LONDON, Jan 31 - Britain's BSkyB is to launch an online TV offering to non-Sky customers to enable it to better take on firms such as Lovefilm and Netflix and following some signs of slowing growth at its main satellite base.
Britain's dominant pay-TV group said it would launch the new service to tap in to the 13 million homes that do not currently pay for a television service. It made the announcement as it revealed it had added 40,000 net new customers to its main TV service in the second quarter, slightly below expectations.
The new offering will launch in the first half of 2012 and will enable new customers to watch Sky content including movies and eventually sports on flexible tariffs and without signing a contract.
BSkyB has grown consistently through the economic downturn by attracting consumers to its range of sports, movies and broadband, but it has started to show signs of slowing growth to its overall base in recent quarters.
The 40,000 net new customers added in the second quarter was above the 26,000 it added in the first quarter but below the 140,000 added in the second quarter a year ago. Analysts had expected net new TV customers of 58,000.
To balance out the slowing growth it sold an increasing number of different services to existing customers, such as high-definition TV or broadband, enabling it to post strong first-half results.
Revenues were up 6 percent to 3.4 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) and due to improving efficiencies in the business it posted adjusted operating profit up 16 percent to 601 million pounds.
Its shares have performed weakly so far this year as investors fear that an auction for crucial football rights, investments in fiber networks and new competitors from the likes of movie service Lovefilm could all hit the business model.
($1 = 0.6377 British pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Canon Inc's 76-year-old chairman and CEO will take on the additional role of president after the $60 billion Japanese camera and printer maker forecast weak earnings growth and said its current president was stepping down.
Like other export-focused Japanese manufacturers, Canon, which makes 80 percent of its revenue overseas, has been hit by a strong yen and a weak economy, on top of last year's floods in Thailand that closed a printer plant and ruptured supply lines.
Canon said Tuneji Uchida, 70, will resign as of March 29, and be replaced by Fujio Mitarai, who served as president from 1995-2006 and has since held the post of chairman.
"Mitarai was at the centre of management, so I don't think there will be any sudden changes," said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, which manages about 500 billion yen ($6.5 billion) in assets.
"They do need to hand over to the next generation at some stage, so we're interested to see when that will happen."
Canon forecast 2012 operating profit of 390 billion yen ($5.1 billion), up from last year's 378.1 billion yen, but some way below the average forecast of 470 billion yen from 20 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Profit in 2010 was 387.5 billion yen.
Chief Financial Officer Toshizo Tanaka told reporters on Monday the company would work towards handing over to the next generation over the next three years. For now, given the uncertain economy, choosing a company veteran to replace Uchida, who had asked to step down, was the best option, he said.
Mitarai stepped down as president when he was appointed head of Japan's biggest business lobby, Nippon Keidanren, but he continued to play an active role and was named among the world's 30 best CEOs by Barron's magazine every year between 2008 and 2011.
A nephew of Takeshi Mitarai, among the first executives to head the company, Mitarai joined in 1961 after graduating from law school.
CAUTIOUS OUTLOOK
Canon posted a 14 percent increase in fourth-quarter operating profit, to 94.6 billion yen, in line with consensus estimates, after a fresh round of cost-cutting.
"They're forecasting a rise in 2012 earnings, but given the impact of exchange rates, they're taking a harsh outlook on profits," said Mizuho Research Institute senior economist Koji Takeuchi. "It's not negative overall, but Canon's indication of a cautious view will not be lost on the market."
Canon, which made its first camera in 1933 and now has its IXUS and PowerShot cameras competing against Nikon and Sony Corp, aims to sell 22 million compact cameras and 9.2 million interchangeable lens cameras this year, up from 18.7 million and 7.2 million, respectively, last year.
Nikon said in November it expected to sell 16 million compact cameras in the year to end-March, and 4.7 million digital SLR cameras.
Canon also competes with Xerox in printers.
Xerox lowered its 2012 outlook this month, predicting its business would feel the impact from the European debt crisis.
Canon shares have fallen about 18 percent since the start of last year, slightly underperforming the benchmark Nikkei average's 14 percent decline. The stock closed down 1 percent at 3,435 yen on Monday ahead of the earnings.
($1 = 76.67 yen)
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Takeshi Yoshiike; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Edwina Gibbs and Ian Geoghegan)
Dolphins receiver catches 6 passes for 176 yards and 4 TDs in 59-41 win
By JAYMES SONG
updated 1:00 a.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012
HONOLULU - While everyone was playing at half-speed and ready to extend their Hawaiian vacation, Brandon Marshall played as if it was his last game.
The Miami Dolphins wide receiver caught six passes for 176 yards and a Pro Bowl-record four touchdowns, and the AFC used a second-half surge to beat the NFC 59-41 on Sunday.
"You never know when you're going to be back," Marshall said, "and I wanted to go all out today because it could be my last Pro Bowl."
Marshall had a touchdown catch in each quarter, including an early 74-yarder and a 3-yarder in the fourth, in a game filled with highlight-reel grabs.
He was selected the game's MVP, and his name now will join the likes of Walter Payton and Jerry Rice on the MVP banners at Aloha Stadium.
"You know what? I wanted it," he said. "It's a Pro Bowl. Some guys are playing 100 (percent), some guys are playing 90, some guys aren't playing at all, but it means a lot to be up in the rafters with some of these guys."
The 59 points by the AFC set a Pro Bowl mark, and the 100 points scored by the teams combined was the second highest, a touchdown shy of the 107 scored in 2004.
But it was clear from the start it was Marshall's day. He hauled in a deflected, go-ahead 47-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton, while on his back, to give the AFC a 38-35 lead late in the third quarter. It was Marshall's third TD catch of the game, tying Jimmy Smith's Pro Bowl record set in 2004.
"It was the most unathletic highlight I ever had," he said. "Andy put it up there for me to make a play. I saw the ball, got nervous, fell, saw the ball, kicked it up and it just fell in my hands."
Marshall, making his third Pro Bowl appearance, then nabbed a 3-yard TD pass from Dalton that gave the AFC a 52-35 lead with 8:25 left and put the game away.
"People were saying throw to him. I saw the matchup I had and he's a great receiver, so I knew he could make the play," Dalton said.
