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U.S. journalists 'detained' in Tehran
7/25/2014 12:58:06 PM
- Iranian official says Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi are among three journalists held
- The Washington Post says four journalists have apparently been detained this week
- They are Jason Rezaian, a U.S. citizen, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist
- The others are two freelance photojournalists, the Post says
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Concern is growing for the well-being of four journalists, three of them American citizens, apparently detained in Iran this week, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper reported Thursday that its Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, a U.S. citizen, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, appeared to have been detained Tuesday evening.
Two freelance photojournalists, both American citizens, also have been detained, according to The Post. The paper said officials had not yet named the pair.
An Iranian official confirmed to CNN that Rezaian and Salehi are among three journalists being held by authorities. He did not say what they have been charged with.
The third journalist is a freelance photographer, the official said on condition of anonymity.
It's not clear why there is a discrepancy in the number of journalists held.
Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, the director general of the Tehran Province Justice Department, is quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency as saying a "Washington Post journalist has been detained for some questions and after technical investigations, the judiciary will provide details on the issue."
He did not specify on what grounds the correspondent, whom he did not name, was being held.
Iranian security forces are vigilant about all kinds of enemy activities, Esmaili added, according to IRNA.
"We are deeply troubled by this news and are concerned for the welfare of Jason, Yeganeh and two others said to have been detained with them," Washington Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl said in a statement Thursday.
He described Rezaian as "an experienced, knowledgeable reporter who deserves protection and whose work merits respect."
'Dismal record'
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was alarmed by The Post's report and urged Iran to release the four journalists.
"We call on Iranian authorities to immediately explain why Jason Rezaian, Yeganeh Salehi, and two other journalists have been detained, and we call for their immediate release," said Sherif Mansour, its Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.
"Iran has a dismal record with regard to its treatment of imprisoned journalists. We hold the Iranian government responsible for the safety of these four."
According to The Washington Post, Rezaian, 38, holds American and Iranian citizenship. He has been the paper's Tehran correspondent since 2012.
His wife, an Iranian citizen who has applied for U.S. permanent residency, is a correspondent for the UAE-based newspaper the National, The Post said.
Members of Rezaian's family said they did not want to comment at this time, the paper added.
Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times, said via Twitter, "I strongly condemn the arrest of my friend and colleague @jrezaian and his wife @YeganehSalehi, and two photographers, also friends."
Past detentions
Rallies are being held in Iran to mark Quds (Jerusalem) Day on what is the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Muslims worldwide mark this day each year to remember the plight of the Palestinians. Several foreign journalists are in Tehran to cover the event, which includes an anti-Israel demonstration after the Friday prayers.
According to CPJ research, there are 35 journalists in prison in Iran.
The organization also highlights past instances in which Iran has detained international journalists, including the case of U.S. freelancer Roxana Saberi.
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CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
ISIS extremists destroy Jonah's tomb
7/25/2014 11:49:46 AM
- Tomb is said to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah in Mosul, Iraq
- A video shows tomb's destruction
- ISIS has blown up Sunni holy sites in Iraqi city
Editor's note: Read a version of this story in Arabic.
(CNN) -- If you blink during the video, you might miss the moment an explosion destroys what is said to have been the tomb of Jonah, a key figure in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
The first few frames show the revered shrine towering over its landscape. Then comes a sudden burst of dust, fire and smoke.
Then, nothing.
Militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, planted explosives around the tomb and detonated them remotely Thursday, civil defense officials there told CNN.
The holy site is said to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale or great fish in the Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions.
CNN could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the video, which was posted to YouTube.
The tomb was inside a Sunni mosque called the Mosque of the Prophet Yunus, which is Arabic for Jonah.
ISIS is waging war against the Iraqi government and has taken over several cities. It is seeking to create an Islamic caliphate that encompasses parts of Iraq and Syria and has begun imposing Sharia law in the towns it controls.
ISIS is part of a puritanical strain of Islam that considers all religious shrines -- Islamic, Christian, Jewish, etc. -- idolatrous.
Biblical scholars are divided on whether the tomb in Mosul actually belonged to Jonah. In the Jewish tradition, he returns to his hometown of Gath-Hepher after his mission to Nineveh. And some modern scholars say the Jonah story is more myth than history.
Still, the story of Jonah is told often in the Christian tradition and has special resonance for that faith, scholars Joel S. Baden and Candida Moss write in a piece on CNN's Belief Blog.
"In Christian tradition, the story of Jonah is an important one," they say. "Jonah's descent into the depths in the belly of the great fish and subsequent triumphant prophetic mission to Nineveh is seen as a reference to and prototype of the death and resurrection of Jesus."
Baden is professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School. Moss is a professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame.
They refer to the destruction of Jonah's tomb as "an attack on both those Christians living in Iraq today and on the rich, if little-known, Christian heritage of the region."
The book of Jonah tells the story of him balking at first when God tells him to go to Nineveh to preach. Instead, Jonah sails in another direction, where he encounters a great storm and winds up being swallowed by a great fish. He spends a few days in the belly of the fish before emerging alive to follow God's instruction to go to Nineveh.
Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, is near Nineveh, once a powerful city of the ancient world.
Christian families fled Mosul this month after the al Qaeda splinter group issued an ultimatum to Iraqi Christians living there: Convert to Islam, pay a fine or face "death by the sword."
ISIS has blown up several Sunni holy sites in the last few weeks in Mosul.
Last month, it destroyed seven Shiite places of worship in the predominantly Shiite Turkmen city of Tal Afar, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) west of Mosul, Human Rights Watch has reported, citing local sources.
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CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.
U.S. man shoots, kills pregnant intruder
7/25/2014 11:50:30 AM
- Long Beach, California, man was burglarized and beaten by a couple, police say
- Female suspect claimed she was pregnant, but Greer shot her twice, killing her
- DA will determine whether the 80-year-old homeowner will be charged
- The suspected male accomplice has been charged with felony murder
(CNN) -- Tom Greer says he fought back when he was attacked by intruders at his home. When he got his gun and fired at them, they ran.
The 80-year-old homeowner says one of the fleeing burglars, a woman, shouted, "I'm pregnant!" He shot her twice, killing her.
The district attorney will decide Friday whether Greer will face criminal charges.
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Greer walked into his house Tuesday to find suspects Andrea Miller, 26, and Gus Adams, 28, ransacking it. According to McDonnell, Greer said this was the fourth time his house has been burglarized.
Police say the couple beat and threw the elderly man to the ground, causing him to suffer a broken collarbone, cuts and bruises.
Despite his injuries, Greer managed to grab his gun and fire at the suspects, causing them to flee through the garage and into the alley, police said.
In an interview with non-CNN affiliate KNBC, Greer said that as the suspects ran into the alley, Miller yelled, "'Don't shoot me, I'm pregnant! I'm going to have a baby!' and I shot her anyway."
Miller died in the alley, the police chief said.
In a press conference, McDonnell said the coroner will make the final determination of whether Miller was pregnant, but said it "wasn't obvious" if she was.
When asked by KNBC how he felt about the incident, Greer responded that he had no regrets.
"I had to do what I had to do."
The male suspect fled the scene, according to Greer and Chief McDonnell. Adams was later arrested and charged with residential robbery and felony murder in Miller's death. He is currently being held on $1.25 million bond.
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CNN's Amanda Watts contributed to this report.
SWAT team storms Toronto plane
7/25/2014 9:31:49 PM
- Tactical police unit with weapons drawn arrest problem passenger
- A 25-year-old man is accused of making a bomb threat
(CNN) -- A passenger captured dramatic cell phone video of a Canadian SWAT team storming onto a Sunwing flight at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Friday. The video shows the police tactical team swarming onto the plane with their weapons drawn, yelling at passengers to get their hands up, and forcefully removing a 25-year-old man from the aircraft.
The airline said the Panama-bound plane was forced to return to Toronto Friday morning about 45 minutes into the flight after a passenger, identified by authorities as Ali Shahi, made a "direct threat against the aircraft."
Witnesses told CNN affiliate CTV that Shahi said he wanted to bomb Canada.
"The Sunwing flight crew followed the appropriate procedures and turned the flight around in cooperation with the FAA and Canadian authorities," said Sunwing Travel Group Spokeswoman Janine Chapman.
Shahi, a Canadian citizen, was jailed on charges including mischief to property and endangering the safety of an aircraft, police said. He was scheduled for a bail hearing in Brampton, Ontario, on Saturday.
No one on the flight was injured, the airline said.
CNN's Marlena Baldacci, Paula Newton and Kevin Conlon contributed to this report
Pope to make first visit to U.S.
7/25/2014 7:36:31 PM
- Trip to Philadelphia would be Francis' first visit to U.S. as Pope
- Pope accepted invitation from Philadelphia archbishop, Catholic News Service says
- Francis' visit likely to resonate with growing Latino population
(CNN) -- Pope Francis has accepted the invitation of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia next year, Catholic News Service reported Friday.
It would be the popular pontiff's first visit to the United States as Pope.
The news service, the official publication of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Chaput made the announcement Thursday before giving his homily during the opening Mass of the Tekakwitha Conference in Fargo, North Dakota.
