WOW! From floating icebergs to majestic safari scenes, a sneak peek at the most STUNNING images from National Geographic's 2012 international photography contest

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2012 National Geographic Photography Contest
From floating icebergs in Antarctica to majestic safari wildlife in South Africa, no subject is off limits as professional and amateur photographers from all over the world submit their best snapshots to the 2012 National Geographic Photography Contest. The striking images will be judged based on creativity and skill as contestants vie for top honors in three different categories: people, places and things. Get a sneak peek at 12 of our favorite entries received so far

U.N. Twitter accidentally calls for single-state solution in Mideast

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One character can make all the difference in what some consider a Freudian tweet.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need for two states – one for the Palestinians, the other for Israelis – to bring peace to that war-torn region. But that is not the message announced by the U.N.’s official Twitter handle @UN.

“On Day of Solidarity with Palestinians, Ban Ki-moon stresses urgency of reaching 1-state solution,” U.N. Information Officer Nancy Groves tweeted at 2 p.m. EST Thursday.

The message appearing to endorse a controversial one-state solution reached the U.N.’s more than 1 million Twitter followers.

Some Israel supporters were concerned about what a one-state solution would mean for the continued existence of a Jewish state.

Groves said she went on a conference call following the erroneous tweet, leaving it live for more than half an hour.



The tweet was taken down, and a corrected tweet was posted, accurately capturing Ki-moon’s statements.

Groves took personal responsibility for the mishap and explained why it stayed up for so long with her personal Twitter handle, @Nancy_Groves.

“Sorry all,” she wrote, “terrible typo on my part and then went into a telephone conference call before catching it.”

The Daily Caller said that a U.N. spokeswoman initially blamed a hacker for the tweet.

“A nerd – they can do just about anything,” the spokeswoman allegedly told The Daily Caller.

Groves later allegedly got on the phone to say that the hacker story was not true.

“I did it,” Groves reportedly said. “It was my personal fault, and did not mean to suggest anything other than support for a two-state solution.”

The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s status to a nonmember observer state a few hours after the tweet.

Rihanna's naughtiest moments

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Rihanna hugs Chris Brown
We all know Rihanna is a good girl gone bad, but sometimes the Barbadian beauty goes above and beyond her usual naughtiness. Do you think Rihanna's still red hot or has she completely burned out? From risque photo shoots to wearing nothing but body paint, check out the sexy singer's most Rated R moments. Rihanna tweeted this photo on Instagram of her with Chris Brown on Nov. 29, 2012.

POW BAM BUY The 1955 Lincoln Futura that became the original TV Batmobile could fetch millions as it hits the auction block

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With atomic batteries to power and turbines to speed, the original Batmobile is ready to rev up the auction block.
The 1955 Lincoln Futura that California custom-car designer George Barris pimped out into Batman and Robin’s ride on the 1960s hit TV show is set to be sold on Jan. 19.
“It’s a big part of my life,” Barris, 87, told the Daily News Thursday. “But I thought about it and decided it should be shared with people around the world, not sitting in my showroom in North Hollywood.”
Barris, who has owned the 19-foot-long, bubble-topped two-seater for 46 years, revealed that he bought it from the Ford Motor Company for $1 and spent $15,000 to turn it into piece of TV history.
The Arizona auctionhouse Barrett-Jackson is expecting a pow! bam! bidding war and believes the car will fetch “multiple millions” by the time gavel comes down.
“It is definitely the No. 1 most famous car I’ve designed,” said Barris, whose other notable cars include the casket-dragster from “The Munsters” and KITT from the “Knight Rider” series.
The Batmobile features its original souped-up V-8 engine, hydro-automatic transmission and an array of gadgets, including a Bat Ray projector, Bat Eye switch and two rear-mounted parachutes.
It does not really have atomic batteries, by the way.

NASA naysays Nibiru space agency tries to battle 2012 apocalypse talk with common sense and the naked eye

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Astronomers fear the dark side of apocalyptic rumors.
NASA scientists have been debunking pseudoscience and fantasy about the Mayan apocalypse partially because they worry frightened teens might commit suicide over the hoax.

“There are literally millions of people who are afraid — who think the world will end,” said David Morrison, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center.

One particularly pervasive rumor concerns a fictitious planet, which Sumerians supposedly discovered, called Nibiru. On its current orbit, the fictional planet is slated to crash into Earth on Dec. 21, this year’s winter solstice, according to the hoax.

Some people are so worried about the supposedly impending apocalypse that they cannot sleep or eat. Others have even started contemplating suicide as a way to avoid the chaos of end times, according to Morrison.

"While this is a joke to some people and a mystery to others, there is a core of people who are truly concerned," said Morrison.

On behalf of NASA, Morrison routinely answers scientific inquiries submitted by the public. However, over the last few years, legitimate questions have been “overwhelmed” by questions about a 2012 doomsday.

Morrison claims to have received many letters and emails from anxious people but he is particularly concerned about the effect end-of-days rumors might have on young people.

"I think it's evil for people to propagate rumors on the Internet to frighten children," said Morrison.

Nibiru was originally predicted to collide with Earth in May 2003 but when that month came and went without cataclysm, doomsday prophets pushed the date back to December 2012. This move linked the suspected catastrophe with the end of a cycle in the ancient Mayan calendar, according to NASA.

NASA scientists emphasize that there is no basis for this claim. If a planet were heading toward Earth, astronomers would have started tracking it at least a decade ago. People would also be able to view it with the naked eye. It would, in fact, be the brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon.

“You can dispel this rumor yourself. You don’t have to ask the government or ask scientists. Just go out and look at the sky. You will find no new bright object heading for the Earth,” Morris said.

Lindsay Lohan has $100K tax bill paid for by pal Charlie Sheen

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Guess that’s what Hollywood friends are for.
“Anger Management” star Charlie Sheen reportedly reached into his bank account to help Lindsay Lohan pay off her outstanding IRS tab with a $100,000 check, sources told TMZ.
That amounts to almost half of the $233,904 tax bill the starlet owes Uncle Sam from 2009 and 2010, TMZ said Sunday.
Sheen and Lohan, who’ve each had run-ins with the law and stints in rehab, became close during the filming of “Scary Movie 5” in September, according to reports. TMZ said the pair spent time commiserating together on- and off-screen, and Lohan even mentioned her tax woes to Sheen.
The 47-year-old actor apparently has the money to spare, with his FX sitcom getting picked up over the summer for 90 more episodes. Previously, he banked about $2 million per episode for “Two and a Half Men” prior to getting booted after his infamous Plaza Hotel meltdown in October 2010.
Lohan, 26, reportedly declined Sheen’s offer to pay down her IRS debt, but TMZ said he sent the check to her manager anyway.
If she keeps her finances in check, Lohan should be able to pay the rest of her back taxes on her own: She’s expected to make more than $2 million this year from her various jobs. That includes her acting comeback as Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime biopic, “Liz & Dick,” which airs Sunday night.

