NATO: Man in Afghan army uniform kills 2 troops

KABUL, Afghanistan?? NATO says a man wearing an Afghan military uniform has turned his weapon on coalition and Afghan troops in the country's south, killing two members of the U.S.-led coalition.

The coalition says the shooter also was killed in the incident Saturday in southern Afghanistan.

The nationalities of those killed were not disclosed and the coalition did not provide any other details about the shooting.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45077998/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Abramovich takes stand in billionaires' legal feud

Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, arrives at the high court in London, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. They were once said to be like father and son, vacationing, signing deals, and socializing at the Kremlin together. But these days two of Russia's richest men can't stand each other _ and they're trading insults in a spectacularly expensive public feud. At more than $6.5 billion, the lawsuit brought by Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich is a financial drama of giant proportions. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, arrives at the high court in London, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. They were once said to be like father and son, vacationing, signing deals, and socializing at the Kremlin together. But these days two of Russia's richest men can't stand each other _ and they're trading insults in a spectacularly expensive public feud. At more than $6.5 billion, the lawsuit brought by Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich is a financial drama of giant proportions. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

FILE This Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011 file photo shows the owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich as he leaves court in London. They were once said to be like father and son, vacationing, signing deals, and socializing at the Kremlin together. But these days two of Russia's richest men can't stand each other _ and they're trading insults in a spectacularly expensive public feud. At more than $6.5 billion, the lawsuit brought by Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich is a financial drama of giant proportions. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, leaves a sandwich shop near the high court in London during a lunch break, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has accused Abramovich of betraying and blackmailing him, as the two former business partners face each other in court, in a multibillion dollar lawsuit over an oil deal, where Berezovsky alleges breach of trust and breach of contract by Abramovich in dealings of the Russian oil company Sibneft. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, second left, arrives back at the high court in London after a lunch break, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has accused Abramovich of betraying and blackmailing him, as the two former business partners face each other in court, in a multibillion dollar lawsuit over an oil deal, where Berezovsky alleges breach of trust and breach of contract by Abramovich in dealings of the Russian oil company Sibneft. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, owner of England's Chelsea Football Club, leaves the high court in London for a lunch break, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Self-exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has accused Abramovich of betraying and blackmailing him, as the two former business partners face each other in court, in a multibillion dollar lawsuit over an oil deal, where Berezovsky alleges breach of trust and breach of contract by Abramovich in dealings of the Russian oil company Sibneft. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

LONDON (AP) ? Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich hit back against fellow oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Monday, telling a court he was never the older man's protege and does not owe him a cent.

Berezovsky is suing Abramovich in a London court for several billion dollars, saying that Abramovich had intimidated him into selling shares in their jointly owned oil company Sibneft at a fraction of their value.

Abramovich, the media-shy owner of the Chelsea Football Club, dismissed that claim as nonsense as he took the stand at London's Commercial Court. The case has fascinated the city's large Russian community and provided a peek into the Wild West years that followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Abramovich told the court that he had never made a "legal, binding agreement" with Berezovsky over Sibneft, a Russian oil and gas conglomerate.

And in a written witness statement, he said Berezovsky "has already obtained a very substantial sum of money from me and I do not believe that he has any entitlement to be paid anything more, whether in law or honor."

Berezovsky, who amassed a fortune during Russia's privatization of state assets in the early 1990s, has testified that during the chaotic years after the breakup of the Soviet Union he was a mentor to Abramovich and treated him like a son. Together with a third partner they set up Sibneft.

But Berezovsky, an ally of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, fell out with Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, shortly after he became president in 2000. Berezovsky fled to Britain, which granted him political asylum, and has since become a fierce critic of the Kremlin.

Abramovich sold Sibneft to Russia's state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom in a multibillion-dollar deal in 2005.

Abramovich, 45, said in his witness statement that "I was not his protege and he was not my mentor."

He claimed Berezovsky, now 65, was a political godfather whom he paid for protection. Abramovich used the Russian word "krysha," or roof, to describe their relationship.

"A person giving krysha to another was a person who acted as a protector," Abramovich said in his witness statement. "I had to pay Mr. Berezovsky for the opportunity of creating the oil company under his protection."

Abramovich's lawyer has said that between 1995 and 2002, the younger man paid Berezovsky $2 billion for his patronage, including money for homes in France, private planes, art works and jewelry.

"At times it was difficult to meet Mr. Berezovsky's demands and I thought they were often excessive. However I was concerned about what might happen if we lost the krysha," Abramovich said in his statement. "If Mr. Berezovsky needed to charter a plane in order to fly somewhere, or wanted a yacht to be chartered, he would ask me to pay for it."

Abramovich described Berezovsky as an intensely ambitious man with "far-reaching political ambitions."

"There was at times something of a megalomaniac about him that could lead to fantastic suggestions on his part," Abramovich said, citing one idea to restore monarchy in Russia.

"The grander the plan he entertained at any given time, the more cash he would be after in his almost-fanatical zeal to seek to make those grand plans a reality."

The case is expected to last for two months.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-31-EU-Britain-Billionaires'-Battle/id-ae6f3e6466a94af2946004ce6e50979d

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Defense expert: Jackson gave himself anesthetic (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Attorneys for Michael Jackson's doctor dropped the bombshell Friday they've been hinting at for months ? an expert opinion accusing the legendary singer of causing his own death.

Dr. Paul White, the defense team's star scientific witness, said Jackson injected himself with a dose of propofol after an initial dose by Dr. Conrad Murray wore off. He also calculated that Jackson gave himself another sedative, lorazepam, by taking pills after an infusion of that drug and others by Murray failed to put him to sleep.

That combination of drugs could have had "lethal consequences," the researcher said.

White showed jurors a series of charts and simulations he created in the past two days to support the defense theory. He also did a courtroom demonstration of how the milky white anesthetic propofol could have entered Jackson's veins in the small dose that Murray claimed he gave the insomniac star.

White said he accepted Murray's statement to police that he administered only 25 milligrams of propofol after a night-long struggle to get Jackson to sleep with infusions of other sedatives.

