Jenifer Laurence

Continuing her week in the spotlight, Jennifer Lawrence tried her hand at hosting "Saturday Night Live," and the comedic odds were certainly in her favor.
The quirky "Silver Linings Playbook" starlet began her opening monologue addressing the Meryl Streep comment once again, but also playfully bashed all of the other Oscar contenders in her category.
"I would never trash-talk any of my fellow nominees at the Golden Globes," she said, "but the Oscars are another story."
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"Well, well, well. Look who it is," she said. "Jessica Chastain. More like, Jessica Chas-ain’t winning no Oscar on my watch!"
And on Naomi Watts, she added, "You were in 'The Impossible'. You know what else is impossible? You beating me on Oscar night.”
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Even little Quvenzhane Wallis wasn't spared.
"You think you can beat me?" she joked. "What you talkin' bout, Wallis? ... The alphabet called. They want their letters back."
Lawrence went on to participate in several hilarious skits, including a spoof of her own movie "The Hunger Games," reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen.

Super Bowl 2013

Now that the two teams for Super Bowl 2013 are known,  fans of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens who don’t have tickets are off to the secondary market, where the average price of a ticket is about $3,195.14.
As of Monday morning, the lowest price for resale tickets was $2,168, according to ticket tracker TiqIQ.
Last year, the average price on Jan. 21 was $3,678.12, with the lowest price, $2,037.
Even before Sunday’s playoff games that determined who would compete in Super Bowl 2013, marketers and others in the industry were watching with anticipation who would be competing in one of the most-watched sporting events of the year.
Chris Matcovich, director of data and communications at TiqIQ, said the National Football Conference’s San Francisco 49ers and American Football Conference’s Baltimore Ravens going head to head would be the “golden game” for ticket sales for two reasons.
First, advertisers and the media have already become excited about the match-up between coaching brothers Jim Harbaugh, 49, of the 49ers, and John Harbaugh, 50, of the Ravens.
Second, the 49ers have a large market in San Francisco, meaning a large fan base that might  be willing to travel to New Orleans. Plus, the 49ers  haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1994.

“At the end of the day, marketers and ticket sellers are hoping for a good game and praying for the right teams,” Matcovich said.
Tim Nelson, president of Chicago-based advertising agency Trisect, said a match between the 49ers and Patriots may have been a favorite among other advertisers.
“I think some of the appeal in the games is the quality of the franchises, plus their heritage and history in the game,” said Nelson, who  grew up in New England and admitted he was  a Pats fan.
For any fan, getting a ticket to Super Bowl XLVII will cost a pretty penny.
The National Football League held a fan drawing of about 1,000 tickets last year.
In the past two weeks, the NFL began distributing tickets to its teams to sell to fans through drawings, or to distribute to sponsors. The NFL give out  17.5 percent of tickets to the AFC team and 17.5 percent go to the NFC team. The host of the 2013 Super Bowl game on Feb. 3, the New Orleans Saints, received 5 percent of tickets. Each of the remaining 29 NFL teams receives 1.2 percent of the tickets.
The official list prices for the Super Bowl’s upper bowl, lower bowl and club seats are $850, $950 and $1,250 for 2013, according to Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman.
McCarthy cautioned that the only guaranteed secondary ticket seller of the NFL is the NFL Ticketmaster Ticket Exchange.
“Buyer beware beyond that,” McCarthy said.

Lone Star College

But in an untimely triumph of ideology over common sense, Texas state legislators and conservative colleagues in Arkansas are pushing again for new laws that would allow handguns to be carried on college campuses.

Did any of these legislators ever go to college? It is hard to think of a worse idea than arming students who are—as the midday Lone Star College shooting reminds us—prone to feuds and fights that can easily escalate. Adding guns to that often alcohol-fueled mix exponentially increases the potential for avoidable tragedy.

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre clarified the contrasts Tuesday night, in a surreal self-incriminating rebuttal to the president’s second inaugural address, arguing that “Obama wants to turn the idea of absolutism into a dirty word … Just another word for extremism.” It is.

But the disconnect between fantasy and reality is a hallmark of the hyper-partisan debates we have today. When confronted with the Sandy Hook Elementary School slaughter, only those embedded deep in the echo chamber could emerge with more guns in schools as the “solution” to the epidemic of gun violence in our schools.

