Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN)On Valentine's Day, Mother Nature promises more heartbreak for New England.

Forecasters predict that yet another blizzard will arrive Saturday evening and depart Sunday night. In a record-setting month, it won't be the worst storm that Boston has ever seen, but it will just compound the exasperation caused by three -- now four -- weather systems that have dumped piles of snow on the city.

Cape Cod and the islands off the Massachusetts coast could see hurricane-force winds, with snow accumulations of 12 inches for Boston and up to 18 inches in coastal Maine.

From New York's Long Island to Maine, millions of people will find themselves under blizzard warnings.

How to beat the winter blues

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has declared the next seven days as ''Valentine's Week'' in an attempt to help restaurants, flower shops and other small businesses hurting from the record setting snowfall.

Could a baby boom be in the works?

Birth rates have been known to jump nine months after natural and man-made disasters, according to Dr. Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist. She gave the example of New York following 9/11, when births soared as many people faced calamity by turning to each other for support.

The bad weather can mean cozy nights for cooking, sipping wine and watching movies -- activities that can shift to "romance and sexuality, " Ludwig said.

Track the storm

-- Light snow, relatively speaking: Compared with other storms, this won't be as big a snow event for Boston. About 10 to 14 inches are forecast. Coastal Massachusetts might see 6 to 10 inches, forecasters say.

-- Wicked wind: Some gusts could reach hurricane strength, 74 mph or greater. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph will cause the snow to blow around and hamper visibility. Power outages can be expected in many areas, the National Weather Service said.

-- Another blizzard: Eastern Massachusetts and coastal areas of the Bay State are under blizzard warnings. So are parts of eastern Maine, where gusts of 60 mph are possible and up to 26 inches of snow.

-- Storm surge: With high winds the surf along the Massachusetts coast will be harsh. The storm surge in northeastern parts of the state and in Maine could be 2 to 2½ feet. This could lead to flooding.

-- No mass transit Sunday: MBTA, better known to many as the T, won't run Sunday, when the worst of the weather will be hitting. There will be no subway, bus, commuter rail, trolley or ferry service. It's the third time the subway has shuttered service because of a serious storm. Officials will decide on Sunday whether to cancel service for Monday. Amtrak canceled two trains on Saturday and six on Sunday.

-- Whiteout conditions: There is no ban on driving but it seems now like it would be a pretty bad idea. "Travel will become nearly impossible," the National Weather Service is saying. The snow will be a light snow, so it will fly around easily in the strong winds. Visibility will be a quarter-mile or less during the storm.

-- Flight trouble: Dozens of flights that had been scheduled to land at Boston's Logan International Airport on Saturday have been called off already. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, 31 flights have been canceled at Logan. Already, more than 350 flights have been canceled for Sunday.

-- Staying home? All this snow has caused small business in Boston to hurt. So much so that Gov. Baker on Friday declared next week as Valentine's week. Can't get to your romantic restaurant on Saturday, or you forgot to make reservations? The governor is giving you an extension.

-- Frozen out: The snow emergency has led to the cancellation of Sunday's two performances of "Disney on Ice presents Frozen" at TD Garden.

-- Widespread wind field: If you live in Asheville, North Carolina, you don't have to worry about a blizzard, but the winds will be fierce beginning Saturday evening. You could travel from there to Maine's border with Canada and face gusts of 40 mph or stronger the entire way.

-- Forecast for the south: Birmingham and Atlanta, two cities that had a difficult go of it last year during one memorable snowy/icy storm, might find residents flooding grocery stores on Sunday night. "Wintry precipitation possible early next week," the National Weather Service in Atlanta said. "Are you ready for a shot at winter?" the agency's Birmingham office said.

-- Record month: With 42.3 inches of snow recorded this month, Boston has already had the snowiest February on record and with the first inch of Saturday's snow, this month will become the snowiest of any month in Boston history, at least since records have been kept since 1872.

-- Almost 8 feet: Boston has received more snow this season-to-date than ever: 79.5 inches so far.

-- Double trouble: Boston has never had more than one official blizzard in the same year. This should be the second; another hit the city in late January.

CNN's Ray Sanchez, Dave Hennen and Brandon Miller contributed to this report.

Response: The wind will make life miserable, and Boston might feel like it's in an icy hurricane. Massachusetts governor extends Valentine's Day to last all week. Storm surge could cause some flooding in coastal Maine, northeastern Massachusetts.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- It was a case of 'whatever you do, I can do better' as Barcelona's Lionel Messi hit four to eclipse Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick for Real Madrid and leave his great rival in the shade once again.

Ronaldo had inspired Real to a 4-0 win over Getafe early Sunday, before Messi stole the show to lead Barcelona to a 5-1 thrashing of Osasuna and become the first player to score in 11 consecutive La Liga matches.

Messi, who recently beat Ronaldo to the prestigious Ballon d'Or award to win the prize for a record fourth time in succession, has now scored 33 goals in the league and 44 overall this season.

Messi crowned world's best

It was also the fifth time Messi had scored four times in a league game and his 16th hat-trick in the top-flight, allowing him to move 12 clear of Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts.

The win for Barcelona means it is now 11 points clear at the summit after nearest rival Atletico Madrid was beaten 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao in Sunday's late game.

It was a perfect day for Barca, which welcomed back striker David Villa to the starting line-up for the first time in two months.

Four goals from Messi and one from Pedro sealed the win, which was made easier by the 27th minute dismissal of Alejandro Arribas for two yellow cards.

Messi sets up 'El Clasico' clash

Meanwhile, Real which hosts Barca in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal Wednesday, moved to within four points of second place Atletico.

After a frustrating first-half, Real scored four times without reply thanks to Ronaldo's treble and a Sergio Ramos strike.

Jose Mourinho's side remain 15 points behind league leaders Barcelona with 17 league games remaining.

Elsewhere, Rayo Vallecano beat Real Betis 3-0 to move into fifth, a place and a point behind the Seville-based side and a Champions League position.

Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United: Which is the biggest club?

Piti got the South Madrid side off to a great start from the penalty spot on four minutes before Andrija Delibasic and Jose Carlos added second-half goals to make it five wins in six for Rayo.

Napoli wins match-fixing appeal

In Italy, Napoli moved to within three points of league leaders Juventus after recording an impressive 2-1 win at Parma.

Edinson Cavani scored his 18th goal of the season in the 85th minute to end Parma's unbeaten home run.

Marek Hamsik's opener was cancelled out by an own-goal from Paolo Cannavaro, but Cavani popped up with five minutes remaining to seal the win.

Inter sits in fourth place following a 2-2 draw at home to Torino in the day's late game.

Christian Chivu and Esteban Cambiasso were on target for the home side, but two goals from Riccardo Meggiorini earned Torino a point.

Sneijder quits Inter for Galatasaray

Elsewhere, Milan claimed its 11th league win of the season with 1-0 victory at Atalanta courtesy of Stephan El Shaarawy's first-half strike.

Milan is now up to fifth in the league, 11 points behind league leaders Juventus but coach Massimiliano Allegri appeared unmoved by his team's victory.

He told reporters: "This changes nothing. Today the boys played well but didn't seal the match and we were under threat till the very end.

"We're on the right road but we need to keep winning. Let's see how we're doing at the end of February and, above all, at the end of March."

Meanwhile, Mauro Icardi scored four as Sampdoria crushed Pescara 6-0 with Eder and Pedro Obiang also on target.

Cagliari grabbed a late goal through Thiago Ribeiro to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Palermo, who had taken the lead through Josip Ilicic.

Milan's Boateng takes stand over racism

Bottom club Siena suffered another defeat after going down 1-0 to Udinese following Luis Muriel's 36th minute strike.

In the day's early kick off, Bolgona and Roma put on a six-goal thriller as each team took a point from an enthralling 3-3 draw.

Guardiola agrees three-year deal with Bayern

In Germany, Bayern Munich went 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win in the south German derby at 10-man VfB Stuttgart.

Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic and Germany's Thomas Mueller were both on target as Bayern eased to victory.

Elsewhere, Hamburg overcame Werder Bremen 3-2 in the north German derby, while fourth placed Eintracht Frankfurt claimed a 2-1 home win over Hoffenheim.

There was disappointment for Schalke after it was held to a 0-0 draw by relegation threatened Augsburg.

In France, Paris Saint-Germain stayed top of the table with a 1-0 win over Lille courtesy of an own-goal from Aurelien Chedjou.

Bordeaux gained a 1-0 win at Nice thanks to Henri Saivet's 58th minute strike, while Saint Etienne eased to a 3-0 win over Bastia.

Response: Leo Messi scores four as Barcelona crushes Osasuna in La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo hits a hat-trick for Real in win over Getafe. Napoli moves to within three points of leaders Juventus in Serie A. Bayern Munich stretches its lead to 11 points at top of Bundesliga.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Michael Jackson was an international superstar, and many in the black community herald him for breaking down racial barriers in the music industry.

Michael Jackson was one of the first black global superstars.

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."

As the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson and his brothers "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists," said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke University's Department of African and African American Studies.

"You basically had five working-class black boys with Afros and bell bottoms, and they really didn't have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars," Neal said.

Young Michael Jackson was the first black "bubblegum teen star" in the vein of Monkees singer Davy Jones, Neal said.

Jackson continued as a pioneer in the black culture when he broke barriers by appearing on MTV, and by breaking sales records with the 1982 album, "Thriller."  Timeline: The life of a "King" »

"At the time that he releases 'Thriller,' I always argue that MTV was arguably the best example of cultural apartheid in the United States," Neal said.

