Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The founder of a Mexican Catholic order sexually abused minor-age seminarians and fathered three children with two women, the religious sect has revealed.

The Legion of Christ order and its lay Regnum Christi Movement asked for forgiveness Thursday for "the reprehensible actions of our founder," the Rev. Marcial Maciel.

"We express our sorrow and grief to each and every person damaged by our founder's actions," said a communique signed by the Rev. Alvaro Corcuera and 15 other Legion of Christ leaders.

The abuse allegations surfaced in 1997. The Vatican started an investigation into Maciel's actions in 2004 and concluded in May 2006 that he was guilty of sexual abuse, the group said.

"We had thought and hoped that the accusations brought against our founder were false and unfounded, since they conflicted with our experience of him personally and his work," the order's statement said.

As a result of the Vatican investigation, however, officials at the Legion of Christ "reached sufficient moral certainty to impose serious canonical sanctions related to the accusations made against Maciel, which included the sexual abuse of minor seminarians. Therefore, though it causes us consternation, we have to say that these acts did take place," the group said Thursday.

Law enforcement officials apparently were not informed.

The Vatican, "mindful of Father Maciel's advanced age and his delicate health, decided to forgo a canonical hearing and ask him to retire to a private life of penance and prayer, giving up any form of public ministry," the communique says.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the decision.

Although leaders at the Legion of Christ knew of the abuse since May 2006, they kept it quiet until this week. As of Friday, Maciel's biography on the order's Web page merely said, "In May 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith invited Father Maciel to 'a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing all public ministry.' "

Maciel died January 30, 2008.

Javier Bravo, spokesman for the sect in Mexico and Central America, said Legion leaders did not reveal the accusations sooner because "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

Now, he told CNN en Español, "we have to recognize the facts as they are."

Legion leaders acknowledged the delay, saying in Thursday's communique, "It's taken us some time to assimilate these events of his life. For many -- above all the victims -- this time has been too long and painful."

In addition to sexually assaulting young seminarians, Maciel fathered at least three children, Thursday's statement said.

The priest had a daughter from a stable relationship with a woman, and two men said they are his children from a relationship with another woman.

Maciel, born in March 1920, founded the Legion of Christ in January 1941.

According to the order, the Legion of Christ has a presence in 24 countries.

The first Legionaries arrived in Spain in 1946, and the order established a center in Rome in 1950. In the 1960s, the Legion established itself in Ireland and the United States. In the 1980s, the order expanded into more countries in South America and Central Europe. The Legion says it recently began pastoral projects in Eastern Europe and Philippines.

The announcement about Maciel comes against a deepening crisis in the Catholic church, which is investigating complaints of abuse in Ireland, Germany, Britain and several other countries.

Question: What did the Vatican conclude?

Question: When did the priest die?

Question: Who concluded that Rev. Maricial Maciel was guilty of sexual abuse?

Question: What do the legionnaires ask?

Question: Who asked for forgiveness for "reprehensible actions of our founder"?

Question: What did the spokeman say?

Answer: he was guilty of sexual abuse,

Answer: January 30, 2008.

Answer: The Vatican

Answer: for forgiveness

Answer: The Legion of Christ order and its lay Regnum Christi Movement

Answer: "it has been a very difficult process. We weren't ready to assimilate it before."

Summary:
NEW: "We have to recognize the facts as they are," spokesman says .
Legionnaires of Christ ask forgiveness for "reprehensible actions of our founder"
Vatican concluded in 2006 that Rev. Marcial Maciel was guilty of sexual abuse .
Priest allowed to retire; he died in 2008 .


Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Two Pakistani men accused of providing logistical support for last year's deadly terror attacks in Mumbai, India,  were arrested Saturday in Italy, police said. They were arrested in the northern Italian city of Brescia, said Stefano Fonzi, head of Italy's Division of General Investigations and Special Operations. The attacks on India's largest city lasted four days. The attackers targeted several sites in Mumbai, taking over several hotels and a Jewish center. The attacks left 160 people dead. On November 25, 2008, the day before the attacks in Mumbai, the two men arrested allegedly transferred $229 that was used to activate Internet phone lines used by the suspects. Two others connected with the longstanding money transfer agency in Brescia also were arrested for other illegal activity, Fonzi told CNN. Police are looking for a fifth man. Italian police started their investigation the following month after being alerted by Indian authorities and the FBI that funds had been transferred from Italy, Fonzi said. Authorities suspected the agency after money was transferred under the Muslim name of a man who had never entered Italy, a police statement said. Indian police have said 10 Pakistanis were involved in the deadly assault, nine of whom were killed in the carnage. The lone surviving suspect has linked the coordinated shooting and bombing incidents to the leader of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a militant group that is banned in India. CNN's Hada Messia in Rome contributed to this report.

Question: How many people died?

Question: What were the men arrested in connection with?

Question: What were two men arrested in Italy connected with?

Question: What is the number of people who died in attacks?

Question: Are they directly involved?

Answer: 160

Answer: providing logistical support for last year's deadly

Answer: terror attacks in Mumbai, India,

Answer: 160

Answer: 10 Pakistanis were

Summary:
Two men arrested in Italy in connection with November 2008 Mumbai, India, terror attacks .
Police say men transferred money to activate Internet phone lines for terrorists .
Siege at hotels and attacks on other targets left 160 people dead .


Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight. The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the senior official who is familiar with the investigation. The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ignited a small explosive device Friday, shortly before a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, made its landing in Detroit, Michigan. With the aid of the cabin crew, another passenger quickly helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab, passenger Syed Jafry told CNN. Abdulmutallab, was placed in custody and is being treated for second- and third-degree burns on his thighs, according to federal law enforcement and airline security sources. The sources told CNN that the suspect flew into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on a KLM flight from Lagos, Nigeria, and is not believed to be on any "no fly" list, although his name does appear in a U.S. database of people with suspect connections. He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, an administration official said. The administration official said there was no evidence that Abdulmutallab was a hard-core, trained member of al Qaeda. Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, claimed to have extremist ties and said the explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," a federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said. The remains of the device used are being sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, security sources said. U.S. President Barack Obama, who is spending the holidays in his home state of Hawaii, was briefed on the incident during a secure phone call with aides, and instructed in a subsequent discussion with security advisers "that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel," White House spokesman Bill Burton told CNN. The president made no changes to his schedule, Burton said. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Friday saying that air passengers "may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights." Passengers described the brief moments of panic on board, as screams erupted and flight attendants ran for fire extinguishers. Jafry, who was sitting in seat 16G, said the plane was just beginning to descend when passengers heard a pop. "Everybody got a little bit startled," he said. "After a few seconds or so ... there was ... kind of a flamish light and there was fire" and people around the immediate area began to panic. One woman told CNN affiliate WDIV that a man threw a blanket over Abdulmutallab's legs to help put out the small fire. "It was terrifying," Richelle Keepman said. "I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it." Passenger Elias Fawaz told WDIV that the explosion sounded "like a balloon being popped" and said he could smell smoke. Jafry said the incident was under control within minutes, crediting the crew and nearby passengers for the rapid response. One person was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. "All passengers have deplaned and out of an abundance of caution, the plane was moved to a remote area," where the plane and baggage were rescreened, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. Passengers were interviewed by law enforcement authorities before being allowed to leave the airport. No other suspicious materials were found on the plane or in luggage, the law enforcement and airline security sources said. The suspect had only carry-on luggage. Another passenger on the Northwest flight transferred from the same KLM flight in Amsterdam but officials found no connection between the two, the sources said. The plane, an Airbus 330, landed shortly before noon ET. It was carrying 278

Question:
Who is talking a lot?
Where did the flight end?
Where did the flight originate?
who is investigating?
Where was the flight from?

Answer: A Nigerian man

Answer: Detroit, Michigan.

Answer: Amsterdam, Netherlands,

Answer: FBI

Answer: Amsterdam,

Summary:
NEW: Nigerian in custody, "talking a lot," U.S. official says, after incident .
White House is considering the incident an attempted terrorist attack .
Passenger is immediately subdued; FBI investigating .
Flight originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, ended in Detroit, Michigan .


SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- Debbie Brown used to process medical and dental forms for a living before a debilitating illness forced her into early disability retirement and left her in a simple, no-frills wheelchair -- a rented wheelchair that has cost taxpayers about $1,200. CNN found a wheelchair similar to Debbie Brown's taxpayer-funded Medicare wheelchair for a fourth of the price. Brown says the public should be outraged about her wheelchair. Why? She says she could buy a comparable wheelchair on the Internet for $440 if she had the money. It sounded hard to believe that her rented, $1,200 taxpayer-funded wheelchair could be bought for $440, so CNN decided to check -- and instead found an even better deal. CNN went to the same company that charges Medicare for Brown's chair, Apria Healthcare, and bought it for $349 -- about a fourth of what taxpayers' have paid for Brown's rented wheelchair. That's why this slightly built woman, who lives modestly with her husband in Sacramento, California, believes her story and her wheelchair underscore the bigger problem of reforming health care in America. "Now you multiply that by how many people have a manual wheelchair, especially the baby boomers, it multiplies and multiplies and that money could be spent, even a hundred dollars out of that ... could give someone else the options that they need," Brown said. Reforming health care is at the top of the agenda in Washington. Everyone seems to agree this nation's health care costs and care availability are out of whack. Fixing it is another problem altogether. The Clintons failed. President Bush tried and got push-back as well. Now President Obama says he will do it because America can't put it off any longer. But he, too, is finding the way forward is not an easy path. Terms like "affordability," "single payer," "universal coverage," and an entire lexicon have become part of the health care buzz lingo. It is a complex issue with so many facets, so many lobbyists and so many special interests that one proposal seems to result in a competing proposal or proposals, or competing parties with concerns of their own. To illustrate how difficult it will be to overhaul America's health care, CNN decided to focus on one item in the nation's health care bill: a basic wheelchair. The wheelchair, in its own small way, CNN discovered, gives a glimpse of the contentious and complex debate swirling around health care reform. CNN interviewed Brown and her husband, Dennis Brown, at a community center in Sacramento. It is a place the couple visits frequently; it is free, offers programs, books, entertainment and features a park to stroll in. Debbie Brown sent an e-mail to CNN months ago, outraged over the continuing Medicare payments for a wheelchair that after four years of use is not in the best shape. It squeaks and is hard to navigate. Her ride in it is made more difficult because her husband, retired from the armed services, is also on disability and has trouble getting the wheelchair in and out of the car. On days he is not well, he sometimes has trouble pushing her. She showed CNN her bills and documented the fact that Medicare is still paying for the wheelchair after all these years. Medicare, with Brown's permission, confirmed the payments. Brown referred us to the Internet sites where comparable chairs -- and better ones than hers -- are listed for a fraction of the cost Medicare pays over time. The Browns have a limited income and say they cannot afford to buy one. That's when CNN decided to check Brown's story by buying one directly from Apria, based in Lake Forest, California. CNN paid cash for the chair after calling one of Apria's offices in an Atlanta, Georgia, suburb. Apria representatives told the CNN buyer that the chair Brown had is no longer made but offered the model that is being rented and sold as the replacement model for the one Brown still uses. When CNN

Question: What does Debbie Brown think?

Question: Who believes her story?

Question: What is the debate?

Question: What can the wheelchair be bought for?

Question: Who found the cheaper chair?

Question: Who found a chair that could be bought for a fourth of the price?

Question: What can be bought for $440?

Answer: says the public should be outraged about her wheelchair.

Answer: Debbie Brown

Answer: health care reform.

Answer: $349

Answer: CNN

Answer: CNN

Answer: a comparable wheelchair on the Internet

Summary:
Woman: Rented, $1,200 taxpayer-funded wheelchair can be bought for $440 .
CNN found chair that could be bought for a fourth of the price .
Debbie Brown believes her story, wheelchair underscore problem health care reform .
Legislators, companies debate competitive bidding to fix problem .


SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- For more than two years, undercover cops on the Sacramento Police Department's vice squad have been working one of the most draining beats: trying to crack down on online child prostitution.

Sacramento police have nabbed nearly 70 underage girls for child prostitution since 2005.

Police have nabbed nearly 70 girls under the age of 18 since 2005. Most of the girls were released to foster or group homes. Those are just the official figures; investigators think there are many more child prostitutes out there.

It is no easy task.

"We're asking these girls to do a big thing ... which is to stop what they're doing," said Sgt. Pam Seyffert of the Sacramento Police Department. "Stop what's working for them. Surviving is basically what they're doing."

Sacramento police are working with the FBI as part of a nationwide campaign to combat underage prostitution called Innocence Lost. The goal of the program, which is now in almost 30 U.S. cities, is to decriminalize the girls and concentrate on catching the pimps who control them.

"It really makes me angry," Seyffert said. "I think everybody on the team has different reactions to it, but I just flat out get really angry that some guy thinks he can take this girl and basically deprive her of her freedom."

It is not uncommon for the officers on the unit to put in 30-hour shifts. Oftentimes, their work is heart-wrenching.  Watch how investigators work to catch pimps »

Child prostitution is even tougher on the parents of these girls. Roslyn and Sergio's daughter had been missing for more than two weeks. They waited for hours at police headquarters in hopes that their daughter would be found.

Vice squad officers found her in a downtown apartment with Bruce William Carter, a 21-year-old man who police said had posed on the Internet holding fistfuls of cash. He pleaded not guilty to charges of statutory rape and was held in lieu of $35,000 bail.

The couple's daughter, who had just turned 17, was detained but not arrested.

"It hurt," said Roslyn, who appeared weary and a bit shell-shocked. "Because you don't want to see your children involved in things like this. You don't realize how dangerous the Internet is. Now, we got to keep her away from the Internet."

Police say most of the ads appear on Craigslist, the popular and free Internet classifieds site, under a category named "Erotic Services." Even though Craigslist has posted a bold disclaimer warning against human trafficking and the exploitation of children, law enforcement officials said it doesn't seem to deter girls from posting the ads or men who are searching for sex.

But why would a girl sell her body online?

To help answer that question, Sacramento police made arrangements for CNN to interview a 14-year-old girl who said she'd started selling herself as a prostitute at the age of 11.

"I wanted to feel loved. ... I wanted to feel important," said the teen, who did not want to be identified.

She said she used Craigslist because it was free and she could post dozens of ads a day. Even though she understood the seriousness of what she was doing, she said she didn't care.

"You could put stuff in your ad like 'wet and wild,' 'fun and sassy,' things like that to catch their attention, to make them want you," she said.

Craigslist executives said they abhor the fact that their site is being used for child prostitution but believe that the problem could be harder to track if they removed the category.

"It would be a bigger problem if we removed that category and had those ads spread throughout the site," said Jim Buckmaster, chief executive officer of Craigslist.

Both legal experts and police say Craigslist bears no legal responsibility. Undercover officers said the fact that the listings can be traced helps them pinpoint the girls and sometimes leads them to pimps.

For her part, Roslyn

Question: Who posted disclaimer warning against child porn and human trafficking?

Answer: Craigslist

Summary:
Underage girls are selling sex in free Internet classifieds, police say .
Sacramento police have nabbed nearly 70 underage girls since 2005 .
"I wanted to feel loved ... important," says girl who began posting ads at age 11 .
Craigslist posts disclaimers warning against child exploitation, human trafficking .


SAMSON, Alabama (CNN)  -- As the crime scene tape starts to come down in this small Southern town, the residents are leaning on one another for comfort and the strength to move on. The shooter, Michael McLedon, killed his mother before killing others. First Baptist Church, a few feet from the neighborhood where Michael McLendon, 28, opened fire Tuesday, welcomed members of this close community Wednesday night for a prayer service. "It's what community is about, isn't it? Crying together. Holding each other," a pastor said. It's hard for many to believe the shooting rampage could happen in this town of about 2,100 people. Authorities said McLendon went to three towns, slaying 10 people. He started in his hometown of Kinston, killing his mother, before moving on to open fire in Samson and finally Geneva. McLendon was once a police officer in Samson, the small town hit hardest by the deadliest crime in Alabama history, authorities said. His nearly hourlong assault ended at the Reliable Metal Products plant in the last town, 24 miles from where it began and where police said McLendon engaged in a shootout before killing himself inside the building. In the aftermath of the rampage, among those seeking comfort at First Baptist Church was Josh Mathews. He was driving down the street around the time of the shootings. "Could've been anyone -- just missed the gunfire, could've been any of us," Mathews said.  Watch report from CNN's Brooke Baldwin » After the shootings, he found out one of the victims was a friend. It will be hard to move on, he said. But "you have to. He was like the happiest dude in the world. He would've wanted us to move on and remember him for who he was." High school baseball coach Chris Reid said he knew almost all the victims. "Everybody knows everybody. Everybody's always been willing to go out of their way to help people in need around here, no matter what the case may be. It's just a small town where you consider your friends as family." Reid was walking out of the Big-Little convenience store when he stopped to talk to CNN. A little more than 24 hours ago, the gas station was the site of one of killings.  Watch deputy talk about his loss » Reid was at baseball practice when he heard the shots. "They were one block from us, " Reid said, adding that while driving, he saw a man killed in the street. iReport.com: On the scene as officials investigate "It really hasn't set in yet," he said. "It is still kind of a dream where you wait for it to not be real, to be over. But it's a fact, something we have to go through." Inside the church service, Steve Sellers, a visiting pastor, spoke to several hundred in attendance, praying for God to give the community strength. Some sat in the pews and sobbed. "I want to thank you, Lord, that in the coming days that this community walks through that process of healing, that there is a God who carries them through that valley," he said. Sellers also thanked town leaders, medical personnel and local law enforcement while asking the question that's been on so many minds: "I don't know what set a young man off like that, but I, too, want to pray for his family. We also come, knowing Lord, you taught us to forgive those who trespass against us."  Watch how state copes with "shock and disbelief" » While members of this tight-knit town may never fully understand how McLendon could've committed this crime, many find comfort in faith and friends. As one pastor put it, "Thank God for this town."

