Accuser Takes the Stand in Steubenville, Ohio, Rape Trial
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
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Small Plane Crashes at S. Fla. Parking Lot; 3 Die
A small plane crashed into a parking lot near a South Florida airport Friday afternoon, killing all three people onboard and burning about a dozen vehicles. No one on the ground was hurt.
Fire-Rescue Division Chief John San Angelo said the Piper Navajo, a twin-engine turboprop, began experiencing engine trouble shortly after taking off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at about 4:30 p.m.
The plane tried to turn around and make an emergency landing, but it didn't make it back to the airport, he said. The plane hit a tree and a fence as it crashed into a parking lot, part of a busy industrial area near blocks of tightly packed warehouses and stores.
The victims' names weren't immediately available. Seven cars and a boat caught fire.
"It looks like a junk yard that burned up," said Matt Little, a spokesman for Fort Lauderdale fire and rescue.
Terry Knowles, owner of R.J. Asset Recovery, said he and another one of his employees were in the repossessed auto lot when the plane crashed.
"I was working on a car, and I heard the engine behind me. I turned around and saw the plane coming right over the building in front of me," he said.
Knowles said the plane appeared to be banking around to head back to the airport, but it just couldn't get the lift.
"It hit the ground and exploded," Knowles said. "It was an instantaneous fireball."
Knowles said he yelled to check on his employee, who had been on the other side of the lot, and the two opened a gate for the presumed arrival of firefighters.
Rick Blackburn was outside working on a race car when he saw the plane tilting sideways in the air as it rapidly descended down. "It dropped like a rock. Boom!" he said.
"The plane hit really hard. We knew the pilot hadn't survived. It was too intense of an impact," said the 55-year-old Blackburn.
He took video with his phone as flames devoured a row of cars, thick blankets of black smoke billowing out.
"It was a ball of flames," he said.
Blackburn said it was immediately clear to those who ran over to help that "it was over." The heat coming from the blaze was intense, he said.
"There were a lot of explosions going off at first. Pop, pop, pop," he said.
About 40 firefighters were at the scene. San Angelo said smoke and the flames were so heavy that when firefighters first arrived, they couldn't tell where the plane was.
Television images showed heavy black smoke rising from the crash scene. Later video footage show a parking lot with vehicles in a corner that were burned-out shells, a smoldering heap covered in foam spread by firefighters on the scene. The cars were by a chain-link fence, and a building on the other side was streaked with black.
A storage facility and an indoor go-kart track are among the businesses listed nearby.
The airport serves smaller planes rather than the larger commercial flights at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The crash happened at the start of rush hour alongside Interstate 95, the major north-south route along Florida's Atlantic coast. It's also near Fort Lauderdale Stadium, where the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles once held spring training, and Lockhart Stadium, where the defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Miami Fusion soccer teams played.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said he's amazed no buildings were damaged.
"It's a terrible scene. It's the scene of a tragedy," he said after walking through the wreckage.
Friday, March 15, 2013
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Pope Francis' Upgraded Lifestyle: New Clothes, Car, Home
Watch: Latin America Celebrates Pope Francis
Pope Francis' Upgraded Lifestyle: New Clothes, Car, Home
Watch: Pope Francis: Meet the New Leader of the Catholic Church
Pope Francis' Upgraded Lifestyle: New Clothes, Car, Home
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Who Is the New Pope?
Taking the name Francis, after the saint who ministered to the poor, Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church, has earned a reputation for living the simple, quiet life of his namesake.
Bergoglio, 76, is the first Jesuit to become pope, and was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he has criticized Latin priests whom he calls "hypocrites" for refusing to baptize children born out of wedlock.
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He becomes the 266th pope and the first pontiff in more than a millennium to be born outside of Europe.
He made a name for himself leading a simple life, preparing his own meals, living in a Spartan apartment and riding public transportation, all the while eschewing the luxurious mansion in which he was entitled to live.
Bergoglio was in 2005 considered a runner-up to Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned earlier this month.
Click Here for Full Coverage of Pope Francis
Although not considered a liberal, he is seen as a reformer who has made social justice a priority in his ministry.
In criticizing the priests who refused to baptize out-of- wedlock children, he argued that their mothers had done the right thing by not receiving abortions and should not be shunned by the church.
Priests who refused to perform such baptisms "drive God's people away from salvation," he said.
Bergoglio told his priests: "In our ecclesiastical region, there are priests who don't baptize the children of single mothers because they weren't conceived in the sanctity of marriage.
"These are today's hypocrites. Those who clericalize the church. Those who separate the people of God from salvation. And this poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it's baptized."
Despite the authority of the church in Latin America, Bergoglio was not influential enough to stall lawmakers in Argentina from recently legalizing gay marriage. He has in the past argued that gay parents should not be allowed to adopt children.
The Jesuits have traditionally been considered too "critical of the church hierarchy" to ascend to the papacy, said the Rev. James Martin, the editor of "America" and a Jesuit.
Jesuits are known for being the intellectuals among the priests. They run top colleges and schools, are defenders of traditional liberal arts curriculum and academic-scientific research, and tend to be more liberal than the other orders.
Bergoglio is one of five siblings. His father was a railroad worker, born in Italy.
As a teenager, he had a lung removed after an infection.
He has been archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998.
Watch: Cardinal Edward Egan Discusses New Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Pope Francis' Upgraded Lifestyle: New Clothes, Car, Home
Watch: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Now Pope Francis
Pope Francis' Upgraded Lifestyle: New Clothes, Car, Home
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Watch: Papal Conclave 2013 Begins: Celebration and Protests
Michelle Obama, Other Prominent Americans Allegedly Hacked
Full Coverage: New Pope? Not Yet
Black smoke poured out of the chimney above the Sistine Chapel today, signalling that the first vote for a new pope did not succeed in settling on a new pontiff.
Few expected the first vote to determine the next pope and the black smoke was not a surprise. The next vote by the Catholic cardinals is expected to be held on Wednesday.
The cardinals retreated to the Sistine Chapel in a choreagraphed procession with the 115 cardinals eligible to vote marching in two by two while singing prayers. They were dressed in white robes with short red capes and red caps known as birettas as they complied with the ancient rituals of the church and settled into assigned seats beneath the world famous frescoes created by Michelangelo for the papal conclave.
The cardinals read the secrecy oath in unison, and then came forward to individually to put their hands on the Gospels and repeat an oath of secrecy ending with the words, "the holy word of God which I touch with my hand."
The mood of the cardinals after mingling in Vatican City for several days discussing the future of the church has been optimistic. New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan predicted a new pontiff by Thursday.
Meet the Papal Contenders "My guess is that we'd have a new Successor of St. Peter by Thursday evening, with a hoped-for inaugural Mass on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, the patron of the Church Universal, a holiday, and Father's Day here in Italy," Dolan wrote to his priests n New York. The diocese spokesman confirmed the letter to ABC News.
In a final report before the conclave on The Catholic Channel/SiriusXM, Dolan said, "It's sort of a unique, special morning. I never thought I'd be doing what I'm about to do. The weather's not cooperating too much. It's kind of damp and chilly but it looks good on the horizon. Maybe this gentle Roman rain is a sign of the grace of the Holy Spirit coming upon us."
Talking about meeting the other cardinals in the days before the conclave, Dolan said 'It's been a beautiful process."
Quick Bios of the Men Who Might Be Pope
"The closer you get, the more you get settled in your mind. And there's a sense of resignation and conformity with God's plan. It's magnificent."
Before the conclave this morning the cardinals celebrated a mass in a packed St. Peter's Basilica with a homily from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the college of cardinals.
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"We implore the Lord that through the pastoral solicitude of the cardinal fathers, He may soon grant another good shepherd to his holy church," Sodano said.
When Sodano praised the retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a "beloved and venerable" pontiff, cardinals responded with a lengthy applause.
In recent days cardinals have expressed optimism that the conclave will be a quick one and a new leader of the church's 1.2 billion followers will be swiftly selected. The start of Holy Week on March 24 gives the conclave an added sense of urgency.
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When the cardinal electors - only cardinals under 80 can vote - enter the conclave, they will be shut off from the outside world: no television, internet, or newspapers. Electronic jamming devices have been installed in the chapel. The cardinal electors this morning moved into Santa Marta, the house where they will reside during the conclave. Later today they will gather in the Pauline Chapel before proceeding into the Sistine Chapel, where the doors will then be locked.
After each session of voting, the ballots are burned and smoke is emitted from the chapel's chimney, with black smoke signaling that no candidate has been elected in the preceding rounds of votes and white smoke indicating a new pope has been picked.
The first smoke could be seen between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT today.
On the eve of the conclave, workers hung red drapes over the window at St. Peter's Basilica where the next pontiff will be unveiled to the world for the first time. As the conclave gets underway, speculation in some Italian media outlets has centered on two figures: Cardinal Angelo Scola of Italy, viewed as a reformer with the potential backing of the American and German cardinals, and Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Brazil, seen as a hardline candidate with the support of the Roman curia.
However, the race is regarded as a wide open one, with other frontrunners including Cardinals Marc Ouellet of Canada, Timothy Dolan of the United States, Sean O'Malley of the United States, Peter Erdo of Hungary, Angelo Bagnasco of Italy, Leonardo Sandri of Argentina, and Schoenborn of Austria.
