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Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
U.S. to 'rain mice' on tree snakes
Labels: LifestyleiPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.No agreement coming on cuts
Labels: LifestyleBy Jessica Yellin and Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 12:33 PM EST, Fri March 1, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- President Obama, congressional leaders fail to bridge gaps on spending cuts
- Speaker Boehner says the House will take up a government funding measure
- Forced spending cuts to the military and other government services start Friday
- NEW: Obama says the cuts carry real consequences for the economy
Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama blamed Congress for failing to prevent $85 billion in forced government spending cuts that take effect on Friday, saying that the sharp reduction will harm economic recovery.
The president met with with congressional leaders at the White House prior to briefing reporters, but no agreement emerged to avert the automatic austerity that both sides oppose.
He called them "dumb, arbitrary cuts" that are "unnecessary and inexcusable."
"I genuinely believe there's an opportunity for us to cooperate," Obama said, adding that "what doesn't make sense is to replace this set of arbitrary cuts with an even worse set of arbitrary cuts."
After the meeting, which lasted about 45 minutes, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters that the House will take up a measure next week to authorize federal funding beyond a March 27 deadline to prevent a potential partial government shutdown.
The funding measure is unconnected to the spending cuts, known in Washington jargon as sequestration, and Boehner reiterated his opposition to Obama's call for more tax revenue to be part of any solution.
"I am hopeful we wont have to deal with the threat of a government shutdown while we are dealing with the sequester at the same time," Boehner said.
The White House meeting also involved Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
The cuts involve roughly 9% for a broad range of non-defense programs and 13% for the Pentagon over the rest of the current fiscal year. They officially take effect just before midnight on Friday.
They are the result of a deep political impasse over federal spending.
The cuts were placed into law in 2011 as leverage in negotiations on deficit reduction -- something so draconian that no one would ever want them to take effect. However, no deal has emerged since to stem the red ink.
Journalist: Message was clear
Labels: Lifestyleon your computer or on the CNN Apps for iPhone® and iPad®.
iPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.2 days before forced cuts: What's Congress doing?
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- During a visit to the Capitol, Obama talks briefly with Hill leaders about the cuts
- Obama set to meet with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday
- Republican says White House uses cuts to release undocumented workers with criminal records
- Blame game continues as Reid and McConnell speak on Senate floor
Washington (CNN) -- We now have only two days left before $85 billion in widely disliked spending cuts start to take effect. So what's Congress doing Wednesday to deal with this self-inflicted crisis?
Congressional leaders saw President Barack Obama on the Hill.
But Obama wasn't there to talk about the cuts. Hill leaders did manage to have a brief conversation with the president, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. There's no indication any serious progress was made on a deal to avoid or replace the cuts.
Spending cuts: It's about to get weird
Congressional leaders will meet Obama at the White House on Friday.
But expectations are low. Republicans don't expect the meeting to be anything more than optics, an effort by the president to show he is at least talking to Congress on the day the cuts begin to kick in, a senior GOP aide told CNN
"Either someone needs to buy the White House a calendar, or this is just a belated farce," a congressional Republican said. "They ought to at least pretend to try."
Budget cuts would hit private air traffic in effort to spare airlines
Senate should vote this week on plans to replace cuts or least mitigate their impact.
But nobody expects those plans to go anywhere. Any plan put forward by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, or Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, will need at least 60 votes to win approval in the 100-member chamber. Neither leader is believed to be in a position to pull that off.
Regardless, Senate Republicans are considering a proposal that could alleviate the impact of the cuts by giving the president flexibility to decide where they would occur. Democrats worry that would let Republicans off the hook while placing responsibility for the cuts clearly on the president's shoulders; Republicans fear Obama would use that power to cut more deeply into programs they like.
Opinion: Americans sick of budget soap opera
Critics in both parties consider the idea an abdication of Congress's power of the purse.
Democrats want to replace much of the sequester with more tax revenue collected from millionaires, while also eliminating agriculture subsidies and reducing defense spending after the end of combat operations in Afghanistan next year. Republicans are virtually unified in opposing any new taxes -- a stance Reid called a deal killer on Tuesday.
"Until there's some agreement with revenue, I believe we should just go ahead" with the spending cuts, Reid told reporters on the Hill.
Budget cuts could sacrifice nearly 800,000 jobs
The blame game goes on
Reid and McConnell both blamed the other party for the current quagmire during their Wednesday morning Senate floor speeches.
"Once again, Republicans are too busy fighting among themselves to unite behind a course of action," Reid said. "So they are instead doing nothing. Zero."
Let's "make sure everyone understands this is not President Obama's" package of cuts, Reid added. He said 174 House Republicans voted for them as did 28 GOP senators.
"Congress has the power to void these self-inflicted wounds. But Democrats can't do it alone. Republicans have to do their part," he said.
Shortly after Reid spoke, McConnell declared that Obama "wasn't elected to work with the Congress he wants. He was elected to work with the Congress he has, and that means working with both parties to get things done. It means leaving the gimmicks behind and working with us to hammer out a smarter solution" to his cuts.
"The president's party runs Washington," McConnell said. "It is time they got off the campaign trail and start working with us to govern for a change."
7 budget cuts you'll really feel
GOP leader says Obama using cuts to release crooks
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, released a statement Wednesday morning indicating his panel learned the administration has "ordered the release of an unspecified number of illegal immigrants in detention" due to the looming cuts.
"These detained illegal immigrants have either been charged or convicted of a crime, have a final order of deportation, are fugitives, or are suspected gang members," the statement noted.
"It's abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda" on the cuts, Goodlatte said. "By releasing criminal immigrants onto the streets, the administration is needlessly endangering American lives. It also undermines our efforts to come together with the administration and reform our nation's immigration laws."
A statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that as "fiscal uncertainty remains over (government funding and potential cuts), ICE has reviewed its detained population to ensure detention levels stay within ICE's current budget. Over the last week, ICE has reviewed several hundred cases and placed these individuals on methods of supervision less costly than detention."
The statement stressed that "all of these individuals remain in removal proceedings. Priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety."
An administration official told CNN the decision to release certain undocumented workers was made by career ICE employees without any White House input. The official said the workers who were released are individuals with one-time misdemeanor convictions or similar offenses.
White House was 'unaware' of immigration detainee release
CNN's Jim Acosta, Dana Bash, Tom Cohen, and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report
Could your child be a bully?
