Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear Gary Tuchman's report on the investigation into James Arthur Ray's self-help program. AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Jason Hanna
CNN

Amber Lemna says studying "The Secret" is changing her life for the better.

The 2006 book and film discusses the law of attraction, something adherents say allows people to attract what they want by envisioning it and believing it will come. Lemna says she's used it to kick-start a business idea: attaching decorated tabs to credit cards so people can easily pull the cards from wallets.

Thanks to "The Secret," she says, she's attracted people and resources to help her and already is selling the tabs in 10 local stores.

"Nothing has been the same since I've listened to the CD [of the book]," said Lemna, 29. "I can control how my day goes."

So the Minneapolis, Minnesota-area insurance agent bristles when she hears people using the troubles of self-help entrepreneur James Arthur Ray, who appears in but did not create "The Secret" film, to bash the attraction principles.

Read More...

Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor

Congressman Peter King accuses the White House of 'stonewalling'

CNN

The ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee accused the White House of "stonewalling" Thursday by blocking its top social planner from testifying at a hearing on a security breach.

New York Rep. Peter King was angered by the administration's refusal to let Social Secretary Desiree Rogers speak at a hearing examining how a Virginia couple was able to enter the White House for a state dinner last week, even though they were not on the guest list.

Rogers' office planned the dinner.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan testified Thursday that there was a lone agent at the initial checkpoint where Tareq and Michaele Salahi entered the White House grounds. He acknowledged that if someone from the social secretary's office had been there, the couple may have been stopped.

Keep Reading...

Aid agencies say young women are being forced into prostitution around the world – including Russia's capital.

Tanya M. Acker
AC360° Contributor
Attorney

At the Women’s Conference hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver last week, I listened to Somaly Mam, a human rights activist who has made the liberation of girls from sex slavery her life’s work, describe her experience of being sold into sex slavery in Cambodia at 10 or 12-years-old. (Ms. Mam did not know exactly how old she was when she was first imprisoned in the brothel, as she lost all conception of time during her confinement.)

She talked about the fact that child sex slaves are raped sometimes 20 to 30 times a day and also described the horror of watching her best friend murdered, an event which ultimately prompted her to attempt a successful escape.

I then heard Ms. Mam and Nicholas Kristof describe the widespread tragedy that is the global sex trade in girls and how in many cases, as these girls are valued by their brothel masters at only a few hundred dollars a person, those brothel owners often think it efficient to execute the “recalcitrants” publicly in order to send a lesson to the others.

And then, as I listened to Lisa Ling correctly point out that much of what passes for “news” these days consists of talking heads yelling at one another, I thought about how, as one of those talking heads, I have spent more time arguing with right wing anchors about such inanities as whether the President is simultaneously a socialist and fascist who wants to impose his own version of martial law, than I have discussing the plight of these girls.

Our broad and vital civil liberties – liberties that are among the best aspects of our social and political culture – may allow us the corollary indulgence of treating any grievance and/or mood swing as a compelling news item. Ms. Mam’s story, however, suggests it might be appropriate to take a broader approach toward determining “newsworthiness.”

Stories about the global sex trade in women and girls may not be as sexy as protests featuring complaints about the President’s allegedly absent birth certificate, but I cannot believe that when offered an appropriate diet of digestible news and information choices that Americans will continue to prefer to graze on the junk.

It may be that the perceived immediacy of certain of our countrymen’s “grievances” is what gives rise to the perception that those grievances are the benchmark for determining what is relevant or newsworthy. For many, the 10-year old sex slave in Cambodia is too far removed to inspire much passion or outrage; indeed, the myopia to which all political partisans are susceptible may give rise to a belief that her plight is simply not as important as the “news” item which will better lend itself to the politically useful sound byte.

But when those partisans lament the fact that nothing changes, they should perhaps be reminded that they have, in many cases, often demanded little change. It is one thing to cast a vote on November 3. It is quite another to reiterate that demand by insisting on a regular diet of accurate, relevant information – and also by reminding policymakers that their substantive decisions are being monitored at every turn.

When all we do is “tweet” about the latest instance of manufactured outrage instead of taking a stance against the truly outrageous, however, we may fairly deserve the indifference toward real harms that we often get from political decision makers.

The passion and power of American voices has changed lives and liberated people around the world. We saw the end of apartheid not because politicians in the first instance thought it necessary to end our nation’s support of an oppressive regime, but instead because of the grassroots mobilization of millions of committed Americans who decided that the power and prestige of this democracy would no longer be used to underwrite such gross oppression.

