A married huntmaster was cleared yesterday of shooting his showjumper ex-lover after their five-year affair.

Brian Fraser, 63, was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Louise Leggatt, 55, and also of causing her grievous bodily harm with intent.

He was alleged to have been enraged at the end of his romance with Louise - who the court heard was known in hunting circles as ‘Leg-Over Leggatt’.

The verdicts came after a jury spent five and a half hours deliberating, following a two-week trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

But Fraser had already admitted possessing a firearm without a licence and was warned by the judge he could still be sent to prison.

Judge Charles Byers said: “You are at risk of serving a custodial sentence.

“I have never come across such a lackadaisical and irresponsible attitude towards firearms, particularly for someone who is described as a countryman.”

He bailed him him to return to court on March 18 to be sentenced over that matter.

The judge also told Fraser not to have any contact with Louise or her two grown-up sons Ben and William, saying: “I am considering a restraining order which even in the face of an acquittal I can make.”

Fraser showed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered but there were cheers and cries of ‘Yes’ from his family and friends in the public gallery, including his forgiving wife Nanette who looked tearful.

Louise, who was in court, held her head in her hands and looked shattered.

She was shot outside her secluded rented farmhouse home in Benenden, Kent, in March last year, as she went to tend her horses.

She suffered shotgun injuries to her pelvis and leg, and underwent surgery to remove some of the pellets.

Two months earlier, Louise’s home, The Pippins, was destroyed in an arson attack, forcing her to rent the next door property Bramleys, where she was shot.

Nobody was ever convicted for the arson.

Fraser and Louise met through the Ashford Valley Hunt in Kent in 2000 and became lovers in 2001.

He moved into her home and they had a five-year affair before Fraser returned to his wife of 26 years in October 2011, at their farm in Shadoxhurst.

Fraser denied he tried to rekindle their romance and was angry when she rejected him.

Giving evidence during the trial, twice-divorced Louise sobbed as she relived the “terrifying” moment she was shot in her front garden by a hidden gunman.

She said: “First of all, I heard a sound and then I just had the most horrendous pain in my leg and hip.

“I couldn’t use my right leg at all but I managed to get inside and drag myself across the floor to where the phone was to dial 999.

“I was absolutely terrified, I had never been so terrified in all my life.

"I was really, really scared that whoever had done this was going to come back in and I couldn’t get back to the door to lock the door.”

During the trial one of Louise’s ex-husbands, Philip Gorringe, admitted he had heard of her being referred to as ‘Leg-Over Leggatt’ in hunting circles.

Valentine’s Day is hard work – do you play it cool? Do you go over the top? Do you give something? Do you do something? Or do you use it as a massive excuse to get something you really want (i.e. naughty stuff)?

Well, do not panic. In our celebrity inspired Valentine’s Day gift guide, we’ve got all the pressies you could possibly need this February 14th, with something for everyone. All you have to do is work out what type of girlfriend your other half is - but don’t worry, we’ve provided plenty of celebrity examples to help you decide.

***If this isn’t quite enough for you, we’re giving away most of the gifts in the below guide to one ridiculously lucky reader. We know, we spoil you. Get all the information at the bottom of the page***

For the disgruntled girl



If you need to win your sweetheart back like Zayn Malik – who allegedly cheated on Perrie Edwards with a waitress – then your gift is going to have to be both thoughtful, romantic and time consuming. There’s nothing more satisfying than getting a present that took ages to make – especially when you’re angry! Introducing the Instagram Book by Blurb. We all love sharing our artiest photos on the website, but this transforms your arty romantic snaps into a stylish little book to carry around in a handbag or pop next to the bed. The books come in two sizes (7 x 7 inch / 18 x 18 cm) size and start at £7.95 for 20 pages. It’s easy peasy too – check out the website here.

For the horny girl



Did anyone see Anne Hathway’s thank you speech at the SAG Awards? She looked directly at her Adam Schulman and said: “Thank you to my husband, I’ll show you why later”. Oh yeah – he got it that night. If you’ve got yourself an insatiable lady, it’s time to invest in a, gulp, vibrator. What do you mean ‘But that’s not fun for me?’ Not only is it great fun in the bedroom for both of you (it’ll give you the giggles while secretly thinking ‘Yeah, this alright actually’), but it’ll give her something to do when you’re knackered. Pick up elegant vibrator Shy Look, £85, from Box Of Grey with streamlined curves and three modes of pleasure. And high quality water based lubricant Give Lube will help ease you in at £8.95 per 100ml. Get it here.

For the pregnant girl



People with babies in their tummies need even more romancing than usual, because they’ve got one hell of a job on their hands. Take Peaches Geldof for example – she gave birth to little boy Astala and fell pregnant three months later – if she doesn’t deserve a lovely February 14 treat from husband Thomas Cohen, we don’t know who does. And given she’s carrying a foetus and her son around all over the place, the Micro-Pedi couldn’t be a better present. Designed to remove dry, rough and callused skin on the feet, while giving you a nice soothing sensation – this is a real treat. The Micro-Pedi costs £39.95 and is available from Lifes2good here.

For the homey girl

At some point in most girls’ lives – whether young or old – they decide that they’ve had enough of going out and experience a soft furnishings addiction. Take Lily Allen – she left London altogether and bought a farm! And while that’s the extreme end of the spectrum, this Annie Sloan Upholstery Workshop is a great way to learn something new and create a gift for the home together. Ahh. Annie Sloan Upholstery Workshops and Annie Sloan Furniture Painting Workshops are held throughout the UK and Ireland and cost around £60 for half a day. Find a local class here or call 01865 247 296.          

For the demanding girl

Run out of romantic ideas after giving your other half every present under the sun? Mariah ‘let’s renew our vows again’ Carey, we’re looking at you. Well, not only will this be something new, but it’ll shut her up for a while: the Lovers Leap Tandem Bungee Jump, £120, with Virgin Experience Days. Book yours here.

An owl with a distinctive whistle is a new species, experts have declared.

The bird, whose whistling call is completely different to other owls, is only thought to live on the island of Lombok in Indonesia

Although the owl has been known for at least a century, it has only now been recognised as a new species.

Previously experts had confused the bird, with brown and white feathers and big golden eyes, with a similar looking owl.

Its official name is Otus jolandae but scientists are giving it the common name Rinjani Scops Owl.

Two members of an international team independently recorded the signature whistle in 2003.

Ornithologist George Sangster, from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, said: "It was quite a coincidence that two of us identified this new bird species on different parts of the same island, within a few days of being on the island.

"That is quite a coincidence, especially considering that no-one had noticed anything special about these owls in the previous 100 years."

Comparisons with museum specimens and previous studies confirmed the discovery and indicated that the owl was confined to one island.

Locals on the neighbouring island of Sumbawa appeared to be unfamiliar with the bird, said Mr Sangster.

"None of the locals recognised the songs from playback of recordings made on Lombok except for one man, but he was an immigrant from Lombok who knew the song," he said.

The research is published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE

This is the first time any journalist has gained access to a factory working with horse meat since the scandal began.

Our photo shows staff at Farmbox Meats cutting up and boxing horse meat as they were shadowed by officials from the FSA wearing boiler suits and face masks.

