Arias' Lawyer Shows Ex-Boyfriend's Lewd Photos













Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.


The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."


Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexander took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.


Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.


Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.


"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.


"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.










Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video









Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video





Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.


Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.


Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."


"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.


Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.


In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.


"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"


"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.


"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.


"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."


Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.


Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.


The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.



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25 die in Mexico oil company office building blast


MEXICO CITY (AP) — Rescuers searched the rubble for survivors and authorities promised a thorough investigation after an office building blast killed 25 people and injured 101 at the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos.


The cause of the basement explosion in an administrative building next to the iconic, 51-story Pemex tower in Mexico City remained a mystery early Friday, with President Enrique Pena Nieto urging people not to speculate. Theories ranged from an electrical fire to an air conditioning problem to a possible attack.


"We have no conclusive report on the reason," Pena Nieto told reporters. "We will work to get to the bottom of the investigation to find out, first, what happened work, and if there are people responsible in this case, that we apply the full weight of the law against them."


Some 46 people remained hospitalized after the Thursday afternoon blast, some gravely injured and others with cuts, fractures and burns. Authorities said the dead were 17 women and eight men.


More than 500 firefighters, soldiers and rescue workers dug through chunks of concrete with dogs, trucks and a Pemex crane.


Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong said it was uncertain if any of the roughly 10,000 people who work in the five-building headquarters were still trapped, but that the search would continue. The explosion occurred at about 3:45 p.m., just as the administrative shift was about to end. It hit the basement and first two floors, which rescuers said all collapsed onto each other.


"There is a lot of risk," rescuer German Vazquez Garcia said of working on the site.


Pemex first said it had evacuated the tower and 14-story administrative building because of a problem with the electrical system. The company later tweeted that the Attorney General's Office was investigating the explosion.


Ana Vargas Palacio was distraught as she searched for her missing husband, Daniel Garcia Garcia, 36, who works in the building where the explosion occurred. She said she last talked to him a couple hours earlier.


"I called his phone many times, but a young man answered and told me he found the phone in the debris," Vargas said. The two have an 11-year-old daughter. His mother, Gloria Garcia Castaneda, collapsed on a friend's arm, crying "My son. My son."


Gabriela Espinoza, 50, a Pemex secretary for 29 years, was on the second floor of the tower when she said she heard two loud explosions and a third smaller one.


"There was a very loud roar. It was very ugly," she said.


Espinoza's co-worker, Tomas Rivera, 32, worked on the ground floor where the explosion occurred and said the force knocked him to the basement, fracturing his wrist and jaw. The injured were taken to two Pemex hospitals and other facilities, including the Red Cross hospital in the Polanco neighborhood near the oil company's office headquarters, where relatives huddled in the waiting room for news of their loved ones. Some walked out of meetings with the hospital social worker joyous, while others came out crying.


"We were talking and all of sudden we heard an explosion with white smoke and glass falling from the windows," said Maria Concepcion Andrade, 42, who lives on the same block as the Pemex building. "People started running from the building covered in dust. A lot of pieces were flying."


Streets surrounding the building were closed as evacuees wandered around, and rescue crews loaded the injured into ambulances.


Pemex, created as a state-owned company in 1938, has nearly 150,000 employees and in 2011 produced about 2.5 million barrels of crude oil a day, according to its website, with $111 billion in sales. Pena Nieto, who took office in December, has made Pemex reform the center of his platform, with a plan to pump new investment into a company whose profits feed much of Mexico's federal budget, but which has fallen behind other oil companies in production, technology and exploration.


Shortly before the explosion, Operations Director Carlos Murrieta reported via Twitter that the company had reduced its accident rate in recent years. Most Pemex accidents have occurred at pipeline and refinery installations.


A fire at a pipeline metering center in northeast Mexico near the Texas border killed 30 workers in September, the largest-single toll in at least a decade for the company.


______


Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon and Katherine Corcoran contributed to this report.


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MediaCorp's Toggle service available on multiple devices






SINGAPORE: MediaCorp's personal entertainment service, Toggle, is now available on multiple devices to offer an uninterrupted and engaging viewing experience.

Its over-the-top service offers entertainment, information and news to viewers online, on smartphones, tablets and smart TV.

Users can subscribe to their favourite channels and movies.

