Jessica Ridgeway Murder Suspect to Stand Trial












The teenage suspect in the murder and dismemberment of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway will stand trial after a judge ruled there is enough evidence, including an alleged 911 confession, to move forward with the case.


Prosecutors played the 911 recording on Friday at a preliminary hearing for Austin Sigg, 18, in which the teen confessed to murdering the fifth grader and trying to kidnap a female jogger.


"I murdered Jessica Ridgeway, I have proof that I did. I'm giving myself up completely, there will be no resistance whatsoever," Sigg said on the Oct. 23, 2012, recording, according to ABC News Denver affiliate KMGH-TV.


The dispatcher then asked about his criminal history.


"The only other [incident] was Ketner Lake, where a woman was attacked. That was me," Sigg said in the recording.


A lead investigator on the case testified that Mindy Sigg, the teen's mother, told the dispatcher her son had hidden Jessica's remains in a crawl space under the family home, KMGH reported.


Authorities arrested Sigg at his Westminster, Colo., home that evening.


Sigg is charged with murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery in the Ridgeway case.


He faces an attempted kidnapping charge for the May 28, 2012, attack on a 22-year-old female jogger. Police said a man tried to grab her from behind on a trail around Ketner Lake.






Courtesy Westminster Police Department











Jessica Ridgeway's Death Connected to Jogger Attack Watch Video









Jessica Ridgeway Abduction Case: Hunt For Child Predator Watch Video









Missing Colorado Girl Jessica Ridgeway: Finding a Killer Watch Video





The woman said the man tried to put a rag over her mouth that had a chemical smell. She was able to get away and call 911.


A judge ruled Friday that Sigg should be held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned March 12.


Jessica Ridgeway Disappearance Rattles Community


The search last fall for Jessica Ridgeway had the Westminster, Colo., community on edge as they grappled with the notion a cold-blooded predator could be hiding in their midst.


The fifth-grader was last seen on Oct. 5, 2012, when she left for school. She never showed up at a nearby park where she was supposed to meet friends for the one-mile walk to her elementary school. It was a route she took every day, but this time she never arrived.


An extensive FBI search included knocking on doors, road blocks, and encouraging people to report any suspicious behavior observed in friends and family members.


Jessica's dismembered torso was found inside a bag in Arvada, Colo., on Oct. 10. Her legs, arms and head were found in the crawl space under Sigg's home, Detective Luis Lopez told the court on Friday, according to KMGH. Her cause of death was asphyxiation, he said.


Authorities turned their attention to Sigg after a neighbor called a tip line Oct. 19 to report Sigg wore a cross similar to the one police believed the killer wore, and said the teen had a fascination with death. Two FBI agents took a DNA sample from Sigg, who was 17 years old at the time.


It wasn't until the 911 call on Oct. 23 that Sigg was taken into custody.


Sigg had been a student at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo., according to his arrest report, where classmates said he was studying mortuary science.


The Ridgeway and Sigg families attended the hearing on Friday. Both families were dressed in purple, which was Jessica's favorite color.


ABC News' Christina Ng contributed to this report.



Read More..

Analysis: Italian election explained











Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader








STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time

  • The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%

  • Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win

  • Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances




(CNN) -- Little more than a year after he resigned in disgrace as prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back -- for the fourth time.


Berlusconi, the septuagenarian playboy billionaire nicknamed "Il Cavaliere," has been trailing in polls behind his center-left rival, Per Luigi Bersani.


But the controversial media tycoon's rise in the polls in recent weeks, combined with widespread public disillusionment and the quirks of Italy's complex electoral system, means that nothing about the race is a foregone conclusion.


Why have the elections been called now?


Italian parliamentarians are elected for five-year terms, with the current one due to end in April. However in December, Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party (PdL) withdrew its support from the reformist government led by Mario Monti, saying it was pursuing policies that "were too German-centric." Monti subsequently resigned and the parliament was dissolved.






