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(CNN) -- Snowstorms and icy conditions on Sunday delayed flights across the northern United States, caused havoc on roads and left thousands without electricity. A worker shovels snow as the storm hits Chicago, Illinois. At least one death has been attributed to storms that hit all over the country in the past week. A 44-year-old Massachusetts man died Friday when a tree limb weighed down by snow fell on him, authorities said. Forecasters say there's more cold weather to come. Authorities urged motorists in north-central and northeast Iowa to stay off roads because of poor visibility caused by blowing snow. Authorities prohibited tow trucks from operating on U.S. Highway 20, near the border with Minnesota, because of concerns the tow trucks would get stuck. Forecasters said wind chills of 20 below and 30 below zero were possible in much of the rest of the Midwest, prompting wind chill advisories and warnings for the region into Monday morning. Blizzard warnings also were expected to be in effect into Monday for parts of Maine and western parts of Michigan's lower peninsula. In much of Maine, between 10 and 18 inches of snow was expected to fall Sunday and Monday, the weather service said. Whiteout conditions were expected at night, with wind gusts of up to 45 mph, the weather service said. The Minnesota Department of Transportation ordered snowplow drivers off the road until Sunday morning in 13 southwest counties, because of poor visibility, blowing snow and wind gusts up to 40 mph, an agency spokeswoman said Saturday. The western U.S. has also been hit with the cold blast. Parts of Washington saw 2 to 3 feet of snow last week. On Friday, two buses carrying 80 people collided on a road in Seattle and crashed through a metal railing, where they hung over a freeway for several hours before two trucks rescued them. Many roads in Walla Walla, Washington, had yet to be plowed by Saturday, and the only practical way to drive on them was to have chains on tires, iReporter Aaron Cloward said. Watch how driving has been difficult in Walla Walla » . Cloward, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, said he had "never seen roads this bad or snow this bad." He also said he's been unable to free his car. "Everything is sold out -- snow shovels, ice melt, salt, chains ... so I don't know how to get out," he said. The storm system is expected to move eastward, where people are already dealing with air traffic delays and power outages brought on by snowfall earlier this week. "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.

Authorities urge motorists in north-central and northeast Iowa stay off roads . National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for parts of Maine, Michigan . At least one death has been attributed to storms, authorities say .

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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombia will freeze prices for gasoline and other petrofuels through March, the government has announced. Hernan Martinez Torres, in a photo from September, says gas prices will be frozen in Colombia through March. The freeze takes effect Thursday and sets prices at December levels, the minister of mines and energy said Monday. The measure will be funded through a $170 million Fund for the Stabilization of Prices for Combustibles, which goes into effect January 1, a release on the Colombian president's Web site says. "All this is being done to give consumers a clear signal of stability," Minister of Mines and Energy Hernan Martinez Torres is quoted as saying in El Pais newspaper. Gas prices also will not decrease, although there has been a significant drop in crude oil prices in the past few months, Martinez said. The price freeze pertains to gasoline, biogasoline (oxygenated gasoline), a product called ACPM (combustible oil for motors), and the mix of ACPM and biodiesel. For the time being, El Pais said, only propane will see a decrease in price, with the price going down 25 percent. It's the second price drop for propane, which decreased 10 percent in November.

Price freeze on gas, other fuels takes effect Thursday, runs through March . Freeze is to give consumers "a signal of stability," energy minister tells newspaper . Gas prices can't rise or fall under the freeze, Hernan Martinez Torres says . Price freeze doesn't affect propane; its price is set to drop 25 percent, paper reports .

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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A meeting between the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan was canceled Friday when bad weather prevented Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari from traveling to the Afghan capital, Kabul. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (pictured) has met Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai before. An official in Pakistan's Foreign Office said the meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and top government officials will be rescheduled for the near future. The visit was to have taken place amid ongoing warfare and tension along the Afghan-Pakistan border and was to have focused on the nations cooperating in the fight against terror. Some of the Taliban militants conducting attacks in Afghanistan have been based in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and nearby tribal regions. The group's resurgence has prompted U.S. commanders and the incoming Barack Obama administration to put more of a focus on confronting militants along the volatile border. In the past, Afghan and Pakistani leaders have blamed the other for the security problems in the region. Zardari was to have been accompanied on the trip by the governor of North West Frontier Province, as well as his foreign minister and adviser on internal affairs. The two presidents also planned to discuss the expansion of bilateral relations and trade. Both men have met before, when Karzai visited Pakistan in September to attend Zardari's swearing-in ceremony.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai . Visit to have taken place amid ongoing tension along Afghan-Pakistan border . Taliban militants attacking Afghanistan from Pakistan's North West Province . Both countries have previously blamed each other for the security problems .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- -- Federal officials have fined Exxon Mobil more than $6 million after it violated a three-year-old agreement to decrease air pollution at four of its refineries. Exxon Mobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, is one of four that the EPA said had high sulfur emissions. The Justice Department announced Wednesday that the oil giant agreed to pay $6.1 million after Environmental Protection Agency officials determined the company had not sufficiently reduced sulfur emissions in its refineries in Baytown and Beaumont, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Torrance, California. Exxon Mobil had paid a $7.7 million fine in its original 2005 agreement with the government and promised to install new emissions controls at the refineries. The petroleum company said after the latest settlement its refineries now meet the required EPA standards on sulfur emissions. The company's role in environmental pollution has been in the spotlight ever since the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska, the worst oil spill in U.S. history. This past summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the company to pay $507 million in punitive damages from the incident, down from an original $2.5 billion judgment.

EPA says company had not sufficiently reduced sulfur emissions at four refineries . The facilities in question are in Texas, Louisiana and California . Exxon Mobil says refineries now meet EPA standards on sulfur emissions .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pentagon officials have begun preparing for the first transfer of power during war since Vietnam. They insist that the complicated transfer from the Bush administration to the Obama administration will go smoothly. The coming transfer of power during wartime will be the first since 1968. President Bush met Thursday with members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and urged them to cooperate. "We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people," Bush said. "For the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running." Teams in Gates' office and that of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, have been working on the transition for months, according to Pentagon officials. See who Obama may be considering for his Cabinet » . With ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it will mark the first time a transfer of power has taken place during wartime since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson handed over power to Richard Nixon while the Vietnam War raged. "We are preparing to make this as smooth a transition as we can," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said this week. Although officials say the transition is in good hands, little is being said about what discussions will occur between the Pentagon teams and President-elect Barack Obama's transition teams when they begin showing up within days or weeks. "There is a recognition that given that we are a nation at war, that energy and effort [should] be sufficiently placed to ensure that we don't drop any balls, because national security and supporting our fielded forces that are engaged in combat is of paramount importance to this country," Whitman said. Robert Rangel, special assistant to Gates and the deputy secretary of defense, is in charge of the transition process in the Pentagon, while Marine Brig. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who reports to Rangel, is leading the effort for the Joint Chiefs. Last month, Gates issued guidelines for the transition, stressing that the department must maintain continuity of operations and ensure efficient and effective transition between the outgoing political leaders and the incoming administration, according to Whitman. The Pentagon has opened offices for Obama's transition staff. The nondescript offices are just down the hall from the secretary of defense's office and have been readied with computers, phones and filing cabinets. The offices remain empty until staff members are designated by Obama's team and cleared through the White House. "The initial contact point for the Obama transition team will be through the White House, and there will be a discussion on the way forward on the transition, and what will happen out of that will be a memorandum of understanding that says, 'these people will be working with the Defense Department,' so we know who has been sanctioned and designated by the president-elect," Whitman said. In his comments Thursday, Bush said, "ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency."

Transition of power will be the first during wartime since Vietnam . Pentagon officials say they began transfer preparations weeks ago . President Bush says terrorists could use this transfer period "to attack us" Smooth transition of power is a "priority for the rest of my presidency," Bush says .

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(CNN) -- A Swedish truck and bus maker that assembled trucks in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era has signed "an agreement in principle" with the government to open an assembly plant next year. Swedish truck and bus maker Scania is to reopen a former plant in Iraq. The company, Scania, issued a statement on its Web site confirming the deal to produce 500 trucks ordered by Iraq, with work starting during the third quarter of 2009. The work will be performed in the same Iskandariya factory south of Baghdad where the company's previous operation was housed. The operation comes under the auspices of Iraq's State Company for Automotive Industry. The deal reflects the Iraqi government's efforts to rehabilitate an economy decimated by warfare. "Scania has the necessary qualifications to satisfy the Iraqi government's desire to begin local production quickly. Assembly of the 500 trucks initially ordered is expected to employ about 500 people. The facility will be designed for the production of 3,000 vehicles per year," says Klas Dahlberg, vice president in charge of Scania's sales in the Middle East. The company said Iraq had been one of its largest markets during the 1980s. The Iskandariya factory assembled 3,900 trucks in 1981, Scania said, and many of the trucks assembled there during that era remain in service. The company said a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides specifies that Scania will work with an Iraqi distributor and "will assume responsibility for installation of production equipment as well as employee training." "In collaboration with our Iraqi distributor, we will also invest in the establishment of a service network in the country. Even today, there is a great need for workshops to take care of vehicles that operate in international traffic to Iraq," Dahlberg said.

Swedish truck and bus maker Scania is set to return to Iraq . Company assembled trucks there during Saddam Hussein era . 500 trucks to be made in same factory it had previously used .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The conviction of a terrorist doctor in the UK exposes how any section of society can become radicalized, a top police officer said Tuesday. Bilal Abdulla is shown being arrested after the attack at Glasgow Airport. Bilal Abdulla was well-educated and working as a doctor when he carried out his plot to plant car bombs in London -- rather than unemployed or with feelings of being outside or abandoned by society as has been seen before in the UK. Born in southern England, his family moved to Iraq when he was a child. He grew up in the capital during Saddam Hussein's rule and went to the University of Baghdad before returning to Britain to attend Cambridge University. The Cambridge-educated graduate became a doctor working in the National Health Service where the maxim is to treat anyone regardless of the ability to pay. Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall, who heads the Counter Terrorism Command, said Abdulla and Kafeel Ahmed -- who died from burn injuries after he crashed a jeep into Glasgow International Airport, Scotland -- reveal a new type of terrorist. He told the UK's Press Association: "These individuals were not on our radar and that in itself is very interesting. When you look at the profile of these individuals they are very different from the terrorists we have dealt with in this country before - being professional people. McDowell added they were probably inspired by al Qaeda in Iraq but developed their plan in Britain without help from abroad. "I think this was a group that was largely self-motivated, came up with the ideas themselves, tutored themselves through the Internet. I don't think they received significant training elsewhere, which is unusual from what we have had in the past," he told PA. Abdulla's motive, prosecutors said, was revenge for the bloodshed in Iraq. Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said: 'There is no longer a conventional approach to terrorism. There are no rules to be broken any more, nothing can be taken for granted." Abdulla was found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to murder and conspiring to cause explosions. He will be sentenced to Woolwich Crown Court, London, on Wednesday. The jury rejected his defense that he had planned only to set fire to cars in central London as a way of highlighting the plight of Iraqis.

Dr. Bilal Abdulla's professional life is different to radicals seen before in UK . Anti terror officer tells PA Abdulla was a self-taught, self-starter . Abdulla planned car bomb attacks in June 2007 on targets in Glasgow and London . He was found guilty of conspiracy to murder in June 2007 .

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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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HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- "Che" the movie met Che the myth in Cuba this weekend, and the lengthy biopic of the Argentinean revolutionary won acclaim from among those who know his story best. Actor Benicio Del Toro stars in "Che," which details Che Guevara's role in the 1950s Cuban revolution. The movie was screened Saturday in the Yara movie theater in central Havana as part of the 30th International Festival of the New Latin American Cinema. "Che" also played Sunday at Havana's Karl Marx Theater. "Che" stars Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro in the title role, for which he won a best actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. But it's one thing to make a movie about Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the Cuban revolution and show it in France, quite another to screen it in Cuba. Speaking to CNN outside the Karl Marx Theater, the bilingual Puerto Rican actor admitted some anxiety. "This is Cuban history, so there's an audience in there that probably, that could be the biggest critics and the most knowledgeable critics of the historical accuracy of the film," Del Toro said. Watch Del Toro talk about the movie in Cuba » . It appears he needn't have worried. Audiences gave the movie hearty ovations. And Granma, the official mouthpiece of the Cuban government, gave Del Toro a glowing review. "Del Toro personifies Che in a spectacular manner, not only his physical appearance but also his masterly interpretation," the state newspaper said. After the showing, Del Toro characterized the public reaction as "sensational, a shot of adrenaline," Granma said. "The dream was to make this movie and to bring it here, where it all began." The movie has two parts: "El argentino," which portrays Guevara's role in the 1950s Cuban revolution, and "Guerrilla," which shows Guevara's efforts in Africa and Bolivia, where he was killed in 1967. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed Del Toro in the 2000 film "Traffic," for which Del Toro won an Oscar. At 4 hours and 17 minutes, "Che" can test viewers' stamina. But that wasn't a problem in Havana. It's a story Cubans know by heart. But this time, it's told by outsiders. Catalina, a history professor who would give only her first name, was a tough critic. "The movie is well-done. It has good intentions," she said. "But in my opinion, in the first part, the scenes in the jungle seemed a bit like a caricature." Though some debated the details of this story they know so well, most -- like a young Guevara lookalike who identified himself only as Daniel -- were pleased. "It has captured history to perfection," he said. "It has been well thought out and well-created." Others, like student Susel Paraza, were torn about seeing their history told by others. "What hurt me a little," she said, "is that it wasn't us, the Cubans, who thought to make a movie like this but instead a foreign director with foreign actors who have recreated this story very well." Other foreign actors have played Guevara, most notably Egyptian-born Omar Sharif in a 1969 U.S. production titled "Che!" Soderbergh's "Che" has been shown at six film festivals worldwide and will have a limited opening in the United States on December 12. It is scheduled for widespread U.S. distribution starting January 24. Although many may not know Guevara's history, his image is recognized worldwide from a photograph taken by Alberto Korda at a Havana memorial service in March 1960. Titled "Guerrillero Heroico" (Heroic Guerrilla), the image of a somber, long-haired and bearded Guevara wearing a beret with a lone star became what the Maryland Institute College of Art called "the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century." The image has been emblazoned on everything from T-shirts to posters and even tattoos. "There is no other image like it. What other image has been sustained in this way?" Trisha Ziff, the curator of an exhibition on the iconography of Guevara, asked in a 2007 interview with the BBC. "Che Guevara has become a brand. And the brand's logo is the image, which represents change. It has becomes the icon of the outside thinker, at whatever level -- whether it is anti-war, pro-green or anti-globalization." Guevara was 31 years old when the photo was taken. He has been dead for 41 years, longer than he was alive. Jonathan Green, former longtime director of the UCR/California Museum of Photography, has been quoted as saying, "Korda's image has worked its way into languages around the world. It has become an alpha-numeric symbol, a hieroglyph, an instant symbol. It mysteriously reappears whenever there's a conflict. There isn't anything else in history that serves in this way." CNN's Arthur Brice contributed to this report.

"Che" stars Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro in the title role . The official mouthpiece of the Cuban government gives Del Toro a glowing review . The movie played Sunday at Havana's Karl Marx Theater . "Che" will have a limited opening in the United States on Friday .

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(CNN) -- Two giant pandas arrived in Taiwan Tuesday after leaving China's Sichuan province for their new home, in a sign of improving ties between the cross-strait neighbors. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan rest at a giant panda research center in Sichuan province on Monday. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, both four years old, had been living in Ya'an since the May 12 earthquake that damaged their former home in Wolong in Sichuan, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The pandas ate a meal of steamed corn buns and carrots before they were placed in a truck and taken to the Sichuan capital of Chengdu. From there, they were flown to Taiwan. "They had a good breakfast to sustain them on the long journey," said a Taiwan keeper traveling with the animals to the island, according to Xinhua. The panda goodwill was the latest sign of warming relations between Beijing and Taipei. Watch more about the pandas » . Regularly scheduled commercial flights, shipping and mail between Taiwan and China resumed last week for the first time since the 1949 revolution that brought the Communist Party to power on the Chinese mainland. On Monday, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said China would provide 130 billion yuan ($19 billion) in financing over the next two to three years to Taiwan-based companies doing business in the mainland. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has been cultivating ties with Beijing since winning office in March. Ma, a Nationalist, opposes reunification with China but ran on a platform touting the economic benefits of better relations with the mainland. In June -- in the first formal talks between the two sides in almost a decade --Chinese and Taiwanese officials agreed to set up permanent offices in each other's territories. Taiwan separated from China after the communists' victory in the Chinese civil war in 1949. About 2 million Chinese Nationalists fled to Taiwan and set up a government there. Beijing has always considered the island a part of China and has threatened to go to war should Taiwan declare formal independence. China said in May 2005 it would give the island two giant pandas, but their departure was delayed for more than three years. Improved ties between the two sides made the delivery of the pandas possible, Xinhua reported. The pair, whose names Tuan and Yuan together mean "reunion," will live in a four-story building at the Taipei city zoo, and their lodgings will include an outdoor playground, the agency said. After a one-month quarantine, the pandas are expected to make their debut in Taiwan during the Chinese lunar new year. There are about 1,590 pandas living in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. There were 239 captive-bred giant pandas in China in 2007, Xinhua reported. One panda died in the May quake, while another is still missing, according to an official at the China Panda Protection Studies Center in Wolong.

Pandas will live at Taipei zoo, expected to debut during the Chinese lunar new year . Panda goodwill the latest sign of warming relations between Beijing and Taipei . Regular flights began between the two sides for the first time since 1949 . About 1,590 pandas live in China's wild, and there were 239 captive bred in 2007 .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- It's no secret that the music industry has not made an ideal transition into the digital era. Is the iPod, iTunes and independent Web promotion the future of music? Or can record labels fight back? Album sales are falling, P2P file sharing is rife, and a plethora of new artists are using the Internet as a platform for gaining international exposure. With the introduction of MySpace Music, three major record labels -- Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group -- are hoping to launch a counter-strike to the technological developments and online activities that have rocked their industry. But, how far can the record labels go towards getting back those good old days where they were uncontested as they reaped the lion's share of profits from the music industry? Experts CNN spoke to for a Just Imagine article had contrasting views on what the coming years hold for the industry. Long-time music industry figure Bob Lefsetz was critical of the new venture. "Radio on demand, in one's home, in front of the computer, which is what MySpace actually is, is not a sexy alternative to owning what you want and taking it to the beach, to the party, to your workout," he said, comparing it with Apple's iTunes and iPod. Lefsetz feels the record labels have to face serious decline, unless they can come up with a new business model. Well-known music artists' rights advocate, educator and industry commentator, Moses Avalon, was more positive about MySpace Music's hopes and the future of the record label industry. Music industry lecturer Andrew Dubber, meanwhile, believed the future would be characterized by change, and that there is no set model for the future of the recording industry. Now, we want to know what you think. Give us your views on the future of the music industry. Do you have a business model you think the record labels should adopt to build a strong future? Or, do you think the industry has no future at all? Do you think Web sites like tunecore.com, rawrip.com and sellaband.com hold the power now? Post your comments in the Sound Off box below. We'll publish the best.

We take a look at the future of the music industry as record sales decline . Will MySpace music venture between major labels save the industry? What do you think? Post your views and we'll publish the best.

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(CNN) -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cited several examples in a recent report of abuse toward Christians in Iraq. Iraqis rush to a car bomb explosion at a Christian church in Kirkuk in January.

U.S. panel reports examples of intimidation, violence against Christians in Iraq . Report: Christians urged to convert to Islam, attacked if they don't obey Islamic laws . Christian priests, missionaries have been kidnapped and killed, report says .

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DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNN) -- Bob Konrardy carried the guilt with him for more than 40 years. A platoon commander in Vietnam, Konrardy was wounded when shrapnel tore through his body. Four comrades carried him to safety in a poncho for more than an hour while the firefight raged. Bob Konrardy says the fallen soldier monument outside his home honors soldiers killed in Iraq like Dave Behrle. "These four guys went back to help the platoon because they were still fighting, and all four of those guys got killed," Konrardy says. "I felt guilty for 40-something years." Two years ago, Konrardy got to thinking: He'd be a Santa of sorts for soldiers in Iraq as a way to help him deal with his conscience. He would collect autographed college and pro footballs, letters from local kids and other mementoes from home to help inspire the troops in Iraq. Then, he would have the goods delivered to his old platoon serving in Iraq, the First Cavalry Division. He initially thought he'd have the material shipped. But his plan changed when the military signed off for Konrardy to deliver the goods in person and work as an embedded journalist for a local paper. The 65-year-old grandpa was about to head to one of the world's most dangerous places. Watch "I could have been killed" » . "I wanted to maybe bury some Vietnam demons and just make a difference with this platoon and maybe make up for what I didn't do with my old platoon," he says. "I thought it was going to go one way. It went the other. It made me worse." He adds, "I couldn't sleep before, but now it's worse. I hate to see it get dark. I get extremely nervous. I get uptight. I just don't like to see it get dark. And once it is dark, I'm on edge until it gets dawn." Konrardy's story is one of patriotism, heroism and torment -- a war veteran unable to escape what happened in 1965, when he was just 23. "Here's a guy who is a true American hero in his own right. He was wounded in action in the Iadrang Valley, and he comes into a combat zone 40 years later," says Maj. Chris Rogers, the operations officer of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, when Konrardy embedded with them. "In my opinion, he's a guy who has done it all -- bled for his own country -- and he's more interested in telling the story of today's generation of young heroes than trumpeting his own horn." Konrardy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder shortly after he retired from John Deere in 2002, when he says his disorder really kicked in. He once sleep-drove to a Wal-Mart about 20 minutes from his home at 3 a.m. He doesn't recall how he got there or how he got home. He only remembers a guy mopping the floor asking if he could be helped. Other times, he'd patrol the neighborhood in the wee hours of the night with his loaded 9-mm pistol on his hip. His counselor with the Department of Veterans Affairs once asked what he would do if the police ever stopped him. "I said, 'I'll just shoot out his windows and escape and evade back to the house. I think it'd be fun.' She didn't like that answer," he says with a laugh. "So I'm lucky because that's probably what I would've tried to do." Konrardy checked himself into a VA facility in Des Moines, Iowa, to get help for his PTSD. He chuckles more when he recounts trying to escape from the place and police approached him. "I rolled down a hill and started running so they couldn't catch me. They said that was the wrong thing to do." Learn about PTSD and how to get help » . He says he was then put in an isolation ward for 11 days and nights, and eventually released. It was August 2005. Fast forward to the fall of 2006. That's when Konrardy spoke to his grandson's eighth-grade class about his war experience. They thanked him for serving his country. "Nobody had ever done that before, for serving in Vietnam," he says. He started e-mailing members of the Army's First Cavalry Division as part of his grandson's "adopt a platoon" project. He got autographed footballs from the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, as well as from the University of Tennessee and University of Georgia. Even the players at local St. Ambrose University chipped in with a football of their own: the game ball from their championship game. "I just wanted to do something and make up for what I didn't do for my guys," Konrardy says. His family gathered for Christmas that year and he told of his plans to travel to Iraq. "Everybody cried," he says. "I said, 'Hey, this is a chance of a lifetime. I have to go.' " Quizzed about why a man who was held in a VA facility a couple years earlier was cleared to travel to Iraq, Konrardy laughs. He says CNN is the first to ask that question. But he adds the original plan was for him to not go into combat. "On the way over, I didn't think I'd be going out." By March 2007, the old warrior's boots were on the ground in Baghdad. His plan was to hand out the 95 pounds of goods and kick back with the soldiers at base camp, collecting their stories and gathering video to give to their families back home. Konrardy handed the St. Ambrose football to a soldier named David W. Behrle, a 20-year-old from Tipton, Iowa. He scooped it up and cherished it. Konrardy was officially in Iraq as an embedded journalist to file blog posts for "The Quad-City Times." He had not intended to go into combat, but that quickly changed. He says the commander said if he wanted to get to know the troops "you've gotta be proactive." Konrardy says he hopped into a Humvee and began patrolling the tight streets of Baghdad with the unit. He was assigned the back right seat for four days. His Humvee once struck a dud of a roadside bomb that blew the tire out underneath where he was sitting. Gunfire erupted. "Looking back, I'm thinking, 'Wow, I could have been killed,' " he says. He's still haunted by another time in Iraq -- not because of what happened, but because of what he didn't do. "I'm going to the bathroom and I hear somebody crying. My first instinct was to be a grandpa: I'm going to go in and I'm going to hold this young kid whoever it is and just say, 'I know where you're coming from. I've been there. Let's just talk.' " He adds, "But I chickened out. I didn't do that. Now, I wish I would have." A few weeks after he left Iraq, soldiers he befriended were riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle on patrol around Baghdad. He says the soldiers had recently saved a young Iraqi girl who had been shot in the head from insurgent crossfire. But on this day, May 19, 2007, a roadside bomb went off, killing all six soldiers inside. One of those killed was Spc. David Behrle, the soldier who loved the football hand-delivered by Konrardy. "I took that hard. It still bothers me," Konrardy says. Outside his Iowa home, a flagpole stands on Konrardy's lawn. A fallen soldier monument sits at its base with a pair of boots, rifle facing down and helmet with the name "Behrle" on it. Behrle's family was so moved by Konrardy they had it built for him. Kneeling next to the monument, Konrardy says, "It reminds me of Dave. But it also reminds me of the Behrle family and how close we've gotten with them and how great they've been in my grieving for Dave and helping me ... try to readjust to the things I went through in Iraq." "They say I helped them; I say they helped me." The lifelong Republican recently did something he thought he'd never do: He says he voted for a Democrat for the president of the United States. Thousands of American troops will soon be returning home in need of help just like him. Konrardy, who is still getting PTSD treatment, wishes the rest of the nation could better understand what that's like. "I just want them to realize the life of a soldier is not what you think," he says. "It changes you for the rest of your life."

Army veteran went to Iraq hoping to expunge "Vietnam demons" Bob Konrardy spent four days on patrol in March 2007 as an embedded journalist . "I couldn't sleep before, but now it's worse. I hate to see it get dark," he says . Konrardy says nation must be ready for when troubled soldiers return from Iraq .

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BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Concerns were growing Wednesday for a polar bear born last month at a German zoo after its twin died and was possibly eaten by its mother. One year ago Vera gave birth to Flocke, pictured here playing in her enclosure in April. The young polar bear died Monday, less than two weeks after it was born, Nuremberg Zoo said. The surviving twin was doing well, the zoo said, but added that it was concerned the mother may not be able to care for it properly. Zookeepers watching a video feed from the bears' enclosure said they had noticed the baby bear looking thinner and weaker. They saw the bears' mother, Vera, nudging the dead bear with her nose and observing it -- and as of Wednesday, they said, the dead bear was nowhere to be seen. "It is very, very sad," said zoo director Dag Encke. "it is unfortunately frequently the case that with twins, one of the animals doesn't survive." Zookeepers had kept their distance from Vera and her babies, watching them only on camera so as not to make the mother feel threatened. Polar bears are known to eat their young if they sense any danger or interference. "We have to worry more about the surviving young animal and take care that the polar bear with her baby is not disturbed," Encke said. "So far, Vera is caring for the surviving baby in an exemplary way." One year ago Vera gave birth to Flocke, who became an instant celebrity across Germany. Flocke's first birthday is Thursday.

German zookeepers concerned for baby polar bear after its twin died . Young polar bear died Monday, less than two weeks after it was born . Baby nowhere to be found in enclosure; mothers often eat young if sense danger .

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(CNN) -- What could be more powerful than the tears of a Native American Indian? Wax on, wax off: Does it make you want to save the rainforests? Iron Eyes Cody was the face of the Keep American Beautiful campaign of 1971 whose tears marked the plight of the environment, but more importantly kept the problems of pollution in the minds of millions. From teary Native Americans to witty skits or doom-ladened eco-horror scenarios, the environmental campaign video then has long been a powerful tool for environmental groups to spread their message and raise pubic attention. The rise of YouTube and other video sharing web sites has now meant that individuals can broadcast their own eco-awareness messages and form their own social action networks. But what makes a good video and how much impact do they have? Is it better to be funny or shocking? When you see Harrison Ford getting his chest waxed, do you immediately think about saving the rainforests? Or does the sight of celebrity pontificating about the plight of the environment make you want to watch their next film rather calculate your carbon footprint. We've featured three different videos that we like and want to know which ones you think are the best. Watch the featured videos » . Let us know which eco videos have got you going by using the Sound Off box below. Or, e-mail us at [email protected]. We also want to feature your own environmental videos here on CNN's Eco Solutions. Use the iReport form to send in your film and you could find your environmental efforts make even more impact than Harrison Ford's chest.

Nominate your favorite environmental campaign video . Rate our featured videos, including Harrison Ford getting his chest waxed . Send in your own videos using our iReport page .

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Editor's note: Fareed Zakaria is a foreign affairs analyst who hosts "Fareed Zakaria: GPS" on CNN at 1 p.m. ET Sundays. Fareed Zakaria says he doesn't think the crisis between Russia and Georgia is likely to be resolved soon. NEW YORK (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential candidates. In an exclusive interview Thursday with CNN's Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi, Russia, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia. Putin said his defense officials had told him it was done to benefit a presidential candidate, but he presented no evidence to back it up. "U.S. citizens were indeed in the area in conflict," Putin said. "They were acting in implementing those orders doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their leader." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino blasted Putin's statements, saying they were "patently false." Russia is trying to counterbalance mounting pressure from the West over its military action in Georgia and its recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But Russia's hopes of winning international support were dashed Thursday when China and other Asian nations expressed concern about tension in the region. The joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, said the countries hoped that any further conflict could be resolved peacefully. CNN spoke to world affairs expert and author Fareed Zakaria about the Russia-Georgia situation. CNN: Is the crisis between Russia and Georgia likely to get resolved soon? Zakaria: No, positions are actually hardening. The Russians have formally recognized the two regions of Georgia -- Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- and on our program, the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has demanded the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers, to be replaced by European Union peacekeepers. So the two sides are actually further apart than they were 10 days ago. CNN: Who will prevail? Zakaria: It's difficult to see the circumstances under which Russia will withdraw completely. On the other hand, its recognition of the two provinces is a joke. Almost no country in the world has followed them in this recognition. So they might be willing to reverse themselves on this issue. But I can't see them getting out completely. CNN: So Russia wins? Zakaria: Well, even if it wins in the narrow sense, it will lose in a broader sense. Russia's actions have scared all their neighbors, aroused anti-Russian nationalism, driven the Poles, the Ukrainians and so many other countries closer to the West and away from Moscow. Countries around the world have been startled by the Soviet-era tactics. And what have they gained for all this? South Ossetia. I think this will go down in history as a major strategic blunder. The Russians have massively overplayed their hand. CNN: Why did they do it? Zakaria: They would argue that the West pushed and punished them after the collapse of the Soviet Union and that by expanding NATO to their borders, it signaled that it still saw Russia as a rival and relations as competitive. Perhaps there is some truth to their perception, but there were also much broader developments in Russia over the last decade. The rise of Russian nationalism, an anti-Western and anti-democratic movement, the rise of an elected dictatorship, and above all, the rise in oil wealth, which always produces corruption, dysfunction and arrogance. Russia has moved in anti-modern directions, and much of it has nothing to do with what the West did or didn't do. CNN: What should the United States do? Zakaria: Assist Georgia in rebuilding and securing itself. Assure countries like Poland that may be insecure. But also, don't overreact. Russia's blunder is producing a reaction in the region and across the world. Let that play itself out. We should be firm in insisting that they cannot re-impose their rule in Georgia, but there is little to be gained in a total cutoff with Moscow. We have to deal with Russia on many issues, from Iran to North Korea. Nobody benefits from a new Cold War, not the Russians and not the U.S.

Fareed Zakaria says Russia's actions will be viewed as "a major strategic blunder" Zakaria calls Russia's recognition of Georgia's two breakaway provinces "a joke" Analyst: Russia has moved in "anti-modern" directions in recent years . Zakaria says U.S. shouldn't overreact, let world reaction play itself out .

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(CNN) -- The Republican National Convention is kicking off in full force Tuesday in the Twin Cities -- the first time the GOP has held a presidential convention there since 1892. Laura Bush and Cindy McCain speak at a shortened first day of the Republican National Convention Monday. The convention, delayed briefly when Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast, is also being held later in the year than any nominating convention in history. Check out these tidbits of convention history and political trivia. Location . The Republican National Convention is being held in the Xcel Energy Center, the home of the National Hockey League team the Minnesota Wild. To prepare the Xcel center for the GOP convention, workers removed 3,000 seats and installed more than 25 miles of cable . Sen. Barack Obama gave his first speech as the Democrats' presumptive 2008 presidential nominee at the Xcel Center on June 3. The Twin Cities and Denver have each received $50 million each in federal funds for convention security. No Republican since Richard Nixon has carried Minnesota in a presidential general election -- the longest Democratic streak of any state in the nation. The Delegates . About 2,300 delegates and 2,200 alternates delegates are expected to journey to the twin cities for the event, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul economy is expected to benefit to the tune of $150 to $160 million. The Candidates, past and present . John McCain turned 72 last week; if elected, he'll be the oldest president sworn in to a first term. Two GOP presidential nominees were older than McCain; Ronald Reagan was 73 in 1984 when he was running for his second term and Bob Dole was 73 in 1996. Dole lost that election to Bill Clinton. John McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam from 1967 to 1973; his service awards include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart. McCain's father and grandfather were both U.S. Navy admirals; they were the first father and son to achieve that rank. McCain represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987; he has served in the U.S. Senate since 1987. McCain was the presidential nominating speaker in 1996 for Sen. Robert Dole. McCain clinched the Republican presidential nomination on March 4 after winning 26 primary season contests. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the second woman to serve on a major party ticket -- in 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to serve on a major party ticket. Palin is the first woman to serve as Alaska governor; she was elected in 2006, winning the election to the governorship as a maverick reformer willing to distance herself from the Republican Party. McCain first met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February of 2008. Conventions . National political conventions were covered on radio for the first time in 1924, and covered on television for the first time since 1948. 2008 marks the fourth time the parties have held back-to-back conventions; it also happened in 1912, 1916 and 1956. The longest convention in history was the 1924 Democratic convention in New York -- It lasted 17 days. The shortest convention in history was the 1872 Democratic convention in Baltimore -- it only lasted six hours.

