Why pope will long be remembered

Tim Stanley says Pope Benedict will be seen as an important figure in church history.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Timothy Stanley: Benedict XVI's resignation is historic since popes usually serve for life


• He says pope not so much conservative as asserting church's "living tradition"


• He backed traditionalists, but a conflicted flock, scandal, culture wars a trial to papacy, he says


• Stanley: Pope kept to principle, and if it's not what modern world wanted, that's world's problem

Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."

(CNN) -- Journalists have a habit of calling too many things "historic" -- but on this occasion, the word is appropriate. The Roman Catholic Church is run like an elected monarchy, and popes are supposed to rule until death; no pope has stepped down since 1415.

Therefore, it almost feels like a concession to the modern world to read that Benedict XVI is retiring on grounds of ill health, as if he were a CEO rather than God's man on Earth. That's highly ironic considering that Benedict will be remembered as perhaps the most "conservative" pope since the 1950s -- a leader who tried to assert theological principle over fashionable compromise.

Timothy Stanley

The word "conservative" is actually misleading, and the monk who received me into the Catholic Church in 2006 -- roughly a year after Benedict began his pontificate -- would be appalled to read me using it. In Catholicism, there is no right or left but only orthodoxy and error. As such, Benedict would understand the more controversial stances that he took as pope not as "turning back the clock" but as asserting a living tradition that had become undervalued within the church. His success in this regard will be felt for generations to come.

He not only permitted but quietly encouraged traditionalists to say the old rite, reviving the use of Latin or receiving the communion wafer on the tongue. He issued a new translation of the Roman Missal that tried to make its language more precise. And, in the words of one priest, he encouraged the idea that "we ought to take care and time in preparing for the liturgy, and ensure we celebrate it with as much dignity as possible." His emphasis was upon reverence and reflection, which has been a healthy antidote to the 1960s style of Catholicism that encouraged feverish participation bordering on theatrics.

Nothing the pope proposed was new, but it could be called radical, trying to recapture some of the certainty and beauty that pervaded Catholicism before the reforming Vatican II. Inevitably, this upset some. Progressives felt that he was promoting a form of religion that belonged to a different century, that his firm belief in traditional moral theology threatened to distance the church from the people it was supposed to serve.

If that's true, it wasn't the pope's intent. Contrary to the general impression that he's favored a smaller, purer church, Benedict has actually done his best to expand its reach. The most visible sign was his engagement on Twitter. But he also reached out to the Eastern Orthodox Churches and spoke up for Christians persecuted in the Middle East.

In the United Kingdom, he encouraged married Anglican priests to defect. He has even opened up dialogue with Islam. During his tenure, we've also seen a new embrace of Catholicism in the realm of politics, from Paul Ryan's nomination to Tony Blair's high-profile conversion. And far from only talking about sex, Benedict expanded the number of sins to include things such as pollution. It's too often forgotten that in the 1960s he was considered a liberal who eschewed the clerical collar.

The divisions and controversies that occurred under Benedict's leadership had little to do with him personally and a lot more to do with the Catholic Church's difficult relationship with the modern world. As a Catholic convert, I've signed up to its positions on sexual ethics, but I appreciate that many millions have not. A balance has to be struck between the rights of believers and nonbelievers, between respect for tradition and the freedom to reject it.

As the world has struggled to strike that balance (consider the role that same-sex marriage and abortion played in the 2012 election) so the church has found itself forced to be a combatant in the great, ugly culture war. Benedict would rather it played the role of reconciler and healer of wounds, but at this moment in history that's not possible. Unfortunately, its alternative role as moral arbiter has been undermined by the pedophile scandal. Nothing has dogged this pontificate so much as the tragedy of child abuse, and it will continue to blot its reputation for decades to come.

For all these problems, my sense is that Benedict will be remembered as a thinker rather than a fighter. I have been so fortunate to become a Catholic at a moment of liturgical revival under a pope who can write a book as majestic and wise as his biography of Jesus. I've been lucky to know a pope with a sense of humor and a willingness to talk and engage.

If he wasn't what the modern world wanted -- if he wasn't prepared to bend every principle or rule to appease all the people all the time -- then that's the world's problem rather than his. Although he has attained one very modern distinction indeed. On Monday, he trended ahead of Justin Bieber on Twitter for at least an hour.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Timothy Stanley.