Company owner Dafydd Raw-Rees, who had invited the Mirror into the factory, insists that his firm has done nothing wrong.

But at 10.30am – half an hour after our picture was taken – the FSA dramatically ordered the butchers to stop work.

The FSA officials shut the factory down while they continued their investigation which had begun the night before.

On Tuesday evening 20 police and the FSA team swooped on the meat factory in the sleepy village of Llandre in Ceredigion.

The agency is looking into allegations that meat products labelled as beef for kebabs and burgers was in fact horse meat.

The FSA suspended operations on Tuesday, detained all the meat and seized paperwork.

As the butchers were allowed to restart work yesterday, the FSA continued to pore over the facility, inspecting meat and taking photos.

Dafydd Raw-Rees, of Farmbox Food Limited Crisis: Dafydd Raw-Rees says he's distressed for his staff
Wales News Service

And it wasn’t long before the FSA ordered the workers out. Last night the government officials suspended Mr Raw-Rees’ licence until further notice and closed the factory down until tomorrow.

The FSA believes Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, supplied horse carcasses to Farmbox Meats near Aberystwyth.

The Peter Boddy plant, which denies any wrongdoing, was also raided by the FSA and police on Tuesday.

After opening his doors to the Mirror yesterday, Mr Raw-Rees, 64, denied he was using horse meat for burgers or kebabs.

He says all the meat is destined for a client in Belgium. The landowner added the carcasses were delivered from an abattoir in Ireland.

Mr Raw-Rees said: “I am very distressed at what is happening – this will ruin my reputation. This is a fully legitimate operation.

"All we do is cut the meat, we don’t process it or make it into burgers or kebabs.

“I’m just trying to run a business and I feel like I have been dealt a very low blow.

The editor of the Italian magazine that published pictures of a bikini-clad Duchess of Cambridge defended his decision yesterday saying they did not “harm” her image.

Alfonso Signorini said the reaction to the photographs that show William and Kate on holiday on the exclusive Caribbean island of Mustique was “over the top”.

The pictures were published in the gossip magazine Chi and were trailed on the front cover as showing the growing belly of Kate, who is about four months pregnant.

On-air apology

Earlier yesterday in Britain, presenter Eamonn Holmes was forced to make an on-air apology on This Morning programme after an unblurred image of the magazine’s front cover showing the duke and duchess in their swimwear “accidentally” appeared on screen. Holmes told viewers: “Unfortunately we accidentally showed an unblurred image of the magazine cover, which briefly showed the photographs.

“This was a deeply regrettable error and we are very sorry. We apologise unreservedly to the duke and the duchess.”

Mr Signorini justified his decision to publish the pictures of Kate and William on holiday in a series of interviews. He told the BBC: “The photographs, which can in no way be considered scandalous, were bought from an international photo agency, do not harm the image of the protagonists and the reaction of the media seems to me wholly over the top. Moreover, the photographs can hardly be considered an invasion of privacy when the subjects are public figures in a public place, in the open air; specifically on a beach surrounded by other bathers.”

Meanwhile, the editor of an Australian magazine also defended her decision to print photographs of Kate in a bikini, saying her readers will “love” the images.

Woman’s Day is the second publication to use the pictures of the pregnant royal. It also controversially published pictures of William and Kate’s Seychelles honeymoon in 2011.

The Mustique pictures were reportedly taken from a boat using a long-lens camera, but Fiona Connolly, editor of Woman’s Day, claimed a member of the public snapped the duchess.

It's been a big week for Sports Illustrated. First, a blogger leaked the swimsuit issue's much-anticipated cover, upstaging David Letterman's big reveal on Monday. Now website Jezebel is calling out the men's magazine for using minorities as "props" in photos featuring models in bikinis posing in seven different continents.

Sports Illustrated coverJezebel argues that the magazine is perpetuating racial stereotypes by drawing power and class lines between the Westernized models and the "primitive locals" and points to a long history of media using people of various ethnicities as "extras", citing Nylon magazine, the Free People catalog, British Vogue, and J-Crew.

Depending on where you look, the reaction has been mixed, even among the men who are supposed to be titillated. On Jezebel's website, one male commenter wrote, "Pics of woman with local natives is NOT hot, it's exploitative, so the mission is fail right there. Oh and exploitative. I do not know what they were thinking….fail all around." While another guy wrote, "Some of the examples are ›‹reaching a bit…the one with the boat….why pick that for China? Especially when everything I read about China is how they're an industrial powerhouse." And one helpful reader on Sports Illustrated's Facebook page pointed out, "Technically speaking they were not shot in all seven continents. While Easter Island may belong to Chile, it's a Polynesian island, and not part of the South American continent." Oy.

Shine reached out to Sports Illustrated and Scott Novak, SVP, Communications & Brand responded with "No comment" but added that the man who appears in the Namibia photos "may have done other editorial work before."
In Spain, a model leans on a Matador. (photo by Sports Illutrated)

"These photos depict people of color as exotic backdrops," David Leonard, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University, tells Yahoo! Shine. "As with beautiful oceans, picturesque trees, people of color are imagined as exotic, as novel, as foreign, as uncivilized and as a point of comparison for the civilized white beauties scantily clad in bathing suits. Beyond functioning as props, as scenery to authenticate their third world adventures, people of color are imagined as servants, as the loyal helpers, as existing for white western pleasure, amusement, and enjoyment."
In Africa, a black man is positioned next to a model carrying a spear. (photo by Sports Illustrated)

"As Jezebel writes, where are the images and pictures of bustling cities, skyscrapers — the pictures reify dominant narrative about the uncivilized and primitive third world. They define people of different races as 'other' and the sexual white female body as desirable, as they're to be watched, consumed, and enjoyed by men in lounge chairs," he adds.

Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Professor of History and Ethnic Studies, Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA) at Brown University tells Yahoo! Shine: "It's understandable why some would find these photos disturbing. The juxtaposition of scantily-clad white, modern, cosmopolitan and western woman against natives, animals, exotic scenery, primitives (African native), traditionals (Chinese fisherman; ethnic minority girls in China); The exception is the photo of the Spanish bullfighters, in which case the model is suggestive of the bull.  The white models are tourists and colonials."

 When it comes to buying an iPhone in Brazil, consumers have one extra option that the rest of us do not.

There's the "iPhone" made by the California tech giant Apple. Then there's the "iphone" made by the Brazilian firm Gradiente Eletronica and, perhaps in a slap to Apple, runs on rival Android's operating system.

And it's going to stay that way pending any future appeal or settlement.

On Thursday, Brazil's Institute of Industry Property (INPI), the country's main patent regulator, ruled that Apple holds no exclusive right to use the iPhone moniker to market its mobile phones. If Apple continues to use the iPhone name, Gradiente can sue.

INIP added that Gradiente Eletronica holds exclusive rights to the trademark though 2018 after having registered for the iPhone name in 2000. Apple only unveiled its iPhone name in 2007.

