Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166193045?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
No major changes for 'Idol' this season
NEW YORK?? "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says don't expect any major changes when the hit Fox TV show returns in January after undergoing an extensive makeover last season.
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More Entertainment stories
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Three judges are left standing on 'X Factor'
Paula Abdul became the first judge to zero out on ?X Factor? when Lakoda Rayne got the fewest number of votes on Wednesday.
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Three judges are left standing on 'X Factor'
Lythgoe, who helped transform Britain's "Pop Idol" into the American TV juggernaut in 2002, returned as executive producer last season to usher in the post-Simon Cowell era. That ended a two-year hiatus that allowed him to focus on "So You Think You Can Dance," which he produces and helps judge.
For the 10th "American Idol" season, Lythgoe introduced new judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, to join holdover Randy Jackson. Veteran music producer Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, was brought in as an in-house mentor for the contestants. All of them are back for Season 11, Lythgoe said.
"I think we made a lot of tweaks last year," Lythgoe said. "I'm not sure that we want to make too many more tweaks this year."
Lythgoe said the most significant change introduced last year had nothing to do with the judges: It was a decision to avoid those fish-out-of-water moments that forced very talented singers to sing in styles that didn't suit them.
"The biggest change we made last year was to say, 'OK, if you're a country singer you can sing any of these genres in your country style,'" Lythgoe said. "'We're not going to force you to do rock or anything you can't do. You can take a Michael Jackson song and turn it country.'"
That resulted in singers such as Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart advancing much deeper into the competition than they might have in previous years. The two teenage finalists, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, were country singers.
McCreery, the first pure country "Idol" winner since Carrie Underwood in 2005, saw his October release, "Clear As Day," make him the first country act to debut at No. 1 with its first studio album on the Billboard 200 chart. And at 18, he became the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with his debut release. He also was the first "Idol" winner to start his post-"Idol" career with a No. 1 album since Ruben Studdard in 2003.
Lythgoe said last year the show found "some incredible talent, and it was so diverse."
"We got this great jazz singer in Casey, we got a soft jazz singer in Haley, and the two country kids (in the finals) probably in previous years wouldn't have been as successful because they would have been asked to sing in the different styles that we used to do then," he said last week.
Lythgoe expects similar results in Season 11.
"The kids that have auditioned this year that we're going to be taking to Hollywood in December are again really talented and really diverse," he said. "Hopefully they'll get through one of the toughest auditions, which is the Hollywood week, and get themselves into the top 20."
Lythgoe said he believes "Idol" should be "totally about the talent" and the recent changes foster that.
"For me," he said, "it's really showing the talent that is here and not trying to take somebody who's talented, beat them around the bucket and turn them out."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45421444/ns/today-entertainment/
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Yemen's Saleh signs deal to give up power (Reuters)
RIYADH (Reuters) ? Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a deal on Wednesday under which he will step down after 33 years in power and 10 months of protests against his rule that brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Celebrations erupted in the capital Sanaa as Saleh inked the agreement that made him the fourth leader to be forced from power in 10 months of mass protests that have swept the Arab world. Yemenis danced in the streets, set off fireworks and waved flags as Saleh finally agreed to step down.
Under the agreement, signed with opposition leaders at a ceremony hosted by Saudi King Abdullah at the royal palace in Riyadh, Saleh will immediately transfer his powers to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. In return he will retain the title of president until a new head of state is elected.
"I declare the turning of a new page in the history of Yemen," Saudi King Abdullah said in a brief statement before the signing ceremony, also attended by Crown Prince Nayef.
"Saudi Arabia will remain the best supporter for Yemen," the king added.
Hadi would form a new government with the opposition and call an early presidential election within three months.
"This is as honorable an exit as he (Saleh) can get, considering the circumstances," said Ghanem Nusseibeh, a London-based analyst. "But the key thing is how the deal will be implemented and if the coalition government will be strong enough to take charge of the whole country," he added.
The United States and the European Union hailed the accord.
"This represents an important step forward for the Yemeni people, who deserve the opportunity to determine their own future," President Barack Obama said in a statement.
The Pentagon said the United States and Yemen would continue to work together against militants. "Despite the political instability in Yemen, we have been able to preserve important counter-terrorism relationships with that country."
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Saleh's signing of the deal should open the way to national reconciliation and a transition to democracy.
"The agreement is only the beginning, but it is a very important beginning. It allows the Yemeni people the much needed hope that their country can turn a page in its history and embrace a new future," she said in a statement.
Saudi state television broadcast live the signing ceremony, where Saleh was shown chatting and sipping traditional coffee with King Abdullah. Saleh spent three months in Riyadh undergoing treatment following an assassination attempt in June.
The attempt on Saleh's life came after he ducked out of the deal, which ushered in street battles that devastated parts of his capital Sanaa.
The 69-year-old leader, who has ruled Yemen since 1978, asked Saudi Arabia and members of the U.N. Security Council to ensure the implementation of the accord, brokered by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors.
"We aspire with confidence to the brothers in Saudi Arabia ... to review, help and oversee the implementation of the accord and the operational mechanism," he said.
MONTHS OF BLOODSTAINED PROTESTS
Hundreds of people have been killed during months of protests seeking Saleh's ouster. The political deadlock has reignited simmering conflicts with separatists and militants, raising fears that Yemen's al Qaeda wing could take a foothold on the borders of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.
Details of the power transfer deal -- drawn up by Yemen's richer neighbors in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) earlier this year, and thwarted by Saleh on three separate occasions -- were hammered out by U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar, with support from U.S. and European diplomats.