Read More..

IBM puts supercomputer to work on cancer

WASHINGTON: IBM is putting its Watson supercomputer to work fighting cancer, in what is described as the first commercial program of its kind to use "big data" to help patients with the disease.

The US computing giant last week unveiled its initiative with health insurer WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The supercomputer, which gained fame by defeating two human champions in the "Jeopardy!" quiz show, has been sifting through some 600,000 pieces of medical evidence, two million pages of text from 42 medical journals and clinical trials in oncology research.

This can speed up the way data is analysed to make the best diagnosis and find the optimal treatment, says Craig Thompson, Sloan-Kettering's president.

"It can take years for the latest developments in oncology to reach all practice settings," Thompson said.

"The combination of transformational technologies found in Watson with our cancer analytics and decision-making process has the potential to revolutionise the accessibility of information for the treatment of cancer in communities across the country and around the world."

IBM first announced plans to work with WellPoint in 2011, and last year began receiving data from the New York research hospital which specialises in cancer.

The first application will work with 1,500 lung cancer cases, where clinicians and analysts are training Watson to extract and interpret physician notes, lab results and clinical research.

The Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Westmed Medical Group will be two centres testing the service and providing feedback to WellPoint, IBM and Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

"IBM's work with WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center represents a landmark collaboration in how technology and evidence based medicine can transform the way in which health care is practiced," said Manoj Saxena at IBM.

"These breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industry's most pressing challenges."

The program is being commercialised under the name Interactive Care Insights for Oncology, powered by Watson.

Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas Watson, can ingest tens of million pages of data in just seconds.

- AFP/jc

Read More..

Report details Osama bin Laden killer's 'nightmares'

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN

updated 6:54 PM EST, Mon February 11, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden has no military pension or health care, report says


• Journalist Phil Bronstein profiles man he calls the Shooter in the March issue of Esquire


• Bronstein: "He has nightmares about how he's going to support his family"

(CNN) -- He's the man who rolled into a bedroom in Abbottabad, Pakistan, raised his gun and shot Osama bin Laden three times in the forehead.

Nearly two years later, the SEAL Team Six member is a secret celebrity with nothing to show for the deed; no job, no pension, no recognition outside a small circle of colleagues.

Journalist Phil Bronstein profiled the man in the March issue of Esquire, calling him only the Shooter -- a husband, father and SEAL Team Six member who says he happened to pull the trigger on the notorious terrorist. It's a detailed account of how the raid unfolded, and what comes after for those involved. The headline splashed across the cover reads, "The man who killed Osama bin Laden ... is screwed."

In a statement the Navy responded: "We have no information to corroborate these new assertions. We take seriously the safety and security of our people, as well as our responsibility to assist sailors making a transition to civilian life. Without more information about this particular case, it would be difficult to determine the degree to which our transition programs succeeded."

"They spent, in the case of the shooter, 16 years doing exactly what they're trained to do, which is going out on these missions, deployment after deployment, killing people on a regular basis, " said Bronstein, executive chairman of the Center for Investigative Reporting. "They finally get to the point where they don't want to do that anymore."

Bronstein reported that the man left SEAL Team Six in September. His family's health care coverage ceased. Because he retired before the 20-year mark, he gets no pension.

The Shooter is judicious about the details of his story and hasn't been involved in dramatic books, movies or video games that will make millions for some. It's out of loyalty to his work and concern about his family's safety, Bronstein said. The shooter worries what could happen if his name went public, like Matt Bissonnette, the SEAL whose identity was revealed after he published the book "No Easy Day" using a pseudonym. CNN can't verify the account in Esquire, or the one in Bissonnette's book.

Bronstein reported that the Shooter was offered some witness protection, but no such program exists yet.

Home life is a struggle, too. The Shooter and his wife are separated, Bronstein wrote, although they live in the same house -- "on very friendly, even loving terms" -- to save money. He has done consulting work, Bronstein told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, but it's not clear how long it will last.

"They suddenly find themselves trying to translate into a civilian world that they're not used, and they haven't been used to for decades," Bronstein said. "I think he has nightmares about how he's going to support his family, and how he's going to feed his family."

