Officials: Possible 5th killing by Mexico dog pack

, Jan. 9, 2013. Authorities have captured …more
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MEXICO CITY (AP) — A 15-year-old girl found fatally bitten by dogs outside a Mexico City park in mid-December may have been the first victim of a feral pack suspected of killing at least four other people over the last month, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Authorities began capturing dogs in the park this week after a mother and her infant boy were found dead and covered in dog bites on Dec. 29 and the bodies of a teenage couple were found covered in fatal bites from as many as 10 dogs a week later.
The four were believed to have been the only victims until the mother of 15-year-old Ana Gabriela Nataret Ramirez told Milenio Television lateTuesday that their daughter had died in hospital after being found covered with apparent dog bites near the Cerro de la Estrella park in the poor southeastern Mexico City district of Iztapalapa on the night of Dec. 16.
The city prosecutor's office confirmed the details of the case Wednesday and said it was looking into whether her case was connected to the other deaths.
"An autopsy revealed that the victim had multiple injuries and puncture wounds on both arms," the prosecutor's office said. "After the events of recent days, the Mexico City district attorney's office broadened the investigation and confirmed the possibility of a new case of homicide resulting from wounds caused by dogs."
Animal control officers swept the park for feral dogs again Wednesday after capturing 36 animals over the last two days. Borough president Jesus Valencia told reporters at the pound where the animals are being kept that 33 dogs were captured but his office said later that 36 dogs had been caught.
In addition to rabies, the dogs have been tested for traces of human blood and DNA in order to determine if they were involved in the killings. Valencia said the rabies tests had all come back negative, and the prosecutors' office said the other tests were pending.
He said the borough was helping pay funeral costs for the victims and get psychological help for the relatives.
Many family members have expressed skepticism that dogs could have killed their loved ones, saying their injuries appeared too devastating to have been the result of dog bites.
Valencia said that the borough planned to allow people to adopt any dogs not involved in the killings.
After authorities released photos of the captured dogs, activists started an online campaign protesting the animals' innocence and calling for authorities not to euthanize them. Tens of thousands of dogs are euthanized each year in Mexico if they are captured by animal control officers and not claimed within 72 hours.
Many people re-posted the images of the dogs staring sadly from behind bars at an animal shelter, and the hashtag for the campaign briefly became the top trending topic on Twitter in Mexico.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said his government would launch a new program to spay and neuter dogs in order to reduce the number of animals in the street, sending 25 mobile surgical units to neighborhoods where residents would be encouraged to take advantage of free sterilization for their pets.

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Friday's Sports In Brief

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Alabama coach Nick Saban sent home two backup players from the BCS championship game for violating curfew.
A person with knowledge of the decision said the players were freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school didn't release names.
A statement from Saban announced the disciplinary action. Alabama's student newspaper, The Crimson White, first identified the players.
Lee played in eight games, mostly on kickoff coverage. He did intercept a pass in his college debut against Michigan in the season opener and made his only tackle in that game.
Anderson didn't play this season.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide will play No. 1 Notre Dame on Monday night.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the fourth FBS quarterback with 20 touchdowns passing and 20 touchdowns rushing in the same season.
Manziel got his school-record 20th rushing touchdown on the Aggies' opening drive of the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma when he tiptoed 23 yards down the sideline. He added a 5-yard TD run before halftime. The first freshman to win the Heisman, Manziel also has 24 passing TDs.
The other 20-20 quarterbacks were Auburn's Cam Newton and Florida's Tim Tebow, who like Manziel are Heisman winners from the SEC, and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.
Three other A&M players had 19 rushing TDs in a season, the last Jorvorskie Lane in 2006.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players' association before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.
The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 10 a.m. EST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 11 p.m.
Similar talks were scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
It still isn't known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions may signal progress.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - With the ink not even dry on the New York Jets' dreadful season, Rex Ryan fled to the Bahamas only to be photographed lounging poolside at a resort hotel, book in hand, with an interesting tattoo gracing his right biceps.
It showed his wife, Michelle, wearing an unmistakably green Jets jersey emblazoned with the unmistakable No. 6 of embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez - and nothing else.
The Daily News ran a front-page photo and by lunchtime it was an Internet sensation. That's pretty much the way the NFL team's soap-opera season played out. Ryan was criticized for sticking with Sanchez despite losing efforts when Tim Tebow was available. The Jets finished the season 6-10.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is no longer a holdout. He's on Twitter.
With five words - ''The antisocial has become social'' - the Los Angeles Lakers guard sent the first tweet from his account. About 365,000 people were following his verified account, (at)kobebryant, within a few hours.
Bryant tiptoed into the Twitterverse last week when he briefly took over Nike basketball's account, sending out things like a photo of him hanging out with his daughter, an ice bath that he was dreading and even a suit he was wearing to a particular game.
Heat star LeBron James has 6.8 million followers, the most of any NBA player.
GOLF
LONDON (AP) - World No. 1 Rory McIlroy said he may skip the 2016 Olympics because of the dilemma over which country to represent.
McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. McIlroy said in a BBC documentary that missing the Olympics is ''definitely an option'' because ''I don't want to upset too many people.''
McIlroy stirred controversy last year when he said in a British newspaper interview that he felt ''more British than Irish.'' He then posted a letter on Twitter saying he grew up ''a proud product of Irish golf'' and had not made a decision on the Olympics.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The seven Catholic schools that have decided to leave the Big East and form their own league continued to plot the future, retaining Proskauer Rose LLP and Pilson Communications, Inc., to aid in their defection.
St. John's, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova all decided last month to set off on their own as the Big East continues to reshape itself.
The university presidents met in New York to discuss the future of the new league. They vow to ''Honor the history and tradition on which the Big East was established.''
There is no timetable for when other schools will join the league.
CYCLING
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The New York Times reported that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41.
Armstrong was banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
But Armstrong attorney Tim Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession.

