(CNN)Actress Linda Thompson, Bruce Jenner's second wife, says she can "breathe a little easier" knowing her ex-husband has found the strength to publicly declare he is transgender. In a two-hour special that aired Friday, the Olympic gold medalist and "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star said he has the "soul of a female" even though he was born with male body parts. Thompson, who had two sons with Jenner during their five-year marriage, was one of many relatives to cheer Jenner for publicly sharing what she had known for decades. "I have respectfully kept his secrets private and would have taken his confidences to my grave had he not spoken out," she said in a column for the Huffington Post. "He can finally realize his need to be who he authentically is, who he was born to be. That takes tremendous courage. For that I commend him." Thompson wrote that she would not have married Jenner if she had known about his "gender issue" when they first met. But she's glad she didn't know because she would have missed the chance to share a life with him, including their two sons. "Looking back, I'm so grateful to God, the universe, and Bruce that I didn't know, and that Bruce played the role in my life that he did," she said in the column. The two met in 1979 at a celebrity tennis tournament at the Playboy Mansion, while Jenner was in the process of separating from his first wife. The two married on January 5, 1981, and made Hawaii their home. Their first son, Brandon, was born in 1981, followed by son Brody in 1983. "The Bruce I knew back then was an easygoing, down-to-earth, casual, romantic, good and loving man. I was extremely happy to have found such a remarkable partner with whom to share my life. I found him to be honorable and, well, just too good to be true. Just too good to be true indeed," she wrote. They were a celebrity "glamour couple" of the time, appearing regularly on red carpets, hosting charitable fundraisers and traveling the world together for their careers. Jenner's star grew, and was a man that other men aspired to be, and someone women wanted to be with. "The Bruce I knew back then was unstudied, affable, and seemingly very comfortable in his own skin. So it seemed." Thompson said Jenner told her in 1985 that, despite it all, "he identified as a woman" and hoped to move forward with the process of becoming a woman." Confused and desperate, Thompson suggested therapy to help her understand what he was going through and "determine if it was something we could overcome or 'fix.'" "I was pretty ignorant of the fact that being transgender isn't something that can be overcome, fixed, prayed away, exorcised or obliterated by any other arcane notion," she said. He considered traveling out of the country for gender-confirmation surgery and returning to the United States identifying as female, where his children could meet him as "Aunt Heather." They separated after going to

Summary: Bruce Jenner's second wife Linda Thompson says she learned of his "gender issues" during their marriage . She says she can breathe easier now that he can be "who he authentically is"


(CNN)Universal's "Furious 7" is about to make history."Furious 7" — the final film from the late Paul Walker — is expected to gross $115 million or more when opening at the North American box office this weekend, the top showing ever for an April title, not accounting for inflation.Domestically, it is getting the widest release in Universal's history with a theater count of roughly 4,003 (including Imax locations), eclipsing "Despicable Me 2" (3,956). Anything north of 4,000 is usually reserved for summer tentpoles and year-end titles. Overseas, the movie is also poised to do massive business, putting its global debut north of $250 million. "Furious 7" is opening day-and-date around the world on 10,500 screens in 63 territories, save for a few major markets including China, Russia and Japan. THR: 'Furious 7' scores Thailand release despite Tony Jaa contract dispute . The current record-holder for top April opening domestically is "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," which debuted to $95 million from 3,928 theaters last year. "Furious 7" is likewise poised to nab the biggest opening of 2015 to date. And if it beats the $121.9 million launch of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" in November 2014, it will mark the largest three-day opening since "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ($158 million) in November 2013. The movie enjoys massive awareness and interest, due to both the popularity of the street-racing series and Walker's death. The last film," Fast & Furious 6," debuted to a franchise-best $117 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend in 2012, including $97.4 million for the three days, on its way to grossing $788.7 million worldwide. Universal intended to open "Furious 7" on July 11, 2014, but production was halted in November 2013 when Walker died in a car crash during the Thanksgiving hiatus. After director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan and Universal pored over existing footage and tweaked the script, production resumed in April 2014. THR: Studio profitability report - Who's up and who's down . CGI and voice effects were used in some scenes featuring Walker's detective character, Brian O'Conner, with Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, used as stand-ins. "Furious 7" pits Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and crew (which includes Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson, among others, as well as Walker) against Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, out for revenge after the death of his brother. "Furious 7" is expected to usher in a string of mega-openings at the box office this year. Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," set to open May 1, hasn't come on tracking yet, but some forecasters are already suggesting it could score the top opening of all time domestically, eclipsing the record-breaking start of "The Avengers" ($207 million) in 2012. See the original story at The Hollywood Reporter's website. ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

Summary: The film is expected to gross $115 million or more . Paul Walker died in a car crash during filming . "Furious 7" poised to nab the biggest opening of 2015 so far .


Seoul (CNN)South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo offered to resign on Monday amid a growing political scandal. Lee will stay in his official role until South Korean President Park Geun-hye accepts his resignation. He has transferred his role of chairing Cabinet meetings to the deputy prime minister for the time being, according to his office. Park heard about the resignation and called it "regrettable," according to the South Korean presidential office. Calls for Lee to resign began after South Korean tycoon Sung Woan-jong was found hanging from a tree in Seoul in an apparent suicide on April 9. Sung, who was under investigation for fraud and bribery, left a note listing names and amounts of cash given to top officials, including those who work for the President. Lee and seven other politicians with links to the South Korean President are under investigation. A special prosecutor's team has been established to investigate the case. Lee had adamantly denied the allegations as the scandal escalated: "If there are any evidence, I will give out my life. As a Prime Minister, I will accept Prosecutor Office's investigation first." Park has said that she is taking the accusations very seriously. Before departing on her trip to Central and South America, she condemned political corruption in her country. "Corruption and deep-rooted evil are issues that can lead to taking away people's lives. We take this very seriously." "We must make sure to set straight this issue as a matter of political reform. I will not forgive anyone who is responsible for corruption or wrongdoing." Park is in Peru and is expected to arrive back to South Korea on April 27. CNN's Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.

Summary: Calls for Lee Wan-koo to resign began after South Korean tycoon Sung Woan-jong was found hanging from a tree in Seoul . Sung, who was under investigation for fraud and bribery, left a note listing names and amounts of cash given to top officials .


(CNN)Pardon us, "Lost" fans, but April 8 wasn't only your day. Yes, we know the significance of April 8, 2015, and the alignment of 4:23.42 p.m. on that date to everyone obsessed with the hit ABC show, and we heard about the general geek-outs that were occurring. But don't forget, April 8 was also "Rex Manning Day." Twitter didn't, paying homage to the 1995 film "Empire Records" and the character of Rex Manning, played by the very dreamy Maxwell Caulfield. The movie -- also starring Liv Tyler, Anthony LaPaglia and Renée Zellweger -- centers on an independent record store in Delaware where, on April 8, former pop idol Manning is scheduled to make an in-store appearance. Fret not if you missed it, as we have some other dates made famous by films that you aren't going to want to let pass you by: . April 14 . Their love affair was doomed like two ships passing in the night, but it was so good while it lasted for Jack and Rose in the 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic." The sketch Jack does of his beloved is dated April 14, 1912. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. April 25 . Thanks to the 2000 film "Miss Congeniality," we now know that April 25 is the perfect date. Just don't forget to dress accordingly. October 3 . "Mean Girls Day" is officially October 3, given that's when Aaron Samuels (OMG, he is so hot!) asks Cady what day it is. Of course, she replies "It's October 3." Honestly, any day is a good day to quote the 2004 film. It's so fetch. October 21, 2015 . Buckle up for this one. In the 1989 film "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly and the gang travel to October 21, 2015. We hope to be celebrating that in our flying car that we are STILL waiting on, please and thank you.

Summary: April 8 was huge for "Lost" and "Empire Records" fans . April 14, April 25, October 21 are other big dates in movies .


(CNN)ISIS fighters seized several districts in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in an hours-long assault Friday that included suicide and car bombs, an Iraqi provincial official said. At least 10 Iraqi security forces were killed in the attacks, according to Faleh al-Essawi, the deputy head of Iraq's Anbar provincial council. And the head of the Iraqi military operation in Anbar province, Gen. Qassim al-Muhammadi, was wounded. The northern Ramadi districts of Albu Faraj, Albu Essa and Albu Risha were in the hands of ISIS by the time the day was done. Located about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Ramadi has seen intense and persistent fighting for months. ISIS took over parts of that western Anbar city in the first half of 2014, and it's been part of a tug of war ever since. Iraqi security forces discovered tunnels in February that they say could have led opposition fighters to a central government compound in the city. But they didn't find all of them: A few weeks later, ISIS detonated hundreds of homemade bombs from a tunnel underneath an army headquarters there, according to Sabah Al-Karhout, the head of the Anbar provincial council. More than 40 Iraqi soldiers died in that explosion. Iraqi and allied forces have made inroads in recent weeks, beating back the group that calls itself the Islamic State, which took over vast swaths of Iraq and neighboring Syria last year. Their most high-profile victory, for instance, was the recapture of Tikrit. And U.S.-led airstrikes have already made a difference, according to officials in Washington and beyond. Still, ISIS remains a formidable force and, as the Ramadi assault shows, one that's still capable and willing to go on offense to take territory. That may be best illustrated by the case of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and the site of one of its biggest embarrassments when Iraqi soldiers and police dropped their weapons and fled their posts as ISIS forces advanced last June. A U.S. official said in February that up to 25,000 Iraqis troops were expected to return to the key northern Iraqi city in April or May. But, on Thursday, a senior official in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration appeared to back away from that timeline -- saying an Iraqi-led assault on Mosul "might be some time from now (or) might be soon." Calling for "patience," an administration official said that winning Mosul is a complex endeavor. The same could be said for the entire effort to defeat ISIS. It will "take a lot of capacity," the official said, "and some time to build." CNN's Kim Acosta contributed to this report.

