Sand-grain-sized drum extends reach of quantum theory

The banging of a tiny drum heralds the intrusion of the weird world of quantum mechanics into our everyday experience. Though no bigger than a grain of sand, the drum is the largest object ever to have been caught obeying the uncertainty principle, a central idea in quantum theory.

As well as extending the observed reach of quantum theory, the finding could complicate the hunt for elusive gravitational waves : it suggests that the infinitesimal motion caused by these still-hypothetical ripples in spacetime could be overwhelmed by quantum effects.

The uncertainty principle says that you cannot simultaneously determine both a particle's exact position and momentum. For example, bouncing a photon off an electron will tell you where it is, but it will also change the electron's motion, creating fresh uncertainty in its speed.

This idea limits our ability to measure the properties of very small objects, such as electrons and atoms. The principle should also apply to everyday, macroscopic objects, but this has not been tested – for larger objects, the principle's effects tend to be swamped by other uncertainties in measurement, due to random noise, say.

Quantum drum

To extend the known reach of the uncertainty principle, Tom Purdy and colleagues of the University of Colorado, Boulder, created a drum by tightly stretching a 40-nanometre-thick sheet of silicon nitride over a square frame with sides of half a millimetre – about the width of a grain of sand. They placed the drum inside a vacuum chamber cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero, minimising any interference by random noise.

By continuously firing a stream of photons at the drum they were able to get increasingly precise measurements of the position of the skin at any moment. However, this also caused the skin to vibrate at an unknown speed. When they attempted to determine its momentum, the error in their measurement had increased – just as the uncertainty principle predicts.

"You don't usually have to think about quantum mechanics for objects you can hold in your hand," says Purdy.

That the uncertainty principle holds sway at such a large scale could affect the hunt for gravitational waves, which are predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity but have never been detected.

Mitigation strategy

Gravitational wave detectors look for very slight changes in the distance between two test masses caused by passing spacetime ripples. Purdy says his team's experiment confirms long-held suspicions that quantum uncertainty could overwhelm these very small changes.

Now he and others can use the drum to explore more advanced measurement techniques to mitigate the effects. For example, uncertainty in an object's momentum could lead to future uncertainty in its position and there should be ways to minimise such knock-on effects. "You can't avoid the uncertainty principle, but you can in some clever ways make it [such that] increasing the momentum doesn't add back to the uncertainty in position at a later time," says Purdy.

His experiment is a neat demonstration of the breakdown of the traditional notion that the atomic world is quantum while the macroscopic world is classic, says Gerard Milburn of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, who was not involved in the work. Previous, attempts to blur the quantum-classical divide have involved entangling diamonds and demonstrating quantum superposition in a strip of metal.

Despite these feats, Milburn doesn't rule out the prospect of a breakdown on really large scales. "Of course maybe one day we will see quantum mechanics fail at some scale. Testing it to destruction is a good motivation for going down this path," he says.

Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1231282

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Experts tell flatulent flyers: let it rip

WELLINGTON: A group of medical specialists has provided an answer to a dilemma that has faced flyers since the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903 -- is it okay to fart mid-flight?

The experts' recommendation is an emphatic yes to airline passengers -- but a warning to cockpit crews that breaking wind could distract the pilot and pose a safety risk.

The study concluded that anecdotal evidence that flying increases flatulence is not hot air, finding that changes in air pressure at altitude result in the gut producing more gas.

When Danish gastroenterologist Jacob Rosenberg encountered the malodorous problem first-hand on a flight from Copenhagen to Tokyo, he enlisted some of the finest minds in his field to address the issue.

The result was an in-depth review of scientific literature on flatulence, looking at issues such as whether women's farts smell worse than men's (yes), what causes the odour (sulphur) and how often the average person passes wind every day (10 times).

The bottom line, according to the 3,000-word study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday, is that airline passengers should ignore the social embarrassment of breaking wind and "just let it go".

"(Holding back) holds significant drawbacks for the individual, such as discomfort and even pain, bloating, dyspepsia (indigestion), pyrosis (heartburn) just to name but a few resulting abdominal symptoms," the study found.

"Moreover, problems resulting from the required concentration to maintain such control may even result in subsequent stress symptoms."

The authors -- five gastroenterologists from Denmark and Britain -- said that while passengers may experience poor service from the cabin crew as a result of their decision, the health benefits outweighed any negative impacts.