Consider this: there have been four school shootings in the United States since Newtown: Taft Union High School in California; Hazard Community and Technical College in Kentucky; and the Stevens Institute of Business & Arts in St. Louis. That measurement is separate from the cops and firefighters killed or the more than 1,150 individuals murdered by guns across the country since Newtown, according to a tally by Slate and @GunDeaths. What more will it take to admit that we have a problem?


The reactionary impulse to look at school shootings and say the solution is more guns on campuses across America is a monument to idiotic group-think.
How about this reality check: American kids from kindergarten to eighth grade are 13 times more likely to be murdered with guns than children in other wealthy democracies, according to a study by the director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center at the School of Public Health.

This isn’t subtle. It is urgent. And dealing with the problem is not inconsistent with respecting the Second Amendment. But it does require confronting facts. After all, as my former boss Rudy Giuliani used to say, “You’re always safest when you have the courage to confront reality.”

But the “Party of Stupid”—as Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has described as his Republican Party—seems unwilling or unable to confront the problem. According to one congressman who attended the GOP’s Williamsburg retreat, the issue of gun control did not even come up at the party conclave. “It might as well have been a trip to Mars,” he said. Except that we are actually exploring Mars right now.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry—who made the word “oops” immortal—is a vocal advocate of arming students and teachers on campuses, despite the strong objections of Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas system, who said guns “will make a campus a less safe environment.” It’s a statement that would shock only the Flat-Earth Society.

In the late 1990s, interestingly, the NRA was a vocal proponent of the gun-free school zones it now decries as big-government liberalism run amok. Here’s what the organization said at the time: “First, we believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no guns in America’s schools, period … with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel.” But sometimes politics changes principles.

I have no problem with increasing the number of concealed-carry permits, especially if the gun owners are trained to use their weapons responsibly. But the reactionary impulse to look at school shootings and say the solution is more guns on campuses across America is a monument to idiotic group-think, especially when confronted with the escalating body count.

Even in the romanticized days of the Old West, folks were often required to check their guns with the sheriff. And even Justice Scalia wrote in the Heller decision that “the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” And the sainted Ronald Reagan backed the assault weapons ban in 1994.

But advocates of the Party of Stupid keep intruding on responsible civic conversation. The NRA’s solution—to post armed guards at every school—collided with reality at Lone Star College, which, like Columbine, had armed guards on duty. Likewise, when Perry looks at Newtown and finds blame in the “liberal media” for publicizing the Sandy Hook slaughter, and sees active attempts at solving the problem illegitimate. Instead he counsels only prayer.
By contrast, the Obama administration at least has started to enact some overdue executive orders. And there might even be hope for the Senate to pass a universal background check for gun purchases—something that 89 percent of Republicans even support, according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll.  But the professional activist class will pressure members of Congress to ignore their constituents.

The contrast on policy keeps being underscored by tragedies like Lone Star College. The alternative to sober, constructive constitutional action is denial, deflection, and death.

Did Beyonce Lip-Sync the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at the Inauguration?

Did Beyonce lip-sync the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Monday's inaugural ceremonies? A U.S. Marine Band spokeswoman says they are not "in a position to assess."

Captain Kendra N. Motz, Media Officer of the U.S. Marine Band, said the Presidential Inaugural Committee requested they accompany Beyonce in her performance, but "there was no opportunity for Ms. Knowles-Carter to rehearse with the Marine Band before the Inauguration so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event."

"Each piece of music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating circumstances," Motz said in a statement. "Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

Read About Criticism From Beyonce's 2009 Inaugural Performance Here

However, earlier today another spokesperson for the U.S. Marine Corps band told ABC News she did in fact lip synch.

"We all know Beyonce can sing," Master Sgt. of the U.S. Marine Band Kristin duBois told ABC News today. "We all know the Marine Corps Band can play. We do not know why she decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute."

DuBois later added that, to her knowledge, Beyonce was not singing. It was Beyonce's voice, but a pre-recorded version heard by about a million people in Washington and millions more on television.

A representative for Beyonce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The band was not playing while Beyonce was singing, duBois added, but it was live during the rest of the performances, including Kelly Clarkson's rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." The band was asked not to play for only the national anthem, duBois added.

