text:
(CNN)  -- Houston Rockets team physician Tom Clanton has said the foot injury currently sidelining Chinese center Yao Ming could threaten the seven-foot-six-inch player's career.

Yao Ming's entire basketball future could be in danger due to his persistent foot injury.

"At this point, the injury has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career-threatening," Clanton told the Houston Chronicle regional newspaper.

"One of the things we are trying to get is a consensus opinion on that, to make certain there is no option we are overlooking that would provide an earlier return or would be an option for treatment that he would prefer rather than doing additional surgery," he added.

Yao fractured his left foot last month during a semifinal match against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Western Conference semifinals and has been visiting specialists ahead of treatment since then.

Clanton continued: "At this stage, he is having no symptoms or physical signs, he has no tenderness, no swelling, no redness. When he came back in, he was feeling like everything was perfect, and he would start rehabilitation and get ready to play.

"The findings on the CT were shocking for him and for us. You don't treat a CT scan; you treat a patient. We are looking for every reason to treat this on clinical findings but don't want to put him at risk for a greater fracture," he added.

The diagnosis raises doubt over the playing future of one of the biggest stars in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of the most famous celebrities to hail from China.

Yao is a national hero in his homeland, and the news has prompted a frenzy of postings on the internet, arguing about the why's and wherefore's of his injury.

"He is really tired," says one Netizen posting on Sina.com. "He needs to rest, we cannot let the giant fall!"

"I wish everything will work out well for Yao Ming," says another teenage basketball fan. "There is always a way to deal with injuries. We should not give up."

Some Yao supporters think he should take a long break -- even for the whole season -- and make a comeback later. "I think his injury is very bad," opines Ma Jian, a TV commentator who played for the Chinese national team.

"With all the weight training the team have put him through in the past seven years, Yao has gained about 20 kilos in his upper body. But his lower body, especially his feet, did not gain much strength to hold his large frame."

The 28-year-old Yao has been a perennial pick for the NBA All-Star teams since moving from the Shanghai Sharks to the Rockets in 2002.

Yao also captained the Chinese team as hosts at the 2008 Beijing Games, as well as taking the role of flag-bearer in the opening ceremony.

Yao was awarded the honor of "model worker" in 2005 by China's ruling Communist Party.

However, despite his popularity, Yao still has his share of detractors. Known as "Yao hei" -- they are people who are out to smear the player.

"He is a man made of glass," says one posting on Sina.com. "Should we call him Yao the glass or Yao the porcelain?" asks one rhetorically.

Yao is now a multi-millionaire, earning millions of dollars yearly, not just from his NBA team but from lucrative commercial endorsements.

Admirers say Yao has done more for improving China's image overseas than any modern-day politician or diplomat. Next to the giant panda, Yao is perhaps China's best known and much loved, icon, in part because exudes a wholesome, feel-good image.

"He is such an affable, likeable guy," recalls Colin Pine, who used to serve as his personal translator during his years as an NBA rookie in Houston.

His demeanor on and off the court has endeared him to the media and multitude of basketball fans overseas, who admire his modesty and maturity. His loyal fans hope Yao will get an extension of his already long and successful career.

text: CNN

text: Houston

text: Rockets

text: team

text: physician

text: Tom

text: Clanton

text: has

text: said

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text: foot

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text: sidelining

text: Chinese

text: center

text: Yao

text: Ming

text: could

text: threaten

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text: seven

text: foot

text: six

text: inch

text: player

text: 's

text: career

text: Yao

text: Ming

text: 's

text: entire

text: basketball

text: future

text: could

text: be

text: in

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text: due

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text: persistent

text: foot

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text: potential

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text: told

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text: Chronicle

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text: One

text: of

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text: things

text: we

text: are

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text: is

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text: consensus

text: opinion

text: on

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text: make

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text: there

text: is

text: no

text: option

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text: are

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text: would

text: provide

text: an

text: earlier

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text: or

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text: he

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text: he

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text: fractured

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text: foot

text: last

text: month

text: during

text: a

text: semifinal

text: match

text: against

text: the

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: Lakers

text: in

text: the

text: NBA

text: Western

text: Conference

text: semifinals

text: and

text: has

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text: visiting

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text: Clanton

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text: no

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text: he

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text: rehabilitation

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text: The

text: findings

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text: CT

text: were

text: shocking

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text: for

text: us

text: You

text: do

text: n't

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text: treat

text: a

text: patient

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text: are

text: looking

text: for

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text: reason

text: to

text: treat

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text: on

text: clinical

text: findings

text: but

text: do

text: n't

text: want

text: to

text: put

text: him

text: at

text: risk

text: for

text: a

text: greater

text: fracture

text: he

text: added

text: The

text: diagnosis

text: raises

text: doubt

text: over

text: the

text: playing

text: future

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text: biggest

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text: one

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text: famous

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text: from

text: China

text: Yao

text: is

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text: national

text: hero

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text: his

text: homeland

text: and

text: the

text: news

text: has

text: prompted

text: a

text: frenzy

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text: postings

text: on

text: the

text: internet

text: arguing

text: about

text: the

text: why

text: 's

text: and

text: wherefore

text: 's

text: of

text: his

text: injury

text: He

text: is

text: really

text: tired

text: says

text: one

text: Netizen

text: posting

text: on

text: Sina.com

text: He

text: needs

text: to

text: rest

text: we

text: can

text: not

text: let

text: the

text: giant

text: fall

text: I

text: wish

text: everything

text: will

text: work

text: out

text: well

text: for

text: Yao

text: Ming

text: says

text: another

text: teenage

text: basketball

text: fan

text: There

text: is

text: always

text: a

text: way

text: to

text: deal

text: with

text: injuries

text: We

text: should

text: not

text: give

text: up

text: Some

text: Yao

text: supporters

text: think

text: he

text: should

text: take

text: a

text: long

text: break

text: even

text: for

text: the

text: whole

text: season

text: and

text: make

text: a

text: comeback

text: later

text: I

text: think

text: his

text: injury

text: is

text: very

text: bad

text: opines

text: Ma

text: Jian

text: a

text: TV

text: commentator

text: who

text: played

text: for

text: the

text: Chinese

text: national

text: team

text: With

text: all

text: the

text: weight

text: training

text: the

text: team

text: have

text: put

text: him

text: through

text: in

text: the

text: past

text: seven

text: years

text: Yao

text: has

text: gained

text: about

text: kilos

text: in

text: his

text: upper

text: body

text: But

text: his

text: lower

text: body

text: especially

text: his

text: feet

text: did

text: not

text: gain

text: much

text: strength

text: to

text: hold

text: his

text: large

text: frame

text: The

text: old

text: Yao

text: has

text: been

text: a

text: perennial

text: pick

text: for

text: the

text: NBA

text: All

text: Star

text: teams

text: since

text: moving

text: from

text: the

text: Shanghai

text: Sharks

text: to

text: the

text: Rockets

text: in

text: Yao

text: also

text: captained

text: the

text: Chinese

text: team

text: as

text: hosts

text: at

text: the

text: Beijing

text: Games

text: as

text: well

text: as

text: taking

text: the

text: role

text: of

text: flag

text: bearer

text: in

text: the

text: opening

text: ceremony

text: Yao

text: was

text: awarded

text: the

text: honor

text: of

text: model

text: worker

text: in

text: by

text: China

text: 's

text: ruling

text: Communist

text: Party

text: However

text: despite

text: his

text: popularity

text: Yao

text: still

text: has

text: his

text: share

text: of

text: detractors

text: Known

text: as

text: Yao

text: hei

text: they

text: are

text: people

text: who

text: are

text: out

text: to

text: smear

text: the

text: player

text: He

text: is

text: a

text: man

text: made

text: of

text: glass

text: says

text: one

text: posting

text: on

text: Sina.com

text: Should

text: we

text: call

text: him

text: Yao

text: the

text: glass

text: or

text: Yao

text: the

text: porcelain

text: asks

text: one

text: rhetorically

text: Yao

text: is

text: now

text: a

text: multi

text: millionaire

text: earning

text: millions

text: of

text: dollars

text: yearly

text: not

text: just

text: from

text: his

text: NBA

text: team

text: but

text: from

text: lucrative

text: commercial

text: endorsements

text: Admirers

text: say

text: Yao

text: has

text: done

text: more

text: for

text: improving

text: China

text: 's

text: image

text: overseas

text: than

text: any

text: modern

text: day

text: politician

text: or

text: diplomat

text: Next

text: to

text: the

text: giant

text: panda

text: Yao

text: is

text: perhaps

text: China

text: 's

text: best

text: known

text: and

text: much

text: loved

text: icon

text: in

text: part

text: because

text: exudes

text: a

text: wholesome

text: feel

text: good

text: image

text: He

text: is

text: such

text: an

text: affable

text: likeable

text: guy

text: recalls

text: Colin

text: Pine

text: who

text: used

text: to

text: serve

text: as

text: his

text: personal

text: translator

text: during

text: his

text: years

text: as

text: an

text: NBA

text: rookie

text: in

text: Houston

text: His

text: demeanor

text: on

text: and

text: off

text: the

text: court

text: has

text: endeared

text: him

text: to

text: the

text: media

text: and

text: multitude

text: of

text: basketball

text: fans

text: overseas

text: who

text: admire

text: his

text: modesty

text: and

text: maturity

text: His

text: loyal

text: fans

text: hope

text: Yao

text: will

text: get

text: an

text: extension

text: of

text: his

text: already

text: long

text: and

text: successful

text: career

question: Who fractured their left foot?

answer: Yao Ming

text: Yao Ming

question: who  fractured his left foot?

answer: Yao

text: Yao

question: What did Ming say the injury could do?

answer: threaten the seven-foot-six-inch player's career.

text: threaten the seven-foot-six-inch player's career.

question: Who was a flag bearer at the 2008 Olympic games?

answer: Yao Ming

text: Yao Ming

question: who was flag-bearer for China at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games?

answer: Yao Ming

text: Yao Ming

question: What did the Houston Rockets physician say?

answer: center Yao Ming could threaten the seven-foot-six-inch player's career.

text: center Yao Ming could threaten the seven-foot-six-inch player's career.

question: When did Yao move to the US?

answer: 2002.

question: What foot did Tao fracture?

answer: his left foot

text: his left foot


text:
(CNN) -- The bad news came via certified letter to Norma Jimenez, Edna Rodriguez and nearly 17,000 other Puerto Ricans this month.

