Lance Armstrong Under Criminal Investigation

Federal investigators are in the midst of an active criminal investigation of disgraced former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, ABC News has learned.

The revelation comes in stark contrast to statements made by the U.S. Attorney for Southern California, Andre Birotte, who addressed his own criminal inquiry of Armstrong for the first time publicly on Tuesday. Birotte's office spent nearly two years investigating Armstrong for crimes reportedly including drug distribution, fraud and conspiracy -- only to suddenly drop the case on the Friday before the Super Bowl last year.

Sources at the time said that agents had recommended an indictment and could not understand why the case was suddenly dropped.

Today, a high level source told ABC News, "Birotte does not speak for the federal government as a whole."

According to the source, who agreed to speak on the condition that his name and position were not used because of the sensitivity of the matter, "Agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation."

An email to an attorney for Armstrong was not immediately returned.

READ MORE: Lance Armstrong May Have Lied to Winfrey: Investigators

AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, File

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Earlier Tuesday, during a Department of Justice news conference on another matter, Birotte was confronted with the Armstrong question unexpectedly. The following is a transcript of that exchange:

Q: Mr. Birotte, given the confession of Lance Armstrong to all the things --

Birotte: (Off mic.)

Q: -- to all thethings that you, in the end, decided you couldn't bring a case about, can you give us your thoughts on that case now and whether you might take another look at it?

Birotte: We made a decision on that case, I believe, a little over a year ago. Obviously we've been well-aware of the statements that have been made by Mr. Armstrong and other media reports. That has not changed my view at this time. Obviously, we'll consider, we'll continue to look at the situation, but that hasn't changed our view as I stand here today.

The source said that Birotte is not in the loop on the current criminal inquiry, which is being run out of another office.

Armstrong confessed to lying and using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

READ MORE: Armstrong Admits to Doping

WATCH: Armstrong's Many Denials Caught on Tape

READ MORE: 10 Scandalous Public Confessions

Investigators are not concerned with the drug use, but Armstrong's behavior in trying to maintain his secret by allegedly threatening and interfering with potential witnesses.

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban in sport handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He has been given a Feb. 6 deadline to tell all under oath to investigators or lose his last chance at a possible break on the lifetime ban.

PHOTOS: Olympic Doping Scandals: Past and Present

PHOTOS: Tour de France 2012

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Nobel-winning US energy secretary steps down

Four years after his appointment as part of President Barack Obama's scientific dream team, US energy secretary Steven Chu is about to step down. How well did he perform in office, and who should fill his shoes? With budget cuts and continued attacks by climate sceptics likely to dog Obama's second term, a politician might be a better choice than another scientist, some observers say.

As the first Nobel laureate appointed to a presidential cabinet, Chu ensured that science informed decisions about clean energy and the funding of new research programmes. He was "good at knowing science is about taking risks", says Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which aims to bring science to bear on solving the planet's problems.

In 2009, Chu and the Department of Energy (DoE) inherited a number clean-energy research and development initiatives that had been part of the previous administration's stimulus programmes. Among the most interesting programmes that Chu jumpstarted was ARPA-E, a $400 million fund for high-risk, experimental renewable energy research.

A politician might not have seen promise in the nascent programme, and ARPA-E has yet to deliver any game-changing technologies, but Wentworth hopes that Chu's successor will expand the programme. "It's the seed corn of our energy future," he says.

One debacle will cast a shadow over Chu's legacy: the bankruptcy of solar giant Solyndra, a company that had received $535 million in federal loan guarantees from DoE. The backlash, fuelled by a Republican-controlled Congress, quickly spiralled out of control and raised distrust in renewable energy schemes.

Could a more experienced politician have handled the situation better? Eileen Claussen of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a non-profit based in Arlington, Virginia, doubts it. "Getting someone who really believes in the importance of doing this was more important than the political skills," she says, although she also says Chu could have done more to highlight the many successful companies that profited from DoE loans totalling $36 billion.

