Data waves keep your wearable tech in tune

IF LAST month's Consumer Electronics Show is anything to go by, we will soon be covered in wearable technology, from health monitors to smart watches. But there's a problem: how do we get them to communicate?

Traditionally, devices talk to one another either using wires, which are inconvenient, or Bluetooth, which is prone to interference. Now a new wireless technique that uses a phenomenon known as Zenneck surface waves could be the answer.

This type of electromagnetic wave stays at the interface between the surface of an object and the air, rather than travelling through open space. Radar systems have used them to see around the curvature of the Earth, but communicating in this way is a first.

Janice Turner and colleagues at Roke Manor Research in Romsey, UK, have created a demonstration system that uses the waves to send high-definition video over a short length of material. It has a bandwidth of up to 1.5 gigabits per second, making it almost three times faster than Wi-Fi. The signal does not travel through the material but rather over its surface for a few centimetres.

Turner's team has worked with a fabric made of a dielectric-coated conducting material. This could be tailored into a jacket to enable worn devices to communicate in a personal network. For example, a lapel camera, a wrist display and a pulse-monitor bracelet could all communicate through the jacket via surface waves. Other devices such as smartphones could attach automatically simply by being placed in a pocket. Zenneck wave-enabled devices could be on the market within two years, says Turner. Sandy Black, who studies how fashion design and technology merge at the London College of Fashion, says the idea sounds "interesting if it could be proved reliable and robust".

Such devices are also being explored for use on aircraft, where they could link up sensors embedded in the wings without wires, or form the backbone of a passenger entertainment system.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Jacket to connect wearable tech using data waves"

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The Shard is pinnacle of London's redevelopment

LONDON: The Shard, which opened its doors to the public on Friday, is western Europe's highest skyscraper but also the pinnacle of the transformation of London's long-neglected south bank of the River Thames.

The vertiginous public viewing platform, which is expected to attract one million visitors a year, offers unrivalled vistas of the British capital and is the perfect place to survey the huge changes in the neighbourhood.

Towering 310 metres (1,017 feet) above the skyline, the Shard is an arrow of glass piercing the clouds and a symbol of wealth in an area that for centuries has been overshadowed by its affluent rivals in the west, centre and north of London.

The platform is the first part of Italian architect Renzo Piano's building to open, and over the coming months its vast new office space, five-star hotel, restaurants and luxury apartments will slowly come to life.

While the design has been controversial, the tower -- 95 percent financed by Qatar -- has also attracted criticism because of the sense that its 8,000 future inhabitants are unaffected by the global economic crisis.

The 30 pounds (US$47, 35-euro) ticket price for the viewing platform does nothing to dispel this image, but the people behind the Shard are unapologetic.

"The wonderful thing about London is, in many ways, it never stops," William Matthews, a project architect in Piano's team, told AFP. "In some ways, British trade, the idea of commerce, and business, is really in our bones."

Peter John, leader of the local Southwark council, said: "It has really been a story of regeneration and renaissance."

The area on the south side of London Bridge was relatively prosperous in Roman times, but for centuries afterwards it was viewed as a seedy district beyond the city walls where the law held thin.

Travellers passed through brothels, inns and gambling dens, and residents festered among "every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage", as Charles Dickens put it in his 1838 novel "Oliver Twist".

The demise of London's shipping trade from the 1960s to the 1980s accentuated the area's poverty and the average household income among Southwark's 290,000 inhabitants today remains one of the lowest in Britain.

Nonetheless, in the last 25 to 30 years, the change in the area has been staggering, according to council leader Peter John.

Wharf-side warehouses with names evoking the British empire and the goods sailing into London from around the world, such as East India Wharf or Tea Trade Wharf, have been transformed into swanky New York-style loft flats.

Millions of square metres of office space have been constructed in cathedrals of glass across the river from the Tower of London, including Norman Foster's City Hall and Terence Conran's Design Museum.

The once unremarkable Borough Market has been transformed into a foodies' heaven, while the Tate Modern, constructed within a vast former power station on the river in 2000, is now the most popular contemporary art gallery in the world.

"But the Shard takes it to new levels," said John. "It really symbolises where the opportunities are for jobs, and leisure, and new housing."

He said the influx of a population with plenty of purchasing power will boost the whole area, saying: "I think the positives outweigh the negatives."

Many locals are not so enthusiastic.

Reverend Charlie Moore, rector of St Mary Magdalene Church in nearby Bermondsey, said "a lot of people have been forced to leave" as the redevelopment, including several gastropubs and posh shops, have sent rents sky-high.

And the further south you go, the louder the objections.

The Heygate Estate, comprising huge concrete blocks of social housing, once housed 3,000 people but now stands empty and awaiting demolition as part of a major regeneration programme in the Elephant and Castle area.

A campaigner for the Heygate residents, teacher Jerry Flynn, complains that the plans include far less social housing than before.

"It will mean the people who cannot afford to live here, working-class families and low income families, will no longer be able to live here. It was a traumatic process," he told AFP.

"We would like a regeneration that spread the benefits a little more widely."

- AFP/ir

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Alabama hostage standoff enters 5th day

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The suspect has been identified as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes


• Dykes is accused of killing a school bus driver and abducting a child


• Authorities have said there is no connection between Dykes and the boy

Midland City, Alabama (CNN) -- As an armed standoff entered its fifth day Saturday, authorities negotiated through a ventilation pipe with a man accused of barricading himself and a 5-year-old hostage in an underground bunker in southeastern Alabama.

Police have been tight-lipped about a possible motive since the hostage drama began unfolding in Midland City with the shooting of school bus driver and the abduction of the 5-year-old.

In a sign of perhaps how tense negotiations are between authorities and the suspect, officials have refused to detail what, if any, demands have been made by the suspect.

On Friday, the Dale County sheriff did confirm what neighbors have been saying and news outlets around Midland City have been reporting since the standoff began -- the suspected gunman's identity.

He is Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, a Vietnam veteran and retired truck driver who moved to the area about five years ago.

Charles Poland was fatally shot in Alabama on Tuesday.

The sheriff's department released a photo of a gray-bearded, unsmiling Dykes and brief physical description: white male, 6 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds with brown eyes and gray hair.

Suspect Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, is a Vietnam War veteran and retired truck driver.

This much is known, according to police and witness statements: On Tuesday at about 3:40 p.m., bus driver Charles Poland Jr. was shuttling children from school to their homes when he dropped children off and the gunman boarded the bus.

The gunman demanded that Poland, 66, hand over two children. Poland refused, blocking access to the bus's narrow aisle as at least 21 children escaped out of the back emergency door, according to police.

The gunman shot Poland four times, killing him; grabbed the boy and then barricaded the two of them inside a nearby bunker.

