NEW YORK (CNN) -- The venerable CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" will go dark in September after 72 years and 16,000 episodes, the network announced Wednesday.

Gina Tognoni is one of many performers who have appeared on "Guiding Light" over the years.

The daytime drama's declining viewership led to the decision, according to a CBS spokeswoman.

The show, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as the longest-running television drama, first aired on NBC radio in 1937 as a 15-minute serial, the spokeswoman said.

It moved to television on the CBS network in 1952 as 15-minute drama. It later went to 30 minutes, and on November 7, 1977, it expanded to one hour and introduced the wealthy Spaulding family as foils to the show's middle-class Bauers, who were a mainstay of the show for much of its run.

In 1979, the show did a groundbreaking storyline when the character of Roger Thorpe (played by the late Michael Zaslow) raped his wife, Holly (Maureen Garrett).

The marital-rape story line reflected a significant real-life case in 1978 -- the state of Oregon v. John J. Rideout. It was the first time in modern U.S. history that a man was charged with raping his wife and then put on trial. It prompted national debate about whether a man had absolute sexual rights with his spouse. Rideout was acquitted.

Among the actors who went on to greater fame after roles on the show: Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones and Taye Diggs.

The last episode is set to air on September 18, the spokeswoman said. The show is produced in New York.

Question:
When was the last episode?
When did "Guiding Light" debut?
Where did "Guiding Light" debut on?
Where did the show move to?
What was the length of the serial?
When will the last episode air?

Answer: September 18,

Answer: 1937

Answer: NBC radio

Answer: CBS network

Answer: 72 years

Answer: September 18,

Summary:
"Guiding Light" originally was radio serial on NBC, debuted in 1937 .
Show moved to CBS, which put it on TV in 1952 .
Last episode of show to air September 18 .
Kevin Bacon among the stars who got their start on show .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- They've been called "bromances": those buddy films and TV shows, such as the movies "Pineapple Express" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," that feature non-sexual but deep friendships between two or more males. Jason Segel and Paul Rudd star in "I Love You, Man," which opens Friday. The forthcoming "I Love You, Man," which opens Friday, appears to fit the bill. In the film, Paul Rudd plays a man who needs a best man for his wedding but has never made any male friends. Enter Jason Segel as Sydney Fife, whom Rudd's character, Peter Klaven, pursues on several "man-dates" that end up threatening his relationship with his fiancée (Rashida Jones). But don't call the film a "bromance" in the presence of Rudd and Segel. "We hate that word," Segel told CNN. "It was not part of the lexicon while we were filming," added Rudd. Still, both actors have plenty of experience in the, uh, guy-pal genre. Rudd has been in several comedies written, directed or produced by Judd Apatow, considered one of the leaders of the "bromance" trend with his softer, more openly emotional male characters. Segel has also been in Apatow projects -- including last year's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" -- and he stars in the TV series "How I Met Your Mother," which finds plenty of humor in male bonding. Segel observes that what helps the films work is the discomfort of two men trying to talk about their emotions while hoping to maintain a dispassionate, hard-edged, prototypically manly façade. And he knows he's good at bringing out that discomfort in his co-stars. "Judd Apatow told me that my special skill was that I am able to maintain my likability while getting incredibly close to the creepy line, and that's what I should try to cultivate," he said. "That's what he does," Rudd noted. "He just holds [the moment] a little too long." "It's the fraction of a second too long that makes people uncomfortable," Segel added. In "I Love You, Man," Segel's character is rougher and looser than his characters in "Sarah Marshall" and "How I Met Your Mother." He welcomed the change. "It was a real treat for me, to be honest for a minute, to play this character, because I've played sort of a puppy dog guy in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall,' and on ['Mother'] I play a husband, you know, a loving husband," he said. "So to get to play a character who is a bit more of a man of mystery was very exciting for me." In real life, claims Segel, he even has a man cave. "It's filled with puppets," he said. "And I keep wondering why I don't have a girlfriend. I'm like, 'hey, this is my house; come check it out. This is where I keep my 40 puppets.' ... I think that I have a reputation for being weird because of that." But he quickly turns serious and maintains that "I Love You, Man" does have a message to go along with its comedy. "I think we both had something to learn from each other," he said. "Paul's character had to learn that it's all right to take a little distance from your significant other and have some dude friends and someone to vent to about things you can't necessarily talk about with your girl." "Sometimes buddies hold a mirror up to the way you behave in ways that relationships with the opposite sex don't," Rudd said. "Yeah, and my character had to learn that maybe it's time to grow up a little bit," Segel added. So, this "

Question: The comedy makes serious points about what?

Question: What are two men trying?

Question: What is the name of the comedy?

Question: What are the names of the stars?

Question: What term do they not like?

Answer: "Paul's character had to learn that it's all right to take a little distance from your significant other

Answer: to talk about their emotions while hoping to maintain a dispassionate, hard-edged, prototypically manly façade.

Answer: "I Love You, Man,"

Answer: Jason Segel

Answer: "bromance"

Summary:
"I Love You, Man" stars Paul Rudd, Jason Segel as two men trying friendship .
Neither Rudd nor Segel likes the term "bromance"
Comedy makes some serious points about friendship, Segel says .


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

Question: What do readers say?

Question: Where does the exhibition took place?

Question: who displays half a century of romance book covers in New York?

Question: what reader says about books?

Question: Where is the event?

Question: Who said  books still have that same allure and that same passion?

Question: who go from psychological intrigue to passionate physical conclusion?

Answer: "It's always great to feel like you're the girl in the book and the handsome guy is coming to rescue you,"

Answer: New York

Answer: Harlequin

Answer: "It's always fun for the reader."

Answer: New York

Answer: Louann Bergen.

Answer: cover art

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


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Thirty people joined National Park Service rangers Saturday in climbing to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, the first tourists to go into the landmark's crown since the 9/11 attacks. Chris Bartnick, 46, and daughter Aleyna, 8, of Merrick, New York, look out from the statue's crown on Saturday. The New York Harbor monument was closed after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for safety and security reasons, the Interior Department said. "Once again, Americans can climb to Lady Liberty's crown and gaze out over New York Harbor, where so many of our ancestors first saw the New World and first breathed the fresh air of freedom," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said as he welcomed visitors back on the Fourth of July holiday. "This is a celebration of America and the joy of being an American." Visitors on Saturday were grateful they could go inside the landmark. "It's just basically safety for our country and at least they opened it," visitor Ira Semapadilla told CNN affiliate NY1 before the visit. "That's one thing that I was like, wow, I'm never going to experience it. ... They ruined it for us. "Now that it's going to open again I'm excited, and I'm just really looking forward to being in there."  Watch as CNN's Susan Candiotti treks to top » Gov. David Paterson, D-New York, Gov. Jon Corzine, D-New Jersey, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Salazar at the reopening ceremony. Even with the reopening of the monument, only a rare few will get to scale the 354 steps to the crown. Only 10 visitors are permitted to ascend the steps at any one time, meaning about 240 people can make the climb during the park's 8:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. hours of operation. The opportunity to climb Lady Liberty will end again in two years, when work will begin on further safety and security upgrades.

Question: When was it closed?

Question: Who made the climb to reopen the crown?

Question: Who said the reopening was a celebration  of America?

Question: What monument was closed?

Question: What is a celebration?

Question: What did the Interior say?

Question: How many people made the climb to the crown?

Question: What was closed in New York Harbor since the 9/11 attacks?

Question: What has been closed since the 9/11 attacks?

Answer: after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

Answer: Thirty people joined National Park Service rangers

Answer: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

Answer: the Statue of Liberty,

Answer: Statue of Liberty,

Answer: The New York Harbor monument was closed after the terrorist assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for safety and security reasons,

