Plummer, Spencer win early SAG film awards (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Hollywood's actors began picking the best performances of 2011's movies when the curtain came up on the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday with Christopher Plummer taking home the first film honor for supporting actor.

Plummer, 82, who plays an elderly man who comes out of the closet as a gay man much to the chagrin of his family, thanked his fellow actors from the stage, calling them a wacky but wonderful bunch of artists.

"I just can't tell you what fun I've had being a member of the world's second oldest profession," Plummer joked on stage. "When they honor you, it's like being lit by the holy grail. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

The second film award went to Octavia Spencer for supporting actress in a movie, "The Help," that proved to be a surprise over Berenice Bejo of silent film romance, "The Artist."

Many of Hollywood's biggest film stars including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Williams turned out on the red carpet, as did TV's Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle and other TV actresses and actors.

As with previous Hollywood honors programs, many of the women showed off low-cut or strapless gowns. Some wore vintage or sequined dresses. Colors -- violets, reds and teals -- proved popular. The men wore tuxedos or stylish suits with bow ties.

The SAG honors are closely watched in the race for Oscars, and this year they followed Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and other awards from media watchers, as well as acknowledgements from U.S. producer and director guilds that represent their respective professional groups in industry matters.

Because actors make up the biggest branch of voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars, the SAG awards are closely watched. And coming on the heels of so many other programs, this year's SAG winners could help solidify frontrunner status of silent movie "The Artist" or possibly turn the voting tide in favor of other hopefuls.

TOP CATEGORIES TO COME

Awards in top film categories will be given out later, and "The Artist," a romantic tale of a fading actor in the slumping silent movie era whose career is eclipsed by the woman he loves, aims to do well with actors in two more groups, ensemble cast and lead actor.

But it faces stiff competition from civil rights-era drama "The Help," which has four nominations, more than any movie, as well as from George Clooney-starring "The Descendants".

The actors in all three of those movies, along with the performers in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" and the ladies of comedy "Bridesmaids," will compete for the night's top honor, best ensemble cast in a film.

In other SAG races, Clooney, playing a father struggling to keep his family together, squares off against Jean Dujardin of "Artist" fame and Brad Pitt for his role as a numbers-crunching baseball executive in "Moneyball." The other two nominees in that category are Demian Bichir in the little seen "A Better Life" and Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar."

The SAG race for best actress is seen as a tight one among Meryl Streep playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Viola Davis as a maid in "The Help" and Michelle Williams for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."

Rounding out that category are Glenn Close in a gender-bending role as a butler in "Albert Nobbs" and Tilda Swinton as a troubled mother in dark drama, "We Need to Talk about Kevin."

SAG also hands out awards for performances in TV dramas, comedies and mini-series. But because of SAG's importance in the Oscar race, the film categories are most closely followed.

The Oscars will be given out on February 26 in Hollywood.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/media_nm/us_sagawards

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Five dead at bullet-riddled home in Birmingham (Reuters)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) ? The bodies of five people shot dead were found early on Sunday morning at a house riddled with bullet holes west of downtown Birmingham, the Birmingham Police Department said.

Officer Buddy Parsons said the victims found at the home in the Ensley Highlands area were all shot dead.

"The police told us there had been murders," said Beatrice Houston, who lives across the street from the neat white house with green trim where the bodies were found.

"They said five men were dead and that two people got away," she said.

Her husband, Willie Houston, said he saw five bodies taken out of the house and placed in coroner vans.

The quiet working class neighborhood of cottages about 5 miles from downtown was lit up by flashing police cruisers that swarmed the street before dawn.

"I'm used to seeing stuff like this on TV, not in my own neighborhood," Beatrice Houston said.

Police were interviewing possible witnesses, Sergeant Vincent Green told Reuters.

Birmingham Police Sergeant Johnny William appealed for anyone with information on the case to contact police.

(Editing By Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/us_nm/us_crime_birmingham

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Romney, Gingrich Address Foreclosures, Joblessness (ContributorNetwork)

Jobs and housing are key issues on the minds of Florida Republican primary voters, the New York Times reported. That's because Florida suffers 9.9 percent unemployment and feels the brunt of the foreclosure crisis. One in 360 Florida homes is in foreclosure, the Times noted. While unemployment is down from its record-breaking 12 percent of December 2010, Florida's tied for sixth highest jobless numbers in the nation.

Here's what the two leading candidates, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, tell Florida voters they will do about joblessness and foreclosures:

Joblessness

* Gingrich told CBS News he would change the unemployment system, requiring workers to undergo training to qualify. Business would fund the programs. "We'd be paying you to improve human capital; we wouldn't be paying you to sit around and do nothing," he said.

* "It's fundamentally wrong to give people money for 99 weeks for doing nothing," Gingrich said.

* Gingrich's jobs platform would make temporary tax relief permanent; cut capital gains taxes; cut corporate income tax to 12.5 percent; allow 100 percent new equipment expensing; repeal Sarbanes-Oxley, the Community Reinvestment Act and Dodd-Frank; develop U.S. energy sources; replace health care laws with a "pro-jobs, pro-responsibility" health plan; and reform entitlement programs.

* If president, "?my highest priority would be worrying about your job, not saving my own," Romney said.

* "We have all been distressed by the policies that this administration has put in place over the last two years," Romney said in June. "We have seen the most anti-investment, antigrowth, anti-job strategy in America since Jimmy Carter. The result has been it's harder and harder for people to find work."

* Romney's jobs platform would lower corporate taxes to 25 percent; promote new trade agreements; maximize leasing of existing open energy reserves and evaluate opening new ones; and consolidate worker retraining programs, turning administration over to states.

Foreclosures

* Romney would scale back Dodd-Frank, making it easier for banks to restructure foreclosures, the Kansas City Star reported.

* Gingrich would repeal Dodd-Frank, Business Week noted. "If they would repeal it tomorrow morning, you would have a better housing market the next day," Gingrich said.

* Gingrich told voters Romney profited from their homes losses, the Washington Post reported.

* Romney retorted a blind trust decides his investments. He noted Gingrich took paychecks from Freddie Mac, a lender implicated in the foreclosure crisis.

* Romney opposes government intervention to forestall foreclosure, telling struggling homeowners if a lender won't work with them, they may have to walk away from mortgage debt and start over. He likened foreclosure threat to banks facing going out of business, saying the solution to both is to hit reset, take the loss, and move on.

* Gingrich said the GOP is trying to drown him in mud raised with money from people and companies who foreclosed on Floridians. He said the power structure in Washington would rather manage decay than make changes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120129/pl_ac/10900295_romney_gingrich_address_foreclosures_joblessness

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"The Help" gets Oscar boost with big SAG wins (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Civil rights drama "The Help" got a leg up in the Oscar race on Sunday when the movie won three awards from the Screen Actors Guild, including best cast in a surprise over silent movie romance "The Artist."

