Marietta, Georgia (CNN)The little-known star of this week's No. 1 car chase movie, "Furious 7" isn't a car. It's an airplane. Film producers hired a Lockheed C-130 Hercules to fly five cars 12,000 feet high, open a cargo door at the rear of the plane and parachute them out in a spectacular free-fall stunt. Geronimo! Happy 60th birthday to the Hercules -- the oldest continuously produced family of military planes in history. Lockheed has been making these airplanes longer than the legendary B-52 bomber and the famous U2 spy jet. Unlike those planes, the C-130 has never become a household name. The fact that "Furious 7" producers chose a plane that was designed in the 1950s tells you a little something about the success of the Hercules. The film makes it appear as if another plane -- a C-17 Globemaster III -- drops the cars. But in real life, it took a Hercules to pull it off. Shooting the scene posed unique logistical challenges, said stunt coordinator Jack Gill in a featurette video about the mission. "You start throwing all those cars out together -- you've got to figure out spacing. And these things drop very fast," Gill said. Jeremiah Beaudin of International Air Response co-piloted the stunt. "We have to be very precise in our headings and our altitudes," he says in the video. The Hercules is big. It's tough. It's versatile. It refuels helicopters in flight. It can fly a small military force and its heavy equipment around the world -- and land on short, unfinished airstrips. At Lockheed's Marietta, Georgia, factory in 1955, the governor of Georgia christened the first production C-130A by smashing a bottle of Chattahoochee River water across its nose. The plane then proceeded to take off from nearby Dobbins Air Force Base. On Tuesday, exactly 60 years later, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal recreated the ceremony -- christening a brand new Super Hercules during a birthday party of sorts for Lockheed executives and military dignitaries. "I'm told that the 2,500th version of this aircraft is now on the (assembly) line inside this building," Deal said. "It transports, it becomes a war airplane as necessary and it is recognized as the true workhorse." Inside the plane's cockpit, Lockheed test pilot Steve Knoblock said he's done a lot of air-drop testing while flying C-130s. "We've dropped some crazy things out," Knoblock said. "Air dropping a car out of an airplane is easy. Whatever we can fit inside the (cargo) hold, we can drop." Several factors come into play for a pilot making a drop, Knoblock said, including payload weight, wind speed and timing. "We have to give time for the car to clear the airplane, let the parachutes deploy, and then actually open," he said. One tricky decision involves how high the plane drops its cargo. "There's a trade off -- between dropping it low and being more accurate ... and dropping it high where you have a little more safety in how it will land." Knoblock also explained how the C-130's robust landing gear helps the plane

Summary: The type of plane used for a jaw-dropping stunt in "Furious 7" is 60 years old . Lockheed's C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military plane in history . C-130 factory in Georgia celebrates the flight of the first C-130 production model .


Havana, Cuba (CNN)All eyes are going to be on the new kid finally allowed to play and the big kid who for so long wanted nothing to do with him -- Cuba and the United States in the same diplomatic playground. Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by marshaling the support of other regional countries to insist on their attendance at the Summit of the Americas. And for the first time since 1962, the U.S. has not blocked Cuba's attempt to join. Now it's time to see how they play and who they play with -- especially Venezuela, which often falls out with Washington for crushing dissent at home and supplying Havana with billions of dollars in oil. Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama, arriving with more than 100 government officials, diplomats, small business people and artists. But Cuba's attempts to rebrand itself as an open, diverse society stumbled Wednesday when government supporters and anti-Castro supporters brawled in the streets of Panama. Video of the incident showed Cuban government officials exchanging punches and insults with dissidents until Panamanian police in riot gear broke up the melee. With the historic thawing in relations between the U.S. and Cuba, Washington now has urgent business to discuss with Havana. "We have really big issues with the Cubans that do need to be solved," said Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, who served as the chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. She added "The Cubans are typical of their negotiating style. You think it's going to be easy because we have said 'We are going to have good relations with you' and they say, 'That's not exciting for us and it is for you.' So they are hard negotiators as they always have been." The forum could provide the opportunity to push forward an agreement to re-establish formal relations and re-open embassies after nearly four months of negotiations. While President Barack Obama is not scheduled to meet Cuban leader Raul Castro, U.S. officials said there will be opportunities for "interaction" between the two leaders. The first time the two heads of state met was in 2013 at Nelson Mandela's funeral. Their brief handshake captured the world's attention and lit up social media. Few people then knew that the two countries were secretly involved in negotiations to thaw five decades of deadlocked Cold War-era relations. Obama had said he had hoped a U.S. Embassy would reopen in Havana before the summit, but Cuban officials have said they cannot imagine a full restoration of diplomatic ties until Cuba is removed from the U.S. State Department list of countries that support terrorism. "It would be difficult to explain that diplomatic relations have been resumed while Cuba has been unjustly listed as a state sponsor of international terrorism," said Josefina Vidal, the general director of U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry and lead negotiator in the talks. Cuba was added to the list in 1982, which includes Syria, Iran and Sudan. The designation carries financial sanctions which Cuban officials say further damages their already

Summary: Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by gaining attendance at Summit of the Americas . First time since 1962, the U.S. has not blocked Cuba's attempt to join . Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama .


(CNN)Richard Dysart, the award-winning stage actor who gained fame playing law firm leader Leland McKenzie on "L.A. Law," has died. He was 86. He died of cancer at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to his wife, Kathryn Jacobi Dysart. For decades, Dysart was a noted TV and film character actor, and stage star, winning a Drama Desk award for playing coach in Jason Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "That Championship Season." But it was as McKenzie, the occasionally crusty paterfamilias on "L.A. Law," that he's likely best remembered. 'L.A. Law': Sex, crime and the 'Venus Butterfly' McKenzie usually took a back seat to the younger, more glamorous characters on "Law," a Steven Bochco-created legal show that owed much to his previous hit, "Hill Street Blues." The employees of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak included Harry Hamlin's smooth-talking Michael Kuzak, Corbin Bernsen's skirt-chasing divorce attorney Arnie Becker and Michele Greene's idealistic Abby Perkins. There was as much time devoted to bedroom activities as there was legal issues while the show bravely took on such topics as AIDS, child molestation and capital punishment. But McKenzie was the one who kept them in check while still encouraging their better instincts. (Alan Rachins' Douglas Brackman was the business guy.) He was also involved in one of the show's most surprising plot twists: a romantic affair with a rival, Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur), who met with one of TV's most shocking deaths -- plunging down an elevator shaft. Dysart appeared in every episode of the show, which ran from 1986 to 1994. After "L.A. Law" ended, Dysart took few roles, though he did return for an "L.A. Law" reunion movie in 2002. Dysart's other credits include 1971's "The Hospital," 1975's "The Day of the Locust," 1979's "Being There," John Carpenter's 1982 version of "The Thing," 1985's "The Falcon and the Snowman" and 1987's "Mask." He is survived by Jacobi Dysart, his wife of nearly three decades, a son and two grandchildren. CNN's Rachel Wells contributed to this story.

Summary: The died of cancer at his home in Santa Monica, California . He usually took a back seat to the younger, more glamorous characters on the show .


(CNN)Donald Sterling's racist remarks cost him an NBA team last year. But now it's his former female companion who has lost big. A Los Angeles judge has ordered V. Stiviano to pay back more than $2.6 million in gifts after Sterling's wife sued her. In the lawsuit, Rochelle "Shelly" Sterling accused Stiviano of targeting extremely wealthy older men. She claimed Donald Sterling used the couple's money to buy Stiviano a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover, and that he helped her get a $1.8 million duplex. Who is V. Stiviano? Stiviano countered that there was nothing wrong with Donald Sterling giving her gifts and that she never took advantage of the former Los Angeles Clippers owner, who made much of his fortune in real estate. Shelly Sterling was thrilled with the court decision Tuesday, her lawyer told CNN affiliate KABC. "This is a victory for the Sterling family in recovering the $2,630,000 that Donald lavished on a conniving mistress," attorney Pierce O'Donnell said in a statement. "It also sets a precedent that the injured spouse can recover damages from the recipient of these ill-begotten gifts." Stiviano's gifts from Donald Sterling didn't just include uber-expensive items like luxury cars. According to the Los Angeles Times, the list also includes a $391 Easter bunny costume, a $299 two-speed blender and a $12 lace thong. Donald Sterling's downfall came after an audio recording surfaced of the octogenarian arguing with Stiviano. In the tape, Sterling chastises Stiviano for posting pictures on social media of her posing with African-Americans, including basketball legend Magic Johnson. "In your lousy f**ing Instagrams, you don't have to have yourself with -- walking with black people," Sterling said in the audio first posted by TMZ. He also tells Stiviano not to bring Johnson to Clippers games and not to post photos with the Hall of Famer so Sterling's friends can see. "Admire him, bring him here, feed him, f**k him, but don't put (Magic) on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me," Sterling said. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the league, fined him $2.5 million and pushed through a charge to terminate all of his ownership rights in the franchise. Fact check: Donald Sterling's claims vs. reality . CNN's Dottie Evans contributed to this report.

Summary: V. Stiviano must pay back $2.6 million in gifts from Donald Sterling . Sterling's wife claimed the ex-Clippers used the couple's money for the gifts . The items included a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover .


(CNN)Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has been hospitalized in Southern California. Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department were called to her home around 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET) Tuesday on the report of a medical emergency, spokesman Robert Hinojosa said. "Joni was found unconscious in her home (Tuesday) afternoon. She regained consciousness on the ambulance ride to an L.A. area hospital," according to her official website. "She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits. More updates to come as we hear them. Light a candle and sing a song, let's all send good wishes her way." Some of Mitchell's best-known songs are "Big Yellow Taxi," "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris," but she has penned hits for other artists too. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young scored with her anthem "Woodstock," about the 1969 landmark music festival. Judy Collins registered a Top 10 hit in 1967 with Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." Mitchell, 71, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Summary: Mitchell is best know for her hits "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Free Man in Paris" Paramedics came to her Los Angeles home on Tuesday afternoon .