What are the chances of an American pope? Monsignor Christopher H. Nalty, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans told ABC News that it's not very likely.
Watch: Papal Conclave: Father John Wauck Gives a Must-Watch List
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Watch: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier on the Papal Conclave
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Red Drapes Readied for New Pope
On the eve of the much-anticipated conclave that will determine the next pope, cardinals gathered in Vatican City today for one last general congregation meeting.
For the past week cardinals have been holding court behind closed doors, discussing church matters as final preparations for the conclave take place. Today red drapes were placed over the balcony window overlooking St. Peter's Square, where the new pope will emerge once elected, and in the evening staff for the conclave were set to swear an oath of secrecy.
When cardinals wake up Tuesday morning, they will move into Santa Marta, the house where they will reside during the conclave, and then later celebrate a mass at St. Peter's. After lunch, they will finally begin the conclave at the Sistine Chapel, the site of the voting to determine the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers. The first ballot is set to be cast in the early evening hours after the chapel has been closed to all outsiders.
Two of the front-runners to replace the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI appear to be cardinals Angelo Scola of Italy and Odilo Scherer of Brazil.
Scola, the archbishop of Milan, was viewed as a leading contender before the previous conclave in 2005 and is regarded as more of a reformer, while Scherer, the archbishop of Sao Paolo, is a hard-liner believed to have the backing of the Roman Curia.
A two-thirds majority of the 115 cardinal electors -- 77 votes -- is needed to become the next pontiff. If none of the cardinals secures enough support in Tuesday's vote, they will return to Santa Marta for the night before resuming the conclave on Wednesday.
"In a few days we will have a new Holy Father," Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria said Sunday during a mass conducted at his titular church in Rome, according to Italian news agency Ansa. Cardinals spent the day fanned out across Rome celebrating mass at the churches in the Eternal City that are permanently assigned to them.
Despite a tumultuous period for the church, with lingering sexual abuse scandals, the "Vatileaks" controversy over leaked papal documents, and Benedict's shocking resignation, Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna, touted the camaraderie within the college of cardinals.
"I found a rarely felt spirit of fraternity this week in the meetings between the cardinals," he said, according to Ansa.
With the cardinals set to make what may be the most important decision of their lives in the coming days, that fraternity may soon be put to the test.
Watch: Papal Conclave: The Vatican's Ancient Ritual Begins
Chuck Hagel Visits Afghanistan, Violent Attacks Follow
Monday, March 11, 2013
Watch: Queen Elizabeth's Historic Move, Takes Stand Against Discrimination
Coast Guard Rescues California Sailors, 1 Dead
Beyond the Brawl: World Baseball Classic Scenes
Of course, there was the bunt single that turned into a brawl between the players - and the fans - in the Mexico-Canada WBC matchup. But the World Baseball Classic has also included such memorable moments as the U.S.'s David Wright's grand slam against Italy and Japan's 16-4 runaway against the Netherlands.
Here are some of the images captured during the tournament:
Watch: Instant Index: Canada, Mexico Face Off in Baseball Brawl
Coast Guard Rescues California Sailors, 1 Dead
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Watch: Parent's Nightmare: Bath Time Images Lead to Abuse Charges
Live Next to Cemetery? Can't Beat the Quiet, Privacy, Price
Watch: Instant Index: Pitcher Mariano Rivera 'Closes' After 18 Seasons
Live Next to Cemetery? Can't Beat the Quiet, Privacy, Price
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Live Next to Cemetery? Can't Beat the Quiet, Privacy, Price
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Stocks Move Higher on Job Growth
A burst of hiring in February pushed stocks higher on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,364 as of 1:02 p.m. EST Friday. The index surpassed its record close Tuesday and is on track for its sixth straight increase.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose three points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,548. The Nasdaq composite advanced five points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,237.
U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January, the Labor Department reported. That's far better than the 156,000 job gains and unemployment rate of 7.8 percent that economists surveyed by FactSet expected.
The strong job growth shows that employers are confident about the economy despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.
Optimism that hiring is picking up has been one of the factors bolstering the stock market this year. Stocks have also gained on evidence that the housing market is recovering and company earnings continue to growing.
Stocks have also been boosted by continuing economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. central bank began buying bonds in January 2009 and is still purchasing $85 billion each month in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. That has kept interest rates near historic lows, reducing borrowing costs and encouraging investors to move money out of conservative investments like bonds and into stocks.
Investors have also been pondering what the Fed's next move will be. That question was in especially sharp focus Friday after the government reported the surge in hiring last month.
Andres Garcia-Amaya at JPMorgan Asset Management said that the strong jobs report may heighten speculation that the Fed may end its stimulus sooner than investors had anticipated, which would be a negative for the stock market.
"If the economy maintains or increases the pace of job creation....that could change the Fed's stance," said Garcia-Amaya. "That could mean that the Fed could take the 'punch bowl' away."
The Dow has gained 9.6 percent this year and is trading at record levels, having broken its previous record of 14,164 on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 8.5 percent since the start of the year, and remains 1.1 percent short of its all-time high close of 1,565 set Oct. 9, 2007.
The jobs report strengthens the case of stock market bulls, who say the economy is gaining momentum following a long and tepid recovery after the financial crisis and Great Recession, said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade.
"It gives hope to those that say this rally isn't just about the Fed, it's about the economy recovering," said Kinahan. "It's giving people confidence that maybe the economy is turning the corner."
The surging stock market continues to draw people in.
Investors put $3.2 billion into stock mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, data provider Lipper reported Friday. That's the ninth straight week of net inflows to stock funds, bringing this year's total to $59 billion.
McDonald's was one of the Dow's biggest percentage gainers on Friday. The fast-food restaurant chain reported that a key sales figure fell 3.3 percent in February, but the decline wasn't as bad as analysts were expecting. The stock advanced $1.42 to $98.51.
H&R Block had the biggest percentage gain on the S&P 500, advancing $2.33, or 9.5 percent, to $27.32.
Watch: Sudden Rise in Jobs Gives Major Boost to Economy
Cardinals Prepare for Conclave, Voting to Begin Tuesday
Friday, March 8, 2013
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N. Korea Threatens 'Nuclear Strike'
The U.N. Security Council today brushed off a threat by North Korea to launch a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" and voted to impose tough new sanctions on the country as punishment for its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile program.
China, North Korea's staunchest ally, joined the U.S. and other members of the Security Council to make the vote unanimous.
The vote came hours after Pyongyang, which has been delivered a series of belligerent statements in recent weeks, said that it would "exercise its right for pre-emptive nuclear strike to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors."
The tough talk from North Korea also comes as the U.S. and South Korean begin joint military maneuvers.
The U.S. dismissed the North Korean threat.
"North Korean threats of provocations will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson said.
In recent days, North Korea has vowed to turn Seoul and Washington into a "sea of fire," have imposed no-sail/no-fly zones along its coasts, and warned that it might end the armistice that halted the Korean War in 1953 without a peace treaty.
The targets of the latest round of sanctions included in the latest round of sanctions include top officials at a company that is the country's primary arms dealer and main exporter of ballistic missile-related equipment, and a national organization responsible for research and development of missiles and probably nuclear weapons.
The success of a new round of sanctions could depend on enforcement by China, where most of the companies and banks that North Korea is believed to work with are based.
The resolution is intended to make it significantly harder for North Korea to move around the funds it needs to carry out its illicit programs and strengthen existing sanctions and the inspection of suspect cargo bound to and from the country. It would also ban countries from exporting specific luxury goods to the North, including yachts, luxury automobiles, racing cars, and jewelry with semi-precious and precious stones and precious metals.
According to the draft, all countries would now be required to freeze financial transactions or services that could contribute to North Korea's nuclear or missile programs.
To get around financial sanctions, North Koreans have been carrying around large suitcases filled with cash to move illicit funds. The draft resolution expresses concern that these bulk cash transfers may be used to evade sanctions. It clarifies that the freeze on financial transactions and services that could violate sanctions applies to all cash transfers as well as the cash couriers.
The proposed resolution also bans all countries from providing public financial support for trade deals, such as granting export credits, guarantees or insurance, if the assistance could contribute to the North's nuclear or missile programs.
It includes what a senior diplomat called unprecedented new travel sanctions that would require countries to expel agents working for sanctioned North Korean companies.
The draft also requires states to inspect suspect cargo on their territory and prevent any vessel that refuses an inspection from entering their ports. And a new aviation measure calls on states to deny aircraft permission to take off, land or fly over their territory if illicit cargo is suspected to be aboard.
ABC News' Luis Martinez and AP contributed to this report
Watch: North Korea Threatens US With Nuclear Attack
Bolshoi Ballet Acid Attack Leaves Sergei Filin Scarred, Nearly Blind
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Watch: Doctors Struggle to Contain New Bacteria
Bolshoi Ballet Acid Attack Leaves Sergei Filin Scarred, Nearly Blind
'Snowquester' Bringing Heavy Snow
The winter storm that hit the Midwest and forced hundreds of flights to be canceled has arrived on the East Coast. A state of emergency has been declared in Virginia, where 200,000 are without power and heavy wet snow continues to fall. Some 20 inches of snow had fallen in Augusta County, Va., by mid-afternoon.
Winter storm warnings and weather advisories are in effect for much of Virginia, extending along the I-95 corridor into the greater Philadelphia area, the National Weather Service said. Snow totals reached two feet in West Virginia as of Wednesday evening and over a foot of snow has been reported in southern Pennsylvania.
