Arias Says Violent Sex Preceded Killing

Jodi Arias and her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander,, had increasingly violent sex in which he tied her to his bed, twisted her arm, bent her over a desk for anal sex, and made sex videos with her in the hours leading up to the stabbing and shooting frenzy that left Alexander dead.It was a day in which Arias, 32, inched closer to telling the court how the killing of Alexander...

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President’s Day, by George

Did you enjoy that relaxing three-day weekend? Caught up on sleep, maybe sneaked in a movie or a few errands? That’s no thanks to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who’s playing the role of the Grinch Who Wants to Steal Presidents’ Day. Wolf recently reintroduced a bill that would do away with the congressionally established Monday holiday (it’s set for the third Monday of the month) and instead...

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Tennis: Mass security for Nadal's Mexico event

ACAPULCO, Mexico: A brutal gang rape and other crimes have prompted a massive security operation for Acapulco's tennis tournament, with 4,000 personnel to be deployed at an event headlined by Rafael Nadal.The Pacific port has become Mexico's deadliest city and local police have struggled to stem a brutal turf war between drug gangs where the intimidation of rivals includes the dumping...

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Hold panchayat polls as per existing quota: SC to Andhra Pradesh

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for elections to the panchayati raj (PR) institutions in the state and an upbeat chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy wants to hold the polls at the earliest. With state election commissioner P Ramakanth Reddy stating that his department is fully prepared, the PR polls, touted as an acid test for the chief minister as well as new entrant...

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Confirmed: Dogs Sneak Food When People Aren't Looking

Many dog owners will swear their pups are up to something when out of view of watchful eyes. Shoes go missing, couches have mysterious teeth marks, and food disappears. They seem to disregard the word "no."Now, a new study suggests dogs might understand people even better than we thought. (Related: "Animal Minds.")The research shows that domestic dogs, when told not to snatch a piece of...

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Nike, Oakley Distance Themselves from Pistorius

Corporate sponsors of Olympic "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius have begun to distance themselves from the sprinter, who is accused of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is back to court in South Africa Tuesday morning on murder charges.Oakley, the eyewear manufacturer, and the sporting goods giant Nike announced today that they would no longer run ads featuring...

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Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments

About a dozen congressional staffers flew business class on a trip to China last summer and stayed at luxury hotels while touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and receiving a “briefing on ancient artifacts and dynasties” at the Shanghai Museum. The all-expenses-paid visit came courtesy of China. The Chinese government hosted a day of meetings with officials in Beijing followed...

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Could 9-year-old win youngest best actress Oscar?

LOS ANGELES: She landed the part by lying about her age: Quvenzhane Wallis was five, and the filmmakers were only auditioning girls at least six years old.But they believed her fib and tried her out -- and were blown away, giving her the starring role in the low-budget "Beasts of the Southern Wild" over 4,000 other hopefuls.And now she could become the youngest ever winner of the best...

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British Prime Minister David Cameron on India trade trip amid graft scandal

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives in India on Monday to try to win new investment in the face of fierce global competition as a scandal engulfs an Anglo-Italian helicopter deal. Making his second visit to India as prime minister, Cameron's trip comes days after a similar trade mission by French President Francois Hollande, underlining how Europe's debt-stricken states are competing...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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