White House backs gay marriage in Supreme Court brief

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama's administration threw its weight behind gay marriage on Thursday, urging the Supreme Court to strike down California's ban on same-sex unions.The court is set to examine the issue on March 26, when it will study the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a measure approved by a 2008 referendum that outlawed gay marriage in the most populous...

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Anonymous leaks alleged data on BofA execs, surveillance

In its latest salvo against the financial industry, Anonymous claims to have leaked sensitive information related to Bank of America executives and the company's alleged effort to "spy and collect information on private citizens."Par:AnoIA, a group that identifies itself as the Anonymous Intelligence Agency, said in a press release (PDF) yesterday that it had released 14 gigabytes of data on hundreds...

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Scarred Duckbill Dinosaur Escaped T. Rex Attack

A scar on the face of a duckbill dinosaur received after a close encounter with a Tyrannosaurus rex is the first clear case of a healed dinosaur wound, scientists say.The finding, detailed in the current issue of the journal Cretaceous Research, also reveals that the healing properties of dinosaur skin were likely very similar to that of modern reptiles.The lucky dinosaur was an adult...

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Arias Recounts Each Moment of Stabbing, Slashing

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was forced to recount today each detail of how she killed her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, including re-enacting how he allegedly tackled her when she shot him, leaving her crying in her hands on the witness stand.During hours of dramatic cross-examination by prosecutor Juan Martinez, Arias bawled as he asked her about stabbing, slashing and shooting...

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Quantum skyfall puts Einstein's gravity to the test

DIVIDING a falling cloud of frozen atoms sounds like an exotic weather experiment. In fact, it's the latest way to probe whether tiny objects obey Einstein's theory of general relativity, our leading explanation for gravity. General relativity is based...

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Japan says three Chinese ships in disputed waters

TOKYO: Japan's coastguard said three Chinese surveillance ships were in the territorial waters of disputed islands in the East China Sea on Thursday.The three marine surveillance ships entered the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone off Uotsuri, one of the islands, shortly after 7:00 am (2200 GMT Wednesday), the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement.Beijing claims the Japanese-controlled...

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11 must-see videos from Mobile World Congress

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there was a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless...

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Why African Rhinos Are Facing a Crisis

The body count for African rhinos killed for their horns is approaching crisis proportions, according to the latest figures released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). To National Geographic reporter Peter Gwin, the dire numbers—a rhinoceros slain every 11 minutes since the beginning of 2013—don't come as a surprise. "The killing will continue as long as...

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Arias Prosecutor Too Combative, Experts Say

He has barked, yelled, been sarcastic and demanded answers from accused murderer Jodi Arias this week.And in doing so, prosecutor Juan Martinez and his aggressive antics may be turning off the jury he is hoping to convince that Arias killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, experts told ABCNews.com today."Martinez is his own worst enemy," Mel McDonald, a prominent...

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Newly spotted comet to buzz Mars in 2014

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporterA Martian sunset, as seen by NASA's Spirit rover in 2005. (Image: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Texas A&M, Cornell, JPL, NASA)There's a new comet in town, and it is making a beeline for Mars. If projections of its orbit are correct, the icy visitor will buzz the Red Planet in October 2014.Dubbed C/2013 A1, the comet was discovered on 3 January by prolific...

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