic conditions and dissatisfaction with corruption and bad governance prompted two massive strikes in 2006, the CIA World Factbook says. A third nationwide strike in early 2007 sparked violent protests that resulted in two weeks of martial law. To appease the unions and end the unrest, the Factbook says, Conte named a new prime minister in March 2007.

Safety guarantees given to leading Guinea officials, reporter tells CNN . Coup leaders made Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara de facto president . Camara met prime minister and about 30 other top officials . President Lansana Conte died Monday after near 25-year rule .

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(CNN) -- Between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion tons of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted at an accelerating rate since 2003, according to NASA scientists, in the latest signs of what they say is global warming. This image shows the changing rate of mass in mountain glaciers on the Gulf of Alaska. Using new satellite technology that measures changes in mass in mountain glaciers and ice sheets, NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke concluded that the losses amounted to enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay 21 times. "The ice tells us in a very real way how the climate is changing," said Luthcke, who will present his findings this week at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, California. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, mission uses two orbiting satellites to measure the "mass balance" of a glacier, or the net annual difference between ice accumulation and ice loss. "A few degrees of change [in temperature] can increase the amount of mass loss, and that contributes to sea level rise and changes in ocean current," Luthcke said. The data reflects findings from NASA colleague Jay Zwally, who uses different satellite technology to observe changing ice volume in Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica. In the past five years, Greenland has lost between 150 gigatons and 160 gigatons each year, (one gigaton equals one billion tons) or enough to raise global sea levels about .5 mm per year, said Zwally, who will also present his findings at the conference this week. GRACE measured that mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska lost about 84 gigatons each year, about five times the average annual flow of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, according to NASA. "Every few extra inches of sea level have very significant economic impacts, because they change the sea level, increase flooding and storm damage," said, Zwally, ICESat Project Scientist. "It's a warning sign." Melting ice, especially in Greenland and the Arctic, is also thought to contribute to global warming, Zwally said. When the vast ice sheets and glaciers melt, they lose their reflective power, and instead, oceans and land absorb the heat, causing the Arctic waters and the atmosphere to warm faster. "We're seeing the impacts of global warming in many areas of our own lives, like agriculture," Zwally said. As an example, he cited the pine beetle infestation of this summer in the forests of Colorado and western Canada. "They were believed to be spreading because the winter was not cold enough to kill them, and that's destroying forests," he said. In the 1990s, Greenland took in as much snow and water as it let out, Zwally said. But now, about 15 years later, sea levels are rising about 50 percent faster, making the global climate situation even more unpredictable. "The best estimates are that sea levels will rise about 18 to 36 inches by the end of the century, but because of what's going on and how fast things are changing, there's a lot of uncertainty," he said.

About 2 trillion tons of ice have melted in Greenland, Antarctica, Alaska since 2003 . Lost amount of water could fill up Chesapeake Bay 21 times, NASA scientist says . Most came from Greenland, where losses raised global sea levels .5 mm annually . Scientist says sea levels rising 50 percent faster than 15 years ago .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- As millions of people enter the job market and business owners struggle to entice consumers, Ryan Taylor may be better positioned than most to weather the economic crisis. Ryan Taylor, right, and client Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men at Taylor's downtown Los Angeles office. Taylor is a custom tailor who brings his showroom to clients' homes and offices. The day before former New Edition artist Johnny Gill left for a U.S. concert tour in March, Taylor sat in the musician's modest condominium taking measurements for a customized shirt and suit that needed to be completed and shipped in a few days. Even on short notice, "Taylor the Tailor," as he is known, delivered on his promise -- and made Gill a loyal and satisfied customer. Taylor says he wants to change the apparel business model by personalizing a customer's needs, instead of having large inventories and high overhead costs that can quickly put someone out of business in a bad economy. His recipe for success: virtually no inventory and prices competitive with brand name department stores. His story in the apparel business began with the word "wardrobe" itself. "I had seen it numerous times and thought, 'Why would a word associated with business suits or casual attire have such a negative prefix?' " He decided to remove the word "war" and create a brand called DROBE that would offer professionals and smaller mom-and-pop boutiques his personalized custom style. But his first foray into the apparel business began and ended about 10 years ago at a trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. He borrowed money to pay for a booth, but like many entrepreneurial designers getting started, Taylor said buyers were not interested in clothing without established brand names. Soon after, Taylor was broke. "When I came home from that show thousands of dollars in the hole, I thought, 'How can I create a better story?' " Watch Taylor discuss how his business started » . Several months later, Taylor was surprised that some of his personal customers were coming back for more shirts because of his attention to size and detail. "I discovered that clothes off the rack fit less than 50 percent of the consumer population," he said, "and that my custom clothes can be generally close to the same price as those on the rack." He also began visiting his clients in their living rooms or offices for custom fittings and offering a range of fabrics, textures and designs conducive to an individual's style. When a sale is made, Taylor collects half the money up front, which helps pay for the cost of materials. "Nine times out of 10 we visit clients in their home or offices, we take their measurements right there inside their office, have them select the fabric they prefer, take their measurements right then and there, and [in] a couple weeks have a tailor-made garment to wear," he said. Although he discovered his custom-tailored clients looked great in his shirts, he noticed that most Main Street customers wore pants and suits that did not properly fit, so Taylor saw that as another opportunity to expand. With no inventory and a small staff on commission, Taylor's reputation spread throughout the Los Angeles, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia, business communities, partly with the help of fellow Hampton University alumni. He said television shows and celebrities began to take notice, and soon he found himself in the fitting rooms of major motion picture and recording studios. Taylor told CNN's Ted Rowlands that one of his first clients was the late comedian Bernie Mac. "I called the Bernie Mac show and the stylist there said come on in and he was my first celebrity client." Some of his other celebrity clients include Al Pacino, Martin Lawrence, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, George Lopez and musician and multi-Grammy winner Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. But his reputation did not change his business style. "Our business model is remarkably fit and lean," he said. "We have no inventory because our inventory is simply fabric." The vast majority of men and women who make up Taylor's clientele earn a living on Main Street, like Brian Asciak, the sales manager of a Ford dealership in Long Beach, California, who became Taylor's most recent customer as he sat in his office. "We eliminate the cost to have your clothes tailored and we eliminate the time it takes to go shopping," said Taylor. His business has expanded to include custom-tailored dresses, ties, shoes and accessories. What began as a small loan has turned into 1,300 loyal clients. He averages close to $30,000 per month in revenue, and sales are down by only about 15 percent this year, he said. In a volatile economic climate, Taylor is not cutting back. He recently opened a second DROBE office in Pasadena, California, and wants to add 200 clients before the end of the year. "To survive in this tough economy," he said, "you have to be willing to customize your product as well as your service for the specific nuances of individual people so they will talk about you with glow -- with a feeling of excitement about your product." CNN's Ted Rowlands contributed to this report.

Ryan Taylor finds a niche in the apparel market with custom fittings . "Taylor the Tailor" starts with a small loan and a failed booth at a trade show . He now has 1,300 clients, among them Al Pacino, Jay Leno and other celebrities . The vast majority of clients earn a living on Main Street, he says .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama showed Thursday night that they have more common ground than differences when it comes to making national service a priority in their presidential administrations. The presidential canidates put aside partisan politics as the nation remembers the terrorist attacks. The candidates took the stage separately in a forum sponsored by TIME at Columbia University in New York. A coin toss determined who took questions first from moderators TIME Managing Editor Rick Stengel and PBS's Judy Woodruff. Asked why it seems the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, are "fading" in the minds of many Americans, McCain said: . "We needed at that time [September 11, 2001] to take advantage of the unity in the United States of America." McCain criticized the Bush administration for not taking advantage of that sense of unity and instead imploring the American public to live their lives as usual and "go shopping." "I would have called them to serve," said McCain. The GOP candidate said he suspects people feel uninspired by leaders in Washington and that Americans want "change" in federal government. "They understand the challenges that we have in this world. They see the Russian invasion of the little country called Georgia. They see the problems in Afghanistan growing larger. They see a whole lot of things happening in the world that's going to require us to serve, and that opportunity has to be provided to them." Watch McCain talk about service » . McCain praised the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, saying they and similar organizations don't receive "sufficient recognition" from Washington. But McCain was careful to say government should limit its involvement. Asked about compensation for service McCain said: . "I'd be glad to reward [volunteers] them as much as possible. But you want to be careful that the reason is not the reward of financial or other reasons, but the reward is the satisfaction of serving a cause greater than yourself. ... Finding new ways to serve. That's what this next few years should be all about." McCain also fielded a question about his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin's dismissive comments about Sen. Barack Obama's community service in Illinois. "Look, Gov. Palin was responding to the criticism of her inexperience and her job as a mayor in a small town. That's what she was responding to. Of course I respect community organizers. Of course I respect people who serve their community. And Sen. Obama's record there is outstanding." McCain also said that politics is "tough business," and that Obama set the tone of the whole campaign when he refused to take part in town hall meetings with McCain across America. Obama said his views don't necessarily differ from McCain's on national service. He said creating opportunities for national service would be a priority for his administration as well. "Part of what makes America work is the fact that we believe in individual responsibility and self-reliance, but we also believe in mutual responsibility, in neighborliness, in a sense that we are committed to something larger than ourselves." Obama cited a plan to provide college tuition aid in return for student community service. "One of my central platforms in this campaign is we're going to provide a $4,000 tuition credit every student, every year, but in exchange for giving something back. And so, young people of modest means, who are interested in going to college, this gives them an opportunity to serve and at the same time, pay for their college education. I think there are a lot of creative ways where we can provide opportunities than exist right now." Obama also said he wants to attract more young people into civil service careers. "The fact is that we have to have government. When a hurricane strikes, as it did with Katrina, we have to have a FEMA that works, which by the way, means that we should be encouraging young people, the best and the brightest, to get involved as civil servants, to pursue careers of public service so we've got people who are trained in federal emergency management who are able to take on the job." Watch Obama talk about service » . "Now, that does not crowd out the Red Cross. That doesn't crowd out the thousands of church groups that went down there. What it means is that each area has a role to play." The forum is part of a two-day summit meant to promote national service. Nearly 500 leaders from business, foundations, universities and politics are meeting to "celebrate the power and potential of citizen service" and lay out a plan to address "America's greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for volunteer and national service," according to the organizers' Web site. Each presidential candidate has served his nation in different ways. McCain was a Navy officer for over two decades and often encourages Americans to serve a "cause greater than oneself." Obama served as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago after he graduated from college. In a speech in December, the Illinois Democrat said he would ask Americans to serve if he becomes president. "This will be the cause of my presidency," he said. Today's joint appearance came amid recent sniping between the campaigns. McCain's campaign recently attacked Obama for "lipstick" remarks made during a campaign stop in Virginia on Tuesday. "John McCain says he's about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, 'Watch out George Bush -- except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics -- we're really going to shake things up in Washington,' " he said. "That's not change. That's just calling ... the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough of the same old thing." Watch how tensions are rising on the trail » . The crowd erupted in applause when Obama delivered the line. McCain's campaign said Obama's remarks were offensive and a slap at vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, despite the fact that the Arizona senator himself used the phrase last year to describe a policy proposal of Hillary Clinton's. Obama shot back Wednesday and accused the McCain campaign of engaging in "lies" and "swift boat politics." "I don't care what they say about me. But I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift boat politics," he said in Norfolk, Virginia. "Enough is enough." Watch Obama deliver his harsh words » . The phrase "swift boat" comes from the 2004 presidential election, when the group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" launched an attack ad campaign against Democratic candidate John Kerry that was said by some to be false. But the two presidential candidates agreed to put aside partisan politics on Thursday. They appeared together in New York to lay a wreath at ground zero, where the World Trade Center towers collapsed after two airliners hijacked by al Qaeda operatives plowed into them on September 11, 2001. The two met with families of victims as well as state and local officials. Earlier in the day, McCain attended a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to remember those who lost their lives when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field there on September 11, 2001. Many believe that the hijackers intended to crash Flight 93 into the U.S. Capitol in Washington. "Hundreds, if not thousands, of people at work in that building, when that fateful moment occurred, could have been destroyed along with a beautiful symbol of our freedom," McCain said. "They -- and possibly I -- owe our lives to the passengers who summoned the courage and love necessary to deprive our depraved and hateful enemies their terrible triumph. "I've had the great honor and privilege to witness great courage and sacrifice for America's sake," he said. The Obama campaign released a statement earlier Thursday for its candidate in which he said, "We will never forget those who died. "On 9/11, Americans across our great country came together to stand with the families of the victims, to donate blood, to give to charity, and to say a prayer for our country," Obama said. "Let us renew that spirit of service and that sense of common purpose." Meanwhile, a CNN poll out Thursday suggests that voters view McCain as the better presidential candidate to handle terrorism but do not consider terrorism their primary concern in voting. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed, 62 percent, believe that the Republican presidential nominee would be the better candidate to handle the issue of terrorism, compared with 34 percent who believe that his Democratic rival, Obama, would be better on the issue. The poll's margin of error is plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. Opinion Research Corp. conducted telephone interviews with 1,022 adults from September 5-7 for the poll. Time's Michael Duffy contributed to this report.

Sens. McCain and Obama met at a forum on national service in NYC Thursday night . Two candidates appearing together at 9/11 remembrance in NYC . New poll: Respondents view McCain as better in handling terrorism .

