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Federer heads into the Davis Cup final
9/14/2014 9:23:57 AM
- Switzerland to play France in Davis Cup final
- Roger Federer wins decisive singles against Fabio Fognini
- Gives Swiss an unbeatable 3-1 lead in tie against Italy
- France completes 4-1 victory over holders Czech Republic
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(CNN) -- The Davis Cup is the just about the only major honor in tennis to elude Roger Federer and the Swiss maestro took another big step to righting that omission Sunday as he led his country into November's final against France.
Federer secured the winning point in his singles match against Fabio Fognini to give Switzerland an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Italy in Geneva.
The 17-time grand slam winner was never seriously troubled by Fognini, winning 6-2 6-3 7-6 in front of 18,000 fans in the Palexpo Arena.
A run of four straight games saw him take the opening set and a single break in the second was enough to forge further ahead.
Fognini had four break point chances in the third set but could not take advantage and Federer moved clear in the closing tiebreak.
The 33-year-old will be playing in his first Davis Cup final and paid tribute to the fervent supporters who willed him on to victory.
Read: France advances to Davis Cup final
"Its nice sharing your emotions with your fans and team mates," he told the official Davis Cup website.
Swiss captain Severin Luthi also reflected on their triumph. "For the whole of Switzerland it's great we're in the finals now. We couldn't be happier," he said.
"Roger didn't have that much time to get used to the court and conditions and there is a lot of pressure involved. For me he played again fantastic tennis."
Federer and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka won their opening singles rubbers Friday but the Italians hit back the following day as Fognini and Simone Bolleli took the doubles to give themselves a glimmer of hope heading into the reverse singles.
Switzerland will have to travel to France for the final on November 21-23, with the venue still to be announced.
France sealed its passage Saturday when the doubles team of Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Czechs Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek in four sets to go 3-0 ahead.
Sunday's reverse singles saw Jiri Vesely beat Julien Benneteau 6-4 6-3 to put the first point on the board for the Czechs before Gael Monfils beat Lukas Rosol 5-7 6-4 7-5 in the second of the "dead" rubbers.
France is seeking a first Davis Cup triumph since 2001. Switzerland has never won the trophy, losing the 1992 final to the United States.
Rossi wins after Marquez tumble
9/14/2014 12:01:29 PM
- Valentino Rossi wins San Marino MotoGP at Misano
- First win of season for Italian legend
- Rossi passes 5,000 points in world championship classes
- Championship leader Marc Marquez crashes and finishes 15th
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(CNN) -- Misano is home from home for Italian legend Valentino Rossi so it was fitting he would secure his first win of the 2014 season at the circuit on the Adriatic Riviera Sunday and reach another milestone in his remarkable career.
The nine-time world motorcycling champion took his 107th victory and surpassed 5,000 grand prix points, over 4,000 in the premier MotoGP class.
Rossi took the lead early from pole sitter and Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo but was being chased by Marc Marquez when the dominant title leader went down on the Rio corner on the 10th lap.
Marquez was able to restart his Yamaha but his chances of victory were over and and he finished 15th.
Rossi, whose last win came at Assen in 2013, went on to claim the San Marino GP with Lorenzo and Marquez's teammate Dani Pedrosa completing the podium.
Rossi's home town of Tavullia is a few kilometers from Misano and his win was greeted with delight by his supporters.
Read: Destiny awaits for MotoGP's 'Doctor'
"I had a good start to the race and battled with Marc and Jorge, I knew Marc wanted to stay in front. After I saw the board and understood that he had crashed or something it was a little easier as I already had a small advantage over Jorge," he told the official MotoGP website.
"It has been five years since my last victory here, a similar race too, it's like a time machine," he added.
Marquez said he was pleased to be able to recover after his tumble. "I saw the possibility of fighting with Valentino for the victory, but that was not possible in the end because of the mistake, I was riding over the inside of the rumble strip and that meant that I lost the front," he said.
"Luckily I was able to rejoin the race, continue with a good pace and score a point that could always come in handy in the future."
Marquez remains firmly in command in search of his second straight title with 289 points, but Rossi has closed to within a point of Pedrosa, 214 to 215, in the battle for second place.
Pedrosa was taking his ninth podium of the season, edging out another home hope, Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) impressed in fifth place ahead of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 pair of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith.
David Cameron: ISIS are 'not Muslims, they are monsters.'
9/14/2014 9:28:02 AM
- Brother describes ordinary "bloke" who could be "the life and soul of the party"
- Britain won't "shirk our responsibility" in the fight against ISIS, PM Cameron says
- David Haines, a father of two, had been working at a refugee camp near the Turkish border
- His killer in a video of the beheading highlights Britain's alliance with the United States
(CNN) -- The killing of British aid worker David Haines "will not lead Britain to shirk our responsibility" to work with allies to take on ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
Instead, he said, "it must strengthen our resolve."
Speaking a day after the Islamic terror group posted a video showing Haines' beheading -- the latest in a string of such videos -- Cameron vowed to work with the United States to support its "direct military action." He also emphasized that "this is not about British troops on the ground."
"We have to confront this menace," Cameron said. "Step by step we must drive back, dismantle, and ultimately destroy ISIL and what it stands for." Together with allies, he said, "we will do so in a calm, deliberate way but with an iron determination."
The group, which calls itself the Islamic State, is also known as ISIS and ISIL.
"This organization poses a massive threat to the entire Middle East," Cameron said, making a public statement before an emergency meeting of security and intelligence officials.
The European Union joined Cameron in condemning Haines' "atrocious murder" and said it was committed to fighting terror.
"Together with international and regional partners, the EU will spare no effort to ensure that an end is put to this atrocious terrorist campaign and all perpetrators are held accountable," the EU statement said.
Cameron listed five points in the British strategy: to work with the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional governments and help them protect minorities being slaughtered by ISIS; to work at the United Nations "to mobilize the broadest possible support" against ISIS; to contribute to U.S.-led military action; to assist in humanitarian efforts; and to "reinforce our formidable counterterrorist effort here at home."
Some British Muslims have joined ISIS, and the militant who killed Haines and two Americans -- James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- may be British.
'Not Muslim, but monsters'
The video of Haines' killing looks very similar to those that showed the beheadings of Foley and Sotloff, and the masked militant sounds like the same man.
"It falls to the government and to each and every one of us to drain this poison from our society and to take on this warped ideology that is radicalizing some of our young people," Cameron said.
"Islam is a religion of peace," Cameron insisted, saying of the ISIS militants, "They are not Muslim, they are monsters."
Britons "need to know that this is a fanatical organization" that plans attacks across Europe and in the UK, Cameron said.
