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Study: Hotter temps, even hotter tempers

WASHINGTON - As the world gets warmer, people are more likely to get hot under the collar, scientists say. A massive new study finds that aggressive acts like committing violent crimes and waging war become more likely with each added degree.

WASHINGTON

- As the world gets warmer, people are more likely to get hot under the collar, scientists say. A massive new study finds that aggressive acts like committing violent crimes and waging war become more likely with each added degree.

Researchers analyzed 60 studies on historic empire collapses, recent wars, violent crime rates in the United States, lab simulations that tested police decisions on when to shoot and even cases where pitchers threw deliberately at batters in baseball. They found a common thread over centuries: Extreme weather - very hot or dry - means more violence.

The authors say the results show strong evidence that climate can promote conflict. "When the weather gets bad we tend to be more willing to hurt other people," said economist Solomon Hsiang of the University of California, Berkeley. He is the lead author of the study, published online yesterday by the journal Science.

State Dept. aghast at WikiLeaks releases

FORT MEADE, Md.

- State Department workers were horrified by WikiLeaks' publication of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, an agency official testified yesterday.

Elizabeth Dibble didn't give any evidence in open court of how the unprecedented leak of classified information damaged U.S. foreign relations, but she did testify in a session closed to the public to protect classified information. She was summoned to talk about the impact of Manning's actions on U.S. relations with Iran, Lebanon and Libya. Manning faces up to 136 years in prison following his conviction on 20 counts, including Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud.

Dibble said people in her office reacted with "horror and disbelief that our diplomatic communications had been released and were revealed on public websites for the world to see.

Morsi supporters defy police warnings

CAIRO

- Egypt's military-backed government offered protection yesterday to supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi who end their two sit-ins - widely seen as a first step toward dispersing the vigils on opposite sides of Cairo.

But the protesters responded defiantly: "Over our dead bodies!" The standoff underscored the ongoing political crisis since the armed forces toppled Egypt's first democratically elected leader on July 3: thousands in the streets demanding Morsi's reinstatement, a government unable to exert its authority and recurrent violence that has killed more than 260 people.

Rights groups, activists and politicians from rival camps, fearful of more bloodshed, tried to ward off any use of force, including a suggestion of putting a human chain around the protest sites.

Berlusconi definitively convicted for first time

ROME

- Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi said the Italian Supreme Court's decision to uphold his tax-fraud conviction and jail sentence is ''baseless" and robs him of his political rights.

Berlusconi delivered a nine-minute video statement yesterday, hours after he was definitively convicted for the first time in decades of criminal prosecutions.

The three-time former premier and media mogul appeared shaken and somber, his voice breaking at times. He said he was the victim of "an incredible series of accusations and trials that had nothing to do with reality."

'Fabulous Fab' found liable in SEC case

NEW YORK

- A former Goldman Sachs trader who earned the nickname "Fabulous Fab" was found liable yesterday in a fraud case brought by federal regulators in response to the 2007 mortgage crisis that helped push the country into recession.

A jury reached the verdict at the civil trial in Manhattan federal court of Fabrice Tourre - a French-born Stanford graduate described by Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers as the face of "Wall Street greed." Tourre's attorneys portrayed him as a scapegoat in a downturn caused by larger economic forces.

Tourre, 34, was found liable in six of seven SEC fraud and other claims. He faces potential fines and a possible ban from the financial industry. The exact penalty will be determined at a future proceeding.

Congress going home for 5-week recess

WASHINGTON - Leaving piles of unfinished business for the fall, Congress began exiting Washington yesterday for a five-week vacation with its accomplishments few, its efforts at budgeting in tatters and its collective nerves frayed by months of feuding.

The House's chief accomplishment for the week was a bipartisan Wednesday vote to deal with spiking student loan interest rates, readying that legislation for President Barack Obama's signature. But that bit of progress came the very day that a Republican strategy of embracing painful automatic budget cuts imploded with the collapse of a major transportation and housing bill.

Before leaving town, the GOP House prepared its 40th attack on Obama's signature health-care law today and slated votes on other legislation aimed at embarrassing the administration and sharpening the party's political message for encounters back home with constituents.

Woman, 35, killed in 17-story NYC fall

NEW YORK

- A 35-year-old woman on a first date plunged to her death yesterday after the railing on her 17th-floor New York City balcony gave way, police said.

Jennifer Rosoff went outside for a cigarette about 12:50 a.m. when she either sat on the railing or leaned on it. Her date told her that she probably shouldn't do it, and then moments later, she apparently fell backward and landed on construction scaffolding at the first floor, authorities said. Police spoke to the man and no foul play was suspected.

The medical examiner will determine a cause of death.

- Daily News wire services