Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Lille, France (CNN) -- Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka each faced questions heading into Switzerland's Davis Cup final in France.

For Federer, how would his tender back hold up?

For Wawrinka, would he recover after a tough -- and contentious -- loss to his higher-profile Swiss at the World Tour Finals in London last week?

We got our answers Friday at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on a record setting day in Lille -- but for once Federer wasn't the one rewriting the history books.

In front of the largest ever tennis crowd for a pro match -- at 27,432 it eclipsed the 27,200 that turned up to watch Spain beat the U.S. in a converted Seville bullring in the 2004 Davis Cup final -- Federer not only fell to Gael Monfils but couldn't put up much of a fight.

The 6-1 6-4 6-3 result against Monfils -- who piped down his histrionics -- marked his most lopsided defeat in 45 singles matches in the competition.

"You accept the fact that you're playing the way you feel," Federer told reporters. "But it wasn't all negative. I started to feel better as the match went on. That's very encouraging, I must say."

Also encouraging for Federer and the Swiss, Wawrinka thumped a listless Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-2 to begin the day.

Federer's performance, coupled with France's apparent advantage in Saturday's doubles, means it's the home team who'll be happier come the end of play.

One of the two major titles to elude Federer in his glittering career is a Davis Cup crown and how disappointed he must have been that on his debut in a Davis Cup final he was at less than full strength.

Monfils, however, remains one of the most athletic players in the game and owned a pair of wins over Federer.

With French captain Arnaud Clement able to rein him in during changeovers, he played focused tennis.

"Definitely one of the top three matches in my life," said Monfils, who squandered two match points against Federer at the U.S. Open.

Monfils broke early in the first and facing an immediate break point, struck a courageous second-serve ace that delighted his many fans.

Clay can be classified as the least forgiving of surfaces when it comes to unforced errors, which made Monfils' tally of 44 winners and 18 unforced errors extremely impressive.

In truth at times he was quick to pounce on short Federer balls.

He earned the key break at 2-2 in the third in breath-taking fashion, slamming a forehand down the line and later in the game sliding into his backhand prior to sending it past Federer and down the line.

And what a way to end it: Monfils produced another shot down the line, a backhand from a difficult angle.

Wawrinka, meanwhile, sparkled against French No. 1 Tsonga, displaying some of the artillery that won him the Australian Open in January for a maiden grand slam title.

His stats were even better than Monfils' -- 61 winners and 29 unforced errors.

"I know how to play those matches," Wawrinka said. "I did so many big matches, so many important matches this year.

"Today it's important to show them that I'm there. They (were) maybe too focused (on) Roger and maybe they forgot about me."

He showed no after effects of the loss to Federer, when he blew four match points and was reportedly taunted by Federer's wife, Mirka.

For large parts of the affair he targeted Tsonga's backhand with his own sublime one-handed backhand, easily getting the better of the 2008 Australian Open finalist.

At one stage, even the crowd -- most of course were rooting for Les Bleus -- admired Wawrinka's laser-like backhand in reply to a slack Tsonga forehand volley.

Wawrinka stormed to the first set and when he held a break point to begin the second, it appeared as if the Swiss No. 2's better form would see him cruise in three.

But Tsonga hung on, altered the momentum and for a brief spell in the third set was in the ascendancy.

The loudest the crowd got in the opener was in that third set, when an agitated Tsonga implored them off their feet when he saved a set point with an ace at 2-5. The outstretched arms of Clement at precisely the same time suggested an expression of, 'It's about time,' and the Swiss cow bells were temporarily silenced.

There's no doubt that Wawrinka was slightly rattled.

Tsonga smelled blood when Wawrinka trailed 0-30 on serve, but the latter rallied to close out the set -- and the match, realistically -- despite double faulting on one of his set points.

Tsonga was annoyed with his performance but also with the French fans, who he felt weren't vocal enough.

"When the teams were introduced, they applauded Stan more than us, Roger more than us," he said. "We hear the Swiss spectators more than we hear the French ones.

"Stan, for example, announced that the ball was out, and it was in.

"I just went to check the mark, and I was booed in my own country -- maybe not by the French spectators but by the Swiss spectators. It's annoying."

With Monfils' victory over Federer, it guaranteed so-called 'live' action Sunday and Clement would surprise a few if he stuck with the out-of-sorts Tsonga to begin the reverse singles.

For the time being, Federer isn't ruling himself out of Saturday's doubles.

"Now I'm coming out of the match without any pain, which is good, too," said Federer. "It was not a five-setter (that left) me totally exhausted. So if I have to find something positive about it, I'll say that.

"But it is clear that I want to play better. If I play the doubles and the singles, it needs to be a lot better than today. Now I have the information and I know exactly what I have to do."

Wawrinka and Federer both aren't scheduled to play doubles but they can be called upon Saturday.

Response: Switzerland and France are tied after the opening day of the Davis Cup final in Lille. Stan Wawrinka crushes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to give Switzerland a 1-0 advantage. But then Gael Monfils defeats a potentially ailing Roger Federer in the second singles. More than 27,400 turned up on the day, the largest tennis crowd for a pro match.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Not only is Tetsuya Kumakawa the greatest ever Japanese ballet dancer, he is one of the best the world has ever seen. His athletic grace has won him fans wherever he has performed, and his dedication to the art continues to bring ballet to new audiences.

Capable of soaring leaps and flawless turns, Tetsuya "Teddy" Kumakawa has thrilled audiences the world over. Founded in 1998, his K-Ballet company has built on the success he acheived at the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, London.

Born in Sapporo on Hokkaido -- Japan's North Island -- in 1972, Kumakawa took up ballet after seeing his eight year-old cousin, Hironao perform at school in Sapporo.

Like any 10 year old boy, his new hobby had to compete with other activities -- he also enjoyed kendo, baseball and drawing -- but it was ballet that he really fell in love with.

From a young age Kumakawa had been keen to see the world and the arrival of foreign guest tutors at his school only reinforced those desires.

But it was Swiss ballet teacher Hans Meister's visit to Hokkaido that proved to be a turning point in Kumakawa's nascent career. Meister encouraged him to travel and recommended that he attend the Royal Ballet School (RBS) in London or the Canadian National Ballet School.

Kumakawa was just 15 years old when he left home to take up a place at the RBS. Less than two years later, in January 1989, he won both the Gold Medal and the newly established Prince Takamado Prize at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. He was without question the star of the competition, producing soaring leaps in a performance from 'Don Quixote'.

In the spring of 1989 he turned professional, becoming the first Asian dancer to join the Royal Ballet Company (RBC) -- his first solo part was the leading mandolin player in "Romeo and Juliet." In June he won the Classical Ballet Prize at the Eurovision Young Dancer of the Year competition held in Paris.

Kumakawa experienced a meteoric rise through the ranks of the RBC. He quickly became a Soloist, dancing the Act 1 pas de trois in Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake' and completed a memorable performance as the Bronze Idol in La Bayadère -- a cameo role that showcased his extraordinary jumping ability.

The following season he was chosen for the role of the Fool in the premiere of Kenneth Macmillan's 'The Prince and the Pagodas'. In 1991 he was promoted to First Soloist and was a Principal dancer by 1993.

So developed a mutual love affair between Kumakawa, his new fans and his adoptive city. "I was so pleased to participate in British culture," he told The Japan Times in 2004.

By the age of 26 'Teddy', as he had become known to his friends in the UK -- 'kuma' means 'bear' in Japanese -- had danced the full repertoire of classical and modern roles at the RBC.

The man who had wowed London audiences with his acrobatic jumps and audacious turns was about to leap into a new chapter of his life.

In 1998 he left the Royal Ballet to found his own company -- the K-Ballet -- back home in Tokyo. It was a highly controversial move at the time. Not only had he upped sticks in the middle of a season, he also took five of the Royal Ballet's star male performers with him to Japan. The British Press and the ballet fraternity were not impressed.

Greeted as a returning hero in his native country, Kumakawa took on the roles of leading dancer, teacher, artistic director and company manager simultaneously. But despite the formidable workload and responsibility the new K-Ballet flourished, fostering a wider interest in Japanese ballet.

In 2004, Kumakawa established the K-Ballet School. The same year, the K-Ballet became the first Japanese ballet company to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

A career-threatening knee injury, suffered whilst on a K-Ballet tour of Japan in May 2007 has temporarily sidelined Kumakawa from performing. But he expects to be back on stage next year, delighting audiences with virtuoso performances once again.

In the meantime, Kumakawa -- who continues to enjoy pop star status in Japan -- continues to pass on his expertise to a new generation of dancers. E-mail to a friend

Response: The greatest Japanese dancer is known as "Teddy" to friends and fans. Experienced a meteoric rise through the ranks at the Royal Ballet, London. Controversially left the Covent Garden stage to form his own company.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- At least three tornadoes caused massive damage in Virginia and injured more than 200 people on Monday, officials said.

This Suffolk, Virginia, house was destroyed by an apparent tornado Monday.

At least 200 were injured in Suffolk where a twister destroyed several homes and businesses, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

The storm hit the 138-bed Sentara Obici Hospital, though Spieldenner said the facility was still operational and accepting patients.

A second tornado struck Colonial Heights -- about 60 miles northwest, near Richmond -- injuring at least 18 people, he said.

A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville, about 70 miles south of Richmond, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, which confirmed all three tornadoes.

Gov. Tim Kaine declared a Virginia-wide state of emergency as hazardous weather continued through the central part of the state.

The Suffolk twister touched down just before 4 p.m. ET and plowed its way east into Norfolk, damaging scores of homes, stores and cars and downing dozens of trees and power lines, Jackson said.  Watch as a witness describes the tornado form »

Video footage from the scene showed roofs torn off homes, cars flipped over, trees snapped in two and a caved-in section of a newly constructed shopping center.

