RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- The office of Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas has a bank of six flat-screen televisions covering most of one wall, showing all the main international English-language news channels, and several local ones besides. Major General Athar Abbas addresses a news conference in Rawalpindi on April 28, 2009. This is one of the rooms where Pakistan's media war is being fought, and Abbas, the Pakistan army's main spokesman, is a key part of the battle. I kid with him that CNN isn't among the channels on his screens, and he seems slightly hurt, insisting it is. He's right and I'm wrong -- CNN was on a commercial break. In fact, I rather get the impression Abbas, who has become the face of the army's operation against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, watches our coverage closely. One of his subordinates complains about one of our reports -- not the accuracy, but something in the general tone. Perhaps CNN has been just a little too questioning of the army's daily press releases, which claim hundreds of enemy fighters killed, and tightly controlled media trips. Whatever Abbas thinks of CNN, he is more than willing to explain how the Pakistan army sees the broad picture as it fights in the Swat Valley. The current conflict there is intricately linked to the situation in Afghanistan, in his view. He sees Swat as a political problem, which can only be partially solved by military intervention. He claims many of the Taliban's arms are coming across the border from Afghanistan. I ask if that includes NATO weapons, as suggested in recent reports, and he agrees. He says Washington is too focused on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. The United States should "stop worrying about the nukes and start worrying about the weapons lost in Afghanistan," he says. A U.S. government report last month warned that the Pentagon did not have "complete records" for about one-third of the 242,000 weapons the United States had provided to the Afghan army, or for a further 135,000 weapons other countries sent. The Afghan army "cannot fully safeguard and account for weapons," the Government Accountability Office found. I ask how well armed the Taliban are, and he says they are "very well equipped from the border area." He also conspiratorially suggests they also are getting weapons and support from "foreign intelligence agencies." When I ask what that means, he smiles and says he can't elaborate -- declining to repeat the speculation in the press here that India, Pakistan's traditional rival, may be somehow involved in stirring up trouble on Pakistan's northwestern border. India denies that. But the very suggestion plays to a military strategist's nightmare scenario -- the Pakistan army bogged down in the northwest, unable to focus on the disputed province of Kashmir, a key element of its conflict with India. The military wants to get done in Swat as soon as possible, but the general acknowledges its troops will be there for some time. He estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the Taliban there are foreign fighters: "Well-trained Arabs, Afghans, with a sprinkling of central Asians and North Africans." He also says there are Yemenis, Saudis and Uzbeks fighting, as Pakistan has become the destination du jour of the international jihadist, with Arabs in commanding positions and the other foreign fighters bringing in expertise. He thinks that perhaps Mingora, the main town at the gateway to the Swat Valley, may be secured in 48 hours, but it may be much, much longer before the area is totally pacified. "First you have to disarm the Taliban and then re-establish the writ of government," he says. He admits that Swat and neighboring Bajur Districts "were lost to the state" and that now "we are paying in blood for areas we had already occupied." Now, he says, the army is set for a long fight. "We are prepared for that -- we are mentally prepared

Question: Who said Taliban is coming across border?

Question: From where Taliban`s weapons coming from, comparing to Maj.Gen. Athar Abbas?

Question: where are the arms coming from

Question: what is washington too focused on

Answer: Athar Abbas

Answer: Afghanistan.

Answer: Afghanistan.

Answer: the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Summary:
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas says Taliban's arms coming across border from Afghanistan .
He says Washington is too focused on the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal .
He considers conflict in Swat a fight for the existence of Pakistan in its current form .
He seems acutely aware that the portrayal of that conflict to the West will be critical .


RECIFE, Brazil (CNN)  -- Eight more bodies have been recovered from last week's crash of an Air France jetliner in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing the total to 24, Brazil's military announced Monday. Recovery efforts have found several items confirmed to have come from Air France Flight 447. The bodies were found floating about 440 kilometers (273 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago northeast of the Brazilian coast on Monday, military officials said Monday evening. Air France 447 disappeared over the Atlantic early June 1. The jet was en route to Paris, France, from the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro with 228 passengers and crew aboard. The military said earlier Monday that 16 bodies had been recovered. Items found in the same area Saturday were confirmed to have come from the jet, including pieces of the aircraft's wing section, luggage and a leather briefcase containing an airplane ticket with a reservation code for the doomed flight, Brazilian air force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. The exact location of the crash has not been determined, because ocean currents probably caused the bodies and debris to drift in the days since the crash. Two key pieces of evidence -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- remain missing and could lie on the ocean floor.  Map of Flight 447's flight path » The part of the ocean where the debris and bodies have been found ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 meters (about 19,700 to 26,250 feet) deep. The search area covers 200,000 square kilometers (77,220 square miles), an area nearly as big as the country of Romania.  Watch CNN's Karl Penhaul report on more bodies found » Brazilian officials emphasized Monday that finding bodies was their priority. The French are in charge of finding the black boxes, and a submarine was en route as part of that mission. Fourteen aircraft -- 12 Brazilian and two French -- were participating, along with five Brazilian ships and one French frigate. In Washington, a U.S. defense official said the U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen for emergency beacons still operating in deep water. The "towed pinger locators," which help search for emergency beacons on downed aircraft to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, will be placed aboard two French tugs that are part of the search efforts, the official said. Recovery of bodies and debris is significant not only for families but also for crash investigators, said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. "Even if they don't find anything else, they can get some very important clues from the pieces that they do find and from the human remains," she said Saturday.  Watch an explanation of what could have caused the crash » She said investigators would be able to tell whether there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items. Or, if water is found in the lungs of victims, investigators would know that the plane went down intact, she said. Investigators in Paris said Saturday that the Air France flight sent 24 automated error messages about four minutes before it crashed. The messages suggest the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through severe thunderstorms it encountered before the crash, officials said. Schiavo said four minutes "was a very long time" for automated signals to be sent from the plane. Investigators also reported that the airline had failed to replace a part as recommended by the manufacturer, Airbus. Airbus had advised airlines to update part of the equipment that monitors speed, known as pitot tubes. The recommendation was a result of technological developments and improvements, an Airbus spokesman said. The change was not mandatory, and the spokesman would not comment on Air France's failure to follow the advice. CNN's Karl Penhaul, Richard Quest, Helena DeMoura and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Question:
When did plane disappear?
How many bodies found?
How many bodies have been found so far?
where did the bodies come from
Who will contribute high-tech devices?
What is US to contribute?
Where did plane disappear over?
how many missing

Answer: June 1.

Answer: 24,

Answer: 24,

Answer: last week's crash of an Air France

Answer: U.S. Navy

Answer: two high-tech acoustic devices

Answer: the Atlantic

Answer: 228

Summary:
NEW: Brazilian officials emphasize that finding bodies is their priority .
Military says total number of bodies found stands at 24 .
Plane disappeared over Atlantic Ocean last week .
U.S. to contribute high-tech devices to look for plane's emergency beacons .


