Sooty ships may be geoengineering by accident

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

Fertilising the world's oceans with iron has been controversially proposed as a way of sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to curb global warming. Some geoengineers claim releasing iron into the sea will stimulate plankton blooms, which absorb carbon, but ocean processes are complex and difficult to monitor in tests.

"Experiments suggest you change the population of algae, causing a shift from fish-dominated to jellyfish-dominated ecosystems," says Alex Baker of the University of East Anglia, UK. Such concerns led the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to impose a moratorium on geoengineering experiments in 2010.

The annual ship deposition is much larger, if less concentrated, than the iron released in field tests carried out before the moratorium was in place. Yet because ship emissions are not intended to alter ocean chemistry, they do not violate the moratorium, says Jim Thomas of the ETC Group, a think tank that consults for the CBD. "If you intentionally drove oil-burning ships back and forth as a geoengineering experiment, that would contravene it."

The new study, by Akinori Ito of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, is the first to quantify how shipping deposits iron in parts of the ocean normally deficient in it. Earlier models had assumed that only 1 to 2 per cent of the iron contained in aerosols, including shipping emissions, is soluble in seawater, so the remaining 98 to 99 percent would sink to the bottom without affecting ocean life. But Ito found that up to 80 per cent of the iron in shipping soot is soluble (Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi.org/kdj). As this soot rapidly falls to the sea surface, it is likely to be fertilising the oceans.

In the high-latitude north Pacific - a region that is naturally iron-poor and therefore likely to be most affected by human deposits - ship emissions now account for 70 per cent of soluble iron from human activity, with the burning of biomass and coal accounting for the rest. Shipping's share will rise as traffic continues to grow and regulations restrict coal and biomass emissions.

Can we learn anything from this unintentional experiment? Baker thinks not. "The process isn't scientifically useful," he says, because the uncontrolled nature of the iron makes it difficult to draw meaningful comparisons.

The depositions are unlikely to be harmful at current levels, he says, but "given the uncertainties, I just don't know how much these iron emissions would have to increase before there was demonstrable harm to an ecosystem, or benefit in terms of carbon uptake, for that matter".

This article appeared in print under the headline "Ships inadvertently fertilise the oceans"

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US S&P suit points to ratings industry's role in crisis

NEW YORK: The US government's $5 billion lawsuit against Standard & Poor's for exaggerating mortgage bond ratings in 2007 has cast a pall over the ratings industry and exposed its role in the financial crisis.

S&P competitors Moody's and Fitch find themselves potentially facing penalties after the Justice Department alleged S&P knowingly kept ratings on high-risk mortgage securities high in order to win revenues from issuers.

The Justice Department has not said whether it has the other two ratings agencies in its sights, but Moody's spent much of the week fending off questions about whether it faces similar action following the S&P suit.

The New York Attorney General has meanwhile launched an investigation into all three companies over their ratings prior to the 2008 crisis, sources close to the matter told AFP.

S&P parent McGraw-Hill's shares plunged 27 percent after the suit was filed, and Moody's dropped 22 percent for the week, underscoring the market's worry that the crackdown on S&P may be just the tip of the iceberg.

"Investors have been selling those stocks aggressively this week and keep doing so out of fear that the situation with the Department of Justice could get a lot worse in the future," said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael James.

"They think there is probably more bad news to come."

The government's case argues that S&P knowingly placed triple-A ratings on billions of dollars worth of mortgage-based financial securities even as the US housing market collapsed, misrepresenting their true credit risk.

Many of the top-rated issues cited in the suit were in default within one year or less.

S&P exaggerated the ratings in part to please clients and keep issuer revenues high, the suit alleges.

US Attorney General Eric Holder called S&P's conduct "egregious", saying "it goes to the very heart of the recent financial crisis".

S&P has dismissed the lawsuit as "meritless" and said it plans to vigorously contest the claims.

The litigation, which reportedly came after settlement talks failed, poses a huge financial challenge to S&P and McGraw-Hill.

Justice Department officials said they intend to press for at least $5 billion in civil penalties to match the losses suffered by investors on the securities.

S&P is also being sued by 13 states, adding to the potential damages.

The attorney general of California cited two large institutional investors, the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System, which lost approximately $1 billion on the high-rated mortgage bonds.

A California statement said the suit claims triple damages.

To put those figures in context, McGraw-Hill earned $911 million in all of 2011.

Many were wondering if or when the government will take action against Moody's. A multi-billion dollar suit could devastate that company as well: on Friday, Moody's reported 2012 earnings of $690 million.

Jacob Frenkel, a former federal criminal prosecutor now in private practice with Shulman Rogers, said S&P could possibly settle the case in the range of "hundreds of millions of dollars".

But he said that the terms of a settlement -- what the company admits to, in addition to paying fines -- are crucial.

A key question concerns whether the government insists on S&P admitting liability, which could expose the firm to additional suits by investors in the securities it rated, Frenkel said.

Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, thinks the government could have a hard time proving its case against S&P.

"Unless you can show the opinion was reached in an intentionally reckless way, it's pretty hard to prove," Elson said.

Frenkel said the language in the complaint suggests the government could have pursued a criminal case against S&P.

That would raise the stakes: the 2002 US criminal conviction of former accounting giant Arthur Andersen in the aftermath of the Enron scandal eventually led to the firm's demise.

But Frenkel said the government is mainly focused on "integrity in the ratings process".

"The government would prefer to win a civil case than lose a criminal case," he said, "particularly where there is a concern about vaporizing the company."

- AFP/al

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Almost famous: See celebs' early roles

By Henry Hanks, CNN

updated 5:05 PM EST, Thu February 7, 2013

Stars who started out like GoDaddy's geek

Jesse Heiman

Sylvester Stallone

John Travolta

Keanu Reeves

Courtney Cox

Matt LeBlanc

Tina Fey

Rainn Wilson

Megan Fox

Dean Winters

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Mass. boy dies of carbon monoxide in running car

BOSTON An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning Saturday after being overcome as he sat in a running car to keep warm, while his father was shoveling snow to get the car out of a snow bank.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the boy was helping his father shovel the snow in the Dorchester neighborhood but got cold, so his father started the car and the boy got inside the vehicle. MacDonald said the car exhaust was covered by a snow bank, causing the fumes to collect in the car.

