WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Leading Republicans warned Sunday that the Obama administration's $800 billion-plus economic stimulus effort will lead to what one called a "financial disaster." The country will "pay dearly" if it executes the president's stimulus plans, Sen. Richard Shelby says. "Everybody on the street in America understands that," said Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. "This is not the right road to go. We'll pay dearly." Shelby, of Alabama, told CNN's "State of the Union" that the package and efforts to shore up the struggling banking system will put the United States on "a road to financial disaster." But Lawrence Summers, the head of the administration's National Economic Council, said Republicans have lost their credibility on the issue.  Watch Republicans criticize the stimulus bill » "Those who presided over the last eight years -- the eight years that brought us to the point where we inherit trillions of dollars of deficit, an economy that's collapsing more rapidly than at any time in the last 50 years -- don't seem to me in a strong position to lecture about the lessons of history," Summers told ABC's "This Week." President Barack Obama, his advisers and the Democratic leaders of Congress argue the roughly $830 billion measure will help pull the U.S. economy out of its current skid. Much of the package involves infrastructure spending, long-term energy projects and aid to cash-strapped state and local governments. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the measure is likely to create between 1.3 million and 3.9 million jobs by the end of 2010, lowering a projected unemployment rate of 8.7 percent by up to 2.1 percentage points. But the CBO warned the long-term effect of that much government spending over the next decade could "crowd out" private investment, lowering long-term economic growth forecasts by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent by 2019. In a concession to Republicans, about a third of the bill involves tax cuts. But the measure is expected to have only minimal GOP support when it goes to a scheduled vote early this week.  Watch South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford warn of "disastrous consequences » The version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives had no Republican votes. "We need to spend money on infrastructure and on other programs that will immediately put people to work. But this is not it," said Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, last year's GOP presidential nominee. Senators reached a tentative agreement Friday on a compromise bill largely negotiated by a handful of moderate Republicans whose votes are needed to prevent a filibuster. But McCain told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the package should have been about half the size of the one now before senators, and should be balanced between tax cuts and spending. "We're going to amass the largest debt in the history of this country, by any measurement, and we're going to ask our kids and grandkids to pay for it," he said. The stimulus bill includes about $45 billion in transportation spending, much of which can be spent on projects "that can be implemented immediately," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told CNN. LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, said he would talk to his former colleagues on Capitol Hill "and do all that I can to persuade them that this bill really will put people to work." He said he invited state transportation chiefs to Washington for a Wednesday meeting on how to create jobs using funding from the stimulus bill. "There aren't going to be any boondoggles. This money will be spent correctly, by the book, with no shortcuts," LaHood said. The administration is also readying a second phase of the financial bailout program launched by the Bush administration last fall. Shelby said Obama and his advisers need to address the staggering problems in the U.S. banking system first. "Until we straighten out our banking system, until there is trust in our banking system,

Question: What channel did Shelby talk to?

Question: What needs to be addressed or the economy "will continue to tank"?

Question: What does McCain state?

Question: What did Senator McCain say we need?

Question: What will put the U.S. on "a road to financial disaster" ?

Question: What will happen to the economy unless the banking system is addressed?

Question: What did McCain say about the US economy?

Question: What do we need to spend money on?

Question: What state does Shelby represent?

Question: What will put the US on a road to financial disaster?

Answer: CNN's

Answer: staggering problems in the U.S. banking system

Answer: "We need to spend money on infrastructure and on other programs that will immediately put people to work. But this is not it,"

Answer: spend money on infrastructure and on other programs that will immediately put people to work.

Answer: struggling banking system

Answer: financial disaster."

Answer: immediately put people to work.

Answer: infrastructure

Answer: Alabama,

Answer: economic stimulus effort

Summary:
Sen. Shelby: Package plus bank bailout will put U.S. on "a road to financial disaster"
Shelby: Economy "will continue to tank" unless banking system is addressed first .
Crisis will deepen without significant economic boost, Democratic senator tells CBS .
Sen. McCain: We need to spend money to create jobs, but not this way .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Leon Panetta, chief of staff in President Bill Clinton's White House, will be President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be CIA director, two Democratic officials told CNN on Monday. Leon Panetta, who has a strong background in economics, was chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. The officials also said retired Adm. Dennis Blair, who formerly headed the U.S. Navy's Pacific Command, will be tapped as director of national intelligence. Panetta, 70, has had a long political career, beginning in 1966 when he served as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Thomas H. Kuchel. R-California. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1977, serving California's 16th (now 17th) District until Clinton appointed him to head the Office of Budget and Management in 1993. He was chief of staff from 1994 to 1997. Panetta and his wife, Sylvia, founded and co-direct the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University, which provides study opportunities for students there and at several other schools. He serves on several boards and committees, and lectures internationally on economics. With a strong background in economics, Panetta has little hands-on experience in intelligence. But he is known as a strong manager with solid organizational skills. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be the new chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had not been told in advance of Panetta's selection. "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time," the California Democrat said. But Sen. Ron Wyden, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, said he was consulted on the pick and praised Panetta. "I believe he has the skills to usher in a new era of accountability at the nation's premier intelligence agency," said Wyden, D-Oregon. "For too long our nation's intelligence community has operated under a policy of questionable effectiveness and legality in which consulting two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee counted as 'consulting with Congress.' " Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, also questioned Panetta's lack of intelligence experience, as did outgoing committee chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, wouldn't comment until Obama makes an announcement, but his spokesman said that Hoekstra "has called for a new direction and a change in the culture a the CIA for some time." "Whether it is Leon Panetta or someone else, it is important the agency move in a new direction," Jamal Ware said. Blair, 61, was a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and attended Oxford University in Britain as a Rhodes scholar at the same time as Clinton. Blair retired from the Navy in 2002. He was the CIA's first associate director of military support and served on the National Security Council. He has been sharply critical of U.S. policy in terms of strategic long-term planning. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on Obama's cabinet picks "I am in awe of the sophisticated strategies that American politicians can devise and pursue over many years," he told a House panel in July. "They involve very public activities -- speeches, programs, alliances -- but also backroom deals, and stratagems, tactical flexibility but strategic constancy, investment in intellectual and organizational capabilities that will not pay off for years. "I have yet to see these same brilliant politicians come up with similar strategies to advance the national interest when they come into national office. Our national strategies show little of the depth, brilliance and effectiveness of the domestic political strategies this country produces." Blair also is known in Navy circles for once trying to water-ski behind the destroyer he skippered, the USS Cochrane.

Question: What did Feinstein say is the best way the CIA can be served?

Question: who said she wasn't told Panetta was picked?

Question: Who says she wasn't told Panetta was picked?

Question: What is  best served by "an intelligence professional in charge"?

Question: Who is to be the directory of national intelligence?

Question: who is Barack Obama's choice for CIA director?

Question: Who is the top choice by Obama for CIA director?

Question: Who is to be tapped as director of national intelligence?

Answer: having an intelligence professional in charge at this time,"

Answer: Sen. Dianne Feinstein,

Answer: Sen. Dianne Feinstein,

Answer: the agency

Answer: Adm. Dennis Blair,

Answer: Leon Panetta,

Answer: Leon Panetta,

Answer: Adm. Dennis Blair,

Summary:
Next Senate intelligence chairwoman says she wasn't told Panetta was picked .
Sen. Feinstein: CIA best served by "an intelligence professional in charge"
Panetta is Barack Obama's choice for CIA director, two Democratic officials say .
Officials: Retired Adm. Dennis Blair to be tapped as director of national intelligence .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Libya has paid $1.5 billion to the families of terrorism victims, overcoming the final obstacle to full relations with the United States, the State Department said Friday.

Police officers survey the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988.

The payment ends Tripoli's legal liability in U.S. terror cases and paves the way for increased U.S. involvement in the oil-rich nation.

President Bush signed an executive order Friday restoring Libyan immunity from terrorism-related lawsuits and dismissing pending cases over compensation as part of a deal reached this summer.

David Welch, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, who negotiated the agreement, called Libya's rehabilitation from a terrorist nation to a U.S. ally "historic."

The pact closes the book on a contentious period in U.S.-Libyan relations, which began in the 1980s with a series of attacks involving the two countries, including the bombings of Pan Am flight 103, a German disco and U.S. airstrikes over Libya.

U.S. business executives hope the new relationship will lead to billions of dollars of new investment in Libya, a country rich in petroleum reserves but lacking a developed infrastructure.

This summer, the United States and Libya signed a deal for the State Department to create a $1.8 billion compensation fund to finalize the claims for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of La Belle disco in Berlin, Germany. It also compensates Libyan victims of U.S. airstrikes in the 1980s.

Congress unanimously adopted the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, sponsored by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, which cleared the way to end the feud and created the victim compensation fund.

Under the agreement, Libya pays more than $500 million to settle remaining claims from the Lockerbie case and more than $280 million for victims of the disco bombing. It will also set aside funds to compensate victims of several other incidents blamed on Libya, although Libya has not accepted responsibility.

In exchange, Libya will now be exempt from legislation passed this year enabling terrorism victims to be compensated using frozen assets of governments blamed for attacks. Tripoli sought the protection to encourage U.S. companies to invest in Libya without fear of being sued by terrorism victims or their families.