Going to school no longer a life and death risk Indonesian children rejoice as broken bridge over dangerous river replaced

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If your kids ever complain about taking the bus to school, show them photos of these brave tykes.
A group of children from a small village in western Indonesia no longer have to risk their lives to get to school now that the collapsed bridge they had been forced to shimmy across has been replaced.
The children captured worldwide attention in January after they were photographed scaling the damaged bridge, which spans the Ciberang River in Lebak, Batan Province, and had been crippled by recent floods, Reuters reported.
The kids said they had no choice; the next closest bridge was 30 minutes away.
Now, nearly a year later, the bridge has been fixed. Reuters photos published Thursday on NBCNews.com and other sites showed the children smiling as they made their way across the sturdy new structure.
Epi Sopian, the head of Sanghiang Tanjung village, where the children's school is located, said some NGOs and Indonesia's largest steel producer, PT Krakatau Steel, teamed up to build the new bridge, NBCNews.com reported.
With News Wire Services

Gillibrand breaks down during Sandy testimony over 2 SI boys swept away by storm

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An emotional US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand broke down in tears today during testimony on Hurricane Sandy as she told her senate colleagues about the terrible moment when flood waters snatched two small brothers out of their mother’s helpless arms.

Gillibrand, herself the mother of two young boys, gave a human voice to what is normally a dry Senate committee hearing.


Gillibrand started off by calmly mentioning that 40 New Yorkers had been killed in the storm and that it ravaged the area by cutting across “the most densely populated region in the country.”

Then her voice broke and she choked back tears as she recalled one of the storm’s more tragic moments.

“The most heartbreaking story was when I went to Staten Island and we met with first responders whose job was to find two children,” Gillibrand said before she paused a full 10 seconds and struggled to regain her composure.

She went on to describe the tragic tale of Glenda Moore, whose sons Brandon, 2 and Connor, 4, were washed from her arms by raging floodwaters on a Staten Island road at the height of the storm.

“She tried to get them to higher land, and they were taken away from her arms,” Gillibrand said through tears. “These children were 2 years old and 4 years old, and the mother could do nothing about it because the storm was so strong. She’s just one story of many whose families lost their lives.”

Gilibrand’s testimony, before the Senate Committee in the Environment and Public Works, even moved the committee chair, Barbara Boxer, to tears.

“Let me just say, you’ve given us the most touching testimony,” Boxer, a senator from California, said. “I thank you because you allowed your emotions to come to the surface. You put an amazing human face on this superstorm and we have a lot of work to do.”

Members also heard from US Sen. Charles Schumer, who called for a comprehensive new approach for future flood control.

Testimony included horror stories from New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, who showed a slide presentation that featured video from Port Authority surveillance cameras showing the Hoboken PATH station filling with water.

"We need help, not just rebuilding to the status quo, but stronger so we’re not as vulnerable again,” Menendez said.

Did he think it was a good idea Car dealer said sexy model in ads was his daughter, but then admits he was joking

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An Oregon man is backtracking after claiming the scantily clad woman he uses to sell cars is his 20-year-old daughter.

The blond model, seen wearing hot pants and high-heel boots as she drapes herself over a 1977 Datsun 280Z in a recent ad, is actually a close friend, Kim Ridley admitted to the Daily News.

Ridley, who owns the car dealership Ridley’s Rides in Eugene, Ore. originally told Adweek.com the woman in the provocative photos was his daughter.

“It started out as a joke because somebody put a rude comment on my eBay listing,” Ridley said. “Somebody picked up on it and I thought, ‘Ah, what the heck?’”

The comment Ridley references was from a prospective buyer who asked, “Does buying the car include a free ‘ride’ with the porn star?”

Ridley responded, “Nice way to talk about my daughter!”
From there, media outlets exploded with news Ridley was using his daughter’s sex appeal to push cars.

“It’s amazing how this took off,” he said. “It’s just crazy. It’s funny how people pick up on something and blow it up and make it huge.”

In reality, Ridley, 60, has two sons and no daughters.

He has featured models in his car ads since the mid-1980s.

“Hey, whatever attracts attention to an ad,” he said. “And if you watch TV much, my little deal is nothing compared to those Carl’s Jr. ads.”
The vintage sports car sold for $7,500.

How to Use Microsoft Office Word 2007

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TWIST OF FATES

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SARGUZASHT Digest August 2012

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What a body of work! Painted naked ladies

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Bodyspectra body painting festival
Art doesn't get much more lifelike than this! Using the naked body as their canvas, students at the City Varsity School of Media and Creative Arts in Cape Town, South Africa showcased their artistic talents at Bodyspectra 2012, the country's premier body painting event. From the beautiful and whimsical to the downright strange

Teenage dream

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Angelina Jolie hosted a screening of Naomi Watts’ tsunami-survival drama, “The Impossible,” with a guest list of action actresses Sunday. Spotted at the London Soho House screening were “Prometheus” star Noomi Rapace and Gwendoline Christie from “Game of Thrones.” Jolie told 16-year-old Tom Holland, Watts and Ewan McGregor’s co-star, “I’m a huge fan . . . I hope I get the chance one day to work alongside you.” Holland replied suavely, “The feeling’s mutual.”

Stars without makeup The real face of fame

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How do Hollywood's hottest stars stack up without their camera-ready paint jobs? Check out the real face of fame ... Just when you thought you'd seen Kate Upton do it all, the buxom blond shows us another side of herself! America's favorite swimsuit model appeared glowing and fresh faced as she stepped out without a stitch of makeup at JFK Airport in New York City on Nov. 19, 2012. Even without the usual smokey eyeshadow and face powder we're used to seeing her wear on the red carpet, Upton still looked stunning as she flashed a smile at photographers.

Murdoch’s Israel Tweet

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One day not long before Robert Bartley died, the long-time editor of the Wall Street Journal was honored at a banquet in Manhattan for the newspaper’s courageous support of Israel. The story was told about how Bartley was once asked how he managed to defend Israel with even more verve than some of the Jewish newspapers. “Oh, I had it easy,” Bartley was quoted as replying, “I’m not Jewish.”

We thought of Bartley as we read the vitriol being directed at Rupert Murdoch, now the Wall Street Journal’s chairman, for his tweet in respect of the current fighting at Gaza. “Why Is Jewish owned press so consistently anti-Israel in every crisis?” Mr. Murdoch tweeted. Press critic Howard Kurtz said Mr. Murdoch “had gone beyond outrageous to offensive.” A columnist of the Daily Beast suggested federal regulators should get involved. Mr. Murdoch apologized.

