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A three-judge pannel with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule Tuesday on whether California's same-sex marriage ban violates the Constitution.After a two-week trial in 2010, Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker - who has since retired - overturned the voter-approved measure known as Proposition 8, saying gay and lesbian couples were unfairly denied the right to marry.Walker's decision came into question because he was gay and in a long-term relationship.
The court is being asked to invalidate the ruling.District Court Judge glass James Ware has previously upheld the ruling."It is not reasonable to presume that a judge is incapable of making an impartial decision about the constitutionality of a law, solely because, as a citizen, the judge could be affected by the proceedings," Ware ruled in June.
Ware, based in San Francisco, backed the original ruling by Walker that the ban on same-sex marriage in the state was unconstitutional - a violation of equal protection.The 9th Circuit, in a hearing just over a year ago, indicated it was inclined to toss out Prop 8.Students at Miramonte Elementary School will return to class later this week to a new staff because administrators do not want any more "surprises" at the Los Angeles school that is at the center of two child abuse cases.
The school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to "take a break," the Los Angeles Unified School system said.When classes resume Thursday, a new staff and social workers will be at hand to receive them, said Los Angeles School District Superintendent John Deasy."I can't have anymore surprises at Miramonte," Deasy told an auditorium packed with parents Monday night.
"And if there are more, then we'll have to deal with that."Everyone from current custodians to teachers at Miramonte will be removed, he said.Those staffers who are not being fired are expected, after undergoing special training, to resume work at another location, he said.
Staffers and students will be questioned as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.Parents will also be given the option of transferring their children to one of four elementary schools in the area."The actions we are taking are not a condemnation of the entire staff," he said.
But it wasn't enough to appease outraged parents, who are demanding additional safeguards for the students."We're saying enough is enough," community leader Morris Grifton said at a demonstration Monday. "We want cameras in the classrooms, in the hallways and around the school.
"Sunny and 45 F.
That's the weather for New York City Tuesday morning - perfect for the thousands of residents who are expected to line city sidewalks to welcome home a Super Bowl winning team.The city has planned a ticker tape parade for the New York Giants, which beat the New England Patriots over the weekend on a last-minute touchdown.The 21-17 Super Bowl victory Sunday glass night was the fourth for the Giants and the second over New England.
The Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in the 2008 title game.Seventy delegates and a whole lot of momentum: That's what's at stake Tuesday when three states hold contests in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.It's the first day so far this cycle with multiple contests and with a total of 70 delegates up for grabs in caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota, it's the largest haul yet in the race for the White House.
While the two states won't officially award delegates Tuesday night (that will happen down the road at district and state conventions), the news media, including CNN, will use them to keep track of unofficial delegate counts.Coming just days after big victories in Florida and Nevada for Mitt Romney, the two caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri, where Newt Gingrich isn't on the ballot, offer Rick Santorum and Ron Paul opportunities to win delegates and grab some momentum.For Romney, who's making his second bid for the GOP nomination, a sweep of the three contests would make the former Massachusetts governor's bid for the nomination seem even more unstoppable than it already feels to many.
Romney's campaign appears to see its best chance of victory in Colorado. He canceled stops in Minnesota door scheduled for Monday to concentrate on Colorado, where he'll spend caucus night. Romney, who won big in the state's 2008 caucuses, has been working Colorado since last summer and arguably has the strongest structure in the state.
U.
S.
aid to Egypt could suffer if Egypt persists in prosecuting 43 people, including 19 Americans, in a crackdown on nongovernmental organizations, White House and State Department officials said Monday."We have underscored how serious a problem these actions are. We have said clearly that these actions could have consequences for our relationship, including regarding our assistance programs," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated the message moments later in a separate briefing. She declined to speculate about possible consequences but said the dispute "is a very, very difficult situation in terms of the support we want to provide Egypt."Egyptian authorities carried out 17 raids on the offices of 10 NGOs in December.