"I don't know how long the boy was in the car, at some point the father was still working and was unaware of the boy's condition," said Boston firefighter Octavius Rowe, who lives nearby and went to help. "So very, very unfortunate."

When the boy was overcome by the fumes, the father went into respiratory arrest and emergency workers took both to Boston Medical Center, officials said. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital. No names were released.

Rowe said he was at home when he noticed a commotion in the street. He went outside and saw the father leaning against a pile of snow, Rowe said.

"I came over to the car where it all started and the father appeared to have lost consciousness," Rowe said. "He was semi-conscious and laying on the snow bank, and I wanted to first get him off that cold surface."

Rowe said he put the man on a flat surface to revive him. He said the boy apparently had been taken into an apartment building where a woman was administering CPR. Paramedics from the fire department and Emergency Medical Services arrived and provided oxygen to the father to stabilize him and tried to engage him in conversation to keep him alert.

"He was responsive so we were able to, at least, get him up, get him to the stairs. He did say, `My son, my son,' so he knew his son was involved or was in distress," Rowe said. "We were talking to him. He was moaning, but the only discernible thing that he said was `My son."'

Rowe said his understanding was that a snow plow had come up the street and had pushed snow back onto the bank, which then impacted the car's exhaust pipe.

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LAPD Reopens Case of Suspected Cop-Killer's Firing

The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it will reopen the case of the firing of Christopher Dorner, but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive former cop suspected of killing three people.

Dorner, a fired and disgruntled former Los Angeles police officer, said in the so-called "manifesto" he released that he was targeting LAPD officials and their families and will keep killing until the truth is known about his case.

"I have no doubt that the law enforcement community will bring to an end the reign of terror perpetrated on our region by Christopher Jordan Dorner and he will be held accountable for his evil actions," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement released tonight.

He spoke of the "tremendous strides" the LAPD has made in regaining public trust after numerous scandals, but added: "I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism within the Department."

To do that, he said, full re-investigation of the case that led to Dorner's firing is necessary.

"I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment, and to do so I have directed our Professionals Standards Bureau and my Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing to completely review the Dorner complaint of 2007; To include a re-examination of all evidence and a re-interview of witnesses," he said. "We will also investigate any allegations made in his manifesto which were not included in his original complaint.

Irvine Police Department/AP Photo

Hundreds of Officers on Hunt for Alleged Cop Killer Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Ex-Cop Suspected in Killings Watch Video

"I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do."

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

As police searched for Dorner today in the San Bernardino Mountains, sources told ABC News that investigators found two AR-15 assault rifles in the burned-out truck Dorner abandoned.

The truck had a broken axle, which may be the reason he decided to set fire to it, the police sources said.

A man identifying himself as Dorner taunted the father of Monica Quan four days after the former LAPD officer allegedly killed her and just 11 hours after he allegedly killed a police officer in Riverside, Calif., according to court documents obtained by ABC News

A man claiming to be Dorner called Randall Quan and told him that that he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to the documents.

In his 6,000-word "manifesto," Dorner named Randal Quan, a retired LAPD captain and attorney who represented him before a police review board that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force.

"I never had an opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours," Dorner wrote, and directed Quan and other officials to "[l]ook your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead."

Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence were gunned down last Sunday in their car in the parking of their Irvine, Calif., condominium complex. Both were struck with multiple gunshot wounds.

The call, according to court records, was traced to Vancouver, Wash., but law enforcement officials do not believe Dorner was there at the time at the call.

Dorner is believed to have made the call early Thursday afternoon, less than half a day after he is suspected of killing a police officer and wounding two others early that morning, sparking an unprecedented man hunt involving more than a thousand police officers and federal agents spanning hundreds of miles.

FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Jordan Dorner

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Data-wiping algorithm cleans your cellphone

Paul Marks, chief technology correspondent

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

To remedy the problem, British company BlackBelt Smartphone Defence of Skelmersdale, Lancashire claims to have developed a software algorithm that can securely delete data on cellphone memory chips. The trouble with data in a flash memory chip is that it is protected by an on-chip protection algorithm called the wear leveller. This hard-coded routine does its best to ensure the chip's lifetime is maximised so that each memory cell's ability to store charge is not worn out.

"The problem is that the wear-levelling algorithm ends up working
against the data wiping technique used for hard drives, which tries to
overwrite all the data,"
says the company's Ken Garner.

What the firm has done is write their own algorithm, called BlackBelt DataWipe, that works with,
rather than against, the leveller routine to render data
irrecoverable. "It is like having a shredder for personally identifiable
data," says Garner.

However, they don't yet know if their method is proof against sophisticated, nation-state level attacks - which might use electron microscopes
to read the last vestiges of the zeros and ones on a memory chip. "I imagine
if you're GCHQ you'll probably have technology that could get around
this and recover it in some way," says Garner.

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Japan mulls disclosing evidence on China radar lock

TOKYO: Japan said on Saturday it was considering disclosing evidence to bolster its claim that a Chinese frigate locked its weapon-targeting radar on a Japanese ship, after Beijing rejected the charge.

The incident, which Japan said happened last week, marked the first time the two nations' navies have locked horns in a territorial dispute that has some commentators warning about possible armed conflict.

The neighbours -- also the world's second and third-largest economies -- have seen ties sour over uninhabited Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Tokyo and Diaoyu by Beijing, which claims them.

"The government is considering the extent of what can be disclosed," Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on a television programme Saturday.

The comment came a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe demanded that Beijing apologise and admit the incident had happened.

Tokyo also charges that in the middle of last month a Chinese frigate's radar locked on to a helicopter, in a procedure known as "painting" that is a precursor to firing weaponry.

On both January 19 and January 30, China's defence ministry said in a statement faxed to AFP, the Chinese ship-board radar maintained normal operations and "fire-control radar was not used".