By our lights, his apology was unnecessary. What he had tweeted, after all, was the opposite of the anti-Semitic jibe about Jewish newspapers being beholden to Israel. What Mr. Murdoch is wondering is why Jewish newspapers don’t rise to Israel’s defense. This is a question that is usually raised in respect of the New York Times, which in the current crisis has packaged its acknowledgement of Israel’s right to defend itself in an editorial urging Israel to be more forthcoming in giving away parts of Judea, Samaria, and Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.

If Mr. Murdoch was thinking of the Times, he wouldn’t be the first person to suspect that the paper has bent over backward to avoid being thought of as a Jewish newspaper. Several years ago, Cambridge University issued a history of the Times’ failure during World War II to front its coverage of the Holocaust. The author, Laurel Leff, made clear how uncomfortable the Times’s proprietors, the Sulzberger family, were with the Jewish issue. It led to journalistic error.

People still talk about an editorial the Times issued in 1981, when Prime Minister Begin sent a flight of U.S.-made warplanes to destroy the atomic-bomb-making facility that Iraq was building at Baghdad. The Times’ editorial derided the action as a “sneak attack” and called the raid “an act of inexcusable and short-sighted aggression.” Years later, the Times’s former editor, Max Frankel, wrote in a memoir that the editorial was one of his “major mistakes.”

Mr. Frankel also wrote of how it was “especially satisfying” to realize in America “the wildest fantasy of the world’s anti-Semites: Inspired by our heritage as keepers of the book, creators of the law, and storytellers supreme, Jews in America did finally achieve a disproportionate influence in universities and in all media of communication.” He wrote of how the publisher of the Times in his generation, Arthur “Punch” Sulzberger, “unconsciously abetted this movement” and “had none of his father’s hang-ups about being Jewish.”

Even so, Mr. Frankel wrote, “I was much more deeply devoted to Israel than I dared to assert.” He wrote that he “had yearned for a Jewish homeland ever since learning as a child in Germany that in Palestine even the policemen were Jews!” But he wrote that “[l]ike most American Jews” he had “settled on a remote brand of Zionism, which rejected all importuning to move to Israel to share its hardships and dangers.” Few who held high office at a newspaper have addressed such questions so forthrightly.

Surely Mr. Murdoch knows all this. He is ahead of his critics. When he was honored two years ago by the Anti-Defamation League, he warned that we are in a new phase of the war against the Jews. In the new phase, he said, “[t]he battleground is everywhere,” including the press and broadcasting, multinational organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The aim, he said, was the same, “to make Israel a pariah.” At the time, The New York Sun called his remarks a “radical and newsworthy speech.” If the speech weren’t so long it would have made a terrific tweet.

Miracle therapy helps 10-year-old paralyzed dog walk again after he was hit by a car

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A 10-year-old dachshund left paralyzed after he was hit by a car can walk again thanks to a ground-breaking study that could eventually have major implications for humans.
Researchers at Cambridge University took cells from the lining of Jasper’s nose and injected them into his spine, restoring his ability to move his hind legs.
“Now, he whizzes around the house and garden and is able to keep up with the other dogs," his owner, May Hay, told BBC. "It's wonderful."
Jasper was one of 34 dogs to take part in the research, a collaboration between the university’s Veterinary School and the Medical Research Council’s Regenerative Medicine Centre.
All of the dogs studied suffered paralyzed hind legs.
Some 23 participants received injections of their own olfactory ensheathing cells in their spine, while the remaining were given neutral fluid.
Several of the dogs that received the nose cell injections were able to regain mobility. Many, including Jasper, are able to walk on a treadmill with the help of a harness.
The 11 who received the neutral injection failed to show any signs of improvement.
Professor Robert Franklin, the study’s co-author and a regenerist biologist at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute, said his team was thrilled by the results, the first to prove the effectiveness of transplanting nose cells.
Olfactory ensheathing cells, unlike others in the central nervous system, are believed to regenerate.
"We're confident that the technique might be able to restore at least a small amount of movement in human patients with spinal cord injuries but that's a long way from saying they might be able to regain all lost function,” Franklin said in a statement.
Professor Geoffrey Raisman, the first to discover olfactory ensheathing cells, said there is much more research to be done.
"This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans – that could still be a long way off," Raisman told BBC. "But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road toward it."

Jill Kelley's twin gives tearful press conference on sister's link to Petraeus scandal, looks forward to day when she can explain 'what really happened'

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The twin sister of one of the women in the David Petraeus scandal appeared before the media with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred on Tuesday but declined to answer questions about her links to Petraeus, who quit as director of the CIA after admitting an affair with his biographer.
Natalie Khawam cries during  a press conference concerning her sister's affair with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Tuesday.
Natalie Khawam also did not discuss her relationship with Marine General John Allen, who succeeded Petraeus as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Allen has been linked to Khawam's twin, Tampa, Florida, socialite Jill Kelley, through "flirtatious" emails that turned up in the Petraeus investigation.
Natalie Khawam walks alongside celebrity attorney Gloria Allred at a press conference concerning her sister's affair with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Tuesday.
Both Allen and Petraeus wrote letters of support on Khawam's behalf when she was in a custody dispute with her ex-husband.

Allred told reporters that Petraeus and his wife, Holly, were long-time family friends of the sisters.

"They have loved Natalie's child and emotionally supported her and her son through the toughest times in Natalie and her son's life," Allred, who has a long list of celebrity clients, said at the news conference at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

She did not mention the letter of support written by Allen, who took over as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan when Petraeus left the post to become director of the CIA in September 2011.

Petraeus quit the CIA job on Nov. 9, admitting that he had a n affair.

The affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, was revealed when the FBI found communications between her and Petraeus. Kelley had set the investigation in motion by telling an FBI agent that she had been receiving threatening emails that were eventually traced to Broadwell.

That investigation also uncovered emails between Kelley and Allen t hat a re now the subject of a Defense Department internal inquiry. Allen has denied that the two had a sexual relationship, officials have said on condition of anonymity.

At the news conference, Khawam described her sister as a kind, generous person and her "best friend." She did not provide details about her or Kelley's relationship with the Petraeus or Allen families, or about her custody dispute.

Khawam "will continue to love and support Jill for doing the right thing," Allred said, without elaborating on what she meant by "right thing." Jill Kelley has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Khawam's ex-husband, Grayson Wolfe, was awarded sole custody of their 4-year-old son and a judge found that Khawam "has extreme personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity."

"I look forward to the day when I'm able to answer everyone's questions and explain what really happened in this matter," Khawam said on Tuesday. She did not take questions.

