Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Residents along the Gulf Coast continue to get pounded by heavy winds and unrelenting rain from Tropical Depression Isaac, an eerie reminder of Hurricane Katrina, which pummeled the Gulf Coast seven years ago.

Hurricane safety when the lights go out

Relief organizations are on the ground, providing food and shelter for those displaced from their homes.

"We're still very much in the middle of a major storm," said Daphne Hart, a Red Cross spokeswoman. "The flooding is a huge concern."

The Red Cross has deployed 2,400 disaster workers from Florida to Texas. On Wednesday night, more than 4,700 people spent the night in one of 80 shelters open across seven states.

"We have nearly 200 emergency response vehicles that have been prepositioned in safe areas along the Gulf Coast," Hart said. "And as soon as it's safe to do so, those vehicles as well as disaster assessment teams will be canvassing the area, trying to determine what the needs are.

"It could be anything from serving people hot meals as they're in their home trying to clean up, distributing clean-up kits with items such as rakes, shovels, gloves and trash bags, and just trying to get people back on their feet."

To assist the Red Cross in its efforts, you can donate by visiting the website, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

If you or a loved one are in one of the affected areas, you can also let people know you are safe by registering on the Red Cross' Safe and Well page.

The Salvation Army is building up emergency response teams and supplies in affected areas along the Gulf Coast. It has 24 mobile feeding units and a 54-foot field kitchen that can provide up to 31,000 meals.

The organization has already provided 3,000 meals, 20,000 drinks and counseling to those in need.

Keep a hurricane preparation checklist

Along with providing food and water for storm victims, the Salvation Army will be on hand to assist in long-term recovery.

"Once the storm passes, folks are going to need to get back into their homes. They're going to need to start the long journey of repairing and replacing the damage that's been done by the storm," said Maj. Terry Ray, Mississippi Gulf Coast area commander. "The Salvation Army comes in with cleaning kits and supplies.

"During that time, the Salvation Army mobile kitchens will continue to roll out. We'll do it as long as people need us. We will continue to feed and roll out cleaning supplies and materials so people can get back to where they were before the disaster hit."

If you would like to help those affected by this disaster, you can visit the website, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or text the word "STORM" to 80888 to make a $10 donation that will show up on your next phone bill.

Operation Blessing International is assessing the damage in Plaquemines Parish and will be serving hot meals to people in St. Bernard Parish.

Their mobile command center includes a mobile kitchen, two construction trailers full of equipment, and tools and clean-up supplies for more than 100 volunteers.

The organization will be asking for volunteers once the storm passes to aid in relief efforts including debris removal and roof repair.

If you would like to volunteer, visit the website or call 757-374-0944 for more information.

AmeriCares has delivered family emergency kits and cleaning supplies to Mississippi families affected by the storm. The relief supplies include household cleaning kits, mops and family emergency kits, which contain tote bags stocked with soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and other personal care items.

The kits are being distributed by the Salvation Army in Gulfport.

To help AmeriCares with its disaster response, visit the website to make a donation or sign up to be a volunteer.

Direct Relief International has distributed ready-to-use hurricane preparedness packs to 20 clinics in the path of the storm. The packs contain enough medicine and medical supplies to treat up to 100 people for three to five days.

Its Emergency Response Team is closely monitoring the storm, and more than 85 health clinics in five states have been contacted about their medical supply needs.

Visit the website to assist in relief efforts.

Links, tips and resources for hurricane preparation

Operation USA is providing emergency aid to the New Orleans area and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The organization is assessing shelter, food, clothing and other needs.

To help, visit the website, call 1-800-678-7255 or text "AID" to 50555 to donate $10 to disaster relief efforts.

Response: Tropical Depression Isaac has dumped up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. Close to a million people are without power in four states. Relief organizations are on the ground, and there are ways you can help.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Whether Moammar Gadhafi stays or goes, the turmoil-wracked country is likely to be in for more of a rough time, two Libya experts told CNN Monday.

"Whichever way this goes, I think there's going to be a good amount of chaos," said Diederik Vandewalle, associate professor of government at Dartmouth College.

During his 42 years in power, Gadhafi has limited the formation of political and other institutions, Vandewalle said. "All civil society organizations have been eviscerated by the regime," he said.

In a telephone interview Monday night, he predicted more bloodshed if Gadhafi steps aside. "We could see some tribal uprisings" as competing groups seek a share of Libya's oil wealth, he said, describing the likely scenario as "not very pretty."

But, he added, oil exports will likely continue after "some" interruption. "It would be in the interest of all parties that oil keep flowing," he said, dismissing as unlikely any apocalyptic scenario in which Libya would descend into civil war.

The current uncertainty will likely be decided in the next few days, he predicted. "It seems to me that we're in an endgame here," he said. "The big question is how much bloodshed we're going to see." He called the violence against unarmed civilians "extraordinary, but not surprising from a regime that's truly entrenched."

There are few candidates in the wings to replace Gadhafi -- "no younger leadership able to assume that mantle of leadership," he said.

But Gadhafi's imminent departure is not a foregone conclusion, he added, putting the odds at "80% go, 20% stay."

Ronald Bruce St John, who has written seven books on Libya, said Gadhafi's reign appears to be drawing quickly to a close. "He's losing support by the hour from critical people in his regime," he said.

But St John said it was unlikely that the next leader would emerge from the military, since Gadhafi has long sought to keep the institution at arm's length.

"Though he was an army officer when he came to power and was supported by the military and all the original members of the Revolutionary Command Council were from the military, he has, from the beginning, evidenced a great distrust for the military," St John said. "He recognized it as the most likely power to overthrow him."

As a result, Gadhafi has routinely rotated commanders "so no one established a base of support."

Unlike Egyptians, who were seeking a more liberal system, Libyans want a new system, St John said. Accomplishing that will mean "a great deal of chaos in the short term," he predicted.

"If he does leave, I think we'll see the tribal leadership of Libya, probably through social leadership committees, trying to come up with some kind of a nonviolent solution," he said.

St John noted that two major tribes had already withdrawn their support of Gadhafi. One of them, the Warfala tribe, has long been a supporter. The other, the Zuwayya, is one of the larger tribes of eastern Libya and is located near the terminals from where oil is exported. "That's a significant loss," he said.

Though another strongman could emerge, St John predicted instead that a nationwide network of "social leadership" committees set up by Gadhafi in 1993 and composed primarily of traditional leaders and tribal leaders would seek to take charge.

Gadhafi had tried without success to eliminate the more than 100 tribes in Libya in an effort that lasted from 1969 to 1980, St John said. So in 1993, the leader made a dramatic move -- reinforcing the tribal system and recognizing its leaders as important by creating social leadership positions, St John said.

The leaders were given power at the local level as well as such "goodies" as housing and scholarships for their tribal members, he said. But the gifts came with a catch: "In turn, you must recognize that you're in charge of your tribe," St John said. "If they step out of line, we'll go to you."

If Gadhafi leaves power, "those tribal leaders will try to find a way to put together some kind of a new government," he predicted. "I think you'll see the tribes being the ones that will, in the short term anyway, try to find a way through the obvious chaos that's going to occur."

Are you there? Share photos, video

Not everyone predicts rough sailing. Sayyid Idris Al-Senussi, an exiled Libyan opposition figure who said his great-uncle was overthrown by Gadhafi, predicted that any transition would go smoothly.

"If Gadhafi departs, there will be no problem," he told CNN in a telephone interview from Washington. "There will be a national council, which would be represented by all the tribes and all the Libyans from all different walks of life."

He said the opposition already has a constitution and a flag ready for use in the event of Gadhafi's departure.

"We will have a democracy," he predicted. "After this experience, I don't think they'll allow anybody to single-handedly rule."

Despite an exile that has lasted four decades, Al-Senussi said he would return to Libya "in a heartbeat."

But Dartmouth's Vandewalle said Al-Senussi and his relatives would have little hope of gaining a position of power upon their return.

"It's about as likely that they'll get back in power as the Marcoses in the Philippines," he said, referring to the family of the former president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, who in 1986 fled a military rebellion and moved to Hawaii.

Response: "I think there's going to be a good amount of chaos," says one Libya expert. Gadhafi has "eviscerated" civil society organizations. Tribal leaders expected to seek a solution.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Schalke joined Bayern Munich at the top of the German Bundesliga table with a 2-1 victory at Hertha Berlin on Friday.

Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put the visitors ahead with his 14th league goal this season, while Teemu Pukki fired the winner just before halftime after Adrian Ramos equalized for Hertha.

The win put Schalke on 31 points from 16 games, enough for second place on goal difference behind Bayern -- who travel to Stuttgart on Sunday.

Borussia Monchengladbach can go top on Saturday with victory at bottom side Augsburg, while third-placed champions Borussia Dortmund can also move up to 33 points by beating another team in the relegation zone, Kaiserslautern, at home on Sunday.

Schalke took the lead in the 19th minute on the counter-attack as Lewis Holtby released Christian Fuchs, whose cross was flicked on by Roman Hubnik to Huntelaar and the Dutchman finished at the far post.

Ramos leveled six minutes later with a powerful header from Raffael's corner, but Finland striker Pukki made up for an overly casual earlier miss with a fierce shot from the edge of the box after being picked out by Raul.