Answer: Thirty

Answer: Lady Liberty's crown

Answer: Statue of Liberty,

Summary:
Monument in New York Harbor closed since 9/11 attacks .
Thirty people make climb to reopened crown .
"This is a celebration of America," Interior secretary says .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- This classic chant of "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" -- barked out by battalions of newsboys hawking newspapers -- died decades ago, a casualty of home delivery, mass distribution and the advent of coin-operated newspaper machines. Some coin-operated newspaper machines have lasted for 30 years, but lack of sales may force their retirement. But now as newspapers across the country wage a battle to survive in a market where readers are increasingly gravitating to the Internet for information, the fate of another industry fixture seems inevitable. Could those steel machines on street corners, distributing newspapers since the '50s, be headed for the scrap pile? To begin to answer the question, all it takes is an early morning visit with a man who feeds those machines. It's 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday, and a white delivery truck for the New Jersey Record has just pulled into the parking lot outside the Plaza Diner in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The driver -- Mike, who asked that his last name not be used -- is at one of his 130 stops on an eight-hour shift that began at midnight. Mike's job, which takes less than a couple of minutes per stop, entails filling the coin-operated machine with the day's papers, collecting unsold copies and emptying the machine of its coins. Even though Mike has a full schedule and lots of stops, it doesn't equate to pushing as many papers as he once did. Mike loads 15 copies of the Record into one machine -- and that's a good load, he says. Other locations receive only five to seven copies. He's also tasked with filling machines for USA Today. Though he's been on this job for only two years, Mike has been on the route long enough to know business is down. He says newspapers sell better at train stations than from the street machines he services. The demise of newspapers across the country is getting a lot of front-page headlines. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in Washington was just one of the most recent victims, ceasing print publication in March as declining circulation and plummeting advertising sales forced it to retrench and become just an online provider of journalism. Even the legendary New York Times will force readers to dig deeper for more coins as it raises prices June 1, with the price of a paper going from $1.50 to $2. The publication that touts "All The News That's Fit to Print" has been relying less on newspaper racks. In 1999, the Times had 13,300 vending machines, but today that number has shrunk to 5,678, according to Diane McNulty, spokeswoman for the Times. "One of the factors is home delivery," McNulty said, adding, "This was due to our national expansion -- where once many readers could only get copies from the newsstand or vending machine, they can now enjoy home delivery service." But all the gloom-and-doom predictions that newspapers will one day disappear isn't scaring workers at the Kaspar Sho-Rack Company, based in Shiner, Texas. The company lays claim to being the world's largest manufacturer of coin-operated and no-charge newspaper vending machines. Don Kaspar is president and a fourth-generation member of a family business that began in 1898 manufacturing wire products. "There'll be printed newspapers for years and years" said Kaspar, president of a company that is actually part of the larger Kaspar Wireworks. Still, he concedes, "Business is down about 25 to 30 percent from about five years ago." It wasn't until the late 1950s that the privately owned company was approached by the now defunct San Antonio Light newspaper to develop an early version of coin-operated newspaper machines. The early versions of newspaper machines were simple and made mostly of wire, but by the mid-1960s they were all made of metal. The machines typically consist of a thick metal housing, shelves, doors and hinges. But the heart of any machine is the coin mechanism, which can have 150 moving parts

Question: Where is company that makes the machines based?

Question: What will be printed for years and years

Question: Who makes machines

Question: Where do fewer customers buy from?

Question: What state is the company from

Question: Where do newspapers sell better?

Question: Where are more newspaper sold then with street machines?

Question: Who  says newspapers sell better from train stations ?

Question: Who says business is down?

Question: Where is the machine maker located?

Question: Where do newspapers sell better?

Question: What is the main subject of this article?

Answer: Shiner, Texas.

Answer: newspapers

Answer: Kaspar Sho-Rack Company,

Answer: street machines he services.

Answer: Texas.

Answer: at train stations

Answer: train stations

Answer: Mike

Answer: Mike

Answer: Shiner, Texas.

Answer: train stations

Answer: distributing newspapers

Summary:
Fewer customers buy from coin-operated newspaper machines .
Delivery man says newspapers sell better from train stations than street machines .
Texas company that makes the machines says business is down .
"There'll be printed newspapers for years and years," firm's president says .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel, police said.

A large crowd at the Park Central New York hotel got unruly Saturday during a "Top Model" audition.

Six people were injured, and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said.

Police said they didn't know what provoked the bedlam.

Three people were charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot in connection with the incident at the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan.

The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said.

Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned on Saturday.

The "Top Model" competition, hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks and aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle.

Question:
What is the number of people arrested?
What network does the show air on?
Where was the audition being held?
What city held the auditions?
Who hosted the competition?
Where was the audition held?

Answer: Three

Answer: the CW

Answer: New York hotel,

Answer: New York

Answer: Tyra Banks

Answer: Park Central New York hotel

Summary:
Police: 3 people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at a TV show audition .
"America's Next Top Model" audition was being held at a New York hotel, police said .
Two people sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said .
"Top Model" competition is hosted by Tyra Banks and airs on CW network .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel, police said. "American's Next Top Model" is hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks. Six people were injured, and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said. Police said they didn't know what provoked the bedlam, which resulted in three people being charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot in connection to the incident at the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan. The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said. Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned on Saturday. The "Top Model" competition, hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks and aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle.

Question: Where can I watch the "Top Model" competition?

Question: What show was it?

Question: What type of treatment did the two people seek?

Question: Who were arrested on Saturday?

Question: What was the audition for?

Question: How many people were arrested?

Question: What audition is being held?

Question: Who is it hosted by?

Answer: CW network,

Answer: "America's Next Top

Answer: at a hospital,

Answer: Three people

Answer: "America's Next Top

Answer: Three

Answer: "America's Next Top

Answer: Tyra Banks.


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three years ago Tuesday, Leslie Marva Adams, an attractive, 40-year-old hair stylist from Atlanta, Georgia, chatted on the phone with her mother in the morning. Leslie Adams, 40, filed a restraining order against an old boyfriend and disappeared three years ago. It was the last conversation she would have with a family member. On the third anniversary of Adams' disappearance, her family is still waiting for answers. Her daughter, Cierra Burk, 19, clings to the belief that Adams is alive. "We will find her," Burk says. The family became concerned when Adams failed to show up for her sister's birthday party the day after she talked on the phone with her mother. Two days after the missed party, Adams was officially reported missing. At her apartment in suburban Lilburn, police found evidence suggesting foul play -- a 12-inch blood stain near her bed and a .45-caliber bullet casing. Adams' car was parked in her driveway and a handwritten note was found on her door. Investigators soon learned the note was from her sister, Roberta. It said, "Leslie, we're worried about you, please call me as soon as possible."  Watch how the mystery began with a missed party » Adams had been having trouble with her ex-boyfriend, Billy Joe Cook, in the days leading up to her disappearance. She had accused him of stalking her and had filed a restraining order. In the court document, she alleged that Cook had verbally and physically abused her. She said she feared for her life. A temporary restraining order was granted by the court, but Adams vanished before a scheduled hearing on the matter. Phyllis Adams said her daughter told her in their final conversation that she had argued with Cook over the phone on the previous day. According to the temporary restraining order, Cook was not to have any contact with Adams. Police brought Cook in for questioning and learned he had spoken to Adams on the phone twice the day before she last spoke to her family. Although he was questioned extensively, police have not named Cook a suspect. Police say he was very cooperative and there is no evidence suggesting his involvement in her disappearance, although they have not ruled him or anyone else out as a potential suspect or person of interest. Just when they thought the trail had gone cold, police found what could be a lead in the case. In May 2007, clothing was recovered that could belong to the missing hair-dresser. Police found a pair of men's size 8 Reebok sneakers, size 10 capri pants, and a black sweater in the woods along I-85 in Franklin County, 90 miles from Adams' home in Atlanta. They also discovered human bones and a breast implant near the clothing. Police have sent the remains to a DNA testing lab and they have yet to be identified. The results are inconclusive, and police continue to collect DNA samples from Adams family members for future tests. Leslie Marva Adams is an African-American female who stands 5 feet 5 inches, weighs 130 pounds, and has breast implants. Family members fear the remains could be Leslie Adams, but they are still hopeful that she will be found alive and well. Burk, Adams' daughter, says she struggles with her emotions at this time of year. "I still believe she is alive and we will find her, but this time of year is very hard," she said, fighting the tears. "It's my aunt's birthday, the day my mom didn't show up and we never saw her again, so it's hard not to break down." Police and family urge anyone with information on the whereabouts of Leslie Adams to call the Gwinett County Police Department at (770) 513-5300. There is a $25,000 reward for information that helps locate Leslie Adams or leads to the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance.

Question: When did Leslie Marva Adams disappear?

Question: What was she due to attend

Question: What are the police continuing to do?

Question: Who disappeared three years ago

Question: Who did Adam's take a restraining order out against

Question: At what event did she fail to show up?

Question: Who disappeared?

Question: Who did Adams take out restraining order against?

Question: What are police continuing with?

Answer: three years ago.

Answer: sister's birthday party

Answer: collect DNA samples from Adams family members for future tests.

Answer: Leslie Marva Adams,

Answer: an old boyfriend

Answer: her sister's birthday party

Answer: Leslie Adams,

Answer: Billy Joe Cook,

Answer: to collect DNA samples from Adams family members for future tests.