Furniture, fences and mounds of other debris were tossed in streets, parking lots and lawns.  Watch the storm's massive destruction from the air »

A tornado warning over the area remained in effect Monday evening.

Jeff Judkins, the city's emergency management coordinator, said there also were reports of people trapped inside cars. It's the worst damage he's seen in the area, he said.

An emergency shelter will be established by Monday night, Suffolk spokeswoman Dana Woodson said.

Officials initially reported a fatality, but later determined that it was unrelated to the storm, she said. E-mail to a friend

Response: NEW: Injuries in Suffolk, where a tornado destroyed homes and businesses. A second tornado struck Colonial Heights injuring at least 18, an official said. Video shows roofs torn off, cars flipped, trees snapped in half. A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (CNN) -- When Guatemalan laborer Faustino Morales fell from a scaffold in February, the response from volunteer firefighters was immediate. Within minutes, the "bomberos" reached the accident site with advanced rescue equipment, an ambulance and a thorough knowledge of how to treat his injuries.

Paul Embleton's BRAVE Foundation has trained more than 1,000 volunteer firefighters in Guatemala.

Just 10 years ago, help would more likely have come from under-trained volunteers who arrived in a pickup truck.

Veteran firefighter Paul Embleton witnessed such a rescue attempt in 1996 while on a medical mission trip to Guatemala -- and it moved him into action.

"I rode out with a busy company that ran multiple calls a day, mostly involving crashes, shootings, stabbings ... a lot of violence," said Embleton, 48. "They didn't have ambulances. [Firefighters] would respond to these calls, grab the patients from the streets and throw them in the back of the pickup truck. They just transported; they didn't provide a whole lot of care."

He saw several people die in those pickup trucks. Knowing they could have had a better chance of survival with basic pre-hospital care, Embleton, a captain paramedic firefighter from Washington state, saw an opportunity to help.

Embleton launched the BRAVE Foundation -- Bomberos Resourceful And Valiant Efforts -- to provide emergency response training and equipment to volunteer firefighters (bomberos) in Guatemala. Do you know someone who should be a CNN Hero? Nominations are open at CNN.com/Heroes

During his first trip there, he openly criticized the firefighters' lack of resources and training. The firefighters, in turn, asked him to hold a class for them.

"I'd gone back to my hotel to try to think how I was going to teach with the same limited resources they had," Embleton said. "I cut up my hotel bed sheets and made triangular bandages, and got cardboard boxes to utilize for splints."

With the help of a 12-year-old interpreter, Embleton taught roughly 100 students techniques in basic bleeding control.

David Alvarez, the chief of 10 Fire Station in Guatemala, was among Embleton's first students. "It was really primitive before," Alvarez said. "Basic techniques that firefighters had outside of Guatemala, we'd never learned, and we wanted to learn."

In 1998, with assistance from fellow Washington firefighters and Rotary International, the BRAVE Foundation established a pilot emergency medical training program in Guatemala City, using the U.S. emergency medical technician curriculum translated into Spanish. Since then, the EMT training program has expanded to 14 training programs throughout the country.  Watch Embleton describe what made him take action in Guatemala »

"Things have improved drastically since our program began," said Embleton. "The skill level of the firefighters has increased immensely. They have more confidence and more respect from hospitals in providing pre-hospital care, and the citizens have noticed this."

In 2007, just a few years shy of retirement, Embleton was granted a leave of absence from his work as a Washington firefighter. He sold a private Internet-based business and relocated to Guatemala to volunteer full-time.

His group is building a fire station and training firefighters at 120 Company -- the newest company of firefighters in the remote lake community of San Juan La Laguna.

"We've moved out to the country to support an indigenous Mayan community where the needs are great," Embleton said. "They've never had anybody to call because there was nobody available to respond. We're educating the people that the firefighters are here to help."  Watch how Embleton and volunteers provide rescue services to a remote community »

To date, Embleton's BRAVE Foundation has organized the delivery of 20 firefighting vehicles and more than $1 million worth of medical and rescue equipment. The group has provided EMT training to more than 1,000 firefighters.

"The firefighters have the motivation, and you get a heart for it because you see how well we have it in the States," Embleton said. "These guys are so poor and they try so hard, and they have no other resources to make a program like this work on their own."  Watch a day in the life of a firefighter in Guatemala »

Despite his personal sacrifice, Embleton is quick to share credit for BRAVE's efforts and success, citing the help of volunteers, private donors, firefighters, Rotary and the Guatemala community.

"You see all the good that it does," said Embleton. "People call the firefighters when they're in trouble, and they know that the firemen will always be there."

Want to get involved? Check out the BRAVE Foundation and see how to help.

Response: Paul Embleton's foundation provides equipment, training to Guatemalan firefighters. Before Embleton, emergency rescue often came in pickup trucks, not ambulances. He moved to Guatemala from Washington state in 2007 to volunteer full-time. Do you know a hero? Nominations are open at CNN.com/Heroes.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has told CNN Sport's Don Riddell that Michael Schumacher is still the fastest driver on the Formula One grid.

Speaking ahead of the opening grand prix of the season in Melbourne, Australia, Alonso -- himself a double world champion -- believes that seven-time world champion Schumacher remains a cut above his rivals.

"If Formula One was 24 cars exactly the same, then Michael would be the driver I would fear most," revealed Alonso.

"If you look down the list of drivers on the grid for 2011, then one name stands out above the rest, Michael Schumacher.

"Michael is a seven-times world champion and is a legend in Formula One. We have to respect him because he has the ability and talent to do well this season."

Despite not winning the drivers' title since 2006, Alonso confirmed that should he retire without another championship to his name, he would still be more than happy with his career.

"Not many drivers have had the opportunity to win one world title, let alone two. I have already had nine years in Formula One and hopefully have another six or seven to come," added the Spaniard.

"I could spend nearly a quarter of my life in this wonderful sport, doing what I love to do, so I consider myself lucky and am very happy."

Despite this, Alonso confirmed that coming so close to his third world title last year, left him sad and frustrated.

"The first three or four days after the end of the season were not the best for me," Alonso confirmed. "But I feel that Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull won the title rather than Ferrari losing it.

"Coming so close last year makes the team determined to go one better this time around," he added.

"Everybody at Ferrari was devastated by the result at Abu Dhabi last year but we are all very motivated now for 2011."

Response: Fernando Alonso tells CNN that Michael Schumacher is still the best F1 driver. The Ferrari driver believes Schumacher remains a cut above his F1 rivals. Alonso confirmed he would still be satisfied even without another world title.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Barcelona, Spain (CNN) -- Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 for public testing on Wednesday in the hope that it will help the brand win back some of the ground it has been losing to Apple and Google.

The new operating system works on tablets as well as PCs and laptops, connecting them via the cloud to give users a more consistent experience as they switch between devices.

"It's beautiful, modern, fast and fluid -- it's a generational change in the Windows operating system," Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky said as he launched the consumer preview of the new operating system at Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

Read more: Google, the star of the show?

Windows 8 scales across devices and screen sizes, Sinofsky said. "There's too many hard stops between phones and tablets and desktops. We want to make things more harmonious," he said.

The new operating system uses the "Metro" style of software currently being used on phones running the Windows 7 operating system, using tiles on the start-up screen.

A new Windows Store, which will be the marketplace for all apps for Windows 8, also launched on Wednesday. Apps will be free to download for the duration of the consumer preview.

James Governor, a London-based tech-industry analyst, said Windows 8 was unlikely to galvanize Microsoft's market profile but its entry into tablet technology laid crucial groundwork for sustained relevance.

He said the popularity of Windows 7 meant that, as was seen with Microsoft's earlier XP operating system, there wouldn't be intense clamoring for an immediate update.

"I don't think it's an explosive 'Christ, we've got to have this new release,' "he said. "There isn't necessarily a pent-up demand for what Windows 8 represents."

Read more: Brave new world of mobile medicine

Governor said the move into the tablet market represented by Windows 8 marked a key step for Microsoft as it repositioned itself against Apple and Android-powered machines.

"Microsoft needs to be in the tablet game. It couldn't sit out two or three rounds of tablets without trying to have a more effective play and clearly Windows 8 is a big part of that," he said.

In terms of functionality, Governor said Windows 8 suffered from a "weird two-personality thing" as it switched between its user-friendly new Metro interface into functional areas of computing.

"A lot of people aren't going to be comfortable with that: here is this new Metro personality and then, oh by the way, now I really want some really hardcore web development. I found it OK, but I don't know how it will work with others."

Barry Neild contributed to this story from London

Response: Microsoft has made available a preview version of its latest Windows software. Windows 8 upgrade marks computing giant's long-awaited move into tablets. Analyst says success of Windows 7 means there won't be stampede to upgrade.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is expected to "categorically deny" allegations Monday that she gave Hoboken's Mayor an ultimatum regarding Superstorm Sandy recovery aid.

Guadagno's denial flies in the face of claims made by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who said Sunday that Guadagno told her to support a redevelopment project backed by Christie or lose Sandy recovery funds.

Zimmer also connected Christie to the threat, saying that Guadagno told her the message was coming directly from Christie.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Zimmer said, "She said that to me -- is that this is a direct message from the Governor," Zimmer said, referring to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who Zimmer said approached her in a parking lot in May to deliver the message.

Hoboken mayor: 'It's true' Christie administration withheld Sandy funds

The alleged incident happened last May after Guadagno toured a grocery store that had reopened after suffering $10 million in flooding damage from Sandy.

