Column: Who's the 'elite' quarterback now?

GREEN BAY, Wis. –  It doesn't get much more "elite" than that.

On the road, facing the defending Super Bowl champs, and limited for three quarters by a running game that couldn't get out of its own way, Eli Manning vaulted himself back into the conversation about the best quarterbacks in the league by engineering a 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Mocked before the season began for putting himself in the same elite class as New England's Tom Brady, then skewered when New York stumbled through the middle of its schedule, the youngest member of the Manning quarterbacking clan played the position Sunday night as if it were his birthright instead of a burden. And what better place than Lambeau Field?

Three years ago, when the Giants came to town on another improbable playoff run, they paved the way with a bruising rushing attack and a fierce, opportunistic defense. Back then, Manning's pre-game instructions could have been summed up this way: "Just don't screw things up."

This time around, though, he took control from the opening drive, almost single-handedly managing the Giants' transition from a run-first offense to a multi-faceted passing attack — a necessity in the new, points-a-plenty version of the NFL. By the end, Manning had rolled up 330 yards on 21-of-33 passing for three touchdowns and a nifty 114.5 QB rating.

"The offensive line did a great job. We had time to get the ball off," Manning said.

He can be self-effacing to a fault. You could almost see him reviewing a roster of his teammates to make sure he didn't leave anyone out.

"We kept our tight ends in. We kept our backs in," he added. "They gave me time to sit back there and wait for guys to get open."

It wasn't nearly as simple as he made it sound, though. Seven of those catches and two TDs were claimed by receiver Hakeem Nicks — including his stunning, jump-ball grab of a rainbow in the end zone to close out the first half — but Manning spread the wealth around to seven different receivers.

"He understands the defense. He understands what we can see on every single down and every single coverage," receiver Victor Cruz said. "He's just making the right reads and really hitting people when the time is right."

With these Giants, that means most of the time.

Leading 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, New York was desperately trying to hold onto its momentum and faced a third-and-1 at the Packers 46-yard line — a situation that begged for a power back like Brandon Jacobs or Ahmad Bradshaw to plow a route somewhere between the tackles. At that moment, though, with 13 attempts between them, the duo had exactly 42 yards.

So Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride put Manning in the shotgun with an empty backfield, piling the fate of the drive onto his quarterback's slim shoulders. Manning coolly delivered a 8-yard sideline throw to Mario Manningham for the first down, then wound up driving New York another 21 yards to set up Lawrence Tynes for a 35-yard field goal. None of it — not Gilbride's gutsy call, nor Manning's crisp spiral to a tight spot on the sideline — surprises the Giants' receiving corps anymore.

"He trusts the ball in Eli's hands," Cruz said, referring to Gilbride, "so any time we get that pass call on third-and-short, we understand what we have to do — get open so we can get the ball."

In a fitting postscript, just as his running backs rediscovered their legs late in the game, Manning switched from driving the offense to getting behind the car and pushing. As Jacobs headed toward the right sideline on what would turn out to be a 14-yard TD run, Manning threw a block to buy his runner a few yards of space.

"It might not have been the best technique, but it got the job done. I'm sure I'll get some heat from the guys when we watch it on film tomorrow. Doesn't matter," he said. "I'm still saying I'm proud of my block."

Maybe so. But before Manning gets carried away, he should remember that the fat paycheck the Giants send him every week is for being an elite quarterback, not a pylon.

___(equals)

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org. Follow him at http:Twitter.com/Jim Litke.

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Falcons name Nolan defensive coordinator

Published January 17, 2012

| Sports Network

Flowery Branch, GA –  The Atlanta Falcons named Mike Nolan as their new defensive coordinator on Tuesday.

Nolan spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Dolphins and has previously worked as a defensive coordinator with the Broncos, Ravens, Jets, Redskins and Giants.

The 52-year-old Nolan had a four-year tenure as the head coach of the 49ers from 2005-2008.

Nolan takes over for Brian VanGorder, who left to become the defensive coordinator at Auburn.

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Cyberwar between Israel, Iran underway?

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The coolest cars at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show

Published January 15, 2012

| FoxNews.com

Dozens of new vehicles were introduced at the 2012 North American Auto Show in Detroit this week, and there wasn’t a dud in the bunch.

From the small and stylish Buick Encore crossover to the 53 mpg Toyota Prius C hybrid and Bentley Continental V8, pretty much every car and concept unveiled had at least had a modicum of merit to it. But that doesn’t mean a few didn’t rise above the rest.

Here are our picks for coolest cars at the show. (Click the names for a full story of each one.)

Acura NSX Concept

Sure, it looks like a lot of supercar concepts before it, but the new NSX is headed for production…in America. It uses an all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain that promises performance and fuel efficiency, very 21st century. And if that’s not good enough for you, Tony Stark will be driving it in the upcoming “Avengers” movie. Even if it’s a product placement by Acura, that’s still pretty cool.

2013 Ford Fusion Energi

The 2013 Ford Fusion gets an all-new look that some people have called Aston Martin-esque, and it should help maintain the midsizer’s position high on the sales charts when it hits the road next year. But what makes it cool is the availability of a plug-in hybrid version that Ford says will get the equivalent of 100 mpg while operating in all-electric mode.

Chevrolet Code 130R and Tru 140S Concepts

One is a mini muscle car with rear-wheel drive and a hybrid powertrain, while the other is a front-drive “affordable exotic” featuring Italian-inspired design. Chevy is working the social media scene to connect with potential customers and find out exactly which one they like best. If it builds it, Chevy says it’ll be priced under $20,000.

Volkswagen E-Bugster

If you can’t go far, you might as well look good in the neighborhood. VW’s E-Bugster is a chop top two-seater with electric drive and a range of 100 miles. Did we mention it’s called the E-Bugster?

Craftsman CTX Lawn Tractor

OK, it’s only got 30 hp and a top speed of 8 mph, but you’re forgetting: it’s a lawn tractor! The Craftsman CTX also has electronic fuel injection, power steering, traction control, cruise control and a cupholder. Only in America, and thank goodness for that.

Watch: Fox Car Report 2012 Detroit Auto Show Special

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Police say woman offered sexual favors for chicken McNuggets

Published January 16, 2012

| FoxNews.com

Burbank, Calif. –  A Los Angeles woman was arrested last week for offering sexual favors in exchange for chicken McNuggets, according to Burbank police.

Khadijah Baseer of Los Angeles allegedly opened customers’ car doors while they were in the drive-thru of a Burbank McDonald's. 

A witness reported Baseer's activity to police and she was arrested on suspicion of prostitution. 

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Texas abortion law goes into effect

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Kenny Chesney wants to be more mainstream, looking to drop record label, report says

Published January 16, 2012

| NewsCore

Kenny Chesney wants out of his deal with Sony-based BNA Records and is shopping a $30 million, five-record deal to EMI, Universal and Warner.

"He's very displeased with how Sony has handled him," a source said. "He wants to be more mainstream."

Executives were said to be "in shock" over the price. "Welcome to the world of Kenny Chesney," a source cracked.

His manager said, "This is very inaccurate. We have no plans to be anything but a country-music artist ... Also, we have enjoyed a long-term, successful relationship with Sony ... The numbers you speak about and Warner Bros., etc., are purely rumors that are far from the truth."

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Egypt's transition to democracy grows messier

CAIRO –  Reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei's surprise pullout from the presidential race has laid bare the messiness of Egypt's transition to democracy with less than six months left for the ruling generals to hand over power.

In less than two weeks on Jan. 25, Egyptians will mark a year since the start of the popular uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak out of office. But there is no longer much talk about the revolution's lofty goals of bringing democracy, freedom and social justice.

Instead, the buzz now is about new alliances that could allow the ruling military to maintain its long-standing domination over government and Islamists to flex their muscles after their big victory in parliamentary elections.

ElBaradei's announcement Saturday that he would not run for president dealt another severe blow to the liberal and leftist groups behind the fall of Mubarak after their defeat at the ballots and the military's escalating crackdown on the movement. ElBaradei said a fair election will be impossible under the military's tight grip.

"We feel that elections now are not the best framework toward democratic rule," prominent activist Shady el-Ghazaly Harb said about the presidential vote that the ruling military has promised will take place by the end of June.

The young revolutionaries who engineered Mubarak's ouster on February 11 have since been divided and embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with the ruling generals over their handling of the transition, the killing of scores of protesters by troops, human rights violations and the trial of thousands of civilians before military tribunals.

However, Harb, an icon of last year's uprising, sees some hope in ElBaradei's pullout.

"He is not withdrawing and leaving a void in his trail," said Harb. "He will be back doing grass roots work and that may help unite the youth to effect change."

The military's timeline for the transition speaks to the messiness of its management of the country.

Egyptians went to the polls in staggered parliamentary elections that began Nov. 28 and ended last week. Between now and the end of June, when the generals have promised to transfer power, there are elections for parliament's upper house, or Shura Council, the drafting of a new constitution, a nationwide referendum on the document and then a presidential election.

Late Sunday, the military announced that nominations for president would open in mid-April, and the election would take place in mid-June.

Pro-democracy activists charge that the packed timetable is creating a climate that allows the better organized and more well-known Islamists led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood to dominate at the expense of the liberal and leftist groups. Many of those groups were born out of the uprising and did not have much time or experience to organize themselves for the competition with Islamists. The Brotherhood, for example, was established more than 80 years ago and was already a well-known political force before the uprising.

