N. Korea video shows US city under attack






SEOUL: North Korea, poised to conduct a nuclear test any day now, has posted a video on YouTube depicting a US city resembling New York engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack.

The footage was uploaded Saturday by the North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media.

The video is shot as a dream sequence, with a young man seeing himself on board a North Korean space shuttle launched into orbit by the same type of rocket Pyongyang successfully tested in December.

As the shuttle circles the globe -- to the tune of "We Are the World" -- the video zooms in on countries below, including a joyfully re-unified Korea.

In contrast, the focus then switches to a city -- shrouded in the US flag -- under apparent missile attack with its skyscrapers, including what appears to be the Empire State Building, either on fire or in ruins.

"Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing," runs the caption across the screen.

"It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself," it added.

The video ends with the young man concluding that his dream will "surely come true".

"Despite all kinds of attempts by imperialists to isolate and crush us... never will anyone be able to stop the people marching toward a final victory," it said.

The North is expected to conduct its nuclear test as a defiant response to UN sanctions imposed after its December rocket launch.

-AFP/gn



Read More..

Boy safe, suspect dead after Alabama bunker standoff






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Rescued child is in good spirits at hospital, authorities say

  • NEW: Officials say crime scene is still active, bomb squad on site

  • FBI says boy was rescued after negotiators felt he was in danger

  • Witness said he heard explosion followed by gunshots




Midland City, Alabama (CNN) -- A 5-year-old boy freed Monday after being held captive in an underground bunker for six days is laughing and smiling and playing with his favorite toy dinosaur after being reunited with his family, authorities said.


The boy's kidnapper is dead, but officials offered no details on the raid that freed the boy -- identified only by his first name, Ethan -- and left his abductor fatally shot.


FBI Special Agent in Charge Steve Richardson visited Ethan at a hospital, where he was in a private area with heavy security.


"He is doing fine," Richardson told reporters at a late-night news conference. "He's laughing, joking, playing, eating."


Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson had no new details about Ethan's rescue, and when asked if the boy saw his abductor, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, killed during the rescue operation, Olson replied, "He's a very special child. He's been through a lot, he's endured a lot."


Ethan looks great but will be hospitalized overnight, an uncle told people at a prayer vigil earlier Monday.


Authorities said they were still working on the crime scene and the investigation should continue for several more days. The sheriff's office said the bomb squad was checking the bunker for potential explosive devices.




Ethan, the rescued boy, arrives on stretcher Monday at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama.



Richardson earlier said an FBI team went in to get Ethan after negotiations had broken down with Dykes, who also was "observed holding a gun."


Olson said it became very difficult to deal with and even communicate with Dykes over the past day.


Believing the child to be in imminent danger, an FBI team entered the bunker at 3:12 p.m. CT (4:12 p.m. ET) and rescued the boy, Richardson said.


One neighbor said he was outside when he was startled by the sound of an explosion.


"I heard a big boom and then ... I believe I heard rifle shots," said Bryon Martin, who owns a home near the bunker where the boy had been held since Tuesday.


It was a loud noise that "made me jump off the ground," he said.


Authorities wouldn't say whether the blast was set off as a diversionary tactic or whether Dykes had planted explosives around the bunker.


After the good news of the boy's release spread through the small rural community, travelers on a nearby highway honked their horns as they drove by.


The FBI had borrowed from the U.S. military high-tech detection equipment similar to the technology used to discover homemade bombs in war zones, three Defense Department officials told CNN.


It was unclear whether the equipment, which is not readily available to civilian law enforcement, had been used by the FBI.


One of the defense officials said no members of the military were involved in the rescue. They would have been acting a technical advisers, the official said.


Last Tuesday, police said, Dykes boarded a Dale County school bus and demanded the driver hand over two children.






The driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., refused, blocking access to the bus's narrow aisle as at least 21 children escaped out of the back emergency door, authorities said.


The gunman killed Poland, then grabbed a kindergartner before barricading himself and the boy inside a nearby bunker he had built.


Smith said Monday that Ethan has siblings, but none of them were on the bus last week.