"This is a very good day for Yemen and we hope it provides the framework for a reform process during the transition that will lead to...free and fair elections," he told Reuters at the signing ceremony.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York that Saleh had told him in a telephone conversation on Tuesday that he intended to "come to New York to take medical treatment immediately after signing this agreement."
A Yemeni official had said on Tuesday that the accord was facing opposition from some senior politicians in Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC).
Saudi fears about chaos in Yemen are shared by Washington, which regards the country as a front line against al Qaeda and long backed Saleh as a key to its campaign against Islamist militants.
PROTESTERS DENOUNCE DEAL "WITHIN THE REGIME"
The deal to nudge him from power was denounced by some of the youth protesters who have emerged as a presence in Yemen's politics, and regard the parties that negotiated his exit partners in the crimes of which they accuse Saleh.
"We will remain on the streets until our demands are met," activist Samia al-Aghbari told Reuters. "Saleh's crimes won't end with time, so we will pursue him and all the killers."
But others welcomed the deal as a first victory of their uprising.
"This is a great victory," Badr Ali Ahmed, an activist at Change Square, said. "We have achieved one of the goals of the revolution, which is to bring down the head of the regime, and God willing we will achieve the rest."
Hamdan al-Haqab, a field organizer, said: "We were not part of this initiative, but since it happened, we consider it to be the first achievement of the revolution ... We will continue to achieve all our goals."
A Yemeni official said that renegade general Ali Mohsen, a longtime Saleh ally who turned on him after protests began, and Sadeq al-Ahmar, a tribal notable who also threw his weight against Saleh, could try to block the deal which excludes them.
Those figures, along with Saleh's son and a nephew who commands a key paramilitary unit, form a balance of forces on the ground that analysts say none is likely to tip, making a political resolution the only way out of Yemen's deadlock.
Witnesses said Ahmar fighters and Saleh forces traded shelling in the Soufan and al-Hasaba neighborhoods in Sanaa, where the tribal chief lives, and that sounds of explosions could be heard from a distance.
There were no reports of casualties. The area was the scene of heavy clashes earlier this year, where scores of people from both sides died.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and Giles Elgood)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/wl_nm/us_yemen
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Friday, November 25, 2011
Economy gets mixed batch of news ahead of holidays
In this Nov. 9, 2011 photo, a tourist from Switzerland, who asked not to be identified, rests on her shopping cart while shopping at Dolphin Mall, in Miami. Consumers barely increased their spending in October but their incomes rose by the most in seven months. The extra money could boost spending during the upcoming holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
In this Nov. 9, 2011 photo, a tourist from Switzerland, who asked not to be identified, rests on her shopping cart while shopping at Dolphin Mall, in Miami. Consumers barely increased their spending in October but their incomes rose by the most in seven months. The extra money could boost spending during the upcoming holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
In this Nov. 15, 2011, the Sears logo is seen on a television for sale, in Springfield, Ill. Business orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell for a second straight month in October. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? At the start of the critical holiday shopping season, the economy received a dose of mixed news Wednesday.
Consumers barely increased their spending in October, and businesses pulled back on investment in long-lasting manufactured goods. Still, Americans' pay rose by the most in seven months, a sign they may spend more in coming weeks.
Some economists were discouraged by the reports, especially after a separate report earlier this month showed Americans spent more on retail goods in October for the fifth straight month.
Paul Dales, a senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics, said the slower consumer spending growth and decline in business investment suggest economic growth in the October-December quarter could be weaker than first thought. He now expects just 2.5 percent growth, instead of 3 percent.
Consumer spending increased 0.1 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. It was the poorest gain in four months.
Yet people continued to spend more on cars and electronics, analysts noted. Spending on longer-lasting goods rose a solid 0.8 percent. Part of that reflected the introduction of the Apple iPhone 4S last month.
People cut back on non-durable purchases, such as clothing and food. And spending on services, which represent two-thirds of consumer spending, barely grew. That led many analysts to speculate that consumers might be giving up vacations and eating out less because of the weak economy.
"Today's report was a good reminder that much of what consumers spend their money is not purchased at the shopping mall, but is rather spent on their homes and on their health," said James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics. "With services spending making up 65 percent of total consumption expenditures, the poor performance here more than made up for the continued gains in spending on goods."
Perhaps the best news in the report was that Americans earned more in October after five straight months of paltry pay increases. Income rose 0.4 percent last month, the best showing since March. Private wages and salaries drove the gain.
And when subtracting taxes and adjusting for inflation, income rose 0.3 percent in October.
Many Americans chose to save the extra money. The savings rate ticked up to 3.5 percent of after-tax incomes from 3.3 percent in September ? the lowest level since December 2007, the month the recession started.
Some economists had predicted consumer spending would slow because Americans spent more over the summer while earning less. Consumer spending is important because it makes up 70 percent of economic activity.
Another concern: businesses cut orders for durable goods in October, the Commerce Department said in a separate report. The 0.7 percent decline was largely because of a big drop in volatile commercial aircraft orders.
Still, spending on so-called core capital goods, which are considered a good proxy for business investment plans, dropped by the most since January. That followed two straight months of gains.
Durable goods are products expected to last at least three years. Orders tend to fluctuate sharply from month to month.
A third report showed the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to a seasonally adjusted 393,000 after two months of steady declines.
The four-week average of applications, which smooths week-to-week fluctuations, fell to its lowest level since April, the Labor Department said. The downward trend suggests companies are laying off fewer workers.