I can’t wait to die' Police release teen's sinister home video of attempted Columbine copycat

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Florida authorities have released chilling cell phone videos of a local teen bragging about his plans to carry out a Columbine-style massacre at his former high school.
Jared Cano was arrested last year after a friend tipped off police about his plot to set off bombs and shoot students and teachers Freedom High School in Tampa.
In the video, the then-17-year-old Cano bragged about his plan and showed off a series of drawings diagramming where he plotted to set bombs and open fire.
The teen introduces himself as Jared Cano “the Freedom High School shooter….or I will be in a couple months.”
Clips of the video were broadcast on local television station WTSP.
"I thought I'd just run over my game plan with you all," he said, displaying a journal with a hand-drawn map of the school’s cafeteria, which has marks in the corners where Cano said he planned to set explosives.
"My plan is to set a bomb here, point A, here at point B, point C and point D,” he said. “Then I got to get to the side entrance of the school by 7:24. The bombs blow at 7:26," he said.
"I'm going come in and advance on the courtyard where there'll probably be at least sixty people," he said.
Later, he explains a plan to gather a stash of hidden weapons, storm an administrative office and kill everyone inside except one man, whom WTSP-TV identified as Mr. Pears.
“I got to make sure he doesn’t die because I like him,” he said.
Cano, who had been expelled from the school, fantasized that the attack would kill more people than the shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech and the massacre at the summer camp in Norway in 2011.
He planned to commit suicide after killing as many people as he could, he said.
“I can’t wait to die,” Cano said in one video, filmed while he took hits of marijuana.
Cano faces 30 years in prison after pleading no contest last month to two counts of plotting to set off bombs, as well as drug possession charges stemming from a search of his house in August 2011.
He’s due to be sentenced on December 5.
At October hearing, Cano’s lawyers said he never would have carried out the attack.

HOT SHOT Paula Broadwell is seen looking very sexy firing off rounds from a submachine gun

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The mistress who brought down CIA Director David Petraeus was snapped shooting up a storm with the futuristic firearm in December 2011.
The married mom-of-two turned up the heat pumping lead at the Virginia Beach, Virginia range just months after allegedly starting the scandalous affair - as these exclusive shots obtained by The National Enquirer show.
She changed into those tight jeans and riding boots specifically to shoot guns at the firing range," David Crane, owner and editor-in-chief of DefenseReview.com, told the publication."She looked very sexy shooting a submachine gun, so I started taking her picture. She was a decent shot and didn't seem to have a problem hitting the targets."
The pictures were taken at the time Broadwell was making an infomercial for the gun manufacturer Kriss Arms.
Paula Broadwell's association with Kriss Arms has raised eyebrows among observers in Washington, already trying to come to terms with the departure of Petraeus.
Meanwhile Broadwell has hired a high-profile Washington communications firm, Glover Park Group, to represent her, a source familiar with the arrangement said on Monday. Glover Park's consultants include well-known names such as Dee Dee Myers, who served as White House press secretary during President Bill Clinton's first term.

Former world champion boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho in critical condition after getting shot in jaw while riding in car

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Hector Camacho, the flamboyant and often volatile former three-division world champion, was shot in the jaw in Bayamon, Puerto Rico while riding as a passenger in a car on Tuesday night and is listed in critical condition at Centro Medico in San Juan. The driver of the car was fatally shot.
Bayamon Police are investigating the incident and have one suspect in custody, according to reports in the newspaper Primera Hora.
According to the medical director of the hospital, Camacho was struck once in the left jaw and the bullet traveled down his neck and lodged in his right shoulder. Along the way the bullet fractured his 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae and Camacho lost so much blood that he needed a transfusion. There was no mention of paralysis and doctors could not determine whether he had been struck by a second bullet.
The 50-year-old Camacho was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico but his family moved to Spanish Harlem when he was a child. Camacho was a troubled teenager, but took to boxing. He was a three-time New York Daily News Golden Gloves champion.
Camacho won his first world title when he defeated Rafael “Bazooka’’ Limon for the vacant lightweight title in Puerto Rico. After dropping Limon in the first and third rounds, Camacho scored a TKO victory in the fifth.
His fight against Edwin Rosario at Madison Square Garden altered Camacho’s style for the rest of his career. It was a tough fight where Rosario pounded Camacho, who held on for a split decision. After that Camacho became more of a defense-first fighter who avoided engaging in the kind of punishing back-and-forth tactics as he had deployed against Rosario.
One of Camacho’s signature matches came against Julio Cesar Chavez in Las Vegas in 1992. Both men were undefeated champions and they came into the ring with a combined record of 81-0. Camacho failed to engage Chavez and his continuous retreating helped Chavez score a unanimous decision.
Perhaps Camacho will be known most for sending Sugar Ray Leonard into retirement. Leonard hadn’t fought in six years and was making his third comeback attempt when he met Camacho in 1997. Camacho knocked out Leonard in the fifth round. That was his last real ring hurrah as his life slipped into a series of misadventures and run ins with the law.
Camacho’s son, Hector, Jr., followed his father into boxing. But he never had the acclaim as his father.

Ding Dong death knell Hostess, bakers union fail to reach agreement

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The maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs said late Tuesday that it failed to reach an agreement with its second biggest union. As a result, Hostess plans to continue with a hearing on Wednesday in which a bankruptcy court judge will decide if the company can shutter its operations.
The renewed talks between Hostess and The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union came after the company declared last week that it would move to wind down its business and start selling off its assets in bankruptcy court. The company cited a crippling strike that was started on Nov. 9 by the union, which represents 30 percent of Hostess workers.
After making its case to liquidate on Monday, the bankruptcy judge hearing the case noted that the two sides hadn’t yet tried resolving their differences through private mediation. The judge noted that 18,000 jobs were on the line and urged the company and union to try to resolve their differences. Both sides agreed to hold mediation proceedings on Tuesday.
In a statement late Tuesday, Hostess said it would not comment on the breakdown in talks other than to say that mediation “was unsuccessful.”
Hostess shut down its three dozen plants late last week after it said the strike by the bakers union hurt its ability to maintain normal production. The bakers union says the company’s demise was the result of years of mismanagement, however, and that workers have already given steep concessions over the years.
Hostess, weighed down by management turmoil, rising labor costs and the changing tastes of Americans, is making its second trip through Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. The company, based in Irving, Texas, had brought on CEO Gregory Rayburn as a restructuring expert in part to renegotiate its contract with labor unions.
The company reached an agreement with its biggest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, on a contract that dramatically reduced pension contributions, as well as slashing wages and health benefits. But the company said the bakers union stopped returning its calls about a month ago. The Teamsters urged the smaller union to hold a secret ballot on whether members wanted to continue striking. Many workers in the bakers union decided to cross picket lines this week, Hostess said it wasn’t enough to keep operations at normal levels.
Rayburn said that Hostess was already operating on razor thin margins and that the strike was the final blow. The bakers union meanwhile pointed to the steep raises executives were given last year as the company was spiraling down toward bankruptcy.
The company’s announcement last week that it would move to liquidate prompted a rush on Hostess treats across the country, with many businesses selling out of Twinkies within hours.
Even if Hostess goes out of business, its popular brands will likely find a second life after being snapped up by buyers. The company says several potential buyers have expressed interest in the brands. Although Hostess’ sales have been declining in recent years, the company still does about $2.5 billion in business each year. Twinkies along brought in $68 million so far this year.