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping, though move could have cons and benefits

AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.

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Oregon governor says Nike plans expansion

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Nike wants to expand its Oregon operations and hire hundreds of workers but is asking the government to promise it won't change the state tax code.
Gov. John Kitzhaber (KIHTS'-hah-bur) says he'll call the Legislature into session Friday to create a law to give Nike its wish.
The company has not specified its expansion plans except to say it would create at least 500 jobs and $150 million in capital investment over five years.
Nike Inc. has its headquarters in Beaverton, outside Portland. Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
It employs 44,000 people globally, including 8,000 in Washington County.
Nike has been selling off brands and making other moves to focus on its most profitable businesses, which include its namesake Nike brand, Jordan, Converse and Hurley.

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Report: Most Pakistani lawmakers do not file taxes

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The majority of Pakistani lawmakers do not file tax returns despite a legal requirement to do, a report said Wednesday, reinforcing concerns about the low level of tax revenue in the country.
Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP rates in the world because payment is not well enforced, and major areas of the economy, such as the agriculture sector, are either taxed at very low rates or not at all.
Around two-thirds of the country's 446 lawmakers failed to file tax returns in 2011, the latest data available, said the report, co-published by the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan and the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives.
A similar percentage of the government's 55 Cabinet members also failed to file returns, said the report, titled "Representation Without Taxation." Among those politicians who failed to file a return was Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Even lawmakers who filed returns often paid very low amounts of tax on outside income. The lowest-paying lawmaker who filed a return, Senator Mushahid Hussain, paid less than $1 in taxes, said the report.
The figures do not take into account the tax paid by lawmakers on their official salaries, which is automatically deducted. It instead focuses on declarations of supplemental income from land, businesses and other sources of revenue.
Analysts have said that the country's effective tax rate is so low because a small elite, comprised of the military, land owners and the rising urban upper and middle classes is reluctant to give up any of its wealth. These groups either put pressure on lawmakers or are the lawmakers themselves.
"End result is the erosion of public trust in the government that is frequently blamed for serving the interests of the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and low-income groups," the report said.

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Pennies over patriotism: Look at tax-averse stars