The storm prompted a shutdown of federal offices and schools the Washington, D.C., region Wednesday. As of Wednesday evening, there was little accumulation in the city, but nearly 7 inches of snow fell to the west.
The Nor'easter -- dubbed "snowquester" -- will continue to move up the coast, said forecasters. A total accumulation of 3 inches is expected in New York City by Friday. Boston residents should expect 2-4 inches, with higher totals of 6-8 inches inland from Worcester, Mass. to just north of Providence, R.I.
Coastal flood warnings and advisories are in effect for portions of the Atlantic coastline from Maryland to Long Island.
SLIDESHOW: Wicked Winter Weather
A high wind warning is in effect along the Delaware and New Jersey coasts until 3 a.m. Thursday and coastal flood warnings are also in place through Thursday morning. Parts of Delaware and southern New Jersey have picked up 2-4 inches of rain. In addition to wind damage and power losses, a dune breach on Route 1 in Delaware has caused flooding and closed the road between Dewey and Rehoboth Beach.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, there were more than 2,200 flight cancellations nationwide, the majority in Washington, D.C., according to FlightAware. More than 1,300 flights in and out of the three D.C.-area airports (Reagan, Dulles and BWI) were canceled. More than 300 flights have been canceled to and from Philadelphia.
According to the FAA, the Philadelphia airport is experiencing three-hour delays. New York-area airport delays are averaging two-and-one-half hours. In Boston, delays averaged almost two hours.
Airlines including American, Continental, JetBlue, US Airways and Southwest have announced flexible travel policies, allowing passengers to change flights without penalty. Policies vary by airline.
More than 4,000 flights have been canceled so far this week due to the winter storm.
Amtrak said it is "monitoring" the storm, but anticipated normal operations on Wednesday. Passengers who have paid but choose not to travel due to this service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel.
Megabus said it was canceling most of its of service between New York, Baltimore and Washington and some services running between Washington and Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Durham, Charlotte, Toronto and Buffalo. Greyhound also reported cancellations and delays in New York City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Richmond.
With reporting by Darcy Bonfils, Max Golembo and Samantha Wnek.
Watch: Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc on East Coast
Bolshoi Ballet Acid Attack Leaves Sergei Filin Scarred, Nearly Blind
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
East Coast Braces for Pummeling Storm
After pummeling the nation's midsection with heavy snow, a late-winter storm made its way Wednesday to the nation's capital, where residents braced for the possibility of power outages.
As the storm closed in, the federal government said its offices in the Washington, D.C., area would be closed Wednesday. Many major school systems around Washington and Baltimore announced pre-emptive closures as well.
Officials said outages were the biggest potential problem from the storm, which was expected to dump 5 to 11 inches of snow in Washington and Baltimore by Wednesday night. Minor tidal flooding was possible along the Delaware coast, the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and the lower Potomac River, the National Weather Service said.
Already, the storm has been dubbed a "snowquester." The nickname is a play on the D.C. wonk term "sequester," used to describe the $85 billion that must be cut from federal budgets over the next six months after President Barack Obama and lawmakers failed to reach a deal to reduce the national deficit. The "snowquester" has shut down government offices just as the budget cuts threaten to do.
Maryland Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ed McDonough reported no major incidents as of Wednesday morning. There were about 600 power outages statewide as the conditions were worsening in parts of Maryland.
The State Highway Administration said it expected the snow to intensify during the day, adding to accumulations the agency measured Wednesday morning at about 7 inches in Keysers Ridge in the western Maryland mountains and 2 to 3 inches in central Maryland.
"We're urging folks not to travel today and to leave the driving to our professional snow plow drivers," highway agency spokeswoman Lora Rakowski said.
Areas north and west of Washington and Baltimore had been seeing snow since about 3 a.m. The metropolitan region and communities to the south and east had a wet, wintry mix of precipitation.
By early Wednesday, wet snow was falling in the Washington area. It was accumulating on the grass in some areas, but not on the streets as temperatures hovered above freezing. The worst of the storm was expected to arrive by midday.
Washington resident Sheri Sable, out walking her two dogs in light rain early Wednesday, said her office was closed because of the storm. She said the nation's capital gets spooked by snow; even the dog park she frequents had failed to open at 7 a.m.
"They just say that it might snow and the whole city shuts down," she said.
The storm brought around 10 inches of snow to weather-hardened Chicago by late Tuesday, when snow was also starting to come down in parts of Virginia. Schools were closed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and more than 1,100 flights were cancelled at Chicago's two major airports, prompting delays and closures at others.
Airlines along the storm's projected path cut flights too, including hundreds more Wednesday at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area, according to FlightAware.com.
While there were no initial reports of major accidents in the Chicago area, a semi-trailer slid off a snow-covered interstate in western Wisconsin, killing one person. The search for a second person, believed to be a passenger, was suspended overnight.
Watch: Worst Storm of Season to Hit Major Cities
Teen Skier Found Alive After 2 Nights in Bitter Cold
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Winter Clings on With Midwest Storm
Mother Nature is apparently saving the best, or at least the biggest, for last.
Chicago residents expected to find themselves in the midst of a storm that could wind up dumping as much as 10 inches of snow in the area before the end of Tuesday ' the most since the 2011 blizzard and its more than 20 inches of snow.
"This will be the biggest widespread storm of the winter," National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley said. The forecast is for 8 to 10 inches throughout northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana, a far cry from last March, which saw less than a half-inch of snow and was the warmest one on record in Illinois.
Hardware stores in and around the city did brisk business Monday, selling salt and snow shovels at a time many usually turn their thoughts toward gardening and baseball.
"Everybody's got a little comment with every bag they're buying," said Mike McIntosh, who works at Dressel's Hardware in Oak Park just outside Chicago. Workers had started to stock the shelves with tools and supplies associated with spring and summer, only to find the shovels and salt they thought they'd hold for another year were still in demand.
"Everybody's a bit surprised, but it's good for us, we've got a lot of this stuff to move," he said.
On Monday, the system moved across the Dakotas and Minnesota, dropping up to a foot of snow in some areas and freezing rain in others. Some schools closed and officials warned motorists to stay off the roads.
As it moved eastward, emergency officials in a number of states issued similar warnings in the hopes that commuters will leave their cars in the garage and take public transportation to work. In Wisconsin, where as much as a foot of snow is in the forecast, emergency managers urged residents to put winter survival kits in their vehicles and check on road conditions.
State patrol officers were searching for a semi driver in the Red Cedar River near Menomonie in western Wisconsin early Tuesday after the vehicle slid off the nearby snow-covered Interstate 94 into the frigid waterway.
A wet snow pelted commuters as they slid along the slick streets of downtown Chicago through the soggy wintery mix early Tuesday. Snow was forecast for the morning and afternoon rush hours, Seeley said. The weather service also said that as much as 1.5 inches of snow could fall per hour, "making snow removal difficult and travel extremely dangerous."
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn urged motorists to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary, insisting that "safety comes first."
The Illinois Department of Transportation planned to send a fleet of 360 trucks to plow roadways in northeastern Illinois early Tuesday, with a total of 600 throughout Northern Illinois.
The storm is creating wet, heavy snow ' known euphemistically as "heart attack snow" ' which could pose a risk when it comes time to shovel for the elderly, sedentary people or those who have heart problems.
"Shoveling snow is a lot of work. ... It is taxing their bodies and their hearts," said Dr. David Marmor, a cardiologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston. "People are really testing their limits, and if they're already at high risk they are better off paying the kid across the street to do it."
If the area does get 10 inches of snow, it would only underline that this has been a mild winter, Seeley said. That amount would raise the snowfall this season from 20.3 inches to 30.3 inches ' just a tenth of an inch more than what Chicago sees in a typical winter.
In northern Iowa early Tuesday, at least one person was enjoying the gentle snowfall.
"It's absolutely gorgeous out," said Mary Hermanson, the night shift front desk clerk at the Super 8 in Mason City.
"If I'm going to have snow come down, that's what I want to have come down," she said of the 10 inches that had fallen in the area in the past 24 hours. She happily said it reminded her of Christmas.
'''
Associated Press writers Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Neb., and Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
Watch: America Issues New Warning to Iran About Nuclear Weapons
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Monday, March 4, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Watch: Growing Sinkhole Destroys Home, Swallows Florida Man
Growing Sinkhole Destroys Home, Swallows Florida Man
Head of Chadian Army Claims Troops Kill Belmoktar
Chad's military chief announced late Saturday that his troops deployed in northern Mali had killed Moktar Belmoktar, the terrorist who orchestrated the attack on a natural gas plant in Algeria that left 36 foreigners dead.
The French military, which is leading the offensive against al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mali, said they could not immediately confirm the information.
Local officials in Kidal, the northern town that is being used as the base for the military operation, cast doubt on the assertion, saying Chadian officials are attempting to score a PR victory to make up for the significant losses they have suffered in recent days.
Known as the "one-eyed," Belmoktar's profile soared after the mid-January attack and mass hostage-taking on a huge Algerian gas plant. His purported death comes a day after Chad's president said his troops had killed Abou Zeid, the other main al-Qaida commander operating in northern Mali.
If both deaths are confirmed, it would mean that the international intervention in Mali had succeeded in decapitating two of the pillars of al-Qaida in the Sahara.