McCain was the presidential nominating speaker in 1996 for Sen. Robert Dole . 2008 marks the fourth time the parties have held back-to-back conventions . No Republican since Nixon has carried Minnesota in a presidential general election . If McCain is elected he'll be the oldest president sworn in to a first term .

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(CNN) -- Israel said Wednesday it may expel Venezuela's top diplomat from the country in a tit-for-tat gesture after the South American nation ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave over the increasingly bloody ground war in Gaza. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the Israeli army "cowards." The decision on whether to expel Venezuela's charge d'affaires will be taken later Wednesday, said Yigal Palmor, the spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry. On Tuesday, Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to Caracas and accused Israel of attempting to carry out "genocide" against the Palestinian people. "In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished," the Venezuelan foreign minister said in a statement read by an anchor on state television. The statement added that the government "condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law" by Israel and "denounces their planned utilization of state terrorism." "For the above-mentioned reasons, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the ambassador of Israel and some of the personnel of the Israeli Embassy in Venezuela," it added. In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military. "They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!" It said that Chavez "makes a fraternal call to the Jewish people throughout the world to oppose these criminal policies of the state of Israel that recall the worst pages of the history of the 20th century. "With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the state of Israel will never be able to offer its people the perspective of a peace that is both necessary and long-lasting." Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was unswayed. "I haven't heard the details yet, but you know the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists, and it doesn't surprise me that they have affinity with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah," he told CNN. He predicted that other countries would not follow suit, even in the Middle East. "I think, even in the Muslim and Arab countries, there is a fair amount of understanding for what Israel has had to do here," he said.

NEW: Top Venezuelan diplomat may be expelled in tit-for-tat gesture . Venezuela ordered Israeli ambassador to leave over the ground war in Gaza . Venezuelan government statement condemned "flagrant violations" by Israel . President Hugo Chavez calls Israeli army "cowards" Israeli spokesman says Venezuela has given "automatic support" to extremists .

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Motozintla, MEXICO (CNN) -- "My life was sad before because I had to crawl on the ground," recalls Caesar Morales, a 24-year-old father in Mexico who, until recently, had only one limb and couldn't walk. David Puckett's nonprofit has provided free artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and care to more than 420 people. But today, thanks to David Puckett and his U.S.-based nonprofit, Morales has new prosthetic legs. Now, he's not only able to walk, but his newfound independence has made it possible for him to move to another town where he could find work. "He lifted me up to where I am today," Morales says. Morales isn't the only person in southeastern Mexico who credits Puckett with changing his life. Since November 2000, the certified, licensed prosthetist/orthotist from Savannah, Georgia, has been providing artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and ongoing care to hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas -- free of charge. "When someone loses a limb they immediately know what they've lost," says Puckett. "The goal is to restore the healthy self image again so that that person can see themselves whole." Puckett first connected with the Yucatan people while volunteering on a mission there as a teenager. Struck by the overwhelming poverty and the physical challenges he saw people facing in the rural communities, Puckett vowed to return and make a difference there. "When I finally got into the field of orthotics and prosthetics, I said, 'Ah-ha. Now, I know what I can do.' " His nonprofit, PIPO Missions: Limbs and Braces to Mexico, collects donated, used orthopedic braces and artificial limbs in the United States and crafts new ones from their recycled components. On average, Puckett makes a six-day trip every two months to distribute the custom prosthetics and braces, while also providing ongoing care. "To deliver an artificial limb or brace without follow-up doesn't help that person in the long run," says Puckett. "We need to make sure that they have what they need to continue living successfully for years to come." Over the course of his 41 trips to the region, Puckett has helped more than 420 individuals. He's found that word of his work spreads fast through the villages and people will drive hours to attend his clinics. Puckett's trips are routinely extended to accommodate house calls to immobile residents of distant towns. Watch how Puckett brings prosthetic and orthotic care to people in Mexico » . "Someone might say, 'I wanna bring 10 people with me next time you come.' The mixed blessing is they'll bring 50 or 100 people that have physical needs," says Puckett. "The difficulty for me is, how do I say no?" For Puckett, each trip demonstrates the immeasurable impact he is making on people's lives. Stories of previously unimagined independence, confidence and employment greet him from clinical waiting areas, often along with offerings of food, livestock and friendship. When his group helps one person, Puckett explains, it has an effect on an entire community. Watch Puckett describe how one patient in Mexico crafted himself a homemade foot » . "It opens a whole other door for many of these folks to experience the world in a way in which they've never even dreamt of," says Puckett. "And the world has an opportunity to greet them, accept them and welcome them back into society. So, it's a double blessing." Watch Puckett describe how he helped a woman now known as "the miracle girl" » . In between trips, Puckett also spends time soliciting the aid of surgeons, as he frequently encounters physical conditions that require surgery before prosthetic help can be successfully administered. "If we had a surgeon here, we could see eight to 10 patients in a weekend and change their lives forever," he says. "It's tough for people to make the choice to give up time with their families and a portion of their income to extend themselves in this way. But, take it from me, the more we give, the more we get."

David Puckett's nonprofit provides free artificial limbs, braces and care . Since November 2000 the organization has helped hundreds in southeastern Mexico . Puckett's organization crafts the braces and artificial limbs from recycled ones .

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(CNN) -- Bayern Munich have agreed a deal to sign Croatian international striker Ivica Olic from Bundesliga rivals Hamburg, the German champions have revealed on their official Web site fcbayern.de. Olic will join Bayern Munich at the end of the season after proving a success in his time at Hamburg. "We've struck an agreement to sign Olic at the end of the season. All we need now are the signatures under the contract," said Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness following the team's arrival at a winter training camp in Dubai. Olic will complete his move on a free transfer on July 1 and will sign a three-year contract binding him to the club until 2012. "I'll do everything I can to mark my departure from Hamburg with a trophy," the 29-year-old Olic vowed on Friday, as he and his team-mates prepared for a winter training camp almost exactly parallel to Bayern's in Dubai. The two teams will meet on January 30 in Hamburg in a match marking the official start of the second half of the Bundesliga season. Olic joined Hamburg from CSKA Moscow in January 2007 having won three league titles and the UEFA Cup in Russia. He has already scored 12 goals this season and has netted 11 times in 61 internationals for Croatia. "We're certain Ivica will be a perfect compliment to our strikers Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose. One pleasing aspect is that he is out of contract at the end of the season," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge last month.

Bayern Munich agree a deal to sign Croatian international striker Ivica Olic . Olic will join from Bundesliga rivals Hamburg at the end of the current season . The 29-year-old agrees a three-year contract and will not cost Bayern any fee .

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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 may have also had plans to kill his mother and his former wife's divorce attorney, police said Monday night. 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, left a rental car with a gasoline canister outside the home of attorney Scott Nord, said Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department. Police previously said that Pardo targeted his rampage at his former wife, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, and her family at the family's Christmas Eve party. A divorce between the two was finalized in court on December 18 in a "somewhat contentious proceeding," Covina Police Chief Kim Raney said last week. Police believe Pardo planned to carry out a similar attack at Nord's house as he did at the shooting and house fire that claimed nine lives. 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. 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 that they are having to work with dental records to establish identities. "The bodies were so badly burned they cannot be identified any other way," said Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan. The nine unaccounted for include 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. On Monday night, police said Pardo's mother had also planned to attend the Christmas party, but didn't go because she was sick. Pardo had a contentious relationship with his mother, according to Buchanan, because she attended the couple's divorce hearing and had sided with Pardo's ex-wife. The shooting and fire left 10 children orphaned and three others lost one parent. An "Ortega Family Fund" has been set up at Nord's law offices.

Police say Bruce Jeffrey Pardo had hit list after divorce proceedings were final . Original target was Pardo's ex-wife, police say, but attorney, mom also targets . Shooting and fire left 10 children orphaned and three others lost one parent .

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(CNN) -- President Bush spoke live via satellite to the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. Here is the text of the speech: . President Bush says John McCain is "ready to lead" the United States. Bush: Good evening. As you know, my duties have me here in Washington tonight to oversee the federal government's efforts to help citizens recover from Hurricane Gustav. We are thankful that the damage in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast was less than many had feared. I commend the governors of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for their sure-handed response and seamless coordination with the federal government. I thank all of the wonderful volunteers who stepped forward to help their brothers and sisters in need. We know that there is still risk even after the storm has passed. So I ask citizens across the region to listen closely to local officials and follow their instructions before returning to their homes. All of us are keeping the people of the Gulf Coast in our thoughts and prayers. As you gather tonight in Saint Paul, I want to share some thoughts about our nominee -- a great American, and the next president of the United States, John McCain. Watch Bush's speech » . Before I do so, I want to say hello to two people in the hall with you tonight. I could have no finer examples of character, decency, and integrity than my mom and dad. I know what it takes to be president. In these past eight years, I've sat at the Resolute Desk and reviewed the daily intelligence briefings, the threat assessments and the reports from our commanders on the front lines. I've stood in the ruins of buildings knocked down by killers, and promised the survivors I would never let them down. I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president. John McCain's life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation. From the day of his commissioning, John McCain was a respected Naval officer who made decisions on which the lives of others depended. As an elected public servant, he earned the respect of colleagues in both parties as a man to follow when there is a tough call to make. John McCain's life is a story of service above self. Forty years ago in an enemy prison camp, Lt. Cmdr. McCain was offered release ahead of others who had been held longer. His wounds were so severe that anyone would have understood if he had accepted. John refused. For that selfless decision, he suffered nearly five more years of beatings and isolation. When he was finally released, his arms had been broken, but not his honor. Fellow citizens: If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will. As the father of seven sons and daughters, John has the heart of a protector. He and his wonderful wife, Cindy, are adoptive parents. John is a leader who knows that human life is fragile ... that human life is precious ... that human life must be defended. We have seen John McCain's commitment to principle in our nation's capital. John is a steadfast opponent of wasteful spending. As president, he will stand up to the high-tax crowd in Congress and make the tax relief permanent. He will invest in the energy technologies of tomorrow and lift the ban on drilling for America's offshore oil today. John is an independent man who thinks for himself. He's not afraid to tell you when he disagrees. ... No matter what the issue, this man is honest and speaks straight from the heart. Last year, John McCain's independence and character helped change history. The Democrats had taken control of Congress and were threatening to cut off funds for our troops. In the face of calls for retreat, I ordered a surge of forces into Iraq. Many in Congress said it had no chance of working. Yet one senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission, and that was John McCain. Some told him that his early and consistent call for more troops would put his presidential campaign at risk. He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. That is the kind of courage and vision we need in our next commander in chief. My fellow citizens, we live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain. When he takes office next January, John will have an outstanding leader at his side. America will have a strong and principled vice president in the governor of the great state of Alaska, Sarah Palin. In the time the Oval Office has been in my trust, I have kept near my desk reminders of America's character -- including a painting of a West Texas mountain lit by the morning sun. It reminds me that Americans have always lived on the sunrise side of the mountain. We are a nation that looks to the new day with confidence and optimism. I am optimistic about our future, because I believe in the goodness and wisdom of the American people. I am optimistic because I have faith in freedom's power to lift up all of God's children and lead this world to a future of peace. And I am optimistic about something else: When the debates have ended, and all the ads have run, and it is time to vote, Americans will look closely at the judgment, the experience, and the policies of the candidates, and they will cast their ballots for the McCain-Palin ticket. While I am not with you in the Twin Cities on this wonderful night for our party, with Laura Bush speaking, you have clearly traded up. I am so proud the American people have come to know her gracious presence, her determined spirit, and her loving heart. Laura has been a fantastic first lady. Thank you, Laura, and thanks to all of you in the hall tonight. God bless you, and God bless America.

Bush: The man we need is John McCain . Bush: We need a president who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001 . President praises McCain for support of troop surge in Iraq . Bush: That is the kind of courage and vision we need .

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(CNN) -- Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to the country Tuesday and accused Israel of attempting to carry out "genocide" against the Palestinian people. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the Israeli army "cowards." "In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished," the Venezuelan foreign minister said in a statement read by an anchor on state television. The statement added that the government "condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law" by Israel and "denounces their planned utilization of state terrorism." "For the above-mentioned reasons, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the ambassador of Israel and some of the personnel of the Israeli Embassy in Venezuela," it added. In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military. "They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!" It said that Chavez "makes a fraternal call to the Jewish people throughout the world to oppose these criminal policies of the state of Israel that recall the worst pages of the history of the 20th century. "With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the state of Israel will never be able to offer its people the perspective of a peace that is both necessary and long-lasting." Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was unswayed. "I haven't heard the details yet, but you know the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists, and it doesn't surprise me that they have affinity with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah," he told CNN. He predicted that other countries would not follow suit, even in the Middle East. "I think, even in the Muslim and Arab countries, there is a fair amount of understanding for what Israel has had to do here," he said.

Expulsion is in protest of Israeli strike against Palestinians, minister says . Venezuelan government statement condemned "flagrant violations" by Israel . President Hugo Chavez calls Israeli army "cowards" Israeli spokesman says Venezuela has given "automatic support" to extremists .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An 850-pound emerald said to be worth as much as $370 million is in the hands of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department while a court decides who really owns it, a spokesman for the sheriff said. This enormous raw emerald was being kept in a Las Vegas, Nevada, warehouse. The "Bahia Emerald" -- one of the largest ever found -- was reported stolen in September from a secured vault in South El Monte in Los Angeles County. The report was made by someone who claimed to own the giant gemstone, Los Angeles Sheriff's Lt. Thomas Grubb said. Federal court papers showed the emerald has been at the center of a dispute between a California man who claimed ownership, a company he contracted with to sell it, and a potential buyer. Detective work traced the Brazilian stone to a Las Vegas, Nevada, warehouse, where the person in possession claimed to be the rightful owner, Grubb said. A federal judge ordered the sheriff to hold the 180,000-carat emerald until he can sort the case out, Grubb said. Investigators suspect someone used falsified papers to remove the stone from the secured vault in California, although no criminal charges have been filed, Grubb said. While Grubb said it was his understanding the stone had been appraised at $370 million, the value is unclear. The company hired by the owner to sell it said in court papers it had received a $19 million offer, which the company wanted to accept. It alleged the gemstone's owner then tried to go around the broker to sell the emerald to the same buyer for $75 million. At one point, the emerald was listed for sale on eBay for a "buy it now" price of $75 million.

L.A. sheriff takes custody of 180,000-carat gemstone pending resolution . Seller, buyer, broker arguing over ownership, sale agreement . Estimates of raw emerald's value range from $19 million to $370 million .

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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A NASA report on the last minutes of Space Shuttle Columbia cited problems with the crew's helmets, spacesuits and restraints, which resulted in "lethal trauma" to the seven astronauts aboard. Columbia crew members were killed when the shuttle broke apart upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere. But the report also acknowledged that "the breakup of the crew module ... was not survivable by any currently existing capability." The spacecraft broke up while re-entering Earth's atmosphere near the end of its mission on February 1, 2003. The NASA report found the astronauts knew for about 40 seconds that they did not have control of the shuttle before they likely were knocked unconscious as Columbia broke apart around them. Watch more details from the report » . The report also found that while crew members were wearing their pressurized suits, one astronaut did not have on a helmet, three were not wearing gloves and none lowered the visors before the module lost cabin pressure. One astronaut also was not seated. "In this accident, none of those actions would have ultimately made any difference," said former shuttle program manager Wayne Hale, now a deputy NASA administrator. The graphic, 400-page investigative report relied on video, recovered debris and medical findings, supplemented with computer modeling and analyses. It also includes many recommendations to make space travel safer for future astronauts. A shuttle-program source told CNN the families of the astronauts who died were brought in specifically to look at the report and even in some cases to help with its preparation. The report took more than five years to complete. "The members of this team have done an outstanding job under difficult and personal circumstances," said Johnson Space Center director Michael L. Coats. "Their work will ensure that the legacy of Columbia and her heroic crew continues to be the improved safety of future human spaceflights worldwide." Columbia broke apart some 200,000 feet over Texas -- just minutes before it was to have touched down in Florida. The shuttle's wing was damaged on takeoff when a large piece of heat-reflecting foam ripped off and gouged a hole in it. During re-entry, the hole allowed atmospheric gases to burn the wing and destroy the spacecraft. The oldest orbiter in the fleet, Columbia had just completed a 16-day science mission. Watch the view from the command deck as the shuttle enters the atmosphere » . Killed were commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, payload commander Michael Anderson and mission specialists David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, an Israeli Air Force colonel who was Israel's first astronaut. By request of the families of the Columbia astronauts, NASA released the report between Christmas and New Year's so that the astronauts' children would be at home where they could discuss the findings with their families in private, said former shuttle commander Pam Melroy, deputy project manager for the investigation team. "It was a way for us to work through our grief about the accident," said Melroy about compiling the report. "This was one of the hardest things I've ever done." The report stated that "after the crew lost consciousness due to the loss of cabin pressure, the seat inertial reel mechanisms on the crews' shoulder harnesses did not lock. "As a result, the unconscious or deceased crew was exposed to cyclical rotational motion while restrained only at the lower body. Crew helmets do not conform to the head. Consequently, lethal trauma occurred to the unconscious or deceased crew due to the lack of upper body support and restraint." Another section of the report focused on the pressure suits used by the space shuttle crew on launch and re-entry. It said the suits were not part of the initial design of the orbiter and that depressurization "occurred so rapidly that the crew members were incapacitated within seconds, before they could configure the suit for full protection from loss of cabin pressure." Melroy said investigators took some comfort in data that suggests the Columbia crew died abruptly and without suffering. "Of course, we were relieved," she told reporters during a NASA conference call Tuesday afternoon. "It is a very small blessing, but we'll take them where we can find them." The NASA team's report evaluated every aspect of the crew cabin infrastructure, including the design of the safety belts and helmets worn by the crew. The report also included recommendations to improve spacecraft design and crew safety. Those recommendations cover a broad range of subjects from crew training, procedures, restraints and individual safety equipment to spacecraft design methods and recommendations regarding future accident investigations. "By learning these lessons and ensuring that we continue the journey begun by the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia, we help to give meaning to their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families," the report stated. "It is for them, and for the future generations of explorers, that we strive to be better and go farther. The report will have little if no effect on the nine remaining space shuttle flights to come. NASA is mothballing the shuttle program in 2010 as it begins a new program, Constellation, designed to send astronauts back to the moon. There is expected to be about a five-year hiatus in manned U.S. space flight as NASA transitions to the new program, which it hopes will launch in 2015. CNN's Brandon Griggs and Rich Phillips contributed to this report.

NASA released a report Tuesday on the last minutes of Space Shuttle Columbia . Seven astronauts died when the spacecraft broke up while returning to Earth in 2003 . Report: Astronauts knew for about 40 seconds that they'd lost control of craft . Report also cited problems with the crew's helmets, spacesuits and restraints .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new national poll suggests most Americans favor an economic stimulus package even if it comes with an $800 billion price tag, although that support doesn't indicate the public wants to see a new era of big government. Two-thirds of people polled think Present-elect Barack Obama's stimulus package will help the economy. Fifty-six percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday said they favor the stimulus package that President-elect Barack Obama is proposing; 42 percent were opposed. Obama is pushing Congress to pass the plan soon after he's inaugurated on January 20, to help jump-start an economy mired in a deep recession. The poll also indicates that two-thirds of the public thinks the stimulus package will do just that, with 17 percent saying it will help the economy a lot and another 50 percent feeling that it will help the economy somewhat. Twenty-one percent say the stimulus package won't help the economy very much and 10 percent say it won't help at all. But Americans seem to be split on whether they'd like more government regulation of business and industry, with 39 percent saying there's too much government regulation and an equal amount saying too little. Twenty percent said the amount of government involvement is just right. Watch why most Americans back the bailout » . "Attitudes toward government have not changed since 2006, when the economy was still in pretty good shape," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Most still say the government is doing too much that should be left to individuals and businesses, and trust in government is still low." On the other hand, he said, "with the economy in such poor shape, government action to stimulate the economy seems to get an exemption to the general concerns about big government." There also appears to be a divide between the parties when it comes to government involvement. "Six in 10 Democrats want to see the federal government do more," Holland said. "But three-quarters of Republicans would like to see a smaller government. The tiebreaker is independents. A majority of the independents polled say that government is doing too much that should be left to individuals and businesses." The poll also suggests that a declining number of Americans trust the government to do what's right. iReport.com: What should Obama do first? Twenty-two percent of those polled said they trust the government to do what's right most of the time. That's down 6 points from when the question was asked two years ago. Sixty-six percent said they trust the government some of the time, and 9 percent said they never trust Washington. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 3 percent said they can always trust the government to do the right thing. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, with 1,013 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

CNN/Opinion Research Corp. finds 56 percent of people favor stimulus plan . Numbers are more evenly split about government regulation of business . More Democrats want the government to help more with economic woes . Two-thirds of those polled thought Obama stimulus package would help economy .

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(CNN) -- Four years since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake spawned massive walls of water that swept across the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 230,000 dead according to a United Nations estimate, improvements can be seen in many of the devastated areas, humanitarian groups said. Laborers work on a construction site in a fishing village in Indonesia's Aceh on December 21. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless and jobless after the tsunami, and poor and isolated communities were left even worse off. Today, new schools have been constructed, and armies of workers -- many of them volunteers -- have cleared and rebuilt homes and towns, and helped get people back to work. "The tsunami, despite being a horrific event, also provided a lot of opportunities for those countries," said Jonathan Cauldwell, chief of UNICEF's Tsunami Transition Support. "It brought a peace dividend within Banda Aceh (Indonesia) where you still see peace in an area which had long term localized conflict in place. It allowed those areas to be built up as well, to have investments in the infrastructure in the social sectors ...," he added. Agencies such as UNICEF said that while the immediate emergency was over, they remain committed to improving the lives of millions of children across the region. "The lessons of the tsunami will never end. The funding will end, we can complete the construction, we can complete the project, but the intervention never ends ...," Cauldwell said. Oxfam International, which said it will close its response to the tsunami at the end of December, said it has provided housing to tsunami survivors in Aceh, helped restore the livelihoods of people in India and Sri Lanka, and funded the reconstruction of eight tsunami-affected secondary schools. "The money we received allowed us not only to help meet the immediate emergency needs of tsunami-affected populations, but also to try to address the factors that made them vulnerable: not least poverty and a lack of influence over their own lives," Barbara Stocking, chair of the Oxfam International Tsunami Fund Board, said in a statement. "What has been achieved is astounding. Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in better conditions than they were in before the tsunami ...," she added. UNICEF said the basic needs of children affected by the tsunami have been met -- more children are going to school as a result of improved facilities, and better nutrition, post-natal care and other life-saving interventions are helping those countries worst hit transition to developing regular services and programs. But long-term improvement of water and sanitation is critical, the agency said, and so is building new schools that are better able to withstand earthquakes. According to UNICEF and Oxfam, the response to the tsunami and the lessons learned have changed the way they deal with such emergencies. It highlighted the need for better coordination among partners and other organizations, and contributed to reforms in the way humanitarian relief is delivered.

The devastation of the 2004 tsunami stretched across the Indian Ocean . Hundreds of thousands left homeless, and poor and isolated communities worse off . Humanitarian groups have helped rebuild schools, homes, and get people working . Groups say long-term improvement of water and sanitation is critical .

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(CNN) -- Cyclist Chris Hoy has been knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list, while every British gold medallist from the Beijing Olympic Games has also been rewarded. Hoy completes a remarkable year by being knighted in the United Kingdom New Years Honors list. In a move that breaks with tradition, triple-gold medallist Hoy will be knighted while still competing and will take part in London 2012 as Sir Chris. The 32-year-old told PA Sport: "To become a knight from riding your bike, it's mad. It is an amazing honor and is also great for the sport." Hoy, who was made an MBE after winning his first gold in Athens in 2004, was also voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month. The Scotsman was one of 10 Olympic cyclists to be honored, while a number of Olympic coaches and officials were also recognised. Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two Olympic golds -- the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming gold for 48 years -- receives an OBE (Order of the British Empire) . Adlington said: "I'm absolutely delighted to receive and accept the OBE -- it is fantastic to be recognised in the New Year Honors List. There are so many amazing names on the list, it's something I'll treasure for the rest of my life." Christine Ohuruogu, the only British athlete to win a track and field gold in Beijing when she claimed the 400m title, has been given an MBE (Member of the British Empire). "It is nice to be called the Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion and now to be made an MBE is extra special," said Ohuruogu. Away from the Olympics, Lewis Hamilton receives an MBE after becoming the youngest ever Formula One world champion. "It is a massive honor and incredible privilege. It is the most amazing culmination to what has been quite a year for me," said Hamilton.

Track cyclist Chris Hoy knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list . Hoy will compete in the 2012 Olympics as Sir Chris after three golds in Beijing . Every British gold medallist from the Beijing Olympics has also been rewarded .

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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian energy monopoly Gazprom said Thursday it has cut off supplies of natural gas to Ukraine after a payment deadline expired. A gas-compressor and gas-holder station in Mryn, Ukraine. Gazprom said it had cut supplies to Ukraine Thursday. Gazprom had been threatening the move, saying months of negotiations with Ukraine had failed to resolve the issue of outstanding payments. The company says Ukraine owes about $2 billion for past natural gas deliveries. Ukraine also disputes the new price set by Gazprom for 2009 deliveries, which was initially more than double the price from 2008. Gazprom has reassured the rest of Europe that its natural gas supply, which runs through Ukraine, will not be affected by the dispute with Kiev. Thursday, a Gazprom spokesman said on Russian state television the company had actually increased the deliveries to the rest of the continent. "Gazprom will continue supplying gas for its consumers in Europe at full volume," the company's chief executive, Alexey Miller, said. "We have an effective transit contract." Without natural gas, some Ukrainians could be in for chilly days and nights. The temperature at midday Thursday in Kiev was 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius), with a forecast high of only 32 F (0 C) and snow predicted overnight. Watch a report on Gazprom's threats to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine » . Ukraine's state-controlled energy company, Naftogaz Ukrainy, said Thursday it is ensuring domestic natural gas needs are covered by taking gas from underground storage facilities. "All of Ukraine's consumers are fully secured," the company said in a statement. In Washington, the White House urged a resolution Thursday. "The United States would like to see a restoration of normal deliveries," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "The parties should be resolving their differences through good-faith negotiations, without supply cutoffs." The frigid weather is of particular concern, the White House said. "We urge both sides to keep in mind the humanitarian implications of any interruption of gas supply in the winter," Johndroe said. Naftogaz Ukrainy also disputed Gazprom's claim that it owes for past deliveries, saying Thursday it has paid its debt to Gazprom in full, though it declined to give a figure. Another part of the dispute centers on Gazprom's price hike for 2009 gas deliveries. Gazprom had wanted to more than double Ukraine's payments, but Wednesday it offered a lower price. Ukraine, which currently pays about $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, balked at the figure offered, saying it simply can't afford to pay the new price. It is the second time in three years Gazprom has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. The company made good on its threat on January 1, 2006, but turned the supply back on a day later. Russia is the world's biggest producer of natural gas and supplies Europe with more than 40 percent of its imports -- mainly via the pipelines through Ukraine. Naftogaz said in its statement Thursday that it would ensure the uninterrupted flow of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine, but only under existing arrangements. It indicated some gas deliveries to Europe could be halted in Ukraine if Naftogaz fails to reach a new agreement with Gazprom. Although gas is still flowing to Europe, there are also concerns in Russia that the amount could be reduced if Ukraine siphons off some of the gas headed to the west. Naftogaz said it will continue negotiating with Gazprom to address the issues.

Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom cuts off gas supplies to Ukraine . Company says Ukraine owes it about $2 billion for past natural gas deliveries . Gazprom says supplies to other European customers won't be affected . Gazprom cut supplies on January 1, 2006, but turned supply back on a day later .

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(CNN) -- An Israeli patrol boat struck a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, witnesses and Israeli officials said. The Dignity arrives in Tyre, Lebanon, after it was reportedly rammed by an Israeli military vessel Tuesday. CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot pleasure boat Dignity when the contact occurred. When the boat later docked in the Lebanese port city of Tyre, severe damage was visible to the forward port side of the boat, and the front left window and part of the roof had collapsed. It was flying the flag of Gibraltar. The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers -- physicians from Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists from the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement -- who were trying to reach Gaza through an Israeli blockade of the territory. Also on board was former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney. Penhaul said an Israeli patrol boat shined its spotlight on the Dignity, and then it and another patrol boat shadowed the Dignity for about a half hour before the collision. One patrol boat "very severely rammed" the Dignity, Penhaul said. The captain of the Dignity told Penhaul he received no warning. Only after the collision did the Israelis come on the radio to say they struck the boat because they believed it was involved in terrorist activities, the captain said. But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied that and said the patrol boat had warned the vessel not to proceed to Gaza because it is a closed military area. Palmor said there was no response to the radio message, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision. Watch Penhaul describe the boat damage » . The captain and crew said their vessel was struck intentionally, Penhaul said, but Palmor called those allegations "absurd." "There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody," Palmor said. "I would call it ramming. Let's just call it as it is," McKinney said after the boat docked in Lebanon. "Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side. Watch Cynthia McKinney discuss the collision » . "Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis -- the aggressiveness of the Israeli military," she said. The incident occurred in international waters about 90 miles off Gaza. Israel controls the waters off Gaza's coast and routinely blocks ships from coming into the Palestinian territory as part of an ongoing blockade that also applies to the Israel-Gaza border. Human rights groups have expressed concern about the blockade on Gaza, which has restricted the delivery of emergency aid and fuel supplies. Tuesday's collision was so severe, Penhaul said, that the passengers were ordered to put on their life vests and be ready to get in lifeboats. The Dignity began taking on water, but the crew managed to pump it out of the hull long enough for the boat to reach shore. "It could have ended with people drowning if they hit us more square on," Dignity's captain, Denis Healey, said. "It could have gone down in minutes." Palmor said the vessel refused assistance after the incident. The boat was carrying boxes of relief supplies, volunteers and journalists to Gaza, the Palestinian territory that has been subject to an intense Israeli bombing campaign since Saturday. Israel Tuesday lambasted McKinney -- the Green Party's 2008 candidate for the U.S. presidency and a former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia -- for taking part in the maritime mission. In a written statement, the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said McKinney "has taken it upon herself to commit an act of provocation," endangering herself and the crew. "We regret that during this time of crisis, while Israel is battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and defending its citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms. McKinney's irresponsible behavior," the statement read. The trip was the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement's sixth in as many months. Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza on Saturday in what Defense Minister Ehud Barak called an "all-out war" against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007. The Israeli military says its goal is to stop a recent barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel. Watch the chaos in Gaza and Israel » . The Palestinian death toll has topped 375, most of them Hamas militants, Palestinian medical sources said Tuesday. At least 60 civilians have been killed in Gaza, U.N. officials said. Hamas has continued to fire rockets at southern Israeli towns since the airstrikes began, Israel says. Six Israelis have been killed -- five of them civilians. Hamas has vowed to defend Gaza in the face of what it calls continued Israeli aggression. Each side blames the other for violating an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, which formally expired December 19, but had been weakening for months.

NEW: Israel scolds former congresswoman for being on Gaza-bound boat . Israeli naval vessel, boat with medical volunteers collide in Mediterranean . Boat's crew contends naval vessel rammed it intentionally . Israel denies intentionally hitting boat carrying journalists, medical supplies .

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(CNN) -- German sailors foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, the German Defense Ministry said. Pirates like these threaten the Somalian coast. The German navy frigate Karlsruhe responded to an emergency call from the Wabi Al Arab Thursday morning, sending helicopters to the stricken vessel. When the helicopters arrived, the pirates broke off the attack, the ministry said. A crew member on the Wabi Al Arab was wounded when the pirates attempted to board the vessel. He was flown by helicopter for treatment aboard the Karlsruhe, the ministry said. The German sailors captured the pirates and disarmed them, destroying the weapons, the ministry said. The German government in Berlin later ordered the Somali pirates released because they were not caught while harassing German interests, according to BBC. The Karlsruhe joined the fight against the pirates on Tuesday from Djibouti, the defense ministry said. On Wednesday a top Japanese official said the country was considering sending vessels to join U.S., Russian, NATO and Indian vessels in the waters off Somalia, a key shipping route that sees around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels each year. China said Tuesday that two destroyers and a supply ship from its navy would set sail for the region on Friday to protect Chinese merchant ships. Watch why China's dispatch of forces is significant » . The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution last week aimed at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirate onto land in cases of "hot pursuit." The Security Council resolution, which passed unanimously, expands upon existing counter-piracy tools, including a stipulation that would allow for national and regional military forces to chase pirates onto land -- specifically into Somalia, where many of the pirates have their bases. Over 124 incidents -- attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful hijackings -- have been recorded to date this year, according to Kenyan Seafarers Association.

