Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

Read More..

'Argo' Wins the Golden Globe for Best Movie Drama

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler: The women of the night. Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/AP Photo.

11:06 p.m. ET: And finally, the Globes by the numbers: “Les Miserables” was the top winner, with three major trophies, followed by “Argo” and “Django Unchained, which each got two. On the TV side, “The Game Change” and “Homeland” scored three major awards, “Girls” got two.

11:00 p.m. ET: Fey and Poehler sign off: “Goodnight, we’re going home with Jodie Foster.” Can we get them next year, please?

10:58 p.m. ET: The final award of the night, best motion picture drama, goes to “Argo.” Sounds like we’ll be seeing a lot of Affleck, Clooney and the gang in the coming weeks.

PHOTOS: 2013 Golden Globe Winners

10:51 p.m. ET: And best actor in a drama award goes to … Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln.” “Are you sure there’s room for another ex-president on the stage?” he jokes.

10:48 p.m. ET: Jessica Chastain wins for “Zero Dark Thirty.” She calls out director Kathryn Bigelow: “I can’t help but compare my character of Maya to you. … When you make a film that allows your film to allow your character to disobey the conventions of Hollywood, you’ve done more for women in cinema than you take credit for.”

PHOTOS: Golden Globes’ Hottest Couples

10:47 p.m. ET: It’s time for best actress in a drama — George Clooney’s presenting.

10:41 p.m. ET: Another win for “Les Miserables” — the movie wins the Globe for best comedy or musical.

10:31 p.m. ET: “Les Mis” star Hugh Jackman nabs the Globe for best actor in a movie musical or comedy. He saves his biggest thank you for his wife: “Baby, thank you for always being right.”

PHOTOS: Best and Worst Dressed at the Golden Globes

10:26 p.m. ET: So apparently Jodie Foster is not retiring. Backstage, when asked by reporters “Are you retiring?’, she said “no, not retiring.” What was she talking about then?

10:22 p.m. ET: Major night for “Girls” — second season premiere is tonight and the HBO hit just won best comedy. Dunham grabs the trophy and screams. “It took a village to raise this very demented child,” she says. “I also promised myself that if I ever got this chance, I would thank Chad Lowe.”

10:17 p.m. ET: Next major award of the night goes to Ben Affleck for “Argo” — best director. (Take that, Oscars.) Steven Spielberg does not look happy.

Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

10:11 p.m. ET: And it sounds like Foster just retired from acting. She says she’s not returning to this stage or any stage: “It’s just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick.” People in the audience are wiping away tears, notably Kate Hudson.

RELATED: Jodie Foster Wows With Golden Globes Acceptance Speech

10:07 p.m. ET: Foster almost made a huge public statement about her sexuality. Instead, she said she’s single, and she “already did my coming out in the stone age.” “Now, apparently, I’m told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference … You guys might be surprised, but I’m not Honey Boo Boo Child,” she said. “If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler … then maybe you too might value privacy above all else. Privacy.” But she specifically thanked her partner Cydney Bernard, with whom she has two kids.

Credit: Obtained by ABC.

10:06 p.m. ET: Foster accepting her award: “Trust me, 47 years in the film business is a long time. … but tonight, I feel like the prom queen.”

10:02 p.m. ET: Robert Downey Jr. gives a somewhat incomprehensible intro for Jodie Foster, who’s being given the Cecil B. DeMille award for her decades in film.

10:00 p.m. ET: Despite her silence on her relationship status, Taylor Swift WILL NOT be spared: “You know what Taylor Swift, you stay away from Michael J. Fox’s son,” Fey slurs, ignoring Poehler’s objections. “She needs some me time to learn about herself.”

9:58 p.m. ET: Fey and Poehler come back to the mic (finally!) holding drinks. “Everybody’s getting a little lose now that we’re all losers,” Fey says. “Congratulations, Lena. Glad that we got you through middle school.” Poehler says, “Look how drunk Glenn Close is,” Close flails/dances in her chair. Fantastic.