"Pope Francis has told me that he is coming," said the archbishop as he invited his fellow Native Americans to the celebration being held in Philadelphia on September 22-27, 2015.
Francis has received invitations to visit other places in the United States as well, which he is considering, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told Catholic News Service. Those invitations include New York, the United Nations and Washington.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said official confirmation from the Vatican for the trip will likely be given about six months before the World Meeting of Families.
"Archbishop Chaput has frequently shared his confidence in Pope Francis' attendance at the World Meeting and his personal conversations with the Holy Father are the foundation for that confidence," the archdiocese said.
"While Archbishop Chaput's comments do not serve as official confirmation, they do serve to bolster our sincere hope that Philadelphia will welcome Pope Francis next September," the archdiocese added.
The Vatican, which does not typically confirm papal trips until several months before their scheduled date, said the Pope has "indicated his willingness" to visit Philadelphia but has not made "concrete plans" yet.
"Keep in mind that we are still one year away from the Philadelphia meeting," Lombardi said in a statement on Friday.
A visit by Francis, the first Pope from Latin America, would resonate with the nation's growing Latin American population.
"The Hispanic population is growing in the United States, and with the vast majority being Catholic, having the first Pope from Latin America come to visit will be very exciting," said Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois.
Roberto Suro, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, said a U.S. visit by the Argentinian Pope would be symbolically powerful for Latinos -- many of whom have slipped away from the Catholic Church for evangelical sects.
"Latino Catholics have probably seen themselves less reflected in the hierarchy than their numbers might mirror," Suro told CNN.
"There are more Latino bishops now than a few years ago, but the American hierarchy still reflects the old Catholic Church dominated by the Irish and, to a certain extent, Italians and other people of European origins," he said. "Having a Latin American pope who is going to be speaking native Spanish to Latinos in the United States will be the first time they see themselves reflected so powerfully in the church hierarchy."
The U.N. General Assembly generally meets in September, leading to speculation that Francis might combine the Philadelphia trip with a stop in New York to address the United Nations.
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C. America addressing border crisis
7/25/2014 7:49:18 PM
- NEW: Central American leaders meet with Obama on youth migrant surge
- NEW: They say they're working on a plan to address underlying cause of migration
- The Obama administration is buoyed by slight slowing of migrant kids at the border
- Congress working on scaled-back plan, but House and Senate divided on approach
Washington (CNN) -- Central American leaders signaled to President Barack Obama they're working on a "comprehensive plan" to address the underlying reasons for the surge of immigrant youth from their countries who are entering the United States illegally.
The presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala met with Obama at the White House on Friday as Washington struggles to find a solution to what many consider a humanitarian crisis.
The influx this year of tens of thousands of child immigrants, many unaccompanied, has become a partisan flashpoint on the already divisive issue of reforming a U.S. immigration system that all sides agree is broken.
Obama and Presidents Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala, Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, and Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador issued a statement that reiterated "our commitment to prevent families and children from undertaking this dangerous journey and to work together to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration."
They "all agreed that an effective solution requires a comprehensive and joint effort" from those countries, other nations in the region and the United States, they said.
Specifically, the Central American presidents "indicated" to Obama that they were working on a plan to address the root causes of why people are leaving their countries.
Underlying causes
Part of that, all at the meeting agreed, must address strategies for reducing crime and promoting greater social and economic opportunity.
Priorities include pursuing criminal enterprises "that are exploiting this uniquely vulnerable population" and the need to discourage use of "smuggling networks" that place immigrants at "high risk of violent crime and sexual abuse."
Obama and the others also pledged to redouble efforts to counter misinformation about U.S. deportation policy around young immigrants that some say is fueling the surge, and promised to further efforts to "humanely repatriate migrants, consistent with due process."
Most can't stay
Obama told the Central American leaders that most of the child migrants crossing the border illegally now won't be permitted to stay. Some have been deported already, while most are being allowed to stay temporarily while their immigration status is sorted out.
Also being discussed within the Obama administration has been a pilot program that would let the United States assess asylum claims in those countries in order to reduce the number of illegal immigrants. But Obama sought to play down that option as an answer.
"There may be some narrow circumstances in which there is humanitarian or refugee status that a family might be eligible for. If that's the case it would be better for them to apply in country rather than take a very dangerous journey all the way up to Texas to make those same claims," Obama said.
But he added that potential applicants would still have to meet the same criteria to qualify.
"Under U.S. law, we admit a certain number of refugees from all over the world based on some fairly narrow criteria and typically refugee status is not just based on economic need or because a family lives in a bad neighborhood or in poverty it's typically defined fairly narrowly," he said.
The White House previously called the idea premature. But spokesman Josh Earnest said before Friday's meeting that it could be extended to other countries, if successful.
Struggling for a solution
The administration and Congress have struggled in recent weeks to come to a consensus on how to address the surge that has overwhelmed border and immigration services.
Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funds for border efforts, while Republicans and some Democrats in Congress are resisting that proposal, and offering alternatives that would spend less and change immigration policy to deport kids faster.
Either way, Obama and others are concerned that lawmakers will leave at the end of next week for their August recess without approving a fix.
House Republicans are expected to vote on a scaled-down border bill next week. It would provide less than $1 billion to address the crisis and would modify a 2008 law to make it easier to deport children from Central America who enter the United States illegally.
Currently, kids who enter the country illegally from Central America can stay until they receive an immigration hearing. That process can take months or years.
The proposal to alter that law all but ensures the bill will not come to a vote in the Senate, where Democrats are opposed to tagging that change to a funding bill of its own for the border crisis.
Democrats worry that accelerating the process will result in many falling through the cracks and being sent back to situations characterized by many as violent situations in their countries.
Guard troops to border
The administration also is considering sending National Guard troops to the border, according to a White House official, just days after Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would do just that in the Rio Grande Valley area.
Immigrants or refugees?
The Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services sent a team this week to assess Border Patrol efforts in the Rio Grande Valley. The number of unaccompanied minors seeping through that area has slowed dramatically since last month.
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CNN's Dana Bash, Jim Acosta, Halimah Abdullah, Kevin Liptak and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
McCain: Arizona execution 'torture'
7/26/2014 3:35:33 AM
- Arizona temporarily halts executions after prolonged execution
- Sen. John McCain says the nearly two-hour incident is tantamount to torture
- Media witnesses say Arizona murderer Joseph Wood gasped intensely
- His attorneys tried to halt the execution more than halfway through and have Wood revived
(CNN) -- Arizona has temporarily halted executions after the prolonged death of a convicted killer during an execution described by Sen. John McCain and others as tantamount to torture.
It took death row inmate Joseph Wood two hours to die Wednesday afternoon. His attorney says Wood "gasped and struggle to breathe" after receiving a novel combination of drugs.
McCain told Politico he supports the death penalty in some cases, but he said Wood's execution was carried out in a "terrible" way. "The lethal injection needs to be an indeed lethal injection and not the bollocks-upped situation that just prevailed. That's torture," he told Politico on Thursday.
The Arizona Republican knows a little something about torture. McCain served as a U.S. military pilot in Vietnam. He was shot down, captured and beaten and tortured.
After Gov. Jan Brewer ordered a review, the state's attorney general ordered a halt to all executions, pending the investigation of the Wood case.
"I have been advised by the Arizona attorney general that his office will not seek any warrants of execution prior to the completion of the review of this matter," said Corrections Director Charles Ryan.
Reporter Troy Hayden witnessed the execution and compared Wood's death last breaths to "a fish on shore gulping for air." Wood's attorneys even tried to stop the execution more than halfway through, with one calling it "bungled" and "botched."
State officials and his victims' relatives disagreed, saying Wood snored and didn't appear to be in agony.
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Reports that the execution was botched are "erroneous," Ryan said.
Wood was comatose and never in pain during his execution, he added. "The record clearly shows the inmate was fully and deeply sedated ... three minutes after the administration of the execution drugs."
Arizona execution raises questions over novel lethal injections
Wood's slow death is fueling a debate stirred up as states look for new drug combinations for lethal injections, thanks in part to pharmaceutical companies' decisions to withhold or stop making drugs used in the past.
"It took Joseph Wood two hours to die, and he gasped and struggled to breathe for about an hour and 40 minutes. We will renew our efforts to get information about the manufacturer of drugs as well as how Arizona came up with the experimental formula of drugs it used today," attorney Dale Baich said in a statement.
He added, "Arizona appears to have joined several other states who have been responsible for an entirely preventable horror -- a bungled execution."
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One of the victims' relatives had a strongly different view -- that he didn't suffer, and that he got what he deserved.
"I don't believe he was gasping for air; I don't believe he was suffering. It sounded to me like was snoring," said the relative, Jeanne Brown.
"You don't know what excruciating is. What's excruciating is seeing your dad laying there in a pool of blood, seeing your sister laying there in a pool of blood. This man deserved it. And I shouldn't really call him a man," she said.
Wood had been convicted of murder and assault in the 1989 deaths of his estranged girlfriend and her father.
The state used midazolam, an anesthetic, and hydromorphone, a narcotic painkiller that, with an overdose, halts breathing and stops the heart from beating. It's one of the new combinations that states have tried -- with some controversial results -- after manufacturers based or operating in Europe prevented U.S. prisons from using their drugs in executions.