An initial payment of $300 million was received this month, after the opening of a U.S. trade office in Libya and a historic visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Another $600 million was received Thursday and the remaining $600 million Friday, Welch said, adding that the families could start receiving payments within days.

The remaining $300 million will go to Libyan victims of the bombing in Libya by U.S. warplanes in 1986. Libyans say dozens of people died in the U.S. air attack, including an adopted daughter of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

President Reagan ordered the attacks on Tripoli and Benghazi after two U.S. soldiers were killed and 79 Americans were injured in the 1986 Berlin disco bombing.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 killed 270 people, including 189 Americans. Of the dead, 259 people died on board the plane and another 11 on the ground.

Libya has paid 268 families involved in the Pan Am bombing $8 million each of a $10 million settlement. But it withheld the remaining $2 million owed to each family over a dispute regarding U.S. obligations to Tripoli.

A group of relatives of Pan Am victims said in a statement Friday that they applauded Libya's fulfillment of the agreement.

"The Pan Am 103 families deeply appreciate Sen. Lautenberg's work to urge the administration to take every step to bring the agreement to fruition," spokeswoman Kara Weipz said in the statement. "While our loved ones will never be forgotten, we are glad this chapter in our efforts is finally over."

Ties between the two countries began to improve in 2003, when Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction program and began compensating Lockerbie victims. But lingering lawsuits prevented the two countries from fully normalizing ties.

The State Department has said the deal was pursued on a "purely humanitarian basis and does not constitute

Question: What Middle Eastern country is referred to?

Question: Payment is part of what?

Question: What ends Libyan liability?

Question: What is the result of the deal?

Question: What do the tensions go back to?

Question: Who is now exempt from legislation?

Question: Country that is exempt from legislation allowing victime compensation?

Question: The airstrike attack was on what aircraft?

Question: What specific Pan Am flight is mentioned?

Question: What does the deal end?

Answer: Libya

Answer: ends Tripoli's legal liability

Answer: The payment

Answer: Libya has paid $1.5 billion to the families of terrorism victims,

Answer: attacks involving the two countries,

Answer: Libya

Answer: Libya

Answer: Pan Am Flight 103

Answer: 103

Answer: Tripoli's legal liability in U.S. terror cases

Summary:
Payment is part of multitiered plan to normalize relations between the two countries .
Tensions go back to attacks on Pan Am 103, German disco, U.S. airstrikes .
Libya now exempt from legislation allowing victim compensation from frozen assets .
Deal ends Libyan liability in terror cases, paves way for U.S. investment .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Libya will pay hundreds of millions of dollars to victims of terrorist attacks involving Americans in an agreement signed and finalized Thursday, the U.S. State Department said. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, left, and Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Fitouri sign the deal. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch signed the deal in Tripoli, Libya, on Thursday. If implemented, the deal will end Libya's legal liability in numerous lawsuits from families of victims of what the United States considers Libyan terrorist acts. It also paves the way for stronger ties between the two nations and increased U.S. involvement in the oil-rich nation. "This resolves the last major historical issue that has stood in the way of a more normal relationship between our two countries," Welch said. The deal had hinged on congressional approval. Last month, just before leaving for summer recess, Congress unanimously adopted the Libyan Claims Resolution Act, sponsored by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-New Jersey. The legislation cleared the way to end the feud with Libya over terrorist attacks and creates a fund for victim payments. "The Libyans didn't believe that Congress would ever be helpful, and Congress didn't think Libya would ever do it," Welch said Thursday. "We found a diplomatic way to accommodate both sides by turning suspicion into an asset." Under the new law, Congress gives the Bush administration the authority to restore sovereign immunity for Libya only when the United States receives the agreed-upon money to pay American claimants in the fund and the secretary of state certifies it.  See a timeline of events following the Pan Am attack » Once the money is received into the fund, Libya would be exempted from legislation passed this year enabling terrorism victims to be compensated from frozen assets of governments blamed for attacks. The 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 270 people, including 189 Americans. The 1986 La Belle disco bombing in Berlin, Germany, killed two American servicemen and injured 79 Americans. Libya has paid 268 families involved in the Pan Am bombing $8 million each of a $10 million settlement. It was withholding the remaining $2 million owed to each family over a dispute regarding U.S. obligations to Tripoli. Under the deal, Libya would pay more than $500 million to settle remaining claims from the Lockerbie case and more than $280 million for victims of the La Belle disco, according to Jim Kreindler, the lead attorney for the Pan Am families. It would also set aside funds to compensate victims of several other incidents blamed on Libya but for which Libya hasn't accepted responsibility. The total settlement could exceed $1 billion. The pact, supported by the victims' families, closes the book on a contentious period in U.S.-Libyan relations. Ties between the two countries began to improve in 2003, when Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction program and began compensating Lockerbie victims. But lingering lawsuits prevented the two countries from fully normalizing ties. A joint U.S.-Libya statement issued Thursday in Tripoli said "both parties welcomed the establishment of a process to provide fair compensation for their respective nationals, and thereby turn their focus to the future of their bilateral relationship." This spring, Libya made a proposal to the Bush administration that held some promise in settling the dispute, Welch said. Over the next several months, he and State Department lawyers held closed-door negotiating sessions with the Libyan delegation in London, England; Paris, France; Berlin; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he finally secured a tentative agreement in late July. The afternoon he came back from Abu Dhabi, Welch met with Lautenberg and urged passage of the legislation. Welch said Libya would expect an end to the claims and put the longstanding dispute with Libya to rest, despite the lingering mistrust of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. "This could not have worked without a great deal of honesty on everyone's part," Welch said. On Thursday, Lautenberg issued a statement expressing satisfaction with the agreement. "For too many years, Libya has

Question: Who will be exempt from law allowing terror victims to be paid with frozen assets?

Question: What does the deal end?

Question: What did the deal end?

Question: How much does Libya have to pay to settle?

Question: How much will libya pay?

Answer: Libya

Answer: Libya's legal liability in numerous lawsuits

Answer: Libya's legal liability in numerous lawsuits

Answer: hundreds of millions of dollars

Answer: hundreds of millions of dollars

Summary:
Deal ends Libya's liability in lawsuits from families of victims of terrorist acts .
Libya to pay more than $700 million to settle Lockerbie, La Belle disco cases .
Libya will be exempt from law allowing terror victims to be paid with frozen assets .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is set to deliver the Republican response to President Obama's upcoming joint address to Congress, a high-profile slot the party often gives to one of its rising stars. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, 37, will give GOP response to President Obama's address to Congress this month. "Gov. Jindal embodies what I have long said: The Republican Party must not be simply the party of 'opposition,' but the party of better solutions," House Minority Leader John Boehner said in a Wednesday statement. Jindal, a former congressman in his first term as Louisiana's governor, was widely believed to be on Republican presidential nominee John McCain's short list for vice president, and he often served as a campaign surrogate on the Arizona senator's behalf. The 37-year-old son of Indian immigrants also was given a prime-time speaking slot at the GOP convention last September, though he ultimately decided not to attend the four-day event as Hurricane Gustav headed for landfall in his state. An Ivy League grad and Rhodes Scholar, and his state's first nonwhite governor, Jindal has long been on the GOP's radar screen as a potential future leader and likely presidential candidate. And as the GOP is launching full-scale efforts to appeal to nonwhite voters, Jindal has become one of the party's most high-profile minorities. "His stewardship of the state of Louisiana, dedication to reforming government and commitment to bringing forth new and innovative ideas make him a leader not just within the Republican Party, but in our nation as a whole," Boehner also said of Jindal on Wednesday. Jindal, who became governor two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana, has drawn praise for spearheading the ongoing recovery efforts. "When you look at major statewide offices Republicans have won over the past three years, there is one, Louisiana," said Alex Castellanos, a CNN contributor and Republican strategist. "In a state where we lost confidence in government, perhaps more than any other state, he restored it and cut taxes." Though he is often mentioned as a likely contender for the 2012 Republican presidential race, Jindal has said his current focus is on winning reelection in 2011. Jindal also said late last year that even if he were considering running for president, now is the time to support the sitting president. "It doesn't matter whether you're Republican, Democrat or independent, it doesn't matter whether you voted for him or not, President-elect Barack Obama is our president," he said. The White House announced on Tuesday that Obama will deliver the annual State of the Union address to both houses of Congress on February 24. In 2008, Democrats tapped Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius -- then considered to be a possible vice presidential candidate -- to give the rebuttal speech to former President Bush's final State of the Union address. Other Democrats who delivered responses to Bush's State of the Unions include Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, and former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, the nation's first Chinese-American governor. The last Republican to deliver a response to a State of the Union address was Maine Sen. Susan Collins in 2000.

Question: When will President Obama will deliver it?

Question: What will President Obama will deliver?

Question: What will Obama deliver?

Question: He has drawn praise for what?

Question: What does Jindal embody?

Answer: February 24.

Answer: the annual State of the Union address

Answer: joint address to Congress,

Answer: spearheading the ongoing recovery efforts.