"How long would that (propofol) have had an effect on Mr. Jackson?" asked defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan.

"If you're talking effect on the central nervous system, 10 to 15 minutes max," White said.

He then said Jackson could have injected himself with another 25 milligrams during the time Murray has said he left the singer's room.

"So you think it was self-injected propofol between 11:30 and 12?" asked Flanagan.

"In my opinion, yes," White said.

The witness, one of the early researchers of the anesthetic, contradicted testimony by Dr. Steven Shafer, his longtime colleague and collaborator. Shafer earlier testified Jackson would have been groggy from all the medications he was administered during the night and could not have given himself the drug in the two minutes Murray said he was gone.

"He can't give himself an injection if he's asleep," Shafer told jurors last week. He called the defense theory of self-administration "crazy."

White's testimony belied no animosity between the two experts, who have worked together for 30 years. Although White was called out by the judge one day for making derogatory comments to a TV reporter about the prosecution case, White was respectful and soft spoken on the witness stand.

When Flanagan made a mistake and called him "Dr. Shafer" a few times, White said, "I'm honored."

The prosecution asked for more time to study the computer program White used before cross-examining him. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor granted the request, saying he too was baffled by the complicated simulations of Jackson's fatal dose. He recessed court early and gave prosecutors the weekend to catch up before questioning White on Monday.

The surprise disclosure of White's new theory caused a disruption of the court schedule, and the judge had worried aloud that jurors, who expected the trial to be over this week, were being inconvenienced. But the seven men and five women appeared engaged in the testimony and offered no complaints when the judge apologized for the delay.

Prosecutors could call Shafer back during their rebuttal case to answer White's assertions.

Among the key issues is how White calculated that a large residue of propofol in Jackson's body could have come from the small dose that Murray says he administered. Shafer assumed Murray had lied, and he estimated Jackson actually was given 1,000 milligrams of the drug by Murray, who he said left the bottle running into an IV tube under the pull of gravity. White disputed that, saying an extra 25 milligrams self-administered by Jackson would be enough to reach the levels found in his blood and urine.

White also said a minuscule residue of the sedative lorazepam in Jackson's stomach convinced him the singer took some pills from a prescription bottle found in his room. He suggested the combination of lorazepam, another sedative, midazolam, plus the propofol could have killed Jackson.

"It potentially could have lethal consequences," said White. "... I think the combination effect would be very, very profound."

White's testimony was expected to end Murray's defense case after 16 witnesses. It likely will be vigorously challenged by prosecutors, who spent four weeks laying out their case that Murray is a greedy, inept and reckless doctor who was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid in the singer's bedroom. Experts including Shafer have said propofol is not intended to treat insomnia and should not be given in a home.

White's theory was based on urine and blood levels in Jackson's autopsy, evidence found in Jackson's bedroom and Murray's long interview with police detectives two days after Jackson died while in his care.

While accepting Murray's account of drugs he gave Jackson, the expert's calculations hinged on the invisible quotient: Jackson's possible movements while his doctor was out of the room. With no witnesses and contradictory physical evidence, that has become the key question hanging over the case.

Those who knew the entertainer in his final days offered a portrait of a man gripped by fear that he would not live up to big plans for his comeback concert and worried about his ability to perform if he didn't get sleep. He was plagued by insomnia, and other medical professionals told of his quest for the one drug he believed could help him. He called it his "milk," and it was propofol.

Jurors have now seen it up close as both Shafer and White demonstrated its potential use as an IV infusion.

With White's testimony, the defense sought to answer strong scientific evidence by the prosecution. But they did not address other questions such as allegations that Murray was negligent and acting below the standard of care for a physician.

Flanagan, the defense attorney, produced a certificate from Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas showing Murray was certified to administer moderate anesthesia, referred to as "conscious sedation." However, the document showed several requirements including that the physician "monitor the patient carefully" and "provide adequate oxygenation and ventilation for a patient that stops breathing."

Medical witnesses noted that Murray left his patient alone under anesthesia and did not have adequate equipment to revive him when he found him not breathing.

The coroner attributed Jackson's June 25, 2009, death to "acute propofol intoxication" complicated by other sedatives.

Murray, who had been hired as the singer's personal physician for his "This Is It" tour, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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UFC 137 video: ?Cowboy? Cerrone wants all the big boys, says Melendez doesn?t deserve title shot

Donald Cerrone admits that the mental game held him back in the past. He's traditionally been a big talker, but it didn't always translate in the Octagon. That's changed since the middle of 2010.

In recent fights, it's all come together for "Cowboy," who looks to add to a five-fight win streak this Saturday against Denis Siver at UFC 137.

The new Cerrone is finishing fights in brutal fashion and he's retained the ability to talk trash with the best of them. During UFC 137 workout day, Cerrone called out Gilbert Melendez, Ben Henderson and even featherweight Nam Phan. An extremely juiced Cerrone said he wants another fight before the end of 2011.

Cerrone went into further detail on Melendez and Henderson during a Monday interview with Larry Pepe.

"I don't think [Melendez] should get an instant title shot. I don't think he should be able to come over from Strikeforce and get an instant title shot. I think he should come over from Strikeforce and have to fight Cowboy," Cerrone told ProMMARadio (49:00 mark).

The 28-year-old said if he was given a choice of Melendez or Henderson, he'd choose BenHen because he was "embarrassed" by him at WEC 48 when he was choked out.

Cerrone's finished 3-of-4 fights, but his last victory over Charles Oliveira was huge. He did it via strikes.

"When I was kickboxing, I was knocking people out all the time. I come over to MMA with smaller gloves and a faster pace and I can't even touch anybody. There's was definitely a lot of doubt. 'What am I doing wrong? What aren't I doing?' Slowly, I'm starting to find me again and figure out where I need to be and go have fun."

Watch UFC 137 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-137-video-Cowboy-Cerrone-wants-all-the-bi?urn=mma-wp8597

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Too Much Drinking May Raise Lung Cancer Risk: Study (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- While smoking has long been linked to cancer, its frequent companion, drinking, may be as well, a new study suggests.

Three new studies presented at a medical meeting this week find a link between heavy boozing and a rise in risk for the number one cancer killer.