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CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman, Mayra Cuevas, Dave Alsup, Ross Levitt and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.
MH17 foretells a more dangerous world
7/25/2014 9:56:02 AM
- Authors: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster may be sign of more instability and danger ahead
- They say nonstate groups can get access to lethal weaponry and inflict serious damage
- Rules of deterrence that inhibit state leaders from risky behavior may not apply, they say
- Authors: It may be harder to trace incidents of terror and violence back to their source
Editor's note: Patrick M. Cronin is senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Kelley Sayler is a research associate at the center, focusing on U.S. defense policy and the intersection of technology and national security. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.
(CNN) -- The Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster is a poignant reminder of the randomness of fortune and misfortune. But it also serves as a prelude to an emerging security environment marked by irregular warfare, proliferated high-end technology and complex economic and energy dependencies that will complicate decision-making among allied nations and confound coherent approaches to grand strategy.
Indeed, the tragedy has underscored the challenges of a new era in which the line between state and nonstate actors is increasingly blurred. From Syria to Iraq, Gaza to Ukraine, nonstate militias and separatists wage shadow wars using sophisticated technologies that were formerly the monopoly of states.
This new era is particularly apparent in the case of Flight 17, allegedly downed by a Russian SA-11 surface-to-air missile fired by Ukrainian rebels. The downing, which killed all 298 people aboard, is a reminder that small groups -- often exhibiting less restraint than state actors -- can acquire high-tech weaponry of great lethality and precision, which can be deployed so quickly people may not have time to make measured decisions.
As technology continues to progress and spread, this challenge will become even more acute. With the proliferation of unmanned and, particularly, autonomous systems that will reduce the role of human input, it will be even easier to imagine senseless acts of irreversible killing, either to achieve a political cause (terrorism or insurgency) or out of sheer happenstance and miscalculation. Once missiles and armed drones strike their target, neither the casualties nor the consequences can be undone.
The blurring of state and nonstate actors may also increase the difficulty of determining who is responsible, as can be seen in the ongoing Flight 17 investigation. Ironically, in the era of big data, governments may find it harder to identify -- or at least to prove with a sufficient degree of confidence -- who actually pulled the trigger in a given act of armed aggression or political violence.
Recent events in East Asia provide further evidence of these developments. While most observers believe that North Korea used a mini-submarine to sink a South Korean corvette, the Cheonan, in March 2010, some were unwilling to be convinced even by an exhaustive international forensic investigation. (North Korea denied responsibility.) Conspiracies and propaganda -- disseminated across ever-expanding social media platforms -- fill the void, leaving people to believe what they want.
Escalation may be more likely and deterrence may be more susceptible to failure under such conditions. One chilling possibility is that a future attack, perhaps involving a nuclear device, might trigger an interstate war without definitive proof of who really instigated the fateful first blow.
In an instant war, moreover, once conflict appears to have started, there may well be an incentive for some actors to "use it or lose it," particularly in the absence of an existential threat of mutual assured destruction.
In addition to the challenges highlighted by the Malaysian jet downing, the emerging security environment will be characterized by an unprecedented level of globalization and connectivity. And while the dark side of globalization has long been identified, the connectivity that fuels our century also threatens us.
In an era of increasingly capable cyberwarfare capabilities that can be executed by nonstate actors and individuals, malicious and potentially lethal attacks may be facilitated through the Internet. Many of these may be difficult or even impossible to trace back to specific entities, and even when attribution is possible, the political costs of a response may be high.
The recent controversial move by the United States to indict five members of China's military on charges of cyber-espionage demonstrates the challenges of imposing costs on a subset of actors without upsetting other and often larger goals, such as cooperative China-U.S. relations.
The convergence of these factors will complicate the difficulty of alliance decision-making in the years to come, as differing threat assessments, dependencies, interests and standards for international involvement lead states to pursue competing policies, as in France's decision to deliver Mistral warships to Russia despite broader European calls for an arms embargo.
There are many lessons to be learned from Flight 17's tragic end over Ukraine. But perhaps one central takeaway is that we are witnessing the end of an era of traditional state power, and entering a new era that could place us only a few short missteps away from cascading into more lethal and disruptive conflicts.
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This won't be the AIDS-free generation
7/25/2014 12:57:40 PM
- Globally, 5 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are living with HIV
- Only one in five American high school students has been tested
- Survey shows teens don't worry about becoming infected, may not be using protection
(CNN) -- He was just 18 years old when he got the news. It was the summer before his senior year in high school.
"I had a fever of 103," Bryan Seth Johnson said. "My body was hurting; I wasn't eating, couldn't hold down food. I just felt weak all the time."
He went to the hospital, told them he was having difficulty swallowing and was treated for tonsillitis. But he didn't have tonsillitis.
Johnson had the human immunodeficiency virus, better known as HIV.
"I was basically in shock, because the guy I got HIV from works in the HIV-prevention field," Johnson recalled. "He deleted me from Facebook and basically cut all communication out."
At the time, Johnson was getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases every three months at SMYAL, an organization dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and questioning youth in Washington. Johnson says he generally practiced safe sex, but once, when he was under the influence, he had unprotected sex.
Still, "I was in denial at the time. I thought it might be a false test."
So he got retested. He remembers the date: September 16. The result was the same.
"The bus ride home was so quiet. Even though there was a whole bunch of noise around me, I blocked everything out."
At home, he could not tell his mother; her baby brother had died of AIDS complications two years before Johnson was born.
One in a million
At the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, this week, young people from over 50 countries gathered to make sure the issues of their generation were heard.
The numbers are quite startling.
Globally, 5 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are living with HIV. They represent 41% of all new infections. About 2,500 young people become infected every day, according to Advocates for Youth, an organization that works here and in developing countries.
In the United States, 26% of all new HIV infections are among young people ages 13 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most new infections are among young gay and bisexual males.
Yet only one in five high school students who has had sex has been tested for HIV, according to a new CDC report (PDF) on sexual risk behaviors. Although the majority of sexually active teens report using condoms, those numbers are decreasing, said Dr. Stephanie Zaza, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health.
"Teens are unaware of their risk of HIV and how to protect themselves," Zaza said. "As parents and health professionals, and as educators, we need to take responsibility to help them learn about HIV."
Adam Tanner, executive director of Metro TeenAIDS
'We know what works'
A staggering 60% of youths with HIV in the United States don't know that they are infected, which leads us to an even more troubling statistic: In 2011, about 3,000 young people in this country were diagnosed with AIDS, an increase of 29% since 2008.
"That makes me sick to my stomach," said Adam Tanner, executive director of Metro TeenAIDS in Washington. "I'm horrified. I think we're in a moment now where there is more complacency around HIV."
Metro TeenAIDS is a community health organization working with young people to end HIV/AIDS. It's where Johnson went to be retested, and after his diagnosis, he began volunteering with the group. Tanner says two-thirds of Metro TeenAIDS' clients who come in for testing have had unprotected sex in the past year.
Two years ago, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 64% of 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States don't get tested because they think they're not at risk. More than 40% said they didn't get tested because their doctors never suggested it.
"We know what works to end the epidemic," Tanner said. "We have better medications than we've ever had before. We need to arm young people with basic education about how HIV is transmitted. ... All the data suggest that by fourth grade, we should be starting those conversations about sex."
The United States is one of 10 countries that make up 61% of HIV cases, says Cornelius Baker, acting director of the HIV/AIDS division at the nonprofit group FHI 360.
"We have the tools to protect our young people through education, quality health care and family and community support," Baker said. "If we continue to fail them, our hopes of an AIDS-free generation will be lost."
Safe sex or no sex
Brennan Stewart, 22, understands the importance of educating young people. He was diagnosed with HIV at age 16. Stewart had just had a routine physical and blood work done. His mother delivered the news.
"My first thought was death. I was going to die," Stewart recalled. "I felt like, oh, my God, I'm just this dirty person. ... I've contracted something that's going to mess up my life."
He's not sure how he got it. He says he practiced safe sex but not all the time. He never got sick, never had any symptoms of the disease.
A few months after the diagnosis, he started taking medication. Today, he takes one pill a day and has no side effects. He says his viral load is undetectable.
Metro TeenAIDS has kept him on track, making sure he does what he needs to do to stay healthy. He wants other teens to know what he learned the "extremely" hard way.
"If you think it can't happen to you, it can," he said emphatically. "You have to get tested, because if you don't, you can put your life in danger, as well as somebody else's life."
Oh, "and wrap it up," he said. "Either safe sex or no sex."
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Gaza peace fight 'drains me of hope'
7/25/2014 4:51:59 PM
- Omar Shaban was born to a Palestinian refugee family and grew up in Gaza
- In 1987 he participated in the first intifada and went on to work for as a peace campaigner
- But he says as violence has increased, so has the gap between citizens on both sides
- He says it is disheartening to see that Gaza is further from peace than it was 20 years ago
Editor's note: Economist Omar Shaban is the founder and chairman of the Gaza-based Palestinian think-tank Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, established in 2007 by Palestinian researchers and community activists. He previously worked for Catholic Relief Services in Gaza and established Palestinian branches of Amnesty International. The views expressed in this commentary are solely the author's.
