Athletics: 'Blade Runner' Pistorius charged in girlfriend's murder

PRETORIA: South African police held Olympic amputee sprint star Oscar Pistorius in custody Thursday after charging him with the Valentine's Day murder of his model girlfriend, who was shot four times with a gun registered in his name.

Blonde cover girl Reeva Steenkamp died after suffering wounds to the head and hand in the shooting in the early hours of Thursday.

Police played down reports that the 29-year-old was mistaken for a burglar. They had earlier said she was aged 30.

Twenty-six-year-old Pistorius -- known globally as "Blade Runner" because of his carbon fibre prostheses -- was to appear in court early Friday to answer formal murder charges.

The sprinter became an international celebrity during last year's London Olympics, when he became the first double-amputee to line up on the starting blocks beside able bodied competitors.

He was publicly adored in his native South Africa, though questions had been raised about his colourful private life that was replete with glamorous girlfriends, guns and fast cars.

Police were called to Pistorius's upscale Pretoria home at around 4:00 am by neighbours who heard gunshots inside the gated community.

Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said the 9mm pistol used in the shooting was registered to Pistorius, who authorities have said is the only suspect in the case.

The police said they would oppose any request for bail.

His arrest has rocked South Africa, where he had been considered a hero.

"Obviously we are shocked," his father Henke Pistorius told AFP. "He is with the police and the matter is in the hands of the authorities."

Steenkamp, once a FHM cover girl, was described as "the kindest, sweetest human being; an angel on earth," by Sarit Tomlins of her management agency.

Born in Cape Town, she grew up in Port Elizabeth where she graduated with a degree in law from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Authorities poured cold water on media reports that she had snuck up on her lover, suggestions that were fuelled by her tweet the day before.

"What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay", she wrote.

"We were surprised by allegations that the deceased had been perceived to be a burglar," police spokeswoman Beukes said.

Police said they were talking to neighbours who heard disturbances on Wednesday evening and around the time of the shooting.

There had been previous allegations of domestic disputes at Pistorius's home.

"There were always rumours attracted to Oscar Pistorius, but most of them I just put down to him being a celebrity," said Kyle Wood, a 25-year-old fellow resident of the Silverlakes community.

In 2009 Pistorius spent a night in jail after allegedly assaulting a 19-year-old woman at a party.

He has often spoken publicly about his fondness for guns.

Last year he told a newspaper he sleeps with a pistol, machine gun, cricket bat and baseball bat for fear of burglars.

He once took a reporter to a nearby shooting range with his 9mm handgun after learning that the journalist had never fired a shot.

There are an estimated 1.5 million gun owners in South Africa, where crime remains a major problem.

Many residents keep weapons at home and equip their houses with electric fences and panic buttons that summon heavily armed guards within minutes.

In November, Pistorius tweeted about arriving home and hearing the washing machine on "and thinking it's an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry! waa."

His right to have a gun was called into question by South Africa's anti-firearms lobby.

To be licensed as a gun owner, Pistorius would have had to seek a competency certificate that requires knowledge of gun laws and interviews with his neighbours to rule out issues around addiction, mental illness or violence.

"With Oscar's case it is quite interesting because it does appear that there was a history of abuse and possible alcohol misuse," said Claire Taylor of Gun Free South Africa.

Pistorius was also known as an adrenaline junkie, with a love of speed reflected in a passion for motorbikes. Four years ago he crashed his boat in a river south of Johannesburg, breaking two ribs, an eye socket and his jaw.

Empty alcohol bottles were found in the boat, but his blood alcohol content was not tested.

Until now his problems off the track had been eclipsed by his success on it.

The Johannesburg-born athlete won gold in the 4x100m relay and the 400m individual at the Paralympic Games in London. He was triple gold medallist in the Beijing games in 2008.

He was named by Time Magazine last year as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11-months-old after being born without lower leg bones. But he played sports unhindered while growing up, switching to running after fracturing a knee playing rugby.

At high school, he was so good that his personal fitness coach said she was unaware for six months that he ran on prosthetic legs.

Already a South African pay television channel has canned a campaign featuring the runner.

There was no immediate comment from global sports giant Nike on its sponsorship of Pistorius, who it featured in an advert showing the runner setting off from the starting blocks with the line "I am the bullet in the chamber".