Answer: The Republican Party must not be simply the party of 'opposition,' but the party of better solutions,"

Summary:
Jindal embodies image as "party of better solutions," House Minority leader says .
The Ivy League grad and Rhodes Scholar is viewed as a likely presidential candidate .
The first-term governor has drawn praise for spearheading Katrina recovery efforts .
President Obama will deliver The State of the Union address on February 24 .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Margie Brandquist wears a framed photo of her sister, who died in a plane crash three months ago. Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial near the site of a plane crash in Clarence Center, New York, in February. Her sister, Mary Pettys, 51, was engaged to be married when her Continental Connection Flight 3407 went down in icy conditions near Buffalo, New York. The flight, operated by regional carrier Colgan Air, plunged into a house in Clarence Center, killing all 49 people on board and one man in the house. Brandquist is one of several of the victims' family members attending this week's National Transportation Safety Board hearing on Capitol Hill. Brandquist wants to know why the pilot, who failed several flight tests before joining the airline, never received hands-on training with the emergency equipment that was activated before the crash. "We put our lives in the hands of people that we assume that the [Federal Aviation Administration] and the airlines are properly training," she told CNN's Randi Kaye. The safety board resumed its three-day hearing Wednesday.  Watch hearing consider whether crash could have been avoided » At Tuesday's hearing, Colgan Air acknowledged that Capt. Marvin Renslow never trained on the "stick pusher" emergency system in a flight simulator. But in a written statement, the carrier said that both Renslow and First Officer Rebecca Shaw had received other specific training about how to handle situations like those that preceded the crash. It said that the company provides FAA-approved ground training and that "Captain Renslow and First Officer Shaw had thorough initial and recurrent training" on how to handle a stall. "Captain Renslow and First Officer Shaw did know what to do, had repeatedly demonstrated they knew what to do, but did not do it," the statement said. "We cannot speculate on why they did not use their training in dealing with the situation they faced." Anne Marie Russo, whose daughter Madeline died in the crash, watched Tuesday's televised hearing at a hotel in Newark, New Jersey, with other families who lost loved ones on the flight. "This should not have happened," she said. "These 50 people should be enjoying their life right now." She said she believes that cost-cutting measures by airlines may have been a factor in the crash. "Maybe the training has to be more safer, more satisfactory for the public," she said. "This is tragedy that happened to these 49, 50 people, it could happen to any one of us." Dan Marzolf, who also lost a loved one in the crash, said the hearing was very technical, but he hopes "to get to some conclusions." "I really do hope good will come from these meetings," he told CNN's affiliate in Buffalo, WGRZ. On Tuesday, the safety board investigators released a transcript of the cockpit voice recording from moments before the crash. The last sounds heard were Shaw saying, "We're" and then screaming at 10:16 p.m. Seconds earlier, Renslow said, "Jesus Christ" as a sound "similar to stick shaker," an emergency warning system, was heard, the transcript said. Renslow said, "We're down," and a thump was heard. About five minutes before the crash, Shaw had shared with Renslow her fear of flying in icy conditions. "I don't want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. You know, I'd've freaked out. I'd've had like seen this much ice and thought, 'oh, my gosh, we were going to crash,' " Shaw told Renslow. The safety board's preliminary investigation determined that there was some ice accumulation on the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 aircraft but that "icing had a minimal impact on the stall speed of the airplane." At Tuesday's hearing, Colgan Air said Renslow, though not training physically on the "stick pusher," received more training

Question: What training did the pilot have?

Question: When was the accident?

Question: who is the pilot?

Question: Who is in charge of the investigation?

Question: What are the families doing?

Question: What information received the safety board about the pilot?

Answer: with the emergency equipment

Answer: three months ago.

Answer: Capt. Marvin Renslow

Answer: National Transportation Safety Board

Answer: attending this week's National Transportation Safety Board hearing on Capitol Hill.

Answer: a transcript of the cockpit voice recording from moments before the crash.

Summary:
NEW: Airline says officers "did know what to do ... but did not do it"
Families of victims of February crash near Buffalo, New York, watch hearing .
Safety board hears that pilot got no simulator training on one safety device .
FAA doesn't require such training; airline says pilot had classroom training .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill lost both his legs above the knees when a bomb exploded under his Humvee while on patrol in Iraq on October 15, 2006. He has 32 pins in his hip and a 6-inch screw holding his pelvis together.

Joshua Bleill, pictured here with his girlfriend, is walking again with the aid of prosthetics outfitted with Bluetooth.

Now, he's starting to walk again with the help of prosthetic legs outfitted with Bluetooth technology more commonly associated with hands-free cell phones.

"They're the latest and greatest," Bleill said, referring to his groundbreaking artificial legs.

Bleill, 30, is one of two Iraq war veterans, both double leg amputees, to use the Bluetooth prosthetics. Computer chips in each leg send signals to motors in the artificial joints so the knees and ankles move in a coordinated fashion.

Bleill's set of prosthetics have Bluetooth receivers strapped to the ankle area. The Bluetooth device on each leg tells the other leg what it's doing, how it's moving, whether walking, standing or climbing steps, for example.

"They mimic each other, so for stride length, for amount of force coming up, going uphill, downhill and such, they can vary speed and then to stop them again," Bleill told CNN from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he's undergoing rehab.

"I will put resistance with my own thigh muscles to slow them down, so I can stop walking, which is always nice."  Watch Bleill demonstrate his legs »

Bluetooth is the name for short-range wireless technology that can connect computers to printers, MP3 players to speakers and -- perhaps the most well-known use -- cell phones to ear pieces.

Older models of computer-controlled legs have to be "programmed" via wire by laptop computers before the amputee can use them. Those legs required more movement from the amputee's remaining thigh muscle to generate motion in the prosthetic leg.

Because of built-in motors, the Bluetooth legs allow Bleill to walk longer before he tires.

"We've compared walking several laps in both sets of legs and one, your legs come out burning and tired and these, you know, you sometimes are not even breaking a sweat yet."

Bleill says the technology also means he spends less time in a wheelchair. The Marine uses canes to walk with them. He's hoping to get to the point where he can use one cane regularly, and eventually lose the cane altogether.

"I can walk without canes, but it's not real pretty," he said.

This new generation of prosthetic technology was originally conceived to help amputees who had lost only one leg. But it's working for Bleill and Army Lt.Col. Gregory Gadson, who is also using the Bluetooth devices in his legs.

What they are experiencing will help future amputees.

"We are the first ever to try this, so it's learning day-to-day. The [prosthetics] company comes down on a regular basis and checks in with us," Bleill said.

Gadson, a former linebacker at West Point, said they are breaking new ground for amputees. "I think we are kind of pioneering and hopefully blazing a trail for others to try the technology also," he said.

But the technology is not without some problems.

"It's only going to react to how I move," Bleill said. "Unfortunately, sometimes I don't know those reactions, I don't know what I'm doing to make it react. So sometimes the leg kicks harder than I want it to, or farther, and then I start perpetuating, and I start moving faster than I really want to."

Aside from the Bluetooth technology, Bleill's legs have one other thing in common with a cell phone. They need to be charged overnight. Currently, there are no spare batteries available.

What are his long-range plans?

He just wants to make it back to his home state

Question: What kind of legs do they have?

Question: Who are using prosthetics outfitted with bluetooth?

Question: For what reason do they use bluetooth?

Question: Altogether how many artificial legs do the two vets have?

Question: What is Bluetooth?

Answer: prosthetics outfitted with Bluetooth.

Answer: Joshua Bleill,

Answer: prosthetics

Answer: Iraq war veterans, both double

Answer: short-range wireless technology that can connect computers to printers, MP3 players to speakers and

Summary:
2 wounded Iraq veterans are using prosthetics outfitted with Bluetooth .
Their artificial legs communicate via Bluetooth to coordinate movements .
Both vets are testing the legs for what could become more widespread use .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Members of the military may get expedited treatment at airport security checkpoints under a law signed Tuesday by President Obama.

The law, authored by Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minnesota, requires the Transportation Security Administration to study ways to speed up screening of service members and, to the extent possible, their families, when the service members are in uniform and traveling on orders.

Cravaack, a 24-year Navy veteran and former Northwest Airlines pilot, was inspired to introduce the bill after witnessing a soldier remove his boots while going through security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

"It seemed way too excessive for someone who was obviously a patriot serving his country," said the congressman's spokesman, Michael Bars.

The new law was signed just days after two incidents involving the same soldier at airports in North Carolina and Texas.

According to court records, Trey Scott Atwater, a 30-year-old Army Green Beret, had a military smoke grenade in his bag when he was leaving Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Christmas Eve headed for Texas. He was allowed to continue on his trip.

On Saturday, he was arrested at Midland International Airport in Texas on his return trip when TSA screeners found an undisclosed amount of C-4 explosives in his bag. Authorities said Atwater did not have a detonator and initiator, that it would not have been possible to detonate the explosives, and that it did not appear he was up to anything nefarious.

It was not immediately clear how any checkpoint changes would impact cases like Atwater's. Bars said the new law is intended to expedite screening, but not reduce security. Currently, the TSA expedites screening for trusted travelers by dedicating a special line for them, and by allowing them to keep their shoes on and keep laptops in their carry-on bags.

The new law says the TSA should establish guidelines for screening travelers in military uniforms and combat boots, and consider incorporating military personnel into trusted traveler programs that give preference to passengers who undergo pre-screening. Nothing in the law prohibits additional screening of the service member if intelligence or law enforcement information indicates that additional screening is necessary.

In November, TSA Administrator John Pistole told CNN that he was already working on ways to expedite screening for service members. The TSA was starting to tests its ability to scan military ID cards, known as "Common Access Cards," at a regional airport in Monterey, CA.