Summary: Anbar provincial official: Suicide and car bombs were part of the ISIS assault . Iraqi and allied forces have had recent success, but ISIS remains powerful .


Baltimore, Maryland (CNN)Protesters angry over the death of Freddie Gray got into physical altercations with police Saturday night in downtown Baltimore near the city's famed baseball stadium. Some of the hundreds who confronted lines of police officers got into shoving matches with helmeted cops while other demonstrators threw objects. At least five police cars were damaged by people who smashed windows and jumped on them. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she was profoundly disappointed by the violence, adding that 95% of the protesters were respectful but a "small group of agitators intervened." Twelve people were arrested, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said. "We continue to have a few isolated pockets of individuals causing disturbances. We are deploying resources to keep everyone safe," the Baltimore Police Department tweeted. Fredericka Gray, the twin sister of Freddie Gray, made a statement: "My family wants to say, 'Can y'all please, please stop the violence? Freddie Gray would not want this.' Freddie's father and mother do not want any violence. Violence does not get justice." Vandals broke and damaged storefront windows and trashed one 7-Eleven, police said. CNN crews observed a window damaged at a Michael Kors store and holes in one at a Subway restaurant. The skirmishes followed a planned demonstration over how police handled the arrest of Gray, a 25-year-old Baltimore man who suffered a spinal injury at some point after he was detained by police on April 12. He died a week later. The numbers of protesters dissipated substantially just before sunset, though some people were still walking in the streets near Oriole Park at Camden Yards, causing some traffic problems. Earlier, demonstrators had marched through the streets until they arrived at City Hall. Along the way, whenever it appeared the protest might get out of control, organizers reined the marchers back in. The event ended after speeches at Baltimore City Hall on Saturday evening, but many protesters continued to vent their anger by marching down to Inner Harbor. When demonstrators got to the stadium, tensions escalated and some people threw what appeared to be water bottles and other objects at the cops, who wore helmets and stood behind metal barricades. Fans who were arriving to watch the hometown Orioles play the Boston Red Sox were having trouble finding ways to the entrance gates. The Orioles won the game 5-4 in extra innings. For a time it appeared that fans would be held inside the ballpark until the demonstration quieted, but the gates were opened before the contest was over. Throughout the day, protesters yelled, "No justice, no peace" and "All night, all day; we're gonna fight for Freddie Gray." The police department used Twitter to update the public on the progress of the march. At City Hall, speakers demanded justice for the Gray family and an end to what they called police brutality against black suspects. At least one protest organizer had promised in advance that the event would be big enough to shut down the city, but while many people turned out and walked, the major disruption was only to traffic on a few

Summary: Twin sister of Freddie Gray asks for people to stop breaking things, scuffling with cops . Fans are permitted to exit Camden Yards after briefly being told to stay put . 12 people arrested during protests, police commissioner says .


(CNN)Remains of up to nearly 400 unaccounted for service members tied to the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor will be exhumed this year, the Defense Department announced Tuesday. The hope is that most of the battleship's sailors and Marines can be identified. "The secretary of defense and I will work tirelessly to ensure your loved one's remains will be recovered, identified, and returned to you as expeditiously as possible, and we will do so with dignity, respect and care," Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work said in a statement. "While not all families will receive an individual identification, we will strive to provide resolution to as many families as possible." The USS Oklahoma sank when it was hit by torpedoes on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 429 sailors and Marines on the ship were killed. Thirty-five crew members were positively identified and buried in the years immediately after the attack, according to the Defense Department. By 1950, all unidentified remains were laid to rest as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2003, five more service members were identified, with the help of historical evidence from Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Emory, 93. Emory, a native of Peoria, Illinois, was serving as a seaman first class on the light cruiser USS Honolulu that fateful day. After the war, Emory worked in Washington state before moving to Hawaii about 30 years ago. The retiree made it his mission to ensure graves are properly identified. "It's something I looked forward to for a long time," he told CNN about Tuesday's announcement. Speaking by phone from Honolulu, Emory said that proper identification means a lot to the families of those who lost loved ones -- and to him. Next of kin were being notified starting Tuesday. Service members who are identified will be returned to their families for burial, with full military honors. WWII pilot, 99, reunited with historic C-47 plane . CNN's Phil Gast contributed to this report.

Summary: USS Oklahoma was lost during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 . Hundreds of crew members were buried without identification .


(CNN)Robert Downey Jr. is making headlines for walking out of an interview with a British journalist who dared to veer away from the superhero movie Downey was there to promote. The journalist instead started asking personal questions about the actor's political beliefs and "dark periods" of addiction and jail time. Twitter, of course, is abuzz: Did journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy go too far? Must every interview be a license for a journalist to ask anything he'd like? From the start of the 7-minute television interview, it seems evident that Downey is not particularly interested in being there, even if being there was, ultimately, a benefit to him -- after all, he's promoting his latest film, "Avengers: Age of Ultron." He grows increasingly agitated, even as the line of questioning remains on-topic; his attitude, meanwhile, grew increasingly smug. His eyes glaze over as the reporter talks, he makes condescending comments and gestures that seem intended to intimidate and imply he's much smarter than Guru-Murthy, and he repeatedly looks toward his handler as if to say, "Do I really have to sit here with this guy?" At one point, he makes fun of Guru-Murthy for seeming nervous, saying, "Your foot is starting to jump a little bit. You better get to your next question." But it's after Guru-Murthy asks Downey whether he thinks he is "free from all of that," referring to Downey's history of "taking drugs, drinking" that the building tension comes to a head. "I'm sorry," says Downey, "What are we doing?" To which Guru-Murthy replies, "I'm just asking questions," which indeed was so. Downey has the right to refuse to answer the question, of course, but that's not what he does next. Instead, he throws the celebrity interview equivalent of a tantrum: He smiles arrogantly, says "bye!" and stands up to leave. He sure showed him! It's true that we live in a culture where we feel we have the right to know everything about celebrities -- who they're dating, what they're eating, where they vacation, what they meant when they made that comment 10 years ago. Journalists often go too far, even if it's their job. And certainly not every journalist is good at his job. But while Downey may be understandably tired of answering questions about his past, questions that have been asked before, his business is our business. The entertainment industry is about entertaining people. As such, we tend to like to watch actors who seem like they want to be watched. This is why most celebrities, especially those with a big budget movie to promote, agree to interviews and seek out recognition in general. But when the recognition no longer serves them? Then they want to bemoan it? What Downey seemed to misunderstand is that the interview format gives journalists the right to ask questions. That's what an interview is. He certainly can decline to answer questions he does not feel are appropriate, or even ones he simply doesn't feel like answering. But he does not have the right to be absolved for behavior that is rude, demeaning,

Summary: Peggy Drexler: In interview to promote movie, Robert Downey Jr. walked out after being asked personal questions . She says his behavior was rude, demeaning to the interviewer, who was just doing his job .


(CNN)This week, social media heralded as #motheroftheyear Toya Graham, the Baltimore single mom who pulled her son, who was holding a brick, away from the scene of a riot. A video of Graham yanking young Michael from a group of protesters -- and subsequently pummeling him with her fists and a few slaps upside the head -- went viral. Many called her a hero: a mother determined to stop the cycle of violence. And yet, wasn't she also promoting violence? Her own reaction, after all, was to yell, curse and hit. "Why is America celebrating the beating of a black child?" asked a writer at The Washington Post. Isn't violence at home what leads to violence outside the home? Isn't this why rioting happens? I'm not excusing violence in any form. I wish it didn't exist. But Baltimore isn't on fire because of mothers like Graham. In fact, what we need, not only in communities like Baltimore but also in communities around the country, are more mothers like her. Mothers who will do whatever it takes to protect their children and steer them through the increasingly tricky course of adolescence. I don't see Graham as an abusive mother spreading the gospel, or at least the inevitability, of violence. I don't see her as a hero, either. What I do see in Graham is a woman who is just like millions of other mothers of adolescents, mothers whose daily struggle is focused on guiding their kids in a positive direction while also helping them develop their own identities and independence. Mothers who know the anger and frustration that can result when they catch their teenager in a lie. As Graham told Anderson Cooper, she'd told Michael the night before not to join in any riots. He swore he wouldn't. But her momma bear sense kicked in, and when she heard that school was closing early, she didn't take the chance that he'd stick to his promise. She went to the site of the riots to make sure that she could help him stay the course. She went there so that she could help him keep his promise. And when she got there and saw he hadn't, as she suspected, she reacted in the way that she knew would, in that moment, be most effective to get him out of there. And that's the key here. It's easy to punish a teenager for acting out, just as it's easy to punish Graham for taking out her frustrations on Michael in a physical way. But Graham's actions are evidence of her commitment as a parent. For better or worse, she knows her son. And she knows her community, and her reality. She knows that she's the mother of an adolescent boy living in a city caught up in a very heated, violent moment. And she will do anything to protect her son, including put herself in a dangerous situation to pull him out of there. Can we all say that? Toya Graham raises an important point that's often missing in the discussions of how to

Summary: Peggy Drexler: Video of Toya Graham hitting son as she drags him from protests has raised questions. Was she a hero? Abusive? Neither, she says; she was a mom trying to steer her adolescent in a heated city conflict, and more moms need this kind of commitment .


