Ryan Gosling Shirtless, Tattooed and Holding a Baby in The Place Beyond the Pines

can't stop staring!

Ryan Gosling is sexy with his shirt off, but he's even sexier holding a baby (just scroll down).

From the look of these photos, the movie star's coming flick The Place Beyond the Pines is going to keep us on the edge of our seats.

Gosling plays Luke, a carnival motorcycle performer turned bank robber who gets entangled with a rookie cop (Bradley Cooper) while trying to provide for his girlfriend (Gosling's real-life love Eva Mendes) and their baby.

Is it just us, or does this adorable daddy-and-baby snapshot get you imagining Ryan as a real-life dad!?

Pines opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 29, followed by a wider release in April.

source: eonline.com

Warren Buffett's Best Stocks of 2013 Helping Him Beat DJIA/S&P500

2013 is yet another year getting off to a great start for stocks, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is actually outperforming the broad stock market so far in 2013. As of Tuesday, the S&P 500-tracking SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: SPY) is up about 6% and the DJIA-tracking SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEMKT: DIA) is up about 7%. With a 1% gain on Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) A shares are up 9.3% and the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) B-shares are up by about 8.7%.

We have looked at the year-to-date performance of Warren Buffett's portfolio holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) to see which stocks he has that are helping to drive gains so far in 2013.  We looked through all of Warren Buffett's top stock holdings to identify the biggest winners. What is so interesting today is that the actual Berkshire Hathaway shares are outperforming about 90% of the actual stock holdings that make up the Buffett and Berkshire investment portfolio.

We have included the purchase or sale transaction history of each pick. We have also provided color and the implied upside to the Thomson Reuters consensus (mean) price target objective.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) remains a relatively new holding for team Buffett but was kept steady last quarter at 27.1 million shares worth more than $1.65 billion. It is also Buffett's top stock in 2013 so far with gains of more than 15%. We expect that the way Mr. Buffett talked so positively about this oil refinery that he may add to the position ahead. We expect upside to the 1.6% dividend yield and this trades with more implied upside as the $61.30 price is short of the consensus analyst price target of $66.38.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has been on fire in 2013 and shares have been hitting new 52-week highs and this DJIA consumer products giant is up about 13.5% so far in 2013. What is interesting is that Mr. Buffett had been lowering his stake and it had fallen by nearly half of its share amount down to 52.8 million shares. That number may be even lower ahead as Buffett tends to keep selling stocks he starts selling out of. If the position is somehow static, that position would be worth more than $4 billion. This hit a 52-week high on Tuesday above $76.50 and the consensus analyst price target is $78.75 with a 3% dividend yield as of now.

We have two runner-ups which we are not formally counting as Buffett's best performing stocks even though they have been in the holdings before. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is technically the third best position in the Team Buffett portfolio, but there is just one small problem. This had been almost entirely eliminated down to 59,400 shares from 261,900 shares last quarter and versus 1.429 million shares two quarters ago. That being said, this 9% gain year to date is almost immaterial for Berkshire's $242 billion market cap. Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) is yet another one which would have been great had Buffett remained on its side, but he has sold out of that position in late 2012 as well. That is too bad as this was up 8% year to date in 2013.

source: dailyfinance.com

Barclays to Slash 3,700 Jobs Amid Cost Cutting

Barclays is axing at least 3,700 jobs and pruning its investment bank as its new boss put his stamp on the troubled British bank by aiming to cut 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in annual costs and raise standards after a series of scandals.

The plans form part of an overhaul which Chief Executive Antony Jenkins hopes will convince a sceptical public that he can change a bank which has been dogged by controversy, including a $450 million fine for rigging Libor interbank lending rates.

"I understand the cynics and the sceptics out there, but cynics and sceptics never built anything. It will take years before people actually change their impression of us. I'm not daunted by that at all," Jenkins told BBC radio.

Jenkins is taking a harder line on pay and Barclays said it had cut the average bonus for its investment bankers to 54,100 pounds for last year, down 17 percent on the year. It will pay 1.85 billion pounds in bonuses, down 14 percent on the year.

Barclays said the job cuts will include 1,800 in corporate and investment banking and 1,900 in its European retail and business banking. Finance Director Chris Lucas said 1,600 of the investment bank cuts had already been made.

Jenkins plans to focus investment in Britain, the United States and Africa, and reduce the bank's presence in continental Europe and Asia.

That will include a scaling back of the investment bank's equities and advisory businesses in continental Europe and Asia. It will refocus its retail businesses in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France on mass affluent customers.

Jenkins, 51, has said he expects his plan, dubbed "Project Transform", to take five to 10 years to rebuild Barclays, and has told staff they should leave if they do not want to sign up to the new standards.

Barclays shares were up 4 percent by 0930 GMT, the best performer in a flat European banking index.



DIVIDEND LIFT

Jenkins aims to cut the bank's cost base to 16.8 billion pounds in 2015, excluding one-off costs to achieve that of 2.7 billion over the next three years, and lift its dividend to achieve a 30 percent payout ratio.

The bank will pay a dividend of 6.5 pence per share for 2012 from 6p in 2011, which analysts said was encouraging given that UK regulators are telling banks to conserve capital.

"We take this as a positive for the UK banks - the fact that a bank was allowed to increase its dividend in a backdrop where the Bank of England has been talking about capital holes in the UK banks," said Chira Barua, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein.

