Old Torah scroll found in Italy university library

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ROME (AP) — An Italian expert in Hebrew manuscripts said Wednesday he has discovered the oldest known complete Torah scroll, a sheepskin document dating from 1155-1225. It was right under his nose, in the University of Bologna library, where it had been mistakenly catalogued a century ago as dating from the 17th century.

The find isn't the oldest Torah text in the world: the Leningrad and the Aleppo bibles — both of them Hebrew codexes, or books — pre-date the Bologna scroll by more than 200 years. But this is the oldest Torah scroll of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, according to Mauro Perani, a professor of Hebrew in the University of Bologna's cultural heritage department.
Two separate carbon-dating tests — performed by the University of Salento in Italy and the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign — confirmed the revised dating, according to a statement from the University of Bologna.
Such scrolls — this one is 36 meters (40 yards) long and 64 centimeters (25 inches) high — are brought out in synagogues on the Sabbath and holidays, and portions are read aloud in public. Few such scrolls have survived since old or damaged Torahs have to be buried or stored in a closed room in a synagogue.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Perani said he was updating the library's Hebrew manuscript catalogue when he stumbled upon the scroll in February. He said he immediately recognized the scroll had been wrongly dated by the last cataloguer in 1889, because he recognized that its script and other graphic notations were far older.
Specifically, he said the scroll doesn't take into account the rabbinical rules that standardized how the Pentateuch should be copied that were established by Maimonides in the late 12th century. The scroll contains many features and markings that would be forbidden under those rules, he said.
The 1889 cataloguer, a Jew named Leonello Modona, had described the letters in the scroll as "an Italian script, rather clumsy-looking, in which certain letters, as well as the usual crowns and strokes show uncommon and strange appendices," according to the University of Bologna release.
Perani, however, saw in the document an elegant script whose square letters were of Babylonian tradition, the statement said.
Perani told The Associated Press it was "completely normal" for a cataloguer to make such a mistake in the late 1800s, given the "science of manuscripts was not yet born."
Outside experts said the finding was important, even though older Hebrew bibles do exist.
"It is fairly big news," said James Aiken, a lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament studies at Cambridge University. "Hebrew scholars get excited by very small things, but it certainly is important and clearly looks like a very beautiful scroll."
However, Giovanni Garbini, a leading expert on ancient Semitic languages and retired professor at Rome's La Sapienza university, said the discovery doesn't change much about what the world knows about Hebrew manuscripts.
"It's an example of an ancient scroll, but from the point of view of knowledge, it doesn't change anything," he said in a telephone interview.
But Stephen Phann, acting president of the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem and an expert in ancient Jewish manuscripts, said if accurately dated, the scroll is a rare and important find. "We don't have anything much from that period," Phann said.
There are far older scraps of Torah scrolls that can be dated back to the 8th century, but Phann said it was rare to find a complete manuscript.
The find was also emotionally important, he said because the scroll, as opposed to a bound book, is used for reading Torah portions throughout the year in synagogue.
"It's almost a friendship — that they have come to know the Torah scroll in their midst, and they draw their knowledge and focus on worship on how they live their daily life," Phann said.
Perani said it remains a mystery how the scroll came to be part of the Bologna university library but that he anticipated further study would now begin.
The scroll remains in the library and doesn't require any extra conservation precautions beyond what it already has, he said.

Jodi Arias Jurors: 'She Is Sentenced to Death No Matter What'

Three jurors from the Jodi Arias trial said the sentencing phase was "absolutely awful" after they were unable agree on whether the woman they had found guilty of first-degree murder should get the death penalty or life in prison.

"We can't come to a decision, and it was gut-wrenching. It was absolutely awful," said Diane Schwartz, a retired 911 operator, who for the duration of the five month trial was known as Juror No. 6.

READ MORE: 9 Most Shocking Moments of the Jodi Arias Trial

The jury took a short time to convict Arias of first-degree murder in the 2008 shooting and stabbing death of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, but when it came to the sentencing phase, they were split.