The former president of CBS Records, Walter Yetnikoff, remembered with scorn that MTV would not play "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" because it billed itself as a rock station.

Looking back on that era, a 1991 Los Angeles Times article quoted MTV founder and then-CEO Robert Pittman as saying the channel's format didn't lend itself to other musical styles, including R&B and country. And Pittman accused his critics of attempting to impose their musical pluralism on the channel's die-hard rock fans.

But Yetnikoff said he threatened to pull videos of his other artists unless MTV played Jackson's videos.  Watch Yetnikoff talk about getting Jackson's videos played »

Soon Jackson's videos were heavily in rotation on MTV. Showcasing a black artist paved the way for the popular show, "Yo! MTV Raps," and other black artists, Neal said.

In turn, Jackson became one of the first African-Americans to be a global icon.

He also influenced a new generation of black musicians, including Usher, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, according to Joycelyn Wilson, a professor of African-American studies at Morehouse College, who specializes in popular culture and hip-hop studies.  Slideshow: Michael Jackson and his music »

Changing appearance

Jackson's changing physical appearance in the past two decades led to criticism he was trying to be less black.

"Here's a man who started off looking very typically African-American and ended up looking like something few people would have recognized early in his career. His nose was trimmed, his lips were different ... his skin was different," said Cheryl Contee, who writes as Jill Tubman on Jack & Jill Politics, a blog centered on African-American issues.

"The only thing that seemed to almost stay the same were his eyes," said Contee, who also called Jackson "a genius and more than a trailblazer."

"I think [it] troubled a lot of people that he left his skin color behind and seemed somehow to be ashamed of who he was [when] he was born," Contee said.

But during a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson shot down rumors that he was dying his skin to make it lighter. He told the talk show host that he had vitiligo, a disorder that destroyed his skin pigmentation.

Black popular culture professor Neal said Jackson's physical changes did not reflect his life on the whole.

"I think if you solely pay attention to Michael Jackson's physicality, you actually miss something that's much more complex. ... Michael Jackson artistically and aesthetically never turned his back on blackness. His work was always in conversation with black culture both in the United States and more globally," said Neal.

Neal said Jackson's changes were not to deny blackness, nor to become more white. "This was somebody who most of his career we read as being asexual. And I think that many of the changes to his face, particularly his skin tone, he was almost trying to achieve an a-raciality," said Neal.

Contee upset some commenters on her blog when she highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of Jackson's life, or what she termed his "mixed legacy."

"Some people were very offended that I would dare to mention some of the unfortunate aspects of his later years," she said. "But others [acknowledged] that they had mixed feelings about his legacy and what that meant to African-Americans."

Response: Jackson 5 went mainstream and maintained black identity, professor says. MTV didn't play videos of black artists before Jackson. Expert: Despite his changing appearance, he was always in touch with black culture.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Los Angeles (CNN) -- Last week began with a missing persons report filed for Katherine Jackson but ended with Michael Jackson's mother attending a "Unity" concert by four of her sons.

In the days between, a complex family feud played out in headlines and on celebrity TV.

The 82-year-old Jackson family matriarch lost custody of the late pop icon's three children, who were placed into the guardianship of their cousin TJ Jackson, the 34-year-old son of Tito Jackson.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff suspended her as the children's custodian, saying she may be "prevented from acting as a guardian because of the acts of third parties."

Four of her children -- including Janet, Jermaine, Randy and Rebbie Jackson -- had taken their mother to an Arizona spa, but kept her whereabouts secret from their other siblings and Michael Jackson's children -- Prince, 15; Paris, 14; and Prince Michael II, 10, who's also known as Blanket.

Katherine Jackson to share custody of Michael Jackson's children

Those involved called it an intervention to protect their mother from people abusing her, while Paris and Prince Jackson made it clear they thought their aunts and uncles were trying to gain influence and control over Katherine Jackson.

When Paris didn't hear from her grandmother for over a week, she tweeted "8 days and counting . something is really off , this isn't like her at all .. i wanna talk directly to my grandmother!!<|3"

Katherine Jackson returned home early last Thursday to find a house in turmoil.

"Although I am happy my grandma was returned, after speaking with her I realized how misguided and how badly she was lied to," Prince Jackson said in bitter Twitter posting attacking his aunts and uncles. "I'm really angry and hurt."

There was a "scuffle" inside Katherine Jackson's Calabasas, California, home last Monday after Randy, Jermaine and Janet approached Michael Jackson's children in what witnesses said was an attempt to convince them to leave with them. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies broke it up and filed a battery report, a sheriff's spokesman said.

Despite a relative calm in the Jackson family feud that set in over the weekend, youngest son Randy Jackson remained on the attack Monday against the men who run the Michael Jackson estate, accusing them of trying to isolate his mother so they could control the heirs they are obligated by law to protect.

"And THIS IS WHY I AM SO AFRAID FOR MY MOTHER..." he said in a Twitter posting that linked to a story on the website of CNN contributor Roland Martin titled: "Janet Jackson, Others Family Members Barred From Mom's California Home."

Prince Jackson blasts aunts, uncles over grandmother's treatment

Martin wrote on RolandMartinReports.com about an e-mail sent by estate lawyer Howard Weitzman to the lawyer for TJ Jackson just hours after Beckloff appointed him guardian of Michael Jackson's children.

"Given the circumstances of the last two weeks, and in order to protect the children and Mrs. Jackson, the Executors believe that it would not be appropriate to allow the following individuals to enter the residence or its grounds and we instruct the security to preclude the following from entering the residence or the grounds: Randy Jackson and any of his children, Janet Jackson, Rebbie Jackson and any of her children, Jermaine Jackson, his wife and any of his children, Janice Smith, or anyone else who was involved in the recent events that led to Mrs. Jackson's separation from and inability to communicate with Michael's children, or any agents or representatives of any of these individuals," Weitzman wrote.

The e-mail was "given to the security is in compliance with Judge Beckloff's order and is not arbitrary," Schultz said.

"As for the family members who are on that list, they were either at the house on Monday, July 23, 2012 or in someway participated in the events surrounding that date," Charles Schultz, TJ Jackson's lawyer, said in reply to Martin's story.

"Katherine Jackson is completely free to talk to whomever she chooses and is free to come and go from the house with anyone whom she chooses," Schultz said. "This has been made completely clear to Mrs. Jackson and she has acknowledged that fact."

Jackson family drama an unwanted reality show

If Janet, Randy, Jermaine or Rebbie Jackson want to talk to their mother, who they took on an unannounced 10-day vacation to Arizona earlier this month, they can call her, he said.

"If anything, it sounds like the people who tried to manipulate her previously are continuing to do so via telephone," Schultz wrote.

The list of people banned from the property was prepared by estate lawyers and sent at the request of TJ Jackson after "certain members of the Jackson family showed up unannounced at the ... residence of Michael Jackson's mother and children, causing a very public disturbance," according to a statement by the estate lawyers.

"The list may be amended and managed by TJ Jackson Jr. or the Estate when appropriate," the estate statement said.

Katherine Jackson's lawyer is preparing a court filing to ask Judge Beckloff to restore her as guardian of Michael Jackson's children through a plan where TJ Jackson would be a co-guardian.

Prince, Paris and Blanket approved of the arrangement, Katherine Jackson lawyer Perry Sanders said.

"Mrs. Jackson is extremely pleased with the prospect of enjoying the pleasure of raising Michael's children without the day-to-day tedium of items such as managing the large staff that goes with such a high profile family and focus her attention on being a grandmother and raising Michael's children," Sanders said.

The plan must still be approved by Judge Beckloff, who could put provisions into the custody order designed to prevent a repeat of this month's incidents.

Conrad Murray seeks new test in Michael Jackson's death

Response: Randy Jackson remains on the attack against the men who run the Michael Jackson estate. "I AM SO AFRAID FOR MY MOTHER..." Randy Jackson tweeted. Estate lawyer sent e-mail banning Janet, Jermaine, Randy, Rebbie from mom's home. "Katherine Jackson is completely free to talk to whomever she chooses," lawyer says.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- A near all-black Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has been delivered to launch customer Air New Zealand, giving Boeing fans and aviation nerds a dramatic introduction to this latest model of the fuel-efficient plane.

The head-turning aircraft, sporting a special edition, mostly black livery, was handed over to the carrier in Everett, Washington, with around 1,000 Boeing employees and Air New Zealand executives attending.

"It's a big night for us all, seeing the plane come out of the hangar here," said Air New Zealand captain David Morgan. "I'm very excited to be able to get my hands on this aircraft and proudly fly it back to New Zealand."

Newer = bigger

The 787-9 is 20 feet longer than its predecessor, the 787-8, and can hold 40 more passengers.

It also has a greater range of 8,000-8,500 nautical miles, compared to the 787-8's range of 7,650-8,200.

"Obviously with their geography they're the perfect airline to really exercise this airplane -- they'll really be able to use the amazing performance that the 787-9 has," said Boeing's Mark Jenks, vice president, 787 Airplane Development.

The manufacturer said it was on track to deliver 10 of the new planes to Air New Zealand by mid-year.

Twenty-six customers have ordered 409 787-9s to date, accounting for 40% of all 787 orders.

Due to a lighter, composite body, the plane can operate on 20% less fuel than other similar sized planes and offers design features such as larger, dimmable windows and in-cabin LED lighting.

Flight routes

Air New Zealand will begin operating its 787-9 in October 2014, flying from Auckland to Perth, Australia. In November it'll begin flights from Auckland to Tokyo and Shanghai.