"Chad's armed forces in Mali have completely destroyed a base used by jihadists and narcotraffickers in the Adrar and Ifoghas mountains" of northern Mali, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said in a televised statement on state-owned National Chadian Television. "The provisional toll is as follows: Several terrorists killed, including Moktar Belmoktar."
The French military moved into Mali on Jan. 11 to push back militants linked to Belmoktar and Abou Zeid and other extremist groups who had imposed harsh Islamic rule in the north of the vast country and who were seen as an international terrorist threat.
France is trying to rally other African troops to help in the military campaign, since Mali's military is weak and poor. Chadian troops have offered the most robust reinforcement.
In Paris, French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said that he had "no information" on the possibility that Belmoktar was dead. The Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny the report.
A spokesman for Chad's presidential palace did not immediately return a request for comment.
In Kidal in northern Mali, an elected official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said that he did not believe that Belmoktar was dead and waved off the claim as an attempt by Chad to explain the loss of dozens of their troops to a grieving nation.
"These last few weeks, the Chadians have lost a significant number of soldiers in combat. (Claiming that they killed Belmoktar) is a way to give some importance to their intervention in Mali," said the official, who keeps in close contact with both French and Malian commanders in the field.
Belmoktar, an Algerian, is believed to be in his 40s, and like his sometimes partner and sometimes rival, Abou Zeid, he began on the path to terrorism after Algeria's secular government voided the 1991 election won by an Islamic party.
Both men joined the Armed Islamic Group, or GIA, and later its offshoot, the GSPC, a group that carried out suicide bombings on Algerian government targets.
Around 2003, both men crossed into Mali, where they began a lucrative kidnapping business, snatching European tourists, aid workers, government employees and even diplomats and holding them for multimillion-dollar ransoms.
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
Chicago Violence Drives Push for More Trauma Care
In a storefront office on Chicago's violence-plagued South Side, young activists meet in pursuit of a single goal: pressuring the University of Chicago Medical Center to reopen a trauma department it closed 25 years ago.
The trauma facility was shut down long before most of these college students were even born. But they and others believe restoring it will help save people wounded in the city's maelstrom of gun violence, many of them poor and black.
"This fight is very important to us," said one of the group's organizers, Veronica Morris-Moore. "If the issue were affecting white students at the university as much as people of color in the community, the university would put more effort into this."
Chicago's experience reflects a nationwide trend: An increasing number of U.S. hospitals have closed trauma departments for financial reasons, and impoverished minority communities are frequently the hardest hit. The issue touches a nerve in neighborhoods where other services are also unfairly distributed. But it's also complex, with no clear evidence that lives have been lost.
In Chicago, the young activists' cause is personal. Their friend Damian Turner was hit by a stray bullet in 2010 just blocks from the university and died in an ambulance on the way to a downtown trauma center 10 miles away. He was 18. The group has timed demonstrations to coincide with his birthday and date of death.
The group has met resistance from the University of Chicago hospital, and the evidence isn't clear that opening a trauma center on the South Side would save lives.
That's because Chicago's existing trauma system already does a good job of getting severely injured patients to one of six trauma centers within 30 minutes. Researchers in Chicago and elsewhere have not found a clear link between longer travel times and increased risk of death.
"The question of whether time matters in trauma is much more complicated than what it seems on the surface," said Portland, Ore., researcher Dr. Craig Newgard, lead author of a study of more than 3,600 trauma patients that found no significant link between travel time and death. "There's no magic number, and there's no magic distance."
Most injuries can be treated at any hospital emergency room, but the patients in greatest danger need hospitals with on-call surgeons, other specialists and ready operating rooms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Level 1 trauma centers ' the nation's top level of trauma care ' can lower the risk of death by 25 percent.
Experts also agree that not every hospital should be a Level 1 trauma center. Trauma teams perform better if they handle more cases. The American College of Surgeons says at least 1,200 cases a year is standard for the best care.
Plus, there's no agreement about the ideal distribution of trauma centers, and no federal or state requirements for where they should be located. That leaves economic forces to push trauma centers out of poor areas where patients can't pay because they lack adequate insurance.
Nationwide, 16 million Americans saw a 30-minute increase in driving time to the nearest trauma center from 2001 through 2007, according to one study. Poor and black communities, along with rural areas, were more likely to be affected.
But when trauma centers shut down, "it's not always clear that those closures result in worse outcomes, including risk of death," said lead author Dr. Renee Hsia of the University of California, San Francisco.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Benedict XVI's Tenure as Pope Ends
VATICAN CITY -- Benedict XVI's eight-year tenure as pope ended today, after he bade farewell to the faithful and departed the Vatican as the first pope to resign in six centuries.
"Thank you for your love and support," the pope tweeted from his Pontifex account. "May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."
With church bells ringing across Rome, the pope was driven to the helipad on the Vatican grounds for the 15-minute flight to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence where he assumed the title "pope emeritus" after 8 p.m. local time.
When Benedict arrived at the residence just south of Rome, he was greeted by a crowd of supporters waving flags and banners.
READ MORE: Pope Benedict XVI Delivers Farewell Address
"I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this earth," he told them.
In his final remarks earlier in the day to colleagues in the Roman Catholic Church, Benedict had promised "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his eventual successor. At a morning meeting at the Vatican, Benedict urged the cardinals to act "like an orchestra" to find "harmony" moving forward.
Benedict, 85, spent a quiet final day as pope, bidding farewell to his colleagues and moving on to a secluded life of prayer, far from the grueling demands of the papacy and the scandals that have recently plagued the church.
His first order of business was a morning meeting with the cardinals in the Clementine Hall, a room in the Apostolic Palace.
Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, thanked Benedict for his service to the church during the eight years he has spent as pontiff.
When Benedict's resignation took effect once and for all at 8 p.m. local time, the Swiss Guards left his side for the last time, their time protecting the pontiff completed.
For some U.S. Catholics in Rome for the historic occasion, Benedict's departure was bittersweet.
Christopher Kerzich, a Chicago resident studying at the Pontifical North American College of Rome, said Wednesday he is sad to see Benedict leave, but excited to see what comes next.
"Many Catholics have come to love this pontiff, this very humble man," Kerzich said. "He is a man who's really fought this and prayed this through and has peace in his heart. I take comfort in that and I think a lot of Catholics should take comfort in that."
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Pope Benedict Delivers Farewell Address
On his final full day as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI thanked a huge crowd for respecting his historic decision to step down and told them that God will continue to guide the church.
"The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's Church," Benedict said to cheers in his last public words as pope.
Benedict, 85, is the first pope to resign in 600 years. He told the crowd today that he was "deeply grateful for the understanding, support and prayers of so many of you, not only here in Rome, but also throughout the world."
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Under sunny skies on this late February day, hundreds of thousands of people, some waving flags, some banners, flocked to Vatican City to see Benedict make a final lap around St. Peter's Square. Throughout his eight-year papacy, Benedict has conducted a weekly audience from St. Peter's. Before delivering his last papal address today, Benedict waved to the festive group of supporters as he toured the square in his glass-encased popemobile.
The city of Rome planned for more than 200,000 people to head to the Vatican for today's event. Streets around St. Peter's were blocked off to cars as pedestrians from around the world headed to the square.
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Among them were Rachael Richter and some classmates from Pittsburgh's Duquesne University who are studying abroad.
"When I came here, I never expected that something like this would happen," she said. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime, so I'm just taking it all in and enjoying every minute of it."
But it was also bittersweet, judging by the reactions from observers like Christopher Kerzich, who hails from Chicago and is studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
"It's definitely a historic moment," he said. "There's a sadness of Pope Benedict not being there to shepherd our church but a sense of excitement, too."
Kerzich added: " Looking around the crowd I saw people with faces of sadness. But then when the Holy Father came out, there was this great joy that came across the people. So I think it's mixed emotions.
"Many Catholics have come to love this pontiff, this very humble man. He is a man who's really fought this and prayed this through and has peace in his heart. I take comfort in that and I think a lot of Catholics should take comfort in that."
Either way, the conclave to elect Benedict's replacement will start next month at a date yet to be determined. Benedict issued a decree known as a "motu poprio" that will allow cardinals to convene the conclave sooner than the March 15 date that would have been mandated under the old rules.
Benedict today asked the faithful to pray for him and for the new pope.
"My heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his church," Benedict said.
The German-born Benedict, who had appeared frail at times in recent months, seemed more energized in his remarks today. He has said he will devote more time to prayer and meditation after he leaves the papacy.
Benedict will meet Thursday with his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5 p.m. to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. Benedict will greet parishioners there from the palazzo's balcony, his final public act as pope.
Then, at 8 p.m., the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palazzo at Castel Gandolfo will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church finished.
In retirement, Benedict will continue to wear white and will be called "Pope Emeritus," or the "Supreme Roman Pontiff Emeritus" or "Your Holiness," the Vatican announced Tuesday. Benedict will ditch his trademark red shoes, opting for a pair of brown shoes given to him on a trip to Mexico. But he will still reside on Vatican grounds in a former nunnery.
Benedict's final days as pope have been marked by controversy. For nearly a week now Italian newspapers speculated that Benedict really resigned because of a dossier he was given detailing a sex and blackmail scandal in the Catholic Church. The Italian media news reports do not state any attribution.