But ElBaradei's decision to drop out may have been a calculated move.

Realizing that it would be impossible to win the election without the support of the Islamists who have kept him at arm's length, he opted to pull out and publicly discredit the entire political process as messy and disorderly.

"He may never be president, but now he stands a chance of being our Gandhi," said Negad Borai, a rights lawyer and an activist.

ElBaradei did not mention by name the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF -- the official body of the ruling military -- but the Saturday announcement of his withdrawal contained some of the harshest criticism the Nobel Peace laureate has leveled against the generals.

He compared the military to a ship captain struggling to steer his vessel in the middle of a storm.

"Under his leadership, the ship is being rocked by waves. ... We offer him all kinds of help, but he declines, insisting on taking the old route as if no revolution had taken place and no regime had fallen," he wrote in his withdrawal statement.

"My decision does not mean I am leaving the arena, but continuing to serve this nation more effectively from outside authority and free of all shackles," he wrote in the statement.

A Brotherhood-led alliance has won close to 50 percent of parliament's 498 seats in the recent elections, which were deemed the freest and fairest in Egypt's modern history. Another Islamist group, the ultraconservative Salafis, won about 20 percent, while the remainder was shared by leftist and liberal parties. The Brotherhood has yet to say who it would support for president, but it is likely to be someone who meets the approval of the generals.

A candidate who enjoys the support of both the brotherhood and the military would most likely be beholden to the military, according to another prominent activist, Hossam el-Hamalawy of the Revolutionary Socialists group.

"I am not a fan of ElBaradei's, but his decision to quit puts the other candidates in a very awkward position. He understands that, at the end of the day, the next president is going to be a stooge of the military."

Of all political forces in Egypt, the Brotherhood has worked the most closely with the military. Empowered by Mubarak's ouster after nearly 60 years as an outlawed organization, the Brotherhood has been mostly driven by a desire for power that prompted rivals to accuse it of political opportunism.

Its supporters stayed away from the uprising, only joining when it became clear that the protest movement gained irreversible momentum. More recently, it stayed away from anti-military protests, contending that it was time for elections not street demonstrations.

Its willingness to accommodate the military comes in large part from its realization that the generals wield massive powers and could derail the process that benefited the Islamist group the most. Its election victory made it possible for the Brotherhood to promise the military something in return.

The generals may want to secure the Brotherhood's support for them to win immunity from prosecution for their role in the death of at least 100 protesters since they assumed power.

The new parliament is supposed to play a key role in the drafting of a new constitution. And the military wants language in the next constitution that would spare the army any civilian oversight over its budget, its arms deals, its vast business interests and the pay scale for its top brass.

The generals insist they will not field a presidential candidate from within their ranks, but many believe they will give their nod to a candidate who is either military-friendly or a civilian who hails from military background.

"We are trying to see the best among those (presidential hopefuls) out there. So far, all the candidates don't cut it for us, but if the time comes and no one new appears, we will have to make a decision to support one of them," said Sobhi Saleh, a leader of the Freedom and Justice party, the Brotherhood's political arm.

Asked if the presidential candidate supported by the Brotherhood must also win the military's backing, he said:

"We were the first people to talk about conciliatory figures. This is our choice. We hope to find a president who wins the consensus of everyone to steer the ship in this critical period."

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Sen. Jim DeMint with SC primary forecast

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Gloves come off at South Carolina showdown

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Jury in Arizona bomb case hears audio using slurs

PHOENIX –  Jurors in the trial of two white supremacist brothers accused of bombing a black city official in Scottsdale on Tuesday heard audio tapes of the men using racial slurs and pointing out the bombing site to a government informant.

Identical twin brothers Dennis and Daniel Mahon have pleaded not guilty in the 2004 bombing, which injured Don Logan, Scottsdale's diversity director at the time, and hurt a secretary.

Investigators used an attractive female government informant — identified as civilian Rebecca "Becca" Williams in court records — to get close to the Mahons over a five-year period in hopes that they would admit to the bombing.

Under a ruse of having to pay a traffic ticket in Scottsdale, the informant drove with the brothers to the city court, which is near the city's diversity office and the site of the bombing.

One of the brothers points out the diversity office to Williams and says, "That's where he was," according to a video and audio tape played in court.

Both brothers then use an offensive racial epithet in what prosecutors say was a reference to Logan, who is black.

Jurors heard Dennis Mahon say in the recording that "I helped make it (the bomb)" and that "I'm sure he knows it's going to happen again."

Jurors also heard how at ease the Mahons were with Williams, whose conduct was "outrageous," according to defense attorneys who say that Williams' behavior with the Mahons amounted to coercion and entrapment. Prosecutors say that Williams flirted with the Mahons but never had sex with either of them.

In the recording, Dennis Mahon tells Williams that they would make a good comedy duo, that they should make a video that starts out as a comedy and turns into a porno, and that Williams could go by the name "Becca the buxom."

Defense attorneys have called Williams a "trailer park Mata Hari," a reference to the Dutch exotic dancer convicted of working as a spy for Germany during World War I.

"It was all about sex," Deborah Williams told jurors in opening statements on Thursday. "Dennis fell hard for her ... Rebecca Williams was the trailer-park Mata Hari, and she gave an award-winning performance."

Court records show that the same day they went to Scottsdale, Dennis Mahon stayed in a hotel room with Williams, and that she gave him a massage while he wore nothing but a towel at one point. At another point, Mahon takes off his towel and jokes with Williams about the size of his anatomy.

Williams testified at a 2010 court hearing before the trial that while she was in bed with Dennis Mahon that night, she wore pajamas, that she repeatedly declined his advances and that she got no sleep because he made her nervous. She said they never had sex.

The Mahons, both 61, met Williams after investigators set her up in a trailer at a campground in Catoosa, Okla., where the brothers were staying after the bombing.

Williams dressed in shorts and tank tops, displayed a Confederate flag and later sent the men at least two racy photos of herself, taken by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unbeknownst to the brothers.

One photo showed her in a leather jacket, fishnet stockings and a thong that completely exposed her buttocks, along with a note that said, "Thought you'd love the butt shot," court records said. The other showed her in a revealing white bikini top with a grenade hanging between her breasts as she posed in front of a pickup truck and a swastika.

Mahon opened up to Williams as the government recorded their conversations. Mahon showed her how to make bombs and bragged about bombing a Jewish community center, an Internal Revenue Service building, an immigration facility, and an abortion clinic, according to court records. Those claims haven't been corroborated.

Prosecutor John Boyle told jurors that the brothers belonged to a group called the White Aryan Resistance, a group that encourages members to act as "lone wolves" and commit violence against non-whites and the government to get their message across.

Last week jurors also heard a message that Dennis Mahon left at the diversity office five months before the attack.

In it, Mahon criticizes Scottsdale for holding a Hispanic heritage event and uses a racial epithet for Hispanics.

"The white Aryan resistance is growing in Scottsdale," Dennis Mahon said angrily. "There's a few white people who are standing up."

___

Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AmandaLeeAP

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Boy, 10, suspected of fatally stabbing friend, 12

Published January 17, 2012

| Associated Press

EL CAJON, Calif. –  A 10-year-old boy is suspected of fatally stabbing a 12-year-old friend in the chest with a kitchen knife, authorities say.

The older boy died Monday afternoon at a hospital after he was taken from his friend's home in El Cajon, about 15 miles east of San Diego, said the San Diego County sheriff's department. The mother of the 10-year-old was at home at the time of the stabbing, according to the U-T San Diego.

Sheriff's officials have taken the 10-year-old into custody. Sheriff's homicide Lt. Larry Nesbit says "the case will be up to the juvenile justice system."

It remained unclear whether the boy had been booked into the juvenile detention system. The sheriff's office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press, but said in a statement early Tuesday that the boys' identities would not be released because of their ages.

Neighbors say the 12-year-old boy lived in a nearby mobile home park but the two friends attended different schools.

A neighbor of the younger boy, 18-year-old Derek Gorton, told the newspaper he had emotional issues, and that something as small as tapping him on the shoulder the wrong way or losing at a video game could spark outrage.

"Even though he threw temper tantrums, we never thought he'd do anything like this," said Gorton.

Gorton's father, Brian Richeson, said the boy usually had verbal outbursts, but he hadn't seen him throwing things or hitting others. He praised the boy's mother, saying she had dealt with her son's problems head-on.

"She was the best mom I've ever met," Richeson told the U-T. "She knew how to take care of him if he was yelling and screaming."

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FOX411 Playlist: Adele poised for record chart record; Van Halen welcomes back David Lee Roth

By Avi Ramsadeen

Published January 13, 2012

| FoxNews.com

2011 was the Year of Adele with her record-breaking chart performance. The singer was the first woman to top three of Billboard's year-end charts: Top Artists, Billboard 200 Album and the Hot 100 song. Now, by the looks of it, 2012 just might be another successful year for the "Rolling in the Deep" singer as she tops the Billboard 200 for a 15th week. 

According to Billboard.com, she is poised to break the record held by the 1998 "Titanic" soundtrack which had 16 weeks at the number one spot.

Van Halen is also looking to break big in 2012 with an old friend out front.

The legendary California metal band released their first single in 16 years with original lead singer David Lee Roth, "Tattoo," from their reunion album "A Different Kind of Truth" due out February 7th. And it ain't too shabby!