Different world

But in Obama's second term, vision won't necessarily be as important as management and communication skills, says Claussen. "It's going to be a different world," she says, not least because of serious budget constraints.

DoE's clean-energy budget is likely to be cut by 8 to 10 per cent this year, Wentworth says: a major hit for an already shrunken program. If the next secretary hopes to help Obama with his promises to address climate change, he adds, he or she cannot expect more money to do it with.

And with the animosity against clean-energy programmes unlikely to disappear, says Wentworth, the biggest challenges for Chu's successor will be to aggressively attack myths about the high cost of renewable energy, and to counter lobbying from the fossil-fuel industry.

Energy analyst Scott Sklar, president of the Stella Group, feels that Chu was weak in this area.

For the next secretary to build support for renewable energy programmes, "they need to articulate why what they're doing is important", he says. The next secretary will also need to tackle problems associated with energy generation, such as massive water use by power plants in the midst of a drought, and the air and water pollution they cause.

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.

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Ahmadinejad starts historic Egypt visit

CAIRO: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, marking the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Egyptian television footage showed.

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi welcomed Ahmadinejad at Cairo airport as he disembarked from the plane, the footage showed.

Ahmadinejad, who is on a three-day visit, will attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation conference in Cairo and will hold talks with Egyptian officials, Iranian media said ahead of the trip.

Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad told reporters that during his visit he would work towards strengthening bilateral ties with Cairo.

"I will try to pave the ground for developing cooperation between Iran and Egypt," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Without elaborating, he said the visit would "definitely influence the bilateral ties" between Tehran and Cairo.

Tehran severed ties with Cairo in 1980 in protest at a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel by then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

But Egypt has responded cautiously to Iranian efforts to revive ties since Morsi took power in 2012, with the two nations adopting opposing positions on the Syrian conflict.

Iran supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Egypt has been a leading voice in urging his departure -- along with regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

"If Tehran and Cairo see more eye to eye on regional and international issues, many (issues) will change," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

- AFP/fa

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Police: Suspect said he had PTSD

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Routh told his sister he'd killed two men, "traded his soul for a truck," an arrest warrant says


• The ex-Marine faces murder charges in deaths of veterans Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield


• Routh's family called cops in 2012; he was mad because his father planned to sell his gun


• The 25-year-old told police he had PTSD, was hurting and his family didn't understand

Read a version of this story in Arabic.

(CNN) -- Eddie Ray Routh was crying, shirtless, shoeless and smelling of alcohol when police caught up with him walking the streets of his hometown of Lancaster, Texas.

His family didn't understand what he -- a Marine veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder -- was going through, he told the officer last September 2, according to a police report.

He had a simple message that was as much a plea as it was a complaint: I'm hurting.

That visit -- which came after Routh, angry that his father was going to sell his gun, left the house and threatened, his mother told police, to "blow his brains out" -- prompted him to be placed in protective custody and sent to Dallas' Green Oaks Hospital for a mental evaluation.

Six months later, the 25-year-old Routh is in custody once again -- this time in a central Texas jail, facing murder charges in the deaths of America's self-proclaimed most deadly military sniper ever as well as another military veteran.

He is on a suicide watch and under 24-hour camera surveillance, Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Monday.

And he's already run into further trouble, becoming aggressive with guards in his cell after refusing to give up a spork and dinner tray Sunday night, according to the sheriff.

So who is Eddie Ray Routh?

Bryant has said Routh was in the Marines for four years, though it is unclear how much of that time, if any, was in combat zones. Shay Isham, a lawyer appointed by a judge Monday morning to represent Routh, said his client spent roughly the last two years in and out in Veteran Affairs medical facilities for treatment of mental issues.

His personal history and psychological make-up has come under the spotlight after the bloodshed Saturday.

It was then, officials say, Routh killed his two fellow veterans on a gun range located in a remote part of the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort's vast 11,000 acres.