Labels: LifestyleBoys and girls use physical violence to exert their power, researchers say.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A sociologist describes bullying in schools as "social combat"
- Students are fighting to improve their social status through violence or rumors
- Bullies are often bullied themselves as they fight to the top, experts say
Editor's note: Don't miss the premiere of "The Bully Effect" on "AC360" at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, Feburary 28. And visit CNN.com Health on Wednesday, February 27, for our story on how technology has changed bullying.
(CNN) -- Eva was a bully. Tall for her age, she used her height to intimidate her peers. She made fun of those without designer clothes and got suspended several times for fighting.
She was also well-liked, outgoing, funny -- and a victim of bullying herself.
"When you're in junior high, you're just trying to figure out who you are," the 24-year-old remembers. She says she bullied others because she was, as were most kids, insecure.
As a parent, you probably have a picture in your head of the kid you'd vote Most Likely To Bully Others. He's burly, wears a letter (or leather) jacket and has been a senior longer than most students are in high school.
But experts say the bullies tormenting students nowadays aren't like the ones we see on the big screen. It's not just a small group of jocks, or the loner stoner pushing kids into lockers between periods. It can be almost anyone, at any time. And the most likely targets of bullies? The bullies themselves.
"AC360": Fighting for your bullied child
Sociologist Robert Faris calls it "social combat." He says the majority of bullying takes place in the middle of a school's social hierarchy, where students are jostling with each other for higher status.
Think of it like a giant game of king of the hill. Each kid is struggling to make it to the top, not afraid to step on others to get there. The closer you get to being king, the more vicious the competition gets between rivals.
"Bullying works," Faris says simply. "When kids pick on other kids, their status increases."
Faris teamed up with CNN's "AC360" in 2011 to study bullying at a high school in Long Island, New York. Researchers asked more than 700 students about their friendship circles and bullying behaviors. Faris has also completed similar studies in rural North Carolina -- where the demographics were different, but the results were the same.
Faris found 56% of students surveyed were involved in aggression, victimization or both at any given time. The main motive behind a student's bullying was to increase his or her popularity. The higher a student rose on the social ladder, the more likely they were to bully others -- and to be bullied themselves.
"There's always some tension in these friendship groups," Faris says. "Who's closer to whom and who's hanging out together, and I think that's what's driving a lot of these kids."
The same is true for middle-school students, according to UCLA psychology professor Jaana Juvonen, who's been studying bullying since the mid-1990s.
Juvonen and her team recently followed more than 1,800 students through seventh and eighth grade to determine how physical aggression and the spreading of rumors played a part in social prominence.
"What we've learned about bullying during the last decade or so is that it takes many forms," Juvonen says. "Some of these forms are extremely hard to detect. They're covert."
Bullying over food allergies
Administrators have cracked down on physical aggression in schools, enforcing zero tolerance policies for fighting between students. But Juvonen says that has led to subtler forms of bullying.
Rumors -- most often about a student's sexuality or insulting family members -- play a big role, according to Juvonen's research.
Faris recalls he got his "ass kicked" regularly as a child. Two brothers used hunt him down every day after school as he walked home from the bus stop.
But he says a daily beating was much less painful than the isolation he felt when his family moved across the country and he couldn't seem to fit in. "That was much harder to deal with than a bloody nose," he remembers.
In his later research, Faris found friends often exclude each other from gossip sessions or parties to put down a rival and boost their own status. Social media has also increased the prominence of this abstract form of bullying.
"The status competition is always there; there's no break from it," he says. "They go home and they get online and they see their friends doing things together and they're not invited, or worse, people are harassing them."
If the 2004 movie "Mean Girls" taught us anything, it's that girls are the queens of covert bullying; no one could make you feel as badly about the way you look as the popular clique. Juvonen's study, however, found boys and girls spread rumors to boost their social status -- and that both genders use physical aggression to assert power.
Eva knows this firsthand. She and her friends used to "jump" other girls, pulling their hair or punching them just because they talked to the wrong guy.
What really makes schools safer?
"I look back and shake my head," says Eva, who asked CNN not to use her last name because she plans to apply for graduate school. But "when you're in elementary school and junior high, there's nothing else. We don't have responsibilities. We don't have skills. We buy candy and do homework."
"Part of the problem here is that kids are kind of stuck in a cage," Faris agrees. "They don't have formal roles and responsibilities. ... They have to work status out for themselves."
And if we put adults in a similar situation, he says, we'd see the same behavior.
For that reason, Faris advocates programs and activities that de-emphasize social status and re-emphasize the qualities of a good friend. He hopes that one day students will leave high school with a small group of close friends, rather than the 300 or 400 they know on Facebook.
Tips for parents
1. Be a good example -- kids often learn bullying behavior from their parents.
2. Teach your child what it means to be a good friend.
3. Make your home a safe haven for kids after school.
4. Use teachable moments on TV to show the power of bystanders.
5. Listen. Don't be in denial about incidents that are brought to your attention.
Juvonen says anti-bullying programs should focus on bystanders -- teaching kids that watching is just as bad as doing the bullying yourself. Studies in Canada have shown, she says, that if a child intervenes, the bullying incident stops within seconds.
Juvonen suggests parents use teachable moments on TV or in the news to show children right from wrong in a bullying situation. "They could be the ones pointing out to their kids that they have a lot of power as bystanders," she says.
Juvonen knows it's unreasonable to expect a child to be brave on his or her own; no one wants to become the next victim. So she suggests teaching kids about the weight of a group.
"Bullying involves this imbalance of power where the bully has the high status and is using this status," she says. "You can try to offset the power balance by telling kids to join one another as they try to intervene."
Parents also need to be aware of how easy it is for children to get sucked in to this social combat, Juvonen says. They can't be in denial about incidents that are brought to their attention.
"Anyone in that situation should be asking, 'What's going on?' 'What is it about these situations that brings about this kind of behavior?' " Parents should be having frequent conversations about what's happening at school, know who their children are hanging out with and keep an eye out for warning signs that something's not quite right, she says.
"The parent's role is really to be there as a buffer, be the one who listens."
Rejection, bullying are risk factors among shooters
Before she was a bully, Eva was a victim, she says. Older kids would call her names or hold her down to show they were stronger. She's the baby in the family, she says, and her parents didn't have time to pay attention to what was going on.