Huntelaar was denied in the second half by a fine save from goalkeeper Thomas Kraft, while Jose Jurado should have doubled the lead late in the game but the Spaniard shot wide.

The defeat left Hertha in ninth place with 19 points, and facing the prospect of sliding down the 18-team table by the end of this weekend.

Response: Victory at Hertha Berlin puts Schalke second in the German league table. Friday's 2-1 win lifts Schalke above Borussia Dortmund and Monchengladbach. Schalke on 31 points along with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. Bayern travel to Stuttgart on Sunday, when Dortmund host Kaiserslautern.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- France has awarded its highest decoration to veteran CNN correspondent Jim Bittermann.

CNN's Jim Bittermann at the special ceremony in  Paris where he was made a chevalier.

At a special ceremony presided over by the Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris Tuesday, Bittermann was presented with the "chevalier" (knight) of the National Order of the Legion of Honor.

Bittermann, CNN's senior European correspondent based in Paris, said: "For the past 30 years, I've been explaining France and the French to the rest of the world."

During his career with CNN in Paris Bittermann has covered the death of Princess Diana, the last days of Yasser Arafat, the French triumph at the 1998 World Cup and the Concorde air disaster.

He joined CNN from ABC News, where he was a Paris news correspondent from 1990-1996; before that Bittermann was a European correspondent for NBC News. He began his career in broadcast journalism in 1970 in Milwaukee.

Founded in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to recognize outstanding accomplishment, the chevalier is given annually to around 3,500 Frenchmen and women -- but few non-nationals.

Of the 13 honorees this year from outside France, two are American. Previous non-French recipients include former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fillm legends Charles Chaplin and Orson Welles and Norman Schwarzkopf, who led allied forces against Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War.

Apart from his work for CNN, in recent years Bittermann has been a featured speaker at journalism events such as the International Diplomacy Institute, as well as lecturing and moderating panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In 1999 Bittermann was appointed a professor at the American University of Paris, teaching courses broadcast news, writing and production and politics and media among others.

Response: Only two Americans are set to be award the rank of chevalier this year. Jim Bittermann, a journalist for nearly 40 years, joined CNN in 1996. First awarded by Napoleon Bonaparte to recognize outstanding accomplishment.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:New York (CNN) -- A Boston-bound Amtrak train derailed Monday afternoon just east of New York City's Penn Station, the rail service said.

No injuries were reported among the approximately 147 passengers and an unspecified number of crew members, Amtrak said in a news release. It called the accident, which occurred at 12:25 p.m., a "low-speed derailment."

The passengers were taken back to Penn Station in Manhattan, where arrangements were made to "provide them travel on another train," Amtrak said.

The line also is used by the Long Island Railroad. But Amtrak said the East River tunnels, which take trains from Manhattan to Long Island, "are not blocked and Amtrak and Long Island Railroad trains are operating through the area with minimal delays."

Response: A low-speed derailment occurs just east of Penn Station, Amtrak says. No injuries are reported; Amtrak arranges for the passengers to be put on other trains.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Editor's note: Nell Minow is editor and chairwoman of the Corporate Library, an independent research company, and was named one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance by Directorship magazine and "the queen of good corporate governance" by BusinessWeek Online. She has co-written three books.

Nell Minow says AIG's board must be held accountable for the $160 million in bonus payments.

(CNN) -- The stories about the outrageous $160 million bonus payments at AIG have all omitted the most important names.

They are the members of AIG's Board of Directors Compensation Committee.

These people should have been on the hot seat before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, alongside CEO Ed Liddy. Although there is a lot of blame to go around, ultimately the buck stops -- or, I should say, the bucks should have stopped -- with them.

Why haven't we learned that it is the boards who are responsible for the massive failures of strategy and risk management at these companies? Regulators, journalists, securities analysts and investors routinely ignore the most obvious indicators of investment risk that are presented by bad boards of directors.

This is particularly obvious in the case of AIG, which has been a serial offender in corporate governance, especially in executive compensation.

Those of us who remember former CEO Hank Greenberg's departure from AIG in 2005, after a corporate governance meltdown that included excessive compensation, appreciate the irony of his comment to ABC News that the retention bonuses were "mind-boggling." Mr. Kettle, Pot is on line 1.

Compensation committees are not responsible for individual pay packages below the CEO, but they are responsible for determining their overall structure -- and for making sure that the CEO's job includes effective management on compensation issues.

Retention of employees may be a legitimate goal of a compensation program, but it can be accomplished in a way that is both effective and credible by being tied to performance goals and by delaying vesting until after the bailout funds are returned to taxpayers.

The Corporate Library released a report in February about the boards of the bailout companies, many of which were outliers in their governance and compensation practices. Some of these were clear indicators of investment and liability risk. In several cases, we found individuals who not only sat on more than four corporate boards but also sat on more than one of these particularly troubled boards during this period.

Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, for example, served on the boards of Morgan Stanley, General Motors and Wachovia -- and at various times was also a director at Merck, VF Corp., Krispy Kreme and Cousins Properties.

Several other directors from these troubled boards also sat on either five or six boards altogether. We call the phenomenon of directors who serve on four or more corporate boards "overboarding."

Overboarding can limit the time and attention a director has for each board. It can also be an indicator of -- or a contributor to -- so many relationships and connections that it makes it more difficult to provide the respectful skepticism necessary for independent oversight.

In all, 11 of the 27 companies we identified as "troubled" had at least one overboarded director. Six had more than one; at Merrill Lynch, there were five. By comparison, fewer than 30 percent of S&P 500 companies have even a single overboarded director, and fewer than 5 percent have more than one.

Another key finding from our analysis: Shareholders at these companies were well aware of the relative weakness of these boards and had expressed their dissatisfaction by withholding votes from many of these individuals the year before these companies collapsed.

At least 13 individual directors, all of whom sat on at least three corporate boards during this period, had received a 13 percent or higher negative vote.

The highest of these was a 38.58 percent negative vote received by Sir Winfried F.W. Bischoff at McGraw-Hill, where he sat on the compensation committee. Bischoff also served on the boards at Citigroup (as chairman and interim CEO), Eli Lilly and Prudential.

Although the businesses of these companies do not overlap enough to impair Bischoff's designation as an "independent" director or to create legal conflict of interest concerns, it is relevant that McGraw-Hill owns ratings agency Standard & Poor's, which not only rates the other companies for which he was a director but also issues ratings on which the other companies rely in their assessment of risk.

Because of the extensive involvement that financial services companies have in many different aspects of the business of large public corporations, directors of those companies in particular should be especially cautious about overlaps and conflicts.

Badly designed compensation is an indicator of poor corporate governance, and poor corporate governance is an indicator of investment risk. Instead of trying to tax the bonuses at AIG, the government and the shareholders should insist on new directors.

The company's Web site says the compensation committee has five members. The two longest serving ones are James F. Orr III, who joined the committee on May 17, 2006 and Virginia M. Rometty, who joined it on January 17, 2007, according to the company's 2007 proxy statement.

The committee's charter says its responsibility include making recommendations to the full board regarding AIG's compensation programs and reviewing and approving any hiring, severance or termination payments.

People say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. In this case, insanity is allowing the same people to continue to serve on the board after massive failure and expecting them to produce a different result.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nell Minow.

Response: Nell Minow: People often overlook crucial role of company board of directors. She says AIG's board is ultimately responsible for the firm's mistakes. Minow: Compensation committee members should be held to account. She says many finance firm board members are too busy on other boards.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Leaders from Britain and Iran met Wednesday for the first time in 35 years, a potential breakthrough conversation that occurs at a time when Tehran is trying to shed Western-led sanctions over its nuclear program and Western nations are trying to garner international support for their campaign against ISIS.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged the meeting between him and British Prime Minister David Cameron with a tweet -- picture included -- from the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"1 hour of constructive & pragmatic dialogue, new outlook #UNGA," read his message on the Cameron meeting.

During his U.N. speech later Wednesday, Cameron talked about the meeting, the first since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

After talking about the need for the anti-ISIS coalition to be "inclusive, engaging the widest possible coalition of countries as possible," Cameron touched on his conversation with Rouhani.

The two leaders have "severe disagreements," Cameron said, pointing to "Iran's support for terrorist organizations, its nuclear program, its treatment of its people. All these need to change."

Then again, Cameron added, "Iran's leaders could help in defeating the threat from ISIL," using a commonly used acronym for ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State.

"They could help secure a more stable and inclusive Iraq and a more stable and inclusive Syria," he said. "And if they are prepared to do this, then we should welcome their engagement."

Cameron's comments came after the UK mission to the United Nations put out a statement on the meeting, saying the two leaders "agreed that we should seek to progressively improve our bilateral relationship."

That statement referenced addressing "the future of Iran's nuclear program." That remains a focus in Tehran, though the hot topic this week at the United Nations is what to do about ISIS.

ISIS consists of Sunni Muslims aiming to create a vast caliphate in the region under its strict, distinct version of Sharia law. Its advances into neighboring Iraq could pose a threat to Iran, especially given that Iran is made up predominantly of Shiite Muslims.

In fact, Iranian leaders have voiced support for Iraq's government -- which is also led by Shiites -- in its fight against the Islamic extremist organization. Brig. Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh even said that members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard "stopped" ISIS from entering the Kurdish city of Irbil, according to a report Wednesday from state-run Press TV.

