Arias to answer juror questions in murder case

Jodi Arias gestures toward the jury, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix. Arias is on trial for the murder of Travis Alexander in 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic,Tom Tingle, Pool)

Jodi Arias gestures toward the jury, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix. Arias is on trial for the murder of Travis Alexander in 2008. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic,Tom Tingle, Pool)

PHOENIX (AP) ? Jodi Arias has spent two weeks on the witness stand answering detailed questions from attorneys about practically every aspect of her life including the day she killed her lover and the painstaking steps she took to cover her tracks. Now it's the jury's turn.

Arias is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2008 killing of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. She says it was self-defense when he attacked her after a day of raunchy sex, but police say she planned it in a jealous rage.

Arias initially told authorities she had nothing to do with Alexander's death then blamed it on masked intruders before settling on self-defense. Her repeated lies to authorities, friends and family in the days after his death, and her methodical efforts to create an alibi and avoid suspicion have been center stage throughout the weekslong trial as she explained how she remembers little from the day of the killing.

Alexander had been shot in the head, stabbed and slashed nearly 30 times and had his throat slit.

After a withering cross-examination last week, and her attorneys' efforts to portray the victim as an abusive womanizer, in part, hoping to spare Arias the death penalty, jurors on Wednesday will pose their own questions to the defendant, something allowed in Arizona criminal cases.

Judge Sherry Stephens told attorneys Tuesday the panel has about 100 questions for Arias. The prosecutor and her attorneys will gather Wednesday morning to review the written queries and submit any objections, then Stephens will pose them to Arias directly.

Throughout her testimony, Arias has described an abusive childhood at the hands of her parents, a past littered with cheating boyfriends and dead-end jobs, and the minutia of car problems, cooking and converting to Mormonism. She has also detailed for jurors how Alexander grew physically abusive in the months leading up to his death, once choking her into unconsciousness, and how he had sexual desires for young boys.

However, none of her allegations have been corroborated by witnesses or evidence during the trial, and she has admitted to lying repeatedly prior to and after her arrest, but Arias insists she is telling the truth now.

She has acknowledged she dumped the gun in the desert, got rid of her bloody clothes, tried to clean the scene at Alexander's home, and even left the victim a voicemail on his mobile phone within hours of killing him and dragging his body into the shower. She said she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth.

Arias' grandparents had reported a .25 caliber handgun stolen from their Northern California home about a week before the killing ? the same caliber used to shoot Alexander ? but Arias says she never knew her grandfather had the weapon. Authorities believe she brought it with her, though she has testified she shot Alexander with his own gun as he chased her into his closet after body-slamming her and threatening to kill her.

"I was very, very scared," Arias told jurors.

"Did you want to kill Mr. Alexander on June 4?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked.

"No, that was not a goal of mine," Arias replied, sobbing. "I considered myself a nice person."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-06-Boyfriend%20Slaying/id-d27b7bac54f143d4958f272bc0f802a9

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Rome exhibition takes aim at the Church as papal vote looms

By Naomi O'Leary

ROME | Tue Mar 5, 2013 5:52pm EST

ROME (Reuters) - As cardinals flock to Rome to choose the next pope, two artists have taken the opportunity to stage an exhibition taking aim at the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the sex abuse scandals that plagued Pope Benedict.

Held in an ancient building where Italy's patron Saint Catherine of Siena died, "The Unspeakable Act" is a life-size model of Benedict in a confessional box, his sumptuous red and cream-colored robes spread about him.

Installed on the stage of a darkly-lit theatre, the artwork is surrounded by eerie music and a track of Benedict announcing in Latin his decision to resign after eight years topped with the whispering sounds of people confessing their sins.

Benedict's papal tiara lies on the ground and his bejeweled hands cover his face in apparent horror or shame at a phrase from the Gospel of St. Luke that lies open on his knee: "Let the little children come to me".

The exhibition is the work of artists Antonio Garullo and Mario Ottocento who became famous for lampooning the scandals of the powerful in 2012 with an exhibit depicting a sleeping Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his hand in his trousers and a satisfied look on his face.

"Too many scandals have been hidden by the Church. Even children were abused in the confessional," Garullo told Reuters at a preview of the work on Tuesday.

"These jewels and rich clothes contrast with Christ, who was in rags. The Vatican even has a bank, which is hypocrisy."

A folded paper tucked into the papal tiara represents the 'Vatileaks' scandal, when Benedict's personal butler leaked documents alleging corruption in the Church's business dealings

The artwork, that opens to the public on Wednesday, has personal importance for Garullo, 48, and Ottocento, 40, an artistic duo for 20 years who were the first Italian gay couple to be married when they wed in Holland in 2002.