It turns out a dossier does exist. The Vatican spokesman Monday underscored that the contents of the dossier are known only to the pope and his investigators, three elderly prelates whom the Italian papers have nicknamed "the 007 cardinals."
But the dossier itself will remain "For the Pope's Eyes Only."
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Hot Air Balloon Death Toll Rises
The terror lasted less than two minutes: Smoke poured from a hot air balloon carrying sightseers on a sunrise flight over the ancient city of Luxor, it burst in a flash of flame and then plummeted about 1,000 feet to earth. A farmer watched helplessly as tourists trying to escape the blazing gondola leaped to their deaths.
Nineteen people were killed Tuesday in what appeared to be the deadliest hot air ballooning accident on record. A British tourist and the Egyptian pilot, who was badly burned, were the sole survivors.
The tragedy raised worries of another blow to the nation's vital tourism industry, decimated by two years of unrest since the 2011 revolution that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The southern city of Luxor has been hit hard, with vacant hotel rooms and empty cruise ships.
It also prompted accusations that authorities have let safety standards decline amid the political turmoil and infighting, although civil aviation officials said the balloon had been inspected recently and that the pilot may have been to blame, jumping out rather than stopping the fire.
Authorities suspended hot air balloon flights, a popular tourist attraction here, while investigators determined the cause.
The balloon was carrying 20 tourists ' from France, Britain, Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong ' and an Egyptian pilot on a flight over Luxor, 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of Cairo, officials said. The flights provide spectacular views of the ancient Karnak and Luxor temples and the Valley of the Kings, the burial ground of Tutankhamun and other pharaohs.
According to initial indications, the balloon was in the process of landing after 7 a.m. when a cable got caught around a helium tube and a fire erupted, according to an investigator with the state prosecutor's office.
The balloon then ascended rapidly, the investigator said. The fire detonated a gas canister and the balloon plunged about 300 meters (1,000 feet) to the ground, crashing in a sugar cane field outside al-Dhabaa village just west of Luxor, a security official said.
Both the investigator and the security official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
"I saw tourists catching fire and they were jumping from the balloon," said Hassan Abdel-Rasoul, a farmer in al-Dhabaa. "They were trying to flee the fire but it was on their bodies."
One of those on fire was a visibly pregnant woman, he said.
Amateur video taken from another balloon and shown on Al-Jazeera Mubasher television showed the balloon's final moments.
Smoke is seen rising for several seconds from the gondola, silhouetted against the risen sun. The balloon itself catches fire with a flash, and in an instant, it bursts and falls as a fireball to the ground, trailing smoke. Egyptians on the balloon filming the scene can be heard crying and gasping in horror at the sight.
The bodies of the tourists were scattered across the field around the remnants of the balloon, as rescue officials collected the remains.
The crash immediately killed 18, according to Luxor Gov. Ezzat Saad. Two Britons and the pilot were taken to a hospital, but one of the Britons died of his injuries soon after.
Among the dead were nine tourists from Hong Kong, four Japanese, two French, a Belgian and a second Briton, according to Egyptian officials, although there were conflicting reports on the nationality of the 19th victim.
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
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Midwest Blizzard Has Hurricane-Force Winds
2nd Winter Storm Blasts Central US
The second major snowstorm in a week battered the nation's midsection Tuesday, dropping a half-foot or more of snow across Missouri and Kansas and cutting power to thousands. At least three deaths were blamed on the blizzard, and gusting winds blew drifts more than 2 feet high and created treacherous driving conditions for those who dared the morning commute.
About 80,000 homes and businesses in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas and western Oklahoma awoke to no power as heavy, wet snow weighed on power lines. Kansas City, Mo., was in a state of emergency as blinding snowfall ' worsened by sustained gusts estimated at 30 mph or higher ' made road traffic too dangerous. About 8 inches of new snow had fallen on parts of the Kansas City metro area as the sun rose Tuesday.
Flights in and out of Kansas City International Airport were canceled, schools, government offices and businesses across the region were closed. City buses were getting stuck.
Numerous accidents were reported in the area, and Mayor Sly James declared the emergency in an unwanted encore to a major snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on his city just five days earlier. He urged residents to stay home, given that the new storm was expected to dump nearly a foot of new snow on the city.
"This one has the potential to be quite serious," James said.
In rural Kansas, blowing, wet snow forced truckers off the road and many had no idea when they'd be able to get going again. Robert Branscecum, a trucker from Campton, Ill., hauling Wal-Mart merchandise to Dallas, had been stuck at Beto Junction near Lebo since Monday evening.
"It's hell, it's straight hell. It's snowing, blowing, drifting, everything," Branscecum said. "The cars are stuck in the parking lot. Some of the trucks that tried to leave got stuck. I'm not leaving anytime soon."
A strong low pressure system fueled the storm, which also included heavy rain and thunderstorms in eastern Oklahoma and Texas.
The storm knocked power out to tens of thousands of homes in Texas and Oklahoma and was blamed for the death of a 21-year-old man whose SUV hit an icy patch on Interstate 70 in northwestern Kansas and overturned Monday. A separate crash on I-70 in western Kansas killed a female passenger and injured three others after their pickup truck rolled on the ice Monday night. In Oklahoma, a person was killed after 15 inches of snow brought down part of a roof in the northwest town of Woodward.
"We urge everyone to avoid travel and be extremely cautious if you must be on the roads," said Col. Ernest Garcia, superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol.
In the Texas Panhandle on Monday, strong wind gusts and heavy snow created whiteout conditions and made all roads impassable, said Paul Braun, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. A hurricane-force gust of 75 mph was recorded at the Amarillo, Texas, airport. The city saw the biggest snowfall total in Texas with 17 inches.
Motorists were stranded throughout the Texas Panhandle, with the NWS in Lubbock reporting as many as 100 vehicles at a standstill on Interstate 27.
Monday, February 25, 2013
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7 Things to Know About Seth MacFarlane
When Seth MacFarlane was announced as the next host of the Oscars, half the country went, "Who?" while the other half, mostly his young "Family Guy" fan base, cheered.
Though MacFarlane is the comic genius behind the wildly popular animated TV shows, "Family Guy," "The Cleveland Show" and "American Dad," as well as this past summer's raunchy blockbuster comedy "Ted," he remains a relative outsider to Hollywood.
That makes him both appealing and unpredictable.
"If it's too soft I'm going to disappoint a lot of my fan base, if is too hard I'm going to lose that room," MacFarlane told ABC News' Barbara Walters in December about the balance he'll try to strike this Sunday, when the 85th Academy Awards is presented live on ABC.
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MacFarlane revealed on "Good Morning America" Thursday that nothing -- and no one -- will be off-limits to him as possible targets for jokes.
And, if initial reaction to the cracks he made while announcing the Oscar nominees last month is any indication, audiences could be in for a wild ride.
"In the less than 10 minutes it took to announce the nominees, MacFarlane managed to insult his co-presenter, belittle the achievements of several nominees and make a Hitler joke," Slate wrote.
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Though MacFarlane often pushes the boundaries of the TV censors for his animated shows, the 39-year old promises the jokes on Sunday will still be family friendly -- to an extent.
"The Oscars will still be something a family in 2013 can sit down and watch and be just fine with," he told USA Today earlier this week. "A family in 1955 might have some issue with it. In 2013, everyone will be fine. Then again, I'm not married and I don't have kids. And my mother was saying (nasty things) out loud by the time I was 5. So maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask."
"The Oscars have been criticized for seemingly not being relevant, and that goes to our choice of Seth," producer Neil Meron told USA Today. "He's a reflection of the current pop culture and completely relevant. We love that."
MacFarlane's already demonstrated his hosting chops with Comedy Central roasts of David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen. He's the only host to be asked back again. Don't expect him to repeat at the Oscars, though. He's already declared this a one-off gig.
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Asked by "GMA" what superlative he thought would be used to describe his job as host, MacFarlane responded, "Gosh, I don't know -- most astonishingly dazzlingly mediocre?"
If you still have no clue who he is, we've made a list of seven things you should know about Seth MacFarlane ahead of Sunday's Academy Awards.
Make sure to tune in to Backstage Pass on Oscar Sunday to see your favorite celebrities walk the red carpet and follow the winners backstage. Click here to learn how!
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case
Oscar Pistorius was granted bail today in a South African court, meaning he can be released from jail for the six to eight months before his trial for the allegedly premeditated killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Magistrate Desmond Nair, in reading his lengthy decision, said, "The issue before me is whether this accused, being who is and the assets he has [here], would seek to duck and dive all over the world." His conclusion: "I cannot find that he is a flight risk."
Nair said, "The accused has made a case to be released on bail."
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The judge also said he had to weigh whether Pistorius would be a danger to others. He noted that Pistorius has been accused of using foul language against people in arguments and once threatened to break someone's legs, but he said that was different from someone with an arrest record of violence.
"I appreciate that a person is dead, but I don't think that is enough," he said.
Nair also said he could not be influenced by the public's "shock and outrage" if Pistorius is released.
A member of Pistorius' defense team told ABC News, "he is going to be released today."
Despite the ruling, prosecutors displayed confidence, with one of them emerging from the courthouse today to say, "We still believe we have the evidence to convict Oscar Pistorius."
The court set bail at about $113,000 (1 million rand) and June 4 as the date for Pistorius' next court appearance.
