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Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
U.S. to 'rain mice' on tree snakes
Labels: LifestyleiPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.Detained immigrants cut loose
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iPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.Pope: At times 'Lord seemed to sleep'
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Benedict XVI says there were "times when the Lord seemed to sleep" in past 8 years
- Benedict: The Roman Catholic Church has been through stormy waters, but God won't let it sink"
- I really felt all the support and all the love, the prayers," says a priest in the crowd
- He is to leave office at 8 p.m. Thursday for a life of seclusion and prayer
Rome (CNN) -- In front of rapt crowds, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of moments of struggle as well as joy Wednesday during his final public address from a stage set up in St. Peter's Square.
In an unusually personal message, he said there had been "many days of sunshine" but also "times when the water was rough ... and the Lord seemed to sleep."
But even as the church passes through stormy seas, God will "not let her sink," he added, in what was his final general audience before he steps down Thursday evening.
Those words will be seen by many as a comment on the series of child sex abuse scandals and corruption claims that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the course of his pontificate.
Benedict recounted how when he was asked to be pope eight years ago, he had prayed for God's guidance and had felt his presence "every day" since.
"It was a part of the journey of the church that has had moments of joy and light, but also moments that were not easy," he said.
Vatican reveals Pope Benedict's new title
'Tough choices'
Dressed all in white and looking serene, the pope used his last general audience to call for a renewal of faith and speak of his own spiritual journey through eight years as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
Benedict thanked the cardinals, the clergy in Rome, Vatican officials and priests worldwide for their work, as well as their congregations, saying "the heart of a pope extends to the whole world."
Knowing his strength was fading, he had taken the step of resignation well aware of its gravity and novelty, but also "with a deep peace of mind," he said.
"Loving the church also means having the courage to make tough choices," he said, as he called on the faithful to pray for him and the new pope.
Benedict gave an insight into the life of the pontiff, describing it as without any kind of privacy, with his time devoted entirely to the church -- perhaps particularly difficult for a man known for his love of scholarship.
His life in retirement will be "simply a return to the private place. My decision is to forgo the exercise of active ministry, not revoke it. In order to return to private life, not to a life of travel, meetings, receptions, conferences and so on," he said.
As he finished, cheers erupted from the tens of thousands gathered in the square -- acknowledged by Benedict with an open-armed embrace.
'Support and love'
Benedict's final papal audience
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Vatican officials said 50,000 tickets had been handed out for Benedict's last general audience -- but authorities said they had prepared for as many as 200,000 people to show up to witness the historic moment in person.
The pope in retirement: What to expect
Benedict, who spoke first in Italian, also gave greetings in French, German and English, among other languages, reflecting the church's global reach.
CNN iReporter Joel Camaya, a priest from the Philippines who is studying in Rome, said it was very moving to be among those gathered in the huge plaza.
Waves of applause rose up to meet Benedict, especially when he addressed the pilgrims in different languages. "I really felt all the support and all the love, the prayers, from those who were present," he said.
After the pope left, people's mood was festive, with many chatting or singing, Camaya said, but at the same time nostalgic because it's the last time they will hear Benedict speak.
"Especially for people who have got used coming here for the audience and for the (Sunday) Angelus, it's something to be missed," he said.
Those lucky enough to have tickets for the final audience listened from seats in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Among them were many of the Roman Catholic Church's senior clergy. Others packed around the edges of the square and surrounding side streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pontiff.
Among the crowds were groups of pilgrims who had traveled to Rome for the special occasion, as well as local residents and curious visitors keen to share in the moment.
Opinion: Benedict a pope aware of his flaws
Benedict arrived and left in his Popemobile, allowing him to pass close by many people in St. Peter's Square.
Standing in the glass-topped vehicle, flanked by security, he waved as he slowly made his way along pathways through the crowds. Some waved flags and banners as they stood under cold but clear skies.
Normally in winter, the pope would give his weekly Wednesday general audience inside a hall within Vatican City, but the event was moved outside because of the anticipated huge crowds.
Pontiff emeritus
The pope didn't give the usual brief personal greetings to people afterward, but was to meet with delegations of heads of state in Vatican City.
Benedict, who stunned the world's Catholics when he announced his resignation just over two weeks ago, will leave office at 8 p.m. local time Thursday.
At that point, a transition period will begin, as around 115 cardinals gather in Rome to pick a successor in a secretive election known as a conclave.
The Vatican has been rewriting the rules to cope with an almost unprecedented situation -- Benedict is the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.
He will meet with the cardinals Wednesday and Thursday, before being flown by helicopter to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.
Pope to resign: Your thoughts
There, from a balcony, he will greet crowds one last time before his resignation takes effect and the Swiss Guards, who by tradition protect the pope, ceremonially leave the residence's gate.
More details were given Tuesday of how the 85-year-old's life in retirement will play out.
He will keep the papal title Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to the name Joseph Ratzinger, and will be referred to as "his holiness," said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.
He will also go by the title his holiness "pontiff emeritus" or "pope emeritus."
Interference fears
Pope Benedict XVI wearing red shoes.
Living out of the public eye in a small monastery within Vatican City, Benedict will wear a simple white robe, without the papal red cape, and will swap his red shoes for brown ones. He is expected to devote his time to prayer and study.
Catholic author Michael Walsh told CNN he was unsurprised by Benedict's desire for more privacy.
"He's a rather private man. He wants to get back to his books and his cats, he wants to get back to prayer," he said. "He's obviously coming towards the end of his life -- he's 85 -- so I understand that."
But, Walsh added, "what I don't understand is that he says he wants to be part of it all, which could be disastrous if you take it at face value," referring to Benedict's promise not to abandon the church.
"The notion that you have two people that claim to be pope, in a sense, is really going to be very confusing," Walsh said.
Vatican officials have said they don't anticipate any interference from Benedict as a new pope takes office.
However, his influence will be felt in as much as he appointed 67 of the cardinals who will enter the conclave.
Whoever his successor may be will have plenty on his plate, from allegations swirling in the Italian media that gay clergy may have made themselves vulnerable to blackmail by male prostitutes -- a claim forcefully denied by the Vatican -- to the festering issue of the church's handling of child abuse by priests.
Scandal flared again over the weekend, as Scotland's Roman Catholic archbishop was accused in a UK newspaper report of "inappropriate behavior" with priests. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who contests the allegations, resigned Monday and said he would not attend the conclave.
The Most Rev. Philip Tartaglia, archbishop of Glasgow, will take his place until a new archbishop is appointed, the Vatican said Wednesday. "These are painful and distressing times," Tartaglia is quoted as saying.
