Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/new-monopoly-piece-unveiled/
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Postal Service could end Saturday mail delivery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Postal Service is planning to drop Saturday delivery of first-class mail by August, a congressional source said on Wednesday.
The cash-strapped mail agency will still deliver packages, said the source, who is familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak on the record.
USPS spokesman Mark Saunders could not confirm the change, but said the agency would issue a news release on Wednesday.
The move is part of the mail carrier's larger effort to aggressively to cut costs amid rising use of email and the Internet as well as looming payments for future retiree's health benefits. USPS lost almost $16 billion last year.
The 237-year-old institution has already run into its legal borrowing limit and defaulted twice on required payments to the federal government.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Vicki Allen)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/postal-seeks-end-saturday-mail-delivery-132211069--sector.html
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Iraq War vet charged in fatal shooting of ex-SEAL
In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)
In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)
In this April 6, 2012, photo, former Navy SEAL and author of the book ?American Sniper? poses in Midlothian, Texas. A Texas sheriff has told local newspapers that Kyle has been fatally shot along with another man on a gun range, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)
This photo provided by the Erath County Sheriff?s Office shows Eddie Ray Routh. He was charged with murder in connection with a shooting at a central Texas gun range that killed former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/ Erath County Sheriff's Office)
Map showns path of texas gunman following a double shooting
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) ? An Iraq War veteran charged with murdering former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and a friend turned a gun on the pair while they were at a Texas shooting range, authorities said Sunday.
Eddie Ray Routh, of Lancaster, was arraigned early Sunday in the deaths of Kyle, who wrote the best-selling book "American Sniper," and Chad Littlefield, 35. They were killed at a shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Travis Cox, the director of a nonprofit Kyle helped found, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Kyle, 38, and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range to try to help him. Littlefield was Kyle's neighbor and "workout buddy," Cox said.
"What I know is Chris and a gentleman ? great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield ? took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand, and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them," Cox said.
Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff's Office said Routh had not made any comments that might indicate a motive. "I don't know that we'll ever know. He's the only one that knows that," Upshaw said.
Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and "may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself."
Bryant didn't know whether Routh was on any medication or had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Routh was being held on one charge of capital murder and two charges of murder.
Upshaw said officials believe Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home. Upshaw said ballistics tests weren't complete Sunday, but authorities believe it was the gun used in the shootings. Upshaw declined to give any more details about the gun.
The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current duty status is listed as reserve.
Routh is being held on $3 million bond. Bryant said he believed Routh was in the process of seeking a public defender.
A knock on the door at Routh's last known address went unanswered Sunday. A for-sale sign was in front of the small, wood-framed home.
Kyle's best-selling book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," detailed his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. Kyle said in his book that Iraqi insurgents had put a bounty on his head. According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Kyle deployed to Iraq four times.
Bryant said Kyle, Littlefield and Routh went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide at Rough Creek Lodge came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.
Upshaw said autopsies were still pending and he could not say how many times the men were shot or where on their bodies they were hit.
After the shootings, Routh left the shooting range in Kyle's black pickup truck, Bryant said, first going to his sister's home in Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas, where he told her and her husband what he had done. Routh left, Bryant said, and the couple called local police.
Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas, at about 8 p.m. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit.
Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans.
"Chris was literally the type of guy, if you were a veteran and needed help, he'd help you," said Cox, the director of FITCO Cares.
Cox described Littlefield as a gentle, kind-hearted man who often called or emailed him with ideas for events or fundraisers to help veterans. He said he was married and had children.
"It was just two great guys, with Chad and Chris trying to help out a veteran in need and making time out of their day to help him. And to give him a hand. And unfortunately this thing happened," Cox said.
Bryant expressed a similar understanding of the situation. The sheriff said Routh's mother "may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try to help her son."
"We kind of have an idea that maybe that's why they were at the range for some type of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with. And I don't know if it's called shooting therapy, I don't have any idea," Bryant said.
Lt. Cmdr. Rorke Denver, who served with Kyle on SEAL Team 3 in Iraq in 2006, called Kyle a champion of the modern battlefield. Denver wasn't surprised that Kyle apparently used a shooting range to help someone with PTSD.
