London (CNN) Activists created a makeshift beach Thursday outside the French Embassy in London as part of a demonstration against France's burkini ban.
So far 15 French towns have banned the burkini , a full-length swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet. Officials say the ban on the outfit -- mostly worn by Muslim women -- is a response to growing terror concerns
Wearing everything from bikinis to burkas, and even priest cloaks, demonstrators in London built sand castles and brandished signs saying: "Wear what you want."
"I think it's ridiculous," said event organizer Fariah Syed of the burkini ban. "No one, regardless of their religion and race, should be told what they should wear and where they can wear it.
"It's important to show solidarity because of the spread of Islamophobia around the globe -- especially in France."
Syed was joined by bikini-wearing Natalie, who asked that her last name not be used. "Women ought to be able to make their own choice about what they wear -- whether that be a bikini or burkini, it makes no difference," she said.
"Women ought to be able to make their own choice about what they wear, whether that be a Bikini or Burkini. It makes no difference." Alice Jones and Natalie at a demonstration against the Burkini ban in France. A photo posted by Erin McLaughlin (@erincnn) on Aug 25, 2016 at 6:38am PDT
Meanwhile, Jenny Dawkins, a Church of England priest, wore her traditional cloaks after hearing about Muslim women "being treated in a way which was totally unacceptable and must have been very intimidating and frightening."
"I'm a priest in the Church of England so I am wearing my uniform. I'm wearing it because I heard this story about women exercising their religious faith by what they choose to wear and they were treated in a way that is totally unacceptable and must have been intimidating and frightening and I wanted to stand in solidarity with them" Jenny Dawkins and a demonstration against the Burkini ban outside the French Embassy in London. A photo posted by Erin McLaughlin (@erincnn) on Aug 25, 2016 at 7:22am PDT
"I think it's a frightening image," she said of the photos that emerged Wednesday. "I find it quite chilling to see an image of a woman surrounded by men with guns being told to take her clothes off."
Police fine a woman in a burkini Wednesday on the beach along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
J.K. Rowling takes aim at Sarkozy
Separately, best-selling British novelist J.K. Rowling criticized former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's comments that wearing a burkini was a "provocation."
"The burkini affair, everybody sees it is a provocation, a provocation for the service of a project of radicalized political Islam," Sarkozy, a presidential hopeful in 2017, said in a televised interview Wednesday with TF1.
The "Harry Potter" author hit back in a tweet, saying: "So Sarkozy calls the burkini a 'provocation.' Whether women cover or uncover their bodies, seems we're always, always 'asking for it.'"
So Sarkozy calls the burkini a 'provocation.' Whether women cover or uncover their bodies, seems we're always, always 'asking for it.' — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 25, 2016
London mayor: Women have right to choose
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also weighed in on the burkini debate during a press conference Thursday with his Paris counterpart, Anne Hidalgo.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan meets his Paris counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, in the French capital Thursday.
"I'm a proud feminist," said Khan, adding: "I don't think anybody should tell women what to wear or what they shouldn't wear."
Antwerp mayor likens burkini to 'a tent'
Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever, left, with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this year.
Asked in an interview this week with Belgium newspaper De Morgen if he would be implementing a ban on burkinis, Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever said it looks as if it's a question of taste -- "like wearing white socks with sandals."
"I've read the craziest left-wing opinions about it," he said.
"If I understand it correctly, we have to protect the wearing of the Burkini as the most important milestone in the emancipation of the woman since the bra burnings of the Dolle Mina in the 1970s," he told the paper, referring to a Dutch feminist group.
"In the past, a Muslim woman could only sit in a tent on the beach. Now she's allowed to put that tent on and go into the ocean with it. We're improving."
Cartoons from the Muslim world
Sudanese artist Khalid Albaih gave his unique take on the ban, depicting a women being ordered to undress in France, and uncover in other parts of the world.
#Khartoon - Laws - To cover or uncover? name of freedom, while others in the name of religion #cartoon pic.twitter.com/ZWIVwjHYcN — ALBAIH (@khalidalbaih) August 24, 2016
The political cartoonist, who lives in Qatar, has been published in such news outlets as The Atlantic, The Guardian and Al Jazeera.
What's the view from France?
Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Do you know the difference between a hijab and a niqab? How about a burqa and a chador? Click through to read about the different types of headscarves some Muslim women wear. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burkini: The full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed. Here a woman in a burkini wades in the water with a child at Ghar El Melh beach in Tunisia. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burqa: This full-body garment has a mesh over the eyes. The burqa is widely used in Afghanistan and was required under the Taliban. These Afghan women are shopping in Herat. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Niqab: The full-face veil exposes only the eyes. A Palestinian bride in Jericho wears this one. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Hijab: The scarf worn tightly around the head and neck does not cover the face. It is the most common Islamic head covering. This Indonesian girl is shopping for a hijab in Yogyakarta. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Chador: The full-body black garment leaves the face exposed. These Iranian women are wearing chadors at a political meeting in Tehran. Hide Caption 6 of 6
France already became the first European country to ban wearing burqas in public in 2011.
And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously enforced secularism.
Hervé Lavisse, president of the Cannes-Grasse section of the Human Rights League, told CNN t he bans would be counterproductive because "instead of appeasing people, it will inflame tensions."
But Valérie Boyer -- who represents the Bouches-Du-Rhone region as a member of the center-right Les Republicains -- previously said in a statement: "Burka, chador, abaya, niqab, hijab, the name doesn't matter.
"They constitute a confinement of the gender, a negation of the person, a prohibition of liberty, a prohibition equality, a prohibition of fraternity."

London activists, J.K. Rowling react to burkini ban in France


Protesters gather outside the French Embassy in London, while writer J.K. Rowling and European mayors also weigh in on the burkini ban in France.


Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On August 8, Paul Pogba became the most expensive signing in football history after rejoining Manchester United from Juventus in a deal worth €105 million ($116 million). Hide Caption 1 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 26, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain became the third most expensive signing in history, joining Italian champion Juventus from Serie A rival Napoli for €90 million ($99 million). Hide Caption 2 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 30, Brazil forward Hulk became the Chinese Super League's most expensive signing, after joining Shanghai SIPG from Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg for €55.8 million ($60.8 million). Hide Caption 3 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 28, Sadio Mane became the most expensive African player when the Senegal forward joined Liverpool from Southampton in a deal worth a reported £34 million ($44.5 million). Hide Caption 4 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings It might have been a free transfer, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic's July 1 move to Manchester United is one of the biggest deals of the summer window. The free-scoring Swede joined Jose Mourinho after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired. Hide Caption 5 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 6, Mourinho made Henrikh Mkhitaryan his second signing at the club, with Manchester United paying Borussia Dortmund a reported fee of $40 million for the Armenia midfielder. Hide Caption 6 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Mourinho's first acquisition was Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly. On June 8, Manchester United announced the 22-year-old's signing from Spanish team Villarreal for a reported £30 million ($39.2 million) fee. Hide Caption 7 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings John Stones didn't play a single minute in England's ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign, but on August 9 the 22-year-old joined Manchester City from Everton for a reported fee of $62.7 million -- which made him the world's second-most expensive defender. Hide Caption 8 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings A week earlier, Leroy Sane had become Pep Guardiola's fifth Manchester City signing, joining from Schalke for a reported fee of $49 million. The 20-year-old made one appearance at Euro 2016, as a substitute in Germany's semifinal defeat by France. Hide Caption 9 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 1, Spain forward Nolito became Guardiola's second signing when Manchester City triggered the €18 million ($20 million) release clause in his Celta Vigo contract. Hide Caption 10 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 2, Germany midfielder llkay Gundogan became Guardiola's first City signing, joining for a reported £20 million ($26 million) fee from Borussia Dortmund. Hide Caption 11 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 21, Andre Gomes joined Barcelona from Valencia for an initial fee of €35 million ($39 million) after a successful Euro 2016 in which the midfielder helped Portugal win its first international title. Hide Caption 12 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Valencia's young Spain striker Paco Alcacer also moved to the Nou Camp after Barcelona clinched a €30 million ($33.4 million) deal on August 30. The 23-year-old has a buyout clause of €100 million ($111.4 million) Hide Caption 13 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings France defender Samuel Umtiti moved to the Spanish champion on July 30, signing a five-year deal after Barca paid French side Lyon €25 million ($27.9 million). Hide Caption 14 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Barcelona also completed the €16.5 million ($18.4 million) signing of France international left-back Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain on July 13. Hide Caption 15 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Italy striker Graziano Pelle reportedly became the joint-sixth highest paid player in the world after he left English club Southampton to join Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng in a £13 million ($17 million) deal on July 11. The 31-year-old will reportedly earn that much in one season Hide Caption 16 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 30, Spanish club Atletico Madrid signed French forward Kevin Gameiro from La Liga rival Sevilla for a reported €32 million ($35.6 million). Hide Caption 17 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 16, Champions League finalist Atletico also agreed a €25 million ($27.8 million) deal for Benfica's Argentinian midfielder Nicolas Gaitan. Hide Caption 18 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings World Cup winner Mario Goetze rejoined Borussia Dortmund on July 21 after an unsuccessful spell with Bayern Munich, which had made him Germany's most expensive player at the time when it paid €37 million for him in 2013. Hide Caption 19 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings The next day, Dortmund continued to bolster its squad by signing Andre Schurrle from Bundesliga rival Wolfsburg for a reported fee of $33 million. Hide Caption 20 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 16, France midfielder N'Golo Kante was the first star name to be sold from Leicester City's Premier League-winning side, signing for English rival Chelsea in a $42 million deal. Hide Caption 21 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 3, former Juventus and Italy coach Antonio Conte started his Chelsea revolution by signing 22-year-old Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi from French club Marseille for a reported €40 million ($44.5 million). Hide Caption 22 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 13, Juventus paid Italian rival Roma €32 million ($35.6 million) for Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder Miralem Pjanic. Hide Caption 23 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On July 15, Juventus completed the signing of Morocco defender Medhi Benatia from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan costing €3 million ($3.45 million), with an option to buy for an extra €17 million ($19 million). Hide Caption 24 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Juventus signed Brazilian defender Dani Alves on a free transfer from Barcelona on June 27 after his contract at the Spanish club expired. Hide Caption 25 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings On June 21, Real Madrid activated the €30 million ($34 million) buy-back clause for Spain striker Alvaro Morata -- who it had sold to Juventus for €20 million ($22.3 million) in 2014. Hide Caption 26 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Granit Xhaka made headlines at Euro 2016 when his shirt ripped -- before the tournament the Switzerland midfielder had already secured a move to English club Arsenal from Borussia Monchengladbach in a deal worth a reported £30 million ($39.2 million). Hide Caption 27 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings After failing to challenge for the Premier League title last season, Arsene Wenger was under pressure to further strengthen his squad with high-profile players -- but it took until August 30 for Arsenal to announce the signing of Lucas Perez from Deportivo la Coruna for a reported fee of £17 million ($22 million). The 27-year-old is uncapped by Spain, but scored 17 goals in La Liga last season. Hide Caption 28 of 30
Photos: Europe's biggest summer signings Bayern Munich started the big-money moves in May, when the German champion announced a €35 million deal for Benfica's teenage midfielder Renato Sanches, who would help Portugal win Euro 2016. Hide Caption 29 of 30