REDMOND, Washington (CNN) -- Should a bridge that would connect two campuses at Microsoft's headquarters be funded with $11 million from the federal stimulus package? An artist's rendering shows how the proposed bridge would be constructed over a busy highway. Critics of using stimulus money for the bridge say it would give the software giant a break on a pet project. They also say it serves as a warning sign of how some stimulus money is not being used to finance new projects but is being diverted to public works already under way. Supporters argue the bridge is an ideal public-private partnership that will benefit an entire community while fulfilling the stimulus package's goal of getting people back to work. "It's going create just under 400 jobs for 18 months constructing the bridge," says Redmond Mayor John Marchione. "It's also connecting our technical sector with our retail and commercial sectors so people can cross the freeway to shop and help traffic flow."  See a larger image of the proposed bridge » Marchione applied for federal stimulus money after costs jumped on the project from $25 million to $36 million. Marchione says the increase in costs were due to a rise in construction prices and because the bridge will be built on a diagonal in order to connect Microsoft's original East campus with a newer West campus that are split by a public highway. Microsoft is hardly getting the bridge for free. The company is contributing $17.5 million or a little less than half the tab of the $36 million bridge, which would be open for public use. And even though the bridge goes from a parking lot behind Microsoft's West campus across a highway to an entrance of Microsoft's East campus, Marchione says, people other than Microsoft employees would use the overpass. "We're not a one-company town," Marchione says. "Our traffic studies show that Microsoft traffic would be about 42 percent of the bridge, yet Microsoft is paying for about 50 percent of the bridge, so we think we are getting fair value. "The United States taxpayer is leveraging their dollars, and I think everyone is getting a fair deal." But a watchdog group monitoring how stimulus money is being spent says the taxpayer in this case is getting ripped off. "This is $11 million where we are substituting public money for private money, and that means there's some other project that would have a greater benefit than a bridge to Microsoft that's not being built," says Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. But without the stimulus money, Marchione counters, the bridge may not have been built. Microsoft had "capped out" its contribution to the project, he explains. And the economic tough times have affected even the biggest companies. "Microsoft laid off 5,000 people in January," Marchione points out. Ellis doesn't buy it. "Let's face it. Microsoft is one of the most lucrative companies in the country," Ellis says. "They could have easily funded this out of pocket change. This is really about getting while the getting is good. Uncle Sam has a big wallet that's there for the taking, and Redmond wanted to take it -- and Microsoft was happy to let them pick up that part of the tab." Microsoft did not respond to CNN requests for an interview on the bridge project. But in a posting online, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote: "As the largest employer in Redmond, Microsoft takes its responsibility to the surrounding community seriously. We have spent over $50 million to assist the City of Redmond and other local governments with street construction, transit facilities, water and sewer facilities and fire equipment." Last week, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire certified 138 projects, including the bridge, to receive stimulus funding. Construction is expected to begin in June. Michael Ennis of the Washington Policy Center, a Seattle-based not-for-profit group that advises policy makers, said there are many reasons the bridge project is a good one. "Any time you

Question:
how much will the project cost?
How much money will the project cost?
who backs the plan?
what is the time length of this project

Answer: $36 million.

Answer: $36 million.

Answer: Redmond Mayor John Marchione.

Answer: 18 months

Summary:
Project would build bridge between Microsoft's two campuses .
Microsoft paying for about half of the $36 million project .
Mayor backs plan, says bridge will benefit entire community .
Taxpayer watchdog group says project a good example of waste .


RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Lawyers for convicted September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui urged an appeals court panel Monday to throw out his guilty plea and grant their client a new trial. They argued Moussaoui did not have an adequate defense and lacked key information to defend himself.

Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at the federal prison in Colorado known as Supermax.

Legal analysts believe the appeal has only a slim chance of success.

In arguments before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for Moussaoui said he was confused about the charges he was pleading guilty to, and he did not have access to information that would have shown he was not supposed to be part of the 9/11 plot.

One defense lawyer characterized Moussaoui as "unknowing." Defense lawyers point to statements, later made public, from the man who plotted the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who said Moussaoui was not intended to be a participant. Moussaoui did not know what Mohammed had said because it had been classified.

"A guilty plea that is invalid is invalid," defense attorney Justin Antonipillai told the three-judge panel.

A Justice Department lawyer strongly countered, telling the court Moussaoui's plea was voluntary and unconditional. Referring to a letter Moussaoui sent the district court at the time of the plea, Justice Department attorney Kevin Gingras said, "He understands what he is pleading guilty to."

Gingras told the court Moussaoui knew in general that there was information that could help his defense but chose to plead guilty anyway, thereby waiving any right to now challenge that decision.

"He understood there was stuff out there," Gingras said. "He knew the gist," referring to redacted copies of appeal court rulings about what detainees might testify to and the 9/11 commission report.

In April of 2005, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges, and in May of 2006 he was sentenced to life in prison after a jury decided not to impose a death sentence.

Moussaoui, who is being held at the maximum security federal prison in Colorado known as Supermax, was not in the courtroom for the hearing. It's expected to be several months before a ruling is issued.

His attorney was met with mostly skeptical questioning by the judges.

"He insisted on pleading guilty and was allowed to do so only after extensive efforts to assure that it was knowing and voluntary," said former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, adding the district judge presiding over the case tried to make sure Moussaoui's rights were protected.

Moussaoui's attorneys argued his original defense team, which vehemently tried to dissuade him from pleading guilty, should have been able in an unclassified way to brief their client on the contents of the classified information so he knew the full scope of the evidence.

They had "one hand tied behind their backs," Antonipillai said.

The judges hearing the case and the Justice Department attorney pointed out he probably would have received some of that material if he had gone to trial instead of pleading guilty.

"It is his choice to pull the plug" on the process and plead guilty, Gingras said.

Another argument made by Moussaoui's team was that he was denied the right of counsel because he could not hire a lawyer he wanted. After telling the court he did not want the court-appointed attorneys to represent him, Moussaoui tried to be his own attorney. But after constant outbursts the judge ended that effort.

The court-appointed lawyers then took over the defense, but Moussaoui never had a good relationship with them. He wanted a Muslim lawyer from Texas, Charles Freeman, to be his attorney, but Freeman did not have security clearance.

Moussaoui was arrested in August of 2001 in Minnesota after instructors at the flight school he was attending reported he was acting suspiciously and did not have much flying experience. Throughout his legal proceedings he changed his story -- at first claiming he was not supposed to be part of the September 11 attacks and then saying he was scheduled to fly a fifth plane that day and then reversing himself back to his original claim of non-involvement.

His

Question: what do legal analysts believe

Question: Do legal analysts think the appeal stands any chance of success?

Question: Who was sentenced to life in connection with the September 11 attacks?

Question: what did defence lawyers say conspirator lack

Question: What did he plead guilty to?

Question: how long is he sentenced to

Question: What did defense lawyers say of the 9/11 conspirator?

Question: What is the name of the subject?

Answer: appeal has only a slim chance of success.

Answer: believe the

Answer: Zacarias Moussaoui

Answer: key information to defend himself.

Answer: terrorism conspiracy charges,

Answer: life in prison

Answer: and lacked key information to defend himself.

Answer: Zacarias Moussaoui

Summary:
Defense lawyers say 9/11 conspirator lacked key info to defend himself .
Zacarias Moussaoui sentenced to life in connection with September 11 attacks .
Prosecutors say Moussaoui's guilty plea came voluntarily .
Legal analysts believe appeal stands little chance of success .


RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Maria Stephens barely flinches when her three rambunctious young sons strike up a baseball game in her living room. "I thought you boys were going to play in the front yard," she laughs while Christian, 2, swings a black plastic bat near the kitchen table.

Maria Stephens went from making $80,000 a year to being homeless with three boys to care for.

It's hard to imagine all that energy cooped up in the small room where Stephens and her children spent seven months last year -- in a homeless shelter.

Stephens, a mortgage underwriter who made $80,000 a year, faced a reversal of fortune so swift and devastating she still can't quite fathom it. The single mom went from paying $1,900 a month in rent to bunking at the shelter, an unexpected victim in the foreclosure crisis.

And she is not alone. While the foreclosure rate across the country has grown dramatically in recent months, often lost in the statistics are numbers of Americans made homeless through no fault of theirs -- renters.

About 40 percent of people facing eviction from foreclosure in the United States are renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition [NLIHC]. Yet regulations on the rental industry vary by state, and often there are no protections for those living in rental properties.

For Stephens, the ordeal started with bad news from her landlord.

"My landlord came and told me that his property was being foreclosed on," Stephens said. She moved her children, one then a newborn and the other two under 7, to a cheaper rental but had to leave there, too, when she lost her job and then her new landlord decided to sell the property.  Watch more about the ordeals of some renters »

"I had to hold back my tears because I'm like, oh my goodness. I'm from a middle-class family. ... I've had the best of everything," said Stephens. "I've never been in a situation where I didn't have a place to live. I made the money."

While Stephens' situation was worsened by the loss of her income, advocates with organizations such as NLIHC say many times evictions hit renters who are working and financially up-to-date.

"People who had been paying their rent on time, had been keeping up with their lease requirements, all of a sudden are served with foreclosure notices," said NLIHC Deputy Director Linda Couch. "And in every state but New Jersey and the District of Columbia, renters are not allowed to stay through their lease term and are given no special protections."

The problem is exacerbated for low-income renters, who may struggle to find affordable housing on short notice. The director of SERVE, a homeless advocacy group in Manassas, Virginia, has seen an explosion of renters in need of shelter over the past seven months. Officials at another Virginia shelter have braced for an influx of families they believe will start seeking services soon.

