Crashed bus owner failed one-third of safety inspections

YUCAIPA, Calif. The company linked to a tour bus involved in a deadly crash in Southern California failed more than a third of federal vehicle safety inspections in the last two years.






Play Video


Calif. tour bus crash kills at least 8






17 Photos


Tour bus crashes in Calif.





U.S. government records show that buses operated by the firm Scapadas Magicas of National City, Calif., flunked 36 percent of random inspections on their vehicles — in some cases for brake and tire problems.



That's higher than the national average for similar companies — a 21 percent failure rate.



Records also show the company had no crashes in the past two years.



The California company had an overall "satisfactory" rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but records show three-quarters of similar companies had better safety records.



Lettering on the 1996 bus indicates it was operated by Scapadas Magicas.



At least seven people were killed in Sunday night's crash. More than three dozen people were injured, and at least 17 were still hospitalized, including at least five in critical condition. One is a girl.


Authorities lowered the death count from 8 to 7 on Monday.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to the scene.



CBS Station KCBS reports that the bus, carrying dozens of men, women and children from Tijuana, was on its way back to Mexico Sunday evening after a day in Big Bear when the driver lost control just after 6:30 p.m., about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.



Investigators say the bus flipped and landed on a pickup truck towing a trailer. A black Saturn was also rear-ended.



The crash left State Route 38 littered with body parts and debris, and the bus sideways across both lanes with its windows blown out, front end crushed and part of the roof peeled back like a tin can.



One person in the pickup truck was injured. The fate of the passengers in the car was not clear, but at least two people were in the Saturn, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez.


Investigators will determine if mechanical failure or driver error was to blame. The bus driver, who survived but was injured, told investigators the vehicle had brake problems.

"It appears speed was a factor in this collision," said Lopez.



Crews worked through the night to recover the dead, but one body remained aboard the bus early Monday, said Rocky Shaw, a San Bernardino County coroner's investigator.



Officials hadn't been able to retrieve the body because the front end of the bus was dangling over the edge of the roadside.



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Boy Safe, Kidnapper Dead as Ala. Standoff Ends













A week-long standoff in Alabama, where a retired trucker held a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker, has ended with the kidnapper dead and the child safe, according to law enforcement.


With a SWAT team positioned near the bunker entrance, authorities used an explosive charge to help gain entry into the bunker and neutralize the suspect, Richard Lee Dykes, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge.


Officials had been able to insert a high-tech camera into the bunker to monitor Dykes' movements, and they had become increasingly concerned that he might act out, the source said.


"FBI agents safely recovered the child who's been held hostage for nearly a week," FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson said at a news conference.


The agent said negotiations with Dykes "deteriorated" in the past 24 hours.


"Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," Richardson said. "At this point, the FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child."






Joe Songer/AL.com/AP Photo











Alabama Hostage Crisis: Boy Held Captive for 7 Days Watch Video









Hostage Standoff: Drones Fly Over Alabama Bunker Watch Video









Police Officials Thank Hostage Taker for Taking Care of Child Watch Video





The boy, identified only as Ethan, "appears physically unharmed" and is being treated at a hospital, authorities said.


Dykes, 65, is dead, but officials have not yet provided details on how he died.


"Right now, FBI special agent bomb technicians are in the process of clearing the property for improvised explosive devices," the FBI said in a written statement. "When it is safe to do so, our evidence response teams, paired with state and local crime scene technicians, will process the scene."


PHOTOS: Worst Hostage Situations


Dykes allegedly shot and killed a school bus driver last week and threatened to kill all the children on the bus before taking the boy, one of the students on the bus said.


"He said he was going to kill us, going to kill us all," Tarrica Singletary, 14, told ABC News.


Dykes had been holed up in his underground bunker near Midland City, Ala., with the abducted boy for a week as police tried to negotiate with him through a PVC pipe. Police had used the talks to send the child comfort items, including a red Hot Wheels car, coloring books, cheese crackers, potato chips and medicine.


Dykes was a decorated Vietnam vet who grew up in the area. He lived in Florida until two years ago, the AP reported, and has an adult daughter, but the two lost touch years ago, neighbor Michael Creel said. When he returned to Alabama, neighbors say he once beat a dog with a lead pipe and had threatened to shoot children who set foot on his property.



