(CNN)Hillary Clinton finally answered the question we've all been asking for years: Will she run for president in 2016? With official news of her candidacy just hours old, one thing is already crystal clear: For the next year and a half, Clinton will be the barometer by which we assess gender equality in the United States. Win or lose, this creates a burden for her that no male candidate will ever have to shoulder. Just consider the two potential outcomes. A win would mean a woman in the White House, which is a vital step in the march toward women's full political inclusion. But it's possible that the march will end right there. We'll break our arms patting ourselves on the back for how far we've come. We'll raise the "Mission Accomplished" banner over the women's movement. And we'll call it a day. Granted, 80% of elected officials throughout the country will still be men. Women will continue to be less likely than men even to consider running for office. And pay inequities, sexual assault and human trafficking will persist as challenges that no one person can solve, no matter how hard Clinton might try. "But we've elected a woman as president," we'll say. Let her take care of it. A loss would be even more difficult. Clinton will be blamed for running a subpar campaign regardless of how brilliant her strategy is. More generally, her loss would perpetuate the myth that women cannot win big elections, that the electoral environment is rife with bias and discrimination, and that women must be twice as good to get half as far. "If Hillary Clinton can't win an election," potential female candidates will ask, "How can I?" Extrapolating from one female candidate's experiences to women in politics more broadly is always suspect. But in the case of Clinton, it is particularly flawed for at least two fundamental reasons. First, Clinton is no ordinary female presidential candidate, if there is such a thing. She began the 2008 race with levels of name recognition that many candidates never achieve, and she is even more well-known today. But that means that she also enters the electoral arena with 23 years of public accomplishments and 23 years of well-publicized baggage. Voters, donors, journalists and pundits all hold clear impressions of Clinton before she ever eats a corn dog in Iowa, steps onto a debate stage in New Hampshire or takes a shot of bourbon in Kentucky. Too often, we treat Clinton's loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary as a referendum on how citizens feel about electing women to positions of political power. In reality, what people knew about Hillary Clinton likely shaped their views of Hillary Clinton. Widespread sexism and misogyny likely did not. After all, for decades, women who have run for office have performed just as well as men. They win elections at equal rates and routinely raise comparable amounts of money. Do some voters still question women's suitability as leaders? Of course they do. But these attitudes, which have become increasingly rare,

Summary: Jennifer Lawless: There's a strong temptation to view Hillary Clinton's candidacy as all about cracking the glass ceiling for women . She says the reality is that most people will vote not on gender but on the economy and partisanship .


(CNN)Governments around the world are using the threat of terrorism -- real or perceived -- to advance executions, Amnesty International alleges in its annual report on the death penalty. "The dark trend of governments using the death penalty in a futile attempt to tackle real or imaginary threats to state security and public safety was stark last year," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty's Secretary General in a release. "It is shameful that so many states around the world are essentially playing with people's lives -- putting people to death for 'terrorism' or to quell internal instability on the ill-conceived premise of deterrence." The report, "Death Sentences and Executions 2014," cites the example of Pakistan lifting a six-year moratorium on the execution of civilians following the horrific attack on a school in Peshawar in December. China is also mentioned, as having used the death penalty as a tool in its "Strike Hard" campaign against terrorism in the restive far-western province of Xinjiang. The annual report catalogs the use of state-sanctioned killing as a punitive measure across the globe, and this year's edition contains some mixed findings. On one hand, the number of executions worldwide has gone down by almost 22% on the previous year. At least 607 people were executed around the world in 2014, compared to 778 in 2013. Amnesty's figures do not include statistics on executions carried out in China, where information on the practice is regarded as a state secret. Belarus and Vietnam, too, do not release data on death penalty cases. "The long-term trend is definitely positive -- we are seeing a decrease in the number of executions (worldwide)," Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty's Director of Global Issues, told CNN. "A number of countries are closer to abolition, and there are some signs that some countries will be abolitionist by 2015. (There are) signals of a world that is nearing abolition." While the report notes some encouraging signs, it also highlights a marked increase in the number of people sentenced to death in 2014. At least 2,466 people globally are confirmed to have been handed the sentence last year, an increase of 28% compared with 2013. The report notes that the spike in sentencing is attributable to mass-sentencing in countries including Egypt and Nigeria, "against scores of people in some cases." The organization found "positive developments" worldwide, with most regions seeming to show reductions in the number of executions. Opinion: Sharp spike in death sentences . Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, saw a 28% fall in reported cases, and executions recorded in the Middle East and North Africa were down 23% compared to 2013. "Even though we've highlighted some of the negative developments... I think we would always highlight that there are positive developments," Gaughran said. "Across the board, with the exception of Europe and Central Asia there were fewer reports of executions in every region." The resumption of the use of capital punishment in Belarus -- the only country in Europe and Central Asia to execute people -- after a two year hiatus spoiled an near-universal decrease in countries using the death

Summary: Amnesty's annual death penalty report catalogs encouraging signs, but setbacks in numbers of those sentenced to death . Organization claims that governments around the world are using the threat of terrorism to advance executions . The number of executions worldwide has gone down by almost 22% compared with 2013, but death sentences up by 28% .


(CNN)Saturday's deadly earthquake in Nepal was the "big one" experts were waiting for based on the region's history. Earthquakes are a fact of life in the South Asian country, with tremors of magnitude 4 or 5 occurring several times each year, geologist and science journalist Kate Ravilious said. With the last major earthquake in 1934, the concern was not if, but when the next "great" earthquake would hit, said Ravilious, author of the 2014 article, "Kathmandu's earthquake nightmare." In a landlocked country like Nepal, where infrastructure is fragile to begin with, the consequences of such an earthquake had the potential to be "much more serious," Ravilious told CNN. Those fears were realized when a magnitude-7.8 earthquake centered less than 50 miles from the national capital of Kathmandu rocked Nepal, toppling homes, historic buildings and leaving more 1,400 dead, authorities said. "This event, while large and tragic, is not unusual for that region of the world as the whole mountain range stretching from Tibet almost to Caspian Sea is an area of major collision between continental plates," said geological engineer Nicholas Sitar with the University of California, Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. What's different this time from 1934 is the size and density of Kathmandu, which suffered the brunt of damage in both earthquakes. "The population has exploded in several decades," U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Gavin Hayes told CNN. "When you get a vast population in the kind of building infrastructure that isn't equipped to handle shaking of an earthquake this size, that's when you see the scale of disaster we're seeing now." The big unknown is what happens next, now that the initial rumbles of the quake have passed, Ravilious said. How will emergency response teams enter the landlocked country, whose single international airport is closed? How will transports carrying aid move through the country if roads are destroyed? If and when landslides start, how will mountainside villages in the Himalayan range fare? And, will it all be resolved before monsoon season starts? "The worry now is to get Nepal up and running again on feet," Ravilious said. "The monsoons in a couple of months could make things worse if we don't sort things out before then." An earthquake is the ground shaking caused by a sudden slip on a fault, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the sides of the fault together, releasing energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking felt during an earthquake. Nepal is located on a major plate boundary between India and Eurasia, where collisions have been in progress for about 50 million years. Those collisions are responsible for the construction of the Himalayas, which has the tallest and some of the fastest growing mountains in the world, said Chris Goldfinger, director of Oregon State University's Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory. India is moving northward into Eurasia at a rate of about 45 millimeters a year, with earthquakes of a magnitude from 8 to 9 occurring on average in the Himalaya every

Summary: Earthquake scientists have been expecting major event in Nepal since 1934 . Population density, weak building infrastructure amplified damage, USGS spokesman says . "This event, while large and tragic, is not unusual" in region, geological engineer says .


(CNN)The classic video game "Space Invaders" was developed in Japan back in the late 1970's -- and now their real-life counterparts are the topic of an earnest political discussion in Japan's corridors of power. Luckily, Japanese can sleep soundly in their beds tonight as the government's top military official earnestly revealed that the country's Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) had never encountered an extraterrestrial unidentified flying object. Responding to a query from flamboyant former wrestler-turned-lawmaker Antonio Inoki, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told the Diet, Japan's parliament, that his jets had, to date, never come across any UFOs from outer space. "When the Air Self Defense Force detects indications of an unidentified flying object that could violate our country's airspace, it scrambles fighter jets if necessary and makes visual observation," Nakatani said. He continued: "They sometimes find birds or flying objects other than aircraft but I don't know of a case of finding an unidentified flying object believed to have come over from anywhere other than Earth." Inoki has appeared in the U.S.-based WWE -- which describes him as "among the most respected men in sports-entertainment" -- and is the founder of the New Japan Pro Wrestling organization. He entered Japan's Upper House for a second stint in politics in 2013. He also famously fought Muhammad Ali in 1976, in one of the first-ever mixed-discipline matches, which would later pave the way for today's wildly popular Mixed Martial Arts contests. Before his return to politics he was a regular fixture on Japanese TV variety shows and has promoted a slew of products, from hot sauce to banks. The maverick politician also traveled to Iraq in 1990 to try to secure the release of Japanese hostages, and has more recently attempted to replicate former NBA star Dennis Rodman's "basketball diplomacy" by staging a wrestling tournament in North Korea. He reportedly converted to Islam in the 1990s, although he says he practices both Islam and Buddhism. The lawmaker, who is universally known in Japan for his colossal chin and once-ever-present red scarf -- these days often replaced with a red necktie -- as much as for his political achievements, had asked a Upper House Budget Committee meeting if aircraft were ever scrambled to meet extraterrestrial threats, and if research was being done into alien visitors, prompting Nakatani's response. Inoki also claims to have seen a UFO with his own eyes, but admitted that he didn't know personally if aliens existed. The exchange wasn't the first time Japanese politicians have discussed the implications of visitors from another planet. In 2007 then-Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba pondered the legal ramifications, under Japan's pacifist constitution, of a defense against an invasion from outer space. READ MORE: Japan unveils Izumo, its largest warship since World War II .