It's unclear whether the gunman was after a specific child on the bus. Police have said there is no connection between the suspect and the abducted boy, whose identity is being withheld.

The suspect, who police have identified as Dykes, is holed up in a bunker 4 feet underground and built at least partially out of PVC pipe, authorities have said.

A hostage negotiator has been communicating with the alleged gunman through a 60-foot-long plastic ventilation pipe in an effort to end the standoff.

Authorities believe the boy is physically unharmed.

The suspect agreed to let police send down coloring books, crayons and prescription medication that the boy needs for treatment for Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit disorder, State Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN.

Neighbors have said the bunker has electricity, and Dykes has been known to stay in it for up to eight days, said James Arrington, the police chief in nearby Pinckard.

Dykes has been described as a self-styled survivalist with "anti-government" views, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch.

As negotiations continue, preparations were under way for Poland's funeral.

The late school bus driver will be memorialized Saturday night at a visitation service, followed by a funeral service Sunday at the Ozark Civic Center.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley praised Poland for protecting the children on his bus.

"He stood in that place, and when that man came to take two children, he said no. And he lost his life because of that ... he did his job, and I'm proud of him as the governor but I'm just proud of him as a human being," he said.

CNN's George Howell reported from Midland City and Chelsea J. Carter wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Joe Sutton, Greg Botelho and Tristan Smith contributed to this report.

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Twitter: 250,000 users' data compromised in hacking attacks

#1157946: Twitter bird logo, social networking and microblogging service, graphic element on white / AP Graphics

Twitter said today that it recently detected a series of attempts to hack into user data, and that the attackers may have successfully absconded with some users' information.

In a blog post Friday afternoon, Twitter explained the situation, and the steps it has taken to fight off the hackers.

This week, we detected unusual access patterns that led to us identifying unauthorized access attempts to Twitter user data. We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later. However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information - usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords - for approximately 250,000 users. As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts. If your account was one of them, you will have recently received (or will shortly) an email from us at the address associated with your Twitter account notifying you that you will need to create a new password. Your old password will not work when you try to log in to Twitter.

Twitter said in the post that a very small number of users were affected by the hacking, but it encouraged everyone who uses the service to ensure that they are practicing "good password hygiene, on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet." Among its suggestions: using unique passwords of at least ten characters, including a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Based on attacks on other high-profile tech and media companies, Twitter also said it is recommending the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's recent advisory on disabling Java, among other precautions.

This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident. The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked. For that reason we felt that it was important to publicize this attack while we still gather information, and we are helping government and federal law enforcement in their effort to find and prosecute these attackers to make the Internet safer for all users.

This article originally appeared on CNET under the headline "Twitter says 250,000 users' data compromised in hacking attacks"

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Gov's Handling of Sandusky Case Under Investigation

The newly-elected attorney general of Pennsylvania is going after the state's governor, Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when child sex allegations against Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky were first brought forward.

Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who was sworn in as attorney general on Jan. 15, said that she will name a special prosecutor in the coming days to investigate Corbett's handling of the Sandusky case. Corbett is a Republican.

The investigation will look specifically at why it took the attorney general's office three years to bring criminal charges against Sandusky while he continued to have access to children.

"Attorney General Kane will appoint a special prosecutor to lead the office's internal investigation into how the Sandusky child abuse investigation was handled by the Office of the Attorney General," Kane's office said in a statement released today.

Corbett's attorney general's office was first notified of the allegations against Sandusky in 2008 when a high school student told his mother and school that Sandusky had molested him. The local district attorney passed the allegation on to the attorney general, then Corbett. Corbett convened a grand jury.

Mario Tama; Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Jerry Sandusky Insists Innocence Before Sentencing Watch Video

Jerry Sandusky Sentencing: Why Did He Release Statement? Watch Video

Jerry Sandusky Claims Innocence in Audio Statement Watch Video

It wasn't until 2011 that sex abuse charges were filed against Sandusky while Corbett had since become governor. Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sex abuse in June 2012.

The charges sent shockwaves throughout Pennsylvania, as Penn State's president, two top officials, and legendary coach Joe Paterno all lost their jobs over the scandal.

"Why did it take 33 months to get Sandusky off the streets? Was the use of a grand jury the right decision? Why were there so few resources dedicated to the investigation? Were the best practices implemented?" the statement from Kane's office read.

"At the end of this investigation, we will know the answers to these questions and be able to tell the people of Pennsylvania the facts and give them answers that they deserve," the statement said.

Describing an interview Kane gave the New York Times, the Times said Kane suggested that Corbett did not want to upset voters or donors in the Penn State community before his gubernatorial run in 2009.

Corbett has denied those suggestions. His office did not immediately return calls for comment.

Kane's office preemptively fought back against the idea that the investigation is politically motivated. Kane, a Democrat, defeated the incumbent attorney general, Linda Kelly, a Republican in November 2011. Corbett is a Republican.

"The speculation that this is about politics is insane," a staff member in Kane's office told ABC News today. "You go anywhere in Pennsylvania and anywhere across the country and you'll find individuals asking, 'why did it take three years? Why was there a grand jury? Why make these kids talk to 30 different people about what happened?"

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Scarred for life? The biology of childhood hardship

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Community leadership important for S'pore's development: Chan Chun Sing

SINGAPORE: Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing, said Singapore will face more challenges as it moves towards its next stage of development.

While national leaders will look at issues from a broader perspective, Mr Chan said local community leadership is also needed.

He was speaking at the first Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Symposium which was held at the National University of Singapore on Friday.

Some 80 students are currently enrolled in the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme.

Mr Chan said such platforms and the presence of community leaders are important as they have always been a part of Singapore's rich history.

Mr Chan said the role of community leaders was evident from British colonial rule.

He said, "They did not wait for the government to initiate things to do. They took it upon themselves to identify local needs, whereby they can play a useful role".

Going forward, Mr Chan said it will be about grooming a new generation of community leaders.

He said: "Not only do we hope you will understand the challenges at the local level, we also hope that you will come up with innovative solutions. We also hope you will play a part to mobilise actions to solve or at least address some of these local issues.

"We need to look for innovative and new solutions. We cannot just adopt solutions that have been adopted by people from other countries wholesale. We should look at them closely, study them in context, and always apply them in context to our local situation down here."

At the symposium, six of the Programme's Fellows got to share the various projects they embarked on.

The projects ranged from looking at the community's role in preventing child abuse, to exploring interim home care at a community hospital.

The speakers are part of the first batch of students in the programme since it was launched in 2011.

For medical student Andrew Arjun Sayampanathan, who is currently on an internship at the Central Community Development Centre as part of the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme, it was the perfect opportunity to test a theory he had learned in university.

Applying it to Kampong Glam residents, the asset-based community development model was a means to empower needy or elderly residents to look at their proficiencies.