Pistole said the TSA test would not immediately result in quicker screening for service members. But if tests are successful, "we hope to expand that to airports that would have a large number of military personnel traveling through them," he said.

Supporters of the initiative said that by expediting the screening of military personnel, the TSA will have more time to focus on unknown travelers who could present a higher risk."

Question:
When do President obama sign the Bill?
who signed the law?
what is going to study the TSA?
What the new law required?

Answer: Tuesday

Answer: President Obama.

Answer: ways to speed up screening of service members and, to the extent possible, their families,

Answer: the Transportation Security Administration to study ways to speed up screening of service members and,

Summary:
A new law requires the TSA to study ways of speeding screening of military personnel .
President Obama signed the law on Tuesday .
The already is testing card scanning for military personnel .
Expediting military means the TSA can focus on higher-risk travelers, supporters say .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Michelle Rhee says she runs at 100 miles per hour. As the chancellor of one of the nation's lowest-performing school districts, she says she has no choice -- too much bureaucracy to cut through, too many problems to fix after decades of neglect. Michelle Rhee says a sense of urgency has been missing for years in the District of Columbia's schools. Rhee closed 23 schools in her first year as the head of the District of Columbia's public schools, fired 36 principals and cut 15 percent -- about 121 jobs -- from the central office staff. And she's making no apologies. "I think it's that sense of urgency that has been lacking for far too long in our public schools," Rhee told CNN as she began her second year on the job in late August. "We are always going to put the best interests of kids above the rights, privileges and priorities of adults."  Watch fighting for "radical changes" » Rhee said "radical" changes are needed because only 12 percent of the District's eighth graders are proficient in reading and just 8 percent are proficient in math, but was quick to add that they're already seeing improvement. She highlighted gains in elementary reading and secondary level math and reading in the past year that outstripped all of the four prior years put together. An annual report card by Education Week, a newspaper that follows the nation's education system, earlier this year ranked the District's school system last, giving it a D+ overall and an F for student achievement in kindergarten through 12th grade. Those grades were based on data prior to Rhee's arrival. "We need to see radical changes because the outcomes for kids that are happening right now are robbing them of their futures," said Rhee, a Democrat who supports President Bush's landmark education law known as No Child Left Behind.  Watch Rhee describe telling employee: "You need to find another job" » "We have scores of kids in this city who don't have the advocates that they need in their lives who are able to maneuver and jockey through the public school system. And we can't allow those children to languish in classrooms where teachers are not performing." Her plan is ambitious: To completely transform the District's system within eight years for its 50,000 children. The plan focuses on top-down accountability, quantitative results like standardized test scores and, ultimately, working to close what she describes as "the achievement gap between wealthy white kids and poor minority kids." "I think it's absolutely possible within an eight-year period," she said.  Watch D.C. schools need "urgency" » Rhee, who is Korean-American, is operating in a largely African-American district. It is a district where 57 percent of the students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. Rhee said when she first arrived on the job in 2007 she first heard whispers of: "She's not from D.C., she's not African-American: Is she going to be able to relate to students and their families?" "I think that all dissipated quite quickly after I started getting out into the community and talking to people," said Rhee, a 38-year-old mother of two children attending local public schools. "I think one of the things that comes across very clearly is the fact that I'm very passionate about this work. I'm very focused on it." But her plan to turn the failing school district on its head has met protest every step of the way, even from teachers. "I think the people who view her aggressive actions as a positive thing, I think they are missing the boat because if it results in more chaos and more dysfunction, it's not the solution that we need," said Kerry Sylvia, a teacher at Cardozo Senior High School in her ninth year. Sylvia says the District has seen far too many superintendents over the years and fears Rhee is just another in the long list of those who come in touting

Question: Who closed the schools?

Question: Whose best interests are placed above others?

Question: Who closed schools?

Question: what schools were closed?

Answer: Michelle Rhee

Answer: of kids

Answer: Rhee

Answer: District of Columbia's

Summary:
D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee closed 23 schools, fired 36 principals in first year .
"We are always going to put the best interests of kids above the rights ... of adults"
Critic says Rhee has created "more chaos and more dysfunction"
Mayor backs his appointee, says when schools fail, "you need to shake things up"


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Military hardware that can be used in nuclear devices and ground fighting can be easily purchased In the United States and shipped overseas, a government investigation revealed Thursday. This inclinometer, which can be

used in homemade bombs, was easily bought and shipped overseas. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) watchdog agency set up fake companies to obtain military and dual use items -- which have both military and commercial use -- in the United States and ship them overseas, according to a report made public at a House subcommittee hearing. The domestic purchases allow buyers to avoid U.S. restrictions on sales to foreign entities, it noted. Items purchased in the bogus transactions included parts for making nuclear devices and guiding missiles that could carry nuclear warheads, as well as night-vision devices, body armor and other hardware for ground combat, said the report provided to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. "There appears to be a gigantic loophole within our laws that makes it easy for our enemies to get hold of our superior military technology and use it against us," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan. Gregory Kutz, a GAO managing director who led the 13-month investigation, said it found "sensitive dual-use and military technology can be easily and legally purchased from manufacturers and distributors within the United States and illegally exported without detection." He stressed that no laws were broken by any of the companies that sold items to the undercover GAO operation, and that the magnitude of trying to check all overseas travelers and shipments made it impossible to halt illegal export of the items under current law. Committee members said the lack of regulation or export controls made the situation particularly troubling. "The scandal here may be what is legal, not what is illegal," said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon. However, he warned against excessive regulations that could stifle necessary commerce in items used by law enforcement, medical and other industries. Kutz held up some of the items purchased by undercover investigators, including a small device that looked like a spark plug called a triggered spark gap. The item has medical applications and can also be used to detonate a nuclear weapon, he said. Kutz also displayed a small device called a gyro chip that can be used to steer guided missiles. Other items on display in the committee room included some used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that target U.S. soldiers in Iraq, as well as sophisticated body armor and night-vision devices. Undercover investigators complied with all required checks in purchasing the equipment, Kutz said, including the submission of end-user agreements that forbid exporting the equipment or using it in any nuclear, biological and missile weapons. Such documents amount to an "honor system" pledge, rather than any enforcement mechanism, he said. The only further checks involved are confirming the validity of credit cards and the existence of Web sites, Kutz said. Most of the transactions took place by e-mail and telephone calls. "The kind of front company we used and the kind of scheme we used is the kind being used by terrorist organizations today," Kutz said. "This was not a hypothetical situation; this is being done." The investigation shipped some of the dual-use items to "a country that is a known trans-shipment point for terrorist governments and foreign governments attempting to acquire sensitive technology," Kutz said. He declined to name the country, but said it was in southeast Asia and that the shipments were simple packages labeled documents and sent by regular mail. "As GAO proves, a cardboard box and the U.S. Postal Service is all it takes to move dual-use items out of the country," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts. One of those duped by the investigation -- Nicholas Fitton, a technology dealer in Georgia -- told the committee he complied with all required checks in selling an F-16 engine computer to what he thought was a legitimate U.S. buyer. Asked by Stupak why anyone other than the military would need such a device, Fitton said his customers

Question: What is the hardware used for?

Question: What did GAO buy?

Question: What does the gigantic loophole do?

Question: What was purchased?

Question: What is the cause of enemies getting U.S. technology, according to a lawmaker?

Answer: in nuclear devices and ground fighting

Answer: military and dual use items

Answer: makes it easy for our enemies to get hold of our superior military technology and use it against us,"

Answer: Military hardware that can be used in nuclear devices and ground fighting

Answer: easily purchased In the United States and shipped overseas,

Summary:
Watchdog agency GAO buys military hardware, ships it overseas with ease .
Lawmaker: "Gigantic loophole" allows enemies to get U.S. technology .
Hardware that can be used in nuclear devices and ground fighting purchased .
"The scandal here may be what is legal, not what is illegal," representative says .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 170 people around the globe, including at least 61 in the United States, have been arrested in a major operation targeting international child pornographers, officials said Friday.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey and European Union representatives announced the sting's results Friday.

Operation Joint Hammer has rescued 11 girls in the United States, ages 3 to 13, who were sexually abused by child pornography producers, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and representatives of the European Union said at the Justice Department.

Dozens more were located in Europe, including several young female victims in Ukraine.

Authorities found connections between producers, distributors and customers in nearly 30 countries as a single investigation grew to a global inquiry into the dark corners of brutality and child abuse.

The investigation, code-named Operation Koala in Europe, was developed when investigators determined that a pornographic video found in Australia had been produced in Belgium.

"This joint EU-U.S. coordinated effort began with the discovery in Europe of a father who was sexually abusing his young daughters and producing images of that abuse," Mukasey said.

Further investigation showed a number of online child porn rings. Some included dangerous offenders who not only traded child pornography but also sexually abused children, the officials said.

Agents are still attempting to locate child victims whose images have appeared in photos and videos, and more arrests are expected as the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Postal Inspection Service continue the investigation.

A Postal Service official said ringleaders primarily targeted prepubescent female victims to satisfy their customers but noted that other groups produce photos and videos of boys and girls of all ages -- or even infants.

"For this subset, that's what turns them on," the official said.

Question: Who has been arrested?

Question: What was the sting on?

Question: What is the number of girls rescued in the US?

