Obama's Immigration Plan to Have More Direct Path

President Barack Obama is expected to lay out his principles for immigration reform in a speech in Las Vegas today that will include a potentially quicker path to citizenship than the bipartisan plan a group of senators unveiled earlier this week.

The president will offer some new details about the White House's immigration reform plan, which expands on a blueprint it released in 2011, a senior administration official told ABC News. But for now Obama will stop short of offering his own piece of legislation because of the progress made by the Senate "Gang of Eight."

See Also: Senate Wants Immigration Bill Passed in Months

The White House has sounded positive notes about the Senate group's plan thus far, but the specifics that Obama announces are expected to have some key differences that might cause concern for some Republican senators who have signed onto the senate deal.

Like the senators' plan, Obama's proposal calls for a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The senators' plan would grant "probationary legal status" immediately to eligible undocumented immigrants, but would not allow them to apply for permanent legal status, or a green card, until the border is deemed to be secure. Think of that as a trigger system.

On the other hand, administration officials told media outlets that they believe a path to citizenship needs to be more straightforward. They believe a trigger system, like the one in the senate plan, could lead to a state of legal limbo for the undocumented immigrants who receive legal status, The Washington Post reported.

'Lucha Libre' Wrestler: Crusader Against Illegal Immigration Watch Video

The border-security-first plan, however, is essential to Republican senators who signed onto the Senate "Gang of Eight" deal.

"I will not be supporting any law that does not ensure that the enforcement things happen," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the group, told conservative blogger Ed Morrissey on his web radio show.

See Also: 3 Flashpoints in the Senate Immigration Blueprint

Obama's plan is likely to include language that would allow same-sex bi-national couples to have the same rights as heterosexual couples, BuzzFeed and The Washington Post reported. Under current law, gays and lesbians who are married to U.S. citizens under state laws cannot obtain a green card. Obama's plan would allow them a path to citizenship, but the issue is not mentioned in the Senate "Gang of Eight" proposal.

As noted by the Post, that language may anger Christian groups who have signaled they would support comprehensive immigration reform.

But the White House remains optimistic about the progress that has been made so far. An official described the senators' announcement as a "breakthrough" to ABC News because it wasn't clear whether Republicans would sign on to any path to citizenship.

Some observers couched the Senate group's decision to come out with his plan a day before Obama as an attempt to outfox the White House politically. But administration officials told media outlets they remain generally pleased with the plan and believe that the president's speech could build momentum for a final bill.

Updated, 12:15 PM

The White House reiterated that the president was very encouraged by the Senate's proposal since it includes a pathway to citizenship that is endorsed by Republicans, who have previously opposed immigration reform that includes such a path.

"Our focus is that this is a positive development," White House spokesman Luis Miranda told ABC/Univision. "We feel very positive that there is a proposal in the first place and that it is consistent with what the president has supported in the past."

The White House clarified that it is withholding judgment on language in the Senate framework that requires a border security "trigger" to obtain a green card until actual legislative language is released by the senators.

"What we have said is that there needs to be a clear path to citizenship," said Miranda. "We'll wait to see what they flesh out."

ABC's Reena Ninan contributed reporting.

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Why haven't we learned from fires?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Pyrotechnics, overcrowding, poor exits have contributed to tragic fires in recent years


• You would think the world would have learned from past incidents, John Barylick says


• Concertgoers have to be their own fire marshals, he says

Editor's note: John Barylick, author of "Killer Show," a book on the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is an attorney who represented victims in wrongful death and personal injury cases arising from the fire.

(CNN) -- Sunday morning we awoke to breaking news of another tragic nightclub fire, this time in Brazil. At last report the death toll exceeded 230.

This tragedy is not without precedent. Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of a similar nightclub fire in Rhode Island. At this sad time, it's appropriate to reflect on what we've learned from club fires -- and what we haven't.

Rhode Island's Station nightclub fire of 2003, in which 100 concertgoers lost their lives, began when fireworks set off by Great White, an 80s heavy metal band, ignited flammable packing foam on the club's walls.