Thousands last week protest government layoffs in Puerto Rico.

To cut spending, Puerto Rico announced last month that thousands of government employees would be fired in the second round of layoffs this year. More than 7,800 public employees were fired in March.

"I was fearful because of the uncertainty," Jimenez, 42, an auxiliary administrator for the U.S. territory's Department of Education told CNN. "Will the letter come or not come?"

The letter came, and it said that under a measure authorized by an emergency fiscal bill, her last day of work would be January 8 of next year.

Rodriguez, who worked for the education department for 11 years as a receptionist, got the same letter, but with a November 6 termination date.

"It was as if the world collapsed," she told CNN.

And presumably, so it goes for the thousands of other public employees who were laid off.

The austere measures are a bid by the government to stabilize a fiscal mess and save Puerto Rico's credit rating. According to government figures, the U.S. territory faces a $3.2 billion budget deficit -- proportionally, the largest shortfall in the United States -- and is entering a fourth year of recession.

The severity of the plan reflects the aftermath of what experts say is years, maybe decades, of the lack of a forward-looking economic policy.

Confronted with the fear that the credit-rating agencies might reduce Puerto Rico's rating to junk status, the administration of Gov. Luis Fortuno has taken strong, but controversial, steps.

"Every layoff letter has a name, and every name has a story," Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said in an interview with CNN.

But, he said, "Doing nothing was not an alternative."

The governor and other officials cut their salaries and trimmed spending in other areas, but the massive layoffs were necessary to avert the downgraded credit rating, McClintock said.

"If that happened, we would become the first state in the history of the U.S. to have its credit downgraded to junk bond," he said.

Puerto Rico's unemployment rate is nearly 16 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to government calculations, a downgraded credit rating would have pushed that figure toward 25 percent unemployment, McClintock said.

The government is betting that the reduced spending, combined with $6.5 billion in combined federal and local stimulus funds, will be enough to get the territory back on solid footing. As a U.S. commonwealth, Puerto Rico exercises much autonomy, but still falls under U.S. jurisdiction. In addition to the federal stimulus money, Puerto Rican officials traveled to Washington last month to lobby for discretionary stimulus grants.

How did Puerto Rico get into this predicament?

"This did not happen overnight," said Miguel Soto-Class, executive director of the Center for the New Economy, an independent think tank in Puerto Rico.

For too long, the island has been dependent on a single industry at a time, Soto-Class told CNN.

First it was coffee, then sugar, and most recently pharmaceutical production plants.

Under the terms of a special tax break, U.S. companies were exempt from paying federal income tax on profits earned by their Puerto Rican manufacturing subsidiaries. This brought plenty of companies and jobs to the island until Congress voted to phase out the benefits between 1996 and 2006.

When a number of foreign companies began to pull back, Puerto Rico saw that the local economy had not absorbed many benefits from the foreign plants, Soto-Class said. For instance, local restaurants didn't sprout near the plants because food was usually done in-house. Likewise, the foreign companies used their own accountants, leaving local CPAs few opportunities to grow.

"That wasn't the cause, but it laid bare that we hadn't had an economic development model in a long time," Soto-Class said.

On the fiscal front, most the attention has focused on the large public workforce.

With a workforce of some 200,000, Puerto Rico, with a population of about 4 million, has more public employees than any state in the union, with the exception of California and New York, McClintock said. For comparison, California has about one state employee for every 103 residents, while Puerto Rico has one public worker for every 20 residents.

The public payroll had become bloated, he said.

Edwin Melendez, director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, said that a large public workforce is not a bad thing, as long as it adds and keeps up to the territory's growth.

But even when Puerto Rico's economy started declining, the public sector continued to swell.

The territory's political parties had become dependent on government employment as a political tool, in effect creating a patronage system, Melendez said.

"We are where we are because the patronage system is bankrupt," he said.

For Fortuno, a member of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood New Progressive Party and also member of the Republican Party, the challenges required immediate action.

"You can bring it down to a four word phrase: 'No pain, no gain,' " McClintock said.

The government has already spent more than $1 billion in stimulus funds that have created some 10,000 private sector jobs, he said.

"That's why we are stimulating the private sector to grow, so that it can pick up the slack that the government can no longer afford to employ on its own," McClintock said.

Thousands of protesters who participated in a strike last week dispute that firing this many workers during a recession will help the territory.

"This worsens the situation by increasing unemployment," Roberto Pagan, president of the Puerto Rico Worker's Union, told CNN. "We want the government to take alternative measures."

The government's bet is that the negative impact of the laid off workers will be offset with positive effects of the stimulus funds, Soto-Class said.

It's a risky bet, he said, adding that the Fortuno administration grasps the economics of the situation very well.

Looking to the future, McClintock said the government expects to balance the budget in two years.

Soto-Class said that recovery will also mean looking at diversifying the economic activity. Tourism and agriculture, for example, could become larger factors in the economy, he said.

Pagan, the union leader, said he supports levying higher corporate taxes to increase revenue. The government, however, said it plans to continue to use tax incentives to lure companies to the island.

Puerto Rico is "still the pharmaceutical capital of the world, but we have to try to manufacture even more Tylenol to resolve our economic headaches," McClintock said. "We have to manufacture even more Viagra than we already manufacture so our economic statistics will rise."

text: CNN

text: The

text: bad

text: news

text: came

text: via

text: certified

text: letter

text: to

text: Norma

text: Jimenez

text: Edna

text: Rodriguez

text: and

text: nearly

text: other

text: Puerto

text: Ricans

text: this

text: month

text: Thousands

text: last

text: week

text: protest

text: government

text: layoffs

text: in

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: To

text: cut

text: spending

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: announced

text: last

text: month

text: that

text: thousands

text: of

text: government

text: employees

text: would

text: be

text: fired

text: in

text: the

text: second

text: round

text: of

text: layoffs

text: this

text: year

text: More

text: than

text: public

text: employees

text: were

text: fired

text: in

text: March

text: I

text: was

text: fearful

text: because

text: of

text: the

text: uncertainty

text: Jimenez

text: an

text: auxiliary

text: administrator

text: for

text: the

text: U.S.

text: territory

text: 's

text: Department

text: of

text: Education

text: told

text: CNN

text: Will

text: the

text: letter

text: come

text: or

text: not

text: come

text: The

text: letter

text: came

text: and

text: it

text: said

text: that

text: under

text: a

text: measure

text: authorized

text: by

text: an

text: emergency

text: fiscal

text: bill

text: her

text: last

text: day

text: of

text: work

text: would

text: be

text: January

text: of

text: next

text: year

text: Rodriguez

text: who

text: worked

text: for

text: the

text: education

text: department

text: for

text: years

text: as

text: a

text: receptionist

text: got

text: the

text: same

text: letter

text: but

text: with

text: a

text: November

text: termination

text: date

text: It

text: was

text: as

text: if

text: the

text: world

text: collapsed

text: she

text: told

text: CNN

text: And

text: presumably

text: so

text: it

text: goes

text: for

text: the

text: thousands

text: of

text: other

text: public

text: employees

text: who

text: were

text: laid

text: off

text: The

text: austere

text: measures

text: are

text: a

text: bid

text: by

text: the

text: government

text: to

text: stabilize

text: a

text: fiscal

text: mess

text: and

text: save

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: 's

text: credit

text: rating

text: According

text: to

text: government

text: figures

text: the

text: U.S.

text: territory

text: faces

text: a

text: billion

text: budget

text: deficit

text: proportionally

text: the

text: largest

text: shortfall

text: in

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: and

text: is

text: entering

text: a

text: fourth

text: year

text: of

text: recession

text: The

text: severity

text: of

text: the

text: plan

text: reflects

text: the

text: aftermath

text: of

text: what

text: experts

text: say

text: is

text: years

text: maybe

text: decades

text: of

text: the

text: lack

text: of

text: a

text: forward

text: looking

text: economic

text: policy

text: Confronted

text: with

text: the

text: fear

text: that

text: the

text: credit

text: rating

text: agencies

text: might

text: reduce

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: 's

text: rating

text: to

text: junk

text: status

text: the

text: administration

text: of

text: Gov.

text: Luis

text: Fortuno

text: has

text: taken

text: strong

text: but

text: controversial

text: steps

text: Every

text: layoff

text: letter

text: has

text: a

text: name

text: and

text: every

text: name

text: has

text: a

text: story

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: Secretary

text: of

text: State

text: Kenneth

text: McClintock

text: said

text: in

text: an

text: interview

text: with

text: CNN

text: But

text: he

text: said

text: Doing

text: nothing

text: was

text: not

text: an

text: alternative

text: The

text: governor

text: and

text: other

text: officials

text: cut

text: their

text: salaries

text: and

text: trimmed

text: spending

text: in

text: other

text: areas

text: but

text: the

text: massive

text: layoffs

text: were

text: necessary

text: to

text: avert

text: the

text: downgraded

text: credit

text: rating

text: McClintock

text: said

text: If

text: that

text: happened

text: we

text: would

text: become

text: the

text: first

text: state

text: in

text: the

text: history

text: of

text: the

text: U.S.

text: to

text: have

text: its

text: credit

text: downgraded

text: to

text: junk

text: bond

text: he

text: said

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: 's

text: unemployment

text: rate

text: is

text: nearly

text: percent

text: according

text: to

text: the

text: U.S.