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Bug protects itself by turning its environment to gold









































Mythical King Midas was ultimately doomed because everything he touched turned to gold. Now, the reverse has been found in bacteria that owe their survival to a natural Midas touch.












Delftia acidovorans lives in sticky biofilms that form on top of gold deposits, but exposure to dissolved gold ions can kill it. That's because although metallic gold is unreactive, the ions are toxic.












To protect itself, the bacterium has evolved a chemical that detoxifies gold ions by turning them into harmless gold nanoparticles. These accumulate safely outside the bacterial cells.












"This could have potential for gold extraction," says Nathan Magarvey of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who led the team that uncovered the bugs' protective trick. "You could use the bug, or the molecules they secrete."












He says the discovery could be used to dissolve gold out of water carrying it, or to design sensors that would identify gold-rich streams and rivers.












The protective chemical is a protein dubbed delftibactin A. The bugs secrete it into the surroundings when they sense gold ions, and it chemically changes the ions into particles of gold 25 to 50 nanometres across. The particles accumulate wherever the bugs grow, creating patches of gold.











Deep purple gold













But don't go scanning streams for golden shimmers: the nanoparticle patches do not reflect light in the same way as bigger chunks of the metal – giving them a deep purple colour.












When Magarvey deliberately snipped out the gene that makes delftibactin A, the bacteria died or struggled to survive exposure to gold chloride. Adding the protein to the petri dish rescued them.











The bacterium Magarvey investigated is one of two species that thrive on gold, both identified a decade or so ago by Frank Reith of the University of Adelaide in Australia. In 2009 Reith discovered that the other species, Cupriavidus metallidurans, survives using the slightly riskier strategy of changing gold ions into gold inside its cells.













"If delftibactin is selective for gold, it might be useful for gold recovery or as a biosensor," says Reith. "But how much dissolved gold is out there is difficult to say."












Journal reference: Nature Chemical Biology, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEMBIO.1179


















































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Shackleton Antarctic bid makes landfall






SYDNEY: An exhausted British-Australian expedition recreating Ernest Shackleton's 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean in a small boat made landfall Monday after a perilous 12-day journey.

Led by renowned adventurer Tim Jarvis, the team of six reached Peggotty Bluff on rugged South Georgia, where they landed their vessel in the same place Shackleton and his men beached the James Caird nearly 100 years ago.

The next leg will see three of the team tackle a two-day climb to 900 metres (2,950 feet) over the mountainous, crevassed interior of South Georgia.

That will take them to the old whaling station at Stromness on the other side of the island, where Shackleton and his men, with little more than the clothes on their backs, raised the alarm about the sinking of their ship, the Endurance.

Jarvis said the boat trip, using only the equipment, navigational instruments and food available to Shackleton, was extremely tough, describing it as "truly about endurance -- mental as much as physical".

"There was just no way to keep dry. The waterproofing with wax didn't work," he said.

"Below deck, the boat was constantly damp and being on watch meant that you were directly exposed to the elements. On a few occasions a big wave washed over the deck and down the hatch soaking everything down below."

Along with Norway's Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole in 1911, Australian explorer Douglas Mawson and Briton Robert Falcon Scott, Shackleton was among the great Antarctic explorers.

When he set off on his third trip to the region in 1914 with the ship Endurance, he planned to cross Antarctica via the South Pole.

But the vessel became trapped in 1915, and sank 10 months later as it was crushed by the advancing ice. Shackleton and his crew lived on the floating ice until April 1916, when they set off in three small boats for Elephant Island.

From there, Shackleton and five crew members made the treacherous voyage to South Georgia, reaching their destination 16 days later to face the mountainous trek.

All members of the Endurance mission were eventually rescued with no fatalities.

It was his granddaughter Alexandra who approached Jarvis, who in 2007 re-enacted Mawson's 1912 odyssey across the frozen continent, about recreating their ordeal.

-AFP/fl



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Former Navy SEAL is shot dead at Texas gun range






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: The gun range was in a "very remote area" with no witnesses, an official says

  • The two men killed, Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, worked to help veterans with PTSD

  • The suspect confessed to his sister, but not to police, authorities say

  • Eddie Ray Routh is held on $3 million bond after being arraigned on murder charges




(CNN) -- A former Navy SEAL known for claiming a record number of sniper killings in Iraq was one of two men shot dead at a Texas gun range, allegedly at the hands of a fellow military veteran, officials say.