Summary: Japan's top military official earnestly revealed that the country's Self Defense Force (SDF) had never encountered a UFO . Celebrity politician and former wrestler Antonio Inoki had posed a question concerning extraterrestrials to a government committee .


(CNN)It wasn't until her 20s that Fethiye Cetin discovered her Armenian ancestry. Her grandmother, 90 years old at the time, told Cetin that her real name was Heranus. Like many other survivors of 1915, Heranus assimilated and kept her identity hidden. Many feared a repeat of the horrors they witnessed and barely escaped. In a crowded reception before a memorial concert in Istanbul this week, people rushed to greet Fethiye Cetin. A strong, soft-spoken woman now in her 60s, Cetin is a prominent lawyer who represented Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. Dink was a strong proponent of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians who was tried for "insulting Turkishness." He was assassinated in 2007. The shocking discovery of her true heritage would change Cetin's life. She tells Heranus' story in an evocative memoir titled "My Grandmother." Heranus and her family were among a massive stream of women and children being forcibly marched by Ottoman soldiers, not knowing where they were going or why they were torn away from their male relatives. Echoing throughout the procession were morbid whispers that the men and teenage boys had all been killed. Heranus was 9 at the time. An officer spotted her and her brother and wanted to take them away. Her mother protested but she was told by others, "The children are dying one by one. No one will make it out alive from this march. If you give them, their lives will be saved." Heranus and her brother were scooped up onto the officer's horse and taken to a garden packed with other children and fed the first warm meal they had had in days. But soon reality set in and Heranus began to cry and beg to see her mother. Heranus was separated from her brother, adopted by the officer and his wife, who could not have children of their own. Her name was changed to Seher and she was raised Muslim. And so she survived, had children and grandchildren. Cetin was in law school when her grandmother revealed her secret and painful memories of her Armenian roots. It shattered all that she knew to be real. The 1915 forced deportations and massacres were not taught in Turkey's schools. "There was a huge silence" Cetin said. "It was not just the victims that were silent; it was all of society." Cetin felt rebellion welling up inside her. "I wanted to go on the streets and scream that they are lying to us," she remembers, "a cruelty like this happened, and I wanted to shout it out loud." Armenia and the Armenian diaspora have been doing exactly that and demanding that the "Great Catastrophe" be recognized as genocide by Turkey and the world. Armenian President Serzh Sargysan said earlier this year that "impunity paved a path to Holocaust and genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia and Darfur." The survivors of 1915 and witnesses remember massacres, bloodied rivers, concentration camps, rape and death marches into the Syrian desert. The Republic of Turkey has always rejected the term "genocide." Rather, the Ottoman Empire's Committee of Union and Progress believed Armenian

Summary: Fethiye Cetin learned of her Armenian heritage from her grandmother . The grandmother survived the 1915 killings, assimilated, then kept her real identity hidden . Cetin, others want Turkey to recognize the killings as a genocide; the government has refused . In the last decade a more public dialogue on the subject has begun in Turkey .


New York (CNN)New York state authorities have issued a health alert following a dramatic spike in hospital visits for synthetic marijuana-related emergencies. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that more than 160 patients in nine days have been rushed to hospitals across the state for adverse reactions to synthetic cannabinoid, known as "spice" or "K2." "Spice" and other similar synthetic drugs are often marketed as legal plant material coated with chemicals that are supposed to mimic the effects of marijuana, according to a statement from the governor's office. "Since the exact compounds contained in synthetic cannabinoid products change so frequently, it's often impossible for users to know exactly what they are putting in their body," acting New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said. Symptoms after use have a wide range of severity, from confusion, drowsiness and headaches to increased heart rate, seizures and loss of consciousness, according to the New York State Department of Health. Synthetic marijuana is popular among teens because it is marketed as incense or natural products to "mask its true purpose," the health department statement said. "Young people may be fooled into thinking that these substances are safe because they are sold over the counter or are in colorful packaging, but they are not made for human consumption," New York Alcohol and Substance Abuse Service s Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez Sanchez said. "They are dangerous and can have significant, long-term effects on the brain." The recent surge is not isolated in New York; other states across the country have noticed similar trends. Alabama Department of Public Health issued a statement last week acknowledging a rise of synthetic marijuana usage and said there had been 98 overdoses suspected to be linked with "spice" in the previous month. Mobile County alone has seen seven cases in 2015 so far, more than the entire previous year, the statement said. Mississippi health officials are also concerned that synthetic marijuana is on the rise. Ninety-seven cases over an eight-day span in April were reported to the Mississippi Poison Control Center, a Department of Health press release said.

Summary: New York reports 160 hospitalizations related to synthetic marijuana . Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a health alert .


(CNN)Boston native Mark Wahlberg will star in a film about the Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt that followed, Deadline reported Wednesday. Wahlberg's film, to be titled "Patriots' Day," is being produced by CBS Films, which linked to the Deadline article from its website. According to Deadline, Wahlberg is hoping to play Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who retired after the attack in 2013. The film will be told from Davis' point of view. The film will feature material researched and shot by CBS Films' corporate sibling, the CBS News program "60 Minutes." Wahlberg is also a producer of the film. "Patriots' Day" is the second film related to the Boston bombing to be announced. Fox announced in November that it will be making a film called "Boston Strong" about the event.

Summary: Mark Wahlberg is planning to appear in "Patriots' Day" The film will be about events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing . Another film, "Boston Strong," is also in the works .


Waterloo, Iowa (CNN)Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb share little in common. Both Democrats are toying with a presidential run, both are facing long odds in that endeavor, and both shared a stage at the Polk County Democrats Awards Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday night. But, as was evident at the dinner, that is where the similarities end. O'Malley is a former mayor and Maryland governor who seems most at home when he is pressing the flesh at events and introducing himself to anyone who would extend their hand. Webb, on the contrary, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former senator from Virginia who comes across as more stoic and, at times, uncomfortable with retail politics. Before the event, O'Malley confidently cruised the union hall. He took selfies with young environmental activists and chatted with sometimes tepid supporters who admitted their other political allegiances. "It is a marathon, not a sprint," one man told O'Malley, a nod to his long odds in the 2016 Democratic nomination process. "Yes, it is; it's a marathon," O'Malley responded. "Welcome to Iowa," said another man. "We hope to see you here more." O'Malley smiled, "Thanks a lot. I hope you do, too." Webb wasn't nearly as active, opting instead to stay close to his seat near the front of the venue and chat with a small group of people around him. As Webb cut into his sizable helping of pork, O'Malley was standing directly behind him, shaking hands. The former Virginia senator, after possibly seeing O'Malley making the rounds, did stand up and shake hands with a few of the diehard Democratic activists in the room. "Seven months old," Zach Smith, a new father, said of his baby boy, Noah. "I have a bunch of kids. The youngest one is 8 years old," Webb said. The baby looked up at the senator. "He is pretty calm," Webb remarked, himself calm. Despite coming from bordering states, Webb and O'Malley don't know each other. When they passed each other in a Des Moines hotel lobby on Friday morning, it was the first time the two had met. That said, the two Democrats find themselves in the same position. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who is set to announce her presidential bid Sunday, leads every national and state poll of the Democratic field. She has begun to build a sizable staff and is expected to have massive amounts of money to win the nomination. O'Malley and Webb are both looking up at her. In a March CNN/ORC poll (PDF) of national Democrats, only 1% said O'Malley and Webb were their top choice. In a January poll from Bloomberg Politics and the Des Moines Register (PDF), O'Malley was at 1% among Iowa Democrats, while Webb found himself at 3%. The speaking portion of the night further showed Webb and O'Malley's differences. Webb, who spoke before the governor, gave a more subdued, biographical speech that mentioned three areas he would focus on if he ran for president: Basic governance, economic justice and criminal justice reform. To the

Summary: There are few similarities between Democrats Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb . But they find themselves in a similar position as long-shot presidential hopefuls .