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ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida woman accused of killing her toddler daughter made a rare court appearance Thursday for a hearing regarding "disturbing" images of the scene where her daughter's skeletal remains were found. Caylee Anthony, 2, had been missing since June in a case that has received national attention. The hearing began without Casey Anthony, as defense attorney Jose Baez saying she waived her right to appear. But prosecutors objected, saying Anthony should be brought into court and questioned before waiving her appearance. Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland agreed, sending deputies to retrieve Anthony from jail but starting the hearing without her. She later was brought in, wearing navy jail scrubs. Answering Strickland's questions in a clear voice, Anthony confirmed that she had waived her right to appear in court. Watch Casey Anthony appear in court » . Strickland, however, had her remain for the rest of the hearing. She sat expressionless, appearing to listen closely as prosecutors and defense attorneys hashed out routine discovery and evidentiary issues. Anthony, 22, is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, who was last reported seen in June. She was arrested in October and charged with first-degree murder and other offenses, even though Caylee's body had not been found. The girl's skeletal remains were found last month in woods about a half-mile from the home of Anthony's parents, where Caylee and her mother had been living. Authorities have been unable to determine how the girl died but said she was the victim of a homicide. In Thursday's hearing, prosecutors and defense attorneys wrangled over defense experts' access to images from the scene where the body was found. Prosecutors said they did not want the defense to copy, print or send any photos or X-rays of Caylee to their experts, many of whom were outside Florida, out of concern they might wind up in the media's hands. Because the experts are outside the jurisdiction of the Florida court, Strickland would have little recourse if the photos wound up "displayed on some magazine at the checkout at the Publix," prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick said Thursday. The pictures "are not necessarily gruesome, but they are disturbing," especially images of the child's skull when it was found and removed from the woods, she said. Baez agreed he did not want the photos to be made public, and said he doubted his experts would jeopardize their reputations by leaking them, noting they have signed confidentiality agreements. The parties agreed that the defense would set up a secure Web site for its experts to evaluate the photographs. Strickland also ordered Baez not to copy the images or transmit them in any way. In an earlier hearing Thursday, another Orange County circuit judge ruled that a lawsuit filed against Anthony may proceed, but the judge is not requiring Anthony to submit to a deposition at this time. In questioning after Caylee's disappearance, Anthony told police she had left the child with a baby sitter named Zenaida Gonzalez and had not seen her since. Checking out her story, authorities found that the apartment where Anthony said she left Caylee was vacant and located a Zenaida Gonzalez, who said she had never met Anthony. Gonzalez filed a defamation suit against Anthony, saying that as a result of Anthony's statements, she has been suspected wrongly of involvement in Caylee's disappearance. Her attorney, John Morgan, told the judge Thursday that Gonzalez lost her job because of those claims. Anthony's defense attorneys asked that proceedings in the Gonzalez suit -- specifically, Anthony's deposition -- be postponed until the criminal case against Anthony is resolved, because Anthony's answers to questions in the deposition could potentially incriminate her, meaning she would have to invoke her Fifth Amendment right in refusing to answer. Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez agreed that Anthony should not be compelled to undergo an oral deposition, but said Morgan could depose her with written questions and answers. "No matter how much we want to separate these cases, they're intertwined," Rodriguez said in issuing his decision. Morgan noted that Anthony has filed a countersuit against Gonzalez, and said Anthony cannot duck a deposition at the same time that she is suing his client. "They cannot have their cake and eat it too," Morgan said, adding that Anthony "can't sue someone and then say, 'You can't question me because of the Fifth Amendment.' " Anthony's countersuit accuses Gonzalez of attempting to cash in on the high-profile case. A trial date has not been set for Anthony, who could face a sentence of life in prison if convicted of killing Caylee. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty against her.

Judge calls Casey Anthony to hearing at request of prosecutor . Hearing focuses in part on how to share crime scene images with defense experts . Prosecutors fear images could wind up in hands of media . In separate hearing, judge says defamation suit against Anthony can proceed .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion. Surveillance video shows storekeeper Mohammad Sohail holding a robber at bay with a shotgun. Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money. "He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV. Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees. "He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' " Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion. He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread. "When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath. "I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'" When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation. Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk. He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges. "The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.

Long Island storekeeper Mohammad Sohail faces man wielding baseball bat . Sohail grabs shotgun; stunned man begins to cry, says he has no food at home . Man's story tugs at Sohail's heartstrings, and he offers man money, bread, milk . After act of compassion, man says he wants to become a Muslim like Sohail .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An emotional Nancy Reagan helped unveil a statue of her late husband, President Reagan, on Wednesday, calling the 7-foot figure "a wonderful likeness." Nancy Reagan, with House Minority Leader John Boehner, wipes away tears at Wednesday's event. "I know Ronnie would be deeply honored to see himself with a permanent home in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol and very proud to be representing his beloved California," Nancy Reagan said. She appeared to battle emotions as she mentioned her last visit to the marbled hall for Reagan's memorial in June 2004. "It's nice to be back under happier circumstances," she said. Watch Nancy Reagan unveil the statue » . The statue is one of two from California in the National Statuary Hall Collection donated by states to honor significant figures. Nancy Reagan stood arm-in-arm with House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio to pull down the curtain from the statue. She thanked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California for making the event possible. In her remarks, Pelosi noted that the former president's statue contains pieces of the Berlin Wall, "as a symbol of his commitment to national security and to his success." The wall was torn down shortly after Reagan left office. "I'm so grateful to Californians for giving him this honor," Nancy Reagan said. "Artist Chas Fagan has captured his likeness so well, and I think the addition of the pieces of the Berlin Wall in the pedestal reflects my husband's commitment to freedom and democracy for everyone." The former president is credited with polices that led to the break-up of the former Soviet Union and the dismantling of the wall that divided Berlin as a symbol of Cold War politics. James Baker, a longtime Republican who served in the Cabinets of Reagan and President George H.W. Bush, recalled that Reagan inherited some major problems when he took office in 1981. Citing the former president's trademark optimism, he quoted from Reagan's first inaugural address that "we are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline." Nancy Reagan attended a White House ceremony Tuesday marking Barack Obama's signing of legislation authorizing a Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission. The 11-member commission will plan activities marking Reagan's 100th birthday on February 6, 2011. Reagan was president from 1981 to 1989.

NEW: Former first lady touts husband's "commitment to freedom" California donated figure for Capitol Rotunda to honor former president . Pelosi says statue contains pieces of Berlin Wall . Commission planning events to mark 100th birthday in 2011 .

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(CNN) -- Famed Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti died at his home in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Sunday, his personal secretary, Ariel Silva, told CNN. Author Mario Benedetti, 88, was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month. Benedetti, 88, was battling intestinal problems and had been hospitalized earlier this month. A descendent of Italian immigrants, Benedetti authored such best-selling novels as "The Truce" and "Juan Angel's Birthday," as well as a collection of short stories and poems. The poet-turned-novelist became a part of a thriving era of Latin authors including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa, who often intertwined politics with their work. A supporter of Fidel Castro's government, Benedetti left Uruguay to live in exile, partly in Cuba, where his writings grew more political. "I have never hidden my political position so I had to leave the country," he told CNN in a June 2005 interview. "I've had many mishaps, many problems in my short life," he added. Journalist Dario Klein in Montevideo contributed this report.

Mario Benedetti, 88, was battling intestinal problems; hospitalized earlier this month . Benedetti authored novels such as "The Truce" and "Juan Angel's Birthday" A supporter of Fidel Castro's government, Benedetti left Uruguay to live in exile .

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CNN's Susan Lisovicz sat down with her uncle Lenny Lisovicz, a decorated D-Day veteran, to talk about his experiences at war. CNN's Susan Lisovicz spoke to her Uncle Lenny about his D-Day and war experiences. HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Decorated D-Day veteran Lenny Lisovicz says the whispers are true. For 65 years my family had heard whispers that he and 220 men stormed Omaha Beach and that he and his captain later went AWOL in Paris, France. They heard he returned to combat and fought all the way to Germany and his courage was rewarded with the prestigious Silver Star. Then -- after that sacrifice and loss -- he was committed to a hospital. On the 65th anniversary of D-Day, Uncle Lenny finally talked at length about everything he had seen and done. And he said it was all true. Nowadays, Uncle Lenny lives a tranquil life. At 91, he is proud of his garden, where he grows corn, tomatoes and grapefruit. He takes in stray cats, attends Mass and sends money regularly to Catholic missionaries. But his thoughts are never far away from a sliver of sand thousands of miles away. He turned down my offer to visit Normandy. "I don't want to see it. I try to rub that out of my mind. It won't go away," he said. But now, he finally agreed to share his memories. Watch Uncle Lenny describe storming the beach » . It began with The Longest Day: June 6, 1944. My uncle was a 26-year-old lieutenant with the Army 1st Infantry Division, the famed "Big Red One." They had been training in England for something big for months. Then, over the loudspeakers in the barracks came the famous declaration from Gen. Dwight Eisenhower: "You are about to embark on the Great Crusade." The Germans were taken by surprise in one of the greatest amphibious invasions of all time, which would mark a turning point of the war in Europe. "I just imagined what that enemy observer felt when he looked through that concrete bunker and looked out at that ocean and all he could see was boats, warships," Lisovicz said. But the Nazis had a superior position. "They had you pinpointed. It was just like shootin' ducks on a pond. Your comrades would get artillery busted. A hand flying here, a leg there, guts laying out on the ground, asking for help and you couldn't help them. You had to move. You just had to push them aside," he recalled. But the Allies couldn't push their way onto the cliffs until a massive air assault began. "At times there were so many planes in the sky you couldn't see the sky... ," Lisovicz said. "You could see them forming from all directions coming into one pattern. And that's how we got off the beach, darlin'." Their orders were to meet up with the paratroopers, who landed behind enemy lines. My uncle said they found them by smell, because they were all dead. "They backed them in a corner and machine gunned them down and didn't have enough decency to cover them," he said. That was when an unwritten order came down: "No prisoners. And we didn't take any." It was shortly after this that he decided he had enough. He and the captain went AWOL in Paris. To add insult to injury, they stole the major's jeep. Their freedom lasted only about a week. "The MP told us he was going to shoot us for going AWOL. But who cares? You didn't care anymore," Lisovicz said. "You were just fed up with war, fed up with killing, just absolutely fed up." But they weren't shot -- not by Americans, anyway. My uncle and the captain went back into combat. The captain was killed by a camouflaged tank. My uncle was now the commanding officer. And the fighting was ferocious as he battled his way into Germany. He set trip wires for flares in one pivotal battle. At about 3 a.m., the flares went off. The Germans had overrun the outer defenses of the platoon. It was chaos. The Silver Star says that he "skillfully deployed men and weapons into strategic positions and with accurately directed fire, held the foe at bay until supporting troops arrived and repulsed the attack." But there was more. "When I looked up I seen a man walking up with two of my comrades. It was a German. So I went after him. And got him and brought my men back," he said. The Silver Star described it as "extraordinary gallantry and aggressive leadership." Only 22 of the 220 men that stormed the beach with him came home alive. That was the last time my uncle saw combat. He had been hit. He learned about his Silver Star in the hospital. He wanted to return, but he was shell-shocked. "It took them a year and a half of my life for them to straighten me out and get back to civilian life," he said.

Sixty-five years after D-Day, CNN correspondent's uncle talks about experience . Lenny Lisovicz describes day he and his unit stormed Omaha Beach . He says the Nazis "had you pinpointed. It was just like shootin' ducks on a pond" Lisovicz was one of 22, out of 220 men in his group, to return home alive .

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(CNN) -- Paolo Maldini and Luis Figo brought down the curtain on their remarkable careers as their Milan clubs both scored victories on the final day of the Serie A season. Maldini was given a special presentation as he made his 902nd and final appearance for Milan. The 40-year-old Maldini was playing his 902nd game for Milan who won 2-0 at Fiorentina while Portuguese international Figo helped champions Inter to a 4-3 home win over Atalanta. Milan's victory helped them secure the third Champions League place in Italy and automatic qualification to the group stages. Juventus, who beat Lazio 2-0 with Vincenzo Iaquinta scoring twice, finished level on points with Milan, while Fiorentina will go into the Champions League final qualifying round after finishing fourth. Inter had clinched the title two weeks ago, with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic double making sure that they would round off their season in style, the Swede finishing Serie A's top scorer with 25 goals. Figo has been with Inter since 2005 and has helped the club to four straight league titles to become a firm favorite with the fans who gave him a rousing farewell. Former Italian international defender Maldini was completing an incredible 24 seasons at Milan. Inter finished top with 84 points with Milan and Juventus on 74, with Fiorentina fourth with 68. In the relegation dogfight, Torino joined Reggina and Lecce in making the drop from Serie A as they lost 3-2 at AS Roma. Bologna beat Catania 3-1 to finish in the 17th place with 37 points, while Torino ended on 34. Bari, Parma and the winner of the promotion playoff will be the newcomers in Serie A next season.

Paolo Maldini plays 902nd and final match for AC Milan in 2-0 win over Fiorentina . Luis Figo ends his career as champions Inter Milan beat Atalanta 4-2 . Torino relegated to Serie B with 3-2 defeat to AS Roma .

