X Games snowmobiler dies

By CNN Staff

updated 1:55 PM EST, Thu January 31, 2013

A photo of Caleb Moore's performance in the Snowmobile Freestyle Final during X Games Aspen 2013.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Caleb Moore's brother also suffered an accident in the X Games


• Caleb Moore died a week after a snowmobile crash in the X Games


• The crash has raised new safety concerns about the games


• ESPN, which operates the X Games, says it will conduct a thorough review

(CNN) -- Snowmobiler Caleb Moore died Thursday, a week after a crash that has raised new safety concerns about the X Games. He was 25 years old.

"He will be truly missed and never forgotten," his family said in a statement.

"The family wishes to express their deep gratitude for all the prayers and support they have received from all the fans, friends and family around the world that Caleb has inspired. ... Arrangements for a celebration of life are being made and an announcement will be made in the coming days."

Moore, a freestyle snowmobiler, was attempting a backflip at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, when he couldn't rotate his machine enough to land properly. The skis dug into the lip of the slope, bringing the 450-pound snowmobile crashing down on him. The vehicle slammed into Moore's head and chest.

"We are deeply saddened by Caleb Moore's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents, Wade and Michelle, his brother, Colten, and the entire Moore family," ESPN, which organizes and televises the X Games, said in a statement. "He will be remembered for his natural passion for life and his deep love for his family and friends, and he will always be an inspiration to everyone he touched in the action sports community.

"As a result of this accident we will conduct a thorough review of this discipline and adopt any appropriate changes to future X Games."

The statement added that the X Games have long worked on safety issues and that nevertheless, "when the world's best compete at the highest level in any sport, risks remain. Caleb was a four-time X Games medalist attempting a move he has landed several times previously."

Colten Moore, 23, was also involved in an accident during Thursday's event. He was released from the hospital Saturday, according to his Facebook fan page.

Caleb Moore's Facebook page is carrying messages from fans. "R.I.P. Caleb," wrote Candi Clark-Hibbs, adding, "prayers to your family."

People we've lost in 2013: The lives they lived

CNN's Josh Levs, Brian Todd, Dugald McConnell, Christine Sever and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.

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Alaska Airlines plane lands safely after pilot passes out

Updated 3 a.m. EST

PORTLAND, Ore. An Alaska Airlines jetliner bound for Seattle made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., Thursday night after the pilot lost consciousness, an airline spokesman said.

The co-pilot landed Flight 473 safely after declaring an emergency to get priority care for the pilot, spokesman Paul McElroy said. All of the airlines' pilots are trained to fly single-handedly.

The pilot lost consciousness "somewhere over Oregon," McElroy said, then later regained consciousness and left the cockpit. A doctor on board the flight tended to him in the cabin until the plane landed and was met by medical personnel on the runway.

The pilot, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital but there was no immediate word on his condition, McElroy said.

The Boeing 737-700, with 116 passengers and five crew members on board, left Los Angeles about 6:30 p.m. and was diverted to Portland, touching down there at about 9 p.m., reports CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV. It had been due to arrive in Seattle at 9:30 p.m.

McElroy says the pilot has been flying for Alaska for 28 years and was current on his six-month medical evaluation. The co-pilot is an 11-year Alaska Air veteran.

On Jan. 22, the co-pilot on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Las Vegas fainted briefly, and the pilot requested emergency landing priority to get prompt medical assistance for him.

"At this point, we do not believe there was a connection between the two incidents," McElvoy said.

Twenty passengers with a tight schedule for connecting flights were put on a Horizon Air shuttle flight to Seattle on Thursday night, the spokesman said.

A new pilot was dispatched to Portland to fly the remaining passengers to Seattle on board the same plane.

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Arias' Lawyer Shows Ex-Boyfriend's Lewd Photos

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.

The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexander took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.

Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.

Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.

"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.

"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.

Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.

Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."

"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.

Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.

In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.

"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"

"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.

"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.

"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."

Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.

Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.

The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.

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Keep rainforests – they drive the planet's winds

WHAT creates the wind? Anyone will tell you that temperature differences are key. Hot air rises and is replaced by cooler air surging in beneath. Except that maybe the explanation found in every textbook is too simple.