Jenkins, a retail banker who was picked at the end of August to run the bank after his predecessor Bob Diamond was forced to quit, will unveil more details on his plan to media and investors later on Tuesday at London's Edwardian Royal Horticultural Halls.

He will reduce the balance sheet by cutting legacy assets. Barclays held 387 billion pounds in risk-weighted assets at the end of December, but that would be equivalent to 464 billion under stricter capital rules coming into force, and Jenkins said he aims to reduce that to 440 billion by the end of 2015.



CHANGING STANDARDS

Much of his focus has been on changing standards and culture that have been criticised as too lax after the bank's Libor fine, the mis-selling of products to millions of customers and investigations into whether Barclays provided enough disclosure in fundraisings from Middle East investors.

The Financial Services Authority and Serious Fraud Office are investigating certain commercial arrangements between Barclays and Qatari investors related to two 2008 fundraisings.

The bank confirmed it will close its controversial but profitable tax advisory business.

Jenkins' plan to keep but scale back the investment bank was expected, as it contributes more than half of group earnings.

Unveiling the strategic plan alongside annual results, the bank reported a 2012 pretax profit of 246 million pounds, down from 5.9 billion in 2011 due to the cost of compensating customers and losses on the value of its own debt.

However, the bank said its adjusted pretax profit for 2012 was 7.05 billion pounds, up 26 percent on the year and in line with the average forecast by analysts.

Pretax profit at the investment bank rose by 37 percent to 4.1 billion pounds, stronger than expected. Income in the investment bank was down 2 percent from the previous quarter, but up 13 percent on a year ago, with fixed income, equities and advisory arms all up.

The bank said it had a good January. "We've had a good start to the year, pretty much across the board and all businesses so we move into the rest of 2013 with confidence," Lucas told reporters on a conference call.

source:  http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/02/12/barclays-to-slash-3700-jobs-amid-cost-cutting/

Grammys Ratings Second Best in 20 Years

Sunday night's Grammy Awards drew 28.12 million viewers, a 29.5 percent drop from the record-breaking CBS telecast in 2012. (Viewers between 18 and 49 also dropped 27 percent.) The decline was no surprise – last year, the extraordinary circumstances of Whitney Houston's unexpected death a day before the show led to a hastily arranged tribute starring Jennifer Hudson. Still, the numbers for this year's 55th annual ceremony were strong, as the live broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles landed its second-best TV ratings since 1993.

Albums may not sell the way they did 20 years ago, but the record industry's star power remains surprisingly resilient, and the broadcast nicely mixed established names with rising talent and drama both manufactured and poignant. The world's two best-selling pop stars, Taylor Swift (in a circus-like opening performance of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together") and Adele (whose acceptance speech for Best Pop Vocal Performance for a live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" was far briefer and less all-encompassing than last year), were present, of course. So were veterans such as Mumford & Sons, Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson.

But the show's most intriguing performances came via big-time debuts – Miguel (who dueted with rapper Wiz Khalifa in black-and-white jackets), Frank Ocean (who performed "Forrest Gump" and won Best Urban Contemporary Album), Fun. (which performed "Carry On" and won both Song of the Year and Best New Artist) and Gotye (who won Record of the Year). Making a case for the future health of rock were the Black Keys (who won for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album and killed it with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Dr. John on "Lonely Boy") and Jack White (who provided old-fashioned rebellion with an apparent f-bomb during "Love Interruption").

Subplots, amplified by Twitter and Facebook, were also plentiful – Katy Perry's cleavage openly flaunted the Grammys' (perhaps savvy) pre-show memo mandating that stars cover up;  Chris Brown pointedly remained seated during a standing ovation as his rival, Ocean,  accepted his award; Brown and Rihanna, once embroiled in domestic violence, sat with each other; and online GIFs replayed Swift cheerily bopping to Mumford and other acts.

As with last year's broadcast, the "in memoriam" section was sadly robust. Two of the show's most emotional highlights were tributes to the Band's Levon Helm (starring Elton John and an overwhelming Mavis Staples) and the closing hip-hop homage to Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch (with Public Enemy's Chuck D, host LL Cool J and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello). If Ocean, Miguel, Fun., Black Keys and Gotye develop to their potential, perhaps future Grammys won't need death for ratings success.

source: rollingstone.com

Stars load up on freebies

Sundance is as much about movies as it is about swag. Maybe even more so, in recent years, as celebrities have loaded up on clothes, gadgets, even pet gear.

We're talking about loads of freebies showered on the stars who attend the film festival in Utah.

This year, one of the most coveted items is the special edition white Burnett jacket from Canada Goose, one of the festival's sponsors. Only 300 are being given out. Two of the recipients thus far: Ellen Page, Dave Grohl and Josh Radnor. And there's a version for sale for $650 for regular non-Hollywood folk.

And on the beauty side of things, Fresh is gifting stars -- including Very Good Girls cast members Elizabeth Olsen and Dakota Fanning -- with its Lotus Youth Preserve face cream and Sugar Petal lip balm.

Meanwhile, in the nation's capital, inaugural activities are in full swing.

And that also means gifting.

One key item: The simulated pearl necklace from jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane, which is included in the official inaugural gift bag handed out at the Creative Coalition gala.

source:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/01/19/sundance-inauguration-products/1846029/

Oprah interview with Lance Armstrong airs January 17

(CNN) -- Lance Armstrong will give his first television interview since being stripped of his Tour de France titles to Oprah Winfrey, her network announced Tuesday.