On the other hand, studies also suggest that heavier people are less likely to develop lung cancer than smaller folk, and black tea might help ward of the disease, as well.

The findings were to be presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, Oct. 22-26, in Honolulu.

More Americans die from lung cancer than any other form, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available, more than 203,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with lung cancer, and nearly 159,000 died.

In one study presented at the meeting, Dr. Stanton Siu and colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., looked at the diets and lifestyles of more than 126,000 people first surveyed between 1978 and 1985. They then tracked their incidence of lung cancer through 2008.

The team found that having more than three alcoholic drinks per day upped lung cancer risk, with a slightly higher risk ascribed to beer consumption versus wine or liquor. Specifically, compared to teetotalers, people who had three or more drinks daily were 30 percent more likely to develop lung cancer, with a 70 percent rise in risk if the drink of preference was beer.

One expert stressed, however, that it's tough to tease out drinking from another, even more carcinogenic habit, smoking, since the two often go together.

"Smoking remains an overwhelming factor, but . . . heavy drinking, whether it's the alcohol itself, or that heavy drinking is a surrogate for hanging out in smoky bars and getting more smoke, I don't know," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, who was not involved in any of the studies.

In another intriguing finding from the study, a higher body mass index (BMI), which indicates overweight or obesity, was linked to a reduction in the odds for lung malignancies.

The finding may not mean that packing on extra pounds insulates one against lung cancer, however. Edelman noted that being overweight or obese is typically associated with poorer health, while "people who are sick weigh little," he said. So, the results may just mean that the heavier study participants haven't suffered the ill effects of their lifestyle -- yet.

In a separate study also slated for presentation at the meeting, researchers from the Czech Republic found that among non-smoking women, regular black tea consumption appeared to lower lung cancer risk by about 31 percent, and higher amounts of fruit in the diet was also linked to lowered lung cancer risk for both genders.

Edelman and Dr. Mark Rosen, chief of the division of pulmonary/critical care and sleep medicine at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y., cautioned that all of the study results need to be replicated before being taken seriously.

"They show some interesting associations, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily factual," Rosen said. "If you put a lot of data into a computer, you're going to find some things come out [linked] just by chance. Associations are interesting, but they all require further studies."

Experts also note that research presented at scientific meetings is considered preliminary and has not been peer-reviewed.

More information

For more on alcohol and health, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111028/hl_hsn/toomuchdrinkingmayraiselungcancerriskstudy

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Video: Chris D?Elia plays boyfriend in ?Whitney?

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Bond With Teacher Can Help Curb Aggression in Kids (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Having a good relationship with their teacher may help reduce aggressive behavior among first-graders and also protect them from other students' aggression, researchers have found.

Genetic factors can influence aggression in middle childhood, but outside influences also play a role, according to the study published in the September/October issue of the journal Child Development.

For the study, Mara Brendgen, a psychology professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal, and colleagues looked at 217 identical and fraternal 7-year-old twin pairs in Canada. The children in each twin pair had different teachers and classmates.

The twins' levels of aggressive behavior and the amount of aggression they experienced from others were rated by their classmates. The teachers also rated the quality of their relationship with each twin.

In addition, the genetic effects on aggression were estimated by comparing the similarity of behaviors in the twin pairs.

The researchers found that twins who were genetically vulnerable to being aggressive were more likely to be picked on by classmates. But these children were less likely to act aggressively or to be the target of classmates' aggression if they had a close relationship (warmth, affection and open communication) with their teacher.

The findings might prove helpful in developing programs to deal with children's aggression and in teacher training, according to the study authors.

"Children's relationships with teachers and with peers in school play a critical role in shaping their social-behavioral development," Brendgen said in a news release from the Society for Research in Child Development.

"Our study found that a good relationship with the teacher can protect genetically vulnerable children from being aggressive and, in consequence, from becoming the target of other children's aggressive behavior," Brendgen added.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about aggressive behavior.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111027/hl_hsn/bondwithteachercanhelpcurbaggressioninkids

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Mystery Motorola devices headed for Verizon, could be the long-awaited Xoom 2s?

Is Big Red gearing up for a tag team Moto tablet refresh? From the looks of this internal screen grab (and the oodles of pre-release leaks), that may very well be the case. Despite the lack of official confirmation from both parties, we're pretty certain those two mystery model numbers shown above -- MZ617 and MZ609 -- belong to the oft in-the-wild spotted Xoom 2 and its 8.2-inch "Media Edition" sibling. Unfortunately, that listed October 23rd date has come and gone with nary a mention of the slates' existence, so we'll just have to content ourselves with evidence of their apparent 4G capabilities and storage configurations. Folks keen to snag the full-fledged 10.1-incher will purportedly be able to select from 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, whereas lil' bro Fleming offers up 16GB and 32GB options. With Google's Motorola acquisition looming overhead, these could be your go-to tabs for an unadulterated Ice Cream Sandwich experience. And, hey, at least they'll ship with LTE this time.

Mystery Motorola devices headed for Verizon, could be the long-awaited Xoom 2s? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft cracks open a window to the future, anticipates our laziness (video)

In the future, we'll all be slaves to rectangles. No, really. Well, at least that's the prognosis, albeit sanitized, Microsoft has slickly pieced together in its Productivity Future Vision concept video. It's a mostly seamless world where all of our interactions are made to be mobile, virtual, efficient and white-washed, but it actually just reads as too darn fussy and overcomplicated. Sure, we could get behind contactless payment, tablets with holographic displays and eyeglasses that translate conversations when you've just stepped off a red eye into some foreign destination -- that's all incredibly useful. But car windows with agenda overlays and transparent refrigerator door displays? Some things are better left lo-tech. For Redmond's part, the company's merely aiming to project ways these various implementations of "real technology" will intersect and "actively assist" us with our harried lives. Take a peek at MS' sanctioned tomorrow land and its sparse piano soundtrack after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft cracks open a window to the future, anticipates our laziness (video)

Microsoft cracks open a window to the future, anticipates our laziness (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/27/microsoft-cracks-open-a-window-to-the-future-anticipates-our-la/

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Use of over-the-counter thyroid support pills is risky, researcher finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) ? People who use over-the-counter "thyroid support'' supplements may be putting their health at risk, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association. The supplements contain varying amounts of two different kinds of thyroid hormones apparently derived in large part from chopped up animal thyroid glands, says the study's senior investigator, Victor Bernet, M.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

The hormones are known as T3, or triiodothyronine, and T4, or thyroxine. They are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and intended for use only in prescription medication because they can cause significant health issues, such as an increase in heart rate, heart irregularities and palpitations, nervousness, and diarrhea, Dr. Bernet says.

