'The Help,' Dujardin win at lively SAG Awards

Castmembers of "The Help" pose backstage with their awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. From left, Chris Lowell, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney and Viola Davis(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Castmembers of "The Help" pose backstage with their awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. From left, Chris Lowell, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney and Viola Davis(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

From left, Robert Clohessy, Michael Shannon, Kevin O'Rourke, Gretchen Mol, Peter Van Wagner and Aleksa Palladino pose backstage with their awards for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series for "Boardwalk Empire" at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jean Dujardin is seen backstage with the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for "The Artist" at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Jan. 29, 2012 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Finally, an awards show with some surprises and spontaneity.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards featured some unexpected winners, including "The Help" for best overall cast performance and Jean Dujardin for best actor in "The Artist" alongside some of the longtime favorites in movies and television.

But there was a looseness and a playfulness that permeated the Shrine Exposition Center Sunday night ? maybe because it was a room full of people who love to perform, without the rigidity of one single host to lead them.

Unlike the great expectations that came with the sharp-tongued Ricky Gervais' reprisal at the Golden Globes a couple weeks ago or the much-anticipated return of Billy Crystal to the Academy Awards next month, there was no master of ceremonies at the SAG Awards. The presenters and winners seemed to have more room to improvise and put their own spin on the evening ? but mercifully, the show itself still managed to wrap up on time after just two hours.

And so we had three of the stars of best-cast nominee "Bridesmaids" ? Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy ? introducing their comedy with a joke about turning the name "Scorsese" into a drinking game, which became a running gag throughout the night. When HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" won the award for best drama series cast, among the first words star Steve Buscemi uttered in accepting the prize were "Martin Scorsese" ? he just happens to be one of the show's executive producers.

One of the more exciting moments of the night was the announcement of Dujardin's name in the best-actor category for his performance in the silent, black-and-white homage "The Artist." In winning the award for his portrayal of a silent-film star who finds his career in decline with the arrival of talkies, Dujardin definitely boosts his chances at the Oscars on Feb. 26. Little-known in the United States before this, the French comic bested bigger names like George Clooney ("The Descendants"), Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar").

If he follows this up with an Academy Award, Dujardin would become the first French actor ever to take the prize. Asked backstage how it would feel, Dujardin launched into a jaunty rendition of "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem.

"Pressure, big pressure," Dujardin then added in his halting English. "It's unbelievable. It's amazing already. Too early to tell."

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer continued to cement their front-runner status in the actress and supporting actress categories, respectively, for their formidable work in "The Help." Both women play black maids in 1960s Mississippi who dare to go public about the bigotry they've endured.

"I just have to say that the stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women. It's all of our burden, all of us," Davis said, accepting the ensemble prize on behalf of her "The Help" co-stars.

Backstage, Davis said of her own victory: "A few more people checked my name in the box for whatever reason. This time I kind of fooled them."

Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer picked up yet another supporting-actor prize for his lovely turn as an elderly widower who finally comes out as gay in "Beginners." Plummer won at the Golden Globes and is nominated for an Oscar. He would become the oldest actor ever to win an Academy Award at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy was when she won best actress for "Driving Miss Daisy."

Backstage, Plummer joked when asked if he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for "The Last Station."

"No, I think it's frightfully boring," Plummer said. "That's an awful question. Listen, we don't go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn't last five minutes."

The win for overall cast for "The Help," when "The Artist" and "The Descendants" have been the favorites all along, makes the conversation more interesting but it isn't necessarily an indicator of how the film will do come Oscar time.

The guild's ensemble prize, considered its equivalent of a best-picture honor, has a spotty record at predicting what will win the top award at the Oscars. While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG ensemble recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The winners at the SAG ceremony often do go on to earn Oscars, however. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

On the television side, comedy series awards went to "Modern Family" for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for "30 Rock"; and Betty White as best actress for "Hot in Cleveland."

"You can't name me, without naming those other wonderful women on 'Hot in Cleveland,'" the 90-year-old White said. "This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I'm dealing them right in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I'll let them see it."