The Vatican said Monday that a report by three cardinals into leaks of secret Vatican documents, ordered by Benedict last year and seen only by him, would be passed on to the new pontiff.
Opinion: How next pope must tackle child sex abuse
Cardinals' conclave
Meanwhile, the cardinals who must elect the new pope are already gathering in Rome, Lombardi said.
The dean cardinal will on Friday summon the cardinals to a general congregation, Lombardi said. That could come as soon as Monday, although the date is not yet fixed.
The cardinal-electors will then decide exactly when to hold the conclave, during which they will select a peer via paper ballot. The voting process will end when only when one cardinal gains two-thirds support.
After his resignation, Benedict, who cited the frailty of age as the reason he resigned, will no longer use the Fisherman's Ring, the symbol of the pope, Lombardi said. The ring will be destroyed, along with Benedict's papal seal, after his departure from office.
Smoke signals: How is a new pope elected?
CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau reported from Rome and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported from London. Vatican correspondent John Allen and Sarah Brown contributed to this report.
Could your child be a bully?
Labels: LifestyleBoys and girls use physical violence to exert their power, researchers say.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A sociologist describes bullying in schools as "social combat"
- Students are fighting to improve their social status through violence or rumors
- Bullies are often bullied themselves as they fight to the top, experts say
Editor's note: Don't miss the premiere of "The Bully Effect" on "AC360" at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, Feburary 28. And visit CNN.com Health on Wednesday, February 27, for our story on how technology has changed bullying.
(CNN) -- Eva was a bully. Tall for her age, she used her height to intimidate her peers. She made fun of those without designer clothes and got suspended several times for fighting.
She was also well-liked, outgoing, funny -- and a victim of bullying herself.
"When you're in junior high, you're just trying to figure out who you are," the 24-year-old remembers. She says she bullied others because she was, as were most kids, insecure.
As a parent, you probably have a picture in your head of the kid you'd vote Most Likely To Bully Others. He's burly, wears a letter (or leather) jacket and has been a senior longer than most students are in high school.
But experts say the bullies tormenting students nowadays aren't like the ones we see on the big screen. It's not just a small group of jocks, or the loner stoner pushing kids into lockers between periods. It can be almost anyone, at any time. And the most likely targets of bullies? The bullies themselves.
"AC360": Fighting for your bullied child
Sociologist Robert Faris calls it "social combat." He says the majority of bullying takes place in the middle of a school's social hierarchy, where students are jostling with each other for higher status.
Think of it like a giant game of king of the hill. Each kid is struggling to make it to the top, not afraid to step on others to get there. The closer you get to being king, the more vicious the competition gets between rivals.
"Bullying works," Faris says simply. "When kids pick on other kids, their status increases."
Faris teamed up with CNN's "AC360" in 2011 to study bullying at a high school in Long Island, New York. Researchers asked more than 700 students about their friendship circles and bullying behaviors. Faris has also completed similar studies in rural North Carolina -- where the demographics were different, but the results were the same.
Faris found 56% of students surveyed were involved in aggression, victimization or both at any given time. The main motive behind a student's bullying was to increase his or her popularity. The higher a student rose on the social ladder, the more likely they were to bully others -- and to be bullied themselves.
"There's always some tension in these friendship groups," Faris says. "Who's closer to whom and who's hanging out together, and I think that's what's driving a lot of these kids."
The same is true for middle-school students, according to UCLA psychology professor Jaana Juvonen, who's been studying bullying since the mid-1990s.
Juvonen and her team recently followed more than 1,800 students through seventh and eighth grade to determine how physical aggression and the spreading of rumors played a part in social prominence.
"What we've learned about bullying during the last decade or so is that it takes many forms," Juvonen says. "Some of these forms are extremely hard to detect. They're covert."
Bullying over food allergies
Administrators have cracked down on physical aggression in schools, enforcing zero tolerance policies for fighting between students. But Juvonen says that has led to subtler forms of bullying.
Rumors -- most often about a student's sexuality or insulting family members -- play a big role, according to Juvonen's research.
Faris recalls he got his "ass kicked" regularly as a child. Two brothers used hunt him down every day after school as he walked home from the bus stop.
But he says a daily beating was much less painful than the isolation he felt when his family moved across the country and he couldn't seem to fit in. "That was much harder to deal with than a bloody nose," he remembers.
In his later research, Faris found friends often exclude each other from gossip sessions or parties to put down a rival and boost their own status. Social media has also increased the prominence of this abstract form of bullying.
"The status competition is always there; there's no break from it," he says. "They go home and they get online and they see their friends doing things together and they're not invited, or worse, people are harassing them."
If the 2004 movie "Mean Girls" taught us anything, it's that girls are the queens of covert bullying; no one could make you feel as badly about the way you look as the popular clique. Juvonen's study, however, found boys and girls spread rumors to boost their social status -- and that both genders use physical aggression to assert power.
Eva knows this firsthand. She and her friends used to "jump" other girls, pulling their hair or punching them just because they talked to the wrong guy.
What really makes schools safer?
"I look back and shake my head," says Eva, who asked CNN not to use her last name because she plans to apply for graduate school. But "when you're in elementary school and junior high, there's nothing else. We don't have responsibilities. We don't have skills. We buy candy and do homework."
"Part of the problem here is that kids are kind of stuck in a cage," Faris agrees. "They don't have formal roles and responsibilities. ... They have to work status out for themselves."
And if we put adults in a similar situation, he says, we'd see the same behavior.
For that reason, Faris advocates programs and activities that de-emphasize social status and re-emphasize the qualities of a good friend. He hopes that one day students will leave high school with a small group of close friends, rather than the 300 or 400 they know on Facebook.
Tips for parents
1. Be a good example -- kids often learn bullying behavior from their parents.
2. Teach your child what it means to be a good friend.
3. Make your home a safe haven for kids after school.
4. Use teachable moments on TV to show the power of bystanders.
5. Listen. Don't be in denial about incidents that are brought to your attention.
Juvonen says anti-bullying programs should focus on bystanders -- teaching kids that watching is just as bad as doing the bullying yourself. Studies in Canada have shown, she says, that if a child intervenes, the bullying incident stops within seconds.
Juvonen suggests parents use teachable moments on TV or in the news to show children right from wrong in a bullying situation. "They could be the ones pointing out to their kids that they have a lot of power as bystanders," she says.
Juvonen knows it's unreasonable to expect a child to be brave on his or her own; no one wants to become the next victim. So she suggests teaching kids about the weight of a group.
"Bullying involves this imbalance of power where the bully has the high status and is using this status," she says. "You can try to offset the power balance by telling kids to join one another as they try to intervene."