A spokesman with the general prosecutor's office said the raids were part of an investigation into glass allegations that the groups had received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a proper license.Lawyers for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will face off against those with SeaWorld in a Southern California federal court Monday after the animal rights group filed a lawsuit to declare that five killer whales are being held in slavery or involuntary servitude in violation of the 13th Amendment.SeaWorld has called the lawsuit a baseless publicity stunt by PETA, which is known for provocative advertisements and public demonstrations on behalf of animal rights.
PETA filed the 20-page compalint in October on behalf of the whales - Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka and Ulises.A PETA statement at the time contended that constitutional protections against slavery are not limited to humans.With former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coming off his second straight victory, the race for the GOP presidential nomination heads to three states holding caucuses this week.
Romney's triumph Saturday in the Nevada caucuses, following his convincing triumph last week in Florida, bolstered the perception that he may be unstoppable in his second bid for the GOP nomination.In Nevada, Romney led with 48% support, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 23%, Rep. Ron Paul had 18% and former Pennsylvania Sen.
Rick Santorum had 11% , according to incomplete results from vote counters at caucus sites and the state's Republican Party.Romney's strong showing has Gingrich plotting a Southern revival, while Santorum and Paul seek stronger showings in upcoming caucuses.The next contests take place Tuesday, with caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri.
Only Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator lock who finished last in Nevada, was on the campaign trail Sunday with events in Minnesota.Shortly before he set fire to his Puyallup, Washington, house and killed himself and his two sons, Josh Powell - a suspect in the 2009 disappearance of his wife - apparently sent a three-word email to his attorney.It said simply: "I'm sorry. Goodbye."It was a tragic end to a puzzling case that began two years earlier in West Valley City, Utah, with the disappearance of 28-year-old Susan Cox-Powell and devolved into a bitter custody dispute between Powell and his wife's parents.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer accused Powell of committing murder-suicide, saying Sunday's fire "was done intentionally.""This was all on him," Troyer said. "He set this up. He did it."The sheriff's department has copies of the e-mail Powell sent to his attorney as well as family and friends that said "he couldn't live with what was going on," Troyer said.While a medical examiner had yet to definitively identify the bodies, the sheriff's spokesman said "we believe it is the three of them.
""This was something that was done deliberately and intentionally, and the plan was carried out very quickly," he said.The events appeared to have been set in motion days earlier when a judge refused Powell's petition to regain custody of his children and instead ordered he undergo a number of psychological evaluations - an order that came after authorities turned up child pornography in the home he shared with his father.The trial of a University of Virginia lacrosse player who is accused of fatally beating his ex-girlfriend is expected to begin Monday.
George Huguely faces charges including first-degree murder in the May 2010 death of Yeardley Love, a 22-year-old senior who was also a lacrosse player.Police were initially called to Love's off-campus Charlottesville apartment by a roommate who reported "a possible alcohol overdose," said Police Chief Tim Longo at the time."It was quickly apparent to them this young lady was the victim of something far worse," Longo said.
A Los Angeles elementary school at the center of two child abuse cases will be closed for two days this week as the investigations continue, officials said.Two teachers at the Miramonte Elementary School were arrested last week: one is accused of taking bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom; the other is accused of lewd acts on children.Tom Waldman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School, said Miramonte will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday "to take a break.
"Waldman said both days will be "pupil free days" but could not say whether staffers will be in the building.The spokesman said he was also aware that some parents were planning to protest Monday. Some have said they will keep their children home, while others have indicated they may picket the school.
The arrests of both teachers came last week.In the first case, Mark Berndt, a 61-year-old teacher, is accused of taking bondage photos, some showing suspected semen-filled spoons at the children's mouths, authorities said.On Friday, a second teacher - 49-year-old Martin Bernard Springer - was arrested for allegedly fondling two young girls in the classroom.
A ticker tape parade awaits the New York Giants this week when the team returns home as Super Bowl champions after defeating the New England Patriots in a last-minute touchdown.The Super Bowl victory Sunday night was the fourth for the Giants, which defeated the Pats 17-14 in the 2008 title game.Pats fans who had hoped their team would avenge the 2008 loss were left crestfallen.