"The Help," which came into the show with four nominations, more than any other film, also earned its star Viola Davis the SAG award for best actress, while Octavia Spencer was named top supporting actress. They both played maids who face discrimination in the film set in Mississippi during the 1960s.

Davis thanked another African-American actress, Cicely Tyson, who inspired her as a child and was in the audience. Davis talked of dreaming big as a child when she wanted to become an actress. She encouraged others to do so, too.

"Dream big and dream fierce," she said.

Davis also took the opportunity to remind the celebrities in attendance, including A-listers George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep, as well as TV audiences, that change is still necessary in current U.S. culture.

"The stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women," she said. "It's all of our burden. All of us, and we can, absolutely all of us, we can inspire change."

Silent movie "The Artist" could only claim one trophy. Jean Dujardin was named best actor in a drama for his role as a fading screen star at the end of the talkies who is ultimately saved by love.

Dujardin, who beat out Clooney and Pitt in the category, seemed genuinely surprised as he held his statue and thanked SAG. Like Davis, he noted that as a kid he was always a dreamer and said his teachers called him "Jean of the moon."

"I was always dreaming," he said. "I realize now that I never stopped dreaming. Thank you very much."

Others winning SAG film honors included Christopher Plummer for supporting actor. Plummer, 82, who plays an elderly man who reveals his homosexuality, much to the chagrin of his family, thanked his fellow actors from the stage, calling them a wacky but wonderful bunch of artists.

SAG's film awards are closely watched for their impact on Oscars because actors make up the biggest voting group at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which picks winners. The Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on February 26.

Coming into the SAG Awards, "The Artist" had been favored by pundits because it has claimed a string of victories in recent weeks at the Golden Globe and Critics Choice honors, as well as among industry groups like the producers and directors guilds.

But pundits may now have to re-calculate their odds back toward "The Help" with its SAG wins. Another key Oscar contender, "The Descendants," was shut out by SAG voters.

TV WINNERS

Unlike academy voters focused on film, SAG members also pick winners in TV awards, and in that arena, "Boardwalk Empire" was named best drama series for the second straight year and "Modern Family was chosen top comedy, also for the second year running.

Jessica Lange took her first SAG trophy for best dramatic actress in new show, "American Horror Story," and Steve Buscemi was named best actor in a drama for critically acclaimed "Boardwalk Empire." Both thanked their cast and crew members.

Alec Baldwin, Betty White and the "Modern Family" were the three TV winners in comedy categories.

The offbeat "Modern Family" claimed its second straight win for best TV comedy, while Baldwin was named best actor in a TV comedy for the sixth year playing a TV executive on "30 Rock," and White, who turned 90 earlier this month, took the comedy actress trophy for a second time in "Hot in Cleveland."

An obviously surprised White acknowledged her co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick.

The win "belongs with four of us," she said, then looked at her statuette with a gleam in her eye and a joke on her mind. "I'm dealing them right-in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I will let them see it."

In other TV awards, Kate Winslet was named best actress in a small-screen movie or miniseries for "Mildred Pierce," and Paul Giamatti won the trophy for actor in a movie or mini-series with "Too Big to Fail."

Among the humorous moments, three women from raunchy film comedy "Bridesmaids" played a game in which everyone had to take a drink when director Martin Scorsese's name was mentioned. The game became a running joke throughout the show.

And of the more poignant points, Mary Tyler Moore - a star on comedy "The Dick Van Dyke" show in the 1960s, who cemented her fame in the '70s on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and starred in critically acclaimed 1980 movie "Ordinary People" - was given a lifetime achievement honor.

"It means so much, it really does," she told Reuters about her honor backstage.

Asked how she wanted to be remembered for all her accomplishments, she replied in modest fashion. "As a good chum. As somebody who was happy most of the time and took great pride in making people laugh when I was able to pull that off."

Hollywood's biggest film stars including Clooney, Pitt, Jolie and others turned out on the red carpet, as did TV's top talent such as Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle and others.

As with previous Hollywood honors programs, many of the women showed off low-cut or strapless gowns. Some wore vintage or sequined dresses. Colors - violets, reds and teals - proved popular. The men wore tuxedos or stylish suits with bow ties.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/media_nm/us_sagawards

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Romney lead over Gingrich up in Florida: Reuters/Ipsos poll (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney's lead over rival Newt Gingrich edged up to 12 percentage points in Florida, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll results on Sunday, as Romney's front-runner status stabilized and Gingrich continued to slip.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive, was supported by 42 percent of likely Florida voters surveyed in the online three-day tracking poll, just down from 43 percent in the same poll on Saturday. Romney was at 41 percent on Friday.

But with just two days before the state's primary on Tuesday, Gingrich's support was at 30 percent, down from 32 percent in Saturday's results and 33 percent on Friday.

The gap between the two was 11 percent when poll respondents were asked about a hypothetical head-to-head race between the rivals in the race for the Republican presidential nomination to oppose President Barack Obama in the general election in November.

If the race were between Romney and Gingrich only, Romney would be at 55 percent to Gingrich's 44 percent, according to the Sunday's results. On Saturday the gap between the two was eight percentage points and on Friday it was just two, when respondents were asked the same question.

"Newt Gingrich's position in the primary race is really starting to lose support," said Chris Jackson, research director for Ipsos Public Affairs.

The poll results, similar to those of several other surveys, illustrated Romney's remarkable turnaround since South Carolina's primary on January 21, which Gingrich won in a surprise upset.

"Gingrich got a big boost out of South Carolina, but he's losing that," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak.

"It's clear that Romney's run a much more focused and effective campaign in Florida than Newt," he said. "Newt's playing defense every single day in every way and doesn't seem to be able to make Romney play defense."

Romney had two strong debate performances this week and has jumped to a solid lead over Gingrich, whom he had trailed in earlier opinion polls in Florida. He has taken steady aim at Gingrich on the debate stage and in attack ads as a politician who left government under an ethics cloud and has remained a Washington insider ever since.

GINGRICH FACES TOUGH FEBRUARY

Romney has a solid advantage in money and organization over Gingrich in Florida, and the month ahead does not look much better for the former speaker as the state-by-state race for the Republican nomination continues.

Four states with February contests - Nevada, Maine, Colorado and Minnesota - use caucus systems, which can require greater organization to rally voter turnout. That could help Romney take advantage of his superior financial and staff resources.

On February 28, Michigan and Arizona hold primaries. Romney was raised in Michigan, where his father was a governor and car executive.

"February does not look like a good month for Newt," Mackowiak said.