(CNN)In the end, it played out like a movie. A tense, heartbreaking story, and then a surprise twist at the end. As eight of Mary Jane Veloso's fellow death row inmates -- mostly foreigners, like her -- were put to death by firing squad early Wednesday in a wooded grove on the Indonesian island of Nusa Kambangan, the Filipina maid and mother of two was spared, at least for now. Her family was returning from what they thought was their final visit to the prison on so-called "execution island" when a Philippine TV crew flagged their bus down to tell them of the decision to postpone her execution. Her ecstatic mother, Celia Veloso, told CNN: "We are so happy, so happy. I thought I had lost my daughter already but God is so good. Thank you to everyone who helped us." Supporters were "overjoyed" with the news. "This is all because of the efforts of the Filipino people and the international community who have been with Mary Jane, her family and the Filipino people all throughout," a supporter said upon hearing of the eleventh-hour reprieve. Veloso was arrested in 2010 after a flight from Malaysia to Indonesia when $500,000 worth of heroin was discovered in the lining of her luggage. Supporters, including the Filipino advocacy group Migrante, and her lawyers claim the young mother was the victim of human trafficking. They say she was offered work in Malaysia, but when she arrived she was told the job had been filled and wasn't aware the bag she'd been given for the return journey to Indonesia was filled with drugs. The Philippine Embassy in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, said Wednesday that it welcomed the reprieve and appreciated that the Indonesian government appeared to be reconsidering the case. "While Mary Jane was convicted for a drug-related offense in 2010, the Philippines believes that due to her personal circumstances, she herself is a victim of heartless drug syndicates," embassy political secretary Jed Llona said. "The alleged recruiters of Mary Jane are currently being investigated in the Philippines, and the embassy hopes that through this ongoing case, those truly responsible for drug trafficking in the region are brought to justice." Questions about her detention and trial, including the competency of her translator, have also been raised. Veloso had been given the customary 72 hours' notice of execution, and her family had traveled to Nusa Kambangan to say their final goodbyes. However, developments in her home country appear to have changed -- or at least delayed -- her fate. CNN Philippines reported that Veloso's alleged recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, and her partner Julius Lacanilao surrendered to authorities in the Philippines Tuesday. Sergio faces charges of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and fraud, but maintains her innocence. Sergio said that she had received anonymous death threats by phone, and further threatening messages from Veloso's family on social media. Veloso's lawyer, Edre Olalia, confirmed that developments in the case had prompted the stay. "As far as Mary Jane is concerned, her life has been spared for the moment and the reason is

Summary: Indonesia executed eight drug smugglers Wednesday morning . Mary Jane Veloso was meant to be the ninth but was given reprieve . Supporters, family "overjoyed" -- Indonesia stresses it's just a delay .


Cairo (CNN)An Egyptian court has sentenced 71 people to life in prison for their role in the August 2013 burning of a Christian church in the Giza province village of Kafr Hakim, state news reports. The Virgin Mary Church was torched and looted by a mob, some of whom chanted against Coptic Christians and called for Egypt to become an "Islamic state," one of at least 42 churches and many more businesses and homes targeted that August, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch reports. Others attacked included St. George Church in Sohag, a city south of Cairo on the Nile River, and Prince Tadros Church in Fayoum, which is southwest of Cairo, according to reports. In addition to those getting life sentences, two minors were sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,300), Egypt's official Egynews reported. Most of those sentenced -- 52 of the 73 defendants -- were tried in absentia, with 21 already in prison, according to Egynews. Some blamed the church and other attacks on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that backed Mohamed Morsy. Morsy became Egypt's first democratically elected president following the ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Morsy was pushed out by Egypt's military. Morsy was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this month after being convicted on charges related to violence outside the presidential palace in December 2012. But he was acquitted of murder in the deaths of protesters. Christian churches across Egypt stormed, torched . Journalist Sarah Sirgany reported from Cairo and CNN's Greg Botelho reported and wrote this story from Atlanta.

Summary: 2 minors were sentenced to 10 years in prison, in addition to adults getting life . 52 of the 73 defendants were sentenced in absentia . The Virgin Mary Church was burned along with dozens of others in August 2013 .


(CNN)The parents of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombings are making an emotional, passionate plea to take the death penalty off the table for the man convicted in the case. Last week, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 charges he faced related to the bombings at the 2013 race and the dramatic violence that dragged out for days afterward. A look at all of the charges . The sentencing phase begins Tuesday, a day after this year's edition of the landmark race. It is expected to last four weeks. The 13th Juror: Now it gets real . In a front-page opinion piece in The Boston Globe, Bill and Denise Richard wrote about the toll taken on their family after the death of their 8-year-old son, Martin. Their daughter, Jane, also was severely injured. "Our family has grieved, buried our young son, battled injuries, and endured numerous surgeries -- all while trying to rebuild lives that will never be the same," they said in the Globe column titled "To end the anguish, drop the death penalty." "We sat in the courtroom, day after day, bearing witness to overwhelming evidence that included graphic video and photographs, replicated bombs, and even the clothes our son wore his last day alive." They said they understood the "heinousness and brutality of the crimes committed." "We were there. We lived it. The defendant murdered our 8-year-old son, maimed our 7-year-old daughter, and stole part of our soul." But now the Richards are urging the Justice Department to bring the case to a close. "We are in favor of and would support the Department of Justice in taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the defendant spending the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal," they wrote. They go on to say: "We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives. We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring." Martin Richard and two others were killed and more 200 people wounded when a pair of bombs went off within 12 seconds of each other at the finish line on April 15, 2013. Tsarnaev was convicted last week, while his brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with police two years ago. The Richards never mention Tsarnaev by name. They stress that they were only speaking for themselves when they argue against the death penalty. "We believe that now is the time to turn the page, end the anguish, and look toward a better future -- for us, for Boston, and for the country," they wrote.

Summary: Parents of Martin Richard argue against death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev . The 8-year-old boy was youngest of victims in the Boston Marathon bombings . Sentencing phase for Tsarnaev begins next week .


(CNN)Nine British citizens were arrested in Turkey on Wednesday, suspected of trying to cross illegally into Syria, the Turkish military said on its website. The group included four children -- the oldest being 10 or 11, with the youngest born in 2013, a Turkish official told CNN on condition of anonymity. The nine were arrested at the Turkey-Syria border, the Turkish military said. It didn't say why the group allegedly was trying to get into Syria, which has been torn by a roughly four-year war between Syrian government forces and Islamist extremist groups and other rebels. Among the war's combatants is ISIS, which has taken over parts of Syria and Iraq for what it claims is its Islamic caliphate, and which is known to have been recruiting Westerners. Accompanying the children were three men and two women; all nine had British passports, the Turkish official said. UK police charge man with terror offenses after Turkey trip . The British Foreign Office said Wednesday that it is aware of reports of the arrests and that it is seeking information about the incident from Turkish authorities. CNN's Gul Tuysuz reported from Istanbul, and Elaine Ly reported from London. CNN's Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

Summary: The group included four children, Turkish official says . Turkish military didn't say what group's intent was . UK Foreign Office says it is trying to get information from Turkish officials .


(CNN)The people of Nepal are still trying to recover from two major earthquakes and a mudslide. Each day is a struggle in many parts of of the country, but there is something you can do to make an impact. We have vetted a list of organizations working in Nepal that have created specific funds for relief efforts, including: . -- Nepal Red Cross Society . -- ActionAid USA . -- Action Against Hunger . -- Adventist Development and Relief Agency International . -- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee . -- The American Jewish World Service . -- AmeriCares . -- CARE . -- Catholic Relief Services . -- ChildFund International . -- Concern Worldwide . -- Convoy of Hope . -- Direct Relief . -- dZi Foundation . -- Empower Generation . -- Global Giving . -- Habitat for Humanity . -- Handicap International . -- Himalayan HealthCare . -- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies . -- International Medical Corps . -- International Relief Teams . -- Islamic Relief USA . -- Jewish Federations of North America . -- Lutheran World Relief . -- MAP International . -- Medical Teams International . -- MercyCorps . -- NFCC International . -- Operation Blessing International . -- Operation USA . -- Oxfam International . -- Plan International . -- Real Medicine Foundation . -- Save the Children . -- The Salvation Army . -- Samaritan's Purse . -- Seva Foundation . -- Shelterbox . -- Team Rubicon . -- UNICEF . -- WaterAid . -- The World Food Programme . -- World Vision .

Summary: Aid organizations are still working to help the people of Nepal in the wake of two major earthquakes . Thousands were killed in a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal on April 25 . A second quake rocked the country less than three weeks later .