"(Bullying) comes from home, from family members," she says. "We hear our cousins and uncles talking crap about someone. We think it's funny. We think it's cool."
Eva never faced consequences for bullying, other than her suspensions. She believes that if someone had sat her down and told her that bullying was wrong, she would have listened. For years, she worried that one of her former victims would invite her on the "Maury Show" for a face-to-face showdown. She still feels badly about the pain she inflicted.
"I can't take it back," she says. "But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't do what I did."
Did you ever bully anyone? Share your story in the comments below or on iReport.
Afghanistan links torture, murder to U.S. forces
Labels: LifestyleBy Josh Levs, CNN
updated 1:15 PM EST, Sun February 24, 2013
U.S. toops patrol in Wardak province of Afghanistan in 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- An armed group is torturing and killing innocent people, the Afghan government says
- The group is "named as" U.S. special forces, Afghanistan says
- The U.S. military says it is investigating
- The U.S. rejects the allegations, Afghanistan says
(CNN) -- The Afghan government says a group of armed people who may be U.S. special forces is carrying out acts of torture and murder.
The U.S. military says it is investigating.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force must stop all special force operations out of Wardak province, where such horrors have been taking place, and all U.S. special forces must be gone from the province within two weeks, Afghanistan's National Security Council demanded.
At a meeting of the council, chaired by President Hamid Karzai, "it became clear that armed individuals named as U.S. special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people," Karzai's office said in a statement. It did not indicate who "named" the group a U.S. special force.
Nine people "disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force," the statement said. And in another incident, a student was taken from his home at night, and his "tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge," the statement said.
It added that the United States rejects any suggestion that its special forces carried out any such operation.
Afghan forces must protect people in the province "by effectively stopping and bringing to justice any groups that enter peoples' homes in the name of special force and who engage in annoying, harassing and murdering innocent people," the statement said.
"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. Until military officials speak with Afghan officials about the issue, "we are not in a position to comment further," the statement added.
"This is an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts."
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Vatican denies rumors as pope prepares to step down
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Top Vatican official condemns "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories"
- Rumors are intended to put pressure on cardinals, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone says
- Italy's La Reppublica has published allegations involving a shadowy network of gay clergy
- Pope Benedict XVI is to stand down from office on Thursday
Rome (CNN) -- The Vatican sought Saturday to tamp down rumors involving sex, money and gay priests that have been swirling in the Italian media and have been linked by some to Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign.
The strongly-worded denial came on the eve of the pope's last Angelus blessing, expected to draw huge crowds of the faithful, before he stands down on Thursday.
Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said it was "deplorable" that as the time for the Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope approaches, a rash of "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories" has appeared.
Such unfounded stories "cause serious damage to persons and institutions," he said, and are an attempt to influence the cardinals' free will in the election "through public opinion."
Opinion: There's more to the Catholic Church than the pope
Bertone did not address the specific claims that were first published in La Repubblica, the country's largest circulation daily newspaper, on Thursday and Friday.
The newspaper stories center on an investigation last year by three cardinals into a scandal involving leaks from the Vatican.
La Repubblica, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, alleged that the investigation revealed a series of scandals involving sex, money and power that touch cardinals, priests and lay people that work in the Vatican.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi declined to comment on La Repubblica's article in a media briefing on Thursday.
CNN Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen, also a correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, suggested in a piece written Friday that unsourced speculation about a shadowy "gay lobby" within the Vatican should be taken with a grain of salt.
But, he said, while he doesn't know for sure if the three cardinals did investigate networks based on sexual orientation, "frankly, it would be a little surprising if they hadn't" -- given past scandals that have become public concerning clergy involved in homosexual activities.
The pope may well have been worn down by the "cumulative impact of the various meltdowns over the last eight years," Allen said.
"However," he added, "it's probably a stretch to draw a straight line between all of this and Benedict's resignation. For the most part, one has to take the pope at his word: He's stepping aside because he's old and tired, not because of any particular crisis."
The pontiff will leave office at 8 p.m. on February 28, two-and-a-half weeks after he shocked the Roman Catholic world by announcing his resignation.
The Vatican has said a new pope will be in place for the Church's Easter celebrations on March 31.
Benedict on Saturday concluded a week-long spiritual retreat, held to mark the Lenten period.
Addressing the clergy who had joined him, he thanked them "not only for this week, but for these past eight years that you have carried with me -- with great skill, affection, love and faith -- the weight of the Petrine ministry," referring to the papacy.
Benedict also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, an encounter described by the Vatican as "particularly warm and cordial."
Facts about Pope Benedict XVI
The pontiff is considering changing the Vatican constitution to allow a vote for his successor to begin before March 15, Lombardi said Wednesday.
Existing rules say the Roman Catholic Church's cardinals should start voting on a replacement from 15 to 20 days after the papal throne becomes vacant. With Benedict due to depart on February 28, the cardinals' conclave ordinarily would start no sooner than March 15.
But Lombardi has said that because Benedict was leaving the papacy through resignation rather than death, the Vatican would explore the possibility of selecting a new pope sooner than normally prescribed.
The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal last year led to the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, being convicted on charges of leaking private papers from the Vatican in a high-profile trial and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Although Gabriele was pardoned weeks later by the pope, the whole affair -- which revealed claims of corruption in the church's hierarchy -- was damaging to the Vatican's reputation.
The latest media allegations, despite the strenuous Vatican denials, may add to the pressure for reform.
CNN's Hada Messia and Ben Wedeman reported from Rome, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London.
Peterson sentenced for killing ex-wife
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Drew Peterson's lawyer says his client feels the system he served failed him
- NEW: Kathleen Savio's kin say he "battered her to the very end," is "going to hell"
- The Chicago-area police sergeant was convicted of murdering his third wife
- He is sentenced to 38 years in prison and will get credit for nearly 4 years served
(CNN) -- After years policing Illinois streets for criminals, Drew Peterson is now among them -- and will be for more than three decades, a judge ruled Thursday.
Will County Judge Edward Burmila sentenced Peterson to 38 years in prison in the murder of his third ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, said state's attorney spokesman Charles B. Pelkie.
The former Chicago-area police sergeant will get credit for the nearly four years that he has been in custody, according to Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. He could have received as many as 60 years in prison; Illinois does not have a death penalty.