The launch aircraft will offer 302 seats total, with the business premier cabin housing 18 lie-flat seats, a premium economy cabin with 21 seats and two economy cabins with 263 seats total.

The plane will also have 14 Skycouch rows -- a design unique to the Kiwi airline that turns a row of three economy seats into a three-seater "couch."

The plane will arrive in Auckland this Friday, July 11.

Frances Cha contributed to this story.

Response: Launch customer Air New Zealand took hold of the first 787-9 Dreamliner on July 8, 2014. Aircraft featured a dramatic, limited edition, nearly all-black livery. Flights will begin in October 2014 from Auckland to Perth, and then Auckland to Tokyo and Shanghai a month later.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Thousands of travelers have been left in the lurch around the world after the carrier Air Australia went into administration and grounded its fleet Friday.

"It currently appears that there are no funds available to meet operational expenses so flights will be suspended immediately," the company said in joint statement Friday with its newly appointed administrators, KordaMentha.

About 4,000 passengers in total have been left stranded in Hawaii, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia as a result of the suspension, said Michael Smith, a spokesman for KordaMentha.

"It also appears highly unlikely there will be any flights in the short to medium term," the airline's statement said, advising passengers to make alternative arrangements.

The airline had sold about 100,000 tickets for future flights, Smith said. With no indication from Air Australia when it might resume operations, those tickets could end up worthless.

Some customers may be entitled to refunds, the airline said, depending on how they bought their tickets. But it added that customers without the relevant insurance who paid in cash are unlikely to be eligible for refunds.

"Apparently, the straw that broke camel's back was inability to pay for airline fuel," said Michael Ilyine, an accountant from Geelong, Australia.

Ilyine and his wife were on their honeymoon in Thailand when they were left stuck at the airport in Phuket, he said, after their Air Australia flight was grounded with their baggage in the hold.

CNN's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.

Response: Air Australia runs out of money, leaving about 4,000 passengers stranded. The airline has gone into administration and grounded its fleet. It advises customers to make alternative travel arrangements. People are left stranded in Hawaii, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Hurricane Bill spun northward toward the New England coast Saturday with wind and rain as officials warned beach lovers to head indoors for the night.

Signs at Lighthouse Beach at Chatham, Massachusetts, warn beach-goers Saturday of rough waters.

At 11 p.m., the center of the Category 1 storm was about 195 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters said the island can expect 1 to 2 inches of rain, and Outer Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard may receive only an inch.

Swells as high as 19 feet are expected Monday night, Coast Guard Petty Officer Jordan Berryman told CNN in Chatham, Massachusetts.

"It's been generally calm but tonight we recommend that everybody stay off the beach," he said.

The storm continued its northerly pace of nearly 25 mph. A gradual change to the north-northeast is predicted for Sunday. Bill's sustained winds remained at 100 mph, with higher gusts.

"The surf is definitely big," Emily Chibaro of Nantucket told CNN Radio Saturday. "The south shore part of the island is closed off to all people on the island." iReport.com: Are you bracing for Hurricane Bill?

A gradual weakening is expected Saturday night and Sunday as the hurricane moves north of the Gulf Stream, a swift, warm Atlantic Ocean current.

The core of the storm should pass New England offshore Saturday night, and approach Nova Scotia on Sunday.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said tropical-force winds from the outer bands of the storm were forecast to hit his state at 9 p.m. ET, earlier than expected. The speed of tropical-force winds range from 39 mph to 73 mph.  Watch the waves crash on Massachusetts beach »

A tropical storm warning was issued for the coast of Massachusetts from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

The hurricane itself is predicted to stay offshore, the hurricane center said.

The most intense period of the storm should be between midnight and the predawn hours of Sunday, the governor told reporters in a conference call.

Patrick cautioned boaters to expect high seas and to avoid the area around Cape Cod. Forecasters have warned of dangerous riptides, or undertows, along the New England coast and points north.

"Waters will be unsafe even for strong swimmers," the governor warned.

Rip currents, or riptides, are strong seaward flows of water that occur where there's a break in the shoreline. They are difficult to detect.  Watch CNN's Bonnie Schneider talk about rip currents »

Patrick said advisories will be posted, and beaches on the cape were closed. He urged residents to stay home.

President Obama and his family are scheduled to arrive Sunday for a vacation at Martha's Vineyard.

"We look forward to welcoming him to Massachusetts as soon as he can safely get here," Patrick said.

Hurricane Bill skirted Bermuda, leaving rain in its wake. The tropical storm warning for Bermuda was discontinued.

Canada's weather service, Environment Canada, issued a tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches for parts of Nova Scotia.  Watch how Nova Scotians are preparing for Bill »

A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 24 hours. A watch means conditions are expected to change within 36 hours.

Total rain accumulations of 3 to 5 inches with isolated amounts of 7 inches are expected near the track of Bill across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

CNN's Susan Candiotti and CNN Radio's Brendan Gage contributed to this report.

Response: NEW: In Massachusetts, Coast Guard recommends "everybody stay off the beach". President Obama and family scheduled to arrive Sunday at Martha's Vineyard. Massachusetts governor: Intense weather expected overnight to Sunday morn. Forecasters warn of dangerous riptides along New England coast and north.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(Fast Company) -- Have you ever created a Genius playlist on iTunes or set up a station on Pandora? Just plug in one song, and you instantly hear music that matches your tastes.

Think of Zite, the free personalized iPad magazine that launched today, as the Genius playlist or Pandora of news discovery -- but with one noticeable advantage: Zite is smarter, at least for now.

Developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia's Laboratory for Computational Intelligence, the technology behind Zite can learn your reading habits and personalize content based on your interests.

When first opening the app, Zite will immediately begin personalizing your experience. Link a Twitter account or Google Reader, and Zite will analyze (not simply display) your feeds to create a magazine tailored to your interests. You might get sources you know, you might get content you want from sources you don't know.

(And yes, you'll occasionally get stories you have no interest in -- just tell Zite and it catches on pretty quickly.)

After adding my Twitter handle @austincarr, for example, Zite learned my tastes and created relevant sections -- entrepreneurship, gadgets, social media. It then culled news items from fitting sources -- Fast Company, Wired, TechCrunch, Fred Wilson's blog.

As I skimmed through the news, Zite began learning my preferences. What specifically do I like about social media? Was I interested in long-form journalism? Did I enjoy straight-news items or editorials? Features or analysis? Popular sources or niche blogs? The more feedback Zite collected, the more personalized it became.

"It's a combination of semantic- and statistically based machine learning," says CEO Ali Davar, of Zite's content algorithm, the technology of which has been in development for years. "It works by looking at the articles you click on and the characteristics of those articles. Is the article longer or shorter? Is it skewed toward one element of a topic or another? Is it a political blog? If so, does it have have a right- or left-wing slant?"

Users can tell Zite whether they enjoyed a particular article, whether they liked a particular source, or whether they want more news on a particular topic area. But Zite can also learn from a user's "soft" yes's and no's. Skip over a news brief? Zite counts that as a soft no. Did a headline catch your eye and get you to read the longer story? Zite counts that as a soft yes.

News will soon narrow from, say, articles on food or sports to thousands of specialized sections such as news on vegetarianism or skiing. Users can select these topics on their own, but Zite is best at autosuggesting them--after playing with the app for a week, Zite began featuring "Graphic Design & Typography" as one of my top news sections. Would I have thought to add that category on my own?

According to the Vancouver-based company, Zite is the first iPad news reader "to go beyond manual customization." Other popular readers -- Flipboard, Pulse -- require users to manually provide sources, whether media outlets or RSS feeds. Zite automates that process and continuously refines content so it's fresher and dynamically tailored to one's interests.

"The difference between Flipboard and Zite is that with Zite, your sections are actually personalized," Davar says. "On Flipboard, you pick sections and sources to customize your magazine -- that's what they call 'personalized.' But that's really 'customization.' In essence, personalization is a technology -- it's something that learns from you. So, for example, your technology section and someone else's will look very different based on your behavior -- rather than being the same generic thing that everyone else is seeing."

Still, loyal Flipboard fans might find the app just a bit more elegant, or feel the apps serve different purposes.

Since Flipboard features only hand-picked sources, the app is arguably very personalized: Just as one might only subscribe to New York magazine or The Economist in print, one might only be interested in subscribing to those mags on Flipboard -- and less interested in reading similar content from other sources.

In this sense, Zite, with its endlessly fresh content culled from a wide range of media outlets, is more akin to a digital newspaper, whereas Flipboard (especially with its far sexier and sleeker design) feels more like a digital magazine.

But when it comes to "personalized" content discovery, Zite follows in the same impressive footsteps as Pandora and Netflix -- and certainly gives Flipboard a run for its money.

"The underlying philosophy of our algorithm is: You are what you read," Davar says.

Copyright © 2010 FastCompany.com, a unit of Mansueto Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved.

Response: Zite can learn your reading habits and personalize content based on your interests. "It's a combination of semantic- and statistically based machine learning," says CEO Ali Davar. Flipboard and Pulse require users to manually provide sources.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN Student News) -- October 9, 2014

From news in Texas concerning the Ebola virus to a storm in the Pacific threatening Japan, we cover a lot of ground this Thursday. You'll learn a Random Fact, see a comprehensive study in character, and hear about a new sport that people play feet-first. You'll also see how the NFL is getting more live data than ever about its players.

On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call.

TRANSCRIPT

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Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNET) -- Verizon Wireless smartphone customers use 25 percent more data than AT&T iPhone customers, thanks in large part to new Verizon's new Android smartphones, a recent study indicates.