- AFP/jc

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Mom of boy held in bunker is worried

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Phil McGraw speaks with mother of former Alabama child hostage


• She tells him she worried about trying to put him back on a school bus


• Ethan told her the Army killed the 'bad man'


• The 6-year-old tells his mom that 'My bus driver is dead'

(CNN) -- Jennifer Kirkland says she caught her 6-year-old son Ethan just staring at a school bus the other day.

He was mesmerized, his eyes locked on the yellow vehicle. He didn't say a thing, and she didn't know what to say to him.

The last time he was on a bus, he was sitting just behind the driver -- as he always did -- waiting for his stop so he could go home.

But the "bad man" got on, and killed the driver, his buddy Mr. Poland.

Appearing on the "Dr. Phil" show, Kirkland told Phil McGraw she was worried how her little boy was going to react the next time she tried to put him on the bus to school.

After being kidnapped, the recovery ahead

Ethan has been having a hard time sleeping, she told the psychologist turned syndicated daytime talk show host.

He thrashes his arms, tosses and turns and sometimes he calls out.

It has only been almost 10 days since the FBI sent a rescue team into the bunker in Midland City, Alabama, where Ethan was held hostage for nearly a week by Jimmy Lee Dykes.

His mother hasn't asked Ethan what happened when he was there.

"I have not talked to Ethan about it," she said in an interview aired Wednesday. "I don't know how to. As a mother I want him to know that I'm there if he needs to talk. I don't know how to respond because I have never been through this."

Inside the bunker: From storm shelter to boy's prison

Ethan has seen two people shot to death. Dykes shot bus driver Charles Poland several times before he carried Ethan, who had fainted, off the bus and into an underground bunker Dykes had built on his property.

Then the FBI killed Dykes when negotiations broke down and authorities felt they had to rescue the boy before Dykes, who had a handgun, did something rash.

"The Army came in and shot the bad man," Kirkland said Ethan told her.

Kirkland said she had hoped Dykes wouldn't be harmed.

"From the very beginning, I had already forgiven Mr. Dykes even though he had my child," she said. "I could not be angry through this. My job was to be the mother."

She thinks Dykes had a soft spot for Ethan because he has disabilities. Dykes took care of her boy as best he could, she said.

He even fried chicken for the boy.

Still, as the crisis continued, she worried that Dykes might be spooked by something her child did -- or that he had enough supplies to stay down there for months. She worried her boy would think she had abandoned him.

She asked authorities to let her speak to Dykes.

"That's my baby. He's my world. He's my everything," she said. "Everything I do I do for him. And I was afraid I wasn't going to get him back."

When she did get him back, he was in the hospital, putting stickers on everyone in sight.

"Hey, bug, I sure have missed you," she recounted.

"I missed you, too," he answered.

FBI: Bombs found in Alabama kidnapper's bunker

Now she worries that even though he seems like the same playful little boy, there is an emotional storm ahead.

McGraw told her to talk to Ethan about his feelings, not what happened to him in the bunker.

"Let that decay in his young mind," he said.

McGraw asked Ethan a few questions, but as 6-year-olds are apt to do, he answered most with a "Yes" or a "No."

But when the doctor asked him how he got to school, Ethan said, "On my bus, but my ..."

Then he walked over to his mother and as if telling a secret, whispered in her ear, "But my bus driver is dead."

Kirkland told McGraw that it was Poland who helped Ethan conquer his fear of descending the steep school bus steps. Poland would cheer Ethan on and one day when the child hesitated and the mother went to help, the driver said, "Let him do it."

Since then, Ethan has had no problem.

But now his cheerleader won't be there, and Kirkland is anguished about her boy.

"Mr. Poland put him behind him so he could keep a good eye on him," she said.

Ethan hasn't been back to school yet. He's been busy opening birthday presents and playing with his favorite toys. On Wednesday, he made a new friend in Gov. Robert Bentley.

There's a picture from the event where little Ethan is sitting underneath the governor's desk. The child is beaming.

"Ethan is a loving, forgiving child," Kirkland said. "He is easy to go up to a perfect stranger and say, 'Can I have a hug?'"

That was the boy who went into that bunker. She is concerned it's not the child who came out.

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Ex-San Diego mayor gambled away charity funds

Updated at 4:04 p.m. ET

SAN DIEGO Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor acknowledged Thursday in federal court that she misappropriated $2 million from her late husband's charitable foundation due to a gambling addiction in which she won more than $1 billion but lost even more over nearly a decade.

O'Connor made the acknowledgement in an agreement with the government to defer prosecution for two years while she attempts to repay the debt.