But his failure to gain more support among likely voters in Florida's primary, which is limited only to registered Republicans, shows that Romney is still not electrifying the party faithful. "He's not the guy that everyone loves and rallies behind," Jackson said. "He's not getting that huge rally of support."

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum trailed well behind with 16 percent support, the same as Saturday's level. Santorum seemed to be gaining momentum as an "alternate" to Romney. Thirty-eight percent of likely voters said he would be their second choice if their first choice left the race, up from 33 percent on Saturday and 30 percent on Friday.

But it is probably too close to the January 31 vote to make a difference, Jackson said.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is not campaigning in Florida, was at 6 percent.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online surveys, but this poll of 726 likely voters in the Florida primary has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points for registered voters.

Sunday's Reuters/Ipsos survey is the third of four daily tracking polls being released ahead of Tuesday's Florida primary.

(Reporting By Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign_poll

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Army chief lays out Army cuts in Europe (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Pentagon's decision announced Friday to take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014 will not necessarily force NATO allies to shoulder more of the load if ground forces are needed for a large-scale conflict in the region, Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said Friday.

Odierno said the military will work hard to mitigate the impact of the shift on European allies, who rely heavily on U.S. military might to provide the bulk of the forces in a ground campaign.

The move to shift brigades out of Europe is part of a broader Pentagon plan to cut the size of the Army by 80,000 soldiers and restructure the service to ensure the military has the capabilities it needs to go to war. Odierno said the mandate to reduce the force from 570,000 soldiers during the height of the Iraq war to 490,000 by 2017 will force the military to rely more on the National Guard and reserves, particularly if the U.S. gets into two major, long-term combat operations at the same time.

Odierno said he is comfortable with the reduction in the force. But he suggested that the U.S. will now have to keep its reserve forces at a higher level of readiness than it did before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan pressed tens of thousands citizen soldiers into service to buttress the active duty Army.

He also said his support for the force cuts hinges on the fact that the Army will have more than five years to make the reductions, largely through normal attrition. He acknowledged, however, that a small number of officers may have to be forced to leave.

As the Iraq war dragged on, the Pentagon had to recruit thousands of additional active duty soldiers and beef up and repeatedly tap reserve brigades in order to meet the combat demands there and in Afghanistan. For roughly eight years, the U.S. battled in both countries at the same time, stretching and straining the Army.

Meeting that type of commitment with an Army of 490,000 would not work, Odierno said.

"Do I have the capability to go into Korea and meet the requirements? Yes," he said, when asked about the risks of a smaller force. "Do I have the ability to stay there for 10 years? No."

If the military had to fight two large, simultaneous, long-term wars, he said, the U.S. would rely more heavily on its allies in the region and call for a massive mobilization of the reserves.

"Because of the fact that they (Guard and reserves) have been involved in combat operations for very long period of time, we are going to come up with a readiness model that will keep them at a little bit higher level than they have been in the past," Odierno told reporters during an interview in his Pentagon office. And if needed, he said, the U.S. would use reserves to "buy us time to increase the active component" to wage two large, intensive wars.

NATO allies have long relied on the U.S. ground forces to wage such conflicts, so cutting the European-based force in half will be met with reservations from those leaders.

But one senior defense official said the U.S. is working on a variety of options to compensate for the loss. Those could include further U.S. commitments to NATO's rapid response force, which includes up to 25,000 forces provided by the allies. There also will likely be additional multinational military exercises. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been finalized.

Odierno said the two brigades being taken out of Europe ? both heavy armor units ? will be eliminated rather than reassigned somewhere in the United States. Both are based in Germany ? the 172nd Infantry Brigade, currently in Grafenwoehr, and the 170th Infantry Brigade in Baumholder. That will leave two U.S. Army combat brigades permanently stationed in Europe, one in Germany and one in Italy.

Baumholder Mayor Peter Lang noted that the German military ? which did away with conscription last year and is downsizing significantly ? is closing two barracks in the area already.

"This is a second tough blow for our region," he told the dapd news agency. The Rhineland-Palatinate state interior minister, Roger Lewentz, said he was holding out hope, however, that the U.S. troops may not leave the area entirely, saying he planned a trip in May to Washington, where he would lobby for at least some logistical facilities to remain open

"In reality, I think in the long run this will benefit all of us," Odierno told reporters. He said U.S. Army units will be rotated in and out of Europe based on the training and other needs of the NATO partners. That system, he said, will allow more U.S. units to work with the allies and "we will be able to tailor our engagements based on their needs."

Over the long-term, U.S. officials said they are planning to slash the number of combat brigades from 45 to possibly as low as 32. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning. Odierno said eight brigades will be shelved over the next several years, and officials will decide in the next six months or so if additional units should go.

Officials said the changes will likely increase the size of each combat brigade ? generally by adding another battalion ? in a long-term effort to ensure that those remaining brigades are robust and able to perform their missions without straining the force.

A brigade is usually about 3,500 soldiers but can be as large as 5,000 for the heavily armored units. A battalion is usually between 600 and 800 soldiers.

"We will make our brigades more capable to operate across missions, will eliminate unnecessary overhead, and allow us to sustain more combat capability if we do this right," said Odierno, who did not provide any details about the restructuring.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_army_cuts

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NC gov's re-election decision could benefit Obama (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. ? The key battleground state of North Carolina is still within President Barack Obama's grasp, despite Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue's surprise decision to drop her re-election campaign.

Obama has been running commercials in the state for months, and the Democrats have staked so much on repeating his 2008 success in North Carolina that their presidential nomination convention will be held in Charlotte.

"It's helpful news for Obama rather than problematic news," John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest University, said of Perdue's announcement Thursday. "You'd expect the Obama campaign would rather run with a strong gubernatorial candidate on the ballot, and by all accounts, Perdue was not a strong candidate."

Perdue, the first woman elected governor in North Carolina history, said she worried a fight with Republicans over public education would become too political if she tried for a second term. But Perdue entered the election year with political baggage, including a campaign finance investigation, sagging poll numbers and a tough rematch campaign against an opponent she narrowly beat in 2008, when Obama's coattails helped Democrats across the state.

"North Carolina's a swing state, they can't afford to lose it for the presidential race," said Michael Munger, a political science professor at Duke University who ran for governor as a Libertarian in 2008. "I would guess some senior Democratic people strongly suggested she spend more time with her grandchildren."

Four years ago, Obama shocked many national pundits by becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976, defeating Republican Sen. John McCain by just 14,177 votes out of more than 4.3 million ballots cast.

Perdue, then the state's lieutenant governor, benefited from Obama's highly organized effort to boost voter turnout, an effort the president will look to repeat regardless of whether the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is an incumbent.