Biggest signings of the European summer transfer window


The biggest deals of European football's summer transfer window.


Story highlights The outrage was immediate and for good reason
This isn't the first time Sharma has stoked controversy
(CNN) India's tourism minister is furiously backpedaling after suggesting that women who visit India shouldn't wear skirts for their own safety.
Mahesh Sharma made the comments over the weekend while promoting a welcome kit that will be handed out to tourists when they arrive in India.
"There's a card in there listing the do's and don'ts. Basic things like, 'Don't go out at night alone.' 'Don't wear skirts.'"
The outrage was immediate. And for good reason.
A string of sexual assaults against foreign women has sullied India's reputation.
Read More

Safety tip from India's tourism minister: Don't wear skirts


India's tourism minister is backing off comments he made suggesting female tourists avoid wearing skirts while visiting India.


Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.


Italian towns like Amatrice are old, and deep in the mountains complicating rescue efforts after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports.


Story highlights Council of State suspends burkini ban in Villeneuve-Loubet, a town near Nice
Collective Against Islamophobia in France plans to sue municipalities maintaining ban
(CNN) France's highest administrative court ruled that mayors do not have the right to ban burkinis.
But if you thought that was the end of the matter, think again.
Several French mayors have reportedly maintained their bans despite Friday's ruling concerning the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, which could affect cities around the country.
Among those continuing the ban is Cap d'Ail, near Monaco. The town saw no reason to lift the decree as the ruling wasn't aimed specifically at it, a press spokesman told CNN.
JUST WATCHED French court suspends burkini ban Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH French court suspends burkini ban 01:44
The Collective Against Islamophobia in France, one of the plaintiffs in the burkini case, plans to sue each municipality maintaining the ban on the full-length swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet.

French mayors maintain burkini bans despite court ruling


Several French mayors reportedly refuse to lift the burkini bans despite a court ruling last week over the town of Villeneuve-Loubet.


(CNN) The derelict is not the first thing that most people would choose to study, but neglected and rotting structures are photographer Brian Precious' specialty.
A 40-year old executive at a transport company by day, he visits abandoned buildings in his spare time -- from sorry-looking children's camps and vacant hospitals to run-down castles -- creating haunting images of places reduced to just a shadow of their former selves.
The interest in all things abandoned was spurred by his hometown of Rotterdam, which was almost completely destroyed during World War II. A photography course in 2010 then set the wheels in motion.
While there is a melancholic beauty his work, he readily admits that his style is niche and not something most people would want to place on their living room wall.
Here, he discusses how to find appeal in unexpected places.
How do you scout locations?
It's really a way of life because you have to look on Google Earth to search for areas where you see the grass has not been mowed. You check the newspapers for messages for hospitals that are out of use.
It takes a lot of time, and I have two small kids and a family. It takes a lot of money.
In the Netherlands, where I live, buildings that are abandoned get boarded up. Belgium is a two-hour drive from my home, but you can also go to France, Germany, Austria and further and further. Hotels and plane tickets add up.
What region have you found to be the most fertile for abandoned sites?
The former East Germany, which used to be divided by the Berlin Wall. There are a lot of abandoned buildings there.
Also, in the skiing areas in the Czech Republic or in Germany. At one point people went skiing and hotels popped up, but when people went elsewhere they had to close down. In Austria, there's a ski town that's almost completely abandoned.
The Netherlands doesn't really have castles like they do in Italy and Poland. They cost a lot of money and, especially when they deteriorate, renovation costs are pretty high. The renovation costs are then higher than the worth of the buildings, so then it just keeps on deteriorating. Even demolishing is more expensive than leaving it to rot.
Do you often run into obstacles while photographing derelict structures?
Normally, if they see us with a camera they think we're okay. We're not destroying stuff. I want to shoot pictures of how I found it. If I start moving stuff then you get a staged living room. It's not real.
We usually go early in the morning when the sun is just coming up and everyone is sleeping. If there's a gate, we may climb over the gate or we find a hole in the gate. We don't break stuff. The worse thing the police can say is delete your pictures but that's it. It's a bit of a thrill.
What is your most memorable shoot?
There was a big castle in Belgium. We'd been there several times, but we could never find an entry. As a rule, we don't break in. It should be open or else you don't enter.
We went at five in the morning. We took pictures. There was a Jeep circling around the castle continuously. We thought this was not good, but we continued because nobody called us. We thought we needed to step out and the police showed up They asked us what we're doing here. They checked what our car and that no stuff was taken in our bags.
So we went to the police station, got mugshots, but they let us leave. Once we stepped out, we had a beer but then chose to go to a factory nearby to photograph some more.
What do you find beautiful about decay?
The history of the place, definitely. Nature taking over too. Sometimes you see a roof collapsed and moss growing on the floor. If you leave it as it is, a tree will grow in the house, and things like that are what fascinates people, I think.
I don't see it as negative. Decay can be very beautiful but it's personal. A lot of people like the pictures because it raises questions but to hang it on your living room wall, that's another question.

Mesmerizing photos of abandoned structures


Dutch photographer Brian Precious turns his lens on rotting buildings across Europe.


On "The Wonder List," CNN's Bill Weir plunges into a pristine lake on the edge of two continents.


Man crashes truck into plane at Omaha Airport


A 35-year-old man scaled a perimeter security fence at Omaha's airport Thursday night and crashed a truck into a plane on the runway. CNN's Rene Marsh reports.


Story highlights The meeting is the first between Obama and Erdoğan since a coup attempt in Turkey failed in July
Ankara wants the US to extradite a Pennsylvania-based Turkish cleric for alleged involvement
Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of this week's Group of 20 meetings in China to discuss efforts against ISIS, the White House said on Monday.
The meeting, the first between Obama and Erdoğan since a coup attempt in Turkey failed in July, comes amid differences in strategy against ISIS. The US has condemned Turkish strikes on opposition groups in Syria, saying they are distracting from the fight against ISIS, also known as ISIL.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter cautioned Turkish forces Monday against advancing further south of the Syrian city of Jarablus and clashing with US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
"We have called upon Turkey to stay focused on the fight against ISIL and not to engage" the SDF, Carter said while speaking to reporters at the Pentagon alongside his Indian counterpart.
He signaled US support for Turkey's effort to liberate Jarablus and ISIS-controlled areas to the west. He also noted that the US had asked the Kurdish YPG to withdraw their forces east of the Euphrates and said "they are doing that."
Read More

Obama to meet Erdogan amid anti-ISIS squabble


President Barack Obama will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of this week's Group of 20 meetings in China to discuss efforts against ISIS, the White House said on Monday.