(CNN)The United States is urging China to release five young feminists who face years in prison over their campaign for gender equality. Authorities detained the women in three cities -- Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou -- a few days ahead of events planned for International Women's Day on March 8. "Each and every one of us has the right to speak out against sexual harassment and the many other injustices that millions of women and girls suffer around the world," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Friday. "We strongly support the efforts of these activists to make progress on these challenging issues, and we believe that Chinese authorities should also support them, not silence them." The detention of Wei Tingting, along with Wu Rongrong, Li Tingting, Wang Man and Zheng Churan has drawn harsh criticism from the international community. Protesters in several cities have called for their release and taken to social media with the phrase "free the five" as a hashtag. Wang Qiushi, the lawyer for Wei, said police recommended Monday that prosecutors press charges of "assembling a crowd to disturb public order." Prosecutors have seven days -- until Monday -- to decide whether to pursue the charges, according to the lawyer. "We can do nothing but wait," Wang said. The five were initially held on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Wang said he didn't know why the charge against the women changed. "Neither should constitute a crime," he said. Campaign group Amnesty International said the new charge was less serious but still carried a maximum prison term of five years. "The women were doing nothing wrong, nothing illegal. They were simply calling for an end to sexual harassment," said William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International. Wang said that Wei was subjected to lengthy cross examinations during her detention. Two of the women are said to be in poor health. He added that the charges relate both to the activities the women planned for International Women's Day and earlier campaigns against domestic violence. The five are members of China's Women's Rights Action Group. They had planned to hand out stickers with slogans saying "stop sexual harassment, let us stay safe" and "go police, go arrest those who committed sexual harassment!" on International Women's Day. This week, Kerry's predecessor, Hillary Clinton, tweeted that the activists' detention was "inexcusable." Chinese authorities rebuked her comment, saying public figures should respect the nation's sovereignty and independence. CNN's Katie Hunt and Shen Lu contributed to this report .

Summary: The international community is calling for the release of the five women . Chinese authorities detained them last month over their campaign for gender equality .


(CNN)The NFL draft begins on April 30, and while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick, the clock is still ticking for another team -- the New England Patriots -- as they await the results of the "Deflategate" investigation, which has already lasted more than three months. In January, the NFL launched an investigation into the Patriots to determine why 11 of the 12 game balls they provided for the AFC Championship game were underinflated. The league hired attorney Ted Wells -- who also investigated the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal -- to run the investigation. Jeff Pash, the NFL's executive vice president and chief counsel, is assisting Wells in the effort. The league has also retained Renaissance Associates, an investigatory firm with sophisticated forensic expertise, to assist in reviewing electronic and video information. But three months later, it's still not clear when the investigation will be completed and when the findings will be announced. "We have not put a time frame on Ted Wells," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said March 25. "We asked him to be thorough, complete and when he is finished with that -- he'll give that to us and to the public in general." On Monday, CNN reached out to Wells and the NFL for an update on the investigation but has not heard back. On January 18, the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 to advance to the Super Bowl. They scored 28 of their points in the second half -- after game officials had pumped the balls back up to their regulation pressure -- so it's unlikely that the ball pressure made much difference in the outcome of the game. In February, Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that prior to the AFC Championship game, his team notified the league of its concerns about the footballs. "We went into the game, we had some issues, but we are going to do what we can and that's to participate with the league and the investigation and wait until the Wells report comes out," Grigson said February 19. "We really have no other recourse than to wait until that investigation comes out." Each team provides a dozen footballs to the referee for testing two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. The home team also supplies 12 backup balls, and for outdoor games, the visiting team has the option of bringing another 12 balls. NFL rules state the referee "shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game." The ball attendant brings the footballs to the field, and ball boys keep them on the sideline. It's been speculated that deflated footballs are easier to grip for the quarterback and receivers. However, there isn't a consensus by players on that view. The day

Summary: NFL investigating why game balls provided by New England Patriots for championship game were underinflated . It's not clear when investigation by attorney Ted Wells will be complete . Patriots say they follow the rules and expect to be vindicated and get an apology .


(CNN)On the eve of the one-year mark since nearly 300 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Malala Yousafzai released an "open letter" to the girls Monday. "Like you, I was a target of militants who did not want girls to go to school," she writes in the letter. The 17-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner survived an attack by the Taliban, which had singled her out for blogging from Pakistan about the importance of staying in school. In the letter, she calls on the Nigerian government and the international community to do more to rescue the girls. Nigeria recently held an election. On April 14, 2014, Islamists with Boko Haram kidnapped the girls, prompting an international campaign for their safe return, which used the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. On Monday, UNICEF announced a new campaign for the 800,000 children who have been displaced in northeast Nigeria, using the hashtag #BringBackOurChildhood. Malala is admired globally as a figure standing for peace. On Sunday, a NASA astrophysicist named an asteroid after her. She has spoken with CNN about the Nigerian abductions previously. Malala: Global symbol, but still just a kid . Here is the full letter: . To my brave sisters, the kidnapped schoolgirls of Chibok, . On this first anniversary of your captivity, I write to you with a message of solidarity, love and hope. My name is Malala. I am a Pakistani girl your age. I am one of the millions of people around the world who keep you and your families foremost in our thoughts and prayers. We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured. But please know this: We will never forget you. We will always stand with you. Today and every day, we call on the Nigerian authorities and the international community to do more to bring you home. We will not rest until you have been reunited with your families. Like you, I was a target of militants who did not want girls to go to school. Gunmen shot me and two of my friends on a school bus. All three of us survived and are back in school. Now we speak out on behalf of all girls about the right to get a proper education. Our campaign will continue until you and all girls and boys around the world are able to access a free, safe and quality secondary education. Last July, I spent my 17th birthday in Nigeria with some of your parents and five of your classmates who escaped the kidnapping. Your parents are grief-stricken. They love you, and they miss you. My father and I wept and prayed with your parents -- and they touched our hearts. The escapee schoolgirls my father and I met impressed us with their resolve to overcome their challenges and to complete their high school education. My father and I promised your parents and the girls who had escaped that we would do all we could to help them. I met Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and urged him to work harder for your freedom. I also

Summary: Malala Yousafzai tells the girls she associates with them . She writes a message of "solidarity, love and hope" She calls on Nigeria and the international community to do more to rescue the girls .


(CNN)French customs officers say they have seized more than 2 tons of cocaine aboard a sailboat that was falsely flying an American flag in the Caribbean. The drugs, whose value is estimated at more than $105 million, are the biggest cocaine seizure ever carried out by French authorities, said Michael Lachaux, director of customs operations in Martinique. Officers arrested one Venezuelan and two Spanish citizens who were on board the vessel off the coast of Martinique on Wednesday, Lachaux said in an interview with the radio station France Info on Saturday. Martinique is an overseas department of France. In November, French customs officials seized nearly 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of cocaine on a vessel that was also off the coast of Martinique, according to authorities.

Summary: The value of the drugs is estimated at more than $105 million . Officers arrested one Venezuelan and two Spanish citizens on board the vessel .


(CNN)Sawyer Sweeten grew up before the eyes of millions as a child star on the endearing family sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond." Early Thursday he committed suicide, his sister Madylin Sweeten said in a statement. He was 19. "This morning a terrible family tragedy has occurred," Madylin Sweeten said in a statement passed on by her manager Dino May. "We are devastated to report that our beloved brother, son, and friend, Sawyer Sweeten, took his own life. He was weeks away from his 20th birthday. At this sensitive time, our family requests privacy and we beg of you to reach out to the ones you love." Sweeten, best known for his role Geoffrey Barone, was visiting family in Texas, entertainment industry magazine Hollywood Reporter reported, where he is believed to have shot himself on the front porch. Sawyer Sweeten was born in May 1995 in Brownwood, Texas. He was a year and a half old when he started on "Raymond," playing next to his real-life twin brother Sullivan, who starred as Michael Barone, according to the website IMDb. Their sister, Madylin, played their TV sister Ally Barone. The show was about the adults, and the children, especially the twins, had bit parts, adorable cameo moments. In the beginning, they were too young to speak. The series developed a loyal following and ran from September 1996 through May 2005. According to his IMDb profile, Sawyer did not appear to take on acting roles after "Raymond" was discontinued. CNN's Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report.

Summary: Sawyer Sweeten played across from his twin brother and their sister as the children of Ray and Patricia Barone . Report: Sweeten was visiting family in Texas and is believed to have shot himself .


