(CNN)An Oklahoma reserve sheriff's deputy accused of fatally shooting a man he says he meant to subdue with a Taser pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of second-degree manslaughter. At the hearing, the judge granted Robert Bates permission to go to the Bahamas for a family vacation. That decision prompted a response from the family of Eric Harris, the man Bates killed. "We are not surprised that Mr. Bates pled not guilty.  We are, however, surprised that Mr. Bates would choose to go on a vacation to the Bahamas during this tumultuous time.  Whether intended or not, Mr. Bates' vacationing in the Bahamas at this time sends a message of apathy with respect to the shooting and Eric's life.  At a time when we are still mourning the death of a loved one that he shot down in the street, Mr. Bates will be relaxing and enjoying his wealth and privilege." Bates' preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 2. "This will give us an opportunity to deal with the facts in the courtroom instead of the media and we're looking very much forward to that," said  Clark Brewster, one of his lawyers, after the hearing. Bates, 73, was working as a reserve deputy for the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office on April 2 when he was involved the arrest of Eric Harris in a weapons sting operation. Bates claims he meant to stun Harris with a Taser after Harris fled from officers, but mistakenly shot Harris with a gun instead. Bates has said the shooting was accidental. He has apologized to the Harris family, as has Sheriff Stanley Glanz. The lawyer for the family of the man who was killed claims that Bates wasn't qualified to be on the force, but received preferential treatment because he'd made donations to the agency and was a friend of the sheriff. The Tulsa World newspaper reported some supervisors in the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office were told to forge Bates' records and were reassigned when they refused. The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has denied these allegations. Over the weekend, one of Bates' lawyers released most of his training documents and said they prove Bates had proper law enforcement training. Two deputies involved in arrest of Harris have been reassigned because of threats against them and their families, Glanz said Monday in a news conference. Lawyer releases training records for Tulsa deputy charged in killing . CNN's Jason Morris and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.

Robert Bates said he meant to subdue a suspect with a Taser but accidentally shot him . The preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 2 . The judge said Bates was free to travel to the Bahamas for a family vacation .


(CNN)It's one of the most famous faces in history, even though no one really knows what he looked like. Instead, every culture, every generation, remakes Jesus in its own image. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed savior when America was mostly Anglo-Protestant, at least in Hollywood's eyes. An androgynous, meek-and-mild messiah during the anything-goes 1970s. A studly action-figure hero after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Flip through the gallery above, and you'll see what I mean. If you turned on the television this past Sunday, though, a new vision of Jesus came into view. Darker, in mood and skin tone. Earthy rather than ethereal. If not following all of history's clues -- Hollywood has yet to cast an actual Jew as Jesus -- then at least inching closer. Flipping through the channels on a day millions of Western Christians celebrated the resurrection of their savior, viewers could choose from "Killing Jesus," a NatGeo production rebroadcast Sunday on Fox. "A.D.," NBC's sequel to the blockbuster miniseries "The Bible," and "Finding Jesus," CNN's addition to the ever-burgeoning body of Christ-centered TV fare. Does God have a prayer in Hollywood? What unites these disparate projects, besides a recognition that Jesus always draws an audience and the Good Book is good for business, is the type of men chosen to play Christ. They are brawny, with brown eyes and dark complexions. They look like men who could be carpenters, if not in Nazareth, than at least in the Mediterranean neighborhood. Haaz Sleiman, from "Killing Jesus," was born and raised in Lebanon. He's also Muslim, a fact that annoyed some Christians, who took to Twitter to voice their displeasure. Adam Bond, a British actor of mixed heritage, including Native American, portrays Jesus during the historical reenactments in "Finding Jesus." And Juan Pablo Di Pace -- a Argentinian named after the late St. Pope John Paul II -- takes a starring role in "A.D.," replacing Diogo Morgado, dubbed "hot Jesus," by some, "smarmy Jesus" by others. You could make the case that authenticity is the coin of our current entertainment realm, and that filmmakers are competing to make their work as historically accurate as possible. Contemporary viewers are too savvy to stomach the fake beards and odd accents that littered the camels-and-sandals epics of eras past. But there's another, deeper meaning behind our new, multicultural Jesuses, scholars say. "Filmmakers and networks are in touch with the fact that the complexion of America has changed," said Stephenson Humphries-Brooks, a religion scholar and author of "Cinematic Savior: Hollywood's Making of the American Christ." "A large number of Americans are people of color: Latinos and Middle Easterners and people from India," Humphries-Books continued. "That means the audience base is shifting in various and important ways." The audience base may be shifting, but it's also tuning in. Each of the Jesus shows drew big ratings, which means you'll likely be seeing more of Christ as you channel surf. But according to the Apostle Paul, almost every depiction of Jesus so far has gotten at least one detail wrong: his flowing locks. Real men don't wear long hair, said the New Testament scribe.

If you turned on the television this past Sunday, a new vision of Jesus came into view. Darker, in mood and skin tone. Earthy rather than ethereal. According to the Apostle Paul, almost every depiction of Jesus so far has gotten at least one detail wrong.


(CNN)Just eight months ago, a young woman named Fatu Kekula was single-handedly trying to save her Ebola-stricken family, donning trash bags to protect herself against the deadly virus. Today, because of a CNN story and the generosity of donors from around the world, Kekula wears scrubs bearing the emblem of the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she's learning skills she can take back home to care for her fellow Liberians. "It's a surprise -- a young child like me who came from a very poor background coming to the U.S.," she said. "I'm thankful to CNN and I appreciate the people who made donations, and I'm thankful to Emory for accepting me to study." At Emory, Kekula has asked for special training on certain skills, such as caring for burns, a common type of injury because children in Liberia sometimes fall into the open fires used for cooking. One of her instructors, Kelly Fullwood, said Kekula's an excellent student who has taught her teachers a thing or two about how to do procedures without costly equipment, as she's been forced to do in Liberia. "She fascinates me every day," Fullwood said. "She gets nursing. She gets what it's about." Kekula, 23, was just a year away from finishing up her nursing degree in Liberia when Ebola struck and her mother, father, sister and cousin came down with the disease. Hospitals were full and no doctors would visit her home, so with just advice from a physician on the phone, Kekula took care of all four of her relatives at the same time. All but her cousin survived -- a high success rate considering that at the time, about 70% of Ebola patients were dying in Liberia. Kekula couldn't continue her nursing education in Liberia, because the schools had closed. A CNN story about Kekula in September prompted donations from around the world to IAM, an organization that raises money to help African natives pay for education. David Smith, an associate dean at Emory's nursing school, said they accepted Kekula because they were struck by how both she and Emory each treated four Ebola patients at around the same time last year -- and Emory had dozens of doctors and nurses and millions of dollars in technology while Kekula had nobody and nearly no supplies. Stop Ebola where it starts . "It was obvious to us that this woman was intelligent and strong and fearless," he said. Kekula is scheduled to return to Liberia in August. "These things that I have learned here I am going to take back to my fellow nurses," she said. "I love to care for people. I love to save lives." Extraordinary people .

Fatu Kekula, 23, saved most of her family from Ebola . Thanks to donors, she is being trained at Emory University . Kekula was one year away from finishing a nursing degree when Ebola struck .


(CNN)Is there anything laser can't do? From cutting diamonds to preserving endangered sites, all the way to building terrifying weapons and turning your eyes from brown to blue, there is apparently no end to the list of applications for laser. Swiss physicist Jean-Pierre Wolf is working on yet another impressive addition to that list: using focused laser beams to affect the weather. It sounds like black magic, but it's actually a cleaner version of cloud seeding, a form of weather modification that has been used for several years -- most famously by China in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, when they launched rockets to seed the clouds and prevent rainfall during the opening ceremony. But it's hard to tell how effective cloud seeding actually is, and it involves the spraying of chemicals into the atmosphere, something which it surely doesn't need. Laser is therefore a completely clean alternative to traditional cloud seeding: it's light, and nothing but light. How does laser actually affect the weather? Just like cloud seeding, it can create new clouds where there are none, by inducing condensation: naturally occurring water vapor is condensed into droplets, and ice crystals form, mimicking the natural process that creates clouds. That way, rainfall can be triggered to "empty" the atmosphere and increase the potential of dry weather later on: "We did it on a laboratory scale, we can already create clouds, but not on a macroscopic scale, so you don't see a big cloud coming out because the laser is not powerful enough and because of a lot of technical parameters that we can't yet control," Professor Wolf told CNN's Nick Glass. That is not to say that the laser he's tested isn't powerful: at one terawatt, it has the same energy produced by all the nuclear power plants on Earth: "Of course, it doesn't last very long," Wolf said. The technology is still in its infancy then, but once it's perfected, it could help us modulate the weather in areas of high contrast, such as California or Chile, where flooding and droughts occur in extreme vicinity. Through lasers, those effects could be smoothed to have less rain in flooding-prone areas and more rain in drought-prone areas: "You can transport the water to a different location," Wolf said. Laser seeding can make more than clouds: it can also trigger lightning. "We also showed that it's possible to trigger lightning in clouds, within clouds, but not to the ground, yet." Recent tests have shown promise: " A few years ago, in New Mexico, we moved our big mobile terawatt laser to the top of a mountain and we shot it up into the atmosphere, trying to trigger lightning. We didn't, but we could see some small discharge, lightning, within the cloud. You know, 90 per cent of the lightning discharge are intra-cloud, not against the Earth. So, we are still working on that, but there is hope." Controlling lightning, or facilitating its discharge in a desired location, would help reduce the costs associated with lightning damage -- they run into the billions of dollars each year, adding to thousands of people injured or killed by lightning strikes. Affecting the weather could also turn out to be one of our best bets at limiting the impact of climate change. Professor Wolf reckons lasers could be used to "repair" the weather, reducing the occurrence of hurricanes, thunderstorms, flooding, and drought. But his laser technology can look way beyond the clouds: "There are potential applications in the biomedical field: by changing the color of the laser, we could identify and selectively kill cancer cells, with little or no collateral damage." Yet another potential application to add to that list: "Every time you think you have done everything you can with lasers, something new comes up: it's quite amazing."