Not then being so easily distracted by ginned up “scandals” that became their own “news” because of their easy dissemination via social networking portals (or by ideologically driven “news anchors” who used their platforms to impose a worldview rather than report on the world), we did, for a moment, focus on a real scandal and we made a real difference.

I hope, for the sake of victimized girls around the world, that we can muster the energy and focus to do it again.

Follow Tanya Acker on Twitter @tanyaacker.

Editor's Note: We’ve spent some time recently exploring the problem of bystander apathy and the battle against the “stop snitching” culture. While we continue to hold community leaders accountable for keeping us safe, we took a moment to talk to two of our safety experts about some of the most basic ways individuals matter.

A 15-year-old girl was gang raped on the campus of Richmond High School in Northern California.

AC360°

AC360°'s Alyssa Caplan asked Phil Messina, President of  Modern Warrior Inc., and Lou Palumbo, Retired Law Enforcement Agent & Director of Elite Intelligence and Protection Agency, for their thoughts on the topic.

We all saw the disturbing story play out this summer of two police officers following their intuition leading to the release of kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard. We’ve also recently seen a catastrophic failure of human behavior in the sickening gang rape that took place a few weekends ago at Richmond High. Everyday, in every corner of the country, people’s worlds collide in big and small ways. What are some simple steps the average citizen can take to be a "Good Samaritan?"

LOU: Be vigilant; be aware or mindful of your environment and those in it. Be prepared with a plan to react to an incident, for example, understanding the need to call 911 immediately, employ the practice of yelling “FIRE”…..it always attracts attention. Remember to use your cell phone to help identify those involved in an incident.

PHIL: SPEAK UP! Be a great observer, notice details. If you’re on the fence about what to do, ask yourself, “If not me, then who; if not now, then when?” Learn how to protect yourself and in doing so, you learn how to protect others and from there on in, the choice is yours. We have a saying at Modern Warrior: “Your Survival Begins And Ends WithYou.” It’s the first thing we tell the students who come to our school. It comes down to making a choice – are you going to put your destiny in the hands of others or are you going to keep it in your own?

How long does it normally take cops to respond to a 911 call? Is there anything else you can do to be an ally to the victim while waiting for the cops to arrive?

LOU: There is no boiler plate response time. Many factors influence the response time. A reasonable response time in my opinion should be a minute or two.

PHIL: It depends on where you live and the frequency and locations of other calls as for response time. In places like New York City, it could be a few minutes; in more rural areas, it could be much longer. Keep in mind, if NO ONE alerts the police, response time doesn’t matter. In that case, you could be an ally by pretending that the police are coming or that help is on the way or by addressing the assailant(s) by what they are wearing. For example, “Hey, you in the yellow shirt…” thereby letting them know you are a potential witness. You can even yell toward a window, if even as a ruse, to “Get the shotgun” or to “Let the dogs out.”

Let's flip this around for a second. If you are the victim of a crime, and there are several people in proximity, is there anything you can do or say to help mobilize assistance?

LOU:You can ask them to call the police, Yell FIRE yourself and also attempt to flee,

PHIL: The trick is to be aggressive and to sound like you’re winning, even if you feel like you are not at the moment. Very often, bystanders will offer assistance if they feel the personal risk is less or if they feel they can turn the tide in the battle.

What are some things people should be asking themselves in those split seconds when their lives collide with someone else’s who is in danger?

LOU: What you should be asking yourself is, "What would I like my expectations to be if I were in trouble?”

PHIL: My colleague and friend Lt. Col. Dave Grossman likes to say that human society consists of three types of people: wolves, sheep and sheepdogs. I believe that as the population grows, each generation brings us a higher percentage of wolves and sheep while the percentage of sheepdogs keeps getting lower. This is because many of our so-called leaders and role models tend to be admired for their lack of character as opposed to their integrity, ethics or courage. People should ask themselves how they would feel if the intended victim was their mother, daughter, wife, a family member or a friend, not a stranger and they should then remember that this IS any of the above to someone else who isn’t there to help in that moment.

AC360°

The DNC is targeting Sarah Palin directly, encouraging supporters to attack the former Alaska governor on Facebook in order to "debunk her lies."

On its new web site, the DNC asks supporters to call out Palin when she uses Facebook to transmit what the committee says are falsehoods.