Schwartz, along with fellow jurors Kevin Spellman and Marilou Allen-Coogan, spoke exclusively with ABC News about the grave responsibility that they said ended with a deadlock of eight jurors voting in favor of the death penalty and four supporting life in prison for Arias. All three said they favored giving Arias the death penalty.

"It was a very trying experience," said Spellman, a banker who was known as Juror No. 13. "How do you weigh a person's life?"
PHOTOS: Inside Jodi Arias' Cell
Arias, 32, had been branded a liar by the prosecution because she initially denied killing Alexander, then claimed two years later that she killed him in self-defense, citing Alexander's physical and emotional abuse.
Some of the most intense moments during the trial came over the 18 days when Arias took the stand and described her relationship with Alexander.
"Based on what we saw and the evidence presented, it was very apparent that we weren't being told the truth in a lot of the matters, and there was a lot of cover-up," Allen-Coogan said, adding that she believed Arias was playing to the jury.
"The state proved their case. It was premeditated," she said.
After three days of deliberations, the jury's hung verdict was read Thursday, leaving the case open and the jury dismissed.
"I felt like we had failed the system," Schwartz said. "As I walked out, I remember looking towards the prosecution table. I thought, 'They won't even look at us.'
"I immediately, as I was stepping down, told them, 'I'm sorry,'" she said. "It was heartfelt because I was. I was very sorry."
Despite the deadlock, Spellman said he believes no matter what sentence Arias receives, she is dying.
"She is sentenced to death no matter what," he said.
Arias' fate is now left up to the prosecutor, who will decide whether to retry the penalty phase. If he decides to try again for the death penalty, a new jury will be selected and both the prosecution and defense will present evidence and arguments over what sentence Arias should receive.
The retrial, in which Arias could either be sentenced to death or to life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole, would begin July 18.
If the prosecution chooses not to retry the penalty phase, Arias will get life in prison, either with or without parole.

The prosecutor's office has not yet decided what it plans to do.

Sen. Rand Paul Questions Drone Policy, Says Scandals Threaten President Obama's 'Moral Authority'

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  View PhotoABC News - Sen. Rand Paul Questions Drone Policy, Says Scandals Threaten President Obama's 'Moral Authority' (ABC News)

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on "This Week" that the recent controversies engulfing the White House over the IRS, reporter leak investigations, and Benghazi have threatened President Obama's "moral authority to lead the nation," while he continued to question the administration's use of drone strikes against terrorist targets overseas.
"I think the constellation of these three scandals ongoing, really takes away from the president's moral authority to lead the nation," Paul said this morning on "This Week." "Nobody questions his legal authority, but I think he's really losing the moral authority to lead this nation. And he really needs to put a stop to this. I don't care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, nobody likes to see the opposite party punishing you for your political beliefs, using the power of government to do so."
While he has called for a special counsel to investigate the IRS scandal, in which the IRS gave increased scrutiny to conservative groups applying for non-profit status, Paul would not say whether he believed any crimes were committed.
"I don't think we know so far. The main woman from the IRS that's involved has taken the Fifth Amendment. She's no longer cooperating," Paul said of Lois Lerner, the IRS official who refused to testify at a House committee hearing on Wednesday, and was put on leave from her position Thursday. "I think there needs to be a speedy resolution to this… If he goes beyond 30 days and if no one is fired over this? I really think it's going to be trouble for him trying to lead in the next four years."
And while Paul said he was "pleased with" the words of President Obama's major national security speech last week, he continued to question the administration's use of drone strikes and whether proper due process is occurring before military action against terrorist targets.
"I was pleased with his words, and I was pleased with the - that he did respond to this," Paul said in reaction to President Obama's speech Thursday at the National Defense University. "However, there still is a question in my mind of what he thinks due process is. You know, due process to most of us is a court of law, it's a trial by a jury. And right now their process is him looking at some flashcards and a PowerPoint presentation on 'Terror Tuesdays' in the White House. For a lot of us, that's not really due process."
When asked whether a drone strike should have been used against Al Qaeda leader and American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011, Paul reiterated his belief that the U.S. should attempt to try individuals for treason, with a judge reviewing evidence before military strikes.
"If you are conspiring to attack America and you are a traitor, I would try you for treason," Paul said. "If you don't come home for the trial, I would try you in absentia. And then the death penalty has been used repeatedly throughout our history for treason, but a judge looks at evidence. And that's something that separates us from the rest of the world, is that we adjudicate things by taking it to an independent body who's not politically motivated, or elected."
Paul, who led a 13-hour Senate filibuster on the administration's use of drone strikes in March, also questioned whether President Obama was truly protecting civil liberties by promising not to carry out certain actions such as detaining citizens indefinitely - while still retaining the power to do so under the law.
"It's not good enough to us that he's not using a power," Paul said. "We want him to assert that he won't, that he doesn't have the power."
Paul said he did not back closing the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay, which President Obama called for again last week, but Paul said the prison has "become a symbol of something though, and I think things should change."