The TV drama show winners were: Jessica Lange as best actress for "American Horror Story"; and Buscemi as best actor for "Boardwalk Empire."

For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for "Mildred Pierce," while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for "Too Big to Fail."

The guild gave its lifetime achievement award to Mary Tyler Moore, presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Moore recalled that when she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild. Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name she shares with her father, George.

"I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right," she said. "It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all."

___

AP writers David Germain and Beth Harris contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-SAG%20Awards/id-02809ee6a3f7420c823acba6ff7756b2

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Marine guilty plea brings final Haditha case to a close (Reuters)

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) ? The U.S. Marine sergeant accused of leading a massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha pleaded guilty on Monday to dereliction of duty, ending the final prosecution stemming from a 2005 incident that brought international condemnation of U.S. troops.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, entered his plea as part of a deal with military prosecutors in which more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed.

Wuterich was initially charged with murder.

He now faces a maximum sentence of three months of confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for three months and a reduction in rank when he is sentenced on Tuesday at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego, a base spokesman said.

Wuterich, 31, was accused of being the ringleader in a series of November 19, 2005, shooting and grenade attacks that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then a hotbed of insurgent activity.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses as a massacre of unarmed civilians and brought international condemnation of the U.S. military.

Local witnesses claimed angry Marines had killed unarmed men, women, and children after a popular comrade, Lance Corporal Miguel "TJ" Terrazas, was killed by a roadside bomb.

Lawyers for the troops involved argued the deaths resulted from a fast-moving situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

Wuterich pleaded not guilty when the court-martial began in early January.

The court-martial was suspended last Wednesday by the presiding military judge, who ordered prosecutors and defense lawyers to seek a negotiated plea deal. The trial resumed on Friday for one day, and the plea agreement was announced on Monday morning.

Six out of the eight Marines originally accused in the case had their charges dismissed by military judges, and a seventh was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Marty Graham and Mary Slosson; Writing by Steve Gorman, Editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_marine_haditha

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Canadian minister blasts China ahead of PM's visit (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) ? Canada's foreign minister launched an outspoken attack on China's "abhorrent" treatment of religious minorities on Monday, just weeks before Prime Minister Stephen Harper goes to Beijing in a bid to sell more oil.

John Baird's comments came as a major surprise, given Canada's right-of-center Conservative government has gradually toned down its attacks on Chinese human rights issues over the years in favor of boosting trade.

Baird said in a speech in England that he would speak out against what he saw as attacks on freedom of religion.

"In China, we see Roman Catholic priests, Christian clergy and their laity, worshipping outside of state-sanctioned boundaries, who are continually subject to raids, arrests, and detention," he said in his prepared remarks.

"We see Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uyghur Muslims face harassment, and physical intimidation. These abhorrent acts fly in the face of our core principals, our core values."

China has recently started jailing writers on subversion charges, suggesting a crackdown on dissidents ahead of a leadership transition later in the year.

Neither Harper's chief spokesman nor the Chinese embassy were immediately available for comment.

Chinese troops fired on thousands of Tibetans protesting in southwestern Sichuan province on Monday, killing at least one and wounding more, two overseas advocacy groups said [ID:nL4E8CN6R0]

Some Conservatives have always been suspicious of China and it was not immediately clear whether Baird's words were aimed at a primarily Canadian audience.

"The minister has said himself on countless occasions that often he had to raise difficult subjects and he had to be prepared to do so, no matter who was on the other side of the table, and this is another one of those cases," said Baird spokesman Joseph Lavoie.

Last year Baird vowed to set up an office of religious freedom which he said on Monday would help Canada "speak out when we see religious intolerance and hate being spread".

Harper - accompanied by International Trade Minister Ed Fast - is due to visit China in the second week of February and has made clear he will be talking about energy exports.

Ottawa is keen to sell more oil to China in the wake of Washington's decision to block TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which would have taken oil sands-derived crude from the province of Alberta to refineries on the Texas coast.

