Amy Beck's husband sued by family

Amy Beck's husband sued by family of underage student; allegedly threatened 14-year-old with gun

The husband of Amy Beck, a former middle school teacher who admitted having sex with an underage student, threatened the victim's life, the student's family alleged in a lawsuit.

Beck's husband, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, threatened to kill the teen after he found the underage boy having sex with his wife, according to multiple reports.

The lawsuit claims that Beck's husband, National Beck, discovered the two in the couple's home and threatened the kid with his LAPD-issued weapon, the818now.com reported. The LAPD is also being named in the lawsuit.

"Officer Beck yelled at the victim and threatened that he would kill the victim with his police gun," the lawsuit reportedly stated.

Amy Beck, then a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan Middle School in California, admitted in March to having a seven-month relationship with the student, according to KTLA News.

She was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of unlawful sex and lewd acts on a minor, but is expected to be released in March if she receives time off for good behavior.

The family said not only did National Beck threaten their son with a department-issued weapon, but the department failed to follow up on their complaint, according to reports.

The suit also complains that National Beck didn't immediately report the sexual abuse - which he is required to do as a police officer.

While both Becks may be in legal trouble, they have no plans to divorce, Amy Beck's husband told reporters at her sentencing hearing in May.

"Her husband is absolutely standing by her," Michael Williamson told reporters.
News From: www.nydailynews.com

Robert Redford artist Sibylle Szaggars

Robert Redford artist Sibylle Szaggars reinvigorated by wife

Robert Redford's second wife has given him a 'whole new life'.

The 74-year-old actor tied the knot with German-born artist Sibylle Szaggars, 55, two years ago and insists having a younger spouse keeps him very active.

He said: 'She's a very special person. She's younger than I am and European, which I like, so that's a whole new life.

'I ride horses, ski, play pretty hard tennis. I still have energy. When that starts to shut down, I might start to think about age.'

The 'Conspirator'star also admitted he feels his advancing years have made him a better director and producer because he has a greater perspective on events.

He explained: 'When you get older, you learn certain life lessons. You apply that wisdom, and suddenly you say, 'Hey, I've got a new lease on this thing. So let's go.' '

Robert insists he has no intention of quitting acting despite his advancing years, and still thinks he has a lot to offer on the big screen.

He said: 'There are movies I want to make. For a long time I've wanted to do a thriller. I like being scared, and I like scaring. And I want to keep acting, though I think the business has concluded that I don't want to act anymore.

In 1959, Robert and first wife Lola suffered tragedy when their baby son Scott died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and he admits the couple struggled to cope with their loss.

He added in the March/April issue of AARP The Magazine: 'It was really hard. We were very young ... We didn't know anything about SIDS, so the only thing you think is that you've done something wrong. As a parent, you tend to blame yourself. That creates a scar that probably never completely heals.'


News From: bigpondnews.com

Malegam Committee Report on issues facing

Malegam Committee Report on issues facing the Microfinance Sector released by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India today released on its website the Report of the RBI Sub-Committee of its Central Board of Directors to study Issues and concerns in the micro finance institutions (MFI) Sector.

The Sub-Committee has recommended creation of a separate category of NBFCs operating in the microfinance sector to be designated as NBFC-MFIs. To qualify as a NBFC-MFI, the Sub-Committee has stated that the NBFC should be “a company which provides financial services pre-dominantly to low-income borrowers, with loans of small amounts, for short-terms, on unsecured basis, mainly for income-generating activities, with repayment schedules which are more frequent than those normally stipulated by commercial banks” and which further satisfies the regulations specified in that behalf.

The Sub-Committee has also recommended some additional qualifications for NBFC to be classified as NBFC-MFI. These are:

1. The NBFC-MFI will hold not less than 90% of its total assets (other than cash and bank balances and money market instruments) in the form of qualifying assets.
2. There are limits of an annual family income of Rs.50,000 and an individual ceiling on loans to a single borrower of Rs.25,000
3. Not less than 75% of the loans given by the MFI should be for income-generating purposes.
4. There is a restriction on the other services to be provided by the MFI which has to be in accordance with the type of service and the maximum percentage of total income as may be prescribed.

The Sub-Committee has recommended that bank lending to NBFCs which qualify as NBFC-MFIs will be entitled to “priority lending” status. With regard to the interest chargeable to the borrower, the Sub-Committee has recommended an average “margin cap” of 10 per cent for MFIs having a loan portfolio of Rs. 100 crore and of 12 per cent for smaller MFIs and a cap of 24% for interest on individual loans. It has also proposed that, in the interest of transparency, an MFI can levy only three charges, namely,

(a) processing fee

(b) interest and

(c) insurance charge.
The Sub-committee has made a number of recommendations to mitigate the problems of multiple-lending, over borrowing, ghost borrowers and coercive methods of recovery.