In the ensuing days, officials said little about what was going on in the bunker or in their strategy, or what -- if anything -- Dykes wanted.


"Based on our discussions with Mr. Dykes, he feels like he has a story that's important to him, although it's very complex," Olson said Monday before the hostage situation ended. He didn't elaborate.


Ethan suffers from Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit disorder, state Rep. Steve Clouse said during the week.


Dykes told authorities that he had blankets and a heater in the bunker, and authorities have previously said the bunker -- built 4 feet underground -- has electricity.


Authorities did not say how they were communicating with Dykes.


Meanwhile, residents and business owners in Midland City put up blue, red and black ribbons in support of the boy and Poland. Blue and red are the local school colors, and black is in honor of the slain bus driver.


The U.S. Navy confirmed Monday that Dykes served in the military from 1964 to 1969.


Naval records list him as an aviation maintenance administrationman third-class who served with units based in California and Atsugi, Japan. The job entails clerical work related to aircraft and aircraft maintenance, according to the Navy's job description.


Neighbors and officials had described Dykes as a survivalist with "anti-government" views.


Even as the hostage situation continued Monday morning, plenty of police were on hand as schools in neighboring Ozark, Alabama, reopened for the first time since the incident began.


Dale County schools remained closed but were to reopen on Tuesday, the district said.


In Ozark, school officials decided to begin strictly enforcing a 15-foot safety zone around school buses required by state law. The law prohibits any unauthorized adults, including parents, from approaching within 15 feet of a school bus stop. If an unauthorized adult gets too close, bus drivers are supposed to close bus doors or drive away, if necessary, school officials said


CNN's Victor Blackwell and Martin Savidge reported from Midland City; Barbara Starr contributed from Washington; Michael Pearson and Steve Almasy reported and wrote from Atlanta; and CNN's Vivian Kuo and Larry Shaughnessy also contributed to this report.






Read More..

Ex-Navy SEAL murder suspect had been in mental hospital

FORT WORTH, TexasThe Iraq War veteran charged with killing a former Navy SEAL sniper and his friend on a Texas shooting range had been taken to a mental hospital twice in the past five months and told authorities that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, police records show.

Eddie Ray Routh, 25, also told his sister and brother-in-law after the shootings that he "traded his soul for a new truck," according to an Erath County arrest warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA-TV. Police said that Routh was driving the truck of victim and ex-Navy SEAL Chris Kyle at the time of arrest.




Play Video


Top SEAL sniper allegedly murdered by fellow vet






Play Video


Ex-Marine suspected of killing ex-Navy SEAL on suicide watch



Routh is charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Kyle, author of the best-selling book "American Sniper," and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range Saturday in Glen Rose. He is on suicide watch in the Erath County Jail, where he's being held on $3 million bond, Sheriff Tommy Bryant said.

Routh, a member of the Marines Corps Reserve, was first taken to a mental hospital on Sept. 2 after he threatened to kill his family and himself, according to police records in Lancaster, where Routh lives. Authorities found Routh walking nearby with no shirt and no shoes, and smelling of alcohol. Routh told authorities he was a Marine veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Eddie stated he was hurting and that his family does not understand what he has been through," the report said.

Routh's mother told police that her son had been drinking and became upset when his father said he was going to sell his gun. She said Routh began arguing with them and said he was going to "blow his brains out."

Police took Routh to Green Oaks Hospital for psychiatric care.

Dallas police records show Routh was taken back to the same mental hospital in mid-January after a woman called police and said she feared for Routh's safety.

Green Oaks will not release patient information, citing privacy laws. Most people brought by police to the hospital are required to stay at least 48 hours.

In May, Routh's mother reported a burglary that included nine pill bottles and her son was involved, according to a Lancaster police report. No other details were available.

Authorities say Routh, Kyle and Littlefield arrived at the sprawling Rough Creek Lodge at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday, and a hunting guide called 911 about two hours later after discovering the bodies. Kyle and Littlefield were shot multiple times, and numerous guns were at the scene, according to the affidavit.



