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U.S. court rules against Obamacare
6/30/2014 12:04:11 PM
- NEW: White House: the ruling jeopardizes the health of female workers
- Conservative justices rule 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby
- The ruling could serve as template for future challenges to Obamacare
- Issue was whether businesses can opt out of mandate on religious grounds
Washington (CNN) -- Some corporations have religious rights, a deeply divided Supreme Court decided Monday in ruling that certain for-profit companies cannot be required to pay for specific types of contraceptives for their employees.
The 5-4 decision based on ideological lines ended the high court's term with a legal and political setback for a controversial part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.
It also set off a frenzied partisan debate that will continue through the November congressional elections and beyond over religious and reproductive rights.
All five conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents ruled in favor of closely held for-profit businesses -- those with at least 50% of stock held by five or fewer people, such as family-owned businesses -- in which the owners have clear religious beliefs.
Contraceptives or abortion?
Both corporations -- Conestoga Wood Specialties of Pennsylvania and Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based arts-and-crafts retail giant -- emphasize their conscientious desire to operate in harmony with biblical principles while competing in a secular marketplace.
They argued the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, violates the First Amendment and other federal laws protecting religious freedom because it requires them to provide coverage for contraceptives like the "morning-after pill," which the companies consider tantamount to abortion.
"The companies in the cases before us are closely held corporations, each owned and controlled by members of a single family, and no one has disputed the sincerity of their religious beliefs," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.
The four liberal justices appointed by Democratic presidents, including the high court's three women, opposed the ruling as a possible gateway to further religious-based challenges that limit individual choice and rights.
What the decision means
"Into a minefield"
In dissent Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court had "ventured into a minefield," adding it would disadvantage those employees "who do not share their employer's religious beliefs."
The practical result will likely be an administrative fix by the Obama administration that subsidizes the contraceptives at issue, said CNN political analyst Gloria Borger.
"So in terms of a real gap in medical coverage for these women, should they want it, I think what you are going to see is the government sort of picking up where Hobby Lobby would leave off," Borger said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest signaled as much, telling reporters the Obama administration will work with Congress to ensure women affected by the ruling will continue to have coverage for contraceptives.
Obama believes the decision "jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies," Earnest said.
The decision comes two years after the justices narrowly preserved the health care reforms known as Obamacare and its key funding provision in another politically charged ruling.
This time, the issue revolved around a 1994 federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which Alito's opinion said prevents the government from "taking any action that substantially burdens the exercise of religion unless that action constitutes the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest."
Alito wrote that the court's conservative majority rejected the argument by the Department of Health and Human Services that "the owners of the companies forfeited all RFRA protection when they decided to organize their businesses as corporations rather than sole proprietorships or general partnerships."
"The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs," he wrote.
Opinion: It's GOP vs. Democrats
Complex mix
Monday's case presented a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and constitutional concerns-- over such hot-button issues as faith, abortion, corporate power, executive agency discretion, and congressional intent.
The political stakes were large, especially for the future effectiveness of the health law itself, which marked its fourth anniversary this spring.
The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, the federal Obamacare website, was another political flashpoint along with other issues that many Republicans say proves the law is unworkable.
They have made Obamacare a key campaign issue in their fight to take control of the Senate while retaining their House majority.
"Today's decision is a victory for religious freedom and another defeat for an administration that has repeatedly crossed constitutional lines in pursuit of" big government, said House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. "The President's health care law remains an unworkable mess and a drag on our economy."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who heads the Democratic National Committee, framed the ruling as a campaign issue for November.
"It is no surprise that Republicans have sided against women on this issue as they have consistently opposed a woman's right to make her own health care decisions," she said, calling the ruling a "dangerous precedent."
Barbara Green, a founder of Hobby Lobby, called the ruling "a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith."
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the decision "jeopardizes women's access to essential health care," adding that "your boss should never be able to make your health care decisions for you."
Read the ruling (.PDF)
Contraception mandate
The section of law in dispute requires some for-profit employers to offer insurance benefits for birth control and other reproductive health services without a co-pay.
A number of companies equate some of the covered drugs, such as the so-called morning-after pill, as causing abortion.
The specific question presented was whether these companies can refuse, on the sincere claim it would violate their owners' long-established moral beliefs.
Supporters of the law fear the high court setback on the contraception mandate now will lead to other healthcare challenges on religion grounds, such as do-not-resuscitate orders and vaccine coverage.
More broadly, many worry giving corporations religious freedom rights could affect laws on employment, safety, and civil rights.
The abortion link
The Hahn family, owners of Conestoga, and the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, said some of the mandated contraception prevent human embryos from being implanted in a woman's womb, which the plaintiffs equate with abortion.
That includes Plan B contraception, which some have called the "morning after" pill, and intrauterine devices or IUDs used by an estimated 2 million American women.
Monday's decision comes two years after the justices allowed the law's "individual mandate" to go into effect.
That provision requires most Americans to get health insurance or pay a financial penalty. It is seen as the key funding mechanism to ensure near-universal health coverage.
Under the Affordable Care Act, financial penalties of up to $100 per day, per employee can be levied on firms that refuse to provide comprehensive health coverage. Hobby Lobby, which has about 13,000 workers, estimates the penalty could cost it $475 million a year.
The church-state issue now in the spotlight involves rules negotiated between the Obama administration and various outside groups. Under the changes, churches and houses of worship are completely exempt from the contraception mandate.
Other nonprofit, religiously affiliated groups, such as church-run hospitals, parochial schools and charities must either offer coverage or have a third-party insurer provide separate benefits without the employer's direct involvement. Lawsuits in those cases are pending in several federal appeals courts.
The cases are Burwell (Sebelius) v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (13-354); and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell (Sebelius) (13-356).
A Mennonite family's fight over Obamacare reaches Supreme Court
5 questions: Supreme Court and Obamacare on contraception
Opinion: How Obamacare can reduce abortions
Hobby Lobby: The beliefs behind the battle
CNN's Josh Levs and Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.
Pakistan military takes on militants
6/30/2014 9:18:41 AM
- Troops kill at least 15 militants in North Waziristan's capital, the military says
- More than 450,000 people have fled area since the campaign began on June 15
- 376 insurgents have been killed in 16 days of fighting, Pakistan's army says
- The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets
(CNN) -- Pakistani troops launched a ground offensive against militants in the capital of the country's North Waziristan area Monday, starting a new phase of a 16-day fight that has seen more than 450,000 people flee the area.
Troops killed at least 15 militants as the army raided homes in the area's capital, Miranshah, the country's military said.
This is the first major ground offensive in Miranshah since Pakistan began what was primarily an airstrike campaign against anti-government fighters in North Waziristan and other restive parts of Pakistan's loosely governed tribal areas.
The offensive, which started on June 15, is meant to "finish off" militants in the area near the Afghanistan border "once and for all," Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told CNN this month. The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets.
The tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan are a base for anti-government militants, including those with the Islamist Haqqani movement.
More than 376 militants have been killed and 61 suspected militant hideouts have been destroyed in the campaign, the army said. Three Pakistani troops were injured in Monday's raids in Miranshah, the army said.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to camps in Pakistan's nearby Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province since the campaign began, the country's National Disaster Management Authority said.
About 466,000 people, including 197,013 children, have registered at checkpoints, the agency said.
Rations, including food and cooking oil, are being given to the civilians at the camps, the army said.
50 killed in raids on Nigerian villages
6/30/2014 11:45:34 AM
- The raids target four villages in Borno state
- Boko Haram Islamists are suspected in the attacks on predominantly Christian areas
- More than 300 structures, including five churches, have been destroyed
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- A series of Boko Haram raids on four villages in northeast Nigeria's Borno state has killed more than 50 people and destroyed more than 300 structures, including five churches, a government official said.
On Sunday, gunmen on motorcycles stormed the Christian villages of Kwada, Ngurojina, Karagau and Kautikari near Chibok, the scene of the April 14 abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, opening fire on residents and hurling explosives into homes and churches.
Kwada was the worst affected. There, the attackers razed the village and its five churches during the attacks, which lasted five hours.
"We lost 54 people in the Sunday attacks on the four villages carried out by Boko Haram insurgents, who also destroyed over 300 homes," a senior Borno state government official said.
The official asked not to be named because he was not authorized to give a death toll.
"In Kwada, 36 bodies were recovered, making it the worst hit," the official said.
In the bush around the villages, which lie within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of Chibok, search teams looked for bodies late Sunday through Monday.
The gunmen pursued fleeing residents into the bush and shot them dead, according to residents.
A community leader in Chibok, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from Boko Haram, said 47 bodies were recovered by Monday morning and search teams were still combing the bush for more.
On Sunday, 30 bodies were recovered, according to a Christian priest in Chibok.
Barnabas Tanko, a member of a local defense group in Kwada, said the attackers faced resistance in Kautikari, where six of them were killed.
Residents said a slow military response was responsible for the high death toll and massive destruction to homes as the attackers wreaked havoc for five hours before a military jet arrived.
The attacks started around 8 a.m. local time and continued until 1 p.m. without military intervention, Tanko said.
When they saw the fighter jet, the attackers disappeared into the bush, Tanko said.
A Nigerian government spokesman said the military and air force went to the area, though they were "a bit late."
Residents dismissed the claim as untrue.
READ: Officials: At least 20 women kidnapped in Nigeria; Boko Haram suspected
READ: Kidnapped ship's captain told ransoms may be funneled to Boko Haram
Pistorius 'not mentally ill' during killing
6/30/2014 5:36:42 AM
- A panel of doctors finds Olympian Oscar Pistorius mentally fit to stand trial
- Pistorius is accused of deliberately shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
- He says he shot Steenkamp accidentally in his bathroom, mistaking her for an intruder
- The trial was halted in May after the judge ordered Pistorius to undergo psychiatric tests
(CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius was not mentally incapacitated when he shot his girlfriend to death, a psychiatric assessment of the athlete has found.
The results of the assessment were revealed in court Monday when the Olympic sprinter's trial resumed after a monthlong break for the evaluation.
According to the findings by an independent panel of doctors, Pistorius did not suffer from a mental defect or mental illness at the "time of the commission of the offense that would have rendered him criminally not responsible of the offenses charged."
The report added that "Mr. Pistorius was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act."
Had the doctors deemed Pistorius mentally incapacitated during the shooting, the trial would have immediately ended in a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.
Pistorius, 27, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, 29-year-old model and law school graduate Reeva Steenkamp, in his home in February 2013.
Pistorius admits shooting Steenkamp through a closed door, killing her, but has told the court in Pretoria, South Africa, that he mistook her for an intruder. He has pleaded not guilty.
The state says Pistorius argued with Steenkamp before killing her.
On May 20, trial Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered Pistorius to report for a psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he was criminally responsible for his actions.
The prosecution and defense said they accepted the report's findings. The defense has resumed its case.
Psychiatrist's testimony
Pistorius' psychiatric testing last month was triggered by the testimony of a psychiatrist who said the sprinter has suffered from generalized anxiety disorder since he was an infant, stemming partly from the amputation his lower legs.
The disorder meant Pistorius had "excessive" concerns about security and felt threatened even when, objectively, he was not, Dr. Merryll Vorster testified on May 12.
After Vorster's testimony, prosecutor Gerrie Nel filed a motion asking the judge to require psychiatric tests, arguing that if there was any chance the defendant's mental health was an issue, the court must "err on the side of caution."
Nel's extremely unusual move was essentially an effort to maneuver the court into considering an insanity or "capacity" defense even though the athlete's legal team is not mounting one, CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps said.
Phelps said Nel appeared to be placing a high-stakes bet that experts would disagree with Vorster's evidence.
Pistorius' lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux, argued against the tests, describing Nel's reading of the law as "unfortunate."
But Masipa ordered the evaluation, saying the defense's act of putting a psychiatrist on the stand had raised the question of the athlete's mental health. Testing began on May 26.
Light and balance
When court resumed Monday, the defense called Pistorius' orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gerald Versfeld as a witness.