German government later ordered pirates released, according to BBC report . Japan was considering sending vessels, a top official said Wednesday . Waters off Somalia is a key shipping route that sees 20,000 vessels each year .

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ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- As I watched Cristiano Ronaldo receive the FIFA World Player of the Year award in Zurich, I couldn't help feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, as the 23 year-old Portuguese international once again proved all his doubters wrong. Cristiano Ronaldo shows emotion after being named the FIFA World Player of the Year for 2008. Especially the ones in England. In the days leading up to the awards ceremony, there were various rumors circulating that the Manchester United star was going to be pipped by Leo Messi on Tuesday night. I was asked several times in London whether I really thought Ronaldo was going to win. Whether he really deserved it. It was as if many in the British press didn't want him to take home another award. Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo is shown enough respect? Tell us in the Sound Off box below. The fierce attack on his lifestyle by the tabloids after he crashed his Ferrari last week just accentuated the fact that in the UK, he still has earned little respect. Never mind that he was about to become the first Premier League Player to win this prestigious award. Never mind he has been the competition's biggest ambassador and promoter overseas. Too many in the English media, he was still a diver on the field, and a petulant rock star off it. Now I am not going to sit here and say that my compatriot Cristiano is perfect. He isn't and he makes mistakes. But the same can be said about Wayne Rooney or any of the other English internationals. When Rooney charges down the referee and shouts obscenities in his face without even being booked, as was the case in last weekend's match against Chelsea, is he called arrogant or petulant? No. When he goes seven or eight matches without a goal, is he suddenly branded overrated? No. So all I am asking for here is a little respect. If Ronaldo was English, I am sure in the eyes of the British press he would be virtually untouchable, but although he's not, just give him a break. After all, he had an incredible 2007/2008 season which saw him score 42 goals in 49 matches and win virtually every major trophy on offer. And he's a great ambassador for the game. Pedro Pinto is a CNN sports correspondent based in London.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Player of the Year for 2008 in Zurich, Monday . CNN's Pedro Pinto says he is not shown enough respect by media . Pinto: "Ronaldo is a great ambassador for the game"

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(CNN) -- Real Madrid have failed in ar bid to overturn UEFA's ruling denying them the right to register both Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra to play in the Champions League knockout stages. Real must decide whether to register Huntelaar, above, or Diarra for the Champions League KO stage. UEFA's appeals body made the decision on Tuesday after Madrid challenged the original ruling made by European football's governing body last week. Regulations specify that clubs can only register one player who has already played in Europe that season to represent them in the latter stages of the Champions League or UEFA Cup the same campaign. Both Diarra and Huntelaar had played in the UEFA Cup this season, for Premier League Portsmouth and Dutch club Ajax respectively, prior to joining Madrid earlier this month. Madrid claimed they had a "different interpretation" of the rule, but both the Spanish club's initial request and subsequent appeal have now been thrown out. A statement confirmed: "UEFA's Appeals Body today upheld the decision taken by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on 8 January, in accordance with article 17.18 of the [UEFA Champions League] competition regulations. "They rejected an appeal by Real Madrid CF in relation to the Spanish club's request to be able to register two players who have already competed in UEFA competition this season, as part of their A-list squad for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League." Madrid must now decide whether to accept the finding or pursue the issue further at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Real Madrid fail in their bid to overturn UEFA ruling regarding player eligibility . Real wanted to register newcomers Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra . UEFA say only one player per club can appear for two sides in same season .

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(CNN) -- Game show host and comedian Howie Mandel's irregular heartbeat scare is over, his publicist said Tuesday. Howie Mandel had an irregular heartbeat, but he did not have a heart attack, his publicist said. "Howie has been released from the hospital and will be back at work tomorrow," said Lewis Kay. "He appreciates everyone's concern." Mandel, 53, checked into a Toronto hospital Monday so doctors could monitor his condition, Kay said. He was in Toronto, filming segments for a new show "Howie Do It." The hour-long prank show debuted on NBC Friday. Mandel is the host of the American version of the game show "Deal or No Deal," which has brought huge ratings for NBC.

NEW: Howie Mandel released from Toronto hospital . Host of "Deal or No Deal" had been admitted with irregular heartbeat . Comedian was in Toronto, Canada, filming segments for a new show, "Howie Do It"

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(CNN) -- Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has been ruled out for a minimum of three weeks after suffering a foot injury during the 3-0 Premier League win over title rivals Chelsea. France defender Patrice Evra will be out for a minimum of three weeks after hurting ankle ligaments. It was Evra's first game back after a four-match suspension imposed by the Football Association for his involvement in a post-match fracas involving groundstaff at Stamford Bridge last season. The French left-back was hurt after firing over a cross for Wayne Rooney's goal and now faces another spell on the sidelines as United chase trophies on four fronts. Evra suffered ligament damage and manager Alex Ferguson said: "He will be out for three weeks minimum and maybe four. It shouldn't be any more than that. "He just went over on his foot and has done the little ligament in his foot, so we need to get the swelling down and that will take about 7-10 days." Evra sits out Wednesday's Premier League clash with Wigan, the trip to Bolton three days later and next week's League Cup semifinal return at home to Derby when United will be expecting to overturn a 1-0 deficit. Central defender Rio Ferdinand remains on the sidelines for at least another week although a scan on his back problem confirmed there is no long-term damage. Ferdinand, out for a month, needs more rest and Jonny Evans will continue in central defense with Wes Brown still two weeks away from a comeback after ankle surgery. Ferguson hopes Ferdinand will be back for the televised FA Cup fourth round home clash against Tottenham on Saturday January 24.

Manchester Utd defender Patrice Evra sidelined for minimum of three weeks . Frenchman hurt ankle ligaments during 3-0 Premier League win over Chelsea . England defender Rio Ferdinand is out for another week with a back problem .

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(CNN) -- South Africa inflicted the first home series defeat on Australia in almost 16 years as they wrapped up a nine-wicket win over the world's number one ranked Test nation in Melbourne on Tuesday. South African captain Graeme Smith led from the front with 75 as his team wrapped up victory. Captain Graeme Smith hit a fluent 75 as his side successfully passed a modest victory target of 183 on the final day at the MCG to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. It was the South African's first-ever Test series triumph in Australia and victory in the third and final match in Sydney will see them leapfrog the home side at the top of the global rankings. Hashim Amla (30 not out) scored the winning runs shortly after lunch as South Africa became the first team to overcome Australia at home since the West Indies in 1992-93. South Africa were never under any pressure in their run chase and did not lose a wicket until just before lunch when the inspirational Smith was trapped leg before wicket by Nathan Hauritz. Smith had dominated a 121-run opening stand with Neil McKenzie, hitting 10 boundaries. McKenzie struggled to a half century and survived strong lbw shouts from Brett Lee, who was bowling despite an injured foot that will keep him out of the Sydney Test. South Africa's victory was set up by a brilliant maiden Test century from JP Duminy, who shared a stunning 180-run ninth wicket partnership with pace bowler Dale Steyn. It gave the tourists a priceless 65-run lead on first innings before man of the match Steyn worked his magic with the ball as Australia were bowled out on the fourth day for 247 in their second innings. The pugnacious Smith was virtually lost for words in his victory speech. "It has been such a special moment for all of us, it has been an incredible team effort," he said. "I have been smiling non-stop since we hit the winning runs. "To be 2-0 up after this game was something we only dreamt of." South Africa won the first Test in Perth from an unlikely position, chasing 414 for victory for the loss of only four wickets.

South Africa beat Australia by nine wickets in second Test in Melbourne . Victory gives the South Africans an unassailable 2-0 lead in their series . South Africa won first Test of the series in Perth by six wickets .

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(CNN) -- Anyone who doubts Roland Burris' qualifications to serve as the next senator from Illinois may want to head to Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery. Roland Burris has erected a mausoleum listing his accompishments in Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery. There, Burris, whom embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate on Tuesday, has erected a granite mausoleum listing his many accomplishments. Under the seal of the state of Illinois and the words "Trail Blazer," Burris, 71, has listed his many firsts in granite, including being the state's first African-American attorney general and the state's first African-American comptroller. The memorial also notes that Burris was the first African-American exchange student to Hamburg University in Germany from Southern Illinois University in 1959. There appears to be enough room to add "U.S. senator" to the memorial, but Burris may never get a chance to serve in Washington. A Senate Democratic aide told CNN on Wednesday that plans were in the works to prevent Burris from being seated in the Senate. After Blagojevich made the surprise move to appoint Obama's successor, Senate Democrats praised Burris but said they could not accept any appointment by Blagojevich after his arrest on corruption charges earlier this month. Federal prosecutors say he conspired to "sell" Obama's Senate seat for campaign donations and other favors.

Roland Burris has erected a mausoleum in Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery . Gov. Rod Blagojevich picked Burris to succeed President-elect Obama in the Senate . Memorial lists firsts, including being the first black attorney general for Illinois .

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(CNN) -- Argentine coach Diego Maradona has urged Carlos Tevez to quit Manchester United at the end of the season and head for Italy. Tevez has been advised by Argentine coach Maradona to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season. Maradona watched United trounce Chelsea 3-0 last weekend at Old Trafford where striker Tevez remained on the bench despite a rousing reception when he went on a touchline warm-up during the game. "I saw the Manchester United match. They won, but did so without Tevez. This situation is not good for him. For sure, certain things are happening which mean his departure is nearing," Maradona told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport. "Italy, and Inter (Milan) in particular, would be great for him. Among other things, the fact that his contract is soon to expire facilitates a change of shirt." Weekend reports claimed that United manager Alex Ferguson has already pinpointed Lyon's French international striker Karim Benzema as his chief summer target. Benzema, whose contract runs until 2013, made his mark against United in a Champions League tie last season when he scored in a first leg tie. He hit the target 20 times as Lyon secured a seventh straining French League title and he has netted five times in this season's Champions League. Lyon are said to be willing to cash in at the right price with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid also monitoring the situation. Media reports said Lyon would want around £40 million (45 million euros) for Benzema while the asking price for Tevez -- he joined United on a two-year loan -- is likely to be around £32 million. Tevez, who hit the headlines during two seasons in Brazil with Corinthians, has struggled to retain a starting place at Old Trafford following his controversial stay at West Ham. He has indicated he would respond positively to any approach from Real Madrid, but is sure to take on board the advice of Maradona who twice led Napoli to the Serie A title after joining the Italian club from Barcelona. Meanwhile, West Ham face a fresh inquiry after the FA and Premier League launched an investigation relating to dealings with Tevez's representatives after the club had initially been fined £5.5m for breaching league rules over third-party agreements. It follows the findings of an arbitration tribunal in favour of Sheffield United and against West Ham last year which decided Tevez should not have been able to play for the Hammers at the end of the 2006-07 season. Premier League West Ham insist that they have nothing to hide.

Diego Maradona urges Carlos Tevez to quit Manchester Utd at end of season . Argentine coach believes striker would be better off joining Italy's Inter Milan . Tevez on bench when Maradona watched United beat Chelsea at the weekend .

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Editor's note: Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst and a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington and at New York University's Center on Law and Security. His most recent book is "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader." Peter Bergen says it's crucial to correctly frame the nature of a war before beginning it. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama and his foreign policy advisers and speechwriters are wrestling with one of the most important speeches of his presidency, his inaugural address. One of their toughest conceptual challenges is how to describe and recast what the Bush administration has consistently termed the "war on terror." The dean of military strategists, Carl von Clausewitz, explains the importance of this decision-making in his treatise "On War": "The first, the supreme, the most decisive act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish...the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into something that is alien to its nature." Clausewitz's excellent advice about the absolute necessity of properly defining the war upon which a nation is about to embark was ignored by Bush administration officials who instead declared an open-ended and ambiguous "war on terror" after the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001. Bush took the nation to war against a tactic, rather than a war against a specific enemy, which was obviously al Qaeda and anyone allied to it. When the United States went to war against the Nazis and the Japanese during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt and his congressional supporters did not declare war against U-boats and kamikaze pilots, but on the Nazi state and Imperial Japan. The war on terror, sometimes known as the "Global War on Terror" or by the clunky acronym GWOT, became the lens through which the Bush administration judged almost all of its foreign policy decisions. That proved to be dangerously counterproductive on several levels. The GWOT framework propelled the Bush administration into its disastrous entanglement in Iraq. It had nothing to do with 9/11 but was launched under the rubric of the war on terror and the erroneous claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The theory was that he might give such weapons to terrorists, including al Qaeda to whom he was supposedly allied, and that he therefore threatened American interests. None of this, of course, turned out to be true. The Bush administration's approach to the war on terror collided badly with another of its doctrines, spreading democracy in the Middle East as a panacea to reduce radicalism. It pushed for elections in the Palestinian territories in which, in early 2006, the more radical Hamas won a resounding victory, propelled to power on a wave of popular revulsion for the incompetence and corruption of the Fatah party that had dominated Palestinian politics since the 1960s. Imprisoned by its war on terror framework, the Bush administration supported Israel in a disastrous war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in the summer of 2006. Hezbollah is not only a terrorist group but is also part of the rickety Lebanese government and runs social welfare services across the country, yet for the Bush administration its involvement in terrorism was all that mattered. As is now widely understood in Israel, the war against Hezbollah was a moral and tactical defeat for the Israeli military and government. Events in the current Israeli incursion in Gaza will determine whether history repeats itself. Under the banner of the war on terror, the Bush administration also tied itself in conceptual knots conflating the threat from al Qaeda with Shiite groups like Hezbollah and the ayatollahs in Iran. In 2006, for instance, President Bush claimed that "the Sunni and Shiite extremist represent different faces of the same threat." In reality, Sunni and Shiite extremists have been killing each other in large numbers for years in countries from Pakistan to Iraq. The groups have differing attitudes toward the United States, which Sunni extremists attacked in 1993 and again on 9/11, while Shiite militants have never done so. So, how to reconceptualize the GWOT? Contrary to a common view among Europeans, who have lived through the bombing campaigns of various nationalist and leftist terror groups for decades, al Qaeda is not just another criminal/terrorist group that can be dealt with by police action and law enforcement alone. After all, a terrorist organization like the Irish Republican Army would call in warnings before its attacks and its single largest massacre killed 29 people. By contrast, al Qaeda has declared war on the United States repeatedly -- as it did for the first time to a Western audience during Osama bin Laden's 1997 interview with CNN. Following that declaration of war, the terror group attacked American embassies, a U.S. warship, the Pentagon and the financial heart of the United States, killing thousands of civilians without warning; acts of war by any standard. Al Qaeda is obviously at war with the United States and so to respond by simply recasting the GWOT as the GPAT, the Global Police Action Against Terrorists, would be foolish and dangerous. What kind of war then should the United States fight against al Qaeda? For that we should learn some lessons from the conceptual errors of the Bush administration. Nine days after 9/11, Bush addressed Congress in a speech watched live by tens of millions of Americans in which he said that al Qaeda followed in the footsteps "of the murderous ideologies of the 20th century...They follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism," implying that the fight against al Qaeda would be similar to World War II or the Cold War. For the Bush administration, painting the conflict in such existential terms had the benefit of casting the president as the heroic reincarnation of Winston Churchill and anyone who had the temerity to question him as the reincarnation of Hitler's arch-appeaser, Neville Chamberlain. But this portrayal of the war on terror was massively overwrought. The Nazis occupied and subjugated most of Europe and instigated a global conflict that killed tens of millions. And when the United States fought the Nazis, the country spent 40 percent of its gross domestic product to do so and fielded millions of soldiers. In his inaugural address, Obama should say that the United States is indeed at "war against al Qaeda and its allies," but that as Roosevelt said in his inaugural address in 1933, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. If Americans are not terrorized by terrorists, then the U.S. has won against them. Al Qaeda and its allies are threats to the United States and Americans living and working overseas, but they are far from all-powerful. Barring an exceptional event like September 11, 2001, in any given year Americans are more likely to die of snake bites or lightning strikes than a terrorist attack. Despite the hyperventilating rhetoric of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda's amateur investigations into weapons of mass destruction do not compare to the very real possibility of nuclear conflagration that we faced during the Cold War. There are relatively few adherents of Binladen-ism in the West today, while there were tens of millions of devotees of communism and fascism. Obama should also make it clear that instead of the Bush formulation of "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists," the Obama administration doctrine will be, "Anyone who is against the terrorists is with us." After all it is only al Qaeda and its several affiliates in countries like Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria and allied groups such as the Taliban that kill U.S. soldiers and civilians and attack American interests around the globe. Everyone else in the world is a potential or actual ally in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates, because those organizations threaten almost every category of institution, government and ethnic grouping. This is the first of two commentaries on the war on terror. Read the second piece, Peter Bergen's commentary on what principles Barack Obama should follow in waging war against al Qaeda and its allies, Friday, January 9 on CNN.com . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bergen.

Peter Bergen: Bush never correctly framed the "global war on terror" He says the president went to war against the tactic of terrorism . Instead, Bergen says, the U.S. should be leading a war vs. al Qaeda . Bergen: al Qaeda is a formidable enemy, but not the equivalent of fascism .

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(CNN) -- He had a 1966 Volkswagen bus, scraggly beard and a penchant for the arts. She had blonde hair and liked the Grateful Dead. That was all they needed. Craig Rutman poses poolside with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir before a 1997 show in Reno, Nevada. "I knew right away she was not like other girls, other girls," muses Mark Goldfarb of Woodstock, New York, quoting the Grateful Dead song, "Scarlet Begonias." On a fateful day 28 years ago, Goldfarb began a shaggy odyssey of love at a Grateful Dead concert when he literally bumped into his future wife, Diane. Over the years, he has been to more than 125 Grateful Dead concerts. The band literally changed his life. Goldfarb, who now makes moccasins for a living, is excited about the Grateful Dead's new tour. The surviving members of the band will be reuniting for 19 shows this year. He went to see them during their last organized tour five years ago. "What was special about the Dead is you had a group of highly talented musicians who were able to get a sense of the audience," Goldfarb said. "When the audience was off, the band would be off. There was a lot of back-and-forth energy." Back in the late '70s and well into the '80s, Goldfarb traveled the West Coast in a Volkswagen van playing music for a belly-dancing troupe at Renaissance festivals. Along the way, he went to Grateful Dead concerts whenever he could. He sent a photo of his now short-haired self to show the "then and now" contrast. Though he lives now in Woodstock, New York, he missed the two large music festivals in his town. A businessman now, Goldfarb says he feels he's grown up in a lot of ways. The old bus is gone, but he dreams of getting another. iReport.com: See the before-and-after contrast of this Deadhead . "I was a huge fan, I still love the music, but like I said times change. Interests change," he says. Readers across the board said the band has stood the test of time because of the personal connection they brought to the music they played. iReport.com: What does the Grateful Dead mean to you? Indeed, the revival has Craig Rutman of Apex, North Carolina, excited to revisit his past. His brother, a caterer, often provided food for the band and this gave Rutman access to members of the band. He has seen more than 200 shows and been backstage to meet the band. He and his young daughter Laura met bandmember Bob Weir poolside in Reno, Nevada, in 1997. Rutman said Weir is always cordial and friendly. "Whether it was backstage or poolside, whenever I saw him, Bobby always took the time with whoever came by to talk, share a joke or sign an autograph," Rutman said. After the pool-side meeting, the Rutmans attended what would be the toddler's first show. iReport.com: See photos poolside with Weir and at the concert later that day . "I sat way in the back of a general admission show to keep her from the crowd and the loud music, but we had a wonderful time nonetheless," Rutman said. Steve Maaske of Omaha, Nebraska, said one of his fondest memories is seeing the band in East Troy, Wisconsin, on the "Wave the flag" tour. He even plans to make the Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado, stops on the current schedule. It's a good year for a new Dead tour, he says. "We have a new 'just off the shelf' president in Barack Obama, some clear optimism for the future of this country, and hey, gas prices for that VW bus are lookin' pretty good about now." iReport.com: See a picture of a colorful Volkswagen bus at the show . Greg Sarafan, 19, of Suffern, New York, last saw the band at a summertime Obama rally at Pennsylvania State University. He's hoping to catch them on tour, and says he was amazed to see the diversity of people interested in the band. "I was sitting next to people that were my father's age and older. It was an interesting experience," he said. Sarafan likes to create works of art inspired by the band and has decorated his car with dancing multi-colored bears. He says the music is timeless, and he learned about it from his parents. iReport.com: See a picture of the tie-dyed fruit falling near the tree . Like his father many years before him, Sarafan as a young man snuck out of the house to see the Grateful Dead perform. Does Dad know? "He does now," responds Sarafan, who says he was in trouble at first, but things slowly changed between father and son. "When I reminded [my father] that he did sneak away to see the Grateful Dead, he kinda didn't care as much," he said. Geoff Feusahrens of Monterey, California, also represents the younger generation of Grateful Dead fans. He was born in 1979 and never got to see the band in its heyday, but likes classic rock and the Grateful Dead in particular. "I like how they are a jam band," says Feusahrens, who has seen the band perform about eight times. "You go to their concerts and you hang out. There's lots of people there and good music and history and I just fell in love with it." He got married October 11, 2008, and decided to have a cake decorated with a Grateful Dead motif. Though the wedding was mostly traditional, he had Deadhead cufflinks and rock-themed tables at the reception. One of the tables had a Dead theme and "Eyes of the World," one of the band's songs, was played. iReport.com: See Feusahrens all gussied up for the occasion . He plans to see the last show on the 2009 tour when it stops nearby in Mountain View and previously saw them perform during the 2004 series. The band figures importantly in his life. Feusahrens and Goldfarb, too, have in common precious love affairs joined together by the Grateful Dead. Perhaps the band's own lyrics from that same song, "Scarlet Begonias," say it best. iReport.com: See Goldfarb's expression of "grateful" feelings about his wife . "Well, I ain't always right but I've never been wrong. Seldom turns out the way it does in a song."

iReport.com: Grateful Dead tributes shared as band plans new tour in 2009 . Mark Goldfarb met his wife at a Dead concert and drove a Volkswagen bus . Craig Rutman has seen more than 200 shows and met the band members . Steve Maaske says now is the perfect time for a tour after the historic election .

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LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday that it may not be able to meet its oil supply obligations in Nigeria after an attack on its major pipeline. Heavily armed Nigerian rebels pose a constant threat to oil pipelines in the country. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a rebel group, said "detonation engineers backed by heavily armed fighters" sabotaged two of Shell's pipelines early Monday. After a helicopter flyover of the area, Shell confirmed that parts of its large Nembe Creek "trunk line" were damaged, company spokeswoman Caroline Wittgen said. The company shut down some production "to limit the amount of crude that will spill into the environment," she said. Hours later, it declared "force majeure," a legal term meaning it could not meet its supply obligations in the region because of the attack. "[Shell] is working hard to repair the line and restore production," Wittgen said. Nigeria is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States, and attacks by rebels have helped fuel the year-long spike in crude oil prices. It's one of many factors pushing up the price of gas in the U.S., where one in every 10 barrels of oil comes from Nigeria. MEND -- the largest rebel group -- has targeted foreign oil companies since 2006. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers, typically releasing them unharmed, sometimes after receiving a ransom payment. MEND hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Its attacks on oil facilities have taken a toll. "Anytime a pipeline is affected, anytime any production gets shut down, you see oil prices jump up one or two dollars a barrel just because there is no slack in the system," said Jim LeCamp, a senior vice president with RBC Wealth Management, which manages assets for wealthy clients worldwide. Exxon and Shell are two of several companies that have been extracting 2 million barrels of oil a day in Nigeria. Recent rebel attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta have cut overall production by roughly 10 percent -- meaning 200,000 fewer barrels of oil on some days. That decrease in production comes at a time of increased demand from oil-hungry regions such as China, Russia and Latin America. "Anytime there's a disruption there, it really affects the system," LeCamp said in a recent interview with CNN.

Shell says it may not be able to meet supply contracts after Nigerian attack . Two of Shell's oil pipelines sabotaged by rebel groups on Monday . Company is working to repair the lines and get production running normally .

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(CNN) -- Russian energy monopoly Gazprom on Wednesday said it would stop natural gas deliveries to Ukraine over a dispute about payments. Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller accused Ukraine of using the issue as "a political bargaining chip." Gazprom chief Alexey Miller said talks with Ukraine have been "unproductive" and accused Ukraine of using the issue as "a political bargaining chip." "The talks with Ukraine haven't brought any concrete result ... Gazprom hasn't received any money from Ukraine as payment for the supplies of Russian gas," Miller said in a statement on the Gazprom Web site. The state-controlled Gazprom said supplies to its other European customers would not be affected by Ukraine's cut-off, which the company said would take place at 10 a.m. Thursday (2 a.m. ET). Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko also assured the European Union that there would be no disruptions in deliveries, the Kiev Post reported. Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko called "for every effort to be made for the earliest possible signature of an agreement with Russia," Yuschenko energy security commissioner, Bohdan Sokolovsky, told the Russian news agency Interfax on Wednesday evening. Watch a report on Gazprom's threats to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine » . It is the second time in three years Gazprom has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. The company made good on its threat on January 1, 2006, but turned the spigots back on a day later. Russia, the world's biggest producer of natural gas, supplies Europe with more than 40 percent of its imports -- mainly via pipelines that cross the former Soviet republic of Ukraine. Ukraine owes Gazprom about $2 billion for past natural gas deliveries. Ukraine's state-controlled energy company, Naftogaz Ukrainy, initially denied it owed the payment to Gazprom, but later retreated from that claim. The Kiev Post reported Tuesday that Naftogaz said it had paid $1.5 billion toward the debt, but Gazprom said it had not received the payment. Also at issue is Gazprom's contract for 2009 deliveries. Gazprom had wanted to more than double Ukraine's payments, but on Wednesday offered a much lesser payment of $250 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. Ukraine, which currently pays about $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, balked at that figure. "We have heard a negative reply to the offers from the Russian side on the favorable terms of gas supply to Ukraine in 2009, and we are getting the impression that there are political forces in Ukraine which have a strong interest in the gas standoff between our two countries," Miller said.

Russian gas giant Gazprom says it will cut gas supply 10 a.m. Thursday (2 a.m. ET) Company says Ukraine owes it about $2 billion for past natural gas deliveries . Gazprom said supplies to other European customers won't be affected by action . Gazprom cut supplies on January 1, 2006, but turned spigots back on a day later .

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(CNN) -- A Louisiana teenager whose 2006 arrest in the racially charged "Jena 6" assault case drew thousands of protesters tried to commit suicide days after a separate arrest last week, a police report says. Mychal Bell was released in September 2007 and later agreed to a plea deal in the beating of a classmate. Mychal Bell, who was arrested last week after allegedly stealing clothes worth $370 from a department store, told investigators he shot himself Monday evening "because he was tired of all the media attention," the report says. The high school senior's mother and his grandmother also told an investigator that he'd indicated "he did not feel like he could live anymore" because of media coverage of the shoplifting allegations, according to the report. Earlier, Bell's attorney, Carol Powell-Lexing, told CNN that Bell's family told her he'd accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun. According to the police report, however, an officer responded to a 911 call from his grandmother's Monroe, Louisiana, home, where Bell lives. The grandmother, Rosie Simmons, told the officer that she had hidden the gun after the shooting "for Mychal's safety so he did not try to shot [sic] himself again," according to the report. Bell, 18, suffered a wound to the upper right chest, the report says. Powell-Lexing told CNN that Bell had surgery Monday night, and Monroe police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten said the wound was not life-threatening. Bell was being treated Tuesday at a hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. In December 2006, Bell was one of a half-dozen black teenagers who faced felony charges in the beating of a white classmate in the town of Jena, Louisiana, an incident that followed months of racial tensions in the community of about 3,000 people. The case of the "Jena 6" drew national attention from civil rights groups that said the charges were excessive, and an estimated 15,000-plus people turned out for a September 2007 rally in Jena on the youths' behalf. Bell eventually pleaded guilty to battery in a juvenile court and later moved to Monroe, about 70 miles north of Jena. On Christmas Eve, Bell was arrested at the Pecanland Mall in Monroe and charged with shoplifting, simple battery and resisting arrest, Monroe Police Lt. Jeff Davis said Tuesday. Bell was released on $1,300 bond, and the case was assigned to city court. Watch CNN's Sean Callebs report on the case » . On Monday, Simmons and Bell's mother, Melissa Bell, told investigators they heard a gunshot from the teenager's room and found him on the bed, according to the police report. "Rosie and M. Bell stated Mychal had made comments over the past two days that because of the current media attention he had because of a shoplifting arrest he did not feel like he could live anymore," the police report says. Monroe police Lt. Jeff Harris said investigators do not know whose gun Bell used. Bell's Christmas Eve arrest came after security guards at the shopping center were told Bell and a male friend were seen stuffing clothing into a bag in a menswear section of Dillard's, according to the investigative report. Once spotted, the men split up, police said. Bell, chased by security guards, ran from the store to a parking lot, where he tried to hide under a car, Davis said. As a store security officer tried to pull Bell out, "Bell swung his arms wildly" and hit the guard with his elbow, the report says. Davis said the guard was hit in the face. Bell admitted to the thefts, which police said included four shirts and a pair of jeans, Davis said. The merchandise was photographed by store security and returned to stock, he added. Bell was taken to jail and booked. Davis said the second man escaped. Powell-Lexing told CNN her client went to the mall with someone to return a shirt, for which he had a receipt. The person with Bell did the shoplifting, and Bell was caught in the middle, the attorney said. Powell-Lexing said Bell has been trying to stay out of trouble since the Jena arrest, and that he has been on the verge of getting a college football scholarship. Bell attends a Monroe high school, but has not been allowed to play high school football since his arrest in Jena, where he was a running back. In April, after his move to Monroe, Bell told CNN that he wanted to keep his life on the straight and narrow in part because of the support he received during the Jena case. "I feel like [after] all the people came down and supported me [and] gave money to the defense fund, I feel like ... if I would do something now, I would let the whole country down," he said. CNN's Sean Callebs and CNN Radio's Amanda Moyer contributed to this report.

Police report: Mychal Bell shot himself because he's tired of media attention . Bell was arrested last week on suspicion of shoplifting . He is accused of stealing clothes worth $370 from a department store . Bell was a defendant in the racially charged case in Louisiana .

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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A British soldier was killed on New Year's Day by an explosion in southern Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Friday. A British unit on patrol in Helmand province's Garmsir district, where another soldier has died. The soldier, who served with the 6th Battalion The Rifles, had been taking part in a routine patrol in the Garmsir district of Helmand province when he was killed, the ministry said. "It is deeply saddening to confirm the loss of a British soldier who died while helping to provide security in southern Helmand," said Commander Paula Rowe, a spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand. "His family, friends and all those who knew and worked with him will mourn his loss -- our heartfelt sympathies go to them all at this terrible time." Britain suffered its worst year of losses in Afghanistan in 2008, with 51 British troops killed. It was more than in any other year since the mission began in October 2001, the defense ministry said.

British soldier killed on New Year's Day by blast in Afghanistan . Soldier served with the 6th Battalion The Rifles in Helmand province . He was on patrol in Garmsir district when he was killed .

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(CNN) -- The Kellogg Co. announced Wednesday it is recommending that consumers not eat its peanut butter crackers because they may be tainted with salmonella. Salmonella bacteria are transmitted to humans by eating contaminated foods. The products affected are Austin- and Keebler-branded: . -- Toasted peanut butter sandwich crackers. -- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers. -- Cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers. -- Peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers. The Michigan-based maker of cereals and snacks posted the recommendation in a statement on its Web site. Peanut butter produced by Peanut Corporation of America, one of several peanut butter suppliers to the company, has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has affected at least 434 people in 43 states, federal health officials said Wednesday. "Kellogg Company's investigation has not indicated any concerns, nor has the company received any consumer illness complaints about these products," the Kellogg statement said. "Nonetheless, Kellogg Company is taking precautionary measures including putting a hold on any inventory in its control, removing product from retail store shelves, and encouraging customers and consumers to hold and not eat these products until regulatory officials complete their investigation of PCA and Kellogg provides further information as to the resolution of this issue." All of the company's peanut-butter crackers are made at its bakery in Cary, North Carolina, said spokeswoman Kris Charles. Though consumers are urged "to hold the product until we have more information," Charles recommended anyone seeking a refund call 888.314.2060 for details about how to get one.

Some types of Austin- and Keebler-branded sandwich crackers affected . One of its peanut butter suppliers has been linked to outbreak of salmonella . Kellogg says warning is strictly precautionary; no incidents of illness reported . Outbreak of salmonella poisoning has affected at least 434 people in 43 states .