Question: Where was the video found?

Question: who was rescued

Question: What are US and European officials joining up  for?

Answer: More than 170 people around the globe, including at least 61 in the United States,

Answer: child pornographers,

Answer: 11

Answer: Australia

Answer: 11 girls in the United States, ages 3 to 13,

Answer: major operation targeting international child pornographers,

Summary:
U.S., European officials join for child pornographer sting .
11 girls ages 3 to 13 rescued in the United States, dozens more found in Europe .
Arrests turn up people who traded child porn, sexually abused children, officials say .
Inquiry began with pornographic video found in Australia that came from Belgium .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 3,000 U.S. troops scheduled to deploy to Iraq won't go after all, as the military tries to draw down troop levels in the war-torn country, a Pentagon spokesman said Saturday. U.S. troops speak to an Iraqi child in Baghdad on Monday. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division will not replace a North Carolina National Guard unit already in Iraq, Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh told CNN. The 3,500-troop combat team, based in Fort Drum, New York, was to leave in January, he said. "[The cancellation] reflects a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq and continued improvement in the ability of the Iraqi security forces to safeguard Iraqi citizens and institutions," Butterbaugh said. The National Guard unit is still on schedule to return home, which will speed up the drawdown of forces, he said. The troop withdrawal in Iraq coincides with a debate in the Obama administration on whether to send as many as 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. As of Friday, 250 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year, according to a CNN tally based on Pentagon numbers. The United States plans to withdraw all its combat troops from Iraq by August, leaving 50,000 in advisory roles. Those advisers are to leave by the end of 2011. Concerns that a delay in the upcoming Iraqi elections could put a dent in scheduled withdrawals was rejected Friday by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill. "As for our schedule of troop withdrawal, we've been pretty clear about when the troops would be withdrawn," he told CNN. "So our plan is to draw down the troops as we've said we're going [to] do." The polls are scheduled to open January 16, but both the United States and the United Nations are worried because Iraq still has no election law. If a new law isn't adopted, the government may have to change the election date or rely on the law used in the 2005 elections, some officials say. A vote on the new law is expected Monday. Pentagon officials also must weigh the impact of continuing violence in the country. Hill said the violence is a concern, as are insurgent efforts to undermine attempts at reconciliation in the divided country. "Reconciliation is a tough business. I mean I've been in some of these meetings with people, you know, they don't like each other, you have to get them to work together, get them to understand their futures are together, and then you get a bombing, which makes it even tougher," Hill said. "Again, I think the Iraqi people have really signaled that they are really sick and tired of this stuff."  Meanwhile, violence continued in Iraq on Saturday. Four soldiers were killed and 10 people, including civilians and security forces, were wounded when a bomb targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint exploded in Falluja, an Anbar province town, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. Elsewhere in Anbar, a suicide truck bomb hit a police checkpoint on a bridge west of Ramadi, wounding a police officer. The blast badly damaged the bridge, which carries a highway linking Iraq with Jordan and Syria, the official said. Traffic had to be rerouted to an another road. Anbar province, a massive region populated mostly by Sunni Arabs, had been a major front in the Iraqi war. The al Qaeda in Iraq militant group once held great sway in Anbar, but its influence lessened with the advent of U.S.-backed groups called Awakening Councils. CNN's Scott Spoerry and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.

Question: What is the name of the U.S. ambassador?

Question: What does the United States plan?

Question: What won't Iraqi elections delay?

Question: By when is the United States planning to withdraw all its combat troops?

Question: What do cancellations reflect?

Question: What do the cancellations reflect in Iraq?

Answer: Chris Hill.

Answer: to withdraw all its combat troops from Iraq by August,

Answer: schedule of troop withdrawal,

Answer: August,

Answer: a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq

Answer: a thorough assessment of the security environment in

Summary:
Cancellation reflects improved conditions in Iraq, official said .
Iraqi elections won't delay scheduled withdrawals U.S. says, Ambassador Chris Hill .
"Our plan is to draw down the troops as we've said we're going [to] do," says Hill .
The United States plans to withdraw all its combat troops from Iraq by August .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 35,000 fugitives across the United States were arrested in June as part of an annual sweep that teams the U.S. Marshals Service with local law enforcement in a summer push to clean up the streets, U.S. Marshals said Thursday. U.S. Marshals director John F. Clark says unregistered sex offenders were a major target. Among the 35,190 fugitives apprehended during Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Operating Nationally) were 2,356 fugitive sex offenders, the service said. "This might be considered the cream of the crop for the most violent felons that are out there. For example, we arrested 433 murder suspects," said U.S. Marshals director John F. Clark at a Chicago, Illinois, news conference. In the course of the operation, the marshals also confiscated 582 firearms and 2,400 kilograms of narcotics. "Often when we find fugitives in hiding, we have other fruits of their crimes: firearms, drugs, some other evidence of some type of criminal activity," Clark said. Unregistered sex offenders were a major target, Clark said. "We highlighted one [case] here in the Chicago area. It involved an individual who was alleged to have molested a 9-year-old girl. He had violated his parole, and after an investigation he was located," he said. "There's evidence of further crimes that happened since he didn't register as a sex offender. This is typical of the type of individual who is out there, somewhere on the streets of America, and is often harming children or others." One operation involved a Cleveland, Ohio, Police SWAT team and the U.S. Marshals, who were following a lead on Jeremiah Jackson, 29, who was wanted for murder, accused of shooting a woman in the back during a robbery. On June 9, the team surrounded a house where an intelligence surveillance team said Jackson might be. Jackson was reported to be armed and dangerous. But Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Koerbel said once Jackson saw the team, it had its man. "When he saw he really had nowhere to go, he gave himself up," said Koerbel. "He made the statement, 'I'm the guy you're looking for and I'll come right down.' " In Cleveland, Koerbel said, the program was a success. "We were able to arrest 1,211 people in a 30-day period. Five were for homicides," he said. Typically, the U.S. Marshals office in Cleveland arrests about 100 fugitives in any given month. "This is just the type of operation that brings us all together and shows we're a force of one and shows the community we're here and this is a safe place to raise a family," Koerbel said. Jackson was jailed on $10 million bond. He has not entered a plea  on the murder charge, but his father, Willie James Jackson, told CNN affiliate WJW the police have the wrong man.

Question: Who have U.S. marshals teamed with for annual sweep?

Question: how many arrested

Question: Who assisted the marshals

Question: who were arrested in cleveland

Question: how many were arrested in cleveland

Question: Raids netted what quantity of narcotics?

Question: who teams up for sweep

Answer: local law enforcement

Answer: 35,000

Answer: local law enforcement

Answer: Jeremiah Jackson,

Answer: 1,211

Answer: 2,400 kilograms

Answer: U.S. Marshals Service with local law enforcement

Summary:
U.S. marshals team with local law enforcement for annual sweep .
Nationwide operation apprehends 2,356 fugitive sex offenders, officials say .
Raids also net 433 murder suspects, 2,400 kilograms of narcotics .
In Cleveland, Ohio, officials arrest 1,211 people in 30 days .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than two dozen guests joined first lady Michelle Obama at the president's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.

Leonard Abess Jr. was recognized by President Obama during Tuesday's State of the Nation speech.

One person on the first lady's guest list was Leonard Abess Jr., a Miami banker who received a $60 million bonus from the proceeds from the sale of shares of City National Bank in Florida and gave it out to his 399 workers and 72 former workers.

During his speech, President Obama said Abess didn't tell anyone about his generosity, but when the local newspaper found out, Abess simply said, "I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn't feel right getting the money myself."

Abess demonstrates the kind of "responsibility" the president has called for from high-profile financial CEOs, the White House said.

Obama contrasted Abess' story with the greed that he said got the country into the problems it faces now.

"CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over," Obama said.

Obama also referenced in his speech an eighth-grader who wrote a letter to members of Congress appealing for help in rebuilding her deteriorating school.

Ty'Sheoma Bethea, a student at the J.V. Martin Junior High School in Dillon, South Carolina, was invited after a letter she sent lawmakers appealing for help rebuilding her school made its way to President Obama.

Obama talked about the school during his first news conference earlier in February as evidence of crumbling schools across the country.

Other guests of the first lady Tuesday night included injured Afghanistan veteran Spc. Jonathan N. James, equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter and Blake Jones, the co-founder and president of a solar electric company.

The president and first lady  also invited Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas -- one of the president's key Republican allies among the nation's governors in passing the massive $787 billion stimulus bill -- and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a key Democratic governor whose state is among the hardest hit by the economic downturn.

The practice of inviting guests to sit in the House Gallery is a tradition dating back to 1982 when president Ronald Reagan recognized Lenny Skutnick -- a good Samaritan who pulled a survivor out of the frozen Potomac River in Washington after an Air Florida plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge.

Since then, presidential administrations steadily increased the number of invitees to the first lady box, often including prominent athletes and celebrities, citizen heroes, members of the military, and individuals likely to benefit from policies proposed by the president.

It has also become customary for the president to acknowledge a handful of guests sitting in the box during his speech, especially those who have a particularly compelling story or illustrate a point he is trying to make.

Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an expansive guest list of her own, including hero-U.S. Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and several other crew members of flight 1549.

CNN's Alexander Mooney contributed to this report.

Question: What is the name of the banker?

Question: What did Abess demonstrate?