(CNN) -- At age of 52, it might be too late to re-visit your beliefs and principles in order to change them.
When you see the regression from where we were, to the situation now and realize the dream you have been working towards has moved almost entirely out-of-reach, you feel tired, hopeless, and less motivated to recharge yourself.
I was born in Gaza in 1962 to a refugee family who had been expelled from their village "Sawafir" in the then British --mandate of Palestine.
Five years later, in June 1967, Gaza was occupied by Israel, which meant that I grew up under the occupation. When you live under occupation, your national ambitions become clearer and stronger.
I promised myself that I would do my utmost to contribute to achieving peace and freedom for our people and region through talks and debates.
Omar Shaban
In 1987, at the age of 27, I took part in the first intifada, which I viewed as largely peaceful, with boys and girls throwing stones at well-equipped Israeli soldiers.
Through that struggle, we succeeding in winning the hearts and minds, not only of the international community but also many Israelis themselves; who became advocates for our right to have a free and independent Palestinian state.
I learned, to some extent, what freedom meant when I took my first plane trip, flying to London via Tel Aviv in 1993. I had been invited by Amnesty International in my capacity as the founder of the organization's Palestinian branch.
I wrote articles and appeared on television and radio to promote human rights and non-violent struggle; I was invited to address Israeli audiences and receive Israeli citizens in Gaza itself. I also stood as a candidate in the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in 1996.
Then, my dream of being a free citizen in a free state grew and flourished, but over time it gradually became weaker and weaker.
Twenty years ago, how to make peace with Israel was a daily topic for the Palestinian people. It was very normal to see tens of Israelis citizens walking freely along Gaza streets, shopping and making conversation.
On the other side of the border, an influential Israeli camp was advocating making peace with the Palestinians.
Nowadays, "peace" is perhaps the least used word in Gaza's daily lexicon, replaced as it has been by the terms; tanks, F16, killing, shelling, rockets and revenge.
And in Israel, politicians and groups compete to see who will be more aggressive towards the Palestinians. This is demonstrated by the success of the extreme right in politics.
Twenty years ago, more than 80,000 Palestinian workers went to Israel every day to work alongside Israelis, acting as ambassadors for co-existance.
Twenty years ago, it was common to see the slogan and fliers "PEACE NOW" on cars and at shops and restaurants. Making peace with the Palestinians appeared to be a priority for the Israeli public.
Recently, the Israeli government built a huge wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories. Now that Israeli citizens cannot see us any more, it seems they have lost sight of our reality.
And the reality has been deteriorating. When the Israelis began building separation walls in the late 1990s, many of its citizens were being killed by suicide bombers. In September 2000, the second intifada erupted with a far more violent face than its predecessor.
Hamas won the election in 2006 and took control from Fatah forcibly in June 2007, prompting Israel to blockade the Gaza Strip, which created humanitarians crises. Since then Israel has declared three wars against Gaza, in 2008, 2012 and now 2014. Meantime, Hamas and other resistance movements continue to launch homemade rockets into Israel's cities.
Within the new reality, the Israelis and Palestinians are unable to see/meet/talk/interact with each other.
I always say, it is easy to fight someone you don't know and/or have no mutual interests with, but you cannot make peace with someone unless you know them well and share interests.
This is why it has been easy for the new generations on both sides -- Israeli and Palestinians -- to fight each other aggressively. They have never met and they don't see the benefit of living peacefully. Nowadays, they communicate from a distance through rockets, bullets, shelling, guns -- instead of physically interacting.
The generations of both sides have been taken hostages by the conflict, they consume and waste their energy and resources to make the other's life more difficult. Both generations have to work harder to find the lost opportunity, which is hidden underneath scene of the conflict; they have to be educated to look differently.
Regional cooperation
In today's globalized world, the problems have become cross-border despite being perceived as local. Regional cooperation is needed.
Both Israelis and Palestinians suffer severe water shortages, pollution, population growth, radicalism, unemployment. But while the cost of conflict to both is huge, the profit of peace would be much higher.
In addition to the waste of their own resources, the Palestinians have received billions of dollars of aid in the past 20 years since the Oslo accord, while Israel receives U.S. aid assistance of about US$3 billion every year.
Some of the international aid and the local resources are spent in fueling the conflict, though it would make a huge and positive difference to people's lives if such huge amounts were instead used in developmental projects.
Both the Israeli and Palestinian governments might be able to reach a peace agreement, but achieving culture of peace remains distant.
I have never thought to leave Gaza or to emigrate, though I have always easy access to such a possibility.
I believe that Gaza is in need of an "agent of change." I have been and I wanted to continue to be such an agent of change.
But I feel tired, hopeless and less motivated to recharge myself.
What is Israel's endgame in Gaza?
What is Hamas' endgame in Gaza?
How do we get a cease-fire to end the bloodshed in Gaza?
Should planes land in war zones?
7/25/2014 9:56:38 AM
- Les Abend says a commercial pilot's pre-flight checklist just got much more complicated
- The FAA has lifted restrictions on landing and taking off in Tel Aviv
- Worrying about whether rockets are flying near airports makes a tough task more difficult
- U.S. airspace is also full of activity involving live ordinance, due to military training
Editor's note: Les Abend is a Boeing 777 captain for a major airline with 30 years of flying experience. He is also a CNN aviation analyst and senior contributor to Flying magazine. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Checking the weather display for our departure from JFK Airport in New York to London's Heathrow Airport, an awkward blob of green, yellow, and red is sprawled diagonally across most of the New England coastline. Studying the computer in Operations, the routing filed with ATC (air traffic control) appears to navigate through the least intense area of a very wide storm system. I pick up the company phone, taking a rare opportunity to consult with our dispatcher located in a central location at our main hub almost 1,400 miles away.
On most occasions, through our collaborative efforts, the dispatcher and I agree to the planning of the flight by electronic means. This day is different. On this day I require the verbal communication of a trusted professional who has more resources available to assist in our flight planning.
In light of the now-lifted FAA ban on flights into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, it seems that the resources available will have to include intelligence on airborne hostile activity.
But let's be honest, why did the FAA exercise their authority in the first place? Israel has been the center of conflict since its birth in 1948, with the airport having been in existence even before that time. The answer for the FAA's decision had to lay in what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. I think we all get it.
So what? One rocket is launched from Gaza and lands within a mile of Ben Gurion Airport. Big deal. The Israelis said, "What's one missile when we have the Iron Dome? It's just another day in Tel Aviv for us. C'mon back."
Many flights soar over conflict zones
Well, one mile from the airport and one little ole rocket may not seem like much, but our arrivals to a runway begin at least 10 miles away. And our lumbering airliners are the most vulnerable in the approach phase, notwithstanding the initial takeoff phase of our flights. Airline pilots are paid to be paranoid. I've never flown with a colleague whom I considered too cautious.
That being said, U.S. airline pilots understand the concept of mitigating risk. Not everything we do as humans is completely safe. But Israel's El Al airplanes have a little more risk mitigation in their arena. The robust Israeli airline has missile detection and defense systems installed. Most of these systems are designed to automatically thwart an attack from shoulder-launched weapons and low altitude threats.
A similar system was proposed a couple of years after 9/11 for U.S. airlines but the costs were deemed to outweigh the potential risk. My airline went so far as to have the test hardware installed in three of our Boeing 767s. The technology was designed to defend against MANPADs -- a weapon considered to be the next terrorist threat. A cause for concern was that once the system was installed, the potential existed for it to be defeated by newer weapon technology.
But now that it seems the FAA has set an arbitrary standard for safety of flights into areas of conflict what exactly is the criteria? How can yesterday be unsafe but today is all clear? Should missile launch frequency and distance from the airport be calculated via an algorithm? Should the type of warhead be considered? If there is to be a standard, the requirement to have it disseminated for airlines and their flight crews is a must.
The Israelis have obviously set their own standards. I can't think of an area on the globe that is more focused on security than Tel Aviv. In that regard, should the criteria to halt flights be different for Ben Gurion Airport than it is for Cairo International Airport?
Because of our military, U.S. airspace is full of activity involving more live ordnance than anywhere in the world. Airspace that is off-limits to civilian flights dot the entire country. Our military is practicing war tactics in these areas both on the ground and in the air. One does not stray into restricted airspace that is "hot" without authorization from ATC even if it is required for a weather deviation.
A tense week for air travelers
I can guarantee that until the horror of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the furthest concept from an airline pilot's mind when it came to threats was a missile attack — and certainly not a missile attack at cruise altitude.
But if this is a new day, then airlines and their pilots need to be provided with the tools to make safe routing decisions around areas of conflict.
These tools will have to include appropriate intelligence. If airline pilots can be trusted with intelligence information after 9/11 but still can't take gels and liquids through airport security, something has to change.
And now, as crazy as it seems, in 30 years of flying for my airline, my dispatcher and I have to incorporate missile threats into pre-flight planning.
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'I wish this ceasefire had never happened'
7/26/2014 6:54:29 AM
- NEW: "My home is destroyed," one Gazan said
- A 12-hour humanitarian truce started at 8 a.m. (1 a.m. ET)
- More than 900 people, mostly civilians in Gaza, have died in the recent conflict
- At least 40 bodies found in Gaza areas too dangerous to enter in recent days
Gaza (CNN) -- A 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas held Saturday as diplomats worked to create a longer truce in the conflict that has killed more than 900 people -- mostly civilians.