(Billboard)Considering the Academy of Country Music Awards celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday night at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, it was bound to be bigger than any previous year's ACMs. Plus, as hosts Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan were quick to point out, everything is bigger in Texas. Billboard: 2015 ACM Awards: See All the Photos . But bigger isn't always better. Here's our breakdown of the 10 best and 5 worst moments at the 2015 ACMs. The Best . Eric Church & Keith Urban provide an opening wallop . With a full stadium and millions of home viewers watching, two of country's leading men successfully lit the fuse for the 50th annual ACM Awards with a slick joint kickoff performance. Eric Church's "Pledge Allegiance To The Hag" was a fine throwback, but Keith Urban's powerhouse "Raise 'Em Up" lived up to its title -- and then some. Setting a Guinness World Record . Not only was this the ACMs biggest audience ever, but the 2015 ACM Awards brought in the biggest audience for a live TV awards show ever. Now that's how you celebrate half a century. Reba McEntire demonstrates how it's done . During a night that found a couple performers sounding a little weak in the vocal department, Reba McEntire showed the entire Cowboys stadium -- and many younger singers who don't have half her energy -- how it's done. Reba is eternal. Taylor Swift singing in the audience . Whether it was during Eric Church or Martina McBride, T-Swift was heating up the audience by singing and swaying along to country staples. Taylor might have gone pop for "1989," but she was deep in the heart of Texas for this annual country extravaganza. Billboard: 2015 ACM Awards: And the Winners Are... Garth Brooks' All-American salute . During Brooks' performance of "All-American Kid," the country giant welcomed a slew of U.S. military representatives into AT&T Stadium, in an emotional moment that put the red, white and blue front and center. Brooks ended the performance by saluting the U.S. armed forces "who are here and are all around the world for protecting our freedom," and also shouted out his home state of Oklahoma, who are grieving 20 years after the Oklahoma City bombing on Sunday. A truly classy moment from one of the best ever. Taylor Swift's mom makes an appearance . Sure, Andrea Swift's presentation of a special award for her daughter came with a fun origin tale about the creation of "Love Story" and some lovely words about the 25-year-old superstar. But the sight of the elder Swift -- just days after Taylor confirmed that her mother had been diagnosed with cancer -- walking to the podium was more than enough to yield one of the night's most poignant moments. Christina Aguilera joins Rascal Flatts . Aguilera is far from country, but with a voice as malleable as hers, she can pass for a song or two. After singing a bit of the tune she did while guesting on Nashville, Xtina joined longtime hitmakers Rascal Flatts for "Riot"

Summary: ACMs celebrated 50 years Sunday night . Best moments: Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift's mom .


Fall River, Massachusetts (CNN)Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez looked on impassively Wednesday as he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, a new low for a young man who once enjoyed a $40 million pro-football contract and now stands convicted in the 2013 murder of onetime friend Odin Lloyd. Hernandez, 25, appeared to shake his head "no" earlier as jurors in the Massachusetts trial found him guilty of first-degree murder. He was also found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. "They got it wrong," Hernandez said as he was being transported from the courthouse to a state prison, according to a law enforcement source close to the case. "I didn't do it." At trial, the defense team described Lloyd, a former semi-pro football player, as Hernandez's "bluntmaster" -- his purveyor of marijuana -- and his future brother-in-law. But in victim impact statements, Lloyd's relatives portrayed him as a loving son and protective brother, as a man who rode his bike 10 miles to work and wore the same flip-flops for 12 years. "Odin was my only son," his mother, Ursula Ward, told the court, without looking at Hernandez. "Odin was the man of the house. Odin was his sisters' keeper. After my daughter Olivia had her daughter, Odin became her keeper, too." "I thank God every second for every day I spent with my son. The day I laid my son Odin to rest, I think my heart stopped beating for a moment. I felt like I wanted to go in that hole with my son Odin." Lloyd was "the backbone of the family," Ward said. She expressed regret she'd never see him have a child and that she'd never dance at his wedding. But she found forgiveness in her heart: "I forgive the hands of the people that had a hand in my son's murder, either before or after. And I pray and hope that someday, everyone up there will forgive them also." Outside court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said of her ability to forgive: "I think it's a tremendous compliment to her." "As difficult as it is for people in the end, forgiveness is what it's about, if people can bring themselves to that point, he said. What's next for Aaron Hernandez? Of the defendant, Quinn said: "Aaron Hernandez may have been a well-known New England Patriots football player. However, in the end, the jury found that he was just a man who committed a brutal murder. "The fact that he was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end. He is a citizen who was held accountable by the jury for his depraved conduct." Asked whether Hernandez "gets it" after his murder conviction, Quinn said: "I don't know. I think when you're taken away and they say, 'life in prison without parole' ... there's got to be some response. But I don't know if he got it." Assistant District Attorney William McCauley told the court moments before that sentence was imposed that Hernandez "committed an extremely cruel

Summary: "They got it wrong," Aaron Hernandez says as he is transported to prison . The jury deliberated for more than 35 hours over parts of seven days . Mother of murder victim Odin Lloyd says she forgives those who played a role in her son's death .


(CNN)Japan's space agency announced this week that the country would put an unmanned rover on the surface of the moon by 2018, joining an elite club of nations who have explored Earth's satellite. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), divulged the plan to an expert panel, including members of the cabinet and the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Monday. "This is an initial step and a lot of procedures are still ahead before the plan is formally approved," a JAXA spokesperson told reporters. If it is approved, the agency will reportedly use its Epsilon solid-fuel rocket technology to carry and deploy a SLIM probe -- the acronym stands for "Smart Lander for Investigating Moon" -- on the surface of the celestial body. Japanese media estimates that the mission will cost in the region of ¥10 billion to ¥15 billion ($83.4 million - $125 million). JAXA spokesperson Chihito Onda confirmed to CNN that this estimate is realistic. The mission is expected to be used to perfect soft-landing technologies, which could be utilized in future, manned expeditions to the moon, or even Mars. The lander will use face recognition software found in digital cameras, which will be repurposed to enable the craft to recognize craters on the surface, Onda said. The move could be seen as Japan's attempt to play catchup to its Asian neighbors China and India, which have both notched significant extraterrestrial victories in recent years -- China's Yutu lunar rover outlasted expectations and India successfully put a probe into orbit around Mars the first time of asking. In 2008 Japan put its SELENE craft -- known in Japan as Kaguya, after a Japanese moon princess from a 10th century folk tale -- into orbit around the moon to gather data about its surface. The data gathered by the orbiter will also be used to calculate a suitable landing site for the rover. JAXA has also put a probe on an asteroid, which returned to Earth in 2010. Along with China, the United States and the former Soviet Union are the only other nations to have so far landed craft on the surface of the moon. CNN's Junko Ogura contributed to this report.

Summary: Japan aims to put an unmanned rover on the surface of the moon by 2018 . The mission is expected to to be used to perfect technologies which could be utilized for future manned space missions .


(CNN)This week brought a dramatic turn of events in a small community outside of Detroit: A man bloodied during a traffic stop was cleared of all charges, the police officer who arrested the motorist is charged with beating him and the community's police chief has stepped down. On Monday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges of assault and mistreatment of a prisoner against William Melendez. He's the 49-year-old former Inkster, Michigan, police officer who is seen in police car dashcam video grabbing the unarmed motorist, Floyd Dent, around the neck while he lay on the ground and punching him several times in the head. "The alleged police brutality in this case cannot and will not be tolerated," Worthy said. On Wednesday, drug charges against Dent, 57, were formally dropped in Michigan Circuit Court, clearing the motorist of all wrongdoing. "He busted out crying and was very emotional," said Angela Martin, the assistant to Dent's attorney. In the wake of the reversal of fates, Police Chief Vicki Yost announced Wednesday her resignation, according to Inkster City Manager Richard Marsh. Marsh would not cite a specific reason for Yost's investigation, though she had been the face of the Police Department during the investigation into her former officer. In a statement, Dent and his attorney Greg Rohl told CNN: "We are all ecstatic, especially Mr. Dent. This is another step in the right direction. The system is still working, and we are very hopeful the prosecutor's net will catch even more fish in the near future." Yost did not respond to a request for comment. Dent, a veteran Ford automotive worker, was arrested after the January traffic stop on charges of drug possession, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. With the court decision Wednesday, all charges from the arrest have been dropped. Melendez pleaded not guilty to the new charges brought against him in an arraignment Tuesday at Inkster District Court, according to his lawyer, David Lee. "We intend to vigorously contest the charges," Lee said. "I can understand how people might be disturbed by looking at [the video]; however; I hope everyone will withhold judgment until all the facts come out where they should in a court of law." Worthy's announcement came after the conclusion of two investigations into the incident by Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. In the police report written after the January arrest, Melendez wrote that he hit Dent only after Dent had threatened him and bit him in the arm. Melendez wrote that as he approached the car, Dent kept his hands from view, looked at him "with a blank stare as if on a form of narcotic," and said, "I'll kill you." Dent told CNN at the time that he had never threatened nor bit the police officer. "I didn't bite anyone. I didn't have time to bite anyone. He was too busy pounding me in my head," Dent said. Rohl also alleged that the cocaine found at the scene had been planted by Melendez. "My client's fingerprints will not be on that bag,"

Summary: Inkster, Michigan, Police Chief Vicki Yost resigns in the wake of charges against one of her former officers . William Melendez was caught on police car dashcam video in January beating an unarmed black motorist . Melendez was charged with assault on Monday; all charges against the motorist have been dropped .