Swiss Professor Jean-Pierre Wolf is pioneering the use of lasers to affect the weather . He suggests lasers could also be used to limit the impact of climate change .


(CNN)The attorney for a suburban New York cardiologist charged in what authorities say was a failed scheme to have another physician hurt or killed is calling the allegations against his client "completely unsubstantiated." Appearing Saturday morning on CNN's "New Day," Randy Zelin defended his client, Dr. Anthony Moschetto, who faces criminal solicitation, conspiracy, burglary, arson, criminal prescription sale and weapons charges in connection to what prosecutors called a plot to take out a rival doctor on Long Island. "None of anything in this case has any evidentiary value," Zelin told CNN's Christi Paul.  "It doesn't matter what anyone says, he is presumed to be innocent." Moschetto,54, pleaded not guilty to all charges Wednesday.  He was released after posting $2 million bond and surrendering his passport. Zelin said that his next move is to get Dr. Moshetto back to work. "He's got patients to see. This man, while he was in a detention cell, the only thing that he cared about were his patients. And amazingly, his patients were flooding the office with calls, making sure that he was OK," Zelin said. Two other men -- identified as James Chmela, 43, and James Kalamaras, 41 -- were named as accomplices, according to prosecutors. They pleaded not guilty in Nassau County District Court, according to authorities. Both were released on bail. A requests for comment from an attorney representing Chmela was not returned. It's unclear whether Kalamaras has retained an attorney. Police officers allegedly discovered approximately 100 weapons at Moschetto's home, including hand grenades, high-capacity magazines and knives. Many of the weapons were found in a hidden room behind a switch-activated bookshelf, according to prosecutors. The investigation began back in December, when undercover officers began buying heroin and oxycodone pills from Moschetto in what was initially a routine investigation into the sale of prescription drugs, officials said. During the course of the undercover operation, however, Moschetto also sold the officers two semiautomatic assault weapons as well as ammunition, prosecutors said. Moschetto allegedly told officers during one buy that he needed dynamite to "blow up a building." He later said he no longer needed the dynamite because a friend was setting fire to the building instead. Kalamaras and Chmela are believed to have taken part in the arson, according to prosecutors. "The fire damaged but did not destroy the office of another cardiologist whose relationship with Dr. Moschetto had soured due to a professional dispute," according to the statement from the district attorney's office. Moschetto allegedly gave an informant and undercover detective blank prescriptions and cash for the assault and killing of the fellow cardiologist, according to prosecutors. He also requested that the rival's wife be assaulted if she happened to be present, authorities said. "He was willing to pay $5,000 to have him beaten and put in a hospital for a few months, and then he said he would pay $20,000 to have him killed," said Assistant District Attorney Anne Donnelly, according to CNN affiliate WCBS.

A lawyer for Dr. Anthony Moschetto says the charges against him are baseless . Moschetto, 54, was arrested for selling drugs and weapons, prosecutors say . Authorities allege Moschetto hired accomplices to burn down the practice of former associate .


(CNN)ISIS on Wednesday released more than 200 Yazidis, a minority group whose members were killed, captured and displaced when the Islamist terror organization overtook their towns in northern Iraq last summer, officials said. Most of those released were women and children; the rest were ill or elderly, said Rassol Omar, a commander in the Peshmerga force that defends  northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Omar didn't say what led to the release, other than asserting that Arab tribal leaders helped to coordinate it. The freed Yazidis were received by Peshmerga, who sent them to the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil, said Nuri Osman, an official with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government. It wasn't immediately clear what motivated Wednesday's release, Osman said. Osman said 217 Yazidis were released. Omar, the Peshmerga commander, had a higher count: 228. ISIS previously released scores of other Yazidis -- largely children and the elderly -- since attacking the group's towns last year. The Sunni Islamist militant group steamrolled into Iraq's north last summer, forcing hundreds of thousands of minorities -- Yazidis among them -- from their homes. Yazidis are of Kurdish descent, and their religion is considered a pre-Islamic sect that draws from Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. One of the oldest religious communities in the world, the Yazidis have long suffered persecution, with many Muslims referring to them as devil worshipers. ISIS' cruelty to them has been extraordinary. ISIS' conquest of the town of Sinjar, in particular, provoked a major humanitarian crisis as some Yazidis fled into the mountains -- where many became trapped for a time without food and water -- and others fled by foot into neighboring Syria. ISIS slaughtered Yazidis by the hundreds, Yian Dakhil, the only lawmaker representing the Yazidis in Iraq's Parliament, told CNN last year. Reports emerged from some Yazidi survivors that ISIS raped and enslaved female Yazidi captives. An international coalition responded, first by airdropping supplies in the mountains. Rescues came next. And then, starting in August, the United States and other nations conducted airstrikes targeting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. State Department estimates that 500,000 Yazidis live in northern Iraq, accounting for less than 1% of the country's population. CNN's Raja Razek reported from Beirut. CNN's Jason Hanna wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Hamdi Alkshali, Faith Karimi and Yousuf Basil contributed to this report.

Most of those released were women and children . Freed Yazidis sent to capital of Iraq's Kurdish region .


Washington (CNN)A year after ISIS became a household name in America, using brutality and savvy propaganda to challenge al Qaeda and its affiliates for jihadist adherents, U.S. prosecutions of would-be recruits have exploded. The flurry of arrests -- at least 25 people have been detained since January -- is a sign that complicated, manpower-intensive investigations begun when ISIS started seizing swaths of territory a year ago are finally being completed. But they also highlight the unique challenges that ISIS poses in comparison with al Qaeda, which has attracted fewer U.S.-based recruits. Like a new rock band storming the music charts, ISIS has benefited from a media environment that amplifies its propaganda, law enforcement officials said. The group quickly reached early recruits through videos that showcased the fear its adherents instilled in nonbelievers. At first, most of the recruits were self-starters -- people radicalized on their own from consuming ISIS propaganda from YouTube videos and other social media. Much of the propaganda comes in the form of slick movie trailer-style videos, some glorifying brutal practices such as the beheading of anyone who ISIS leaders decide doesn't comport with their medieval brand of Islam. But once those initial Western recruits arrived, living in the self-declared ISIS caliphate spanning parts of Syria and Iraq, they started to directly entice friends and other contacts back home to join them. In Minnesota, nine men have been charged as part of an alleged cell of recruits linked to American Abdi Nur, who turned up fighting with ISIS in Syria in 2014 and began to appeal to his friends to come to the Middle East. "Each one of those folks who makes it over there has the capability to reach out back to their contacts back here," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said. It's a phenomenon observed in Norway and other European nations, where clusters of young people have been lured to ISIS. And the ISIS recruiters have an easier path to drawing supporters than al Qaeda has had. A decade ago, that group's recruits faced formidable obstacles trying to get to training camps deep in hard-to-reach areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal region. Few Westerners went through the trouble. Minneapolis men allegedly trying to join ISIS highlight role of American recruiter . Today, ISIS occupies much more accessible territory, mostly reachable through Turkey. Istanbul's airport has easy connections to Western Europe and much of the rest of the world. From there, Turkey's modern infrastructure offers quick access to the border regions where smugglers can help jihadis get across to Syria. The informal recruitment networks and ease of travel have presented a difficult puzzle to intelligence and counterterrorism officials, who are used to tracking networks of facilitators and fundraisers that funnel recruits eastward. "It's harder for us to pick up on," the U.S. counterterrorism official said of the peer-to-peer recruitment, which is well below the radar. How ISIS is luring Westerners . Before ISIS, investigators could often focus on radicalizing mosques and clerics to figure out those networks. Al Qaeda recruitment focused on attracting radicals who were motivated to join the fight to protect Islamic holy lands. Much of the recruitment occurred in countries with strong conservative Islamic histories, including Saudi Arabia and Yemen, U.S. officials said. In contrast, ISIS takes a somewhat secular approach, portraying how much better life purportedly is in the caliphate as compared to the corrupt West. And people attracted to ISIS' marketing run the gamut from rich to poor, educated to dropout, male to female, teenaged to middle-aged. There are signs Western recruits have risen to high levels in the ISIS organization, with their influence reflected in the latest propaganda, counterterrorism and intelligence officials said. The English is proper, with fewer grammatical and spelling mistakes. And while the large number of arrests show that law enforcement officials are succeeding in their disruption efforts, it also means that U.S. authorities don't see the lure of ISIS receding any time soon. "We are opening cases quicker than we are closing them," the U.S. counterterrorism official said. Who has been recruited to ISIS from the West?

The recruiting tactics used by ISIS differ from those traditionally employed by al Qaeda . ISIS benefits from a media environment that amplifies its propaganda, officials say .