The lieutenant governor recalls having a conversation with Zimmer that day, but says she remembers Zimmer arguing that Sandy recovery aid and redevelopment were the same issue, according to the source close to Guadagno, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

"Kim remembers in their conversation that she was talking about redevelopment and making investments in Hoboken. She remembers Zimmer pressing Kim for money for Sandy. Kim remembers saying you can't tie the two together," the source said. "And she remembers Zimmer continuing to press and showing her a map of the city and pressing for aid for Sandy."

Catching up with the Christie scandal

Guadagno remembers it as a "friendly conversation," the source said. "Zimmer was laser-focused on getting Hoboken money for Sandy recovery and that is not the role Kim Guadagno plays in the administration," the source said.

She remembers telling Zimmer that the administration would like to do more to redevelop Hoboken, but she doesn't recall talking to her specifically about The Rockefeller Group project. But the source said Guadagno, a veteran prosecutor and former county sheriff, is still going through her records, preparing for a possible subpoena.

In remarks Monday morning -- at a volunteer event in Union Beach, New Jersey honoring the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service -- Guadagno is expected to make the point that, "My job in the governor's office is to oversee redevelopment and reinvestment in New Jersey," the source said.

In fact, a governor's directive prevents Guadagno from working on the Sandy recovery efforts because she was personally affected by the superstorm -- her home in Monmouth Beach was damaged by the storm, the source said. She was at the Hoboken grocery store in her role as an advocate for the state's business community.

"Kim can't talk about Sandy," the source said. "She can't do it."

And Guadagno twice returned to Hoboken after that May visit -- once spending more than two hours touring farmers' markets with Zimmer -- and the Hoboken mayor never brought up the May conversation or indicated that it had upset her, the source said.

Zimmer's comments Saturday and Sunday are a change from what she told CNN on January 11. She said then that while she wondered whether Sandy aid funds were being withheld because she didn't endorse the governor's re-election, she concluded that "I don't think that's the case."

"I don't think it was retaliation and I don't have any reason to think it's retaliation, but I'm not satisfied with the amount of money I've gotten so far," Zimmer told CNN then. She did not mention her concerns about the redevelopment project.

CNN"s Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this report

Response: New: New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno says accusations by Hoboken Mayor are "false". Guadagno says she did not deliver an ultimatum on behalf of Gov. Chris Christie. Her remarks will be the first time a senior Christie official has addressed the charges. Hoboken's Mayor says Guadagno told her that Sandy relief funds hinged on her backing real estate venture.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Jason Dinant has the opposite problem of most Americans -- he has flat abs.

Jason Dinant's New Year's resolution is to shape up his abs from flat to muscular.

Standing 6-feet, Dinant has a beanpole leanness many Americans covet. The 27-year-old's ribs protrude from his chest, but he has some fat collecting in his stomach.

"I don't have that much body fat, but it tends to stick right here in my stomach," he said pinching his belly.

"My goal is to get a six-pack by summer," Dinant declared in a video he submitted to iReport.com.

Dinant often peels off his shirt and gives what he calls "the naked truth about today's news" in Web videos he posts on his blog called "Naked Boy News." Watch Dinant's video.

"I give reports without a shirt on, so I should have the best body," he said.  "Who wants to see a guy with skinny arms and no abs?"

CNNhealth.com recently asked viewers to talk about their New Year's resolutions on iReport.com and to upload photos and videos during their journey to change. Share your story with iReport.com.

Dinant works in sales during the day and has a night job as an emcee at a Las Vegas, Nevada, night club, where he is surrounded by toned and fit dancers.

"There are go-go boys and girls with killer stomachs," Dinant said. "I get up on the stage, I don't take my shirt off. I'm nervous about my stomach."

He doesn't mind going topless on his videos, but he gets self-conscious in person.

With his high school reunion fast approaching this summer, Dinant wants to tone up in the next six months and develop chiseled abs like Shemar Moore of TV's "Criminal Minds" or Ty Pennington, host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Until recently, the extent of Dinant's exercise has been walking up the stairs and parking his car far away from stores.

Now Dinant works out four times a week in a gym inside his apartment complex, cycling on a stationary bike, using weights on his upper body and doing 500 sit-ups a day.

A televised Britney Spears interview gave him the idea for the sit-ups routine.

"I heard her saying that she'd do 1,000 sit-ups a day," Dinant said. "She had amazing abs. If she can do it, I can do it."

But the sit-ups get old, Dinant said.

To distract himself, he watches TV shows such as "The Bachelor" while crunching, or he thinks of games ("Every time you do sit-up, you name an Osmond child") to pass the time.

Contrary to popular opinion, traditional sit-ups aren't the most effective way to get a six-pack, said Robert Dothard, a personal trainer based in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Crunches are great to flatten the stomach," he said.  "For men, we have to put abs under weight resistance to make them stick out."

The ab segments that make up a six-pack exist under layers of fat and skin.  To make the six-pack more pronounced, a person has to exercise and lose the excess fat so those muscles are visible. That comes through cardio exercises.

To make those stomach muscles bigger, "abs have to be put under resistance," Dothard said.  Those muscles need weight training to become bigger and more prominent.

He recommended doing sit-ups on a stability ball while holding a medicine ball over the head and crunching. Using a resistance band anchored around a stationary bar while performing side-to-side twists also creates resistance, he said. Dothard demonstrated these moves on a video.   Watch Dothard's fitness demonstrations. »

Someone with a svelte frame such as Dinant's may not look as if he or she needs to exercise, but appearances can be deceiving.

"People can be lean, but still carry a lot of fat," Dothard said.

Research suggests that it's wise for even lean people to lose the belly fat. Even with a normal body mass index, people can carry extra weight in their stomachs, which increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with belly fat have a higher risk of dying compared to their peers without it.

But, Dinant's reasons for wanting a taut stomach remain purely aesthetic.

"I have my 10-year high school reunion coming up," Dinant said. "I want to go back and be like, 'Bam. Look at me.'"

Response: An iReporter with flat abs sets his goals this year for a six-pack. Jason Dinant is doing 500 sit-ups, cardio and weights. Fitness trainer says sit-ups aren't sufficient, recommends weight resistance. Share your journey to change with iReport.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered.

"I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile.

Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren.

Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang village that promotes polygamy as God's will. "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me," he says. "It's not my wish to keep marrying again and again."

All 160 family members live in a four-storey mansion perched on top of a remote village in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram.

The state, neighboring Myanmar and Bangladesh, has one million residents, one of the lowest population densities in this country of 1.2 billion. Despite its natural beauty, special permits are required to enter the state, making tourism virtually non-existent.

Four hours away from Mizoram's only airport, in the isolated village of Baktwang, Ziona's bright purple house with 22 bedrooms stands out.

The main room is a giant hall where the family cooks, eats and prays. The bedrooms are dormitory-style with an average of 20 beds, each double bed about a foot apart from the next. The children sleep with their mothers who take turns visiting the 69 year-old's master bedroom.

"There is no discrimination amongst us, he treats us all equally," fifth wife Twangi says.

Ziona first got married when he was 17 to Zathiangi, who is now 70. His youngest wife is 31.

As the eldest wife, Zathiangi calls all the shots in the kitchen so meal times are an efficient exercise.

Without much fuss, while some women of the house cook, others set the table, still others serve and clean.

"We cook 25 kilograms of rice, 40 kilograms of potatoes and 5 kilograms of lentils everyday," Twangi says.

The family indulges in meat three times a week and for every non-vegetarian meal, 30 chickens are plucked and a giant pig is roasted.

But the sheer volume of food that needs to be cooked or plates that need to be washed doesn't overwhelm the women of the house.

Like a well-oiled machine, everyone carries out their individual chore, so dinner for 160 is ready within an hour and utensils are washed and put away within minutes.

Even the children help out. Tiny 6-year-olds have become experts at plucking chickens, and everyone seems to get along.

"No fighting, never, we are all one family, there's no other people here so we don't fight," says sixth grandson Hmingthamzauva, one of the few in the household who speaks English.

"Since we are used to living in a very big family when we go outside to study we actually feel very lonely," he says laughing.

But while he likes living in a big family, he himself doesn't want more than one wife.

"My grandfather is specially appointed by God to have as many wives as possible and to look after them. But for me, having one wife and one son is quite enough. There is no rule or tradition as such that we have to follow polygamy, for me it's actually unbearable," Hmingtahmzauva says.

Hmingtahmzauva says his great grandfather Chana, who also had multiple wives, had a spiritual revelation after he was expelled from the Catholic Church for his unusual lifestyle.

So Chana created his own polygamist sect, which now has a following of 400 families.

Ziona is the caretaker of the self-reliant sect. They grow their own crops and raise their own livestock.

"Everyone has a designated job. Some are doing carpentry work, some take care of the piggery and poultry farm and others cultivate crops," Ziona says.

He has set up a school nearby for children of the community, the curriculum comes from the government but Ziona has added some sect-specific teachings.

"My father is the greatest god that we can have in this world, he has done so much for us," says his eldest son Nunparliana, who has two wives and 14 children.

India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2030. But crowding and crumbling infrastructure in India's booming cities don't faze Ziona.

"I'm not troubled by the noise or the overcrowding. My mind remains at peace," he says.

The family is not listed in the Guinness Book of World Records because Ziona says he doesn't want the publicity. But as word gets out, Baktwang village and Ziona's family may not remain so isolated.

Response: One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India. Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren.. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy. "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me".


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Killing a 500-plus pound boar might sound like a big deal. But for one North Carolina man, it is just how he brings home the bacon.

Jett Webb killed the massive animal last month in eastern North Carolina.

When the amazing pictures of the animal and hunter recently circulated on the Internet, Webb started fielding calls from the media.

Webb told CNN on Thursday that while many people were astonished by the kill, he shot a boar of a similar size two years ago.