These include :

1. A borrower can be a member of only one Self-Help Group (SHG) or a Joint Liability Group (JLG)
2. Not more than two MFIs can lend to a single borrower
3. There should be a minimum period of moratorium between the disbursement of loan and the commencement of recovery
4. The tenure of the loan must vary with its amount
5. A Credit Information Bureau has to be established
6. The primary responsibility for avoidance of coercive methods of recovery must lie with the MFI and its management
7. The Reserve Bank must prepare a draft Customer Protection Code to be adopted by all MFIs
8. There must be grievance redressal procedures and establishment of ombudsmen
9. All MFIs must observe a specified Code of Corporate Governance

For monitoring compliance with regulations, the Sub-Committee has proposed a four-pillar approach with the responsibility being shared by

(a) MFI

(b) industry associations

(c) banks and

(d) the Reserve Bank.
Micro Finance (Development and Regulation) Bill 2010

While reviewing the proposed Micro Finance (Development and Regulation) Bill 2010, the Sub- Committee has recommended that entities governed by the proposed Act should not be allowed to do business of providing thrift services. It has also suggested that NBFC-MFIs should be exempted from the State Money Lending Acts and also that if the recommendations of the Sub-Committee are accepted, the need for the Andhra Pradesh Micro Finance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Act will not survive.

The Sub-Committee has cautioned that while recognising the need to protect borrowers, it is also necessary to recognise that if the recovery culture is adversely affected and the free flow of funds in the system interrupted, the ultimate sufferers will be the borrowers themselves as the flow of fresh funds to the microfinance sector will inevitably be reduced.

Background

It may be recalled that the Reserve Bank of India in October 2010 set up a Sub-Committee of its Central Board of Directors to study the issues and concerns in microfinance sector, under the Chairmanship of Shri Y H Malegam, a senior member on the Reserve Bank’s Central Board of Directors. Other members of the Sub-Committee included Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla, Dr. K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Smt. Shashi Rajagopalan and Prof. U R Rao. Shri V K Sharma, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India was the Member Secretary to the Sub-Committee.

Malegam Committee Recommendations for Microfinance Sector in India -pdf-65pages-265KB

Armstrong says not worried

Armstrong says not worried by new doping claims

Lance Armstrong says he has nothing to worry about "on any level" over new doping allegations raised in a report by Sports Illustrated.

The seven-time Tour de France winner curtly brushed aside questions about the story before taking part in Wednesday's second stage of the Tour Down Under.

In a report posted Tuesday on its website, Sports Illustrated magazine previewed a longer investigative piece that will appear in this week's issue, available Wednesday, that challenges Armstrong's statements that he cut ties to an Italian doctor and training adviser who has long been accused of helping cyclists cheat.

Armstrong repeatedly refused to comment on the report Wednesday before saying he had perused it and "I have nothing to worry about on any level." Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's mentor and the manager of this Radio Shack team, also refused to discuss the report.

Without identifying its source, Sports Illustrated said that when Italian authorities raided the home of Armstrong teammate Yaroslav Popovych last November in Italy, they found texts and e-mails linking the Radio Shack team with Dr. Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009.

Armstrong publicly severed his connection with Ferrari in 2004, amid accusations the doctor aided another rider in using performance-enhancing drugs. Ferrari was convicted and then later cleared of criminal charges on appeal.

Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani called the Sports Illustrated report "old news from the same old, discredited sources."

A U.S. federal grand jury in Los Angeles has been hearing evidence for months on cheating in professional cycling. The investigation turned toward Armstrong — and several of his associates have testified before the panel — since ex-teammate Floyd Landis accused the seven-time Tour de France winner of systematic doping.

Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999 to 2005. He is currently 60th overall after two stages at the Tour Down Under, which Armstrong has said will be his final race outside the United States.

News From: www.sfgate.com

Barack Obama to grant Hu Jintao dinner denied by Bush

Barack Obama to grant Hu Jintao the state dinner denied by George W Bush

Barack Obama will on Wednesday grant Hu Jintao, the president of China, the honour of a White House state dinner, in marked contrast to his previous visit to the US when George W Bush offered him only lunch.

Mr Obama will be hoping for an evening free of controversy as he returns the hospitality he was shown at a state dinner in Beijing on a visit in November 2009.

That trip proved awkward however, with Beijing making it clear it was either unwilling or unable to play the role of the co-operative superpower that Washington sought. Mr Obama faced criticism back home for "kowtowing" to the Chinese.

The Obama administration has since toughened its tone, complaining that the exchange rate of China's yuan is hindering the US economic recovery and criticising Beijing's human rights record.

