The day's most popular stories
April 4th, 2011
11:38 PM ET

The day's most popular stories

The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse:

Bodies found 2 years after French air crash: Nearly two years after an Air France plane mysteriously fell out of the sky, killing 228 people, the bulk of the wreckage (some of it is pictured here) has been found with bodies still aboard, French officials said Monday.

Duke lacrosse accuser arrested: A woman who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape five years ago was arrested Sunday, suspected of stabbing her boyfriend, police said.

Japan dumps thousands of tons of radioactive water into sea: Japan began dumping thousands of tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, an emergency move officials said was needed to curtail a worse leak from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Is Katie Couric leaving 'CBS Evening News'?: There's plenty of speculation that Katie Couric is departing "CBS Evening News" to focus on another gig, but the network tells CNN it's still in talks with the 54-year-old journalist.

Sheen finds #winning formula in Chicago: Charlie Sheen's show in Chicago didn't look anything like the Detroit event where he was mercilessly booed.


Filed under: Most Popular
Reporters get first in-person look at new Mars rover
Reporters on Monday got to see the laboratory where engineers and scientists have been preparing the "Curiosity" Mars rover.
April 4th, 2011
09:31 PM ET

Reporters get first in-person look at new Mars rover

Reporters put on "bunny suits" before visiting the new rover.

NASA's next Mars rover, "Curiosity," was unveiled to reporters Monday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena, California.

"Curiosity" is about the size of a Mini Cooper and weighs about 2,000 pounds.  It has six 20-inch wheels and is far bigger than its predecessors "Spirit" and "Opportunity." It also is equipped with a drill that will be looking at "interesting rocks" in hopes of finding hydrocarbons or any signs that life could have existed at any time on the red planet.

It is set to be launched from Florida in late November, and will take about 10 months to travel to Mars.  Scientists hope to gather information from the mission for at least two years.

Getting to see the rover up close meant going through a "clean entry," which meant reporters had to wipe down all equipment and don a "bunny suit," efforts to prevent "earthly contaminants" from attaching to the rover.  The suit included a shower cap-type cover for your head, booties to cover your shoes, a hood that covered your neck and snapped under your chin, a mask that hooked onto your ears and another pair of boots that came just to your knees and gloves.

Next was an air shower, and then a quick walk on some tacky paper to catch the last bit of whatever off the bottom of your shoes.

The rover was named in 2009 by Clara Ma, then a 12-year-old student from Lenexa, Kansas, who submitted the winning essay in a nationwide naming contest.  For her prize, she was flown to the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, where she not only got to see the rover, but also got to sign the bottom of it.  She also has been invited to watch the launch in Florida.

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Filed under: Mars • Science • Space
Singer victorious in Haitian election, preliminary results show
April 4th, 2011
07:42 PM ET

Singer victorious in Haitian election, preliminary results show

Flamboyant carnival musician Michel Martelly defeated former Haitian first lady Mirlande Manigat in Haiti's presidential runoff vote last month, according to preliminary results released Monday.

Martelly took 67.6% of the vote, while Manigat received 31.5%, according to Pierre Thibault, spokesman for Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.

Final results are scheduled to be announced April 16.

- Journalist Allyn Gaestel contributed to this report.

Musician Michel Martelly won Haiti's last month's presidential runoff with 67.57 percent of the vote, according to Pierre Thibault, spokesman for Haiti's provisional electoral council.

compared with 31.74 percent for Mirlande Manigat,according to Pierre Thibault – spokesman for Haiti's provisionalelectoral council who read out the results at a press conference Mondayevening at the electoral council headquarters in Petionville,Port-au-Prince.

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Filed under: Haiti
How some winning presidential campaigns started
CNN unlocks its video vault of presidential campaign announcements.
April 4th, 2011
06:56 PM ET

How some winning presidential campaigns started

Take a peek inside CNN's massive library system and view archival video of winning U.S. presidential campaigns as they kicked off on television.

Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are among those featured in the video clip from CNN's video vault.

[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/04/04/vault.past.pres.annoucements.cnn"%5D

Obama is the first candidate to officially launch a campaign for the 2012 presidential election.

View his team's campaign message, released Monday, on BarackObama.com.