Summary:
Atlanta hair stylist Leslie Marva Adams disappeared three years ago .
She failed to show up at her sister's birthday party .
Adams had taken out a restraining order against an ex-boyfriend .
Police continue with DNA tests to determine if skeletal remains are hers .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- To understand how close Kanye West and his mother, Donda, were, one only needs to listen to his music. Donda and Kanye West, here during her book tour, were very close. He regularly made reference to her in his lyrics, discussing everything from her insistence that he receive a college degree to her unshakeable support of him when he ultimately decided to pursue a rap career. Donda West, who died at 58 over the weekend, appeared to be as tough as she was loving. On "Can't Tell Me Nothing," a track from his latest album, "Graduation," he rhymes about his mother's attempt to discourage him from spending money on jewelry and "Louis V." On "Touch the Sky," from his 2005 album, "Late Registration," he recalls how his mother drove him from Chicago, Illinois, to New York in a U-Haul van. (Read the obituary of Donda West.) She was also the inspiration for the song "Hey Mama," from the same album. "I want to scream so loud for you/ because I'm so proud of you," he rhymes. "I know I act a fool/ but I promise you I'm going back to school/ I appreciate what you allowed for me and I just want you to be proud of me."  Watch how Kanye West is mourning his mother » Donda West was indeed proud. She regularly attended her son's concerts and often could be found dancing and rapping his more radio-friendly lyrics.  Watch Donda West talk about "Raising Kanye" » At the MTV Video Music Awards in September, she and a gaggle of girlfriends were perched in the VIP section at a party for Rolling Stone magazine. As Kanye West whipped the crowd into a frenzy with hits such as "Gold Digger" and "Through the Wire," his mom waved her hands in the air side to side and bobbed to the beats. When asked if her son would sell more records than 50 Cent (both rappers released their albums on September 11), she answered coyly. "Good music will win out," she said with a smile and a wink. (Her son's label is named Good Music.)  Gallery: Donda and Kanye » "Graduation" would go on to trounce 50 Cent's "Curtis," debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and selling more than 950,000 copies in its first week of release. Long before her son became an international superstar, Donda West was an English professor at Chicago State University. She stepped down as chairwoman of the university's English department in 2004 to manage her son's burgeoning career full time. The two collaborated on a book, "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip Hop Star," which was released in May. And most recently, she became the CEO of Super Good, the parent company of Kanye West Enterprises. She also was the chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, which, interestingly enough, is focused on keeping students from dropping out of school. E-mail to a friend

Question: What was Donda West's former profession?

Question: What was Donda West supportive of?

Question: Who did Kanye West pay tribute to?

Question: who supportive her son's career?

Question: Who was supportive of her son's career?

Question: Who paid tribute to his mother in songs?

Question: What was the mother's profession?

Answer: English professor

Answer: Kanye

Answer: his mother

Answer: mother, Donda,

Answer: Donda West

Answer: Kanye West

Answer: English professor

Summary:
Hip-hop star Kanye West often paid tribute to his mother in his songs .
Donda West was supportive of her son's career, would dance to his beats .
Mom was former English professor, later managed son's career .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded a recall of ground beef from about 300,000  pounds to 21.7 million pounds, one of the largest meat recalls in U.S. history. The recalled products are all ground beef patties with various brand names. In a statement, the Elizabeth, New Jersey, company said the hamburger patties may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea and cramps, as well as other complications. A statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 25 illnesses are under investigation in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The ground beef products being recalled have a "sell by date" or a "best if used by date" between September 25, 2007, and September 25, 2008, Topps' statement said.  Watch the latest on the beef recall » The packages also have the marking "Est. 9748" inside the USDA mark of inspection. Tuesday, the company announced a recall of about 331,000 pounds of hamburger meat, according to the USDA. "Because the health and safety of our consumers is our top priority, we are taking these expansive measures," said Vice President of Operations Geoffrey Livermore in the statement. "Topps is continuing to work with the USDA, state departments of health, retailers and distributors to ensure the safety of our consumers. Additionally, we have augmented our internal quality control procedures with microbiologists and food safety experts. We sincerely regret any inconvenience and concerns this may cause our consumers," Livermore said. This is the company's first recall in its 65 years of business, the statement said. Consumers who find the products at home are asked to cut off the UPC code and return it to Topps for a full refund, then dispose of the product immediately, Topps spokeswoman Michelle Williams said. The company said to avoid E. coli, consumers should wash hands thoroughly after handling the beef. Topps set up a toll-free recall help line at (888) 734-0451. Williams said because the products may have been produced up to a year ago, many of them have already been safely consumed. Production in the ground beef area of the company's plant in Elizabeth has been shut down until all the investigations are complete, Williams said in a phone interview. "We're working with the USDA and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and conducting our own investigation," she added. The products, all ground beef patties and hamburgers with various brand names, were distributed mainly in the northeastern United States, but went to retailers in many other areas of the country as well, Williams said. While the sheer size of the recall is large, two other companies have been involved in larger recalls. In 2002, Pilgrim's Pride recalled more than 27 million pounds of poultry, and Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds of ground beef in 1997. E-mail to a friend

Question: Who makes the patties?

Question: What might the patties contain?

Question: What happened to the plant's grinding operation?

Question: What kind of bacteria may be present?

Question: What number of states reported illness?

Question: What might the hamburger patties contain?

Question: What company made the hamburger?

Question: Where have cases of illness been recorded?

Answer: Topps Meat Co.

Answer: E. coli O157:H7,

Answer: shut down until all the investigations are complete,

Answer: E. coli O157:H7,

Answer: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio

Answer: E. coli O157:H7,

Answer: Topps Meat Co.

Answer: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Summary:
Topps Meat Co. hamburger patties may contain E. coli bacteria .
New Jersey plant's grinding operation shut down .
As many as 25 cases of illness recorded in eight states .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Twenty-four people, including eight children, were injured in an apparent gas explosion at a Harlem apartment building, the New York Fire Department said. The explosion blew out some of the windows in the five-story building. John Rodgers, a spokesman for New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said Sunday that four of the eight children were from the same family. The conditions of all those injured were not immediately known. One child was in critical condition and the three others were in serious condition, New York Fire Department Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said. All four had burn injuries. One of the injured is an infant. A firefighter was also injured, but was in stable condition Saturday evening. He apparently was struck by falling debris, Scoppetta said.   About 200 firefighters responded to the scene of the blast on West 119th Street in Harlem. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the five-floor building after the explosion. The 4 p.m. ET blast blew some of the building's windows out, according to firefighters.  Watch rescue workers tend to injured »   Although the blast was still under investigation, Scoppetta said the cause appeared to be a gas leak. New York police said the blast was at the rear of the structure. Residents who assisted in pulling the injured out of the building said some kind of restaurant was being operated on the bottom floor of the building. Scoppetta refused comment on those reports, citing the ongoing investigation. An emergency room worker at Harlem Hospital Center said the facility received five to six people from the explosion about 4:30 p.m., but would not provide an update on their conditions. The building, which has 20 apartments, was evacuated, as were apartment buildings on both sides, Scoppetta said. Building inspectors will examine them to determine their structural integrity.  E-mail to a friend CNN's Caleb Silver, Jim Acosta and Richard Davis contributed to this report.

Question: what is their condition

Question: who was injured

Question: About how many firefighters were present?

Question: What kind of business was in the basement?

Question: What number of children are in serious condition?

Question: what was in the building

Answer: and the three others were in serious

Answer: Twenty-four people,

Answer: 200

Answer: restaurant

Answer: three

Answer: some kind of restaurant

Summary:
NEW: Four of the eight injured children came from same family, hospital says .
One child in critical condition, three in serious condition with burn injuries .
About 200 firefighters were at the scene in Harlem .
Residents say some sort of restaurant was being operated in bottom of building .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two George Washington Bridge security guards photographed sleeping on the job have been fired, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Two George Washington Bridge guards were fired for their on-the-job siestas. A bicycle tour operator who commutes daily over the bridge from New Jersey to New York snapped photos of the two guards on different occasions, and the photos were published on a New Jersey local news Web site. In one set of photographs by commuter Joey Lepore, taken during a Wednesday rush hour at 7:15 a.m., a guard tilts his head downward and dozes. The other snoozer's on-the-clock siesta is more brazen: he uses his arm as a pillow as he dozes at 10:15 a.m. last Monday. Before releasing the photos, Lepore hesitated, knowing it would likely cost the guards their jobs. But ultimately he decided the security of thousands outweighed the job security of two. "If there's two people on this bridge who don't care about my safety and the safety of anybody who comes over this bridge, then I really don't have an obligation to withhold what I have," he said. Given the George Washington Bridge's iconic status and huge traffic volume, officials have long cited it as a potential terrorist target. Lepore said he was moved to photograph the slumbering sentries after witnessing the same guard napping on three occasions. "The first time I shrugged it off and said, 'I can't believe he's sleeping,'" said Lepore. "The second time I was very annoyed. Third time -- that's it." Lepore said he later approached the guard, told him he had caught him asleep at his post three times, and said he had the photos to prove it. The profusely apologetic guard vowed it would not happen again. Three weeks later, it did happen again, but this time with a different guard, according to Lepore. Instead of discreetly taking photos from a distance, an indignant Lepore marched up to the guard's booth and snapped away. The guard did not stir. The sleeping guards were employees of FJC Security, a security contractor used by the Port Authority, which operates the George Washington Bridge along with all other bridges leading into Manhattan. In a statement, the Port Authority sought to assure commuters it views security as an issue of utmost importance, and urged people to report holes they notice in its defenses. "The Port Authority takes the safety of its passengers and facilities very seriously and has spent more than $4 billion on security since 9/11. The Port Authority welcomes the public's vigilance on matters of safety and security and we encourage our customers to contact us if they encounter anything out of the ordinary," the agency said. Although the guards' names were not released, the Port Authority said in its statement, "The two guards have been fired by the security contractor, FJC Security." FJC Security did not respond to CNN's calls for comment. Fran Townsend, a CNN contributor and former Bush homeland security adviser, called the guards' naps a serious lapse. "It is unacceptable, particularly given the experience the Port Authority had with 9/11," she said, referring to the Port Authority's role as the operator of the World Trade Center.

Question:
Who took pictures of the guards?
what did Jeoy Lepore say?
Who lost their job?
Who did guards work for?
Who did the guards work for?
Who took photos of a sleeping guard?

