LAPD Reopens Case of Suspected Cop-Killer's Firing

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The Los Angeles Police Department announced today it will reopen the case of the firing of Christopher Dorner, but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive former cop suspected of killing three people.


Dorner, a fired and disgruntled former Los Angeles police officer, said in the so-called "manifesto" he released that he was targeting LAPD officials and their families and will keep killing until the truth is known about his case.


"I have no doubt that the law enforcement community will bring to an end the reign of terror perpetrated on our region by Christopher Jordan Dorner and he will be held accountable for his evil actions," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement released tonight.


He spoke of the "tremendous strides" the LAPD has made in regaining public trust after numerous scandals, but added: "I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism within the Department."


To do that, he said, full re-investigation of the case that led to Dorner's firing is necessary.


"I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment, and to do so I have directed our Professionals Standards Bureau and my Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing to completely review the Dorner complaint of 2007; To include a re-examination of all evidence and a re-interview of witnesses," he said. "We will also investigate any allegations made in his manifesto which were not included in his original complaint.






Irvine Police Department/AP Photo











Christopher Dorner Search: Officials Search for Ex-officer in the Mountains Watch Video









Hundreds of Officers on Hunt for Alleged Cop Killer Watch Video







"I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do."


PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings


As police searched for Dorner today in the San Bernardino Mountains, sources told ABC News that investigators found two AR-15 assault rifles in the burned-out truck Dorner abandoned.


The truck had a broken axle, which may be the reason he decided to set fire to it, the police sources said.


A man identifying himself as Dorner taunted the father of Monica Quan four days after the former LAPD officer allegedly killed her and just 11 hours after he allegedly killed a police officer in Riverside, Calif., according to court documents obtained by ABC News


A man claiming to be Dorner called Randall Quan and told him that that he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to the documents.


In his 6,000-word "manifesto," Dorner named Randal Quan, a retired LAPD captain and attorney who represented him before a police review board that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force.


"I never had an opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours," Dorner wrote, and directed Quan and other officials to "[l]ook your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead."


Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence were gunned down last Sunday in their car in the parking of their Irvine, Calif., condominium complex. Both were struck with multiple gunshot wounds.


The call, according to court records, was traced to Vancouver, Wash., but law enforcement officials do not believe Dorner was there at the time at the call.


Dorner is believed to have made the call early Thursday afternoon, less than half a day after he is suspected of killing a police officer and wounding two others early that morning, sparking an unprecedented man hunt involving more than a thousand police officers and federal agents spanning hundreds of miles.


FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Jordan Dorner






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Halal beef bak kwa gaining popularity

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SINGAPORE: Halal beef bak kwa, also known as 'Dendeng', is quickly becoming an alternative choice this festive season.

Dendeng House, for example, sells between 400 to 600 kilogrammes of dendeng daily - up from the usual 200 kilogrammes.

The dendeng is seen as an alternative, as prices do not get marked up during the Lunar New Year season.

Dendeng buyers also don't have to contend with the long queues.

Robert Tan, a Chinese non-Muslim, said: "It's a better option and I think the price is more reasonable also, especially during this period. This one the taste is quite nice, only difference of course is that this one is Halal."

Helen, a Chinese-Muslim, said: "I'm Chinese-Muslim, I choose dendeng. I can taste the dendeng, taste like bak kwa."

- CNA/ck



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Centre targeting political opponents: Mulayam

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LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today alleged the Congress-led UPA government is more interested in "targeting" its political opponents instead of working for the poor people.

"The Centre is trying to threaten in the name of inquiries. The ruling Congress party did not think in the interest of poor and ignores them," Yadav said while addressing party workers here.

Giving a strong message to partymen to end infighting, Yadav said that the names of the candidates declared for Lok Sabha polls would not be changed in any circumstance.

"The candidates declared for Lok Sabha will not be changed. If someone is unhappy with ticket distribution, I will explain them and let them understand," he said.

Yadav said that he would soon call a meeting of candidates to discuss future strategy, besides asking party workers to concentrate on their areas.

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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Dragon, Celestial Seagull

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Blizzard Drops 2 Feet of Snow on Northeast

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A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force wind gusts and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast overnight, where more than 650,000 homes and businesses in the densely populated region lost power and New Englanders awoke Saturday to more than 2 feet of snow.



More than 34 inches of snow fell in Hamden in central Connecticut, and an 82-mph wind gust was recorded down the coastline in Westport. Areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched at least 2 feet — with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and the three major airports serving New York City as well as Boston's Logan Airport closed.