Validas, a company that analyzes cell phone bills and usage for consumers and corporate customers, analyzed 20,000 consumer phone bills between January and May of 2010 and discovered that Verizon Wireless smartphone customers consume on average about 421 megabytes per month. Meanwhile, AT&T iPhone users consume roughly 25 percent less data, or about 338 megabytes per month.

The full Validas report will be published on September 1.

The comparison between smartphone data usage on Verizon's network and iPhone data usage on AT&T's network is important to note, because iPhone users have typically been viewed as the heaviest data users in the entire mobile market.

The fact that Verizon is seeing a major uptick in data usage in the past six months, largely due to new Android smartphones, could be a key predictor of wireless data usage patterns going forward. If the trends continue, Verizon could see an explosion in data usage.

So far, Verizon's network hasn't faced any major hiccups due to the onslaught of new data traffic. This is in contrast to AT&T's network, which, over the past three years since the iPhone was launched, has beencriticized for dropping calls and offering slower than expected data download speedson their iPhones in some parts of the country.

"Verizon's network is holding up really well as it adds more data traffic," said Ed Finegold, chief analytics officer for Validas. "Verizon has always had a reputation for a solid network. And it looks like so far, it has been able to handle the additional traffic."

As Verizon continues to sell more Android devices, the carrier will likely put its network to the test even further. Smartphone data usage started exploding for Verizon when the company launched its first Android phones in the fourth quarter last year, Finegold said. With more Android devices coming on the market in the next few months, it's likely that the volume of Android smartphones on Verizon's network will increase.

That said, the total number of cell phone customers -- including those using feature phones and smartphones -- using Verizon data services is much less than the number of customers using these services on AT&T's network. For example, 71.2 percent of all AT&T cell phone subscribers, which includes users of smartphones like the iPhone as well as feature phones, use data services, while only 43 percent of all Verizon cell phone users subscribe to data services.

Even though fewer Verizon cell phone subscribers are using data services, individually, they are consuming roughly the same amount of data each month as the average AT&T customer. AT&T cell phone subscribers, on average, consume 149.6MB a month. The average Verizon cell phone subscriber consumes about 147.2MB of data per month.

When it comes to smartphones, usage patterns between AT&T and Verizon customers are also similar. But Verizon appears to have more power-users that fall in the midrange of data consumption.

According to data analyzed by Validas, about half of AT&T's iPhone customers use less than 200MB of data per month. And about 47 percent of their iPhone subscribers use between 200MB and 2GB of data with about 90 percent of those customers using less than 1GB of data per month. This means that about 2.5 percent of AT&T's users consume more than 2GB of data per month.

Hard-core data users

Verizon Wireless smartphone subscribers have similar usage patterns to those on AT&T's network. But where they differ is in the number of subscribers that are using between 500MB to 1GB per month of data. Verizon has twice as many of those customers than AT&T has, Finegold said. More than 11 percent of Verizon Wireless smartphone users fall into this category, versus just 5.6 percent of iPhone users.

He speculates this difference is because Android users tend to be more hard-core data users, whereas the iPhone may be used more by casual users who like the phone because it's cool.

"The iPhone makes much more of a lifestyle and social statement than an Android phone makes," Finegold said. "People interested in an Android are looking for horsepower."

In an effort to keep iPhone data usage in check so it doesn't completely overwhelm its network, AT&T recently eliminated its all you-can-eat data plan. Instead the company offers two tiers of services. For $15 a month, new smartphone subscribers can get up to 200MB of data per month. And for $25 a month they can get 2GB of data.

Verizon still offers its unlimited data plan. Company executives emphasized that point at the launch of the new Motorola Droid X earlier this summer. But executives have also said that Verizon will eventually move to a tiered pricing model.

AT&T's new pricing only affects a small number of customers. But if Verizon were to adopt the very same pricing model, more of its heavy data users on Android phones would likely be affected. According to the Validas report, a little more than 4 percent of Verizon's smartphone users consume more than 2GB of data per month compared with only about 2.5 percent of AT&T's iPhone customers.

Validas' analysis also clearly shows that heavy data users are primarily using AT&T and Verizon Wireless, while customers who tend to use less data, are subscribing to Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA.

For example, about half of Sprint's cell phone subscribers, including smartphone customers, use data on Sprint's network. But the average usage is only about 133.4MB a month. T-Mobile only has about 22.3 percent of its cell phone subscriber base subscribing to data, and those consumers are only using about 120MB of data per month.

Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile want a bigger piece of the data action, which is why the companies have been investing in next-generation networks. Sprint is partnered with Clearwire, which is building its 4G network across the country using WiMax.

Sprint recently launched the first WiMax-enabled phone that can switch between its 3G network and the 4G Clearwire network. Sales have been strong, but the company has suffered from component shortages making the devices hard to get.

The Validas analysis doesn't include the launch of this new phone, called the HTC Evo. So it will be interesting to note whether the launch of this device will significantly move the needle on data usage on Sprint's network.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile is also trying to strum up more data usage on its network by upgrading its network to the next generation of 3G technology called HSPA+. But even with faster network speeds in some markets, Sprint and T-Mobile still lack the comprehensive coverage that AT&T and Verizon offer.

The biggest problem for Sprint and T-Mobile is putting the right devices in the hands of the most prolific data users.

"People who travel tend to be more mobile, and they also tend to be power users when it comes to mobile data," Finegold said. "They want to know that the coverage is there when they need it, and they're generally more willing to pay for that. So they are definitely higher value customers."

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. CNET, CNET.com and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CBS Interactive Inc. Used by permission.

Response: AT&T iPhone users consume 25 percent less data than Verizon Wireless customers. iPhone users were typically viewed as the heaviest data users in the mobile market. Verizon's network hasn't yet faced any major hiccups due to the onslaught of new traffic.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Luis Suarez leading Uruguay to a late victory over England grabbed headlines on the eighth day of World Cup group play, but before that match began another team had an arguably more important victory.

Colombia's 2-1 defeat of Ivory Coast means that the South Americans will definitely go through to the knockout stage of the competition, regardless of the results of their final group match next week, against Japan.

Colombia becomes the third team guaranteed to go through.

Through:

Netherlands

Chile

Colombia

There are also three teams that definitely cannot qualify for the knockout stage. Defending champs Spain are the highest-profile early casualty, but they're not alone.

Out:

Spain

Australia

Cameroon

Beyond that, things get more complicated.

Friday sees four teams trying to book a place in the knockout stage, as Italy face Costa Rica and France play Switzerland.

All four teams won their first match. Remember, a team gets three points for a win and one for a draw.

If two teams have the same number of points, the one with the greater goal difference is ahead, so -- for example -- Costa Rica's 3-1 victory over Uruguay puts them at the top of Group D, while Italy's 2-1 victory over England is good enough for second.

In theory, any of those four teams can still go through at this point, which is why Italy's Mario Balotelli said he wants a kiss (on the cheek) from the Queen if his side beats Costa Rica -- that would keep England's chances alive, if slim.

It may not be a surprise that Group D is turning into the most complex battle so far. Its teams are, as a whole, the highest ranking in the World Cup, with Uruguay ranked seventh in the world, Italy ninth, England 10th and Costa Rica 28th.

The France-Switzerland match for the top of Group E is more likely to produce a group leader. Each team won their first match and has three points, so a draw will mean each has four and a victory for either side will give them six.

The other two teams in the group, Ecuador and Honduras, both lost their first matches and have no points, so they both have to fight for a big win to have much hope of going through. If they draw, they get one point each and would only go through if either France or Switzerland win tonight, and the winner of the Ecuador-Honduras match also wins big in their last match of the group.

Got that?

World Cup schedule of matches

CNN's Patrick Sung contributed to this report.

Response: Three teams are now certain to go through to the next stage of the World Cup. Three others cannot get past the group stage. Italy and Costa Rica are battling for a place in the final 16, but it's complicated. Switzerland and France face off for bragging rights in their group.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Portugal earned a satisfying 4-0 win over world-champion neighbors Spain on Wednesday night, while France continued to improve under Laurent Blanc with a 2-1 victory away to England in another friendly.

Spain won the last clash between the two teams in July on the way to winning the World Cup in South Africa, ending Portugal's 19-match unbeaten run.

But Helder Postiga struck twice after Carlos Martins broke the deadlock before substitute Hugo Almeida settled the match for Portugal, who have put in a joint bid with Spain to host the 2018 World Cup and are celebrating the 100th year of the Portuguese Republic.

Midfielder Martins volleyed the opening goal right on halftime after Cristiano Ronaldo's shot was only blocked by Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Postiga doubled the lead four minutes after the interval with a clever backheel from Joao Moutinho's low right-wing cross, and the Sporting Lisbon striker fired in the third with 22 minutes to play when Spain's defense could not clear.

Almeida then beat the offside trap to collect Pepe's throughball and beat the onrushing Casillas in the fourth minute of time added on to score his 12th international goal.

It was only Portugal's second win in nine meetings with Spain, who have not won in Lisbon since 1934.

France inflicted England's first defeat at London's Wembley stadium since Fabio Capello took charge in December 2007, taking the lead through Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena before substitute Peter Crouch's late consolation.

Benzema fired the opening goal in the 16th minute with a low shot past goalkeeper Ben Foster at the near post following a smart interchange of passes with Florent Malouda.

Capello's experimental young England team went 2-0 down in the 55th minute when fullback Bacary Sagna found space down the right and midfielder Valbuena volleyed in a low shot after teammate Sami Nasri completely missed his attempt.