Chris Kyle, the author of the best-selling "American Sniper," and Chad Littlefield, also a veteran, were gunned down Saturday afternoon on the grounds of the expansive Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Glen Rose, Texas, southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement officials said.


About four hours afterward, and 90 miles from where those two men's bodies were found by a hunting guide, authorities arrested suspect Eddie Ray Routh, 25, on a capital murder warrant.


Routh's family members could not be reached immediately for comment Sunday. No attorney has made a public statement on his behalf.




Eddie Ray Routh, a former Marine, is believed to have left the service in 2010



Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Sunday that he believes the suspect is in the process of seeking a court-appointed attorney.


While Routh's sister said he had admitted shooting Kyle and Littlefield, he didn't explain to her why he did it, Bryant said. Routh isn't believed to have confessed to local authorities about killing the two men. The motive for the killings is unclear.


"I don't know that we'll ever know," Erath County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Upshaw said Sunday. "(Routh) is the only one that knows that."


Sheriff: Suspect spent four years in Marines


The Rough Creek Lodge is a large facility that draws couples getting married, business people using its conference center and families looking for a getaway. Hunting and shooting sports are some of the many recreational options available on its grounds.


Kyle, Littlefield and Routh were three such visitors, arriving together around 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET) Saturday and proceeding to a shooting range within the resort's 11,000 acres, Bryant told reporters Sunday. The range is in a "very remote part" of the sprawling complex, Upshaw explained.








"So there wasn't anybody anywhere close to that," he said, explaining there are no known witnesses.


The first sign something was wrong came when a hunting guide tied to the facility found 38-year-old Kyle and 35-year-old Littlefield -- both unconscious -- around 5 p.m., Bryant said.


He went to the lodge and called 911. Law enforcement officers followed up and found the bodies but no sign of Routh. He had taken off in Kyle's black Ford pickup, the Erath County sheriff said.


Around the time an all-points bulletin went out for that truck, authorities got a call from Routh's sister, who reported that her brother had driven about 65 miles to her home in Midlothian, Texas, and admitted to shooting Kyle and Littlefield.


Routh left his sister's house, and police eventually caught up with him -- and the truck -- shortly before 8 p.m. at his home in Lancaster, a Dallas suburb some 90 miles northeast of the shooting scene. While talking with authorities outside, he'd somehow gotten back in the truck and sped away.


Authorities chased him and finally stopped him, around 9 p.m., after spiking his tires some four to six miles down the road, according to Bryant.


Routh did not struggle with officers as they were arresting him, Bryant said. On Sunday morning, he was arraigned on murder charges and ordered held on $3 million bond.


After that, Routh sat in a jail cell "all by himself," separated from the rest of the inmate population and watched closely by guards, according to Bryant.


So who is Eddie Ray Routh?


The sheriff said that Routh spent four years in the Marines. He is believed to have left the service in 2010, according to a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. The official did not have information on where Routh served or whether he took part in combat.


Public records show Routh previously lived at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, though his latest address was in Lancaster, Texas.


At the time of shooting, he was unemployed. Bryant said that Routh's mother, a longtime schoolteacher, "may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try and help her son."


'He led by example,' Kyle's friend says


Kyle learned to shoot on hunting trips with his father, then went on to serve four combat tours in Iraq with the SEALs, though his official biography notes he also worked with Army and Marine units. He received two Silver Stars and other commendations before leaving the Navy in 2009 -- claiming that, in his years as a sniper, he'd killed more than 150 people, which he called a record for an American.


In the interview with Time magazine (like CNN, a part of Time Warner), Kyle said he did not regret any of his kills. He also said he was "comfortable" with the possibility that that part of his life might be over.


He added, "I'm a better husband and father than I was a killer."


After having worked under the radar for so many years, he became a celebrity with the 2012 release of his book, which became a New York Times best-seller.


Defending his decision to divulge so much detail despite the secretive nature of the SEAL world, Kyle told Time that he was "not trying to glory myself."


"I didn't want to put the number of kills I had in there," he said. "I wanted to get it out about the sacrifices military families have to make."


He said that while killing did not come easy at first, he knew it meant saving lives.