What if, instead, the winds that drive atmospheric circulation are mainly created by the condensation of moisture? Much of this occurs over rainforests as water evaporates or is transpired from the trees. The physicists and foresters behind this controversial idea say that if we chop down the forests, we will lose the winds - and the rains they bring with them.

The physical process itself is not in dispute. Whenever water vapour condenses to form droplets, its volume is reduced, lowering the pressure. Air moves in, creating wind.

Climate scientists have always regarded this as a trivial effect. Criticism has been heaped on the theory since it was first aired four years ago. "This is not a mysterious effect. It is small and included in some atmospheric models," says Isaac Held of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey.

But physicist Anastassia Makarieva of St Petersburg University in Russia says the pressure gradients it would create "have never received a theoretical investigation". Her calculations suggest that the condensation of billions of litres of water above giant forests produces a giant effect (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, doi.org/kbx).

Co-author Douglas Sheil at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia, says critics have yet to explain why they think Makarieva is wrong. Until they do, he said, "this looks like a powerful mechanism that governs weather patterns round the world".

Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology, an author of the standard textbook Thermodynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, is encouraging. "The process they describe is physically correct," she said. "The main question is its relative magnitude compared with other processes." She thinks it could explain why climate models do not get monsoons and hurricanes right.

Nobody doubts that forests recycle rain through evaporation and transpiration. But this is the first suggestion that this recycling process also whips up the winds that suck moist ocean air across continents.

The implications are huge. "In standard theories, if we lose forests the rainfall in the continental interiors generally declines by 10 to 30 per cent. In our theory, it is likely to decline by 90 per cent or more," says Sheil.

But it is not all bad news. If lost forests are replanted, the theory suggests, then the winds they generate could return rain to even the most arid lands. After all, the Sahara was lush swampland 6000 years ago.

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Four arrested for suspected thefts from the elderly

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested four men suspected of stealing from the elderly.

On January 10, police received reports of theft in some housing estates by men who approached the victims and offered to pray in their residences.

The suspects targeted elderly victims who were alone at home during the day.

The four suspects, aged between 21 and 55 years, were arrested along Syed Alwi Road on Thursday.

Four men will be charged in court on Friday.

- CNA/de

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5 subjects Hagel should expect at his hearing

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military and government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military and government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military and government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday


• The former senator split with the GOP over the war in Iraq


• Some feel Hagel is too cool to Israel, not hard enough on Iran


• He supported the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy

(CNN) -- When the Senate Armed Services Committee is gaveled into session Thursday, Chuck Hagel is likely to face some sharp questions from many of his old colleagues.

If confirmed as secretary of defense, the one-time infantry sergeant and twice-wounded Vietnam veteran would be the first former enlisted man to lead the Pentagon. The former Republican senator from Nebraska gets his chance to answer questions Thursday morning during his confirmation hearing, and here are five subjects where he can expect them:

1. Afghanistan

If confirmed, Hagel will be tasked with closing out the longest war in U.S. history, one that has now lasted more than 11 years. He opposed President Barack Obama's decision to send another 30,000 troops into the conflict in 2009, telling the National Journal, "I think we're marking time as we slaughter more young people." The Obama administration now plans to pull combat troops out of Afghanistan by 2014, replacing them with a training mission to advise Afghan forces, steps Hagel will oversee if confirmed.

2. Gays and women in the military

As a senator, Hagel supported the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that kept gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. He told The New York Times in 1999, "The U.S. armed forces aren't some social experiment." And the nominee's opponents have seized on his 1998 criticism of a Clinton administration State Department nominee as being "openly, aggressively gay," a remark for which Hagel apologized in December.

Now he's been asked to lead a department that has allowed gays and lesbians since 2011. And he'll be left to implement the plans outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced last week to open front-line combat units to women, which allow the generals and admirals to ask for exemptions for certain posts. As defense secretary, Hagel would have to make the final call on those requests.

3. The Big One

Hagel is among the backers of the "Global Zero" movement, which has called for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons under a worldwide regime of inspections. He was a co-author of a 2011 study by the group that called for reducing the current U.S. arsenal of about 5,000 warheads and bombs to about 900, a force Global Zero says would be enough to deter potential attackers while reducing the risk of proliferation or nuclear terrorism.