Danica Patrick driving to a divorce; announces split from husband of 7 years on Facebook

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Danica Patrick and her husband are divorcing after seven years of marriage.
Patrick announced the split with Paul Hospenthal on her Facebook page Tuesday.
"I am sad to inform my fans that after seven years, Paul and I have decided amicably end our marriage," she said. "This isn't easy for either of us, but mutually it has come to this. He has been an important person and friend in my life and that's how we will remain moving forward."
Hospenthal is a physical therapist who met Patrick while treating her for a non-racing injury. The two were married in 2005, and he is 17 years older than the 30-year-old driver.
Patrick just completed her first full season in NASCAR, running the full Nationwide schedule and 10 Sprint Cup Series races after leaving IndyCar.
Earlier this month, Patrick had her best finish in nine Cup starts this season, finishing 24th at Texas and running every lap for the first time. Tony Gibson was Ryan Newman's crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing, but is moving to Patrick's team next season. They got a head start with her final two races this season and she finished 10th in Nationwide points, becoming the highest-finishing female driver in the history of NASCAR's three national series. The previous record was held by Sara Christian, who finished 13th in 1949 in the Cup series.
On Monday night, Patrick won the Nationwide Series' most popular driver award, which is voted on by fans, and she remains one of the most recognizable drivers in auto racing. Patrick challenged for the Indy 500 win as a rookie, becoming the first woman to lead laps while finishing fourth. She was a career-best third in 2009.
There was speculation that her appeal with advertisers had waned, but earlier this month Go Daddy said Patrick will again appear in the website domain provider's commercials during the Super Bowl next year. Patrick and Go Daddy first teamed up when the company became an associate sponsor for her IndyCar in 2007. Go Daddy became the primary IndyCar sponsor in 2010, along with a partial NASCAR schedule, and followed her for the full Nationwide Series and limited Sprint Cup schedules this year.
Go Daddy has committed to sponsor the Cup schedule next season, when Patrick moves up to NASCAR's top level on a full-time basis.

Cops say three missing Michigan boys likely dead at dad’s hands

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Local police think three missing boys are dead, but their mother still holds on to hope that she will see them again.
Tanya Zuvers of Morenci, Mich., authorized age-progressed photos of her three sons to raise awareness of an ongoing search for them.

“It's kind of unreal to think that two years later, we're still sitting here trying to find answers, trying to get that one clue,” Zuvers said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lent a hand in the mission by creating the photos of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. They were last seen Thanksgiving 2010 at the ages of 9, 7, and 5.

Zuvers is also preparing an awareness event on Sunday at Wakefield Park. The local park already has three trees planted in their honor.
The event will raise money for the search. Organizers will also unveil a plaque dedicated to the boys, reported Fox 47 of Michigan.

But police say that the facts of the case, which have not been fully disclosed, indicate that the boys were likely killed by their father, John Skelton, in the early morning of Nov. 26, 2010.

"I'm a human being, and I hope I'm wrong,” said Chief Larry Weeks of the Morenci Police Department. “I'd love to be proven wrong and would welcome that opportunity.”

The police are currently offering a $60,000 reward for any information that leads to finding the children.

ohn Skelton pleaded no contest to unlawful imprisonment charges last year, according to The Associated Press.

Skelton is currently serving a 10- to 15-year prison sentence. He said that his sons are with an “underground sanctuary group” but says he does not know where, reported the Detroit Free Press.

"His choice to hide behind this outlandish story is selfish and cowardly," Weeks said. “If he cared about his sons at all, he would disclose the truth and bring resolution to this case."

SARGUZASHT Digest February 2012

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Playboy honors Marilyn Monroe with nude photo special spanning her career

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Marilyn Monroe, Playboy’s first cover girl, is back gracing the front of the magazine for a December issue timed to the 50th anniversary of the death of the famous femme fatale.
Showcasing pictures from beginning of her career to a few months before her demise at age 36, Playboy unearthed a treasure trove of photos from its archives. including Tom Kelly’s legendary shot of Monroe baring more than her soul on a red velvet cloth.
"She was most in control when she was in the nude," Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said in a statement. "What would be a position of vulnerability for others was a position of power for her.
It took six months to sift through the magazine’s archive of more than 10 million photos,” Playboy editorial director Jimmy Jellinek told the News.
But it was a labor of love considering how much the magazine owes to Monroe.
For the first issue [founder Hugh Hefner] wanted to do a 3-D issue with the glasses, but couldn’t afford it, so he opted for outakes of a nude shoot with a little known actress,” says Jellinek of the January 1952 issue, which was published before Monroe became a household name.
You didn’t need 3-D glasses to see the results: the issue immediatley sold out, and the rest is history.
She helped elevate nude photography into a higher art form,” says Jellinek.
And 50 years after Monroe’s nude, lifeless body was found on her bed next to a bottle of pills - an apparent suicide, though conspiracy theorists think otherwise - the global fascination with the former Norma Jeane Mortenson hasn’t ebbed.
The former Mrs. Joe DiMaggio and Mrs. Arthur Miller was voted the Sexiest Woman of the Century by People Magazine. And last year, Forbes listed her as the third highest-earning dead celebrity, with an income of $27 million.