(CNN)Jackson Gordon is no ordinary 21-year-old. By day he is an industrial design student at Philadelphia University, but Gordon has another side to him -- a side altogether darker, tougher and more enigmatic. Hanging in his workshop Gordon has a full suit of armor plating, cape and cowl -- matte black and built to stop a knife. Gordon has an alter ego: the Dark Knight himself, Batman. You might expect his origin story to be cloaked in mystery, but speaking to CNN Gordon is quick to explain how the transformation took place. Gordon says his calling came five years ago when he began experimenting with cosplay. "Previously I'd been involved with costume making... I'd made a version of the Batsuit from Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight Trilogy' and I really liked that suit," Gordon says. But, as elaborate as his design was, it lacked the functionality or the authenticity of the genuine article. "I was frustrated every time I wore it," Gordon explains. "It really limited my mobility and I didn't like that -- it didn't go with the character." In September 2014 he bit the bullet, deciding "to do another one that wouldn't inhibit my mobility and would actually provide protection and function more like Batman's actual suit." The Batsuit had to be strong -- tough enough to withstand the stab or slash of a knife, the impact of a punch or a baseball bat, but light and articulate enough to make it practical. Striking such a balance required expensive materials, and they didn't come cheap. Gordon therefore fired up a Kickstarter campaign. He "didn't really think anyone would fund it or even be interested in it" -- he raised $1,255 in 6 days. "It was a little surprising," Gordon demurs. Writing out his shopping list, it was important that "everywhere, even places without armor plating, had some sort of protection." Kevlar was sourced as the base fabric, making it "cut and slash resistant to bladed weapons, but breathable and wearable all day." Eschewing conventional materials, Gordon opted for a form of memory foam, built around key areas to "squish and compress," dissipating the impact of blows. After much experimenting with "polycarbonates and extruded PVC materials," ¼" Kydex (or ABS) plastic formed the tough armor plates, located on the torso, forearms and shins. Stab resistant, Gordon says "it can take anything but a gunshot." The cowl was more problematic, being "nearly impossible" to craft out of the same materials within the limits of his workshop. Gordon therefore took a mold of his head using Sintra plastic, "working on top of that with different sculpting clays and soft plastics to get it into a recognizable Batman shape." Using a two part box mold Gordon was able to create a "silicone jacket" of this, into which liquid polyurethane was poured, forming the final, "durable and functional" cowl. Gordon (who doesn't appear to be related to Gotham City's police commissioner, James Gordon) is also an expert in Shaolin Kung Fu: he is both brains and brawn, a cross between Bruce Wayne and Batsuit designer Lucius Fox from Nolan's Batman trilogy. Legendary, the production company behind the films, has taken note of his design and given it their seal of approval. The Batsuit has made appearances at conventions and proved a showstopper among his fellow students and the faculty. "People love the theatricality of it," its designer says. That the product so closely mimics DC's fantastical comic book creation has had resonance. He has already begun manufacturing the cowls for the public, with "fully adjustable" jackets going up for sale on his site Armatus Design "in the next couple of weeks." The jackets have received particular attention. Gordon has received "easily over 50 requests from people," and not just from the cosplay community.  "They range from recreational use to martial artists... but also motorcycle and All Terrain Vehicle riders who want protective gear and prefer the look and functionality of [Gordon's] suit." Perhaps because of their versatility and the small matter of copyright issues, those that go on sale will not feature the iconic bat symbol. Gordon says his fledgling business will remain small whilst he's at University -- he has to finish he studies after all, and won't be using the project towards his degree credits. For now the Batsuit and Armatus Design will remain a one man operation: such is the life of a superhero.

21-year-old student Jackson Gordon has designed and built a functional Batsuit . Made with money raised on Kickstarter, the outfit has received a prestigious endorsement .


(CNN)In the end, it played out like a movie. A tense, heartbreaking story, and then a surprise twist at the end. As eight of Mary Jane Veloso's fellow death row inmates -- mostly foreigners, like her -- were put to death by firing squad early Wednesday in a wooded grove on the Indonesian island of Nusa Kambangan, the Filipina maid and mother of two was spared, at least for now. Her family was returning from what they thought was their final visit to the prison on so-called "execution island" when a Philippine TV crew flagged their bus down to tell them of the decision to postpone her execution. Her ecstatic mother, Celia Veloso, told CNN: "We are so happy, so happy. I thought I had lost my daughter already but God is so good. Thank you to everyone who helped us." Supporters were "overjoyed" with the news. "This is all because of the efforts of the Filipino people and the international community who have been with Mary Jane, her family and the Filipino people all throughout," a supporter said upon hearing of the eleventh-hour reprieve. Veloso was arrested in 2010 after a flight from Malaysia to Indonesia when $500,000 worth of heroin was discovered in the lining of her luggage. Supporters, including the Filipino advocacy group Migrante, and her lawyers claim the young mother was the victim of human trafficking. They say she was offered work in Malaysia, but when she arrived she was told the job had been filled and wasn't aware the bag she'd been given for the return journey to Indonesia was filled with drugs. The Philippine Embassy in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, said Wednesday that it welcomed the reprieve and appreciated that the Indonesian government appeared to be reconsidering the case. "While Mary Jane was convicted for a drug-related offense in 2010, the Philippines believes that due to her personal circumstances, she herself is a victim of heartless drug syndicates," embassy political secretary Jed Llona said. "The alleged recruiters of Mary Jane are currently being investigated in the Philippines, and the embassy hopes that through this ongoing case, those truly responsible for drug trafficking in the region are brought to justice." Questions about her detention and trial, including the competency of her translator, have also been raised. Veloso had been given the customary 72 hours' notice of execution, and her family had traveled to Nusa Kambangan to say their final goodbyes. However, developments in her home country appear to have changed  -- or at least delayed -- her fate. CNN Philippines reported that Veloso's alleged recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, and her partner Julius Lacanilao surrendered to authorities in the Philippines Tuesday. Sergio faces charges of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and fraud, but maintains her innocence. Sergio said that she had received anonymous death threats by phone, and further threatening messages from Veloso's family on social media. Veloso's lawyer, Edre Olalia, confirmed that developments in the case had prompted the stay. "As far as Mary Jane is concerned, her life has been spared for the moment and the reason is that the legal proceedings in the Philippines must be respected first in view of the fact that the illegal recruiter is now in custody," he told CNN Philippines. Indonesian President Joko Widodo told reporters Wednesday that the decision was the result of the Indonesian government's desire to cooperate with the ongoing case in the Philippines. "There was a letter from the Philippine government saying that there is a legal process related to human trafficking there. So we need to respect this legal process." He stressed, however, that the execution was delayed, rather than canceled. Veloso's case has touched the public in her native Philippines, with the highest levels of government and celebrity calling for mercy. President Benigno Aquino met his Indonesian counterpart on the sidelines at the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur last weekend and pressed for him to commute Veloso's sentence. Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who is primed to fight longtime foe Floyd Mayweather Saturday, made a televised appeal to President Widodo, also asking for mercy for Veloso. "I am begging and knocking on your kind heart that Your Excellency will grant executive clemency to her," he said. Veloso's sons, Mark Daniel and Mark Darren, ages 6 and 12, issued a heartbreaking plea, aimed at Widodo's son, asking him to intervene. "Please tell your father not to execute her," they asked. Ordinary people are also fighting for their compatriot, including Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, who protested at the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong Tuesday. Philippine Embassy officials said Veloso would be returned to Yogyakarta prison in Central Java later on Wednesday. Lawyers fighting to delay her execution previously said they'd given up their bid after her second legal review was rejected on Monday.

Indonesia executed eight drug smugglers Wednesday morning . Mary Jane Veloso was meant to be the ninth but was given reprieve . Supporters, family "overjoyed" -- Indonesia stresses it's just a delay .


(CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 11:52 p.m. ET] . Denver police report nine arrests in Wednesday's demonstrations.  The charges include assault of a police officer, robbery, resisting police, disobedience to lawful orders, obstructing roadways, and interference. [Previous story, posted at 10:54 p.m. ET] . (CNN) -- In cities across the United States, marchers took to the streets to show support for protesters in Baltimore and to complain about police violence in their own towns. On Wednesday night, several hundred people streamed into Union Square for an "NYC Rise Up & Shut It Down With Baltimore" rally. Protesters headed west on 17th Street and were met by New York City Police officers who pushed them back. A small scuffle broke out between the two front lines and police placed at least 20 people in zip ties in the street. The NYPD also handed out fliers and used loudspeakers to tell protesters and pedestrians to stay on the sidewalk. One person was placed in ambulance and taken away. The crowd headed toward Times Square. A law enforcement source told CNN that more than 60 people were arrested during the demonstrations. The rally was organized through social media, much like protests over the killing of Eric Garner, who died while police held him in what appeared to be a chokehold. The demonstrators chanted "Black Lives Matter" and "Justice for Freddie Gray" -- the Baltimore man whose death sparked street confrontations in Baltimore. CNN affiliate WCBS reported Mayor Bill de Blasio sent a message to the protesters: "I'd say that if you want to make change, keep things peaceful." A smaller rally was held Tuesday in New York. In Washington, about 500 protesters, mostly in their 20s, gathered in the middle of H Street and 7th and chanted, "All night, all day, we're gonna fight for Freddie Gray." The mood seemed more festive than confrontational, with songs by Public Enemy like "Fight the Power" playing and sign-language interpreters translating the music and chants. The protest moved to the White House where most of the crowd dispersed. It started after most office workers had headed home and didn't disrupt the Washington workforce badly. One of the groups involved in the protest is the DC Ferguson Movement. Organizer Eugene Puryear said the march was called to show solidarity with the residents in Baltimore and to highlight that police brutality is a national issue. Several hundred people gathered in Gold Medal Park in Minneapolis for a rally organized by the group of #BlackLivesMatter. The Minneapolis group  held similar events in the past in response to alleged police brutality across the country. Protests also were held in Boston and Houston. On Tuesday, violent protests took place in Ferguson, Missouri, where three people were shot, the city police reported. Police said they didn't do the shooting. A 20-year-old man was arrested and the three victims were in stable condition -- two with wounds to the neck, one in the leg, police said. Police said about 300 people marched, with protesters throwing rocks at police, damaging four police cars and setting trash and debris on fire near Northwinds Estates and West Florissant, police said. One business in Dellwood was damaged, police said. No officers were injured as police conducted anti-riot activities until 3 a.m. In Los Angeles, six people protesting against police brutality were arrested Monday night when they failed to disperse, reported CNN affiliate KABC. About 50 people marched, KABC said. On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the Stapes Center, where the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs were playing an NBA playoff game. They disrupted traffic and carried protest signs. In Chicago, hundreds of protesters marched Tuesday from police headquarters at 35th and Michigan through the Southside, CNN affiliate WGN reported. Police made one arrest, for reckless conduct. WGN said protesters spoke about police violence and the death of Rekia Boyd, who was killed by an off-duty officer in 2012. That officer was acquitted last week. The group plans to gather Wednesday night at the DePaul Law School. About 100 people marched Monday night in Oakland in support of Baltimore protesters, reported CNN affiliate KABC. A protest is planned for Thursday in Cincinnati, reported CNN affiliate WXIX.  Philly.com said a "Philly is Baltimore" protest will be held Thursday at Philadelphia City Hall. CNN's Alexandra Field, Elizabeth Landers, Lorenzo Ferrigno and Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report.