(CNN)Panic. Tears. Fear. All those feelings and more permeated cities, villages and camps around Nepal on Saturday, after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck around midday. Hours later, after a wave of relentless aftershocks, many people still were too scared to go back inside any buildings. Others crowded around rubble, including men and women racing to rescue those trapped. And then there are the hundreds already confirmed dead, not to mention the hundreds more who suffered injuries. Below are some accounts from witnesses in the mountainous Asian nation, in their own words. Fast Facts: Earthquakes . Anderson, an American who was in Nepal for trekking and meditation, was in his hotel room when the quake struck. "I went outside five minutes after the major tremors stopped. I went to a parking lot nearby for one hour or so, then walked down the main road," he said. He took a series of photos on the main road between Thamal and Durbar Squares, that he shared via CNN iReport. Kumar posted a photo of people in his neighborhood sheltering in a makeshift tent after the quake. He sent updates via Twitter about what he was seeing in the Lalitpur District of Kathmandu. "It's getting dark, no power and no water supply in Lalitpur area, but people are helping each other with food and other items . "Almost everyone staying outside home...Hard time for small kids & older people . "People are very worried & are planning to stay out on the street overnight, but they lack sufficient food & water." Joshi is a UNICEF communication officer who was on the ground at the time of the quake. "The shake was like nothing I have experienced in my 57 years. It was strong and it shook for a long time." Old monuments and temples fell, Joshi wrote of his experience. There were fears that other buildings would collapse. "When I went out in the evening, I saw many people preparing to camp out in the main open parade ground in the middle of the street. Relatives were crying in the main government hospital where the dead were being lined up in front of the hospital building. "My family is traumatised. We are 5 generations living under one roof -- from a 100 year old grandmother to my 16 month old granddaughter. Strong aftershocks are keeping most of us up!" "Some of the historical sites are completely devastated. "Most of the people -- a lot of the people -- are walking through the city. They're confused and scared. A lot of people are crying. "They're out with their pets and their families and a lot of locals are volunteering in rescue operations. "In several parts of Kathmandu, a lot of people seem trapped under the rubble. Locals are trying to rescue these people because they can still hear them." Are you in Nepal or have loved ones affected? Please share with us if you are in a safe place. "We are scared and waiting for the tremors to end. We are all sitting outside because there

Summary: Massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck Nepal near its capital, Kathmandu . As the death toll rises, witnesses describe devastation and panic .


(CNN)A couple in their 20s, who led a youth ministry, and their baby boy were driving underneath a highway overpass in Bonney Lake, a Seattle suburb, when other motorists heard the crackle of a pending collapse. Concrete from a construction project crashed onto the family's car, killing Josh and Vanessa Ellis and their 8-month-old son, Hudson, authorities said. "The damage was so severe it was impossible to tell how many victims were in the vehicle. The only thing we had was we could tell there was one victim," said Officer Todd Green of Bonney Lake Police Department, according to CNN affiliate KOMO. It took nine hours Monday for crews to remove enough debris to discover the death toll on Angeline Road underneath State Route 410, authorities said. Authorities continued their investigation Tuesday, but initial findings were that there was an ongoing construction project on the highway and a side jersey barrier "came loose and fell onto the roadway," Green told the station. "When it fell off the overpass, it landed square on the roof of the vehicle," Green added. Josh and Vanessa Ellis were youth pastors at the EastPointe Foursquare Church in Puyallup, near Bonney Lake, the church said. The couple earlier wrote a short autobiography on the church website: "We love to laugh. We are passionate about seeing young people discover the love and grace that Jesus abundantly pours out on them. "We get really excited about good coffee, quality time with friends and Seattle welcoming an NBA basketball team back to our city," the couple wrote. "We love drive-in movies, frozen yogurt, dates to IKEA and trips to the beach." Lead Pastor James Ludlow said his church was reeling. "We are stunned! Shocked! Wounded, broken and dismayed. But we know one thing for sure ... they are in glory in the loving arms of our King Jesus!" Ludlow said on the church's Facebook page. Motorist Dawn Nelson was driving behind the Ellis' vehicle. "I was just a second or two behind him," Nelson told KOMO. "I could hear the three crunch sounds and then it just came down." Neighbors recounted a violent collapse. "I thought a semi had come down the guardrail here in front," neighbor Katie Vance told the station. She felt the crash inside her home. "It was a metal sound and a very heavy sound ... it was through your feet - like a guttural. It shook the whole house," she told the affiliate. CNN's Amanda Watts contributed to this story.

Summary: Josh and Vanessa Ellis, a couple in their 20s, were youth pastors in a suburban Seattle church . They and their 8-month-old son, Hudson, are killed when a highway barrier falls on their car . "We are stunned! Shocked!" the church's lead pastor writes on Facebook .


(CNN)Suspected Boko Haram militants this week attacked civilians inside Cameroon for the first time in a month, killing at least 16 villagers, a military spokesman told CNN Saturday. Six attackers were killed by Cameroonian forces, said Maj. Nlate Eballe, an operations officer with a special military unit set up to fight Boko Haram. The attackers came Thursday "in the hundreds ... torched Dia village in the Far North Region," he said. Dia is a village that borders Lake Chad and has been identified as a recruiting ground for Boko Haram. Regional Gov. Mijiyawa Bakary said the insurgents have been attacking border villages in Cameroon in search of supplies. Cameroonian troops retook cattle that was stolen by the attackers in Dia, Eballe said. The last attack in Cameroon by the Nigeria-based militants was March 10, when the assailants struck the locality of Kerawa-Mafa in a failed attempt to overrun a military base. Boko Haram, whose name translates as "Western education is sin," has been waging a years-long campaign of terror aimed at instituting its extreme version of Sharia law in Nigeria. Boko Haram's tactics have intensified in recent years, from battling Nigerian government soldiers to acts disproportionately affecting civilians -- such as raids on villages, mass kidnappings, assassinations, market bombings and attacks on churches and unaffiliated mosques. Much of this violence has taken place in Nigeria, but neighboring countries -- Cameroon included -- have also been hit increasingly hard. Journalist Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaounde, Cameroon, contributed to this report.

Summary: Six Boko Haram militants were killed, military spokesman says . Hundreds were involved in the raid on a village in far north . Boko Haram is based in Nigeria but has attacked across the border of several neighbors .


(CNN)Over the last few years, we've been close to eradicating worldwide polio without full success. However, a new medical technology, an easily applied microneedle patch, could be the key to that goal. The biggest challenge standing in the way of eradicating polio has involved the operational logistics of getting the vaccine to people who need it, especially in difficult areas plagued by violence or poverty. The microneedle patch, which resembles a small, round adhesive bandage, could bring polio vaccines to the doorsteps of the people that need it. By applying it to the skin and pushing down, the vaccine is delivered in a matter of minutes. Rather than requiring highly trained medics, minimally trained personnel could go from door to door, quickly administering the vaccine. It's been 60 years since a mass inoculation of Jonas Salk's vaccine began with school children in April, 1955 that caused polio cases in the United States to drop by almost 90% over the course of two years. The vaccine was eagerly awaited because, according to the CDC, about 35,000 people annually became disabled because of polio in the U.S. in the 1940s and '50s. In 1938, Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an organization known today as the March of Dimes Foundation, to fight polio. The organization funded the two vaccines -- one created by Salk and another by Albert Sabin -- that would lead to the protection of most of the world against polio. Salk's vaccine, developed in the 1950s, involved injecting a virus that was "killed," while Sabin's vaccine -- which he worked on in the 1960s and which was administered orally -- contained a weakened version of polio. The Sabin vaccine actually helped boost immunity in communities beyond the individual because people shed the weakened virus in their feces. It came to replace the Salk vaccine in many places between 1963 and 1999, according to the Smithsonian. But the injected "killed" virus version is what's given in the United States today because of the rare instances of people developing polio from the oral vaccine. Most people with polio have no symptoms; minor symptoms such as limb pain, fatigue and nausea affect about 4% to 8% of patients, according to the CDC. Fewer than 1% of cases lead to patients becoming permanently paralyzed, usually in the legs. Between 5% and 10% of paralyzed patients die when their respiratory muscles become paralyzed, too. Human beings have been living with polio for thousands of years, Dr. Stephen Cochi, a polio specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. There's evidence from ancient Egypt that paralytic polio existed there and even infected royalty. But it wasn't described clinically until 1789. The United States saw its first polio outbreak in 1894 in Vermont, with 132 cases, according to the Smithsonian. As the population became more urbanized in the early 20th century, more outbreaks occurred. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted the disease at age 39 in 1921. Although no cure was developed, a device called an iron lung was invented to help people with the

Summary: Salk's vaccine began with inoculating school children in April, 1955 . Polio was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 1979, but still exists in other countries . A new microneedle patch is easily used by minimally trained personnel .