China has meanwhile bristled at a visit by the Dalai Lama, the Tibet spiritual leader, to Washington, and US arms sales to Taiwan while North Korea has also exposed diplomatic fault lines.

"America and China have arrived at a critical juncture, a time when the choices we make, big and small, will shape the trajectory of this relationship," said Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, ahead of the visit.

Mr Hu said both sides needed to find "common ground" but respect each other's differences. With China holding most American sovereign debt, he knows that Washington's scope for criticism is limited.

With US unemployment near 10 per cent, Obama officials have said that a stable relationship with China is indispensable.

It will be the first state dinner for a Chinese leader for 13 years, and will serve as the highlight of a four-day visit that began on Tuesday night with a working dinner at the White House and will include a visit to Chicago, America’s mercantile centre.

"This is a relationship that has huge economic benefits for Americans," said Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary.

"Last year, our exports to China passed the $100 billion mark ... China is likely to become our biggest trading partner sometime roughly ten years from today," he added.

Mr Obama's predecessor Mr Bush, mindful of anti-Chinse protests and his own friendship with the Dalai Lama, disappointed his visitor in 2006.

Mr Hu was then welcomed with a pomp-filled arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, including a 21-gun salute. But the ceremonies were spoiled by a woman protesting against China's treatment of the banned Falun Gong religious movement and a White House announcer who fluffed China's formal name by calling it the "Republic of China" – the name for Taiwan – instead of the "People's Republic of China."


News From: www.telegraph.co.uk

Astaxanthin’s Powers Hawked by Dr. Mercola

Astaxanthin Powers Hawked by Dr. Mercola

Introduced as the “health expert doctors love to hate,” Dr. Joseph Mercola appeared on the Dr. Oz show today to discuss the supplement astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid that is a powerful antioxidant. Currently, astaxanthin is used as a food supplement and preliminary research shows that it may be beneficial in immune, inflammatory and neurodegerative diseases, according to an article published in Future Cardiology. It can come from natural or synthetic sources.

Although the benefits of astaxanthin may be real, consumers may do well to be wary of Dr. Mercola’s advice. He is selling the supplement on his website, which claims astaxanthin is the “Most powerful nutrient for eye health.” Mercola claims to espouse “Natural” medicine, and by doing so rejects microwaves, pasteurized milk, immunizations and the fluoridation of water.

NewsWeek is highly critical of Mercola, saying “a master promoter, using every trick of traditional and Internet direct marketing to grow his business,” including scare tactics. The articles points out the conflict of interests between the claims of providing information about alternative health care advice while at the same time selling these “miracle” products directly though his website.

As with adding any supplement to your daily diet, it’s best to consult with your personal physician first.

Mobile apps market $25 billion by 2015

Mobile apps market to be worth $25 billion by 2015

A research firm is estimating that the mobile apps market will grow to $25 billion by 2015, with an annual growth rate of nearly 30 percent.

If you hate the expanded role of apps in smartphones, the next five years are gonna be brutal. A new study by MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global apps market will swell to about $25 billion in annual revenue by 2015, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 29.6 percent from now until 2014. The growth will mostly come from the high adoption rate of smartphones, proliferation of high-speed 4G services, and falling data costs in the next five years. Apps made $6.8 billion in 2010.
The power of the App Store

The report shows the intense impact that the iPhone App Store had on the cell phone apps market. In 2007, there were 450 million global app downloads. The App Store was launched in July of 2008. There were about 1.1 billion downloads that year, totaling $1.49 billion. In 2009, downloads skyrocketed to 6.44 billion and revenue grew to $4.51 billion. The App Store reached 2 billion downloads alone within its first year of operation and changed the market for apps. While most apps were downloaded through cellphone carrier portals in years prior, Apple’s success has changed the entire market. Now handset manufacturers, operating system makers, and a growing number of third parties run most app stores.

However, Apple’s success has also come at a cost. While the revenue from apps is expected to increase at 29.6 percent, the number of actual downloads will grow much faster, compounding at 64.2 percent until 2015. This is mostly due to reductions in average selling price of apps which will drop from $0.57 in 2010 to $0.18 in 2015 (many apps are free and skew these numbers).

MarketsandMarkets expects the Apple App Store to retain a 20.5 percent share of the market through 2015, though that’s an awfully long ways out to predict market share. Could anyone have predicted the meteoric rise Android went through in just a year?

Robinho and Pele brought in by Santos to warn Neymar

Robinho and Pele brought in by Santos to warn Neymar: Don't sign for Chelsea!

Santos heroes Robinho and Pele have been drafted in to talk Neymar out of a move to Chelsea.