However, they said the cockpit crew faced a lose-lose situation.

"On the one hand, if the pilot restrains a fart, all the drawbacks previously mentioned, including impaired concentration, may affect his abilities to control the plane," the researchers said.

"On the other hand, if he lets go of the fart, his co-pilot may be affected by its odour, which again reduces safety onboard the flight."

The authors canvassed a number of solutions to the issue of flight-induced flatulence, including using methane breath tests to screen wind-prone passengers from flights, but rejected them as impractical.

They did, however, note that the textile covers used on seats in economy class absorbed up to 50 percent of odours because they are gas permeable, unlike the leather seats in first class.

They suggested airlines could improve the odour-eating properties of the seats and issue special blankets and trousers to passengers to minimise mid-air flatulence.

"We humbly propose that active charcoal should be embedded in the seat cushion, since this material is able to neutralise the odour," they said.

"Moreover active charcoal may be used in trousers and blankets to emphasise this effect."

Air New Zealand declined to comment when asked if it would adopt such measures.

- AFP/fl

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Mom of boy held in bunker is worried

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Phil McGraw speaks with mother of former Alabama child hostage


• She tells him she worried about trying to put him back on a school bus


• Ethan told her the Army killed the 'bad man'


• The 6-year-old tells his mom that 'My bus driver is dead'

(CNN) -- Jennifer Kirkland says she caught her 6-year-old son Ethan just staring at a school bus the other day.

He was mesmerized, his eyes locked on the yellow vehicle. He didn't say a thing, and she didn't know what to say to him.

The last time he was on a bus, he was sitting just behind the driver -- as he always did -- waiting for his stop so he could go home.

But the "bad man" got on, and killed the driver, his buddy Mr. Poland.

Appearing on the "Dr. Phil" show, Kirkland told Phil McGraw she was worried how her little boy was going to react the next time she tried to put him on the bus to school.

After being kidnapped, the recovery ahead

Photos: Alabama bunker standoff

HIDE CAPTION

Ethan has been having a hard time sleeping, she told the psychologist turned syndicated daytime talk show host.

He thrashes his arms, tosses and turns and sometimes he calls out.

It has only been almost 10 days since the FBI sent a rescue team into the bunker in Midland City, Alabama, where Ethan was held hostage for nearly a week by Jimmy Lee Dykes.

His mother hasn't asked Ethan what happened when he was there.

"I have not talked to Ethan about it," she said in an interview aired Wednesday. "I don't know how to. As a mother I want him to know that I'm there if he needs to talk. I don't know how to respond because I have never been through this."

Inside the bunker: From storm shelter to boy's prison

Ethan has seen two people shot to death. Dykes shot bus driver Charles Poland several times before he carried Ethan, who had fainted, off the bus and into an underground bunker Dykes had built on his property.

Then the FBI killed Dykes when negotiations broke down and authorities felt they had to rescue the boy before Dykes, who had a handgun, did something rash.

"The Army came in and shot the bad man," Kirkland said Ethan told her.

Kirkland said she had hoped Dykes wouldn't be harmed.

"From the very beginning, I had already forgiven Mr. Dykes even though he had my child," she said. "I could not be angry through this. My job was to be the mother."

She thinks Dykes had a soft spot for Ethan because he has disabilities. Dykes took care of her boy as best he could, she said.

He even fried chicken for the boy.

Still, as the crisis continued, she worried that Dykes might be spooked by something her child did -- or that he had enough supplies to stay down there for months. She worried her boy would think she had abandoned him.

She asked authorities to let her speak to Dykes.

"That's my baby. He's my world. He's my everything," she said. "Everything I do I do for him. And I was afraid I wasn't going to get him back."

When she did get him back, he was in the hospital, putting stickers on everyone in sight.

"Hey, bug, I sure have missed you," she recounted.

"I missed you, too," he answered.

FBI: Bombs found in Alabama kidnapper's bunker

Now she worries that even though he seems like the same playful little boy, there is an emotional storm ahead.

McGraw told her to talk to Ethan about his feelings, not what happened to him in the bunker.

"Let that decay in his young mind," he said.

McGraw asked Ethan a few questions, but as 6-year-olds are apt to do, he answered most with a "Yes" or a "No."

But when the doctor asked him how he got to school, Ethan said, "On my bus, but my ..."