The cease-fire started at 8 a.m. Saturday (1 a.m. ET). If the 12-hour cease-fire holds, Palestinians will be able to move medical supplies into Gaza.
Palestinians also looked for more bodies and found at least 40 in areas that have been too dangerous to enter in recent days because of Israeli bombardment, Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra from the Gaza Ministry of Health told CNN Saturday.
A CNN team visiting the hardest-hit areas in northern Gaza where many of the newly-discovered bodies were discovered saw entire blocks of buildings reduced to rubble.
"I wish this cease-fire had never happened," one man in Beit Hanoun told CNN, "And I would have never found out my home is destroyed."
Another woman in Beit Hanoun meets a neighbor as she navigates her way through mounds of rubble and metal. "Did you see my home?"
"It's gone. Nothing is left," the neighbor responds.
Israel Defense Forces says it will keep working to "locate and neutralize tunnels" being used by militants during the cease-fire and will respond with force if militants target Israeli civilians or soldiers.
A previous cease-fire backed by Egypt fell apart earlier this month.
Palestinian Parliament Member Mustafa Barghouti told CNN that Hamas will comply with the terms of the temporary cease-fire.
"Of course, they will," Barghouti said Friday on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. "Not only Hamas, but all Palestinians."
Kerry leads talks in Paris
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other American diplomats are taking the lead in drafting an agreement with Israel and the Palestinians on a one-week humanitarian cease-fire that would start Sunday, several diplomatic sources told CNN on Friday.
CNN Mideast analyst Michael Oren told Blitzer that Israel rejected a seven-day cease-fire proposal because it doesn't want to give Hamas time to rearm itself.
More talks will take place Saturday in Paris. "We still have some more things to do over the course of ... 24 to 48 hours," Kerry said Friday.
The cease-fire talks are playing out against a backdrop of mounting casualties.
At least 961 people have been killed and more than 5,840 wounded since the start of an Israeli operation on Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry reported.
He said 35 people were killed on Saturday alone before the cease-fire started.
An Israeli military representative said two soldiers were killed Friday in Gaza, bring the total number of soldiers killed to 37 since Operation Protective Edge started.
Doctor: 'We are preparing ourselves for death'
The bloodshed is pushing hospitals in Gaza to the limit. At South Gaza's European Hospital, the flood of bloodied children and adults has overwhelmed doctors.
"We sometimes work 20 hours continuous," Dr. Jamal Abu Hilal said.
Doctors here say they're sick of stitching up bodies mutilated by shrapnel.
"We feel exhausted. We feel anxious. We feel depressed," Hilal's colleague Dr. Shadi said.
In one room, surgeons worked on a child mangled by shrapnel. The rest of the boy's family was killed.
"Not even one square meter is safe in Gaza strip," Dr. Hassen al-Masri said.
He, too, is afraid of dying in the conflict. The doctor carries his identification papers with him all the time, even while treating patients -- just in case.
"We are preparing ourselves for death."
Casualties mount in West Bank
The violence has also expanded to the West Bank. At least four Palestinians were killed in outbreaks of violence in several parts of the West Bank, according to medical sources.
A 23-year-old man was shot near Huwara village outside Nablus by Jewish settlers, a doctor at the Rafidia Hospital said. The circumstances of his death are unclear, but it led to clashes between protesters and the Israeli military in which another man was killed, medical sources said.
Two more men were killed during clashes with Israeli troops at a checkpoint north of Hebron in Beir Ummar in the West Bank, according to Palestinian medical sources.
The violent protests came after the U.N. shelter in Gaza was hit, killing 16 people and wounding a couple hundred more -- most of them women and children.
Video from the school showed chaos amid pools of blood. There were so many victims than many gurneys included two wounded children.
The bloodshed left the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon exasperated.
"I am telling to the parties -- both Israelis and Hamas, Palestinians -- that it is morally wrong to kill your own people," Ban said. The "whole world has been watching, is watching with great concern. You must stop fighting and enter into dialogue."
Americans fighting for Israel
Is Hamas using human shields in Gaza?
What is Hamas' endgame in Gaza?
What is Israel's endgame in Gaza?
Map: Tension felt around the world
U.S. ends ban on flights in Ben Gurion
FAA ban marks Israeli setback, Hamas 'victory'
How does the Iron Dome system work?
Gaza crisis: Who's who in Hamas
CNN's Karl Penhaul reported from Gaza; Ralph Ellis and Chelsea J. Carter wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, Yousuf Basil, Ben Wedeman, Elise Labott, Richard Roth, Ian Lee,Tal Heinrich, Holly Yan and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
SWAT team storms Toronto plane
7/26/2014 3:45:53 AM
- Tactical police unit with weapons drawn arrest problem passenger
- A 25-year-old man is accused of making a bomb threat
(CNN) -- A passenger captured dramatic cell phone video of a Canadian SWAT team storming onto a Sunwing flight at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Friday. The video shows the police tactical team swarming onto the plane with their weapons drawn, yelling at passengers to get their hands up, and forcefully removing a 25-year-old man from the aircraft.
The airline said the Panama-bound plane was forced to return to Toronto Friday morning about 45 minutes into the flight after a passenger, identified by authorities as Ali Shahi, made a "direct threat against the aircraft."
Witnesses told CNN affiliate CTV that Shahi said he wanted to bomb Canada.
"The Sunwing flight crew followed the appropriate procedures and turned the flight around in cooperation with the FAA and Canadian authorities," said Sunwing Travel Group Spokeswoman Janine Chapman.
Shahi, a Canadian citizen, was jailed on charges including mischief to property and endangering the safety of an aircraft, police said. He was scheduled for a bail hearing in Brampton, Ontario, on Saturday.
No one on the flight was injured, the airline said.
CNN's Marlena Baldacci, Paula Newton and Kevin Conlon contributed to this report
C. America leaders signal border plan
7/26/2014 4:03:43 AM
- NEW: Central American leaders meet with Obama on youth migrant surge
- NEW: They say they're working on a plan to address underlying cause of migration
- The Obama administration is buoyed by slight slowing of migrant kids at the border
- Congress working on scaled-back plan, but House and Senate divided on approach
Washington (CNN) -- Central American leaders signaled to President Barack Obama they're working on a "comprehensive plan" to address the underlying reasons for the surge of immigrant youth from their countries who are entering the United States illegally.
The presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala met with Obama at the White House on Friday as Washington struggles to find a solution to what many consider a humanitarian crisis.
The influx this year of tens of thousands of child immigrants, many unaccompanied, has become a partisan flashpoint on the already divisive issue of reforming a U.S. immigration system that all sides agree is broken.
Obama and Presidents Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala, Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, and Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador issued a statement that reiterated "our commitment to prevent families and children from undertaking this dangerous journey and to work together to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration."
They "all agreed that an effective solution requires a comprehensive and joint effort" from those countries, other nations in the region and the United States, they said.
Specifically, the Central American presidents "indicated" to Obama that they were working on a plan to address the root causes of why people are leaving their countries.
Underlying causes
Part of that, all at the meeting agreed, must address strategies for reducing crime and promoting greater social and economic opportunity.
Priorities include pursuing criminal enterprises "that are exploiting this uniquely vulnerable population" and the need to discourage use of "smuggling networks" that place immigrants at "high risk of violent crime and sexual abuse."
Obama and the others also pledged to redouble efforts to counter misinformation about U.S. deportation policy around young immigrants that some say is fueling the surge, and promised to further efforts to "humanely repatriate migrants, consistent with due process."
Most can't stay
Obama told the Central American leaders that most of the child migrants crossing the border illegally now won't be permitted to stay. Some have been deported already, while most are being allowed to stay temporarily while their immigration status is sorted out.
Also being discussed within the Obama administration has been a pilot program that would let the United States assess asylum claims in those countries in order to reduce the number of illegal immigrants. But Obama sought to play down that option as an answer.
"There may be some narrow circumstances in which there is humanitarian or refugee status that a family might be eligible for. If that's the case it would be better for them to apply in country rather than take a very dangerous journey all the way up to Texas to make those same claims," Obama said.
But he added that potential applicants would still have to meet the same criteria to qualify.
"Under U.S. law, we admit a certain number of refugees from all over the world based on some fairly narrow criteria and typically refugee status is not just based on economic need or because a family lives in a bad neighborhood or in poverty it's typically defined fairly narrowly," he said.
The White House previously called the idea premature. But spokesman Josh Earnest said before Friday's meeting that it could be extended to other countries, if successful.
Struggling for a solution
The administration and Congress have struggled in recent weeks to come to a consensus on how to address the surge that has overwhelmed border and immigration services.
Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funds for border efforts, while Republicans and some Democrats in Congress are resisting that proposal, and offering alternatives that would spend less and change immigration policy to deport kids faster.
Either way, Obama and others are concerned that lawmakers will leave at the end of next week for their August recess without approving a fix.
House Republicans are expected to vote on a scaled-down border bill next week. It would provide less than $1 billion to address the crisis and would modify a 2008 law to make it easier to deport children from Central America who enter the United States illegally.