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Filed under: Barack Obama • Politics • U.S.
Overheard on CNN.com: Oil rig 'safety' pays off
Transocean declared 2010 "the best year in safety performance" in company history despite the Gulf oil spill.
April 4th, 2011
04:58 PM ET

Overheard on CNN.com: Oil rig 'safety' pays off

Comment of the day: "This story shouldn't have been tucked into the sidebar! I truly want to know how to stick it to this company. I already boycott BP, but I don't feel I have any direct consumer contact with TransOcean. Are we supposed to boycott gas in general? Then I don't get to work and they still have a million-dollar salary. Being angry feels so hopeless." - mkegrl

Despite Gulf oil spill, rig owner executives get big bonuses

Top executives at Transocean Ltd., owner of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig that exploded, killing 11, have been awarded huge bonuses for 2010 . The company called 2010 “the best year in safety performance in our company’s history.” The president’s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling earlier found the company among those to blame for the disaster.

Just about all of our readers were appalled. whynot21 said, “I am speechless, absolutely speechless.” BD70 said, “Nothing like rewarding bad behavior.” PSMorganJr asked, “So how many people do they kill in an average year?” and Stewart2012 added, “God help us if TransOcean ever has a bad year.”

Some of our readers wanted to take action. scion101 said, “I'm in the mood to take a morning stroll to Wall Street, meeting every CEO there is, and hanging them by their own 'boot straps' on the lamposts until all the money they've taken from the poor and middle class falls out of their gold-lined pockets. Enough is enough.”

FULL POST

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Filed under: iReport • Overheard on CNN.com
Officials: 32 killed in U.N. plane crash in Congo; 1 survives
Soldiers and officials inspect the wreckage of a UN plane after it crashed as it tried to land in a storm in Kinshasa on Monday.
April 4th, 2011
04:54 PM ET

Officials: 32 killed in U.N. plane crash in Congo; 1 survives

[Updated at 4:49 p.m. ET] Thirty-two people died and just one survived when a United Nations plane crashed in the Congo on Monday, a U.N. spokesman said in New York.

The plane was trying to land in Kinshasa when the crash happened, and it was raining at the time, an official said.

The aircraft, which took off from Goma, belonged to the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a Congo Transportation Ministry official.

[Updated at 1:13 p.m. ET] An official said it was raining when the plane attempted to land in Kinshasa.

The Kinshasa airport reported strong thunderstorms and sustained winds of 37 kph at the time.

[Posted at 11:48 a.m. ET] At least 10 people died in the crash of a United Nations plane as it attempted to land in Congo Monday, a U.N. official said.

The aircraft, which was carrying 32 people, belonged to the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a Congo Transportation Ministry official.

The flight began in Goma and was bound for Kinshasa, the official said.

Read CNN's full coverage of the U.N. plane crash in Congo
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Filed under: Air travel • Congo
Tornado strikes Kentucky plant; other storms strike the South
April 4th, 2011
04:35 PM ET

Tornado strikes Kentucky plant; other storms strike the South

[Updated at 4:35 p.m. ET] A tornado zeroed in Monday afternoon on a manufacturing plant in southwestern Kentucky, tossing pieces of the roof, collapsing part of the aluminum structure and injuring seven people, officials said.

Elsewhere in the South, thunderstorms caused damage, injuries and knocked out power.

About 184 employees were inside TGASK, a plant that makes automotive parts, when the storm arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (2 p.m. ET), said Paul Ray, spokesman for the Hopkinsville Police Department. The manufacturing plant is between Hopkinsville and Pembroke.

None of the injured had life-threatening injuries, said spokeswoman Jessica Beckham of Jennie Stuart Medical Center. Ray said the injuries were mostly bumps and bruises.

Did you witness the severe weather? Send your stories, photo and video to iReport.

FULL STORY
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Filed under: Kentucky • Tornadoes
Three more bodies found on Long Island beach
April 4th, 2011
03:32 PM ET

Three more bodies found on Long Island beach

[Updated at 5:24 p.m.] The remains of three additional people were discovered Monday morning near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, according to Richard Dormer, Suffolk County Police commissioner.

A total of eight sets of human remains have been found in the area since a missing New Jersey woman prompted the searches beginning in 2010.

