TOKYO (Reuters) - Mystery shadows "A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea", a novel about a girl growing up in rural post-revolutionary Iran while dreaming about her identical twin sister and the wonderful life she must be leading in the United States - if she is alive at all.

Crowded security lines at Tehran's airport, shouting, a girl chasing her twin as a woman in a long coat holds her hand. That is the memory Saba Hafezi clings to after her mother and sister vanish in a haunting tale by Dina Nayeri.

Nayeri left Iran at the age of ten for the United States. She grew up in Oklahoma and worked as an investment banker before starting to write fiction, first collaborating with her brother on a series of young adult books. This is her first adult novel.

Nayeri, who said her book was sparked by a trip to Greece that brought many memories to the surface, spoke to Reuters about writing, exile and its impact on storytelling.

Q: Why twins and why tell the story from the point of view of the one left behind?

A: When I was first thinking of the idea, I was a little bit obsessed with the idea of what I would have been like if I'd stayed in Iran, what my life would have turned out to be. I started thinking about writing about two sisters, one of whom stayed in Iran and one who went to America, to have their lives be parallel, to have both of them be real and living their lives in the different ways.

I wanted there to be this magical realism where all the parallels in their lives would be happening through some kind of magic of twinness. Eventually, after several drafts and a couple of years working on it, I realized it would be much more powerful if it was the story of one of the sisters, about longing for the other life -- to have that element of loss and longing. Then I started thinking the story I really wanted to tell was the one in Iran.

Q: People have always said being away from a place allows you to write about it more clearly. Did this help you come to terms with having left Iran, is that part of it?

A: Yes and no. I definitely unearthed that longing inside myself but I also found all the ways I could fulfill that here. I found a lot of Iranian communities, really exiled Iranians, and compared their experiences to mine. I discovered music and food and all these wonderful things. In that sense, I came to terms with the results of this. On the other hand, it does make me want to go back more. I interviewed people with just beautiful stories and I have so many friends who every summer go back. It makes me sad that I don't quite feel safe going back yet. I think one day I will and that's where it's all headed.

Q: What was the hardest part of writing this and what was the easiest, the most fun?

A: The hardest part -- there are two different aspects of it. The first was just trusting myself as a writer, because all my education and adulthood was in the business world and I didn't know what it would take to be a good writer. There was a lot of studying on my own. At one point I went on Amazon and ordered 50 prize-winning novels of the last five years. It was fun, but it was hard to get that confidence in my voice and discover the voice of the novel.

I don't know that any part of it was easy but the most fun part was all of the interviews and all of the details and stories I was gathering from people. I'm a natural extrovert and so I don't like solitude as much as most writers, I love to be around people. So calling up dozens and dozens of people and getting them to tell me stories, making sense of it and writing up little scenes and sending it back to them, seeing if they'd be okay using it, that was the most delightful part.

Q: Every family has stories they tell - how does the whole idea of exile affect the stories that are told?

A: Obviously storytelling is a very human thing and it's universal, but in my family, we were such huge storytellers even beyond that. There was never any time when somebody wasn't telling a story or begging for a story. I think what happened as a result of exile is that some of those became mythologized.

I remember that stories from home dried up because we were no longer at home and having that kind of access. Suddenly that pool of stories kept getting repeated over and over again until they took on this mythic element in my mind. I really believe there are some stories in my family history that are just full of lies now because they've taken on a magic quality that can't possibly be ... There are things that just become more storybook as years pass and you have no more access to those people, particularly people that have passed on in the 25 years since I've been away - for example, my grandfather.

He would tell stories constantly. He would sit in the little town square in the village with the other old men and smoke the hookah and they would talk and talk. Some of the things he said and did, and some of the things from his youth, might as well be from a storybook now, they can't possibly be real.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Patricia Reaney)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The officer in charge of the Air Force effort to curb sexual assault in the military was arrested over the weekend for allegedly grabbing a woman by the breasts and buttocks in a parking lot not far from the Pentagon, officials said on Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, was arrested on Sunday and charged with sexual battery after the alleged incident in the Crystal City area of suburban Arlington, Virginia, officials said.