Versfeld described the limitations of Pistorius' mobility, based on his examination of the athlete and Pistorius' own description.
In his cross-examination, Nel focused on the effect of light on Pistorius' balance.
In his affidavit, Pistorius said he had rushed to the bathroom on stumps with a pistol after hearing a noise. He said he had been too scared to turn the lights on. "It was pitch dark in the bedroom, and I thought Reeva was in bed."
Nel suggested to Versfeld that it would have been "highly unlikely" that Pistorius would have been able to walk on his stumps without falling if it had been pitch black in the bedroom, given the objects in it.
"If it was indeed pitch dark, that is so," Versfeld replied.
Roux referred to Pistorius' evidence that there had been slight illumination.
"The moment there is light available, he will be able to use his vision to balance," Versfeld said, agreeing that if Pistorius had known the objects in his room, that would also have helped protect him from falling.
Sound of screams
Acoustic engineer Ivan Lin was the second witness to take the stand Monday.
He told court that "typically," one can differentiate between male and female screams, but not without exception.
Previous witnesses have described hearing a woman's screams between shots the night Steenkamp died, but the defense has argued that Pistorius sounds "like a woman screaming" when he's anxious.
Lin said it would be "impossible" to replicate the "highly complex sound transmission" from Pistorius' house the night he killed Steenkamp. He explained how different variables could affect the transmission.
Verdict
At the trial's conclusion, Masipa will have to decide whether Pistorius genuinely made a mistake or killed Steenkamp intentionally.
If she does not believe the athlete thought there was an intruder, she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to at least 15 years in prison and possibly life. South Africa does not have the death penalty.
If Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know Steenkamp was the person he was shooting at, she could find him guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge than murder, or acquit him, according to CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps.
A verdict of culpable homicide would leave the sentence at Masipa's discretion.
Read: 13 things to know as case resumes
Read more: Judge sends Pistorius for psychiatric tests
Read: Judge lays down rules for Pistorius psychiatric tests
Read: Is Oscar Pistorius crazy? State wants tests
Read: What life's like in a South African prison
Read: Case highlights South African gun culture
Read: Oscar Pistorius' affidavit to court in full
Entertainer Rolf Harris guilty of abuse
6/30/2014 12:01:52 PM
- Rolf Harris is found guilty in a London court of 12 charges of sexual abuse
- 84-year-old musician and artist painted portrait of Queen for monarch's 80th birthday in 2006
- Offenses Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970
- Harris charged under Operation Yewtree investigating abuse allegations by public figures
London (CNN) -- Australian children's entertainer Rolf Harris, 84, was found guilty Monday in a London court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old.
The musician and artist, who painted a portrait of the Queen for the monarch's 80th birthday in 2006, had been charged under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures, including the late TV entertainer Jimmy Savile.
The offenses that Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970. He was released on bail until Friday, when he will be sentenced; the judge, Justice Sweeney, warned him he could face jail, the Press Association reported.
Dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer, including several in Australia, alerted police during the trial, PA added.
Speaking outside Southwark Crown Court after the verdict, Detective Mick Orchard told reporters: "Rolf Harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing, forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public.
"He committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law. I want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery. I hope today's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives.
"Today's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to, and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved."
Harris was once one of Britain's best-loved children's entertainers. He had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys." He had a decades-long television career at the BBC and received several honors, including the Order of the British Empire.
N. Korea to South: End hostilities
6/30/2014 2:00:11 AM
- NEW: The South Korean Defense Ministry declines to comment on the proposal
- North Korea calls for an end to hostilities starting Friday
- But it makes a number of requests unlikely to sit well with South Korea
- They include ceasing intrusions at sea and canceling joint drills with the U.S.
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea on Monday proposed that "all hostile military activities" with South Korea "come to a complete halt" this week, but it attached a number of conditions that Seoul is likely to reject.
The North's highest military body, the National Defense Commission, issued a statement calling for South Korea to halt intrusions at sea and firing drills near islands close to the two countries' disputed maritime border.
The commission also said it wanted South Korea to stop "attracting" U.S. military hardware, including strategic bombers and a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, into the region.
And it asked that South Korea cancel its planned joint military drills with the United States in August.
Seoul and Washington have dismissed previous demands from North Korea for joint U.S.-South Korean drills to be called off.
North Korea said that ending the hostilities, starting Friday, would help improve the atmosphere between the two sides ahead of "exchanges and contacts that are scheduled to actively happen between North and South."
The South Korean Defense Ministry declined to comment on the North Korean statement Monday.
Tensions have flared periodically between the two Koreas in recent months, notably along their maritime boundary, known as the Northern Limit Line.
In late March, the two sides both fired hundreds of shells across their western sea border.
Last month, the South Korean Navy fired warning shots after three North Korean patrol boats crossed the line. And a few days later, North Korea fired at least two shells near a South Korean patrol boat in the Yellow Sea.
North Korea has also carried out a series of missile and rocket launches into the sea, drawing criticism from South Korea, the United States and the United Nations.
North and South Korea remain technically at war after the Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, in 1953.
READ: North Korea preparing to prosecute 2 American tourists
READ: North Korea: Film is 'undisguised terrorism'
READ: South Korean military captures soldier suspected of killing 5
CNN's K.J. Kwon reported from Seoul; Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong
Childhood vaccines are safe. Seriously.
6/30/2014 11:43:33 PM
- Review of more than 20,000 studies finds no evidence linking vaccines, autism
- Vaccines may be greatest public health achievement of the 20th century, doctors say
- Physicians should educate parents about the importance of vaccines
(CNN) -- Children should get vaccinated against preventable and potentially deadly diseases. Period.
That's what a review of more than 20,000 scientific studies on childhood vaccines concludes this week. The review appears in the latest edition of the medical journal Pediatrics.
The evidence strongly suggests that side effects from vaccines are incredibly rare, the study authors said. They found no ties between vaccines and the rising number of children with autism, as a small but vocal group of anti-vaccine activists, including actors Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carey, have said.
Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud'
The review also found no link between vaccines and childhood leukemia, something that was suggested in earlier studies.
The researchers found that some vaccines did cause a few adverse effects but it was only for a tiny fraction of the population.
There was evidence that the meningococcal vaccine can lead to anaphylaxis -- a severe, whole-body allergic reaction -- in children allergic to ingredients in the vaccine. A study of the polio vaccine found that children with atopic dermatitis and a family history of allergies did have a higher chance of developing sensitivity to food allergens. Other studies found the MMR vaccine was linked to seizures.
"Vaccines, like any other medication, aren't 100% risk free," said Dr. Ari Brown an Austin, Texas-based pediatrician and author of the popular book "Baby 411," who was not involved with the study.
"You have a sore arm, redness at the injection site. Those are the things we see commonly. Fortunately the serious adverse effects is extremely rare."
Brown said parents ask her how safe vaccines are all the time. Some patients also ask if they should delay or stagger the vaccinations. She counsels against that practice. She said the younger the child, the more danger these diseases present.
"By delaying the vaccines you're putting your child at risk," Brown said.
Study: Don't delay measles vaccine
The positive effects of vaccines dramatically outweigh the bad, experts said.
An editorial accompanying the study calls vaccines "one of the most successful public health achievements of the 20th century."
Because of vaccines, many diseases that plagued children for centuries have all but been eliminated.
"There were good reasons that these diseases were targeted for vaccine development since they are so life-threatening," said Dr. Carrie Byington, vice-chair for research in the University of Utah's pediatrics department, and the new chair for the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases.
Millions of Americans live longer on average because of the protection vaccines provide. Life expectancy has gone up in the United States by more than 30 years. Infant mortality decreased from 100 deaths per 1000 to 7 between the 1900s and 2000.
A vaccine for smallpox led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to declare the disease eradicated in 1978. Prior to a vaccination for diphtheria, it was one of the most common causes of illness and death among children. Now it is rarely reported in the United States.
Yet research shows there is still doubt among some medical residents about the effectiveness of vaccinations.
"That is particularly concerning for me," Byington said. "Young residents may be in the same position as young parents who have trained at a time, or lived at a time, when these diseases were extremely rare, and they may not have ever seen how serious a vaccine-preventable infection can be."
An increasing number of parents over the years have opted out of getting their children vaccinated. And that may be having a negative impact on the community's health.
A study found that large clusters of children who had not been vaccinated were close to the large clusters of whooping cough cases in the 2010 California epidemic. While California typically has higher vaccination rates than the rest of the country, that state is dealing with yet another whooping cough epidemic.
This spring also saw an 18-year high number of measles cases in the United States. The largest outbreak was in Ohio where the virus spread quickly among the Amish, who are mostly unvaccinated. This outbreak was a real surprise to health officials who thought that the infectious disease was thought to have been eliminated from the United States in 2000.
The editorial accompanying this latest study suggests doctors, who parents typically trust to tell the truth about medical information, need to use this study to speak with confidence about the importance of vaccinating children.
"Looking at all these mounds of data -- there is still no data that show an association that shows vaccine and autism," said Brown. "I would love it to close this chapter and move on. I don't think it will. But the more research, the more we learns about autism, the more we can reassure parents that there are no links here."
Opinion: The promise of vaccines
CNN's Nadia Kounang contributed to this story.
Why coming out is good for business
7/1/2014 4:47:48 AM
- Former CEO of BP looks at the ways companies can support their gay employees
- Making sure people feel comfortable coming out is good for business, he says
- John Browne resigned as CEO after a British newspaper group outed him as a gay man
Editor's note: John Browne was CEO of BP from 1995 until 2007. He resigned after a British newspaper group outed him as a gay man. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, a past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Galleries.The Glass Closet, was published last month. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.
(CNN) -- Over the course of my career at BP, from trainee to chief executive, I led two separate lives. The first one involved being the public face of one of the world's largest companies. The second was my private life as a gay man.
When I lied in a witness statement to protect my privacy, those two worlds collided, and I lost the career which had structured my entire professional life.
I wish I had been braver to come out earlier during my tenure as CEO of BP.
I regret it to this day.
I wrote The Glass Closet and set up GlassCloset.org to encourage others to avoid my mistakes, and to bring their whole selves to work.
That can only happen if leaders, and CEOs in particular, create a corporate environment in which people feel comfortable coming out.
John Browne
Here are six things they can do to smash the glass closet.
1. Follow the leader
Set a clear direction from the top. Businesses must proactively make LGBT inclusion part of the agenda of leaders, rather than delegating it to the human resources department or to a company network.
Leaders should be assessed against their ability to create a sustainably inclusive working environment. As I progressed through the ranks at BP, it would have been odd for a chief executive to devote resources to LGBT inclusion. Today, it is increasingly noticeable when they do not.
2. Be authentic
Ensure positive messages are accompanied by meaningful solutions. LGBT conferences, corporate networks and Pride sponsorship are important, but they are not enough, and seldom have a long-term impact in a company. It is the job of a CEO to initiate unremitting, uncompromising and sustainable action, with targets, measurement and sanctions. That is the test of a true leader.
3. Remember the hidden cost of hidden lives
Make an effective business case. LGBT inclusion is first and foremost a human imperative. But it is also good for businesses, which suffer when employees are preoccupied by something other than their work. Peter Sands, the CEO of Standard Chartered, told me that he worries about the hidden costs of hidden lives. He is right to worry. People are happier, more productive, and make more money for their company when they can be themselves.
4. Straight allies matter
Harness the support of the straight majority. Most people are straight, and only they can create a safe space for people to come out.
By creating an environment of acceptance, understanding and inclusion, the straight majority can ensure that coming out is not accompanied by the disastrous consequences which closeted employees fear.
That should begin by stamping out damaging 'micro-inequalities', such as the assumption that every man is married to a woman, or the practice of not asking gay people about their partners in case it makes them feel uncomfortable. Small changes in behavior can an enormous signal to someone grappling with a hidden life.
5. Celebrate role models
Company policies and behavioral change can create the right space for people to come out, but role models prove that it is possible and worthwhile.