Some offer emergency shelter for families who might get only a few days' notice before being forced to move out. Last year, an Illinois sheriff temporarily refused to evict renters, some of whom learned about the foreclosure when sheriff's deputies showed up at their door.

Bill Apgar, senior adviser for mortgage finance at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said the Obama administration is working to solve the problem. The president's 2010 budget proposal includes $1 billion for a National Housing Trust Fund, which would go towards building and preserving low-income housing. There is also a boost in funding to a voucher program that keeps families in their homes.

NLIHC's Couch applauded these efforts but urged the federal government to go further. She wants to compel banks and owners who take over foreclosed property to allow renters to stay through their lease. Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already give renters that protection.

"We do think that solutions as simple as those requirements could have an immediate and dramatic impact on potentially millions of peoples' lives," Couch said.

Question: What states offer protection?

Question: Who was forced to go to a shelter with her boys?

Question: Who was forced into a shelter?

Question: What percentage of people facing eviction from foreclosure?

Question: Where did Maria Stephens and her boys go

Question: About 40% of people facing eviction are what?

Question: What percentage of people evicted are renting?

Answer: District of Columbia,

Answer: Maria Stephens

Answer: Maria Stephens

Answer: 40 percent

Answer: homeless shelter.

Answer: renters,

Answer: 40 percent

Summary:
About 40% of people facing eviction from foreclosure are renters, coalition finds .
Many times, evictions hit renters who are working and financially up-to-date .
Only New Jersey and D.C. offer renters any protections during a foreclosure .
Former mortgage underwriter Maria Stephens was forced to go shelter with her boys .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN)  -- An American man fighting for custody of his 9-year-old son has been invited to spend Christmas with the boy's Brazilian family, the family's attorney said Friday. David Goldman has been locked in a legal battle over custody of his son, Sean Goldman, with the family of the boy's deceased mother. The family's attorney, Sergio Tostes, said Friday that the legal battle had gone too far. "It is about time that Sean's family, and I mean all Sean's family, get together. I am authorized by Mrs. Silvana Bianchi to invite you, Mr. Goldman, to spend Christmas night at her house," Tostes said, referring to Sean's maternal grandmother. "This will be a long awaited family reunion" "I hope you can accept and we can talk logistics," he said, with the boy's grandmother standing next to him. Tostes also said that the family would consider allowing the boy to go to the United States, perhaps for the holidays, if Sean wants to go. However, "Sean must be heard in court," he said. There was no immediate response from Goldman. Earlier Friday, Goldman slammed a decision by a Brazilian Supreme Court justice Thursday that prevented the boy's return to the United States. That decision had "nothing to do with the merits" of the case, he said. On Wednesday, a lower court unanimously upheld a decision ordering that Sean be returned to his father in New Jersey. That decision was made in accordance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abductions. "Every day that my son is under that roof, he is being severely psychologically damaged," Goldman said. He insisted that there is the "utmost urgency" for Sean to be reunited with him. "My son is suffering, and he's losing the innocence of ... a child," Goldman said. The family argues that it would traumatize Sean to remove him from what has been his home since 2004, when his mother took him to Brazil on what she said would be a vacation. The family said Sean screamed with joy when he found out Thursday that he would not have to leave with his dad. The custody battle began in 2004, when Goldman's wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their then-4-year-old son from their home in New Jersey to Rio de Janeiro for what was to have been a two-week vacation. She never returned, instead remarrying there and retaining custody of Sean. She died last year in childbirth. Goldman has argued that as the sole surviving parent, he should at last be granted custody. Instead of traveling to Brasilia, where the high court is, Goldman planned to stay in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, where he is just miles from Sean. He hasn't seen his son since February. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who is traveling with Goldman, said three court-appointed psychologists tasked with determining the boy's emotional and psychological well-being had unanimously concluded that he is being hurt emotionally "by the continuance of this abduction." Smith said Sean was previously put in front of a video camera as adults asked questions. The boy made remarks in that video that members of his mother's family suggest indicate he should stay in Brazil. If the court allows a child's drawings or such a videotape to be used as evidence in a courtroom, Smith said, "every kidnapper everywhere in the world -- every child abductor in the world" would have the children make such things. Goldman also addressed the videotape: "What is he going to say? 'No, I hate it here,' knowing he'll go back up under their roof? What do you expect? He is an innocent, helpless, vulnerable, defenseless child that needs to be freed from this circumstance." Smith called on Brazil's full Supreme Court to "vacate this illogical and unjust stay on the rightful return of Sean Goldman to his only dad.

Question:
who took son to Brazil in 2004?
who died in childbirth?
What happened with Ex-wife of Brazil?
What happened to the boy's mother?
When was the boy taken to Brazil?
Where was the boy originally from?

Answer: David Goldman

Answer: Bruna Bianchi,

Answer: She never returned, instead remarrying there

Answer: She died last year in childbirth.

Answer: 2004,

Answer: Brazilian

Summary:
NEW: Boy at center of custody dispute may be allowed to go to U.S., family says .
U.S. lawmaker says man plans to appeal ruling to Brazil's Supreme Court .
Ex-wife took son to Brazil in 2004, never returned him to New Jersey .
She died in childbirth; boy's stepfather says he should stay in Brazil .


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

Question: How many are dead?

Question: Amount of people left homeless?

Question: Where have most of the death and damage been from?

Question: What has also caused damage in Colombia?

Question: What caused deaths and damage in Santa Catarina?

Question: How many have been left homeless?

Question: How many died in southern Brazil?

Question: Where has most of the damage been?

Question: What happened in southern Brazil?

Question: Where have most of the deaths occured?

Question: What happened to 54,000 people?

Question: Where are over 54,000 homeless?

Answer: 86

Answer: 54,000

Answer: Santa Catarina state,

Answer: flooding

Answer: flooding

Answer: 54,000 residents

Answer: 86 dead,

Answer: Santa Catarina state,

Answer: flooding

Answer: southern Brazil

Answer: have been left homeless,

Answer: southern Brazil

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


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A 12-mile oil slick near where an Air France jet crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean indicates the plane likely didn't break up until it hit the water, Brazil's defense minister said Wednesday. Image released by the Brazilian Air Force shows oil slicks in the water near a debris site. If true, that would argue against an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters. But Robert Francis, former vice chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the question of determining where a plane broke up "is a very difficult one to deal with." He told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" that "there are lots of things that cause a plane to go out of control." He added that extremely strong winds are not unusual near Brazil. Pilots who fly over that part of the world keep track of radar and "are very, very wary about the weather as they go back and forth down in that area." Jobim said currents had strewn the debris widely and that the search area had been expanded to 300 square miles. The Airbus A330, carrying 228 people, went down about three hours after beginning what was to have been an 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France. No survivors have been found.  Map of Flight AF 447's flight path » Investigators have not determined what caused the plane to crash. The flight data recorders have not been recovered, and the plane's crew did not send any messages indicating problems before the plane disappeared.  Watch as high seas hamper recovery » The Brazilian Air Force said it found the oil slick and four debris fields Wednesday, but rain and rough seas kept searchers from plucking any of the debris from the water. Among Wednesday's finds were objects in a circular 5-kilometer (3-mile) area, including one object with a diameter of 7 meters (23 feet) and 10 other objects, some of which were metallic, Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. Searchers had found two debris fields Tuesday and identified the wreckage as coming from Flight 447. The debris was found about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil. It included an airplane seat and an orange float. Wednesday's debris find was about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Tuesday's discoveries, Amaral said. Eleven aircraft and five ships are engaged in the search, including airplanes from France and the United States.  Watch as experts question whether recovery is possible » The NTSB said Wednesday it has accepted an invitation from the French aviation accident investigation authority, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses, to aid in the investigation. NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. accredited representative. The U.S. team will include technical advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration; General Electric, which made the plane's engines; and Honeywell, which made the plane's data recorders. The aircraft's computer system did send about four minutes of automated messages indicating a loss of cabin pressure and an electrical failure, officials have said. Some investigators have noted that the plane flew through a severe lightning storm. Foul play has not been ruled out. Air France had received a bomb threat May 27 for a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Paris, sources in the Argentine military and police told CNN on Wednesday. According to the officials, who had been briefed on the incident and declined to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, the Air France office in Buenos Aires received the threat from a man speaking Spanish. Authorities checked the Boeing 777 and did not find anything. Security was tightened during check-in for Flight 415, which left on time and without incident, the officials said. Although officials have said the likelihood of finding survivors of Flight 447's crash is small, authorities have not closed the door on the possibility. "Until

Question: What will be difficult to determine?

