Syria's largest city, Aleppo, appears to lose Internet access

Syria's largest city, Aleppo, appears to be experiencing Internet outages.

According to The Washington Post, the city lost its Internet connection Thursday at about 5:48 p.m. local time. The outage comes as the United States considers military intervention in response to what it says was a chemical weapons attack last week in Damascus. Aleppo remains a bloody battleground between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels.

Renesys, a U.S.-based network security firm that studies Internet disruptions, says that the root of the outage appears to be caused by a failure in local infrastructure as Internet data is transferred between telecommunication lines.

Aleppo's loss of connection appears to be related to a disruption in data transferred from Turkey-based Turk Telekom to local company Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE) and from STE to customers in Aleppo. The majority of Internet usage in the rest of Syria, which is carried by Hong Kong-based PCCW and Deutsche Telekom, appears to be fine.

"The coincidence of reported Internet outages in Aleppo during periods when Turkish transit is unavailable throughout Syria suggests a localized failure in shared infrastructure," Renesys analyst Doug Madory wrote in a blog post Friday.

"Increased latencies are the result of longer paths: a direct handoff between Turk Telekom and STE changes to an indirect handoff from Turk Telekom to PCCW in Europe, to reach STE via submarine cables," Madory wrote.

Syria has a history of Internet disruptions. Madory noted previously that the country has had significant outages in recent weeks. Turk Telekom appeared to disappear briefly on Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 12. Tweets as early as Aug. 13 complain of Internet outages in Aleppo.

Disruptions have occurred several times in the country since the uprising began during the Arab Spring in 2011 - sometimes at the hands of the government, reports have suggested. It appears that Syria has had few options for Internet carriers because of sanctions placed on the country, making it difficult to provide reliable service.

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Filner ends tumultuous tenure as San Diego mayor

Updated 9:04 PM ET

SAN DIEGO Bob Filner ended his brief but tumultuous tenure as mayor Friday amid allegations that he sexually harassed women, making no public appearances on a final day that came one week after a defiant farewell speech in which the onetime civil rights activist called himself the victim of a "lynch mob."

Interim Mayor Todd Gloria said Filner's last act as mayor was to halt a controversial remodeling of a neighborhood Jack in the Box restaurant. Gloria immediately overturned the decision, saying it exposed the city to litigation.

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The former 10-term congressman kept a low profile on last final day, ceding media attention to a mock celebration by accusers who gave him several parting gifts, including a mirror that attorney Gloria Allred said he can look at when asking who's to blame for his resignation.

Employees in the City Hall lobby said they didn't see the 70-year-old mayor on his last day. An office receptionist had no comment.

Before the scandal, Filner was true to his reputation as a workaholic. Followers adopted a Twitter hashtag — (hash)filnereverywhere — to chronicle his nonstop pace riding a bicycle to school with children, crashing the podium at the city attorney's news conference to denounce the speaker's positions, and marching to protest violence against women.

The city's first Democratic leader in 20 years turned into a virtual no-show after allegations surfaced last month that he sexually harassed women.

At a news conference, Allred displayed a farewell card that said she looked forward to seeing Filner at a deposition in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former communications director Irene McCormack Jackson — the first of nearly 20 women to identify herself as a target of the mayor's unwanted advances. She is the only one who has sued Filner.

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Allred was flanked by two other Filner accusers.

"I was a victim, and now I am a survivor," said Peggy Shannon, 67. Shannon volunteers at the senior citizen information desk in the City Hall lobby and accused Filner of kissing her on the lips, repeatedly asking her on dates, and boasting of his sexual prowess.

Gloria, a Democrat, said he would interview Filner's staff and hoped to keep most in their jobs. On Thursday, he named McCormack, as she is known professionally, to be his communications director.

"The days of sliding backward are over," said Gloria, who is weighing whether to run for mayor in a Nov. 19 special election to replace Filner.

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The California attorney general's office has launched a criminal investigation of Filner, and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has been interviewing his accusers and will deliver its findings to the attorney general's office for possible prosecution.

Filner leaves office as questions linger about how someone who acknowledged mistreating women for many years — but denied sexual harassing them — could have survived for so long in politics.

Those who know Filner say he might have been more easily exposed as the leader of the nation's eighth-largest city than as a congressman farther from the spotlight. His behavior also might have deteriorated after being elected mayor.

"There was a flood of community members who now felt welcome at City Hall, who felt welcome in the mayor's office after years, if not decades, of being shut out," attorney Cory Briggs said. "The speculation on my part ... is that there were an awful lot of people who wanted an audience with the mayor, and that provided him with an opportunity."