Then he walked over to his mother and as if telling a secret, whispered in her ear, "But my bus driver is dead."

Kirkland told McGraw that it was Poland who helped Ethan conquer his fear of descending the steep school bus steps. Poland would cheer Ethan on and one day when the child hesitated and the mother went to help, the driver said, "Let him do it."

Since then, Ethan has had no problem.

But now his cheerleader won't be there, and Kirkland is anguished about her boy.

"Mr. Poland put him behind him so he could keep a good eye on him," she said.

Ethan hasn't been back to school yet. He's been busy opening birthday presents and playing with his favorite toys. On Wednesday, he made a new friend in Gov. Robert Bentley.

There's a picture from the event where little Ethan is sitting underneath the governor's desk. The child is beaming.

"Ethan is a loving, forgiving child," Kirkland said. "He is easy to go up to a perfect stranger and say, 'Can I have a hug?'"

That was the boy who went into that bunker. She is concerned it's not the child who came out.

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Cruise passenger: People thought ship was "going to tip over"

(CBS News) Four thousand people who have been adrift at sea for four days are finally nearing shore Thursday night. This evening, the Carnival cruise ship named Triumph is being towed into Mobile Bay, Ala., and is expected to dock by midnight.

She left Galveston, Texas, a week ago, loaded with her maximum 3,143 passengers and crew of 1,100. The brochure described a four-day cruise in the Caribbean, but an engine room fire left her adrift and powerless.

All aboard have suffered in squalid conditions, stranded as Carnival slowly brought the ship in.

When CBS News flew over the Carnival Triumph, it was within sight of shore -- but still seven hours away from the dock.

Cruise ship on the move after latest setback
Carnival cancels 12 more cruises on troubled ship
Inside Carnival cruise nightmare: Passenger describes deteriorating conditions

From up there we could see people waving, some with signs that appear to be made out of bed sheets. One said "SOS" -- save our ship -- but at this point it's not the ship that needs saving, it's the passengers.

The ship has been without power since an engine room fire five days ago. CBS News reached passenger Jacob Combs on the phone.

"The really bad part is there was no running water and toilets for almost the first 30 hours," Combs said. "Once they finally did get running water, the toilets only worked in certain places. I would say it's the worst smell imaginable."

Emailed photos (above) reveal squalid conditions. Many passengers used red plastic bags as toilets. Hundreds slept in hallways or topside to escape the foul and stagnate air below deck.

Carnival CEO Jerry Cahill insists passengers were never at risk. But 22-year old Leslie Mayberry disagreed.

"It was leaning to one side it was literally like walking up hill whenever the boat was leaning," she said. "I mean it was very scary," Mayberry said. "I mean a lot of people thought it was going to tip over and sink. And then you look out on the deck and you see the ocean and there is no one, you are just by yourself and you are so alone, even though you are around 3,000 other people on this boat."

The towline pulling the 14-story tall ship snapped, delaying Thursday's operation. It was re-attached, but it will be nightfall before the ship arrives at the terminal. Nellie Betts came from Tupelo, Miss., to meet her daughter.

"There's no reason why those people should be out there as long as they have. Why? I want to understand why," she said. "What is taking them so long to get them out?"

Once the ship arrives at the terminal, Carnival plans to put most of those passengers on a two-hour bus rid to New Orleans or even to Galveston, Texas, but some already are saying, "no thanks" - they have relatives picking them up in Mobile so they can go straight home.

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Nightmare Ends: Passengers Leave Disabled Ship

The ordeal of the disabled Carnival Triumph cruise ship carrying 4,000 passengers and crew appeared to be almost over, with people starting to disembark in Mobile, Ala., after days at sea without power in often squalid conditions.

After the ship arrived at port around 9:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET), Carnival president and CEO Gerry Cahill praised the ship's crew and told reporters that he was headed on board to apologize directly to its passengers.

Passengers appeared to begin disembarking around 10:15 p.m. CT (11:15 p.m. ET).

The Carnival Triumph departed Galveston, Texas, Thursday and lost power Sunday after a fire in the engine room disabled the vessel's propulsion system and knocked out most of its power.

After power went out, passengers texted ABC News that sewage was seeping down the walls from burst plumbing pipes, carpets were wet with urine, and food was in short supply. Reports surfaced of elderly passengers running out of critical heart medicine and others on board squabbling over scarce food.