"It was an ISIL fanatic who gunned down four people in a museum in Brussels," he said referring to Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman from Roubaix in northern France, accused of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in May.
Nemmouche recently spent a year in Syria and is a radicalized Islamist, the chief prosecutor of Paris said in June. French journalist Nicolas Henin said last month that Nemmouche tortured prisoners he guarded while fighting for ISIS in Syria.
"He did beat me a number of times. I don't know of any bad treatment to any other foreign hostages coming from him specifically but I witnessed him torturing local prisoners."
'Your evil alliance with America'
The video of Haines' death shows a masked ISIS militant placing his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
On Sunday, Henning's family distributed an image of him holding a child at a refugee camp on the Syria-Turkey border. The family asked media to use this image rather than the one of Henning in an orange jumpsuit kneeling beside his captor.
ISIS which controls large areas of northern Syria and Iraq, previously publicized grisly videos of the beheadings of American journalists Foley and Sotloff. It has also brutally slaughtered large numbers of Syrians and Iraqis in the territory it's seized.
In the two previous videos, the killer directed his comments at the United States, which had begun airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. But the latest one singles out Britain.
"Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog," says the militant.
The United States launched airstrikes on ISIS positions near Haditha Dam in western Iraq a week ago and is working to build a coalition of countries to support its efforts to combat the terrorist group.
"Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war," says the killer, dressed all in black with only his eyes and hands showing. He calls the beheading "a message to the allies of America."
Like them, Haines appears kneeling beside the executioner in a barren desert landscape, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. He had been shown briefly in the earlier video of Sotloff's killing.
'Just another bloke'
Haines, 44, went to Syria to help organize the delivery of humanitarian aid to a refugee camp in Atmeh, close to the Turkish border. He was abducted near the camp in March 2013.
"David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles," his brother, Mike, said in a statement. "His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair."
Before becoming an aid worker, Haines worked for the Royal Mail. He was an aircraft engineer with the Royal Air Force before he went to work with ScotRail, a Scottish train company, his brother said. A stint with the U.N. in the Balkans would change Haines' life path.
"There are many accolades from people in that region that David helped. He helped whoever needed help, regardless of race, creed or religion," his brother wrote. "During this time David began to decide that humanitarian work was the field he wanted to work in."
His brother also described Haines as an ordinary man -- "just another bloke" -- who grew up with strong family values that he carried into adulthood.
"David was a good brother, there when I needed him and absent when I didn't. I hope that he felt the same way about me. He was, in the right mood, the life and soul of the party and on other times the most stubborn irritating pain in the ass. He would probably say the same about me," Mike Haines wrote.
David Haines had more than a decade of experience doing aid work, helping victims of conflict in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
He was in Syria as a logistics and security manager for ACTED, a French aid group that was helping to provide food, tents and water for tens of thousands of people who had fled to the Atmeh camp amid the vicious civil war.
When he wasn't working in troubled areas, Haines lived in Croatia with his wife, Dragana, and their 4-year-old daughter, Athea.
He grew up in Scotland, and his first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart Louise, according to his brother.
His teenage daughter from that marriage, Bethany, talked about how much she misses her father in comments on a social network, Ask.fm, late last year.
Asked what she wanted at that time, Bethany replied simply, "For my daddy to come home."
'Warped ideology'
The British government said earlier this month that it had attempted to rescue one of its citizens held by ISIS "some time ago" but had failed. It didn't provide any further details.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who announced last week that U.S. airstrikes would go after ISIS in Syria, condemned "the barbaric murder" of Haines.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve," he said in a statement late Saturday.
The murderous, meteoric rise of ISIS has caused alarm across the Middle East and beyond.
The Muslim Council of Great Britain issued a statement Sunday condemning Haines' killing "unreservedly."
"David Haines went out to the region to help the people of the region," said Shuja Shafi, the council's secretary general. "That extremists chose to murder him only shows once again the depravity of their warped ideology."
ISIS members "claim to be acting in the name of Islam," Shafi said. "But there is nothing in our faith that condones such behavior."
U.S. building anti-ISIS coalition
In his statement, Obama reiterated his intention "to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent recent days in the Middle East trying to build support for the U.S. strategy to combat ISIS.
Those efforts are expected to continue Monday in Paris, where France is hosting an international conference on the crisis in Iraq.
Countries in the Mideast and outside the region "are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes if that is what it requires" to fight ISIS, Kerry told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Some nations "are clearly prepared to take action in the air alongside the United States and to do airstrikes if that's what they're called on to do," he said. Some nations have offered to put troops on the ground, "but we're not looking for that at this moment anyway," Kerry added.
Pressed for more specifics, Kerry said, "It's not appropriate to start announcing, 'Well, this country will do this, this country will do that.'"
Australia is preparing to deploy as many as 10 planes, most of them combat aircraft, to the United Arab Emirates in response to a U.S. request to contribute to the coalition, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday.
It will also put together a team of special operations personnel who could act as military advisers to Iraqi forces and others fighting ISIS, Abbott said in a statement.
"We are not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening," he said.
In a Sunday interview, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough declined to say if any members of the emerging coalition would put troops on the ground, but he said that there will be a focus on training Syrian rebels and Iraqi and Kurdish fighters to take on ISIS with coalition backing.
That backing will come in the form of airpower, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and training, he told CNN's "State of the Union," and it will be especially important to draw Sunni fighters into the battle.
Asked if American involvement could make things worse, given the nature of ISIS threats against the West, McDonough said that with Haines' execution came a reminder that ISIS is inhumane, barbaric and depraved.
"The thought we could make them more so is faulty," he said.
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says
John Kerry seeks Egypt's support for mission to build coalition against ISIS
CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Candy Crowley, Greg Botelho, Atika Shubert, Nic Robertson, Deborah Bloom, Michael Pearson, Bharati Naik and Phillip Taylor contributed to this report.
First win for Van Gaal's Man Utd
9/14/2014 3:28:01 PM
- Manchester United beat QPR 4-0 at Old Trafford
- First win of EPL season for English powerhouses
- Angel Di Maria inspires comfortable victory
- Radamel Falcao makes debut as second half substitute
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(CNN) -- "This is the start of the new Manchester United," trumpeted Louis Van Gaal after his expensively rebuilt side kick started its Premier League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford Sunday.
A defeat and two lackluster draws prior to the international break had left the English powerhouses languishing near the foot of the standings, but this was the first match when all his new signings were in action.
Two of them, Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera, were on the score sheet while Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo also made their first starts.
With United 4-0 up in the second half, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao was also given his debut from the bench, but could not add to the scoreline.
Former Real Madrid star Di Maria was particularly impressive and his curling free kick gave United an early lead.