Parents also need to be aware of how easy it is for children to get sucked in to this social combat, Juvonen says. They can't be in denial about incidents that are brought to their attention.
"Anyone in that situation should be asking, 'What's going on?' 'What is it about these situations that brings about this kind of behavior?' " Parents should be having frequent conversations about what's happening at school, know who their children are hanging out with and keep an eye out for warning signs that something's not quite right, she says.
"The parent's role is really to be there as a buffer, be the one who listens."
Rejection, bullying are risk factors among shooters
Before she was a bully, Eva was a victim, she says. Older kids would call her names or hold her down to show they were stronger. She's the baby in the family, she says, and her parents didn't have time to pay attention to what was going on.
"(Bullying) comes from home, from family members," she says. "We hear our cousins and uncles talking crap about someone. We think it's funny. We think it's cool."
Eva never faced consequences for bullying, other than her suspensions. She believes that if someone had sat her down and told her that bullying was wrong, she would have listened. For years, she worried that one of her former victims would invite her on the "Maury Show" for a face-to-face showdown. She still feels badly about the pain she inflicted.
"I can't take it back," she says. "But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't do what I did."
Did you ever bully anyone? Share your story in the comments below or on iReport.
Weatherman blacks out on live TV
Labels: Lifestyleon your computer or on the CNN Apps for iPhone® and iPad®.
iPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.Pistorius' brother faces homicide charge
Labels: LifestyleBy Holly Yan and Nkepile Mabuse, CNN
updated 11:25 AM EST, Sun February 24, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A Pistorius family attorney confirms that Carl Pistorius is charged with culpable homicide
- Prosecutors blame Carl Pistorius for the death of a motorcyclist in 2010
- His attorney says the motorcyclist crashed into Carl Pistorius' vehicle
- Carl Pistorius' trial was rescheduled so he could support his brother
Johannesburg (CNN) -- As Olympic icon Oscar Pistorius faces a murder trial for shooting his girlfriend, his older brother is also charged in the death of a woman.
Carl Pistorius is accused in the 2010 death of a female motorcyclist, Pistorius family attorney Kenny Oldwage said.
Culpable homicide refers to "unlawful negligent killing," South African police say.
Prosecutors say Carl Pistorius was driving recklessly in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, when he crashed with the motorcyclist in the daytime.
Oldwage disputes allegations that his client was driving recklessly and said the motorcyclist rode into Carl Pistorius' vehicle.
"Carl deeply regrets the accident. Blood tests conducted by the police at the time proved that he had not been under the influence of alcohol, confirming that it was a tragic road accident after the deceased collided with Carl's car," a statement from the Pistorius family said.
The motorcyclist died in a hospital a couple of days after the accident, Oldwage said.
Carl Pistorius was initially scheduled to go on trial Thursday -- during the middle of his brother's four-day bail hearing.
The trial has been rescheduled for the end of March. His case could be over before his brother's murder trial is scheduled to start in June.
Carl Pistorius was a fixture at his younger brother's bail hearing last week, handing Oscar tissues as the 26-year-old sobbed uncontrollably in court.
Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter known as the "Blade Runner," is charged with premeditated murder in the death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutors say the Olympian killed her after a heated argument in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day.
Pistorius says he thought Steenkamp, 29, was an intruder.
After a four-day, emotionally wrenching bail hearing, the track star was granted bail Friday.
As part of his conditions for release, Oscar Pistorius cannot return to his home, where the shooting happened; must surrender his passport; and can't go near an airport.
It's unknown whether Oscar Pistorius will be in court to support his brother during his trial.
CNN's Karen Smith and Josh Levs contributed to this report.
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updated 11:49 PM EST, Sat February 16, 2013
Universal admiration for Pistorius' sports achievements turned to shock, and with only scant details known, the questions are swirling.
updated 5:24 AM EST, Mon February 18, 2013
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updated 8:07 AM EST, Thu February 21, 2013
First Tiger, then Lance. Now Nike is being reminded again -- with Oscar Pistorius -- that pinning your reputation on stars is risky business.
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updated 9:38 PM EST, Tue February 19, 2013
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updated 4:15 AM EDT, Sun August 5, 2012
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Vatican denies rumors as pope prepares to step down
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Top Vatican official condemns "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories"
- Rumors are intended to put pressure on cardinals, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone says
- Italy's La Reppublica has published allegations involving a shadowy network of gay clergy
- Pope Benedict XVI is to stand down from office on Thursday
Rome (CNN) -- The Vatican sought Saturday to tamp down rumors involving sex, money and gay priests that have been swirling in the Italian media and have been linked by some to Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign.
The strongly-worded denial came on the eve of the pope's last Angelus blessing, expected to draw huge crowds of the faithful, before he stands down on Thursday.
Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said it was "deplorable" that as the time for the Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope approaches, a rash of "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories" has appeared.
Such unfounded stories "cause serious damage to persons and institutions," he said, and are an attempt to influence the cardinals' free will in the election "through public opinion."
Opinion: There's more to the Catholic Church than the pope
Bertone did not address the specific claims that were first published in La Repubblica, the country's largest circulation daily newspaper, on Thursday and Friday.
The newspaper stories center on an investigation last year by three cardinals into a scandal involving leaks from the Vatican.
La Repubblica, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, alleged that the investigation revealed a series of scandals involving sex, money and power that touch cardinals, priests and lay people that work in the Vatican.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi declined to comment on La Repubblica's article in a media briefing on Thursday.
CNN Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen, also a correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, suggested in a piece written Friday that unsourced speculation about a shadowy "gay lobby" within the Vatican should be taken with a grain of salt.
But, he said, while he doesn't know for sure if the three cardinals did investigate networks based on sexual orientation, "frankly, it would be a little surprising if they hadn't" -- given past scandals that have become public concerning clergy involved in homosexual activities.
The pope may well have been worn down by the "cumulative impact of the various meltdowns over the last eight years," Allen said.
"However," he added, "it's probably a stretch to draw a straight line between all of this and Benedict's resignation. For the most part, one has to take the pope at his word: He's stepping aside because he's old and tired, not because of any particular crisis."
The pontiff will leave office at 8 p.m. on February 28, two-and-a-half weeks after he shocked the Roman Catholic world by announcing his resignation.
The Vatican has said a new pope will be in place for the Church's Easter celebrations on March 31.
Benedict on Saturday concluded a week-long spiritual retreat, held to mark the Lenten period.
Addressing the clergy who had joined him, he thanked them "not only for this week, but for these past eight years that you have carried with me -- with great skill, affection, love and faith -- the weight of the Petrine ministry," referring to the papacy.
Benedict also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, an encounter described by the Vatican as "particularly warm and cordial."
