Leah Wells and two girlfriends decided to ditch the gym during an office lunch break and do some power-shopping instead. The three young women, all in their 20s and all black, ended up wrongly detained for shoplifting. Their offense, as Wells sees it, was being black in America. It's a common refrain from black people in the U.S., says CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
Hurricane Dolly was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane today after it made landfall on South Padre Island, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said. But Dolly's sustained winds were still about 95 miles an hour. The storm is expected to produce from 8 to 12 inches of rain, with up to 20 inches in isolated spots, and widespread flooding is likely.
Jurors convicted the art teacher of forcing a boy to have sex with him repeatedly in a classroom supply closet. A judge sentenced him to 43 years. But Aaron Mohanlal has yet to spend a day in prison, and he lives 15 miles from his victim. "The idea of that monster being that close to my family again is outrageous," the boy's father told CNN for an exclusive report.
A House panel weighed overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday, the first time Congress has considered the rule since it was implemented 15 years ago.
Two people who helped rescue 15 hostages from Colombian rebels posed as journalists from a real Colombian television news organization, Colombia's defense minister said Wednesday.
The House voted 272-152 to pass sweeping legislation that will offer up to $300 billion in aid to troubled homeowners and throw government support behind mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The nearly 700-page bill will now go to the Senate, CNNMoney.com reports. Earlier in the day, President Bush withdrew a longstanding veto threat.