Deadly blazes: Nightclub tragedies in recent history

John Barylick

Panicked patrons stampeded toward the club's main exit, and a fatal pileup ensued. Contributing to the tragedy were illegal use of pyrotechnics, overcrowding and a wall covering that would have failed even the most rudimentary flammability tests.

Video images of the Station fire were broadcast worldwide: A concert begins; the crowd's mood changes from merry, to curious, to concerned, to horrified -- in less than a minute. You'd think the world would have learned from it. You would be wrong.

The following year, the Republica Cromanon nightclub in Argentina went up in flames, killing 194 people. The club was made to hold about 1,000 people, but it was estimated that more than 3,000 fans were packed inside the night of the fire, which began when fans began lighting flares that caught the roof on fire.

Echoes of the past: Rhode Island victims 'can't help but watch'

Then, in January 2009, at least 64 New Year's revelers lost their lives in a nightclub in Bangkok, Thailand, after fire ignited its ceiling. Many were crushed in a rush to get out of the club. In December of that same year, a fire in a Russian nightclub, ignited by pyrotechnics, killed 156 people. Overcrowding, poor exits, and indoor fireworks all played roles in these tragedies; yet no one bothered to learn from mistakes of the past.

While responsibility for concert disasters unquestionably lies with venue operators, performers and promoters, ultimately, we, as patrons of clubs and concerts, can enhance our own safety by taking a few simple steps. The National Fire Protection Association urges concertgoers to:

• Be observant. Is the concert venue rundown or well-maintained? Does the staff look well-trained?

• As you proceed to your seat, observe how long the process takes. Could you reverse it in a hurry? Do you pass through pinch points? Is furniture in the way?

• Once seated, take note of the nearest exit. (In an emergency, most people try to exit by the door they entered, which is usually not the closest, and is always overcrowded.) Then, share the location of that nearest exit with your entire party. Agree that at the first sign of trouble, you will all proceed to it without delay.

• Once the show begins, remain vigilant. If you think there's a problem, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Do not stay to "get your money's worth" despite concerns about safety. Do not remain to locate that jacket or bag you placed somewhere. No concert is worth your life. Better to read about an incident the next day than be counted as one of its statistics.

Read more: How to protect yourself in a crowd

To be sure, all fire codes must be vigorously enforced, and club and concert hall operators must be held to the highest standards. A first step is banning indoor pyrotechnics in all but the largest, stadium-type venues.

But, ultimately, we are our own best "fire marshals" when it comes to avoiding, and escaping, dangerous situations. We can still enjoy shows. But it is up to us to look out for our own safety.

In coming days, Rhode Islanders will follow the unfolding news from Brazil with a sense of queasy deja vu -- the rising body counts, the victim identification process, the grieving families, and the assigning (and dodging) of blame. If only they had learned from our tragedy.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Barylick.

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Iran sends monkey into space

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday successfully sent a monkey into orbit, paving the way for a manned space flight, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television.

Arabic-language channel Al-Alam and other Iranian news agencies said the monkey returned alive after travelling in a capsule to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight.

"This success is the first step towards man conquering the space and it paves the way for other moves," General Vahidi said, but added that the process of putting a human into space would be a lengthy one.

"Today's successful launch follows previous successes we had in launching (space) probes with other living creatures (on board)," he added.

"The monkey which was sent in this launch landed safely and alive and this is a big step for our experts and scientists."

Iranian state television showed still pictures of the capsule and of a monkey being fitted with a vest and then placed in a device similar to a child's car-seat.

A previous attempt in 2011 by the Islamic republic to put a monkey into space failed. No official explanation was ever given.

A defence ministry statement quoted by Iranian media said earlier Iran had "successfully launched a capsule, codenamed Pishgam (Pioneer), containing a monkey and recovered the shipment on the ground intact".

Iran announced in mid-January its intention to launch a monkey into orbit as part of "preparations for sending a man into space," which is scheduled for 2020.

Iran's space programme deeply unsettles Western nations, which fear it could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads they suspect are being developed in secret.

The same technology used in space launch rockets can also be used in ballistic missiles.

The Security Council has imposed on Iran an almost total embargo on nuclear and space technologies since 2007.

Tehran has repeatedly denied that its nuclear and scientific programmes mask military ambitions.