The Brazilian sports minister Orlando Silva has also been asked to intervene, while new national team boss Mano Menezes and World Cup winner Mario Zagallo embarrassed the 18-year-old by calling for Neymar to stay in the country as they sat alongside him at a press conference.

The immensely talented teen has been unsettled by the public attention about his future and responded to Menezes's and Zagallo's comments by admitting: 'I don't know if I will stay or go.

'There is a lot still left to happen. But I won't leave to be a reserve, it would be better to stay. Of course I'll take into account the advice of Mano and Zagallo - it may be too early to leave.' His words will give Santos hope as they go into a meeting with Neymar's father of the same name, and his agent Wagner Ribeiro in which improved terms will be offered on a contract that already runs till 2014.

It is understood that the player is reluctant to pass up the chance of going to Chelsea, but getting Manchester City's Robinho and the greatest player of all time to try and persuade him otherwise could make an impact.

The Barclays Premier League champions had an initial £17million bid rejected, but are ready to return with a £25m offer. Santos, who have threatened to report Chelsea to FIFA over their conduct, insist he won't be sold for less than his near-£30m release clause.

Zagallo tried to reason that Neymar was not yet ready for the physical English game, where so few Brazilian players have prospered.

'I think it is very early for a player of 17, 18, or 19 years to leave Brazil,' said Zagallo, who won the World Cup as a player in 1958 and '62, and as manager of the great 1970 team. 'The groundwork has to be done here.

'It is clear that from a financial point of view players always want to go, but in Neymar's case he would be going to an environment this isn't good for his body type. He needs to put on weight, so it's better to leave when he is 21 or 22.'

Menezes, who gave Neymar his Brazil debut in the 2-0 win against the United States last week, agrees with his predecessor.

Alongside Neymar at a publicity event in Sao Paulo, the new Brazil manager said: 'Maybe I more than anyone else wants our players to stay in Brazil. In this case I am very similar to Zagallo.

'We still haven't found the formula to make our players stay here longer.

'Of course I have to respect the interests of Neymar, but, thinking about Brazilian football, staying here is beneficial.'

Agent Ribeiro, speaking ahead of meeting the Santos management, said: 'There are times when (Neymar) says he wants to stay to play the Copa Libertadores (South American championship).

'But in the game in which he missed a penalty (against Vitoria in the Brazilian Cup final), his father was nearly attacked at the Vila Belmiro (Santos's home stadium). At the time, he came to me and said "let's go". He changes his mind and that's why we need to talk.'

Santos will argue that Neymar shouldn't be swayed by the riches available at Chelsea, pointing out that Robinho moved from Real Madrid to Manchester City for a great pay day, only for the transfer to damage the forward's career.

News From: www.dailymail.co.uk

Backstage Reaction to CM Punk Getting Hit By Fan

EXCLUSIVE: Backstage Reaction to CM Punk Getting Hit By Fan

According to a key WWE source at Monday Night Raw, a lot of backstage ribbing has been taking place today about new top heel CM Punk getting hit by a fan last night at a live event. According to our source, Punk is taking it all in stride, and is laughing louder than anyone else about the fact he got hit.

"Punk feels like if he's getting hit, he's doing his job!" our WWE source told us, "he says he only wishes it was caught on tape!"

More On CM Punk Getting Slapped By A Fan

It was reported here that CM Punk got into an altercation with a fan at Sunday’s WWE super show event from Shreveport, Louisiana.

A few fans who were at the show have sent in recaps of what went down and there are new details to report. Following his match, CM Punk got in the faces of several fans at ringside, including a few young children.

Punk told one of the kids, said to be around 10 years old, to slap him. The fan slapped Punk, who told the fan to slap him again. The fan complied, when Punk allegedly grabbed the child by the shirt and told him to do it again. The child began to cry and his parents began yelling at CM Punk. Punk was heard yelling that the child scratched his eye during the provoked attack.

Hue Jackson is promoted to coach by Raiders

It is the first head-coaching job for the offensive coordinator, who helped rekindle Oakland's offense.
The Oakland Raiders on Monday promoted offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to coach after he helped the team more than double its scoring output in his first year with the franchise.

Jackson will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday, two weeks after the Raiders announced they were not picking up an option to keep coach Tom Cable.

"The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation," owner Al Davis said in a statement.
It is Jackson's first head-coaching job at any level.

Jackson was hired a year ago to take over the play-calling duties from Cable and oversaw a transformation on offense. Oakland scored more than twice as many points in 2010 as it did in 2009, and the Raiders won eight games and avoided an eighth consecutive losing season. They were sixth in the NFL in scoring with 410 points.

Favre files retirement papers

Brett Favre has made another move toward leaving the game for good by filing retirement papers with the league, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed.