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HERMOSILLO, Mexico (CNN) -- President Felipe Calderon traveled to Hermosillo on Saturday to meet with health officials as the death toll of a day care center fire there grew to 38 children. A crib and baby seats lie outside a day care center Friday in Hermosillo, Mexico, as police cordon off the area. The cause of Friday's blaze remained unknown, but investigators concluded that the fire did not start inside the ABC Day Care, Eduardo Bours, the governor of Sonora state said. As of Saturday night, 23 children remained hospitalized, 15 of them in critical condition, Sonora spokesman Daniel Duran told CNN. Another 10 children had been transported to other hospitals: eight to Guadalajara, one to Ciudad Obregon, and one to Sacramento, California. A team of 29 medical experts in Hermosillo were deciding if any more victims would be moved to the Shriners Hospital in Sacramento, or elsewhere. In addition, six adults were injured, Duran said. "Without a doubt this is the worst disaster we've had," Bours told CNN. The president arrived with Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez Mont and Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova to get firsthand updates from doctors and investigators, the state news agency Notimex reported. Calderon ordered the nation's attorney general to investigate the blaze. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation and not burns, Bours said. But the fire was enough for the roof to collapse, he added. At the time of the blaze, 142 children were inside the ABC Day Care. The day care is for children ages 2 to 4, but Bours confirmed that children even younger were among the victims. All the children at the day care had been accounted for by Saturday evening, Bours said. A severely burned 3-year-old girl arrived Saturday at the Sacramento hospital -- where pediatric burn treatment is a specialty -- and was in critical condition, according to Dr. Tina Palmieri, assistant chief of the burn unit. The child was burned over 80 percent of her body, the doctor told reporters. She said the hospital normally can save just over half of the children with burns that severe. In Hermosillo, a large crowd gathered outside of the emergency entrance of the city's general hospital and many people consoled each other, video from the scene showed. "They told me that this happened in a matter of five minutes," Hermosillo Mayor Ernesto Gandara told reporters after surveying the scene.

NEW: President Felipe Calderon travels to Hermosillo to meet with health officials . NEW: Officials believe blaze did not start in center; attorney general to investigate . NEW: 23 children remained hospitalized, 15 of them in critical condition . One child admitted to Shriners Hospitals in Sacramento, California .

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HOLLYWOOD, Florida (CNN) -- The slot machines are ringing, music is blasting at the crowded poolside bar, and people are dancing to celebrity DJs at hip nightclubs. But this is not a scene on the Las Vegas strip. This action is taking place on an Indian reservation. Richard Bowers Jr. says the Native American Group is intended to help tribes with basic needs. Business at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, is booming and contributing to the Seminole Indian Tribe's great wealth. Now the Seminoles are taking that wealth -- and the power that comes with it -- and using it to do something that has not been done before: organizing Native American tribes with the intent of spreading economic opportunities across Indian Country. "Some of these reservations I have been to -- it's like the Third World right here in the United States," says Richard Bowers Jr. As president of the Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc., Bowers has oversight over all the Hard Rock cafés, hotels and casinos in the world except the café in London and the casino in Las Vegas. The Seminole Tribe purchased the Hard Rock properties in 2007 for a reported $965 million. Bowers, a former alligator wrester and cattle rancher, is thankful for his tribe's success and has used his influence to create a consortium of Native American Tribes called the Native American Group. The goal of this group is to bring tribes throughout the United States and Canada together in an effort to promote Native American-owned businesses and services. Keeping the dollar within Indian Country, Bowers hopes, will help the less fortunate tribes with basic needs such as housing, food and education. "I view this as historic in nature," says Donald Laverdure, the chief legal counsel from Montana's Crow Tribe. "We haven't had first-nation to first-nation actually occur, and now with the success of the Seminoles and others, they have an opportunity to help tribes such as ourselves." The help that the Crow Nation seeks is financial. For the Crow Tribe, gaming is not an option, according to Laverdure. "There's less population, so the success in gaming cannot be paralleled as elsewhere," he says. "So we've always viewed our future in energy." That energy would come from coal. The Crow Tribe wants to mine some of the 9 billion tons of coal that it estimates is on its land. Crow Nation Chairman Cedric Black Eagle hopes the success of his tribe will lie in turning coal into liquid diesel. "It will open the door for Indian Country in energy fields and help this country start veering away from its dependence on foreign oil," he says. As the group meets to discuss coal, Bowers recalls that it was the need for beef that prompted his idea for the Native American Group. "Here we have all these cafes, casinos -- everybody eats a hamburger," says Bowers. "And than (I) realized that we don't have enough beef to supply our own needs, and that's when I reached out to other Native Americans that did have cattle." Bowers discovered there are more than 2 million heads of cattle on Indian land. If there is not enough cattle on Indian land, then members of the group are encouraged to keep the business in the country and buy American. The Native American Group has come a long way since Bowers was looking for cattle. The group now has more than 100 tribal members and more than 100 Native-owned businesses. One successful business that joined the group is the largest Native American-owned contractor, Flintco. Robin Flint Ballenger, who is Cherokee, is its chairman of the board. "It wasn't a far stretch for me at all to take a risk on this new organization because we are successful, we're doing very well," says Ballenger, who adds that a third of the company's work is done for Native America. One of the projects Flintco is working on is a casino being built on Choctaw tribal land in Durant, Oklahoma. With every Native American-owned casino, Bowers sees an economic opportunity for all. "Trash bags, everybody uses trash bags -- so just for an example, let's all get together and order trash bags and it's going to be cheaper on all of us," Bowers says, pointing out that there is a Native American trash bag supplier. When discussing the potential of the Native American Group, Ballenger remembers something her father used to show her. "(He) showed me one stick and [said] you can break one stick easily," Ballenger recalls. "When you bundle many sticks together, it is impossible to break." This is her wish for the consortium -- "That we will bundle these many sticks together and become impossible to break."

Seminole Tribe owns Hard Rock properties, looks to help unify Native Americans . The Native American Group is a consortium of various tribes . Keeping the dollar within Indian Country seen as way to help less fortunate tribes . Group now includes more than 100 Native-owned businesses .

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(CNN) -- Fresh faced and pictured wearing a crisp military uniform, the photo of a young Jim Tuckwell looks like it was taken before he'd seen action. But in fact, at the age of just 22, he had already experienced the full horrors of war. World War II veteran Jim Tuckwell as a young soldier. Shot twice on Gold beach during the Normandy Invasion or "D-Day landings," Tuckwell was later deafened by a shell that blew off his friend's legs nearby. By the end of the war, the British soldier had been promoted to the rank of full sergeant, as he put it, simply because so many of his seniors had been killed. Now 86-years-old, he and many of his former comrades will remember the 65th anniversary of the landings Saturday at ceremonies along the French coast. It was a massive air and sea operation that marked the turning point of the war in Europe. And he knows how lucky he is to be alive. "My mate Jimmy went up the beach with two cases of bombs. I never saw him again. If I hadn't been hit, who's to say I wouldn't have been in the same position as he was when he was killed?" With bullet wounds to his chest and arm, Tuckwell collapsed unconscious on the beach. It was more than nine hours later that he was picked up by the stretcher-bearers. Incredibly, he was back fighting within six weeks. Watch Tuckwell tell his story » . So much time has passed since then, but the pain is still etched into his face. Sitting there in full military uniform, blazer adorned with half a dozen medals, his voice frequently cracks with emotion. He frequently tails off as he relives the past. "Every time I go back to Normandy I go to his grave, and it brings a tear to me eye even now. We were going do so much after the war ... but it never happened." Tuckwell, who saw action with the 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment, has since formed a close friendship with Frank Rosier; they are members of the Normandy Veterans Association. Both men say their experiences were so commonplace among their generation that none were able to talk about it until 40 years later. Rosier told me that what he and the veterans discuss among themselves is very different to what is said in television interviews; but when pushed, he describes what it's like to kill another man. "We could never get our fathers to talk about the first World War, because they were involved in close combat. And twice in the second World War it happened to me. "I came face to face with a German, and I beat him to the draw. I killed him. I sat on the grass and was sick and I cried ... he was some mother's son." I get the sense that there was a great deal of respect between these soldiers and the Germans on the other side. Younger generations try to relate to the scale and the carnage of D-Day through movies like "Saving Private Ryan." The veterans talk of the noise, "big battleships firing, rocket ships firing, mortars landing, planes strafing, floating artillery and the Germans were totally unsociable about it, they were firing back at us, so there was a hell of a lot of noise there," recalls Rosier. They are lighthearted at times, citing the fact that British troops are renowned for their humor -- even in the darkest hours. But it is impossible to gloss over the horror and the danger they faced. Standing together in one of the landing crafts at the D-Day museum in Portsmouth, England, Rosier described what it was like to approach Gold beach. Watch Rosier's full interview » . He spoke of the bullets thundering into the sides of the craft, a ramp on one side hitting a mine and being disabled, and the knowledge that when the front ramp was dropped, the troops inside would be peppered with machine gun fire. He and his infantry were lucky that day - making it onto the beach with minimal loss. But as he told me later, of the 800 men in his infantry, only five survived the war unharmed, "the rest were killed, missing or wounded." Rosier, who fought with the 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, bears the visible scars of battle. He lost an eye to a shrapnel wound -- a 'Blighty one,' meaning that he was taken home to recover in Britain -- and has had to live with the psychological trauma of facial disfigurement. But it's the pain of the ones they left behind that hurts the most. "There was no time to mourn, you didn't have time to mourn," said Tuckwell. "And the worst thing about later battles was that when you lost people, you normally had to bury them yourself. You couldn't leave the bodies on the ground, there was nowhere else to put them." Rosier added: "When your best friend gets killed it is surprising how hard you can become on a battlefield, I think you switch your mind off. My best friend, we called him Smokey Joe, Battersea boy, London boy, he was 18 years when he died. "At the time I just said 'oh Reggie is gone,' but ... I will be going back to Normandy and I will see his grave and cry. I have never figured out why I a mourn him now and not at the time. To lose a brother is a terrible thing and he was a brother. I lost two actual brothers in the war, but I miss Reg a lot." There was so much pain, so much suffering and such massive loss of life. Was it worth it? Rosier's response is emphatic. "Yes, every minute of it. We go back to Europe quite frequently, and even in Germany people say to us 'thank you for our freedom'. It is only in recent years that I have realized how important freedom really is, you can't taste it, you can't feel or hear it. But it is so important to be free."

D-Day soldiers remember the horrors of war and fallen comrades . One tells how he survived despite being wounded storming Gold beach . Another says he still mourns his best friend and cried after killing a German soldier . President Obama attending 65th anniversary services in France Saturday .

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KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- The leader of Nepal's former communist rebels was named as the country's new prime minister Friday. Prachanda is still the supreme commander of the Maoists People's Liberation Army. Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, was elected four months after elections in which his Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) became the largest party in the 601-member constituent assembly. Prachanda received 464 votes of the 577 votes cast, while his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party received 113 votes. Most of the parties in the assembly voted for the Maoist candidate. A simple majority was enough to be elected the prime minister. Prachanda's victory became certain on Thursday when the third and fourth biggest parties in Nepal's assembly decided to back him. He will now lead a coalition government, although talks are ongoing on about the allocation of ministerial portfolios. The Maoists signed a peace deal with the government in November 2006, joined an interim parliament and government in 2007 and fought multi-party elections in April this year. The Communist Party of Nepal unexpectedly became the largest party in the elections, winning 220 of the 575 elected seats in the assembly. The assembly declared Nepal a republic in May and in July elected Nepal's first president, physician Ram Baran Yadav. Prachanda, 54, entered politics when he was 17 but went underground in 1981, making his first public appearance after 25 years in 2006. The Maoists launched an insurgency to abolish the monarchy in 1996 and the ten-year conflict claimed more than 13,000 lives. According to the peace deal agreed in 2008, the estimated 19,602 Maoist combatants would be integrated into the country's security structure, the process of which is yet to be worked out. Prachanda remains the supreme commander of the Maoists People's Liberation Army. Besides completing the peace process, the new government has to face many challenges including inflation, lawlessness, impunity and ethnic aspirations.

Prachanda, Communist Party of Nepal chairman, won 464 out of 577 votes . A simple majority was enough to be elected the prime minister . Assembly declared Nepal a republic in May and July elected first president . The post of president is largely ceremonial. PM has executive powers .

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LEESBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- The clock is ticking for Ray O'Bryhim: he has less than a week to sell his last 40 cars. This Virginia dealership cannot legally sell any new Chryslers, Dodges or Jeeps after June 9. His ads for Pohanka Chrysler-Dodge scream, "Everything must go, regardless of profit!" On June 9, his franchise to sell new Chryslers and Dodges will be terminated, along with those of almost 800 other Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealers nationwide. This comes as a result of Chrysler's announcement last month that they would shrink their dealer base in the United States. O'Bryhim cannot legally sell any new cars he has left after June 9 -- and because the manufacturer is in bankruptcy protection it isn't obligated to take them back. A customer comes out of his showroom with the keys in her hand for a new Dodge Nitro SUV she just bought. She won't give her name, because she took the day off work to pounce on the discount. But she says she has been monitoring new-car prices for months, and they just took a steep dive, so she came in and made off like a bandit. O'Bryhim points to a new Nitro he has discounted 40% off the sticker: $17,510 instead of the MSRP of $29,170. Soon, he says, he may mark it down even further. "As we get closer to June 9," he says, "we're going to have to do what we have to do to move these cars." Watch how dealerships are making record price cuts » His salesmen have sold 80 cars in the 19 days since their termination letter arrived, with the cars and minivans selling faster than the trucks. Nationwide, Chrysler's terminated dealers had about 44,000 cars sitting on their lots when they got their notifications May 14. Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham says the company plans to help redistribute any leftover inventory to the 2,400 surviving dealers, who could otherwise run low while factories are idled. "Our manufacturing facilities have been shut down since May 1," she said. "We have dealers that are looking for inventory." Down the street at Dulles Motor Cars, Hamid and Kevin Saghafi have sold off about half their $1.5 million inventory of Jeeps. Hamid says they are "taking a beating," asking $10,000 less than the invoice price for high-end models like the Jeep Commander. But he still worries they won't be able to sell them all in time. "Chrysler has told us they're going to help us send these cars to other dealers' inventories," he says. "But we don't know what kind of prices we're going to be offered." The affected dealerships are not only furiously trying to sell off their inventory; at the same time, they are trying to figure out what they will do once they stop selling new Chryslers, and how they can save the jobs of their employees. Pohanka will focus on service and used-car sales, or maybe switch to another brand; Dulles will focus on the two other brands they already sell, Subaru and Kia. How much do the Saghafi brothers stand to lose in shutting their Jeep showroom? "Millions," says Kevin. CNN's Brian Todd contributed to this report.