Striker Crouch, who came on for the injured Steven Gerrard, guided in a clever volley at the far post from Ashley Young's 85th-minute corner for his 23rd goal in 43 England appearances, but it was not enough to prevent his team being booed off.

France, who also beat England in Capello's second match in charge, have now won four successive matches under coach Blanc -- who suffered two defeats after taking over from Raymond Domenech following Les Bleus' first-round World Cup exit.

Italy were held 1-1 by Romania in Austria as Ciprian Marica scored at both ends.

The striker put Romania ahead in the 34th minute after the Italian defense failed to clear, but headed past his own goalkeeper with seven minutes to play after Italy substitute Fabio Quagliarella touched on a corner by halftime replacement Andrea Pirlo.

Germany drew 0-0 away to Sweden in Gothenburg in a match of few chances as both teams' coaches experimented with their line-ups.

Norway won 2-1 away to the Republic of Ireland, World Cup dark horses Slovakia lost 3-2 at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Serbia won 1-0 in Bulgaria with an 80th-minute goal from striker Nikolai Zigic -- who was later sent off.

Russia, who also hope to host the 2018 World Cup, lost 2-0 at home to Belgium as highly-rated young striker Romelu Lukaku scored both goals in Voronezh.

The Netherlands, bidding jointly for 2018 with Belgium, beat Turkey 1-0 in Amsterdam as striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the winner in the 52nd minute with his ninth goal in the last five internationals.

Response: Portugal avenge World Cup defeat against Spain with 4-0 victory in Lisbon. Helder Postiga scores twice as Portugal cruise past 2018 World Cup co-candidates. France inflict England's first Wembley defeat under Fabio Capello, winning 2-1. Netherlands beat Turkey while Italy and Germany both draw and Russia lose.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- I grew up a poor kid in Detroit.

Government cheese sandwiches, occasional nights without electricity, long-distance telephone calls reserved for emergencies only.

Yet despite our struggles, my family never lost hope that life would get better for us. We never lost faith in the American dream.

And as trivial as it may seem, a lot of that had to do with Red Lobster.

Now before you dismiss the notion that a chain restaurant could somehow be a beacon of light, you have to understand that in my neighborhood, if your family went to Red Lobster for dinner, that meant you were really doing something. It meant you got dressed up in your church clothes. It meant you would be using a salad fork and maybe even ordering the fancy dish you saw on TV. It meant twice, sometimes three times a year, a poor family like mine could order a steak in a middle-class restaurant and pretend we were rich.

This is why when word recently came out that the chain was in financial trouble, I -- and many people who grew up poor like me -- paused.

"Our industry is in a period of significant change,with relatively low levels of consumer demand in each of the past several years for restaurants generally, and for casual dining in particular," said Clarence Otis, the CEO of Darden, the parent company of Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, among others.

According to Forbes, Darden reported a 37.6% drop in earnings per share in the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared with a year before. Red Lobster was the biggest culprit. The magazine reports that the restaurant's revenue dropped 4.9% during the second quarter. Darden this month announced plans to separate Red Lobster's 705 locations from the rest of its portfolio with the possibility that it could be sold off.

As I've gotten older and a bit more affluent, perhaps even snobbier, I recognize that with the exception of those delicious cheddar biscuits, most of Red Lobster's dishes pretty much taste the same.

But statistics suggest that we haven't been going to restaurants like Red Lobster the way we used to, and it's not because our collective palate has changed.

It's because we can't afford to eat out anymore.

In the four years since the economy began to rebound, the median annual household income fell by 4.4%. But for black households like the one I grew up in, income fell by nearly 11%, more than twice the rate of Latino homes and three times that of whites. Red Lobster remains a favorite spot for black families to dine after church. I imagine it's harder to do with over a 10th of the family's income gone.

But it's a mistake to blame the erosion of buying power and the decline of middle-class touchstones like Red Lobster or JCPenney on just the Great Recession.

The truth is, the working class has been getting pinched for decades.

From November 2012 to November 2013, weekly earnings rose 1.1% while the consumer price index increased 1.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That small uptick may not seem like much until you factor in three years ago, wages increased 1.8%, and the CPI was up 3.5%. And that may not seem like much until you realize that almost every year since 1983, a series of small ticks like those two examples has been widening the gap between between what we earn and what we can buy.

Consider the poverty threshold.

For a family of four in 1983 it was $10,178. Adjusted for inflation, that should be $23,817.03 today. However, the actual 2013 poverty threshold is $23,492, a difference of $325.03.

When you're living check to check, that's a lot of money.

When you're living check to check with smaller checks to work with, luxuries quickly fall by the wayside. Luxuries like going out to eat, which has slowed considerably since 2010.

Red Lobster is not the only restaurant seeing more empty seats than in years past. It's just the one that happens to have an interesting tie to the poor folks I knew.

The poor folks I know.

As the nation talks about income inequality and the prospects of raising the minimum wage, it's interesting to note that the true buying power of minimum wage peaked in 1968. That also happens to be the same year Red Lobster was founded.

I'm no economist, but I doubt that the struggles of the working class and the struggles of a restaurant that depends on the working class for business are just a coincidence.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

Response: LZ Granderson grew up poor, and a real treat once or twice a year was to go to Red Lobster. The chain is in financial trouble, which LZ says is tied to fewer people going out to eat. LZ: Wages are down, and middle-class or working-class families aren't going out for dinner. LZ says JC Penney and other stores that cater to middle class are in trouble, too.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The small plane had crashed in an extremely remote part of Alaska, miles from the tiny village of St. Mary's.

It was an especially dark and foggy Friday night, and rescuers were having a hard time figuring out the location of the Cessna wreckage and its 10 passengers.

They could hear survivor Melanie Coffee on the phone but with the poor weather, it was a frustrating needle-in-a-haystack kind of task.

But Coffee, 25, made her way a half-mile across the slippery, sloping tundra and managed to find the town's landfill, where she met the search party of 40 to 50 villagers and calmly guided them on foot back to the crash site.

For four people, including her 5-month-old boy, it was too late. They had died from their injuries.

The others had wounds that included head injuries and multiple fractures.

Had it not been for her going for help, more victims might have died, said Clifford Dalton, a paramedic for LifeMed Alaska.

"The fact that she could make it out to an identifiable landmark really helped to expedite the aid that the rest of the patients were able to receive," Dalton said. "What's really remarkable about it is that she was tending to her infant child that was gravely injured at the time."

The Anchorage Daily News reported that after the crash, Coffee used a cell phone to call the on-call health aide for St. Mary's, population 500. Fred Lamont Jr. told the newspaper Coffee was trying to give her infant son CPR.

Dalton called Coffee a hero who put the needs of others before her own.

Dalton said he and his partner, Paul Garnet, helped treat the patients at the site. Six to eight villagers helped carry each survivor to the landfill, which was as close as the ambulances could get. Concerned residents also came to help from Mountain Village, about 25 miles away, where most of the victims were from.

Authorities are unsure why Hageland Aviation Flight 1453 crashed. It left Bethel at 5:40 p.m. and went down about four miles from the St. Mary's airport.

"Hageland is working to gather information to answer questions and do what we can to ease the suffering of those involved in the accident. As a family-owned business this is an unspeakable tragedy for us," company president Jim Hickerson said on Hageland's Facebook page.

Authorities said the dead were Wyatt Coffee, 5 months; pilot Terry Hanson, 68; Richard Polty, 65; and Rose Polty, 57.

Four of those injured were hospitalized in fair condition, officials said. They are: Pauline Johnson, 37; Shannon Lawrence (age not given); Tanya Lawrence, 35; and Garrette Moses, 30. Also injured was Kylan Johnson, 14, who was treated and released.

A spokeswoman for the the Alaska Native Medical Center said Melanie Coffee was in fair condition and wasn't giving interviews.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday it was too early to determine if weather was the cause.

Alaskans depend on air transportation far more than residents in other states because many villages aren't on the road system.

About 35% of commuter plane and air taxi crashes in the United States between 1990 and 2009 occurred in Alaska, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In July: Deaths of two families in plane crash

Bringing closure to relatives of those killed in 1952 Alaska crash

CNN's Paul Vercammen, Stan Wilson, Karan Olson and Joe Sutton contributed to this story.

Response: Melanie Coffee walked through the night over sloping tundra to reach rescuers. She then guided them back to the site of a small plane crash where four people were dead. The dead included her infant son, who she tried to give CPR, according to newspaper report. Five other people were injured.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Facebook and Google are battling it out to dominate your smartphone time and, for now, Facebook is winning.

According to the latest stats from comScore, Facebook was the most popular mobile app in the United States in 2012. The Google Maps app held the top position until October, when Apple rolled out its latest mobile operating system, iOS 6, and replaced the built-in Google Maps app with its own, less accurate version.

Of course, Facebook also had a hand in its own success. Its number of monthly unique visitors rose steadily over the course of the year. In August, the company rolled out a long overdue revamp of its iOS mobile app for iPhone and iPads, significantly speeding up the launch, scroll and browsing times. User reviews in Apple's App Store shot up as a result, and in December the company followed up with a better version of its Android app.

Review: Facebook's Graph Search is promising but incomplete

Facebook started 2012 facing criticisms of its mobile strategy, and while there are still lingering questions about how it will make money off of mobile, these stats show its adept at transferring the Facebook experience to tablets and smartphones.

People aren't just opening their Facebook app the most, they're spending astonishingly large chunks of time in the app, poking around and reading up on their friends. The social network's app was the single largest, single app time suck, accounting for 23% of the time people spend using mobile apps, according to comScore. Instagram was a distant second accounting for just 3% of the time people spend in apps. Google's app with the most engagement was Gmail, but in total 10% of users' time was spent across various Google apps.