Washington (CNN)As the Missouri National Guard prepared to deploy to help quell riots in Ferguson, Missouri, that raged sporadically last year, the guard used highly militarized words such as "enemy forces" and "adversaries" to refer to protesters, according to documents obtained by CNN. The guard came to Ferguson to support law enforcement officers, whom many community leaders and civil rights activists accused of using excessive force and inflaming an already tense situation in protests that flared sporadically from August through the end of the year. The National Guard's language, contained in internal mission briefings obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, is intensifying the concerns of some who objected to the police officers' actions in putting down riots. They broke out after the August 9 shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by city police officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson in the case. "It's disturbing when you have what amounts to American soldiers viewing American citizens somehow as the enemy," said Antonio French, an alderman in St. Louis. The documents obtained by CNN also detail that the Missouri National Guard was concerned about perceptions of its deployment, with superiors later telling troops to stop using heavily militarized language to describe protesters. And the communications show them calibrating the timing of their deployment in November -- in anticipation of the St. Louis County grand jury's decision on whether to indict Wilson -- to try to ensure that their presence didn't further dial up tensions, though several community members voiced concern that they were not deployed quickly enough. "We are deliberately constraining mobilization timelines to the last couple days to minimize backlash from calling up the NG early," Col. David Boyle, Army chief of staff at the Missouri National Guard, informed his officers in a Nov. 18 email. "We have coordinated for lower profile, less confrontation likely mission sets to emphasize support roles and minimize public militarization perception." Additionally, some in the National Guard seemed worried the language in the mission briefings could be problematic. Days before the announcement of the grand jury's decision, an email from Boyle warned of potential consequences from using language that could be "construed as potentially inflammatory." Two days after that, notification was sent to commanding officers stating that "all reference of 'enemy' were changed to state 'criminal elements'." Still, National Guard spokesman Capt. Quinn defended the militarized language as standard for the planning process ahead of deployment. In an email to CNN, he said the documents used in the Ferguson mission briefings were "a generic military planning format utilized in a wide range of military missions, so the term 'enemy forces' would be better understood as 'potential threats.' Often in Guard operations, threats would include inclement weather, heat, failing levees, etc." In further comments emailed to CNN late Friday, after the initial version of this article appeared, Quinn insisted that "while the term 'enemy forces' appears in a handful of early drafts of the operations order it was also clear that as soon as leadership saw the language, they correctly identified it

Summary: The National Guard's language worries those who objected to the tactics used in quelling riots . The language is contained in internal mission briefings .


(CNN)"Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me," Jesus tells the rich man in one of his best-known parables. It was a mantra he invoked repeatedly: the poor were blessed, and it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it was for the well-to-do to enter paradise. Meanwhile, Jesus told his Twelve Apostles to leave their day jobs and follow him on an itinerant mission with few prospects of success and no visible means of support. So how did this wandering band of first-century evangelists support themselves? Clearly, money was a concern, and not just as an impediment to salvation. In the New Testament, money gets 37 mentions, while "gold" gets 38 citations, "silver" merits 20, and "copper" four. "Coin" comes up eight times, and "purse" and "denarii" -- the Roman currency -- get half a dozen mentions each for a total of 119 currency referrals. Perhaps the most relevant reference is also one of the most charged passages in the New Testament: . As the Gospel of John tells it, six days before Passover, Jesus was in Bethany at the house of his friend Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. A woman named Mary takes a jar of costly perfumed oil and anoints the feet of the reclining Jesus. She dries his feet with her hair, an irresistible image for artists and dramatists. Judas Iscariot objected to the act. "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" Judas asks. Though 300 denarii was the annual wage of a laborer, Jesus told Judas to leave her alone, and foreshadowing his fate, said the anointing would be useful for his burial, and besides, "you always have the poor with you" -- but Jesus would not always be there. What that passage makes clear is that the Jesus community had a common purse because they needed money to survive. So how much? "I imagine the ministry functioned at a subsistence level," Rabbi Joshua Garroway, a professor of Early Christianity and the Second Commonwealth at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. Jesus and his disciples walked, wore what they had, slept outside or in stayed in friends' homes. They ate what they caught or what others shared. "I venture to guess that begging and hospitality will have sufficed to meet the basic needs of Jesus and the companions with whom he traveled," Garroway said. Garroway said that it was possible, even likely, that Jesus and his followers received donations from supporters, and possibly substantial ones from some of the rich people who were drawn to his ministry despite -- or perhaps because of -- his preaching on the perils of wealth. The Gospel of Luke gives us a glimpse of how Jesus' ministry functioned on a practical level: . "Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were

Summary: Some of Jesus' most important financial backers were women, historians say. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both men of stature and wealth, chipped in to help fund Jesus' ministry.


(CNN)The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday said it is ordering Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to pay a record $1.6 billion penalty for unsafe operation of its gas transmission system, including the pipeline rupture that killed eight people in San Bruno in September 2010. Most of the penalty amounts to forced spending on improving pipeline safety. Of the $1.6 billion, $850 million will go to "gas transmission pipeline safety infrastructure improvements," the commission said. Another $50 million will go toward "other remedies to enhance pipeline safety," according to the commission. "PG&E failed to uphold the public's trust," commission President Michael Picker said. "The CPUC failed to keep vigilant. Lives were lost. Numerous people were injured. Homes were destroyed. We must do everything we can to ensure that nothing like this happens again." The company's chief executive officer said in a written statement that PG&E is working to become the safest energy company in the United States. "Since the 2010 explosion of our natural gas transmission pipeline in San Bruno, we have worked hard to do the right thing for the victims, their families and the community of San Bruno," Tony Earley said. "We are deeply sorry for this tragic event, and we have dedicated ourselves to re-earning the trust of our customers and the communities we serve. The lessons of this tragic event will not be forgotten." On September 9, 2010, a section of PG&E pipeline exploded in San Bruno, killing eight people and injuring more than 50 others. The blast destroyed 37 homes. PG&E said it has paid more than $500 million in claims to the victims and victims' families in San Bruno, which is just south of San Francisco. The company also said it has already replaced more than 800 miles of pipe, installed new gas leak technology and implemented nine of 12 recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board. According to its website, PG&E has 5.4 million electric customers and 4.3 million natural gas customers. The Los Angeles Times reported the previous record penalty was a $146 million penalty against Southern California Edison Company in 2008 for falsifying customer and worker safety data. CNN's Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

Summary: The penalty is more than 10 times the previous record, according to a newspaper report . Utility commission to force Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to make infrastructure improvements . Company apologizes for explosion that killed 8, says it is using lessons learned to improve safety .


(CNN)At least 54 people have died and 15 others are missing after a Russian fishing vessel sank off the Kamchatka Peninsula, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. More than 60 people were rescued Thursday from the chilly waters in Russia's Far East. The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler -- a commercial fishing vessel -- was carrying 132 people, the ministry said. Of the people on board, 78 were Russians. The 54 others were foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, according to the news agency, with the majority coming from Myanmar. More than 20 fishing vessels are searching for the 15 people still thought to be missing, Tass said. The shipwreck was swift, with the trawler going down in the Sea of Okhotsk within 15 minutes of getting into difficulties, the news agency reported. The most likely cause of the shipwreck was collision with an obstacle which damaged the hull, the official spokesman of Russia's Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, is quoted as saying. The trawler is also thought to have keeled over as a result of hauling some 80 tons of fish on to the deck, the chairman of the emergencies commission in the Kamchatka region, Sergey Khabarov, told Tass.

Summary: Fishing vessels are searching for 15 people still thought to be missing . There were 132 people on board the ship, 78 of them Russians, Tass news agency says . The rest were foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, it says .


(CNN)China's cybercensors have long used a "Great Firewall" to block its citizens from reading critical articles from Western news websites or consuming other content it disapproves of. But it's no longer enough for them, says a study published Friday. They've developed a new IT weapon and have attacked servers outside their borders, including in the United States. The study's authors have named it the "Great Cannon," and it operates in plain sight. Going on the attack so visibly and handily within another country's borders will probably draw international ire, the study's authors say, and Beijing may have counted on that. "This is a powerful attack capability, and we are curious about the risk and benefit analysis that led the Chinese government to reveal it with this highly visible denial of service attack," said researcher John Scott-Railton. The reason Chinese censors are taking that risk: Free-speech cyberactivists have found ways to get around the Great Firewall and give Chinese readers greater access to the West's free press. Enter the "Great Cannon." It blasts targeted Web servers with massive distributed denial of service attacks, and it uses the Web browsers of unsuspecting Web surfers to do it. The Cannon wrecked two online services with DDoS attacks in March, say the researchers from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, the International Computer Science Institute, the University of California-Berkeley and Princeton University. Many of the researchers focus on the abuse of information technology to undermine civil liberties and human rights. And they are afraid this new cyberweapon could easily be used for an array of powerful attacks beyond what they've already observed. "A modest technical change could turn the Great Cannon into a malware delivery device for infecting the computer of a target individual anywhere in the world who visits a Chinese server," Scott-Railton said. This might include all emails headed in and out of China, he said. "The device could replace genuine attachments with malicious files, for example." One of the Great Cannon's targets that the researchers studied was an obvious one -- Greatfire.org, run by Chinese expats bent on fighting Beijing's censorship. They monitor Chinese citizens' access to international news sites such as German news service Deutsche Welle or The Tibet Post. But the other target may seem odd at first glance. GitHub is a popular Silicon Valley hosting service used by programmers who want to share code with each other. The two attacks were connected, however, the study says. GreatFire.org hosted two GitHub repositories that contained computer code allowing Chinese readers to get around the Great Firewall and read The New York Times in Chinese. Critical articles from the Times are a particular fly in the ointment for Beijing, and China has turned away at least three of the paper's reporters in short succession, according to a U.S. congressional commission on China. GitHub said it thought the attackers were trying to coerce it into taking content offline. GreatFire.org says it suspects the attack may have been in response to a Wall Street Journal article on its struggle to circumvent Chinese censors. Both services

Summary: China's cybercensors have developed a new IT weapon and have attacked servers outside their borders . Attacks by the "Great Cannon" are in the open and could draw international ire, the authors of the study say .