"The reason that I never looked Drew Peterson in the eye is because I never acknowledged his existence," said Glasgow, describing the convict as a "cold-blooded killer."
"But I looked him in the eye today," the prosecutor said. "He knows that we did our job."
Peterson was convicted of murder in September but had fought for a new trial, an effort that Burmila denied Thursday, just before the sentencing.
Peterson's lawyers promised Thursday that they would press on with their appeal and expressed confidence they would prevail. They stood by their client, who defiantly claimed in court that he didn't kill Savio.
"Wouldn't you be angry if you were wrongly convicted?" said one of his attorneys, Steve Greenberg.
"In this case, (the prosecution) changed everything ... How would you feel if you were railroaded?"
Savio was found dead in her dry, clean bathtub on March 1, 2004. Prosecutors said Peterson killed her; the defense contended that she fell, hit her head and drowned.
The case did not grab headlines until after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in October 2007. It was during the search for Stacy Peterson -- who still has not been found -- that investigators said they'd look again into Savio's death, which was initially ruled an accidental drowning.
Authorities altered their judgment and ruled Savio's death a homicide in February 2008, setting the stage for the first-degree murder trial last year of Peterson, a former police officer in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
A Will County jury ultimately convicted him of murder after nearly 14 hours of deliberation.
That was four months ago. On Thursday, all the parties were back in court to see whether Peterson would get a new trial or, if not, what his sentence would be.
Perhaps the most emotional part of this court proceeding was Peterson's long and emotional remarks, which were interrupted at times by shouts from Savio family members, several of whom were asked to leave the courtroom.
He unloaded "pent-up anger" that had built up over time -- against Savio and her family, the legal process, the media, even a TV movie about the case, according to his attorneys and the prosecutor. Above all, Peterson loudly insisted that he did not kill Savio.
Why was he upset? One of his lawyers, David Peilet, said part of it has to do with Peterson feeling the system that he served -- as a military veteran and longtime police officer -- had failed him.
"(He is angry) especially when you are somebody who has defended the Constitution and served and protected the public, now being faced with the same system coming up and biting (you) in the butt," Peilet said.
Glasgow, the state's attorney, had a different take. He called Peterson's remarks "pathetic," especially in how he "attacked" Savio and her mental state.
"Just depraved," the prosecutor said. "... We all got an opportunity to see a psychopath reveal himself in open court."
It was a sentiment echoed by the victim's sister, Susan Doman. She said she couldn't stand to hear "the devil" demean her sister, almost nine years after her death.
"He battered her to the very end."
Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, lauded the prosecution for making "this world a safer, better place" by fighting to convict Peterson and expressed hope he'd next be held accountable for what happened to his fourth wife.
"It's not over for us, but of course, a win for the Savio family is a win for the Stacy Peterson family," Bosco said. "We have a long journey ahead. We still want to see justice for Stacy. We won't give up."
Several Savio family members specifically mentioned Stacy when they addressed reporters late Thursday afternoon in Joliet.
Henry Savio Jr., a brother of Kathleen Savio, said Stacy Peterson's relatives "deserve the same thing that we're getting right now: justice."
As to Peterson's fate, Henry Savio said he wanted him to "stay in jail forever, to die there."
"(Then) he is going to go to hell," the victim's brother said. "And my sister is going to be watching him."
CNN's Elwyn Lopez, Carma Hassan and Michael Christian, from the InSession division of CNN's sister network TruTV, contributed to this report.
Gunfire, crash kill 3 in Vegas
Labels: LifestyleBy CNN Staff
updated 1:58 PM EST, Thu February 21, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Casino visitor to KLAS: I "could see the fireball" out my window
- A gunman in an SUV shoots at a car on the Las Vegas strip, causing a multivehicle crash
- Three were dead following the shooting and crash at Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road
- Police are looking for a black Range Rover Sport with large black rims
(CNN) -- Three people were dead and at least three others injured after a shooting and fiery six-vehicle crash along the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada early Thursday, police said.
The incident began about 4:20 a.m. when someone in an SUV -- stopped at a stoplight on Las Vegas Boulevard near Caesars Palace and a number of other casinos -- fired into a Maserati that also had stopped at the light, Las Vegas police said.
The Maserati moved into the intersection with Flamingo Road and collided with a taxi, starting a chain of crashes that involved four other vehicles, police said.
Fire swept through the taxi, where the driver and a passenger were trapped. The taxi's two occupants and the Maserati's driver died, Las Vegas Police spokesman Jose Hernandez said.
A passenger in the Maserati suffered gunshot wounds and was being treated at a hospital, police said. At least two other people in the other crashed vehicles suffered light to moderate injuries, they said.
John Lamb, who was inside Caesars Palace, told CNN affiliate KLAS he heard the commotion and saw the taxi on fire from a window.
"There was a loud bang, and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace ... and could see the fireball," he told KLAS.
Police are looking for the occupants of the SUV, described as a black Range Rover Sport with tinted windows, large black rims and a dealer license plate not from Nevada, said Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan.
Hernandez said he didn't have information on what led to the shooting. The names of the dead and the injured were not immediately released.
Man kills 3, himself in Southern California shooting
CNN's Carol Costello, Jason Hanna and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.
Sorority girl drops 107 pounds
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Brittni Garcia didn't think her weight was a problem until she couldn't fit into her "fat shorts"
- At 235 pounds, Garcia always felt like she stood out from her sorority sisters in college
- Garcia shed 107 pounds, and now promotes weight training and a healthy diet
- Do you have a weight loss success story? Share it with CNN iReport
(CNN) -- Brittni Garcia's family didn't go out for walks; they went out for dinner. And when they were at home, they enjoyed watching movies, playing board games and eating big Mexican-style home-cooked meals.
This lazy lifestyle led Garcia to weigh more than 200 pounds by the eighth grade.
"My mom always said, 'You are a big girl. You are just big-boned,'" said the 25-year-old information specialist. "So I just accepted it."
Through high school and college, her weight continued to rise. But even at 235 pounds, Garcia didn't think her weight was a problem -- until she couldn't fit into her "fat shorts" anymore.
That was December 2009.
It was a typical night for Garcia. She was studying for finals in her sorority house at Eastern Illinois University and wanted to change into some comfortable clothing. She found her red pajama XXL shorts that she normally wore to bed.
