Concert raises $500K for Texas fire victims

Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told a thunderous crowd Monday night that "there was zero hesitation" when her band was asked to perform with fellow country music stars to raise money for victims of recent wildfires in her home state of Texas.

She and her band mates joined George Strait, Willie Nelson and other musicians during a mega-concert in Austin that raised more than $500,000. A fire that started Sept. 4 in Central Texas' Bastrop County destroyed at least 1,500 homes and killed two people, marking the most devastating of the numerous fires that have scorched about 6,000 square miles (15,500 square kilometers) in Texas in the last year.

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Maines told the crowd she was worried that without homes, "you all might not look lovely." But she told them they all looked fantastic.

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"When they called us to do this show, there was zero hesitation," she said. "You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl."

Nelson was joined onstage by folksy newcomers The Avett Brothers and, backed up by Asleep at the Wheel, they roused the crowd with rowdy versions of Nelson's classic "On the Road Again" and the gospel anthem "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

Story: Judge rejects Willie Nelson plea deal in pot case

Nelson recently spent time filming a movie in Bastrop and, in an interview before the concert, called the fires "tragic." He said he has lost homes to fire and knows how devastating it can be.

"You never really get over it," he said. "There's nothing I can tell them to make it better except some of us have been there and done that and we survived it, and they will too. Be strong."

Asleep at the Wheel front man Ray Benson, who helped book the performers, said he seldom asks his friends for favors but thought this cause was important enough.

"This one was so compelling, I said 'OK, let me call Willie and let me call Lyle (Lovett)' and they both said yeah," Benson said. "Willie actually cancelled a show to do it. Lyle also canceled an appearance."

Story: Emmy Awards show felt like a rerun

Benson said the music community felt a responsibility to help.

"I just think the scope of devastation was so great and so close to home," he said. "The numbers in Bastrop were so overwhelming, how do you deal with something like that? And also you do feel ... that we're in a position to not sit on the sidelines and do something."

The concert started with Christopher Cross. Eleven acts were scheduled to perform, and helping emcee was actor Kyle Chandler, who won an Emmy last month for his role as a Texas high school football coach in "Friday Night Lights."

Story: 'Friday Night Lights' movie is in the works

Images of charred forests, skeletal remains of vehicles and homes were shown between sets at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin campus.

The concert was nearly full, but officials said they didn't yet have numbers for the number of tickets sold. But one of the concert's hosts told the crowd that they'd raised "way north of $500,000."

Several attendees wore T-shirts representing local volunteer fire departments that battled the recent blazes.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44941735/ns/today-entertainment/

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Correction: Iraq-US Deaths story (AP)

In an Oct. 12 story about U.S. deaths in Iraq, The Associated Press, relying on information from the Department of Defense, erroneously reported that one of the soldiers killed had served in the Iraq war. The soldier, Chief Warrant Officer James B. Wilke, actually served in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111018/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_us_deaths

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Oil hovers above $88 after US crude supplies drop

(AP) ? Oil prices hovered above $88 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting demand could be improving.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was down 7 cents at $88.27 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.96 to settle at $88.34 in New York on Tuesday.

Brent crude for December delivery was up 15 cents at $111.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted an increase of 1.8 million barrels.

Inventories of gasoline dropped 1.6 million barrels last week while distillates slid 2.2 million barrels, the API said.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday.

Crude has jumped 17 percent from $75 two weeks ago as investor optimism was bolstered by signs European leaders will soon announce a plan to contain the region's sovereign debt crisis.

Oil traders have also been encouraged by gains in global stock markets after a period of sustained losses. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.6 percent Tuesday and most Asian stock markets advanced Wednesday.

However, some analysts are forecasting commodities such as oil will drop next year amid weak global economic growth and a stronger U.S. dollar, which makes crude more expensive for investors with other currencies.