"The first time, you're not even sure you can do it," he said in the interview. "But I'm not over there looking at these people as people. I'm not wondering if he has a family. I'm just trying to keep my guys safe. Every time I kill someone, he can't plant an (improvised explosive device). You don't think twice about it."


At one point, Kyle wrote, he shot a woman who was carrying a grenade while with her toddler. But he did not kill a child in Baghdad's Sadr City area who had a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. "According to the rules of engagement at the time, you could kill anyone with an RPG on sight. That day I just couldn't kill the kid. He'll probably grow up and fight us, but I just didn't want to do it.


He said the American public lives "in a dream world. You have no idea what goes on on the other side of the world. The harsh realities that these people are doing to themselves and then to our guys. And there are certain things that need to be done to take care of them."


After leaving the military, he founded Craft International, a military training company. Kyle also spoke up on current events, including accusing President Barack Obama of being "against the Second Amendment" because of his gun control initiatives, according to a video interview with guns.com.


'Military-style' weapons and the law


The married father of two children established the nonprofit Fitco Cares Foundation to help veterans battling PTSD get access to exercise equipment.


Littlefield, who leaves behind a wife and children, was a friend and another veteran who worked to help people with PTSD, said Fitco Director Travis Cox.


In a statement, the foundation described Kyle as an "American hero" and pledged to carry on his mission.


"What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms" struggling with PTSD turned into an organization that will continue after his death," Cox said in a statement.


"Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion -- serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD. His service, life and premature death will never be in vain. May God watch over his family and all those who considered Chris a true friend."


His friend, Jason Kos, offered similarly glowing sentiments, telling CNN's "Early Start Weekend" that Kyle was "a man of incredible character."


"He led by example," Kos said. "He always stopped to take time to talk to whoever was around him. Just incredibly humble, very funny as well."


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






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Sandy Hook choir, Hudson delight Super Bowl crowd

NEW ORLEANS As 26 children in white polo shirts excitedly walked to center of the Superdome field and prepared to sing, a packed Super Bowl crowd revved up by a day of partying in the Big Easy fell silent.

The chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School, nearly two months removed from a deadly shooting rampage, joined Jennifer Hudson to deliver a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful" on Sunday that had some players on the sideline and countless fans in the stands on the verge of tears.

Judging by the responses on social media, the performance appeared destined to become one of the most poignant memories of the Super Bowl, regardless of what played out in the game.

"Sandy hook elementary chorus singing America the beautiful and Alicia keys national anthem makes me proud to be American," model Kate Upton said on her Twitter page.





22 Photos


Super Bowl XLVII highlights




Gerald Rokoff, standing near a portal in the Superdome's upper deck, turned and said, "Beyond beautiful," when the children finished singing.

Sandy Hook is the school in Newtown, Conn., where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed by a gunman on Dec. 14.

An NFL spokesman said no one with the chorus was available for interviews, but a statement was delivered on behalf of the school.

"We have come to New Orleans to represent the Sandy Hook Family and the community of Newtown, Connecticut," the statement said. "Our wish is to demonstrate to America and the world that, `We are Sandy Hook and We Choose Love."'

The children wore green ribbons on their white shirts, which seemed to symbolize the innocence of youth, and stood in two rows of 13 on the NFL's red, white and blue shield logo for the performance. Many smiled excitedly as they sang the first verse. Then Hudson, wearing a black blouse and long, white skirt, fronted them for a second verse that showcased her sterling voice.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh watched with his left arm around daughter, Alison, and his right hand over his heart.

Ravens nose tackle Terrence Cody could be seen on the stadium's video board tilting his head back, appearing to hold back tears.

Fans offered a rousing ovation at the finish, and the chorus then trotted to the 20-yard line and turned, with their hands on their hearts, to watch Alicia Keys sing the national anthem.

Caitlin Hamilton, a 22-year-old English teacher from Dodge City, Kansas, said on Twitter she thought the performance would, without a doubt, be the best part of the Super Bowl.

"It just shows that they're still persevering despite what's happened to them," Hamilton said. "It was a great way to lift up the people of Sandy Hook as well, and to let them know that the people of America support them."

Hamilton said that as a teacher, when she thinks about the shooting she thinks of herself in the same situation. She said Hudson did well leading the song, but the kids were the main event.