It was a different take on the needs-based community development model many social organisations adopt.

"The needs-based model looks at the deficiencies of individuals and what is the individual deficient in. When we look at the assets-based community development model, we see what the individual is proficient in so he or she does not need to be dependent on an external organisation," explained Andrew.

Andrew said the findings obtained from the asset-based community development models will allow them to create independent communities based on the proficiencies and assets of the individuals.

- CNA/fa

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At least 25 killed in Mexico office blast, dozens injured

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: 25 people were killed and more than 100 are injured, interior minister says


• The explosion collapsed two floors of an office building, paramedics say


• Rescuers have pulled a survivor from the rubble, Mexico's president says


• Crews are searching for people trapped in the building

Lea este artículo en español/Read this article in Spanish

Mexico City (CNN) -- An explosion rocked the offices of Mexico's state oil company Thursday, killing at least 25 people and injuring 101, Mexico's interior minister said.

Dozens of people were trapped in the building after the explosion, Foro TV reported. It was unclear how many of them had been pulled to safety, or whether anyone remained stuck inside late Thursday, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told reporters.

More than five hours after the blast, rescuers had pulled at least one survivor from the rubble, Mexico's president said in a Twitter post.

Crews were still searching Thursday night for people who could be trapped in the Pemex office complex, which includes one of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

Explosion hits Mexican state oil company Pemex

HIDE CAPTION

The explosion occurred in a basement and collapsed two floors of a building adjacent to the well-known tower, said Carlos Javier Rodriguez Jurado, one of the first paramedics to arrive at the scene.

The explosion tore through the building "from the inside out," he said, and rescuers found many people trapped. Six hours after the explosion, Rodriguez said people were likely still stuck in the rubble.

It was unclear what caused the blast, and Mexico's attorney general's office is investigating, Pemex said in a statement.

A large plume of smoke rose near the building after the explosion around 4 p.m. Thursday, and emergency crews swarmed the scene.

"People were screaming. ... You could see pieces of the wall falling to the ground," said Joaquin Borrell Valenzuela, an attorney for the Pemex comptroller's office, who was in a courtyard outside the building at the time of the blast.

Paramedics quickly arrived and started pulling bodies from the rubble.

"Entering the building, we smelled a strong odor of gas," said Christopher Rangel, a paramedic and firefighter.

Outside the building, frantic family members searched for loved ones, and shaken witnesses described the explosion.

Mario Guzman said he was on the 10th floor of the tower when he felt "a very strong blow."

"We felt like the whole building was going to collapse," he told CNNMexico.

Images from the scene showed emergency rescue teams carrying people on stretchers. Authorities said helicopters carried some of the wounded to hospitals.

At least 14 people were hospitalized with injuries, and two of them were in serious condition, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto surveyed the damage Thursday night, along with Osorio Chong and Mexico City's mayor.

Pena Nieto cautioned against speculating over what caused the blast, and said authorities would be closely investigating.

Thousands of people work at the Pemex headquarters, which includes a 54-story building that is nearly 700 feet tall.

The explosion occurred in an annex building just to the east of the tower, Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said.

Officials evacuated the complex and operations will cease there until further notice, the company said.

The state oil company's director, who was on a business trip in South Korea this week, said in a Twitter post that he would return to Mexico immediately.

"We will get to the bottom of the causes in close coordination with the authorities," Pemex Director General Emilio Lozoya Austin said. "At this time, attending to the injured is the priority."

Federal troops and rescue dogs were aiding in search efforts late Thursday night.

As they combed through the rubble, a Pemex executive's cell phone rang, Rangel said.

A man on the other end of the line said he was still trapped, and started to describe his location to rescuers.

"Unfortunately, we lost communication with him," Rangel said.

When they called back, his phone didn't ring.

CNN en Español's Krupskaia Alis reported from Mexico City. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet reported from Atlanta. CNN's Rafael Romo, Edwin Mesa, Christine Theodorou, Rey Rodriguez, Rene Hernandez and CNNMexico's Arturo Ascencion and Javier Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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Negotiators talking to Alabama captor through pipe

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. More than three days after he allegedly shot a school bus driver dead, grabbed a kindergartner and slipped into an underground bunker, Jimmy Lee Dykes was showing no signs of turning himself over to police.

Speaking into a 4-inch-wide ventilation pipe leading to the bunker, hostage negotiators tried again Thursday to talk the 65-year-old retired truck driver into freeing the 5-year-old boy. One local official said the child had been crying for his parents.

Dykes is accused of pulling the boy from a school bus Tuesday and killing the driver, who tried to protect the 21 youngsters aboard. The gunman and the boy were holed up in a small room on his property that authorities likened to a tornado shelter, something common to this area of the South.

"The three past days have not been easy on anybody," Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said at a news briefing late Thursday. He said authorities were communicating with the suspect, and their primary goal was to get the boy home safely.

"There's no reason to believe the child has been harmed," he added.

There were signs that the standoff could continue for some time.

James Arrington, police chief of the neighboring town of Pinckard, said the shelter was about 4 feet underground, with about 6-by-8 feet of floor space and a PVC pipe that negotiators were speaking through.

A state legislator said the shelter has electricity, food and TV. The police chief said the captor has been sleeping and told negotiators that he has spent long periods in the shelter before.

"He will have to give up sooner or later because (authorities) are not leaving," Arrington said. "It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days."

Midland City Mayor Virgil Skipper said he has been briefed by law enforcement agents and has visited with the boy's parents.

"He's crying for his parents," he said. "They are holding up good. They are praying and asking all of us to pray with them."

Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother Thursday and that she is "hanging on by a thread."

"Everybody is praying with her for the boy," he said.

Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger's syndrome, an autism-like disorder, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Police have been delivering medication to him through the pipe, he added.

The normally quiet red clay road leading to the bunker was teeming Friday with more than a dozen police cars and trucks, a fire truck, a helicopter, officers from multiple agencies and news media near Midland City, population 2,300.

Police vehicles have come and gone steadily for hours from the command post.

The latest group, a team in military-style uniforms toting weapons, got out of a big van in the pre-dawn chill Friday and moved into a staging area as a light flickered on and off. One of them appeared to be a dog handler.

During the night, temperatures dipped into the low 40s, and police and other emergency workers wore heavy coats outside a small church being used as a command post. Neighbors said Dykes had a small heater in the bunker.

Overhead, a small aircraft with blinking lights flew wide circles high above the man's property Friday. An ambulance remained parked alongside the dirt road.

Dykes was known around the neighborhood as a menacing figure who neighbors said once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.

The chief confirmed that Dykes held anti-government views, as described by multiple neighbors: "He's against the government -- starting with Obama on down."

"He doesn't like law enforcement or the government telling him what to do," he said. "He's just a loner."