Berlusconi -- the country's longest serving post-war leader -- had resigned the prime ministerial office himself amidst a parliamentary revolt in November 2011. He left at a time of personal and national crisis, as Italy grappled with sovereign debt problems and Berlusconi faced criminal charges of tax fraud, for which he was subsequently convicted. He remains free pending an appeal. He was also embroiled in a scandal involving a young nightclub dancer - which led him to be charged with paying for sex with an underage prostitute.


MORE: From Venice to bunga bunga: Italy in coma


He was replaced by Monti, a respected economist and former European Commissioner, who was invited by Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano to lead a cabinet of unelected technocrats. Monti's government implemented a program of tax rises and austerity measures in an attempt to resolve Italy's economic crisis.


Who are the candidates?


The election is a four-horse race between political coalitions led by Bersani, Berlusconi, Monti, and the anti-establishment movement led by ex-comedian Beppe Grillo. Polls are banned within two weeks of election day, but the most recent ones had Bersani holding onto a slender lead over Berlusconi, followed by Grillo in distant third.


READ MORE: Will Monte Paschi banking scandal throw open Italy's election race?


The center-left alliance is dominated by the Democratic Party, led by Bersani. He is a former Minister of Economic Development in Romano Prodi's government from 2006-8 -- and has held a comfortable lead in polls, but that appears to be gradually being eroded by Berlusconi.


Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances, and the Democratic Party has teamed with the more left-wing Left Ecology Freedom party.


The 61-year-old Bersani comes across as "bluff and homespun, and that's part of his appeal -- or not, depending on your point of view," said political analyst James Walston, department chair of international relations at the American University of Rome.


He described Bersani, a former communist, as a "revised apparatchik," saying the reform-minded socialist was paradoxically "far more of a free marketeer than even people on the right."


Bersani has vowed to continue with Monti's austerity measures and reforms, albeit with some adjustments, if he wins.


At second place in the polls is the center-right alliance led by Berlusconi's PdL, in coalition with the right-wing, anti-immigration Northern League.


Berlusconi has given conflicting signals as to whether he is running for the premiership, indicating that he would seek the job if his coalition won, but contradicting that on other occasions.


In a recent speech, he proposed himself as Economy and Industry Minister, and the PdL Secretary Angelino Alfano as prime minister.


Roberto Maroni, leader of the Northern League, has said the possibility of Berlusconi becoming prime minister is explicitly ruled out by the electoral pact between the parties, but the former premier has repeatedly said he plays to win, and observers believe he is unlikely to pass up the chance to lead the country again if the opportunity presents itself.


Berlusconi has been campaigning as a Milan court weighs his appeal against a tax fraud conviction, for which he was sentenced to four years in jail last year. The verdict will be delivered after the elections; however, under the Italian legal system, he is entitled to a further appeal in a higher court. Because the case dates to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire this year, meaning there is a good chance none of the defendants will serve any prison time.


He is also facing charges in the prostitution case (and that he tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when she was accused of theft) -- and in a third case stands accused of revealing confidential court information relating to an investigation into a bank scandal in 2005.


Despite all this, he retains strong political support from his base.


"Italy is a very forgiving society, it's partly to do with Roman Catholicism," said Walston. "There's sort of a 'live and let live' idea."


Monti, the country's 69-year-old technocrat prime minister, who had never been a politician before he was appointed to lead the government, has entered the fray to lead a centrist coalition committed to continuing his reforms. The alliance includes Monti's Civic Choice for Monti, the Christian Democrats and a smaller centre-right party, Future and Freedom for Italy.


As a "senator for life," Monti is guaranteed a seat in the senate and does not need to run for election himself, but he is hitting the hustings on behalf of his party.


In a climate of widespread public disillusionment with politics, comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo is also making gains by capturing the protest vote with his Five Star Movement. Grillo has railed against big business and the corruption of Italy's political establishment, and holds broadly euro-skeptical and pro-environmental positions.


How will the election be conducted?


