ADVISORY CNN Wire Outlook

Author: By the CNN Wire Staff
Published On: May 08 2012 11:01:06 PM CDT  Updated On: May 09 2012 05:52:58 PM CDT
(CNN) -

Supervising News Editor Maggie Leung -- 404-827-1401

UPCOMING

POL-Obama-Same-Sex-Marriage (will update)

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue in which Americans are evenly split. The announcement, long sought by supporters of same-sex marriage, puts Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

POL-Obama-Same-Sex-Reactions (will update)

Politicians and celebrities were quick to weigh in on Twitter over news of U.S. President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage.

POL-Same-Sex-DNC

In the wake of the Amendment One being passed in North Carolina Tuesday night, opposition groups have decided to take action by starting a petition to have the Democratic national convention removed.

MONEY-obama-gay-marriage

A reaction story on what President Obama's new stance on gay marriage means for the push for financial equality for gay couples.

POL-Gay-Marriage-Politics

In an election year billed to be laser-focused on jobs and the economy, social issues like same-sex marriage have stolen the spotlight a surprising number of times. But experts say don't expect those hot-button topics to be the ultimate markers of the 2012 cycle.

ENT-Travolta-Sex-Suit

John Travolta's lawyer argued a time-stamped photograph and a restaurant receipt show the actor was in not in Los Angeles when a massage therapist claims he sexually assaulted him at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "We found out the dates of the claim, we knew the story was false," Travolta lawyer Martin Singer told CNN Wednesday. The federal lawsuit, which includes claims by two men that Travolta groped them while on their massage tables, seeks $2 million in damage for each plaintiff.

Ukraine-Europe-Russia-Relations

Seven and a half years ago, scenes of jubilant crowds celebrating the outcome of Ukraine's Orange Revolution -- a new presidential vote after a rigged election was annulled -- filled TV screens around the world. Now the country is back in the headlines, thanks to the controversial detention of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a heroine of the revolution, and threats to boycott next month's Euro 2012 soccer matches in response. Viktor Yanukovych, the man defeated in 2004 by rival Viktor Yushchenko, is now president and stands accused by critics of persecuting his political opponents, Tymoshenko among them. And the promise of the 2004 Orange Revolution, where millions joined in peaceful protest against alleged corruption and in defense of democracy, is judged to have turned sour.

Pennsylvania-Duck-Boat-Settlement

A $17 million settlement has been reached in the civil trial for the fatal sightseeing "duck boat² accident last summer. The families of the Hungarian student-tourists who drowned in the Delaware River will split $15 million. The nearly 20 other victims involved in the accident will split $2 million.

Fenway-Announcer-Death

Carl Beane, known to baseball fans as the "The Voice of Fenway Park," died Wednesday in a single vehicle crash in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, the Worcester County District Attorney's office said in statement.

Illinois-Hudson-Murder-Trial (will update)

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing the mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew of entertainer Jennifer Hudson.

Tennessee-Missing-Children (will update)

Federal authorities added the suspect in the kidnapping of four members of a Tennessee family to the FBI's 10 most wanted list Wednesday and added $100,000 to the rewards offered for a break in the case.

California-Police-Beating (will update)

A California judge ordered Wednesday that two Fullerton police officers stand trial in the beating death last year of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with a mental illness.

New-York-Warhol-Double-Elvis (will update)

An Andy Warhol classic named the "Double Elvis (Ferus Type)" is set to hit the auction block Wednesday evening at Sotheby's in Manhattan and could fetch up to $50 million, the auction house said. Auctioning of the silver painting, which shows Elvis Presley in gunslinger pose, is expected to start at 7 p.m. ET.

ENT-Vidal-Sassoon-Obit (will update)

Vidal Sassoon, the legendary hairstylist, died of "apparent natural causes" at his Los Angeles home Wednesday morning, a Los Angeles police spokesman said. He was 84.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED STORIES

TOP STORIES

POL-Obama-Same-Sex-Marriage

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue in which Americans are evenly split. The announcement, long sought by supporters of same-sex marriage, puts Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

POL-North-Carolina-Marriage

A day after North Carolina became the latest state to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman, opponents of the referendum will gear up for battle Wednesday to overturn it.