Answer: Joey Lepore,

Answer: "If there's two people on this bridge who don't care about my safety and

Answer: Two George Washington Bridge security guards

Answer: FJC Security,

Answer: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Answer: A bicycle tour operator

Summary:
George Washington Bridge guards lose jobs after being caught napping on duty .
Joey Lepore says he took photos of one guard sleeping at post three times .
Guards worked for FJC Security, a security contractor used by the Port Authority .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two U.S. customs agents were arrested on charges they helped smuggle drugs and other contraband through New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The DEA says two customs officials at JFK International Airport helped smuggle drugs and contraband. Customs supervisor Walter Golembiowski and officer John Ajello face narcotics, bribery and conspiracy charges in the case, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Golembiowski and Ajello regularly solicited and accepted bribes to allow contraband to pass through undetected, the DEA said. Two airport workers and two others were also charged with importing counterfeit goods. Some of those items included Rolex, Cartier and Chanel watches and designer sunglasses, the DEA said. On several occasions, Golembiowski was captured on audio and video taking bribes to aid his co-conspirators in bringing in illegal drugs and counterfeit goods. "Smuggling any kind of illegal commodity raises troubling issues at a time of deep concern over national security," said Michael J. Garcia, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. "The threat is heightened when a government official accepts bribes to help smugglers breach our borders." The arrests came as a result of a lengthy sting operation by a state, local and federal task force. Prosecutors said numerous recorded meetings and phone calls captured the suspects talking about plans to smuggle hashish, ecstasy and other illegal items. The investigation has led to the indictment and prosecution of more than 20 people -- "from distributors to overseas sources of supply" -- and the seizure of more than 600 pounds of imported hashish and other drugs from the United States and France, according to the statement.

Question: What has led to the indictment and prosecution of more than 20 people?

Question: Who was arrested on it?

Question: what DEA says two agents?

Question: Who accepted and solicited bribes?

Question: Who smuggled illegal contraband and drugs?

Question: Who accepted bribes?

Answer: The investigation

Answer: Two U.S. customs agents

Answer: customs officials at JFK International Airport helped smuggle drugs and contraband.

Answer: Golembiowski

Answer: two customs officials at JFK International Airport

Answer: Golembiowski and Ajello

Summary:
DEA says two agents regularly accepted and solicited bribes .
They and four others allegedly smuggled illegal contraband and drugs .
Investigation has led to the indictment and prosecution of more than 20 people .
Arrests follow a lengthy investigation by state and federal authorities .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two additional suspects in the strangulation of an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor were arrested Friday, the Manhattan district attorney's office said. Felix Brinkmann dances at a 2008 birthday party. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies," his son says. Aljulah Cutts, 27, and his brother Hasib, 30, were taken into custody in Manhattan in connection with the death last week of Guido Felix Brinkmann, the district attorney's office said. A spokeswoman declined to specify what, if any, connection the men are suspected to have had to the victim or to a woman previously arrested in the case. Police also would not say what charges the two might face. The woman, Angela Murray, 30, of the Bronx, was arraigned Sunday on one count of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery in the case. Brinkmann was found dead in the bedroom of his apartment July 30, his hands tied behind his back, police said. A safe was missing from the apartment, and his car had been stolen. Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was held in the Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz camps during World War II. After the war, he and his wife, who also survived Auschwitz, came to America. In 1971, Brinkmann co-founded Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan, and later was the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, according to his son, Rick Brinkman, who uses a different spelling for his last name. Brinkmann's wife died last year. CNN's Jason Kessler and Chris Kokenes contributed to this report.

Question:
Where was Brinkmann found?
What was missing from apartment?
Who was taken into custody?
What was Brinkmann's age?
What age was Brinkmann?
When was the woman arraigned?

Answer: dead in the bedroom of his apartment

Answer: A safe

Answer: Aljulah Cutts, 27, and his brother Hasib, 30,

Answer: 89-year-old

Answer: 89-year-old

Answer: Sunday

Summary:
Man, brother taken into custody in connection with Guido Felix Brinkmann's death .
Woman previously arrested in the case was arraigned Sunday .
Brinkmann, 89, was found strangled last week in his Manhattan apartment .
A safe was missing from the apartment, and Brinkmann's car had been stolen .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two customers are suing Wal-Mart for negligence after being injured in a mad rush for post-Thanksgiving bargains that left one store employee dead, the men's attorney said Tuesday.

A temporary worker at this Wal-Mart was crushed to death when shoppers rushed into the store last week.

Temporary Wal-Mart worker Jdimytai Damour, 34, was crushed to death as he and other employees attempted to unlock the doors of a store on Long Island at 5 a.m. Friday.

Attorney Kenneth Mollins said Fritz Mesadieu and Jonathan Mesadieu were "literally carried from their position outside the store" and are now "suffering from pain in their neck and their back from being caught in that surge of people" that rushed into the Wal-Mart.

New York Newsday reported that the Mesadieus are father and son, ages 51 and 19.

The lawsuit alleges that the Mesadieus' injuries were a result of "carelessness, recklessness, negligence."

In a claim against the Nassau County police department, the men also contend that they "sustained monetary losses as a result of health care and legal expenses ... in the sum of $2 million."

"This is a tragic situation that could have and should have been avoided with the exercise of reasonable care. There are very simple measures that could have been put in place to avoid this, such as barriers along the line to spread people out, extra security and a better police presence," Mollins said.

He said his clients and others who were at the scene contend that the police "were there ... saw what was happening, and they left."

Calls seeking comment from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were not immediately returned.

Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said, "it's our policy that we don't comment on open litigations" and would not respond directly to Mollins and his clients' claim that officers left the scene.

He said it is "incumbent upon the store to provide security" but noted that there was no security force present when officers responded to an initial phone call after 3 a.m. Friday for an unknown disturbance at the site.

Smith said the officers noticed a lack of order with the crowd and began to organize them into a line, remaining on site for about 30 minutes until the crowd had become orderly.

Throughout the morning, officers went back to check on the crowd and continued to notice no disturbance, Smith said.

He said that there were no additional calls for assistance until about 5 a.m., when people began rushing the doors of the store and trampled Damour.

An autopsy showed that Damour died of asphyxiation after being trampled, Nassau County officials have said.

Video showed that as many as a dozen people were knocked to the floor in the stampede of people trying to get into the store. The employee was "stepped on by hundreds of people" as other workers attempted to fight their way through the crowd, said Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Michael Fleming.

CNN's Kristen Hamill contributed to this report

Question: Customers filed claim against who?

Question: Who got injured?

Question: Who was the store employee who was killed?

Question: What were the police accused of?

Question: What was the reason for this incident happening?

Question: Men suffered from injuries due to what?

Question: Who else did the customers file claims against?

Question: Number of store employees that was killed in shopping sale?

Question: How many people actually died in this incident?

Question: How many store employees were killed?

Answer: Wal-Mart

Answer: Fritz Mesadieu and Jonathan Mesadieu

Answer: Jdimytai Damour,

Answer: "carelessness, recklessness, negligence."

Answer: post-Thanksgiving bargains

Answer: "carelessness, recklessness, negligence."

Answer: Nassau County police department,

Answer: one

Answer: one

Answer: one

Summary:
Men suffered injuries after being carried along in rush for bargains, suit claims .
Customers also filed claim against police, say they didn't maintain order .
One store employee killed in post-Thanksgiving rush for bargains .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two-year-old Tangena Hussain vanished three months ago in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, Michigan, and police say the trail has gone cold. Tangena Hussain, 2, has been missing since October 2 and police in Michigan are asking for the public's help. Tangena's mother called police on the evening of October 2, 2008, to report her daughter missing after frantically searching the area where she was last seen. The child's mother, Nilufa Begum, told police she had left the girl in the care of her boyfriend, Jamrul Hussain. Although Tangena and Hussain have the same last name, he is not her father. Begum told investigators her daughter was with Hussain all day while she worked at the Northland Mall. Hussain said he stopped at a gas station with Tangena while on the way to the mall to pick up Begum. They stopped at about 9 p.m. to buy gum and juice, he said. Hussain told police he left Tangena in the car for only a few moments and when he returned, the little girl was gone. He did not call police and did not conduct a search, but instead drove to the mall and picked up Begum, investigators said. When she saw Tangena was not with Hussain, Begum asked him where she was. His response was cryptic, she told police. He said he would take her to the place where her daughter was. Begum became alarmed as Hussain drove to a gas station where, he said, Tangena disappeared. They searched for Tangena together, while Begum called the police to report her daughter missing. A surveillance camera shows the boyfriend, Hussain, going into the gas station's store, police said. On the video, he makes some purchases and leaves within a few minutes. But there is no video of the area where Hussain parked his car, nor any video that could show whether the little girl had been there or how she might have disappeared. Police have not named a person of interest in the toddler's disappearance. When the media picked up the story, a teenager came forward, saying she recognized Hussain as the man who allegedly attacked her. During the investigation, police discovered that the young accuser, then 15, had been Hussain's prior girlfriend. Hussain, 24, was arrested and charged with two counts of having sex with a minor. He is free on bail while awaiting trial. "My client is innocent of the charges. He did not have sex with a minor child," said Hussain's lawyer, Shawn Patrick Smith. Tangena's parents said they just want answers. Her father, Mohammad Ahmed, lives in New York and added $5,000 to an existing Crimestopper's reward of $1,000. "We are praying that someone knows something that can help us find my daughter," Ahmed said. "How can a child disappear without someone seeing something? Something doesn't fit about [Hussain's] story." When questioned, Begun told police only she and Hussain saw Tangena in the week leading up to her October 2 disappearance. A Michigan Amber Alert was issued for Tangena at 5 a.m. the morning after she disappeared. But in the months since, police have hit a dead end. Police and family members are turning to the public for help. If anyone has seen Tangena Hussain or has any information regarding her whereabouts, please call the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-1240. Tangena is 3' 2" tall, weighs 34 lbs, has black short hair, brown eyes, and is of East Indian descent. She was last seen wearing white cargo pants, brown long-sleeved T-shirt with a cartoon picture on the front and gold sandals. The reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Tangena Hussain is $6,000.