They can also register - at no cost - to watch free local content which MediaCorp has rights to, such as programmes from the free-to-air channels in the form of Catch-up, as well as the linear streaming of Channel NewsAsia.

For its Catch-Up service, viewers can subscribe to Toggle-It-First to watch the next five episodes of their Channel 8 dramas before they are shown on TV.

Toggle viewers can choose to buy content on an a la carte basis, without having to subscribe to a basic bundle of programmes beforehand.

They can access content via any internet service provider.

Viewers can now enjoy 21 days of free preview when they register before 17 February.

Viewers can visit www.toggle.sg or download the app on their iPhone or iPad from the App Store.

Toggle will soon be made available on smart TV and Android devices.

For information on subscription plans, log on to www.toggle.sg or call 6388-3888.

By mid-2013, Toggle plans to offer local content to Singaporeans overseas.

Mr Philip Koh, managing director of MediaCorp's Convergent Media Division, said: "Toggle offers this experience by allowing you to choose the content you want, plus where and how you want to consume it.

"It is that personal. This means Toggle's content goes where you go, allowing you to switch from watching on your PC to your mobile phone when you leave home. And with the wide range of content offered from different channels and movies to original productions, viewers will have a lot to keep them toggling."

- CNA/ir



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FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz resigns



FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz



(Credit:
Rafe Needleman/CNET)


Jon Leibowitz announced today that he was resigning from his post as the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. His announcement comes after presiding over both the investigation and settlement of Google's antitrust probe.

Leibowitz plans to leave his position by mid-February, according to The New York Times.

"I felt like this was a good time to leave because we got through a number of things that I wanted the commission to address," he told the newspaper.

President Obama appointed Leibowitz, who was formerly an FTC commissioner, to lead the agency in 2009. Leibowitz was said to have been chosen because of his stance on better enforcing antitrust laws and online privacy issues.

Over the course of his tenure, Leibowitz managed to bring antitrust investigations against Facebook, Google, and Intel. He also tackled dozens of privacy issues and expanded the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

The most publicized effort under Leibowitz's belt is the FTC's antitrust investigation into Google's business practices. The 20-month probe focused mostly on the way Google displayed search results, which critics said favored the company's own services over those of its competitors.

Under the FTC's settlement, a handful of companies can now choose to stop showing their results inside Google products like Google+ Local, Google Shopping, and Hotels. The search giant also agreed to voluntarily change the way it uses other Web sites' data. However, some regulators have complained that the settlement agreement was akin to a slap on the wrist and that despite the probe, Google is continuing to operate as normal with its search results looking more or less the same.

Now that Leibowitz is resigning from his post, he is likely to move onto the private sector where he intends to focus on competition policy and privacy, according to The New York Times. It's unclear who his successor will be.

CNET contacted the FTC for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.

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Obama: "No doubt" Congress will pass immigration, gun bills




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Obama: "No doubt" gun, immigration bills will pass in coming months



There's more bipartisan support in Congress for comprehensive immigration reform than gun control legislation, President Obama said tonight during an interview with Univision, but qualified that even under his proposal, illegal immigrants shouldn't be harboring expectations that they'll be granted citizenship "manana."

"Even under our proposal, this is not a situation where overnight, suddenly people all find themselves as citizens," Mr. Obama told the Spanish-language television network. "They're going to have to go to the back of the line. We're going to have to clear out the existing line, backlogs we have in terms of illegal immigrants, because they did it the right way. We shouldn't punish them for breaking the law.

"...What we don't want to do is to create some vague prospect in the future that somehow comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship will happen manana," he continued, chuckling softly at the somewhat awkward injection of the Spanish word for "tomorrow." "But we have to put that in place at the outset, and make sure people are clear that this pathway is real and not just a fantasy for the future."

Asked whether he was in a standoff with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the son of Cuban immigrants who has said he will not support a bill that does not put border control ahead of a path to citizenship, Mr. Obama said no, but pointed out that the number of people crossing the border illegally has dropped "about 80 percent since 2000."


On Tuesday, the president delivered a speech in Las Vegas outlining his immigration plan and applauding a bipartisan group of eight senators that has offered up proposals as well. In an interview today with another Spanish language network, Telemundo, he specified that he's hoping immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship can be passed in the next six months, but "certainly this year."

Meanwhile, despite facing more resistance from the right on tightening gun laws, he said he has "no doubt" that Congress will be able to put through legislation on gun control, as well as immigration.