Clarkson could be seen signaling to Beyonce after the national anthem performance and appeared to mouth the words, "It's so hard."

Clarkson spokeswoman Meghan Kehoe of RCA Records also confirmed to ABC News that "Kelly did sing live," but said she could not confirm whether Clarkson and Beyonce discussed the situation.

James Taylor, another performer at the cold, outdoor inauguration ceremony, Monday said he was happy to get through his performance "without any train wrecks."

"It's always hard for a guitar player to play when it's cold because your hands sort of stiffen up and you know nerves tend to do that to you anyway. So I was, you know, very relieved to have gotten to it without any major train wrecks," he told George Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer.

The issue surfaced today when Washingtonian magazine first reported that it didn't seem as though "The President's Own" United States Marine Band was playing during Beyonce's rendition.

The pop star, 31, seemed to have audio issues at one point during the song, pulling out her ear piece.

DuBois said she did not know why Beyonce took the ear piece out.

The Washingtonian also noted that Beyonce posted an Instagram photo of herself in a recording studio holding a copy of the sheet music to the "Star-Spangled Banner." It's not the first time for synced music at an Obama inauguration. In 2009, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the violinist Itzhak Perlman, because of cold and wind, did not play the version of John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" that was projected onto the Mall.

Monday's noon temperature of 40 degrees was 3 degrees above the average inauguration swearing-in temperature of 37, according to the Washington Post.

Michelle Obama gown designer

Judges in his native Taiwan seem unimpressed that Jason Wu has designed two inaugural gowns for U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Court ruled Monday that Wu’s new label “Miss Wu” could not be registered as a brand because it was not distinctive enough.
Wu is one of only several dozen Chinese surnames, and the court upheld a government trademark agency decision that “Miss Wu” was too generic. Wu claimed the label conjured the hoot of an owl, depicted on its logo.

He designed the white gown Obama wore for her husband’s first inauguration in 2009. On Monday, she appeared in another of his creations, a shiny red gown with a halter top.

Wu was born in Taiwan before moving to Canada at age 9.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Elder Scrolls Online trailer, beta electrify the imagination

Sweeping visuals, stunning swordsmanship, legendary warriors: expect to see all of these if you watch the new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online. Beta registrations are now open too.



Developer Zenimax Online Studios wowed the gaming community today with a six-minute explosive cinematic trailer showing some heart-racing action in the grandiose world of Tamriel, the primary location of the upcoming The Elder Scrolls Online. Be sure to play the CGI trailer in high-definition and at full screen for maximum pleasure.

To add further excitement to the reveal, Zenimax also opened the doors to Elder Scrolls Online beta registrations today, giving anyone the chance to get in on the action. Of course, to get in, you'll need to submit answers to an array of personal questions (name, birthday, and so on) and submit full system diagnostic information. Zenimax also requires that you answer questions about any other relevant MMORPGs you've played; your play style (solo, group, etc.); preferred activities in MMORPGs; and previous stints as a beta tester.

If that wasn't demanding enough, you then have to tell the developer why you should be chosen as a beta tester. Amusingly, a progress bar hangs over the Web page and indicates your chance rating at even being selected at all -- fortunately, I scored an above-average, so I assume experience matters.
Zenimax and publisher Bethesda Softworks didn't disclose when The Elder Scrolls Online would begin beta testing, or reveal much information other than the fact that PC and Mac gamers can participate. Read the beta FAQ for more details, or listen to the latest Bethesda podcast featuring developers answering some more questions about the upcoming experience.

Face of fake girlfriend: 'I empathize' with Manti Te'o

The woman who unwillingly became the face of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend speaks about finding out her photos were used without her consent, saying she supplied one because she thought it was for a slideshow to comfort the victim of a car accident.

Raised to be polite and empathetic toward others, Diane O’Meara said Wednesday that she thought she was simply doing a favor for a former high school classmate when she unknowingly became part of a fake girlfriend hoax involving Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o.
O’Meara, 23, claims to have had photos from her Facebook account taken by alleged hoax perpetrator Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, 22, which were used to represent Te'o's girlfriend Lennay Kekua, who supposedly died of leukemia in September but turned out to be a fake who never existed. O’Meara’s pictures appeared on Kekua’s fake Twitter account and were used in news reports at the time of her alleged death, but O’Meara said she had never heard of Te’o until the reporters from Deadspin.com who broke the story contacted her last week.