Check out the DNC's new website - and its campaign to 'Call 'em Out' - on the site.

Editor's Note: This article continues our series excerpted from AC360°'s contributor David Gewirtz's upcoming book, How To Save Jobs, which will be available in December. Over the next few months, we'll be excerpting the first section of the book, which answers the question, "How did we get here?". Last week, we discussed A short history of jobs This time, we'll look at riots, massacres and the transactional nature of work. To learn more about the book, you should follow David on Twitter @DavidGewirtz.

Protesters in the United Kingdom gathered outside an oil refinery this summer, after hundreds of striking workers were laid off.

David Gewirtz | BIO
AC360° Contributor
Editor-in-Chief, ZATZ Publishing

In today's civilization, it's virtually impossible to survive without money. One-hundred-and-fifty centuries ago, if a Natufian wanted to build a hut, he'd find an empty spot of land and dig. But, today, if an American wants to build a house (or even a hut), land has to be bought. If you want to live inside a structure, a transaction of some sort has to take place and that requires money.

It is the transactional nature of a job that creates its complexity in terms of the rest of society. If you want to work for someone else (and have them pay you), you have to convince them that employing you will meet their needs. If you're self-employed, you have to convince prospective clients and customers that hiring you will meet their needs.

In other words, getting a job or getting a gig requires some level of marketing to make someone aware you're there to do the job and some level of sales to convince them you're the right person for the job.

Over the centuries, the nature of work evolved to eventually result in the world of employment we've all come to know and love. There's now always someone buying work and someone else selling it.

The transactional nature of work has also led to all sorts of power imbalances. When there's too much work and not enough workers, it's a seller's market and the workers have more power over what jobs they accept and at what pay level.

When there's not enough work to go around, we have a buyer's market and then the employers can set the terms, confident that if one worker won't accept the pay or conditions, some other worker will.

This power imbalance has led to some seriously bad situations.

The 1999 massacre at Columbine High School wasn't the first Columbine massacre. Back in 1927, in a town with the sadly ill-suited name of Serene, Colorado, miners at the Columbine Mine went on strike. More than 500 miners had brought their families to the mine as part of their strike demonstration.

Members of the newly-created Colorado state police, dressed in civilian clothes, blocked the miners' path to the mine. A fight broke out, machine guns were fired into the crowd of demonstrators, and five of the striking workers were killed.

On May 26, 1937, members of the United Auto Workers planned a demonstration at the Ford River Rouge car plant. The union wanted workers to make $8 for a six-hour work day, instead of the $6 for the eight-hour day they were then working. Adjusted for today's money, workers were making about $11.25 an hour and the union wanted wages raised to the 1937 equivalent of today's $20 per hour.

Timed for a shift change with 9,000 workers cycling through the plant, union organizers planned a photo-op. Two of the organizers posed in front of a Ford sign for Detroit News photographer James E. Kilpatrick. Reports claim that as many as 40 members of Ford's security force came down on the workers, leaving the demonstrators battered and bruised, and at least one demonstrator was left with a broken back as a result of the beating.

These are just two examples of protests and fights that have taken place between employees and employers. American history is filled with stories of labor riots, like the Haymarket Affair that took place in Chicago's Haymarket Square in 1886. A bomb was thrown at police, eight police officers died, eight protesters were charged with murder, four were put to death, and one committed suicide while serving time in prison.

Stay tuned. Next up, we'll look at our changing relationship with work.

Follow David on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.

Editor’s note: David Gewirtz is Editor-in-Chief, ZATZ Magazines, including OutlookPower Magazine. He is a leading Presidential scholar specializing in White House email. He is a member of FBI InfraGard, the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism & Security Professionals, a columnist for The Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, and has been a guest commentator for the Nieman Watchdog of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. He is a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley extension, a recipient of the Sigma Xi Research Award in Engineering and was a candidate for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Letters.

Debris clutters a road in Pago Pago, American Samoa, after a devastating earthquake and tsunami last month.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

It’s New Orleans all over again. Just 2,600 miles south of Hawaii, so nobody is noticing.

American Samoa IS an American territory, but in some parts, it looked to me like the third world. Children rummaging through broken scraps of what once was a house, a woman making the family meal on an outside counter made from a broken door. A three- year-old, yes just three, walking barefoot through a debris field filled with nails. And where was any sign of government help? Nowhere.