He also played a part in the buildup to Herrera's strike for the second and for Wayne Rooney to score a fine third just before half time.
England captain Rooney is now the joint-third top scorer in Premier League history.
The second half proved left eventful but it was Di Maria again who set up Juan Mata for the fourth before Falcao was introduced with 23 minutes remaining, showing a few glimpses of his undoubted talent.
Harry Redknapp's QPR offered little in reply but it was still a morale boosting win for Dutchman Van Gaal, who succeeded David Moyes as United manager after their poor 2013-4 campaign.
Van Gaal has been set a target of a top-three finish to guarantee automatic qualification to the Champions League next season, but is already setting his sights higher.
"I want to win the Premier League title," he announced after the victory. "If it is not this year then the second or third year. I want to give a championship to the fans."
His side were ending a four-match winless run, which also included an embarrassing defeat to third flight MK Dons in the English League Cup.
"This is special because it is also the birthday of my wife (Truss). I have already given her a present but she said the biggest present shall be the victory. We give it to her," Van Gaal added.
In other football action Sunday, Hanover 96 joined Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga after a 2-0 win over Hamburg, which left the visitors at the bottom of the table.
First-half goals from Leon Andreasen and Artur Sobiech gave Hanover three points to move to seven points after three games with champions Bayern and Leverkusen.
In La Liga, Valencia continued its unbeaten start to move into second place with a 3-1 win at home to Espanyol.
Pablo Piatti, Dani Parejo and Paco Alcacer scored for Valencia in a comfortable win.
Teen golfer Kim seals first major
9/14/2014 1:43:57 PM
- Teenager Hyo-Joo Kim wins Evian Championship
- Two-shot swing on final hole of final women's major of the season
- Australia's Karrie Webb bogeys to finish in second
- Kim shot a course record 61 in the first round
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(CNN) -- A two-shot swing on the final hole of the final women's major of the season saw South Korean teenager Hyo-Joo Kim clinch a remarkable victory in the Evian Championship at the expense of Karrie Webb of Australia Sunday.
Webb chasing an eighth career major, but first since 2006, was one ahead going into the 18th hole, but took three shots from the edge of the green for a bogey five, missing her final effort from 12 feet.
By contrast, the 19-year-old Kim, playing her first major, showed no sign of nerves as he rolled home a 15-foot birdie putt to finish on 11-under 273.
It left her a shot clear and the third youngest winner of a major behind U.S. pair Morgan Pressel and Lexi Thompson.
Speaking through an interpreter, Kim admitted: "I was flying like a bird."
Webb, who would have become the first player to win six different majors, with the Evian Championship a recent addition to the roster, said she had misjudged her first effort from the edge of the green.
"It was a rush of adrenaline with the belly wedge and the putt was faster than I thought. It was a very poor putt and I knew I had to make it for a play-off.
Read: Kim sets new record in first round
"I had a lot of good shots and hit every green bar the second hole and it's obviously disappointing, but I gave myself a good chance."
Kim, who stunned the golf world with her opening 10-under 61 in France, closed with a final round of 68 to clinch the 350,000-euro first prize ($487,500).
She has the added bonus of winning her full playing rights to next season's LPGA Tour without having to qualify.
Webb also shot a 68 for 10-under with two more South Koreans, Jang Ha-Na (66) and Hur Mi Jung (68) tied for third on nine-under.
To complete its domination, another Korean Choi Na Yeon, was fifth on eight-under after a fine closing 67.
Read: Stunning beauty and big bucks
Kim first came to attention at the 2012 Evian Masters -- the last event before it became a major -- finishing fourth as an amateur that year.
In 2013 she was Rookie of the Year on the Korean Tour and has already won three times this season.
U.S. star Michelle Wie had to pull out of the first round with a hand injury, but had some consolation by sealing the inaugural Annika (Sorenstam) Major Award.
It is for the player who has won at least one major and has the best overall record.
Wie claimed her first major at the U.S.Women's Open champion and was runner-up to Thompson in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Reeva's mom wants to meet Pistorius
9/14/2014 7:13:21 PM
- NEW: June Steenkamp says she's ready to talk to Pistorius in private, NBC News says
- "This verdict is not justice for Reeva, I just want the truth," victim's mother says
- Oscar Pistorius' uncle says his family is relieved, but there are "no victors "
- Judge grants Pistorius bail; sentencing starts on October 13
(CNN) -- The mother of South African model Reeva Steenkamp expressed "disbelief" over dismissal of murder charges against the man who killed her daughter.
A judge found Oscar Pistorius guilty Friday of culpable homicide, which is akin to negligent killing.
The conviction came a day after Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared him of murder -- premeditated or otherwise -- in Steenkamp's death.
In her first comments since the verdict, June Steenkamp said Pistorius got off too easy for her daughter's killing.
"I just don't feel like this is the right sentence ... they believe his story, and I don't believe that story," June Steenkamp told NBC News. She said she was not ready to talk to Pistorius during the trial, but wants to meet him now in private.
June Steenkamp
"This verdict is not justice for Reeva, I just want the truth," she told NBC News.
Pistorius, 27, has always admitted firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp, 29, his girlfriend at the time of the shooting on Valentine's Day last year.
He has maintained he thought there was an intruder at the house.
"She died a horrible death, a horrible, painful, terrible death and she suffered, you know? I can't believe that they believe that it was an accident," June Steenkamp said.
'Don't care what happens to Oscar'
During the trial that lasted about six months and transfixed the world with its grisly details, Pistorius pleaded not guilty to murdering her, saying it was a tragic mistake.
Masipa said she believes Pistorius did not intend to kill his girlfriend. He thought he was defending himself from an intruder, she said while issuing the verdict Friday.
There is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide in South African law, so it will be up to the judge to decide. He's free on bail until his sentencing starts on October 13.
"I really don't care what happens to Oscar," June Steenkamp said. "It's not going to change anything because my daughter is never coming back. He's still living and breathing and she's gone, you know, forever."
'No victors'
Shortly after the verdict, Pistorius' uncle said they were relieved that he was convicted of a lesser charge. However, there were "no victors" in the case, Arnold Pistorius said.
"It won't bring Reeva back, but our hearts still go out for her family and friends," he said.
Pistorius' uncle declined to comment further, citing respect for the victim's family.
Gun charges
Pistorius' verdict also dealt with three other charges, all weapons-related.
Pistorius was found not guilty of two -- a car sunroof shooting incident and illegal possession of ammunition found at his house after Steenkamp's shooting.
The judge found Pistorius guilty of the third: a charge involving a shooting at a restaurant. The maximum penalty for that is five years behind bars. But he could get a lesser sentence, such as a fine or the loss of his gun license.
There were no fatalities in the sunroof and restaurant shootings.
