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Heroes' welcome for Germany
7/15/2014 10:19:18 AM
- Germany's national football team arrive home after winning World Cup in Brazil
- Victorious side tour Berlin on open-top trailer; streets lined with supporters
- Tens of thousands of fans gather at Brandenburg Gate to welcome the champions
- Germany beat Argentina 1-0 with goal in extra time to notch up fourth title
Editor's note: Are you in Berlin taking part in the World Cup celebrations? Share your photos and video with CNN.
(CNN) -- The streets of Berlin have turned black, red and gold as up to a million flag-waving fans gather in the German capital to welcome home the nation's World Cup-winning footballers.
Germany's national side flew in from Rio de Janeiro -- where they beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday to secure their fourth championship -- on Tuesday morning to a heroes' welcome.
Mario Götze (@MarioGoetze), who scored the winning goal at the Maracana, tweeted a photo of the team on the bus from the plane to the airport terminal, announcing that they had arrived home.
Back in Germany!!! #Fanmeile #Weltmeister #Siegerflieger #PartOfGoetze pic.twitter.com/kBRyxOGwES
— Mario Götze (@MarioGoetze) July 15, 2014 Boarding an open-top Mercedes truck and trailer emblazoned with the years of their four World Cup victories -- 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 -- the team threaded its way through the city along roads lined with tens of thousands of cheering fans.
The players, dressed in black t-shirts, each bearing a large number 1, and proudly displaying their winners' medals, waved to those below, who held aloft cardboard signs proclaiming "We are all world champions!"
Stars including a grinning Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) tweeted photos of themselves taken from the trailer and marveled at the huge number of supporters who had turned out to greet them: "What a crowd!" the Arsenal midfielder posted. "Unbelievable!"
what a crowd! unbelievable! 😊 #GER #Berlin #Fanmeile pic.twitter.com/pJFpGtzBxE
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 15, 2014 One enthusiastic fan displayed a banner announcing to the team's goalkeeper: "Neuer, I want to have your baby."
Others rode their bikes alongside the vehicle, wearing German flags as capes and snapping photos on their phones as they cycled towards the city center.
At the Brandenburg Gate there was a festive atmosphere, as the sea of supporters -- many of whom had taken the day off to be there -- waited patiently for hours for a glimpse of the team.
"We're so incredibly proud," one woman told CNN. "It's a great day for Germany. I'm a waitress but I wouldn't have missed today - everyone is off work!"
For others, a trip to the "Fanmeile" fans' zone was "The best lunchbreak of all time."
#Fifa #WorldCup World Cup Beste Mittagspause aller Zeiten. #berlin #weltmeister #wm2014 #worldcup #aneurerseite pic.twitter.com/gPgbgI1DGX
— FIFA World Cup 2014 (@iFifaWorIdCup) July 15, 2014 Some had traveled long distances to join in the celebrations.
"We've come from Frankfurt this morning," another fan explained. "We arrived at 4.30 a.m. -- we just had to come. I'm proud to be German, I'm looking forward to seeing my favorite player Schweinsteiger on stage."
Those who couldn't be there in person took part on Twitter, with Alex (@pixxelrunner) tweeting from Hamburg that he had "goosebumps" watching the "craziness" unfold in Berlin.
Ohh wie ist das schöön... Gänsehaut Hühnerhaut. Wahnsinn. #Fanmeile #Weltmeister #WM2014 #aneurerseite #wirfuer4
— Alex (@pixxelrunner) July 15, 2014 The crowds erupted in huge cheers as the team finally took to the stage -- several hours later than expected, because of their slow progress on the 11km route through the jammed city streets.
Dancing, clowning around, playing air guitar and singing "We are number one!" the players thanked the crowd for their support.
Captain Philipp Lahm showed off the trophy, passing it to his fellow players, including midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, draped in a German flag and beaming, despite the large plaster covering the cut to his face sustained in Sunday's final.
Tweeting a photograph of several members of the team in front of thousands of fans, Özil thanked the huge numbers who had joined the street party -- which looked set to go on throughout the day and well into the night.
thank you for the fantastic welcome! absolutely amazing! #WorldCup #WorldChampions #DFBTeam #Berlin pic.twitter.com/n8SSY8bNu1
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 15, 2014 READ MORE: German joy as 24-year World Cup wait ends
READ MORE: Bizarre moments from the World Cup final
READ MORE: Top 10 matches of the Brazil 2014 World Cup
CNN's Christina MacFarlane and Alex Felton contributed to this report.
The smart way out of Gaza crisis
7/15/2014 8:56:21 AM
- Michael Oren: Mideast crisis presents opportunity for creative diplomacy
- He says model for a solution should be the removal of chemical weapons from Syria
- Oren: U.S. inspectors could oversee removal of Hamas rocket stockpiles
- He says international aid could repair Gaza's economy, and Israel could ease blockade
Editor's note: Michael B. Oren is the Abba Eban chair in international diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, and an ambassador-in-residence at the Atlantic Council. He was formerly Israel's ambassador to the United States. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Great baseball players know every pitch is an opportunity. As with fastballs, international crises also present opportunities. And the current clash between Israel and Gaza offers several potential game-changers.
Over the course of the past six days, Hamas gunmen, along with other militant groups, have fired nearly 800 rockets at Israeli cities and towns. The Israeli air force, in response, has conducted some 1,200 sorties against Hamas targets and -- despite warning civilians of impending attacks -- inflicted civilian casualties.
Now, the Israeli army is poised to enter Gaza and uproot Hamas by force. Destruction is expected to be at least as extensive as in the previous rounds of fighting between Hamas and Israel. Thousands are liable to be displaced; civilian casualties will mount. Still, with nearly its entire population under rocket fire, Israel will have no choice but to invade.
The obvious solution is a cease-fire similar to ones mediated by Egypt in 2008 and 2012 and co-sponsored by the United States. Such a cease-fire would end the shooting but would not hold for long. An unconditional cease-fire would enable Hamas to rearm and reignite the conflict at a time of its choosing.
Egypt, moreover, is now focused on its domestic challenges and reluctant to become embroiled in regional conflicts. And American foreign policy has been weakened by its failure in the peace process and its resistance to intervening in the Syrian and Iraqi civil wars.
What's the endgame?
Worsening matters, the Egyptian government of Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has had a strained relationship with the U.S. government that frowned on his undemocratic rise to power. In baseball terms, the crisis in Gaza seems to be a fastball too blistering to hit.
Yet, the very threat of full-scale fighting can serve to motivate the combatants to seek a way out. Promised a new beginning in their relations with Washington, the Egyptians can be induced to once again mediate between Hamas and Israel. And America can reclaim its traditional leadership. A simultaneous cease-fire can be achieved, but that would only be the first in a multistaged diplomatic process.
The next stage would apply the formula with which the United States and Russia successfully removed chemical weapons from Syria. American inspectors can locate Hamas' rocket stockpiles and ship them abroad for destruction.
At the same time, the people of Gaza would receive the international aid needed to repair the war damage and energize their economy, which has been failing for years. Finally, once the rockets are eliminated, Israel can ease the maritime blockade of Gaza. The Palestinians will be spared further hardship and Hamas deprived of one of its chief pretexts for attacking Israel.
The crisis also presents an opportunity to strengthen Palestinian moderates. American and Canadian-trained police officers loyal to the West Bank Palestinian Authority can be stationed at the border crossings from Israel into Gaza. Similarly, these security personnel can be deployed at the Gaza border crossings that Egypt formerly closed but would now reopen.
Opinion: How Iron Dome missile defense buys time for Israel
Ideally, the Palestinian Authority would replace Hamas rule over Gaza. It is doubtful whether that goal could be achieved swiftly and without prolonged violence. Yet a new status quo can be created that is more stable and less prone to breakdown.
Effectively demilitarized, with a stimulated economy and an expanded role for Palestinians committed to the peace process, Gaza can cease being the cause of repeated conflict. The Obama administration could point to a significant diplomatic victory, Egypt could reassert its regional leadership and Israel and the Palestinian Authority could create a context for restarting the peace process.
Israelis and Palestinians are indeed confronting a complex and dangerous situation. But as every slugger knows, the faster the pitch, the further the ball will fly off the bat. For all of the pain and trauma it has caused so far, the crisis in Gaza offers all the parties a chance to hit deep, perhaps even a diplomatic home run.
Fearing daughter's border wedding
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Michael Oren.
U.S. border crisis may last a long time
7/15/2014 10:18:16 AM
- Ruben Navarrette: Some might think the border crisis is a short-term concern
- He says the flow of people across the border is likely to continue
- U.S. efforts to turn back, or send back, immigrant children won't stem the tide, he says
Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
San Diego (CNN) -- As we try to grasp the enormity of the crisis involving at least 57,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border looking for safe haven, Americans should stop casting blame and be realistic.
We always look for an endpoint, a limit, a boundary. When we're told about a budget shortfall, we want the exact numbers so we can assess the damage. We'll settle for an approximation. "Give me a ballpark figure," we say.
But sometimes, it's not that simple.
Recently, my sources in Texas who have been close to the border kids story since the start -- and have batted 1.000 in terms of the accuracy of their reports -- have been giving me a dire warning. It's the equivalent of: "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Many Americans are angry and frustrated over the government's handling of the border kids calamity. The Obama administration -- which, according to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, was warned by state officials in the Lone Star State that this was happening as early as 2012 and obviously didn't do enough to prepare -- estimates that by the end of this year, as many as 90,000 young people will have crossed the border into the American Southwest.
Opinion: Send U.S. marshals to the border
Then there are the tag-alongs. Looking for jobs, and seizing on the opportunity presented by the fact that so many border patrol agents are preoccupied caring for the children, an unknown number of adults from Mexico are riding the kids' coattails right into the United States.
It's a total mess. But what if what we're witnessing now is just the beginning? What if the real wave is yet to come?