Nearly 800 Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealerships must stop selling new cars by June 9 . The company isn't buying the inventory back because it is bankrupt . Chrysler has only offered to help find surviving dealerships willing to buy the cars . As a result, the owners of the closing dealerships are suffering huge losses .

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(CNN) -- Korean Air was established as a private airline in March 1969. In nearly 35 years, it has grown 150 times and is poised to continue that growth into the next millennium. With a fleet of 124 aircraft, Korean Air is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 passenger flights per day to 115 cities in 37 countries. Korean Air was named the Best First/Business Class Airline and the Best Frequent Flyer Program in TIME Readers' Travel Choice Awards 2006. In April and July 2007 respectively, the carrier was named the Best Economy Class in the OAG Airline of the Year Awards and the Skytrax 2006/7 World Airline Awards. It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance partnering Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM and Northwest Airlines. E-mail to a friend .

Korean Air was established as a private airline in March 1969 . It has a fleet of 124 planes and operates almost 400 passenger flights per day . It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance .

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(CNN) -- For CNN, Tiananmen Square was a watershed story -- a seminal moment in the network's history. Beijing bureau chief Mike Chinoy, producer Nancy Lane and Moscow bureau chief Steve Hurst . Only nine years old in 1989, CNN was the only 24-hour news station on the air at the time. But staffers say the network suffered an inferiority complex when comparing itself to the major players in American television, who had dismissed the new upstart for years as "Chicken Noodle News." Enter Tiananmen Square. Change the face of television news. Take your place in the big leagues. "It put CNN on the map," said Mike Chinoy, CNN's Beijing bureau chief during the crisis. "It was the first time an upheaval in a previously isolated, distant, inaccessible location suddenly was available on television sets in living rooms and foreign ministries around the world. It was a pivotal moment for television." And it was an accident too. Foreign reporters had flooded Beijing to cover the historic visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Suddenly, they found themselves covering a very different story. For CNN, it all started in early April when Alec Miran, CNN's special events producer for the Gorbachev visit, went to Beijing to propose an "outlandish idea" to the Chinese authorities -- bringing in the network's own transmission equipment to beam live television pictures from China. "It was unprecedented," said Miran. Before that, networks would feed their material from CCTV (Chinese Central Television), who would monitor -- and censor -- everything that was sent out. "Our own transmission was a scary idea to them," said Miran. But he says he thinks the Chinese eventually agreed -- after much back and forth -- because, above all, they wanted international coverage of Gorbachev's visit. The Chinese gave CNN permission to bring in their own "flyaway" satellite dish and additional microwave gear to be able to transmit live -- a permission unheard of at the time in closed, Communist China. CNN was granted exactly one week's permission, timed to coincide with the Soviet leader's visit. See photos of the CNN team in Tiananmen Square in 1989 » . CBS was also granted permission to transmit live, but because CNN was on the air 24 hours a day, the permission it was granted turned out to be much more significant. "On the first day of the Gorbachev visit, we not only had our own satellite transmission, we also had a live camera overlooking the square," said Miran. "We were really well set up." But the situation was deteriorating rapidly for the Chinese leadership. Huge groups of students demanding reform had occupied Tiananmen Square and had launched a hunger strike just days before the Soviet leader's visit was about to begin. CNN's live camera, at the Gate of Heavenly Peace overlooking the square, showed the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in Tiananmen Square where Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was due to greet Gorbachev at the Great Hall of the People. "On the day of the big meeting, we waited, and waited, and waited, watching the signal from CCTV," said Miran. "No picture. We called our contact at CCTV to see if there were technical problems. Nope." "They couldn't take Gorbachev in the front door of the Great Hall of the People because there were more than a million people in the square asking for reform," said Cynde Strand, CNN's cameraperson in Beijing at the time. "The students upstaged Deng in one of his biggest moments, his big rapprochement with the Soviet Union." And the massive crowd -- as well as the non-appearance of Deng welcoming Gorbachev at the Great Hall of the People -- was all captured live on CNN. Soon afterwards, the Chinese informed CNN they could no longer maintain their live position overlooking the square, a position that had become vital for the network's coverage. Entire shows anchored by Bernard Shaw had been taped there. Miran and Chinoy huddled and decided that although the Chinese had forbidden further transmission from the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the network still had permission to use its portable microwave transmitter. So for the next few days -- always looking nervously over their shoulder -- CNN continued live transmissions using their microwave transmitter, both from their bureau at the Sheraton hotel -- but also from the middle of Tiananmen Square. "Everywhere you looked, there was a great picture," said Miran. "Soldiers would be on the steps of the Great Hall of the People and students would go up to them, offering flowers or to read to them. There were long staring contests between the armed soldiers and the students. It was riveting television." On the night of May 19, after the network had gotten word that troops were moving towards Beijing, Shaw and Moscow correspondent Steve Hurst broadcast from Tiananmen Square for several hours -- in the dark. The students in the square were edgy and had asked them to turn off their lights. "I don't remember what we were able to show people that night," Miran said, "little flickers of light." The next morning, Chinese authorities arrived at CNN's bureau and ordered the network to cease transmitting -- before its week-long permission had expired. Watch a Chinese official order CNN staff in Beijing to stop broadcasting » . Again, the entire exchange between CNN and the Chinese officials was captured on live television. Watch the moment when CNN stopped transmitting » . "You get almost numb to it now," said Vito Maggiolo, CNN assignment editor on duty in Beijing at the time. "But that live capability -- people watching events as they happen -- was truly special at that time." "It was our first big live moment," said camerawoman Strand, now director of coverage for international news in Atlanta. "And it became our signature, what we did very well." At one point in the live stand-off, while CNN tried to buy time before pulling the plug on itself, Marin gave out his telephone number for the Chinese authorities to call him -- an attempt to squeak out just a few more minutes of air time. The phone rang. It was a woman from Minnesota, a viewer who had been watching the events unfold in China from the comfort -- and safety -- of her living room. "You're doing a great job' she said to me," Miran recalled. "Everybody's watching. And we're rooting for you." "It was all just momentous," Miran said. "I felt like we had actually made a difference. And if people hadn't heard of CNN before, they had certainly heard of it then." Daniela Deane was a chief sub-editor at the Reuters news agency in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen crisis .

The story "put CNN on the map," said former Beijing bureau chief Mike Chinoy . Reporters had flooded Beijing to cover the visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . For the first time, a TV network beamed its own live pictures from China . As protests grew, Chinese authorities ordered CNN to stop transmitting .

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(CNN) -- Fresh faced and pictured wearing a crisp military uniform, the photo of a young Jim Tuckwell looks like it was taken before he'd seen action. But in fact, at the age of just 22, he had already experienced the full horrors of war. World War II veteran Jim Tuckwell as a young soldier. Shot twice on Gold beach during the Normandy Invasion or "D-Day landings," Tuckwell was later deafened by a shell that blew off his friend's legs nearby. By the end of the war, the British soldier had been promoted to the rank of full sergeant, as he put it, simply because so many of his seniors had been killed. Now 86-years-old, he and many of his former comrades will remember the 65th anniversary of the landings Saturday at ceremonies along the French coast. It was a massive air and sea operation that marked the turning point of the war in Europe. And he knows how lucky he is to be alive. "My mate Jimmy went up the beach with two cases of bombs. I never saw him again. If I hadn't been hit, who's to say I wouldn't have been in the same position as he was when he was killed?" With bullet wounds to his chest and arm, Tuckwell collapsed unconscious on the beach. It was more than nine hours later that he was picked up by the stretcher-bearers. Incredibly, he was back fighting within six weeks. Watch Tuckwell tell his story » . So much time has passed since then, but the pain is still etched into his face. Sitting there in full military uniform, blazer adorned with half a dozen medals, his voice frequently cracks with emotion. He frequently tails off as he relives the past. "Every time I go back to Normandy I go to his grave, and it brings a tear to me eye even now. We were going do so much after the war ... but it never happened." Tuckwell, who saw action with the 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment, has since formed a close friendship with Frank Rosier; they are members of the Normandy Veterans Association. Both men say their experiences were so commonplace among their generation that none were able to talk about it until 40 years later. Rosier told me that what he and the veterans discuss among themselves is very different to what is said in television interviews; but when pushed, he describes what it's like to kill another man. "We could never get our fathers to talk about the first World War, because they were involved in close combat. And twice in the second World War it happened to me. "I came face to face with a German, and I beat him to the draw. I killed him. I sat on the grass and was sick and I cried ... he was some mother's son." I get the sense that there was a great deal of respect between these soldiers and the Germans on the other side. Younger generations try to relate to the scale and the carnage of D-Day through movies like "Saving Private Ryan." The veterans talk of the noise, "big battleships firing, rocket ships firing, mortars landing, planes strafing, floating artillery and the Germans were totally unsociable about it, they were firing back at us, so there was a hell of a lot of noise there," recalls Rosier. They are lighthearted at times, citing the fact that British troops are renowned for their humor -- even in the darkest hours. But it is impossible to gloss over the horror and the danger they faced. Standing together in one of the landing crafts at the D-Day museum in Portsmouth, England, Rosier described what it was like to approach Gold beach. Watch Rosier's full interview » . He spoke of the bullets thundering into the sides of the craft, a ramp on one side hitting a mine and being disabled, and the knowledge that when the front ramp was dropped, the troops inside would be peppered with machine gun fire. He and his infantry were lucky that day - making it onto the beach with minimal loss. But as he told me later, of the 800 men in his infantry, only five survived the war unharmed, "the rest were killed, missing or wounded." Rosier, who fought with the 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, bears the visible scars of battle. He lost an eye to a shrapnel wound -- a 'Blighty one,' meaning that he was taken home to recover in Britain -- and has had to live with the psychological trauma of facial disfigurement. But it's the pain of the ones they left behind that hurts the most. "There was no time to mourn, you didn't have time to mourn," said Tuckwell. "And the worst thing about later battles was that when you lost people, you normally had to bury them yourself. You couldn't leave the bodies on the ground, there was nowhere else to put them." Rosier added: "When your best friend gets killed it is surprising how hard you can become on a battlefield, I think you switch your mind off. My best friend, we called him Smokey Joe, Battersea boy, London boy, he was 18 years when he died. "At the time I just said 'oh Reggie is gone,' but ... I will be going back to Normandy and I will see his grave and cry. I have never figured out why I a mourn him now and not at the time. To lose a brother is a terrible thing and he was a brother. I lost two actual brothers in the war, but I miss Reg a lot." There was so much pain, so much suffering and such massive loss of life. Was it worth it? Rosier's response is emphatic. "Yes, every minute of it. We go back to Europe quite frequently, and even in Germany people say to us 'thank you for our freedom'. It is only in recent years that I have realized how important freedom really is, you can't taste it, you can't feel or hear it. But it is so important to be free."

D-Day soldiers remember the horrors of war and fallen comrades . One tells how he survived despite being wounded storming Gold beach . Another says he still mourns his best friend and cried after killing a German soldier . President Obama attending 65th anniversary services in France Saturday .

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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Gunmen on motorcycles fired Friday on a campaign office for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wounding two adults and a child, according to a report by Iran's state-run news agency. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not present at the time of the attack. The shooting happened about 5 p.m. in front of the entrance to the campaign office, campaign representative Mohammed Reza Zahed Shaikhi told IRNA. Ahmadinejad, who is running for a second term in office, was not present. Iran's presidential election will take place on June 12. The attack happened in Sistan-Balochistan province in southeastern Iran, the same province where a Shia mosque was bombed Thursday. Several suspects have been arrested in connection with Thursday's attack in the town of Zahedan, which killed between 15 and 20 people, according to Iranian media reports. No group publicly accepted responsibility for the mosque attack, but the provincial governor, Ali-Mohammad Azad, blamed a terrorist group that he said would be unveiled to the public once the suspects have been interrogated, IRNA reported. Zahedan is about 1,100 km (700 miles) southeast of Tehran, near Iran's borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sistan-Balochistan province -- which shares a border with Pakistan -- is the site of frequent clashes involving Iranian police, drug dealers and armed groups. The province is located on a major narcotics-smuggling route between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Azad said information on the arrested terrorist group would be unveiled to the public once interrogations were complete. "The terrorists and notorious gang planned to stir order and security in the province on the eve of (the June 12 presidential) elections, using ongoing insecurity in our eastern neighbors," he said Thursday. Several days of mourning were reported to be under way for victims of the explosion. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hard-line cleric who led Friday prayers in Tehran, said there were signs that the United States and Israel were involved in the mosque bombing, IRNA reported. The cleric, who put the death toll at 25, condemned the bombing before a congregation on the Tehran University campus. CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report.

Gunmen fire on campaign office for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, . Two adults and child wounded in attack; Ahmadinejad not present . Attack happened near where Shia mosque bombed Thursday, killing up to 20 . No group has accepted responsibility, but local governor blamed terrorist group .