Currently, kids who enter the country illegally from Central America can stay until they receive an immigration hearing. That process can take months or years.
The proposal to alter that law all but ensures the bill will not come to a vote in the Senate, where Democrats are opposed to tagging that change to a funding bill of its own for the border crisis.
Democrats worry that accelerating the process will result in many falling through the cracks and being sent back to situations characterized by many as violent situations in their countries.
Guard troops to border
The administration also is considering sending National Guard troops to the border, according to a White House official, just days after Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would do just that in the Rio Grande Valley area.
Immigrants or refugees?
The Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services sent a team this week to assess Border Patrol efforts in the Rio Grande Valley. The number of unaccompanied minors seeping through that area has slowed dramatically since last month.
Key questions about Rick Perry's border plan
CNN's Dana Bash, Jim Acosta, Halimah Abdullah, Kevin Liptak and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
U.S. man shoots, pregnant intruder
7/26/2014 3:35:16 AM
- Long Beach, California, man was burglarized and beaten by a couple, police say
- Female suspect claimed she was pregnant, but Greer shot her twice, killing her
- DA will determine whether the 80-year-old homeowner will be charged
- The suspected male accomplice has been charged with felony murder
(CNN) -- Tom Greer says he fought back when he was attacked by intruders at his Southern California home. Then he got his gun and fired at them and they ran.
The 80-year-old homeowner says one of the fleeing burglars, a woman, shouted, "I'm pregnant!" He shot her twice, killing her.
The woman was not pregnant, Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told CNN on Friday.
The district attorney will decide whether Greer will face criminal charges.
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Greer walked into his house Tuesday to find suspects Andrea Miller, 26, and Gus Adams, 28, ransacking it. According to McDonnell, Greer said this was the fourth time his house has been burglarized.
Police say the couple beat and threw the elderly man to the ground, causing injuries, which included a broken collarbone, cuts and bruises.
Despite his injuries, Greer managed to grab his gun and fire at the suspects, causing them to flee through the garage and into the alley, police said.
In an interview with KNBC, Greer said that as the suspects ran into the alley, Miller yelled, "'Don't shoot me, I'm pregnant! I'm going to have a baby!' and I shot her anyway."
Miller died in the alley, the police chief said.
When asked by KNBC how he felt about the incident, Greer responded that he had no regrets.
"I had to do what I had to do."
Adams, the alleged accomplice, fled the scene, according to Greer and Chief McDonnell. He was later arrested and charged Friday with five felony counts, including murder in Miller's death, residential robbery , burglary, grand theft firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. He's currently jailed on $1.25 million bond.
Adams was scheduled for arraignment on Friday, but his court appearance at Los Angeles Superior Court in Long Beach was postponed until August 11.
Detroit-area man who shot woman on porch arraigned on murder charge
Doctor shoots patient who shot, killed caseworker
CNN's Chuck Condor and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.
Indian teen has 232 'teeth' removed
7/26/2014 4:01:32 AM
- A benign tumor caused teeth-like growth in a teenager's jaw area
- Four doctors operated for six hours on Ashik Gavai to remove 232 abnormal teeth
- The "teeth" could grow back
- A government program paid for the $4,000 surgery
(CNN) -- A teenager in India, who had more than 200 "teeth" growing in his mouth due to a benign dental tumor, has had them removed.
Ashik Gavai, a 17-year-old student from Buldhana, underwent the six-hour operation, which involved four doctors at Mumbai's J.J. Hospital on July 21.
The teen had 232 denticles -- abnormal teeth-like growth -- lodged in his mouth due to a complex composite odontoma, a benign dental tumor.
The abnormal teeth were embedded in the bone inside the lower right jaw and were not visible from outside the mouth. Surgeons say the surgery was "dangerous" and the patient's jawbone will take three to four months to heal.
"It is very common for a person to have a (small) number of abnormal teeth, but this many is very rare," said Dr. Sunanda Dhiware, head of the Department of Dentistry at J.J. Hospital. She adds that she knows of cases where 40 to 50 teeth were removed.
Gavai's normal teeth are to remain in his mouth, although the doctors did help to remove a wisdom tooth.
The teen is currently recovering in the hospital and has been put on a liquid diet of mainly coconut water and milk.
According to Dr. Vandana Thoravade, surgeon in the ENT department at J.J. Hospital, the operation could have cost as much as 250,000 rupees (about $4,000), which the Gavai family could not afford. The teen's father is a farm laborer who earns 150-200 rupees ($2-3) a day.
The government's Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana program -- which supports low income patients -- took care of the bill.
Gavai's doctors said the denticles likely started to form when the patient was six years old, but Gavai did not notice the abnormal teeth until a month ago, when his mouth began to swell.
The village doctors near his home in Buldhana District, about 500 km from Mumbai, were unable to treat Gavai's condition, and referred him to the Mumbai hospital.
Doctors say denticles are likely to grow again in Gavai's mouth, but probably not in such a large number.
Dental screening that could save your life
Five ways to preserve your teeth as you age
Cyclist Wiggins upstaged in Glasgow
7/26/2014 4:01:59 AM
- There's still no Commonwealth gold for English cyclist Bradley Wiggins
- His team finishes second behind a quick Australia in a team pursuit final
- Ross Murdoch upsets fellow Scot Michael Jamieson in the pool
- Mo Farah pulls out of the 5,000 and 10,000 meters because of a stomach illness
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(CNN) -- After crashing in the Tour de Suisse and being overlooked by his team for the Tour de France -- he became the first British winner of the race in 2012 -- Bradley Wiggins hoped relief would come at the Commonwealth Games.
"It's given me another focus rather than just lolling about at home feeling miserable," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Wiggins indeed won a medal Thursday in the first day of action in Glasgow, but it wasn't the one he wanted.
Wiggins and his English teammates could only take home silver, behind a rampant Australia, in the 4,000-meter team pursuit final.
It means that while he has triumphed in France and won four Olympic golds, he's never stood atop the podium at the Commonwealth Games.
But instead of dwelling on the disappointment, Wiggins was already looking ahead to the Olympics in Rio in 2016.
"It's two years to Rio and you can't win all the time," he told BBC Television. "We've had limited preparation.
"That's the reality of it. We'll look back on this in two years with hopefully gold medals around our necks and say this was the start point for us. That's what it's all about.
"It's going to be two years of graft now and it's so different to the road. I can't underestimate how much work it's going to take."
Despite England's runner-up finish, Wiggins enjoyed his time with his teammates.
"It's been brilliant," he said. "I said to the boys, 'It's like being on holiday.' I got to go back to work Monday morning now.
"It's been just a nice break from everything from the road."
The Australian quartet of Jack Bobridge, Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson and Glenn O'Shea set a new Games record, clocking in at three minutes, 54.851 seconds to better England by about six seconds.
Murdoch bests Jamieson
As expected, there was a Scottish winner in the pool in the 200-meter breaststroke. What wasn't expected was that it was Ross Murdoch, not Michael Jamieson.
Jamieson finished second at London 2012 and said he wanted to set a world record at the Commonwealth Games. But the Glasgow native was slower than Murdoch in the heats and once again in Thursday's final.
He narrowly led Murdoch after 100 meters, though Murdoch won comfortably in the end -- by more than a second over his higher profile compatriot.
Murdoch established a Games record time of 2.07.30.
Earlier Thursday, Scotland's Hannah Miley defended her title in the 400-meter individual medley.
She was both ecstatic -- and tired.
"That was just incredible," she was quoted as saying by The Scotsman. "I literally couldn't feel my legs for the last 50 so, when I touched the wall, I was hoping and praying that I could go fast."
Brothers rule in triathlon
It was billed as brother vs. brother in the men's triathlon.
They indeed led the way and not for the first time Alistair Brownlee beat younger sibling Jonny to gold.
Alistair, who also won gold on home soil at London 2012, finished in 1:48.50, 11 seconds better than Jonny -- the bronze medalist at the 2012 Olympics.
They were virtually tied entering the final portion of the triathlon, the run, before Alistair broke away.
This is the way to get back from and reflect on a good race. pic.twitter.com/4xNccHKyE1
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) July 24, 2014 "This is the goal I wanted to achieve for the season and I've done it now," Alistair Brownlee told BBC Television. "Now I've done everything I've wanted to do in my career. I don't know what to do now. Maybe I should retire," he joked.
Farah pulls out
England's Mo Farah claimed gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Olympics in London, making his 'Mobot' celebration a worldwide phenomenon.
But Farah won't be achieving the double in track's two longest races at the Commonwealth Games after pulling out due to a lingering stomach illness.
He'll continue to train in France and hopes to return in time for the European Championships that begin August 12 in Zurich.
"I have taken the tough decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games," Farah told the England Athletics website. "The sickness I had two weeks ago was a big setback for me.
"Training is getting better here in Font Romeu but I need another few weeks to get back to the level I was at in 2012 & 2013.
"I really wanted to add the Commonwealth titles to my Olympic and World Championships but the event is coming a few weeks too soon for me as my body is telling me it's not ready to race yet."