My sources tell me that it is well-known that in the Rio Grande Valley, there are tens or even hundreds of thousands of people from Central America -- mostly women and children -- in northern Mexico right now, waiting for their chance to cross into the United States.
We should stop looking for an endpoint. This story has no end in sight.
As a journalist, every week, I start with a dozen new angles to explore. By the beginning of next week, there will be a dozen more. Make no mistake. We will be dealing with this crisis not for weeks or months but probably for years. People will keep coming. And with every wave, new angles will appear.
It is hubris for U.S. officials to believe that any one course of action can stop the flood of desperate people fleeing violence, poverty and oppression. The most we can hope for is to be able to manage this crisis for the next few years.
Only six weeks ago, this story was limited to how we were going to respond to a mass exodus of brave and desperate children and teenagers being ferried across the U.S.-Mexico border by unscrupulous Mexican smugglers after escaping the clutches of ruthless street gangs in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Then it grew to involve the perils of a porous border and the litany of horrible things that can happen, on both sides of the line, when you advertise to the world that your country's backdoor is unlocked and you don't have the manpower to keep order and prevent violence, crime and lawlessness.
Now that -- heaven help the children -- the politicians have become involved, the story has become about how neither the White House nor Congress, neither Democrats nor Republicans, have the foggiest idea about how to deal with the problem, since all we're hearing are bad and simplistic solutions that tell us that most of our leaders don't know the first thing about what they see as the foreign world of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Speaking of simplistic solutions, the Obama administration this week deported the first batch of undocumented women and children to Honduras. Don't expect the deportees to even bother unpacking. Unless the horrendous violence and poverty that pushed them out has been magically eradicated in the past several months, they will soon return to the United States.
Opinion: What Obama could learn on the border
Here's what this chapter of the story is really about: The scope of the problem. It's about numbers and tally sheets that we're afraid to imagine. It's about how many people will come and how long this surge will go on.
Many Americans, particularly those in the Southwest, are in full panic mode. And so they're doing what they always do in the face of adversity: They're digging in their heels, rolling up their sleeves, stiffening their backbones -- and blaming Mexico.
They demand to know why Mexico isn't stopping the border kids from going north.
To be fair, from media reports and interviews with Central American kids who tried to get out but were captured in Mexico and deported back home, it does seem like our neighbor is stopping some of them. Yet Mexico couldn't stop all of these kids at its southern border any more than we could stop them at ours. There are just too many of them.
In both countries, we're learning the same lesson: Walls and guards can't stop the determined and the desperate, the oppressed and the hungry.
Americans couldn't stop the first wave of child refugees, and it's not clear if we can stop the second or third. But let's at least be ready for it and make sure we don't repeat our mistakes.
Politicians like to talk about how we have to "do right" by these kids, but doing the right thing requires staying ahead of this story and bracing for the least desirable outcome.
Let's stop looking for simple solutions and a finish line. This crisis doesn't have either one.
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Costa Concordia: 9 things to know
7/15/2014 11:33:59 AM
- Two and a half years after running aground in Giglio, Italy, the Costa Concordia is being re-floated
- 32 passengers and crew were killed when the cruise ship capsized in January 2012
- Crews hope to re-float the Concordia and tow it from Giglio to the port in Genoa
- Dismantling the ship could take two years; the total cost of the wreck is projected to be more than $2 billion
London (CNN) -- It may be the biggest salvage operation in history, but no one would accuse it of being the fastest.
Now, two and a half years after running aground and sinking off the coast of Italy, the Costa Concordia cruise liner is almost ready to make its final voyage.
If everything goes to plan, over the next couple of weeks the rotting 951-foot vessel will be re-floated and towed north from the Italian island of Giglio -- its resting place since it capsized in January 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew in the process -- to the port in Genoa to be dismantled.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a lot of work to do before this decaying husk of a ship is back out on the open seas, and there's a lot that could go wrong in the meantime. CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau is writing a book about the Concordia, so we asked her to break down the big questions for us.
What's happening now?
Before the Concordia can be towed away, it first has to be re-floated. That process starts Monday, when crews will attempt to lift the 114,000-tonne ship off of the underwater platforms that it's been resting on since it was "parbuckled," or rolled upright, last year.
The re-floating process will take around five days. 30 huge steel hollow boxes, or sponsons, attached to either side of the Concordia are being pumped full of compressed air to give the ship buoyancy. Crews raised the ship two meters in the first six hours Monday before moving the ship off of its underwater platforms.
Crews will now check it for fissures, clean it and attach the flotation devices on each side together under the bottom of the boat with giant chains and cables, creating a false bottom.
Workers will then raise the decaying cruise liner one deck at a time by pumping more air into the sponsons. Each deck will take approximately six hours to raise and clean. Once they've raised the Concordia three decks above water, Italian environmental officials will inspect it for leaks. Then it's tow time.
When will it be towed and how long will it take?
With 60,000 tonnes of salvage gear attached to its 114,000 tonne frame, the Concordia isn't exactly a speedboat. Traveling at a maximum speed of two knots (2.3 miles per hour), it will take about five days to tow the ship to Genoa, roughly 200 miles north of Giglio.
It could happen as early as July 18th, but only if the weather grants the salvage team a clear five-day forecast. It's just too risky to attempt to tow the decomposing liner through anything less than calm waters.
The ship's been upright since September. What's taken so long?
Weather has accounted for a number of delays. It was September 2013 (more than 18 months after it sank) by the time the stricken vessel was rotated upright, and the ideal time to tow it away had already passed for the year. The Mediterranean is at its most tranquil from mid-July to early August, so salvage crews spent the past 10 months making final preparations for this window of time.
Interactive: How the ship was tipped upright
What does Greenpeace have to say about this?
Greenpeace has chartered a ship to monitor the Concordia operation. The environmental group is concerned that the ship will leak a trail of toxins into the Mediterranean during its five-day voyage to Genoa, and says the fragile liner should be taken to Piombino, a much closer port that could be reached in a single day.
So why is the Concordia going to Genoa?
The port at Piombino may be closer, but it would need to be dredged in order to be deep enough to take the Concordia. The port wouldn't be ready until the end of September, and by then the weather conditions would make Mediterranean waters too choppy to navigate until this time next year.
Costa Crociere, the firm that owns the Concordia, also runs a large part of Genoa's port. The company wants to bring what's left of their former marquee ship back to their home port, rather than having to keep tabs on it from afar. Costa also wants to recycle intact parts of the ship -- engine components, plumbing structures, anything else that's waterproof -- and use them in their other cruise liners.
How long will it take to "recycle" the Concordia?
It will take around 125 workers between 18 months and two and a half years. Once the Concordia's in Genoa, crews will construct a giant tent over the ship and none of us will ever see it again. The front and the back will be dismantled first, and any possessions that passengers left behind as they fled the sinking liner will be returned to their owners.
How much is this all going to cost?
Costa Crociere's Michael Tamm said the operation has already cost an eye-watering $1 billion, and will top $2 billion or more by the time it's done. That's more than three times the $612 million than it cost to build in 2004.
What are the chances of the ship making it to Genoa?
An optimistic 80%, according to the salvage firm. The worst case scenario was that the ship could fall apart during the first six hours, but things appear to have gone well. The next biggest risk is that it could break while it's being towed through the waters off the coast of Corsica, which is where the Mediterranean's currents are the strongest.
Is this the end of the story?
Not at all. Once the Concordia leaves Giglio, a company will come in to clean up the mess left by the salvage firms. Giglio's residents, meanwhile, are debating whether to turn their new underwater salvage platforms into a dive attraction, or to tear them down.
Costa Crociere is also being sued by dozens of survivors of the accident, and the Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship.
READ MORE: Will missing shipwreck victim surface?
Israeli strikes hit Gaza after Hamas rejects cease-fire
7/15/2014 11:52:05 AM
- A cease-fire attempt has faltered after six hours
- Hamas never stopped firing rockets
- The Israel Defense Forces resumed airstrikes after six hours
- The Gaza death toll is higher than the number of people killed there during the 2012 war
Gaza City (CNN) -- An Egypt-backed cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fell apart Tuesday as rocket attacks from Gaza were answered by Israeli airstrikes once again.
The rocket attacks from Hamas militants in Gaza never ceased, Israeli officials said. For its part, Israel refrained from airstrikes for about six hours before announcing it was resuming the attacks.
A CNN crew witnessed at least five Israeli airstrikes just as the announcement was made.
The Israel Defense Forces said 47 rockets were fired into Israel during the cease-fire period, which Hamas never accepted.
The faltering of the cease-fire attempt means there may be little hope of seeing an end to the near constant exchange of fire that has so far killed more than 190 Palestinians in Gaza.
The first fatality on the Israeli side was a man killed Monday after being hit by a mortar shell, Israeli Rescue Services said. The man was an Israeli volunteer who was at the Erez border crossing to deliver food to soldiers.
Israeli leaders had agreed to the cease-fire, but from the outset warned it would be short-lived if the attacks from Gaza didn't stop.
The Israeli Security Cabinet met early Tuesday morning and decided to halt aerial strikes beginning at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. ET). It resumed strikes about six hours later, by 3 p.m. (8 a.m. ET).
Gaza crisis: Who's who in Hamas
Hours later, the barrage from Gaza continued, with at least one salvo of about 40 rockets launched on south and central Israel
"Hamas have decided to continue, and will pay the price for that decision," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
The Egyptian plan calls for all sides to cease hostilities in Gaza. It also calls for the opening of border crossings, once the security situation is stable, and for high-level talks among those involved.
When the plan was announced, there was a split reaction from Hamas. Its military wing rejected any possibility of a cease-fire, while its political wing had said it was considering it.
Ismail Haneyya, deputy chairman of Hamas' political wing, said at the outset of the Egyptian efforts that there is a bigger issue than a cease-fire for Palestinians.