"For us, for warriors, that's a skill set that has become very familiar, very comfortable for us," said Denver, a lieutenant commander in a reserve SEAL team. His book "Damn Few," about training SEALs, will be released this month. "So I actually see it as kind of a perfect use of Chris' unique skill set and expertise of which he has very few peers."
Craft International, Kyle's security training company, had scheduled a $2,950-per-person civilian training event at Rough Creek Lodge called the "Rough Creek Shoot Out!" for March 1-3. The price included lodging, meals and shooting instruction. Kyle was scheduled to teach the first class, called "precision rifle."
Kyle is survived by his wife, Taya, and their two children, Cox said.
___
Sherman reported from McAllen, Texas. Associated Press writers Andale Gross and Erica Hunzinger in Chicago contributed to this report.
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Next 'Transformers' Trilogy Will Be 'Completely Different'
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says he doesn't expect a Shia LaBeouf cameo.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Optimus Prime in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Photo: Paramount
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Monday, February 4, 2013
Oh the drama! Super Ads go epic
This screenshot provided by Volkswagen shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Volkswagen called ?Get In. Get Happy. (AP Photo/Volkswagen)
This screenshot provided by Volkswagen shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Volkswagen called ?Get In. Get Happy. (AP Photo/Volkswagen)
This undated screenshot provided by the Milk Processor Education Program, known as MilkPep shows the company's Super Bowl advertisement. The Milk Processor Education Program, known as MilkPep and popular for its "Got Milk?" print ads, is featuring actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a 30-second ad in the second quarter that is directed by Peter Berg. (AP Photo/Milk Processor Education Program)
This undated screenshot provided by Calvin Klein shows the company's Super Bowl advertisement for the company's Concept brand. (AP Photo/Calvin Klein)
This undated screenshot provided by PepsiCo shows the Super Bowl advertisement for PepsiCo's PepsiNext.For its halftime intro spot, Pepsi, the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, created a collage of 1,000 user-submitted photos that are stitched together to create a 30-second video that looks like one person jumping to the tune of Beyonce's "Countdown." The spot introduces the pop star's halftime show. (AP Photo PepsiCo)
This undated screenshot provided by Taco Bell shows the Super Bowl advertisement for Taco Bell. Gone are the days when Super Bowl spots were closely-guarded secrets. With the growth of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it's no surprise that more advertisers like Taco Bell are releasing ads online up to a week or more before Game Day. (AP Photo/Taco Bell)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Super Bowl ads this year morphed into mini soap operas.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shrugged off aliens so he could get more milk for his kids in a Super Bowl spot for the Milk Processor Education Program. Anheuser-Busch's commercial told the story of a Clydesdale colt growing up and returning to his owner for a heartfelt hug years later. And a Jeep ad portrayed the trials and triumphs of people waiting for the return of their family members.
The reason for all the drama off the field? With 30-second spots going for as much as $4 million and more than 111 million viewers expected to tune in, marketers are constantly looking for ways to make their ads stand out. And it's increasingly difficult to captivate viewers with short-form plots involving babies, celebrities, sex and humor ? unless there's a compelling story attached.
"A lot of advertisers are running long commercials to tell these stories that engage people often in a very emotional way," said Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. "These spots that tell stories really stand out in the clutter."
TEAR-JERKING MINI EPICS
Chrysler started the long-format commercial trend last year, with a two-minute spot starring Clint Eastwood that became very popular.
This year, Chrysler led the trend again with its two-minute salute to troops and their families. The ad featured Oprah Winfrey reading a letter from the Jeep brand to encourage families to stay hopeful.
Wendy Ochoa, a high school teacher who lives in Novi, Mich., said the ad was very emotional. "It tugs on your heartstrings," Ochoa, 44, said. "How can it not?"
Anheuser-Busch also pulled at heartstrings with a spot about a Clydesdale colt growing up and moving away from his farm and his trainer who raised him from birth. Years later, the trainer drives to Chicago to see the horse in a parade. The horse spots his trainer and gallops toward him, nuzzling him fondly as the trainer hugs him.
"The Budweiser commercial with the Clydesdale made me cry," said Wendy Ponzo, 49, who was watching the game in Pont Pleasant, N.J.