The Canadian government, its eyes now on the Chinese energy market, is openly backing Enbridge Inc's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline which would run from Alberta to the Pacific Coast allowing oil sands crude to be shipped by tanker to Asian markets.

"We must seek new markets for our products and services, and the booming Asia-Pacific economies have shown great interest in Canada's minerals, oil, gas and metals," Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said in a speech on Monday.

Chinese firms are taking an increasing interest in the tar sands and have bought $5.5 billion worth of Canadian energy assets and companies since the middle of 2011.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_china_canada

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Egypt's Islamists win 75 percent of parliament (AP)

CAIRO ? Final results on Saturday showed that Islamist parties won nearly three-quarters of the seats in parliament in Egypt's first elections since the ouster of authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak, according to election officials and political groups.

The Islamist domination of Egypt's parliament has worried liberals and even some conservatives about the religious tone of the new legislature, which will be tasked with forming a committee to write a new constitution. It remains unclear whether the constitution will be written while the generals who took power after Mubarak's fall are still in charge, or rather after presidential elections this summer.

In the vote for the lower house of parliament, a coalition led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent, or 235 seats in the 498-seat parliament. The ultraconservative Al-Nour Party was second with 25 percent, or 125 seats.

The Salafi Al-Nour, which was initially the biggest surprise of the vote, wants to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt, while the more moderate Brotherhood, the country's best-known and organized party, has said publicly that it does not seek to force its views about an appropriate Islamic lifestyle on Egyptians.

The two parties are unlikely to join forces because of ideological differences, but both have a long history of charity work in Egypt's vast poverty-stricken neighborhoods and villages, giving them a degree of legitimacy and popularity across the country in areas where newer liberal parties have yet to get a foothold.

Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker Mohammed el-Beltagi said the new parliament represents "the wish of the Egyptian people."

Egypt's elections commission acknowledged that there were voting irregularities, but the vote has been hailed as the country's freest and fairest in living memory.

The liberals who spearheaded the revolt that toppled Mubarak struggled to organize and connect with a broader public in the vote, and did not fair as well as the Islamists.

The Egyptian bloc, which is headed by a party founded by Christian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris, said it won 9 percent of the seats in parliament. Egypt's oldest secular party, the Wafd, also won around 9 percent.

Newer parties, such as the liberal Revolution Continues Party won 2 percent, as did the Islamist Center Party, which had been banned from politics under Mubarak.

The results leave the liberal groups with little ability to maneuver in parliament, unless they choose to mobilize the street in protests or work on key issues with the dominant Islamist groups, said Mohamed Abu-Hamed, the deputy leader of the liberal Free Egyptians Party.

The Brotherhood has refused to join recent street protests, saying that elections and the new parliament are the best ways to respond to demands that the military transfer power immediately to a civilian authority.

"The street and the parliament are not at opposite ends. The issues are not going to be resolved by protests, but through parliamentary laws," the Brotherhood's el-Beltagi said.

The final tally, which includes at least 15 seats for former regime figures, comes as little surprise since election results had been partially announced throughout the three stages of the vote, which took place over several weeks across the country.

The United States long shunned Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and turned a blind-eye to the arrest and torture of Salafis, who now comprise the bulk of Al-Nour Party's constituents, under Mubarak, who was a longtime U.S. ally.

However, top U.S. officials from the State Department have recently met with the Muslim Brotherhood's leaders, who have in turn assured Western officials that they respect minority rights and support democracy.

A White House statement said that President Barack Obama called Egypt's ruling military leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Friday and welcomed the historic seating of the lower house of Egypt's Parliament, which is set to convene for the first time on Monday. Activists have accused the country's military leaders of repressive tactics. Critics say the nearly 12,000 civilians who have faced military trials since Mubarak's ouster have not been afforded proper due process.

Chief military prosecutor Adel el-Morsi said that 1,959 people convicted in military courts since Mubarak's ouster would be released on the one-year anniversary of the start of the uprising on Wednesday.