The economy grew at a rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter. The modest growth is not nearly enough to lower the unemployment rate, which has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years.
Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, said it was possible that the weak consumer spending last month could be temporary, given that the trend in service spending had been more positive in recent months.
Naroff said spending should rebound to support economic growth of roughly 3.5 percent in the final three months of the year.
Many Americans could take home less next year if Congress doesn't extend a Social Security tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits. Both expire at the end of this year.
The Social Security tax cut gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year. If long-term unemployment benefits expire, roughly 6 million families could lose an average of $300 per week. For some, that's their only source of income.
Both changes would leave Americans with an estimated $165 billion less to spend. The Federal Reserve expects the economy to grow only 2.7 percent next year, and economists say the expiration of the two programs could reduce growth by a full percentage point.
Associated PressKristie Ko: On Lessons, Leaving, and Legacies
A few days ago, I considered my feelings about dying and what it would mean for my life to be terminated at that very point. For a change, this wasn't simply the result of a morbidly negative teenage mind with nothing better to occupy her thoughts than fantastical delusions of death and the unknown.
Rather, the extremely realistic whir of several helicopters hovering and the unmistakable whine of multiple police cars in the area enlightened me to the fact that real threats exist and are able to arise at any hour of the day.
Moments later, I found out (via Facebook, no less) that the cause of the disturbance was in fact a bomb threat in the neighborhood. Immediately, violently graphic images of mushroom clouds, nuclear waste lands, and horrendously mutilated human bodies plagued my mind, courtesy of brutal sci-fi flicks that no amount of therapy will ever be able to make me forget.
Intermittently weaved between the images of utter destruction, however, I found myself pondering a more serious question: Am I proud of what I'm leaving behind (whatever that is)?
To some extent, it's a query that dates back to some of the most ancient sayings in the book. "Have I accomplished what I set out to do?" "Will I die fulfilled?" While these questions have been most often linked with older generations, when it comes to the young adults of today, the question must also be posed: What kind of legacy do we want to leave?
Far too often, teenagers have this grand idea that they're going to lead gloriously perfect lives and, therefore, can afford to put off striving for dreams and reaching goals.
While it may seem like an acceptable plan, the truth is that not all of us are going to reach the esteemed age of 120 and accomplish all that we set out to do. And this time, it isn't my own exceedingly pessimistic teenage mind claiming these facts but, rather, reality itself.
If one has a dream, why wait until 30? 50? 90? Tomorrow? If there is a plan, and a passion to back that plan, the next logical step would be to take action as soon as possible. True, this does not necessarily mean that every individual will somehow magically achieve his or her dreams overnight. It doesn't even guarantee that the accomplishment will be achieved in an entire lifetime.
What it does mean is that at any given point in time -- be it bomb threat or real bomb or even lying awake in bed at night pondering life -- you can pay tribute to the fact that you're making progress, advancing a cause and leaving your own personal legacy in the process.
?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristie-ko/on-lessons-leaving-and-le_b_1107962.html
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Dan Miller?s family would like your help for son?s surgery
UFC middleweight Dan Miller's son Danny was born with a kidney disease that requires the child to get daily kidney dialysis. He can have a normal life with a kidney transplant, but insurance won't pay for the entire surgery. This is where the MMA family has stepped in, and they could use your help.
AMA Fight Club in Whippany, NJ, will host a fundraising seminar on Dec. 3. Jim Miller, Danny's uncle, will lead the day. He'll be helped out by UFC fighters Dan, Charlie Brenneman and Andy Main. Their coach, Mike Constantino, will also lend a hand. The cost of the seminar ranges from $100-$175, with all proceeds going to the Daniel James Miller Foundation.
If you can't make it to Whippany, which is about 45 minutes outside of New York City, for the seminar, you can still make a donation. If you can, spare a few dollars to help the baby who Uncle Jim called "the toughest Miller."
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Software alliance yanks support for piracy bill
By Suzanne Choney
In a move that would seem to be against its own interests, the Business Software Alliance ? which includes Microsoft, Apple, Intel and Adobe, and focuses heavily on anti-piracy efforts?? is pulling its support of federal legislation aimed at stopping Internet piracy.
Less than a month ago, the alliance was behind the bill: "The Business Software Alliance today commended House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) for introducing the 'Stop Online Piracy Act' (H.R. 3261) to curb the growing rash of software piracy and other forms of intellectual property theft that are being perpetrated by illicit websites," the group said in a news release.
What's happened since then? Many have taken a closer look at the bill's provisions, including one that requires websites and telecom service providers to be monitoring their networks for piracy, and another that would let law enforcement actually seize a website and shut it down.
"Many Silicon Valley companies agree that piracy is a problem but say the legislation goes too far," said The Washington Post last week. "Web giants including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Linked?In, eBay, and Mozilla ... co-wrote a letter to Senate and House lawmakers urging Congress to reconsider the measures. They fear the proposals would invite lawsuits and empower law enforcement to shut down their operations if a copyrighted movie or song appeared on their sites without their authorization."
Now, the Business Software Alliance, which tackles piracy issues on a regular basis, agrees that "valid and important questions have been raised about the bill." BSA president Robert Holleyman wrote on the group's blog:
It is intended to get at the worst of the worst offenders. As it now stands, however, it could sweep in more than just truly egregious actors. To fix this problem, definitions of who can be the subject of legal actions and what remedies are imposed must be tightened and narrowed. Due process, free speech, and privacy are rights cannot be compromised. And the security of networks and communications is indispensable to a thriving Internet economy. Some observers have raised reasonable questions about whether certain SOPA provisions might have unintended consequences in these areas. BSA has long stood against filtering or monitoring the Internet. All of these concerns should be duly considered and addressed.