PARIS (AP) — France's Socialist government is introducing a 75-percent income tax on those earning over €1 million ($1.3 million), forcing some of the country's rich and famous to set up residency in less fiscally-demanding countries.
Here's a look at some big stars in France and elsewhere who have, over the years, put their pennies above their patriotism.
DEPARTING DEPARDIEU
The French prime minister has accused actor Gerard Depardieu of being "pathetic" and "unpatriotic" for setting up residence in a small village just across the border in neighboring Belgium to avoid paying taxes in France.
The office of the mayor in Depardieu's new haunts at Nechin, also known as the "millionaire's village" for its appeal to high-earning Frenchmen, said that for people with high income, like Depardieu, the Belgian tax system, capped at 50 percent, is more attractive.
Depardieu, who has played in more than 100 films, including "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac," has not commented publicly on the matter.
BEATLE TAX
In 2005, the Beatles' Ringo Starr took up residency in Monaco, where he gets to keep a higher percentage of royalties than he would in Britain or Los Angeles. France's tiny neighbor Monaco, with zero percent income tax for most people, has obvious appeal for the 72-year-old drummer and his estimated $240 million fortune.
The Beatles' resentment of high taxes goes back to their 1960s song "Taxman." George Harrison penned it in protest of the British government's 95 percent supertax on the rich, evoked by the lyrics: "There's one for you, nineteen for me."
Harrison reportedly said later, "'Taxman' was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes."
LICENSE TO DODGE
Former "James Bond" star Sean Connery left the U.K. in the 1970s, reportedly for tax exile in Spain, and then the Bahamas — another spot with zero income tax and one of the richest countries per capita in the Americas. His successor to the 007 mantle, Roger Moore, also opted for exile in the 1970s — this time in Monaco — ensuring his millions were neither shaken nor stirred.
EXILE ON MAIN ST.
In 1972, The Rolling Stones controversially moved to the south of France to escape onerous British taxes. Though it caused a stink at the time, it spawned one of the group's most seminal albums, "Exile on Main St." The title is a reference to their tax-dodging. In 2006, British media branded them the "Stingy Stones" with reports that they'd paid just 1.6 percent tax on their earnings of $389 million over the previous two decades.
FISCAL HEALING
In 1980, U.S. singer Marvin Gaye moved to Hawaii from L.A. to avoid problems with the Internal Revenue Service, the American tax agency. Later that year, Gaye relocated to London after a tour in Europe. Gaye, whose hits include "Sexual Healing" and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" settled in Belgium in 1981. He was shot to death in 1984.

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South Africa complete innings victory

Africa in Cape Town, January 4, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa completed an innings victory over New Zealand on Friday in a result which was never in doubt after the visitors collapsed to 45 all out before lunch on the opening day of the first test.
Dean Brownlie's maiden test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight on Thursday.
However five wickets fell for 23 runs in a lower order collapse in the second session and the New Zealanders ended up 27 runs short of making the world number one side bat again.
Brownlie, who had been brought into the team as a replacement for Ross Taylor who opted out of the tour after he was replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum, resumed on day three with wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who was on 10.
The duo were resolute in the morning session and a frustrated Proteas' outfit were forced to watch as Brownlie reached his century with a big six over long-off from the bowling of Robin Peterson.
South Africa eventually got their man in the penultimate over before lunch as Brownlie cut a Morne Morkel delivery straight to Alviro Petersen on the point boundary having made 109.
Watling and James Franklin continued to frustrate the Proteas in the first hour following the break as they looked to avoid an innings defeat.
Three dropped catches had marred the hosts fielding display on day two and Franklin was next to be given a reprieve as ro Petersen grassed his second chance of the innings at gully.
A double-strike by Vernon Philander shortly before the drinks break crippled the New Zealand innings though, as Watling edged to first slip and was out for 42.
Doug Bracewell was caught at gully for a duck to reduce the Black Caps to 252 for seven and Jeetan Patel (8) was clearly rattled by the fearsome pace of Dale Steyn before eventually chopping on to his stumps.
The final two wickets fell in quick succession, as Franklin too played onto his stumps for 22 having lasted 103 minutes to leave New Zealand on the brink at 274 for nine.
The test match ended in a fittingly shambolic fashion for the Black Caps when Chris Martin was run out one delivery later without having faced a ball after being sent back by Trent Boult.
Philander won the man-of-the-match award for his match figures of 7-83, which included five for seven in the first innings.

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UPDATE 2-Cricket-South Africa complete innings victory