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OAKLAND, California (CNN) -- A former police officer for the Bay Area transit system pleaded not guilty Thursday in the New Year's Day shooting of a passenger at an Oakland rail station. Former transit officer Johannes Mehserle is charged with homicide in the death of Oscar Grant III. Johannes Mehserle, 27, appeared in a packed Alameda County courtroom, with his supporters separated by a courtroom aisle from relatives of shooting victim Oscar Grant III and other spectators. Mehserle is charged with shooting Grant, 22, in an incident that spurred violent protests in Oakland after being captured on video. Mehserle resigned his job as a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer days after the shooting, and he was arrested in Nevada earlier this week. Thursday's proceedings took less than five minutes, with Mehserle appearing behind heavy windows in an enclosure out of view of all but a handful of spectators. Superior Court Judge Robert McGuinness ordered the ex-officer held until his next hearing, scheduled for January 26. BART police had been called to Oakland's Fruitvale station January 1 after passengers complained about fights on a train. Officers pulled several men, including Grant, off the train when it arrived at Fruitvale, and video taken by witnesses showed Mehserle shooting Grant in the back as another officer kneeled on the man. Investigators have not said whether Grant was involved in the fight. The shooting spawned public outrage and a string of protests that led to more than 100 riot-related arrests. Watch some of the recent rioting in Oakland, California » . Thursday's proceedings drew an overflow crowd to the courthouse, with some would-be spectators grumbling that they could not get into the hearing. Vicki Behringer contributed to this report for CNN.

Ex-cop Johannes Mehserle appears in packed Alameda County courtroom . Supporters separated by aisle from relatives of shooting victim Oscar Grant III . Mehserle was arrested in Nevada earlier this week . Grant's death spawned public outrage and a string of protests .

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(CNN) -- A 75th minute strike by striker Graziano Pelle gave AZ Alkmaar a 1-0 home win over NEC Nijmegen on Sunday to leave his side top of the Dutch standings. Italian star Pelle scored the winner to keep AZ on top heading into the Dutch break. The Italian's decisive goal means Louis van Gaal's men will head into 2009 with a three-point lead over Ajax Amsterdam after 17 rounds. The Eredivisie is set to resume on January 16 after a three-week break. Earlier, Dario Cvitanich scored a hat-trick as Ajax beat ADO Den Haag 3-0 to temporarily draw level on points with the leaders. But AZ, who are unbeaten in 15 games, then saw off Nijmegen, who had also been on a fine 14-game unbeaten run. AZ have 41 points, with Ajax on 38. Steve McClaren's FC Twente are in third place, seven points adrift of AZ, after holding defending champions PSV Eindhoven to a goalless draw on Saturday. PSV are fourth with 30 points and looking set to relinquish their league title. On Friday, Feyenoord snapped a run of three successive losses by beating NAC Breda 3-1, but the struggling Rotterdam giants are in 12th spot.

AZ Alkmaar beat NEC Nijmegen 1-0 in Dutch league game on Sunday . Alkmaar on top by three points from Ajax heading into midwinter break . Former Lecce striker Graziano Pelle scores crucial winner for AZ .

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NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Pirates holding a Saudi-owned oil supertanker off the coast of Somalia have set the vessel free after receiving a ransom payment, a piracy monitor in neighboring Kenya and the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet said Saturday. A small aircraft drops a ransom payment during a flight over the Sirius Star on Friday. "The supertanker VLCC Sirius Star is currently under way to safe waters," Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya Seafarers Association said in an e-mail. Mwangura said all 23 crew members of the Sirius Star, the largest ship ever hijacked by pirates, are safe and in good health. They are citizens of Croatia, Great Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. "Anytime a ship is released, it is positive news," said Cmdr. Jane Campbell of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. "But too many people see it as a ship and its cargo being released. When merchant mariners are released, it is always good news." The ship is a VLCC, or "very large crude carrier." According to the Fifth Fleet, the tanker is more than three times the size of a U.S. navy aircraft carrier. Pirates seized the supertanker November 15. The tanker was carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth about $100 million. The Liberian-flagged tanker is owned by Vela International Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian-based Saudi Aramco. Saleh K'aki, president and CEO of Vela International, said in a statement, "We are very relieved to know that all crew members are safe and I am glad to say that they are all in good health and high spirits. This has been a very trying time for them and certainly for their families. We are very happy to report to their families that they will be on their way home soon." Mwangura said it would have been a "disaster" if the pirates had fired guns aboard the ship, harming the cargo or igniting a fire. "The capture of the Sirius Star raised the specter of an environmental disaster should the hijackers decide to turn the ship into a weapon or foreign navies attempt to release it by force," he said. The pirates had been expected to release the supertanker after receiving the ransom payment Friday, but four pirates drowned after their skiff capsized in rough seas while they were leaving the Sirius Star, according to a journalist who spoke to one of the pirates on board. Watch ransom being parachuted to ship » . There were five pirates in the skiff and one survived, the journalist said. The bodies of the other four were recovered, he said. The pirates told another journalist they received $3 million in ransom money but lost part of it when the skiff capsized. "Initially, the gunmen were demanding $25 million for its release but the latest reports indicate that the demand had been lowered to below $3.5 million," Mwangura said. Meanwhile, pirates also have released the MV Delight, an Iranian chartered ship carrying wheat from Germany, Mwangura said. It was captured in November. Details were not immediately available. Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden. Dozens of ships have been attacked in the gulf by pirates based in a largely lawless Somalia in recent months. See how pirate attacks are on the rise » . Campbell said the number of attacks may have gone up in recent months, but the number of successful hijackings has gone down. She attributed that to measures taken by merchant ships, such as vigilant keeping of watch and evasive ship maneuvers, and the increased naval presence in the at-risk areas. Campbell stressed, however, that they are only preventive measures. "Piracy is a problem that starts on the shore," she said. "The international community needs to address the situation on the ground in Somalia." CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report.

NEW: Second hijacked ship also released . Pirates release Saudi-owned oil supertanker after receiving ransom . All crew members on Sirius Star are safe, according to piracy monitor . Four pirates drowned, some ransom lost after skiff capsized in rough seas .

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Editor's note: For 85 years, Yankee Stadium has hosted some of the greatest moments in sports. On Sunday, the Yankees will play their last game before the stadium is torn down. Former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton played on the 1963 American League All-Star team and in two World Series. He wrote the classic baseball book, "Ball Four," named as one of the "Books of the Century" by the New York Public Library, and has been a sportscaster and actor. For Bouton's web site, click here . Jim Bouton was photographed as a rookie in 1962 at Yankee Stadium, before the renovation of the ballpark. EGREMONT, Massachusetts (CNN) -- I'll never forget my first day in The House that Ruth Built: April 9, 1962, the day before opening day. I made the team that spring as a non-roster player, having pitched in the Texas League (AA) the year before. And I had just turned 23. The Yankees had scheduled an afternoon workout, but I was so excited that I couldn't sleep and I drove in from my parents' house in New Jersey at 7 in the morning. After introducing myself to a skeptical guard, he led me down two flights of stairs and through a hallway, where I was greeted by the clubhouse man Pete Sheehy (who died in 1985 and for whom the room is now named). The Yankee clubhouse in 1962 was like a large subterranean living room. A wall-to-wall grayish green carpet muffled all sound, and the overhead lighting was subdued. Three walls of walk-in wood lockers faced a wall of large frosted windows that cast shafts of light from the street above. Everything was painted a muted gray green to match the carpet, including the exposed ductwork in the ceiling above. A cleat-dented wooden stool sat in front of each locker. And hanging in the lockers, with military precision, were the classic Yankee uniforms. "Your locker is right here by the door," said Pete. I couldn't help smiling when I saw Whitey Ford's nameplate just one locker away. I asked Pete if this was the same room that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and all those guys used. He pointed to a locker across the room where he used to bring "a bi-carb and coffee" each day to the Babe. Pete returned to his duties and I touched my uniform reverently. With no one around, I decided to try it on. Perfect fit. I adjusted my hat in a mirror. That looked good, too. iReport.com: Share your memories of Yankee Stadium . Then I grabbed my glove and went out to the field -- you know, just to get oriented. After sitting in the dugout a few minutes, I trotted out to the mound. Looking up at the three tiers of stands was like being in the Roman Coliseum. Of course, I had to toe the rubber and look in for the sign. Fortunately, at that hour of the morning, it was just me and the pigeons. What would it be like to pitch there when the stands were filled with people? My big chance came on May 7, 1962, in the second game of a double-header against the Washington Senators, in front of a real crowd that included my Mom and Dad, my brothers and a whole bunch of neighbors from New Jersey. I was thrilled and scared at the same time -- maybe a little more on the scared side. I walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Then I fell behind 3 and 1 on the fourth hitter. My next pitch was a little bit high and manager Ralph Houk stepped out of the dugout - either to calm me down or remove me from the premises. But the umpire, bless him, called it a strike and Houk stepped back into the dugout. The inning seemed to last forever, but I finally got out of it and ended up pitching a complete game shutout. Maybe the worst shutout in history - 7 walks and 7 hits. After the game Houk said to me, "any more shutouts like that and we're going to need a new bullpen." The best part was when I walked into the clubhouse after the game. I arrived a few minutes late because I'd done a TV interview in the dugout. And when I opened the door, there was a path of white towels leading to my locker -- and Mickey Mantle was laying down the last towel. This is my favorite memory of Yankee Stadium. Unless it was Mantle's 9th inning walk-off home run in '64 World Series that beat the Cardinals 2-1, which also happened to be my first World Series win. After that it was all down hill. In 1968 a sore arm got me traded to the Seattle Pilots for a bag of batting practice balls. That's the year I kept a diary that became Ball Four -- a book that also mentioned Mantle hitting a home run with a hangover -- which got me banned from Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium for 28 years. My eventual return to Yankee Stadium came after my son Michael wrote a letter to the New York Times, saying the Yankees should let bygones be bygones and invite me back. It was such a beautiful letter the Yankees were embarrassed into inviting me. After 28 years, Yankee Stadium was a different place -- a strange and garish place. A makeover in 1973-75, under the new owner George Steinbrenner, added cantilevered stands that destroyed the elegant upper façade, and exterior elevators which spoiled the view of the of the lower facade. Inside, the grayish green carpet was now bright blue and featured a giant Yankee logo. The honest ceiling with its exposed pipes was now a dropped ceiling with stark white tiles. Everything was painted blue and white -- the Yankee colors, get it? Now, instead of restoring the stadium, they're going to tear it down. Raze the clubhouse where Pete Sheehy made coffee for Ruth. Destroy the dugout where Stengel slept. Bulldoze the field where Mantle roamed and level the mound where Larsen pitched the only perfect World Series game. And they're going to build an underground parking garage on the site! This will no doubt be "The Garage that Ruth Built" -- which could produce a reverse "Curse of the Bambino." If you check the current standings, you'll see this may already be happening. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Former Yankee Jim Bouton recalls his debut at Yankee Stadium in the 1960s . Bouton played alongside stars Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford . Bouton: Now the legendary sports venue is going to be torn down .

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(CNN) -- Fred Berretta was aboard US Airways Flight 1549 bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, when he heard a loud bang and the plane shook. The New York Fire Department rescued passengers from the downed plane in the Hudson River. "We were still on ascent, and the engine blew out," he said. "The pilot turned around and made a line for the river." Passenger Alberto Panero said that immediately, he smelled smoke. "All of a sudden, the captain came on and said brace for a landing, and that's when we knew we were going down," he said. The Airbus A320, carrying Panero and more than 150 other passengers and crew, crash-landed in the Hudson River on Thursday after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York. Watch Jeff Kolodjay describe the crash » . A New Jersey State Police source told CNN the pilot radioed to air traffic controllers that he had experienced a bird strike and declared an emergency. "We knew there wasn't a lot of time because we were quite close to the ground, and it felt as though the descent was somewhat rapid," said Berretta, who said he was sitting in seat 16A. Watch Berretta describe the landing » . As the plane headed down toward the river, the cabin was mostly silent, he said. "After he told us prepare for impact, it was pretty evident we were not going to make the runway." At first, it felt like the plane was gliding, Berretta said, as if no engines were working. "People started praying, and there was a lot of silence, and the realization that we were going in was really hard to take in at that moment," he said. As the plane started to go down, some passengers shouted to those in exit rows to be prepared to quickly open the doors. Berretta spent that time contemplating the chances of surviving a water crash. "I think that [it] certainly went through my mind that this probably very much could be it," he said. Then the plane hit the water. Panero said the impact felt like a car crash. Some said that as the plane hit, there were extremely loud noises. "The plane was jockeying about, spinning a bit," Berretta said. "Then all of a sudden, it was 'Get out, get out now,' " Panero said. Jeff Kolodjay was sitting in seat 22A right next to the engine believed to have caused the plane to go down. "The plane started filling with water pretty quick," he said. "It was scary. There was a lady with her baby on my left-hand shoulder, and she was crawling over the seats." Upon impact, passengers left behind their coats and luggage. They grabbed life vests and seat cushions and headed toward the exits. "It seemed like it lasted an eternity," Berretta said. When the plane began to sink, some passengers began to panic, Panero said. Watch Panero describe what he saw and heard » . "But there was a couple of people who kind of took charge and just started yelling to calm down, just to get everybody out," he said. "Once people realized that we were going to be OK, everybody kind of calmed down and just tried to get out of the plane to safety." Passengers began to group themselves on the wings to stay out of the frigid water. When they were safely out of the plane, Berretta said, there was one more moment of fear. "Our raft was tethered to the plane, and we worried we might go down with the plane," he said. "But we were able to get a knife off a rescue boat and cut the tether." More than anything, passengers wanted to thank the crew. As Berretta exited the plane, he said that besides a few passengers remaining, the crew and pilot stayed behind to make sure everyone was out. "I think the pilot, he did a great job," Berretta said. "I think it was as good of a landing as you can make in a river."

NEW: People were praying, telling exit row passengers to get ready to open doors . Plane passengers say pilot told them to "brace for a landing" Jeff Kolodjay: "The plane started filling with water pretty quick" Woman with baby tried to climb over seats to get out .

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LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday that it may not be able to meet its oil supply obligations in Nigeria after an attack on its major pipeline. Heavily armed Nigerian rebels pose a constant threat to oil pipelines in the country. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a rebel group, said "detonation engineers backed by heavily armed fighters" sabotaged two of Shell's pipelines early Monday. After a helicopter flyover of the area, Shell confirmed that parts of its large Nembe Creek "trunk line" were damaged, company spokeswoman Caroline Wittgen said. The company shut down some production "to limit the amount of crude that will spill into the environment," she said. Hours later, it declared "force majeure," a legal term meaning it could not meet its supply obligations in the region because of the attack. "[Shell] is working hard to repair the line and restore production," Wittgen said. Nigeria is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States, and attacks by rebels have helped fuel the year-long spike in crude oil prices. It's one of many factors pushing up the price of gas in the U.S., where one in every 10 barrels of oil comes from Nigeria. MEND -- the largest rebel group -- has targeted foreign oil companies since 2006. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers, typically releasing them unharmed, sometimes after receiving a ransom payment. MEND hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Its attacks on oil facilities have taken a toll. "Anytime a pipeline is affected, anytime any production gets shut down, you see oil prices jump up one or two dollars a barrel just because there is no slack in the system," said Jim LeCamp, a senior vice president with RBC Wealth Management, which manages assets for wealthy clients worldwide. Exxon and Shell are two of several companies that have been extracting 2 million barrels of oil a day in Nigeria. Recent rebel attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta have cut overall production by roughly 10 percent -- meaning 200,000 fewer barrels of oil on some days. That decrease in production comes at a time of increased demand from oil-hungry regions such as China, Russia and Latin America. "Anytime there's a disruption there, it really affects the system," LeCamp said in a recent interview with CNN.

Shell says it may not be able to meet supply contracts after Nigerian attack . Two of Shell's oil pipelines sabotaged by rebel groups on Monday . Company is working to repair the lines and get production running normally .

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(CNN) -- In style and substance, Barack Obama is looking like he could be a different president than the candidate voters got to know during the campaign. Barack Obama has taken on a more somber tone as he prepares to take office. His message of changing the country has been replaced by one of repairing the country as he inherits crises that demand immediate action. "I want to be realistic here," Obama said in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped." During the campaign, Obama stressed fixing the economy as one of his top priorities, but his recent language has taken on an urgent tone. Obama painted a dire picture of the economy last week, warning that if Congress does not take "dramatic action" on his economic aid package as soon as possible, the nation would face devastating long-term consequences. "For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse," he said. It's a far cry from what voters heard from Obama the Democratic candidate, who inspired roaring crowds of thousands by telling them, "This is our moment. This is our time." But with the economy in a recession and people afraid for their financial future, Obama's soaring campaign rhetoric has given way to grim reality. And as if the economic crisis weren't enough, Obama has an international crisis awaiting him as well. The president-elect said Sunday that the suffering on both sides of Gaza's borders has led him to ramp up his commitment to working for a peace deal in the Middle East. These urgent items on Obama's agenda are forcing his team to reconsider some campaign pledges. Just as soon as he went from presidential hopeful to president-elect, Obama warned the nation of tough times ahead and lowered expectations that he would be the one to solve it all. Watch more on the expectations for Obama » . "We know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century," he said on the night of his election victory. "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there," he said. He told voters that change couldn't happen without them, "without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice." He reiterated that same message this weekend, explaining what it's going to take to reform the government. "Everybody is going to have to give. Everybody is going to have to have some skin in the game," Obama told ABC. iReport.com: What should Obama do first? Some of the pledges Obama might have to rethink include his proposal to give some homeowners a 10 percent tax credit, an idea that has little support in Congress. During the campaign, Obama also told voters, "I don't believe in running up debt for the next generation." But just last week, he acknowledged that the cost of the economic recovery plan he is pushing would be "considerable" and would "certainly add to the budget deficit in the short term." Obama has not put a price tag on his stimulus package, but observers have estimated it would cost in the neighborhood of $800 billion. Obama also has proposed repealing the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy, but now it's more likely that the president-elect will delay any tax increases on the wealthy until 2011, when the tax cuts expire. Some of the maneuvering is aimed at attracting Republican support for the incoming president's recovery plan, but that could set up an early battle in the now heavily Democratic Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, is adamant about seeing those tax cuts repealed. iReport.com: What does Obama's presidency mean to you? Obama says everyone will have to sacrifice, and that includes Congress, too. Some political observers say the economic crisis that Obama is inheriting is raising the stakes to get a move on his recovery plan -- even if Congress isn't 100 percent behind it. "This strengthens Barack Obama's hand with the Congress and with the public. It's so urgent, that it's going to be very, very hard, I think, for people who don't like parts of this package to vote against it," said David Gergen, CNN's senior political analyst. And while the public is well aware of the economic battle ahead, Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins said Obama has little time to wait. "You've got to have results," Rollins said, "He doesn't have four years to get it done. He has two years. If there's not improvements dramatically in two years, you have a midterm election, and certainly by the second part of this first term, this economy better be moving." CNN's Jim Acosta, Kristi Keck and Christine Romans contributed to this report .

Obama says not all of his campaign promises will happen at pace he wanted . President-elect's tone has become more somber as he prepares to take office . Obama says, "Everybody is going to have to give" to get things back on track . President-elect's priority is getting his economic recovery package passed .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There was no shortage of superstars in Washington this week, including the middle school students of Atlanta, Georgia's Ron Clark Academy. Ron Clark Academy students singing their newest song, "Dear Obama," in Washington this week. "There are those Obama kids!" "Those are the kids from TV!" "Sing for us!" The middle schoolers' ode to the political process, "You Can Vote However You Like," set to the tune of rapper T.I.'s "Whatever You Like," has garnered exhilarating fame nationwide. Invited to perform at inauguration events, the boys and girls were stopped along every block in the capital by people who asked them to sing and pose for a picture. "I have a sleepy energy," sixth-grader Kennedy Guest Pritchett said. "I feed off of the crowd and their cheers." The students' new song, "Dear Obama," which they have performed this week, offers advice to the president on energy, taxes, financial regulation and al Qaeda and urges him to "control Ahmadinejad." "Dear Obama hear us sing/We're ready for the change that you will bring/Gonna shine the light for the world to see/to spread peace hope and democracy. ... Fight for health care for the young so that coverage is available to everyone/It's time to find a renewable way to fuel our needs so we don't end up depending on Chavez and the Middle East." Watch the students sing "Dear Obama" » . The kids will perform Tuesday at the Africa and International Friends Inaugural Ball, sharing a stage with Usher and Patti LaBelle, one of many events in their packed schedule highlighted by a luncheon gala Monday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "I want to do good every song we perform. When the crowd cheers, I feel like we did a good job," said Willie Thornton, a seventh-grader. "I feel a lot of adrenaline afterwards." The students have met the Kenyan Boys Choir, who told their American counterparts what kind of animals they might see when the Ron Clark students travel to Kenya on a school trip in June. At another luncheon, the sixth- and seventh-graders were thrilled to catch a glimpse of actor Ed Norton, the man who played the Incredible Hulk. But he didn't compare to singer Beyonce, who closed Sunday's star-studded Lincoln Memorial concert and drew giggles and shouts. The kids gained notoriety just before the election when they appeared on CNN, singing "You Can Vote However You Like." They became media favorites overnight, appearing on several networks and shows. Dressed neatly in their school uniform of khaki pants, light blue shirts and navy blue blazers, they discussed the Iraq war, the economy and taxes with the composure of adults. Their teacher, Ron Clark, known for his innovation, has used pop music to teach his students. He once changed the words of Rihanna's infectious hit "Umbrella" to teach geography. "You have to give students something they can identify with, something that catches their enthusiasm and spirit," he said. "I'm so proud of them all. They've taught me a lot." Before founding his school in the rough neighborhood of South Atlanta, Clark taught in Harlem, where he penned "The Essential 55," a rule-book for educators that caught Oprah Winfrey's eye. She talked about it on her show, and it soon became a New York Times bestseller. This past Christmas, Clark received another gift from the talk show host: $365,000. Winfrey donated $1,000 for each day of the year. Clark has said that the money will help provide scholarships for a year. The teacher said he plans to incorporate Barack Obama's inauguration into lessons throughout the rest of the school year. "Our school is about politics and world issues and helping the kids understand that they have an important role in all of that," he said. CNN's John Murgatroyd and Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.

Singing Atlanta schoolkids perform at inauguration festivities . "I have a sleepy energy," one 6th-grader says of the group's packed schedule . Ron Clark Academy singers gained fame for their "Vote However You Like" song . They have written another song, "Dear Obama," which offers advice to the president .

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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A British soldier was killed on New Year's Day by an explosion in southern Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Friday. A British unit on patrol in Helmand province's Garmsir district, where another soldier has died. The soldier, who served with the 6th Battalion The Rifles, had been taking part in a routine patrol in the Garmsir district of Helmand province when he was killed, the ministry said. "It is deeply saddening to confirm the loss of a British soldier who died while helping to provide security in southern Helmand," said Commander Paula Rowe, a spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand. "His family, friends and all those who knew and worked with him will mourn his loss -- our heartfelt sympathies go to them all at this terrible time." Britain suffered its worst year of losses in Afghanistan in 2008, with 51 British troops killed. It was more than in any other year since the mission began in October 2001, the defense ministry said.

British soldier killed on New Year's Day by blast in Afghanistan . Soldier served with the 6th Battalion The Rifles in Helmand province . He was on patrol in Garmsir district when he was killed .

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(CNN) -- Authorities investigating the case of a boy who disappeared in Kansas almost a decade ago plan to search an undisclosed residence Wednesday, the Butler County sheriff said. An age-progression photo shows what Adam Herrman would like today, as a 21-year-old man. Sheriff Craig Murphy would not disclose details about the residence or why authorities want to search it. He said his department will also search on an area of the Whitewater River, in southern Kansas, on Saturday near where Adam Herrman was last seen. Adam was 11 when he went missing in 1999. He was living in a mobile home park in Towanda, a town about 25 miles northeast of Wichita, with his adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, authorities said. Wichita attorney Warner Eisenbise, who is representing Adam's adoptive parents, said the couple believed Adam had run away and didn't report him missing. They "really rue the fact that they didn't" report him missing, he said Monday. A few weeks ago, an undisclosed person contacted the Wichita-Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit, expressing concern about Adam, the sheriff said. The Herrmans told Eisenbise that Adam ran away frequently, the attorney said, and they believed he was either with his biological parents or homeless. Although the Herrmans did not report him missing, "they were very worried about him," Eisenbise said. In an interview published Tuesday in The Wichita Eagle, Valerie Herrman said Adam ran away in May 1999 after she spanked him with a belt. She said she was upset but doesn't remember why, The Eagle reported. The couple never reported Adam missing, Valerie Herrman told the paper, because they feared authorities would take Adam and his siblings away because of the spanking. The couple adopted his two younger siblings as well, according to The Eagle. "We love him, and we made a terrible mistake" by not reporting him missing, Doug Herrman told The Eagle. The couple said they searched the mobile home park and other areas for two days after Adam left. "Then we came to the conclusion that the police probably have him, and they're coming to us, probably to get us in trouble," Doug Herrman told the newspaper, but the "police never came." Authorities have searched an empty lot in the Pine Ridge Mobile Home Park where the family lived. There, police found an "answer" to one of their questions, Murphy said Monday without elaborating. Eisenbise said that on December 15, authorities also searched the Herrmans' homes in Derby, outside of Wichita, and took the couple's computer, he said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has released an age-progression picture that depicts Adam as he might appear now: a young man with blue eyes and light-colored hair. Adam had been placed in the Herrmans' care when he was about 2, Murphy said Monday. He had been named Irvin Groeninger III when he was born June 8, 1987, Murphy said, and it was not clear when his name was changed. His biological parents relinquished their rights as parents about two decades ago, and Adam and his siblings were put in foster homes, CNN affiliate KWCH reported. "I thought what I was doing for them was in the best interest of the children, and evidently it wasn't," Irvin Groeninger, Adam's biological father, told KWCH. "If he was still in my custody, this would have never happened." Adam's sister, Tiffany Broadfoot, 22, said she had last seen her brother about 14 years ago at a birthday party. "He had the cutest little round face, little-bitty freckles right up here on the tip of his cheek," she told the station. CNN's Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report.

Sheriff says his officers will search area near Whitewater River on Saturday . Attorney says parents "rue the fact" they didn't report him missing . Adam Herrman reportedly ran away when he was 11, after being spanked . Parents tell paper they thought spanking would lead police to take other kids away .

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BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China has become the world's third-largest economy, surpassing Germany and closing rapidly on Japan, according to government and World Bank figures. Commuters drive along a road in downtown Beijing, China, on Thursday. The Chinese government revised its growth figures for 2007 from 11.9 percent to 13 percent this week, bringing its estimated gross domestic product to $3.4 trillion -- about 3 percent larger than Germany's $3.3 trillion for the same year, based on World Bank estimates. Beijing is expected to release its 2008 GDP figures next week. Although the world's top economies, the United States and Japan, are in recession, the most pessimistic estimates for China's growth in upcoming years runs about 5 percent. That could allow China's GDP to overtake Japan's, currently $4.3 trillion, within a few years. The U.S. economy, the world's largest, was about $13.8 trillion in 2007. The World Bank's estimate of China's economic growth is about 7.5 percent. But China has seen a sharp decline in exports in November and December as other major economies struggle, and the bank's analysts say rates below 6 percent could worsen the rest of the world's slump. Watch how China was able to overtake Germany » . And Michael Santoro, author of the 2008 book "China 2020," said China will have other problems to overcome if it is to maintain its rapid expansion. "It's no longer sufficient for China to become a manufacturer of sneakers or toys and the like," Santoro said. "Now they're looking to become players in the area of pharmaceuticals and foods and other high value-added products, where safety and quality are important characteristics for improving in the global economy." China recently announced a $600 billion economic stimulus package, and its State Council on Wednesday laid out a new plan to boost its steel and auto industries -- including about $1.5 billion to develop alternative-fuel vehicles. CNN's John Vause and Judy Kwon contributed to this report.

China's GDP could overtake Japan's within a few years . World Bank's estimate of China's economic growth is about 7.5 percent . China announced $600 billion economic stimulus package recently .

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GONAIVES, Haiti (CNN) -- Four major storms have raked the desperately poor country of Haiti in the past month, leaving at least 341 people dead. A man carries drinking water through the flooded streets of Gonaives, Haiti, on Monday. Nine of the deaths were attributed to Fay, 79 to Gustav, 183 to Hanna and 70 to Ike, said Abel Nazaire, deputy head of Haiti's Civil Protection Service. The country's fragile infrastructure was overloaded after the storms and officials were concerned that the floodwaters could spread disease, Sophie Boutaud de la Combe, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, said Tuesday. Gonaives, on the west coast, is one of the hardest-hit cities. This week, Gonaives was knee-deep in filthy water and reachable only by water or air, with many of Haiti's bridges destroyed and roads flooded. "My home is destroyed. I have no place to live with my kids. Everything I had just washed away," Roselene Josef told CNN. Watch desperate survivors in Gonaives » . Another survivor said, "The flood washed away everything. I couldn't save anything. They should just move this city. Floods always destroy it." Aid workers warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis as attempts to deliver aid were frustrated by logistical problems. The U.S. Navy's USS Kearsarge arrived in the waters off Haiti on Monday to support the U.S. Agency for International Development's efforts to assist after the devastation. The vessel will help move cargo and equipment between affected cities and will deliver relief supplies, said the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. But Monday, the Kearsarge wasn't able to deliver anything to Gonaives, because the ship's scout helicopters couldn't find a suitable place for supplies to be unloaded, according to The Associated Press. A U.S. Coast Guard ship carrying 35 tons of relief supplies arrived Saturday in Gonaives. The U.S. cutter was preceded by a ship carrying U.N. relief supplies, including 19 tons of high-energy biscuits, 50,000 bottles of water and water purification tablets, which arrived Friday in Gonaives, said Myrta Kaulard of the United Nations' World Food Program. CNN's Karl Penhaul watched as U.N. troops handed out scant supplies of food and water to a long line of Haitians. The line became chaotic, with people fighting over supplies. Watch the devastation Penhaul found in Haiti » . Hundreds of people had taken shelter in a school. They told Penhaul they had not received relief aid in a week. An official in Gonaives told the AP on Monday that nine people had died in shelters, including two children. It was not clear if they had died of starvation or some other cause, Daniel Dupiton of the region's civil protection department told the AP. When floodwaters were at their highest, some residents camped out on their roofs, their clothing and blankets hung over the sides of buildings. Some people "have lost really everything. ... These are not rich people, these are people who were really struggling [already] against high food prices," Kaulard said. U.S. Navy Capt. Frank Ponds said he had flown over part of southern and northern Haiti. "I saw towns that were completely flooded," Ponds said. "I saw infrastructure, such as bridge[s] and roads, totally wiped out." The eye of Hurricane Ike never touched Haiti earlier this week, but the storm system did bring heavy rains and winds to Gonaives and other towns. Jean Pierre Guiteau, executive director for the Red Cross in Haiti, said 52 people were killed when a river burst its banks in the mountain town of Cabaret near the capital, Port-au-Prince. Another 21 bodies were pulled from sea at Fort-Liberté, Haiti, close to the border with the Dominican Republic. "It's a very grim picture," Guiteau said Sunday. "Things certainly are getting no better." CNN's Karl Penhaul contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gonaives, Haiti, cut off from rest of country by flooded roads, washed-out bridges . Some flood survivors say they haven't received aid in a week . Logistical problems prompt aid workers to warn of deepening humanitarian crisis . At least 341 people have died in four storms in Haiti .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On his final full day in office, President Bush issued commutations for two former U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed illegal immigrant -- suspected of drug smuggling at the time -- and then covering it up. An artist's sketch shows Ignacio Ramos, left, and Jose Compean. The prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean will now end March 20. Ramos had received an 11-year prison sentence; Compean had received a 12-year term. They began serving their sentences in January 2007. The Office of the Pardon Attorney was still reviewing the clemency request when Bush made his decision, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said. "The president has reviewed the circumstances of this case as a whole and the conditions of confinement and believes the sentences they received are too harsh and that they, and their families, have suffered enough for their crimes," a senior administration official said. "Commuting their sentences does not diminish the seriousness of their crimes. Ramos and Compean are convicted felons who violated their oaths to uphold the law and have been severely punished," the official stated. "This commutation gives them an opportunity to return to their families and communities, but both men will have to carry the burden of being convicted felons and the shame of violating their oaths for the rest of their lives." The official noted that both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have supported a commutation, including President-elect Barack Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and Texas GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. The head of the labor union representing Border Patrol agents told CNN Radio he was "grateful" that Bush commuted the sentences but questioned why the prison terms won't end until March 20. "I would be quite curious to learn why they have to wait another two months for an unjust sentence," said Rich Pierce, president of the National Border Patrol Council. He said the union's ultimate goal would be for the men to get their Border Patrol jobs back. The shooting happened February 17, 2005, on the border southeast of El Paso, Texas. During their trial, Ramos and Compean said the illegal immigrant, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had brandished a gun while actively resisting arrest. Aldrete-Davila, however, said he was unarmed and was attempting to surrender when Compean attempted to beat him with a shotgun. Aldrete-Davila was shot while fleeing toward the Rio Grande. Ramos and Compean were ultimately convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident and violating Aldrete-Davila's Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure. After receiving immunity to testify in the case against the two agents, Aldrete-Davila was arrested in 2007 on charges of bringing more than 750 pounds of marijuana into the United States. The case quickly became a political flash point, with advocates of tighter border controls defending the agents and civil liberties groups saying that the agents had used illegal and excessive force against Aldrete-Davila. Bush has granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations over his eight years in office, far fewer than Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan in their two-term administrations. During the final months of the Bush administration, speculation has swirled around the question of whether former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby would be granted the presidential favor. Libby was convicted in March of 2007 of four counts of lying and impeding a federal investigation into the leak of information that revealed that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA operative. Among the more notable people who have applied for -- but not received -- some form of clemency are: former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham, R-California, who was convicted of receiving bribes; publishing executive Conrad Black, who was found guilty of fraud; former junk bold salesman Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud; and former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, convicted of accounting fraud. The parents of John Walker Lindh, who was given a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to supporting terrorists in Afghanistan, held a news conference in December urging Bush to commute their son's sentence. There is a long tradition of presidents issuing pardons and commutations during their final days in office. Clinton pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich during his last hours in office, setting off a firestorm of controversy. A commutation reduces a convict's prison term, but the conviction remains on the person's record. A pardon, however, wipes the slate clean by erasing the record of the conviction. A president has the sole authority to grant clemency to whomever he chooses, although a Justice Department office usually reviews applications and makes recommendations after considering such standards as a person's degree of remorse and ability to lead a responsible and productive life after release. Those applying for a pardon through the Justice Department are required to wait at least five years after their conviction or release from confinement.

