Arias Leaves Stand After Describing Killing, Her Lies

Jodi Arias stepped down from the witness stand today after mounting an emotional effort to save herself from death row, insisting to the Arizona jury that an explosive fight with ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander led to his death, and that her lies about killing him masked deep regret and plans to commit suicide.Arias, 32, will now face what is expected to be a withering cross-examination...

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Today on New Scientist: 19 February 2013

Doctors would tax sugary drinks to combat obesity Hiking the price of fizzy drinks would cut consumption and so help fight obesity, urges the British Academy of Medical Royal CollegesSpace station's dark matter hunter coy about findings Researchers on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which sits above the International Space Station, have collected their first results - but won't reveal them...

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Pro-family and women-friendly workplaces called for by PAP Women's Wing

Singapore: The Women's Wing of the People' Action Party wants to see bolder government intervention in the drive for pro-family and women-friendly workplaces.In a position paper submitted to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday, it called for legislation to allow employees with children below the age of 12-years to request for flexible work arrangements.Such requests, it said, should...

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HTC One takes display pixel density crown

The HTC One has one eye-popping display. (Credit:HTC)The HTC One has taken the pixel density crown, leaving phones like Retina iPhone 5 in the dust. First, to get a sense of the HTC One screen's density, a quick comparison to Microsoft's Surface Pro, which has also been praised for its display chops, puts this into perspective. The Surface Pro packs a resolution of 1,920x1,080 into a 10.6-inch panel....

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Florida Python Hunt Captures 68 Invasive Snakes

It's a wrap—the 2013 Python Challenge has nabbed 68 invasive Burmese pythons in Florida, organizers say. And experts are surprised so many of the elusive giants were caught.Nearly 1,600 people from 38 states—most of them inexperienced hunters—registered for the chance to track down one of the animals, many of which descend from snakes that either escaped or were dumped into the wild.Since...

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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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Biofuel rush is wiping out unique American grasslands

Say goodbye to the grass. The scramble for biofuels is rapidly killing off unique grasslands and pastures in the central US. Christopher Wright and Michael Wimberly of South Dakota State University in Brookings analysed satellite...

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S'pore, Malaysia agree on high-speed rail link

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to build a high speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.This was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday.In a joint statement, they said this is a strategic development in the bilateral relations that will dramatically improve the connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore.They...

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Chinese Army linked to hacks of U.S. companies, agencies

An "overwhelming percentage" of cyber attacks on U.S. corporations, government agencies, and organizations originate from a 12-story office tower on the outskirts of Shanghai that's connected to the People's Liberation Army, according to an extensive New York Times report. The newspaper cites a 60-page report by U.S. security firm Mandiant traces the activities of a sophisticated Chinese hacking groups...

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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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