Authorities say the gunman boarded a stopped school bus Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When the driver tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took the 5-year-old boy off the bus.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the pupils on his bus.

No motive has been discussed by investigators, but the police chief said the FBI had evidence suggesting it could be considered a hate crime. Federal authorities have not released any details about the standoff or the investigation. The mayor said he hasn't seen anything tying together Dykes' anti-government views and the allegations against him.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump. Neighbor Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

The son, James Davis Jr., believes Tuesday's shooting was connected to the court date. "I believe he thought I was going to be in court and he was going to get more charges than the menacing, which he deserved, and he had a bunch of stuff to hide and that's why he did it."

Neighbors described a number of other run-ins with Dykes in the time since he moved to this small rural town near the Georgia and Florida borders, a region known for peanut farming.

A neighbor directly across the street, Brock Parrish, said Dykes usually wore overalls and glasses and his posture was hunched-over. He said Dykes usually drove a run-down "creeper" van with some of the windows covered in aluminum foil.

Parrish often saw him digging in his yard, as if he was preparing a spot to lay down a driveway or a building foundation. He lived in a small camping trailer on the site. He patrolled his lawn at night, walking from corner to corner with a flashlight and an assault rifle.

Court records showed Dykes was arrested in Florida in 1995 for improper exhibition of a weapon, but the misdemeanor was dismissed. The circumstances of the arrest were not detailed in his criminal record. He was also arrested for marijuana possession in 2000.

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Arias' Lawyer Shows Ex-Boyfriend's Lewd Photos

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.

The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexander took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.

Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.

Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.

"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.

"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.

Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.

Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."

"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.

Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.

In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.

"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"

"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.

"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.

"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."

Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.

Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.

The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.

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Drone school: Not a cushy number

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HRW condemns Russia's "worst post-Soviet crackdown"

MOSCOW: Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the Russian authorities under President Vladimir Putin for unleashing the toughest crackdown against civil society since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"The Kremlin in 2012 unleashed the worst political crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history," the New-York based rights watchdog said in an English-language statement released in Moscow accompanying the release of its annual world report.

"This (2012) has been the worst year for human rights in Russia in recent memory," the rights group quoted Hugh Williamson, its Europe and Central Asia director as saying.

"Russia's civil society is standing strong but with the space around it shrinking rapidly, it needs support now more than ever."

After returning to the Kremlin for a third term despite unprecedented protests against his 13-year rule, Putin signed off on a raft of laws in what critics saw as a bid to quash dissent.

The new legislation re-criminalised slander, raised fines for misdemeanours at opposition protests and forced non-governmental organisations that receive foreign funding to carry a "foreign agent" tag in a move seen as a throwback to Soviet times.

- AFP/al

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Highway littered with cars after tornado

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Streets flood at college campus in western North Carolina


• Much of the affected region goes through huge temperature fluctuations


• A Georgia TV news crew sees tornado form; damage is reported in Adairsville


• A Tennessee man dies when a tree falls on his home, emergency managers say

Is there severe weather near you? Share your photos and videos on iReport, but stay safe.

(CNN) -- Powerful winds and a tornado spawned by a 1,000-mile-long storm system pounded communities in northwest Georgia on Wednesday, overturning dozens of vehicles and trapping residents.

The tornado caused significant damage in Adairsville, Georgia.

One person died in that town and another died in Tennessee, authorities reported. At least 17 people were injured in Georgia, two critically.

The Adairsville death marks the first person killed by a U.S. tornado in 220 days, a record for most consecutive days without such a fatality, said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.

Severe weather 101

The storm churned eastward, prompting severe thunderstorm and flash-flood warnings in eastern Tennessee and western portions of the Carolinas. The front has led to nearly 400 reports of severe wind and 20 of tornadoes over two days, from Texas to Pennsylvania.

In the Adairsville storm, winds caused significant damage to a motel and a manufacturing plant, according to Craig Millsap, fire chief and interim emergency management director for Bartow County. The motel's guests are believed safe and workers at the Daiki plant have all been accounted for, he said.

Daiki employees hid in a kitchen and bathroom as the tornado snatched the roof off and left much of the plant in ruins. Two workers suffered minor injuries.

The driver of a commercial truck that was overturned near Adairsville said the storm "grew legs and just started accelerating." He told CNN Atlanta affiliate WGCL he was unscathed. "There is no way in the world that if you see this debris behind me I should be alive."

The National Weather Service reported major structural damage and overturned cars in downtown Adairsville, where a news crew for CNN affiliate WSB-TV witnessed a tornado form and touch down Wednesday morning.

The death came when a building collapsed, Millsap said.

10 deadliest U.S. tornadoes

Nine people in Bartow County suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

The storm caused major damage on and near Interstate 75, the Georgia Department of Transportation said. The weather service, citing emergency management officials, said dozens of cars had been overturned near Exit 306 at Adairsville.

Officials reported up to 100 homes damaged in Bartow and Gordon counties. Georgia emergency officials reported eight injuries in Gordon County, north of Adairsville. Two of the injuries were described as critical.

Interactive: Check your forecast

"There have been a number of entrapments, and deputies, firemen and emergency personnel have all been working to free those people," said Robert Paris, Gordon County's chief deputy sheriff. "I don't believe we have any more trapped at this time."

The tornado struck a subdivision that also was hit by storms in 2011, Paris said. "This one appears to be much, much worse. But this was almost the same path. There were some people that had to go through both of them."

Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for both counties. State officials late Wednesday afternoon said they had no reports of anyone unaccounted for, but searches of homes and businesses were continuing.

Trees and power lines were down as the result of a possible tornado in Georgia's Gilmer County, the weather service said.

KFVS: Power outages from storm

Utilities reported about 21,000 customers without power in west and north Georgia and metropolitan Atlanta.

In Tennessee, a 47-year-old man died early Wednesday when high winds toppled a tree onto a roof in Nashville, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said. CNN affiliate WSMV said the victim was in a building next to a home.

Other injuries were reported in Chester, McNairy and Henderson counties, emergency management spokesman Jeremy Heidt said.

The National Weather Service also reported severe weather or damage Wednesday in Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. Tornadoes were confirmed in Marion County, Kentucky, and Harrison County, Indiana.

In the mountains of North Carolina, iReporter Matt Able said most of the roads around Appalachian State in Boone were impassible because of flooding. He sent in video of people driving down U.S. 321, which was under several inches of water.

"People were driving down the middle of the (four-lane) road to avoid being swept away by the fast-moving water," he said.

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Northern Florida, southeastern Georgia, much of South Carolina and portions of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland were under a tornado watch Wednesday night.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said the massive storm system was 1,000 miles north to south, moving eastward in a belt that will eventually stretch from New York to Florida.

"If it's hot and humid where you are, then you are still in the danger zone," Myers said.

