Sooty ships may be geoengineering by accident

GEOENGINEERING is being tested - albeit inadvertently - in the north Pacific. Soot from oil-burning ships is dumping about 1000 tonnes of soluble iron per year across 6 million square kilometres of ocean, new research has revealed. Fertilising the world's...

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Taiwan's "King of the Trees" fights for the forests

TAICHUNG, Taiwan: With his blue stetson and thick grey jacket, Lai Pei-yuan looks like a modern-day cowboy, but rather than raising cattle, he grows trees.The 57-year-old Taiwanese entrepreneur made his fortune in transportation and property, but his real mission in life is to reinstate at least some of the forests that once covered most of the island."It was just a simple idea I had,"...

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Almost famous: See celebs' early roles

By Henry Hanks, CNNupdated 5:05 PM EST, Thu February 7, 2013Stars who started out like GoDaddy's geekJesse HeimanSylvester StalloneJohn TravoltaKeanu ReevesCourtney CoxMatt LeBlancTina FeyRainn WilsonMegan FoxDean Wint...

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New Yorkers tell of hours stranded on snowy roads

FARMINGVILLE, N.Y. Stranded for hours on a snow-covered road, Priscilla Arena prayed, took out a sheet of loose-leaf paper and wrote what she thought might be her last words to her husband and children. She told her 9 1/2-year-old daughter, Sophia, she was "picture-perfect beautiful." And she advised her 5 ?-year-old son, John: "Remember all the things that mommy taught you. Never say you hate someone...

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LAPD Reopens Case of Suspected Cop-Killer's Firing

The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it will reopen the case of the firing of Christopher Dorner, but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive former cop suspected of killing three people.Dorner, a fired and disgruntled former Los Angeles police officer, said in the so-called "manifesto" he released that he was targeting LAPD officials and their...

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Data-wiping algorithm cleans your cellphone

Paul Marks, chief technology correspondentMailing your cellphone to a recycling company might make you a few pounds, but it can leave you at risk of identity theft. The deletion techniques recycling companies use are meant for hard discs, and so don't work on the solid-state flash memory used in mobile phones. That means personal data like banking info, texts, contacts and pictures can end up in...

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Kite-flying regaining popularity in Singapore

SINGAPORE: An old hobby is once again being picked up in Singapore. Its soaring popularity can be seen dotting the country's skyline, especially at weekends, as more and more people come out to fly kites.At the Marina Barrage Green Roof in downtown Singapore, people do not seem to mind the heat as they wrestle to keep their kites in the sky. On weekends, hundreds of kite flyers head there,...

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Rogue ex-cop is armed, trained, out there somewhere

Ex-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntSTORY HIGHLIGHTSAs darkness and snow falls, police scale back manhunt until Saturday"The possibility...

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In letter, Sue Paterno defends late husband

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Breaking more than a year of silence, Sue Paterno is defending her late husband as a "moral, disciplined" man who never twisted the truth to avoid bad publicity. The wife of the former Penn State coach is fighting back against the accusations against Joe Paterno that followed the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Her campaign started with a letter sent Friday to former Penn State players....

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Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions battered the Northeast Friday into Saturday, and forecasters feared as much as two feet of snow and strong winds could shut down densely populated cities such as New York and Boston, where cars were ordered off the streets.State officials declared states of emergencies throughout the region, and utilities estimated more than a half-million...

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Robot inquisition keeps witnesses on the right track

MEMORY is a strange thing. Just using the verb "smash" in a question about a car crash instead of "bump" or "hit" causes witnesses to remember higher speeds and more serious damage. Known as the misinformation effect, it is a serious problem for police trying to gather accurate accounts of a potential crime. There's a way...

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Olam profit soars but Muddy Waters keeps sell rating

SINGAPORE: Farm commodities supplier Olam reported a near 20 percent jump in quarterly net profit but US-based short-seller Muddy Waters on Friday maintained its "strong sell" rating on the Singapore company.Olam said net profit for the October-December period soared 19.9 percent from a year earlier to S$154.14 million ($124.30 million), shrugging off recent claims by Muddy Waters that...

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Ex-cop eludes police, vows 'unconventional warfare'

Ex-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: With snow coming, authorities continue to hunt for the suspect near Big Bear...

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Ex-LA cop, murder suspect sent parcel to Anderson Cooper

In this image provided by the Irvine, Calif., Police Department via The Orange County Register, former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner is shown. Dorner is a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, who were found shot to death in their car at a parking structure Sunday night. (AP Photo/Irvine Police Department via The Orange County Register) /...

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Cop Shooting Rampage: Manhunt on Mountain

The truck owned and driven by suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner during his alleged rampage through the Los Angeles area was found deserted and in flames on the side of Bear Mountain, Calif., this afternoon -- with tracks in the snow leading away from the vehicle.The San Bernadino Sheriff's Department confirmed the truck was Dorner's, but said at a news conference this...

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Today on New Scientist: 6 February 2013

Open Richard III DNA evidence for peer review A good case has been made that a skeleton unearthed from a car park is that of the last Plantagenet king of England - it's time to share the dataUniversal bug sensor takes guesswork out of diagnosis A machine that can identify all bacteria, viruses and fungi known to cause disease in humans should speed up diagnosis and help to reduce antibiotic...

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Google boosts mobile ad campaigns

SAN FRANCISCO: Google began letting businesses target mobile ads based on how close smartphone users might be to shops or what they might be craving at certain times of day.Google began upgrading its AdWords service with "enhanced campaigns" for advertisers trying to better connect with people accessing the Internet on the move with smartphones or tablet computers."People are constantly...

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D.C. shooter planned to smear Chick-fil-A on victims

Floyd Lee Corkins was arrested at the shooting scene.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The president of the FRC accuses the Southern Poverty Law Center of "inciting violence"Floyd Corkins, pleads guilty, says he wanted to intimidate those who oppose gay rights He faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced April 29Building manager wrestled with Corkins and disarmed him after being shot in August incident Washington...

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