But for Giants supporters, the celebration was just beginning.Early Monday, the Empire State Building was bathed in Giants blue. Later in the day, New York City will conduct a public giveaway for 250 winners for a post-parade ceremony at City Hall Plaza where the team will be given keys to the city.
"After nearly missing the playoffs, the Giants have made history by becoming the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl after going 9-7 in the regular season," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said after the Sunday night win. "I look forward to celebrating this victory with all New Yorkers."Clutching the championship trophy, Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the MVP award winner, said "I just stayed positive" during the seesaw struggle.
A week after the mass arrests of Occupy Oakland demonstrators following clashes with police, a more muted protest played out Saturday in the northern California city.Despite a call by a small faction of the Occupy Oakland group to conduct "militant action" against authorities, there was no repeat of last week's violence where protesters threw bottles and tossed pipes at police, who responded with tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bag bullets.Authorities arrested more than 400 people in that incident.
The Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee called last week's police response "police repression" and vowed to conduct "militant action.""If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protesters in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march," the committee warned in a statement on its website."It is a militant action. It attracts anti-capitalists, anti-fascists and other comrades of a revolutionary bent.
It is not a march intended for people who are not fully comfortable with diversity of tactics."But Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan warned the city would not tolerate a repeat and said officers would arrest anyone "who engages in criminal activity or assaults against officers or community members.""This type of destructive and aggressive behavior is not welcome in our city," Jordan said.
A community meeting Saturday at a school where over a dozen children have developed tic-like symptoms quickly became contentious, further dividing an already-polarized community.The meeting came after calls for more thorough environmental testing.Doctors have diagnosed most of the children and one adult suffering from the symptoms with "conversion disorder," a condition induced by stress.
When occurring in clusters the condition is sometimes called "mass hysteria."But some environmental activists have suggested that some sort of toxin may be causing the condition in the western New York state community.Editor's note: This post is part of theOverheard on CNN.
comseries, a regular featurethat examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.Our readers are apparently quite excited about the Super Bowl and its host city Indianapolis, Indiana. We received several passionate comments from residents and fans.
There was also plenty of talk about the game itself. Let's delve in.Super Bowl in Indianapolis? Get ready worldSeveral commenters wrote posts promoting Indianapolis.jasges: "I have been to several Super Bowls and this is probably one of the best setups so far.
A lot to do here.
We are pleasantly surprised!"Guest: "I have visited Indianapolis several times for Men's NCAA Regionals/Sectionals. It is a very nice city. I would visit there again without hesitation."Yes, there were a few skeptics.wilecoyote58: "Indianapolis is a pleasant, if dowdy city.
Some nice restaurants and it is compact.
BUT – who the hell wants to spend a week in Indiana in February? There is a good reason the student body of every midwestern university heads to warmer climes at Spring Break. But then it is clear that those who attend the Super Bowl are not the brightest and deepest thinkers in our society. It is a football game folks, not the Second Coming.
"Some of our readers' posts were directly addressed to the story writer, Thom Patterson, who is from Indiana. Two are included here. (By the way, the author of this blog post is a former resident of Des Moines, Iowa, and can attest to the high quality of the city's botanical dome. Wichita, Kansas, is also quite lovely.) FULL POSTMicron CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday morning in a small-plane crash in Boise.
Micron, a maker of semiconductors and flash memory, confirmed Appleton's death at age 51 in a press release that praised his "passion and energy."Appleton (pictured) was flying a Lancair fixed-wing single-engine plane that crashed at 8:58 a.m. local time at Boise Airport, a spokeswoman for the airport told CNN's John Fricke.
She could not confirm whether the accident took place at takeoff, landing or during flight.One of the NFL's all-time elite quarterbacks is medically fit to resume playing after three neck surgeries and a season off, one of his surgeons says.But the owner of Peyton Manning's team pointed out in a tweet early Friday that the organization itself has yet to clear the 35-year-old, and NFL analysts said it's still too soon to know whether he'll have enough arm strength to compete.
The four-time NFL Most Valuable Player is "medically cleared to play professional football," Dr. Robert Watkins Sr., Manning's most recent surgeon, said in a statement Thursday night, according to NFL.com. Manning's most recent surgery to relieve a pinched nerve - a single-level anterior fusion - came in September, sidelining him for the entire 2011 season, marking the first games he missed since his career began in 1998.