But, in the same story, Hajizadeh ripped the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition as part of Washington's "psychological warfare" policy.

Rouhani on Wednesday criticized the coalition airstrikes in Syria, saying they do not have "any legal standing" because U.N. members haven't sanctioned them. Iran has been one of the biggest allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the man who U.S. President Barack Obama and other Western leaders have publicly said they want out of power -- even going so far as to support moderate opposition elements fighting to oust him.

Rouhani used rhetorical questions to make his case on Twitter, writing, "Wasn't DAESH (#ISIS) the same group who fought the Syrian gov & the Syrian army? How is that they were not categorised as #terrorists then?"

Saying that his country never "had doubts or delays in countering #ISIS," Rouhani tweeted, "Why is it that #ISIS went from not-so-bad to extremely-bad depending on who they had targeted in their #terrorist operations?"

Notwithstanding such criticism and the fact he didn't meet with Obama in New York, Rouhani didn't close the door to major changes in his nation's relationship with its longstanding, often bitter rival, the United States.

"If we are able to reach a #nuclear agreement," Rouhani tweeted, "a new atmosphere would emerge in US-Iran relations, which I believe would benefit both nations."

Response: NEW: Iran President tweets on "1 hour of constructive & pragmatic dialogue". NEW: He criticizes U.S.-led strikes in Syria, yet opens door to "a new atmosphere" with U.S.. NEW: Cameron: Despite "severe disagreements," Iranians could help defeat ISIS. NEW: Prime Minister: If they can help, "we should welcome their engagement".


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Retired Army Spc. Scott Winkler had many scary encounters while serving in Iraq, but they were nothing compared with his recent experience at the world's largest aquarium: swimming alongside a massive whale shark.

Ret. Army Spc. Scott Winkler, 35, was paralyzed five years ago during an accident in Iraq.

The fact that Winkler, 35, of Augusta, Georgia, is a paraplegic made the once-in-a-lifetime experience even more challenging.

"It's like you're in space," Winkler said. "It's like you're an able body again. It makes you feel so free."

Winkler was paralyzed five years ago during an accident while unloading ammunition in Tikrit, Iraq.

He is one of more than two dozen disabled veterans who have participated in the Fish Wish program at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta during the past two months.

A separate swim and dive program is open to the public, but the waiting list is nearly full until the end of the year.

The experience isn't cheap. A half-hour dive costs $290. The veterans swam for free.

Therapeutic recreational specialist Susan Oglesby helps train safety divers at the aquarium to assist swimmers with disabilities. She explained there are very few limitations in the tank. Watch more on veterans swimming with sharks »

"The water is the great equalizer. Once you get in, you're floating, you're weightless, and everybody becomes equal," Oglesby said.

Winkler was outfitted in a wet suit and snorkeling gear. He rolled his wheelchair down a long ramp to a dock floating in the 6.3 million-gallon tank of salt water.

After sliding out of the chair, he took a deep breath and pushed himself into the water.

"It is so amazing, he said. "It's like you don't have a disability, because you're just floating around with everybody else. ... The fish are just swimming by. It's a total other world."

In addition to four 23-foot-long whale sharks, Winkler gazed on a manta ray, hammerhead sharks, goliath grouper and sawfish.

He used his arms to move his body around the football-field-size tank.

Swimming next to him were two safety divers and Orlando Perez, another young veteran from Augusta.

"It's beautiful down there!" Perez exclaimed. "It's peaceful, and you just forget that you're in a wheelchair. You're one with the fish."

Perez, 33, a retired Army private first class, suffered a spinal cord injury during basic training 13 years ago. Like Winkler, he is confined to a wheelchair.

Perez likened the swim experience to floating on air.

"I never thought being disabled would bring me to do something so amazing," he said. "I think it's about overcoming the disability and not letting the disability overcome you."

Both Perez and Winkler admitted they were nervous when they first entered in the water. They settled down after being brushed by one of the passing whale sharks.

Winkler had a big grin on his face as he talked about the benefits of taking part in the program.

"Mentally, you're actually taking a stress break from life itself," he said. "Physically, it's great rehabilitation. Emotionally, your spirit is lifted, and you're able to enjoy yourself for once."

Response: Fish Wish program allows veterans with disabilities to swim with sharks. Program is open to the public, but waiting list is long and cost is $290. Veterans report feeling "equal" in the weightless environment of water.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- For the past five years, Austria-based art historian and photographer Alfred Weidinger has traveled across Africa in search of royalty. His photography project, The Last Kings of Africa, is his attempt to capture the beauty and mystique of the region's most powerful sovereigns. So far he has photographed 220 tribal kings and leaders, with many more to go.

"I have a sort of deadline for myself -- which is the end of next year. It's not a question of the amount of kings or tribal leaders, it's just a question of countries," says Weidinger, who plans to visit Africa twice this year and six times in 2015.

"There are still countries I definitely want to visit, for example Swaziland and the southern part of Sudan."

Weidinger's photographic endeavors in Africa started in 1979 but the cumbersome equipment typical to that era quickly deterred the photographer. Fast forward 30 years, and a chance commission for a photographic exhibition sparked a long-term project where the lavish culture of Africa's dynasties became the focus.

Weidinger had no definitive guide to help him locate all of Africa's royals and tribal leaders. Armed with only two cameras and a tripod, his trips were mostly improvised.

"There is no list, there is nothing! So you just have to go there," says Weidinger.

"The most important thing is to find one king -- when I have one, he will guide me to the others."

The power game

There are hundreds of African monarchies scattered across the continent but in most cases governing power is either restricted or nonexistent. Government officials, however, know it's best not to overlook the influence these leaders possess over their respective communities.

"Some countries put the monarch system back into the constitution, they give power to the traditional leaders," says Weidinger.

"In effect, some politicians use it because every tribal leader (represents) an ethnic group and they still follow the words of the elder or the tribal leader, they are not following what is happening with the politicians in the capital."

According to Richard Dowden, the director of The Royal African Society and author of Africa: Authored States, Ordinary Miracles, monarchies tend to flourish in countries with a weak government structure or lacking a formal constitution. In these instances, tribal leaders and monarchs are deemed more trustworthy for getting things done. Niger, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Benin are a few examples of countries with a strong tribal leaders, some of whom occasionally tackle government functions. Fon Ndofoa Zofoa III, for example, makes official decisions over hereditary land in his chiefdom in Babungo in Cameroon. Other leaders, like Sarauniya Aljima, the queen of Lougou in Niger, weigh in on private matters, such as marriage.

"When there is a marriage to be made (in the village, monarchs) will return to sort it out. In these sorts of matters, they do retain a lot of power," says Dowden.

Weidinger found that one thing that seems to distinguish African monarchs from royals across the globe is a keen religious focus:

"Their power is in spirituality and this makes (African monarchs) so unique."

The danger of cell phones

Weidinger says that in his opinion, the biggest threat to Africa's last remaining monarchs isn't local government, but modernity.

Though poised in luxurious cloths and perched on gilded thrones, the threat of globalization has disturbed the influence and social standing of many of Wedinger's subjects.

"When you come to a region and you see that they are working with mobile phones, it's a kind of sign. If you see mobile phones you definitely know that it's a dying ethnic group. African culture is changing, there are changes in communication. People are going to the capitals and living where there is no need for a king anymore," he says, adding that cell phones have made people living in rural communities less isolated. Now, the problems they would typically raise with their community leaders they can take to experts further afield.

Dowden, however, thinks these monarchs will retain their power for a while yet.

"I think the chiefs will survive," he says.

"Depending on how local governments in Africa develop, they'll either become figures for tourists or they'll continue to play a very important role."

Response: Photographer Alfred Weidinger is traveling across Africa to capture the continent's last remaining monarchs. He has photographed 220 tribal kings and chiefs since 2009. The biggest threat to these monarchs, says Weidinger, is cell phones.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The Cannes Film Festival entrusted its opening to a Pixar film, and the animation studio did not disappoint.

An adventurous boy and a cranky man travel by unusual means in the new Pixar film "Up."

Pixar, which has produced such gems as "Toy Story," "The Incredibles" and "WALL-E," introduced its latest feature, "Up," on Wednesday night at the French movie celebration.

By critics' reckonings, Pixar has never released a bad film, and those who saw "Up," its 10th feature, say the studio's perfect record is still intact.

The film is a "captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along," wrote Variety's Todd McCarthy. "The two leading men are 78 and 8 years old, and the age range of those who will appreciate the picture is even a bit wider than that."  Gallery: Pixar in pictures »

"It's a terrific family adventure," wrote Peter Bradshaw of Britain's The Guardian. "The 3-D presentation gives it a real boost, but this film is airborne because of the traditional strengths: story, characterization and inventive animation with the old-fashioned values of clarity and simplicity."  See the excitement of Cannes' opening »

"Up" concerns Carl Fredericksen, a balloon seller voiced by Ed Asner. Faced with eviction after his wife dies, Fredericksen decides to uproot himself -- literally -- by attaching hundreds of balloons to his house and flying it to South America.

However, it turns out he's not alone. A stowaway -- a Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai) -- is in the house as well, and the two of them become mutually dependent after landing a continent away.

The film opens May 29 in the United States.