Among them would be Maikel Nabil Sanad, a blogger who was arrested in March and sentenced to two years in prison on charges of criticizing the armed forces and publishing false information for comments on his blog comparing the military to Mubarak's regime.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

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Pawn Business Booming | WJTV

"We?ll take just about anything," comments the owner of USA Pawn & Jewelry.

But, Brian Smith says, gold is probably the most popular item to pawn.

"Gold has gone way up.? It?s tripled in the last couple of years," explains Smith.

They?ve also gotten a lot of electronics, computers and firearms.

"We want to loan you the most money we can.? The more I loan you, the more I make," comments Smith.

Smith tells us, there have been times when people have tried to sell them stolen items.

"We don't want the stolen stuff.? We lose.? Police pick it up, and we lose the money we put in it," expresses Smith.

And, they do research to make sure the items are valid.

"We have a process to see if it's theirs or not.? Where did you get it, how much you pay for it, how much you want to borrow, can you hook it up for me," continues Smith.

They also have a strong retail business, which helps in a down economy.

"We sell all the same stuff as high end jewelry stores and all the electronic stores at a fraction of the price," adds Smith.

Source: http://www2.wjtv.com/news/2012/jan/20/pawn-business-booming-ar-3084561/

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Romney lowers expectations in South Carolina (Reuters)

GILBERT, South Carolina (Reuters) ? With the crucial Republican presidential primary in South Carolina just hours away, longtime front-runner Mitt Romney is acknowledging what some opinion polls are suggesting: He could lose Saturday.

The idea that the former governor of liberal Massachusetts may not win the primary in a state where conservative evangelical Christians make up about 60 percent of Republican voters isn't that surprising.

But Romney's path to a neck-and-neck finish with former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has begun to look like a lost opportunity, defined by Romney's reluctance to reveal more about his vast wealth and his repeated inability to explain why.

The former private equity executive's discomfort in discussing such personal matters was again evident in Thursday night's debate in Charleston.

When asked whether he would release 12 years of tax returns as his father, George, had done while running for president in 1968, Romney said through a thin smile, "Maybe."

The answer drew a few catcalls from the conservative audience, and contrasted sharply with how Gingrich deftly turned a question about cheating on his second wife into an attack on the media that drew a standing ovation.

It may have been the defining moment of the campaign in South Carolina, the third contest in the state-by-state race to determine who will face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 elections.

As Romney tried to pump up supporters' enthusiasm Friday and launched new attacks on Gingrich, a question hung over Romney's campaign: Why does he have such difficulty answering questions about his money?

His wealth, now an estimated $270 million, has been an issue during his previous runs for office -- notably in 1994, when he lost a U.S. Senate race to incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy.

Romney said Friday that he has been more focused on campaign issues such as jobs and the economy, and acknowledged that he may not have handled questions about his finances as well as he could have.

"I can't possibly tell you that everything I do in the campaign is perfect," he told reporters here.

Voters, pundits and others offered other theories about his problems dealing the issue of his finances.

Like Gingrich, some questioned whether Romney has something to hide.

Perhaps the most intriguing theory came from Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, co-authors of a new book on Romney called "The Real Romney."

During an interview on CNN, Kranish said a Romney family member told the authors that Romney's cautious manner while campaigning -- which can make him seem distant and stiff -- partly reflects a lesson he learned from his father.

George Romney was a chairman of American Motors and a Michigan governor. As a presidential candidate in 1968, he supported the Vietnam War but became an opponent of it after visiting Vietnam with several congressmen.

George Romney later said during a TV interview that his earlier position was the product of "brainwashing" by generals and others who backed the war.

The comment sunk his bid for the Republican nomination, which was won by Richard Nixon.

"That one sentence pretty much exploded his presidential ambitions," Kranish said. "And Mitt Romney has taken a lesson from that. ... As a result, Mitt is more careful, more scripted in what he says because one sentence could perhaps end (his) campaign as it did his father's."

Kranish added that within his circle of trusted advisers, Romney is "very warm."

With the general public, however, "it could be a hard connection to make, especially given his great wealth ... and trying to make that connection to the average person."

Kranish added that Romney could use more of the "free-flowing nature that his father had."