An Arlington County Police spokesman said the woman fended off Krusinski, who was under the influence of alcohol, and when he attempted to grab her a second time she was able to call the police, who arrived a short time later and detained him.

Krusinski initially was held on a $5,000 unsecured bond. He has since posted bond and been released from the Arlington County Detention Facility, said the spokesman, who confirmed Krusinski's name and arrest but did not have his rank or title with the Air Force.

The Air Force said that Krusinski, whom it identified as a lieutenant colonel, had been removed from his job as chief of the service's sexual assault prevention and response branch after his arrest. The branch is responsible for overseeing the Air Force's sexual assault prevention effort.

News of the arrest came as the Pentagon is preparing to release its annual report on the problem of sexual assault in the military.

A total of 3,192 cases were reported in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2011, a 1 percent increase in reporting from the previous fiscal year, according to last year's report.

Pentagon officials have said the actual number of sexual assaults, including those that go unreported, is much higher, possibly as many as 19,000 a year.

The Air Force has faced a series of embarrassing sexual assault scandals over the past year. An investigation at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, that began in 2011 has so far turned up 59 cases of sexual assault of military recruits by drill instructors.

General Mark Welsh, the top Air Force officer, called the scope of the case "stunning" during a congressional hearing earlier this year.

In another case, the top general in charge of an Air Force court martial at Aviano Air Base in Italy overturned the sexual assault conviction of a lieutenant colonel, threw out his one-year prison sentence and reinstated him to duty.

That case has prompted U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to recommend that Congress alter the military justice system to limit the ability of a military commander to throw out court-martial verdicts.

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Paul Simao)

LONDON (Reuters) - Development driver Susie Wolff is pushing Williams to give her a proper test in July and keep alive her distant dream of one day racing alongside the men in Formula One.

"For me the next logical step is to do the young drivers test, and do it well, and then see what the next step is after that," the 30-year-old Scot told Reuters at a sponsor event on Thursday.

"I think there's quite a big movement just now, people want to see a woman in Formula One, the momentum is definitely there," added the wife of Williams shareholder and Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff.

An official young driver test has yet to be confirmed but is expected to be scheduled for Silverstone in July, before the Hungarian Grand Prix and the European summer break.

Wolff, who also competed under her maiden name of Stoddart in junior series and the German Touring Car championship (DTM), lacks a super-license to race in Formula One but a full test would help.

It might also win over some of those who want to see a woman compete but are adamant that any selection must be purely on talent rather than any token presence - and doubt whether she has the speed.

"There's many people who think it's going to be embarrassing for me to drive on a young driver day because I'm going to be so far off the pace," she said. "For me, it's incredible to hear such comments.

"I wouldn't be doing aero tests if I hadn't shown some kind of capability. People forget we've been racing at a high level for a long time. Its not like you are just plucked from obscurity and told 'drive the F1 car'."

To get the mandatory license, which costs a basic 10,000 euros ($13,200), a driver has to have done 300km of running in a Formula One car as well as meeting certain performance criteria.

"In theory, I've got enough kilometers in the car to apply for the super-license but there's absolutely no point in doing that until I'm in a position where I can do something with it," said Wolff.

"They (Williams) haven't said anything but for me it has to happen," she added of the test. "If it doesn't happen, then I'm wasting my time. It's all for nothing. It's got to happen.

"I am the development driver, so it cannot be that a young driver test comes and you don't put your development driver in. But you never know, so let's see."

Williams do not currently have a designated reserve driver to step in should Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado or Finland's Valtteri Bottas be unavailable.

ECCLESTONE SUPPORTIVE

Formula One has not had a female driver for decades, with Italian Giovanna Amati the last to try and get on the grid when she failed to qualify in 1992.