Japan hit back, with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida saying he "cannot accept" the explanation and Prime Minister Abe demanding an apology from Beijing.

The Japanese premier on Thursday called the radar incident "extremely regrettable", "dangerous" and "provocative" but also said that dialogue must remain an option.

- AFP/xq

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Hunted former cop may have up to 30 guns, source says

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• As darkness and snow falls, police scale back manhunt until Saturday


• "The possibility exists that he is here, somewhere in the forest," official says


• Christopher Dorner may have as many as 30 guns with him, a source says


• Dorner is trained in counterinsurgency and intelligence, the source says

Big Bear Lake, California (CNN) -- The ex-cop suspected in the killings of an officer and two others remained at large Friday as darkness fell over a mountain forest and police suspended their manhunt until Saturday morning.

"Once it gets dark out there and the snow keeps falling and they have no air support, I don't know how effective they would be in that situation," spokeswoman Cindy Bachman of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

Throughout Friday, more than 100 officers searched through fresh snow for clues to the whereabouts of Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, a fired Los Angeles Police Department officer and former Navy lieutenant suspected in the three killings.

Dorner allegedly wrote a manifesto declaring a war of revenge on police, authorities said.

By Friday night, police were expected to have completed a search of vacant cabins in the snowpacked forest of the San Bernardino Mountains near the resort town of Big Bear Lake, Bachman said.

Police on Thursday searched 400 homes in the Big Bear Lake area and were completing searches of 200 more on Friday, she said. Overnight patrols in the town were to be beefed up with 12 extra two-officer teams, she said.

"The search is continuing," Bachman said. "First of all, they have to rest. They have been going at this for two days."

Police teams were dressed in snow gear, holding the trigger guards on their assault-style rifles while scouring eight square miles near Big Bear Lake, a popular skiing area two hours east of Los Angeles.

The mountains were the focus of Friday's search effort because police had found Dorner's burned-out pickup truck a day earlier near the resort community.

The truck had a broken axle, which would have prevented the vehicle from moving, and footprints appear to show that Dorner doubled back into the community, said a source with knowledge of the investigation.

It was unclear where Dorner may have gone from there or by what means, the source said.

But Bachman told reporters Friday: "The possibility exists that he is here, somewhere in the forest, so we're going to keep looking...until we determine that he's not here."

Guns found in the truck were also burned, but authorities believe Dorner may have as many as 30 guns with him, the source said. Dorner was in the Navy and is trained in counterinsurgency and intelligence, the source said.

Two inches of snow Friday coated the mountaintop pine trees and roads around Big Bear Lake, leading motorists to use tire chains. Up to six more inches were expected. But the snow was regarded as a godsend because tracking a man on the run would be easier, authorities said.

Despite the intense search, authorities allowed nearby ski resorts to remain open Friday because they don't believe Dorner is in Big Bear Lake. At one point, a smiling snowboarder whizzed by police and media, seemingly oblivious to an ongoing news conference and the seriousness of the manhunt.

Jay Obernolte, mayor of Big Bear Lake community, described Friday as having "a beautiful winter morning." Residents weren't fearful, he said, adding that "many of the people here are armed."

"Is there panic in our community?" Obernolte asked reporters rhetorically. "No, there is no panic. We're a hardy people in the San Bernardino Mountains."

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said the snowfall slowed some searching done by foot, but police pushed onward.

"The snow is great for tracking folks, as well as looking at each individual cabin to see if there's any sign of forced entry," McMahon said.

"We're going to continue searching until we either discover he left the mountain or we find him," he added. "It's extremely dangerous."

Related: Manhunt leaves LAPD officers 'tense'

The county jail in downtown Los Angeles was in lockdown Friday as a precaution after a civilian female employee of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility spotted someone fitting Dorner's description, said Los Angelese County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

U.S. Navy installations throughout California and Nevada were "maintaining a heightened security posture," a U.S. military official told CNN.

"Security personnel are on the lookout" for Dorner, the official said. The measure was ordered overnight by Rear Adm. Dixon Smith, commander of the Navy's southwest region.

The official declined to discuss security procedures, but said the move was made after it became clear that Dorner earlier this week gained access to the Naval Base at Point Loma and stayed in a motel there.

Two sailors reported that he approached them Wednesday and spoke with them for about 10 minutes. The conversation took place at a coastal "riverine" unit in San Diego where Dorner served in 2006. As a Navy reservist, Dorner held security jobs with that unit.

The Navy is not certain whether Dorner still possesses any military identification he might try to use to enter a facility. The official said an investigation is under way to determine what military identification he might have.

Dorner underwent flight training in 2009 at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada before serving in San Diego.

In La Palma, California, about 22 miles southeast of Los Angeles, police searched Friday the home of Dorner's mother, where she and a daughter were cooperating with investigators, said Lt. Bill Whalen of the Irvine Police Department.

Related: Dorner's grudge dates back to 2007

The 270-pound former Navy lieutenant promised to bring "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" to police officers and their families, calling it the "last resort" to clear his name and retaliate at a department that he says mistreated him.

Dorner is wanted in the killings on Sunday of two people in Irvine and in the shooting of three Los Angeles-area police officers Thursday, one of whom died.

One of the victims of the Irvine killings, Monica Quan, was the daughter of the retired police officer who represented Dorner in his efforts to get his job back, police said.

"My opinion of the suspect is unprintable," Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz said, hours after one of his officers was killed. "The manifesto, I think, speaks for itself (as) evidence of a depraved and abandoned mind and heart."

Related: Timeline of events

Here's what is known so far:

-- Dorner, who worked as an LAPD officer from 2005 to 2008, is accused of killing Quan and her fiance Sunday in Irvine, then shooting two Riverside police officers and an LAPD officer Thursday. Police say he unleashed numerous rounds at the Riverside officers, riddling their car with bullets and killing a 34-year-old officer. The second officer in the car was seriously wounded, and the LAPD officer suffered only minor injuries, police said.