It's pretty unusual to have legislation in the pipeline that is not getting the blessing of the major players, from Google to Facebook, Apple to Microsoft. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBCUniversal.)
The alliance says it hopes to work with Smith and the House Judiciary Committee to "resolve these issues." A committee aide told the Post that the congressman is open to changes, but only "legitimate changes."
The aide, who spoke anonymously, told the Post that some sites "are totally capable of filtering illegal content, but they won?t and are instead profiting from the traffic of illegal content.?
Christian Dawson, COO of commercial Web hosting provider ServInt, said SOPA and another proposed law, the PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA), need to be closely examined. On ServInt's blog, Dawson explained the potential impact of both bills for those trying to understand them:
... if you walked into Best Buy and saw something on the shelf you thought was pirated merchandise, under a law like the DMCA you would work with the store to get that product off the shelf. Under a law like PIPA or SOPA, you would force the landlord to close Best Buy.
Innovation cannot thrive in such an environment. Businesses won?t tolerate continuing to host on U.S.-based servers with the uncertainty that this model creates.
Enacting such laws to combat copyright infringement, he said, "would be like using a flamethrower to find a needle in a haystack." The issue now is whether that torch will be lit.
More stories on msnbc.com:
Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Obama Confronts Congress's Failure, Promises to Enforce Cuts (Atlantic Politics Channel)
Fearing job security, employees come to work sick
Getty Images stock
By MyHealthNews
Sick employees who try to fight through their runny noses and sore throats while on the job might seem like workplace troupers, but new research shows they may actually be suffering from a bad case of insecurity.
A new Concordia University study found that employees who were insecure about their jobs also were more likely to attend work while ill ? making them present in body but not in spirit.
"Secure employees don't fear retribution for an occasional absence because of sickness," Gary Johns, the study's author and a management professor at Concordia's John Molson School of Business in Montreal, said.
According to the research, over six months employees reported trekking into the office three times while sick; comparatively, they called in sick and stayed home only about one and a half days in that same time period.
Some professions, including caregivers and people working in early education, showed higher rates of employees coming to work while sick. Those working on interdependent projects or in teams also showed higher levels of what the study refers to as "presenteeism."
"Often, a person might feel socially obligated to attend work despite illness, while other employees feel organizational pressure to attend work despite medical discomfort," Johns said.
Although companies have long dealt with issues of increased cases of sick days from employees, Johns said his research suggests businesses actually should be doing more to curb employees? perceived workplace obligation to be at the office when they?re under the weather.
"Estimating the cost of absenteeism is more tangible than counting the impact of presenteeism," Johns said. "Yet a worker's absence ? or presence ? during illness can have both costs and benefits for constituents."
The full study, which included surveys of more than 400 employees, was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
HBT: Phillies acquire Wiggington from Rockies
Philadelphia picked up a decent right-handed bat, potential fill in for Ryan Howard at first base, and possible alternative to Placido Polanco at third base, acquiring Ty Wigginton from Colorado for a player to be named later or cash.
Wigginton is owed $4 million in 2012 and his contract has a $4 million option or $500,000 buyout for 2013, but Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies are covering half of his 2012 salary.
That makes him cheap enough to not rule out the Phillies continuing their pursuit of a free agent outfielder like Michael Cuddyer. And if not they basically settled for the poor man?s Cuddyer.
He?s not much of a defender at third base and hasn?t cracked a .750 OPS since 2008, so clearly the Rockies were happy enough to just save a couple million bucks. Wigginton, who turned 34 years old last month, batted .242 with a .315 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage in 130 games for Colorado, smacking 15 homers in 401 at-bats while starting games at third base, first base, and both corner outfield spots.
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Taylor Swift wins 3 trophies at AMAs (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Taylor Swift was crowned artist of the year at the American Music Awards for a second time.
"This is so crazy!" the country superstar said after beat such contenders as Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to capture all three awards that she was nominated for at Sunday's ceremony, including artist of the year, the show's highest accolade that she previously claimed in 2009.
"I ended up writing the record by myself, so the fact that you would honor it this way, you have no idea what this means to me," said Swift after winning the trophy for favorite country album for "Speak Now." She was also awarded the prize for favorite country female artist.
Nicki Minaj, the pink-loving hip-hop diva, won two awards Sunday. She kicked off the 39th annual fan-favorite ceremony by sporting a pair of speakers on her much-talked about posterior and was later honored as favorite rap/hip-hop artist, besting a group that included mentor Lil Wayne, and won favorite rap/hip-hop album for "Pink Friday."
"There's so much love in this room," beamed the pink-haired Minaj.
Adele had been the night's leading nominee with four nods, but didn't have much of a presence at the show: She was absent from the ceremony because she is recovering from recent throat surgery. Adele tied Swift with three awards: favorite pop/rock female artist, adult contemporary artist and pop/rock album for "21."
Other winners included Maroon 5 as favorite pop-rock band/duo/group, Blake Shelton as favorite country male artist, Lady Antebellum as favorite country band/duo/group, Beyonce as favorite soul/R&B female artist, Rihanna for favorite soul/R&B album for "Loud" and Hot Chelle Rae as new artist of the year.
The ceremony inside the Nokia Theatre in an unusually rainy Los Angeles was drenched with 17 musical performances.