Italy has a bicameral legislature and a voting system which even many Italians say they find confusing.


Voters will be electing 315 members of the Senate, and 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Both houses hold the same powers, although the Senate is referred to as the upper house.


Under the country's closed-list proportional representation system, each party submits ranked lists of its candidates, and is awarded seats according to the proportion of votes won -- provided it passes a minimum threshold of support.


Seats in the Chamber of Deputies are on a national basis, while seats in the senate are allocated on a regional one.


The party with the most votes are awarded a premium of bonus seats to give them a working majority.


The prime minister needs the support of both houses to govern.


Who is likely to be the next prime minister?


On current polling, Bersani's bloc looks the likely victor in the Chamber of Deputies. But even if he maintains his lead in polls, he could fall short of winning the Senate, because of the rules distributing seats in that house on a regional basis.


Crucial to victory in the Senate is winning the region of Lombardy, the industrial powerhouse of the north of Italy which generates a fifth of the country's wealth and is a traditional support base for Berlusconi. Often compared to the U.S. state of Ohio for the "kingmaker" role it plays in elections, Lombardy has more Senate seats than any other region.


If no bloc succeeds in controlling both houses, the horse-trading begins in search of a broader coalition.


Walston said that a coalition government between the blocs led by Bersani and Monti seemed "almost inevitable," barring something "peculiar" happening in the final stages of the election campaign.


Berlusconi, he predicted, would "get enough votes to cause trouble."


What are the main issues?


There's only really one issue on the agenda at this election.


The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11% -- and hitting 37% for young people.


Voters are weighing the question of whether to continue taking Monti's bitter medicine of higher taxation and austerity measures, while a contentious property tax is also proving a subject of vexed debate.


Walston said the dilemma facing Italians was deciding between "who's going to look after the country better, or who's going to look after my pocket better."


He said it appeared voters held far greater confidence in the ability of Monti and Bersani to fix the economy, while those swayed by appeals to their own finances may be more likely to support Berlusconi.


But he said it appeared that few undecided voters had any faith in Berlusconi's ability to follow through on his pledges, including a recent promise to reverse the property tax.


What are the ramifications of the election for Europe and the wider world?


Improving the fortunes of the world's eighth largest economy is in the interests of Europe, and in turn the global economy.


Italy's woes have alarmed foreign investors. However, financial commentator Nicholas Spiro, managing director of consultancy Spiro Sovereign Strategy, says the European Central Bank's bond-buying program has gone a long way to mitigating investors' concerns about the instability of Italian politics.


Why is political instability so endemic to Italy?


Italy has had more than 60 governments since World War II -- in large part as a by-product of a system designed to prevent the rise of another dictator.


Parties can be formed and make their way on to the political main stage with relative ease -- as witnessed by the rise of Grillo's Five Star Movement, the protest party which was formed in 2009 but in local and regional elections has even outshone Berlusoni's party at times.


Others point to enduringly strong regional identities as part of the recipe for the country's political fluidity.


READ MORE: Italian Elections 2013: Fame di sapere (hunger for knowledge)







Read More..

Tennis: Kvitova beats another champion to reach Dubai final






DUBAI: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, showing her best form for more than a year, beat her second champion in a row to reach the Dubai Open final here on Friday.

Kvitova, who ended the title defence of Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday, beat the 2011 titleholder Caroline Wozniacki, breaking serve in the opening game and rarely looking back in a 6-3, 6-4 win.

In her first final in six months, she now meets fifth seed Sara Errani of Italy, the French Open finalist, who beat her best friend and doubles partner Roberta Vihnci 6-3, 6-3.

The Czech's win over the Dane was full of characteristically fierce ground strokes, struck flat and hard to read, as well as a rising buoyancy which has not been evident over the past year.

Kvitova was delighted to have beaten three top 12 opponents in a row and, beaming at her success, said she was hopeful about her strengthened physical condition despite claiming that her "body was confused".