Before entering federal court Thursday, O'Connor defense attorney Gene Iredale said O'Connor suffered a brain tumor, during which time she gambled away nearly a billion dollars of her inheritance, CBS San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reports.

(Watch a report from KFMB-TV below)

"She's not pleading guilty. She's not going to be convicted of a crime," Iredale told reporters. "It's a case in which we've agreed that charges will be filed, but they will be dismissed without a conviction, assuming that Maureen has appropriate treatment and conforms to the law for a period of two years."

Iredale said O'Connor's poor health contributed to the gambling problem and that she took the money to repay her debts, KFMB-TV reports.

O'Connor was the Democratic leader of California's second-largest city from 1986 to 1992. The two-term mayor was elected San Diego's first female leader after eight years on the City Council. She was married to Robert O. Peterson, founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain.

Prosecutors said her gambling winnings amounted to more than $1 billion from 2000 to 2009 but she lost more than that.

Her defense attorney estimated the debt at $13 million.

O'Connor gambled in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, N.J., and San Diego.

San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

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Cruise Passengers 'Upbeat' as They Near Land

The 4,000 passengers and crew aboard the stricken Carnival Triumph cruise ship will disembark after dark tonight from the fetid cruiser dubbed "the poop deck" on social media, according to officials.

"It will come in. It will not stop," Alabama State Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons said at a news conference today. "We're going to do everything we can from our standpoint to ensure that this is as smooth as possible."

He estimated the ship would arrive between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight.

Delighted passengers 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."

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."

Click here for photos of the stranded ship at sea.

Lt. Cmdr. Paul McConnell/U.S. Coast Guard/AP Photo

Stranded Carnival Cruise Ship On Its Way to Port Watch Video

Carnival Cancels All Scheduled Voyages Aboard the Triumph Watch Video

Carnival Cruise Ship Making Its Way to Port Watch Video

"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."

Carnival Cruise Senior Vice President of Marketing Terri Thornton, however, insisted during a news conference at the port of Mobile today, "Our understanding is it will be alongside this evening."

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 is assisting now and there are multiple generators on board. And customs officials will board the ship while it is being piloted to port to accelerate the embarkation, officials said.

After eight miserable days at sea, the ship's owners have increased the compensation for what some on board are calling the vacation from hell.

All 3,143 passengers aboard the 900 foot colossus, which stalled in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine room fire early Sunday, were already being given a full refund for the cruise, transportation expenses and vouchers for a another cruise. Carnival Cruise Lines is now boosting that offer to include another $500 per person. Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, announced the additional compensation Wednesday.

"We know it has been a longer journey back than we anticipated at the beginning of the week under very challenging circumstances," he said in a statement. "We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure. Therefore, in addition to the full refund and future cruise credit already offered, we have decided to provide this additional compensation."

Carnival also said that it has canceled a dozen planned voyages for the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before an engine-room fire left it powerless in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Obama speech 'relied on amnesia'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Matt Welch: State of the Union featured content-free calls to action for action's sake


• He says governed might want to know what they've gotten in return for ballooning debt


• Didn't we try repairing infrastructure with the stimulus package? he asks


• Welch: Rand Paul spoke to those who think government should get out of way

Editor's note: Matt Welch is editor in chief of Reason and co-author of "The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America" (Public Affairs).

(CNN) -- The two most memorable lines of President Barack Obama's fourth State of the Union address were the ad-libbed: "Get it done" (which doesn't appear in the remarks as prepared), and the emotional "They deserve a vote," concerning victims of gun violence.

As exasperated appeals for an obstructionist Congress to get off its duff, the exhortations provided emotional catnip for Democrats. For the rest of us, however, they were sobering reminders of what governing liberalism has deteriorated into: content-free calls to take action for action's sake.

Consumers of national governance are within their rights to ask just what we've gotten in return for ballooning the cost of the stuff since 2000. The answer may lie in not just what the president said, but what he has assumed we've already forgotten.

Matt Welch

"Let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years," said the president, who promised a "Recovery Through Retrofit" three years ago. "The American people deserve a tax code that ... lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that create jobs right here in America," said the man who before he took office vowed to, uh, give "tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States."

That "aging infrastructure badly in need of repair"? Well, what happened to the $50 billion from the stimulus package dedicated to precisely that task, or the $50 billion plan 18 months later? Making college "more affordable"? That has been the motivation for continuous ratcheting of government involvement in higher education, which has -- surprise! -- coincided with a several-decade increase in tuition costs and student loan debt.