-- In a lengthy letter provided by police, Dorner said he had been unfairly fired by the LAPD after reporting another officer for police brutality. He decried what he called a continuing culture of racism and violence within the department, and called attacks on police and their families "a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name."

-- Leads have taken police from Los Angeles to San Diego to Las Vegas to Big Bear Lake, where police found the charred carcass of Dorner's gray pickup. Police had found no trace of him Friday, the San Bernadino County sheriff said. Trackers lost footprints believed to be Dorner's in a wooded area near the truck.

-- The LAPD and other agencies have gone to extremes to protect officers. Forty teams of officers were guarding people named as targets in Dorner's letter. On Thursday, one of the teams shot at a pickup that resembled Dorner's but turned out to be a Los Angeles Times newspaper delivery vehicle.

-- Despite Dorner's statement in the letter that "when the truth comes out, the killing stops," Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said authorities don't plan to apologize to Dorner or attempt to clear his name. Dorner's firing, Beck said Thursday, had already been "thoroughly reviewed."

-- In Nevada on Thursday, FBI agents searched Dorner's Las Vegas home. The search forced some of Dorner's neighbors out of their homes for several hours, CNN affiliate KLAS reported.

"It's too close to home. It's kind of scary," neighbor Dan Gomez told KLAS.

A message to the media

In addition to posting his manifesto online, Dorner mailed a parcel to AC360 Anchor Anderson Cooper's office at CNN in New York.

The package arrived on February 1 and was opened by Cooper's assistant. Inside was a hand-labeled DVD, accompanied by a yellow Post-it note reading, in part, "I never lied" -- apparently in reference to his 2008 dismissal from the LAPD.

The package also contained a coin wrapped in duct tape. The tape bears the handwritten inscription: "Thanks, but no thanks, Will Bratton." It also had letters that may be read as "IMOA," which could be a commonly used Internet abbreviation for "Imagine a More Open America," or possibly "1 MOA," which means one minute of angle, perhaps implying Dorner was accurate with a firearm.

The coin is a souvenir medallion from former LAPD Chief William Bratton, of a type often given out as keepsakes. This one, though, was shot through with bullet holes: three bullet holes to the center and one that nicked off the top.

The editorial staff of AC360 and CNN management were made aware of the package Thursday. Upon learning of its existence, they alerted Bratton and law enforcement.

Bratton headed the LAPD at the time Dorner was dismissed.

CNN's Michael Pearson, AnneClaire Stapleton, Deborah Feyerick, Sara Weisfeldt, Barbara Starr, Pete Janos, Mallory Simon, Brad Lendon, Deanna Hackney, Greg Botelho and Dana Ford contributed to this report. Paul Vercammen reported from Big Bear Lake and Michael Martinez reported and wrote in Los Angeles.

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Family of victim in gun range death defends outing

MIDLOTHIAN, Texas The man killed alongside a former Navy SEAL sniper at a Texas shooting range was helping his friend work with a troubled war veteran, and the outing was intended to be a "therapeutic situation," his relatives said Friday following his funeral.

Hundreds of people attended the service for Chad Littlefield, who along with his friend, "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle, was fatally shot last weekend. Authorities have said the former Marine they were trying to help suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and turned on the two men at the shooting range.

Littlefield's father-in-law, Tom Montgomery, defended the notion of helping troubled war veterans through target practice. He said Kyle regularly took veterans to the shooting range, and that Littlefield often assisted in efforts to help veterans.

"As a gesture of friendship, that's the only way I can describe it, he was asked to help Chris in this endeavor," Montgomery said. "I think this was a form of relaxation, a form of therapy."

Police say the suspect, 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, shot Littlefield and Kyle multiple times on Feb. 2 before fleeing. He later told his sister and brother-in-law that the men "were out shooting target practice and he couldn't trust them so he killed them before they could kill him," according to a search warrant. Routh is jailed a $3 million bail.

The men could not have anticipated Routh's actions, Montgomery said, adding that Littlefield enjoyed assisting Kyle with his nonprofit, which provided in-home fitness equipment to physically and emotionally wounded veterans.

Kyle, 38, established the nonprofit after leaving the Navy in 2009 following four tours of duty in Iraq, where he earned a reputation as one of the military's most lethal snipers. His wartime account, "American Sniper," was a best-seller.

"I have to believe that Chris Kyle with all his military background and specialized training was quite capable of reading people," Montgomery said.

Hundreds turned out Friday to honor Littlefield at First Baptist Church in Midlothian, near Dallas. Although Littlefield wasn't a member of the military, Patriot Guard Riders led the procession as a tribute to his efforts on behalf of veterans and formed a ring around the parking lot and church entrance. Hundreds of other people lined local streets to watch the procession pass.

Littlefield, who had a 7-year-old daughter with his wife Leanne, was remembered for his bedrock character.

"He was a man of deep commitment and character," the Rev. Kenny Lowman said during the service.

Montgomery said Littlefield and Kyle bonded a few years ago as soccer dads watching their children play, and that their families occasionally vacationed together.

"People develop these ethics over a lifetime," he said. "I think Chad was the type of person who developed them and did what was right, even when no one was looking."

A memorial service for Kyle is planned for Monday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

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Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions began battering the Northeast today, and could bring more than two feet of snow and strong winds that could shut down densely populated cities such as Boston and New York City.

A storm from the west joined forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter that will sit and spin just off the East Coast, affecting more than 43 million Americans. Wind gusts were forecast to reach 50 to 60 mph from Philadelphia to Boston.

Cape Cod, Mass., could possibly see 75 mph gusts. Boston and other parts of New England could see more than two feet of snow by Saturday.

The storm showed the potential for such ferocity that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon and signed an executive order banning vehicular traffic on roads in his state effective at 4 p.m. ET. It was believed that the last time the state enacted such a ban was during the blizzard of 1978. Violating the ban could result in a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.

"[It] could definitely be a historic winter storm for the Northeast," said Adrienne Leptich of the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. "We're looking at very strong wind and heavy snow and we're also looking for some coastal flooding."

