Washington  (CNN)The flight voice recorder aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 reportedly captured blaring cockpit alarms, warning co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to "pull up" and that "terrain" was ahead. But that was not enough to stop the aircraft from slamming into the French Alps. With reports that Lubitz apparently ignored those warnings, there are new calls from aviation experts to develop and deploy enhanced crash avoidance software that could take control of an aircraft away from a pilot and steer the plane to a safe altitude. The technology would work in a fashion similar to crash avoidance technology already used in automobiles. If a pilot is incapacitated or ignores audible warnings, the plane's flight guidance software could take over and plot a course to a safe altitude. In cars, these avoidance systems sometimes deploy brakes or slow a car down to a safer speed, and help maintain safe distances from other vehicles. The idea is not new. In fact, more than 10 years ago, following 9/11, Airbus, the manufacturer of the doomed aircraft, was working to develop aircraft crash avoidance software with tech giant Honeywell -- in part to prevent jetliners from being flown into large buildings or mountains. But the project was ultimately scrapped. A spokesperson for Honeywell says the company has no plans to revive the project unless federal regulators demand it be put into cockpits or airlines ask for it. So far that has not happened. CNN also asked Airbus about the project, but the company had no comment. Former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo says pilots, regulators and the traveling public have, so far, not bought into claims that computers can do it better. "For any situation where you are relieving the pilot's control of their plane, there has been pushback not only from the pilots, but from airlines. There are some sectors that believe that ultimately the pilot must maintain overall control of the plane and that that is your best bet for a safe flight." However, she adds, in the case of the Germanwings crash, "this technology, I believe, would have saved the flight. Not only would it have saved this flight and the Germanwings passengers, it would also save lives in situations where it is not a suicidal, homicidal pilot. It has implications literally for safer flight across the industry." Pilots' groups point to numerous instances where a pilot's training and perhaps unconventional thinking actually saved lives. For example, in 2009 Capt. C.B. Sullenberger crash-landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River in New York, after a flock of geese was sucked into both of its engines and the A320 lost all thrust. The formal National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash said the main thing that contributed to the survivability of the accident was "the decision-making of the flight crewmembers and their crew resource management during the accident sequence." In other words, when Sullenberger decided to ditch the plane in the Hudson, he saved the 150 passengers and five crew members on board. Pilots say if a computer had taken over after it sensed the plane was headed for water, the outcome could have been very different. Commercial airline pilot John Barton says there are other considerations to take into account as well. "In systems like this ... the control cannot be taken back from the aircraft. Or, indiscriminately the aircraft could be taken over on just a normal flight and they (cockpit crew) wouldn't be able to get control back. I think it is going to take a long time to operationally test this kind of technology before it is foolproof." He also worries that the autopilot software could be vulnerable to hackers. "More and more people will come to know the technology. They will work on the technology and therefore there will be bad people that will be able to exploit that technology. That's not a good thing." But in an incident like the Germanwings tragedy, where a pilot is being blamed for the crash, Schiavo says there must be additional safeguards and that this technology would be a start. "Most of the major commercial jetliner crashes in the last two or three years could have been saved with an override." Barton says there are already plenty of safeguards in place in the United States. For example, he says, the Federal Aviation Administration rule that two people must always be in the cockpit during a flight might also have saved the Germanwings flight. That is a practice that several overseas carriers -- including Germanwings and its parent company, Lufthansa -- have now adopted. "The solution to the problem simply is for the rest of the world globally to adhere to the standards that the United States has used forever, and that is sound hiring practices, safety and training and security practices."  Barton says.

Autopilot could have taken control of Germanwings flight and flown plane to safe altitude . But some experts say taking control away from humans could lead to other dangers . Another concern: Autopilot might be vulnerable to hackers .


(CNN)At least 54 people have died and 15 others are missing after a Russian fishing vessel sank off the Kamchatka Peninsula, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. More than 60 people were rescued Thursday from the chilly waters in Russia's Far East. The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler -- a commercial fishing vessel -- was carrying 132 people, the ministry said. Of the people on board, 78 were Russians. The 54 others were foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, according to the news agency, with the majority coming from Myanmar. More than 20 fishing vessels are searching for the 15 people still thought to be missing, Tass said. The shipwreck was swift, with the trawler going down in the Sea of Okhotsk within 15 minutes of getting into difficulties, the news agency reported. The most likely cause of the shipwreck was collision with an obstacle which damaged the hull, the official spokesman of Russia's Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, is quoted as saying. The trawler is also thought to have keeled over as a result of hauling some 80 tons of fish on to the deck, the chairman of the emergencies commission in the Kamchatka region, Sergey Khabarov, told Tass.

Fishing vessels are searching for 15 people still thought to be missing . There were 132 people on board the ship, 78 of them Russians, Tass news agency says . The rest were foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, it says .


(The Hollywood Reporter)Stan Freberg, whose freewheeling comic career in advertising garnered him worldwide acclaim and whose satirical entertainments abounded on TV, the radio and on records, has died. He was 88. Freberg died of natural causes at a Santa Monica hospital, his son and daughter, Donavan and Donna Freberg, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. "He was and will always be my hero, and I will carry his brilliant legacy forward as best I am able," his son wrote on Facebook. The godfather of humorous and irreverent commercials, Freberg lampooned cultural institutions and described himself as a "guerilla satirist." The New York Times dubbed him the "Che Guevara of advertising," and years later, "Weird Al" Yankovic called him a major influence on his career. "Very sad to say that one of my absolute all-time heroes has just passed away," Yankovic wrote on Twitter. "RIP Stan Freberg. A legend, an inspiration, and a friend." Freberg also was known for his musical parodies. "Wun'erful Wun'erful," his 1957 spoof of "champagne music" — on which he collaborated with orchestra leader Billy May — lampooned "The Lawrence Welk Show." He also parodied Johnnie Ray's hit "Cry," which Freberg rendered as "Try." (Ray was quite angry until he realized Freberg was fueling sales of his record.) The Los Angeles native had hit records of his own, including "St. George and the Dragonet," a 1953 send-up of the series "Dragnet." His recordings were so popular that he landed his own radio program in 1954, "That's Rich." Three years later, he presented "The Stan Freberg Show" on CBS Radio, where he regularly mocked commercials by advertising bogus products. Hollywood Reporter: "Mad Men's" return . He won a Grammy Award in 1959 for best performance, documentary or spoken word for "The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows." Earlier in the 1950s, Freberg helped create and write the Emmy Award-winning comedy "Time for Beany," also working with puppets and performing on the show. Its droll, off-the-wall humor appealed to fans including Albert Einstein. During Beany's early gestation, he and the other writers had no office, so they wrote in coffee shops at night as well as in an "office" in a condemned building. Not surprisingly, Freberg ruffled institutional feathers. Capitol Records balked at releasing his satires of radio-TV personality Arthur Godfrey and Ed Sullivan's variety show "Toast of the Town." Hollywood Reporter: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" -- the untold story . Freberg disdained the hard sell. He created such classic comic ad capers as "Nine out of 10 doctors recommend Chun King Chow Mein," and his Jeno's Frozen Pizza campaign featured the Lone Ranger and Tonto. He skewered the greed of the ad business in "Green Chri$tma$, which criticized the over-commercialization of the holiday. In 1958, Freberg opened his own ad agency, Freberg Ltd. His slogan was "More Honesty Than the Client Had in Mind," and he even had a corporate motto: "Ars Gratia Pecuniae" (Art of the Sake of Money). Freberg, whose inspirations were Jack Benny, Fred Allen and Norman Corwin, worked in cartoons for decades, starting in the 1940s. He provided the voice for Junyer Bear in the 1948 Chuck Jones Looney Tunes cartoon "What's Brewin', Bruin," and he famously played the three pigs, the wolf and the singing narrator in another Looney Tunes classic, 1957's "Three Little Bops." He teamed often at Warner Bros. with the great Mel Blanc. Freberg also was the voice of Beaver in Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" (1955). For the feature Looney Tunes, "Back in Action" (2003), he was heard as a baby bear. Survivors also include his wife, Hunter, and a granddaughter. ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

Stan Freberg was famed comedian, song parodist . He later became adman, did a number of outrageous commercials . "Weird Al" Yankovic: " A legend, an inspiration, and a friend"