Question: Amount of people in Samson, Alabama that is coping with the aftermath?

Question: What church welcomed the community?

Question: Who is the high school baseball coach?

Question: What is the number of people living in Samson?

Question: When is the night prayer service?

Question: Who is the baseball coach?

Question: Where was the prayer service?

Question: How many people live in Samson?

Answer: 2,100 people.

Answer: First Baptist

Answer: Chris Reid

Answer: 2,100

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: Chris Reid

Answer: First Baptist Church,

Answer: 2,100

Summary:
The 2,100 people of Samson, Alabama, cope with aftermath of deadly rampage .
First Baptist Church welcomes community for Wednesday night prayer service .
High school baseball coach Chris Reid: "It really hasn't set in yet"
Community members say their tight bonds will pull them through difficult days ahead .


SAMSON, Alabama (CNN) -- The man who killed 10 people, then himself, in a shooting rampage in southern Alabama had failed in his dreams both to become a U.S. Marine and a police officer, and was depressed and unhappy with his life, investigators said Thursday. The shooter, Michael McLendon, killed his mother before killing others. Michael McLendon, 28, fatally shot his mother in his hometown of Kinston on Tuesday before driving to nearby Samson and Geneva, killing nine more, then fatally shooting himself after a shootout with police. Authorities are calling it the deadliest single assault in recorded Alabama history. "He was going to go until he was stopped, by himself or someone else," said Col. Chris Murphy of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. "He had obviously planned to go out in grand style." McLendon left behind a letter, apparently after killing his mother, that described how he did so and saying that he planned to kill himself, according to Murphy. The letter "describes how McLendon harbored ill feelings toward family members due to a family dispute." McLendon -- a self-proclaimed survivalist who was known to train with the rifles he used in the shooting spree -- enlisted in the Marines in 1999, but was kicked out one month later for "fraudulent enlistment," Murphy said. He was hired as a police officer in 2003, but let go a month later for what Murphy called physical issues. The nearly hourlong assault ended 24 miles from where it began at Reliable Metal Products plant in Geneva, where McLendon had worked in 2003. "McLendon made statements of being depressed and was dissatisfied with his present position in life," Murphy said. "His dream was to become a Marine, and later a police officer. Both those dreams were unfulfilled." McLendon was armed with two assault rifles -- an SKS and a Bushmaster -- and two pistols, and a shotgun was found in his car. "At this time, we believe that he fired in excess of 200 rounds during the assaults," the Department of Public Safety said in a news release. McLendon had no known criminal record before carrying out the rampage, officials said. Coffee County district attorney Gary McAliley said neighbors and co-workers described McLendon as quiet and shy. Some neighbors complained that he was always shooting firearms behind his home, he said -- but feared only that McLendon would accidentally kill one of their cows.  Watch how the shaken towns are trying to cope » Co-workers at Kelley Foods, where he unexpectedly resigned last week, said they had a nickname for him -- Doughboy -- that he didn't like. "I don't think anybody could have anticipated this by looking at him and interacting with him," McAliley said. "But, certainly he had a volcano inside of him." McLendon called the Samson City Hall about 1 p.m. Tuesday and asked whether the city council would be meeting in the evening, Michelle Flanery, magistrate and billing clerk, told CNN Radio. Flanery said she replied that there was no meeting scheduled that day and that McLendon thanked her before hanging up. Authorities said McLendon also had a list of current and former co-workers, some whose names were accompanied by notes on ways he felt they'd wronged him. But the note was not a "hit list," as had been reported, and none of the people whose names were listed were attacked, they said.   View images from the rampage » Among the dead were the wife and toddler of Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Myers, who was involved in the standoff with McLendon before he realized his own loss. His 3-month-old daughter, Ella, was also wounded. She was rescued by a neighbor and released from a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, Thursday evening. The shootings rattled Samson and Geneva, neither of which has a population beyond 4,500 people, and sent shock waves outside the small towns affected. "This event formed the single deadliest crime recorded in Alabama," said Murphy of the

Question: What made McLendon unhappy?

Question: Who left a note behind?

Question: Number of people that shooter killed?

Question: Where did McLendon live?

Question: What did McLendon leave behind?

Question: Who killed McLendon?

Question: What was the death toll in the shootings?

Answer: "His dream was to become a Marine, and later a police officer. Both those dreams were unfulfilled."

Answer: Michael McLendon,

Answer: 10

Answer: Alabama

Answer: a letter,

Answer: Michael

Answer: 10

Summary:
NEW: Michael McLendon left behind note describing ill will he harbored toward family .
NEW: Shooter was going to continue "until he was stopped," investigator says .
McLendon killed 10 people in two towns before killing himself .
McLendon unhappy with failed efforts to become Marine, police officer, police say .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN)  -- The three Americans rescued after more than five years in captivity in Colombia say they are doing well but are "overwhelmed with emotion," according to a statement released on their behalf. "Words alone can never possibly express the thrill and excitement we feel to be back home in the United States of America with our families at our side," the Friday statement from Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell said. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had held the three U.S. government contractors since February 2003, after their plane crashed in a remote region of the South American country. They were among 15 hostages rescued Wednesday in a Colombian military operation.  Watch Colombians celebrate success » Also among the rescued hostages was French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who returned to France on Friday. She is undergoing medical tests at a Paris military hospital, The Associated Press reported.  Watch Betancourt's joyous return to France » Shortly after the plane crashed, FARC members killed contractor Tom Janis, according to employer Northrop Grumman, and Colombian army Sgt. Luis Cruz, according to the U.S. State Department. The three freed Americans are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.  Learn about the former hostages » "For five-and-a-half long years, we all hoped and prayed this day would come," their statement said. "Now that it has, we're just overwhelmed with emotion. The love and the joy we're all experiencing is beyond description. "We want to offer our heartfelt thanks to the government and the armed forces of Colombia. The operation they conducted to rescue us was one for the history books -- something we will never forget for the rest of our lives." Colombian authorities unveiled details and a videotape Friday describing the mission, which involved tricking the leftist rebels into giving up their hostages.  Watch video of the rescue » Government agents had infiltrated the FARC leadership over several months. This week they talked the rebels into moving the hostages, saying a humanitarian group wanted to check on them. A helicopter carrying fake rebels picked up the hostages at a rendezvous point, ostensibly to take them to another rebel camp. It actually was a government helicopter, and the hostages were whisked to freedom without a shot being fired.  Learn about FARC » On Thursday, doctors at the Brooke Army Medical Center said the three Americans appeared to be in good health. Initial tests had for now ruled out the suspicion of infectious diseases, and although other medical tests are pending, "everything really looks well," said Col. Jackie Hayes, a psychiatrist and the lead physician on the men's medical team. Hayes said patient confidentiality rules prevented him from commenting on reports that Gonsalves was suffering from hepatitis. Maj. Gen. Keith Huber, commander of U.S. Army South, said the contractors were in the second phase of a three-phase process designed to ease their transition back to normal life. "They greeted me with a strong handshake and clear eyes and an incredible smile," he said.

Question: Who are the three men?

Question: What day were the hostages freed?

Question: Who is undergoing medical tests in Paris?

Question: Who express gratitude to Colombian military?

Question: Where are the men?

Question: Who are said to be doing well?

Question: Who saved the men?