This was, Bryant said, after Routh's mother "may have reached out to" one of the victims -- Chris Kyle, author of the best-selling book "American Sniper" -- "to try and help her son."

The suspect was "a troubled veteran whom they were trying to help," said Craft International, a company founded by Kyle, who since retiring from the Navy in 2009 had sought to assist ex-troops with PTSD.

Why might Routh have killed these men? He "is the only one that knows," Erath County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Upshaw told reporters on Sunday.

"I don't know that we'll ever know," Upshaw said.

Victims hailed as dedicated, caring patriots

No one else saw the shooting of Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, according to Upshaw.

It occurred sometime after 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET) Saturday, when all three men together entered the expansive resort in Glen Rose, some 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, and headed toward a gun range.

Marcus Luttrell told CNN that Kyle, his friend, had gone to help Routh get "out of the house (and) blow off some steam." Another Kyle friend, former SEAL sniper program instructor Brandon Webb, explained that a range was a "familiar environment" for "military guys."

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, a hunting guide alerted authorities Kyle and Littlefield's bodies had been discovered "lying on the ground, covered in blood," according to Routh's arrest warrant, which was posted on CNN affiliate WFAA's website.

By then, Routh had taken off in Kyle's black Ford pickup, stopping first at his sister's house about 70 miles away in Midlothian. There, he told his sister and brother-in-law what he had done, telling them he had "traded his soul for a truck," the arrest warrant said.

He set off again.

Police finally caught up with Routh near his home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas, around 8 p.m. Saturday. Despite a swarm of law enforcement, he managed to speed off in the truck -- but after spiking his tires, authorities were able to detain him without a scuffle by 9 p.m., Bryant said.

The story got intense, widespread attention in large part due to the victims, especially Kyle.

While serving as a sniper in Iraq, the Navy SEAL wrote he personally had 160 confirmed kills from a distance of up to 2,100 feet -- more than any other U.S. serviceman, in any conflict. This helped led Iraqi insurgents to nickname the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Texan "the devil" and put a bounty on his head, he said.

In interviews promoting his book, Kyle offered no regrets,

"I had to do it to protect the Marines," he told Time magazine a year ago. "You want to lose your own guys, or would you rather take one of them out?"

After his retirement from a decade's service in the Navy, Kyle became a businessman, a reality TV personalty, a supporter of fellow vets, an avid hunter and an outspoken opponent of gun control. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

His new ventures included joining other former SEALs in starting Craft International, a security company with the motto "Despite what your momma told you, violence does solve problems."

He also helped established the FITCO Cares foundation, a charity that helps U.S. war vets "who have survived combat but are still fighting to survive post-traumatic stress disorder," the group's website said.

Thousands pledged to toast him and Littlefield on Monday night, and hundreds expressed condolences on Kyle's Facebook fan page.

"Chris, thank you for your service; not only to the country you loved, but also to your fellow warriors that needed a helping hand," one woman wrote. "Rest in peace brave hero, patriot and warrior. You are missed."

The Facebook page also included a tribute to Littlefield, who the page's administrator wrote "felt deeply about the values of family, compassion, friendship and loyalty, and was equally as passionate about his love of God and country."

"Chad, thank you for your love for your country, the dedication to your country and your love for life," a woman said. "God has brought another angel home."

Chris Kyle, America's deadliest sniper

CNN's Ed Lavandera, Josh Levs, Susan Candiotti, AnneClaire Stapleton, Barbara Starr, Emily Smith and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.

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Signs of runaway heat seen in Dreamliner batteries

TOKYO An investigation into a lithium ion battery that overheated on a Boeing 787 flight in Japan last month found evidence of the same type of "thermal runaway" seen in a similar incident in Boston, officials said Tuesday.

The Japan Transportation Safety Board said that CAT scans and other analysis found damage to all eight cells in the battery that overheated on the All Nippon Airways 787 on Jan. 16, which prompted an emergency landing and probes by both U.S. and Japanese aviation safety regulators.