A news release from the Oprah Winfrey Network said the 90-minute "no-holds-barred" interview will air at 9 p.m. ET January 17 and will be simulcast on Oprah.com.

Winfrey will ask the disgraced cycling star to address the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's report, which said there was overwhelming evidence he was directly involved in a sophisticated doping program, the statement said.

The International Cycling Union, which choose not to appeal the USADA's lifetime ban, stripped Armstrong of his record seven Tour victories in October.

The World Anti-Doping Agency also agreed with the sanctions, which means Armstrong may not compete in sports governed by WADA code.

Before the ban, he was competing in Ironman triathlons and had won two of the five events he had entered. Since the ban he has entered two non-sanctioned events.

According to his Twitter feed, Armstrong has been biking, running and swimming in Hawaii. The Winfrey interview will take place at Armstrong's home in Austin, Texas.

The New York Times reported last week that Armstrong, 41, was contemplating publicly admitting he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Such an admission might lead toward Armstrong regaining his eligibility.

One of his attorneys denied Armstrong was in discussion with the two anti-doping agencies.

Attorney Tim Herman, in a recent e-mail to CNN Sports, did not address whether Armstrong told associates -- as reported by the newspaper -- that he was considering an admission.

Armstrong has repeatedly and vehemently denied that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs as well as illegal blood transfusions during his cycling career.

In the past, Armstrong has argued that he took more than 500 drug tests and never failed. In its 202-page report that detailed Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions, the USADA said it had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the International Cycling Union conducted about 215 tests.

The agency did not say that Armstrong ever failed a test, but his former teammates testified as to how they beat tests or avoided the tests altogether.

The New York Times, citing unnamed associates and anti-doping officials, said Armstrong has been in discussions with USADA officials and hopes to meet with David Howman, chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The newspaper said none of the people with knowledge of Armstrong's situation wanted to be identified because it would jeopardize their access to information on the matter.

Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, an athlete who confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs may be eligible for a reinstatement.

Awaiting Armstrong's 'last word'

Armstrong has been an icon for his cycling feats and celebrity, bringing more status to a sport wildly popular in some nations but lacking big-name recognition, big money and mass appeal in the United States.

He fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He raised millions via his Lance Armstrong Foundation to help cancer victims and survivors, an effort illustrated by trendy yellow "LiveSTRONG" wristbands that helped bring in the money.

But Armstrong has long been dogged by doping allegations, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test -- making a series of claims in 2011.

Armstrong sued the USADA last year to stop its investigation of him, arguing it did not have the right to prosecute him. But after a federal judge dismissed the case, Armstrong said he would no longer participate in the investigation.

In October 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from cycling. Weeks later, he stepped down from the board of his foundation, Livestrong.

It is unclear whether Armstrong would face criminal prosecution for perjury should he confess. Armstrong was involved in several cases where he gave sworn testimony that he never used banned drugs.

source:  http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/08/showbiz/lance-armstrong-oprah/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Ground search called off for missing skydiver

(CNN) -- Police have abandoned a ground search for a man who went missing five days ago over the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

Kurt Ruppert of Lake City, Florida, disappeared Thursday after he jumped from out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet while wearing a special jumpsuit known as a "wingsuit," which allows a person to soar and glide before deploying a parachute.

"The only areas left to search are areas (authorities are) not able to search on the ground. They're steep cliffs and ravines, and when the weather clears, we'll hopefully get our helicopter back up there to look," Sgt. Cindy West, a spokeswoman for the King County Sheriff's Office, said Monday.

It is unlikely Ruppert is still alive given the low temperatures on Mount Si where rescuers have focused their search, authorities said.

"Initially we thought he was probably flying 50 to 60 miles per hour," West said, "but after talking to his jump friends, we found more likely he was traveling 80 to 100 miles per hour, which ... in just a matter of a few seconds he's going to be over a large area. And then the other issue is we don't know exactly what direction he went."

In a written statement issued Sunday, West said: "There are cliff areas that could not be searched due to the extreme risk to searchers. The Sheriff's Office said they will search those areas by helicopter when weather permits."

CNN affiliate KOMO reported there was too much fog on Monday for air crews.

Searchers covered 9 square miles looking for Ruppert, West said.

 

Rescuers scour Washington's Cascade Mountains for missing skydiver

source:  http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/07/us/washington-skydiver-missing/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Commander in Persian Gulf War, Dies at 78

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the Army general who commanded coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War against Saddam Hussein, died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78.

The cause of death was not immediately known. His death was confirmed to the Associated Press by a source.

Known as "Stormin' Norman" for his volcanic temper, the decorated Vietnam War combat soldier became a familiar face from his many press conferences during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Under his leadership during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, coalition forces drove Hussein's troops out of Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded, with relatively few coalition casualties, but the Iraqi leader remained in power.

Hussein would ultimately be left for Bush's presidential son, George W. Bush, to contend with.

After the Gulf War, Schwarzkopf became a television military analyst and went into a quiet retirement in Florida to write his memoirs.

The elder Bush, now hospitalized in intensive care, said in a statement that Schwarzkopf was a "true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation."

"More than that, he was a good and decent man – and a dear friend," says Bush. "Barbara and I send our condolences to his wife Brenda and his wonderful family."

source: people.com

Jersey Shore: 21 Things We've Learned from Our Favorite Guidos and Guidettes

Please, try not to cry.