Apple may have gotten a bruising but an appeal is in the works. And in a twist on timing that Apple hopes may help it win branding rights, Gradiente Eletronica only launched its first "iphone", the iphone Neo One, in December 2012 -- five years after Apple debuted its inaugural iPhone. Gradiente explained it held back on releasing its own iphone until recently as it concluded corporate restructuring from 2008.

Apple's trademark trouble in Latin America's most populous country is just the latest in a series of global snafus that have spanned China, Japan and the United States.

Just days after Apple announced its first iPhone in January 2007, Cisco Systems sued the company in U.S. federal court saying it had owned trademark rights since 2000. Apple and Cisco agreed to a settlement the following month that allowed both companies use of the iPhone name.

In 2009, Apple paid Proview Taiwan a sum of $55,000 for use of the "iPad" name in mainland China. But in a complicated dispute, Proview claimed Apple set up a shell company to fool it into selling the trademark. In addition, Proview Taiwan did not actually own the rights to the iPad trademark in mainland China -- a subsidiary, Proview Shenzhen, did. Apple only secured the name in 2012 after paying out the actual trademark owner $60 million.

Oscar Pistorius will face no disciplinary action over his outburst following defeat in the men's 200 metres final, Paralympic organisers said on Tuesday.

Moments after losing to Brazil's Alan Oliveira on Sunday, his first 200m defeat in nine years, Pistorius used a post-race interview to question the legitimacy of his defeat.

Pistorius, dubbed the "Blade Runner", suggested that his opponent's prosthetics were too long which had artificially lengthened his stride, giving him an unfair advantage.

"There will be no disciplinary action against Oscar for his comments," International Paralympic Committee (IPC) director of communications Craig Spence said on Tuesday.

Pistorius apologised for the timing of his comments in a statement on Monday, but maintained there was still a fundamental issue about the length of athletes' prosthetics that needed to be addressed.

Pistorius met with Paralympic officials in the immediate aftermath of his defeat when it was decided a further meeting would take place to discuss his concerns.

"We decided we needed to go through the official channels rather than just sending an informal text message saying let's meet," Spence added.

"So we are waiting for the national Paralympic Committee of South Africa to go through the relevant channels and contact the IPC and then a meeting will be set up."

Pistorius, who was defending his 100m, 200m and 400m titles, streaked into an early lead and was almost 10 metres ahead as the athletes came into the home straight but the Brazilian launched a stunning fightback and surged to victory.

IPC rules governing the length of prosthetics are determined by a complicated formula that involves measuring from the chest to the amputated limb and the arm span.

This is converted into a height prediction and a maximal height is used to assess the length of prosthetics.

Immediately after the race, the IPC confirmed that Oliveira's blades fell within the legal limits.

Pistorius continues his Paralympic campaign on Wednesday in the 100m heats, with the 400m and 4x400m relay to follow later in the week.

A 30-year-old woman was found fatally shot in the upscale Pretoria home belonging to South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius, police said Thursday.

Police said they have arrested a 26-year-old man -- the same age as Pistorius -- in connection with the shooting and that he will appear in Pretoria magistrate court sometime Thursday.

Pistorius, nicknamed the "Blade Runner," made history when he became the first Paralympian to compete in the able-bodied Olympics last year.

Several South African media outlets reported that the woman was mistaken for an intruder. Police Brig. Denise Beukes said she was aware of the reports, but could not confirm them.

South Africa has a high crime rate, and it's not unusual for homeowners to keep weapons to protect themselves from intruders.

Pistorius, a double-amputee, ran with the aid of prosthetic limbs during the London Olympics last year, the first Paralympian to compete in the able-bodied Olympics.

The runner's legs were amputated below the knee when he was a toddler because of a bone defect. He runs on special carbon fiber blades, hence the nickname.
Deadly shooting at Oscar Pistorius home
'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

While he failed to win a medal in the Olympics, his presence on the track was lauded as an example of victory over adversity and a lesson in dedication to a goal.

 Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose reiterated Wednesday night there is a chance he will sit out the entire season as he recovers from surgery to fix a torn ACL in his left knee.

Rose said he isn't sure when he'll return to the floor.

"I really don't know," he said. "I'm feeling good, but like I said, if it's where it's taking me a long time and I'm still not feeling right, I don't mind missing this year."

More from ESPNChicago.com

Derrick Rose's decision on when to return will be his own, despite the many people who will be in his ear, Jon Greenberg writes. Story

• Friedell: Noah plans to play in ASG

Rose said he would like to play this season but isn't sure if his body will heal in time.

"I would love to," he said. "I would love to. That's why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard. I'm trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it's no point."

Rose's told USA Today Sports on Monday afternoon that he was still "far away" from returning and wouldn't come back until he was "110 percent." Rose did acknowledge late Wednesday night the decision to play is his and he would listen to his inner circle of trusted associates and Bulls' personnel.

"(Agent) B.J. (Armstrong), of course. People from the organization, (Bulls GM) Gar (Forman), (Bulls VP of operations John Paxson), all them people. Trainers, just people that I will normally be around every day. But it's really on me to make that decision when I'm going to play again, so that's cool that they left it up to me."

    “

    Rose I would love to [return]. I would love to. That's why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard. I'm trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it's no point.

Rose, who injured his knee in the first game of the Eastern Conference playoffs on April 28 and had surgery on May 12, admitted he is still struggling with gaining his explosion back. The next step?

"Being able to dunk," he said. "I can't dunk, man. I know if I can dunk off stride, I know I'll be out there playing, but I can't."

Still, Rose's spirits appear high. He has accompanied the Bulls on the road since the first of the year and is enjoying being with his teammates.

"Right now, I'm feeling pretty good, man," he said. "Where (I'm) slowly getting back in the mix. The other day we played the 3-on-3, one-on-one, and I felt good out there. I'm not trying to rush myself, just still trying to be patient and just trying to take my rehab very serious right now."

Paxson said earlier Wednesday that Rose will participate in 5-on-5 practices after this weekend's All-Star break.

Meanwhile, Rose admitted he's struggling to regain both his mental and physical confidence.

Kate Middleton may be mother to the future King or Queen of England, but that can’t protect her from tabloid attention, much to the frustration of the royal family.

Italian magazine Chi published two photographs of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge in a bikini on Wednesday, inciting protest and disapproval from the palace.

Kate Middleton: Royal Pregnancy Mysteries Solved

"We are disappointed that photographs of the duke and duchess on a private holiday look likely to be published overseas. This is a clear breach of the couple's right to privacy," a spokeswoman from St. James Palace said in an official statement on Tuesday, when news of the photographs hit the Internet.

The photographs show the Duchess, with her naturally curly hair, sporting a tiny baby bump in a blue bikini, walking along the beach with William in the Caribbean island of Mustique.

In the press, pregnant celebrities often face unwelcome scrutiny over their changing bodies. But the royal baby fever is on an entirely different level. For the right to publish the first glimpse of Kate's "baby bump," publishers all over the world are paying upwards of $500,000.

Chi is the same magazine that published 18 photographs of a topless Kate Middleton in September. When French magazine Closer published the photographs, the Duke and Duchess took legal action, barring their publication.