"I thought the kids were more inspirational that they could get up there and sing despite everything that had happened to them," she said.


During the season, NFL stars including Victor Cruz of the Giants and Chris Johnson of the Titans honored victims of the Sandy Hook rampage during games by writing the names of the victims' on their shoes.


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Super Bowl XLVII Live Blog: Niners Get on the Board


7:12  p.m. ET: Fumble recovered by Ravens. First down for Baltimore.


7:12  p.m. ET: Another first down for the Niners.


7:11  p.m. ET: Another first down on gain of eleven with reception by Davis. Another another small scuffle breaks out. Teams clearly (obviously) passionate.


7:10  p.m. ET: Looks like Davis is okay – gain of 29 yards on great throw from Kaepernick.


7:08  p.m. ET: First Harbaugh parent sightings of the night! They’ve said tonight will be really bittersweet for them.


7:08  p.m. ET: They may be brothers, but side-by-side comparison of the Harbaugh brothers’ reactions to last play show totally different styles.


7:05  p.m. ET: Flacco sacked with 12 seconds left in quarter.


7:04  p.m. ET: Incomplete throw by Flacco with 17 seconds left in the 1st quarter.


7:03  p.m. ET: Unbelievable throw and catch by Boldin for 31-yards.


7:02  p.m. ET: 3rd and 7 for Ravens after incomplete pass by Flacco.


7:00  p.m. ET: 9-yard gain for the Ravens. Ed Reed in locker room for evaluation.


6:57  p.m. ET: Jacoby Jones returns kick to the 22-yard line. Ravens’ Ed Reed and 49ers’ Vernon Davis both apparently being checked out after Reed hit Davis on previous drive.


6:55  p.m. ET: And to the relief of 49ers fans, David Akers field goal attempt is good. 7-3 Ravens.


6:54  p.m. ET: Kaepernick sacked. 49ers going for field goal.


6:53  p.m. ET: Davis out and being worked on by trainers. Second and goal, incomplete in the end zone, off of Crabtree’s hands.


6:52  p.m. ET: Vernon Davis, a super speedy tight end, with another first down on a 24-yard reception from Kaepernick. 1st and goal.


6:51 p.m. ET: And Gore with another first down.


6:50 p.m. ET: Kaepernick scrambles for a gain of seven, 2nd and 3.


6:50 p.m. ET: Kaepernick, who shocked the league with his legs when he took over from Alex Smith, gets a 1st down and then some.


6:49 p.m. ET: Gore gains nine, after having a rough few carries early.


6:48 p.m. ET: Huge, 19-yard game for Michael Crabtree, who broke out this season once Kaepernick took over the starting QB job.


6:46 p.m. ET: Already looking to be a really physical game as scuffle between players breaks out after 49ers loss of two yards.


6:45 p.m. ET: And here’s the GoDaddy commercial everybody has already been talking about – supermodel makes out with Hollywood’s favorite extra.


6:44 p.m. ET: Penalties already hurting the 49ers – big game jitters?


6:41 p.m. ET: And the extra point is good. 7-0 Ravens


6:40 p.m. ET: TOUCHDOWN BALTIMORE. Ravens take an early lead with a reception by Anquan Boldin.


6:39 p.m. ET: On 3rd and 9, same thing happens, but flag is down for defensive offsides – five yard penalty and replay of 3rd down.


6:39 p.m. ET: Given some time, Flacco throws ball beyond end zone for an incompletion on 2nd and 9.


6:38 p.m. ET: Ravens QB, Joe Flacco, known for his exceptionally strong arm, gets the ball to Torrey Jones at the SF 19.


6:37 p.m. ET: And a first down for the Ravens from SF 39.


6:36 p.m. ET: Better start for the Ravens, who pick up eight yards on their first down of the game.


6:36 p.m. ET: And the first drive of the game goes nowhere; Andy Lee punts on 4th down, and Jacoby Jones returns to near the 50-yard line.


6:34 p.m. ET: On first and 15, no gain for 49ers all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore.


6:33 p.m. ET: Five yard penalty for the 49ers for illegal formation.


6:32 p.m. ET: Kaepernick connects with Vernon Davis for a gain of 20, but a flag is down.


6:31 p.m. ET: Here we go – 49ers start the first drive at the 20-yard line.