Dismissal of murder charges
Masipa said the prosecution failed to prove its case that Pistorius and Steenkamp argued on the night of the killing, and that the Olympic track star shot her in a rage through a closed toilet door.
Testimony of neighbors who said they heard shouting, screaming and shots was not persuasive, the judge said. She believed media coverage had contaminated testimonies, and neighbors' stories did not match the timings on phone records the night of the killing.
Before the shooting, Pistorius was admired worldwide for competing against able-bodied athletes in the 2012 Olympics despite having his lower legs amputated at a young age. He runs with carbon fiber prosthetics.
Who was Reeva Steenkamp?
CNN's Richard Allen Greene and Emily Smith contributed to this report.
How to obliterate ISIS? Leaders convene Paris talks
9/15/2014 1:21:39 AM
- NEW: "No time to lose" in international efforts against ISIS, French President says
- The U.S. says nearly 40 nations have agreed to contribute to the fight against the militants
- An Iraqi analyst says Obama has revealed too much of his strategy to the extremist group
- Britain's role is in focus after an ISIS video showed the beheading of one of its citizens
(CNN) -- After the beheading of another Western captive by ISIS, an international conference convened Monday in Paris to talk about how to tackle the threat posed by the Islamic extremist group.
The Sunni jihadist group underlined its barbaric credentials over the weekend, posting a video showing the beheading of British aid worker David Haines and threatening the life of another hostage from the United Kingdom.
It was the third videotaped killing of a Western hostage released in less than a month.
The latest killing, ISIS said, was "a message to the allies of America" -- a direct challenge to the United States.
President Barack Obama announced last week that the United States would lead "a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat," and that U.S. airstrikes against ISIS would expand from Iraq into Syria.
The United States has said nearly 40 nations have agreed to contribute to the fight against ISIS, which has seized control of large areas of northern Iraq and Syria. But it remains unclear exactly which countries are on that list and what roles they'll play.
The Paris conference Monday is being hosted by French President Francois Hollande and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Masum.
At the start of the event, Hollande said there was "no time to lose" in international efforts against ISIS.
Analyst: Obama 'revealed too much'
A leading Iraqi expert on ISIS told CNN that Obama may already have revealed more about U.S. plans than he should have to the militant group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"The mistake was announcing too much of the strategy and this was a free gift to al-Baghdadi to prepare and counter what has been revealed," said Hisham al-Hashimi, who has studied jihadist groups and their evolution in Iraq over the past decade.
He suggested ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State, has already begun to take defensive measures, including moving weapons and ammunition into depots and putting elite fighters among civilian populations to avoid airstrikes.
The anti-ISIS alliance that the U.S. is putting together risks driving more terrorist organizations to join forces with al-Baghdadi's group in what they perceive as a "crusader" war against Muslims, al-Hashimi said.
'Fighting ideology with ideology'
Influential Middle Eastern countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia may be crucial in countering that view.
"Help is needed from Saudi and Egyptian religious scholars in fighting ideology with ideology," al-Hashimi said. "This is key to extracting ISIS from the roots."
Last week, Egypt's Grand Mufti reportedly condemned ISIS, saying that its actions are not in line with Islam.
Al-Hashimi is concerned by the exclusion of Iran -- arguably the most influential player in Iraq -- from the coalition.
"They sidelined Iran and that is a very big mistake because Iran controls the Shiite militias in Iraq and these militias could sabotage military operations when it comes to logistical support or can threaten the safety of American advisers and trainers," he said.
Britain won't 'shirk our responsibility'
Britain's role in the coalition is in particular focus after the killing of Haines, who was abducted last year near a Syrian refugee camp where he was working.
Haines' death at the hands of ISIS "will not lead Britain to shirk our responsibility" to work with allies to take on ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday. Instead, he said, "it must strengthen our resolve."
Cameron pledged to work with the United States to support its "direct military action." He also emphasized that "this is not about British troops on the ground."
Britain has agreed to help arm the Kurdish forces who are fighting on the ground, support the Iraqi government, keep supplying humanitarian help and coordinate with the United Nations to battle ISIS.
France, meanwhile, is set to begin reconnaissance flights over Iraq, officials said. The flights could begin as early as Monday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at a military base in the United Arab Emirates.
Executioner identified?
Cameron has vowed to "hunt down those responsible" for Haines' killing and "bring them to justice, no matter how long it takes."
The situation is made all the more difficult by the fact that the man who appears in the video beheading Haines -- believed to be the same man previously shown killing American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- has a London accent.
Cameron knows the identity of the killer, CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen has reported, citing unidentified British officials. But authorities aren't making it public for "operational reasons," Bergen writes in a commentary article for CNN.
Cameron knows that the executioner in the video holds at least two other American citizens, as well as other hostages from additional Western countries, and that he is part of a larger group of British hostage-takers working for ISIS, Bergen reports.
"It is a real crisis for Cameron, and it underlines a sobering fact: British citizens have volunteered to go to Syria to fight at 25 times the rate that Americans have done so, when adjusted for population size," he writes.
Jomana Karadsheh, Ashley Fantz and Sandrine Amiel contributed to this report.
Kerry: Nearly 40 countries offer aid
9/15/2014 1:02:12 AM
- Saudi foreign minister: There is 'no limit to what the Kingdom can provide' in fight
- At U.S. request, Australia is deploying aircraft to aid in battle against terror group
- British PM says defeating ISIS is 'about working with others'
(CNN) -- In his speech about ISIS last week, President Barack Obama said, "American military power is unmatched, but this can't be America's fight alone."
Allies and partners of the United States, Obama vowed, would provide support to degrade and eventually destroy the militant group that has slaughtered many people in Iraq and Syria and beheaded two American journalists and a British aid worker.
The United States has conducted more than 150 airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS, and Secretary of State John Kerry has said nearly 40 nations have agreed to contribute to the fight against the militants. But it remains unclear which countries are on that list and the precise role they'll play.
On Sunday, Kerry said countries in the Middle East are willing to help with strikes against ISIS, but he said on CBS' "Face the Nation" program that "it's not appropriate to start announcing" which nations will participate and what each will do.
Kerry's statements come just as ISIS beheaded a third Western captive, Briton David Haines, and as Kerry ends a weeklong trip to the Middle East to drum up support for the battle against the militants.
An international conference convenes in Paris on Monday where more discussion on a coalition is expected.
These are the nations involved and what's known about their contributions:
Read more: Kerry says ISIS 'animal unto itself'
Australia: On Sunday, the Australian government responded to a request by the United States and said it is preparing to deploy to the United Arab Emirates up to eight Royal Australian Air Force F/A 18 combat aircraft, an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker and Transport aircraft. Australia will also help to stem the humanitarian crisis.