Question: Where did the Air France flight disappear?

Question: What disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean?

Answer: where a plane broke up

Answer: the Atlantic Ocean

Answer: plane

Summary:
NEW: Oil slick may argue against an in-flight explosion, Brazilian official says .
NEW: Determining where plane broke up will be difficult, U.S. aviation expert says .
Air France flight disappeared over Atlantic Ocean after taking off from Brazil .
Memorial for the victims of Flight AF 447 takes place in Paris at Notre Dame .


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

Question: Who suspended the lower courts order?

Question: What happened after mom moved with son to Brazil in 2004?

Question: Where did the mom move with the son?

Question: What did the Brazilian supreme court judge suspend?

Question: Where did the lower court order the son to be taken?

Question: When did the mother die?

Question: When did mom die in childbirth?

Answer: judge

Answer: divorced Goldman and married a Brazilian lawyer.

Answer: Brazil

Answer: would have given custody of a 9-year-old boy to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he was to be reunited with his American father.

Answer: U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro,

Answer: September,

Answer: September,

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


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Antiviolence protesters stretched out 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous Copacabana beach Saturday, each one representing a victim of urban violence.

Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week.

Activists from ONG Rio de Paz led a protest march Saturday morning that included residents and tourists who usually can be found on the beach on weekends.

The protesters strung up a sign on the sand that said "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.

They finished with a minute of silence for the victims of violence.

Rio de Paz said the coconuts represent victims of violence, homicides, dead police officers and those who have been shot in gunfights between authorities and gangs of narcotics traffickers.

The figure itself was obtained from official information from the Rio de Janeiro governmental Institute of Public Security.

It was the second protest staged this week on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach by the group Rio de Paz.

On Tuesday, the group created a mock cemetery in the sand with mannequins representing 9,000 people who Rio de Paz says have been slain and secretly buried since January 2007.

Rio de Paz President Antonio Carlos Costa said he believes that about 6,000 of the missing people were killed, many by drug traffickers fighting for territory in Rio's slums and poor neighborhoods. Others, he said, were killed by hit squads and police acting on their own.

"In general, they are assassinated by police -- police acting outside of their regular work hours," Costa said Tuesday.

"They are also assassinated by narcotraffickers. The bodies are disposed of in secret cemeteries in the metropolitan Rio de Janeiro area or incinerated alive by narcotraffickers in what they call 'microwaves.' "

To illustrate the point, demonstrators also constructed facsimiles of the "microwaves" that narcotics traffickers and death squads reportedly use to cremate remains of those they have abducted.

CNN's Fabiana Frayssinet contributed to this report.

Question: What did the coconuts represent?

Question: What was lined up along Brazil's Copacabana beach?

Question: What does protesters say in four languages?

Question: What do the coconuts represent

Question: On which beach were the coconuts lined up

Question: What did the signs that were put up read?

Question: What word was written in four languages

Answer: a victim of urban violence.

Answer: Antiviolence protesters

Answer: "Shame"

Answer: victims of violence,

Answer: Copacabana

Answer: "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.

Answer: "Shame"

Summary:
Protesters line up coconuts on Brazil's Copacabana beach .
Rio de Paz says coconuts represent victims of urban violence, drug wars .
Protesters string up sign in sand that says "Shame" in four languages .
Earlier, group staged mock cemetery in beach sand representing missing people .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Antiviolence protesters stretched out 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous Copacabana beach Saturday, each one representing a victim of urban violence. Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week. Activists from ONG Rio de Paz led a protest march Saturday morning that included residents and tourists who usually can be found on the beach on weekends. The protesters strung up a sign on the sand that said "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. They finished with a minute of silence for the victims of violence. Rio de Paz said the coconuts represent victims of violence, homicides, dead police officers and those who have been shot in gunfights between authorities and gangs of narcotics traffickers. The figure itself was obtained from official information from the Rio de Janeiro governmental Institute of Public Security. It was the second protest staged this week on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach by the group Rio de Paz. On Tuesday, the group created a mock cemetery in the sand with mannequins representing 9,000 people who Rio de Paz says have been slain and secretly buried since January 2007. Rio de Paz President Antonio Carlos Costa said he believes that about 6,000 of the missing people were killed, many by drug traffickers fighting for territory in Rio's slums and poor neighborhoods. Others, he said, were killed by hit squads and police acting on their own. "In general, they are assassinated by police -- police acting outside of their regular work hours," Costa said Tuesday. "They are also assassinated by narcotraffickers. The bodies are disposed of in secret cemeteries in the metropolitan Rio de Janeiro area or incinerated alive by narcotraffickers in what they call 'microwaves.' " To illustrate the point, demonstrators also constructed facsimiles of the "microwaves" that narcotics traffickers and death squads reportedly use to cremate remains of those they have abducted. CNN's Fabiana Frayssinet contributed to this report.

Question: What mock scene did the group stage?

Question: What was staged on the beach to represent missing people?

Question: The group staged what in the beach sands?

Question: What did protesters line up on the beach?

Question: What does the sign say?

Answer: Protesters used dummies to represent victims of violence on Brazil's Copacabana beach this week.

Answer: 16,000 coconuts

Answer: 16,000 coconuts on Brazil's world-famous

Answer: 16,000 coconuts

Answer: "Shame" in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Automated messages sent from Air France Flight 447 just before it crashed Monday indicate the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed, the jet's manufacturer said on Friday. Friends and relatives of the 228 people aboard Air France Flight 447 attend a memorial service Thursday in Brazil. That suggests the pilots may have been flying too fast or too slow through the violent weather they encountered before the crash, officials said. In addition, investigators have said the plane's autopilot disengaged, cabin pressure was lost and there was an electrical failure before the disaster. Airbus confirmed on Friday that in the wake of the crash it sent a Telex to operators of all Airbus models reminding them what to do when speed indicators give conflicting readings. The spokesman said the notice does not mean there is any major flaw in the aircraft, but is simply a reminder to pilots about what to do in the cockpit if they get conflicting information about air speed. Message transmissions from the aircraft in the final moments before it crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean show there was an "indicated inconsistency in measured air speeds," Airbus said. The company did not elaborate. Experts said that could mean the pilot's and co-pilots' sensors were showing different speeds. "If they're malfunctioning, it can give a false read that can be misinterpreted in the cockpit, and a disaster can follow," said Peter Goeltz, the former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. While the pilots themselves sent no distress calls, the aircraft's computer system relayed about four minutes of automated messages indicating a loss of cabin pressure and an electrical failure, according to investigators. Airbus said it sent the Telex Thursday night after the action was recommended by the French investigating agency, which plans to hold a news conference Saturday morning in Paris, France.  Watch as experts question whether recovery is possible » Meanwhile, the hunt for debris continued Friday, a day after a Brazilian air force official said debris plucked from the ocean was not from the Air France jet. A U.S Navy P-3 temporarily based in Brazil has flown three missions -- on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday -- in assisting the Brazilian government search for debris, but found nothing connected to the disaster, U.S. Southern Command spokesman Maj. Darryl Wright said. Earlier Friday, Goeltz said the search for Flight 447's voice and data recorders is becoming more difficult as ocean currents disperse debris from the crash site. "The clock's ticking" in the search for the plane's recorders, he said. "The batteries on these locator devices attached to the black boxes have a limited life span -- just 30 days," he said. "The longer time goes on, the further away from the actual crash site the debris floats." All 228 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus 330 are presumed to have died when the plane disappeared northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil. The flight originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was en route to Paris.  Map of Flight 447's flight path » While the ocean depth in the area where the plane is thought to have crashed presents a challenge, the challenge may not be insurmountable, Goeltz said. "We've recovered boxes as deep as 6- or 7,000 feet," he said. "We've recovered debris from as much as 10,000 feet." Authorities have said the depth of the water in the area ranges from 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) to 7,500 meters (24,600 feet). Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck of the French Ministry of Defense said Friday that a French research vessel was expected to arrive this weekend in the search area carrying a deep-diving submersible. The submersible would try to pinpoint the recorders, but must rely on another vessel to retrieve them, he said. The submarine helped recover artifacts from the Titanic disaster. Meanwhile, France's transportation minister warned that "extreme prudence" should be used in releasing information about why the plane

Question: What makes finding recorders more difficult?