"I know the conditions on board were very poor," Cahill said. "I know it was very difficult, and I want to apologize again for subjecting our guests for that. ... Clearly, we failed in this particular case."

It could take up to five hours to get everybody off the huge ship.

"Inside the terminal, there's also warm food available," said Terry Thornton, Carnival's senior vice president of marketing. "There are blankets, there are cell phones and refreshments available for the guests that need that or want that assistance.

Passengers will have the options of boarding buses to Houston or Galveston, Texas, about seven hours away, or New Orleans, about two hours away, officials said.

"We have gotten our guests back to land," Cahill said. "Now, we need to get them home. ... The full resources of Carnival are working from here to get them home as quickly as we possibly can."

Stranded Carnival Cruise Ship On Its Way to Port Watch Video

Carnival Cancels All Scheduled Voyages Aboard the Triumph Watch Video

Carnival Cruise Ship Making Its Way to Port Watch Video

At an earlier news conference this afternoon, Thornton said that anyone with special needs and children will be the first to get off the boat. He said the company's No. 1 priority is to make the process as "quick, efficient and comfortable" for guests as possible.

"There are some limitations. We know that up front," Thornton said. "The ship still does not have power. We only have one functioning elevator aboard."

Click here for photos of the stranded ship at sea.

The passengers were achingly close to port about noon today as the ship began to enter the channel and proceed to the cruise terminal. At 1 p.m., the lead tow boat had a tow gear break, so a spare tug boat that was on standby had to be sent in to replace it.

But once the second tug was in position and the lines were re-set, the towing resumed only briefly before the tow line snapped.

"We had to replace that tow line, so the ship did not begin progressing back into the cruise terminal until 2 p.m.," Thornton said

Passengers desperate to get off the vessel waved at media helicopters that flew out to film the ship and passenger Rob Mowlam told ABCNews.com by phone today that most of the passengers on board were "really upbeat and positive."

Nevertheless, when he gets off Mowlam said, "I will probably flush the toilet 10 times just because I can."

Mowlam, 37, got married on board the Triumph Friday and said he and his wife, Stephanie Stevenson, 27, haven't yet thought of redoing the honeymoon other than to say, "It won't be a cruise."

Alabama State Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons said that with powerless "dead ships" like the Triumph, it is usually safer to bring them in during daylight hours, but, "Once they make the initial effort to come into the channel, there's no turning back."

"There are issues regarding coming into the ship channel and docking at night because the ship has no power and there's safety issues there," Richard Tillman of the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau told ABCNews.com.

When asked if the ship could be disembarked in the dark of night, Tillman said, "It is not advised. It would be very unusual."

Thornton denied the rumors that there was a fatality on the ship. He said that there was one illness early on, a dialysis patient, but that passenger was removed from the vessel and transferred to a medical facility.

The U.S. Coast Guard was assisting and there were multiple generators on board. Customs officials were to board the ship while it was being piloted to port to accelerate the embarkation, officials said.

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Water wars loom as the US runs dry

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Singapore debaters 3rd in world championship

SINGAPORE: A team of Singapore debaters came in third at the 25th World School Debating Championship (WSDC) in Antalya, Turkey.

A total of 50 countries participated in this year's competition between 27 January and 6 February.

Darion Jin Hotan from Hwa Chong Institution was ranked fourth for overall performance while Tan Teck Wei from Raffles Institution was ranked 13th.

The other members of the team are Rabin Kok from Anglo-Chinese Junior College, and Lee Chin Wee and Tan Kuan Hian from Raffles Institution.

The Singapore delegation was led by its coach, Mrs Geetha Creffield of Anglo-Chinese Junior College, and Mdm Evelyn Woels of the Ministry of Education.

The WSDC is a global competition for debaters between the ages of 14 and 19.

The team from Australia was crowned champion after it beat Swaziland in the final.

- CNA/ck

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Sheriff: 'We did not intentionally burn' the cabin

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Slain officer's widow thanks mourners: "A lot of people loved Mike"


• Villaraigosa says police have a "reasonable belief" that Dorner died in a mountain standoff


• Authorities have not conclusively identified the body found near Big Bear Lake

Follow the story here and at CNN affiliates KCBS/KCAL, KABC and KTLA. Anderson Cooper 360º devotes the entire hour to the frenzied manhunt, the final shootout, and the people allegedly killed by an ex-LA cop. Watch "9 Days of Terror: The Hunt for Christopher Dorner" Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

Riverside, California (CNN) -- Authorities said Wednesday they are reasonably sure that the body found inside the burned cabin near Big Bear Lake, California, is that of Christopher Dorner, the rogue ex-cop who had been pursuing a vendetta against his fellow officers.