9:52 p.m. ET: Lena Dunham wins best actress in a comedy for “Girls”! She calls Judd Apatow “the greatest honorary ’Girl.’” “This award is for everyone who feels like there wasn’t a place for her,” she says. “This show made a space for me.”

9:50 p.m. ET: Aziz Ansari is pretending the cast of “Downton Abbey” got him high. And Amy Poehler is in George Clooney’s lap. It’s great.

9:46 p.m. ET: “Brave” wins best animated movie.

9:45 p.m. ET: Oh, Sacha Baron Cohen. He’s subbing for Ricky Gervais with an insult-heavy presentation of the nominated animated movies. (Speaking of, where are Fey and Poehler?!)

9:38 p.m. ET: “Homeland” wins again. Claire Danes scores best actress in a TV drama. “I want to thank the other women in this category who are all so badass, so brilliant,” she says. She thanks her costume designer who apparently took her pants out every week while Danes was pregnant last season.

9:35 p.m. ET: The award goes to “Amour,” which picked up a slew of Oscar nominations too.

9:33 p.m. ET: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone look hilarious stuffed into suits. They’re presenting the award for best foreign film.

9:27 p.m. ET: It’s a good night for Don Cheadle. His Showtime show “House of Lies” returns for its second season tonight and he just won a Golden Globe for best actor in a TV comedy.

FULL LIST: 2013 Golden Globes Winners

9:23 p.m. ET: Globe for best original screenplay goes to Quentin Tarantino — that’s two trophies so far for “Django Unchained.” He calls the award a “damn surprise” and thanks his friends for listening to him read his scenes. “I don’t want input,” he says. “When I read it to you, I hear it through your ears.”

9:15 p.m. ET: Globe for best supporting actress in a movie (drama) goes to Anne Hathaway for “Les Miserables.” “Blergh,” she says, clearly flustered. “Thanks for that word, Tina.” She also pays tribute to fellow nominee Sally Field for inspiring her to stay in the industry.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Photo.

9:12 p.m. ET: Best supporting actor in a TV series or movie goes to …  Ed Harris for “Game Change.”

9:06 p.m. ET: Jennifer Lawrence wins best actress in a movie (comedy or musical) for “Silver Linings Playbook.” “Oh what does it say?” she asks, looking at the trophy. “I beat Meryl.” She means Streep, of course.

9:05 p.m. ET: Camera pans to Tommy Lee Jones who is not at all amused by Wiig and Ferrell.

9:03 p.m. ET: Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell are doing a hilarious bit about how they know absolutely nothing about any of the best actress movie nominees. Of Judy Dench in “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”: “And she’s on that tractor with the marigolds everywhere.”

9:01 p.m. ET: Poehler gushes over “Hillary’s husband.” Fey is still in drag from her bit earlier. They’re amazing and we want to see more of them.

9:00 p.m. ET: Clinton’s presenting a clip of “Lincoln.” Now this makes sense. “We’re all here tonight because he did it,” he says of Lincoln’s battle to end slavery.

8:59 p.m. ET: What, Bill Clinton’s here?! He gets a standing ovation.

Credit: Obtained by ABC.

8:55 p.m. ET: Kevin Costner wins for best actor in a miniseries or movie for “Hatfields & McCoys.”

8:48 p.m. ET: Adele scoops up the Globe for best original song for the latest Bond theme, “Skyfall.” Her reaction: “Oh my God! … Honestly, I came for a night out, with my friend Ida, we’re new mums … I literally came for a night out.”

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Photo.

8:44 p.m. ET: “Life of Pi” wins for best original score … but J-Lo’s nude dress steals the spotlight. Just like her nipple almost did at last year’s Oscars.

8:41 p.m. ET: “Argo’s” real life inspiration, Tony Mendez, joined John Goodman to introduce a clip of the film, which is up for five Globes.