He said that what Palestinians really want is an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza that is suffocating the daily lives of the 1.8 million Palestinians living there.
Haneyya, speaking on Hamas-owned Al Aqsa TV, also accused Israel of not freeing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, as had been agreed to under an earlier truce. These, he said, are elements the Palestinians would like to see in a comprehensive cease-fire agreement.
The stakes are high and climbing.
By Tuesday, the death toll from a week of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza had reached 194 with at least 1,400 wounded, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The death toll is now greater than the number of people killed in Gaza during the 2012 conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Trapped in war: 'This is tyranny'
Civilian casualties
Amid the diplomatic maneuvering, the residents of Gaza are stuck in the middle of the continued fighting. The United Nations has said that most of the people killed by Israel's aerial attacks are civilians.
"I urgently call on the Israeli Security Forces to put an end to attacks against, or endangering, civilians and civilian infrastructure which are contrary to international humanitarian law," said Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA.
There are now 17,000 refugees taking shelter in 20 schools in Gaza, UNRWA said, and the airstrikes have damaged 47 of its buildings, including clinics, schools and warehouses.
The Israeli military says it uses a variety of methods, including phone calls and leaflets, to warn civilians of impending strikes.
But UNRWA called on Israel to exercise maximum restraint and precautions to avoid more casualties.
"Clearly at this stage not enough is being done in that regard," Krahenbuhl said.
Hamas on Tuesday closed a crossing between Gaza and Israel but allowed 25 Palestinians -- some of them needing medical attention -- to cross into Israel at Erez.
The border crossing at Erez was closed not as punitive measure, but because the Gazan side has been targeted in airstrikes, said Maher Abu Subha, the head of the committee for border crossings in Gaza.
Employees at the crossing have been targeted three times in three days, and it was closed out of fear for the lives of the workers, he said.
The crossing can be reopened quickly if Israel can guarantee the workers' safety, he said.
Kerry delays trip
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was preparing a possible trip to the Middle East to lay groundwork for a cease-fire, but he postponed the visit to give Egyptian efforts a chance to take root.
One official said the United States wants to give Egypt a chance to reassert itself as a power broker in the Middle East, as it did during the 2012 cease-fire.
Kerry continued to follow that line Tuesday.
"The Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire and negotiations provides an opportunity to end the violence and restore calm," Kerry said from Vienna, Austria. "We welcome the Israeli Cabinet's decision to accept it. We urge all other parties to accept the proposal."
Kerry strongly condemned the rocket launches by Hamas in the face of the cease-fire plan, and said he is prepared to fly to the Middle East as early as Wednesday, if needed.
The current Egyptian President, the ex-military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has weaker relations with Hamas than former President Mohamed Morsy, who brokered the 2012 deal. Morsy was ousted by the military in 2013.
Earlier, Kerry spoke by phone with Netanyahu and expressed U.S. concerns about escalating tensions. He reiterated that the U.S. is prepared to help bring about a cease-fire, a senior State Department official said.
But "offering facilitation is not enough," Yousef Munayyer of the Washington-based Palestine Center told CNN's "New Day."
"It's important that the United States demand a cease-fire," he said. "There is no military solution to this."
READ: Pope calls for Middle East cease-fire
READ: Fear for daughter's Gaza border wedding
READ: Opinion: A smart way out of the Gaza confrontation
CNN's Ian Lee reported from Gaza City, Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong, and Ed Payne wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Michael Schwartz, Ben Wedeman, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Diana Magnay, Salma Abdelaziz, Ali Younes and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
Men dive in to save drowning teen
7/14/2014 7:52:37 AM
Watch a dramatic rescue of a teen swept up in powerful surf in a California cove. CNN affiliate KCAL has more.
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What would end Gaza carnage?
7/16/2014 2:11:50 AM
- Aaron Miller and Josh Nason: Three elements are needed for a cease-fire
- They say both sides need to have urgency about ending the Gaza clash
- An acceptable agreement and a mediator also must be in place, they say
- Authors: Hamas is looking for some way to claim a victory from the confrontation
Editor's note: Aaron David Miller is a vice president and distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and was a Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican administrations. Follow him on Twitter. Josh Nason is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he received his master's in Middle East Studies. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.
(CNN) -- Want to try for a cease-fire to end the burgeoning conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza?
Mix a cocktail of three ingredients: urgency, the desire of both sides to climb down; an agreement that allows them to do so; and a mediator to bring it all together. Egypt's latest cease-fire proposal, clearly coordinated with (and accepted by Israel), can't get us there -- at least not yet. Hamas, weak and desperate for a victory, isn't ready to stand down.
And even if it were ready to do so, any agreement that's merely a cease-fire won't provide a real solution to the Israel-Hamas problem. Indeed, without a more comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, a cease-fire, even if accompanied by more economic openings for Gaza, will at best offer a temporary respite for these two adversaries. Sooner or later, Israel and Hamas will once again find themselves back in bitter confrontation.
We've seen two prequels to this tragic movie. In 2008-9, a conflict over Hamas' high-trajectory weapons ended in an Israeli ground incursion and a unilaterally declared Israeli cease-fire. Then again in November 2012, a weeklong conflict ended in an Egypt-brokered accord that lasted until the latest outbreak.
There's no real end state to this confrontation, in large part because of the diametrically opposed objectives of Israel and Hamas, a resistance organization whose very being depends on continued confrontation.
Yet Hamas isn't al Qaeda or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Over the years, despite their enmity, Israel and Hamas have at times actually managed to find a way to accommodate one another. In a perverse way, Hamas and Israel serve one another's needs.
Hamas needs an enemy to maintain its legitimacy and popular appeal. And Israel may even see advantages in a weakened Hamas that can rule Gaza and control the behavior of smaller jihadi groups. At the same time, for those Israelis opposed to a two-state solution, Hamas' radicalism and rockets represent an ideal argument as to why Israel can't make concessions to achieve one.
And that's why it isn't at all surprising that this round, like previous ones, will sooner or later have to end. Israel doesn't want to launch a ground incursion, let alone reoccupy Gaza; and Israeli strikes are hurting Hamas -- and Gazans too -- while Hamas rockets are unable to inflict serious damage on Israel.
But de-escalation isn't a do-it-yourself project. It requires mediation, and for the past week nobody has appeared ready to take on the job.
The U.N. is viewed as too biased by Israel. The United States rightly didn't want to jump in until both sides seemed more ready to deal. And with no ties with Hamas, Washington isn't especially well-placed to mediate. Turkey has influence with Hamas, but its ties with Israel are too rocky. The Saudis really don't want to get into the middle of this. The Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas has little influence with either Israel or Hamas. The Qataris do have close ties with Hamas and might play a role, particularly as bankers to pay thousands of Hamas employees, a key Hamas demand.
So enter Egypt, the party that brokered the last Israel-Hamas cease-fire in November 2012 . But as Hamas rejection of the Egyptian offer makes clear, it's going to be harder this time around.
In 2012, you had a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, led by Mohamed Morsy, that maintained very close relations with Hamas. After all, the Muslim Brotherhood spawned the Palestinian organization.
This time around, you have a government led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose agenda is quite different. El-Sisi is no Brotherhood lover, to say the least. His rise to power occurred against the backdrop of what he perceived to be an existential threat from the Islamists. And he has made good on his promises of countering Islamists at home and in Gaza. El-Sisi's government has been at the forefront of shutting down Gaza smuggling tunnels and keeps the Rafah border crossing closed (except for a brief opening this past week to let through some wounded Gazans for medical treatment).
This environment of extreme distrust between Hamas and the Egyptian government complicates matters. But el-Sisi may have other reasons to engage. He must be sensitive to the civilian casualties in Gaza, which can create political trouble on the Egyptian street, empower Egyptian Islamists, and force him to blast Israel, which he doesn't want to do. And by prewiring the cease-fire with Israel, he keeps the Qataris and Turks who might take Hamas' part in all of this at bay -- for now.
Can the Egyptians pull it off? This brings us to the deal itself. Hamas entered the conflict badly weakened by a terrible economic situation in Gaza. It needs some relief and some kind of victory trophy to justify the destruction in Gaza. It has at least three demands: release prisoners picked up in the recent Israeli West Bank sweep; open up Rafah and eliminate other restrictions on moving people and goods; and pay salaries for thousands of Hamas employees. (Qatar has offered to provide money for the salaries, using an intermediary, but Israel has thus far blocked these efforts.)
Israel, on the other hand, wants to make sure Hamas doesn't gain too much politically.
Squaring this circle won't be easy. Getting rid of Hamas' rockets -- like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons -- through some kind of international mechanism is likely a bridge too far. And a broader agreement that really guarantees long-term stability, with a real economic opening in Gaza and a formal truce between Israel and Hamas, just doesn't seem possible now.
This is the Middle East, not Switzerland. And right now, Cairo will be lucky to work out a more modest deal. Hamas will lose the political battle too if Israel accepts Egypt's offer and it doesn't. Right now, however, its military wing is resisting.
Clearly, there's more negotiating in the cards. An agreement that eventually delivers a return to the status quo -- quiet for quiet -- is hardly ideal, but it is more real in the world which Israel and Hamas inhabit than a more ambitious peace deal between the two.
How long the clash will last is anyone's guess, but a deal is preferable to the events of last week. The longer the fight goes on, the greater the chances of some truly horrific incident involving massive civilian casualties. That would make escalation, not a deal, inevitable. And nobody -- least of all the people of Gaza -- can afford that.
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Immigrant, refugee? What's difference
7/16/2014 6:07:39 AM
- The distinction can determine deportation from U.S. or the chance to stay under asylum
- An immigrant chooses to resettle to another country
- A refugee is forced to flee his or her home country
- Getting asylum in the United States isn't easy and could take years
(CNN) -- The Central Americans crossing the U.S. border in massive waves have been described as immigrants or refugees.