"We believe that this investigation is over, at this point, and we'll just need to move on from here," San Bernardino Sheriff John McMahon told reporters.

Although the description and behavior of the man who was killed are consistent with Dorner, officials "cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him," McMahon said.

"We're not currently involved in a manhunt," he said. "Our coroner's division is trying to confirm the identity through forensics."

Authorities say Dorner launched a guerrilla war against the Los Angeles Police Department over what he considered his unfair dismissal in 2009.

McMahon identified a sheriff's detective who was fatally shot Tuesday by the man presumed to have been Dorner as Jeremiah MacKay. MacKay, 35, was a 15-year veteran who was married with two children, a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son.

Another officer has undergone "a couple of different surgeries" after being wounded in the shootout. "He's in good spirits and should make a full recovery after a number of additional surgeries," McMahon said.

The two men were ambushed Tuesday when they responded to a report of a vehicle stolen by a suspect matching Dorner's description, McMahon said.

"It was like a war zone, and our deputies continued to go into that area and tried to neutralize and stop the threat," McMahon said. "The rounds kept coming, but our deputies didn't give up."

The suspect then fled into a nearby vacant cabin, which caught fire after police shot tear gas canisters into it, McMahon said.

Although the canisters included pyrotechnic tear gas, which generates heat, "We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said.

It wasn't clear when a formal identification could be made of the charred remains found in the cabin about 100 miles east of Los Angeles after Tuesday's shootout with police. Until then, "a lot of apprehension" remains in the ranks of the LAPD, Lt. Andy Neiman said.

'A very trying time' for the LAPD

"It's been a very trying time over the last couple of weeks for all of those involved and all those families, friends and everybody that has been touched by this incident," he said.

On Wednesday, police from around the Los Angeles area and beyond gathered to bury Michael Crain, who was among the four people fatally shot, allegedly by the 33-year-old former Navy officer.

Dorner also killed the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiance and shot three other officers, including Crain's partner, police say.

A squad of bagpipers led Crain's flag-draped casket through a cordon of blue uniforms into a church in Riverside, the Los Angeles suburb where the 34-year-old police officer had served 11 years on the force.

The mourners inside the church included California Gov. Jerry Brown, his Highway Patrol chief and law enforcement from a number of other agencies around the region.

"I knew that communities would reach out, and I knew a lot of people loved Mike," Regina Crain, the slain officer's widow, told them. "And I knew that I would have support no matter what. But I really did not realize the sheer scale of this, and how many people are touched by his life. It gives me really great comfort to see that, and I want to thank you all."

Timeline in manhunt

Investigators began scouring the mountains February 7, when investigators found Dorner's scorched pickup. Police, sheriff's deputies and federal agents swarmed into the area, working through a weekend blizzard, but the trail was cold for days.

On Sunday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it had scaled back the search. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a $1 million reward for information leading to Dorner's arrest and conviction, spurring hundreds of tips.

The trail picked up again on Tuesday, when Karen and Jim Reynolds came upon a man who looked like Dorner in their house across the street from the sheriff's command center in the Big Bear area. He tied them up and took off in their purple Nissan, according to police.

The unit had been unoccupied since January 29 and they had last done some work on it on February 6, Karen Reynolds told reporters.

They returned on Tuesday to continue working on the apartment, she said. "We had come into the living room and he opened the door and came out at us," she said.

"He yelled, 'Stay calm,'" Jim Reynolds said. "When he jumped out and hollered, 'Stay calm!' Karen screamed and turned and started running and he ran after her and he caught her on the staircase and brought her back."

Dorner tried to calm them, the couple said. "He had his gun drawn the whole time," Karen Reynolds said.

He ordered them to lie down and bound their hands behind their backs with plastic ties, telling them he would not kill them, but needed transportation out of Big Bear, they said.

He then gagged them, put pillowcases on their heads and left, they said.

Throughout, he was calm, they said.

"He said I don't have a problem with you, I just want to clear my name," Jim Reynolds said.

The man then took their 2011 Nissan Rogue, they said.