Question: Who got a prime seat at the Obama speech?

Question: Where was Abess from?

Question: What is the amount of money that Abess received?

Question: What did Abess do with his bonus?

Question: How large was Abess' bonus?

Question: What politician did Abess apparently support?

Question: Where did Abess demonstrate responsibility?

Question: How much was Abess bonus?

Answer: Leonard Abess Jr., a Miami banker

Answer: the kind of "responsibility" the president has called for from high-profile financial CEOs,

Answer: Leonard Abess Jr.

Answer: Miami

Answer: $60 million

Answer: gave it out to

Answer: $60 million

Answer: President Obama

Answer: Miami

Answer: $60 million

Summary:
Miami, Florida, banker Leonard Abess gets prime seat at Obama speech .
Abess received $60 million bonus, gave it to employees .
White House: Abess demonstrates "responsibility" Obama has called for .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More troops, new legislation, improved troop training and added civilian expertise highlight President Obama's strategy to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

President Obama, here with Hillary Clinton on Friday, calls the situation in Afghanistan "increasingly perilous."

Obama on Friday announced his plan to tackle what he called an "international security challenge of the highest order."

Stressing soberly that "the safety of people around the world is at stake," Obama said the "situation is increasingly perilous" in the region in and around Afghanistan, where the United States has been fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban for more than 7½ years after attacks in New York and at the Pentagon.

"The United States of America did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan. Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on September 11, 2001, for doing nothing more than going about their daily lives," said Obama, who has vowed to make Afghanistan the central front in the fight against terrorism.

"So let me be clear: Al Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan.  Watch how the U.S. will target terrorist safe havens »

"And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban -- or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged -- that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can."

Obama said it is key Americans understand that Pakistan "needs our help" against al Qaeda.

"Al Qaeda and other violent extremists have killed several thousand Pakistanis since 9/11. They have killed many Pakistani soldiers and police. They assassinated [former Pakistani Prime Minister] Benazir Bhutto. They have blown up buildings, derailed foreign investment and threatened the stability of the state. Make no mistake: Al Qaeda and its extremist allies are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within."  Watch Obama's speech on Afghanistan, Pakistan threats »

Flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Obama called on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Richard Lugar, R-Indiana.

The legislation authorizes "$1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistani people every year over the next five years -- resources that will build schools, roads and hospitals and strengthen Pakistan's democracy," he said.

He also urged Congress to pass legislation that would create opportunity zones in the border region. The goal is to develop the economy and bring hope to places plagued by violence. Obama said, "We will ask our friends and allies to do their part," including at a donors conference next month in Tokyo, Japan.

"After years of mixed results, we will not provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders. And we will insist that action be taken -- one way or another -- when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets. "

Obama said the United States must work with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and others to help Pakistan get through the economic crisis.

"To lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations that too often teeter on the edge of escalation and confrontation, we must pursue constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan."

Afghan President Harmid Karzai watched the speech on CNN from Kabul, said Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Karzai "is extremely grateful and will issue his statement of support," Holbrooke said.

Obama stressed that "Afghanistan has been denied the resources that it demands because of the war in Iraq" and now a commitment must be made.

Obama said he is sending another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan, along with hundreds of civilian specialists, such as agricultural experts, educators and engineers. The troops -- which are in addition to the 17,000 announced earlier -- will be charged with training and building

Question: How much aid is being sent to Pakistan?

Question: how many specialists are to be deployed?

Question: How much more troops U.S will send to Afghanistan?

Question: How much will costs Afghan strategy?

Question: how many more troops is the US sending?

Question: who is al queda planning attacks against?

Answer: "$1.5 billion

Answer: hundreds of civilian

Answer: 4,000

Answer: "$1.5 billion

Answer: 4,000

Answer: U.S.

Summary:
Intelligence shows al Qaeda planning attacks on U.S., President Obama says .
Part of Afghan strategy is $1.5 billion annually for five years in aid for Pakistan .
U.S. to send 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan as well as 17,000 announced earlier .
Hundreds of civilian specialists also to be deployed .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Most of the Supreme Court justices piled up a lot frequent flyer miles in 2007, jetting to such exotic locales as Austria, India and Hawaii, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court justices at a shoot for their 2006 "class photo."

And they generally have a good bit of spending money for their travels, based on reported investment income.

The records, which were released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, confirm what has been known for some time: that most of the justices are relatively well-off financially.

The eight associate justices make $208,100 in annual wages plus income from a variety of resources. Federal judges are not required to publicly release exact income figures, just a general range.

The wealthiest justice may be David Souter, with a wise investment he made years ago in a Vermont bank paying off handsomely. His assets in Chittenden Corp. are valued from $5 million to $25 million.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's asset totals are boosted by the fact that her husband, Martin, is a respected private tax attorney in Washington.

Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens and Antonin Scalia are also millionaires. Justice Samuel Alito, the newest member of the high court, also reported income ranging from $700,000 to $2 million.

In the area of reported gifts, Alito cited about $500 in "Italian food and wine" given to him by a friend, about whom the justice helpfully noted it "is not likely that he will appear before this court."

The latest financial records continue to show Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas reporting assets under $1 million, not including homes and judicial salaries.

Thomas received a one-time boost to his income when his best-selling memoir was released in October. He received the remaining half of a reported million-dollar book advance and traveled extensively on a book promotion and signing tour.

Scalia also received an advance for his book on how to be a better appellate lawyer. The amount was relatively paltry compared to his colleague's: $33,000.

The annual records show that Breyer, Ginsburg, Kennedy and Scalia were the busiest travelers. Each made multiple visits overseas to teach, give speeches or attend judicial seminars.

Airfare, lodging and meals were generally paid for by the organizations that invited the justices, but under federal law, they must report it.

Europe was a favorite destination for several justices.

Breyer reported 21 out-of-town trips for which he was reimbursed, including to Paris, France; Rome, Italy; New Delhi, India; and Palm Springs, California.

Ginsburg went overseas to France, Belgium, Ireland and Canada and made at least nine other domestic trips.

In the same week in July, Kennedy and Chief Justice Roberts were in France and Austria, respectively.

But the Most Traveled Award goes to Scalia, who made 33 expense-paid trips, including eight overseas, and visited at least 17 states.

Only Souter and Stevens reported no trips for which they were reimbursed by sponsoring groups. Souter also reported no outside teaching gigs, trustee or board memberships, or any gifts received.

The 68-year-old bachelor generally spends his extended time away from the high court at his isolated farm in rural New Hampshire.

Chief Justice John Roberts may have the most diverse investment portfolio. He recorded 63 investments and trusts, including stock in Time Warner (parent company of CNN), Citicorp, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.

The estimated value is from about $2.4 million to more than $6 million.

Before becoming a federal judge, Roberts was a high-paid Washington lawyer. His judicial salary is $217,400.

Roberts, 53, continued to sell off small amounts of common stock, including in Cisco and Citigroup. When he took over as chief justice in 2005, he was forced to sell stock in several companies.

A bill passed two years ago in Congress allows federal judges to defer paying capital gains taxes on securities they sell to avoid conflicts of

Question:
Who is the busiest traveller?
Who is the wealthiest member?
What is Souter's job?
In what year did Alito make the trips?
Who is chief justice?

Answer: Breyer, Ginsburg, Kennedy and Scalia

Answer: David Souter,

Answer: U.S. Supreme Court justices

Answer: 2007,

Answer: John Roberts

Summary:
Reports show David Souter may be the wealthiest member of Supreme Court .
Samuel Alito, the busiest traveler, made 33 expense-paid trips in 2007 .
Chief Justice John Roberts recorded 63 investments and trusts .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Mountainous terrain and harsh weather in remote parts of Afghanistan have proven a deadly combination for the U.S. military in its push to reduce mounting violence in the country. CNN obtained this photo of a U.S. helicopter above Forward Operating Base Keating in the Nuristan province. On Saturday, Taliban militants attacked American and Afghan troops in the Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan. Eight American troops and two members of the Afghan national security forces were killed, according to the Pentagon. It was the largest number of Americans killed by hostile action in a single day since July 13, 2008, when nine troops died, according to CNN records. The fighting was so fierce that at one point U.S. forces "had to collapse in on themselves," a U.S. military official with knowledge of the latest intelligence reports on the incident told CNN. These revelations about the battle that engulfed Forward Operating Base Keating are a further indication of how pinned down and outmanned the troops were.  Watch more on the attack in rural Afghanistan » The base was scheduled to be closed in the next few days, CNN has learned. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, wanted to cede remote outposts and consolidate troops in more populated areas to better protect Afghan civilians. It's a point he reiterated over the summer. "Practically speaking, there are areas that are controlled by Taliban forces," he told the Los Angeles Times in late July. Over time, McChrystal said, the command would "reduce" those areas, but the first priority will be to make sure populated areas are free of insurgent influence. The deadly attack over the weekend and the July 2008 attack in Wanat, just 20 miles away, serve to underscore, some say, that the reduction isn't happening.  View an interactive map of the two attacks » It's an assessment that one veteran military observer discussed in a column earlier this year. "Screwups are inevitable in war. But there are serious questions to be addressed," Foreign Policy magazine's Tom Ricks wrote in a January 2009 online article. "As one Army source put it to me, 'The paratroopers sent to Wanat knew they were in big trouble. ... [The soldiers] ran out of water and had little material to build up their defensive positions,' " Ricks wrote. Peter Bergen, a CNN terrorism analyst, called the repetition "a huge problem."  "It is suposed to be a lessons-learned exercise," Bergen said. "And then, exactly 20 miles away from the event about a year ago, exactly the same kind of attack happened." In the Wanat fight, 49 U.S. troops were attacked by nearly 200 Taliban fighters, and the base was later abandoned. "So, you have to ask yourself, what were the lessons learned? Or were the lessons not implemented? And these remote combat outposts, you know, are obviously sitting ducks," Bergen said. The Nuristan and Wanat fights add to the growing list of problems facing the Obama administration. The White House is in the midst of a comprehensive review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. McChrystal, who took over four months ago as the top U.S. commander in the country, has submitted an assessment in which, sources have told CNN, calls for additional forces to carry out a successful counterinsurgency strategy. But some in the administration, including Vice President Joe Biden, are advocating a counterterrorism strategy focusing on combating al Qaeda and the Taliban through the use of unmanned drones and special forces without involving additional troops.  Watch more on the varying advice Obama is getting » Others believe that a broader counterinsurgency approach -- requiring a larger military operation in the country -- is needed. Several top military leaders and opposition Republicans are pressing Obama to act quickly to increase the present 68,000-troop level by as many as 40,000. In March, Obama announced a plan to send more than 20,000 additional troops to the country to provide security for a national election. "If we don't add more troops, you're going to see more of what happened