Penn. teen suffering from rare sleeping disorder tired of sleeping through her life

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A Pennsylvania teen suffering from a rare “sleeping beauty” syndrome has snoozed through birthdays and holidays – and she’s tired of it.
Nicole Delien is battling Kleine-Levin syndrome, a bizarre condition that forces her to sleep 18 to 19 hours a day and leaves her in a sleepwalking state when she’s awake.
"She's never really adjusted to it," Delien’s mother, Vicki Delien, told the Chartiers Valley Patch. "She's 17 now and it really upsets her. She's missed out on a lot."
The teen has slept anywhere from 32 to 64 days in row. She once fell into a somnambulant state before Thanksgiving and didn’t wake up until well after Christmas.
Some 1,000 people suffer from Kleine-Levine, a syndrome that is incredibly difficult to diagnose given its rarity.
Delien battled the condition for 25 months before she was diagnosed. Doctors, at the time, thought she had West Nile virus - or epilepsy.
The disease, which is more common in males, usually appears in adolescence. At the start of each episode, the patient becomes increasingly drowsy and wakes only to eat or go to the bathroom.
"When awake, the patient’s whole demeanor is changed, often appearing “spacey” or childlike,” according to the Kleine-Levin Syndrome Foundation. “When awake he experiences confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy (lethargy), and lack of emotions (apathy)."
Delien takes medicine to cut down on the number of episodes.
But there is no cure, leaving her family in constant fear of a relapse.
“She's just a normal kid," her mother said. "She's a very happy, bubbly teenage girl who enjoys everything and tries to be happy. When she goes into an episode it just tears everything apart."

Obama becomes first sitting President to visit Myanmar, but faces daunting challenge

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President Obama has become the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar, arriving on Monday for a trip that will attempt to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing it for further reforms.
His plane landed in the former capital Yangon, where he will meet President Thein Sein, a former junta member who has spearheaded reforms since taking office in March 2011, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the struggle against military rule and, like Obama, is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She is now a lawmaker.
Obama's trek to Myanmar is meant to highlight what the White House has touted as a major foreign policy achievement -- its success in pushing the country's generals to enact changes that have unfolded with surprising speed over the past year.
But some international human rights group object to the Myanmar visit, saying Obama is rewarding the country's government for a job they regard as incomplete.
Speaking in Thailand on the eve of his landmark visit to the former pariah state, Obama denied he was going there to offer his "endorsement" or that his trip was premature.
Instead, he insisted his intention was to acknowledge that Myanmar, also known as Burma, had opened the door to democratic change but that there was still much more to do.
"I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Burma's arrived, that they're where they need to be," Obama told a news conference as he began a three-country Asian tour, his first trip abroad since winning a second term.
On the other hand, if we waited to engage until they had achieved a perfect democracy, my suspicion is we'd be waiting an awful long time," he said.
The Myanmar visit, less than two weeks after his re-election, is the centerpiece of a trip aimed at showing Obama is serious about shifting the U.S. strategic focus eastwards as America winds down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The so-called "Asia pivot" is also meant to counter China's rising influence.
But Obama arrives with his attention divided as he faces a mounting conflict in the Gaza Strip and grapples with a looming fiscal crisis at home.
"Obama's trip to Burma risks providing an undeserved seal of approval to the military-dominated government that is still violating human rights," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said before the president arrived in the region.
Obama's aides said he was determined to "lock in" democratic changes already under way but will also press for further action, including freeing remaining political prisoners and stronger efforts to curb ethnic and sectarian violence.
A senior U.S. official said Obama would announce the resumption of U.S. aid programs in Myanmar during his visit, anticipating assistance of $170 million in fiscal 2012 and 2013, but this, too, would be dependent on further reforms.
"The president will be announcing that the United States is re-establishing a USAID mission in Burma, which has been suspended for many years," the official told reporters in Bangkok, declining to be named.
"Our continued ramping-up of our efforts within Burma is contingent upon the government continuing to address the issues at hand on political reform, on national reconciliation and on a development that reaches their people," the official added.
The United States has softened sanctions and removed a ban on most imports from Myanmar in response to reforms already undertaken, but it has set conditions for the full normalization of relations, such as the release of all political detainees.
Late on Sunday, state television in Myanmar said 66 more prisoners would be released on Monday, bringing to 518 the number released over the past week.
The previous batch did not appear to include any political prisoners, but a senior prison department official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that Myint Aye, a prominent human rights activist, would be among those freed on Monday.
In a speech to be given at Yangon University to an audience that will include several high-profile former prisoners, Obama will stress the rule of law and allude to the need to amend a constitution that still gives a great role in politics to the military, including a quarter of the seats in parliament.
"America may have the strongest military in the world, but it must submit to civilian control. As president and commander-in-chief, I cannot just impose my will on our congress, even though sometimes I wish I could," he will say.
"I appoint some of our judges, but I cannot tell them how to rule, because every person in America, from a child living in poverty to the president, is equal under the law."
He looks forward to a future "where national security is strengthened by a military that serves under civilians, and a Constitution guarantees that only those who are elected by the people may govern".
Violence between majority Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslim minority in western Myanmar is a top concern, and Obama's aides said he would address the issue directly with Myanmar's leaders.
Myanmar considers the Rohingya Muslims to be illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and does not recognize them as citizens. A Reuters investigation into the wave of sectarian assaults painted a picture of organized attacks against the Muslim community.
At least 167 people were killed in two periods of violence in Rakhine state in June and October this year.
Obama did not refer to this in the copy of his speech released to media ahead of delivery, but he will recall the sometimes-violent history of the United States, its civil war and segregation and say hatred could recede with time.
"I stand before you today as president of the most powerful nation on Earth, with a heritage that would have once denied me the right to vote. So I believe deeply that this country can transcend its differences, and that every human being within these borders is a part of your nation's story," he will say.
Thein Sein, in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week, promised to tackle the root causes of the problem, the United Nations said.
Despite human rights concerns, the White House sees Myanmar as a legacy-building success story of Obama's policy of seeking engagement with U.S. enemies, a strategy that has made little progress with countries such as Iran and North Korea.
Obama's visit to Myanmar, sandwiched between stops in Thailand and Cambodia, also fits the administration's strategy of trying to lure China's neighbors out of Beijing's orbit.
For Obama, the visit carries added significance. He received his Nobel Peace Prize less than a year after taking office in 2009. The award was widely seen as recognizing him more for lofty speech-making than for any major accomplishment on the world stage. This is a chance to tout a foreign policy success.