Airlines began shutting down operations Friday afternoon at major airports in the New York area as well as in Boston, Portland, Maine, Providence, R.I., and other Northeastern airports. By early evening Friday, more than 4,300 flights had been cancelled on Friday and Saturday, according to FlightAware. Airlines hoped to resume flights by Saturday afternoon, though normal schedules were not expected until Sunday.

The snow fell heavily Friday afternoon in New York City and 12 to 14 inches were expected. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said clearing the roads was his main concern, and the city readied 1,700 snow plows and 250,000 tons of salt to clear the streets.

Hurricane Sandy Victims Hit Again, Survivors Prepare for Worst Watch Video

Weather Forecast: Blizzard Headed for Northeast Watch Video

New York City was expecting up to 14 inches of snow, which started falling early this morning, though the heaviest amounts were expected to fall at night and into Saturday. Wind gusts of 55 mph were expected in New York City.

"Stay off the city streets. Stay out of your cars and stay at home while the worst of the storm is on us," Bloomberg said Friday.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared a state of emergency, deploying National Guard troops across the state to assist in rescues and other emergencies. Schools and state courthouses were closed, and all flights after 1:30 p.m. at Bradley Airport, north of Hartford, Conn., were cancelled. The state's largest utility companies planned for the possibility that 30 percent of customers -- more than 400,000 homes and businesses -- would lose power.

Malloy also directed drivers to stay off the state's major highways.

"Please stay off of 95, 91, 84, Merritt Parkway and any other limited-access road in the state," he said Friday evening.

PHOTOS: Northeast Braces for Snowstorm

Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities canceled school today.

"Stay off the streets of our city. Basically, stay home," Boston Mayor Tom Menino warned Thursday.

On Friday, Menino applauded the public's response.

"I'm very pleased with the compliance with the snow emergency," he said. "You drive down some of the roadways, you don't see one car."

As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Department of Defense, 837 National Guard soldiers and airmen under state control had been activated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York in anticipation of the storm -- 552 in Massachusetts, 235 in Connecticut and 50 in New York. The extra hands were helping with roadways, transportation, making wellness checks on residents and other emergency services.

Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible from New Jersey to Long Island, N.Y., and into New England coastal areas. Some waves off the coast could reach more than 20 feet.

Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of New Jersey and New York's Long Island, as well as portions of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, including Hartford, New Haven, Conn., and Providence. The warnings extended into New Hampshire and Maine.

To the south, Philadelphia was looking at a possible 4 to 6 inches of snow.

In anticipation of the storm, Amtrak said its Northeast trains would stop running this afternoon.

Read More..

Robot inquisition keeps witnesses on the right track

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

Cindy Bethel at Mississippi State University in Starkville and her team showed 100 "witnesses" a slide show in which a man steals money and a calculator from a drawer, under the pretext of fixing a chair. The witnesses were then split into four groups and asked about what they had seen, either by a person or by a small NAO robot, controlled in a Wizard of Oz set-up by an unseen human.

Two groups - one with a human and one a robot interviewer - were asked identical questions that introduced false information about the crime, mentioning objects that were not in the scene, then asking about them later. When posed by humans, the questions caused the witnesses' recall accuracy to drop by 40 per cent - compared with those that did not receive misinformation - as they remembered objects that were never there. But misinformation presented by the NAO robot didn't have an effect.

"It was a very big surprise," says Bethel. "They just were not affected by what the robot was saying. The scripts were identical. We even told the human interviewers to be as robotic as possible." The results will be presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Tokyo next month.

Bilge Mutlu, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggests that robots may avoid triggering the misinformation effect simply because we are not familiar with them and so do not pick up on behavioural cues, which we do with people. "We have good, strong mental models of humans, but we don't have good models of robots," he says.

The misinformation effect doesn't only effect adults; children are particularly susceptible, explains the psychologist on the project, Deborah Eakin. Bethel's ultimate goal is to use robots to help gather testimony from children, who tend to pick up on cues contained in questions. "It's a huge problem," Bethel says.

At the Starkville Police Department, a 10-minute drive from the university, officers want to use such a robotic interviewer to gather more reliable evidence from witnesses. The police work hard to avoid triggering the misinformation effect, says officer Mark Ballard, but even an investigator with the best intentions can let biases slip into the questions they ask a witness.

Children must usually be taken to a certified forensic child psychologist to be interviewed, something which can be difficult if the interviewer works in another jurisdiction. "You might eliminate that if you've got a robot that's certified for forensics investigations, and it's tough to argue that the robot brings any memories or theories with it from its background," says Ballard.

The study is "very interesting, very intriguing", says Selma Sabanovic, a roboticist at Indiana University. She is interested to see what happens as Bethel repeats the experiment with different robot shapes and sizes. She also poses a slightly darker question: "How would you design a robot to elicit the kind of information you want?"

This article appeared in print under the headline "The robot inquisition"

It's all about how you say it

When providing new information, rather than helping people recall events (see main story), a robot's rhetoric and body language can make a big difference to how well it gets its message across.

Bilge Mutlu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison had two robots compete to guide humans through a virtual city. He found that the robot which used rhetorical language drew more people to follow it. For example, the robot saying "this zoo will teach you about different parts of the world" did less well than one saying "visiting this zoo feels like travelling the world, without buying a plane ticket". The work will be presented at the Human-Robot Interaction conference in Tokyo next month.

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S Korean activists jailed for unauthorised visit to North

SEOUL: A South Korean court jailed an elderly left-wing activist for four years on Friday for making an unauthorised trip across the border to North Korea.

Ro Su-Hui, 69, was convicted of violating a strict security law that penalises pro-Pyongyang activity and bans citizens from going to the North without prior permission.

Another activist, Won Jin-Wook, received a three-year prison sentence for communicating with North Korean officials to arrange Ro's trip.

Ro, 69, entered the North via China in March last year for a memorial service marking the 100th day since the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong-Il.

He praised new ruler Kim Jong-Un during his time in Pyongyang and was arrested in July when he returned home.