Question: How much is the reward?

Question: What is the name of the person?

Question: What age was Tangena Hussain?

Question: When was Tangena Hussain last seen?

Question: how much is the reward which is offered?

Question: When was the person last seen?

Question: What number should you call?

Question: What is the amount of the reward that is offered?

Answer: $1,000.

Answer: Tangena Hussain,

Answer: Two-year-old

Answer: October 2

Answer: $1,000.

Answer: October 2, 2008,

Answer: 313-596-1240.

Answer: $6,000.

Summary:
Tangena Hussain last seen on October 2 .
Mother left child, age 2, in care of boyfriend .
Mom's boyfriend says child disappeared from car at gas station .
A $6,000 reward is offered. Call Detroit police at 313-596-1240 .


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.

Question: When did the ivory trade become illegal?

Question: In what ways was ivory smuggled?

Question: What was ivory reportedly disguised as?

Question: How many states face federal smuggling charges?

Question: When has trade in elephant ivory been illegal since?

Question: Which for states do the six live in?

Question: When was the ivory trade made illegal worldwide?

Question: What was this ivory disguised as?

Question: When was the ivory trade made illegal in the US?

Question: Where was the ivory?

Question: What was disguised as guitars and other items?

Question: Which four states?

Question: Who is the U.S. attorney?

Question: How many people were charged in this case?

Question: When was the ivory trade banned worldwide?

Question: What was the ivory disguised as?

Question: What charges are six people facing?

Answer: 1976.

Answer: disguised as wooden snakes, guitars and statues,

Answer: as wooden snakes, guitars and statues,

Answer: New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas.

Answer: 1976.

Answer: New York, New Jersey, Virginia

Answer: 1989.

Answer: wooden snakes, guitars and statues,

Answer: 1976.

Answer: Cameroon,

Answer: African elephant ivory

Answer: New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas.

Answer: Benton J. Campbell

Answer: six

Answer: 1989.

Answer: wooden snakes, guitars and statues,

Answer: suspicion of smuggling

Summary:
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 .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- When singer-pianist Peter Cincotti showed up to speak to CNN in 2004, he was fresh-faced and impeccably dressed in a suit and shiny shoes.

Peter Cincotti rose to fame as a jazz pianist. His new album features pop songs.

Seated at a piano, and under the watchful eye of his very sweet mother Cynthia, Cincotti performed the standard "How High the Moon," showing off piano skills you'd expect from someone far beyond his 21 years.

His debut album had just topped the Billboard traditional jazz chart -- the youngest artist to claim such a feat.

Now 25, Cincotti is still fresh-faced, but he sings to a very different tune. Looking trendy in a fitted sweater, his hair a little looser, his personality more playful -- mom didn't come to this interview -- Peter has gone pop.

"He's this great jazz pianist," says producer David Foster, who worked on Cincotti's new album. "And he just turned the whole thing 180 and wrote these incredible pop songs."

To Cincotti, whose pop debut "East of Angel Town" was released last week on Warner Bros. Records, the switch isn't that big a deal.

"I'm a musician," he says. "I was just playing what I love then, and I'm playing what I love now."  Watch Cincotti do what he loves »

Enlisting Foster to help navigate the transition was crafty: Foster is a 15-time Grammy winner with an undeniable knack for generating pop hits. He also has a reputation for getting his way in the studio. But Cincotti, a native New Yorker, didn't make things easy.

"He's a control freak, too, so we butted heads a lot," says Foster. "And he actually made me come to New York to make the record. And I don't like New York because I'm claustrophobic and I don't dig elevators. But he made me come here for three months. That's how much I loved his music."

Cincotti smiles when he recalls the expletive-ridden voicemail message Foster left him expressing his displeasure over having to vacate his Los Angeles base to work on the project.

"I saved that message," Cincotti says. "It's great."

Cincotti talked to CNN about new beginnings, old influences and playing piano in the fast lane. The following is an edited version of the interview.

CNN: What do you love about pop?

Peter Cincotti: To be honest I don't even categorize (my music) as that. It's just what I'm doing now. This is my first record that I've written everything. It's my first record of original material so the style changed and that's basically what I'm doing right now.

CNN: When a 25-year-old is writing songs, what experiences are you drawing on?

Cincotti: Well, this record is ... kind of like a debut, and I wanted to write about things that I never sang about before in songs. Things that either happened to me, personal experiences. And I didn't want to write a record of "I love you and you love me."

So a lot of the subject matter I think is a bit atypical of what's out there right now ... at least to me.

CNN: You've been playing the piano since you were how old?

Cincotti: I started when I was 3. My grandma bought me this ten-key toy piano, and she taught me how to play "Happy Birthday." It was my third birthday, and I sat down and I never stopped.

CNN: Which pianists have inspired you over the years?

Cincotti: There are so many. I'm still going through phases. I'll just listen to a certain musician. The first guy I remember ... I got my first cassette ... it was a Jerry Lee Lewis tape. I remember I was 5 years old and I went with my uncle to the record

Question: Whom did Native New Yorker insist come to N.Y. to produce?

Question: Who is Peter Cincotti?

Question: What did Cincotti start doing when he was 3 and who was his influence?

Question: Who influenced Cincotti?

Question: What kind of music does Cincotti play?

Answer: David Foster,

Answer: singer-pianist

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: jazz

Summary:
Peter Cincotti had hit jazz album, now has album of pop songs .
Native New Yorker insisted Angeleno David Foster come to N.Y. to produce .
Cincotti started playing piano when he was 3; an early influence was Jerry Lee Lewis .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- When stock markets are soaring, people think they're making money because they're geniuses. But when the market tanks -- which it always does, sooner or later -- people look for villains to blame for their losses.

Allan Sloan says the real lesson of the Madoff case is not to rely on others to protect your investments.

That brings us to Bernie Madoff, who has become the iconic symbol of the current horrible market and economic meltdown, even though he really had nothing to do with it.

Yes, Madoff sure seems to be a really, really bad guy who ruined lots and lots of lives and should probably be locked up for the rest of his natural days.

But Madoff's misdeeds -- or as our lawyers would prefer, his alleged misdeeds -- have nothing to do with the market meltdown that has sliced trillions of dollars from our collective net worth.

He's become the symbol of the current meltdown the same way that uber-tastemaker Martha Stewart became a face of the 2001-02 corporate crime wave, even though the misdeeds of which she was convicted -- misleading government investigators -- were less than penny-ante compared to the multi-billion dollar frauds that first built up and then destroyed giant companies such as Enron and WorldCom.

Along with Madoff, the Securities and Exchange Commission is being portrayed as the villain of the piece, having failed to catch him long ago when his alleged depredations must have been much smaller. Instead, it gave him a few wrist slaps until he confessed his misdeeds a month ago.

But, tips from Boston money manager Harry Markopoulos over the years notwithstanding, it's not at all surprising that the SEC missed Madoff. In fact, I'd have been amazed if the SEC had been the ones to catch him.

Why? I don't want to seem cynical or jaded, but after almost 40 years of covering business news, I've seen the same thing happen over and over because of the way regulators are trained. If someone runs a little bit out of the baseline by chiseling on numbers or playing some other game, regulators are pretty good at catching him (or her).

But if -- like Madoff -- you make up numbers from scratch and deal with huge sums, you're so far out of the baseline that regulators aren't looking for you there.

It's very hard for an SEC regulator to wrap his head around the idea that an establishment guy like Madoff -- a Nasdaq market pioneer and an occasional consultant to the SEC -- is capable of just making things up out of whole cloth. But, it would appear, he was.

And as an aside, it's easy to blame George W. Bush's anti-regulation policies for the SEC not catching Madoff. But Markopoulos' original tips reached the SEC when Bill Clinton was president.

Like newspapers, where I used to work, regulators get all sorts of tips coming across the transom. As in newspapers, I suspect, many of the tips end up ignored.

Markopoulos was right about Madoff's operation being a fraud. But his magnum opus -- an 18-page 2005 letter listing 29 "red flags" -- is quite dense and confusing, probably because he'd gotten frustrated after years of not being taken very seriously.