text: Bureau

text: of

text: Labor

text: Statistics

text: According

text: to

text: government

text: calculations

text: a

text: downgraded

text: credit

text: rating

text: would

text: have

text: pushed

text: that

text: figure

text: toward

text: percent

text: unemployment

text: McClintock

text: said

text: The

text: government

text: is

text: betting

text: that

text: the

text: reduced

text: spending

text: combined

text: with

text: billion

text: in

text: combined

text: federal

text: and

text: local

text: stimulus

text: funds

text: will

text: be

text: enough

text: to

text: get

text: the

text: territory

text: back

text: on

text: solid

text: footing

text: As

text: a

text: U.S.

text: commonwealth

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: exercises

text: much

text: autonomy

text: but

text: still

text: falls

text: under

text: U.S.

text: jurisdiction

text: In

text: addition

text: to

text: the

text: federal

text: stimulus

text: money

text: Puerto

text: Rican

text: officials

text: traveled

text: to

text: Washington

text: last

text: month

text: to

text: lobby

text: for

text: discretionary

text: stimulus

text: grants

text: How

text: did

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: get

text: into

text: this

text: predicament

text: This

text: did

text: not

text: happen

text: overnight

text: said

text: Miguel

text: Soto

text: Class

text: executive

text: director

text: of

text: the

text: Center

text: for

text: the

text: New

text: Economy

text: an

text: independent

text: think

text: tank

text: in

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: For

text: too

text: long

text: the

text: island

text: has

text: been

text: dependent

text: on

text: a

text: single

text: industry

text: at

text: a

text: time

text: Soto

text: Class

text: told

text: CNN

text: First

text: it

text: was

text: coffee

text: then

text: sugar

text: and

text: most

text: recently

text: pharmaceutical

text: production

text: plants

text: Under

text: the

text: terms

text: of

text: a

text: special

text: tax

text: break

text: U.S.

text: companies

text: were

text: exempt

text: from

text: paying

text: federal

text: income

text: tax

text: on

text: profits

text: earned

text: by

text: their

text: Puerto

text: Rican

text: manufacturing

text: subsidiaries

text: This

text: brought

text: plenty

text: of

text: companies

text: and

text: jobs

text: to

text: the

text: island

text: until

text: Congress

text: voted

text: to

text: phase

text: out

text: the

text: benefits

text: between

text: and

text: When

text: a

text: number

text: of

text: foreign

text: companies

text: began

text: to

text: pull

text: back

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: saw

text: that

text: the

text: local

text: economy

text: had

text: not

text: absorbed

text: many

text: benefits

text: from

text: the

text: foreign

text: plants

text: Soto

text: Class

text: said

text: For

text: instance

text: local

text: restaurants

text: did

text: n't

text: sprout

text: near

text: the

text: plants

text: because

text: food

text: was

text: usually

text: done

text: in

text: house

text: Likewise

text: the

text: foreign

text: companies

text: used

text: their

text: own

text: accountants

text: leaving

text: local

text: CPAs

text: few

text: opportunities

text: to

text: grow

text: That

text: was

text: n't

text: the

text: cause

text: but

text: it

text: laid

text: bare

text: that

text: we

text: had

text: n't

text: had

text: an

text: economic

text: development

text: model

text: in

text: a

text: long

text: time

text: Soto

text: Class

text: said

text: On

text: the

text: fiscal

text: front

text: most

text: the

text: attention

text: has

text: focused

text: on

text: the

text: large

text: public

text: workforce

text: With

text: a

text: workforce

text: of

text: some

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: with

text: a

text: population

text: of

text: about

text: million

text: has

text: more

text: public

text: employees

text: than

text: any

text: state

text: in

text: the

text: union

text: with

text: the

text: exception

text: of

text: California

text: and

text: New

text: York

text: McClintock

text: said

text: For

text: comparison

text: California

text: has

text: about

text: one

text: state

text: employee

text: for

text: every

text: residents

text: while

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: has

text: one

text: public

text: worker

text: for

text: every

text: residents

text: The

text: public

text: payroll

text: had

text: become

text: bloated

text: he

text: said

text: Edwin

text: Melendez

text: director

text: of

text: the

text: Center

text: for

text: Puerto

text: Rican

text: Studies

text: at

text: Hunter

text: College

text: said

text: that

text: a

text: large

text: public

text: workforce

text: is

text: not

text: a

text: bad

text: thing

text: as

text: long

text: as

text: it

text: adds

text: and

text: keeps

text: up

text: to

text: the

text: territory

text: 's

text: growth

text: But

text: even

text: when

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: 's

text: economy

text: started

text: declining

text: the

text: public

text: sector

text: continued

text: to

text: swell

text: The

text: territory

text: 's

text: political

text: parties

text: had

text: become

text: dependent

text: on

text: government

text: employment

text: as

text: a

text: political

text: tool

text: in

text: effect

text: creating

text: a

text: patronage

text: system

text: Melendez

text: said

text: We

text: are

text: where

text: we

text: are

text: because

text: the

text: patronage

text: system

text: is

text: bankrupt

text: he

text: said

text: For

text: Fortuno

text: a

text: member

text: of

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: 's

text: pro

text: statehood

text: New

text: Progressive

text: Party

text: and

text: also

text: member

text: of

text: the

text: Republican

text: Party

text: the

text: challenges

text: required

text: immediate

text: action

text: You

text: can

text: bring

text: it

text: down

text: to

text: a

text: four

text: word

text: phrase

text: No

text: pain

text: no

text: gain

text: McClintock

text: said

text: The

text: government

text: has

text: already

text: spent

text: more

text: than

text: billion

text: in

text: stimulus

text: funds

text: that

text: have

text: created

text: some

text: private

text: sector

text: jobs

text: he

text: said

text: That

text: 's

text: why

text: we

text: are

text: stimulating

text: the

text: private

text: sector

text: to

text: grow

text: so

text: that

text: it

text: can

text: pick

text: up

text: the

text: slack

text: that

text: the

text: government

text: can

text: no

text: longer

text: afford

text: to

text: employ

text: on

text: its

text: own

text: McClintock

text: said

text: Thousands

text: of

text: protesters

text: who

text: participated

text: in

text: a

text: strike

text: last

text: week

text: dispute

text: that

text: firing

text: this

text: many

text: workers

text: during

text: a

text: recession

text: will

text: help

text: the

text: territory

text: This

text: worsens

text: the

text: situation

text: by

text: increasing

text: unemployment

text: Roberto

text: Pagan

text: president

text: of

text: the

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: Worker

text: 's

text: Union

text: told

text: CNN

text: We

text: want

text: the

text: government

text: to

text: take

text: alternative

text: measures

text: The

text: government

text: 's

text: bet

text: is

text: that

text: the

text: negative

text: impact

text: of

text: the

text: laid

text: off

text: workers

text: will

text: be

text: offset

text: with

text: positive

text: effects

text: of

text: the

text: stimulus

text: funds

text: Soto

text: Class

text: said

text: It

text: 's

text: a

text: risky

text: bet

text: he

text: said

text: adding

text: that

text: the

text: Fortuno

text: administration

text: grasps

text: the

text: economics

text: of

text: the

text: situation

text: very

text: well

text: Looking

text: to

text: the

text: future

text: McClintock

text: said

text: the

text: government

text: expects

text: to

text: balance

text: the

text: budget

text: in

text: two

text: years

text: Soto

text: Class

text: said

text: that

text: recovery

text: will

text: also

text: mean

text: looking

text: at

text: diversifying

text: the

text: economic

text: activity

text: Tourism

text: and

text: agriculture

text: for

text: example

text: could

text: become

text: larger

text: factors

text: in

text: the

text: economy

text: he

text: said

text: Pagan

text: the

text: union

text: leader

text: said

text: he

text: supports

text: levying

text: higher

text: corporate

text: taxes

text: to

text: increase

text: revenue

text: The

text: government

text: however

text: said

text: it

text: plans

text: to

text: continue

text: to

text: use

text: tax

text: incentives

text: to

text: lure

text: companies

text: to

text: the

text: island

text: Puerto

text: Rico

text: is

text: still

text: the

text: pharmaceutical

text: capital

text: of

text: the

text: world

text: but

text: we

text: have

text: to

text: try

text: to

text: manufacture

text: even

text: more

text: Tylenol

text: to

text: resolve

text: our

text: economic

text: headaches

text: McClintock

text: said

text: We

text: have

text: to

text: manufacture

text: even

text: more

text: Viagra

text: than

text: we

text: already

text: manufacture

text: so

text: our

text: economic

text: statistics

text: will

text: rise

question: What is the ratio of employees to residents in California?

answer: for every 103

text: for every 103

question: how many employees were fired?

answer: 7,800

question: How many public employees are there?

answer: 7,800

question: what is the population of puerto rico?

answer: 4 million,

text: 4 million,

question: Who announced thousands of government layoffs?

answer: Puerto Rico

text: Puerto Rico

question: How many public employees were fired in March?

answer: More than 7,800

text: More than 7,800

question: how many public employees did puerto rico have?

answer: 200,000,


text:
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The death of actress Natasha Richardson, who sustained a fatal head injury while skiing, has reignited the perennial debate around the safety of the sport.

Head injuries are the most common cause of death among skiers

The 45 year-old died Wednesday, two days after falling on a beginners slope while having a private lesson at Canada's Mont Tremblant resort.

While full details of the circumstances surrounding Richardson's death are not yet known, head injuries are the most common cause of fatalities among skiers worldwide.

"A typical death is a high speed collision with a static object after losing control -- a tree or a person," Dr Mike Langran a GP who works in Aviemore, Scotland and runs Ski-injury.com told CNN.

"Most ski deaths involve multi-trauma, but a head injury is by far the most common reason.

"There might be injuries to the abdomen or the chest or the neck but there nearly always is a head trauma as well."

However, Langran, along with many other industry experts, maintains that skiing is a relatively safe sport.