Tikrit, Iraq (CNN)ISIS is gone, but the fear remains. As Iraqi forces, aided by Shiite militiamen, took control Wednesday of the northern city of Tikrit, they found vehicles laden with explosives and buildings that might be booby-trapped. CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, who was in Tikrit on Tuesday, saw a large mechanical digger packed with explosives that Iraqi forces had to disarm. The troops, she said, were cautious when they entered buildings in case they were wired to explode. Plumes of smoke rose from burning buildings in the background. Near former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces compound -- Tikrit is Hussein's birthplace -- the CNN team also saw a destroyed truck with a large machine gun mounted on the back. Iraqi forces said they had fired an RPG at the truck, killing three ISIS fighters. ISIS was ejected from the palaces compound in fierce fighting, they said, adding that there may still be booby traps. Federal police said they dismantled hundreds of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) Wednesday. CNN heard at least 16 explosions, some very loud, which police said were controlled. The potential booby traps were political as well as physical. Officials are concerned about the behavior of the conquerors, particularly the Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen who helped Iraqi troops. Officials fear the militiamen might take "scorched earth" reprisals for the reported massacre of Shiite air force cadets by ISIS fighters in Tikrit last year. Much of the population of Tikrit is, like ISIS, Sunni Muslim. And officials fear that reprisals by Shiite militias against the Sunni population could stoke local anger, jeopardizing the government's ability to hold onto Tikrit and pull the country together. Sectarian resentment helped fuel the rise of ISIS in the first place. 'Where are our sons?' demand families of soldiers captured by ISIS . Still, the liberation of Tikrit from the terrorist group, which is also known as ISIL and calls itself the Islamic State, represented a significant victory for the Iraqi government, which had tried -- and failed -- to retake the city many times before. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived Wednesday to claim the victory, which took place a year after the city was first attacked by ISIS. Al-Abadi, who is also Iraq's top military commander, had announced the previous evening on Iraqiya TV that the city was under the control of Iraqi forces. Iraqi forces continued to clean out pockets of resistance Wednesday, said Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban, who was also in the city. But he said the Iraqi government would be in full control shortly. "The enemy has been defeated, and it has lost all its capabilities," al-Ghabban said. "In the coming hours, the battle will end." Iraqi security said that the few ISIS militants left in the city are hiding inside houses hoping to escape in the dark. ISIS' nine-month dominion over Tikrit was marked by brutality. In addition to the reported massacre of the 1,500-plus air force cadets at Camp Speicher in June, ISIS is believed to have buried victims in mass graves and to have destroyed an Assyrian

Summary: Tikrit is under the control of Iraqi forces, Iraqi Prime Minister says . ISIS departs, leaving city strewn with booby traps, explosive-filled vehicles . Officials hope to avoid Shia reprisals for ISIS slaughter of air force recruits .


(CNN)There are two paths to practicing medicine in America. There's the traditional, time-tested way, where new doctors graduate from medical school and then pass a series of national exams while training for years as resident physicians. Then there's the approach being forged in Florida and Arizona: getting elected to a state legislature. Lawmakers in those states are too often donning the white coats to orchestrate medical practice. In 2011, Florida enacted the Firearm Owners' Privacy Act, which threatens prosecution and loss of licensure for any physicians who dare ask their patients about gun ownership and gun safety. Guns are a scientifically uncontested health risk. Asking about them is standard practice in pediatrics and psychiatry. I treat brain injuries, and it's part of my job to talk with patients about things that might be unsafe for them, like driving. And handling weapons. Some of those I treat suffered their injuries by bullets, typically fired by family members or themselves. Does anyone really believe I shouldn't talk about gun safety in these cases? It's a good thing I don't practice in Florida. Florida's gun censorship law was dragged into court soon after the governor signed it, and while a three-judge appeals panel upheld the law last summer, doctors can still ask about guns while the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether it will take up the case, a decision that could come down any day, the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Tommy Schechtman, told me. He is a plaintiff in the case. In Arizona, another assault on physician free speech is scheduled to go into effect this summer. Bill 1318 goes a step beyond silencing doctors. It requires them to lie. The bill was originally a hum-drum attempt to block health plans from covering abortion services, a common state and federal strategy. But legislators slid in a last-minute provision mandating that physicians who prescribe the abortion pill RU-486 tell patients the pill is reversible. That's the opinion of a particular San Diego doctor who says this can be done through risky, large doses of progesterone. But the doctor hasn't proven his case, and his regimen is not recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or the Food and Drug Administration. Any doctor is certainly within his or her rights to review the limited information available about the San Diego regimen and decide whether to discuss it with patients, but actually requiring physicians to make claims most believe to be untrue and unsafe means the legislators are overstepping their bounds and interfering with the patient-doctor relationship. I cannot imagine anyone attempting to put words into the mouth of a lawyer privately consulting with a client. Why are physicians putting up with a professional assault the American Bar Association would never permit? Dr. Ilana Addis, chairwoman of the Arizona chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told me the amendment was added shortly before she was scheduled to testify about the bill before the Arizona House. While Planned Parenthood and the ACLU joined

Summary: Ford Vox: Florida law keeps doctors from talking gun safety with patients; Arizona law forces doctors to promote disputed abortion claim . He says doctor organizations are failing to defend medical profession against politically motivated interference by clueless lawmakers .


(CNN)Nobel literature laureate Guenter Grass, best known around the world for his novel "The Tin Drum," has died, his publisher said Monday. He was 87. Grass died in a clinic in the city of Luebeck, where he was taken over the weekend, said Steidl publishing spokeswoman Claudia Glenewinkel. German media are reporting he died of pneumonia. Grass focused in much of his work on learning from the horror of war and genocide by exploring motifs from his childhood city of Danzig, which is now Gdansk, Poland. During the Nazi era, ethnic Poles and Jews were persecuted and deported from the multicultural city, at a time when they faced the possibility of mass murder. "In his excavation of the past, Günter Grass goes deeper than most and he unearths the intertwined roots of good and evil," the Nobel committee wrote, when it awarded him the literature prize in 1999. But Grass, an outspoken public figure, has sparked controversy in the last decade. In 2006, he confessed that at the age of 15, in 1943, he volunteered for military service in Germany's war of aggression and ended up in the notoriously bloody Waffen SS. Grass said he had no excuses for his choices back then, and that, as a teen, he may even have been excited about belonging to the unit, which he saw then as an elite group. A year later, he penned a detailed account in The New Yorker on how he spent his war years up to the death of German dictator Adolf Hitler. Three years ago, Grass drew controversy again, when he published a poem in a German newspaper discouraging Germany from selling more submarines to Israel. In "What must be said," Grass accused Germany of selling weapons to a potential aggressor out of guilt over the Holocaust. Grass said Israel could use nuclear weapons to kill masses of Iranians. German commentators pilloried him as subconsciously anti-Semitic. Israel invoked a visa ban, and then-Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared Grass a "persona non grata" in Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported. Grass' novel characters are the forgotten, the downtrodden and the weird, the Nobel committee said. And like Oskar Matzerath, the boy in "The Tin Drum," they often slip into surreal situations. This was a literary innovation, the committee said, which was furthered by other great authors, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nadine Gordimer and Salman Rushdie. On Monday, Rushdie tweeted about Grass' death: "This is very sad. A true giant, inspiration, and friend." "The Tin Drum," which was published in 1959, "breaks the bounds of realism by having as its protagonist and narrator an infernal intelligence in the body of a three-year-old, a monster who overpowers the fellow human beings he approaches with the help of a toy drum," the Nobel committee wrote. The committee praised Grass' mastery of the German language and his ability to artfully exploit its possibilities of creating seemingly endless yet graceful sentences. Grass was an icon in contemporary German culture with an unchanging iconic look -- his broad mustache, his eyes gazing over the top of

Summary: Grass tried in his literature to come to grips with World War II and the Nazi era . His characters were the downtrodden, and his style slipped into the surreal . He stoked controversy with his admission to being a member of the Waffen SS .


(CNN)Barney Frank, to say the least, knows his way around politics. In a Chicago appearance recently, the retired congressman had the sold-out crowd at the Center on Halsted well entertained as he detailed his 45-year journey in public service. Frank, you'll recall, was the first member of Congress to marry someone of the same-sex while in office, and among other things, he had some choice words for closeted politicians who vote against LGBT rights. And when someone in the audience asked his thoughts about a current ballot proposal in California that would legalize killing gay people, he said he wasn't aware of the measure but told the young man not to "worry yourself about the crazy people." "We're winning," he said before joking that the name of the California proposal -- "The Sodomite Suppression Act" -- sounded like a porno. "We're winning" is a phrase I've heard a lot recently as it pertains to LGBT rights. And I guess if you look at where the country was 10 years ago, we definitely are. That's assuming you are part of the "we" that believes LGBT people should have the same rights as their heterosexual/cisgender counterparts. Or at least not "be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method" as the California proposal suggests. (It's unclear whether Matt McLaughlin, the Huntington Beach lawyer who submitted the proposal, is being sincere or just an ass, but the fact remains that if he collects enough signatures there appears to be no legal way of stopping it from going on the ballot.) Frank's "we're winning" declaration was oddly timed, too. Less than 24 hours after his talk, the governor in the next state over signed an anti-LGBT "religious freedom" bill into the law -- one that allows businesses to challenge in court local laws that forbid discriminating against customers based on sexual orientation. "Many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action," Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said. Not to be outdone, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he would sign a similar bill that is expected to reach his desk shortly. So we have: A fledgling proposal to kill the gays out West, laws to deny us goods and services in the heartland, and if the rhetoric of 2016 hopeful Ted Cruz is a barometer, a federal ban on same-sex marriage still on the GOP table. Like others, I had foolishly hoped the upcoming general election would be one defined by bold ideas. Instead, it looks like it's going to be dragged down to a replay of Pat Buchanan's "cultural war" speech, during which he told the 1992 Republican National Convention: "We stand with (George H.W. Bush) against the amoral idea that gay and lesbian couples should have the same standing in law as married men and women" and later followed with "There is a religious war going on in this country. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the Cold War itself. For this war is for

Summary: LZ: Barney Frank may say LGBT rights 'winning,' but Indiana law pushing them back, and other states' anti-LGBT moves, a bad sign . Cruz, Huckabee, Jindal, Carson, Walker and some state judges rulings, feel like 2016 reviving culture wars, he says .