'A LONG SLOG'

Just a few days ago, Romney appeared to be in position to take a big step toward wrapping up the Republican nomination by sailing to victory in South Carolina, having won in New Hampshire.

But on Friday, amid signs that what had been a 15- to 20-point lead over Gingrich was shrinking rapidly, Romney and his surrogates were casting the race as a months-long marathon.

"This is a long slog," said former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, a Romney supporter. "Mitt Romney's strength has been clearly defined as being ready for a long campaign."

On a rainy Friday, Romney also sought to lower expectations for Saturday, and noted that Gingrich is from neighboring Georgia.

"Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well-known, popular in the state, so I knew we'd have a long road ahead of us" in South Carolina, Romney said. "Frankly, to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."

As disappointing as it would be for Romney's campaign to finish in any place but first in South Carolina, he remains the best positioned of the four Republican candidates remaining in the race.

He has more campaign funds and a stronger organization than Gingrich and the two other Republican contenders, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and Texas congressman Ron Paul.

Such advantages for Romney could be key in the next primary, in Florida on January 31.

Florida is one of the largest states in the nation with several major media markets. Maintaining a traveling campaign and covering the state with TV ads is more expensive in Florida than most other states.

"I'm still hoping and planning to win here" in South Carolina, Romney said. "I'm sure the speaker feels the same way I do, but we're going to go on for a long race and I think I've got the staying power and a message that I believe connects with people."

Romney has held big leads in many South Carolina polls, but one survey released Friday by Clemson University showed Gingrich leading Romney 32 percent to 26 percent. Another poll, by American Research Group, showed the race in a virtual tie.

"HONESTY, CHARACTER"

Romney's campaign has been scrambling since Monday, when his finances became a particularly hot issue.

That was the day Romney acknowledged that his income tax rate is 15 percent. That's well below what most wage-earning Americans pay, and suggests that much of Romney's income is capital gains from investments.

On Friday, Romney's campaign tried to take some of the air out of Gingrich's ascent.

In an apparent dig at Gingrich, Romney said the Republican nominee needs to have "vision, trust, honesty, character, integrity."

Santorum, who performed well in Thursday's debate with several jabs at Romney and Gingrich, also has tried to cast Gingrich as "erratic."

Romney's campaign called for Gingrich to release documents involving an ethics investigation of him when he was speaker in 1997.

Gingrich scoffed at the suggestion, saying that the documents already were public.

Gingrich's standing in recent polls suggest that his efforts to win support among evangelical Christian voters have not been damaged much by questions about his personal life.

On Thursday, however, a former wife, Marianne, said in an ABC interview that Gingrich had sought an "open marriage" when he was having an affair in the 1990s with Callista Bisek, who later became Gingrich's third wife.

Gingrich's denial of his former wife's allegation was his shining moment during Thursday's debate.

(Additional reporting by Sam Youngman and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by David Lindsey and Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign

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Video: The Goldfinger Mystery, Part 3

Dateline NBC

'Dateline NBC,' the signature broadcast for NBC News in primetime, premiered in 1992. Since then, it has been pioneering a new approach to primetime news programming. The multi-night franchise, supplemented by frequent specials, allows NBC to consistently and comprehensively present the highest-quality reporting, investigative features, breaking news coverage and newsmaker profiles.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/vp/46079465#46079465

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Chris Vitek?s most used iPhone and iPad accessories of 2011

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/8kXNn7iWMz0/story01.htm

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Gingrich embarks on final Iowa campaign push (AP)

DAVENPORT, Iowa ? Onetime Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich called on campaign rival Mitt Romney Tuesday to "just level with the American people" about his moderate political views.

Asked point-blank in a nationally broadcast network interview if he was calling the former Massachusetts governor "a liar," the former House speaker replied, "Yes."

In the interview on CBS's "The Early Show," Gingrich declined to predict he'd win Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses, but said "I don't think anybody knows who's going to get what right now." He said "I think anybody can come in first" because of a large number of Iowa voters who remained undecided on the day of the caucuses.