"I don't regard skiing and snowboarding as a dangerous sport," he said. "It's like many activities in life -- there are people who do silly things but in general these sports are safe."

There are an estimated 200 million skiers in the world, and in the U.S. (one of the few countries to keep reliable data on skiers and ski injuries) an estimated 55 million people ski.

Each year there are 39 deaths, which equates to about 2 deaths per million skiers.

While children and beginners are most at risk of being injured while skiing, it's those more experienced on the slopes who are most likely to be involved in a fatal accident.

"When you look at fatalities it does tend to be younger males and often of better skiing ability who are maybe pushing limits a little bit harder, traveling a little bit faster," Langran said.

In Austria, earlier this year a huge debate over the safety of skiing was sparked by a high-profile incident on the slopes, which involved a German politician.

Deiter Althaus, minister-president of Thuringia state was charged with manslaughter after colliding with another skier, Beata Christandl, a 41 year-old Slovakian mother of four, who later died from multiple head injuries.

He was accused by Austrian prosecutors of entering onto a slope against the direction of traffic while skiing at high speed.

Althaus was left with a fractured skull and has no recollection of the accident.

Althaus' accident may be typical of the kind that cause deaths in skiers but, The Austria Ski Federation says Althaus' case is very unusual.

Each year, an estimated 10 million people ski in Austria's resorts and there are between 10 and 50 deaths during this time, according to Thomas Woldrich, Head of Leisure Skiing at the federation.

"There's a minimal risk to get hurt when skiing," Woldrich told CNN. "When you're skiing approximately 14 days a year, the risk of having an injury is one in 55 years."

Even so, a law was recently passed in Austria making it compulsory for children to wear helmets on Austrian ski slopes.

"We do have an extraordinary trend towards wearing helmets," said Woldrich. "We have, especially among children, almost 100 percent of skiers wearing helmets on Austrian ski slopes."

Whether or not skiers should be forced by law to wear helmets is a debate that continues energetically in many countries.

The big question is do they make skiers safer.

Langran says that while there is evidence to suggest that helmets will provide a moderate degree of protection for low speed impacts, there is no evidence for high speed collisions.

"As far as I'm aware there is no evidence that for high speed impacts -- you're talking about 30 mph plus impacts, which sounds a lot but that's the average speed of a good intermediate skier on the slopes -- there's no evidence that if you hit a tree at that kind of speed a helmet will protect you against a fatality."

Indeed, there is evidence that wearing a helmet can give some skiers a feeling of invincibility, which can make them ski faster and more recklessly.

So, what can skiers do to make themselves safer?

It's all about knowing the risks and making informed choices, according to Sean Langmuir, a trained ski instructor who has coached both the Canadian National Ski Team and the British National Ski Team.

"People need to be better informed but they need to seek out that information for themselves," said Langmuir who is also Training Manager for British Association of Snowsport Instructors (BASI).

"A lot of people go on ski holidays and they can't ski very well and they won't go for a lesson immediately. It can help so much to get all that basic information."

It is also important to have properly fitting equipment, according to Langmuir.

"It's not just a helmet, it can be the skis or the snowboard that you use can make a big difference to how you manage to control yourself. It's quite important to gain information from professionals before you go out about what equipment you will need."

Skiers can also refer to the the International Ski Federation (FIS) Rules of Conduct as a guide for safety on the slopes.

"The single most important piece of advice is to ski or snowboard within limits of your ability," Langran told CNN. "Don't go faster than you are able to and don't try slopes you shouldn't."

FIS Rules of Conduct

1. Respect for others  A skier or snowboarder must behave in such a way that does not endanger or prejudice others.

2. Control of speed and skiing or snowboarding  A skier or snowboarder must move in control -- adapt speed and manner of skiing or snowboarding to personal ability and to the prevailing conditions of terrain, snow and weather as well as to the density of traffic.

3. Choice of route  A skier or snowboarder coming from behind must choose a route in such a way to not endanger skiers or snowboarders ahead.

4. Overtaking  A skier or snowboarder may overtake another skier or snowboarder above or below and to the right or to the left provided enough space is available for the overtaken skier or snowboarder to make any voluntary or involuntary movement.

5. Entering, starting and moving upwards  A skier or snowboarder entering a marked run, starting again after stopping or moving upwards on the slopes must look up and down the slopes to ensure no one is put at risk.

6. Stopping on the piste  Unless absolutely necessary, a skier or snowboarder must avoid stopping on the piste in narrow places or where visibility is restricted. After a fall in such a place, a skier or snowboarder must move clear of the piste as soon as possible.

7. Climbing and descending on foot  A skier or snowboarder either climbing or descending on foot must keep to the side of the piste.

8. Respect for signs and markings  A skier or snowboarder must respect all signs and markings.

9. Assistance  At accidents, every skier or snowboarder is duty bound to assist.

10. Identification  Every skier or snowboarder and witness, whether a responsible party or not, must exchange names and addresses following an accident.

Additional reporting by Hilary Whiteman

text: LONDON

text: England

text: CNN

text: The

text: death

text: of

text: actress

text: Natasha

text: Richardson

text: who

text: sustained

text: a

text: fatal

text: head

text: injury

text: while

text: skiing

text: has

text: reignited

text: the

text: perennial

text: debate

text: around

text: the

text: safety

text: of

text: the

text: sport

text: Head

text: injuries

text: are

text: the

text: most

text: common

text: cause

text: of

text: death

text: among

text: skiers

text: The

text: year

text: old

text: died

text: Wednesday

text: two

text: days

text: after

text: falling

text: on

text: a

text: beginners

text: slope

text: while

text: having

text: a

text: private

text: lesson

text: at

text: Canada

text: 's

text: Mont

text: Tremblant

text: resort

text: While

text: full

text: details

text: of

text: the

text: circumstances

text: surrounding

text: Richardson

text: 's

text: death

text: are

text: not

text: yet

text: known

text: head

text: injuries

text: are

text: the

text: most

text: common

text: cause

text: of

text: fatalities

text: among

text: skiers

text: worldwide

text: A

text: typical

text: death

text: is

text: a

text: high

text: speed

text: collision

text: with

text: a

text: static

text: object

text: after

text: losing

text: control

text: a

text: tree

text: or

text: a

text: person

text: Dr

text: Mike

text: Langran

text: a

text: GP

text: who

text: works

text: in

text: Aviemore

text: Scotland

text: and

text: runs

text: Ski

text: injury.com

text: told

text: CNN

text: Most

text: ski

text: deaths

text: involve

text: multi

text: trauma

text: but

text: a

text: head

text: injury

text: is

text: by

text: far

text: the

text: most

text: common

text: reason

text: There

text: might

text: be

text: injuries

text: to

text: the

text: abdomen

text: or

text: the

text: chest

text: or

text: the

text: neck

text: but

text: there

text: nearly

text: always

text: is

text: a

text: head

text: trauma

text: as

text: well

text: However

text: Langran

text: along

text: with

text: many

text: other

text: industry

text: experts

text: maintains

text: that

text: skiing

text: is

text: a

text: relatively

text: safe

text: sport

text: I

text: do

text: n't

text: regard

text: skiing

text: and

text: snowboarding

text: as

text: a

text: dangerous

text: sport

text: he

text: said

text: It

text: 's

text: like

text: many

text: activities

text: in

text: life

text: there

text: are

text: people

text: who

text: do

text: silly

text: things

text: but

text: in

text: general

text: these

text: sports

text: are

text: safe

text: There

text: are

text: an

text: estimated

text: million

text: skiers

text: in

text: the

text: world

text: and

text: in

text: the

text: U.S.

