National / International News

The SETI Institute has a list of 12 choices and is collecting votes online. There's also a write-in ballot. Nemo isn't one of the nominees, but write-in candidates are being accepted. Or what about a write-in for Endor? Eyder? Maybe Korva?

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A stadium once graced by some of the leading names in British athletics has its licence suspended because of its poor condition.

The US launches a Landsat spacecraft to maintain the longest continuous image record of the Earth's surface as viewed from orbit.

Firefighters are called to a major blaze at a disused church in the Abbeyhill area of Edinburgh.

NPR's Neda Ulaby takes a stroll through Toy Fair, an industry event where adults get to preview acres of new toys.

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Boris Johnson insists London does not need any expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Los Angeles officials pursue many leads after offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of an ex-policeman accused of three murders.

Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, unexpectedly announced Monday that he will resign at the end of the month. With his resignation comes speculation about his tenure, potential successors and the future of the Catholic Church. Rocco Palmo, who runs the blog Whispers in the Loggia, explores the pope's legacy and what's ahead for the Catholic Church.

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The manhunt in southern California for ex-police officer Christopher Dorner has prompted a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture and conviction. It's one of the biggest rewards ever offered by a local government, and has already generated more than 600 tips. 

The reward money was assembled from a unusual variety of sources, including the L.A. Dodgers baseball team, the F.B.I., six anonymous donors and lots of local governments. Los Angeles County is considering adding another $100,000 to the pot, according to spokesman Tony Bell.

“It’s a good investment,” Bell says. “It’s an investment in public safety and a cost savings from having to have a killer on the loose, more lives lost, more resources expended.”

Rewards can also bring publicity to a case, reaching people who might have valuable information, and giving them an incentive to come forward.

“It's -- how do I say this? -- free money,” says Gene Ferrara, a retired police man on the board of Crime Stoppers in Cincinnati. That group is part of a nationwide nonprofit that offers cash rewards raised by donations, to useful tipsters. “They're not out working hard digging a ditch for eight hours. They just provide information, and they get money for it.”

Ferrara says cash rewards lead to hundreds of arrests each year, many of which turn in to convictions.

Still, millions of dollars in reward money goes unclaimed around the country. Why would people turn down “free money”? For one, people fear risking their own safety if they get involved, and the bigger the reward, the harder it is to remain anonymous, says Ferrara.

“If it’s a million dollar reward, the IRS is going to want their cut. That’s income,” he says. “So the police department’s got to report who you are to the IRS.  You can't be anonymous.”

There's another risk with a high price tag, says Adam Alter, a professor of marketing and psychology at New York University. If you’re a friend or family member of a suspect, and you’re on the fence about turning in someone you love, a big reward might actually backfire because “you're turning it in to an economic transaction for someone's freedom, which I think is for a lot of people quite offensive,” Alter said.

Alter suggests that sometimes it's better to keep money out of it, and let doing the right thing be its own reward.

Commissary privileges, family center programs, dependent I.D. cards, joint duty assignments and space-available travel on military aircraft are among the benefits that will become available.

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Fighting in Damascus has escalated, and the U.N. says 5,000 Syrian refugees are fleeing every day. The humanitarian crisis is growing along the borders with Turkey and Lebanon, and Israel launched its first airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday, reportedly targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah.

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Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr will receive the highest honour at this year's NME Awards on 27 February, two days after he releases his first solo album The Messenger.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says proposed changes to social care in England, including a £75,000 cap on nursing costs, will bring greater fairness to the system.

Manager Neil Lennon says his Celtic side should not be underestimated by Champions League opponents Juventus.

The brief courtroom session provided a glimpse of the accused plotters, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But the discussion focused on whether U.S. intelligence is listening to attorney-client conversations.

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A significant minority of schools in England are still not spending extra funding for poor pupils effectively, warns a report from inspectors.

Attacks are a reminder that fixing Mali will not be easy

The rate at which American women are having babies fell again in 2011, continuing a decline that's been under way for years. Births to teenagers hit another low, while births to older women rose slightly.

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Egyptians consider the two years since the president quit

A gunman, his estranged wife and another woman are dead after a shoot-out at a courthouse in the US state of Delaware, officials say.