(CNN)Indiana's controversial religious freedom law has been in hot water lately. After a firestorm of backlash and protests, Gov. Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the state will "fix" the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, so it will not discriminate against gays and lesbians. Pence is making the right call. Promoting the false dichotomy between protecting religion versus protecting equality serves no one. Not all people who dislike the law hate religion, and not all people who like the law want to discriminate against the LGBT community. If people of good will come together, liberty and equality can both be saved. The unbelievably easy way to fix Indiana's RFRA is to add one small amendment, one easy line codifying that discrimination against the LGBT community is harmful, and that there is a compelling governmental interest in eliminating that harm. In general, it is a good thing for society to shape its laws in ways that allow people to live their lives consistent with their sincerely held religious obligations. As Americans, we value and always have valued the freedom and expression of religion. Sometimes, a law seems to impose only modest burdens on the people it affects, but in practice it actually severely burdens the religious practices of a few. In those situations, if there is no compelling governmental interest in enforcing that law in that particularly burdensome way -- and if no one else is harmed -- then religion should be granted an exemption. Shifting the burden to the government to prove that it really does need to apply this law in this particular way will not allow every person to become a law unto themselves; it simply sends the message that religion is important, and unless there are specific and compelling reasons why, people should be allowed to practice as they need. These are the reasons why the federal RFRA was passed in 1993, and why it had bipartisan support. These are wholesome American values that everyone can get behind. The problem is that we no longer live in 1993, 10 years before Lawrence v. Texas, and 20 before U.S. v. Windsor. In 1993, our sensibilities were different; there was not yet a national conversation about the need to protect the rights and dignity of members of the LGBT community. Timing matters because society changes, and now that our horizons have been broadened we cannot just keep insisting that the law was never intended to discriminate and worked just fine 22 years ago, before we realized its negative potential. Even if not a single lawmaker consciously intends the bill to be used as a shield for discrimination, we still have to take seriously Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' claim about unintended consequences. To put it simply, you have to be concerned with what the law allows a person to get away with. The concern is real. Because Indiana does not have a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the bill as drafted might allow people who were so inclined to discriminate, and simply assert that they could do so based on a religious belief. Public perceptions matter. Whether or not lawmakers think so, it certainly seems relevant to the general public that this bill was passed with important national decisions about marriage equality on the horizon and right after the ruling in Baskin v. Bogans that Indiana's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. Writing for the Seventh Circuit panel in 2014, Judge Richard Posner's rationale in the case of Baskin v. Bogan provides the obvious answer for how to fix the RFRA deficiency without changing what it is that it defends. Courts have long held that a religious exemption cannot be granted if it allows you to shift the harm to a third party, and -- as Posner explained so simply -- discrimination is harmful. RFRAs are not inherently evil. The message can be nondiscriminatory and religion can be protected. The principles of RFRA can remain unchanged; it is just the definition of harmful that evolves. A few simple words have the potential to completely change the conversation, send an important message about the value of equality, and make Indiana into a shining beacon of cooperation: the real "crossroads of America." Doing so would go a long way toward restoring its reputation as a place of great opportunity for all to live and worship and work.

Gov. Mike Pence is making the right call to fix Indiana's religious freedom law, which can be used for discrimination . Mark Goldfeder:  Indiana should aim to be a shining beacon of cooperation: the real "crossroads of America"


(CNN)Universal's "Furious 7" is about to make history."Furious 7" — the final film from the late Paul Walker — is expected to gross $115 million or more when opening at the North American box office this weekend, the top showing ever for an April title, not accounting for inflation.Domestically, it is getting the widest release in Universal's history with a theater count of roughly 4,003 (including Imax locations), eclipsing "Despicable Me 2" (3,956). Anything north of 4,000 is usually reserved for summer tentpoles and year-end titles. Overseas, the movie is also poised to do massive business, putting its global debut north of $250 million. "Furious 7" is opening day-and-date around the world on 10,500 screens in 63 territories, save for a few major markets including China, Russia and Japan. THR: 'Furious 7' scores Thailand release despite Tony Jaa contract dispute . The current record-holder for top April opening domestically is "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," which debuted to $95 million from 3,928 theaters last year. "Furious 7" is likewise poised to nab the biggest opening of 2015 to date. And if it beats the $121.9 million launch of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" in November 2014, it will mark the largest three-day opening since "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ($158 million) in November 2013. The movie enjoys massive awareness and interest, due to both the popularity of the street-racing series and Walker's death. The last film," Fast & Furious 6," debuted to a franchise-best $117 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend in 2012, including $97.4 million for the three days, on its way to grossing $788.7 million worldwide. Universal intended to open "Furious 7" on July 11, 2014, but production was halted in November 2013 when Walker died in a car crash during the Thanksgiving hiatus. After director James Wan, writer Chris Morgan and Universal pored over existing footage and tweaked the script, production resumed in April 2014. THR: Studio profitability report - Who's up and who's down . CGI and voice effects were used in some scenes featuring Walker's detective character, Brian O'Conner, with Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, used as stand-ins. "Furious 7" pits Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and crew (which includes Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson, among others, as well as Walker) against Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, out for revenge after the death of his brother. "Furious 7" is expected to usher in a string of mega-openings at the box office this year. Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," set to open May 1, hasn't come on tracking yet, but some forecasters are already suggesting it could score the top opening of all time domestically, eclipsing the record-breaking start of "The Avengers" ($207 million) in 2012. See the original story at The Hollywood Reporter's website. ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

The film is expected to gross $115 million or more . Paul Walker died in a car crash during filming . "Furious 7" poised to nab the biggest opening of 2015 so far .


(CNN)Call it a little piece of heaven for a family torn apart by tragedy. Back in July, Sierra Sharry and Lane Smith were just about to become parents.  Sharry was eight months pregnant. But then Smith fell and hit his head.  He was taken to the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City.  Smith never recovered. "July 13th 2014 was the absolute worst day of my life," Sharry posted on Facebook.  "I lost my best friend. The father of my unborn child." Their son Taos arrived a few weeks later. When it was time for his 6-month pictures, Sharry had a special request. Maybe the photographer could make their family complete, just for one picture . "They asked me if I would be willing to 'play around' with capturing their first family photo by editing Taos' daddy in one of their pictures," Kayli Rene' Photography posted on Facebook. "I just got to thinking, we don't have a picture with Lane in it," the new mom told CNN affilaite KOCO. The photographer wasn't sure it would work, but they found just the right picture of Smith -- one that has him looking over his family's shoulder. "Lane's not physically here with us, of course, but that picture represents to us that he is always watching over us and he will always be there for us no matter what," Sharry said. The family photo has become a social media sensation after appearing on the photographer's Facebook page this week. It has some 193,000 likes and more than 24,000 shares. "I can't believe she actually did this," Sharry said.  "It's like amazing and apparently everyone else thinks it is too."

Sierra Sharry was eight months pregnant when her son's father died . A photographer was able to add Lane Smith to the family photo .


(CNN)Some fans of Lucille Ball want her statue removed from a park in her hometown, saying the "ugly" likeness does not do justice to the "I Love Lucy" star. The life-size bronze statue in Celoron, New York, has been likened to Conway Twitty, the snake from "Beetlejuice" and actor Steve Buscemi, among other unflattering comparisons. Even Mayor Scott Schrecengost has gone on record saying he does not care for the statue, which shows the comic star holding a bottle of fictional nutrition elixir Vitameatavegamin. And yet, it has been a tourist draw since 2009 for Celoron, the comedian's birthplace, attracting visitors who pose with the statue for pictures. A resident of Jamestown, where Ball grew up, started the Facebook page in 2012 "We Love Lucy! Get Rid of this Statue," seeking to get rid of the "ugly" statue. A story about the group on Yahoo! News this week spread through the internet, reviving debate over what to do with the statue. The founder of the Facebook group would like to see the statue replaced with a new one outside a planned Comedy Hall of Fame in Jamestown, home to the Lucy-Desi Museum & Center for Comedy and the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. The founder requested anonymity, saying the issue is "not about me; it's about the statue." "Lucille Ball was one of the most talented, beautiful, funny women who ever appeared on television; a pioneer, a giant of television. My only goal is to have a sculpture of her in Jamestown which does her justice," the group's founder told CNN. "This statue in Celoron is not fixable. I love my hometown and I Love Lucy. Let's get a new statue that is a real tribute to her memory as the Comedy Queen of Television." A Buffalo News columnist vouched for the sentiment, saying "its deranged grimace and jagged teeth inspire more dread than reverence." "No one here much likes the statue, and one look tells you why. It looks more like an extra from 'The Walking Dead' than arguably the most famous comic actress of all time," Colin Dabkowski wrote Saturday. Still, residents take pride in their claim to fame, "even if some of them privately wish that the statue commemorating her would be struck by lightning." The artist who created the statue did not respond to CNN's request for comment. In a post this week, the Facebook group founder said the point was not to "disparage" the artist or his work. But, in this case, "this Lucy statue is just not up to his usual work." Schrecengost told the local Post-Journal that he reached out to the artist over the years about redoing the statue. "He finally came back and said he wanted $8,000 to $10,000 to do it. I've also reached out to several other sculptors in the region, and some said they would do it, but we're still looking at about $5,000," he told the newspaper. "We'd like to work with the original sculptor and wish he would stand behind his work enough to step up and fix it for free."

Facebook group wants Lucille Ball statue replaced with a new one . Mayor says he does not want to spend taxpayer money on fixing statue .