"These hormones have effects throughout the body, which is why they are controlled," he says.

Not only did nine of the 10 supplements studied have animal hormone, the amount of hormones in the products varied significantly, sometimes exceeding doses used for individual patients and comparable to levels found in prescription thyroid medication, Dr. Bernet says.

The supplements likely do not give most people the results they are seeking, such as weight loss or less fatigue, he says.

"The amount of thyroid hormone a normal person would have to take to lose weight would be dangerously high and there is no evidence that use of thyroid hormone effectively treats fatigue when used in people without actual hypothyroidism," he says.

Because physicians have seen a number of abnormal thyroid tests from patients using over-the-counter supplements, Dr. Bernet became interested in this issue when he heard reports of such cases as chairman of the American Thyroid Association's public health committee. He worked with researchers including endocrinologists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he practiced at the time.

The researchers bought 10 commercially available thyroid supplements from stores or websites and used high-pressure liquid chromatography to separate and identify the chemical components of T3 and T4. Nine of the 10 contained T3 and five of them would deliver as much, or more, than 50 percent of the total amount of T3 produced by the body daily.

Four of the 10 supplements contained T4, and some of those contained a dose that could be twice as much as what an adult needs each day. Only one supplement had no detectable T3 or T4.

The results show there is a need for more effective monitoring of the contents of over-the-counter thyroid support products and more patient education about the products' potential health risks, Dr. Bernet says.

The study was funded by the Department of Clinical Investigation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which, in August 2011, became the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

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"Proofiness" Inherent in Population Milestones Such as "7 Billionth Person"

Features | More Science

There's no way that anyone could pinpoint which baby became the seven billionth person living on Earth. The uncertainties in measurement are simply too huge

By Charles Seife ?| October 27, 2011?|

7 BILLIONTH?: There's no way that anyone could pinpoint which baby became the six billionth person living on earth as claimed in 1999, or the seven billionth coming soon. Image: ? iStockphoto.com / Julie Fairman

Every few years, public officials and the news media perform a ritual form of "disestimation" when a population clock reaches a big milestone. Population experts at the Census Bureau and around the world are constantly estimating the populations of each nation. Their estimates are pretty good, predicting when, say, the world's population reaches six billion?they might even be able to guess when the six billionth person is born to within a few hours. That's about as good as any possible measurement of population can get. Populations constantly fluctuate, with people dying and being born at irregular intervals, often far from the eyes of people who count such things, so it's impossible to know at any given moment the true number of people alive on earth.

Nevertheless, on October 13, 1999, as flashbulbs popped around him, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan held a young Bosnian boy, welcoming him into the world as the six billionth person on earth. (The UN insisted that Annan's presence in Sarajevo was a complete coincidence. It was just a lucky break that the six billionth person was born in the city where Annan happened to be visiting.)

There's no way that anyone could pinpoint which baby became the six billionth person living on earth. The uncertainties in measurement are simply too huge. You wouldn't know, probably to within a couple of thousand, whether a baby is number 6,000,000,000 or 5,999,998,346 or 6,000,001,954. Only by disestimating, by ignoring the uncertainty in population numbers, could anyone claim to know for certain who was the six billionth living person.

Disestimation is the act of taking a number too literally, understating or ignoring the uncertainties that surround it. Disestimation imbues a number with more precision than it deserves, dressing a measurement up as absolute fact instead of presenting it as the error-prone estimate that it really is. It's a subtle form of proofiness: it makes a number look more truthful than it actually is?and the result can be as silly and meaningless as a museum guide's 65,000,038-year-old dinosaur.

Yet at every population milestone, world officials and the news media go through the same bizarre pantomime. In 2006, the Chicago Sun-Times declared a local baby?Alyzandra Ruiz?to be the 300 millionth resident of the United States. (They cleverly jumped the gun on everybody, making the arbitrary call almost an hour before the official Census Bureau population estimate reached the 300 million mark.) And when the world population reaches seven billion, officials will declare some lucky baby to be the seven billionth living person, completely indifferent to the fact that it's a lie.

A disestimate has its origin in a real, meaningful, good-faith measurement?the problem is that we don't take the resulting number with a big enough grain of salt. It's a rather subtle problem. As a result, disestimates can be difficult to spot. Once a disestimate is believed by the public, it can be devilishly hard to debunk.

Failure to recognize the inherent limitations of a measurement can be extremely dangerous, because it can potentially create an authentic-sounding number that is in fact far removed from the realm of truth.

Reprinted by arrangement with Penguin Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception by Charles Seife. Copyright ? 2011 by Charles Seife.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=846e0c96bd065ec97ec6d08e47004662

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Rajat Gupta to face criminal charges - source (Reuters)

REUTERS ? Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director and former head of McKinsey & Co, will surrender to the FBI on Wednesday to face criminal insider trading-related charges, a person familiar with the investigation said.

Gupta was named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the criminal case against hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam earlier this year.

Rajaratnam was convicted in May by a New York federal jury after a two-month-long trial. On Oct. 13, a judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison, the longest recorded for insider trading.

Gupta's attorney, Gary Naftalis, would not comment late Tuesday on possible criminal charges but issued a statement echoing his previous comments that Gupta committed no wrongdoing.

"Any allegation that Rajat Gupta engaged in any unlawful conduct is totally baseless. The facts demonstrate that Mr Gupta is an innocent man and that he has always acted with honesty and integrity. He did not trade in any securities, did not tip Mr Rajaratnam so he could trade, and did not share in any profits as part of any quid pro quo."