(CNN)Think it's hard to redeem your miles for an airline award ticket? It depends on which airline rewards program you've chosen, which route you're flying and when you book your ticket, according to a new Consumer Reports study of 70 million passenger trips over the past two years. The magazine collected statistics comparing award-seat availability for the five biggest U.S. airlines on domestic routes. The top performer was Southwest Airlines, which offered the most award tickets, 11.9 million, and the highest percentage of award tickets -- 11.5% of 103.1 million total passenger seats. "The high number of award tickets is directly related to Southwest's unique combination of 'Every Seat is an Award Seat,' no blackout dates, points that don't expire, and a route map that reaches more than 90 different destinations in the U.S. and beyond, making us the largest domestic carrier in the U.S.," Southwest spokesperson Thais Conway Hanson told CNN. "Unlike other carriers, we also don't charge fees for close-in bookings or penalize you for canceling your trip if something else comes up." At the bottom of the list was JetBlue, which offered the lowest percentage of award seats and the fewest number of award tickets of the five biggest U.S. airlines: 892,000 one-way passenger tickets, or 4.5% of its total 19.7 million U.S. seats. (JetBlue only operates in 10 of the top 25 markets included in the study.) Many JetBlue customers fly the airline only once or twice per year, making it hard to accumulate miles, an airline spokesman told the magazine. By not allowing miles to expire anymore, the airline says customers will be able to eventually redeem them. Delta Air Lines came in second place with 5.6 million U.S. award seats; United Airlines ranked third with 5 million U.S. award tickets; and American Airlines was fourth with 3.5 million U.S. award seats. What are the world's safest airlines? Remember that award tickets aren't actually free. The cost of miles is built into everything you buy that's earning you miles, and the airlines profit from you not using your miles at all. So it behooves consumers to book award travel carefully. On average, nearly 10% of passengers on the five airlines analyzed by Consumer Reports flew on domestic award tickets, but some of them weren't getting the best value for their miles. While many U.S. fliers redeemed miles on American Airlines flights from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the cheapest average fare on that route was just over $100 -- not worth the 12,500 to 30,000 miles needed for an award ticket, Consumer Reports says. Better to use them on American Airlines' route between New York and San Francisco or Delta's route between Chicago and Los Angeles, which are generally more expensive than that Los Angeles-San Francisco route, according to Consumer Reports' calculations. While award-seat availability is important, it may not matter as much as passengers' overall satisfaction with an airline. Southwest had the highest customer satisfaction score (86), followed by JetBlue (85), Delta (70), American (66) and United (63). And don't forget the fees. Southwest doesn't charge

Summary: Southwest Airlines tops Consumer Reports' survey, with the most seats available . JetBlue is at the bottom of the list but ranks high in customer satisfaction .


(CNN)Tornadoes, fierce winds and severe thunderstorms with large hail are predicted for the Midwest and for the Plains, from the Ozarks eastward to the lower Ohio Valley, on Thursday and Friday, the National Weather Service said. Severe weather is perilous anytime, of course, but CNN meteorologist Chad Myers says that tornado conditions are more dangerous during the night. "Tornadoes can be more deadly when people are sleeping and not paying attention to the warnings," he said. Scattered storms will soak Illinois and Missouri, and wind and hail will continue to be moderate in those states, the National Weather Service said. By Thursday afternoon, storms will hit parts of Indiana and Kentucky. Earlier this week, severe weather struck the South. Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Georgia reported large hail. Residents in Shawnee, Oklahoma, were awakened early Wednesday morning by a severe storm producing golf ball-sized hail. "The hail came out of nowhere so it was kind of shocking," Sherri McDonald said to CNN in an iReport. The hail dinged her car.

Summary: Thunderstorms with large hail are predicted for the Midwest and the Plains . Tornadoes could strike Thursday night and Friday .


(CNN)Indonesia has a tough stance on drug smugglers, and since assuming office in October, President Joko Widodo has made it clear he intends to show no mercy toward those found guilty of such crimes. That tough stance casts a further pall on two Australian drug smugglers, part of the so-called "Bali Nine." They are waiting to learn whether they will be put to death by firing squad after an Indonesian court rejected a last ditch effort to gain clemency from Widodo on Monday. April marks a decade on death row for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran for their part in a failed heroin smuggling plot. The 31-year-old Chan has been called the ringleader and 33-year-old Sukumaran has been described as his collaborator. The seven others who took part in the operation are serving lengthy prison sentences for trafficking the drugs. The members of the Bali Nine were arrested after Indonesian police received a tip from Australian Federal Police. Four members of the group were caught at Denpasar International Airport with more than 8 kilograms of heroin strapped to their bodies. Four others, including Sukumaran, were arrested at a hotel in the village of Kuta. Although he wasn't carrying any drugs, Chan was detained after boarding a plane to Sydney. He was named by others as the mastermind of the smuggling plot. While the purported ringleaders have received media attention for years, the other seven members of the Bali Nine have rarely been in the spotlight. Here's a quick look at the other members of the group: . Scott Rush . Indonesian prosecutors asked for and received a sentence of life in prison for several of the Bali Nine, who were identified as drug couriers in the operation. That includes Scott Rush of Brisbane, Australia. Rush was 19 when he was captured in Indonesia. He was arrested at Denpasar Airport with more than 1 kilogram of heroin strapped to his body. Michael Czugaj . Life in prison was the original sentence for 29-year-old Michael Czugaj, also of Brisbane. Nineteen at the time of his arrest, Czugaj is one of five of the Bali Nine whose sentence was reduced to 20 years in prison, then reinstated at life again. During his trial, Czugaj testified he was lured into the drug scheme with the promise of a free holiday to Bali. He was quoted in news reports as saying his life was threatened, as well as his family's, if he refused to cooperate with the heroin smuggling operation. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen . Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen from Brisbane, who is now 31, was one of four drug couriers in the case. He was found in a hotel room on Bali's Kuta Beach with a small amount of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman . The others are Si Yi Chen, 30 and Matthew Norman, 28, both from Sydney. Foreignprisoners.com quotes Chen as saying he deeply regrets his actions and did not mean to hurt others, especially his family. Norman is quoted on the same website expressing remorse for his actions

Summary: Two Australian drug smugglers, part of the Bali Nine, await word whether they'll face a firing squad . Less is known about the seven other members of the group .


Peshawar, Pakistan (CNN)Ten people have been sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the 2012 attack on Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai, a judge announced Thursday. The assailant's conviction and sentences follow a trial that included testimony from both sides, according to Pakistani antiterrorism judge Mohammad Amin Kundi. The 10 were arrested in Swat, a district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa said last September. That was nearly two years after the then 15-year-old Yousafzai -- who was despised by Taliban militants for her outspoken support of girls' right to an education -- was shot as she was traveling home on a school bus. She not only survived that attack, but went on to become an even more vocal international activist. In fact, her efforts helped earn her the Nobel Peace Prize -- which she shared with India's Kailash Satyarthi -- last year. Malala at U.N.: The Taliban failed to silence us . Journalist Zahir Shah reported from Peshawar, and CNN's Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta.

Summary: The sentences came after a trial in Pakistan, a judge says . Malala Yousafzai is an outspoken advocate for the education of girls . She was attacked in Pakistan in 2012 .


(CNN)NBA player Thabo Sefolosha says police caused his season-ending leg injury when he was arrested last week after leaving a nightclub in New York. In a statement Tuesday, the guard/forward for the Atlanta Hawks described his injury as "significant," and said it "was caused by the police." Sefolosha suffered a fractured fibula and ligament damage when he and teammate Pero Antic were arrested near the scene of the stabbing of Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland and two other women early April 8. Police said Sefolosha and Antic were not involved in the stabbing incident, but they were charged with misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. TMZ Sports released video last week that shows a group of police officers arresting the 6-foot-7 Sefolosha and taking him to the ground. It also shows an officer within that group getting out a baton and extending it near him, but what may have caused the injury is not clear in the video. Sefolosha appears to be limping as he is led away by officers. New York Police Department Sgt. Daniel Doody said Wednesday that the matter is being reviewed by the Internal Affairs Bureau and would not comment further. Internal Affairs had no comment. Sefolosha did not specify his injury in his statement Tuesday, but the Hawks said last week that he has a fractured fibula and ligament damage, will undergo surgery and will miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs, which begin this weekend. The Hawks enter as the top seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Sefolosha, who turns 31 in May, is in his ninth NBA season and his first with the Hawks. He averaged 5.3 points per game this season. "I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to join my teammates on the court during the playoffs and apologize to them for any distraction this incident has caused," Sefolosha said in his statement. "I will be cheering for them every step of the way and will be diligent in my rehabilitation. "On advice of counsel, I hope you can appreciate that I cannot discuss the facts of the case. Those questions will be answered by my attorney in a court of law. I will simply say that I am in great pain, have experienced a significant injury and that the injury was caused by the police." Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said in a statement last week, "This is a very difficult situation for Thabo and our thoughts and support will be with him during his recovery. We know that his approach and dedication will serve him well in his rehabilitation. Our team remains focused and will be prepared as we head into the postseason." Antic, a 31-year-old, 6-foot-11 center/forward, missed the April 8 game against the Brooklyn Nets, but has played since then. In a joint statement last week, Sefolosha and Antic said they will contest the charges. According to the Pacers, Copeland underwent surgery on his abdomen and left elbow for stab wounds. He was released from the hospital two days after the incident, according

Summary: Thabo Sefolosha says he "experienced a significant injury and ... the injury was caused by the police" He and teammate Pero Antic were arrested near the scene of a stabbing early April 8 . They were not involved in the stabbing police said, but they were arrested for obstruction, other charges .


(CNN)Amy Schumer seems to be trying single-handedly this week to make everyone in America laugh. And she's off to a good start. The comedian took a fake tumble on the red carpet Tuesday night at the 2015 TIME 100 gala in New York -- right in front of fellow honorees Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who stepped around her as they moved down the line. The stunt drew guffaws from the paparazzi and other onlookers, although Kanye -- perhaps not used to being upstaged -- looked unamused. "I saw them, and I asked my publicist, 'Can I dive in front of them and act like I fell?' And she said, 'I can't stop you,' " Schumer told People. The prank came the same night the third season of Schumer's hit show, "Inside Amy Schumer," premiered on Comedy Central. The episode has won praise for its "Milk Milk Lemonade" video, which ridicules mens' obsession with a certain female body part, and a "Friday Night Lights" parody in which high school football players protest their new coach's "no raping" policy. And it came the night after Schumer appeared on CBS' "The Late Show" and turned David Letterman red-faced when she lifted her dress to show him a scar she got from surfing and said, "That's my vagina." Letterman, who had urged her to "do something now that you'll regret," turned to the chortling audience and said, "Well, I asked for it, didn't I?" So yes, you can say Schumer -- who in the past two weeks has graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly, hosted the MTV Movie Awards and learned her TV show was just renewed for a fourth season -- is having a moment. "They were right there! The epicenter of American (celebrity culture.) Gotta do it," Schumer told People about her Kimye red carpet dive. "It was the best."