In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book American Sniper, Chris Kyle poses in Midlothian, Texas.


/

Paul Moseley

After leaving the Navy, Kyle quickly found a way to maintain contact with his fellow veterans and pass on what had helped him work through his own struggles. By late 2011, he filed the paperwork to establish the nonprofit FITCO Cares, which received its nonprofit status the following spring, said FITCO director Travis Cox.

Routh drove to his sister's house, and told her that he killed two people and that he planned to drive to Oklahoma to evade Texas authorities, the affidavit said. Routh's sister then called police, and he was arrested after a short police pursuit in Lancaster.

Jailers used a stun gun on Routh on Sunday night after he appeared ready to assault them when they entered his cell after he refused to return his food tray, the sheriff said. Then they put Routh in a chair that restrains his arms and legs in his solitary confinement cell, Bryant said.

Bryant said Routh has an attorney but hasn't met with him at the jail in Stephenville, about 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Routh's mother and sister were unsuccessful Monday.

Sundae Hughes, an aunt of Routh's, said she watched him grow up but hasn't seen him since his high school graduation in 2006. Hughes was in disbelief that her nephew could be involved in such an incident.

"He has a kind heart (and was) someone willing to jump in and help, no matter what it was," she said.

Routh joined the Marines in 2006 and rose to the rank of corporal in 2010. His military specialty was small-arms technician, commonly known as an armorer. He had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and served in Iraq from 2007-08 and in the Haiti disaster relief mission in 2010.

He is now in the individual ready reserve. He could be called to duty, but it's uncommon unless he volunteers, 1st Lt. Dominic Pitrone of the Marine Forces Services public affairs office said.

Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares — the nonprofit that Kyle set up to give in-home fitness equipment to physically and emotionally wounded veterans — said he believes that Kyle and Littlefield were helping Routh work through PTSD.

Cox didn't know how Routh and Kyle knew each other. He said the shooting range event was not a FITCO session.

Kyle, 38, left the Navy in 2009 after four tours of duty in Iraq, where he earned a reputation as one of the military's most lethal snipers. "American Sniper" was the No. 3 seller of paperbacks and hardcovers on Amazon as of Monday, and the hardcover was out of stock.

Kyle was so deadly accurate in combat that insurgents in Iraq put a $20,000 bounty on his head and dubbed him "The Devil of Ramadi." But to fellow SEALs like Rorke Denver, he was known as "The Legend." Denver told CBS News, "We were aware early on in that deployment that something special, for lack of a better term, was unfolding."

Littlefield, 35, was Kyle's friend, neighbor and "workout buddy," and also volunteered his time to work with veterans, Cox said.

Read More..

Sarai Sierra's 2 Young Boys Don't Know Mom's Dead













The two young sons of slain New York mom Sarai Sierra are under the impression that their father has gone to Turkey to bring their mother home - alive.


Sierra, whose battered body was found near a highway in Istanbul over the weekend, was the mother of two boys aged 9 and 11.


Steven Sierra, who went to Istanbul in search of his wife after she disappeared nearly two weeks ago, told his children that he was going to Turkey to bring their mom home.


"The father will be speaking to them and it's something that's going to be hard and he's going to be talking to them when he comes back," Betsy Jimenez, the mother of Sarai Sierra, said today during a family news conference.


State Representative Michael Grimm said Steven Sierra's biggest concern is telling his children that mom's not coming home.


"It's going to be the hardest thing he's ever going to have to do in his life," said Grimm, who added that the Staten Island family isn't sure when Steven Sierra will be able to bring home his wife's body.


An autopsy was completed Sunday on Sarai Sierra, 33, but results aren't expected for three months. Turkish officials however said she was killed by at least one fatal blow to her head.


A casket holding the Staten Island mother was carried through alleyways lined with spice and food stalls to a church, where the casket remained on Monday.


Turkish police hope DNA samples from 21 people being questioned in the case will be key to finding the perpetrators, the Associated Press reported, according to state run media.