The only woman to appear on the scoresheet was Italian Leila Lombardi who finished sixth in the shortened 1975 Spanish Grand Prix and was awarded a half point.

Wolff, who competed in the DTM for seven seasons but scored only four points in total, has never done a Formula One start or a pitstop and her role at Williams is mainly straight-line aero testing and simulator work.

That could change, and she is nothing if not persistent.

"People are really pushing now and asking why isn't there a woman in Formula One. For me the timing is good but motorsport is a lot about talent and a little bit about timing and luck," she said.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone was supportive, she said, even if publicly he has stated that he does not see any woman driver on F1's horizon because there was nobody good enough at present.

Stirling Moss, generally recognized as the best driver never to win the world championship, also declared recently that women lacked the "mental aptitude" to compete in Formula One even if they had the strength and stamina.

Wolff said that was "a load of rubbish", even if she understood why the 83-year-old might have said it.

"Sir Stirling is a very nice man and his wife is also very nice. The issue there was the generation...in his day there were many fatalities and I think for him it was this image of women not putting their lives at risk," she said.

"I think for them as the older generation, it just doesn't click in their heads that women should be driving racing cars.

"It's a change that has to happen in people's heads...Bernie says many things in the press but behind closed doors he's doing a hell of a lot to help me come into Formula One because he knows from a business perspective it has to happen."

Away from Formula One, women drivers are making considerable inroads into motorsport with Danica Patrick a race winner in IndyCar and on pole for NASCAR'S Daytona 500 this year.

($1 = 0.7580 euros)

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

DENVER (AP) -- Seven weeks after a tragedy on the snowmobile course marred the Winter X Games, ESPN decided to scrap the best trick competition, saying it was a move the network had been considering before Caleb Moore's death in Aspen, Colo.

Moore, a 25-year-old from Krum, Texas, died from injuries he sustained when his 450-pound sled rolled over him after a backflip gone wrong during a freestyle competition, which will remain part of the X Games program. In this year's best trick contest, a rider lost control of his machine after falling off and it veered into the netting close to fans.

ESPN spokesman Danny Chi explained to The Associated Press in an email Tuesday that the elimination of the best trick discipline was being contemplated before Aspen and that "our review of snowmobile freestyle continues."

"We will focus on motor sports disciplines that engage athletes who consistently compete in multiple global competitions reflective of the global reach of X Games," Chi wrote in the email.

In a statement, ESPN said the change "reflects our decision to focus on motor sports disciplines which feature athletes who also compete in multiple, world-class competitions (e.g., professional events and tours) reflecting the highest degree of athlete participation, competitive development and the global nature of our X Games franchise."

The Summer X Games will eliminate a similar competition Moto X best trick. Other motorcycle competitions will still be held.

The safety of snowmobiles came under scrutiny after the two accidents last January.

Moore stayed down for quite some time after his crash before walking off with help and being taken to a hospital to be treated for a concussion. He developed bleeding around his heart and was flown to a hospital in Grand Junction for surgery. The family later said that Moore also had a complication involving his brain.

He died Jan. 31, a week after his accident. It was the first death in the 18-year history of the X Games.

In the best trick event, Summer X Games motocross champion turned snowmobile newcomer Jackson Strong tumbled off his machine after a failed maneuver, only to have the throttle stick when it landed and the snowmobile swerve toward the crowd as fans scrambled to get out of the way. No one was seriously injured.

Winter X officials recently scratched a snowmobile freestyle demonstration set for later this month in Tignes, France, so organizers could review safety protocols.

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ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

The Bedford competition called for agility demonstrations in which the gerbils must overcome obstacles and race to the end of a course. Breeders of the small animals vie for coveted ribbons based on body type and agility.

"A male gerbil should be a good, strong, hefty-looking gerbil," said Libby Hanna, president of the American Gerbil Society. "If you are going to think of it in human terms, you might think of a football player somebody who's big, thick neck, nice, strong-looking male gerbil."

An ideal female gerbil will have a more streamlined appearance that even humans covet, she said.