Cannes audiences are notoriously vocal. They'll whistle if they're unhappy -- a French version of a boo -- and a movie that doesn't meet the audience's high standards will be treated to the repeated "whop" sounds of theater seats banging shut as patrons leave.

"Up," on the other hand, received little but cheers. CNN's Natasha Curry, who's at the festival, reports a morning screening concluded with applause.

It's an unlikely film to be opening Cannes. Not only is it animated, it's animated by computer -- and, in some theaters, it will be shown in 3-D. Those are all firsts for a Cannes curtain raiser.

But the Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan told CNN that "Up" fits in with Cannes' aspirations.

"Cannes likes to be seen as innovative, likes to be seen as embracing something new," Turan observed. "But really the reason 'Up' is opening the festival is not because it's animated, not because it's 3-D, it's ... because it's a wonderful film. [Festival organizers] saw that, and I'm sure they liked the fact that they could do something avant-garde in terms of technique, but really it's a wonderful story, it's a terrific film and that's why it's opening."

Turan said he sees Pixar's work, and its recognition by Cannes, as another sign that animated features are among the best films being produced right now.

"The Pixar films, the Hayao Miyazaki films from Japan, the Wallace and Gromit films from Britain -- we're really living in the golden age of animation, one of the great ages of animation in the whole history of film," he said. "And Cannes is happy to be part of that. Cannes is happy to recognize that."

CNN's Matthew Carey contributed to this report.

Response: "Up," new film from Pixar, opens Cannes Film Festival. Critics widely praise animated film -- the usual reaction to Pixar movies. Why the opener? "It's a wonderful story, it's a terrific film," critic Kenneth Turan says.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:San Clemente, California (CNN) -- Dana Cummings survived two tours of combat duty as a Marine in the first Gulf War without injury. But 10 years later, he lost a leg in a car crash.

A divorced father of three, Cummings said he was abandoned by his girlfriend and denied physical rehabilitation by his insurance. Realizing he needed to be strong for himself and his children, he began an intense workout regimen in the hospital -- then found his own brand of rehab in an unlikely place: a surfboard.

"I wanted to prove that I was whole, and one of the ways to do that was to learn to surf," Cummings said. "When you become disabled, you feel trapped. And when I felt the first breath of freedom, of riding that wave, I was like, 'This is so good, so inspiring.' I wanted to share that feeling that I had with others."

In 2003, he helped create the Association of Amputee Surfers, or AmpSurf. The nonprofit, volunteer-run organization is dedicated to teaching people with disabilities, most of them veterans, how to surf -- for free.

Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes

"We want to inspire them to move on and just be active and live full lives," said Cummings, 40. "We want them to walk away with that empowerment, that self-confidence that they can do whatever they set their mind to."

Cummings co-founded AmpSurf with his prosthetist and two other amputees, including Rodney Roller, the man who taught Cummings how to surf. Since 2008, Cummings has been running the organization.

AmpSurf is open to anyone with any disability, including spinal cord injuries, blindness, post-traumatic stress disorder and autism. Seventy percent of participants are veterans.

The group holds one clinic per month at a beach on the California coast. Participants are provided with food, surfboards, wetsuits, sunscreen and towels. They're paired with one or more volunteers or instructors based on their ability to surf, as well as by disability. Before they get into the water, they receive "dry land" instruction on how to get up on the board.

But the clinics aren't just about surfing, Cummings said.

"We bring people together to feed off each other and swap stories about what they're going through," he said. "For me, this was the biggest mental rehab I could have ever had."

Anthony Davis is one vet who's benefited from the program. A retired Navy rescue swimmer, Davis, 28, was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a car accident.

"I remember waking up in the VA hospital in Seattle and not being able to move my legs," he said.

Doctors told Davis he had a 99 percent chance of never walking again and a 60 percent chance he'd never get out of his wheelchair. But Davis ignored the statistics and was soon standing -- with Cummings' assistance -- on a surfboard.

"Surfing makes me feel like I'm flying," Davis said. "I feel like I don't need my legs. It changed my life by making me feel a lot stronger and more confident."

A year later, Davis taught himself how to walk again and attends as many AmpSurf clinics as possible. He also continues to inspire those around him, including Cummings.

"I'm missing my leg and there are days I don't want to get out of bed," Cummings said. "But I can't imagine being told you'll never walk again, and then having the strength and internal drive to actually do it. Anthony's amazing."

More than 300 people have taken part in AmpSurf clinics, including Brian Ruhe, 35, who lost both legs above the knee when he was 18.

"A lot of us have amputations or some sort of paraplegia, quadriplegia, are stuck in wheelchairs or stuck to their device, and just to be part of nature, to be free to move with the water, it's a freeing experience," Ruhe said.

Each year, AmpSurf sponsors a group of disabled veterans and non-vets in Operation Restoration, a weeklong clinic that offers surfing and other sporting events. Funding for all of AmpSurf's activities comes from individual donations and local businesses.

For Cummings, AmpSurf will always be about more than just surfing; it's about happiness, not just for the participants, but for him and his volunteers.

"I always tell the volunteers, 'You're going to get 10 times more out of this than the person you help today, because everybody feeds off each other. You can't help but be happy,'" he said.

"None of us get paid, but we come back month after month, year after year, because it feels good to give back and to help somebody."

Want to get involved? Check out the AmpSurf website and see how to help.

Response: Marine veteran of first Gulf War lost leg in car accident 10 years later. Denied rehab by insurance, he created his own regimen -- on a surfboard. In 2003, he helped create a group that teaches people with disabilities how to surf. More than 300 people have taken part in AmpSurf's free clinics.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The mysterious visitor stands in a patch of scrubland in Somalia, surrounded by Islamic militants wielding AK-47s. His face is covered by a white-and-red headscarf; he is slim and seems young. But there is something puzzling about him: His skin is fair, and when he speaks in an audio recording, his English is near perfect and spoken with a North American accent.

The militants -- belonging to Al-Shabaab -- say his name is Abu Abdulla Almuhajir (the foreigner). And they say he is an envoy from the al Qaeda leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, thousands of miles away in Pakistan.

Almuhajir has turned up in the desolate scrubland, they say, to offer al Qaeda's help with famine relief. Photographs show him at what appears to be an aid camp that Al-Shabaab claims it has set up for victims of the famine. The recording says he is delivering aid that al Qaeda had purportedly collected, including food, clothing and $12,000 converted into Somali currency.

A video showing the images and audio recording was posted to Islamist websites last week. U.S. counter-terrorism agencies are still trying to ascertain Almuhajir's identity and whether he really was an al Qaeda envoy -- about which there is some doubt.

The event, at which a large group of Somalis were shown sitting crossed-legged on the ground, was clearly a propaganda ploy by Al-Shabaab to boost its popularity -- and that of the al Qaeda brand. International aid agencies have sharply criticized the group for banning or obstructing aid in areas in central and southern Somalia worst hit by the famine. The group's brutal imposition of Taliban-like practices in territory under its control has also alienated many Somalis.

If authentic, the event suggests a strengthening of the relationship between hard-line factions of Al-Shabaab and al Qaeda. Though factions of the group have long been allied with al Qaeda and share its vision of global jihad, the video of the meeting would be a rare demonstration of such ties.

The so-called emissary told his Somali audience that al Qaeda felt their pain and urged Muslims to support Al-Shabaab, which is fighting Somalia's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law. He also recalled Osama bin Laden's long interest in Somalia, saying he "played a major role in repelling invading forces of the Muslim land in Somalia."

And Almuhajir promised that al Qaeda's new leader, Zawahiri, would continue that support.

"In a recent release, Sheikh Ayman brought the drought in Somalia to the attention of the Muslim Ummah (or global Muslim community) and encouraged them to support their brothers in Somalia," he said.

Western counter-terrorism analysts have been puzzling over the identity of "the foreigner." Several Americans and Canadians are believed to have joined al Qaeda in Pakistan in recent years and risen through the group's hierarchy. The most prominent has been Oregon-born Adam Gadahn, 33, al Qaeda's English-language spokesman who joined forces with the group around a decade ago. But counter-terrorism analysts say that Gadahn's voice (and waistline) is very different from that of the mysterious al Qaeda envoy pictured in the Al-Shabaab video.

Another candidate is Adnan Shukrijumah, 36, an American citizen born in Saudi Arabia who spent much of his youth in New York and South Florida, who joined al Qaeda around the time of 9/11 and rose up the ranks to become a planner for the group's external operations. But the envoy appears to have fairer skin than Shukrijumah. And then there is Jude Kenan Mohammed, 22, from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is believed to be still at large in Pakistan after leaving the United States in October 2008 to allegedly wage jihad. Just after he arrived, he was arrested by Pakistani officials, charged with weapons possession and released on bail. The following year, he failed to show up to his court hearing, suggesting he may have slipped into tribal areas.

It may be that the whole event was manufactured in an effort to bolster Al-Shabaab's credentials after a series of military setbacks. Sending an al Qaeda envoy from Pakistan to Somalia -- especially a Caucasian -- would be risky. And there are more than a dozen North Americans (from both the U.S. and Canada) who have gravitated to Somalia to wage jihad in recent years, among them Abu Mansoor al-Amriki. The 27-year old from Alabama, whose real name is Omar Hammami, has produced Al-Shabaab hip-hop videos in an effort to extend the group's appeal to English-speaking youths. Despite several unconfirmed reports that he had been killed, Hammami remains on the FBI's most-wanted list. But his voice is not an obvious match to that of the mysterious al Qaeda envoy.