Greene: In 2013, democracy talks back

Do-something politics works when Americans have amnesia, or are reacting to headline-making tragedies, or when they just want free stuff. But this irresistible force is butting up against the immovable object of a have-nothing U.S. Treasury. Debt service costs will soon overtake defense spending, and baby boomer entitlements are about to transform the federal government into a check-writing program for senior citizens.

Americans know by now that Obama can't possibly believe his own promises that his policies won't "increase our deficit by a single dime," not only because of his poor track record with that particular vow, but because he spends the rest of his time talking about all the various things the government needs to "invest" to create "broad-based growth." It's a conflict at the basic level of vision with those of us who think prosperity is mostly a private-sector affair that is on balance imperiled, not improved, by the exertions of a deficit-spending government.

Opinion: Obama dares Congress to get the job done

Thankfully, and quite unlike during the 2012 presidential campaign, the competing vision was voiced Tuesday night. Not necessarily by a dehydrated but game Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, who delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address, but by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, who did the honors online for the tea party.

"The path we are on is not sustainable," Paul said, directly. "All that we are, all that we wish to be, is now threatened by the notion that you can have something for nothing, that you can have your cake and eat it, too, that you can spend a trillion dollars every year that you don't have."

Paul dinged Republicans as well as Democrats, targeted military spending as well as entitlements, and spent a good 30 seconds giving a more full-throated defense of wartime civil liberties than the allegedly anti-war candidate Obama ever did.

Most importantly, he laid out a truly alternative vision that speaks directly to the growing number of Americans who feel like the federal government has failed as the engine of economic growth, and needs urgently to take a back seat before it does more harm.

Rothkopf: This time, a president in full

"What America needs," Paul said, "is not Robin Hood, but Adam Smith." As Obamanomics continues underperforming through a second term, it will be fascinating to see whether Ron Paul's kid can get more people to agree.

Follow us on Twitter: @CNNOpinion.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Matt Welch.

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Tennis: Federer speeds to opening Rotterdam win

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands: Roger Federer began the defence of his Rotterdam World Tennis title by crushing Slovenia's Grega Zemlja 6-3, 6-1 in just 57 minutes on Wednesday.

Federer advanced effortlessly into the second round over last autumn's Vienna finalist and next faces Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker.

The Swiss top seed, and world number two, improved to 22-5 in Rotterdam as he plays the event for the eighth time, never losing before the quarter-finals.

Zemlja slipped to 1-9 against top 10 opposition after beating number nine Janko Tipsarevic in the Vienna semi-finals before losing to Juan Martin del Potro.

Federer raced through the opening set in 29 minutes with a break in the final game and rolled on in the second, taking a 3-1 led before closing out with a break in the penultimate game and a love game to finish with a service winner.

"I've been here and preparing for a few days, but matches are always different than training," said Federer. "The ball flies a bit and you have to be prepared.

"I'll have to be careful against De Bakker. I played him in the Davis Cup (2012). The local players always get up for home matches. I'll have to approach him carefully and not underestimate him."

French seeds moved smoothly on with number four Richard Gasquet picking up where he left off after winning the Montpellier title at the weekend.

The world number 10 cited the tiebreaker as crucial in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 defeat of Serb Victor Troicki to reach the second round.

"Winning the breaker was the key to the match," said Gasquet. "I played well and was then more confident at the start of the second set. It was the perfect start for me."

Gasquet is the first man this season on the ATP Tour to win more than one title after starting out in January with Doha honours.

The last time he won more than one title in a season was 2006 when he claimed three.

"I've only lost once this year," said Gasquet whose year record stands at 15-1.

"Of course I hope to keep going like this. My only defeat was to (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga in Australia. I'm fighting as much as I can for ranking points, that's why I'm here."

Fifth seed Gilles Simon won his second-round encounter with Italian Matteo Viola 6-3, 6-1 while compatriot Julien Benneteau joined him in the quarter-finals at the Ahoy stadium with a victory over Romanian Victor Hanescu, 6-1, 6-3.

German qualifier Matthias Bachinger earned an upset win over Andreas Seppi, the Italian sixth seed, 6-3, 6-4.