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(CNN) -- Free elections 20 years ago this week in Poland marked the unraveling of the Soviet bloc of Eastern European nations and the beginning of market reforms. Shipyard workers hold Solidarity trade union flags on the anniversary of free elections in Poland. The events of June 1989 also marked the turning point for companies like KGHM, which has grown into a global player in the world's copper market and one of Poland's largest companies with 18,000 employees. "A lot of changes have happened since that moment, since 1989," said Zbigniew Klich, a development engineer who has worked at a company copper smelter near Lubin for more than 30 years. "This is the Poland of my dreams," Klich said. "Even though I will probably retire in the next few months I feel so fortunate to have seen the last 20 years in my professional career." The financial crisis has had minimal impact on the company so far. "In comparison to other sectors of the Polish economy, the commodity business has been doing quite well," said Jarek Romanowski, sales director of KGHM. Poland's export prowess has led the nation to become one of the great success stories of former communist bloc economies. In 2008, it ranked 22nd in the world with more than $190 billion in exports, ahead of Australia and India, according to the CIA Factbook. The country's economy has grown every year since 1992, and bucked the recessionary trend of other European Union nations by expanding its economy by just under 1 percent in the first quarter of this year. "Poland is not an island and we are very much linked to other EU countries so a lot depends on the performance of the German economy," said Dominik Radziwill, Poland's deputy finance minister. "But even with the current forecasts which are really pessimistic for the German economy, we still think Poland should be doing relatively OK." Leszek Balcerowicz was the country's first Finance Minister after the fall of communism and initiated Poland's free market reforms. "Socialism (was) a very bad system and everybody knew that it was a bad system without any hope for a better life," he said. "Transition to a better system is sometimes difficult but you have to overcome these difficulties on the way to a better regime." One industry that exploded was Poland's once state-run media industry, which now includes eight daily national newspapers plus dozens of television channels and radio stations. "The transformation had many phases in Poland. The state totally withdrew from the press market and step-by-step, private TV stations appeared," said Polish journalist Adam Mischnik. "So, today we have a pluralist media which represents very different tendencies." Janusz Weychert and Mariusz Walter founded the ITI group, a leading private media company in Poland with television stations - including the influential news network TVN24 - as well as a home video, new media and theatrical production operations. "Under one umbrella there's various projects put together," Weychert said. "The advantage it gives us is the free flow of content and information between all the platforms." Communism and absolute media control may have only been twenty years ago - but in Poland today, certainly for the country's youth and the media, it's a lifetime. Maciej Popowicz set up "Nasza-Klasa" - Poland's equivalent to Facebook -- with three friends in 2006. Its success made 25-year-old Popowicz one of Poland's youngest millionaires. He's also too young to remember what life was like under Communism. "I'm very glad that I live in these times because we have so many more opportunities than our older friends so for example, you couldn't manage your own business twenty years ago, now there is an opportunity to do that," Popowicz said. "So you can develop your ideas, create your own firms." But market reforms haven't been kind to the historic shipyards of Gdansk, where the Solidarity Union movement began with union leader and future Polish president, Lech Walesa. Marching with him was Brunom Baranowski, a shipyard worker for more than 30 years who spent nearly a year in jail for civil disobedience for his role in the union. In the 20 years since the end of communism, he's seen the shipyard workforce shrink from 18,000 to about 2,700 today. The shipyard, in danger of going bankrupt, was given a lifeline this week when Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition, met with Polish officials and told the press an EU bailout of the shipyard was likely. Still, Baranowski said "shipyard workers don't have much reason to be happy. Over the past 20 years we have been trying to save our jobs." While the fortune of his nation improved, he still lives in the same tiny apartment as he did in 1989 and has the same worries about his job. But Brunom says it was all worth the fight. "Of course it's much better. In the old days all you could get at the shop was vinegar and mustard. To get anything else you had to know people. Now everything is available," he said. CNN's Fred Pleitgen and Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report.

Twenty years after democracy Poland has strongest economy in former Soviet bloc . The country's economy has grown every year since 1992 . By export it ranks 22nd in the world, ahead of Australia and India . Shipyards like Gdansk, home of the democracy movement, struggle to survive .

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(CNN) -- Leszek Balcerowicz, Poland's former finance minister, recently said his country is enjoying "its best period in 300 years." CNN looks at how the country emerged from communism to become one of eastern Europe's most stable and thriving democracies. Solidarity leader Lech Walesa addresses striking workers in Gdansk, Poland in 1989. Modern Poland gained independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Almost six million Poles, including the majority of the country's large Jewish population, died during the devastating six-year conflict. The shadow of Stalin continued to loom large over Poland after the war, when the communist-dominated government ensured that Poland would become a Soviet satellite state for the next 40 years. The following decades were punctuated by revolts against the repressive authoritarian regime in Warsaw, but none had a greater impact on Poland's political future than events in 1980 at a shipyard in western Poland. With a struggling economy and rumors of corruption and mismanagement within the state causing widespread discontent, a series of strikes by workers paralyzed the country. Eventually the government was forced to negotiate and on August 31, 1980, workers at the massive Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, led by an electrician named Lech Walesa, signed a deal giving workers the right to strike and form trade unions. This heralded the creation of the Solidarity movement, which would ultimately be instrumental in bringing Poland's communist era to an end. The presence in the Vatican at the time of Polish-born Pope John-Paul II was also a significant influence on the movement throughout the 1980s, as the Catholic church had remained a very potent force in Polish life. The Pope even made a visit to the country in 1979. Despite Soviet-endorsed attempts to slow the erosion of the regime's grip on power -- including the declaration of martial law by General Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 which outlawed Solidarity -- Poland's worsening economic situation, compounded by further nationwide strikes, meant that the government had no alternative but to negotiate a date for free elections with Walesa and the Solidarity movement. Solidarity members won a stunning victory in the election of 1989, taking almost all the seats in the Senate and all of the 169 seats they were allowed to contest in the Sejm or parliament. This gave them substantial influence in the new government. Activist and journalist Tadeusz Mazowiecki was appointed prime minister, while Lech Walesa was elected as president the following year. Were you in Poland in 1989? Send us your memories . After years of economic mismanagement under the communists, Poland embarked on a painful reform program under finance minister Leszek Balcerowicz -- especially in traditional heavy industries such as coal and steel -- which moved away from the inefficient state-controlled system of economic planning. Despite growing unemployment and a dilapidated infrastructure, Poland was slowly transformed into an investment-friendly, market economy. Banking and lending policies were reformed, while newly reshaped ownership relations, independent enterprises and strengthened domestic competition all had a massive impact. Over a relatively short period of time, Poland had become one of the most dynamically developing economies in Europe and by the mid-1990s, it became known as the "Tiger of Europe." Poland also liberalized its international trade during this period. The national currency -- the zloty -- became convertible to other currencies and internal convertibility was also established, providing another platform for dynamic economic growth. New markets in countries that had been treated not so long before as ideological as well as economic enemies were opened up to Polish companies. The EU and U.S. were now the key markets for Polish goods. This realignment of policy was emphasized by its accession into the European Union in 2004. It had also joined NATO in 1999. Unfortunately the continuing problem of high unemployment and the promise of better salaries encouraged many Poles to work in other EU countries after 2004. However this trend started to reverse in 2008 as the Polish economy enjoyed a boom period. Politically, Poland has also successfully transformed itself into a fully democratic country. Since 1991 the Polish people have voted in parliamentary elections and four presidential elections -- all free and fair. Incumbent governments have transferred power smoothly and constitutionally in every instance to their successors.

Poland was ruled by Soviet-backed regime after the Second World War . Solidarity movement became a key factor in the fall of communist regime . Centrally-planned economic system replaced by free market economy . Poland joined the European Union in 2004 .

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A Brazilian supreme court judge on Tuesday suspended a lower court's order that would have given custody of a 9-year-old boy to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he was to be reunited with his American father. David Goldman has been fighting for custody of his son, Sean, since the boy's mother took him to Brazil in 2004. Judge Marco Aurelio argued against taking Sean Richard Goldman from what has been his home for almost five years to the United States "in an abrupt manner." Doing so, he wrote in his order published on the court's Web site, could subject the boy to psychological harm. The decision, which means the entire Brazilian supreme court will take up the case, comes a day after a superior court justice ordered Sean taken Wednesday to the U.S. Consulate in Rio and handed over to his father, David Goldman, who arrived Tuesday from New Jersey to pick up his son. The two were separated in June 2004 when the boy's Brazilian mother, Bruna Bianchi Carneiro Ribeiro, told Goldman -- to whom she was then married -- that she was taking the boy on a two-week vacation to Brazil. Watch Goldman describe his fight to get his son back » . Mother and son never returned. Instead, Bianchi stayed in Brazil, where she divorced Goldman and married a Brazilian lawyer. But in September, Bianchi's death during childbirth led Goldman to renew his efforts to regain custody of their son. Sean, who has been living with his half-sister and his stepfather, was to have spent a 30-day adaptation period in the United States before his father gained full custody. That prospect sparked outrage from an attorney representing the boy's Brazilian relatives. "The child wasn't heard," lawyer Sergio Tostes said. "The child said many times that he wanted to stay in Brazil. This is not human, and it is a cruelty." The case has attracted high-level attention. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to the case Monday, telling reporters, "I also wanted just to take this opportunity to recognize the decision by the Brazilian federal court today ordering a young American boy, Sean Goldman, to be reunited with his father, David. It's taken a long time for this day to come, but we will work with the Goldman family and the Brazilian government, with the goal of ensuring this young boy's return." David Goldman's attorney, Patricia Apy, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. CNN's Rob Frehse and Alessandra Castelli contributed to this report.

Brazilian supreme court judge suspends lower court's order . Lower court had ordered son taken to dad at U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro . Boy's parents divorced after mom moved with son to Brazil in 2004 . Mom died in childbirth in 2008, leaving boy with stepfather .

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(The Frisky) -- Recently, I discovered that one of my best friends had ditched me after I logged onto Facebook and found her profile had disappeared from my page. When you break up with a best friend online, things can get murky. We'd been having problems that had culminated in a huge argument the day before, but I figured we'd get through it. I figured wrong. Still, being given the heave-ho by way of a social networking site? My first reaction was to laugh. I mean, we're adults. Unfriending me seemed tantamount to toilet-papering my locker or scribbling my phone number on the boy's locker room wall. We had been close for well over a decade. We supported each other through parental deaths, and together we'd bitched and moaned about men for untold hours. I loved her amazing daughter -- buying that little girl Christmas presents was the highlight of my holidays. Suddenly, that was all gone. Suddenly, I wasn't laughing. I was crying. We know what to do when boyfriends dump us: sob. We eat everything in the house or take to our beds and refuse all sustenance. Usually, there's yelling -- at least at my house. The Frisky: How NOT to help heal a broken heart . We purge them from our lives. We delete all their emails and erase their number from every electronic device we own. But when you break up with a girlfriend, things are murkier. For one thing, people don't feel sorry for you the way they do when a romantic relationship bites the dust. You can't blame them; it's not like you were in love or planning a future with your friend. (Even though you assumed she'd be part of it.) So, getting wound up about the loss seems somehow, I don't know, less legit. Is it? It hurts as much as any other heartbreak. Victoria Clark made a short film on the subject: "Ruminations on You and Me." I asked her about the process of grieving a dead friendship. "As a woman, I expect men to come and go because of the nature of love," she explained. "But your girls are supposed to be on your side, no matter what ... That's what I wanted to believe for a long time, but now I know that that's not always reality." The Frisky: What are your rules for friendship on Facebook? A friend of mine was saddened when her BFF excised my friend from her life after landing a boyfriend. "She hated being single, so if there was a man anywhere in the vicinity, you'd be kicked to the curb," my pal explained wistfully. Even forewarned with this knowledge, it stung when she was dismissed from her friend's life. The Frisky: Five ways to unfriend a friend . Unlike my breakup, there was no dramatic defriending. This woman utilized the passive-aggressive method of choice: the slow fade. "I remember buying her a birthday gift, but somehow she just never had the time to come collect it." The Frisky: Ten songs about friendship . Like any other kind of relationship, friendships end. It's not like I've never dumped a pal. I've gotten back together with a few. Because I miss her and love her, I gave making up a shot with this one. A few weeks after I was banished from her Facebook page, I emailed her an apologetic note. I never heard back. TM & © 2009 TMV, Inc. | All Rights Reserved .

Author gets ditched on Facebook by good friend and doesn't know what to do . People don't feel as sorry for you with a friend breakup . You can't blame your friend -- it's not like you were in love . Like any other kind of relationship, friendships end but you have to go on .