text: one

text: of

text: the

text: few

text: countries

text: to

text: keep

text: reliable

text: data

text: on

text: skiers

text: and

text: ski

text: injuries

text: an

text: estimated

text: million

text: people

text: ski

text: Each

text: year

text: there

text: are

text: deaths

text: which

text: equates

text: to

text: about

text: deaths

text: per

text: million

text: skiers

text: While

text: children

text: and

text: beginners

text: are

text: most

text: at

text: risk

text: of

text: being

text: injured

text: while

text: skiing

text: it

text: 's

text: those

text: more

text: experienced

text: on

text: the

text: slopes

text: who

text: are

text: most

text: likely

text: to

text: be

text: involved

text: in

text: a

text: fatal

text: accident

text: When

text: you

text: look

text: at

text: fatalities

text: it

text: does

text: tend

text: to

text: be

text: younger

text: males

text: and

text: often

text: of

text: better

text: skiing

text: ability

text: who

text: are

text: maybe

text: pushing

text: limits

text: a

text: little

text: bit

text: harder

text: traveling

text: a

text: little

text: bit

text: faster

text: Langran

text: said

text: In

text: Austria

text: earlier

text: this

text: year

text: a

text: huge

text: debate

text: over

text: the

text: safety

text: of

text: skiing

text: was

text: sparked

text: by

text: a

text: high

text: profile

text: incident

text: on

text: the

text: slopes

text: which

text: involved

text: a

text: German

text: politician

text: Deiter

text: Althaus

text: minister

text: president

text: of

text: Thuringia

text: state

text: was

text: charged

text: with

text: manslaughter

text: after

text: colliding

text: with

text: another

text: skier

text: Beata

text: Christandl

text: a

text: year

text: old

text: Slovakian

text: mother

text: of

text: four

text: who

text: later

text: died

text: from

text: multiple

text: head

text: injuries

text: He

text: was

text: accused

text: by

text: Austrian

text: prosecutors

text: of

text: entering

text: onto

text: a

text: slope

text: against

text: the

text: direction

text: of

text: traffic

text: while

text: skiing

text: at

text: high

text: speed

text: Althaus

text: was

text: left

text: with

text: a

text: fractured

text: skull

text: and

text: has

text: no

text: recollection

text: of

text: the

text: accident

text: Althaus

text: accident

text: may

text: be

text: typical

text: of

text: the

text: kind

text: that

text: cause

text: deaths

text: in

text: skiers

text: but

text: The

text: Austria

text: Ski

text: Federation

text: says

text: Althaus

text: case

text: is

text: very

text: unusual

text: Each

text: year

text: an

text: estimated

text: million

text: people

text: ski

text: in

text: Austria

text: 's

text: resorts

text: and

text: there

text: are

text: between

text: and

text: deaths

text: during

text: this

text: time

text: according

text: to

text: Thomas

text: Woldrich

text: Head

text: of

text: Leisure

text: Skiing

text: at

text: the

text: federation

text: There

text: 's

text: a

text: minimal

text: risk

text: to

text: get

text: hurt

text: when

text: skiing

text: Woldrich

text: told

text: CNN

text: When

text: you

text: 're

text: skiing

text: approximately

text: days

text: a

text: year

text: the

text: risk

text: of

text: having

text: an

text: injury

text: is

text: one

text: in

text: years

text: Even

text: so

text: a

text: law

text: was

text: recently

text: passed

text: in

text: Austria

text: making

text: it

text: compulsory

text: for

text: children

text: to

text: wear

text: helmets

text: on

text: Austrian

text: ski

text: slopes

text: We

text: do

text: have

text: an

text: extraordinary

text: trend

text: towards

text: wearing

text: helmets

text: said

text: Woldrich

text: We

text: have

text: especially

text: among

text: children

text: almost

text: percent

text: of

text: skiers

text: wearing

text: helmets

text: on

text: Austrian

text: ski

text: slopes

text: Whether

text: or

text: not

text: skiers

text: should

text: be

text: forced

text: by

text: law

text: to

text: wear

text: helmets

text: is

text: a

text: debate

text: that

text: continues

text: energetically

text: in

text: many

text: countries

text: The

text: big

text: question

text: is

text: do

text: they

text: make

text: skiers

text: safer

text: Langran

text: says

text: that

text: while

text: there

text: is

text: evidence

text: to

text: suggest

text: that

text: helmets

text: will

text: provide

text: a

text: moderate

text: degree

text: of

text: protection

text: for

text: low

text: speed

text: impacts

text: there

text: is

text: no

text: evidence

text: for

text: high

text: speed

text: collisions

text: As

text: far

text: as

text: I

text: 'm

text: aware

text: there

text: is

text: no

text: evidence

text: that

text: for

text: high

text: speed

text: impacts

text: you

text: 're

text: talking

text: about

text: mph

text: plus

text: impacts

text: which

text: sounds

text: a

text: lot

text: but

text: that

text: 's

text: the

text: average

text: speed

text: of

text: a

text: good

text: intermediate

text: skier

text: on

text: the

text: slopes

text: there

text: 's

text: no

text: evidence

text: that

text: if

text: you

text: hit

text: a

text: tree

text: at

text: that

text: kind

text: of

text: speed

text: a

text: helmet

text: will

text: protect

text: you

text: against

text: a

text: fatality

text: Indeed

text: there

text: is

text: evidence

text: that

text: wearing

text: a

text: helmet

text: can

text: give

text: some

text: skiers

text: a

text: feeling

text: of

text: invincibility

text: which

text: can

text: make

text: them

text: ski

text: faster

text: and

text: more

text: recklessly

text: So

text: what

text: can

text: skiers

text: do

text: to

text: make

text: themselves

text: safer

text: It

text: 's

text: all

text: about

text: knowing

text: the

text: risks

text: and

text: making

text: informed

text: choices

text: according

text: to

text: Sean

text: Langmuir

text: a

text: trained

text: ski

text: instructor

text: who

text: has

text: coached

text: both

text: the

text: Canadian

text: National

text: Ski

text: Team

text: and

text: the

text: British

text: National

text: Ski

text: Team

text: People

text: need

text: to

text: be

text: better

text: informed

text: but

text: they

text: need

text: to

text: seek

text: out

text: that

text: information

text: for

text: themselves

text: said

text: Langmuir

text: who

text: is

text: also

text: Training

text: Manager

text: for

text: British

text: Association

text: of

text: Snowsport

text: Instructors

text: BASI

text: A

text: lot

text: of

text: people

text: go

text: on

text: ski

text: holidays

text: and

text: they

text: ca

text: n't

text: ski

text: very

text: well

text: and

text: they

text: wo

text: n't

text: go

text: for

text: a

text: lesson

text: immediately

text: It

text: can

text: help

text: so

text: much

text: to

text: get

text: all

text: that

text: basic

text: information

text: It

text: is

text: also

text: important

text: to

text: have

text: properly

text: fitting

text: equipment

text: according

text: to

text: Langmuir

text: It

text: 's

text: not

text: just

text: a

text: helmet

text: it

text: can

text: be

text: the

text: skis

text: or

text: the

text: snowboard

text: that

text: you

text: use

text: can

text: make

text: a

text: big

text: difference

text: to

text: how

text: you

text: manage

text: to

text: control

text: yourself

text: It

text: 's

text: quite

text: important

text: to

text: gain

text: information

text: from

text: professionals

text: before

text: you

text: go

text: out

text: about

text: what

text: equipment

text: you

text: will

text: need

text: Skiers

text: can

text: also

text: refer

text: to

text: the

text: the

text: International

text: Ski

text: Federation

text: FIS

text: Rules

text: of

text: Conduct

text: as

text: a

text: guide

text: for

text: safety

text: on

text: the

text: slopes

text: The

text: single

text: most

text: important

text: piece

text: of

text: advice

text: is

text: to

text: ski

text: or

text: snowboard

text: within

text: limits

text: of

text: your

text: ability

text: Langran

text: told

text: CNN

text: Do

text: n't

text: go

text: faster

text: than

text: you

text: are

text: able

text: to

text: and

text: do

text: n't

text: try

text: slopes

text: you

text: should

text: n't

text: FIS

text: Rules

text: of

text: Conduct

text: Respect

text: for

text: others

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: must

text: behave

text: in

text: such

text: a

text: way

text: that

text: does

text: not

text: endanger

text: or

text: prejudice

text: others

text: Control

text: of

text: speed

text: and

text: skiing

text: or

text: snowboarding

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: must

text: move

text: in

text: control

text: adapt

text: speed

text: and

text: manner

text: of

text: skiing

text: or

text: snowboarding

text: to

text: personal

text: ability

text: and

text: to

text: the

text: prevailing

text: conditions

text: of

text: terrain

text: snow

text: and

text: weather

text: as

text: well

text: as

text: to

text: the

text: density

text: of

text: traffic

text: Choice

text: of

text: route

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: coming

text: from

text: behind

text: must

text: choose

text: a

text: route

text: in

text: such

text: a

text: way

text: to

text: not

text: endanger

text: skiers

text: or

text: snowboarders

text: ahead

text: Overtaking

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: may

text: overtake

text: another

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: above

text: or

text: below

text: and

text: to

text: the

text: right

text: or

text: to

text: the

text: left

text: provided

text: enough

text: space

text: is

text: available

text: for

text: the

text: overtaken

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: to

text: make

text: any

text: voluntary

text: or

text: involuntary

text: movement

text: Entering

text: starting

text: and

text: moving

text: upwards

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: entering

text: a

text: marked

text: run

text: starting

text: again

text: after

text: stopping

text: or

text: moving

text: upwards

text: on

text: the

text: slopes

text: must

text: look

text: up

text: and

text: down

text: the

text: slopes

text: to

text: ensure

text: no

text: one

text: is

text: put

text: at

text: risk

text: Stopping

text: on

text: the

text: piste

text: Unless

text: absolutely

text: necessary

text: a

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: must

text: avoid

text: stopping

text: on

text: the

text: piste

text: in

text: narrow

text: places

text: or

text: where

text: visibility

text: is

text: restricted

text: After

text: a

text: fall

text: in

text: such

text: a

text: place

text: a

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: must

text: move

text: clear

text: of

text: the

text: piste

text: as

text: soon

text: as

text: possible

text: Climbing

text: and

text: descending

text: on

text: foot

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: either

text: climbing

text: or

text: descending

text: on

text: foot

text: must

text: keep

text: to

text: the

text: side

text: of

text: the

text: piste

text: Respect

text: for

text: signs

text: and

text: markings

text: A

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: must

text: respect

text: all

text: signs

text: and

text: markings

text: Assistance

text: At

text: accidents

text: every

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: is

text: duty

text: bound

text: to

text: assist

text: Identification

text: Every

text: skier

text: or

text: snowboarder

text: and

text: witness

text: whether

text: a

text: responsible

text: party

text: or

text: not

text: must

text: exchange

text: names

text: and

text: addresses

text: following

text: an

text: accident

text: Additional

text: reporting

text: by

text: Hilary

text: Whiteman

question: What are the most common causes of death?

answer: Head injuries

text: Head injuries

question: Are head injuries common causes of death in skiing?

answer: are the most

text: are the most

question: Who died on the slopes?

answer: Natasha Richardson,

text: Natasha Richardson,

question: What is the most common cause of death among skiers?

answer: Head injuries

text: Head injuries

question: What sparked the skiing safety debate?

answer: The death of actress Natasha Richardson,

text: The death of actress Natasha Richardson,

question: What will keep skiers safe?

answer: basic information."

text: basic information."

question: Is skiing a safe sport?

answer: is a relatively

text: is a relatively


text:
(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama cautioned supporters Thursday against becoming complacent during the final days leading up to the election, noting he lost the New Hampshire primary despite a lead in the polls.

After debating Sen. John McCain, Sen. Barack Obama says there's still plenty of campaigning to be done.

"For those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky and think this is all set, I just [have] two words for you: New Hampshire," the Democratic presidential nominee said during a fundraiser breakfast in New York. "You know I've been in these positions before where we were favored and the press starts getting carried away and we end up getting spanked. And so that's another good lesson that Hillary Clinton taught me."