Play Video


Obama: Legalization for illegal immigrants won't happen "ma?ana"



"On the gun issue, you're starting to see gun owners, people who traditionally have opposed gun control, saying, 'You know what, when 20 of our children are shot by somebody who is disturbed, and when it is that easy to get these high-clip magazines that can fire off hundreds of shots in a few minutes, then it's time for us to do better job on background checks, to get control of these magazine clips, to really crack down on gun trafficking," Mr. Obama said in the Univision interview.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today held the first congressional hearing on gun violence since last month's massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, that left 20 children and six adults dead. Star witnesses included former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived a shot to the head two years ago during an assassination attempt that left six people dead, and her husband on one side, and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre on the other.

Both gun control and immigration "will end up generating some opposition," the president said. "There will be passions on both sides. But I'm generally encouraged that the Senate seems to be having a serious conversation about these issues."

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No Device Eliminates Concussion Risk, Experts Say













As the long-term consequences of concussions become clearer, a cottage industry has popped up to sell athletes and worried parents products designed to mitigate risks of concussions that even helmets cannot prevent.


Despite the bold claims of some companies, however, many experts say the Holy Grail in contact sports -- a device that prevents concussions -- simply does not exist. Indeed, experts say, there is no proof that any current device significantly reduces the risk of concussions beyond the protections already provided by helmets.


"Nightline" found several products for sale online that aim to reduce the risk of concussions or even alert parents and coaches when a kid has supposedly taken a concussion-level hit. The claims the manufacturers make are often breathtakingly reassuring.


Concern about the risk of concussion is mounting at every level of the gridiron from the NFL to colleges and even high schools. Concussions are the most common injury among high school football players.


Jennifer Branin, whose son Tyler Branin is one of the stars of the Woodbridge Warriors high school football team in Irvine, Calif., said "it was scary" the first time he had a concussion.


"He had lost his balance on the field," she said. "He got up and tried to continue, but couldn't keep his balance."












School Bus Hostage: Ala. Gunman Takes Young Boy Watch Video





She said the effects of the concussion lingered, causing Tyler to miss a week of school and football practice. Even months later, he complained of difficulty concentrating in class.


Parents such as Jennifer Branin, who is president of the team's booster club, and her husband, Andy Branin, a former college football player himself, were looking for a way to support their son's desire to play football while also keeping him safe.


"He wants to play and, as a mom, you may want to put bubble-wrap around them and protect them forever, but that's not going to happen," she said.


So Jennifer Branin decided to do something. She raised money to buy the team helmet inserts by Unequal Technologies for added protection.


Unequal Technologies, one of the highest profile players in this new market, described its product explicitly on the box as "Concussion Reduction Technology," or "CRT." It is a strip of composite material including bullet-proof Kevlar that is designed to stick inside the helmet as a liner to the existing helmet pads.


Unequal Technologies uses its material in products ranging from padded sleeves to shin guards. The company counts NFL players and X-Games athletes among its fans.


On board as paid spokesmen are Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and James Harrison, a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harrison is one of the hardest-hitting guys in the NFL and said he uses Unequal Technology's liners in his helmet.


"I don't know what it's made of but it works," Harrison says in one of Unequal's promotional videos. "I really don't feel like I'm taking a risk."


Vick wasn't wearing the CRT product when he suffered a season-ending concussion in November, but he has since promised that he will be wearing it when he returns to the field next season.


Rob Vito, founder and CEO of the Kennett Square, Pa.-based company, said he worked with scientists to create a military-grade composite material that can help protect athletes from all kinds of injuries from head to toe.






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French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds


DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands.


France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on major northern towns. The mission is aimed at heading off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe.


The French military plans to gradually hand over to a larger African force, tasked with rooting out insurgents in their mountain redoubts near Algeria's border.


Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French forces using planes and helicopters defied a sandstorm late on Tuesday to capture the airport but had been prevented by the bad weather from entering the town itself.


"The terrorist forces are pulling back to the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains which are difficult to access," Le Drian told a news conference. "There is support from Chadian and Nigerian troops coming from the south."


The deployment of French troops to remote Kidal puts them in direct contact with pro-autonomy Tuareg MNLA rebels, whose rebellion last year was hijacked by the Islamist radicals. Le Drian said France had established good relations with local Tuareg chieftains before sending in troops.