(CNN)Last week, California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory statewide restrictions on water use for the first time in the state's history. His action was driven by a specific crisis unique to California at the moment -- the severe drought now in its fourth year there -- but it has significance for the whole nation. As it has in the past, California is leading the way in recognizing that population and economic growth has to respect the physical limits imposed by planet Earth. California developed the infrastructure and system of legal rights it uses to distribute water at a time when the population was much smaller than it is today -- and when the climate was in an unusually wet phase, historically speaking. This led to a system that all but encourages heavy water use in dry parts of the state, with little consistency in allocation or pricing and little disincentive to waste. This has never made a lot of sense, but the new measures are the strongest acknowledgment yet that it just isn't tenable today in a serious drought. As for the drought: It won't be the last, and surely won't be the worst to come in the remainder of this century. Brown's measures may be temporary, but we can hope that they'll be a step toward a more permanent reformation of the state's water distribution system -- one that includes large agricultural users, who are not included in the current measures, although they are the dominant consumers of California's water. How the drought affects rest of the nation . What California does now has global significance: Lack of clean fresh water is a serious problem in much of the world. On the Indian subcontinent, where supply can't meet the demands of rapid development, groundwater is being depleted much as it is in California, and is an equally unsustainable practice in both places. And my colleagues at Columbia recently published a study arguing that drought in Syria was one of the causes of the ongoing war there. They also presented strong evidence that the Syrian drought was in part attributable to human-induced climate change -- in itself, another physical constraint the planet places on growth. Our energy systems, like our water systems, are not sustainable. Is the California drought a consequence of climate change? A recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report for which my colleague Richard Seager was lead author, argued that it isn't (though the authors acknowledge that global warming makes the drought worse by increasing evaporation from the soil). California, and southwestern North America, indeed saw worse "megadroughts" in the pre-Columbian past, long before any humans burned fossil fuels. At the same time, the latest projections are that the odds of such megadroughts are increasing with warming. So we're left with a complex picture, one typical of many extreme weather events. We know that human-induced climate change is increasing the risk that an event such as this will happen, while at the same time we can't strongly blame climate change for the specific event happening right now. Does it

Summary: Adam Sobel: California's steps against drought are a preview for rest of U.S. and world . Tying climate change to weather doesn't rest on single extreme event, Sobel says . The big picture should spur us to prepare for new climates by fixing infrastructure, he says .


(CNN)The United States Department of Justice has named a new defendant in the war on drugs, and the charges are serious indeed. A 15-count indictment filed in federal court in California bristles with accusations of conspiracies, transporting prescription pharmaceuticals dispensed with illegal prescriptions, violations of the Controlled Substances Act, misbranding charges, and money laundering charges. Who is this menace to society? FedEx. Yes, the courier delivery service. Wait, can companies even be charged with crimes? Where would a FedEx be incarcerated? Is there a corporate Shawshank Prison? How does one fit a company for a prison jumpsuit? It turns out a corporation can indeed be prosecuted like a person. It's a practice the Supreme Court has approved of for over a century. In fact, in many ways they are easier to prosecute than people. Corporations don't have all the same inconvenient constitutional rights as citizens accused of crimes. Imprisoning convicted citizens is expensive, but corporate convictions, on the other hand, turn tidy profits for the U.S. government, with zero prison overhead. Even if corporations can be held criminally liable, should a courier service like FedEx be held liable for "possessing" what bad guys may send through the service? The answer, according to FedEx, is not just "No," but a "No" so conclusive that this case should never see a courtroom. The company maintains that it is innocent. It has a point. "Possession" is an elusive concept. When it comes to drugs, the law recognizes two kinds of possession: actual and constructive. Actual possession is when you have physical control over the contraband. When you have a gun in your hand or drugs in your pocket, you "actually" possess those things. The somewhat hazier concept of "constructive possession" means you can "possess" something without even having it on your person, as long as you have ownership, dominion or control over the contraband or the property where it is found. For example, the government would argue that while you may not have actual possession of the 5,000 OxyContin pills in the trunk of your car parked in your driveway, you "constructively" possessed them. Conversely, sometimes you can be holding something in your hand or have it in your vehicle, but not "possess" it either actually or constructively, in the eyes of the law. Such is the case with couriers who routinely drive to your home, walk up to your door and hand you a package, completely ignorant about what is inside it. It's hard to argue the UPS guy intentionally "possessed" your subscription to porno mags, in their nondescript brown packaging. That is the idea behind the "common carrier" exception to possession, and a large part of FedEx's compelling legal argument. A "common carrier" is one who offers its services to members of the public -- without much discretion -- and is engaged in the business of transporting persons or property for compensation. The public policy reasons behind "common carrier" exemptions make sense; the industry simply couldn't function if every driver, courier and handler who touches a valid shipment of OxyContin had to obtain

Summary: Justice Department prosecuting FedEx over unauthorized shipment of drugs . Danny Cevallos: FedEx has a strong argument that it shouldn't be held responsible .


(CNN)Two years ago in a less turbulent time, Mike Premeau and Kathy Danke launched a small business, Memories Gourmet Pizza Co., in their Wisconsin town. The two were successful in getting their line of frozen pizzas, including breakfast pizzas and gluten-free options, in stores across Nichols, west of Green Bay. They grew a base of loyal customers. But all that was threatened this week when people began mistaking them for Memories Pizza of Walkerton, Indiana, which made national headlines after its owners said they would refuse to cater a same-sex wedding. People posted angry comments on Memories Gourmet Pizza's Facebook page and called its phone number to protest. And almost overnight, Premeau and Danke found themselves thrust unwillingly into a national debate over Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. "My stomach was in my throat all afternoon," Danke told CNN affiliates WBND and WFRV. "All of a sudden, our Facebook page started getting flooded," Premeau said. "I was shocked. It was like I was a rat running around in a cage, wondering what's going on here." In a cruel coincidence, the flood of outrage began on Wednesday, April Fool's Day. "If I'm ever in the area, I'll be sure to starve to death before I give you and you intolerance any of my money!" wrote one commenter on Facebook. "I don't have much of a message, except that I hope your bigotry puts you out of business very quickly," a man said in a voice mail. Indiana pizzeria finds itself at the center of 'religious freedom' debate . Premeau thinks the firestorm was sparked by people Googling "Memories Pizza" and confusing the two businesses -- despite the fact that Nichols and Walkerton are in separate states and almost 300 miles apart. He and Danke tried to defuse the outcry with a Facebook post saying in part, "We are not that company in Indiana, nor do we agree or condone their words or actions." In response, they began getting messages of support on Facebook, along with a few sharp-tongued comments from supporters of the other Memories Pizza. Premeau said he also got a call from a man whose initial post may have set off the social media storm, apologizing for the mistake. Still, he worries that damage to his wholesale pizza business may have been done. "This misinformation and this defamation of character could cause me to lose the business over someone else's identity in another state," he said.

Summary: A Wisconsin pizzeria is harassed by people confusing it with one in Indiana . Owners of Memories Gourmet Pizza Co. have gotten angry calls, Facebook posts . Memories Pizza of Walkerton, Indiana, made headlines amid "religious freedom" debate .


(CNN)One hundred and forty-seven victims. Many more families affected. Even more broken hopes and dreams. As Kenyans mourned those killed last week in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the nation, citizens used social media to share the victims' stories, hopes and dreams. Using the hashtag #147notjustanumber -- a reference to the number of people, mostly students, killed at Garissa University College on Thursday -- Kenyans tweeted pictures of the victims in happier times. Kenyan authorities have not released a list of the victims. The posts provided heart-wrenching details on the victims, including one about an elderly man whose dreams died with his son. He had reportedly taken a loan to educate him at the university, where he was killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists. The attack in Kenya killed 142 students, three security officers and two university security personnel, and was the nation's deadliest since the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in 1998. Kenyan churches mourned the dead during Easter services Sunday as armed guards protected the congregations. In emotional services nationwide, churchgoers wept as they paid tribute to the victims of the massacre. The gunmen who attacked the university in the predawn hours separated Muslims from Christians and killed the latter. The extremist group has also killed Muslims in recent attacks. The Interior Ministry has identified one of the attackers killed by security forces as the son of a government official. The father of suspect Abdirahim Abdullahi is a chief in Mandera and had reported his son missing, officials said. The Islamist extremist group is based in Somalia, but it hasn't confined its terrorism to the nation that shares a border with Kenya. In 2013, militants attacked Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall, killing nearly 70 people.

Summary: Kenyans use hashtag #147notjustanumber to honor victims of Kenya university attack . The attack killed 142 students, three security officers and two university security personnel .


(CNN)When photographer Johan Bavman became a father for the first time, he took more than a passing wonder about how his native Sweden is said to be the most generous nation on Earth for parental leave. He immersed himself in fatherhood -- twice over, you might say. He used his photography to document the real-life experience of other fathers taking full advantage of Sweden's extraordinary program, which allows mothers and fathers to take long, long leaves from their careers so they can care for their newborns. Get this: Sweden grants a total of 480 calendar days of parental leave, with 390 of them paid at 80% of income, with a maximum of 3,160 euros a month or $3,474. The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat-rate benefit of 20 euros a day, or $22. But there's a catch. Fathers have to share that leave with mothers. So to promote both parents to raise their children, Sweden has mandated that 60 of the 480 days be "daddy months" or "partner months." If the 60 daddy days aren't used, they are lost, reducing the maximum leave to 420 days. The country also created a "gender equality bonus": the more days that parents share the leave equally, they get a bonus that could total up to 1,500 euros, or $1,649. The idea is for both parents to share the joys and struggles of raising infants. In reality, only 12% of Swedish couples equally share the 480 days of leave, Bavman said, with women continuing to lead the way as the stay-at-home parent and men as the careerist. Still, Bavman mused last summer about how the policy impacts those men who use the full measure of their parental leave. Social media . Follow @CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography. At first, Bavman had difficulty finding such men. But the fathers he did find and photograph, he captured their devotion in realistic imagery. "I realized while I was talking to these dads, these dads are struck by how important the bonding is between you and the children," said Bavman, who now has a 3-year-old son, Viggo, with partner Linda Stark, a freelance journalist. "I didn't want to bring out fathers as superdads," Bavman said. "I wanted to bring out these role models which people can connect to. "I want to have those dads who can also show their tiredness ... which comes with being home with your children. It's a hard full-time job. This is something that we have been taking for granted for hundreds of years. This is something that mothers have never been recognized for." He also found moments of humor, with one child nearly ripping apart the shirt of his busy father. The fathers have become more understanding of their wives and even their own mothers, Bavman said. Some are now considering a career change to accommodate their parenthood. "Being home nine months, they get time to think about their life," the photographer said. Bavman is looking for a total of 60 fathers to photograph, to culminate in an exhibition

Summary: Johan Bavman photographed fathers in Sweden, which has generous parental leave . Sweden's policies encourage fathers to take just as much leave as mothers .