"Stern punishment is inevitable because he made a secret visit to North Korea without permission and was involved in (pro-North Korean) activities, even if he knew that his activities would be used for propaganda," the court said in its ruling.

Seoul did not send any official representatives to Kim Jong-Il's funeral and approved trips only by two private delegations.

- AFP/xq

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Police converge on mountain town in hunt for cop killer

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: With snow coming, authorities continue to hunt for the suspect near Big Bear Lake


• Police believe former cop Christopher Jordan Dorner shot three officers, killing one


• This was days after he allegedly killed two people, one a retired LAPD officer's daughter


• In an 11-page manifesto, Dorner promises "war" on police and their families

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A former Los Angeles cop with military training vowed war against other men in blue Thursday, leaving one officer dead days after he allegedly killed two other people to begin a wave of retribution for being fired, police said.

The focus of the intensive, expansive manhunt is Christopher Jordan Dorner, a 270-pound former Navy lieutenant who has professed his venom against LAPD officers he claimed ruined his life by forcing him out of his dream job.

Dorner blames one retired officer for bungling his appeal to get his job back in an 11-page manifesto, in which he also complained of mistreatment by the LAPD. In that letter -- provided to CNN by an LAPD source -- he vowed to violently target police officers and their families, whoever and wherever they are.

"I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," Dorner wrote.

"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours."

Authorities believe he followed through on his threats early Thursday by shooting a Riverside, California, police officer and two others. A day earlier, Irvine police named Dorner a suspect in the double slayings Sunday of a woman -- identified by Los Angeles police as the daughter of a retired LAPD officer -- and her fiance.

"My opinion of the suspect is unprintable," said Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz, hours after one of his officers was killed. "The manifesto, I think, speaks for itself (as) evidence of a depraved and abandoned mind and heart."

The violence, as well as Dorner's background as a police officer and military trained marksman, left police on edge around Southern California.

In Torrance, LAPD officers guarding one of Dorner's alleged targets mistakenly opened fire on a blue pickup truck that resembled one Dorner was thought to be driving, said Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck.

The gunfire left two people wounded, Beck said. Torrance police also fired on another blue pickup, but no one was injured in that incident, according to a senior law enforcement source.

In downtown Los Angeles, police wearing body armor patrolled outside their own iconic headquarters.

Police have good reason to be fearful, the chief said.

"Of course, he knows what he's doing. We trained him," Beck said. "He was also a member of the armed forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary, especially to the officers involved."

The manhunt for Dorner spanned hundreds of miles and numerous counties. By Thursday afternoon, it was largely centered around Big Bear Lake -- about 100 miles east of Los Angeles -- where authorities found the truck the suspect allegedly used in the Riverside shooting.

KTLA: Manhunt for former cop after officers shot

Police confirmed that the vehicle, which was burnt out when it was found, belonged to Dorner by its vehicle identification number, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said.

This discovery spurred more officers to converge on the area to conduct beefed up patrols, staff checkpoints and go to every residence in the mountain community. McMahon acknowledged the fire may have been set as a diversionary tactic, though law enforcement isn't taking any chances. Early Thursday evening, he said that aerial and K9 searches on the ground will "continue as long as we can" -- though snow is coming -- and urged locals to be on alert.

"He could be anywhere at this point, and that's why we're searching door to door," the sheriff said.

1 cop dies in 'cowardly ambush'

It all started Sunday when Dorner allegedly killed two people in Irvine, according to police.

Police identified the victims as Monica Quan and her fiance Keith Lawrence.

Quan, 27, was the daughter of retired Los Angeles police Officer Randal Quan, LAPD Officer Tenesha Dobine told CNN. In his manifesto, Dorner said Quan handled his appeal.

On Tuesday, Dorner checked into the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites on San Diego's large naval base, Cmdr. Brad Fagan said.

Dorner likely had access to the hotel because he'd been honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve, said the Navy spokesman. Having retired February 1 as a lieutenant, Dorner worked with mobile inshore undersea warfare units and provided security on oil platforms in Iraq, according to Pentagon records. He was rated as a rifle marksman and pistol expert.

"He did not physically check out" Wednesday as expected, Fagan told reporters.

Police in San Diego say a man who could have been Dorner tried to hijack a boat there on Wednesday. Someone later found a wallet containing Dorner's identification and an LAPD detective's badge near the San Diego airport, according to police. It was unclear whether the badge was legitimate.

Timeline in manhunt for former L.A. cop

By about 1 a.m. Thursday, the scene had shifted about 100 miles north to Corona, California.

There, a pair of LAPD officers on a protection detail were flagged down by a citizen who reported seeing the suspect's vehicle, LAPD Deputy Chief Jose Perez said.

The officers chased the vehicle and caught up to it on an Interstate 15 off-ramp.

"The officers were fired upon with a shoulder weapon," Perez said, with one of them suffering a "graze wound" to his head. The police returned fire, while the suspect set off once again.

About 20 minutes later, two police officers were in their car at a stop light in Riverside when Dorner allegedly pulled up beside them.

That driver unleashed "multiple rounds" from a rifle at the officers, riddling the cop car with bullets and leaving a 34-year-old officer, who had been on the Riverside force for 11 years, dead, according to Diaz. The other officer, 27, was "seriously wounded but we expect a full recovery," the Riverside police chief said.

KCBS: Riverside officer fatally shot

It was "a cowardly ambush," said Diaz, claiming Dorner has "no connection" to his city.

A good Samaritan picked up one of their police radios and called dispatchers to send help, Riverside police said.

Suspect calls attacks 'a necessary evil'

In addition to posting his manifesto online, Dorner reached out directly to CNN, mailing a parcel to AC360 anchor Anderson Cooper's office at CNN in New York.

The package arrived on February 1 and was opened by Cooper's assistant. Inside was a hand-labeled DVD, accompanied by a yellow Post-it note reading, in part, "I never lied" -- apparently in reference to his 2008 dismissal from the LAPD.