MNLA leaders say they are ready to fight al Qaeda but many Malians, including the powerful military top brass in the capital Bamako, blame them for the division of the country. They view Paris' liaisons with the Tuaregs with suspicion.


French and Malian troops retook the major Saharan trading towns of Gao and Timbuktu at the weekend.


There were fears that many thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts held in Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, might have been lost during the rebel occupation, but experts said the bulk of the texts were safe.


The United States and European governments strongly support the Mali intervention and are providing logistical and surveillance backing but do not intend to send combat troops.


The MNLA rebels, who want greater autonomy for the desert north, said they had moved fighters into Kidal after Islamists left the town earlier this week.


"For the moment, there is a coordination with the French troops," said Moussa Ag Assarid, the MNLA spokesman in Paris.


A spokesman for the Malian army said its soldiers were securing Gao and Timbuktu and were not heading to Kidal.


The MNLA took up arms against the Bamako government a year ago, seeking to carve out a new independent desert state.


After initially fighting alongside the Islamists, by June they had been forced out by their better armed and financed former allies, who include al Qaeda North Africa's wing, AQIM, a splinter wing called MUJWA and Ansar Dine, a Malian group.


RISK OF ATTACKS, KIDNAPPINGS


As the French wind up the first phase of their offensive, doubts remain about just how quickly the U.N.-backed African intervention force can be fully deployed in Mali to hunt down the retreating al Qaeda-allied insurgents. Known as AFISMA, the force is now expected to exceed 8,000 troops.


Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France's military operation, codenamed Serval (Wildcat), was planned as a lightning mission lasting a few weeks.


"Liberating Gao and Timbuktu very quickly was part of the plan. Now it's up to the African countries to take over," he told the Le Parisien daily. "We decided to put in the means and the necessary number of soldiers to strike hard. But the French contingent will not stay like this. We will leave very quickly."


One French soldier has been killed in the mission, and Fabius warned that things could now get more difficult, as the offensive seeks to flush out insurgents with experience of fighting in the desert from their wilderness hideouts.


"We have to be careful. We are entering a complicated phase where the risks of attacks or kidnappings are extremely high. French interests are threatened throughout the entire Sahel."


An attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria earlier this month by Islamist fighters opposing the French intervention in Mali led to the deaths of dozens of foreign hostages and raised fears of similar reprisal strikes across North and West Africa.


NEED FOR RECONCILIATION


The French operation has destroyed the Islamists' training camps and logistics bases but analysts say a long term solution for Mali hinges on finding a political settlement between the northern communities and the southern capital Bamako.


Interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday his government would aim to hold national elections on July 31. Paris is pushing strongly for Traore's government to hold talks with the MNLA, which has dropped its claims for independence.


"The Malian authorities must begin without delay talks with the legitimate representatives of the northern population and non-terrorist armed groups that recognize Mali's integrity," French Foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said.


After months of being kept on the political sidelines, the MNLA said they were in contact with West African mediators who are trying to forge a national settlement to reunite Mali.


"We reiterate that we are ready to talk with Bamako and to find a political solution. We want self-determination, but all that will be up to negotiations which will determine at what level both parties can go," Ag Assarid said.


There have been cases in Gao and Timbuktu and other recaptured towns of reprisal attacks and looting of shops and residences belonging to Malian Tuaregs and Arabs suspected of sympathizing with the MNLA and the Islamist rebels.


(Additional reporting John Irish and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, David Lewis and Pascal Fletcher in Dakar; Writing by David Lewis and Daniel Flynn; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Rosalind Russell)



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Manufacturing business sentiments expected to remain weak: EDB






SINGAPORE: Business sentiments in Singapore's manufacturing sector are expected to remain weak in the first half of this year, as slow global economic growth continues.

According to the latest survey by the Economic Development Board, a net weighted balance of 10 per cent of manufacturers anticipate a less favourable business situation in the period January to June this year, compared to the fourth quarter of 2012.

Within the manufacturing sector, EDB said the biomedical cluster is the most optimistic, with a net weighted balance of 7 per cent of firms anticipating better business prospects in the months ahead. Part of this optimism stems from the pharmaceutical segment which is foreseeing higher demand from overseas.