- AFP/jc

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Body found in cabin may be Christopher Dorner

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Slain officer's widow thanks mourners: "A lot of people loved Mike"


• Authorities have a "reasonable belief" that Dorner died in a mountain standoff


• Authorities have not conclusively identified the body found near Big Bear Lake


• The LAPD is still guarding some people named in Dorner's manifesto

Follow the story here and at CNN affiliates KCBS/KCAL, KABC and KTLA. Anderson Cooper 360º devotes the entire hour to the frenzied manhunt, the final shootout, and the people allegedly killed by an ex-LA cop. Watch "9 Days of Terror: The Hunt for Christopher Dorner" Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

Riverside, California (CNN) -- A "sigh of relief." A widow's restrained sobs. The lingering fear of the targets, waiting to hear whether their pursuer had truly been run to ground.

A day after a man suspected to be renegade ex-cop Christopher Dorner died in a blazing mountain cabin, police from around the Los Angeles area and beyond gathered to bury one of their own Wednesday. A squad of bagpipers led Michael Crain's flag-draped casket through a cordon of blue uniforms into a church in Riverside, the Los Angeles suburb where he served 11 years on the force.

The mourners who packed the church included California Gov. Jerry Brown, his Highway Patrol chief and law enforcement from an alphabet soup of agencies around the region.

"I knew that communities would reach out, and I knew a lot of people loved Mike," Regina Crain, the slain officer's widow, told them as she choked back tears. "And I knew that I would have support no matter what. But I really did not realize the sheer scale of this, and how many people are touched by his life. It gives me really great comfort to see that, and I want to thank you all."

Investigators say Crain was shot and killed by Dorner, a fired Los Angeles cop who launched a vendetta against his old department last week. They blame the 33-year-old former Navy officer for the deaths of Crain and a still-unnamed San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy killed in Tuesday's fiery standoff. He is also accused of killing the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiance and of shooting three other cops, including Crain's partner. The violence spree began February 3.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said authorities have a "reasonable belief" that the body found in a burned-out cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains late Tuesday is Dorner's. But while the SWAT teams that prowled the city in search of the former Navy officer have stood down, the officers detailed to guard his potential victims remain in place.

"I think we all are breathing a sigh of relief," Villaraigosa said Wednesday. "We do believe that it is the body of Christopher Dorner, but we don't know for a certainty. And until we do, those police officers who were targeted will continue to be protected. That's the least we could do."

Authorities say Dorner launched a guerrilla war against the Los Angeles Police Department over what he considered his unfair dismissal in 2009.

It wasn't clear when a formal identification could be made of the charred remains found in the cabin near Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, after a Tuesday shootout with police. Until then, "a lot of apprehension" remains in the ranks of the LAPD, Lt. Andy Neiman said.

"It's been a very trying time over the last couple of weeks for all of those involved and all those families, friends and everybody that has been touched by this incident," he said.

Timeline in manhunt

Meanwhile, questions swirled Wednesday over how the shootout, standoff and fire that led to Dorner's presumed death unfolded.

Investigators began scouring the mountains on Thursday, when investigators found Dorner's scorched pickup. Police, sheriff's deputies and federal agents swarmed into the area, working through a weekend blizzard, but the trail was cold for days.

On Sunday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it had scaled back the search. Villaraigosa announced a $1 million reward for information leading to Dorner's arrest and conviction, spurring hundreds of tips.

Then early Tuesday afternoon, California Fish and Wildlife wardens said they spotted Dorner driving a purple Nissan down icy roads near Big Bear Lake. He was driving very close to some school buses, as if using them as cover, said Lt. Patrick Foy. No children were on the buses, Foy said.

The wardens, driving in two different vehicles, chased Dorner, and a gun battle ensued. One of the warden's cars was hit, and Dorner crashed his car and ran, according to authorities. He then carjacked a pickup truck.

Rick Heltebrake, a camp ranger, said he was driving when he saw the crashed purple vehicle -- and then something terrifying.

How authorities identify a burned body

"Here comes this guy with a big gun, and I knew who it was right away," Heltebrake told CNN affiliate KTLA. "He just came out of the snow at me with his gun at my head. He said, 'I don't want to hurt you. Just get out of the car and start walking.' "

Heltebrake said the man let him take his dog and walk away with his hands up.

"Not more than 10 seconds later, I heard a loud round of gunfire," Heltebrake said. "Ten to 20 rounds, maybe. I found out later what that was all about."

Dorner fled to a nearby cabin and got into another shootout, this time with San Bernardino County deputies. He killed one and wounded another, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told reporters Tuesday evening.