Although tonight will be the last time we see Snooki, Mike, Pauly D, Sammi, Ronnie, Deena, Vinny and JWoww being the dysfunctional family that they are on the small-screen, know that the guys from Jersey Shore are not leaving us empty-handed.

The stars from the hit MTV reality show have taught us a lot of things these past six seasons, and it's not just that a group of young adults can get paid bank to party and hook up with randoms.

Here are 21 things we've learned, thanks to the Jersey Shore.

1. Way of Life: Your necessary daily routine can be summed up in three letters. Yep, GTL. If you're not going to the gym, tanning and doing laundry every day, you're slackin' off.

2. New Lingo: Jersey Shore pretty much introduced us to a new language.

• Kooka: an alternate term for lady parts
• Meatball: a young woman. usually small in size, that enjoys getting wasted, dancing and partying 24/7
• Twinning: scoring with twins
• Grenades and Landmines: both refer to unfortunate looking women, however a grenade is larger in size than a landmine. A whistle may also be used to warn friends of an incoming
• Juiceheads and Gorillas: very buff men that may or may not be on steroids
• DTF: stands for "down to f--k." Common use includes, "Hey girl, are you DTF?" and "That chick was definitely DTF."
• Smush: another word for intercourse
• Swacked: getting your swagger jacked
• FPC: fist-pump, push-up, chapstick
• Pulling a Robbery: when one swoops in and steal someone's girl/guy
• The Shirt Before the Shirt: the plain T-shirt worn while waiting for others to finish getting ready in an effort to keep your going-out shirt fresh

3. Dance Moves: It's necessary to always "beat the beat up," so one must start low on the ground, and moving with the beat, gradually stand up while punching the air with their fist, or fist-pumping. An additional move for the ladies is a Jersey Turnpike, which requires you to bend over, touch your toes and wiggle what you're workin' with.
4. Hairstyles: Ladies and gents have been introduced to a new 'do. With careful blow-drying and globs upon globs of gel, a guy can achieve the perfect blowout like Pauly D. On the other hand, girls (with or without a teasing comb) can rock a poof, like Snooki.
5. Matters of the Heart: No matter how many times you say, "Don't fall in love at the Shore," you probably will, anyways (Hi, Ron and Sam!). But there is one type of romance that will outlast whatever comes your way—a bromance like Vinny and Pauly's.
6. Italian Tips: Thanks to Sitch sacrificing his well-being, we learn that walls in Italy are not made of dry wall, but cement, and it can really mess you up if you, for whatever reason, want to bang your head against it. It's also probably a better idea not to drive yourself on international roads and just stick to cabs (which you can announce have arrived by yelling "Cabine sono qui!")

7. Never Too Cheesy: When asking a girl to be your girlfriend, don't be hesitant to get a little mushy. Asking her out through a T-shirt can actually work in your favor.

8. Footwear Is No Joke: You can never have too many sneakers. Never. And you must take care of them like they're your children.

9. Prank Champions: Prank wars are serious, and if you've ever needed ideas on what to do, the past six season have given us multiple examples of what works and what doesn't. For example: Putting all the interior furniture outside and vice versa while everyone's away—epic. Attempting to ambush a bunch of guys with weenie water balloons—not so good.

10. Duck Phones: Life is just better with them in it.

11. Survival in the Shore: Believe it or not, an unborn baby can survive in Seaside, as witnessed by Snooki's little man, Lorenzo.

12. The Art of Arguing: Talking at each other in increasing volume is not the only way to a memorable argument. Grab something that's near you and chuck it. If nothing good enough is at reach, then it might get physical. (P.S.: Probably best to file this under "What Not to Do.")

13. Rules of a One Night Stand: Unless they are extra special, your sexual partner for the night should not have the luxury of sleeping over and getting to see the sunlight the next day. Once the deed is done, a cab is called and out they go.

14. Beware of Sneaky Girls: Don't let some stranger put on your expensive diamond chain. She'll leave with it. And then come back the next morning with an, "OMG, I didn't even know I had this, but here you go," just so she can see you again.

15. Killer Moves Not Necessary: Thanks to Mike, we now know that you don't need to have awesome dance moves to make it as a stripper.

16. Got Electrocuted? You're OK: Deena getting electrocuted from her blow dryer allowed Sammi to reassure us that it's not a big deal. "I think you'll be OK. Police zap criminals with their electric gun all the time and they're all right."

17. It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere: It's called Happy Hour for a reason. The cast made it clear that day drinking is not only acceptable, but encouraged. And if you're pregaming, the best mix you can make is Ron-Ron Juice (watermelon juice, cherries, cranberry juice and vodka).

18. Sexual Orientation Is Not a Defining Factor: Two chicks seem interested in hooking up with you, and then they share they're lesbians. Don't throw up your white flag just yet. Vinny showed us that it's still possible for a guy to score a three-way even if the girls aren't into you.

19. Fighting Words: Is a brawl about to commence? In order to look tough, your opening line must be, "Come at me, bro."

20. Medical Advancement: Jersey Shore taught us that you can—yes, can—get pink eye from having a person's ass in your face. Proceed with caution.