Al-Qaeda-Plot

The agent who penetrated al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and returned from Yemen with the group's new "airline bomb" was always under Saudi control and was not a double-agent, two sources briefed by Saudi counterterrorism officials have told CNN.

CNN SHOWCASE

Analysis-Al-Qaeda-Plot

The infiltration of a Middle Eastern terror network by a mole who helped foil a plot to blow up a U.S.-bound plane was a "phenomenal," "brilliant" and "powerful" success, experts said Wednesday. It's unclear how much of the credit should go to the United States or to Saudi Arabia, for whom sources say the mole was working, but both countries have delivered a practical and psychological setback to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, analysts on the region said. Western officials describe that affiliate as al Qaeda's most dangerous.

INTERNATIONAL

Indonesia-Plane

A Russian passenger airliner went missing Wednesday after it disappeared from radar screens over a mountainous region of Indonesia.

Afghanistan-Taliban-Strength

A top coalition official on Wednesday disputed lawmakers' assertions that the Taliban are increasing their strength in Afghanistan. "I'm afraid for the Taliban the evidence is rather different," said British army Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, deputy commander for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, in a briefing with reporters from Kabul.

Syria-Unrest

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned a bomb blast Wednesday near a convoy of U.N. observers that was entering the southern Syrian city of Daraa.

Israel-Politics

The Israeli parliament approved Wednesday by a vote of 71-23 a coalition agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and the opposition Kadima party of Shaul Mofaz. After the vote, Mofaz took the oath of office. He will serve as minister without portfolio and deputy prime minister.

Pakistan-Gilani

With his fate at home hanging in the balance, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani repudiated U.S. claims that Pakistan was falling short on fighting the war on terrorism and said instead that his nation was operating on a trust deficit with Washington.

UK-Abu-Qatada

The European Court of Human Rights will not intervene again to stop Britain from deporting Abu Qatada, whom the British accuse of being a terrorist fundraiser and an inspiration to one of the hijackers on September 11, 2001, the court said Wednesday.

Greece-Elections

Greek politicians failed to forge a coalition government Wednesday as a leftist leader huddled separately with two of his counterparts who've supported the austerity initiatives he opposes.

Ukraine-Hunger-Strike

A former Ukrainian prime minister was transferred to a hospital for treatment Wednesday, a day after she agreed to end her nearly three-week hunger strike, her spokeswoman said.

Portugal-Holidays

Portugal is eliminating four holidays to try to boost its economy, the government announced -- but only after getting the agreement of the Vatican.

UK-Queen's-Speech

Queen Elizabeth II laid out the British government's plans for the coming year in a speech Wednesday marked by pomp and tradition.

Bangladesh-Clinton-Comments

A senior Bangladeshi minister has said that comments by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the globally acclaimed microlender Grameen Bank and its founder were "unwarranted."

Venezuela-Chavez-Health

A year ago Wednesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez informed the country of his health woes. A year later, the battle hasn't stopped.

Venezuela-Chavez-Health-Timeline

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is battling cancer. Health problems began to pop up for him a year ago. Here are some key dates, according to government statements, local media accounts and CNN reporting.

Ibori-MPA

The arrest of a Nigerian politician who deposited millions of dollars of stolen money in UK accounts has raised questions about the role of British banks in corruption.

Latin-America-Twitter-Politics

Twitter has been adopted by politicians and supporters alike, but recent controversies in Argentina and Mexico question whether some groups have crossed a line.

MONEY-Spanish-Bonds

Borrowing costs rose in Spain Wednesday, with the 10-year yield crossing the 6% mark for the first time in two weeks amid rising concerns about the banking sector.