Australian combat troops will not participate in ground fighting, according to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office.
Great Britain: Prime Minister David Cameron called ISIS "a menace" Sunday and said the United Kingdom would help arm the Kurdish forces who are fighting on the ground, support the Iraqi government, keep supplying humanitarian help and coordinate with the United Nations to battle ISIS.
"This is not about British combat troops on the ground," Cameron said Sunday, "it is about working with others to extinguish this terrorist threat."
Read more: Britain vows to 'confront' ISIS
France: France has contributed 18,000 rounds of 50-caliber ammunition in the fight against ISIS, according to a senior U.S. State Department official Sunday during a background briefing given to reporters. It's protocol for officials giving the information not to be quoted by name. France's air force was also part of a recent operation in the Iraqi town of Amerli that pushed back ISIS fighters and, along with Australia and Great Britain, have performed humanitarian aid drops in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters in Baghdad on Friday that French President Francois Hollande promised that France "will participate in efforts to hit terrorist locations in Iraq."
Germany: Geared toward curbing ISIS propaganda and recruitment, Germany has banned activities that support ISIS, including making it illegal to fly the trademark black flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Germany has also said it was sending military assistance to the Kurdistan region to fight ISIS.
Netherlands: In Sunday's briefing, a State Department official praised the Netherlands for "leading an effort" to help curb the flow of foreign fighters coming into the country who may empathetic to ISIS or assisting it in some way. Dutch leaders have proposed amending national law that would revoke citizenship to those who work with terrorists, The New York Times reported.
Canada: A State Department official said Sunday that Canada has provided "tangible equipment and ammunition" to the broader effort to fight ISIS. Canadian Prime Stephen Harper announced just days ago that over 50 Canadian special ops are being deployed to Iraq as part of an adviser mission but there would be no direct military intervention by the country, according to CTV.
On Sunday, State Department officials also called out Italy, Poland, Denmark, Albania and Croatia for providing equipment and ammunition in the fight against ISIS. New Zealand, Romania and South Korea were also named for providing humanitarian assistance, with specifics on South Korea giving some $1.2 million.
Turkey: U.S. officials say Turkey has taken steps to cut the flow of money to ISIS and denied entry to or deported several thousand foreign fighters heading to Syria to join the extremists, CNN's Elise Labott and Tom Cohen reported Friday. The United States is hoping Turkey will stop oil exports from ISIS-held areas that bring more funding to the group, they write in a piece that examined who is signing on to aid the West fight ISIS.
Jordan: Ex-Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said on CNN Sunday that he doubts Jordan will commit ground troops in the fight against ISIS. "The U.S. will have to take the lead in providing military strikes," he said.
Jordan's key role will be providing intelligence to the West. Speaking from the capital of Amman, Muasher stressed that Jordan's intelligence on ISIS is "second to none."
Saudi Arabia: On Thursday, Kerry met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in Jeddah.
U.S. officials say that Saudi Arabia has offered to train rebels on its soil. In a short session with reporters Thursday, al-Faisal and Kerry took questions. Al-Faisal appeared to avoid giving specifics but said that Saudi Arabia has "always taken initiatives with regard to a firm position towards terrorists and against them. So there is no limit to what the Kingdom can provide in this regard."
The United States also wants Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt to use Arab television networks to spread anti-ISIS messages and encourage more clerics to speak out against the group.
Saudi Arabia has also put $500 million into the coffers of the U.N. humanitarian aid agencies in Iraq, a senior State Department official said Sunday.
CNN's Labott asked Kerry whether Saudi Arabia supports the extremist expressions of the Wahhabism version of Islam espoused by some terror groups. Kerry responded that the kingdom is "deeply committed to the effort to terminate" ISIS. A significant part of the counterterrorism effort against the militants includes cutting off money to terror groups, Kerry said.
Egypt: Kerry said on Saturday that Egypt has a critical role to play in countering ISIS ideology. There was a "very detailed conversation with the Egyptians about military-to-military cooperation" in Iraq, State Department officials said Sunday, but there appears to be no public details about the role Egypt may play.
Signaling a major cultural push against ISIS, last week Egypt's Grand Mufti reportedly condemned the terror group, saying that its actions are not in line with Islam.
Qatar: Qatar has flown a number of humanitarian flights, State Department officials said.
CNN's Elise Labott and Khushbu Shah contributed to this report.
UK PM: 'Not Muslims... monsters'
9/14/2014 9:56:34 PM
- Brother describes ordinary "bloke" who could be "the life and soul of the party"
- Britain won't "shirk our responsibility" in the fight against ISIS, PM Cameron says
- David Haines, a father of two, had been working at a refugee camp near the Turkish border
- His killer in a video of the beheading highlights Britain's alliance with the United States
(CNN) -- The killing of British aid worker David Haines "will not lead Britain to shirk our responsibility" to work with allies to take on ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
Instead, he said, "it must strengthen our resolve."
Speaking a day after the Islamic terror group posted a video showing Haines' beheading -- the latest in a string of such videos -- Cameron vowed to work with the United States to support its "direct military action." He also emphasized that "this is not about British troops on the ground."
"We have to confront this menace," Cameron said. "Step by step we must drive back, dismantle, and ultimately destroy ISIL and what it stands for." Together with allies, he said, "we will do so in a calm, deliberate way but with an iron determination."
The group, which calls itself the Islamic State, is also known as ISIS and ISIL.
"This organization poses a massive threat to the entire Middle East," Cameron said, making a public statement before an emergency meeting of security and intelligence officials.
The European Union joined Cameron in condemning Haines' "atrocious murder" and said it was committed to fighting terror.
"Together with international and regional partners, the EU will spare no effort to ensure that an end is put to this atrocious terrorist campaign and all perpetrators are held accountable," the EU statement said.
Cameron listed five points in the British strategy: to work with the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional governments and help them protect minorities being slaughtered by ISIS; to work at the United Nations "to mobilize the broadest possible support" against ISIS; to contribute to U.S.-led military action; to assist in humanitarian efforts; and to "reinforce our formidable counterterrorist effort here at home."
Some British Muslims have joined ISIS, and the militant who killed Haines and two Americans -- James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- may be British.
'Not Muslim, but monsters'
The video of Haines' killing looks very similar to those that showed the beheadings of Foley and Sotloff, and the masked militant sounds like the same man.
"It falls to the government and to each and every one of us to drain this poison from our society and to take on this warped ideology that is radicalizing some of our young people," Cameron said.
"Islam is a religion of peace," Cameron insisted, saying of the ISIS militants, "They are not Muslim, they are monsters."
Britons "need to know that this is a fanatical organization" that plans attacks across Europe and in the UK, Cameron said.