Every four years, a presidential candidate gazes out over a vast crowd and convinces themselves the White House is there for the taking.
In 2016, the general election candidate drawing the biggest and loudest crowds is Donald Trump.
"We got to Oklahoma, we have 25,000 people. We had 21,000 people in Dallas, we had 35,000 people in Mobile, Alabama. We get these massive crowds," Trump said in Florida earlier this month.
"Look, if she had 500 people I would be surprised," he added, poking fun at Hillary Clinton's more intimate events.
During the primaries, Trump's massive crowds did, in fact, translate to votes. But size is not always a barometer of a campaign's destiny.
In fact, extrapolating electoral prospects from the size of rally crowds is often a misleading metric -- for evidence, look no further than the campaigns of Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, John Kerry and Mitt Romney. Bernie Sanders thrilled thousands of people in mega-rallies over the past year and a half as well.
Yet every election, candidates and aides, seeking silver linings when beset by bad polls, indulge the wishful thought that bulging rallies will mean a stampede at the ballot box.
Often, they tout that mystical, yet unquantifiable, political commodity: Momentum.
"Momentum's a word from physics that got hijacked by journalists and political operatives to sound scientific," said Sam Wang, a professor of neuroscience who runs Princeton University's Election Consortium. "What it means is -- 'I am excited by where I am today, I am excited by what is happening.'"
That is not stopping Trump however -- just as it did not stop Sanders supporters who saw his crowds of 20,000 and up in the primary race to argue that a tsunami of enthusiasm for the Vermont senator could overcome Clinton.
Trump supporters are putting their faith in boots on the ground at his rallies.
"They are standing in lines for two hours and (in) 90-degree weather to get in," New York Rep. Chris Collins told CNN's Brianna Keilar this week.
"This energy you are seeing ... is why the polls mean nothing. This is a turnout election and the energy is behind Donald Trump."
But history shows, that for all its faults, polling is a better predictor of electoral success in a broad electorate, than crowd size.
Still, it's not impossible that Trump's multitudes is a sign the grassroots uprising will confound conventional wisdom yet again. There is an exception to every rule.
Barack Obama's mega rallies in 2008 did turn out to be an indicator of strength and surprising competitiveness in red states like Missouri -- where he once had a crowd of 100,000 people and Indiana, where he attracted 35,000 to a rally in Indianapolis. He ended up losing Missouri by a whisker but peeled Indiana out of the GOP column.
"In 2008, we had rallies with 50,000, 80,000, 100,000 people. I'm not bragging ... sometimes you hear folks say, 'oh, that rally is big.' I say, I don't know ... We had some pretty big rallies," Obama said at a Democratic fundraiser in Austin, Texas, in March, in what may have been a swipe against Trump.
So, if Trump is drawing massive throngs in blue states in October, it might mean something.
It's not surprising that huge crowds can mislead. After all, running for president is a uniquely grueling, absorbing, emotional experience. And tens of millions of people will vote for the losing candidate in any presidential election, so it isn't like candidates don't have plenty of supporters.
Lines of cars choking roads on the way to an event, or thousands of people packed into an airport hangar at midnight in a remote corner of a swing state, can be intoxicating, replenish an ego and convince a weary candidate they have tapped into something intangible. For campaign workers and reporters, stuck in a bubble, massive rallies can promote erroneous conclusions about the state of a race.
But there are plenty of cautionary tales.
In 1984, Democratic nominee Mondale was trailing President Ronald Reagan, but took refuge in the size of his crowds.
"There's something going on in this country and the pollsters aren't getting it," Mondale said in San Francisco, according to The New York Times.
"Nobody who's been with me for the last few days and has seen these crowds, seen their response, seen their enthusiasm, seen the intensity of their response, and how they respond to these issues ... can help but believe there is something happening in this country."
Mondale was correct. Something was happening. A landslide was brewing that would see him win only his home state, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia.
Four years later, Democratic nominee Dukakis was trailing Vice President George H.W. Bush.
"I smell victory in the air, don't you?" the Democratic nominee told a large crowd in Lexington, Kentucky, on his final weekend on the trail.
His wife, Kitty, looked at steadily growing crowds and sensed an upset. "It's just intuition," she said, according to the Times. "It's something in the crowds. Something Is happening."
Bush won the election easily, finishing more than 300 electoral votes ahead.
In 2004, hopes soared on the Kerry plane that massive crowds just before election day -- 80,000 in Madison, Wisconsin, and 50,000 on Cleveland's waterfront, assured victory. But Kerry lost both Ohio and the White House.
In 2012, GOP nominee Romney was misled by crowds which swelled as election day approached.
"Look at the parking garage!" Romney gushed in footage aired in the documentary "Mitt" as he eyeballed a crowd on election day in Pittsburgh.
"Intellectually, I've felt we're going to win this and have felt that for some time, but emotionally just getting off the plane and seeing those people standing there ... I not only think we're going to win intellectually, I feel it as well," Romney told reporters, hours before losing handily to Obama.
Trump, however, is a man who knows something about making a sale -- and that might be giving him pause.
"I know we are leading Florida by a little bit," he mused in a moment of reflection at his Florida rally.
"I don't know why we are not winning by a lot -- Maybe crowds don't make the difference."

In presidential elections, size doesn't always matter


It's the most deceptive sign in politics.


Hong Kong (CNN) New guidelines issued by China's top media regulator have prohibited TV shows that promote "Western lifestyles," adding to a long list of banned items.
"They should also avoid putting stars, billionaires or internet celebrities on pedestals; or sensationalizing private affairs, relationships or family disputes," Xinhua said.
Here's what else is on China's blacklist.
Cleavage
Actresses' cleavage was ordered cropped out of a Tang dynasty period drama by China's censors.
After "The Saga of Wu Zetian," a TV drama about China's only female emperor, attracted great viewership figures, it was abruptly pulled from broadcast in January 2015 for "technical reasons."
Nicknamed "The Saga of Wu's Breasts" due to the generous amounts of cleavage shown by the actresses' Tang dynasty period costumes, the show returned a few days later, with a lot less skin.
Censors ordered the show's editors to crop the footage to hide any cleavage , resulting in much tighter shots on stars' faces, and widespread outrage online.
Celebrity kids
"Baba Qunar?" or "Dad, Where Are We Going?" was a hugely popular Chinese TV show starring the children of celebrities.
In a move that might be welcomed by some US television audiences tired of certain reality dramas, China's censors in April banned the use of celebrities' children on screen, killing one of the country's most popular shows in the process.
Regulators said minors should be kept out of the spotlight to allow them to enjoy a normal childhood.
The ban came after the breakout success of "Dad, Where Are We Going?", a weekly series in which celebrity fathers took their kids on trips around China, and raked in millions of viewers in the process.
Drinking and smoking
One million Chinese people died of smoking-related diseases in 2010, according to The Lancet.
A directive released in March slapped stringent new guidelines onto online shows, which have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years.
The "General Rules for Television Series Content Production" were drafted in order to "thoroughly implement (Chinese President) Xi Jinping's speech at the national forum on literature," in which he stressed that art must serve a social purpose.
Some of the first things to be hit by the new rules were shows that promote "smoking and drinking, fighting, and other unhealthy behavior."
China has severe problems with both smoking and alcohol . Around 68% of Chinese men are smokers, with one million Chinese people dying from smoking related diseases in 2010, according to The Lancet
Homosexuality
Participants pose for a photo at a Shanghai pride event.
Though China has come a long way since homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness 15 years ago -- with several cities across the country hosting gay pride parades and prominent LGBT celebrities making waves -- the censors haven't got the memo.
Guidelines released this year categorize homosexuality as an "abnormal sexual behavior" unfit for China's TV screens, alongside incest, sexual abuse and other "perversion."
"Addiction," a popular web drama about romantic relationships between teenage boys, was pulled in February , despite attracting almost 10 million views in its first 24 hours of release.
Time travel
China banned time travel drams in 2011.
Too many science fiction dramas "casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation," China's regulators complained in a March 2011 diktat
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter at the time , film critic Raymond Zhou suggested another reason the censors were so keen to kill sci-fi shows: "Most time travel content that I've seen ... is actually not heavy on science, but an excuse to comment on current affairs."
Indeed, the regulation said that in many instances "producers and writers are treating serious history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore."
South Koreans
South Korean drama "My Love from the Star," starring Kim Soo-Hyun (pictured), was hugely popular in China.
Following the deployment of the US-South Korean THAAD missile defense system last month, some of Korea's most successful exports may have found their fortunes waning in China.
A fan event in Beijing with South Korean TV stars Kim Woo-bin and Suzy Bae was postponed due to "forces beyond our control," the organizers said on Weibo . Two concerts by the popular boy band EXO in Shanghai were also canceled
media According to multiple reports , Chinese TV stations were also warned to put South Korean projects on hold.

Censored in China: Cleavage, time travel and 'Western lifestyles'


New guidelines issued by China's top media regulator have prohibited films and TV shows that promote a "Western lifestyle," adding to a long list of banned items.


Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

KISS bassist Gene Simmons speaks to CNN's Pamela Brown about his immense respect for Prince.