Summary: Amy Schumer took a fake tumble Tuesday in front Kanye West and Kim Kardashian . The comedian pulled the prank at the TIME 100 gala in New York . Schumer, whose "Inside Amy Schumer" also premiered Tuesday, is having a moment .


(CNN)A measles outbreak that affected more than 130 Californians since December is over, the California Department of Public Health declared Friday. It has been 42 days since the last known case of B3 strain of measles, the equivalent of two successive incubation periods, said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the health department. The department said in its latest update that 131 people came down with the B3 strain, and five who had a different genotype than the outbreak strain. Of the 131 cases, the state was able to obtain the vaccination status for 81 patients. Of the 81, 70% were unvaccinated. "Prompt investigation of cases, interviewing hundreds of contacts of infected people, vaccinating hundreds of at risk people, and increasing awareness among health care providers about measles, helped to control this outbreak," Smith said. The outbreak began with dozens of visitors to two Disney theme parks in the state. The health department said 42 of the cases occurred from December 17-20. Two patients with rashes have been identified in April, but they have a different measles genotype. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website that 19 different strains have been discovered since 1990. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It causes fever, red and sore eyes, runny nose, cough and a rash. It can cause deadly health complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis. It is spread by contact with an infected person through coughing or sneezing. It can remain in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. CNN's Debra Goldschmidt contributed to this report.

Summary: Officials say 131 Californians were affected by one strain, five by other strains . About 70% of the people who could show health records were unvaccinated . Outbreak began in December among visitors to two Disney theme parks .


(CNN)This is a difficult but necessary thing to say: Incidents of police-involved killings and assaults on unarmed African-Americans are unlikely to end soon. That's partly because police brutality is neither new nor reflective of a "moment." And it's also because we have not yet shown the resolve needed to end it. This is a reality we must face if we are going to reverse course from what has become a national crisis. The peaceful protests that were followed by outbreaks of violence in Baltimore this week have underscored the danger of ignoring the crisis -- as frustration and impatience with the status quo boils over. The violent response of police officers to unarmed African-Americans is a decades-long phenomenon that has too often been dismissed as "race card" politics and black grievance. But this year's spate of killings and assaults, from Ferguson, Missouri, to North Charleston, South Carolina, to most recently Baltimore, are part of a deadly continuum of conduct that has created a well of resentment and anger in the African-American community. So what makes now different? The advent of cell phone cameras and social media has for the first time allowed average citizens to document police brutality routinely and to disseminate these images nationally. As a result, it is no longer possible for officials and commentators to downplay or deny the existence of police brutality against unarmed African-Americans as has happened in the past. To call this ugly and unrelenting wave of police violence against unarmed African-Americans a national crisis is not an exaggeration -- we are losing the confidence of a generation of young people who no longer believe in the legitimacy or credibility of our law enforcement and the justice system that underpins it. A true democracy draws its strength from the confidence of its citizens in the bedrock institutions. The loss of that confidence threatens the very foundation of our legal system. How do we face this crisis? First, we must recognize that there are no quick fixes. The culture of policing in cities such as New York and Baltimore has developed over decades. Policing is a job passed down through families in which law enforcement norms and narratives are shared around the dinner table as much as in the station house. To subvert that culture will require vigorous, targeted and consistent training. That training must include a focus on managing implicit bias, encounters with the mentally ill and how best to de-escalate encounters with members of the community, especially young people. Training must be accompanied by supervision and accountability for officers who fail to conform their behavior to training principles. President Barack Obama is right when he reminds us that policing, like education, is a function of state and local government. And it's true that his options are limited. And yet the federal government has proven to be quite adept at influencing education policy in states and cities. How? By conditioning federal funds on compliance with federal standards. In contrast, while the Department of Justice provides more than $1 billion annually in grants to police departments across

Summary: Sherrilyn Ifill: Police violence against unarmed African-Americans is a national crisis . U.S. policing needs dramatic overhaul, she says .


(CNN)A U.S. citizen with alleged ties to al Qaeda did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance Thursday on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, 29, was deported from Pakistan to the United States. He's accused of plotting to fight against American forces abroad, according to a complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. "This is news for celebration," said CNN counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd. "Pretty simple reason why: If you look at a case like this, I think most Americans would say the significance of this case is that this guy, an American, is going to come back home and conduct an attack. Instead, you should look at him as a ... facilitator. "He's not going to burn himself by coming back. He's going to serve as the conduit or known in Pakistan who understands the West, how you travel, how you stay out of the clutches of law enforcement and he also understands al Qaeda in Pakistan. Those people are really hard to come by. This is a great catch not because he was a potential bomber but because he could have trained tens of bombers." Farekh's court appearance comes on the same day that federal prosecutors announced the arrests of two New York women accused of planning to build an explosive device for an attack on U.S. soil. The women, identified as Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, were arrested in a plot inspired by the terrorist group ISIS and others to build a weapon of mass destruction, according to a criminal complaint. They are both U.S. citizens and were roommates in the borough of Queens. Farekh allegedly departed from Canada and headed to Pakistan with two other men in 2007 with the intention of fighting American forces abroad, prosecutors said. In the past 18 months, the Justice Department's National Security Division has prosecuted or is prosecuting more than 30 cases of people attempting to travel abroad to join or provide support to terrorist groups. Of those cases, 18 allegedly involve support to ISIS. "Given how the terrorist threat to the world is evolving, how the potential terrorist threat to our nation is evolving, homeland security is becoming a matter of 'hometown security,' " Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told reporters Thursday. "The terrorist threat is more decentralized, more diffuse, more complicated. It involves the potential lone wolf actor, it involves the effective use of social media, the Internet." A Texas native, Farekh and his co-conspirators allegedly conspired to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda from 2006 to 2009, according to the complaint. Their intention, according to court documents: To kill and attempt to kill U.S. government employees and military personnel abroad. "Al Farekh allegedly provided material support to terrorists with every intention of becoming a martyr," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez said in a statement. "Today, members of our military are safer." When Farekh, another man named Ferid Imam and a third co-conspirator left Canada for

Summary: Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh was deported from Pakistan to the United States . The U.S. citizen is accused of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists .


(CNN)We belong to different generations and political parties. We live in different states and under different circumstances. One of us is a college student, born into a political family, while the other is a former congressman from South Carolina and father of five children. One of us served on the selection committee for the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. The other will receive this award in recognition of the stand he took when he broke with his party and sacrificed his political career to support responsible action to combat climate change. We share an unwavering belief that the United States must lead the world on climate change and seize opportunities for unity, growth and progress. We believe that President Kennedy's courageous leadership in space exploration holds lessons that can help guide us forward. In 1962, President Kennedy, speaking at Rice University, described the space program that he had first announced when he asked the Congress to support his ambitious goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Opening his speech, Kennedy stated simply the effect of man's scientific pursuit: "The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds." This curious paradox holds true today. Our knowledge of the causes and dangers of climate change has increased even as our ignorance of its ramifications has unfolded. Many of our elected representatives persist in inaction and complacency by arguing that individual nations are powerless to solve the problem because every nation is culpable. Others choose to dispute the science, deny the evidence, and avoid the question of how to solve the problem. But climate change is only scary if we choose to sit, wait and do nothing about it. President Kennedy encountered the same dilemma: "It is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But ... this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them." We need not be frightened today. Climate change is a chance for all of us to add a chapter to the story of American triumph and human progress. It is a moment for this generation to display the very qualities we attribute to the American political heroes of earlier times, who left the world a better place for us. Courage of this scale will come from a people who are told that they can do great things by leaders who believe that their people are capable of great things. We believe that America will see opportunity in the danger of climate change just like we saw benefits on Earth from travel in space. Kennedy told the crowd at Rice that the pursuit of a goal that seemed impossible was valuable precisely because it would be so hard to accomplish. "We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is hard," he said. Something so difficult would only be achieved through cooperation and national unity, and it would push us toward greatness.

Summary: Profile in Courage award is going to a Republican congressman who risked his career while recognizing the danger of climate change . Authors: Addressing climate challenge is today's moon shot, an enormous effort that will pay big benefits .