Police arrest demonstrators near Union Square in New York . Protests also held in Washington, Minneapolis and Boston .


(CNN)Most kids want to go out and play when they finish their homework early. But Zuriel Oduwole isn't "most kids." When she gets ahead of her work, she packs her camera and microphones, jumps on a plane and interviews presidents instead. Born in California to a Nigerian father and a Mauritian mother, Oduwole is often described as "the world's youngest filmmaker." Aged 12, she already has four documentaries under her belt -- all of which focus on African issues. It all started three years ago when Oduwole decided to enter a school documentary-making competition with a film about the Ghana revolution. Jerry John Rawlings (Ghana) John Kufour (Ghana) Joyce Banda (Malawi) Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) Rajkeswur Purryag (Mauritius) Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya) Goodluck Johnathan (Nigeria) Salva Kirr Mayardit (South Sudan) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia) Jorge Fonseco (Cape Verde) Portia Simpson Miller (Jamaica) Thomas Thabane (Lesotho) Ralph Gonsalves (St Vincent & Grenadines) Denzil Douglas (St Kitts & Nevis) After this first foray into filmmaking, Oduwole was bitten by the director's bug and quickly wanted to make more movies. She turned to the web to find the tools she needed and got involved in the entire filmmaking process. "As I edit, produce, set up and write the scripts for my documentaries, I have to learn a lot of things," says Oduwole, who is self-taught and uses online editing and voice software. Her second outing, "Educating and Healing Africa Out of Poverty," looked at the creation of the African Union in 1963. She followed it up in 2014 with her movie "Technology in Educational Development." But it was her most recent project that catapulted her to international recognition. Released late last year, "A Promising Africa" (watch trailer below) is the first in an ongoing series which will profile five African nations, starting with her father's homeland of Nigeria. "I've interviewed 14 heads of state and a few of those include the President of Tanzania, Liberia, Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria and Cape Verde, to name a few," says Oduwole. "I've also been able to interview business leaders like my friend Mr Aliko Dangote." To date, "A Promising Africa" has received a limited-release on the big screen in five countries -- Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, UK and Japan. The young trailblazer, who was named by Business Insider as one of world's 100 most powerful individuals last year, delightedly recalls seeing her film on the big screen and walking the red carpet in Lagos. "I'm hoping that when people see these documentaries they will see Africa is full of positive things -- not just the things that are on the news like war, famine, disease," she says. "I want to show them there is a lot more to Africa than what we see on the news -- there's dancing, music, great culture and more." Although she's just 12, Oduwole, who is home-schooled through an online Californian system, is already a 9th grader -- two years ahead of the rest of the kids her age. Her mother, Patricia, has a full-time job as a computer engineer, whilst her father, Ademola, has taken time off his work in the tourism sector to help organize a lot of what Zuriel and her three other siblings are doing. "There really is a lot happening in our household but somehow we make it work," says Patricia Oduwole. In addition to her documentary work, Oduwole has also become something of an education advocate. She travels to different African countries and the diaspora on a regular basis to talk to students about the importance of education. So far, through her side project "Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up" she says she's had the opportunity to talk to 21,000 children in nine countries. "Girl's education is important because on the African continent, where there are not as many resources, the boys are the first [to get an education]," says Oduwole. "The boys go to school and get an education while the girls stay at home. And those girls aren't educated and have fewer options in life when they get older." More from African Voices .

Zuriel Oduwole is a 12-year-old filmmaker . To date, she has interviewed 14 heads of state .


(CNN)When ISIS overran their villages near Mosul in August 2014, a small group of Assyrians, a Middle Eastern minority with a history reaching back more than 4,000 years, picked up weapons and formed their own militia: Dwekh Nawsha -- "The Sacrificers." Assyrians belong to the rapidly dwindling Christian population of Iraq -- recent estimates from CAPNI, the largest Christian relief organization in northern Iraq put the number as low as 300,000 compared with 1.5 million 20 years ago -- and many among them see the fight with ISIS as a final battle for survival against the Islamists. "'Ah, Assyrians -- I've read about them in the Bible,' is what many people say," says Marcus Naissan, a 25-year-old electrical technician and member of Dwekh Nawsha. "But we are not just history, we are still alive, we are still here." The exodus of Christians from Iraq started prior to ISIS -- and the civil war in the mid-2000s took an especially heavy toll. Today, most Iraqi Christians live in Kurdish areas in the north, which have been a relative haven of stability. And so far, the Kurds have been taking heavy losses to defend Christian and Yezidi minorities against ISIS. Every night, the fighters hear the rumbling sound of coalition airplanes in the sky over Baqufa where they have their safe house just a few miles from the frontline. Here they relax, patrol the empty streets of the village and try to hinder ISIS suicide commandos from entering the near city of Dohuk where UNHCR says almost 100,000 refugees -- many of them Christians -- have found a temporary place to stay. So far, the militia has only assembled and trained 40 fighters. But Rama Baito, manager of the digital media presence of the group, shows me his direct messages on Facebook -- dozens of ex-soldiers, diaspora Assyrians or Christian activists from all over the world contact him and offer monetary support or their own presence on the frontline. "We have 200 people waiting right now, because we simply do not have enough weapons and training capacities," Baito says. Since they are still small and have no heavy weaponry, the Dwekh Nawsha fighters say they coordinate closely with local Kurdish Peshmerga commanders and share the same foxholes on the frontline. The fighters are a very mixed bunch. A young baker, carrying his large military dagger in an elegant sheath, says he brought his father when he enlisted. "But now, we see each other only rarely because he is in another unit of our group," he says. "When I go on vacation, he goes to the field and the other way around. So every time we swap units, I wait for him, give him a quick hug and then leave back home." Right now, ISIS is focused on other fronts -- the yellow fields of the Niniveh plains are quite safe for the mostly young fighters. But none of them thinks victory over ISIS will be quick, nor that fighting will end immediately afterward. All they can do now is patrol the deserted alleys of Baqufa, making sure the wild dogs don't take over the town and hope one day their relatives will be able to return.

Assyrians are an ancient Middle Eastern minority -- they are part of the rapidly dwindling Christian population of Iraq . After ISIS overran their villages, some Assyrians formed a militia to fight for survival against the terror group .


(CNN)A large storm system dubbed Typhoon Maysak is churning over the Pacific Ocean, days away from a possible direct hit on the Philippines. Maysak is moving west-northwest after skirting the Federated States of Micronesia, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Its eye is projected to make landfall in the central or northern part of the Philippine island of Luzon on Sunday, though the country's residents could start feeling its effects days before. That could interrupt the Easter celebration for many in the predominantly Catholic nation, which may be socked by heavy rains and potent winds. The International Red Cross noted that "many people are expected to throng coastal areas at this time." Images of the typhoon as seen from the International Space Station were posted to Twitter, including a Vine video showing the swirling eye of the storm. The storm has weakened and is expected to lose more strength before it reaches the Philippines. Its maximum sustained winds on Wednesday were 150 mph, making it a super typhoon in the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's definition. But by Thursday, the winds' strength had declined to around 132 mph -- no longer a super typhoon but still the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera told CNN that Maysak could weaken further to become a tropical storm by the time it reaches the Philippine coast. "This will not be a catastrophic storm," Cabrera said. That said, it could still cause flooding and bring strong winds, he cautioned. The Philippines is frequently hit by typhoons. In December, for instance, Hagupit killed at least 18 people in the East Asian nation and injured hundreds more. But that devastation paled in comparison to the havoc wrought by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which killed more than 6,000 people and injured more than 27,000 others. That typhoon, considered to be among the strongest storms ever to make landfall, hit the eastern city of Tacloban especially hard. The irony of the upcoming storm is its timing: in April, just after the Philippines Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration officially declared the onset of the nation's dry, or summer, season. PAGASA meteorologist Shelley Ignacio predicts Maysak -- which is called Chedeng in the Philippines -- will bring heavy rains to Luzon starting on Friday, according to the state-run Philippines News Agency. The country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council went on red alert on Wednesday because of the storm, the news agency reports. That alert means all relevant personnel are on standby and the public should be on guard for possible effects of the storm. CNN's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.