Facts about Pope Benedict XVI
The pontiff is considering changing the Vatican constitution to allow a vote for his successor to begin before March 15, Lombardi said Wednesday.
Existing rules say the Roman Catholic Church's cardinals should start voting on a replacement from 15 to 20 days after the papal throne becomes vacant. With Benedict due to depart on February 28, the cardinals' conclave ordinarily would start no sooner than March 15.
But Lombardi has said that because Benedict was leaving the papacy through resignation rather than death, the Vatican would explore the possibility of selecting a new pope sooner than normally prescribed.
The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal last year led to the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, being convicted on charges of leaking private papers from the Vatican in a high-profile trial and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Although Gabriele was pardoned weeks later by the pope, the whole affair -- which revealed claims of corruption in the church's hierarchy -- was damaging to the Vatican's reputation.
The latest media allegations, despite the strenuous Vatican denials, may add to the pressure for reform.
CNN's Hada Messia and Ben Wedeman reported from Rome, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London.
Peterson sentenced for killing ex-wife
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Drew Peterson's lawyer says his client feels the system he served failed him
- NEW: Kathleen Savio's kin say he "battered her to the very end," is "going to hell"
- The Chicago-area police sergeant was convicted of murdering his third wife
- He is sentenced to 38 years in prison and will get credit for nearly 4 years served
(CNN) -- After years policing Illinois streets for criminals, Drew Peterson is now among them -- and will be for more than three decades, a judge ruled Thursday.
Will County Judge Edward Burmila sentenced Peterson to 38 years in prison in the murder of his third ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, said state's attorney spokesman Charles B. Pelkie.
The former Chicago-area police sergeant will get credit for the nearly four years that he has been in custody, according to Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. He could have received as many as 60 years in prison; Illinois does not have a death penalty.
"The reason that I never looked Drew Peterson in the eye is because I never acknowledged his existence," said Glasgow, describing the convict as a "cold-blooded killer."
"But I looked him in the eye today," the prosecutor said. "He knows that we did our job."
Peterson was convicted of murder in September but had fought for a new trial, an effort that Burmila denied Thursday, just before the sentencing.
Peterson's lawyers promised Thursday that they would press on with their appeal and expressed confidence they would prevail. They stood by their client, who defiantly claimed in court that he didn't kill Savio.
"Wouldn't you be angry if you were wrongly convicted?" said one of his attorneys, Steve Greenberg.
"In this case, (the prosecution) changed everything ... How would you feel if you were railroaded?"
Savio was found dead in her dry, clean bathtub on March 1, 2004. Prosecutors said Peterson killed her; the defense contended that she fell, hit her head and drowned.
The case did not grab headlines until after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in October 2007. It was during the search for Stacy Peterson -- who still has not been found -- that investigators said they'd look again into Savio's death, which was initially ruled an accidental drowning.
Authorities altered their judgment and ruled Savio's death a homicide in February 2008, setting the stage for the first-degree murder trial last year of Peterson, a former police officer in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
A Will County jury ultimately convicted him of murder after nearly 14 hours of deliberation.
That was four months ago. On Thursday, all the parties were back in court to see whether Peterson would get a new trial or, if not, what his sentence would be.
Perhaps the most emotional part of this court proceeding was Peterson's long and emotional remarks, which were interrupted at times by shouts from Savio family members, several of whom were asked to leave the courtroom.
He unloaded "pent-up anger" that had built up over time -- against Savio and her family, the legal process, the media, even a TV movie about the case, according to his attorneys and the prosecutor. Above all, Peterson loudly insisted that he did not kill Savio.
Why was he upset? One of his lawyers, David Peilet, said part of it has to do with Peterson feeling the system that he served -- as a military veteran and longtime police officer -- had failed him.
"(He is angry) especially when you are somebody who has defended the Constitution and served and protected the public, now being faced with the same system coming up and biting (you) in the butt," Peilet said.
Glasgow, the state's attorney, had a different take. He called Peterson's remarks "pathetic," especially in how he "attacked" Savio and her mental state.
"Just depraved," the prosecutor said. "... We all got an opportunity to see a psychopath reveal himself in open court."
It was a sentiment echoed by the victim's sister, Susan Doman. She said she couldn't stand to hear "the devil" demean her sister, almost nine years after her death.
"He battered her to the very end."
Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, lauded the prosecution for making "this world a safer, better place" by fighting to convict Peterson and expressed hope he'd next be held accountable for what happened to his fourth wife.
"It's not over for us, but of course, a win for the Savio family is a win for the Stacy Peterson family," Bosco said. "We have a long journey ahead. We still want to see justice for Stacy. We won't give up."
Several Savio family members specifically mentioned Stacy when they addressed reporters late Thursday afternoon in Joliet.
Henry Savio Jr., a brother of Kathleen Savio, said Stacy Peterson's relatives "deserve the same thing that we're getting right now: justice."
As to Peterson's fate, Henry Savio said he wanted him to "stay in jail forever, to die there."
"(Then) he is going to go to hell," the victim's brother said. "And my sister is going to be watching him."
CNN's Elwyn Lopez, Carma Hassan and Michael Christian, from the InSession division of CNN's sister network TruTV, contributed to this report.
Pentagon: Furloughs for workers
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A day of forced leave per week would start in April if spending cuts go into effect
- Under the plan, the furloughs would last 22 weeks
- The across-the-board federal spending cuts are due to start March 1
- NEW: Federal workers face painful decisions, says one union representative
Washington (CNN) -- Nearly 800,000 civilian workers would be forced to take one day of leave per week without pay if automatic spending cuts go into effect as scheduled, the Defense Department told Congress on Wednesday.
The furloughs would start in the last week of April and last for 22 weeks, according to the Pentagon plan, and would hit the hardest in Virginia, California, Maryland, Texas and Georgia, where many defense facilities are located, according to figures provided by the Pentagon.
The plan responds to mandatory, government-wide budget cuts, known as sequestration, that are due to begin on March 1 absent congressional action on deficit-reduction to avert them.
Furloughs would eat up between $4 and $5 billion. Pentagon cuts overall would comprise half of the government-wide sequester of $85 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30.
"In the event of sequestration we will do everything we can to be able to continue to perform our core mission of providing for the security of the United States, but there is no mistaking that the rigid nature of the cuts forced upon this department, and their scale, will result in a serious erosion of readiness across the force," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a letter to Congress on Wednesday.
Obama more emotional on spending cuts
The Pentagon would also have to reduce numerous weapons and training programs across all services.
"We feel we don't have any choice to impose furloughs even though we would much prefer not to do it," Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale told a media briefing.
Furloughed workers could include office staff, aircraft and ship maintenance workers, teachers and medical staff.