April 23, 2015 . Some questions addressed this Thursday: How has the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the use of force by police? What impact might lower gas prices be having on hybrid vehicle sales? What is "The Blob," and what role does it play in the Pacific Ocean? We're also delivering a random fact about a state vegetable and showing how a robot has two legs up on good balance. On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL . For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News!

Summary: This page includes the show Transcript . Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary . At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call.


(CNN)By the elation online and in the streets, you'd think Iran had just won the World Cup. But this is bigger. Iranians erupted in celebration as young people waved flags from their sunroofs, blasted music from stereos and chatted online with the hashtag #IranTalks. The excitement came after a breakthrough nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers that promises to end Iran's international isolation under years of crippling sanctions. Just before midnight on Thursday, Vali Asr street, one of Tehran's main thoroughfares, turned into something like a block party. Car horns blared. Men danced in the middle of traffic. Some people flaunted U.S. dollar bills. It was a fitting double occasion: The agreement was struck on the final day of Persian New Year festivities, symbolizing a fresh start. Milad, a 20-year-old university student among the crowds, told CNN he was happy about the accord but wary about his own future. "I still believe I'll have a hard time finding a job that pays well, with or without this deal." Another Tehran resident, Alireza, 37, said "Things can't get worse than they are so, I'm happy with this news." "This is pretty historic and I pray that my children will be able to live in an Iran that can play nice with the international community." At home that evening, families watched as Iranian state television broadcast U.S. President Barack Obama's speech live, which came for many as a surprise. Some Iranians celebrated the moment by snapping selfies in front of the TV. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif — who led the Iranian negotiation team — received a hero's welcome as he arrived in Iran on a sunny Friday morning. "Long live Zarif," crowds chanted as the vehicle rolled slowly down the packed street, carrying the man who struck the historic deal. Other videos posted to social media showed Zarif mobbed by fans in Switzerland, who yelled "We love you, Zarif!" Lausanne: Zarif joins Iranian students cheer "Zarif We Love You" outside press conference at #IranTalks. pic.twitter.com/S2dVzeAsZl . Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian-American independent journalist, celebrated with her friends in the United States by singing "Bayram Mubarak," a New Year song. Happy New Day, New Year, New Era. #IranTalks pic.twitter.com/OuGE3pu8Z1 . She closely followed the reaction from Iranians around the world and told CNN she saw an "explosion" of joy when the deal was finally struck. "I didn't expect so many people to follow it so closely, but from the result, I can tell everyone was following." "After 35 years of animosity, U.S. and Iran diplomats shook hands and stood by each other in public... everything is just pushing this forward."

Summary: Iranians celebrate deal online and in the streets .


(CNN)This is the time of the year when Christians the world over -- more than 2 billion of us -- reflect upon the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. In light of the tragic massacre of Christian college students in Kenya on Thursday, and the ongoing threat against Christians in other nations, this Holy Week we are calling upon Christians to also reflect upon the crucifixion, beheading, stoning, enforced slavery, sexual abuse, human trafficking, harassment, bombing and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Christians -- and others -- whose faith alone has made them a target of religious extremists. Countless lives have been utterly destroyed in nations such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria. In June 2012, Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Iraq told the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "We beg you to help. We want only peace, security, and freedom. Please no more death, no more explosions, no more injustice." By then, nearly every remaining church in Iraq had constructed a blast wall around its building to buffet the threat of the inevitable church bombing. This crisis escalated substantially last summer when ISIS swept like lightning through Iraq's Nineveh province, capturing the country's second-largest city, Mosul; a city that was until 2014 a home of a thriving Christian community, there centuries before Islam. Again and again the world did not respond as it might have, and now the inconceivable has happened: Iraq's Nineveh Plain has been emptied of its ancient Christianity community, which existed there for more than 1,500 years. On March 27, in a presentation to the U.N. Security Council, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako referred to the present reality of his fellow Iraqi Christians as a "catastrophic situation." He's right. Rarely since the first century has the church in the East faced persecution on this scale. Christian communities that took 2,000 years to build, and that were started by the apostles themselves, lie in ashes between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Survivors waste away as refugees, often in deplorable conditions, with no homes or churches to return to if the region eventually stabilizes. Whether they be Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, Christian communities are united in what Pope Francis has called an "ecumenism of blood," recognizing that Christianity is experiencing more martyrdom today than in the first century. This is not an exaggerated or contrived crisis. As Nina Shea, director of the Hudson's Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, has aptly put it, "Piece by piece, Middle Eastern Christianity is being shattered." Our concern is not to the exclusion of anyone else under threat by these religious fanatics, and we reject those who believe that this evil is reflective of the majority of Muslims whose community has actually experienced the most casualties in this conflict. It is also true that Christianity faces a legitimate threat of extinction in several parts of Iraq and Syria and it faces a growing threat in nations such as Nigeria. In solidarity with those being threatened we agree with the words delivered by Jordan's King Abdullah II at the United

Summary: Rarely since the first century have Christians faced persecution on this scale, say Dolan, Downey and Burnett. Crisis escalated substantially as ISIS has swept through Iraq's Nineveh province, the authors write.


Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama says he is "absolutely committed to making sure" Israel maintains a military advantage over Iran. His comments to The New York Times, published on Sunday, come amid criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the deal that the United States and five other world powers struck with Iran. Tehran agreed to halt the country's nuclear ambitions, and in exchange, Western powers would drop sanctions that have hurt the Iran's economy. Obama said he understands and respects Netanyahu's stance that Israel is particularly vulnerable and doesn't "have the luxury of testing these propositions" in the deal. "But what I would say to them is that not only am I absolutely committed to making sure they maintain their qualitative military edge, and that they can deter any potential future attacks, but what I'm willing to do is to make the kinds of commitments that would give everybody in the neighborhood, including Iran, a clarity that if Israel were to be attacked by any state, that we would stand by them," Obama said. That, he said, should be "sufficient to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see whether or not we can at least take the nuclear issue off the table," he said. The framework negotiators announced last week would see Iran reduce its centrifuges from 19,000 to 5,060, limit the extent to which uranium necessary for nuclear weapons can be enriched and increase inspections. The talks over a final draft are scheduled to continue until June 30. But Netanyahu and Republican critics in Congress have complained that Iran won't have to shut down its nuclear facilities and that the country's leadership isn't trustworthy enough for the inspections to be as valuable as Obama says they are. Obama said even if Iran can't be trusted, there's still a case to be made for the deal. "In fact, you could argue that if they are implacably opposed to us, all the more reason for us to want to have a deal in which we know what they're doing and that, for a long period of time, we can prevent them from having a nuclear weapon," Obama said.

Summary: In an interview with The New York Times, President Obama says he understands Israel feels particularly vulnerable . Obama calls the nuclear deal with Iran a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many U.S. Republicans warn that Iran cannot be trusted .


Hong Kong (CNN)Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are two dynamic leaders at the helm of the world's two most populous nations. And one is particularly vocal about making his mark on history. When India successfully placed a spacecraft into orbit around Mars last year, Modi reveled in the moment. "History has been created today," he said. "We have dared to reach out into the unknown and have achieved the near impossible. "The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation." Soon after the galactic feat, he took to the stage at New York's famous Madison Square Garden and received a welcome so rapturous that Jon Stewart called him "America's First Modi." And all along, Modi has issued his call to "Make in India," encouraging companies all over the world to manufacture their products in India where there is a vast talent pool and low-cost production. While Modi's India is out to put its economy on the fast track, China's economy is slowing after over 25 years of breakneck growth. President Xi is managing the slowdown with efforts to boost domestic spending, while cracking down hard on corruption. And it's been predicted that India could outpace China as the world's fastest growing economy as soon as this year. So is the world's largest democracy primed to overtake the world's biggest single party state as the next economic miracle? OPINION: What India can learn from China . Not so fast, says China watcher and India Today correspondent Ananth Krishnan. "China is still pulling away from India," the Beijing-based reporter said. "If India grows 7.5% this year and China grows 7.4%, I think it makes a good headline. But I think people shouldn't get carried away about what it means in terms of a gap between China and India." China's economy may be slowing down but India faces a longer list of economic challenges including higher unemployment, chronic inflation and an overwhelming lack of basic infrastructure. "In terms of education, having access to different resources, and job creation, China has done well. It has progressed far better compared to India," said Infosys China CEO Rangarajan R. Vellamore. "Even though there is free movement across the country (in India), the paradox is there are a lot of basic issues related to access to water and basic education." In a recent budget, the Modi government announced plans to boost infrastructure spending as well as cut taxes on businesses among other initiatives to spur economic growth. But despite Modi's big pro-business push, India simply can't size up against China's raw economic might. "After 30 years of dedicated efforts in building China into a manufacturing powerhouse, it would take a long time for India to build that kind of manufacturing capability," said Haiyan Wang, Managing Partner of the China India Institute. "It's not just about lower labor costs. You have to have a complex industry cluster of supply chains. You have to have the knowledge. You have to have the skills. You have to

Summary: India predicted to outpace China as as world's fastest-growing economy in next year . China's economy is slowing after over 25 years of breakneck growth . But experts say India simply can't size up against China's raw economic might .