Question: What did automated messages indicate?

Question: What did the automated messages indicate?

Question: What does the ex-U.S. aviation safety official say?

Answer: ocean currents disperse debris

Answer: the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed,

Answer: the plane's systems were providing contradictory information about its airspeed,

Answer: "If they're malfunctioning, it can give a false read that can be misinterpreted in the cockpit, and a disaster can follow,"

Summary:
French officials: Sub could find recorders; other vessel needed for their retrieval .
Airbus: Automated messages indicate contradictory info provided on airspeeds .
Such a problem "could really be disastrous," ex-U.S. aviation safety official says .
Expert: Finding where recorders lie on seabed harder as debris scattered .


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

Question: Where were two debris fields found?

Question: What did the pilot fail to do?

Question: When is service to be held?

Question: What is to be held Wednesday at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral?

Question: When will the memorial service by held?

Question: How many people was Flight 447 carrying?

Question: Where was debris found?

Answer: about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west, the Ministry of Defense said on its Web site.

Answer: issue a mayday.

Answer: Wednesday afternoon

Answer: inter-religious ceremony

Answer: Wednesday afternoon

Answer: 228

Answer: about 650 km (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north, longitude 30 west,

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


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil called Wednesday for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs, a Spanish news agency said.

People march in support of legalized marijuana in late January in Belem, northern Brazil.

Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil made their announcement at a meeting in Brazil of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, the EFE news agency said.

"The problem is that current policies are based on prejudices and fears and not on results," Gaviria said at a news conference in which the commission's recommendations were presented.

The 17-member panel worked on the report for a year and will forward it to all Latin American governments as well as the United States and the European Union, EFE said. Gaviria said the time is right to start a debate on the subject, particularly with the pragmatic openings provided by the election of President Barack Obama in the United States.

"In many states in the United States, as is the case in California, they have begun to change federal policies with regard to tolerating marijuana for therapeutic purposes. And in Washington there's some consensus that the current policy is failing," EFE quotes Gaviria as saying.

Decriminalization should be accompanied by treatment for addicts and public service campaigns on abuse prevention, the commission said.

"If you don't help those who are dependent, you are half way there because they are going to commit crime to get money and pay for the drug," Gaviria said.

Cardoso said the group called for only the decriminalization of marijuana and not other illicit drugs because "you have to start somewhere" and it would have been unrealistic to ask the same for all drugs, EFE said.

Marijuana was chosen because it is grown in all countries in the region and because it is "less harmful."

The decades-old criminalization of personal consumption has failed to stop the plant's cultivation and distribution, the group said.

The commission urged that all current criminal prosecution be aimed at drug cartels and organized crime and not marijuana smokers, EFE said.

Zedillo did not attend the news conference but worked on the report, Cardoso said.

Wednesday's recommendation was the second time in less than a week that a Latin American government official called for decriminalization.

A mayor in Peru suggested Friday that the federal government legalize illicit drugs and administer them through the national health ministry.

Gusto Sierra, the mayor of the Surquillo district in Lima, said a federal drug law is hypocritical because it allows maximum legally allowed quantities for some drugs and plants but doesn't say where to acquire them, the Peru 21 newspaper reported in a front-page story headlined "Say yes to drugs?"

Sierra said he will take the matter up with the nation's executive branch.

Zedillo served as president of Mexico from 1994-2000. Gaviria was president of Colombia from 1990-94. And Cardoso led Brazil from 1995-2002.

Question: Who is urging for decriminalization of marijuana?

Question: Leaders are urging treatments for who?

Question: What did former leaders say criminal prosecutors should target?

Question: What are the ex presidents of some countries urging?

Question: Who urged decriminalization?

Question: Who should be prosecuted?

Question: Who did they urge treatment for?

Question: What is the public service campaign about?

Question: Leaders urge what?

Question: Prosecution should target what?

Question: Ex-presidents urge decriminalization of what?

Answer: Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil

Answer: addicts

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs,

Answer: Ex-presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: addicts

Answer: abuse prevention,

Answer: current criminal prosecution be aimed at drug cartels

Answer: drug cartels and organized crime

Answer: marijuana for personal use

Summary:
Ex-presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia urge decriminalization of marijuana .
Leaders urge treatment for addicts, public service campaigns on abuse prevention .
Criminal prosecution should target drug cartels, not users, former leaders say .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- The Brazilian air force said that debris picked up Thursday near where officials believe Air France Flight 447 crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean was not from the plane. Image released by the Brazilian Air Force shows oil slicks in the water near a debris site. "It has been verified that the material did not belong to the plane," Brigadier Ramon Borges Cardoso told reporters in Recife about the material recovered Thursday. "It is a pallet of wood that is utilized for transport. It is used in planes, but on this flight to Paris, there was no wooden pallet." He added that oil slicks seen on the ocean were not from the plane, either, and that the quantity of oil exceeded the amount the plane would have carried. "No material from the airplane was picked up," he said. The announcement left open the question of whether other debris that had not yet been plucked from the ocean might be from the plane. On Wednesday, searchers recovered two debris fields and had identified the wreckage, including an airplane seat and an orange float as coming from Flight 447. Officials now say that none of the debris recovered is from the missing plane. Helicopters had been lifting pieces from the water and dropping them on three naval vessels. Brazilian Air Force planes spotted an oil slick and four debris fields Wednesday but rain and rough seas had kept searchers from plucking any of the debris from the water. Officials said searchers had found objects in a circular 5-kilometer (3-mile) area, including one object with a diameter of 7 meters (23 feet) and 10 other objects, some of which were metallic, Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral said. The debris was found about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands, an archipelago 355 kilometers off the northeast coast of Brazil. Eleven aircraft and five ships are engaged in the search, including airplanes from France and the United States. Earlier Thursday, a public interfaith service was held for the 228 victims at a 200-year-old Catholic Church in downtown Rio. Joining family members were members of the Brazilian armed forces, who are leading the recovery effort. "Whoever has faith, whoever believes in God, believes in the eternity of the soul," said Mauro Chavez, whose friend lost a daughter on the flight. "This means everything." Investigators have not yet determined what caused the plane to crash. The flight data recorders have not been recovered, and the plane's crew did not send any messages indicating problems before the plane disappeared. A Spanish pilot said he saw an "intense flash" in the area where Flight 447 came down off the coast of Brazil, while a Brazilian minister appeared to rule out a midair explosion. Meanwhile, a report in France suggested the pilots were perhaps flying at the "wrong speed" for the violent thunderstorm they flew into early on Monday before the Airbus A330's systems failed. Le Monde newspaper reported that Airbus was sending a warning to operators of A330 jets with new advice on flying in storms. As several ships trawled the debris site in the Atlantic, Brazil's defense minister said a 20-kilometer (12-mile) oil slick near where the plane, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, went down indicated it probably did not break up until it hit the water. If true, that would rule out an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters. However, both pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima, Peru, to Lisbon, Portugal, sent a written report on the bright flash they said they saw to Air France, Airbus and the Spanish civil aviation authority, the airline told CNN. "Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds," the captain wrote. Air Comet declined to identify the pilot's name but said he waited until landing to inform Air

Question:
What was found by air force?
Was the debris from the missing plane?
where was plane headed?
What did the two pilot saw?
What was the report says?
How many people were aboard the jet?

Answer: objects in a circular 5-kilometer (3-mile) area, including one object with a diameter of 7 meters (23 feet) and 10 other objects, some of which were metallic, Brazilian

Answer: not

Answer: Paris,

Answer: intense flash of white light,

Answer: suggested the pilots were perhaps flying at the "wrong speed" for the violent thunderstorm they flew into early on Monday before the Airbus A330's systems failed.