But Hale said Defense Department civilian foreign employees would be exempted from pay cuts. There are about 50,000 foreign worker employees overseas employed on U.S. military facilities.
"They're governed by status-of-forces agreements and probably would require some negotiation," Hale said.
Other employees exempted would include civilians working for the agency in combat zones and certain emergency and safety personnel. Presidential appointees would also be exempt from furloughs.
The military services and other defense agencies will have to maintain at least minimum staffing for the "safety of property and safety of life," Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Elizabeth Robbins said.
That means, for example, a military base would have to maintain a minimum force of security personnel.
Similarly, military hospitals must have enough medical staff to provide services to active-duty personnel, including the wounded.
Hale told reporters that the economic impact would be felt nationwide, not just in the Washington area, where many defense department jobs are located.
For federal workers, it will mean painful decisions, said Defense Department Peter Randazzo, who is also a union representative.
"I'll pay those core bills. I'll pay the mortgage and the utilities and then you live on what's left," he said.
Opinion: Forced budget cuts a disaster for military
The armed services, Wednesday, also notified Congress of the potential impact of budget cuts to states.
The Army and Navy are circulating estimates about which areas will be economically hit the hardest.
In documents sent to Congress and obtained by CNN, both the Army and Navy lay out the potential impact on the services and industry.
For the Army, the hardest hit states include Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania, home to major Army facilities and industrial bases.
The Army anticipates it will need to slash $18 billion in spending by the end of the fiscal year.
If the spending cuts are carried out, the Army would be required to furlough 251,000 civilian employees. It estimates that would save it $1.9 billion.
The Navy anticipates it will need to slash about $12 billion in spending. The impact would affect more than 300,000 sailors with cuts to Navy operational programs and cost some 186,000 Navy civilians 20 percent of their paychecks though furloughs, saving about $500 million, according to Navy officials.
Pistorius case: What happened in that bathroom
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Hearing ends with no decision on bail for Oscar Pistorius, final arguments Thursday
- Police said Pistorius had testosterone in his home, but defense says it's a legal herbal medicine
- Investigators say they believe the track star is violent
- Prosecutors call Pistorius a flight risk
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Sounds of arguing for an hour before the shooting. Blood stains on a cell phone and cricket bat. Boxes of testosterone and needles.
The shape of prosecutors' case against Oscar Pistorius began to come into focus Wednesday as they argued the Olympian charged with killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, should be denied bail because he might disappear if released from jail.
But the Olympic sprinter's defense team battled back, questioning the quality of the police investigation.
The bail hearing ended Wednesday with no decision. Final arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning.
Photos: 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius
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Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder in the death of Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He has said he thought he was shooting at an intruder.
But police investigator Hilton Botha told the court Wednesday that Pistorius, 26, wasn't acting in self-defense when he shot through the door of a toilet room in the bathroom of his home and killed Steenkamp.
Botha said he believes Pistorius knew Steenkamp was on the other side of the door. He didn't explain why investigators think that, but suggested Pistorius was specifically aiming to hit the toilet where Steenkamp had gone.
But he also said investigators have found no evidence that is inconsistent with Pistorius' story.
Pistorius' affidavit in alleged murder of girlfriend
Bail hearing
Prosecutors spent much of the hearing Wednesday focused on the bathroom of Pistorius' Pretoria home, where authorities say the track star shot Steenkamp three times, in the hip, elbow and ear.
Bullet trajectories show that Pistorius had to turn left and fire at an angle to aim at the toilet, Botha testified. Had he fired head-on into the door, he would have missed her, Botha said.
Defense attorney Barry Roux disputed that, saying the evidence does not show there was an effort to aim at the toilet.
Prosecutors are trying to prove Pistorius intentionally fired on Steenkamp, 29, in a premeditated attempt to kill her. Pistorius and his lawyers argue he mistook her for an intruder and killed her accidentally.
Pistorius said in a statement read Tuesday by his lawyer that he believes Steenkamp slipped into the bathroom when he got up to close the balcony door in his bedroom in the early hours of February 14.
Hearing noises and gripped with fear that someone had broken into his home, Pistorius said he grabbed his gun, yelled for the intruder to leave and shot through the toilet-room door before realizing the person inside might have been Steenkamp.
Roux said Wednesday that the defense team believes Steenkamp locked the door when she heard Pistorius yelling for the intruder to leave. He also said Steenkamp's bladder was empty, suggesting she had gone to the bathroom as Pistorius claimed.
Botha also said police believe a blood-stained cricket bat found in the bathroom was used to break down the locked door to the toilet.
Pistorius said in his statement that he used the bat to break down the door in an effort to get to Steenkamp to help her.
Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day
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Botha agreed with the defense contention that, other than the bullet wounds, her body showed no sign of an assault or efforts to defend herself.
But prosecutors and Pistorius' defense battled over allegations that testosterone and needles were found at the home, as well as the quality of the police investigation.
Opinion: What my son taught me about Oscar Pistorius
Investigative errors?
Amid speculation by outsiders to the case that steroids or other drugs could have somehow played a role in the shooting, Botha testified that investigators found two boxes of testosterone and needles at Pistorius' home.
Under questioning by Roux, however, Botha said he hadn't read the full name of the substance -- which Roux said was an herbal remedy called testoconpasupium coenzyme -- when investigators took the materials into evidence. A quick Internet search on the name of the substance yielded no results.
He also said the defense forensics team found a bullet in the toilet that police had missed and noted police had failed to find out who owned ammunition found at the home or photograph it.
Investigators also went into Pistorius' home without wearing protective foot covers to prevent contaminating the crime scene, Roux said. Botha conceded that was true and said it was because police didn't have any more of the covers left.
Roux questioned police arguments that a witness heard sounds of an argument before the shooting. The witness, Roux said, lives 600 meters (more than a third of a mile) from Pistorius' home. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel countered that the witness lives 300 meters away.
Would he run?
Botha told Magistrate Desmond Nair that investigators believe Pistorius is violent and might flee if released from jail.
He described two encounters with Pistorius, one in which Botha said the track star asked someone else to take the blame when a gun went off at a Johannesburg restaurant.
Police said the second incident took place at a racetrack, where Pistorius allegedly threatened to assault someone.
Authorities have also said they have responded to previous domestic incidents at Pistorius' home, but have not elaborated.
In his statement Tuesday, Pistorius said he and Steenkamp were deeply in love and said he was "mortified" over her death.
High hurdle
Defense attorneys are trying to overcome South African law, which makes it difficult for defendants accused of premeditated murder to get out on bail. The law requires evidence of "exceptional circumstances" to justify release.
