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20 years after beating, Rodney King stopped by police
Rodney King was pulled over by police in Arcadia, California, Tuesday
after allegedly running a red light, his fiancee Cynthia Kelly said Thursday night. King was then cited for driving without a license, she said.
Thursday was the 20th anniversary of King's beating by Los Angeles police.
The day's most popular stories
The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse.
Fallen Marine's father says funeral pickets will draw gunfire: A day after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed Westboro Baptist Church's right to protest at military funerals, the fallen Marine's father who unsuccessfully sued the controversial Kansas congregation warned that the church's protests will eventually spark violence. "They (the Westboro protesters) are going to go to the wrong funeral and the guns are going to go off," Albert Snyder told CNN Thursday.
Sexuality and scripture: A scholar who has written books and articles on the Bible and homosexuality offers a rebuttal to a recent CNN Belief Blog post on the Bible’s surprisingly mixed messages on sexuality, saying that the Good Book is remarkably consistent on the issue.
Wisconsin governor threatens layoffs: Republican Scott Walker on Thursday warned 14 absent lawmakers trying to stall his controversial budget bill to return to the State Capitol immediately to vote on the measure, or layoff notices will be sent to 1,500 public employees before the weekend.
Ex-FBI agent may be alive in Asia: Evidence is growing that a retired FBI agent who disappeared in Iran four years ago is alive and being held in Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. Robert Levinson disappeared during a business trip in March 2007.
A white iPhone: When? Where? How is it that a company that's been making electronics in white for at least a decade can't produce an iPhone 4 in that color? Another way to put it is: Is there an app for that?
New species of 'zombifying' fungi discovered in Brazil's Atlantic rain forest
Four new species of "zombie" fungi that infect ants and take control of their brains, eventually killing them, have been discovered in the Brazilian rain forest, according to a study published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
The article, "Hidden Diversity Behind the Zombie-Ant Fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis," names four new species belonging to the O. unilateralis species complex found in the Atlantic rain forest in the southeastern region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The so-called zombie or brain-manipulating fungi alter the ant's behavior and causes it to die in an exposed position, typically clinging to and biting shrub leaves, the study says.
Podcast: Are teachers getting a bad rap?
From Wisconsin to New Jersey, many public school teachers feel they are too often criticized as lazy and overpaid.
So is there, as some suggest, a prolonged political attack on teachers?
Diane Ravitch told CNN that teachers, and the unions they belong to, are convenient political scapegoats.
“Teachers are being blamed for everything,” said Ravitch, a professor of Education at New York University. “They are being blamed for low test scores, they are being blamed for kids who don't speak English, teachers are being blamed for everything that happens that society should take some responsibility for.”
CNN education contributor Steve Perry said much of the educational problems stem from principals whom hire underachieving teachers.
“Too many administrators were probably halfway decent teachers … but they are really bad leaders,” Perry said.
He, like many others, also criticized teacher unions.
“Unions do more than reinforce bad teaching methods, they make it the standard,” Perry said. “You don't even have to be an average teacher, you just have to be a satisfactory teacher. That is disgusting!”
As we researched this CNN Radio podcast we found the public is discussing the roles of teachers, unions and money much more today than just a decade ago.
We invite you to listen to the podcast, and comment below with what you think.
Click here for the entire interview:
You can also listen to the CNN Radio Reports podcast on 
or 
to the podcast here.
N. Africa, Mideast protests: Obama says U.S. aircraft to fly refugees out of border
Across the Middle East and North Africa, CNN's reporters and iReporters are covering protests, many of them inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled those countries' longtime rulers. Check out our interactive map explaining the roots of the unrest in each country and full coverage of the situation in Libya. Have a story to tell from the scene? Click here to send an iReport. CNN's Fareed Zakaria breaks down what the movements toward democracy mean.
