BBC News - Shirley MacLaine to join Downton Abbey, Jan 30, 2012

"Oscar-winning US actress Shirley MacLaine is to join the cast of Downton Abbey for its third series as the mother of Lady Grantham.
MacLaine - whose character is named Martha Levinson - will begin filming with the rest of the cast next month.
"It is so exciting to have an actress of Shirley MacLaine's stature joining our brilliant Downton Abbey cast," said Laura Mackie, ITV's director of drama."
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BBC News - EU summit: UK and Czechs refuse to join fiscal compact, Jan 30, 2012

"Twenty-five of the EU's 27 member states have agreed to join a fiscal treaty enforce budget discipline.
The Czech Republic and the UK refused to sign up. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said his government would act if the treaty threatened UK interests.
He still has "legal concerns" about the use of EU institutions in enforcing the fiscal treaty, he said."
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SMH - The world's best? Clarke's sheer weight of runs poses argument, Jan 30, 2012

"IS MICHAEL CLARKE the best batsman in the world right now?Had the Australian captain been asked that question as he mustered the energy to raise his bat towards the members in Adelaide as he walked to the dressing room with 210 against his name, he would doubtless have answered in his deferential way that he did not regard himself even as the best batsman on the field."
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LA TIMES - Ian Abercrombie obituary: Actor on 'Seinfeld' dies at 77, Jan 30, 2012

"Ian Abercrombie, 77, the British character actor who played Elaine's demanding boss, Mr. Pitt, on "Seinfeld," died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his friend Cathy Lind Hayes. He suffered complications of kidney failure and recently had been diagnosed with lymphoma." ALEXANDER LANGUAGE SCHOOLS

LA TIMES - Gigi Gordon obituary: Crusading criminal defense lawyer dies at 54, Jan 30, 2012

"Gigi Gordon, a crusading criminal defense lawyer who battled corrupt police and overzealous prosecutors to free dozens of prisoners who had been wrongfully convicted, committed suicide after struggling with multiple sclerosis and depression. She was 54."
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Kim Schmitz Best Mw3 Player in the World, Jan 30, 2012

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FIJI LIVE- Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif reunite, Jan 28, 2012

"Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and diva Katrina Kaif are back together once again for a serious start.
Times of India reports the couple split earlier because Ranbir was busy escorting Nargis Fakri and Anushka Sharma.
He did ask Kat to give him sometime but she was not going to stand on the sideline and wait for him."
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DAILY MAIL - AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012: Victoria Azarenka beats Maria Sharapova to win final, Jan 28, 2012

"Eleven months after threatening to quit tennis, 22-year-old Victoria Azarenka won the Australian Open to become world No 1.
But in Azarenka, the women's game has acquired a maverick at the helm. She reduced Maria Sharapova's one-dimensional game to rubble.
Each fresh, highdecibel grunt from the former Wimbledon champion seemed to become a more urgent plea for clemency. None was forthcoming."
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SPINNER - Dick Kniss Dead: Peter, Paul and Mary Bassist and Co-Writer of 'Sunshine on My Shoulders' Dies at 74, Jan 28, 2012

"Dick Kniss, longtime bassist for famed folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and co-writer of the John Denver hit 'Sunshine on My Shoulders,' passed away after a bout with pulmonary disease, tje Associated Press reports. He was 74 years old.
The famed trio's Peter Yarrow said that Kniss was "our intrepid bass player for almost as long as we performed together."
"He was a dear and beloved part of our closest family circle and his bass playing was always a great fourth voice in our music as well as, conceptually, an original and delightfully surprising new statement added to our vocal arrangements," Yarrow went on"
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LA TIMES - Clare Fischer dies at 83; versatile pianist, composer, arranger, Jan 28, 2012

"Clare Fischer, a Grammy-winning pianist, composer and arranger who crossed freely from jazz to Latin and pop music, working with such names as Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing and Natalie Cole as well as Paul McCartney, Prince and Michael Jackson, has died. He was 83.
Fischer died Thursday at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank of complications from a heart attack he had two weeks ago, said family spokeswoman Claris Dodge.
Although he entered professional music through jazz, his expansive creative perspective quickly grew to embrace many other musical areas."
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FIJI LIVE - Demi Moore treated for 'exhaustion, Jan 26, 2012

"Actress Demi Moore is being treated for "exhaustion," confirms her publicist, after a media report said she had been rushed to hospital due to substance abuse.
Moore, who split from her younger husband Ashton Kutcher in November after reports he had been unfaithful, had been placed in a facility to receive treatment, the TMZ celebrity news website said.
It cited police as saying that a 911 call was placed late Monday evening. Paramedics responded to her Los Angeles home and, after checking her for half an hour, transported her to a local hospital."
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FIJI LIVE- NASA's Kepler confirms 26 new planets, Jan 26, 2012

"The US space agency says its Kepler space telescope mission has confirmed 26 new planets outside our solar system, all of them orbiting too close to their host stars to sustain life.
Scattered across 11 planetary systems, their temperatures would be too hot for survival, as they all circle their stars closer than Venus, the second planet from the Sun, which has a surface temperature of 464 Celsius (867 F).
But NASA scientists were still pleased with the findings, which nearly double the number of confirmed planets that Kepler has found since 2009.
"Prior to the Kepler mission, we knew of perhaps 500 exoplanets across the whole sky," said Doug Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA headquarters."
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FIJI LIVE - McIlroy grabs lead in Abu Dhabi, Jan 26, 2012