The strong cold front causing the severe weather brought huge extremes in temperature readings. Thermometers reached the low 80s in parts of southeast Georgia and South Carolina, the 50s in Tennessee and the 30s in Illinois.

WFIE: Storms blow new roof off tri-state church

Earlier, in Alabama, the storms blew the metal roof off a building in Sheffield, CNN affiliate WHNT said. The storm also damaged a church steeple in Rogersville, the station reported.

In Kentucky, winds blew off much of the roof of the Penrod Missionary Baptist Church and damaged several homes, CNN affiliate WFIE reported.

In Nashville, the weather service listed dozens of damage reports across the region: a funnel cloud was reported early Wednesday in Jackson County, there were dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines, and law enforcement reported damage to homes and businesses.

CNN affiliate WSMV also reported the partial collapse of an office building in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

"I built it myself to take an event like this. And it looks like a freight train hit it," the station quoted building owner Dewey Lineberry as saying. "It's just destroyed. It laid the building down on top of cars, it put the building on top of people. It's unbelievable."

Workers who were inside the building when the storm hit took cover under mattresses, the station said.

The storm came dangerously close to WSMV, the station reported: Workers had to move to a safe room when a buzzer in the newsroom alerted them of storm danger around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the station reported.

WKRN: Confirmed tornado

CNN iReporter Matt Davis said overnight storms damaged a historic brick structure on Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin, Tennessee.

"The plantation was a horse farm. Those (structures) have been standing there for 100 to 200 years. It was sad to see those collapsed and caved in. It's historic to the neighborhood," the high school student said.

On Tuesday, the storms raked Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, among other places, with heavy rain and high wind.

Photos: Finding art in icy weather

CNN's Ben Brumfield, Ryan Rios and Miguel Marquez contributed to this report.

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Standoff with Ala. school bus shooting suspect in third day

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. The man suspected of shooting a school bus driver to death and taking a five-year-old boy hostage Tuesday moved to a rural Alabama neighborhood on a rutted red clay road more than a year ago. It didn't take long before he had developed a frightening reputation as a volatile man with anti-government views who threatened his neighbors at gunpoint and was viciously violent to wandering pets.

Multiple neighbors said the man was a 65-year-old retired truck driver. He was at the center of a standoff that entered its third day Thursday.

The neighborhood near Midland City, population 2,300, remained under siege after the shooting, with the suspect and child holed up in a bunker-type shelter on the man's property that was equipped with electricity, food and TV.

Early Thursday, dozens of police cars and rental cars that had brought FBI agents to the site were gathered on the state highway at the clay road's entrance. Some police officers milled about, guns holstered.

Homes on the road had been evacuated after authorities found what they believed to be a bomb on the property. SWAT teams earlier had taken up positions around the alleged gunman's property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener's safe release.

The situation remained unchanged for hours as negotiators continued talking to the suspect, Alabama State Trooper Charles Dysart told a news conference late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Sheriff Wally Olson said that authorities had "no reason to believe that the child has been harmed."

CBS affiliate WTVY-TV in the nearby town of Dothan reports that contact has been made with the unidentified boy and he is safe. Police communicated with the boy through a PVC pipe in the bunker.

Authorities gave no details of the standoff, and it was unclear if the suspect made any demands from the bunker, which resembled a tornado shelter.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy's family, said the bunker had food and electricity, and the youngster was watching TV.

At one point, authorities lowered medicine into the bunker for the boy after his captor agreed to it, Clouse said.

The standoff began after school Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver several times when he refused to hand over the child. The gunman then took the boy away.

"As far as we know, there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort other traumatized children after the attack.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the 21 students aboard the bus.

Authorities say most of the students scrambled to the back of the bus when the gunman boarded and said he wanted two boys 6 to 8 years old.

But when the gunman went down the aisle, authorities said, Poland put his arm out to grab a pole near the front steps of the vehicle, trying to block the suspect. Authorities say that's when the driver was shot four times before the gunman grabbed one child and fled.

Asked about the suspect, neighbors said he was a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

Mike and Patricia Smith, who live across the street from the man and whose two children were on the bus, said their youngsters had a run-in with him about 10 months ago.

"My bulldogs got loose and went over there," Patricia Smith said. "The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back."

"He's very paranoid," her husband said. "He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun."

Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said the man beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe for coming onto his side of the dirt road. The dog died a week later.

"He said his only regret was he didn't beat him to death all the way," Wilbur said. "If a man can kill a dog, and beat it with a lead pipe and brag about it, it's nothing until it's going to be people."

The suspect had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a charge of menacing some neighbors as they drove by his house weeks ago. Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage the man claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

"Before this happened, I would see him at several places and he would just stare a hole through me," Davis said. "On Monday I saw him at a laundromat and he seen me when I was getting in my truck, and he just stared and stared and stared at me."

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No Device Eliminates Concussion Risk, Experts Say

As the long-term consequences of concussions become clearer, a cottage industry has popped up to sell athletes and worried parents products designed to mitigate risks of concussions that even helmets cannot prevent.

Despite the bold claims of some companies, however, many experts say the Holy Grail in contact sports -- a device that prevents concussions -- simply does not exist. Indeed, experts say, there is no proof that any current device significantly reduces the risk of concussions beyond the protections already provided by helmets.

"Nightline" found several products for sale online that aim to reduce the risk of concussions or even alert parents and coaches when a kid has supposedly taken a concussion-level hit. The claims the manufacturers make are often breathtakingly reassuring.

Concern about the risk of concussion is mounting at every level of the gridiron from the NFL to colleges and even high schools. Concussions are the most common injury among high school football players.

Jennifer Branin, whose son Tyler Branin is one of the stars of the Woodbridge Warriors high school football team in Irvine, Calif., said "it was scary" the first time he had a concussion.

"He had lost his balance on the field," she said. "He got up and tried to continue, but couldn't keep his balance."

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She said the effects of the concussion lingered, causing Tyler to miss a week of school and football practice. Even months later, he complained of difficulty concentrating in class.

Parents such as Jennifer Branin, who is president of the team's booster club, and her husband, Andy Branin, a former college football player himself, were looking for a way to support their son's desire to play football while also keeping him safe.

"He wants to play and, as a mom, you may want to put bubble-wrap around them and protect them forever, but that's not going to happen," she said.

So Jennifer Branin decided to do something. She raised money to buy the team helmet inserts by Unequal Technologies for added protection.

Unequal Technologies, one of the highest profile players in this new market, described its product explicitly on the box as "Concussion Reduction Technology," or "CRT." It is a strip of composite material including bullet-proof Kevlar that is designed to stick inside the helmet as a liner to the existing helmet pads.

Unequal Technologies uses its material in products ranging from padded sleeves to shin guards. The company counts NFL players and X-Games athletes among its fans.