"We would still expect fresh falls in 2012 as global economic activity remains sluggish, risk appetite stays fragile and the dollar recovers more ground," Capital Economics said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.5 cent to $3.02 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 0.9 cent to $2.73 per gallon. Natural gas added 0.9 cent to $3.56 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-19-Oil-Prices/id-532427b0961f4ad188054d081631266d

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Rise In Machines May Hinder U.S. Job Growth: Reuters Analysis

For decades, American workers and their machines advanced in tandem. As companies invested in technology, more workers were needed to operate machines.

That relationship is now looking unsteady.

Since 1999, business investment in equipment and software has surged 33 percent while the total number of people employed by private firms has changed little.

The gap between man and machine widened even further after the 2008-09 recession, helping explain why the United States is struggling to bring down an unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent.

The revolution in information technologies is taking a deeper and deeper hold in the U.S. economy.

Throughout history, technology revolutions have paved the way to forms of employment: Britain's 19th century industrial revolution threw artisans out of work but eventually created mass employment in factories.

But a decade-long drought in jobs in the United States is raising questions whether there is a fundamental shift in the structure of the labor market.

"Labor and capital are out of sync," said Tyler Cowen, an economist at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "It seems be a growing and strengthening trend... (and) suggests there is this longer-term structural change."

To be sure, some of the struggles of the U.S. labor market reflects displacement rather than the disappearance of jobs, as improvements in technology have spawned the outsourcing of operations ranging from call centers to engineering departments in lower-wage countries.

But the spread of IT from America's factory floors to the massive service sector creates a double-whammy for workers, Cowen said.

Retailers are in the midst of the technology revolution. Research firm VDC Research estimates retailers worldwide will spend 12 percent more on installing self-check-out kiosks -- which require fewer staff -- by 2015.

In Massachusetts, supermarket chain Stop & Shop is piloting a program that allows shoppers to use their smart phones to scan groceries as they pull them off the shelves -- a move that could lead to even fewer check-out clerks.

The advance of technology throughout the economy poses a challenge for policy makers fighting high unemployment. As technology reduces the number of workers needed to produce the same amount of goods and services, the economy must grow at an even faster pace if new jobs are to be created.

JOBLESS RECOVERIES

In the 1990s, the rate at which companies boosted equipment and software investments more than doubled and output per hour surged. Employment growth generally tracked the higher rates of productivity for a time, as it had for generations.

Then something happened. After the 2001 recession, private employment growth essentially flat-lined while technology investment continued its giddy rise.

Since the Great Recession, technology investment has rebounded even more strongly and is growing more rapidly as a share of the economy than in any recovery in at least six decades.

Private employment, however, is not rebounding in tandem. At the current pace of job creation, it would take years for employment to return to pre-recession levels -- let alone absorb new entrants to the labor market.

The travel industry is a key example of how on-line technology has revolutionized a business sector.

The chief executive of Travelocity, a privately held company based in Dallas, noted how the company can sell dramatically more airline tickets and hotels rooms with fewer employees than an old-fashioned travel agent.

Online retailers also can innovate rapidly. Just a few employees with computer skills can change a market with dizzying speed.

"With the Internet, five people in a room can get together on something and put it up to 1 percent of your visitors to test and see how it goes," said Carl Sparks, Travelocity's CEO.

The reshaping of commerce has extended far beyond online retailing. Bar code scanners made by Honeywell International Inc have sped up passenger check-ins at airports and improved the tracking of goods in warehouses.

The U.S. manufacturer expects its scanners will increasingly be adopted in hospitals, improving the productivity of nurses administering drugs, said the firm's product management director, Taylor Smith.

The rapid pace of technological advances has led some economists to speculate that information technology is a factor behind the recent trend of jobless recoveries.

"The technology now is different," said Mark Thoma, an economist at the University of Oregon. "We're way more able to replace people with smart equipment, and it's going up into new levels of the population. It's not just the manufacturing workers. It's white collar workers, too."