Hawaii has been kind to Marshall, who also won MVP honors at Aloha Stadium in his final game at Central Florida in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl, where he caught 11 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
Marshall noted he had six TDs this season, but four this game.
"It says a lot when you're playing with these type of quarterbacks," Marshall said. "They just put it in the right place and I just made the play. Hats off to those guys throwing me the ball."
The game featured 36 first-timers, including rookie quarterbacks Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers and Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, who replaced Super Bowl quarterbacks Eli Manning and Tom Brady. Their selection made this Pro Bowl the first to feature two rookie signal callers.
Dalton and Newton played the entire second half.
While Dalton looked composed, Newton played horribly ? struggling to move the ball, stay in the pocket and find his targets, which drew some boos from the sun-splashed, sellout crowd of 48,423.
"No excuses," Newton said. "When you hang the ball up there, against these kind of players, that's what you get," Newton said. "It's the good and the bad of playing in a Pro Bowl. I learned a lot."
Newton finished 9 of 27 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Dalton, meanwhile, was 7 of 9 for 99 yards and two TDs.
On his first series, Newton overthrew a wide-open Tony Gonzalez over the middle, with the ball sailing into Eric Weddle's hands. The San Diego Chargers safety popped up to his feet and returned it 63 yards to the NFC 23, leading to a 37-yard FG by Sebastian Janikowski, which gave the AFC its first lead of the game at 31-28.
Newton recovered on the next series, airing out a 55-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Panthers teammate Steve Smith, making it 34-31. But he was intercepted again on the next series.
Weddle also intercepted another pass by Newton late in the game. After picking off the deep pass, he pitched it to teammate Derrick Johnson, who rumbled 60 yards for the AFC's final score.
"None of us want to go out and lose, so we picked it up and went out and made some plays," Weddle said. "Got the 'W,' that's the main thing."
With the Pro Bowlers unable to get out of third gear ? particularly on the offensive and defensive lines ? and hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight, the Pro Bowl featured some good, bad and real ugly ? sometimes on the same play. For example, Aaron Rodgers caught a pass from himself. His throw was deflected at the line and he leaped to catch the ball and backpedaled for a 15-yard loss.
Rodgers was 13 of 17 for 141 yards and two TDs, giving him a quarterback rating of 139.6, higher than his NFL record 122.5 rating during the season. But he was watching late in the game as Newton struggled.
Rodgers said it's easier to play in the first quarter when the game isn't as intense.
"It's tough to be the last guy in, when it's the fourth quarter and money becomes an issue," he said. "Guys are playing a little bit harder. They come at you."
The NFC had three players with 100-yard yard receiving: Gonzalez (seven for 114), Larry Fitzgerald (6 for 111) and Smith (5 for 118).
The AFC and NFC traded score after score, and turnover after turnover in the first half.
Rodgers and Fitzgerald connected for a pair of scores on back-to-back plays to put the NFC up 14-0 early in the game.
After stopping the AFC on fourth down at midfield, Rodgers drove the NFC down the field and threw a 10-yard TD toss to Fitzgerald. Six seconds later, Rodgers aired a 44-yard rainbow in the end zone to Fitzgerald for another score after the NFC got the ball back with a surprise onside kick.
The reception was Fitzgerald's sixth career TD catch in the Pro Bowl, tying Gonzalez's record. He would break the record with the game's last touchdown, on a 36-yard pass from Newton.
The AFC came right back and tied it up on two deep TD passes on the right side by Ben Roethlisberger. He threw a 34-yarder to rookie A.J. Green, and then connected with Marshall on a 74-yarder.
But Drew Brees and the NFC kept the scoring going. Just like in the regular season, Brees and Saints teammate Jimmy Graham hooked up to give the NFC a 21-14 lead in the second quarter. On fourth-and-goal, Brees zipped a pass to Graham for a 6-yard score and would later find Greg Jennings for an 11-yard TD. Brees finished 10 of 14 for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Antonio Gates pulled in a 27-yard TD from Chargers teammate Rivers as time expired in the half to tie it at 28.
Each AFC player earned a record $50,000 for the win, while the NFC players received $25,000.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
Kent Nishimura / Getty Images
Marshall's monster day leads AFC
Brandon Marshall caught six passes for 176 yards and a Pro Bowl-record four touchdowns and the AFC used a second-half surge to beat the NFC 59-41 on Sunday.
Jeremy Abbott salutes the crowd after his routine in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Jeremy Abbott salutes the crowd after his routine in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Jeremy Abbott laughs while holding up his first place medal after winning the men's free skate event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jeremy Abbott competes in the men's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Rust will no longer be Johnny Weir and Olympic champion Evan Lysacek's only worry if they come back.
Jeremy Abbott proved he's capable of contending with the best in the world ? past and present ? in winning his third title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday. Needing only to stay on his feet to claim the title, he put on a sublime display of quiet elegance and superior skill that was simply bewitching.
"I skate to give a performance like that and so I felt really good," Abbott said. "I was really nervous when I started, I was shaking a little bit. But from the second I set for the quad I was like, 'I'm going to do this.' I just really took it into my hands and made sure that I did what I needed to do."
His final score of 273.58 was the highest ever at the U.S. championships, and puts him within striking distance of world champion Patrick Chan. It was about 12 points better than 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko scored in winning his seventh European title Saturday.
Adam Rippon, a two-time junior world champion, was second. Ross Miner finished third for a second straight year.
Earlier Sunday, Caydee Denney and John Coughlin won their first pairs title together after winning the previous two years with other partners.
The U.S. men have been in a bit of a funk without Lysacek and Weir the past two years. No one's come close to winning a medal at the world championships, and the Americans did so poorly last year they actually lost the third spot they've had since 2002.
Abbott is one of the most technically sound skaters in the world, with beautiful edges that carve the ice like a master craftsman and perfect body control. He's also one of the few skaters who has managed to maintain the balance between the performance quality that makes figure skating so entertaining and the tough physical tricks the system now demands. But he's never been commanded the international respect Lysacek and Weir did, flopping at the 2009 world championships and again at the Vancouver Olympics.
Even last year, when the U.S. title was there for his taking with Lysacek and Weir gone, Abbott struggled so mightily he failed to even make the world team.