21. Resourceful Alternatives: Don't have any luggage? Don't worry. Trash bags are a great replacement.

source: eonline.com

Promoter: Marquez-Pacquiao V not possible by April 20

LAS VEGAS -- Given the intensity of Juan Manuel Marquez’s  knockout of Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, promoter Bob Arum told The Times on Monday that he doesn’t believe it’s feasible to stage a fifth fight between the pair as early as Pacquiao’s previous target date of April 20.

Arum said he is also considering the worldwide attention given to Saturday’s stunning outcome, and the massive interest he expects before the next meeting.

“No. 5 is now the biggest fight in boxing, bigger than Pacquiao-Mayweather,” Arum said. “The idea we’d be ready to fight April 20 is ludicrous.”

He declined to give an exact date, noting that he doesn’t intend  even to discuss future plans with both men until the new year.

The promoter said he expects to keep the bout in the U.S., with bidding expected to come from Las Vegas properties and perhaps Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas.

Marquez, after two bitterly contested lost decisions and a draw versus Pacquiao, likely became fighter of the year and created the fight of the year by rallying from a fifth-round knockdown and badly swollen nose to knock Pacquiao unconscious late in the sixth with a right-handed counterpunch Saturday before more than 16,000 fans at MGM Grand.

In Arum’s Top Rank offices in Las Vegas on Monday, employees were reviewing replays on a big-screen television that showed Pacquiao breathing heavily if not convulsing as he lay face down on the canvas after the knockout punch.

Reports that began to reach Arum during lunch Monday brought elation to him,  company President Todd DuBoef and Marquez’s promoter in Mexico, Fernando Beltran.

Dish Network reported positive pay-per-view sales beyond the November 2011 Pacquiao-Marquez bout that generated 1.25 million buys, and an ESPN executive expressed happiness about the network's increased involvement in boxing.

“This fight shows the health of the sport,” Arum said. “Great fight, shown all over it. The knockout happening right in front of the guy who was almost president of the United States,” Mitt Romney. “It puts the sport back in the mainstream.”

Arum said part of the fallout from the result will be to slot Oxnard’s Brandon Rios, Pacquiao’s likely next opponent if Marquez had lost, into a March rematch against Mike Alvarado. Rios and Alvarado staged a fight-of-the-year candidate in October at Home Depot Center in Carson.

Marquez is scheduled to depart Las Vegas on Monday afternoon for an airport outside of Mexico City, arriving around 9:30 p.m. local time,  Beltran said.

Marquez is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday, and to present him with the gloves he used in defeating Pacquiao.

Arum assured Marquez will earn a greater percentage of the guaranteed purse than Saturday’s fight –- when he collected $6 million to Pacquiao’s $23 million -- “and the pie will be bigger too,” Arum said.

“We’ve known we can count on Marquez to produce numbers that will not disappoint," he added.

Though Marquez declined to answer about his future plans on Saturday, Arum and Beltran made it clear he’s interested in another Pacquiao clash.

“He said he’d go to to the Philippines to fight Manny,” Beltran cracked.

“I feel so happy for this kid. The way it was going, after those tough losses, if he had lost again, I don’t think he would be a happy guy in his life after this. Now, after thinking he couldn’t knock out Pacquiao with a baseball bat, he says, ‘I can’t believe this, it doesn’t seem real, I’m thrilled.’

“In the fifth fight, he will try to win for sure, but whatever happens, happens. He has nothing to prove about being considered one of the greatest Mexican fighters ever.”

Arum said he hadn’t heard reports from the Philippines that Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, doesn’t want him to fight again after rushing to his aid in panic after the knockout.

“Jinkee can make any comment she wants,” Arum said. “Manny’s comment is he wants to fight.”


source: latimes.com

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry Reach Truce in Custody War

After a long court battle and an ugly fistfight outside her house, Halle Berry and her ex Gabriel Aubry appear to have settled their key differences over custody of 4 ½-year-old daughter Nahla – for now.

"The parties have reached an amicable agreement," read a written statement held up by attorney Blair Berk, who represents Berry, after a hearing Thursday in Los Angeles. "There will be no further statements regarding this matter."

Aubry, wearing a black sport coat with dark sunglasses to mask his bruised face, was present, but Berry and her fiancé Olivier Martinez did not attend.

Just exactly what they agreed to – earlier issues ranged from residency to restraining orders – wasn't known.

But the deal was worked out on the same day an emergency protective order issued against Aubry was to expire. That order barred him from seeing his daughter or going anywhere near Berry and Martinez.

It's also unclear whether Aubry's restraining order against Martinez, filed Monday, remains in effect or if it had been, or will be, withdrawn.

Meanwhile, LAPD Commander Andrew Smith tells PEOPLE the Thanksgiving Day altercation between Aubry and Martinez is still under investigation. "Our officers have initially concluded that Aubry was the primary instigator," he says, but adds it's too early to say whether the case will be referred to prosecutors.

source: people.com

Facial hair fun: Bacon shaving cream, mustache bottle openers

As the facial-hair-focused month of Movember draws to a close, we thought we'd revisit some of the beard- and mustache-themed merchandise that's come to our attention, including bacon-scented shaving cream, a stainless steel, mustache-shaped bottle opener and a book cataloging the cultural history of the 'stache.

The most recent to cross our desk is J&D's Foods' Bacon Shaving Cream, touted as "the highest quality meat-scented shaving cream on the market today."

