Gotta Watch: Clooney: God of love; plumb luck; flare up there; down with brown
Ohio welcomes "God's gift to women" with a George Clooney mural.
February 17th, 2011
11:21 AM ET
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Gotta Watch: Clooney: God of love; plumb luck; flare up there; down with brown

George Clooney: God's gift to women - Celebrities aren't Gods. They're just touched by them. A Cincinnati artist has painted a 4 by 10-foot mural that casts actor George Clooney in the role of Adam in Michelangelo's famous painting "The Creation of Adam." Apparently the actor is in town to film a movie and the artist wants to welcome him with open arms and graphic abs. This package is a crown jewel in the pantheon of local news campiness.

Hero with a plunger - When a Pennsylvania woman dropped her $10,000 wedding ring in her flushing toilet, she was told to forget about it by nearly every plumber in town. But just when she thought all hope was lost, a hero in a windowless van with his name emblazoned on his chest showed up, shop-vacced and saved the day.

Jupiter-sized sun flare - This week the sun decided to blast a solar flare the size of Jupiter. NASA caught these images, which are beautiful, but also slightly frightening considering these flares can disrupt technology here on Earth potentially knocking out power grids.

Watt's the deal with that? - Comedian and musician Reggie Watt's brings his hilarious and genuine talent to the stage at "Conan."

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Filed under: Celebrity • Ethnic studies • George Clooney • Gotta Watch • Most Popular • On CNN.com today • Science • Showbiz • Space • TV • Uncategorized
October 20th, 2010
11:55 AM ET
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Sri Lanka claims about 4,700 Tamil militants 'rehabilitated'

Sri Lankans celebrate last year after the government declared an end to a 26-year civil war.

Sixteen months after a quarter-century-long conflict ended, Sri Lanka's embassy says it has rehabilitated thousands of Tamil Tiger militants.

The plan is to reintegrate them into society, said Brig. Sudantha Ranasinghe, the island nation’s commissioner general of rehabilitation.

“We have handed over 4,685 ex-combatants to their parents after rehabilitation. Six thousand more are to be rehabilitated,” Ranasinghe said in a press release from the Embassy in Washington.

The majority of the militants surrendered or were captured last year in the final days of a 26-year civil war. The Sri Lankan government declared the conflict over in May 2009 after claiming it had killed the Tigers’ leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

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Filed under: Ethnic studies • Militia • Sri Lanka • Terrorism • War
October 19th, 2010
10:32 PM ET
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Tucson teachers sue over new 'anti-Hispanic' schools law

Eleven Tucson, Arizona, educators sued the state board of education and superintendent this week for what the teachers consider an "anti-Hispanic" ban looming on Mexican-American studies.

The suit comes in a state already roiled by a controversial immigration law that is being challenged in court.

On Tuesday, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne defended the new law, which will go into effect December 31. The law authorizes the superintendent to stop any ethnic studies classes that "promote the overthrow of the United States government ... promote resentment toward a race or class of people ... (or) advocate ethnic solidarity instead of treatment of pupils as individuals."

Horne said he would seek the first-ever ban in Tucson for its "raza studies" program, now called Mexican-American studies. Raza means "the race" in Spanish.

The law allows the state to withhold 10 percent of monthly aid - which would amount to $3 million a month for Tucson Unified School District No. 1.

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Filed under: Arizona • Education • Ethnic studies