Maysak has sustained winds of more than 130 mph but is expected to weaken . It's forecast to hit the Philippines during the Easter weekend .


(CNN)Lest we Americans forget that -- in the wellsprings of our nation -- France bore the torch of liberty alongside us, our old ally has launched a reminder from across the Atlantic's waves. L'Hermione, with three sail masts and bright royal blue and gold markings, is a painstaking replica of an 18th century French frigate that fought with the United States' founding fathers in the War of Independence. It set sail in France on Saturday for Virginia to retrace a journey through American history. In 1780, the original Hermione was assigned to a French nobleman, who fought as a general in George Washington's army against the British. His name: Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette carried prized cargo -- news from King Louis XVI that France was throwing men, guns and treasure behind the Colonies, according to a historical summary on L'Hermione's website.  Lafayette, who had been wounded in the Revolutionary War had gone back to his homeland to lobby on behalf of Washington, who was also one of his close friends. Lafayette rejoined the fight on the front lines in Virginia, while L'Hermione did sea battle with its 32 guns against the English farther north. Its coppered bottom was an innovation that made it cut faster through the waters. In Chesapeake Bay, it joined the blockade that led the British to surrender. After the war, Lafayette returned to live in France. More than 200 years later, in 1997, a group of people came up with the idea of reconstructing the frigate using the same building methods applied in the original. They claim the replica is the "most authentically built Tall Ship in the last 150 years." After a year of testing, it set sail Saturday to retrace Lafayette's journey, 235 years after the original, and France gave it a sendoff with the trappings of an act of state. "L'Hermione is a luminous episode of our history. She is a champion of universal values, freedom, courage and of the friendship between France and the United States," French President Francois Hollande said in a speech. President Obama, in a letter to congratulate the launch, called France "our Nation's oldest ally." "For more than two centuries, the United States and France have stood united in the freedom we owe to one another," he wrote. L'Hermione will ply across the Atlantic for 27 days en route to Yorktown, Virginia, where it plans to arrive in early June. After that, it will show itself off in 12 ports along the East Coast. It should be in New York City for the Fourth of July, possibly sharing Independence Day fireworks with the Statue of Liberty. Since 1886, that gift from France -- also a reminder of our common bond -- has been America's quintessential national symbol of freedom.

L'Hermione is a painstaking replica of an 18th century ship of the same name . The original fought with American colonists against the British in the Revolutionary War .


(CNN)It started with neighbors and local officials digging with their hands through the rubble. As soon as a deadly earthquake stopped rattling a swath of Nepal, before the scope of the damage was calculated, the digging began. The magnitude-7.8 earthquake has killed more than 1,800 people, and the death toll is expected to rise. One witness, Joe McEnness, captured a photo of police officers in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, trying to dig survivors out of a collapsed building. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said its volunteers and staff were aiding rescue efforts and providing first aid to the injured. The Red Cross opened a blood bank in Kathmandu. Reports from Nepal indicated that hospitals were overflowing with patients and suffering from shortages. One doctor in the outskirts of Kathmandu put out a plea for engineers to come to his hospital to help back up the electricity supply. "Victims will be dying if we don't have it," Dr. Subhash Acharya tweeted. At another hospital, CNN's Manesh Shrestha saw people being turned away as doctors focused on the most dire needs, he said. He saw people lying outside with broken bones and head injuries. With communication limited, many turned to social media to ask for help locating their loved ones. Google India launched a person finder website to work as a clearinghouse for information on those who are missing and those who have been found. As of Saturday night in Nepal, Google was tracking some 1,400 records. Facebook activated Safety Check, which alerts users of any friends who are in the disaster zone. Those in the affected area can use Facebook to alert their family and friends that they are OK. The U.S. government is providing $1 million in immediate assistance, the U.S. Embassy in Nepal said. American disaster response teams are also on their way to the country, the Embassy said via Twitter. Nepal's neighbor India deployed teams to Kathmandu almost immediately. Within hours of the quake, India had sent almost 300 personnel, along with search dogs and supplies. The equipment arrived in Nepal via a series of cargo and airlift planes, including a C-130 Super Hercules, one IL-76, and two C-17 Globemasters, according to India's Ministry of Defense. Two additional helicopters were deployed from India but turned back because of bad weather, the ministry said. India said Sunday that it would dispatch 10 more aid flights to Nepal, along with 10 helicopters to assist in search-and-rescue efforts. Disaster management and medical personnel as well as mobile hospitals, food, water, blankets and medicine will be on the aid flights, Ministry of Defense spokesman Sitanshu Kar said. Pakistan announced it is sending a medical team, a 30-bed hospital and search-and-rescue experts. The Pakistani search team is specialized for rescues in natural disasters, officials said, and comes equipped with ground-penetrating radar and concrete cutters. Pakistan is sending meals, water, medicine and other supplies. China, meanwhile, announced that it will send 40 rescuers and six search dogs. Israel's military was preparing to send a team to assess the damage from the quake ahead of a humanitarian mission, the Israel Defense Forces said. Hikers around Mount Everest run for lives, treat injured . CNN's Kunal Sehgal contributed to this report.

More than 1,800 deaths reported after Nepal earthquake . Rescue efforts range from digging by hand to military deployments .


(CNN)There's a stampede of investigators in California. The FBI said Friday that it will investigate whether civil rights were violated during the videotaped beating of a suspect in San Bernardino. The suspect  allegedly fled by car, foot and horseback when law enforcement officers tried to arrest him. Earlier Friday, San Bernardino Sheriff John McMahon said criminal investigations have begun into the actions of deputies as well as the suspect. In addition, an internal investigation has been launched. Ten deputies identified as being involved in the case have been put on paid administrative leave, McMahon said Friday. In video captured by cameras aboard a helicopter for KNBC, deputies gather around the man after he falls from a horse he was riding to flee from them. The video shows deputies using a stun gun on him and then repeatedly kicking and hitting him. KNBC reported that the man -- identified by authorities as Francis Pusok -- appeared to be kicked 17 times, punched 37 times and hit with a baton four times. Pusok was later hospitalized, KNBC reported, citing authorities. "The video surrounding this arrest is disturbing and I have ordered an internal investigation be conducted immediately," McMahon said in a statement. "What I saw on the television was thugs beating up my client," said Jim Terrell, Pusok's family attorney, according to CNN affiliate KCAL. "That's what I saw. And these questions about what was he doing? What did they do? This is far worse than Rodney King." The ACLU of Southern California issued a statement Friday saying that it was "deeply troubled" by the images. "While we applaud Sheriff John McMahon's prompt decision to investigate the disturbing actions of his deputies, we believe more is needed," the organization said. "Too often the department has failed to address questions, including those raised by the ACLU SoCal, about use of force and Taser policies." Coming soon: An app to report police brutality . The Thursday afternoon incident began when deputies tried to serve a search warrant in an identity-theft investigation, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Pusok fled in a vehicle, and deputies pursued him through the unincorporated area of Apple Valley, the town of Apple Valley and farther into the unincorporated area of Hesperia, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Pusok abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot into steep, rugged terrain, with deputies pursing with off-highway vehicles and helicopters, the sheriff's office said. "Within minutes, deputies received information that the suspect came into contact with a group of people near the Deep Creek Hot Springs and stole a horse. He fled on horseback on dirt trails, through very rugged, steep terrain, causing numerous injuries to the horse," the sheriff's office said. A helicopter dropped deputies onto the ground, and as they approached Pusok to make the arrest, he was thrown from the horse, the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office said a Taser was used on Pusok but was ineffective because of his loose clothing. A deputy was injured when the horse Pusok had been riding kicked him, the Sheriff's Department said. Two other deputies were treated for dehydration. The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of police use of force after the 2014 deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the recent shooting of Walter Scott in South Carolina. In the California case, the FBI said the results of its investigation will be forwarded to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California and Justice Department in Washington to determine whether prosecution is warranted. Did police use excessive force? 3 cases in the spotlight . CNN's Sam Stringer and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

San Bernardino sheriff says 10 deputies have been put on leave . Video from a news helicopter shows deputies punching and kicking a man repeatedly .