They also found signs of short-circuiting and "thermal runaway," a chemical reaction in which rising temperature causes progressively hotter temperatures. U.S. investigators found similar evidence in the battery that caught fire last month on a Japan Airlines 787 parked in Boston.

Photos distributed by the Japanese investigators show severe charring of six of the eight cells in the ANA 787's battery and a frayed and broken earthing wire — meant to minimize the risk of electric shock.

All 50 Boeing 787s in operation are grounded as regulators and Boeing investigate the problem. The Japanese probe is focusing on flight data records and on the charger and other electrical systems connected to the damaged battery.

Lithium ion batteries are more susceptible to catching fire when they overheat or to short-circuit than other types of batteries. Boeing built in safeguards to gain safety certification for use of the relatively light and powerful batteries to power various electrical systems on the 787, the world's first airliner made mostly from lightweight composite materials.

Investigators earlier said they found no evidence of quality problems with production of the 787's batteries by Kyoto, Japan-based, GS Yuasa, whose own aerospace ambitions are on the line.

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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.

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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

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MPs call for ways to avoid 6.9m-strong population

SINGAPORE: Some 60 Members of Parliament (MPs) have indicated their interest to take part in the debate on the White Paper on Population.

There were several references to the much-talked-about population number, which the government is using to prepare infrastructure plans.

There were calls to find ways to avoid the need to grow Singapore's population to 6.9 million people.

Suggestions included improving work-life balance and providing more incentives for Singaporeans to have children.

Seah Kian Peng, MP for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency said: "We do need to do more to have more citizens, not just by getting new citizens in but also by getting our people to get married. And getting our married couples to have more babies. Singaporeans ourselves can and must respond and answer to this call too.

"At the same time can we moderate the flow of immigration as we strive to grow our citizen population? Only within these figures can the notion of maintaining a strong Singapore core make sense. At the same time, we need to continually review and continually enhance the privileges of being a Singapore citizen. This must be on government's radar screen all the time."

Foo Mee Har, MP for West Coast GRC suggested: "I would like to call for urgent action to ensure a stronger Singaporean core in our population strategy. I offer two priorities for the Deputy Prime Minister's consideration so that we don't arrive at 6.9 million - Take bolder steps to improve total fertility rate, tap our own talent pool, especially amongst economically inactive women and older workers."

"There is a national anxiety and some angst, but instead of letting out this national moan about the projected population numbers, there should be a national vigour to address the vulnerabilities of Singapore," said Arthur Fong, MP for West Coast GRC.

"Perhaps then, we might look at the numbers needed with more objectivity and a renewed urgency to move forward on borrowed time. Our future rests with the three keys that the White Paper has stated, that the heart of our nation is represented by our Singaporean core. I would like to say that for a strong Singapore and a cohesive society, we need a strong heart and better yet, a big heart."

There were also concerns that augmenting the Singapore population with new citizens and permanent residents would dilute the Singaporean identity.

Christopher de Souza, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC said: "Singaporeans must be the key ingredient to how Singapore is portrayed to and understood by the rest of the world. This responsibility and privilege must be accorded to Singaporeans, with PRs and residents playing a complementary role. Every few years, Singaporeans must be able to look back and say 'My life, my family's life has improved, there is a happy future for us.'"

MP for Aljunied GRC Sylvia Lim said also expressed concerns about a dilution of the Singaporean identity.

She said a strong Singaporean core must be strongly Singaporean in values, culture and sense of history, and should be made up of Singaporeans who grew up in Singapore.

The opposition MP said the Workers' Party is opposing the White Paper on Population and proposed that Singapore entertain the idea of a more modest GDP growth rate which will see a population of 5.9 million or less in 2030.

Ms Lim said this can be achieved if Singapore works towards a GDP growth of 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent per year up to 2020. And from 2020 to 2030, 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent per year.

"This trade off will mean less overcrowding, better integration of newcomers, a stronger Singaporean identity, and less stressful labour market competition. This is turn is likely to have knock-on effects on total fertility rate recovery.