But Abbott is a different man now, and the rest of the world ? Lysacek and Weir included ? would do well to take notice.
"When I was competing with (Lysacek and Weir), both had these larger-than-life personalities and took all the attention," Abbott said. "I really feel I've come into my own. I feel like, with them coming back, it would be just like any other competition. Personally I wouldn't feel any different with them than without them."
Abbott landed the only quadruple jump of the day, and his spins were so tight and perfectly centered that coaches will no doubt be asking for a DVD of them. But it was his presence that was truly spectacular. He picked the music for his free skate, a Muse song that he found on his iPod. He played a part in the choreography, too, resulting in perfect harmony between skater and song. It was as if he let the music wash over him and tell his skates what to do. The audience was so spellbound you could hear his blades carving the ice, and it wasn't until the final notes of his music faded that fans erupted in applause.
Abbott, meanwhile, was so caught up in his own moment that he stood at center ice for a good 10 seconds, not moving a muscle.
"I really at that moment was just feeling the energy of the audience. It was a cool moment to see," Abbott said. "I've won this twice before but both times it was a little surreal and I didn't get the opportunity to take it all in. This time I was lucid and calm. I got to take in the moment and the energy.
"No tears were shed," he cracked. "I was just really enjoying the moment."
The only damper on his day was news that his stepfather, Allen Scott, had blacked out during his performance. The 64-year-old Scott was taken to a hospital, and Abbott said he was able to talk with him.
"His heart rate is down. His blood pressure is really high, but he's coherent," Abbott said. "He's OK and my whole family is with him."
If Abbott comes remotely close to this performance at the world championships in March, it will go a long way toward regaining that third spot. Abbott and Rippon will need to finish with a combined placement of 13 or better.
"It's very important to our federation and other skaters," Rippon said. "But going into worlds, it won't be my focus. This competition was about getting all the monkeys off my back and being able to move forward from that. I know I'm capable of a lot more than I did today and hope that I can show that (at worlds)."
Rippon will need a bit more energy than he had Sunday, when he skated tentative and flat, as if he was trying to hold onto his spot on the podium rather than move up.
He's lucky he didn't get a ticket for loitering as he geared up for a triple axel-step-double toe combination, holding his edge on the entry for what seemed like forever and leaving no doubts about what was coming. Not only did he not do his planned quadruple salchow, he only did a double. A well-done double but a double nonetheless, with nowhere near the point value of a quad or even a triple.
What saved Rippon was his artistry. He has the extension of a ballet dancer, and he used every part of his body, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, to express his music.
"It wasn't completely perfect, but I'm very proud of what I did," Rippon said.
Armin Mahbanoozadeh, a distant third after the short program, needed a strong effort to have any chance of overtaking Rippon and making the world team. He went the opposite direction, instead, dropping off the podium after taking a big splat on his quadruple toe attempt and turning out on the landings of two other jumps.
Miner took advantage, moving up a spot with a strong program that had only one error, a fall on a triple axel.
Denney and Coughlin had won the last two U.S. titles, each with a different partner. They teamed up in May and, even in a sport where couples have all the stability of Jell-O, their matchup came just three weeks after Coughlin and Caitlin Yankowskas finished sixth at the world championships.
Clearly, though, Denney and Coughlin knew what they were doing. As good as each other was with someone else, they're that much better together. Their performance Sunday was one of the best of the entire week in any discipline, any event. The highlight was their carry lift. Coughlin carried Denney three-quarters of the way around the rink, and did it with such speed and strength she looked as light as a feather pillow. Midway through, she switched positions, turning in the opposite direction of the way he was skating.
You know how tough it is to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? Try that, times 10.
"I've been dreaming all week about doing that carry after skating clean and that feeling from the audience," Coughlin said. "Oh, I had so much fun."
___
Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
WASHINGTON ? NBC asked GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday to pull a campaign advertisement made up almost entirely of a 1997 "Nightly News" report on Newt Gingrich's ethics committee reprimand.
The "History Lesson" ad started running in Florida on the weekend, when it is harder for stations to switch ad traffic even if they want to. Broadcast days before Tuesday's primary, the ad shows former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw saying that some of Gingrich's House colleagues had raised questions about the then-speaker's "future effectiveness."
Under Brokaw's image is a line that reads ? "Paid for by Romney for President, Approved by Mitt Romney."
The footage was used without permission and the extensive use of the broadcast "inaccurately suggests that NBC News and Mr. Brokaw have consented to the use of this material and agree with the political position espoused by the videos," NBC's vice president of media law, David N. Sternlicht, wrote Romney's campaign manager, Matt Rhoades.
"Aside from the obvious copyright issues, this use of the voice of Mr. Brokaw and the NBC News name exploits him and the journalistic credibility of NBC News," the letter said. The network asked for the campaign to stop running the ad immediately and revise any other videos or commercials to remove at NBC material.
"As a news organization, NBC News objects to any use of NBC News journalists and our copyrighted material that suggests to the public that we or our journalists are taking sides with any individual or organization involved in a political campaign or dispute, and we request that your organization respect that concern," the letter said.
Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said the campaign isn't likely to stop running the ad.
"We just received the letter. We are reviewing it, but we believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds."
NBC spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said a similar request went to other campaigns that "have inappropriately" used material from "Nightly News," "Meet the Press," "Today" and MSNBC. Kapp said she was not aware of such uses by other campaigns.
Brokaw said in a statement released by NBC that he was "extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad. I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."
Brokaw stepped down in 2004 after 21 years as anchor and managing editor of "Nightly News," but continues to report for the network, including on the 2012 presidential campaign.
Asked about Brokaw's concern, Fehrnstrom said only, "We respect him as a newsman who has a lot of credibility, but we believe this falls within fair use standards."
The House ethics panel investigated Gingrich's use of tax-exempt organizations. The case ended in January 1997 with a reprimand by the House and a $300,000 penalty against Gingrich for misleading the committee and prolonging its investigation.
Romney has sought the release of all records from the probe. The committee did make public its final report as well as exhibits ? which amounted to a comprehensive account of its findings. The head of the ethics committee during the Gingrich investigation, former Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson, said the committee traditionally does not publicly release investigative documents.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An aggressive Mitt Romney repeatedly challenged Republican rival Newt Gingrich Thursday night in the final debate before next week's critical Florida primary, demanding an apology for an ad saying he harbors anti-immigrant sentiments and ridiculing the former House speaker's call to colonize the moon.