After a devastating tsunami rocked the territory on September 29th, we got a tip by email.

The email told us American Samoa had a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to build a tsunami warning siren system. The system was never built. Thirty-four people died. And it's now the subject of an FBI investigation.

But the trip also uncovered much more: American Samoa’s government has been unresponsive to the needs of its hardest-hit villages. Billions of dollars in U.S. government handouts to this island show little to no signs of doing any good, and despite all the money taxpayers send here, very few federal officials have bothered to find out where it has been spent.

You will see the first of our reports tonight. When you watch, ask yourself what I kept asking: is this really America?

Dr. Reef Karim
Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA
Director, Control Center (for Addictions)

Sex Addiction, also known as compulsive sexual behavior or hypersexual disorder, is characterized by inappropriate or excessive sexual behaviors or thoughts that lead to subjective distress or impaired functioning. Sex Addicts have an inability to regulate their own feelings and act out sexually in order to deal with their negative feeling states.

Behavioral Addictions like sex addiction, pathologic gambling, compulsive shopping, internet/videogame addiction and disordered eating appear to be growing due to our higher paced society and the internet. Our treatment must keep up with our technology.

For more information go here...

Program Note: Watch Randi Kaye's full report – including her interview with David Martin tonight on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

A photograph of Cameron Todd Willingham.

Randi Kaye| BIO
AC360° Correspondent

I came to Texas this week to look deeper into a story I’ve been covering for a few years now for AC360°.

It’s the story of Cameron Todd Willingham, a father of three who was executed in February 2004 for setting a fire that killed his three daughters. But what if he didn’t set it? What if he just got a lame defense? Is it possible?

We wanted to know why he was convicted of “arson homicide” even though since the trial nine leading arson experts have said the fire showed no evidence of arson. So why was he executed?

We went straight to one of Willingham’s defense attorneys, David Martin, for some answers. We met at his Waco office, hours away from where the fire took place in the tiny town of Corsicana. Martin’s office was true Texas. It felt more like a ranch than a law office. We sat down in a couple of over-sized chairs (everything is bigger in Texas, you know) and talked about the case.

I asked Martin how it was possible that the prosecution put two experts on the stand who said the fire was arson, and yet Martin didn’t put anyone on the stand to refute their arguments. Why no expert to say the fire wasn’t arson in Willingham’s defense?

Martin told me, “We couldn’t find one that said it wasn’t arson.”

As a court-appointed attorney, Martin said money was hard to come by and he only had enough funds to hire one expert. And it turned out that the expert ended up agreeing with the prosecution’s experts about the fire being arson so he never put him on the stand.

“You’re just going to abracadabra an arson investigator up to put on the stand? You have to get money,” Martin said.

So who did Martin end up putting on stand in Willingham’s defense? A felon who was in prison with Willingham and the family’s babysitter.

Martin told me that he thought Willingham was guilty from day one and he believed that the patterns on the floor of the house showed that an accelerant had been used. If he thought he was guilty, could he have given him a good defense?

He said he tried everything he could to defend Willingham. He explained it this way, “you don’t have to believe somebody to defend them. You think Bailey and Cochran believed Simpson? No!”

Martin seemed to be enjoying our back-and-forth so I thought I’d press him on one last issue.

A juror told me just last week that she was having doubts about whether or not Todd Willingham really set the fire and was losing sleep over it all these years later. Willingham was convicted in 1992 and spent 12 years on death row before he was executed in 2004.

Martin’s response to this? “She doesn’t need to have no doubts in my mind. He really was guilty and it doesn’t matter how many people talk about it. The evidence is irrefutable.”

But what about the fact that this juror also told me her family was friendly with one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Deputy Fire Marshall Doug Fogg. She said she told both the prosecution and the defense about this connection but was still chosen to be on the jury.

I asked Martin if that would be grounds for a mistrial. Without missing a beat, he told me absolutely not. He said it wasn’t a conflict of interest because “In a small town like Corsicana, lots of people knew Doug Fogg,” and “look at the evidence that was presented at trial. Would any reasonable mind conclude after the presentation of the evidence that he was not guilty?”

Before our interview was finished, Martin went on to call Todd Willingham a “monster” and a “sociopath”. He said Willingham was his own worst enemy and that he had so many conflicting accounts of the fire that the jury didn’t believe him.

Sound like a defense attorney to you? Or does David Martin sound more like a prosecutor? Martin said it’s not his job to “swallow” whatever story his client tells him, but he insisted he did his best to keep Todd Willingham off death row.