"So she would be strong and athletic-looking not really scrawny, but slim," said Hanna, who serves as a judge in the show. "I usually use a figure skater as my mental image or gymnasts so obviously a gymnast is not necessarily a big, big woman, but she's gonna be strong, muscular and athletic."

The Friday-Saturday show drew gerbil enthusiasts and breeders from around the country and culminates in the presentation of champion and breeder certificates.

Fourteen-year-old Sarah Kaden from Bordentown, N.J., thinks gerbils have great personalities.

"Even though they are so little, they are very different from each other and they smell a lot less than my brother's hamsters," she said Friday.

That sentiment is not surprising since the small, furry and inquisitive creatures look cute when they nibble on their food, stand on their hind feet or scurry around their environment.

Gerbils are perfect pets for modern families as they don't require to be taken out for a walk, could easily fit in a small apartment and their tanks only need to be cleaned about once a week.

Still, some people freak out when they visit friends and see gerbils in the home.

"I've had a couple of people come to my house that actually didn't know that I had gerbils. They were sort of freaked out, but I just told them that it was OK, they stay in their tanks, there was nothing to worry about," said Diane Nott who traveled from Elyria, Ohio, to compete in the show.

Gerbils thrive in desert habitats and their growing popularity as pets led authorities in California and Hawaii to make it illegal to keep them since the weather there would make it possible for escaping animals to flourish in wild colonies that would damage crops and native plants.

At the New England show, each animal undergoes a health check. Inspectors look at the whiskers, teeth and mouths and check to ensure the rodents have no runny noses, bugs, loss of fur on their tails or other signs of health problems.

Donna Anastasi of Waltham got hooked on gerbils after buying them for her daughters when they were younger.

"Anyone can buy a $12 gerbil and get into the sport of gerbil showing or gerbil agility," said Anastasi, who is also vice president of the American Gerbil Society. "It's very fun ... easy and affordable and something you can do with your kids."

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Rodrique Ngowi can be reached at www.twitter.com/ngowi

The Penguins' star says he will play Friday night in Game 2 of the playoff series with the New York Islanders after missing more than a month with a broken jaw. Crosby skated with usual linemates Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kuntiz on Friday morning and expects to be in the lineup as Pittsburgh tries to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Crosby underwent a series of dental procedures after taking a shot to the face against New York on March 30. He returned to practice nearly two weeks ago and will wear a protective cage as an additional safety measure.

While Crosby will return, Pittsburgh forward James Neal is likely out after leaving Pittsburgh's 5-0 romp in Game 1 with an undisclosed injury.

Demps was no mere fan visiting what's now the Motown Historical Museum. She was one of the women singing the angelic, high harmonies on the recording and hearing it in Hitsville USA's Studio A was too much.

"It's my heart, it's my heart," she said.

For Demps and her fellow Andantes, Jackie Hicks and Marlene Barrow-Tate, moments like these have been private, since the wider world knew only their voices, not their faces. But now in their 70s, the unsung backing group who sang on thousands of Motown songs is finally getting acclaim for its contributions to the groundbreaking, chart-topping music made in Detroit in the 1960s and early '70s before the label moved to Los Angeles.

The trio gathered recently to see the exhibit, "Motown Girl Groups: The Grit, the Glamour, the Glory," which will run through the summer. The Andantes are featured with equal billing alongside the Supremes, Vandellas, Marvelettes and Velvelettes.

The joyous but rare reunion was made possible by a sad event the day before: the funeral of former Miracles member Bobby Rogers. For the Andantes, it made their meeting more poignant.

"It is unfortunate that so many are gone and thank God that we are still here all of us to be able to see this and see our dream come true," said Barrow-Tate, who still lives in Detroit, as does Hicks. The two are retired, but Demps, who lives near Atlanta, still sings solo or with others.