"If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired,'" Romney declared. That was just one particularly animated clash between two rivals struggling for supremacy in the race to pick an opponent to President Barack Obama in the fall.
Gingrich responded heatedly. "You don't just have to be cheap everywhere. You can actually have priorities to get things done." He said that as speaker of the House he had helped balance the budget while doubling spending on the National Institutes of Health.
The debate was the 19th since the race for the Republican nomination began last year, and the second in four days in the run-up to Tuesday's Florida primary. Opinion polls make the race a close one - slight advantage Romney - with two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul far behind.
Gingrich's upset victory in the South Carolina primary last week upended the race for the nomination, and Romney in particular can ill-afford a defeat on Tuesday.
While the clashes between Gingrich and Romney dominated the debate, Santorum drew applause from the audience when he called on the two front-runners to stop attacking one another and "focus on the issues."
"Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress ... and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy?" he said in a tone of exasperation.
There were some moments of levity, including when Paul, 76, was asked whether he would be willing to release his medical records. He said he was, then challenged the other three men on the debate stage to a 25-mile bike race.
He got no takers.
In the days since Romney's loss in South Carolina, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial.
An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.
With polls suggesting his South Carolina surge is stalling, Gingrich unleashed a particularly strong attack earlier in the day, much as he lashed out in Iowa when he rose in the polls, only to be knocked back by an onslaught of ads he was unable to counter effectively.
Thursday night's first clash occurred moments after the debate opened, when Gingrich responded to a question by saying Romney was the most anti-immigrant of all four contenders on stage. "That's simply inexcusable," the former Massachusetts governor responded.
"Mr. Speaker, I'm not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico. My wife's father was born in Wales. ... The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. Don't use a term like that," he added.
At the same time, Romney noted that Gingrich's campaign had been pressured to stop running a radio ad that called Romney anti-immigrant after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called on Gingrich to do so.
He called on Gingrich to apologize for the commercial, but got no commitment.
About an hour later, Romney pounced when the topic turned to Gingrich's proposal for a permanent American colony on the moon - an issue of particular interest to engineers and others who live on Florida's famed Space Coast.
The audience erupted in cheers when Romney said he'd fire an executive who came to him with such a costly plan, but he wasn't finished.
He said the former speaker had called for construction of a new Interstate highway in South Carolina, a new VA hospital in northern New Hampshire and widening the port of Jacksonville to accommodate the larger ships that will soon be able to transit the Panama Canal.
"This idea of going state to state and promising people what they want to hear, promising hundreds of billions of dollars to make people happy, that's what got us into trouble in the first place," Romney said.
Gingrich responded that part of campaigning is becoming familiar with local issues, adding, "The port of Jacksonville is going to have to be expanded. I think that's an important thing for a president to know." He went on to refer to completion of an Everglades project that he did not describe, then noted he had worked to expand NIH while he was speaker.
Gingrich raised questions about Romney's wealth and his investments. "I don't know of any American president who's had a Swiss bank account," Gingrich said. Romney replied that his investments were in a blind trust over which he had no control. "There's nothing wrong with that," declared Romney, who has estimated his wealth at as much as $250 million.
Earlier Thursday, it was disclosed that Romney and his wife, Ann Romney, failed to list an unknown amount of investment income from a variety of sources including a Swiss bank account on financial disclosure forms filed last year. His campaign said it was working to correct the omissions.
Gingrich also failed to report income from his 2010 tax return on his financial disclosure. The former Georgia congressman will amend his disclosure to show $252,500 in salary from one of his businesses, spokesman R.C. Hammond said.
Debating in a state with a large and influential Jewish population, Romney and Gingrich vied to stress their support for Israel rather than criticize one another.
And all four men were quick to name prominent officials of Hispanic descent who deserved consideration for the Cabinet. Gingrich trumped the other three, saying, "I've actually thought of Marco Rubio in a slightly more dignified and central role," an evident reference to the vice presidential spot on the ticket.
Immigration was a recurring theme.
Gingrich said Romney was misleading when he ran an ad accusing the former House speaker of once referring to Spanish as "the language of the ghetto." Gingrich claimed he was referring to a multitude of languages, not just Spanish.
Romney initially said, "I doubt it's mine," but moderator Wolf Blitzer read it aloud and pointed out that Romney, at the ad's conclusion, says he approved the message.
As for immigration policy, it was difficult to discern their differences.
Both men said they want to clamp down in illegal immigration, create programs to make sure jobs go only to legal immigrants and deport some of the 11 million men and women in the country unlawfully.
Gingrich has never said how many illegal residents he believes should be deported, preferring to say that the United States is not going to begin rounding up grandmothers and grandfathers who have lived in the United States for years.
Romney agreed that was the case - and Gingrich said that marked a switch in position.
"Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers," Romney said. "Our problem is 11 million people getting jobs that many Americans, legal immigrants would like to have."
Romney and Gingrich also exchanged jabs over investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants that played a role in the national foreclosure crisis that has hit Florida particularly hard.
Gingrich said Romney was making money from investments in funds that were "foreclosing on Floridians."
Romney quickly noted that Gingrich, too, was invested in mutual funds with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He then added that the former House speaker "was a spokesman" for the two. That was a reference to a contract that one of Gingrich's businesses had for consulting services. The firm was paid $300,000 in 2006.
___
Associated Press writers Brian Bakst, Kasie Hunt and Steve Peoples contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
>>>back now with a
sign of the times
and an increasing popular way to get healthcare these days online coupons. some who can't afford
health insurance
and are in desperate need of healthcare say sites like groupon and living social can be a
life saver
, but that has some health experts worried and they're issuing a word of caution.
>> reporter: in this economy, who isn't looking for a good deal?
>>thank you.
>> reporter: matthew marco with its found one at a place that doesn't usually screen discounts -- the dentist.
>>cleaning, x-ray and examination, you know, immediately i thought well, this is too good to be true.
>> reporter: but it was true. at dr. greg diamond's office. these three procedures should have cost matthew more than $500 but he got them for less than $60.