(CNN)Countries around the world have launched massive aid operations to help victims of the Nepal earthquake, but distribution of aid faces challenges as Nepal is still trying to come to terms with the scale of the disaster. With over 4,400 dead, 8,000 injured and 8 million people across Nepal affected, numerous aid groups and at least 16 nations have rushed to send supplies and workers to the stricken country. But now the Nepalese government and army who are leading the disaster response face another problem: How to effectively coordinate and organize the massive influx of humanitarian aid. Here are three major obstacles that are hampering efforts of distribution. Nepal relies on only one international airport to receive and deliver aid. Relief organizations say the tarmac at Tribhuvan International Airport remains jam-packed with a large number of cargo planes. Several aircraft carrying essential supplies have been turned away, or diverted to India and elsewhere. "The airport is totally congested. Even the planes which have landed, goods haven't been offloaded," Jagan Chapagain, the Asia Pacific Director of the IFRC (International Federations of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) told CNN. Flightradar24, a live air traffic monitor, shows that incoming flights have had to circle in the air several times before being able to land. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team who is on the ground coordinating international relief efforts says they are doing all they can to address the problem. "There are lots of flights arriving from around the world for search and rescue, and that's the challenge we're trying to address by supporting the airport staff directly," said Marcus Werne, a UNDAC team leader. But Chapagain says that airport management is still chaotic, with staff and military not being able to clear runways and offload supplies effectively. According to a U.N. situation report, main roads in Kathmandu are open, but remote areas are largely inaccessible. "Due to the mountainous geography, infrastructure damage, collapsed bridges and damaged roads, access to many of the affected areas is reported to be extremely limited," read the report. The Nepalese government has not been able to provide relief to all affected areas due to difficulties in transporting goods, a government official told CNN. "The helicopters are small. They don't fly in windy and cloudy conditions. Given Nepal's geographical terrain we cannot use surface transport much but we are using it," said Sagar Mani Parajuli, the Joint Secretary for Nepal's Home Ministry. The situation has deteriorated to the point where relief workers are as good as stranded. Pirtha Raj Joshi, a disaster management officer for Nepal Red Cross, had to walk 10 hours to reach a office in one of the severely affected districts, said Chapagain. Initial reports from the IFRC say that over 36,000 houses have been totally destroyed, with the number expected to rise as teams arriving in severely affected areas continue to assess damages. Just two days after the earthquake struck, Nepalese authorities leading the response are still trying to fully understand which areas have been affected, how they are affected and what the priorities are. "Typically what we see, also in other emergencies, is that it takes a few days for supply lines, distribution lines to stabilize," UNDAC's Werne told CNN. "Right now we're working with a lot of secondary data, and working on some of the key vulnerable areas identified prior to the earthquake," he added. The operation to get aid to survivors in Nepal is still "very ad hoc" and it will be a few days before the distribution becomes organized because the government is still constrained by the scale of the disaster, says Chapagain. CNN's Manesh Shrestha in Kathmandu, and Bex Wright and Jethro Mullen in Hong Kong, contributed to this report.

Nepalese authorities struggle with trying to coordinate a massive influx of international aid . Relief organizations say lots of aid supplies remain stuck in cargo aircraft on the tarmac . Damaged roads and infrastructure have hampered distribution efforts and rescue teams trying to access remote areas .


Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN)Rescuers in Nepal have pulled a man from the wreckage of a building where he was stuck for a staggering 82 hours after the devastating earthquake that hit the country Saturday. His survival is unusual, as experts say it's rare for injured people who are trapped to hold out for longer than 72 hours after a disaster. The man, Rishi Khanal, was saved after a French search and rescue team found him under the rubble on the outskirts of Kathmandu, the capital, around noon Tuesday, said Pushparam K.C., a spokesman for the Armed Police Force of Nepal. The team used specialized gear that detects signs of life, he said. But it took about 10 more hours for the French team and police officers to dig him out, the spokesman said. A police video of the rescue showed the teams drilling through concrete to reach Khanal's location and then hauling him up through the hole. They then carried him out of the ruined building on a stretcher. On Wednesday afternoon, Khanal, 27, had just undergone surgery and was resting, surrounded by family and friends. He had suffered a crushed foot and was too weak and distraught to talk about his traumatic experience. "It seems he survived by sheer willpower," said Akhilesh Shrestha, a doctor who treated Khanal, according to the Reuters news agency. Khanal's story of survival isn't the only one to emerge from the terrible destruction wrought by the quake, which has killed more than 5,000 people. A 4-month-old baby was rescued from a destroyed building in the town of Bhaktapur at least 22 hours after the quake struck, the newspaper Kathmandu Today reported. A Nepali military team had failed to notice the child during its search but returned after his cry was heard, the newspaper said. The little boy, whose name is Sonit Awal, was reported to be in stable condition without any internal injuries, according to initial examinations. CNN hasn't independently confirmed Sonit's rescue, but the newspaper published photos showing the dust-caked infant being lifted by Nepali soldiers in the ruined structure. Tanka Maya Sitoula, a 40-year-old mother of four, was at home in Kathmandu when the earthquake shook the city, bringing the five-story building down around her ground-floor apartment. She endured 36 long hours trapped in a room before an Indian rescue team freed her. She escaped without injury, apparently protected by a beam. Sitoula says she remained confident she would survive amid the rubble. "I heard people making noise outside, so I thought I would be rescued," she said, as she and her family sheltered on the grounds of a nearby school. What did she do for 36 hours? "I was just lying down," she said. "There was no room to move here and there." Sitoula's husband, Mahendra, a butcher, said he called out for help for hours after the quake, as he could hear her shouting in the rubble of the collapsed building. It took 18 hours before the necessary help arrived, he said. And it took another 18 hours to free her. Jon Keisi was buried for more than 60 hours under the wreckage of a seven-story building in Kathmandu that came tumbling down around him during the quake. Rescue workers flown in from Turkey had to help carve a tunnel deep into the debris to reach him. Encased in an orange stretcher, he was lifted to safety Tuesday. But he cried out in pain after his rescuers set him down, shaking his head from side to side. One of the hard-hat-wearing search team members that crowded around him called for water. Keisi was injured and dehydrated, but the rescuers said they were confident he would survive. CNN's Elizabeth Joseph reported from Kathmandu, and CNN's Jethro Mullen wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Moni Basu, Manesh Shrestha, Ivan Watson, Tim Hume and Pamela Boykoff contributed to this report.

A French rescue team finds Rishi Khanal more than three days after the quake . A 4-month-old baby is reported to have been rescued after 22 hours in rubble .


(CNN)Pope Francis risked Turkish anger on Sunday by using the word "genocide" to refer to the mass killings of Armenians a century ago under the Ottoman Empire. "In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented tragedies," the Pope said at a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres. "The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century,' struck your own Armenian people," he said, referencing a 2001 declaration by Pope John Paul II and the head of the Armenian church. His use of the term genocide -- even though he was quoting from the declaration -- upset Turkey. The nation recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for "consultations" just hours after Francis' comments, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Earlier, Turkey summoned the ambassador from the Vatican for a meeting, Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported. Turkey's former ambassador to the Vatican, Kenan Gursoy, told CNN in a telephone interview that while it is the first time Turkey has summoned its ambassador home from the Vatican, "This does not mean that our diplomatic ties with the Vatican are over." "Since this is a situation that we do not approve of, as a first reaction, (the ambassador) is summoned to get consultation," Gursoy said, adding that the Pope's use of the word "genocide" was "a one-sided evaluation." In a tweet Sunday on his official account, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the Pope's use of the word "unacceptable" and "out of touch with both historical facts and legal basis." "Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity are fueled by unfounded allegations," the tweet reads. This consternation over the use of the word 'genocide' occurs regularly. And Armenians are equally upset, when Turkey protests it. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian rebuked Turkey. "We are in a situation in which Turkey speaks a different language from the rest of the international community and it seems that it doesn't understand that it is speaking a different language," he said to Italian News Agency Adnkronos. "During these past days there have been several international organizations that adopt resolutions or issue statements that recognize the Armenian genocide and that appeal to Turkey to make this step," he said. "The Pope's statement are in this context of universal value. When Turkey is able to understand this, it will be able to understand what the International community and big personalities (or better translations 'leaders') are saying." Armenian groups and many scholars say that Turks planned and carried out genocide, starting in 1915, when more than a million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey officially denies that a genocide took place, saying hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims died in intercommunal violence around the bloody battlefields of World War I. The Armenian government and influential Armenian diaspora groups have urged countries around the world to formally label the 1915 events as genocide. Turkey has responded with pressure of its own against such moves. Pope Francis said Sunday that "Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks" were also killed in the bloodshed a century ago. He said Nazism and Stalinism were responsible for the other two "massive and unprecedented tragedies" of the past century. CNN's Gul Tuysuz in Turkey, Nimet Kirac and Karen Smith in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Former Turkish ambassador to the Vatican calls use of the word "genocide" a "one-sided evaluation" Pope discusses massacres of Armenians a century after they took place . Turkey denies the mass killings constituted a genocide .


Tikrit, Iraq (CNN)Mass graves believed to hold Iraqi soldiers have been discovered in newly liberated Tikrit. Up to 1,700 bodies may be recovered. ISIS claimed to have executed that many soldiers captured in June outside Camp Speicher, a fortified Iraqi base near Tikrit. A total of 47 bodies have been exhumed from two of the 11 mass graves discovered in Tikrit, an Iraqi government official said Tuesday. Hundreds are believed to have been executed by ISIS in June 2014 . Grieving Iraqis, apparently not related to the soldiers, gathered to pray over the bodies. When the first three bodies were found, 10 Iraqi soldiers saluted the dead by firing seven shots into the air. The national anthem was played while soldiers wept. All the bodies were decomposed. Some had their hands bound, Damon said. The remains will be sent back to Baghdad for DNA tests to establish identify, said Ali Tahir, a director in the Iraqi morgue who was supervising the digging and extraction. Damon said there may be eight mass graves inside the presidential palace complex, which contains the residences of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and two other sites outside the city. The presidential palaces complex became ISIS headquarters after the militants occupied the city. Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militias retook Tikrit a few days ago after a fierce battle. Damon interviewed a soldier who said he survived the massacre by playing dead. The solider said ISIS captured the troops outside Camp Speicher and marched them to the presidential palace complex, telling them they would be safe until a prisoner swap was arranged. Once inside the compound, the soldiers were separated into smaller groups, executed and buried in mass graves, the survivor told Damon. He said he was tossed into a river and floated to an embankment. On Monday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said revenge is not the way to deal with the discovery of the bodies. He said several people involved in the killings have been detained. Families of the missing soldiers had been demanding answers from the Iraqi government about what happened. As ISIS swept through northern Iraq in June, some military units were ordered to Camp Speicher. Their families claim the men received orders from their commanders to leave the base and move closer to Baghdad. They left unarmed and in civilian clothes, they say. Military commanders and the Iraqi Defense Ministry denied any such orders being issued and said the men deserted. ISIS released videos that showed what seemed to be an endless line of military recruits marched at gunpoint and later posted images showing cold-blooded mass killings. Damon said Iraqi officials told her it may take weeks or months to exhume all the bodies. Human Rights Watch described the "Speicher Massacre" -- as it has been dubbed in Iraq -- as the "largest reported incident" where "ISIS captured more than 1,000 soldiers fleeing Camp Speicher ... then summarily executed at least 800 of them." Based on satellite imagery and witness testimony, Human Rights Watch last year was able to identity a number of mass grave sites inside Tikrit and the presidential palace complex. The families gave DNA samples to the Iraqi Ministry of Health last year so authorities would be able to match them to unidentified bodies the government may find. CNN's Arwa Damon reported from Tikrit, and Ralph Ellis wrote in Atlanta. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