About 10 hours after debating Sen. John McCain, Obama urged top campaign contributors at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan to not be overconfident, despite leading in a number of national polls.

A CNN Poll of Polls calculated Wednesday showed him leading 51 percent to 42 percent.

"We've got 19 days," Obama said. "We're going to have to work absolutely as hard as we've ever worked in our lives in order to just to get to the start of what is going to be a very difficult and very challenging but ultimately a very fulfilling four years where we can get this country back on track."  Watch more of Obama's comments Â»

Hours later, Obama spoke to a crowd in Londonderry, New Hampshire, lashing out at McCain's debate tactics.

"Well, New Hampshire, last night we had a debate. I think you saw a bit of the McCain attack strategy in action," he said. "But here's what Sen. McCain doesn't seem to understand: With the economy in turmoil and the American dream at risk, the American people don't want to hear politicians attack each other -- you want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing middle-class families each and every day."

Obama urged McCain to "debate our genuine differences on the issues that matter" rather than making the Arizona senator's campaign "all about me."

"The truth is, this campaign is about you. It's about your jobs. It's about your health care. It's about your retirement. It's about your children's future," he added.  Watch Obama discuss the economy Â»

McCain, speaking at an event in Downington, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, touched on his debate performance.

"We had a good debate last night. It was a lot of fun. ... I thought I did pretty well," he said to loud cheers.

McCain reiterated his position for taking America forward as economists say a recession is all but inevitable.

"We can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change ... I'll take us in a new direction," he said. "Our troubles are getting worse, our enemies watch and we have to fight, and that's what I'll do for you ... I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it."

McCain also urged voters there to help him win Pennsylvania -- a state where a CNN Poll of Polls shows Obama leading his counterpart 50 percent to 40 percent.

"I need your vote. We will carry Pennsylvania. ... We need your help. ... It's a close race, my friends," he said.

McCain also responded to Obama's assertions that his crowds are unruly and use dangerous language to describe the Illinois senator.

"I cannot tell you about how proud I am of you," he said. It was a line that he used in Wednesday night's debate. iReport.com: Obama survived knock-out punch

Obama and McCain are scheduled to speak Thursday night at the Alfred E. Smith dinner, a political tradition that dates back to 1945. It honors the first Catholic ever nominated for president and was begun by Francis J. Spellman, the archbishop of New York's Roman Catholic Archdiocese at the time.

The Republican presidential nominee will also appear on the "Late Show with David Letterman," after canceling an earlier appearance, which left the host fuming.

Also Thursday, McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, sounded a note of triumph about Wednesday's presidential debate while campaigning in Bangor, Maine.

"They [Obama and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden] look to the past because they'd rather run against the current administration, it sounds like, and that strategy though, thankfully, it's really starting to wear very very thin," Palin said. "As John McCain reminded Barack Obama last night, if he wanted to run against George Bush, he had his chance four years ago. This year, the name on the ballot is John McCain -- and America knows that John McCain is his own man, he is the maverick."

Though Maine has trended Democratic for nearly two decades, the McCain campaign is making a push in the state's rural 2nd Congressional District, which is allotted one electoral vote independent of how the state votes at large. Despite the McCain camp's efforts, the Republican National Committee has stopped running advertisements in the state.

Palin later traveled to Elon, North Carolina. At an afternoon rally at Elon University, near Greensboro, Palin pressed the audience to stand firm against accusations of negative campaigning, and told them to pay "close attention" to Obama's record.

"It's not mean-spirited and it's not negative campaigning when you call someone out on their record," she said. "So don't let anyone, don't let them make you believe that you're being negative or mean-spirited or unpatriotic or unfair when you are asking about somebody's record, OK?"

After the rally, Palin continued on to a fundraiser at a home in Greensboro.

Biden is traveling to Los Angeles, California, taping appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and the "Ellen Degeneres Show."

CNN political producer Ed Hornick contributed to this report.

text: CNN

text: Sen.

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: cautioned

text: supporters

text: Thursday

text: against

text: becoming

text: complacent

text: during

text: the

text: final

text: days

text: leading

text: up

text: to

text: the

text: election

text: noting

text: he

text: lost

text: the

text: New

text: Hampshire

text: primary

text: despite

text: a

text: lead

text: in

text: the

text: polls

text: After

text: debating

text: Sen.

text: John

text: McCain

text: Sen.

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: says

text: there

text: 's

text: still

text: plenty

text: of

text: campaigning

text: to

text: be

text: done

text: For

text: those

text: of

text: you

text: who

text: are

text: feeling

text: giddy

text: or

text: cocky

text: and

text: think

text: this

text: is

text: all

text: set

text: I

text: just

text: have

text: two

text: words

text: for

text: you

text: New

text: Hampshire

text: the

text: Democratic

text: presidential

text: nominee

text: said

text: during

text: a

text: fundraiser

text: breakfast

text: in

text: New

text: York

text: You

text: know

text: I

text: 've

text: been

text: in

text: these

text: positions

text: before

text: where

text: we

text: were

text: favored

text: and

text: the

text: press

text: starts

text: getting

text: carried

text: away

text: and

text: we

text: end

text: up

text: getting

text: spanked

text: And

text: so

text: that

text: 's

text: another

text: good

text: lesson

text: that

text: Hillary

text: Clinton

text: taught

text: me

text: About

text: hours

text: after

text: debating

text: Sen.

text: John

text: McCain

text: Obama

text: urged

text: top

text: campaign

text: contributors

text: at

text: the

text: Metropolitan

text: Club

text: in

text: Manhattan

text: to

text: not

text: be

text: overconfident

text: despite

text: leading

text: in

text: a

text: number

text: of

text: national

text: polls

text: A

text: CNN

text: Poll

text: of

text: Polls

text: calculated

text: Wednesday

text: showed

text: him

text: leading

text: percent

text: to

text: percent

text: We

text: 've

text: got

text: days

text: Obama

text: said

text: We

text: 're

text: going

text: to

text: have

text: to

text: work

text: absolutely

text: as

text: hard

text: as

text: we

text: 've

text: ever

text: worked

text: in

text: our

text: lives

text: in

text: order

text: to

text: just

text: to

text: get

text: to

text: the

text: start

text: of

text: what

text: is

text: going

text: to

text: be

text: a

text: very

text: difficult

text: and

text: very

text: challenging

text: but

text: ultimately

text: a

text: very

text: fulfilling

text: four

text: years

text: where

text: we

text: can

text: get

text: this

text: country

text: back

text: on

text: track

text: Watch

text: more

text: of

text: Obama

text: 's

text: comments

text: Â

text: Hours

text: later

text: Obama

text: spoke

text: to

text: a

text: crowd

text: in

text: Londonderry

text: New

text: Hampshire

text: lashing

text: out

text: at

text: McCain

text: 's

text: debate

text: tactics

text: Well

text: New

text: Hampshire

text: last

text: night

text: we

text: had

text: a

text: debate

text: I

text: think

text: you

text: saw

text: a

text: bit

text: of

text: the

text: McCain

text: attack

text: strategy

text: in

text: action

text: he

text: said

text: But

text: here

text: 's

text: what

text: Sen.

text: McCain

text: does

text: n't

text: seem

text: to

text: understand

text: With

text: the

text: economy

text: in

text: turmoil

text: and

text: the

text: American

text: dream

text: at

text: risk

text: the

text: American

text: people

text: do

text: n't

text: want

text: to

text: hear

text: politicians

text: attack

text: each

text: other

text: you

text: want

text: to

text: hear

text: about

text: how

text: we

text: 're

text: going

text: to

text: attack

text: the

text: challenges

text: facing

text: middle

text: class

text: families

text: each

text: and

text: every

text: day

text: Obama

text: urged

text: McCain

text: to

text: debate

text: our

text: genuine

text: differences

text: on

text: the

text: issues

text: that

text: matter

text: rather

text: than

text: making

text: the

text: Arizona

text: senator

text: 's

text: campaign

text: all

text: about

text: me

text: The

text: truth

text: is

text: this

text: campaign

text: is

text: about

text: you

text: It

text: 's

text: about

text: your

text: jobs

text: It

text: 's

text: about

text: your

text: health

text: care

text: It

text: 's

text: about

text: your

text: retirement

text: It

text: 's

text: about

text: your

text: children

text: 's

text: future

text: he

text: added

text: Watch

text: Obama

text: discuss

text: the

text: economy

text: Â

text: McCain

text: speaking

text: at

text: an

text: event

text: in

text: Downington

text: Pennsylvania

text: on

text: Thursday

text: touched

text: on

text: his

text: debate

text: performance

text: We

text: had

text: a

text: good

text: debate

text: last

text: night

text: It

text: was

text: a

text: lot

text: of

text: fun

text: I

text: thought

text: I

text: did

text: pretty

text: well

text: he

text: said

text: to

text: loud

text: cheers

text: McCain

text: reiterated

text: his

text: position

text: for

text: taking

text: America

text: forward

text: as

text: economists

text: say

text: a

text: recession

text: is

text: all

text: but

text: inevitable

text: We

text: ca

text: n't

text: spend

text: the

text: next

text: four

text: years

text: waiting

text: for

text: our

text: luck

text: to

text: change

text: I

text: 'll

text: take

text: us

text: in

text: a

text: new

text: direction

text: he

text: said

text: Our

text: troubles

text: are

text: getting

text: worse

text: our

text: enemies

text: watch

text: and

text: we

text: have

text: to

text: fight

text: and

text: that

text: 's

text: what

text: I

text: 'll

text: do

text: for

text: you

text: I

text: 'm

text: not

text: afraid

text: of

text: the

text: fight

text: I

text: 'm

text: ready

text: for

text: it

text: McCain

text: also

text: urged

text: voters

text: there

text: to

text: help

text: him

text: win

text: Pennsylvania

text: a

text: state

text: where

text: a

text: CNN

text: Poll

text: of

text: Polls

text: shows

text: Obama

text: leading

text: his

text: counterpart

text: percent

text: to

text: percent

text: I

text: need

text: your

text: vote

text: We

text: will

text: carry

text: Pennsylvania

text: We

text: need

text: your

text: help

text: It

text: 's

text: a

text: close

text: race

text: my

text: friends

text: he

text: said

text: McCain

text: also

text: responded

text: to

text: Obama

text: 's

text: assertions

text: that

text: his

text: crowds

text: are

text: unruly

text: and

text: use

text: dangerous

text: language

text: to

text: describe

text: the

text: Illinois

text: senator

text: I

text: can

text: not

text: tell

text: you

text: about

text: how

text: proud

text: I

text: am

text: of

text: you

text: he

text: said

text: It

text: was

text: a

text: line

text: that

text: he

text: used

text: in

text: Wednesday

text: night

text: 's

text: debate

text: iReport.com

text: Obama

text: survived

text: knock

text: out

text: punch

text: Obama

text: and

text: McCain

text: are

text: scheduled

text: to

text: speak

text: Thursday

text: night

text: at

text: the

text: Alfred

text: E.