The Andantes were the go-to backup singers for most Motown artists, including Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and the girl groups themselves. "Save the Children" came from Gaye's "What's Going On," one of Motown's greatest and last albums recorded in Detroit. The Andantes sang backup on many of the record's cuts including the title track and even traveled with Gaye to his hometown of Washington, D.C., in 1972 to perform the disc in its entirety at the Kennedy Center.

Motown Museum officials say the trio, almost always anonymously, sang on more songs than any other group at Motown. They were the female and vocal equivalent to the Funk Brothers, the label's house band that itself was largely anonymous in its time but gained acclaim through the 2002 documentary film, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown."

The Andantes' peerless ability to vocally blend not only with each other but also with stars such as Gaye, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and many others was one of the factors that kept them in demand behind the scenes. They were so successful that they were seen as essential backup artists, and that limited them from growing more.

The Andantes don't exactly sing the same old song now when it comes to how they felt about standing and singing in the shadows.

"We did not mind not having our name on someone else's record," Hicks said.

"I did," said Demps, who had dreamed the Andantes might one day be like the Supremes. "I always minded."

"Well, I didn't," said Hicks, who was seconded by Barrow-Tate.

Allen Rawls, the museum's acting chief executive, said Motown Records founder Berry Gordy understood the role everyone played in creating and maintaining Motown's sound.

"The Andantes ... were so instrumental to the foundation of the Motown sound," Rawls said. "Imagine if a song like 'Standing in the Shadows of Love' was out there (without them). The harmonies behind it may not be the same thing. That's why they were established in that particular role, helping to create the foundation."

Gordy called the Andantes "wonderful people" in a recent interview and fondly remembered their contributions: "I recall so many of the sounds from The Four Tops."

So does Abdul "Duke" Fakir, the group's lone surviving original member. He recalls the trio's work on "Baby I Need Your Loving," The Four Tops' first hit.

"They were just as important in their background (part) as The Four Tops," he said. "Their voices on that song made that song."

The Andantes lovingly recall their work with The Four Tops and Gaye, who was fatally shot by his father in 1984 after a violent argument. Demps said the Tops "always gave us a bonus of every hit they had" and "were always fair." They all spoke of Gaye's intensity, with Hicks in particular recalling the sessions for "I Heard it Through the Grapevine."

"I loved Marvin, loved recording with Marvin," she said. "He was a perfectionist, and we enjoyed that with him. Everything just had to be just right for Marvin, and for that we are grateful."

As a tour group gathered in Motown's original Studio A, a guide led them in a spirited take of The Temptations' "My Girl." Sitting alongside were the Andantes, smiling and singing every word. It's the closest the "girls" get these days to a musical reunion, though Demps doesn't give up hope.

"My dream hasn't ended yet," she said. "It still goes on for me."

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Online:

http://www.motownmuseum.org/

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AP Writer Mike Householder contributed to this report.

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Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub

A military judge in San Antonio on Thursday also ordered Staff Sgt. Emily Allen to do 30 days of hard labor and reduced her rank to airman first class.

Allen was the first woman among more than 30 instructors at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland charged in what has turned into the military branch's worst sex scandal.

She pleaded guilty Wednesday to having sex with a male airman in 2011, seeking to have a sexual relationship with another male trainee plus having unprofessional social relationships with two female students.

The ground search for 29-year-old Kurt Ruppert, of Lake City, Fla., was suspended Sunday after searchers with the King County sheriff's office covered 9 square miles on and around Mount Si (SY), a steep and heavily forested 4,200-foot peak about 30 miles east of Seattle.

Ruppert was taking turns with two friends who were waiting on the ground Thursday when he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet.

Sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West says because of the flying suit he was wearing, he could have glided for some distance.

Friends say Ruppert has been skydiving seven or eight years and is experienced in a wing suit.

MIAMI, April 30 (Reuters) - They're big, they're tough, and, presumably, some of them are gay, but so far not a single active NFL player has come out and said so. After NBA player Jason Collins broke that barrier this week, the National Football League is making sure it will be ready for any coming out party.