(CNN)Lauren Hill, who took her inspirational fight against brain cancer onto the basketball court and into the hearts of many, has died at age 19. The Indiana woman's story became known around the world last year when she was able to realize her dream of playing college basketball. Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati successfully petitioned the NCAA to move up the opening game of its schedule to accommodate her desire to play. Hill died early Friday. At a ceremony honoring her life on the school's campus Friday afternoon, head coach Dan Benjamin said the toughest thing a coach has to deal with is a loss. The community had lost more than a player, he said. It lost a friend and a daughter. And it lost "an unselfish angel." "It's not often you get to celebrate a loss," he told the crowd as he struggled to hold in his tears. "But today we celebrate a victory on how to live a life, through Lauren Hill. (No.) 22 you will be missed and remembered by so many." An assistant coach read a quote from Hill: . "I encourage everyone to cherish every moment with no worry about the past or anxiety about the future. Because the next moment is never promised. Never leave anything unsaid. I have learned to see the blessings in every moment and through every struggle, no matter how tough it might be. Nothing holds me back from living my life and chasing my dreams. I always finish what I start and see it through to the end. Never give up on your dreams. Find something to fight for; I fight for others." Hill would go on to help raise $1.4 million for pediatric cancer research with the nonprofit group The Cure Starts Now. The organization called her a "worldwide inspiration." "Lauren captured the hearts of people worldwide with her tenacity and determination to play in her first collegiate basketball game with her Mount St. Joseph University team," the group said on Facebook. People we've lost in 2015 . Mount St. Joseph University President Tony Artez said Hill's "love and laughter will remain in our hearts." "We are forever grateful to have had Lauren grace our campus with her smile and determined spirit," Artez said in a statement. "She has left a powerful legacy. She taught us that every day is a blessing, every moment a gift." Her principal at Lawrenceburg High School, Bill Snyder, announced her death to students Friday morning. "Lauren's message was constantly positive," he told CNN. "We all need to work together to beat obstacles. Not just cancer. In any situation we can be positive." As news of her death spread, social media lit up with messages honoring her life. NBA great LeBron James called her the "true definition of strength, courage, power, leadership." "The greatest accomplishment we can achieve as humans is to inspire many," Twitter user Just_AP wrote. "Lauren Hill did that." NCAA President Mark Emmert said Hill's "enthusiasm and strength were an inspiration not only to those who knew her best, but also

Summary: Lauren Hill's coach says she was "an unselfish angel" After playing for her college, Lauren Hill helped raise money for cancer research . NCAA president says she "achieved a lasting and meaningful legacy"


Aden, Yemen (CNN)The streets were empty but not quiet. Shelling began to boom through the Yemeni city of Aden on Thursday afternoon as we hurried back to board the boat that had brought us here from Djibouti. Aden is a city gripped by fear, desperation and want. People line up for bread, they line up for cooking fuel, and the electricity only works a few hours a day. And from late afternoon onward, most people stay indoors. That is the time of the shelling, the daily aerial bombardment. How we got to Yemen: 30 dangerous hours in a boat . Saudi Arabia began airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen three weeks ago Thursday. But Aden remains a city not fully in the hands either of Houthi rebels or forces loyal to the ousted government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. Everyone we spoke to Thursday told us the same thing: Living in Aden these days is terrifying. We visited a hospital where doctors have given up trying to count the dead and the dying who are brought in. Officials said they believe the toll of the dead runs into the hundreds. Everywhere, we felt, saw, heard and smelled the desperation. We spoke to some of the loyalist military commanders. They said they felt they were pushing back the Houthi forces. The Houthis forced Hadi from power in January, though Hadi still claims to be Yemen's legitimate leader and is working with the Saudis and other allies to return to Yemen. Those allied with Hadi have accused the Iranian government of supporting the Houthis in their uprising in Yemen. 'A window into hell': Desperate Yemenis flee Saudi airstrikes by boat . Since Saudi Arabia began aerial raids March 26, it has launched more than 1,200 airstrikes. Saudi officials said they have killed more than 500 Houthi rebels. But the reality is that a good portion of the armaments the Saudis send in on guided parachutes fall instead into Houthi hands. There is, to be sure, a sense that three weeks into this operation, the Saudis are making some headway with the strikes. But given how far along they are into the operation, the expectation would have been -- especially given the aerial cover the Saudis are providing for loyalist forces on the ground -- that the Houthi forces would have been pushed further back. That hasn't happened. Why is Saudi Arabia bombing Yemen? The government loyalists have gained territory; that is why we were able to dock. There is an area around one of the smaller ports that is reliably in government hands. But Aden's main port will be hugely strategic for any potential ground incursion. Those forces will need to be reinforced and supplied through somewhere -- and the port is at the top of the list. Given that control of the city is still divided, there is a feeling that not enough of what the Saudis set out to do has been accomplished. The loyalists were frank with us. We are outgunned, they said. We are fighting a force that is

Summary: Control of strategic seaport of Aden divided between Houthi rebels and government loyalists . Some Saudi arms are falling into rebel hands . Terrified residents line up for bread and fuel and try to stay indoors .


(CNN)On Thursday, President Barack Obama revealed that a U.S. drone strike had killed Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto, two aid workers held hostage on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Al Qaeda had sought to trade the two for prisoners held by the United States and an end to drone strikes. But it is not only terrorist groups that try to reap reward from the taking of hostages -- take the case of Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief. On April 20, just two days before diplomats resumed talks in Vienna, Austria, to reach a final agreement over Iran's nuclear program, Rezaian's Iranian attorney announced that his client had been charged with espionage, conducting propaganda, collaborating with foreign governments and collecting information "with malicious intent." The State Department, Rezaian's employers at The Washington Post and fellow journalists reacted with outrage. Their anger is justified, but the decision should surprise no one: There is a long history of rogue regimes seizing hostages against the backdrop of diplomacy to extract concessions, humiliate the United States or signal unease. The scale of Iran's current hostage-taking -- not only Rezaian but also Iranian-Americans Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati -- may pale in comparison with Iranian behavior of decades past. But the use of hostages to extract concessions or dampen the enthusiasm surrounding reconciliation is part of a consistent pattern. Consider the original Iran hostage seizure: On November 4, 1979, radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran, ultimately holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Often forgotten was what sparked that episode, which occurred more than nine months after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared the Islamic revolution victorious. The problem was a rush to reconcile: At a November 1, 1979, Algiers reception, Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, met Iranian Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan. According to Brzezinski's own memoir, he told Bazargan that the United States was open to any relationship the Islamic republic wanted. Photos of their handshake graced newspapers around the world. Iranian hardliners, meanwhile, were apoplectic that Barzagan was "betraying" Iran's revolutionary principles, and seized the embassy to block any rapprochement. Khomeini endorsed their action. "Our young people must foil these plots," he reportedly said. The hostages became pawns in an escalating series of demands. Brzezinski's dream of reconciliation became a nightmare. Iran released the embassy hostages as Ronald Reagan took his oath of office, ending its first but not last hostage-taking episode. Iranian proxies seized a number of Americans in Lebanon. Reagan blessed a plan to trade arms for hostages. Putting aside the illegalities of diverting weaponry to the Nicaraguan Contras, the genesis of the scheme was not only a desire for diplomacy but also, much as with Obama's outreach today, to solidify the moderate camp within the Iranian political spectrum. Initially, the scheme worked, but no sooner had American officials delivered the last load of military equipment and the last hostages set free, then kidnappers seized three more Americans. Hostage-taking had simply become another way to collect concessions. Of course, Iran is not alone in such games. Whenever the United

Summary: A U.S. drone strike accidentally killed hostages Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto . Michael Rubin: Hostages such as journalist Jason Rezaian are canaries in the coal mine .


(CNN)The last time Frank Jordan spoke with his son, Louis Jordan was fishing on a sailboat a few miles off the South Carolina coast. The next time he spoke with him, more than two months had passed and the younger Jordan was on a German-flagged container ship 200 miles from North Carolina, just rescued from his disabled boat. "I thought I lost you," the relieved father said. Louis Jordan, 37, took his 35-foot sailboat out in late January and hadn't been heard from in 66 days when he was spotted Thursday afternoon by the Houston Express on his ship drifting in the Atlantic Ocean. "I was utterly thankful and grateful to the people who rescued me, and I was grateful to God that my parents were not going to be worried about me," Jordan told CNN. Frank Jordan told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he had worried about his son, who is an inexperienced sailor, but he held hope because his son had a good boat. And he had the strength to make it. "He's got very strong constitution and (is strong) not only physically, but spiritually," Frank Jordan told CNN. "And he told me on the phone that he was praying the whole time, so I believe that sustained him a great deal." The younger Jordan said he took his sailboat out to the Gulf Stream to find some better fishing, when it capsized. He broke his shoulder when the boat flipped. Because of the injury, Jordan couldn't repair the boat's mast, which had snapped. "Everything I owned got broken -- all my electronics, my GPS devices," Jordan said. He was dead in the water. Jordan drifted in the Atlantic, rationing food and water until his shoulder healed. He was able to rig a makeshift mast and sail, Jordan said, but he could make little headway against the currents. "It took so long," he said. "It moved so slowly." The boat capsized two more times before he was rescued, according to Jordan. After his food and water ran out, it became an issue of survival. Collecting fresh water was a nightmare for Jordan. The weather wouldn't cooperate. "I had tried to collect (rain)water ... but every time the waves would splash into the boat," Jordan said. "The waves would put saltwater into my freshwater and it tasted bad. "Finally the conditions were right. I filled up my water tank, which is 25 gallons. I filled up a bucket." Then there was the issue of food. The fish weren't cooperating, but after a while Jordan learned that they were attracted to his laundry that he would put out to sea for a rinse. The fish would swim in and out of his clothes and he could easily scoop them up with a hand net, he said. Jodran came ashore Thursday evening. CNN affiliate WAVY in Norfolk, Virginia, reported that he was able to walk from the helicopter into Sentara Norfolk General Hospital at about 7:30 p.m. Jordan was reported missing January 29, a few days after his last contact with his father. Two

Summary: Louis Jordan says his sailboat capsized three times . He survived by collecting rainwater and eating raw fish . Frank Jordan told CNN his son isn't an experienced sailor but has a strong will .