(CNN)Dan Swangard knows what death looks like. As a physician, he has seen patients die in hospitals, hooked to morphine drips and overcome with anxiety. He has watched dying drag on for weeks or months as terrified relatives stand by helplessly. Recently, however, his thoughts about how seriously ill people die have become personal. Swangard was diagnosed in 2013 with a rare form of metastatic cancer. To remove the cancer, surgeons took out parts of his pancreas and liver, as well as his entire spleen and gallbladder. The operation was successful but Swangard, 48, knows there's a strong chance the disease will return. And if he gets to a point where there's nothing more medicine can do, he wants to be able to control when and how his life ends. "It's very real for me," said Swangard, who lives in Bolinas, Calif. "This could be my own issue a year from now." That's one of the reasons Swangard joined a California lawsuit last month seeking to let doctors prescribe lethal medications to certain patients who want to hasten death. If he were given only months to live, Swangard said, he can't say for certain whether he would take them. "But I want to be able to make that choice," he said. The right-to-die movement has gained renewed momentum in California and around the nation following the highly publicized death of an East Bay woman with brain cancer. Brittany Maynard, 29, moved to Oregon to take advantage of its "Death with Dignity" law and died in November after taking a fatal dose of barbiturates prescribed by her doctor. The California lawsuit asks the court to protect physicians from liability if they prescribe lethal medications to patients who are both terminally ill and mentally competent to decide their fate. The lawsuit argues that while it is against the law in California for anyone to assist in another's suicide, these cases are not suicides. Rather, the suit argues, they are choices by a dying person on how his or her life should end and decisions about one's own body protected under the state constitution. Separately, two California state senators have proposed a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to certain terminally ill adults. Three states -- Oregon, Washington and Vermont -- already have laws allowing physician-assisted deaths. Courts in New Mexico and Montana also have ruled that aid in dying is legal, and a suit was also recently filed in New York. Legislation is pending in several other states. Kathryn Tucker, an attorney on several of the court cases, is also spearheading the California lawsuit. This time, she and her legal team decided to include among the plaintiffs two doctors with life-threatening illnesses, Swangard and a retired San Francisco obstetrician. Physicians "have a very deep and broad understanding about what the journey to death can be like," said Tucker, executive director of the Disability Rights Legal Center. "The curtain is pulled back. For lay people, death is much more mysterious." Historically, doctors have been some of the most vocal critics of assisted

Summary: Dan Swangard, a physician, wants to be able to control when and how his life ends . A recent survey reveals 54 percent of American doctors support assisted suicide .


(CNN)It's the beer so good the Danes hate to see it leave, or so Carlsberg advertisements used to say. Now, Copenhagen residents can live in a new neighborhood set to emerge on the historic grounds of the famous beer-maker in the heart of Danish capital. The area in question -- aptly named Carlsberg City -- has been home to the famous Carlsberg brewery since 1847, and with it a big slice of Danish cultural history. But the brewery has moved on and the future is moving in. Amidst the district's historic treasure trove of protected architectural buildings will be some 600,000 square meters (6.4 million sq ft) of residential, business, sporting, cultural, and educational space. Prices range from just below Copenhagen's average $5,000 per square meter to about $12,000 -- well below other major European cities. Modeled after intimate medieval towns, Carlsberg City won "Best Master Plan" at the World Architecture Festival in 2009. The project has since attracted interest from all over the world. "Scandinavia has over the past years been attractive to foreign investors," said Claus Lonborg, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity, a non-profit with the aim of growing business in the Danish capital. He added that "given the number of infrastructure and construction developments taking place in the greater Copenhagen area now, we really see an increasing demand and interest." While the first apartments in Carlsberg City went up for sale in March, the area has been alive for years. Investors invited temporary renters into old buildings during the construction phase which began shortly after the 2008 financial crisis hit. The area has since been home to skateboarders, bikers, modern dancers, cafes, the national football team for homeless people and a climbing forest. And the head of Carlsberg City says this ploy has more than paid off. "The temporary activities have been keeping Carlsberg City on the landmap even in planning," said Jens Nyhus, CEO of CarlsbergByen (Carlsberg City). "When the financial crisis started (they) were a way to keep the building occupied and from running down. It kept the city alive and opened up." But just because new tenants have moved in doesn't mean it's brewing history will be gone completely. Carlsberg will remain very much inside Carlsberg City, making specialty beer and building a tourist center that is expected to attract half-a-million visitors per-year when it opens in 2017. "We call it Carlsberg brand and experience center," said Thomas Kjelfred, communications consultant at Visit Carlsberg. "(But) it's not a brand house, it's a brew house. Until six years ago, we brewed 200 million liters a beer (here)" "To a Dane, Carlsberg is more than a beer. It is art, it is science, it is culture." And soon, it will also be a city.

Summary: New neighborhood named Carlsberg City set to emerge in Copenhagen, Denmark . District has been built on site of beer company's former brewery .


(CNN)How will the new "Fantastic Four" differ from the original movie of a decade ago? For starters, as a new trailer shows, Sue and Johnny Storm's father initiates the project that ends up giving the foursome their powers. They also end up in another dimension, and we see the early flirtation between Sue Storm and Reed Richards as well. The movie, due out August 7, promises a very different take on the classic Marvel comics characters, played this go-round by Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell. We also get our first glimpse of the villainous Dr. Doom in this new trailer, released Sunday. Fans on Twitter had mixed reactions. Check out the trailer here: . The trailerpalooza of "Star Wars," "Batman v. Superman" and "Fantastic Four" kept sci-fi and superhero fans chattering all weekend. Not to be outdone, the new trailer for "Jurassic World" came out Monday morning. It features even more of star Chris Pratt. Pratt's scientist character knows dinosaurs better than anyone. After a genetically modified mutant dinosaur escapes from an island theme park along with others, he takes charge of a mission to contain the dangerous creatures. (The trailer also includes part of a scene that caused controversy after Joss Whedon called it "sexist" last week.) The movie is first in the rampaging-dino franchise since "Jurassic Park III" in 2001. And, as we see for the first time, the dinosaurs have learned to communicate with each other. Uh-oh. Early word on Twitter was pretty good. Here's the new trailer for the movie, out June 12: .

Summary: Dr. Doom is seen for the first time in the trailer for the "Fantastic Four" reboot . Chris Pratt takes the lead in the new trailer for "Jurassic World"


(The Hollywood Reporter)"Grace of Monaco," starring Nicole Kidman as star-turned-princess Grace Kelly, is heading straight to Lifetime. The critically-panned film, which opened last year's Cannes Film Festival, will premiere on Lifetime on Memorial Day, May 25. After the movie performed poorly in its international engagements, The Weinstein Co., which first purchased U.S. distribution rights at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival, decided to sell it directly to Lifetime rather than book it into U.S. theaters, a source confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. THR: Grace of Monaco' Cannes review . The film, which was directed by Olivier Dahan and focuses on a period in the early '60s when Monaco was involved in a stand-off over taxes with France and Grace was contemplating a return to Hollywood, was originally scheduled for release in late 2013. Given the names involved, some handicappers had put it on their list of potential Oscar contenders. But when TWC pulled it out of awards contention and shifted its release to March 14, 2014, Dahan lashed out at TWC's Harvey Weinstein, over the movie's final cut, which the director was in the process of completing. "There are two versions of the film for now, mine and his," Dahan complained, continuing, "They want a commercial film smelling of daisies, taking out anything that exceeds that which is too abrupt, anything that makes it cinematic and breathe with life." That planned March release was then scrubbed, when Cannes expressed interest in debuting the director's version of the movie in May. Even before it screened, though, Grace's children blasted the picture as "needlessly glamorized and historically inaccurate" and boycotting the Cannes red carpet. THR: The Weinstein Co. nearing deal to keep 'Grace of Monaco' Weinstein didn't attend the movie's premiere either -- explaining that he had been visiting Syrian refugee camps in Jordan as part of a long-scheduled U.N.-sponsored trip. But TWC did strike a new distribution deal for the film in Cannes, agreeing to show Dahan's cut in the U.S., but acquiring rights for just $3 million upfront, a $2 million discount from its earlier contract. But TWC then did not slot "Grace of Monaco" into its fall, 2015 release schedule. Tim Roth costars as Kelly's husband Prince Rainier III, Frank Langella as Kelly's priest and confidante, Parker Posey as Grace's aid, and Paz Vega ("Spanglish," "Sex and Lucia") as opera singer Maria Callas. See the original story at The Hollywood Reporter. ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

Summary: The film will premiere on Memorial Day . It opened last year's Cannes Film Festival . A planned March theater release was scrubbed .


(CNN)Just eight months ago, a young woman named Fatu Kekula was single-handedly trying to save her Ebola-stricken family, donning trash bags to protect herself against the deadly virus. Today, because of a CNN story and the generosity of donors from around the world, Kekula wears scrubs bearing the emblem of the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she's learning skills she can take back home to care for her fellow Liberians. "It's a surprise -- a young child like me who came from a very poor background coming to the U.S.," she said. "I'm thankful to CNN and I appreciate the people who made donations, and I'm thankful to Emory for accepting me to study." At Emory, Kekula has asked for special training on certain skills, such as caring for burns, a common type of injury because children in Liberia sometimes fall into the open fires used for cooking. One of her instructors, Kelly Fullwood, said Kekula's an excellent student who has taught her teachers a thing or two about how to do procedures without costly equipment, as she's been forced to do in Liberia. "She fascinates me every day," Fullwood said. "She gets nursing. She gets what it's about." Kekula, 23, was just a year away from finishing up her nursing degree in Liberia when Ebola struck and her mother, father, sister and cousin came down with the disease. Hospitals were full and no doctors would visit her home, so with just advice from a physician on the phone, Kekula took care of all four of her relatives at the same time. All but her cousin survived -- a high success rate considering that at the time, about 70% of Ebola patients were dying in Liberia. Kekula couldn't continue her nursing education in Liberia, because the schools had closed. A CNN story about Kekula in September prompted donations from around the world to IAM, an organization that raises money to help African natives pay for education. David Smith, an associate dean at Emory's nursing school, said they accepted Kekula because they were struck by how both she and Emory each treated four Ebola patients at around the same time last year -- and Emory had dozens of doctors and nurses and millions of dollars in technology while Kekula had nobody and nearly no supplies. Stop Ebola where it starts . "It was obvious to us that this woman was intelligent and strong and fearless," he said. Kekula is scheduled to return to Liberia in August. "These things that I have learned here I am going to take back to my fellow nurses," she said. "I love to care for people. I love to save lives." Extraordinary people .