As she struggled to pull them up, she realized they were too tight and uncomfortable -- her "big, comfy shorts" no longer fit.
"Tons of emotions ran through my head," she said. "I was afraid that was the way my life was going to be."
That's when Garcia's mentality changed. Being overweight was no longer normal for her.
Heart disease runs in her family, and she realized it was time to address her weight now before it turned into a bigger health problem.
"I wanted to lose weight to challenge myself and show myself I can change, and not change for the world," Garcia wrote in her iReport. "This time, it was for me."
Getting in shape wasn't going to be easy. Going to the gym had been one of her biggest fears for a long time. She was self-conscious about how she looked and sounded when she ran.
"It was hard for me to breathe," Garcia said. "It was embarrassing."
Team loses 400 pounds for Winter Games
Embarrassment about her weight extended to other areas of her life. Although she was president of her sorority, Garcia always felt like she stood out.
"All the sorority girls had cookie-cutter form, and I looked different," she said. "It was really hard for me to connect."
Garcia's involvement in Greek life perpetuated her unhealthy habits; she often went to bars and restaurants to mingle with her college friends. It was difficult to break the cycle, but she found supportive friends who also hit the gym.
"What I tell people is that you find new friends at the gym," she said. "If you don't have the support, it's really hard to do it on your own."
Garcia found one of her biggest supporters through her sorority. She met Nicholas Monreal at a Greek function, and they began dating when she was at her heaviest. But the days of social functions, bar visits and restaurant outings are long gone for the couple.
"He was there when I realized I wanted to change," she said. "To this day, our dates are to the gym. We see excitement in going on walks and runs."
The couple has been together for four years; he proposed in December. Monreal has noticed a significant difference in Garcia over the past few years -- not just physically.
"She's more energetic ... and she's more willing to try new things," he said "She's just working very hard, and she's a better person for it."
On the right track
Since the beginning of 2010, Garcia has lost 107 pounds.
There were setbacks, the biggest of which came this past August when she was in a car accident. She completed three months of physical therapy and wasn't able to go to the gym and do her daily routines for a month and a half.
She was angry at first -- mad at the person who hit her car and stalled her progress at the gym.
But she got over her initial anger, and Garcia went on a walk. This time, she wasn't alone. Her fiance, her parents, her sisters and her aunt encouraged her to stay active. As a result, Garcia went on walks with them and did yoga at a gym.
Girl loses 65 pounds in fight against childhood obesity
After getting back on track with her daily workouts, Garcia realized she also had to better manage her eating habits.
"For the longest, I would go to the gym and go home to eat whatever I wanted," she said. "That's not how it works. I had to learn to eat differently and to learn to like new foods."
She started doing research on proper nutrition. She read books and online articles, shopped at health foods stores and learned to prepare meals that helped her maintain a healthy diet.
Now for two hours every Sunday, Garcia grills chicken, cooks vegetables and packs fresh fruit in preparation for the upcoming week.
"(I) make eating as simple as possible," she said. "If there are a lot of ingredients, I don't want it."
The next step
Down to 128 pounds, Garcia has been left with a lot of loose skin -- particularly around her stomach. She is doing CrossFit exercises and weight training to tighten up the area.
She's also checking off some other goals.
One of the most rewarding moments in Garcia's weight loss journey was completing her first 5K run in 27 minutes.
When she first started training, running three miles took her 48 minutes. Today, she can complete it in less than 25.
"I hadn't been able to walk a lap, let alone run it," she said. "And now when I finish a workout, I really get emotional and I can't believe that I could do it."
She isn't stopping there. Garcia wants to complete a half marathon as well as the Warrior Dash in June. As a result, she might take a pool break in between.
"I really want to fit in my bikini comfortably this summer," she said.
Today, Garcia doesn't shop at plus size clothing stores anymore. She was able to drop from a size 22 to a size 6.
And what happened to her XXL "fat shorts?" She ditched them for a pair of small exercise shorts.
To those just starting their weight-loss journey, she offers this advice:
"Once you start, don't give up. The hardest thing to do is to continue. If you have a bad day, don't make it a bad week."
Father, son lose 260 pounds after weight loss surgery
Do you have a weight loss story to share? Upload it to iReport.
Oscar Pistorius tells his side
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Oscar Pistorius paints a detailed picture of his version of his girlfriend's death
- "I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," he says in the statement
- "We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier," he said
- Prosecutors dispute Pistorius' version, say he meant to kill her
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- It was the middle of the night, Oscar Pistorius says, and he thought an intruder was in the house. Not wearing his prosthetic legs, feeling vulnerable in the pitch dark and too scared to turn on the lights, the track star pulled his 9mm pistol from beneath his bed, moved toward the bathroom and fired into the door.
It was only after he called to girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp -- whom he thought had been in bed beside him after a quiet evening -- that he realized something horrible might have happened, he told Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair in a statement read by his lawyer during his bond hearing Tuesday. Prosecutors dispute the version of events that Pistorius detailed in his statement.
Pistorius says he broke down the locked bathroom door -- at one point in the statement saying he kicked the door in, at another saying he used a cricket bat to break it down -- then scooped up the mortally wounded Steenkamp and carried her downstairs after for help.
"I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms," he said in the statement. "I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva."
Pistorius' affidavit in alleged murder of girlfriend
Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day
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'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius
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While prosecutors and defense lawyers agree Pistorius shot Steenkamp, the track star denied intentionally killing her, in the statement read Tuesday.
Prosecutors say they believe Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, picked up his gun and walked to the bathroom where Steenkamp, 29, had locked herself -- apparently after a heated argument -- and shot at her four times.
Three of the bullets struck Steenkamp, who died soon after. Her funeral was Tuesday.
Pistorius spent much of the hearing sobbing and heaving at the mention of his girlfriend's name, at one point forcing Nair to stop the proceedings to ask him to compose himself. His family stood nearby, huddling during breaks and appearing to pray. During parts of the hearing, Pistorius' brother placed his hand on the suspect's back.
During Tuesday's hearing, Nair upgraded the charge against Pistorius to premeditated murder, saying he could not rule out the possibility that the track star planned Steenkamp's death. But Nair said he will consider downgrading the charge later.
The allegation of premeditation makes it more difficult for Pistorius' attorneys to argue he should be released on bail pending trial. To win bail, the defense must argue that "exceptional circumstances" exist that would justify Pistorius' release.