Not only is co-founder Eddie Van Halen preparing to take the album on the road with his band for a North American tour, he's also donating 75 electric guitars from his personal collection to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation to support music education in LA's public school districts.

Awww... an axemeister with a heart!

Meanwhile "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson is out promoting her new book "I Got This: How I Change My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down." The singer tells Fox, "I wanted to share my journey, my weight-loss journey and if it can inspire someone else on their weigh-loss journey, on their path, why not?"

Another former "Idol" finalist making news is Siobhan Magnus, who announced the January 15th release date for her debut album "Moonbaby Listen In." Siobhan is setting herself apart from fellow contestants by being the only one to independently write, record and release an album of original songs.

For more music news, including a sit-down with former Backstreet Boy Howie D and news on Safetysuit's second studio album "These Times," click play on this week's Playlist.

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Love, Ridnour lead Timberwolves over Kings 99-86

Published January 16, 2012

| Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS –  Kevin Love had 33 points and 11 rebounds and Luke Ridnour added 25 points and nine assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 99-86 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Wayne Ellington scored 15 points off the bench for Minnesota, a significant contribution for a backcourt that was missing J.J. Barea for the third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

Tyreke Evans had nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds but shot just 3 of 11 from the field as the Kings lost for the fifth time in six games.

Jason Thompson and Marcus Thornton led the Kings with 12 points each. DeMarcus Cousins was hampered by foul trouble yet again, limited to 10 points in 25 minutes.

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Royals sign Pena, Getz to 1-year deals

Published January 17, 2012

| Sports Network

Kansas City, MO –  The Kansas City Royals avoided arbitration year contract Monday.

The 30-year-old Pena batted .248 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI in 72 games for the Royals last season.

Over 267 career games with the Braves and Royals, Pena has hit .251 with 12 homers and 73 RBI.

Also Monday, the Royals signed Chris Getz to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration with the infielder.

Getz, 28, batted .255 with 26 RBI and 21 stolen bases over 118 games with the Royals last season.

Acquired from the White Sox after the 2009 season, he is a .254 hitter with 76 RBI, 62 stolen bases and 124 runs scored in 307 games.

The Royals now have five remaining arbitration-eligible players: pitchers Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino and Jonathan Sanchez; and outfielders Alex Gordon and Mitch Maier.

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Joint Chiefs chairman to visit Israel amid Iran threat- U.S. Navy teams with dolphins in showdown with Iran

Israel's military confirmed Sunday that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey will travel to the Mideast nation this week for talks, as Israel's No. 2 public official suggested that President Obama is being meek about Iran ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

The content of the coming discussion between the U.S. general and Israel's top military commander was not stated, but Iran is first and foremost in Israel's mind as the Islamic Republic takes a step closer to going nuclear. 

"There is very close cooperation between Israel, the Israeli military and the U.S. military, and General Dempsey is a close friend, and I'm sure that he and our chief of staff will have very serious discussions about all the options," said former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Dan Gillerman. 

With Dempsey scheduled to visit Israel this week -- his first official trip to the country since he assumed command of the joint chiefs on Sept. 30 -- the occasion may be used to urge Israel to stay calm and let sanctions work. 

Israel has grown antsy about Iran's nuclear program and has repeatedly hinted it might take military action if international sanctions fail to stop Iran's nuclear development, which is moving at a fast clip. Reports are that Iran will have 20 percent concentration of enriched uranium by next month. That level of enrichment is not used for energy production but toward weapons development. 

The U.S. has imposed a series of economic sanctions against the regime, and U.S. officials -- as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- have suggested that the tough sanctions are starting to break down support for the regime.

But Israeli Cabinet Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Sunday he was disappointed that the U.S. has not expanded sanctions to further damage Iran's central bank and its energy industry. He also suggested that the Obama administration hasn't been as forceful as Britain and France in imposing sanctions.

"In the United States, the Senate passed a resolution, by a majority of 100-to-1, to impose these sanctions, and in the U.S. administration there is hesitation for fear of oil prices rising this year, out of election-year considerations," Ya'alon told Israel Radio, according to Haaretz newspaper. "In that regard, this is certainly a disappointment, for now."

The Obama administration is concerned that Iran's verbosity about its expanding nuclear operation will drive Israel to strike. President Obama spoke Thursday with Netanyahu, and Iran was part of the conversation, said White House spokesman Jay Carney, without detailing the content of the call.

Dempsey spokesman Col. Dave Lapan told Fox News that the trip was not orchestrated in light of recent events. He said Dempsey's office has been planning a series of talks with his counterparts, and the trip includes a stop in Paris and Brussels as well as Tel Aviv.

"This whole trip has been in the works for months," Lapan said. "Much as some want to read the Israel stop as connected to Iran, that's not the case."

At the same time, Israeli media reported that war games exercises between the two nations were delayed -- according to one unnamed Israeli defense official, because Washington wanted to avoid causing further tension in the region. However, Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby, who confirmed the delay to Fox News, said he would "not characterize the reason as fears over Iran. That's not accurate."

Kirby did not provide a reason for the delay.

With Dempsey headed to meet Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Gantz is also headed abroad this week -- to Brussels for talks with NATO officials that are expected to focus on Iran. Gantz was quoted last week telling a parliamentary panel that 2012 would be a "critical year" for Iran -- in part because of "things that happen to it unnaturally." 

Gantz's comment came one day after the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, an occasion that Iran's leaders have used to stir up anti-Israel and anti-American sentiment. The U.S. has denied any role in the assassination, though leaders have left the impression they know how it happened. Israel has not commented on the killing.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit, though several observers say it is likely merely a delay tactic.

Gillerman said Dempsey's visit may allow the Israeli military to impress upon Dempsey the need for some distinct solution to Iran. 

"What we hope very much is the U.S. will realize that time is running out, the clock is ticking and action must be taken," Gillerman told Fox News. "And if military action is necessary, we hope very much the U.S. and the rest of the world will take it because, as I said, it's a threat to civilization as we know it, not just to Israel." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ex-Bama star, NFL hopeful Kirkpatrick arrested on drug charges

Published January 17, 2012

| Associated Press

BRADENTON, Fla. –  Former Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick has been arrested on a marijuana possession charge.

An arrest report on the Manatee County Sheriff's Office web site says Kirkpatrick was arrested at 12:48 a.m. Tuesday and charged with possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana. He was released on $120 bond.

NFL draft pick. The second-team All-American announced last week he was skipping his senior season with the national champions to enter the draft.

No further information was immediately available on his arrest. Messages left with the department weren't immediately returned.

It isn't clear what Kirkpatrick was doing in Bradenton, but the town is home to IMG Performance Institute, which helps athletes train for the NFL combine.

A message left with IMG wasn't immediately returned.

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Ear it Is: Sully's Headset

Published January 17, 2012

| FoxNews.com

The captain’s headset from “the Miracle on the Hudson” is going on display in a North Carolina  museum. 

It was found in Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s cockpit when the US Airways jet was sent last summer to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte. 

A second headset, formerly belonging to Patrick Harten, the cool-headed air traffic controller who tried to talk the crippled plane back to the ground, will also be part of the exhibit. 

Fifty-two of Flight 1549’s 155 passengers on the Jan. 15, 2009, trip from La Guardia Airport to Charlotte reunited Sunday at the museum on the rescue’s third anniversary. 

Birds had hit both engines, causing the jet to lose power and prompting Sullenberger to land on the icy river. 

Over the weekend passengers of Flight 1549 got to thsee e headset and other items recovered from the cabin, as they gathered to mark three years since the incident.

The museum's president Shawn Dorsch said there's still more to come.  They museum said the wings are going to be attached to the plane. The left wing is now positioned next to the fuselage in preparation for reattachment and the right wing will be positioned shortly.

The Associate Press contributed to this report.

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Chesney Miffed at Record Label

Published January 16, 2012

| NewsCore

Kenny Chesney wants out of his deal with Sony-based BNA Records and is shopping a $30 million, five-record deal to EMI, Universal and Warner.

"He's very displeased with how Sony has handled him," a source said. "He wants to be more mainstream."

Executives were said to be "in shock" over the price. "Welcome to the world of Kenny Chesney," a source cracked.

His manager said, "This is very inaccurate. We have no plans to be anything but a country-music artist ... Also, we have enjoyed a long-term, successful relationship with Sony ... The numbers you speak about and Warner Bros., etc., are purely rumors that are far from the truth."

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Tanker prepares for tricky fuel transfer in Alaska

NOME, Alaska –  Crews worked to build a path Sunday over a half-mile of Bering Sea ice for the final leg of a Russian tanker's mission to deliver fuel to a town isolated amid one of the most severe Alaska winters in decades.

The tanker was moored roughly a half-mile from Nome's harbor after a Coast Guard cutter cleared a path for it through hundreds of miles of a slow journey stalled by thick ice and strong ocean currents.

The tanker got into position Saturday night, and ice disturbed by its journey had to freeze again so workers could create some sort of roadway to lay a hose that will transfer 1.3 million gallons of fuel from the tanker to the harbor in Nome.

On Sunday, workers spent the morning walking around the vessel and checking the ice to make sure it was safe to lay the hose, which will take about four hours, said Jason Evans, board chairman of the Sitnasuak Native Corp.

With the tanker and the Coast Guard ice breaker sitting just offshore and poised to deliver the fuel, Evans said the bulk of the mission's biggest challenges were now behind the crew.