SPORT-football-europa-cup-final-bilbao-madrid

Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the all-Spanish final of the Europa League in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

SPORT-tennis-madrid-open-nadal-blue

Rafael Nadal easily progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open after beating Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

SPORT-olympics-tickets-london-2012

British sports fans who struck out twice trying to land Olympic tickets will get a third chance starting Friday.

SPORT-sarah-outen-pacific

Rowing across the Pacific Ocean may hardly seem comparable to achieving success in the humdrum daily grind of an office desk job.

SPORT-mount-everest-olympics-cool

In 1922 a team of British explorers set off on a historic first attempt to climb the world's highest mountain. They never reached the top of Mount Everest, but their incredible feat of scaling within 2,000 feet of the summit was considered so groundbreaking they were each awarded an Olympic gold medal. Bowed but unbroken, climber Lt. Col. Edward Strutt made a pledge that at the very next opportunity one of the gold medals would be taken to the top of the world -- the summit his team never saw.

SPORT-motorsport-f1-stewart-pirelli-tires

When Jackie Stewart speaks about driver safety in Formula One, it's worth listening. The racing legend was a pioneer in raising standards in an era when mortality rates were high, and his legacy has left F1 stars with greater support than ever before.

U.S.A.

Tennessee-Missing-Children

Federal authorities added the suspect in the kidnapping of four members of a Tennessee family to the FBI's 10 most wanted list Wednesday and added $100,000 to the rewards offered for a break in the case.

Illinois-Hudson-Murder-Trial

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing the mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew of entertainer Jennifer Hudson.

California-Police-Beating

A California judge ordered Wednesday that two Fullerton police officers stand trial in the beating death last year of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with a mental illness.

Pennsylvania-Sandusky-Trial

An attorney for Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach charged last year with more than 50 counts involving sexual acts with minors, asked Wednesday for his client's June 5 trial to be delayed.

Michigan-Kilpatrick-SEC

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former treasurer got more than $125,000 in free travel and entertainment from an investment firm that made $3 million handling city pension funds, federal regulators said Wednesday.

New-York-Accidental-Calls

A "pocket dial" mistake can result in an unwanted phone call, annoying for the recipient and potentially embarrassing to the caller. But a new study found a staggering number of those apparently accidental calls in New York City are made to emergency responders, jamming up 911 lines in a city that has prided itself on its ability to respond in a crisis.

New-York-Warhol-Double-Elvis

An Andy Warhol classic named the "Double Elvis (Ferus Type)" is set to hit the auction block Wednesday evening at Sotheby's in Manhattan and could fetch up to $50 million, the auction house said. Auctioning of the silver painting, which shows Elvis Presley in gunslinger pose, is expected to start at 7 p.m. ET.

Florida-Supremacists-Arrests

Ten members of a white supremacist group are arrested in Florida. Police documents say they were plotting disruptions in an effort to attract new members. They were also preparing for a race war, police documents say

California-Planes-Threats

Two Southwest Airlines flights from Orange County, California, to Phoenix were the subject of security scares Tuesday night -- and authorities are investigating whether the incidents are linked.

Florida-Teen-Shooting

Interim Sanford Police Chief Richard Myers says neighborhood watch programs deserve a "good, hard look at who is selected and who volunteers."

US-F-22-Testimony

The Air Force won't take disciplinary action against pilots who've raised concerns about or refused to fly F-22 Raptors because of reports of cockpit oxygen deprivation, an Air Force official told a Senate panel Tuesday, saying they're covered by a federal whistleblower act.

US-F-22-Mystery

Even as the Air Force searches for the reason pilots are getting sick flying the F-22, a new mystery about the troubled stealth fighter jet has come to light: Why are mechanics on the ground getting sick in the plane as well? The Air Force has been looking into a number of reports that pilots experienced "hypoxia-like symptoms" aboard F-22s since April 2008. Hypoxia is oxygen deficiency. The Air Force reports 25 cases of such systems, including 11 since September, when the service cleared the F-22 fleet to return to flight after a four-month grounding.