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, declined to comment on Gupta's surrendering to authorities or any possible charges.

The expected charges were first reported by the New York Times on its website.

(Additional reporting by Grant McCool; editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/india_nm/india601249

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Lindsay Lohan's dad appears in Florida court (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? The estranged father of actress Lindsay Lohan made his first appearance in court on domestic violence charges.

Michael Lohan walked out of the jail Wednesday afternoon. Bail had been set at $5,000.

The 51-year-old Lohan told reporters he "didn't do anything" and this was his girlfriend's way of making money.

Lohan is accused of grabbing his on-and-off girlfriend and pushing her down multiple times during an argument at her Tampa condo Sunday. The judge told Lohan to stay away from 28-year-old Kate Major.

Authorities say Lohan went to Major's condo and that she decided to let him stay even though she had a temporary domestic violence injunction against him in Sarasota County.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_en_ce/us_people_lindsay_lohan_s_father

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German satellite crashed over Asia's Bay of Bengal (AP)

BERLIN ? Heavily populated Asian cities avoided a dangerous collision with space junk last weekend as a defunct German satellite crashed into the sea somewhere between India and Myanmar.

The ROSAT satellite re-entered the atmosphere at 0150 GMT Sunday (9:50 p.m. Saturday EDT) above South Asia's Bay of Bengal, but it remains unclear how much, if any, of its debris actually reached the sea's surface, the German Aerospace Center said Tuesday.

Most of the 21-year-old satellite was expected to burn up as it hit the atmosphere, but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) may have splashed into the sea.

Scientists could no longer communicate with the defunct satellite, let alone control it.

Two Chinese cities with millions of residents each, Chongqing and Chengdu, were only minutes further northeast along the satellite's projected path, according to Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars.

A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage but spreading debris over a 500-mile (800-kilometer) area.

Since 1991, space agencies have adopted new procedures to lessen space junk. NASA says it has no more large satellites that will fall back to Earth uncontrolled in the next 25 years.

___

Online:

The German space agency on ROSAT: http://tinyurl.com/645k8hj

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_hi_te/falling_satellite

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Florida primary will be a winner-take-all contest (AP)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ? Florida's GOP presidential primary will be a winner-take-all contest.

The Republican National Committee has signed off on a plan to award 50 delegates to the GOP presidential contender who comes in first during the Jan. 31 primary.

Florida is losing half of its delegates because it bucked RNC rules by moving the primary date before March 6. But the number of delegates the state will award will be almost as many as the number of delegates expected to be awarded by the states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The winner-take-all nature of Florida's primary ? along with a decision by Nevada Republicans to push back the date of their caucus to Feb. 4 ? could transform the primary to a make-or-break moment for those seeking the GOP nomination.

"Clearly we are going to be an important contest, even more important that we initially thought," said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida.

The RNC signed off on the change days ago, but it was first reported on Monday by the Orlando Sentinel.

The national party approved the winner-take-all approach even though its rules had suggested that states that had early primaries would award delegates on a proportional basis based on how well candidates did in Congressional districts.

A special nine-member committee appointed by legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Scott voted last month to set the January date after top Republicans such as House Speaker Dean Cannon announced that's what it was expected to do.

Florida's decision triggered moves and denunciations by other states, but now the fourth-largest state in the nation will get 10 days in the national presidential campaign spotlight.

Four years ago, Florida held a late-January primary that played a key role in selecting Arizona Sen. John McCain as the Republican nominee. All major Democratic candidates, though, boycotted Florida because the early primary violated party rule.

But while top Republicans such as Cannon ? and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio ? have strongly supported an early primary, that enthusiasm has not been enjoyed by others in the party.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Republicans across the state, including those serving on the state executive committee, pleaded with Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, to follow RNC rules and move the primary date back to March. Haridopolos was one of the leaders who appointed members to the panel that picked the Jan. 31 date.

"The Republican Party and its legislative leaders remind me of children who don't play by the rules but whine when they are penalized," wrote Carole Reid, a state committeewoman from Putnam County. "It is time for these leaders to understand that, as adults, we do not pick and choose rules and laws we wish to adhere to, but rather work to change those we disagree with."

Mark and Alison LaMons of Lakeland ? and who are involved with the Lakeland Tea Party & 9-12 Project ? wrote to Haridopolos and said that top Republicans were skewing the system.

"We do not appreciate living in a state, that on more than one occasion, has become a laughing stock as it pertains to elections," their email says. "But that is minor compared to the outright subversion of the will of the people. It is one thing to have the Democrats try to steal an election but to have our own party manipulate the system to advantage a particular candidate is unconscionable."

.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_el_pr/us_florida_primary

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Defense of Jackson case opens with doctor, police (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Defense attorneys for the doctor accused of killing Michael Jackson began their case Monday, targeting Jackson as the architect of his own demise by seeking to cure his insomnia with an intravenous drug, even when he was warned it was dangerous.

With the testimony of a doctor and a nurse practitioner, the lawyers showed that Jackson had been on his quest for at least 15 years, and in the months before he died he began asking for intravenous medication, specifically an anesthetic.

Jackson would eventually get the drug propofol from Dr. Conrad Murray, now on trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of the superstar.

Taking over in the packed courtroom after prosecutors rested their four-week case, defense lawyers showed their hand at last, calling witnesses who indicated it was Jackson who demanded the drug that eventually killed him.

Dr. Allan Metzger, who was Jackson's friend and confidant over two decades, said he refused the singer's request for an intravenous anesthetic two months before his death and told the star it would be dangerous if administered in his home.

Prosecutors were quick to exploit the testimony to show that other medical professionals rejected any suggestion by the singer that he receive anesthetics as a sleep aid.

"You explained to him that it was dangerous, life-threatening and should not be done outside a hospital, correct?" prosecutor David Walgren asked on cross-examination.

"That's correct," Metzger replied.

Metzger added that there was no amount of money that would have prompted him to give Jackson the anesthetic propofol,

The next witness, holistic nurse practitioner Cherilyn Lee, said she treated Jackson with vitamin infusions and he felt so much better that he invited her to go with him to London for his concert tour. Then he reported he couldn't sleep and asked her to come to his home and watch him sleep, she testified.