Justin Esch, a co-founder and "bacontrepreneur" at Seattle-based J&D's (the company, which launched in 2007, is responsible for a slew of bacon-flavored products such as Baconnaise and a bacon-flavored popcorn called BaconPOP) told All the Rage that their latest product does not contain any actual pork products.

"We wanted that," he said in a recent phone interview, "but we ran into shelf-life issues and things like that. Our goal was to make a real, high-quality shaving cream -- something classy."

To that end, Esch says, the company worked with the Art of Shaving, the Gillette-owned brand that's carved out a niche in the high-end men's grooming market, to develop the product, which is available in a limited run of 2,500 jars as of Nov. 28. J&D's Foods Bacon Shaving Cream, 5-ounce jar ($14.99), available online at www.baconshavingcream.com.

During a recent trip to Las Vegas for the 2012 National Beard and Moustache Championships, we ran across what may be the perfect stocking stuffer for the facial-hair aficianado/beer drinker in your life: a mustache-shaped bottle opener.

A single, laser-cut piece of stainless-steel gives the Mustache Bottle Opener a simple, sturdy and reliable feel that's sorely lacking in these high-tech, ever-more-complicated days.

Created barely a year ago, it's the brainchild of Adam Bierton, a Rochester, New York, metalwork artist who'd been asked to create a mustache-themed beer tap for a local pub. It was while working on that project that Bierton realized the curved end of the mustache shape he'd created could easily pop the top off a frosty-cold one.

The nearly $20 price tag might seem hefty for a bottle opener at first blush, but we prefer to think of it as investing in a portable, functional, made-in-America, trendy piece of pocket art that'll last a lifetime of six-pack-popping. Mustache Bottle opener ($19.99), keychain ($20.99) and necklace ($27.99), available online at mustachebottleopener.com.

One of the judges at this year's battle of the bearded in Las Vegas was Allan Peterkin, a Toronto-based psychiatrist who has written and commented extensively on the topic of facial hair, and whose latest book,   "One Thousand Mustaches: A Cultural History of the Mo," was published in September.

The paperback book is part illustrated facial-hair field guide, which is helpful if one finds themselves agonizing, for example, about whether the English mustache they're looking at is a peculiar sub-species (that style alone has nine) and part historical survey of famous lip spinach.

It also turns out to be a surprisingly rich treasure trove of tonsorial trivia. We had no idea, for example, that "the mustache  is capable of absorbing twenty percent of its own weight in liquid," or that "[u]ntil the 1940s a man had plural 'mustaches.' Now he has but one 'mustache.'"

Now that's our kind of splitting hairs.

source: latimes.com

Amy Winehouse Play Canceled After Father Objects

A play about the life of Amy Winehouse has been scrapped after the late singer's father denied permission to use her music and likeness, according to the New York Times. The Royal Theater in Denmark has canceled the production, which was set to open January 30th, after the reaction from Mitch Winehouse.

Eleven Danish playwrights collaborated on the script for the play, which focused on the singer's troubles with drugs and alcohol and "the enormous pressure a sensationalist public put on a young superstar when her problems began," as the producers suggested. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27.

source: rollingstone.com

A play about the life of Amy Winehouse has been scrapped after the late singer's father denied permission to use her music and likeness, according to the New York Times. The Royal Theater in Denmark has canceled the production, which was set to open January 30th, after the reaction from Mitch Winehouse.
Eleven Danish playwrights collaborated on the script for the play, which focused on the singer's troubles with drugs and alcohol and "the enormous pressure a sensationalist public put on a young superstar when her problems began," as the producers suggested. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27.


Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/amy-winehouse-play-canceled-after-father-objects-20121126#ixzz2DQ9RfMoJ
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Mayim Bialik and Michael Stone Divorcing

After "much consideration and soul-searching," Mayim Bialik announced Wednesday that she and husband Michael Stone are divorcing after nine years of marriage.

The Big Bang Theory star, who has sons Miles, 7, and Fred, 4, with Stone, cites "irreconcilable differences" for the split, which she revealed in a statement on her Kveller.com parenting blog.

"Divorce is terribly sad, painful and incomprehensible for children. It is not something we have decided lightly," she writes.

The former star of TV's Blossom, 36, also says that the split is not due to the attachment parenting she discusses in her book Beyond the Sling. "Relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose," she says.

"The main priority for us now is to make the transition to two loving homes as smooth and painless as possible," Bialik continues. "Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on. Our privacy has always been important and is even more so now, and we thank you in advance for respecting it as we negotiate this new terrain."

She concludes by saying, "We will be ok."

The couple were married in August 2003 in Pasadena, Calif.

source: people.com

2 killed, 1 critically injured in Long Beach car crash

Two people died and a third was critically injured in a car crash Saturday night in Long Beach, authorities said.

The single-vehicle accident occurred about 6:20 p.m. on Redondo Avenue beneath the 405 Freeway, said Long Beach Police Department spokesman Aaron Eaton.

Two people were declared dead at the scene. The injured person was hospitalized Saturday night.

The crash was still under investigation, but the wet weather may have been a contributing factor, Eaton said.

Redondo Avenue remained closed Saturday night.

source: latimes.com

Miss America Contestant, 24, to Undergo Preventative Double Mastectomy

Allyn Rose is more than just another pretty face.

The Miss America contestant, who will represent Washington, D.C., in the Jan. 12 pageant live on ABC, lost her mom to breast cancer at age 16. Now, at only 24 years old, Rose has decided she will undergo a double mastectomy as a preventative measure after learning she is a carrier of the same rare chromosomal disease that her mother had.