That is why The Glass Closet is full of stories, and it is why I set up GlassCloset.org, where gay and straight people can share their stories of sexuality in the workplace.
If closeted employees can identify with someone who has been through the closet door and succeeded, then they are more likely to let go of the fears that hold them back. At BP, I did not have an openly gay role model, nor did I have the advantage of looking to another chief executive for precedent. Without a gay role model, I failed to be one for others.
6. Go global
Look beyond your hometown. 77 countries still outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults. Companies that are committed to LGBT diversity do not bend their policies, even in the most challenging environments.
IBM, for instance, does not allow its non-discrimination policies to be adjusted in any of the 170 countries in which it operates.
That sends a clear message to governments, who understand the importance of major international companies for their economies.
Companies cannot change the law, and LGBT employees in these countries must be mindful of the dangers they could face. But by creating a safe space for people to be open about their sexuality, wherever they are in the world, companies can help those countries to take a step in the right direction.
Read more: Love wins in gay couple's 40-year immigration fight
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Browne.
How ISIS is overshadowing al Qaeda
7/1/2014 3:12:48 AM
- The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has laid claim to leadership of the global Islamist movement
- In a challenge to the head of al Qaeda, ISIS calls on "all Muslims to pledge allegiance" to its leader
- In essence, the group is saying the colonial-era borders of the Middle East are no longer valid
- Analyst: Al Qaeda affiliates, other jihadists must now choose whether to back or reject ISIS
(CNN) -- In a bold declaration of its ambition, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has laid claim to leadership of the global Islamist movement, calling on Muslims worldwide to swear allegiance to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
By claiming such preeminence, ISIS is seeking to eclipse al Qaeda and its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in what analysts see as the most dramatic shift in militant jihadism since 9/11. But ISIS also makes the outlandish claims -- if its words are taken literally -- that it leads 1.5 billion Muslims and that the world, not just the deserts of Syria and Iraq, are its new stage.
What did ISIS say?
The declaration was made Sunday in a 34-minute audio message by ISIS spokesman and ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, who said that from now on, ISIS would simply be called the "Islamic State." That is much more than a change of name; it simultaneously strips away the geographical limits imposed by the previous name and underlines the movement's control of a wide swath of territory in Iraq and Syria. It even suggests that the group should exercise authority over Islam's holiest places.
In a direct challenge to al-Zawahiri, al-Shami said it is now "incumbent upon all Muslims to pledge allegiance to the Khalifah Ibrahim and support him."
Khalifah Ibrahim is the name now given to al-Baghdadi, a secretive figure never seen in ISIS' voluminous propaganda output. Al-Shami says that al-Baghdadi has accepted the pledge of allegiance offered by senior figures of the "Islamic State."
"Thus he is the imam and Khalifah of Muslims everywhere," al-Shami concluded with stunning brevity.
Why a caliphate matters
Al-Shami said that in the areas now controlled by the group, the legality of all states and organizations becomes null and void, an assertion that the colonial-era borders of the Middle East are no longer valid. Instead, they are replaced by a caliphate carved from ISIS' recent territorial gains.
A video released by the group Sunday underlined the point in graphic fashion, showing the destruction of a border crossing between al-Hasakah in Syria and the Iraqi province of Nineveh. ISIS also released a series of photographs purporting to show a parade through its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa in celebration of the declaration and of the Khalifah Ibrahim.
The restoration of the caliphate was the dream of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in establishing al Qaeda, but ISIS has seized more territory, and more cities, than any al Qaeda affiliate. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula briefly took control of a string of towns in southern Yemen early in 2012 but was driven out of them later that year.
ISIS' methods -- especially its habit of summary executions -- and its refusal to accept al-Zawahiri's authority have also led to a very public and bitter rupture with the parent organization. ISIS was disowned by al Qaeda in February after defying al-Zawahiri's demand that it cease operating in Syria in favor of another al Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al Nusra. Al Qaeda's General Command said that ISIS was "not a branch of the al Qaeda group ... does not have an organizational relationship with it, and al Qaeda is not responsible for their action."
But the group's successes have shifted the balance. In language that appears to taunt al Qaeda and al Nusra, al-Shami said Sunday: "They never recognized the Islamic State to begin with, although America, Britain and France acknowledge its existence. ... Should we consult those who have abandoned us? Those who have betrayed us? Those who have disowned us and incited against us?"
Different from al Qaeda
Charles Lister, a Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said the impact of the announcement "will be global as al Qaeda affiliates and independent jihadist groups must now definitively choose to support and join the Islamic State or to oppose it."
"While it is now inevitable that members and prominent supporters of al Qaeda and its affiliates will rapidly move to denounce al-Baghdadi and this announcement, it is the long-term implications that may prove more significant," Lister says.
Al Qaeda's declining potency in its Afghan-Pakistan heartland, the death of bin Laden and the group's fracturing into semiautonomous franchises have left a new generation of jihadists looking for a spiritual home -- and a field of combat. ISIS provides that, and it has a slick propaganda machine producing high-quality videos posted on social media.
But Charles Lister says: "Al Qaeda will retain considerable support, and once the dust has settled, we will very likely find ourselves in a dualistic position of having two competing international jihadist representatives: al Qaeda, with a now more locally focused and gradual approach to success, and the 'Islamic State,' with a hunger for rapid results and total hostility for competition."
Lister said ISIS has evolved as a tightly controlled group with "an almost obsessive level of bureaucracy, account-keeping, and centrally controlled but locally implemented military-political coordination." But unlike al Qaeda, it has also "developed an increasingly efficient model of governance, capable of simultaneously implementing harsh medieval justice and a whole range of modern social services."
To Aram Nerguizian, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the question is: "How can they create governance structures that don't completely chafe against the social fabric of these towns?"
ISIS has grown exponentially over the last four years, taking advantage of ungoverned space and violent Shia-Sunni sectarianism to win the attention and support of thousands of would-be jihadists. It has attracted hundreds and probably thousands of fighters from across the Arab world and Europe. Even so, its forces are spread across a huge area and would be vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the Iraqi military should it reorganize into an effective force. And ISIS depends on powerful Sunni tribes to the west and north of Baghdad as its hosts and partners. If they perceive its practices as too draconian or its caliphate as marginalizing them, the tolerance they have shown in the face of a common enemy -- the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki -- will soon evaporate.
What happens in Syria?
One of the biggest questions is how other groups in Syria respond. One smaller Syrian faction, Jeish al-Sahaba, has already declared its allegiance to the "Caliphate." At a local level, some al Nusra fighters pledged allegiance to ISIS before it declared the caliphate. "We unified with ISIS to stop bloodshed and spare our region and its countryside the danger of war and displacement," said al Nusra's leader in the eastern town of al Bokamal.
But other al Nusra elements clashed with ISIS in the town Monday and seem to be still working with other factions, even the relatively secular Free Syrian Army, in Deir Ezzor, a province where ISIS is strong. Most analysts foresee an inconsistent mix of competition and coexistence, even cooperation between the two groups, whose ideological roots are similar.
But many Muslims see the declaration of a caliphate as both apostasy and a ludicrous overreach by ISIS. The Syrian opposition council in Eastern Ghouta, an important area in the battle against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, last week attacked any notion that ISIS could form a state.
"ISIS must delete the world 'state' from the name of the faction and to be jihadi faction because ISIS does not have tangible or religious structure," the council said, in a statement obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army in eastern Syria, Omar Abu Leila, described the declaration of the caliphate as "unbelievable."
"There are millions of Syrians who are not with ISIS, so how can they speak about a caliphate in our land?" he said.
ISIS declares 'caliphate' stretching across Iraq and Syria
CNN's Raja Razek and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.
Petty attacks on Hillary won't matter
7/1/2014 3:12:14 AM
- Burns Strider says Republican attacks on the Clintons' wealth won't stick
- That's in contrast to Hillary's lifelong work championing the middle class, he says
- Strider: Her record should deflate any smoke-and-mirrors attack by the right wing
Editor's note: Burns Strider is senior adviser to Correct The Record and the executive vice president of American Bridge. He is the founder and principal of Eleison Group, a political consulting firm focused on faith and values. Strider served as senior adviser and director of faith outreach to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign for president. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- There has been a lot of talk by the right wing recently about the success of Hillary and Bill Clinton since they left the White House.
Republicans are denouncing her personal wealth. They're attacking someone for achieving the American Dream. They're upset that Bill Clinton is buying American-made watches, manufactured in Detroit, to give to his friends.
But here's the thing about these petty attacks: bottom line, that dog just won't hunt. Americans know it because they know the Clintons. We all know Hillary Clinton never stops looking to the future and never stops putting people first.
Opinion: It's about opportunity, stupid: Why Clinton's comments matter
It doesn't take much to see these attacks for what they are. Republicans are emphasizing the financial success of the Clintons to diminish Hillary Clinton's greatest strengths -- particularly her lifelong record fighting for working people and middle-class families. Republicans want us to think, somehow, that Hillary Clinton has not been fighting for all of us for the past four decades. We know better.
Hillary Clinton's entire being -- her lifetime history -- reflects her commitment to ensuring that the ability to get ahead should be determined by hard work, ambition and goals, not by circumstances. In the '70s, Hillary took her first job at the Children's Defense Fund to advocate for better education and health for children. She worked to expand health care in rural Arkansas, where it was not readily available to all.
In the '80s, Hillary co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and helped found Arkansas' first rape hotline.
In the '90s, Hillary helped create the State Children's Health Insurance Program and she helped expand Head Start for low-income working families and provide after-school opportunities for older children.
In the early 2000s, Hillary led the charge in the Senate for equal pay for equal work; she fought to expand health care for National Guard members and reservists; she secured funding for 9/11 first responders.
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton tirelessly engaged in diplomacy abroad in an effort to bring jobs to the United States.
That's four decades' worth of work on behalf of the American people -- a record that should deflate any smoke and mirrors attack by the right wing.
Yes, the Clintons have become financially successful -- and they've used their success to do even more good. Between 2000 and 2007 alone, the Clintons donated over $10 million to charity. Hillary Clinton has, on multiple occasions, raised more money for charity in one night than most people do in a lifetime.
While the right wing remains focused on making sure the top 1% of income earners can keep their Bush tax cuts, Hillary Clinton continues her work today to make sure that other people get the chance to live the American Dream that she has experienced.
Working hard, reaching for the stars, and then giving back are profoundly American values. The Clintons embody this in all that they do, and Republican attempts to distract from that don't even cut butter.
Americans know -- hands down -- that Hillary Clinton will continue looking to the future, fighting for the middle class, and putting first the lives of all Americans.
How Hillary Clinton flubbed the wealth question
Opinion: It's about opportunity, stupid: Why Clinton's comments matter
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Why children in CAR should count
7/1/2014 3:12:29 AM
- Mia Farrow is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador; she focuses on kids devastated by war
- She got the Presidential Medal of Honor for her work in the Central African Republic
- Nearly 700,000 people have been displaced by fighting there
- UNICEF is working on the ground, but it's running short on funding
Editor's note: Mia Farrow is an internationally renowned actress and a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. Farrow has a particular focus on children who have been devastated by armed conflict in countries across Africa. She received the Presidential Medal of Honor for her work in the Central African Republic in 2007. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Last year, on my third trip to the Central African Republic, I met Oumarou, a shy, soft-spoken boy who appeared to be far younger than the 13 years he said he was. He told me he had lived in a nearby village. He and his family had been asleep around dawn when strange men burst into their house. With machetes, they killed his father and brother.
As Oumarou ran for his life with his 10-year old brother, Adovan, the men struck a final machete blow on the head of the younger child.
The boys hid in the bush for weeks. Somehow little Adovan survived, and the two found their way to an abandoned schoolroom in the troubled town of Bossangoa.
People of all ages filled the space -- sitting, sleeping, waiting. Everyone had a similar story: They had seen family members killed, their houses had been set on fire, they had run for their lives, they were surrounded by their attackers, they were not safe. No one dared to guess what would happen to them. They were living from day to day. They were scared and they were hungry.