8:36 p.m. ET: Well that was awkward. Some sort of camera malfunction messed up Salma Hayek and Paul Rudd’s best TV drama intro. “Homeland” wins! Executive producer Alex Gansa: “Thanks to everyone who’s been watching ‘Homeland,’ and to those who haven’t, allow me to spoil it for you.”

8:33 p.m. ET: Best actor in a TV drama goes to … Damian Lewis for “Homeland.” Considering it’s a fan and critic favorite right now, not a huge surprise.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Photo.

8:28 p.m. ET: Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly disses Jeffrey Katzenberg for never learning her name, asks Bradley Cooper to “call me maybe.” Amazing.

8:21 p.m. ET: And Julianne Moore wins for best actress in a miniseries or movie. “Oh my gosh, my children will be so relieved,” she says. She gives a shout out to Tina Fey and Katie Couric — “two people who made a difference in the 2008 election.”

Credit: Kevin WInter/Getty Images.

8:18 p.m. ET: “Game Change” scores best miniseries or movie. Somewhere, Sarah Palin is probably shaking her fist.

8:14 p.m. ET: We’ll use the commercial break to declare that Poehler and Fey had an absolutely amazing opening bit. Bravo.

8:12 p.m. ET: Second award of the night, best supporting actress in TV: Maggie Smith for “Downton Abbey.” According to Poehler and Fey’s drinking game, you should drink take off a piece of clothing now.

RELATED: Poehler and Fey Reveal Their Golden Globes Drinking Game

8:10 p.m. ET: And the award for best supporting actor in a movie goes to … Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained.” Hint that he’ll win the Oscar for that part too?

8:07 p.m. ET: Fey almost reprised her Sarah Palin impression while into-ing Julianne Moore but appears to have lost it. Dang.

8:05 p.m. ET: Poehler: “Meryl Streep is not here tonight, she has the flu. And I hear she’s amazing in it.”

8:04 p.m. ET: Fey had a great one for Anne Hathaway and “Les Mis”: “I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were on stage with James Franco at the Oscars.”

8:03 p.m. ET: Poehler on Kathryn Bigelow and the “Zero Dark Thirty” torture controversy: “When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spend three years married to James Cameron.” WOW.

8:02 p.m. ET: Oh and they’re not going to be offensive like past host Ricky Gervais. Poehler: ”When you run afoul of the Hollywood Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times.”

8:00 p.m. ET: Fey and Poehler did an outfit change before stepping up to the mic. Poehler threw the first jab of the night: “You can smell the pills from here. ”

7:44 p.m. ET: “Scandal” and “Django Unchained” star Kerry Washington never Googles herself. She feels like it’s bad for her health. Now you know. Also, she looks gorgeous in Miu Miu.

7:40 p.m. ET: @AngiesRightLeg has met its match: Halle Berry struck a leggy pose on the red carpet in an unfortunate one-shoulder gown.

Angie's Right Leg, meet Halle's. Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

7:33 p.m. ET: It’s an “ER” reunion! George Clooney and Julianna Margulies just hugged on the red carpet.

7:28 p.m. ET: Best song nominee Adele revealed that she actually had to be convinced to write the theme for “Skyfall.” “It’s a big responsibility doing a Bond song,” she said. “I didn’t want to let everybody down by doing it.”

7:19 p.m. ET: Julianne Moore looks stunning in black and white Tom Ford. She’s up for best actress in a TV movie for “Game Change.”

7:18 p.m. ET: “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm on the best part of playing Don Draper: “Well it’s always fun to play drunk, because if you forget your lines you’re just like, ‘Uh, well, I’m in character.’”

PHOTOS: The 2013 Golden Globes Red Carpet

7:15 p.m. ET: Taylor Swift wore a mermaid-cut eggplant gown … and did not at all talk about what happened with her latest boyfriend, Harry Styles. Sigh.

Credit: Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

7:14 p.m. ET: Hugh Jackman revealed the “horrible” way he shed weight quickly before filming “Les Mis”: “I lost about 35 pounds in 36 hours before the first scene. I didn’t drink any liquids whatsoever.”