Answer: 228

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


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- The death toll in flood-ravaged southern Brazil has reached 116 and the first cases of a water-borne, potentially fatal disease are being investigated, the nation's Civil Defense agency reported.

People use a boat to navigate flooded streets in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina last week.

The number of missing residents has increased to 31, the agency said. The previous tally was 19.

Nearly 79,000 residents have been left homeless, many of them in the hard-hit state of Santa Catarina.

Many of the deaths have been caused by mudslides.

Officials are now worried about disease, as 10 cases of leptospirosis are suspected, the state news agency reported.

Leptospirosis is an infection in rodents and other wild and domesticated animals, according to the World Health Organization. In humans, exposure through water contaminated by urine from infected animals is the most common form of infection. The disease is often found in flooded areas.

Ten people with symptoms are being treated in the cities of Blumenau and Ilhota, the state-run Agencia Brasil reported.

Symptoms usually occur 2 to 30 days after infection and consist of high fever, malaise, sharp and constant headache, intense muscular pain, fatigue and chills. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea also are common. About 10 percent of patients develop jaundiced eyes after the third day, indicating the most severe cases.

Authorities also were warning residents in flooded areas to be careful with food and water they consume. Food that has been under water or moist should not be eaten unless it's in a sealed plastic bag or a can, officials said.

The health secretary for Santa Catarina said residents who drink contaminated water also run the risk of getting hepatitis A and diarrhea.

Rescuers also are at risk of disease and injury.

In the city of Maximus in Luis Alves state, eight rescuers were injured over the weekend, one of them gravely, Agencia Brasil reported.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that Santa Catarina will be rebuilt and become just as strong as it was.

"We cannot lose hope," Lula said. "We must be convinced that people will reconstruct the state of Santa Catarina. There is a national solidarity never seen before in the history of the country."

Lula flew over some of the flooded areas last week and proclaimed the disaster one of the worst in the country's history.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said Thursday.

He said last week he was releasing 1.97 billion Reals (more than US$850 million) in aid to the afflicted areas.

Officials have distributed 880 tons of food, nearly 1 million liters of water and 60 tons of clothing, toys and cleaning and personal hygiene material, Agencia Brasil said Monday.

The Civil Defense said seaplanes have flown 548 relief missions in seven days.

The disaster also is having an economic effect, with bridges, roads, houses and buildings destroyed. The Federation of Industries said the closed port in Itajai is costing $33 million a day. The port is the major terminal for frozen goods in Brazil and second in the transport of containers, Agencia Brasil said.

Port Superintendent Arnaldo Schmitt said last week part of the terminal could be back in operation in two weeks.

Weather conditions may not allow that to happen, though.

The Civil Defense issued an alert Monday for heavy rains in 14 states and the federal district.

Question: What is the death toll in southern Brazil?

Question: What do authorities warn people to do?

Question: How many are missing?

Question: What did officials report?

Question: How many people are missing?

Question: What is the death toll from flooding?

Question: Where was the flooding?

Question: How many people have died?

Question: What is the death toll?

Answer: 116

Answer: be careful with food and water they consume.

Answer: 31,

Answer: Officials are now worried about disease, as 10 cases of leptospirosis are suspected,

Answer: 31,

Answer: 116

Answer: southern Brazil

Answer: 116

Answer: 116

Summary:
Death toll from flooding in southern Brazil reaches 116; 31 people missing .
Officials report 10 suspected cases of potentially deadly leptospirosis .
Authorities warn people to avoid flood-contaminated food, water .
More heavy rain forecast for parts of Brazil .


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Thousands of people celebrated Friday on crowded Copacabana beach as the announcement that Brazil had been chosen as the 2016 Olympics host played live over huge screens erected above the sand. Thousands packed Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro after the city learned it will host the Olympics. "It was a fantastic victory. We beat the big cities. Passion talked louder," said one man as he danced to live samba music in front of the stage. Rio de Janeiro beat out Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid to become the first South American city to host the Games, something President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva made clear during his pitch to the International Olympic Committee. "It is a time to address this imbalance," he told committee members making the selection in Copenhagen, Denmark. "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country." Happiness was a big part of Rio's pitch after it was voted the happiest city in the world by Forbes magazine. On Friday, thousands of people piled onto the beach wearing green and yellow, many with the Brazilian flag painted on their faces.  Exuberant Rio de Janeiro is first South American city to host Olympics » "I thought that more than to the people, we owe this victory to our President Lula," said a woman wearing little more than a bikini. Rio also won points with an ambitious budget and new venues like the Joao Havelange Stadium, which opened for the 2007 Pan American Games. Rio's jaw-dropping natural beauty helped the city pull ahead of the competition. "Rio is full of all things quintessentially Brazilian: sun, sand, soccer, samba, sensuality," the editorial director of Fodor's Travel, Laura Kidder, wrote in an e-mail. "In Rio, it's about taking each day as it comes and living life to the fullest." Erik Torkells, editor for TripAdvisor, the world's largest online travel community, also praised the city for its social scene before the selection was made. "If the Olympic Committee wanted to be sure everyone had a good time, they'd go to Rio," Torkells said. The selection also had its critics in Brazil. "I don't think it's appropriate considering what our country is going through," said Orlando Pinto, a social worker. "We don't have good health services, education; we have transportation problems, housing problems, crime problems." Security and traffic remain enormous challenges to overcome in Rio de Janeiro. But it was all celebration on Friday as crowds continued to stream onto the beach after the announcement was made.

Question: what is the president name?

Question: What are people celebrating?

Question: who is the president

Question: where is rio de janeiro

Question: what does city emphasize

Question: who  offered ambitious budget and new venues?

Answer: Luis Inacio Lula da Silva

Answer: the announcement that Brazil had been chosen as the 2016 Olympics host

Answer: Luis Inacio Lula da Silva

Answer: Brazil

Answer: Happiness was a big part of Rio's pitch

Answer: Rio de Janeiro.

Summary:
Thousands celebrate Rio de Janeiro win at Copacabana beach .
"We owe this victory to our President Lula," woman at celebration says .
Rio de Janeiro offered ambitious budget and new venues .
City also emphasized that Olympics have never been held in South America .


RIVERDALE, Georgia (CNN)  -- In his darkest moment, Kenneth Brown lost it all. His wife and kids, the housebroken dog, the vacation home on Cape Cod all vanished when he was sent to prison for an arson in 1996. Kenneth Brown, a former inmate, learned to meditate during his nine years in prison. Trapped in his gloomy cell and serving a 20-year sentence that felt like an eternity, Brown, then 49, found himself stretched out on the floor. He was silent. His eyes were shut. His body did not move. Brown, a man raised as a Baptist and taught to praise the Lord and fear the devil, was meditating. "I try to focus on the space between two thoughts, because it prevents me from getting lost," said Brown, who discovered meditation, yoga and Buddhist teachings three months into his sentence. "This helped me stay on track and get me through prison," he said. Eastern religions encompassing meditation techniques have captivated hippies, 20-somethings and celebrities like actor Richard Gere. But since the 1960s, the art of meditation also has found a growing number of unlikely followers behind prison bars. The inmates say meditation -- an ancient practice that develops mental awareness and fosters relaxation -- is teaching them how to cope in prison. "Mostly, the people in Buddhist community are going into the prisons, providing programs, and word of mouth gets from one inmate to another," explained Gary Friedman, communications chairman for the American Correctional Chaplains Association. "It's a break from all the hustle and noise of the prison environment." There is no group tracking the number of inmates converting to Buddhism or engaging in meditation practices. But programs and workshops educating inmates about meditation and yoga are sprouting up across the country. Meditation can help the convicts find calmness in a prison culture ripe with violence and chaos. The practice provides them a chance to reflect on their crimes, wrestle through feelings of guilt and transform themselves during their rehabilitative journey, Buddhist experts say. In the past five years, books like the "Prison Chaplaincy Guidelines for Zen Buddhism" and "Razor-Wire Dharma: A Buddhist Life in Prison" have emerged. "This is transformative justice, as opposed to punitive," said Fleet Maull, founder of the Prison Dharma Network, one of the largest support networks helping inmates learn meditation and Buddhist teachings. Since its inception in 1989, Prison Dharma Network has grown from one person -- Maull -- teaching Buddhist principles to more than 75 member organizations corresponding with 2,500 individuals, many of them inmates. For the past seven years, Maull's group has taught a weekly meditation class in Boulder County Jail in Colorado. Some inmates follow Zen Buddhism, a practice that originated in China, and meet weekly to focus their minds. Others practice Vipassana, a Buddhist practice founded in India, which consists of completing hundreds of hours of meditation in a short period of time. Buddhism has gained momentum in the United States over the past 25 years, becoming the third most popular religion in America behind Christianity and Judaism, according to the 2008 report from the the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. About 1.7 million Americans call themselves Buddhists, and many of them are converts, the study said. According to the American Religious Identification Survey in 2008, there were 1.2 million self-identified Buddhists. Some inmates, like Brown, may not label themselves official Buddhists, but they meditate, practice yoga and follow Buddhist principles on truth, responsibility and suffering. The practice of meditation seeped into the heart of the Bible Belt in 2002. The Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Alabama, was notorious for violence. But a group of male inmates, including several murderers, completed a Vipassana meditation retreat that required more than 100 hours of meditation in 10 days. One inmate, who was featured in the 2007 documentary "The Dhamma Brothers," said Vipassana was harder than the 8½ years he had spent on death row. More than 120 men in Donaldson have gone through Vipassana at least

Question: What is the third most popular religion in the US?