Since that November visit, the Central African Republic has spiraled into deeper chaos and violence -- an unimaginable violence in which children are directly targeted, raped, tortured, mutilated and killed.
In 2007 and 2008, I came away from my visits to this remote nation thinking that the women and children of the Central African Republic are surely the most abandoned people on Earth.
Marauders and armed militia throughout the country were terrorizing communities. Uncounted thousands of men, women and children were hiding in the forest eating leaves and sucking swamp water. For them, there were no medicines, no schools, no protection from the ever present violence.
By the time of my visit in late 2013, things had changed -- for the worse.
The violence had taken a more sinister shape along sectarian and ethnic lines, turning communities against each other. As in all conflicts, the most vulnerable, the children, pay the heaviest price.
According to the U.N, some of the 690,000 people have been displaced within their homeland while others have escaped into neighboring countries, where they are refugees.
Within Central African Republic, every system has crumbled. Malnutrition and disease stalk children
This is a country where impunity reigns. The complete absence of law and order has given even Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army a haven. It could easily be viewed as an open invitation for other extremist groups to set up training camps, including the likes of Nigeria's Boko Haram.
Yet in the midst of this grim scenario, there are unsung heroes: Doctors and health workers are risking their lives to save the wounded and the sick. Religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, are sheltering displaced families regardless of ethnicity or religious preference.
Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF are also on the ground. UNICEF is working with local partners to provide lifesaving support to hundreds of thousands of children. But humanitarian needs have outpaced funding.
This year, UNICEF appealed for $81 million to help the most vulnerable children in the Central African Republic. At this point, not even half of that amount has been donated.
In the face of the enormity of this tragedy, and the many other conflicts around the world, it is understandable that we would feel helpless. However, we should be inspired by the heroism and determination of those frontline humanitarian workers -- and by Oumarou with his little brother and all the innocents who are hungry, hurting and living in terror but who hope for better times. For them, I think we can do better.
READ: Mother shot on the road to safety, victim of Central African Republic violence
READ: The world's most fragile nations are ...
30 suffocated on migrant boat
6/30/2014 10:27:28 PM
Italian Navy Commander Stefano Frumento says 30 people died of suffocation on a migrant boat carrying over 600 people.
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Match fixing claims against Cameroon
7/1/2014 5:51:23 AM
- Cameroon to investigate allegations of match fixing by its players at the World Cup
- Convicted match fixer correctly predicts African nation's result to German magazine Der Spiegel
- Match fixer Wilson Rag Perumal talks of "seven bad apples" in Cameroon team
- Cameroon lost all three of its World Cup group games in Brazil
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(CNN) -- The World Cup's focus on attacking football has won global praise but a cloud scurried across the tournament Tuesday as match fixing claims surrounding Cameroon's participation in the event emerged.
The Cameroon Football Association ( Fecafoot) has confirmed it's investigating allegations made in the German media that seven of its players were involved in match fixing during the group stages of the World Cup finals in Brazil.
While previous investigations centered on trying to fix international friendlies or low-profile qualifiers, this is the first time since 1982 that World Cup group stage games have come under scrutiny.
The "Indomitable Lions" were drawn in the same pool as Croatia, Mexico and host nation Brazil, losing all three games.
A convicted match fixer spoke to German magazine Der Spiegel correctly predicting one of the results of the African nation.
"We wish to inform the general public that, though not yet contacted by FIFA in regards to this affair, our administration has already instructed its Ethics Committee, to further investigate these accusations," said a Fecafoot statement.
Wilson Raj Perumal, who was detained by police in Finland earlier this year on an international arrest warrant, told Der Spiegel that Cameroon would lose to Croatia while also having a player sent off.
Midfielder Alex Song was red carded during the game for lashing out at Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic, while goals from Ivica Olic, Ivan Perisic and a brace from Mandzukic without reply secured a 4-0 victory.
The match also saw Cameroon players Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Benjamin Moukandjo aggressively confront each other, with television pictures appearing to show Assou-Ekotto attempting to head-butt Moukandjo.
The Fecafoot statement continued: "Recent allegations of fraud around Cameroon 2014 FIFA World Cup three preliminary games, especially Cameroon vs. Croatia, as well of the 'existence of seven bad apples (in our national team)' do not reflect the values and principles promoted by our administration, in line with FIFA Code of Conduct and the ethics of our nation."
In the Der Spiegel interview, Perumal, who CNN is trying to contact, used the expression "seven bad apples."
FIFA was not immediately available for comment, while Fecafoot added in its statement that "in 55 years of existence, it has never been sanctioned for, involved in, or even linked to match fixing or any fraud of any kind."
The investigation marks an uncomfortable end to Cameroon's disastrous World Cup campaign.
Players initially refused to board the plane to Brazil until a dispute with Fecafoot over bonus payments was resolved. Although an agreement was eventually reached, the team's departure was delayed by a day.
An opening game 1-0 loss to Mexico was followed up by the 4-0 thrashing by Croatia. Hosts Brazil then completed the misery by defeating the four-time African Cup of Nations champion 4-1.
In the aftermath of the Croatia defeat, coach Volker Finke described the behavior of some of his players as "unacceptable."
"Some players behaved very badly, and that's why we have conceded four goals," Finke said to L'Equipe. "I know that it is difficult to play with 10 men, but that is not a reason to lose it to this point.
"The game was balanced until the red card. The Croatians were more clinical in front of goal, but Cameroon also had chances to score.
"The behavior of some of the players is really not satisfactory. Even when we were 11-a-side, it was not acceptable."
In 1982, Algeria, despite having beaten then West Germany, went out after a seemingly contrived 1-0 win over Austria.
Read: Luis Suarez issues 'bite' apology; promises never to do it again
Will U.S. choke against Belgium?
7/1/2014 2:19:57 AM
- The U.S. last played Belgium in a World Cup game in 1930
- Good news for U.S.: the Belgians are banged up
- Bad news for U.S.: the Belgians win games
(CNN) -- OK, so the U.S. lost to Germany, but still squeezed through to the next round. No shame in that. But nothing to be too proud of either.
But the game today? This is do or die. This is one and done. This is all or nothing.
This is whatever cliche you can think of to rabble rouse your team spirit.
If the U.S.-Germany match was a battle of David and Goliath, this afternoon's encounter is David and the Dark Horse.
And Belgium ain't no one trick pony.
The game's at 4 p.m. ET -- enough time for you to skim through this cheat sheet and become an insta-pundit.
Why you should care
It's about time soccer caught on in the U.S.
And in order for that to happen, Americans need a team they can really rally behind.
If the boys can beat Belgium, it's off to the quarter finals of the World Cup. The last time the men's team did that was in 2002. (They lost to Germany.)
The expectations are enormous. When was the last time you saw the country unite behind one cause, gather in front of massive TV screens, and collectively bellow, "I believe that we will win"?
At home, 25 million people watched the USA nearly slay Portugal last week. Twenty five million! That's more than what the NBA finals or the baseball World Series averaged.
In Brazil, Americans are second only to the host nation in the number of tickets bought.
Online, Twitter and Facebook are blowing up.
This graphic from @google is telling us people are getting prepared for tomorrow! #AreYouReady #GoogleTrends pic.twitter.com/JZHLAd7E6w
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) July 1, 2014 Soccer, you see, is starting to stir the soul of America.
"The country is paying attention in a way that it's never done before, and we have a chance to make some history," said Sunil Gulati, the U.S. Soccer Federation president.
It'd be a shame if the plucky Yanks lost to Belgium, killing the momentum.
How America won the 2014 World Cup
How it has played out before
When the U.S. last played Belgium at the World Cup, it beat them 3-0. But that was 84 years ago -- in 1930! More recently, the teams played two "friendlies" (matches that aren't part of a tournament). The U.S. lost both.
Why you should worry
You don't hear Belgium mentioned in the same breath as soccer powerhouses like Brazil, Argentina or Germany.
That's because it isn't.
It plays a boring brand of soccer. Cautious. Tentative. Patient.
''I am here to be a realist," their coach, Marc Wilmots, says. "I am not here to please the fans in the stands."
But Belgium wins games.
It qualified for the World Cup, winning eight out of 10 games. (It drew the other two.) At the tournament, it's won all three of its games, conceding only one goal.
Another reason: The Red Devils are young and hungry. Eleven of their players are in the prestigious English Premier League. Four of the Americans play there. Also, Belgium has way too many strong goal-scorers.
Glossary for the budding American World Cup fan
Why you shouldn't worry
Un: The Belgians are banged up.
Captain Vincent Kompany can't seem to shake a nagging groin injury. So he's iffy for the game.
Kompany is one of Belgium's key defenders. A second starting defender has a hamstring strain.
Without those two, the goal scoring potential increases for the U.S.
And they're not the only ones battling injury. There's one guy with a broken leg, another with a groin strain, another with muscle tightness.
Deux: Jozy Altidore will be back for the U.S. Since he was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the U.S opener against Ghana, Clint Dempsey has had to go it alone as the main goal scorer. Altidore returns to the potent partnership.
Trois: There's something to be said for experience. And the U.S. has four players who are World Cup veterans (Howard, Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Bradley.) They know how to deal with the pressures of competing on soccer's biggest stage. The Belgians? The last time they were at a World Cup was 14 years ago.
"We have absolutely no fear at all," U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "We believe we have built a foundation in our team that we are able to beat them, and we're looking forward to it."
What you should ignore
The fact that the referee is Algerian. Ever since FIFA picked Djamei Haimoudi for the match, the comments have poured in: "We're toast." Why? Because the USA knocked Algeria out of the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 victory.
Klinsmann's got a second reason: He seems to think that the fact that the ref speaks French gives the Belgians an edge.
"Is it a good feeling? No," he said. "He's able to speak French with their players on the field, not with us. And it's the country that we beat in the last second of the last World Cup."
Will Haimoudi hold a grudge? Hogwash.
He's refereed the Netherlands-Australia game and the England-Costa Rica game without complaints from fans or critics about wrong calls.
"It is looking for excuses ahead of the match," Belgian coach Wilmots said.
What the U.S. should do
Attack, attack, attack! In the last three games, the boys attacked just 72 times, says FIFA. You know where that places the USA among the 32 teams at the World Cup? Dead last!
Today, the natural tendency of the team might be to hunker down, ward off the inevitable Belgian onslaught, and make a run for the goal when chances open up.
Wrong.
This isn't the group round. You lose here, you're out.
All of Belgium's goals have come in the last 20 minutes of games, making it hard for the opposing team to equalize.
So the U.S. needs to go at it guns blazing. Yes, the Red Devils have won their World Cup games so far, but they never quite dominated. Overwhelm them.
What you should say
Here are some fun facts to impress your buddies at your soccer watching party:
Fun fact #1: Before he became Belgium's coach, Marc Wilmots served in the country's senate for two years.
Fun fact #2: Belgium's most notable contribution to cinema is Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Fun fact #3: Waffle House is calling for a ban on Belgian waffles. That's not even a Belgian invention. Oof!
Fun fact #4: Brussels sprouts actually do get their name from the Belgian capital.
Fun fact #5: Clint Dempsey has another goal: to make it as rapper Deuce. His 13-track album, "The Redux," comes out after the World Cup.
Who will win
The folks at FiveThirtyEight give the U.S. a 42% chance of winning.
The Belgian coach pegs his team's chances at 50-50.
The U.S. quotes Abraham Lincoln: "The best way to predict your future is to create it."
"The best way to predict your future is to create it." Abraham Lincoln is ready. #AreYouReady #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/Gmu1VgV2G0
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) June 30, 2014 Off the field: The men of the USMNT
Underdog Algeria scares Germany
6/30/2014 8:52:22 PM
- Germany edge past Algeria in thrilling last 16 match in Porto Alegre
- Extra-time goals from Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle seal place in last eight
- Algeria close to scoring on numerous occasions during 90 minutes
- Joachim Low's side face France after 1998 winners saw off Nigeria earlier on Monday
(CNN) -- Extra-time goals from Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle spared Germany's blushes against Algeria in the World Cup last 16 tie at Port Alegre on Monday.