Answer: Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt,

Answer: Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell

Answer: Brooke Army Medical Center

Answer: The three Americans

Answer: Colombian military

Summary:
Three men, safe in Texas, express gratitude to Colombian military .
Ex-hostages said to be doing well, in reintegration process .
French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt undergoing medical tests in Paris .
15 hostages freed Wednesday when Colombian agents tricked rebels .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN) -- The three Americans rescued Wednesday after more than five years in captivity in the jungles of Colombia appear to be in good health, doctors said Thursday. Keith Stansell, left, Marc Gonsalves, center, and Thomas Howes sit in an aircraft after being rescued Wednesday. "They're very resilient, they're very stress-hardy and they're doing very well, and so I think that certainly is a good-news story," said Col. Carl Dickens, a psychologist at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell arrived there late Wednesday on an Air Force C-17 to undergo a battery of medical tests and debriefings. All three are U.S. government contractors who were captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in February 2003 when their plane crashed in a remote region of the country. They will begin reuniting with their families Thursday. "They are very grateful, very excited to be home," said Air Force staff Sgt. Daryl Bradley, who accompanied the three men on the flight Wednesday from Colombia to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.  Watch CNN's Brian Todd report on the hostages' return » "They can't wait to see their families, can't wait to see the differences in the United States, and they're just absolutely pleased to be home."  Learn about the freed hostages » A plane the men were on crashed in February 2003 in a remote region of Colombia. They were among 15 hostages, including ex-Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, rescued Wednesday in a Colombian military operation. Read how the military faked out the rebels The FARC still holds more than 700 hostages in camps scattered throughout the jungle. Bradley, who is a paramedic, earlier said all three Americans appeared to be in good medical condition. Marc Gonsalves' father said he would see his son Thursday. "We have a lot to talk about," George Gonsalves told CNN's "American Morning." "There's been a lot of things that have happened, and I'm sure there's a lot of things that have happened with him that we'd certainly like to exchange a little conversation for about two or three hours anyway." Keith Stansell said he was on the beach when his stepfather called with the news of his father's release. "I didn't even know what to do," he said. "I just started freaking out -- screaming, yelling. I ran as fast as I could off the beach."  Watch the Stansell family eagerly await the former captive's return » His sister, Lauren, said she was at home when the phone rang with the news. "I knew when I heard the other voice that she had good news. I knew it was good news about Dad," she said. Amanda Howes said she learned about her uncle Thomas Howes' release from a bulletin on her computer at a TV station, where she works in Boston, Massachusetts. "A news alert crossed on the bottom of the screen, I click on it and it's this wonderful news," she said. "I literally screamed with enjoyment. I started shaking. Of course, everyone was like ... 'What's the hot news tip?' " Adm. James Stavridis, head of the U.S. military's Southern Command, has kept a picture of the hostages on his desk since taking his post in 2006 and said their release has been one of his top priorities. "You could hear the cheers throughout the building when we announced the success of the rescue," he said.  Watch the hostages land on U.S. soil » The U.S. government considers the FARC a terrorist group and has refused to negotiate with it while publicly urging the rebels to release the Americans. The FARC, which has fought a long-standing and complicated conflict with Colombia's government and right-wing paramilitary groups, defends the taking of captives as a legitimate act of war.  Background

Question: What was the reason for capturing the three men?

Question: were they captured

Question: Whos is Marc Gonsalves?

Question: What company does Thomas Howes  work for?

Answer: their plane crashed in a remote region of the country.

Answer: five years in captivity

Answer: U.S. government contractors

Answer: U.S. government

Summary:
NEW: Three Americans had medical tests; doctors say they are healthy .
Ex-hostages and relatives express joy at rescue operation .
Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell U.S. government contractors .
Colombian rebels captured three men in 2003 when their plane crashed .


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN) -- Three Americans rescued last week from captivity in the Colombian jungle will return to their homes Saturday, the U.S. Army South said. Left to right, Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes talk about spending more than 5 years as hostages. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell have been undergoing a reintegration process at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, since their return 10 days ago to the United States. The men were among 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who were rescued July 2 in a Colombian military operation. The men carried with them a metal lock, a bullet and a chess board made of cardboard -- small items that are reminders of the years they spent away from their families, cut off from the world outside the jungle, seeing only fellow hostages and their captors, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The group had held the three U.S. government contractors hostage since February 2003, after their plane crashed in a remote region of the South American country. "They don't recognize humanity, they don't recognize human rights. They're animals. They're terrorists," Stansell said of the FARC. "We don't want to exaggerate what happened. We just want to tell the truth." The men painted a gruesome picture of their captivity, describing months in which they were ordered not to speak to each other and an initial campsite where they lived with a rat's nest above them. They slept on the floors of drug labs and were forced to march for hours while chained. Chains were very much a part of their captivity. "That was put around my neck every night," Stansell told Headline News' Robin Meade on Thursday, holding a heavy industrial lock. "This lock, with 5 meters of chain -- thick, 1-inch links -- went to his neck," Stansell said, pointing at Gonsalves. "We slept like that," he said.  Watch how the rescue surprised the hostages » Gonsalves also held small wooden chess pawns he had carved using a broken piece of a machete. It took three months to make them, he said.  Watch Gonsalves talk about how chess made him feel free » "We're in chains, sitting Indian-style on a piece of plastic, just playing chess," Stansell said. "And when you're doing that, you're free." Howes, the most reticent of the three, carried with him a bullet from a commander who had once threatened to kill him. But despite the chains, the intolerable living conditions and the isolation, being away from their families was possibly the most difficult hardship to endure, the men said. "I remember my darkest day was in the first month of our captivity," Gonsalves said. "We were, at that point, locked in boxes at night. ... That night, I dreamt about my daughter, who was my little girl and still is. And I had this dream about her that was so real; she was sitting on my lap, and ... she had little braids in her hair," he said.  Watch Gonsalves talk about his darkest hour » "It was a wonderful dream, with all of my family. But the problem was, I woke up." Colombian government agents infiltrated the FARC leadership over several months, eventually tricking the rebels into moving the hostages by saying a humanitarian group wanted to check on them. A helicopter carrying fake rebels picked up the hostages at a rendezvous point on July 2, ostensibly to take them to another rebel camp. But it was actually a Colombian military helicopter and the hostages were flown away, free, without a shot being fired. Read about the daring rescue mission The FARC, which has been fighting with the Colombian government and other paramilitary groups for decades, defends the taking of captives as a legitimate act of war. The group is thought to be holding about 750 prisoners in the nation's remote jungles. Along with the former

Question: What year were the contractors hostage?

Question: When were the contractors taken hostage?

Question: Who  talks to CNN a week after they were freed?

Question: What was placed around the captives neck at night?

Question: Where was the chain fastened?

Question: What does the captives keep to remind them of the hostage?

Question: When was the U.S. government contractors captured?

Answer: 2003,

Answer: February 2003,

Answer: Thomas Howes

Answer: Chains

Answer: neck

Answer: a metal lock, a bullet and a chess board made of cardboard

Answer: February 2003,

Summary:
Former FARC captives talk to CNN a week after they were freed .
One keeps a lock that held the chain that was placed around his neck at night .
Another has a cardboard chess set that he carved as a hostage .
FARC captured the U.S. government contractors hostage in February 2003 .