She said she thought his problem was that he had been drinking highly caffeinated beverages for energy. Once he withdrew from them, was confident his problem would abate. But it did not.

She said she urged him to undergo a sleep study but he said he didn't have time.

In mid-April, 2009, shortly before he began treatment with Murray, Jackson asked Lee to watch him sleep, which she did. She said he slept for five hours but was upset when he awoke.

"He said, `You see, I can't stay asleep,'" she said.

Lee, who has spoken publicly about Jackson's demand that she get him propofol, was expected to tell jurors about that exchange when she returns to the witness stand Tuesday.

Metzger also said he had known for at least 15 years that Jackson had trouble sleeping. When he made a house call to the singer's home in April 2009, Metzger said the singer asked him about intravenous sleep medications and anesthetics. He mentioned a specific drug that he wanted, Metzger said.

"I think he used the word juice," Metzger said. The physician prescribed two oral medications, although he said the singer told him that he did not believe any oral medication would work.

Metzger added that there was no amount of money that would have prompted him to give Jackson the anesthetic propofol, which he said the singer didn't mention by name during their visit.

Murray has pleaded not guilty. Authorities contend Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of propofol as a sleep aid.

Metzger was one of several hostile witnesses that defense attorneys plan to call during their case, which began with brief testimony from a 911 records custodian, a police surveillance specialist and two detectives who investigated Murray.

Defense lawyers have said they will have 15 witnesses but have not publicly revealed whether they will call Murray to testify.

Jurors have heard from Murray through a more than two-hour interview with police, and it seems unlikely his attorneys would subject their client to what would be blistering questioning from prosecutors.

Prosecutors rested their case earlier in the day after testimony from 33 witnesses.

The defense then began its effort to counter damaging testimony that cast Murray as an opportunistic doctor who broke legal, ethical and professional guidelines to satisfy a patient who was paying him $150,000 a month.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

___

McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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Video: Video: Tebow, Palmer a tale of two QBs

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/45018927#45018927

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Shawn vs. Bret: WWE Superstars weigh in, part two

Who made the right decision in Montreal?

The rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels raged for nearly a decade both in and out of the ring, but it came to be defined by a single date: November 9, 1997. That night, HBK and The Hit Man clashed for Hart?s WWE Championship at the Survivor Series in Montreal, in a bout that changed the course of WWE. Knowing that Hart was planning to leave for WCW, Mr. McMahon came to ringside during the bout and forced the official to call for the bell when Michaels had The Hit Man locked in the Sharpshooter, thus stripping Hart of the title. The incident changed not only the three men involved, but the very direction of WWE as The Chairman became a loathed villain and standards of taste dipped to new lows in the absence of the heroic Hart.

DOLPH ZIGGLER: I saw Wrestling with Shadows a long time ago and said, ?Man, Bret Hart got screwed. I hope that doesn?t ever happen to me.? And then I realized at some point that what is good for the business isn?t always good for one person. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, and I now side with Shawn Michaels.?

CHRISTIAN: I was there. Edge had a developmental contract with the company at the time. I went with him to the show and we got to be flies on the wall. We saw a lot of hoopla going on in the locker room. We were a little bit confused, so we just tried to stay out of the way until an official came up and said, ?It?s probably better if you guys left.? We just got out of there and we didn?t even realize until the next day what had happened, so it was kind of crazy.

BOURNE: I always feel like Vince screwed Bret. Bret did not screw Bret.

RYDER: At the time, I couldn?t believe it, but it just created this interest, this buzz, this ?Attitude Era.? It got all these new fans watching and I wasn?t a loser in high school for wearing wrestling shirts anymore.

BARRETT: Bret Hart was an incredible performer, but he should have agreed to drop the title to Shawn Michaels on the night in question. I think it was the right thing to do for the business at the time, even if it wasn?t the right thing for him to do personally.?

HAWKINS:?The guys that work here now understand what it?s like. Now you?re in Bret?s shoes and you?re getting a different perspective than you did on the outside looking in. You know how he felt about what was going down and what was asked of him, so it?s tough.

PHOENIX: Bret was screwed, and his exit from WWE was certainly not what he deserved after all the time and effort he put into it.??

MORRISON: I understand why Bret felt the way he did about the ?Screwjob,? but taking a step back I understand why Vince felt the way he did too. It?s hard to say who?s right and wrong, but what?s interesting is what?s gone on since then. Vince knew that Bret was good for business and brought him back, and that?s why I think the phrase, ?Never say never,? always makes sense.

PUNK: At the end of the night [in 1997], I was really just sad, because I didn?t think I would ever see Bret in WWE again. I mean, the guy worked his [butt] off for this place and they just discarded him like a piece of garbage. I was even more disappointed the next night when nobody really did anything about it. Sure, Owen and Davey and Anvil did, but you expected them to. I almost wish everybody stuck up for him.

NATALYA:?When the ?Screwjob? went down, I saw the pain that my uncle went through. It was very sad and very traumatizing for him. It really affected our entire family, because my dad and Davey [Natalya?s uncle, The British Bulldog] still worked for WWE. My grandmother was upset about it. My grandfather was rattled. It divided the family in a few ways.

CENA: I think it's best summed up as being a typical day in WWE. Anything can happen on any given broadcast.?

Who has had more influence on your career?

It?s been more than a decade since Survivor Series 1997 and much has changed. The Hit Man made an unexpected return to WWE, beat Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania and made his peace with Shawn Michaels. HBK left his adolescent arrogance behind, had kids and found God. Both Superstars have retired and been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Now, their complete legacies as influential competitors can be reviewed in full.

ZIGGLER: It?s no question ? Shawn Michaels is the greatest of all time. Bret Hart was really good at wrestling, but this is the sports-entertainment business. I model myself after some of the greatest sports-entertainers of all time and Shawn Michaels is absolutely at the top of the list. I?ve always been a huge fan and always will be.

MORRISON: Shawn is my inspiration to this day. The flamboyance, the flash, the charisma, the attitude ? that is what really made me love wrestling, and that?s why I think he?s so cool.