TRAVEL-Summer-Flight-Forecast

Passengers on U.S. airlines this summer will stand a good chance of finding the seat next to them occupied. The industry group Airlines for America, or A4A, released its summer travel forecast Wednesday. "We are projecting slightly fuller flights driven in part by a record number of international travelers," A4A Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich predicted in a conference call with reporters. "Over the course of the summer, we expect 206.2 million passengers to travel globally on U.S. airlines."

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE COVERAGE

POL-Obama-Same-Sex-Marriage

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue in which Americans are evenly split. The announcement, long sought by supporters of same-sex marriage, puts Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. "At a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said in an interview with ABC News.

POL-Obama-Same-Sex-Reactions

Politicians and celebrities were quick to weigh in on Twitter over news of U.S. President Barack Obama's support for same-sex marriage. Here are some reactions: Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) "Thank you President @BarackObama for your beautiful and brave words. I'm overwhelmed." "Glee" actress Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) "Pretty darn happy today. Thanks Mr President, for supporting the dignity of my family and so many others!"

POL-Romney-Same-Sex-Marriage

Mitt Romney reaffirmed his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, hours after the Wednesday announcement by President Barack Obama in support of same-sex marriage.

POL-Obama-Religious-Reaction

U.S. President Barack Obama's endorsement of gay marriage on Wednesday outraged conservative Christian leaders, who vowed to use it as an organizing tool in the 2012 elections, but the move is also activating the liberal base, raising big questions about who gains and loses politically.

COMMENTARY-stanley-same-sex-marriage

President Barack Obama has endorsed same-sex marriage. Will it make any difference to the battle for marriage equality? The news coming out of North Carolina suggests not. The Tar Heelers on Tuesday voted 61% to 39% to amend their constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. Actually, they've gone much further. The new amendment prohibits any kind of same-sex unions, including the relatively innocuous option of civil partnership.

COMMENTARY-Kaiser-Obama-Same-Sex-Marriage

President Barack Obama's blockbuster announcement that he is in favor of full marriage equality is the most courageous thing he has done since he entered the White House three and a half years ago.

POLITICS

POL-Indiana-senate-general

With longtime Republican Sen. Dick Lugar going down in defeat, Democrats were quick to paint the conservative candidate who beat him in Indiana's primary as "too extreme." The result in Indiana was what Democrats had hoped for, but as the old proverb goes: "Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true." Lugar is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and is known as a moderate who has been willing to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats during his 36 years in the chamber. He was defeated by more than 20 points in Tuesday's primary by Richard Mourdock, the two-term Indiana state treasurer, a much more conservative candidate who enjoyed strong backing from local and national tea party groups, as well as some other leading fiscal conservative organizations.

POL-Mourdock-Senate-Compromise

Fresh off his Republican primary victory Tuesday, Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said he doesn't anticipate successful compromise in the Senate and hopes bipartisanship will be defined as Democrats backing the Republican agenda following the 2012 elections.

POL-Lugar-Senate-Center

Richard Lugar's landslide loss in Tuesday's Indiana Republican primary isn't just a 36-year veteran getting tossed out of office before he wanted to go. It's also the latest blow to the political center in an increasingly polarized Senate.

POL-Hatch-Utah-Senate

While Richard Mourdock knocked out the Senate's most senior Republican in Tuesday's Indiana primary, a GOP candidate in Utah is hoping to do the same to the second longest-serving Senate Republican: Orrin Hatch.

POL-Montana-Senate-Ad

A new ad from the Rep. Denny Rehberg, the Republican Senate candidate in Montana, attempts to negatively tie his Democratic rival, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, to President Barack Obama.

POL-Romney-Obama-Energy

Standing atop oil-rich land and before an active well, Mitt Romney criticized President Barack Obama's policies on oil and gas energy in a Wednesday speech.