The distinction is significant and could determine whether the migrants are subject to deportation to their home country or eligible to remain in the United States under asylum.
What is an immigrant?
An immigrant is someone who chooses to resettle to another country.
The United States has a legal process for that immigrant to seek legal residency and eventually citizenship.
Many immigrants, however, don't have such legal status and are thus undocumented. As such, they are subject to "removal" or deportation from the United States.
There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States -- a problem that has led Democrats and Republicans alike to declare the U.S. immigration system as "broken." Congress has been deadlocked for years on how to reform immigration laws.
"Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says. "Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their freedom."
What is a refugee?
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home country.
As such, refugees can apply for asylum in the United States, a process that could take years.
Getting refugee status isn't easy.
The applicants have to prove that if they return to their home country, they'll be injured because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or their political opinion.
"Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because they fear serious harm," the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says.
The Central Americans overwhelming the U.S.-Mexican border are Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans. Many are fleeing drug- and gang-fueled violence back home.
Is the violence -- any kind -- grounds for a refugee claim? Not necessarily.
The violence has to be targeted to a person specifically, and that's where things get complicated. Every case is different, and because of a law signed by President George W. Bush in 2008, children fall into a special class.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Action Act, named after a 19th century British abolitionist, is designed to crack down on the global child slave trade. The U.S. law ensured that children who came to the country got a full immigration hearing instead of being turned away or sent back. The hearing would determine whether the children had a valid claim for asylum.
The law is now cited as one cause behind a projected 90,000 children from Central America and Mexico who will cross the U.S. border alone or with other children this year, a huge increase over the 39,000 that the Border Patrol detained last year.
Asylum is a protection available to people who are already in the United States or are seeking admission at the U.S. border.
CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report.
Is baseball on its way out?
7/15/2014 2:54:21 PM
- Mike Downey: Attendance at Major League Baseball games is way down for many teams
- He says All-Star Game Tuesday held against backdrop of waning interest, dearth of big stars
- He says players of prowess come along, but with fewer viewers, they don't get famous
- Downey: Players like Derek Jeter don't come along. We need more of them
Editor's note: Mike Downey is a former columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a frequent contributor to CNN. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.
(CNN) -- So, where'd everybody go?
Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies' attendance is down 8,290 per home game from a year ago. Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, each down more than 4,000. Minnesota Twins, more than 3,000. Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, 2,000-plus.
Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays .... down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
Like they say, come on out, good seats still available!
As baseball's yearly All-Star Game gets under way Tuesday night in Minneapolis, we will be bombarded with a lot of talk about what a great young star this guy is, or that guy is. "You'll be hearing a lot about this guy." "This kid's going to be around a long, long time." "He's got 'future Hall of Famer' written all over him."
Of course we will. Of course he does.
Never mind all the one-season wonders. The flashes in the pans. The golden boys who turned to rust. The All-Stars who were barely seen or heard from again. It's a frat party and everybody's up for it. Major League Baseball has never been better -- at least that's what somebody will tell you and sell you.
Except it's untrue. Seventeen of the game's 30 teams have poorer attendance than a year ago at this time. World Series television ratings get more disappointing year after year. Household-name players -- I mean popular and scandal-free ones like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter -- have come to the ends of their careers, with no clear heir-apparents.
Is there a star player of today you'd go out of your way to see?
"Hey, Felix Hernandez is in town!" "You wanna go to the ballpark tonight and see Adam Wainwright?"
Those are your All-Star starting pitchers. Would you recognize either one if you saw him coming toward you on the street?
Baseball is losing its luster. As ticket prices get higher, interest goes lower. As options on television expand, baseball's grip on the American public gets ever more slippery.
TV's audience for Game 1 of the 2004 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals came to approximately 25.4 million viewers. When the same two teams met in the World Series last October, Game 1's viewership was pegged at around 15 million.
One year earlier a series between the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers attracted the worst TV ratings of any World Series in the past 30 years.
Players of great prowess and promise do still come along. Miguel Cabrera. Andrew McCutchen. Robinson Cano. Clayton Kershaw. A kid can capture imaginations in the blink of an eye. Mike Trout. Jose Abreu. Yu Darvish. Yasiel Puig.
They also can vanish from the radar just as quickly. Albert Pujols now seems two-thirds the superstar he used to be. Prince Fielder, CC Sabathia, Matt Kemp, Ryan Howard ... not exactly the game's hottest names anymore. Stephen Strasburg .... wasn't he the pitcher we were all waiting for? We're still waiting.
Derek Jeters do not come along every day.
Oh, he isn't nearly as famous nationwide as New Yorkers think he is. You could go months in California or Texas or Ohio without meeting a soul who cares that this is Jeter's last season, let alone anyone who could tell you who "the Captain" is. Yet he is a rarity in baseball indeed, particularly in this era -- a standout from beginning to end, as well as a guy who never gave us cause to question what kind of guy he secretly must be. He's been about as controversial as a Muppet.
Baseball could use more like him. They had better show themselves soon, too, because fewer and fewer people are watching. You'll hear somebody tonight call it the national pastime, but let me assure you of something: This nation can find other ways to pass the time.
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Fears of storm surge as typhoon lashes Manila
7/15/2014 11:49:11 PM
- Typhoon Rammasun makes landfall in Philippines
- Storm's intensity increases, catches many off guard
- Manila braces for more rain, heavy winds and storm surge
Editor's note: Are you there? Send your stories to iReport, but stay safe.
(CNN) -- The first major typhoon of the season hit the Philippines Tuesday evening, cutting a swath across Luzon and heading toward Manila. Typhoon Rammasun made landfall near Legazpi City on the country's east coast.
The typhoon, known locally as "Glenda," is the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, and has seen hundreds of thousands evacuated from their homes in towns and cities across the country.
As the storm passed Legazpi, James Reynolds, a freelance videographer who spent the night in the city, ventured out and saw what he described as a "community effort" to clear the fallen trees and power lines, and repair some of the property damage.
"The buildings made of solid concrete are OK, but a lot of buildings, windows have been blown out, doors blown out and some of the lighter structures that people live in haven't fared so well but generally its not as bad as it could have been" he told CNN.
The storm explosively intensified just before landfall into a much stronger system. It was expected to be of Category 2 strength but upon hitting land turned into a Category 3 storm, with sustained winds of 205 km/h (127 mph).
"People in this region have really been on edge since the events of Haiyan," Reynolds said. "The problem with this storm is that it seems to have caught a lot of people off guard."
As the typhoon passed, he said that the anticipated storm surge in Legazpi "hadn't been an issue."
The storm cut across the main island of the Philippines, hitting numerous population centers across southern and central Luzon.
The Philippines is hit by an average of eight or nine storms a year. Last year's Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 1,800 people and caused widespread destruction.
Capital braced for storm surge
Maria Ressa, editor in chief of the online news agency Rappler in Manila, said Wednesday morning that conditions were extreme, with howling winds and strong rain. Several roofs had been ripped off by the powerful winds.
At about midnight Tuesday, the government announced one casualty -- a person killed by an electrical post that was uprooted.
By 7 a.m., the typhoon appeared to have changed course slightly, heading in a more westerly direction. It has been expected to hit Manila head-on, but it now weakening and veering away.
The closest the eye got to Manila was about 25 km south of the city around 7. a.m. Wednesday (7 p.m ET).
Heavy rain continues in the capital, which is expected to taper off towards the late afternoon.
The real danger, however, could be the 2- to 3-meter storm surge that's expected to follow as winds become more onshore. Coastal areas are highly vulnerable to storm surges, and could easily flood.
Marco Savio of Plan International spoke to CNN from Makati, Manila's business district. He said he expected the storm to be at its most severe in Manila around 2 p.m. local time (2 a.m. ET). More than an inch rain was falling per hour in the city, many areas of which are susceptible to flooding.
Savio said while communities along the path of the typhoon have been evacuated, the government was not moving people out of the capital. "(The) majority are living in areas prone to floods. Schools are closed, offices and buildings (are) closed."
As the storm continues on past the Philippines, conditions over the South China Sea favor intensification. The storm is likely to be a category 3 -- or potentially upgraded to a category 4 -- as it nears southern China.
The storm is expected to cross northern Hainan Friday evening local time (Friday morning ET) as a strong typhoon, likely still a category 3.
Some weakening will occur, but assuming the storm remains over water, the system should still be a typhoon when it makes its final landfall near the Vietnam-China border the following day.
No deal yet on Iran nuclear talks
7/15/2014 11:54:34 PM
- John Kerry: There are still "very real gaps" between Iran and six world powers
- Progress has been made but no workable formula has been found yet, he says
- NEW: There could be an extension of a July 20 deadline to reach a permanent deal
- Iran says its intentions are peaceful; the world powers fear it wants nuclear weapons
Vienna, Austria (CNN) -- Negotiations between Western powers and Iran to reach a permanent agreement on the future of Tehran's nuclear ambitions are likely to be extended beyond the July 20 deadline, a senior U.S. official and a Western diplomat told CNN on Tuesday.
The sources, who did not speak for full attribution, said the United States and its partners in the negotiations -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- had not started talking about an extension with the Iranians.
But there are a number of potential time frames being discussed among the United States and its partners, ranging up to six months, the sources said.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday in Vienna the negotiations have not yet bridged some "very real gaps."
Kerry told reporters there had been "tangible progress on key issues," but negotiators have yet to arrive at a "workable formula."
He said he would return to Washington to consult with the White House and lawmakers on options for moving forward, including whether to extend the talks beyond the deadline.
"Our team will continue working very hard to try to reach a comprehensive agreement that resolves the international community's concerns," Kerry said of the negotiators.
Despite the continued differences, Kerry said he believed there was a way ahead.