Of Romney, Gingrich was asked about previous statements he'd made accusing his opponent of lying. Gingrich assailed Romney for negative television ads that have hurt his standing in the polls, saying Romney has been disingenuous about large sums of money that a Super PAC has been spending on his behalf for the attack commercials.

"I just think he ought to be honest with the American people and try to win as the real Mitt Romney," Gingrich said. "He ought to be candid and I don't think he's been candid."

But when asked if he could support Romney if he became the party's nominee and runs against President Barack Obama, Gingrich answered affirmatively. "He would be much less destructive than Barack Obama," he said. "If you think Barack Obama is someone who is not a risk to the country's future, then that's somebody to vote for."

"I wish Mitt would just level with the American people and be who he really is and let's have a debate between a Massachusetts moderate and a real conservative," Gingrich said.

Briefly the frontrunner, Gingrich hoped for a respectable showing in the caucuses after being pounded by millions of dollars in attack ads.

The former House speaker was set to make an 11th-hour push for support as his campaign bus rumbles through eastern Iowa. He is scheduled to hold events in Muscatine and Burlington before he personally makes his case to a caucus gathering in Cedar Falls.

Gingrich rallied supporters in Davenport Monday night, urging them to help him pull off "one of the great upsets in the history of the Iowa caucuses." Earlier in the day he had all but conceded defeat, saying he didn't "expect to win."

Still, he is setting his sights on New Hampshire and South Carolina, where he pledged to wage a more aggressive effort to draw contrasts with Republican rival Mitt Romney, whom he has labeled a "Massachusetts moderate."

After emerging as a top GOP contender in early December, Gingrich saw his support falter as he was hit with a wave of tough ads painting him as an ethically-challenged Washington insider.

The ex-Georgia congressman has tried to cast himself as the conservative heir to former President Ronald Reagan, touting a supply-side economic plan of tax cuts and fewer regulations. But he has struggled to stay on message, blasting some of his GOP opponents even as he promised to wage a positive campaign.

"I believe I am the only person who has the range of experience necessary to fundamentally get this country back on the right track," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120103/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich

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food52 - food community, recipe search and cookbook contests

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Apple iOS 5 trounces Windows Phone browser in speed tests

An unofficial benchmarking video shows Microsoft's native Windows Phone 7.5 Mango browser lags behind Apple's Safari for iOS in various speed tests, with the Nokia Lumia 800 testbed even being outperformed by an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.3.

This post was written by AppleInsider from AppleInsider.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Source: http://allappnews.com/appleinsider/apple-ios-5-trounces-windows-phone-browser-in-speed-tests/

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Five Paths to 270 (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

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China says man dies of bird flu (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? A man in southern China's Guangdong province died of bird flu Saturday a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever, state media reported.

The 39-year-old bus driver living in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, developed symptoms on December 21 and was admitted to a hospital on December 25 because of severe pneumonia, the official Xinhua news agency said.

He died in the early afternoon of multiple organ failure, having tested positive for the H5N1 virus, the report added.

He had no direct contact with poultry in the month prior to getting sick and had not left the city, Xinhua said.

Guangdong's official newspaper, the Southern Daily, said separately that 120 people who had contact with the man had developed no signs of sickness.

About 10 days ago Hong Kong culled 17,000 chickens at a wholesale poultry market and suspended all imports of live chickens from mainland China for 21 days after a dead chicken there tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

The virus is normally found in birds but can jump to people who do not have immunity to it. Researchers worry it could mutate into a form that would spread around the world and kill millions.

In recent years, the virus has become active in various parts of the world, mainly in east Asia, during the cooler months.

Authorities in China are worried about the spread of infectious diseases around this time when millions of Chinese travel in crowded buses and trains across the country to go home to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The current strain of H5N1 is highly pathogenic, kills most species of birds and up to 60 percent of the people it infects.

Since 2003, it has infected 573 people around the world, killing 336.

The virus also kills migratory birds but species that manage to survive can carry and disperse the virus to new, uninfected locations.