It was not clear how long he had been there, a bag of carrots and milk were in the refrigerator, they said.

At around 12:20 p.m., some 15 minutes after he left, they freed themselves and called 911 to report the incident, they said.

"We're very happy to be alive," Karen Reynolds said. "I didn't wish him dead though ... I prayed for him a lot and I'm praying for his family now."

A 'guy with a big gun'

At 12:45 p.m., Fish and Wildlife wardens spotted the SUV and began pursuing it.

The wardens, driving in separate vehicles, chased Dorner, and a gunbattle ensued. One of the warden's cars was hit, and Dorner crashed his car and ran, according to authorities. He then carjacked a pickup truck.

Rick Heltebrake, a camp ranger, said he was driving when he saw the crashed purple vehicle -- and then something terrifying.

How authorities identify a burned body

"Here comes this guy with a big gun, and I knew who it was right away," Heltebrake told CNN affiliate KTLA. "He just came out of the snow at me with his gun at my head. He said, 'I don't want to hurt you. Just get out of the car and start walking.' "

Heltebrake said the man let him take his dog and walk away with his hands up.

"Not more than 10 seconds later, I heard a loud round of gunfire," Heltebrake said. "Ten to 20 rounds, maybe. I found out later what that was all about."

Dorner fled to a nearby cabin and got into another shootout, this time with the San Bernardino County deputies, killing one and wounded another.

Some of the firefight between police and the suspect was captured live on the telephone of a reporter for CNN affiliates KCBS and KCAL. Police in Los Angeles listened live over police scanners broadcast on the Internet, LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman said.

"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight," he said. "To hear those words, 'officer down,' is the most gut-wrenching experience you can have as a police officer, because you know what that means."

Audio from a Los Angeles television station captured the sound of someone early in the standoff shouting, "Burn it down ... burn that goddamn house down. Burn it down." It's not clear who used those words.

But the order to use smoke canisters -- "burners" -- didn't come for another two hours, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's radio traffic.

"Seven burners deployed, and we have a fire," one officer reported at 4:16 p.m. (7:16 p.m. ET).

Five minutes later, a single gunshot was reported from inside the house. A senior officer ordered units around the cabin, "Stand by. Maintain your discipline." About a minute after that, officers reported ammunition exploding inside.

Sheriff's investigators confirmed overnight that they had found charred human remains among the ashes.

Dorner cheered in some quarters

Dorner had vowed to kill police officers to avenge what he called his unfair termination. He was fired after accusing his training officer of kicking a suspect during a July 2007 arrest, a complaint the LAPD concluded was unfounded.

Talk Back: Does the Dorner case teach us anything about guns?

The department accused him of lying to superiors and to internal affairs investigators and forced him out in January 2009. Dorner challenged his dismissal in court but was unsuccessful.

Dorner was first named a suspect in two shooting deaths on February 3: Monica Quan, the daughter of his police union representative, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence.

Police say he killed Crain and wounded Crain's partner in an ambush on their patrol car February 7. They say he also wounded an LAPD officer who chased him in the suburban city of Corona, California.

In a manifesto announcing his planned rampage, Dorner said nothing had changed in the LAPD since its scandals of the 1990s, the Rodney King beating and the Rampart police corruption case. Those allegations have struck a chord with some who say that, despite the four killings, Dorner was seeking justice.

Shadowed by that history, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announced Saturday that the department would re-examine its proceedings against Dorner. The review is "not to appease a murderer," but "to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all things we do," he said.

CNN's Miguel Marquez, Paul Vercammen, Stan Wilson, Casey Wian, Kathleen Johnston, Alan Duke, Lateef Mungin, Chelsea J. Carter, Michael Martinez, Holly Yan and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

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Calif. deputy slain in shootout with man believed to be Dorner was father of two

Updated 7:22 PM ET

The San Bernardino deputy who was killed during a shootout with suspect killer Christopher Dorner has been identified as Det. Jeremiah MacKay, said the San Bernardino County's Department during a news conference on Wednesday.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Det. Jeremiah MacKay, 35, was identified as the man killed Tuesday in a gun battle with man believed to be fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner.

/

CBS

Sheriff John McMahon said that MacKay, 35, was pronounced deceased at the hospital. According to McMahon, MacKay was a member of the sheriff's department for 15 years and that he was married and a father to two children -- a 7-year-old girl and a 4-month-old son.