Watch The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer weekdays at 4pm to 6pm ET and Saturdays at 6pm ET. For the latest from The Situation Room click here.

Read More..

Army Sgt. receives Medal of Honor

President Obama today awarded the Medal of Honor to Clinton Romesha, a former active duty Army staff sergeant, for his courageous actions during what Mr. Obama said has been described as "one of the most intense battles of the entire war of Afghanistan."

The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest military decoration and "reflects the gratitude of our entire country," Mr. Obama told Romesha from the East Room of the White House, where his entire troop was honored.

Play Video

Medal of Honor recipient on battle of Keating

As the section leader of his troop, at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan's Nuristan Province, Romesha led a fight against a nearly overwhelming Taliban attack. On Oct. 3, 2009, nearly 300 insurgents armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades surrounded the outpost, where 53 Americans were stationed.

"To those Americans down below, the fire was coming from every single direction, they'd never seen anything like it," Mr. Obama remarked.

In an interview with CBS News correspondent David Martin, Romesha described the fighting that day as "unreal" and "up close and personal." After receiving the medal today, Romesha said, "I'm grateful that some of the heroes of Combat Outpost Keating are here with us. Any one of them will tell you were were not going to be beat that day."

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed, and more than 20 Afghan security troops were captured. Romesha suffered his own injuries but nevertheless tended to his comrades and called in air strikes to attack the enemy. The air strikes gave some soldiers cover to reach an aid station, while Romesha retrieved the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Romesha is the fourth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. He specifically was serving as a Section Leader with Bravo Troop, 3d Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He now works in oil field safety and lives in Minot, N.D., with his wife and three children.

Read More..

Benedict's Legacy Marred by Sex Abuse Scandal

When Pope Benedict XVI resigns at the end of this month, he leaves behind a Church grappling with a global fallout from sex abuse and a personal legacy marred by allegations that he was instrumental in covering up that abuse.

As the sex abuse scandal spread from North America to Europe, Benedict became the first pope to meet personally with victims, and offered repeated public apologies for the Vatican's decades of inaction against priests who abused their congregants.

"No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse," the pope said in a 2008 homily in Washington, D.C., before meeting with victims of abuse for the first time. "It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention." During the same trip to the U.S., he met with victims for the first time.

For some of the victims, however, Benedict's actions were "lip service and a public relations campaign," said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer who represents victims of sex abuse. For 25 years, Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the Vatican office responsible for investigating claims of sex abuse, but he did not act until he received an explicit order from Pope John Paul II.

In 1980, as Archbishop of Munich, Ratzinger approved plans for a priest to move to a different German parish and return to pastoral work only days after the priest began therapy for pedophilia. The priest was later convicted of sexually abusing boys.

Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

PHOTOS: Church Sex Scandals

In 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger became head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – the office once known as the Inquisition -- making him responsible for upholding church doctrine, and for investigating claims of sexual abuse against clergy. Thousands of letters detailing allegations of abuse were forwarded to Ratzinger's office.

A lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of the Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a victims' rights group, charges that as head of the church body Ratzinger participated in a cover-up of abuse. In an 84-page complaint, the suit alleges that investigators of sex abuse cases in several countries found "intentional cover-ups and affirmative steps taken that serve to perpetuate the violence and exacerbate the harm."

"Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, either knew and/or some cases consciously disregarded information that showed subordinates were committing or about to commit such crimes," the complaint says.

Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's lawyer in the U.S., told the AP the complaint was a "ludicrous publicity stunt and a misuse of international judicial processes."

In the 1990s, former members of the Legion of Christ sent a letter to Ratzinger alleging that the founder and head of the Catholic order, Father Marcial Maciel, had molested them while they were teen seminarians. Maciel was allowed to continue as head of the order.

In 1996, Ratzinger didn't respond to letters from Milwaukee's archbishop about a priest accused of abusing students at a Wisconsin school for the deaf. An assistant to Ratzinger began a secret trial of the priest, Father Lawrence Murphy, but halted the process after Murphy wrote a personal appeal to Ratzinger complaining of ill health.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II issued a letter urging the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to pursue allegations of child abuse in response to calls from bishops around the world.

Read More..