Al-Shabaab still controls most of central and southern Somalia, and has recently shown ambitions to take its campaign beyond Somalia's borders. In July 2010, the group carried out a pair of deadly bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing more than 70 people. it was the first attack the group launched outside Somalia, and was in retaliation, Al-Shabaab claimed, for Uganda's deployment of peace support forces in Somalia.

In September, the U.S. Africa Command warned that Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram in Nigeria and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were trying to synchronize their efforts to launch attacks on U.S and Western interests, but had yet to show a significant capability to export terror. There is also evidence, according to Western intelligence officials, of cooperation between Al-Shabaab and the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen.

But within Somalia, the group is under growing pressure. It has been pushed from its last redoubts in the capital, Mogadishu, even though it retains the ability to launch suicide bombings in the city. And in recent weeks, Kenya has accused Al-Shabaab of kidnapping Western tourists and aid workers in northern Kenya, allegations which the Somali group denies. Kenyan troops have launched a cross-border operation against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia with the apparent intention of setting up a buffer zone across the border.

That's prompted the threat of retaliatory strikes inside Kenya. "The Kenyan public must understand that the impetuous decision by their troops to cross the border into Somalia will not be without severe repercussions," the group said in a news release in English on Monday.

Somalia analysts view this threat as real but believe Al-Shabaab will carefully weigh the costs and benefits of any such reprisal. The Somali group has an extensive presence in Nairobi -- home to a quarter-million Somali refugees -- and operates a network of safe houses in the city. "They could easily tear apart Nairobi, but they've done nothing there at all because they realize this is their golden egg," said Michael Taarnby, an Al-Shabaab expert at the University of Central Florida.

Response: Recording, images on Islamist websites purport to show fair-skinned man fluent in English. Al-Shabaab militants say he's from al Qaeda leader al Zawahiri, in Somalia to dispense aid. Event suggests a strengthening of ties between Al-Shabaab and al Qaeda hard-liners. But the identitiy of the man hasn't been determined, and the event may be a ploy.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Sergio Garcia leads The Barclays, first leg of the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs, after Saturday's excellent third round that puts him firmly in contention for the title. American Nick Watney is two strokes behind after a round of 71.

A win at Bethpage would see Garcia top the FedEx cup points table.

Live scores from Bethpage

Tiger Woods sits tenth on four under after a difficult third round of 72. Recent US PGA champion Rory Mcilroy sits two under par after his third round of 69 helped him recover from his poor second round.

Read about Bethpage Black's vengeful course

Garcia hit a number of birdies to finish two ahead of the chasing pack, but it was a tremendous shot from the long grass on the tenth that stood out as Garcia chipped on to the fairway after hooking his shot well wide. The fine recovery helped the Spaniard rescue a bogey, when things could have been much worse.

Garcia needs to finish well at Bethpage as he has already announced that he won't play at next week's Deutsche Bank Championship so that he can enjoy some rest before September's Ryder Cup.

Watney hit five bogeys to undo a good start. After three birdies in the first five holes he struggled on the back nine to leave him even at the end of his round.

Woods managed back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth to leave him one under. However, two bogeys on the back nine, after a fine birdie on the 13th, left the American one stroke over for the day.

The highlight of Woods' round was a 53 feet 1 inch putt on the eighth that helped him birdie the par three hole. The delightful put was the American's longest of the year.

McIlroy had one of the rounds of the day, hitting four birdies on his way to a final round of 69. The Northern Irishman had disappointed on Friday when he struck five bogeys to undo a promising first round.

Response: Sergio Garcia takes lead after third round at Bethpage. American Nick Watney sits second after difficult third round. Tiger Woods holed a 53 foot putt on his way to a round of 72. McIlroy made amends for his poor second round, carding a 69.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Now, this just may be the best entertainment news of the summer.

It has nothing to do with movie blockbusters. They're coming, as they always do when the weather gets warm: the mass-produced, mind-deadening barrage of predictable sequels, computer-generated explosions and space battles, dreary comedies about groups of wacky buddies, and high-decibel car chase after high-decibel car chase.

Which is what makes what happened on a recent Saturday afternoon in Granite Falls, Minnesota, population 2,897, so delightful.

A one-day musical theater production was presented that had taken three months to write, rehearse and produce.

It took place along an eight-mile stretch of the Minnesota River.

More than 200 people attended.

And that entire audience was in canoes.

For three hours, they paddled from scene to scene.

"The river was the real star of the show," said Andrew Gaylord, 33, of St. Paul, Minnesota, who wrote the play and the music for it, and who co-directed it with his producing partner, Ashley Hanson, 29. He said that their intention was to honor and salute the concept of community and place: to provide for their audience an afternoon of entertainment that they couldn't possibly find anywhere else.

In dreaming up the idea and getting it done -- putting the audience in those canoes, and having them paddle to each of the six scenes in the play along the eight miles of water -- Gaylord and Hanson may have displayed more sheer ingenuity and grin-inducing creativity than you'll find in any dozen movie-multiplex blockbusters in the months ahead.

The play was called "With the Future on the Line," and it told the story of how three Western Minnesota River Valley communities, in the late 1800s, competed to become the county seat. The Minnesota River, though, was without question the leading character, "with its slow meanders and brutally carved banks, with its fish jumping, turtles sunbathing, eagles soaring, and pelicans taxiing," in Gaylord's words.

There was a cast of 34, all volunteer amateur actors, and a crew of nearly 100. The scenes took place in six locales along the river ranging from an island to a small bluff overlooking the water; from a campground on the water's edge to a beautiful meadow. The audience would paddle up in their canoes (there were 18 10-person canoes, plus smaller canoes that just sort of tagged along); the audience would sit right there in those canoes and watch the actors play the scene on the shore. Then some of the actors would race ahead in cars to the next location so that they would arrive before the canoes did.

"For me, this was 100% about the celebration of community," Ashley Hanson told me. "We keep being told that, all over the country, the traditional sense of community is being fragmented, is disappearing. That's why it felt so good to put such a tremendous amount of work into something so ephemeral. Something magical that is there for one day only."

She and Gaylord are new at this; they have formed a theater company in St. Paul they call PlaceBase Productions, in the hopes of presenting community-specific shows like this around the nation. They received some financial underwriting for the Granite Falls endeavor from Minnesota organizations devoted to the betterment of life along the river, but on the subject of making enough money doing this to support themselves, "we're still kind of trying to figure that out," Gaylord said with a laugh.

Like the rest of us, Gaylord has sat in movie theaters and witnessed that annoying glow as people in row after row check their cellphone screens for messages even while the film is playing. He said one of the nicest parts of the Paddling Theatre (that's what he and Hanson called it) afternoon was that "I didn't see anyone yakking in their canoes -- I didn't see them on the phone. They seemed like they didn't want to be anywhere else in the world than where they were at that moment."

No professional theater critics attended the production, but outdoors writer Tom Cherveny of the West Central Tribune in nearby Willmar, Minnesota, watched the entire show from a canoe. I asked him what he thought, both of the day and of the performance. "It was great," he said. "It really did work."

There was something I kept thinking about as I spoke with Gaylord and Hanson, and I hoped they wouldn't be offended if I brought it up, because I meant it as a compliment.

One of my favorite movies is "Waiting for Guffman," Christopher Guest's sardonic yet ultimately hopeful 1997 comedy about the fictional small town of Blaine, Missouri, and its against-all-odds attempt to put on a one-day musical for the town's 150th birthday. What happened in Granite Falls felt a little like Guffman-with-paddles, and I wanted to know if that had occurred to Gaylord and Hanson.

"'Guffman' is my battle cry," Ashley Hanson said. "Not the comical elements in it, but the sweetness.

"The importance of making the effort. The sense of sincerity, of caring for a community.

"That's what fuels me. Getting people excited about where they're from. Reminding them of why it matters. Because it does."

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Response: Bob Greene: A theater troupe put on a play at various spots along 8 miles of Minnesota River. He says audience travels to scenes by canoe, pulls up to bank to watch from the river. He says creators of play want to deliver a sense of place to audiences. Greene: Like "Waiting for Guffman," play celebrates community sweetly, sincerely.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN)The overdramatic, oversexed and over-the-top hilarious camp counselors of "Wet Hot American Summer" are set to return for a reboot of the cult classic summer camp movie, Netflix has announced.

The streaming video service released a trailer Tuesday for the eight-episode miniseries "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp," which will revisit the wacky group of kids and counselors from Camp Firewood's summer of '81.

Set to return are ensemble cast members Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Poehler, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon and Michael Showalter, among others.

The show will debut this summer and tell the "story of the first day of Camp Firewood's famous summer season," 14 years after the film's debut in 2001. The movie told the story of the last day of camp.

David Wain, who directed the movie, will also oversee the series.

Response: "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" will debut on Netflix this summer. Original cast members are set to return for the limited-edition reboot. "Wet Hot American Summer" was released in 2001.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Pro-Russian separatists struck two helicopters as well as a jet with portable air defense systems Wednesday in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

A source within the Ukrainian military confirmed the statement by the "South-East Army," which claims the group downed an Ukrainian Su-25 military jet and a Mi-24 helicopter.

