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What we know about the Libya attack
Some publicly known details of the September 11 killings of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, have changed in the weeks since the attack.
U.S. officials initially said the attack on the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and a nearby U.S. annex came as protesters outside the mission rallied against an online video that unflatteringly portrays Islam's Prophet Mohammed. That explanation seems to have shifted as investigations progressed.
The following is the latest information that CNN has gleaned about the attack, and some unanswered questions.
Was the attack spontaneous?
Gunmen attacked the mission around 9:40 p.m., after Stevens retired to his room at the complex following an evening meeting with a Turkish diplomat, two senior State Department officials told reporters this week.
Dead after the gun attack and fire at the complex were Stevens and State Department computer expert Sean Smith, who officials said died of smoke inhalation. The two others - security contractors and former U.S. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods - died of wounds they suffered in an attack on a nearby annex.
U.S. officials initially said gunmen began attacking the complex during a protest against the inflammatory online video, after a similar protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo earlier in the day. U.S. sources said it appeared the attackers used the Benghazi protest as a diversion to launch the attack.
But on September 28, Shawn Turner, spokesman for Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, said the latest information indicated the attack was wasn't spontaneous, but rather deliberate and organized, perpetrated by "extremists."
Three dead in Miami parking garage collapse
[Updated 3:10 a.m. ET] Another construction worker was rescued from the rubble early Thursday morning, Miami fire officials said. But in order to get the man out of the collapsed garage, medics had to perform a double amputation. Authorities believe there is one more victim trapped in the massive debris.
[Updated at 9:22 p.m. ET] Three workers have died and one remains trapped in rubble after a parking garage under construction collapsed in Doral, Florida, according to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.
Eight people are hospitalized in Miami-area hospitals, according to a statement from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. It did not identify them or give their conditions.
[Updated at 4:08 p.m. ET] One person died and at least two other people were trapped when a parking garage that was under construction collapsed in Doral, Florida, Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue told CNN.
One of the trapped survivors was freed. He was critically injured, Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Griselle Marino said.
"We have our surgeon working on [him] right now," Marino said.
Marino said dogs are looking for one or two more people who could be trapped.
Eight people have so far been transported to a hospital, she said.
Lance Armstrong part of cycling's 'most successful doping program,' USADA says
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says it will release Wednesday more than 1,000 pages of evidence detailing the involvement of cyclist Lance Armstrong in what the agency calls "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."
Armstrong, who won an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles, announced in August that he would no longer fight doping charges that the USADA brought against him earlier in the year. The famed cyclist's decision prompted the USADA to ban the 40-year-old athlete from competition and strip him of his wins dating to 1998, though there were questions of whether the organization had the authority to take such action.
The USADA filed doping charges against Armstrong in June. Armstrong retired from professional cycling in February 2011, though he continued to compete in triathlon events.
The USADA, a quasi-government agency recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sports in the United States, accused Armstrong of using, possessing, trafficking and giving to others performance-enhancing drugs, as well as covering up doping violations.
FULL STORY
Ex-NFL star, actor Alex Karras dies, 77
[Updated at 11:32 a.m. ET] Alex Karras, the former Detroit Lions defensive tackle turned actor in the ABC sitcom "Webster," died Wednesday in his Los Angeles home following a battle with kidney disease, heart disease, dementia and stomach cancer, according to a family spokesman.
He was 77.
Karras, a Gary, Indiana native, was an All-American at the University of Iowa before becoming a four-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL, playing for the Detroit Lions from 1958 to 1970. He went on to star in the 1980s' sitcom “Webster” - he played George Papadapolis, the guardian of the newly orphaned Webster, played by actor Emmanuel Lewis - and also played the horse-punching Mongo in the 1974 movie “Blazing Saddles."
In April, he joined hundreds of former NFL players suing the league over concussion-related injuries, serving as lead plaintiff for what was then the 12th concussion-related complaint filed against the NFL by the Locks Law Firm in Philadelphia.