Bush commutes sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean . President believes "the sentences they received are too harsh," official says . Ex-Border Patrol agents will be released March 20 . Pair convicted of shooting undocumented immigrant allegedly running drugs .

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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- At least 59 people were killed in a fire that broke out early Thursday at one of Bangkok's most upscale nightclubs, where about 1,000 revelers were ringing in the new year, Thai police said. Rescue officials work at the scene of the fire in Thailand. Most of the dead were Thai, but foreigners have been identified, among them from Australia, the Netherlands, Nepal and Japan, police said. Another 100 people were believed injured. The fire, at a club called Santika, started at about 12:35 a.m. (1735 GMT), police told CNN. The blaze started near a stage where fireworks were being used as part of a performance, according to authorities. Watch the fire engulf the building » . Most of those who died in the building suffered smoke inhalation or were trampled in a rush to get out of the club, they said. British citizen Andrew Jones said he was celebrating in the area when he walked up on the fire. He said he saw victims being rushed out of the fire on stretchers and spoke to witnesses, including a fellow Briton who saw fireworks being lit onstage. "He immediately ran out of the building, but immediately when he'd done that the lights went out and he couldn't see," Jones said. The club is located in one of Bangkok's busiest commercial districts. Its Web site features images of bands and DJs performing on both indoor and outdoor stages, and says that it "innovatively blends the comfort of nature with the excitement of the Bangkok nightlife." The site advertises the club's new year's party, which was named "Goodbye Santika." CNN's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report.

Fireworks were used as part of a performance, authorities say . Most of those who died suffered smoke inhalation or were trampled, authorities say . Club is located in one of Bangkok's busiest commercial districts .

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(CNN) -- Baseball's biggest stars are in New York for Tuesday's All-Star game, as the sport says goodbye to one of its most famous landmarks. Joseph Cornacchia, left, used to play with Babe Ruth when he was a kid, his son Jim says. It's the Yankees' final season at the "House that Ruth Built," and MLB.com reports that 40 Hall of Famers are expected to attend the historic event. We asked CNN.com readers to share their baseball memories and to tell us about meeting their favorite players. iReporter Jim Cornacchia of Rye, New York, says his grandmother taught Babe Ruth to "make a mean batch of chili." He said the legendary slugger would come to Greenwood Lake, New York, during the off season and would visit with his family. iReport.com: Ever met your favorite player? Cornacchia's father, Joseph, who just turned 76, would play wintertime games with "The Babe" as a child, and even built a snowman with him. Patrick Palmer, 43, has been a Yankees fan since he was a kid, even though he grew up in Iowa. "My father was a Yankees fan, and it was just handed down through the generations," he said. Palmer has a baseball signed by about 20 Yankees players and other memorabilia, but said his biggest thrill was meeting relief pitchers Sparky Lyle and Rich "Goose" Gossage. "It was also amazing to shake hands with one of the most feared pitchers of his day, Goose Gossage, and really see what a gentle person he could be," See what Palmer wrote on iReport.com. New Yorker Matthew Friedman said he met Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg last August after singing "God Bless America" before a Peoria Chiefs minor league game. Friedman was in town as part of the Broadway touring production of "Movin' Out." He said he would sing at the game only if he could meet Sandberg, who was managing the Chiefs. "He was such a nice guy," he said. Friedman is a Mets fan, but said the Cubs legend was "the kind of player I thought other players should be." He said it was a meeting he'll never forget, and one he'll tell his children about again, and again, and again. "I have a child on the way," he said. "I can't wait." Meeting a childhood hero was a test of courage for many young fans. iReporter thedeke almost didn't get to shake slugger Roger Maris' hand during a trip to Yankee Stadium as a 10-year-old. "He was only 3 kids from me when he turned and started for the field," he wrote. "Why I said what I did, I will never know, but I actually yelled at Roger saying, 'Roger Maris! Don't you dare walk away with out shaking my hand!' " Maris smiled, walked up to him and "grabbed my hand with both of his and without saying a word he gave me a wink and off he went," thedeke wrote. Phil Miller was a 17-year-old bat boy for the Tacoma Rainiers in 1995 when he got to meet star outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey was playing for the Seattle Mariners at the time and was in the minor leagues while he was recovering from a wrist injury. Chasing fly balls Griffey hit during batting practice is something Miller said he will never forget. "I wish I could freeze time and relive that 15 minutes over and over," he wrote. Miller was nervous about talking to Griffey in the locker room, but he said he broke the ice by asking him about his wife's pregnancy -- news that wasn't out yet. Griffey laughed when he found out his mother-in-law had shared the news with Miller's mom in a Tacoma hair salon, Miller said. Even baseball's most controversial figures provide fond memories. Kenny Lucas met Barry Bonds, the all-time leading home run hitter, in 2006 at a Colorado Rockies game. The former Giants star has been dogged by steroid allegations and has a reputation for being difficult, but Lucas said "he was a very cool guy." "I used to think of Barry as another arrogant athlete, but he treated me as an equal and invited me into his conversation," Lucas said. iReporter natsmom24 met Pete Rose at a golf course when he was 11 years old. In 1991, Rose and other members of the Cincinnati Reds were at a golf course near his house, so natsmom24 tried to get some autographs. Several players ignored him and walked past, but he said Rose approached him and asked to sign his ball. He talked to him and then took him to the clubhouse and bought him a Snickers and a Coke. "I was on top of the world! I was hanging out with Pete Rose! The Hit King! Charlie Hustle! No one was going to believe me when I told them this," he wrote. He said that not even his parents believed him until he showed them the autographed ball.

Baseball's current and former stars getting ready for All-Star game . iReporters met Ruth, Bonds, Goose Gossage and Sparky Lyle . Got a baseball memory? Share it on iReport.com .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A dream come true, a part of history, an accomplishment for all of us. Margret Forsythe, left, and Evadey Minott came to Tuesday's inaugural events from Brooklyn, New York. Millions of people gathered on the Mall in Washington on Tuesday to celebrate the inauguration of the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama. "This is America happening," said Evadey Minott of Brooklyn, New York. "It was prophesied by [the Rev. Martin Luther] King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes." L.J. Caldwell of Somerset, New Jersey, said Obama's inauguration capped five decades of struggle for African-Americans. "When you think back, Malcolm [X] fought. Then we come a little further, Rosa Parks sat. Then come up a little further and Martin [King Jr.] spoke. Then today, President Obama ran and we won." Watch Obama say Americans have "chosen hope over fear" » . Kim Akins, 43, of Chicago, Illinois, who lives just blocks from Obama's home, made the trek to Washington with her 8-year-old daughter, Chloe. Vanessa Reed, of Centerville, Virginia, took her daughters to spot on the inaugural parade route. "I was going to take my daughter here if it was the last thing I did," she said. "It's breathtaking. ... It's overwhelming." Vanessa Reed, of Centerville, Virginia, who brought her two young daughters to the inauguration, reflected on Obama's speech as she sat with her daughters across from the presidential reviewing stand at the end of the parade route. "It was beautiful. It spoke to the issues of the moment," said Reed, who worked for the Obama campaign. "I am proud this country saw what we saw in him." Not as impressed, her youngest daughter, Brooke. "It was so boring," the 4-year-old said. Patrick Bragg, 44, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, contemplated the day as he tried to stay warm standing over steam vents on H Street. Patrick Bragg says he rode a bike 18 miles to get to downtown Washington on Tuesday morning. "I've been sitting here thinking -- it's really beautiful," said Bragg, who said he rode a bike 18 miles from Bethesda, Maryland, to attend Tuesday's ceremonies. "This is what I would consider the true representation of all of America. Obama gives everyone space at the table." Some of those attending Tuesday recalled how they were part of the effort that culminated in the historic day. "You remember why you are doing it all, why you were working so hard on the campaign making phone calls, knocking on doors and getting slammed in the face sometimes," said iReport contributor Vanessa Palmer of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Howard University student Shakuwra Garrett, 18, said she felt like "a part of history." "I can carry this with me the rest of my life," Garrett said. "It's an accomplishment for all of us." The accomplishment crossed borders and oceans for some of those at Tuesday's inauguration. "The dream came true," said Fatima Cone, 39, who came to the U.S. from Ivory Coast, where her mother wears an Obama T-shirt. She conveyed the excitement her family feels in West Africa. "The fight is the same for all blacks. It's the same story. It's the same fight wherever you come from," Cone said. Canadians Peter and Susan Butler drove down from Toronto, Ontario, to see the event and "support the American people." iReport.com: Are you in Washington? Share your story . "This is a world event," Susan Butler said. "We can tell our grandchildren we were here." Brtion Simon Ginty called the Obama inauguration "an international moment." Simon Ginty of Manchester, England, said the world was celebrating Tuesday. "This is an international moment as well as an American moment. I'm excited to see how Obama changes things. I imagine things are gonna be on the up," Ginty said. Eli Bracken, an iReporter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, drove into Washington early Tuesday to try to see the inauguration, but large crowds kept him away from the Mall. Instead, he watched on TV from a McDonald's restaurant on E Street near the Canadian Embassy. The eatery went silent during the inaugural prayer, he said. "It was just cool that everybody knew they were witnessing something awesome," Bracken said. "There were people gathered around every car they could just to hear it." Dartmouth College student Amarita Sankar, 18, watched Obama's speech on the grounds of the Washington Monument. "When ever I hear him speak, I want to be a better person. That's what you want in a leader, " Sankar said. Gerrard Coles waited with a throng outside St. John's Episcopal Church, where Obama and his wife, Michelle, went for a Tuesday morning prayer service. "Everyone's down here -- hopefully to catch a glimpse of Barack, just for a split second," he said. Watch as Obamas head to church » . Nearby was Bethesda, Maryland, 9-year-old Laura Bruggerman, waiting with her mother, Wendy, and father, Jeff. "I want to see Obama. I think that would be really cool. I could tell all of my friends that I got to see him," the girl said. The crowd tried to oblige, letting the children and shorter people move up front. Margaret Trowelle of Jersey City, New Jersey, gets strangers to autograph an inauguration hat Tuesday. Outside the church, Margaret Trowelle of Jersey City, New Jersey, showed off a hat she had signed by others she's met in the nation's capital. "Everyone is so friendly," she said. Benica Tripleti, from Eastern Kentucky University, was among a group of 54 people headed to the Mall. She said she had one goal -- "to see Obama's head." Kathie Easom and Christine Hannon of upstate New York were looking to plant themselves on the Mall and watch the proceedings on a screen. "It's a once in a lifetime event," Easom said. Eight rows behind the inauguration stand, Sylvia Schoen of Phoenix, Arizona, waited in the morning cold. "It's freezing. It's worth it. It's worth it," she said. Watch the atmosphere surrounding the inauguration » . "Obama's cause is all about the future. I think that's why everyone's so excited right now," Schoen said. "It's like we can do anything. Look what we just did -- the people. The people did this. Not the politicians -- we did it." Harvard University student Megan Starr, 21, was impressed with the crowd. "I've never seen people excited about politics before," she said. "Usually they are politically apathetic, but people are getting involved." Woodie Lee Durham of Buffalo, New York, says Tuesday marks a milestone for African-American influence. In a seating section for the disabled on the Mall, Woodie Lee Durham of Buffalo, New York, said Tuesday was a landmark for African-American influence on America. "It is no longer a question; this is the answer," Durham said. IReporter Barbara Talisman, 48, of Chicago, watched Tuesday from a spot on the Mall near the American Museum of Natural History. "The historical significance of today and importance of our work made it necessary for me to be here and not at home. I want to be a witness," Talisman said. Corey Waters of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and his two sons, Thad and Matthew, set out on their inauguration journey at midnight. Waters said they hoped to get a spot near the Capitol and then find a second place later to see the inaugural parade. "We want to be close to the swearing-in," Waters said as the three walked with the crowd to the Mall. Watch an iReport of festivities on the Mall » . After the speech, Decatur, Alabama, pastor Regina May, sat on a bench near St. John's Church and looked ahead. "I think he is fresh," she said of Obama. "He's more than just an idea man. I think he can carry out his plans, and I'm going to do all I can to help." CNN's Adam Levine, Ed Hornick, Valerie Streit, Scott J. Anderson and Kristi Keck contributed to this report.

A McDonald's in Washington goes silent as patrons watch inaugural . "This is America happening," says New York woman . Canadian says, "This is a world event" Barack Obama's election shows American people "can do anything," woman says .

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LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Tensions between Chile and Peru remained high Monday after last week's revelation that Peru's top army general said at a party that Chileans in Peru would be sent back in coffins or body bags. General Edwin Donayre, right, meets with Peruvian President Alan Garcia in Lima, Peru, last year. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet met Monday morning with her domestic advisers to discuss the matter after the Peruvian general appeared unrepentant over the weekend, the Chilean government reported on its Web site. Peruvian President Alan García had called Bachelet last week to say that the statements by Gen. Edwin Donayre are not the official policy of Peru. Bachelet said at the time she was satisfied with García's explanation and it was "up to the government of Peru to take measures." Donayre made the remarks in 2006 or 2007 at a party at a friend's house, said CNN affiliate station TVN in Santiago, Chile. The video was downloaded to YouTube in February and surfaced a week ago to wider attention. "We are not going to let Chileans pass by," Donayre says in the amateur-quality video as he offers a toast. "Chilean who enters will not leave. Or will leave in a coffin. And if there aren't sufficient coffins, there will be plastic bags." Tensions rose over the weekend when Donayre, who is scheduled to retire Friday, was widely quoted in Peru and Chile as saying that he will not be forced to resign early due to external pressure. "I was named commander general under a presidential mandate and I can only be relieved under such an order. Not by necessity nor under pressure from another government," Donayre said, acording to the Peruvian Andina news agency. Further heightening tensions, Donayre was quoted as saying that Peruvian citizens have a right to say whatever they want at private functions. "I want to express and specify that it was not a speech nor a public act," Andina quotes the general as saying. "The situation in which what happened at a private gathering was spread worries me." In the video, Donayre is surrounded by other uniformed army officials as well as people in civilian dress. It is not clear from the video in what context the general was making his comments. Nor was it clear in what forum Donayre made his comments over the weekend. After Bachelet's meeting with top aides Monday, government spokesman Francisco Vidal declined to say whether Chile's ambassador to Peru would be recalled in light of Donayre's weekend statements. "General Donayre's declarations in the past 24 to 48 hours only convince us that we are right and that our government's posture is reasonable," Vidal said on the Chilean government Web site. In Peru, meanwhile, a member of Congress, Gustavo Espinoza, is under investigation, suspected of sending Donayre's videotaped comment to Chilean press and politicians. A political opponent said Espinoza has an "unpatriotic attitude," the Andina news agency said. "I would not have expected this conduct from any Peruvian, much less a member of Congress," said Aurelio Pastor. Espinoza is already serving a 120-day suspension for leaking a private conversation with another member of Congress, Andina said. Peruvian Defense Minister Ántero Flores-Aráoz told reporters Saturday that relations between the two nations will be repaired, calling the Donayre incident "a bump in the road." Flores-Aráoz also said that Donayre's remarks about Chileans used "improper terms" that are not shared by the Peruvian people, Andina said. Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio García Belaunde made similar assertions last week. Peru has not taken any measures against the general. His retirement Friday is required by law at the end of his two-year appointment as the army's top chief. Donayre has been the subject of an investigation in recent weeks concerning the use of 80,000 gallons of fuel under his control as commander of the southern military region in 2006. Chile and Peru have a long history of animosity, having fought in the War of the Pacific from 1879 to 1883. Hard feelings linger to this day. More recently, the two nations nearly came to war in 1975 when left-wing Peruvian leader Juan Velasco, who was backed by Cuba, wanted to invade Chile, which was led by right-wing Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The invasion was called off and Velasco was deposed in a coup a short while later. Tensions rose again when Peru discovered a Chilean spy mission, but war was averted. This year, the World Court agreed to look at an issue concerning Peruvian claims to a disputed maritime area.

Video surfaced on YouTube last week of Peruvian general's anti-Chile remarks . Gen. Edwin Donayre said Chileans in Peru would go home in coffins or body bags . Donayre made the remarks in a toast at a party in 2006 or 2007, CNN affiliate reports . Peru's president tells Chile the remarks do not reflect Peruvian policy .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There was no shortage of superstars in Washington this week, including the middle school students of Atlanta, Georgia's Ron Clark Academy. Ron Clark Academy students singing their newest song, "Dear Obama," in Washington this week. "There are those Obama kids!" "Those are the kids from TV!" "Sing for us!" The middle schoolers' ode to the political process, "You Can Vote However You Like," set to the tune of rapper T.I.'s "Whatever You Like," has garnered exhilarating fame nationwide. Invited to perform at inauguration events, the boys and girls were stopped along every block in the capital by people who asked them to sing and pose for a picture. "I have a sleepy energy," sixth-grader Kennedy Guest Pritchett said. "I feed off of the crowd and their cheers." The students' new song, "Dear Obama," which they have performed this week, offers advice to the president on energy, taxes, financial regulation and al Qaeda and urges him to "control Ahmadinejad." "Dear Obama hear us sing/We're ready for the change that you will bring/Gonna shine the light for the world to see/to spread peace hope and democracy. ... Fight for health care for the young so that coverage is available to everyone/It's time to find a renewable way to fuel our needs so we don't end up depending on Chavez and the Middle East." Watch the students sing "Dear Obama" » . The kids will perform Tuesday at the Africa and International Friends Inaugural Ball, sharing a stage with Usher and Patti LaBelle, one of many events in their packed schedule highlighted by a luncheon gala Monday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "I want to do good every song we perform. When the crowd cheers, I feel like we did a good job," said Willie Thornton, a seventh-grader. "I feel a lot of adrenaline afterwards." The students have met the Kenyan Boys Choir, who told their American counterparts what kind of animals they might see when the Ron Clark students travel to Kenya on a school trip in June. At another luncheon, the sixth- and seventh-graders were thrilled to catch a glimpse of actor Ed Norton, the man who played the Incredible Hulk. But he didn't compare to singer Beyonce, who closed Sunday's star-studded Lincoln Memorial concert and drew giggles and shouts. The kids gained notoriety just before the election when they appeared on CNN, singing "You Can Vote However You Like." They became media favorites overnight, appearing on several networks and shows. Dressed neatly in their school uniform of khaki pants, light blue shirts and navy blue blazers, they discussed the Iraq war, the economy and taxes with the composure of adults. Their teacher, Ron Clark, known for his innovation, has used pop music to teach his students. He once changed the words of Rihanna's infectious hit "Umbrella" to teach geography. "You have to give students something they can identify with, something that catches their enthusiasm and spirit," he said. "I'm so proud of them all. They've taught me a lot." Before founding his school in the rough neighborhood of South Atlanta, Clark taught in Harlem, where he penned "The Essential 55," a rule-book for educators that caught Oprah Winfrey's eye. She talked about it on her show, and it soon became a New York Times bestseller. This past Christmas, Clark received another gift from the talk show host: $365,000. Winfrey donated $1,000 for each day of the year. Clark has said that the money will help provide scholarships for a year. The teacher said he plans to incorporate Barack Obama's inauguration into lessons throughout the rest of the school year. "Our school is about politics and world issues and helping the kids understand that they have an important role in all of that," he said. CNN's John Murgatroyd and Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.

Singing Atlanta schoolkids perform at inauguration festivities . "I have a sleepy energy," one 6th-grader says of the group's packed schedule . Ron Clark Academy singers gained fame for their "Vote However You Like" song . They have written another song, "Dear Obama," which offers advice to the president .

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- The death toll from flooding in southern Brazil continued to climb Wednesday, with officials reporting at least 86 dead, the state news agency said. About 30 people are missing, the official news agency Agencia Brasil said, citing civil defense officials. Earlier reports had indicated as many as 100 people were dead. In addition, more than 54,000 residents have been left homeless, and another 1.5 million have been affected by the heavy rains, the state news agency reported. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced he will release nearly 700 million reais ($350 million) on Wednesday, Agencia Brasil said. About 50 federal police are being dispatched to Santa Catarina state, where most of the deaths and damage have occurred, Agencia Brasil said. The authorities will help look for victims and provide security for local businesses. Military police reported that four grocery stores were looted this week in the Santa Catarina city of Itajai, the news agency said. The rain-fueled flooding resulted in a declaration of public calamity in six municipalities -- Gaspar, Rio dos Cedros, Nova Trento, Camboriu, Benedito Novo and Pomerode, Agencia Brasil reported. Another seven municipalities have declared states of emergency -- Balneário de Piçarras, Canelinha, Indaial, Penha, Paulo Lopes, Presidente Getúlio and Rancho Queimado, the news agency reported. Eight communities are cut off from the rest of the nation and have no water and electricity, Civil Defense officials said. The flooding has blocked more than 20 roads, and emergency supplies of food, water and coats are being brought in by helicopter. Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao was scheduled to tour the affected areas Wednesday to meet with Santa Catarina Gov. Luiz Henrique da Silveira and announce emergency measures. The governor has called the situation the worst catastrophe in the state's history. Complicating matters, the flooding also ruptured a pipeline carrying gas between Brazil and Bolivia on Sunday night, interrupting the flow of gas in part of the country's southern region, Agencia Brasil said. Heavy rains have brought flooding to many parts of Central and South America. In Colombia, at least 34 people have died, and another eight are missing, officials said. About 50,000 people suffered damage to their property in northwestern Colombia after the Cauca River overflowed following heavy rains. The Cauca -- a tributary of the Magdalena River, the largest in Colombia -- broke through its levees Tuesday and flooded the town of Nechi, in the province of Antioquia, about 248 miles (400 kilometers) north of Bogota. In Panama, rains have caused damage in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui and Colon. The Panamanian Red Cross said in a release Tuesday it is offering aid to about 5,000 people. Journalist Fabiana Frayssinet in Brazil and Fernando Ramos in Colombia contributed to this report.

More than 54,000 have been left homeless, state news agency says . At least 86 dead, 30 missing in southern Brazil, reports say . Most of deaths and damage have been in Santa Catarina state . Flooding also has caused damage in Colombia, Panama .

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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Ann Nixon Cooper sits back in her dining room chair, her eyes closed tight and her lips clenched, when asked if she will attend Barack Obama's inauguration in January. Ann Nixon Cooper was born in 1902, a time when women and black people were denied the right to vote. "I could go and maybe would go, but I'm not looking forward to it," says the 106-year-old former socialite. What if Obama came to her house and asked her in person to attend? Cooper perks up and a big smile spreads across her face. "Oh, yes, of course I'm ready to go!" It's been a whirlwind ever since Obama mentioned the African-American centenarian in his victory speech Tuesday night. Throngs of media -- from the BBC to a Japanese station to national news outlets -- have descended on her Atlanta house. Strangers have stopped by too. She's taking it all in stride. She stayed up later than usual, until about 3 a.m., after Obama's speech and the phone began ringing off the hook. She had been tipped off by the Obama campaign that he'd say something. "Somebody told him what to say and what to do and he followed through," she says. Watch "I'd be proud to meet him as anybody else" » . Cooper -- who was born during a time when women and black people couldn't vote -- fully understands the significance of Obama's victory. "Things are changing, changing, changing, and I look for more change now that it's the first black president in victory of faith over fear," she says. "Don't you know, that's quite something to be proud of." What would she tell Obama if she ever meets him? "I wouldn't have anything special to say about Obama. I enjoyed listening to him, but that's all," she says. "I would be proud to meet him as anyone else." She and her late husband, prominent dentist Dr. Albert Cooper, raised four children in her house. The home was a center of Atlanta's black society and the scene of many parties. She knew Martin Luther King Jr. when he was just a boy and was close with his mother. She sometimes refers to Obama as "that young man." In his victory speech, Obama praised Cooper's fight. The president-elect had learned of her story two weeks earlier after CNN profiled her when she went to the polls to vote early. Obama called her soon afterward. Watch Obama talk about Cooper in his victory speech » . "This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations," Obama told the tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered in Chicago on Tuesday night. "But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing -- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. "She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. "And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can." Cooper watched Obama's speech from her home. "Yeah, I knew he was talking about me -- I had been told that he would be saying these things." See images of Cooper's early voting extravaganza » . She added that her late husband "would be elated" a black man will be president. "Yeah, he'd be so tickled to death," she said. "We looked forward to changes. Everybody looked forward to a better life." One of her grandsons, Albert B. Cooper, said the family has been overwhelmed with pride since Tuesday. "It was a bigger honor than you could ever imagine to be mentioned in Obama's speech. For her to be used as an example of the strength -- and all the changes that have gone on within the black community -- is stunning. We were touched and proud and I can't come up with the words," he says. "It's an amazing thing." Ann Cooper has called Atlanta home since the 1920s. She co-founded a Girls Club for African-American youth and taught community residents to read in a tutoring program at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. Celebrities, including the late singer Nat King Cole, often dropped in to visit. One time many years ago, a young student from Morehouse College stopped to visit. He spoke of dreams to become a filmmaker. That man, it turns out, was Spike Lee. "It's been a house with a heap of living going on in it," Cooper said. Born in 1902 in Shelbyville, Tennessee, Cooper danced the electric slide up until the age of 103. She has recently slowed down after suffering several heart attacks and a fractured hip. On a typical day, Cooper spends hours watching television in her wood-paneled sitting room. Her favorite shows are "The Price is Right," "Oprah" and "Dancing with the Stars." Three of Cooper's four children have died; her surviving daughter is 83. She has 14 grandchildren living and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. When CNN first interviewed her in October, she said she only had one thing left to see in this world. "I ain't got time to die 'cause I've got to see a black president," she said, giggling with excitement. "I've got to see that." Now, she says, "I would be very proud if I could just meet and shake his hand."

At 106, Ann Nixon Cooper has witnessed pivotal moments unfold in U.S. history . Atlanta, Georgia, resident sees "more change now that it's the first black president" What would she say to Obama? She'd just like to shake his hand . She co-founded a Girls Club for black youths, taught community residents to read .

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(CNN) -- Newspaper front pages around the world were unanimous Wednesday in celebrating the momentousness of Barack Obama's inauguration as U.S. President. Readers browse newspapers Wednesday in the Philippines. "Let's rebuild America," said the front page of France's Le Figaro, over a photograph of a smiling Obama swearing the oath of office. "The Promise," said Liberation, hailing the "United States of Obama." "Remaking America," said the Daily Telegraph in the UK -- a theme carried by many other newspapers worldwide -- while the Daily Mirror preferred: "Reborn in the USA." The Sun showed a picture of Obama's seven-year-old daughter Sasha giving her father the thumbs-up with the headline: "You're the Daddy." "At last it was the day, the hour, even the second that millions of Americans, "and not just Americans, have waited for impatiently ever since November, and in many cases for much longer than that. The crowds in Washington were extraordinary evidence of the momentous public potency of the moment," the Guardian gushed in its editorial. Many international newspapers focused on the powerful symbolism and unifying power of the arrival of an African-American U.S. president on the world stage. "We're a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers," said the headline on the front of the Times of India, taking a line from Obama's inaugural address. Japan's Asahi Shimbun said: "He is expected to play the leading role in changing the world in which racial and religious confrontations continue to rage in defiance of the ideal expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." "He is as much symbol as substance, an icon for the youth and a sign of deliverance for an older generation that never believed a man with his skin color would ascend those steps," said the International Herald Tribune. But many papers urged Obama to get to work immediately to address the urgent problems already piled up up in his intray. "This wasn't the occasion for his most soaring of speeches. It was instead an oration rooted in the immediate challenges. It was directed at two audiences: a hopeful but anxious one at home, and an uncertain but hopeful one overseas, the UK's Times said. Speaking of the economic problems on a scale not seen since the Great Depression, China's Xinhua said: "Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, Obama, the new president, will get a rare opportunity to leave a sweeping and long-lasting imprint on the U.S. economy." The Times of India called on Obama to continue the so-called "war on terror" by pursuing Pakistani-based militant groups, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba which New Delhi blames for last year's terror attacks in Mumbai. "For the sake of the world's security, Obama must press Islamabad to clamp down on these groups and close down their bases, something that the Bush administration failed to do for most of its run." Meanwhile, Germany's Der Spiegel sounded a note of caution about the weight of expectation now resting on Obama's shoulders: "The catchword of the election campaign was 'change.'The new message to his followers is: 'Be patient.'" And there was little lament for the passing of the presidency of Obama's controversial predecessor, President George W. Bush. "He entered the White House promising to heal division by being a 'uniter, not a divider.' He leaves it today as one of the most divisive and least popular presidents in US history," the South China Morning Post said. For Obama, according to the UK's Independent, the challenge in office will be to strike a balance between the "poetry" of his campaign for election and the tough "prose" of government. "Beautiful rhetoric alone cannot change the world. So perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the address was the new President's willingness to spell out the scale of the problems facing America and the "hard choices" that lie ahead for him and the country," the paper said. "An old American aphorism has it that politicians campaign in poetry, but govern in prose. We can be sure that the poetry will continue to flow from an orator as gifted as President Obama. But now begins the difficult task of getting the prose right too."

Newspapers around world celebrate U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration . Many focus on symbolism of arrival on world stage of African-American president . Papers urge Obama to get to work to tackle mounting problems in intray . Obama "must change poetry of campaigning into prose of government"

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- He's the man who has just rejected offers of up to $700,000 a week in wages -- but who really is Kaka? And what has he done to deserve so much money? Wanted man: Kaka overcame a spine fracture before getting to the top of world football. Born in Brazil in 1982, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, or "Kaka" as he is more commonly known, is a footballer with Italian club AC Milan. His name, Kaka, is believed to come from a brother, who began calling him that due to his inability to say his proper name -- Ricardo. Said to be an amazing talent from a very young age, the attacking midfielder began his career with Sao Paulo at the tender age of eight, and had signed his first contract before his 16th birthday. Do you think Kaka should have stayed at AC Milan or taken the money at Manchester City? Tell us in the Sound Off box below. However, when all seemed set for a perfect career, Kaka suffered a serious, potentially paralyzing injury from a swimming pool accident in 2000. The then 18-year-old fractured a vertebra in his spine -- an injury that many thought could have ended his career and even prevented him from walking again. Kaka did recover though, and it's something that the deeply religious Brazilian has put down to the help of God, and ever since has given some of his income to his Church. Once recovered, he didn't waste time in getting his career restarted. By January 2001 he had made his debut in the Sao Paulo senior team and led the team to its first Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo championship. The following year he was a part of the Brazil team which won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and in 2003 his talents had attracted the interest of European clubs and he signed to AC Milan for euro 9 million ($12 million) per season, and remains under contract with them through 2013. Since then he's won the Serie A, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with AC Milan, while on a personal level he won the 2007 Ballon d'Or Award for the best player in Europe and the FIFA World Player of the Year 2007 -- among many other awards. His international performances have continued to be strong -- and he has now scored 23 goals for Brazil. Such is his influence inside and outside of football, that Kaka was named in the Time 100 most influential people in 2008. Outside of the game Kaka has continued to be a devout Christian. He married his long-time partner Caroline Celico in 2005, and they had their first child in June 2008. Oddly, the current season (in which he finds himself being offered the biggest football salary ever) hasn't been as profitable for Kaka. The 26-year-old has struggled with a groin injury and has not managed to combine as smoothly within the AC Milan team compared to previous seasons. Still, that did not seem to worry Manchester City -- or Real Madrid, and for now at least, the $150 million transfer effort remains the biggest in football's history.

Kaka is a Brazilian attacking midfielder who plays at AC Milan in Italy . At the age of 18 Kaka broke a vertebra in a swimming pool accident . He was named FIFA World Player of the Year for 2007 .