SAN BERNARDINO, California (CNN) -- Three-year-old Briant Rodriguez remained in a hospital bed fatigued and malnourished Monday, 15 days after being kidnapped at gunpoint and then dumped on the streets of Mexico. Liberato Vega, 30, left, and Israel Moreno, 28, are suspects in the kidnapping of 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez. Police don't know much about what happened to the boy, who was taken after gunmen tied his family and ransacked his California home on May 3. They don't know why the gunmen broke into the home, why they kidnapped the bubbly 3-year-old or how he ended up wandering the streets of Mexicali with a shaved head, rather than the long hair he had sported before the kidnapping. But police believe they do know who is responsible. In a news conference on Monday, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and FBI identified the two suspect gunmen as Liberato Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28. The two men, who authorities said were illegal immigrants with criminal records, are believed to have burst into the San Bernardino home, ransacked the house, tied up 3-year-old Briant Rodriguez's family and snatched the child two weeks ago. The boy was returned to his family Saturday in the border town of Calexico. "It was a very emotional and unforgettable experience," said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Sgt. Doug Hubbard, who was with the boy's mother when he was returned. "Enough said there -- before I get emotional." Officials said the boy was still in the hospital Monday and was being treated for malnourishment and fatigue. "We're very happy that he's alive," San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said this weekend. "A 3-year-old goes missing in this country for two weeks -- sometimes it has an unhappy ending. "This one did not." Now, police are trying to piece together exactly what may have happened during the 13 days the boy was missing. Detectives from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations agents were able to identify the alleged kidnappers based on unspecified physical evidence at the San Bernardino home and interviews with the boy's family and neighbors. Hubbard said the family has adamantly denied knowing who may be responsible for the kidnapping or having any association with those responsible. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Don Roberts said it was, however, "likely that this family was the target" of the kidnappers. "But why, we don't know," Roberts said, adding that the kidnappers had clearly planned the crime. Officials said they believe Vega and Moreno are the two men they captured on video at a home-improvement store near the Rodriguez home before the crime buying tape like the kind that was used to bind the family. Hubbard said there are no-bail warrants issued for both men for home invasion robbery and kidnapping and  Roberts said the FBI also obtained federal warrants for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for both men. "We will leave no stone unturned until these two are returned to San Bernardino to face justice," Roberts said. "We will not take a break until that day happens." Authorities are hunting for both men, who have criminal records, in Mexico where they were both born. Roberts said both men have previously been deported from the United States, where they were living illegally. Their previous residences are empty, police said. Vega, who police said they considered to be the primary suspect, has had seven encounters with authorities in San Bernardino, according to court records, including four convictions in 2005 for a variety of charges, including driving under the influence. He also has a dismissed burglary case and two open cases against him for driving under the influence,  providing false information to police and driving without a license. Police described Vega as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 9 inches weighing 130 pounds. Moreno was convicted in 2008 for driving under the influence and has another similar case open against him. Police described Moreno as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 6

Question: What are the names of the subjects in the kidnapping case?

Question: what Boy had been missing since May 3?

Question: Where are the kidnappers believed to be from

Question: Since when has the boy been missing

Question: Who was the subject of the kidnapping?

Answer: Liberato Vega,

Answer: Briant Rodriguez

Answer: Mexico

Answer: 15 days

Answer: Three-year-old Briant Rodriguez

Summary:
NEW: Liberato Vega, 30, and Israel Moreno, 28, suspects in kidnapping .
NEW: Officials believe both men, illegal immigrants, have fled to Mexico .
Briant Rodriguez found wandering streets in Mexicali, police say .
Boy had been missing since May 3, when armed men burst into his family's home .


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

Question: What is a freedom legion?

Question: What kind of troops would comprise a military freedom legion?

Question: What could be a way to citizenship for illegal immigrants?

Question: Who was accused in the Newark killings?

Question: What is Jose Carranza accused of?

Question: What are considered dangerous by some?

Answer: a unit of the military made up entirely of the foreign-born -- including illegal immigrants

Answer: foreign-born

Answer: military service

Answer: Jose Carranza,

Answer: raping a 5-year-old girl and threatening her parents.

Answer: illegal immigrants

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


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Conditions that created what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dubbed "the perfect storm for fire" eased Wednesday, helping firefighters gain ground against devastating Southern California wildfires.

A plane drops fire retardant on the fourth day of a wildfire pushed by winds through Pauma Valley, California.

Winds that gusted as much as 101 mph on Sunday dropped to about 30 mph Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the dry Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames, changed direction and began blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

But the destruction was taking its toll on the men and women on the front lines of the fires.

"It hurts us to have those homes lost. It hurts us to have those injuries. And it is frustrating for us to watch our community be devastated by this," said firefighter Andy Menshek.

As conditions improved, officials allowed people to return to communities that had been off-limits because of intense flames and dense smoke.

"It was home," said Mark Davis, whose two-story Rancho Bernardo house burned to the ground.

"It was us. We had been there 28 years, and it had a lot of our flavor."

The change in the weather also meant that firefighting aircraft -- grounded for most of the week by the winds -- could finally fly.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Scott McLean called the droning sound of aircraft the "sound of joy."

"Their drops are hitting their mark because the wind is not there," he said.

The rate of burning had slowed significantly by Wednesday.

Still, the fire damage increased to 434,543 acres, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Watch Schwarzenegger give a progress report »

That amounted to 679 square miles, or about 10 times the size of Washington, D.C.

By Wednesday evening, the largest fire -- the Witch in northern San Diego County -- was 10 percent contained.

It burned about 196,000 acres before combining with the smaller Poomacha blaze.

Seven fires among the 22 counted Wednesday were contained.  See where the fires are burning »

Others, such as the Buckweed Fire in Los Angeles County, were as much as 94 percent contained.

One large fire was a suspected arson.

The FBI and the Orange County Fire Authority are investigating the Santiago fire that has burned more than 19,000 acres.

All three of its points of origin have been declared crime scenes, said Jim Amornino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A $70,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for setting the fire.

The blaze was about 50 percent contained after destroying 17 structures.  Watch the raging flames of the Santiago fire »

The smaller Rosa fire in Riverside County, 70 percent contained at just over 400 acres, was also a probably arson, state officials said.

As the fire danger eased, residents were allowed to return to several neighborhoods surrounding San Diego: Del Mar Highlands, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Chula Vista and Otay Mesa.

Helicopters were back in the air over the Lake Arrowhead, California, area after all air activity had been suspended because of extremely smoky skies.

In nearby Running Springs, CNN's Ted Rowlands stood in the midst of charred, smoldering rubble strewn with potentially deadly power lines.

"It will be a while before these people will come back. When they do come back, unfortunately they'll have this pretty much to look at," he said Wednesday.  Watch Rowlands describe a major battle with the flames »

About 500 homes were lost in the mountainous region in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles.  See photos of the fires »

"Yesterday we couldn't be here, because just this little flame and smoldering pieces of wood would be thrown by the intense winds. ... Now you can see the flames just basically burning themselves out," said Rowlands.

The fires have already destroyed 1,664 structures --

Question: What size is the reward?

Question: is win speed drop?

Question: What is the reward?

Question: What was the monetary reward?

Question: What happened after Santa ana winds changed direction

Question: Where was arson suspected?

Question: Where did the fire spread?

Question: What did wind speeds do?

Question: What caused the fire?

Question: Which winds changed direction?

Question: Whats being offered as a reward

Question: Is there a reward?

Answer: $70,000

Answer: Winds that gusted as much as 101 mph on Sunday dropped to about 30 mph Wednesday evening.

Answer: $70,000

Answer: $70,000

Answer: increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

Answer: Santiago

Answer: Southern California

Answer: fanned the flames, changed direction and began blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, increasing the humidity and easing the burden on almost 8,900 firefighters in the area.

Answer: suspected arson.

Answer: Santa Ana

Answer: $70,000

Answer: $70,000

Summary:
Local and federal officials probe suspected arson, offer $70,000 reward .
Wind speeds drop, humidity increases after Santa Ana winds change direction .
President Bush signs major disaster declaration for Southern California .
Home losses will likely top $1 billion in San Diego County, official says .


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

Question: Which stadium has become a wonderland of surprises?

Question: Volunteer registrar Shary Shores has appointed herself as what?

Question: Tent contains what list?

Question: What is a wonderland of surprises?

Question: What has Qualcomm stadium become?

Question: What does tent allow evacuees to do?

Question: What did Shores appoint herself?

Question: Who has appointed herself the shelter's "hugger"?

Answer: Qualcomm

Answer: the shelter's "hugger."

Answer: of homes that have been destroyed.

Answer: Qualcomm Stadium

Answer: a wonderland of surprises.

Answer: privately read the list of homes that have been destroyed.

Answer: "hugger."

Answer: Shores, a volunteer registrar at San Diego's evacuee

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


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Favorable weather and firefighter reinforcements helped ease the fire danger in parts of Southern California Thursday, but the human toll from the disaster was still coming to light.

A firefighter watches the Harris Fire. Four bodies were found in a canyon in the path of the blaze Thursday.

The number of deaths attributed directly to the fires grew to seven Thursday, after the charred bodies of four people believed to be illegal immigrants were found in a canyon east of San Diego.

Seven other deaths are labeled as fire-related: Three elderly people died during evacuations, and four others died after being evacuated.

Improving conditions allowed more people to come home Thursday, but new evacuations were ordered in areas where the unrelenting flames marched on.

Where residents could return, they often found ash and rubble in place of their homes.

"We see pictures from online and on TV, but it's just, it's much different when you see it up front," said Louela Binlac in front of what remained of her Rancho Bernardo home.

"The most important thing is that our family is still together, everybody is safe, and eventually we will rebuild again," she said. "Those things you can replace. We are just all grateful that everybody is safe."

Rancho Bernardo resident Marilyn Wood said it was "really scary" to come back to the pile of ashes she once called home. Her voice breaking, Wood vowed to rebuild and recounted how she and her husband, Gordon, fled early Monday with only minutes to spare.  See photos of the fires »

"(Our house) was burning as we were leaving," she said.