Asked for an explanation, she said: "I'm trying to be stronger in my legs and to have like stronger muscles, so I can be quicker and stay quite low for the fast shots.

"That's something I didn't like doing in the past. But I'm still thinking about the bad position I had before, and I'm trying to have the good position - that's why I'm, like, quite confused."

Nevertheless there was definite improvement in her movement, which helped her to break Wozniacki's serve in the opening game, to keep up a fierce attack, and to hold right through to the penultimate game of the first set when she broke Wozniacki again.

Wozniacki often moved superbly, but in the second set she also tried to serve harder, play faster, and generate more pressure of her own.

This helped her break for 3-2, and save break points in the eighth game. In between these two moments of resistance however Kvitova's attack was still too forceful, and she broke back for 3-3, and then broke again to win the match.

There was a frustrating end for Wozniacki, whose final shot, a backhand drive, was questionably called out - but she could do nothing about it because she had used up all her challenges.

"I don't know (if it was out) but it would have been nice to be able to challenge it," she admitted. "It was close, but, you know, I just have to believe it was out."

If Errani and Vinci thought that by taking a break from doubles to play singles only, they would spend time apart it was not entirely successful.

Instead Errani and Vinci found themselves battling against each other for an hour and 23 minutes of old-style rallies in which slice and accurate placement played a bigger part than power and flailing topspin.

Errani prevailed because she imposed her busy approach on the rallies. However it was noticeable that she toned down her some of her grunts, suggesting that comradeship may occasionally have vied with competitiveness for priority.

"It's tough to play against one person who knows what you're going to do with every shot," she admitted of the partner with whom she says she spends 300 days a year, while Vinci described it as like "playing against a sister."

The match finished with a symbolic moment as Errani's drive landed near the baseline, with Vinci surprisingly stopping the rally and calling for a computer review. On seeing that the shot was shown to be in, Vinci discovered that she had inadvertently ended the contest without striking the ball back against her friend.

- AFP/jc



Read More..

U.S. suing Lance Armstrong


































Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years


Lance Armstrong over the years





<<


<





1




2




3




4




5




6




7




8




9




10




11




12




13




14




15




16




17




18




19




20




21




22




23




24




25




26




27



>


>>







STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • U.S. Justice Department will file formal complaint in 60 days

  • Feds won't allow Armstrong and managers "to walk away" with tens of millions of dollars

  • "The defendants failed to live up to their agreement," postal official says

  • "We disagree...whether the Postal Service was damaged," Armstrong attorney says




(CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it has joined the whistle-blower lawsuit against cyclist Lance Armstrong that was originally filed by a former teammate.


The Justice Department will file its formal complaint in 60 days.


Armstrong, the onetime legendary and now disgraced cyclist, has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. He was the team's lead rider when the U.S. Postal Service sponsored the team from 1996 to 2004 and Armstrong won six of his seven Tour de France titles, the Justice Department said.


The civil lawsuit alleges that Armstrong and former team managers submitted false claims for government funds to the sponsoring Postal Service by their "regularly employing banned substances and method to enhance their performance" in violation of the sponsorship agreement, the federal announcement said.


"Today's action demonstrates the Department of Justice's steadfast commitment to safeguarding federal funds and making sure that contractors live up to their promises," Stuart F. Delery, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the civil division, said in a statement.


Between 2001 and 2004, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees, but that affiliation has now been "unfairly associated with what has been described as 'the most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,' " said Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.


"In today's economic climate, the U.S. Postal Service is simply not in a position to allow Lance Armstrong or any of the other defendants to walk away with the tens of millions of dollars they illegitimately procured," Machen said.


The suit also names as defendants Johan Bruyneel, who had managed the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery racing teams on which Armstrong raced, and Tailwind Sports, which was the team's management entity, the Justice Department said.


The Justice Department is joining the lawsuit's allegations against Bruyneel and Tailwind, but it isn't intervening in the suit's claims against several other defendants, the agency said.


The U.S. Postal Service supported the intervention.


