Girl, 11, punted from football league

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Girl played two season of tackle football before archdiocese enforced boys-only rule


• Caroline Pla says she's laid her share of licks on the boys and has never been hurt


• Mom's change.org petition snares 100,000 signatures after appeals to archdiocese fail


• Archbishop tells Caroline he's only trying to protect her, it's disrespectful to involve media

Philadelphia (CNN) -- Caroline Pla has been playing football since kindergarten, and for the past two years, the 11-year-old has been knocking opposing players on their butts.

It never occurred to her that someone might need to protect her from the sport she adores.

Her playing time with the Catholic Youth Organization ended after last season when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia enforced its "boys only" policy for football, sidelining the All-Star guard and defensive end.

Inspired by her older brother, George, 14, Caroline started playing Pop Warner flag football at age 5 and was hooked. Once she got too big to play Pop Warner, she signed up to play tackle football with the CYO in the fifth grade.

Two games into Caroline's second season, head coach Chip Ross received an unexpected call from Jason Budd, deputy secretary for Catholic education for the archdiocese, who oversees the football program.

Caroline's older brother, George, 14, inspired her to become a football player when she was 5.

The 5-foot-3, 110-pound sixth-grader, Budd explained to Ross, could no longer play for the Romans because, according to the CYO handbook, football is a full-contact sport -- no girls allowed.

Unaware such a rule existed, Ross was shocked, he said.

"She should be allowed to play," said Ross, who also coaches football at a nearby high school. "Football is a sport that culls out the folks that can hang or not hang, and certainly, Caroline has been more than able to hold her own."

League of their own

Not wanting to disrupt the season or ostracize Caroline, Ross and her parents kept the news under wraps and pleaded with the archdiocese to let her finish the season. After a week of corresponding with Budd, including sending a letter of support from the family's church pastor, an extension was granted.

There are 46 football programs, each with junior varsity and varsity teams, under the Archdiocese of Philadelphia CYO. Of the nearly 2,500 participants, Caroline is the only female player.

The coaches waited until the end of the season to tell Caroline and her teammates that she was off the team because of the archdiocese's "boys only" rule.

The 11-year-old has played since kindergarten and started playing tackle football two years ago.

"I was mad," Caroline said after learning she wasn't allowed to play, "just really mad that we don't get the same opportunity as boys just because we're not a boy.

"Not only am I not going to be able to play, but girls all over aren't going to be able to sign up," she said. "And I don't think that's fair."

Though Caroline says she's never been hurt -- and has laid her share of licks on the boys -- the archdiocese said in a statement that the decision to give Caroline the boot was for her and other girls' safety.

"The Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Catholic Youth Organization currently designates football as a full-contact sport for boys only. It is important to note that most CYO sports are designated by gender, with some sports offering separate leagues for boys and girls. These measures are taken in an effort to ensure a safe and appropriate playing environment for all participants," Archdiocese of Philadelphia spokesman Kenneth A. Gavin said in a statement.

"Traditionally, football is a boys only sport due to its full contact nature. Most parents and players have preferred this; some now disagree. An archdiocesan panel of coaches, parents, pastors and experts in the sports medicine and pediatrics fields will evaluate the current rule. Calls for an immediate change in the policy are premature and unwise without adequate consultation, especially given the potential safety issues involved," the statement continued.

According to the archdiocese, budget cuts and personnel changes allowed Caroline to slip through the cracks, but she actually should've been denied the opportunity to play when she initially applied in fifth grade.

The boys were uncomfortable at first, but her stellar play on the field soon made gender a non-issue.

She'll 'knock you on your butt'

When she first stepped on the field, the boys on Caroline's first CYO team were uncomfortable lining up against a girl, said her former coach, Jim Reichwein. Those concerns dissipated once Caroline showed she was tough enough to pop a lineman in the mouth just like the rest of her teammates.