But Colts owner Jim Irsay, who has to decide by March 8 whether to pay Manning a $28 million bonus or release him, indicated early Friday what he's been saying all week: The matter is far from settled."Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts," Irsay posted on Twitter early Friday. "Team statement coming on Friday." FULL POSTA prominent Muslim civil liberties group plans to hold a rally Friday outside New York City police headquarters, continuing its call for the resignation of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and other reforms within the department.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wants Kelly to step down because of his participation in a film that they say paints all Muslims as terrorists."Due to the fact that the police commissioner and Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg both refuse to accept the severity of their actions, or meet with local Islamic leaders in an attempt to mend the situation, we as a community with full force must stand up to the mistreatment and dismissal of our community at large," the group's website said."Silence and lack of reaction to this pressing issue will only allow this type systematic persecution of a minority community to continue and escalate without any reprimand.
"Editor's note: This post is part of theOverheard on CNN.comseries, a regular featurethat examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.Wayne: "Punxsutawney Phil, wives and computers are never wrong.
"Joe T.
: "You forgot to add politicians and teenage children into that mix."According to followers of the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, there are six weeks more of winter to come.Phil saw his shadow Thursday morning, so it must be true.
Readers talked about the relatively mild weather in their areas, the tradition of groundhog weather prognostication, and - cover your ears, Phil - even groundhog recipes.More winter weather, Punxsutawney Phil predictsSome people shared stories of comparable groundhog weather prognostication in their area.charles Beale: "We have at least two groundhog predictors in Canada.
Wiarton Willie in Ontario didn't see his shadow and so spring is just around the corner for us here 'up North.' "Bob: "Phil is high. He can't see the evidence in front of his beady little eyes. Staten Island Chuck – now there's a varmint firmly grounded in reality.
"Some wondered if modern technology is tainting the results.Bobby: "I don't know how Phil could ever not see his shadow. With TV cameras and lights all over the place, any creature is bound to see his shadow .
.. unless he's facing the source(s) of the light. I think I read last year that, before this became so commercialized, Phil would see his shadow on sunny days. In Pennsylvania at this time of year, sunny days only reveal themselves on bitterly cold days.
As the days warm toward spring, cloud cover would not allow Phil to see his shadow. Phil is the Great Meteorologist of PA, but he can't do it accurately with all of that infernal artificial lighting."Others said probability and statistics don't support a correlation between Phil's shadow and the actual meteorological observations.
FULL POSTLegendary cornerman Angelo Dundee, the man who helped motivate Muhammed Ali and many other boxing champs, died Wednesday, a source close to Ali said.He was 90.Dundee died Wednesday in Florida from natural causes, Dundee's son Jimmy Dundee told CNN affiliate WFTS.Dundee, known for being a supreme motivator, was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
His biography on the hall of fame website reads like a who's who list of boxing royalty.It's an idea that has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry: Use prefabricated modules to build more than 6,000 housing units. If the real estate development firm Forest City Ratner is able to turn the idea into a reality, the firm will build the tallest modular construction building in the world, a 32-story residential tower in Brooklyn, New York.
(Click the audio player to hear more on this story from CNN Radio's Steve Kastenbaum) City Ratner's director of construction, Bob Sanna, stands next to Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena, on the site where the company plans to build the tallest modular construction building in the world.Prefabricated houses are not new. They've been around for decades. But modular construction today is principally used for low-rise buildings. Strong winds exert a tremendous amount of force on taller buildings, and lower floors have to support the weight of many floors above.
With modular construction, the challenge comes in designing components that can withstand those forces and do it within a certain price range."I think we figured out a way to do this," said structural engineer David Farnsworth. He and his colleagues at the design and engineering firm ARUP spent two years researching and developing ways to build a high-rise modular building.
"The first challenge that we had to overcome was how can we make a modular system that can be built at height and withstand the wind loads," Farnsworth said. "You don't want the building to be moving too much in the wind that people feel it and then they get sick." FULL POSTThis blog – This Just In – will no longer be updated.