Iran's previous satellite launches were met by condemnation from the West who accused Tehran of "provocation."

The Islamic republic has previously sent a rat, turtles and worms into space. It has also successfully launched three satellites -- Omid in February 2009, Rassad in June 2011 and Navid in February 2012.

In mid-May last year, Tehran announced plans to launch an experimental observation satellite Fajr (Dawn) within a week but it did not happen and Iran gave no explanation for the delay.

The Fajr satellite was presented by Iranian officials as "an observation and measurement" satellite weighing 50 kilos (110 pounds), built by Sa-Iran, a company affiliated to the defence ministry.

- AFP/ir

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French forces in Mali enter Timbuktu

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "We are winning in Mali," French president says


• French forces are fighting the remaining Islamists in Timbuktu


• Militants are reported to be fleeing to another city farther northeast


• Malian and French forces recaptured an Islamist stronghold last week

Read a version of this story on CNN Arabic.

On the road to Timbuktu, Mali (CNN) -- French-led troops in Mali have seized control of the airport in Timbuktu from Islamist militants and are fighting their way into the city center, spokesmen for the French defense ministry and the Malian military said Monday.

"We are winning in Mali," French President Francois Hollande said at a news conference.

Malian and French forces have together been battling the Islamists to loosen their grip on the country's north, which the militants have controlled for months.

Hollande, who refused to speculate on how long the French intervention would continue, said the Islamists still control the northern part of the country.

The United States has also stepped up its involvement in the conflict by conducting aerial refueling missions on top of the intelligence and airlift support it was already providing.

Photos: Mali military battles Islamist insurgents

Malian and French soldiers scored a key victory last week, taking control of Gao, a city east of Timbuktu that for months had been a militant stronghold. And flushing the Islamists out of Timbuktu, Mali's historic cultural center, would be a big symbolic gain.

The Islamists were reported to be fleeing Timbuktu to the city of Kidal, more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) to the northeast.

New fears for Timbuktu in Mali conflict

The quickening advance of the government forces has brought them to the heart of the territory held by the militants.

Covering the fighting up close is almost impossible for journalists, who are prevented from gaining access to the front line. Journalists are allowed to enter after a town only after it has been freed and its security guaranteed by French and Malian troops.

French forces are involved in the fight in Mali, a former French colony that retains close ties with Paris, in an effort to prevent the Islamists from turning the once-peaceful democracy into a haven for international terrorists.

France has 2,150 soldiers on Malian soil, with 1,000 more troops supporting the operation from elsewhere.

Photos: Fears for Timbuktu in Mali conflict

The Islamic extremists carved out a large haven in northern Mali last year, taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup by the separatist party MNLA. The militants banned music, smoking, drinking and watching sports on television. They also destroyed historic tombs and shrines.

Refugees have told harrowing stories of life under the Islamist militants. But human rights groups have also raised concerns over reports that Malian soldiers are themselves carrying out extrajudicial killings and abuses as they counterstrike.

Six reasons events in Mali matter

The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court issued a statement Monday putting Malian forces on notice that "all those alleged to be responsible for serious crimes in Mali must be held accountable."

"My Office is aware of reports that Malian forces may have committed abuses in recent days, in central Mali," the prosecutor said. "I urge the Malian authorities to put an immediate stop to the alleged abuses and on the basis of the principle of complementarity, to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the alleged crimes."

The restrictions on journalists make it harder to gauge the realities on the ground.

The United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, has called for an increase in international aid for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced by the fighting in the country.

More than 150,000 refugees have fled Mali into neighboring countries, and another 230,000 are displaced inside Mali, the agency said.

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Istanbul police start search for missing NYC mom

ANKARA, Turkey Police in Istanbul were scanning security camera footage Monday to try to trace a New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in the city, an official said.

Sarai Sierra, 33, was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was supposed to fly home after two weeks in Turkey.

A police official said authorities were reviewing footage from around Istanbul's Taksim neighborhood — the city's main hub where she was staying at a hostel.

Several police teams have also been dispatched to surrounding neighborhoods to find possible clues and witnesses, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules that bar civil servants from speaking to reporters without prior authorization.