Shannan Gilbert, 24, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was last seen alive on May 1. As authorities searched for clues about her disappearance last year, they uncovered the bodies of four prostitutes in various stages of decomposition.

Police say the hunt for a potential serial killer continues, as does the search for Gilbert.

FULL STORY
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Filed under: Crime • New York
Geithner: U.S. will reach debt limit by May 16
April 4th, 2011
03:13 PM ET

Geithner: U.S. will reach debt limit by May 16

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told congressional leaders Monday that he now expects the United States to hit its $14.294 trillion debt ceiling "no later than May 16."

Earlier, the Treasury had estimated that the limit would be reached between April 15 and May 31.

If Congress doesn't raise the debt limit by May 16, the Treasury would employ a range of extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations. But Geithner estimated that those measures could only buy roughly eight weeks.

Some Republicans say they will oppose raising the debt ceiling unless there are accompanying reforms intended to address long-term spending and national debt issues. Democrats have countered that such a move would amount to a default on paying some debt with dire economic consequences.

FULL STORY
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Filed under: Budget • Economy • Finance
April 4th, 2011
01:53 PM ET

38 years ago, World Trade Center opened

[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/04/01/vault.world.trade.center.1973.cnn"%5D

Thirty-eight years ago Monday, the World Trade Center opened its doors.

At the time, the grandiose structures known as Building 1 and Building 2 were the tallest skyscrapers in the world.

New Yorkers' reaction to the towers were mixed. "Public sentiment ran from astonishment at the sheer size of the towers, to both thrill and dismay at their monolithic, modern design," according to WTC.com.

FULL POST

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Filed under: Architecture • New York • Technology
SI.com: Kemba Factor, Spurs snap winless streak, Earnhardt Jr. doesn't
Kemba Walker celebrates Saturday after the UConn Huskies beat the Kentucky Wildcats for a shot at the title.
April 4th, 2011
12:45 PM ET

SI.com: Kemba Factor, Spurs snap winless streak, Earnhardt Jr. doesn't

After weeks of hard-fought battles, stunning upsets and unbelievable Cinderella stories, it all comes down to tonight’s NCAA Tournament championship.

Pitting Brad Stevens-led Butler against UConn, the title matchup rounds out a remarkable tournament that saw the impossible become possible. The Butler Bulldogs will be making their second consecutive title game appearance, after missing a shot in the last seconds against Duke in 2010.

The UConn Huskies will be returning for a shot at the title for the first time since their 2004 national championship. As SI.com’s Luke Winn points out, no matter the outcome, both of these teams have clawed their way to amazing tournament runs.

But despite the incredible skill and determination both teams showed, who is this year’s underdog?

FULL POST

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Filed under: College basketball • Connecticut • Indiana • Sports • U.S.
9/11 suspects will not face civilian trials, officials say
Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is among the suspects expected to be tried at Gitmo.
April 4th, 2011
12:33 PM ET

9/11 suspects will not face civilian trials, officials say

Attorney General Eric Holder will announce this afternoon that the 9/11 suspects will not face federal civilian trials as the Obama administration wanted, two U.S. officials and a government source confirmed.

They instead will be tried before military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, the officials said.

The suspects include alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Monhammed.

Read CNN's full coverage of Holder's announcement on 9/11 suspects
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Filed under: Al Qaeda • Barack Obama • Politics • September 11 • Terrorism • World
Protesters march in Toronto 'Slutwalk'
Demonstrators march in Toronto on Sunday as part of Slutwalk, an effort to call attention to sexual assault.
April 4th, 2011
11:54 AM ET

Protesters march in Toronto 'Slutwalk'

Women and men - dressed however they want, thank you - came out in force Sunday in Toronto to protest what they perceive as a callous attitude by the Toronto police regarding  sexual assault.

Tongue-in-cheek and defiant in name, Slutwalk attracted about 1,000 people in Queen's Park and went off without a hitch, police said.

“It was very peaceful, and they got the message out that they wanted,” constable spokeswoman Wendy Drummond told CNN on Monday morning.