Nair upgraded the charge against Pistorius to premeditated murder Tuesday, saying he could not rule out the possibility that the track star planned Steenkamp's death. But Nair said he would consider downgrading the charge later.
In a statement read by his lawyer Tuesday, Pistorius said he would not try to flee or influence any witnesses if he is allowed out on bail, and he said his release wouldn't be a danger to public order.
Case rivets fans and friends alike
The case of the global sports hero known as the "Blade Runner" has riveted stunned fans around the world.
Social media reaction to the case appeared to come down against the sports star, but was still noticeably mixed on CNN's Facebook page.
"There's no amount of tears that will save you," said Anthonia Nneka Nwabueze. "Pistorius must face the law for brutally killing an innocent girl -- Reeva."
"My favorite athlete but what he did is grave and must be punished," Carlos Alvarez Ochoa said.
But another person who posted called for patience.
"(N)one of us were in the house when his girlfriend was murdered, let's hold off on casting stones at Oscar Pistorius," said Adrian van Liere Since. "Just like anyone else, he deserves a just trial, and in my eyes remains innocent until proven guilty."
Coming to his defense were two acquaintances.
"I've never seen him show an angry side. I've never seen him lose his temper," Vanessa Haywood, a model and longtime friend, told CNN. "He's an incredibly kind and gentle human being."
Another endorsement came from a former girlfriend.
"I would just like to say, I have dated Oscar on off for 5 YEARS," Jenna Edkins said on Twitter. "NOT ONCE has he EVER lifted a finger to me, made me fear for my life."
CNN's Robyn Curnow and Kim Norgaard reported from South Africa, and Mike Pearson and Ed Payne reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse also contributed to this report.
Oscar Pistorius tells his side
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Oscar Pistorius paints a detailed picture of his version of his girlfriend's death
- "I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," he says in the statement
- "We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier," he said
- Prosecutors dispute Pistorius' version, say he meant to kill her
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- It was the middle of the night, Oscar Pistorius says, and he thought an intruder was in the house. Not wearing his prosthetic legs, feeling vulnerable in the pitch dark and too scared to turn on the lights, the track star pulled his 9mm pistol from beneath his bed, moved toward the bathroom and fired into the door.
It was only after he called to girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp -- whom he thought had been in bed beside him after a quiet evening -- that he realized something horrible might have happened, he told Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair in a statement read by his lawyer during his bond hearing Tuesday. Prosecutors dispute the version of events that Pistorius detailed in his statement.
Pistorius says he broke down the locked bathroom door -- at one point in the statement saying he kicked the door in, at another saying he used a cricket bat to break it down -- then scooped up the mortally wounded Steenkamp and carried her downstairs after for help.
"I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms," he said in the statement. "I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva."
Pistorius' affidavit in alleged murder of girlfriend
Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day
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'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius
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While prosecutors and defense lawyers agree Pistorius shot Steenkamp, the track star denied intentionally killing her, in the statement read Tuesday.
Prosecutors say they believe Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs, picked up his gun and walked to the bathroom where Steenkamp, 29, had locked herself -- apparently after a heated argument -- and shot at her four times.
Three of the bullets struck Steenkamp, who died soon after. Her funeral was Tuesday.
Pistorius spent much of the hearing sobbing and heaving at the mention of his girlfriend's name, at one point forcing Nair to stop the proceedings to ask him to compose himself. His family stood nearby, huddling during breaks and appearing to pray. During parts of the hearing, Pistorius' brother placed his hand on the suspect's back.
During Tuesday's hearing, Nair upgraded the charge against Pistorius to premeditated murder, saying he could not rule out the possibility that the track star planned Steenkamp's death. But Nair said he will consider downgrading the charge later.
The allegation of premeditation makes it more difficult for Pistorius' attorneys to argue he should be released on bail pending trial. To win bail, the defense must argue that "exceptional circumstances" exist that would justify Pistorius' release.
The session ended Tuesday afternoon with no decision on bail for Pistorius, 26. Prosecutors said they needed time to study the affidavits read in court before deciding how to proceed.
In the statement read by his lawyer, Pistorius said he would not try to flee or influence any witnesses if he is allowed out on bail, and argued that his release wouldn't be a danger to public order.
The hearing is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
Follow updates on our live blog
A tragic mistake?
In his statement, Pistorius said Steenkamp came over February 13, opting for a quiet dinner in over a night out with friends. They wrapped up the night with a bit of television in bed for him, some yoga for her. She had brought him a Valentine's Day present to open the next day.
After the couple had gone to bed, he said he got up in the early hours of February 14 to close the balcony door in his bedroom when he heard a sound in the bathroom.
Pistorius said he'd been a victim of violence and burglary in the past, and realized with terror that contractors who worked at the house had left ladders outside.
Fearing someone had entered the home through the open bathroom window, moving in the dark on the stumps of his amputated legs, Pistorius grabbed his pistol from under the bed and yelled at the intruder to get out.
"I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eye on the bathroom entrance," Pistorius said in his statement. "Everything was pitch-dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light."
"When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name," he said.
He said he threw open the balcony door and screamed for help, put on his prosthetic legs and tried to kick in the door to the separate room inside the bathroom containing the toilet. Then, he said, he picked up a cricket bat, smashing panels out of the door before finding a key and unlocking it.
"Reeva was slumped over but alive," he said.
Pistorius said he called for help and was told to take her to the hospital himself.
He carried her downstairs and tried to help but, but she died.
"I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved," he said.
But he said he did not mean to kill her, and protested the charges against him.
"I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder because I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," Pistorius said in the statement.
"We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier," he said."I loved her and I know she felt the same way."
A premeditated murder?
Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture.
They rejected Pistorius' claim that he mistook her for a burglar, saying it would make no sense for an intruder to hide behind a locked bathroom door.
Instead, they say Pistorius armed himself, attached his prosthetic legs and walked 7 meters (23 feet) to shoot Steenkamp through a bathroom door after a heated argument.
Defense attorney Barry Roux questioned the state's argument, asking how prosecutors would know Pistorius had put on his prosthetic legs and walked to the bathroom before shooting his girlfriend.
Police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors, and residents had "heard things earlier," police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said.
Authorities said there had been "previous incidents" at the home, including "allegations of a domestic nature," but did not provide details.
Detectives are investigating the blood-stained cricket bat found in the home, Johannesburg's City Press newspaper reported. They are trying to determine whether it was used to attack Steenkamp, if she used the bat in self-defense, or if Pistorius used it to try to break down the bathroom door, the newspaper said.
Final farewells for Steenkamp
As the drama in court unfolded, friends and family mourned Steenkamp at a private funeral in her hometown of Port Elizabeth.