"But -- and this is a critical point -- while there is a path forward, Iran needs to choose to take it. And our goal now is to determine the precise contours of that path, and I believe we can," he said.
Responding to reporters' questions, he added that trust has to be built because of Iran's past track record in pursuing a secret nuclear program.
Tehran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, but the world powers fear it plans to build nuclear weapons.
"We don't see any benefit in Iran developing a nuclear weapon," Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday.
He said Iran has a number of advantages over its neighbors, including "the fact that we have better technology," which Iran doesn't need to augment with nuclear weapons.
Possible extension
While a six-month extension would give them the maximum negotiating time, the Obama administration has domestic considerations to weigh, including a November deadline after which new sanctions on Iran would have to be imposed under U.S. law.
There are also opponents in Congress who could use the chance for an extension to try to torpedo a deal.
When asked about prospects for an extension, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was "not in a position to speculate about which path will be taken."
An interim deal that took effect in January required Iran to dismantle or freeze some of its nuclear program and open it to more international inspections in return for limited relief from crippling international sanctions.
That set the stage for the current talks on a permanent accord.
CNN's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report. Labott reported from Washington and Crawford from Vienna.
Oscar Pistorius in nightclub argument
7/15/2014 1:59:44 PM
- Oscar Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013
- Pistorius admits killing Steenkamp but denies murder, saying he mistook her for an intruder
- He was involved in a dispute at a nightclub Saturday, his spokeswoman says
- Pistorius subsequently posted a series of tweets, his first activity on Twitter since February
(CNN) -- South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was involved in a nightclub dispute over the weekend, after another patron "started to aggressively interrogate him" on matters relating to his murder trial, his spokeswoman says.
Reports of the incident and subsequent tweets by Pistorius -- his first activity on Twitter since the one-year anniversary of his girlfriend's death -- have grabbed headlines in South Africa and around the world.
Pistorius, 27, is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on February 14, 2013.
The Olympic sprinter admits firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp, but denies murder, saying he mistakenly thought he was defending himself from an intruder.
South African media reported Monday that Pistorius had been involved in an altercation Saturday at the VIP Room in the Sandton area of Johannesburg.
Pistorius' spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess confirmed to CNN Tuesday that her client had been at the venue with one of his cousins, sitting in a VIP section, when he was approached by another patron.
"The individual, according to my client, started to aggressively interrogate him on matters relating to the trial. An argument ensued during which my client asked to be left alone," she said.
"Oscar soon thereafter left the club with his cousin. My client regrets the decision to go to a public space and thereby inviting unwelcome attention."
The day after the incident, Pistorius tweeted a photo montage showing him with children on prosthetics or stumps.
The text accompanying the photos reads, "You have the ability to make a difference in someones life. Sometimes it's the simple things you say or do that can make someone feel better or inspire them."
This was followed by a second tweet, in which the sprinter posted a photographed passage from "Man's Search for Meaning," a book by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
The text says love is the "ultimate and highest goal" and describes how a man with nothing "may still find bliss ... in the contemplation of his beloved."
"In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way -- an honorable way -- in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment," it says.
Pistorius posted a third tweet Monday, a prayer written across a photo of a misty river -- credited to the Christian website crosswalk.com. The text reads: "Lord, today I ask that you bathe those who live in pain in the river of your healing. Amen."
The postings have prompted messages of support, bewilderment and condemnation on the social media site, with some Twitter users questioning why Pistorius had visited a nightclub while on trial.
Pistorius' murder trial has been adjourned until August 7, when closing arguments are scheduled to begin.
Nigeria seizes Boko Haram leader
7/15/2014 2:27:55 PM
- Nigerian police say they've arrested senior Boko Haram member
- They say Mohammed Zakari calls himself "chief butcher" of the Balmo Forest
- That's a region of northeast Nigeria where troops claim to have routed Boko Haram
- The terror group has been blamed for deadly attacks in recent years
(CNN) -- Nigerian police have arrested a man claiming to be Boko Haram's "chief butcher" in an area identified as the Balmo Forest of northeastern Nigeria.
Detectives arrested Mohammed Zakari, 30, as he fled from what police and the military describe as an intensive counterinsurgency sweep in the area.
Zakari is accused in connection with the deaths of seven people, including women and children, according to Nigerian police.
He is also accused of taking part in an April attack against Nigerian customs officers in Kari, police say.
Boko Haram is a fundamentalist Islamic militant group based in northern Nigeria whose name translates as "Western education is forbidden." Its members are accused in dozens of brutal attacks against Nigerian government offices, churches and schools since 2009.
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the group is responsible for at least 2,053 civilian deaths in 2014. The group based its account on media reports and field investigations.
"Boko Haram is effectively waging war on the people of northeastern Nigeria at a staggering human cost," said Human Rights Watch West Africa Director Corinne Dufka.
Malala to Boko Haram: Stop misusing Islam
In May, the group abducted more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, setting off worldwide condemnation of the group and prompting Western nations to send troops and aid to the region to help with the search for the missing girls.
Last month, Boko Haram militants held residents in the village of Kummabza hostage for four days, abducting more than 60 females and killing 30 men. The women later escaped when militants left them alone in a camp while they battled Nigerian soldiers.
Nigerian troops have been conducting intensive efforts against the group in northeastern Nigeria for days, according to government statements and Nigerian media reports.
The military said it has routed terrorists from the Balmo Forest region and uncovered weapons caches as well as uniforms worn by Nigerian security services, according to Nigeria's Ministry of Defence.
Some of the suspected terrorists captured during the raid are "volunteering information linking the activities in the forest with other terrorist activities in the country," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
On the hunt for Boko Haram
CNN's Radina Gigova and Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report.
Nigeria bomb suspect seized
7/16/2014 8:46:33 AM
(CNN) -- One of the masterminds of April's Nyanya Motor Park bombing that killed 71 people has been arrested, Nigerian police said.
About 130 people were hurt when a parked vehicle exploded in the bus station that was crowded with early morning commuters.
Aminu Ogwuche was extradited to Nigeria from Sudan, where he had taken refuge, police said.
Boko Haram's leader claimed responsibility for the April 14 bombing.
The Islamist militant group -- whose name means "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language -- has bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.
Rape, beatings for fleeing kids
7/16/2014 5:17:42 AM
- A number of U.S. towns have protested the arrival of unaccompanied immigrant kids
- The harshest clashes have been in border states and communities in Western states
- As feds search for more space to house immigrant minors, some states say there's no room
- Religious and humanitarian aid groups, as well as others, have offered help
Washington (CNN) -- In places such as Murrieta, California, and Oracle, Arizona, the message is clear: Thousands of immigrant children fleeing Central America are unwelcome in Small Town U.S.A.
The children, many of them arriving unaccompanied from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, have traveled up to 3,000 miles across deserts and rivers, clinging to the tops of trains.
They sometimes face rape and beatings at the hands of "coyotes," smugglers who are paid thousands of dollars to sneak them across the southern border with Mexico.
Earlier this month in Murrieta, busloads of babies in their mothers' laps, teens, 'tweens and toddlers were turned back from a detainee facility.
They were met by screaming protesters waving and wearing American flags and bearing signs that read such things as "Return to Sender."
And so it goes. Southwest border towns, West Coast suburbs, and middle-America enclaves have become the newest battleground in the vitriolic political debate over immigration.
The showdowns highlight the scope and depth of challenges the Obama administration grapples with as officials try to use immigration-related fixes to resolve what politicians on both sides of the aisle have called "a humanitarian crisis."
Here's a snapshot of how things are playing out across the country:
Arizona: In Oracle, a town of roughly 3,700, protesters faced off Tuesday at Sycamore Canyon Academy, a nearby boys ranch that is to be used as a temporary housing facility for the immigrant minors, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.
Protesters representing both sides of the debate screamed and waved signs reading such things as "Send 'em to Coyote Obama," according to video from CNN affiliate KPNX. One man trumpeted a Mariachi-version of the "Star-Spangled Banner" as people around him yelled. Protestors even tried to stop a bus of kids from the local YMCA , which they had mistaken as the immigrant children. But the Central American children never arrived, according to media reports.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said accepting the unaccompanied juvenile immigrants only encourages more to come.
"Their very hope was realized when we took them in. Nobody was turned back and what I believe, and I think a lot of Americans would agree, is instead of accepting these 90,000, they should have -- the humanitarian way to address this is reunite them with their families and their country of origin because this 90,000 is going to be hundreds of thousands," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo Wednesday.
"These children should be returned to their home country -- not to Oracle, Arizona, paid for by American taxpayers," Babeu said earlier in a statement on the department's Facebook page.
California: In sharp contrast to the reception similar children received in Murrieta, Central American immigrant children have been welcomed by the community of Fontana.
Just over 40 immigrants on Homeland Security buses arrived at the St. Joseph's Catholic Church there on Thursday and were greeted by staff and community donations of food, clothing and toys, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.
And a group of California state lawmakers headed to Central America on Monday to discuss the surge of immigrant children with leaders from that region, according to CNN affiliate KCRA.
Texas: Protestors in Waco, Texas, meanwhile, are demanding better conditions for the 250 men from El Salvador being held at the Jack Harwell Detention Center, according to CNN affiliate KCEN.
And the League City, Texas, City Council approved a proposal banning the housing or detention of undocumented immigrants within the city at a recent meeting, according to KHOU.
New Mexico: In Artesia, New Mexico, hundreds of residents turned out for a contentious town hall meeting to decry the hundreds of women and children being housed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility that also trains Border Patrol agents, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.
Iowa: Gov. Terry Branstad told CNN affiliate WHO on Monday that he does not want federal officials to send Central American children to his state, adding that by accepting them, the United States is sending "a signal to send kids illegally."
Some local aid groups are appalled.