President Bush got a firsthand look at the aftermath of the devastating fires Thursday -- 10 still burning across seven counties.

He promised federal help for those affected by the fires.  Watch Bush tour the damage »

"We're not going to forget you in Washington, D.C.," the president said after touring the area by air and visiting Rancho Bernardo with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Watch a report on Bush as 'comforter-in-chief' »

Bush signed a federal disaster declaration Wednesday, freeing money to help residents rent temporary homes and repair damaged homes and businesses and to help local and state agencies pay for the emergency response.

The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone, an emergency official said.

People left homeless by the fires can apply online for federal help at FEMA.gov, said Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison.  Watch a tour of FEMA's command center »

Almost 9,000 firefighters battled the blazes, augmented by reinforcements from dozens of states across the country.

Twenty-three fires have scorched 472,478 acres (738 square miles), an area roughly three-quarters of the size of Rhode Island.  See where the fires are still burning »

Along with homes and businesses, the flames have destroyed roughly one-third of San Diego County's lucrative avocado crop, along with other croplands, greenhouses and nurseries.

A change in the winds -- from a ferocious 100 mph on Sunday to an almost manageable 10 mph on Thursday -- brought welcome relief and allowed a full-bore aerial assault on the fires.

Reinforcements from across the country arrived to aid the exhausted firefighters, officials said.

While the fires still threatened some 25,000 homes, the burn rate in the region -- a measure made up of factors like wind speed, humidity and available fuel -- was significantly lower Thursday, a spokeswoman at the California Department of Forestry and Protection said.

Residents of several communities, including the city of San Diego, were allowed to return home Wednesday and Thursday, but more evacuations were ordered -- the latest covering the communities of Lake Henshaw and Mesa Grande and the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County.

With the shifting fires, some shelters closed as others opened closer to danger.

In San Diego, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced that Qualcomm Stadium -- the home of NFL's Chargers that

Question: Who told fire victims they won't be forgotten in Washington?

Question: What caused the bodies to be charred?

Question: Who spoke to fire victims?

Question: Where is the Qualcomm Stadium?

Question: What has been found near San Diego?

Question: where were the bodies found?

Question: what was found near san diego?

Question: What stadium is closing at noon on Friday?

Question: what did Bush say to victims?

Answer: the president

Answer: the fires

Answer: President Bush

Answer: San Diego,

Answer: Four bodies

Answer: in a canyon in the path of the blaze Thursday.

Answer: Four bodies were

Answer: Qualcomm

Answer: "We're not going

Summary:
NEW: Qualcomm Stadium to close as an emergency shelter at noon Friday .
Charred bodies of three men and a woman found near San Diego .
More than half of Southern California fires are fully contained .
Bush to fire victims: We're not going to forget you in Washington .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of flame from 15 wildfires that have scorched more than 400,000 acres and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Firefighters battle the Witch fire Tuesday in the Del Dios area of Escondido, California.

The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more.

Firefighters were aided by resources from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons.

San Diego Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Cartelli described scenes of "utter devastation" with hundreds of homes lost and "many hundreds" of others damaged.

"It's probably the worst significant event in my career of 36 years," he said.

"It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said.

Meteorologists suggested that Santa Ana winds, which have fueled the wildfires with some gusts approaching 100 mph, could die down Wednesday afternoon.

"We are still facing some very serious fires," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said after an aerial tour of the affected area. "The weather has made it very difficult for the air assets to get up and fight the fires. ... If the weather cooperates, maybe we can turn the tide tomorrow."

Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Using U.S. Census Bureau numbers from the 2000 census, that could mean as many as 950,000 were affected by the fires.  Watch evacuees shaken, firefighters battling »

In San Diego County, at least half a million residents had been ordered to find refuge in shelters, schools and stadiums as fires pushed into new areas.

Among the evacuees as more than 4,000 military personnel from several bases in the area.

With the winds pushing them across the area, the fires spread quickly, forcing some residents to flee in the middle of the night.

"My wife woke me up like 12 o'clock, screaming and yelling that the flames were coming down," said Johnny Villanueva of Spring Valley, who fled with his wife and daughter to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, which is serving as a shelter to more than 12,000 evacuees.

"We just loaded up the car really quick and came down here ... slept in our vehicles."

His wife, Elizabeth, added, "I saw on the mountain on fire, and said, 'Oh my God, my family. ... Let's go."

With Qualcomm Stadium being used by the evacuees, the San Diego Chargers planned to practice at the Arizona Cardinals' stadium in Glendale for next weekend's game.

Lake Arrowhead resident Michelle Dresser, who owns a business and was chased from her home by a wildfire last year, said she was waiting until the last minute to leave. She spent the night in her store, partly to help customers and neighbors.

"It is crazy. We are surrounded by fire on both sides," she said.

Asked by CNN where she would go, she replied, "I have to find someplace to accept two dogs, two cats and a turtle."  Watch people staying with pets at refuge »

Animals are allowed in Qualcomm Stadium, a nearby field and Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack.

President Bush is scheduled to visit the area on Thursday, the White House said. Chertoff arrived in San Diego Tuesday afternoon for a "first-hand look" at the devastation.

"I wanted to see for myself, first of all, how the shelter situation is in San Diego, what the fires look like up close," Chertoff told CNN.

The secretary said that the federal response to the wildfires is "phenomenally better" than the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years."

"Unlike in Katrina ... we have now built the process ... and we've rehearsed it, so when we take the field, the team already knows what we need to do,

Question: what county was 350,000 homes evacuated in

Question: What number of people have been injured?

Question: What was the damage?

Question: Who said no end until  it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around,

Question: Were many homes in San Diego County evacuated?

Question: What has caused homes to be evacuated?

Question: what did official say

Question: What is the problem?

Question: What is the number of charred acres?

Question: What county evacuated 350,000 homes?

Answer: San Diego

Answer: injured at least 70

Answer: killed one person and injured at least 70 more.

Answer: Cartelli

Answer: 350,000

Answer: 15 wildfires

Answer: "It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," Cartelli said.

Answer: Firefighters in Southern California are facing wind-whipped walls of

Answer: 400,000

Answer: San Diego

Summary:
No end "until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," official says .
Nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County evacuated; 70 people injured .
Flames have charred 700,000 acres, more than 1,000 homes .
Not "enough fire engines in the state of California," Ventura County official says .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- In a recent commentary, I wrote that, as a Mexican-American, the ugliness of the immigration debate offends me -- not as a Mexican, but as an American. Ruben Navarrette Jr. lists 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate. A woman wrote in and asked me to be more specific: Just what was it about the immigration debate that was so ugly? She came to the right place. After nearly 20 years of writing opinions and insisting that I don't speak for all Hispanics, in recent months, I've heard from hundreds of Hispanics who -- appreciative of my middle-ground approach to the immigration issue -- insist that I can speak for them anytime. So, with the authority vested in me, I'll now share some of what other Hispanics are saying. It's not far off from what Janet Murguia had to say. As president of the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, Murguia recently delivered an important speech to the National Press Club. The topic: the immigration debate and what she called a wave of hate sweeping the land -- one that isn't limited to illegal immigrants, but which is now affecting all Hispanics regardless of where they were born, what language they speak or what flag they salute. The way Murguia sees it, immigration is "on the verge of becoming one of the largest civil rights issues of our generation." And, Hispanics are playing the piñata. Murguia was right on the button. To borrow a phrase, it's getting ugly out there. And U.S.-born Hispanics see it as plain as day. Here are 10 things they find distasteful about this debate: • The hypocrisy. We have two signs on the U.S.-Mexican border: "Keep Out" and "Help Wanted." • The racism. With lightning speed, the debate went from anti-illegal immigrant to anti-immigrant to anti-Mexican. • The opportunism. Too many politicians are trying too hard to portray themselves as tough on illegal immigration. • The simple solutions. "Build A Wall." "Deport All Illegals." A quick rule of thumb: If it fits on a bumper sticker, it's not a workable policy. • The naiveté. People ask why Mexico won't help stop illegal immigration. Hint: Last year, Mexicans in the United States sent home $25 billion. • The profiling. Dark skin and Spanish surnames shouldn't be proxies for undocumented status. Been to Arizona lately? • The meanness. Nazi-produced Internet video games let players shoot illegal immigrants crossing the border. Fun stuff. • The amnesia. Americans think grandpa was welcomed with open arms and that he plunged into the melting pot. Whatever. • The buck-passing. Americans love to blame Mexico for their choices, yelling across the border: "Stop us before we hire again." • The double standard. The same folks who have zero tolerance for illegal immigrants easily tolerate those who hire them. Some of this is painfully familiar, recalling earlier versions of this debate as it played out a hundred or two hundred years ago. Hispanics are the new Germans, the new Irish, the new Italians. But it's also ugly. It was then. It is now. Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. Read his column here. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend

Question: What do they find distasteful?