7:07 p.m. ET: Another fashion miss: Jennifer Lawrence. It looks like she stole Madonna’s cone bra and cut off the straps.

Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

7:02 p.m. ET: “Zero Dark Thirty” star Jessica Chastain diverged from the major trends of the night — nude, black and white, and red — in a powder blue Calvin Klein Collection gown. The plunging bodice looks a bit like a sack.

Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

6:57 p.m. ET: E!’s mani-cam has become a source of contention. While some actresses happily showed off their nails on the tiny red carpet, Aziz Ansari refused to stick his hand in the diorama-like box.

FULL COVERAGE: The 2013 Awards Season

6:56 p.m. ET: Olivia Munn has a new perspective on newsrooms now that she’s on Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom.” “I think [our show] makes other newsrooms seem pretty easygoing,” she said.

6:42 p.m. ET: Julia Louis-Dreyfus said she had a “little tiny piece of cake” to celebrate her birthday. “Look, this is a corset,” she said, pointing to her Vera Wang dress. “I can’t mess around.” Though she’s up for best actress in a TV comedy, she thinks she’ll lose. “I hope that Lena Dunham or Amy Poehler have their speech ready,” she said.

6:38 p.m. ET: Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are encouraging their guests to get liquored up. “It’s a party and we want it to remain a party,” Fey said. Both have awesome outfits — a strapless black and white gown for Fey and a low cut tuxedo for Poehler.

6:31 p.m. ET: “Girls” star and Globes nominee Lena Dunham said her stylist gave her very specific instructions about adjusting her dress because “my breasts have a tendency to shove my dress to the right.” She looks lovely in chocolate brown, off-the-shoulder gown.

Lena Dunham. Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

6:28 p.m. ET: Best actress in a TV comedy nominee Zooey Deschanel showed off her film strip nail art on the red carpet. Very Hollywood.

Zooey Deschanel. Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

6:22 p.m. ET: Another stunning new mom: Megan Fox. She admitted that husband Brian Austin Green picks most of her dresses.

6:16 p.m. ET: The first surprise of Golden Globes: How utterly amazing Claire Danes looks. She gave birth a month ago and has a flat, practically concave stomach. She tried on her red Versace dress for the first time last night but admitted she’s “been in sweatpants for quite a while.” She added, “I hope I don’t leak.”

RELATED: Claire Danes Flaunts Post-Baby Body at the Golden Globes

Claire Danes dressed her insane post-baby body in Versace. Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

6:14 p.m. ET: Amy Adams, up for best supporting actress for “The Master,” looks angelic in a Marchesa in a color she called ballet pink. “This is mommy at work,” she said to her daughter back at home.

Amy Adams in Marchesa. Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images.

6:12 p.m. ET: Julianne Hough opted for a creepy crawly accessory — her earrings are made out of actual beetles.

6:02 p.m. ET: For Julia Louis-Dreyfus, this Globes is extra special — today is her 52nd birthday and she’s up for best actress in a TV comedy for “Veep.” “Today I’m either a year older & I’m gonna lose a Golden Globe OR at least I’m nominated & I’m not dead yet,” she wrote on her WhoSay page.

6:00 p.m. ET: It’s here, the night that Hollywood has been steeling its liver for: The Golden Globe Awards, which are almost always a raucous time because the Hollywood Foreign Press keeps the bar open throughout the ceremony. We’ll be chronicling all the jokes, insults, red carpet highlights — and of course, the winners — right here. Keep refreshing for the latest updates.

PHOTOS: 2013 Golden Globe Nominees

Read More..

Video games take off as a spectator sport

Editorial: "Give video games a sporting chance"

EVERY sport has its idols and superstars. Now video gaming is getting them too. Professional gaming, or e-sports, exploded in popularity in the US and Europe last year.

The scene has been big in Asia - particularly South Korea - for about a decade, with top players such as Lim Yo-Hwan earning six-figure salaries and competing for rock-star glory in Starcraft tournaments that attract audiences in the hundreds of thousands.