Sarai Sierra's Body Found: Missing New York Mom Found in Turkey Watch Video









Body Found in Search for Missing Mother in Turkey Watch Video









Vanished Abroad: US Woman Missing in Turkey Watch Video





Earlier this week, it was also reported that Turkish police are speaking to a local man who was supposed to meet Sierra the day she disappeared, but he said she never showed.


After an intense search for Sierra that lasted nearly two weeks, her body was found Saturday near the ruins of some ancient city walls and a highway. Sierra was wearing the same outfit she was seen wearing on surveillance footage taken at a food court and on a street the day she vanished, Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin said.


Sierra's body was taken to a morgue, Capkin said, and was identified by her husband.


It did not appear she had been raped or was involved in any espionage or trafficking, Capkin said.


Betsy Jimenez said Monday that her family has many unanswered questions such as what happened to her daughter after she left her hotel room to go and take photographs of a famous bridge.


"They're still investigating so they might think it might be a robbery, but they're not sure," said Jimenez.


Sierra, who had traveled to Istanbul on Jan. 7 to practice her photography hobby, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was due to board a flight home to New York City.


Dennis Jimenez, Sierra's father, told reporters Monday that he didn't want her to go on the trip.


"I didn't want her to go. But, she wanted to go because this was an opportunity for her to sightsee and pursue her photography hobby because Turkey was a land rich with culture and ancient history and she was fascinated with that," said Jimenez.


While in Istanbul, Sierra would Skype with her family and friends daily, telling them about how amazing the culture was.


Sierra's best friend Maggie Rodriguez told ABC News that she was forced to pull out of the trip at the last minute because she couldn't afford it. That's why Sierra traveled alone.


Her husband, Steven Sierra, and brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul last Sunday to meet with American and Turkish officials and push the search forward.






Read More..

Bug protects itself by turning its environment to gold









































Mythical King Midas was ultimately doomed because everything he touched turned to gold. Now, the reverse has been found in bacteria that owe their survival to a natural Midas touch.












Delftia acidovorans lives in sticky biofilms that form on top of gold deposits, but exposure to dissolved gold ions can kill it. That's because although metallic gold is unreactive, the ions are toxic.












To protect itself, the bacterium has evolved a chemical that detoxifies gold ions by turning them into harmless gold nanoparticles. These accumulate safely outside the bacterial cells.












"This could have potential for gold extraction," says Nathan Magarvey of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who led the team that uncovered the bugs' protective trick. "You could use the bug, or the molecules they secrete."












He says the discovery could be used to dissolve gold out of water carrying it, or to design sensors that would identify gold-rich streams and rivers.












The protective chemical is a protein dubbed delftibactin A. The bugs secrete it into the surroundings when they sense gold ions, and it chemically changes the ions into particles of gold 25 to 50 nanometres across. The particles accumulate wherever the bugs grow, creating patches of gold.











Deep purple gold













But don't go scanning streams for golden shimmers: the nanoparticle patches do not reflect light in the same way as bigger chunks of the metal – giving them a deep purple colour.












When Magarvey deliberately snipped out the gene that makes delftibactin A, the bacteria died or struggled to survive exposure to gold chloride. Adding the protein to the petri dish rescued them.











The bacterium Magarvey investigated is one of two species that thrive on gold, both identified a decade or so ago by Frank Reith of the University of Adelaide in Australia. In 2009 Reith discovered that the other species, Cupriavidus metallidurans, survives using the slightly riskier strategy of changing gold ions into gold inside its cells.













"If delftibactin is selective for gold, it might be useful for gold recovery or as a biosensor," says Reith. "But how much dissolved gold is out there is difficult to say."












Journal reference: Nature Chemical Biology, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEMBIO.1179


















































If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.









































































All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.


If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.








Read More..

Sentimentality scoops Super Bowl ads






WASHINGTON: Unabashed sentimentality took the unofficial Super Bowl trophy for advertising brilliance on Sunday, with draft horses and pickup trucks both putting a lump in America's collective throat.

Budweiser's touching pocket narrative of an equine farmer reunited on the streets of Chicago with the Clydesdale he nurtured from birth for the beer's signature draft horse team was a run-away hit with viewers and critics alike.