Still, friends and family were in awe.

"They were blown away. It's not every day you see something that size," Webb said. "They can't believe something that big is running around the woods of eastern North Carolina."

Webb, a firefighter in Conetoe, said the gigantic pig provided so much meat that it filled up his deep freezer. He gave a lot of meat away, but still has "a lot to last me a while."

Webb, 34, said hunting isn't about bagging trophies for him. He has been hunting since he was 12 years old and says it relaxes him and provides food for his family.

"The meat the pig provided and the memory that hunting provides is worth more than any trophy," he said.

Webb and a few other of his fellow hunters at the White Oak Ranch Hunting Club had been tracking the massive hog since January on surveillance cameras they have placed throughout their hunting grounds.

They just didn't realize how big a pig this was.

On February 28, Webb had been in a tree stand in Bertie County for hours when he spotted the boar and took him down with one shot. Webb said he used an AR-10 with a .308-caliber round.

He and a buddy tried to drag the hog out of the woods.

That lasted a few feet.

They had to go get a four-wheeler to drag it out.

The scale only went to 500 pounds. It topped out, but Webb said he didn't think the boar weighed much more than 500 pounds.

Michael Mansell, president of the hunting club, told North Carolina Sportsman magazine that he was there when the giant porker was weighed.

Wild boar are not native to the United States -- they may have come with Christopher Columbus -- and didn't appear in North Carolina until 1912, the state's Department of Wildlife website says. Their average size is less than 180 pounds, the site says.

In North Carolina, wild boar may be hunted year round during normal hunting hours. There is no closed season and no bag limit.

In 2004, a hunter in Georgia killed an 800-pound boar dubbed Hogzilla.

Response: Jett Webb plans to eat what he doesn't give away. He and others had been tracking the big pig on video cameras set up near their hunting lodge. Webb and another man tried to drag the boar out of the woods. Critters usually weigh 180 pounds, or less.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Peru's president arrived Tuesday night at a mine in southern Peru, where he was expected to lead an operation to reach nine trapped miners.

"We have been able to talk with the miners. Their spirits are quite high," President Ollanta Humala told reporters outside the mine.

But more work needs to be done before the rescue begins, Humala said. Engineers were working to make sure the mine was secure "so there are no victims," he said.

"Those same engineers tell us that we have to wait a few hours. They haven't said how many," the president said.

The miners have been stuck since Thursday in the wildcat Cabeza de Negro mine in southern Peru.

Earlier Tuesday, one of the mining engineers in charge of the rescue declined to give a specific time frame for the operation.

"We can't say how long it will take right now to get them out, but I can guarantee that they are alive, that they are in good health, and that ultimately they are going to be freed alive," engineer Carlos Bejarano said.

A cave-in over the weekend complicated efforts.

"It's very complicated work. We're taking into account all the necessary security measures to avoid risks among the rescuers themselves," said Cesar Chonate, a regional head of Peru's civil defense agency, the state-run Andina news agency reported.

Video from state-run TV Peru showed workers, wearing hard hats and headlamps, loading rocks into a pushcart by hand.

It was not clear what caused the initial collapse.

The miners have been getting oxygen, food and water through a tube, which has also allowed them to stay in contact with people above ground, Andina reported.

Peruvian Mining Minister Jorge Merino was also in the area and appealed to mining companies for their expertise, according to a statement from his office.

Mining is big business in Peru, which is a major world producer of copper, silver, gold and other minerals.

"The important thing is that the nine people are alive. We won't abandon them," Merino said.

The ordeal stirred memories of a 2010 Chilean mine collapse in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days. All those miners were rescued, pulled one by one from hundreds of meters beneath the Earth's surface with a specially designed capsule.

Response: NEW: Peru's president says it will be "a few hours" before the rescue begins. NEW: The miners' "spirits are quite high," President Ollanta Humala says. Nine miners have been trapped since Thursday. In 2010, 33 miners were rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days in Chile.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:It's probably not the kind of thing voters will use to choose the leader of the free world.

But the Web was taking no shortage of presidential potshots Wednesday over Republican candidate Mitt Romney's new mobile app, which embarrassingly misspelled "America."

Yes, Internet. Welcome to AMERCIA.

"Sorry about the shaking California, that was just the rest of America laughing at Mitt Romney running for Pres. of #Amercia," wrote a person behind a parody President Obama account on Twitter (referencing a minor earthquake late Tuesday).

The gaffe, presumably by some poor developer hired by the campaign, appears on "With Mitt," the campaign's newly released iPhone app. The app invites users to photograph themselves with their choice of 14 pro-Romney slogans such as "I'm a Mom For Mitt," "Obama Isn't Working" and "The America We Love," and then share them on social media.

But one of the slogans reads, "A Better Amercia." Oops. Somebody didn't observe the "I-before-C" rule.

An update to the "With Mitt" app, with the typo corrected, became available at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday. No one with the campaign was speaking on the record about it, but staffers were downplaying its importance in the run-up to November. By Wednesday afternoon, the campaign also had paid for a "promoted tweet" that appears when a Twitter users searches for "Amercia."

Slips of the tongue by political candidates are, of course, not uncommon. In 2008, then-candidate Obama got grief for saying he'd visited "all 57 states." And Vice President Joe Biden's free-speaking nature has gotten him no shortage of headlines.

But the Web's politically minded (many of whom, presumably, don't consider Romney their top choice), were noting that when a mistake appears in writing, it shows a lack of attention to detail.

"If you're applying for a job, and you misspell the name of the company you want to work for, you won't get that job. #Amercia," wrote a Twitter user.

"#Amercia" was a trending topic (meaning it's one of the most discussed terms) on Twitter late Tuesday and again Wednesday morning.

The typo has already also inspired its own Tumblr blog, "Amercia Is With Mitt."

It features photos created with the app and, as of Wednesday morning, included a group of spelling bee champions, Beaker from "The Muppet Show" and Rich Uncle Moneybags, the Monopoly mascot, among its subjects.

And numerous images were popping up on Instagram -- one highlight being Bart Simpson having to write the correctly spelled "America" during his iconic chalkboard gag from the intro to "The Simpsons."

To be honest, the Romney camp is probably more pleased at winning enough delegates in the Texas primaries Tuesday to make him the unofficial GOP nominee than it is worried about a spelling gaffe.

And it's worth noting that lots of folks who support Romney probably only learned that the app exists because of talk about the typo.

Response: Romney iPhone app goes viral with misspelled "Amercia". The campaign app lets users take and share photos with pro-Romney slogans. The typo has been the butt of jokes on social media. UPDATE: Campaign issued an updated version of the app Wednesday that fixed problem.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(Health.com) -- Will placing a tea bag on a cold sore make it disappear? Can you ease hot flashes with herbs? And does putting yogurt on your nether parts have a prayer of curing a yeast infection?

It used to be that you'd hear about these kinds of home remedies from your mom. These days, they're touted on websites, blogs, and online forums. In fact, 61 percent of American adults turn to the Internet to find help in treating what's ailing them, a 2009 study reveals.

But do these natural moves actually work ... and, just as important, could they do more harm than good? Health asked medical experts to weigh in on the Internet's most popular home cures.

The online claim: Yogurt can stop a yeast infection

Is it true? No

Yeast infections -- and their symptoms, from intense vaginal itchiness to cottage cheese-like discharge -- are caused by an overgrowth of the fungus candida. Because studies show that yogurt can promote the growth of healthier strains of bacteria in the stomach and intestines, people have long assumed it might also keep candida in check. And that rumor keeps circulating, thanks to the Internet.

Unfortunately, "no study shows conclusively that eating yogurt cures or even lessens the severity of yeast infections," says Michele G. Curtis, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

Neither will douching with yogurt, or (yikes!) dipping a tampon in the stuff, freezing it, and inserting it -- a remedy suggested on some websites. In fact, douching can cause yeast infections, Curtis says, especially if you're using yogurt; its sugars could actually help yeast grow.

If you're sure you have a yeast infection, based on a past experience, Curtis recommends using an over-the-counter medication, such as Monistat. But, she points out, "everything that itches is not yeast!" So see your gyno when in doubt: That itching might actually be bacterial vaginosis, for instance, which requires treatment with antibiotics.

Health.com: Is vaginal grooming safe?

The online claim: Black cohosh eases hot flashes

Is it true? Yes

Commonly known as bugwort or rattle root, this herb is derived from a plant called Actaea racemosa. While it may sound like something from Harry Potter's wizarding world, this remedy is not all hocus-pocus: Some studies suggest that black cohosh may indeed reduce hot flashes, according to guidelines re-released last year by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

"It appears to have an anti-inflammatory effect," says Philip Hagen, M.D., co-editor of the "Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies." In fact, the herb is often prescribed in Europe; it's a key ingredient in Remifemin, a popular drug there, which is also available in the United States.

While U.S. studies haven't conclusively proven that black cohosh works, Curtis says it can't hurt to try the herb -- just consult with your doctor about the dosage first, and stick with it for 12 weeks, she says. (Make sure you're getting black cohosh, not blue cohosh, which could potentially be harmful, she adds.)

Health.com: Can supplements ease menopause symptoms?

The online claim: Pop calcium pills to quell PMS cramps

Is it true? Yes

Since there's scientific evidence that PMS sufferers have lower levels of calcium in their blood, it's not a stretch to think that loading up on it would ease the cramps, headaches, and bloating that come at that time of the month. Indeed, research has shown that taking 600 milligrams of calcium twice a day can reduce PMS symptoms.

And getting the nutrient in your food (such as calcium-packed dairy) may keep them at bay altogether: In a recent study conducted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, women who consumed four servings a day of skim or low-fat milk reduced their risk of developing PMS by 46%.