Why real prizes come after a Grammy

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

Legends beyond their own time

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Bob Greene: Grammy nominated acts should remember the real prize comes later in life


• He says at a hotel he ran into a group of singing stars from an earlier era, in town for a show


• He says the world of post-fame touring less glamorous for acts, but meaningful


• Greene: Acts grow old, but their hits never will and to fans, the songs are time-machine

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose 25 books include "When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams"; "Late Edition: A Love Story"; and "Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen."

(CNN) -- Memo to Carly Rae Jepsen, Frank Ocean, Hunter Hayes, Mumford & Sons, Miguel, the Alabama Shakes and all the other young singers and bands who are nominated for Sunday night's Grammy Awards:

Your real prize -- the most valuable and sustaining award of all -- may not become evident to you until 30 or so years have passed.

You will be much older.

But -- if you are lucky -- you will still get to be out on the road making music.

Bob Greene

Many of Sunday's Grammy nominees are enjoying the first wave of big success. It is understandable if they take for granted the packed concert venues and eye-popping paychecks.

Those may go away -- the newness of fame, the sold-out houses, the big money.

But the joy of being allowed to do what they do will go on.

I've been doing some work while staying at a small hotel off a highway in southwestern Florida. One winter day I was reading out on the pool deck, and there were some other people sitting around talking.

They weren't young, by anyone's definition. They did not seem like conventional businessmen or businesswomen on the road, or like retirees. There was a sense of nascent energy and contented anticipation in their bearing, of something good waiting for them straight ahead. A look completely devoid of grimness or fretfulness, an afternoon look that said the best part of the day was still to come.

I would almost have bet what line of work they were in. I'd seen that look before, many times.

I could hear them talking.

Yep.

The Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a No. 1 hit in 1961).

Little Peggy March ("I Will Follow Him," a No. 1 hit in 1963).

Little Anthony and the Imperials ("Tears on My Pillow," a top 10 hit in 1958).

Major singing stars from an earlier era of popular music, in town for a multi-act show that evening.

It is the one sales job worth yearning for -- carrying that battered sample case of memorable music around the country, to unpack in front of a different appreciative audience every night.

It's quite a world. I was fortunate enough to learn its ins and outs during the 15 deliriously unlikely years I spent touring the United States singing backup with Jan and Dean ("Surf City," a No. 1 hit in 1963) and all the other great performers with whom we shared stages and dressing rooms and backstage buffets:

Chuck Berry, Martha and the Vandellas, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, James Brown, Lesley Gore, Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, the Kingsmen, the Drifters, Fabian, the Coasters, Little Eva, the Ventures, Sam the Sham. ...

Jukebox names whose fame was once as fresh and electric as that now being savored by Sunday's young Grammy nominees.

Decades after that fame is new, the road may not be quite as glamorous, the crowds may not be quite as large. The hours of killing time before riding over to the hall, the putrid vending-machine meals on the run, the way-too-early-in-the-morning vans to the airport -- the dreary parts all become more than worth it when, for an hour or so, the singers can once again personally deliver a bit of happiness to the audiences who still adore their music.

Greene: Super Bowl ad revives iconic voice

As the years go by, the whole thing may grow complicated -- band members come and go, they fight and feud, some quit, some die. There are times when it seems you can't tell the players without a scorecard -- the Tokens at the highway hotel were, technically and contractually, Jay Siegel's Tokens (you don't want to know the details). One of their singers (not Jay Siegel -- Jay Traynor) was once Jay of Jay and the Americans, a group that itself is still out on the road in a different configuration with a different Jay (you don't want to know).

But overriding all of this is a splendid truism:

Sometimes, if you have one big hit, it can take care of you for the rest of your life. It can be your life.

Sunday's young Grammy nominees may not imagine, 30 years down the line, still being on tour. But they -- the fortunate ones -- will come to learn something:

They will grow old, but their hits never will -- once people first fall in love with those songs, the songs will mean something powerful and evocative to them for the rest of their lives.

And as long as there are fairground grandstands on summer nights, as long as there are small-town ballparks with stages where the pitcher's mound should be, the singers will get to keep delivering the goods.

That is the hopeful news waiting, off in the distance, for those who will win Grammys Sunday, and for those who won't be chosen.

On the morning after that pool-deck encounter in Florida I headed out for a walk, and in the parking lot of the hotel I saw one of the Tokens loading his stage clothes into his car.