Turkey's private Dogan news agency meanwhile, reported that police had established that Sierra had traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, from Istanbul on Jan. 15 and then journeyed on to Munich, Germany, on Jan. 16, before returning to Istanbul on Jan. 19. Police were trying to determine the reason for her visit to the European cities, the report said.

Police were also trying to find the identity of a person she had been chatting with on the Internet, Dogan reported.

Another police official, contacted by The Associated Press, confirmed that Sierra had made a brief trip to Europe, but refused to provide further details. He also spoke on condition of anonymity saying he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

Before she went missing, the mother-of-two told family members that she planned to take some photographs at Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination about 1.2 miles away from Taksim that spans the Golden Horn waterway. She was then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.

Her belongings, including her passport and phone, were found in her room. The first police official said authorities were therefore not able to track her by her cell phone.

Sierra's husband and brother were traveling to Istanbul to follow the search. Her two children, aged 11 and 9, do not know their mother is missing, her brother David Jimenez told the AP Sunday.

Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend but ended up going by herself when the friend couldn't make it. She was looking forward to exploring her hobby of photography, her family said.

Crime in Turkey is generally low and Istanbul is a relatively safe city for travelers, though there are areas where women would be advised to avoid going alone at night. The Galata and the nearby Galata Bridge areas have been gentrified and are home to fish restaurants, chic cafes and boutiques.

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Grand Jury Wanted to Indict JonBenet's Parents

A grand jury believed there was enough evidence in 1999 to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges relating to the still-unsolved killing of their beauty queen daughter JonBenet Ramsey, ABC News sources say.

Six-year-old JonBenet was found dead in the basement of her family's upscale Boulder, Colo., home Christmas Day 1996. Suspicion fell on her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, but they insisted an intruder was to blame and they were never prosecuted.

In an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters after her death, both of the girl's parents denied that they had killed her. They were eventually cleared by prosecutors.

JonBenet Ramsey Case: New Grand Jury Report Watch Video

After meeting for more than a year, a grand jury found sufficient evidence to indict the couple on charges of child abuse resulting in death, as first reported Sunday by the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper and confirmed by two separate sources by ABC News.

"This grand jury, in effect, came up with a compromise finding, 'No, it's not murder,' but, 'Yes, we think they were responsible' for the death based on abuse," ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said.

PHOTOS: JonBenet Ramsey: Never-Before-Seen Photos

But District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign off on the grand jury's decision, saying there was too little proof.

"I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time," Hunter said then.

Hunter believed a conviction would be impossible. Abrams said that he agrees with the decision.

"I've seen the majority of the case files and I think Alex Hunter made the right call," he said. "I think there simply was not enough evidence to move forward."

Patsy Ramsey died in 2006 after a battle with ovarian cancer. John Ramsey remarried. His attorney told ABC News that Hunter is "a hero who wisely avoided a miscarriage of justice."

The case is still officially open but, as in 1996, investigators seem no closer to solving the crime this year, when JonBenet would have turned 23.

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Women in infantry: Tough challenge?

Hospital Corpsman Shannon Crowley packs for a mission as Lance Cpl.. Kristi Baker sits on her bed in 2010 in Afghanistan.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Maren Leed: Ban on women in combat has hurt operations, women's promotion


• Leed: Integrating women into the physically demanding infantry presents challenges


• Women are already in combat; she says, the "front line" and "rear line" no longer exist


• Leed: Research into women in infantry might show that some limits might be appropriate

Editor's note: Maren Leed is senior adviser, Harold Brown Chair in defense policy studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2011 to 2012, she served as senior adviser to the chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Follow the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Twitter.

(CNN) -- In the coming years, lifting the ban on women in combat, announced Thursday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, might prove particularly challenging in the most iconic of military occupations -- the infantry, among the most physically demanding and tradition-bound branches of the Marines and the Army.

Determining the best path forward to integrate women into this elite group will require hard-nosed honesty, careful management and compelling leadership.

For the 65 years that women have enjoyed a permanent place in the United States military, they have been subject to restrictions. One rationale is the notion embedded in our culture that women should be shielded from great physical risks. Another is a recognition of the physical superiority of the average male over the average female. A third is the fear that unit cohesion, critical to military performance, would suffer with the introduction of women.