text: Smith

text: dinner

text: a

text: political

text: tradition

text: that

text: dates

text: back

text: to

text: It

text: honors

text: the

text: first

text: Catholic

text: ever

text: nominated

text: for

text: president

text: and

text: was

text: begun

text: by

text: Francis

text: J.

text: Spellman

text: the

text: archbishop

text: of

text: New

text: York

text: 's

text: Roman

text: Catholic

text: Archdiocese

text: at

text: the

text: time

text: The

text: Republican

text: presidential

text: nominee

text: will

text: also

text: appear

text: on

text: the

text: Late

text: Show

text: with

text: David

text: Letterman

text: after

text: canceling

text: an

text: earlier

text: appearance

text: which

text: left

text: the

text: host

text: fuming

text: Also

text: Thursday

text: McCain

text: 's

text: running

text: mate

text: Alaska

text: Gov.

text: Sarah

text: Palin

text: sounded

text: a

text: note

text: of

text: triumph

text: about

text: Wednesday

text: 's

text: presidential

text: debate

text: while

text: campaigning

text: in

text: Bangor

text: Maine

text: They

text: Obama

text: and

text: Democratic

text: vice

text: presidential

text: nominee

text: Joe

text: Biden

text: look

text: to

text: the

text: past

text: because

text: they

text: 'd

text: rather

text: run

text: against

text: the

text: current

text: administration

text: it

text: sounds

text: like

text: and

text: that

text: strategy

text: though

text: thankfully

text: it

text: 's

text: really

text: starting

text: to

text: wear

text: very

text: very

text: thin

text: Palin

text: said

text: As

text: John

text: McCain

text: reminded

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: last

text: night

text: if

text: he

text: wanted

text: to

text: run

text: against

text: George

text: Bush

text: he

text: had

text: his

text: chance

text: four

text: years

text: ago

text: This

text: year

text: the

text: name

text: on

text: the

text: ballot

text: is

text: John

text: McCain

text: and

text: America

text: knows

text: that

text: John

text: McCain

text: is

text: his

text: own

text: man

text: he

text: is

text: the

text: maverick

text: Though

text: Maine

text: has

text: trended

text: Democratic

text: for

text: nearly

text: two

text: decades

text: the

text: McCain

text: campaign

text: is

text: making

text: a

text: push

text: in

text: the

text: state

text: 's

text: rural

text: Congressional

text: District

text: which

text: is

text: allotted

text: one

text: electoral

text: vote

text: independent

text: of

text: how

text: the

text: state

text: votes

text: at

text: large

text: Despite

text: the

text: McCain

text: camp

text: 's

text: efforts

text: the

text: Republican

text: National

text: Committee

text: has

text: stopped

text: running

text: advertisements

text: in

text: the

text: state

text: Palin

text: later

text: traveled

text: to

text: Elon

text: North

text: Carolina

text: At

text: an

text: afternoon

text: rally

text: at

text: Elon

text: University

text: near

text: Greensboro

text: Palin

text: pressed

text: the

text: audience

text: to

text: stand

text: firm

text: against

text: accusations

text: of

text: negative

text: campaigning

text: and

text: told

text: them

text: to

text: pay

text: close

text: attention

text: to

text: Obama

text: 's

text: record

text: It

text: 's

text: not

text: mean

text: spirited

text: and

text: it

text: 's

text: not

text: negative

text: campaigning

text: when

text: you

text: call

text: someone

text: out

text: on

text: their

text: record

text: she

text: said

text: So

text: do

text: n't

text: let

text: anyone

text: do

text: n't

text: let

text: them

text: make

text: you

text: believe

text: that

text: you

text: 're

text: being

text: negative

text: or

text: mean

text: spirited

text: or

text: unpatriotic

text: or

text: unfair

text: when

text: you

text: are

text: asking

text: about

text: somebody

text: 's

text: record

text: OK

text: After

text: the

text: rally

text: Palin

text: continued

text: on

text: to

text: a

text: fundraiser

text: at

text: a

text: home

text: in

text: Greensboro

text: Biden

text: is

text: traveling

text: to

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: California

text: taping

text: appearances

text: on

text: The

text: Tonight

text: Show

text: with

text: Jay

text: Leno

text: and

text: the

text: Ellen

text: Degeneres

text: Show

text: CNN

text: political

text: producer

text: Ed

text: Hornick

text: contributed

text: to

text: this

text: report

question: What did Palin say about Obama in North Carolina?

answer: o pay "close attention" t

text: o pay "close attention" t

question: Did Obama win in New Hampshire

answer: he lost the

text: he lost the

question: What did McCain say?

answer: "We had a good debate last night. It was a lot of fun

text: "We had a good debate last night. It was a lot of fun

question: What did Palin say in North Carolina?

answer: n pressed the audience to stand firm against accusations of negative campaigning, and told them to pay "close attention" to Obama's record

text: n pressed the audience to stand firm against accusations of negative campaigning, and told them to pay "close attention" to Obama's record

question: Where is Sara Palin

answer: n Bangor, Maine

text: n Bangor, Maine

question: Did McCain say he did well in the debate

answer: d pretty well,

text: d pretty well,

question: What did Obama say about John McCain to the crowd in New Hampshire?

answer: doesn't seem

text: doesn't seem

question: what mccain has become?

answer: s the maverick.

text: s the maverick.

question: what palin says?

answer: , it's really starting to wear very very thin,

text: , it's really starting to wear very very thin,

question: what mccain says?

answer: "We can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to chang

text: "We can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to chang


text:
(CNN) -- Eighteen-year-old Juan Gonzalez was dying alone in a hospital, thousand of miles from his Guatemalan home. He was separated from the family he had traveled to the United States to help support.

Juan Gonzalez was earning $250 a week as a dishwasher when his heart trouble began.

Diagnosed with a chronically weak heart, without much money and lacking resources, Gonzalez seemed bound to die without ever seeing his parents again.

That changed after CNN aired a story about his plight.

Thanks to the help of a compassionate hospital staff, a U.S. congressman and a concerned community, Gonzalez has been reunited with his parents for what may be the last time.  Watch Gonzalez make his tearful plea Â»

Like many undocumented workers, Gonzalez came to the United States last fall to provide some financial help for his family, who had fallen on hard times back in Guatemala. He took a job as a dishwasher in Rome, Georgia, making about $250 a week.

Then, in November, his heart gave out. Gonzalez has been in and out of the hospital for seven months.

Doctors diagnosed Gonzalez with dilated cardiomyopathy, which means his heart muscle is very weak.

Dr. Frank Stegall, Gonzalez's cardiologist, said the Guatemalan teen's heart pumps only 20 percent of the blood a healthy heart should.

But as Gonzalez's heart failed him, he opened up the hearts of others.

Stegall and the staff at Rome's Redmond Regional Medical Center were inspired by Gonzalez's attitude and courage and set out to reunite the dying teen with his parents. They contacted U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Georgia.

Gingrey got the State Department involved in expediting visas for Pascual and Maria Gonzalez, Juan's parents.

Delta Air Lines donated tickets to Atlanta, and the Gonzalezes boarded a plane for the first time, bound for Georgia to see their dying son.  Watch the family reunion Â»

Gonzalez has vowed to fight to the end, but doctors say his prognosis isn't good. With no money, Stegall says, it will be tough for the teen to get a heart transplant.

Now, after traveling thousands of miles for more than two weeks to make a better life for his family and himself, Gonzalez faces his final fight, but it's one he will face with his family, thanks to the kindness of others.

text: CNN

text: Eighteen

text: year

text: old

text: Juan

text: Gonzalez

text: was

text: dying

text: alone

text: in

text: a

text: hospital

text: thousand

text: of

text: miles

text: from

text: his

text: Guatemalan

text: home

text: He

text: was

text: separated

text: from

text: the

text: family

text: he

text: had

text: traveled

text: to

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: to

text: help

text: support

text: Juan

text: Gonzalez

text: was

text: earning

text: a

text: week

text: as

text: a

text: dishwasher

text: when

text: his

text: heart

text: trouble

text: began

text: Diagnosed

text: with

text: a

text: chronically

text: weak

text: heart

text: without

text: much

text: money

text: and

text: lacking

text: resources

text: Gonzalez

text: seemed

text: bound

text: to

text: die

text: without

text: ever

text: seeing

text: his

text: parents

text: again

text: That

text: changed

text: after

text: CNN

text: aired

text: a

text: story

text: about

text: his

text: plight

text: Thanks

text: to

text: the

text: help

text: of

text: a

text: compassionate

text: hospital

text: staff

text: a

text: U.S.