(CNN)A mammoth fire broke out Friday morning in a Kentucky industrial park, sending plumes of thick smoke over the area as authorities worked to contain the damage. The blaze began shortly before 7 a.m. at the General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville, according to Mike Weimer from the city's emergency management agency. He said that there were no reports of anyone injured or trapped. Video showed both smoke and bright orange flames. Firefighters took up positions around the affected buildings, spraying water from the periphery. Weimer told CNN that authorities didn't know what had caused the fire, which had gone to at least four alarms. According to a GE website, its facility in the Louisville Appliance Park is "revitalizing manufacturing in the United States." The park is large, such that 34 football fields could fit in one of its warehouses in the facility.

Summary: Fire breaks out at the General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky . City official: No is believed to be injured or trapped .


Baghdad, Iraq (CNN)Hundreds of additional Iraqi troops are being sent to reinforce colleagues who are trying to fend off ISIS' attempt to overrun Iraq's largest oil refinery, a key paramilitary force said Tuesday. The reinforcements come four days after ISIS began attacking northern Iraq's Baiji oil refinery, a key strategic resource that has long been a target because the facility refines much of the fuel used by Iraqis domestically. The additional troops came from Camp Speicher, a fortified Iraqi base near the city of Tikrit, according to the media office of the Hasd Al-Shaabi militia. The reinforcements include two federal police regiments, an Iraqi military quick reaction force battalion and a regiment from Hasd Al-Shaabi, which is a predominantly Shia militia that worked with the Iraqi military as well as Sunni fighters to liberate Tikrit from ISIS about two weeks ago. ISIS launched an assault on the Baiji oil refinery late Saturday. By Sunday, ISIS said its fighters were inside the refinery and controlled several buildings, but Iraqi government security officials denied that claim and insisted that Iraqi forces remained in full control. The Hasd Al-Shaabi media office said Tuesday that Iraqi troops already at the refinery were holding their ground, preparing to push ISIS out of the facility entirely. The attack could have a significant effect if it damages oil fields or machinery. The refinery is 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Tikrit. CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali reported from Baghdad. CNN's Jason Hanna wrote in Atlanta. CNN's Arwa Damon and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

Summary: ISIS attacked the Baiji oil refinery Saturday . The refinery, Iraq's largest, has long been a lucrative target for militants .


Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN)Her second floor cafe on a dusty industrial road was painted with dashes of psychedelic colors. And Sabeen Mahmud surrounded herself there with books, people, and discussions on technology, human rights and women's entrepreneurship. Introducing others to Jimi Hendrix, street art, and talking politics was not supposed to get her killed. But in Pakistan, free speech is dangerous, and Mahmud's exuberant exercise of it made her stick out nationwide. Two gunman shot her dead at point-blank range late Friday after she locked up The Second Floor cafe in Karachi for the night, police said. Mahmud died from five bullet wounds. The gunmen also shot her mother. She is in a hospital but is expected to be released on time for her daughter's funeral. Mahmud's killing broke hearts beating for non-violence and progressive values across the country. She freely said what she thought in a place where many people are too afraid to and by doing so spoke for many more people than just herself. She had become a Pakistani figurehead for humanism, love and tolerance. "She took that torch into the dark forest and so many people followed. She really, truly was a success story of the heart," said close friend and BBC journalist Ziad Zafar. No one has claimed responsibility for her shooting, and police have not named any motive. But Mahmud had just finished leading a discussion group on a topic that many want silenced, when the shots fell. In the province of Baluchistan, where separatists have fought a virulent insurgency for years, people have been disappearing regularly. There have been steady allegations of mass abduction. The Lahore University of Management Sciences planned to host the discussion on the topic, with human rights activist Mama Qadeer Baloch, but authorities shut it down. Mahmud would not hear of it not going on. "Despite the plurality of opinion, very little space seems to be given to the discussion in Pakistani mainstream media or academia; the debate seems to be shut down before it can even begin," she posted on Facebook. "What is the reality? Has the media been silenced on Balochistan? What makes it dangerous for us to talk about Pakistan's largest province at one of our most celebrated universities?" She invited the discussion to The Second Floor, also known by the shorthand T2F. She said she knew it was a potentially dangerous move, and she had received death threats in the past when she handled the topic before. "She was the bravest woman in the world, she really was, she was a brave heart; my God, she was a brave, brave girl," Zafar said. Even in its secluded, humble location, T2F was a magnet to those seeking secular wisdom. They found it in a homey setting, musingly decorated like a small town college bookstore. The walls outside its entrance are sprayed with socially critical graffiti -- dusky red hearts float across gray walls. Mahmud waited to greet visitors, many of them young Pakistanis seeking freedom of thought, with a hug, a mug and encouragement for Pakistan's future. "She hoped

Summary: She hosted a controversial discussion on the disappearance of people . She knew what she was doing was dangerous and had received death threats before . Mahmud loved books, Jimi Hendrix and discussions about human rights .


(CNN)Authorities detained a 15-year-old girl from Cape Town, South Africa, at the city's airport after receiving information she was leaving the country to join ISIS, State Security Minister David Mahlobo said. "We are still conducting further investigation. The girl over the past period has been using technology on social media platforms interacting with strange people and reading material that suggested she expressed an interest in joining a terrorist group called ISIS," he told broadcaster eNCA. Police and airport security located the girl on a Johannesburg-bound flight, and "we got our agencies to secure all the important exit points in the country. We got her at Cape Town International Airport," Mahlobo said. Virginia teen accused of being ISIS recruiter . It's not clear how the girl was recruited or how the airfare was arranged, he said. Officials debriefed the girl's family and released her into the family's care, Mahlobo said. "The recruitment and radicalization of particularly young people to take part in acts of terror is a growing global concern and local law enforcement agencies will continue to work hard in clamping these from materializing," the minister said in a statement Monday. Australia teens suspected of trying to join ISIS stopped at airport .

Summary: Official: Girl, 15, "expressed an interest in joining a terrorist group called ISIS" Authorities detain girl at Cape Town airport, release her into family's care, he says .


(CNN)About a dozen Native American actors have walked off the set of an Adam Sandler movie comedy, saying the satirical Western's script is insulting to Native Americans and women, according to a report. The walkout occurred Wednesday on the set of "The Ridiculous Six" near Las Vegas, New Mexico, according to the Indian Country Today Media Network. The script called for native women's names such as "Beaver's Breath" and "No Bra" and an actress portraying an Apache woman to squat and urinate while smoking a peace pipe, ICTMN reported. "When I began doing this film, I had an uneasy feeling inside of me and I felt so conflicted. ... We talked to the producers about our concerns. They just told us, 'If you guys are so sensitive, you should leave,' " said Allison Young, a Navajo and one of the actors who left the set. "Nothing has changed," she told ICTMN. "We are still just Hollywood Indians." "They were being disrespectful," added David Hill, a Choctaw actor. "They were bringing up those same old arguments that Dan Snyder uses in defending the (Washington) Redskins. But let me tell you, our dignity is not for sale." Produced by Sandler's Happy Madison Productions as part of a four-picture deal with Netflix, "The Ridiculous Six" also stars Will Forte, Taylor Lautner, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Nick Nolte, Luke Wilson and Rob Schneider, among others. The ICTMN describes the movie as a Western spoof on "The Magnificent Seven," the 1960 classic about gunfighters who protect a village from a group of bandits. The movie was co-written by Sandler and is being directed by his frequent collaborator Frank Coraci. Actors playing historical figures include David Spade as General Custer, Blake Shelton as Wyatt Earp and Vanilla Ice as Mark Twain, according to the Internet Movie Database. Sandler had not commented publicly on the walkout as of Friday morning, although people were criticizing him in comments posted on his Facebook page. "Hey Adam, act like an adult for once. Respect others, especially Native Americans," wrote one commenter. In a statement sent to CNN and other media outlets, Netflix defended the movie as satire: . "The movie has ridiculous in the title for a reason: because it is ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of -- but in on -- the joke." The Native American actors who spoke to ICTMN weren't laughing, however. One, Loren Anthony, posted a photo to Instagram from the set Monday along with a comment saying, "Having a good time, great cast, great crew and feeling blessed to be here." But by Wednesday, the Navajo actor had become disillusioned and joined others in walking out. He told ICTMN he felt insulted because costumes he and others wore to portray Apache Indians were not authentic. "We were supposed to be Apache, but it was really stereotypical and we did not look Apache at all. We looked more like Comanche," he said. According to ICTMN, a Native American adviser hired

Summary: About a dozen Native American actors walk off set of Adam Sandler comedy, says report . Actors say satirical Western's script is insulting to Native Americans and women .