"I don't think the president's 2012 chances are affected by this in any way," said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University. "The presidential race is the dog and the gubernatorial race is the tail, and the dog is going to be wagging the tail."

Obama's win here was the first in 32 years for a Democratic nominee for president. He praised Perdue for breaking down barriers during her political career.

"For over 25 years, she has fought for the people of the Tar Heel state ? working to transform the state's public schools, improve the health care system, protect and attract jobs for members of the military and their families, and create the jobs of the future," Obama said in a statement.

Perdue, a former school teacher, said her decision was about protecting public education from spending cuts by the GOP-led legislature.

"The thing I care about most right now is making sure that our schools and schoolchildren do not continue to be the victims of shortsighted legislative actions and severe budget cuts inflicted by a legislative majority with the wrong priorities," Perdue said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of what Perdue, 65, planned to do in the future. Perdue campaign spokesman Marc Farinella said the governor declined to speak to reporters Thursday because she was spending time with her family after making "this very difficult decision."

"For now she wants her statement to speak for itself," he said.

Perdue's decision means it will be the first time a sitting North Carolina governor has failed to get elected to a second term since voters gave chief executives authority to succeed themselves in the 1970s.

"All the Democrats' waters rose with Obama in 2008," said Brian Nick, a Republican strategist working for likely GOP gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory. "It would be a fallacy to think the governor's race is going to affect the presidential campaign in North Carolina."

Perdue has faced high unemployment, consistently weak approval numbers, a string of political defeats and the indictment of two close aides and a family friend in a campaign finance scandal that is continuing to unfold. She has also made some well-publicized gaffes, like a joking suggestion last year that congressional elections should be suspended for two years to ease partisan gridlock.

North Carolina is crucial to Obama's re-election strategy, with a win there relieving the need to carry more-traditional battleground states such as Florida and Ohio.

Perdue is listed as the co-chair of steering and host committee membership for the 2012 convention. DNC officials were quick to say Thursday that Perdue's withdrawal from the governor's race will have no effect on the September event.

The governor has not been closely involved in the convention planning and was not present at a DNC media conference in Charlotte last week announcing that President Obama would give his acceptance speech to Bank of America Stadium.

"They made the decision to site the convention in Charlotte knowing that Beverly Perdue was facing an uphill fight," said Steven Greene, a political science professor at N.C. State. "That was already factored into their decision."

Perdue may try to maintain a low profile through the end of her term early next year. After issuing a statement declaring her intention not to run, Perdue holed up in the governor's mansion with her aides.

Mark Johnson, the governor's deputy communications director, said the governor has no public events scheduled for the next week.

"Anything beyond next week is tentative," Johnson said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_nc_governor

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Somali captors move US hostage after SEAL raid (AP)

MOGADISHU, Somalia ? A group holding an American hostage in Somalia moved him at least three times in the day since U.S. Navy SEALs rescued an American and a Dane and killed their nine kidnappers, pirates said Thursday. The abductors said they would kill the hostage if they are attacked.

The high-profile rescue early Wednesday raised questions about whether the many other Western hostages held in Somalia have a greater chance at release ? or are in greater danger.

"If they try again we will all die all together," warned Hassan Abdi, a Somali pirate connected to the gang holding the American. "It's difficult to hold U.S. hostages, because it's a game of chance: die or get huge money. But we shall stick with our plans and will never release him until we get a ransom."

U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia early Wednesday and hiked to where captors were holding American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, a 60-year-old Dane. A shootout ensued and nine captors were killed. Buchanan, Thisted and the U.S. troops were all unharmed. The two aid workers had been kidnapped by gunmen in October while working on demining projects for the Danish Refugee Council.

Buchanan and Thisted on Thursday were at the U.S. Naval Air Base at Sigonella, Sicily as part of their reintegration process, undergoing more complete medical examinations and debriefing. Officials could not immediately say how long they would stay there before returning home.

The U.S. government said the raid was prompted by Buchanan's deteriorating health. An ailing Frenchwoman kidnapped by Somali gunmen died in captivity last year after not having access to her medication.

"Holding hostages in one place is unlikely now because we are the next target," Abdi said, referring to the raid in a phone conversation with The Associated Press. He expressed concern that the U.S. had pirate informants.

"It wasn't just a hit and run operation, but long planned with the help of insiders among us," Abdi said, noting the soldiers had struck at the time when the pirates were least on their guard.

The gang has moved an American kidnapped on Saturday in the northern Somali town of Galkayo three times in the last 24 hours, he said.

Other hostages held in Somalia include a British tourist and two Spanish aid workers seized in neighboring Kenya, a French military adviser and 155 sailors of various nationalities hijacked by pirates at sea.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders, known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, employed the two Spanish women. The group said it is pleased that Buchanan and Thisted were freed and that MSF is still seeking the liberation of its workers, Montserrat Serra and Blanca Theibaut. It hinted, though, that it views military raids as risky.

"MSF strongly favors the nonviolent resolution of such cases, as the use of force endangers the lives of the hostages and may result in the tragic loss of human lives," the group said. "We call upon the Somali population, especially the local authorities in control of the areas where the two are held, to do everything in their power to assist in their safe release."

It's not always clear what group is holding a captive in Somalia. Hostages have sometimes been sold from one gang to another. Captives can be held for long stretches: Two journalists from Canada and Australia were held for 15 months before being released in 2009, and the French military adviser has been missing for more than two years.

The security community is divided over whether the U.S. raid would make life more difficult for other captives, one Western official in Kenya said, or whether the killings of the nine captors might make pirates think twice about launching future operations. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

On Wednesday evening, hours after the U.S. military raid, the gang holding the American kidnapped on Saturday started circulating false rumors that they had executed him.

Another security official who has years of experience in the region said it is likely the men holding the American would move him onto a ship with other foreign hostages, because ships were easier to defend and planning rescue operations is more complicated when there are hostages from other countries involved.

The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. At least one pirate agreed with his analysis.

"I think land captivity is going to end now. Sea is much safer," pirate Mohamed Nur said by phone from the coastal town of Hobyo. "Even ships are not very safe but you can at least hit back and resist."

Americans have been captured by Somali pirate gangs before. In 2009, the cargo vessel Maersk Alabama was briefly hijacked before pirates took to the lifeboat with the ship's captain, who was rescued after Navy sharpshooters killed the pirates.

But in a sign that pirates are getting increasingly violent ? and perhaps jittery ? four Americans onboard a hijacked yacht were killed last February. It's still unclear why the hostages were shot. Two of the pirates had already boarded a U.S. warship shadowing the yacht.

Several senior pirates condemned Wednesday's U.S. raid, which was authorized by President Barack Obama, and at least one warned that any other U.S. hostages might suffer as a result.