The session ended Tuesday afternoon with no decision on bail for Pistorius, 26. Prosecutors said they needed time to study the affidavits read in court before deciding how to proceed.
In the statement read by his lawyer, Pistorius said he would not try to flee or influence any witnesses if he is allowed out on bail, and argued that his release wouldn't be a danger to public order.
The hearing is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
Follow updates on our live blog
A tragic mistake?
In his statement, Pistorius said Steenkamp came over February 13, opting for a quiet dinner in over a night out with friends. They wrapped up the night with a bit of television in bed for him, some yoga for her. She had brought him a Valentine's Day present to open the next day.
After the couple had gone to bed, he said he got up in the early hours of February 14 to close the balcony door in his bedroom when he heard a sound in the bathroom.
Pistorius said he'd been a victim of violence and burglary in the past, and realized with terror that contractors who worked at the house had left ladders outside.
Fearing someone had entered the home through the open bathroom window, moving in the dark on the stumps of his amputated legs, Pistorius grabbed his pistol from under the bed and yelled at the intruder to get out.
"I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eye on the bathroom entrance," Pistorius said in his statement. "Everything was pitch-dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light."
"When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name," he said.
He said he threw open the balcony door and screamed for help, put on his prosthetic legs and tried to kick in the door to the separate room inside the bathroom containing the toilet. Then, he said, he picked up a cricket bat, smashing panels out of the door before finding a key and unlocking it.
"Reeva was slumped over but alive," he said.
Pistorius said he called for help and was told to take her to the hospital himself.
He carried her downstairs and tried to help but, but she died.
"I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved," he said.
But he said he did not mean to kill her, and protested the charges against him.
"I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder because I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," Pistorius said in the statement.
"We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier," he said."I loved her and I know she felt the same way."
A premeditated murder?
Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture.
They rejected Pistorius' claim that he mistook her for a burglar, saying it would make no sense for an intruder to hide behind a locked bathroom door.
Instead, they say Pistorius armed himself, attached his prosthetic legs and walked 7 meters (23 feet) to shoot Steenkamp through a bathroom door after a heated argument.
Defense attorney Barry Roux questioned the state's argument, asking how prosecutors would know Pistorius had put on his prosthetic legs and walked to the bathroom before shooting his girlfriend.
Police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors, and residents had "heard things earlier," police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said.
Authorities said there had been "previous incidents" at the home, including "allegations of a domestic nature," but did not provide details.
Detectives are investigating the blood-stained cricket bat found in the home, Johannesburg's City Press newspaper reported. They are trying to determine whether it was used to attack Steenkamp, if she used the bat in self-defense, or if Pistorius used it to try to break down the bathroom door, the newspaper said.
Final farewells for Steenkamp
As the drama in court unfolded, friends and family mourned Steenkamp at a private funeral in her hometown of Port Elizabeth.
"There's a space missing inside all the people she knew that can't be filled again," her brother Adam Steenkamp told reporters outside.
Steenkamp was a law school graduate whose modeling career was on the rise. She landed the cover of FHM magazine and recently appeared on a reality TV show.
On Sunday, South Africans heard Steenkamp's voice one last time after her death, when the national broadcaster aired a pre-recorded episode of the show. The model talked about her exit from "Tropika Island of Treasure," on which local celebrities compete for prize money.
"I'm going to miss you all so much and I love you very, very much," she said, blowing a kiss to the camera.
Case rivets fans
The case of the global sports hero known as the "Blade Runner" has riveted stunned fans around the world.
As he walked into court in a blue shirt and gray suit, frenzied photographers snapped away, prompting the judge to demand they stop.
The scene was a far cry from the packed stadiums that erupted in applause whenever the double-amputee competed against men with legs.
On social media, sentiment appeared to mixed. "Oscar Pistorius is telling us rubbish," one Twitter user posted.
But others were more supportive after hearing Pistorius' story. "I for some reason believe Pistorius after reading his affidavit!!," another person tweeted.
Robyn Curnow reported from South Africa; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse also contributed to this report.
Pistorius' girlfriend was alive after shooting, official says
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Detectives are examining role of a blood-stained cricket bat, newspaper reports
- Runner Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder in model Reeva Steenkamp's death
- Steenkamp was still alive when Pistorius carried her downstairs, an official says
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Model Reeva Steenkamp was shot four times through the bathroom door at the home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, a South African official familiar with the case told CNN on Monday.
She was alive after she was shot and was carried downstairs by Pistorius, said the official, who was not authorized to release details to the media.
A blood-stained cricket bat has also emerged as key evidence in the case, according to the City Press newspaper of Johannesburg.
Detectives are working to determine whether the bat was used to attack Steenkamp or she used it in self-defense, the newspaper reported, citing a source with inside knowledge of the case. Detectives are also looking into the possibility that Pistorius used the bat to break down the bathroom door.
The details are the latest to emerge in the shooting death that has roiled the nation and left South Africans asking what went so terribly wrong inside the upscale Pretoria home of the man nicknamed "Blade Runner" for his lightning-fast prosthetic legs.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were indications the 29-year-old model intended to stay the night at the house: She had an overnight bag and her iPad.
Opinion: Pistorius case and the plague of violence against women
Authorities have released little about a possible motive in the Valentine's Day shooting, while local media have reported that Pistorius had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. South African authorities have stressed that the scenario did not come from them, and said there was no evidence of forced entry at the home.
Police have charged Pistorius with murder, and he will appear in court Tuesday for a bail hearing. South African prosecutors have said they intend to upgrade the charge to premeditated murder, but have not released further details.
Pistorius, 26, has rejected the murder allegation "in the strongest terms," his agent said in a statement.
Nike's bullet ad with Pistorius backfires
Burial service
The same day Pistorius returns to court, Steenkamp will be buried in a private service in her hometown of Port Elizabeth.
Her burial Tuesday will come two days after South Africa's national broadcaster aired a pre-recorded reality TV show featuring Steenkamp discussing her exit from "Tropika Island of Treasure," on which local celebrities compete for prize money.
The decision to air the program took "much deliberation," and "this week's episode will be dedicated to Reeva's memory," said Samantha Moon, the executive producer.
The shooting has stunned South Africa, where Pistorius is a national hero as the first disabled athlete to compete in the able-bodied Olympic Games. He competed in the London Games as well as winning two gold medals in the Paralympic Games.