"It was an ISIL fanatic who gunned down four people in a museum in Brussels," he said referring to Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman from Roubaix in northern France, accused of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in May.
Nemmouche recently spent a year in Syria and is a radicalized Islamist, the chief prosecutor of Paris said in June. French journalist Nicolas Henin said last month that Nemmouche tortured prisoners he guarded while fighting for ISIS in Syria.
"He did beat me a number of times. I don't know of any bad treatment to any other foreign hostages coming from him specifically but I witnessed him torturing local prisoners."
'Your evil alliance with America'
The video of Haines' death shows a masked ISIS militant placing his hand on another captive, whom he identified as Alan Henning, a British citizen.
On Sunday, Henning's family distributed an image of him holding a child at a refugee camp on the Syria-Turkey border. The family asked media to use this image rather than the one of Henning in an orange jumpsuit kneeling beside his captor.
ISIS which controls large areas of northern Syria and Iraq, previously publicized grisly videos of the beheadings of American journalists Foley and Sotloff. It has also brutally slaughtered large numbers of Syrians and Iraqis in the territory it's seized.
In the two previous videos, the killer directed his comments at the United States, which had begun airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. But the latest one singles out Britain.
"Your evil alliance with America, which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam, will only accelerate your destruction and claim the role of the obedient lap dog," says the militant.
The United States launched airstrikes on ISIS positions near Haditha Dam in western Iraq a week ago and is working to build a coalition of countries to support its efforts to combat the terrorist group.
"Cameron will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war," says the killer, dressed all in black with only his eyes and hands showing. He calls the beheading "a message to the allies of America."
Like them, Haines appears kneeling beside the executioner in a barren desert landscape, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. He had been shown briefly in the earlier video of Sotloff's killing.
'Just another bloke'
Haines, 44, went to Syria to help organize the delivery of humanitarian aid to a refugee camp in Atmeh, close to the Turkish border. He was abducted near the camp in March 2013.
"David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles," his brother, Mike, said in a statement. "His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair."
Before becoming an aid worker, Haines worked for the Royal Mail. He was an aircraft engineer with the Royal Air Force before he went to work with ScotRail, a Scottish train company, his brother said. A stint with the U.N. in the Balkans would change Haines' life path.
"There are many accolades from people in that region that David helped. He helped whoever needed help, regardless of race, creed or religion," his brother wrote. "During this time David began to decide that humanitarian work was the field he wanted to work in."
His brother also described Haines as an ordinary man -- "just another bloke" -- who grew up with strong family values that he carried into adulthood.
"David was a good brother, there when I needed him and absent when I didn't. I hope that he felt the same way about me. He was, in the right mood, the life and soul of the party and on other times the most stubborn irritating pain in the ass. He would probably say the same about me," Mike Haines wrote.
David Haines had more than a decade of experience doing aid work, helping victims of conflict in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
He was in Syria as a logistics and security manager for ACTED, a French aid group that was helping to provide food, tents and water for tens of thousands of people who had fled to the Atmeh camp amid the vicious civil war.
When he wasn't working in troubled areas, Haines lived in Croatia with his wife, Dragana, and their 4-year-old daughter, Athea.
He grew up in Scotland, and his first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart Louise, according to his brother.
His teenage daughter from that marriage, Bethany, talked about how much she misses her father in comments on a social network, Ask.fm, late last year.
Asked what she wanted at that time, Bethany replied simply, "For my daddy to come home."
'Warped ideology'
The British government said earlier this month that it had attempted to rescue one of its citizens held by ISIS "some time ago" but had failed. It didn't provide any further details.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who announced last week that U.S. airstrikes would go after ISIS in Syria, condemned "the barbaric murder" of Haines.
"The United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve," he said in a statement late Saturday.
The murderous, meteoric rise of ISIS has caused alarm across the Middle East and beyond.
The Muslim Council of Great Britain issued a statement Sunday condemning Haines' killing "unreservedly."
"David Haines went out to the region to help the people of the region," said Shuja Shafi, the council's secretary general. "That extremists chose to murder him only shows once again the depravity of their warped ideology."
ISIS members "claim to be acting in the name of Islam," Shafi said. "But there is nothing in our faith that condones such behavior."
U.S. building anti-ISIS coalition
In his statement, Obama reiterated his intention "to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent recent days in the Middle East trying to build support for the U.S. strategy to combat ISIS.
Those efforts are expected to continue Monday in Paris, where France is hosting an international conference on the crisis in Iraq.
Countries in the Mideast and outside the region "are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes if that is what it requires" to fight ISIS, Kerry told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Some nations "are clearly prepared to take action in the air alongside the United States and to do airstrikes if that's what they're called on to do," he said. Some nations have offered to put troops on the ground, "but we're not looking for that at this moment anyway," Kerry added.
Pressed for more specifics, Kerry said, "It's not appropriate to start announcing, 'Well, this country will do this, this country will do that.'"
Australia is preparing to deploy as many as 10 planes, most of them combat aircraft, to the United Arab Emirates in response to a U.S. request to contribute to the coalition, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday.
It will also put together a team of special operations personnel who could act as military advisers to Iraqi forces and others fighting ISIS, Abbott said in a statement.
"We are not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening," he said.
In a Sunday interview, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough declined to say if any members of the emerging coalition would put troops on the ground, but he said that there will be a focus on training Syrian rebels and Iraqi and Kurdish fighters to take on ISIS with coalition backing.
That backing will come in the form of airpower, intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and training, he told CNN's "State of the Union," and it will be especially important to draw Sunni fighters into the battle.
Asked if American involvement could make things worse, given the nature of ISIS threats against the West, McDonough said that with Haines' execution came a reminder that ISIS is inhumane, barbaric and depraved.
"The thought we could make them more so is faulty," he said.
British hostage of ISIS was helping displaced Syrians, aid group says
John Kerry seeks Egypt's support for mission to build coalition against ISIS
CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Candy Crowley, Greg Botelho, Atika Shubert, Nic Robertson, Deborah Bloom, Michael Pearson, Bharati Naik and Phillip Taylor contributed to this report.
Rob Ford withdraws from race
9/12/2014 11:40:19 PM
- Doug Ford says he's honoring his brother Rob's request to run for mayor
- Rob Ford withdraws from mayoral race after tumor is found
- It's not known if the tumor is malignant or how it will be treated
- The mayor has been dogged by his substance abuse
(CNN) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, hospitalized this week after the discovery of an abdominal tumor, has decided not to seek re-election.
At the advice of his doctors and family, Ford said he will focus on getting better.
"My heart is heavy when I tell you that I'm unable to continue my campaign for re-election as your mayor," the controversial politician said in a statement Friday. Ford's term officially ends December 1.