(CNN) The death of one of ISIS' most prominent figures, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, is one more example of the pressure the group is under in both Iraq and Syria. Al-Adnani was the most visible figure in ISIS' core leadership, and instrumental as the group's spokesman and external operations planner.
According to the ISIS' affiliated news agency Amaq, al-Adnani was killed while supervising battle lines in Aleppo province in northern Syria. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook confirmed that al-Adnani was the target of a "precision strike near al-Bab, Syria." That's a critical junction for ISIS in northern Syria as it tries to retain access to the Turkish border some 25 kilometers away.
ISIS has lost plenty of key figures in the last 18 months -- many of them to US drone strikes as intelligence on the movements of the group's hierarchy has improved. But the loss of al-Adnani is a severe blow. He'd been the group's emir in Syria for more than three years, had a high public profile and a key role in organizing plots to attack Western Europe.
Even though ISIS remains a resilient outfit with what might be called a deep bench, his death comes at a critical time for the group.
ISIS' core territory in Iraq and Syria has continued to shrink over the last month. ISIS has lost some 15% of the land it held at the beginning of the year and its affiliates in both Libya and the Sinai desert in Egypt also have suffered setbacks.
It's much too early to begin writing death notices: There are plenty of opportunities for ISIS to exploit as its enemies turn on each other in both Syria and Iraq, but it's under pressure on many fronts.
Al-Adnani himself had recognized this. In an audio message at the end of May -- his first in seven months -- he asked of the "crusaders": "Will we be defeated and you victorious if you took Mosul or Sirte or Raqqa or all the cities -- and we returned as we were in the beginning? No, defeat is losing the will and the desire to fight."
Setbacks for ISIS
Over the past month, the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have chipped away at ISIS' control around Mosul, the largest city it controls and the place where ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the "caliphate" two years ago.
The expulsion of ISIS from the town of Qayyarah by Iraqi security forces further fragments the territory it holds in the area. The Peshmerga claim to have recovered several villages and about 100 square kilometres of territory to the east of Mosul.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has promised Iraqis that Mosul will be liberated this year, but that will require a coordination of multiple forces and a plan for governance.
In Syria, the rebel Syrian Democratic Forces finally drove the remnants of an ISIS presence from the town of Manbij, a critical way station between Raqqa and the Syrian border (and not far from where al-Adnani was killed.) Hundreds of ISIS members fled north to the border town of Jarablus on the Syrian border -- only to flee again weeks later when the Turkish-led incursion into northern Syria began.
Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that al-Baghdadi had told fighters in Manbij "to fight to the death."
"They didn't," Votel said, questioning how much command and control ISIS leadership has over its fighters.
Another US official, Adam Szubin, whose role at the Treasury includes pursuing terrorists' sources of money, says the group is under growing financial pressure. In an interview last month with the Combating Terrorism Center's Sentinel, he said, "We've seen allegations to the tune of millions of dollars being embezzled by ISIL leaders as their resources have shrunk."
Beyond the caliphate
In Libya, the last pocket of ISIS resistance is clinging on in the coastal city of Sirte, attacked on the ground by militia that support the nascent Libyan government and from the air by US airstrikes.
However, kicking ISIS out of Sirte may be a double-edged sword. Its fighters have scattered to the south, but the many Tunisians among them may return home to launch more terror attacks there, according to a new United Nations report.
In the Sinai desert, where the ISIS affiliate has inflicted hundreds of casualties on Egyptian security forces, military operations appear to be having some success. In August, the Egyptian army claimed to have killed a senior leader of the group.
Opportunities for ISIS
Amid fast-moving events in northern Syria, one surprise was the speed with which ISIS retreated from Jarablus - a crucial conduit for supplies and fighters. After weeks of resistance in nearby Manbij, hundreds of ISIS fighters slipped out of Jarablus within hours of the incursion by Turkish armor.
Perhaps they decided that resisting Turkish tanks and US airpower was pointless. But ISIS' leadership may also have calculated that the Turks' real target was the Syrian Kurdish militia -- the YPG.
A weaker Kurdish resistance would suit ISIS just fine. An expanding conflict between the YPG and Syrian rebel factions supported by Turkey would relieve some of the pressure on Raqqa, the largest town in Syria still held by ISIS.
The United States has urged both Turkey and the YPG to focus their attacks on ISIS, and on Tuesday a tenuous truce appears to have taken hold. But there is little love lost between rebel factions supported by Turkey and those that joined the YPG under the US-supported umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Columb Strack, a senior analyst at IHS Jane's, says ISIS' "main objective here is to maintain the remaining informal smuggling routes across the Turkish border, and the town of al-Bab, which acts as a logistics hub for that. Losing access to the Turkish border would make the Islamic State's governance project unviable."
ISIS also will be hoping for more clashes between the Kurds and the Syrian regime after the sudden flare-up in Hasakah last month, so it can take advantage of how thinly spread the YPG is across a huge front.
ISIS also appears to be probing a new front in southern Syria, close to the Jordanian border. In late June it carried out a suicide bombings against Jordanian soldiers on the border. Last week, it launched a complex attack against a rebel group's base where the borders of Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet. It can still carry out offensive operations on a wide number of fronts.
Even so, across the globe, from North Africa to Afghanistan to western Europe, ISIS and its affiliates are beginning to look more like a traditional terror network and less like wilayat, or provinces of the caliphate, as they are grandiosely described.
ISIS will continue to take advantage of a fluid battlefield and the weakness of its enemies where it can. It will continue trying to co-opt and coerce other Islamist factions and tribes, especially in Syria. But above all it will look for ways to attack Western Europe, Russian cities and even the United States.
More often than not, such attacks will be carried out by individuals (as was the case in Nice, Ansbach, Orlando and Rouen) with a complex mix of personal and religious grievances who adopt the ISIS brand late in the day.
But as its core territory shrinks, ISIS will celebrate such attacks with desperate glee.

Death of senior leader Adnani caps bad month for ISIS


The death of one of ISIS' most prominent figures, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, is one more example of the pressure the group is under in both Iraq and Syria. Al-Adnani was the most visible figure in ISIS' core leadership, and instrumental as the group's spokesman and external operations planner.


Story highlights Singapore's Ministry of Health confirmed 82 locally-transmitted Zika cases late Tuesday
The number of cases is expected to rise
Zika is more likely to spread quickly in regions of the world where dengue virus is prevalent
Hong Kong (CNN) The Zika virus is on a rampage in Singapore, with 82 locally-transmitted cases confirmed late Tuesday by the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).
The MOH warns that the figures are likely set to rise, but why is Zika spreading so fast in the city state?
"The proportion of our population that are immune to the Zika virus is likely to be low in Singapore and if you don't have the immunity to provide the roadblocks, then it's likely that the virus will spread fast," Ooi Eng Eong, the deputy director of the Emerging Infectious Disease program at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, told CNN.
JUST WATCHED Everything you need to know about Zika Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Everything you need to know about Zika 01:42
The majority of reported cases are among foreign construction workers based in the residential Aljunied Crescent neighborhood in Singapore. Though cases were limited to this area on Monday, by late Tuesday the MOH reported 26 new cases that showed how the Zika virus had spread to nearby residential areas, raising concerns that the virus could travel even further afield.
While Malaysia and Indonesia announced they would be implementing additional passenger screening procedures at its airports, foreign ministries in the US, Australia, Taiwan and South Korea have all issued alerts, advising pregnant women against traveling to Singapore.
Read More

Why is Zika spreading so quickly in Singapore?


The Zika virus is on a rampage in Singapore, with 82 locally-transmitted cases confirmed late Tuesday by the country's Ministry of Health (MOH).


Step inside North Korea's first beer festival


The first-ever beer festival in North Korea is being held from August 15 to September 9 in Pyongyang.


(CNN) One of the most inspiring stories of Rio 2016 is reaching its emotional end.
Fiji is preparing for the departure of Ben Ryan, the English rugby coach who rediscovered his love of the game in a tropical paradise and helped the tiny Pacific Island nation overcome tragedy and win its first gold Olympic medal.
Last week he was awarded the country's highest honor, being made a Companion of the Order of Fiji by its president Jioji Konrote.
On Monday the 44-year-old was given three acres of land by the people of Serua province, and bestowed with the Fijian name Ratu Peni Raiyani Latianara, an honorary chief title.
Coach @benjaminryan gifted 3 acres of land and the name Ratu Peni Raiyani Latianara by the people of #Serua #Fiji pic.twitter.com/RfLnXnxA0s — Fiji 7s Team (@Fiji7sTeam) August 29, 2016
"The land now belongs to him and his family and all his descendants, and he can do anything he wants with the land now, it is his now," Ratu Kini Vitukawalu, one of the chiefs of Vunibau village, was quoted as saying by Fiji's Newswire agency.
"And because he has claimed to be one of us, it is only fitting that he has land too to forever tie him to Serua."
Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Thousands of Fijians turned out to greet the men's rugby sevens team which returned home with Olympic gold. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement The Fijian government has declared a national holiday on August 22, to celebrate the country's first ever Olympic medal. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Fiji had not won an Olympic medal before its rugby side struck gold at Rio 2016. The triumph was one of the highlights of the Games. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Fiji won the 2015/16 world sevens series and defeated Great Britain 43-7 in the Olympic final. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Fiji's players brought their expansive and flowing game to Brazil where the sport gained popularity with fans. It was the first time rugby sevens had been included at the Olympics. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Island nation celebrates historic achievement Captain Osea Kolinisau was one of the outstanding players of the tournament. He played a key role in leading Fiji to its first historic gold. Hide Caption 6 of 6
Ryan, who came to Fiji in 2013 with his wife Natalie, said Serua had played a key role in resurrecting the fortunes of sevens in Fiji, where the shortened rugby format is an integral part of community life.
"I love every part of Fiji but this part in particular, Serua," he said at the ceremony. "Serua will always be our vale (home). I will be back soon, it will always be a place in my heart and I would just like to say a big vinaka vakalevu (thank you).
"This small piece of land is what we have constantly spoke about when we were in the world series, because this is where the work was done and this is where the minds were forged and this is where the players were selected."
I was lost for words yesterday when I was awarded The companion of the order of Fiji. Vinaka Fiji 🇫🇯 pic.twitter.com/AGWZoQB3eW — Ben Ryan Fiji 7s (@benjaminryan) August 22, 2016
The team thrashed Great Britain 43-7 in the final to earn Fiji's first medal of any kind at the Summer Games.
The victory brought ecstatic celebrations in a country still dealing with the devastating effects of February's Cyclone Winstone, which killed more than 40 people and left many homeless.
Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Rugby coach Ben Ryan has become something of a celebrity in his adopted country Fiji, where he is mobbed wherever he goes. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Ryan, formerly coach of the England sevens team, describes Fijian supporters as the best in the world. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands But he has given up going out for dinner with his wife as he estimates he'll have to pose for about 50 photographs on a night out. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Fijian rugby fans have taken him to their hearts as he tries to deliver Olympic gold this year. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands The shadow of August's Rio Games looms large as the Pacific Island nation bids to win the first medal of any kind in its Olympic history. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Fiji topped the rankings after winning the 2014-15 Sevens World Series, sealing qualification for Rio 2016. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands The team successfully defended its title after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2015-16 season finale in London, and received a heroes' welcome back home in Suva. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands Ryan had grown disillusioned with the game in England, but he thanks Fiji for reviving his love for rugby. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: An Englishman in the Pacific Islands However, he has aspirations of getting into the 15-a-side setup after Rio and a possible return to the UK with his wife Natalie. Hide Caption 9 of 9
JUST WATCHED World Cup winner who helped rugby sevens' Olympic rise Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH World Cup winner who helped rugby sevens' Olympic rise 03:45
Ryan said before the Olympics that it would likely be his last tournament in charge of Fiji, with his contract due to expire next month.
He told the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation that he has received "over 20 offers" including one from the Japanese Rugby Union, which would include coaching the national 15s and sevens teams plus its Sunwolves franchise in the Super Rugby competition.
Japan, which finished a surprise fourth at the Olympics in the men's competition after losing to Fiji in the semifinals, will host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Ryan had previously been coach of England's sevens team, and took it to the 2013 World Cup final in his final tournament in charge.