"We didn't make a big deal about it," said Reichwein. "Anyone who went head-to-head with her ended up on the ground. After a week, (her gender) was laid to lest."

Reichwein, who is also Caroline's basketball coach and her best friend's father, said she embodies the character and sportsmanship that football coaches so often strive to instill in their players.

"This whole fight is for other people more than it is for her," he said. "She's such a caring, kind, well-rounded young lady who's able to put a helmet on, throw a switch and knock you on your butt."

Caroline's father proudly stands with his daughter. He said the ruling is outdated.

"Girls playing football is not something new. They're not going through uncharted water or pioneering something that hasn't been addressed before," George Pla said. "The sport will determine where's she's best able to play, if she is at all."

All four Pla children are encouraged to pursue their passions, whether it's theater or football, George Pla said. Caroline's twin sister, Alexandra, uninterested in playing football, would prefer to remain on the sidelines as a cheerleader.

Caroline is fighting for all girls wanting to play football, her coaches and family members say.

Tackling the boys-only rule is bigger than just letting her twin back on the gridiron, Alexandra said.

"She's trying really hard to let girls play football," she said. "I really like to watch her play, and the rule should be changed so anyone can play."

Rally 'round the girl

After calls and e-mails to the archdiocese were unsuccessful, Caroline, no longer welcome to play football for the CYO, decided to call an audible.

With the full support of her team, Caroline's mom, Seal Pla, started an online petition at change.org to encourage the archdiocese to allow girls to play football.

Her original goal was to get 100 signatures. There are now more than 100,000.

One signer is 9-year-old peewee football sensation Samantha "Sweet Feet" Gordon from Utah. She was recently featured on a Wheaties box and made a November appearance on "NFL Gameday Morning," where she showed off her moves to Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp. She also was invited to this year's Super Bowl in New Orleans, where she blogged for four days for espnW.com, which focuses on female athletes.

Even Philadelphia Councilman and devout Catholic Jim Kenney fired off an official letter to the archdiocese, saying the issue "hits close to home."

Alexandra, 11, a cheerleader, likes to watch her twin sister play and wants the rule changed.

"The archdiocese is one of the last remaining defenders of gender discriminating in sports, so let us proudly take a giant leap forward in Catholic education today by purging this archaic rule from the CYO handbook," he wrote.

Caroline also caught the attention of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Sporting her navy and gold football jersey on set, Caroline won over the crowd during her appearance last month.

When asked whether she's gotten hurt, the crowd erupted when she quipped with a made-for-TV smile, "I've never really gotten hurt, but I have hurt people."

Could archdiocese cut back?

Caroline's fight to get back on the field hasn't swayed the archdiocese yet, but the panel selected by the archdiocese is expected to issue a decision on the boys-only rule by mid-March.

In a final appeal, Caroline, who also competes on CYO track and basketball teams, wrote to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput after recently learning he would have the final say after the panel makes their recommendation.

In an e-mail provided to CNN by the Pla family, Chaput told Caroline he was "perplexed" that she wrote to him only after going to the media.

The archdiocese says it's trying to protect her, but Caroline wonders why she needs more protection than boys.

"I admire your love of the game, Caroline, and I'm impressed by your zeal in pursuing the opportunity to play it," he wrote. "At the same time, it's important to understand that pressure is not a good way of showing respect for dedicated people who are simply fulfilling their duty to protect young people in sports."

The chiding seems to ignore that Caroline's parents wrote the archdiocese, to no avail, before taking their daughter's cause public, the Plas said.

Though it's now basketball season for Caroline, she isn't giving up her fight. She's not being disrespectful when she says the archbishop's claim that he's just trying to protect her doesn't ring true.

"I was just really surprised that we're not allowed to play because we're girls," Caroline said. "They say it's a safety issue, but I don't get that because it's not just a safety issue for us; it's a safety issue for anybody that goes on to the field."