"Rory McIlroy used muscle power to steal an early season march on his main rivals for golfing dominance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Ulsterman, who spent much of his winter break in the gym working on his physique, wrestled his way around the par-72 National Course for a five under 67 that included seven birdies against two bogeys.
That was three shots better than Tiger Woods and four ahead of Luke Donald, the two men he played with in what was the first round's big drawing card."
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FIJI LIVE - Hopkins, Dawson set for April rematch, Jan 26, 2012

"Bernard Hopkins, the oldest champion in boxing history, is set to make a historic title defense at age 47 in a rematch against fellow American Chad Dawson on April 28 at Atlantic City.
Hopkins will defend his World Boxing Council light-heavyweight crown against Dawson in a rematch of a fight last October in Los Angeles that ended in round two when lifted Hopkins by the leg and slammed him into the canvas."
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Beaumont EnterpriseAl - Price dies at the age of 81, Jan 26, 2012

"Al Price, a civil rights activist and the first black Southeast Texan to represent the Beaumont area in the Texas House of Representatives, has died at the age of 81.
Price had been hospitalized at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont, suffering from an undisclosed illness, his brother Richard Price told The Enterprise in December."
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EMPIRE ONLINE - Excalibur Star Nicol Williamson Dies , Jan 26, 2012

"Scottish actor Nicol Williamson has died aged 73, reports The Daily Telegraph. According to his son Luke, the stage and screen actor died of esophageal cancer on December 16. He was best known for his roles in Excalibur and The Exorcist III, as well as a long and much acclaimed stage career"
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PBPULSE - Dick Tufeld dies at 85; actor who intoned ‘Danger, Will Robinson!, Jan 26, 2012

"Dick Tufeld, a longtime radio and TV announcer who intoned “Danger, Will Robinson!” as the voice of the Robot in the 1960s science-fiction TV series “Lost in Space,” has died. He was 85.

Tufeld died Sunday at his home in Studio City while watching the NFL playoffs, his family said. He had heart disease and had been in declining health since sustaining a fall last year.

In “Lost in Space,” producer Irwin Allen’s futuristic retelling of the “Swiss Family Robinson” story that aired on CBS from 1965 to 1968, actor Bob May wore the Robot costume and Tufeld provided the voice."

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NY TIMRS - John Levy, Bassist and Talent Manager, Dies at 99, Jan 26, 2012

"John Levy, a bassist and pioneering talent manager whose roster included some of the biggest names in jazz, notably Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Cannonball Adderley and Wes Montgomery, died on Friday at his home in Altadena, Calif. He was 99"
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TIMES Union - Nation's oldest federal judge dies at age 104, Jan 26, 2012

"FILE - In this June. 4, 2007, file photo U.S. Federal District Judge Wesley Brown is shown in Wichita, Kan. Brown, the nation's oldest sitting federal judge, died Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, according to his law clerk at age 104. Brown was appointed as a federal district judge in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy. (The Hutchinson News, Travis Morisse / AP)"

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LA TIMES - James Farentino obituary: Prolific TV actor dies at 73, Jan 26, 2012

"Actor James Farentino, whose private life was sometimes as dramatic as the roles he played in theater and on television, died Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 73 and had suffered from a lengthy illness, said family spokesman Bob Palmer."
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REUTERS - Greek film director Angelopoulos dies after accident during shooting, Jan 24, 2012

"(Reuters) - Greek award-winning director Theo Angelopoulos died at the age of 77 in an Athens hospital on Tuesday, hours after a motorbike ran him over while he was filming a movie on the debt crisis rocking the country"
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Charles Ayoub - Millionaire PayPal founder Elon Musk divorces actress wife Talulah Rileyl, Jan 24, 2012

"Millionaire PayPal founder Elon Musk is divorcing British actress Talulah Riley.
The couple, who had been married for one year, had been separated for six months before they decided to get divorced.
On Wednesday, 40-year-old Musk, who also founded Tesla and SpaceX wrote on his Twitter account: '@rileytalulah It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day.'
In a telephone interview with Forbes, he praised the 26-year-old Pride & Prejudice star for being 'a great woman'.
But he said he had simply fallen out of love her."
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The Blemish - Heidi Klum and Seal Haven’t Divorced Yetl, Jan 24, 2012

"A report by TMZ over the weekend claimed a divorce between Heidi Klum and Seal was imminent. But if Us Weekly and PEOPLE are to be believed, it’s not happening. Though the couple has hit a rough patch, they have no plans to split just yet, claims the two publications."
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Bingham Ray, 57, Dies Following Stroke at Sundance Film Festival, Jan 24, 2012

"Bingham Ray, a widely admired indie-film veteran and former studio head, has died after being hospitalized for a stroke he suffered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He was 57.
According to a report by Variety, Ray had been attending the Arthouse Convergence symposium near Park City when he suffered the first stroke and was hospitalized in Park City. He suffered a second stroke and was transferred to Provo, where he died."
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CELEBRITY Universe - Gisele Bundchen Covers Cosmo Australia January 2012 » Gossip, Jan 22, 2012

"She's just as popular in the Land Down Under as she is in the rest of the world, and Gisele Bundchen nabbed the cover of the January 2012 issue of Cosmopolitan Australia.
The world's top earning supermodel glams up the magazine's front page in a red off-the-shoulder top paired with white shorts while featured in an article titled "Gisele: Fashion's Busiest Icon".
Highlights from Gisele's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Cosmopolitan Australia!"
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TMZ.com - Joe Paterno Dead -- Former Penn State Football Coach Dies at 85, Jan 22, 2012

"Joe Paterno -- the legendary former football coach at Penn State University -- died this morning at the age of 85 ... this according to his family.
His family released a statement that reads, "He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community."
The front page of the website for the Penn State athletic department was updated with simply a picture of Paterno (see below)."
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