FUTURE JOBS

Innovation is nothing new. Nor are job layoffs as companies cut employees during recessions -- part of what economists call the "creative destruction" process that eventually rechannels less productive resources into the jobs of the future.

The labor market stagnation over the last two years is also probably due in large part to the ferocity of the recent recession, the worst to hit the United States since the Great Depression, economists say.

But the growing gap between technology investment and job growth over the past decade suggests that the traditional link between capital investment and employment is under duress.

The chairman of Google Inc, Eric Schmidt, has called the labor market a "national emergency" and argues that the U.S. government should urgently find a way to stimulate demand.

Higher profits due to technology advances are not enough to spur hiring, he said. As a nation, he said, "We're stuck."

On-line travel firms, however, show a glimmer of how technology can help create fresh demand -- essential for the creation of new jobs.

The industry has embraced smart phones and iPads in the newest twist to push last-minute travel deals -- perhaps spurring consumers to take an extra trip and boost business for airlines and hotels.

It's a technology trend that could help the whole travel market grow, albeit incrementally.

"We are hiring more engineers in the mobile space to build more mobile products," said Travelocity's Sparks. "We hire more people in marketing to handle that."

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/19/rise-in-machines-may-hinder-us-job-growth_n_1019234.html

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China economic growth slows ? to 9.1%

By Joe McDonald, The Associated Press

China's rapid growth eased last quarter to a still-robust 9.1 percent ? enough to ease concerns of an abrupt slowdown in the world's second-largest economy but too little to buoy the troubled West.

Growth in the three months through September was down from the previous quarter's 9.5 percent and the lowest level in two years, data showed Tuesday. The government said that was in line with plans to steer growth that hit 10.3 percent last year to a more sustainable level and cool politically dangerous inflation.

AP

Sales promoters talk to visitors at a housing fair in Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu province this week. China's rapid economic growth eased in the latest quarter as the government tried to prevent overheating.

The moderation amid Europe's debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment might reduce China's contribution to global growth, though analysts say its expansion cannot shore up a slumping world economy on its own.

"This means China itself is still growing well and will continue to generate demand for commodities and exports," said Darius Kowalczyk, senior economist for Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. Still, he said, "I don't think they are going to save the world."

Beijing has repeatedly hiked interest rates and imposed curbs on construction and other investment to prevent runaway growth and cool inflation that surged to a 37-month high of 6.5 percent in July. It has promised to ease some bank lending curbs to help struggling small businesses but analysts expect it to maintain most of its controls.

A government spokesman said the latest data, which also showed strong retail sales and factory production, was evidence Beijing's strategy was working and the economy was on the right track.

"There is quite a strong possibility for China's economy to maintain steady and relatively fast growth," said a spokesman for the National Statistics Bureau, Sheng Laiyun, at a news conference.

Sheng warned China faces "rising risks" due to weakness in key U.S. and European export markets. But he said it is unlikely to suffer a "double dip," or relapse into an economic slump.

China is forecast to account for about one-third of global growth this year. But analysts caution that its consumption and investment are too small to offset lower U.S. and European demand. Its multibillion-dollar trade surplus also limits benefits for its trading partners.

Deutsche Bank economist Ma Jun has estimated China would have to grow by 18 percent this year to make up for a 3 percentage point drop in U.S. and European growth.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting China's growth this year at 9.5 percent, compared with just 1.5 percent for the United States and a 0.5 percent contraction for Japan ? East Asia's other economic giant.

The latest Chinese growth was the slowest since an 8.9 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2009.

China's retail sales rose 17 percent in September, slightly ahead of the growth rate for the first half of the year, data showed. Factory production rose 14.2 percent over a year earlier for the quarter.

China's exporters have been hurt by weak global demand that saw September export growth tumble to 17.1 percent from August's 24.5 percent. But Sheng said retail sales and other indicators showed the communist government's efforts to reduce reliance on trade by boosting domestic consumption were gaining traction.