Alfonso Signorini, the editor of Chi, balked at the palace’s suggestion that the images were an invasion of privacy. “The photographs can hardly be considered an invasion of privacy when the subjects are public figures in a public place,” he told People Magazine. “What out readers will see is simply a moment of joyful relaxation being enjoyed by a smiling, happy couple. Where’s the scandal in that?”

Women’s Day editor Fiona Connolly also ran the photographs, claiming no boundaries had been crossed. “There is no photographer hiding in the bushes and she is not inside a private villa,” she told News Ltd.

Chi Magazine cover with pregnant Kate MiddletonChi Magazine cover with pregnant Kate MiddletonFor Americans, it can be difficult to understand what the fuss is all about. But in the U.K., the press has a “gentlemen’s agreement” with the royals and with many celebrities out of respect for their privacy, Victoria Arbiter, ABC News Royal Contributor, told Yahoo! Shine. “The Palace is incensed over the publication of these photos because they're realizing that this is a battle they cannot win. The British press has been incredibly well behaved. But the idea of the whole world playing fair when there is money to be made is just ludicrous.”

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) -- Authorities said Wednesday they are reasonably sure that the body found inside the burned cabin near Big Bear Lake, California, is that of Christopher Dorner, the rogue ex-cop who had been pursuing a vendetta against his fellow officers.

"We believe that this investigation is over, at this point, and we'll just need to move on from here," San Bernardino Sheriff John McMahon told reporters.

Although the description and behavior of the man who was killed are consistent with Dorner, officials "cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him," McMahon said.

"We're not currently involved in a manhunt," he said. "Our coroner's division is trying to confirm the identity through forensics."

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

McMahon identified a sheriff's detective who was fatally shot Tuesday by the man presumed to have been Dorner as Jeremiah MacKay. MacKay, 35, was a 15-year veteran who was married with two children, a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son.

Another officer has undergone "a couple of different surgeries" after being wounded in the shootout. "He's in good spirits and should make a full recovery after a number of additional surgeries," McMahon said.

The two men were ambushed Tuesday when they responded to a report of a vehicle stolen by a suspect matching Dorner's description, McMahon said.

"It was like a war zone, and our deputies continued to go into that area and tried to neutralize and stop the threat," McMahon said. "The rounds kept coming, but our deputies didn't give up."

The suspect then fled into a nearby vacant cabin, which caught fire after police shot tear gas canisters into it, McMahon said.

Although the canisters included pyrotechnic tear gas, which generates heat, "We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said.

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

'A very trying time' for the LAPD

"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.

On Wednesday, police from around the Los Angeles area and beyond gathered to bury Michael Crain, who was among the four people fatally shot, allegedly by the 33-year-old former Navy officer.

Dorner also killed the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiance and shot three other officers, including Crain's partner, police say.

Human remains have been found in the burned-out cabin where a fugitive ex-cop was believed to be hiding and investigators will attempt to identify them through forensic tests, a sheriff's spokeswoman said in a statement to Fox News.

San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller says the remains were found late Tuesday after a shootout. Authorities believe Christopher Dorner barricaded himself inside the cabin and a fire later ensued.

Investigators will attempt to determine if the remains are Dorner's through forensic tests.

Dorner, who vowed not to be taken alive, had been surrounded inside the cabin since early Tuesday afternoon. It was not clear who set the fire in the Big Bear community where Dorner apparently has been hiding since sometime last week.

The saga has gripped the country, and has the nation's third-largest police department on tenterhooks for a week. Dorner, a former Navy man and highly trained marksman, had vowed revenge on the department he believed had wronged him - designating specific targets for death. As flames devoured the cabin, police stood by, confident that there was no escape for Dorner, and no way he could survive the blaze - assuming he had not already taken his own life. One law enforcement source told The Associated Press a single shot was heard inside the cabin before the fire broke out.

San Bernardino Sheriff Spokesperson Cindy Bachman told reporters that they will not enter the structure until it is safe to do so.

Law enforcement sources said sometime within the last few days, Dorner broke into an cabin off Route 38, on the mountain resort area where days ago his truck was found burning. Two women were held there until Tuesday morning, when Dorner left in a white pickup believed to belong to one of the women, who he left bound inside. One managed to escape and call authorities around 12:50 p.m. local time.

Sometime later, fish and wildlife officers spotted the stolen pickup, which they were looking for, and tried to stop it near Big Bear Lake, authorities said. The driver, believed to have been Dorner, fled on foot, exchanging gunfire, sources told Fox News. Hours later, police had Dorner cornered in another cabin, exchanging gunfire with the suspect. It was there that his rampage would end.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/13/police-say-no-body-has-yet-been-found-after-cabin-stronghold-fugitive-ex-cop/#ixzz2KmIdyQbb

 Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.

The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a press release early this morning.

Dorner barricaded himself in the cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Tuesday afternoon after engaging in a gunfight with police, killing one officer and injuring another, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is the lead agency in the action, said Tuesday night investigators would remain at the site all night.

FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt

When Bachman was asked if police thought Dorner was in still in the burning cabin, she said, "Right… We believe that the person that barricaded himself inside the cabin engaged in gunfire with our deputies and other law enforcement officers is still inside there, even though the building burned."

Bachman spoke shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department denied earlier reports that a body was found in the cabin, contradicting what law enforcement sources told ABC News and other news organizations.

Police around the cabin told ABC News they saw Dorner enter but never leave the building as it was consumed by flames, creating a billowing column of black smoke seen for miles.

A press conference is scheduled for later today in San Bernardino.

One sheriff's deputy was killed in a shootout with Dorner earlier Tuesday afternoon, believed to be his fourth and victim after killing an LAPD officer and two other people this month, including the daughter of a former police captain, and promising to kill many more in an online manifesto.


Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.

Police did not enter the building, but exchanged fire with Dorner and shot tear gas into the building.

One of the largest dragnets in recent history, which led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, apparently ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.

Police got a break at 12:20 p.m. PT, when they received a 911 call that a suspect resembling Dorner had broken into a home in the Big Bear area, taken two hostages and stolen a car.

The two hostages, who were tied up by Dorner but later escaped, were evaluated by paramedics and were determined to be uninjured.

Officials say Dorner crashed the stolen vehicle and fled on foot to the cabin where he barricaded himself and exchanged fire with deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and state Fish and Game officers.

 Monique Tatum, a representative of the event, contacted The Huffington Post with the following statement:

    "Janice was an integral part of our event and flew mid snow storm to be a part of The Reality of FASHION The Reality of AIDS. We were very appreciative of that. Janice Dickinson did need to leave immediately after the show as she had another engagement to attend. I am 100% positive that she did not intend to leave with her pieces as her team was on the phone with ours immediately. Being that we were all staying in the same hotel, with myself personally a few doors down from Janice I did ok the pick up of the pieces the next day. Which did take place. She was extremely kind to me. She was one of the jewels in the crown of our show and we greatly appreciate her participation."

Information removed from the New York Post's original story has also been removed from the below.

PREVIOUSLY: Janice Dickinson strutted down the runway at New York Fashion Week on Saturday, donning $20,000 worth of jewelry that she just so happened to leave on as she then strutted out of the building.