Another Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter was struck, also in the Luhansk region, but it is unclear as to whether that aircraft crashed.

On Sunday, a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down in the Luhansk region, Leonid Matyuhin, the spokesman for Ukraine's counterterrorist operation, told CNN.

The pilot managed to eject and is safe, Ukrainian state media reported.

The ongoing fighting -- sparked last year with by political crisis over whether Ukraine would seek closer ties with Europe or Russia -- has left more than 2,000 people dead and just under 5,000 wounded in eastern Ukraine since mid-April, according to estimates from U.N. officials.

The United States and the European Union have applied steadily increasing sanctions against Russian officials, banks and other interests since March, when Russia annexed the Black Sea Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Who are Ukraine's pro-Russia rebels?

Russia's move came a month after Ukraine's parliament ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych.

Yanukovych left office after violent protests against his government in the capital, Kiev.

Those protests were motivated in part by his decision to back out of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Global Public Square: Make Russia an offer it can't refuse

Ukraine's secret weapon: Funding from the country's millionaires

CNN's Lindsay Isaac reported from Kiev. CNN's Jason Hanna wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Victoria Butenko and Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.

Response: NEW: Pro-Russian separatists hit two helicopters, Ukranian military confirms. NEW: A Ukranian military jet also was struck on Wednesday. Another Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down on Sunday. Ukraine continues a battle with pro-Russian rebels in the country's east.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The maker of Benadryl and Tylenol has added five lots of the popular over-the-counter drugs to its growing list of recalled products, McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced Wednesday in a written statement.

Saying the drugs were "inadvertently omitted from the initial recall action" of January 15, McNeil disclosed it was voluntarily recalling four lots of Benadryl Allergy Ultratab Tablets (100 count) and one lot of Extra Strength Tylenol Rapid Release Gels (50 count).

The Johnson and Johnson subsidiary said customers should call 1-888-222-6036 or use the website www.mcneilproductrecall.com for information on how to receive a refund or replacement product. The drugs were sold in the United States and in Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago.

McNeil said the "risk of adverse medical events is remote."  Adverse event reports are consumer complaints of a serious side effect associated with the use of a medical product, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Adverse events could include death, hospitalization, disability and other health complications.

The products were recalled because of an unusual odor associated with the chemical 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) that was applied to shipping pallets, the company said.

McNeil's other recalls in the past eight months were:

-- In November, five lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 count with the EZ-open cap were recalled for unusual odor leading to nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

-- In December, the recall was expanded to include all product lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-open cap.

-- In January, the recall was widened to an undisclosed number of Tylenol, Motrin and other over-the-counter drugs after complaints of consumers feeling sick from an odor.

--In May, 50 children's versions of these nonprescription medicines were also recalled because of quality and safety concerns. Following the pediatric medicine recall, Johnson and Johnson suspended production at McNeil's facility in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, that manufactured the children's drugs.

The lot number can be found on the bottle label. The lot numbers for the products recalled Wednesday were ASA202, AJA008, ADA194, ABA022 and ABA264. It was unclear how many bottles were recalled Wednesday.

The recalls have affected the availability of the drugs, CNNMoney reports. McNeil spokeswoman Bonnie Jacobs told CNNMoney that "the pace of restocking is accelerating" following the January recall. The drug maker expects to be "at close to normal levels of production toward the end of the second quarter," Jacobs said.

Response: Drugmaker recalls five batches of Benadryl, Tylenol sold in U.S., 3 other countries. McNeil has issued five recalls in the past eight months. Company has set up website for consumers to get information on returning product. Recalls have resulted in shortages of some of the company's drugs.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:On the day the new Ebola clinic in Liberia opened, ambulances waited outside. Inside the ambulances were desperately ill patients who had come for treatment but instead would be left to lie on the ground as others walked by.

The Island Clinic and its 120 Ebola treatment beds opened to fanfare Sunday afternoon, with a ceremony attended by international health officials and Liberian leaders. But the clinic, located on Bushrod Island near Monrovia, the capital, did not appear to be ready for the number of patients that quickly flooded its doors.

Some lay motionless on the floors of the ambulances outside the center, too weak to get out. They had traveled for hours after being turned away from other hospitals in the area. No one from inside the hospital arrived to offer assistance.

One man opened his eyes weakly.

"Try to come down and walk a little," a worker told him.

"I'm too tired," the man said.

But he summoned his strength and got out of the ambulance -- and immediately collapsed on the ground.

A little boy tried to walk out of another ambulance, but he too collapsed.

The two lay on the rocky ground just a few feet apart. The boy was completely naked and the man was naked from the waist down -- Ebola patients often don't wear pants because of the intense diarrhea caused by the virus.

"Get up and go inside," workers told the boy. "You'll only get food if you go inside."

"Let him rest," another worker said, and they agreed to let him stay where he lay.

When asked why no one from the hospital was helping them get inside, a hospital worker said staff was inside suiting up in protective gear. Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids from an infected patient.

More than 2,800 people have died over the past six months in West Africa. Five countries have reported Ebola cases, but Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have carried the largest burden.

Deadliest outbreak: What you need to know

Island Clinic is supported by the government of Liberia and the World Health Organization. When shown CNN's video of the patients collapsing, a WHO representative was horrified, but said the patients shouldn't have waited until they were so sick to seek help.

"I think the lesson here is that people come too late," said Peter Graaff.

But many Ebola patients don't wait by choice -- there's an estimated shortage of 700 Ebola beds in Monrovia alone, and patients often wander from hospital to hospital, only to be turned away.

"I know, I know," said Graaff, WHO's country representative in Liberia. "That's why we need to increase capacity."

Graaff said he would try to find out why hospital workers didn't come help the patients. He said he hopes any opening-day difficulties won't discourage patients from seeking help -- he doesn't want them to stay home.

"It's shocking," he said. "This is exactly what we should try to avoid in the future. It's horrible."

Response: Island Clinic near Monrovia, Liberia, offers 120 new Ebola treatment beds. Clinic did not appear to be ready on opening day. Patients ended up laying on the ground, too weak to move.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:What kind of font are you? Which do you find most attractive? And how can this help with your love life?

This might sound like copy from a cheap dating website. But according to Sarah Hyndman, a British designer specializing in typography, our taste in fonts reveals more about us than we'd expect.

"Fonts form a kind of language of their own, and we are all unconsciously fluent in it," she says when I visit her studio in Hackney, north London.

"Each font gives a different message and atmosphere, and we instinctively understand that. Typefaces have a deep significance for everyone."

In other words, they may reveal who we really are. And what we desire.

Smelling fonts

Hyndman recently gave a lecture at the London Design Festival that explored the complex network of associations triggered by different fonts.

By way of demonstration, she lines up three bottles on the table, next to a sample of three fonts: Comic Sans, Times New Roman and Helvetica.

As bizarre as it sounds, my job is to match up the bottles and fonts using only my sense of smell.

The first bottle, when opened, smells of bubblegum. There's no question that this is Comic Sans. The second gives out the aroma of coffee: Times New Roman. And the last one contains a neutral, Helvetica odor.

It was surprisingly easy. "More than 80% of people give the same answer," she says. "This shows how deeply typography is embedded in our psyche."

Hyndman is working with scientists at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University to establish the links between certain fonts and our senses, including taste, hearing and smell.

"We've found that rounded fonts are commonly associated with deep reds and sweet tastes," she says.

"Jagged, angular typefaces evoke salty or sour tastes, and harsh sounds.

"This may be based in evolution. When our ancestors were foraging, sweet, sugary foods were the supreme energy source. And they used all their senses to identify them."

Finding love

How can all of this be applied to the game of love?

To illustrate, Hyndman takes out another collection of props: candy bags with different fonts pinned to the outside.

This time, my job is to choose the one that best reflects my personality, and the one that would represent a desirable partner.

I think for a moment, and decide that Gill Sans is the most "me".

Inside the bag -- in addition to font-shaped candy -- is a description of my personality.

"You are a traditionalist, your news comes via the BBC and you use correct grammar in texts and tweets," it says. "Your ability to communicate clearly and in a friendly tone of voice will being future opportunities your way."

This analysis is based on the cultural context of the Gill Sans font, which was created in 1926 by Eric Gill, who was inspired by Edward Johnston's iconic London Underground typeface.

It was quickly adopted by British Rail and Penguin Books, as well as the BBC. So the fact that I was drawn to it, apparently, indicates that I'm an establishment kind of guy.

To which I respond: meh.

What about my ideal partner?

I dither for a moment, then plump for Caslon. It seems elegant, characterful and balanced, somehow.

The perfect type?

My ideal woman, I discover, has "strong ties to [her] home but has travel in [her] future. [She] will be influential in the Americas". This is because Caslon, though invented in Britain in the 18th Century, became extremely popular in America.

It was Benjamin Franklin's favorite font, and was used both on the Presidential Seal and the Declaration of Independence.

Now, my wife has no significant connections to the United States. But I do write for CNN (whose logo, Hyndman says, is "sweet with a little bit of savory, a little twist of crunch").

Perhaps my choice of fonts actually describes my employer? Either way, it is a good idea to try out Hyndman's online font-based personality test.

Admittedly, it's not completely watertight. But it might just increase your chances of finding someone that is just your type.

For those interested to know more, Sarah Hyndman has launched a new series of "Tuesday Type Tastings" in London.