In the general manufacturing industries cluster, a net weighted balance of just one per cent of businesses project an improved performance in the first half of the year. This is due mainly to the food, beverages and tobacco segment, which is anticipating stronger demand due to seasonal factors such as the Lunar New Year.

On the other hand, the electronics cluster is the least upbeat about business prospects in the next two quarters. A net weighted balance of 28 per cent of electronics firms expect weak demand conditions to persist amid slow economic growth in Europe and US.

The precision engineering segment is also projecting a less favourable outlook on the back of weak equipment spending and low demand for precision components.

Meanwhile, business outlook for the chemical cluster is also weak. This is largely due to the petroleum segment, which is expecting refining margins to come under pressure with increased capacity from new plants overseas.

EDB said a net weighted balance of 10 per cent of manufacturers expect output to decline in the first quarter this year.

It added that employment prospects in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of 2013 are likely to remain similar to the fourth quarter of 2012.

In particular, the transport engineering and general manufacturing industries clusters are most optimistic about employment opportunities between January and March 2013.

A weighted 45 per cent of the manufacturers said there are no limiting factors which could affect their ability to obtain direct export orders in the first quarter.

The weighted 48 per cent of firms that indicated export constraints cited price competition from overseas competitors, and economic and political conditions abroad as the most important limiting factors.

- CNA/al



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Tumblr avoids porn label and adds mature rating to iOS app



Tumblr's iPhone app.



(Credit:
Tumblr)


Tumblr looks to be trying to avoid the porn-war that recently harangued the 500px photo app and Twitter's Vine app.

The microblogging company threw up a 17-and-over age warning for its iOS app for all new users and any people updating their app to the 3.2.4 version, which was released today.

"You must be at least 17 years old to download this app," Tumblr writes in its description of the app in the iTunes App Store, because it contains "Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity."

The app's upgrade says only that it will carry out "small bug fixes." However, when users click on the 3.2.4 version, they're forced to confirm they are over the age of 17. "Tumblr contains age-restricted material," the app says when upgrading. "Tap OK to confirm that you are 17 or over. Your content will then begin downloading immediately."

It's unclear exactly why Tumblr changed its app to contain a mature rating. But it's no secret that certain blogs on the site contain "sexual content" and "nudity." In an interview last June, Tumblr founder David Karp noted that 2 percent to 4 percent of the traffic on Tumblr is porn-related.

Tumblr's 17+ rating comes as 500px and Vine have been scrutinized for making porn easily accessible. When Twitter released the Vine app last week, many users quickly found a handful of videos featuring male exhibitionism and other activity. Apple quickly stopped promoting Vine in its App Store.

500px had an even more severe reprimand. After complaints of the app containing pornographic images and material, Apple pulled it from
iTunes. Now that 500px has added warnings and a 17+ rating, Apple allowed it back into the App Store.

Maybe Tumblr is acting preemptively with its new 17+ rating. CNET contacted Tumblr for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.

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Grandson of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens dies in Texas

Updated 8:35 PM ET

FORT WORTH, Texas A 21-year-old grandson of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens died Tuesday after being rushed to a hospital in Fort Worth, according to police and a family spokesman.




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Can Wind Aid Energy Crisis?



Thomas Boone Pickens IV, who went by Ty, was a junior at Texas Christian University. Pickens' spokesman, Jay Rosser, called the death an "unspeakable family tragedy" and asked that the family be allowed to grieve in private.

As reported by CBS Station KTVT Dallas, the family issued a statement: "Ty's loss at such a young age is an unspeakable family tragedy for the entire Pickens family and his many friends. We mourn his passing and respectfully request that the family be allowed to grieve in private in this time of sorrow."

Neither Rosser nor Fort Worth police have said what may have caused the death.




10 Photos


Thomas Boone "Ty" Pickens IV



Officers were dispatched after getting a report of a dead person at an off-campus location around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, police spokeswoman Cpl. Tracey Knight said. Police said Ty Pickens was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Knight said the Tarrant County medical examiner would determine the cause of death. She declined further comment.


T. Boone Pickens appears on "CBS This Morning," Aug. 23, 2012.

T. Boone Pickens appears on "CBS This Morning," Aug. 23, 2012.


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CBS News

The elder Pickens made much of his fortune in oil drilling but has since become an advocate for alternative energy. The 84-year-old also is active in politics and has donated millions of dollars to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, and various other causes.

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