Note: Some women's cramps are so severe that only prescription medication can curb them, Curtis says. So if calcium doesn't make a difference with yours, see your doctor.

Health.com: 10 ways to get rid of PMS

The online claim: Tea tree oil can zap your zits

Is it true? Maybe

One brand of tea tree oil sold online is dubbed "Pure Liquid Gold," and it just may be, at least in the case of acne. A study published in the British Journal of Dermatology found that applying the extract to pimples reduced inflammation.

"Tea tree oil is antifungal and antibacterial," says Debra Jaliman, M.D., a New York City-based dermatologist. "It's so effective that many of my patients prefer it to benzoyl peroxide."

Other experts are not so keen. "The oil can cause rashes and even blistering," warns Jerome Z. Litt, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and the author of "Your Skin from A to Z." If you're nervous about using tea tree oil, Jaliman says, instead try a face wash for oily skin that contains salicylic or glycolic acid.

Health.com: Get flawless skin naturally

The online claim: Steam clears up sinus headaches

Is it true? Yes

This old-school treatment -- touted in more than 400,000 Google results! -- really works. "Inhaling steam flushes out your nasal passages, relieving sinus pressure," explains Neil Kao, M.D., head of research at the Allergic Disease and Asthma Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Add a few drops of peppermint or eucalyptus oil to make it more potent. "The minty smell causes a tingling sensation in the nasal membrane, and this has a decongestant effect," says Kao, who also suggests dabbing Vicks VapoRub at the lower rim of your nostrils.

Another natural alternative: Using a neti pot to irrigate the nostrils with saline solution, which can also ease sinus symptoms, according to one study.

Health.com: 10 products to help you find sinus relief

The online claim: Black tea bags help cold sores disappear

Is it true? No

If left alone, cold sores usually clear up in a few weeks -- but who wants to wait?

Online remedies for the blisters range from the absurd (like earwax) to the less silly, like placing a damp black tea bag on the sore. "Black tea leaves have tannins, compounds that may inhibit the growth of viruses and bacteria, but no studies have verified this," Hagen says.

Tea bags may also have an anti-inflammatory effect, he says. But your best bet to shorten healing time is an OTC treatment like Abreva or a prescription med like Valtrex. To prevent sores from popping up, stay out of the sun, and use a high-SPF sunscreen around your lips: "Sun-light can trigger cold sores if you're prone to them," Hagen says.

Health.com: The healing power of tea

The online claim: Drinking cranberry juice prevents UTIs

Is it true? Yes

This popular home cure isn't just an old wives' tale: Major medical institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, agree that drinking cranberry juice can be effective for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs). "The berries contain proanthocyanidins, which keep E. coli from attaching to the bladder wall and causing an infection," Hagen says.

If you're prone to UTIs, drink one to two glasses of cranberry juice daily to help prevent them. Doing so also works when you have symptoms -- like a constant need to pee, or a burning sensation when you do -- to speed recovery. (There's also evidence that peeing immediately after sex can help prevent UTIs by flushing out bacteria.)

Stick to juice that's at least 20% pure cranberry -- or try supplements, taking up to six 400-milligram pills twice a day an hour before or two hours after a meal. If your symptoms don't end within 24 to 48 hours, see your physician -- especially if you have a fever or chills. "That points to something serious," Hagen says, "and means you should not be messing with a home remedy."

Copyright Health Magazine 2011

Response: Medical experts weigh in on the Internet's most popular home cures. Yogurt doesn't cure yeast infests, nor does black tea bags help cold sores disappear. Some oils, herbs and juices can help treat your ailments.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Investigators are working to determine what caused a helicopter crash in central Peru that killed seven people, including five Americans.

The team was supporting oil exploration operations near Pucallpa, Peru, when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed Monday afternoon, according to Columbia Helicopters, the Portland, Oregon-based company that employed the victims.

Minutes after the helicopter took off from the Pucallpa Airport, authorities lost communication with the pilot, and people in the control tower could see a heavy smoke column in the distance.

A company official said Tuesday that it was unclear what caused the crash.

"We've notified all the authorities and are cooperating with everyone fully, and we'll do everything we can to learn any causes ... of the accident," said Michael Fahey, Columbia Helicopters president and CEO.

"It's a very sad day for us. We operate globally, but we're a family and we're very close to our employees. And I personally knew many of the individuals who died as our other employees know many of them," Fahey told reporters in Oregon. "We're grieving for them."

Columbia Helicopters has dispatched an investigation team to work with Peruvian authorities, Fahey said.

The victims were the aircraft's pilots and crew. No other passengers were on board, Columbia Helicopters said.

The two Peruvians killed in the crash were Igor Castillo and Luis Ramos. The Americans were identified as Dann Immel, Edwin Cordova, Jaime Pickett, Darrel Birkes and Leon Bradford.

A local police chief said three of the bodies were found away from the site of helicopter's crash and explosion, and those bodies had no burn injuries, leading authorities to believe the three passengers jumped out before the crash.

Helicopter crashes kill 3, hurt 4 and prompt more scrutiny

Response: Company president: "We'll do everything we can to learn any causes of the accident". The victims worked for Columbia Helicopters of Portland, Oregon, which identified the employees. The chopper crashes and explodes near Pucallpa in central Peru.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- So we're at a point in the campaign where health care reform is about to go on trial at the Supreme Court, unemployment remains high and gas prices are skyrocketing.

As for the GOP presidential wannabes, they're arguing over, um, an Etch A Sketch metaphor bungled by a Mitt Romney staffer. ("You can kind of shake it up and we start all over again," Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told CNN this week.)

Sure, the metaphor has a perfection all its own, given Romney's penchant for redrawing policy lines. It's just low-hanging fruit, hard to pass up. But the picture of two "serious" presidential candidates wandering the trail with an old-school toy as a prop can lead to only one conclusion: This is getting silly.

The intellectual arguments have been made. The differences have been debated. And the voters are speaking. Sure, they're conflicted: hard-line conservatives and evangelicals will never love Romney. But Romney has what appears to be an insurmountable delegate lead. He will not sprint across the finish line, to be sure. He will crawl across it. But he will get there nonetheless.

If this were another time, the establishment power brokers would step in with a vision. They would take the candidates aside, give them the big-picture analysis from 30,000 feet and say: "Unite for the sake of the party." Then they would take to the airwaves and offer their full-throated endorsements, turning their attention to seeking the defeat of President Obama. Â

Not happening. Consider this: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush endorses Romney, but there's no rally, huge photo op or choreographed endorsement tour. One prominent tea party group says, well, I suppose we can live with Romney if that's what we have to do. And tea party favorite Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, stops short of endorsing Romney but grudgingly allows that "I think we all need to look at this presidential primary and encourage the candidates to do a little self-reflection here -- what's good for our country."

The moves toward Romney have all of the enthusiasm and passion of an arranged marriage.

So what can be done? Answer: Not much. The next moves are up to the candidates.

First of all, the old-time power brokers don't have much to offer anymore. The political power within the GOP has moved away from any organized structure toward two force fields: the populist guy in the street and the rich guys who can write multimillion-dollar checks.

The super PACÂ sugar daddies -- simply by virtue of their money -- are the reason the campaigns continue. What's the incentive for Newt Gingrich to get out as long as Sheldon Adelson, from his perch in Vegas, is willing to keep paying for his political ads? The same goes for Foster Friess, Santorum's man, who gets to dabble in politics from his mountain views in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I bet these fellows haven't had this much fun in years.

Meantime, the newly populist GOP grass roots won't be told what to do anyway. Party organizations can't deliver them anymore, and Romney isn't exactly the guy they were wishing for when the tea party came on the scene in 2010. The establishment is in disrepute as far as they're concerned; those are the people who bungled the economy. "People feel they can make this decision on their own," Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, who hasn't yet endorsed, tells me. "There's just a lot less party loyalty. ... We are in a period where people are searching."

At some point, though, the search has to end. The money men could get tired of writing checks for fewer and fewer delegates. The math may become overpowering. At some point, the voters will get restless.

Yet the final decisions will have to come from the men running. Granted, Gingrich and Santorum don't like Romney much -- and the longer they run against him, the less they like him. And often with good reason.

But here's the final consideration: "You don't want the blame for losing," Cole says. "It's one thing to fight the good fight. ... But look at Romney in 2008. He knew when to get out."

Yes he did. Romney knew how to end it the right way in 2008. After Super Tuesday, he saw the handwriting on the wall and embraced John McCain. And there's a lesson in that: Parties reward the winners, sure. But voters like good losers, too. Knowing how to lose is the hardest part of running.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gloria Borger.

Response: Borger: GOP candidates are wandering campaign trail with Etch A Sketch toys. She says neither Gingrich nor Santorum can win, so why continue?. In 2008, Romney knew to get out after "he saw the handwriting on the wall," she says. Borger: Santorum, Gingrich can prolong the race, but would they be blamed for a GOP loss?.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Administrative Professionals Week is coming to a close, and though the term "secretary" is fraught with negative meaning for some, there have been stellar examples of efficiency, smarts and loyalty shown by administrative assistants both in real life and on the silver screen throughout the years. From Moneypenny to Holloway, these folks know how to get the job done.

What does it take to be a great administrative assistant? Information, operations and human resources management, for a start. Take a look at the gallery above to view famous clerical standouts and their specialties.

Response: It's Administrative Professionals Week, a time to appreciate all they do. Many prefer the term "administrative assistant" to "secretary". The people who fill these rolls well are efficient, organized and discreet. Popular culture has seen many examples of indispensable admins.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- The holiday season is always a win for video gamers, as software makers jockey to one-up each other with slicker graphics, deeper play and more expansive 3-D worlds.