Headlines about the case have dominated in the days since Pistorius was arrested, though tight-lipped authorities have revealed little about what, if anything, the track star has said.
Oscar Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp in January 2013.
Questions swirl
Reports say Pistorius and Steenkamp became an item around November and were popular in South African social circles.
The night before the shooting, Steenkamp appeared to be looking forward to Valentine's Day.
"What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?" she asked her Twitter followers the day before. "Get excited."
Steenkamp was found in a pool of blood at Pistorius' home Thursday morning. Neighbors alerted authorities to the early morning shooting, saying they had "heard things earlier," police spokeswoman Denise Beukes has said. She did not clarify what the neighbors reported they heard.
Authorities also have not said whether Pistorius called for help.
Pictures of his walk to a police car, his head covered by a sweatshirt, have flashed repeatedly across television screens.
On Sunday, Pistorius canceled his appearances in five upcoming races.
The move is meant to help Pistorius focus on the legal proceedings and "help and support all those involved as they try to come to terms with this very difficult and distressing situation," said Peet Van Zyl of Pistorius' management company, In Site Athlete Management.
CNN's Robyn Curnow reported from South Africa; Chelsea J. Carter and Faith Karimi reported from Atlanta.
Pope delivers one of his final messages to huge crowd
Labels: LifestyleBy Hada Messia and Josh Levs, CNN
updated 9:15 AM EST, Sun February 17, 2013
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to lead the Angelus prayer at the Vatican on Sunday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- It's the pope's second-to-last Angelus prayer as pontiff
- Pope Benedict XVI thanks his flock for prayers and support
- He discusses "decisive moments of our lives"
- Cardinals may meet before March 15
(CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI led tens of thousands in a prayer for strength Sunday and thanked followers for their support during his second-to-last Angelus prayer as pontiff.
"Today we contemplate Christ in the desert, fasting, praying, and being tempted," the pope said to an unusually large crowd at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.
"As we begin our Lenten journey, we join him and we ask him to give us strength to fight our weaknesses. Let me also thank you for the prayers and support you have shown me in these days. May God bless all of you!"
Benedict, 85, shocked millions across the world last week when he announced his intention to stand down at the end of the month, citing the frailty of old age.
The decision makes him the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.
Referring Sunday to a Bible passage, the pope said, "During the decisive moments of our lives, and in fact at every moment, we are in front of a crossroads: Do we want to follow the I or God? The individual interest or the true good, that which really is the good?"
The crowd appeared to have about 100,000 people
He also tweeted a message to followers worldwide, calling on them to "rediscover faith" as a foundation.
Cardinals may meet before March 15 to choose the next pope if they are all in Rome, a Vatican spokesman said Saturday. The conclave will bring together the 117 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.
Internet rules: More cats. LESS CAPS
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Yes, there ARE some rules to the Internet, though, for now they're mainly an inside joke
- Some rules based on pop culture, some have become Web memes
- Other rules ominously quote Anonymous
- Is there a need for rules on the vast and wild Web? Depends on where you stand
Editor's note: In the gallery above, we've selected a handful of our favorite Internet rules, or truths. (You might recognize a few.) What are some of yours? Tell us in the comments. We'll feature some of the best on CNN.
(CNN) -- Hello!
Welcome to the Internet. It's a big place, so let me show you around.
You're approaching Oversharing Pass, where residents routinely post too much information. The Facebook Gorge and Twitter Triangle are particularly nefarious time-sucks. Restraint is advised.
Up ahead is Hyperbole Junction, which is the Worst. Spot. Ever. We recommend that you maintain an even keel and stay to the center; the extreme left and right can be dangerous.
And over there is the infamous Lair of Sociopaths, the home of trolls and loners who mercilessly mock everyone who enters their territory. Watch your step: They may trip you up and you'll fall into the Chasm of Lulz.
Our world isn't all dangerous, of course. You may visit Squee City, where images of cute cats and laughing babies fill the landscape. You'll also meet countless kind strangers, hilarious raconteurs and hard-working fact-checkers. They make it all worthwhile.
Hmm. Maybe it would be easier if you had a guide -- you know, some rules to help you find your way.
What, you didn't know there are rules of the Internet?
Of course there are rules. How do you think we maintain order around here?
A parody of rules
That's a joke.
But there really are some rules of the Internet -- even if they, too, began as kind of a joke.
According to the site KnowYourMeme.com, the Rules began around 2006 as a guide for the Internet collective Anonymous and emerged on the old Encyclopedia Dramatica, a bawdy meme catalog. Soon a version emerged on 4chan, an online bulletin board where most users post anonymously, says Jamie Cohen, director of web/digital media at Hofstra University's School of Communication.
"Chris Poole (4chan's founder) kind of designed it, kind of like a Netiquette rules," he says, describing the unspoken code of conduct that lubricates Internet discourse. (Poole has attributed the rules to Gaia Online, a role-playing community.)
But the rules of the Internet deliberately mocked many of those conventions. The self-reflexive parody fit perfectly with its community's attitude, points out Anthony Rotolo, a professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies.
"These jokes are meant to comment on something happening in the world," he says. "Later they get accepted as truisms or become a meme."
The absurdity has been reflected even in the supposed number of rules. Though the best-known first version claimed there were 50 rules, only 18 were listed. Number 1 was initially "Do not talk about Rules 2-33"; no Rules 2-33 were on the list.
The sarcastic attitude was reinforced by the kicker found on Encyclopedia Dramatica. It was a parody of Wikipedia's stub language: "This article is crap. You can help by completely re-writing it."
'Fight Club' and Monty Python
Very quickly, the lists started multiplying and expanding, liberally borrowing from comedy, Web culture and math-science tropes. On one list, a few were designated by complex numbers and mathematical symbols. Some were observations; others were directives.
Some have traced the Internet rules to Chris Poole, the founder of 4chan.
Two rules were taken from "Fight Club": "You do not talk about 4chan (or "/b/," 4chan's random, free-wheeling bulletin board) and "You DO NOT talk about 4chan." One version of Rule 6 stated "There is no Rule 6," which is from a Monty Python sketch. Rule 42, "Always bring a towel," was drawn from Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series. (If you have to ask, read the books.) "Profit," Rule 49, came from "South Park."