Flooding was also a concern along the coast, and the possibility led to the evacuation of two neighborhoods in Quincy, Mass., said Fire Deputy Gary Smith.



All roads were ordered closed Saturday in Connecticut, where the storm made travel nearly impossible even for emergency responders who found themselves stuck on highways. In Maine, officials said numerous vehicles, including several state police cars, were also stuck in deep snow and warned stranded drivers to expect long waits for tow trucks or other assistance.



Even the U.S. Postal Service closed post offices and suspended mail delivery Saturday in New England.








Blizzard 2013: Boston Families Brace for Extreme Weather Watch Video








The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, it also could mean a weekend cooped up indoors.



A little more than 11 inches fell in New York City, where carpenter Kevin Byrne was using a scraper to dig out his car Saturday and was relieved the storm hadn't hit the city more strongly. He said he'd taken his shovel out of his car and left it at home.



"I wasn't prepared. ... But was anybody prepared? The last two winters have been so mild," he said. "I've been meaning to buy a salt spreader all winter long, but I just kept putting it off."



Nearly 22 inches of snow fell in Boston and up to 3 feet was expected, the National Weather Service said, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches. In the heavily Catholic city, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent and reminded them that, under church law, the requirement to attend Sunday Mass "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."



Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup Friday in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars got stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday, and dozens remained disabled early Saturday as police worked to free them.



About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.



At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.





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54 SAF servicemen awarded Overseas Service Medal

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SINGAPORE: Fifty-four servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) were awarded the Overseas Service Medal at Pasir Laba Camp on Friday.

The award was given in recognition of the servicemen's contributions to the SAF's overseas operations in Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who presented the medals, praised the men for demonstrating a high level of skill, professionalism and resilience while carrying out their duties.

Dr Ng said the servicemen helped establish the SAF's reputation as an operationally-ready, reliable and professional partner among the international community.

He added that SAF will be concluding its deployments in Afghanistan in June this year.

- CNA/al



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Narendra Modi told us 2002 riots were unfortunate: EU envoys

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NEW DELHI: European Union, which has ended over a decade-old boycott of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, has been told by him that the 2002 riots in the state were unfortunate.

Modi took the unusual step of driving to Germany embassy here to a luncheon meeting with envoys and representatives of several European Union member countries that was hosted by German ambassador Michael Steiner. The meeting remained undisclosed for one month till EU ambassador Joao Cravinho went public on Thursday.

Steiner told reporters on Friday that he had always maintained that Germany had no intention of interfering in Gujarat assembly elections and that it will take a "fresh look" after the election results.

"That is exactly what we were doing and part of it is to talk directly to chief minister Modi. India is a democracy. We respect democratic institutions. We respect election results in India and we have full trust in its judicial system. Because of this respect and trust, we are now in a new phase," the German ambassador said.

However, he refused to give further details of the meeting but other sources in the know said, during the January 7 meeting with EU delegation, Modi said he will abide by the judicial verdict and that these events were unfortunate.

Modi is also understood to have said that everything should be done to avoid such events.

Asked if the EU, which has boycotted Modi for over 10 years after the riots, was softening up, Cravinho said, "The accountability of what happened in 2002, I think is the matter that is of interest to Indians and is of interest for people around the world."

He said that in India, there is a certain amount of emotion attached to what happened in 2002.

"And it is a matter that we will follow with great interest ..." he said.

Referring to last year's verdict by a Gujarat court convicting BJP legislator Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi along with 30 others for their role in the Naroda Patia riots, the ambassador said, Indian justice might be slow but delivers.

"Some months ago, there was end of one part of judicial process which shows that justice in India may be slow but it produces results. And that has helped to look towards closure of what everybody agrees is very very terrible set of events," he told a select group of journalists.

According to the sources, EU countries feel this is the right time to engage with Modi, who has been elected third time and has no judicial verdict against him. There is also a feeling among these countries that he is a player at the national level.

Last October, Britain, a member of the EU, had ended its decade-long boycott of Gujarat when its high commissioner to India James Bevan met Modi to mark a "cordial beginning" to fresh ties, with the two discussing opportunities for greater economic cooperation.

In the first engagement with Gujarat in 10 years after it snapped all ties with the state in the aftermath of the 2002 communal riots, the British high commissioner met Modi for about 50 minutes, discussing a range of issues, including climate change and investments.

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Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History

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Talk about too close for comfort. In a rare cosmic encounter, an asteroid will barnstorm Earth next week, missing our planet by a mere 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometers).