Still, the final job of transferring fuel from the ship to the town comes with its own hurdles: In addition to waiting for the ice to freeze, crews must begin the transfer in daylight, a state mandate. And Nome has just five hours of daylight this time of year.

"In theory, it was possible and in reality, it now is done," Evans said of the journey.

A storm prevented Nome's 3,500 residents from getting a fuel delivery by barge in November. Without the tanker delivery, supplies of diesel fuel, gasoline and home heating fuel were expected to run out in March and April, well before a barge delivery again in late May or June.

The especially harsh winter has left snow piled up 10 feet or higher against the wood-sided buildings in Nome, a former gold rush town that is the final stop on the Iditarod dog sled race. On Sunday, everything was covered in a layer of wind-blown snow and vehicles looked frozen in place, as though they haven't been moved in weeks.

The tanker began its journey from Russia in mid-December, picking up diesel fuel in South Korea before heading to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where it took on unleaded gasoline. Late Thursday, the vessels stopped offshore and began planning the transfer to Nome, more than 500 miles from Anchorage on Alaska's west coast.

In total, the tanker traveled an estimated 5,000 miles going from Russia to South Korea, then toward Japan and to Dutch Harbor and Nome, said Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander of District Seventeen with the Coast Guard.

Despite the complicated logistics of delivering fuel by sea in winter, Sitnasuak opted for the extra delivery after determining that it would be much less costly and more practical than flying fuel to Nome.

Mark Smith, CEO of Vitus Marine LLC, the fuel supplier that arranged to have the Russian tanker and its crew deliver the fuel, described the challenges as substantial, partly because winter has been especially harsh in the region this year. He said that moving the tanker even with the help of the cutter through more than 300 miles of pack-ice was "a very profound obstacle."

"It seems that every day brought a new crisis," he said. "Opinion appeared to be divided in Nome, where some welcomed the arrival of the tanker and others thought it was a manufactured and unnecessary crisis."

Cari Miller was among the residents unconvinced a real crisis was at hand. The 43-year-old mother, who has lived in Nome for eight years, said she believed that another fuel provider in town had plenty of fuel for the community.

"We do not have a fuel crisis," she said. "It wasn't necessary."

Kwan Yi, 40, a maintenance worker at the Polaris Bar in Nome, faulted Sitnasuak for not arranging for barge delivery earlier last fall, but said he believed the town was in need of fuel. He said he was pleased the fuel tanker had arrived after struggling with frozen pipes and gas leaks.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who flew to Nome on Sunday, said the town's ordeal had captured the world's attention as it displayed a reality of Alaska life.

"This is real. This is what we deal with," the senator said, while making an appeal for more resource to be placed in the Arctic.

The crew of the 370-foot tanker Renda was working to ensure safety in the transfer of the fuel through the segmented hose, Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow said in a telephone interview from Nome on Saturday night.

Once crews created a suitable path for the hose to rest on, its segments were to be bolted together and inspected before the fuel can begin to flow.

Though the transfer must start during daylight, it can continue in darkness, Betty Schorr of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has said. It could be finished within 36 hours if everything goes smoothly, but it could take as long as five days, she said.

Evans said once the hose is laid, personnel will walk its entire length every 30 minutes to check for leaks. Each segment of hose will have its own spill containment area, and extra absorbent boom will be on hand in case of a spill.

Evans, however, cautioned that delivering the fuel is only half the mission.

"The ships need to transition back through 300 miles of ice," he said. "I say we're not done until the ships are safely back at their home ports" in Seattle and Russia.

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Big, mean dinosaur had stubby arms and fat fingers

By Stephanie Pappas & LiveScience Senior Writer

Published January 13, 2012

| LiveScience

A fearsome carnivorous dinosaur known for eating its own kind probably wasn't holding onto its meal as it ate: Its arms were far too short and stubby, a new fossil find suggests.

Majungosaurus crenatissimus was a 21-foot-long (6.4 meters) predator that was "pretty much the top dog" in what is now Madagascar 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, said Stony Brook University graduate student Sarah Burch. Burch analyzed a recently discovered, nearly complete forelimb of this ancient animal, the first ever found preserved. In contrast to the dinosaur's bulky body, Burch found that its arms weren't even a foot (0.3 meters) long.

"When you get to the lower arm and the hand, it's really weird," Burch told LiveScience. "The lower arm is very short but thick, and the bones are pretty robust. So it's not necessarily a thin, wimpy arm, it's just very, very short."

The fingers of Majungosaurus were so stumpy, in fact, that the researchers aren't sure they were separated; the hands may have been more like paddles than like human hands. 

"Even if they were separate, they'd be very short," Burch said. "Imagine if your hand just had the first knuckles sticking out."

Though many Majungosaurus fossils have been found, the dinosaur's forelimb is rarely preserved in the fossil record. Burch was able to unravel the mysteries of this body part thanks to a nearly complete Majungosaurus skeleton unearthed in Madagascar in 2005. She also cataloged other partial Majungosaurus arm bones from Madagascar.

The researchers don't know what Majungosaurus used its stubby arms for, though the unusual shape suggests they did have a specific purpose, Burch said. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't for grasping prey, she said.

The forelimb find helps researchers understand the huge diversity of limbs of theropod dinosaurs like Majungosaurus, Burch said. Because the dinosaurs walked on their back two legs, their front limbs were free to evolve for a multitude of tasks. Last year, researchers even found a one-fingered dinosaur in Mongolia.

"Majungosaurus really typifies how bizarre, how crazy they can really go and still have a forelimb," Burch said.

  *   25 Amazing Ancient Beasts
  *   Image Gallery: Dinosaur Fossils
  *   Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly

Copyright 2011 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Will foreign policy be more important than the economy?

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Stay Safe After Zappos Hack

By John R. Quain

Published January 17, 2012

| FoxNews.com

Another week, another computer security breach. Hackers broke into a Zappos server in Kentucky Sunday night, giving them access to personal records of 24 million Zappos customers -- which means if you've ever used the site, you're probably a victim too.

Actually, if you've ever been online, the chances are pretty good that some malevolent person has captured personal information about you and tried to break into your personal computer or credit card account.

Although the criminals were after more than your shoe size, they apparently did not get full credit card numbers, but an investigation is underway. More disturbing, Zappos is owned by Amazon, which demonstrates that even the biggest online players are vulnerable to attack.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Here are some important reminders:

Use a Tough Password: Yes, we're always being reminded not to use the name of our pet snake or favorite fast food as a password, but who can remember 50 different passwords for all those Web sites that require registration? The best advice is to rotate through a series of passwords, changing them on a regular basis. But most important of all is to create one really difficult password and use it only for your e-mail account. 

The reason is that many sites check password changes or send account access confirmations to e-mail accounts. If a hacker has access to your e-mail, he'll basically have access to everything from your bank account to your Amazon shopping cart. To make your e-mail password tough to crack use a mix of letters and numbers that's at least 8 characters long. And, no, combining Fluffy's name with your birthday does not count.

Get a Credit Report: You're entitled to get at least one free credit report a year, which will tell you if someone has opened a spurious credit card or loan in your name. You can also get a free report in many states if you've recently been turned down for a job (and who hasn't been rejected in this economy?). These reports are absolutely free, so don't fall for that ad campaign that offers "free" reports but actually makes you pay. Just contact one of the three reporting companies--Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion -- yourself and get a truly free report. Better yet, put an annual reminder in your calendar so you don't forget next year.

Update Your Software: Several recent online security studies report that over 90 percent of successful malware and hacking attacks are the result of consumers using old software. You don't have to buy new software to stem the threat. All you have to do is install the free updates. The reason is that most of these updates include security patches for known holes that hackers use to access systems. Patching all your programs can be about as much fun as white-knuckling it through a snow storm. Fortunately, hackers mainly target four popular programs, which you should update regularly: Java, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Get An Anti-virus Shot: It's true that if you're really careful, never use a social networking site, and never open a video or e-mail online, you can avoid viruses. The rest of us should use some sort of anti-virus software. There are free programs from reputable firms such as Avast and Bitdefender. Use one of their offerings.

Don't Click That E-mail: Zappos is sending every one of its affected customers a warning e-mail. However, more often than not such "official" e-mails are from hackers (for example, "We've had a security problem. Please change your password."). These fraudulent e-mails can be virtually indistinguishable from legitimate missives, including identical graphics, logos, and authentic looking return e-mail addresses. I recommend never clicking on links in such e-mails. Instead, open a separate browser window and go directly to, say, your bank's official site. If there's a important notice, you'll find it there.

Follow John R. Quain on Twitter @jqontech or find more tech coverage at J-Q.com.

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Romney claims effective personal tax rate of 15 percent

FLORENCE, S.C. –  After weeks of stalling, Mitt Romney did an about-face on Tuesday and said he will release his tax returns in April and that they will show he pays close to 15 percent of his income in taxes.

Romney, a multimillionaire, has been under pressure from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination and others to release the information. He'd previously said he wouldn't release it. He suggested Tuesday that he would make public only one year's worth of information, for 2011.

Speaking to reporters after a campaign stop in South Carolina, Romney said most of his income comes from investments, not regular wages and salary. The tax rate on investment income is 15 percent, much lower than the 35 percent rate applied to wages for those in the highest tax bracket.