More from Style:

Biodesign: Why the future of our cities is soft and hairy

The amazing art on these Communist-era houses was a rebellion back then

Response: New font-based personality quiz can help you identify your perfect partner. British designer Sarah Hyndman believes our taste in fonts can be very revealing. Try the test and see if you can find your type of lover.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- It's the worst-kept secret since Adam Lambert's sexuality: Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone on Tuesday.

There are a bunch of reasons you already knew this. For one, every tech journalist on earth has been writing about the new-now-next-generation iPhone since the company's last "Jesus phone" -- the iPhone 4 -- graced us with its presence in June 2010. You've seen the gossip here, and on countless Apple-focused blogs with apt and obvious names like MacRumors and TheAppleBlog.

The rumor mill, you'll likely recall, revved to full throttle in early September when CNET reported that an Apple employee lost a prototype of the next iPhone -- likely called the iPhone 5 -- in a Mexican restaurant and bar in San Francisco.

To cap it all off, Apple sent out an e-mail on September 27 teasing reporters with phone-related pictures and this not-so-cryptic tagline:

"Let's talk iPhone."

So, yeah, we pretty much know what's coming.

And at the same time, we don't. The tech specs of the new phone are still hotly debated, as reporters scour Apple patents, SKU codes and, of course, Bay Area bars for any remaining iPhone-rumor morsels sure to grab the public's attention.

All will become clear at 10 a.m. PT on Tuesday when Apple hosts its iPhone "launch" event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. But for those of you who are drooling for the details, here's the wisdom du jour from the People of the Internet:

-- The phone will be called the iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S. Or both (see below).

-- It likely will cost $200 with a 2-year wireless service contract from AT&T or Verizon.

-- The iPhone may come to Sprint, too. The Wall Street Journal was reporting Monday that Sprint Nextel has entered into an eye-opening agreement with Apple to buy more than $20 billion worth of iPhones over the next four years. (But the phone won't be coming yet to T-Mobile, as Mark Milian reports).

-- It will be "skinnier, shorter and wider" than before, according to Gizmodo, which is basing these assumptions on supposed leaked cases for the phone and on "informed renderings."

-- PC World (irony noted) expects the iPad's faster processor to squeeze its way into the iPhone.

-- The phone will have a "teardrop" back, meaning it's fatter at the top than the bottom, according to the blog This is My Next. The iPhone 4 is flat on both sides.

-- It may have a "world mode," meaning it could transition onto other cell networks easily.

-- It will have an upgraded, 8-megapixel rear camera.

-- It may employ new voice-recognition features, says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. His evidence? That e-mail Apple sent to journalists: "Let's talk iPhone." Voice-recognition. Get it?

-- It's possible Apple will unveil not one -- but TWO iPhones.

-- If so, the second likely will be cheaper and will have less storage capacity. Some bloggers have taken to calling it the iCloud Phone, because it could tie in with Apple's new cloud-computing services. (Side note: Al Gore, an Apple board member, gave some credence to the second-iPhoners when he mentioned "the new iPhones coming out next month" during a speech in South Africa).

-- Based on Apple's past iPhone release patterns, the phone (or phones) will likely go on sale later this month (most bloggers predict mid-October).

Of course, as is the case with any Apple product, die-hard fans will buy whatever the new thing is -- no matter what it is exactly, and no matter how much it costs.

The other mysteries surrounding the Tuesday event are all about Apple's leadership.

This is the first product announcement for Apple -- the world's most valuable company -- under the direction of its new CEO, Tim Cook. There's speculation about whether Cook, who is reported to be a private person, will take center stage at the event or yield the spotlight to his deputies.

And there are rumors that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who handed over the company to Cook in August following a medical leave of absence, will make an appearance at the event.

It seems likely that Cook will run the show, and BusinessInsider and plenty of others expect as much. It wouldn't be the first time Cook helped with an Apple presentation -- he appeared onstage in January when the company unveiled an iPhone on Verizon's network -- but it would be his first time as headliner.

But, like the rest of you, we'll just have to hang on until Tuesday -- when all these rumors get zapped with a dose of reality.

Response: Apple is expected to debut a new iPhone on Tuesday. Rumor has it the phone will be called iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S. Tech blogs have been speculating about the phone for months. Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO, expected to make announcement at headquarters.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(Wired) -- Unmanned aircraft, for all their utility, are fairly simple beasts. They're good at taking direction, but they're not so good at processing information on their own. Now the Air Force figures it's time for drones to get a lot smarter, especially as they take off or land.

As anyone who's ever flown knows, the runway is a crowded place. Planes on the runway queue up to get airborne. Planes in the air have to coordinate with Air Traffic Control for the order in which they can safely land, taking precautions not to get in anyone's way until it's their turn. There's a fair amount of information to rapidly process in order to avoid collisions and other accidents. Pilots can handle that information load. Drones can't. Yet. It's one of the big reasons why the Federal Aviation Administration has been so reluctant to allow unmanned aircraft to fly over the U.S. Even robotic flights over relatively unpopulated areas along the southern border have been canceled when there's the most routine technical hiccups.

On Tuesday, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base said it'll soon solicit engineers to design an algorithm to allow drones to "integrate seamlessly" with piloted planes for takeoff and landing. In the algorithm-driven future that the labs want to build, drones will be equipped a database of terminal procedures; link up with Air Traffic Control; and "recognize the intent of other aircraft."

For instance: aircraft landing on parallel runways can appear to be on a collision course before they turn and land. Right now, a drone would simply perceive that a plane's trajectory is going to remain unchanged, making it a threat for collision. But a capable algorithm would let the drone process Air Traffic Control information like basic airfield maps to know that there's no actual danger from the oncoming piloted plane.

"The developed algorithm(s), optimally, would require no more a priori information than a human pilot," the labs instruct. "Intent analysis should be accurate, reliable and real-time, enabling quick and appropriate decisions that are necessary in this time critical environment."

There's a clear commercial application here. As Wired mentioned on Wednesday, FedEx is starting to think about an airfleet of linked-up drones that can fly in formation at the direction of a piloted aircraft. Building algorithms that can let drones process complex information in congested airspace sounds like a useful step toward that futuristic cargo fleet.

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

Copyright 2010 Wired.com.

Response: Drones that process complex information in congested airspace could be useful. Air Force Research Laboratory will find engineers to create drones that "integrate seamlessly". FedEx is thinking about an airfleet of linked-up drones that can fly in formation.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The NCAA says it has contacted the FBI after point-shaving allegations were lodged against Auburn University's men's basketball program.

"We are very concerned by the point-shaving allegations involving Auburn University men's basketball program and have been in contact with the school and the FBI since the issue arose in February," the NCAA said this week in a statement.

"The NCAA takes any allegation of point shaving very seriously because sports wagering threatens two of our core principles -- the well-being of student-athletes and the very integrity of intercollegiate sport."

Auburn also says it has contacted the FBI.

"Auburn officials were made aware of a rumor regarding an allegation two weeks ago and immediately reported it to the FBI, the NCAA and the (Southeastern Conference). Because of the nature of the allegation, Auburn is not in a position to make any further comment on the situation," said Cassie Arner, a university spokeswoman.

The FBI said it could not comment on the issue.

Point-shaving schemes usually involve a player taking payments from a gambler to ensure a team does not cover a published point spread.

Yahoo Sports, ESPN and other sports outlets have reported on the issue, saying the investigation is focused on one Auburn basketball player who was recently suspended.

CNN's John Branch, Joe Sutton and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

Response: The NCAA says it contacted the FBI about Auburn. "We are very concerned by the point-shaving allegations," the NCAA says. Auburn says it has also contacted the FBI.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Qatar, a tiny but influential Persian Gulf nation, will have a new leader, according to a news outlet there.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, will hand over power to his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Al Jazeera reported.

Al Thani, who gave the news to ruling family members and prominent elements of society, will address the nation at 8 a.m. (1 a.m. ET) Tuesday. He has declared the day a national holiday.

The energy-rich emirate has backed Syrian rebels in their fight against the Bashar al-Assad regime, and Taliban militants have set up an office there amid diplomacy to end the Afghan war.

The prestigious soccer World Cup will be held there in 2022.

Social media was abuzz over the news, with people thanking Al Thani for his efforts. One tweeter said, "U changed a tiny desert hamlet to a powerful economic empire. Deeply indebted." Another said, "I have watched Qatar become an economic, sports, education and political leader. #ThankyouHamad for everything. You will always be in our hearts."

CNN's Schams Elazar contributed to this report

Response: The emir will address the nation early Tuesday. Qatar's clout has jumped in recent years. The news was all over social media.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- As hosts of the largest carnival in world football, the pressure is on for South Africa's national football team to ignite the imagination of local fans by performing well at the 2010 World Cup.

If Bafana Bafana is to succeed in their mission, conventional wisdom would be that coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will turn to his best players to deliver results.

However, despite firing in 31 goals in 77 appearances to become South Africa's all-time record goal scorer, Benni McCarthy has had question marks hanging over his participation for his country come June.

The prolific striker, who plays for English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, has only recently returned from a period of international exile, just the latest incident in a stormy history with his country's football team.

He first angered Bafana Bafana fans by going into international retirement in 2002 aged just 25. The reason? Traveling to international games was hampering his ability to play European football for Celta Vigo and, later, Porto.