The filing is a procedural matter to start the clock on a player's pension and Hall of Fame eligibility. Favre has done it before, only to change his mind. Retired players can request to be reinstated at any time.

Favre, 41, threw for only 11 touchdowns and had 19 passes intercepted in 13 games with the Minnesota Vikings last season. His 69.9 passer rating, the third worst among qualifying quarterbacks, was the lowest of his 20-year career.

Soldier Field sod an issue

NFL officials are expected to monitor throughout the week the playing conditions of Soldier Field, which will be the site of the NFC championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the host Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The league will work with the stadium's field manager during the week, taking action if necessary — although it's not clear what could be done to improve conditions on short notice, as the field recently was re-sodded.

Chunks of the field came up during the Bears' victory in the snow over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in an NFC divisional game.

Dolphins to hire Daboll

The Miami Dolphins are expected to hire Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, the same position he held the last two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

The person said the Dolphins have decided on Daboll and are expected to announce the hiring this week. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a deal hadn't been finalized.

Daboll wasn't expected to be retained by the Browns, who fired coach Eric Mangini after a second successive 5-11 season. Dan Henning left the Dolphins after three seasons as offensive coordinator.

Panthers reportedly hire McDermott

New Carolina Coach Ron Rivera has begun to fill his staff, with Sean McDermott reportedly hired as defensive coordinator.

ESPN reported that McDermott was hired Monday, two days after he was fired as Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator. The Panthers said they couldn't confirm the report.

McDermott's duties with the Panthers are unclear, as Rivera said he would run the defense. Under McDermott, Philadelphia gave up 377 points this season, the most since 1974.

The Panthers announced that former defensive coordinator Ron Meeks accepted a demotion to secondary coach.

Former Vikings assistant Brian Murphy has been hired as special teams coordinator and Sam Mills III will return as assistant defensive line and quality-control coach.

Injured Seahawks return to Seattle

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant and tight end John Carlson are returning to Seattle from Chicago after each suffered concussions against the Bears on Sunday.

A team spokesman said the two were released from a hospital where they were held overnight for observation.



News From: www.latimes.com

Kidman Urban have baby by surrogate

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have had a daughter by a surrogate mother, the couple announced Monday.

Faith Margaret Kidman Urban arrived Dec. 28 at the Women's Hospital at Centennial in Nashville. She is the biological daughter of Kidman and Urban but was carried to term by a surrogate, the couple said in a release.

Kidman gave birth to a daughter, Sunday Rose, in July 2008.

New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Urban's country career is on the rise as he tours in support of Get Closer. Australian-born Kidman starred last year in Rabbit Hole.

"Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret," Kidman and Urban, both 43, said in their statement.

"No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier."

Kidman and her ex-husband Tom Cruise adopted two children during their marriage, Isabella and Connor.

News From: www.cbc.ca

Scientists warn California struck by winter ‘superstorm’

Scientists warn California could be struck by winter ‘superstorm’

A group of more than 100 scientists and experts say in a new report that California faces the risk of a massive "superstorm" that could flood a quarter of the state's homes and cause $300 billion to $400 billion in damage. Researchers point out that the potential scale of destruction in this storm scenario is four or five times the amount of damage that could be wrought by a major earthquake.

It sounds like the plot of an apocalyptic action movie, but scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey warned federal and state emergency officials that California's geological history shows such "superstorms" have happened in the past, and should be added to the long list of natural disasters to worry about in the Golden State.

The threat of a cataclysmic California storm has been dormant for the past 150 years. Geological Survey director Marcia K. McNutt told the New York Times that a 300-mile stretch of the Central Valley was inundated from 1861-62. The floods were so bad that the state capital had to be moved to San Francisco, and Governor Leland Stanford had to take a rowboat to his own inauguration, the report notes. Even larger storms happened in past centuries, over the dates 212, 440, 603, 1029, 1418, and 1605, according to geological evidence.

The risk is gathering momentum now, scientists say, due to rising temperatures in the atmosphere, which has generally made weather patterns more volatile.

The scientists built a model that showed a storm could last for more than 40 days and dump 10 feet of water on the state. The storm would be goaded on by an "atmospheric river" that would move water "at the same rate as 50 Mississippis discharging water into the Gulf of Mexico," according to the AP. Winds could reach 125 miles per hour, and landslides could compound the damage, the report notes.

Such a superstorm is hypothetical but not improbable, climate researchers warn. "We think this event happens once every 100 or 200 years or so, which puts it in the same category as our big San Andreas earthquakes," Geological Survey scientist Lucy Jones said in a press release.

Federal and state emergency management officials convened a conference about emergency preparations for possible superstorms last week. You can read the whole report here.