Premier Wen Jiabao promised last weekend to help exporters by maintaining a "stable exchange rate," a move that might fuel tensions with Washington over Beijing's currency controls.

China's inflation eased to 6.1 percent in September, though food price inflation held steady at August's level of 13.4 percent. Analysts expect inflation to ease further as the autumn harvest comes in.

China's demand for iron ore, industrial components and other foreign goods already has eased as the government clamped down on a construction boom. Export-driven manufacturers that account for half of the country's imports have reacted to lower orders by cutting purchases of supplies.

Imports of polyester fell 21.7 percent in September from a year earlier while imports of unrefined aluminum declined 7.9 percent, according to customs data. Growth in oil imports declined from last year's double-digit rates to 4 percent.

Weaker Chinese demand is likely to hit other Asian economies that supply its factories industrial components, as well as Australia, Chile and other exporters of minerals such as iron ore and copper.

"China will contribute a significant portion of global growth," said Mark Williams of Capital Economics in London. "But it's a separate issue whether China contributes to growth in the world outside China, and that really depends on whether it can bring its trade surplus down."

Also Tuesday, the government said growth in housing prices and new construction eased in September, another sign efforts to cool the economy are taking hold.

A survey of 70 cities found prices declined in 17 of them from August to September, rose in only one and held steady in the rest, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The number of housing starts rose 8.9 percent over a year earlier, down from a 25 percent gain in the first eight months of the year.

"September probably marked the beginning of a correction, but the central government wouldn't want to stop tightening just yet," said Societe General economist Wei Yao in a report.

Stocks turn positive after falling earlier on a slower than expected growth out of China and mixed earnings news. Insight on whether the slowdown in China is something to be concerned about, with David Donabedian, Atlantic Trust and Mike Holland, Holla...

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/18/8381969-china-economic-growth-slows-to-91

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The 10 biggest TV flops of the last 5 years

On Friday, Drew Barrymore?s ?Charlie?s Angels? became the latest television tragedy as ABC canceled the heavily promoted, but not-very-well-received drama.

Despite a slew of hot, nubile young actresses (like Minka Kelly) and a Miami twist, the show ? a reboot of the 1970s classic ? didn?t get the pulses of America racing.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: TV?s Biggest Flops Of The Last Five Years

?Charlie?s Angels? has joined a rapidly growing list of Fall 2011 shows that were canned by their networks, including CBS comedy ?How to Be a Gentleman? (with Kevin Dillon), The CW reality show ?H8R,? NBC?s remake of the British comedy of the same name, ?Free Agents? (the original is airing on BBC America on Saturday nights), and one of the most talked about programs of the season, ?The Playboy Club.?

With shows dropping like flies, AccessHollywood.com takes a look back at 10 of the biggest flops of the last five years that failed to last for a full season.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Shows & Stars of Fall Television 2011

10. ?Kings,? 2009 (NBC)
Brit Ian McShane brought his icy stares and weighty presence as King Silas Benjamin to NBC in the big budget series ?Kings? in 2009. Also starring newcomer Aussie Christopher Egan, and eventual ?Gossip Girl? guy Sebastian Stan, the high-on-effects drama ? about loyalty, politics and betrayal went from hot to just plain lukewarm with the viewers who dipped off as the weeks rolled on between March and April. NBC took a break from the show after its first five outings, running seven more in the summer of 2009 before saying goodbye for good.

9. ?Day Break,? 2006 (ABC)
?Day Break? made its premiere outing on ABC?s primetime schedule in 2006. Like a serious ?Groundhog Day,? the series followed the story of Detective Brett Hopper (Taye Diggs), who was trapped repeating the same 24-hour cycle, as he attempted to figure out who set him up for murder. The supporting cast included Moon Bloodgood as Rita Shelten ? Hopper?s girlfriend ? and ?The X Files? star Mitch Pileggi as a fellow detective, but audiences decided not to revisit the past, and changed the channel. Ramon Rodriguez, of the newly canceled ?Charlie?s Angels,? was also a part of the cast.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Latest Star Sightings

8. ?New Amsterdam,? 2008 (FOX)
Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau rode a wave of hype stateside as John Amsterdam, a NYPD homicide detective stuck living an immortal life, following a brave act in the 1600?s. A cancellation meant fans never got to see John find true love ? the one thing that would break the spell, but these days the actor has found life again as Jamie Lannister on HBO?s ?Game of Thrones.?