Unfortunately, the letter didn't list what would have been (in hindsight, naturally) the simplest tip-off: that this supposedly multi-billion dollar operation was audited by an obscure three-person accounting firm.

As Jim Heatherington, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, certified public accountant, pointed out to me after reading a Madoff column I wrote for Fortune, a simple database search shows that the firm hadn't had a peer review since 1990. That would -- or should -- have set off all sorts of alarm bells.

Back to the main event. Ponzi schemes, in which you pay existing investors not by making a profit but by getting money from new investors, have been around forever.

Like Madoff, a Jew who preyed on fellow Jews and Jewish charities such as Elie Wiesel's foundation, Ponzi

Question: Who is being blamed for the collapse?

Question: What is the real lesson here?

Question: What is the real lesson?

Question: What do regulators rarely catch?

Question: What does Allan Sloan think the real lesson for investors is?

Question: Who is being blamed for collapse of stock market values?

Question: Name of the person involved with the pyramid scheme?

Question: What is Madoff being blamed for?

Question: What is Madoff's first name?

Answer: Bernie Madoff,

Answer: not to rely on others to protect your investments.

Answer: not to rely on others to protect your investments.

Answer: huge sums,

Answer: not to rely on others to protect your investments.

Answer: Bernie Madoff,

Answer: Bernie Madoff,

Answer: current horrible market and economic meltdown,

Answer: Bernie

Summary:
Allan Sloan: Madoff is being blamed for collapse of stock market values .
He says Madoff had nothing to do with it but escaped scrutiny for fraud .
Sloan says regulators rarely catch the biggest frauds .
He says real lesson is to never rely on others to protect your investments .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- When the Emperors Club VIP said it was sending Kristen, a call girl it described as a "petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches, and 105 pounds," Client 9 was pleased. Ashley Alexandra Dupre writes on her MySpace page: "I have been broke and homeless." "Great, OK, wonderful," he told the escort service's booking agent, according to a federal affidavit. Client 9, later revealed to be New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was caught arranging the liaison on a federal wiretap. It was the beginning of the end for him. For the woman at the heart of the prostitution scandal, it was just another step on what she calls an "odyssey" of degrading abuse and high aspirations. Court documents reportedly identified Ashley Youmans -- now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre -- as Kristen, the high-priced prostitute who met with Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on February 13. Dupre is a 22-year-old would-be singer from New Jersey, the New York Times reported Wednesday. She has not been charged with any crime.  Watch a report from Dupre's apartment building » Dupre made a brief appearance Monday in U.S. Magistrate Court as a witness against four people charged with operating Emperor's Club VIP, the prostitution ring, the Times said. Spitzer announced his resignation Wednesday as governor of New York, two days after reports of his connection to the Emperors Club VIP emerged. Dupre told the Times she's mostly gone without sleep since the case became public. "I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," Dupre told the newspaper. She revealed little else in the interview, but her MySpace page offered some insight into her background. Dupre writes that she left home at 17 to begin "my odyssey to New York." "It was my decision, and I've never looked back," she writes. "Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. "Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own. I am here, in NY because of my music."  Watch Kyle Youmans describe his sister as "tough" » In her profile, Dupre says she moved to Manhattan to pursue her music career. "I am all about my music, and my music is all about me," she writes on her MySpace page. "It flows from what I've been through, what I've seen and how I feel." The page includes a picture of Dupre with the slogan "what destroys me, strengthens me." It also features a song titled "What we want" recorded by Dupre, with lyrics including "I know what you want, you got what I want, I know what you need, can you handle me?" On the MySpace page, Dupre lists singers Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion, as well as her brother, as her influences. She also offers some advice for those experiencing hard times. "I made it. I'm still here and I love who I am. If I never went through the hard times, I would not be able to appreciate the good ones," Dupre writes. "Cliché, yes, but I know it's true. I have experienced just how hard it can be. I can honestly tell you to never dwell on the past, but build from it and keep moving forward." Her brother, Kyle Youmans, told CNN he would not comment on the case or how his sister earns money, but he said she is "the best sister you could have." "I'm sticking by my sister, doing everything so

Question: What did Dupre write on her MySpace page?

Question: what new york times say?

Question: What do the documents show?

Question: what is the name of the woman

Question: what she has not been charged of?

Question: what has she been accused of doing

Question: What is the name of the woman identified in court documents?

Question: What does Dupre write about?

Question: What did Dupre's brother say?

Question: what does her brother think

Question: what dupre writes on her myspace page?

Question: Has she been charged?

Answer: "I have been broke and homeless."

Answer: Dupre is a 22-year-old would-be singer from

Answer: identified Ashley Youmans

Answer: Ashley Alexandra Dupre

Answer: any crime.

Answer: liaison on a federal wiretap.

Answer: Ashley Alexandra Dupre

Answer: "I have been broke and homeless."

Answer: she is "the best sister you could have."

Answer: she is "the best sister you could have."

Answer: "I have been broke and homeless."

Answer: not

Summary:
New York Times: Court documents identify the woman as Ashley Alexandra Dupre .
She has not been charged with any crime .
Dupre writes on her MySpace page that she abused drugs and has been homeless .
"She'll make it through," her brother says .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- While President Obama takes plenty of heat over his plans to overhaul domestic policies, critics have also taken aim at his foreign policy approach, particularly as it relates to human rights around the globe. Human Rights Watch advocacy director Tom Malinowski says Obama should have met with the Dalai Lama. Human Rights Watch advocacy director Tom Malinowski said Wednesday that while the administration appeared to have "gotten the balance right" on Myanmar, the military junta-ruled Asian nation formerly known as Burma, by starting a dialogue while maintaining sanctions, "China is a different matter." "And that's where we've seen the tension play out in the most acute way, with several signals that have been sent suggesting that the administration is putting human rights issues to one side," Malinowski said on CNN's "Amanpour." "And most recently, the, I think, symbolic mistake of the president declining to meet the Dalai Lama before his own visit to China later next month."  Watch the discussion » The Tibetan spiritual leader, who fled to India in 1959 and established a government in exile there, visited the United States earlier this month. China considers Tibet a renegade province and accuses the Dalai Lama of inciting violence. The timing of a presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama is considered largely symbolic, and Malinowski said the president's delay "sent a message to the Chinese government that perhaps this isn't as high a priority for the United States as it has been in the past." Malinowski also criticized the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. J. Scott Gration, who had suggested wooing the Sudanese government with "cookies" and "gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement" to change its attitude about Darfur, where genocide and famine have killed hundreds of thousands of people. "It's a really dumb thing to say," said Malinowski, who previously served in the administration of President Clinton. "Governments like this, they are not children, and they do not react to cookies and gold stars," he said. "They act on their interests, and historically, as you know from Bosnia, to all the places where we have successfully defeated this kind of violence, governments respond to pressure." Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, a candidate for re-election next year, has been indicted on war-crimes charges by the International Criminal Court. Despite Gration's comments, the Obama administration has not yet articulated a Sudan policy. But Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group and a former U.N. human rights commissioner, told "Amanpour" that talking rather than pressuring governments over human rights can be beneficial. "If you have a policy of engagement, which I think very much is the one put forward by the Obama administration, you may give an impression that you're softening," said Arbour, who is also a former war crimes prosecutor. "It's very easy to look tough, right? You don't talk to anybody, you repudiate everything, you slam all the doors and you accomplish nothing, or very little. And we have a lot of precedence for that. "When you have a policy of reinforcing diplomatic initiatives, engagement, it may look soft, because you have to put on the table a multiplicity of issues, not just a single one. But on balance, I think there's more chance on some of these ... all important initiatives than just by looking tough and achieving nothing." Arbour added, however, that the engagement approach to human rights abuses will not create fast change from the abusive regimes. Noting the glacial pace of transformation in Myanmar, where democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been held under house arrest for nearly two decades, Arbour said "it's going to be very slow." "You can't have 20 years of extremely adversarial, confrontational posturing, and then say, well, we're ready to talk and be friendly, and assume that the other

Question: what did human rights watch official say

Question: An Ex UN official said what about Obama's strategy

Answer: Obama should have met with the Dalai Lama.