"They send hit squads and kill all they want, so there is no way we will care for their people (hostages) while they are killing us. They will see the aftereffects and reap the results of their actions," said Bile Hussein, a Somali pirate commander.

A spokesman for Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government said the pirates had got what they deserved.

"Pirates have no place in our society," Abdirahman Omar Osman told AP. "This is a huge and unforgettable lesson for them."

___

Associated Press writers Jason Straziuso and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

___

Follow Katharine Houreld at http://twitter.com/khoureld

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_raid

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Obama courts Latino vote on economic tour (AP)

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. ? President Barack Obama is courting Hispanics in politically important states, setting himself up as a champion of the crucial Latino voting bloc and as a foil to Republican candidates fighting for a share of support from the same groups.

With Latino voters voting overwhelmingly Democratic, Obama is not in danger of losing the support of a majority of Hispanics. But he does need their intensity, and a Gallup tracking poll shows that while a majority of Hispanics approve of Obama, that approval is not as high as it is among black voters.

Pitching his economic agenda during a three-day, five-state trip this week, Obama has not ignored the fact that three of the states ? Nevada, Arizona and Colorado ? all have Hispanic populations of 20 percent or more. A majority of them are Democratic, but they also could be a factor in upcoming nominating contests in those states. Nevada and Colorado hold caucuses within two weeks and Arizona has a primary Feb. 28.

In Arizona Wednesday, where he was drawing attention to his efforts to increase manufacturing, Obama playfully interacted with a supporter who shouted out: "Barack es mi hermano! (Barack is my brother!)"

"Mi hermano ? mucho gusto (My brother, a real pleasure)," Obama shouted back.

And it was no accident that he scheduled an interview with Univision, the Spanish language network that reaches a broad swath of the U.S. Latino population, while he was in Arizona and with local Telemundo affiliates Thursday in Las Vegas and in Denver. All that while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the rest of the Republican presidential field were battling in Florida, another state with a key Latino voting bloc.

"It's an important community in this country and he will continue to have those interactions," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of Obama's efforts to reach out to Spanish language media.

No issue reverberates more in the appeal to Latinos than immigration.

For Obama, it reared up suddenly for him Wednesday when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican who signed one of the toughest laws to curtail illegal immigration, greeted him at the airport tarmac in Mesa, Ariz., with a handwritten invitation for the president to join her in a visit to the Mexican border.

Obama replied coolly, noting that he did not appreciate the way she had depicted him in a book she published last year, "Scorpions for Breakfast." In the book, Brewer writes that Obama was condescending and lectured her during a meeting at the White House to discuss immigration. "He was a little disturbed about my book," Brewer told two reporters shortly after the encounter.

Obama continued to promote his economic plan Thursday in Nevada and Colorado, focusing on energy policy and his attempts to expand oil and gas exploration while also emphasizing clean energy.

"Doubling down on a clean energy industry will create lots of jobs in the process," the president said at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, where the Air Force has installed solar panels and tested jets that run on biofuels.

As such, he was indirectly pitching to Hispanics as well. A new Pew Research Center poll found that 54 percent of Latinos believe that the economic downturn has been harder on them than on other groups in the U.S.

"There is no question that Latinos were hard hit, especially by the bursting of the housing bubble and the resulting steep decline in construction work," Carney said Thursday. "Latinos are overrepresented in the construction industry. It's one of the reasons why, certainly, Latinos would greatly benefit from infrastructure investments that put construction workers back to work."

In 2008, Obama beat Republican John McCain by a 2-1 margin among Hispanics.

To win again, he will need that level of enthusiasm to make up for weaknesses elsewhere in his voter support. In a bright spot for Obama, the Pew poll found that even though Hispanics believe their economic condition is poor, two-thirds of those polled said they expect their financial situation to improve over the next year, whereas 58 percent of the overall population expect the same.

In his interview with Univision, Obama made a point of noting that both Romney and Gingrich have said they would veto legislation, known as the DREAM Act, that would give a pathway to citizenship to children who came to the United States illegally but who attend college or enlist in the military.

"They believe that we should not provide a pathway to citizenship for young people who were brought here when they were very young children and are basically American kids but right now are still in a shadow," Obama said. "They've said that they would veto the DREAM Act. Both of them."

At a debate Monday on NBC, however, both Gingrich and Romney said they would support modified legislation that only applied to young people who joined the military. "I would not support the part that simply says everybody who goes to college is automatically waived for having broken the law," Gingrich said.

Obama, in the interview, explicitly connected the Republican presidential field to congressional Republicans, who suffer from bottom-dwelling approval ratings right now. Asked why he had been unable to deliver on his promise for overhauling the immigration system, Obama replied:

"Well, it's very simple. We couldn't get any Republican votes. Zero. None," he said. "So this is the kind of barrier that we're meeting in Congress. We're just going to keep on pushing and pushing until hopefully we finally get a break."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

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New Zealand court bails two associates of Megaupload founder (Reuters)

WELLINGTON (Reuters) ? A New Zealand court granted bail on Thursday to two associates of the founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload, accused of being involved in a scheme that allegedly made more than $175 million from Internet piracy and illegal file sharing.

Dutchman Bram van der Kolk, 29, and Finn Batato, a 38-year-old German, who were arrested last Friday along with Megaupload's founder, Kim Dotcom, were freed on bail. A decision on another accused, Mathias Ortman, was put off until Friday pending further submissions on his bail application.

"I am satisfied that the risk of flight here is minimal and such risk as remains can be met by the imposition of strict bail conditions including electronic monitoring," Judge David McNaughton said in a written judgment.

A lawyer for the men had argued their role in the company was different from that of Dotcom, and they did not have secret sources of funds or multiple identities.

The United States wants to extradite all four on charges of Internet piracy, copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.

Dotcom, 38, was refused bail on Wednesday because the judge believed there was a significant risk he could try to flee New Zealand. He will reappear in court on February 22. His lawyer is preparing to appeal that decision, maintaining that Dotcom does not have the means to leave the country.

The defendants have said they are innocent of the piracy and other charges, asserting the company simply offered online storage.

An extradition application must be lodged within 45 days of an arrest, and the U.S. must show the alleged offences would be crimes in New Zealand punishable by at least 12 months in jail.

Legal experts have said the extradition process is likely to be long and complex.

(Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wr_nm/us_internet_piracy_megaupload_bail

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Poll: Rick Perry about as popular in Texas as Obama after failed bid for GOP presidential nom (Star Tribune)

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NYC police chief apologizes for movie interview (AP)

NEW YORK ? New York's police commissioner apologized Wednesday for appearing in a documentary movie about terrorism that Muslim groups have criticized as inflammatory, and said his department acted wrongly when it later showed the film to counterterrorism trainees.