(CNN)The last time Muhammadu Buhari came to power in Nigeria, it was by force. This time it was by the ballot box. Here are five reasons why one of the most fiercely-contested elections in the country's history is so important. For the first time in Nigeria's history, the opposition defeated the ruling party in democratic elections. Muhammadu Buhari, 72, won Nigeria's presidential election, defeating incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by about two million votes. Nigeria is significant because it is the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa; it is also one of Africa's largest oil producers and is a major supplier of crude oil to the United States. This isn't Buhari's first time leading Nigeria -- but it's his first time in nearly 30 years. The reformed dictator is a Sunni Muslim from Nigeria's poorer North, while Jonathan comes from a Christian and animist South that is rich with oil. Buhari's win comes after a long history of military rule, coups and botched attempts at democracy in the country. Many Nigerians told CNN that they saw President Jonathan as an ineffectual leader who was indecisive in dealing with the terror group Boko Haram -- and weak on corruption. Buhari, who was campaigning for the fourth time, capitalized on these weaknesses and some analysts believe that his military background was an advantage for him. Nigerians wanted a strong leader who could keep them safe from Boko Haram's murderous raids -- and Buhari also campaigned as a born-again democrat to allay fears about his strict military regime the last time around. He stressed that Nigeria's security needs to be the next government's focus. His campaign was also fiercely anti-corruption -- he ran under the slogan of "new broom," and his supporters were often pictured holding brooms in the lead-up to the vote. The elections were largely predicted to be violent and everyone, Nigerians included, expected the worst. Some families moved abroad and there was sporadic violence across the country in the lead up to the election. But those fears turned out to be mostly unfounded, and the elections held relatively peacefully -- with the exception of attacks in the north of the country, where around 11 people died. Many also praised President Jonathan's gracious and quick concession of defeat as it almost certainly prevented post-election violence. President-elect Buhari said Wednesday in a speech to the nation: "The eyes of the world were focused on us to see if we can vote in a peaceful way and carry out elections in an orderly manner. "We have proven to the world that we are a people who have embraced democracy and a people who seek a government by, for and for the people." On election day, Nigerians queued for hours in hot weather to cast their vote. Some of the biometric reader machines malfunctioned -- including the one at President Jonathan's polling station -- and voting had to be extended into the following day. But the technical issues didn't keep people from voting -- and in Lagos, some voters cast their ballots with the aid of the light from their mobile phones. And even though some card readers didn't work in some places, many say they helped to cut down on vote rigging. Boko Haram isn't the only obstacle facing the new president. The economy, crime and generating enough power to light up the country are other major issues. The pressure will soon be on Buhari to deliver and there will be no excuses. If he fails, Nigerians will be waiting for him at the polls just four short years from now.

Muhammadu Buhari's win marks the first democratic transition of power from a ruling party to the opposition . Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is grappling with violent Boko Haram extremists .


(CNN)By the elation online and in the streets, you'd think Iran had just won the World Cup. But this is bigger. Iranians erupted in celebration as young people waved flags from their sunroofs, blasted music from stereos and chatted online with the hashtag #IranTalks. The excitement came after a breakthrough nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers that promises to end Iran's international isolation under years of crippling sanctions. Just before midnight on Thursday, Vali Asr street, one of Tehran's main thoroughfares, turned into something like a block party. Car horns blared. Men danced in the middle of traffic. Some people flaunted U.S. dollar bills. It was a fitting double occasion: The agreement was struck on the final day of Persian New Year festivities, symbolizing a fresh start. Milad, a 20-year-old university student among the crowds, told CNN he was happy about the accord but wary about his own future. "I still believe I'll have a hard time finding a job that pays well, with or without this deal." Another Tehran resident, Alireza, 37, said "Things can't get worse than they are so, I'm happy with this news." "This is pretty historic and I pray that my children will be able to live in an Iran that can play nice with the international community." At home that evening, families watched as Iranian state television broadcast U.S. President Barack Obama's speech live, which came for many as a surprise. Some Iranians celebrated the moment by snapping selfies in front of the TV. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif — who led the Iranian negotiation team — received a hero's welcome as he arrived in Iran on a sunny Friday morning. "Long live Zarif," crowds chanted as the vehicle rolled slowly down the packed street, carrying the man who struck the historic deal. Other videos posted to social media showed Zarif mobbed by fans in Switzerland, who yelled "We love you, Zarif!" Lausanne: Zarif joins Iranian students cheer "Zarif We Love You" outside press conference at #IranTalks. pic.twitter.com/S2dVzeAsZl . Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian-American independent journalist, celebrated with her friends in the United States by singing "Bayram Mubarak," a New Year song. Happy New Day, New Year, New Era. #IranTalks pic.twitter.com/OuGE3pu8Z1 . She closely followed the reaction from Iranians around the world and told CNN she saw an "explosion" of joy when the deal was finally struck. "I didn't expect so many people to follow it so closely, but from the result, I can tell everyone was following." "After 35 years of animosity, U.S. and Iran diplomats shook hands and stood by each other in public... everything is just pushing this forward."

Iranians celebrate deal online and in the streets .


(CNN)The third blood moon in a four-part series was the shortest eclipse of the bunch, but still a sweet treat for early risers in North America. The moon slipped fully into Earth's shadow at 4:58 a.m. Pacific Time (7:58 a.m. ET) Saturday, starting a total lunar eclipse for nearly five minutes -- what NASA says will be the shortest such eclipse of the century. The celestial body took on a burnt-orange tint in the minutes before, during and after the total eclipse, giving the moon the appearance that earns total eclipses the "blood moon" nickname. Watchers in the eastern half of North America caught only a partial eclipse -- and in some places, an orange one -- before the moon set below the horizon. The event started at 3:16 a.m. PT (6:16 a.m. ET), when the moon began moving into Earth's shadow. "The lunar eclipse is looking good!" tweeted Ryan Hoke, a meteorologist for CNN affiliate WAVE in Louisville, Kentucky, showing a picture of a reddish partial moon in a blue dawn sky. People from the U.S. West Coast to Australia were able to catch the total eclipse. Parts of South America, India, China and Russia were able to see at least parts of the event, but it wasn't visible in Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Africa or the Middle East. A lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth and moon form a straight line in space, with the Earth smack in the middle. The sun shines on the Earth and creates a shadow. As the moon moves deeper into that shadow, it appears to turn dark and may even appear to be a reddish color.  Why red? Because Earth's atmosphere is filtering out most of the blue light. NASA says lunar eclipses typically happen at least twice a year, but this eclipse is the third in a series of four in a row, known as a "tetrad."  The first was April 15, 2014, and the second was October 23, 2014. The space agency predicts the next one will come September 28. Did you see it? Share your photos with CNN iReport.

The total eclipse lasted 4 minutes and 43 seconds . People west of the Mississippi River had the best view in the U.S. Parts of South America, India, China and Russia were able to see the eclipse .


(CNN)In this Holy Week, let us be reminded of what the word of God says about fair and living wages. Isaiah 58.6 tells us: . This is the kind of fast day I'm after: . to break the chains of injustice, . get rid of exploitation in the workplace, . free the oppressed, . cancel debts. The McDonald's announcement that the company is going to raise wages for 90,000 of its employees is a significant victory for fast-food cooks and cashiers and those of us who support them. By standing up together, fast-food workers are making it less acceptable for profitable companies like McDonald's to pay wages so low that its workers are boxed into poverty. But this action, which would raise starting wages at 1,500 McDonald's-owned restaurants to at least $1 an hour more than the minimum wage set by local law, falls short in three important ways . First, it leaves out the vast majority of McDonald's workers. The announcement only affects 10% of the McDonald's restaurants in the United States, ignoring the employees who work at franchised McDonald's restaurants. That means hundreds of thousands of workers serving Big Macs and fries won't see a dollar more in their paychecks. McDonald's claims that it has no responsibility for those franchises, but its workers, and the National Labor Relations Board, disagree. Secondly, this raise isn't nearly enough. One dollar above the minimum wage isn't enough to make paying for groceries, rent and transportation much easier, especially coming from a company that makes nearly $5 billion a year in profits. It's not enough for clothing or health care. It's not enough, as people of my faith say, for those cooks and cashiers to afford their daily bread. Thirdly, the raise does nothing to help workers have a voice in determining their workplace conditions. McDonald's and other companies need to stop trying to prevent their workers from speaking out together in a union. They should respect workers' right to collectively demand sensible schedules and such basics as adequate first aid kits, and not being compelled to work off the clock. We are at a turning point in American history. We are at a Third Reconstruction. We are at the moment when forces come together to push this country forward toward the goal of a better life for all: sustainable wages, affordable health care, quality education, and, respect for workers' right to stick together in unions so they can be heard. We are wining this fight, and the McDonald's announcement is proof that the momentum is on our side. When all McDonald's workers have more money in their pockets, they will inject money back into their neighborhoods, boosting the entire economy. Instead of houses in foreclosure and hungry children, we would have a rising wage floor and thriving communities that support more jobs. Today, thousands of McDonald's workers live below the federal poverty line. Many get help from government programs, especially food stamps, to make it week to week. Whether we like it or not, our tax dollars help McDonald's keep wages artificially low. This isn't just an economic issue.  It's a moral issue. I've talked to workers at McDonald's restaurants who say they have to skip meals because they don't have enough money. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "What good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can't afford to buy a hamburger?" It's time for McDonald's to make sure all the people who serve its burgers are paid enough to afford to eat them for dinner. But we aren't going to wait for divine intervention. We're going to keep organizing and keep fighting until the workers at McDonald's, and every other fast-food restaurant, get what makes sense for their families and our communities: a $15 per hour wage and a path to form a union without interference or retaliation. McDonald's took a small step forward by raising wages for a small minority of the people who run their stores. It's time for the corporation to find a way to raise wages for everyone working in its restaurants so they can pay their bills, put some money back into their community, and expand prosperity and opportunity across our land.