But the larger and more complex modern-day epics like "Fable III" and "Fallout: New Vegas" become, the more it often pays to keep things simple.

Classics such as "Tetris" and "Pac-Man" clearly illustrate this principle. As engaging today as they were when first launched decades back, it's these titles' sheer approachability and user-friendliness that make them timeless.

Even the most sprawling modern-day gaming experiences, such as "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops," still bow to the classic game design principle of keeping play easy to learn but hard to master.

The successful games observe two vital rules:

1) Find clever ways to spin the same basic concept (swapping tiles, stomping enemy heads, etc.) multiple times

2) Tip learning curves in the players' favor by slowly introducing added depth at a comfortable pace

There's a reason why social games, including "FarmVille" and "Mafia Wars," and iPhone apps such as "Angry Birds" and "Pocket God" continue to rack up millions of plays.

It's not that these titles are revolutionary in design. It's that although the games are easy to start playing and enjoying, they increase in depth and complexity as the player gains more skill.

This makes it less intimidating for players of all levels to try these games, which slowly entice us into their web. (Admittedly, the games' low price points, on-demand access and ample personality don't hurt either.)

Make no mistake: Hardcore gaming enthusiasts do demand more value and substance from their titles than casual gamers. So designers are creating more robust virtual realms and expanding titles' value and scope through downloadable updates.

Games in role-playing, simulation and strategy genres also thrive by adding greater intricacy, not less. In short, we'd weep for a world without the latest "Civilization" or "Gran Turismo."

Instead of piling on pointless game variants or needlessly complicated controls, the most popular mass-appeal games often focus on executing a few simple features well -- and presenting them in endlessly novel contexts. What is "Torchlight" if not a smartly-placed series of mouse clicks, "Bejeweled" a simple slider puzzle or "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" a more high-tech version of Simon?

No player likes to feel as if their favorite titles have been dumbed down. No designer appreciates admitting that behind all the fancy mission types, play modes and monsters, their basic play concept amounts to "checkers with a twist," or simply tapping the right keys on cue.

Still, why overcomplicate matters? Freeform missions, jaw-dropping graphics and extensive online multiplayer support make excellent window dressing. But even in the era of sprawling odysseys like "Alan Wake" and "Red Dead Redemption," they remain secondary to a fun, engaging and approachable core game experience.

Response: Simple games, including such classics as "Tetris," are less intimidating to newcomers. The most popular games often focus on executing a few simple features well. Hardcore gamers still love complex challenges, and no one likes to feel their favorite titles have been dumbed down.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- In news that likely didn't surprise anyone, AMC announced Tuesday that "The Walking Dead" was renewed for a fifth season. Airing Sunday nights, the zombie apocalypse show picked up 20.2 million viewers for its Season Four premiere, a number that breaks records for nonsports telecasts on cable.

Situated right in the middle of this pop culture hoard of zombies is Greg Nicotero, a makeup effects guru. He's a director and executive producer on the show.

In 1988, Nicotero co-founded KNB EFX group, a popular effects studio for film and TV, and went on to establish a reputation in Hollywood.

Long before he joined Robert Kirkman, "Walking Dead" comic book creator, and Frank Darabont, show creator, Nicotero launched his career as a student of zombie icons George A. Romero and Tom Savini.

Nicotero, who still runs KNB, has now become involved in the theme park business by acting as a consultant for Universal Studios Orlando's "Walking Dead" attraction at their Halloween Horror Nights event. (It's also represented in part at Universal Hollywood.

Zombie 101 with Greg Nicotero

Shortly before the news about Season Five was official, Greg Nicotero spoke to CNN via phone to discuss his outlook on the future of "The Walking Dead," the theme park attraction and the hidden tributes he sneaks into episodes he directs:

CNN: Having spoken with you before, you strike me as someone always striving to learn new techniques. What do you find yourself looking at for the show's future?

Greg Nicotero: I appreciate you saying that because every season when I watch the show, I'm constantly looking at what I feel people responded to and what people like, and what I thought was successful or could be refined.

A show like "The Walking Dead" gives us that opportunity to refine the look of the Walkers and the performances. We have the opportunity to play with the concepts, the designs, the sculptures. Every year we're able to do that and it's exciting.

CNN: What are some new things you've learned to bring into "The Walking Dead" moving forward?

Nicotero: When you make something for a movie, when it's done filming, you remove the prosthetics and throw it away. For these guys (at Universal Orlando], they build it for a completely different mindset. There have been things they've done that I've been like, :Wow, that's really smart, I wish I'd thought of that."

For example, they will put magnets inside the teeth and magnets inside the prosthetics. So the teeth don't clip onto the actor's teeth but the teeth attach inside the prosthetic, so you don't have to put custom dentures into every single performer. That's a really neat idea because, for background stuff, you don't need to worry about putting teeth into all of them. I think that works really well.

Photos: Key characters killed on 'The Walking Dead'

CNN: As the show progresses each season, and becomes increasingly successful, is there pressure because people expect more from the show, and because it receives additional attention?

Nicotero: I think we put the pressure on ourselves to raise the bar.

Andy Lincoln and I have had many conversations about that -- about our commitment to the show, our passion and our commitment to the fans. I am really proud of Season Four and where the show is going. The fact that viewers have responded very positively is rewarding because we fought very hard to make sure the show continues every season to raise the bar. We're all creative, passionate people -- every single crew member and actor on the show wants it to be better.

Our show runner, Scott Gimple, is a fan first and a great writer second, so I feel like we all challenge each other. I don't know if "pressure" is the right word, but we feel an obligation to continue to make the show great.

CNN: When Universal first approached you about bringing "The Walking Dead" to a theme park, was there any hesitation?

Nicotero: No, as a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite. The show has been able to attract quite a significant fan base, and what interested me in this collaboration was giving fans a little more of an interactive experience. What Universal Orlando has been able to do is put fans directly in the middle of the experience.

You get to walk through the hallways of the prison, see Hershel's barn, all these really exciting moments. It's like the greatest hits of the show. Being able to do this is an exciting endeavor.

CNN: Was there a concern about quality control since the Walkers in the park are based on your design, but you're not there to manage it?

Nicotero: I'm not there on a day-to-day basis, but I have interacted and consulted with Mike Aiello and his creative team in regards to all of the sculptures. I provided them with photos of a lot of sculptures we did at KNB EFX. They replicated a lot of the stuff we did. In a few instances, like with Michonne's pets, I sent them actual prosthetic pieces used on the show so their sculptors could duplicate, as close as possible, the work we did on the show. I really was involved in that capacity.

CNN: What do you think the appeal is of theme park guests walking through "The Walking Dead"?

NIcotero: I am a movie fan. I've flown to Martha's Vineyard to see where they shot "Jaws." I have been to the Monroeville Mall to see where they shot "Dawn of the Dead," been to the steps in "The Exorcist" where Father Karras falls down the steps. I have been that guy who has been to those locations because it connects me to the material I love so much.

That's what everybody does when they go to Universal. They're going to connect themselves to the experience, and they now know what it's like to be on the set of "The Walking Dead." Fans will seek out those experiences.

CNN: Has the success of "The Walking Dead" added to the awareness of George Romero's work, or do you feel like you need to encourage people to look back to "Night of the Living Dead" and his other films?

Nicotero: That's a great question, and I'm very glad you asked that.

I saw George about two weeks ago in Los Angeles. There was a 30th anniversary screening of "Day of the Dead," and I went and hadn't seen George in about two years. The guy, in my opinion, is a genius.

He was the guy that got me into the business. "Dawn of the Dead" and "Jaws" teeter back-and-forth as the number one movie that I loved, and which influenced me. Before 1968 (when "Night of the Living Dead" came out), zombies were strictly referred to as a voodoo character, not even an undead but under a spell. He created a new creature; they came back from the dead, eat the flesh of the living and you shoot them in the head to kill them.

As far as I'm concerned, "The Walking Dead" wouldn't exist without George Romero. ... Robert Kirkman's comic book is really a love letter to George Romero. His movies were so groundbreaking that they influenced guys like me and Robert Kirkman and Darabont. When I saw him two weeks ago, I was still geeking out.

CNN: Now you're serving as a frequent director on "The Walking Dead," so how does that make you think differently about your past effects work?

Nicotero: I think about things differently because I did come up in the ranks of the makeup effects world. When I get to direct episodes now, what's fun is I throw little tributes in there.

We did a cameo of the airport zombie from "Dawn of the Dead" with the plaid shirt in Episode 15 last year. I get to put those little in-jokes in. I love doing that. I'm directing Episode 15, and I'm popping in a few tributes.

The thing I love the most is I've been doing this 30 years, and every day I come to work and still learn more. It really is the ultimate position, creatively, for me.

Response: Special effects master Greg Nicotero previews "The Walking Dead" theme park attraction. He sneaks hidden tributes into "Waking Dead" episodes he directs. "The Walking Dead" just got renewed for a fifth season.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN)It wasn't the screech of cannonballs, the thud of grappling hooks or the crack of muskets that most terrified the sailors of the Spanish Armada in the 16th century, but fire.

The English vice-admiral Sir Francis Drake used fire ships -- aging hulks set ablaze and allowed to float freely into the Armada -- to devastating effect, forcing the Spanish ships to break formation.

More than 400 years later, however, and fire is still one of the gravest threats to shipboard life.

Old threat, new technology

Shipboard procedures such as fire drills, on-board alarms and locking fire doors may have gone a long way to mitigating the danger of fire at sea, but the US Navy is looking at new technology to help it battle the threat.

Its latest solution is to send fire-resistant metal men into the smoky, red-hot holds of its fire-stricken warships, throwing fire retarding grenades and assessing damage with a camera that can see through smoke.