The other bail conditions are: Pistorius cannot leave the country; he must hand over his passports; he cannot return to his home as long as it's an active crime scene; he needs permission to leave the Pretoria area; he must visit a police station on a daily basis and be available to a probation officer at all times via cellphone; he is not allowed any communication with prosecution witnesses; he cannot drink alcohol; and he must relinquish his firearms.
"Do you understand?" the magistrate asked him.
"Yes, sir," Pistorius replied.
Speaking for the family, Arnold Pistorius, the Olympian's uncle, said, "Although we are obviously relieved that Oscar has been granted bail, this is still a very sad time for the family of Reeva and for us.
"We are grateful that the Magistrate recognized the validity and strength of our application. As the family, we are convinced that Oscar's version of what happened on that terrible night will prove to be true."
The judge's ruling came on the fourth and final day of the bail hearing for Pistorius, the Olympian accused of murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.
Pistorius, who gained global acclaim for racing at the 2012 London Olympics, shot his model-girlfriend through a closed bathroom. He says he killed Reeva Steenkamp accidentally, but prosecutors alleged that he took a moment to put on his prosthetic legs, indicating that he thought out and planned to kill Steenkamp when he shot her three times through the bathroom door.
Pistorius sobbed today in court. Barry Roux, his defense attorney, said the prosecution misinterpreted the assigning of intent, meaning that the runner's intent to shoot at a supposed intruder in his home cannot be transferred to someone else who was shot -- in this case, Steenkamp.
"He did not want to kill Reeva," Roux told the court.
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When Magistrate Nair, who overheard the bail hearing, asked Roux what the charges should be if Pistorius intended to kill an intruder, the defense attorney responded that he should be charged with culpable homicide.
Culpable homicide is defined in South Africa as "the unlawful negligent killing of a human being."
Roux also made light of the prosecution's argument that Pistorius is a flight risk, saying that every time the double-amputee goes through airport security, it causes a commotion. He said that Pistorius' legs need constant maintenance and he needs medical attention for his stumps.
The prosecution argued today that the onus was on Pistorius to provide his version of events, and his version was improbable.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also spoke of Pistorius' fame and his disability, even relating him to Wikipedia founder Julian Assange, who is now confined to Ecuador's London Embassy, where he has been granted political asylum. "[Assange's] facial features are as well known as Mr. Pistorius' prostheses," Nel said.
Nel argued that Pistorius' prostheses do not set him apart, stating that it's no different to any other feature, and the court cannot be seen to treat people with disabilities accused of a crime, or famous people accused of crime, any differently.
Pistorius has said that in the early hours of Feb. 14 he was closing his balcony doors when he heard a noise from the bathroom. Fearing an intruder, and without his prosthetic legs on, he grabbed a gun from under his bed and fired through the closed bathroom door, he told the court.
But prosecutors say that's implausible, that the gun's holster was found under the side of the bed where Steenkamp slept, and that Pistorius would have seen she wasn't there. Prosecutors also say the angle at which the shots were fired shows Pistorius was already wearing his prosthetics when he fired.
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Friday, February 22, 2013
Storm Promises Dangerous Commute
A snowstorm that blanketed parts of the Plains and Midwest in snow and ice and forced truckers to take a night off made commuting a grind Friday morning as it slowly moved to the north and east.
Powerful wind gusts churned-up snow and created large drifts on many Midwest roadways, making navigating the slick conditions all the more difficult.
At a Travel Centers of America truck stop in the central Illinois city of Effingham, all of the 137 parking spaces were filled by truckers unwilling to drive through the storm overnight.
"When it gets really bad, they like to camp out," cashier Tia Schneider said Thursday night, noting that some drivers called ahead. "They can make reservations from 500 miles away to make sure a space is available."
Strong gusts off Lake Michigan were making driving treacherous for commuters in eastern Wisconsin, and police and tow trucks were busy responding to fender-benders and spinouts Friday morning.
Chicago's more than 280 snowplows were busy salting and clearing the city's streets. Commuters had to slog through slush to get to their offices, some schools closed or were opening late, and a few minor traffic accidents were reported, but the storm didn't appear to cause any major problems.
About 270 flights in and out of Chicago's two airports were canceled Friday morning, and inbound flights were being held up by an average of 90 minutes due to the snow and ice, according to the airline tracking website FlightAware.com.
As the storm moved northward and eastward out of the Plains, it left behind some impressive snow totals, including 13 inches in northern Oklahoma, 10 inches near Kansas City, Mo., and 17 inches in Hays, Kansas. In Topeka, Kan., 3 inches of snow fell in only 30 minutes on Thursday, leaving medical center worker Jennifer Carlock dreading her drive home.
"It came on fast," Carlock said as she shoveled around her car late Thursday. "We're going to test out traction control on the way home."
Numerous accidents and two deaths were being blamed on the icy, slushy roadways. A medical helicopter crashed early Friday in Oklahoma City, two people onboard and injuring a third. It wasn't immediately clear if weather factored into the crash. The National Weather Service says conditions were clear and it was 20 degrees when the crash happened.
State legislatures shut down in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Most schools were closed in Kansas and Missouri, and many in neighboring states.
That included the University of Missouri, where classes were canceled for one of the few times in its 174-year history. At a nearby WalMart, students made a beeline for the aisles containing sleds and alcohol.
"This isn't our usual Thursday noon routine," Lauren Ottenger, a senior economics major from Denver, said as she stockpiled supplies.
All flights at Kansas City International Airport were canceled for Thursday night, and officials said they'd prepare to reopen Friday morning. On the other side of the state in St. Louis, more than 320 flights at Lambert Airport were canceled.
Transportation officials in the affected states urged people to stay home.
"If you don't have to get out, just really, please, don't do it," Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said. Interstate 70 through Kansas was snow-packed, and a 200-mile stretch between Salina and Colby was closed. The Kansas National Guard had 12 teams patrolling three state highways in Humvees to rescue motorists stranded by the storm.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
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Winter Storm Gathers Strength
Parts of the nation's heartland awoke Thursday to more than half a foot of snow, as a large storm made its way eastward out of the Rockies, snarling traffic for morning commuters and allowing an army of children to trade pen and paper for shovel and sled, at least for a day.
Winter storm warnings were issued from Colorado through Illinois, and many school districts cancelled classes ahead of time, in anticipation of the more than a foot of snow expected to fall in some places.
Kelly Sugden, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Dodge City, Kan., said early Thursday that the storm that had already dumped heavy snow on Colorado and western Kansas on Wednesday was moving a bit slower than first expected, but was "starting to get back together."
"It's very active," Sugden said, noting the snowfall was mixed with lightning and sleet showers.
Kansas' capital, Topeka, had little more than a dusting of snow after dawn, but in the town of Rozel, roughly 210 miles west, 6½ inches had already reported fallen.
Sugden said that while forecasters weren't expecting blizzard conditions to develop in Kansas, the Interstate 70 corridor could get as much as 13 inches of snow, and large drifts would make driving very dangerous.
In Oklahoma on Wednesday, roads were covered with a slushy mix of snow and ice that officials said caused a crash that killed an 18-year-old driver, Cody Alexander.
Alexander, of Alex, Okla., skidded in his pickup truck into oncoming traffic on State Highway 19 and was hit by a truck and killed, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. The other driver wasn't seriously injured.
In northern Arkansas, a school bus crashed Wednesday on a steep, snowy country road, leaving three students and the driver with minor injuries. Pope County Sheriff Aaron Duval said the bus slid off a road on Crow Mountain, nearly flipping before it was stopped by trees at the roadside.
The weather service warned that freezing rain could lead to a half-inch or more of ice accumulating Thursday in central and northern Arkansas, making travelling particularly dangerous.
Officials said the storm could be the Midwest's worst since a two-day storm that began Feb. 1, 2011. That storm was blamed for about two dozen deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power, some for several days. At its peak, the storm created white-out conditions so intense that Interstate 70 was shut down across the entire state of Missouri.
Tim Chojnacki, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said it planned to have salt trucks on the roads before the storm arrived in the Show-Me State in hopes that the precipitation would largely melt upon impact.
Much of Kansas was expected to get up to a foot of snow, which many rural residents welcomed after nearly a year of drought.
Jerry and Diane McReynolds spent part of Wednesday putting out more hay and straw for newborn calves at their farm near Woodston in north central Kansas. The storm made extra work, but Diane McReynolds said it would help their winter wheat, pastures and dried-up ponds.
"In the city you hear they don't want the snow and that sort of thing, and I am thinking, 'Yes, we do,' and they don't realize that we need it," she said. "We have to have it or their food cost in the grocery store is going to go very high. We have to have this. We pray a lot for it."
Watch: Winter Blast Could Impact States Across America
Iran's Nuclear Program, Syrian Violence's Impact on America
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Watch: 'Blade Runner' Appears in Court to Hear Murder Charges
Report: Chinese Hacking US Banks, Power Grid
China Disputes 'Groundless' Allegations
China has dismissed as "groundless" detailed allegations pointing to a Chinese military unit in Shanghai as the source of massive computer hacking of U.S. targets.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was responding to a 60-page report by Internet security company Mandiant that said it traced 141 major hacking attempts to a People's Liberation Army building in Shanghai.
The report issued Tuesday says the attempts targeted 20 industries, including military contractors and companies with access to energy grids.