BARRETT: My favorite match of all time is The British Bulldog against Bret ?Hit Man? Hart for the Intercontinental Title at [SummerSlam 1992]. To see those two together in such a great venue, in such a great match with such great buildup ... it?s my favorite wrestling memory.

DANIEL BRYAN: Shawn Michaels. He trained me!

CENA: I really have competed in some grueling matches against Shawn, so I've got to take HBK on that one.

McINTYRE: Bret?s matches always drew me in. I didn?t understand why until I actually started myself. When you realize what he?d done in the ring it?s just compelling.

NATALYA: I am very loyal to my Uncle Bret, but I never hated Shawn. It?s hard to hate somebody that performs the way that he does. Like him or hate him, you have to respect him. He?s one of the greatest of all time.?

PUNK: Even though I was so drawn to Shawn as a kid, I think I learned more from Bret, because of his basics and fundamentals. That?s a foundation that everybody should learn. Unfortunately, everybody does not. He is the perennial wrestler?s wrestler. No lie ? best there is, best there was, best there will ever be.

_______________________________________

1 | 2

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwefeaturepage/superstars-on-shawn-vs-bret_2

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Mobile Nations Monday Brief: October 24, 2011

Youtube video link for mobile viewing

Ice Cream Sandwich - All you need to know Samsung and Google Introduce The Galaxy Nexus T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Review	Check out all the BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 Coverage R.I.P JDE Official Facebook Messenger app hits BlackBerry
Android Central Podcast CrackBerry.com Podcast PalmCast Podcast WPCentral Podcast iPhone Event Preview & iPad Live Podcast	HTC considered, decided against, purchasing webOS. Again. webOS 3.0.4 pushed out to TouchPads: hands-on Veer disappearing from AT&T stores, Pixi Plus still soldiering on
iPhone 4S Review Top 5 iOS 5 apps for iPhone and iPad iPhone 4S and iOS 5 tips and how-to	Tango video calling app ported to other Windows Phones Rumor: Microsoft's Windows Phone plans 2012-2014 Orange: Windows Phone's future depends on Nokia

Follow Ashley On: Twitter or Google+

 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/u1rI-rZEltM/mobile-nations-monday-brief-october-24-2011

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Vietnam confiscates 1 ton of elephant tusks (AP)

HANOI, Vietnam ? Vietnamese authorities say they have uncovered more than a ton of elephant tusks that smugglers were attempting to illegally take to China.

Customs official Ly Tran Tuan says the 221 pieces of tusks were discovered Sunday hidden in rolls of fabric that were being transported on a boat on the Ka Long river bordering the two countries.

Tuan said Monday that a Chinese man who was escorting the boat and the Vietnamese captain were detained by local police for further investigation.

Vietnam bans the hunting of its dwindling elephant population. In 2009, authorities confiscated nearly 7 tons of elephant tusks smuggled from Tanzania in the country's biggest ivory seizure.

Tusks are used for ivory jewelry and home decorations.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_re_as/as_vietnam_elephant_tusks

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Hollywood's holidays range from Muppets to Marilyn (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Only Hollywood could assemble a holiday guest list that ranges from the Muppets, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Puss in Boots and dancing penguins to J. Edgar Hoover, Margaret Thatcher, Marilyn Monroe and a steed in the trenches of World War I.

The latter are among a batch of potential Academy Awards contenders from past winners and nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio as the FBI boss in director Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar"; Meryl Streep as former British Prime Minister Thatcher in "The Iron Lady"; Michelle Williams as Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn"; and Steven Spielberg directing "War Horse," the Tony Award-winning play that arrives in theaters just days after the U.S. debut of Spielberg's action tale "The Adventures of Tintin."

The rush of holiday films starts early with the pre-Halloween release of "Puss in Boots," an animated prequel about an early caper of the daring cat that became one of the ogre's sidekicks in the "Shrek" movies.

Antonio Banderas, who returns to provide the voice of Puss, said much of the character's charm arises as the tiny cat struts and boasts with a bravado that's out of whack with his size.

"We just provided him with a voice that doesn't go, actually, with the body," said Banderas, who is joined by voice co-stars Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. "He thinks that he's bigger. He thinks that he's more arrogant. It's something that goes against the image, and that produces comedy."

Other top holiday titles include the next-to-last installment of "The Twilight Saga"; Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"; Hollywood's take on Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," with Daniel Craig; Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol"; Martin Scorsese's first 3-D film, "Hugo"; Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller's action romp "Tower Heist"; George Clooney's family comic drama "The Descendants"; Adam Sandler's dual-role comedy "Jack and Jill"; and Charlize Theron's romance "Young Adult."

Here are details on some of the highlights:

FAMILY FARE:

Joining "Puss in Boots" on the family front are three familiar casts of cuddly creatures and a new animated look at the CEO of the Christmas season.

"Happy Feet Two" brings the return of tap-dancing cartoon penguin Mumble (Elijah Wood), whose son is in a crisis over his own lack of dance moves. The voice cast includes Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and pop star Pink.

During an ocean cruise, the talking, singing rodents find themselves stranded on a deserted island in "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked." The live-action and voice cast features Jason Lee, Justin Long, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate.

James McAvoy provides the voice of the title character in "Arthur Christmas," an animated adventure that explains how Santa Claus manages to deliver gifts all over the world in one night.

"The Muppets" return as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang team with two human pals (Jason Segel and Amy Adams) for a telethon to save their old theater from a greedy oilman (Chris Cooper).

The once omnipresent Muppets have been long absent from movies and TV, and Segel, who co-wrote the screenplay, said that has been incorporated into the story.

"We didn't try to skirt away from the fact that they've been dormant," Segel said. "We made that a major plot point. The Muppets have not been around for a while, and so we decided to create a story as to why and try to fix it, simple as that."

REAL LIVES:

"My Week With Marilyn" chronicles the trials of a young assistant (Eddie Redmayne) as he ushers sex bomb Monroe (Williams) through the production of "The Prince and the Showgirl," co-starring Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh).