Maren Leed

These three concerns apply to varying degrees in the infantry. But the last 11 years of war have clearly demonstrated that warfare is no longer waged in a linear fashion, and that the concept of "front line" no longer applies.

Opinion: A more equal military? Bring back draft

Historically, logistics operations were conducted "in the rear," where risks were comparatively low. This has changed: In 2006 in Iraq, for example, one in every five truck convoys was attacked. Although infantry clearly remains one of the most dangerous military occupations, the proliferation of homemade bombs and other low-cost, lethal weaponry and tactics have heightened the risk of almost every occupation. War is more uniformly dangerous.

That said, physical differences between the sexes remains a thorny issue. Determining gender-neutral physical standards for an integrated infantry will be one of the most difficult tasks ahead.

Infantry soldiers and Marines are the primary forces for operations on foot. They not only travel long distances, but also frequently carry loads in excess of 50 pounds. Both the short- and long-term health effects of such demands can be significant.

Single mom fought alongside combat troops in Afghanistan

The Defense Department has consistently pursued solutions to lighten the load, from exoskeletons to unmanned vehicles that would serve as "pack mules," to the elusive quest for higher power, lower weight batteries.

The success of these efforts will benefit both men and women. But until that happens, research into the effects these physical demands have on women is necessary before determining the degree to which they can, and should, be part of the full range of infantry.

Whether men serving in the infantry will accept women as peers is another open question.

Those who oppose women in the infantry argue that they would change group dynamics, disrupt bonding and ultimately harm unit cohesion. In the past, these fears have been brought up regarding the participation of minorities and homosexuals, too. But data show these negative predictions don't come true. Instead, successful integration has happened with strong leadership, and, critically, a process that is broadly perceived to be fair.

Opinion: Women in combat a dangerous experiment

Even if the arguments underpinning the ban on women in combat have weakened, is there sufficient justification for change? The Joint Chiefs apparently believe so, as they have unanimously recommended the ban be lifted.

Each of the services already has been taking steps along these lines. This is in part driven by the evolution of the battlefield. When today's senior leaders were serving time in Iraq and Afghanistan, they realized that the restrictions on women sometimes also restricted their missions.

They implemented work-arounds and sought exceptions to policy. But they came home with firsthand experience of the mismatch between modern warfare and the policies limiting women's role. Women are in combat, and senior military leaders believe that future success demands they must remain available to be so, in even greater numbers.

From the institutional viewpoint, there are also concerns that the traditional limitations fail to make the best use of women in the service. Combat experience weighs heavily in promotion decisions, and restrictions have precluded women from gaining experiences equal to those of male counterparts.

Women are also excluded from many of the occupations disproportionately represented in senior leadership, and that automatically limits the number of women who can advance to the highest levels. At the same time, the pool of Americans eligible for military service is shrinking, and competition for high-quality recruits is intensifying. So it's imperative that the military fully leverage the talent of the men and women it has and that it seeks to attract.

By the numbers: Women in the U.S. military

The arguments in favor of lifting the ban on women in combat outweigh those against it. Despite Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's announcement on Thursday, the military services maintain the prerogative to preclude women from serving in certain positions or occupations.

Infantry, or at least some specialties within that branch, could well be a case in which restrictions are warranted. But military leaders have time to evaluate this proposition, and to set the conditions to make any change stick. The path ahead may not be smooth, but it is necessary.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Maren Leed.

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Major floods sweep northeast Australia

SYDNEY: Two people were missing and the body of a third person was recovered from raging floodwaters as severe storms pounded northeastern Australia on Sunday, forcing more than 1,000 to flee their homes.

Army aircraft were deployed in the northern state of Queensland, where storms generated by former tropical cyclone Oswald unleashed punishing rains and localised tornadoes and floodwaters threatened several major towns.

One woman was plucked to safety in Biloela, 600 kilometres northwest of the state capital Brisbane, after she spent eight hours clinging to a tree.

At Gympie, north of Brisbane, three families waited on the roofs of their homes for seven hours before rescue helicopters, hampered by high winds, managed to reach them, town mayor Ron Dyne said.