>>it was like any other cleaning and x-ray and examination experience i have had. if not better. something that i would consider for other healthcare needs.
>> reporter: a deal and part of a new trend.
coupon sites
expanding from travel and restaurant offers to include checkups and other
health care
procedures.
>>this would about providing a service to people who don't feel that they could afford dentistry.
>> reporter: for dr. diamond, it produced volume.
>>approximately 1,300 new patients over a 24-hour period.
>> reporter: according to a company that tracks data on websites, consumers saved between $500,000 and $700,000 and the number of weight loss offers sky rocketed. but is it safe when it comes to your well-being? some fear people will look for deals without doing the research.
>>we do not know -- at least i don't know what sort of credentials, what sort of vetting these groups have when they're recruiting a
healthcare provider
.
>> reporter: living social and groupon, two popular discount websites, say they have procedures in place to screen all merchants including doctors before a deal reaches your in box.
>>getting that e-mail was a second chance for me.
>> reporter: for this woman who has no
health insurance
and a tight budget, the decision was simple.
>>i was putting it off. there were medical issues that were starting to develop. i needed this to take myself to the next level.
>> reporter: proof that next checkup could be well worth it in more ways than one.
I'm constantly floored by what people choose to make with Legos. Why craft a life-sized Halo sniper rifle or a Saturn V and not something else? I've got plans of my own, and now Moleskine's got the perfect, fanboy-ready notebook to document them in. More »
BUILDING MOMENTUM: Most commodities rallied for a second day as more proof emerged that the U.S. economy was gaining momentum. Prices for metals, wheat, beans and most energy products rose.
THE IMPETUS: Investors were encouraged by an improvement in orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, which could improve demand for industrial metals like copper, platinum and palladium. But a primary driver of the rally was the Fed's decision to extend its low-interest rate policy.
GAS BLUES: Natural gas prices fell 4.2 percent after the government said U.S. supplies were well above what is normal for this time of year.
OHI, Japan ? International inspectors are visiting a rugged Japanese bay region so thick with reactors it is dubbed "Nuclear Alley," where residents remain deeply conflicted as Japan moves to restart plants idled after the Fukushima disaster.
The local economy depends heavily on the industry, and the national government hopes that "stress tests" at idled plants ? the first of which is being reviewed this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency ? will show they are safe enough to switch back on.
But last year's tsunami crisis in northeastern Japan with meltdowns at three of the Fukushima reactors has fanned opposition to the plants here in western Fukui prefecture, a mountainous region surrounding Wakasa Bay that also relies on fishing and tourism and where the governor has come out strongly against nuclear power.
"We don't need another Fukushima, and we don't want to repeat the same mistake here," said Eiichi Inoue, a 63-year-old retiree in the coastal town of Obama. "I know they added stress tests, but what exactly are they doing?"
"I oppose restarting them," he said.
Other residents said that economic realities made the plants indispensable, including Chikako Shimamoto, a 38-year-old fitness instructor in Takahama, a town that hosts one of the region's nuclear plants.
"We all know that we better not restart them," Shimamoto said. "But we need jobs and we need business in this town.
"Our lives in this town depends on the nuclear power plant and we have no choice," she said.
On Thursday, an IAEA team visited a plant in the town of Ohi to check whether officials at operator Kansai Electric Power Co. had correctly done the tests at two reactors. The tests are designed to assess whether plants can withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, loss of power or other emergencies, and suggest changes to improve safety.
Their visit, at Japan's invitation, appeared aimed at reassuring a skeptical public that authorities are taking the necessary precautions before bringing nuclear plants back on line. After the visit, IAEA team leader James Lyons said its assessment would be released at the end of the month but deciding whether to restart the reactors was up to the Japanese goverment.
Some experts are critical of the stress tests, saying they are meaningless because they have no clear criteria, and view the IAEA as biased toward the nuclear industry.
"I don't view their evaluation as something that is trustworthy or carries any weight," said Hiromitsu Ino, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and member of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency's stress test panel.
The government idled most plants for mandatory tests and maintenance after the Fukushima disaster. Currently, only four of Japan's 54 reactors are operating. If no idled plants get approval to restart, the country will be without an operating reactor by the end of April.
Before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima crisis, nuclear plants generated about 30 percent of the country's electricity. To make up for the shortfall, utilities are temporarily turning to conventional oil and coal-fired plants, and the government has required companies to reduce their electricity consumption.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power over time, but it still needs some nuclear power until next-generation sources are developed.
In Fukui, 13 reactors at four complexes are clustered along a 55-kilometer (35-mile) stretch of coast with snow capped mountains facing the Sea of Japan. It's known as "Gempatsu Ginza," a phrase that roughly translates to "Nuclear Alley."
Only one of the 13 reactors is still running. The rest have been shut down for regular inspections required every 13 months. To start running again, they must pass the stress test.
Another hurdle will be gaining local support for the plants to restart. While local consent is not legally required for that to happen, authorities generally want to win local backing and make efforts to do so.
Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa, however, says he will not allow a startup of any of the prefecture's commercial reactors.
And the city assembly in Obama ? a town that briefly enjoyed international fame when it endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential race_ has submitted an appeal to the central Tokyo government to make Japan nuclear-free.
But officials in Mihama, another town that hosts a nuclear plant, have expressed support for the town's three reactors also operated by Kansai Electric, also called Kepco.
Fukui is a largely rural area, traditionally focused on fishing and farming, but it has a significant textile and machinery industry, and boasts of being a major producer of eyeglasses. Its nuclear power plants supply approximately half of all the electricity used in the greater Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto.
Several towns' fortunes are tied closely to the nuclear industry.
Community centers and roads are paid by the government subsidies for hosting the plants. Closing the plants not only means losing jobs for thousands of workers, but hardship for stores, restaurants and other service industries.
Many of those interviewed had family members, relatives or friends with jobs at the plants, and some refused to give their names due to fear of repercussions.
Noda has said the final decision on restarting nuclear plants would be political, suggesting that the government would override any local opposition if Japan's energy needs become dire.
Naozane Sakashita, a taxi and bus driver, said his salary had decreased "substantially" after the Ohi and other plants went offline.
"I think these idle plants should resume as soon as their safety is confirmed," he said. "Our jobs and daily life are more important than a disaster that occurs only once in a million years."