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Editor's note: The n-word appears in this piece because CNN feels the context in which it is used is pertinent to the story of James "Little Man" Presley. James "Little Man" Presley has worked in the cotton fields of Sledge, Mississippi, since he was just 6 years old. SLEDGE, Mississippi (CNN) -- James Presley stands amid chopped cotton, the thick Mississippi mud caked on his well-worn boots. A smile spreads across his face when he talks about voting for Barack Obama and what that might mean for generations to come. His voice picks up a notch. He holds his head up a bit higher. "There's a heap of pride in voting for a black man," he says. At 78, Presley is a legend of the past living in the present and now hopeful for the future. A grandson of slaves, he's one of the few men left in America so closely tied to his slave past, still farming cotton on the same land as his ancestors. He's picked cotton since he was just 6 years old. He and his wife of 57 years, Eva May, raised 13 children and six grandchildren in a cypress-sided house in the middle of cotton fields in northwestern Mississippi. He was a sharecropper most his life, but rarely qualified for food stamps. Watch "Obama, he come up like" » . His father died in 1935 when he was 5, and he had to step up and be the "Little Man" of the house, a nickname that has stuck seven decades later. He's lived a raw-knuckled life where hope moved at a molasses-slow pace. The last time he had hope for a better future was four decades ago -- first with President John F. Kennedy and then with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Obama has changed everything to the poor in these parts. iReport.com: What does Obama's presidency mean to you? "I'm a church man," he says. "And I kind of figured this here is about like it was with Moses with the children of Israel. On that day, when he gets to be president, we're all going to be rejoicing." Does he have plans to celebrate on Inauguration Day? "Oh man, it's gonna be nice. I believe we're gonna have a good time," he says. "I never thought one would get there." See photos of the weather-beaten home where Little Man raised so many children » . As the nation prepares for Obama's inauguration on January 20, CNN.com traveled to Sledge, Mississippi, a forgotten town of about 500 people in the heart of the Mississippi Delta that some consider to be the birthplace of blues in America. Nearly 20 percent of residents over the age of 60 live below the poverty line, according to the 2000 census. That number nearly doubles, to 37.5 percent, for residents under the age of 19. About three-quarters of the population are black. Two-thirds of the people here make less than $35,000 a year. Presley says the fact the nation will have a black president will have a ripple effect in poor communities like his. For the first time ever, he says, black parents and grandparents can tell youngsters in rural America that through education, anything is possible -- that the White House isn't just for white folks. Three of his children graduated from college. Two have died -- one as a youth, one as an adult. It never gets easier, he says, no matter what age they die. Obama has already brought inspiration to future generations of his own family. "I might be dead and gone, but it's going to be a good thing to me, because I know that they ain't gotta go through what I went through. They'll have a better time, a more joyous time, than what I had when I come along. It is gonna be grand to them and to me, too." "He knows what it is to come up without a father and what it is to come up for what you work for," Presley says. "Me and the poor man coming up, we had to work for what bread I got." Presley shifts back and forth on his feet as he speaks. His flannel shirt and oil-stained jeans seem befitting of his life on the farm. He peers out from a camouflage hat, the fuzzy ear flaps pulled up over his head. He speaks in an accent as thick as the mud on his boots. His hands speak to decades of hard labor. His fingers appear swollen with overworked muscles. The skin seems about a quarter-inch thick. If his hands could speak, he says, "They'd be crying, instead of talking, for what they've been through." "You see how rusty and rough they are. They've been through something, ain't they?" At 6-foot, 2-inches and 214 pounds, Presley has what seems an odd nickname. "They call me Little Man," he says. He wears the nickname with pride. The youngest of three sisters and four brothers, he says that after his father died in 1935, he became the "Little Man" of the house. "I was tall, but I was small. So they called me Little Man," he says. He doesn't remember much about his father. He can't recall the day he died or the sound of his voice. He was too young. He never met his slave grandparents either. They died long before he was born. But the fact they were slaves still stings. "That doesn't make you feel too good, you know, to be sold like a cow. But back then, they couldn't help it. So I reckon I'm just glad that things come out better like it is now." A thick fog hangs over the fields on this day. Presley pauses. He scans the fields and says, "I think about the good times and the hard times." "When I started farming, we planted with hands ... and hauled it to the gin by wagon, a mule and a wagon. One bale at a time," he says. He worked the fields when he was 6, the age of a typical kindergartner these days. "I was making 50 cents a day, from sunup to sundown." "Back then, you know, I didn't get no schooling. I had to get out, come home and break the land, cut the stalks, plow the land and get it ready for the crop." Presley has a total of four years of education, classes that he took in between growing seasons. His mother taught him to read and write, but he admits even to this day he struggles with both. When it comes to life as a black man -- a sharecropper -- in Mississippi, he says it's tough to explain how difficult it was. He points to a nearby bluff and says that when he was just a boy, a black man was lynched from a tree. "I never saw him hanging up there," he says. "All I seen was the tree." Blacks were segregated from whites. They couldn't go to the same schools. They had separate water fountains. Blacks couldn't go in the front doors of businesses. And just about everywhere you went, he says, racism was rampant. "You go into a place, and they say, 'Nigger, get outta here.' You don't want nobody telling you that. You're a citizen around town. If you're a citizen, I'm a citizen like you," he says. "It makes you feel mighty bad." "When I was a young boy, they was bad about that, calling you that." He registered to vote for the first time in 1959 and cast his first presidential ballot for Kennedy. He says he's voted in every presidential election ever since. "We felt like we were moving on up when we voted for him," he says. When Kennedy was assassinated, "everybody was kind of sad on that day, because he looked like the first president that had come in and was trying to help the poor folks." King brought hope, too. "He was the only hope that we were looking for -- to bring us out," Presley says. But when King was killed on April 4, 1968, he says, it "put us right back where we was." "It was pitiful that day," he says. "Everybody around here was in mourning." He says Obama has brought inspiration to blacks in these parts, the likes of which hasn't been seen since 1968. "With Obama coming in, it's gonna be another Martin Luther King helping us," he says. "Maybe in the next 40 years, we'll be better off." He says Americans should never take their voting rights for granted. He was 30 years old before he first voted. "It means a lot to me, because I can put in for who I want to be president and who not to be president," he says. "So I just feel proud that I can vote." Before parting on this day, Presley gives a tour of the weather-beaten, four-bedroom house where he raised his 13 children and six grandkids. The wood-framed house was the first home he ever lived in with running water, a bathroom and electric stove. The now-abandoned house is dilapidated, many of its windows broken, its doors barely hanging on hinges. "I've had a good life, despite the hard times. I sure did," says Presley, who is retiring after 72 years of working the fields. What's his message to the world? "The important thing in life is to try to live and do the best you can," he says. "We done had it bad. Let us help give our children a better life, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren. Let's try to give them a better life than we had. But anyway, just keep the good work going, is all I say."

James "Little Man" Presley, 78, has worked cotton fields since he was 6 years old . "There's a heap of pride in voting for a black man," says the grandson of slaves . His dad died when he was 5; Obama "knows what it is to come up without a father" His message: "The important thing in life is to try to live and do the best you can"

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- A child cries from hunger, but no tears come from her swollen eyes. A Zimbabwean family bury their relative, who died of cholera, 25km from Harare, Zimbabwe. Malnutrition has left this baby born in Zimbabwe fighting for her life. She is the face of an unfolding crisis in a country once known as Africa's bread basket. Today a loaf of bread costs $35 million worthless Zimbabwean dollars, and people are forced to sift through garbage piles for any morsel of food. Others huddle for warmth around a fire burning inside the shell of a broken-down van. All of these images were captured on video recently smuggled out of Zimbabwe by Solidarity Peace Trust, a South African human rights group. Watch the disturbing images » . Zimbabwe's government maintains that the situation is being exaggerated by the West in an effort to exert pressure on President Robert Mugabe to leave office. But the World Health Organization (WHO) says the desperate situation has triggered a widening cholera outbreak that has killed 775 people and infected more than 15,000. "You have to eat in the same place you sleep right next to the buckets, the same buckets that we used as toilets," one cholera patient says on the video. "There is no water to bathe." And little to eat. Women foraging for food in the bush find dry branches with only a few berries. "This packet of juice will be my supper tonight," one woman says. Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai -- who is still trying to form a unity government with Mugabe under a recent power-sharing deal -- said the situation can only be addressed once a "legitimate government" is in place. "Once there is a legitimate government, it is up to that government to deal with the problems the country is facing, which are quite wide-ranging," Tsvangirai told CNN on Wednesday. "But the immediate intervention of the health crisis has exacerbated the situation to the extent that it has now become an international crisis." The WHO says the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has a high fatality rate because sufferers are either not able to reach health centers in time or that the health centers lack the capacity to treat the cases. "The epidemic is clearly on the increase," Dr. Eric Laroche, a WHO official in Harare, told CNN on Wednesday. "I think it's going to last for several months." In addition to the WHO, the Red Cross has responded to the outbreak and is sending staff and medical supplies into Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's main hospitals have all but shut down and the small clinics equipped by international aid organizations are overcrowded and unable to cope with the thousands of cholera patients. Health workers inside Zimbabwe believe scores are dying at home. Laroche said the WHO is receiving cooperation from the government, but the health care system is abysmal. "The quality of the care, the supplies that come inside Zimbabwe, also need to be restored," Laroche said. "So there's a lot of work to do, because the health system is collapsing for the time being." One Zimbabwean health care worker, who would not show his face on the video, said he fears the death toll will skyrocket. "People are dying even at the health institution," he said. "It's beyond control. We are going to witness so many deaths in the coming weeks." He expressed frustration that so many people are dying from cholera, a disease that "is both preventable and curable." "Nobody should die from cholera," he said. "We are quite unfortunate." Zimbabwe, already experiencing an economic crisis, was struck with the raging water-borne cholera in August. Health experts say the battle against the disease can only be won if Harare has adequate water-treating chemicals and disposes of refuse properly. Zimbabwe's information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Tuesday that the country has enough chemicals to purify water and enough money to buy pipes to mend sanitation lines. He maintained that the outbreak is under control, blaming the West for causing the crisis as an excuse for military intervention. International leaders -- including U.S. President George W. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Kenyan premier Raila Odinga -- have recently called for Mugabe to step down for failing to contain the cholera outbreak. Frustration inside Zimbabwe is building. Last week, doctors and nurses protested over the lack of medical supplies and other resources at the country's hospitals. Labor unions have protested over the deteriorating economy. Even soldiers once shielded from economic hardships by the Mugabe regime went on a rampage last week when they were unable to access wages from the country's banks. Human rights activist Elinor Sisulu, who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe and now coordinates civil action outside the country, called on African leaders to demand Mugabe step down before Zimbabwe explodes. "In any population where you have high levels of desperation, anger and ... people arrive at the conclusion that we've tried a peaceful political process and this is not working, then anything can happen," she said. -- CNN's Nkepile Mabuse in Johannesburg, South Africa contributed to this report.

WHO: Nearly 775 people have died in Zimbabwe from cholera outbreak . Zimbabwe maintains that the situation is being exaggerated by the West . The number of overall cholera cases is also on the rise, hitting 15,141 . Cholera outbreak is part of a larger humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Troubled pop star Amy Winehouse spent the night in a London hospital after suffering a reaction to a medication she was taking at home Monday night, according to her spokeswoman. Amy Winehouse's husband was recently jailed for 27 months. Tracey Miller said she could not say what medication was involved. A statement from University College Hospital said Winehouse had been kept in overnight for observation. She had a comfortable night and was released Tuesday morning, the statement said. London Ambulance Service said it transported the singer after being notified of "an adult female taken unwell." Winehouse's spokesman in London, Chris Goodman, told the British Press Association that he had not been told what was wrong with the 24-year-old singer, who is well known for her song "Rehab," describing the singer's reluctance to enter a clinic. The pop singer was investigated this year after a London tabloid made public a leaked home video that showed her smoking something in a glass pipe minutes after she was heard saying she had just taken six tablets of the anti-anxiety drug Valium. Police declined to file charges. The singer has battled drug addiction and spent about two weeks in a rehabilitation clinic in January. Winehouse won five Grammy awards this year -- three for "Rehab" as well as Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Winehouse's Grammy winning album, "Back to Black," is still a big seller, recently charting at No. 12 in the UK more than 19 months after its release. Madame Toussaud's London wax museum recently unveiled a wax statue of Winehouse alongside Madonna, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and other musicians in the museum's "Music Zone" exhibit. On July 21, Winehouse's husband was jailed for 27 months. He admitted to brawling with a pub manager and then offering him $400,000 to not talk about the incident.

Amy Winehouse leaves hospital after spending the night under observation . Spokesperson says singer had reaction to medication she was taking at home . Ambulance took 24-year-old Winehouse from London home to emergency room . Singer has struggled with drugs and alcohol .

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(CNN) -- A bird struck an Arkansas hospital's helicopter Saturday, tearing a hole into the aircraft's nose and prompting the pilot to land early, according to officials and pictures taken after the landing. A medical helicopter landed near Forrest City, Arkansas, on Saturday after striking a bird. The chopper's pilot made a "safe landing" in that state after hitting a bird while returning to Baptist Health Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital spokesman Mark Lowman said. "I think the pilot just made a judgment call to set it down," Lowman said of the landing, which happened at 6:15 p.m. Saturday near Forrest City, Arkansas. Video footage taken by CNN affiliate WREG showed a bird hanging out of a hole torn into the paneling on the chopper's nose. Part of the helicopter's windshield also was broken. The pilot was slightly injured during the landing, and the other two crew members on board were uninjured, Lowman said. Federal aviation officials are investigating, and the helicopter is not expected to be grounded for long, he said. The helicopter was returning from a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where the crew had taken a patient. The incident came two days after a US Airways jetliner was forced to land in New York's Hudson River, apparently after striking a flock of birds. Shortly after the jet took off from New York's LaGuardia airport on Thursday, the crew reported seeing a flock of birds. Seconds later, the cockpit voice recorder captured the sounds of loud "thumps" and both of the plane's engines failed. The pilot, C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, landed the Airbus A320 in the Hudson, where all 155 people aboard were rescued.

Bird hits Arkansas hospital's helicopter, forcing pilot to land early . Copter's pilot suffers minor injuries during landing . Incident comes days after birds apparently forced jet to land in Hudson River .

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(CNN) -- Phil Donahue has rarely shied away from controversy. On his long-running syndicated talk show, he debated issues including abortion and the death penalty, and his MSNBC show was canceled in 2003, he maintained, because of his antiwar stand. Phil Donahue, right, made "Body of War" about disabled veteran Tomas Young, seated. Now the former talk show host has co-directed and co-produced an independent film, "Body of War," about a disabled Iraq war veteran, Tomas Young, who questions the conflict's rationale. Young joined the military after the September 11 attacks and was sent to Iraq. After less than a week there, he was shot in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. "Body of War" is the story of his coming home and adjusting to his new reality. The film has earned excellent reviews and was named best documentary of 2007 by the National Board of Review. It airs on The Sundance Channel on Tuesday night. Watch Donahue talk about politics and war » . Donahue talked about "Body of War" and the recent presidential election on "American Morning" with CNN's Carol Costello. CNN: What did you hope to prove by [making "Body of War"]? Phil Donahue: Well, this work by ... Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue is our attempt to show the harm in harm's way. In the middle of the most sanitized war of my lifetime, nobody sees this pain. These people are all below the radar. What you see in our film is a drama taking place behind the closed doors of thousands of homes in this country. I'm telling you, less than 5 percent of us have sacrificed, and the American people are not seeing this. I think this is a shame. CNN: Well, let's see some of that. We're going to show a clip right now. (Begin video clip) Tomas Young: When I made the phone call on September 13, it was because I saw the pictures of [President Bush] standing on top of the pile, saying that we were going to smoke the evildoers out that did this to us. All that had to happen so I could fly 10,000 miles away to not shoot around, because all I saw were women and children running away from gunfire, before I took a bullet myself. (End video clip) CNN: Got a lot of wonderful reviews already. I just want to ask you what your hope is for when Barack Obama takes office for veterans of the Iraq war. Donahue: Well, he will stop the pretense. He will stop it immediately. Oh, the troops, the troops, we love the troops ... [but] the troops come home and the V[eterans] A[dministration] doesn't call them back. We have to stop all this. We think if we say it, it's true. So, I see Barack Obama as -- first of all, the smile alone is going to restore this nation to the world's family of nations. ... They're going to be fascinated with the guy, and he is going to exploit this special attention to the benefit of this nation. I am pumped. CNN: The bar is high for him. Donahue: Yes. CNN: He's got the weight of the world on his shoulders. Phil Donahue, thank you for joining us. Donahue: Thank you, Carol.

Phil Donahue co-directed, co-produced "Body of War" Film concerns Tomas Young, Iraq war veteran paralyzed by bullet to spine . Donahue: "Nobody sees this pain. These people are all below the radar"

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Editor's Note: Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist, is chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute and founder of Brazile & Associates, a political consulting firm. She was the campaign manager for the Al Gore-Joe Lieberman ticket in 2000 and wrote "Cooking with Grease." Donna Brazile says Barack Obama's inauguration is a huge milestone in the fight for equal rights . WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Today Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. This is the day for which so many prayed, so many marched and so many more sacrificed. This is a day of jubilation and celebration. This is the day to rejoice and recommit ourselves to restoring the American dream for us all. Barack Obama's election offers our country the opportunity to open a new chapter that will allow us to turn the corner on past prejudices and racial politics. When Sen. Obama announced his candidacy for president in 2007, most people, black and white, thought it would be, at best, an interesting sideshow. After Obama's victories in the early primaries, there came the controversial videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, broadcasting a racial divisiveness that cast even greater doubt on an Obama candidacy. But the senator moved quickly to reassure people that Wright's jaundiced view of America did not reflect his own. Americans wanted to move beyond racial categorization and the politics of division. Obama understood that. And so did the voters. But African-Americans didn't believe it. Seventy-one percent of black voters had never thought a black candidate for president would get elected in their lifetime, according to a national poll released in November by CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Yet 59 percent of white respondents said they had thought it was possible. Obama did not just win the caucuses in Iowa -- a state with a white population of more than 94 percent -- he resoundingly captured it. Other primary victories, once thought improbable, soon followed. These included Georgia, and Virginia, the former seat of the Confederacy. On Election Day, Obama won a higher percentage of the white vote than John Kerry did in 2004, though he did not get a majority of whites. Unlike other black presidential candidates before him, Obama did not run as "the black candidate." He ran as a Democratic candidate, a U.S. senator from Illinois, and a progressive. And America, by larger margins than in previous recent elections, voted for the progressive Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois who happened to be biracial. For too long, race has been the stain on the American fabric. As Secretary Condoleezza Rice reminded us, race has been our "nation's birth defect." At times during the long primary and general election, race became a subtle distraction -- but the American people rejected it and it was never the primary issue. Nor was it the primary issue for Americans who voted for Barack Obama. The vast majority of those who voted for and against Obama did so based on the content of his political prescriptions and platform -- not the color of his skin. A lot of lessons were taught November 4. Obama's election revealed the possibility of three new truths for African-Americans: White America may not be as racist as African-Americans thought they were; a solution to our country's lingering racial problem may eventually be found; and the Rev. Martin Luther King's dream that one day all people will be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin is alive and within reach. Obama's election has inspired 6 in 10 blacks to forecast better race relations in the United States. "A majority of blacks now believe that a solution to the country's racial problems will eventually be found," said CNN polling director Keating Holland. "In every previous poll on this topic dating back to 1993, black respondents had always said that racial problems were a permanent part of the American landscape. Even in the most recent polls taken last week, a majority of African-Americans said that a solution to the country's racial problems could be within reach; now blacks and whites agree that racial tensions may end." Yes, of course, racism still exists in America. But if a black man can become president of the United States of America, then aren't all Americans now free to believe they can achieve any goal they set for themselves? So on this day, let us all rejoice and be glad. Let us celebrate this moment in American history and let us resolve to find common ground. Let us resolve to join together as a nation to ensure that racial prejudice in America, as well as an ethic of non-achievement based on excuses and low expectations, dies the same death it did in the November ballot box. What our founders envisioned -- what President Lincoln and the Rev. King fought and died for, we are perhaps finally ready to achieve. This is a remarkable moment. Though not the apex we need to reach, it is still a mountaintop, alive with possibilities, a dream no longer deferred. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile.

Donna Brazile: Obama's inauguration is a time for rejoicing and rededication . Brazile: Hardly anyone took Obama seriously as a candidate two years ago . Brazile: He didn't run as an African-American candidate but as a Democrat . Brazile: We are perhaps ready to achieve what Lincoln and the Rev. King fought for .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- While nearly all maritime activity on the Potomac River will be halted on Inauguration Day, a handful of Mall-goers will sail from Virginia to Washington on water taxis. Some people will cross the Potomac River via water taxi on Inauguration Day. Working closely with the United States Coast Guard, the Potomac Riverboat Company, based in Alexandria, Virginia, plans to ferry up to 3,200 passengers from across the frigid Potomac on seven climate-controlled boats. The service is partially a response to the closure of all bridges from Virginia to D.C. on Inauguration Day, a measure that prompted an uproar among Virginia residents. According to maritime authorities in charge of the region, PRC is the only company being allowed to taxi across the river on the 20th. "Because the taxi service provided us with a security plan that we examined and deemed adequate to provide good security, I granted them a waiver to operate at an increased security level," National Capitol Region Port Captain Brian Kelley says. "The taxis are going to operate on a strict schedule and a strict route." The Coast Guard established a temporary security zone on waterways in the National Capitol Region, stepping up restrictions day-by-day leading up to 11 p.m. on January 19. At that point, all vessels must be docked and only boats with an approved sail plan will be allowed to operate. John Lake, a ship captain and the general manager of the company, said the sail plan he submitted was approved only a week ago and details nearly every move taxis will make. "All the departures are scheduled times. And those departures are supposed to leave on-time," Lake said. "We have to call in on each departure to the Coast Guard, let them know we're preparing to get under way, and get the permission, basically, to get under way." The boats depart the Alexandria Marina for the 40-minute trip beginning around 6 a.m. and must be docked on the southwest D.C. shore by 10 a.m. From there, it's a cold, mile-long walk to the Mall, so Lake has some advice for passengers. "Show up early to get through the security check and dress warm," he said. "It's going to be nice and toasty on the boat, but not so much outside." Return trips, tentatively scheduled for around 6 p.m., are not allowed to depart D.C. until after the inaugural parade events have concluded and President Obama is secured. In keeping with the Coast Guard's security measures, Lake says all passengers must arrive at least an hour early for a full screening. Passengers that want to stay in D.C. after the early evening departures will have to find other transport back across the Potomac. PRC Vice President Charlotte Hall says tickets went on sale Monday and the initial response from customers has been enthusiastic.

Up to 3,200 passengers to be taken across Potomac on seven boats . Service is partially a response to the closure of all bridges from Virginia to D.C. Potomac Riverboat Company clears security to provide service . All passengers must arrive at least an hour early for a full screening .

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(CNN) -- Prince Harry paraded alongside his fellow British servicemen in Scotland Wednesday, as he attended a memorial to service members who have died in Afghanistan. Prince Harry takes part in a memorial parade and service for troops killed during his tour of Afghanistan. Harry, 23, serves in the British Army and spent 10 weeks in Afghanistan earlier this year. He was withdrawn unexpectedly in March after news leaked out about his low-key deployment. The prince appeared in uniform alongside around 200 other sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen at the parade, which took place on Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile. They made their way to St. Giles' Cathedral for a private memorial and thanksgiving service for the fallen service members. Also attending the service was British Defense Secretary Des Browne, families of the fallen troops, and recovering wounded military personnel. Harry holds the rank of cornet, equivalent to a second lieutenant. He was deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand province where he served as a forward air controller. His duties included calling in airstrikes and air support when necessary, guaranteeing the accuracy of bombing on the ground and guarding against incidents of friendly fire. The parade and memorial service took place on the same day Britain's Ministry of Defense announced the deaths of four British soldiers in Afghanistan, and two days after Browne announced Britain will increase its presence in Afghanistan from 7,800 troops to 8,030 by next spring. Watch Prince Harry at the memorial » . Prince Harry is the younger son of Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and the late Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997. Last year, the military ruled he could not be sent to Iraq because publicity about the deployment could put him and his unit at risk. Shortly after the news of the prince's deployment broke, several Islamist Web sites posted messages alerting their "brethren" in Afghanistan to be on the lookout for the royal soldier. Several members of the British royal family saw combat in the past century. Prince Harry's grandfather, Prince Phillip, served aboard warships in World War II; his great-grandfather -- the future King George VI -- took part in the World War I naval battle of Jutland; and Prince Andrew, Prince Harry's uncle, flew Royal Navy helicopters during Britain's 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Prince Harry's brother, Prince William, is also an army officer. But as second in line for the throne, he is specifically barred from combat.

Harry serves in British Army and spent 10 weeks in Afghanistan this year . Decision was made to pull prince from Afghanistan amid fears for his safety . Harry marched with 200 sailors, soldiers, marines, airmen at parade in Edinburgh . Service took place on the same day four UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan .

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H. W. Brands is the author of "TR: The Last Romantic" and the just-released "Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt." He teaches history at the University of Texas at Austin. Historian H.W. Brands says power as well as race was behind controversy over Booker T. Washington. AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- In his concession speech on Tuesday night, John McCain illustrated the historic significance of Barack Obama's election by noting that a little over a century ago the inclusion of another black man, Booker T. Washington, at a White House dinner provoked outrage in large parts of the country. McCain wasn't giving a history lecture, and he quickly moved on, but the tale is worth exploring, as it is both more complex and more instructive than McCain's brief remarks suggested. Washington was the one who initiated the acquaintance that led to his 1901 dinner with Theodore Roosevelt. Washington had built the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama into a political base that made him the most powerful black leader in the country. Invited to address the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895, Washington offered white America a racial bargain: Blacks would cease agitating for immediate political and civil rights if whites would fund black educational and economic advancement. This "Atlanta Compromise" outraged black intellectuals like W. E. B. Du Bois, but it appealed to white leaders in the South and white philanthropists in the North -- and it marked Washington, the broker of Northern largesse and Southern cooperation, as one of the shrewdest politicians in the South. Washington spotted Roosevelt on the rise, and after Roosevelt became vice president, Washington invited him to Tuskegee, where he knew Roosevelt, the apostle of the strenuous life, would be entranced by the rigorous physical regimen the students pursued. Roosevelt was preparing to visit Tuskegee when the assassination of William McKinley elevated him to the presidency and threw his plans into turmoil. Roosevelt instead invited Washington to call at the White House whenever he was in town. Washington didn't have to be asked twice. Within weeks, he was in the capital and was invited to join the president for dinner on October 16. Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency made him that much more interesting to Washington. Yet no more interesting than Washington was to Roosevelt. The peculiar politics of the Republican Party gave Washington an importance among Republicans that belied the abnegations of the Atlanta Compromise. Discriminatory Jim Crow laws kept most blacks from voting in the South, but they didn't prevent the Southern states from sending delegations to the Republican national conventions every four years. These delegations could tip the balance in a tight contest, and Roosevelt -- who though president was profoundly unpopular among the Republican bosses -- expected the 1904 convention to be a tight contest. Roosevelt's invitation to Washington to dine at the White House had little to do with Washington's race per se, but everything to do with Washington's role as a political boss of Southern Republicans who happened to be black. Likewise, the outrage expressed by Southern editors and spokesmen over Roosevelt's alleged affront to the South, while couched in the language of race, was really about political power. "White men of the South, how do you like it?" fulminated the New Orleans Times-Democrat. "White women of the South, how do you like it?" The Richmond Times frothed over the implications of the honor Roosevelt had bestowed on Washington: "It means that the president is willing that Negroes shall mingle freely with whites in the social circle -- that white women may receive attentions from negro men; it means that there is no racial reason in his opinion why whites and blacks may not marry and intermarry, why the Anglo-Saxon may not mix negro blood with his blood." The vehemence of the Southern response gave the game away. Booker Washington had explicitly forsworn any claim to social equality, let alone the right for blacks to marry whites. What the Southern foamers, political conservatives to a man, feared was that Washington might help the dangerously progressive Roosevelt get elected in his own right. When he did precisely that -- Roosevelt fended off the conservatives at the 1904 convention and was returned to office overwhelmingly -- they foamed the more. The race question in America has often been about race, but it has equally often been about power. Not for 40 years, since the dismantling of the Jim Crow system, has the race of guests at the White House prompted anything other than idle curiosity. But until last Tuesday those African-Americans among the guests were precisely that: guests -- visitors who lacked the power that occupancy of the White House entails. Symbolism isn't unimportant, and the symbolism of a black man taking the oath of the president's office in January will certainly bring an outpouring of sentiment like that which greeted Obama's election. But behind the symbolism of race is the reality of power. Obama will wield power of an order Booker Washington appreciated in Roosevelt but never possessed for himself. A week or a month after the symbolism fades, the reality will remain. At that point, Obama's race won't matter nearly as much as his facility with power. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands: Roosevelt-Washington White House dinner was controversial . He says the the opposition was about power as well as about race . African-Americans have often been guests at the White House . Brands: When Obama moves in, it will represent a leap in terms of power .

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi Presidency Council approved a resolution Sunday that will allow non-U.S. foreign troops to remain in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end. British troops talk in Basra last week. Iraq on Sunday OK'd foreign troops to remain in the country after the new year. It was the last step for final adoption of the resolution, which won parliamentary approval Tuesday. Iraq's main political parties hammered out the resolution a week ago, after an impasse among parliamentary factions threatened to continue beyond the December 31 deadline. A separate, previously approved agreement authorizes U.S. troops to remain. Britain has about 4,100 troops in Iraq, the second-largest contingent after the United States, which has about 142,500. Other countries covered under the resolution -- El Salvador, Australia, Romania and Estonia -- have a total of several hundred troops in the country. The resolution authorizes Iraq to negotiate bilateral agreements with the countries, Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said. If it had not been approved by year's end, their troops would have been in Iraq illegally. In November, the United States concluded a separate agreement with the Iraqi government authorizing the continued presence of its troops. U.S. combat forces plan to pull back from population centers in Iraq by July and to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. The British government says its forces will complete their mission of training Iraqi troops by May 31 and withdraw from the country by July 31. In other developments: . • Four people were killed and 20 wounded Sunday when a suicide bomber targeted a demonstration in Mosul against Israeli military operations in Gaza, a Mosul police official said. About 30 minutes into the rally, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated after riding his bicycle into a crowd of protesters, police said. • One of three al Qaeda in Iraq prisoners at large after a Friday jail break in Ramadi was killed in a gun battle with police Saturday, and the remaining two were arrested early Sunday, according to Ramadi police and an Iraqi Interior Ministry official. Amad Ahmed Farhan was among 40 al Qaeda in Iraq prisoners who escaped from jail at al-Fursan police station. An Iraqi police patrol drove by Farhan's sister's home and Farhan began shooting at officers, a police official said. He then fled, jumping from the roof of one house to another before a police sniper gunned him down. The remaining two prisoners, Abdul Aleem Abdulwahab and Lazem Mohammed Ali, were found hiding in water tanks Sunday at a home where they had threatened two women and several children with weapons, the Interior Ministry said. Of the 40 who escaped, 24 were taken into custody, six were killed in the clashes and seven others were wounded. Ten Iraqi police also were killed. • A car bomb killed at least two civilians and wounded four others Sunday near the western entrance to the city of Falluja, an Interior Ministry official said. Falluja is a Sunni town located about 35 miles (60 kilometers) west of Baghdad. • A U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb Sunday in northern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The soldier was with Multi-National Division - Baghdad. No further details were given. The death brings the U.S. toll in the Iraq war to 4,217. CNN's Jill Dougherty and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

NEW: Suicide bomber kills 4 in Mosul at protest against Israel's Gaza airstrikes . Resolution approved by Presidency Council replaces U.N. mandate set to expire . After U.S.'s 142,500 troops, Britain has second-largest contingent: 4,100 . Authorities capture two al Qaeda in Iraq escapees, kill another from Friday jailbreak .

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(CNN) -- Bitter cold weather was sweeping across the nation Thursday, putting the Midwest in a deep freeze. A thermometer registers minus 20 degrees Thursday in Hudson, Wisconsin. It was brutal in Ames, Iowa, on Wednesday. "Last night, the temperature was still above zero (3 degrees Fahrenheit), but the wind chill (minus 14 degrees) was cold enough to make your skin burn," iReporter Kevin Cavallin said. "When it gets this cold, your hands are just in pain when doing something as simple as carrying bags of groceries from the car to the apartment." iReport.com: What's the weather like near you? Send photos, video . In Minneapolis, Minnesota, it felt like 40 below because of the wind chill, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said. It was 48 below in Fargo, North Dakota, where unprotected fingers could suffer frostbite in 60 seconds. Watch the freeze in Iowa » . The freezing temperatures are likely to remain in the East through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. There were low teens Thursday along much of the Interstate 95 corridor, which hugs the Atlantic from Maine to Florida. It was 17 in New York, which had a moderate snowfall Thursday that delayed flights a few hours on the ground at LaGuardia Airport. "If you live east of the Mississippi River, the temperature at mid-morning may be the best you'll get," Marciano added. Temperatures dipped to 19 degrees below zero in Michigan and 10 below in Chicago, Illlinois. Snow caused more traffic nightmares in the Midwest. Snow also was falling in Trenton, New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; and other Northeast cities. Meanwhile, an icy cold front was pushing into the Southeast, with a cold high-pressure center expected to remain over the area through Saturday, the National Weather Service said. Another cold front is to move in late Sunday. The sun came out in Georgia, but forecasters said the weather would deteriorate by evening. Much of Georgia, including Atlanta, will be under a wind chill advisory from 7 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday. Thursday's high in the state could reach 59, but the thermometer could reach as low as 14 at night, the weather service said. Forecasters said overnight temperatures will be accompanied by bitterly cold wind chills, possibly setting a record.

NEW: It felt like 40 below in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because of wind chill . NEW: It was 10 below in Chicago -- without the wind chill . Icy cold front is pushing into the Southeast and could last through Saturday . iReport.com: Cold near you? Share your photos, video, stories .