Question: Who had to collapse in on themselves?

Question: Who says lessons haven't been learned in operating in rural Afghanistan?

Question: How many U.S. soldiers were killed?

Question: How many soldiers killed in attack in nuristan province?

Question: How many U.S. soldiers killed in attack in Nuristan province?

Question: Soldiers died in what province?

Question: What analyst says?

Question: How many Afghan soldiers died?

Answer: U.S. forces

Answer: Peter Bergen,

Answer: Eight

Answer: Eight American troops and two members of the Afghan national security forces

Answer: Eight

Answer: Nuristan

Answer: called the repetition "a huge problem."

Answer: two

Summary:
8 U.S. soldiers, two Afghan soldiers killed in attack in Nuristan province .
Source: Fighting so fierce that U.S. forces "had to collapse in on themselves"
Analyst says lessons haven't been learned in operating in rural Afghanistan .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Mozart is trying to win a million dollars for New Orleans recovery efforts. But the charitable effort by the  6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel may be derailed by a dog named after the satirical TV anchorman Stephen Colbert. Mozart's owner says if he wins, all the prize money will go to charities aiding New Orleans. Both canines are contestants in a dog beauty pageant -- but only one pup can take home the big money. The first round is under way, with a hairy finalist selected each week by the number of fan votes. Mozart, or MoMo as friends and family know him, came in second last week in the Cutest Dog Competition with 2,780 votes. This week he is running neck and neck with a new challenger, Stephen Colbert el dos, a Pomeranian Chihuahua mixed-breed puppy from Atlanta, Georgia. MoMo's owner is crying foul. "It's just coming out of nowhere," Cara McCool said. "It's just unfortunate. MoMo is named after a famous person too, but he's dead." The Cutest Dog Competition is run by All American Pet Brands. Over 60,000 people have uploaded photos of their adorable dogs to the contest's Web site. The final 12 pooches will get to compete for the grand prize, a cool million in cash. "It's a fraternity or sorority with people who don't just have pets, these are their family members, their best friends," said All American Pet Brands CEO Barry Schwartz. "He's my furry child," said McCool, a New Orleans piano teacher who named her dog Mozart after her favorite composer. "Sometimes I pull up chairs for him to sit next to me when I play or teach. He has been known to jump on the bench and actually has put his paws on the keys." McCool has been active with several nonprofits working in New Orleans. If Mozart wins she said all the money will got to several charities: Redeemer Presbyterian Disaster Relief, Desire Street Ministries, Louisiana Teachers Save Our Students fund, Cavalier Rescue USA, Musical Arts Society of New Orleans, the Louisiana SPCA, and Teach for America. "I already support them, but I can't afford that much because I'm a piano teacher," she said. If Mozart wins, all that could change. Colbert el dos' owners did not want to be identified. They told CNN they have only mentioned the contest to a few friends and family members. However, they did post a note about the doggie competition on a Colbert fan site. The owners have not heard from the show but one of the fan sites says Colbert el dos will appear on "The Colbert Report" if he makes the top 12. Renata Luczak, a spokesperson for Comedy Central, could not confirm or deny the pet's booking, saying, " 'The Colbert Report' refrains from commenting on upcoming guests appearing on the show." Even without a television appearance, Colbert el dos appears to be benefiting from the famous Colbert name bump. Colbert has wreaked havoc in other online competitions -- from a Hungarian bridge-naming contest to a NASA competition to name a room in the International Space Station. In both cases Colbert won the popular vote. However, NASA pushed back and instead of naming the room in his honor, the agency sent a treadmill to space with the Colbert honorific. In both of those contests, the competitions received heavy promotion during the show, with Colbert urging his viewers to participate. However, in this dog photo fight, Colbert is having an impact without any direct participation. Schwartz said the competition recognizes the outside influence of the Colbert bump. "If there are those Colbert-named dogs that can get those thousands of votes, we don't want to leave anyone out, so we added a new daily contest." The voting for this week ends at midnight on Saturday. Schwartz said the grand prize winner will be named on Thanksgiving Day.

Question: Who is the dog named after?

Question: What type of dog is Mozart?

Question: What is the cute dog contest?

Question: Who is causing some snapping over cute dog contest?

Question: Who is in Cutest Dog Competition?

Question: What breed is Mozart?

Question: What is the title of the competition?

Answer: Stephen Colbert.

Answer: Cavalier King Charles spaniel

Answer: beauty pageant

Answer: Stephen Colbert.

Answer: Stephen Colbert el dos, a Pomeranian Chihuahua mixed-breed puppy

Answer: Cavalier King Charles spaniel

Answer: Cutest Dog

Summary:
"Stephen Colbert El Dos" is causing some snapping over cute dog contest .
The dog, named after the satirical TV anchorman, is in Cutest Dog Competition .
Mozart, a 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, had been winning .
Mozart's owner says Colbert came out of nowhere and "it's unfortunate"


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Mumia Abu-Jamal sits on Pennsylvania's death row, perhaps the most recognized of the 228 condemned inmates at the Greene Correctional Facility, an hour south of Pittsburgh. Former radio host and convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal during a 1994 interview Abu-Jamal, inmate AM8335, awaits three milestones. His new book, "Jailhouse Lawyers," will be released next month. He's also awaiting a pair of Supreme Court decisions, which could come in the next two weeks. The former Black Panther was sentenced to die for gunning down a Philadelphia police officer 28 years ago. The high court will decide whether he deserves a new hearing to determine whether his execution should go forward. The state is appealing a federal appeals court ruling on the sentencing question that went in Abu-Jamal's favor last year. The case has attracted international attention. Abu-Jamal's lawyers filed a separate appeal claiming that racism led to his 1982 conviction. That petition is scheduled for consideration by the Supreme Court on April 3. If either case is accepted by the justices for review, oral arguments would be held in the fall. The former radio reporter and cab driver has been a divisive figure, with many prominent supporters arguing that racism pervaded his trial. Others counter that Abu-Jamal is using his skin color to escape responsibility for his actions. They say he has divided the community for years with his provocative writing and activism. He was convicted for the December 9, 1981, murder of officer Daniel Faulkner, 25, in Philadelphia. Faulkner had pulled over Abu-Jamal's brother in a late-night traffic stop. Witnesses said Abu-Jamal, who was nearby, ran over and shot the police officer in the back and in the head. Abu-Jamal, once known as Wesley Cook, was also wounded in the confrontation and later admitted to the killing, according to other witnesses' testimony. Abu-Jamal is black, and the police officer was white. Incarcerated for nearly three decades, Abu-Jamal has been an active critic of the criminal justice system. On a Web site created by friends to promote his release, the prisoner-turned-author writes about his fight. "This is the story of law learned, not in the ivory towers of multi-billion dollar endowed universities but in the bowels of the slave-ship, in the hidden, dank dungeons of America." His chief defense attorney, Robert Bryan, has filed appeals asking for a new criminal trial. "The central issue in this case is racism in jury selection," he wrote to supporters last month. "We are in an epic struggle in which his life hangs in the balance. What occurs now in the Supreme Court will determine whether Mumia will have a new jury trial or die at the hands of the executioner," Bryan said. Ten whites and two blacks made up the original jury panel that sentenced him to death. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals kept the murder conviction in place a year ago but ordered a new capital sentencing hearing. "The jury instructions and the verdict form created a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded from finding a mitigating circumstance that had not been unanimously agreed upon," Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica wrote in the 77-page opinion. The federal appeals court ultimately concluded that the jury was improperly instructed on how to weigh "mitigating factors" offered by the defense that might have kept Abu-Jamal off death row. Pennsylvania law at the time said jurors did not have to unanimously agree on a mitigating circumstance, such as the fact that Abu-Jamal had no prior criminal record. Months before that ruling, oral arguments on the issue were contentious. Faulkner's widow and Abu-Jamal's brother attended, and demonstrations on both sides were held outside the courtroom in downtown Philadelphia. If the Supreme Court refuses now to intervene on the sentencing issue, the city's prosecutor would have to decide within six months whether to conduct a

Question: Were is Jamal incarcerated?