A 27-year-old man was missing after he tried to cross a swollen creek near Gympie, and state Premier Campbell Newman said there were serious concerns for another young woman.

"Emergency services are searching for a young woman who reportedly drove into waters near Pacific Haven this morning, and we have grave fears for her safety," Newman told reporters.

Separately on Sunday, police said the body of an elderly man who went to check on a yacht had been recovered from waters north of Bundaberg, where the engorged Burnett River broke its banks and was expected to engulf 300 homes.

Bundaberg was among dozens of towns devastated by floods in Queensland two years ago that claimed 35 lives. Newman said residents there were bracing for the river to peak above nine metres, well in excess of the 7.92 metres seen in 2011.

Further north at Gladstone, about 900 homes were evacuated and several towns in the region were already isolated by the rising waters.

Across the state some 58,000 homes were without power and that number was growing by the hour, according to Newman.

"We are right in the middle of this now, I can hear it bucketing down on the roof as we speak," he said.

Authorities warned residents in New South Wales to prepare for possible flash floods and strong winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour on Monday as the storm system moves further south, the AAP news agency reported.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the emergency had revived "memories of the floods of two summers ago", which she said were "still fresh".

The Insurance Council of Australia declared a statewide catastrophe, noting that there had already been "severe inundation... in several towns and cities" and that major flood warnings had been issued.

"Unfortunately, this catastrophe declaration is the result of the first cyclone to come close to the coast this season, and the weather bureau has warned it's highly possible we will see more before the end of summer," said council chief Rob Whelan.

At least one international flight was diverted from Brisbane to Sydney due to the high winds and Qantas cancelled a number of domestic services, with the Sunshine Coast regional airport shut down.

A staggering 1-1.5 metres of rain was estimated to have fallen since the storms began.

Cyclones and floods are common in Australia's northeast during the warmer summer months. A massive inundation of Queensland in 2011 killed 35 people and brought Brisbane to a standstill for several days, swamping some 30,000 homes.

Brisbane was expected to be spared the kind of flooding seen two years ago, with officials predicting 3,600 homes and 1,250 businesses will be inundated, none in the central city.

- AFP/de

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232 killed in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: State media report that at least 232 people are dead


• NEW: The club was about 1,000 people over capacity, a state fire official says


• Preliminary info indicates security guards may have stopped people from leaving


• Some people were trampled in the panic to leave the club, Band News reports

Are you there? Share your story.

Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN) -- Panicked crowds pushed toward the exits as fire swept through a packed nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday.

Hundreds didn't escape in time from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria.

The blaze killed at least 232 people, many of whom apparently died from smoke inhalation, state-run Agencia Brasil reported, citing fire officials. Others were trampled in the rush for the exits, one security guard told CNN affiliate Band News. More than 130 people were hospitalized, Agencia Brasil said.

Deadly blazes: Nightclub tragedies in recent history

About 2,000 people were inside the club when the fire broke out -- double the maximum capacity of 1,000, said Guido de Melo, a state fire official.

Investigators have received preliminary information that security guards stopped people from exiting the club, he told Globo TV.

"This overcrowding made it difficult for people to leave, and according to the information we have, the security guards kept people from leaving the building," he said.

The fire started "from out of nowhere" on a stage at the club and quickly spread to the ceiling, witness Jairo Vieira told Band News.

"People started running," survivor Luana Santos Silva told Globo TV. "I fell on the floor."

Smoke billowed outside the front of the building as the stench of fire filled the air, said Max Muller, who was riding by on his motorbike when he saw the blaze.

Muller recorded video of a chaotic scene outside the club, which showed emergency crews tending to victims and dazed clubgoers standing in the street. Bodies lay on the ground beside ambulances.

Friends who were inside the club told him that many struggled to find the exits in the dark. Muller, who was not inside the club Sunday morning but has been there twice before, said there were no exit signs over the doors. It is rare to see such signs in Brazilian clubs.

Valderci Oliveira, a state lawmaker, told Band News that he saw piles of bodies in the club's bathroom when he arrived at the scene hours after the blaze. It looked "like a war zone," he said.

Police told Band News that 90% of the victims were found in that part of the club.

Video from the scene showed firefighters shooting streams of water at the club and shirtless men trying to break down a wall with axes.