Answer: "gotten the balance right"

Summary:
Good start in Myanmar, China problematic, says Human Rights Watch official .
He also criticizes the U.S. special envoy to Sudan for "dumb" remarks .
Ex-U.N. official says Obama's strategy has more chance of accomplishment .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- With Sen. Hillary Clinton beside him, Sen. Barack Obama emphasized the challenges women in his family had overcome as he reached out to female voters at a fundraiser Thursday. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appears together during a fundraiser in New York Thursday. The New York event was the third in which the former rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination have appeared together this week. In an attempt to close any remaining rifts with Clinton's backers, Obama has asked his supporters to help Clinton retire her roughly $22 million of campaign debt. Obama and Clinton have appeared together five times since Obama secured the Democratic presidential nomination in June. During the "Women for Obama" event, the Illinois senator recounted how his mother, a single mom who put herself through school, once had to "swallow her pride" and accept food stamps to feed her family. He also recalled how his grandmother worked her way from secretary to the vice president of a bank. "But I also saw how she ultimately hit a glass ceiling -- how men no more qualified than she was kept moving up the corporate ladder ahead of her," he said. Obama highlighted the struggles of his wife to balance the responsibilities of her job and parenting -- and admitted that he was somewhat complicit in the situation in which most of the parenting duties fall to his wife.  Watch Obama talk about the women who shaped him » "As the son, grandson and husband of hard-working mothers, I don't accept an America that makes women choose between their kids and their careers," Obama said. "We take it for granted that women are the backbone of our families, but we too often ignore the fact that women are also the backbone of our middle class. "And we won't truly have an economy that puts the needs of the middle class first until we ensure that when it comes to pay and benefits at work, women are treated like equal partners," he said, urging a commitment to equal pay for women. He urged "standing up for paid leave, and paid sick leave, because no one should be punished for getting sick or dealing with a family crisis." Later on Thursday, Obama traveled to Fairfax, Virginia, to unveil a plan meant to increase women's economic security. The plan includes a tax credit of up to $1,000 for families, an increase in the minimum wage and tax cuts to help working women pay for child care, among other provisions. Clinton, who introduced Obama, urged her supporters to back the Illinois senator, saying, "It is critical that we join forces. The Democratic Party is a family -- sometimes dysfunctional."  Watch Clinton make her case for Obama » "We shared this remarkable journey, and I could not be prouder to have this opportunity in front of so many of my friends and supporters to express my confidence in his candidacy and my commitment to ensuring that he will take the oath of office come next January 2009," she said. Obama, in turn, praised Clinton for her historic presidential run, saying, "While this campaign has shown us how far we have to go, we also know that because of what Hillary accomplished, my daughters and yours look at America and themselves a little differently today."  Watch why Obama and Clinton are appearing together » Despite the public calls for unity, some of Clinton's supporters have been hesitant to fall in behind Obama. With Clinton's debt yet to be paid off, some of her supporters are balking at the idea of donating to Obama -- especially if he does not choose her to be his running mate. "I certainly know there are lots of people who are withholding their money," said Lynn Forester de Rothschild, one of Clinton's "Hill-raisers" who raised over $100,000 for the former first lady. Watch why some Clinton backers are balking » "This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him. I feel like he is an elitist

Question:
What did Obama urge?
Who urges equal pay?
What did the Democratic nominee pledge?
Who does Sen. Clinton join?
Who joined Obama at the fundraiser?

Answer: "standing up for paid leave, and paid sick leave, because no one should be punished for getting sick or dealing with a family crisis."

Answer: Obama

Answer: commitment to equal pay for women.

Answer: Barack Obama

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Summary:
Democratic nominee pledges to make it easier to balance work and family .
Obama urges equal pay, help with child and health care, paid sick leave .
Sen. Clinton joins Sen. Obama at "Women for Obama" fundraiser .
Many Clinton supporters still are not ready to back Obama .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- With strong sales and equally powerful praise, the July issue of Italian Vogue can be judged a resounding success. Chanel Iman is one of several models of color featured in the "Black Issue" of Italian Vogue. Dubbed the "Black Issue," the magazine celebrates models of color from the past and present, including Donyale Luna, Liya Kebede, Naomi Campbell, Iman and Chanel Iman. Within 72 hours, the magazine sold out in the United States and Great Britain. Blog posts and e-mails about the beauty and historical significance of the issue began to flow -- and industry insiders were equally pleased. Praising renowned photographer Steven Meisel, who shot most of the issue's fashion pictures, The New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn gushed, "I think they are some of the best he's done. ... They are crazily, softly beautiful, plainly the work of someone who knows women and fashion."  See what all the fuss is about » Another 40,000 copies of the "Black Issue" were recently reprinted to meet the still strong demand. But will the all the hoopla translate into tangible change for black models in the fashion industry? Will more color be seen on the runway and in magazines? Many observers have their fingers crossed. "All the agents were happy about the issue because it gives us hope that other people will catch on and decide that it's OK to use more black girls," said Carlos Ojeda, an agent at New York Models. "It's OK to have more than just one, and she doesn't have to always be Naomi." "Italian Vogue is very influential around the world on an artistic level," said Constance White, style director at eBay. "That is the book that all the art directors, the photographers, any fashion editor looking for inspiration turns to ... and always has. It has always been the trendsetter, so hopefully people will look at it and say using black models is both relevant and right and will start doing it too." Bethann Hardison, a legendary model agent-manager, said she has noticed a shift in the industry since she began holding town hall meetings last September to address the lack of diversity in fashion. The packed-to-the-rafters events quickly became the talk of the industry, and Hardison is widely credited with sparking the current movement. "I started seeing more black models on the runway back in February," she said, pointing to the shows of designers like Diane Von Furstenberg and Michael Kors as examples. "I have already seen change, and I know that I will continue to see change." Not all are nearly as optimistic, and fear the diversity issue will become as passe as the skinny-model debate of a few years ago. "I hate to sound cynical, but by January, I feel like it will be back to business as usual," Ojeda said. "I want to be hopeful and positive, but a part of me does not want to get my hopes up." "Let's see if Italian Vogue is going to be able to live up to the standards that they've now set," added one prominent New York-based stylist. "You can't have an issue with all black girls, pat yourself on the back and say 'that's it for the year.' " Hardison is working hard to make sure that doesn't happen. She's already scheduled another town hall meeting for September, and she's also planning a mixer to introduce fledgling models of color to industry players. "We just have to keep the bar high," Hardison said, "and keep showing beautiful women and pictures." Lola Ogunnaike is the entertainment correspondent for CNN's American Morning.

Question: What was a big success?

Question: What do observers wonder?

Question: What are observers wondering about ?

Question: What name did latest Italian Vogue use?

Question: What edition of vogue is being discussed

Question: What was the focus of the issue

Question: Did the issue sold well ?

Answer: the July issue of Italian Vogue

Answer: will the all the hoopla translate into tangible change for black models in the fashion industry?

Answer: will the all the hoopla translate into tangible change for black models in the fashion industry? Will more color be seen on the runway and in magazines?

Answer: "Black Issue"

Answer: "Black Issue"

Answer: models of color from the past and present,

Answer: out

Summary:
Italian Vogue recently ran "Black Issue" highlighting women of color .
Issue was huge success -- sold well, earned great reviews .
Observers wonder if impact will last .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- With the weekend arriving and a long day finally over, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan stepped off her yellow school bus on a chilly Friday around 4 p.m. Cherrie Mahan's third-grade school photo was used on her missing child flyers. The bus stop was about 100 yards from her home in rural Winfield Township in western Pennsylvania. But Cherrie did not make it to the hilltop trailer she lived in with her parents. She was never seen again. Investigators say her disappearance after the four mile ride home from elementary school on February 22, 1985, remains a mystery. "It's like a black hole opened up and she fell in,'' said Cherrie's mother, Janice McKinney. She recalled that she and Cherrie's stepfather, Leroy, could hear the bus pulling up that day. Soon after Cherrie did not arrive, he went to the stop to look for her. ''He came flying back up because she wasn't there,'' McKinney said.  Watch what the girl's mom has to say » Cherrie, an only child, would soon be celebrating her 33rd birthday, but in the minds of many, she will always remain a missing girl. "People still talk about it,'' said Trooper Frank Jendesky, the lead detective working on the case for the Pennsylvania State Police for the past 15 years. The driver and children riding the bus remember Cherrie getting off the bus with a few other students who lived nearby. One lingering detail has baffled investigators for years -- reports that a 1976 model van was following the school bus. The van, according to students, had a distinctive painted mural of a snow-capped mountain and skier wearing red and yellow clothes coming down the mountain. Despite many efforts, the van was never found and it remains unclear whether it holds a link to the puzzle. ''By now it's probably in a junkyard or somewhere,'' said Jendesky, who considers the case a kidnapping or abduction -- rather than a homicide -- because a body was not found. "It's the not knowing that kills you,'' McKinney said. ''Every day you wonder and you look at some girl who's 33 and you wonder, 'Is that her?' I look at little kids and wonder, 'Is that my grandchild?' '' Over the years, police conducted hundreds of interviews and cleared several persons of interest, while the case file grew to more than 4,000 pages. Among his biggest frustrations, Jendesky said: "The time lapse and a lot of the calls I've gotten over the years really had no relevance to the case.'' In the days before Amber Alerts and greater public awareness of crimes against children, McKinney said it took time before word of her daughter's disappearance became widespread. McKinney said Cherrie's case was included as a public service insert in a direct mail advertising campaign, one of the first times that approach was taken. Cherrie was especially close with McKinney's parents. She described how the girl would lovingly mimic her grandfather's daily morning walk in the garden with his hands cupped behind his back. Hanging in McKinney's dining room is a picture Cherrie drew of a rainbow, trees, birds and clouds. It says "Mom and Dad." "I have more memories of my daughter than most people get in a lifetime,'' McKinney said, remembering that Cherrie loved the children's character Strawberry Shortcake, enjoyed spelling and wanted to be an elementary schoolteacher. The day Cherrie went missing she was bringing home annual school pictures. That photo and the girl who never made it home with it became known to many on missing posters distributed across the nation. "She was one heck of a special kid,'' McKinney said. "And there's somebody out there that knows. And I hope that someday they have a conscience and they'll let us know. Because that's all I pray for, is to have an answer.'' Anyone with information on

Question: What year did the third-grader disappear?