"The defendants agreed to play by the rules and not use performance enhancing drugs," general counsel and executive vice president Mary Anne Gibbons said in a statement. "We now know that the defendants failed to live up to their agreement, and instead knowingly engaged in a pattern of activity that violated the rules of professional cycling and, therefore, violated the terms of their contracts with the Postal Service."


The lawsuit accuses the former management of Armstrong's team of defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars because it knew about the drug use and didn't do anything.


The federal government had been evaluating for weeks whether to intervene in the lawsuit.


An attorney for Armstrong, Robert Luskin, said that ongoing discussions between the federal government and Armstrong's legal team had collapsed.


"Lance and his representatives worked constructively over these last weeks with federal lawyers to resolve this case fairly, but those talks failed because we disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged," Luskin said. "The Postal Service's own studies show that the service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship -- benefits totaling more than $100 million."


Armstrong's attorneys declined to comment further on Friday's Justice Department announcement.


Former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test, filed the lawsuit in 2010 against the team, which was sponsored the U.S. Postal Service.


As of midday Friday, the whistle-blower suit remained under court seal.


Landis was a teammate of Armstrong on the Postal Service sponsored team from 2002 to 2004, and his lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act, the Justice Department said. That act is commonly called the whistle-blower law.


The law permits the federal government to investigate allegations and intervene, the Justice Department said.


The act was originally passed in 1863 when government officials were concerned that suppliers to the Union Army during the Civil War could be defrauding them.


In 1986, Congress modified the law to make it easier for whistle-blowers to bring cases and give them a larger share of any penalties collected. Whistle-blowers can now take home between 15% and 30% of the sums collected in their cases.


For years, Armstrong had denied drug use and blood doping, but he publicly admitted such use in January, three months after international cycling's governing body stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles.


That stripping came after a damning report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong and his team of the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program" in cycling history.


That agency praised the Justice Department's announcement.


"The U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team was run as a fraudulent enterprise and individuals both inside and outside of sport aided and abetted this scheme and profited greatly," CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a statement.


CNN's Jason Morris in Dallas contributed to this report.






Read More..

LaHood: Time for GOP to "wake up" to avoid "calamity" at airports

Updated at 3:10 p.m. ET

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today warned of the "enormous impact" the looming sequester budget cuts will have on air travel in America, given that his department will have to cut nearly $1 billion from its budget, with more than $600 million coming from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

As the one former Republican congressman in President Obama's cabinet, LaHood put the responsibility squarely on Republicans to step up and work with Democrats to find a way to avert the cuts, slated to kick in on March 1.

"What I'm trying to do is to wake up members of the Congress on the Republican side to the idea that they need to come to the table... so we don't have this kind of calamity in air service in America," he said. "So that we're not just taking a meat axe to one part of FAA."




Play Video


LaHood: GOP must "step up" on sequester to prevent air traffic "calamity"







Play Video


LaHood warns travel delays will anger Americans




Cutting $1 billion from the Transportation Department would affect dozens of programs, LaHood said. For instance, the vast majority of the FAA's nearly 47,000 employees will face furloughs, he said -- and the largest number of FAA employees are air traffic controllers.

The Transportation Department is beginning discussions with unions today to close more than 100 air towers with fewer than 150,000 flight operations a year, such as towers in Hilton Head, S.C., and San Marcos, Texas. It's also discussing eliminating overnight shifts in more than 60 towers.

"We're going to reduce the number of controllers, which will reduce their ability to guide planes in and out of airports," LaHood explained.

Flights to major cities like New York and Chicago could experience delays up to 90 minutes during peak hours, he said. Furthermore, with fewer employees on staff to efficiently deal with issues such as runway repairs, there could be even more delays. Customers would likely see these impacts around April 1 -- 30 days after the cuts go into effect.

"These are harmful cuts with real-world consequences that'll cost jobs and hurt our economy," LaHood said.