"I think the people being held there are bad people," Paul said. "What I would do though is I would accuse them, charge them, and try them in military commissions, or trials, or tribunals. And I think that would go a long way toward showing the world that we're not going to hold them without charge forever."

Magnitude 8.2 Quake Hits Russia's Far East

A massive undersea earthquake today in Russia's Far East prompted a tsunami warning and was felt in cities including Moscow far to the west, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The USGS estimated the quake at 8.2 magnitude and placed its epicentre in the Sea of Okhotsk off the shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of more than 600 kilometres.

Russia rapidly issued a tsunami warning for Sakhalin island and its region, urging residents to seek higher ground. But the warning was then lifted with no reports of casualties.

The huge magnitude and great depth of the quake meant that its echoes were felt across the Eurasian continent including in the Russian capital itself.

"There were repercussions of the quake in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Europe, in particular Romania. Practically the whole continent shook," Anatoly Tsygankov of the state Rosgidromet environmental monitoring service told the Interfax news agency.

According to the RIA Novosti news agency, the earthquake was also felt across Russia's Far East and Siberia including big cities like Krasnoyarsk and Blagoveshchensk.

The emergencies ministry in Moscow, which is eight time zones away from the region hit by the quake, said it had received reports early today of phenomena like chandeliers shaking and turbulence in aquarium water as a result of the quake.

"Moscow is part of the zone where possible repercussions from earthquakes can be felt. It's not dangerous but important, for example, for standard construction," Arkady Tishkov of the Geography Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences told Interfax.

He said however that the last time this happened in Moscow was 30 years ago. A 21-storey office building in Saint Petersburg was evacuated after the people working there felt the building shaking, Fontanka.Ru city news website reported.

"If an earthquake happens at such a low depth, the waves move along low layers, practically the mantle," Alexei Lyubushin, chief researcher of the Institute of Physics of the Earth at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Kommersant FM radio.

Rapper 'Tim Dog' Reportedly Faked His Own Death To Avoid Paying Thousands Of Dollars In Restitution