Justin Bieber got in the holiday spirit among a forest of neon lights with "Under the Mistletoe," and Kelly Clarkson, wearing a glittery red gown with her hair swept to the side, delivered a swinging rendition of her hit "Mr. Know It All" as back-up dancers dressed as 1930s-era photographers snapped the first-ever "American Idol" champion.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony shared custody of rapper Pitbull, who joined the former couple in a pair of separate performances. Lopez performed essentially a live version of a car commercial starring the "Idol" judge set to "Papi" ? with the car onstage ? before launching into her hit "On the Floor." Pitbull later returned to the stage and joined Anthony for "Rain Over Me."
Lopez expressed surprise when she won the favorite Latin music artist award.
"It's been up and down and just exciting and overwhelming and so many things," Lopez said of the last year.
Several artists delivered stripped-down performances: The Band Perry crooned an emotional "If I Die Young," a pink-haired Perry accompanied herself on guitar for "The One That Got Away" and a platinum-blonde Chris Brown simply sang "All Back" before being joined by a troop of helmet-clad back-up dancers for a flashy interpretation of "Say It With Me."
There were collaborations, too. Lopez joined a glowing-in-the-dark will.i.am for his new single "Hard." Christina Aguilera dueted with Maroon 5 on their "Moves Like Jagger," and then Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine teamed with Gym Class Heroes for their hit "Stereo Hearts." Bieber joined LMFAO in animal-print pants for the show's finale, which ended with everyone on stage ? including David Hasselhoff ? stripping down to smiley-face underwear.
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Online:
http://abc.go.com/music-lounge/show/american-music-awards/
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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.
___
AP Entertainment Writers Derrik J. Lang and Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang/ and http://www.twitter.com/APSandy.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Cain to Letterman: 'All of these women are lying' (omg!)
EDITORS:
Please note the 2nd Ld-Writethru to BC-US--Cain-Letterman makes an important change to the attribution of a quote initially attributed to Herman Cain. It was David Letterman who posed the question about women lying about sexual harassment and Cain agreeing with the late-night host.
The AP
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
Del. chemical site eyed for renewable energy (AP)
One of Delaware's most troubled environmental sites, the abandoned Metachem site, is being considered by state and federal officials for its potential to produce clean energy.
The 65-acre site near Delaware City is being paved over to keep chemicals spilled at the plant from continuing to leach into groundwater. That has limited possible reuses for the property, which was the site of several large chemical spills and was placed on the federal Environmental Protection Agency's list of most hazardous waste sites in 1987.
Originally owned by Standard Chlorine of Delaware, and later Metachem, the plant manufactured chlorinated benzene compounds from 1966 to 2002. Several large spills have occurred at the site, including a 1986 spill of 569,000 gallons of volatile organic compounds. Chemicals from the spill have been found in groundwater, soil, creek sediments, surface water and nearby wetlands, leading to a fish consumption advisory for the Red Lion Creek.
Now, with the help of a new EPA program, solar panels could one day cover the site, providing an environmental benefit from a property that has been an environmental concern for decades, said Collin O'Mara, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado announced earlier this month that they plan to assess 26 sites over the next 12 to 18 months. Other sites include an open-pit copper mine in southwestern New Mexico; a former lead smelter in Montana; and landfills in Arizona, Louisiana and New Jersey.
Gail Mosey, an NREL senior energy analyst, said at the unveiling in New Mexico that the project has the potential to use re-use contaminated sites instead of developing farmlands, forested areas or other currently undeveloped lands. The EPA is spending $1 million on the assessment in hopes of transforming the sites from eyesores to assets, federal officials say.
O'Mara said state officials hope to have a system operating in the next few years at the former plant, where capping is expected to be completed about 2016.
The site's industrial history works to its advantage because a strong infrastructure already is in place, the environmental secretary said.
The property is surrounded by manufacturing sites that could use the power as well as utility lines that could accept power from the site for use throughout the region.
"So, there are a lot of options for where the electrons could flow," O'Mara said.
Environmentalists were cautiously optimistic.
Members of the Delaware Nature Society, which has tracked the remediation effort for years, said the idea has promise as long as it doesn't negatively affect efforts to contain contaminants on the property.
Seth Ross, a retired DuPont engineer who has been one of the Delaware Nature Society's leaders in following the remediation, said the contaminants are not expected to break down in the soil for 50 to 100 years. Knowing that, Ross said he wanted to ensure that the contamination underground is not forgotten. He said it's essential to closely monitor the cap over the years.
"Any cap is going to crack, develop cracks, and there has to be a program to follow that and keep it repaired," Ross said.
O'Mara said the state was looking into if the panels could be placed on the site without disturbing the cap. The fact that the site's neighbors are also industrial means the "not-in-my-backyard" complaints often associated with running power lines to alternate energy sites are not likely.
Brenna Goggin, the Delaware Nature Society's environmental advocate, said she was hopeful the site could serve as a model for cleanup spots elsewhere.
"Just because you have these severely contaminated sites that you don't know what to do with, perhaps there are ways to put renewable energy sources on them so that at least something beneficial comes out of this," Goggin said.
___
Online:
EPA Metachem fact sheet ? http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/DED041212473.htm#background
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Robert Wagner to Blame For Death of Natalie Wood?
L.A. County Sherriff's Office investigators' decision to reopen the Natalie Wood case after three decades has raised suspicions of her husband, Robert Wagner.