"It will also not be at the expense of market competitiveness, as our economy continues to restructure, to push the proportions of Singaporeans in PMET jobs from half to two thirds. The road map proposed in the White Paper will further dilute our national identity. It will also place us on a course towards needing even larger population injections in the future, which we do not believe is sustainable."

- CNA/xq

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Five sizzling Super Bowl moments to talk about

Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens defeated the 49ers, 34-31.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The game came down to a controversial play in the end zone


• Women with amazing vocals inspired and entertained


• Jacoby Jones scores two remarkable touchdowns


• Some commercials touched hearts, others were meh

(CNN) -- It may not have been a great game until after the lights went out and came back up, but the Super Bowl showdown Sunday night created quite a few memorable moments on the field and off, even before kickoff.

There were powerful performances, including a much buzzed-about halftime show by superstar Beyonce.

But there was also a lack of electricity in the stadium and in some of the commercials.

And San Francisco 49ers fans are sure to get emotional over that last play they ran on offense, when two players met in the end zone and despite interference, the referee did not call a penalty.

Here are the five moments you can expect your coworkers to talk about Monday morning.

Grrrl Power

The men may have duked it out during the game. But when it came to the non-football entertainment at the Superdome, women ruled the day.

First up was Jennifer Hudson with a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful." The choir backing her comprised of students from Sandy Hook Elementary, the Connecticut school where 20 students and six school staff were shot dead in December.

Players on the sidelines and fans on the stand wiped away tears.

"Our wish is to demonstrate to America and the world that, 'We are Sandy Hook and We Choose Love,'" the choir said in a statement.

Next, Alicia Keys belted out the "Star-Spangled Banner" as the children, in white polo shirts with green ribbons pinned to them, stood with their hands on their hearts.

"It's football. But I just cried," tweeted actor Brian Baumgartner about the Sandy Hook performance.

The big show, however, came once the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens got through the first half.

Welcome, Beyonce.

For 12 minutes, she rocked the stage clad in above-the-knee black stiletto boots and a leather minidress.

Powered by an all-female backing band, there was little doubt Beyonce sang live -- unlike during President Barack Obama's inauguration last month where she admitted singing along to a prerecorded track.

And as if that wasn't enough girl power for the night, Beyonce was joined by her Destiny's Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

"Watching the #SuperBowl with family & friends. @Beyonce was phenomenal! I am so proud of her! -mo," tweeted none other than the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.

She wasn't the only one. Beyonce's performance generated 5.5 million tweets!

Lack of power

For the first two quarters, the Ravens seemed unstoppable, steamrolling the 49ers to a 28-6 lead.

But then, half the lights in the Superdome went mysteriously black.

The NFL released a statement saying it was "investigating." The power company said it was not to blame and that electricity in the rest of the city was fine.

The outage left players, coaches and fans to wait, wait and wait some more.

Social media lit up.

After 35 minutes when the lights slowly went back on, so did San Francisco -- prompting many to wonder if the break in play played to the 49ers advantage.

Running back Frank Gore felt differently.

"You have to wait. Football is a game of adjustments. The elements don't matter," he told NFL.com. "I've been saying it all year, the elements don't matter in football. You've just got to learn how to make adjustments."

The real MVP?

Quarterbacks often get the glory in the Super Bowl, but wide receiver Jacoby Jones had a strong case for Most Valuable Player. He lost out to Joe Flacco.

Jones scored on two of the most incredible plays in Super Bowl history, including a record 108-yard kickoff return. It took him just 11 seconds on the clock to slice through the 49ers coverage team.

"Jacoby's been a blessing to this team," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "We're grateful to have him on this team."

Jones, who grew up in New Orleans, also caught a 56-yard touchdown pass -- his only reception. He fell, got up, decked a defender and sprinted at an angle toward the goal line, beating two 49ers into the end zone.

"Everybody dreams of scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl. But two of 'em? That's what's up!" Jones told NOLA.com. "It was always a goal to win a Super Bowl. To come home and do it, that's the icing on the cake."