Mississippi woman is claiming that a popular 1990s rapper faked his own death to get out of paying her thousands of dollars.
On Feb. 14, rapper Timothy Blair, better known as "Tim Dog," reportedly died from a seizure following a battle with diabetes. Rolling Stone reported this news via a report from The Source, but that link is now disabled. Southaven, Miss., native Esther Pilgrim may know why such news disappeared. She is claiming the rapper actually faked his death to swindle her out of $32,000.
Two years ago, Blair pleaded guilty to grand larceny for defrauding Pilgrim, KABC previously reported. The two met through an online dating site and he scammed her into thinking he needed investors to restart his music career. This left Pilgrim with $32,000 in credit card debt. A judge ordered him to pay her $19,000 in restitution within the five years of his probation period.
Pilgrim told CBS Memphis affiliate WREG earlier this month that Tim Dog could owe upwards of $2 million to other people he allegedly scammed around the world. Pilgrim received the payments from Blair up until he was reported dead. After he died, she couldn't find any information surrounding the circumstances of his death, like witnesses or a location. She also claims there is no death certificate.
Pilgrim is not the only one who thinks the rapper faked his own death. Prosecutor Steven Jubera, who helped get Blair convicted in 2011, filed a petition to have Blair's probation revoked and there is now a warrant out for his arrest.
“I need proof,” Jubera told WREG this week. “I need a death certificate showing that’s he’s dead because as far as I’m concerned, he’s alive.”
Journalist Drew Millard, who works for Vice's music section, Noisey, looked into the story of the East Coast rapper's death and came up with more dead ends. Despite the cluster and chaos, Millard says "the issue of Tim Dog’s life or death needs to be resolved as soon as humanly possible in order for both his victims and family to have closure."
“In the eyes of the law, until he is proven dead, they have to treat him as if he is alive. And he is in contempt of court because he has not been making his monthly payments," Pilgrim told Millard. “It’s not really about the money. This affected me long term -- financially, emotionally, physically, everything.”
Bronx-born Blair rose to fame in 1991 with the track "F**k Compton," a diss at West Coast rappers Dr. Dre and N.W.A., Rolling Stone notes. His name has been dropped in tracks by Eminem and Nas.

Africa: 75 Heads of State to Attend AU Summit

ABOUT 75 Heads of State and Government officials are scheduled to start arriving here to attend the 21st Africa Union (AU) summit, which coincides with celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the continental body.
Prominent leaders that saw the birth of the AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, are expected to be honoured during this event.
Zambia's first Republican President Kenneth Kaunda would be among those expected to be honoured for rendering assistance to other African countries in attaining their independence.
Dr Kaunda, a globally recognised figure, is also expected to give a talk to youths on the sidelines of the summit.
The summit to be held at the AU headquarters has several programmes lined up, with activities running up to Sunday.
President Michael Sata will be among the Heads of State and Government at the summit.
According to a statement released by the AU Commission here yesterday, 450 journalists have been accredited to cover the activities of the summit under the theme 'Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance'.
The AU meetings started on Sunday with the 26th ordinary session of permanent representatives committee.
It would be followed by a two-day 23rd ordinary session of the executive council starting today.
The summit would coincide with the golden jubilee of the Pan-African organisation which would take place this Saturday, the date when Africa commemorates Africa Freedom Day.
Meanwhile, the AU has asked bilateral partners to respect its objectives and not to dictate what is supposed to be done.
AU chief of staff, Jean Natama told a media briefing ahead of the 21st AU summit that it was important for Africa's partners to respect the objectives the AU had set and only render support towards attaining them.
Mr Natama said even though each partner had the right to express their views, it was equally important to respect the set targets and the sovereignty of the continent.

Oklahoma rescuers wind up search and prepare for tornado clean-up

Moore, Oklahoma. Experts believe the cost of damage from the devastating tornado could exceed £3bn. Photograph: Sean Murphy/AP