(CNN)If you've been following the news lately, there are certain things you doubtless know about Mohammad Javad Zarif. He is, of course, the Iranian foreign minister. He has been U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's opposite number in securing a breakthrough in nuclear discussions that could lead to an end to sanctions against Iran -- if the details can be worked out in the coming weeks. And he received a hero's welcome as he arrived in Iran on a sunny Friday morning. "Long live Zarif," crowds chanted as his car rolled slowly down the packed street. You may well have read that he is "polished" and, unusually for one burdened with such weighty issues, "jovial." An Internet search for "Mohammad Javad Zarif" and "jovial" yields thousands of results. He certainly has gone a long way to bring Iran in from the cold and allow it to rejoin the international community. But there are some facts about Zarif that are less well-known. Here are six: . In September 2013, Zarif tweeted "Happy Rosh Hashanah," referring to the Jewish New Year. That prompted Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, to respond with a tweet of her own: "Thanks. The New Year would be even sweeter if you would end Iran's Holocaust denial, sir." And, perhaps to her surprise, Pelosi got a response. "Iran never denied it," Zarif tweeted back. "The man who was perceived to be denying it is now gone. Happy New Year." The reference was likely to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had left office the previous month. Zarif was nominated to be foreign minister by Ahmadinejad's successor, Hassan Rouhami. His foreign ministry notes, perhaps defensively, that "due to the political and security conditions of the time, he decided to continue his education in the United States." That is another way of saying that he was outside the country during the demonstrations against the Shah of Iran, which began in 1977, and during the Iranian Revolution, which drove the shah from power in 1979. Zarif left the country in 1977, received his undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University in 1981, his master's in international relations from the University of Denver in 1984 and his doctorate from the University of Denver in 1988. Both of his children were born in the United States. The website of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, which Zarif runs, cannot even agree with itself on when he was born. The first sentence of his official biography, perhaps in a nod to the powers that be in Tehran, says Zarif was "born to a religious traditional family in Tehran in 1959." Later on the same page, however, his date of birth is listed as January 8, 1960. And the Iranian Diplomacy website says he was born in in 1961 . So he is 54, 55 or maybe even 56. Whichever, he is still considerably younger than his opposite number, Kerry, who is 71. The feds investigated him over his alleged role in controlling the Alavi Foundation, a charitable organization. The U.S. Justice Department said

Summary: Mohammad Javad Zarif has spent more time with John Kerry than any other foreign minister . He once participated in a takeover of the Iranian Consulate in San Francisco . The Iranian foreign minister tweets in English .


(CNN)A Connecticut teen who has been forced to have chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin lymphoma will remain in temporary custody of the state for the time being, according to her attorney, Josh Michtom. A Connecticut juvenile court judge issued a written decision Wednesday denying a motion to let the teen, identified in court documents as "Cassandra C.," go home. The judge also denied a motion for visitation. The 17-year-old is in remission after nearly six months of forced chemo treatments. On March 16, Michtom tried to convince the court that she should be able to return to her mother's home because she was no longer at imminent risk of harm from her illness. Michtom and attorney Michael Taylor, who represents Cassandra's mother, Jackie Fortin, released a written statement after receiving the judge's decision Wednesday: "We are disappointed in this ruling, not least of all because it draws a factual conclusion that is directly contradicted by the weight of the evidence. We're conferring with our clients now about next steps, including whether to take another appeal." Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in September and medical experts gave her an 85% chance of survival if treated with chemotherapy. Without it, doctors said at the time, she was likely to die within two years. She started chemotherapy in November but ran away after two days, according to court documents, when she decided she did not want to put the poison of the treatment into her body. In December, a judge ordered the young woman to be under the custody of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. At that time, she was admitted to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford and has remained there since then. Doctors surgically implanted a port in Cassandra's chest to administer chemotherapy medications, which began in spite of legal maneuvers to halt them. Cassandra is feeling well and is in good shape as far as her health is concerned, according to Michtom. "She's seen in her case the side effects weren't bad, and she's been well-treated by the nurses and doctors and does want to complete the treatment," he said. Her treatment is scheduled to wrap up this month. Michtom and Taylor failed in their effort before the Connecticut Supreme Court to make the case that Cassandra was mature enough to make her own medical decisions. Joette Katz, the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, told CNN in March the agency is "very pleased with Cassandra's progress toward a complete recovery. We understand how difficult this has been for Cassandra and her family, but we have had full confidence throughout that the medical professionals involved in her treatment would be successful in saving her life." The agency has denied CNN's request to speak with Cassandra or her physicians. According to Michtom, the Department of Children and Families could have withdrawn its position for an order of custody but hasn't. He said the department sees Cassandra as a flight risk because she has run away before. Representatives for the department have said in court and in conversations with Michtom

Summary: Judge won't allow teen leave hospital before her last chemotherapy treatment . Attorneys for the teen are deciding whether to appeal . Cassandra C. is now in remission and is no longer opposed to the chemotherapy treatments .


(CNN)It's the simplest possible assignment, but it always teaches a huge lesson. Every year, Denver teacher Kyle Schwartz passes out Post-it notes to her third grade students and asks them to complete the sentence, "I wish my teacher knew ..." Many of the students she teaches at Doull Elementary just wish they had something in common with her, that she knew soccer or video games. But sometimes, their wishes bring tears to her eyes, and offer a glimpse of painful struggles in their young lives. There's a student who misses her father: "I haven't seen him in six years." Another who wants to tell her she's lonely: "I don't have friend to play with me." Still another who wants to explain why her reading log goes unsigned: "My mom is not around a lot." And other who has big hopes for the future: "I want to go to college." The assignment sprang from the kinds of conversations teachers have all the time, Schwartz said: "What do our students need? How can we best serve them?" Schwartz always gives her students the option to write their names on their notes or remain anonymous; of sharing them only with her, or with the entire class. It surprises her how often students stand up and want to read their wishes out loud, like the shy student who shared, "I wish my teacher knew I'm nervous all the time." "They feel respected, they feel safe enough to share some of these more sensitive ones," said Schwartz, who has been teaching for three years. "Kids can share what they feel comfortable with." Recently, Schwartz began to post some students' responses on Twitter using the hashtag #IWishMyTeacherKnew. It spread, as teachers around the country tried it with their own classrooms. They sometimes reveal what kids are most worried about right now, like the child whose mother was sick, or another who had just experienced bullying. One student just wants more attention from the teacher. Sometimes, they have a little fun: "I wish my teacher knew how to do a backflip." Occasionally, students want to reassure their teachers that that they're doing a great job. There's a lot for teachers to learn, too: "They are KIDS who deal with a lot as they grow up," one educator posted on Twitter. Schwartz said she's learned not to assume what her students wish. Although most of the students at her school live in poverty, not every message is about a material need. There's no pressure to share something they're not ready to talk about, she said, and "they're acutely aware of their own needs." Through assignments like this, she is, too. As her idea spread, many Twitter users asked how they can help to support her students. She's pointed them toward a DonorsChoose.org fund where she posts a classroom project wish list. So far, most have been fulfilled.

Summary: Denver teacher Kyle Schwartz asked students to share what they wish she knew . Their honest answers moved Schwartz and sparked a discussion online .


(CNN)Mao Zedong's "Little Red Book," a selection of the chairman's quotations, was required reading during China's Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s. China has now updated the practice for the digital age -- launching a smartphone app starring its current leader, President Xi Jinping, and featuring his latest speeches, statements and publications. Designed by the Central Party School, which trains Chinese Communist Party leaders, the app aims to "arouse enthusiasm" for socialist ideologies. "With the help of Internet technology, we hope that the theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics will be presented in a way that appeals to web users," Chen Jiancai, the managing editor of the school's official web site, said, according to Xinhua, China's state news agency. The app features the latest news about Xi and allows users to access the traditional texts that Xi quotes from. It even has an interactive map that allows you to pinpoint exactly where he made the speeches. It's unclear how many people have downloaded the app, which is available on Apple's App Store. Willy Lam, a China politics scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong told CNN the app forms part of Xi's efforts to cultivate a very different image to his predecessors. Xi is keen to be portrayed as a strong leader and as a man of the people -- he's been photographed eating dumplings and has appeared in three animated cartoons. His down-to-earth behavior has drawn a huge number of fans, who address him as "Xi Dada"-- Big Uncle Xi -- but it's also aroused concern among some China analysts, who believe that Xi is using the state propaganda apparatus to build a cult of personality. "This is the 21st century's Little Red Book," Lam says. "He wants to be the supreme authority and build his prestige. The personality cult campaign will only grow." The app drew mixed reviews online and on social media. One headline on a technology news site read "How can you call yourself Chinese if you don't download it?" Some said the app, called Xuexi Zhongguo, which translates to "study China," would be a handy study tool. "Xuexi Zhongguo is an extremely useful app... for civil servants selection tests," says one Weibo user @afeixiaoxiaozhuai. But others said they would boycott it. "If they introduce an Android version, I'll get an iPhone. And if it's in Apple Store, I'll say I can only afford an Android phone. If they are available on both systems, I'll get a Nokia -- sorry, I can't afford a smartphone," said @Mujia.