Ben Ryan honored with plot of land and Fijian title


One of the most inspiring stories of Rio 2016 is reaching its emotional end, as Ben Ryan prepares to finish his coaching stint with Fiji's champion rugby sevens team.


Photos: Meet Kabangu, Kenya's hip hop grandpas. Having started their careers in the 80s, they teach would-be rising stars the important values in life such as upholding peace, equality, prosperity and social justice. Little had been known about them up until now... Hide Caption 1 of 15
Photos: Security guards by night, hip hop heads by day, the band live in Kariobangi - Nairobi's informal settlements. An enthusiastic group of hip hop aficionados, they meet regularly to educate and mentor young upcoming talent. Or so it seems... Hide Caption 2 of 15
Photos: The group had remained in relative obscurity until recently - perhaps because they never existed. Kabangu are the fictional creations of Kenyan digital photographer Osborne Macharia and stylist Kevin Abraham, in their latest editorial series. The bands nonexistence has not limited them gathering over half a million views online. Some believed the group were real. Hide Caption 3 of 15
Photos: "It's a way of telling our stories, in our own different kind of way", says Osborne Macharia. "I think for so long Africa has been known to be a continent of war, poverty, disease, famine and so on. Sometimes when we actually travel outside and show images of back home people are always shocked and say that's not what I know about Africa from what I see in the media" he explains, adding it's "just to show people that yes we have our own issues but there is more to it, there is beauty, there is life and positive energy, there is fun". Hide Caption 4 of 15
Photos: The artists imagine rich backstories for their characters. Kenya's league of extravagant grannies -- another fictional ensemble -- were once corporate and government leaders in the 1970's but are now retired. They live the high life traveling to exotic and remote areas within Africa to explore, party and enjoy themselves in exclusivity. Hide Caption 5 of 15
Photos: Mrs. Kamau Njuguna - former governor, central bank of Kenya (1980-1985) - Macharia and Abraham managed to catch up with three of these group of extraordinary grannies in Somalia soon after they landed. Little had been known about them until now...Many online believed the grandmothers were real, some posting that they wanted to meet them and that the women's efforts had given them "life goals". Hide Caption 6 of 15
Photos: Mau Mau were guerilla fighters during Kenya's struggle for independence. Macharia and Abraham created an editorial series focused on them - where they became an elite group of freedom fighting opticians. In Kikuyu - one of the main languages in Kenya - Macicio translates to spectacles. Hide Caption 7 of 15
Photos: Karanja 'the mole' jere: normally operates underground with his modified underground breathing suite. His hair is designed to appear like a rodent burrowing through the soil and he's spectacles are telescopic able to see close to one kilometer away. Hide Caption 8 of 15
Photos: Nyakundi: communications expert and voice imitator, he uses the knobs attached to the mouth piece on his spectacles to imitate five different animals using code language. Hide Caption 9 of 15
Photos: Camo, 2015. The series of images aims to celebrate the beauty of African fabrics and is a joint collaboration between Kevin Abraham and fellow digital photographer Thandiwe Muriu. Hide Caption 10 of 15
Photos: "It was just a simple concept to celebrate the African prints, something that any African can relate to", says Kevin Abraham. "I chose to work with prints because at that time the textile industry in Kenya was facing a lot of issues in terms of bureaucracy and challenges to textile production in the country", he says adding I though "the best way to make this situation better and to put a different perspective of positivity to was to create these works". Hide Caption 11 of 15
Photos: "I wanted to make it diverse or different from any images you've come across so hence the colors and spectacles" says Abraham. Hide Caption 12 of 15
Photos: Afro Juba, 2015. The concept was to celebrate both African hairstyles as well as childhood games. The hairstyles were created by Kenyan locals Richard Kinyua and Corrine Muthoni. "Each image was representing a certain childhood game that all Kenyans identify with" says Macharia. Hide Caption 13 of 15
Photos: Pictured: Afro Juba 2015. Duf_Mpararo - Skinny dipping in tadpole infested water. "Once Kenyans identified with it, we also started to realize that many Africans go through the same thing. I think that's what makes this project really stand out" explains Macharia. Hide Caption 14 of 15


Meet Kabangu - a group of hip hop grandpas who've been around since the 1980s. Or have they?


(CNN) Drumroll please ...
The next star of "The Bachelor" is Nick Viall.
Mike Fleiss, the creator of the "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," announced the news Tuesday night on Twitter.
Viall is currently starring in the third season of ABC's "Bachelor In Paradise."
This comes as a twist for viewers who might have thought "Bachelorette" contestants Luke Pell or Chase McNary were the frontrunners.
Read More


The next star of "The Bachelor" is Nick Viall. Mike Fleiss, the creator of the "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," announced the news Tuesday night on Twitter.


Story highlights 'They miss their mom. They want their mom," Diann Aldridge says of her slain daughter's kids
Nykea Aldridge was killed in gang-related crossfire in Chicago while pushing her baby in a stroller
(CNN) Losing a child is more than most parents can bear.
But having to explain the loss to your grandchildren can be just as heartbreaking.
"They cry to each other," Diann Aldridge told CNN's Rachel Crane after her daughter Nykea Aldridge was killed Friday in gang-related crossfire in Chicago while pushing her baby in a stroller.
The baby was unharmed, but Nykea's four children will grow up without a mother.
"It just hurts to hear kids saying they want their mom and their mom won't be in their lives anymore," the grandmother told Crane on Sunday, fighting back tears. "Only through spirit, only through pictures -- that's the only way they will know their mom for the rest of their lives."

Mom of slain Chicago woman weeps for grandchildren, forgives killers


Losing a child is more than most parents can bear. But having to explain the loss to your grandchildren can be just as heartbreaking.


(CNN) When Lucy, the world's most well-known fossil, was discovered sticking out of a shallow Ethiopian stream bed in 1974, she provided new insight about life for early human ancestors 3.18 million years ago. The image of her skeleton -- which is estimated to be 40% complete and considered the best representation of her species, Australopithecus afarensis -- became iconic.
But how did she come to rest in that shallow stream? Lucy just might be considered one of the world's oldest cold cases.
Forty-two years after the discovery, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin now believe that she was found in proximity to where she died.
"When we think about any of the fossils that we work on, we know in every instance that that came from an individual who was born, they grew up, and then they died," said John W. Kappelman, a professor of anthropology and lead author of a new study on Lucy. "But it's rarely the case that the skeleton actually preserves evidence of how an individual died. What we're proposing here is the first hypothesis that's out there, and we've had her for 42 years now, about how she died. I am not aware that anyone else has ever [done that]."
The original fossil and CT scans of fractures to her skeleton paint a more vivid portrait of what happened in Lucy's final moments, and although it was probably swift, it wasn't without pain. The new study that proposes the hypothesis reads like a coroner's report, making Lucy's stone-like bones seem more lifelike than ever.
What happened to Lucy?
Lucy was small, about 3½ feet tall and 60 pounds. Analysis of her skeleton and teeth shows she had reached maturity, but not unlike chimpanzees, her species matured young. Kappelman estimates she was 15 or 16 years old.
Given her size, predators such as hyenas, jackals and saber-toothed cats would have posed a threat to Lucy. So Lucy most likely turned to the trees, Kappelman said. It's possible she scaled them only from time to time for safety or that she nested in them every night. Based on data on the nesting habits of chimps, an average of 46 feet above the ground makes them feel safe.
She stood up straight, with feet, knees and hips that are similar to ours. If you saw her walking from afar, you would think Lucy was human by her silhouette. But up close, she had a small head, a brain comparable in size to a chimpanzee's, longer arms and hair covering her body.
Bridging the gap between humans and chimps, Lucy had slightly curved fingers and toes, with mobile ankles and shoulders that provided more overhead range of movement. Even with those abilities, she would have been better at walking than climbing.
Perhaps Lucy was spooked by a predator, or perhaps she was asleep or settling in for the night. Maybe she spied some fruit and wanted to forage. Either way, this is what Kappelman believes happened next.
A sculptor's rendering of the hominid Australopithecus afarensis.
From 46 feet in the air, Lucy fell out of her tree, fully conscious. She fell toward the ground rapidly at 35 mph and hit feet-first, sending an impact punching through her body that created fractures in her ankles, knees, hip and shoulder. Internal organs were probably punctured by this "hydraulic ram effect." Lucy pitched forward and instinctively put out her arms to break the fall, creating fractures in the bone there as well. It would probably be her final conscious act.
She twisted to her right, landing primarily on that side. That twist fractured her neck and tilted her head. Unconscious, broken and bleeding, she lay on the stream bed. If there was water present at the time, it gently moved the body a short distance along, naturally carrying her to a final resting place since members of her own species didn't.
A diagram of Lucy's fall from a tree, showing the overlay of her skeleton.
Writing a death certificate for a fossil
Lucy's skeleton is represented by elements of her skull, upper limb, hand, axial skeleton, pelvis, lower limb and foot. Previously, researchers believed any damage or fractures within her bones simply happened over time as she became fossilized. The discovery of Lucy's skeleton has often been heralded as something of a miracle because as Kappelman points out, the geologic record isn't kind to bones over the years and it's difficult for them to last long enough to reach us.
But not all the fractures happened after death, Kappelman said. Using their High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility, the researchers scanned her entire skeleton to look deeper within the bone. Previous CT scans were more medical, with less resolution, and weren't able to penetrate the rocky nature of the skeleton.
There are clean breaks, and there are also intact tiny bone slivers. Had those occurred once the bone was dry and exposed to the elements, they would have broken off and dispersed.
Lucy's humerus fractures also bear the unique signature that orthopedic surgeons associate with falling injuries in the elderly or those who fall from great heights. In both cases, the patients instinctively stretch out their arms to break the fall. Kappelman consulted with nine orthopedic surgeons, and they all agreed on the fracture signature.
Overall, the fractures and bone-to-bone impact associated with her death prove to be severe, and Lucy had to have fallen from a great height to receive such trauma. This also indicates that while Lucy had the ability to reach great heights, she may not have been an adept climber simply due to her features.
"The point we argue is that it may well be the evolution of these traits for bipedalism [walking upright] that compromised her ability to climb as safely and efficiently in the trees, and that may have meant that her species was more subject to a higher frequency of falls," Kappelman said. Researchers have found other fossils of her species with similar fractures, suggesting more falls.
As a professor of anthropology, Kappelman also received training in human anatomy and went through medical and surgical rounds. He and his team regarded falling as one hypothesis and researched other causes, such as a seizure, a flood, a lightning strike or even a violent animal. But none of these matched as well with the fractures.
"We've done what we thought we could do in evaluating alternative hypotheses," he said. "This is most consistent and common with the impact from a fall. This hypothesis is more or less being tested every day in thousands of ERs everywhere when people have these injuries."
John Kappelman with 3D printouts of Lucy's skeleton.
The Ethiopian government has also granted permission for 3-D files of the bone scans to be released to the public on Monday, so anyone can download them, look at the data and form their own hypothesis of what happened to Lucy.
After 30 years of working with fossils, Kappelman was eager to scan Lucy's iconic bones, but he wasn't prepared for how he would feel after discerning her cause of death when he looked over her skeleton laid out on his desk. Falling is easy to imagine for anyone, and he could picture the progression of her injuries as she plummeted to her death and lay at the bottom of the tree.
"It really hit me for the first time," he said. "Here she was in her death, reaching her arms out to try instinctively just to break her fall. It was at that moment that these broken bits of bone that I've taught for 30 years became a living individual. And it gave me this feeling of empathy, because I could identify with this.
Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.
"It's like putting yourself there at someone's death and being able to picture that, almost as if understanding that drops us into a time machine and we fly back through 3 million years so we're there observing how this little individual died. It was in understanding her death that she became alive for me."