Streep could add to her Oscar record of 16 acting nominations as Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," a portrait of the conservative prime minister that co-stars Jim Broadbent.

Also on the London front is director Madonna's "W.E.," which blends the story of a modern woman (Abbie Cornish) in an unhappy marriage with the 1930s scandal over the abdication of King Edward so he could marry divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough).

"A Dangerous Method" follows the birth of psychoanalysis through the professional and personal clash of Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), and their relationships with a patient (Keira Knightley).

On "J. Edgar," DiCaprio teams with Eastwood for a portrait of Hoover, who ran the FBI and its predecessor for nearly 50 years and drew accusations of abuse of power in his declining years.

"He was somebody that just stayed in power too long," DiCaprio said. "Toward the end of his regime, he was out of touch and out of date with what was going on in this country."

ACTION AND ADVENTURE:

Director Spielberg teams with producer Peter Jackson for "The Adventures of Tintin," which opens overseas well ahead of its December release in the United States, where the youthful adventurer is virtually unknown despite his global renown from the storybooks of Belgian writer Herge.

The film sends eager reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) on a treasure hunt with seafaring pal Capt. Haddock (Andy Serkis), the production created through a performance-capture shoot layered over with digital animation.

Downey as the great detective and sidekick Watson (Jude Law) meet criminal mastermind Moriarty (Jared Harris) in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows." James Bond star Craig stars with Rooney Mara in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," an English-language remake of the Danish film based on the Swedish best-seller about a troubled computer genius aiding a journalist investigating a decades-old crime. "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol" has Cruise's elite team going rogue after an attack on the Kremlin.

Murphy and Stiller star in "Tower Heist," an action comedy about a band of defrauded workers who plot a break-in against the billionaire (Alan Alda) who swindled them. "Immortals" casts Freida Pinto, Mickey Rourke and Henry Cavill in a battle among humans and the gods of ancient Greece.

Then there's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 1," the first of two movies based on Stephenie Meyer's final novel about teen Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her supernatural suitors (Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner).

Given how well fans already know what's coming from Meyer's novel, director Bill Condon is not too concerned about spoiler alerts over the epic events of "Part 1."

"Bella gets married, she has a honeymoon, she has sex for the first time, she gets pregnant, she gives birth, she dies, she becomes a vampire," Condon said. "All in one movie."

"Breaking Dawn: Part 2" is due out in November 2012.

FAMILY MATTERS:

The season is heavy on families coping with loss and other domestic troubles. Clooney stars as a neglectful husband and father forced to take charge of his spirited daughters after an accident puts his wife in a coma in "The Descendants," which centers on a large extended family that is heir to a priceless piece of unspoiled Hawaiian land.

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" features Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock in the story of a boy searching New York City for the lock that fits a key left behind by his father, who was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Martin Scorsese directs the 3-D adventure "Hugo," the story of an orphan boy living in the walls of a Paris train station who joins with an eccentric girl as he seeks answers about the father he recently lost. The live action feature is based on Brian Selznick's children's book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret."

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" stars Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz in a drama about parents whose civility slips away as they meet to talk over a playground fight between their sons. It is based on Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning play, "God of Carnage."

In "We Bought a Zoo," Matt Damon plays a dad trying to hold his family together by doing just what the title says ? moving with his kids to a rundown zoo that they begin to rebuild. Sounds sappy, concedes Damon, who interrupts himself when he describes the movie to point out that it's directed by Oscar winner Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire," "Almost Famous").

"It's one of those movies that sounds like it could be the worst Disney movie ever," Damon said. "My pitch for it normally is, `So this guy buys a broken-down zoo and in the course of rebuilding the zoo ? look, Cameron Crowe directed it.' ... So you go, OK, this could work."

WAR STORIES:

Angelina Jolie makes her directing debut with "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a romance set against the turmoil of the war in Bosnia during the 1990s.

Set amid the Cold War in 1973, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" stars Gary Oldman as author John le Carre's unassuming spymaster George Smiley, brought out of retirement to finger a Russian mole in British intelligence circles.

Ralph Fiennes gives Shakespeare an update, directing and starring in "Coriolanus," with the action moved to modern times as an exiled Roman general enlists a former rival (Gerard Butler) and lays siege to his old city.

Based on the book that inspired the Broadway play, Spielberg's "War Horse" chronicles the horrors of World War I through the eyes of an English farm horse that is sold to the army and later captured and pressed into service by the Germans.

Spielberg saw the play in London, a production using elaborate life-sized puppets as horses. Dazzling as the puppets were, Spielberg said it's the core of the horse's journey that really resonates.

"I walked out of that marvelous experience with a deep desire to make the movie," Spielberg said. "The reason it endures with audiences and it really touches the heart is because of the story, and it was a story I wanted to turn into a motion picture. We have real horses. We don't use puppets. I have to hasten to point that out."

ROMANCE AND LAUGHTER:

Charlize Theron is a wannabe home wrecker in "Young Adult," playing a writer who returns to her hometown and sets about reclaiming her high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson) from his wife.

Jonah Hill proves a nightmare of a baby sitter as he takes his neighbor's kids along for a wild night on the town in "The Sitter."

The holidays are the backdrop for some of the season's comedies: "Jack and Jill" stars Sandler as both a solid family guy and his needy twin sister, who comes to visit for Thanksgiving; "New Year's Eve" features an ensemble including Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher and Michelle Pfeiffer as New Yorkers ringing in another year; "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" reunites the party-boy pals (John Cho and Kal Penn) for a stoner journey through New York City.

One of the season's most-unusual releases is a throwback to old, old Hollywood. "The Artist" follows the downfall of a movie star (Jean Dujardin) and the rise of a starlet (Berenice Bejo) as silent film gives way to sound pictures ? and it's told as a black-and-white silent film.

The movie has charmed audiences at film festivals, winning Dujardin the best-actor prize at Cannes. But can a quaint throwback to the silent era click with today's paying crowds?

"The most difficult thing to do is to actually manage to drag these people into the room," Dujardin said. "But once they're in the room, there's no problem. I'm kind of convinced that they will stay."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_en_ot/us_film_holiday_preview

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