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Passengers trade broken-down ship for broken-down bus

(CBS News) Thousands of passengers erupted into cheers Thursday night as the crippled triumph finally pulled up to the dock. As they stepped onto dry land, and into the arms of their loved ones some couldn't contain their excitement.

Carnival then chartered a caravan of buses to transport folks out of Mobile, Ala. To add insult to injury, at least one of those buses became stranded on the way to New Orleans, reports CBS News correspondent Anna Werner.

The nightmare started Sunday, when an engine fire knocked out power.

Passengers leave cruise ship telling tales of woe

Kendell Jenkins won the trip in a contest, but said it was more like cruising on a floating port-o-potty. "I'm just really thankful and blessed to be back," she said. "I mean there was sewage, water everywhere, mix that with some rotten food smells and welcome to carnival Triumph."

"No ships were coming, no boats, were coming, we saw no helicopters," said Jenkins. "It scared us because we thought the ship wasn't notifying or coming out to help us."

It took more than a day before the first tugboat arrived. As passengers got cell reception, they shared photos revealing squalid conditions - sewage seeping through the floors, plastic bags used for restrooms. Tent camps above deck, and mattresses sprawled out below. For some, the hardest part was losing contact with their family.

Stricken Carnival Cruise Line ship Triumph expected to dock in Mobile, Ala.

It took several grueling hours to drag the massive ship through a narrow channel Thursday. At the terminal, carnival C.E.O. Gerry Cahill addressed reporters.

"We pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this particular case," he said. He then boarded the ship and apologized to passengers, but some still want answers.

For Anna Werner's full report, watch the video in the player above

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Falling Meteor Causes Blast, Injures Hundreds

A massive meteor shower slammed into Earth near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, located about 1,000 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.

Dashboard cameras captured a blinding flash of light streaking across the sky. Moments later, the fragments smashed into the ground. The impact, and the sonic boom of the meteor entering the atmosphere, shattered windows around the city and knocked over a wall at a zinc factory.

LIVE BLOG: Russian Meteorite Impact; Asteroid Approaching Earth

Witnesses said they thought a war had broken out.

"I saw a body moving in the skies. In a moment there came a flash - we first thought it was fireworks but a moment later we saw a trace as if from the rocket followed by an explosion in a couple of minutes. The window broke ... tea, bread, water - everything fell on the floor," one restaurant waiter in Chelyabinsk said.

Officials told the Russian news agency Interfax that more than 500 people were injured, most by broken glass. Of the 12 people hospitalized, at least three of them were in serious condition.

SEE PHOTOS: Meteorite Crashes in Russia

One scientist told Russian television the meteor was a big one, weighing perhaps tens of tons, but stressed that it was not related to the asteroid that is expected to buzz close to Earth later today.

Regional officials said the one large fragment fell in a lake, but debris had been reported in three parts of Russia and in Kazakhstan.

Schools in the region closed for the day after most of the windows were blown out, citing freezing temperatures, which were below zero degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

Debris from the meteor was found in three sites around the country, but emergency services say ground zero was Chebarkul Lake, just west of Chelyabinsk.

The meteor knocked out cell phone networks, but electricity and water supplies were not affected. Rosatom said all its nuclear power facilities were functioning normally.

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Where's Obama's foreign policy?

By Isobel Coleman, Special to CNN

February 13, 2013 -- Updated 1653 GMT (0053 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Isobel Coleman: Obama mainly addressed domestic issues: economy, immigration, energy


• He spoke very little about and offered nothing much new on foreign policy, she says


• Coleman: He talked about ending Afghanistan War, spoke briefly about Iran, Syria, China


• Coleman: His reinvigorated free trade agenda seems to be the boldest move

Editor's note: Isobel Coleman is the author of "Paradise Beneath Her Feet" and a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

(CNN) -- President Obama's State of the Union address predictably focused on his domestic priorities.