The captain of the boat that Wood, a major movie star at the time, mysteriously vanished from in 1981 is now blaming veteran actor Wagner for her death.
The Tinseltown starlet died off of Santa Catalina Island in California after partying on a yacht one night with hubby Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.
At the time, police said Wood, 43, accidentally fell overboard and drowned. Now the boat's captain, Dennis Davern, is telling something of a different story.
On Today, Davern said Robert Wagner, now 81, asked him not to take steps to find his wife. It was a matter of "We're not going to look too hard," he said.
"We're not going to turn on the search light, we're not going to notify anybody right at the moment," said Davern, who admitted that he lied at the time.
"I made some terrible decisions and mistakes," he said. "I did lie on a report years ago. I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report."
Asked if Wagner was "responsible" for Wood's death, Davern said, "Yes I would say so." Lana Wood, Natalie Wood's sister, also spoke out about the case:
Lana says she never believed Robert Wagner's version of the events that led to Natalie's death, and believes Robert wasn't honest with investigators.
She says she's not buying the original story that Natalie was trying to secure a dinghy and fell overboard because she was deathly afraid of water.
Natalie wouldn't even go in her own pool, according to her sister.
Lana Wood says Sheriff's detectives interviewed her and specifically wanted to know if the relationship between Natalie and Robert was "volatile."
And, Lana says, if Wagner or anyone else is found to be responsible for Natalie's death, they should be punished, despite the fact it's 30 years later.
Wood (1938-1981) and Wagner were married in 1957, divorced in 1962, then remarried in 1972. They have one daughter, Courtney, born in 1974.
Despite the accusations of the captain, it is not known specifically what caused officials to reopen the case, and Wagner has never been a suspect.
Wagner's publicist, Alan Nierob, issued a statement saying the actor's family "fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff's Department."
The actor, who has a recurring role on NCIS, "trusts they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid."
Nierob said no authorities have contacted Wagner about the case.
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/robert-wagner-to-blame-for-natalie-wood-death/
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
Catholic diocese approved to buy "Hour of Power" church (Reuters)
SANTA ANA, Calif (Reuters) ? A plan to sell Crystal Cathedral, a California mega-church known for its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, to a Roman Catholic diocese for $57.5 million was approved on Thursday by a U.S. bankruptcy judge.
Losing out in a bankruptcy bidding war for the towering 31-year-old church, famed for its 10,000 panes of glass, was a Protestant-affiliated university that offered more money but whose proposal was deemed less favorable for other reasons.
U.S. District Judge Robert Kwan ultimately ruled that the diocese had the best plan for paying off the ministry's entire projected debt, including an annual annuity of roughly $300,000 for its founder, retired televangelist Robert Schuller.
Announcement of the decision capped 14 hours of hearings spanning two days.
Located in the Orange County city of Garden Grove, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the ministry filed for Chapter 11 protection in October after falling $50 million in debt.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange envisions eventually using the cathedral as a new place of worship for its 1.2 million congregants, but would give the existing Protestant congregation three years to move, court papers said.
Schuller's daughter, Carol Milner, told Reuters the diocese provided the best bid because it would allow for religious services to continue at the site indefinitely, even if it meant the current congregation would have to relocate.
"I don't think it's quite hit me," Milner said in tears, after the ruling. "I'm relieved to know that for decades and centuries the sanctuary will be a sacred place, a place where I can pray and sit down on a bench."
Chapman University, whose proposal initially was considered the preferred bid, had offered to lease back the property to the Crystal Cathedral ministry for 20 years. But Milner said she learned that the school planned in the long run to convert the landmark building into a theater.
Moreover, Milner said, Crystal Cathedral ministry bylaws required any potential buyer of the site to be a religious institution, a stumbling block for Chapman despite its affiliation with the Disciples of Christ denomination.
The bankruptcy marked a sharp blow to a congregation that got its start in 1955 when Schuller and his wife, Arvella, began holding services in a rented drive-in theater.
Schuller went on to become an internationally known televangelist through his "Hour of Power" broadcasts before retiring as senior pastor in 2006.
Testimony during the bankruptcy court proceeding revealed that 70 percent of the church's revenue comes from those "Hour of Power" broadcasts, which continue.
The judge said he expects the sale to be finalized by the end of the year.
Bishop Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange attended Thursday's court hearing and called the outcome "bittersweet."
"I have the deepest regret and sympathy for the Crystal Cathedral that they had to take this legal action," he said.
Crystal Cathedral's senior pastor, Sheila Schuller Coleman, who now heads the congregation, said that even though her church's board decided to accept the diocese's offer, she still holds out hope for a "miracle" to keep the cathedral.
"If it's God's will for us to move, we believe it will be where He needs us most," she said in a statement. "It does not mean that our ministry will be diminished."
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Steve Gorman and Cynthia Johnston)
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Video: More alleged Sandusky victims come forward
>> program is being hit with allegations of abuse by one of its long-time coaches. this while more victims are coming forward claiming they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a former penn state assistant coach named jerry sandusky . nbc 's peter alexander is in state college with the latest on this story. peter, good morning.
>> reporter: ann, good morning to you. police in syracuse, new york are investigating whether the men's assistant basketball coach there molested a boy, beginning in the mid 1980s , for more than 12 years. we'll have more details on that in just a moment. but here at penn state university , the man initially named acting president has now officially taken over that title. his name is rodney erickson. and today we're learning new details about the case here, and about a federal investigation, as well. several lawyers tell nbc news that more young men are coming forward to say they're victims of jerry sandusky . many of them empowered the lawyers, say, to begin sharing their stories of abuse in the face of sandusky 's denials. with bob costas on monday night.