Developments on unrest in the Middle East and North Africa:
[LIBYA, 6:43 p.m. ET, 1:43 a.m. local] U.S. military aircraft and French charter jets joined efforts to get tens of thousands of people fleeing the fighting in Libya back home Thursday as the United Nations called for stepped-up aid to refugees.
Nearly 180,000 people, mainly foreign workers, have fled to the neighboring nations of Tunisia and Egypt amid fighting between government troops and rebels pushing to oust longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi, the U.N. refugee agency reported. About 95,000 people have crossed into Tunisia and another 83,000 into Egypt, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimated.
[LIBYA, 1:38 p.m. ET, 8:38 p.m. local] President Barack Obama said Thursday he approved the use of U.S. military aircraft to help return to Egypt those Egyptian citizens who have fled to Tunisia to escape unrest in neighboring Libya.
[LIBYA, 7:14 a.m. ET, 2:14 p.m. local] Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court prosecutor, said the body is investigating Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and other government officials for crimes against humanity.
FULL STORY
Bill Gates accuses states of 'extreme' accounting tricks with budget
Bill Gates took on state officials across the country Thursday, accusing them of playing accounting tricks with budgets that even Enron’s executives wouldn’t have tried.
“The guys at Enron would never have done this, this is so blatant, so extreme,” said Gates, speaking at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California. “Is anyone paying attention to what these guys do?”
The Microsoft founder and philanthropist said the stakes in the growing deficits in states are huge because obligations to pay for health care and pensions for an aging population threaten to force huge cuts in education.
Gates used California’s budget as an example, pointing to the $25 billion shortfall faced by Gov. Jerry Brown when he took office this year. As health care takes up a larger and larger proportion of the budget, education spending would have to be cut in half to make up the difference. Gates cast that as a choice between paying the older generation versus investing in education for the young.
On paper, 49 states have to have balanced budgets. But Gates said that’s a “pretense” and that rather than balancing budgets, many states are playing tricks by borrowing, securitizing the proceeds from tobacco company settlements, and using one-shot tactics such as selling off state property to balance budgets.
While California spends more than $100 billion a year, far less brainpower goes into studying the accounting and the wisdom of spending decisions than at two much smaller enterprises - Microsoft and Google, Gates said. States should be held to the same accounting principles as those which apply to private companies, he said.
He said he will use his foundation’s website to publicize the facts about state budgets and suggested people read Marguerite Roza’s book “Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?”to learn more.
“We need to care about state budgets because they are critical for our kids and our future,” said Gates, who has used the TED conference as a platform in recent years for his views on global health, education and energy. Gates also curated a session Wednesday at the conference, which is run by TED, a nonprofit dedicated to “Ideas worth spreading.”
50 people in 50 days: Baby kidnapped at knifepoint
Editor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 34th case, and it was shown Thursday night on HLN.
Bryan Dos Santos Gomes was 28 days old when he was last seen by family in Fort Myers, Florida, on December 1, 2006.
On that day, a woman came to a bus stop and asked two young mothers with their infants for directions. The woman said she was from out of town, lost and was trying to get to a relative’s home to get her baby.
The mothers gave her directions and boarded their bus. When they got off they were greeted by the same woman.
This time she wanted the mothers to show her the way to her destination. Â The woman pleaded with them, even offering money. The mothers, cautious at first, eventually agreed to get in the vehicle after seeing a baby seat in the back.
At the end of the drive, the woman pulled a knife and demanded that one of them leave her baby.
Watch Nancy Grace Monday through Sunday starting at 8 p.m. ET on HLN. For the latest from Nancy Grace click here
Indiana Republicans order $250 daily fine for absent Democrats
Indiana House Republicans have adopted a $250-a-day fine against missing Democratic lawmakers who left the state in protest over a controversial education and labor bill, lawmakers from both parties said Thursday.
More than 35 House Democrats remained in Urbana, Illinois, for a second week, denying their Republican counterparts the two-thirds quorum necessary for a vote on a school voucher proposal and a measure that would restrict collective bargaining rights for state workers.