The National Academy of Sciences found that U.S. crime labs lack uniform standards, training and oversight.

Just Science Coalition

Unvalidated or improper forensic science is a leading cause of wrongful conviction in the United States.

As a result, forensic analysts sometimes testify in cases without a proper scientific basis for their findings. Testimony based on forensics can therefore lack basic scientific standards. Even within forensic disciplines that are more firmly grounded in science, evidence is often subject to dispute.

In 2006, Congress appropriated funds to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to thoroughly study the fundamental underpinnings of forensic science and its applications in our criminal justice system.

A NAS panel was formed – including scientists, academics, a retired federal judge, and other notable experts. Over a period of 18 months, the group conducted comprehensive research on forensic disciplines and released a This Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences Community released its final report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, in February 2009.

As outlined in the report, many forensic disciplines have evolved primarily through their use in individual cases and have not been scientifically validated or standardized.

Take a look at the report’s 13 key recommendations.

Editor's Note: An investigation into the deaths of two people who spent up to two hours inside a "sweat lodge" at an Arizona retreat last week has been elevated from an accidental death investigation to a homicide inquiry, Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh told reporters Thursday.

Program Note: Make sure to watch Gary Tuchman's report tonight on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

AC360°

The people who died Thursday at a spiritual resort in Sedona, AZ had spent time in a "sweatbox" similar to what Native Americans and other cultures have used for prayer and purification rituals throughout history.

In North America, most Native American tribes use the term "sweat lodge" to refer to a dome-shaped structure where the intimate ritual of the sweat takes place.

Gary Tuchman visited a sweat lodge in Cornville, AZ, just outside of Sedona, to report on the ritual.

A sweat lodge being prepared in Cornville, Arizona.

Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer

Last night, Gary Tuchman and I were sitting inside a hot, dark sweat lodge with 11 other people.

Members of various Native American tribes in Cornville, AZ wanted us to see what a sweat lodge was all about, and it’s importance to their culture.

The lodge itself is constructed of willow branches, tied together and sturdy enough to hold several coverings and finally a tarp. Inside, there are hot rocks, placed inside a hole and water is poured on the rocks to increase the heat. The space inside is very small.

We all sat shoulder-to-shoulder as various Native American songs were sung and prayers were voiced.

The people here are worried that the tragic deaths of two people in a sweat lodge near Sedona last week is going to destroy what they consider to be a very important part of their culture.

Self Help guru James Arthur Ray, held what he calls a spiritual warrior retreat, charging close to $10,000 dollars for several days of activities - including a sweat lodge experience. Two people died and many others were hospitalized when something went terribly wrong. Investigators are looking into what caused the deaths.

The Native Americans inside our sweat lodge were also angered that people would do what they consider spiritual as part of a money making event. To them, a sweat lodge is very spiritual, steeped in tradition and is not something to be exploited.

In this rare instance they invited us in so they could show the world how important this ritual is to their culture. Gary Tuchman will have our story on James Ray and the sweat lodge deaths tonight at 10 p.m. ET.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more about the case from Gary Tuchman on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Richard Samuel McCroskey has been arrested in connection with the killings of four people in Virginia.

AC360°

A 20-year-old from Northern California is suspected of brutally killing four people. Richard Samuel McCroskey is a musician who calls himself 'Pyscho Sam' on YouTube. His lyrics are offensive and included messages about abuse, rape and killing. Authorities say he is accused of carrying out the same type of crimes about which he rapped.

The type of music that McCroskey practiced is known as the "Horrorcore" genre.

To learn more about this type of music and to hear samples, go here.

Rose and her twins in Congo in 2000.

Rose Mapendo
Mapendo International

My name is Rose Mapendo, and I am the Ambassador to Mapendo International. We work to rescue and protect at risk refugees who have fallen through the cracks of humanitarian assistance in Africa.

I am from the Democratic Republic of Congo. When war broke out in 1998, my family and I were arrested and forced into a prison camp because of our Tutsi ethnicity. As my seven children and I huddled together, my husband – their father – was tortured and executed within earshot. Soldiers killed our friends and relatives, while many more died of starvation and disease. Months later, I gave birth to twin boys on the concrete floor of my cell. I used a stick to the cut the umbilical cord, and a piece of my hair to tie it off.