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News digest – ovarian screening, radiotherapy investment, Scottish smokers, and more

The BBC reported on a small US study of screening for ovarian cancer. It’s too early to say for certain if this can reduce deaths from the disease – we’ll know more next year once we get the results of a much bigger study called UKCTOCS. This Channel 5 report has more info:The Government announced that it’s buying 20 cutting-edge radiotherapy machines in a new £30 million deal. Our news story has more detail.The country’s mothers and grandmothers have thrown their support behind plans to introduce standardised cigarette packaging, said the Independent, whose report is based on the results of our latest YouGov poll – here’s our press release.We also released new figures showing that almost 20,000 children in Scotland start smoking every year. The Scotsman covered the story, which highlights why it’s so urgent for the Scottish government to introduce standardised tobacco packs, something they’ve backed despite the delay by Westminster.The American Cancer Society blogged about menthol cigarettes.An advert from Japan Tobacco International against the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging was ruled “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority – the third time their ads have been called out. Read our news story for more info.The Mail Online featured a story about the harms of e-cigarettes. It’s important to point out that the report they discuss does not say that e-cigarettes are as bad as cigarettes – they are likely to be far safer. But it does present evidence of harmful chemicals being present in the vapour in three of the 10 products tested – hence the need for careful regulation.This, in Xconomy, is a fascinating story about the complexities of bringing a cancer drug to market.The Observer looked at targeted cancer treatments, and how they might work better in combination.We thought some of the coverage of research into whether alcohol has a stronger effect on women’s breast cancer risk before they’ve become pregnant made too much of the evidence. It’s an interesting and complicated area of research, but while this new study paves the way for future investigations, many of the findings could have been down to chance. Our advice for women remains the same – whether they’ve had a baby or not – cutting down on alcohol can cut the risk of breast cancer.

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Assessing "red lines" as Obama mulls Syria attack

A year after drawing a "red line" at the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons, President Obama has spent the week teetering on the cusp of military intervention.

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It has taken last week's very public and graphic killing of 1,429 Syrians, according to a U.S. intelligence estimate released Friday, for the Obama administration to create a strategy to match the president's August 20, 2012 rhetoric.

What Mr. Obama said last year was: "We have been very clear to the [Syrian President Bashar al] Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. ... That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."

While the president didn't specifically lay out last year what the consequences were for Assad if he crossed Mr. Obama's "red line," it's clear the world will find out soon as the administration spent Friday publicly making the case for a potential military strike on Syria.

The genesis of the term "red line" was immortalized in the chorus of Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Tommy." Referencing the 1854 Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, Kipling wrote, "But it's 'Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll," describing the thin line of crimson coated Sutherland Highlanders soldiers, outnumbered and awaiting the enemy's charge.

Variations of the phrase have been used frequently in the past - "line drawn in the sand," deadlines, ultimatum - the effectiveness of such warnings resting on a country's resolve to follow through. The first real use of "red lines," in terms of territory, was the product of struggle between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CBS News.

Other, unspoken "red lines" include the creation of nuclear forces, on both sides during the Cold War.

And most famously, per John Kerry's strongly worded condemnation of the Assad regime on Friday, the international community decided 100 years ago, "in response to the utter horror and inhumanity of World War I, that the civilized world agreed that chemical weapons should never be used again," a statement that leaves little room for interpretation.

"Red lines" have proven to be an effective deterrent but they also denote that everything short of the line is permissible, making it difficult to enforce in the face of determined and skillful opponent, the Washington Institute's Jeff White told CBS News.

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White compared the current U.S.-Syria tete-a-tete to "salami slicing"; the Assad regime inched closer and closer to the "red line" after a year of no reaction to numerous other alleged chemical attacks.

"The line moved from red to pink," White said. "When you start waffling and wobbling on what the 'red line' means and what you will do to enforce it, that will show weakness."

Cordesman notes that the term is always ambiguous. "No matter how you do it, it will always be somewhat arbitrary. It will always be something that can be argued, can be evaded, there will always be the question of: is this a strong enough event?"

While "red lines" have been effective as deterrents, they're not necessarily effective diplomacy tactics, especially when there is no strategy or end goal effectively communicated.  In recent days, what has been most clearly and repeatedly communicated publicly by Obama is his deliberate - some say too deliberate - decision-making process in terms of how to react the alleged Syrian chemical attack.

"So what I've said is that we have not yet made a decision, but the international norm against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place," he said on PBS NewsHour on Wednesday.  On Friday, as well, the president repeated that he's "not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken to help enforce that norm."

The "international norm" against the use of chemical weapons has not been reflected in international response, however, in part due to the current perception of the United States.

"There are doubts about our credibility, our willingness to act, about even what our ability is to transform a strategy into action," Cordesman told CBS News. "It is a matter of neutrals, enemies and allies all over the world. So, in many ways this president faces a test that's far more serious than people who simply focus on the ripple effects in this region."

Cordesman points to Russia, bordered by Islamist countries and Islamist violence, as a country vulnerable to our decisions - decisions we have made against their advice.

Other international entanglements contributing to this sentiment: leaving Iraq without any military capability to fight Iran and leaving Afghanistan without having achieved any major strategic goals. Kerry reiterated these sentiments today: "It matters to our close friends Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon...It is about Hezbollah and North Korea, and every other terrorist group or dictator that might ever again contemplate the use of weapons of mass destruction."

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"Don't ask, don't tell" activist dies in traffic accident

PITTSFORD, N.Y. Darren Manzella, a gay combat medic discharged from the Army after criticizing the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy in a 2007 television interview, has died in a traffic accident in western New York. He was 36.