A spokesman for Raymond Kelly had previously denied the commissioner had any participation in the making of the "The Third Jihad," suggesting last year that footage of Kelly was lifted from another source.

But on Wednesday Kelly said he had sat for an interview in 2007 because the filmmaker had "bona fides" in television and with the White House. The movie later was shown on a continuous loop on the sidelines during New York Police Department counterterrorism sessions.

"While it never became part of the Department's curriculum, and was not authorized for any training, regrettably it was shown in a room where officers who were filling out paperwork or on break from actual training had an opportunity to view it over an extended period in 2010," Kelly said in a written statement.

Police stopped playing the film after one of the trainees complained, he said.

"I offer my apologies to members of the Muslim community, in particular, who would find the film inflammatory and its airing on Department property, though unauthorized, to be inappropriate," Kelly wrote.

Some Muslim groups reacted angrily at the news. The admission "marks the blatant bigotry and lack of transparency that permeates the NYPD's approach to New York's Muslim communities," the Muslim Civil Liberties Coalition said Wednesday.

On Tuesday Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police had used "terrible judgment" in showing the movie at its training sessions.

"The Third Jihad," produced by the conservative Clarion Fund, accuses some moderate Muslims of being more radical than they appear on the surface and uses vivid footage of bombings and terror attacks to illustrate the danger of radical Islam. Speakers interviewed in the film warn viewers repeatedly that Western civilization is under attack.

Nearly 1,500 police officers went through the training and may have seen the film, according to police documents obtained by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank at New York University.

Muslim activists say they worry that the film teaches police officers to regard all Muslims as suspects. Last year an investigation by The Associated Press revealed the police department has operated a secret surveillance program targeting ethnic neighborhoods.

On Thursday activists planned to call for Kelly's resignation at an event outside New York's City Hall. Some of the activists were those singled out in the film.

The film's producer, Raphael Shore, issued a statement defending his work on Wednesday, saying, "Those that have blasted the film are attempting to stifle an important debate about the internal state of the Muslim community in America, and whether politicized Islam and indoctrination pose tangible security threats."

Kelly appears in "The Third Jihad" three times for a total of about 30 seconds, talking about prison converts, the Soviet Union and the threat of terrorists using nuclear weapons. Other people who appear in the documentary include former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was in office when Muslim extremists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne told reporters last year that he believed the footage of Kelly speaking was lifted from another source.

"The New York Police Department did not participate in its production," Kelly wrote in a March 7, 2011, letter to Majlis Ash-Shura of Metropolitan New York, a Muslim group.

Clarion Fund spokesman Alex Traiman said Kelly spoke on camera for 90 minutes and was fully aware of the movie's focus.

"The commissioner wasn't duped," Traiman said. "If he was unhappy with the line of questioning you'd think he would have broken off the interview before 90 minutes."

He accused Bloomberg and Kelly of bending to the will of Muslim activists.

"People don't want to deal with so much of that pressure; they prefer to cave in to it," he said.

The Clarion Fund, which is based in New York, has produced other movies about terrorism and Iran's nuclear program.

Shore used to work for Aish HaTorah, a network of Jewish education centers, but there is no other link between the two groups, Traiman said.

___

Associated Press reporters Tom Hays and Colleen Long contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_en_mo/us_nypd_intelligence_movie

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Watch: State of the Union: Obama on Manufacturing (ABC News)

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Federer wins 1,000th match, will face Nadal

Roger Federer of Switzerland signs his autographs for fans after his win over Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Roger Federer of Switzerland signs his autographs for fans after his win over Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts during a break in his quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Rafael Nadal of Spain stretches out for a return to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Sarah Ivey)

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning a point against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Roger Federer of Switzerland, right, is congratulated by Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina after Federer won their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? A dominating win by Roger Federer in his 1,000th career match and a more difficult workout for Rafael Nadal set up a rare Grand Slam marquee semifinal between the former top-ranked players.

Four-time Australian Open champion Federer advanced to his ninth straight semifinal at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win Tuesday over Juan Martin del Potro, the man who beat him for the U.S. Open title in 2009.

Federer's 1,000th match was similar to most in his career ? no-nonsense, dominating from the start and some incredible shots.

"It's a lot of matches and a lot tennis," said Federer, a record 16-time Grand Slam champion. "Either I have been around for a long time or I'm extremely fit. You decide which way you want to describe it. But I'm happy."

In an often tempestuous night match at Rod Laver Arena, Nadal advanced with a tough 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych.

"Happy with how I finished match physically, I was able to keep running with high intensity," Nadal said.

Federer and Nadal ? they were ranked 1-2 for many years ? have been on opposite halves of the draw since the 2005 French Open. That was the last time the pair met in a Grand Slam semifinal, won that year by Nadal in four sets.

Defending women's champion Kim Clijsters, still dealing with a left ankle injury, advanced to an Australian Open semifinal against third-seeded Victoria Azarenka by beating No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 7-6 (4) Tuesday. Clijsters' victory ensured that Wozniacki would lose the top ranking she has held for most of the last 15 months.

Azarenka beat No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7 (0), 6-0, 6-2. Azarenka is one of three women who could finish at No. 1 in Melbourne ? Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova are the others.

In the late match, Nadal saved four set points in the first set, including one on an amazing crosscourt passing shot on the 29th point of a rally. But Berdych held firm to win the ensuing tiebreaker.

During the tiebreaker, a Berdych shot landed out, and Nadal returned it, then challenged the call. Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes wouldn't allow the challenge because Nadal hadn't immediately stopped play, but Nadal responded by saying he didn't challenge immediately because he thought the linesman had called it out.

The replay showed the ball was out.

"Carlos, I'll tell you something, you never get one right, not one correct overrule," Nadal said in Spanish. "You're not here as a spectator. You know that ball was out."

Bernardes later had a brief discussion with Berych when the Czech player complained about an apparent "flat" ball. And in the fourth set, Nadal chastised the chair umpire again for allowing a challenge by Berdych, feeling the Czech player waited too long before asking for a review.

In the opening game of the fourth set, Nadal hit consecutive down-the-line forehands to break Berdych's service and the Spaniard was on his way to clinch the match in 4 hours, 16 minutes.

Federer's career can be enhanced even more if he wins the title this year at Melbourne Park. With a 232-34 record in Grand Slam singles matches, he can overtake Jimmy Connors' mark of 233 wins if he collects the title here.

Del Potro, who has recovered from the right wrist injury that sidelined him for most of 2010, played well in flashes. But Federer was at another level, hitting lobs, drop shots, crosscourt winners and generally negating Del Potro's big forehand.