The package also contained a coin wrapped in duct tape. The tape bears the hand-written inscription: "Thanks, but no thanks, Will Bratton." It also had letters that may be read as "IMOA", which could be a commonly used Internet abbreviation for "Imagine a More Open America," or possibly "1 MOA," which means one minute of angle, perhaps implying Dorner was notably accurate with a firearm.

The coin is a souvenir medallion from former LAPD Chief William Bratton, of a type often given out as keepsakes. This one, though, was shot through with bullet holes: three bullet holes to the center and another shot nicked off the top.

The editorial staff of AC360 and CNN management were made aware of the package Thursday. Upon learning of its existence, they alerted Bratton and law enforcement.

Bratton headed the LAPD at the time Dorner was dismissed.

The dispute centers on a 2007 incident in San Pedro involving a man's arrest at a DoubleTree hotel. Two weeks later, Dorner accused his training officer of kicking the man after he'd given up.

The investigators' report said "the delay in reporting the alleged misconduct coupled with the witness' statements irreparably destroy Dorner's credibility." The report cited contradictory accounts from the arrested man and his father and denials by the accused officer and three hotel employees that the arrested man had been kicked. Dorner claims he was wrongly ousted for blowing the whistle on what he insists was police abuse.

Suspect's grudge dates back to 2007 complaint

Dorner challenged his firing for years, losing at every turn. First, the police department's Board of Rights rejected his appeal. Then, in October 2011, a judge ruled against his appeal, according to court records.

Beck, the Los Angeles police chief, said Thursday that Dorner's case had been "thoroughly reviewed" and said the department would not apologize to Dorner or clear his name.

But as his manifesto shows, Dorner is showing no sign of relenting.

He complained he had been railroaded out of the department after reporting police brutality by another officer. Dorner also complained of a continuing culture of racism and brutality in the LAPD.

Attacks on other police officers and their families, he said, are "a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name."

"Look your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead," Dorner wrote.

Such a chilling warning prompted Los Angeles police to set up 40 protective details in an effort to safeguard people listed in Dorner's letter, Beck said.

The chief acknowledged that this effort was taxing the department, which has been placed under tactical alert, meaning all officers must stay on duty.

"It's extremely, extremely manpower intensive," Beck said. "But the safety of my employees, people that come on the job to protect the lives of strangers, is extremely important to me. And I will expend whatever resource is necessary."

KABC: Former cop shoots three officers

CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton, Sara Weisfeldt, Barbara Starr, Pete Janos, Mallory Simon and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.

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Navy official: Drones will only get more advanced

(CBS News) The technology behind drones is developing rapidly. Today, drones used to attack targets are flown by remote control by pilots on the ground. But a new generation has no pilot at all. They can be completely guided by computer.

A new type of vehicle being developed by the Navy looks like stealth bomber and could probably carry 4,000 pounds of weapons, but there's no pilot in the cockpit. Navy Capt. Jaime Engdahl is director of what's called the X-47B Project.

"It is an autonomous vehicle so it's flying itself ... It's a very unique aircraft," Engdahl said.

Watch: Brennan: Drones only used as "last resort"
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Brennan, White House under fire for drone policy

This afternoon, responding to a computer program, the X-47B launched from a land-based catapult at a Navy test facility in Maryland.

"The test went very well and it's very significant because this is the first time we're actually doing catapult shots with a vehicle with nobody in the cockpit," Engdahl said.

The X-47B has already performed taxi tests aboard the USS Truman and will soon attempt the first unmanned take off and landing from an aircraft carrier.

"We're working the carrier schedules right now so sometime this spring or summer [the drone will take off and land on a carrier]," Engdahl said.

An X-47B being tested by the Navy. This model drone is slated to be ready for use in 2017.

/

CBS News

The Navy has not yet decided to arm the X-47B. It could be used for other missions such as surveillance and electronic jamming of enemy air defenses. But it could also be used to strike heavily defended targets without risking a pilot's life. Engdahl said a drone like that could one day carry weapons.

Putting armed drones aboard an aircraft carrier would give the U.S. Navy the capability to launch unmanned strikes virtually any place in the world.

"The biggest thing is that you don't have to worry about permission from other countries to operate a vehicle from foreign airfields," Engdahl said.

The X-47B is not scheduled to reach the fleet until 2017, but when it does, drone warfare will go to a whole new level.

David Martin's full report on the future of drones will air this Sunday, on "CBS Sunday Morning."

Read More..

Today on New Scientist: 6 February 2013

Open Richard III DNA evidence for peer review

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Boeing Dreamliner to make special one-time flight

WASHINGTON: A Boeing 787 Dreamliner will fly for the first time in three weeks in a so-called ferry flight after the company won permission on Wednesday from US regulators.

In the special one-time flight, the plane -- with no passengers and just the minimum crew needed to fly it -- will travel on Thursday from Forth Worth, Texas, where it was being painted, back to Boeing's assembly plant in Everett in the northwestern state of Washington.

The 50-strong fleet of Boeing's newest plane was grounded January 16 because of repeated problems with its lithium-ion battery. One of them caught fire on an All Nippon Airways flight in Boston a week earlier.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that before the ferry flight, the crew must carry out a number of inspections to be sure the batteries and cables show no signs of damage.

"The pre-flight checklist will include a mandatory check for specific status messages that could indicate possible battery problems," the FAA said.

"While airborne, the crew must continuously monitor the flight computer for battery-related messages, and land immediately if one occurs."

- AFP/xq

Read More..

Shoes hurled at Iranian president during Egypt visit

From Adam Makary, for CNN

updated 7:06 PM EST, Wed February 6, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• This is the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president in more than 30 years


• Prosecutor's office: Four men are out on bail after allegedly throwing the shoes


• Officials say the men are Salafis, who have accused Iran of financing Shiites

Cairo (CNN) -- During a historic trip to Egypt, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was greeted by a group of men who hurled shoes at him -- a major insult in the Muslim world.