Summary: Fatu Kekula, 23, saved most of her family from Ebola . Thanks to donors, she is being trained at Emory University . Kekula was one year away from finishing a nursing degree when Ebola struck .


Washington (CNN)The flight voice recorder aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 reportedly captured blaring cockpit alarms, warning co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to "pull up" and that "terrain" was ahead. But that was not enough to stop the aircraft from slamming into the French Alps. With reports that Lubitz apparently ignored those warnings, there are new calls from aviation experts to develop and deploy enhanced crash avoidance software that could take control of an aircraft away from a pilot and steer the plane to a safe altitude. The technology would work in a fashion similar to crash avoidance technology already used in automobiles. If a pilot is incapacitated or ignores audible warnings, the plane's flight guidance software could take over and plot a course to a safe altitude. In cars, these avoidance systems sometimes deploy brakes or slow a car down to a safer speed, and help maintain safe distances from other vehicles. The idea is not new. In fact, more than 10 years ago, following 9/11, Airbus, the manufacturer of the doomed aircraft, was working to develop aircraft crash avoidance software with tech giant Honeywell -- in part to prevent jetliners from being flown into large buildings or mountains. But the project was ultimately scrapped. A spokesperson for Honeywell says the company has no plans to revive the project unless federal regulators demand it be put into cockpits or airlines ask for it. So far that has not happened. CNN also asked Airbus about the project, but the company had no comment. Former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo says pilots, regulators and the traveling public have, so far, not bought into claims that computers can do it better. "For any situation where you are relieving the pilot's control of their plane, there has been pushback not only from the pilots, but from airlines. There are some sectors that believe that ultimately the pilot must maintain overall control of the plane and that that is your best bet for a safe flight." However, she adds, in the case of the Germanwings crash, "this technology, I believe, would have saved the flight. Not only would it have saved this flight and the Germanwings passengers, it would also save lives in situations where it is not a suicidal, homicidal pilot. It has implications literally for safer flight across the industry." Pilots' groups point to numerous instances where a pilot's training and perhaps unconventional thinking actually saved lives. For example, in 2009 Capt. C.B. Sullenberger crash-landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River in New York, after a flock of geese was sucked into both of its engines and the A320 lost all thrust. The formal National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash said the main thing that contributed to the survivability of the accident was "the decision-making of the flight crewmembers and their crew resource management during the accident sequence." In other words, when Sullenberger decided to ditch the plane in the Hudson, he saved the 150 passengers and five crew members on board. Pilots say if a computer had taken over after it

Summary: Autopilot could have taken control of Germanwings flight and flown plane to safe altitude . But some experts say taking control away from humans could lead to other dangers . Another concern: Autopilot might be vulnerable to hackers .


(CNN)ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack Friday near the U.S. Consulate in the Kurdish Iraqi city of Irbil, according to several Twitter accounts linked to the terror group. The U.S. Consulate was the target of the attack, ISIS said. At least four people were killed and 18 injured, police said. All U.S. Consulate personnel were safe and accounted for following the explosion, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Irbil is the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government. Police said the incident began with an explosion of a small improvised bomb in the area. After that blast, a car moved in the direction of the consulate. Security personnel fired at the car, which exploded but did not reach the consulate, a police official said. It appeared that people inside the car detonated explosives that the vehicle was carrying, according to the police official. A separate official, B.G. Hazhar Ismail, said three civilians were killed and five others were injured. Ismail is a spokesman for the Peshmerga, the force that defends Iraq's Kurdish region. The blast sent a huge fireball into the sky on a street parallel to the consulate. Dark smoke filled the air, and gunfire was heard intermittently for the next hour. One witness said he saw attackers in a gunbattle with consulate security and police. Helicopters circled the neighborhood where the blast occurred, and a loudspeaker at the consulate building warned people to stay indoors and away from windows. In addition to the U.S. Consulate, the blast occurred immediately across the street from a strip of bars, cafes and shops popular with expats and consulate employees. The State Department thanked the response by the Kurdish government and will investigate the bombing together with them. "The United States will continue to stand with the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and all Iraqis as we work together in confronting these terrorist acts and towards our shared goal of degrading and defeating (ISIS)," the department said in a statement. CNN's Kareem Khadder and Jason Hanna and journalist Mat Wolf contributed to this report.

Summary: All U.S. Consulate personnel safe after blast, State Department spokeswoman says . Suicide bombers blow up car near the U.S. Consulate in Irbil, Iraq .


(CNN)One of Tokyo's most prominent districts has taken a small, but potentially significant step to recognizing same-sex unions in Japan. The government of Shibuya ward, one of the capital's most famous shopping and trendy entertainment districts, passed ordinance on Wednesday paving the way for "partnership certificates" for same-sex couples, allowing them some of the rights of married heterosexual couples. Same-sex partners who are registered with the district's ward office will be able to hold visitation rights in hospitals and co-sign tenancy agreements. Other advantages that heterosexual married couples enjoy, such as joint filing of taxes, are controlled by the federal government and are outside the remit of individual municipalities. The measure was proposed in February by Shibuya's mayor, Toshitake Kuwahara. While the certificates will not be issued until later in the summer and are not legally binding, proponents of marriage equality in socially conservative Japan say that the ward's decision is a step in the right direction. "It is not a marriage license and advantages will be limited but still better than nothing," Gon Matsunaka, a gay rights activist, told CNN. While Shibuya's decision does not yet equate to heterosexual marriage, the hope is that the move will be the beginnings of promoting marriage equality for gay communities. "What is important for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in Shibuya is the ruling will make us visible in society," Matsunaka said . "It could be a strong driver for Shibuya citizens to learn and know what kind of problems LGBT people are facing." Taiga Ishikawa, Tokyo councillor and the first male gay local assembly member in Japan, told CNN the ordinance was a "big first step for the protection of human rights." He called the decision "happy" but said that it must go alongside education about alternative lifestyles. He said that the most important part of today's announcement is that it "should be actually put into practice, as should education for understanding (LGBT individuals) especially they suffer as they find out their sexuality when they are young." Neighboring Setagaya ward has indicated that it would look into following Shibuya's lead. However, former councilor Ishikawa cautioned against taking the movement's momentum for granted. "To realize equal rights for gay couples, a national law has to be made," he said. While outright discrimination against the LGBT community is rare in Japan, its effects can be hidden and gay people often find themselves at a disadvantage. Many hide their sexuality from their employers, co-workers, families and friends. But the tide may be turning. A recent poll found that a slight majority at 52.4% oppose gay marriage, but support amongst young adults in their 20s and 30s is as high as 70%. An editorial in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which commissioned the poll, welcomed the Shibuya decision, calling it "a bold and important step forward." Only traditional marriages are recognized under Japan's constitution, but the wording is vague enough to open it to interpretation, according to Mari Miura, a professor of gender and politics at Sophia University in Tokyo. "The constitution does not rule

Summary: Shibuya ward in Tokyo passes an ordinance that gives same-sex couples some of the rights of married heterosexual couples . Activists welcome the decision; hope that it will lead to greater equality for LGBT people in Japan . Recent poll finds most young Japanese open to the idea of gay marriage .


(CNN)Fifteen buffalo were shot and killed on Friday after a day on the loose in upstate New York. The chase, which took farmers and police officers from five jurisdictions through forests and over the Hudson River, ended with "snipers" from the animals' farm gunning down the buffalo from the side of the road, according to Lt. Thomas Heffernan of the Bethlehem Police Department. "It was turning into the wild, wild, West," Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told reporters on Friday. "It was time to put an end to it." Heffernan described the hectic last moments of the chase: . "They were setting up a perimeter around the animals in the secluded area, they got spooked and they charged through our guys," Heffernan said. The herd then stampeded across the interstate highway, breaking through a wire fence. "Once they crossed over the freeway, that really escalated it," Heffernan said. "There was no choice; the animals had to be destroyed." The bull of the heard weighed over 1,300 pounds and a collision with a car could easily have been fatal, Heffernan said. New York State Police helicopters were called in and nearby school districts were alerted to keep all students inside, Heffernan said. Four men from GEM Farms in Schodack, New York, from where the buffalo escaped, were on the scene by a ravine in Coeymans, New York, to kill the animals, a decision Heffernan said wasn't made lightly, but that was necessary. George Mesick, the 87-year-old owner of the farm, sat in the car listening to the radio as his buffalo were shot. "Very sad," Mesick said. "I'm just so glad that they got them before somebody got hurt." Twenty-two buffalo escaped from the farm on Thursday -- half the farm's stock -- including six that were shot Thursday night in Rensselaer County, Mesick said. One buffalo calf was found dead on a road, hit, and not reported, by a driver, Mesick said. Mesick has been raising buffalo for their meat since 1973, he said, with no escape like this before. "They love to roam," he said. "They love to get in the big field and go like a son of a gun and that's what they did yesterday." The last buffalo were shot 20 miles from the farm, he said. The herd broke through three strands of high tensile barbed wire to escape the farm, and later swam across the Hudson River, according to Mesick, still surprised. "They never even had a pond to swim across," Mesick said. "I still can't believe it."

Summary: 15 buffalo are shot on Friday after escaping the day before from a farm in Schodack, New York . Police helicopters fly overhead and nearby schools put on alert in the final moments of the chase . The herd breaks through three layers of barbed wire fencing and crosses the Hudson River during the escape .