A total of 47 bodies have been exhumed from two mass graves . Iraqis find mass graves inside presidential palace compound in Tikrit . ISIS claimed to have executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers captured outside Camp Speicher .


(CNN)Thousands of Palestinians are trapped in the devastated Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, which has mostly been seized by groups including ISIS, activists report. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says ISIS and the al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front took control of 90% of the camp in southern Damascus. Calling the lives of Yarmouk refugees "profoundly threatened" on Sunday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency issued a statement urging humanitarian aid access.  "Never has the hour been more desperate in the Palestine refugee camp of Yarmouk," the statement said. The UNRWA estimates 18,000 civilians remain trapped in the camp that has been engulfed in fighting between the government and rebel forces since December 2012. Syria's state-run SANA news agency reports up to 2,000 people have fled in the past two days as food, water and medical supplies remain scarce. "All people are trying to leave the camp," says Syrian activist Abu Mohammed in Damascus who used to live in Yarmouk. "There is no electricity," says Mohammed. "ISIS controls the hospital so injured people have nowhere to go." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports barrel bombs were dropped on the camp Sunday as clashes continued. The Palestine Liberation Organization called on international bodies to assist in the evacuation of people from the camp. "Reports of kidnappings, beheadings and mass killings are coming out from Al- Yarmouk, which is under a brutal campaign of murder and occupation," Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee Member Dr. Saeb Erekat said Saturday. Yarmouk, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, was formed in 1957 to accommodate people fleeing the Arab-Israeli conflict. "The levels of humanity that we have seen have now descended into further levels of inhumanity," said Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UNRWA.  Yarmouk, he added, "was always a place where human rights meant very little. We are seeing it descend further." CNN's Samira Said contributed to this report .

ISIS and other rebel groups control most of the refugee camp, activists say . "Never has the hour been more desperate" in the camp, U.N. says . ""Reports of kidnappings, beheadings and mass killings," PLO official says .


(CNN)Sabra Dipping Co. is recalling 30,000 cases of hummus due to possible contamination with Listeria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. The nationwide recall is voluntary. So far, no illnesses caused by the hummus have been reported. The potential for contamination was discovered when a routine, random sample collected at a Michigan store on March 30 tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The FDA issued a list of the products in the recall. Anyone who has purchased any of the items is urged to dispose of or return it to the store for a full refund. Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, the FDA says. Although some people may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

A random sample from a Michigan store tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes . No illnesses caused by the hummus have been reported so far .


(CNN)The world learned his name after he was killed by a South Carolina police officer. But in his life, 50-year-old Walter Scott was also the father of four children and served in the Coast Guard before being honorably discharged. "He was outgoing -- loved everybody, (was) very known in the community and got along with everybody," his brother Anthony Scott told CNN's Don Lemon. "All the family loves him, and his kids loved him." Until it all came crashing down Saturday morning, when North Charleston police Officer Michael Slager pulled Scott over, reportedly for a faulty brake light. Dash cam video released Thursday shows the two talking, then shows Scott get out of his car and run. Why did he run? Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for Scott's family, speculated Thursday it could have been related to "child support and a fear of maybe going back to (jail)." At the time of his death, Scott owed over $18,000 in back payments for two children and hadn't made a payment since July 2012, according to Charleston County family court documents. Another family lawyer, Chris Stewart, acknowledged that Scott had been arrested previously for outstanding warrants for not paying child support, but Stewart said that had been Scott's lone issue with the law for the past 20 years. "I know that it had nothing to do with anything violent," Bamberg said of Scott's legal history. "He was not a dangerous person." According to a police report, Scott did not comply with an officer's demands and tried to grab Slager's stun gun. Slager fired eight shots, five of which struck Scott. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Regardless of why Walter Scott ran, "running from an officer doesn't result in the death penalty," Stewart said. Slager has been charged with murder, a charge that might not have come about if not for a bystander's video of the shooting. Anthony Scott said he watched the video that showed his brother getting shot dead, footage that has traumatized the family. "When I saw that video for the first time, my family was deeply hurt that someone would gun down a human being in that way," the brother said. "We just couldn't believe it." The last time the family got together with Walter Scott was when the siblings threw a surprise wedding anniversary party for their parents. "It was a great celebration," Anthony Scott said. "My dad and brothers planned it, and (my mother) was totally surprised. "Now this happens," Scott said, referring to his brother's shooting. "It's so tragic." CNN's Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

Walter Scott owed over $18,000 in back child support payments, documents show . Walter Scott had four children and served in the Coast Guard, his brother says . He was shot in the back and killed by a North Charleston police officer .


(CNN)Lane Bryant has come up with a devil of an idea to market its lingerie while poking fun at a competitor. The plus-size clothing retailer has launched an ad campaign for its Cacique line titled #ImNoAngel, seeking to "redefine sexy." In a commercial posted on You Tube, a group of plus-size models show off the bras and panties while saying things like "How boring would it be if we were all the same?" and "It's all about how you feel." The campaign is a not-so-subtle dig at Victoria's Secret and its very popular Angels line, which caters to smaller women. The lingerie giant was criticized last year for a campaign featuring the words "Perfect Body" over images of slender supermodels, and Business Insider reports that it is under increasing pressure from consumers to offer larger sizes. Lane Bryant's campaign is getting positive buzz in social media land, with the company being hailed for celebrating beauty of all shapes and sizes. "Our '#ImNoAngel' campaign is designed to empower ALL women to love every part of herself," Chief Executive Officer Linda Heasley said in a statement. "Lane Bryant firmly believes that she is sexy and we want to encourage her to confidently show it, in her own way." The ads will be featured in the company's stores, on television, in print and on billboards, as well as featured on the brand's social media accounts.

The company says it is seeking to "redefine sexy" Victoria's Secret was criticized for its "Perfect Body" campaign .


(CNN)It was all set for a fairytale ending for record breaking jockey AP McCoy. In the end it was a different but familiar name who won the Grand National on Saturday. 25-1 outsider Many Clouds, who had shown little form going into the race, won by a length and a half, ridden by jockey Leighton Aspell. Aspell won last year's Grand National too, making him the first jockey since the 1950s to ride back-to-back winners on different horses. "It feels wonderful, I asked big questions," Aspell said of Many Clouds, moments after his victory. "Over the fences he was awesome. I was just hoping his batteries would last and they did," he added. No fairytale . Yet for much of the Grand National -- arguably the world's most famous and certainly the sport's most prestigious jump race -- it looked as if AP McCoy was about to write an ending befitting the career of a man who has dominated jump racing for two decades. His horse Shutthefrontdoor was in the leading group as it negotiated the likes for Becher's Brooke and The Chair, some of the toughest jumps in racing. Last week the 40-year-old Ulsterman, who has won an astonishing 4,356 races, announced he would retire if he won the Grand National for the second time in his career. Shutthefrontdoor was heavily backed by the betting public sensing a storybook conclusion to McCoy's career. UK and Irish betting firms even predicted they would lose as much as $73 million if McCoy won. He was well placed going into the final straight but just couldn't keep up after Many Clouds cut lose, and finished back in fifth. Third time winner . But for Trevor Hemmings, the owner of Many Clouds, it was his third victory in the Grand National. "I always dreamed of winning my first National," a shocked Hemmings told Channel 4. "Then along comes a second. That's special. And when a third comes along, it's such a wonderful, wonderful feeling." Hemming went on to praise Aspell's performance. "This morning talking we talked about the achievers," said Hemmings. "They are quiet, confident and experienced. He has all of them." McCoy's fifth placed finish means he will race again at least once more, in two weeks time at Sandown.

25-1 shot Many Clouds wins Grand National . Second win a row for jockey Leighton Aspell . First jockey to win two in a row on different horses since 1950s .