Rescue workers were preparing on Wednesday to wind up a search for victims and survivors in the Oklahoma city of Moore after it was slammed by a deadly tornado.
Though the twister levelled entire city blocks, flattened two schools and killed 24 people while injuring more than 240 it was becoming clear amid the rubble that the disaster could have been far worse.
Initial fears that perhaps around 90 people might have been killed by the ferocious storm were retracted by local officials and now authorities on Wednesday said that no one remained on the missing list.
That meant that the teams of rescue workers that had descended on Moore's slice of middle American suburbia, just south of Oklahoma City, were now starting a clean-up operation, rather than a search-and-recovery one.
Jerry Lojka, spokesman for Oklahoma Emergency Management, told the Reuters news agency that search-and-rescue dog teams would search for anybody trapped under the rubble, but that attention would focus on clearing the rubble and debris now littering a huge part of the town. "They will continue the searches of areas to be sure nothing is overlooked," he said. "There's going to be more of a transition to recovery."
Officials said they were no longer knowingly looking for any more bodies, having pulled more than 100 people alive from the ruins left by twister's path. Oklahoma County commissioner Brian Maughan told reporters, after a tour of the devastated community, that it now seemed no one was still listed as missing. "As far as I know, of the list of people that we have had that they are all accounted for in one way or another," he said.
But the clean-up – let alone the recovery – will be an enormous job. The tornado left a trail of destruction 17 miles long from the spot where it touched down outside of Oklahoma City and then along the path that it tracked as it headed into Moore. At its height it was 1.3 miles wide and packed winds that raged at more than 200mph. The National Weather Service declared it a rare EF-5 tornado – the top level of the Enhanced Fujita Scale used to measure their power and destructive potential.
The tornado was the worst to hit the United States since a storm ploughed Joplin, Missouri, exactly two years ago and killed 158 people. The Moore storm, though far less lethal, has nonetheless left 2,400 homes damaged or destroyed and affected an estimated 10,000 people. Insurance experts believe the eventual cost of the storm will actually exceed the Joplin disaster, which ended up causing $3bn of damage.
But, despite that, Moore clearly had a relatively lucky escape. Experts explained the relatively low death toll in Moore to an effective early warning system and a prevalence of storm shelters in homes in the area, many of which had been built after a similar storm struck Moore in 1999. "There would have been a lot more people killed, we believe, if they had not had that warning 14 years ago," Oklahoma senator James Inhofe told CNN.
Already the Oklahoma state legislature is drafting a law to allow the local government to tap into the states "rainy day" fund for $45bn in cash to help finance the rebuilding effort in the city of 55,000 people. Meanwhile President Obama has also pledged that the federal government will do everything it can to help in the rebuilding effort.
In a speech to the nation on Tuesday, Obama vowed to the people of Moore: "You will not travel that path (to recovery) alone. Your country will travel it with you, fuelled by our faith in the Almighty and our faith in one another."
But there is already a political row brewing over the extent and cost of federal aid in the wake of the disaster. Inhofe and his fellow Republican senator from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, have a long record of opposing federal funding for disaster relief. Both politicians opposed last year's $60.4bn aid bill for victims of Hurricane Sandy and are now in a political bind as they face the prospect of reversing that opinion for Moore or having to oppose aid to their own voters.
Inhofe has been telling reporters that the situation in Moore is different from Sandy because the legislation to help storm-struck east coast last year was laden with unnecessary funding for other projects. Meanwhile, Coburn has stated that he supports aid to help Moore as long as the costs of that help are cut from elsewhere in the federal budget.really nice is'nt it?

Congolese army, rebels clash for a second day near Goma

Reuters) - The Congolese army clashed with rebel fighters near the eastern city of Goma for a second day on Tuesday, threatening an uneasy six-month peace in the region ahead of a scheduled visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week.
Government forces and the M23 insurgents exchanged heavy weapons fire from early on Tuesday, with both sides reporting an unspecified number of dead and accusing the other of starting the clashes.

 

"The M23 tried to overrun our positions and we're in the process of pushing them back," army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli told Reuters. "We're very confident (of defending Goma)".
The fighting marked the first combat since November, when M23 troops routed Democratic Republic of Congo's army - known as FARDC - and briefly seized Goma, despite the presence of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers.
M23 spokesman Amani Kabasha said the rebels had come under heavy army shelling for a second day and the group's military commander, Sultani Makenga, had given the order to respond.
"It seems the government wants to fight," he said. "There is no political will for bringing peace through a negotiated settlement".
Peace talks between the M23 and the Congolese government in the Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda, have stalled.
During its year-long insurgency, M23 has repeatedly used alleged army aggression as a pretext to launch offensives.
Last year, U.N. experts accused Rwanda of sending troops and weapons across the border to support the rebels. Rwanda denies the accusation.
In recent months, the M23 has been weakened by in-fighting and defections. The Congolese army is also struggling to re-organise after its humiliating defeat in Goma last year.
The United Nations is deploying around 3,000 troops as part of an Intervention Brigade to bolster its 17,000 strong peacekeeping mission. The brigade has a mandate to neutralise armed groups in eastern Congo, including M23.
Ban is due to arrive in Goma this week with the president of the World Bank as part of a high-profile visit to push for an end to nearly two decades of violence in the mineral-rich region which has left millions dead.