"We have played some big matches against each other, so just knowing how well he's been playing as of late, I was just hoping that I would get off a good start," Federer said. "I was able to mix it up well and control the ball, and right away sort of felt confident."

The end of the match came in a most fitting way, one of Federer's backhand winners.

Before that, Federer saved his fourth break point at 5-3 in the second set after a long rally. He let out a loud yell, unusual for a player not prone to big shows of emotion.

"That's why I didn't celebrate when I won the set, just to make it up," Federer said, smiling. "I really knew how important that game was for me."

The quarterfinals on the other side of the men's draw are Wednesday ? Andy Murray plays Kei Nishikori of Japan and top-seeded Novak Djokovic takes on David Ferrer.

In the remaining women's quarterfinals Wednesday, Sharapova plays Ekaterina Makarova, who beat five-time champion Serena Williams in the fourth round, and No. 2 Kvitova takes on unseeded Sara Errani of Italy.

Clijsters has needed treatment on her ankle since Sunday, when she injured it and had to save four match points in her fourth-round win over French Open champion Li Na, a rematch of the 2011 final.

"Instead of really focusing on the match, you're focusing on trying to get the ankle as good as possible," Clijsters said of her preparation. "Laying on the couch, every 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes off, 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes off. Leg elevated. Lymphatic drainage, all that stuff."

Wozniacki, 21, needed to reach the semifinals to retain the top ranking.

"I will get it back eventually, so I'm not worried," she said. Critics "talk to me like I'm finishing my career and I only have one year left and time is running out. The fact is I still have quite a few good years in front of me."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-24-TEN-Australian-Open/id-9b1db23813a4491393ff911d1506d4e0

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Apple approval process fails to stop fake Camera+ app (Appolicious)

For all the effort Apple expends in regulating its iTunes App Store, it seems that questionable, malicious or copyright-infringing apps make it through to consumers a lot more often than one might think. The latest app to appear in the App Store that didn?t belong is a copy of the popular Camera+ app.

Claiming to be Camera+ version 4.0, the app made its way into the App Store this week and was spotted by U.K. security firm Sophos, which was able to determine that the app was a fake, according to Computer World. Sophos was unable to download it and determine if it was a delivery system for malware, however, which is something that is often seen in fake or otherwise untrustworthy apps that make it into the App Store or into Google?s Android Market for its Android operating system.

The real Camera+ is created by developer Tap Tap Tap and currently is in version 2.4. While it?s unclear if there was malware involved in the fake version of the app, which was released by a company called Pursuit Special, Sophos and Tap Tap Tap think the purpose it was released was to trick users into thinking it was the real deal and syphon money from the popularity of Camera+.

Camera+ and Tap Tap Tap have run afoul of Apple?s app review process in the past. In 2010 after the app?s release, Apple bounced it from the app store for a developer agreement violation when it discovered that Camera+ accessed the iPhone?s volume control button to use as a shutter button. Third-party apps aren?t allowed to access the iPhone?s hardware buttons, and that resulted in the app?s ban. Tap Tap Tap fixed the issue and was restored to the App Store, but it seems as though the incident generated a little resentment between the two companies.

There have been plenty of other incidents when apps have made their way into the App Store when they should have rightly been denied. Last year, Apple added copyright infringement as a reason it could reject apps from the App Store, after some pretty public stories in which games made it onto Apple?s platform by basically making knock-off versions of popular games on other platforms. One game took the assets of titles such as The Blocks Cometh and League of Evil to create a knock-off Blocks Cometh release. The reason for that seemed to be the same as for Camera+ ? the app maker wanted to use an established name to make some money.

Nobody knows exactly what Apple?s review process actually entails, and there are so many apps in the App Store that it?s tough to know how many are legitimate and how many aren?t, or how many troublemakers get screened out. But incidents like this raise questions and make it tough on developers. Apple seems to do a pretty good job preventing things like the fake Camera+ app from making their way into its store, but with so many developers depending on iOS apps to make a living, creeping fake apps like this one can be worrisome.

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Nadal advances to Australian Open quarterfinals (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Rafael Nadal's right knee was taped. Ditto for his left ankle. His strokes looked just fine.

Nadal cruised past countryman Feliciano Lopez on Sunday, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

Nadal, who hurt his knee while sitting in a chair the day before the tournament began, is one win away from a possible semifinal against old rival Roger Federer after beating his fellow Spaniard for the ninth time in 11 matches.

On a sunny day with the temperature rising to 89 degrees, both players sat with ice towels around their necks during the changeovers.

Nadal needed treatment from the trainer for a left ankle problem after three games of the first set. By that time, he had already broken serve.

It was more of the same the next two sets as Nadal maintained control against his "very good friend" Lopez.

"I am fine," Nadal said. "It was a very, very hot day. I think it's positive to keep winning in straight sets."

Federer was up against 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic in the first match of the night session later Sunday. The 16-time Grand Slam champion hasn't lost to a teenager since 2006 against Andy Murray at the Cincinnati Masters.

Also Sunday, defending champion Kim Clijsters was to face Li Na in a repeat of the 2011 final. Clijsters beat Li 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win her fourth major title a year ago.

Victoria Azarenka was the first player to reach the quarterfinals when she beat Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2.

The third-seeded Belarusian is yet to drop a set at the tournament and will next meet eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Julia Goerges of Germany 6-1, 6-1.

With the win, 22-year-old Azarenka stayed in the hunt for the No. 1 ranking. Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova can also claim the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki.

"I would be a liar if I said I didn't care about it," Azarenka said. "It's in the back of my head and we'll take it day by day, I guess."

Azarenka, like Wozniacki, is aiming for her first Grand Slam title. She has never gone past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but is 6-3 against Radwanska. The last of those victories came at the Sydney International, which Azarenka won before coming to Melbourne.

Sunday's win was her ninth straight, but the likes of Serena Williams and Clijsters are still attracting more attention.

"For me, doesn't really matter. I try to focus on myself," Azarenka said. "I think I'm in the best shape physically right now, so it kind of helps other aspects of the game. I feel pretty good out there."

Williams routed Greta Arn 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday for her 17th straight win at the Australian Open.

Coming off an injury-ravaged 18 months, Williams is seeded 12th in Melbourne. She hasn't held the top ranking since 2010, the year she won the last of her 13 Grand Slam titles.

On Saturday, she spoke expansively about her off-court activities: She's taking courses in kinesiology and management and preparing for an appearance in a "pretty big" TV show.

Yet Arn says "everybody knows" if Williams hits top form she will win the Australian Open, where she hasn't lost since 2008. She won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 and was unable to defend her title last year while she recovered from two foot surgeries.