"My God. This is a humanitarian crisis," said Kathleen McQuillen, the Iowa Program Director of American Friends Service Committee.
McQuillen's group, a Quaker-based organization, questions how the country could spend trillions on war and not have the pennies on those dollars to spend to take care of children in dire need.
She said, "It's a simple thing to begin to say, what's important in this world?"
Nebraska: At a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville earlier this month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman complained that federal officials did not notify him that they were placing hundreds of immigrant children with family members in his state.
Michigan: Protesters headed to city hall in Vassar earlier this month to oppose a social service agency's plan to temporarily house 60 immigrant children according to CNN affiliate WNEM.
"It's about the American government, Democrat or Republican, getting off their lazy butts and passing a decent bill where we can screen our immigrants, make sure they're not felons, diseased or whatever, and get a program set up to bring them into this country," Vassar resident Jack Smith told WNEM.
Virginia: Federal officials shelved plans to send the children to an unoccupied, historically black college campus in Lawrenceville, a small community of about 1,400, after nearly the entire town showed up at a meeting and furiously denounced the proposal.
"Our staff will immediately cease any further activities in your community," Mark Greenberg, the Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary for children and families, wrote the community in June.
Prince William County officials were frustrated to learn second-hand that some children are being housed in shelters in the region.
"HHS did not inform the county. We're somewhat upset about that," Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart told CNN affiliate WJLA. "I'm concerned these children may be housed here permanently and of course there is going to be a drain on our educational system and other county services."
Maryland: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley asked a top White House official that immigrant minors not be sent to a site that was under consideration in his home state, sources familiar with the conversation said.
"He privately said 'please don't send these kids to western Maryland,'" a Democratic source told CNN.
The heated discussion between O'Malley and White House domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz occurred during a phone call late Friday evening, sources familiar with the conversation added.
A senior O'Malley administration official confirmed the conversation took place. But the official stressed O'Malley, a possible Democratic presidential candidate, did not reject the idea of temporarily housing some of the children in other parts of the state.
Washington: Roughly 600 unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America may soon be heading to Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, according to CNN affiliate KING.
Representatives with HHS are slated to meet Wednesday with Lakewood city leaders and staffers from the office of Democratic Rep. Denny Heck to discuss the matter.
"The biggest concern we have here in DuPont is the security," DuPont City Administrator Ted Danek told the station. "You've got a lot of people coming here (with) no known backgrounds."
And on Monday, the U.S. government deported the first group of what authorities promise will be many more -- about 40 mothers and children. They flew to Honduras on a charter flight.
Despite the perils of their journey to the United States and their failed attempt to stay, one woman plans to make the trek again. There is nothing left for them at home, she said.
'Bright Eyes' rape claim retracted
7/15/2014 10:12:00 AM
- Accuser: "I made up those lies about him to get attention"
- Conor Oberst sued Joan Faircloth for defamation after she published her story
- A judge issued a default judgment in Oberst's favor earlier this month
- Rolling Stone calls Oberst "a pain-strumming poet of emo"
(CNN) -- A woman who accused Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst of raping her when she was a teenager a decade ago now says she made the story up.
Joan Faircloth sent a notarized statement to Oberst's lawyer Monday recanting what she wrote online starting last December.
"The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false," the Durham, North Carolina, woman wrote. "I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son's illness."
The allegations were "republished by countless media outlets around the world, thus further perpetuating the untrue depiction of Oberst as a rapist," said a defamation lawsuit filed by Oberst against Faircloth in February. "To add insult to injury, certain media outlets published stories in which Faircloth's defamatory false statements were characterized as true, and in which Oberst's fans were actually encouraged to stop supporting his musical career."
Court records show that Faircloth never responded to Oberst's lawsuit, which called her a "pathological liar" and asked for at least $1 million in damages. A judge issued a default judgment in Oberst's favor earlier this month.
Faircloth's story was first published in December on the website OXJane.com under the title "It Happened to Me: I Dated a Famous Rock Star & All I Got Was Punched in the Face," the lawsuit said. Faircloth wrote that Oberst "took advantage of my teenage crush on him" when she was introduced to him at a concert when she was 16 and he was in his 20s. She wrote that " Conor took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity and self esteem."
Faircloth later published statements saying that the singer's attorneys offered her "hush money" to keep quiet about the rape.
Her statement on Monday recanted all of her claims. "I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst, and sincerely apologize to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him," Faircloth wrote. "I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I'm truly sorry for all the pain that I caused."
Oberst, 34, is described by Rolling Stone as "a pain-strumming poet of emo." His group Bright Eyes first found success in 2002 with the album "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground."
The singer-songwriter did not immediately to CNN's request for comment on Faircloth's retraction.
Bright Eyes' 'The People's Key' review
Church to allow women bishops
7/14/2014 1:50:28 PM
- NEW: Anglican priest says she thinks the decision is "wonderful news"
- Church of England leaders have voted to allow women to become bishops
- It required a two-thirds majority by all three voting bodies -- the bishops, clergy and laity
- The church said the first female bishop could be appointed by the end of the year
(CNN) -- Church of England leaders have voted to allow women to become bishops, the church announced Monday.
The measure required a two-thirds majority in all three voting bodies of the church: the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity.
The legislation was passed at the church's General Synod, the three-times-a-year meeting that sets policies for the church, which is being held in the city of York.
The first female bishop could be appointed by the end of the year, the church said.
The head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he was "delighted" with the result.
"Today marks the start of a great adventure of seeking mutual flourishing while still, in some cases disagreeing," he said in a statement. "The challenge for us will be for the church to model good disagreement and to continue to demonstrate love for those who disagree on theological grounds."
The measure is subject to approval by Britain's Parliament. This is seen as a legal formality.
The Church of England first began ordaining women as priests in 1994 and has been debating whether they should become bishops since 2005.
"To those who ask 'What took you so long?' my answer is that every decision has a cost and there will be those within our body who will be hurting as a result of this decision, the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said. "Our answer to the hurting should not be 'Get over it' but rather 'We will not let go until you have blessed us.'
"We move slowly because we move together. But in moving together we achieve not only what is just but also model what is right."
The Rev. Sally Hitchiner tweeted that she told her 8-year-old niece that she can be a bishop now. The niece said she didn't want to be a bishop.
"Yes but you CAN," Hitchiner tweeted, who earlier called the decision "wonderful news."
Two lay members of the church told the BBC that they were upset with the vote.
Lorna Ashworth told the network there is "not going to be a smooth road ahead," and Susie Leafe said the decision fails 25% of those in the church who don't believe women should be bishops.
Previous votes
At its General Synod meeting in 2012, draft legislation that would have allowed women to become bishops failed by six votes to get a two-thirds majority in the House of Laity.
In 2010, the church's governing body narrowly rejected a measure, aimed at satisfying conservatives, that would have allowed parishes that opposed women bishops to have an additional male bishop.
The Church of England is the largest church of the Anglican Communion, with more than 26 million baptized members.
The communion represents more than 85 million people in 165 countries, including the U.S. Episcopal Church.
The Anglican Communion News Service lists church districts that already have serving women bishops as New Zealand and Polynesia, Australia, Canada, The Episcopal Church, Cuba, Southern Africa, Ireland and South India.
The Church of England broke from the Catholic church in the 16th century during the Reformation, which saw the establishment of Protestant churches.
On its website, the Church of England says it "consciously retained a large amount of continuity with the Church of the Patristic and Medieval periods in terms of its use of the catholic creeds, its pattern of ministry, its buildings and aspects of its liturgy, but which also embodied Protestant insights in its theology and in the overall shape of its liturgical practice."
Bergdahl assigned Army post
7/14/2014 1:50:22 PM
- Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will take desk job at Army post in Texas, military spokesman says
- Bergdahl has finished therapy at an Army hospital in San Antonio
- Stress will "increase dramatically" for soldier, mental health expert says
- He was released in May after five years in exchange for the U.S. freeing five Taliban members
(CNN) -- For five years, Taliban militants held Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl captive.
They released images of him from time to time. In one piece of footage, he appeared gaunt, eating slowly. In another, the soldier stood next to a bearded man with a gun and looked at the camera for a moment. Bergdahl's forehead was furrowed, and there appeared to be cuts on his face.
Fast forward to late May when the 28-year-old was freed in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military. The news of Bergdahl's freedom initially was met with jubilation, but it quickly turned as many called for an investigation into his disappearance and captivity. Some critics accused the soldier of deserting his comrades in war.
Less than two months later, the Army announced Monday that Bergdahl has completed medical care and mental counseling at an Army hospital in San Antonio.
He is going to get back to work, the Army said.
The soldier will soon take a desk job at Fort Sam Houston, said U.S. Army North spokesman Don Manuszewski
Bergdahl will be assigned to a unit responsible for homeland defense, civil support operations and security cooperation programs involving countries such as Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas.
Manuszewski wouldn't offer any details about what Bergdahl will be doing day to day but said the former captive will not be treated "any different than any other soldier."
When he's not in an office, Bergdahl will live in barracks and share a bathroom with other service members.
He'll have his own room, the spokesman said.
'Sponsor' to help Bergdahl readjust
Bergdahl went missing on June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan's Paktika province, where he was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
An Army fact-finding investigation conducted in the months after his disappearance concluded that Bergdahl left his outpost deliberately and of his own free will, according to an official, who was briefed on the report.
But there was no definitive conclusion because that would require knowing Bergdahl's intent -- something officials couldn't learn without talking to him, a U.S. military official has said. The last step in the investigation would likely include hearing Bergdahl's account.
At Fort Sam Houston, Bergdahl will have a "sponsor" to help him adjust to Army life again, Manuszewski said, which he called routine for anyone new at the post. The Army tries to match people who are of a similar age, with a sponsor sometimes being a few ranks above the post newcomer.
The New York Times reported Monday that two soldiers will help Bergdahl readjust to Army life.