A video posted by the Anadolu news agency shows a smiling Ahmadinejad shaking hands with a crowd of supporters in Cairo late Tuesday when at least one man threw a shoe toward him. Other men also threw shoes at Ahmadinejad, the Egyptian public prosecutor's office said.

"You killed our brothers!" one of the assailants shouted, according to Anadolu. The agency said the man's shoe struck a security guard.

The men behind the attack were four Salafis, the prosecutor's office said.

Salafis follow the Sunni Muslim doctrine and oppose the idea of Shiite Muslims engaging in any political activity in Egypt. They have accused Iran of financing Shiites to spread the Shia doctrine in Egypt, which has a Sunni majority.

The four men were released on bail for 500 Egyptian pounds ($75) each, the prosecutors' office said.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Egypt is the first by an Iranian president in more than 30 years.

He was in Cairo visiting the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb. The Al-Ahram news agency said Ahmadinejad also visited the historic Al-Hussein mosque.

The mosque was built in 1154 and it is named after the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Hussein Ibn Ali. Shiites believe that the Fatimid, Egypt's Shiite rulers, buried his head there and built the mosque as a shrine for Hussein, the first Shiite martyr, who was killed and beheaded in the battle of Karbala in 680.

Why shoe throwing is 'incredibly offensive'

CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report.

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Celebrities call on Congress to back gun control measures

Tony Bennett, Chris Rock, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet and other celebrities today joined joined a coalition of elected officials, law enforcement officers, physicians and others on Capitol Hill in support of President Obama's plan to reduce gun violence.

Play Video

Celebrities team up for gun control action

"I still haven't gotten over Connecticut," Bennett said, referring to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and seven adults dead.

In the wake of that tragedy, Mr. Obama has called on Congress to pass a series of gun control measures, such as a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks for gun purchasers. He has also gone on the road to build public support for his agenda.

"I'm just here to support the president of the United States," comedian Chris Rock said. "The president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country, and when your dad says something, you listen. And when you don't, it usually bites you in the ass later on."

The celebrities were joined by public figures such as Kerry Kennedy, the late Robert Kennedy's daughter.

"I was four years old when my uncle, President Kennedy, was killed by a man with a gun. I was eight years old when my father, too, was gunned down," she said. "It is almost impossible to describe the pain of losing your father to a senseless murder, or the anger and fear of knowing that murder might have been avoided if only our leaders had acted to stop the violence."

While several celebrities were on Capitol Hill today to back the president, not everyone in Hollywood supports his agenda. Actor Bruce Willis, star of the violent "Die Hard" movies, told the Associated Press he's against new gun control laws that could infringe on rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. He also dismissed any link between Hollywood gun violence and real-life gun violence.

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Armstrong May Testify Under Oath on Doping

Facing a federal criminal investigation and a deadline that originally was tonight to tell all under oath to anti-doping authorities or lose his last chance at reducing his lifetime sporting ban, Lance Armstrong now may cooperate.

His apparent 11th-hour about-face, according to the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), suggests he might testify under oath and give full details to USADA of how he cheated for so long.

"We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a written statement this evening. "We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen."

The news of Armstrong's unexpected possible cooperation came a day after ABC News reported he was in the crosshairs of federal criminal investigators. According to a high-level source, "agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation" for allegedly threatening people who dared tell the truth about his cheating.

The case was re-ignited by Armstrong's confession last month to Oprah Winfrey that he doped his way to all seven of his Tour de France titles, telling Winfrey he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career and then lied about it. He made the confession after years of vehement denials that he cheated.

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If charges are ultimately filed, the consequences of "serious potential crimes" could be severe, ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said -- including "possible sentences up to five, 10 years."

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 was previously under a separate federal investigation that reportedly looked at drug distribution, conspiracy and fraud allegations -- but that case was dropped without explanation a year ago. Sources at the time said that agents had recommended an indictment and could not understand why the case was suddenly dropped.

"There were plenty of people, even within federal law enforcement, who felt like he was getting preferential treatment," said T.J. Quinn, an investigative reporter with ESPN.

The pressures against Armstrong today are immense and include civil claims that could cost him tens of millions of dollars.

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban in sport handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and today was the deadline he was given to cooperate under oath if he ever wanted the ban lifted.

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China radar-lock on Japan ship 'dangerous': PM Abe

TOKYO: The radar-lock that a Chinese frigate put on a Japanese warship was "dangerous" and "provocative", Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday, as tensions in a territorial row ratcheted up.

"It was a dangerous act that could have led to an unpredictable situation," Abe told parliament. "It is extremely regrettable. We strongly ask for their self-restraint in order to avoid an unnecessary escalation."

The hawkish prime minister, who took office late December following a landslide win in elections, described the radar-locking as "unilateral provocative action by the Chinese side".

Abe's comments come a day after Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera announced weapon-targeting radar had been directed at the Japanese vessel in international waters of the East China Sea last week.

The move marks the first time the two nations' navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was "concerned" over the incident.

"With regard to the reports of this particular lock-on incident, actions such as this escalate tensions and increase the risk of an incident or a miscalculation, and they could undermine peace, stability and economic growth in this vital region," she said.

Onodera said a Japanese military helicopter was also locked with a similar radar on January 19.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that Tokyo lodged a protest against Beijing over the radar-locking on Tuesday and asked for an explanation, but was yet to receive any reply.

Radar is used to precisely determine a target's distance, direction, speed and altitude. Weapon systems linked to the radar can be fired immediately, Japan's government said.

The move is a ratcheting-up of an already tense situation in the East China Sea, where Asia's two largest economies are at loggerheads over the sovereignty of an uninhabited island chain.

On Tuesday Tokyo summoned China's envoy in protest at the presence a day earlier of Chinese government -- but not military -- ships in the waters around the Tokyo-controlled Senkakus, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyus.

Beijing has repeatedly sent ships to the area since Japan nationalised some islands in the chain in September. The move triggered a diplomatic dispute and huge anti-Japan demonstrations across China.

Beijing has also sent air patrols to the archipelago and recently both Beijing and Tokyo have scrambled fighter jets, though there have been no clashes.

- AFP/ck

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