Still, he said he is concerned about the safety of the plants because his son works as a control room operator at the Takahama plant.
"If our economy prospers without compromising our safety, of course it would be best to live without nuclear energy," he said.
There is nothing easy even today?s 1-mouse click globe. Shopping for car insurance policy could be a huge stress, and get most of a day contacting all over, actually talking to diverse providers to receive quotes. Many people don?t have the time and energy to squander to phone several unique businesses away from the phone directory, negotiating for top deal plus the most competitive car insurance policy costs. Yet everybody however wants to find the best work, whether have a lot of time on the palms to look all-around with. If you?re a good deal consumer, you no doubt know the world wide web is the best option to obtain the finest offers ? on anything. If you buy your car or truck insurance policies on-line, you?re liable to arrive at a distance with a great deal.
Any auto insurance corporation suggests they can offer the paramount work along with the most affordable charges, but it seems just about impossible to get a straight remedy when you?re getting an insurance quote over the telephone. Quite a few purchasers feel more comfortable buying car insurance policy on the net, in a very simple and fast process that doesn?t imply seated by using a extensive selection of robotic answers. By meeting quotes on the Internet, you won?t have to approach any person for the mobile phone, response any questions caused from automatic comments, or take a seat and wait for individual to get the time to speak with you. The world wide web helps you shift conveniently as a result of the entire process of getting rates, and plenty of buyers prefer this process.
If you wish to get estimates on the web, the primary general guideline is just not to attend car insurance policy company?s website. It will restriction your prices as well as your choices. You?ll find lots of web sites around where you can fill out one particular list of questions after which it review quotations aspect-by-facet. You are able to, within this manner, review the prices and coverage of several various businesses right away. While using cellular phone since your only application, obtaining a large number of prices could carry hrs. With all the Internet, you can assess a big list of quotations, instantly removing businesses in whose selling prices don?t fit your budget. Any Internet search will create web sites that come with comparison-searching and various insurance quotes to your insurance demands.
One other good way to go when it comes to getting auto insurance is to buy via an impartial adviser. Unbiased realtors fail for the one particular enterprise however for you, the customer. They all the work of comparing insurance quotes for you, and in the long run they?re able to often will give you much better option than what you can find yourself. Independent providers are available decide on discounts by means of motor insurance corporations, procedures and prices that aren?t on the market to an average. You will never have to talk to your motor insurance corporation, all of which will only deliver them an inspection monthly or six months (depending on your payment plan). When there is any issue, easily contact your agent and they?ll take care of every little thing. One of the benefits is, there won?t be service fees linked to with all the self-sufficient representative ? you pay your vehicle insurance policy invoice.
Almost everyone has to own auto insurance as a consequence of express legislation, and the like just be aware that having automobile insurance a great idea. Because you ?must? have it doesn?t mean you can?t get quite a lot concurrently, and the a smaller amount you have to pay, the greater. You will discover the very best motor insurance prices with out throwing away a ton of time or keeping on have for a long time. Definitely, doesn?t absolutely everyone should have the ideal work on inexpensive car insurance?
Filed under: Uncategorized
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Contact: Richard Lewis Richard_Lewis@brown.edu 401-863-3766 Brown University
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Since its discovery 150 years ago, scientists have puzzled over whether the winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx represents the missing link in birds' evolution to powered flight. Much of the debate has focused on the iconic creature's wings and the mystery of whether and how well it could fly.
Some secrets have been revealed by an international team of researchers led by Brown University. Through a novel analytic approach, the researchers have determined that a well-preserved feather on the raven-sized dinosaur's wing was black. The color and parts of cells that would have supplied pigment are evidence the wing feathers were rigid and durable, traits that would have helped Archaeopteryx to fly.
The team also learned from its examination that Archaeopteryx's feather structure is identical to that of living birds, a discovery that shows modern wing feathers had evolved as early as 150 million years ago in the Jurassic period. The study, which appears in Nature Communications, was funded by the National Geographic Society and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
"If Archaeopteryx was flapping or gliding, the presence of melanosomes [pigment-producing parts of a cell] would have given the feathers additional structural support," said Ryan Carney, an evolutionary biologist at Brown and the paper's lead author. "This would have been advantageous during this early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight."
The Archaeopteryx feather was discovered in a limestone deposit in Germany in 1861, a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Paleontologists have long been excited about the fossil and other Archaeopteryx specimens, thinking they place the dinosaur at the base of the bird evolutionary tree. The traits that make Archaeopteryx an evolutionary intermediate between dinosaurs and birds, scientists say, are the combination of reptilian features (teeth, clawed fingers, and a bony tail) and avian features (feathered wings and a wishbone).
The lack of knowledge of Archaeopteryx's feather structure and color bedeviled scientists. Carney, with researchers from Yale University, the University of Akron, and the Carl Zeiss laboratory in Germany, analyzed the feather and discovered that it is a covert, so named because these feathers cover the primary and secondary wing feathers birds use in flight. After two unsuccessful attempts to image the melanosomes, the group tried a more powerful type of scanning electron microscope at Zeiss, where the group located patches of hundreds of the structures still encased in the fossilized feather.
"The third time was the charm, and we finally found the keys to unlocking the feather's original color, hidden in the rock for the past 150 million years," said Carney, a graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, studying with Stephen Gatesy.
Melanosomes had long been known to be present in other fossil feathers, but had been misidentified as bacteria. In 2006, coauthor Jakob Vinther, then a graduate student at Yale, discovered melanin preserved in the ink sac of a fossilized squid. "This made me think that melanin could be fossilized in many other fossils such as feathers," said Vinther, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of TexasAustin. "I realized that I had opened a whole new chapter of what we can do to understand the nature of extinct feathered dinosaurs and birds."
The team measured the length and width of the sausage-shaped melanosomes, roughly 1 micron long and 250 nanometers wide. To determine the melanosome's color, Akron researchers Matthew Shawkey and Liliana D'Alba statistically compared Archaeopteryx's melanosomes with those found in 87 species of living birds, representing four feather classes: black, gray, brown, and a type found in penguins. "What we found was that the feather was predicted to be black with 95 percent certainty," Carney said.