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7. ?The Bionic Woman,? 2007 (NBC)
Sci-fi American drama ?The Bionic Woman? crashed into NBC?s primetime lineup in 2007, propelled by some super-powered hype. Brit Michelle Ryan played Jamie Sommers, who was saved from death after surgically receiving bionics ? bionics she was asked to use by those who brought her back from the brink. The reboot?s premiere ? in September 2007 ? packed a punch, beating the Season 3 premiere of ?Grey?s Anatomy.? But, ratings plummeted by November, just as the Writers Guild of America strike began, putting the show on hiatus. While the strike ended, ?The Bionic Woman? stayed permanently on ice.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood?s Hottest Stars Kissing & Smooching!

6. ?Six Degrees,? 2006 (ABC)
An American drama series, ?Six Degrees? had a nice lead in, following ?Grey?s Anatomy? in 2006. Starring Erika Christensen, a post-?Hostel? Jay Hernandez and ?Sex and The City?s? Bridget Moynahan, the plots were various, but connections between the characters worked in. It exited screens in November 2006 after low ratings, but came back for one more (dismal) try in March 2007 before it was canceled for good.

5. ?Lone Star,? 2010 (FOX)
It seemed like a Texas-sized treat ? with lots of big oil drama ? when ?Lone Star? made its debut on FOX in 2010. The show centered around a handsome conman who led a secret double life, pulling jobs in two different towns ? and on two different women. Unfortunately, while series star James Wolk was being touted as a young George Clooney, it ran out gas with TV watchers after two low-rated episodes.

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Story: Low-rated 'Charlie's Angels' grounded by ABC

4. ?The Beautiful Life: TBL,? 2009 (The CW)
?The O.C.?s? Mischa Barton retuned to The CW as messed up supermodel Sonja Stone on ?The Beautiful Life: TBL.? Aside from Mischa?s character, the project ? from executive producer Ashton Kutcher ? also focused on a group of male and female models sharing a residence in New York City as they tried to make it. The show itself didn?t, drawing just 1.38 million viewers before it got a designer boot after just two episodes.

3. ?Viva Laughlin,? 2007 (CBS)
They double downed, combing a storyline about a guy trying to jump start a casino in a locale that isn?t Las Vegas, with pre-?Glee? musical numbers, but ?Viva Laughlin? ? even with Hugh Jackman on board as an executive producer and guest star ? bombed, and CBS yanked the series after just two episodes.

2. ?Emily?s Reasons Why Not,? 2006 (ABC)
After a charming run as Dr. Molly Clock on NBC?s ?Scrubs,? Heather Graham got her own comedy in 2006 with the ?Sex and the City?-styled ?Emily?s Reasons Why Not.? Focusing on Emily (Graham), a successful author of self-help books who was less successful at dating, ?ERWN? was heavily promoted by ABC, but yanked after its premiere. ?We felt like, unfortunately, it was not going to get better,? ABC?s then-network president, Stephen McPherson, told reporters at the time.

1. ?Cavemen,? 2007 (ABC)
Inspired by a popular series of GEICO insurance ads, ?Cavemen? rode a prehistoric wave to ABC in 2007. The show, centered around three Cro-Magnon men who were trying to make their way through dating in the modern world ? without their trusty clubs ? piqued the interest of more than 9 million viewers in its premiere outing. Viewers, however, went the way of the dinosaurs, and ABC axed the show after six episodes.