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- The Brazilian air force said that debris picked up Thursday near where officials believe Air France Flight 447 crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean was not from the plane. Image released by the Brazilian Air Force shows oil slicks in the water near a debris site. "It has been verified that the material did not belong to the plane," Brigadier Ramon Borges Cardoso told reporters in Recife about the material recovered Thursday. "It is a pallet of wood that is utilized for transport. It is used in planes, but on this flight to Paris, there was no wooden pallet." He added that oil slicks seen on the ocean were not from the plane, either, and that the quantity of oil exceeded the amount the plane would have carried. "No material from the airplane was picked up," he said. The announcement left open the question of whether other debris that had not yet been plucked from the ocean might be from the plane. On Wednesday, searchers recovered two debris fields and had identified the wreckage, including an airplane seat and an orange float as coming from Flight 447. Officials now say that none of the debris recovered is from the missing plane. Helicopters had been lifting pieces from the water and dropping them on three naval vessels. Brazilian Air Force planes spotted an oil slick and four debris fields Wednesday but rain and rough seas had kept searchers from plucking any of the debris from the water. Officials said searchers had found objects in a circular 5-kilometer (3-mile) area, including one object with a diameter of 7 meters (23 feet) and 10 other objects, some of which were metallic, Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. The debris was found about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers off the northeast coast of Brazil. Eleven aircraft and five ships are engaged in the search, including airplanes from France and the United States. Earlier Thursday, a public interfaith service was held for the 228 victims at a 200-year-old Catholic Church in downtown Rio. Joining family members were members of the Brazilian armed forces, who are leading the recovery effort. "Whoever has faith, whoever believes in God, believes in the eternity of the soul," said Mauro Chavez, whose friend lost a daughter on the flight. "This means everything." Investigators have not yet determined what caused the plane to crash. The flight data recorders have not been recovered, and the plane's crew did not send any messages indicating problems before the plane disappeared. A Spanish pilot said he saw an "intense flash" in the area where Flight 447 came down off the coast of Brazil, while a Brazilian minister appeared to rule out a midair explosion. Meanwhile, a report in France suggested the pilots were perhaps flying at the "wrong speed" for the violent thunderstorm they flew into early on Monday before the Airbus A330's systems failed. Le Monde newspaper reported that Airbus was sending a warning to operators of A330 jets with new advice on flying in storms. As several ships trawled the debris site in the Atlantic, Brazil's defense minister said a 20-kilometer (12-mile) oil slick near where the plane, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, went down indicated it probably did not break up until it hit the water. If true, that would rule out an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters. However, both pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima, Peru, to Lisbon, Portugal, sent a written report on the bright flash they said they saw to Air France, Airbus and the Spanish civil aviation authority, the airline told CNN. "Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds," the captain wrote. Air Comet declined to identify the pilot's name but said he waited until landing to inform Air Comet management about what he saw. Air Comet then informed Spanish civil aviation authorities. The Air Comet co-pilot and a passenger aboard the same flight also saw the light. But Robert Francis, former vice chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the question of determining where a plane broke up "is a very difficult one to deal with." He told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" that "there are lots of things that cause a plane to go out of control." He added that extremely strong winds are not unusual near Brazil. Pilots who fly over that part of the world keep track of radar and "are very, very wary about the weather as they go back and forth down in that area." Jobim said currents had strewn the debris widely and that the search area had been expanded to 300 square miles. Watch report on the struggle to find pieces of the plane » . The Airbus A330 went down about three hours after beginning what was to have been an 11-hour flight. No survivors have been found. Map of Flight AF 447's flight path » . The NTSB said Wednesday it has accepted an invitation from the French aviation accident investigation authority, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses, to aid in the investigation. The aircraft's computer system did send about four minutes of automated messages indicating a loss of cabin pressure and an electrical failure, officials have said. Some investigators have noted that the plane flew through a severe lightning storm. Foul play has not been ruled out. Air France had received a bomb threat May 27 for a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Paris, sources in the Argentine military and police told CNN on Wednesday. Watch as experts question whether recovery is possible » . According to the officials, who had been briefed on the incident and declined to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, the Air France office in Buenos Aires received the threat from a man speaking Spanish. Authorities checked the Boeing 777 and found nothing. Security was tightened during check-in for Flight 415, which left on time and without incident, the officials said. Most of the people on Flight 447 came from Brazil, France and Germany. The remaining victims were from 29 other countries, including three passengers from the United States. CNN correspondent John Zarrella in Rio de Janeiro and journalist Brian Byrnes from Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

Wreckage, debris found earlier is not from missing plane, air force says . Conflicting reports over why Air France jet crashed with 228 aboard . Oil slick appears to rule out midair fire or explosion, Brazil minister says . But two Spanish pilots say they saw "intense flash" in area where jet crashed .

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(CNN) -- For three years, the thieves crept into some of the poshest homes in the most exclusive enclaves in the nation. The gated community of Bel Air was one of several enclaves targeted by the so-called "Hillside Burglars." Police said they finally have a break in the case, and wealthy residents of Los Angeles, California, are breathing a sigh of relief. "These guys were real good," said L.A. City Councilman Jack Weiss, who oversees Bel Air where some of the burglaries were committed. "They were professionals." The thieves hauled away more than $10 million worth of valuables and cash from 150 homes in upscale neighborhoods such as Bel Air, Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills, police said. Homes of Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and multimillionaires were hit. According to CNN affiliate KABC, country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing were among the victims. DNA evidence led the LAPD to suspected ringleader Troy Corsby Thomas, 45, of Los Angeles. He was arrested near L.A. International Airport last weekend. Police say Thomas led a gang dubbed the "Hillside Burglars" that targeted the neighborhoods overlooking Sunset Boulevard. "It's a very euphoric, satisfying feeling that we got this person," said the police Lt. David McGill. "It's a very frustrating feeling to tell the victims, 'I'm sorry I don't have any news for you.' Finally when we got some good detective work and breaks, things started lining up." Police are looking for more suspects linked to the three-year spree but are not naming them. Thomas is being held on $2 million bail, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. He is likely to stay in custody because he must reveal the origin of any funds used to pay the bail, authorities said. At a court appearance Tuesday, Thomas pleaded not guilty to two charges of residential burglary, one in January 2006 and another in March 2008. The preliminary court date for Thomas will be set on January 29 and additional charges are expected to be filed, according to CNN affiliates KABC and KTLA. Police will not comment on Thomas' background. The Los Angeles Times reported that Thomas told police he had been working as an auto broker. The Hillside Burglars have not struck since Thomas' arrest, police said. "Hallelujah!" said L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. "Even a crafty crook does make his mistake and that's what happened to this one." Some residents are cautiously optimistic. "We're delighted," said Robert René, president of Brentwood Homeowners Association, which represents about 800 homes. "We are very fortunate to have the due diligence of the Westside LAPD." Harvey I. Saferstein, president of the Bel Air Association, agreed, "We are all obviously thankful and relieved." The financially strapped LAPD created a Hillside Burglars task force. People donated cameras and other equipment and police stepped up patrols. The outlay amounted to "millions of dollars," Rosendahl said. Neighborhood watch groups formed. One in Bel Air donated $8,000 for infrared cameras that can spot burglars in the dark. Robert Ringler, president of the Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council, hosted a community meeting with the LAPD at the five-star Bel Air Hotel a year and a half ago. As swans swam in ponds in the background, about 150 Westside residents sipped Perrier and vented their fears. "It had gotten to be such an epidemic," Ringler said. The impressive mansions -- usually gated and hidden by walls and hedges -- dot the lush hillsides and canyons between the coast and the mountains. The qualities that make them so desirable also make them vulnerable. The seclusion that appeals to upscale homeowners also appeals to thieves. Because many of the homes are tucked into the sides of mountains and canyons, behind gates, it's easy for a thief to escape unseen and hard for police to get there quickly. "It's the perfect target," Ringler said. "You can access the property and nobody would ever see you." Frequently, maids, pool workers and gardeners have access to the property, which allows burglars to pass as the help and slip in unchallenged. According to police and media reports, the methods were sophisticated. Burglars waited till homeowners went on vacation or out for the night. They used lawn furniture and ladders to creep into the second floor, which often lacked alarms. They quickly went in, looked for jewelry, safes and cash, and ducked out with the goods. They never attacked any of the homeowners, preferring stealth to confrontation. Residents say they learned to keep jewelry and other valuables in safety deposit boxes and out of sight. Many added alarm systems and insured their belongings. "It's not just about money," said Robin Stevens, who lives with her husband and son in Brentwood. "A lot of people lost things of sentimental value." Stevens, whose neighbors have been burglarized, said she feels safer knowing that police arrested Thomas, but will continue hiding her mother's antique jewelry and locking the windows. During a two-week trip to the South Pacific last fall, Stevens made sure to e-mail her neighbors, notifying them that she would be gone so they could look out for strangers. Other residents remain skeptical. Pacific Palisades Community Council Chairman Richard G. Cohen said he feels relief but is waiting for a conviction. "The arrest doesn't mark the end of our concern," he said. With the economy in a tailspin, Steve Twining, who serves on the West Los Angeles Police advisory board, believes thefts will continue. "In these dire economic times, I don't think it's going to dissuade others from trying to do the same thing," he said. "The burglary situation will probably get worse before it gets better."

Wealthy Bel Air, Beverly Hills residents feel cautious relief . Police say Troy Thomas led gang that stole $10M from 150 upscale homes . Thomas in custody, pleads not guilty to felony burglary .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- British authorities and environmental groups were welcoming the launch this week of the world's first biodegradable chewing gum, which they say could help save some of the millions spent on clearing up the mess ordinary gum creates. Manufacturers say the gum decomposes within six weeks. The new gum becomes non-adhesive when dry and decomposes to dust within six weeks, a spokesman for Mexico's Chicza Mayan Rainforest Chewing Gum told CNN. The makers of Chicza say it is the first biodegradable chewing gum ever sold. Environmental and waste management groups told CNN that they, too, believe it is a first. Unlike other gums that contain petrochemicals the natural gum is produced from the sap of the chicozapote tree found in the Mexican rainforest, a spokesman for Chicza told CNN. A spokesman for campaign group Keep Britain Tidy told CNN they welcome any product that can help eradicate the staining on pavements caused by dropped chewing gum. Removing chewing gum litter costs local authorities £150 million ($222 million) a year, a spokesman for the Local Government Association told CNN. Sixty-five percent of British streets have chewing gum stuck on them, a spokesman from Keep Britain Tidy told CNN. One of the worst-affected areas is Westminster in central London, where a comprehensive gum clean-up would cost £9 million ($13.4 million), according to Westminster City Council. "Gum litter is a constant problem for us, especially given the vast number of visitors to Westminster every day. We spend £100,000 ($148,000) a year cleaning ugly blobs of conventional chewing gum off our streets," Westminster City Councilor Danny Chalkley said in a written statement. "It's an incredibly expensive and time-consuming task, so anything that could reduce the problem is very welcome indeed." he said. British parliamentarians have called on the government to introduce a tax on chewing gum, with the money raised going toward the cost of gum removal. In Britain, offenders can be fined up to £80 ($119) for discarding used chewing gum on a street. The producer of the new gum is Consorcio Chiclero, which comprises 46 cooperatives with around 2,000 chicleros farmers, working in an area of 1.3 million hectares of rainforest, according to a statement from Chicza. Locals have been extracting the natural chicle gum base from the bark of the chicozapote trees for a century, a spokesman for Chicza told CNN. After years of exporting the gum base to be used as an ingredient in the manufacture of regular chewing gum, the cooperative recently decided to start making its own gum using only chicle gum base and natural flavorings and sweeteners, Chicza said. The company launched its gum in Britain this week. It is available at a chain of supermarkets and Mexican restaurants. The Chicza gum sells for £1.39 ($2.06) for a pack of 12 squares.

Authorities, green groups welcome launch of world's first biodegradable gum . Chewing gum costs millions to remove from city sidewalks . Manufacturers say new Mexican product decomposes in six weeks .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- For actress Jane Alexander, the criticism of a $50 million boost in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts is a sequel. Tony-award winning actress Jane Alexander says giving money to the arts will save and create jobs. She was chairman of the agency from 1993 through 1997 when arts funding was cut sharply by the Republican-led Congress, which questioned whether it was an appropriate way to use government money. Now the issue is whether giving money to the arts should have been part of the economic stimulus program. Among those who have criticized the new spending this year is Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's message to Congress Tuesday. On Monday's "Larry King Live," Jindal said, "Fundamentally, I don't think $30 million for the federal government to buy new cars, $1 billion for the Census, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts is going to get the economy moving again as quickly as allowing the private sector to create jobs." It's no surprise that Alexander disagrees and argues that arts spending can give a vital boost to the economy. The actress, who will appear later this month in a new comedy at the New York theater company Primary Stages called "Chasing Manet," won a Tony Award for her role in the "The Great White Hope." She has been nominated eight times for an Emmy and four times for an Oscar for films including, "All the President's Men" and "Kramer vs. Kramer." Alexander spoke to CNN.com last week. CNN: What do you think of the controversy over the $50 million in increased government spending for the arts? Alexander: I think it's long overdue and I was very, very happy to see it. Since 1995-96 we had an incredibly decreased budget for the NEA. Finally we're getting back to where it was when I came in [as chairman]. It's all vitally needed. In fact, the endowment has not kept pace with inflation as other agencies have. ... This $50 million will certainly help a great deal. What people forget is that there are over 2 million people in the United States of America who are professional artists. Those are jobs like any other jobs. The artists have families, they have people for whom they're responsible and they give to their communities. We all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The life part would be health and housing. The liberty part would be our civil rights. And the pursuit of happiness, the arts would come under that. And it's as vital a part of well-being in the United States as anything else. CNN: When you say 2 million artists, could you define artist? Alexander: Well they include everything from writers, painters, all the visual arts spectrum and that's pretty large, including graphic arts. Theater and so on, music, ceramicists, costume designers, makeup artists, filmmakers, it's a huge panoply. CNN: How far can $50 million go? Alexander: Well for the endowment which has had a budget of around $144 million currently, it can go quite a way. When I came in it was about $175 million and then it was cut under my aegis by Congress down to $99 million. CNN: Some people will say that while the NEA may consider this a victory, it's really a pittance, a drop in the bucket, so little money given the challenges many arts organizations are facing today. Alexander. It will help, it will help enormously, because every single NEA grant that goes out is a challenge to the community to come up with the same amount of money, or a 3 to 1. ... By the way, the public should know that within this coming year, we're going to see an awful lot of arts organizations closing. I just came from working at a theater in Pittsburgh, [Pennsylvania] and the International Poetry Forum, which has been going for 43 years, will close its doors this year. The Milwaukee Shakespeare Festival has already closed. The LA [Los Angeles] Opera has laid off 17 percent of its staff. CNN: So this isn't going to be enough to reverse those kinds of things? Alexander: No, but it will challenge the community to understand what the imperiled status of their arts organizations are. It will only help. It will help an enormous amount, and for some organizations, it will make all the difference in their staying alive. Now the NEA this fall gave out 884 grants, totaling $20 million and that was 38 percent of the project cost of the applicants. So 38 percent is a nice healthy piece of change for the cost of a project. CNN: How did you personally get involved in this cause? Alexander: As an actress who spent most of my career in nonprofit theaters, They began with the seed of an NEA grant back in the late 60s, most of them. Today we have about 450 nonprofit theaters across the United States. Back in 1965, when the NEA was founded, there were only about 23 of them. CNN: Your forthcoming play -- is that being done for a nonprofit theater? Alexander: Yes. It's another nonprofit called Primary Stages in New York City, a small theater. What people don't quite understand about theaters is that they never increase their size. They're bound by the number of seats within a given theater, and meanwhile there's inflation and the costs rise. So currently most theaters can never make more than 50 percent of their income from ticket sales. The rest has to be raised. CNN: How's the company doing? Alexander: It had a good play last year, "Dividing the Estate," by Horton Foote, which got a lot of attention but I don't think it made back its nut on Broadway. It transferred from the nonprofit to a commercial venue on Broadway. ... In the film business, independent films are considered nonprofit in many instances. It's interesting to see that an independent won the Academy Award. Of course it was distributed by a major studio. "Slumdog Millionaire" started off as an independent. It did extraordinarily well. ... Many of the commercial arts are fed by the nonprofit arts. And that's another thing most people don't fully understand. Where do you think the Tom Hanks, the Cate Blanchetts of the world come from? They come from small venues that are independent and are nonprofit usually and then they move into the mainstream. CNN: What's your attitude about the future, under the Obama administration. Do you think there's reason for hope about the arts, or despair? Alexander: I think there's reason for great hope. President Obama has said repeatedly and he's said it for a couple of years now, that he thinks arts education is vital for children of all ages, starting right away. We have the arts in nursery school anyway, but he believes in institutionalizing the arts so it's part of the curriculum for every child in America. ... Everybody in all walks of life know people who are out of work presently or are about to be out of work. And the same is true for artists. I know so many artists -- for example visual artists, the gallery has closed or it's cut back. Theaters that are no longer going to do productions with more than five actors. And so on. So I know a lot of people out of work: costume designers, makeup people. And let's not forget all the ancillary jobs from having an arts organization in your neighborhood. That includes restaurants, taxicabs, whatever. CNN: Gov. Jindal said he didn't think the arts money should be part of the economic stimulus plan. Alexander: Well what he doesn't understand is that $50 million goes directly ... as a grant to organizations which employ people. It's quick and it's a system that works beautifully and it's done within a year.