Question: What was the mural of on the van?

Question: Whose flyer was the first sent by direct mail?

Question: What type of image was depicted on the van?

Question: When did the third grader disappear?

Question: Whose missing person flyer was one of the first sent by mail?

Question: When did the third-grader disappear?

Answer: 1985,

Answer: a snow-capped mountain and skier wearing red and yellow clothes coming down the mountain.

Answer: Cherrie Mahan's

Answer: distinctive painted mural of a snow-capped mountain and skier wearing red and yellow clothes

Answer: February 22, 1985,

Answer: Cherrie Mahan's

Answer: February 22, 1985,

Summary:
Third-grader disappeared in February 1985 .
Police looked for, but never found van with mural of skier .
Cherrie Mahan's missing person flyer was one of first sent by direct mail .
Know something? Call the Pennsylvania State Police at (724) 284-8100 .


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, in a rare interview Thursday, depicted himself as an African hero battling imperialism and foreign attempts to oust him rather than the widespread perception of a dictator clinging to power at the expense of the welfare of his people and country. Robert Mugabe says sanctions against his country are "unjustifiable." The 85-year-old Mugabe, the only leader of Zimbabwe since it became independent from Britain in 1980, rejected repeated assertions by CNN's Christiane Amanpour that his policies have driven the nation once known as Africa's breadbasket to virtual economic collapse. Instead, Mugabe accused Britain and the United States of seeking to oust him by imposing economic sanctions, the effects of which he said were worsened by years of drought. He denied that his country is in economic shambles, saying it grew enough food last year to feed all its people, and defended policies that have driven white farmers off their land as properly restoring that land to indigenous Africans. "The land reform is the best thing (that) could have ever have happened to an African country," said Mugabe, a former revolutionary leader who came to power when white-ruled Rhodesia became black-ruled Zimbabwe. "It has to do with national sovereignty."  Watch Mugabe on his controversial land reform program » It was Mugabe's first interview with a Western television network in several years, and he appeared to get frustrated with some of Amanpour's direct questioning, repeatedly denying widely accepted evidence and reports on his nation's woes. Mugabe denied that his ZANU-PF party lost elections in 2008 that forced him to accept a power-sharing agreement with his chief rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, who now is prime minister. Violence surrounding the disputed election, much of it against opposition supporters, further damaged Zimbabwe's standing, but Mugabe rejected any blame on Thursday. "You don't leave power when imperialists dictate that you leave," he insisted. "There is regime change. Haven't you heard of (the) regime change program by Britain and the United States that is aimed at getting not just Robert Mugabe out of power but get Robert Mugabe and his party out of power?" He also waved off Amanpour's assertion that the power-sharing arrangement is not working, and that opposition political figures are continuing to get harassed and arrested.  Watch Mugabe talk about power-sharing » Asked about Roy Bennett, a white opposition figure who has yet to be sworn in as agriculture minister a year after formation of the power-sharing government, Mugabe stammered before saying Bennett faces charges of "organizing arms of war" against Zimbabwe. He added that he's heard the prosecution lacks evidence in the case, but said he won't agree to swearing in Bennett until after any charges are dropped. Mugabe also denied any responsibility for harm to the nation from his economic policies, instead blaming what he called "unjustified" and "illegal" sanctions that he said were intended to bring regime change. "The sanctions must be lifted. We should have no interference from outside," Mugabe said. "The continued imperialist interference in our affairs is affecting our country adversely." When Amanpour challenged him by saying most of the sanctions were directed at individuals, rather than economic entities, Mugabe said she was wrong. "The U.S. sanctions are real sanctions, economic sanctions. Have you looked at them?" he said. "It's because of sanctions, mainly." Amanpour tried to push the point, saying outside observers blamed his policies and not sanctions. "Not everybody says so," Mugabe cut her off. "It's not true." He also rejected criticism from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his role in the anti-apartheid struggle, who has accused Mugabe of turning Zimbabwe into a "basket case" and repressing his own people. "It's not a basket case at all," Mugabe said. He later called Tutu's comments "devilish talk" and added: "He doesn't know what he's talking

Question:
What does Mugabe reject?
What did he call sanctions?
What did Mugabe call the sanctions?
Who interviewed Mugabe?
What does Mugabe call the sanctions?
Which broadcaster interviewed him?
What is the criticism against Mugabe?

Answer: assertions by CNN's Christiane Amanpour that his policies have driven the nation once known as Africa's breadbasket to virtual economic collapse.

Answer: "unjustifiable."

Answer: "unjustifiable."

Answer: Christiane Amanpour

Answer: "unjustifiable."

Answer: Christiane Amanpour

Answer: turning Zimbabwe into a "basket case" and repressing his own people.

Summary:
Mugabe rejects criticism that he has turned Zimbabwe into a "basket case"
CNN interview is Mugabe's first in years with a major Western network .
Mugabe calls sanctions "unjustified and illegal"


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Sunday that it is buying troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, amid deepening fears that Bear's demise could have sent shockwaves across already shaky financial markets. The deal to buy Bear Stearns is worth an estimated $236 million. The deal values Bear Stearns at $236 million, or just $2 a share. Shares had closed at $30 on Friday, down 47 percent that day. "Effective immediately, JPMorgan Chase is guaranteeing the trading obligations of Bear Stearns and its subsidiaries and is providing management oversight for its operations," said a statement released Sunday by JPMorgan. Shareholders must approve the deal, which is expected to close by the end of June. JPMorgan is taking immediate responsibility for Bear's trading obligations and assuming "management oversight" of the firm's operations. The deal has already been approved by the Federal Reserve and other regulators, according to the statement. The Fed is providing special emergency financing for up to $30 billion in Bear Stearns assets. "JPMorgan stands behind Bear Stearns," said Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan. "Bear Stearns clients and counterparties should feel secure that JPMorgan is guaranteeing ... risk," he continued. The fast-track deal is expected to close by the end of June, the statement said. Bear Stearns was on the brink of financial collapse Friday when JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said they would provide the brokerage a short-term loan. Bear was dealing with a classic "run on the bank." The firm's short-term creditors refused to lend the firm any more money and simultaneously demanded repayment of outstanding debt. The one-two punch overwhelmed Bear's cash position. With the global credit crisis worsening, the Fed -- along with officials from the Treasury Department and other government agencies -- took the dramatic action to prevent the investment bank from going under and igniting widespread panic through the financial markets.  Watch a discussion on the impact on global markets » Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Sunday that talks about how to rescue Bear had continued throughout the weekend. He defended the Fed's bailout on Friday as "the right decision" and said the Bush administration was ready to take other actions to bring stability to the financial markets. He would not say what might have happened had the government failed to step in. "I'm not going to speculate about what-ifs," he said. "I'm just going to say our clear priority right now -- our number one priority, everything we're doing in the economic arena -- is to minimize instability, minimize spillover into the real economy." Bear Stearns has approximately 14,000 employees worldwide. The deal marks an inglorious chapter for 85-year-old Bear Stearns, a storied Wall Street firm the unraveling of which has been fast and furious. Rumors that Bear Stearns was on the verge of collapse started buzzing around Wall Street trading desks last Monday. Chief Executive Alan Schwartz -- who took over as CEO in early January from longtime chief Jimmy Cayne -- appeared on television on Wednesday afternoon to reassure the markets that the firm was stable. But by Thursday night, Bear was in a severe crunch. Some firms that trade with it effectively stopped offering it credit because they feared that Bear was running short of short-term funding, or liquidity. "The past week has been an incredibly difficult time for Bear Stearns," said Alan Schwartz, president and CEO of Bear Stearns. "This transaction represents the best outcome for all of our constituencies based upon the current circumstances." White House spokesman Tony Fratto told CNN on Sunday that Paulson has briefed U.S. President George W. Bush on the Federal Reserve's role in helping to facilitate the purchase. "We appreciate the actions taken by the Federal Reserve this evening," said Fratto. "Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke are actively engaged in addressing issues affecting our financial markets. Secretary Paulson has kept the President briefed on recent developments." Shares of Bear Stearns opened last week at $69.75 and

Question:
What is the US Fed financing?
When will the deal close?
who was facing run on the bank
What is "run on the bank"?
what is the us providing financing for
What did the shares close a on Friday?
What does the U.S. Fed do?
What kind of company is Bear Stearns ?

Answer: up to $30 billion in Bear Stearns assets.

Answer: by the end of June.

Answer: Bear Stearns

Answer: The firm's short-term creditors refused to lend the firm any more money and simultaneously demanded repayment of outstanding debt.

Answer: Bear Stearns assets.

Answer: $30

Answer: providing special emergency financing for up to $30 billion in Bear Stearns assets.

Answer: Wall Street firm

Summary:
Acquisition values Bear Stearns shares at $2; shares closed Friday at $30 .
U.S. Fed providing financing for up to $30 billion in Bear Stearns assets .
Bear Stearns was facing "run on the bank" on Friday .
Deal, if approved by shareholders, will close in June .