"The whole pattern was killing my career, that's why I quit international football," he told British newspaper The Independent in 2004. "African football needs the same calendar as Europe otherwise its best players are going to suffer."

He was talked into returning, only to quit again after the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations when the president of the South African FA, Mubarak Mahomad, made an uncomplimentary comment about his performance.

That period of self-imposed exile lasted 20 months, until new coach Carlos Alberto Parreira flew to Great Britain to talk to McCarthy, who was now at Blackburn Rovers. But after Parreira quit to care for his sick wife, McCarthy fell out with replacement boss Joel Santana after he refused to play in two warm up matches last March.

Despite pleas from South African President Jacob Zuma, Santana refused to pick him. But a run of eight defeats in nine games, which saw the team slump to 86th on the FIFA rankings, Santana was sacked. With goals being South Africa's biggest problem, it was no surprise that returning coach Parreira made persuading McCarthy to return, for a second time, his top priority.

Sure enough, McCarthy returned to the fray last month against Japan. The 32-year-old told local press: "I want to start afresh and help Bafana do well in the World Cup finals. It is every player's dream to play for his country... and I have matured."

"In the past I was a loose cannon and I apologize if I was wrong [but] I am still the best at what I do - and that is scoring goals," he added.

Few could argue with McCarthy's record. Born in Hanover Park, an impoverished township in Cape Town known for its high unemployment, poverty and gang-related violence, McCarthy escaped to become one of Africa's most successful football exports.

McCarthy started his career in 1995 aged 18 with Seven Stars of Cape Town, where 27 goals in 29 games earned him a move to Cape Town Spurs who soon merged with Ajax Cape Town, a feeder side to their famous Dutch namesake.

McCarthy's potential was enough for Ajax Amsterdam to sign him. Joining in 1997 he scored nine goals to help them win the Eredivisie in his first year, which eventually attracted the attentions of Spain's Celta Vigo.

Although it didn't work out in Spain, his move to Portugal's FC Porto was a roaring success. In the 2003/04 season he helped Jose Mourinho's side win the UEFA Champions League with McCarthy memorably grabbing two goals in the second round defeat of Manchester United.

McCarthy moved to Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers in 2006 and scored plenty of goals - he was in the top three league scorers in his debut season - but first-team opportunities have been limited of late.

Yet ever since McCarthy made his international debut in a 2-0 home defeat to Holland 1997, South Africa has been a different side with him in it. Gloom has followed South Africa's footballing exploits before this summer's World Cup. But after his most recent 'comeback', Bafana Bafana fans will hope that McCarthy can help put the dark days under Joel Santana firmly behind them.

Hear what Benni has to say in CNN's coverage of the World Cup draw, live on Friday 4th December.

Response: South Africa legend Benni McCarthy is part of CNN's World Cup Draw coverage, Friday 4th December. McCarthy is Bafana Bafana's leading scorer with 32 goals, including two in their previous World Cup adventures. McCarthy currently plays for Blackburn Rovers and has had spells with Ajax, Celta Vigo and FC Porto.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:After learning that Ashton Kutcher had landed in the hospital trying to follow Steve Jobs' all-fruit diet, CNN reader Sumday had just one question: "All I really wanted to know was why this diet was bad?"

Jobs first fell for extreme diets during his freshman year of college, according to Walter Isaacson's biography "Steve Jobs." Jobs and his college friend Daniel Kottke became vegetarians after reading "Diet for a Small Planet."

Then Jobs read "Mucusless Diet Healing System" by Arnold Ehret; Ehret believed in eating nothing but fruits and starchless vegetables like spinach, carrots and cucumbers. Jobs began with two-day fruit fasts, eventually going for a week or more. "I got into it in my typical nutso way," Jobs told Isaacson.

Ehret's fruitarian diet, also called the Eden Garden Diet or Ehretism, is often used as a type of cleanse, according to LiveStrong.com. Designed to detoxify the system, it can do more long-term harm than good.

When you only eat fruit, you're excluding a lot of valuable nutrients from your diet, says Marisa Moore, registered dietician and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

"Protein is one of the main ones that comes to mind," she says. "(Without protein) you lose body weight. Protein acts like a building block for your muscles and skin and organs."

The same goes for fats, Moore says. Although they often get demonized, fats play an important role in our hormone levels and brain function.

Kutcher told reporters at the Sundance Film Festival that he ended up in the hospital with pancreas levels that were "completely out of whack."

Steve Jobs movie premieres to mixed reviews

Fruit contains a lot of natural sugar, which needs to be controlled by insulin in the body, Moore says. It's the pancreas' job to release that insulin; Kutcher's pancreas may have been overworked if his body was receiving an overload of sugar.

Many readers wondered if an all-fruit diet could have led to Jobs' pancreatic cancer, which led to his death in October 2011. Scientists don't know what causes pancreatic cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Certain inherited DNA mutations might play a role, as well as chemicals in our environment or diet.

Even if you don't overwork your pancreas, you're probably not eating enough calories on an all-fruit diet, Moore says. That puts the body into starvation mode, which can result in serious medical conditions like osteoporosis, severe dehydration and even heart failure, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.

Here's the bottom line: Fruit is natural. It's nutritious. The government recommends eating 1 to 2 cups of it a day. Just don't go all "nutso" on it.

Response: Ashton Kutcher is playing Steve Jobs in Joshua Michael Stern's biopic "Jobs". Kutcher ended up in the hospital after trying to follow Jobs' all-fruit diet. All-fruit meals can exclude valuable nutrients from your diet, nutritionist says.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal is back.

After battling a knee injury which threatened to derail his glittering career, the Spaniard is back on track and back on top following a 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1 win over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final.

The second seed recovered from losing the second set and emerged victorious from an energy-sapping third to win his 13th grand slam and his 22nd consecutive hard-court match.

The Mallorcan, who added the Flushing Meadows title to the French Open crown he clinched earlier this year, now trails only Pete Sampras (14) and his great rival Roger Federer (17) in the list of all-time major winners.

He also now holds a significant lead over Djokovic in the race to end 2013 at the top of the world rankings.

Not bad for a player whose ability to compete at the highest level was called into question in June after a straight-sets defeat to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis in the first round of Wimbledon.

"I never thought something like this could happen, I'm so excited to be back on tour trying to be competitive," Nadal told the U.S. Open's official website after avenging his final defeat to Djokovic in the 2011 final.

"But I never thought about competing for what I have competed for this year, all the Masters 1000s, two grand slams ... so it is just more than a dream for me.

"I'm very happy for everything. It's true that I worked, but you need luck to be where I am today."

Blog: Can Serena become the greatest ever?

Six-time grand slam champion Djokovic has now tasted defeat in consecutive U.S. Open finals, his latest disappointment coming after his loss to Andy Murray in the 2012 title match.

In fact, the Serb has been in four consecutive finals of the New York grand slam, his only victory coming against Nadal two years ago.

"All the credit to him," said Djokovic after the 37th meeting between the two players. "I had my momentum from midway through the second set to end of the third where I was supposed to use it and realize the opportunities that were presented to me.

"I didn't do it. I didn't deserve to win in the end.

"It's obviously disappointing to lose a match like this, but again it was a huge privilege and honor to be fighting for this trophy."

Response: Rafael Nadal wins second U.S. Open title, 13th grand slam. He won three of four sets, dropping only the second. He has made triumphant return from knee injury.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Patrick Vieira's move to Manchester City appears to have moved a step closer after Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho confirmed he has played his last game for the Italian club.  English Premier League side City had been linked with a move for the 33-year-old midfielder who has a stop-start career at the San Siro since his move from Juventus.  Vieria played in Inter's 1-0 win over Chievo and Mourinho paid tribute to his contribution to the club after the match and confirmed his impending departure.  "In particular Vieira was great in his last game for us. He is a player that we will certainly miss now that he is leaving," Mourinho told reporters.   "It was the best way to say goodbye to us and I wish him all the best in his new life. I don't know where he is going. He doesn't have to tell anyone. England? I think so.   "We couldn't have stopped him from leaving."

City manager Roberto Mancini revealed earlier in the week he was interested in taking the former Arsenal midfielder on loan till the end of the season.

Vieira has not been a regular starter since he moved to Inter and the player will be keen to prove his fitness and form in a bid to force his way into France's squad for the World Cup in South Africa.

Meanwhile Juan Sebastian Veron has rejected the chance to join City after the experienced midfielder admitted that he intends to see out his playing career at Argentinean club Estudiantes.

Veron, 34, told Argentinean radio station La Red: "I talked to Mancini, but it's not possible now. It's not about money.

"First comes my family and second it's because I made a decision and I want to respect it. This is what I feel and this is the place in which I am comfortable.

"To accept it would be going against my convictions, against myself and against the people.

"I presented the offer to the club directors so they could analyze it. But on my part there wasn't a lot to think about. My response was instant."

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid are closing in on a move for Juventus midfielder Tiago who is set to move to the Spanish La Liga club on loan until the end of the season.

Response: Patrick Vieira's move to Manchester City appears to have moved a step closer according to Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho.. English Premier League City had been linked with a move for the 33-year-old midfielder who has a stop-start career at the San Siro.. Juan Sebastian Veron has rejected the chance to join City and intends to see out his playing career at Argentinean club Estudiantes..