News From: News.yahoo.com

Teresa Scanlan bikini Pictures News

Miss America 2011 crown won by Miss Nebraska Teresa

Miss America 2011 crown won by Miss Nebraska, Teresa Scanlan. She is a 17-year-old young lady from Nebraska became the youngest winner of the Miss America 2011 in 90 years on Saturday. She won the crown after beating 52 other young women from across the United States.

She was the youngest Miss America since the pageant’s first competition in 1921, when Margaret Gorman of the District of Columbia won at age 15.

Teresa Scanlan won a $50,000 scholarship and a yearlong run with the crown. On Saturday night at the competition at the Planet Hollywood casino resort in Las Vegas, giving the Cornhusker State its first-ever win at the pageant.

Teresa Scanlan, a recent high school graduate from the western Nebraska town of Gering, planned to study American politics at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. She is also willing to attend law school, become a judge and eventually a politician, according to her pageant biography.

Scanlan won after strutting in a black bikini and a white evening gown, playing “White Water Chopped Sticks” on piano and telling the audience that when it comes to Wikileaks, security should come before public access to government More Pictures

England prevails over Australia by 1 wicket at Adelaide

Chris Woakes hit the winning run from the final ball to give England a one-wicket win over Australia in the first Twenty20 cricket international at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.

Woakes scored 19 from 15 balls to guide the critical last stage of England's run chase as it replied with 158-9 to Australia's total of 157-4. The win gave England a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, the second of which is at Melbourne on Friday.

Australia allrounder Shane Watson almost single-handedly steered his side to victory, scoring 59 from 31 balls — the highest score of the match — and taking 4-15 to hamper England's chase.

Eoin Morgan topscored for England with 43 and Woakes showed composure beyond his years to steer his team home as it chased four runs from the last over.

England seemed headed for a comfortable win as it reached 50 inside five overs in front of 32,000 fans, and on a ground on which it achieved one of its three wins in the recent five-test Ashes series.

But Watson, already Australia's batting hero, almost turned the match when he struck with successive balls to remove the dangerman Morgan and Michael Yardy, prompting England's slump from 130-5 to 130-7 inside the 16th over.

Watson also dismissed Tim Bresnan, who hit 11 from 11 balls, to deny England another of the strokemakers who might have made the late stages of the run chase more comfortable.

England finally came to the last two overs needing 15 runs to win and with only two wickets in hand. Woakes and Graeme Swann combined to take 11 runs from the 19th over, bowled by Brett Lee, and to leave England needing four from the last six balls with two wickets in hand.

The last over fell to Watson and he immediately ramped up the tension on both sides when he dismissed Swann for 6 with the first ball. The action left England's final pair at the crease, the redoubtable Woakes at the non-striker's end and the last man in, Ajmal Shahzad.

Shahzad struggled for three deliveries to work the single that gave Woakes the strike and the chance to decide the match. Unfazed by the drama around him, Woakes worked the penultimate ball for two to tie the scores then crashed the final ball through wide mid-on for the winning run.

Earlier, Watson made the largest contribution in Australia's bid to set England an unreachable target. He hit six fours and three sixes in his 31-ball innings of 59, taking 26 runs from a single over of Swann's offspin.

He put on 83 for the first wicket in 8.4 overs with David Warner, who made 30 from 28 balls with five fours. The openers seemed to have set up Australia for a formidable score but it failed to capitalize on that start.

Tight bowling by Yardy, Shahzad and Bresnan saw the home side fall well short of a defensible score.

Yardy dismissed both openers and finished with 2-28 while Bresnan removed David Hussey for 28.

John Dye of Touched By An Angel

John Dye of 'Touched By An Angel' Dead at 47

John Dye, who played angel Andrew on 'Touched By An Angel' for nine seasons, has died.

The actor passed away from heart failure in California on Monday. He was 47.

The Mississippi-born actor co-starred with Roma Downey and Della Reese on the hit CBS show from 1994 to 2003, and was a regular on shows including 'Tour of Duty,' 'Jack's Place' and 'Hotel Malibu.'

He also appeared on 'Murder, She Wrote,' 'Promised Land,' and ''The Young & The Restless,' as well as the TV movies 'The Billionaire Boys Club,' 'Once Upon A Christmas,' and its sequel, 'Twice Upon A Christmas.'

Astrological signs shifted by celestial mechanics

An anonymous woodcarving from the late 19th century depicts a medieval pilgrm looking at the hidden workings of the universe -- an image commonly associated with the world of astrology. Brace for the worst: You may be a Virgo, scientists say.

There are many newspapers and websites that promise to tell your fortune, detailing where the planets were when you were born and what their future movements suggest about your future. It's called astrology, and whether or not you believe in it, you won't believe this: It's all wrong.