Middle Eastern shopkeepers scared for lives for serial killer on loose in NYC

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The NYPD added a hate-crimes detective to the hunt for a serial killer who may be targeting Brooklyn shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent — and continues to strike fear in business owners worried they will be next.
The twist in the chase for the .22-caliber killer, who has struck three times in four months, came Sunday as the latest target in the homicidal spree, Rahmatolla Vahidipour, was laid to rest and fellow shop owners tightened security.
The fear comes as the NYPD remains stumped.
“We’re not sure of the motive,” a police source told the Daily News. “Is it robbery and it’s a coincidence that these victims all have a Middle Eastern background? It could be. . . . Or, is this guy targeting men because he hates Muslims or hates Arabs?
Neighbors of Vahidipour’s Flatbush Ave. shop said they were bolstering security regardless of the motive, terrified the madman could snatch their lives, too.
“I’m scared for my own store. I think that because I’m Middle Eastern, someone is going to come in and put a bullet in my head. It’s very scary,” said David Elmann, 24, a Lebanese immigrant and owner of Coolwear clothing on Flatbush Ave.
“I’m definitely going to put cameras outside,” added Elmann, who has hired more staff so that no one has to work in the store alone.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne was hesitant to link the killings to a bias against Middle Easterners, saying the evidence so far does not support the theory.
“We’ve added the detective from the hate crimes task force . . . to cover for the possibility that it’s a hate crime,” Browne explained Sunday.
Vahidipour, 78, a devout Jew from Iran, was shot three times in the head and chest at his Flatbush store, She She Boutique. His body was discovered Friday evening hidden under clothes at the rear of the business.
The .22-caliber gun used in the Vahidipour slaying is the same weapon used to kill two other shop owners, cops said.
The bullet-riddled body of Mohammed Gebeli, 65, an Egyptian immigrant and a Muslim, was found July 6 hidden in the back of his Bay Ridge shop, Valentino Fashion Inc. On Aug. 6, Isaac Kadare, 59, also from Egypt but of Jewish faith, was discovered shot in the head and slashed in the neck in his Bensonhurst store, Amazing 99 Cent Deal.
A police source said no evidence linking the victims has been uncovered, even with the assistance of Interpol.
Money was taken in the first two slayings, but Vahidipour was not robbed, police said.
“The gun is the same. The detectives’ operating premise is that it is the same gunman, too,” Browne said.
Cops returned to all three murder scenes Sunday, scouring for clues and questioning locals, some for a second time, in hopes of jarring memories. Detectives were also poring over security video from neighboring stores, hoping for a break.
The shop owner who discovered Vahidipour’s body said, “Whoever did this is sick.”
“The guy is still out there. I don’t want no problems,” said the shopkeeper, who did not want to be identified. “I haven’t slept since this happened. We’re always keeping two people in the store.”
Mohamed Elsayad, 58, owner of Pasha Fashion for Men on Flatbush Ave., admitted, “I’m scared.”
“I have a family,” said Elsayad, an Egyptian immigrant. “I have four kids. I want to be there for them.”
Cops continued to look for a “person of interest” they are eager to interview, a man spotted talking on his phone about killing someone near Vahidipour’s store Friday, about two hours before the shopkeeper’s body was discovered.
Police released a sketch of the man, described as a 5-foot-5 black man, 140 pounds and wearing sunglasses.
Cops also downplayed the theory that the killer is obsessed with numerology because each of the murder scenes has an “8” in the address.
“There is nothing to indicate anything beyond coincidence in the numbers,” a police source said.
The source admitted the investigation was going “very, very slow” as police poured over video of shops adjacent to Vahidipour’s store.
“But again, what are we looking for?” the source said.
Police continued to advise businesses to be on guard, and recommended they clear items blocking their windows so that passersby can see inside and report any suspicious activity.
“I wish they would catch him fast. God knows when it’s going to stop,” said Avi Zikry, 48, an Israeli immigrant store owner on Flatbush Ave.
“I’m definitely a little more careful,” Zikry added. “I make sure all the cameras are working. I have 16 cameras. I’m fully equipped.”
City Councilman Jumaane Williams and state Sen. Eric Adams, both Flatbush Democrats, called for a “tri-level task force” of NYPD, state police and FBI.
“Anyone with information on this, or any of the potentially connected shootings, needs to contact the NYPD so this killer can be taken off our streets and brought to justice,” Williams said.
Adams urged store owners, specifically those with Middle Eastern backgrounds, to be extra vigilant.
“They are the largest targets,” Adams said. “They don’t know the mind of the person doing it.”
Meanwhile, family and friends of Vahidipour, a grandfather of nine, filled the Ahavat Shalom Synagogue in Great Neck, L.I., to bid farewell.
“It’s really a source of comfort to see everybody’s faces,” Vahidipour’s daughter, Marjan, told mourners. “He loved me very much. He loved all of us.”
Vahidipour’s grandson, David Shokrian, said he’ll remember his family’s patriarch as a hard worker.
“He worked 364 days for nearly the past 20 years. He was never too sick, he was never too tired, he never complained,” Shokrian said.

Les Mis The Hobbit Zero Dark Thirty and more Hollywood's holiday movies are here! A sneak preview of this year's must-sees