William Barber: McDonald's will raise minimum wage $1 for 10% of workers. This is a step in right direction but falls short in three ways . He says it leaves out 90% of workers, is not enough to lift workers from poverty, company prevents workers from speaking out in a union .


(CNN)This is the time of the year when Christians the world over -- more than 2 billion of us -- reflect upon the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. In light of the tragic massacre of Christian college students in Kenya on Thursday, and the ongoing threat against Christians in other nations, this Holy Week  we are calling upon Christians to also reflect upon the crucifixion, beheading, stoning, enforced slavery, sexual abuse, human trafficking, harassment, bombing and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Christians -- and others -- whose faith alone has made them a target of religious extremists. Countless lives have been utterly destroyed in nations such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria. In June 2012, Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Iraq told the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "We beg you to help. We want only peace, security, and freedom. Please no more death, no more explosions, no more injustice." By then, nearly every remaining church in Iraq had constructed a blast wall around its building to buffet the threat of the inevitable church bombing. This crisis escalated substantially last summer when ISIS swept like lightning through Iraq's Nineveh province, capturing the country's second-largest city, Mosul; a city that was until 2014 a home of a thriving Christian community, there centuries before Islam. Again and again the world did not respond as it might have, and now the inconceivable has happened: Iraq's Nineveh Plain has been emptied of its ancient Christianity community, which existed there for more than 1,500 years. On March 27, in a presentation to the U.N. Security Council, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako referred to the present reality of his fellow Iraqi Christians as a "catastrophic situation." He's right. Rarely since the first century has the church in the East faced persecution on this scale. Christian communities that took 2,000 years to build, and that were started by the apostles themselves, lie in ashes between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Survivors waste away as refugees, often in deplorable conditions, with no homes or churches to return to if the region eventually stabilizes. Whether they be Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, Christian communities are united in what Pope Francis has called an "ecumenism of blood," recognizing that Christianity is experiencing more martyrdom today than in the first century. This is not an exaggerated or contrived crisis. As Nina Shea, director of the Hudson's Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, has aptly put it, "Piece by piece, Middle Eastern Christianity is being shattered." Our concern is not to the exclusion of anyone else under threat by these religious fanatics, and we reject those who believe that this evil is reflective of the majority of Muslims whose community has actually experienced the most casualties in this conflict. It is also true that Christianity faces a legitimate threat of extinction in several parts of Iraq and Syria and it faces a growing threat in nations such as Nigeria. In solidarity with those being threatened we agree with the words delivered by Jordan's King Abdullah II at the United Nations last fall, "Christians are an integral part of [the Middle East's] past, present and future." When history writes of our time will we be able to say that we tried everything in our power to cease this attempt to eliminate 2,000 years of Christianity from the Middle East and to stop this threat before it spreads to other nations? These communities need our love and support like never before, and they also need security and protection from the world like never before. This Easter we reflect upon the words of a Christian who was himself beheaded for his faith alone. He converted to Christianity one day on a road to Damascus, Syria, when his name was changed from Saul to Paul. In a letter to Christians living in another dangerous place in another persecuted time, he wrote, "Pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people." This Easter, let us earnestly pray with all the love of Christ for all those in harm's way.

Rarely since the first century have Christians faced persecution on this scale, say Dolan, Downey and Burnett. Crisis escalated substantially as ISIS has swept through Iraq's Nineveh province, the authors write.


(CNN)The racist and offensive emails that resulted in three Ferguson, Missouri, city employees either resigning or being fired have been released. The exchanges between the city's top court clerk and two police officers were discovered during a U.S. Justice Department investigation of racial prejudice in the city's police and judicial system. The emails -- which make offensive references to President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama as well as Muslims and minorities --  were obtained by the Washington Post on Thursday after a public records request. CNN reviewed them Friday. Police Capt. Rick Henke and Sgt. William Mudd resigned early last month after the emails were discovered as part of the evidence in the Justice Department's scathing Ferguson report. The city's top court clerk, Mary Ann Twitty, was fired in connection with the emails, officials said. One email showed Ronald Reagan, an actor before becoming President, feeding a chimp in the 1951 comedy "Bedtime for Bonzo," with the caption: "Rare photo of Ronald Reagan babysitting Barack Obama in 1962." Another showed a photo of bare-chested dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption "Michelle Obama's High School Reunion!" A June 2011 email described a man trying to put his dogs on welfare because the canines were "mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no ... clue who their Daddies are." Some critics have called for the department to be disbanded. Last month, embattled Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned one week after the scathing Justice Department report slammed his department. Jackson will receive a severance payment and health insurance for one year, city officials said. Opinion: Change is coming to Ferguson . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the Ferguson police investigation after a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown last summer, setting off months of sometimes violent street protests in the town outside St. Louis. The DOJ declined to bring charges against Wilson, who has since left the force. No state charges were filed. In a separate report, the Justice Department described what it said was a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against African-Americans by the Ferguson police and municipal courts. That discrimination included racist emails. Ferguson is a town of 21,000 that is 67% African-American. Among the findings in the report: . From 2012 to 2014, 85% of people subject to vehicle stops by Ferguson police were African-American, 90% of those who received citations were blac and 93% of people arrested were black. In 88% of the cases in which Ferguson police officers reported using force, it was against African-Americans. From 2012-2014 black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband. Ferguson police chief mum on federal report . CNN's Ralph Ellis, John Newsome and Sara Sidner contributed to this report.

Racially-charged and offensive emails from Ferguson released after public records request . Two Ferguson police officers resigned over racist emails . City's top court clerk was fired .


(CNN)Two people, one of them a licensed greyhound trainer, have been arrested in Australia after at least 55 dog carcasses were found dumped in Queensland bush, according to Australian media reports. Two Bundaberg residents, a 71-year old man and a 64-year old woman, were each charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, broadcaster ABC reported. The woman, a licensed trainer, was also charged with obstructing police. Michael Beatty, spokesman for RSPCA Queensland, told ABC that inquiries were continuing. The animal rights organization is assisting Queensland police in their investigation. "A lot of people in the area who were involved in the greyhound industry were questioned, and it was as a result of information given to us that the joint Queensland Police Service and RSPCA investigation team made those arrests," he said. At a press conference Thursday, Queensland Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller described the discovery of the carcasses, which followed a tip-off from a member of the public, as sickening. "What I believe has happened here has been the mass murder of 55 greyhounds outside of Bundaberg," she said. She promised a zero tolerance approach to animal abuse. "The people who have perpetrated this crime, to me, are oxygen thieves, they are cowards and they are pathetic." Detective Superintendent Mark Ainsworth said the crime scene was "nothing short of abhorrent." "Some of the greyhounds were in different states of decay and that would sort of indicate to us that they've been dumped there over varying periods of time," he said. "The postmortem will reveal the cause of death of these dogs. However I will comment that a number of spent .22 cartridge shells were found in the vicinity." He said there had been a number of bushfires in the area surrounding the dumping site, which would also be factored into the investigation. Beatty said it appeared the dogs would have been culled by people involved in greyhound racing. "There's always been a lot of wastage in the greyhound industry," he said in a statement. "The indications are that these may just be young dogs that didn't have the speed, basically. But that's really all we know." Australia's greyhound racing industry has been under intense scrutiny since a television investigation revealing the illegal use of live bait in training dogs aired in February. The investigation, on the ABC network, showed footage of trainers fixing live possums, piglets and rabbits to lures to be chased and mauled to death by dogs, prompting a wave of bans and suspensions from the sport. Australians wager AU$4 billion ($3.03 billion) a year on greyhound racing, according to the ABC report. Ainsworth said the Queensland police had established a joint taskforce with the RSPCA to investigate the industry in the wake of the report. "We've not even tipped the iceberg as yet," he said, appealing for those involved in the industry to come forward. "You know who you are, you know what you've been involved in, and now is the time to stand up and be counted," he said. "It will only be a matter of time before we get around to knocking on everyone's door." Racing Queensland did not respond to a request for comment. CNN's Chieu Luu contributed to this report.

Australian police have arrested two people after the discovery of 55 greyhound carcasses in bushland . They believe the dogs were dumped by people involved in the lucrative greyhound racing industry . The industry has been under fire since a television investigation revealed live baiting and other abuses .