Following 90 minutes of stalemate it was Joachim Low's side who finally broke the deadlock in the second minute of extra time when Thomas Muller squared the ball for Schurrle to cleverly back heal the ball past goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi.
Ozil drilled in a shot to double the lead in the final minute of the second extra period before Abdelmoumene Djabou pulled one back for Algeria in injury time.
It was a cruel end to what was a brave performance by Vahid Halilhodzic's side who were looking to settle an old score from the 1982 World Cup.
Algeria were eliminated at the group stage at the tournament held in Spain after West Germany and Austria contrived a result (a 1-0 win to the Germans) which guaranteed both European teams would qualify for the knockout stages.
Thirty-two years after the so-called "Disgrace of Gijon" it was fitting that Algeria's first last 16 match in the World Cup was against Germany.
Spurred on by history, the Desert Foxes got off to a flying start and perhaps deserved more for their frequent early raids into the heart of the German defense.
Islam Slimani served warning of Algeria's threat in the eighth minute as he scampered unchallenged down the left after a German attack broke down. The danger was only averted when Manuel Neuer rushed out of his area to tackle the Sporting Portugal striker.
Nine minutes later Slimani looked to have scored his third goal of the tournament when he headed in El Arabi Soudani's superb cross, but was adjudged to be offside -- TV replays showed the referee's assistant had made the correct call.
As the half wore on Germany came back into the game but were still vulnerable to the counter and were lucky when, in the 39th minute, Aissa Mandi's thunderous 25-yard drive ricocheted off the boot of defender Jerome Boateng and bounced narrowly wide.
Moments later at the other end, Germany were denied themselves as Mbolhi pulled off an amazing double save from Toni Kroos then Mario Gotze.
Schurrle replaced Gotze at the start of the second half -- a change which made Germany more purposeful in attack.
In the 54th minute, Muller laid the ball on for captain Philipp Lahm whose shot from 18 yards out produced an outstanding fingertip save from Mbolhi.
Algeria's rampant forays forward were less frequent but no less alarming for the Germany's back four who continued to struggle with Slimani's menacing runs.
As the game entered the final 15 minutes of normal time it was Germany who increasingly looked likely to score.
Muller looked certain to head in substitute Sami Khedira's cross in the 80th minute but could only fire straight at Mbolhi and ten minutes later Bastian Schweinsteiger missed the chance to head a late winner.
Schurrle's 92nd minute strike calmed German nerves before Mehdi Mostefa got them jangling again eight minutes later with a close range strike which went wide.
But when Ozil scored Germany's second in the 119th minute they were home and dry despite Djabou's late goal.
Low's side can now look forward to a quarterfinal against France at the Maracana on Friday.
Read more: France sees off Nigeria
Luis Suarez issues 'bite' apology
6/30/2014 9:39:34 PM
- Luis Suarez apologizes to Giorgio Chiellini
- Uruguayan says "deeply regrets what occurred'
- Suarez vows "there will never again be another incident"
- FIFA has banned Liverpool and Uruguay forward for four months
(CNN) -- Luis Suarez has promised never to bite a player again after the Uruguayan issued an apology to Italy's Giorgio Chiellini.
In a carefully worded statement on his official Facebook page, Suarez, who has been hit by a four-month ban by world governing body FIFA for biting the Italian, said he "deeply regretted what occurred."
The statement added: "I apologize to Giorgio Chiellini and the entire football family.
"I vow to the public that there will never again be another incident."
The Liverpool star's punishment, which also includes a nine-match international ban, prohibits him from football-related activities, meaning he will be prevented from training with his teammates until late October.
Suarez's statement on Facebook continued to insist that the bite resulted from a "collision" with Chiellini.
The Italian defender accepted the apology via Twitter saying the incident was "all forgotten" before repeating his call for FIFA to reduce Suarez's suspension.
.@luis16suarez It's all forgotten. I hope FIFA will reduce your suspension.
— Giorgio Chiellini (@chiellini) June 30, 2014 In his defence to FIFA, Suarez reportedly said he had lost his balance and had fallen on "top of his opponent."
In a Fifa disciplinary committee document, the Uruguayan explained: "At that moment, I hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth.
"In no way did it happen the way you have described, as a bite or intent to bite."
Given the bite on Chiellini was the third such offense of Suarez's career, FIFA took an altogether dimmer view of the incident, handing down a tough punishment to the 27-year-old foward.
When playing with Dutch club Ajax in 2007, Suarez was suspended for seven games for biting an opponent, while he was hit with a 10-match sanction for an identical offense while playing for Liverpool in April 2013.
He also courted controversy in 2011, when he was handed an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
Following previous indiscretions, Suarez has enjoyed the backing of his club Liverpool.
Suarez has been heavily linked with a move away from Liverpool and, with the 27-year-old set to miss the first nine games of the Premier League season, it remains to be seen whether the Anfield team will continue to stand by its man.
Read: Luis Suarez: Sympathy for the 'devil'?
Why Hong Kong's democracy matters
7/1/2014 2:01:55 AM
- "One country, two systems" promises Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule
- Beijing's recent White Paper on Hong Kong challenges just how autonomous the city can be
- "One country, two systems" originally invented for Taiwan
- DeGolyer: Success of Hong Kong's reform will determine future relations between China, other Asian nations
Editor's note: Michael DeGolyer is Director of the Hong Kong Transition Project, an independent organization that monitors governance in the territory. DeGolyer will appear as a guest in the next On China episode on Hong Kong identity, to air at the end of July. For all viewing times and more information about the show click here. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- China's State Council recently handed down an "authoritative White Paper" on the "one country, two systems" model as applied to Hong Kong. Deng Xiaoping, a reformist leader and the man who launched China toward becoming the world's largest economy, invented the idea originally for Taiwan, but events transpired to make Hong Kong the test bed.
That tiny test bed is currently turning into a big headache for China's leaders as 787,767 Hong Kongers voted last week in an unauthorized referendum for what they consider acceptable models of democratically nominating and electing their chief executive -- the city's top politician -- in 2017. At present, Hong Kong's chief executive -- currently Leung Chun-ying -- is selected by a 1,200-member election committee with the approval of Beijing.
Many are voting more against the White Paper, which maintained China's "comprehensive jurisdiction" over the city, than for one of the models. They, and nearly the entire legal profession in Hong Kong, object to the paper calling judges "administrators" who must take orders from Beijing.
READ: Hong Kong braces for mass protest
Hong Kong follows the British-derived common law system. The rule of law, insured by judges independent of the administration is, according to nearly everyone, the key distinguisher between the legal system in Hong Kong and that holding sway on the mainland.
Autonomy unchallenged until now
At the core of "one country, two systems" is just how autonomous the smaller system can be against the larger, dominant one. And one thing most dependent on that "high degree of autonomy" Deng promised is the rule of law.
This autonomy has been largely unchallenged since 1997, when Britain handed over the city to China. But today the issue of just how democratic Beijing will permit the election of the next chief executive to be has brought the whole concept of genuine autonomy into doubt.
Deng and his successors have repeatedly told Taiwan -- which China considers to be a renegade province -- under this concept that it could keep its army, currency and separate political system, just as long as it stuck to there being "one China." But the White Paper on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region spells out a very different version of autonomy, one that's closer in terms of central control to the iron fist actually practiced in the Tibet Special Administrative Region rather than the velvety promises being given to Taiwan.
Hong Kongers are up in arms over this -- so far -- typographic crackdown on autonomy. But the Taiwanese are also not amused.
And here's why this drama matters outside China.
China has shown first with Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands and now with Vietnam, that it takes its claims to the whole South China Sea (which includes Taiwan) seriously. China is very sensitive about any hint of separatist or secessionist activity. Beijing may not see the difference between their concerns for state security and unification, and the local actions in Hong Kong that actually have nothing to do with secession from China.
There are a lot of missiles, ships, submarines, fighters and troops faced off across the strait between Taiwan and the mainland. "One country, two systems" is supposedly the peaceful alternative to war for reunification with Taiwan.
If Hong Kong shows "one country, two systems" was a promise given by Beijing with no intent to keep its treaty-given word, Taiwan is very unlikely to agree to reunify with mainland China under those terms. Even an international treaty supposedly protecting Taiwan's "high degree of autonomy" would little persuade if there's a Hong Kong crackdown with no international reaction. Nobody knows what the replacement for "one country, two systems" should be.
China is increasingly throwing its weight around, facing off with Vietnam, the Philippines and the United States. Hong Kong is part of this larger context of China becoming aggressive and assertive -- and if it's willing to take on all these nations at the same time, it's not going to let a few hundred thousand people intimidate it.
Beijing promises
Another reason it matters becomes clear in the paper's timing, just before last week's "people's referendum" on political reform. In 2007, Beijing promised Hong Kong could elect its chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017. Since it already directly elects over half its legislature, Hong Kong is well ahead of the rest of China in political reform.
Hong Kong has long led the way to both economic and political change in China. The village election system Deng started in 1982 was directly modeled on Hong Kong village elections, and recent elections of District Boards in a number of mainland cities drew once more on Hong Kong's own invention of District Boards in 1982. If China is going to start making a transition from authoritarian dictatorship to something closer to democracy, the Hong Kong test bed is the place to start.
Stopping reform in Hong Kong very likely means killing it in the rest of China.
This matters to the rest of world because democracies have dominated the globe economically and politically for over a century. But now, with China soon taking the top spot economically, will democratic habits of discussion, voting and compromise collide with an elite more accustomed to giving orders that are obeyed?
That's what makes the White Paper on Hong Kong so important, and so worrying. Not only does it take a rather imperious tone; it was issued in seven languages, so much as stating to the rest of world: "pay attention, what we do in Hong Kong is our business and no one else's, whatever an international treaty like the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration might say."
Japan, with treaty claims to the Diaoyu/Senkkaku Islands; Vietnam, already in dispute with China; and the United States, which claims the South China Sea is international waters, according to treaty, take note.
READ: China media: Don't embrace democracy
Witnesses: Sudan demolishes church
6/30/2014 7:22:09 PM
- Witnesses: A Sudan government force destroyed a church near the capital
- The government warned it would happen, a priest says
- Sudanese officials did not return calls from CNN
- Demolition follows the release of a woman who was sentenced to death for being Christian
(CNN) -- A Sudanese government force destroyed a church Monday, ignoring the wails of nearby residents, witnesses told journalists working for CNN.
The attack came a day after authorities sent a letter saying they would demolish the church, priest Kuoa Shimal said.
Government sources did not immediately return calls from CNN.
Complaints about the predominantly Muslim country's lack of religious freedom came under the international spotlight recently after Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a Christian mother of two, refused to renounce her faith and was sentenced to death. After an international outcry, she was freed and reunited with her American husband.
The 70-strong force Monday arrived at the Alizba slums near the capital, Khartoum, around 10 a.m., witnesses said. Some were dressed in plain clothes.
CNN visited the scene afterward, where the religious site was reduced to rubble.
In April 2013, the Sudanese minister of religious affairs announced that no licenses would be granted to allow for the building of new churches -- less than two years after the predominantly Christian South Sudan seceded to form an independent country.
During a brief territorial war between Sudan and South Sudan in April 2012, a mob of Islamist extremists attacked and destroyed a church west of Khartoum despite a police cordon around it.
The threat of violence has caused Sudan's churches to empty. At a recent Sunday service, worshipers asked CNN not to identify them by name.
"The church is now contaminated with terror. You don't feel safe in prayer," one Christian activist said.
North Korea to try 2 Americans
6/30/2014 6:33:56 PM
- Jeffrey Edward Fowle and Matthew Todd Miller are set to be brought to court
- "Suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed," KCNA reports
- Miller's detention was announced in April, Fowle's in June
- The U.S. State Department declines to comment on the matter
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea says it plans to prosecute two American tourists that it detained earlier this year, accusing them of "perpetrating hostile acts."