"People know me as a guy who faces things head on and never gives up, and as your mayor I have done just that," Ford said. "Now I could be facing a battle of my lifetime, and I want the people of Toronto to know that I intend to face this challenge head on, and win."
Ford asked his brother, Doug Ford, to run for mayor in the October 27 balloting.
"He told me that he needed me to take the torch while he focuses on getting better," Doug Ford said at a press conference Friday evening outside his mother's home. "He told me he couldn't bear the thought of city hall returning to the old days at the expense of the good, honest, everyday people," he said.
Doug Ford, who has been one of the mayor's strongest supporters during the controversies that have plagued him, said he is honoring his brother's request and would have more details next week about his own campaign for mayor.
The president of Humber River Hospital said Wednesday that the mayor -- just over two months removed from treatment for substance abuse -- has been admitted to the hospital, where doctors will try to get "a definitive diagnosis."
"It is being investigated further and we need to determine exactly what type of tumor it is, and then we can decide on what type of treatment is required," said Dr. Rueben Devlin, the Toronto hospital's president.
According to Devlin, Ford has been "complaining of abdominal pains" for over three months that got worse over the last 24 hours. That prompted the mayor to go the hospital, where a CT scan revealed the tumor in his abdomen.
It's not known yet if the tumor is malignant, according to Devlin.
The health ailment adds to the list of struggles facing Ford, whose fall from grace began in May 2013 with the release of a cell phone video that appeared to show him smoking crack cocaine. The Toronto city council largely stripped him of his mayoral powers months later over those and other allegations of bad behavior.
Ford didn't back down, though, instead vowing "outright war" on the city council.
The mayor apologized for "a lot of stupid things," including having used crack cocaine, but he refused to resign or enter rehab. In fact, despite all the criticism and his becoming a punchline for jokes in Canada as well as the United States, Ford launched a bid for re-election.
This past spring, after a local newspaper reported on a new video that allegedly shows him smoking crack cocaine, Ford relented on one front: by going into rehab.
He returned to work in late June, after a two-month rehab stint, saying he was "ashamed, embarrassed and humiliated" by some of his past actions.
But he refused to resign or refrain from campaigning, saying to the voters of Toronto, "I look forward to serving you for many, many more years."
'Ashamed, embarrassed' Rob Ford returns as Toronto mayor after rehab
Killed teen's family attack newspaper
9/12/2014 3:41:30 PM
- Attorney Benjamin Crump says the newspaper has been biased in its quest for records
- Crump says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hasn't dug into Officer Darren Wilson's past
- But it has chased Michael Brown's juvenile records, he says
- He accuses the newspaper of pursuing "gossip and racist speculation"
(CNN) -- The attorney for the family of slain Ferguson, Missouri, teenager Michael Brown is coming down hard a local newspaper, accusing the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of reporting "gossip and racist speculation" instead of news surrounding the 18-year-old's death.
Attorney Benjamin Crump is upset about the newspaper's pursuit of juvenile records on Brown, accusing its reporters of failing to apply the same zeal to obtaining background information on the police officer who killed Brown, Darren Wilson.
"In this new age, where there is a war being waged for clicks and eyeballs, it appears the Post-Dispatch has chosen to forgo its duty to report facts and provide meaningful context and has instead opted to pursue gossip and racist speculation," Crump said in an open letter to the newspaper's editor. "This is deeply disappointing."
Telephone messages and emails from CNN to the newspaper's public relations office and editor were not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
Brown died on August 9 in an encounter with Wilson that set off days of sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis suburb. The Brown family believes the teenager was unfairly killed. Wilson has not publicly given a statement, but police have said the two struggled over the officer's gun.
Race has been at the heart of the case. Brown was black, like two-thirds of his neighbors in Ferguson. Wilson is white, like most of the city's police department.
Michael Brown shooting: Is new video a 'game changer'?
Crump's letter follows a decision Tuesday by a St. Louis County Family Court judge to deny the newspaper's request to obtain any juvenile court records related to Brown.
Judge Ellen Levy Siwak did not explain her decision, the newspaper reported.
A juvenile court official later told reporters that Brown had never been found delinquent on juvenile charges that would equate to the state's most serious felonies and was not facing any such charges at the time of his death.
That revelation, the Post-Dispatch said Tuesday, "put to rest claims by a California-based blog and others that Brown was facing a murder charge at the time he was shot to death."
However, Crump said the newspaper continued to press the case despite statements by police and in court that Brown was facing no charges.
After Brown's death, police controversially issued documents alleging that he was a suspect in the theft of cigars from a convenience store shortly before he died, but he was not charged in that incident.
Meanwhile, Crump said, the Post-Dispatch "hasn't offered us a single new fact on Darren Wilson's behavior as a police officer."
"Where is the petition for his employment records? Why stop there? Where are the lawsuits in pursuit of his employment records, police reports, memos and e-mails for the city and county police?" Crump wrote.
Dogs' home fire: $900,000 donated
9/12/2014 3:52:11 PM
- Donations are pouring in after a fire at a charity dogs' home killed 43 dogs
- Emergency responders and volunteers from the home saved some 150 dogs
- Police: A 15-year-old boy is being questioned on suspicion of arson
- Response by public is "absolutely overwhelming," says police officer
(CNN) -- A suspected arson attack on a dogs' home in the northern English city of Manchester has killed 43 dogs, shocking a nation known within Europe for its devotion to pets.
Within hours of the fire breaking out Thursday evening at Manchester Dogs Home, donations began to flood in.
As of noon local time (7 a.m. E.T.) Friday, the total given by big-hearted dog lovers in more than 57,000 bite-size chunks stood at more than 561,000 pounds (more than $900,000) -- and rising by the minute.
The appeal fund set up by the local paper, the Manchester Evening News, in aid of the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Homes charity had originally set a target of just £5,000 (about $8,100).
Even as the fire raged, police and firefighters had to urge members of the public not to endanger themselves by trying to help.
They were encouraged instead to take donations of pet food and blankets to a nearby police station.
Emergency responders and volunteers from the home managed to rescue some 150 dogs from the blaze.
Police and fire investigators are now probing the cause of the fire.
Greater Manchester Police said a 15-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of arson remained in police custody Friday for questioning.
Detective Inspector Neil Jones said the public response to the tragedy had been "absolutely overwhelming."
"One hundred and fifty dogs rescued. Thousands of pounds donated. Thank you Greater Manchester," Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said on Twitter.
The Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Homes charity, established in 1893 to help stray dogs roaming the streets of Manchester, now covers a wider area of northwest England and cares for more than 7,000 dogs each year. More than nine in 10 are found a home, the charity says.