(CNN)Would a taste of the finest Swiss chocolate make you happy? Or soaking in the warm Icelandic springs? Perhaps the great jazz and rock music scene in Denmark is for you? It's not just the fun activities that make locals and travelers to those countries happy, according to the third World Happiness Report, released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on April 23. People who live in the happiest countries have longer life expectancies and more social support, experience more generosity, have more freedom to make life choices, have lower perceptions of corruption and have a higher gross domestic product per capita, the report shows. The tiny country of Bhutan, a very happy country famous for measuring the "Gross National Happiness" of its people, gets the credit for focusing world attention on happiness: Its Prime Minister proposed the idea of a World Happiness Day to the United Nations in 2011. Recognizing "happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world," the U.N. General Assembly declared March 20 as World Happiness Day in 2012. This officially designated happy date marked its fourth year last month. Through the happiness report, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network hopes to encourage governments at every level to measure and improve their people's happiness. "There is no single key to happiness," said Jeffrey Sachs, the network's director and an economics professor at Columbia University. "All of these countries do well in several ways. Being rich? That's good, but it's only a modest part of the story. Trusting society, having a government that ranks on low in corruption, a society where people are generous and volunteering -- all of these are important for happiness." Even if you don't live in one of the 10 happiest countries in the world, a visit to these happy places will give you a taste of what the locals enjoy every day. Here are the top 10 happiest places on Earth, according to the World Happiness Report. 1. Switzerland . Switzerland took the top spot from Denmark in 2015, rising from third to first place in this year's list of the world's happiest countries. Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, has the cobblestone streets and medieval architecture that make it apparent why the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the city's founding in the 12th century, it has expanded in an often neat and orderly fashion. And the lovely River Aare offers in-town swimming and boating. Looking to get out of the capital city? Book a trip to Lucerne, where you can take a boat trip on the lake, ride the panorama gondola, take in the views on the new Dragon Ride aerial cableway and ride on the world's steepest cog railway. Book the Golden Round trip and get all four trips -- and stunning views of the Alps -- in one day. (The railway reopens in mid-May.) And no matter where you go, there will certainly be plenty of delicious chocolate to try. 2. Iceland . Nature and culture

Summary: The World Happiness Report highlights the happiest countries . People live longer and experience more generosity and social support in these counties . The United Nations first declared a World Happiness Day in 2012 .


(CNN)Soon, America will be too fat to fight. Forget about rampant diabetes, heart attacks and joint problems -- the scariest consequence arising out of our losing battle with the bulge is the safety of our country. In about five years, so many young Americans will be grossly overweight that the military will be unable to recruit enough qualified soldiers. That alarming forecast comes from Maj, Gen. Allen Batschelet, who is in charge of U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Obesity, he told me, "is becoming a national security issue." I was so taken aback by Batschelet's statement that I felt the need to press him. Come on! Obesity? A national security crisis? The General didn't blink. "In my view, yes." Of the 195,000 young men and women who signed up to fight for our country, only 72,000 qualified. Some didn't make the cut because they had a criminal background, or a lack of education, or too many tattoos. But a full 10% didn't qualify because they were overweight. Before you accuse me of sensationalizing, it's that 10% figure that worries General Batschelet the most. "The obesity issue is the most troubling because the trend is going in the wrong direction," he said. "We think by 2020 it could be as high as 50%, which mean only 2 in 10 would qualify to join the Army." He paused. "It's a sad testament to who we are as a society right now." The problem is so worrisome for the Army that recruiters have become fitness coaches, like the trainers on the NBC show, "The Biggest Loser." Yes, your tax dollars pay for Army recruiters to play Dolvett Quince or Jillian Michaels to whip could-be recruits into shape with the hope they can diet and exercise their way to become real recruits. If they lose enough weight, they're sent to boot camp. Some make it; many don't. But, General Batschelet told me the Army must try. "We are the premier leader on personal development in the world," he told me. "We want to see you grow and become a leader. That is a great strength in our Army." Except the Army never considered the type of growth it's now contending with. Nowadays "personal development" means working on both character and ... girth. The general, along with so many others in this country, is struggling with why so many Americans, despite all the warnings, continue to eat too much and exercise too little. I have a theory. It ain't pretty. But it's got to be true: We just don't care. "The acceptance of obesity is prevalent," according to Claire Putnam, an obstetrician and gynecologist who believes obesity is a national crisis right now. "When you look around you, 70% of adults are overweight or obese. It's seems normal," she said. Just look at the numbers: More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese. Seventeen percent of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are obese. That's triple the rate from just a generation ago. So, maybe we should face the fact that we've grown comfortable with our girth.

Summary: In a few years, the military will be unable to recruit enough qualified soldiers because of America's obesity problem . Carol Costello: We have a serious national security issue at hand, but it's within our control if we could own up to it .


(CNN)Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez will need to keep his lawyers even after being convicted of murder and other charges in the death of Odin Lloyd. The 25-year-old potentially faces three more trials -- one criminal and two civil actions. Next up is another murder trial in which he is accused of killing two men and wounding another person near a Boston nightclub in July 2012. Prosecutors have said Hernandez fatally shot Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado when he fired into their 2003 BMW. Another passenger was wounded and two others were uninjured. Hernandez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. The trial was originally slated for May 28, but Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, said Wednesday the trial had been postponed and no new date had been set. "We expect to select a new court date in the coming days and then set the amended trial track. The Suffolk indictments allege two counts of first-degree murder for the July 16, 2012, shooting deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston's South End; three counts of armed assault with intent to murder and one count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon for shots fired at three surviving victims; and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm," he said. The families of de Abreu and Furtado filed civil suits against Hernandez, and a judge froze his $5 million in assets, pending the outcome of the double-murder trial. The freeze includes the disputed $3.3 million signing bonus payment Hernandez claims he is owed by the New England Patriots. Hernandez is also being sued by a man who claims Hernandez shot him while they were in a limousine in Miami in February 2013. Alexander Bradley claims the then-New England Patriot tight end wounded him after the two got into a fight at a Miami strip club. In a lawsuit filed four months later, Bradley said Hernandez fired at him during a limo ride after leaving the club and that Hernandez intentionally "possessed a gun which he was not legally licensed to have." Hernandez's lawyers have argued he couldn't defend himself properly while on trial in Massachusetts. There was no criminal charge in the case. And then there is the grievance over unpaid bonus money filed by the NFL players union on behalf of Hernandez, who signed a contract in 2012 that potentially was worth more than $40 million. If the grievance is heard by the league, Hernandez will be represented by the the National Football League Players' Association. Who was Odin Lloyd? CNN's Lawrence Crook contributed to this report.

Summary: Aaron Hernandez has been found guilty in Odin Lloyd's death, but his troubles are not over . He also faces murder charges in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, but trial was postponed . In addition, Hernandez will face two civil lawsuits; one is in relation to Suffolk County case .


Garissa, Kenya (CNN)The Kenyan government says Mohamed Mohamud, also known by aliases Dulyadin and Gamadhere, is the mastermind of Thursday's Kenya university terror attack, according to a tweet from the country's Interior Ministry. Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia, took responsibility for the attack, according to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. Mohamud is "credited with having an extensive terrorist network within Kenya," according to a ministry document given to CNN. Earlier, the ministry posted a "Most Wanted" notice for Mohamud. It offers a reward of 20 million Kenyan shillings, which is about $215,000. "We appeal to anyone with any info on #Gamadhere to share with relevant authorities and security agencies," the Interior Ministry posted on Twitter. Mohamud is in charge of external operations against Kenya, the document says, and he is the regional commander within Al-Shabaab in charge of the Juba region. In this role, he commands the militia along the border and "is responsible for cross-border incursions in the country." His network extends within the Dadaab refugee camp, the document says. Dadaab is the world's biggest refugee camp, home to thousands of people, according to the United Nations. It's located in Kenya's North Eastern province near Somalia. CNN Exclusive: Exposing smuggler routes across the Somalia-Kenya border . Mohamud has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the past few years, including December's quarry attack, which killed at least 36 people. In that attack, Al-Shabaab militants separated non-Muslim workers from their Muslim counterparts and killed them. Mohamud is Kenyan and has three wives and three siblings, including two with links to Al-Shabaab, the document says. Also Sunday, Kenya's Interior Ministry identified another terrorist involved in the Garissa University College attack as Abdirahim Abdullahi. Abdullahi's father, Abdullahi Daqare, a government chief in Mandera in northern Kenya, told CNN that his son was missing. Daqare is a Kenyan Somali, he said. His son graduated in 2013 from Nairobi University law school and worked for a bank for two months before he went missing, Daqare said in a phone interview. "I have received reports from people who found information (on) the Internet that my son was one of the terrorists," Daqare said. "I previously told the government that the son is missing. I sought their help to find the whereabouts of my son." He added that the two had not been in contact his the son disappeared. Daqare said he had "really given up on him." On Sunday, families of some of the more than 147 people slain at Garissa University College left a mortuary in Nairobi, Kenya, after identifying the bodies of their loved ones. One woman almost had to be carried out. "Why? Why? Where are you, my children?" she wailed. Across Garissa, there was a sense of fear, foreboding and grief. The news agency Reuters videotaped a man holding his daughter's hand at a local church, as military patrols and security officials searched people. A church member told the agency, "Nowhere is safe, but here in church you can come, you be with God and then you just console yourself."