A lot of stress expected for soldier
Just how all this change will feel only Bergdahl will know. But there's little doubt scrutiny of him will be intense and constant, said M. David Rudd, who specializes in mental health trauma. He is a former dean of the University of Utah's College of Social and Behavioral Science and was also the president of the American Association of Suicidology.
"The stress level is going to increase dramatically," said Rudd, who is now the president of the University of Memphis. "The issue of stigma in the military -- the circumstances that surround his disappearance and the questions raised ... are probably going to provoke significant passions" in other troops.
Some fellow soldiers have publicly blasted Bergdahl as a deserter.
Longtime war correspondent Mike Boettcher, who has worked in Afghanistan, said he believes Bergdahl is going to have a tough time readjusting.
Gunmen kidnapped Boettcher in El Salvador in 1985, and he struggled to regain his footing after being freed. As a reporter covering emotionally wrenching topics, he felt he had to work extra hard to prove he could handle it.
"What you're worried about is how other people think of you," Boettcher told CNN on Monday. "In my own instance, I felt like people were treating me like a fragile egg. So I felt I had something to prove."
For Bergdahl's family, there will be change, too. The casualty assistance workers who helped the service member's relatives during his captivity will conclude their services Monday, Manuszewski said.
If Bergdahl's family members need help, they can call the post and ask for it.
"We are treating him the same way we would treat any other person assigned here," Manuszewski said. "If the family called ... we would do what we could to support them."
Col. Timothy Marsano, a spokesman for the family, declined to tell CNN if Bergdahl's new job assignment had brought any kind of communication between the soldier and his family. Since his release, there has not been a reunion, at least a public one.
In mid-June, the FBI said it was investigating threats against Bergdahl's parents.
Bergdahl venturing off-base, rubbing elbows with public
Fellow soldiers call Bergdahl a deserter
CNN's Holly Yan contributed to this report.
Sex stings nab theme park abusers
7/15/2014 2:10:47 PM
- CNN investigation finds arrests of Disney, Universal Studios and SeaWorld employees
- Charges include child porn possession, trying to meet minors for sex
- None had prior history of sex crimes before they were hired
- None of the cases involved children or teenagers visiting the parks
Editor's note: The following article contains references that may not be suitable for all readers.
Clermont, Florida (CNN) -- Just days after getting arrested in a child sex sting, Robert Kingsolver is a long way from his beloved job at Walt Disney World.
Inside his rented house in a suburban Orlando neighborhood filled with children, he sits in a folding chair in a nearly empty room, wires dangling in the corner where his computer used to be connected.
Now, he can't be online or near children.
"My life is ruined," he told CNN in an interview at his home. "My family's life is ruined. My kids' life is ruined. I've devastated my parents because of bad judgment."
Kingsolver, 49, is one of at least 35 Disney employees arrested since 2006 and accused of sex crimes involving children, trying to meet a minor for sex, or for possession of child pornography, according to a six-month CNN investigation that examined police and court records, and interviewed law enforcement officials and some of the men who have been arrested.
Five Universal Studios employees and two employees from SeaWorld have also been arrested.
So far, a total of 32 have been convicted, with the remaining cases pending.
Two cases, which were for possession of child pornography, occurred on Disney property, according to police reports.
None of the cases involved children or teenagers visiting the parks.
Principal arrested in child-sex sting
Kingsolver, a service manager who oversaw ride repairs at the Magic Kingdom, has pleaded not guilty to soliciting a child for sexual acts and traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity.
He said he thought he was going to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex at a house set up by detectives from the Lake County, Florida, Sheriff's Office, according to police records. Instead, when he showed up at the house, he was met by detectives.
Kingsolver told CNN he was just trying to protect the girl, and planned to call authorities when he showed up at the house. He said his family is standing by him.
"They love me," Kingsolver said. "My kids know me, and they know how much I care for kids. They know that their dad is not somebody that will go out and hurt a young child. They know their dad is somebody that would go out and protect a young child at any cost."
Other Disney employees caught up in the police stings and child porn cases include security guards, a costumer, a VIP tour guide in training, a gift shop employee and maintenance workers, according to police and court records.
"Wherever you find children, you'll find sexual predators that want to be there," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
In the latest sting that ended in July, two Disney employees and an employee at Universal Studios were among those arrested by Polk County Sheriff's detectives. One of those arrested was 40-year-old Allen Treaster, a concierge at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge who used to work at Disney's popular Toy Story ride. The police report said he advertised himself online as "Big Teddy Bear for younger chaser."
Detectives arrested Treaster after he showed up at a house to meet someone police said he thought was a 14-year-old boy, hoping to "fulfill a fantasy," according to his text messages. Treaster was actually communicating with an undercover detective. He has pleaded not guilty.
During the videotaped interrogation with detectives, Treaster confessed to having sex with a teenage boy he met online 3½ weeks before his arrest. He said he drove to Georgia to meet the boy at his house, then took him to a hotel where they had sex, according to the interrogation video.
The undercover detective asked Treaster, "OK and when did you find out how old he was?"
"Honestly, I found out before I met him, but you know," Treaster said.
"So you still went for that, to have sex with him, knowing he was 15 years old?" the detective asked.
"Yes," Treaster said.
Treaster did not return calls from CNN.
He was one of four Disney employees and one Universal employee arrested in sex stings or in child porn cases from June 10 to July 1.
Previous arrests include:
• Cedric Cuthbert, the night shift custodial manager at Disney's Port Orleans resort, who was downloading child porn last year on his work computer while writing a sermon for his church, where he was the pastor, according to police. Cuthbert pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to six years in prison.
• Paul Fazio, who worked in an Animal Kingdom Lodge gift shop. Fazio was convicted of downloading videos showing "multiple scenes of nude prepubescent children engaging in sexual activity with adults and other children," the police report said.
• William Marrero-Maldonado, who worked for Disney security. He was arrested in April after an Osceola County Sheriff's Office investigation claimed that he was downloading child porn videos. He has pleaded not guilty.
In the February sting by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, police also arrested 32-year-old Patrick Holgerson, another Disney employee. Holgerson sent nude photos and engaged in explicit sexual chats online with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy and his uncle, according to police records. After he showed up to meet the boy, Holgerson ran from police.
During a videotaped interview with sheriff's detectives after the arrest, Holgerson said he was a character actor at Disney and in training to become a VIP tour guide.
He pleaded not guilty and said he went to the home to make sure the boy was OK.
"I work with kids," Holgerson told the detectives during the videotaped interrogation. "I love kids and not in a bad way. I just have a strong connection with kids. I like working with kids. I just enjoy helping them grow and that's why I've been working with high schools for so long is because a lot of these kids look up to me.
"And that's why I was honestly worried about this kid. Because I felt his uncle was in the wrong. I would never do anything with the kid, I promise. I didn't want him hurt. And I'm being honest here."
The sprawling Disney theme park has about 70,000 employees.
In a statement to CNN, Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said, "Providing a safe environment for children and families is a responsibility we take very seriously. We have extensive measures in place, including pre-employment and ongoing criminal background checks and computer monitoring and firewalls.
"The numbers reported by CNN represent one one-hundredth of one percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period. We continue to work closely with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as we constantly strengthen our efforts."
Universal Studios said it fired Matthew Cody Myers, who was arrested in the July sting by the Polk County Sheriff's Office after police say he showed up to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. He told detectives during an interrogation that he wouldn't have really gone through with it. He pleaded not guilty, and did not return CNN's calls.
In a statement, Universal Studios spokesman Tom Schroder said, "We have zero tolerance for this kind of activity. We deal with situations such as this immediately and permanently." The company, like Disney and SeaWorld, requires that "all our team members undergo thorough background checks as part of the hiring process."
SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck said, "The safety of our team members and employees is our top priority," adding that the company has "policies and procedures in place and we need to take appropriate action as needed."
Grady Judd, the sheriff of Polk County, Florida, said Disney and other businesses that cater to children need more leeway to use polygraph tests when hiring employees.
"Anyone that works around children, whether it's a church, in the nursery, or whether it's Disney or any of our other theme parks, we should be able to give a polygraph examination to them," Judd said.
Congress, citing privacy and civil liberties issues, has made it illegal for most private companies to polygraph employees.
In the wake of the CNN investigation, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Florida, has proposed legislation that would add an exemption to the Polygraph Act of 1988. The proposal would give businesses that cater to children the option to use a polygraph to screen prospective employees. Specifically, the exemption would apply to prospective employees "whose activities would involve the care or supervision of children or regular access to children who are cared for or supervised by another employee," or where there is a "high probability" the employee "will interact with unsupervised children on frequent basis."
"We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our children, we owe it to our future to make sure we don't let the next predator find a victim," Ross said.
Asked specifically about the number of theme park employee arrests, Ross said, "You know I can't put the label on any particular employer because there's just too many of them -- period. And it doesn't matter so much the industry but it's the act that it's happening. And I understand the propensity is probably greater where there are more opportunities to be around children and that's something that I find that we have to offer them the tools necessary so that we can prevent it."
In Robert Kingsolver's case, police records and chat logs show he thought he was e-mailing and texting a 14-year-old girl and her father who he met on Craigslist to set up a meeting. The pair was actually a Lake County Sheriff's detective posing as both the father and girl.
"The defendant specifically stated he would perform oral sex when referring to what he was going to do with the 14-year-old child," the police report said.
Kingsolver, in the chat logs released by police, wrote he was "actually a very cuddling and snuggling kind of guy" and that "I really enjoy giving oral."
Kingsolver wrote, "I work for Disney so I love to see dads having fun with their daughters. I believe in treating a lady like a princess. I treat ladies with respect because that is how I hope my daughter gets treated."
In the interview with CNN, Kingsolver said police got it all wrong. He said he planned to call authorities after showing up at the home and meeting the girl and her father.