(CNN)Two years ago in a less turbulent time, Mike Premeau and Kathy Danke launched a small business, Memories Gourmet Pizza Co., in their Wisconsin town. The two were successful in getting their line of frozen pizzas, including breakfast pizzas and gluten-free options, in stores across Nichols, west of Green Bay. They grew a base of loyal customers. But all that was threatened this week when people began mistaking them for Memories Pizza of Walkerton, Indiana, which made national headlines after its owners said they would refuse to cater a same-sex wedding. People posted angry comments on Memories Gourmet Pizza's Facebook page and called its phone number to protest. And almost overnight, Premeau and Danke found themselves thrust unwillingly into a national debate over Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. "My stomach was in my throat all afternoon," Danke told CNN affiliates WBND and WFRV. "All of a sudden, our Facebook page started getting flooded," Premeau said. "I was shocked. It was like I was a rat running around in a cage, wondering what's going on here." In a cruel coincidence, the flood of outrage began on Wednesday, April Fool's Day. "If I'm ever in the area, I'll be sure to starve to death before I give you and you intolerance any of my money!" wrote one commenter on Facebook. "I don't have much of a message, except that I hope your bigotry puts you out of business very quickly," a man said in a voice mail. Indiana pizzeria finds itself at the center of 'religious freedom' debate . Premeau thinks the firestorm was sparked by people Googling "Memories Pizza" and confusing the two businesses -- despite the fact that Nichols and Walkerton are in separate states and almost 300 miles apart. He and Danke tried to defuse the outcry with a Facebook post saying in part, "We are not that company in Indiana, nor do we agree or condone their words or actions." In response, they began getting messages of support on Facebook, along with a few sharp-tongued comments from supporters of the other Memories Pizza. Premeau said he also got a call from a man whose initial post may have set off the social media storm, apologizing for the mistake. Still, he worries that damage to his wholesale pizza business may have been done. "This misinformation and this defamation of character could cause me to lose the business over someone else's identity in another state," he said.

A Wisconsin pizzeria is harassed by people confusing it with one in Indiana . Owners of Memories Gourmet Pizza Co. have gotten angry calls, Facebook posts . Memories Pizza of Walkerton, Indiana, made headlines amid "religious freedom" debate .


(CNN)The complete skeleton of a camel thought to to have been used by Ottoman troops besieging Vienna in the 17th century has been found beneath a cellar in Austria. The remains were uncovered by archaeologists from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni), exploring the construction site for a shopping center in the city of Tulln in 2006-2007. "The partly excavated skeleton was at first suspected to be a large horse or cattle," archaeozoologist Alfred Galik said. "But one look at the cervical vertebrae, the lower jaw and the metacarpal bones immediately revealed that this was a camel." In their research, published in the journal "PLOS ONE," the archaeologists said Ottoman troops had besieged the area around Tulln in 1683 as they tried to reach Vienna, but that Tulln itself had never been conquered. The Ottoman Army had a "camelry," using camels for transportation and to ride, they said. Despite their city not falling, Tulln inhabitants and the Ottomans were in contact, with historic documents referring to the invading army's peaceful surrender of two prisoners of war, the researchers said. But they said it would be impossible to say how it got into the city. "Its appearance might be linked to an exchange of local people with the troops or the Ottoman army simply left it behind. Apparently, the citizens took it inside the town, where they probably kept and displayed it as an 'exotic animal,'" they said. "It seems quite conceivable that being not familiar with behavioral and feeding habits, the scarcity of food in wartimes, people did not keep it for long." While other camel bones have been found in Central Europe, the researchers said this was unique. "It is the first complete camel skeleton found in Central Europe and Central European territories under the control of the Ottoman Empire, apart from the complete skeleton of a dromedary recovered from the sediments of the Theodosius harbor on the European part of Istanbul." DNA analysis on the Tulln skeleton confirmed that it had been one of a hybrid species of camel, specifically a "Tulu," the offspring of dromedary female and a male with Bactrian DNA. "The two species are able to interbreed, which results in larger, more powerful and efficient hybrid offspring," researchers said. "The camel specimen from Tulln is the first archaeozoologically and genetically confirmed evidence of a Tulu hybrid camel." The camel was also believed to have been castrated to make it easier to handle. The Austrians' unfamiliarity with such a beast may have led to the skeleton's preservation. As opposed to the Ottoman troops -- who would likely have eaten the camel's flesh -- the residents of Tulln apparently buried the camel whole. "The dismemberment of the carcasses certainly is a reason for the scarce preservation of camel finds in general and is indicated by bones with butchering marks in particular. However, the citizens buried this camel in a typical post-mortal position, and together with rubbish in the remnants of a cellar that was leveled," researchers said. In their report, the researchers said the camel was found on the site of what had been an old tavern called "Auf der Rossmuhle." "The backfill of the cellar yielded masses of domestic refuse like animal bones and ceramics (e.g. plates, pans and flagons), pieces of a tiled stove and enameled pipe bowls which date the filling in the early modern period," they said. A coin dating from 1643-1715 and a medicine bottle from a chemist's operating from 1628-1665 helped the team date the site. Flooding and plagues affected Tulln in the 17th century and many buildings were demolished, they said. "Two building plots got new owners at the end of the century around the 1690, certainly the time when the cellar was backfilled, offering enough space to bury such a big cadaver in the center of the town," their report explains. "The skeleton remained there for more than 300 years to raise questions in the future."

Archaeologists have found the skeleton of a camel below a cellar in an Austrian village . They believe the camel was from the 17th century  Osmanic-Habsburg war . Ottoman troops used camels as troops during the conflict .


(CNN)Andrew Getty, the 47-year-old grandson of J. Paul Getty, died Tuesday afternoon in his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his mother and father. Ann and Gordon Getty also "requested that members of the media and the public respect (the family's) privacy during this extremely difficult time," the statement added. Getty's death "appears to be natural (causes) or an accident," Ed Winter, assistant chief in the Los Angeles County coroner's office, told CNN affiliate KTLA Tuesday night. Some medication had also been recovered from Getty's home, though investigators don't know if Getty was currently taking it or what his medical history was, Winter said. A female friend was at the home where Getty died and is cooperating with investigators, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. William Hayes said. KTLA reported that Getty was found on his side near a bathroom in his home. Where the Getty family fortune came from . Gordon Getty is one of three sons of J. Paul Getty, the oil tycoon who was thought to be the richest man in the world at the time of his death in 1976. Gordon Getty, 81, has a net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. Court records show Andrew Getty had recently filed to get a restraining order against a woman. A hearing in the case was scheduled for next week. CNN's attempt to reach Getty's attorney was not immediately successful. People we've lost in 2015 . CNN's Doug Criss, Janet DiGiacomo, Mike Love, Julie In and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

Getty's death appears to be natural causes or accident, coroner's office says . Mother and father of Andrew Getty confirm death, asks for privacy .


(CNN)We might never truly comprehend what drove co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to crash Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps on March 24, killing everyone on board. The latest report shows that he sped up the descent of the plane to its doom. It's terrifying. As the investigation unfolds, we will learn more about to what extent Lubitz kept his mental illness secret, or how much help he sought. How much did his battle with depression affect his fitness to fly? Should he have walked away from his job? Should his doctors have sounded alarm bells? His case raises larger and important issues about people who are burdened with mental illness and the pressure of its stigma. Too often and for too long, people with mental illness have been regarded by others around them as disasters waiting to happen. When we don't distinguish between people with a mental illness who are dangerous to society and those who are a danger to no one, we reinforce a pernicious idea that's both bad for society and bad for those with mental illness. Some people feel a need to keep their mental illness a secret while others decline to seek help. That's why in our public and more private discourse, people with mental illness and the rest of society must talk about mental illness in a way that doesn't drive some into the darkness. We need to understand this malady as an illness and not a personal failing. And we have to recognize that "mental illness" is a broad category encompassing many different challenges that affect people in a variety of ways. People with mental illness are no more violent than the rest of the population and with proper treatment, many can recover and live healthy, productive lives. We must encourage them to open up, and when they do, we must listen to them and take their cries for help seriously. It wasn't that long ago that a diagnosis of cancer was a tightly-kept secret that many victims of the deadly malady kept from family members, friends and especially employers. But that changed dramatically over the years as people with cancer, their family members and caregivers came together to educate and change public opinion about the disease. Similarly, and with the courageous example of Michael J. Fox, we've seen perceptions about Parkinson's disease change for the better, as people learn more about what it is and isn't. Time to talk about depression . That's the kind of transformation we need around perceptions of mental illness through a better-informed public discussion. We have to put policies in place that encourage more openness without the severe repercussions people with mental illness fear. That includes enforcing and even strengthening the kind of protections we already have in place (through laws and regulations like the Americans for Disabilities Act) for individuals who disclose their disability. We also need to address the dilemma health care providers often face when they feel that strict patient privacy requirements inhibit them from alerting others to behaviors that could pose a public risk. It's a difficult balance. Sooner rather than later, policy leaders need to explore a way to provide greater flexibility in patient privacy regulations to enable health care providers to identify seriously ill persons who could potentially pose a harm to innocent people. At the same time, we must reassure those who forthrightly reveal their struggles with mental illness that they can still carry on their lives in ways that will be valuable to their communities, families and employers. That can start with urging employers not to dismiss anyone who discloses his or her mental illness and to retrain them for other appropriate positions. If companies ban them from the workforce or from other roles in society, we will just be shifting the problem elsewhere and perpetuating the stigma that dangerously drives them underground. We won't pretend that this is an easy problem to solve. But, awful as Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy was, the case may galvanize a discussion and reexamination that is long overdue. We need to build awareness and support for those who suffer from mental illness.

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who crashed the Germanwings flight, battled with depression . Jay Ruderman and Jo Ann Simons: Society must talk about mental illness to help people cope with it better .


April 8, 2015 . After a report on headlines concerning the U.S. and Cuba, CNN Student News gives some perspective on California's historic drought: Its effects are becoming more likely to ripple across the nation. There's been a flu outbreak in Chicago -- but not one that affects humans. And a proposed tunnel would connect Denmark and Germany via an undersea road and rail line. On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL . For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News!