Next, the team sought to better define the melanosomes' structure. For that, they examined the fossilized barbules tiny, rib-like appendages that overlap and interlock like zippers to give a feather rigidity and strength. The barbules and the alignment of melanosomes within them, Carney said, are identical to those found in modern birds.
What the pigment was used for is less clear. The black color of the Archaeopteryx wing feather may have served to regulate body temperature, act as camouflage or be employed for display. But it could have been for flight, too.
"We can't say it's proof that Archaeopteryx was a flier. But what we can say is that in modern bird feathers, these melanosomes provide additional strength and resistance to abrasion from flight, which is why wing feathers and their tips are the most likely areas to be pigmented," Carney said. "With Archaeopteryx, as with birds today, the melanosomes we found would have provided similar structural advantages, regardless of whether the pigmentation initially evolved for another purpose."
###
Contributing authors include Vinther, Shawkey, D'Alba, and Jrg Ackermann from Carl Zeiss.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Richard Lewis Richard_Lewis@brown.edu 401-863-3766 Brown University
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Since its discovery 150 years ago, scientists have puzzled over whether the winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx represents the missing link in birds' evolution to powered flight. Much of the debate has focused on the iconic creature's wings and the mystery of whether and how well it could fly.
Some secrets have been revealed by an international team of researchers led by Brown University. Through a novel analytic approach, the researchers have determined that a well-preserved feather on the raven-sized dinosaur's wing was black. The color and parts of cells that would have supplied pigment are evidence the wing feathers were rigid and durable, traits that would have helped Archaeopteryx to fly.
The team also learned from its examination that Archaeopteryx's feather structure is identical to that of living birds, a discovery that shows modern wing feathers had evolved as early as 150 million years ago in the Jurassic period. The study, which appears in Nature Communications, was funded by the National Geographic Society and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
"If Archaeopteryx was flapping or gliding, the presence of melanosomes [pigment-producing parts of a cell] would have given the feathers additional structural support," said Ryan Carney, an evolutionary biologist at Brown and the paper's lead author. "This would have been advantageous during this early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight."
The Archaeopteryx feather was discovered in a limestone deposit in Germany in 1861, a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Paleontologists have long been excited about the fossil and other Archaeopteryx specimens, thinking they place the dinosaur at the base of the bird evolutionary tree. The traits that make Archaeopteryx an evolutionary intermediate between dinosaurs and birds, scientists say, are the combination of reptilian features (teeth, clawed fingers, and a bony tail) and avian features (feathered wings and a wishbone).
The lack of knowledge of Archaeopteryx's feather structure and color bedeviled scientists. Carney, with researchers from Yale University, the University of Akron, and the Carl Zeiss laboratory in Germany, analyzed the feather and discovered that it is a covert, so named because these feathers cover the primary and secondary wing feathers birds use in flight. After two unsuccessful attempts to image the melanosomes, the group tried a more powerful type of scanning electron microscope at Zeiss, where the group located patches of hundreds of the structures still encased in the fossilized feather.
"The third time was the charm, and we finally found the keys to unlocking the feather's original color, hidden in the rock for the past 150 million years," said Carney, a graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, studying with Stephen Gatesy.
Melanosomes had long been known to be present in other fossil feathers, but had been misidentified as bacteria. In 2006, coauthor Jakob Vinther, then a graduate student at Yale, discovered melanin preserved in the ink sac of a fossilized squid. "This made me think that melanin could be fossilized in many other fossils such as feathers," said Vinther, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of TexasAustin. "I realized that I had opened a whole new chapter of what we can do to understand the nature of extinct feathered dinosaurs and birds."
The team measured the length and width of the sausage-shaped melanosomes, roughly 1 micron long and 250 nanometers wide. To determine the melanosome's color, Akron researchers Matthew Shawkey and Liliana D'Alba statistically compared Archaeopteryx's melanosomes with those found in 87 species of living birds, representing four feather classes: black, gray, brown, and a type found in penguins. "What we found was that the feather was predicted to be black with 95 percent certainty," Carney said.
Next, the team sought to better define the melanosomes' structure. For that, they examined the fossilized barbules tiny, rib-like appendages that overlap and interlock like zippers to give a feather rigidity and strength. The barbules and the alignment of melanosomes within them, Carney said, are identical to those found in modern birds.
What the pigment was used for is less clear. The black color of the Archaeopteryx wing feather may have served to regulate body temperature, act as camouflage or be employed for display. But it could have been for flight, too.
"We can't say it's proof that Archaeopteryx was a flier. But what we can say is that in modern bird feathers, these melanosomes provide additional strength and resistance to abrasion from flight, which is why wing feathers and their tips are the most likely areas to be pigmented," Carney said. "With Archaeopteryx, as with birds today, the melanosomes we found would have provided similar structural advantages, regardless of whether the pigmentation initially evolved for another purpose."
###
Contributing authors include Vinther, Shawkey, D'Alba, and Jrg Ackermann from Carl Zeiss.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ? American master Martin Scorsese journeyed to France, putting Hollywood's newest technology to work for his dazzling 3-D re-creation of 1930s Paris in "Hugo." French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius came to America, reviving old-time Hollywood with his charming resurrection of early cinema in the silent film "The Artist."
The two films now head a 21st century Academy Awards show whose top nominees offer loving looks back to the infancy of moviemaking, when flicks really flickered and cutting-edge visual effects amounted to actors jumping out of the frame while the camera was stopped so they would seem to magically disappear.
Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo" led contenders Tuesday with 11 nominations, among them best-picture and the latest directing honor for the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
Hazanavicius' "The Artist" ran second with 10 nominations, including honors for the director and Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, the stars of the film that could become the first silent movie to win the best-picture prize since year one at the Oscars.
Also nominated for best picture: Alexander Payne's family drama "The Descendants"; Stephen Daldry's Sept. 11 tale "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"; Tate Taylor's Deep South drama "The Help"; Woody Allen's romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris"; Bennett Miller's sports tale "Moneyball"; Terrence Malick's family chronicle "The Tree of Life"; and Steven Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse."
Arguably the world's most passionate moviemaker for preserving old films and the heritage of cinema, Scorsese tried his hand at 3-D filmmaking for the first time on "Hugo" and crafted a look with such depth that the images are almost tactile.