Summary: Xi Jinping's sayings now available in a new smartphone app . Scholars call it a new version of Mao's "Little Red Book"


(CNN)"Hamlet." "Romeo and Juliet." "A Midsummer Night's Dream." For centuries, these plays and three dozen more by William Shakespeare have formed history's most heralded literary canon. But now they may have to make room for an addition to Shakespeare's famous oeuvre. New research indicates that "Double Falsehood," a play first published in 1728 by Lewis Theobald, was actually written more than a century earlier by Shakespeare himself with help from his friend John Fletcher. The findings were published this week by two scholars who used computer software to analyze the writings of the three men and compare it with the language of the "newer" play. "The match between the 'Double Falsehood' play and Shakespeare was a landslide. It was shockingly clear," said Ryan L. Boyd, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. The study, co-authored by Boyd and UT colleague James W. Pennebaker, was published in the journal Psychological Science. "There's very little wiggle room to interpret the numbers any differently." Boyd said he and Pennebaker analyzed 33 plays by Shakespeare, nine by Fletcher and 12 by Theobald to create a "psychological signature" of each author based on word choices, phrase patterns and other factors. They compared those profiles to the language in "Double Falsehood" and determined that the play's first half was almost entirely written by Shakespeare, though the second half appeared to be split evenly between Shakespeare and Fletcher. Only tiny traces of Theobald's signature were found. "We're certainly not suggesting that Theobald didn't make edits," Boyd told CNN. "But he clearly did not write it." "Double Falsehood," also known as "The Distressed Lovers," is based on the "Cardenio" section of Don Quixote, the classic 17th-century novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Set in Spain, the play revolves around the romantic entanglements of two brothers: one virtuous, one sinful. Theobald said he based the play on three original manuscripts he had discovered, all of them written by Shakespeare. But many scholars have long dismissed the play as a fake, suspecting that Theobald tried to pass the Bard's work off as his own. Shakespeare, who died in 1616, wrote most of his published plays between 1590 and 1612. British publishers Arden Shakespeare published "Double Falsehood" in 2010 -- for the first time in 250 years -- amid renewed claims by experts that it was Shakespeare's work. But the new study by Boyd and Pennebaker, the first to analyze the writings from a psychological perspective, may settle the matter once and for all. Shakespearean scholar Brean Hammond, professor of modern English literature at Nottingham University in the UK, praised the Texas study for its scientific approach. Hammond said Boyd and Pennebaker "have got no dogs in the fight. They're not literary scholars, (so) their work could be seen as more objective than some of the literary studies." Hammond studied "Double Falsehood's" authorship from a literary perspective five years ago and found Shakespeare's DNA evident in the play. But he doubts the new research will put the matter entirely to rest. "Those people who don't believe the play was written by Shakespeare

Summary: New research indicates that a play published in 1728 was written by William Shakespeare . Scholar Lewis Theobald had passed the work off as his own . Texas researchers used software to analyze and compare the language of the men .


(CNN)In response to reports of big banks threatening to withhold campaign funds from Senate Democrats, Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week offered a defiant response: "Bring it on." Warren said she isn't going to slack off on her calls for breaking up banks and other measures to rein in Wall Street. As Hillary Clinton prepares to officially launch her presidential campaign this month, she will need to make a choice about how much to highlight issues relating to economic inequality. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is also running for the Democratic nomination, is trying to steal Clinton's thunder by talking about the problems of disproportionate wealth. In other words, there are many signs that Democrats are planning to take on the big issue of economic inequality. But in other recent news, the likelihood that New York's Chuck Schumer will replace Harry Reid as leader of the Senate Democrats means the dreams of a more economically leftward party are crashing into political reality. While Schumer has been a very effective Democrat and skilled legislative leader, he is also a Wall Street Democrat who has spent much of his time courting and protecting powerful financial interests who run one of the dominant industries in his state. He is not alone. Even at his most progressive moments, President Barack Obama relied on Wall Street donations for both of his campaigns. Despite all the talk from conservatives about left-wing "socialism" in the White House, the financial community has been willing to open its coffers to Democrats without much concern, even in the 2012 election. Democratic populism can't really work within the current campaign finance system. The enormous pressures for parties to raise funds in campaigns has for many decades created pressure on Democrats, despite their political base, to court big donors. During the 1980s, California Democrat Tony Coelho, serving as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and then as majority whip, made a strong appeal to savings and loans executives before the crash of the industry to catch up to Republicans who had been outflanking them in raising money. The Democrats were, and have continued to, losing their traditional base of campaign support --organized labor -- which had been a central source of campaign muscle since the 1930s, providing money and campaign assistance during campaigns. Without organized labor to serve as their foundation and with the pressure for raising private funds increasing, many Democrats concluded they needed business by their side. Democrats running for president have made the same kind of choices. In 2008, Obama disappointed many supporters upon becoming the first president to abandon the post-Watergate public finance system for campaigns altogether, preferring to raise money himself for the general campaign. While small donors were enormously important to his victories, so too were business and Wall Street executives. At the height of the financial crash, when public sentiment had clearly turned against Wall Street, the administration agreed to a financial regulation bill (Dodd-Frank) that was structured in such a way as to give powerful interests more than enough opportunity to limit the bite

Summary: Julian Zelizer: Elizabeth Warren was defiant about Wall Street, but Hillary Clinton likely won't be . Zelizer: The Democrats need Wall Street's campaign donations to be competitive in 2016 .


(CNN)Living under ISIS. Selling Girl Scout cookies. And giving some lip -- like Kylie Jenner. These are the best videos of the week. In the West, ISIS is widely known for its terrorist actions. But for some communities, the group is the local governing authority, picking up garbage and directing traffic. CNN's Atika Shubert explains how ISIS functions as a state. The video is at the top of this story. It's an annual tradition: Girl Scouts sell cookies -- and, in the millions, we buy them. But is this the best way for them to raise money? CNN's Richard Roth asks about a sweet tradition that's leaving some with a bitter taste. Watch the video: . The use of marijuana has long been a source of controversy, but on movies and TV shows, it's also long been a source of humor. CNN's Lisa France has a blunt look at the herb in pop culture. Watch the video: . Many climate scientists believe that an increase of 2 degrees Celsius in the global average temperature could be the tipping point for climate change. CNN's John D. Sutter takes a measure. Watch the video: . Back in the '50s, "The Blob" was a low-budget horror/sci-fi film. Today, it's reality, as "blobs" of warm water in the Pacific Ocean may be having an impact on storms and marine life. CNN's Jennifer Gray takes a look. Watch the video: . A newly discovered frog has a distinct resemblance to a certain "Not Easy Being Green" Muppet, Kermit the Frog. Kermit himself noted the similarities. So what is this amphibian? Watch the video: . In another attempt to keep up with the Kardashians, some children and teens are using suction to make their lips look just like Kyle Jenner's.The #KylieJennerChallenge hasn't escaped notice. Watch the video: . "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr. was distinctly flinty when dealing with the questions of a British interviewer. He finally walked out -- and he hasn't been the only one to decide to take off his microphone. Watch the video: . You've heard of drones in the air. Now the Pentagon is working on drones at sea -- and they could be valuable tools in tracking enemy ships. Watch the video: . Recent incidents have brought attention to the question of when police are allowed to use deadly force. CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin looks at the laws for law enforcement. Watch the video: . Michelle Obama is 51 years old -- but she certainly doesn't look it, particularly in the eyes of one youngster. Watch the video: .

Summary: How does ISIS govern? Robert Downey Jr. isn't the only celebrity to walk out of an interview .


(CNN)The verdict of the opinion polls on the UK election debate between seven party leaders was simple enough: Between David Cameron of the Conservatives, Ed Miliband of Labour, Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Natalie Bennett of the Green Party, Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalists, there really was no clear winner. Comres for ITV, which staged the debate, had Cameron, Miliband and Farage tied first with 21% and Sturgeon close behind on 20%. ICM for The Guardian scored it Miliband 25, Cameron 24, Farage 19 and Sturgeon 17. YouGov for The Times put Sturgeon first with 28 points to 20 for Farage, 18 for Cameron and only 15 for Miliband. Back in the 1950s, UK politics was simpler: Labour and Conservatives combined took 97% of the votes. But nowadays they struggle to collect two-thirds of the national vote between them. In our anti-politics age nationalists and others have advanced and the leaders' TV debate was no gladiatorial contest with a straightforward outcome. Rather it was a cacophonous shouting match that probably gave all parties' supporters some satisfaction but which offered little new insight to the undecided voter. From a highly confused affair we can perhaps take six lessons: . As the incumbent Prime Minister, Cameron is probably wise to have refused all invitations to go head to head with Miliband alone in verbal fisticuffs. He has risked being labelled a coward for doing so but it was a tactical decision. Miliband has been given a hard time by the British media who have gloated over his difficulties in eating a bacon sandwich and presented him as an awkward geek. But Labour's leader is a perfectly capable debater. He could only gain from their confrontation. As it is, election time media exposure has already seen Miliband's ratings as a leader improve. The electoral strengths and weaknesses of the two main leaders are emerging. In an earlier clash involving separate sessions before a studio audience and in a grilling by UK TV's Grand Inquisitor Jeremy Paxman, Cameron proved vulnerable on broken promises to cut immigration, on the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts and on being too kind to the rich in his taxation policies. Miliband has looked unconvincing on how he will fund his promises to continue cutting the budget deficit and how he will curb immigration; he also is still embarrassed when questioners remind audiences how he knifed his brother David to get the leader's job. The impression so far is that Britain's voters don't much like the Conservatives despite the recovering economy but don't quite trust Labour to continue the improvement. Miliband, told by his handlers to look tough, is using the "i" word too much. Cameron is curiously short on passion. An oddity of the Seven Up debate was that many who viewed it will have no chance of voting for two of the leaders involved, Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party and Wood of Plaid Cymru. But Sturgeon's high

Summary: No clear winner in opinion polls after first UK election debate between seven party leaders . Robin Oakley says David Cameron and challenger Ed Miliband did well, but there was little insight for voters .