The wounded deputy was in surgery at that time but "should be fine," McMahon said.

Some of the firefight between police and the suspect was captured live on the telephone of a reporter for CNN affiliates KCBS and KCAL. Police in Los Angeles listened live over police scanners broadcast on the Internet, Neiman said.

"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight," he said. "To hear those words, 'officer down,' is the most gut-wrenching experience you can have as a police officer, because you know what that means."

A law enforcement source told CNN the cabin caught fire when police tossed smoke devices inside. The intense fire burned for hours as authorities waited at a distance.

Devices such as flash bang grenades and tear gas canisters designed to disorient and disable suspects can cause fires, CNN contributor Tom Fuentes, a former FBI assistant director, said Wednesday. But it wasn't clear exactly how the fire started.

After initially saying that no body had been found, sheriff's investigators finally confirmed overnight that they had found charred human remains in the ashes.

Talk Back: Does the Dorner case teach us anything about guns?

Dorner who vowed to kill police officers to avenge what he called an unfair termination, was first named a suspect in two shooting deaths on February 3: Monica Quan, the daughter of his police union representative, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence.

Police say he killed Crain and wounded Crain's partner in an ambush on their patrol car Thursday. They say he also wounded an LAPD officer who chased him in the suburban city of Corona, California.

Police say Dorner promised a war on police after issuing a manifesto blaming the LAPD for mistreating him. He claimed he was railroaded out of the department after filing a brutality report against another officer and said a culture of racism and misconduct continues within the department.

The manifesto warned dozens of LAPD figures and their families that he would wage "asymmetric warfare" against the department, drawing on his training with the LAPD and as a naval officer in river warfare and security units.

He said it was not something he enjoyed but called it a "last resort" to clear his name and bring change to the department. And he predicted his own death would come in a confrontation with police.

"Self Preservation is no longer important to me," the manifesto said. "I do not fear death as I died long ago."

CNN's Miguel Marquez, Paul Vercammen, Stan Wilson, Casey Wian, Kathleen Johnston, Alan Duke, Lateef Mungin, Chelsea J. Carter, Michael Martinez, Holly Yan and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

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American, US Airways set to clinch merger

(MoneyWatch) American Airlines and US Airways (LCC) are set to announce a merger that would create the world's biggest carrier.

Under the deal, which is expected to be unveiled Thursday if the timeline isn't moved up sooner and there are no last-minute snags, the combined airline would keep the "American" name. It would still require federal approval, although that is virtually ensured. US Air CEO Doug Parker is expected to lead the combined company.

A merger of US Air and American would surpass a 2010 tie-up between United Airlines (UAL) and Continental and a 2008 deal joining Delta (DAL) and Northwest. The merged American would be the largest carrier and sport a market valuation of roughly $10 billion.

Although airlines tout such consolidation as a way to cut costs and expand service amid intense competition, whether industry mergers raise fares is an open question. Many analysts say yes because reduced competition in any business often results in higher prices. One study found that ticket prices went up more than 20 percent between Detroit and Atlanta after Delta bought Northwest. Fares went up more than 30 percent on routes between Chicago and Houston, as well as Newark to San Francisco, after the United-Continental deal.

In seeking to run more efficiently, merging airlines also often cut capacity and eliminate routes. 

Play Video

American close to merger with U.S. Airways

Other analysts are more optimistic about the potential benefits to travelers. They say the three largest U.S. airlines still must compete with discount carriers such as Southwest (LUV), which has flourished for years by offering low-cost flights and no-frills service.

The consolidation trend is largely blamed on the price of fuel. Oil now costs so much more per barrel than it did 10 years ago that one analyst says the margin of profit on many flights has shrunk to the value of a single seat. That means an airline can lose money if it flies with one single empty middle seat. The days of elbow room are over.

American Airlines has been operating under court supervision since declaring bankruptcy in November 2011.

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Dorner Hid Just Steps From Command Center

Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop who authorities believe died in a fiery standoff with police Tuesday night, 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 charred remains of a body believed to be Dorner was removed from another cabin, high in the San Bernadino Mountains near Big Bear, Calif., the site of Dorner's last stand. Cornered inside the mountain cabin, the suspect shot at cops, killing one deputy and wounding another, before the building was consumed by flames.

Police are working to officially identify the body, but "have reason to believe that it is him," said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cynthia Bachman.