Jones is definitely the MVP for some Baltimoreans who bought furniture this weekend at a Baltimore store.

The Baltimore Sun reported Gardiners Furniture promised to wipe out the charges for anything purchased on Saturday or Sunday -- if the Ravens returned a kick for a touchdown to start a half.

Probably seemed like a good bet at the time.

Grading the ads

Some of the Super Bowl commercials -- 30 second ads that cost upward of $4 million -- made us weep for different reasons.

There were quite a few that played on our sentiment, from Budweiser's "Brotherhood" to Jeep's Oprah-narrated America Will Be Whole Again" to Dodge's ode, "Farmer."

Then there was the racy GoDaddy ad that made us want to cry, burn our eyes out and have the Men in Black wipe out our memories.

In it, model Bar Refaeli shares a long kiss with a red-cheeked "nerd" that prompted its own hashtag: #NoDaddy.

"Oh my gosh those kissing noises," tweeted Chicago college student Grace Barnes.

Bleacher Report: Grading the best & worst ads

A no-call to rue

Niners fans will tell you they were robbed of a possible win when referees failed to call a penalty.

In the final quarter, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick attempted a pass to the Niners' Michael Crabtree in the end zone.

What happened next depends on who's doing the talking.

Niners' fans will say Smith deliberately interfered with Crabtree, making it impossible to catch the ball.

Ravens' fans will say it doesn't matter, the ball was too high for Crabtree to catch.

Niners' fans will say the penalty call would have given the team a first down and a great chance to take the lead with less than two minutes left in the game.

Ravens' fans will say the ball was uncatchable -- that it sailed way over Crabtree's head.

But if you ask New England wide receiver Donte Stallworth, there should have been a penalty flag, even if the ball seemed like it was too high to catch.

"For all y'all saying that ball was uncatchable for Crabtree in the endzone... DUH!! Because dude held thee sh*t outta him..." he tweeted.

Crabtree told Yahoo Sports it was "a missed call."

"I don't want to talk about it," he said. "I don't want to think about it."

That's OK, the 49ers fans will likely do it for him.

CNN's Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.

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Tour bus crash kills at least 8 in California

Updated 4:15 a.m.

YUCAIPA, Calif. A tour bus collided with a car and pickup truck, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens of others Sunday night on a Southern California mountain highway, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez confirmed the deaths and said 38 people were taken to hospitals with injuries.

He also said the bus driver reported having brake problems as it headed down the mountain on two-lane State Route 38, rear-ending a sedan then flipping over and hitting a pickup truck that was pulling a trailer.

The bus was carrying a tour group from Tijuana, Mexico, and a representative from the Mexican consulate was at the grim crash scene, California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Profant said.

"It's really a mess up there with body parts," Profant said.

Rescuers were still searching the wreckage for victims hours later. At least two passengers were said to be trapped, reports CBS Los Angeles station KCBS-TV.

Television footage showed the bus sitting upright but turned sideways on the road.

At least seven ambulances were called to the scene, and patients were taken to several hospitals.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said four women had been admitted from the crash and their conditions were still being determined. Redland Community Hospital said it received one person in critical condition and one with minor injuries, while two more were en route with minor injuries. Community Hospital of San Bernardino said it had received one patient with undetermined injuries, while St. Bernadine Medical Center said it had two patients, whose injuries were being assessed.

The purpose of the tour was not immediately clear, but Highway 38 leads to Big Bear, a popular area that's home to a ski resort and other recreational locations.

Lettering on the bus indicated that it was operated by Scapadas Magicas LLC, a company based in National City, Calif. Federal transportation records show that the company is licensed to carry passenger for interstate travel and that it had no crashes in the past two years.

A call to the company was not immediately returned.

The California crash comes less than a day after a bus carrying 42 high school students and their chaperones slammed into an overpass in Boston. Massachusetts state police said 35 people were injured and that the driver had directed the bus onto a road with a height limit.

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