Freaky news about your brain may change your mind

(CNN) — Space. Sound. Smell. Humans constantly process a slew of variables in their surroundings. According to new research, the wiring of the brain may be even more complex than we knew.

These studies, while small, suggest avenues of research that could change the way we think about our perception of the world:

Lost? You’re not walking straight

Have you ever been lost in the woods and felt as if you were going in circles? New research in the journal Current Biology suggests that, in fact, people do tend to walk in circles if they do not have a reference point such as the sun.
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Sleepless night preceded Jackson’s death

(CNN) — Michael Jackson couldn’t sleep.

Maybe it was anxiety over his upcoming comeback concert series in London, England. Perhaps his body was trying to process too many different medications.

The reason may never be known, but a sworn affidavit makes clear that the King of Pop couldn’t get rest the night before he died on June 25.

The affidavit, from Detective Orlando Martinez of the Los Angeles Police Department, outlines probable cause for search warrants on the offices of doctors who are thought to have treated Jackson.
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Brown sentenced for Rihanna assault; other incidents surface

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Pop singer Chris Brown was sentenced Tuesday to serve five years probation and to spend more than 1,400 hours in “labor-oriented service” for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna.

Also Tuesday, CNN obtained a probation report for Brown that says the pair were involved in at least two other domestic violence incidents before the February attack for which Brown was sentenced.

The probation report, which CNN obtained after Brown’s sentencing, was used to reach his plea agreement.

Brown, 20, was arrested after an early morning argument inside a rented Lamborghini on a Hollywood street on February 8.
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Hu calls for reform in China’s Uyghur region

(CNN) — China’s President Hu Jintao called Tuesday for a “prosperous and harmonious” Xinjiang province during his first visit to the country’s western Uyghur region since last month’s deadly riots, state-run media reported.

“The key to our work in Xinjiang is to properly handle development and stability,” said Hu.

Hu, calling for reform, development, ethnic unity and stability in the region, expressed gratitude to the armed forces, militia and police for their work in quelling the July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi, the capital of China’s remote northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Xinhua news agency said.
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Japan’s Exports Tumbled 35.7% in July Amid Weak Global Demand

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s exports fell for a tenth straight month in July as demand from all of the nation’s major markets deteriorated.

Shipments abroad tumbled 36.5 percent from a year earlier, steeper than June’s 35.7 percent drop, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 38.4 percent decrease.

Manufacturers are still reeling from plunging sales of cars and electronics even as the economy emerges from its worst postwar recession. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest carmaker, said today it will cut domestic production by 220,000 vehicles.
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Report Shows Tight C.I.A. Control on Interrogations

WASHINGTON — Two 17-watt fluorescent-tube bulbs — no more, no less — illuminated each cell, 24 hours a day. White noise played constantly but was never to exceed 79 decibels. A prisoner could be doused with 41-degree water but for only 20 minutes at a stretch.

The Central Intelligence Agency’s secret interrogation program operated under strict rules, and the rules were dictated from Washington with the painstaking, eye-glazing detail beloved by any bureaucracy.

The first news reports this week about hundreds of pages of newly released documents on the C.I.A. program focused on aberrations in the field: threats of execution by handgun or assault by power drill; a prisoner lifted off the ground by his arms, which were tied behind his back; another detainee repeatedly knocked out with pressure applied to the carotid artery.
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Rihanna attacker Brown sentenced

US singer Chris Brown has been sentenced to 180 days’ community labour and five years’ probation for assaulting pop star Rihanna.

The 20-year-old R&B star pleaded guilty in June to beating Rihanna, his former girlfriend, before the Grammy awards in Los Angeles in February.

The judge said Brown must do physical labour, not community service, and attend domestic violence counselling.

Brown must also stay at least 100 yards from Rihanna for the next five years.

The judge said violation of the terms would be taken “very, very seriously”.

Brown said nothing at the sentencing other than to acknowledge he understood the terms.
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Mass violence mars London derby

A man has been stabbed in the chest during “large-scale trouble” involving hundreds of fans at West Ham’s Carling Cup match against Millwall.

Fights broke out at 1800 BST and were still raging five hours later. A 44-year-old man is stable after being stabbed in Priory Road at 2025 BST.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said missiles had been thrown at officers but none were injured.

Inside Upton Park stadium West Ham fans invaded the pitch three times.
By 2300 BST several hundred West Ham fans had congregated outside the stadium chanting and bombarding police with crates and bottles.
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Argentina rules on marijuana use

The supreme court in Argentina has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption.

The decision follows a case of five young men who were arrested with a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets.

But the court said use must not harm others and made it clear it did not advocate a complete decriminalisation.

Correspondents say there is a growing momentum in Latin America towards decriminalising drugs for personal use.

The Argentine court ruled that: “Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state.”
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US deficit to soar towards $1.6tn

The US budget deficit will soar to almost $1.6 trillion (£978bn) this year, the highest on record, both the White House and Congress have warned.

Fuelled by President Obama’s $787bn stimulus package and reduced tax revenues due to the recession, it compares with a $455bn deficit in 2008.

The White House says the deficit will grow further, predicting it will hit a cumulative $9tn from 2010-2019.

However, it continues to expect the US economy to start to recover this year.

The White House expects US unemployment to pass 10% this year, before slowly declining in 2010. The most recent official figures showed the rate at 9.4% in July.
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