Garissa, Kenya (CNN)The sign painted onto the school entrance wall reads: "Youth is a mistake, adulthood is a struggle, old age is a regret." The black humor of the message provides some light relief for a school that lives in constant fear of a terrorist attack because of what is taught inside its walls. The students (aged 8 to 14) at the Ibnu-Siina school in northern Kenya are getting a so-called "Western" education, taking lessons in subjects like mathematics, science and English. But it's an education that Al-Shabaab -- the Somali-based terror group -- is trying to prevent the children from obtaining, according to the head of the school. "These men, Al-Shabaab, want to make sure everything goes negative," headmaster James Ndonye told CNN. "They want to make sure they terrify the teachers so they go to their homes -- so the kids in this area don't get what they deserve." Al-Shabaab militants have launched a series of deadly attacks over the last few years in the region mostly targeting Christians. Many of the math and science teachers in this area are Christian. In early April, Al-Shabaab brutally massacred 147 people at Garissa University in northern Kenya. It was the group's deadliest attack to date. The gunmen would have driven down the road past the Ibnu-Siina school -- and its single unarmed guard -- to get to the university, only a few hundred meters away. Kenyan teachers and students alike are terrified. "The University College of Garissa was the only and first university college in northern Kenya. We were happy when we got it a few years ago," explained Garissa Regional Governor Nadif Jama. "Today it has been closed. That is Al-Shabaab's mission," Jama said. "That is what they want. And that is nothing but destroying the fabric of our being a civilized society." And it's not just in Kenya. Terrorist groups across the Sahel region are waging war on schools, teachers and students. In northeast Nigeria, the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been waging war against the government -- and the civilian population -- for several years. Most notoriously, perhaps, was Boko Haram's kidnapping of around 270 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, Borno state, last April. But the group has also carried out numerous other attacks on schools, slaughtering young boys and girls as they sleep in their dormitories. Last year in Garissa, James Ndonye lost five of his 11 teachers amid rising fears of an Al-Shabaab attack on the school. He replaced them, but it wasn't easy. Yet despite the ever-present threat of terror, Ndonye has stayed to help the children. "I risk my life because -- for this class, there's a target we have for last year ... and I love that class very much," Ndonye said. Exclusive: Tracking the killer behind Garissa massacre .

Looming threat of Al-Shabaab has terrified students and teachers in Kenya . Terror group massacred 147 at Kenyan university last week .


Washington (CNN)A shooting that prompted the lockdown of the U.S. Capitol for several hours Saturday was a suicide and does not have an apparent connection to terrorism, Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine said in a news conference. An unidentified male walked through a public area on the west front of the Capitol early Saturday afternoon and shot himself, Dine told reporters. Witnesses told CNN dozens of shocked onlookers watched, including some young children. The unidentified shooter had a backpack and a rolling suitcase that authorities treated as treated suspicious packages, prompting the lockdown as they were investigated, Capitol police said. The male carried a sign with a message about "social justice," authorities said. A witness, Robert Bishop, told CNN it also said something about taxing the "1%." Dine said there was "no nexus to terrorism" apparent so far in this incident. The building and the nearby Capitol Visitors Center were locked down, meaning tourists or any staff could not enter or leave the buildings. The Capitol area was crowded with tourists taking in the Cherry Blossom trees, which are in full bloom along the National Mall. Members of the Capitol police force, which responded to the scene, did not fire their weapons, Dine said. After the suspicious packages were examined, the lockdown was lifted about 3:50 p.m. ET and pedestrian traffic was allowed. Responding to the incident were the Metropolitan Police Department, which is investigating the death, as well as the FBI, Secret Service and Park Police. Many tourists at the scene were filming at the time and showed their photos and video to investigating law enforcement officers. CNN's Ted Barrett and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

Capitol police said a male shot himself as shocked onlookers watched . The incident appears to have no connection to terrorism, police said .


Ferguson, Missouri (CNN)At least three people were shot in separate incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, on late Tuesday and early Wednesday as hundreds of demonstrators gathered in support of protests in Baltimore, a city spokesman said. Two people were shot in the neck and another was shot in the leg, spokesman Jeff Small said. There is a suspect in custody in the latter case: a 20-year-old male from St. Louis County. The two victims shot in the neck were hospitalized, Small said. "Police are having a difficult time investigating because of the rocks being thrown at them," he said. "At this point police are not sure if the (shootings are) linked to the protest or not." St. Louis Alderman Antonio French posted video on his Twitter account. Multiple gunshots can be heard as people flee in panic. Demonstrators set a portable toilet on fire.  One person can be seen squirting what appears to be lighter fluid on it. pic.twitter.com/FG0P2yf5Uf . The unrest carried on until about 3 a.m. and three police vehicles were damaged by rocks. The renewed tensions in Ferguson follow rioting in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old was arrested by police on April 12 and died one week later from a fatal spinal cord injury. Similar deaths over the last year include Michael Brown in Ferguson; Eric Garner in New York; and Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina. CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Tina Burnside and Dave Alsup contributed to this report .

Three people shot, one man in custody, city spokesman says . Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in support of protests in Baltimore . Police not sure if shootings are related to protests, spokesman says .


(CNN)This article contains language that may be offensive to some. Since the news broke last weekend that Hillary Clinton had declared her candidacy, notable among the blitz of news stories are the many that refer to her as the mononymous "Hillary," as if she were a pop star in a pantsuit. The New York Post published an item titled "Lena Dunham backs Hillary for President" while gossip site TMZ refers to the former FLOTUS, U.S. senator, and secretary of state on a first-name basis throughout its news story on the announcement. Even The New Republic posted a piece about the run called "There's Nothing Inevitable about Hillary." She's famous enough by now to go by one name, but should she? While Clinton is arguably more widely known than any of her to-date opponents, she's also a former U.S. senator and secretary of state. She's not Beyoncé. And yet, despite her decorated career in government, we've long called Clinton by her first name, and her first name only, in a way we don't do with men who have held similar, or even vaguely similar, positions of power. According to a University of Utah study, Clinton was called by her first name four times more than her 2008 rival, Barack Obama, and so it goes this time around. After all, Rand's also running for president. So is Marco. When those guys declared, however, they got headlines that included their last names. There's a very good reason for that. Presidential candidates are not just professionals, but professionals declaring their candidacy for a position that many consider to be the most powerful in the world. A position that not only deserves formality and respect, but within a global context seems to require it. Being president of the United States is a serious job. Are there "Ted for President" signs in our future? Unlikely. Were we encouraged to "Vote for Mitt"? Nope. The U.S. Army, meanwhile, is one of the most regimented organizations in the world, whose values put dignity and respect at top priority. Cadets don't call their commanding officers by their first names, even -- maybe especially -- if they're women. So why are we all referring to the possible next commander-in-chief as if we're part of her circle of close pals? Before you point to the fact that Clinton is not the first Clinton to cross this particular political threshold, the issue at hand is not one of practicality: The American public is smart enough to distinguish between this Clinton and that Clinton. George W. Bush wasn't the first in his family to run for office, and when he did, legitimate newspapers didn't go around noting the "W" (or even "Dubya") was up for the job. He was just Bush, as he should have been, just as Clinton is just Clinton, a woman who has done a very good job distinguishing herself from her husband without the need to be referred to by her first name in order to avoid a case of mistaken identity. Of course, the mononymity doesn't seem to be unwelcome: Sections of Clinton's website invite readers to "Like Hillary on Facebook" and read about "Hillary's Story," while the campaign's official hashtag appears to be #Hillary2016. Her campaign chairman reportedly emailed potential campaign donors yesterday with the missive that "It's official: Hillary's running for President." Perhaps Clinton and her advisers believe the single name makes her more personable, and familiar. Maybe it's an effort to distance Clinton from the other gender-based stereotype slapped on her the last time around, when she was "the bitch" to Sarah Palin's "ditz." But while we should like our president -- if not desire to have her as a personal friend -- it's far more important to trust, and respect, her -- and that still requires a level of formality. It's important for the American public to be able to imagine electing a leader not despite the fact that she's a woman, or even because she's a woman, but who, very simply, happens to be a woman. Whether she endorses the idea or not, calling Clinton by her first name serves to, at best, reinforce gender and workplace stereotypes -- that women need to be "approachable," not abrasive or aloof, in order to get the job done and be liked while doing it -- and at worst, infantilize and put her in her place. There's a reason, after all, that we address current and former presidents as Mr. President when we meet them, and not "Hey, Jimmy!" And if there's a reason Hillary Clinton will be elected as our next president, it's not because she let us call her Hillary.

Peggy Drexler:  Media, even candidate herself call Clinton just 'Hillary.'  This reinforces stereotypes about women needing to be approachable . She says especially  in global context,  trust, respect important for the potential leader of free world, not familiarity. Just 'Hillary' not appropriate .


(CNN)A TV series based on the 1999 sci-fi film "Galaxy Quest" is in the works at Paramount Television. The DreamWorks film centered on the cast of a canceled space TV show who are accidentally sent to a spaceship and must save an alien nation. TV Land's 'Younger' renewed for second season . The film's scribe Robert Gordon is expected to write the TV version and executive produce with the film's director Dean Parisot, producer Mark Johnson and Johnson's producing partner Melissa Bernstein. 'The Voice' coaches CeeLo Green, Gwen Stefani and Usher to return . The film starred Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell and Enrico Colantoni. PBS to conduct "Internal Review" over Ben Affleck's request to hide slave-owner ancestry . "Galaxy Quest" is the latest movie to be adapted for the small screen. This pilot season, ABC has "Uncle Buck," CBS has "Rush Hour" and Fox has "Minority Report." Paramount Television specifically has turned several of the studio's hit films into TV series. "School of Rock" will debut on Nickelodeon later this year, and USA recently ordered a pilot for "Shooter," based on the Mark Wahlberg film. ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter. All rights reserved.

"Galaxy Quest" TV series in the works . Show would be based on the cult classic 1999 sci-fi comedy .