Jane Alexander: Increasing funds for the arts is a good way to boost economy . She chaired the NEA when Republican-led Congress sharply cut its budget . She says about 2 million Americans are employed as artists of all kinds . Alexander: Injecting funds into the arts will quickly support jobs .

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(CNN) -- More than nuclear bomb tests, the suicide of former South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun has stunned the South Korean public. While the news has shocked the nation, perhaps the level of surprise at the method wasn't as great. The suicide of former president Roh has shocked South Korea. In a country with one of the highest suicide rates among economically advanced countries, traditional concepts of honor and public "face" remain powerful social forces. According to World Health Organization figures, rates of suicide in South Korea doubled to 21.9 deaths per 100,000 people between 1996 and 2006. The United Nations cites that 90 percent of suicide cases were caused by mental disorders, but socio-cultural and economic pressures play a large part. While each case of suicide has a number of complex personal issues, the connection between suicide and honor has a historical basis in many Asian countries. "There are cultural histories in Asian societies of honorable suicide, such as hara-kiri in Japan, where the person assumes total responsibility," said Dr. Erminia Colucci, research fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Population Health. "In many western countries, a suicide in someone of Roh's position might be more about looking for understanding. In collectivist societies, like Japan and Korea, where a person's identity is more tied closely to other groups, suicides can be seen as the ultimate way to rebuild or reclean your image, if it changes." "I think there is something paradoxical in it. On one hand, some see it as a way of maintaining status and restoring honor to you and the people you represent, but the pressure from that group could contribute to you considering suicide." Roh was under investigation for corruption and some believe the pressures he felt just became too great. "Roh had come to power as a human rights lawyer, as an uneducated outsider pledging to clean up Korean politics, so it was particularly hard on him to have what he stood for and the reality of what happened under his administration. I think that was particularly hard for him to take," David King, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California told CNN. Watch more on the rise and fall of Roh . In a suicide note to his family, Roh described his life as "difficult" and was sorry for making "too many people suffer." Roh had said he was ashamed about the scandal and in the first round of questioning, he said he was losing face and that he was disappointing his supporters. In South Korea, Roh is the latest and highest profile of recent suicides of public figures. In late 2008, two South Korean actors took their lives. Police cited malicious online rumors as a possible cause for the suicide of Cho Jin-sil in October 2008. The blogs and chat rooms had speculated that she had been pressuring fellow actor Ahn Jae-hwan to repay a debt before he took his own life in September 2008. Video: How South Korean continue mourning » . High-profile suicides can make for lurid headlines, which Dr Paul Yip, director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, believes are far from helpful in combating suicide rates. "Common in Asia is to sensationalize suicides, especially among celebrities. Often the local or national media publish lots of details of how it was done. The media (in Hong Kong) has got better in their responsible reporting," he said. "Whenever famous people kill themselves there is an effect on those people who are most vulnerable from a similar age group -- we see this in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan and China, " said Yip. "People at risk can see Roh's death as an example and say, 'Well if he can do it, so can I'. Neither Roh nor any of the high-profile people who have committed suicide would have thought about this affect. There are a number of complex issues. There isn't just one that leads someone to take their life." Copycat deaths are a worry for Yip, and Colucci agreed that there can be lots of meaning in the method of a suicide, which people may be encouraged to follow. "The way that Roh died is similar to some of the methods used in Japan, which is interesting. It really suggests it's about the people wanting to relieve the burden they feel they are on others. For young people, it can be really connected to ideas of identity. For many, they feel it's the last thing they have control over," said Colucci. Watch CNN's report on Japan's suicide forest . Yip advised the South Korean Ministry of Health during Roh's administration to help them devise a new approach to dealing with mental health issues and the problem of suicide. "It is sad that Roh, whose government really did a lot to tackle the issue, should have done this. Last year a mental health act was passed by the South Korean government, as it recognized that more steps needed to be taken," said Yip. While there are distinct differences between the societies and traditions of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, Yip was at least encouraged that the Chinese Special Administrative Region has seen a decline in the number of suicide cases since its peak in 2003 of some 1,200 to around 9000 . A key element has been breaking though the taboo of talking about mental health issues, one that Yip believed was common across Asia. "They've been stigmatized, and very common that it would not be talked about, especially if there is not a good mental health support system in place. Ten years ago in Hong Kong, people didn't want to talk about it." However, Yip is well aware of the link between suicide rates and economic change, which many have cited as a reason for suicide rates increasing. "The rate generally goes up more in Asian countries than the west when there is an economic downturn. For an age group like Roh's, suicide can seem like a very traditional, if extreme way to solve problems. The problems at first are economic, but make people feel great shame or disgrace. There is a large sense of pride in middle-age men and working people." Making it acceptable to talk about problems, making people feel connected to their community and having a support system in place were methods Yip believed has helped to reduce those at risk. But it was not just something that charities or governments can work on, Yip said: "We have to reach out to the main concern groups, it's a multi-layered approach."

South Korea has one of the highest rates of suicide in developed countries . Concepts of honor and "face" remain strong social forces in many Asian societies . Suicide is a complex mix of issues, but ideas of 'honorable' death persist .

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(CNN) -- William Whitaker is certain that somebody in the central Oklahoman community where he lives knows who killed his daughter. Taylor Paschal-Placker, left, and Skyla Jade Whitaker were found shot to death along an Oklahoma road a year ago. The dirt road where the bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, were found is too remote for the killings to be the work of a stranger passing through, he says. "There's absolutely no way that somebody from out of the area could've just stumbled upon the place," Whitaker said. "I know whoever did it told somebody, whether they were drinking or bragging or whatever, and whoever knows just needs to bring the information forward." It has been a year since the two friends were shot multiple times in the stomach and chest less than a half a mile from Taylor's home in the rural community of Weleetka, with a population just over 1,000. "Taylor was shot five times. My daughter was shot eight times. Thirteen shots between two little girls who never did anything to anyone," Whitaker said. "I don't know how a person can go to work, eat or sleep knowing what they did. I couldn't live with that on my conscience, but they've been doing it for a year now." Watch father plead for answers in killings » . In the beginning, hundreds of tips poured in. Authorities pursued leads and analyzed evidence, but a year later, they have no suspects or witnesses leading them to any viable conclusions. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Jessica Brown said during a press conference Monday that authorities have "good evidence" in the case but lack the final piece to make an arrest. "If we could get this one piece of evidence that would help solve this case, that's what we need," Brown said Monday. Investigators believe that the killer or killers could be from Okfuskee County, or that a member of the community knows something about what happened to the girls the afternoon of June 4, 2008. "What we are frustrated about is the lack of cooperation we're getting from members of the public," Brown said. She stressed Monday that a $36,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to a conviction. The girls were shot with two different guns, leading to the possibility that two people were involved, Brown said. The OSBI released a sketch of a person wanted for questioning last year, but they have not received information leading to him, she said. But the killings remain fresh in the minds of Oklahomans. A billboard with the girls' faces and a tip hotline has loomed over Interstate 40 for several months. A memorial service was planned for Monday in Weleetka to mark the anniversary. "I can't go to the dry cleaners, the gym without people asking me, 'what's going on with those two girls?' Everyone in Oklahoma is emotionally involved in this case, and I think it's because it happened to two small children in an area you wouldn't think you'd ever have to worry about," Brown said. The same posters adorn storefronts and bulletin boards in banks, restaurants and post offices throughout Okfuskee County, a sparsely populated manufacturing region best known as the birthplace of songwriter Woody Guthrie. Weleetka Police Officer Stacey Rice will never forget the image of the dead girls. He was the second officer on the scene after a relative called 911 around 5:30 p.m. that day. "I really hope I never see anything like that again. It's just emotionally and visually traumatic. You see two small children lying on the ground like that and it's kind of hard to explain. Makes you want to go find your children," said Rice, a father of two teenage boys. "It took me several minutes to realize what happened, but after a while, it kind of sank in, and that's when emotions started running ... anger, lots of anger, sadness, disbelief. Nobody wanted to believe what had happened." The incident stripped the small, close-knit community of its innocence as people came to realize that they weren't safe, Rice said. Parents kept close tabs on their children and started locking their doors. Since then, the guard has come down, Rice said. "I don't think the fear level is as high as it was. People are kind of aware of it, that something like this can happen. They're still cautious, but I don't think as cautious," he said. "Just the monotony of everyday life, the basic routine, people get used to it and they forget about the dangers we face every day. We're not oblivious, but we put it in the back of our mind." Skyla's father says he and his wife try to carry on for the sake of their youngest daughter, who asks about her older sister nearly every day. Skyla's room is the same as it was a year ago except for the boxes of cards from across the globe, as far as Japan, expressing sympathy and support. Whitaker finds solace in visiting the memorial site set up at the crime scene, where people leave bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, cards and other mementos. The most recent addition to the site is an 8-foot cross donated by members of the community. "I just get a feeling whenever I'm there. It's real quiet out there, and I see the stuff people brought and it's kind of comforting, it really is. I know she's in a better place right now, she don't feel sickness, don't feel pain. She's in a better place, and it's my way of remembering."

Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, fatally shot on rural road . Local resident may be involved or have information, girl's father believes . Billboard, posters around Okfuskee County serve as reminders of girls' brutal deaths . Skyla's father finds comfort in visiting memorial at crime scene .

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(CNN) -- Researchers have discovered a previously unknown group of rare monkeys in the forests of Vietnam. The Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys were so skittish, researchers captured a photo of only one: an adult male. Several biologists caught fleeting glimpses of about 15 or 20 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in a remote area near the Chinese frontier, the wildlife conservation group Fauna & Flora International said Thursday. The "bizarre-looking" monkeys -- on the brink of extinction -- were so skittish around people that researchers were able to snap a photo of just one of them: an adult male scampering through the trees. The monkeys were "very sensitive to the presence of people, giving warning signs to one another and fleeing" whenever biologists approached, the group said in a statement. "It was apparent that the monkeys associated humans with danger -- perhaps due to ongoing threats from hunters," the group said. So few Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys have survived in the wild that scientists thought until recently that they were extinct. Now they estimate that roughly 200 remain, mainly in parts of northern Vietnam near the Chinese border. Hunters with a taste for bush meat and the loss of habitat have pushed the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey toward extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It classifies the primate as critically endangered "because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no subpopulation greater than 50 mature individuals, and it is experiencing a continuing decline." Fauna & Flora said it is working with a variety of groups to improve the livelihoods and "reduce human pressures on the forest ecosystem" in an effort to safeguard the newly discovered group, which was spotted in a patch of forest in the Quan Ba district of Vietnam's Ha Giang province. The sighting thrilled conservation biologist Le Khac Quyet, described by Fauna & Flora as "one of the few people in the world who can claim to be an expert on this mysterious species" and as the person credited with discovering the new group of that species. "When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys ... I was overjoyed," he said in the Fauna & Flora statement. "There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now."

About 15 or 20 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys seen near Chinese frontier . Population thought to be "fewer than 250 mature individuals," wildlife group says . Group says monkeys fled humans, possibly because of hunting . To save species, "we need to act now," conservation biologist says .