Looking for the freshest news from CNN? Go to our ever-popular CNN.com homepage on your desktop or your mobile device, and join the
The court is being asked to invalidate the ruling.District Court Judge glass James Ware has previously upheld the ruling."It is not reasonable to presume that a judge is incapable of making an impartial decision about the constitutionality of a law, solely because, as a citizen, the judge could be affected by the proceedings," Ware ruled in June.
Ware, based in San Francisco, backed the original ruling by Walker that the ban on same-sex marriage in the state was unconstitutional - a violation of equal protection.The 9th Circuit, in a hearing just over a year ago, indicated it was inclined to toss out Prop 8.Students at Miramonte Elementary School will return to class later this week to a new staff because administrators do not want any more "surprises" at the Los Angeles school that is at the center of two child abuse cases.
The school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday to "take a break," the Los Angeles Unified School system said.When classes resume Thursday, a new staff and social workers will be at hand to receive them, said Los Angeles School District Superintendent John Deasy."I can't have anymore surprises at Miramonte," Deasy told an auditorium packed with parents Monday night.
"And if there are more, then we'll have to deal with that."Everyone from current custodians to teachers at Miramonte will be removed, he said.Those staffers who are not being fired are expected, after undergoing special training, to resume work at another location, he said.
Staffers and students will be questioned as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.Parents will also be given the option of transferring their children to one of four elementary schools in the area."The actions we are taking are not a condemnation of the entire staff," he said.
But it wasn't enough to appease outraged parents, who are demanding additional safeguards for the students."We're saying enough is enough," community leader Morris Grifton said at a demonstration Monday. "We want cameras in the classrooms, in the hallways and around the school.
"Sunny and 45 F.
That's the weather for New York City Tuesday morning - perfect for the thousands of residents who are expected to line city sidewalks to welcome home a Super Bowl winning team.The city has planned a ticker tape parade for the New York Giants, which beat the New England Patriots over the weekend on a last-minute touchdown.The 21-17 Super Bowl victory Sunday glass night was the fourth for the Giants and the second over New England.
The Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in the 2008 title game.Seventy delegates and a whole lot of momentum: That's what's at stake Tuesday when three states hold contests in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.It's the first day so far this cycle with multiple contests and with a total of 70 delegates up for grabs in caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota, it's the largest haul yet in the race for the White House.
While the two states won't officially award delegates Tuesday night (that will happen down the road at district and state conventions), the news media, including CNN, will use them to keep track of unofficial delegate counts.Coming just days after big victories in Florida and Nevada for Mitt Romney, the two caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri, where Newt Gingrich isn't on the ballot, offer Rick Santorum and Ron Paul opportunities to win delegates and grab some momentum.For Romney, who's making his second bid for the GOP nomination, a sweep of the three contests would make the former Massachusetts governor's bid for the nomination seem even more unstoppable than it already feels to many.
Romney's campaign appears to see its best chance of victory in Colorado. He canceled stops in Minnesota door scheduled for Monday to concentrate on Colorado, where he'll spend caucus night. Romney, who won big in the state's 2008 caucuses, has been working Colorado since last summer and arguably has the strongest structure in the state.
U.
S.
aid to Egypt could suffer if Egypt persists in prosecuting 43 people, including 19 Americans, in a crackdown on nongovernmental organizations, White House and State Department officials said Monday."We have underscored how serious a problem these actions are. We have said clearly that these actions could have consequences for our relationship, including regarding our assistance programs," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated the message moments later in a separate briefing. She declined to speculate about possible consequences but said the dispute "is a very, very difficult situation in terms of the support we want to provide Egypt."Egyptian authorities carried out 17 raids on the offices of 10 NGOs in December.
A spokesman with the general prosecutor's office said the raids were part of an investigation into glass allegations that the groups had received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a proper license.Lawyers for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will face off against those with SeaWorld in a Southern California federal court Monday after the animal rights group filed a lawsuit to declare that five killer whales are being held in slavery or involuntary servitude in violation of the 13th Amendment.SeaWorld has called the lawsuit a baseless publicity stunt by PETA, which is known for provocative advertisements and public demonstrations on behalf of animal rights.