Question: Who shared what Hispanic readers are saying?

Question: what did he list

Question: Who shares what Hispanic readers are saying to him?

Question: What does Ruben Navarrette list?

Answer: immigration debate.

Answer: Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Answer: 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate.

Answer: Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Answer: 10 things U.S.-born Hispanics find distasteful about the immigration debate.

Summary:
Ruben Navarrette shares what Hispanic readers are saying to him .
He lists 10 things he says they find ugly about the immigration debate .
Hypocrisy, racism are two items they find distasteful, columnist says .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Many among the thousands of evacuees from California's wildfires were suffering from stress and worry about their homes after seeking shelter at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, said a pair of Navy medical volunteers Wednesday. Navy medics Daniel Brautigam, left, and Jacob Hackfeld volunteered to help wildfire evacuees. The stadium -- home to the NFL's Chargers -- at one time housed 11,000 evacuees, but that number dropped to 7,500 this morning. Of the thousands of people who've been sleeping, eating and passing time at the arena, many are showing symptoms of stress, said Petty Officer Daniel Brautigam. Patients are showing "a lot of smoke-induced nausea," he said. "A lot of people are watching TV while they're here -- they're watching their houses burn." Brautigam said the word "panic" came to mind to describe how some evacuees were feeling. "But it's not. People are just worried sick. That phrase alone explains it all."  Watch sailors tell more about treating evacuees » According to the San Diego's mayor's office, medical staff treated between 70 to 100 people since the stadium opened to evacuees. He said counselors are being made available to the evacuees at Qualcomm, where volunteers have also been providing food, tents and cots to families and others fleeing the fires. "We've been working nonstop now for about 48 hours with a few hours of sleep in between -- just enough to get well-rested," said Brautigam. Brautigam and another sailor, Seaman Jacob Hackfeld, stepped forward on their own to offer medical services after their nearby base was evacuated. Hackfeld said he was "sitting on my couch watching TV and I'm thinking to myself, why can't we come out here? The community provides for us -- the military. Why can't we give back to them all the things that they've given to us?" Although both men said they helped in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, they said the emergency response to both disasters was markedly different. "Here you have complete organization," Brautigam said. "You have a community coming together getting things done, helping people out -- cooperation between civilians, military, everybody.  See dramatic photos of the disaster » "Here everybody comes together, and we're all just people. I think that's the most important thing that's going on right here right now. The main focus is just getting people the help that they need." About 300 convalescent patients who had been evacuated to Qualcomm from nearby facilities were expected to be returned later Wednesday, said George Biagi, spokesman for the San Diego mayor. More than 20 fires have scorched 400,000-plus acres from the Mexican border to northern Los Angeles County and inland into the San Bernardino Mountains since the weekend. Statewide, an estimated 950,000 people have sought refuge from the fires in shelters, hotels and at friends' homes. The National Weather Service said a red-flag warning for extreme gusty winds was in effect through 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET) Wednesday, but forecasters said firefighters should see an end to the Santa Ana winds that have fueled the fires by Thursday. Some residents won't have to wait for Thursday to get home. People who evacuated earlier this week from Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch and Del Mar Heights can go home immediately, San Diego emergency spokeswoman Lynda Pfieffer said Wednesday morning. The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more. Thirty-four firefighters have been hurt, authorities said. E-mail to a friend CNN's Kiran Chetry and Miriam Falco contributed to this report.

Question: Who was treated for nausea, worried about homes?

Question: what Medics describe conditions at Qualcomm Stadium as organized?

Question: What type of medics stepped in?

Question: who says "A lot of people are watching TV here -- watching their homes burn"?

Question: What do Navy medics setp forward to do?

Answer: evacuees from California's wildfires

Answer: Daniel Brautigam,

Answer: Navy

Answer: Petty Officer Daniel Brautigam.

Answer: offer medical services after their nearby base was evacuated.

Summary:
Evacuees at San Diego arena treated for nausea, worried about homes .
Medic: "A lot of people are watching TV here -- watching their homes burn"
Navy medics step forward to offer services to some 12,000 wildfire evacuees .
Medics describe conditions at Qualcomm Stadium as organized, cooperative .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- More than 100 homes in an upscale San Diego community were evacuated after a landslide about 60 yards wide pulled the earth from beneath a three-lane road and some of the multimillion-dollar homes that adorn it.

Gina Yarbrough sent this picture of the road that collapsed in Wednesday's landslide.

Mayor Jerry Sanders declared a state of emergency, asking California and the federal government to help the La Jolla community recover from the Wednesday landslide. As of Thursday morning, he had already received offers of aid from legislators, the governor's office and the White House, he said.

Officials warned for at least two weeks that the ground was shifting beneath the hillside community along Soledad Mountain Road.

Holes were drilled into the unsettled hillside to investigate the cause and magnitude of the shift, which earlier ruptured a water line, and according to some media reports, began cracking Soledad Mountain Road in July.

On Wednesday, a 20-foot-deep chasm opened beneath the road and homes. Holli Weld told San Diego's KGTV that she was walking her son to preschool when the street collapsed.  Watch a resident recall how he had to grab his dogs and run »

"The street was sinking before our eyes," she said.

Authorities told KGTV that most residents were at work and only seven people were in their homes when the landslide occurred.

Evacuated homeowner Russell Moore told CNN he remembers hearing the earth "groan" in what he called a "slow avalanche."

"The asphalt that should be under my feet was 8 feet in the air," Moore said. "We watched the trees snapping and cracking and more boulders come down to our feet and we were witnessing this move."  See photos of the hole the landslide left in La Jolla »

At least 111 homes were evacuated, but Sanders said residents would be allowed to return to 75 of those houses by early Thursday morning. Several homes were damaged and at least one was destroyed, according to media reports.

Nine homes are "red tagged," meaning no one is allowed to enter them, and 27 more are "yellow tagged," which means residents can return for necessities, but cannot stay, Sanders said.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the landslide downed power lines and caused a minor gas leak. More than 2,400 customers were briefly left without electricity, but most residents had their power restored by Thursday, KGTV reported. The Red Cross opened a shelter at La Jolla High School.

Deputy city engineer Robert Hawk told the Union-Tribune that the hillside has slowly been slipping for years because the soil is unstable. Landslide incidents in the neighborhood date back to the 1960s, Hawk told the newspaper.

Pat Abbott, a retired geological sciences professor at San Diego State University, told the Union-Tribune that Mount Soledad is made up of weak layers of rock and that the culprit in the landslide is nature.

"Gravity pulling on the incline is pulling down masses of earth and those masses of earth have houses on top of them," Abbott told the paper. "It's a geologically bad site and should not have been built on to begin with." E-mail to a friend

Question: What did one resident say?

Question: what kind of aid?

Question: What city declared a state of emergency?

Question: What was the name of the one evacuated resident who made the statement "We watched the trees snapping and cracking"?

Question: What was snapping?

Question: When can residents return to evacuated homes?

Question: Who declared a state of emergency?

Question: when can residents return home?

Question: What  was shifting?

Question: what number of homes were evacuated?

Question: What did the mayor of San Diego declare?

Question: Who watched the trees snapping and cracking?

Question: What had officials spent weeks investigating?

Question: What were officials investigating in the area?

Question: What caused officials to investigate the earth, which seem to have been shifting in the area for weeks?

Question: Who decalared the state of emergency?

Question: What did they see snaping and cracking?

Question: On which Thursday will the mayor allow the residents to return to 75 of the 111 evacuated homes?

Question: What did one evacuated resident say?

Question: What did one evacuated resident watch?

Question: When can residents return to 75 of the 111 evacuated homes?

Question: Who declares state of emergency?

Question: Which mayor declares a state of emergency?

Question: What did the mayor declare?

Answer: "The street was sinking before our eyes,"

Answer: community recover from

Answer: SAN DIEGO,

Answer: Russell Moore

Answer: trees

Answer: early Thursday morning.

Answer: Mayor Jerry Sanders

Answer: by early Thursday morning.