That position has raised some eyebrows, since Hagel would be the steward of that American arsenal if confirmed. In a recent statement, Hagel's co-authors say their views and his "are in the U.S. national security interest and squarely in the mainstream," while keeping nuclear stockpiles at Cold War levels aren't. And he's not the only high-profile figure to ultimately endorse the idea of a world without the bomb: Obama held out the same hope in 2009, as have presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan.

4. Cutting the Pentagon

Within weeks of taking office, Hagel could be forced to implement steep cuts in the Pentagon budget as a result of "sequestration," the automatic spending cuts set up in the deal that ended the 2011 standoff over the federal debt ceiling. At the beginning of the year, Congress voted to put off those cuts for two months.

Panetta has called those across-the-board cuts of about 9.4% "potentially devastating" and urged Congress to find another way to reduce spending. But Hagel has called the defense budget "bloated" and said the Pentagon "needs to be pared down." Look for questions about how Hagel would wield that knife.

5. The Middle East: Iraq, Iran and Israel

This has been the biggest source of criticism for Hagel since Obama picked him to replace Leon Panetta in December and the rawest nerve for the Republicans with whom Hagel broke over the war in Iraq.

Hagel supported the U.S. invasion in 2003. But by 2007, he had come to believe it was a "blunder" and joined Democrats who tried to force the Bush administration to withdraw American troops. "He has long severed his ties with the Republican party," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN's "State of the Union."

Republicans have accused him of being too cool to Israel, the leading U.S. ally in the Middle East, and too soft on Iran. Hagel has called for direct talks with the Islamic republic, which Western powers suspect is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, and he complained in 2007 that the "Jewish lobby" in Washington scared lawmakers away from supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But others have rallied around him, including his friend Rabbi Aryeh Azriel of Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska. Azriel said Hagel is "definitely a friend of Israel" and "has wonderful, fresh ideas to try to re-engage the discussion about the Middle East."

An Obama administration official working on the senator's confirmation hearing told CNN that Hagel will testify that he believes Iran is a state sponsor of terror; he supports the president's sanctions strategy against Iran and believes all options should be on the table including the military option.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.

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N.Y. Times: China hacked our computers for past four months

BEIJING The New York Times says Chinese hackers repeatedly penetrated its computer networks over the past four months, stealing reporters' passwords and hunting for files on an investigation into the wealth amassed by the family of one of China's leaders.

In a report released late Wednesday, the Times said security experts hired to plug the breach tracked the attacks to China, in some cases computers identified with the Chinese military.

The newspaper reports that, "After surreptitiously tracking the intruders to study their movements and help erect better defenses to block them, The Times and computer security experts have expelled the attackers and kept them from breaking back in."

The attacks coincided with a Times investigation into how the family and relatives of Premier Wen Jiabao built a fortune worth more than $2 billion. The report says no Times customer data was compromised but that the passwords for all employees were stolen.

The newspaper adds, "The hackers tried to cloak the source of the attacks on The Times by first penetrating computers at United States universities and routing the attacks through them, said computer security experts at Mandiant, the company hired by The Times. This matches the subterfuge used in many other attacks that Mandiant has tracked to China."

Security experts say China carries out a widespread cyber-spying operation to steal secrets and intimidate critics.

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No Device Eliminates Concussion Risk, Experts Say

As the long-term consequences of concussions become clearer, a cottage industry has popped up to sell athletes and worried parents products designed to mitigate risks of concussions that even helmets cannot prevent.

Despite the bold claims of some companies, however, many experts say the Holy Grail in contact sports -- a device that prevents concussions -- simply does not exist. Indeed, experts say, there is no proof that any current device significantly reduces the risk of concussions beyond the protections already provided by helmets.

"Nightline" found several products for sale online that aim to reduce the risk of concussions or even alert parents and coaches when a kid has supposedly taken a concussion-level hit. The claims the manufacturers make are often breathtakingly reassuring.

Concern about the risk of concussion is mounting at every level of the gridiron from the NFL to colleges and even high schools. Concussions are the most common injury among high school football players.

Jennifer Branin, whose son Tyler Branin is one of the stars of the Woodbridge Warriors high school football team in Irvine, Calif., said "it was scary" the first time he had a concussion.

"He had lost his balance on the field," she said. "He got up and tried to continue, but couldn't keep his balance."