>> i say that i am innocent of those charges.
>> there's comfort in numbers. and i think that they now understand that we're not alone.
>> reporter: ben and riazi represents at least two alleged victims, one of them not included among the eight listed in the grand jury report. and riazi says that man was told by authorities he is victim number 11 . and he's claiming there was yet another sexual assault on campus.
>> my client was sexually assaulted by mr. sandusky in the early '90s. and he was sexually assaulted on the grounds of penn state university .
>> reporter: and federal investigators are now examining the sandusky case. nbc news' national investigative kpobl correspondent michael isikoff .
>> reporter: federal prosecutors and fbi agents are looking hard at whether to open up their own investigation because of allegations that jerry sandusky crossed state lines to commit child abuse . one of the pennsylvania state charges against sandusky alleges that he flew one boy, victim number four, to the outback bowl in tampa in 1998 . and then again to the alamo bowl in san antonio in 1999 . starting when the boy was about 13 years old, sandusky is charged with repeatedly abusing him, including at the bowl games . the feds are also trying to determine whether sandusky used the internet to recruit alleged victims, also grounds for the fbi to become involved. and the new york-based charity, the fresh air fund , confirmed this week that it sent a half dozen children across state lines to live with sandusky . one high-level official said it would be inconceivable that we couldn't find grounds to make this a federal case.
>> reporter: penn state 's board of trustees has hired a large pittsburgh-based law firm to advise it during this sex abuse scandal. two penn state administrators already face charges they lied to a grand jury , and didn't alert authorities when given a report of suspected abuse. they deny the charges. and with a new wave of heightened awareness on college campuses late thursday, syracuse university announced it had placed assistant men's basketball coach, bernie fine , on administrative leave. after a former ball boy told the media fine molested him, beginning in the 1980s . fine denies the allegations, and the university says it investigated the complaint in 2005 and immediately alerted police, who found no evidence to support the claims and no charges were ever filed. and back here at penn state , obviously, this entire community has been affected by the allegations here. the allegations that jerry sandusky molested and abused, assaulting as many as eight if not more boys. so students and alumni have launched a fund-raising effort here, ann, trying to show their support for the victims of child abuse , already raising more than $420,000.
>> well, that at least is a little bit of good news in what is really i tragic story. peter alexander ,
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45353501/
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Syrians would accept Turkish intervention: Brotherhood (Reuters)
ISTANBUL (Reuters) ? A leader of Syria's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said on Thursday the Syrian people would accept military intervention by Turkey, rather than Western countries, to protect them from President Bashar al-Assad's security forces.
Mohammad Riad Shaqfa, who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia, told a news conference in Istanbul the international community should isolate Assad's government to encourage people in their struggle to end more than four decades of Assad family rule.
Hundreds of people have been killed this month, one of the bloodiest periods in the revolt that began in March. The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have died in the unrest.
If Assad's government refused to halt its repression, Shaqfa said Turkish intervention would be acceptable.
"If the international community procrastinates then more is required from Turkey as a neighbor to be more serious than other countries to handle this regime," Shaqfa said.
"If other interventions are required, such as air protection, because of the regime's intransigence, then the people will accept Turkish intervention. They do not want Western intervention," Shaqfa said.
The Syrian authorities have banned most independent media and blame the unrest on armed terrorist gangs and foreign-backed militants who they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.
SPECULATION ON CONTINGENCIES
NATO-member Turkey had close ties with Assad, but now says the Syrian government cannot be trusted after it ignored Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's repeated entreaties for a halt to violence and swift enactment of political reforms.
Ankara is considering imposing economic sanctions that would target Assad's government without harming the people, and is working with Arab governments to increase pressure on Damascus.
Several thousand Syrians, including army defectors who have taken up arms against Assad, have fled to Turkey, which has also hosted meetings of the opposition Syrian National Council.
The council is the foremost opposition group, bringing together people ranging from exiled dissidents to grassroots activists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
After mobs attacked Turkey's diplomatic missions in Syria at the weekend, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hosted representatives of the Syrian opposition at dinner on Sunday.
Turkish officials have repeatedly denied media speculation that one of the contingencies being planned is the creation of a buffer zone inside Syrian territory to protect civilians and to make it easier for members of the Syrian military to desert.
On Thursday, Turkish officials denied a report in Sabah, a newspaper regarded as close to the government, that Syrian opposition representative had requested Turkey make plans for a no-fly zone a few kilometers (miles) inside Syrian territory that would gradually be expanded to cover the city of Aleppo.
Sabah said Turkey told the Syrian opposition that three conditions would have to be met: the no-fly zone must have a U.N. mandate, Arab League support and guarantees from the United States and European Union.
NO PLANS FOR RELIGIOUS STATE
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told French BFM Radio on Thursday that France was helping Syrian opposition groups become more organized. Juppe was due to visit Turkey for talks on Thursday and Friday that would focus on Syria.
Shaqfa said members of the opposition council would meet British Prime Minister David Cameron within days.
"They (British officials) have told us that they will soon recognize the Syrian National Council as a representative of the Syrian opposition and the Syrian people," he said.
Shaqfa expressed admiration for the progress Turkey's democracy has made since Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) swept to power over a decade ago, and said the Muslim Brotherhood would not seek to impose a religious state in Syria if it ever joins a government.
"We and our people admire the Turkish experiment. If we reach power, we will deal with everyone. We will make laws .. that focus on freedom, justice and equality.