Which new show of the last few years do you think was the biggest flop? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44934822/ns/today-entertainment/

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Gomez granted temporary restraining order

A judge has granted Selena Gomez a temporary restraining order from a man with a history of mental illness who police say threatened the singer-actress.

Court records show the "Wizards of Waverly Place" star was granted the order Thursday in Burbank, which is north of downtown Los Angeles. Thomas Brodnicki is required to stay 100 yards away from Gomez and her workplace until a Nov. 4 hearing, when the order may be extended for three years.

Gomez wrote in a sworn declaration that she is in "extreme fear" of Brodnicki.

The filings, first reported Monday by celebrity website TMZ, state police were notified by mental health workers that the 46-year-old had threatened to harm or kill the actress while on a psychiatric hold.

Attempts to reach Brodnicki were unsuccessful.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44939404/ns/today-entertainment/

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Report: Mark Wahlberg feuding with director

One of the most enduring friendships in Hollywood ? and one that led to the Oscars this year ? has dissolved in acrimony.

Hollywood heavyweight Mark Wahlberg has fallen out with his buddy director David O. Russell over the director's decision to cast someone else in the lead of his new film, "The Silver Linings Playbook," according to two individuals with knowledge of the relationship.

"They went with Brad Cooper because they felt he was hungrier and would work for cheaper," Matt Muzio, Russell's cousin and frequent collaborator, told The Wrap.

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Muzio also fell out with the director recently, but said he was with Russell this summer on Martha's Vineyard when the decision was made. Another individual close to Wahlberg confirmed the information.

Wahlberg's deal provided that he was to be paid an additional $900,000 if Anne Hathaway fell out of the project, according to two individuals with knowledge of the deal. Hathaway did indeed drop out, making Cooper the less expensive option to Wahlberg.

Wahlberg was paid a fee anyway, though another executive said it was because of his creative contribution to the Weinstein Co. project.

Story: 'Entourage' secrets from the boys of summer

The decision to cast Cooper surprised Muzio and others because Wahlberg has been one of Russell's most loyal friends in Hollywood, bringing him in on his pet project, "The Fighter," after years of Russell being sidelined.

Before that, Russell had favored Wahlberg for years, casting him in his cult hit "Three Kings" and again in "I Heart Huckabees" ? a movie that not only failed at the box office but solidified the director's reputation in the industry as difficult after a video surfaced of him screaming at Lily Tomlin on set.

"The Fighter" was Russell's first movie since that debacle, a critical success and a box-office hit ? and a path back to productivity for the writer-director. Russell was nominated for Best Director, and producer Wahlberg was nominated for Best Picture. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo both won Oscars for their supporting performances.

Story: 'Entourage' star says Lynch's lesbian joke wasn't fair

"If it weren't for 'The Fighter,' 'Silver Linings' wouldn't exist," Muzio said.

A spokesman for Wahlberg had no comment. An agent for Russell did not return repeat emails and calls; his publicist could not reached.

A spokesman for Weinstein had no comment.

In "Silver Linings," which started shooting last week, Cooper plays Pat Peoples, a teacher who after spending years in a mental institution, moves back in with his mother and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Wahlberg had been attached to the role for the better part of this year.

The all-star cast of the Weinstein Co. film also includes Robert De Niro, who plays what one knowledgeable person described as an "ambling, lunatic father." Jackie Weaver plays the mother, and Jennifer Lawrence is the ex-wife.

Story: Will Mark flip Wahlburgers into a reality show?

According to an individual close to the actor, Wahlberg is so upset about it that he and Russell are no longer speaking.

He had been working with the director on other projects, and those have gone in different directions:

Wahlberg will be teaming up with Baltasar Kormakur for a new Universal action movie, "2 Guns," in which Russell had been previously involved.

Wahlberg is trying to put together "The Fighter 2" and, as someone in his camp said, "If we get 'Fighter 2' off the ground, it won't be with David Russell."

As for "Silver Linings," Wahlberg is not the only major actor to be considered and fall out of the movie. Hathaway had been attached but could not fit the movie into her schedule.