"The idea that I could wake up one day and not have the same body that I did the day before is very scary," Rose, a self-proclaimed former tomboy, tells PEOPLE. "But I also realize my mom was diagnosed at 27. That's three years away from me. I'm not going to let my fear of losing this part of my femininity stop me from living."

Of the disease, Rose explains, "It manifests in male children, but there have been studies that women who are the carriers of it have almost a 75 percent likely chance of contracting breast cancer. It's a very strange change in our genetic code. Almost all of the women in my family have passed away from it."

Thinking back to completing teenage milestones that she couldn't share with her mom, Rose wants to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that these experiences are ones her own children will be able to share with her.

"My mom had her right breast removed at 27, but at 47 or 48, it came back in her left breast," she says. "It was already stage three. She could have had that other breast removed, but I'm sure there was a part of her that thought she didn't want to give up this other part of herself."

She adds, "My dad said he begged her for years and years to get it removed, but she said no. It's ultimately the thing that killed her. I had to become my own mentor. I had to go pick out my prom dress by myself. I had to go to my high school graduation without my mom. She didn't see me go off to college or go on my first date or drive a car for the first time."

But after the "very difficult" experience of losing someone she calls "incredible," Rose will make a huge sacrifice to ensure her own life will last.

"It's a very scary proposition," the model, who also works as a paralegal, says of undergoing the surgery. "But my father and I have met with a surgeon and countless doctors. Some of them are wary because I don't have breast cancer and I am so young, but others have said it's a very smart move, especially for someone who is genetically predisposed."

Choosing Life over Beauty

Rose describes the breast reconstructive plan as "very risky" and "not exactly seamless," but one that is worth it.

"Your skin may be damaged in a way that you will lose your nipple, or sometimes women lose all of their breast tissue," she says, [but], "Breasts don't define your life. I'm choosing life over beauty. I'm choosing to remove something that's so iconic to my womanhood."

Rose – who looks up to Robin Roberts and Giuliana Rancic, who both have battled breast cancer – is using her pageant opportunity as a platform to teach people how to be proactive in their healthcare.

"Title holders across the country get an opportunity to speak to their generation and have something they can advocate," she says. "Being in the industry and competing in the most iconic swimsuit competition in the world, I thought to myself, 'If I were to win and have this surgery a year from now, would I be a different Miss America because I lost my breast?' No."

Should she win the competition, Rose plans to undergo surgery after her duties are complete in January 2014. If she does not win, she will have the procedure done after her local duties are complete next June.

"To win the pageant would truly have my mother's dreams for me come to fruition," says Rose, who will show off her unique roller skating talents during the competition. "Never once in my life did I doubt my mom's love for me or that she wouldn't do anything to have me succeed in life. Some people will never experience that kind of relationship with a parent."

source: people.com

Getting Old, Huh? This Tech Will Help You Out

By the year 2020, 70% of the population will find themselves on the other side of 50. And despite the fact that many optimists call 70 “the new 40,” researchers agree that once you hit 40 — “new” or “old” — it’s a downhill slope.


Instead of throwing up our flabby arms and surrendering, we’re seeing a generation facing the slow decline of the senses with clever tech ideas to make aging more manageable and less humiliating. Whether it’s vision, hearing, memory or just driving skills that are beginning to dim — and, trust me, they will dim — technology is coming to the rescue.

Can’t See

A personal fave is LED reading glasses. Donning a pair might stop you from ordering a regrettable dish in a darkened restaurant. Or, you can just blast the table with your smartphone light by downloading one of dozens of free flashlight apps. I like the one that turns on my camera flash.



Can’t Hear

What’s that you said? Thirty six million Americans face age-related hearing loss, often as a result of their wayward high-decibel pasts. Companies like SoundFest are banking on the fact that baby boomers are going to be yelling “What’d he say?” in theaters and on cellphones everywhere. The company’s app offers hearing assistance through your cellphone.


Can’t Recall

For graying matter, there’s software like Nintendo’s Brain Age that’s filled with puzzles that keep speed and thinking skills polished. You’ll feel like Charlie Gordon in Flowers for Algernon as you sort shapes and subtract numbers, but brain researchers swear by this. The crème de la crème of aging brains, Dakim’s BrainFitness software, has been clinically tested (although it costs $249).

Can’t Drive

Perhaps the scariest aging person of all is the one behind the wheel. Again, technology is stepping up to keep us driving better, longer. Ford kicked off the assistive race with its self-parking car. GM’s new Cadillac seems like it has more sensors and GPS systems on it than NASA –- giving it nearly 360 degree camera systems. Volvo and Mercedes drivers can order driver alert and detection systems to warn them when a pedestrian makes a “b line” off the sidewalk or when you’re low on caffeine. Your car can actually help you keep your blood glucose levels up through unusual alliances like this one by Ford, Microsoft, Healthrageous and BlueMetal Architects.

Ultimately we’re looking at a future where cars drive themselves. LIDAR, Google’s self-driving vehicle project, uses a spinning array of laser receivers and emitters to create a 360 degree map of the road. Most components of driver-less cars: cameras, GPS, accelerometers, radar and ultrasound already exist. Car manufacturers are experimenting on how to package them together.