The former "America's Next Top Model" judge was accused of leaving the catwalk with the jewels after participating in "The Reality of FASHION The Reality of AIDS,” a benefit show that also featured Lil' Kim, “Jersey Shore” star Deena Cortese and “Real Housewives” headliners Alex McCord, Ramona Singer and Sheree Whitfield.

The jewels have since been returned, according to the show's creators, but not before the organizers had to work to track Dickinson down, the New York Post reports.

Dickinson's rep, Brad Taylor, says the former Vogue cover gal did not intend to keep the jewels and that the incident was an accident. According to the Post, Dickinson gave the goods to Taylor to return on her behalf after leaving.

The New York Post reports that Dickinson had asked the show's organizers to fly out her fiance Robert Gerner as well, claiming to need his presence as support now that she's sober. The organizers declined to cover Gerner's ticket, and he flew on his own dime instead, the Post reports.

The incident doesn't mark the first time the supermodel has caught iffy press surrounding her Fashion Week behavior. In 2007, Dickinson was booted for attending while drunk.

Here's Dickinson on the runway with Lil' Kim and designer Dominique Auxilly:

A graphic video appears to show a teenager forcibly stripped naked and repeatedly whipped while a group heckled and cursed at him -- all because of a $20 debt.

The video (below) was uploaded to YouTube on Thursday has received almost 40,000 views. And Newark, N.J. authorities are up in arms.

Police are now searching for the victim and assailants in attack, The Star-Ledger reported.

In the disturbing two-minute scene, a man screams, "Where my money at?" at a naked boy on a public street. The hunched-over victim responds, "I don't know," before he is ruthlessly beat with a belt.

For the 90-second whipping, a small crowd laughs, yells obscenities, and tells the victim to say it's a "dog eat dog world" to the camera.

In the end of the video, one of the bystanders reveals that the debt -- apparently owed by the victim's father -- is 20 bucks.

"The perpetrator as well as those who stood idly by laughing and videotaping this act of savage brutality should be brought to justice," said Newark City Council President Anibal Ramos.

Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio told the Star-Ledger investigators might know where the attack took place.

He also said police know that two Twitter handles were instrumental
in making the video viral.

If caught, the assailants will most likely be charged with aggravated assault.

Los Angeles Police Department told reporters that no body has been identified in the cabin in which Christopher Dorner was believed to have been hiding, following a shootout and fire.

"No body has been located yet," Commander Andrew Smith said, telling reporters that the building was still too hot for investigators to enter.

"That burned cabin has not even been entered by investigators yet," Smith said. "We are still on a holding pattern to search that."

Earlier reports had indicated that a body had been identified.

The standoff with Dorner, a former member of the LAPD, reached a violent close near a rustic cabin in the Big Bear ski area east of Los Angeles. Since Feb. 3, he's accused of a crime spree that left four people dead, including two officers, and several others wounded in shootings in L.A. and nearby San Bernadino County.

In a widely read tirade posted on Facebook by Dorner -- called his manifesto -- he vowed revenge against police and other officials he blamed for his dismissal from the LAPD in the 2009.

On Tuesday afternoon, Dorner barricaded himself in a rustic cabin after San Bernadino County Sheriff's deputies allegedly spotted him driving a vehicle he'd stolen earlier in the day.

While in the cabin, Dorner exchanged hundreds of rounds of gunfire w
ith members of law enforcement. One deputy died from the shooting and another was injured. Later, towering flames engulfed the cabin.

The country's most famous fugitive had eluded authorities for days, but resurfaced on Tuesday after he'd allegedly burglarized a home, took two women hostage and stolen a white pickup truck.

"Enough is enough. It's time to turn yourself in," said LAPD Commander Andrew Smith during an afternoon press conference. "It's time to stop the bloodshed."

Dorner's trail led back to Irvine on Sunday where police believe he shot a couple parked in their car.

Monica Quan, a California State University, Fullerton assistant basketball coach and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, a public safety officer at the University of Southern California, were shot to death in their car Feb 3. Police named Dorner a suspect in Quan's killing on Feb. 6.

In the past few months, schools have banned everything from yoga pants and Ugg boots to birthday candles and peanut butter sandwiches. But one Utah middle school is cracking down on hair color—even if the color in question isn't a garish blue or green but just a dark shade of red.

After being kicked out of class last week for dyeing her brown hair auburn, an honors student at a Utah middle school has been allowed to return to school—but only after she toned down her hair color.

Though Rylee MacKay, 15, had been dyeing her hair the same shade every six weeks since September, it wasn't until earlier this month that the school took issue with the color. On Feb. 4, Hurricane Middle School vice principal Jan Goodwin spotted Rylee in the halls and ordered her into the office. She had just had her hair touched up two days earlier.

The Washington County School District dress code states that "Hair, including beards, mustaches and sideburns, should be groomed so that it is neat and clean. Hair color must be a naturally occurring color; i.e. red, brown, black, blonde." And while Rylee's stylist had assured her that her new color complied with the dress code, Goodwin felt that Rylee's auburn-hued hair didn't look natural enough.

"In the light he said it was pinkish-purplish," Rylee told KUTV. "He told me to have it fixed by the next day or I couldn't come back to school."

But she didn't want to dye her hair back to brown—and her mother refused to make her.

"I absolutely am not going to dye it brown. That is not an option," Amy MacKay told Utah news station KSL.com on Sunday. Rylee had a hard time with the family's move to Hurricane two and a half years ago, MacKay said, and when she was finally allowed to dye her hair last year she felt better about herself. "My daughter feels beautiful with the red hair. Changing her hair really changed her; she really blossomed," she explained. "And now I have to say, 'No, sorry, you have to dye it brown?' I'm not going to change it back."

MacKay said that the district's hair policy is too open to interpretation. "It's totally his opinion whether it's too bright or not," she told KSL.com. "There's no set standard, no hair palette you can look at and say, 'OK, I'll go with that red'."

 Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said on Monday it had found horse DNA exceeding 60 percent in some of its own-brand frozen spaghetti bolognese meals withdrawn from stores last week.

Tesco said tests carried out since pulling the product last Wednesday had identified the presence of horse DNA, with most positive results at a trace level of less than one percent. However, three tests showed horse DNA levels of over 60 percent.

None of its tests were positive for the potentially harmful drug known as bute - a common, anti-inflammatory painkiller for sporting horses but banned for animals intended for eventual human consumption, it said.

The news is the latest installment in a scandal that has rocked the food industry in Britain and across Europe. Investigations into suppliers have been launched in recent weeks after the discovery that beef products sold to some of Britain's major supermarkets and fast-food chain Burger King contained horsemeat.

Tesco had already dropped an Irish supplier of frozen beef burgers that had also tested positive for horse DNA.

The firm had pulled its frozen Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese product last week as a precaution after the manufacturer Findus withdrew its beef products on the advice of its French supplier Comigel, which also supplies Tesco.

Findus said last week that some of its beef lasagne meals had contained horse meat.

On Monday, Tesco said the source of the horse meat was still under investigation by the relevant authorities, but added that it would not take food from Comigel's facility again.