Who would you rather see star in a movie, Bradley Cooper or Mark Wahlberg? Tell us on Facebook.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44944980/ns/today-entertainment/

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Gilad Shalit and the End of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process (Time.com)

As momentous as Tuesday's scheduled release of Sergeant Gilad Shalit and 477 Palestinian prisoners (with another 550 to freed within two months) may be, it is unlikely to be a game-changer ? or a milestone on the road to peace. Indeed, while the spectacle of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu breaking the ostensible taboo on negotiating with Hamas and heeding many of its demands in order to bring home the captive Israeli soldier may look like a sea-change, it's more likely to reinforce the stalemate in the wider conflict ? and possibly even raise the danger of a new hostilities.

Despite the fervent opposition of some Israelis ? from families of terror victims to prominent cabinet members ? to freeing men with Israeli blood on their hands, Netanyahu's decision remains a popular one. A poll conducted by the daily Yediot Ahronot published Monday showed that 79% of Israelis support the deal, reconciling themselves to paying a bitter price for bringing home the soldier captured, at age 19, more than five years ago. Still, it should come as no surprise in the months ahead if an Israeli government forced into what it will see as a humiliating agreement seeks to restore its self-image of resolute toughness by dealing harshly with future challenges. And the fact that Netanyahu's climb-down on Shalit has been accompanied by the announcement of new settlement construction on occupied land underscores the sense that Israel's hawkish government has no intention of making the compromises necessary to bring President Mahmoud Abbas back to the table. Abbas, after all, holds no Israeli captives, and may not have much else Netanyahu believes he needs right now.

Indeed, the Shalit agreement has been something of a setback for Abbas. Hamas' achievement in freeing some of the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prison is a more tangible gain, in Palestinian eyes, than the hypothetical statehood amid continued occupation being pursued by Abbas at United Nations. Palestinian society doesn't regard these men and women as criminals, but rather fighters in the national cause ? a peace agreement with the Palestinians would ultimately require the release of all Palestinians who remain in Israeli custody, even if convicted of acts of terrorism. (See photos of the saga of Gilad Schalit.)

But no such painful moment of reckoning is in the offing, of course, because neither side harbors any hope of negotiating an end to the conflict any time soon. The recent speeches at the United Nations by President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the vast gulf between the two sides, and only the most Pollyanna-ish of Western diplomats expect anything significant to come from the current effort by the U.S. and its "Quartet" allies to restart direct talks as an alternative to Abbas' U.N. effort. Abbas has made clear that even if he agrees to meet Israeli leaders, he won't drop the U.N. bid ? which, after all, is what forced the Obama Administration to address the issue with greater urgency.

But the Shalit deal upstages Abbas, giving Hamas a victory that will be celebrated by all Palestinians (the prisoners being released come from all factions), and served up a reminder that the group cannot be ignored or sidelined in any successful peace effort.

Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy explains:

"Given the numbers that have past through Israeli jails over the years, the prisoner issue speaks to just about every Palestinian family. The contrast was rather stark: Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas was in South America being rebuffed by the Colombians in his appeal for support on the doomed-to-fail U.N. membership bid (Colombia is currently on the Security Council), while Hamas was securing concrete achievements back home. Again, the timing here was crucial ? Abbas had just received a boost to his popularity by defying Israel and the U.S. in making an emotional appeal to the U.N. That would anyway be difficult to sustain if the U.N. move could not be morphed into something meaningful, but now it will be further downsized as a gesture in comparison to the pictures of hundreds of prisoners embracing their freedom."