O’Meara told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Wednesday that Tuiasosopo, her former classmate at Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., reached out to her on Facebook and described in great detail how he and his cousin had been in a traumatic car accident earlier in 2012. She claims that Tuiasasopo told her that he wanted to do a photo slideshow for his cousin for his birthday, and hoped O’Meara could supply a staged picture of herself holding up a sign that read “MSMK.’’
The photo later appeared on Kekua’s fake Twitter account, raising the question of why O’Meara would send a photo to someone she claims to have barely spoken with in high school and had not heard from in five years.

Face of Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend: Story is 'twisted and confusing'
“I could see how people would think that, but we’re raised to be polite, we’re raised to have a kind heart,’’ O’Meara said. “He repeatedly reached out to me on Facebook, and I almost felt guilty about not submitting a photo with this sign for this photo slideshow. He went as far as sending me a photo with his cousin with head trauma, bandages, in the hospital with him, and out of the kindness of my heart, I thought I was just comforting somebody.’’
Te’o told ESPN that he was a victim of an elaborate hoax and was not involved in any way. He claims to have never met Kekua face to face, saying he only spoke to her online and over the phone. However, he admitted in a taped interview with ABC’s Katie Couric on Tuesday that he lied to the media and public that Kekua was real even after he knew it was all a hoax. He said he received a phone call on Dec. 6 from someone alleging to be Kekua, who supposedly had died on Sept. 12, yet still stuck to the story about Kekua in interviews leading up to the BCS championship game against Alabama on Jan. 6.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this entire confusing situation myself,’’ O’Meara said. “If Manti is really innocent in this entire situation, I empathize with him because I assume we would have the same emotions – frustration, anger, confusion.’’

O’Meara, a marketing executive in Los Angeles, also didn’t appreciate having her picture splashed out there as Te’o’s alleged girlfriend because she is currently in a long-term relationship.
Manti Te'o admits 'catering' his stories about Kekua

“It’s difficult and it’s definitely very shocking,’’ she said. “I have my own boyfriend of five years, a serious committed relationship, and to hear that you’re the face of a separate relationship, it’s hard to see.’’

She has hired an attorney, but said she is not pursuing any legal action at this time. Tuiasosopo has not returned numerous calls from NBC News seeking comment. O'Meara told NBC's Miguel Almaguer on Tuesday that Tuiasasopo had called her, admitting to the hoax and apologizing.
“The lesson learned is that social media and the way that it’s growing, there’s definitely a lack of protection and privacy laws,’’ O’Meara said.

The sports world has been having a field day with the story since it broke. The meme known as "Te'oing" was born, with people posting photos of themselves with their arm around no one to signify having a fake girlfriend. The San Jose Giants, a minor league baseball team in the San Francisco Giants organization, announced they are holding "Lennay Kekua Night'' on April 12. The game will feature catfish on the menu in an allusion to the MTV show "Catfish" about people duping others with fake identities online.

The NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers created a "Manti Te'o Kiss Cam" showing a person sitting next to an empty seat. The NHL's Dallas Stars showed an empty seat on the Jumbotron while welcoming "Manti Te'o's girlfriend" to the game.

Lone Star college 'gunman' charged in shooting

A suspect has been charged with aggravated assault over a shooting that left three people wounded at a college in the US state of Texas, say police.

Carlton Berry, 22, shot a man during an argument, police said, and apparently shot himself. He and the other person in the dispute were taken to hospital.

A maintenance worker was injured in the cross-fire.

The latest incident of gun violence, it comes amid a major push for gun control by the Obama administration.

The shooting happened outside near a campus library at about 12:30 local time (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday.

Hiding under table

Police spent about 90 minutes scouring the campus and the surrounding woods for the gunman.

Continue reading the main story

Mr Berry arrived soon afterwards a hospital and told medical workers he had accidentally shot himself in the hip.

He remains in hospital under police guard.

Police have said one of the two men involved in the argument was enrolled at the college.

In total, four people were brought to two hospitals, including a woman who suffered a medical emergency. One person was critically wounded.

Witnesses told local broadcaster KHOU they had seen a man pull out a gun during an argument with another man.