"There's a space missing inside all the people she knew that can't be filled again," her brother Adam Steenkamp told reporters outside.
Steenkamp was a law school graduate whose modeling career was on the rise. She landed the cover of FHM magazine and recently appeared on a reality TV show.
On Sunday, South Africans heard Steenkamp's voice one last time after her death, when the national broadcaster aired a pre-recorded episode of the show. The model talked about her exit from "Tropika Island of Treasure," on which local celebrities compete for prize money.
"I'm going to miss you all so much and I love you very, very much," she said, blowing a kiss to the camera.
Case rivets fans
The case of the global sports hero known as the "Blade Runner" has riveted stunned fans around the world.
As he walked into court in a blue shirt and gray suit, frenzied photographers snapped away, prompting the judge to demand they stop.
The scene was a far cry from the packed stadiums that erupted in applause whenever the double-amputee competed against men with legs.
On social media, sentiment appeared to mixed. "Oscar Pistorius is telling us rubbish," one Twitter user posted.
But others were more supportive after hearing Pistorius' story. "I for some reason believe Pistorius after reading his affidavit!!," another person tweeted.
Robyn Curnow reported from South Africa; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse also contributed to this report.
Pistorius' girlfriend was alive after shooting, official says
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Detectives are examining role of a blood-stained cricket bat, newspaper reports
- Runner Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder in model Reeva Steenkamp's death
- Steenkamp was still alive when Pistorius carried her downstairs, an official says
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Model Reeva Steenkamp was shot four times through the bathroom door at the home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, a South African official familiar with the case told CNN on Monday.
She was alive after she was shot and was carried downstairs by Pistorius, said the official, who was not authorized to release details to the media.
A blood-stained cricket bat has also emerged as key evidence in the case, according to the City Press newspaper of Johannesburg.
Detectives are working to determine whether the bat was used to attack Steenkamp or she used it in self-defense, the newspaper reported, citing a source with inside knowledge of the case. Detectives are also looking into the possibility that Pistorius used the bat to break down the bathroom door.
The details are the latest to emerge in the shooting death that has roiled the nation and left South Africans asking what went so terribly wrong inside the upscale Pretoria home of the man nicknamed "Blade Runner" for his lightning-fast prosthetic legs.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were indications the 29-year-old model intended to stay the night at the house: She had an overnight bag and her iPad.
Opinion: Pistorius case and the plague of violence against women
Authorities have released little about a possible motive in the Valentine's Day shooting, while local media have reported that Pistorius had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. South African authorities have stressed that the scenario did not come from them, and said there was no evidence of forced entry at the home.
Police have charged Pistorius with murder, and he will appear in court Tuesday for a bail hearing. South African prosecutors have said they intend to upgrade the charge to premeditated murder, but have not released further details.
Pistorius, 26, has rejected the murder allegation "in the strongest terms," his agent said in a statement.
Nike's bullet ad with Pistorius backfires
Burial service
The same day Pistorius returns to court, Steenkamp will be buried in a private service in her hometown of Port Elizabeth.
Her burial Tuesday will come two days after South Africa's national broadcaster aired a pre-recorded reality TV show featuring Steenkamp discussing her exit from "Tropika Island of Treasure," on which local celebrities compete for prize money.
The decision to air the program took "much deliberation," and "this week's episode will be dedicated to Reeva's memory," said Samantha Moon, the executive producer.
The shooting has stunned South Africa, where Pistorius is a national hero as the first disabled athlete to compete in the able-bodied Olympic Games. He competed in the London Games as well as winning two gold medals in the Paralympic Games.
Headlines about the case have dominated in the days since Pistorius was arrested, though tight-lipped authorities have revealed little about what, if anything, the track star has said.
Oscar Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp in January 2013.
Questions swirl
Reports say Pistorius and Steenkamp became an item around November and were popular in South African social circles.
The night before the shooting, Steenkamp appeared to be looking forward to Valentine's Day.
"What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?" she asked her Twitter followers the day before. "Get excited."
Steenkamp was found in a pool of blood at Pistorius' home Thursday morning. Neighbors alerted authorities to the early morning shooting, saying they had "heard things earlier," police spokeswoman Denise Beukes has said. She did not clarify what the neighbors reported they heard.
Authorities also have not said whether Pistorius called for help.
Pictures of his walk to a police car, his head covered by a sweatshirt, have flashed repeatedly across television screens.
On Sunday, Pistorius canceled his appearances in five upcoming races.
The move is meant to help Pistorius focus on the legal proceedings and "help and support all those involved as they try to come to terms with this very difficult and distressing situation," said Peet Van Zyl of Pistorius' management company, In Site Athlete Management.
CNN's Robyn Curnow reported from South Africa; Chelsea J. Carter and Faith Karimi reported from Atlanta.
Panic, then composure as Bounty sank
Labels: LifestyleSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Third mate: Crew remained calm after Sandy tossed them into the Atlantic
- Coast Guard hearings look for possible negligence
- Before leaving port, captain gave crew option to go home
- Shipyard representative says Bounty had rotted frame
Portsmouth, Virginia (CNN) -- Floating in a life raft with Hurricane Sandy raging around them, the crew of the HMS Bounty remained surprisingly calm and even told jokes after their ship rolled them into the Atlantic, survivors said.
Testifying Friday before a Coast Guard hearing, former Bounty third mate Daniel Cleveland and boatswain Laura Groves revealed breathtaking details about the shipwreck last fall that left a deckhand dead and the captain missing.
The vessel and its crew of 16 were heading from New London, Connecticut, to St. Petersburg, Florida, when it ran into Sandy's vicious winds and waves 90 miles off North Carolina. The ship began taking on water and eventually it lost power to its pumps and engines. In the 4 a.m. darkness of October 25, Capt. Robin Walbridge gave the order they all knew was coming: abandon ship.
Dressed in red survival suits, they stood on deck preparing to take to their lifeboats. Suddenly 50-mph winds and up to 30-foot waves flipped the ship horizontally, tossing the crew overboard.
It was chaos.
"Everybody panicked at that point," said Groves, fighting back tears as she described the struggle to keep their heads above water.
Cleveland said he recalled being "thrown around, caught on stuff and underneath stuff and being hit by things." While they were treading water under the Bounty's huge sails, the wind began slamming the sail rigging down "on all of us repeatedly," said Groves. "We were doing our best to swim away from the boat and the rig."
Cleveland, Groves and a few other crew members found a large piece of wood grating that kept them afloat. "We were all looking for each other," Cleveland said, "but all you could see was a bunch of red suits and there was a lot of yelling."