"The level of contamination suggests that Comigel was not following the appropriate production process for our Tesco product and we will not take food from their facility again," Tesco said, adding that it h

It was a small mistake but one that cost British hairdresser and mother of two "Sally Donaldson" thousands of dollars.

More on Yahoo! Bank Security Group Warns of Website Attacks

According to The Guardian, in October 2012, Donaldson (not her real name) experienced a sickening, gut-wrenching moment when she discovered that over the course of two years, each time she had transferred her monthly paycheck of $1,500 from her HSBC account to the joint one she shares with her husband at Nationwide building society, she had accidentally been placing the money in a total stranger's account. After two years, the amount she had transferred was roughly $40,000.

More on Yahoo! Shine: 12 Money Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes

"It wasn't until October 2012 that I discovered the £1,000 was not showing on our joint account's monthly statement. Having moved over to paperless statements in 2010, I had been checking that my wages were leaving my business account held with HSBC at the end of every month. However, to my horror, I now saw they had never arrived in our joint Nationwide account. Scrolling back, the last time my wage appeared on our statement was May 2010," says Donaldson in The Guardian. "I frantically checked my numbers for the bill payment scheme I had set up with HSBC and could see that, on setting it up, I was one digit out … the money has been going to another Nationwide account holder for the past two years, amounting to £26,650!"
"The payment was set up clearly to my name, my sort code but with one account number digit being incorrect…..Phone calls to Nationwide that night, many tears and numerous subsequent calls and letters, have left us with just £1,000 returned and a complete blank of information from Nationwide," she says.

It may be difficult for Donaldson to get her money back. According to The Guardian, the recipient refuses to return the money and the bank cannot reveal his or her identity due to data protection rules. What's more, British law dictates that when money goes into the wrong hands, it can be withdrawn without gaining permission first for up to six years after it's wrongfully transferred. But in Donaldson's case, the recipient had withdrawn the money through ATMs so there is nothing they can do. Shine attempted to contact Nationwide for comment but emails were not returned.

"People have become so dependent on technology that they've developed a blind trust in computers," says Manisha Thakor, CEO of MoneyZen Wealth Management. "But technology isn't perfect; when you consider the sheer volume of transfers that banks make every day, it's actually very easy for an error to occur. People have a personal responsibility to take ownership of their finances." Here's how to avoid making a similar mistake:

Communicate: It seems unlikely that Donaldson, who was supporting herself on a hairdresser's salary, could overlook the fact that her family's bank account wasn't as flush as it was supposed to be but according to Thakor, many couples don't communicate enough about finances. "What's most troubling about this story is that it occurred between a husband and wife," says Thakor. "It was a very personal transaction and would have been easy for Donaldson to check in with her husband and ask if he received the funds." Yes, a simple, "Hey did you get that huge money transfer I sent you?" over dinner could have prevented the problem from escalating. Even if one person is better at managing money—which is so often the case between couples— staying in the loop about bill paying and money transfers is crucial.

Read in reverse: When you're double checking the number you typed in, read it again but this time backwards. "By reading from the last number to the first, you'll avoid scanning on autopilot," says Thakor. "This process forces your brain to stay alert while you read so you're more likely to catch typos."

 Apple, for the first time in years, is hearing footsteps.

The maker of iPhones, iPads and iPods has never faced a challenger able to make a truly popular and profitable smartphone or tablet — not Dell, not Hewlett-Packard, not Nokia, not BlackBerry — until Samsung Electronics.

The South Korean manufacturer’s Galaxy S III smartphone is the first device to run neck and neck with Apple’s iPhone in sales. Armed with other Galaxy phones and tablets, Samsung has emerged as a potent challenger to Apple, the top consumer electronics maker. The two companies are the only ones turning profits in the highly competitive mobile phone industry, with Apple taking 72 percent of the earnings and Samsung the rest.

Yet these two rivals, who have battled in the marketplace and in the courts worldwide, could not be more different. Samsung Electronics, a major part of South Korea’s expansive Samsung Group, makes computer chips and flat-panel displays as well as a wide range of consumer products including refrigerators, washers and dryers, cameras, vacuum cleaners, PCs, printers and TVs.

Where Apple stakes its success on creating new markets and dominating them, as it did with the iPhone and iPad, Samsung invests heavily in studying existing markets and innovating inside them.

“We get most of our ideas from the market,” said Kim Hyun-suk, an executive vice president at Samsung, in a conversation about the future of mobile devices and television. “The market is a driver, so we don’t intend to drive the market in a certain direction,” he said.

That’s in stark contrast to the philosophy of Apple’s founder Steven P. Jobs, who rejected the notion of relying on market research. He memorably said that consumers don’t know what they want.

Nearly everything at Samsung, from the way it does research to its manufacturing, is unlike Apple. It taunts Apple in its cheeky advertisements while Apple stays above the fray.

The company that distills Maker’s Mark is reducing the alcohol content of the famous bourbon in an effort to keep up with growing global appetite for the product, Quartz reports.

The move comes in response to concerns the company won't be able to meet rampant demand for Maker's Mark since it's "very low on supply,” Rob Samuels, COO of Beam Inc. (which also makes the less-expensive Jim Beam bourbon), wrote in an email to consumers. The spirit will now have an alcohol-by-volume content of 42 percent, instead of 45 percent.

Just this year bourbon and Tennessee whiskey sales have risen 5 percent, reflecting the spirits' rising popularity. Bourbon in particular has become so popular that it now accounts for 35 percent of all spirits sales, according to Today. Boutique brands such as Pappy Van Winkle’s are all but impossible to find due to the high demand, WFPL reports.

That means there’s likely a whole lot of bourbon lovers -- who are known to be purists -- who won't be too thrilled with Beam Inc.'s move.

"I just think that's a cheap business practice," Erik Lane, a bartender in Brooklyn, told The New York Post of watering down Maker's Mark. "Usually you're going to notice [an alcohol reduction like] that."

The company is apparently doing all it can to defend the decision, arguing that Marker's Mark with less alcohol is better than no Maker's Mark at all. In his email, Samuels wrote that Maker's Mark remains "completely con
sistent with the taste profile ... created nearly 60 years ago."

For the first time, the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden tells his story — speaking not just about the raid and the three shots that changed history, but about the personal aftermath for himself and his family. And the startling failure of the United States government to help its most experienced and skilled warriors carry on with their lives.

The man who shot and killed Osama bin Laden sat in a wicker chair in my backyard, wondering how he was going to feed his wife and kids or pay for their medical care.

It was a mild spring day, April 2012, and our small group, including a few of his friends and family, was shielded from the sun by the patchwork shadows of maple trees. But the Shooter was sweating as he talked about his uncertain future, his plans to leave the Navy and SEAL Team 6.

He stood up several times with an apologetic gripe about the heat, leaving a perspiration stain on the seat-back cushion. He paced. I didn't know him well enough then to tell whether a glass of his favorite single malt, Lagavulin, was making him less or more edgy.

We would end up intimately familiar with each other's lives. We'd have dinners, lots of Scotch. He's played with my kids and my dogs and been a hilarious, engaging gentleman around my wife.

In my yard, the Shooter told his story about joining the Navy at nineteen, after a girl broke his heart. To escape, he almost by accident found himself in a Navy recruiter's office. "He asked me what I was going to do with my life. I told him I wanted to be a sniper.