Hours later, families and friends searching for information were outside a nearby sporting complex, where bodies were taken for identification, the state-run Agencia Brasil reported.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff became teary-eyed as she spoke of the tragedy to reporters in Chile, where she has been attending a regional summit.

"The Brazilian people are the ones who need me today," she said. "I want to tell the people of Santa Maria in this time of sadness that we are all together."

Rousseff arrived in Santa Maria later Sunday, Brazilian media reported.

Police were interviewing witnesses as part of an investigation into what caused the blaze, state-run Agencia Brasil reported.

The fire started at about 2 a.m. after the acoustic insulation in the Kiss nightclub caught fire, said Col. Adilomar Silva, the regional coordinator of civil defense.

There was a pyrotechnics show going on inside the club when the fire started. Authorities stopped short of blaming it for the blaze, saying the cause was still under investigation.

"There just weren't enough emergency exits," Mateus Vargas, a witness who was inside the club when the fire broke out, told Band News.

The incident called to mind a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island where pyrotechnics used by the heavy metal band Great White ignited a blaze that killed more than 90 people.

Pyrotechnics were also involved in a 2004 nightclub fire in Argentina that killed 194 people and a 2009 explosion at a nightclub in Russia that left more than 100 dead.

The Kiss nightclub is popular with young people in Santa Maria, drawing between 2,000 and 3,000 people a night on the weekends.

The blaze broke out during a weekend when students were celebrating the end of summer. Students at many Brazilian universities return to school on Monday.

Santa Maria is home to the Federal University of Santa Maria as well as a number of other private universities and colleges.

Shasta Darlington reported from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Marilia Brocchetto and Helena DeMoura reported from Atlanta. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

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Gingrich: Republicans "clearly have to change"

(CBS News) If the GOP had focused more on ideas in the 2012 presidential election, "maybe we could have won," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested today on "Face the Nation."

Reacting to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's speech last week to the Republican National Committee in Charlotte, Gingrich recommended "to every Republican" Irving Kristol's 1976 essay, "The Stupid Party." Then "Ronald Reagan came along with Jack Kemp," Gingrich continued, "and they basically moved us back to being an idea-oriented party. I think we clearly have to change.

"I mean, maybe we could have won or not won this year," continued Gingrich, who ultimately lost out in the GOP primaries to former nominee Mitt Romney. "I was certainly wrong - I thought [Romney] would win up until about 5:30 on Election Day."

Jindal was "right on track," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said during the discussion with Gingrich. "What we need to do is get rid of 'Grand Old Party.' We are the 'great opportunity party.' We're the 'growth and opportunity party.' We are the 'government of the people' party. And that needs to be upon point of view and the perspective we come from and we carry our message forth."

One thing Republicans didn't do well with Romney's campaign, Blackburn argued, "was to penetrate the market place with our message - we didn't have a broad enough basis using social media, using all the different media formats that are there." Gingrich, though, pointed to overly conservative policies as the GOP's 2012 curse.

"When I said as a candidate we're not going to deport a grandmother if she's been here 25 years, we had a nominee who said yes, we would, that she would self-deport," Gingrich said. "I think at that point we lost Asians, we lost Latinos. You can't lose Asians, Latinos, African Americans and young people, and think you're going to be competitive.

"I think we have to come to grips with the reality," he continued. "We have to learn to communicate in the world of young people on their terms but we also have to understand that we need to be a country of immigrants where Republicans are seen as welcoming, hard-working, competent people, not prepared to kick grandmother out."

Appearing later in the program, former Romney adviser Kevin Madden agreed that as the American electorate evolves, "we have to do a better job as Republicans of reaching out.

"It really comes down to this fundamental idea, this principle: Are we going to talk about what we're for or are we going to talk about what we're against? We lulled ourselves into a belief that in the 2010 elections, because we had very good results in the midterms, that we could be a party of 'no' and run against spending, run against deficits. But in order to prosper and become a majority party we have to talk about what we're for.

"Immigration is an example," Madden continued. "What does a modernized immigration system look like and how is it part a larger economic argument, part of the argument of values and families? That is our challenge as part of the rebuilding process going forward."

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