It transmits less easily between people but there have been clusters of infections in people in Indonesia and Thailand in the past.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ed Lane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111231/hl_nm/us_china_birdflu

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Video: Romney brings message to New Hampshire

>>> that's right. we begin with politics. and the final countdown to the first battleground in the race for the white house , iowa . nbc's peter alexander is in des moines for the home stretch before the iowa caucuses .

>> good morning to you. mitt romney and ron paul both hope that the poll position stays in place for this weekend. ron paul has taken the week questioned off in texas with his family and mitt romney is already in new hampshire triegs to shore up support there. more that 1200 miles away in new hampshire , mitt romney was focusing on the next primary state friday night. earlier, romney's message was reinforced by popular new jersey governor chris christie .

>> you don't do wa you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney , i will be back, jersey style, people, i will be back.

>> romney deflected a question from nbc's andrea mitchell of whether he would make public his tax returns.

>> it's premature for me to discuss that at this stage.

>> people know you're wealthy.

>> i understand.

>> there's nothing to hide.

>> no, i understand. there's nothing to hide.

>> rick santoru discussed the gain he's had.

>> we've got style and i think that's what people are looking for.

>> newt gingerich is now viewed by over a third of caucus goers.

>> in my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing -- from dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family.

>> meanwhile, rick perry intensified his criticism over earmarks in congress.

>> why did you ask the taxpayers in iowa to support a teapot museum in north carolina .

>> michellebae bachmann was greated by under-whelming crowds. but ron paul stayed on point with a solid base of supporters.

>> i want to quit pretending that we can take care of the world and forget about the people at home. we ought to remember about the people at home first.

>> paul is so confident, he plans to take the weekend off. finally, jon huntsman is skipping iowa altogether.

>> can you eat all that before the new hampshire primary?

>> before the primary, yes. today? no. taking his candidacy on a strong finish in the granite state . here in iowa , republicans won't just be watching a final ad blitz on the airways. they will be watching the forecast, as well, amy. temperatures really can affect turnout here. but they ever expecting temperatures to be mild and balmy on tuesday with no rain and no snow.

>> peter alexander , thanks so much.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45833503/

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Maine man guilty of arson at topless coffee shop

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) ? A man blamed for a fire that destroyed a coffee shop where topless waitresses worked has been found guilty of arson.

A jury convicted Raymond Bellavance Jr. on Friday after deliberating for four hours.

Prosecutors said "anger and jealousy" caused Bellavance to set fire to the coffee shop, where his ex-girlfriend worked as a waitress. Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley told jurors Bellavance was "a volatile man" who was quick to anger because his former girlfriend was having a relationship with the shop's owner, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The Grand View Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, a town of about 4,000 residents just north of the state capital, Augusta, burned down June 3, 2009.

The defense insisted Bellavance didn't do it.

Bellavance testified he wasn't jealous. He said other people, including a man who testified he helped set the fire, were lying.

A witness who recently finished a drug rehabilitation program testified last week that he was present when Bellavance poured and ignited gasoline behind the coffee shop in the early morning hours. Thomas Mulkern said Bellavance then became upset, telling him they could get life in prison because there were people inside the adjoining apartments.

Coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree and six other people, including two infants, were sleeping in a room connected to the shop. All escaped without injury.

___

Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangordailynews.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-12-30-Topless%20Coffee%20Shop-Fire/id-20aac9074d28459fb8eebee8657d09b6

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Warm weather due for Rose Parade

PASADENA, Calif. ? Southern California will enter the New Year with Chamber of Commerce weather as a high-pressure ridge building in through the weekend combines with an offshore flow to bring above-normal afternoon temperatures.

The National Weather Service says Jan. 1 will bring daytime highs in the 70s to around 80 in greater Los Angeles.

In Pasadena, crowds gathered for Monday's 123rd Rose Parade and 98th Rose Bowl football game will see temperatures climb toward the upper 70s. The high will be back up around 80 on Tuesday.

Nighttime lows through the period will be in the 40s and 50s.

The Rose Parade has only rarely been dampened by rainfall.

The Associated Press

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/30/warm-weather-due-for-rose-parade/

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