"He said, 'Hey, we have snipers.'

"I said, 'Seriously, dude. You do not have snipers in the Navy.' But he brought me into his office and it was a pretty sweet deal. I signed up on a whim."

"That's the reason Al Qaeda has been decimated," he joked, "because she broke my fucking heart."

Rihanna debuted the video for "Stay" on Monday night. The song, a heartfelt ballad that's among the better received tracks off "Unapologetic" is one of two recently released singles of the album.

The video premiered on E! News before making its way online. The music video for "Stay" shows a stripped-down Rihanna, as the singer soaks in a tub, looking vulnerable and forlorn. Never one to shy away from the scandalous, Rihanna appears naked in the video.

"Diamonds" was the only single released before "Unapologetic" hit stores. Def Jam recently announced that it was moving both "Stay" and "Pour It Up." The two songs couldn't be any more different: One is a sensitive ballad about love, loss and broken hearts, while "Pour It Up" sees Rihanna borrowing heavily from Juicy J's strip club anthem, "Bands Make Her Dance." ("Bands" and "Pour It Up" both feature sleepy production by Mike Will and focus on throwing cash around around naked women.)

Ekko and Rihanna performed "Stay" at Sunday night's Grammys, where she also joined Sting, Bruno Mars and Damian and Ziggy Marley for a tribute to Bob Marley. While she was among the best-dressed stars at the event, the singer disappointed a number of fans by snuggling up to Chris Brown at the event. After the Grammys, Rihanna and Brown were spotted at a nightclub and in Brown car, an unnerving image given that this year's award show marked four years since Brown viciously assaulted her.

"Unapologetic" is Rihanna's seventh studio album. You may remember that it was heralded by the Rihanna Plane, a seven-day, seven-country tour that featured Rihanna and 150 increasingly cranky journalists on one chartered plane.

8-Year-Old Boy Killed By Space Heater Fire During Storm
Authorities say a fire sparked by a space heater in a Brooklyn apartment on a freezing, snowy morning has killed an 8-year-old boy.

The Fire Department says a firefighter and another person were taken to hospitals with minor injuries after the blaze early Saturday. It was in a building in the city's Flatbush neighborhood.

Henry Barnes lives across the street. He tells The New York Times he was awakened by screams, went outside and saw two women standing in the street.

He says one was yelling: "Get my kids, get my kids."

The boy died at the scene of the fire. His name hasn't been released.

Firefighters determined the space heater was too close to some combustible items. It's not immediately clear what they were.

Apparently Katy Perry didn't get the Grammys wardrobe memo. Perry is yet another star who pushed the limits of the wardrobe mandate at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, with a tight mint green, cleavage-baring gown that blatantly violated the memo CBS sent out to Grammy attendees. The mandate emailed earlier this week by CBS' standards and practices department demanded stars "please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered," and Perry certainly disregarded that request Sunday night.

Katy Perry at the Grammys (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)Even E!'s Ryan Seacrest seemed noticeably flustered while interviewing Perry on the red carpet -- aside from being extremely tight, the dress exposed a large amount of cleavage. When he asked Perry about her look, Perry discussed her inspiration.

"I was inspired by Priscilla Presley in the '70s," the pop star explained. Without addressing her scandalous dress, she chose instead to focus on her flowing hairstyle. "The big hair, closer to God," she said.

Katy Perry and John Mayer get cozy at the Grammys. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Seacrest's co-host Giuliana Rancic later asked how he kept focused during the interview. Seacrest had a quick response: "When you are my height you have a lot of experience staying focused at that eye line. Lots of practice."

On Saturday night Perry did a much better job adhering to those guidelines at the Grammys MusiCare Person Of the Year Gala, which honored Bruce Springsteen. The singer wore an orange Alexander McQueen gown for the ceremony, and received rave reviews for her fashion choice.

Perry is a nominee and presenter at the 55th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night. Earlier this week it was reported that Perry would not be taking beau John Mayer to the ceremony, but instead would be attending with friend and "Girls" actress Allison Williams.

A nine-year-old Mexican girl has given birth to a baby of her own, local authorities and family members said.

"The girl was just over eight when she got pregnant. The father is a boy who is 17, but we have not found him, since he ran away," the mother of the girl, identified only as Dafne, told local officials in Jalisco state.

"We are looking for the young man to get his story because she does not understand what has happened. This is a rape or child sex abuse case," said Jorge Villasenor with the state prosectors' office.

The baby girl was born on January 27 in Zoquipan Hospital, weighing 2.7 kg.

Both girls were released from the hospital over the weekend, apparently doing well but the hospital said it would have to do extensive followup due to the new mother's age.
[Source]

 Syrian rebels have taken control of the country's biggest hydro-electric dam on the Euphrates River, activists said, dealing a strategic blow to President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other Syrian activists said Islamist fighters seized the entrances to the dam, although gunmen had not entered the main operations room and the dam had continued to function.

They had earlier swept through the nearby town of Tabqa, renamed al-Thawra (Revolution) by the country's rulers. A statue of Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was set on fire in the town, video footage showed.

Other video posted on the Internet showed what activists said was an abandoned Air Force Security base next to the dam and army installations inside the town.

"The dam was protected by an artillery battery and many intelligence units. The rebels moved on them in a lightning offensive yesterday, overrunning their positions and capturing scores of personnel," said Abu Ziad Teif, an opposition activist in contact with rebels in the area.

He said it was not clear whether the rebels would be able to keep the dam in operation and whether enough employees were left at the site. Extra power cuts were reported in the war ravaged city of Aleppo, which is partly supplied by the dam.

Rami Abdulrahman of British-based Syrian Observatory described the swift collapse of Assad's forces in Tabqa and around the dam as one of the president's biggest strategic setbacks in the 22-month-old Syrian uprising.

 Pope Benedict said on Monday he will resign on Feb 28 because he no longer has the strength to fulfill the duties of his office, becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to take such a step.

The 85-year-old pope said he had noticed that his strength had deteriorated over recent months "to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me".

"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter," he said according to a statement from the Vatican.

A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff would step down from 1900 GMT on February 28, leaving the office vacant until a successor is chosen.

Taylor Swift was the opening act for the 55th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

The 23-year-old pop superstar sang her nominated song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" at the Grammys. Swift teased her Grammys performance in the days leading up to the big event. She rocked a bedazzled white top hat and tails. Her over-the-top performance included men on stilts, ballerinas, and dancers dressed as rabbits. She ended the song with the line "So he calls me and goes, 'I still love you...' And I'm like, 'I'm sorry, I'm busy opening the Grammys.'"

"I think you should perform the song that's nominated," she told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show. Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the lead single off her 2012 album "Red," was nominated in the Record of the Year category. ("Red" itself wasn't eligible for Grammys nominations, so expect to see Swift dominate the 56th annual Grammy Awards in 2014.)

Prior to performing on the Grammy awards, Swift was a little nervous.

"Oh my god, it's Grammy week, it's so hectic," she said to Seacrest. "I have a lot to plan for with the opening performance and I'm just really hoping all the pieces come together this week. Because this is when it really gets really crazy, but it's all very exciting too."