POL-Paul-Explains-Goals

With the last of Mitt Romney's former presidential rivals now backing the likely presidential nominee, there is one candidate who hasn't quit the race -- and doesn't foresee lending his support to Romney any time soon.

MONEY

MONEY-Bofa-Protests

Hundreds of protesters decamped outside Bank of America's corporate headquarters in downtown Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday for the bank's annual shareholder meeting.

MONEY-China-Banks-Us-Expansion

The Federal Reserve gave three state-owned Chinese banks its stamp of approval Thursday to expand their presence in the United States. The central bank accepted an application from Industrial and Commerce Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), along with China Investment Corporation and Central Huijin Investment, to become bank holding companies by purchasing up to an 80% stake in New York-based Bank of East Asia U.S.A. The approval marks the first time the Fed has allowed any large Chinese bank to purchase a U.S. bank, and it could boost merger and acquisition activity "as Chinese banks may look to acquire regional banks in order to establish a U.S. footprint," said Guggenheim senior policy analyst Jaret Seiberg, in a research note.

MONEY-Volcker-Banks

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that the big banks are too big, but he stopped short of endorsing measures that force the banks to be broken up.

MONEY-Stocks

U.S. stocks bounced back somewhat from a sharp sell-off Wednesday, but all three major indexes closed in the red as investors continue to fret about Greece and Spain.

MONEY-Aol-Earnings

AOL will give 100% of the proceeds from its $1 billion patent sale "directly back to shareholders," CEO Tim Armstrong said Wednesday, but the details are still being worked out.

MONEY-Fannie-Mae-Earnings

Mortgage backer Fannie Mae reported the best quarterly results since before the housing meltdown, saying it did not need additional billions in tax funds for the quarter and that it believes losses on past mortgages peaked at the end of last year.

MONEY-Toyota-Earnings

Toyota Motor took a step in putting recent problems behind it Wednesday, reporting a big jump in quarterly earnings and predicting a bigger profit for the fiscal year recently underway.

MONEY-Disney-Earnings

To infinity -- or at least, $45 -- and beyond! Shares of Walt Disney Co. passed their all-time high after the company reported strong earnings growth Tuesday, driven by rising revenues at ESPN, and promised to capitalize on the runaway success of "The Avengers."

MONEY-Cisco-Earnings

Shares of Cisco tumbled after the networking giant released a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter.

MONEY-Oil-Prices

Oil prices extended their slide Wednesday, shedding an additional 0.7% amid renewed concerns about Europe and the global economy.

MONEY-Postal-Service

The U.S. Postal Service is backing off a previous plan to close thousands of post offices, and will instead cut hours at 13,000 rural facilities in an effort to save $500 million a year.

MONEY-Home-Prices

Ten hard-hit housing markets will record double-digit price increases through 2013, according to a report Wednesday.

MONEY-Att-Verizon-Apple

Over the past several years, Apple has arguably gotten the better end of its iPhone partnership with the carriers -- but right now, it's the telecoms that have investors more excited.

MONEY-Chase-Prepaid-Card

JPMorgan Chase wants a piece of the booming prepaid card business.

MONEY-Yahoo-Ceo-Resume-Reactions

Shock over the news that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson padded his resume with an embellished college degree quickly gave way to two questions: How the hell did this happen? And what should Yahoo, which went through three CEOs in three years, do about it?

MONEY-Private-School-Financial-Aid

Private schools are getting flooded with financial aid applications, and a growing number of the parents seeking help are earning $150,000 or more a year.

MONEY-Natural-Gas-Diesel

Near-record low natural gas prices have hurt the industry, but a technology that can turn cheap gas into more profitable diesel could keep demand high and mitigate the impact of falling costs.

MONEY-Facebook-Tax-Bill

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg won't be the only one collecting billions from Facebook's initial public offering: Uncle Sam and the state of California are also poised to cash in big.