Summary: Government names Abdirahim Abdullahi as one attacker; his father is a government official . Kenyan government tweets that attack mastermind was Mohamed Mohamud . Al-Shabaab threatens "another bloodbath" in Kenya .


St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (CNN)Government officials are trying to track down vacationers who stayed at villas in the Virgin Islands who may have been exposed to a deadly pesticide. Local officials said methyl bromide is suspected to have been used improperly several times in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in different parts of the island; even the governor said his condominium complex was fumigated with it in 2013, without his knowledge. Investigators are still trying to piece together exactly what happened at the Sirenusa resort, where a Delaware family's vacation in paradise turned into a nightmare. Theresa Devine and Steve Esmond and their two children fell gravely ill and suffered seizures; two brothers, ages 14 and 16, remain in comas. But this was likely not an isolated incident. Local authorities here tell CNN there is evidence methyl bromide was used at least twice at the gated Sirenusa resort on St. John by the pest control company Terminix. They also say Terminix used the pesticide across the islands on different occasions. Dawn Henry, the commissioner designee of the local Department of Planning and Natural Resources, or DPNR, said that while investigating what happened, the agency found methyl bromide was likely also used last fall at the same Sirenusa resort, as well as in a vacation villa in St. Croix and in two nontourist locations. Methyl bromide is banned from indoor use, and is only approved as an agricultural pesticide. Other pest control companies on the Virgin Islands were found in possession of methyl bromide and officials said they are checking records to see whether it was used improperly. Ken Mapp, the governor of the Virgin Islands, said it was. "What these companies did or appear to have been doing is clearly a violation of the law and they'll be held accountable for it," Mapp said. He said he learned his own complex was fumigated with methyl bromide in 2013, but said there have been no additional reports of people falling ill. Authorities are trying to track down anyone who has stayed at the affected villas or who might have been exposed. Family slowly recovering from illness after Virgin Islands trip . Terminix issued a statement saying it is "committed to performing all work ... in a manner that is safe for our customers, employees, the public and the environment" and is "looking into this matter internally, and cooperating with authorities." When CNN visited the Terminix office on St. Thomas, which is corporate-owned, an employee refused to comment, and another employee closed the door. Henry said all canisters of methyl bromide known to exist in the area have been confiscated and will be shipped off-island for destruction as soon as possible. In the meantime, an attorney for Esmond and Devine said the family is still struggling. The two teenage boys remain in comas. Their father has regained consciousness and is slowly getting better. Devine is in better condition and is undergoing occupational therapy. DPNR, the local environmental agency, already had been under scrutiny. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has oversight, designated it "high

Summary: Methyl bromide is suspected to have been used improperly several times in the U.S. Virgin Islands, local officials say . Teen brothers exposed to the pesticide while on vacation are both in comas; parents are recovering .


Los Angeles (CNN)She's one of the hottest and most successful Latinas in Hollywood, but now Sofia Vergara is playing defense in a legal battle initiated by her ex-fiance: He wants to keep the two frozen embryos from their relationship, both female. The 42-year-old actress and star of the hit TV sitcom "Modern Family" split from businessman Nick Loeb in May 2014. Loeb is suing the Colombian-born actress in Los Angeles to prevent Vergara from destroying their two embryos conceived through in vitro fertilization in November 2013, according to published reports by New York Daily News and In Touch magazine. The lawsuit cited by the two publications, however, lists the plaintiff as "Joe Doe" and the defendant as "Jane Doe." The suit doesn't identify the names of the actual litigants. Instead, the suit asks the court to advance the matter anonymously to protect the two individuals' privacy. The two publications cited unidentified sources in their reports. On Tuesday, Loeb's attorney Abram Moore confirmed in a statement that Loeb filed the lawsuit. Representatives for Vergara declined to comment. Court papers allege the couple created the embryos while they were engaged, and their plan was to eventually have children together. On "Modern Family," Vergara plays Gloria Delgado Pritchett, an eccentric and voluptuous Colombian immigrant who in recent episodes had a baby. But the sitcom make-believe is far from what Vergara is dealing with now. The lawsuit states the embryos should not be destroyed under any circumstances by Jane Doe until both parties reach an agreement. The suit also names as a defendant the clinic where the embryos are being held, the Art Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills. The center didn't respond to a message seeking comment Friday. According to the legal paperwork, the ex-couple had already used two surrogate mothers, one being a close friend of Jane Doe's, in an attempt to have children. However, neither of the implantations was successful. In his own statement, Loeb said he wants to implant the embryos in a surrogate and bring them to term, but he doesn't want any money from the egg donor. His statement doesn't directly identify Vergara as the donor, other than referring to his "ex." "I have previously offered to waive any parental or financial responsibilities or obligations on the part of my ex, and to even give her the opportunity to be involved with the child in the future, should she change her mind," Loeb said. He believes that "life begins at fertilization," he said. "Creating an embryo in the natural way can lead to parenthood obligations, even where a man doesn't want to become a father. Where a man does want to become a father, and wants to impose no obligations on the other party, he should have that corresponding right. However life comes to be created, it should have no determination on either the rights of wanting to be or the requirements of having to be a parent," Loeb said. In an interview with ABC in April 2013, while the couple was still engaged, Vergara spoke of how she helped create

Summary: Loeb says he filed the lawsuit and doesn't want want money from his "ex" Nick Loeb reportedly wants to prevent Vergara from destroying the embryos . Vergara spoke of freezing embryos with Loeb in a 2013 interview .


(CNN)The United States has seemingly erupted this week about what it means to live your religion, especially in Indiana, where its new Religious Freedom Restoration Act faces a firestorm from critics who say it uses faith as a pretext to discriminate against gay people. Such state laws have been growing ever since the U.S. Religious Freedom Restoration Act became law in 1993, designed to prohibit the federal government from "substantially burdening" a person's exercise of religion. So far, 20 states have some version of the religious liberty law, and the legal controversies have grown, too. Nonetheless, claims under those state RFRAs are "exceedingly rare," and victories involved mostly religious minorities, not Christian denominations, experts say. "There is reason to doubt whether these state-level religious liberty provisions truly provide meaningful protections for religious believers," wrote Wayne State University law professor Christopher Lund in a 2010 analysis, when there were only 16 states with such laws. Here are some of the more interesting cases arising from the federal and state laws, touching upon an array of religious matters from a knife carried by an IRS accountant to a tea from the Amazon: . He was a Native American with eagle feathers at a religious gathering of tribes. But not in the eyes of the feds. In 2006, Robert Soto and Michael Russell attended an American Indian powwow while in possession of eagle feathers, in violation of the federal Eagle Protection Act, which outlaws the killing of bald and golden eagles and even picking their feathers off the ground. Soto, a Lipan Apache, asserted he was participating in an Indian religious ceremony. The feathers are sacred to Native Americans. But a federal Fish and Wildlife Service agent found his tribe wasn't federally recognized, and Soto surrendered his feathers. Russell, who is married to Soto's sister, isn't American Indian and agreed to pay a fine, according to court papers and the America Bar Association Journal. Soto, however, petitioned the federal Interior Department to return his feathers. The feds said no, because he wasn't from a recognized tribe. Soto and Russell sued the federal government, but a federal district court ruled in favor of the government, rejecting the two men's First Amendment assertions and their claims under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the same 1993 statute that Indiana legislators used in developing their new state law. But last August, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's decision and sent the case back to that court after finding the government's action would violate the federal RFRA. On March 10, the federal government returned the eagle feathers to Soto. But the legal war isn't over. The federal government still maintains it can criminally prosecute Soto and his congregants, so Soto is seeking a preliminary injunction, claiming the feds are violating the federal RFRA, said Luke Goodrich, Soto's attorney who's with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. A tea used by a Brazilian faith is to them like wine used by Catholics at communion, but U.S. agents considered the brew an illegal drug. The religious

Summary: A Native American from a tribe not recognized by the feds wins the return of his eagle feathers . An IRS accountant is fired for insisting on carrying a symbolic Sikh knife to work . A group of Chicago pastors takes on City Hall over its permits for new churches and loses .