The North Korean government had previously said it was holding the two U.S. citizens, Jeffrey Edward Fowle and Matthew Todd Miller, but hadn't said what it planned to do with them.
"According to the results of the investigation, suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their testimonies," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.
"The relevant organ of the DPRK is carrying on the investigation into them and making preparations for bringing them before court on the basis of the already confirmed charges," the report said, using using an abbreviation of the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Asylum bid?
North Korea said in late April that it had taken Miller into custody, claiming he had come to the country seeking asylum and had torn up his tourist visa.
It announced the detention of Fowle in early June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism."
It didn't provide details at the time on what exactly he was accused of doing. But the Japanese news agency Kyodo cited unidentified diplomatic sources as saying that Fowle was part of a tour group and that he was detained in mid-May after allegedly leaving a Bible in a hotel where he had been staying.
Although North Korea regularly denounces the United States as a sworn enemy in its state-run media, Americans are able to visit the country as tourists. But the U.S. State Department says it "strongly recommends against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea."
Swedish Embassy involved
"Contact with an official looking after consular affairs, treatment, etc. in the course of investigation are being made in line with the laws of the relevant country," KCNA said Monday.
In practice, that means that North Korean authorities have been in touch with the Swedish Embassy, which represents American interests in the country.
The U.S. State Department declined to immediately comment on the KCNA report, suggesting it could be addressed at Monday's regular news briefing. It had previously said it was aware of the reports of the detentions of the two men but couldn't comment on specific cases without written consent.
Kenneth Bae case
North Korea is also holding Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in 2013 by a court that said he had carried out acts aimed at bringing down the regime of leader Kim Jong Un.
Although North Korea contains a number of state-controlled churches, the totalitarian regime forbids independent religious activities, viewing them as potential threats to its authority.
Other Americans detained in the North have later been released.
Last year, Pyongyang freed Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old veteran of the Korean War who was on an organized private tour in the country, after holding him for several weeks.
CNN's K.J. Kwon reported from Seoul, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Mary Lucas Grace and Brian Todd contributed to this report.
President: 'We will liberate Ukraine'
6/30/2014 9:48:41 PM
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22 dead in Mexico shootout
6/30/2014 9:26:45 PM
- Dead are 21 men and one woman
- A soldier was injured
- Authorities rescue three women who say they were kidnapped
(CNN) -- Soldiers on patrol in south-central Mexico killed 22 people early Monday in a shootout, the Defense Ministry said.
Among the dead were 21 men and one woman. A soldier was injured.
Authorities said they seized various weapons, including automatic rifles and handguns. They also rescued three woman who said they had been kidnapped, the ministry said in a statement.
The gunfight took place in Tlatlaya, located in Mexico state. Authorities said the shooting started after the soldiers came under fire.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Nick Parker contributed to this report.
U.S. court strikes birth control rule
6/30/2014 10:43:46 PM
- NEW: White House: Women, not their bosses, should make personal health decisions
- Conservative justices rule 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby
- The ruling could serve as template for future challenges to Obamacare
- Issue was whether businesses can opt out of mandate on religious grounds
Washington (CNN) -- Some corporations have religious rights, a deeply divided Supreme Court decided Monday in ruling that certain for-profit companies cannot be required to pay for specific types of contraceptives for their employees.
The 5-4 decision on ideological lines ended the high court's term with a legal and political setback for a controversial part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.
It also set off a frenzied partisan debate over religious and reproductive rights that will continue through the November congressional elections and beyond.
All five conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents ruled in favor of closely held for-profit businesses -- those with at least 50% of stock held by five or fewer people, such as family-owned businesses -- in which the owners have clear religious beliefs.
Contraceptives or abortion?
Both corporations involved in Monday's rulng -- Conestoga Wood Specialties of Pennsylvania and Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based arts-and-crafts retail giant -- emphasize their conscientious desire to operate in harmony with biblical principles while competing in a secular marketplace.
They argued the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, violates the First Amendment and other federal laws protecting religious freedom because it requires them to provide coverage for contraceptives like the "morning-after pill," which the companies consider tantamount to abortion.
"The companies in the cases before us are closely held corporations, each owned and controlled by members of a single family, and no one has disputed the sincerity of their religious beliefs," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.
The four liberal justices appointed by Democratic presidents, including the high court's three women, opposed the ruling as a possible gateway to further religious-based challenges that limit individual choice and rights.
What the decision means
"Into a minefield"
In dissent Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court had "ventured into a minefield," adding it would disadvantage those employees "who do not share their employer's religious beliefs."
The practical result will likely be an administrative fix by the Obama administration that subsidizes the contraceptives at issue, said CNN political analyst Gloria Borger.
"So in terms of a real gap in medical coverage for these women, should they want it, I think what you are going to see is the government sort of picking up where Hobby Lobby would leave off," Borger said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest signaled as much, telling reporters the Obama administration will work with Congress to ensure women affected by the ruling will continue to have coverage for contraceptives.
Obama believes that women "should make personal health care decisions for themselves, rather than their bosses deciding for them," Earnest said, adding that "today's decision jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies."
The decision comes two years after the justices narrowly preserved the health care reforms known as Obamacare and its key funding provision in another politically charged ruling.
This time, the issue revolved around a 1994 federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which Alito's opinion said prevents the government from "taking any action that substantially burdens the exercise of religion unless that action constitutes the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest."
Alito wrote that the court's conservative majority rejected the argument by the Department of Health and Human Services that "the owners of the companies forfeited all RFRA protection when they decided to organize their businesses as corporations rather than sole proprietorships or general partnerships."
"The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs," he wrote.
Opinion: It's GOP vs. Democrats
Complex mix
Monday's case presented a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and constitutional concerns-- over such hot-button issues as faith, abortion, corporate power, executive agency discretion, and congressional intent.
The political stakes were large, especially for the future effectiveness of the health law itself, which marked its fourth anniversary this spring.
The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, the federal Obamacare website, was another political flashpoint along with other issues that many Republicans say proves the law is unworkable.
They have made Obamacare a key campaign issue in their fight to take control of the Senate while retaining their House majority.
"Today's decision is a victory for religious freedom and another defeat for an administration that has repeatedly crossed constitutional lines in pursuit of" big government, said House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. "The President's health care law remains an unworkable mess and a drag on our economy."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who heads the Democratic National Committee, framed the ruling as a campaign issue for November.
"It is no surprise that Republicans have sided against women on this issue as they have consistently opposed a woman's right to make her own health care decisions," she said, calling the ruling a "dangerous precedent."
Barbara Green, a founder of Hobby Lobby, called the ruling "a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith."
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the decision "jeopardizes women's access to essential health care," adding that "your boss should never be able to make your health care decisions for you."
Read the ruling (.PDF)
Contraception mandate
The section of law in dispute requires some for-profit employers to offer insurance benefits for birth control and other reproductive health services without a co-pay.
A number of companies equate some of the covered drugs, such as the so-called morning-after pill, as causing abortion.
The specific question presented was whether these companies can refuse, on the sincere claim it would violate their owners' long-established moral beliefs.
Supporters of the law fear the high court setback on the contraception mandate now will lead to other healthcare challenges on religion grounds, such as do-not-resuscitate orders and vaccine coverage.
More broadly, many worry giving corporations religious freedom rights could affect laws on employment, safety, and civil rights.
The abortion link
The Hahn family, owners of Conestoga, and the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, said some of the mandated contraception prevent human embryos from being implanted in a woman's womb, which the plaintiffs equate with abortion.
That includes Plan B contraception, which some have called the "morning after" pill, and intrauterine devices or IUDs used by an estimated 2 million American women.
Monday's decision comes two years after the justices allowed the law's "individual mandate" to go into effect.
That provision requires most Americans to get health insurance or pay a financial penalty. It is seen as the key funding mechanism to ensure near-universal health coverage.
Under the Affordable Care Act, financial penalties of up to $100 per day, per employee can be levied on firms that refuse to provide comprehensive health coverage. Hobby Lobby, which has about 13,000 workers, estimates the penalty could cost it $475 million a year.
The church-state issue now in the spotlight involves rules negotiated between the Obama administration and various outside groups. Under the changes, churches and houses of worship are completely exempt from the contraception mandate.
Other nonprofit, religiously affiliated groups, such as church-run hospitals, parochial schools and charities must either offer coverage or have a third-party insurer provide separate benefits without the employer's direct involvement. Lawsuits in those cases are pending in several federal appeals courts.
The cases are Burwell (Sebelius) v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (13-354); and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell (Sebelius) (13-356).
A Mennonite family's fight over Obamacare reaches Supreme Court
5 questions: Supreme Court and Obamacare on contraception
Opinion: How Obamacare can reduce abortions
Hobby Lobby: The beliefs behind the battle
CNN's Josh Levs and Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.
Pakistan launches ground offensive
6/30/2014 9:14:11 PM
- Troops kill at least 15 militants in North Waziristan's capital, the military says
- More than 450,000 people have fled area since the campaign began on June 15
- 376 insurgents have been killed in 16 days of fighting, Pakistan's army says
- The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets
(CNN) -- Pakistani troops launched a ground offensive against militants in the capital of the country's North Waziristan area Monday, starting a new phase of a 16-day fight that has seen more than 450,000 people flee the area.
Troops killed at least 15 militants as the army raided homes in the area's capital, Miranshah, the country's military said.
This is the first major ground offensive in Miranshah since Pakistan began what was primarily an airstrike campaign against anti-government fighters in North Waziristan and other restive parts of Pakistan's loosely governed tribal areas.
The offensive, which started on June 15, is meant to "finish off" militants in the area near the Afghanistan border "once and for all," Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told CNN this month. The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets.
The tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan are a base for anti-government militants, including those with the Islamist Haqqani movement.
More than 376 militants have been killed and 61 suspected militant hideouts have been destroyed in the campaign, the army said. Three Pakistani troops were injured in Monday's raids in Miranshah, the army said.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to camps in Pakistan's nearby Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province since the campaign began, the country's National Disaster Management Authority said.
About 466,000 people, including 197,013 children, have registered at checkpoints, the agency said.
Rations, including food and cooking oil, are being given to the civilians at the camps, the army said.
Opinion: Exodus from Pakistan's troubled north presents risks, opportunities
'Ashamed' cocaine mayor returns
6/30/2014 4:08:27 PM
- Mayor Rob Ford pledges to keep serving people of Toronto
- After a series of public gaffes, Ford spent two months at a rehab facility
- "To the people of this great city, I want to offer a public apology"
(CNN) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford asked for forgiveness Monday, his first day back to work following a two-month leave of absence for substance abuse treatment.
"To the people of this great city, I want to offer a public apology," said the embattled mayor at a news conference. "I used poor judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions."
In May, Ford announced that he'd be taking a break after reports of a video that allegedly showed him smoking crack cocaine surfaced -- apparently the final setback in a year full of them for a man who said Monday that he was in "complete denial" about his substance abuse.
"When I look back on some of the things I said and some of the things I did when I was using, I am ashamed, embarrassed, and humiliated," he said.
The Canadian mayor's public unraveling began in May 2013 when cell phone video surfaced that appeared to show Ford smoking crack cocaine. He denied any wrongdoing and defiantly brushed aside calls for his resignation, even after the city council stripped him of most of his power.
Ford pledged to quit drinking and adopt a healthy lifestyle, but after another embarrassing video appeared on social media in January -- one in which he incoherently mocked the city's police chief -- Ford admitted to suffering a setback.
Though he offered apologies Monday to "every single person who was hurt by (his) words and actions," one thing Ford did not offer was his resignation.
In fact, the mayor -- who is seeking another term -- doubled down.
"I look forward to serving you for many, many more years" he said.