"What's the effective rate I've been paying? It's probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything," Romney said. "Because my last 10 years, I've ... my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income or rather than earned annual. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. And then I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much."

Romney has resisted calls to release his tax returns, insisting that he and his wife, Ann, have complied with federal law that requires them to disclose information about their financial holdings.

But in a debate Monday night, Texas Gov. Rick Perry insisted that Romney release his returns, saying that the party needs to fully scrutinize its nominee now instead of later. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he will release his tax information this week.

"I know that if I'm the nominee, people will want to see the most recent year, and see what happened in the most recent year," Romney said, suggesting he'd release the couple's 2011 tax information. "We'll wait until the tax returns for the most recent year are completed, then release them."

Romney's wealth -- he is worth between $190 and $250 million -- puts him among the wealthiest Americans. But if most of his income is from investments, it could help him to significantly lower his federal tax bill compared to people who make money in other ways.

The top federal tax rate for investment income -- qualified dividends and long-term capital gains -- is 15 percent. By comparison, the top tax rate for wages is 35 percent, on taxable income above $388,350. Wages are also subject to Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.

At 15 percent, Romney's federal income tax rate would still be higher than the tax rate paid by most Americans.

On average, households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay a federal income tax rate of 5.7 percent this year, according to projections by the Tax Policy Center a Washington think tank.

However, when payroll and other taxes are included, that same household would pay an average federal tax rate of 16.6 percent.

Overall, the average American household will pay 9.3 percent in federal income taxes -- and 19.7 percent in all federal taxes.

In the 2008 presidential race, Republican John McCain released two years of his tax returns and then-Sen. Barack Obama released six years of tax information.

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NY hospital mistakenly bills patients for millions

Published January 16, 2012

Associated Press

NEW YORK –  Patients at a New York City hospital are getting billed for tens of millions of dollars because of a computer error.

Unemployed doorman Alexis Rodriguez says he almost became ill when he received a $44.8 million bill from the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center.

Rodriguez tells the New York Daily News (http://nydn.us/AjolYU ) that he was hospitalized last spring with pneumonia and was afraid the bill was legit.

Turns out the company that prepares the bills had mistakenly put the invoice number in the space where the invoice amount should go.  

The billing company is telling patients to ignore the multimillion-dollar bills. It says it will send out corrected ones.

The hospital didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday, which is a holiday.

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Will big win for environmentalists wallop economy?

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Apple Suspends iPhone Sales in China After Crowd Turns Violent

BEIJING –  Apple on Friday suspended the sale of its new iPhone 4S at some stores in mainland China after a rowdy egg-throwing crowd disrupted the device's debut at one of its two official stores in Beijing.

Would-be customers, many of whom had waited overnight in the freezing cold to be among the first to purchase the latest iPhone, became so unruly when the store at the swank Sanlitun shopping district failed to open its doors that Apple was forced to cancel first-day sales there, All Things Digital reported.

Rather than risk a repeat of the incident, the company has decided not to sell the 4S at any of its retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai. Instead, it will sell the device through its website and carrier partners.

"The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out," Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said.

"Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers."

About 1,000 people had queued for hours, waiting for the store's Friday opening which failed to materialize, sparking violent scenes, AFP reported.

Police detained at least two people after customers scuffled, threw eggs at the glass front of the store and shouted at staff to open the doors.

Frustrated shoppers attacked a security guard outside the shop after police with megaphones shouted at the crowd to go home and said the new iPhone would not go on sale.

"We waited here all night. It's not fair," said 18-year-old Tom Sun. "We're angry because this American company told us it would open its doors at 7:00am."

Another would-be customer, Li Tianye, had traveled for two days by bus from eastern China's Shandong province to get to Beijing for the launch.

"IPhone 4S is Steve Jobs' best, that's why I want one," said the 29-year-old.

Some of the people gathered said they had been paid 100 yuan (US$16) each by touts to stand in line and wait for the doors to open.

But not everyone was disappointed. Some Beijing shoppers said they had bought the phone from a nearby electronics retailer after being turned away from the official Apple store.

"There was a problem at the Apple store. Too many angry people," said one, a young Chinese man who gave only his surname, Du, adding that he had been waiting since Thursday evening to buy the phone.

Calmer scenes were witnessed in Shanghai, where Apple stores opened to large crowds and the phone was on sale.

Greater China -- which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan -- has become Apple's fastest growing region, with revenue second only to the U.S.

Die-hard fans in China, which has the world's largest online population with more than 500 million users, have been known to line up for days to get their hands on the latest Apple products.

The California-based company has recently expanded aggressively in China, opening its first store in Hong Kong and its third in Shanghai last September, which brings the total to six in Greater China.

But Apple's popularity has also brought problems, with widespread counterfeiting and illegal smuggling of its products.

In July, an American blogger uncovered fake Apple stores in the southwestern city of Kunming, where even staff working there did not appear to know they were fake.

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The 69th Annual Golden Globes: What you didn't see on TV

There are 17 cameras scattered throughout the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom, capturing the action inside the Golden Globes, but even they can't see everything. From the cocktail lounge to the outdoor smoking patio to the winner's walk through the kitchen, here's a running look at the starry happenings you didn't see on TV:

3 p.m. PST -- Maybe he was afraid they would lock the door on him. Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais, whose sharp-tongued wisecracks ruffled the feathers of some celebrity attendees at last year's show, was among the first to arrive for this year's Golden Globes. He got here two hours early, stopping outside long enough to say he won't mind being offensive again -- as long as he's funny.

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3:59 p.m. -- Burning a couple of their 15 minutes of fame: Two men holding Ernst & Young metal briefcases, presumably with the winners' envelopes inside, proudly pose for photos at the International Ballroom stage where the show will take place.

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4:03 p.m. -- Just about an hour to showtime and the early arrivals are doing a little star-gazing of their own. Big-screen TV monitors are showing all the action on the red carpet outside, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have just arrived.

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4:10 p.m. -- "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto needed some triage help in the ballroom's women's restroom, where makeup artists and hair stylists are on hand for quick fixes. Pinto's fashion emergency: threads from the red carpet were clinging to the hem of her sweeping teal blue dress. A quick swipe of a sticky tape roller had her back at the party.

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4:29 p.m. -- A fashion disaster is narrowly avoided as Michael Fassbender tells Tilda Swinton he almost stepped on her dress as they made their way down the red carpet. After playfully pretending to attack him, Swinton begins to walk away but stops abruptly when she really does feel a foot on her dress. Fassbender laughs and tells her that one was deliberate.

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4:39 p.m. -- Paul Giamatti walks briskly down the carpet, ignoring cameras and reporters, just before an announcement urging everyone to get inside prompts a stream of stars to head for the door.

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4:45 p.m.: Let the ridiculing of the rich and famous begin. "He's no doubt going to rip me apart," a smiling Gerard Butler says as he prepares for Ricky Gervais' opening routine.

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4:46 p.m. -- It's Angelina Jolie's world and we just live in it. While everyone else is rushing for the door, Jolie remains on the red carpet, continuing to grant interviews. Asked to name one thing she's most looking forward to this evening, she laughs and says, "Getting into bed with Brad."

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4:49 p.m. -- Now that voice of authority is inside the ballroom and it's saying: "Please take your seats. We're 10 minutes from showtime and we have to start on time."

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5:15 p.m. -- As Laura Dern accepts her Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical V series, sitting in the audience beaming with pride is another Golden Globe winner, her mom. Dern's mother, Diane Ladd, won her Golden Globe in 1981 for best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or movie made for TV.

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5:16 p.m. Fifteen minutes into the show, a late arriving Queen Latifah finally gets to take her seat in the ballroom. Latifah, who arrived three minutes into Gervais' opening monologue, had to stand in the back until she was shown to her seat next to Mary J. Blige.

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5:25 p.m. -- Who has time to sit down for dinner when there are awards to hand out? One of the night's first presenters, Mila Kunis, is seen downing finger sandwiches straight off the platter in a cocktail lounge adjacent to the ballroom.

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5:35 p.m. -- The champagne and wine are flowing freely at the backstage bar, but Jane Lynch of "Glee" is sticking to the alcohol-free beer. Before taking a sip she stopped to pose for pictures with a starstruck waiter.

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5:47 p.m. -- Let's not forget there was an important football game going on during much of the first hour of the Golden Globes. Awards presenter Ashton Kutcher didn't. Almost an hour into the show he took to Twitter to ask, "Who won the game?" For the record, it was the New York Giants coming out on top 37-20 over the Green Bay Packers.

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5:48 p.m.: Even stars have to wait in line for the ladies room at the Golden Globes, as Jessica Alba discovered. After letting out a quiet curse, the actress passed the time by chatting with security guards as she waited for the long line to go down.

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6 p.m. -- The bigger the name, the quieter the room. When stars like Michelle Williams or Madonna accept their awards the audience shuts up and listens to what they have to say. Not so for lesser-known winners. During their acceptance speeches the hubbub often gets so loud that the room fills with "shhhs."

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6:07 p.m. -- Talk about stage fright. "He'll think I'm weird," Emma Stone frets out loud as she and her "The Help" co-star Octavia Spencer approach Harrison Ford to ask if they can have a picture taken with him. Whatever he thought, Ford, who was seated with his wife, Calista Flockhart, smiled and graciously agreed to pose.