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military formally handed authority over Baghdad's "Green Zone" to Iraqis on Thursday as new pacts governing the mission of international troops replaced a U.N. mandate. An Iraqi honor guard parades outside the former palace of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad on Thursday. Iraqi troops took over checkpoints around the heavily protected district, formally known as the International Zone, which houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. Embassy. Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace, which served as U.S. headquarters in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion that ousted Iraq's longtime strongman, was among the facilities handed over in Thursday's ceremony. "This day is a great day in the history of the Iraqi people," Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta said. Maj. Gen. David Perkins, a U.S. military spokesman, noted the significance of turning over the former Republican Palace. Watch what goes on in the "Green Zone" » . "The palace was handed back to the Iraqi people, significant as symbol of the head of the government and a sign for increased sovereignty," he said at a news conference with Atta. Thursday marked the first day of a U.S.-Iraqi pact that allows U.S. forces to remain in the country until 2011, under tighter restrictions. Similar agreements have been signed with other coalition countries that remain in Iraq. A U.N. mandate that authorized international forces in the country expired Wednesday. Perkins said American troops will continue to fight alongside Iraqis -- "but the Iraqis will be in the lead." "When you come up to a checkpoint, the Iraqis will check your identification. They will make the decision if you come in or go out," he said. "We will continue to be there to provide some technical capacity, to provide some mentoring, but you will see less and less American forces and more and more Iraqi forces -- and they will have the majority of the responsibility for making those key decisions which determine the security of the capital." Iraq's three-member Presidency Council ratified the new pact in December. Under the deal, U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities and towns by June 30, and all American troops will leave the country by the end of 2011, more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Hussein. The agreement authorizes the "temporary assistance" of U.S. forces but severely restricts their role. It requires Iraqi approval for all military operations and gives Iraqi courts the right to try U.S. troops and contractors for "grave premeditated felonies."

U.N. mandate authorizing foreign troop presence expired Wednesday . New bilateral pact covers U.S. presence until 2011 . U.S. troops to leave Iraqi cities by end of June .

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ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Police Wednesday arrested the suspected head of an Italian mafia murder squad following a two-day manhunt after he eluded police by crawling through sewer pipes, according to Italian media reports. Italian police examine a sewer that may have offered an escape route for a suspected mafia boss. Giuseppe Setola, 38, was arrested near Caserta north of Naples, according to Italy's state-run ANSA news agency and reports in the La Repubblica and Corriere Della Sera newspapers. "This is a great moment for the (Italian) state," Naples anti-Mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti told ANSA after Setola's arrest. "We were certain (Setola) was in a situation of great difficulty. We promised all the citizens that he would be caught. We have kept that promise." Setola is believed to have slipped into a tunnel built under his hideout near Naples on Monday, as police closed in on him, according to the reports. That tunnel connects to the sewer system in Caserta. Corriere published photos of anti-mafia police searching through what was described as Setola's trash-strewn bunker and the tunnel. Anti-mafia police have been searching for Setola for months, and had already arrested his wife and two suspected members of his crew, according to the reports. Monday was the third time he avoided arrest. Setola is allegedly the head of a killing team run by the powerful Casalesi clan which belongs to the Neapolitan mafia known as Camorra. He got out of jail last spring after a doctor ruled that he was legally blind. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into that ruling. Corriere published a photo of Setola wearing sunglasses with his left eye bandaged. The Casalesi clan is featured in the best-selling book "Gomorrah" -- a play on the word "Camorra" -- written by Roberto Saviano who now lives under constant police protection. Saviano recently said he may have to leave Italy to escape constant death threats from the mafia and its supporters. Police began cracking down on Setola and his colleagues after the murder of six West African immigrants in the nearby town of Castel Volturno in September. After those killings, the Italian government activated the army to help bolster efforts against the Casalesi clan, which is believed to have killed more than 20 people since May. The two suspected members of his squad have given police information about his movements. In November, police arrested an Italian police officer suspected of informing Setola about police operations.

Italian mafia suspect arrested after escape through sewer pipes . Setola is allegedly head of killing team run by the powerful Casalesi clan . Tunnel found connecting to sewer system in the nearby town of Caserta .

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(CNN) -- A new study that surveyed racial attitudes suggests that racial prejudices could tip the balance in the upcoming presidential election. A poll finds a small percentage of voters said they may turn away from Sen. Barack Obama because of his race. If there were no racial prejudice among voters, Sen. Barack Obama would receive about 6 percentage points more support, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll, designed in partnership with Stanford University. The results suggest that 40 percent of white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, including more than a third of white Democrats and independents. A small percentage of voters -- 2.5 percent of those surveyed -- said they may turn away from Obama because of his race. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that race could play a big role in November. Asked if race would be a factor in their vote, 37 percent of respondents said yes. But of that group, many are Republicans who are not likely to vote for any Democrat, and some are Democrats who may vote for Obama because of his race. Of the 8 percent of Democrats who told CNN they plan to vote for Obama's GOP rival, Sen. John McCain, half said race was a factor. The survey, conducted August 29-31, questioned 1,031 people and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Experts point out that it's hard to quantify racial prejudice because many people who hold prejudices are not going to admit to it. Watch how race could affect the election » . "The hardest thing in the world for pollsters to poll for, with the exception of sexual behavior, is racial attitudes and how it affects behavior," said Walter Shapiro, Washington bureau chief for Salon.com. Shapiro said while people might say things differently off the record, racial issues cannot easily be quantified. The pollsters for the AP/Yahoo survey used techniques that they thought would be more likely to lead to honest results -- such as conducting the poll online and using subtle methods and formulas to calculate racial attitudes. That study also suggests that the number of people who may turn away from Obama because of his race could be larger than what the margin of victory was in the 2004 election. Jeff Johnson, host of BET's "The Truth With Jeff Johnson," said, "I think there is a concern clearly about the number of people who will vote based on race. "But I agree -- how you quantify that number, I think, is very difficult." According to CNN's average of recent national polls, Obama holds a lead of 5 percentage points over McCain. Johnson said one misconception is that racial prejudices are unique to conservatives or people in "Middle America." "There are liberals also in many cases that are racist. I don't think we know yet how it's going to play out," he said. In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Obama said while some people might not vote for him because he is black, others might vote for him just because he is. "Are there going to be some people who don't vote for me because I'm black? Of course. There are probably some African-Americans who are voting for me because I'm black or maybe others just inspired by the idea of breaking new ground, and so I think all that's a wash," he said. Democrats, however, typically get close to 90 percent of the African-American vote anyway. Salon.com's Shapiro said Democrats can work on increasing turnout among black voters but that it will be hard to make gains on the percentages they already see. Johnson said he thinks race will matter, and the best way for Obama to balance out any negative effect is to just stay on message. "I don't know if I believe it's going to be a wash. I think it's going to matter. This race is extremely close, and so every single demographic and every single point is going to count," he said. "I think he has to speak to the issues of people in Middle America, and by that, it can counterbalance some of these racial issues." The AP-Yahoo News poll surveyed 2,227 adults. It was conducted August 27-September 5, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Racial prejudices could cost Sen. Barack Obama 6 percentage points, poll suggests . Poll: Forty percent of white Americans have at least a partly negative view of blacks . Experts point out that it's hard to quantify racial attitudes . Democrats typically get close to 90 percent of the African-American vote .

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(CNN) -- Seven people, including a toddler, died when fire roared through a three-story home in southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday night, fire officials said. Firefighters work to put out a fire at a town home Friday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Six of the victims -- three adults, a teen and two children -- were found in the townhome's basement, huddled together, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. A 2-year-old boy who was pulled from the burning house by firefighters was later pronounced dead at Children's Hospital, Ayers said. Eleven people, all of Liberian nationality, lived in the basement of the home, he said. Two were rescued by firefighters and two escaped on their own, Ayers said. Watch firefighters at work on the blaze » . There were no stairs from the basement to the upper level and there was only one door leading out, he said. Early clues suggest a kerosene heater may have started the blaze, but the fire marshal has not officially determined a cause, Ayers said. "We found serious issues in the house," he said. The home did not appear to be equipped with smoke detectors, the fire commissioner said. "We have not found any smoke alarms at all, which we are very saddened by," Ayers said. Wade Lee, who lived in the same building, said the landlord had helped tenants work out fire evacuation plans. Lee said the victims often brought his family fresh vegetables from their garden, and the children were a joy. "Our wishes are with them right now, more so than for ourselves," he said. "Just hearing the children laughing, and not being able to hear that no more is grievous to us all."

2-year-old pulled from fire later pronounced dead at hospital . Six victims found huddled together in basement . Eleven people, all of Liberian nationality, lived in the home, fire official says . Basement home had one exit, no smoke detectors, official says .

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(CNN) -- Grammy-winning trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, a leading figure in jazz during a five-decade career, has died at age 70, about a month after suffering a heart attack, his publicist said Tuesday. In the 1970s, Freddie Hubbard made a series of funk- and fusion-oriented albums, such as the 1970 hit "Red Clay." Hubbard died Monday morning in Sherman Oaks, California, outside Los Angeles, after a long battle with heart disease, spokesman Don Lucoff told CNN. He had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack the day before Thanksgiving and took a turn for the worse last week, Lucoff said. "Freddie Hubbard, in terms of the advent of modern jazz, the birth of bebop, was probably among the five greatest trumpet players that has ever lived ... He's really right up there with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Roy Eldridge, an innovator and great composer," Lucoff said. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Hubbard moved to New York in the late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, he was playing alongside such major jazz figures as Art Blakey, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. In the early 1970s, he made a series of funk- and fusion-oriented albums, such as the 1970 hit "Red Clay" and 1972's Grammy-winning "First Light." "The thing that set Freddie Hubbard apart was he played rapidly, he played soulfully and he really set the pace for a lot of the trumpet players who have come after him in the last 20 or 30 years," Lucoff said. Hubbard was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He is survived by wife, Briggie, and son Duane.

Grammy-winning trumpeter long fought heart disease, spokesman says . Hubbard played with major jazz figures including Art Blakey and Herbie Hancock . Hubbard was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006 .

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(CNN) -- Tim Russert, who became one of America's leading political journalists as the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday, the network said. He was 58. Tim Russert established himself as the face of NBC's political journalism as host of "Meet the Press." The network said the award-winning journalist collapsed at work Friday. He was taken to Washington's Sibley Memorial Hospital, where he died, the hospital confirmed. Colleague and former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw broke the news on the network Friday shortly after 3:40 p.m. Russert had just returned from a family vacation in Italy with his wife, journalist Maureen Orth, and son, Luke, to celebrate his graduation from Boston College, Brokaw said. "I think I can invoke personal privilege and say this news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said Friday. "He will be missed as he was loved -- greatly." Watch Brokaw break the news » . Friends and colleagues remembered Russert on Friday not only as one of the country's most respected and influential political journalists, but also as a friend, a devout Catholic and an avid sports fan, especially when it came to his home team, the Buffalo Bills. Watch politicians, journalists pay homage to Russert » . "I just loved the guy. He had this enthusiasm about all of the things that life brings to you," said James Carville, who often attended Washington National games with Russert. "My wife and I are in a complete state of utter shock." Watch as Carville describes his friendship with Russert » . Russert was born May 7, 1950, in Buffalo, New York. His parents were Timothy John Russert Sr., or "Big Russ," a newspaper truck driver and sanitation worker, and Elizabeth Russert. Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown ordered that all flags on city property be lowered immediately to half-staff in Russert's honor. He was a graduate of Canisius High School, John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was a member of the bar in New York and the District of Columbia, according to a biography on CNBC.com . Before joining NBC, Russert served as press secretary for former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and as chief of staff to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Russert joined the network in 1984 and quickly established himself as the face of the network's political coverage, eventually becoming senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC news. His career at NBC was marked by a number of milestones. In 1985, Russert supervised live broadcasts of the "Today" show from Rome, Italy, negotiating an appearance by Pope John Paul II -- a first for American television. He was also the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including an Emmy in 2005 for his coverage of the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. His rise to prominence coincided with his success as the best-selling author of two books, 2004's "Big Russ and Me" and 2006's "Wisdom of Our Fathers," which documented his journey from blue-collar beginnings to law school to Washington powerhouse. Watch Russert talk about lessons he learned from his father on CNN's Larry King Live » . The memoirs, both of which were New York Times best sellers, transformed the award-winning journalist into the son of Big Russ, a Buffalo Bills fanatic, and finally, a husband and father. Watch Russert talk about his son's first tattoo » . "Tim was a true child of Buffalo and the blue-collar roots from which he was raised," Brokaw said Friday. "For all his success, he was always in touch with the ethos of that community." Russert credited his upbringing with helping him keep his ego in check as he became the man who interviewed presidents and important politicians of the day. iReport.com: Send your memories of Russert . "If you come from Buffalo, everything else is easy. Walking backwards to school, for a mile in the snow, grounds you for life," Russert told the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz in 2004. "Plus, if you have a family the way I do, it's a daily reality check." Russert, who also served as a political analyst for cable network MSNBC, took the helm of "Meet the Press" in 1991, turning the long-running Sunday-morning interview program into the most-watched show of its kind in the United States. During his 17-year run as the host of "Meet the Press," the longest of any host in the show's 60-year history, Russert earned the respect and admiration of many journalists and politicians. "He was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades. Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it," President Bush said Friday. His professionalism earned him many accolades. The Washingtonian Magazine once dubbed Russert the best and most influential journalist in Washington, describing "Meet the Press" as "the most interesting and important hour on television." In 2008, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Brokaw described Russert as a political junkie who threw himself into his work during this year's presidential contest. "This was one of the most important years of Tim's life for many reasons," Brokaw said. "He loved this political campaign. He worked himself to the point of exhaustion many weeks."

Veteran journalist collapses at work, according to NBC . Russert best known as host of NBC's "Meet the Press" Russert just returned from trip to Italy with family . Mayor of Buffalo, New York, orders flags to fly at half-staff .

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(CNN) -- Blistering temperatures and winds battered parts of the upper Midwest on Tuesday, delivering to some states the coldest weather in decades. A chilling cold front is battering the upper Midwest and Great Lakes. On the heels of a blizzard that barreled into the Northern Plains, temperatures dropped to minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Hayward, Wisconsin, a man who was prone to sleepwalking died after exposure to the freezing temperatures there, according to CNN affiliate KDLH-TV in Duluth, Minnesota. Authorities said the man's son reported him missing about noon Tuesday. Police told KDLH they found bare footprints leading 190 feet away from the man's home. For Tony Williams, the temperature in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was more than his body could handle. After shoveling outside his home without gloves for 45 minutes in minus-17-degree weather, Williams suffered second-degree frostbite, according to CNN affiliate KARE-TV. "On his finger pads, all of his fingers and his thumb, he had the formation of blisters," Dr. Cheryl Adkinson, an emergency physician at Hennepin County Medical Center who treated Williams, told KARE. In Grand Forks, North Dakota, the weather was severe enough to break a record temperature from 1979, with minus 37 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The blast of cold, snow and ice wreaked havoc on traffic throughout the Midwest. In cities across the area, schools and businesses shut their doors because of the icy temperatures, and residents tried to dig out their cars and streets. iReport.com: How is winter weather affecting you? In Arlington Heights, Illinois, railroad worker Matt Tesh was feeling the sting of near-zero wind chills as he shoveled snow from railroad tracks Tuesday morning, CNN affiliate WGN reported. See how the storm has hit Chicago, Illinois » . Wearing several layers under his bright orange coat, he tried working without a face mask. That didn't last long. "Two or three minutes [without it], and my face was burning," he told WGN. In the next couple of days, forecasters aren't predicting much of a letup. The weather system, known as an "Alberta clipper," is expected to bring gusty winds, plummeting temperatures and a couple of inches of snow to Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday morning, according to the weather service. The cold system from Canada will meet a system that originated in the Arctic and will spread below-freezing temperatures across the Great Lakes area, according to CNN meteorologist Guillermo Arduino. See the forecast » . The system will bring many states in the Midwest the coldest days of the season, with hazardous wind chills. The weather service forecasters predicted snowfall of 1 to 5 inches from the Dakotas to the southern Great Lakes and even to the Northeast by the end of the week. "Near-whiteout conditions and slick roads are expected to impact travel of all types," according to the weather service's central region headquarters. After previous blasts of snow and cold, airports in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan, are expected to have continuing delays, Arduino said. Temperatures in Detroit are expected to reach minus 18 degrees Wednesday and minus 12 degrees Thursday. In Minneapolis, the front will bring temperatures down to minus 21 degrees Wednesday and minus 29 degrees Thursday. In Bismarck, North Dakota, temperatures on Wednesday will dip near minus 20, with wind chills as low as minus 45 degrees. In the next couple of days, forecasters said, the city could receive 3 to 6 inches of snow on top of the 5 inches dumped there by the last winter system.

Major winter system hits Midwest, packing heavy winds and snow . Forecasters predicting below-zero temperatures for next few days . One man dies after sleepwalking barefoot outside in Wisconsin . Man suffers frostbite after shoveling without gloves in minus 17 degree weather .

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Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences covering the news. Here, CNN Anchor Rick Sanchez describes spending some time with day laborers for a report that will air on 'Out in the Open' tonight at 8 ET. CNN's Rick Sanchez, pictured center, visits a street corner where many people gather to seek manual labor jobs. PALISADES PARK, New Jersey (CNN) -- For four hours Friday morning, I joined about 200 immigrants -- legal and illegal -- at a day-laborer site at the corner of East Columbia Avenue and Broad Avenue in downtown Palisades Park, New Jersey. My goal was not to find a job; rather it was to see how day laborers go about finding one themselves. Dressed in jeans, running shoes and a short-sleeve shirt, I looked like one of them. I also carried over my shoulder a bag containing a hidden camera. Day laborer sites like this one have sprung up all over the country. The laborers -- mostly immigrants, mostly men -- come to them to find jobs in construction or masonry or painting or landscaping. Some communities encourage the formation of these sites. In others, they have become lightning rods of controversy. In Palisades Park, they have become fixtures. At the site I visited, the last thing the folks there needed was more competition for jobs, but they nonetheless welcomed me into their group. They gave me pointers about how to get a good job. "Always ask how much," one man told me in Spanish as he prepped me in the art of negotiating for a days' wage. Another said it's better to be paid by the day instead of the hour. That way you're assured of a decent payment even if the work is cut short or the job is finished early. The guys I met told me they come here seven days a week. They wait and wait and wait for work. "Sometimes there's no work, sometimes there is work. Not every day," one man said. It gets worse when winter comes. "When it's cold, there's no work," another told me. A good week, they said, is one where they get offered jobs on two days for about $90 a day. That's a weekly salary of $180. It's barely enough to put food on the table, but it's better than the alternative. Life in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, they said, offers little in the way of income -- about $5 a week for manual labor. "We don't have a choice but to try to save a little bit and go back to our country," a 23-year-old Guatemalan man told me. The routine is simple: Show up early and wait for hours until a prospective employer shows up, if one shows up. As more people flock to these sites the competition for jobs gets intense. "There are a lot of people ... and I mean a lot of people at the stop here. So you no longer get a lot of work," the Guatemalan said. On Friday, I was there for 3½ hours until I finally witnessed a job offer. It came from, ironically, another immigrant. He was from the Ivory Coast, Africa, new in America himself, and delighted to provide work for fellow immigrants. He was looking for someone to help him move furniture and other belongings. These immigrants -- the African with a job and the Latinos seeking work -- negotiated the job terms in broken English, with African and Spanish accents swirling in the air. "I need two," said the African employer referring to the number of workers. "Two dollars is not enough," responded the Guatemalan. After much arm waving and false starts, they eventually figured out what the other was saying and a deal was struck. Many of the men here have a love-hate relationship with the United States. They miss their home countries but feel compelled to stay here out of economic necessity. "All you get in this country is bitterness, sadness and loneliness," one man told me. "But money," I interjected. "Of course, that's true," he responded. "First place is ... the money, that's why we come." E-mail to a friend . CNN's Alison Ginsberg contributed to this report.

Laborers in Palisades Park say two days of work at $90/day is a good week . They hope to earn enough money to send some to family in other countries . Some seem bitter about life in the U.S., but claim they stay for the money .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday he is asking the city council to change the office's two-term limit to allow him to run for a third term. "If the City Council should vote to amend term limits, I plan to ask New Yorkers to look at my record of independent leadership and then decide if I've earned another term," Bloomberg said in a news conference at City Hall. The mayor, a billionaire businessman, is credited with helping New York City recover economically after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, which felled the twin towers of the World Trade Center and killed more than 2,700 people. Elected for the first time just two months after the attacks, Bloomberg pumped tens of millions of dollars of his own money into that campaign, as well as his bid for re-election in 2005. "As a businessman with expertise on Wall Street and finance and as a mayor who has balanced budgets and delivered services, I can tell you that the enormity of the challenges ahead should not be underestimated," Bloomberg said. "I care deeply about sustaining the progress we made and finishing the job the voters elected me to do." Watch Bloomberg talk about seeking a third term » . New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., a Democrat considered a leading candidate to replace Bloomberg in next year's election, said he was "extremely disappointed" in the mayor's announcement. "I have always taken the Mayor at his word, particularly when he said on multiple occasions that altering term limits through a council vote would be disgraceful," he said. "Let me be clear: Today's announcement constitutes an attempt to suspend democracy. We should not undermine the will of the voters." Bloomberg, an independent since 2007, wants city council to change the current two-term limit law and offer voters another choice. "As always, it will be up to the people to decide, not me," he said. Standing beside Bloomberg at a later news conference regarding rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, New York Gov. David Paterson said he'd "be delighted to see [Bloomberg] running for a third term." The mayor then jokingly pledged that he would not seek a fourth. In 2005, Bloomberg easily defeated his Democratic opponent, Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president, who was never able to gain any traction against the popular incumbent. Before becoming mayor, Bloomberg ran Bloomberg L.P., a global communications company that provides news and financial services to thousands of businesses worldwide.

Michael Bloomberg asking city council to change two-term limit so he can run again . Mayor credited with helping New York recover after September 11, 2001 . First elected just two months after the attacks, he spent millions on campaign . Before becoming mayor, Bloomberg was billionaire businessman .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- He's the man who has just rejected offers of up to $700,000 a week in wages -- but who really is Kaka? And what has he done to deserve so much money? Wanted man: Kaka overcame a spine fracture before getting to the top of world football. Born in Brazil in 1982, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, or "Kaka" as he is more commonly known, is a footballer with Italian club AC Milan. His name, Kaka, is believed to come from a brother, who began calling him that due to his inability to say his proper name -- Ricardo. Said to be an amazing talent from a very young age, the attacking midfielder began his career with Sao Paulo at the tender age of eight, and had signed his first contract before his 16th birthday. Do you think Kaka should have stayed at AC Milan or taken the money at Manchester City? Tell us in the Sound Off box below. However, when all seemed set for a perfect career, Kaka suffered a serious, potentially paralyzing injury from a swimming pool accident in 2000. The then 18-year-old fractured a vertebra in his spine -- an injury that many thought could have ended his career and even prevented him from walking again. Kaka did recover though, and it's something that the deeply religious Brazilian has put down to the help of God, and ever since has given some of his income to his Church. Once recovered, he didn't waste time in getting his career restarted. By January 2001 he had made his debut in the Sao Paulo senior team and led the team to its first Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo championship. The following year he was a part of the Brazil team which won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and in 2003 his talents had attracted the interest of European clubs and he signed to AC Milan for euro 9 million ($12 million) per season, and remains under contract with them through 2013. Since then he's won the Serie A, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with AC Milan, while on a personal level he won the 2007 Ballon d'Or Award for the best player in Europe and the FIFA World Player of the Year 2007 -- among many other awards. His international performances have continued to be strong -- and he has now scored 23 goals for Brazil. Such is his influence inside and outside of football, that Kaka was named in the Time 100 most influential people in 2008. Outside of the game Kaka has continued to be a devout Christian. He married his long-time partner Caroline Celico in 2005, and they had their first child in June 2008. Oddly, the current season (in which he finds himself being offered the biggest football salary ever) hasn't been as profitable for Kaka. The 26-year-old has struggled with a groin injury and has not managed to combine as smoothly within the AC Milan team compared to previous seasons. Still, that did not seem to worry Manchester City -- or Real Madrid, and for now at least, the $150 million transfer effort remains the biggest in football's history.

Kaka is a Brazilian attacking midfielder who plays at AC Milan in Italy . At the age of 18 Kaka broke a vertebra in a swimming pool accident . He was named FIFA World Player of the Year for 2007 .

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three bombings killed an Iraqi official and three police officers and wounded 14 other Iraqis on Sunday evening and Monday morning, according to an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry. A U.S. soldier plays with a boy Monday while on patrol in Babil province, Iraq. An Iraqi police captain was killed when a bomb attached under his vehicle exploded as he drove to work Monday morning in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry official said. Seven people, including three Iraqi soldiers, were wounded by the "sticky bomb" blast, which happened as the captain drove to a checkpoint in eastern Baghdad's Zafaraniya neighborhood. The military refers to bombs attached to vehicles without the driver's knowledge as "sticky bombs." The deputy head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front was killed Sunday evening by a suicide bomb blast in the town of Al-Qaiyara, south of Mosul, according to Mosul police. The bomber entered Sheikh Hassan Zaidan al-Luhaibi's guest house and detonated an explosives vest, killing the sheikh and two other police officers, police said. Another bomb blast on Sunday evening wounded seven people who were putting up campaign posters and banners for candidates along Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, the official said. The people were campaigning for candidates in Iraq's provincial council elections set for January 31, the official said. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

The deputy head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front is killed by a suicide bomb blast . An Iraqi police captain is killed when a bomb attached under his vehicle explodes . Bomb blast wounds seven people putting up campaign posters and banners .

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man who, dressed as Santa Claus, killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party planned to flee to Canada the next day, but California police believe he decided to kill himself instead because of severe burn injuries. Pardo rigged his rental car so that if someone tried to remove the Santa suit, the car would explode. During a news conference on Friday, Covina Police Chief Kim Raney said Bruce Jeffrey Pardo had purchased a ticket for an early Christmas Day flight from Los Angeles to Canada. Raney said that while police do not know why Pardo, 45, decided against his plan to flee, they speculate it may have been due to the burn injuries Pardo received after setting fire to the home where the slayings occurred. Pardo's body was covered in third-degree burns, Raney said, and part of the Santa suit the gunman wore to the massacre burned and melted into his legs. Police believe Pardo's injuries came after he set fire to the home using a homemade device used to spread fuel. Raney also said Pardo came to his former in-laws' home with $17,000 strapped to his legs and inside a girdle, indicating he may have wanted quick access to his money as he fled the country. Watch police talk about what was found on the gunman's body » . Police said that after leaving the home, Pardo changed out of the Santa suit and into regular clothes. Raney also spoke about a pipe bomb that exploded in Pardo's rental car Thursday night. He said Pardo had rigged the rental car so that if someone tried to remove the Santa suit, the car would explode. The car was packed with ammunition and black powder, he said. Police said that inside Pardo's home in Montrose, California, they also found five empty boxes for semiautomatic handguns, two high-powered shotguns and "racing fuel," which they believe was used to help set fire to the home. Police also said they found Pardo's resume, which said he had a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering, but they could not verify if it was accurate. The resume also indicated Pardo had worked in the aerospace field. The news conference Friday came after officials said a ninth body was found in the rubble at the home. Watch investigators at the burned-out home » . Police said about 25 people attended the holiday party where Pardo, dressed in a full Santa Claus outfit, came in the front door and then moved through the house, firing two semiautomatic handguns. Covina police Friday released a recording of a chaotic 911 call. Voices are heard on the recording yelling, "Stay away from the window!" and pleading, "Please come immediately ... he's shooting! He's shooting!" Later a voice gasps, "He's left the house -- my mom's house is on fire!" A distraught woman cries, "My daughter's been shot! She was shot in the face on the side, and she's bleeding!" Police said Pardo brought four handguns to the home. The first victim was an 8-year-old girl who ran to the door after hearing a knock, police said. She was shot in the face but survived. "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 at a news conference Thursday. Watch police describe girl's injuries » . Raney said Friday that witnesses, who may have caught only glimpses of what was happening because of the chaos, thought Pardo may have targeted some victims. He said witnesses at the party said Pardo may have stood over some of the victims and executed them. Raney said people at the party were jumping out of windows on both floors of the house trying to escape the gunfire and flames. "The information we have so far is that Mr. Pardo was married to the daughter of the resident of the house," Raney said. "They'd been married for possibly one year, had recently divorced and a settlement was reached apparently last week. It sounds like that might have been a very contentious divorce." Investigators have yet to identify the charred bodies recovered from the burned house, which belonged to Pardo's ex-in-laws. Watch how the massacre unfolded » . In addition to the nine people killed, police said three people were injured, including the 8-year-old girl. A 16-year-old girl was wounded by gunfire and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said, and a woman who jumped out of a second-floor window suffered a broken leg and was hospitalized. Police said they have not accounted for three people: Pardo's ex-mother-in-law, ex-father-in-law and ex-wife. Pardo's neighbors talked to KABC on Thursday as they watched police search his home. "He's very nice, very sociable," Cindy Keenan said. She said Pardo always decorated his home for the holidays. Patrick Guzman said when he encountered Pardo in his yard about two hours before the attack, "He seemed normal." "He said 'Merry Christmas' to me," Guzman said. Ed Winter, assistant chief Los Angeles County coroner, said the bodies recovered were "severely burned and charred" and dental and medical records and X-rays will be necessary to establish identities. Winter said the intense fire caused the top floor of the two-story house to collapse onto the first floor. Pardo's body was discovered about 30 miles from the shooting scene at his brother's house in the Los Angeles suburb of Sylmar, dead from "a self-inflicted gunshot wound," police said. Relatives returning to the house found Pardo's body, police said. Buchanan said police received several 911 calls at 8:27 p.m. Wednesday. When officers arrived at the house three to four minutes after the first call, the dwelling was engulfed in flames. The fire was so intense that firefighters battled the blaze for an hour and a half before knocking the flames down so that officers "were able to look into the house from the outside, and initially saw three bodies in the front portion of the house," he said. As uninjured people were trying to escape, Buchanan said, "that's when he (Pardo) lit the accelerant in some manner -- we do not know how at this point -- and he fled the scene." Buchanan said the device that spread accelerant was "nothing that we or the arson-explosives unit has ever seen before. It appears to be homemade." A Christmas Eve party at the house was a family tradition, Raney said, and the party had often featured a visit from a neighbor who was dressed as Santa Claus. He said that neighbor has moved out of the neighborhood and was not at the party Wednesday night. Referring to Pardo, Buchanan said, "We don't know at this point whether he was aware that there was a Santa Claus in years past. We're assuming that he did, and that's the reason for the outfit."

NEW: 911 call: "Please come immediately ... he's shooting! He's shooting!" Police say suspect had flight scheduled from Los Angeles to Canada . Cops say Santa suit melted onto suspects body . Body of missing ninth person found in ashes, coroner's office says .

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. authorities arrested six people Wednesday on suspicion of smuggling African elephant ivory worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, law enforcement officials said. Imports of African elephant ivory have been banned in the United States since 1976. The defendants arranged to have ivory from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Uganda shipped into the United States disguised as wooden snakes, guitars and statues, authorities said. "The defendants plundered precious natural resources for personal profit," U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell and other officials said in a statement. "Their illegal trade threatens the continued existence of an endangered species and will not be tolerated." Federal agents tracked at least eight shipments, including one worth an estimated $165,000. Federal agents used surveillance and shipping, phone and bank records to track the suspect shipments. Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security were involved in the law enforcement operation. One suspect told an undercover federal agent during a purchase that it was difficult to bring ivory into the United States, but easy to sell it at high prices, the government statement said. Two other suspects also are accused of paying a courier $15,000 to bring a shipment of ivory from Cameroon into the United States. The U.S. banned ivory imports in 1976, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora effectively outlawed trade in elephant tissue in 1989. Illegal trade in African elephant ivory is considered to be a major cause of the continuing decline of elephant populations in Africa. The defendants are expected to appear in court in New York on Wednesday. They face jail terms of up to 20 years if convicted.