Lampard: 'MLS my next big challenge'
7/26/2014 5:09:21 AM
- Frank Lampard joining New York City FC
- Lampard won Champions League and EPL titles with Cheslsea
- Capped 106 times by England and played at 2014 World Cup
- Move to MLS 'the perfect fit' he tells CNN
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(CNN) -- Not content with claiming every major club honor with Chelsea and over a century of caps for England -- now Frank Lampard is relishing a new challenge in MLS with New York City FC.
"Obviously players tend to come here later in their careers, but for me personally I come here with a big determination to make an imprint on life here," he told CNN.
"I made this move because I wanted to come here and do well."
The 36-year-old Lampard had a host of offers to prolong his career in the English Premier League or in Europe, but has opted for the Big Apple and the new franchise which starts in the 2015 season.
"It feels really right," he said. "For me personally it's a great challenge to move from Chelsea to a different country and a great city like New York."
Lampard left Chelsea as a club legend, having scored a record 211 goals in 649 appearances over 13 seasons.
Read: Lampard goal sinks Spain
During that time he helped the Blues to three EPL titles, the English FA Cup on four occasions and the crowning glory, the 2012 European Champions League crown.
But last season it became clear that his Chelsea career was drawing to a close with manager Jose Mourinho looking to younger players.
Lampard said that he was not ruling out a future role at Chelsea but was "totally committed" to New York City FC.
"I'm sure there is the possibility to go back later in some capacity," he said. "But I wanted to keep playing regularly and being important in a team."
Lampard, who has signed a two-year contact with New York, joins former Spanish international David Villa as the marquee players in the new venture.
Read: Chelsea clinches Europa League
Before signing a one-year extension to his Chelsea contract before the start of last season, Lampard had mulled over a move to Los Angeles Galaxy, the then club of his former England teammate David Beckham.
"I have been watching the MLS since the Beckham's and (Robbie) Keane arrived," he said. "The league has improved and its the perfect fit for me in football and lifestyle terms."
Lampard's last action as an England player saw him take to the field in its final group match at the 2014 World Cup, a draw with Costa Rica, but having already been eliminated.
It was his 106th international cap with 29 goals to his name, an excellent scoring rate for a midfield player.
New York City FC sporting director Claudio Reyna described Lampard as "one of the greatest players over the last 15 years" at his official unveiling Thursday and had worked hard to persuade him to make the move.
"New York sold me the vision of what they wanted to do," Lampard said.
"I think when I look back at the end of my career with Chelsea it's a period as good as it could be.
"I have no regrets," he added.
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U.S. man shoots, kills pregnant intruder
7/25/2014 3:23:58 PM
- Long Beach, California, man was burglarized and beaten by a couple, police say
- Female suspect claimed she was pregnant, but Greer shot her twice, killing her
- DA will determine whether the 80-year-old homeowner will be charged
- The suspected male accomplice has been charged with felony murder
(CNN) -- Tom Greer says he fought back when he was attacked by intruders at his Southern California home. Then he got his gun and fired at them and they ran.
The 80-year-old homeowner says one of the fleeing burglars, a woman, shouted, "I'm pregnant!" He shot her twice, killing her.
The woman was not pregnant, Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told CNN on Friday.
The district attorney will decide whether Greer will face criminal charges.
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Greer walked into his house Tuesday to find suspects Andrea Miller, 26, and Gus Adams, 28, ransacking it. According to McDonnell, Greer said this was the fourth time his house has been burglarized.
Police say the couple beat and threw the elderly man to the ground, causing injuries, which included a broken collarbone, cuts and bruises.
Despite his injuries, Greer managed to grab his gun and fire at the suspects, causing them to flee through the garage and into the alley, police said.
In an interview with KNBC, Greer said that as the suspects ran into the alley, Miller yelled, "'Don't shoot me, I'm pregnant! I'm going to have a baby!' and I shot her anyway."
Miller died in the alley, the police chief said.
When asked by KNBC how he felt about the incident, Greer responded that he had no regrets.
"I had to do what I had to do."
Adams, the alleged accomplice, fled the scene, according to Greer and Chief McDonnell. He was later arrested and charged Friday with five felony counts, including murder in Miller's death, residential robbery , burglary, grand theft firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. He's currently jailed on $1.25 million bond.
Adams was scheduled for arraignment on Friday, but his court appearance at Los Angeles Superior Court in Long Beach was postponed until August 11.
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CNN's Chuck Condor and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.
DNA clue to Brooklyn Bridge flag gag
7/25/2014 4:53:13 PM
- DNA collected from tin pans used to cover Brooklyn Bridge lights during flag switch
- Nicknames, cell phones and license plates also being tracked to find the culprits
- Mysterious white flags spotted atop the Brooklyn Bridge
- NYPD Commissioner calls incident a "matter of concern"
(CNN) -- New York police have collected DNA evidence in the case of nighttime acrobats who replaced two American flags atop of the Brooklyn Bridge with two white flags, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation Friday.
The swapped-out bleached flags were spotted by construction workers at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The DNA was taken from tin pans used by the vandals to cover bridge lights, according to the official -- a clever move to elude detection while the flags were raised. The tin shields were held in place with zip ties.
So far there is no match in existing databases where DNA evidence of solved and unsolved crimes are kept, the official added.
Among other leads investigators are following are five nicknames who tipsters suggest might be associated with the incident. Investigators are trying to learn the real identities behind the nicknames or street names. It's too soon to know whether any of them were involved, the official said.
The motive is unclear: Was it a stunt, prank or something more sinister?
Officials have said they are looking at whoever had access or familiarity with the bridge, including maintenance workers or anyone who worked on the fireworks extravaganza over the East River on Independence Day. The event this year included pyrotechnics shooting from the bridge.
Cell phone calls are being tracked and about 18,000 license tags were checked from vehicles that crossed the bridge in the overnight hours, according to the official.
More than 120,000 vehicles, 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 bicyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day, according to the city Department of Transportation, which maintains the bridge.
The oversized white banners -- American flags that were pre-bleached -- have prompted investigators to talk with flag manufacturers and check websites for anyone who may have recently purchased large Stars and Stripes, according to the official.
Intelligence analysts are also looking into any possible significance of the day that was chosen to see whether that may yield clues.
The NYPD's Intelligence Division has even reached out to other countries to see whether similar stunts have occurred elsewhere.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence John Miller said at a news conference Wednesday that the NYPD has video that shows four or five people crossing the bridge just after 3 a.m. Tuesday. Within the hour, the light that normally illuminates the flag on the Brooklyn side of the bridge flickered and appeared to go out. A few minutes later the same thing occurred on the tower on the Manhattan side.
"At this time, it appears it has no particular nexus to terrorism or even politics," Miller said Tuesday. "This may be somebody's art project, or it may be an attempt at making some kind of statement, but at this point it's not clear what the statement is."
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton called the incident a matter of concern and requested the help of the public as investigators search social media for claims of responsibility.
"If flying a white flag atop the Brooklyn Bridge is someone's idea of a joke, I'm not laughing," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement. "The public safety of our city is a paramount of importance, particularly our landmarks and bridges that are already known to be high-risk targets."
Adams announced that he is offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible.
The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. At the time it was the longest suspension bridge in the nation, according to the Department of Transportation.
The bridge has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, and a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Who switched two flags atop the Brooklyn Bridge?
CNN's Poppy Harlow, Marina Carver and Rande Iaboni contributed to this report.
Indian teen has 232 "teeth" removed
7/25/2014 4:58:44 PM
- A benign tumor caused teeth-like growth in a teenager's jaw area
- Four doctors operated for six hours on Ashik Gavai to remove 232 abnormal teeth
- The "teeth" could grow back
- A government program paid for the $4,000 surgery
(CNN) -- A teenager in India, who had more than 200 "teeth" growing in his mouth due to a benign dental tumor, has had them removed.
Ashik Gavai, a 17-year-old student from Buldhana, underwent the six-hour operation, which involved four doctors at Mumbai's J.J. Hospital on July 21.
The teen had 232 denticles -- abnormal teeth-like growth -- lodged in his mouth due to a complex composite odontoma, a benign dental tumor.
The abnormal teeth were embedded in the bone inside the lower right jaw and were not visible from outside the mouth. Surgeons say the surgery was "dangerous" and the patient's jawbone will take three to four months to heal.
"It is very common for a person to have a (small) number of abnormal teeth, but this many is very rare," said Dr. Sunanda Dhiware, head of the Department of Dentistry at J.J. Hospital. She adds that she knows of cases where 40 to 50 teeth were removed.
Gavai's normal teeth are to remain in his mouth, although the doctors did help to remove a wisdom tooth.
The teen is currently recovering in the hospital and has been put on a liquid diet of mainly coconut water and milk.
According to Dr. Vandana Thoravade, surgeon in the ENT department at J.J. Hospital, the operation could have cost as much as 250,000 rupees (about $4,000), which the Gavai family could not afford. The teen's father is a farm laborer who earns 150-200 rupees ($2-3) a day.
The government's Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana program -- which supports low income patients -- took care of the bill.
Gavai's doctors said the denticles likely started to form when the patient was six years old, but Gavai did not notice the abnormal teeth until a month ago, when his mouth began to swell.
The village doctors near his home in Buldhana District, about 500 km from Mumbai, were unable to treat Gavai's condition, and referred him to the Mumbai hospital.