Immigration reform, a laundry list of economic initiatives including infrastructure improvements (Fix it First), clean energy, some manufacturing innovation, a bit of educational reform and the rhetorical high point of his speech -- gun control.

Isobel Coleman

As in years past, foreign policy made up only about 15% of the speech, but even within that usual limited attention, Tuesday night's address pointed to few new directions.

On Afghanistan -- America's longest war -- Obama expressed just a continued commitment to bringing the troops home, ending "our war" while theirs continues. On Iran, there was a single sentence reiterating the need for a diplomatic solution, which makes me think that a big diplomatic push is not likely. On North Korea, boilerplate promises to isolate the country further after its provocative nuclear test, and on Syria, a call to "keep the pressure" on the regime, which means more watching from the sidelines as the horror unfolds.

Notably, China was mentioned only twice -- once in the context of jobs, and another time with respect to clean energy. Nothing about managing what could very well be this administration's most vexing but critically important bilateral relationship.

Obama's call for a reinvigorated free trade agenda was his boldest foreign policy statement of the evening. He is right to note that free trade "supports millions of good-paying American jobs," but his pledge to pursue a "comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership" -- a free trade agreement with Europe -- will run into significant opposition from organized labor, especially given ongoing weaknesses in the economy.

Without fast track negotiating authority, the prospects for such a deal are minimal. Fast track authority, which allows the president to negotiate trade deals that Congress can then only approve or disapprove but not amend, expired in 2007, and it would require quite a breakthrough for Congress to approve it again. Still, despite these challenges, an agreement is worth pursuing.

Aside from a free trade agreement with Europe, there was little else in this State of the Union that hinted at foreign policy ambition. But unpredictable events have a way of derailing America's best laid plans to stay above the fray of the world's messiest problems. Who could have predicted just a few months ago that Mali would get a mention in the State of the Union? Iraq -- not uttered once tonight -- could re-emerge as a formidable crisis; Iran, Pakistan and North Korea also have tremendous potential to erupt.

While this administration seems determined to focus inward on getting America's economic and fiscal house in order, I doubt events in the rest of the world will be so accommodating.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Isobel Coleman

Part of complete coverage on

February 13, 2013 -- Updated 1629 GMT (0029 HKT)

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Ruben Navarrette says Sen. Marco Rubio's effective response to the State of the Union showed he is someone to be reckoned with.

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Matt Welch: The State of the Union laid out an agenda too costly for a country that wants to see what it's getting in return for debt.

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Isobel Coleman says Obama's speech ignored huge challenges the U.S. faces in the world, ones which could quickly dominate domestic agenda.

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David Frum says many people want to believe in living alone, without traditional attachments, but is that kind of life best?

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Mumbai attack movie hits cinemas on Mar 1

MUMBAI: Memories of the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008 still evoke fear among residents of the city.

And those old wounds are expected to reopen now that a Bollywood movie about the incident is set to hit the big screens.

India's financial capital came to a virtual standstill on 26 November 2008.

The attacks which lasted for four days drew widespread global condemnation.

The Pakistan-based terrorists, who were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed 164 people and wounded at least 308 in their wake.

But the undying spirit of the citizens of Mumbai helped the city crawl back to its feet soon after the carnage ended.

And now, Bollywood is all set to release a film which will depict the gruesome terror attacks that shook Mumbai nearly five years ago.

The movie "The Attacks of 26/11" will hit cinemas on 1 March.

A publicity event to launch the movie's music was held at the Gateway of India.

Around 200 students lit candles in memory of the 26/11 victims.

The event then continued at Café Leopold where two of the ten terrorists launched their initial strikes in the first wave of attacks on the city.

Film maker Ram Gopal Varma said: "I strongly believe as a film maker and as a human being that the attacks of 26/11 which happened in 2008 are not against any community in particular. I think it is an attack on human beings and committed by certain inhuman elements."

The mood was sombre as the film maker and lead actor showed off a few teasers from the movie.

