Crowds prowl Google Street View to speed road repairs

POTHOLES, cracks, gnarly tree roots - the streets are full of nasty obstacles when they fall into disrepair. But an army of online workers could soon fix that, by whizzing virtually through neighbourhoods and earmarking encumbrances for a quick response from the local council. ...

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NSP calls for referendum on White Paper

SINGAPORE: The opposition National Solidarity Party (NSP) has called on the government to hold a referendum on the White Paper on Population.In separate letters sent to President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Party's Secretary-General, Hazel Poa said the parliamentary debate has now been concluded with the White Paper being endorsed by 77 to 13, with one abstention....

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Manhunt continues for armed, trained, ex-cop

Ex-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntSTORY HIGHLIGHTSAs darkness and snow falls, police scale back manhunt until Saturday"The possibility...

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In letter, Sue Paterno defends late husband

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Breaking more than a year of silence, Sue Paterno is defending her late husband as a "moral, disciplined" man who never twisted the truth to avoid bad publicity. The wife of the former Penn State coach is fighting back against the accusations against Joe Paterno that followed the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Her campaign started with a letter sent Friday to former Penn State players....

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Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions battered the Northeast Friday into Saturday, and forecasters feared as much as two feet of snow and strong winds could shut down densely populated cities such as New York and Boston, where cars were ordered off the streets.State officials declared states of emergencies throughout the region, and utilities estimated more than a half-million...

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Robot inquisition keeps witnesses on the right track

MEMORY is a strange thing. Just using the verb "smash" in a question about a car crash instead of "bump" or "hit" causes witnesses to remember higher speeds and more serious damage. Known as the misinformation effect, it is a serious problem for police trying to gather accurate accounts of a potential crime. There's a way...

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Malaysian state scales back Borneo dam plans

KUCHING, Malaysia: A Malaysian state minister Friday said the government would not push ahead with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with...

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Alleged cop killer 'could be anywhere,' police say

Ex-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntEx-cop at center of California manhuntSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: With snow coming, authorities continue to hunt for the suspect near Big Bear...

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Ex-LA cop, murder suspect sent parcel to Anderson Cooper

In this image provided by the Irvine, Calif., Police Department via The Orange County Register, former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner is shown. Dorner is a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, who were found shot to death in their car at a parking structure Sunday night. (AP Photo/Irvine Police Department via The Orange County Register) /...

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Door-to-Door Search for Suspected Cop Killer

More than 100 police officers were going door-to-door and searching for new tracks in the snow in the hopes of catching suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner overnight in Big Bear Lake, Calif., before he strikes again as laid out in his chilling online manifesto.Police held a news conference late Thursday, alerting the residents near Big Bear Lake that Dorner was still on...

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Today on New Scientist: 6 February 2013

Open Richard III DNA evidence for peer review A good case has been made that a skeleton unearthed from a car park is that of the last Plantagenet king of England - it's time to share the dataUniversal bug sensor takes guesswork out of diagnosis A machine that can identify all bacteria, viruses and fungi known to cause disease in humans should speed up diagnosis and help to reduce antibiotic...

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Philippines' Aquino to visit rebel stronghold

MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino will next week make a historic visit to the stronghold of the country's main Muslim rebel force in an effort to push forward peace talks, his office said on Thursday.Aquino's trip on Monday to the outskirts of the 12,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF's) main base in the country's south will be the first peace mission there by a...

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D.C. shooter planned to smear Chick-fil-A on victims

Floyd Lee Corkins was arrested at the shooting scene.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The president of the FRC accuses the Southern Poverty Law Center of "inciting violence"Floyd Corkins, pleads guilty, says he wanted to intimidate those who oppose gay rights He faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced April 29Building manager wrestled with Corkins and disarmed him after being shot in August incident Washington...

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Blizzard could dump 2 feet of snow in New England

CONCORD, N.H. A blizzard heading to New England could make travel nearly impossible and dump up to 2 feet of snow on a region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter. The snow will start Friday morning, with the heaviest amounts dumped on the region that night and into Saturday as the storm moves through New England and upstate New York, the National Weather Service said. CBS News weather...

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Armstrong May Testify Under Oath on Doping

Facing a federal criminal investigation and a deadline that originally was tonight to tell all under oath to anti-doping authorities or lose his last chance at reducing his lifetime sporting ban, Lance Armstrong now may cooperate.His apparent 11th-hour about-face, according to the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), suggests he might testify under oath and give full details to...

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Today on New Scientist: 5 February 2013

Engineering light: Pull an image from nowhere A new generation of lenses could bring us better lighting, anti-forgery technology and novel movie projectors Baby boomers' health worse than their parents Americans who were born in the wake of the second world war have poorer health than the previous generation at the same ageNew 17-million-digit monster is largest known prime A distributed computing...

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SSC may sell naming rights to facilities in Sports Hub

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Sports Council (SSC), which is developing the Sports Hub, may sell the naming rights to individual facilities within the complex, except for the National Stadium. However, any sale of naming rights within the Sports Hub is still subject to SSC's consent. The aim is to strike a balance between preserving the character of Singapore's national icons and allowing sports...

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FBI: Bombs found in kidnapper's bunker

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Well-wishers sign oversized card for Ethan, who turns 6 WednesdayTwo bombs found in kidnapper's bunker, FBI saysState police: Ethan released from hospitalLaw enforcement used a secret camera to see inside bunker, source saysMidland City, Alabama (CNN) -- Two bombs were discovered Tuesday inside the bunker where an FBI team rescued a 5-year-old boy from his kidnapper, the agency...

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