Question: what are the first two most popular religions?

Question: Who are being educated about meditation and yoga?

Question: What are the programs educating inmates about?

Question: What has meditation helped to do?

Question: What is the third most popular religion in the United States?

Answer: Buddhism

Answer: Christianity and Judaism,

Answer: inmates

Answer: meditation

Answer: stay on track and get me through prison,"

Answer: Buddhism

Summary:
Programs across the country educate inmates about meditation and yoga .
Meditation has helped reduce violence in Alabama prison, official says .
"They don't feel so close to exploding," documentary director says .
Buddhism is third most popular religion in United States .


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN -- Relations between Arab nations and the United States hinge on American leaders living up to their rhetoric about commitment to lasting peace in the Mideast,  Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal told CNN Saturday.

Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal talks with CNN's Nic Robertson about U.S. relations with Arab nations.

"President Obama, in his statement yesterday, said that he's genuinely making the effort to accomplish a peaceful resolution," al-Faisal, who served as Saudi ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2007, told CNN's Nic Robertson in an interview Friday.

"We've heard this before," al-Faisal said. "We need to see implementation. We need to see facts on the ground change. We need to see rhetoric change. We need to see presence on the ground."

He said he was encouraged by Obama's appointment of George Mitchell as Mideast envoy, saying, "Mitchell comes with a track record of success." But he suggested Mitchell spend some time in the region to make real progress.

"American envoys, when they've dealt with the Middle East, have always come and gone," he said.

"I think it would be wise for Sen. Mitchell ... to pitch his tent in Ramallah or in Jerusalem, let's say, and spend a year, two, perhaps three years on the ground dealing with the daily aspects of making peace there."  Watch as al-Faisal talks about how the U.S. and the Mideast could build trust »

The United States' backing of Israel, in light of the latest Israeli military operations in Gaza, does not improve its standing in the Arab world, he said.

"What happened in Gaza, people have called it a tragedy," al-Faisal said. "I'd go further and say it was a catastrophe in all aspects of that word. The killing and the destruction was so barbaric by Israel, and unprecedented in a such a small area like Gaza.

They [Israelis] claim that they were very careful about collateral damage and they targeted only Hamas, as they call them, militants and operatives. Well, look at the figures.

"More than 400 children killed out of 1,300 [total deaths]. That doesn't show any precision of targeting. Israel claims that these are mishaps of war. If they are mishaps of war, well, why should you have a war?

"I think this is one of the issues that makes the relationship between the Arab world in general and Saudi Arabia in particular threatened when it comes to dealing with the United States," al-Faisal said. "...  And President Bush, I think callously and unforgivably, gave Israel a green light to do everything that they wanted to do in Gaza without restraint."

U.S. and Israeli officials should recognize that operations like the recent one only serve to strengthen Hamas, as "Israel is a radioactive element in the area. Anyone it touches becomes heroic and legitimate ... because he or she is a victim."

Al-Faisal said he believes the United States and Israel should negotiate with Hamas. Reminded that the two nations consider Hamas a terrorist organization, he said, "I think this is another of the things that has to be reviewed by President Obama."

He believes that negotiations with Hamas should not undermine the Palestinian Authority, saying the authority's President Mahmoud Abbas "in my view, is the most tailor-made Palestinian leader for making peace and bringing stability and security to the Palestinian people."

Israel's operation in Gaza came after what it said was a barrage of rockets fired by Hamas militants into southern Israel.

Asked how to stop the rockets, al-Faisal said he thinks the key is to bring Hamas into the political fold. "Put it the other way," he said. "How can we convince Israel itself not to provoke Hamas into firing rockets?"

Israel claims that Hamas fired first, and al-Faisal said these claims underscore the importance of having someone on the ground like Mitchell.

Question:
What did the Saudi prince say?
What do US Arab relations hinge on?
What makes all fasail think that?
Who should Israel negotiate with?
Who should the US negotiate with?
Who is giving an opinion?

Answer: leaders living up to their rhetoric about commitment to lasting peace in the Mideast,

Answer: leaders living up to their rhetoric about commitment to lasting peace

Answer: President Bush,

Answer: Hamas.

Answer: Hamas.

Answer: al-Faisal,

Summary:
Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal says U.S.-Arab relations hinge on U.S. role in peace .
Says U.S. lost Arab support by backing Israel in Gaza "catastrophe"
"Israel is radioactive in region ... Anyone it touches becomes heroic, legitimate"
Al-Faisal believes U.S. and Israel should negotiate with Hamas .


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN)  -- The Taliban in Afghanistan have momentum that makes any effort to negotiate with them difficult, the U.S. defense secretary said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday. He's visiting Afghanistan on Wednesday. Secretary Robert Gates spoke to CNN's Chris Lawrence in an exclusive interview Tuesday evening before leaving for Afghanistan, where he is visiting troops and bases Wednesday. "The political level of the Taliban probably isn't ready to think about reconciliation or any kind of accommodation at this point," Gates said in the interview. "They probably feel like they have the momentum with them. And until that momentum changes, it will be difficult." As part of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, the military and Afghanistan government are attempting to reach out to elements of the Taliban who are engaged in the battle for financial gain, rather than ideological gain. "There are really two groups we're talking about -- the younger, or less committed, who do this mainly to earn a living and put food on the table for their families, and those that are more ideologically committed. The latter are going to be a tougher pull, and we'll probably have to wait awhile before there's an opportunity there." On Monday, CNN's Nic Robertson interviewed a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, who said the Taliban will only negotiate with the Afghanistan government when the United States leaves the country. "Our conditions are clear, we want to negotiate and they [the U.S.] will not interfere in our affairs; secondly, they [the U.S.] will leave the country," Mujahid told CNN. Gates said the stance was not surprising. "Well I don't know what else he'd say. He's leading the opposition, he's leading this insurgency. He's not going to sort of, sort of throw down and say 'We're ready to negotiate, we're about done here,' " Gates said. The United States is adding 21,000 troops to the Afghanistan battlefield. The majority will be moving to the south to confront the Taliban along the porous Pakistani border. The Taliban have had mostly free rein in that area with few U.S. or coalition forces to confront them until now. Gates admitted moving the battle to the south will mean there is "a tough fight ahead." "I think, certainly, I have been pretty clear. As we move into areas of the south that have not seen any Afghan or coalition forces so far, we're clearly going to be going into areas where the Taliban are very entrenched," he said. "And, sad to say, I expect with the rising level of our activity and operations, there probably will be higher casualties." In recent weeks, the Pakistani government has seen the Taliban gain control on its side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Privately, Pakistani officials have expressed concern to the United States that the increased fighting in southern Afghanistan will only push the Taliban back to the Pakistani side. "Well I think it's just the reality that there are extremists on both sides of that border. And they threaten both the elected government of Afghanistan and the elected government of Pakistan. So like it or not, they both have a certain common enemy," Gates said. Gates said he is encouraged by recent cooperation efforts between the two countries to deal with the problem, and by Pakistan's recent confrontation with the Taliban in Bunir province, near the capital of Islamabad. "The signs right now are pretty positive," he told CNN.