SAfrican court acquits brother of Oscar Pistorius

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  View PhotoAssociated Press/Themba Hadebe - Carl Pistorius, brother of Oscar Pistorius, the superstar double-amputee Olympic athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend and is accused of murder, stands inside the court …more 

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — One Pistorius brother is free of charges — acquitted Tuesday of culpable homicide in the death of a woman in a road accident. The famous younger brother, Olympian double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, still must face his day in court for shooting and killing his girlfriend.

Carl Pistorius cried tears of relief Tuesday as a magistrate acquitted him of culpable homicide and negligent driving for the woman's death. The magistrate ruled that Carl Pistorius, 28, was not negligent and that Maria Barnard, 32, was driving her motorcycle excessively fast when she crashed into the back of his vehicle in March 2008.
The case attracted international interest because both Pistorius brothers had faced court cases for the deaths of two women.
Carl Pistorius' case was brought to court shortly after athlete Oscar Pistorius shot dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day — a shooting he says was accidental because he mistook her for a burglar.
Medupe Simasiku, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, denied that Carl Pistorius was only prosecuted because of his younger brother's high-profile murder case.
"I believe that despite the fact that the case got the media interest because of the younger brother's case in Pretoria, this case still ran its own course according to its own merit," Simasiku told The Associated Press.
Carl Pistorius' stepmother and sister hugged him in the court after Magistrate Buks du Plessis announced he was acquitted of all charges — culpable homicide as well as alternate charges of driving negligently and driving without consideration.
Pistorius said he felt for the family of the woman who died, regardless of who was responsible.
"My heart goes to them," he said. "I do think of them, and I will continue thinking of them while I walk on this Earth, and I understand their loss and their pain and, regardless of whose responsibility it is, the pain doesn't diminish."
He also thanked the Barnard family, which had insisted he was not to blame for her death, "for their outspoken support and seeing that justice has been served."
Barnard died in a hospital six days after the accident.
Simasiku said the state did not have an expert witness to counter a planned defense argument that Barnard actually died from lack of care in the hospital and not as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.
"We have lost the case," Simasiku said, adding that the National Prosecution Authority will take no further action.
Oscar Pistorius, meanwhile, is not expected to compete for the rest of the year while he focuses on the looming court case. He is due back in court on June 4 and expected to stand trial before the end of the year.
His coach, Ampie Louw, told reporters this week that Pistorius has turned down invitations to take part in major international athletic events.
"We have decided as a team we are not talking any training or athletics," Louw said. "We have postponed (competing) for the whole year."
He said Pistorius did fitness exercises with his family each morning but is not "psychologically ready" to train, let alone compete.
The Pistorius brothers have been close since childhood. Though Oscar Pistorius has not attended any sessions of his brother's trial, Carl was a visible supporter of Oscar during his court appearances in February. He often reached out to touch the shoulder of his younger brother when Oscar Pistorius broke down in tears.
Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder for shooting Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, which he says was accidental because he mistook her for a nighttime intruder when he shot through a door in his bathroom with his licensed handgun.

Weinstein showcases Grace Kelly, Nelson Mandela flicks

• Image Credit: Getty Images for The Weinstein C
• attends the Fruitvale Station Cannes screening dinner held aboard the Harle Yacht on May 16, 2013 in Cannes, France.