His license plate read:

SHE CRYD

I said to him:

"You sing lead on 'She Cried,' right?"

"Every night," he said, and drove off toward the next show.

The next show.

That's the prize.

That's the trophy, right there.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.

Read More..

Football: Barca boss delighted with six-shooting kings

MADRID: Barcelona assistant manager Jordi Roura was delighted after his side's goals in their 6-1 win over Getafe were scored by six different players.

Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi took advantage of two wonderful passes from Andres Iniesta to put the Catalans 2-0 up within 13 minutes.

Barca then passed up a host of chances to add to their lead before half-time but found their range again after the break as David Villa and Cristian Tello made it 4-0.

And there was a deserved goal for Iniesta in stoppage time after Alvaro Vasquez had pulled one back for Getafe before Gerard Pique rounded off the scoring.

Barca's victory also extended their lead at the top of the table to 12 points when Atletico Madrid failed to win on the road for the fifth league game in a row as they lost 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano.

"It's strange but certainly positive to have six goals with six different scorers," he said.

"We are very happy with the performance of the team because so many players had just come from playing with their national team. As a group they played extraordinarily well."

With those internationals in mind Roura had given an outing to some of his fringe players and he was particularly happy with the form shown by Sanchez and Alex Song.

"Song had an incredible game and we have to highlight how solid he was. Sanchez is a much loved and respected member of the squad. Today he scored a good goal and that has given him confidence.

"In the past few games he was a little anxious but he has a great capacity to work hard. His fight and the pressure he applies is contagious and he is very important for us."

Roura also made a special mention of the contribution made by the Barca fans as more than 85,000 turned up for their first midday kick-off at the Camp Nou in nearly 50 years.

"I would like to thank the fans today because it is an unusual kick-off time. There was a great atmosphere, I saw a lot of kids and I think it has been a nice day for everyone."

Sanchez himself was particularly pleased to have found the net for the first time in the league this season after receiving a lot of criticism for his lack of production in recent weeks.

"This goal was special, but I have never stopped believing that I am a good player," he said.

"I know how I am and what I can do. Before I created chances but the ball wouldn't go in."

Getafe boss Luis Garcia explained how his side were powerless to stop Barca despite his intention to pressure them high up the field.

"You can't do much more because you don't have the ball. You can't take the ball off them and when you do it is after a great effort and you are still far from their goal," he said.

"We tried not to just sit back because last year we left here with a bad feeling having done that.

"It is very difficult. If you had seen my talks during the week you would understand that we wanted to be more ambitious but here you can't be."

Rayo Vallecano move into sixth with Real Sociedad just a point behind them in seventh as they beat Real Zaragoza 2-1.

But the result of the day elsewhere was arguably Espanyol's incredible 4-0 demolition of Athletic Bilbao at San Memes which moved them ahead of the Basques and into 13th.

- AFP/jc

Read More..

Ex-LAPD officer's capture worth $1 million reward

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: LAPD beefs up security at Grammy Awards as a precaution


• NEW: Slain Riverside officer identified as 11-year veteran Michael Crain


• Los Angeles puts up $1 million reward for Dorner's capture and conviction


• Dorner claims LAPD racism cost him his job and declared war on the department

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Los Angeles put up a $1 million reward Sunday for the capture and conviction of Christopher Dorner, a renegade former police officer they say has killed three people in a self-proclaimed war on his old department.

"We will not tolerate anyone undermining the security, the tranquility of our neighborhoods and our communities," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters. "We will not tolerate this reign of terror that has robbed us of the peace of mind that residents of Southern California deserve. We will not tolerate this murderer remaining at large."

The offer -- raised in conjunction with businesses, private donors and community groups -- is "the largest ever offered to our knowledge," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said.

The Los Angeles Police Department says Dorner, a 270-pound, 6-foot former Navy officer, was fired in 2009 for filing a false complaint of excessive force against his training officer. In an interview aired Sunday on CNN affiliate KCBS, Beck called Dorner a "trained assassin" but said he wouldn't be harmed if he gave himself up.

Ex-cop at center of California manhunt

HIDE CAPTION

"If you turn yourself in, then you will be safe and nobody else has to die," he said. "If you don't, if you decide to try to take the life of another Los Angeles police officer or their family member, then you'll have to suffer the consequences."