MacKay was presently assigned to the Yucaipa station but was also a detective at the Big Bear station.

"My sincere condolences go out to the MacKay family," said McMahon. "This is truly another sad day for law enforcement. Our department is grieving from this event."

MacKay was killed Tuesday as authorities closed in Dorner, wanted for killing two civilians and a Riverside cop, while he was holed up in a vacant cabin in the Angelus Oaks area of Big Bear.

Play Video

Gun battle with wanted ex-cop - caught on tape

Another deputy, who was later identified at the press conference as Alex Collins, from the Yucaipa office, was also wounded in the same gun battle. According to McMahon, Collins is currently at a hospital being treated and went through a couple of different surgeries.

"I just spoke to his wife," said McMahon of Collins. "He's in good spirits and should make a full recovery after a number of additional surgeries."

Before he fled to the cabin, Dorner had highjacked a pickup truck.

He then "abandoned the vehicle, ran into the forest, and hid inside this cabin before he barricaded himself. He was engaged in gunfire and shot two of our deputy sheriffs," said sheriff spokesperson Cindy Bachmann.

The cabin eventually caught on fire and a charred body was found inside, although authorities have yet to confirm it was the man they were seeking for over a week.

Meanwhile, Riverside police held a funeral for the officer killed in last week's gun battle. CBS San Diego affiliate KFMB reports Michael Crain, a 34-year-old father of two, was allegedly shot by Dorner when the fugitive ambushed him and another officer. The second officer was wounded.

Lt. Andra Brown from the San Diego Police Department told the station several officers traveled to the funeral Wednesday to pay their respects to Crain and flags at San Diego Police headquarters in downtown will remain at half staff.

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Dorner Not IDed, But Manhunt Considered Over

Though they have not yet identified burned remains found at the scene of Tuesday's fiery, armed standoff, San Bernardino, Calif., officials consider the manhunt over for Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop accused of going on a killing spree.

"The events that occurred yesterday in the Big Bear area brought to close an extensive manhunt," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told reporters this evening.

"I cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him," he added.

However, he noted the physical description of the suspect authorities pursued to a cabin at the standoff scene, as well as the suspect's behavior during the chase and standoff, matched Dorner, 33.

The charred remains of the body believed to be Dorner were removed from the cabin high in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear, Calif., the apparent site of Dorner's last stand. Cornered inside the mountain cabin Tuesday, the suspect shot at cops, killing one deputy and wounding another, before the building was consumed by flames.

"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said tonight, though he noted pyrotechnic canisters known as "burners" were fired into the cabin during a tear gas assault in an effort to flush out Dorner. The canisters generate high temperatures, he added.

The deputies wounded in the firefight were airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said.

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The deceased deputy was identified tonight as Det. Jeremiah MacKay, 35, a 15-year veteran and the father of two children -- a daughter, 7, and son, 4 months old.

"Our department is grieving from this event," McMahon said. "It is a terrible deal for all of us."

The Associated Press quoted MacKay on the Dorner dragnet Tuesday, noting that he had been on patrol since 5 a.m. Saturday.

"This one you just never know if the guy's going to pop out, or where he's going to pop out," MacKay said. "We're hoping this comes to a close without more casualties. The best thing would be for him to give up."

The wounded deputy, identified as Alex Collins, was undergoing multiple surgeries for his wounds at a hospital, McMahon said, but was expected to make a full recovery.

Before the final standoff, Dorner was apparently holed up in a snow-covered cabin in the California mountains just steps from where police had set up a command post and held press conferences during a five-day manhunt.

The manhunt for Dorner, one of the biggest in recent memory, led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, but it ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.

Residents of the area were relieved today that after a week of heightened police presence and fear that Dorner was likely dead.

"I'm glad no one else can get hurt and they caught him. I'm happy they caught the bad guy," said Ashley King, a waitress in the nearby town of Angelus Oaks, Calif.

Hundreds of cops scoured the mountains near Big Bear, a resort area in Southern California, since last Thursday using bloodhounds and thermal-imaging technology mounted to helicopters, in the search for Dorner. The former police officer and Navy marksman was suspected to be the person who killed a cop and cop's daughter and issued a "manifesto" declaring he was bent on revenge and pledging to kill dozens of LAPD cops and their family members.

But it now appears that Dorner never left the area, and may have hid out in an unoccupied cabin just steps from where cops had set up a command center.

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