Astronomers with the Minnesota Planetarium Society have dropped a bomb on the zodiac, noting that thanks to the millennia-long effect of the moon's gravitational pull on the Earth, there's about a one-month bump in the alignment of the stars. The result?


"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces," Parke Kunkle, a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, told the Star Tribune.


And if the sun isn't in Pisces, YOU'RE not in Pisces. Surprise! You're an Aquarius!





Much of astrology -- called an ancient and complex system that uses math and science to predict the future -- relies upon careful observation of the heavens. And your astrological sign is based on the date of your birth, something that was tied very tightly to the position of the heavens back in Babylonian times.


"When someone asks you what your sign is, they're referring to your Sun Sign -- where the sun was in the Zodiac at the exact moment of your birth," explains the website of noted astrologer Kelli Fox. As the years have worn on, the position of the heavens has shifted ever so slightly -- but those signs haven't.


Could this be true? Is an Aries really a Cancer -- or worse yet, a Virgo? It's a question for Paul the Psychic octopus, of course. But sadly, the soccer-predicting sea creature died last year. So we asked Kunkle for clarification.



"Ever since astrology began back in 3000 B.C., we've known there were problems with it," he said with a chuckle. "The ancient Babylonians had 13 constellations, for example, so they just threw one out."


Ophuchicus, or the snake holder, was ejected from the charts when the Zodiac was codified at the 12 we know of today, to align it more accurately with the calendar. And Libra didn't come into things until Julius Caesar's time, Kunkle told FoxNews.com.


Seeing stars yet? It all comes down to the 26,000-year precession of the planets through space, he said, noting that a variety of gravitational forces have changed the position of the planets in the sky over time.


Bottom line, the astrological forecasts we've all been turning to may -- gasp! -- not be accurate at all, or at least they may be intended for other readers.


"We're off by about 10 degrees or so, a twelfth of the way around," Kunkle said.
Indeed, most horoscope readers who consider themselves Leos are actually Cancers, explained the Star Tribune. So instead of being courageous, natural-born leaders, they actually are sensitive and emotional -- ruled by moodiness, not innate rulers.


And those folks who have for decades considered themselves Sagittarius, the sign governed by the truth-seeking archer and ruled by Jupiter, are actually Scorpios -- stubborn, passionate people ruled over by Mars and Pluto.


So read with a grain of salt when Sally Brompton advises the Aries that January’s midheaven Solar Eclipse will move you closer to a long-term goal, or that you must keep a sense of perspective, and be prepared to change course in midstream if necessary. Your real sign may just be Pisces, and her real forecast advises you that some mountains can be moved and others very definitely cannot -- your predicament this year is to try to distinguish between the two.


And Capricorns, rejoice! NO need to worry about over-reacting to pressure from the powers that be, as Brompton warns. Instead, turn to the forecast of Aquarius, and know that a major conjunction between wealth planet Jupiter and changes planet Uranus means fundamental adjustments to the way you handle your finances are likely this year.


But whatever you do, keep this in mind: All signs point to fulfilling and rewarding year. For Geminis, anyway.

Golden-Voiced' Ted Williams: My daughter attacked me!

'Golden Voiced' Internet Sensation Briefly Held by Los Angeles Police

'Golden-Voiced' Ted Williams: My daughter attacked me!

Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice, now sporting a new haircut and clean clothes, appears on the Morning Zoo program at WNCI (97.9 FM) in Columbus, Ohio.

LOS ANGELES -- A homeless man whose smooth radio voice made him an Internet sensation had to do some quick talking to Los Angeles police.

Officers were called when Ted Williams and his daughter got into a heated argument Monday night at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, Officer Catherine Massey said.

"I don't know how loud they were" but the argument at about 9 p.m. led to a disturbance report, Massey said Tuesday.

"It was minor. Both parties were angry but there were no signs of visible abuse," Massey said. "They were brought in, calmed down, talked to and released."

She said she did not know the nature of the argument.

Williams and his daughter, whom Massey declined to name, were held at the Hollywood police station for less than an hour and they were not arrested, she said.

It was not immediately clear whether the two returned to the hotel. Calls to a hotel marketing representative seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Williams, 53, trained to be a radio announcer but found his life derailed by drugs and alcohol in the 1990s. He has served time in prison for theft and forgery and has been cited with numerous misdemeanors, including drug abuse.

Williams became famous almost overnight after The Columbus Dispatch newspaper posted a web video of him last week. Viewers were enthralled to hear a deep, honeyed professional voice coming from the shabbily dressed man.

Since then, he has done a TV commercial for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, appeared on various news shows, recorded voiceover promos for cable news and was offered an announcing job with the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.

Although he says he has been clean for more than two years, the recovering addict has acknowledged that it has been challenging dealing with sudden fame.