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6:19 p.m. -- What would the union say about this? During a commercial break, "Glee's" Mark Salling pretends to film the Golden Globes with one of the show's cameras while his co-star Chris Colfer records the moment for posterity on his iPhone. "OK, got it!" Colfer said after shooting a few frames.

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6:30 p.m. -- "Thirty seconds to air" was the announcement, and the challenge for George Clooney was to get back to his seat near the front of the packed ballroom before the show returned to TV. Turns out all he had to do was flash that charming Clooney smile and a path was cleared for him.

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7:04 p.m. -- Julianna Magulies skips the Cecil B. DeMille Award presentation to Morgan Freeman in favor of a martini in the cocktail lounge. While enjoying her drink she checks out a friend's iPhone photos.

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7:04 p.m. -- Those Christian Louboutin high heels may look cool on TV, but try walking a mile in them. "I'm sorry y'all, I love you but I have to kick these shoes off," Octavia Spencer announces to reporters backstage. She says she's switching to flip-flops for the rest of the night.

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7:18 p.m. -- Oops, almost forgot. Eric Stonestreet was bolting for the stage to join his fellow "Modern Family" cast members in accepting the award for best TV musical or comedy when he suddenly remembered something he had to do first. He stopped to kiss his wife.

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7:30 p.m. -- Did we say there's booze at this thing? "I thought you were supposed to be my bodyguard!" Madonna says to a friend after a drunken woman stops by her table to tell her what a big fan she is.

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Newbies, Vets Win at Globes

Hollywood veterans and newcomers alike took home the big awards at the 69th Annual Golden Globes, with Meryl Streep, George Clooney, "The Descendants" and "The Artist" winning top honors for awards season’s first major show.

Clooney's took home a best actor award for his role in "The Descendants," which also won the best drama honor. The critically-acclaimed film, which centers on a man dealing with keeping his family together when his wife falls into a coma, beat out fan favorites "The Help" and "Hugo."

Streep won as best actress in a drama Sunday, boosting her chances for the lead-actress prize at next month's Academy Awards, where she holds the record with 16 nominations but has not won in nearly 30 years, since 1982's "Sophie's Choice." It was Streep's eighth win at the Globes.

The top honor among musicals or comedies was the third prize of the night Sunday for "The Artist," a crowd-pleasing, black-and-white throwback to the silent era of the 1920s. The film had led the Globes with six nominations, and its wins also included actor in a musical or comedy for Jean Dujardin and musical score.

Other acting winners included Michelle Williams for "My Week with Marilyn," Jean Dujardin of "The Artist," Octavia Spencer for "The Help" and Christopher Plummer for "Beginners."

The supporting-acting Globes went to Plummer as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in the father-son drama "Beginners" and Spencer as a brassy housekeeper joining other black maids to share stories about life with their white employers in the 1960s Deep South tale "The Help."

"With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best: `All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.' And I thank you for recognizing that with our film," Spencer said.

Showtime’s new runaway hit “Homeland” won best television drama. Based on an Israeli drama and starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, it beat out “Game of Thrones,” “American Horror Story” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Accepting her award,Michelle Williams said she was a “mother first and an actress second” and thanked her young daughter.

The black-and-white silent film "The Artist," which led the Globes with six nominations, split its first two awards of the evening, winning the musical-score prize for composer Ludovic Bource but losing out on best screenplay for director-writer Michel Hazanavicius.

Woody Allen won the screenplay honor for his romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris," the filmmaker's biggest hit in decades. Never a fan of movie awards, Allen was a no-show at the Globes, where he previously won the screenplay honor for 1985's "The Purple Rose of Cairo.

FOX411: Click here for Gervais' Zingers and the Fashion Stinkers

The wins boost Williams and Plummer's prospects for slots at next month's Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 24.

The Oscars are an honor for which Monroe herself never was nominated, though she was a two-time nominee at the Globes and won for best actress in a musical or comedy for 1959's "Some Like It Hot."

In "My Week with Marilyn," Williams plays Monroe as an insecure performer struggling to establish herself as a genuine actress rather than a movie star sexpot just a couple of years before "Some Like It Hot." The film chronicles Monroe's contentious time shooting the 1957 romance "The Prince and the Showgirl" alongside exasperated director and co-star Laurence Olivier.

Like Monroe, Oscar consideration has been elusive for the 82-year-old Plummer, who has been nominated for Hollywood's top honor only once in his 60-year career -- two years ago, for the Leo Tolstoy drama "The Last Station."

"I must praise my distinguished competitors, who whom I have the greatest admiration and to whom I apologize most profusely," said Plummer, who added warm regards to "Beginners" star and Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. "I want to salute my partner, Ewan, that wily Scot, Ewan `My Heart's in the Highlands' McGregor, that scene-stealing swine from the outer Hebrides."

Plummer is regarded as one of the finest Shakespearean stage actors of the last half century. His film roles range from Austrian widower Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" and Tolstoy in "The Last Station" to newsman Mike Wallace in "The Insider" and a treacherous Klingon general in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country." He also co-starred in the current thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

The prize for best animated film went to Steven Spielberg's action tale "The Adventures of Tintin," a Paramount-Sony co-production that dealt the first Globes loss to Disney unit Pixar Animation. Pixar films such as "Ratatouille," "WALL-E" and "Toy Story 3" had won all five previous times since the Globes added the category.

Spielberg thanked his producing partner on the film, "The Lord of the Rings" creator Peter Jackson, along with both studios behind the film, based on what the director pointed out was a series of picture books by Belgian writer Herge that started 80 years ago.

"I would like to thank two studios that really proved the adage that Peter and I could make the telephone book if we wanted to," said Spielberg, whose World War I epic "War Horse" is nominated for best drama.

The Iranian drama "A Separation" was chosen as best foreign-language film. Writer-director Asghar Farhadi uses a divorcing couple's domestic troubles with a young child and an aging parent as the means to examine gender, religious and class distinctions in contemporary Iran.

Ricky Gervais, who has ruffled feathers at past shows with sharp wisecracks aimed at Hollywood's elite and the Globes show itself, returned as host for the third-straight year. He started with some slams at the Globes as Hollywood's second-biggest film ceremony, after the Oscars.

Gervais joked that the Globes "are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem. The Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. A bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought. Allegedly. Nothing's been proved."

He also needled early winners, saying the show was running long and stars needed to keep their speeches short.

"You don't need to thank everyone you've ever met or members of your family, who have done nothing," Gervais said. "Just the main two. Your agent and God."

After winning for musical score, "The Artist" composer Bource apologized for his halting English, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm French," adding that he's better with music than words.

"Right now, if I were to write a song, it would be a tap-dance number," Bource said. "The power of music is at least universal. The gift of the silent film is that it is so universal."

Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry won the Globe for best song for "Masterpiece" from the King Edward-Wallis Simpson drama "W.E.", which Madonna also directed.

Among television winners were Kate Winslet as best actress in a miniseries or movie in "Mildred Pierce,"Idris Elba as best actor in a miniseries or movie in "Luther," Laura Dern as comedy or musical actress in "Enlightened," Kelsey Grammer as dramatic actor in "Boss," "Homeland" for drama series and "Downton Abbey" for miniseries or movie.

A drama with comic touches, "Beginners" was a fitting recipient to start the Globe ceremony, which has a strong lineup of lighter fare to match the more sober-minded films that generally dominate Hollywood awards.

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 89 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets, the Globes used to have a strong record predicting the films that would go on to win best-picture at the Oscars. But lately, a best-picture win at the Globes has not translated into victory on Oscar night.

Over the last seven years, only one Globe best-picture winner -- 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire" -- has gone on to claim the top Oscar trophy. Before that stretch, the Globes had been on an eight-year streak in which one of its two best-picture recipients also won the main prize at the Academy Awards.

Last year, "The Social Network" won best-drama at the Globes and looked like the early Oscar favorite. But momentum later swung to eventual Oscar best-picture winner "The King's Speech." The year before, "Avatar" was named best drama at the Globes, while "The Hurt Locker" took best picture at the Oscars.

The Globes have a better track record predicting who will win Oscars for acting. A year ago, all four actors who won Oscars earned Globes first -- lead players Colin Firth for "The King's Speech" and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and "The Fighter" supporting stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Could Mitt Romney lose South Carolina?

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600 Nevada flood victims get share of settlement

Published January 15, 2012

| Associated Press

FERNLEY, Nev. –  About 600 victims of a flood caused by the failure of a century-old irrigation canal in Fernley in 2008 have received their share of a $10 million settlement.

The settlement funds distributed last month stemmed from class-action lawsuits against the city of Fernley, Lyon County and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District board.

Under the settlement, Fernley paid $5 million and Lyon County $1.3 million, while insurance companies paid $3.8 million on behalf of seven irrigation district board members, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported (http://on.rgj.com/xf3EOT).

The Jan. 5, 2008 breach of the earthen Truckee Canal sent a wall of water into Fernley, located about 30 miles east of Reno, and inundated homes. The plaintiffs allege the flood was caused by inadequate maintenance and operation of the canal.

Attorney Robert Maddox, who represents the plaintiffs, said $6 million was divided among flood victims, an estimated $3.3 million went to attorney's fees, and $700,000 covered expert witness fees and other costs.

He said he "felt like Santa Claus" because checks were given to the flood victims on Dec. 23.

"(They are) people who desperately needed the money," Maddox said. "They waited for four years. Their lives were torn apart, and it was nice to get them some of the money."