On board as paid spokesmen are Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and James Harrison, a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison is one of the hardest-hitting guys in the NFL and said he uses Unequal Technology's liners in his helmet.

"I don't know what it's made of but it works," Harrison says in one of Unequal's promotional videos. "I really don't feel like I'm taking a risk."

Vick wasn't wearing the CRT product when he suffered a season-ending concussion in November, but he has since promised that he will be wearing it when he returns to the field next season.

Rob Vito, founder and CEO of the Kennett Square, Pa.-based company, said he worked with scientists to create a military-grade composite material that can help protect athletes from all kinds of injuries from head to toe.

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US man kills bus driver, kidnaps child

WASHINGTON: A gunman boarded a school bus in the US state of Alabama, shot dead the driver and kidnapped a six-year-old, whom he is now holding in an underground bunker, local media reported Wednesday.

WSFA television said the man boarded the bus at around 3:40 pm Tuesday, shot the bus driver and took one of the children to an underground shelter, where police are currently communicating with him through a PVC pipe.

Police could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sergeant Rachel David of the Dothan Police Department confirmed to WSFA that an adult male had been shot during the incident and that the suspect was "not in custody".

"We are at the very beginning of this investigation," she said.

WSFA, a CNN affiliate, said area roads had been closed and three local school systems had cancelled classes on Wednesday over the hostage situation.

- AFP/al

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Child hostage drama in Ala. after gunman kills school bus driver

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. An unidentified man boarded a school bus, shot the driver several times, then escaped with a 6-year-old passenger, prompting an hours-long standoff with police that remained unresolved early Wednesday.

The Dale County Sheriff says the man shot the driver in Midland City on Tuesday after he refused to let the child off the bus. The driver later died of his wounds. His identity wasn't released.

The shooter took the child to an area behind a nearby church, and police were negotiating with him, authorities said.

Midland City police would not comment, and a call to the Dale City Sheriff's office was not answered Tuesday.

Authorities from multiple agencies were on the scene and nearby residents were evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure, said Rachel David, a spokeswoman for the police department in the nearby town of Dothan.

"Authorities also confirmed the presence of a child at the scene but are giving no further information at this time," David said in a news release late Tuesday.

CBS Dothan, Ala. affiliate WTVY-TV reports the hostage is male and was being held in a storm shelter at the alleged gunman's home.

The station says the FBI has been called in, and area schools have cancelled Wednesday classes.

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Clinton Talks 2016, Stands by Benghazi Testimony

In her final television interview as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton told ABC's Cynthia McFadden that she is "flattered and honored" at the intense interest in whether she might run for president in 2016.

But Clinton maintained that right now she's "not focused" on a presidential campaign; instead she said she wants to return to a "normal" life when she steps down from office on Friday.

Watch Cynthia McFadden's full interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on "Nightline" tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET

Clinton's first order of business, she said, will be sleep.

"I hope I get to sleep in," she told McFadden with a laugh. "It will be the first time in many years. I have no office to go to, no schedule to keep, no work to do. That will probably last a few days then I will be up and going with my new projects," she said.

"I have been working or attending school full-time since I was 13. This is going to be new for me. I don't know how I'm going to react to it, to be honest."

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Clinton has had no trouble articulating her reaction to what has arguably been the darkest chapter of her tenure as Secretary of State: the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed.

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Secretary Clinton had a heated exchange with Republican Senator Ron Johnson during her five hours of testimony before Congress about the attack last week. Johnson accused the administration of misleading the American people about the cause of the attack, when UN Ambassador Susan Rice, on Sunday political talk shows, blamed it on protesters.

Clinton snapped back at Johnson, "Four Americans are dead. What difference does it make?" For that, she has been sharply criticized by some conservatives.

Clinton said she "absolutely" stands by her response to Johnson, maintaining that the administration has been transparent with the information it knew, when it was available. Clinton said partisan politics have no place in a response to a terrorist attack against Americans.

"I believe that we should in public life, whether you're in the administration or the Congress, de-politicize crisis and work together to figure out what happened, what we can do to prevent it and then put into place both the institutional changes and the budgetary changes that are necessary, " she said.

"When someone tries to put into a partisan lens, when they focus not on the fact that we have such a terrible event happening with four dead Americans but instead what did somebody say on a Sunday morning talk show? That to me is not in keeping with the seriousness of the issue and the obligation we all have as public servants"

FULL TRANSCRIPT: Sec. of State Hillary Clinton's "Nightline" Interview

Asked about her health, Clinton said her recent illness, concussion and blood clot were all a surprise.

"When I got sick and fainted and hit my head I was so surprised, and I thought I would just get up and go to work. And thankfully I had very good medical care and doctors who said, 'No we'd better do an MRI, we'd better do this, we'd better do that,'" she said, calling herself "lucky."

"I know now how split second beset by a virus and dehydrated, what it can do to you."

Though she confirmed she is wearing special glasses to help with double vision, a lingering issue following her illness, Clinton said that she expects to be fully recovered and operating at "full speed" soon.

The Secretary told McFadden that if she does decide to run, she would have "no problem" making her health records public.

"Of course, that goes with the territory," she said.

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Football: Beckham is training at Arsenal, Wenger reveals

LONDON: Former England midfielder David Beckham has been training with Arsenal, the club's manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed, but rejected reports that he could sign.

"He called me. He has asked to come here and to work on his fitness. He has not done anything for a long, long time," Wenger said of Beckham, who is without a club after leaving Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of last Major League Soccer season.

"It's purely for fitness. There's no speculation about signing or anything."

Beckham made his name with Manchester United and has also played for Real Madrid and AC Milan.

The 37-year-old, who won 115 England caps, was a key figure in the successful bid to bring the Olympics and Paralympics to London last year.

- AFP/al

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Thick smog cloaks Beijing again

BEIJING Dangerously high pollution levels shrouded Beijing in smog Tuesday for the second time in about two weeks, forcing airlines to cancel flights because of poor visibility and prompting the city government to warn residents to stay indoors.

The outlines of buildings in the capital receded into a white mist as pedestrians donned face masks to guard against the thick, caustic air.

The U.S. Embassy reported a level of PM2.5 -- one of the worst pollutants -- at 526 micrograms per cubic meter, or "beyond index," and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organization safety levels over a 24-hour period.

The Beijing city government advised residents to stay indoors as much as possible because the pollution was "severe." It said that, because there was no wind, the smog probably would not dissipate quickly.

Visibility was less than 109 yards in some areas of eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Air China cancelled 14 domestic flights in or out of the Beijing airport, and an airport in the eastern city of Qingdao was closed, cancelling 20 flights.

The disruptions come in the first week of the country's peak, six-week period for travel, linked to the Feb. 10 Lunar New Year. Every year, China's transport system bursts at the seams as tens of millions of people travel for the holiday, in the world's largest seasonal migration of people.