Designated 2012 DA14, the space rock is approximately 150 feet (45 meters) across, and astronomers are certain it will zip harmlessly past our planet on February 15—but not before making history. It will pass within the orbits of many communications satellites, making it the closest flyby on record. (Read about one of the largest asteroids to fly by Earth.)

"This is indeed a remarkably close approach for an asteroid this size," said Paul Chodas, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near Earth Object (NEO) program office in Pasadena, California.

"We estimate that an asteroid of this size passes this close to the Earth only once every few decades."

The giant rock—half a football field wide—was first spotted by observers at the La Sagra Observatory in southern Spain a year ago, soon after it had just finished making a much more distant pass of the Earth at 2.6 million miles (4.3 million kilometers) away.

This time around however, on February15 at 2:24 pm EST, the asteroid will be passing uncomfortably close—ten times closer than the orbit of the moon—flying over the eastern Indian Ocean near Sumatra (map). (Watch: "Moon 101.")

Future Impact?

Chodas and his team have been keeping a close eye on the cosmic intruder, and orbital calculations of its trajectory show that there is no chance for impact.

But the researchers have not yet ruled out future chances of a collision. This is because asteroids of this size are too faint to be detected until they come quite close to the Earth, said Chodas.

"There is still a tiny chance that it might hit us on some future passage by the Earth; for example there is [a] 1-in-200,000 chance that it could hit us in the year 2080," he said.

"But even that tiny chance will probably go away within the week, as the asteroid's orbit gets tracked with greater and greater accuracy and we can eliminate that possibility."

Earth collision with an object of this size is expected to occur every 1,200 years on average, said Donald Yeomans, NEO program manager, at a NASA news conference this week.

DA14 has been getting closer and closer to Earth for quite a while—but this is the asteroid's closest approach in the past hundred years. And it probably won't get this close again for at least another century, added Yeomans.

While no Earth impact is possible next week, DA14 will pass 5,000 miles inside the ring of orbiting geosynchronous weather and communications satellites; so all eyes are watching the space rock's exact trajectory. (Learn about the history of satellites.)

"It's highly unlikely they will be threatened, but NASA is working with satellite providers, making them aware of the asteroid's pass," said Yeomans.

Packing a Punch

Experts say an impact from an object this size would have the explosive power of a few megatons of TNT, causing localized destruction—similar to what occurred in Siberia in 1908.

In what's known as the "Tunguska event," an asteroid is thought to have created an airburst explosion which flattened about 750 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) of a remote forested region in what is now northern Russia (map).

In comparison, an impact from an asteroid with a diameter of about half a mile (one kilometer) could temporarily change global climate and kill millions of people if it hit a populated area.

Timothy Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center at Cambridge, Massachusetts, said that while small objects like DA14 could hit Earth once a millennia or so, the largest and most destructive impacts have already been catalogued.

"Objects of the size that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs have all been discovered," said Spahr. (Learn about what really happened to the dinosaurs.)

A survey of nearly 9,500 near-Earth objects half a mile (one kilometer) in diameter is nearly complete. Asteroid hunters expect to complete nearly half of a survey of asteroids several hundred feet in diameter in the coming years.

"With the existing assets we have, discovering asteroids rapidly and routinely, I continue to expect the world to be safe from impacts in the future," added Spahr.


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Door-to-Door Search for Suspected Cop Killer

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More than 100 police officers were going door-to-door and searching for new tracks in the snow in hopes of catching suspected cop-killer Christopher Dorner overnight in Big Bear Lake, Calif., before he strikes again, as laid out in his rambling online manifesto.


Police late Thursday night alerted the residents near Big Bear Lake that Dorner was still on the loose after finding his truck burning earlier in the day.


San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said authorities can't say for certain that he's not in the area. More than half of the 400 homes in the area had been searched by police as of late Thursday. Police traveled in two-man teams.


Bachman urged people in the area not to answer the door, unless they know the person or see a law enforcement officer in uniform.


After discovering Dorner's burning truck near a Bear Mountain ski resort, police discovered tracks in the snow leading away from the vehicle. The truck has been taken to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs' crime lab.


Read More About Chris Dorner's Allegations Against the LAPD


Bachman would not comment on Dorner's motive for leaving the car or its contents, citing the ongoing investigation. Police are not aware of Dorner's having any ties to others in the area.