Let me start by saying that I dearly missed the presence of Marnie, Jessa and Soshanna in this week's episode of "Girls." This is partially due to the balance and wit their characters provide in the midst of sad and ridiculous storylines, but also because Hannah has officially hit a big fat zero on the togetherness scale.

Let's begin with the smaller problems that came up during "One Man's Trash."

She has a rebellious streak that has manifested itself in garbage.

In the same way teenagers sneak out of the house to defy their parents, Hannah gets a rush from throwing the Cafe Grumpy trash in a can that does not belong to the coffee shop. After the handsome man on the receiving end of her habit comes charging angrily into the coffee shop, Hannah is quick to tell him she's very sorry for what she's done, but that she thinks her rebellion "makes a lot of sense in a way." Does it?

She has no problem playing ping pong naked or passing out in a shower.

In case you hadn't figured it out from the previews, Hannah ends up hitting it off with the guy whose trash can she's filling with pastries and coffee grounds. Has name is Joshua (Patrick Wilson) -- not Josh -- and he's a 42-year-old, recently-separated doctor.

He invites her in to his very pretty, very adult brownstone, and they have sex almost immediately. Soon, they're playing ping pong naked. I'm not saying playing games naked is an entirely terrible thing, as a lot of people enjoy the occasional skinny dip. But ping pong? Really? It just seems (and looks) like a bad idea on a lot of levels.

Speaking of bad ideas, when Hannah discovers that Joshua has a very high-tech shower that can probably talk, she immediately turns up the heat and ends up fainting because of the amount of steam that accumulates. She is of course saved by Joshua, who is becoming something of a father figure at this point. But what if he hadn't been around?


We all have moments that make us want to ditch the nine-to-five scene to travel the world, spend a year writing a book or just hide under our covers. But unless you have access to a trust fund, which Hannah does not, quitting your job because your boss was a jerk to a handsome guy isn't all that smart.

When you're paying your own rent and kicking out roommates every other month, a stable income is a necessity. Unfortunately for Hannah, being a free-spirited girl who stands up for herself only goes so far.

Mumford & Son's "Babel" took home the trophy for Album of the Year at Sunday's 55th Annual Grammy Awards, besting Frank Ocean's "channel ORANGE," the Black Keys' "El Camino", fun.'s "Some Nights," and Jack White's "Blunderbuss."

In pre-awards buzz, "Babel" was somewhat of a favorite, in part because the album strikes the right balance of commercial success and critical appeal. The album sold 600,000 copies in its first week, the year's best until Taylor Swift's "Red" debuted with a million-unit week.

It's worth noting that none of this year's Album of the Year nominees were female, a seeming omission that has not gone unnoticed. The Recording Academy votes on nominees and winners. Dubbed Music's Biggest Night, the awards broadcast is intended to be the gold standard for the industry. While the Academy has often been chided for its peculiar way of including and excluding certain artists and genres, "Grammy-winner" remains music's biggest plaudit.

According to the Academy, 39.9 million viewers watched last year's show -- the largest TV audience for the event since 1984. An average of 160,341 tweets per minute were posted during the broadcast.

Last year's Grammy winners included Kanye West and Adele, who combined for ten awards.

For more on the Grammys, click here. Find more Grammy award 2013 winners in the liveblog below.

Authorities in Los Angeles have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of a fired LA police officer sought in connection with a series of killings and threats against his former colleagues and their families.

The reward was announced even as investigators continued to comb the snowy mountains around Big Bear Lake, where Christopher Dorner's burned out truck was found on Feb. 7, and hundreds of officers patrolled the neighborhoods where people live who were threatened by Dorner in an online screed.

Every day that Dorner is loose, said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, is another day when the likelihood of an attack on police officers or their families increases.


"We are asking the public, 'Please help us to protect you,' " Beck said at a news conference. "Please help us to find Dorner before he is able to kill again."

Dorner is wanted in the slayings of three people and the ambush-style shooting of two others, all part of a revenge-style rampage that began last Sunday, when he allegedly shot the daughter of a police union lawyer and her fiancé in an Irvine parking garage.

The heart of the search continued to be the San Bernardino mountains where Dorner was last seen, Beck said on Sunday. Officers will also look for him near where some 50 LAPD families live who were threatened by the former policeman.

"You fish where the fish are," Beck said. "And Mr. Dorner has made his intentions very clear."

Timeline: Revenge-Plot Slayings | Read: Full Manifesto | Map: Search Locations

Police locked down a home improvement store in the San Fernando Valley, more than a hundred miles away from Big Bear, after receiving a tip that someone resembling Dorner was seen in the store. Authorities searched car-to-car and cordoned off neighborhoods in Northridge, but the move was seen as mostly precautionary.

Also on Sunday, the Riverside Police Department released the name of one of Dorner's victims. Michael Crain, 34, was ambushed by a man police believe was Dorner on April 7, as he sat with his partner at a stoplight in his patrol car.

 A southern Philippine town plans to hold funeral rites for the world's largest saltwater crocodile and then preserve its remains in a museum to keep tourists coming and prevent their community from slipping back into obscurity, the town's mayor said Monday.

The 1-ton crocodile was declared dead Sunday a few hours after flipping over with a bloated stomach in a pond in an eco-tourism park in Bunawan town, which had started to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile, Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said.

"The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning," Elorde said from Bunawan in Agusan del Sur province. "My phones kept ringing because people wanted to say how affected they are."

Guinness World Records had proclaimed it the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity last year, measuring the giant at 6.17 meters (20.24 feet). The reptile took the top spot from an Australian crocodile that measured more than 5 meters (17 feet) and weighed nearly a ton.

The crocodile was named Lolong, after a government environmental officer who died from a heart attack after traveling to Bunawan to help capture the beast. The crocodile, estimated to be more than 50 years old, was blamed for a few brutal deaths of villagers before Bunawan folk came to love it.

The giant reptile has come to symbolize the rich bio-diversity of Agusan marsh, where it was captured. The vast complex of swamp forests, shallow lakes, lily-covered ponds and wetlands is home to wild ducks, herons, egrets and threatened species like the Philippine Hawk Eagle.

Wildlife experts were to perform an autopsy as early as Monday to determine the cause of its death, Elorde said.

Bunawan villagers planned to perform a tribal ritual, which involves butchering chicken and pigs as funeral offerings to thank forest spirits for the fame and other blessings the crocodile has brought, Elordie said. A group of Christians would separately offer prayers before the autopsy.

The rites would be held at the eco-tourism park, where the reptile had emerged as a star attraction, drawing foreign tourists, scientists and wildlife reporting outfits like the National Geographic to Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila.

The crocodile's capture in September 2011 sparked celebrations in Bunawan, but it also raised concerns that more giant crocodiles might lurk in a marshland and creek where villagers fish. The crocodile was captured with steel cable traps during a hunt prompted by the death of a child in 2009 and the later disappearance of a fisherman. Water buffalos have also been attacked by crocodiles in the area.

About 100 people led by Elorde pulled the crocodile from a creek using a rope and then hoisted it by crane onto a truck.