Of course, there’s a flip side to all of this. Maybe getting older — not seeing or hearing so well — is a gift. What if aging is just nature’s way of telling you to slow down and stop fretting over the little things –- like the newly sprouted chin hair you can’t see in the mirror. Diminishing senses may be our evolutionary protection, a protection that, thanks to technology, we might never get the chance to appreciate.

source: mashable.com

Prince William Pays Tribute on Remembrance Sunday

A solemn Duchess of Cambridge watched Sunday as husband William paid his personal tribute to Britain's war dead.

William, in RAF uniform, was one of the senior royals making a somber commemoration of those who have died in the World Wars and other conflicts on Remembrance Sunday.

He followed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip in laying a wreath of bright red poppies at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

Kate, whose coat was decorated with poppy-style jewelry, watched from a balcony along with William's Aunt Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

The royals traditionally lead the commemorations in London, where hundreds of veterans then paraded. At 11 a.m. around the U.K., the country fell silent for two minutes of reflection.

Missing this year was Prince Harry, who is currently on a military tour in Afghanistan.

source: people.com

Strong quake strikes off Guatemala – USGS

GUATEMALA CITY – A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Guatemala on Sunday, just days after a tremor in the same area left 42 people dead, Guatemalan President Otto Perez said.

The aftershock, which struck at 2215 GMT, triggered some landslides but “fortunately we have no human losses to lament,” Perez told reporters.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was “no destructive widespread tsunami threat” based on the data.

The epicenter of the quake was located 24 kilometers (15 miles) west-southwest of the town of Champerico, and 180 kilometers west-southwest of Guatemala City, said the US Geological Survey, which monitors quakes worldwide.

Perez said that the quake triggered some landslides, especially in an area known as Barranca Grande (Big Ravine) in the department of San Marcos, some 250 kilometers west of the Guatemalan capital on the border with Mexico.

Scores of rescuers were already on the site searching for a person who was buried in Wednesday’s quake, Perez said.

“Thank God nothing regrettable happened, only that the landslide again covered what we had already cleared out,” Perez said.

The 7.4-magnitude quake on Wednesday killed 42 people, according to an updated death toll given earlier by Perez. Initially, 52 people had been reported dead.

Last week’s quake was the most violent to strike the central American country since 1976, when almost 23,000 people perished.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Courts appointments provide Obama a chance to leave his mark

WASHINGTON DC - As US President Barack Obama dives into his second term and looks to build his legacy, his appointments of federal judges, especially to the Supreme Court, appear certain to make a lasting impact.

Over the next four years, the Democratic president will have the opportunity to pull a largely conservative federal bench toward the left, with about 100 vacancies to fill and a Supreme Court that could have up to three openings.

"It is typically in the second term that presidents tend to handle the legacy issues," said Doug Kendall, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center, a Washington-based think tank.

"He has to exercise his constitutional right and authority," Kendall told a recent conference, urging Obama to appoint "moderates" to respond to the "very radical vision of the Constitution" espoused by some ultra-conservative judges.

Unlike in individual states where judges are elected by popular vote, the president names judges to the bench in the US federal court system -- comprised of 89 trial courts, 13 appellate courts, and the Supreme Court.

The US Senate must confirm all judicial nominees.

Currently, most of the 179 appeals judges and 678 trial judges were named by Republican presidents over the last three decades, and the highest courts lean towards the right.

"President Obama really has to be the commander-in-chief in terms of diversifying" the courts, said Caroline Fredrickson, president of the progressive American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

The US needs "to have a court system that is actually fair and balanced" both politically and socially, she said.

Frederickson hailed Obama for increasing the number of women, homosexuals, and minorities on the federal bench -- including the two women he put on the Supreme Court.

But she said the November 6 election, in which Obama handily defeated Republican rival Mitt Romney, served as a "wake-up call" on women's and family issues, and a win over "shocking words on rape and abortion" from the right.

During the campaign, Republican Senate candidates Todd Akin from Missouri and Richard Mourdock from Indiana sparked national outrage with their comments about rape and abortion. Both candidates lost their respective races.

'Flood the zone'

The judiciary is meant to be non-partisan, noted Andrew Blotky, director of legal policy issues at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, saying "judges shouldn't be policymakers."

But whether it's health care reform, voting rights or affirmative action, just a few of the issues taken up by the Supreme Court in recent months, Blotky said "courts play a significant and long-term role on American life."

Obama's Republican predecessor George W. Bush "flooded the zone" with like-minded judges, said Ian Millhiser, a constitutional policy analyst also with the Center for American Progress.

Bush named 12 appeals court judges and two Supreme Court judges, including the current chief justice John Roberts.

Now that he has the chance, "Obama has to flood the zone" to restore judicial equilibrium, Millhiser said.

After naming Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the nine-justice Supreme Court, Obama may have the opportunity to replace as many as three more who will be over the age of 80 by 2015.

Speculation has focused on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 79, who suffers from cancer.

But his impact could be felt across the system, as the vacancies on lower courts have mounted over the past four years, in part because Obama struggled to get his appointees confirmed by the Senate.

Although the Democratic Party holds a majority in the chamber, Republicans can use legislative maneuvers to block nominations or at least make the process more cumbersome.

John Podesta, the chair of the Center for American Progress and a former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, said reforms to the process of confirming judges in the Senate are necessary.

Millhiser noted that if Obama does not respond to the challenge at hand, "we will have a future president in 2016 who will."

source: interaksyon.com