The settlement reached last year states that the city, the county and the insurance companies denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to the deal to avoid further litigation.

But Maddox said the plaintiffs also might receive settlement money from other pending lawsuits that chiefly blame the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation and the irrigation district for failing to properly maintain the canal.

The suits contend the local governments shared responsibility because they knew or should have known the canal was in disrepair based on previous studies and warnings from the bureau.

Justice Department lawyers have said they have no interest in negotiating a settlement because they believe whatever liability might exist is the responsibility of the irrigation district in its capacity as contractual operator of the irrigation system that brings water from the Truckee River to more than 2,500 ranchers and farmers in northern Nevada east of Reno.

At a hearing last July, U.S. Magistrate Robert McQuaid Jr. acknowledged the deal had settled only a portion of the case.

___

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

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Space station dodges space junk from satellite crash

By Clara Moskowitz

Published January 13, 2012

| Space.com

WASHINGTON –  The International Space Station dodged a piece of space junk Friday, Jan. 13, to avoid a potentially dangerous collision.

The orbiting laboratory, currently home to six astronauts from three countries, burned its thrusters at 11:10 a.m. EST, boosting its orbit slightly to take it out of range of a piece of broken satellite that was due to pass between 0.6 and 15 miles (1 and 24 km) of the station today.

"At this point indications are that the debris avoidance maneuver was carried out as planned and carried out successfully," NASA commentator Pat Ryan said on NASA TV. "The crewmembers continued their work onboard while the burn happened this morning."

The space junk was part of the Iridium 33 communications satellite, which collided with a defunct Russian Cosmos spacecraft in 2009, creating a cloud of thousands of bits of debris that now orbit Earth and sometimes pose a collision hazard to working spacecraft.

The particular bit of space junk the station dodged today was only about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter, but could have been catastrophic to the $100 billion outpost if the two had collided at their high orbital speeds.

Potential space debris conjunctions are not uncommon for the space station. In November 2011 NASA was considering sending the three station crewmembers at the time into their Russian Soyuz spacecraft lifeboats to wait out a close pass by a piece of orbital trash. However, a subsequent analysis showed that the debris would stay far enough away to render the precaution unnecessary.

NASA astronaut Dan Burbank is currently leading the space station's Expedition 30 mission, which includes flight engineers Don Pettit of NASA, Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and Oleg Kononenko.

The crewmembers spent today working on scientific research and routine maintenance on their football field-size home in orbit.

Today's maneuver comes coincidentally timed with two other space junk events: the release of Space Junk 3D, a new IMAX film chronicling the growing danger of space debris in orbit, and the looming crash of the failed Russian Mars probe Phobos Grunt, which is expected to fall back to Earth in the next few days.

  *   Gallery: 'Space Junk 3D' -- The Movie
  *   Worst Space Debris Events of All Time
  *    News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris 

Copyright © 2011 Space.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Four dead in apparent murder-suicide in Fresno

Published January 15, 2012

| Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. –  Fresno police say four people, including two children are dead, after an apparent murder-suicide early Sunday.

The Fresno Bee reports that when police were called to investigate a disturbance at an apartment around 6:44 a.m., they found a man outside the apartment suffering from a stab wound.

Capt. Dennis Bridges told the newspaper that officers then heard a single gunshot. When they went inside the apartment they found a woman believed to be in her 20s with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a man in his 20s or 30s dead of a gunshot wound.

Two children -- an 18-month-old and a 3-year-old -- also died from gunshot wounds.

The man suffering from the stab wound was taken to a local hospital, where he is reported to be in critical condition.

Police did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking additional information.

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Chirs Wallace Speaks With Santorum

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Embarrassing celebrity endorsements

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Ravens head to New England, Texans going home

BALTIMORE –  The Baltimore Ravens couldn't be beaten at home this season, an accomplishment that earned them a trip to a place that's has long been torturous for visiting teams.

Baltimore secured a berth in the AFC championship game by defeating the Houston Texans 20-13 on Sunday. The Ravens' first home playoff win since 2000 gave them a 9-0 record at M&T Bank Stadium this season.

Now they're heading to Foxborough, Mass., for a Sunday matchup with the top-seeded New England Patriots, who improved to 8-1 at home with a 45-10 rout of the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.

Baltimore is 1-6 all-time against New England, but that one win was a 33-14 rout in the 2009 playoffs.

"We've gone out there and played before," said Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw two touchdown passes against Houston. "We have won in New England. They are one of the teams, like us, that's tough to beat at home. We know how tough it is to go into a place like that, a place like here, and win a football game. So we're going to have to make sure we prepare well all week and bring our A-game up there."

The Ravens didn't have their A-game going against the Texans. They had almost as many punts (nine) as first downs (11), got only 80 yards from Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice (60 on the ground, 20 through the air) and scored three points over the final 46 minutes.

"I would anticipate, against the team we're about to play, you have to do a better job offensively in terms of stats and points," Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh said.

But Baltimore did not get called for a single penalty, didn't commit a turnover and registered four takeaways — including three interceptions of rookie quarterback T.J. Yates.

"I always say there is a right way to do things, there is a wrong way to do things and there is just the Ravens' way of doing things," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "It wasn't pretty but we're not really a pretty team. We got the W and now it's on to the AFC championship."

The Texans (11-7) are headed home, but with their heads high. Their first foray into the postseason began with a 31-10 rout of Cincinnati and ended with a valiant effort behind a determined rookie quarterback and a defense that lived up to its No. 2 regular-season ranking.

"Guys are disappointed, but at the same time, being this was our first time, it was a great learning experience for us," said wide receiver Andre Johnson, who had eight catches for 111 yards. "When we come back and get in this position again, we'll know how to deal with it."

Arian Foster ran for 132 yards, the first player to top 100 yards on the ground against the Ravens in the postseason. That gave him an NFL-record 285 yards rushing over his first two playoff games.

"We gave it our best shot, but the beautiful thing about his thing we have in Houston is that it can only go up from here," Foster said. "Houston should be excited about it. I'm excited about it, and this franchise is excited about it."

Baltimore led 17-3 after the first quarter, and interceptions by Lardarius Webb and Ed Reed in the final 7½ minutes helped the advantage stand up.

Reed has eight interceptions in 10 playoff games, few bigger than the last one.

"You can't say enough about him," Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "His big plays always seem to happen when you need one."

Yates' three interceptions matched the total he had in six regular season games.

"I can't have the turnovers," Yates said. "If we don't turn the ball over like that, we have a chance to win. And we still had a chance to win. If I'd done a better job of protecting the football, I really think we'd have come out with the win today. We did a good job of moving the ball and we had some big plays, but you can't have that many picks."

The rookie QB was forced into Houston's starting lineup because Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart got hurt, part of a string of injuries the Texans managed to overcome en route to the AFC South title. That Houston was in the second round of the playoffs at all was seen as a significant accomplishment, given they lost two quarterbacks to injuries, played nine games without Johnson and finished without sack specialist Mario Williams.

Afterward, owner Bob McNair pulled aside coach Gary Kubiak to offer some encouraging words.

"I told him how proud I was. ... To come out and play the way this team has played, I think it's just remarkable," McNair said. "Where would New England have been if (Tom) Brady wasn't playing, and if Wes Welker wasn't playing, and if their best defensive player wasn't playing? Go down the list of any of these teams and ask where they would be — and they wouldn't be in the playoffs. And this team was in the playoffs."

Down 17-13 at halftime, Houston twice held the Ravens without a first down in the third quarter before driving to the Baltimore 32. From there, Neil Rackers' 50-yard field goal try hit the crossbar and dropped into the end zone.

Baltimore then launched a drive in which seldom-used Lee Evans made a sensational one-handed catch for a 30-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Houston 39. On fourth-and-goal inside the 1, Rice was stuffed by linebacker Tim Dobbins for no gain.

"That's a huge play," Houston defensive end J.J. Watt said. "Those are the type of plays that win playoffs games. Obviously, we wish it had gone the other way, but those are the type of plays that you remember."

The Texans couldn't move the ball, and the Ravens took the ensuing punt at the Houston 49. But three plays netted only 4 yards, and Sam Koch punted for the seventh time.

Minutes later, the Ravens went three and out for the fourth time in five second-half possessions. Fortunately for Baltimore, the defense compensated for the team's inability to add to its early lead.

"You have to do whatever you have to do to win a football game," Harbaugh said.

NOTES: Baltimore improved to 6-0 against Houston, 2-0 this season. ... It was the Ravens' first home playoff win since 2000. ... With the Ravens' home win, it's the first time since the NFL went to current playoff format in 1990 that the first seven games have been won by the home team.

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Call him rocket man: 2,000 mph car in the works in California

The Concorde jet airliner had a top speed of 1,350 mph. It was decommissioned in 2003 after being deemed to dangerous and expensive to continue to operate. There are no plans to replace it.

So why not build a car that can go 2,000 mph, instead?

That’s what one California man is trying to do in a garage located on the edge of the Mojave desert. Think of it as the hottest hot rod in history.

Waldo Stakes has been chasing land speed records for three decades, and now he wants the big one: World’s Fastest Car.

A general contractor by trade, Stakes has spent his free time over the past couple of years working on a 50-foot long wheeled missile called the Sonic Wind LSRV (Land Speed Record Vehicle.) His efforts, to date, have been chronicled in a number of technical publications, including Aerospace Testing magazine and Popular Mechanics.