Amid the manhunt, the LAPD beefed up security at Sunday night's Grammy Awards show "out of an abundance of caution," police Cmdr. Andy Smith said. And Villaraigosa said authorities are confident they'll catch Dorner.

"This search is not a matter of if. It's a matter of when," Villaraigosa said. "And I want Christopher Dorner to know that."

Chief calls it 'domestic terrorism'

Dorner accused his training officer of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest in 2007. The LAPD ruled the complaint unfounded and kicked Dorner off the force for filing a false complaint. He challenged his firing in court and lost.

In a manifesto released last week, he blamed racism and corruption in the department for his removal and vowed to wage "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against LAPD officers and their families. He called it a "last resort" to clear his name and strike back at a department he says mistreated him.

Beck had a different term for it Sunday.

"This is an act -- and make no mistake about it -- of domestic terrorism," he said. "This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."

But the chief announced Saturday that the LAPD would re-examine its proceedings against Dorner. The review is "not to appease a murderer," but "to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all things we do," he said.

"I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past, and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism within the department," Beck said.

Mountain dragnet scaled back

Meanwhile, about 90 miles east of the city, the dragnet was back in action around the Big Bear Lake resort in the San Bernardino Mountains. After working through a weekend of heavy snow and overnight temperatures in the single digits, investigators were trying to pick up Dorner's trail anew after his burned-out truck was found there Thursday afternoon near the property of someone a federal arrest affidavit described as a known associate.

But there has been speculation, based in part on the affidavit, that the suspect could have crossed sate lines into Nevada or made his way into Mexico.

The day's effort began with about 60 officers, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Lehua Pahia said. But by early afternoon, it had been scaled back to about 25 investigators, aided by a helicopter equipped with body-heat sensors and other specialized equipment, Pahia said. None of the tips the department had received so far has panned out, she said.

According to authorities, Dorner began making good on his threats a week ago when he killed Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, in a parking lot in Irvine, south of Los Angeles. Quan was the daughter of a now-retired Los Angeles police officer who represented Dorner in a disciplinary hearing that led to his termination.

Time line in hunt for Dorner

Days later, early Thursday morning, Dorner allegedly opened fire on two LAPD police officers, wounding one, in the suburban city of Corona.

Roughly 20 minutes later, Dorner allegedly fired on two police officers in the nearby city of Riverside, killing one and wounding another. On Sunday, authorities identified the slain officer as Michael Crain, an 11-year veteran officer.

LAPD guarding 50 police families

Authorities say Dorner spent at least two days in the San Diego area after the shooting of Quan and her fiance. Dorner's ID and some of his personal belongings were found Thursday at the San Ysidro Point of Entry at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the affidavit.

Border patrol agents have been searching cars crossing into Mexico for signs of Dorner, while authorities have searched a home Dorner owned in Las Vegas and one owned by his mother in La Palma, California.

Two sailors reported that Dorner, a former Navy lieutenant, approached them at the San Diego-area Point Loma Naval Base, and local police allege he attempted to steal a boat.

And Monica Quan's father told investigators that someone identifying himself as Dorner called him Thursday and told him he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," the federal affidavit states. Investigators traced the call to Vancouver, Washington, but based on the timing of other sightings, they don't believe Dorner was in Vancouver at the time, the affidavit states.

Beck said the LAPD is now guarding the families of more than 50 police officers. Officers guarding one house early Thursday shot and wounded two women who were driving a pickup similar to Dorner's, something Beck called a "tragic, horrific incident."

Beck said that the shootings of Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, occurred a day after the manhunt for Dorner began and that the officers were under enormous pressure.

CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton and Irving Last contributed to this report. Paul Vercammen and Stan Wilson reported from Big Bear Lake. Matt Smith wrote from Atlanta.

Read More..

Graham threatens to hold up Hagel, Brennan votes

(CBS News) Until President Obama details his actions on the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Sen. Lindsey Graham will block votes on his nominees to head the Department of Defense and the CIA, the South Carolina Republican vowed today on "Face the Nation."

Graham said he'll heed advice floated by fellow Armed Services Committee member Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not to filibuster Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director. But, citing a recently unearthed letter that then-Sen. Joe Biden sent in 2005 pressing for further information before a vote on former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Graham said he's going to urge the message among his colleagues, "No confirmation without information," and will place a hold on the confirmation votes - an action any Senate member reserves the right to take - until the White House explains its garbled talking points following the Libya attack.