Question: What did the Taliban spokesman say?

Question: who is the US reaching out to?

Question: Who is the US trying to reach out to?

Question: when will taliban negotiate?

Question: What has the taliban got to say about the matter?

Question: What is the U.S. defense secretary's view?

Question: Whatever did Gates say?

Question: Who claims the fight will be tougher in south Afghanistan?

Answer: will only negotiate with the Afghanistan government when the United States leaves the country.

Answer: the Taliban

Answer: are engaged in the battle for financial gain,

Answer: the United States leaves the country.

Answer: will only negotiate with the Afghanistan government when

Answer: "The political level of the Taliban probably isn't ready to think about reconciliation or any kind of accommodation at this point,"

Answer: "The political level of the Taliban probably isn't ready to think about reconciliation or any kind of accommodation at this point,"

Answer: Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Summary:
U.S. defense secretary: Political level not ready for reconciliation, accommodation .
U.S. trying to reach out to Taliban interested in financial gain, not ideological gain .
Taliban spokesman: We will negotiate with Afghan government when U.S. leaves .
Gates says that as U.S. forces build up in southern Afghanistan, fight will be tougher .


ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it is blocking the import from China of five species of seafood until their importers can prove they are not contaminated. About 10 percent of catfish eaten in the U.S. comes from China, according to the National Fisheries Institute. "FDA is initiating an import alert against several species of imported Chinese farmed seafood because of numerous cases of contamination with drugs and unsafe food additives," said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's assistant commissioner for food protection, in a conference call with reporters. The species cited are catfish, eel, shrimp, basa and dace, he said. Basa is similar to catfish; dace is similar to carp. The medications cited include the antimicrobials nitrofuran, malachite green, gentian violet and fluoroquinolones. Nitrofuran, malachite green, and gentian violet have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Use of fluoroquinolones in food-producing animals can result in antibiotic resistance. None of them is approved for use in farmed seafood in the United States and some of them have been shown to cause cancer when fed to laboratory animals for "prolonged periods of time," Acheson said. Alerts have been issued in the past, but Thursday's announcement is the largest. The food will not be allowed into the United States until the importer can prove it is free from harmful contaminants, Acheson said. He said the agency decided to broaden its previous alerts for products from individual companies to a countrywide alert after tests showed that 15 percent of those species of seafood produced by 18 companies in China contained traces of one or more of the contaminants. "FDA is taking this action to protect the public health of the American people," he said. Watch more on the FDA's import alert on five kinds of fish from China. » The products "could cause serious health problems if consumed over a long period of time," he said. Still, Acheson added, the low levels of contaminants means that there is "no imminent threat" to the public health. China is the world's largest producer of farmed fish, accounting for 70 percent of the total produced, he said. It is the third-largest exporter of farmed fish to the United States. The action is an import alert, which means that these products from Chinese processors "will be detained and refused entry into the United States until the importer can demonstrate that the product is safe and in compliance with applicable regulations," said Margaret O' K. Glavin, FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. Last year, the FDA slapped a countrywide alert on all Chinese eel after tests showed residues of an antimicrobial agent, she said. Since then, and "despite extensive communications between FDA and appropriate Chinese authorities to correct the problem, we have continued to find residues of certain veterinary drugs or food additives that are not permitted for use in the United States," she added. Glavin said the FDA inspects 5 percent of seafood from China. The first alert on Chinese seafood occurred before 2001, she said. "We're not asking for this product to be withdrawn from the market or for people to take this out of their freezers and throw it away," Acheson said. "This is a long-term health concern; it is not an acute health concern." China is not the sole offender, Glavin said. Import alerts have been ordered for firms in the Philippines, Mexico "and several others," though this is the first countrywide import alert, she said. More than 80 percent of shrimp eaten in the United States is imported, including 7 percent from China, according to the National Fisheries Institute. About 10 percent of catfish eaten in the United States comes from China, the seafood industry advocacy group said. Last year, the United States imported 590,299 metric tons of shrimp from abroad; 68,150 metric tons of which came from China, according to the Department of Commerce. The United States imported $1.2 billion of fish from China in 2004, according to

Question: What weren't allowed in U.S. fish?

Question: When will imports be allowed again?

Question: Where did the FDA block seafood items from?

Question: When did FDA start blocking these imports?

Answer: drugs and unsafe food additives,"

Answer: until their importers can prove they are not contaminated.

Answer: China

Answer: Thursday

Summary:
FDA blocks import of shrimp, catfish, eel, basa and dace from China .
Fish won't be allowed until importers prove they are safe .
The fish were treated with antibiotics and antifungal medication .
The antibiotics are not allowed in U.S. fish .


ROCKWOOD, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Four generations of Saylors have worked the family's dairy farm for nearly a century, but for the past three years, the cows have been doing something besides providing milk: They've been helping power the place. "The farm used to get a lot of complaints," says farmer Shawn Saylor. "It used to stink a lot." Growing up on the sprawling spread 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, 36-year-old farmer Shawn Saylor developed into a self-described science buff. So it was no surprise that, when faced with rising energy costs, Saylor turned to technology. He tapped into an abundant and easily accessible energy source: manure from about 600 cows.  Watch how cow poo powers the farm » "It's a pretty simple process. There's not really a lot to it," Saylor said. "Manure comes from the cows, and there's energy left in the manure." The process is known as anaerobic digestion, and here's how it works: With the help of a mechanical scraper in the barn, manure drops into a 19,000-gallon tank. The slurry then moves into the digester, which is 16 feet deep and 70 feet in diameter. It's heated there for about 16 days while the bacteria break down the organic matter in order to produce methane gas. That gas is burned in two engine generators to make electricity.  See an interactive explaining the process » Heat created by the generators keeps the digester hot, heats the buildings around the farm and helps provide hot water. The electricity is used to power this farm and a dozen neighboring homes, Saylor said. And there's still some left over, which he sells back to the grid. Overall, the poo power helps Saylor's bottom line. "In savings, there's $200,000 a year, in either extra income from sale of electricity or cost offsets," he said. "So you're talking about system project costs of over a million dollars to build the system but a payback of five years or less." Before he installed the system, the pungent smell from the cows could linger for three to four days, Saylor said. "The farm used to get a lot of complaints from motorists, which is understandable. It used to stink a lot." Now, the digesters reduce 98 percent of all odor, although he admits that if the wind blows, you still "get a whiff." The farm's leftover solid waste is sold to the community. "We use it for bedding for the animals," according to Saylor. "A lot of people like to get it for their gardens ... because it doesn't smell much." Farm-based digesters became popular in the United States during the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. But the technology didn't catch on, possibly because of the high operational costs and declining energy prices, according to the Department of Agriculture. Although Saylor had been interested in digesters for years, his dream didn't become reality until 2006. That's when he received a $600,000 grant from Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection. But Saylor's work isn't done. He intends to make his farm entirely self-sufficient by using waste vegetable oil to make biodiesel fuel. He said his goal is to waste nothing. "In a biodiesel system, all the waste products can either be used or fed back into the digester to make more gas," he said. "I've always looked at new technologies and believed you kind of have to work with that stuff to stay with the future."

Question: What is the waste used for?

Question: What does the farmer say?

Question: What can cow manure be converted into to save money?

Question: How many cows live on the farm?

Question: what does dairy farmer say

Question: What is anaerobic digestion?

Question: What process helps cut dairy farm's odor?

Question: what does he say

Question: how many cows?

Answer: to power this farm and a dozen neighboring homes,

Answer: "The farm used to get a lot of complaints,"

Answer: energy source:

Answer: 600

Answer: "The farm used to get a lot of complaints,"

Answer: drops into a 19,000-gallon tank. The slurry then moves into the digester, which is 16 feet deep and 70 feet in diameter. It's heated there for about 16 days while the bacteria break down the organic matter in order to produce methane gas. That gas is burned in two engine generators to make electricity.

Answer: digesters

Answer: "The farm used to get a lot of complaints,"

Answer: 600

Summary:
Dairy farmer says he saves money by converting cow manure to electricity .
Remaining waste from 600 cows is used as fertilizer and mulch .
Anaerobic digestion became popular in United States in 1970s .
He says process also helps cut dairy farm's odor .