The phenomenon is taking off in the West partly because of improved video-streaming technology and large financial rewards. Video games are becoming a spectator sport, with certain players and commentators drawing massive online audiences.

And where people go, money follows. The second world championship of League of Legends - a team-based game in which players defend respective corners of a fantasy-themed battle arena - was held in Los Angeles in October. The tournament had a prize pool of $5 million for the season, with $1 million going to winning team Taipei Assassins, the largest cash prize in the history of e-sports.

League of Legends has also set records for spectator numbers. More than 8 million people watched the championship finals either online or on TV - a figure that dwarfs audience numbers for broadcasts of many traditional sports fixtures.

But gamers don't need to compete at the international level to earn money. Video-streaming software like Twitch makes it easy for players to send live footage to a website, where the more popular ones can attract upwards of 10,000 viewers - enough for some to make a living by having adverts in their video streams. Gamers can go pro without leaving their homes.

Currently, e-sports productions are handled by gaming leagues - but that could soon change. Last November saw two moves that will make it even easier to reach a global online audience. First, Twitch announced it would be integrating with Electronic Arts's Origin service, a widely used gaming platform. This would let gamers stream their play at the click of a button, making it easy for people around the world to watch.

Also in November came the latest release from one of gaming's biggest franchises, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which has the ability to live-stream via YouTube built into the game itself. Another feature allows the broadcast of in-game commentary for multiplayer matches.

"I think we will reach a point, maybe within five years, where spectator features are a necessity for all big game releases," says Corin Cole of e-sports publishing company Heaven Media in Huntingdon, UK.

David Ting founded the California-based IGN Pro League (IPL), which hosts professional tournaments. He puts the popularity of e-sports down to the demand for new forms of online entertainment. "After 18 months, IPL's viewer numbers are already comparable to college sports in the US when there's a live event," he says. "The traffic is doubling every six months."

Ting sees motion detection, virtual reality and mobile gaming coming together to make physical exertion a more common aspect of video games, blurring the line between traditional sport and e-sports. "Angry Birds could be this century's bowling," says Ting.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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US sailor arrested in Japan for break-in

TOKYO: Japanese police arrested a drunken 24-year-old US Navy sailor early Sunday after he allegedly broke into a house, violating a night-time curfew imposed after a rape case last year, reports said.

The petty officer 2nd class is stationed in Yokosuka, a port city south of Tokyo, and wrongly believed that his friends were staying in the house, Jiji Press and Kyodo News agency said.

The sailor is believed to have violated a night-time curfew imposed by the US military on all its servicemen in Japan after two sailors were arrested on charges of raping a woman in Okinawa in October.

Local police and the US military were not immediately available for comment.

Despite the curfew, misconduct involving US servicemen has continued to fuel anti-US sentiment in host communities. Incidents include trespass involving an airman and a marine under the influence of alcohol and drink-driving by another marine.

- AFP/ck

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JSTOR says it mourns `tragic loss' of Aaron Swartz

As the Internet exploded with anger over news that online activist Aaron Swartz had committed suicide on Friday, the subscription-only archive he was accused of hacking said late today that it "regretted" having been drawn to "this sad event."

Swartz, a celebrated computer activist and programming prodigy, was fighting two-year-old charges that he stole 4 million documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and JSTOR, or Journal Storage, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. If convicted, Swartz faced a maximum of $4 million in fines and more than 50 years in prison after the government increased the number of felony counts against Swartz to 13 from 4.

Federal authorities alleged that Swartz broke into computer networks at M.I.T. to illegally gain access to JSTOR's archive. But critics of the government said the Feds were unfairly trying to make an example out of Swartz. In a post today Prosecutor as bully legal scholar Larry Lessig wrote that "the government worked as hard as it could to characterize what Aaron did in the most extreme and absurd way."

Here is the text of the JSTOR release:

We are deeply saddened to hear the news about Aaron Swartz. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Aaron's family, friends, and everyone who loved, knew, and admired him. He was a truly gifted person who made important contributions to the development of the internet and the web from which we all benefit.