text: congressman

text: and

text: a

text: concerned

text: community

text: Gonzalez

text: has

text: been

text: reunited

text: with

text: his

text: parents

text: for

text: what

text: may

text: be

text: the

text: last

text: time

text: Watch

text: Gonzalez

text: make

text: his

text: tearful

text: plea

text: Â

text: Like

text: many

text: undocumented

text: workers

text: Gonzalez

text: came

text: to

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: last

text: fall

text: to

text: provide

text: some

text: financial

text: help

text: for

text: his

text: family

text: who

text: had

text: fallen

text: on

text: hard

text: times

text: back

text: in

text: Guatemala

text: He

text: took

text: a

text: job

text: as

text: a

text: dishwasher

text: in

text: Rome

text: Georgia

text: making

text: about

text: a

text: week

text: Then

text: in

text: November

text: his

text: heart

text: gave

text: out

text: Gonzalez

text: has

text: been

text: in

text: and

text: out

text: of

text: the

text: hospital

text: for

text: seven

text: months

text: Doctors

text: diagnosed

text: Gonzalez

text: with

text: dilated

text: cardiomyopathy

text: which

text: means

text: his

text: heart

text: muscle

text: is

text: very

text: weak

text: Dr.

text: Frank

text: Stegall

text: Gonzalez

text: 's

text: cardiologist

text: said

text: the

text: Guatemalan

text: teen

text: 's

text: heart

text: pumps

text: only

text: percent

text: of

text: the

text: blood

text: a

text: healthy

text: heart

text: should

text: But

text: as

text: Gonzalez

text: 's

text: heart

text: failed

text: him

text: he

text: opened

text: up

text: the

text: hearts

text: of

text: others

text: Stegall

text: and

text: the

text: staff

text: at

text: Rome

text: 's

text: Redmond

text: Regional

text: Medical

text: Center

text: were

text: inspired

text: by

text: Gonzalez

text: 's

text: attitude

text: and

text: courage

text: and

text: set

text: out

text: to

text: reunite

text: the

text: dying

text: teen

text: with

text: his

text: parents

text: They

text: contacted

text: U.S.

text: Rep.

text: Phil

text: Gingrey

text: R

text: Georgia

text: Gingrey

text: got

text: the

text: State

text: Department

text: involved

text: in

text: expediting

text: visas

text: for

text: Pascual

text: and

text: Maria

text: Gonzalez

text: Juan

text: 's

text: parents

text: Delta

text: Air

text: Lines

text: donated

text: tickets

text: to

text: Atlanta

text: and

text: the

text: Gonzalezes

text: boarded

text: a

text: plane

text: for

text: the

text: first

text: time

text: bound

text: for

text: Georgia

text: to

text: see

text: their

text: dying

text: son

text: Watch

text: the

text: family

text: reunion

text: Â

text: Gonzalez

text: has

text: vowed

text: to

text: fight

text: to

text: the

text: end

text: but

text: doctors

text: say

text: his

text: prognosis

text: is

text: n't

text: good

text: With

text: no

text: money

text: Stegall

text: says

text: it

text: will

text: be

text: tough

text: for

text: the

text: teen

text: to

text: get

text: a

text: heart

text: transplant

text: Now

text: after

text: traveling

text: thousands

text: of

text: miles

text: for

text: more

text: than

text: two

text: weeks

text: to

text: make

text: a

text: better

text: life

text: for

text: his

text: family

text: and

text: himself

text: Gonzalez

text: faces

text: his

text: final

text: fight

text: but

text: it

text: 's

text: one

text: he

text: will

text: face

text: with

text: his

text: family

text: thanks

text: to

text: the

text: kindness

text: of

text: others

question: Which reason did they go to Georgia?

answer: see their dying son.

text: see their dying son.

question: Who got Visas?

answer: Pascual and Maria Gonzalez,

text: Pascual and Maria Gonzalez,

question: Undocumented immigrant from where?

answer: Guatemala.

text: Guatemala.

question: Where was the undocumented immigrant originally from?

answer: Guatemala.

text: Guatemala.

question: Who went to Georgia?

answer: Juan Gonzalez

text: Juan Gonzalez


text:
London, England (CNN) -- British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced a public inquiry Wednesday into allegations that Iraqis were killed and abused after a firefight more than five years ago in the southern part of the country.

The allegations center around the aftermath of a fight in May 2004 at the so-called Danny Boy checkpoint in Maysan Province.

Former detainees and the family of a slain Iraqi contend at least 20 people were killed and others were abused at Camp Abu Naji after a fight between British soldiers and Iraqi insurgents.

That claim has been denied by the UK Ministry of Defence -- which says the 20 people died in battle and people detained were not mistreated.

The probe is called the Al Sweady inquiry -- named after the family of the dead Iraqi. Thayne Forbes -- who retired from the High Court Bench last year -- will chair the inquiry into allegations.

The inquiry will look into allegations of "unlawful killings" and the "ill-treatment of five Iraqi nationals detained at Camp Abu Naji." Even though the probe will focus on five detainees, attorneys claim nine people were detained and abused.

The defense ministry disputes those allegations.

"We have found no credible evidence that those detained, as a result of the attack on British troops and the prolonged firefight at Danny Boy checkpoint, were mistreated," the defense ministry said in a statement.

The release of a photo published in British media and obtained by CNN about the incident shows an armed soldier standing near four people face down on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs and their faces covered.

Attorneys for the men say they were beaten and evidence shows a breach of the Geneva Conventions prohibiting humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners. But, the defence ministry disputes that.

"It is important to remember that our first priority at the end of such attacks is to protect our personnel from further threats," the ministry said.

CNN's Atika Shubert and Per Nyberg contributed to this report.

text: London

text: England

text: CNN

text: British

text: Defence

text: Secretary

text: Bob

text: Ainsworth

text: announced

text: a

text: public

text: inquiry

text: Wednesday

text: into

text: allegations

text: that

text: Iraqis

text: were

text: killed

text: and

text: abused

text: after

text: a

text: firefight

text: more

text: than

text: five

text: years

text: ago

text: in

text: the

text: southern

text: part

text: of

text: the

text: country

text: The

text: allegations

text: center

text: around

text: the

text: aftermath

text: of

text: a

text: fight

text: in

text: May

text: at

text: the

text: so

text: called

text: Danny

text: Boy

text: checkpoint

text: in

text: Maysan

text: Province

text: Former

text: detainees

text: and

text: the

text: family

text: of

text: a

text: slain

text: Iraqi

text: contend

text: at

text: least

text: people

text: were

text: killed

text: and

text: others

text: were

text: abused

text: at

text: Camp

text: Abu

text: Naji

text: after

text: a

text: fight

text: between

text: British

text: soldiers

text: and

text: Iraqi

text: insurgents

text: That

text: claim

text: has

text: been

text: denied

text: by

text: the

text: UK

text: Ministry

text: of

text: Defence

text: which

text: says

text: the

text: people

text: died

text: in

text: battle

text: and

text: people

text: detained

text: were

text: not

text: mistreated

text: The

text: probe

text: is

text: called

text: the

text: Al

text: Sweady

text: inquiry

text: named

text: after

text: the

text: family

text: of

text: the

text: dead

text: Iraqi

text: Thayne

text: Forbes

text: who

text: retired

text: from

text: the

text: High

text: Court

text: Bench

text: last

text: year

text: will

text: chair

text: the

text: inquiry

text: into

text: allegations

text: The

text: inquiry

text: will

text: look

text: into

text: allegations

text: of

text: unlawful

text: killings

text: and

text: the

text: ill

text: treatment

text: of

text: five

text: Iraqi

text: nationals

text: detained

text: at

text: Camp

text: Abu

text: Naji

text: Even

text: though

text: the

text: probe

text: will

text: focus

text: on

text: five

text: detainees

text: attorneys

text: claim

text: nine

text: people

text: were

text: detained

text: and

text: abused

text: The

text: defense

text: ministry

text: disputes

text: those

text: allegations

text: We

text: have

text: found

text: no

text: credible

text: evidence

text: that

text: those

text: detained

text: as

text: a

text: result

text: of

text: the

text: attack

text: on

text: British

text: troops

text: and

text: the

text: prolonged

text: firefight

text: at

text: Danny

text: Boy

text: checkpoint

text: were

text: mistreated

text: the

text: defense

text: ministry

text: said

text: in

text: a

text: statement

text: The

text: release

text: of

text: a

text: photo

text: published

text: in

text: British

text: media

text: and

text: obtained

text: by

text: CNN

text: about

text: the

text: incident

text: shows

text: an

text: armed

text: soldier

text: standing

text: near

text: four

text: people

text: face

text: down

text: on

text: the

text: ground

text: with

text: their

text: hands

text: bound

text: behind

text: their

text: backs

text: and

text: their

text: faces

text: covered

text: Attorneys

text: for

text: the

text: men

text: say

text: they

text: were

text: beaten

text: and

text: evidence

text: shows

text: a

text: breach

text: of

text: the

text: Geneva

text: Conventions

text: prohibiting

text: humiliating

text: and

text: degrading

text: treatment

text: of

text: prisoners

text: But

text: the

text: defence

text: ministry

text: disputes

text: that

text: It

text: is

text: important

text: to

text: remember

text: that

text: our

text: first

text: priority

text: at

text: the

text: end

text: of

text: such

text: attacks

text: is

text: to

text: protect

text: our

text: personnel

text: from

text: further

text: threats

text: the

text: ministry

text: said

text: CNN

text: 's

text: Atika

text: Shubert

text: and

text: Per

text: Nyberg

text: contributed

text: to

text: this

text: report

question: who hold public inquiry

answer: British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth

text: British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth

question: how many abused

answer: nine

text: nine

question: who holds public inquiry

answer: British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth

text: British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth

question: Allegations center around aftermath of firefight at what checkpoint?

answer: Danny Boy

text: Danny Boy

question: UK to hold public inquiry into what?

answer: allegations that Iraqis were killed and abused after a firefight more than five years ago in the southern part of the country.

text: allegations that Iraqis were killed and abused after a firefight more than five years ago in the southern part of the country.

question: how many killed

answer: 20