This page includes the show Transcript . Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary . At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News.  You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call.


(CNN)He wouldn't give his name. But the name tattooed on his neck -- Gertrude -- gave him away. That's what Kankakee County, Illinois, Sheriff Tim Bukowski said Saturday about Kamron Taylor, the 23-year-old convicted murderer turned jail escapee until his arrest overnight in Chicago. Authorities around Illinois had been looking for Taylor since early Wednesday, when he jumped a correctional officer at Kankakee's Jerome Combs Detention Center, then took off with the guard's uniform and SUV. Surveillance video was the last officials saw of Taylor until just before midnight Friday, in Chicago. "They saw a guy that matched the description," Bukowski said. "And if you're in law enforcement very long, you just get a feeling that something's not right. ... I think that's what happened." The suspect ran five city blocks before being tracked down, carrying a loaded handgun. He didn't go easily, refusing to identify himself. But when Chicago police contacted their law enforcement counterparts about 60 miles south in Kankakee County and told them about the tattoo, it became clearer who the man was. As Bukowski said of the Gertrude tattoo, "It's not a common name to have around your neck." Fingerprints later confirmed that Chicago police had indeed caught up with Taylor. While not offering details beyond that no one is thought to have driven him north nor did a tipster call to specify his location, Bukowski did say "we have some ideas of where he went and how he ended up" in the Windy City. It wasn't immediately known either when Taylor will return to Kankakee County. But, when he does, the sheriff said the convict will likely face an attempted murder charge for his attack of the jail guard on top of his already extensive criminal history. Murderer overpowers guard, drives off in his SUV . Bukowski said he expects that Taylor will eventually be incarcerated outside Kankakee County, in part because "you don't want someone to raise" the idea that guards there might somehow seek retaliation for the attack on one of their own. What the sheriff doesn't want is for Taylor to go free ever again. This is a man, after all, who killed a man in a June 2013 botched robbery, had to be wrestled to the ground by bailiffs after his conviction in late February, then escaped jail after assaulting the guard. "He's not going to walk down the block again, I don't believe," Bukowski said. The assaulted correctional officer remains in an Illinois hospital, where his condition has improved and he's been able to talk to fellow authorities. This qualifies as very good news, given that authorities think Taylor "believed that he had killed that correctional officer by strangling him" around 3 a.m. (4 a.m. ET) Wednesday, according to the sheriff. The guard was making his rounds when he was attacked from the side, then severely beaten and choked. Taylor then allegedly disrobed the guard, a military veteran and 10-year employee of the corrections department. The guard was left on the jail floor, going in and out of consciousness, for about 35 minutes before authorities -- concerned because the guard hadn't responded to calls -- found him, the sheriff said. The alleged attacker then walked out of the jail, albeit only after having his identity checked by camera after pushing a button to notify "master control" that he wanted to leave. "We think that because he had the officer's uniform on," the sheriff explained this week, "that's how he was able to effectively escape." Now that Taylor is once again locked up, the focus has shifted more to how he left in the first place. Opining that the escape wouldn't have occurred "if everybody had followed protocol," Bukowski said it's believed the inmate wasn't in his cell at lockdown. "That's where the big mistake happened," the sheriff said. "Someone missed that. And from that point on, things broke down." CNN's John Newsome contributed to this report.

The sheriff says a "big mistake" contributed to the inmate's escape . 2 months after being convicted of murder, Kamron Taylor escaped an Illinois jail . He is captured by police 60 miles away in Chicago, authorities say .


(CNN)As his military career winds down, Britain's Prince Harry is going to be spending some time down under. The 30-year-old prince is due to arrive Monday in Australia for a four-week stint with the armed forces there. Harry "will work and live alongside colleagues in the Australian Army in a number of regiments in Sydney, Darwin and Perth," the Australian Defence Forces said Thursday. He has already spent time with Australian troops on a number of occasions during his 10-year military career, a spokesman said. "Prince Harry has trained and served alongside Australian armed forces on operational tours to Afghanistan; he has met them during the Invictus Games; and even trekked to the South Pole with a couple of Australian soldiers," the spokesman said. The younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Harry is known in the British Army as "Captain Harry Wales," from his official title and name, His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales. He began his formal military duties in 2005 at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Last month, he announced that he would be leaving the armed forces in June, describing the decision as "really tough." Australian military officials say the prince's program with them will be "challenging." It will involve training in urban settings and patrolling the Australian bush, as well as aviation activities and fire exercises. He'll also participate in regular activities like physical training and pack marches, the Australian military said. Harry will also spend time meeting wounded, injured and ill service members in Australia. "Wounded warriors" are a special interest for Prince Harry. He helped spearhead and continues to champion the Invictus Games, a competition for former military personnel who have been wounded in the line of duty. Before he reports for duty Monday, the prince will lay a wreath at the war memorial in the Australian capital, Canberra. During his attachment with the Australian military, Harry will accompany Charles on a trip to Turkey at the end of April for commemorations on the anniversary of the World War I Battle of Gallipoli. CNN's Max Foster contributed to this report.

Prince Harry is to begin a monthlong military attachment in Australia . He'll be leaving the British armed forces in June .


(CNN)They used to do the guarding at Florida prisons. Now they're the ones behind bars. Two Florida corrections officers and one former officer trainee have been charged in a plot to kill a former inmate who was getting out of prison, the Florida Attorney General's office said Thursday. An FBI informant met the men -- Thomas Jordan Driver, 25; David Elliot Moran, 47; and Charles Thomas Newcomb, 42 -- after infiltrating a branch of the KKK:  the Traditional American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, CNN affiliate WJXT reported. Driver told the informant that he had gotten into a fight with the inmate and that he and Moran wanted him "six feet under," according to court documents. To convince the suspects that the deed had been done, the FBI staged a fake homicide scene with the former inmate and took pictures to show them that he had been killed. "When the FBI staged this crime scene and these photographs were shown to each of these men, they were happy about it," said Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox. The three men are now facing up to 30 years in jail if convicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit murder. "We will not tolerate nor will we ever remain silent over the violence of hatred embedded in prejudice in this country," Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said. CNN's Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

The men are current or former Florida prison guards . They are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder .


(CNN)An improvised bomb exploded near a U.N. vehicle traveling near the northeastern Somali city of Garowe on Monday morning, killing six people -- including four aid workers for the international children's agency UNICEF. Somalia's President called it "an attack against the future of our country." The attack follows a separate incident Sunday in which three African Union troops died in an ambush in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. The terrorist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, which occurred about 8 a.m. in the administrative capital of the autonomous Puntland region, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia. Four of the victims were foreigners and two were Somalis, said Ahmed Abdullahi Samatar, the police chief of Puntland. UNICEF, the U.N. aid agency focused on children, said it employed four of the dead. Four other workers were in serious condition, the agency said. The bomb went off as a vehicle was taking workers from their guest house to their office. The local police chief said the bomber was inside the vehicle among the U.N. staff. The bomber also died in the attack, according to authorities. Nick Kay, the special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Somalia, condemned the attack on his Twitter account. "Shocked and appalled by loss of life," he said. Somalia's President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said he was horrified by the attack. "This attack is not just targeted at the United Nations, but in attacking UNICEF, Al-Shabaab has also attacked Somali children. It is an attack against the future of our country and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said. UNICEF called the slain workers "an integral part of UNICEF's work in Somalia, dedicated to improving the lives of others." Al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group based in Somalia, caused outrage this month by carrying out an attack on a Kenyan university. Nearly 150 people, most of them students, died in that attack. In the Sunday incident, three African Union troops were ambushed in the Lower Shabelle region. The African Union Commission for Somalia, or AMISOM, said Sunday that the troops died during a "spirited fight" with attackers. "This attack on AMISOM peacekeepers is part of the continuous effort to subvert Somalia. It is an attempt at disrupting the growth that is evident across all regions, by the enemies of the Somali people. The blood of our brothers will however not be shed in vain. AMISOM will remain committed to pacifying Somalia," said AMISOM Ambassador Maman S. Sidikou. CNN's Nana Karikari-apau and journalist Omar Nor contributed to this report.

The bombing is "an attack against the future of our country," Somalia's President says . UNICEF says the staff members' vehicle was hit by an explosion on its way to their office . Four wounded staff members are in serious condition, the agency says .