Doctors say denticles are likely to grow again in Gavai's mouth, but probably not in such a large number.
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Dogs get jealous too, study finds
7/25/2014 7:36:15 PM
- A new University of California study suggests dogs can exhibit jealousy
- Study dogs acted jealous when their owners displayed affection to a fake dog
- Experts say study is significant step forward in understanding pets' emotions
(CNN) -- Sure, Fido is a brown Lab. But inside, he may also be a little green.
New research suggests that dogs can exhibit jealousy, a human emotion usually ascribed to squabbling siblings or the jilted third of a love triangle.
A study by scholars at the University of California, San Diego found that dogs showed jealous behaviors when their owners displayed affection toward an animatronic stuffed dog that barked, whined and wagged its tail. The dogs snapped at and pushed against the stuffed dog and tried to get between it and the human.
This may come as no surprise to any owner of multiple pooches who has seen them jostle for space on someone's lap. And it's not unusual for people to assign human feelings to their dogs, whose baleful eyes seem like deep pools of emotion when compared with those of, say, cats.
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But animal-behavior experts say the study is a significant step forward in understanding our dogs' emotional lives.
"This is the first study I know of that directly asks this question: Do dogs get jealous?" said Marc Bekoff, author of "Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed: The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation."
The study by Christine R. Harris and Caroline Prouvost was published Wednesday in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed online scientific journal. For their research, the authors videotaped 36 dogs individually at their homes while their owners ignored them and interacted with a series of three objects: the fake dog, a children's book and a plastic jack-o'-lantern.
The canines included 14 small breeds such as pugs, dachshunds, corgis and terriers. Researchers chose small breeds so they could more easily control the dogs if they acted out violently.
The dogs acted jealous when their owners petted the stuffed dog and talked sweetly to it as if it was real, although they displayed less such behavior when the owner showered attention on the pumpkin or read aloud from the children's book, which had pop-up pages and played melodies.
In this way, the study suggests, the dogs' jealousy was triggered by social interaction and not merely by their owners' ignoring them for an inanimate object. Eighty-six percent of the dogs sniffed the butt of the toy dog during the experiment, so many of them may have seen it as real.
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The findings mirror those of other studies that found human babies as young as 6 months displayed jealous behaviors when their mothers interacted with a realistic-looking doll. The infants did not act jealous, however, when their mothers attended to a nonsocial item such as a book.
"These results lend support to the hypothesis that jealousy has some 'primordial' form that exists in human infants and in at least one other social species besides humans," the study said.
Although most animals clearly demonstrate primal emotions such as anger or fear, studies have been less conclusive in determining whether dogs are capable of more complicated feelings such as guilt or shame, Bekoff said.
But research has shown that dogs do understand when they're being treated unfairly, he said.
"Dogs are really keen social observers," Bekoff said.
Animal behavioral expert Patricia McConnell, author of "For the Love of a Dog" and other books, said she was impressed with the new study's methodology.
But she's not surprised by its findings.
"I think we share a tremendous amount of emotional life ... with dogs," she said. "But I have never thought of jealousy as a particularly complex emotion (in animals). Is human jealousy exactly like dog jealousy? I'm sure it's not."
Does your dog ever act jealous? Share your experience in the comments section below.
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Tour de France history for Lithuanian
7/25/2014 11:44:17 AM
- Ramunas Navardauskas wins 19th stage of Tour de France
- First Lithuanian to achieve the feat
- Vincenzo Nibali retains yellow jersey with two stages to go
- Late crash holds up field inside final 3km
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(CNN) -- His Garmin-Sharp teammate saw victory snatched from his grasp in heartbreaking fashion earlier in the Tour de France but Ramunas Navardauskas made sure there was to be no repeat on a rain soaked 19th stage Friday.
Navardauskas took his courage in his hands to burst clear of the peloton with 13km of the leg from Maubourguet Pays du Val d'Adour to Bergerac and to stay clear, becoming the first Lithuanian to win a stage of cycling's most prestigious race.
The 26-year-old was helped by a late crash which disrupted the efforts of the chasing teams with recognized sprinters and left green jersey leader Peter Sagan on the tarmac.
Read: Bauer denied by surging Kristoff
Yellow jersey holder Vincenzo Nibali avoided the carnage to maintain his seven minute 10 second advantage over Thibaut Pinot of France in the overall classification with just two days to go.
It was the first stage win of the 2014 Tour for Garmin-Sharp, who might have thought their luck was out after Jack Bauer's tearful failure in Nimes last Sunday.
Bauer had led until the closing meters before being overhauled by a pack of surging sprinters, but if Navardauskas was unnerved by that precedent he did not show it as he attacked on the fourth category Cote de Monbazillac.
Using his noted ability as a time trialist, Navardauskas' advantage stayed at around 20 seconds until the crash at the front of the peloton just inside the three kilometers to go mark.
His teammate Bauer took a hefty fall in the incident, the unfortunate New Zealander receiving medical attention at the roadside before cycling to the finish.
Read: Bold move puts Nibali in yellow
Navardauskas could afford to sit up to celebrate his victory, having a seven second advantage over the chasers, who were led by German John Degenkolb ahead of two-time stage winner Alexander Kristoff of Norway in third.
But he revealed that fear of the same fate befalling him as Bauer had been his motivation.
"I didn't know what was happening back there," he told gathered reporters. "I was thinking that maybe the sprinters' teams would chase me down.
"I've no idea what happened, I just went as fast as I can, I kept my speed up and hoped that what happened to Jack wouldn't happen to me.
Read: Defending champion Froome crashes out
"Until the last 10 meters I was afraid to turn back. I went as fast as I can so at the end I couldn't say that I could have done better. I went with all my power and at the end I had nothing left in my legs."
Saturday will see the final major test of an eventful Tour, a 54km individual time trial from Bergerac to Perigueux.
Nibali's advantage leaves him in a comfortable position, but the real battle will be for the other podium places with Pinot, fellow Frenchman Jean Christophe Peraud and fourth-placed Alejandro Valverde of Spain separated by just 15 seconds.
Sprint specialists such as Marcel Kittel, Kristoff and Sagan will get one final chance of a stage win with the traditional finale on the Champs Elysees in Paris Sunday with Nibali set to be crowned Tour de France champion for the first time barring disasters.
Read: Fearless cyclists face selfie danger
Azerbaijan to host first F1 race
7/25/2014 7:36:21 PM
- Azerbaijan will host a Formula One race for the first time
- Street race to take place in capital city Baku in 2016
- Lewis Hamilton is fastest in Friday's Hungary practice
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(CNN) -- Azerbaijan will make its Formula One debut in 2016 as the latest venue for the Grand Prix of Europe, it was announced Friday.
The race circuit will weave through the medieval streets of the capital city Baku.
An oil-rich nation situated on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan had been mooted as a venue for next season by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone.
However, this would have pushed the number of races on the calendar above the agreed limit of 20 unless others were dropped, thus requiring the consent of all F1 teams.
"We are very happy Baku has joined the Formula One family," Ecclestone said in quotes carried by UK news agency, the Press Association.
"This will be a street race, which will pass through interesting and picturesque parts of Baku, and will meet the current Formula One criteria."
The F1 brand has been pushing into Eastern Europe recently with Russia due to host its first race at a circuit built around the Sochi Olympic Park in October.
"Our location at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia is a new frontier for Formula One racing," said Azerbaijan's minister of youth and sport Azad Rahimov.
"Azerbaijan is a modern European country that has established a reputation as a center of sporting excellence.
"The deal to bring Formula One to Baku is a very significant new chapter in our ongoing success to attract the world's largest sporting events to our country.
"The course we are planning to design will be similar to leading street circuits already on the calendar."
The event will become F1's latest street race, joining mainstays Monaco and Singapore already on the roster.
Friday's announcement also follows confirmation earlier this week that Mexico will be added to the F1 calendar for the 2015 season.
Previous hosts of the Grand Prix of Europe -- which was held as a standalone race between 1983 and 2012 -- include Spain, Germany and the UK.
The event was last staged in Valencia, also a street circuit.
Hungary practice
Meanwhile, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton edged out teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg to clock the fastest times in both of Friday's practice sessions for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The British driver clocked a time of one minute 25.814 seconds in the first session when the medium-compound Pirelli tire was used, 0.183 seconds ahead of championship leader Rosberg.
When the drivers were allowed a run on the soft rubber, the quicker of the two choices this weekend, Hamilton improved to one minute 24.482, with Rosberg down by 0.238 seconds.
There were concerns for both drivers, however, with 2008 world champion Hamilton at one stage complaining of a loss of braking and his German colleague reporting issues with his car's engine.
Hamilton has a joint-record four victories at the Hungaroring, along with Michael Schumacher, and a repeat of last year's success on Sunday will help him cut Rosberg's 14-point advantage in the drivers' championship standings.
Only two drivers managed to get within a second of the all-conquering Mercedes duo in the afternoon session.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was 0.629 seconds off the pace in his Red Bull followed by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was 0.955 seconds adrift.
McLaren's Kevin Magnussen was fifth fastest followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, the latter fully 1.5 seconds down on Hamilton.
Raikkonen and Alonso had been third and fourth fastest in the morning.
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