USER-INSPIRED TALES
Lincoln's 90-second ad was inspired by tweets by fans about road trips. The company asked people to send their stories, and Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," decided on which tales would be used.
The ad, which was based on more than 6,000 tweets from fans, shows adventures during a fictional road trip. A woman picks up a German hitchhiker, and they go to an alpaca farm, get stopped by turtles crossing the road, and drive through a movie set.
Rap pioneer Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and Wil Wheaton, who acted in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," made cameos in the spot.
Coca-Cola created an ad based on an online campaign that pit three groups ? a troupe of showgirls, biker style badlanders and cowboys ? against each other in a race through a desert for a Coke.
Starting Jan. 23 and continuing through the end of the Super Bowl, viewers voted online for their favorite group. The group with the most votes ? the showgirls ? was revealed when the Super Bowl ended.
Audi also went with an ad that told a story ? and was inspired by viewers. The company's 60-second ad featured an ending that was voted on by viewers prior to the game.
In the ad, a boy gains confidence from driving his father's Audi to the prom, kisses the prom queen once he arrives at the dance and gets decked by the prom king. In the end, he drives back home with a smile on his face.
The Audi mini-epic was a favorite of Super Bowl viewer Stephanie Bice, 39, a business development director in Oklahoma City.
"It was fun and whimsical," Bice said.
COMEDY GOES LONG
Not all of the storytelling ads were dramatic, though.
Samsung's two-minute ad showed Seth Rogen ("The Guilt Trip") and Paul Rudd ("Role Models") getting called in to do a "Next Big Thing" ad for Samsung. But they're agitated once they realize that they're sharing the spotlight. LeBron James, an NBA basketball player for the Miami Heat, makes a cameo, appearing on the screen of a tablet.
The ad won over some fans in the ad world.
"I could watch the Samsung ad over and over again," said David Berkowitz, vice president at digital marketing agency 360i. "It's as good as any Seth Rogen movie."
Budweiser, a long-time Super Bowl advertiser, also told a continuing story in two of its ads. One showed rival 49ers and Ravens fans each creating a voodoo doll for the other team with the help of R&B legend Stevie Wonder. In the other ad, fans go to great lengths to curse a rival fan's "lucky chair."
"It's only weird if it doesn't work," the words in the ad read.
Mercedes-Benz's 90-second ad had a Faustian plot.
A devilish Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man") shows a man everything that comes with a Mercedes-Benz CLX: A date with supermodel Kate Upton, dancing with Usher, driving around with beautiful girls, getting on the cover of magazines including Vanity Fair and GQ, getting to drive on a racetrack.
The man almost signs his soul away for the car. But then he sees a billboard that says the car starts at $29,900, and doesn't sign.
NOT EVERY AD TELLS A STORY
Although many advertisers tried to pull people in with lengthy story lines, there were a few that stuck with short, quirky spots with no particular plot.
GoDaddy.com's ad was one of them. It showed a close up, extended kiss between supermodel Bar Refaeli and a nerdy guy wearing glasses to illustrate GoDaddy's combo of "sexy" and "smart."
Some viewers thought the ad was too explicit for the Super Bowl.
"I don't care who wins the game. I just don't want to see that commercial again, ever," said Stephen G. Smith, 63, an editor at The Washington Times in Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Malone from DeKalb, Ill., agreed: "GoDaddy should be ashamed."
Striking a less controversial note, Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter starred Amy Poehler, of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," asking a Best Buy employee endless questions about electronics.
"Will this one read '50 Shades of Grey' to me in a sexy voice?" Poehler asks about an e-book reader. Then, when the staffer says no she asks, "Will you?"
M&M's spot showed its red spokescharacter singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love," and wooing beautiful women. But the M&M stopped short when the women try to eat him.
And Oreo's ad featured a showdown in a library between people fighting over whether the cookie or the cream is the best part of the cookie. The punch-line? The fight escalates into thrown chairs and other destruction, but because the fight is in a library, everyone still has to whisper.