(CNN)Britain's Prince Harry arrived Monday in Australia, where he'll be spending four weeks with the country's military. Before reporting for duty, the 30-year-old prince visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the capital, paying his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. A crowd of onlookers gathered outside the memorial. Some snapped photos of the royal visitor, while one boy held a sign celebrating the prince's hair color: "Red Heads Rule!" During his time down under, Harry "will work and live alongside colleagues in the Australian Army in a number of regiments in Sydney, Darwin and Perth," the Australian Defence Forces said last week. He has already spent time with Australian troops on a number of occasions during his 10-year military career, according to a royal spokesman. "Prince Harry has trained and served alongside Australian armed forces on operational tours to Afghanistan; he has met them during the Invictus Games; and even trekked to the South Pole with a couple of Australian soldiers," the spokesman said ahead of the visit. The younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Harry is known in the British Army as "Captain Harry Wales," from his official title and name, His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales. He began his formal military duties in 2005 at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Last month, he announced that he would be leaving the armed forces in June, describing the decision as "really tough." Australian military officials say the prince's program with them will be "challenging." It will involve training in urban settings and patrolling the Australian bush, as well as aviation activities and fire exercises. He'll also participate in regular activities such as physical training and pack marches. Another focus of Harry's visit is to spend time meeting wounded, injured and ill service members in Australia. "Wounded warriors" are a special interest for Prince Harry. He helped spearhead and continues to champion the Invictus Games, a competition for former military personnel who have been wounded in the line of duty. During his attachment with the Australian military, Harry will accompany Charles on a trip to Turkey at the end of April for commemorations on the anniversary of the World War I Battle of Gallipoli.

Prince Harry pays his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier . He is starting a four-week attachment with the Australian military .


(CNN)Australia, an important ally of the United States, has agreed to share some of its intelligence with Iran. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the deal is "an informal arrangement" with an emphasis on tracking Australians who go to Iraq to fight for ISIS. But one Australian lawmaker reportedly described the move as "dancing with the devil." Over the weekend, Bishop became the first Australian government minister to visit Iran in 12 years, meeting with President Hassan Rouhani. The intelligence-sharing deal was announced in an interview released Monday that Bishop gave to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation while in Tehran. "During my discussions with the national leadership here, it was agreed that we could share intelligence, particularly on the foreign terrorist fighters from Australia who are taking part in this conflict in Iraq," she said. The Iranians "were very agreeable to share that information with us," she added. Like many Western nations, Australia is grappling with the problem of citizens who are choosing to travel to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State. Australia is part of the U.S.-led coalition that's carrying out airstrikes against ISIS. During the fight against the Sunni extremist group, the coalition has found its interests aligned at times with those of Iran, a Shiite-majority nation that has strong ties with the Iraqi government. Iran-backed Shiite militias played an important role in the recent battle to take the Iraqi city of Tikrit from ISIS jihadists. "Iran has a long standing relationship with Iraq, and as you point out, they have a very strong military presence there. They also have an influence over the Shia militia who are operating within Iraq," she said. "So they are in Iraq, in places that we are not. They also have a very sophisticated intelligence network and they have a lot of information that they've been gathering." Bishop, who left  Tehran on Sunday, declined to give details of the agreement with Iran. "Obviously, if Iran has information that will be of interest to us, and if we have information that would be of interest to them, in pursuing our common purpose in defeating Daesh, then that's an appropriate exchange," she said, using an alternative name for ISIS. But Andrew Wilkie, an independent Australian member of parliament, criticized the plan. "The announcement by the Foreign Minister that Australia is entering into a security arrangement with the regime in Tehran really should send shudders down the spine of every Australian," he said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "When you start dancing with the devil in a place like Tehran, then we run the risk of becoming almost as bad as those who we dance with," Wilkie told reporters.

Australian foreign minister says deal is to focus on tracking citizens who join ISIS . But one lawmaker describes it as "dancing with the devil"


Marseille, France (CNN)Initial tests on the flight data recorder recovered from downed Germanwings Flight 9525 show that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz purposely used the controls to speed up the plane's descent, according to the French air accident investigation agency, the BEA. The flight data recorder, or "black box," was found Thursday by recovery teams that have spent days since the March 24 crash scouring the mountainside in the French Alps where the plane went down. A statement from the BEA on Friday said its teams had immediately begun to investigate its contents. "The initial readout shows that the pilot present in the cockpit used the autopilot to put the (airplane) into a descent towards an altitude of 100 (feet) then, on several occasions during the descent, the pilot modified the autopilot setting to increase the speed of the (airplane) in descent," it said. "Work is continuing to establish the precise history of the flight." Evidence from the plane's cockpit voice recorder, recovered swiftly after the crash, had already led investigators to believe that Lubitz acted deliberately to bring down the plane, killing all 150 people on board. And prosecutors in Germany said Thursday that an analysis of a tablet device retrieved from the 27-year-old's apartment in Dusseldorf revealed that he had researched suicide methods and cockpit door security on the Internet. The correspondence and search history on the device demonstrated that the co-pilot used it from March 16 to March 23, Dusseldorf prosecutor Christoph Kumpa said. The search history was not deleted and also revealed searches concerning medical treatment, the prosecutor said. Investigators have focused on Lubitz's health as they try to establish his motivation. But the missing "black box" was expected to yield important evidence about the plane's final minutes. A female police officer digging by hand for clothes in a ravine that been searched previously found the flight data recorder Thursday afternoon about 8 inches (20 centimeters) below the surface, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin told reporters. Usually white with florescent orange, this discovered recorder lived up to its name as a black box because fire had darkened it with ashes. In addition, out of more than 2,000 DNA samples collected from the crash site, lab workers have isolated 150 DNA profiles, Robin told reporters. "That does not mean we've identified" the crash's 150 victims, Robin said -- noting the recovered DNA still must be compared with DNA submitted by the families of those who died in the crash. Authorities have also found 470 personal effects at the site, according to Robin. That number includes 40 cell phones, though all those were badly damaged. Robin cast doubt that any useful information could be retrieved from those phones, given their condition. That view is consistent with French officials' claims Wednesday insisting that two publications, German daily Bild and French Paris Match, were wrong to report that cell phone video showed the harrowing final seconds from on board the flight. Noting he's made a criminal request to German authorities but is for now conducting his own investigation, the French prosecutor said he is tasked with an involuntary homicide investigation. But Robin noted that Lubitz made voluntary actions -- such as guiding the plane toward the mountain and reducing its speed to prevent alarms from going off -- and was "alive and conscious" to the very end. A European official government official with detailed knowledge of the investigation said that Lubitz's actions amount to "premeditated murder." While cautioning that there are still many holes in understanding Lubitz's motivation, the disclosures about his Internet searches show that he planned to do what he was going to do, according to this official. Calls for crash avoidance technology . It is becoming increasingly clear to investigators that Lubitz was "very afraid" he would lose his license to fly because of his medical issues, a law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Thursday. It's already emerged that Lubitz had battled depression years before he took the controls of Flight 9525 and that he had concealed from his employer recent medical leave notes saying he was unfit for work. But the law enforcement source said that after a severe depressive episode in 2009, Lubitz relapsed with severe depression and stress in late 2014. In the weeks leading up to the crash, Lubitz was shopping doctors, seeing at least five, perhaps as many as six, the source said, as he kept going from one doctor to the next seeking help, including from a sleep specialist. He was prescribed powerful medication, though it's not clear he was taking it. Opinion: What if my patient is a pilot? CNN's Margot Haddad reported from Marseille, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Pamela Brown and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

French investigators: Flight data recorder reveals Andreas Lubitz acted deliberately to crash plane . He used autopilot to set altitude at 100 feet and then used the controls to speed up the descent .


(CNN)Most days, 16-year-old Jason Zobott walks into Huntley High School in suburban Chicago around 7:30 a.m. like any high schooler might. It's what he does the rest of the day that's not so typical. Zobott is enrolled in Huntley High's blended learning program, which merges Internet-based instruction with a more traditional classroom setting. One-third of the school's 2,700 students are enrolled. In 2015, the school is working toward enrolling the majority of its students. "Having to work online makes it really accessible to do the work that I have to get done," said Zobott, a top-ranked junior who balances a heavy load of extracurricular activities with schoolwork. "I can learn on my own. I can work at the pace I want to work. And I learn the way I want to learn." Huntley High School students and educators often refer to the program simply as "blended." It allows teachers to write the curriculum, with students giving feedback about the focus. Unlike many traditional online learning programs, students have the option of a flexible schedule during allotted blended learning days. Some days they meet with teachers, and some days they work online, according to Anne Pasco, who heads the school's educational technology efforts. "In blended learning, we focus on the content. We don't focus on needing to cover X amount of material," Pasco said. "Blended allows us to provide a stable environment that gives students the ability to spread their wings a bit, while we have the safety net of pulling them back into class if they need it." The "homegrown" program, which launched in 2011, gives students who struggle in certain content areas more one-on-one time with teachers during the school day, Pasco said. "Before blended, that had to happen after school or before school or on Saturday or maybe not at all, because we had too many other activities that encroach upon (students') academic day," Pasco said. "Now, this student can work one-on-one with that teacher during the school day." Teachers can monitor students' progress and track lesson plans online to see how much time students spend on a specific assignment. Teachers are allowed to restructure the class schedule based on students' needs. "There's actually much better accountability," said John Burkey, the superintendent for Huntley High's school district, which includes about 9,500 students. "Blended learning is not a panacea, and the success of the program isn't about spending a bunch of money on technology. Rather, [it's] looking at what students actually need, and building a culture of innovation to meet those needs." Burkey said there were plenty of questions about blended learning when it was first introduced to the Chicago district in 2011. One concern: How was the district going to pay for it? It turns out the blended learning program spends about $8,500 per student, less than the Illinois average of  $12,000 per student. "We spend considerably less than the average school district. We don't have a lot of resources compared to many districts," Burkey said. "We did not put new money into this. What we did is change the old things we were doing and changed them into new ways. It's really a change in how you think of high school. This is not a more expensive option." It has worked. In a study published in 2014 in eLearn magazine, 92% of students surveyed at Huntley High said that they were satisfied with the blended learning experience, and no teachers reported negative experiences with it. The school is also seeing higher standardized testing scores. "The growth of blended certainly has corresponded with an overall rise in ACT scores," district spokesman Dan Armstrong said. Since blended learning was implemented, Huntley High's average composite ACT score has gone up nearly a point, from 22.1 to 23.0. For 16-year-old Zobott, the advantage is time management. Three of his courses are advanced placement. He also plays varsity basketball and club soccer and works part time. The blended learning program helps him better prioritize his busy schedule. "Having blended gives us time to work on them, and get stuff done efficiently so we have more time during the week to do other things," he said. What's still left to be determined about blended learning is how well students do in college or jobs after they graduate, Burkey said. "I think we're still in the infancy of this," Burkey said. "It's still such a new thing, and we're all excited about it. My own kids are still in elementary and middle school, so they have not done blended learning yet, but they definitely will when they get to high school."