Celebrity real estate developer Pan Shiyi, who has previously pushed for cities to publish more detailed air quality data, called Tuesday for a "Clean Air Act" and said he would use his status as a delegate to the National People's Congress to propose such legislation.

In less than three hours, his post was forwarded more than 2,300 times and received 14,184 votes, with 99.1 percent in favor.

Beijing also had exceptionally high pollution two weeks ago, with the U.S. Embassy readings of PM2.5 reaching as high as 886 micrograms per cubic meter.

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US Mom Missing in Turkey Took Side Trips

Sarai Sierra, the New York mother who disappeared in Turkey while on a solo trip, took several side excursions out of the country, but stayed in contact with her family the entire time, a family friend told ABC News.

Turkish media reported today that police were trying to establish why Sierra visited Amsterdam and Munich. Police were also trying to establish the identity of a man Sierra, 33, was chatting with on the Internet, according to local media.

Rachel Norman, a family friend, said the man was a group tour guide from the Netherlands and said Sierra stayed in regular touch with her family in New York.

Steven Sierra, Sarai's husband, and David Jimenez, her brother, arrived in Istanbul today to aid in the search.

The men have been in contact with officials from the U.S. consulate in the country and plan to meet with them as soon as they open on Tuesday, Norman said.

After that, she said Sierra and Jimenez would meet with Turkish officials to discuss plans and search efforts.

Family of Sarai Sierra|AP Photo

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Sarai Sierra was supposed to fly back to the United States on Jan. 22, but she never showed up for her flight home.

Her two boys, ages 11 and 9, have not been told their mother is missing.

Sierra, an avid photographer, left New York on Jan. 7. It was her first overseas trip, and she decided to go ahead after a friend had to cancel, her family said.

"It was her first time outside of the United States, and every day while she was there she pretty much kept in contact with us, letting us know what she was up to, where she was going, whether it be through texting or whether it be through video chat, she was touching base with us," Steven Sierra told ABC News before he departed for Istanbul.

But when it came time to pick her up from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Sierra wasn't on board her scheduled flight.

Steven Sierra called United Airlines and was told his wife had never boarded the flight home.

Further investigation revealed she had left her passport, clothes, phone chargers and medical cards in her room at a hostel in Beyoglu, Turkey, he said.

The family is suspicious and said it is completely out of character for the happily married mother, who met her husband in church youth group, to disappear.

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey and the Turkish National Police are involved in the investigation, WABC-TV reported.

"They've been keeping us posted, from my understanding they've been looking into hospitals and sending out word to police stations over there," Steven Sierra said. "Maybe she's, you know, locked up, so they are doing what they can."

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Stellar performances finally gain the limelight

Michael Brooks, consultant

(Image: Five Finger Yamanaka/courtesy of Phil Ross)

In Heart of Darkness, Jeremiah P. Ostriker and Simon Mitton add new stars to the constellation of astronomy to tell the subject's full history

WE HAVE all heard of the Hubble Space Telescope, named after Edwin Hubble, but where is the Tinsley telescope?

Beatrice Tinsley was an excellent astronomer, but her career was stymied by an establishment set against giving a salary to the wife of an academic - even if she was also a gifted scientist. Tinsley made at least two vital contributions to our understanding of the universe's history, but she had to divorce her husband and grant him custody of the children to get any recognition of her talents.

In Heart of Darkness, Jeremiah Ostriker and Simon Mitton explore modern cosmology while recasting what they term the "simple linear parade of heroes" of standard accounts. Among the uncelebrated stars of cosmology they discuss, Tinsley shines brightest, but there are others: Milton Humason, a poorly educated mule-driver and janitor who assisted Hubble in his observations, and Vesto Slipher, who, despite working in the shadow of a boss obsessed with finding evidence for Martian civilisations, made the first observations that told us about the expansion of the universe.

Why do some names last and others fade? As well as being a great astronomer, Hubble was a "showman", and a "comfortable celebrity", say Ostriker and Mitton. Tinsley, meanwhile, was diagnosed with cancer the year she finally made full professor (at Yale). She died four years later, aged 40. Like a supernova, she burned brightly but briefly. Hopefully, this thorough and inspiring book will secure her a place in cosmological history.

Not that Ostriker and Mitton's book is focused solely on people - quite the opposite. Relatively few biographical details are given: it is their scientific contributions that are explored - and with aplomb.

This is a strong, confident book, easily one of the best guides to why cosmologists make the claims they do. Yet for all their redistribution of credit, the cosmology that the authors set out remains uncontroversial. It is the universe that began in a singularity, passed through a period of rapid inflation, and is now dominated by dark matter and dark energy. The state of our knowledge, they say, represents a "stunning" accomplishment.

This is the dilemma of modern cosmology: what counts as success? Summing up, Ostriker and Mitton simultaneously cite a "pretty impressive list of successes" while acknowledging that cosmology is "profoundly incomplete". We don't know what caused the inflation, what constitutes dark matter or what lies behind dark energy. In the end, the authors settle for a declaration that there's plenty for future cosmologists to do.

If there is one flaw in this crystal clear book, it's a lack of depth in the discussion of the dark side of the universe. It provides the book's title and is supposed to account for 96 per cent of the universe, but is confined to two chapters towards the end. Alternatives to dark matter are dismissed in little more than a paragraph and compared to pre-Copernican efforts to keep the Earth at the centre of the cosmos. When many respected scientists support the continued search for alternatives, that seems somewhat disingenuous.

Were she still with us, Tinsley would no doubt argue that there are compelling reasons to believe in the existence of dark matter, but that there are good reasons to consider alternatives, too. Her unique contribution to cosmology was to persuade a dismissive establishment that galaxies change their properties over time. In so doing, she exposed a gaping hole in the cosmology of the 1970s. It was a supreme achievement, if unwelcome.

Clearly, if you want your name to go down in history (or onto a telescope) it's better to be a showman than a troublemaker. But if the history of science teaches us anything, it's that the troublemakers should be celebrated too.

Book information:
Heart of Darkness: Unraveling the mysteries of the invisible universe by Jeremiah P. Ostriker and Simon Mitton
Princeton University Press
£19.95/$27.95

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Football: Centralised training for S'pore team for 2013 SEA Games

SINGAPORE: Members of the LionsXII and the Courts Young Lions will form the bulk of the Singapore football squad for the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.

Despite its regional powerhouse status, Singapore has never won a gold medal in football at the SEA Games competition and the Lions are gunning to end the barren run in Myanmar this year.

To achieve that, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is looking to bring the teams together for centralised training ahead of the Games.

It is critical that the Young Lions and LionsXII have more playing time together.

This will allow selectors enough time to get the SEA Games team to gel and make changes before the December tournament.