Chris Dorner: Ex-LA Cop Wanted in Killing Spree Watch Video









Los Angeles Manhunt: Ex-Cop Christopher Dorner Sought for Killing Spree Watch Video





She added that the search in the area would continue as long as the weather cooperates. About three choppers were being used overnight, but weather conditions were deteriorating, according to Bachman.


"He could be anywhere at this point," said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, who is expected to address the media later this morning.


Dorner, 33, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, is suspected of killing one police officer and injured two others Thursday morning in Riverside, Calif. He was also accused of killing two civilians Sunday. And he allegedly released an angry "manifesto" airing grievances against police and warning of coming violence toward cops.


In the manifesto Dorner published online, he threatened at least 12 people by name, along with their families.
"Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family," Dorner wrote in his manifesto.


One passage from the manifesto read, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."


"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own," it read. "I'm terminating yours."


Hours after the extensive manhunt dragged police to Big Bear Lake, CNN's Anderson Cooper said Dorner had sent him a package at his New York office that arrived Feb. 1, although Cooper said he never knew about the package until Thursday. It contained a DVD of court testimony, with a Post-It note signed by Dorner claiming, "I never lied! Here is my vindication."


PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings


It also contained a keepsake coin bearing the name of former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton that came wrapped in duct tape, Cooper said. The duct tape bore the note, "Thanks, but no thanks Will Bratton."


Bratton told Cooper on his program, "Anderson Cooper 360," that he believed he gave Dorner the coin as he was headed overseas for the Navy, Bratton's practice when officers got deployed abroad. Though a picture has surfaced of Bratton, in uniform, and Dorner, in fatigues, shaking hands, Bratton told Cooper he didn't recall Dorner or the meeting.






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Bank of England holds record-low rates despite recession threat

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LONDON - The Bank of England voted on Thursday to freeze its key interest rate at a record low 0.50 per cent and maintain the level of its quantitative easing cash stimulus, despite the threat of a triple-dip recession in Britain.

The central bank said in an unexpectedly long statement that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had voted to maintain its emergency QE stimulus at £375 billion ($589 billion, 434 billion euros).

The BoE added that overall economic activity in Britain had been "broadly flat" over the past year, despite worries that the economy could be heading for the third recession in five years.

The stimulus has been used to try and help boost economic output, which unexpectedly shrank by 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2012. However, the economy flatlined over the entire year with zero growth.

Across in Frankfurt, the European Central Bank also opted to maintain its main interest rate at a record-low level of 0.75 per cent, amid ongoing debt strains in the crisis-hit eurozone.

"Over the past year, there has been considerable volatility in quarterly output growth," the Bank of England said in Thursday's statement.

"Looking through the influence of temporary factors, overall output appears to have been broadly flat. In large part that reflects sharp falls in particular sectors of the economy that are unlikely to be repeated in 2013.

"In contrast, the combined output of the manufacturing and services sectors has grown modestly. Business surveys suggest the pace of expansion is likely to remain muted in the near term," the BoE added.

The central bank said 12-month inflation would rise further in the near-term and could remain above its 2.0-per cent target for the next two years. However, it was then forecast to return to "around" the target as price pressures fade.

Policymakers also mulled withdrawing QE stimulus, in order to pull inflation lower, but decided that it would risk endangering any recovery. QE can risk stoking inflation as it is tantamount to printing money.

"The Committee discussed the appropriate policy response to the combination of the weakness in the economy and the prospect of a further prolonged period of above-target inflation," it said, adding it was necessary to look beyond the period of above-target inflation.

"Attempting to bring inflation back to target sooner by removing the current policy stimulus more quickly than currently anticipated by financial markets would risk derailing the recovery and undershooting the inflation target in the medium term."

Thursday's decisions were in line with expectations and came as incoming BoE governor Mark Carney called for the bank to ready plans for a smooth eventual withdrawal of QE stimulus to avoid major disruption on markets.

Canadian central bank chief Carney -- who takes the helm from current BoE boss Mervyn King in July -- set out his views on QE before a group of cross-party lawmakers on parliament's Treasury Select Committee.

"The bank will need to design, implement and ultimately (manage an) exit from unconventional monetary policy measure in a manner that reinforces public confidence," Carney said in written testimony to the committee.

"The exit needs to be achieved without disrupting the gilts (bonds) market," he added ahead of the latest decision.

Quantitative easing (QE) involves a central bank creating cash to buy assets like government and corporate bonds, with the aim of boosting lending by retail banks and stimulating economic activity.

The BoE's main lending rate has stood at the record-low 0.50 per cent since March 2009, when it also embarked upon its radical stimulus policy.

- AFP/ck



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