"I saw two dudes basically get into an altercation and the dude that shot, he basically got angry and started shooting the other guy," Brittany Mobley said.

Gun in schools

A student who was leaving an emergency-responder class said he had helped two injured people, one who had been shot in the knee and another with a wound to the lower buttocks.

The shooting occurred outside between an academic building and the library, an official said


The campus, about 20 miles (32km) north of Houston, has some 19,000 students.

Several school districts in Texas have allowed staff to carry guns on campus. Guns are not allowed on university campuses, but the state legislature may debate a bill to allow it this year.

The US gun debate gained new impetus last month after a school shooting that left 20 children and six teachers dead in Newtown, Connecticut.

Last week, President Barack Obama unveiled the most sweeping gun control proposals in two decades, including calls for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as wider background checks on gun buyers.

Elvis Presley fans from as far as Japan and Brazil gathered Tuesday in Memphis to sing "Happy Birthday"

The Commercial Appeal, Kyle Kurlick / Associated Press - Graceland archivist, Dee Dee Antle preps one of Elvis Presley's suits January 4, 2013, that he wore for his "Aloha from Hawaii" concert for display for a new exhibit focusing on Elvis' trips to Hawaii at Graceland Crossing near Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tn. Graceland is preparing for Elvis birthday celebration on Tuesday January 8, 2013, when they cut a cake to honor

Elvis Presley fans from as far as Japan and Brazil gathered Tuesday in Memphis to sing "Happy Birthday" to the late rock 'n' roll icon on the day he would have turned 78.

Hundreds of Elvis devotees watched as 13-year-old Isabella Scott cut a birthday cake on the lawn at Graceland, the singer's longtime Memphis home. Scott heads an Internet-based Elvis fan club with more than 2.000 members.



The Mayors of Memphis and Shelby County also read a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day during the ceremony, which was attended by fans from Brazil, England, France, Japan, Spain and the U.S.

Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935, and moved to Memphis with his parents at age 13. He was 42 when he winner! Aug.. 16, 1977.

Presley recorded his first song "That's All Right" at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1954 and made ​​the West Tennessee city his home until his death primaries.

"Like coffee and cream, grits and gravy, peanut butter and bananas ... Memphis and Elvis is a combination that was just meant to be, "Memphis Mayor AC Wharton Jr.. told the crowd.

Fans have been celebrating since Saturday, when the Memphis Symphony Orchestra presented a concert commemorating the 40th anniversary of Elvis' landmark "Aloha from Hawaii" show.

A new exhibit about Presley's movies and concerts in Hawaii opened Tuesday at the Graceland tourist attraction, roomates is across the street from the mansion.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Justin Bieber fans have proven Themselves

Justin Bieber fans have proven Themselves a force to be reckoned with, but some might have gone too far by participating in a maliciously false Outrage trending topic that sparked Monday night.

The hashtag # Cut4Bieber Began trending, suggesting that dedicated Beliebers engage in self-harm through cutting Themselves in order to get Justin's attention in response to his recent alleged bad boy behavior.

"Lets start a campaign bieber cut yourself for," wrote an anonymous user initially before the thread was deleted, According to Billboard. "Tweet a bunch of pics of people cutting Themselves and claim we did it Because Bieber was smoking weed. See if we can get some little girls to cut Themselves."

The onslaught of Potentially real self-harm photos was cause for alarm for Thousands of tweeters, Including fellow singer Miley Cyrus.

"Do not blame this on Justin, it's his life no one else's!" she initially wrote. "So stop with this # Cut4Bieber self harming is serious." She then deleted that, and replaced it with a Poignant retweet.

The hoax campaign was created by an anonymous user on 4Chan.org, a message board website where anyone can post comments and share images.

The same website was responsible for an October hoax campaign that urged a # Bald4Bieber trend, suggesting fans shave their heads for Bieber, who was said to be diagnosed with cancer.

This time around the trending topic garnered more than 26.000 hits in 12 hours, According to the trending Topsy tracker site.

Though there were a lot of Gruesome photos, some tweeters Decided to the make use of the play on words by posting photos of Themselves paper cutting, cake and other things.

Bieber has not RESPONDED to the hoax hashtag, though several fans have tweeted directly to him about their Outrage.

10 websites with High Prices in 2012

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