New York ad agency Anomaly married the heartwarming imagery with singer Fleetwood Mac's sorrowful "Landslide" for the 60-second spot that went to invite a real-life newborn Budweiser foal via the brewer's Twitter account.

USA Today said the Budweiser ad took first place in its online reader-voted Ad Meter survey of Super Bowl commercials.

"Weepy, sentimental, nostalgic," wrote Kim Wheaton of Advertising Age in an instant analysis of the night's 50-plus commercials on the industry journal's website (www.adage.com).

"I don't care. This is everything I want from a Budweiser Super Bowl spot."

Viewers were still going onto Twitter to admit to shedding tears when Ram, the pickup division of Chrysler, weighed in a few minutes after Budweiser with a solemn ode to rural America created by Texas ad agency Richards Group.

It married spectacular photography of the Great Plains with late conservative broadcaster Paul Harvey's 1978 essay "So God Made a Farmer" -- and never revealed until the final few seconds that it was selling a truck.

"From the second it started to the last frame, I sat silent and mesmerised," tweeted Rick Liebling, an expert on the relationship between culture and creative advertising at New York ad agency Y&R.

Patriotism figured in another Chrysler spot, this time for Jeep, which celebrated the homecoming of American soldiers from Afghanistan.

The Super Bowl is the single most watched event on US television, easily pulling in more than 100 million viewers, and this year CBS was selling 30 seconds of ad time for as much as US$3.8 million.

But big-budget advertisers' best-laid plans to generate and sustain social media buzz got waylaid by the 34-minute partial blackout that hit the Superdome in New Orleans in the third quarter of the game.

That freak incident got people tweeting about the blackout instead of the ads, although Oreo made the most of the moment with an Instagram of its iconic cookie and the slogan: "You can still dunk in the dark."

While Pepsi indulged in the luxury of its spokeswoman Beyonce performing the half-time show, Coca-Cola invited viewers to go online and select the ending of its commercial, a Technicolor race through the desert for a bottle of Coke.

The winner climax -- the bus-driving showgirls in pink won out over the cowboys and the bikers -- was aired just minutes after the Baltimore Ravens' victory over the San Francisco 49s.

Many of Sunday's ads were released in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, including one from Volkswagen that some thought "racist" for depicting a cheerful Beetle-driving white office worker speaking in a Jamaican accent.

With Apple sitting out this year's game, the field was clear for Samsung, its arch rival in the smartphone market, to declare itself "the next big thing" with wise-cracking Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd plus a LeBron James cameo.

Fellow comedienne Amy Poehler managed to fit herself into a front-loading washing machine for electronics retailer Best Buy, while Israeli swimsuit model Bar Refaeli made out with a ruddy-faced geek named Walter for GoDaddy.com.

"That was disgusting," was one typical reaction on Twitter to the latter, but the website hosting service had nothing to complain about -- the backlash only helped get its #thekiss hashtag trending for a good part of the first quarter.

-AFP/fl



Read More..

Ravens hold off 49ers, win Super Bowl 34-31


























































































































2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


2013 Super Bowl: The best photos


Read More..

8 dead in 3-vehicle tour bus crash in Calif.: Highway Patrol

YUCAIPA, Calif. The California Highway Patrol says eight people were killed in a collision involving a tour bus and two other vehicles.

CHP Officer Mario Lopez says eight are confirmed dead and many more are injured in the mountain highway crash about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, near the town of Forest Falls.

Lopez says the collision included the tour bus, a pickup truck pulling a trailer and a sedan.

CBS station KCBS in L.A. puts cites a spokesperson for Caltrans as saying the bus originated from Tijuana, and the accident occurred in Mentone.

The station says at least two passengers were said to be trapped in the wreckage.

KCBS says the crash involved a wrong-way driver, believed to be in the pickup truck.

Unconfirmed reports said at least three fatalities were from the pickup and five from the bus.

Read More..

Ravens Defeat 49ers in Historic, Unusual Super Bowl













The Baltimore Ravens emerged Super Bowl champions after one of the strangest and most incredible Super Bowl games in recent memory.