Questioned on the report, Hong said he doubted the evidence would withstand scrutiny. He said: "To make groundless accusations based on some rough material is neither responsible nor professional."
China has frequently been accused of hacking, but says it strictly outlaws the practice and says it is itself a victim of such crimes.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
EU Foreign Ministers Discuss Ending War in Syria
EU foreign ministers are discussing how to bring an end to the violence in Syria, a discussion that will likely include the difficult issue of whether to amend the arms embargo against the country so that military aid can be funneled to rebels fighting the regime of Bashar Assad.
An EU official says Britain is lobbying for easing of the arms embargo for the rebels. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about closed-door deliberations.
But several European Union foreign ministers said on their way into the meeting that they opposed taking that step.
The U.N. says nearly 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict since the revolt began in March 2011.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Watch: In-Flight Assault, Passenger Allegedly Hits Crying Toddler
In-Flight Assault, Passenger Allegedly Hits Crying Toddler
Watch: Instant Index: Danica Patrick Makes History at Daytona 500
In-Flight Assault, Passenger Allegedly Hits Crying Toddler
Danica Patrick Wins Pole for NASCAR's Daytona 500
Danica Patrick has made history before ' as a woman and a racer, in Indianapolis and Japan.
The spotlight is nothing new. But never has it been this bright before.
Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole Sunday, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR's premier circuit. It's by far the biggest achievement of her stock-car career.
"I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl," she said. "That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning. Then I feel like thriving in those moments, where the pressure's on, has also been a help for me. I also feel like I've been lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me. I don't think any of it would have been possible without that.
"For those reasons, I've been lucky enough to make history, be the first woman to do many things. I really just hope that I don't stop doing that. We have a lot more history to make. We are excited to do it."
Her latest stamp in the history books came with a lap at 196.434 mph around Daytona International Speedway. Patrick went out eighth in the qualifying session, then had to wait about two hours as 37 fellow drivers tried to take her spot.
Only four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon even came close to knocking her off. Gordon was the only other driver who topped 196 mph in qualifying. He locked up the other guaranteed spot in next week's season-opening Daytona 500.
"It's great to be a part of history with Danica being on the pole," said Gordon, who joked that at least he was the fastest guy. "I think we all know how popular she is, what this will do for our sport. Congratulations to her. Proud to be on there with her."
The rest of the field will be set in duel qualifying races Thursday.
However the lineup unfolds, all drivers will line up behind Patrick's No. 10 Chevrolet SS.
And she knows her latest achievement will mean more public relations work.
The routine is nothing new for Patrick, who was the first woman to lead laps in the Indianapolis 500. She finished third in 2009, the highest finish in that illustrious race for a woman. And she became the only woman to win an IndyCar race when she did it in Japan in 2008.
Hardly anyone witnessed that victory.
Leading the field to the green flag in NASCAR's showcase event should be must-watch television.
"That's a huge accomplishment," team owner and fellow driver Tony Stewart said. "It's not like it's been 15 or 20 years she's been trying to do this. It's her second trip to Daytona here in a Cup car. She's made history in the sport. That's stuff that we're proud of being a part of with her. It's something she should have a huge amount of pride in.
"It's never been done. There's only one person that can be the first to do anything. Doesn't matter how many do it after you do, accomplish that same goal. The first one that does always has that little bit more significance to it because you were the first."
Even before her fast lap Sunday, Patrick was the talk of Speedweeks. Not only did she open up about her budding romance with fellow Sprint Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but she was considered the front-runner for the pole after leading practice sessions Saturday.
And she didn't disappoint.
She kept her car at or near the bottom of the famed track and gained ground on the straightaways, showing lots of power from a Hendrick Motorsports engine.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Watch: Blue Box Blunder: Tiffany Takes Costco to Court Over Ring Roundup
Caught on Tape, Baby Survives Plane Crash in Father's Arms
Watch: Costa Concordia Captain Makes Bold Wish
Caught on Tape, Baby Survives Plane Crash in Father's Arms
Carnival Cruise Ship Hit With Lawsuit
The first lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines has been filed and it is expected to be the beginning of a wave of lawsuits against the ship's owners.
Cassie Terry, 25, of Brazoria County, Texas, filed a lawsuit today in Miami federal court, calling the disabled Triumph cruise ship "a floating hell."
"Plaintiff was forced to endure unbearable and horrendous odors on the filthy and disabled vessel, and wade through human feces in order to reach food lines where the wait was counted in hours, only to receive rations of spoiled food," according to the lawsuit, obtained by ABCNews.com. "Plaintiff was forced to subsist for days in a floating toilet, a floating Petri dish, a floating hell."
Click Here for Photos of the Stranded Ship at Sea
The filing also said that during the "horrifying and excruciating tow back to the United States," the ship tilted several times "causing human waste to spill out of non-functioning toilets, flood across the vessel's floors and halls, and drip down the vessel's walls."
Terry's attorney Brent Allison told ABCNews.com that Terry knew she wanted to sue before she even got off the boat. When she was able to reach her husband, she told her husband and he contacted the attorneys.
Allison said Terry is thankful to be home with her husband, but is not feeling well and is going to a doctor.
"She's nauseated and actually has a fever," Allison said.
Terry is suing for breach of maritime contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and fraud as a result of the "unseaworthy, unsafe, unsanitary, and generally despicable conditions" on the crippled cruise ship.
"Plaintiff feared for her life and safety, under constant threat of contracting serious illness by the raw sewage filling the vessel, and suffering actual or some bodily injury," the lawsuit says.
Despite having their feet back on solid ground and making their way home, many passengers from the cruise ship are still fuming over their five days of squalor on the stricken ship and the cruise ship company is likely to be hit with a wave of lawsuits.
"I think people are going to file suits and rightly so," maritime trial attorney John Hickey told ABCNews.com. "I think, frankly, that the conduct of Carnival has been outrageous from the get-go."
Hickey, a Miami-based attorney, said his firm has already received "quite a few" inquiries from passengers who just got off the ship early this morning.
"What you have here is a) negligence on the part of Carnival and b) you have them, the passengers, being exposed to the risk of actual physical injury," Hickey said.
The attorney said that whether passengers can recover monetary compensation will depend on maritime law and the 15-pages of legal "gobbledygook," as Hickey described it, that passengers signed before boarding, but "nobody really agrees to."
One of the ticket conditions is that class action lawsuits are not allowed, but Hickey said there is a possibility that could be voided when all the conditions of the situation are taken into account.
One of the passengers already thinking about legal action is Tammy Hilley, a mother of two, who was on a girl's getaway with her two friends when a fire in the ship's engine room disabled the vessel's propulsion system and knocked out most of its power.
"I think that's a direction that our families will talk about, consider and see what's right for us," Hilley told "Good Morning America" when asked if she would be seeking legal action.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Passengers Start to Get Off Disabled Cruise Ship
The ordeal of the disabled Carnival Triumph cruise ship carrying 4,000 passengers and crew appeared to be almost over, with people starting to disembark in Mobile, Ala., after days at sea without power in often squalid conditions.
After the ship arrived at port around 9:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET), Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill praised the ship's crew and told reporters that he was headed on board to apologize directly to its passengers.
Passengers appeared to begin disembarking around 10:15 p.m. CT (11:15 p.m. ET).
The Carnival Triumph departed Galveston, Texas, Thursday and lost power Sunday after a fire in the engine room disabled the vessel's propulsion system and knocked out most of its power.
After power went out, passengers texted ABC News that sewage was seeping down the walls from burst plumbing pipes, carpets were wet with urine, and food was in short supply. Reports surfaced of elderly passengers running out of critical heart medicine and others on board squabbling over scarce food.
"I know the conditions on board were very poor," Cahill said. "I know it was very difficult, and I want to apologize again for subjecting our guests for that. ... Clearly, we failed in this particular case."
It could take up to five hours to get everybody off the huge ship.
"Inside the terminal, there's also warm food available," said Terry Thornton, Carnival's senior vice president of marketing. "There are blankets, there are cell phones and refreshments available for the guests that need that or want that assistance.
Passengers will have the options of boarding buses to Houston or Galveston, Texas, about seven hours away, or New Orleans, about two hours away, officials said.
"We have gotten our guests back to land," Cahill said. "Now, we need to get them home. ... The full resources of Carnival are working from here to get them home as quickly as we possibly can."
At an earlier news conference this afternoon, Thornton said that anyone with special needs and children will be the first to get off the boat. He said the company's No. 1 priority is to make the process as "quick, efficient and comfortable" for guests as possible.
"There are some limitations. We know that up front," Thornton said. "The ship still does not have power. We only have one functioning elevator aboard."
Click here for photos of the stranded ship at sea.
The passengers were achingly close to port about noon today as the ship began to enter the channel and proceed to the cruise terminal. At 1 p.m., the lead tow boat had a tow gear break, so a spare tug boat that was on standby had to be sent in to replace it.
But once the second tug was in position and the lines were re-set, the towing resumed only briefly before the tow line snapped.
"We had to replace that tow line, so the ship did not begin progressing back into the cruise terminal until 2 p.m.," Thornton said
Passengers desperate to get off the vessel waved at media helicopters that flew out to film the ship and passenger Rob Mowlam told ABCNews.com by phone today that most of the passengers on board were "really upbeat and positive."
Nevertheless, when he gets off Mowlam said, "I will probably flush the toilet 10 times just because I can."