Five days after what would come to be deemed an attack by extremists with "linkages" to al Qaeda, Amb. Susan Rice appeared on "Face the Nation" and said the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was "spontaneous," prompted by an inflammatory anti-Muslim video that had led to protests in Egypt and elsewhere. Graham, who led the protest that resulted in Rice removing her name from the secretary of state shortlist, issued the charge of "stonewalling" by the administration.

"I'm not going to stop until we get to the bottom of it," Graham said. "We know nothing about what the president did on the night of September 11, during a time of national crisis, and the American people need to know what their commander-in-chief did, if anything, during the eight-hour attack.

"...I don't know what the president did that evening," he continued. "I don't know if he ever called anyone. I know he never talked to the secretary of defense. I know that he never talked to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ...I know the secretary of state never talked to the secretary of defense. This was incredibly mismanaged. And what we know now, it seems to be a very disengaged president."

Appearing in the same segment, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called Graham's threat to stall the nominations "unprecedented and unwarranted," and said he hopes the Senate gets a chance to vote on Hagel and Brennan. House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., later in the show said he agreed with Graham that there was a "catastrophic failure in the decisions, from a security perspective, from the State Department" that ran up to the attack. "I do think answers are appropriate," he said.

Read More..

$1M Reward for Capture of Fugitive Ex-Cop Dorner

A $1 million reward was offered today for information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner, as authorities in Big Bear, Calif., scaled back their search for the disgruntled ex-cop, who is suspected in three revenge killings.

"This is the largest local reward ever offered, to our knowledge," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference today. "This is an act of domestic terrorism. This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."

The money for the reward was pooled by businesses, government, local law enforcement leaders and individual donors, Beck said.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

The reward comes on the fourth day of a manhunt for Dorner, who has left Southern California on edge after he allegedly went on a killing spree last week to avenge his firing from the police force. Dorner outlined his grievances in a 6,000 word so-called "manifesto" and said he will keep killing until the truth is known about his case.

Dorner's threats have prompted the LAPD to provide more than 50 law enforcement families with security and surveillance detail, Beck said.

Authorities are chasing leads, however they declined to say where in order to not impede the investigation.

Dorner's burned-out truck was found Thursday near Big Bear Lake, a popular skiing destination located 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Irvine Police Department/AP Photo

Manhunt for Alleged Cop Killer Heads to California Mountains Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Search: Officials Search for Ex-officer in the Mountains Watch Video

Hundreds of Officers on Hunt for Alleged Cop Killer Watch Video

Investigators found two AR-15 assault rifles in the burned-out truck Dorner abandoned, sources told ABC News.

The truck had a broken axle, which may be the reason he decided to set fire to it, the police sources said.

Full Coverage: Christopher Jordan Dorner

Officers have spent the past couple of days going door-to-door and searching vacant cabins. The manhunt was scaled back to 25 officers and one helicopter in the resort town today, according to the San Bernadino Sheriff's Office.

On Saturday, Beck announced he would reopen the investigation into Dorner's firing but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive ex-cop.

"I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment, and to do so I have directed our Professionals Standards Bureau and my Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing to completely review the Dorner complaint of 2007; To include a re-examination of all evidence and a re-interview of witnesses," Beck said. "We will also investigate any allegations made in his manifesto which were not included in his original complaint."

Dorner is suspected of killing Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence last Sunday in their car in the parking lot of their Irvine, Calif., condominium complex. Both were struck with multiple gunshot wounds.

Quan's father, Randall Quan, was a retired captain with the LAPD and attorney who represented Dorner before a police review board that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force in 2008.

On Wednesday, after Dorner was identified as a suspect in the double murder, police believe he ambushed two Riverside police officers, killing one and wounding the other.

The next day, Randall Quan reported he received a taunting call from a man claiming to be Dorner who told him that he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to court documents documents.

Anyone with information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner is asked to call the LAPD task force at 213-486-6860.

ABC News' Dean Schabner, Jack Date, Pierre Thomas, Jason Ryan and Clayton Sandell contributed to this report.

Read More..