How did Lucy, our early human ancestor, die?


How did she come to rest in a shallow stream bed? Lucy just might be considered one of the oldest cold cases.


Story highlights A man who had no idea he had Zika gave the virus to his female partner, the CDC says
The CDC urges pregnant women to take safe-sex precautions if exposure is possible
(CNN) A man who had no idea he had Zika has given the virus to his female partner during sex, the Centers for Disease Control announced today. It's the first documented case of a person with no symptoms sexually transmitting the virus to a partner who had not traveled to an area of active Zika circulation.
The announcement came the same day the Food and Drug Administration revised its guidance to recommend that all blood donations in the United States and its territories be tested for the Zika virus.
The asymptomatic Zika transmission "illustrates the need for careful precautions when visiting an area where Zika is circulating," said Dr. John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC. "Be sure to wear insect repellent and appropriate clothing, and use CDC guidance on safe sex when you return. This is especially critical for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive and their partners.
"Pregnant couples need to defer unprotected sexual contact for the entire pregnancy, even if the exposed partner never develops symptoms of Zika. A few months of precautions can prevent devastating lifelong defects for the developing fetus."
Exposure to the Zika virus during the first trimester, including before a woman even realizes she is pregnant, has been linked to a devastating birth defect called microcephaly, in which the infant is born with a small head and underdeveloped brain. Infants with that disorder face overwhelming obstacles such as seizures, eye and hearing problems, failure to thrive and even death. Infants exposed later in pregnancy may escape microcephaly but can continue to have abnormal brain development and learning disabilities.
Read More

First case of Zika transmission from person without symptoms


A man who had no idea he had Zika has given the virus to his female partner during sex, the first known case in the world, the CDC announced today.


(CNN) Welcome to the dark side of the universe. In a direct contrast with the beautifully bright Milky Way galaxy, a "dark twin" called Dragonfly 44 has been discovered 300 million light-years away in the Coma constellation, according to a new study .
But don't cue "Star Wars' " Imperial March theme music or Darth Vader breathing just yet (even if the closeup image looks like a slightly creepy emoji). Although it's massive and mysterious, Dragonfly 44 is really just misunderstood.
Dragonfly 44 went unnoticed until last year because, when regarding the darkness of space, this galaxy resembles a virtually indistinguishable blob. But by looking at it with some of the world's most powerful telescopes, including the Dragonfly telescope array designed and built by study authors Pieter van Dokkum and Roberto Abraham, researchers realized something else. It is named for the telescope that found it.
Dragonfly 44 is an incredibly large but diffuse and dim galaxy. Encircling its core is a halo made up of clusters of stars, much like what we see in the Milky Way. But this galaxy is only 0.1% stars. The Milky Way has more than a hundred times that. The researchers knew that something had to be holding those few stars in place.
"We knew as soon as we discovered the galaxy that it would be so tenuous if it was just made up of stars and no dark matter, that it would quickly disrupt and disappear," said van Dokkum, lead study author and Yale University astronomer.
A huge amount of gravity was working to hold those stars in place, and once researchers used star velocity to measure how much mass the galaxy contained, they realized that the other 99.9% is dark matter.
To put this in perspective, Dragonfly 44 is comparable in size to the Milky Way, which is 100,000 light-years wide. Mostly it is just unseen because it is cloaked in darkness.
"It's very exciting because we thought we had sort of figured out what the relationship is between galaxies and dark matter," van Dokkum said. "This discovery turns that on its head. Now, you can have a hundred times fewer stars in the galaxy with the same amount of dark matter as the Milky Way. That was entirely unexpected, and that means that there is something missing in our description of galaxy formations, and there are physics that we don't yet understand in that process."
This newly observed galaxy could hold the secrets to understanding dark matter, the hypothesized ingredient that makes up 90% of the universe. Given the fact that we know next to nothing about it, this find could open the door to our discovery and understanding of the mysterious building block.
"One of the things we are after are finding galaxies like this that are even closer to us, ideally 30 or 50 million light-years away so we could study them in detail," van Dokkum said. "We could be looking for the dark matter particle itself. Currently, people are looking at tiny dwarf galaxies that circle the Milky Way to search for the dark matter particle with X-ray and UV telescopes, but nothing has been found yet. These galaxies are a million times more massive, so we have a higher chance of detecting a dark matter signal if we find one close enough to us.
"But dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in science. We don't even know if it is a particle or not. It's a bunch of steps from where we are now. For us, it's finding the best candidates. It would be incredibly exciting if it helps the search in that way."
The invention and building of the Dragonfly telescope came out of a dinner conversation between the two men, that led to a bet in 2011. It has grown from one lens in a parking lot to an array of 48 lenses with a coating that enables them to do special imaging of these faint galaxies.
Abraham, a professor of astronomy at the University of Toronto, is credited with putting the telescope together. Van Dokkum also has a background in photography, which enabled him to help with selecting the lenses.
As it happens, in his spare time, he uses his photography skills to capture images of the underappreciated dragonfly. He calls it a "strange confluence of work and hobby," considering the name of the galaxy and telescope.
Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.
Using their Dragonfly telescope, van Dokkum and Abraham will continue their research by surveying a random large batch of the sky rather than targeting of particular galaxies or groups of galaxies, as they had been doing.
"We built this telescope to try to uncover what's out there," van Dokkum said. "What other things have we missed that are right above us?"

'Dark twin' of the Milky Way galaxy discovered


Welcome to the dark side of the universe. In a direct contrast with the beautifully bright Milky Way galaxy, a "dark twin" called Dragonfly 44 has been discovered 300 million light-years away in the Coma constellation, according to a new study.


Story highlights Maybe it's not that we've never found any aliens ...
Maybe they've found us, and just aren't impressed
(CNN) Could we have finally made contact with a far-away alien civilization? Probably not, but astronomers engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have picked up a "strong" signal about 64 light years away. Best-case sci-fi scenario, the signal is from an advanced extraterrestrial race. Worst case, it's just an anomaly.
Either way, some day the human race may be in the presence of aliens, and hoo boy will they have a good time figuring us out.
We have a rectangle that contains all of the knowledge in the world, and we use it to look at cute animals.
Learn another language? Explore the vast cultural treasures of the past? Deepen the -- oh, look a baby goat in a sweater!
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What aliens just wouldn't get about the human race


Some day the human race may be in the presence of aliens, and hoo boy will they have a good time figuring us out.


Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Inside the elite unit fighting human trafficking


A group of undercover officers in Winnipeg, Canada, is leading a new way to fight human trafficking -- firmly focused on helping victims.