Following LaHood's remarks, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association released a statement with even more ominous predictions.

"Once towers are closed, the airports they serve may be next," NATCA president Paul Rinaldi said. "Additionally, we believe the delay estimates provided by the FAA are conservative and the potential for disruptions could be much higher. Every one of these actions by the FAA will have an impact far beyond inconveniencing travelers. Local economies will be diminished, military exercises will be cancelled and jobs will be lost. There's no telling how long these effects will be felt because many of these service reductions may not be reversed."

LaHood stressed today that "obviously, as always safety, is our top priority." That said, he added that he expects customers to be very angry.

"Nobody likes a delay. Nobody likes waiting in line," he said. "If we can't get our hamburger within five minutes... you know what happens. They start calling their member of Congress."

Most members of Congress agree the sequester cuts should be averted, but they've been incapable of agreeing how to do so. Democrats want to replace the cuts with a plan that includes some new tax revenue and spending cuts. Republicans, however, say they refuse to raise any new tax revenue, after agreeing to some new revenues during the "fiscal cliff" debate.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said it's "factually incorrect" to say both parties are unwilling to compromise -- Democrats, he pointed out, are willing to make significant spending cuts while the GOP is obstinately against any new tax revenue.

LaHood, who repeatedly pointed out he served as a Republican in Congress for 14 years, said, "I think Republicans need to step up here... I'm telling them to come to the table and start talking to Democrats to figure out how do we solve this."

He said he's talked to about half a dozen Republican congressional offices about the impact the sequester will have on the Transportation Department, and their response is "not good. They get it."

The secretary said it was "nonsense" to suggest he was exaggerating the impact of the sequester.

"It's going to be very painful for the flying public," he said.

Read More..

Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence












Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.


Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial. They befriended Arias after she first arrived in jail and believe in her innocence.


Arias admits killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander and lying for nearly two years about it, but insists she killed Alexander in self defense. She could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.








Jodi Arias Testimony: Prosecution's Cross-Examination Watch Video









Jodi Arias Remains Calm Under Cross-Examination Watch Video









Jodi Arias Doesn't Remember Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend Watch Video





Nevertheless, she is aware of the seriousness of her lies and deceitful behavior.


The women told ABC News that they understand that Arias needs to be punished and Arias understands that too.


"She does know that, you know, she does need to pay for the crime," Campbell said. "But I don't want her to die, and I know that she has so much to give back."


Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage


The lies that Arias admits she told to police and her family have been devastating to her, Bering said.


""She said to me, 'I wish I didn't have to have lied. That destroyed me,'" Donovan said earlier this week. "Because now when it's so important for her to be believed, she has that doubt. But as she told me on the phone yesterday, she goes, 'I have nothing to lose.' So all she can do is go out there and tell the truth."


During Arias' nine days on the stand she has described in detail the oral, anal and phone sex that she and Alexander allegedly engaged in, despite being Mormons and trying to practice chastity. She also spelled out in excruciating detail what she claimed was Alexander's growing demands for sex, loyalty and subservience along with an increasingly violent temper.


Besides her two friends, Arias' mother and sometimes her father have been sitting in the front row of the courtroom during the testimony. It's been humiliating, Bering said.


"She's horrified. There's not one ounce of her life that's not out there, that's not open to the public. She's ashamed," she said.






Read More..

Tennis: Anger drives Wozniacki into Dubai semi-finals






DUBAI: Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki reached the Dubai Open semi-finals on Thursday with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Marion Bartoli, shrugging off a code violation in the process.

Wozniacki was warned for illegal coaching as the match boiled up to a thrilling finish, apparently because she was talking to her father Piotr.

"I'm not sure if it's coaching if I talk to the coach, but apparently that's new rules, so I guess that I can't say anything nowadays," commented Wozniacki.

"I was telling him things, and all of a sudden I hear I get a code violation. I'm like, okay."

Then she turned the aggravation into laughter.