The manhunt for Dorner, 33, 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 being hunted as the suspect who had killed a cop and cop's daughter and had issued a "manifesto" declaring he was bent on revenge and pledged to kill dozens of LAPD cops and their family members.

Carjacking Victim Says Christopher Dorner Was Dressed for Damage Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Inside the Shootout Watch Video

Chris Dorner Manhunt: Fugitive Ex-Cop in Shootout With Police Watch Video

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.

It was at the cabin Tuesday morning where two women arrived to find a man matching Dorner's description inside. He took the women hostage, tying them up and stealing their car. At 12:20 p.m. PT, one of the woman broke free and called police.

Dorner crashed that car and hijacked a pickup truck as officials from the state Fish and Game Department pursued him.

"I saw some movement in the trees and it was Christopher Dorner and he came out onto the road, out of the snow, and he was dressed in all camouflage and had a big assault, sniper-type rifle and he had a vest on, like a ballistics vest," Rick Heltebrake, the pickup's driver, told ABC News.

"He was dressed up to do some damage it looked like. He said, 'I don't want to hurt you. Just get out and start walking up the road and take your dog with you,'" Heltebrake said.

Dorner then took off into the woods on foot, where sheriff's deputies pursued him to a rental cabin in which he barricaded himself and began firing.

Two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy received non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Some local television stations broadcast police scanner traffic of the firefight, punctuated by the sound of automatic gunfire.

"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight and to hear those words. 'Officer down' is the most gut-wrenching experience that you can have as a police officer," said LAPD spokesman Lt. Andrew Neiman.

Over the course of the next five hours, heavily armed SWAT teams with tank-like vehicles surrounded the cabin, even firing tear gas inside, but never entered the building.

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.

Dorner is accused of killing four people, including the deputy shot on Tuesday. Last Thursday he allegedly gunned down Riverside police officer Michael Crain, who was laid to rest today.

Crain's shooting and the discovery of an online manifesto pledging to kill dozens of cops launched the dragnet.

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Was euro ever 'about to collapse'?

By Ramy Inocencio, for CNN

February 12, 2013 -- Updated 0948 GMT (1748 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Former European Central Bank chief says euro was never going to collapse


• In 2012, critics predicted at least partial breakup of 17-member eurozone


• Euro plunged to 25-month low against U.S. dollar in July 2012


• Currency war fears prevail in run-up to G20 finance ministers meeting this week

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Less than six months ago, eurozone watchers had been predicting the breakup of the 17-member bloc of nations as the euro plunged to a 25-month low against the U.S. dollar last July.

Even as recently as November, Warren Buffett, the famed CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said of the eurozone's future that "it's hard to tell exactly how it comes out."

But since then, the euro has appreciated nearly 11% as its member countries battled to contain sovereign debt crises, rising unemployment and social unrest. The euro now stands at a 13-month high against the greenback.

And flying in the face of last year's critics, former European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet told CNN's Nina dos Santos that the euro "was never about to collapse" and that its viability as a currency is solid.

"The euro as a currency has never been put in question," asserted Trichet, while at the same time admitting the euro area's financial stability and credit worthiness had been tested.

As for the euro, he said it "is certainly reliable and credible."

Yet, the euro's gains over the past seven months is a mixed blessing. Arguments have long-existed for and against a stronger currency. Appreciation means investors are more confident in the euro but eurozone exports become more expensive when sold overseas; devaluation makes the bloc's exports more competitive globally, which many eurozone officials would prefer.

But if the world's major economies devalued their currencies to make exports more competitive and to spur their economies to growth again, it would be chaos, says Trichet.

"If the reasoning is the same in all constituencies you have nothing but...a 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policy which is a recipe for catastrophe."

That catastrophe could take the form of an all-out currency war. And this week, the world's leading banks called on the G20 group of richest nations to avoid such an outcome.

"We believe major central banks should focus on enhancing their cooperation...to guide market expectations and thus help avoid a disorderly interest rate adjustment process and undue exchange rate volatility," the Institute of International Finance wrote in a letter to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is chairing the G20 finance minister's meeting later this week.

But with the eurozone in recession for the second time in four years, the desire to devalue the euro may be strong. The European Central Bank in December cut its 2013 growth forecast, with a best-case growth rate scenario of only 0.3%.

"It is no time for complacency," warned Trichet who added that the central banks of the United States, Japan and Europe as well as their private sectors should get their "house(s) in order."

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