The usually reclusive veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar, who plays the lead role in the film, shed his inhibitions and spoke to the media with unusual frankness.

He said: "I feel pained whenever I think about the attacks of 26/11. The film depicts the mindset of the terrorists who went on a carnage in Mumbai. We are trying to portray through our films what steps can be taken to prevent such types of attacks in future."

The owner of the Leopold was also present at the event, and has played himself in the film.

The music launch of the film has reignited the anger and bitterness in the minds of Indian citizens.

But as in 2008, the movie also shows the world that Mumbai and its people have picked up the pieces and are refusing to let fear of terror attacks get in the way of their daily lives.

- CNA/al

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Opinion: Obama's 'I'm in charge' speech

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• David Rothkopf: With this State of the Union speech, Obama returned to work of governing


• He says Obama's manner was confident, purposeful, sent message to fellow politicians


• He focused on economy, investing in Americans: jobs, energy, education, immigration


• Rothkopf: Obama remarks taking on gun lobby showed his new vigor as empowered advocate

Editor's note: David Rothkopf is CEO and editor-at-large of the FP Group, publishers of Foreign Policy magazine, and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

(CNN) -- It is sometimes said of a great actor that he could hold an audience spellbound while reading a laundry list. This is essentially what President Obama tried to do on Tuesday night. As State of the Union addresses go, his was artless. It lacked inspired phrases or compelling narrative. Save for the energy he gave it at key moments, it was pedestrian.

It was also very important.

It was important because with it, Obama returned in earnest to the work of governing. Having won a clear victory in November, and having spent the intervening months putting out the wildfires our Congress likes to set, he delivered word Tuesday night that he had a clear and full agenda for his second term.

David Rothkopf

Candidate Obama, the man who has dominated American politics for most of the last five years, seems gone for good. That version of our president may have had more poetry about him. But this version wants to actually get down to governing.

Opinion roundup: How did Obama and Rubio do?

Whether he can or not remains to be seen. Indeed, it seems certain that many, if not most, of the goals he set on Tuesday night will elude him. But the speech was also important because it sent several clear messages to his fellow politicians.

He said, "I won. I am in charge. I will not shy away from a progressive agenda."

He said, "I know what I want. I'm not afraid of defeat as I was in the past. I will never run in another political campaign again."

Oh, he didn't say these things literally. You won't find those words in the transcript. But look at the tape -- you'll find them in his body language and between the lines of his speech.

The economy was his centerpiece -- but it was not just another campaign speech about growth. It was a speech about, as one of his team put it earlier in the day, "growing the economy from the middle out." He spoke about restoring the middle class and creating opportunity. From the beginning it was clear that this was no longer a speech about recovering from a crisis. It was not another speech about America at war. Obama's concern -- the crisis he was addressing -- was that incomes and job creation are stagnant even as the economy grows and corporate profits hit record levels.

His prescription was clear. We must invest in America and in its people. In infrastructure, domestic energy resources, cleaner energy and energy efficiency, education, research and building the workforce through immigration reform. Obama called for raising the minimum wage to help lift up the poorest and better reward those among them who are willing to work for a living. He also sounded the theme that we must do all these things to better compete in the global economy, citing the examples of China, Germany and others whose examples he said we should heed and exceed.

Even the portion of his speech that dealt with foreign policy was oriented to the domestic economy. Yes, he began with the newsworthy announcement that he would bring home half of all troops in Afghanistan by next year and end our war there the following year. Yes, he talked about defeating al Qaeda even as it shape-shifted its way around the world. And he addressed drone oversight, North Korea's nuclear test, Iran's nuclear program and the Middle East.

But many of his statements on these issues were formulaic. And the thrust of all of them -- even the boldest, like his return to his Prague promise of working to reduce nuclear stockpiles -- was enabling America to focus more energy on rebuilding its strength at home. Furthermore, perhaps the most important international thrusts had nothing to do with war at all. (His comments on cyberthreats, for example, were really directed at protecting intrusions against the private sector.)