Answer: multimillion-dollar homes

Answer: More than 100

Answer: a state of emergency,

Answer: Russell Moore

Answer: that the ground was shifting beneath the hillside community

Answer: landslide

Answer: landslide

Answer: Mayor Jerry Sanders

Answer: trees

Answer: early

Answer: "The street was sinking before our eyes,"

Answer: trees snapping and cracking and more boulders come down to our feet

Answer: early Thursday morning.

Answer: Mayor Jerry Sanders

Answer: Jerry Sanders

Answer: Jerry Sanders declared a state of emergency,

Summary:
San Diego mayor declares state of emergency; White House, governor offer aid .
Officials were investigating the shifting earth in the area for weeks .
Residents can return to 75 of the 111 evacuated homes Thursday, mayor says .
"We watched the trees snapping and cracking," says one evacuated resident .


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- More than a dozen uncontained wildfires raged Monday across Southern California, threatening thousands of structures and forcing people to flee homes from San Diego to Malibu to Lake Arrowhead. This photo taken from space Monday afternoon shows smoke rising from the wildfires in Southern California. Fire officials said more than 265,000 people have been evacuated and nearly 4,900 firefighters are battling the fast-moving blazes, which began over the weekend. By Monday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention had reported 13 active wildfires have consumed more than 98,000 acres and destroyed or damaged at least 50 homes and businesses across six counties. The winds driving the flames are expected to stay strong, coming out of the northeast, at least through Tuesday, according to CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano. "It's a tragic time for California," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said earlier Monday. He declared a state of emergency in seven counties and asked the National Guard to pull 800 soldiers from patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border to help battle the wildfires. Monday evening, Schwarzenegger asked U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to order delivery of all available Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) to help fight the fires.  Watch fires devour homes and land » Citing the proliferation in the number of fires, Schwarzenegger wrote, "Your immediate assistance is necessary to deploy Department of Defense aircraft located in Wyoming, North Carolina and Colorado to assist California in our firefighting effort." According to the White House, the federal Agriculture Department will provide fire crews, air tankers and helicopters to fight the fires, and the state will receive assistance grants to help pay firefighting costs.  See where fires burn across Southern California » Hardest hit was San Diego County, where 250,000 people have fled from five fires. One person was killed and 18 were reported injured in the county, including five firefighters. Local officials said the fire situation had worsened throughout the day, prompting new evacuations. "We have a very dangerous, unpredictable situation," said Ron Roberts, chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. "We have some of the highest temperatures, some of the driest landscape conditions and some of the most powerful winds -- all the ingredients for a perfect firestorm." On one cul-de-sac in the San Diego suburb of  Rancho Bernardo, five of six homes burned to the ground, leaving flames from gas lines flickering amid the ruins, according to a KGTV report.  See photos of the fires » Officials turned Qualcomm Stadium, home of the NFL's San Diego Chargers, into an evacuation center. Residents of four housing areas at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in northern San Diego County were put on notice for possible evacuations and told to pack personal belongings as a precautionary measure. Earlier Monday, fixed-wing firefighting aircraft were grounded by the strong winds, officials said, making the jobs of fire crews on the ground even harder. Fires threatened the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park on Monday, causing the park to close. Some of the animals, such as endangered condors, are being moved to a safer location, according to zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo. Authorities are asking people to hold off on 911 calls unless there is a real emergency, saying clogged cell phone lines are hurting rescue efforts. The largest of the wildfires was the Buckweed blaze north of Los Angeles, which has consumed 27,500 acres and forced the evacuation of 15,000 residents from Santa Clarita and nearby communities, according to the state forestry department. About 4,000 structures were threatened, and the fire was moving toward the Magic Mountain amusement park. Two fires that erupted Monday morning in San Bernardino County near Lake Arrowhead have destroyed at least 123 structures and charred 1,800 acres, said Loretta Benavidez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. Several communities in the area, including Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear and Running Springs, were evacuated. And in Malibu Canyon, south of the Pacific Coast Highway, nearly 1,450 firefighters were battling a blaze that began Sunday afternoon and still threatened 900 structures in the area, which is

Question: what did the officials say

Question: what happened in san diegos zoo

Question: What were evacuated?

Question: What number of structures were destroyed?

Question: Where were the wildfires?

Question: Where were the animals evacuated to?

Question: what is happening in malibu

Question: what is white houses comment

Answer: more than 265,000 people have been evacuated and nearly 4,900 firefighters are battling the fast-moving blazes, which began over the weekend.

Answer: Fires threatened the

Answer: 265,000 people

Answer: at least 123

Answer: Southern California.

Answer: a safer location,

Answer: wildfires

Answer: the federal Agriculture Department will provide fire crews, air tankers and helicopters to fight the fires, and the state will receive assistance grants to help pay firefighting costs.

Summary:
NEW: 123 structures destroyed by wildfires in Lake Arrowhead .
NEW: White House: Federal Agriculture Department will provide fire crews .
Fires threaten San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park; animals evacuated .
Malibu Canyon fire is 10 percent contained, officials say .


SAN FRANCISCO (CNET) -- Google plans to unveil a service called Google Voice on Thursday that indicates Google wants to do with your telephone communications what companies such as Yahoo have done with e-mail.

Google unveils a phone service Thursday in which the search giant acts like a phone middleman.

Google Voice, the new version of the GrandCentral technology Google acquired in July 2007, has the potential to make the search giant a middleman in an important part of people's lives, telephone communications.

With the service, people can pick a new phone number from Google Voice; when others call it, Google can ring all the actual phones a person uses and handle voice mail.

The old version could let people centralize telephone services, screen their calls, and listen to voice mail over the Web.

But the new version offers several significant new features, though. Google now uses its speech-to-text technology to transcribe voice mail, making it possible to search for particular words.

Gmail's contacts now is used to instruct Google Voice how to treat various callers. And Google Voice now can send and receive SMS text messages and set up conference calls.

Existing GrandCentral users should get the option to upgrade Thursday, and Google plans to offer it to the public after "a number of weeks," said Craig Walker, product manager of real-time communications and head of Google Voice.

As interesting as the service itself, perhaps, is that Google plans to offer it at no cost.

Google is in the midst of a profitability push, trying to wring more money from existing sites, adding advertisements to properties such as Google Maps, Finance, and News that previously lacked them, and canceling many projects such as Google Lively that didn't pass financial muster.

With Google Voice, though, the company is showing more of its earlier, more patient approach.

"Our goal is to be able to offer it to people for free," Walker said in an interview at Google's offices here. Asked what the revenue model is for Google Voice, he offered only an indirect answer: "Let's get a bunch of happy users engaged in Google properties and getting their voice mail through this. Google gets value out of having happy Google users."

Money isn't completely absent from the picture. The company does charge for international calls, and it wouldn't rule out advertising in the future.

GrandCentral has appeared largely dormant from the outside since the Google acquisition, leading some to spotlight it as an example of a promising technology that was squelched by an acquisition. But, Walker said, there was plenty of work going on behind the scenes.

"In addition to innovation, there's been a process of getting migrated and integrating with the Google infrastructure," he said.

One big possible difficulty for people could be the issue of changing phone numbers. People's phone numbers can form a piece of their identity, in particular with home phone numbers held for years and number portability making it possible for people to keep their mobile phone numbers even if they change carriers. Even leaving aside the issue of the hassle of changing phone numbers, sharing your Google Voice number means committing your telephony to Google's services.

Another possible hitch is offering phone numbers that match where people actually live or work. Here, Google hopes to have things under control, though there were no numbers in the 415 area code for my test of the service.

"Our goal is to offer numbers to virtually everyone who wants to sign up. There are a finite number of numbers in the U.S., but we haven't reached anywhere near depletion," Walker said. "We hope to have a pretty good footprint (for area code choices) so that people will have really good choices."

Google Voice, hands on

Overall, I found Google Voice to be potentially useful, with the most compelling option the imperfect but still very useful transcription.

The first promise of Google Voice is to simplify your phone communications. You don't have to worry about which number to hand out to

Question: What is the name of Goodle's phone service?

Question: When will the service begin?

Question: What did the head of Google Voice say?

Question: which company was announcing

Question: How much will the service cost?

Question: When will the service start?

Question: what will it cost

Answer: Google Voice

Answer: Thursday

Answer: "In addition to innovation, there's been a process of getting migrated and integrating with the

Answer: Google

Answer: no

Answer: Thursday

Answer: no

Summary:
Google announces Google Voice, a phone service over the Internet .
The service offers "speech-to-text" transcriptions of voice messages .
Head of Google Voice: company plans to offer service for free .
Public users sign up for service starting in "a number of weeks"