Earlier this year, at least three college football players said they had been asked about their sexual orientation during NFL recruitment interviews, sparking calls for the NFL to do more to fight discrimination.

Just hours before Collins' coming out statement was published by Sports Illustrated on Tuesday, the NFL - America's most popular sport, with $9 billion a year in revenue - released a 'workplace conduct statement' regarding sexual orientation.

"The NFL has a long history of valuing diversity and inclusion. Discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation is not consistent with our values and is unacceptable in the National Football League," league commissioner Roger Goodell says in the document.

League spokesman Greg Aiello told Reuters that the timing of the release was purely coincidental and that the document had been worked on for several weeks with no advance notice given to the NFL about Collins's impending statement.

The memo, sent to chief executives, club presidents, head coaches and general managers, highlights a tough policy on reporting acts of discrimination or harassment and makes clear that questions about sexuality are not permitted during recruitment interviews.

Collins' statement, and the reaction to it, has raised expectations that other gay athletes will feel the time is right to come out. Leading players in the NBA, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and top coaches such as Boston Celtics' Doc Rivers, expressed support for Collins.

Several reports have indicated that one or more NFL players may be close to coming out.

Earlier this month, Brendon Ayanbadejo, who played in the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens team last season, said up to four players were considering jointly revealing their sexuality.

"I think it will happen sooner than you think," Ayanbadejo told the Baltimore Sun.

"We're in talks with a handful of players who are considering it. There are up to four players being talked to right now and they're trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together. It would make a major splash and take the pressure off one guy.

"The NFL and organizations are already being proactive," he said.

Ayanbadejo is a leading member of Athlete Ally, a group which brings together straight athletes in support of gay rights, and one of several gay rights groups that have been involved in behind-the-scenes talks with the NFL.

Former NFL player Wade Davis, who came out as gay after his career in the sport, believes that an American football locker-room is essentially no different than any other workplace.

"You are always going to have a smattering of players who aren't going to be comfortable with it but that's the same in any part of society, sports or otherwise," Davis told Reuters.

But Davis, who left the NFL in 2003 after trying his luck with Tennessee, Seattle and the Washington Redskins, believes there has been a real change in the attitude of players in the past decade.

"When I was playing there were really no conversations about what it means to be a gay athlete. I think the climate has definitely changed and I think also in society you have more people who are gay and lesbian who are coming out, so everyone pretty much knows another person who is gay."

But not everyone is convinced the NFL is ready.

"I don't think football is ready, there are too many guys in the locker-room and, you know, guys play around too much," former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, now a television analyst with NBC, told NBC Sports Radio on Tuesday.

"Hopefully one guy comes out of the closet and (will) be comfortable with himself," Ward said.

"I don't have anything against a gay football player or a gay person period, so if he does, he has support from me. I want people to live their lives for who they are and (they) don't have to hide behind closed doors to do that."

Shortly after the Collins announcement, Mike Wallace, a wide receiver Miami Dolphins, was criticized for a tweet that said: "All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys, SMH (Shaking My Head)." He later deleted the message and apologized for any offense caused.

Wallace's reaction was not quite on the scale of San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver who made headlines before this year's Super Bowl by saying he would not welcome a gay player into the team's locker-room.

Culliver spent a pre-Super Bowl media session with scores of television cameras pointed in his face as he repeated his apology for an hour.

Gay rights groups say that making the locker room ready requires more than just stamping down on homophobic comments on the field or in social media and involves a process of education.

Aaron McQuade, of gay rights group GLAAD, says the NFL has responded well to the group's suggestions that proscribing discrimination isn't enough on its own.

"We are part of a coalition that has been meeting with the NFL and speaking with them for almost a year now about ways to stop coming down hard on guys for saying something that they didn't think about and start educating them," McQuade told Reuters.

"We are still very early in the process but it's moving along fairly quickly," he added. "The NFL is absolutely committed to not just punishing the players that misbehave but actually educating the players about these issues." (Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Claudia Parsons)