Hamas' ability to impose its terms for freeing Shalit also contrasts sharply with Abbas' years of ineffectual negotiation. But while the Israelis were willing to make a pragmatic accommodation with Hamas to secure their soldier's release, neither side will see it as a first step towards political engagement. If the Israeli government has been unable to come to terms with the more pliant Abbas, there's no question of being able to do so with Hamas. And Hamas would likely prefer to seek pragmatic agreements on specific issues, such as prisoners, ceasefires and the Gaza blockade, boosting their own standing without having to own any of the compromises that a comprehensive peace agreement would require. (See "Who Gains, Who Loses in Israel-Hamas Prisoner Swap to Free Gilad Shalit?")

Hamas, in fact, has shown little interest in pursuing a "grand bargain" peace agreement with the Israelis of the sort envisaged under the Oslo Agreements. And in that respect, at least, the Israelis may concur, having made no secret of their belief that a comprehensive political settlement to the conflict is not currently possible.

The Shalit deal could raise pressure on Abbas from his rank and file for progress in the stalled rapprochement with Hamas. The fact that the Israelis were forced to deal with the group in a pragmatic manner might give Abbas some cover against Israel's refusal to deal with him if he proceeds with the unity agreement ? after all, Abbas might argue, it makes no sense for Israel to acknowledge reality in its own dealings with Hamas but insist that Abbas refrain from doing so.

But regardless of whether or not he reconciles with Hamas, the Israelis are not showing any inclination to accepting Abbas' terms for talks. Indeed, the lesson Abbas might draw is that Hamas succeeded on the prisoner deal because of the leverage it brought to the table by holding Shalit. Not that Fatah would now try to match Hamas by undertaking kidnappings of its own, but the prisoner release could reinforce efforts from within Abbas' camp to raise Israel's discomfort level with the status quo through protest action and pressing for global economic sanctions.

It's quite possible, of course, that either Hamas or rival movements seek to repeat the Shalit experience at some point in order to free more prisoners. Should that happen, it's also likely that the lesson taken by Israeli leaders from the Shalit experience translate into an early, high-risk military operation to free any future captives.

Even with no more kidnappings, however, the prisoner exchange is a reminder that the situation in the West Bank and Gaza remains fraught with peril, with the peace process moribund and Israelis and Palestinians only just beginning a new diplomatic, political and economic battle over the terms of their coexistence. The Gilad Shalit deal may, in fact, prove to be a first milestone of the post-peace process.

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100,000-year-old cave art studio means our ancestors might be smarter than we thought (Yahoo! News)

Early humans were mixing and storing ochre 100,000 years ago in Blombos Cave

While the human race wasn't playing games until about 4,000 years ago, it was certainly busy with paint. Deep within a cave on Southern tip of Africa, archaeologists just made a landmark discovery that pushes back the date of the earliest known painting by early humans. Previously, historians had placed the era that Homo sapiens first began mixing earth pigments for paint at 60,000 years ago, while the first known cave paintings date back 40,000 years.

The painting studio just discovered in?Blombos Cave (a cliffside history-rich hotspot located 200 miles east of Cape Town) dates back an unprecedented 100,000 years. The cave?housed an assortment of primitive mortar and pestle-like tools?and the golden yellow mineral mixture known as ochre, which was commonly used for painting and body art in the ancient world.

The discovery isn't just making a splash in the world of archaeology. The selection of ochre-tinged tools suggests that these early Homo sapiens were capable executing higher level mental tasks just like more modern brains.?Not only did they also have a basic command of chemistry that allowed them to mix the mineral pigments, but findings in the cave indicate that they stored materials and planned ahead in mixing the paint.

Displaying "the conceptual ability to source, combine, and store substances that enhance technology or social practices" these early humans exercised advance thinking and long-term planning ? two of the most sophisticated cognitive behaviors and the exclusive domain of only the most developed mammals.?Considering that humans didn't reach what is known as full behavioral modernity until 50,000 years ago, the sophistication of these ancient paint-mixers is shaking things up across research disciplines.

According to the report, the discovery that our ancestors were planning ahead 100,000 years ago "is a benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition" ? no small praise for the ancient painters, or the evolution of the human race.

Science Mag via?The New York Times

[Image credit: Vincent Mourre]

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