President: 'We will liberate Ukraine'
6/30/2014 5:57:53 PM
- The cease-fire expired at midnight Monday
- Poroshenko spoke earlier in the day with Russia's Putin and intermediaries
- He says it takes all parties to maintain peace
(CNN) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said early Tuesday that his country will not renew a cease-fire with pro-Russian separatists, vowing instead "we will advance, and we will liberate our land."
The fragile cease-fire expired at midnight Monday -- hours after Poroshenko spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.
The cease-fire -- agreed upon earlier this month amid a volatile political crisis -- raised hopes that Ukraine could be moving back from the brink of full-fledged civil war.
The crisis has its roots in former President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to shun a European Union Association Agreement last year and work with Russia instead. The move unleashed deadly strife that led to Yanukovych's ouster, Ukraine's loss of Crimea and a pro-Russia separatist rebellion.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since the Russian annexation of Crimea in March, when Russia also massed troops along its western border with Ukraine.
After Monday's phone call, Poroshenko said his goal was peace, but said it takes the participation of all parties to maintain stability, noting violations of the cease-fire by pro-Russian separatists.
A statement from Putin's press office about the call said the Russian President "stressed the need to extend the cease-fire and also establish a reliable mechanism for monitoring" it.
Court rules against Obamacare rule
6/30/2014 7:22:53 PM
- NEW: White House: Women, not their bosses, should make personal health decisions
- Conservative justices rule 5-4 in favor of Hobby Lobby
- The ruling could serve as template for future challenges to Obamacare
- Issue was whether businesses can opt out of mandate on religious grounds
Washington (CNN) -- Some corporations have religious rights, a deeply divided Supreme Court decided Monday in ruling that certain for-profit companies cannot be required to pay for specific types of contraceptives for their employees.
The 5-4 decision on ideological lines ended the high court's term with a legal and political setback for a controversial part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.
It also set off a frenzied partisan debate over religious and reproductive rights that will continue through the November congressional elections and beyond.
All five conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents ruled in favor of closely held for-profit businesses -- those with at least 50% of stock held by five or fewer people, such as family-owned businesses -- in which the owners have clear religious beliefs.
Contraceptives or abortion?
Both corporations involved in Monday's rulng -- Conestoga Wood Specialties of Pennsylvania and Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based arts-and-crafts retail giant -- emphasize their conscientious desire to operate in harmony with biblical principles while competing in a secular marketplace.
They argued the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, violates the First Amendment and other federal laws protecting religious freedom because it requires them to provide coverage for contraceptives like the "morning-after pill," which the companies consider tantamount to abortion.
"The companies in the cases before us are closely held corporations, each owned and controlled by members of a single family, and no one has disputed the sincerity of their religious beliefs," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.
The four liberal justices appointed by Democratic presidents, including the high court's three women, opposed the ruling as a possible gateway to further religious-based challenges that limit individual choice and rights.
What the decision means
"Into a minefield"
In dissent Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court had "ventured into a minefield," adding it would disadvantage those employees "who do not share their employer's religious beliefs."
The practical result will likely be an administrative fix by the Obama administration that subsidizes the contraceptives at issue, said CNN political analyst Gloria Borger.
"So in terms of a real gap in medical coverage for these women, should they want it, I think what you are going to see is the government sort of picking up where Hobby Lobby would leave off," Borger said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest signaled as much, telling reporters the Obama administration will work with Congress to ensure women affected by the ruling will continue to have coverage for contraceptives.
Obama believes that women "should make personal health care decisions for themselves, rather than their bosses deciding for them," Earnest said, adding that "today's decision jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies."
The decision comes two years after the justices narrowly preserved the health care reforms known as Obamacare and its key funding provision in another politically charged ruling.
This time, the issue revolved around a 1994 federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which Alito's opinion said prevents the government from "taking any action that substantially burdens the exercise of religion unless that action constitutes the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest."
Alito wrote that the court's conservative majority rejected the argument by the Department of Health and Human Services that "the owners of the companies forfeited all RFRA protection when they decided to organize their businesses as corporations rather than sole proprietorships or general partnerships."
"The plain terms of RFRA make it perfectly clear that Congress did not discriminate in this way against men and women who wish to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs," he wrote.
Opinion: It's GOP vs. Democrats
Complex mix
Monday's case presented a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and constitutional concerns-- over such hot-button issues as faith, abortion, corporate power, executive agency discretion, and congressional intent.
The political stakes were large, especially for the future effectiveness of the health law itself, which marked its fourth anniversary this spring.
The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, the federal Obamacare website, was another political flashpoint along with other issues that many Republicans say proves the law is unworkable.
They have made Obamacare a key campaign issue in their fight to take control of the Senate while retaining their House majority.
"Today's decision is a victory for religious freedom and another defeat for an administration that has repeatedly crossed constitutional lines in pursuit of" big government, said House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. "The President's health care law remains an unworkable mess and a drag on our economy."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who heads the Democratic National Committee, framed the ruling as a campaign issue for November.
"It is no surprise that Republicans have sided against women on this issue as they have consistently opposed a woman's right to make her own health care decisions," she said, calling the ruling a "dangerous precedent."
Barbara Green, a founder of Hobby Lobby, called the ruling "a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith."
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the decision "jeopardizes women's access to essential health care," adding that "your boss should never be able to make your health care decisions for you."
Read the ruling (.PDF)
Contraception mandate
The section of law in dispute requires some for-profit employers to offer insurance benefits for birth control and other reproductive health services without a co-pay.
A number of companies equate some of the covered drugs, such as the so-called morning-after pill, as causing abortion.
The specific question presented was whether these companies can refuse, on the sincere claim it would violate their owners' long-established moral beliefs.
Supporters of the law fear the high court setback on the contraception mandate now will lead to other healthcare challenges on religion grounds, such as do-not-resuscitate orders and vaccine coverage.
More broadly, many worry giving corporations religious freedom rights could affect laws on employment, safety, and civil rights.
The abortion link
The Hahn family, owners of Conestoga, and the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, said some of the mandated contraception prevent human embryos from being implanted in a woman's womb, which the plaintiffs equate with abortion.
That includes Plan B contraception, which some have called the "morning after" pill, and intrauterine devices or IUDs used by an estimated 2 million American women.
Monday's decision comes two years after the justices allowed the law's "individual mandate" to go into effect.
That provision requires most Americans to get health insurance or pay a financial penalty. It is seen as the key funding mechanism to ensure near-universal health coverage.
Under the Affordable Care Act, financial penalties of up to $100 per day, per employee can be levied on firms that refuse to provide comprehensive health coverage. Hobby Lobby, which has about 13,000 workers, estimates the penalty could cost it $475 million a year.
The church-state issue now in the spotlight involves rules negotiated between the Obama administration and various outside groups. Under the changes, churches and houses of worship are completely exempt from the contraception mandate.
Other nonprofit, religiously affiliated groups, such as church-run hospitals, parochial schools and charities must either offer coverage or have a third-party insurer provide separate benefits without the employer's direct involvement. Lawsuits in those cases are pending in several federal appeals courts.
The cases are Burwell (Sebelius) v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (13-354); and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell (Sebelius) (13-356).
A Mennonite family's fight over Obamacare reaches Supreme Court
5 questions: Supreme Court and Obamacare on contraception
Opinion: How Obamacare can reduce abortions
Hobby Lobby: The beliefs behind the battle
CNN's Josh Levs and Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.
Pakistan takes on militants
6/30/2014 7:07:14 PM
- Troops kill at least 15 militants in North Waziristan's capital, the military says
- More than 450,000 people have fled area since the campaign began on June 15
- 376 insurgents have been killed in 16 days of fighting, Pakistan's army says
- The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets
(CNN) -- Pakistani troops launched a ground offensive against militants in the capital of the country's North Waziristan area Monday, starting a new phase of a 16-day fight that has seen more than 450,000 people flee the area.
Troops killed at least 15 militants as the army raided homes in the area's capital, Miranshah, the country's military said.
This is the first major ground offensive in Miranshah since Pakistan began what was primarily an airstrike campaign against anti-government fighters in North Waziristan and other restive parts of Pakistan's loosely governed tribal areas.
The offensive, which started on June 15, is meant to "finish off" militants in the area near the Afghanistan border "once and for all," Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told CNN this month. The Pakistani Taliban are among the targets.
The tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan are a base for anti-government militants, including those with the Islamist Haqqani movement.
More than 376 militants have been killed and 61 suspected militant hideouts have been destroyed in the campaign, the army said. Three Pakistani troops were injured in Monday's raids in Miranshah, the army said.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to camps in Pakistan's nearby Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province since the campaign began, the country's National Disaster Management Authority said.
About 466,000 people, including 197,013 children, have registered at checkpoints, the agency said.
Rations, including food and cooking oil, are being given to the civilians at the camps, the army said.
Pistorius 'not mentally ill'
6/30/2014 7:19:49 PM
- A panel of doctors finds Olympian Oscar Pistorius mentally fit to stand trial
- Pistorius is accused of deliberately shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
- He says he shot Steenkamp accidentally in his bathroom, mistaking her for an intruder
- The trial was halted in May after the judge ordered Pistorius to undergo psychiatric tests
(CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius was not mentally incapacitated when he shot his girlfriend to death, a psychiatric assessment of the athlete has found.
The results of the assessment were revealed in court Monday when the Olympic sprinter's trial resumed after a monthlong break for the evaluation.
According to the findings by an independent panel of doctors, Pistorius did not suffer from a mental defect or mental illness at the "time of the commission of the offense that would have rendered him criminally not responsible of the offenses charged."
The report added that "Mr. Pistorius was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act."
Had the doctors deemed Pistorius mentally incapacitated during the shooting, the trial would have immediately ended in a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.
Pistorius, 27, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, 29-year-old model and law school graduate Reeva Steenkamp, in his home in February 2013.
Pistorius admits shooting Steenkamp through a closed door, killing her, but has told the court in Pretoria, South Africa, that he mistook her for an intruder. He has pleaded not guilty.
The state says Pistorius argued with Steenkamp before killing her.
On May 20, trial Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered Pistorius to report for a psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he was criminally responsible for his actions.
The prosecution and defense said they accepted the report's findings. The defense has resumed its case.
Psychiatrist's testimony
Pistorius' psychiatric testing last month was triggered by the testimony of a psychiatrist who said the sprinter has suffered from generalized anxiety disorder since he was an infant, stemming partly from the amputation his lower legs.
The disorder meant Pistorius had "excessive" concerns about security and felt threatened even when, objectively, he was not, Dr. Merryll Vorster testified on May 12.
After Vorster's testimony, prosecutor Gerrie Nel filed a motion asking the judge to require psychiatric tests, arguing that if there was any chance the defendant's mental health was an issue, the court must "err on the side of caution."
Nel's extremely unusual move was essentially an effort to maneuver the court into considering an insanity or "capacity" defense even though the athlete's legal team is not mounting one, CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps said.
Phelps said Nel appeared to be placing a high-stakes bet that experts would disagree with Vorster's evidence.
Pistorius' lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux, argued against the tests, describing Nel's reading of the law as "unfortunate."
But Masipa ordered the evaluation, saying the defense's act of putting a psychiatrist on the stand had raised the question of the athlete's mental health. Testing began on May 26.
Light and balance
When court resumed Monday, the defense called Pistorius' orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gerald Versfeld as a witness.
Versfeld described the limitations of Pistorius' mobility, based on his examination of the athlete and Pistorius' own description.
In his cross-examination, Nel focused on the effect of light on Pistorius' balance.
In his affidavit, Pistorius said he had rushed to the bathroom on stumps with a pistol after hearing a noise. He said he had been too scared to turn the lights on. "It was pitch dark in the bedroom, and I thought Reeva was in bed."
Nel suggested to Versfeld that it would have been "highly unlikely" that Pistorius would have been able to walk on his stumps without falling if it had been pitch black in the bedroom, given the objects in it.
"If it was indeed pitch dark, that is so," Versfeld replied.
Roux referred to Pistorius' evidence that there had been slight illumination.