FULL STORY
U.S. officials say missing American may be in Asia
U.S. State Department officials expect Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to announce there are "recent indications" that a missing American is being held in southwestern Asia.
Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent, who has been missing since March 8, 2007, is believed to be in Iran, officials have said.
The FBI obtained information that Levinson arrived on Iran’s Kish Island, had several meetings at the Maryam Hotel and then checked out the next day. Levinson did not fly to Dubai on a previously scheduled flight.
There is no record of Levinson leaving Kish Island. Nor is there any record of him using his passport or credit cards after March 8, 2007.
Levinson has a wife, four daughters and three sons, according to an FBI release.
Thursday's intriguing people
Bill Ford
The chairman of Ford Motor Co. is calling for an end to "global gridlock." During a presentation at the annual TED conference Wednesday, Ford said that as many as 4 billion automobiles will be on the earth by the year 2050 — extending traffic jams, delaying food provisions and stalling health care delivery. He's calling on a collective group of transportation officials, manufacturers and policy makers to develop a global solution to gridlock. "[Without it] our quality of life will be significantly compromised," he said.
Salman Khan
When the former hedge fund manager began posting humorous math tutorials on YouTube for his young cousins, they not only loved it, but it quickly earned a grass roots following. Today, the Khan Academy offers 2,000 such tutorials, ranging from basic addition to vector calculus - for free. Khan conducts all the tutorials for his audience of 1 million students. This past year, a northern California school district began using a Khan-developed curriculum that uses data analysis and self-paced learning to help its teachers better work with students individually. Following Khan's rousing presentation at the annual TED conference Wednesday, Khan supporter Bill Gates told the audience: "I think we've just gotten a glimpse into the future of education."
Peter Hatas
The homeless veteran has raised $20,000 toward converting the St. James hotel in North Toledo, Ohio, into a home for military veterans. An engineer by training, Hatas told Toledo's WUPX news that he needs just $55,000 more to make the project a reality. He has reportedly received e-mails of support from CSX railroad system, as well as the Veterans of the UAW. The building will give homeless veterans a place to eat, sleep and work, Hatas said. "A lot of these men and women on the streets have phenomenal skill traits," he said. "They are carpenters, brick layers, cement finishers, iron workers." He believes these contributions will keep the building in perfect condition.
Gadhafi's greatest hits: Rhetoric more defiant as calls for ouster grow louder
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's rhetoric has become more bombastic as protests in his country and calls for his ouster have intensified.
He has compared himself to the queen of England, launched defiant missives at Western powers and accused protesters in his nation of being hopped up on drugs. He's declared that Libyans love him, while news reports indicate his troops are killing protesters in the streets.
On Wednesday, he called President Barack Obama "quite reasonable" before threatening to arm up to 3 million Libyans, who he said wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone challenging his country.
Following is a brief collection of his most antagonistic and off-the-wall remarks since last month:
February 22 speech on state television: "This is my country, the country of my grandfathers and your grandfathers. We have irrigated it with our blood. We are more qualified than others, than those rats. … Our revolution has brought glory for the generations, and Libya will lead the revolution, lead America, lead Asia, lead the whole world. It cannot be stopped. This march cannot be stopped by those agents, those rats, those cats who move in the dark. … It’s not possible that I leave this place. I will be a martyr at the end.”
Same February 22 speech: Â "Now, a small group of youth who have been given hallucination pills are raiding police stations here, and they're like rats. They are attacking innocent people at their homes in order that we have to enforce our barracks and our houses. ... We say that Libya's in peace. They have manipulated this peace, this security, this stability, and raided some barracks and some police stations. They burned files, which contain their records and the records of the investigation about their crimes."
Same February 22 speech: "(Rocket-propelled grenade) RPG rocket launchers have been provided to Benghazi by the Americans. They have just confused them. They have made them dizzy. They offer them those hallucination pills in order to use them."