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If the holiday season is Hollywood’s main course for audiences, this year it’s stuffed with serious dramas, garnished with comedies, and served with actioners, biopics and family flicks on the side. And, for dessert: the first helping of a three-part honey-cake fantasy epic.
So don’t doze off after Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, every week there’s another must-see event opening. Here’s a quick sleigh ride through the next six weeks of moviegoing.
‘Life of Pi ’ (Nov. 21)
Adapted from the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, this spiritual parable tells of Pi (played by Suraj Sharma as a teen and Irrfan Khan as an adult), who survives a shipwreck and endures months alone on a boat with a tiger as his only companion. Rafe Spall co-stars as a journalist listening to the incredible tale.
The Bottom Line: Director Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”) brings his signature blend of spirituality and strong-mindedness to this tale of faith and adversity. Visually, it’s one of the most gorgeous movies this year.
Red Dawn’ (Nov. 21)
No one wants their movie to idle unseen for years, as happened to this remake of 1984’s Cold War thriller. First MGM faced bankruptcy, and then postproduction alterations were required to change key plot points. But at least leads Chris Hemsworth (“The Avengers”) and Josh Hutcherson (“The Hunger Games”) are now stars. They join Adrianne Palicki and Connor Cruise (Tom’s kid) as teens fighting against military invasion.
The Bottom Line: Can the film itself possibly be more interesting than its troubled history?
‘Rise of the Guardians’  (Nov. 21)
When the Boogeyman decides it’s time to destroy children’s sweet dreams once and for all, it’s up to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and punk kid Jack Frost to save the day.
The Bottom Line: Jude Law, Hugh Jackman and Alec Baldwin are three of the voices here. It remains to be seen if a kick-ass Santa is what kids want to see coming down the chimney this year.
‘Hitchcock’ (Nov.23)
Suspense has been building since Sacha Gervasi (“Anvil: The Story of Anvil”) announced this period biopic about the making of “Psycho.” Sounds like he got the right man in Anthony Hopkins, whose Hitch is supported by Helen Mirren (as the director’s wife) and Scarlett Johansson (as Janet Leigh).
The Bottom Line: True-life tales are notoriously difficult to pull off, but rapturous reviews out of London suggest audiences are already spellbound.
Killing Them Softly’ (Nov. 30)
Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini star in this satirical crime thriller about thugs. Their target: a two-bit criminal who stole from a mobster’s poker game. The director is Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”).
The Bottom Line: Pitt — a character actor wearing a marquee actor’s facial hair — usually gives his films serious thought. This wry genre-twister likely has its trigger finger on some kind of pulse.
‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ (Dec.7)
Roger Michell’s lighthearted biography explores the rumors that FDR (Bill Murray) romanced his cousin, Margaret Suckley (Laura Linney), even as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Olivia Williams) was hosting the King of England at their country estate.
The Bottom Line: This historical jaunt is all about Murray, who has a fine time playing President.
 Lay the Favorite’ (Dec. 7)
A Vegas stripper-turned-waitress (Rebecca Hall) with a skill at predicting winners falls in with a shifty gambler (Bruce Willis) and his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The chips fall in bad places when the waitress takes up with the gambler’s snake-eyed protégé (Vince Vaughn). Directed by Stephen Frears (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “High Fidelity”).
The Bottom Line: Willis, Vaughn and Zeta-Jones are all safe bets. The wild card is Hall, a sexy almost-star overdue to come in first at the finish line.
‘Playing for Keeps’ (Dec. 7)
Gerard Butler stars in this traditional-sounding romance about a divorced athlete who reconnects with his son by coaching soccer. Hot moms Catherine Zeta-Jones and Uma Thurman are ready to score, though he clearly still has feelings for his ex (Jessica Biel). Dennis Quaid co-stars.
The Bottom Line: Despite steady work, the ever-gruff Butler hasn’t yet proven himself a viable romantic lead. At least he has a strong team playing backup.
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (Dec. 14)
Nervous Middle Earther Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) becomes a reluctant adventurer on a journey with a team of dwarfs to retrieve a treasure from a dragon. This prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” features cameos from many of the “LOTR” cast; two more “Hobbits” are due in the coming years.
The Bottom Line: Co-writer-director Peter Jackson is not about to let his cash cow be slaughtered. In other words, even if everyone spoke Elvish, he knows his audience.
‘Stand Up Guys’ (Dec. 14)
Actor Fisher Stevens has been expanding his interests for years, most successfully as a producer (the documentary “The Cove”). Here he directs Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin as ex-cons who reignite their partnership late in life, despite the secrets that could ruin them.
The Bottom Line: All three Oscar winners are mercurial enough to keep us guessing. Will they challenge themselves and remind us why they’re among the greats?
The Guilt Trip’ (Dec. 19)
Seth Rogen is an inventor who goes on a cross-country road trip with his annoying mother (Barbra Streisand) when he has to sell his latest invention. Kvetching and comedy ensue.
The Bottom Line: People who need to take their in-laws to see this may be the unluckiest people in the world. But it’s easy enough to see Rogen and Babs as blood relations.

Lady Gaga performs striptease, strips down in bathtub with two other women in risque video

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Lady Gaga's tweets were getting a lot of attention ahead of her Buenos Aires concert Friday night.
The Grammy-winning entertainer has more than 30 million followers on Twitter and that's where she shared a link this week to a short video showing her doing a striptease and fooling around in a bathtub with two other women.

She told her followers that it's a "surprise for you, almost ready for you to TASTE."
Then, in between concerts in Brazil and Argentina, she posted a picture Thursday on her Twitter page showing her wallowing in her underwear and impossibly high heels on top of the remains of what appears to be a strawberry shortcake.

"The real CAKE isn't HAVING what you want, it's DOING what you want," she tweeted.
Lady Gaga wore decidedly unglamorous baggy jeans and a blouse outside her Buenos Aires hotel Thursday as three burly bodyguards kept her fans at bay. Another pre-concert media event where she was supposed to be given "guest of honor" status by the city government Friday afternoon was cancelled.

After Argentina, she is scheduled to perform in Santiago, Chile; Lima, Peru; and Asuncion, Paraguay, before taking her "Born This Way Ball" tour to Africa, Europe and North America

Kitten rescued from inside statue of Lincoln

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A tiny kitten stuck in a statue of Abraham Lincoln for three days is safe and sound after being rescued on Sunday afternoon.
Fittingly, the 3-week-old miracle kitty has been named "Abe."

Authorities could not figure out how little Abe got into the statue at the Presidents Hall of Fame in Clermont, Fla., but were determined to get him out.
The local fire department drilled a hole in the top of the statue, and a firefighter climbed in and retrieved the kitty. The dramatic rescue was caught on video.
"I dont see how a little kitten, a 3-week old kitten could have gotten up there," Daniel Davis of the Humane Society told WKMG in Orlando. "It couldn't crawl up there."
Little Abe was famished and dehydrated, but will visit a vet and is expected to be OK. John Zweifel, curator at the Presidents Hall of Fame, is hoping to adopt him, according to reports.

American Music Awards 2012 Stars hit the red carpet

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Taylor Swift
Talk about the best in show! There was no shortage of star power at the 40th annual American Music Awards on Nov. 18, 2012 as the biggest names in entertainment arrived in dazzling form on the red carpet. Check out all their standout looks ... Another awards show, another sparkly dress for Taylor Swift. The country darling has legs for days in a glittering gold mini at the American Music Awards, where she was voted Favorite Country Female Artist.

15-year-old girl found alive, tied up in trunk of car 7 days after being abducted

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A 15-year-old girl was found alive, tied up in the trunk of a car, seven days after a stranger kidnapped her from her rural village in southern France.
Chloe Rodriguez disappeared on Nov. 9 as she headed to a friend’s house on her scooter, which was later found six miles away with all of her belongings save her helmet and cell phone.
Police found the teen in Germany on Friday when they pulled over her kidnapper during a routine traffic stop, NBC News reported.
“This man who did her so much harm - there is justice, and justice will be rendered. But I thank him anyway, because he kept her alive,” Rodriguez’s mother, Violette Rodriguez told reporters Friday.
The kidnapper, currently behind bars in Germany, has been identified as a 32-year-old man from France’s Gard region, the same area where Chloe Rodriguez lives.
During the seven-day ordeal, the brave girl memorized little details about her kidnapper, including his car and license plate number, metrofrance.com reported.
But she never disobeyed him, fearing that he would kill her if she did.
"She told us that she was able to have a dialogue with this man, and that she obeyed all his orders," her father, Jesus Rodriguez, told reporters.
The kidnapper recently served over three years in jail for physically and sexually assaulting six women.
The victims were all abducted as they walked or biked alone in the rustic region.
The man underwent recommended counseling while in prison, his lawyer told RTL.fr. But he failed to contact his probation officer after his release.
Chloe Rodriguez was not harmed, however, her parents say she is physically exhausted and cries often.
Her disappearance sparked a national search that ended with their reunion Saturday.
“Today is too beautiful,” Violette Rodriguez said in French. “There will be two birthdays for my little Chloe.”