"I was telling him what I was doing wrong. There's not much he can say because he knows that if he says yes, then he's in trouble, and if he says no, he's in trouble too."

Wozniacki will tackle Petra Kvitova for a place in the final after the 2011 Wimbledon champion underlined her new status as the unofficial tournament favourite by ending the title defence of Agnieszka Radwanska.

The Czech Republic player again showed that she is in her best form since winning her only Grand Slam title 19 months ago, out-hitting and out-serving the third-seeded Pole, 6-2, 6-4.

It followed her victory over former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday -- and her near-success against Serena Williams last week in Qatar -- and was her best win in 15 months.

"I've played three great matches so far," said Kvitova, who believes that more fitness work with a new trainer has made an important difference to her least impressive area, her movement.

"And that's something I really need -- to play more matches this season. I hope this will help me for the rest of the year."

Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani, the world's top doubles pair, will put their lifelong friendship to one side on Friday when they clash in the other semi-final.

Vinci, who had accounted for one former Grand Slam winner and one seeded player already, beat the seventh-seeded former US Open champion, Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last four.

Errani, who had played one long three-set match already, had another, beating Nadia Petrova, the former world number three from Russia, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

Vinci said it would be like "playing my sister," and Errani pointed out how strange it might feel as they spend about 300 days together during the year.

"I'm number one in the world in doubles, so it's incredible for me," said Vinci who is ranked 17 in singles.

"I'm probably playing singles in a more relaxed way, and so I'm playing better."

She added: "It was a great match for me, great performance. I played a good game today like yesterday," she said, referring to her straight sets win over Angelique Kerber, the fourth seed from Germany.

- AFP/fa



Read More..

Gunfire, crash kill 3 in Vegas








By CNN Staff


updated 4:16 PM EST, Thu February 21, 2013









STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Police collect security video from neighboring casinos

  • Gunfire and a fiery crash kill 3 in the heart of Las Vegas Strip

  • Casino visitor describes seeing "fireball" from Caesars Palace

  • Police are looking for a black Range Rover Sport with large black rims




(CNN) -- Three people were dead and at least three others injured after a shooting and fiery six-vehicle crash along the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada early Thursday, police said.


The incident began about 4:20 a.m. at a stoplight on Las Vegas Boulevard, when someone in a black Range Rover fired into a Maserati that also had stopped at the light, Las Vegas police said.


The Maserati moved into the intersection and collided with a taxi, starting a chain of crashes that involved four other vehicles, police said.


Fire swept through the taxi, where the driver and a passenger were trapped.


iReporter captures video of fire


The taxi's two occupants and the Maserati's driver died, Las Vegas Police spokesman Jose Hernandez said. A passenger in the Maserati suffered gunshot wounds and was being treated at a hospital, police said, while at least two other people in the other vehicles suffered light to moderate injuries, they said.


Four of the gambling mecca's biggest casinos -- Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally's and the Flamingo -- are perched around the corner where the shootings occurred.


Police said they have requested and received security-camera video from all four of those establishments as part of their investigation.


John Lamb, who was inside Caesars Palace, told CNN affiliate KLAS he heard the commotion and saw the taxi on fire from a window.


"There was a loud bang, and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace ... and could see the fireball," he told KLAS.


Police are looking for the occupants of the SUV, described as a black Range Rover Sport with tinted windows, large black rims and a dealer license plate not from Nevada, said police Sgt. John Sheahan.


Hernandez said he didn't have information on what led to the shooting. The names of the dead and the injured were not immediately released.


Man kills 3, himself in Southern California shooting


CNN's Miguel Marquez, Carol Costello, Jason Hanna and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report.








Read More..

Movement in budget cuts battle?




Play Video


Sequestration poses threat to government agency budgets



For the first time since the waning days of the "fiscal cliff" battle in late December, President Obama reached out to congressional Republican leaders to talk about next week's impending budget cuts known as the sequester.

"He placed calls earlier today to [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell and [House] Speaker [John] Boehner," White House spokesman Jay Carney announced today. "Had good conversations, but I have no further readout of those calls for you."