Six in four states face federal smuggling charges, U.S. attorney says . Ivory reportedly disguised as wooden snakes, guitars and statues . Elephant ivory trade illegal in U.S. since 1976, worldwide since 1989 .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has covered the Bush administration for six years. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux shares a light moment with President Bush during his final press conference Monday. As always, she was in the room Monday when Bush held his final press conference, an almost hourlong event in which the president answered questions about current issues and reflected on his eight years in office. Here Malveaux reflects on her time covering the Bush administration and on the final White House press conference, which she described as "raw," "fascinating" and "bizarre." Q: How do you compare this to previous briefings? Malveaux: This was an extraordinary press conference. It took the president a little time to warm up. He called on me third. About two questions after that, he embraced this different kind of mood and revealed things about himself that he didn't before. Watch Bush talk about his respect for the press » . We'd heard a bit about his misgivings before, but we didn't expect to hear about his disappointments -- "Sometimes the biggest disappointments will come from your so-called friends." At times he looked directly at me, other times away, in flashes of rage. And occasionally he turned to all of us pleading with an expression for understanding, empathy. He raised his voice when it was suggested that he was alone, insisting that he never felt the burden of the office: "I believe this -- the phrase 'burdens of the office' is overstated," he said. But at other points he reflected on the weight of the job: "You never escape the presidency. It travels with you wherever you go." When he was discussing Iraq, he was almost yelling, defending his administration. He was using gestures, leaning forward on the podium, his finger raised in the air. It was dramatic. Q: What was it like in the room? A: You saw at times a defiant President Bush as well as ultimately reflective in some ways. We know he regretted the "Mission Accomplished" banner on the aircraft carrier. But we heard some new details about how he had some regrets that Air Force One flew over New Orleans at that critical time when the city was under water during Katrina, as opposed to landing. He said he was wary of taking away law enforcement and rescue resources on the ground. But later in the press conference he was defiant about Hurricane Katrina, telling us: "Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed." Watch Bush defend the response to Katrina » . It was from there the president shifted to the president-elect. He discussed the fact that many people never thought they'd see the day when a black man would become the president, and it spoke volumes about the progress the country's made with race. At that time, he seemed misty-eyed. Q: Were you surprised at how candid the president was? A: This is certainly the most open he has been about some of the failures of his administration. You know, what was interesting, he took us back to the time of September 11 in a very emotional and strident way. He said -- remember those times when they had those tough questions, why didn't you put the dots together? It was almost as if he felt like he couldn't win either way. But at the same time, he said self-pity was pathetic and it wasn't something he was going to engage in. It was a very interesting look at President Bush grappling with all of these different things -- the successes as well as the failures. You get a sense here that he is looking at his legacy, that he's trying to come to terms with some of the things he did, his role in all of this. Q: Was there any one moment that stood out to you? A: He was most defiant when he talked about what he believes are the threats, potential threats against the United States. You could see him becoming emotional -- that this is something the future president is going to have to deal with, that he is going to have face. Every single time he went back to the threat out there, it seemed he wanted to reveal more, and would wish Barack Obama the best. At times, Bush seemed to be speaking directly to the president-elect: "He'll get in the Oval Office, and there will be a lot of people that are real critical and harsh, and he'll be disappointed at times by the tone of the rhetoric." Watch how Bush and Obama are working out the shift of power » . Q: The president ribbed you about the pronunciation of your name because it's French, even jokingly saying you can call him "Georges." But he finally got your name right. A: Yes, you could say the president and I have had an ongoing standoff for years now. When I first met the president, he called me Suzanne [said: Sue-zan], and I initially corrected him: "It's Suzanne. Rhymes with John." The president would blame it on his Texas accent. Actually, the first time he got it right was years ago on a trip to India and Pakistan. I remember feeling shocked. Sometimes I thought he intentionally called me "Sue-zan," if he was angry with my questions. Q: Any other surprises about this press conference? A: He didn't call on Helen Thomas, who is widely viewed as the dean of the White House press corps. She's been critical of President Bush and been covering presidents since Kennedy. She was out there, front row center with her hand raised.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reflects on covering president . President Bush reveals more of his feelings about job than ever before, she says . President most emotional over potential threats to United States, Malveaux says .

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(CNN) -- Our dog Tilly loves the holiday season. Turkey for Thanksgiving. Brisket for Hanukkah. Ham for Christmas and pot roast for New Year's. With so much food moving around the house and visitors who generously -- and covertly -- feed her under the table, Tilly has always been a happy dog during the season of giving. Two reluctant reindeer: Tilly, left, and Riley. Not anymore. After we spent much of one holiday season at the animal emergency center trying to keep Tilly alive, our holiday celebration turned into a hunt for household toxics. Tilly was diagnosed with severe anemia, which could have been caused by any one of numerous toxic items found in the refrigerators, cupboards and medicine cabinets of most homes. Now, Tilly's kibble and treats practically need their own passport to reach her mouth; human food is out of reach; visitors are asked to put away any medications and shown where the "approved" treats are kept. It may sound extreme, but veterinary medical experts say this type of preventative behavior can keep pets safe. This is especially true during the holidays, when family chaos increases and your pet's environment may change from day to day with the arrival of family and friends bearing gifts, holiday food items and exotic plants. "Dogs and cats do not know what is bad for them," said Dr. Cynthia Gaskill, associate professor and veterinary clinical toxicologist at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. "If there is medicine on the bathroom counter or food left on the table, that is irresistible to them." And unless your houseguests are conscientious pet owners themselves, chances are they aren't aware that they may be creating a toxic environment for your pet. Gaskill says it is important to let guests know not to leave their medications in an open suitcase or otherwise exposed. Over-the-counter and prescription medications can kill small animals. Because metabolic systems vary between species, a drug that may alleviate pain in humans can easily induce a toxic reaction in a dog or cat. For example, ibuprofen ingested by a dog can cause gastrointestinal damage and kidney dysfunction. Cats are especially susceptible to even small amounts of acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol); ingestion of just one tablet can result in anemia and potential liver damage. Dr. Robin Van Metre, a veterinarian at the Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital in Colorado, says that many of the emergency calls he receives involve pets that have accidentally ingested prescription medications or been given an over-the-counter medication by well-meaning owners who believe that their animal is in pain. Van Metre says these calls increase significantly over the holidays. "Dogs will eat almost anything," Van Metre said, "and there is no such thing as a dog-proof cap." Take care in the kitchen, too. Typical holiday staples such as grapes and raisins have been shown to cause renal failure when ingested by dogs. Although small amounts of onions and garlic are often used in pet foods and treats to add flavor, ingestion of large amounts can cause severe red blood cell damage; cats are especially sensitive. Macadamia nuts can cause a short-term hind-limb paralysis, and bread dough, if eaten before baking, can expand rapidly once ingested and cause ethanol poisoning. Sweets, gum and hard candies are often problematic depending on ingredients. Chocolate contains a theobromine, a chemical that can affect the heart, kidneys and central nervous system. Dark chocolate and baker's chocolate contain higher concentrations of theobromine and are more toxic than similar amounts of milk chocolate. Sugar-free gums and candies that contain the sugar-substitute xylitol can lead to quick onset of toxic clinical signs that may include a rapid decrease in blood sugar and possible seizures. Think carefully before placing mistletoe or holly in low-lying areas, but put poinsettias anywhere you like. The effects of the poinsettia, long believed poisonous, are generally benign, says Dr. Anthony Knight, author of A Guide to Poisonous House and Garden Plants and professor of clinical sciences and toxicology at Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences. Exposed plant bulbs such as Amaryllis and all species of lilies should be placed out of reach of pets not only during the holidays but year-round, Knight says. Lily toxicity in cats can reach critical levels almost immediately after ingestion and lead to acute kidney failure within 48 hours or less. "Lilies are one of the most poisonous houseplants that exists," Knight said. "It's not just the flower but also the leaves. ... If a cat eats any part of the plant, it would need to be treated immediately." What should you do if your pet ingests a toxic holiday treat? "Do not wait," Van Metre said. "Most people wait too long to call us, and that reduces our options for treatment." Van Metre recommends calling a local veterinarian or animal emergency hospital first, or the ASPCA national animal poison control center (888-426-4435). The ASPCA charges a $60 veterinary consultation fee, but information about toxins is free on the ASPCA Web site. Gaskill does not advise calling human poison control centers or attempting to diagnose your pet on the Internet. Human poison control "is often not aware of the species differences and could inadvertently give the wrong advice," Gaskill said. "When doing a general Internet search, make sure the site is backed by a recognized veterinary organization or veterinary medical school. If it is not referenced, it is just someone's opinion." Van Metre and Gaskill both warn against inducing vomiting in your pet before speaking with a veterinarian. Getting appropriate background information about the animal is critical to preparing a treatment plan for a particular toxin, they say, and every case -- every animal -- is different. Tilly never recovered from her anemia, but she has been in remission long enough to create another toxic scare. After learning that Tilly had ingested an entire bag of Hershey's kisses, we called our local animal emergency hospital in Atlanta. They did a quick calculation using Tilly's weight to determine whether a one-pound bag of milk chocolate would reach toxic levels in a dog of her size. It would not, but we were forced to clean up the silver-streaked evidence for many days afterwards. Melissa Tarkington is a former journalist for MSNBC, CNN.com and The Moscow Times. She is a second-year student in the professional veterinary program at Colorado State University.

Holiday food items and exotic plants can be toxic for your pets . Grapes, raisins and macadamia nuts are dangerous for dogs . Mistletoe, holly and Amaryllis bulbs should be kept out of reach of pets . The ASPCA has a national animal poison control center .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush have landed in Midland, Texas, the former first lady's hometown and her husband's childhood home. Former President George W. Bush helicopters for the last time to Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday. A crowd welcomed the Bushes in Midland, waving red, white and blue W signs. Country music performers Rodney Atkins, the Gatlin Brothers and Lee Greenwood performed until the former first family arrived. "Today is a good day for the Bush family. We're back in Texas, and we're here to stay," Bush told a cheering crowd in downtown Midland's Centennial Plaza. "I am grateful that y'all came out to welcome us home." Watch the crowd in Midland cheer Bush » . The Bushes flew to Midland from Washington on Tuesday after inaugural ceremonies for President Obama. "A good man took the oath of office today, and we offer him our prayers for success," he said. The Bushes boarded a helicopter in front of the Capitol bound for Andrews Air Force Base shortly before 1 p.m. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walked the Bushes to the helicopter -- known as Marine One when the president is on board but called "Executive One" for this flight -- and bid them farewell with handshakes and hugs. The former president kept busy right up until his final moments in the White House. Painters and cleaning crews were still working in the West Wing press offices. Moving crews heaved boxes and delicately carried paintings bound in bubble wrap. Other moving trucks were unloading boxes and carting them into the White House. iReport.com: President Bush draws boos from inauguration crowd . George W. Bush spent Tuesday morning making calls. He rang outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Watch Bush wave goodbye » . The former president also had a conversation with his good friend the Rev. T.D. Jakes. Jakes is the chief pastor of the nondenominational megachurch Potter's House in Dallas, Texas. He was in Washington to give a sermon Tuesday at St. John's Church, a short walk from the White House. It's unclear what was said in any of these exchanges, but Bush made clear to the nation last week that his presidency was challenging and that he is "filled with gratitude." Though there has been "legitimate debate" about many of his decisions, including the war in Iraq, Bush said, "there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil." Noting that Bush's last day in the home he has known for eight years was fraught with emotion, press secretary Dana Perino spoke affectionately about her boss. Bush "gave me a kiss on the forehead," she said. "It's something I will never forget." An attempt to sweeten the memories of the White House press corps was made Tuesday when Perino gave reporters boxes of M&Ms. The candies were wrapped with a presidential seal and signed by President Bush. Shortly before President Barack Obama and his family arrived at the White House, Bush took a last walk around the South Lawn. He spent his remaining time at the White House with his family. After the inauguration, a wheelchair-bound Vice President Dick Cheney, who injured his back lifting boxes while moving, was taken to a motorcade.

NEW: "We're back in Texas, and we're here to stay," Bush tells cheering crowd . NEW: "A good man took the oath of office today," Bush says . The Bushes arrive in Midland, Texas, about 6 p.m. Tuesday . Outgoing press secretary gives reporters M&M boxes signed by President Bush .

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(CNN) -- Rwandan troops have crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo to prepare for a joint operation with Congolese forces against a Hutu militia, the United Nations said. At least 800,000 people are thought to have died during 100 days of violence in Rwanda in 1994. "We can tell you there are Rwandan soldiers here, but I cannot confirm the numbers," said Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesman for the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandans will team up "with the Congolese forces," he said Wednesday. "The Rwandan forces are in a meeting with Congolese forces and the understanding is that in the meeting they are preparing a joint operation against the FDLR," or the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda. The Rwanda News Agency reported that Rwanda has dispatched 1,917 soldiers. Rwanda and Congo traditionally have been on different sides of the conflict in eastern Congo. The struggle pits ethnic Tutsis, supported by Rwanda, against ethnic Hutu, backed by Congo. The conflict is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide dating back to the early 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were killed in ethnic battles between minority Tutsi and majority Hutu. According to a statement issued last week by the Rwandan government, the joint military operation is aimed at driving out the FDLR and former members of the Interhamwe militia, "remnants of those who spearheaded the 1994 genocide against Tutsis." Michael Arunga, a Kenya-based spokesman for the World Vision aid organization, said his colleagues in Goma -- a city in eastern Congo -- told him that Rwandan troops arrived Tuesday morning in the village of Ishsha, outside of Goma. Arunga said he had no knowledge of Rwandan troops being in Congo before. A U.N. statement said the FDLR has been involved in clashes since late August mainly in North Kivu, "where the national army, the mainly Tutsi militia -- known as the CNDP -- and other rebel groups ... have fought in shifting alliances, uprooting around 250,000 civilians on top of the 800,000 already displaced by violence in recent years." See photos from Mia Farrow's trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo » . A report by a U.N. Security Council panel last month said Rwanda and Congo were fighting a brutal proxy war for territory and precious natural resources in eastern Congo, and all parties involved in the conflict were using execution, rape and child soldiers as tools of war. The report, filed by a panel of U.N. experts, "found evidence that Rwandan authorities have sent officers and units of the Rwanda Defense Forces" into Congo in support of Congo rebel leader Laurent Nkunda's fighters. CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.

Rwanda has dispatched some 1,900 soldiers, Rwanda News Agency reports . The neighbors have traditionally been on different sides of the conflict in east Congo . The struggle pits Tutsis, supported by Rwanda, against the Congo-backed Hutu . The conflict is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- At a time of economic uncertainty in the U.S., the writers strike cast a dark cloud over the eternal sunshine of the Californian mindset and its most glittering awards ceremony. Oscar winner Helen Mirren dazzled in Chopard diamonds last year and gained masses of publicity for the jeweler . Up until a fortnight ago, the million dollar question was whether the Oscars would go ahead as stars refused to cross the picket line. Make that the 400 million dollar question. According to the pundits and bean-counters, that's how much the strike would have cost Los Angeles and the industry if Hollywood's most glamorous evening had been cancelled. Not only would the stars have been robbed of their moment to shimmer along the world's most famous red carpet, but a whole hinterland of ancillary trades would be affected. Limo drivers driven to despair, caterers with no-one to cater for, make-up artists struggling to make up lost earnings and security teams facing an insecure future -- and the paparazzi would have no-one to focus on. But it's not just the little guys who would have lost out on the Oscars millions. Big-name jewelry designers like Chopard traditionally dress the stars. Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron and Hilary Swank are among their successful models at the Academy Awards. Last year, Helen Mirren wore a 55 carat diamond flower bracelet along with a 62 carat diamond brooch worth $4m dollars to accept the Best Actress gong. It is estimated that having a celebrity pictured in an item of jewelry or an outfit can be worth $1m in publicity for a jeweler or fashion house. With hundreds of celebrities strutting the red carpet on Oscars night, the scope for generating revenue is seemingly endless. But even Chopard's famous sparkle was tested by the uncertainty surrounding this year's event. "Leading up to the Oscars business for the whole of Rodeo Drive was a little sketchy. Everyone was thinking, what's gonna happen?" Wes Carroll, Chopard spokesman, told CNN. "We felt for the writers, we felt for the studios and we wanted a great outcome for everyone. We would have been very disappointed had the Oscars not happened." Films which achieve success at the Academy Awards can expect a new injection of cash with a boost in DVD sales and renewed interest at the box office. Robert Buchsbaum, a Los Angeles theater boss, told CNN, "It's not just the studios who are affected by the Academy Awards show. It's theater owners. As a single-screen theater owner, my whole year is based on how well films perform from November through March through the Academy Awards. It's the busiest time of year for me." "We really try to figure out, not just what the big Academy Award film is gonna be -- the Best Picture -- but also the smaller films, the independent films which might get the edge like Juno and There Will Be Blood, films which will have a lot of legs to them once they get the nomination," he continued. "It usually means between 25% and 75% in box office revenues alone." The prime candidate for a new lease of life at the box office is the Coen Brothers' film, "No Country for Old Men." On the opposite side of the U.S., New York critics are expecting it to yield a decent crop of Oscars after taking their own awards night by storm. Stephen Whitty, Chair of the New York Film Critics' Circle, told CNN, "It won best picture because the direction from the Coen brothers was really assured. They were completely in control of the mood throughout that film. "I think the screenplay, also by the Coens, while being truthful to Cormack McCarthy's book, managed to turn it into cinema," he continued. "It made it consistently visual and imparted its message and its mood through images. The acting -- and again, Javier Bardem got the fourth of the four awards we gave it -- I thought the acting was spot on throughout." Will the rest of the results be equally clear cut? If so, the tips are Daniel Day Lewis and Julie Christie for Best Leads, Diablo Cody for Original Screenplay for "Juno," "Atonement" for Best Score, Mike Moore for Best Documentary for "Sicko," and in the Year of the Rat, Best Animation is marked for "Ratatouille." But of course, no one can really be that certain. Just ask producer Graham King, who seemed set to take Best Picture for "The Aviator" after it won virtually every award except the Nobel Peace Prize. But it wasn't to be, after Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" pipped him to the post. Then a year ago, King finally won the big one with "The Departed." One year on from winning the Oscar, he spoke with CNN's Quest team about how his life changed. "I think for a good few months after the Academy Awards I was floating on air," he said. "It was really hard to come down from it and it was hard to realize that you'd achieved the goal that you'd set out to achieve many years ago. There it is: in one night, you've got it." And as King explains, even Oscar-winning Hollywood producers are prone to attacks of the jitters too. "It was a year where I just took stock and decided what I wanted to do next and what kind of movies I want to make," he told CNN. "Then, bam! We get hit with this strike, which was horrendous. I felt like I was unemployed ... your phone calls go from 60 or 70 a day to three and emails were not coming in and I felt really insecure about it." For producers like King, the end of the writers strike is crucial for their business -- far more important than whether the Oscar ceremony takes place. But imagine being producer of the Best Picture in the one year when the ceremony was cancelled. And it's inconceivable to think of Hollywood without the Oscars. Picture Rio without its Carnival, London without the Queen, New York without the Statue of Liberty. The famous statuettes of Los Angeles may be somewhat smaller, but their presence is felt far beyond the Hollywood hills ... E-mail to a friend .

Oscar cancellation would have cost the industry an estimated $400m . Limo drivers, caterers, make-up artists would be among worst hit . Jewelry designers like Chopard generate $1m in publicity on Oscars night . Films which achieve success on the night can expect box office cash injection .

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(CNN) -- We all have our favorites for the big honors at Hollywood's top awards show, but over its 80-year history there have been some classic films, performers and people behind the scenes that have been criminally overlooked by Oscar. Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove," just one of Kubrick's classics beaten to the prize by a glitzy musical . From acting turns that kept us glued to the screen, to directors that were passed over by the Academy time and time again, these are the statues we would have given out if we'd been in charge. Don't agree? Think we've missed one or robbed an actual winner of its top-spot? Share your views by using the Sound Off box below and we'll publish the best. 1. Stanley Kubrick's double snub 1968/1964 . In two equally baffling instances, the last true auteur's work was denied the prize. Cold War classic "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" lost out to George Cukor's "My Fair Lady" while his genre-defining sci-fi epic "2001: A Space Odyssey" was beaten by Carol Reed's threadbare "Oliver!" Glossy Hollywood musicals hailed above two of the most influential movies ever made: are you serious? Truly, this is Oscar's greatest travesty. 2. "Citizen Kane," denied best picture 1941 . It has been topping critics' lists since its release over 60 years ago, but this work of cinematic genius left the 1941 Oscars almost empty handed. Nominated for nine, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, "Citizen Kane" was beaten to the prize by "How Green Was My Valley," a sentimental epic about Welsh miners. 3. Martin Scorsese, ever the bridesmaid 1976/1980/1990 . Finally recognized last year for his work on "The Departed," for years it looked like Scorsese would always play bridesmaid to some distinctly mediocre brides. The three biggest Oscar crimes against Marty: "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas." For the latter, he was beaten by Kevin Costner for "Dances With Wolves." Fair enough, it's the only Costner-helmed film that isn't utterly abysmal, but better than Scorsese's best? We don't think so. 4. James Dean: Rebel without an Oscar 1955/1956 . The only actor to receive more than one posthumous nomination, Dean still failed to secure the statue, despite turning in three amazing performances in one year. Nominated for his roles in "East of Eden" and "Giant," and overlooked for the iconic "Rebel Without a Cause," three performances that put him into Hollywood folklore as an acting great, he lost out second time round to Yul Brynner in "The King and I." Is it us or are the sentimental musicals trumping the all-time classics? 5. Alfred Hitchcock's Academy curse 1958 . One of the greatest directors of all time, Hitchcock never won the best director award. Nominated just four times, he was only beaten by the finest directors of the day, including Billy Wilder and Elia Kazan. But how could the nomination committee overlook "Vertigo"? Today it's considered one of his true masterpieces. No nomination for Hitchcock, and instead the academy hand the award to Vincente Minnelli, the director of "Gigi" -- another tooth-gratingly glitzy musical. 6. "Pulp Fiction" and Morgan Freeman get Gump-ed 1994 . Whether you like "Forrest Gump" or not, it's hard to defend the decision that saw Tom Hanks take his second acting Oscar ahead of the definitive performance of one of Hollywood's elder statesmen, Morgan Freeman, in Frank Darabont's "Shawshank Redemption." And as for the Academy passing over "Pulp Fiction" or its director, Quentin Tarantino in favor of a comfortable family flick? That left us speechless. Where's the Academy's court of appeal? 7. Robert Duvall steals the show, but is robbed of the award 1979 . It's hard to stand out in a cast that has Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Dennis Hopper in it, let alone when the project's directed with powerful skill by Francis Ford Coppola, but the wild ravings of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore stand out as the highlight in the excellent and affecting "Apocalypse Now." We hate the smell of Oscar injustice in the morning. 8. "LA Confidential" is sunk by a blockbuster 1997 . Ok, it was an impressive venture, and the technical frills were unrivalled at the time, but "Titanic" just wasn't the best film of the year. A flimsy script, plus performances far from the actors' best, failed to deter voters: the movie picked up a record 11 awards. Versus "LA Confidential," or even the impressive "Good Will Hunting," it simply doesn't float. 9. Al Pacino's best apparently not good enough 1976 . Pacino may have descended into a constant stream of shouting in his later roles (something that can be seen in abundance in "Any Given Sunday" or "Devil's Advocate"), but his magnetic performance as sensitive Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" sees him at his compelling best. Joel Grey's performance in "Cabaret" (more musicals! Argh!) is nothing if not annoying, and certainly not a patch on Pacino's finest hour. 10. "Brokeback Mountain" wins everything but an Oscar 2005 . In the approach to the Academy Awards it had been winning major prizes, scooping the best picture BAFTA and Golden Globe and earning director Ang Lee a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, but when it came to the Oscars, the movie mysteriously missed out. "Crash," the actual winner, is not a bad film, but it pales in comparison to the sensitive and highly emotional "Brokeback Mountain." .................................... Don't agree? Think we've missed one? Read others' comments and share your views by using the Sound Off box below. ....................... And the day before the Oscars are given out, the 28th Annual Razzie Awards will be announced for the year's worst film offerings. Here are five of the biggest Razzie winners ... Sly and the family Stallone "win" big . With 30 nominations and 10 awards, including worst actor of the century, Sly is the biggest "winner" in Razzie history. Most notably, in 1985 he and his family cleaned up, as he took worst actor, director and screenplay awards, his wife Brigitte Nielsen scooped worst supporting actress and worst new star, and Sly's brother Frank received worst original song for "Peace in Our Time" from "Rambo II." Their parents must be so proud. Madonna fails to get the hint . She's not known for her acting, but Madge just won't let it go. With fewer than 20 full-length feature roles under her belt, the queen of pop has picked up 15 Razzie nominations and nine awards for her weak performances. In 2002 she cleaned up, taking Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actress and half of the Worst Couple. You really can't fault her consistency. "Showgirls" breaks Razzie records . This record-breaking clunker was nominated for 13 awards in 1995: admirable, since there were only 10 categories that year. It also claimed the most wins, taking home a well-deserved seven awards, including Worst Director and Worst Picture, which were collected in person by director Paul Verhoeven, the first winner to attend the show to collect Razzies. Respect. Eddie Murphy: man of 2008 . This year's show sees the comedian who was up for an Oscar last year pick up a record five nominations for one person in a year, for his work in Worst Picture nominee "Norbit." Having played multiple characters, Murphy is up for Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Couple (nominated with himself) and Worst Screenplay. A truly impressive haul: good work, Eddie. Battlefield Earth "succeeds" in every category . John Travolta's Scientology/sci-fi movie was nominated for a meager eight awards, but brought home the bacon as it took seven of those awards on the night. Only Forrest Whitaker failed to convert his nomination, pipped to the post by co-star Barry Pepper. If it makes them feel any better, we think they deserved all eight. .................................... Don't agree? Think we've missed one? Read others' comments and share your views by using the Sound Off box below. E-mail to a friend .

Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock never won a best director Oscar . Perennial critics' favorite "Citizen Kane" was almost entirely passed over . Blockbusters "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic" prevented great movies taking honors . Razzies "honor" poor cinema, big winners are Sylvester Stallone and Madonna .

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(CNN) -- Hundreds of people filled a college auditorium Wednesday to pay their last respects to an El Reno, Oklahoma, woman slain along with her four children last week. Summer Rust's children -- clockwise from top, Autumn, Kirsten, Evynn and Teagin -- carve pumpkins. About 300 people attended the service at Redlands Community College for Summer Rust, 25; her son, Teagin, 4; and daughters Evynn, 3, and Autumn and Kirsten, both 7, CNN affiliate KOCO reported. Rust's white coffin was placed in front of the podium, flanked by the smaller caskets carrying her children. Each casket had a picture of the victim, surrounded by flowers. A slide show of the family played on an overhead screen throughout the service. "I've preached a lot of funerals, but none like this one," said the Rev. Gerald Van Horn. "This has been on my heart ever since I heard about it. I first learned of it from the news, and I said, 'In El Reno? No way.' ... We don't have to deal with tragedy very often, but it has come, and the reality of it has sunk in. Searching my heart on what to say, I have found it difficult." He told mourners that God is near and feels their pain but acknowledged that Rust and her children "will be greatly missed." The bodies were found January 12 in Rust's apartment in El Reno, about 30 miles west of Oklahoma City. According to the document, each of the victims was suffocated and strangled. Crime scene investigators said each body had ligature marks around the neck. Rust's boyfriend, Joshua Steven Durcho, 25, admitted choking her to death but said the children were not there at the time, according to an affidavit filed last week. He was arrested in Hamilton County, Texas, officials said. A spokeswoman at the Canadian County, Oklahoma, Sheriff's Office said Durcho was being held in the county jail after waiving extradition. Durcho's cousin found Rust's body and called officers, who found the children's bodies in the apartment, says an affidavit written by a special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. An apparent acquaintance of Durcho's told police he came to her apartment Monday afternoon and told her he had "choked" Summer Rust to death and he was leaving Oklahoma, according to the affidavit. The affidavit says Durcho told the woman "that the children were at their grandmother's residence ... while he and Summer worked out their relationship problems." Rust's mother, Susan Rust of Carson City, Nevada, said Durcho was unemployed and had been living with Rust and her children. Authorities in Texas said Durcho was arrested after a state trooper attempted to stop his car because the trooper suspected that the driver was drunk. When the trooper ran the license plate on the car, it matched the tag number of a vehicle sought by Oklahoma police.

NEW: Preacher says he found funeral for mom, four kids "difficult" 300 mourners attended service at Redlands Community College . Bodies found January 12 in apartment in El Reno, Oklahoma . Woman's boyfriend, Joshua Steven Durcho, admitted choking her, affidavit says .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Marine commander on Wednesday warned of a "growing" insurgent threat in Afghanistan, but he said forces would have to be cut in Iraq to send more Marines to Afghanistan. Marines could be pulled from Iraq's Anbar province, Gen. James Conway said Wednesday. "To do more in Afghanistan, our Marines have got to see relief elsewhere," said Gen. James Conway in a briefing for Pentagon reporters. Conway said the Corps' two regimental combat teams -- about 10,000 Marines -- in Iraq's Anbar province could be removed as there are only two or three insurgent attacks a day in what was once the hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency. The U.S.-led coalition is scheduled to hand over security control in Anbar to Iraqi troops next week. Despite the progress, Conway said, he doesn't expect any decisions on troop withdrawals until Gen. David Petraeus -- the head of the U.S. military in Iraq -- makes his recommendations on troop deployment in Iraq to President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. There are more than 3,000 Marines in Afghanistan, and Conway said that the Marine Corps would be willing to help bolster the fight against the Taliban in that country. "I think that a battalion of Marines in Afghanistan count for more than a battalion of Marines in Iraq, if you will, just in terms of the impact that they can have," he said.

Marines in Iraq's once-volatile Anbar province could leave, general says . Anbar attacks down to a few a day, Gen. James Conway says . Marines could have greater effect in Afghanistan, Conway says .

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- While the Oscars is without doubt the grandest of all the awards ceremonies, it doesn't have the world stage to itself. "Persepolis" won the French nomination -- but failed to make the Academy's shortlist . In London, the Brits have their BAFTAs; Spain has the Goyas; and France celebrates the Cesars, where "La Vie En Rose" won six out of its "magnifique" 11 nominations. And it was this foreign fare that gave rise to the biggest controversy at Hollywood's big event. "La Vie En Rose" amassed an impressive eleven nominations at the French Cesar Awards. Marion Cotillard's astonishing transformation into Edith Piaf won her Best Actress gongs at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. But "La Vie En Rose" was not among the contenders for Best Foreign Film. Another French language film, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," was on many critics' top ten lists for the films of 2007. It won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and its American director Julian Schnabel was nominated for an Oscar. But like "La Vie En Rose," this film was not among the contenders for Best Foreign Film. A third French film, "Persepolis" won the special jury prize at Cannes and it received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but yet again, this was not a nominee for Best Foreign Film. France suffered through an abundance of riches this year, with three potential Oscar winners. But to enter the race for Best Foreign film, France, like every other country, had to nominate just one. So "La Vie En Rose" and "Diving Bell" were rejected by the French film authorities in favor of "Persepolis." But "Persepolis" didn't sufficiently impress the Oscar judges: so France had no films among the final five nominees. French frustration at the Oscar process was echoed in Taiwan, which chose Ang Lee's film, "Lust Caution," as its official entry. The film won both critical acclaim and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. But Oscar judges ruled there was too little Taiwanese involvement -- none of the lead actors are from Taiwan. The double Oscar winning director watched in disbelief as his film was banned and Taiwan was told to pick another film instead: Oscar caution triumphing over Ang Lee's lust for a third Academy Award. And the list goes on: the Israeli film, "The Band's Visit" was excluded for having too much English -- but it's the only way the Israeli and Egyptian protagonists can communicate in the film and is a key part of the plot. But Israel submitted "Beaufort" instead -- and made the final five. "The Kite Runner" may have proved an international success at the box office, but it didn't fly with Oscar watchdogs. Set in Afghanistan with Farsi as its main language, it fell foul of the rulebook by having too little Afghan involvement and a Swiss-American director. But for most critics, the most inexplicable omission from the shortlist of nominees was Romania's "4 Months, 3 weeks & 2 Days," winner of the Palme D'Or in Cannes and considered by many to be a sure-fire Oscar winner. Some feel its challenging subject of a back-street abortion in communist Romania was too testing for conservative members of the Academy's Foreign Film Committee, whose volunteers tend to include many retirees -- who else has time to attend screenings of 63 foreign language films? Even Marc Johnson, the Chairman of the Academy's Foreign Language Film Committee, acknowledged that some of the criticism levelled against the Academy this year was "justifiable". He told CNN: "We took quite a beating, and I think quite justifiably, not for the films that we selected but for the films that we DIDN'T select. "And I felt very passionately about it and spoke out about it more than I should have done, but there was a part of me saying "wait a minute I didn't sign on for this -- I didn't sign on to be the scapegoat and we received a lot of criticism and yet it's something I feel so passionately about I think foreign language film and particularly subtitled film in the U.S. are really an endangered species." Defenders of the Academy also point out that they're only asking countries to nominate their favorite film; they then pick the best of that bunch. Mr Johnson said it would be unfair to allow countries to submit more than one film as the selection process would become "unmanageable". "There have been arguments that why can't a coutnry submit more films? France for instance might argue we make 50 films a year, maybe five of them are Oscar worthy and Ecuador maybe only makes one why is it we have the same group as they?" . "Not that I ever like to mix sports with the arts but it's a little bit like the World Cup. Brazil could probably submit five teams but they're only allowed to submit one -- and it's what makes it a fair race," he explains. "The other thing is quite frankly this year we had 63 films. We could not see many more than that. So if we had 5 from this country and 3 from this country it would be completely unmanageable." And while the one-film-per-country rule fails to reward a nation with a flourishing film industry, it does ensure diversity: no less than 63 countries from Azerbaijan to Vietnam submitted films for the 80th Academy Awards. Israel, Austria, Poland, Russia, and Kazakhstan -- representing 210 million people in all -- were the countries vying for the prize on Oscar night, and the Academy points to the quality of those on the list, rather those that are not, as ultimate proof that the system works. E-mail to a friend .

Academy rules mean each country can only submit one film . France dismissed "La Vie En Rose" and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" Its choice, "Persepolis," failed to make the Oscars shortlist . Taiwan's choice, Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution," was also blocked by the Academy .

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