FEATURES

ENT-Vidal-Sassoon-Obit

Vidal Sassoon, the legendary hairstylist, died of "apparent natural causes" at his Los Angeles home Wednesday morning, a Los Angeles police spokesman said. He was 84.

ENT-Kelley-Gupta-TNT

A medical drama pilot from CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta has won over the execs at TNT: The network has picked up the show, which Gupta worked on with producer David E. Kelley, for a first season.

ENT-Tom-Gabel-Transgender-RollingStone

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Against Me! singer Tom Gabel opens up on being transgender and shares her plans to transition from a man to a woman. The punk rocker has been privately struggling with gender dysphoria, and will soon start taking hormones and receiving electrolysis treatments, Rolling Stone reports.

ENT-Avengers-Tom-Hiddleston

After two movies playing Thor's villainous brother Loki - most recently in the record-breaking blockbuster "The Avengers" - Tom Hiddleston says the chances are "very high indeed" that the character will return in "Thor 2." (As for the just-announced "Avengers" sequel, that's still anyone's guess.) The actor's fan base - the "Hiddlestoners" - has grown exponentially since "Thor" and "War Horse," and audiences raving about the film have seen that Hiddleston was up to the task of taking on multiple superheroes. But out of all of them, he particularly enjoyed going toe-to-toe with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.

ENT-Kelly-Osbourne-Baby-Fever

Kelly Osbourne might soon be tempted to follow in her brother Jack's footsteps and right into parenthood. The "Fashion Police" co-host has said that she's been wanting a little one of her own ever since she met her newborn niece, Pearl, two weeks ago. "I've got baby fever after I saw [her]," the new aunt said Wednesday on Anderson Cooper's daytime show, "Anderson." Little Pearl Clementine was born on April 24.

ENT-Johnny-Depp-Willy-Wonka

Johnny Depp has made a career out of playing quirky characters - there's Edward Scissorhands, the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow and now the vampire Barnabas Collins in "Dark Shadows." But it turns out the inspiration behind one of his most memorable roles - Willy Wonka in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - came from someone who once occupied the Oval Office. The actor spilled the beans on "Ellen" Tuesday, saying his zany character in the remake of the 1971 classic "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" was actually modeled, in part, after former President Bush.

TRAVEL-airport-security-bomb-plot

A foiled plot to sneak a bomb through airport checkpoints and onto a plane bound for the United States calls attention to gaps in screening measures that are supposed to detect threats airport metal detectors miss. Outside the United States, the controversial body-scanning technology is not widely used, security experts say. But they say it is the best way to detect plastic explosives hidden on people boarding airplanes.

TRAVEL-kittiwake-cayman-dive-site

The water is so clear you can see it from the surface. It's the Cayman Islands' newest tourist attraction, the USS Kittiwake.

US-NASA-Super-Earth

For the first time, light coming directly from a "super-Earth" planet outside our solar system has been detected.

US-What-happened-to-modest-prom-dresses?

The sparkly, sequined prom gowns that many of us remember from the 90s -- like the Glamour Shots that sometimes accompanied them -- might not have been the prettiest. But most were pretty modest compared to what some young promgoers have been squeezing themselves into this year. At David's Bridal, there's a prom dress line categorized as "Sexy," and it's accounting for about 35 percent of the retail chain's sales, according to the Wall Street Journal. Low-cut backs, high-cut hemlines, and skin-showing cutouts define the style. Clothing retailer AMIClubwear, self-described as "the positive place for girls," has options that would positively trouble more conservative fathers. The company throws revealing and tight styles into its mix of party dresses. Factor in the racier options at other retailers like promgirl.com and Jovani, and you have a veritable runway of the risqué. There's no doubt that the dresses offered have broad appeal to some of today's high school students; after all, demand drives the market. But their schools are implementing dress codes to ensure certain garments aren't worn.

US-Exploring-the-universe-in-high-school

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week this week, we're asking our colleagues at CNN to share their stories of teachers who have inspired them. Elizabeth Landau, a writer/producer for CNN.com, writes about wxploring the universe in high school.