"I'm not the monster that people are saying I am, and that the news, CNN and everyone else is saying that I am. I'm an honest guy that I thought was trying to help and I thought I was trying to do the right thing. Did I do it in the right manner? No, obviously not," he said.
Kingsolver, who is separated from his wife, has a son and a daughter as well as two stepchildren. During the CNN interview, he reminisced about seeing children and their families enjoying the rides at the park.
"It was like going to a fun -- some place you really enjoyed," he said. "The best part about that job was just seeing families. Some family you knew had saved up literally for a decade to come there and spend a few days. Just to see them having fun and to see the, you know, look on the children's faces when they get to see, you know, Prince Charming or one of the princesses or you know, riding Barnstormer or anything, or any of the rides or just walking around and maybe running into Mickey. It was just, that was the best part, just seeing kids glow and seeing their heroes. I just enjoyed that so much."
Asked why he had a sexually laced chat with people he thought were a father and 14-year-old girl, he had an explanation.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, on child sex stings
"I was trying to get someone safe," Kingsolver said. "I honestly thought someone was in danger and if I had to tell him anything, if I had to tell him the moon was made out of cheese, I would have told him that. I have no intention and had no intention of doing anything with anyone, any minor."
After he was arrested, he said he was in shock.
"I was mad at myself for making a mistake like that. I was in shock that I was there because I'd never even been in a jail before or on the outside looking in to visit someone, much less, you know, having to get to wear a size 3X jumpsuit and a size 13 shoe. So you know, yeah, I did a lot of thinking."
Kingsolver was booked into jail on a Friday night and was released two days later. The next day, he said he showed up for work at Disney, where he was promptly placed on what he said was unpaid leave. He hired a lawyer to fight the charges.
Judd, the Polk County sheriff, said he has no sympathy for the men arrested like Kingsolver, who was arrested in a neighboring county's sting operation.
"I get tickled when they say, 'You set me up, you set me up.' I go, 'Yeah, so what?' That's exactly what it is. We did an undercover operation. We threw the bait out in the water, and you're the fish and you bit the bait. What we didn't do is take this big net, and grab you up and then grab you and then stick the bait in your mouth."
Judd said predators are attracted to venues where there are children.
Florida man linked to massive child porn database
"Why do people work at Disney? Well, they work at Disney because they want a good, stable job for a great company, but there is always a few that are there because they can see children. They can live in a child's world," Judd said.
Ernie Allen, president of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, said the number of those arrested in the child sex stings and for child porn "should signal to all of us that this is a real threat. It's a threat to Disney, it's a threat to a lot of companies and a lot of settings because these offenders will attempt to defeat the barriers that you put in place that deny them access to children."
Asked if Disney is doing enough, Allen said, "It's hard to imagine any company that's done more, that cares more, that's trying harder on these issues and part of the reason is Disney recognizes that it's a magnet, it's a magnet that is sort of America's symbol for children."
He pointed out that, even though only two of the cases were on Disney property, that didn't make the threat less serious.
"It also indicates that there is that interest present, that there are people who have sexual interest in children, and will be at risk of offending against a real child," Allen said.
If you've got a tip for Kyra Phillips on this, or on any story, you can let her know by going to CNN.com/Investigate.
CNN's Janet Ahn contributed to the report.
Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 8pm ET. For the latest from AC360° click here.
Concordia: Family waits for last victim
7/15/2014 2:03:23 PM
- Costa Concordia salvage operation is all under control, officials say
- The ship will only be searched for the remains of the last victim when it reaches Genoa
- It is not expected to start its final journey, under tow, until next week
- Underwater cameras reveal no cracks or fissures after the vessel was refloated Monday
Giglio, Italy (CNN) -- The complex operation to refloat the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship continued Tuesday -- but the family of the final missing victim still must wait several days for the vessel to be searched for his remains.
The last time anyone saw Russel Rebello alive, he was near the stern of the Costa Concordia, helping passengers into rescue boats.
But the 33-year-old waiter from India never escaped the doomed cruise ship. And he's the only victim of the 2012 accident whose remains haven't been found.
Officials told reporters Tuesday that the vessel would only be searched for Rebello's remains once it reaches its final destination, the Italian port of Genoa.
The seabed is being searched and those searches will intensify when the ship is gone, they said.
Salvage crews began the arduous task of refloating the ship on Monday morning so they can move it from its resting place off Giglio Island to Genoa to be dismantled.
On Tuesday, they began the process of lowering steel hollow boxes, or sponsons, which will be pumped full of compressed air to help lift the vessel further. Divers also began attaching more chains and cables to reinforce the bottom of the boat.
Once that's done, they'll raise the ship deck by deck, clearing any debris along the way.
After the ship is completely floated, a convoy of 10 boats will then begin a potentially treacherous journey. The vessel will be towed -- slowly and carefully -- 240 kilometers (150 miles) to Genoa, where it will be broken up.
It's been more than 2½ years since the ship ran aground off Italy's Giglio Island with more than 4,200 passengers aboard, killing 32 people in a disaster that drew global attention.
Clean-up job
Reporters were told at a briefing Tuesday that the salvage process was all under control.
Initial surveillance by remotely operated underwater vehicles showed no visible cracks or fissures on the bottom of the ship. This had been a concern because if repairs were needed, the operation would have been delayed.
Additional structural checks are now under way, with the salvage crews' efforts expected largely to focus over the next two days on the parts of the rotting hulk that remain under water.
The project's chief engineer, Franco Porcellacchia of Costa Crociere, the firm that owns the Concordia, said Tuesday it was most likely that the ship would start its final journey on Monday. Officials have said it will take five to six days for the vessel to reach Genoa once it gets going.
Porcellacchia also said the crews "have a commitment to clean the (sea) bottom to the best that we can." This will include the removal of sediment around the hulk and the underwater salvage platforms and cement bags used to support it when it was rotated to an upright position last year.
The crew will start to clean up once the ship is gone but are accepting tenders for removal companies to speed up the process. That bid will be awarded in August, with the removal process expected to take a year or more.
Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli said he was satisfied with the results so far of tests on water quality around the ship.
The decision to undertake the expensive and difficult process of refloating the Costa Concordia, rather than trying to dismantle it on site, was taken because of environmental concerns.
Italy's Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said Monday it was too risky to leave the vessel there for another year.
Captain on trial
Since the wreck two years ago, 24 metric tons of debris -- including furniture, dishes, food, personal effects and ship parts -- have been recovered from the seabed.
While salvage crews continue efforts to deal with the wreckage, Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, is on trial on charges of manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster and abandoning ship with passengers still on board. He denies wrongdoing.
Search teams thought they had found Rebello's remains in October. But the body divers found turned out to be that of Maria Grazia Trecarichi, a Sicilian who was on the cruise to celebrate her 50th birthday with her 17-year-old daughter, who survived.
In a Facebook post, brother Kevin Rebello said he was watching the latest salvage operation live online, since he couldn't make it to Giglio.
"I strongly believe that they will find the body of my dear brother," he said.
Nine things to know about the plan to salvage the Costa Concordia
Journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau reported from Giglio and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet and Erin McLaughlin contributed to this report.
Brain-eating bug kills swimmer
7/15/2014 2:09:41 PM
- 9-year-old Hally Yust died after contracting Naegleria fowleri
- The amoeba can enter the nose, central nervous system and brain
- Only three out of 130 infected people have survived over the past 50 years
- Kansas health officials suggest wearing nose plugs in fresh water
(CNN) -- A brain-eating amoeba that lurks in fresh water has prompted warnings from Kansas officials after it killed a 9-year-old girl.
Hally Yust was an avid water skier and spent the past few weeks swimming in several bodies of fresh water. She died last week from Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating parasite that lives in warm, standing water.
At Hally's funeral Monday, her family wore matching T-shirts with the logo of her water-skiing club, CNN affiliate WDAF said. Relatives honored the young athlete by announcing the Hally Yust Women's Basketball Scholarship at Kansas State University.
"Our precious daughter, Hally, loved life and part of her great joy was spending time playing in the water," her family said in a statement.
"Her life was taken by a rare amoeba organism that grows in many different fresh water settings. We want you to know this tragic event is very, very rare, and this is not something to become fearful about."
'It just causes destruction'
While Naegleria fowleri infections are rare, they can have devastating effects.
"The amoeba ... finds itself way back in our noses and then can work its way into our central nervous system, around our brains," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "And once it's there, it just causes destruction."
Symptoms usually show up about the five days after infection, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said.
In addition to a severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, Naegleria fowleri infections often cause death.
More frequent in summer
The cases are often reported in the summer, when more swimmers take a dip in fresh water.
Last summer, 12-year-old Zachary Reyna of Florida became infected after he went knee-boarding in fresh water near his home. He later died.
Also last summer, Kali Hardig of Arkansas went for a swim and was infected by the parasite. Despite incredible odds against her, Kali survived.
Over the past 50 years, about 130 Naegleria fowleri infections have been reported. Of those, only three people -- including Kali -- have survived.
While humans can get infected swimming in fresh water, people cannot get infected from drinking water contaminated with the amoeba, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
How to protect yourself
The extreme rarity and randomness of infections can make it difficult to predict where they might occur.
"It is unknown why certain persons become infected with (Naegleria fowleri) while millions of others exposed to warm recreational fresh waters do not, including those who were swimming with people who became infected," the CDC said.
The Kansas health department advises swimmers to use nose plugs when swimming in fresh water.
It also suggests not stirring up the sediment at the bottom of shallow freshwater areas and keeping your head above the water in hot springs and other untreated thermal waters.
But Naegleria fowleri is far from the biggest danger in summertime water activities. While 34 people were infected with the amoeba in the U.S. between 2004 and 2013, there were more than 34,000 drowning deaths in the United States between 2001 and 2010, the CDC said.
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