"The moment there is light available, he will be able to use his vision to balance," Versfeld said, agreeing that if Pistorius had known the objects in his room, that would also have helped protect him from falling.
Sound of screams
Acoustic engineer Ivan Lin was the second witness to take the stand Monday.
He told court that "typically," one can differentiate between male and female screams, but not without exception.
Previous witnesses have described hearing a woman's screams between shots the night Steenkamp died, but the defense has argued that Pistorius sounds "like a woman screaming" when he's anxious.
Lin said it would be "impossible" to replicate the "highly complex sound transmission" from Pistorius' house the night he killed Steenkamp. He explained how different variables could affect the transmission.
Verdict
At the trial's conclusion, Masipa will have to decide whether Pistorius genuinely made a mistake or killed Steenkamp intentionally.
If she does not believe the athlete thought there was an intruder, she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to at least 15 years in prison and possibly life. South Africa does not have the death penalty.
If Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know Steenkamp was the person he was shooting at, she could find him guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge than murder, or acquit him, according to CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps.
A verdict of culpable homicide would leave the sentence at Masipa's discretion.
Read: 13 things to know as case resumes
Read more: Judge sends Pistorius for psychiatric tests
Read: Judge lays down rules for Pistorius psychiatric tests
Read: Is Oscar Pistorius crazy? State wants tests
Read: What life's like in a South African prison
Read: Case highlights South African gun culture
Read: Oscar Pistorius' affidavit to court in full
Rolf Harris guilty of child abuse
6/30/2014 7:57:56 PM
- Rolf Harris is found guilty in a London court of 12 charges of sexual abuse
- 84-year-old musician and artist painted portrait of Queen for monarch's 80th birthday in 2006
- Offenses Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970
- Harris charged under Operation Yewtree investigating abuse allegations by public figures
London (CNN) -- Australian children's entertainer Rolf Harris, 84, was found guilty Monday in a London court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old.
The musician and artist, who painted a portrait of the Queen for the monarch's 80th birthday in 2006, had been charged under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures, including the late TV entertainer Jimmy Savile.
The offenses that Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970. He was released on bail until Friday, when he will be sentenced; the judge, Justice Sweeney, warned him he could face jail, the Press Association reported.
Dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer, including several in Australia, alerted police during the trial, PA added.
Speaking outside Southwark Crown Court after the verdict, Detective Mick Orchard told reporters: "Rolf Harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing, forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public.
"He committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law. I want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery. I hope today's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives.
"Today's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to, and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved."
Harris was once one of Britain's best-loved children's entertainers. He had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys." He had a decades-long television career at the BBC and received several honors, including the Order of the British Empire.
North Korea to try 2 Americans
6/30/2014 5:36:55 AM
- Jeffrey Edward Fowle and Matthew Todd Miller are set to be brought to court
- "Suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed," KCNA reports
- Miller's detention was announced in April, Fowle's in June
- The U.S. State Department declines to comment on the matter
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea says it plans to prosecute two American tourists that it detained earlier this year, accusing them of "perpetrating hostile acts."
The North Korean government had previously said it was holding the two U.S. citizens, Jeffrey Edward Fowle and Matthew Todd Miller, but hadn't said what it planned to do with them.
"According to the results of the investigation, suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their testimonies," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.
"The relevant organ of the DPRK is carrying on the investigation into them and making preparations for bringing them before court on the basis of the already confirmed charges," the report said, using using an abbreviation of the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Asylum bid?
North Korea said in late April that it had taken Miller into custody, claiming he had come to the country seeking asylum and had torn up his tourist visa.
It announced the detention of Fowle in early June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism."
It didn't provide details at the time on what exactly he was accused of doing. But the Japanese news agency Kyodo cited unidentified diplomatic sources as saying that Fowle was part of a tour group and that he was detained in mid-May after allegedly leaving a Bible in a hotel where he had been staying.
Although North Korea regularly denounces the United States as a sworn enemy in its state-run media, Americans are able to visit the country as tourists. But the U.S. State Department says it "strongly recommends against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea."
Swedish Embassy involved
"Contact with an official looking after consular affairs, treatment, etc. in the course of investigation are being made in line with the laws of the relevant country," KCNA said Monday.
In practice, that means that North Korean authorities have been in touch with the Swedish Embassy, which represents American interests in the country.
The U.S. State Department declined to immediately comment on the KCNA report, suggesting it could be addressed at Monday's regular news briefing. It had previously said it was aware of the reports of the detentions of the two men but couldn't comment on specific cases without written consent.
Kenneth Bae case
North Korea is also holding Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in 2013 by a court that said he had carried out acts aimed at bringing down the regime of leader Kim Jong Un.
Although North Korea contains a number of state-controlled churches, the totalitarian regime forbids independent religious activities, viewing them as potential threats to its authority.
Other Americans detained in the North have later been released.
Last year, Pyongyang freed Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old veteran of the Korean War who was on an organized private tour in the country, after holding him for several weeks.
CNN's K.J. Kwon reported from Seoul, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Mary Lucas Grace and Brian Todd contributed to this report.
Dead migrants found in boat off Italy
6/30/2014 4:55:17 AM
![[File photo] Migrants are escorted by Italian navy officers after being rescued off Lampedusa on October 25, 2013.](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140402145144-lampedusa-migrants-story-top.jpg)
- Italy has seen a series of tragedies as migrants cross from North Africa
- In October, more than 300 African migrants died in Lampedusa
- Hundreds more have been rescued from often unseaworthy vessels
Rome (CNN) -- About 30 bodies were found in a migrant boat rescued early Monday between Sicily and the North African coast, the Italian navy said.
Italian media reported the boat had 600 people onboard.
Italy has seen a series of tragedies as migrants in crowded boats cross from North Africa to Europe.
In October, Lampedusa made international headlines when more than 300 African migrants died when their ship sank off its shores.
As the closest Italian island to Africa, Lampedusa is a frequent destination for refugees seeking to enter European Union countries. Many of the migrants are from African nations while others have fled war-torn Syria.
Hundreds more have been rescued from often unseaworthy vessels and taken to the tiny Mediterranean island's overcrowded detention center.
READ: U.S. Navy rescues 282 apparent migrants in Mediterranean
READ: 17 killed in sinking of migrants' ship off Italy
READ: Italian navy rescues 730 migrants in overcrowded boats off Sicily
Ex-Downing Street adviser gets retrial
6/30/2014 4:52:21 AM
- Andy Coulson and Clive Goodman will face a retrial, a court decides
- They each face two charges of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office
- A jury was unable to reach a decision on the charges last week
- But it did convict Coulson of conspiracy to hack phones between 2000 and 2006
London (CNN) -- Former News of the World journalists Andy Coulson and Clive Goodman will face a retrial on charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, a London court ruled.
Coulson, a former News of the World editor and ex-Downing Street communications chief, was convicted last week of conspiracy to hack phones between 2000 and 2006.
But the jury was not able to reach a decision on two charges each against both for allegedly conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.
Both Coulson and Goodman, the paper's former royal editor, have pleaded not guilty.
Another of Rupert Murdoch's former newspaper chiefs, Rebekah Brooks, was unanimously cleared of all charges last week after the eight-month trial at the Old Bailey court.
Public and political outrage over the hacking revelations led to the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World paper and the setting up of a public inquiry to examine journalistic ethics, known as the Leveson Inquiry, as well as a police investigation.
Coulson resigned as News of the World editor in 2007 after Goodman and a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, were jailed for hacking into voice-mail messages left for royal aides.
Coulson denied any wrongdoing and later became Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications. The former editor resigned from his Downing Street position in 2011 as coverage of the phone hacking scandal broadened.
READ: Who is Andy Coulson?
READ: Andy Coulson found guilty in phone hacking trial; Rebekah Brooks cleared
READ: 7 amazing things we learned during the hacking trial
CNN's Kellie Morgan reported from London, and Jethro Mullen wrote from Hong Kong.
Egypt: President's palace blast kills 2
6/30/2014 6:03:52 AM
- Three other security personal are wounded in the blast, state media say
- Security officers found a second bomb, which they defused, the report says
(CNN) -- Two police officers were killed Monday while trying to detonate bombs found outside the Egyptian Presidential Palace, the interior ministry said.
Three bombs were found outside the palace in Cairo.
One officer died and three were wounded when one of the bombs exploded. A second officer died trying to defuse another bomb. That explosion injured several others, the ministry said.
The third bomb was successfully defused, Egypt's state-run new organization Al-Ahram reported.
Authorities do not know who placed the devices.
Militants in Egypt have stepped up attacks since the military's ouster last year of former President Mohamed Morsy, Egypt's first democratically elected top leader.
Last week, a series of small blasts hit metro stations and a courthouse in Cairo, injuring several people.
Egypt's former military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has taken over as the country's president after winning 96% of the vote in the presidential election last month.
At least 4 injured by explosions in Cairo
Sudan demolishes church: Witnesses
6/30/2014 2:16:54 PM
- Witnesses: A Sudan government force destroyed a church near the capital
- The government warned it would happen, a priest says
- Sudanese officials did not return calls from CNN
- Demolition follows the release of a woman who was sentenced to death for being Christian
(CNN) -- A Sudanese government force destroyed a church Monday, ignoring the wails of nearby residents, witnesses told journalists working for CNN.
The attack came a day after authorities sent a letter saying they would demolish the church, priest Kuoa Shimal said.
Government sources did not immediately return calls from CNN.
Complaints about the predominantly Muslim country's lack of religious freedom came under the international spotlight recently after Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a Christian mother of two, refused to renounce her faith and was sentenced to death. After an international outcry, she was freed and reunited with her American husband.
The 70-strong force Monday arrived at the Alizba slums near the capital, Khartoum, around 10 a.m., witnesses said. Some were dressed in plain clothes.
CNN visited the scene afterward, where the religious site was reduced to rubble.
In April 2013, the Sudanese minister of religious affairs announced that no licenses would be granted to allow for the building of new churches -- less than two years after the predominantly Christian South Sudan seceded to form an independent country.
During a brief territorial war between Sudan and South Sudan in April 2012, a mob of Islamist extremists attacked and destroyed a church west of Khartoum despite a police cordon around it.
The threat of violence has caused Sudan's churches to empty. At a recent Sunday service, worshipers asked CNN not to identify them by name.
"The church is now contaminated with terror. You don't feel safe in prayer," one Christian activist said.
Entertainer guilty of child abuse
6/30/2014 2:59:29 PM
- Rolf Harris is found guilty in a London court of 12 charges of sexual abuse
- 84-year-old musician and artist painted portrait of Queen for monarch's 80th birthday in 2006
- Offenses Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970
- Harris charged under Operation Yewtree investigating abuse allegations by public figures
London (CNN) -- Australian children's entertainer Rolf Harris, 84, was found guilty Monday in a London court of 12 charges of sexually abusing women and girls as young as 7 years old.
The musician and artist, who painted a portrait of the Queen for the monarch's 80th birthday in 2006, had been charged under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating allegations of decades of abuse by public figures, including the late TV entertainer Jimmy Savile.
The offenses that Harris committed against four women took place as far back as 1970. He was released on bail until Friday, when he will be sentenced; the judge, Justice Sweeney, warned him he could face jail, the Press Association reported.
Dozens more women who said they had been abused by the entertainer, including several in Australia, alerted police during the trial, PA added.
Speaking outside Southwark Crown Court after the verdict, Detective Mick Orchard told reporters: "Rolf Harris has habitually denied any wrongdoing, forcing his victims to recount their ordeal in public.
"He committed many offenses in plain sight of people as he thought his celebrity status placed him above the law. I want to thank the women who came forward for their bravery. I hope today's guilty verdict will give them closure and help them to begin to move on with their lives.
"Today's case and verdict once again shows that we will always listen to, and investigate allegations regardless of the time frame or those involved."
Harris was once one of Britain's best-loved children's entertainers. He had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys." He had a decades-long television career at the BBC and received several honors, including the Order of the British Empire.
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