We have had inquiries about JSTOR's view of this sad event given the charges against Aaron and the trial scheduled for April. The case is one that we ourselves had regretted being drawn into from the outset, since JSTOR's mission is to foster widespread access to the world's body of scholarly knowledge. At the same time, as one of the largest archives of scholarly literature in the world, we must be careful stewards of the information entrusted to use by the owners and creators of that content. To that end.

Aaron returned the data he had in his possession and JSTOR settled any civil claims we might have had against him in June 2011. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service and a member of the internet community.l We will continue to work to distribute the content under our care as widely as possible while balancing the interests of researchers, students, libraries, and publishers as we pursue our commitment to the long-term preservation of this important scholarly literature. We join those who are mourning this tragic loss.

Read More..

Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

Read More..

Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right.

"He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and, the thing is: After he won the lottery and the next day later he passes away -- it's awkward. It raises some eyebrows."

The medical examiner initially ruled Urooj Khan, 46, an immigrant from India who owned dry-cleaning businesses in Chicago, died July 20, 2012, of natural causes. But after a family member demanded more tests, authorities in November found a lethal amount of cyanide in his blood, turning the case into a homicide investigation.

"When we found out there was cyanide in his blood after the extensive toxicology reports, we had to believe that ... somebody had to kill him," Minhaj Khan said. "It had to happen, because where can you get cyanide?"

In Photos: Biggest Lotto Jackpot Winners

Authorities could be one step closer to learning what happened to Urooj Khan. A judge Friday approved an order to exhume his body at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago as early as Thursday to perform further tests.

Lottery Winner Murdered: Widow Questioned By Police Watch Video

Moments after the court hearing, Urooj Khan's sister, Meraj Khan, remembered her brother as the kind of person who would've shared his jackpot with anyone. Speaking at the Cook County Courthouse, she hoped the exhumation would help the investigation.

"It's very hard because I wanted my brother to rest in peace, but then we have to have justice served," she said, according to ABC News station WLS in Chicago. "So if that's what it takes for him to bring justice and peace, then that's what needs to be done."

Khan reportedly did not have a will. With the investigation moving forward, his family is waging a legal fight against his widow, Shabana Ansari, 32, over more than $1 million, including Urooj Khan's lottery winnings, as well as his business and real estate holdings.

Khan's brother filed a petition Wednesday to a judge asking Citibank to release information about Khan's assets to "ultimately ensure" that [Khan's] minor daughter from a prior marriage "receives her proper share."

Ansari may have tried to cash the jackpot check after Khan's death, according to court documents, which also showed Urooj Khan's family is questioning if the couple was ever even legally married.

Ansari, Urooj Khan's second wife, who still works at the couple's dry cleaning business, has insisted they were married legally.

She has told reporters the night before her husband died, she cooked a traditional Indian meal for him and their family, including Khan's daughter and Ansari's father. Not feeling well, Khan retired early, Ansari told the Chicago Sun-Times, falling asleep in a chair, waking up in agony, then collapsing in the middle of the night. She said she called 911.

"It has been an incredibly hard time," she told ABC News earlier this week. "We went from being the happiest the day we got the check. It was the best sleep I've had. And then the next day, everything was gone.

"I am cooperating with the investigation," Ansari told ABC News. "I want the truth to come out."

Ansari has not been named a suspect, but her attorney, Steven Kozicki, said investigators did question her for more than four hours.

Read More..