MED-state-world-mothers-report

There is a little good news for mothers in the United States. The U.S. has only moved up six places -- from 31st to 25th -- in the annual Save The Children State of the World's Mothers report. That puts the U.S. right between Belarus and the Czech Republic. Norway is No. 1, just ahead of Iceland and Sweden.

MED-Human-Factor-Paralyzed-Teen

In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle -- injury, illness or other hardship -- they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week Krystal Greco, 16, shares her story about pursuing her passion despite a life-changing injury -- from horseback-riding to a wheelchair and back.

TECH-abraham-lincoln-facebook

To quote "The Social Network," if Abraham Lincoln had invented Facebook, he would have invented Facebook. But in a tall tale that would have made the Great Emancipator proud, a blog post saying that he did just that was making the rounds Wednesday. And some online media outlets were quick to take the bait.

TECH-social-media-parents-netiquette

Maternity-leave laws aside, now is a pretty awesome time to be a new parent. Anyone with the Internet can get advice, connect with other parents and share photos and updates with interested parties in real time. (Think about it: Twenty years ago, it'd be much easier to feel isolated when you were at home all day with a little blinking infant who couldn't do much other than sleep, poop and cry.)

TECH-zuckerberg-hoodie-wall-street

Facebook has raked in billions and will make a splash when its stock hits the open market next week. So, what are folks on Wall Street concerned about? Mark Zuckerberg's hoodie, apparently.

TECH-Bioshock-Infinite

What was arguably the most anticipated video game of 2012 just became one of the most anticipated games for 2013. Irrational Games and Take Two announced Wednesday that "BioShock Infinite" will be delayed four months to allow developers more time to make tweaks to the game. The third installment in a popular horror series, set in a dystopian undersea universe, will now be released on February 23, 2013, instead of this coming October as previously scheduled.

Rothko-Christies-Art-Record

One week after Edvard Munch's "The Scream" shattered art auction records, Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" has broken the price ceiling for a work of contemporary art: $87 million.

Queen-Elizabeth-Biography

A biography of Elizabeth II, a young queen who grew into a modern monarch.

FEA-DiCamillo-on-Sendak

Maurice Sendak, who died yesterday at age 83, illustrated almost 100 books. Children's author Kate DiCamillo learned to read using Sendak's illustrations as a guide.

FEA-Water-Cooler-Etiquette

It's time for some water cooler talk -- etiquette

FEA-Blonde-Brownie-Day

Hey, Blondie! You know what May 9 is? It's National Blonde Brownie Day!

COMMENTARY-navarrette-police-brutality

As evidenced by media stories and public awareness campaigns, Americans have resolved to get tough on bullying. In that spirit, it's time to send a message to bullies with badges.We need to tell police who prey on the vulnerable: "No more! When you pile on a suspect and beat him to death, we will treat you just like any other alleged criminal. We will arrest you and prosecute you. And if convicted, you will go to prison for a very long time. We will make an example out of you so that other police officers will think twice before abusing their power." The messenger could be the jury that will hear the case against two police officers in Fullerton, California, a city about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles. A judge ruled Wednesday that the officers will stand trial in the beating death last July of Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless man afflicted with schizophrenia.

COMMENTARY-stanley-same-sex-marriage

Historian Timothy Stanley asks whether same-sex marriage too radical for America?

COMMENTARY-hoover-GOP-support-gay-marriage

In GOP, support for same-sex marriage is growing, says CNN political contributor Margaret Hoover.

COMMENTARY-Career-Permanent-Beta-Hoffman-Casnocha

Keeping your career in "permanent beta" means continuous growth, say Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha.

COMMENTARY-sachs-global-children's-health

Global health is within our grasp, if we don't give up, says Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University

COMMENTARY-Bennett-Obama-campaign

Obama's 'Life of Julia' is the wrong vision for America, says CNN contributor William J. Bennett.