PETA filed the 20-page compalint in October on behalf of the whales - Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka and Ulises.A PETA statement at the time contended that constitutional protections against slavery are not limited to humans.With former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coming off his second straight victory, the race for the GOP presidential nomination heads to three states holding caucuses this week.
Romney's triumph Saturday in the Nevada caucuses, following his convincing triumph last week in Florida, bolstered the perception that he may be unstoppable in his second bid for the GOP nomination.In Nevada, Romney led with 48% support, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 23%, Rep. Ron Paul had 18% and former Pennsylvania Sen.
Rick Santorum had 11% , according to incomplete results from vote counters at caucus sites and the state's Republican Party.Romney's strong showing has Gingrich plotting a Southern revival, while Santorum and Paul seek stronger showings in upcoming caucuses.The next contests take place Tuesday, with caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri.
Only Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator lock who finished last in Nevada, was on the campaign trail Sunday with events in Minnesota.Shortly before he set fire to his Puyallup, Washington, house and killed himself and his two sons, Josh Powell - a suspect in the 2009 disappearance of his wife - apparently sent a three-word email to his attorney.It said simply: "I'm sorry. Goodbye."It was a tragic end to a puzzling case that began two years earlier in West Valley City, Utah, with the disappearance of 28-year-old Susan Cox-Powell and devolved into a bitter custody dispute between Powell and his wife's parents.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer accused Powell of committing murder-suicide, saying Sunday's fire "was done intentionally.""This was all on him," Troyer said. "He set this up. He did it."The sheriff's department has copies of the e-mail Powell sent to his attorney as well as family and friends that said "he couldn't live with what was going on," Troyer said.While a medical examiner had yet to definitively identify the bodies, the sheriff's spokesman said "we believe it is the three of them.
""This was something that was done deliberately and intentionally, and the plan was carried out very quickly," he said.The events appeared to have been set in motion days earlier when a judge refused Powell's petition to regain custody of his children and instead ordered he undergo a number of psychological evaluations - an order that came after authorities turned up child pornography in the home he shared with his father.The trial of a University of Virginia lacrosse player who is accused of fatally beating his ex-girlfriend is expected to begin Monday.
George Huguely faces charges including first-degree murder in the May 2010 death of Yeardley Love, a 22-year-old senior who was also a lacrosse player.Police were initially called to Love's off-campus Charlottesville apartment by a roommate who reported "a possible alcohol overdose," said Police Chief Tim Longo at the time."It was quickly apparent to them this young lady was the victim of something far worse," Longo said.
A Los Angeles elementary school at the center of two child abuse cases will be closed for two days this week as the investigations continue, officials said.Two teachers at the Miramonte Elementary School were arrested last week: one is accused of taking bondage photos of more than two dozen students in his classroom; the other is accused of lewd acts on children.Tom Waldman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School, said Miramonte will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday "to take a break.
"Waldman said both days will be "pupil free days" but could not say whether staffers will be in the building.The spokesman said he was also aware that some parents were planning to protest Monday. Some have said they will keep their children home, while others have indicated they may picket the school.
The arrests of both teachers came last week.In the first case, Mark Berndt, a 61-year-old teacher, is accused of taking bondage photos, some showing suspected semen-filled spoons at the children's mouths, authorities said.On Friday, a second teacher - 49-year-old Martin Bernard Springer - was arrested for allegedly fondling two young girls in the classroom.
A ticker tape parade awaits the New York Giants this week when the team returns home as Super Bowl champions after defeating the New England Patriots in a last-minute touchdown.The Super Bowl victory Sunday night was the fourth for the Giants, which defeated the Pats 17-14 in the 2008 title game.Pats fans who had hoped their team would avenge the 2008 loss were left crestfallen.
But for Giants supporters, the celebration was just beginning.Early Monday, the Empire State Building was bathed in Giants blue. Later in the day, New York City will conduct a public giveaway for 250 winners for a post-parade ceremony at City Hall Plaza where the team will be given keys to the city.