His aunt, Robin Mahoney, on Friday confirmed his death. Manzella lived in the Chautauqua County town of Portland; he and his partner were married in July.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Manzella was driving on Interstate 490 in suburban Rochester about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle sideswiped a car. Deputies said he stopped his vehicle, got out and began pushing the car from behind. He was then hit by an SUV, pinning him between the two vehicles. He died at the scene.

Manzella's December 2007 appearance on "60 Minutes" from the combat zone in Iraq was followed by his discharge in June 2008 for "homosexual admission," a violation of the since-rescinded policy prohibiting service members from openly acknowledging they are gay.

After the television appearance and his return from Iraq, Manzella did media interviews, each a potential violation of the policy.

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"This is who I am. This is my life," Manzella said at a Washington news conference before his discharge. "It has never affected my job performance before. I don't think it will make a difference now. And to be honest since then, I don't see a difference because of my homosexuality."

Manzella said he first told a military supervisor about his sexual orientation in August 2006, while working in a division headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. Three weeks later, his battalion commander told him an investigation had been closed without finding "proof of homosexuality." A month later, he was sent to Iraq.

His supporters said the overseas assignment demonstrated how the military was arbitrarily enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy during the war.

Manzella enlisted in the Army in 2002. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for service in Iraq. When he was discharged, he was a sergeant serving at Fort Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division.

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10 smallest homes on the market

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(MoneyWatch) How much space do you need to live comfortably in a home?

Think 112 square feet will cut it?

Most people would reject a space that small -- it doesn't even have a bathroom -- but there are a growing number of homeowners that are willing to sacrifice space.

Tiny homes have popped up everywhere over the past decade, and the trend continues to grow. While you may think of the tiny home movement centering around the micro-apartments that cities like New York and Seattle are championing, there's a whole other trend in single-family homes that's taking hold.

These homes are typically less than 700 square feet. Think of them as two or three average-sized parking spaces. That's a lot less space than the average-sized home, which runs at 2,392 square feet, according to the new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The tiny house trend really started to pick up in the last phase of the housing boom, around 2005, when builder were looking at available land and not finding much, said Leslie Piper, a Realtor.com consumer housing specialist and an agent with 12 years of experience. "Over the last couple years, when the market turned, things were at a bit of standstill, but we're now starting to see the next push for these smaller homes," she said.

Why opt for such a small amount of space? It's all about lifestyle for these tiny-home dwellers. They want access to all the amenities of a desirable area. Whether it's a major city where prices for an average-sized home are through the roof, or unparalleled scenic views -- these tiny homes can be had for a tinier price. Frequently, they are used as second homes or vacation properties.

"There's also the younger generation, individuals under 30 years old, who haven't decided to do the traditional route," Piper said. "They are opting for quality of life over quantity of space."

Many are also interested in sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint by reducing the physical space their feet occupy.

Because there's so many different types of buyers, there's also many different types of small homes. Some are quite old, built out of necessity long before the trend took hold, while others are newer with all the modern amenities. Some are so small they have no bedroom or kitchen or bathroom, while others are large enough for two bedrooms and a living room.

There are thousands of small homes out there, but these are some of the smallest.

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Justice Ginsburg to officiate at same-sex wedding

WASHINGTON Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will officiate at a same-sex wedding this weekend in what is believed to be a first for a member of the nation's highest court.

Ginsburg will officiate Saturday at the marriage of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist.

"Michael Kaiser is a friend and someone I much admire," Ginsburg said in a written statement Friday. "That is why I am officiating at his wedding."

The private ceremony will take place at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a national memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The 80-year-old Ginsburg, an opera lover, is a frequent guest at the center.

Same-sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and 13 states.

"I think it will be one more statement that people who love each other and want to live together should be able to enjoy the blessings and the strife in the marriage relationship," Ginsburg told The Washington Post in an interview.

"It won't be long before there will be another" performed by a justice. She has another ceremony planned for September.

Kaiser told The Associated Press that he asked Ginsburg to officiate because she is a longtime friend.

"It's very meaningful mostly to have a friend officiate, and then for someone of her stature, it's a very big honor," Kaiser said. "I think that everything that's going on that makes same-sex marriage possible and visible helps to encourage others and to make the issue seem less of an issue, to make it just more part of life."

Justices generally avoid taking stands on political issues. The wedding, though, comes after the court's landmark ruling in June to expand federal recognition of same-sex marriages, striking down part of an anti-gay marriage law.

While hearing arguments in the case in March, Ginsburg argued for treating marriages equally. The rights associated with marriage are pervasive, she said, and the law had created two classes of marriage, full and "skim-milk marriage."

Before the court heard arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act, Ginsburg told The New Yorker magazine in March that she had not performed a same-sex marriage and had not been asked. Justices do officiate at other weddings, though.

"I don't think anybody's asking us, because of these cases," she told the magazine. "No one in the gay-rights movement wants to risk having any member of the court be criticized or asked to recuse. So I think that's the reason no one has asked me."

Asked whether she would perform such a wedding in the future, she said: "Why not?"

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