Other rules went the reverse direction and became part of mainstream culture. Rule 34 -- "If it exists, there is porn of it" -- is likely the most famous. But there's also "Pics or it didn't happen" (Rule 30), "For every given male character, there is a female version of that character; conversely for every given female character, there is a male version of that character" (Rule 63) and, of course, the corollary to Rule 34 -- "If no porn of it exists at the moment, it will be made" (Rule 35).
Most retained a sense of humor, riffing off established rules and occasionally ending with a giggly "No exceptions."
But a handful were, and remain, as serious as a judge -- notably the three directly about Anonymous (commonly Rules 3-5):
- We are Anonymous.
- We are legion.
- We do not forgive, we do not forget.
The overall Internet rules may have started as a joke, but such ominous language from Anonymous speaks to some of the paradoxes of the Web:
Rules? Why do we need some stinkin' rules?
After all, rules can be helpful -- or divisive. They can create community -- or subvert it.
Even Anonymous, the activist group itself, cuts both ways, says Rotolo. When it hacked the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, many people cheered. But when it goes after less unpopular targets, some cry vigilantism.
Cohen says that the rules themselves try to have it both ways. They're funny until someone gets hurt.
They "play more of a game type of role. They can be bent or broken or cheated or moved around, as you would in any game that has no physical reaction," he says. "That doesn't take into account ever the result of real people being affected by this -- such as teenagers, children, anybody who's seeing things that they shouldn't."
He adds, "There's a lot of rules in there that work for (the creators) more than anyone else. Until they become victims of their own thing, they don't know how powerful the rules are."
Evolving from the Wild West
Of course, the Internet isn't that old, and we're still in its Wild West era in many ways. As the technology evolves from a handful of hackers on Usenet bulletin boards to billions of users on officially sponsored sites, the customs -- the rules -- of the Web will evolve with it.
But we're not talking about the kinds of changes that your family makes to the rules of Monopoly (no, Free Parking is NOT for the pool of money acquired via Chance and Community Chest). We're talking something more expansive: All the established customs of our carbon-based life forms, making way for the instantaneous and virtual modes of silicon-based electronics.
Who knows what new rules may be written?
"When you're in the midst of social change, it's impossible to determine where it's going," says Peter S. Vogel, a former programmer who's now a Dallas-based attorney. "And I think we are in the greatest social change in the history of humans, because there are no boundaries of geography or time."
We haven't even sorted out what happens when the differences in local culture meet global technology. Bruce Umbaugh, a philosophy professor at Webster University in St. Louis who teaches a course on philosophy and technology, argues that not all parts of the world are as tolerant or open-minded as Western democracies.
There's a lot of rules in there that work for (the creators) more than anyone else.
Jamie Cohen, Hofstra University
"There are a lot of other places in the world that are actively using the technology of the Internet to control the free communication among citizens, and to identify critics of the government and hurt them," he says. "We need to be mindful in what we advocate from our perspective that the tools that are implemented on the Net are tools for the global Net."
In other words, citizens of other countries already face actual, enforceable rules -- unlike the folkways established by Web users in the West. Witness the frictions of the Arab Spring, or the restrictions of societies such as North Korea.
It's the kind of perspective that provides a different context for the issues raised by a libertarian, anything-goes Internet. It's hard enough to stop "Star Wars" comment boards from devolving into flamebaiting, meme-generating files of NSFW Yodas.
So for now, we're still making our way through the Series of Tubes, and nobody knows where the boundaries lie. We joke, we grimace and we marvel at the creativity of the hive mind. The Internet is a big place, and countless cultures have set up residence. Eventually, what is now humor may lose its zing; what are now customs may become laws.
Will the rules ever become The Rules? Maybe some future generation will figure out the true guideposts of Internet life, and the singularity will be upon us.
Nah. It'll never happen.
What did we miss? Share your rules for the internet below in the comments. We'll feature some of the best on CNN.
Chicago's new Public Enemy No. 1
Labels: LifestyleBy Mariano Castillo, CNN
updated 9:41 AM EST, Fri February 15, 2013
Drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera is seen at a Mexican maximum security prison before he escaped in 2001.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Chicago Crime Commission names a new Public Enemy No. 1
- Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is the most wanted man
- He is in hiding in Mexico but is blamed for the majority of narcotics in Chicago
(CNN) -- The Chicago Crime Commission named a new Public Enemy No. 1 on Thursday, a designation originally crafted for Al Capone. The new holder of this dubious distinction, however, is not American nor believed to be in the United States. He is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the infamous Mexican drug lord who is Chicago's most wanted because his Sinaloa cartel supplies a majority of the narcotics in the city.
Not since Capone "has any criminal deserved this title more than Joaquin Guzman," commission President J.R. Davis said in a news release. "Guzman is the major supplier of narcotics to Chicago. His agents are working in the Chicago area importing vast quantities of drugs for sale throughout the Chicago region and collecting and sending to Mexico tens of millions of dollars in drug money."
Daughter of accused drug lord deported to Mexico
Guzman is the boss of the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking operations.
His nickname, which means "shorty," matches his 5-foot-6-inch frame, though he has climbed to great heights in the drug smuggling business. Forbes magazine has estimated that "El Chapo" is worth $1 billion.
The U.S. Treasury Department has declared him the most influential trafficker in the world, and Mexican authorities have been on his tail since his 2001 escape from a Mexican prison in a laundry cart.
Chicago is among the major destinations for the cartel's illegal drugs.
"While Chicago is 1,500 miles from Mexico, the Sinaloa drug cartel is so deeply embedded in the city that local and federal law enforcement are forced to operate as if they are on the border," said Jack Riley, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's office in the city.
The DEA is heading up a new strike force focusing on what Riley calls "choke points": where the drugs and money change hands between the cartel operatives and Chicago gangs. Language and cultural barriers at that juncture make the criminal groups more vulnerable, he said in a statement.
Officials hope this strategy weakens the cartel and creates leads that may bring the capture of Guzman, who is in hiding in Mexico.
"If I pitted Chicago's traditional organized crime group against Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel, it wouldn't be a fight," Riley said. "In my opinion, Guzman is the new Al Capone of Chicago. His ability to corrupt and enforce his sanctions with his endless supply of revenue is more powerful than Chicago's Italian organized crime gang."
Rape case in Mexican resort city puts violence back in the spotlight
CNN's Shawn Nottinghman and Rene Hernandez contributed to this report.
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