(Updates with quotes)
CAPE TOWN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Africa completed an innings victory over New Zealand within three days on Friday in a result which was never in doubt after the visitors collapsed to 45 all out before lunch on the opening day of the first test.
Dean Brownlie's maiden test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight on Thursday.
However five wickets fell for 23 runs in a lower order collapse in the second session and the New Zealanders ended up 27 runs short of making the world number one side bat again.
Brownlie, who had been brought into the team as a replacement for Ross Taylor who opted out of the tour after he was replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum, resumed on day three with wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who was on 10.
The duo were resolute in the morning session and a frustrated Proteas' outfit were forced to watch as Brownlie reached his century with a big six over long-off from the bowling of Robin Peterson.
South Africa eventually got their man in the penultimate over before lunch as Brownlie cut a Morne Morkel delivery straight to Alviro Petersen on the point boundary having made 109.
Watling and James Franklin continued to frustrate the Proteas in the first hour following the break as they looked to avoid an innings defeat.
Three dropped catches had marred the hosts fielding display on day two and Franklin was next to be given a reprieve as ro Petersen grassed his second chance of the innings at gully.
A double-strike by Vernon Philander shortly before the drinks break crippled the New Zealand innings though, as Watling edged to first slip and was out for 42.
SPECIAL ATTACK
Doug Bracewell was caught at gully for a duck to reduce the Black Caps to 252 for seven and Jeetan Patel (8) was clearly rattled by the fearsome pace of Dale Steyn before eventually chopping on to his stumps.
The final two wickets fell in quick succession, as Franklin too played on to his stumps for 22 having lasted 103 minutes to leave New Zealand on the brink at 274 for nine.
The test match ended in a fittingly shambolic fashion for the Black Caps when Chris Martin was run out one delivery later without having faced a ball after being sent back by Trent Boult.
Philander won the man-of-the-match award for his match figures of 7-83, which included five for seven in the first innings. He has now captured 74 wickets in 13 tests at 17.40 runs each since making his debut in November 2011.
"I think it's a special attack, it's a special place. This unit, and the way we operate, having each guy know his role," he told a news conference.
"There's days where he (Steyn) attacks and I do a holding job, and then vice versa. I think as a unit, we understand each other well and that's the way we operate.
"I think with the intensity of our bowling lineup we're going to exploit the weaknesses somewhere along the line. I think Brownlie played exceptionally well, but giving his wicket away there just opened up the whole tail to our bowlers."
McCullum also praised the qusality of the South African pace bowling.
"The Australian attack of a few years ago was pretty relentless as well and it's no surprise that they were the number one in the world at that stage as well with the ability to take 20 wickets," he said.
"This South African team posseses that too and they keep coming hard at you and constantly put you under pressure. Their seam attack is right up there in terms of the best attacks and is certainly the number one attack in the world at the moment.

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Odd Mammal Thought Long Extinct in Australia May Still Live

A critically endangered mammal thought to be extinct in Australia since the last ice age may still exist there, a new study suggests.
That speculation comes from the discovery that at least one long-beaked echidna, an egg-laying mammal thought to exist only in New Guinea, was found in Australia in 1901 and that native Aborigine populations reported seeing the animal more recently. The 1901 specimen, described in the Dec. 28 issue of the journal Zookeys, had been shot and stuffed and was lying in a drawer, long forgotten, in the Natural History Museum in London.
"What's amazing about this study is it all hinges on a single specimen, and it's a very well-documented specimen that was collected in 1901 in Australia," said study co-author Kristofer Helgen, a zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "It's taken until 2013 for myself and the team to really unbury the specimen from the cabinets of the Natural History Museum of London."
Primitive mammal
Monotremes, which include bizarre little mammals like the duckbill platypus, lay eggs like reptiles but feed their babies milk. They may have diverged from all other mammals as far back as the Triassic Period, which lasted from about 248 million to 206 million years ago. [Image Gallery: Photos of Bizarre Monotremes]
While short-beaked echidnas and duckbill platypuses still live in Australia, the long-beaked echidna, the largest monotreme in the world, was thought to live only in rainforests of New Guinea. The secretive creature, which can weigh up to 20 pounds (9 kilograms), is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Forgotten in a drawer
Scientists knew the spiny, nocturnal creatures once inhabited Australia but thought it died out after the last ice age, between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago, when New Guinea and Australia were one continent, Helgen said.
Helgen said he was visiting the Natural History Museum in London to look at its collections when he happened upon a skinned long-beaked echidna that was neatly tagged with the species name and where it was discovered.
It turns out that in 1901, an Australian naturalist named John Tunney shot the echidna on Mount Anderson, a mountain in a vast, arid and sparsely populated region of northwest Australia, while on an expedition for a British collector. Tunney, who was trained in taxidermy, stuffed and delivered the specimen, which was later bequeathed to the Natural History Museum. There it lay forgotten for a century.
Once they realized the echidna had been spotted in recent history, the team went back to aboriginal communities in the West Kimberley region. Some of the women remembered watching their parents hunt long-beaked echidnas.
"They remembered that there used to be an echidna in the area that was much larger, and they pointed to pictures of the modern long-beaked echidna from New Guinea," Helgen told LiveScience.
Still out there?
The new findings raise the possibility that the long-beaked echidna is still out there in Australia, and scientists should lead an expedition to find it, Helgen said. But the elusive, critically endangered creatures are difficult to spot even in New Guinea. They venture out at night, avoid humans and curl up into a spiky, unidentifiable ball at the first sign of danger, he said.
The discovery not only points to the importance of maintaining museum collections, it radically changes the picture of long-beaked echidnas, said Christopher Norris, a museums specialist at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study. The New Guinea rain forest where long-beaked echidnas are normally seen is dramatically different from the rocky, arid scrubland of the Kimberley, Norris told LiveScience.

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