Called the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), the team at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) chose a humanoid-type robot as the best way of negotiating the narrow passageways, ladders and hatches (all designed for human mobility) of a modern ship.

"Every compartment and passageway on a ship is designed for human occupation and mobility," Dr Thomas McKenna, ONR program manager for human-robot interaction and cognitive neuroscience, told CNN.

"There are numerous barriers, like sills, that would block a wheeled robot. In addition, a humanoid robot can use firefighting gear designed for humans, such as protective coats, backpack fire suppressants, hand-held sensors and hose nozzles," he said

"The long-term goal is to keep sailors from the danger of direct exposure to fire."

Shipboard fires, he said, throw up a different and more urgent set of problems than fires on land.

"Shipboard fires must be suppressed, whereas in many civilian fires, a building can be considered a loss and the focus might shift to containing the fire to prevent spread," he told CNN.

"On a ship, fire suppression is critical to the survival of the ship and its personnel; confined spaces, smoke, heat and gases can be a threat to humans."

Developed by researchers at Virginia Tech and sponsored by the ONR, the SAFFiR prototype was tested aboard the decommissioned warship USS Shadwell last year and unveiled at the Naval Future Force Science & Technology EXPO this month.

Super-human range

SAFFiR stands 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 143 pounds. The unique mechanism design on the robot equips it with super-human range of motion to maneuver in complex spaces.

The team equipped the robot with a suite of sensors that include a camera, a gas sensor and a stereo infrared camera that will allow it to find its way through the choking black smoke that would deter human firefighters.

Its upper body has been designed to manipulate fire suppressing equipment and even to throw propelled extinguishing agent (PEAT) grenades. The robot, say developers, can handle a fire hose on its own.

With enough battery power for 30 minutes of firefighting, SAFFiR is capable of walking in all directions, balancing in rough seas, and stepping around obstacles.

"Balancing on any type of terrain that's unstable - especially for bipedal robots - is very difficult," said Brian Lattimer, associate professor for mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech.

"Whole-body momentum control allows for the robot to optimize the locations of all of its joints so that it maintains its center of mass on uncertain and unstable surfaces."

Robot a team player

While the next generation of the robot will be designed with enhanced intelligence, communications capabilities and extended battery life, Lattimer said the robot would likely always take its orders from a human in a console.

Despite this, the algorithms that are being developed would allow mobility and decision making by the robot as a team member.

"The robot has the ability to do autonomous tasks, but we have a human in the loop to allow an operator to intervene in any type of task that the robot's doing," he said."We're working toward human-robot teams. It's what we call the hybrid force: humans and robots working together."

McKenna said that ultimately, SAFFiR could be used for a number of shipboard duties that are difficult or onerous for humans to perform.

"For instance, a bipedal robot could be configured to take shipboard measurements, scan for corrosion and leaks, and identify changes to the shape of the room from its original configuration," he said.

"By taking on these time-consuming tasks, SAFFiR could free up sailors for jobs that more fully take advantage of their training and technical skillsets."

Read more from Make, Create, Innovate:

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Response: Researchers have developed a robot that could help the US Navy battle shipboard fires. The robot has been designed in a humanoid shape to negotiate complex environments. Not only would the robot, called SAFFiR, throw fire retarding grenades but glean information. Researchers hope the robot will one day help with other difficult and onerous onboard tasks.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- College football's top-ranked LSU Tigers defeated the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime Saturday night.

LSU won the coin toss in overtime, electing to start on defense. The Crimson Tide's offense sputtered in the extra session with two incomplete passes, a penalty for having 12 men in the huddle and a sack for a 5-yard loss.

Cade Foster, Alabama's placekicker, who had already missed three field goals earlier, missed another from 52 yards out.

After that, LSU marched down the field, nearly scoring a touchdown but running back Michael Ford stepped out of bounds.

Big game a work of heart

LSU elected to attempt a field goal and Drew Alleman-- who kicked two field goals earlier -- hit the 25-yard game-winner.

The game, before a Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd in Tuscaloosa, mainly witnessed field goals and punts. Neither team scored a single touchdown.

The low score might be surprising, given that the teams totaled 45 points in 2010, 39 in 2009 and 48 in 2008.

The game was the first-ever SEC regular season game matching the country's two top teams, which were undefeated going into play.

Both teams were among the nation's best when it came to defense and Saturday's game was no exception with LSU notching a field goal in the last seconds for a 3-3 tie going into halftime. Alabama missed two field goals in the first half.

'Game of the century' decided by kickers

The defensive standoff continued in the second half.

Alabama went up 6-3 midway through the third quarter with a 46-yard field goal. LSU tied the game early in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard field goal.

Recap: No.1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama

Going into the game, LSU had outscored its opponent by 222 points this year, according to the school's athletics website.

The game, broadcast by CBS, was played under clear but cool skies.

CNN's Phil Gast contributed to this report.

Response: Drew Alleman, who kicked two field goals earlier, hits the 25-yard game-winner. Neither team scores a touchdown. It is the first-ever SEC regular season game matching the country's two top teams.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- It's that time of year again. This weekend, you'll sacrifice an hour of sleep in exchange for a few months of extra daylight.

Daylight Saving Time officially started at 2 a.m. on Sunday. If you haven't set your clocks forward yet, do it before you return to work on Monday. Daylight Saving Time ends the first Sunday in November.

Benjamin Franklin first thought up the idea of daylight saving in 1784. It wasn't instituted until World War I, when it went into effect to save energy used for lights.

The Standard Time Act established time zones and daylight saving in 1918, but it was short-lived. Daylight saving was repealed the following year.

Daylight Saving Time may bring health problems

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established Daylight Saving Time throughout the United States and gave states the option to exempt themselves. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not follow Daylight Saving Time. Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa also skip out on the clock-changing fun.

In 1974 and 1975, Congress extended daylight saving to save energy during the energy crisis.

In 2007, Daylight Saving got a few weeks longer, running from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

About 70 countries around the world observe daylight saving, but many countries near the equator do not.

It's not universally popular, though. Farmers note that their livestock don't live by a clock, and complain that they have to adjust their working hours to deal with the animals. Also, any parent will tell you -- babies don't quite get it either.

Which do you prefer -- more daylight or more sleep? Weigh in below.

Response: Set your clocks forward today. Daylight Saving started Sunday at 2 a.m. and runs through the first Sunday in November. About 70 countries observe daylight saving.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:London (CNN) -- If keeping track of friends was the first wave of social media, the next may be all about hooking up with strangers.

Apps designed to connect like-minded people, both online and in the real world, are being promoted as potentially capable of generating the kinds of billions Facebook may or may not be worth.

But to achieve this, tech companies must encourage users to make a leap into an unknown world and throw private information into a void.

"If we get this right, I cannot think of a bigger thing to be working on right now," said Paul Davison, CEO of Highlight, one of the most buzzed-about of such apps to emerge this year. "We can take billions and billions of dollars."

Like other so-called "social discovery" apps, Highlight works by allowing a small online cloud of personal information to follow a user wherever their cellphone goes. Whenever two users pass in the street or walk into the same venue, Highlight compares their data and alerts them to things they share in common, such as friends, music or favorite TV shows.

Why faces matter to Facebook

Davison, 32, sees this as a powerful way to solve an imperfect social world in which many people try but fail to find the right friends, partners or employees.

"There is serendipity everywhere," he told CNN this week at Le Web London, a tech conference that wraps up Wednesday. The event brings together some of the biggest names in social media innovation and its agenda showcases a number of data services which, like Highlight, attempt to steer us away from the vagaries of chance.

"But sometimes it just needs more engineering," he added.

Davison is clearly not alone in thinking this. Since its launch in January, Highlight has received positive reviews from tech-industry journalists and was one of the most heavily hyped apps this spring at SXSW Interactive, the tech conference in Austin, Texas. A similar app, Glancee, was snapped up by Facebook in May.

Davison won't disclose how many people have signed up for Highlight to date, but our tests in London this week revealed a relatively thin pool of users. (For context, another fledgling rival, Banjo, hit 1 million users in April.) He appears to be some way off from the fabled "critical mass" at which a network becomes an attractive user destination.

To get there, he must first convince people of the value of sharing -- a task he acknowledges as tricky.

"People freak out, they say it's creepy," he said. "And if they don't want to share, then that's fine, they don't have to. But the social benefits to this far outweigh any cost to privacy."

Davison, who is currently expanding Highlight's two-man operation with half a dozen new hires, said he believes users will be won over by the ability to validate peoples' identities via Facebook or other existing social media platforms, and by the limited space in which the data is broadcast.

Facebook to show you adds based on your Web browing

"We connect people over a 150-meter radius. There's something about a short sense of space that creates trust," he said. "Trust is critical. We think about it all the time and we want to be a simple product that people love. We don't want to be too spammy, too aggressive or anything like that."

Davison said he is not entirely sure how he will monetize his creation. Still, he is confident that it has lucrative potential -- provided it can avoid being pigeonholed as a dating app or conference-networking tool.

"Both those are big markets, but if you focus on them you end up with a very vertical growth plan," Davison said. "We want to go beyond that. We want something that everyone will use everywhere."

While some may doubt Highlight's ability to persuade a mass-market audience to share with strangers, Davison's goals aren't without precedent -- largely thanks to a trail blazed by similar app Badoo.

Founded in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev, Badoo now connects 153 million people around the world. It is hugely successful in Europe and is currently pushing into the United States.

Though it has a reputation as a dating site -- some news reports have described it as like Facebook, but for sex -- the motivation behind Badoo's hook ups are numerous, according to Benjamin Ling, the company's newly appointed chief operating officer.

"We're solving a fundamental need of humans to connect and meet with other people," Ling told CNN on the sidelines of Le Web.