My life as a little person
9/14/2014 9:15:18 AM
- Cara Reedy was born with achondroplastic dwarfism
- She says that little people are often treated as less than human
- Reedy's family protected her but never let her hide from the world
- Tired of strangers' inappropriate reactions, she decided to speak up
Editor's note: First Person is a new series of personal essays exploring identity and personal points of view that shape who we are. The first contributor is Cara Reedy, a senior administrative assistant for CNN Money. She writes and performs comedy about her life in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
(CNN) -- From the moment I was born, people around me were saying, "Oh, God."
The nurse exclaimed it when I finally arrived, a month late (a habit I have kept). That's how my parents found out that I was a little person, a dwarf, of short stature. They were shocked and upset, knowing that my life would be hard. My maternal grandfather told my mother, "I don't care how tall she is, she's my first granddaughter, and she's pretty. "
They didn't find out I had achondroplastic dwarfism until a few months later. "Achondroplasia" is a word that haunted me in my childhood. I never wanted to hear it. It wasn't who I was. I was not different.
According to a 2009 report by Richard M. Pauli from the Midwest Regional Bone Dysplasia Clinics, achondroplasia happens 1 in every 25,000 births. It doesn't really matter how often it happens, we happened, and we're here.
My brother is as big as I am small and has been my protector from day one. He made it possible for me to live whatever life I choose. My parents grew up during the civil rights movement. They and their siblings were the only black kids at their respective Catholic schools in middle America. They were treated as subpar. While they were allowed in, they weren't allowed to fully participate. They were denied equal treatment. The indignities they endured are too many to list. My parents made sure my brother and I participated in whatever we wanted.
My family cares for me and at the same time has never shielded me from the world. That's how they raised me. I am Cara. Expectations are not lowered. We can talk about it whenever I need to, but I have not been allowed to hide.
Attack of the 4'2" chef
Even so, living as a little person is like being the main attraction at the circus every day of my life. Going grocery shopping, getting tampons at the drugstore -- it's like being a celebrity, and the whole world is my paparazzi. The tag line of my blog, Infamously Short, is "celebrity without fame or money," and that's pretty accurate.
I don't believe anonymity is achievable for me. That can make a person a little crazy. And angry.
When I was a child, I used to walk into public places and scan the room to figure out who would be the first to say something. Inevitably, they did. Most of the time it was "Isn't she cute?" But sometimes it was more cruel. Deeper. Darker.
They hold their hands over their mouths and laugh, trying to look away but also alert their friends. They whisper, "There's a midget."
When I make eye contact, they look away and try to hold in their laughter. I can read lips. It's from a lifetime of watching people mouth "midget." There are times when they don't even pretend to hide their ridicule. Walking in a mall, I pass a store. Someone spots me and then brings their whole family to stand in the store window to laugh and jeer.
My existence is a joke to them. When these people refer to little people, they often say, "Look at it."
Little people, big top
To them, I am not even human. I'm a different species. It's even used in a clinical capacity. In medical journals, the language is something like "this male dwarf." Do they say "this male autistic" or "this female cerebral palsy"? The answer is no, it's always "this person" with "fill in the condition."
When I was a child, I used to internalize the torment. Outwardly, I was stoic. I pretended it wasn't happening. Inside, I was crying and wishing I was someone else. It shaped how I felt about myself. I was often the target of bullies in school and felt prejudice from some of my teachers. They never outwardly said anything, but they made it difficult to participate in activities. I also had some wonderful teachers who cheered me on, even when I was being lazy.
I played basketball in grade school, not very well, but I tried. The coach, Mr. Sweeney, worked out plays so that I could score. I took dance, something to which I was much more suited. Mrs. Wren required I work as hard or harder as the other girls. She showed me how to be graceful in a body that is typically not regarded as graceful.
I have always been a bit of a drifter searching for a new adventure. When I was 12, I went to India, and it changed my life. I was gone almost a month and was at least three travel days away from my parents. I was scared, exhilarated and free. That trip set the tone for my life.
From the age of 18 to 27, I lived in six cities and moved eight times. During that time, I got three degrees: in political science, theater and photography. I couldn't decide what I wanted to be when I grew up -- or, more accurately, I had a hard time figuring out what the world would allow me to be. When I moved to New York to start work as a photographer, I finally had to face why I had been running: I am a little person.
Manila's little people seek their own community
Coming to terms with being a little person has been a long process, complicated by the world's prejudice. I don't wake up every morning and think "Oh, woe is me, I am a little person." I wake up and get on with my day. (My first thought is usually "Oh, no, I am late again.") I fly out of the house in whatever outfit I have cobbled together, grab breakfast at the bodega and check my email while rushing to the subway. As each moment passes, I calculate how many minutes I am going to be late.
But, like a kick in the chest, I am startled, because someone interrupts my morning routine by pointing, laughing or taking a picture. I am no longer just Cara, the free-spirited comedian who has trouble getting to work on time. I am the little person who deserves ridicule. I'm late to work, running with a body that doesn't have the greatest leg span, praying that the A train is working, and now I have to interact with someone who thinks my mere existence on this planet is a joke. It's a fantastic way to start a day.
Within the past 10 years, I have stopped internalizing my anger and started directing it outward, where it belongs. Why should I put up with the taunting, the picture-taking, the inappropriate sexual propositions on a daily basis just because I am different externally? The answer is: I shouldn't.
I have different levels of response to people's reactions.
If someone laughs, I ask, "What's funny?" Most of the time people say, "Nothing, nothing," and then run off in embarrassment.
If people use the word "midget," I say, "It's called dwarfism. Don't use that word."
Then there are the sexual deviants. Men approach me in the street and start conversations with "I want to try it. Sex with you would be different."
I yell back, "I am not a sampler platter, no." They respond with an indignant "I just want to try it. It would be fun. You don't have to get nasty."
That's what I hear whenever I defend myself. Apparently, I am supposed to take it. I am supposed to suck it up.
One of my friends says, "Cara is always trying to prove she's normal." I am normal. I have the same thoughts, feelings and desires. The world treats me as if there is something wrong with me. It took me a while not to trust the world's opinion.
The dangers of reporting on ISIS
9/14/2014 9:35:29 PM
New York Times Baghdad bureau chief Tim Arango tells Brian Stelter about the perils journalists face when covering ISIS.
If your browser has Adobe Flash Player installed, click above to play. Otherwise, click below.
Should media air ISIS propaganda?
9/14/2014 9:35:53 PM
Dan Rather and Jeff Greenfield discuss whether the media should be giving airtime to the ISIS propaganda videos.
If your browser has Adobe Flash Player installed, click above to play. Otherwise, click below.
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