The more interesting story in the coming year might be Google's rise to dominate all mobile platforms, not just its own Android operating system.

Facebook may have the No. 1 spot locked up, but Google apps account for the next five most popular apps. After Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Gmail and YouTube were the top apps on Android and iOS devices in December. Google only re-released an iOS version of its Maps app in December, which could continue to fight back and possibly overtake Facebook in 2013.

Apple's only app on the list is iTunes, coming in at 8th place. Rounding out the top 10 list are Pandora Radio, Cooliris and Yahoo! Messenger.

How Facebook's Graph Search could disrupt online dating

Response: Facebook had the most popular mobile app for Android and iOS combined in 2012. Google Maps was in second place followed by five other Google apps. Facebook had highest levels of engagement, with 23% of app time spent in the app.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- There's a children's book from 1977 called The Big Orange Splot. In it, all the houses on one block look the same. Until one day, when a pelican drops a bucket of orange paint on one roof. Instead of painting over it, and returning to the status quo, Mr. Plumbean decorates the roof—and then the facade, and then the yard—with wild, rainbow patterns. His neighbors think he's lost his mind. But one by one they see the beauty in individual expression, however weird and wacky it may look at first.

The popular book sounds like an allegory about communism, and conformist lifestyles. And as it turns out, something similar happened in the Hungarian countryside in the 1960s, during the height of communism. The result—those decorated houses—are the subject of Hungarian Cubes, by Katharina Roters.

From 1965 to 1988, János Kádár ran things in Hungary. Unlike the leaders of the other Eastern Bloc countries, Kádár practiced a sort of relaxed strain of communism: the Hungarian People's Republic had a free market, and was tolerant (more than Stalin, at least) of individual voices and public dissent. These policies ultimately became known as "Goulash Communism." It's fitting, then, that during the Goulash Communism era, a peculiar architectural trend took off: People started painting the facades of their houses with abstract shapes, in wild shades of color.

It might be more accurate to say a decorating, or public art movement, began to take off, because the architecture style in question began in the 1920s, long before Kádár's time. It followed the principles of Communist urban planning: city blocks filled with square, economical row houses. They were designed for efficiency, meaning every house was the same, and every house was boring.

That didn't last forever. In Hungarian Cubes, Roters documents those countryside row houses during Kádár's reign, after residents started freewheeling with colors and shapes to make it so no two houses looked like. Roters noticed the painted "Magyar Kocka", or Hungarian Cube, houses in 2003 after moving from Germany to a small Hungarian town. Some of the homes have trompe l'oeil paintings around the window, like facsimiles of shutters or trimming. Others look like abstracted images of sun rays, or harvested crops.

"Today you can buy a car you like, you can do everything you like. In this uniform world where people were not allowed to have some individuality, you had to wait for the same car as your neighbor," Roters says. "The facade is what I can show to the outside to the world. This was a free space at this time where the people can show and express their individuality."

Roters has spent years photographing the Magyar Kocka houses. She's met some of the original owners, but also is watching as the Cube houses undergo renovations and new paint jobs. "The intellectual elite in Hungary they hate the kind of housing and the period and the ornamental decoration," Roters says. In Hungarian Cubes, she writes: "In the eyes of the rural population, these houses are simply no longer up-to-date and are therefore...these witnesses to a way of life are slowly but surely disappearing." The houses are a relic of some rare individualism during a time of homogeneous, community-centric thinking.

Hungarian Cubes is available here, through Park Books.

Read more from WIRED:

Unexpected shooting targets used by the world's armies

What's inside Sriracha that makes it so delicious?

Someone reinvented the butter knife and it is amazing

How to fix your iPhone's annoying autocorrect

Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!

Copyright 2011 Wired.com.

Response: In her new book, Hungarian Cubes, Katharina Roters highlights decorated houses from the communist era. During the so-called "Goulash Communist" period, people started painting their houses with bright colors and abstract shapes because of the lax government. At the time, houses were supposed to be simple and homogenous.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Peshawar (CNN) -- Taliban fighters from Pakistan say they have united with al Qaeda forces in Syria to fight the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The commander of the Pakistan Taliban, Abdul Rashid Abbasi, has told CNN that the first batch of fighters has arrived in Syria and established a command and control center to launch operational activities alongside Syrian rebel fighters. Abbasi, a close associate of Pakistan Taliban head Hakeemullah Mehsud, told CNN that 120 fighters are already in Syria.

The Taliban commander went on to say that another batch of fighters made up of 150 men will arrive in Syria this week.

"We shall be sending more volunteers, but cannot give exact numbers at this moment, but we will provide whatever support is needed by our Syrian brothers," Abbasi told CNN.

CNN is unable to independently confirm that members of the Pakistan Taliban are inside Syria. CNN journalists have previously been inside Syria and seen foreign fighters participate in the country's civil war, which sprang from unrest sparked in the spring of 2011.

Abbasi said the fighters were sent after the Pakistan Taliban received a request from the al Qaeda operational commander in Syria, Abu Omar Baghdadi.

Pakistan Taliban fighters will be under the command and control structure of al Qaeda in Syria, as it is leading the operation, he said.

The Pakistan Taliban said it has also asked its local chapters in the Mohmand, Bajaur, Khyber, Orakzai and Waziristan agencies to recruit fresh fighters who are willing to go on their mission in Syria. The Pakistan Taliban says many young men are registering to go on their first foreign mission.

But the Pakistan Taliban said it will remain based in Pakistan.

"We have lots of fighters here and our central command will be operating from here, so there is no reason to stop operations in Pakistan," Abbasi said. "They will go on as usual."

Israel trains for border clash with Syria

Zahir Shah Sherazi reported for CNN from Peshawar, and CNN's Saima Mohsin reported from Islamabad.

Response: First batch of fighters has arrived, says Pakistan Taliban commander. Next batch of 150 will arrive next week, commander says. Taliban commander: Al Qaeda in Syria will command fighters.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- A day of kayaking and backpacking on Hawaii's Big Island changed in an instant as the might of the Pacific Ocean swept six teenagers into the surf.

One remains missing.

The group of 12 students and their guides, who were on their way to a waterfall, were taking a break at a tide pool 15 feet above the swirling ocean and 50 feet inland when rogue waves hit.

"(T)he waves were totally unexpected," Abbott Wallis, founder and executive director of tour operator Bold Earth Teen Adventures, said Sunday.

The surf sucked two of the teenagers into the sea Wednesday and left four others clinging for their lives along the cliff and rocky shoals.

Kayak guides "immediately dived into the water at risk to their own lives" and rescued five of the teens, said Bari Sims of Hawaii Pack and Paddle. The sixth, 15-year-old Tyler Madoff of White Plains, New York, has not been found. Authorities suspended search operations for his rescue Thursday evening.

The other student swept out to sea remains hospitalized after his rescue, but is expected to recover. One of the kayak guides resuscitated him at the scene.

"I can't convey my shock and sorrow," Wallis said. "We're doing all we can to support the families and students. As a parent myself, I can only imagine what the families are feeling right now."

Tyler's father, Michael Madoff, strongly criticized Bold Earth, but said the family would not seek legal action against the tour operator.

"People of Bold Earth Expeditions have shown poor judgment and extremely poor character," Madoff said Sunday. "None of the Bold Earth people stayed on site to continue the search for our son Tyler."

"We're devastated by this," Wallis said in response. "There's nothing Mr. Madoff can say that we disagree with."

A statement from the company says Bold Earth has served nearly 12,000 students on six continents since it was founded in 1976. Wallis said last week's accident was the first significant incident in the company's history.

CNN's Ed Payne contributed to this report.

Response: One kayaker has been missing since last week. Kayak guides rescued five of the teen kayakers. The missing teenager's father says the family won't seek legal action. Bold Earth Teen Adventures was founded in 1976.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Drivers who were on the Minneapolis bridge when it collapsed told harrowing tales of survival.

"The whole bridge from one side of the Mississippi to the other just completely gave way, fell all the way down," survivor Gary Babineau told CNN. "I probably had a 30-, 35-foot free fall. And there's cars in the water, there's cars on fire. The whole bridge is down."

He said his back was injured but he determined he could move around.

"I realized there was a school bus right next to me, and me and a couple of other guys went over and started lifting the kids off the bridge. They were yelling, screaming, bleeding. I think there were some broken bones."  Watch a driver describe his narrow escape »

At home when he heard about the disaster, Dr. John Hink, an emergency room physician, jumped into his car and rushed to the scene in 15 minutes. He arrived at the south side of the bridge, stood on the riverbank and saw dozens of people lying dazed on an expansive deck.

They were in the middle of the Mississippi River, which was churning fast, and he had no way of getting to them. He went to the north side, where there was easier access to people. Ambulances were also having a hard time driving down to the river to get closer to the scene.

Working feverishly, volunteers, EMTs and other officials managed to get 55 people into ambulances in less than two hours. Occasionally, a pickup truck with a medic inside would drive to get an injured person and bring him back up even ground, Hink told CNN.

The rescue effort was controlled and organized, he said; the opposite of the lightning-quick collapse.

"I could see the whole bridge as it was going down, as it was falling," Babineau said. "It just gave a rumble real quick, and it all just gave way, and it just fell completely, all the way to the ground. And there was dust everywhere and it was just like everyone has been saying: It was just like out of the movies."

Babineau said the rear of his pickup truck was dangling over the edge of a broken-off section of the bridge. He said several vehicles slid past him into the water.