Question: Who is Jamal's attorney?

Question: What was Abu-Jamal convicted of?

Question: Who was convicted of killing a police officer?

Question: When was Abu-Jamal convicted of killing a police officer?

Question: Which case has become an international cause?

Answer: Greene Correctional Facility,

Answer: Robert Bryan,

Answer: murder of officer Daniel Faulkner,

Answer: Mumia Abu-Jamal

Answer: for the December 9, 1981, murder of

Answer: Mumia Abu-Jamal

Summary:
Mumia Abu-Jamal's case has become an international cause .
He has two appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court .
Racism responsible for his conviction, death sentence, appeal says .
Abu-Jamal convicted in 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- National Hurricane Center director Bill Proenza left his position Monday, just days after nearly half of the NHC staff signed a petition calling for his ouster.

Hurricane Center Bill Proenza left his job as director Monday.

Proenza is still employed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- a parent organization of the NHC --  but he is currently on leave, said NOAA spokesman Anson Franklin.

Deputy Director Ed Rappaport has been temporarily placed in charge.

Proenza, 62, became the director in January after the retirement of Max Mayfield.

Proenza caused an uproar last month with comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT. The satellite is five years beyond its life expectancy and operating on a backup transmitter. Proenza said if it were to fail, forecast tracks could be thrown off by as much as 16 percent.

He said Washington reprimanded him for the remarks: "They wanted me to be quiet about it."

But one of the center's longtime forecasters said Proenza's comments were misguided.

"QuikSCAT is another tool that we use to forecast," Lixion Avila said. "The forecast will not be degraded if we don't have the QuikSCAT."

Last week, the Commerce Department launched an unscheduled review of the hurricane center after word of the staff's dissatisfaction started to become public.

His staffers on Thursday issued a petition calling for him to step down.  Watch how Proenza lost the confidence of his staff »

The petition said the center's "effective functioning" is at stake as the Atlantic hurricane season heads toward its peak.

"The undersigned staff ... has concluded that the center needs a new director, and with the heart of the hurricane season fast approaching, urges the Department of Commerce to make this happen as quickly as possible," said the petition, which was signed by twenty-three people, including four of five senior hurricane specialists.

Hurricane center staffers told CNN's John Zarella they were unhappy not only about his comments about the QuikSCAT, but also about the environment at the center -- one characterized by closed doors and the public airing of dirty laundry.

Proenza on Friday told CNN he had contacted his superiors in Washington about "ways to move forward," but added, "I am not going to resign."

Proenza told CNN he did not think the staff should dictate the leadership through "signing petitions."

Proenza graduated from Florida State University with a degree in meteorology. He began his career in tropical meteorology in the mid-1960s at NHC and as a meteorologist on the "hurricane hunter" aircraft, according to his biography posted on the agency's Web site.

He continued within the National Weather Service for more than 35 years, "receiving numerous performance commendations and awards, including recognition from the NWS Employees' Organization as the NWS manager of the year for his collaborative leadership," the bio said. E-mail to a friend

Question: Who made comments about the QuikSCAT satellite?

Question: What position did Bill Proenze hold?

Question: What was signed asking him to leave

Question: What is the name of the satelite

Question: WHO HAS LEFT THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTRE?

Question: What percentage of the NHC signed the petition?

Question: Which company was Bill Proenza director of?

Question: what did proenza come under fire for?

Question: Who left their position at the National Hurricane Center

Question: Who is the National Hurricane Center director?

Question: What does NHC mean?

Question: what were staff unhappy with?

Question: What organisation did Bill Proenza work for?

Question: What did Proenza came under fire for?

Question: What did Proenza cone under fire for?

Question: What did bill proenza do

Question: What was the petition for

Question: What is the NHC petition for?

Question: who is national hurricane center director?

Question: What has Proenza been criticized for?

Question: What did NHC sign a petition for?

Question: What size part of the NHC signed the petition?

Question: What are the staff unhappy about?

Question: Who signed a petition?

Question: what is quickScat satellite?

Answer: Proenza

Answer: National Hurricane Center director

Answer: petition

Answer: QuikSCAT.

Answer: Bill Proenza

Answer: nearly half

Answer: National Hurricane Center

Answer: comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT.

Answer: Bill Proenza

Answer: Bill Proenza

Answer: National Hurricane Center

Answer: not only about his comments about the QuikSCAT, but also about the environment at the center

Answer: National Hurricane Center

Answer: comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT.

Answer: caused an uproar last month with comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT.

Answer: left his position

Answer: his ouster.

Answer: calling

Answer: Bill Proenza

Answer: comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT.

Answer: him to step down.

Answer: half of the

Answer: his comments

Answer: nearly half of the NHC staff

Answer: hurricane

Summary:
National Hurricane Center director Bill Proenza has left his position .
Nearly half of the NHC signed a petition calling for him to step down .
Proenza came under fire for comments he made about the QuikSCAT satellite .
Staff unhappy with environment of closed doors, public bickering .


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly 40 years after members of a U.S. cavalry unit put their lives in peril to save 100 fellow soldiers trapped under blistering enemy fire in Vietnam, they received the Presidential Unit Citation on Tuesday. Veterans watch Tuesday's ceremony, which recognized members of a U.S. cavalry unit. It's an honor their captain says is long overdue. President Obama awarded the citation for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry to 86 members of the Army's Troop A, First Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. "These soldiers defined the meaning of bravery and heroism," Obama said at a White House reception honoring the group's heroics. "It's never too late. You can never say it enough. ... We honor your service, and America is forever grateful." On March 26, 1970, the 120-member Troop A volunteered to rescue an American infantry company surrounded by an overwhelming enemy force at a site on the Cambodian border called the Dog's Face. The enemy had survived hours of aerial and artillery bombardment and was expected to kill or capture the 100 American infantrymen in Company C within hours. The Americans were running out of ammunition and could not move because of heavy casualties. There were no available landing zones for medical and rescue helicopters to touch down. Alpha Troop heard of their plight on a radio and rode in with an infantry company to rescue their comrades. "Troop A skillfully penetrated four kilometers of nearly impassable jungle terrain and unhesitatingly mounted a fierce assault directly into the heavily fortified North Vietnamese army position," the presidential proclamation states. When the battle was over, more than 70 Americans lay dead or wounded. For retired Capt. John Poindexter, who led the rescue, the award is for all Vietnam veterans, many of whom came home to an unwelcome and sometimes hostile reception. "The veterans of Alpha Troop feel very strongly that we stand in the stead of all veterans of the war of Vietnam," Poindexter told CNN before the ceremony. "The fact is that we're being singled out for a very distinct honor, a very rare one, but it is our conviction that on any day in any other jungle in Vietnam, nearly every Vietnam veteran would have been willing to assume the task that we assumed on March 26, 1970, when we earned the Presidential Unit Citation." Poindexter had been trying to gain recognition for his men for the past seven years. Initially, he felt deep disappointment. In 2003, he discovered that the men he had recommended for decorations for their valor had not received those citations. Eventually, 14 men received individual decorations. That was not enough. "My role in obtaining the PUC [Presidential Unit Citation] -- or in helping to obtain the PUC -- among the 200 persons who were involved in this matter over a seven-year period, was to be in the unhappy position of discovering that the men who I had recommended for decorations had not been recommended, had not been awarded those decorations," the retired captain said. "The result of that was that we got 14 men decorated for their valor, but 14 men out of more than 120 who were engaged in the battle on that fateful day were only a pittance, only a minority, of those who might have been honored. Only a unit citation could honor all equally and impartially, and it was that task we set ourselves on nearly seven years ago. " He believes lack of popular support for the war had much to do with it taking so long for Alpha Troop to be recognized. "There's little question in our minds that the unpopularity of the war in Vietnam is a major contributing factor to the reception these men received when they returned to the United States and a major factor, in my opinion, in the silence that most of them have assumed since then," Poindexter said. "Why talk about something that most people don't have a very high opinion of in all likelihood? And if that isn't true, nevertheless, it's what most of these men think. They were engaged in an

Question: Which Armored Cavalry Regiment was recognized?

Question: How many soldiers did the Cavalry Regiment save?

Question: What did the cavalry save?

Question: How many soldiers did the calvalry save during the 1970 rescue?

Question: What was recognized?

Question: The leader of the 1970 rescue says award is for all veterans of which war?

Question: Presidential Unit Citation recognizes extraordinary heroism against who?

Question: What presidential unit recognized the extraordinary heroism?

Question: What was the heroism against?

Answer: Army's Troop A, First Squadron, 11th

Answer: 100 fellow

Answer: 100 fellow soldiers

Answer: 100

Answer: members of a U.S. cavalry unit.

Answer: Vietnam

Answer: overwhelming enemy force

Answer: President Obama

Answer: save 100 fellow soldiers trapped under blistering enemy fire in Vietnam,

Summary:
86 in Army's Troop A, First Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment recognized .
Cavalry saved 100 fellow soldiers trapped under enemy fire in Vietnam .
Leader of 1970 rescue says award is for all Vietnam veterans .
Presidential Unit Citation recognizes extraordinary heroism against armed enemy .