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(CNN) -- When rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings didn't work for Eddie Freas, he sought another way to kick his 20-year drug and alcohol addiction. Eddie Freas fights drug addiction by putting all his energy into training for triathlons. He swam 2.4 miles. He biked 112 miles. He ran 26.2 miles. The Pennsville, New Jersey, resident found relief in triathlons. "I feel better when I'm working out," said Freas, 33. "It does wonders for the mind. The reason I started running -- it was a switch that went off in my head. I started feeling positive and feeling great about myself." Freas spent his youth in pursuit of drugs. At the age of 13, he snuck bottles of Amaretto and rum from his mother's liquor cabinet. He also developed a taste for marijuana and cocaine. By his senior year of high school, Freas was kicked off the wrestling and football teams after failing a drug test. Then in 2007, after a three-day binge, "I came home and was crying," Freas said. "I was so depressed. I turned on the TV." The set was tuned to ESPN, which was airing a story about a former drug addict who competed in triathlons. The program's subject was Todd Crandell, who had lost a college hockey scholarship because of a drug addiction. After 13 years of using drugs, Crandell started competing in Ironman races and championed finding positive ways to fight addiction through his program called Racing for Recovery. "Having an athletic background, I was drawn to getting back in shape," Crandell said. "It makes you turn intellectually and spiritually fit. Exercise is essential. It decreases addiction, depression and you use it as part of the recovery." Freas was entranced by the parallels. "His whole story seemed like mine," Freas said. "That's why it hit me so much. It was my story but it happened to somebody else. I knew I had to get back into fitness." He took a bus to Racing for Recovery's office in Sylvania, Ohio. There, Freas said he learned to "stay clean and use other things -- fitness, instead of drugs." On his first day, Freas pushed himself to run 10 miles. "It killed me," Freas said. "I was just motivated. I was sore for a week and I gradually got into it. As soon as I started including fitness into my everyday lifestyle, it made it so much easier. It kept me busy and because of the physical fitness, it was making me feel better about myself." He pushed himself to run farther and raced in his first Ironman competition in 2008. "It's different when you use drugs, you temporarily feel good and afterwards, you feel like doing more drugs," Freas said. "When you go for a long run and do physical fitness, you feel good doing it." Research in animals and humans show that exercise can be a mild antidepressant. "It isn't a huge surprise when you consider many positive effects exercise can have with regards to the brain chemistry: dopamine, serotonin, endorphin, epinephrine -- these are all associated with mood altering effects," said Dr. Cedric Bryant, the chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. "If they're able to get this natural high, through a natural endeavor such as exercise, it allows them to replace the means to achieve that high with a more positive approach." One study showed that women trying to quit smoking were more successful when they exercised. And the National Institute on Drug Abuse held a conference last year to explore the possible role of physical activity in substance abuse prevention. "The thought centers around the release of mood-altering brain chemical, mainly endorphins," Bryant said. "It gives you euphoria or what you call 'runner's high.' " Crandell said some people who battle drug addiction "want something more than sitting in support groups filled with smoke, complaining about drinking." "I've had some of my naysayers from other programs who say you've taken one addiction and replaced it for another," Crandell said. "I've taken addiction and put into a new focus that includes exercise. Exercise for me is essential to my recovery and well-being." The purpose of Racing for Recovery is not to turn everyone into an athlete, but to focus on positive pursuits in a person's life. "Whatever you lost during your addiction, that should be your Ironman, not just running," Crandell said. "If your goal is to become a teacher, let that be your Ironman." After Freas spent six months in Ohio, he returned to his hometown. "I didn't want to come back home, because this was where I did all the dirt, all the partying and stuff," Freas said. "As time went on, I had to come back here. My life is turned around. I got to help people in my hometown." Back in New Jersey, Freas helped train Dustin Deckard, 19, a former high school star wrestler, who is recovering from a four-year heroin addiction. Deckard wanted to get clean after a near-fatal overdose. "I have to be clean the rest of my life," Deckard said. "Sometimes that overwhelms me. I just feel that sometimes it's not fair that other people can go out and have fun and drink and do whatever at a party. But me -- if I do anything -- it's off. I can't stop. I definitely have troubles with that." Freas and Deckard have developed a brotherhood. "I know how he was feeling, being down, not wanting to use drugs," Deckard said. "I just relate to him in every way. We both used. He's also into sports and into wrestling like I was. That's what's cool." This Sunday, Freas and Deckard head to Racing for Recovery's half triathlon at Monroe, Michigan where the teen will race for the first time.

New Jersey man finds solace in exercise after spending youth on drugs . Eddie Freas now member of group that advocates physical fitness in place of drugs . Freas competes in Ironman and also mentors a New Jersey teenager .

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(CNN) -- Photographer David DeJonge plans to capture a vanishing bit of history Tuesday on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington. Antonio Pierro, 110, of Massachusetts served with the U.S. military in World War I and died in 2007. There, he hopes to photograph 107-year-old Frank Buckles, one of the few men still alive who fought in World War I. Buckles will lay a wreath at the grave of Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who led U.S. forces in Europe in World War I. The visit comes 90 years to the day after the end of World War I, an occasion that led to Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day in other nations. For DeJonge, it's a poignant reminder that time is running out in his quest to find and photograph the few surviving veterans of the war, which raged from 1914 to 1918. "In my view, America has missed the boat in documenting this part of history," said DeJonge, a portrait photographer from Zeeland, Michigan. "It was such a pivotal moment in global history." He has raced the clock for the past two years to photograph the dwindling number of surviving World War I veterans, a mission he embraces with a keen appreciation for the ticking clock: Eight of 12 veterans he has photographed in the past two years are now dead. "It's a tragic loss: a tragic loss for the project and for global history," he said. "These are the last breaths of the last souls who witnessed one of the most horrific wars this world has ever seen." Watch photo sessions with remaining veterans » . DeJonge knows of only 10 living veterans worldwide who fought during World War I. Four live in Britain, two in Australia, two in France and two in the United States: Buckles and 108-year-old John Babcock of Spokane, Washington, who served with Canadian forces during World War I, DeJonge said. Each week or month that passes, it seems, brings news of an aging veteran succumbing before DeJonge can find the time and money to photograph him. Not long ago, he said, two Jamaicans who fought with the British during World War I died. The last known German, French and Austro-Hungarian veterans died in the last year as well. "These are the last of the last," he said. DeJonge said he became interested in photographing war veterans in 1996, when he worked on a project to chronicle U.S. veterans of several wars. The subjects included two men who served during World War I. He tried to interest a photography organization in a national project to document the remaining U.S. World War I veterans -- about 600 were alive in the mid-1990s, DeJonge said -- but that didn't happen. So he set out two years ago to try to do it on his own. DeJonge has received some financial help here and there, he said, but has paid most costs himself. "I have paid about $100,000 of my own money," he said. He spends about half his time at home in Michigan, taking photographs to earn his living. He spends the other half conducting research, traveling to points distant or photographing aging vets. "I have an incredibly supportive wife," he said. He is trying to find money and time to take pictures of two vets in Australia and two in France, he said. And he would love to check out unconfirmed reports of an elderly man in the Ukraine who says he served with the Russian military during what also is known as the Great War and the War to End All Wars. In March, he donated nine portraits of World War I veterans that the Pentagon plans to display permanently. He traveled to Washington that month with Buckles, who drove an ambulance in Britain and France during the war as a corporal in the U.S. Army. In a White House ceremony in March, President Bush paid tribute to Buckles, who said he lied about his age and enlisted at age 15. "Mr. Buckles has a vivid recollection of historic times, and one way for me to honor the service of those who wore the uniform in the past and those who wear it today is to herald you, sir, and to thank you very much for your patriotism and your love for America," he said during the March ceremony. DeJonge and Buckles plan to drive Tuesday from Buckles' cattle farm in Charles Town, West Virginia, to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington. The photographer said he feels "just an unbelievable respect" for men and women who served their country. And he savors the living history lessons they provide. "It really is like stepping back in time," he said.

David DeJonge photographs the surviving veterans of WWI, which ended in 1918 . DeJonge knows of only 10 living veterans worldwide who fought during World War I . Nine portraits of World War I vets have been donated to the Pentagon .

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WEIMAR, Germany (CNN) -- A long narrow road winds through a thick forest up a hill called the "Ettesberg," on the outskirts of Weimar in central Germany. The ovens where tens of thousands of bodies were cremated are restored and working. The road goes on for miles through the forest, but every once in a while you see an old railway station, a tower, or an old structure withering in the German rain. This road was named "the trail of blood," by inmates of the infamous concentration camp Buchenwald, because of the death marches they were forced to undertake as they were deported to work as slave laborers for Nazi Germany's defense industry from 1937 to 1945. "The trail of blood" leads straight to the entrance gate of the former concentration camp -- a structure with a huge iron gate in the middle, a tower with a clock above, and arrest cells in the building's wings. U.S. troops saw the horror of the Nazi regime first hand when they came through this gate on April 11, 1945, and found camp inmates starved to the bone, many too weak to stand. "We couldn't even show our joy at this moment, which we had been waiting for so long," said former inmate Zeev Factor, recalling the day American troops came to liberate the camp. Now the camp is getting ready to host President Obama, who has a special relationship with Buchenwald. His great-uncle Charlie Payne, 84, helped liberate a sub-camp here when he was an infantryman fighting in World War II. "The survivors see President Obama almost like a grandson of theirs," said the director of the Buchenwald memorial, Volker Knigge, speaking just outside the front gate. "The president is related to one of the brave men who came here and saw the Nazi horror first hand. The soldiers only had vague knowledge of what concentration camps actually were, but here they saw people too weak to survive, even after having been liberated." Historians estimate that of the 20,000 inmates who were liberated by U.S. troops, 1,000 died shortly after because of exhaustion and the effects of years of starvation. It is easy to see why. Every building in the Buchenwald complex radiates death, suffering and evil. In the crematorium, where tens of thousands of bodies were burned, the ovens have been restored and are fully functional. In a cellar below the cremation room, meat hooks in the walls were used by SS guards to hang and strangle more than 1,000 inmates, many of them women and children. Obama will see these testimonies to the barbarism of the Nazis when he takes a tour of the camp with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He will also meet some of the survivors who Volker Knigge says feel so close to this president.

President Obama visits Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, on Friday . His great-uncle helped liberate one of the complex's sub-camps during WWII . Director of Buchenwald camp memorial: Survivors see Obama as a grandson . Obama will meet some camp survivors during his visit .

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On CNN's "State of the Union," host and chief national correspondent John King goes outside the Beltway to report on the issues affecting communities across the country. This week, King traveled to Georgia to learn about the toll military service is taking on two veterans. Chris Tucker, who served three tours in Iraq, suffers from hearing, back, foot problems and still has nightmares. SAVANNAH, Georgia (CNN) -- As his tank rolled into Baghdad in April 2003, Chris Tucker mounted his camera to capture the moment. "It's history; we made history," he told CNN back then. "It's my first war, hopefully my last war." He could not have imagined then that six years later, Iraq would still be a combat zone. "I thought we would get there quick and handle our business and we'd be out," Tucker told us this week. "At least, that's what we were told anyway." Tucker received a medical discharge from the Army last year and he now is Officer Chris Tucker of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department. "You still get to serve your community and your country in other ways," he said. At age 26, he is a veteran of three combat tours. The patrol skills he learned on the streets of Baghdad, Fallujah and Sadr City come in handy as he drives his police cruiser around the neighborhoods of his Savannah precinct. "Some people -- you will be moving around the corner and they will just run," Tucker said as he drove his cruiser. "And you can tell they are favoring one side -- maybe they have a gun." He loves his new job, and the joys of fatherhood. His daughter Callie was born three months ago. iReport.com: Send your salute to troops . "So my life is slowing down," Tucker said. "But I enjoy the slow pace." But he hasn't left it all behind. As the war hits the six-year mark, Tucker is part of a history -- and a legacy -- still being written as the military tries to better understand the depth of the damage to those exposed repeatedly to the violence. "I still have the nightmares and wake up and find myself downstairs and I don't know how I got there," Tucker said. "I still see and dream the same things. ... Faces. Kids' faces. People that you have engaged or you have had contact with. ... You see your colleagues blown up. Things like that." He left the Army with a sour taste. He was sent back for his third tour despite the nightmares, depression, major hearing loss and painful injuries to his back and both feet. Then, the Army decided to give him a medical discharge for his back issues even though Tucker believes he could have recovered with rehabilitation. But he tries not to dwell on his frustration. "I try to distance myself from it as much as I can, because for me, the more I think about it, the more I reflect on what happened and what we did, the more I think the dreams and the nightmares actually come back." Tucker is as tired of the Iraq war as anyone, but his experience tells him things can suddenly take a turn for the worse, and so he is skeptical of President Obama's promise to get most combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010. Watch former VP Cheney discuss Iraq war strategy » . "I think we are in too deep to pull out," Tucker said. "You can't just commit the way we committed and then say, 'OK, we are done.' ... Politics should not be involved in the way the war is handled." There will be no more tours for Tucker, but a colleague on the Savannah-Chatham force will soon deploy for his first Iraq tour, and is being ribbed around the precinct, by Tucker and others, as "the grandpa going off to war." Police Cpl. Randy Powell is 50 years old and became a grandfather just last week. Watch Tucker and Powell tell their stories » . Powell served nearly 20 years ago in the Persian Gulf War, then in 1992 took an early retirement package when the Army was downsizing after the war. The deal required him to stay on what the military calls the IRR -- the Individual Ready Reserve -- but even as troops were sent to Afghanistan after 9/11 and then to Iraq for repeat combat tours, Powell heard nothing. Then last year, nearly 15 years after leaving the military, he was told to report to a local Reserve center. Another request came in January of this year. Both times, after some perfunctory paperwork, Powell was sent home. But when he returned home from work one day last month, an overnight letter from the Army had arrived with orders that he was being activated for an Iraq deployment. First, starting next month, he'll have refresher training on radar systems at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. "They're kind of shocked," Powell said of his family. But there are no complaints from Powell -- to the contrary. "I still feel I am fully capable of being a soldier," he told us outside at his police precinct. "Once a soldier, always a soldier. I find that it's an honor to serve within the military. I enjoyed the military while I was in. Kind of looking forward to getting back in the groove."

Savannah police officer lives with physical, mental injuries from Iraq war . Veteran is skeptical about plans to pull out of Iraq . 50-year-old colleague on force is being called back into service . He's not complaining -- "Once a soldier, always a soldier," he says .

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