Karras “sustained repetitive traumatic impacts to his head and/or concussions on multiple occasions” during his NFL career, and “suffers from various neurological conditions and symptoms related to the multiple head traumas,” the lawsuit said.
His wife, "Webster” co-star Susan Clark, said in April that Karras suffered from dementia.
The more than 2,000 NFL players who are suing the league claim the NFL misled players concerning the risks associated with concussions. The NFL has repeatedly said that player safety is a priority and that any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit.
According to his family, "Karras had always dreamed of being an actor," and got a boost when Lucille Ball "took him under her wing and allowed him to train in small parts."
Karras also co-wrote autobiographies called "Even Big Guys Cry" and "Alex Karras by Alex Karras."
"His love of nature and most especially of the ocean, where he spent many happy days on his fishing boat, led him to support numerous organizations committed to protecting our environment for future generations," his family said.
Memorial services are being planned and will be announced soon, his family said.
September 6, 2012: Football players more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease, study finds
FULL STORYBrain-eating amoebas kill 10 in Pakistan
A waterborne, brain-destroying species of amoeba has killed 10 people in Karachi, Pakistan, this year, prompting local water officials to increase the amount of chlorine in the city’s water supply and advise residents to use sterilized water when performing a Muslim ritual which involves cleansing the nostrils.
Misbahuddin Farid, managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, said the origin of the amoebas had not been determined, according to a report in the Dawn newspaper.
Naegleria fowleri
The amoeba, known by the scientific name Naegleria fowleri, is virtually impossible to detect in the water and its presence in humans is determined by spinal tests, according to information on the water board’s website.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Naegleria fowleri amoeba causes a severe brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis. The disease is usually fatal.
The amoeba most commonly enters the body through the nasal passages and usually infects people who have been swimming in warm freshwater lakes and rivers, according to the CDC.
But it can exist in improperly chlorinated swimming pool or heated tap water, the CDC says.
Only one of the 10 victims of the current outbreak in Pakistan had visited a swimming pool, according to another report from the Dawn newspaper, so authorities are focusing on the Muslim ablution ritual, or waddu.
Americans win Nobel chemistry prize
Two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work revealing protein receptors on the surface of cells that tell them what is going on in the human body. The achievements have allowed drug makers to develop medication with fewer side effects.
Over four decades of research by Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on "G-protein-coupled receptors," have increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals in the bloodstream, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the prize.
"I'm feeling very, very excited," Lefkowitz said in a predawn phone call from the United States to the committee in Stockholm, Sweden. The announcement caught him by surprise.
"Did I even have any inkling that it was coming?" he said. "I'd have to say no."
FULL STORY
A's, Giants win to stay alive in MLB playoffs
The two Bay-area teams in the MLB playoffs won Tuesday night to stay alive in the postseason, Oakland at home and San Francisco on the road.
The Oakland Athletics, who lost the first two games of the AL division series in Detroit, got stellar pitching to beat the Tigers 2-0 last night.
The A's are an unlikely playoff team this year. They have the lowest payroll in baseball at $59.5 million and are in a long battle with baseball officials over a new stadium to replace the crumbling Coliseum. The stadium was packed Tuesday night, though, with towel-waving fans who saw four pitchers combine for 11 strikeouts in the shutout victory.
In the NL series, the Cincinnati Reds won the first two games in San Francisco but couldn't close out the best-of-five series. The Giants beat the Reds 2-1 in 10 innings when Joaquin Arias' infield hit brought home Buster Posey.
All four division series play Wednesday. The Cardinals are at the Nationals at 1 p.m. in their series, tied 1-1. The Giants and Reds play at 4 p.m. The Orioles play at the Yankees at 7:30 p.m. The Yankees won the first two games in Baltimore and lead 2-0. At 9:30, the Tigers and A's play at Oakland.
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