"I stayed in my car for one or two seconds. I saw a couple cars fall," he said.

"So I stayed in my car until the cars quit falling for a second, then I got out real quick, ran in front of my truck -- because behind my truck was just a hole -- and I helped a woman off of the bridge with me.

"I just wanted off the bridge, and then I ran over to the school bus. I started grabbing kids and handing them down. It was just complete chaos."

He said most of the children were crying or screaming. He and other rescuers set them on the ground and told them to run to the river bank, but a few needed to be carried because of their injuries.  See rescuers clamber over rubble »

Babineau said he had no rescue training. "I just knew what I had to do at the moment."

Melissa Hughes, 32, of Minneapolis, told The Associated Press that she was driving home when the western edge of the bridge collapsed under her.

"You know that free-fall feeling? I felt that twice," Hughes said.

A pickup landed on top of her car, but she was not hurt.

"I had no idea there was a vehicle on my car," she told AP. "It's really very surreal."

Babineau told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "On the way down, I thought I was dead. I literally thought I was dead.

"My truck was completely face down, pointed toward the ground, and my truck got ripped in half. It was folded in half, and I can't believe I'm alive."  See and hear eyewitness accounts »

Bernie Toivonen told CNN's "American Morning" that his vehicle was on a part of the bridge that ended up tilted at a 45-degree angle.

"I knew the deck was going down, there was no question about it, and I thought I was going to die," he said. After the bridge settled and his car remained upright, "I just put in park, turned the key off and said, 'Oh, I'm alive,' " he said. E-mail to a friend

Response: NEW: "I thought I was going to die," driver says. Man says pickup truck was folded in half; he just has cut on face. Driver: "I probably had a 30-, 35-foot free fall". Minnesota bridge collapsed during rush hour Wednesday.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Real Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer Raul has confirmed he is heading to either Germany or England after bidding an emotional farewell to the Spanish club.

The 33-year-old has decided to leave the Bernabeu after discussions during the close season with new coach Jose Mourinho and club president Florentino Perez.

After making his debut for the club aged 17, Raul went on to amass 323 goals in 741 games for Real and he is also his country's leading scorer with 44 goals in 102 games for Spain.

In a tearful speech Raul said his decision to leave was a "painful one, but I think it is also the correct one," and said his next destination will be a club in Germany or England.

Speculation has been rife that Raul was on the verge of signing for German club Schalke, but the striker told a press conference his future is yet to be finalized.

He said he would make a decision in the next few days: "I have had very deep discussions with Schalke but there are other teams that are also interested. My future lies in Germany or England."

Raul won six Spanish league titles and three Champions League crowns during his stay at Madrid, and he told fans who gathered to mark his departure that he would support Real Madrid wherever he went.

"This is a very tough and difficult day," he told reporters. "Football has been my life and Real Madrid my home. Together we have lived unique moments.

"I have worn the shirt of the best team in the world for 15 years. I am now 33 and it was my last chance to experience playing football outside of Spain. It was a long, hard decision, but this isn't a goodbye, but rather a see you later.

"I feel like a footballer still and I will keep on playing but I will always be loyal to Real Madrid. I have tried to give everything in my time here.

"A new period starts today. I have been happy at Real Madrid and I will always be willing to help the club in whatever it needs."

Tributes poured into Raul from his teammates, including Cristiano Ronaldo who told the club's official website: "Playing by Raul's side has been an honor. I always dreamed of doing so as a kid."

New Real captain Iker Casillas added: "Raul is a symbol of Real Madrid. A great captain is defined by ups and downs, knowing how to always make the best of any situation.

"Raul is an example of professionalism and he helped me grow as a player and person. The incredible histories of clubs are written by great footballers, and Raul is one of them."

Real president Florentino Perez said: "We will never forget Raul. There are many men who form part of the legend of Real Madrid but few that are chosen to embody the club - Raul is one of those."

Meanwhile, Raul's former Real Madrid teammate Guti has signed a two-year deal with Besiktas, the Turkish club have confirmed on their website.

The 33-year-old joined the youth academy aged just nine and made his debut for Real in 1995. He went on to make 542 appearances, scoring 77 goals.

Besiktas, based in the Turkish capital Istanbul, finished fourth in the league last season and play the first-leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie this Thursday.

Response: Raul leaves Spanish giants Real Madrid after 18 years at the club. The 33-year-old says he is heading for either Germany or England. Raul joined Real Madrid in 1992 and is the club's leading scorer with 323 goals in 741 games. He is also Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals in 102 games.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN)Last week, UCLA Medical Center notified 179 patients that it had potentially exposed them to a fearsome "superbug," and urged them to get tested.

The hospital accidentally infected seven people in procedures involving specialized endoscopes, called duodenoscopes, that proved difficult to thoroughly clean. Two of the people died.

The "superbug" at issue -- carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE -- is the latest and most difficult to treat in a series of superbugs that includes MRSA and VRE.  Such bacteria are the Frankensteinian result of our misusing antibiotics over many decades, and beating them back will require the kind of surveillance and coordination that might have prevented them in the first place.

We might not have much more than dumb luck to thank for the fact that the CRE superbug hasn't spread to most American hospitals yet. Duodenoscopes are among the least likely routes for spreading CRE, given that the pathogen can contaminate most any surface in a hospital room, but our lack of coordinated attention to this detail, among others, is infecting people nonetheless.

The FDA first alerted doctors using the scopes back in 2009 that they could be transmitting bacteria, even after proper cleaning, Reuters reported.   But -- remarkably -- this agency, responsible for regulating all medical devices, has yet to take any action, though its menu of options is broad, ranging from taking the scopes off the market to demanding the manufacturers improve their designs or upgrade their recommended cleaning protocols.

Apparently detecting an underwhelming sense of urgency at the FDA, Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who sits on the House oversight committee, asked his committee to launch hearings into whether the agency is doing all it can to investigate and implement all potential solutions. Lieu appeared prescient later Monday when a top FDA official told the Los Angeles Times the agency hadn't given due scrutiny to the cleaning protocols when it approved the scopes.

UCLA is only the the most recent of several American medical centers, including hospitals in Seattle and Chicago, where CRE has hitched a ride on the duodenoscope, designed to treat blockages and other conditions of secretory ducts leading into the first segment of the intestines, called the duodenum.

The Seattle outbreak occurred from 2012 to 2014, but FDA's warning to medical providers and hospitals last week, in the wake of the UCLA infections, revealed that the agency didn't know what should be done to prevent the infections beyond "meticulously cleaning" prior to the standard disinfection procedure. The FDA didn't even alert providers to the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is about to release a new guideline that includes the Seattle protocol. Reuters broke that news on Friday.

But the CDC can only recommend, not enforce guidelines. It will take the FDA's action to ensure that the pricey approach adopted in Seattle is applied universally. CDC, FDA, hospitals and all medical providers must engage in broader and more coordinated information sharing, and then act quickly and decisively with strategies to contain the bacteria and treat victims.

The scopes may have been a factor in the unwitting spread of various bacteria between patients for years, but it's a CRE diagnosis that will put all hands on deck and prompt a thorough investigation to get to the source.  Why? CRE kills up to 40% of infected individuals once it spreads into the bloodstream.

Individual hospitals affected by scope-related CRE outbreaks have out of necessity rolled out creative decontamination protocols of their own that include exposing the scopes to a toxic gas and culturing the scopes and setting them aside for days while any bacteria grow. Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta even throws in a little extra elbow grease by giving the scope's delicate parts a thorough toothbrushing.

Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, which suffered 11 patient deaths after contaminated duodenoscopes introduced bacteria into its patients, hasn't seen any further cases since implementing its surveillance culture protocol, which has cost the hospital $1 million in additional scopes, USA Today reported.

Hospitals are generating their protocols without clear guidance from the FDA, which oddly chose the venue of the LA Times interview Monday to cast doubt on UCLA's new approach of using ethylene oxide gas to kill off any CRE still on used scopes. An FDA official  wondered aloud if some of the toxic gas could linger on the scopes and harm patients, and UCLA immediately replied that the scopes are set aside long enough for the gas to dissipate.

None of these exchanges inspires confidence. The agency's back-seat driver approach is clearly a source of great frustration when infectious disease specialists and quality consultants are both asking for stricter regulation.

In fairness, the FDA is grossly understaffed for the job of regulating medical devices. The act granting the agency its authority to collect user fees from device companies to fund its review activities enables the agency to employ just 200 workers for all aspects of its process, from premarket approval to post-market surveillance.

What's more, hospitals and clinics generate a tsunami of medical records that contain information about how various medical devices are working on a daily basis, but researchers and the FDA have inordinate trouble making much of it useful, because the precise devices aren't clearly identified. Fortunately the agency is working on rolling out unique device identification codes that will make these records into actionable data.

Taxpayers need our government to levy smart fees that are directed to fund the functions of key agencies like the FDA and the CDC, which we rely on to make sure medical devices are as safe as possible when they're introduced and to keep track of any problems on a continuous basis.

Instead, the Affordable Care Act included a 2.3% across-the-board device tax that's not about improving medical devices but rather is decreasing economic activity in this sector. Tapping the brakes on the medical device industry isn't a good idea when we're relying on its innovations to fix problems like the duodenoscope design.

On the other hand, President Obama's 2016 budget includes $264 million for the Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative, a project that will engage the CDC in coordinating regional labs and rapid data-sharing to detect superbugs and learn their characteristics. This is crucial to stop the community spread of CRE; in North Carolina, where three patients contracted CRE inside one hospital, 15 people actually brought CRE with them into the hospital rather than getting it there.