Mowlam, 37, got married on board the Triumph Friday and said he and his wife, Stephanie Stevenson, 27, haven't yet thought of redoing the honeymoon other than to say, "It won't be a cruise."
Alabama State Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons said that with powerless "dead ships" like the Triumph, it is usually safer to bring them in during daylight hours, but, "Once they make the initial effort to come into the channel, there's no turning back."
"There are issues regarding coming into the ship channel and docking at night because the ship has no power and there's safety issues there," Richard Tillman of the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau told ABCNews.com.
When asked if the ship could be disembarked in the dark of night, Tillman said, "It is not advised. It would be very unusual."
Thornton denied the rumors that there was a fatality on the ship. He said that there was one illness early on, a dialysis patient, but that passenger was removed from the vessel and transferred to a medical facility.
The U.S. Coast Guard was assisting and there were multiple generators on board. Customs officials were to board the ship while it was being piloted to port to accelerate the embarkation, officials said.
Watch: Housing Market Makes Comeback, End to Foreclosure Crisis in Sight
Housing Market Makes Comeback, End to Foreclosure Crisis in Sight
Watch: Nightmare at Sea: Carnival Cruise Liner Nears Port
Housing Market Makes Comeback, End to Foreclosure Crisis in Sight
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Watch: Pope Benedict XVI Leads Mass at the Vatican
State of the Union 2013: Obama to Focus on Economy, Gun Control
Dorner Not IDed, But Manhunt Considered Over
Though they have not yet identified burned remains found at the scene of Tuesday's fiery, armed standoff, San Bernardino, Calif., officials consider the manhunt over for Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop accused of going on a killing spree.
"The events that occurred yesterday in the Big Bear area brought to close an extensive manhunt," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told reporters this evening.
"I cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him," he added.
However, he noted the physical description of the suspect authorities pursued to a cabin at the standoff scene, as well as the suspect's behavior during the chase and standoff, matched Dorner, 33.
The charred remains of the body believed to be Dorner were removed from the cabin high in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear, Calif., the apparent site of Dorner's last stand. Cornered inside the mountain cabin Tuesday, the suspect shot at cops, killing one deputy and wounding another, before the building was consumed by flames.
"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said tonight, though he noted pyrotechnic canisters known as "burners" were fired into the cabin during a tear gas assault in an effort to flush out Dorner. The canisters generate high temperatures, he added.
The deputies wounded in the firefight were airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said.
The deceased deputy was identified tonight as Det. Jeremiah MacKay, 35, a 15-year veteran and the father of two children -- a daughter, 7, and son, 4 months old.
"Our department is grieving from this event," McMahon said. "It is a terrible deal for all of us."
The Associated Press quoted MacKay on the Dorner dragnet Tuesday, noting that he had been on patrol since 5 a.m. Saturday.
"This one you just never know if the guy's going to pop out, or where he's going to pop out," MacKay said. "We're hoping this comes to a close without more casualties. The best thing would be for him to give up."
The wounded deputy, identified as Alex Collins, was undergoing multiple surgeries for his wounds at a hospital, McMahon said, but was expected to make a full recovery.
Before the final standoff, Dorner was apparently holed up in a snow-covered cabin in the California mountains just steps from where police had set up a command post and held press conferences during a five-day manhunt.
The manhunt for Dorner, one of the biggest in recent memory, led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, but it ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.
Residents of the area were relieved today that after a week of heightened police presence and fear that Dorner was likely dead.
"I'm glad no one else can get hurt and they caught him. I'm happy they caught the bad guy," said Ashley King, a waitress in the nearby town of Angelus Oaks, Calif.
Hundreds of cops scoured the mountains near Big Bear, a resort area in Southern California, since last Thursday using bloodhounds and thermal-imaging technology mounted to helicopters, in the search for Dorner. The former police officer and Navy marksman was suspected to be the person who killed a cop and cop's daughter and issued a "manifesto" declaring he was bent on revenge and pledging to kill dozens of LAPD cops and their family members.
But it now appears that Dorner never left the area, and may have hid out in an unoccupied cabin just steps from where cops had set up a command center.
Watch: Christopher Dorner Believed Dead After Shootout With Police
State of the Union 2013: Obama to Focus on Economy, Gun Control
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Watch: State of the Union 2013: Obama to Focus on Economy, Gun Control
State of the Union 2013: Obama to Focus on Economy, Gun Control
Cops Believe Dorner Was Still in Cabin as It Burned Down
Investigators have not been able to enter the still smoldering remains of the California mountain cabin where they believe fugitive ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner barricaded himself today, but they believe he was still there as the structure burned to the ground, police said tonight.
Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is the lead agency in the action, said the cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear was still too hot and dangerous for investigators to enter.
She said, however, that a suspect they believe is Dorner entered the cabin and did not come out as it burned to the ground.
"We believe that he was still inside the cabin [as it burned down], yes," Bachman said.
"Right, we believe, correct, we believe, we believe that the person that barricaded himself inside the cabin engaged in gunfire with our deputies and other law enforcement officers, is still inside there, even though the building burned, yes," she said.
Bachman spoke shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department denied reports that a body was found in the cabin, contradicting what law enforcement sources told ABC News and other news organizations.
Police around the cabin told ABC News they saw Dorner enter but never leave the building as it was consumed by flames, creating a billowing column of black smoke seen for miles.
One sheriff's deputy was killed in a shootout with Dorner earlier today, believed to be his fourth and final victim after killing an LAPD officer and two other people this month, including the daughter of a former police captain, and promising to kill many more in an online manifesto.
Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.
Police did not enter the building, but exchanged fire with Dorner and shot tear gas into the building.
FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt
One of the largest dragnets in recent history, which led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, apparently ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.
Police got a break at 12:20 p.m. PT, when they received a 911 call that a suspect resembling Dorner had broken into a home in the Big Bear area, taken two hostages and stolen a car.
The two hostages, who were tied up by Dorner but later escaped, were evaluated by paramedics and were determined to be uninjured.
Officials say Dorner crashed the stolen vehicle and fled on foot to the cabin where he barricaded himself and exchanged fire with deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and state Fish and Game officers.
Two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy was in surgery and was expected to survive, police said.
PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings
Police sealed all the roads into the area, preventing cars from entering the area and searching all of those on the way out. Are schools were briefly placed on lockdown.
Believing that Dorner might have been watching reports of the standoff, authorities asked media not to broadcast images of police surrounding the cabin, but sent him a message.
Watch: Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Police Exchange Fire With Possible Suspect
State of the Union 2013: Obama to Focus on Economy, Gun Control
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Watch: Pope Benedict XVI Resignation: What Does it Mean for Catholics in the US?
Pope Benedict to Resign, Cites Health Concerns
Watch: Pope Benedict to Resign, Cites Health Concerns
Pope Benedict to Resign, Cites Health Concerns
Pope Benedict's Legacy Marred by Sex Abuse Scandal
When Pope Benedict XVI resigns at the end of this month, he leaves behind a Church grappling with a global fallout from sex abuse and a personal legacy marred by allegations that he was instrumental in covering up that abuse.
As the sex abuse scandal spread from North America to Europe, Benedict became the first pope to meet personally with victims, and offered repeated public apologies for the Vatican's decades of inaction against priests who abused their congregants.
"No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse," the pope said in a 2008 homily in Washington, D.C., before meeting with victims of abuse for the first time. "It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention." During the same trip to the U.S., he met with victims for the first time.
For some of the victims, however, Benedict's actions were "lip service and a public relations campaign," said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer who represents victims of sex abuse. For 25 years, Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the Vatican office responsible for investigating claims of sex abuse, but he did not act until he received an explicit order from Pope John Paul II.
In 1980, as Archbishop of Munich, Ratzinger approved plans for a priest to move to a different German parish and return to pastoral work only days after the priest began therapy for pedophilia. The priest was later convicted of sexually abusing boys.
PHOTOS: Church Sex Scandals
In 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger became head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ' the office once known as the Inquisition -- making him responsible for upholding church doctrine, and for investigating claims of sexual abuse against clergy. Thousands of letters detailing allegations of abuse were forwarded to Ratzinger's office.
A lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of the Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a victims' rights group, charges that as head of the church body Ratzinger participated in a cover-up of abuse. In an 84-page complaint, the suit alleges that investigators of sex abuse cases in several countries found "intentional cover-ups and affirmative steps taken that serve to perpetuate the violence and exacerbate the harm."
"Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, either knew and/or some cases consciously disregarded information that showed subordinates were committing or about to commit such crimes," the complaint says.
Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's lawyer in the U.S., told the AP the complaint was a "ludicrous publicity stunt and a misuse of international judicial processes."
In the 1990s, former members of the Legion of Christ sent a letter to Ratzinger alleging that the founder and head of the Catholic order, Father Marcial Maciel, had molested them while they were teen seminarians. Maciel was allowed to continue as head of the order.
In 1996, Ratzinger didn't respond to letters from Milwaukee's archbishop about a priest accused of abusing students at a Wisconsin school for the deaf. An assistant to Ratzinger began a secret trial of the priest, Father Lawrence Murphy, but halted the process after Murphy wrote a personal appeal to Ratzinger complaining of ill health.
In 2001, Pope John Paul II issued a letter urging the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to pursue allegations of child abuse in response to calls from bishops around the world.
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