FAS president Zainudin Nordin said: "If we are able to pick a suitable month where both calendar can fit in, why not. We can have a team going on a training programme that will put them into a single fighting unit. I think we will work hard towards that."

A good result at the 2013 SEA Games will continue the momentum from the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup win where the Singapore team clinched a historic fourth ASEAN football title.

On Monday afternoon, the Courts Young Lions received a boost when its sponsor, Courts, decided to stick with the team for another year with a sponsorship deal estimated to be in the region of S$500,000.

The support will keep the focus on the youngsters and allow them to prove themselves, especially with better quality star players signed by some teams.

Courts Young Lions coach Aide Iskandar said: "The objective of the Courts Young Lions this year is to provide a platform, to create a wider pool of players for the coach to bring the team and to select the team for the 2013 SEA Games."

- CNA/fa

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Brazil nightclub fire 'like a war zone'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The owners of the nightclub pledged to cooperate with the investigation


• At least 231 people died in the fire, authorities say


• Funerals are scheduled to begin Monday for those killed in the fire

Are you there? Share your story.

Santa Maria, Brazil (CNN) -- Guitarist Rodrigo Martin was preparing to launch into the sixth song of his band's set when he saw embers fall.

The acoustic foam insulation on the ceiling of the KISS nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria was on fire, and it was beginning to spread.

The hot ash fell onto the stage and dance floor.

Photos: Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

In front of him, a sea of people who moments earlier were dancing and singing along to the country-pop sounds of his band Gurizada Fandangueira began to realize something was wrong.

Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

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Suddenly, concert-goers were stampeding toward the club's only exit, pushing and shoving each other trying to get out.

Then, according to investigators and witnesses, somebody fell in the narrow, dark hallway that led to the windowless exit.

And then another person fell.

And then another.

Searching for answers

It was the last weekend of Brazil's summer break for many of the students, and the KISS nightclub was packed early Sunday with young people -- many of whom attended one of a number of universities and colleges in Santa Maria.

At least 231 people died and hundreds more were injured in the fire that authorities believe began about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when the band's pyrotechnic show ignited insulation material.

Many apparently died from smoke inhalation. Others were trampled in the rush for the exits.

Of the dead, 101 were students at the Federal University of Santa Maria.

Another 120 remained hospitalized Monday morning, 79 in critical condition, authorities said.

About 2,000 people were inside the club when the fire broke out -- double the maximum capacity of 1,000, said Guido de Melo, a state fire official.

The roof collapsed in several parts of the building, trapping many inside. Firefighters found piles of bodies in the club's bathroom.

It looked, said state lawmaker Valderci Oliveira, "like a war zone."

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For others, escaping was complicated by the fact that guards initially stopped people from leaving, said a reporter from CNN affiliate Band News, echoing comments from the state fire official.

"Some guards thought at first that it was a fight, a huge fight that happened inside the club and closed the doors so that the people could not leave without paying their bills from the club," the reporter, Glauber Fernandes, said.

But Rodrigo Moura, a nightclub security guard, said the fire moved fast.

"All of the sudden the fire just took off and was all around us. We tried to tell people to get out," he said.

The owners of the nightclub, meanwhile, pledged to cooperate with the investigation into the fire, according to a statement released by the law firm of Kummel & Kummel.

"We are open to all authorities and inspections," said the statement, obtained by Globo TV.

The club's license had expired in August and had not been renewed, a local fire official told Globo TV.

The owners, however, said the nightclub was properly permitted and had been inspected by the fire marshal.

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'Blocked by security'

The band, Gurizada Fandangueira, was a popular attraction at KISS in part because of its pyrotechnic show, according to Billboard.com. It played at the nightclub about once a month, and was there Sunday to promote a new album.

Martin, the guitarist, told Radio Gaucha the band had been on stage for about 20 minutes, finishing the fifth song of its set, when it set off its "sputnik" pyrotechnics -- sparkler columns that shoot up in the air.

"We used it all the time. ...We never had this problem before," he told the radio station late Sunday.

Martin said he first noticed a small ember, and then he looked up at the ceiling and saw the flames.

A backstage hand attempted to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. "But, it didn't work," he said.

Martin said as he and the other band members got off the stage, there were 20 to 30 people in front of him who were "being blocked by security."

People started pushing and shoving, and then they tripped over one another to the door.

Martin said the band's accordion player, 28-year-old Danilo Jacques, died in the fire.

"I saw him, and then I lost him in the crowd," he said.

Struggling to help

Esequiel Corte Real and his friends arrived late for the show and ended up with what they thought was one of the worst locations to watch -- by the exit.

The same happened with Norton Basson and his friends, who were at the club to celebrate his 29th birthday.

They are alive, they believe, because they were where they were -- making them among the first to make out alive.

After the fire started, the dark, narrow hallway that led to KISS nightclub's exit was choked with smoke and people trying to find their way out.

Outside, Corte Real and his friends could hear the screams of people still trying to escape.

He told Globo TV that he and his friends ran back in to the club to try to help.

They pulled out one body. Then two more.

"Somebody must be alive," he said.

Basson and his friends, meanwhile, grabbed rocks, sticks and an axe they found at a nearby building and began trying to knock a hole in the side of the building to help those trapped inside. Others soon joined them with shovels and more axes.

Firefighters used the hole Basson and his friends created to get inside the club.

There, they were greeted by the eerie sounds of cell phones ringing in the pockets and purses of the dead: parents trying to desperately trying to reach their children.

The missing

Later Sunday, family members wept as they searched for information outside a local gymnasium where bodies were taken for identification.

Inside, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met with relatives as they waited on bleachers for word of their loved ones. She had been attending a regional summit in Chile, but cut short the trip and returned to Brazil early to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.

"The Brazilian people are the ones who need me today," she said. "I want to tell the people of Santa Maria in this time of sadness that we are all together."

Ericmar Avila Dos Santos went from hospital to hospital Sunday, searching for his 23-year-old brother.

Hours earlier, he learned in a telephone call from a friend that his older brother was among those missing following the fire.

His family scanned lists, talked with police officials. They checked with friends, searched everywhere.

They finally found him -- among hundreds of bodies laid out on body bags at a makeshift morgue at a local gym.

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"I was supposed to go with him. I didn't feel like going out. He ended up there without me," Avila Dos Santos said, openly sobbing over his brother's coffin outside the gym.

On Monday, the first of Brazil's three days of mourning, the three cemeteries in the city of 260,000 were packed with families readying to bury their dead.

Among them: Avila Dos Santos' family.

"We did everything together. We were even studying the same major," he said, remembering his brother. "Now that he's gone, I'm lost. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life."

Shasta Darlington reported from Santa Maria, Brazil. Chelsea J. Carter reported from Atlanta. CNN's Helena DeMoura contributed to this report.

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