"Hugo" follows the adventures of a boy and girl caught up in a mystery surrounding French silent film pioneer George Melies (Ben Kingsley), who stretched the boundaries of cinema with fantastical short movies in the early 1900s.
Today's digital technology made it possible for Scorsese to create his elaborate illusion of long-gone Paris. But the process he describes sounds as experimental and innovative as the work Melies did a century ago.
"It was harder to do because every time we put the camera in a position I wanted, we discovered new ways to do things or wrong ways to do things. We were, in a sense, constantly breaking new ground," Scorsese said. "We had to rediscover how to make movies every day, every setup."
Among the nominations for "Hugo" are adapted screenplay, cinematography, musical score and visual effects.
"The Artist" is a throwback to black-and-white silent days as a superstar of the pre-sound era (best-actor nominee Dujardin) falls on hard times when talking pictures arrive, while a rising star (supporting-actress nominee Bejo) becomes guardian angel for the former screen idol.
"Who knows? It might be possible that he's set off a chain reaction, and we're off for 100 years of silent movies," Dujardin said. "I would love it. It's really fun for an actor. It's very playful, and it's pure emotion. In the end, you only see what is essential. You take away the intellect, and what's left is life."
Along with his directing honor, Hazanavicius was nominated for original screenplay on "The Artist." The film's other nominations include musical score, cinematography and costume design.
While "Hugo" and "The Artist" are testaments to early filmmaking, another key nomination is a tribute to the big-screen's most famous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, a superstar who was never nominated for an Oscar. Michelle Williams earned a best-actress nomination as Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."
"I would like to think that the recognition our film has received by the academy is a testament to Marilyn's legacy," Williams said.
Williams' competition includes Meryl Streep, who extended her record for most acting nominations to 17 with a best-actress honor as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."
Also nominated: Glenn Close for the Irish drama "Albert Nobbs," Viola Davis for "The Help" and Rooney Mara for the thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
Dujardin, the Golden Globe winner for best actor in a musical or comedy, will be up against Globe dramatic actor recipient George Clooney for "The Descendants," in which the Oscar-winning superstar plays a down-to-earth role as a dad in crisis.
While Dujardin and Clooney were almost assured of nominations, there were big surprises across-the-board, with longshots making the cut and favorites getting skunked.
Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which got mixed reviews and has not been much of a factor at earlier Hollywood awards, was a very unexpected best-picture nominee. Co-star Max von Sydow was a surprise nominee for supporting actor.
Malick's "The Tree of Life" also had been considered a bit of a best-picture longshot. The movie, which won top honors at last May's Cannes Film Festival but was a love-it-or-hate-it drama among audiences, also picked up a directing nomination for Malick.
Melissa McCarthy, a supporting-actress nominee for the wedding romp "Bridesmaids," is a rare funny lady competing at the Oscars, which seldom honor performances in mainstream comedies.
"I think it's a big coup for all of us," McCarthy said. "If you get the right thing and the right people, you can still make a really good movie that's still a comedy."
Demian Bichir also was a surprise nominee as best actor for "A Better Life," an immigrant drama that few people have seen. Bichir said he had been ill the night before and learned he was nominated when his girlfriend called with the news.
"I thought it was part of my hallucinations from the fever," Bichir said. "A nomination helps. I feel a lot better already."
Along with Bichir, Clooney and Dujardin, the best-actor contenders are Gary Oldman for the espionage tale "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and Brad Pitt for the baseball story in "Moneyball."
Pitt's third Oscar nomination came for a film that he fought to make after it went on the back-burner amid screenplay and director changes.
"This one is more satisfying than ever," said Pitt, who also shared a best-picture nomination as a producer on "Moneyball." "This movie was dead in the water two and a half years ago."
Among those with strong prospects that came away empty-handed were Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar," from perennial Oscar heavyweight Clint Eastwood, whose latest film did not score a single nomination.
While Spielberg's best-picture contender "War Horse" picked up six nominations, the Oscar-winning filmmaker missed out in the directing category, a prize he has won twice. His first cartoon feature, the Golden Globe-winning "The Adventures of Tintin," also did not make the list for best animated film.
The animated films that did make it: "A Cat in Paris," "Chico & Rita," Kung Fu Panda 2," "Puss in Boots" and "Rango."
Besides von Sydow, supporting-actor nominees are Kenneth Branagh for "My Week with Marilyn," Jonah Hill for "Moneyball," Nick Nolte for the extreme-fighting drama "Warrior" and Christopher Plummer for the father-son story "Beginners."
Plummer won at the Globes for his role as an elderly dad who comes out as gay. At 82, Plummer would be the oldest acting winner ever at the Oscars; Jessica Tandy now holds that position for her best-actress win in "Driving Miss Daisy" at age 80.
Joining Bejo and McCarthy in the supporting-actress field is Octavia Spencer, whose Globe win as a fiery maid in "The Help" positions her as a possible front-runner.
Spencer's "The Help" co-star Jessica Chastain also is nominated, along with Janet McTeer for "Albert Nobbs."
Winners at the 84th annual Oscars will be announced at a Feb. 26 ceremony aired live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, with Billy Crystal returning as host for the first time in eight years.
___
Germain reported from Park City, Utah. Associated Press Writers Derrik J. Lang and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.
In the New Yorker, Dr. Atul Gawande outlined how, at the turn of the 20th century, more than forty per cent of household income went to paying for food and food production consumed nearly half the workforce. Starting in Texas, a wide array of new methods of food production were tested. Long story short, food now accounts for 8% of household budgets and 2% of the workforce. As a wide array of small innovations ultimately led to the transformation of farming, so too is a rapidly building wave of innovative new care and payment models leading to similar breakthroughs in healthcare. I call this Nimble Medicine.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 24-Jan-2012
Share ] 
In the New Yorker, Dr. Atul Gawande outlined how, at the turn of the 20th century, more than forty per cent of household income went to paying for food and food production consumed nearly half the workforce. Starting in Texas, a wide array of new methods of food production were tested. Long story short, food now accounts for 8% of household budgets and 2% of the workforce. As a wide array of small innovations ultimately led to the transformation of farming, so too is a rapidly building wave of innovative new care and payment models leading to similar breakthroughs in healthcare. I call this Nimble Medicine.