"After nearly missing the playoffs, the Giants have made history by becoming the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl after going 9-7 in the regular season," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said after the Sunday night win. "I look forward to celebrating this victory with all New Yorkers."Clutching the championship trophy, Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the MVP award winner, said "I just stayed positive" during the seesaw struggle.
A week after the mass arrests of Occupy Oakland demonstrators following clashes with police, a more muted protest played out Saturday in the northern California city.Despite a call by a small faction of the Occupy Oakland group to conduct "militant action" against authorities, there was no repeat of last week's violence where protesters threw bottles and tossed pipes at police, who responded with tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bag bullets.Authorities arrested more than 400 people in that incident.
The Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee called last week's police response "police repression" and vowed to conduct "militant action.""If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protesters in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march," the committee warned in a statement on its website."It is a militant action. It attracts anti-capitalists, anti-fascists and other comrades of a revolutionary bent.
It is not a march intended for people who are not fully comfortable with diversity of tactics."But Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan warned the city would not tolerate a repeat and said officers would arrest anyone "who engages in criminal activity or assaults against officers or community members.""This type of destructive and aggressive behavior is not welcome in our city," Jordan said.
A community meeting Saturday at a school where over a dozen children have developed tic-like symptoms quickly became contentious, further dividing an already-polarized community.The meeting came after calls for more thorough environmental testing.Doctors have diagnosed most of the children and one adult suffering from the symptoms with "conversion disorder," a condition induced by stress.
When occurring in clusters the condition is sometimes called "mass hysteria."But some environmental activists have suggested that some sort of toxin may be causing the condition in the western New York state community.Editor's note: This post is part of theOverheard on CNN.
comseries, a regular featurethat examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.Our readers are apparently quite excited about the Super Bowl and its host city Indianapolis, Indiana. We received several passionate comments from residents and fans.
There was also plenty of talk about the game itself. Let's delve in.Super Bowl in Indianapolis? Get ready worldSeveral commenters wrote posts promoting Indianapolis.jasges: "I have been to several Super Bowls and this is probably one of the best setups so far.
A lot to do here.
We are pleasantly surprised!"Guest: "I have visited Indianapolis several times for Men's NCAA Regionals/Sectionals. It is a very nice city. I would visit there again without hesitation."Yes, there were a few skeptics.wilecoyote58: "Indianapolis is a pleasant, if dowdy city.
Some nice restaurants and it is compact.
BUT – who the hell wants to spend a week in Indiana in February? There is a good reason the student body of every midwestern university heads to warmer climes at Spring Break. But then it is clear that those who attend the Super Bowl are not the brightest and deepest thinkers in our society. It is a football game folks, not the Second Coming.
"Some of our readers' posts were directly addressed to the story writer, Thom Patterson, who is from Indiana. Two are included here. (By the way, the author of this blog post is a former resident of Des Moines, Iowa, and can attest to the high quality of the city's botanical dome. Wichita, Kansas, is also quite lovely.) FULL POSTMicron CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday morning in a small-plane crash in Boise.
Micron, a maker of semiconductors and flash memory, confirmed Appleton's death at age 51 in a press release that praised his "passion and energy."Appleton (pictured) was flying a Lancair fixed-wing single-engine plane that crashed at 8:58 a.m. local time at Boise Airport, a spokeswoman for the airport told CNN's John Fricke.
She could not confirm whether the accident took place at takeoff, landing or during flight.One of the NFL's all-time elite quarterbacks is medically fit to resume playing after three neck surgeries and a season off, one of his surgeons says.But the owner of Peyton Manning's team pointed out in a tweet early Friday that the organization itself has yet to clear the 35-year-old, and NFL analysts said it's still too soon to know whether he'll have enough arm strength to compete.
The four-time NFL Most Valuable Player is "medically cleared to play professional football," Dr. Robert Watkins Sr., Manning's most recent surgeon, said in a statement Thursday night, according to NFL.com. Manning's most recent surgery to relieve a pinched nerve - a single-level anterior fusion - came in September, sidelining him for the entire 2011 season, marking the first games he missed since his career began in 1998.