Junior Seau Had Brain Disease, Researchers Say Watch Video

She said the effects of the concussion lingered, causing Tyler to miss a week of school and football practice. Even months later, he complained of difficulty concentrating in class.

Parents such as Jennifer Branin, who is president of the team's booster club, and her husband, Andy Branin, a former college football player himself, were looking for a way to support their son's desire to play football while also keeping him safe.

"He wants to play and, as a mom, you may want to put bubble-wrap around them and protect them forever, but that's not going to happen," she said.

So Jennifer Branin decided to do something. She raised money to buy the team helmet inserts by Unequal Technologies for added protection.

Unequal Technologies, one of the highest profile players in this new market, described its product explicitly on the box as "Concussion Reduction Technology," or "CRT." It is a strip of composite material including bullet-proof Kevlar that is designed to stick inside the helmet as a liner to the existing helmet pads.

Unequal Technologies uses its material in products ranging from padded sleeves to shin guards. The company counts NFL players and X-Games athletes among its fans.

On board as paid spokesmen are Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and James Harrison, a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison is one of the hardest-hitting guys in the NFL and said he uses Unequal Technology's liners in his helmet.

"I don't know what it's made of but it works," Harrison says in one of Unequal's promotional videos. "I really don't feel like I'm taking a risk."

Vick wasn't wearing the CRT product when he suffered a season-ending concussion in November, but he has since promised that he will be wearing it when he returns to the field next season.

Rob Vito, founder and CEO of the Kennett Square, Pa.-based company, said he worked with scientists to create a military-grade composite material that can help protect athletes from all kinds of injuries from head to toe.

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The 10,000-year bender: Why humans love a tipple

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Greater community support helps ex-offenders

SINGAPORE: Greater community support for ex-offenders has paid off -- with overall fewer ex-inmates imprisoned for re-offending -- according to the Singapore Prison Service's annual report card.

However, drug offenders who were released from Drug Rehabilitation Centres recorded a higher percentage of re-offending.

For some inmates who have no family support, they might not have a job or a home to return to after they are released.

Chavez Ong, a specialist in correctional rehabilitation with the Singapore Prison Service, said: "We actually work together with our partners, like the HDB -- we've been liasing with them to look into the (housing) issue.

"We also look into halfway houses for placement. And we also try to reach out to their families again, because for us, family involvement during the rehabilitation process is one of the very crucial factors."

The greater community support for ex-prisoners has paid off. The Singapore Prison Service said that the overall recidivism rate -- which is the rate at which prisoners re-offend and return to jail within two years of release -- fell to 23.6 per cent for those released in 2010, down from 26.7 per cent for those who were released in 2009.

On average, about 9,000 local inmates are released from prison each year. In 1998, the recidivism rate was 44.4 per cent, but in recent years it has hovered around 26 to 27 per cent.

About 20 per cent more employers have joined the effort to hire ex-offenders, which means more inmates found jobs before they were released.

The number of employers who are part of the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises now stands at 3,457, compared with 2,872 in 2011, and 2,459 in 2010. Most of the jobs are in manufacturing, logistics, and food & beverage.

For a third year running, more inmates found jobs before they were released.

More volunteers have also joined the community outreach programme to support the families of these inmates. The programme now has 390 registered and trained volunteers -- an increase of 69 per cent from 2011.

But for drug offenders, a higher number re-offended. The recidivism rate for those released from the drug rehabilitation centres in 2010 was 27.5 per cent -- slightly higher than the 27.1 per cent of 2009.

To tackle this, repeat drug offenders at higher risk of re-offending must now go through a more robust mandatory supervision programme upon their release.

Besides urine tests and electronic monitoring, there will also be compulsory case work and counselling.

Rubiana Shamsul, a reintegration officer with the Singapore Prison Service, said: "So basically these offenders will actually face challenges when they go back to their old neighbourhood and they would be facing their old circle of friends and that's where the temptation would come in. So from there, we're trying to curb this by having our regular counselling sessions.

"Another challenge they would be facing is finding gainful employment -- we'd like to motivate them to have pro-social activities in their leisure time, so they don't have the temptation to go back to doing what they were doing before."

About 1,000 drug offenders are expected to be supervised this way in 2013 and 2014.

-CNA/ac

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