Could mobile apps save local news?

Whereas Highlight focuses on specifically locating and identifying strangers in close proximity, Badoo casts its net much wider, linking like-minded souls in nearby neighborhoods and leaving it up to them to set up a physical rendezvous.

Yet, said Ling, it recognizes that people are clearly willing to take a leap into the unknown.

"As children, we have no problem meeting people, but as we grow up it becomes harder," he said. "The social friction increases. What we do is help reduce that friction."

Badoo makes money as a "freemium" service. There is no charge to join, but users can pay to promote themselves across the network in the same way that retailers optimize their position in Google searches. Ling said further revenues could soon come from advertisements.

Badoo has already achieved the critical mass needed to make it a going concern and seems to have no problem persuading users to share personal details -- a fact that should be encouraging to Highlight and other, newer social startups. Like any dating or social site, however, it must combat users who post false identities.

Mobile devices offer 'seductive' fantasy

"The key thing in gaining trust is user choice. Users only share the information they want to share," Ling said. "As with every open platform, it is open to abuse. We have the ability for our community members to flag abuse, and we have 250 moderators. We allow users to authenticate their profiles, via Facebook or Twitter or their mobile phones."

And, said Ling, he is confident the space will grow as society opens up to the possibilities of sharing with strangers.

"Teens growing up now are more comfortable with the online world, and so the cultural mores are beginning to change over time, and that makes us optimistic," he said. "This model of interaction is going to be much more prevalent in the future."

Response: Mobile apps connecting strangers in real world might be "the next Facebook". Highlight connects mobile users within 150 meters based upon mutual friends or interests. Badoo operates on same principle but covers more distance. Some worry that GPS-aided introductions will seem creepy.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:LONDON, England (CNN) -- From bedroom creators to big studios, hand-drawn to CGI, animation has charmed and entertained children -- and, increasingly, adults -- for many years. The Screening Room went to Annecy in France to discover the secrets of success in animated films...

Annecy has hailed animators like director Tim Burton, seen here receiving a special award at Annecy in 2006.

Annecy is the Cannes of animation. The French town, which lies close to the Swiss border just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Geneva, has hosted the International Animated Film Festival for almost half a century and attracts a younger crowd than many of the major film festivals. With prizes for long and short features, television and student animation, Annecy highlights a wide variety of different types of animation and budgets.

One veteran of Annecy is Craig Decker, known as worldwide cult figure "Spike" and co-founder of "Spike and Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation." Beginning 30 years ago as a means of bringing independent animation to new audiences, the touring festival was instrumental in showcasing the early works of legendary animators such as Tim Burton, Pixar's John Lasseter and Aardman's Nick Park, as well as the first episode of "Beavis and Butthead."

Spike explained to CNN the challenge of getting animation taken seriously. He said, "Originally we had to deal with the stigma. We showed great films like National Film Board of Canada [pieces], or "Tin Toy" by John Lasseter, works of art, masterpieces that take two to three years to make, and we had to deal with, 'What is it? Cartoons like Bugs Bunny or something like that?' And over the years we've educated the public, and we've put animation in the context of a very cool thing [with] a young, hip, adult audience of 18 and over."

Stop-motion classics

One of Spike and Mike's biggest fans, Nick Park, won the Annecy award for Best TV Animation with "Shaun the Sheep," a spin-off from "A Close Shave," one of Aardman's famous Wallace and Gromit short features that grabbed an Oscar.

Stop-motion is also close to the heart of director Tim Burton, who employed the technique on "Corpse Bride" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas." He said, "Because it's such an old-fashioned technique, a lot of it truly has to do with finding the right group of animators, the right group of people to build the puppets, because a lot of things are being done by computer now. Very few people are doing this style of animation."

Allison Abbate, a producer on "Corpse Bride," added, "Stop motion is an age-old process as far as animation in film-making goes. It hasn't really changed since the days of King Kong - we used new technology in 'Corpse Bride' to bring it into a new century."

Appropriate animation

"I think there's room for all types of animation," she continued. "It depends on the story. The story should really decide how you tell it. I think there are stories that are better made in 2-D and CGI and that's what you'd go for."

2-D animation is the mainstay of Japanese anime - a subject so vast it will command its own feature in a subsequent edition of the Screening Room. The film "Paprika" has won worldwide critical praise during the past year as a sophisticated example of the art, whose keenest supporters are sometimes contemptuous of their Hollywood animation counterparts.

Asia is becoming an increasingly powerful force in animation, where companies who traditionally provided a cheap source of labor for animation studios are now using their skills to take a leading role in the creative process. UTV Toons is one of several Indian companies forming partnerships with big U.S. production houses to make new animated features.

Combination of skills

Animation requires a combination of several skills, as producer Allison Abbate explained. She told CNN that animators face many complex challenges. "Animators have to know how to move things, how things work anatomically in a space, but they also have to know how to act, how to emote and that is what makes animation so different from live action. It is so crafted, one frame at a time."

But Spike points out that the rewards animation promises can be very high. "Obviously in features, look at the most successful films," he told CNN. "They're nearly all animated Pixar pieces or, if it's live action, it's the special effects animation that carries the film."

And the future? Spike believes animation is going mobile. He said, "Internationally, what's exciting is with new media: with digital; with broadband; with mobile phones. That's where we're going with our stuff." E-mail to a friend

Response: The International Animated Film Festival in Annecy is the Cannes of animation. Festival highlights the best in animation, from student work to studio shorts. Experts say the future of animation is on mobile devices.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:Guatemala City (CNN) -- Software mogul John McAfee could be deported to Belize on Thursday after being detained by immigration officials, a Guatemalan official said.

Authorities took McAfee into custody Wednesday, said Francisco Cuevas, a spokesman for Guatemala's president, Otto Perez Molina. He is accused of entering Guatemala illegally.

After weeks in hiding, the 67-year-old Internet security pioneer emerged publicly Tuesday in Guatemala's capital, hundreds of miles from the Caribbean island in Belize where his next-door neighbor was found dead.

Read more: CNN Exclusive: McAfee talks about life on the run

Guatemala's foreign minister said earlier Wednesday that officials there did not know how McAfee entered the country and that there was no record of McAfee entering legally at any official border crossing.

McAfee's lawyer, Telesforo Guerra, filed a formal request for asylum with Guatemalan officials Wednesday. He said McAfee left Belize to escape police persecution.

Belize authorities have said they want to talk to McAfee about the November 11 shooting of his neighbor, American businessman Gregory Faull.

"I had nothing to do with his death," McAfee wrote on his website Tuesday in a message to Faull's family. "I have lost five close family members in my 67 years and I know your suffering."

Read more: McAfee's girlfriend says he's 'frightened for his life'

McAfee founded his namesake computer security software in 1987, initially running it out of his home in California. He sold his stake in McAfee Associates in 1994 and moved to Belize in 2008.

The case began to unfold on November 9, when McAfee told police someone had poisoned four of his dogs. To put them out of their misery, he shot each in the head and buried them on his property, a former girlfriend said.

Officials say the dogs' barking and aggressive behavior was a frequent source of friction between McAfee and Faull, a contractor who retired to Belize from Florida and lived next door. McAfee lived in the remote northern part of Ambergris Caye.

Read more: Bizarre visit to McAfee's pleasure palace in Belize

Two days later, someone shot Faull in the head in his own living room. A 9 mm shell was found on the second step on the first floor, and Faull was found dead on the second floor.

McAfee told CNN in the interview that he did not kill Faull and did not pay anybody to kill the man.

He said he will not surrender to police for questioning, adding that his priority is to clear his name.

Three people have been detained for questioning in the killing, police have said, and investigators are pursuing multiple leads.

A 2009 story in the New York Times indicated that McAfee's fortune had plunged to $4 million from its $100 million peak, largely because of the real estate and stock market crashes that hit his investments.

CNN en EspaÃ±ol's Fernando del Rincon contributed to this report.

Response: John McAfee could be deported to Belize Thursday, a Guatemalan official says. Guatemalan immigration authorities detained him Wednesday. McAfee's lawyer has filed a request for asylum with the Guatemalan government.


Prompt:
Explain the text in one sentence.
 Text:(CNN) -- Perhaps Bruno Mars really did win the Super Bowl.

According to Billboard, the Grammy-winning singer is set to return to the charts after his halftime performance on Sunday. It reports that sales of his latest album, "Unorthodox Jukebox," rose by 164% after Mars took to the Super Bowl stage with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The album was released in December 2012.

Such an increase in sales is not rare or unexpected. Last year's halftime performer, Beyonce, reportedly saw a bump in sales of her "4" album by 123%.

And Mars is not an unknown quantity, though some of Sunday's viewers may have just discovered him. In 2010, he won a Grammy for best male pop vocal performance for his song "Just the Way You Are." In January, "Unorthodox Jukebox" won Mars his second Grammy, this time for best pop vocal album.

7 things we love about Bruno Mars

The album may re-enter the top 10 when sales figures are released by Soundscan on Wednesday. This year's Super Bowl drew a record-breaking 111.5 million viewers.

As is customary, Mars did not receive an appearance fee for his Super Bowl performance. Artists do it for the exposure, and that has clearly paid off for Mars.

Zack O'Malley Greenburg from Forbes writes that the singer may see the most return in increased ticket prices and sales for his Moonshine Jungle tour.

"In 2013, the singer grossed $72.4 million on 84 shows; his average ticket price sits at about $66," O'Malley Greenburg writes. "With the added exposure from the Super Bowl, he could easily push prices closer to the $120 average of his halftime show predecessor, Beyonce."

Response: Sales of Mars' album rose by 164%. "Unorthodox Jukebox" could return to the top 10. Forbes writer says Mars may see concert gains.