The vehicle uses parts taken from an $8 million rocket engine that once powered the famous X-15 to a top speed of 4,519 mph in 1967, still the fastest manned aircraft that doesn’t go into orbit, as far as the public knows. He says it was purchased as surplus for $1,500 in the mid-1980s.

Read: Craig Breedlove Going for 800 MPH Land Speed Record in 2013

Stakes has designed his engine to run on a mix of methanol and liquid oxygen stored in tanks scrounged from Redstone and Corporal nuclear missiles, and claims that it will produce 60,000 pounds of thrust. That’s several thousand more than the one in the X-15 did.

With it, Stakes estimates the Sonic Wind will be able to accelerate at a rate of more than 100 mph per second and easily break the current land speed record of 763 mph set by British fighter pilot Andy Green in 1997 at the controls of the jet-powered ThrustSSC. But he has his sights set higher than that. He says his car could theoretically hit Mach 3, more than 2,200 mph.

Crazy talk? Not according to Stakes. The key is harnessing the shockwave created when a vehicle is traveling at supersonic speeds to stabilize the car, and minimizing the gyroscopic forces produced by its wheels.

With the help of a friend’s computational fluid dynamics modeling program, Stakes has come up with a unique design that features seven small, lightweight titanium wheels at the front of the car and a pair of large fixed triangular hubs at the rear with thin rims that rotate around them. A moveable airfoil and an undercar tunnel creates low pressure area beneath the car, while its bodywork and canted wings force the atmospheric shockwave to radiate out, creating virtual pontoons that work like the ones on an outrigger canoe.

Stakes says the danger zone lies in the 560-760 mph range as you approach the sound barrier, but beyond that things smooth out, which should allow even a ground vehicle to achieve much higher speeds. He points to near Mach 9 rocket sled runs carried out by the government at the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico as proof.

A rendering of what the finished product will look like appears sleek and delicate compared to some other land speed efforts, like the multimillion-dollar British Bloodhound SSC team that is hoping to break the 1,000 mph barrier with Andy Green once again in the cockpit.

Read: Rocket Car on Track for 1,000 MPH Record Run

While Stakes plans to shake down the car himself, he hasn’t yet said who the driver for the record runs will be, but it definitely will not be Green. He tells FoxNews.com that he wants the Sonic Wind to set an all-American record and that there will be a woman on board when it does. He’s currently deciding which of two female F-18 pilots from the Navy has the right stuff for the job. If she or she is successful, it will mark the first time that the land speed record is held by a woman.

Stakes figures it’ll still be a couple of years before he’ll be ready to roll his underfunded project onto the Bonneville Salt Flats and light it up, but he’s confident that he will make it there. In fact, he expects to go even further than that.

While he says the 10 to 12 mile-long Bonneville Speedway is long enough to break the current record, he has his eyes on a stretch of salt on the other side of the mountains that border the track for a shot at 1,000 mph. After that, he wants to head south. Not of the border, but the equator.

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest salt flat in the world, and the only place on the planet Stakes thinks is big enough for a Mach 3 run. It’s never been used for a land speed record attempt before, but no one has ever tried to go that fast before.

Click here for more from FoxNews.com Autos

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Car bomb kills at least 8 in northern Iraq

Published January 16, 2012

| Associated Press

BAGHDAD –  Iraqi officials say a car bomb outside the northern city of Mosul has killed at least eight people.

A Mosul police official says the blast struck a Shiite district early Monday about 20 miles outside of the city, which is predominantly Sunni.

An official at Mosul's Al-Jomhouri hospital confirmed the death toll.

The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks that have killed more than 140 people since the U.S. withdrew its troops from the country last month.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

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Concerns about Romney's faith quieter but not gone

GREER, S.C. –  The second time around, the shock has worn off.

The prospect of a Mormon president appears to be less alien to South Carolina Republicans who are giving Mitt Romney a second look after his failed White House bid in 2008.

Still, worries about his faith persist in a state where one pastor jokes there are "more Baptists than people." Voters preparing for the Jan. 21 presidential primary are weighing whether Romney's religion should matter so much when they cannot pay their bills and a Democrat many distrust occupies the White House.

"Although Romney's faith is still a matter of some discussion, it is less of a political problem for him than it was in 2008," said Jim Guth, a political scientist at Furman University in Greenville, in South Carolina's conservative upstate. "Most Republicans have a generally positive view of Romney, even evangelical Christians."

Four years ago, the Romney campaign directly took on suspicion about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conservative Christians, including Protestants and Roman Catholics, do not consider Mormons to be Christian, although Mormons strongly do.

The former Massachusetts governor courted evangelical pastors and formed a national faith-and-values steering committee. Romney gave a major 2007 speech in Texas, modeled on John F. Kennedy's pivotal 1960 address on Catholicism, that promised "no authorities of my church or of any other church for that matter" would influence his policies.

This time, Romney has no formal religion committee and rarely mentions his faith unless asked.

In an appearance Thursday in a motorcycle dealership in Greer, he said the election was about "the soul of America" and described the national debt as a moral issue. He called "America the Beautiful" a "national hymn." (The music was, in fact, originally composed by a church organist for a hymn.)

The only direct mention of religion at the event came from the South Carolina state treasurer, Curtis Loftis. In a speech introducing Romney, Loftis noted that he was a Baptist.

By contrast, at South Carolina barbecue joints and churches, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been giving what evangelicals call personal testimony of how he accepted Christ at age 14.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a social conservative and Roman Catholic who's sometimes mistaken for an evangelical Protestant, recently asked an audience in Greenville to pray for his campaign.

"It's a tough battle every day out there," Santorum said. "And we need that hedge of protection."

Appeals like these are almost expected in a state where Christianity is so much part of daily life.

As Romney arrived in Columbia for the first time since his New Hampshire primary victory, churches around the state were welcoming families for the weekly food, fellowship and Bible study that is a Wednesday night tradition in evangelical churches throughout the South.

In 2008, 60 percent of Republican voters in the South Carolina primary identified themselves as born-again Christians, according to exit polls.

Underscoring the focus on religion in this state, if not the skepticism about Romney's faith, the second question from the audience at a town hall-style event in Hilton Head on Friday was whether he believes "in the divine saving grace of Jesus Christ?" His answer: "Yes, I do."

Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Council, a conservative policy group based in Columbia, said the state "is sort of an evangelical-permeated culture."

Smith said South Carolina "is strongly influenced by very large churches. Even for those who just go to church for the ritual of it, the values people preach have become part of people's worldview."

The Romney campaign is making a play for these votes with a focus on values, according to Mark DeMoss, a senior adviser to Romney and veteran public relations executive who represents evangelical pastors and ministries.

The campaign released a new radio ad Friday that asserts, "Today Christian conservatives are supporting Mitt Romney because he shares their values: the sanctity of life, the sacredness of marriage and the importance of the family."

A glossy brochure that began arriving in South Carolina mailboxes last weekend noting Romney has been a lifelong member of the same church. It didn't say which one. The detail also can read as a dig at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who left Lutheranism and converted to Southern Baptist, then Catholic.

The underlying message of Romney's generic faith language is "I'm just like you," said John Green, a specialist in religion and politics at the University of Akron, Ohio,

"It's kind of like an inoculation to say, 'I'm good on these values. Now let's talk about the economy,'" Green said. "He wants to get past a potential criticism."

Romney has acknowledged that there are some votes he'll never win.

In the upstate city of Easley, the Rev. Brad Atkins, president of the South Carolina General Baptist Convention, has posted an email exchange on his church website with a local reporter on his objections to the LDS church.

"Romney's Mormonism will be more a cause of concern than Gingrich's infidelity," Atkins wrote. Christians can forgive sin, the pastor said, "but will struggle to understand how anyone could be a Mormon and call themselves a Christian."

Hector Chavez, a Roman Catholic and Republican voter in Columbia, said he can't support Romney and neither can many people he knows. "As a Christian, I can't vote for somebody who can't lead us in a Christian way," Chavez said. He's leaning toward voting for Perry.

Yet, even Atkins ended his website post by predicting that most Christians will vote based on economic, not moral, concerns.

While he made the comment ruefully, he inadvertently highlighted what evangelical leaders have been struggling to explain ever since the 1980s emergence of the Christian right: Christian conservatives don't just vote on religion, not in South Carolina or anywhere else.

South Carolina has one of the most dramatic examples of how political pragmatism can co-exist with faith.

Bob Jones III, chancellor of the fundamentalist Christian school Bob Jones University in Greenville, stunned many when he endorsed Romney in the 2008 primary.

Fundamentalists generally steer clear of anyone with even the most minor difference over Scripture. But Jones said the country elects a president not a preacher. This past week, Jones said through a spokeswoman that he hasn't endorsed anyone so far in the 2012 primary.

Romney supporters often compare his plight to that of Kennedy, who overcame widespread prejudice to become the first Catholic president.

Charles Wilson, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, said the story of the Rev. Jerry Falwell may be more apt for this election cycle as a model for Christian conservatives. When Falwell was building the Moral Majority in the 1980s, he set aside deep theological differences with Catholics and worked closely with them against abortion.

"Evangelicals have been willing to make alliances with groups you never would have imagined," Wilson said.

Maybe Mormons will be next.

____

Associated Press reporters Brian Bakst and Kasie Hunt contributed to this story.

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Rachel Zoll is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rzollAP

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