(CNN) From nuns frolicking on the beach to motorcyclists lounging in full gear, the Internet served up its own answer to France's burkini ban this week.
So far 15 French towns have banned the burkini , a full-length swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet. Officials say the ban on the outfit -- worn mostly by Muslim women -- is a response to growing terror concerns.
And when pictures emerged of French police apparently ordering a woman to remove part of her clothing on a beach in Nice on Wednesday, people around the globe had their own reaction.
Police patrolling the promenade des anglais beach in Nice fine a woman for wearing a burkini on August 24, 2016.
Twitter uses share images of nuns...
As the ban targets overtly religious clothing , many Twitter users wondered if nuns in habits would also be affected.
I wonder if France would make these ladies take their clothes off too. #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/PP6EIWlaoZ — Irene Adler (@The_Whip_Hand) August 24, 2016
They posted images of carefree nuns frolicking at the beach, in an effort to highlight what they feel is the ban's hypocrisy.
The #burkiniban is not about the promotion of secularist society. Exhibit A. Eurocentrically acceptable attire... pic.twitter.com/wQ1Re7rs3A — Ally (@allyska) August 24, 2016
...and motorkinis
Meanwhile, images of motorcyclists lounging on the beach in protective gear have given rise to the hashtag #motorkini.
A genius came up with #motorkini 😂 in solidarity with Muslim women banned from wearing #burkini on French beaches pic.twitter.com/pn9gYEiZrn — Yasmin Khan (@ykhan100) August 25, 2016
"A genius came up with #motorkini in solidarity with Muslim women banned from wearing #burkini on French beaches," tweeted Yasmin Khan , director of women's charity Staying Put UK.
Cartoonists poke fun
Artists across the globe also turned their hands to the controversy.
Sudanese designer Khalid Albaih depicted a woman being ordered to undress in France, and uncover in other parts of the world.
#Khartoon - Laws - To cover or uncover? name of freedom, while others in the name of religion #cartoon pic.twitter.com/ZWIVwjHYcN — ALBAIH (@khalidalbaih) August 24, 2016
The Bangkok-based political cartoonist known as "Stephff" questioned the meaning of liberty in France today.
And French illustrator La Sauvage Jaune showed the various expectations placed on women, depending on which part of the world they're in.
The lottery of indecency - En anglais, merci @bitofkit pour la traduction ! pic.twitter.com/y1fYq5rGh5 — La sauvage jaune (@LaSauvageJaune) 22 August 2016
Londoners build their own beach
In London, demonstrators created a makeshift beach outside the French embassy for a "Wear what you want beach party" on Thursday.
Dressed in everything from bikinis to burkinis, and even priest's cloaks, the activists gathered in solidarity with Muslim women in France.
#wearwhatyouwant demonstration outside the French Embassy in London. A makeshift beach complete with sand and towels was set up in solidarity with burqini - wearing women everywhere. People here are outraged at the burqini ban in some places in France. A photo posted by Erin McLaughlin (@erincnn) on Aug 25, 2016 at 5:50am PDT
"I think it's ridiculous," event organizer Fariah Syed said of the burkini ban. "No one, regardless of their religion and race, should be told what they should wear and where they can wear it."
So what's the view from France?
Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Do you know the difference between a hijab and a niqab? How about a burqa and a chador? Click through to read about the different types of headscarves some Muslim women wear. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burkini: The full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed. Here a woman in a burkini wades in the water with a child at Ghar El Melh beach in Tunisia. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burqa: This full-body garment has a mesh over the eyes. The burqa is widely used in Afghanistan and was required under the Taliban. These Afghan women are shopping in Herat. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Niqab: The full-face veil exposes only the eyes. A Palestinian bride in Jericho wears this one. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Hijab: The scarf worn tightly around the head and neck does not cover the face. It is the most common Islamic head covering. This Indonesian girl is shopping for a hijab in Yogyakarta. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Chador: The full-body black garment leaves the face exposed. These Iranian women are wearing chadors at a political meeting in Tehran. Hide Caption 6 of 6
France already became the first European country to ban wearing burqas in public in 2011.
And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously enforced secularism.
Hervé Lavisse, president of the Cannes-Grasse section of the Human Rights League, told CNN the bans would be counterproductive because "instead of appeasing people, it will inflame tensions."

France's burkini ban: How people around the world are saying no


From nuns to motorkinis, how are people around the world reacting to France's burkini ban?


In an interview with Larry King in 2002, Gene Wilder explained that as much as he loves acting and art, he hates show business.

Gene Wilder: I love acting, hate show business (2002)


Story highlights Standoff started Thursday when three armed attackers stormed beach restaurant
At least 20 people have been rescued, official says
(CNN) Gunmen raided a beach restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing 10 people and seizing hostages amid fierce battles with security forces, authorities said.
The standoff started Thursday when attackers detonated a car bomb outside the restaurant , according to Bishar Abshir Ghedi, the Mogadishu police commissioner.
Attackers then stormed into the restaurant with their weapons and clashed with security forces stationed around the building.
Somali elite forces killed two attackers and wounded one, the police official said. At least 20 people were rescued, he added.
Al-Shabaab's military spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on the terror group's radio station. He said the restaurant was targeted because it is frequented by Somali government officials and foreigners.
Read More

Somalia attack: 10 killed after gunmen raid restaurant, seize hostages


Gunmen raided a beach restaurant in Mogadishu, killing 10 people and seizing hostages amid fierce battles with security forces, authorities said.


Story highlights An agreement between the government and rebels allows safe passage
The deal marks a victory for Assad's regime, as rebels cede territory
The city has been under siege for four years
(CNN) Buses packed with people rumbled past bombed-out buildings in the Damascus suburb of Daraya on Friday.
An evacuation agreement reached between the government and rebels gave thousands of civilians and hundreds of fighters safe passage out of the besieged city, state media reported.
A convoy of Red Crescent ambulances arrived early Friday in Daraya, which is just southwest of Syria's capital, Damascus.
Video from the scene showed tearful residents hugging as they bid each other farewell.
Photos shared on social media showed residents carrying their belongings along the streets of the heavily damaged town, which has faced food and water shortages.

Syrian residents, rebels leave besieged city of Daraya


Residents evacuated the besieged Syrian city of Daraya on Friday after a deal was brokered between the government and rebels.


Desert dreamer brings winter sport to Qatar


CNN's Jon Jensen meets a man trying to make curling take off in one of the world's hottest countries.


Over 700,000 people will pile into New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2016 US Open to see tennis stars Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Andy Murray.
Source: CNN


Over 700,000 people will pile into New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2016 US Open to see tennis stars Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Andy Murray.


Johannesburg (CNN) A South African judge on Friday rejected a request by prosecutors seeking to appeal Oscar Pistorius' six-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius' sentence for the crime was "shockingly lenient" and that the state should be granted the opportunity to appeal for a stiffer sentence. Meanwhile, defense lawyer Barry Roux argued that the legal process had been thoroughly exhausted and the prosecution's leave to appeal should be dismissed.
Judge Thokozile Masipa rejected the request in Johannesburg.
A dragged-out legal drama
Oscar Pistorius, as he leaves the High Court in Pretoria on July 6.
Pistorius originally was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 after months of hearings, but a higher court changed that to murder last year, leading to the latest sentencing.
Masipa surprised many when she sentenced Pistorius to six years earlier this year. The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but individual judges are given leeway if there are "substantial and compelling" reasons to do so.
Masipa cited mitigating circumstances for the lesser punishment, saying Pistorius is genuinely remorseful and a good candidate for rehabilitation. She had described him as a "fallen hero" who will never be at peace.

Pistorius prosecutors lose appeal for harsher sentence


A South African judge on Friday rejected a request by prosecutors seeking to appeal Oscar Pistorius' six-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.


Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

UK chose war 'before diplomacy' was exhausted


CNN's Becky Anderson dissects the findings of the Chilcot report with former U.S. Central Command adviser Ali Khedery and journalist Faisal Al Yafai.


'Gloppy' drink that some say can cure ills


Katie Quinn talks to a kombucha master about how to make the fermented beverage.


'Swinging' general's case raises screening concerns


Experts say the Pentagon's screening policies aren't stringent enough after a high-ranking Army officer's double life went undetected for more than a decade. CNN's Elise Labott reports.


(CNN) The Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa circuit has got off to a chaotic start with the race being red flagged on the 10th lap.
Kevin Magnusson in a Renault had a heavy crash that brought out the safety car.
The drivers returned to the pits but were able to rejoin in race order at the time of the smash.
For championship leader Lewis Hamilton and McLaren driver Fernando Alonso it boosted their chance of scoring points. Both started at the back of the grid after taking penalties but quickly moved into the top five during the track drama.
RAI 📻 (on VES tactics): "His only interest is pushing me off the track completely. This is just ******* ridiculous" pic.twitter.com/0AZPwvtHD0 — Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2016
At the start of the race Hamilton enjoyed a 19-point lead over his team mate and closest rival Nico Rosberg, who qualified in pole position, but he faced the possibility of losing the leadership until the crashes.
Read More


The Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa circuit has got off to a chaotic start with the race being red flagged on the 10th lap.


One man known as the "Father of the Flowers" in Aleppo was determined to keep living his life as a gardener, even in the middle of the civil war. Krishnan Guru-Murthy has his story.


Ashley Graham, the first plus-sized model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue talks about body shaming, cyberbullying and body acceptance.
Source: CNN

Swimsuit model: I claimed confidence in my cellulite


Ashley Graham, the first plus-sized model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue talks about body shaming, cyberbullying and body acceptance.