Both Boehner's and McConnell's offices confirmed the calls took place but neither would give details about what was discussed. An aide to Boehner said "the last substantive conversation" he had with the president was on Dec. 28; McConnell's office told CBS News it was Mr. Obama's first outreach to McConnell since New Year's Eve.

Today on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show, Mr. Obama said, "We continue to reach out to the Republicans and say 'this is not going to be good for the economy and it's not going to be good for ordinary people,' but I don't know if they're going to move. And that's what we're going to have to try to keep pushing over the next seven, eight days."

"Whether or not we can move Republicans at this point to do the right thing is what we're still trying to gauge," Mr. Obama said.

The calls come a day after Boehner wrote an op-ed criticizing the president charging that the public "might not realize from Mr. Obama's statements is that [the sequester] is a product of the president's own failed leadership."

The $1.2 trillion sequester cuts, which were initially set to kick in on Jan. 1, emerged out of Congress' 2011 budget negotiations. Congress agreed that if a congressional "supercommittee" couldn't come up with an acceptable deficit reduction plan, Congress would just slash $1.2 trillion from the budget over 10 years -- half coming from defense spending and half from non-defense. Nearly everyone in Washington agrees that indiscriminately slashing $1.2 trillion would damage the economy, but lawmakers can't agree on a deficit reduction package with which to replace the cuts.

Given the economic damage the sequester would inflict, Congress this year stalled the cuts for two months -- which is why they're set to go into effect on March 1. Unless Congress acts before then, $85 billion in across-the-board cuts will kick in this year.

Read More..

Las Vegas Hotel Fight Led to Attack on Maserati












Police believe an altercation at a Las Vegas hotel led to a deadly drive-by shooting on the occupants of a Maserati sports car on the city's glitzy strip early this morning that left three people dead, including two who died when their taxi was struck by the careening sports car and exploded into flames.


The occupants of a Range Rover SUV shot at two people in the Maserati, which caused a multi-car accident. Police have not released the model of the Maserati, but the price of a new Maserati ranges from $123,000 to $142,000.


When asked if authorities knew any more about the altercation that led to the shooting, Officer Bill Cassell of the Las Vegas Metropolitan police said, "We believe we do at this point, but we are not putting that information out."


Cassell could not yet say which hotel the altercation took place at. He said police are planning on releasing more information later today.






Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun/AP Photo











California Man's Carjacking Spree Takes 3 Victims Watch Video









Chicago Teen Killed Day of Obama's Anti-Violence Speech Watch Video









Dallas Courthouse Shooting Manhunt Intensify Watch Video





Police said that they believe a group of men riding in a black Range Rover Sport SUV pulled up alongside the Maserati around 4:20 a.m. today and fired shots into the car, striking the driver and passenger, according to Officer Jose Hernandez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan police department.


The Maserati then swerved through an intersection, hitting at least four other cars. One car that was struck, a taxi with a driver and passenger in it, caught on fire and burst into flames, trapping both occupants, Hernandez said.


The SUV then fled the scene, according to cops.


The driver of the Maserati died from his gunshot wounds at University Medical Center shortly after the shooting, according to Sgt. John Sheahan.


The driver and passenger of the taxi both died in the car fire.


At least three individuals, including the passenger of the Maserati, were injured during the shooting and car crashes and are being treated at UMC hospital.


Police are scouring surveillance video from the area, including from the strip's major casinos, to try and identify the Range Rover and its occupants, according to police.


They do not yet know why the Range Rovers' occupants fired shots at the Maserati or whether the cars had local plates or were from out of state.


No bystanders were hit by gunfire, Hernandez said.


"We're currently looking for a black Range Rover Sport, with large black rims and some sort of dealership advertising or advertisement plates," Hernandez said. "This is an armed and dangerous vehicle."


The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority had no immediate comment about the safety of tourists in the wake of the shooting today.



Read More..