6:28 p.m. ET: Ravens chose heads, and elected to defer their choice until the second half. 49ers to receive at kickoff.


6:27 p.m. ET: Newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame join the team captains for the coin toss.


6:22 p.m. ET: Alicia Keys performs the Star Spangled Banner, wearing a red dress and playing a white piano at the 50-yard line.


6:21 p.m. ET: Joint Armed Forces Color Guard present the flags.


6:20 p.m. ET: Hudson wearing a green ribbon in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting while performing with the students.


gty jennifer hudson kb 130203 wblog Super Bowl 2013 Live: Score, Commercials and More

Jamie Squire/Getty Images


6:19 p.m. ET: In a touching performance, Sandy Hook Elementary School students perform “America the Beautiful,” with Jennifer Hudson.


6:18 p.m. ET: Jason Witten wins the 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.


6:12 p.m. ET: And out come the 49ers.


6:11 p.m. ET: The Ravens players are introduced in the stadium to a raucous crowd.


6:09 p.m. ET: And another historic first tonight – the two head coaches are brothers, born just 15 months apart. John Harbaugh, 50, is in his fifth season as the Baltimore Ravens head coach, and has won playoff games in each of his previous seasons. Jim Harbaugh, 49, is in his second season as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, leading his team to the playoffs both seasons.


6:05 p.m. ET: The San Francisco 49ers are going for their 6th Lombardi trophy, which would tie them for the most championships ever with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens are trying for their second Super Bowl victory. Neither team has ever lost a Super Bowl game – and at the end of the night, there will only be one team left in the NFL to have never lost a Super Bowl game.


6:00 p.m. ET: It’s here – the biggest spectacle in American sports, the Super Bowl. We’ll be covering the game, performances and, of course, the commercials right here.


It’s been an incredible season so far, and everything has led up to tonight’s game in New Orleans, where the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers face the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. Keep refreshing for the latest updates throughout what promises to be a great game.

Read More..

Two worms, same brains – but one eats the other



































IF TWO animals have identical brain cells, how different can they really be? Extremely. Two worm species have exactly the same set of neurons, but extensive rewiring allows them to lead completely different lives.












Ralf Sommer of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, and colleagues compared Caenorhabditis elegans, which eats bacteria, with Pristionchus pacificus, which hunts other worms. Both have a cluster of 20 neurons to control their foregut.












Sommer found that the clusters were identical. "These species are separated by 200 to 300 million years, but have the same cells," he says. P. pacificus, however, has denser connections than C. elegans, with neural signals passing through many more cells before reaching the muscles (Cell, doi.org/kbh). This suggests that P. pacificus is performing more complex motor functions, says Detlev Arendt of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.












Arendt thinks predators were the first animals to evolve complex brains, to find and catch moving prey. He suggests their brains had flexible wiring, enabling them to swap from plant-eating to hunting.












This article appeared in print under the headline "Identical brains, but one eats the other"


















































If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.




































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Australian PM says she's "not done yet"






SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard rallied her Labor party Sunday, saying her government was "not done yet" despite a turbulent week in which two of her most senior ministers resigned.

Gillard, who is struggling in opinion polls, last week announced that the next election will be on September 14, a surprising tactic in Australia where poll dates are usually announced only weeks in advance.

Addressing Labor candidates in Canberra, the prime minister said she was committed to creating jobs and improving opportunities and it was important that voters heard this message.

"I'm looking to you to be out there in your communities explaining to them that this is the work of governing and we are not done yet," she said.

Gillard, Australia's first female prime minister, on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of giving the nation eight months' notice of the federal election. Three days later she announced that two key ministers were resigning.

Attorney General Nicola Roxon and Minister for Tertiary Education Chris Evans, two of Gillard's most trusted colleagues, have quit cabinet and will retire from politics this year because of family reasons.

The shock departures come just days after ex-Labor MP Craig Thomson was arrested on fraud charges. The conservative opposition has declared Labor has had a "horror start" to the year.

"It is going to be very important in the days and weeks ahead that there is a strong and stable government in Canberra and I regret to say that just at the moment that doesn't appear to be the case," opposition leader Tony Abbott said.

"Now I hope the prime minister can steady her ship and offer stable government."