It's the second championship for the Ravens, who pulled out a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers at the Superdome in New Orleans.


The Super Bowl is the biggest spectacle in American sports, and each year becomes the most watched television event in history. This year, Jennifer Hudson kicked things off with a touching performance of "America the Beautiful" with a choir of students from Sandy Hook Elementary School.


Alicia Keys accompanied herself on the piano for a long, jazzy rendition of the national anthem, before the coin toss which resulted in San Francisco receiving to start the first half.


Although the game looked at one point like it was going to be a completely unexpected blow-out, with the Ravens leading 28-6 at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, the 49ers got some unusual help that turned the showdown into a much more exciting battle.


About a third of the way into the 3rd quarter, right after a record-tying Ravens rushing touchdown, the power went out at the Superdome, knocking the lights and air conditioning out in the indoor stadium. The crowd of more than 71,000 strong, along with a lot of antsy players, coaches, and staff waited for 34 minutes for the power to fully come back on and the game to resume.






Chris Graythen/Getty Images











Super Bowl 2013: Beyonce Rocks the Halftime Show Watch Video









Super Bowl 2013: Alicia Keys Sings 'The Star-Spangled Banner' Watch Video









Super Bowl 2013: Jennifer Hudson, Sandy Hook Students Perform Watch Video





In a statement, the NFL said authorities were "investigating the cause of the power outage," and law enforcement sources told ABC News it was just an issue with the building.


That didn't stop many people on Twitter from jokingly blaming Beyonce, the energetic halftime performer who surprisingly reunited shortly with her former band Destiny's Child, for shutting down the power. After her performance, even her husband Jay-Z got in on it, tweeting "Lights out!!! Any questions??"


VIDEO: Super Bowl 2013: Beyonce Rocks the Halftime Show


The 49ers quickly followed the long delay with a touchdown, getting themselves right back into the game. Then just a few minutes later, they found themselves in the end zone again, and it appeared the power outage had flipped the momentum towards the 49ers.


With a score of 31-29 with more than 7 minutes left in the game, San Francisco looked poised to make the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, but the team, trying for its 6th title, wasn't able to overcome the Ravens lead.


Baltimore was able to run out the clock, and the game ended with a final score of 34-31. Purple and gold confetti fell as the Ravens rushed onto the field and celebrated -- with some colorful language from quarterback Joe Flacco audible on the live broadcast, who was caught saying, "f***ing awesome" on CBS' cameras.


The game was already historic thanks to the match-up for John and Jim Harbaugh, the first head coach brothers to ever face each other on football's biggest stage. It was also the final game for the future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who is, as of the conclusion of the game retired from football.


This is the fifth season in a row that the Ravens have made it to the playoffs, led by Coach John Harbaugh, and SB XLVII MVP Quarterback Joe Flacco. It's the team's first Lombardi trophy since 2000. Their victor tonight made them the only team left in the NFL to have never lost a Super Bowl in multiple appearances.






Read More..

Two worms, same brains – but one eats the other



































IF TWO animals have identical brain cells, how different can they really be? Extremely. Two worm species have exactly the same set of neurons, but extensive rewiring allows them to lead completely different lives.












Ralf Sommer of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, and colleagues compared Caenorhabditis elegans, which eats bacteria, with Pristionchus pacificus, which hunts other worms. Both have a cluster of 20 neurons to control their foregut.












Sommer found that the clusters were identical. "These species are separated by 200 to 300 million years, but have the same cells," he says. P. pacificus, however, has denser connections than C. elegans, with neural signals passing through many more cells before reaching the muscles (Cell, doi.org/kbh). This suggests that P. pacificus is performing more complex motor functions, says Detlev Arendt of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.












Arendt thinks predators were the first animals to evolve complex brains, to find and catch moving prey. He suggests their brains had flexible wiring, enabling them to swap from plant-eating to hunting.












This article appeared in print under the headline "Identical brains, but one eats the other"


















































If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.




































All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.


If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.








Read More..