FULL POST

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Filed under: Canada • Crime • Protest
On the Radar: Wreckage found, jet cracks, radioactive water, Obama, basketball
Authorities found pieces of the Air France jet in 2009 but now say they have found the main wreckage.
April 4th, 2011
11:24 AM ET

On the Radar: Wreckage found, jet cracks, radioactive water, Obama, basketball

Air France wreckage found - Bodies have been found from an Air France flight that went down in the Atlantic Ocean almost two years ago. They will be brought to the surface and identified. A French official said Monday that the main part of the wreckage had been found. Previously, only chunks of the plane had been recovered. It went down in a remote part of the ocean, an estimated two to four day’s travel by ship from the nearest Brazilian or Senegalese port.

Cracks in jets - Southwest Airlines canceled about 600 flights over the weekend to accommodate inspections after a hole opened in a plane on a Sacramento, California-bound flight. The Texas-based airline grounded 79 planes and expects to cancel about 100 flights Monday. Investigators have reportedly found cracks in three other aircraft. Southwest is advising passengers to check their flight status before going to the airport, and Boeing is sending out a service bulletin telling how to inspect planes for similar cracks.

FULL POST

Gotta Watch: Sheen's winning ways
April 4th, 2011
11:14 AM ET

Gotta Watch: Sheen's winning ways

He became a Twitter phenom overnight and added the phrases "tiger blood" and "winning" to the cultural lexicon. But the recent obsession with all-things Charlie Sheen couldn't save him from terrible reviews for his stage tour debut. Today's Gotta Watch focuses on how this A-list actor has reinvented himself into an internet sensation thanks to his rants and odd behavior. Watch the recent evolution of Charlie Sheen.

Sheen's losing debut – File this under #notwinning. Detroit fans booed and heckled Charlie Sheen during the opening of his "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour. Even his "tiger blood" couldn't save Sheen from the critical audience. Was it the crack jokes about the Motor City or the circus-like atmosphere that got fans upset? Now you can judge for yourself.

[cnn-video url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2011/04/04/bts.charlie.sheen.show.detroit.cnn"%5D

FULL POST

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Filed under: Celebrity • Charlie Sheen • Drugs • Gotta Watch • Michigan • Showbiz • TV • TV-Piers Morgan
Monday's intriguing people
Butler head coach Brad Stevens, 34, and his Bulldogs take on UConn Monday night for the NCAA basketball title.
April 4th, 2011
11:13 AM ET

Monday's intriguing people

Brad Stevens

The head basketball coach of Butler University is preparing his team for the final game of the season. Not quite underdogs, the Bulldogs take on the University of Connecticut Huskies in Monday night's national championship game.  Just one year after the Bulldogs lost to Duke in the closing seconds of the 2010 championship game, the 34-year-old Stevens is taking his team to a second consecutive national championship game.

The Indiana native, who quit his corporate job in 2000 to take an unpaid coaching job at Butler, is in high demand at bigger schools, but told the Houston Chronicle, "I think you hear people say all the time that the grass is greener somewhere else. Well, I think we recognize the grass is very green at Butler."

FULL POST

Monday's live video events
April 4th, 2011
07:31 AM ET

Monday's live video events

Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage of the conflict in Libya and the nuclear crisis in Japan.

Today's programming highlights...

11:45 am ET - Biden speaks out on school violence - Vice President Joe Biden discusses violence against women at schools and college campuses during a visit to the University of New Hampshire.  He may also bring up President Obama's re-election announcement.

FULL POST


Filed under: 2011 tsunami • Barack Obama • Budget • Democratic Party • District of Columbia • Earthquake • Economy • Japan • Joe Biden • Libya • Natural Disasters • New Hampshire • On CNN.com today • Politics • Space • Tsunami • U.S. • War • World
Southwest Airlines to cancel more flights Monday
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Arizona Friday after a hole opened on top of the aircraft.
April 4th, 2011
02:31 AM ET

Southwest Airlines to cancel more flights Monday

Southwest Airlines expects to cancel about 100 flights from its Monday schedule, the airline said.

A Boeing 737 in the airline's fleet made an emergency landing in Arizona after a hole opened on top of the aircraft during flight Friday.

As a result, the airline is inspecting other planes. It has found "small, subsurface cracks" or indications of cracks in three other aircraft.

It canceled approximately 300 flights on Saturday and 300 flights on Sunday in order to conduct the inspections, Southwest said.

The airline asked customers to check its website before heading to the airport.

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Filed under: Air travel • Arizona