The ad directed users to follow Oreo on Instagram photo-sharing site, where they could continue the "cookie vs. cream" debate. Meanwhile, Oreo was quick to capitalize on the blackout that hit the game for about 30 minutes in the third quarter. It tweeted a picture of an Oreo in the half-dark with the words: "You can still dunk in the dark."
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Friday, February 1, 2013
Baseball: Bailey's 95-mph fastball attracting a crowd
Broomfield junior pitcher has gotten attention from MLB, college scouts in first full varsity season
BROOMFIELD -- If you throw the baseball hard, you get attention. Brandon Bailey has done just that in his first full year of varsity play.
The Broomfield junior is one of the state's hottest pitching commodities with what seems like everybody in the baseball world knocking on his door. There are a slew of NCAA Division-I colleges courting the right-hander. All-American teams want him on their lists. And even Major League Baseball has come calling.
Squeeze all that between baseball practice and chemistry class, it has been a lot for the 17-year-old to swallow. But the fire-baller is not letting future glory cloud his vision of present tasks. And there is no bigger goal for the undefeated junior than helping the third-ranked
Broomfield junior Brandon Bailey is 8-0 on the season as No. 2 Broomfield heads into district tournament play. (Matt Kelley/For BoCoPreps.com)
Eagles win a Class 4A state title."We're confident with what we can do in-state," said Bailey, who boasts an 8-0 record. "Teams know -- between our pitching and defense -- that if it's not an extra-base hit, it's an out."
Bringing home the first title banner since the Eagles' 2006 championship season is the prime directive. But at Broomfield it is hard to miss the hubbub about Bailey.
When the University of Kentucky flies out to watch him pitch a complete-game win against Longmont and the Kansas City Royals invite him to a private tryout, there is definitely something special about the kid. In Bailey's case, it is his fastball.
At a May 6 showcase put on by the recruiting company The Baseball Factory, Bailey dazzled college and pro scouts by topping out at 95 mph. It was the fastest his fastball has clocked, but it is hardly the first time he has sent the horsehide screaming.
Bailey consistently threw above the 90-mph mark in Broomfield's undefeated run through the Northern League. And he is not all velocity. There is plenty of brain behind his brawn. Not to give away any secrets, but right-handed hitters watch out for Bailey's slider. That's his favorite punch-out pitch for you guys. Lefties, it is his change up.
"It works, because it breaks away from them," said Bailey, who has 86 strikeouts on the season.
For the right-hander, the last pitch is far from the most important. Bailey lives for that first toss in an at bat and it speaks volumes about his mentality on the mound.
"I like to get that first-pitch strike," he said. "Once I'm ahead, I believe I can get almost anybody out."
Bailey's baseball acumen and attitude has him on a number of top recruiting events and All-American watch lists, including: The 2012 Under Armour All-American team, 2013 Under Armour Pre-season All-American team and the Area Code Baseball Games. And his encyclopedic knowledge of his craft and himself has impressed Garren Estes to no end.
"He really is a student of the game," the Broomfield coach said. "We knew he would be a strong pitcher entering this season and he has lived up to that every time he's taken the mound."
Broomfield's pitching staff looks to give the team a sizable advantage heading into Saturday's District 5 tournament at home. Broomfield has one of the state's stingiest rotations, with the team ranked fourth in the state in earned run average (1.29) and eighth in strikeouts (180).
Bailey is just one half of the equation that has made the Eagles' pitching so successful. Jackson Lockwood has proven equally as potent.
The University of Portland-bound senior has a 7-1 record on the year and has collected 72 strikeouts. And
Jackson Lockwood is 7-1 on the season and provides a solid 1-2 punch atop Broomfield's pitching rotation along with Brandon Bailey. (Matt Kelley/For BoCoPreps.com)
with similar no-holds-barred mentalities, the pitchers have driven each other to near perfection."I've known Jackson since I was 10," Bailey said. "We have a friendly competition going with each other. It pushes us, because he is a strike thrower too."
Bailey and the Eagles are shooting for plenty this season and still have their work cut out for them. But when the junior surveys the landscape, 2012 could just be the start of something special.
"Our goal is to win and to win now," he said. "But at the end of the day, with three starting seniors and 10 juniors, you can't help but get excited about rolling this on to next year."
Follow Woody on Twitter: @ElwoodKShelton
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