Friday speech following the deaths of 17 protesters in Zawiya:  “We are not like Egypt or Tunisia. … Here, the authority is in the hands of the people. You can change your authority, just make committees, and if you think they are corrupt, take them to court. Prosecute them."
Friday surprise appearance at Tripoli’s Green Square:  "Life without dignity has no meaning, no value. Life without raising these green flags has no meaning. It is the life of glory, life of victory, and the flag is raised high. The youth, take your liberty everywhere, in the streets, dance, sing, live in dignity. Live with high morals. Moammar Gadhafi is one of you. Dance, sing and be happy."
Monday interview with ABC, BBC and The Sunday Times:  “No demonstrations at all in the streets. No one is against us. ... They love me, all my people with me. They love me all. They will die to protect me, my people.”
Wednesday speech from Tripoli:  “We liberated the Libyan soil and its wealth from the colonial powers and we put it in the hands of the Libyan people. Since 1977, people are responsible for the power. The Libyan power is the people’s power. … Gadhafi has no power which he can relinquish. It’s foreign stations that are behind it. It’s all to take charge of the Libyan oil.”
Wednesday statement blaming ex-prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the tumult in Libya: “These elements were in Guantanamo, and the American security services handed them to us, and after a while they were released by Libya. … After that, all of a sudden they reappeared, resurfaced and they’ve gone back on their pledge and we realized that they’re sleeping cells of al Qaeda."
Wednesday speech in Tripoli: “I think Obama is quite reasonable. … He is not a Yankee like Bush or Clinton, he's a reasonable person. He's capable to avoid another Iraq or Afghanistan. ... If they want to challenge us, we accept the challenge. Then we will distribute arms to 2 or 3 million, and we won't care about killing them. We will defend the honor of all our innocent people.”
On the Radar: Libya battle, Calderon visit, Rodney King anniversary, Florida fires
Gadhafi fights back - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are fighting to hold or regain control of rebellious areas. Two bombs were dropped Thursday on military camps in the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya, a tribal leader said. Another bomb was dropped in al-Brega between an oil facility and the airport, but there were no injuries or damage, witnesses said. Al-Brega, which has key oil and natural gas facilities, also was bombed Wednesday.
No. 3 BYU loses after dismissing player for honor code violation
Sticking to principles appears to carry a steep cost for the nation's third-ranked college basketball team.
A day after Brigham Young University dismissed center Brandon Davies from the team for violating the school's strict honor code, the No. 3-ranked Cougars were throttled Wednesday by unranked New Mexico.
"The honor code really reflects who we are as a university. It defines us and it does make us different," BYU spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins told CNN affiliate KSTU-TV.
Davies, a 6-9 sophomore from Provo, was the team's top rebounder and third-leading scorer. He received the Cougars' Academic Excellence award last season, according to an online profile.
BYU had been gunning for a high seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but the team's fortunes took a tumble with Wednesday night's 82-64 loss to New Mexico.
Thursday's live video events
Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage of the conflict in Libya.
Today's programming highlights...
Continuing coverage - Shuttle Discovery mission
9:00 am ET - Casey Anthony hearing - A hearing is held in the case of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her young daughter.
German official: Airport gunman a Muslim who wanted to kill American troops
The man who shot and killed two American troops in Germany Wednesday was a recently radicalized Muslim whose aim was to kill American soldiers, a German official said Thursday.
The suspect seems to have been acting on his own, but had spent time on local radical Islamist websites, said Boris Rhein, interior minister of the German state of Hesse, where the shooting took place.
The 21-year-old man from Kosovo is in custody after two U.S. airmen were
killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in a shooting on a U.S. military bus at Frankfurt Airport, authorities said.
The suspect is named Arid Uka, from the northern town of Mitrovica,
Kosovo's interior minister, Bajram Rexhepi, told CNN, citing the U.S. Embassy in Pristina as his source.
Read about Wednesday's shootings that killed two U.S. Air Force airmen.
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