Since then they have battled for their union to be recognized by authorities in Italy, which has no legal provision for same-sex couples, although a 2012 survey found 63 percent of Italians support equal rights for gays.

"I don't understand how the pope could say in one of his last addresses that gay couples are a threat to world peace," Garullo said. "I don't understand how we are a threat."

Their pope statue is surrounded by books by reformist Swiss theologian Hans Kueng and the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a liberal voice who urged the Church to modernize before his death last year, saying it was "200 years out of date".

Garullo said the fact that Benedict is ignoring the books is a message to the Church to bring its teaching up to date.

"It shows the Church has remained 200 years in the past, and is not open to the modern world," Garullo said.

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/oddlyEnoughNews/~3/franvgELB1U/us-pope-succession-artists-idUSBRE9241AF20130305

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House, debris over Fla. sinkhole to be removed

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush is destroyed Monday, March 4, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, evening swallowing Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush is destroyed Monday, March 4, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, evening swallowing Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Demolition experts remove a piece of furniture from the home of Jeff Bush, 37, during demolition Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, gets a hug from a family friend while speaking to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, prays as he speaks to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

Jeremy Bush, right, gets a hug from a family friend while speaking to the media as demolition continues at the home of his brother, Jeff Bush, Monday, March 4, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A sinkhole opened up underneath the house late Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, swallowing Jeff Bush, 37. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) ? Authorities hope to get a better look at a sinkhole that swallowed a man in his Florida home once demolition crews knock down the remaining walls of the house Monday and begin clearing away the debris.

The remainder of the house and its contents will be dragged toward the street so crews can recover items inside and keep debris from falling into the hole, Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz said Monday morning. Authorities were still not certain exactly how big the sinkhole is.

Crews on Sunday razed more than half the home, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.

The opening of the sinkhole has been covered by the home, but once emergency officials and engineers can see inside it more clearly, they could begin planning how to deal with it. They also need to decide what will happen to the two homes on either side of the now-demolished house. Experts say the sinkhole has "compromised" those homes, but it's unclear whether steps can be taken to save them.

Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night.

On Sunday morning, Bush and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home ? where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker; their daughter, Hannah, 2; and others ? was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside. The home was owned by Leland Wicker, Rachel's grandfather, since the 1970s.

The operator of the heavy equipment worked gingerly, first taking off a front wall. Family belongings were scooped onto the lawn gently in hopes of salvaging parts of the family's 40-year history in the home.

As of Sunday afternoon ? when demolition had stopped for the day and only a few walls remained ? a Bible, family photos, a jewelry box and a pink teddy bear for Hannah were among the items saved. Firefighters also were able to pick out the purse of one of the women in the home.

Cheers went up from family, friends and neighbors each time something valuable was salvaged.

Wanda Carter, the daughter of Leland Wicker, cradled the large family Bible in her arms. She said her mother and father had stored baptism certificates, cards and photos between the pages of that Bible over the years.

"It means that God is still in control, and He knew we needed this for closure," she said, crying.

Carter said she spent from age 11 to 20 in the home, and she had to close her eyes as the home was knocked down.

"Thank you for all of the memories and life it gave us," she said.

The Rev. John Martin Bell of Shoals Baptist Church said he had been with the family all morning. "We just prayed with them," he said. He added that all five who lived in the house ? Bush, Wicker, Hannah and two others ages 50 and 45 ? were in need of support and prayers from the community.

Several generations of family members lived in the home at the time of the ground collapse, including Jeff Bush, the man now presumed dead.

The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday. He was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner ? a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa ? when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house at the time escape unharmed as the earth crumbled.

Jeremy Bush tried to save his brother by jumping into the sinking dirt hole. He had to be pulled out of the still-shifting hole by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy, who was shaken when talking about the incident more than a day later.

"I've never seen anything move so fast and do so much destruction," Deputy Douglas Duvall said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Detective Larry McKinnon said the sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, Bush's family must petition a court to declare him deceased.

"Based on the circumstances, he's presumed dead; however, the official death certificate can only be issued by a judge and the family has to petition the court," McKinnon said.

The area around Seffner is known for sinkholes due to the geography of the terrain, but they are rarely deadly. No one ? from longtime public safety officials to geologists ? could remember an incident where a person was sucked into the earth without warning.

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-04-US-Sinkhole-Swallows-Man/id-2a6eccbce89147a9957b09c619297e39

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