Today on New Scientist: 11 January 2013

Largest structure challenges Einstein's smooth cosmos

One-twentieth the diameter of the observable universe, a group of galaxies dents the cherished idea that the cosmos is uniform at large scales

Straitjacket drug halts herpes virus's escape stunt

Herpes infections recur as the virus is adept at evading our defences, but a new drug that suppresses enzymes exploited by the virus seems effective

Zoologger: Mouse eats scorpions and howls at the moon

Super-aggressive grasshopper mice are not put off by the deadly venom of the scorpions they feast on - in fact, nothing much seems to scare them

Sand tsunami pictured striking Australian coast

The spectacular wall of sand and dust appears to block out the sun like a giant wave

Astrophile: Zombie stars feed on Earth-like exoplanets

We can now learn what planets around other stars are made of - by looking at the atmospheres of white dwarfs that have swallowed up their worlds

Life will find a way, even in the midst of a hurricane

Not for the faint-hearted: to sample the microbiome of a hurricane, fly a jetliner through it

Physics not biology may be key to beating cancer

Billions of dollars spent on cancer research have yielded no great breakthrough yet. There are other ways to attack the problem, says physicist Paul Davies

Feedback: Return of nominative determinism

The last nominative determinism stories, salads of gizzards and his chestnuts, Australian graduates in outer space, and more

A comeback for virtual reality? Inside the Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift promises an immersive gaming experience like no other. Niall Firth gets his head in the game and gives it a try

Is the US facing Flu-maggedon?

The US flu season has come early this winter, leaving many hospitals overwhelmed. But is the situation really any worse than usual?

Your body's insights into life and cosmos

The Universe Within by Neil Shubin tells stories from your body about our species, planet and universe. PLUS: a cautionary tale of inspirational scientists

Hands on with Leap Motion's gestural interface

The makers of the ultra-precise gestural interface talk big about killing off the mouse. But it looks like more than just bluster

Personal assistant for your emails streamlines your life

GmailValet aims to use crowdsourcing to give everyone a personal assistant to help deal with their emails - it could cost as little as $2 a day

DNA 'identichip' gives a detailed picture of a suspect

A new microchip-based DNA tester can identify multiple traits of an individual at a time, even where their DNA is scarce

Most fundamental clock ever could redefine kilogram

Physicists have created the first clock with a tick that depends on the hyper-regular frequency of matter itself

Nanomachine mimics nature's protein factory

An artificial ribosome that assembles proteins and peptides could make it much easier to manufacture antibiotics and exotic new materials

Muscle mimic pulls electricity from wet surface

A plastic film that repeatedly curls up and flips over when wet could power devices in remote areas or sensors embedded in sweaty clothing

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Czechs elect president in break with eurosceptic past

PRAGUE: Czechs head to the ballot box for a second day of voting Saturday, with a field of Europe-friendly candidates including an artist tattooed head-to-toe, vying to take over after a decade under eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus.

While former prime ministers Milos Zeman and Jan Fischer, both ex-communists, are tipped as favourites, media pundits said Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg might capitalise on a last-minute charm offensive.

First-round voting in the Czech Republic's first-ever direct presidential election continues on Saturday until 1300 GMT.

None of the nine contenders is likely to clinch a first-round victory, so a runoff between the two top finishers is expected on January 25-26.

With the powers of the Czech president being relatively limited, issues related to the republic's role within the European Union and corruption woes are key in the election.

Both the straight-talking veteran left-winger Zeman and the mild-mannered centre-right statistician Fischer have a far more friendly approach towards the 27-nation bloc than Klaus. Their line echoes the attitude of Klaus's predecessor, the late Velvet Revolution icon Vaclav Havel.

"The Czech Republic should take steps towards more solid EU structures including a single European economic policy," Zeman said in a recent interview, endorsing what Klaus has long described as a nightmare.

As prime minister in 1998-2002, Zeman was responsible for negotiating the 2004 EU entry of his 10.5 million-strong ex-communist country.

Despite Zeman's leftist and pro-European stance, right-winger Klaus -- who wastes no opportunity to slam the EU -- has nevertheless suggested he would vote for him.

"My point is to have a president who has done something for this country and whose experience we can all see," Klaus said after casting his ballot in Prague on Friday. His second and final five-year term ends on March 7.

The centre-right Fischer who served as premier in 2009-2010, has meanwhile insisted that the Czech Republic should be "active in the debate on the EU's future."

All the candidates cast their ballots on Friday.