Huntley High School in Huntley, Illinois, offers a blended learning program . It allows students to combine online learning with in-person teacher instruction .


(CNN)Pope Francis reminded the world of the Vatican's status as a state and his role as a moral diplomat in his traditional speech given at the end of Easter Mass. The Pontiff lamented the suffering of people in the conflicts currently making headlines and called for violence everywhere to end. Foremost, he asked that bloodshed end in Iraq and Syria and that humanitarian aid get to those in need. "May the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries and the drama of the numerous refugees," he said in his "urbi et orbi" address, Latin for "to the city (Rome) and to the world." Then he turned to the Holy Land, expressing the wish that the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians resume. Francis mentioned Libya; the nuclear talks with Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland; Yemen; Nigeria; South Sudan; and the shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya. He also hoped for peace in Ukraine and for healing for those who have suffered there. The Pope turned to economic oppression: "We ask for peace and freedom for the many men and women subject to old and new forms of enslavement on the part of criminal individuals and groups," he said. He asked for peace from drug dealers, corrupt officials who collaborate with them, and arms dealers. Pope Francis ended the address consoling the marginalized, the poor, the sick and the suffering. And he wished all a happy Easter. CNN's Annie Ramos contributed to this report.

The Pontiff laments the suffering of people in conflicts currently making headlines . Foremost, he asks that bloodshed end in Iraq and Syria .


(CNN)Duke University students and faculty members marched Wednesday afternoon chanting "We are not afraid. We stand together,"  after a noose was found hanging from a tree on campus. Duke officials have asked anyone with information about the rope noose, which was found near a student center at 2 a.m., to call campus police. Photos of the noose prompted outrage from the community as they were passed along on social media. At a forum held on the steps of Duke Chapel, close to where the noose was hung, hundreds of people gathered. "You came here for the reason that you want to say with me, 'This is no Duke we will accept. This is no Duke we want. This is not the Duke we're here to experience. And this is not the Duke we're here to create,' " Duke President Richard Brodhead told the crowd. The incident is one of several recent racist events to affect college students. Last month a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma had its charter removed after a video surfaced showing members using the N-word and referring to lynching in a chant. Two students were expelled. In February, a noose was hung around the neck of a statue of a famous civil rights figure at the University of Mississippi. A statement issued by Duke said there was a previous report of hate speech directed at students on campus. In the news release, the vice president for student affairs called the noose incident a "cowardly act." "To whomever committed this hateful and stupid act, I just want to say that if your intent was to create fear, it will have the opposite effect," Larry Moneta said. Duke University is a private college with about 15,000 students in Durham, North Carolina.

The noose, made of rope, was discovered on campus about 2 a.m. Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday afternoon to show solidarity against racism . Duke official says to unknown perpetrator: You wanted to create fear but the opposite will happen .


(CNN)A U.S. citizen with alleged ties to al Qaeda did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance Thursday on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, 29, was deported from Pakistan to the United States. He's accused of plotting to fight against American forces abroad, according to a complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. "This is news for celebration," said CNN counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd. "Pretty simple reason why: If you look at a case like this, I think most Americans would say the significance of this case is that this guy, an American, is going to come back home and conduct an attack. Instead, you should look at him as a ... facilitator. "He's not going to burn himself by coming back. He's going to serve as the conduit or known in Pakistan who understands the West, how you travel, how you stay out of the clutches of law enforcement and he also understands al Qaeda in Pakistan. Those people are really hard to come by. This is a great catch not because he was a potential bomber but because he could have trained tens of bombers." Farekh's court appearance comes on the same day that federal prosecutors announced the arrests of two New York women accused of planning to build an explosive device for an attack on U.S. soil. The women, identified as Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, were arrested in a plot inspired by the terrorist group ISIS and others to build a weapon of mass destruction, according to a criminal complaint. They are both U.S. citizens and were roommates in the borough of Queens. Farekh allegedly departed from Canada and headed to Pakistan with two other men in 2007 with the intention of fighting American forces abroad, prosecutors said. In the past 18 months, the Justice Department's National Security Division has prosecuted or is prosecuting more than 30 cases of people attempting to travel abroad to join or provide support to terrorist groups. Of those cases, 18 allegedly involve support to ISIS. "Given how the terrorist threat to the world is evolving, how the potential terrorist threat to our nation is evolving, homeland security is becoming a matter of 'hometown security,' " Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told reporters Thursday. "The terrorist threat is more decentralized, more diffuse, more complicated. It involves the potential lone wolf actor, it involves the effective use of social media, the Internet." A Texas native, Farekh and his co-conspirators allegedly conspired to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda from 2006 to 2009, according to the complaint. Their intention, according to court documents: To kill and attempt to kill U.S. government employees and military personnel abroad. "Al Farekh allegedly provided material support to terrorists with every intention of becoming a martyr," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez said in a statement. "Today, members of our military are safer." When Farekh, another man named Ferid Imam and a third co-conspirator left Canada for Pakistan in 2007, they did not inform their families of their plans, court documents said. The three men were enrolled as students at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. Prosecutors said they called a friend in Canada after arriving in Pakistan to say that they would not be heard from again because they were becoming martyrs. In September 2008, Imam allegedly provided weapons and other military training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan to three men -- Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin. The trio had planned to return to the United States to carry out a suicide attack on the New York subway, according to prosecutors. Zazi and Ahmedzay have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors. They have not been sentenced. Medunjanin was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Imam has been indicted for his role in the plot. If convicted, Farekh faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. His next court date is May 2.

Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh was deported from Pakistan to the United States . The U.S. citizen is accused of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists .


Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)A border guard was killed in a cross-boundary fire exchange with militants in Yemen this week, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday -- marking Saudi Arabia's first publicly known military death since it launched airstrikes against rebels inside its southern neighbor. The clash occurred Wednesday night at the border in southwestern Saudi Arabia's Asir region, when militants in a mountainous area on the Yemeni side fired on Saudi border troops, prompting them to return fire, SPA reported. Besides the slain border guard -- identified as Cpl. Salman Ali Yahya al-Maliki -- 10 others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, the Saudi media outlet said. On Thursday, Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, a neutral security official and two Houthi commanders in Aden told CNN. The palace had been where President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, who fled the country last month, had stayed for a period of time after Houthis secured control of the capital, Sanaa, in January. According to the security official, Houthis now control most large districts in Aden amid ongoing clashes. Yemeni special forces, considered pro-Houthi and loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, arrived in Aden on Thursday in an attempt "to secure the city," a Saudi official with knowledge of the situation told CNN. "I can now confirm that it is not Saudi special forces who have landed but Yemeni special forces loyal to Saleh who landed by small boat. They are few in number and have made their way to the old parliament building," the intelligence official said. U.S. Navy warships, meanwhile, were patrolling off Yemen in search of suspicious shipping in the region, in particular any weapons shipments from Iran to the Houthi rebels they are supporting in Yemen, a U.S. defense official told CNN. The Navy on Wednesday came across a Panamanian-registered cargo ship that had left an Iranian port, the official said. Based on the route of the ship from Iran to Yemen, the Navy declared it a "vessel of interest" and requested permission from the captain to search it. The ship was found to be carrying cement and construction materials, the official said. It was sent on its way. The offshore area has been a route for weapons smuggling into Yemen, as well as Sudan and Gaza, so the Navy has maintained a regular surveillance presence there. The official said that increased fighting in the last several days in southern Yemen has resulted in other ships trying to dock to help civilians leave the country. Marie Claire Feghali, an International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman in Sanaa, described events in Aden as "extremely fluid and very, very complicated." "Hospitals are still struggling, running out of supplies. So are we," she said. "We cannot move much in Aden due to the intense fighting and chaos." A hospital near heavy fighting was forced to shut down. Officials: Al Qaeda fighters free 270 from Yemeni prisons . CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Militants in Yemen fired on Saudi border troops in Saudi Arabia's Asir region, media outlet says . Rebels have taken Yemen's presidential palace in Aden, sources say . U.S. warships are patrolling off Yemen in search of suspicious shipping, a U.S. defense official says .