The government has brushed off the suggestion that it is in chaos, with Transport Minister Anthony Albanese saying the resignations were understandable.

"Let's get real. We have had a couple of people step down for family reasons, there is no suggestion that there is any reason other than personal ones and understandable ones," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mark Dreyfus will be sworn in as attorney general, Brendan O'Connor as immigration minister and Chris Bowen as tertiary education minister in parliament on Monday.

Gillard leads a minority government with the support of one Greens MP and several rural independents after the last election in 2010 ended in a hung parliament.

-AFP/ac



Read More..

Captor is caring for boy, Alabama sheriff says






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: "Ethan's innocent ... let him go home," a Midland City resident says about the child

  • The suspect has been identified as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes

  • Dykes is accused of killing a school bus driver and abducting a 5-year-old

  • Authorities have said there is no connection between Dykes and the boy




Midland City, Alabama (CNN) -- As an armed standoff dragged into its fifth day Saturday, authorities negotiated through a ventilation pipe with a man accused of barricading himself and a 5-year-old hostage in an underground bunker in southeastern Alabama.


Police have been tight-lipped about a possible motive since the hostage drama began unfolding in Midland City with the shooting of school bus driver and the abduction of the 5-year-old, Ethan.


In a sign of perhaps how tense negotiations are between authorities and the suspect, officials have refused to detail what, if any, demands have been made by the suspect.


Michelle Riley, a resident of Midland City, pleaded for the suspect to let the boy go.


"He just needs to know that ... everybody makes mistakes. Everybody's been through life events that changes them, but Ethan's innocent. You know, let him go home to his mother. Let him go home to his grandparents. Let him come out to the community. Let him go back to school and be with his friends," she said.


On Friday, the Dale County sheriff confirmed what neighbors have been saying and local news outlets have been reporting since the standoff began -- the suspected gunman's identity.




Charles Poland was fatally shot in Alabama on Tuesday.





Suspect Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, is a Vietnam War veteran and retired truck driver.



'We don't want to make any mistakes,' Ala. governor says


He is Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, a Vietnam veteran and retired truck driver who moved to the area about five years ago.


The sheriff's department released a photo of a gray-bearded, unsmiling Dykes and brief physical description: white male, 6 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds with brown eyes and gray hair.


Officials have been in "constant communication" with Dykes, Sheriff Wally Olson said Saturday. Dykes has told police that he has an electric heater and blankets for the boy. The sheriff publicly thanked Dykes for taking care of the child.


This much is known, according to police and witness statements: On Tuesday at about 3:40 p.m., bus driver Charles Poland Jr. was shuttling children from school to their homes when he dropped children off and the gunman boarded the bus.


The gunman demanded that Poland, 66, hand over two children. Poland refused, blocking access to the bus's narrow aisle as at least 21 children escaped out of the back emergency door, according to police.


The gunman shot Poland four times, killing him; grabbed the boy and then barricaded the two of them inside a nearby bunker.










It's unclear whether the gunman was after a specific child on the bus. Police have said there is no connection between the suspect and the abducted boy, whose identity is being withheld.


The suspect, who police have identified as Dykes, is holed up in a bunker 4 feet underground and built at least partially out of PVC pipe, authorities have said.


A hostage negotiator has been communicating with the alleged gunman through a 60-foot-long plastic ventilation pipe in an effort to end the standoff.


Authorities believe the boy is physically unharmed.


The suspect agreed to let police send down coloring books, crayons and prescription medication that the boy needs for treatment for Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit disorder, State Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN.


Neighbors have said the bunker has electricity, and Dykes has been known to stay in it for up to eight days, said James Arrington, the police chief in nearby Pinckard.


Dykes has been described as a self-styled survivalist with "anti-government" views, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch.


As negotiations continue, preparations were under way for Poland's funeral.


The late school bus driver will be memorialized Saturday night at a visitation service, followed by a funeral service Sunday at the Ozark Civic Center.


Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley praised Poland for protecting the children on his bus.


"He stood in that place, and when that man came to take two children, he said no. And he lost his life because of that ... he did his job, and I'm proud of him as the governor but I'm just proud of him as a human being," he said.


CNN's George Howell reported from Midland City and Chelsea J. Carter wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Joe Sutton, Greg Botelho and Tristan Smith contributed to this report.






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