"I guess you wouldn't expect me to vote for someone else," Fischer conceded to reporters after voting.

"He's a serious man who's in the know, he's no fool," pensioner Udo Cerny told AFP after voting for him in Cernosice, a small town near Prague.

Pipe-smoking 75-year-old Karel Schwarzenberg, an aristocrat bearing the full name of Karl Johannes Nepomuk Josef Norbert Friedrich Antonius Wratislaw Mena Furst zu Schwarzenberg, has also been wooing voters. Many of them perceive him as honest and experienced.

"I feel he would be the least likely to steal," Prague senior citizen Alena Zurkova told AFP, referring to the chronic levels of corruption in Czech politics.

"He is the least corrupt and the most experienced when it comes to diplomacy and international contacts," said Alena Poulova, a young IT expert voting in Cernosice.

The most colourful candidate -- in all senses -- is Vladimir Franz, a 53-year-old drama teacher, classical composer and visual artist tattooed from his head to his feet.

"I think a bit of pure heart would do no harm in politics," Franz, told AFP ahead of the vote. A self-described citizens' candidate with no political experience, he named education, tolerance and culture as his priorities.

Three women and two senators are also in the running.

The election is the first direct presidential vote in the central European nation.

In February 2012, lawmakers approved a switch to popular universal suffrage used in many EU countries to boost the legitimacy of the office. Klaus's re-election in 2008 by parliament was widely perceived as political horse-trading.

The Czech Republic, a NATO and EU member yet to join the eurozone, has been mired in recession for a year, with its central bank predicting moderate 0.2-percent economic growth in 2013. Joblessness stood at 9.4 percent in December.

- AFP/al

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Wrapping up computers, tablets, and hardware at CES 2013

LAS VEGAS--Computers and related hardware are rarely the top category at the annual CES, with last year being a possible exception, thanks to ultrabook hype. In 2013, we found laptops, desktops, and tablets in shorter supply than usual, with the main culprit being the October 2012 release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, and the flood of new systems that went along with it.

The following are some of the big-picture trends and ideas we took away from the show, while a breakdown of our Best of CES nominees in this category is here.

Ultrabook DNA is everywhere

Even after criticism from some corners about the Intel's limited success in making the ultrabook (a trademarked Intel marketing term) a household name, the program's fingerprints are practically everywhere. Thinner, lighter laptops at nearly every price were the norm at
CES, even if they don't carry the official ultrabook name and sticker (we're looking at you, HP Sleekbook).

Touch is practically a requirement

Woe be the laptop that showed up at CES 2013 without a touch screen. One of the only notable examples of this feature faux pas was Dell's otherwise excellent XPS 13, which added a higher-res display, but no touch screen. We've tried navigating small
Windows 8 laptops with only a touch pad or mouse -- it's no picnic. Other PC makers, including Samsung and Toshiba, were smartly revamping existing product lines with touch screens, while keeping prices steady.

Intel wants to lead laptop development

A fourth generation of Intel Core i-series CPUs, code-named Haswell, is part of Intel's road map for computers into 2014. Besides big claims about better battery life, notable are the new requirements Haswell systems will have for future laptops (such as this sharp-looking design concept) that want to use the ultrabook name -- these include touch screens and Wireless Display, a useful Intel remote screen tool we'd be happy to see get wider adoption.

Tablets-as-PCs are everywhere
Between the Razer Edge and Surface Pro on the small end and full-sized all-in-one desktop/tablet devices at the large end, PCs with the flexibility of tablets are on the rise. While it might seem like a gimmick at first, it turns out that a lot of these devices have myriad use cases and could lead to PCs becoming extremely modular soon enough. It might even lead to a true breaking down of boundaries across desktops, laptops and tablets.

Android tablets wait for Mobile World Congress
To say that traditional Android tablets had an underwhelming showing at CES 2013 would be an understatement. While there were plenty of great value tablets, there was nothing worth getting excited about. Luckily, the Nvidia Shield was there to at least get some really interesting conversations started. On to Mobile World Congress.

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