"These are all taken from principles of the Muslim religion. We will benefit from the instructions of Islam to make laws to achieve freedom, but it will not be a religious state."
The AK Party government, whose leaders came from a banned Islamist party, has overseen a period of unprecedented prosperity in Turkey.
It has also introduced reforms that have reduced chances for military coups that have dogged Turkey in the past, without making any overt moves to roll back the republic's secularism.
(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Omer Berberoglu; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Global Village School Educates Refugee Teen Girls: How You Can Help
Bertha Nibigira, a Burundi student, says she had never read a book before being enrolling at Decatur, Georgia's Global Village School .
Nibigira is one of 30 girls at the nonprofit private school that provides opportunity and safety to young refugees, Fox Atlanta News reports. Many of the students have suffered terrible tragedies in their devastated, war-torn countries and speak very little English.
The students range in age from 12 to 20, from 12 countries ranging from Afghanistan to Burma and Sudan, according to the school's website.
The school respects all cultural differences and allows girls to open up about their experiences as they wish.
"In these cultures, everybody would be paralyzed if they thought about and talked about their past experiences," Kelley Provence, the Global Village School's academic director, told CNN.
But by the end of their time, the young women are fluent in English, and most move on to their local public schools as straight A students, reports Fox Atlanta News.
The school doesn't receive any funding and is in need of donations and basic supplies such as markers and books. See how you can help here.
WATCH RELATED:
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Iran increases prison term for traveling to Israel (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran ? Iranians traveling to Israel could go to prison for up to five years instead of only three months, after Iran's parliament revised an existing ban for such trips.
The measure reflects Tehran's security concerns over archenemy Israel. Iran claims to have dismantled several purported Israeli spy rings in recent years and arrested Iranians with alleged links to Mossad.
Iranian state TV on Monday reported that parliament passed a new amendment, expanding the current prison term for travel to Israel to between two and five years.
Under a 1972 ban imposed by U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, offenders faced possible imprisonment of up to three months.
At the time, the law was designed to mostly avert travel to communist countries.
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Lady Gaga And Laurieann Gibson: The Way They Were
After meeting in 2007, creative director went on to put her stamp on many of the pop superstar's most memorable creations.
By Jocelyn Vena
Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images
On Monday (November 14), Lady Gaga and Laurieann Gibson confirmed their split, ending a creative partnership that dated back to the beginning of the pop star's career.
Gibson first teamed up with Mother Monster in 2007, when the choreographer helped her most famous Dream Warrior with a live routine for her Fame track "Boys Boys Boys." The two ladies shared a similar background, both drawing inspiration from the singer's hometown of New York City, where Gaibson had arrived many years before meeting Gaga, hoping to make it as a dancer. In August, Gibson explained to MTV News that Gaga's Nick Knight-directed "Born This Way" video was meant to pay homage to their love for the city.
"This was the place that we started. This was the place that birthed her. This was the place that birthed my dance," Gibson told us. "New York just has something so real about birthing something specific."
In the years since they first hooked up, the two women have forged one of the most close-knit, high-profile relationships in pop. Gibson has had credits on nearly every Lady Gaga video released so far, including "Poker Face," "Just Dance," "Telephone," "Alejandro," and "Born This Way." But she has also worked closely with the singer on her live performances and massive stage shows.
Among members of Gaga's elusive Haus of Gaga, Gibson is certainly one of the most public. Over the course of the past 12 months, the former "Fly Girl" rose to prominence thanks to her work as creative director for the superstar, starring in not one, but two, of her own reality shows: E!'s "The Dance Scene" and BET's "Born to Dance." And it was during this time that the duo showed the world what they could do as a pair, producing some of Gaga's most talked-about creations, including the clips from the Born This Way album, which was released in May.
"I woke up one night and I got it and I said, 'I got it: We have to birth a new race,' " she recalled to MTV News about the idea for the "BTW" clip. "As genius as [Gaga] is, she then begins to create all of these elements that make her Lady Gaga. When I saw the final edit, I, of course, was loving some stuff and then I was like, 'But oh, here we go.' It was brilliant. Nick is amazing."
While Gibson was outspoken when she disagreed about a creative decision the singer made, she seemed to be always by her side, working on projects like Gaga's Google Chrome commercial, which again pays homage to the star's Big Apple roots. The HBO special "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden" highlighted Gibson's work as creative director and earned Gaga five Emmy nominations.
Laurieann also co-directed the "Judas" video, which she told us had left her satisfied. "I was able to sit in the director's seat and fulfill our vision and see it all the way through. So at the end of the day, you saw how amazing she looks — beautiful — she's dancing again," Gibson said. "And it's just great because I was able to produce the next level: who she is, how many levels she can go and the idea that this artist is a real artist and capable."
Gibson was also onboard for the "Yoü and I" video, which was shot over the summer in Nebraska and features Gaga's male alter ego, Jo Calderone, as well as some interesting "mermaid sex"; the two ladies shared directing duties. She also worked with Gaga on her performance art piece at this year's MTV VMAs, where Calderone was on hand the entire night.
"The idea of her being a performance artist — and it's starting the performance on the red carpet and the idea that the performance never ends for her — is the first time I've experienced this with an artist," Laurianne explained at the time. "I love it. That's something that is specific to her, and the whole night was the performance, and it was important that Jo was a part of the whole night."
What's your favorite Gaga/Gibson collaboration? Share your picks on Facebook!
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674375/lady-gaga-laurieann-gibson-history.jhtml
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