Opinion: Obama dares Congress to get the job done

Obama's renewed focus on climate, including his call for "market-based" solutions -- meaning reopening the idea of carbon markets or other such mechanisms, a couple of years after such ideas were considered by many to be dead -- was a return to promises made long ago. It was also a recognition of the urgency with which this global threat must be addressed. His new secretary of state, John Kerry, was the leading voice in the Senate on these issues and has already told his staff how important these and other environmental concerns would be. This issue was raised early in the speech, even though it is clearly something requiring global cooperation. It was an important shift of emphasis.

Similarly, perhaps the biggest new foreign policy initiative Obama called for was opening of talks to achieve a trans-Atlantic trade agreement. This is a powerful idea that could be the centerpiece of second-term international economic policy. It would further enhance trade with the European Union, strengthen our Atlantic alliance and set the stage for its modernization in the 21st century, and open the way for a new global round of trade talks. And finally, since agricultural trade reform is so central to big emerging powers like Brazil and India, it would help strengthen our relations with them.

Of all the elements of the speech, however, the most compelling and emotional was Obama's concluding section demanding a vote on reforming America's gun laws. Citing gun deaths in his hometown, Chicago, with the victims of violence in the gallery watching him, he demonstrated his newfound confidence by standing up to one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, tackling an issue he himself had sidestepped earlier in his presidency.

Opinion: In 2013, democracy talks back

At that moment of the speech -- calling for real change in the wake of tragedies like the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut -- what we saw was a president in full, a man who knew his job, knew his power and was not afraid. He might or might not get the reforms he wanted. But he could certainly send a message to even his most obdurate opponents that he would use whatever tools and influence he had to demand they at least take a stand.

One can only hope he will do more, go past getting a vote to getting the results we need -- background checks, bans on assault weapons and high-volume magazines, mental health care reform, a real effort to stop gun trafficking. But whatever the outcome, at that moment Tuesday night, the focused energy of this president at this stage of his presidency reverberated through the rafters of the Capitol and suggested that this long speech was not a laundry list but a to-do list, an agenda for change offered up by a confident and empowered advocate.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Rothkopf.

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Couple describes Dorner ordeal, unexpected compliment

(CBS News) Police in Southern California are defending their actions in the manhunt for Christopher Dorner. They say they did not intentionally burn down the cabin where he apparently died.

Dorner was a suspected killer with a grudge against the Los Angeles Police Department, but two of his final victims say he didn't seem like a bad man.

Karen and Jim Reynolds are the owners of Mountain Vista Resort, the property where the alleged cop-killer had been hiding the day police tracked him down. On a routine check of one of their units, Dorner surprised them from upstairs.

"He opened the door and came out at us. He had his gun drawn," said Jim. "He yelled 'stay calm' and ran out."

"He talked to us trying to calm us down and saying very frequently he would not kill us," said Karen. "He had said 'I just want to clear my name.'"

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Jim said that Dorner told them he didn't have a problem with them and wasn't going to hurt them.

Dorner had been keeping an eye Karen and Jim for days, and although he had broken in and tied them up, he paid them an unexpected compliment.

"He said we are very hard workers, we're good people. He talked about how he could see Jim working on the snow every day," said Karen.

"He said he'd been watching us shoveling the snow," said Jim.

Dorner left the couple behind, and tried to take their car. But he soon returned, asking how to start their keyless Nissan. Later, the Reynolds managed to undo their restraints and call police. A few hours later, the manhunt was over.

Although the Reynolds were aware of Dorner's alleged trail of violence, they couldn't help but feel some compassion for their captor.

"I really didn't wish him dead, though. I really didn't. I prayed for him a lot and I'm praying for his family now," said Karen.

For John Blackstone's full report, watch the video in the player above

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