Rome (CNN)Italy is coping with a rising wave of desperate migrants from Africa and Middle East hoping to make it to Europe. From Friday to Monday, a total of 8,480 migrants were rescued, according to the Italian coast guard, which said it received on Monday -- alone -- SOS calls from 20 boats in distress. On Tuesday, a spokesman with Save the Children told CNN the group fears 400 migrants could be missing, citing testimony from survivors who said their ship carrying 550 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 miles off the Libyan coast. The Italian coast guard, however, told CNN that while it is taking the report seriously, it cannot confirm such an incident and has not yet found evidence at sea to indicate a migrant boat carrying approximately 550 has capsized with 145 rescued. An operation that included boats and planes did not find any survivors, nor bodies, nor any evidence to indicate a particular boat capsized, Coast Guard official Filippo Marini said. There has been a recent upsurge in migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean into Italy and an increase in rescues performed by the Italian Coast Guard to aid migrant boats. Why migrants are dying trying to reach Italy . According to the International Organization for Migration, Italy registered more than 10,000 migrants arriving in the first three months of 2015, and about 2,000 were rescued at sea during the first weekend of April in the Channel of Sicily. Most migrants recorded this year come from countries in West Africa as well as Somalia and Syria, the IOM said. They use Libya as a country of transit. At least 480 migrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, often because of bad weather and overcrowded vessels used by smugglers, the IOM said. Sometimes the captains and crews abandon the ships, leaving passengers to fend for themselves. Last week: 978 migrants rescued in one day in Mediterranean Sea . CNN's Ralph Ellis contributed to this report.

Summary: The Italian coast guard says 8,480 migrants were rescued from Friday to Monday . Save the Children said Tuesday 400 migrants could be missing from a boat . The Italian coast guard cannot confirm that report .


Los Angeles (CNN)It's more than just one state's internal problem. The historic California drought hurts the rest of the union, too. That's because California is a breadbasket to the nation, growing more than a third of its vegetables and nearly two-thirds of its fruits and nuts. Here's why we should heed the ongoing drought in the most populous state, a slowly expanding natural disaster now in its fourth year that this week prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to announce a mandatory 25% cutback in water consumption in all cities. In 2014, one expert predicted consumers would pay more for some groceries because of the California drought. He was often right, according to statistics gathered by Timothy Richards, agribusiness professor at Arizona State University. Prices rose last year for these items on your kitchen table: . • Berries rose in price by about 80 cents per clamshell to $3.88 . • Broccoli by 11 cents per pound to $1.89. • Grapes by 64 cents a pound to $3.06 . • Melons by 24 cents a pound to $1.23. • Packaged salad by 23 cents a bag to $2.91. • Peppers by 26 cents a pound to $2.39. Though fruits and vegetable prices fell in February, overall prices are expected to rise this year, because of inflation, U.S. Department of Agriculture economist Annemarie Kuhns said. Fresh fruit prices are projected to rise between 2.5% and 3.5%, and vegetables between 2% and 3%, close to historical average increases, Kuhns said. Whether the California drought will affect food prices again this year is unknown, thanks to a strong dollar. The greenback's strength allows producers to import crops that may be withering under the absence of West Coast rain or other misfortunes elsewhere in the nation, Kuhns said. Moreover, the drop in oil prices also eases the cost of transporting food from California to the other 49 states, she said. What economists don't know yet is whether farmers will plant fewer crops because of the drought. Those decisions are now being made in the field and could boost supermarket prices, she said. "The drought in California does have the potential to impact the price we pay for fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and dairy and fresh eggs we pay at the counter," Kuhns said. "We are not sure what the exact impact will be." The reality is there's a major drought throughout the West and Southwest. While not as bad as California, Texas and Oklahoma are also seeing extreme and exceptional drought -- the two worst categories -- in several parts of their states, the U.S. Drought Monitor said this week. Overall, the Western drought affects more than 52 million people, the monitor says. As a result, consumers paid a whopping extra 12.1% for beef and veal in 2014, the USDA reports. Straining under a drought that began in 2012, ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma last year saw smaller grazing pastures, paid more for feed, and experienced difficulties accessing water to cool their cattle. So the cattlemen began culling their herds, Kuhns said. This year's beef and veal

Summary: Americans paid more for some fruits and vegetables last year because of the drought . Tourists will now have to ask for a glass of water at a California restaurant . Perhaps the only good thing is another "great" wine grape harvest last year .


(CNN)Monday night, as unrest raged across Baltimore's streets, Amanda Rothschild lay awake in her Remington home, a neighborhood in the northern part of the city, thinking about what the next day would be like. As a co-owner of Charmington's, a cafe in the intersection of three major Baltimore neighborhoods, Rothschild knew that the cafe and its workers needed to support the city after all the unrest. "There was some fear, but it was really mixed in with an overwhelming sense that everyone here needs help," she said. As protests erupt nationwide after the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody, some local businesses in Baltimore are banding together to show their support for the city, while others are left to rebuild or repair after Monday's riot. Late Monday evening over email, Rothschild and other workers from Charmington's decided that the cafe would remain closed on Tuesday so that staff members could spend the day in the community to help clean up or peacefully protest. 45 CVS workers still getting paid after riots shut down stores . The following morning, they posted a sign on the door telling patrons they were closed to partake in community action (The cafe was not in Monday's protest zone). "We shut down not out of fear, but for solidarity," Rothschild said. It was solidarity for Baltimore, for the "Black Lives Matter" movement and for the local businesses that were destroyed during the rioting, the five-year Baltimore resident explained. With a warm, steaming crock pot of chicken and a cooler of ice water, Charmington's staff member Mike Dobson made his way down to the center of the rallying Tuesday and set up a stand. It was one of a handful of businesses passing out free food and water to protesters. The movement in Baltimore is personal for Dobson. The 23-year-old has been out on the streets peacefully demonstrating and offering free food every day since protests first started. "I have witnessed police brutality. I was roughed up by police before. It is something you don't have to look very far to witness in West Baltimore," he said. The decision for Charmington's to close temporarily -- it has since reopened -- was meaningful, Dobson said. "Our shop has been a part of the community since it opened, and we thought it was important to be a part of the community especially now." The feeling on Baltimore's streets has changed dramatically over the past few days. It's now peaceful and somewhat celebratory, Dobson said. "There have been protests, but there have also been celebrations of all us together, and you can't have a celebration without food," he said. Not all businesses fared well. Some suffered major losses. Trevira London's store London Couture Boutique on Fleet Street was ransacked Monday. Her windows were smashed and her merchandised looted. "They wiped me out," the 36-year-old said. She understands the frustration and can see why some local businesses are joining the movement to stand with their city, but she's also depressed that

Summary: Some local businesses in Baltimore are banding together to show support for change . Business owners have given workers opportunities to peacefully demonstrate . Several businesses dealing with destruction, looting from Monday riot .


(CNN)Given that most people couldn't tell the difference between a copyright and a trademark, it usually takes something controversial, such as the Washington Redskins' refusal to change their name, to get people interested in trademark law. This week, a higher court scrutinized a lesser-known trademark -- when the band The Slants sought to protect its name. The Slants are five Asian-American musicians from Portland, Oregon, who pay homage to the '80s on stage -- and homage to their heritage in an ironic way. "We want to take on stereotypes that people have about us, like the slanted eyes, and own them," Simon Shiao Tam, the band's front-man, said. In other words, the group adopted the Lenny Bruce philosophy of repeating an insulting term until it doesn't mean anything anymore. To The Slants, "slant" isn't an insult, it is empowering. And more power to them. Unfortunately, a bureaucrat at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided that "Slant" was disparaging to Asians, and denied them a trademark registration under the despised (by me, anyhow) Section 2(a) of the trademark act. This is the section that lets the government deny trademark protection to a mark that is "immoral," "scandalous" or "disparaging." In this case, the latter. But wait a minute. This isn't billionaire Dan Snyder referring to other people as "Redskins." In L'affair Redskins, it is the disparaged group, Native Americans, who are complaining -- not the government deciding on its own that it knows best. In the Slants' case, these are Asian guys who say "it doesn't bother us, so why should it bother you?" And it isn't as if any Asian American groups got involved. This is not the first time that someone has "taken back" a marginalizing term in a trademark fight. About 10 years ago, the motorcycle club "Dykes on Bikes" was similarly rebuffed, and they fought back and won the right to protect their mark. They made similar arguments that resonated: If they wanted to call themselves "Dykes on Bikes," then what place does the government have in judging that decision? In another decision, the trademark office initially denied a registration for Buddha Beachwear on the grounds that Buddhists would find it disparaging. But on reconsideration, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that it should go forward stating it is "imperative that the board be careful to avoid interposing its own judgment for that of Buddhists." So why aren't the Slants given the same privileges as Dykes on Bikes or Buddha Beachwear? It is largely a sign of the times. We find ourselves mired deeper and deeper in a society where people actually get excited to take offense at virtually anything. Given the lingering controversy over the Redskins' trademark, our five friends from Oregon didn't stand a chance. This decision offends me. For starters, by trying to protect Asians from racism, the court issued a disturbingly racist decision based on the fact that these were, in fact, Asians who intended their band name to invoke their ethnicity. But, if a Sicilian (like me) were to seek to register

Summary: Marc Randazza: Court upholds a trademark denial for Asian-American band The Slants on the grounds that name was disparaging . He says court is wrong: Trademarks are commercial speech, protected by First Amendment. Ruling a sign or our easily offended times .