In a stroke of luck, the crew clinging to the wood grating found a floating capsule containing an inflatable life raft. With some difficulty they inflated the raft and got inside. They had seen a Coast Guard aircraft circling overhead, giving them confidence a rescue helicopter would arrive soon.
"We were there for a while telling jokes and stuff," said Cleveland. "No one was in a bad mood -- crying or anything." He said they talked about the terrifying experience they'd just been through and "what we were going to do when we got home."
"At some point we sang a few sea shanties," recalled Groves. "We were in relatively good spirits."
Dawn broke, followed by the the sound of a Coast Guard chopper, which dropped a rescue swimmer down to the life raft.
He said, 'Hi, I'm Dan. I heard you guys need a ride. Let's get out of here.'
Laura Groves, shipwreck survivor
"He said, 'Hi, I'm Dan,'" Groves remembered. "'I heard you guys need a ride. Let's get out of here.'"
While the swimmer was helping survivors get out of the life raft, it flipped upside down. "We all thought we were going to drown again," remembered Groves. Instead, they swam out of the raft and held on to the outside until the chopper hoisted them to safety.
Related: Watch Bounty survivors being rescued
Meanwhile the Bounty -- a replica of an 18th-century sailing ship that was longer than half a football field and weighed about a million pounds -- was descending to the bottom of the Atlantic.
During his testimony, Cleveland was asked about the last time he saw deckhand Claudene Christian, 42. More than three months after the shipwreck, the exact circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear. Before the ship rolled, Cleveland said he remembered holding Christian's hand as he helped her and other crew members prepare to launch the life rafts. Searchers found Christian's body later that evening.
Related: Claudene Christian's mutineer connection
The final glimpse Cleveland got of Walbridge, 63, was just before the ship went on its side.
Walbridge's body has not been found. His widow said she believes the captain died trying to help Christian escape.
Related: Bounty's captain was 'my soul mate'
Bounty's captain: 'My soul mate'
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Bounty was much more than a creaky 50-year-old wooden tourist attraction. It was a bona fide Hollywood star, featured in the 1962 film version of "Mutiny on the Bounty," which starred Marlon Brando, and more recently in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise that starred Johnny Depp. But it also was a ship where inexperienced sailors could learn seafaring skills that go back hundreds of years.
The hearings, which include the National Transportation Safety Board, could lead to federal recommendations aimed at improving safety for other ships like the Bounty.
Investigators in this military shipyard region near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay have been asking two basic questions: Was the Bounty fit to sail in rough weather? And did the ship needlessly sail into harm's way?
About two months before the disaster, Walbridge, a master sailor with a lifetime of experience at sea, played down the seriousness of sailing through bad weather. "Have we run into stormy seas? We chase hurricanes," Walbridge said in a video interview posted on YouTube. "You don't want to get in front of it," he said. "You want to stay behind it, but you also get a good ride out of a hurricane."
Asked about that comment by Walbridge, Cleveland testified that the captain didn't mean literally chasing hurricanes. "It means we are trying to follow them into a navigable, safer" area of the storm, he said. The idea was "getting behind it, in a safe place" to make use of its favorable winds. "You don't want to be in its path."
Before the ship set sail from New London, the crew was very aware of the approaching hurricane, Cleveland said. Walbridge gathered them for a meeting in which he "mentioned his experience with hurricanes and he said if anybody wanted to leave there would be no hard feelings, no begrudging."
"I believed him," said Cleveland, who was then asked if the crew were offered paid expenses home. "In my experience, if you choose to leave, you would have to find your own way home."
"Nobody decided to leave," Cleveland said.
Walbridge said he wanted to "make tracks" to the south and east as fast as possible, Cleveland said, so the vessel could position itself to get the best winds from Sandy.
The captain believed, Cleveland said, that his ship would be safer riding Sandy out at sea, instead of waiting for the storm to hit them in New London. Cleveland said he agreed with that point of view, but there were also good arguments to remain in port.
Bounty first mate John Svendsen testified Tuesday that Walbridge wasn't chasing Sandy, but the captain had said "the ship was safer at sea."
Svendsen testified that as the storm worsened on October 29, he advised Walbridge to abandon ship more than once over a short period. "He said, 'I think we have more time.'" When Svendsen made a third request to the captain to abandon ship, he said Walbridge finally gave the order.
While the 13 other crew members, including Groves and Cleveland, made it safely to two life rafts, Svendsen spent three hours floating alone in his survival suit before Coast Guard rescuers saw his emergency beacon.
The Coast Guard said its goal for the investigation is to determine as much as possible about the cause of the tragedy and whether it was linked to equipment or material failure. Investigators are looking for evidence of "misconduct, inattention to duty, negligence or willful violation of the law."
Did Walbridge make a fatal error? People who weren't there have no right to pass judgment, the captain's widow, Claudia McCann, said last week from her home in St. Petersburg.
Although it's not a criminal hearing, Bounty owner Robert Hansen declined to testify, citing his Fifth Amendment constitutional protections against self-incrimination. Evidence could be forwarded to federal prosecutors.
In Thursday's testimony, Todd Kosakowski of Maine's Boothbay Harbor Shipyard said he raised doubts about Bounty's seaworthiness weeks before it sailed into the storm. He said he told Walbridge he was worried about rotting wood in the Bounty's frame. Walbridge, Kosakowski said, decided against fixing the rot.
"I believe that that could have had an impact on the strength of the vessel," Kosakowski said.
Joe Jakomovicz, a retired manager who worked at the shipyard for four decades, told investigators he disagreed with Kosakowski's analysis. The decay of the Bounty's timbers, he said, wasn't as bad as Kosakowski's assessment. "He's basing his judgment on probably five or six years of experience," Jakomovicz testified.
Claudene Christian's father, Rex, and her mother -- who shares her daughter's first name but goes by Dina -- were also at the hearing. For now, they've declined to speak with reporters.
Their daughter was relatively new to sailing, and told friends in May how excited she was to join the Bounty. A former beauty queen, Christian also said she was a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the infamous mutineer on the real HMS Bounty 220 years ago.
On Friday, her mother sat silently at the side of the hearing room, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief and sometimes taking notes.
The memory of Claudene Christian took a seat at the proceding almost as real as any of the participants.
Several questions focused on the energetic deckhand who had virtually no experience aboard a tall ship, let alone riding out hurricanes. When Cleveland helped her move toward the back of the ship, shortly before it went horizontal, he "told her to stay low. I told her to go aft and to grab the next person I would hand her to."
She never made it home.
During a brief recess, Christian's parents paused at a window near the hearing room in this shipyard town, their arms around each other, looking across the Elizabeth River flowing toward the sea.
CNN's John Couwels contributed to this report.
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