During this time I was so angry at God. I was resentful towards God. I was so angry because they had killed so many of my friends and family. I was so angry because they had raped so many of my friends. I thought I was going to be killed. I decided I did not want to die angry. I forgave my captors. I forgave all the soldiers who were in charge of killing. I named my twins after the camp commanders who were in charge of executing my husband. I did this because I hoped that my children would survive and I wanted to show the commanders that I forgave them and that I was not their enemy. I wanted to show them that I loved them. That moment when I forgave, from my deepest heart, was the moment that I survived.

Rose and her family in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2006.

My story is too long to tell here. There is a story of hardship and horror in every minute of my 16 months in the death camp. But finally my children and I were brought to a safe haven outside of Kinshasa, Congo’s capital city. A U.S. rescue team came to that safe haven and found us there.

That was where I met Sasha Chanoff and Sheikha Ali. They were part of the rescue team. They got me and my family out. They brought us to a refugee camp in Cameroon, and then we finally resettled to the U.S., to Peoria, outside of Phoenix. Then later Sasha founded Mapendo International to rescue other refugees, like me, who were in danger and had no one to help them. He helped my brother Kigabo and his family resettled to the US after we got there. Mapendo has helped many families, that have been separated, to reunite. If you want to help us rescue and reunite refugees, you can text the world ‘rescue’ to 90999 to donate $5.

My brother Kigabo, who is a doctor, is now starting an organization called African Health New Horizons. I am excited about this because there has never been health care in my home and my brother wants to bring health to women and children and others there.

Now, as the Ambassador for Mapendo International, I am a spokesperson for forgotten refugees. Big Mouth Productions is making a documentary movie about my story. Now God has given me the opportunity to tell my story, and to speak for refugees who have no hope and no one there for them. I am alive to tell you that no matter how terrible life is, no matter how deep your despair or fear, don’t give up. Love people. Forgive people. We all need to live together in this world. My name, Mapendo, means “great love” in Swahili.

Thank you.

Editor's Note: Rose Mapendo is Ambassador for Mapendo International, a non-profit organization that rescues and protects at-risk and forgotten refugees in Africa. Earlier this year, Rose received the "Humanitarian of the Year Award" from the UN Refugee Agency for her work highlighting the plight of refugees in Africa, particularly those from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rose was born. Rose will be speaking at  Mapendo's next event in New York City – a cocktail cruise next Wednesday,  September 30th, with open bar and live auction. To purchase tickets, go here. Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon nominated Rose Mapendo as a CNN Hero. Take a look at the video here.

Program Note: For more ways to make a difference, visit Impact Your World.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more from the parents on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Joe Johns | BIO
CNN Correspondent

Former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards talked a campaign aide into claiming he fathered a child born to Edwards' onetime mistress, sources familiar with the issue said Monday.

Edwards admitted to his affair with Rielle Hunter in August 2008 after months of denials, but said he could not have been the father of Hunter's daughter, who was born the previous February. Former Edwards staffer Andrew Young has said he was the girl's father - but has recanted and says he made it because he believed in Edwards, lawyers and others familiar with the matter told CNN.

Young was married with children when he claimed to have fathered Hunter's child. He never signed any affidavits or legal papers, however, and reversed his claim after Edwards, as one of the sources put it, dropped Young "like a hot potato."

The news comes as a grand jury in Edwards' home state of North Carolina is investigating payments made to Hunter - who had been hired as a campaign videographer - by the former senator's campaign and supporters. Hunter was photographed entering the courthouse where the grand jury was meeting in August.

Keep Reading...

CNN

Slain Yale University graduate student Annie Le was intelligent, driven and destined for greatness, said those who knew her.

"She was also really tenacious and had a sense of humor that was never far away, and she was tougher than you'd think by just looking at her," Le's roommate, Natalie Powers, told a crowd of hundreds gathered on campus for the slain 24-year-old's vigil Monday.

Le's body was found inside a wall at a Yale medical school building Sunday, the day she was to be married to her college sweetheart, Jonathan Widawsky, a graduate student at New York's Columbia University. She disappeared five days before her wedding.

Le and Widawsky attended the University of Rochester together, where Le majored in cell and developmental biology with a minor in medical anthropology.

In a self-profile she wrote for the National Institutes of Health's undergraduate scholarship program, Le called her biology studies "interesting" but said she would like to pursue a research career in medical anthropology, "which has highlighted the severity of health issues in societies worldwide."

Keep reading...