"I wanted a nerve pill yesterday, to be honest with you," he told CBS.

American Idol fill void left by Simon Cowell

American Idol Will changes fill void left by Simon Cowell?

On the new season of “American Idol,” host Ryan Seacrest (from left) will appear with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, along with judging veteran Randy Jackson.

When “American Idol” returns for its 10th season on Fox next Wednesday, it will have two fresh (and very famous) faces at the judges’ table.

And it will also feature, the network promises, a renewed focus on the warbling would-be stars who are supposed to be the singing smash’s reason for existence in the first place.

Ah, but something will be missing. Oh, right — the sassy guy with the flattop and tight T-shirts.

The big suspense surrounding the new “Idol” isn’t whether Steven Tyler will be introduced as Liv Tyler’s father or Jennifer Lopez will salvage her fading career. The Aerosmith frontman and Bronx-born J-Lo were picked as new judges amid a seemingly endless carnival of speculation last summer.

Instead, the real story centers on whether the show will survive the departure of Simon Cowell, the caustic lead judge who rode his merciless putdowns of auditioners to high-powered stardom.

The stakes are incredibly high for Fox. “Idol” is the No. 1 series on television and has propelled Fox to repeated victories in the crucial demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen Co. The singing contest has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Fox and made it almost impossible for ABC and NBC to compete in midweek during the winter and spring.

CBS, the most-watched network, has fared much better but has nevertheless been held to a counterprogramming strategy, batting back the “Idol” threat with franchise crime series such as “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS,” which skew heavily toward older viewers.

And at a time when broadcasting was supposed to be slumping off into irrelevance, “Idol” proved that 30 million viewers will still crowd around a network show, provided it’s the right network show.

At least for the record, Fox executives insist there’s little cause for concern. “Idol” just needs a few tweaks and, in any event, a somewhat less big “Idol” is still huge.

“For any show in its 10th season to be holding up as well as ‘Idol’ is a testament to the show,” said Preston Beckman, Fox’s research and scheduling guru. “It’s been about 60 percent higher than the next highest-rated show, so worst-case scenario, it’ll still be the biggest show on television.”

“Idol” indeed has a long way to fall before it could be considered in trouble. It has been the No. 1 program for a record six straight years — longer than any show, scripted or otherwise, including “All in the Family,” “The Cosby Show” and “I Love Lucy.”

This season, the network is hoping “Idol” can push it to the top of the heap on Thursdays, a night where Fox has been weak. Executives made the decision to move the results show there (after following a Tuesday-Wednesday schedule in years past) after CBS pulled “Survivor” off the night.

“We could go into next season as the No. 1 network on Thursday night,” Beckman said.

But there is a sense that Fox is on the defensive, that the network must stop more air from escaping the “Idol” balloon. Last May’s finale drew 24.2 million total viewers — still an enormous figure, but “Idol’s” worst season closer since its first back in 2002. Critics griped about the perceived blandness of the contestants, including runner-up Crystal Bowersox and the self-effacing winner, Lee DeWyze.

Even the show’s once formidable infrastructure seemed out of whack. After Kara DioGuardi was added in 2009, trying to accommodate reactions from a quartet of judges threw off the pacing and often made the program run long. And Ellen DeGeneres, who was hired last year to replace Paula Abdul at the judge’s table, proved an awkward fit.

Cowell exited after last season to prepare his own talent contest, “The X Factor,” for a Fox run later this year, and DioGuari and DeGeneres did not return, leaving Randy Jackson as the only remaining original judge.

“In the past couple years, it was like so much oxygen seemed to be consumed by everything going on the judges’ panel that the poor kids hardly had a chance to introduce themselves,” said Richard Rushfield, author of the forthcoming book “ ‘American Idol’: The Untold Story.”

Perhaps as a result, the last few crops of “Idol” singers haven’t broken through to mainstream success the way earlier performers did, such as Season 1’s Kelly Clarkson, Season 4’s Carrie Underwood and Season 5’s Chris Daughtry (who did not win or make the finals of the contest).

“The biggest thing that ‘Idol’ needs to do this year,” Rushfield said, “is produce a major recording star. They haven’t done that in a lot of years, and it’s sort of the premise of the show.”

Whether Tyler, J-Lo & Co. are up to the task remains to be seen. Early promos have given little indication of their style

“(Cowell) was the master of brutal honesty, but he really knew the business,” industry analyst Shari Anne Brill said. “If the replacements and the new formatting of the show (don’t) get people from the beginning, it’s going to hurt.”

NEXT WEEK
“American Idol” returns with a two-hour season premiere starting at 7 next Wednesday on Fox. The results show follows on Thursdays.