The program would also spread best practices for antibiotic usage among all levels of medical facilities, so that CRE doesn't become endemic and thus a routine cause of death in our hospitals. It's a great next step. Whatever wrangling Republicans have planned for the White House budget shouldn't include excising such an essential public health measure, especially in the wake of what we're seeing play out at UCLA.

Response: Ford Vox: Lethal CRE "superbug" outbreak needs coordinated effort by hospitals, government to beat it back. He says outbreak caused by hard-to-clean medical device, FDA has treated crisis with lack of urgency.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Washington (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded a deadly accident involving a bus driver who fell asleep while driving on a Virginia interstate last year was caused in part by "acute sleep loss" as well as inadequate oversight by the bus company and the government.

Four people died on May 31, 2011, when a motorcoach operated by Sky Express Inc., with 59 people on board bound for New York, drifted off Interstate 95 near Richmond, Virginia, around 5 a.m. The bus struck a cable barrier, rotated clockwise, then overturned. The roof was crushed. In addition to the four deaths, 49 other passengers were injured.

The driver, Kin Yiu Cheung, was slightly injured and refused medical treatment, safety officials said.

At a board meeting Tuesday, the safety board said that a 13-month investigation found the driver failed to maintain control of the vehicle "because of fatigue resulting from acute sleep loss, poor sleep quality, and ... the failure of Sky Express Inc. management to follow adequate safety practices and to exercise safety oversight of the driver."

"This crash never should have happened," said the board's chairman, Deborah A.P. Hersman. "It was entirely preventable. Those travelers were failed at three levels: by the driver, the operator and the regulator."

The safety board ruled out alcohol, drugs, cell phone use, weather, mechanical defects, speed and highway design as playing any role in the accident.

The report said the bus company's failure to "exercise even minimal oversight of its drivers' rest and sleep activities enabled the drivers to drive while dangerously fatigued."

An examination of the driver's work schedule, sleep times and cell phone use revealed that his opportunity for sleep in the 72 hours prior to the crash was limited, the safety board said in a release.

The board said another factor contributing to the accident was the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's lack of adequate oversight of North Carolina-based Sky Express, "which allowed the company to continue operations despite known safety issues."

"Protecting the traveling public by strengthening bus and truck safety is FMCSA's number one priority," the federal organization whose primary mission is to prevent commercial motor-vehicle-related fatalities, said in a statement sent to CNN. "FMCSA closed the loophole that allowed 10-day extensions for passenger bus companies undergoing safety compliance reviews. It is also why our agency shut down 54 unsafe bus companies in 2011."

The report cited "the lack of a comprehensive occupant protection system, including systems for providing passenger restraint and for ensuring sufficient roof strength."

In addition to determining the cause of the accident, federal safety officials recommended expanded research on window glazing requirements to protect occupants from ejection as well as developing ways to assess effectiveness of fatigue management plans to improve alertness and limit driving mistakes.

Sky Express shut down shortly after the accident.

Cheung was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.

Motorcoaches transport 750 million passengers each year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

CNN's Alicia Tarancon contributed to this report.

Response: The driver of the tour bus fell asleep, leading to the accident in which four passengers died. The NTSB blames the driver, the bus company and the federal oversight agency. "This crash never should have happened," says the board's chairman.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- It's hard to believe it's been more than a year since I stood before the audience at one of my favorite forums, TED. But a year later, our vision for an oil-free world where electric cars are more convenient and affordable than gasoline-powered cars remains the same.

It's been a turbulent year for the global economy, and the events of recent weeks only underscore the urgency of our situation as a society and as a planet. We see firsthand the severe damage oil can inflict, not only on our global economy but also on our environment.

Just look at the tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. We will soon see the damage of this horrific event in very human terms, as the damage to the industry, the environment and the livelihood of those in the Gulf grows and all struggle to recover in the coming months and years.

My hope is that we will soon get to a point where we see that the cost of oil in human capital is no longer acceptable and that the increasing complexity of finding and retrieving this diminishing resource no longer makes economic sense. The good news is we are already seeing a shift that will ultimately take us from a transportation system based on a volatile oil ecosystem to one based on a more sustainable model using electric cars that creates a market for clean energy.

The shift to electrification is inevitable, and we're seeing some of the world's leading countries make strong commitments to electrification. China, France, Japan and Israel are just a few. Motivations vary from country to country, but the end result will be the same: a stronger economy, healthier automotive sector and increased development of clean energy, leading to a healthier society.

We will see new countries emerge to lead the way, and we will see former powerhouses who fail to act, left behind in this new sustainable global economy. While governments have the ability to accelerate the shift, the question remains how quickly we can get there.

My start-up, Better Place, has made great progress in the past 12 months, and we're moving forward in all of our committed markets. We began the year by raising $350 million in a financing round led by HSBC, and we continue to drive toward a full system test in Israel later this year, followed by our commercial launches in Israel and Denmark in late 2011.

On April 26 of this year, we launched the first switchable-battery electric taxi project in Tokyo. With the support of the Japanese government, we've partnered with Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo's largest taxi operator, to show what's possible in a rigorous environment with cars that drive almost continuously. Tokyo has much to gain from this: The city's 60,000 taxis may only represent 2 percent of all cars in the city, but they are responsible for 20 percent of emissions. If the switch works for taxis, imagine how it can work for average drivers.

Just two days before our Tokyo launch, Better Place signed a memorandum of understanding with Chery Automobile Co., China's largest independent auto producer and exporter. You can't talk about the future without considering China: They get it, they'll do it, and it's that simple.

Today, only 2 percent of China's population owns a car, but 80 percent of sales last year came from first-time car buyers, presenting a huge opportunity to get it right. The Chinese recognize EVs as a solution to the problem of the oil monopoly and its associated pollution, as well as an opportunity to leapfrog internal combustion engine technology and the rest of the auto industry. In fact, recent research from HSBC predicts that China's share of the global EV market will grow from 2.7 percent this year to 35 percent by 2020.

In late 2011, we're planning countrywide rollouts of the Better Place model in Israel and Denmark. With the infrastructure deployment under way, both of these countries will be ready when the first EVs from Renault come to market. We are talking about mass market with these cars -- as Better Place and Renault have committed to 100,000 electric cars for Israel and Denmark beginning in 2011. This is just the beginning, and we're seeing clear direction and new visionaries emerge such as Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault Nissan, who sees a future where EVs are mass marketed and make up 10 percent of all car sales by 2020.

Call it a revolution or an evolution, but this shift is happening today. While we still face a number of challenges, over the past 12 months, we've seen a new willingness from the global auto industry to change. Two years ago, most automakers considered electric cars a niche market, but today, we see almost every automaker in the world producing electric vehicles.

As the benefits of a more sustainable transportation model are realized, we will very quickly see a dramatic change in the global economy, the health of the car industry and, most importantly, in the air we breathe. All of this points the way to a bigger, brighter future. It's simply up to us to make it happen.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Shai Agassi.

Response: Shai Agassi says Gulf spill makes it ever more obvious oil costs too high for powering cars. He says countries like Japan, China, Israel committing to some electric cars. For example, his company has electric taxi project in Japan to show what's possible, he says. He says as countries realize benefits to global economy, more will adopt electric car technology.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, dubbed "La Stupenda" by opera lovers, died Sunday at age 83 in her home in Switzerland after a long illness.

In a career spanning the last half of the 1900s, Sutherland twice won a Grammy for best classical performer, in 1961 and 1981.

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, described Sutherland as possessing "an organic and elegant voice with astonishing range, vibrance and sense of drama."

"Throughout her extraordinary four-decade career, she performed with such greats as Luciano Pavarotti and before audiences in opera houses across the globe. Her legacy lives on in the beautiful arias with which she graced the world," Portnow said in a written statement.

Her stage career began in 1951 in her native Sydney in a production of "Judith" by Eugene Goossens, according to a spokesman with her recording company, Decca Records. She signed with Decca in 1959.

Over the next 30 years, she made 40 recordings of 33 operas, as well as operatic highlights, anthologies and collections ranging from baroque rarities to songs by Noel Coward, a personal friend to her.

Sutherland was often accompanied on stage or in studios by mentor and husband Richard Bonynge, and regular vocal partners included mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne and the tenor Pavarotti.

Her last stage appearance was with both performers in Act 2 of "Die Fledermaus" at The Royal Opera House in London, England's Covent Garden on December 31, 1989.

Her record company credits her with rising to international stardom in 1959 when she appeared in Franco Zefirelli's Covent Garden production of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." During her career she sang the role of Lucia 233 times.

During the late 1950s and 1960s, she and Bonynge, whom she married in 1954, were at the forefront of a Handel revival. In 1960, during Venice, Italy, performances of Handel's "Alcina," a journalist nicknamed her "La Stupenda."

That same year, Sutherland paid homage to bygone prima donnae when she recorded "The Art of The Prima Donna," and the two-album set became a bestseller and won a Dutch Edison Award in 1961.

She resurrected a number of forgotten works and gave them new life on the stage and in the recording studio, including Massenet's "Le roi de Lahore" and "Esclarmonde," the latter being a favorite of hers.

During retirement, she mentored young singers and sat as a juror on international signing competitions.

She is survived by her husband; her son Adam and daughter-in-law Helen; and two grandchildren, Natasha and Vanya.

Response: Sutherland won two Grammy Awards, in 1961 and 1981. She performed often with tenor Luciano Pavarotti. She sang the role of Lucia in "Lucia di Lammermoor" 233 times.