Next up for Williams is unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova. After that, things are likely to get a lot tougher. Sharapova is a potential quarterfinal opponent, and Wimbledon champion Kvitova may await in the semifinals.

"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," said Williams, who came into the tournament nursing a sprained left ankle. "I'm just trying to play through it. A little rusty, just trying to play through my rust."

Sharapova and Kvitova joined Williams in advancing to the fourth round on Saturday. Between the three of them, they lost six games.

Kvitova was leading 6-0, 1-0 when Russian opponent Maria Kirilenko retired. Sharapova, who won her first two matches 6-0, 6-1, was tested for the first time and still came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over U.S. Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber.

It was a day of lopsided scorelines on Rod Laver Arena.

No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic routed Nicolas Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes to give the Frenchman a lousy 30th birthday present.

Mahut, who lost the longest Grand Slam match in history at 11 hours, 5 minutes at Wimbledon in 2010, was hampered by a left leg injury, but said he played on because the previous matches on Rod Laver Arena were over so quickly.

"I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it," Djokovic said.

The defending champion has won 24 straight sets at the Australian Open, and has lost 10 games in his first three matches this time.

Djokovic likely gets an evening slot for his fourth-round match against Lleyton Hewitt. The 30-year-old Australian downed promising Canadian Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Saturday's final match of the day before a raucous home crowd.

No. 4-ranked Murray, beaten in the last two Australian finals, brushed aside Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 Saturday to leave France with two players in the draw, having started the day with six.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the other Frenchman to advance and next plays Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne in the Open era.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Megaupload boss says he's innocent, rival stops file-sharing (Reuters)

AUCKLAND (Reuters) ? The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was ordered to be held in custody by a New Zealand court on Monday, as he denied charges of internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him.

Prosecutor Anne Toohey argued at a bail hearing that Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz, was a flight risk "at the extreme end of the scale" because it was believed he had access to funds, had multiple identities and had a history of fleeing criminal charges.

"The FBI believes the sums located are unlikely to represent all the overseas bank accounts owned by Mr Dotcom," she said.

But Dotcom's lawyer said he posed no threat of absconding or restarting his businesses, arguing that his client had cooperated fully, his passports had been seized and his funds frozen, and also that he had a distinctive appearance.

"He is not the sort of person who will pass unnoticed through our customs and immigration lines and controls," said defense lawyer Paul Davison of the former hacker, reportedly 2 meters (6ft 6ins) tall and weighing more than 130 kg (285 lbs).

Judge David McNaughton said the bail application was too complicated for an immediate ruling, adding he would issue a written decision no later than Wednesday.

"Given the breadth of issues covered in this bail application and the seriousness of the issues, I am going to reserve my decision," the judge said.

U.S. authorities want to extradite Dotcom on charges he masterminded a scheme that made more than $175 million in a few short years by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorization. Megaupload's lawyer has said the company simply offered online storage.

Prosecutor Toohey said two other men sought on global warrants for involvement in Megaupload had been arrested in Europe.

The shockwaves of the case appeared to be spreading among rival websites offering lucrative file-sharing. FileSonic, a website providing online data storage, said in a statement on its website that it had halted its file-sharing services.

"All sharing functionality of FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally," it said.

BARRICADED IN SAFE ROOM

Dotcom, 38, and three others, were arrested on Friday after New Zealand police raided his country estate at the request of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police cut Dotcom out of a safe room he had barricaded himself in, because, according to his layer, he was frightened and panicked.

Presenting the case for flight risk, the prosecutor said 45 credit cards in three wallets were found in the mansion under Dotcom's various names, while three passports were also found. But his defense lawyer said: "My client collects them (credit cards), most of them are out of date."

Dotcom smiled and waved at around 20 supporters who filled the courtroom and spoke to them after the judge's decision.

"Hey guys thanks for turning up, I appreciate it," he said, wishing a female supporter a "happy birthday."

Defense lawyer Davison said Dotcom was "realistic about what is happening."

"He would obviously prefer to be at large. He doesn't want to be there any longer than he absolutely has to be," he told reporters outside the court.

Media reported that Dotcom ordered around NZ$4 million ($3.2 million) of renovations to the sprawling mansion that he leased near Auckland, with its manicured lawns, fountains, pools, palm-lined paths and extensive security.

The case is being heard as the debate over online piracy reaches fever pitch in Washington, where Congress is trying to craft tougher legislation.

Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation on Friday, postponing a critical vote in a victory for Internet companies that staged a mass online protest against the fast-moving bills.

The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft, but major Internet companies such as Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship.

Critics of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA), quickly showed their opposition to the shutdown of Megaupload.com, with hackers attacking the public websites of the Justice Department, the world's largest music company Universal Music, and the two big trade groups that represent the music and film industries.

Dotcom's New Zealand lawyer Davison said in court that Megaupload's business was being misrepresented and authorities were being aggressive to add drama to the case.

"His business did not reproduce or copy material as alleged," he told the court, adding that copyright holders had been given access to Megaupload to identify improper posting of material. He likened the site to the popular YouTube video site, where people "promoted their creativity."

In New Zealand, questions are being asked about how Dotcom, who moved to the country in 2010, could be given permanent residency under a business investor scheme despite criminal convictions for insider trading.

LAVISH LIFESTYLE

A legal expert said extradition arrangements between New Zealand and the United States were reasonably straightforward and standard, but there were some important factors.

"The offence for which extradition is sought must be an offence in the jurisdictions of both states," said Otago University law professor Kevin Dawkins, adding that an accused must be tried on the offence for which they are extradited.

New details emerged about Dotcom's lavish lifestyle and tastes, with reports that he had a heated lap pool built just off the master ensuite, with underwater speakers, imported spring water and a custom ladder worth around NZ$15,000.

"It's insane, and it gets more insane inside. When we were there we called it 'extreme home makeover, millionaire edition'," a source close to the teams that did renovation work the New Zealand Herald.

A film posted on the Internet shows Dotcom, surrounded by topless women and men spraying champagne on board a superyacht during a "crazy weekend" in Monaco reported to have cost $10 million.

"Fast cars, hot girls, superyachts and amazing parties. Decadence rules," said the commentary accompanying the so-called fun documentary, which Dotcom dedicated to "all my fans."

The FBI estimates that Dotcom personally made around $115,000 a day during 2010 from his empire. The list of property to be seized, includes nearly 20 luxury cars, one of them a pink Cadillac, works of art, and NZ$10 million invested in local finance companies.

($1 = 1.2433 New Zealand dollars)

(Additional reporting by Gyles Beckford in Wellington and Ed Davies in Sydney; Editing by Ed Davies and Alex Richardson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wr_nm/us_internet_piracy_megaupload

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