Gaziantep, Turkey (CNN) Turkey flexed its military muscle across the border in war-torn Syria this week by helping rebels retake the border town of Jarablus from ISIS, marking a decisive win for the Free Syrian Army.
On Saturday, the air force pounded more targets in the region. But in the bloody five-year-old conflict, replete with many power players and varying loyalties, it was unclear whether the latest airstrikes targeted ISIS or its other foes -- Syrian Kurdish fighters.
One Turkish soldier was killed in fighting on Saturday, and Turkish officials believe Kurdish fighters launched the rockets that killed him, according to Turkish sources and the state-run Anadolu Agency.
"The Turkish role here will be to protect the region," said Faheem Issa, who commands the Sultan Murad brigade -- a Syrian Turkmen unit. "Because of the world's indifference and insufficient backing for the Free Syrian Army, Turkey is providing that support."
Villages seized, 'terror' HQ pounded
Turkey launched airstrikes that injured civilians in Al Amarneh in eastern Jarablus, according to Manbij Military Council Cmdr. Shirvan Darwish. It struck areas to the south of the town, destroying an ammunition dump and the headquarters of a "terror organization," according to military sources speaking to Anadolu.
And, a spokesman for a Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army group called the Sultan Murad Brigade said its fighters have seized a series of villages to the west of Jarablus. The villages -- Tal Shair, Hamir al-Ajaaj, and al-Helwaniah -- are near a key border crossing, Bab al-Salama, but it is unclear from whom they were seized.
In comments televised by CNN Turk, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus referred to Turkey's fight against "terrorist groups operating in Marea-Jarablus line," an area running along the border between Bab al-Salama and the town of Jarablus. That suggests Turkey aims to control a long stretch of the border as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.
"We will cleanse the area from ISIS and other terrorist groups. The swift and result-oriented operation continues successfully. We are in coordination with international organizations. We use our right of self defense that international law gives us."
Turkey views both ISIS and Kurdish rebels as foes and its allegiances have complicated its relationship with the United States.
Kurdish fighters have been a key ally of the United States in the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, but the Turkish government views those fighters -- the People's Protection Units in Syria, also known as the YPG -- as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a pro-separatist group that Turkey has been fighting for years.
The YPG is believed to have fired rockets at two Turkish tanks six or seven kilometers south of Jarablus as Turkish-backed rebels were advancing south, Anadolu said.
Along with the one soldier killed, three others were injured. The death was the first in the fourth day of Operation Euphrates Shield.
A military source says it was 99.9 % certain that "YPG that launched the rockets. Two Turkish tanks hit. One soldier injured in one of them. Two injured and one killed in the other."
Anadolu said Turkey retaliated by firing howitzers.
Getting back to normal
In Jarablus on Saturday, shops were being restocked, street life appeared to be getting back to normal, and the Red Crescent was seen distributing aid.
That comes after the Free Syrian Army rebels drove ISIS out of that city in a key military victory on Friday. The FSA took control of the town in less than 24 hours with the help of Turkey's potent and huge military -- the second-largest in NATO after the United States.
"For now, our focus is on ISIS," said Issa, the commander of the Sultan Murad brigade.
At the same time, he doesn't deny that his fighters have battled US-backed Kurdish militias, which, Turkey insists, must withdraw east of the Euphrates River.
The United States has spent millions of dollars arming and training Syrian rebels, with little to show for it. In contrast, American officials regard Kurdish fighters as far more effective in fighting ISIS.
US aircraft did strike ISIS targets during the push on Jarablus, but the boots on the ground are Turkish. Turkish involvement, not American support, helped provide these Syrian fighters with a rare victory.
Officials said one of the goals of this operation is to set up a "terror-free" zone -- in effect a buffer zone -- to ensure the safety of Turkish citizens living along the border.
"We came to rid this area of ISIS," Issa said.


Turkey flexed its military muscle across the border in war-torn Syria this week by helping rebels retake the border town of Jarablus from ISIS, marking a decisive win for the Free Syrian Army.


Ugandan breakdancers push for social change


Tabu Flo is a dynamic, charismatic and funny performance group which has helped put their East African country on the map.


Story highlights ISIS says it is "determined to seek revenge"
Mohammad al-Adnani had called for attacks against countries launching airstriikes against ISIS
(CNN) ISIS spokesman Mohammad al-Adnani has been killed, according to a statement from the terror group and its Amaq news agency.
His death marks the highest-profile killing of an ISIS member yet.
The Amaq statement Tuesday said al-Adnani died while inspecting military operations in the area of Aleppo, Syria. ISIS has not revealed his cause of death.
"After a journey filled with sacrifice and fight against non-believers, the Syrian Gallant knight, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, joined the convoy of martyr leaders," ISIS said.
"To the filthy and coward non-believers and to the holders of the Christ emblem, we bring the good news, which will keep them awake, that a new generation in the Islamic State ... that loves death more than life ... this generation will only grow steadfast on the path to Jihad, stay determined to seek revenge and be violent toward them."
Read More


ISIS spokesman Mohammad al-Adnani has been killed, according to a statement from the terror group and its Amaq news agency.


(CNN) Scientists have just reconstructed the genome of an ancient plague, which may shed new light on how certain diseases can either mysteriously disappear or continue to evolve and spread.
About 1,500 years ago, frequent outbreaks of the world's first known plague , caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, killed more than 25 million people and sickened many others in the Mediterranean basin with "flu-like" symptoms. The pandemic, which was called the Justinian Plague after the sixth-century Byzantine emperor Justinian I, lasted to the mid-eighth century.
Now, researchers in Germany have sequenced the genome of the Y. pestis strain that they believe caused the Justinian Plague but hasn't been seen since, according to a new study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution on Tuesday.
Variations of Y. pestis are thought to have caused at least three known plague pandemics. The Justinian plague was the first, and the Black Death , a pandemic that emerged in the Middle Ages and killed up to half of the European population, was the second. The third plague pandemic began in late 19th-century China, giving rise to many of the subsequent plagues that exist today.
The newly sequenced genome reveals that the Y. pestis strain linked to the Justinian Plague indeed differs from the strain linked to the Black Death. (A genome of the Y. pestis strain behind the Black Death was published in a separate study in 2011.)
Therefore, "this study provides a better understanding of the history and the biology of the disease," said Michal Feldman, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute and the University of Tubingen in Germany, who served as first author of the study.
"We still do not know why the Justinian plague suddenly vanished," Feldman said. "The bacterium causing the Black Death and the Justinianic one is the same bacterium, Y. pestis, and this was already reported on in previous studies. However, the strains of the bacteria -- you can also call them variations if you like -- causing the two pandemics were different, and the Justinianic strain is extinct today."
Old bones hold new clues
The researchers examined the skeletons of two Justinian plague victims. The remains were unearthed in 1966 among several hundred other skeletons in a large medieval cemetery in rural southern Germany.
"A communal burial indicates simultaneous death, or death close in time of those interred, and could therefore also indicate that an epidemic occurred," said Andreas Rott, a researcher at the State Collection of Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy in Munich, Germany, and a co-author of the study.
An adult woman's skeleton, left, and adult man's skeleton tested positive for the presence of Y. pestis. A third molar was sampled from the woman (see arrow) to sequence the bacterium's genome.
The teeth of the plague victims, a man and a woman, were analyzed and used to extract DNA samples. The researchers separated the human DNA from bacterial DNA in order to sequence the Y. pestis genome.
After analyzing the reconstructed genome, the researchers found clues that this ancient strain of Y. pestis might have had Chinese origins, which was also found in a 2014 study from a separate research team.
Additionally, the new findings provide evidence that the Justinian plague hit rural Germany. "But more data is needed to determine the rate in which the disease had spread," Feldman said.
"How the pathogen reached southern Germany is at present unknown. Possibly, it traveled across the Alps from the Mediterranean or from France and western Germany. It could have also traveled up the Danube [River] from the east," Feldman said. "The exact trade routes that the disease traveled in are a subject of debate among scholars. It was transmitted either by people or by rats that were 'traveling' with cargo."
'Always good to have more ancient genomes'
Antibiotics and antimicrobials are often used to treat the plague. However, with further research, many scientists think that the genomes of ancient pathogens could lead to improved treatments to eliminate plague-related deaths.
Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.
"I think it's interesting and always good to have more ancient genomes," said Hendrik Poinar, a molecular evolutionary geneticist and biological anthropologist at McMaster University in Canada, who was not involved in the new study.
More genomes could allow scientists to better detect any small changes in the evolution of a pathogen that may affect how quickly it can spread and cause disease, Poinar said. "Those sorts of things are critical for understanding eradication in currently plague-hit areas, such as Madagascar."

Why scientists reconstructed an ancient plague


Scientists have sequenced an ancient plague genome to better understand the history and biology of the disease.


In an interview with Larry King in 2002, Gene Wilder explained that as much as he loves acting and art, he hates show business.

Gene Wilder: I love acting, hate show business (2002)


Story highlights Donald Trump says both parties' candidates should release detailed medical records
Trump's only public medial record has been under scrutiny
Washington (CNN) Donald Trump challenged Hillary Clinton Sunday to release "detailed medical records" and said he would have "no problem" releasing his own.
"I think that both candidates, Crooked Hillary and myself, should release detailed medical records. I have no problem in doing so! Hillary?" Trump tweeted.
I think that both candidates, Crooked Hillary and myself, should release detailed medical records. I have no problem in doing so! Hillary? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2016
Trump has long tried to portray Clinton as without sufficient stamina to serve as president, despite her reputation as one of the most traveled secretaries of state and profiles detailing her work ethic.
"#WheresHillary? Sleeping!!!!!" he recently tweeted.
The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read More

Trump challenges Clinton to release detailed medical records


Donald Trump challenged Hillary Clinton Sunday to release "detailed medical records" and said he would have "no problem" releasing his own.


Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

ISIS using child soldiers to carry out atrocities


It's estimated there are 1,500 child soldiers fighting in ISIS ranks. CNN's Amara Walker speaks to Professor Mia Bloom about the terror group's recruitment of children.


Story highlights Juvanny Parra Zambada is the nephew of one of Sinaloa cartel's leaders
His uncle took a leadership role after arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman
(CNN) Gunmen killed the nephew of a Sinaloa cartel leader in the latest attack against relatives of people linked to the drug organization.
Edgar Juvanny Parra Zambada, 42, was one of two people killed during a shootout in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, according to the local attorney general's office.
In addition to the two men who were killed, a female driver was injured during the attack.
Parra is the nephew of Ismael Zambada, the man reportedly in charge of the Sinaloa cartel's operations since notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was recaptured after months on the run. Mexican officials describe the victim's uncle as "the new El Chapo."
The elder Zambada faces a series of charges in the United States, including trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana, the Justice Department announced last year.

Nephew of Sinaloa cartel leader shot dead


Gunmen killed the nephew of a Sinaloa cartel leader in the latest attack against relatives of people linked to the drug organization.


From Willy Wonka to Dr. Frankenstein, take a look back at some of Gene Wilder's most iconic roles.