But Colts owner Jim Irsay, who has to decide by March 8 whether to pay Manning a $28 million bonus or release him, indicated early Friday what he's been saying all week: The matter is far from settled."Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts," Irsay posted on Twitter early Friday. "Team statement coming on Friday." FULL POSTA prominent Muslim civil liberties group plans to hold a rally Friday outside New York City police headquarters, continuing its call for the resignation of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and other reforms within the department.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wants Kelly to step down because of his participation in a film that they say paints all Muslims as terrorists."Due to the fact that the police commissioner and Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg both refuse to accept the severity of their actions, or meet with local Islamic leaders in an attempt to mend the situation, we as a community with full force must stand up to the mistreatment and dismissal of our community at large," the group's website said."Silence and lack of reaction to this pressing issue will only allow this type systematic persecution of a minority community to continue and escalate without any reprimand.
"Editor's note: This post is part of theOverheard on CNN.comseries, a regular featurethat examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.Wayne: "Punxsutawney Phil, wives and computers are never wrong.
"Joe T.
: "You forgot to add politicians and teenage children into that mix."According to followers of the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, there are six weeks more of winter to come.Phil saw his shadow Thursday morning, so it must be true.
Readers talked about the relatively mild weather in their areas, the tradition of groundhog weather prognostication, and - cover your ears, Phil - even groundhog recipes.More winter weather, Punxsutawney Phil predictsSome people shared stories of comparable groundhog weather prognostication in their area.charles Beale: "We have at least two groundhog predictors in Canada.
Wiarton Willie in Ontario didn't see his shadow and so spring is just around the corner for us here 'up North.' "Bob: "Phil is high. He can't see the evidence in front of his beady little eyes. Staten Island Chuck – now there's a varmint firmly grounded in reality.
"Some wondered if modern technology is tainting the results.Bobby: "I don't know how Phil could ever not see his shadow. With TV cameras and lights all over the place, any creature is bound to see his shadow .
.. unless he's facing the source(s) of the light. I think I read last year that, before this became so commercialized, Phil would see his shadow on sunny days. In Pennsylvania at this time of year, sunny days only reveal themselves on bitterly cold days.
As the days warm toward spring, cloud cover would not allow Phil to see his shadow. Phil is the Great Meteorologist of PA, but he can't do it accurately with all of that infernal artificial lighting."Others said probability and statistics don't support a correlation between Phil's shadow and the actual meteorological observations.
FULL POSTLegendary cornerman Angelo Dundee, the man who helped motivate Muhammed Ali and many other boxing champs, died Wednesday, a source close to Ali said.He was 90.Dundee died Wednesday in Florida from natural causes, Dundee's son Jimmy Dundee told CNN affiliate WFTS.Dundee, known for being a supreme motivator, was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
His biography on the hall of fame website reads like a who's who list of boxing royalty.It's an idea that has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry: Use prefabricated modules to build more than 6,000 housing units. If the real estate development firm Forest City Ratner is able to turn the idea into a reality, the firm will build the tallest modular construction building in the world, a 32-story residential tower in Brooklyn, New York.
(Click the audio player to hear more on this story from CNN Radio's Steve Kastenbaum) City Ratner's director of construction, Bob Sanna, stands next to Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena, on the site where the company plans to build the tallest modular construction building in the world.Prefabricated houses are not new. They've been around for decades. But modular construction today is principally used for low-rise buildings. Strong winds exert a tremendous amount of force on taller buildings, and lower floors have to support the weight of many floors above.
With modular construction, the challenge comes in designing components that can withstand those forces and do it within a certain price range."I think we figured out a way to do this," said structural engineer David Farnsworth. He and his colleagues at the design and engineering firm ARUP spent two years researching and developing ways to build a high-rise modular building.
"The first challenge that we had to overcome was how can we make a modular system that can be built at height and withstand the wind loads," Farnsworth said. "You don't want the building to be moving too much in the wind that people feel it and then they get sick." FULL POSTThis blog – This Just In – will no longer be updated.
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