The Weinstein Company’s fall slate of awards contenders will feature a glamorous Grace Kelly, a brawny Nelson Mandela and a mysterious J.D. Salinger.

Harvey Weinstein previewed some of his company’s most anticipated upcoming releases at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. He’s made a habit of such previews, doing the same in 2012 for the Oscar-winning films “Django Unchained” and “Silver Linings Playbook.” Last year, Weinstein said, was “as good as any year at Miramax” — the first film company run by Weinstein and his brother Bob.

Nicole Kidman, a jury member at the festival, was on hand to introduce footage of “Grace of Monaco,” in which she stars as Kelly after wedding Prince Rainier III (played by Tim Roth). It looks to be the kind of grand, alluring performance that often leads to an Oscar nomination.

“She has to go to a jury meeting to hopefully decide which of my movies wins the Palme d’Or,” joked Weinstein before Kidman departed.

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Weinstein has two films in competition at Cannes: the Bangkok noir “Only God Forgives” with Ryan Gosling and Kristen Scott Thomas, and the period film “The Immigrant” with Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix. He added, referring to jury head Steven Spielberg: “I’ve certainly given Steven enough money over the years.”

Weinstein also showcased the Salinger documentary, “Salinger,” which is being advertised like a kind of detective tale about the reclusive author. Weinstein made no bones about his strong interest in making a “Catcher in the Rye” film, noting that he was told by Salinger’s estate that the decades-long list of suitors begins not with him, but Elia Kazan and Mike Nichols.

The long-awaited “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” starring Idris Elba, places Mandela almost in an action film context. The South African revolutionary appeared in footage shown on Friday as a muscular firebrand, with hip-hop as part of the score.

“This is not your daddy’s HBO version of Mandela,” said Weinstein. “This is the kickass version of Mandela.”

One of Weinstein’s biggest releases for this fall is “August: Osage County,” based on the acclaimed Tracy Letts play. It stars Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Also with Oscar ambitions is the company’s “The Butler,” from “Precious” director Lee Daniels. Forrest Whitaker plays a long-serving White House butler in a sentimental tale through history likely to draw comparisons to “Forrest Gump.”

Following the Weinstein Co’s recent announcement that it will make a sequel to 2000’s Oscar-winning “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” Weinstein said he plans to make a franchise out of it. The Ang Lee film was based on a book in a series of five by Wang Dulu. Weinstein plans to make films of all of them.

Whether the fall collection of films will add up to the Oscar gold Weinstein covets remains to be seen. But Cannes has often been where he launches those aspirations. In 2011, he had at Cannes the eventual best picture winner, the French ode to silent film, “The Artist.”

Fresh attack in Mandera leaves 3 dead

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Three people were killed on Thursday night in Mandera during an attack blamed on militiamen from the neighbouring Ethiopia.
Those killed were all women shot dead by the armed militia at Malkamau area, police said.
“The militia just shot at the women and fled, we believe they came from the other side of the border,” a police officer from the region said.
North Eastern Police chief Charlton Mureithi confirmed the incident but did not offer any further details. “There was an attack that is being investigated. We cannot say much at the moment,” he said.
He said police were also investigating to establish if the attack had anything to do with the recent clash between militiamen from the Garre and Degodia which have been fighting in Mandera.
The attack came hours after President Uhuru Kenyatta summoned a crisis meeting with top police chiefs at State House, Nairobi to find a solution to spiraling crime in the country.
Earlier last week, his deputy William Ruto assured of their administration’s commitment to restore security.
On Thursday morning, the president met over 70 security chiefs at State House, Nairobi where he demanded to know what they were doing to end the security menace which has left dozens of Kenyans killed and many more wounded.
And for the first time, police chiefs from all the eight provinces were in the same meeting unlike previously when the president only met the Inspector General, his two deputies and the CID Director.
Western, North Eastern and Nairobi provinces are the worst affected by the wave of crime experienced in the country in the recent weeks.
“The President is unhappy with the crime rate in the country, that is why he summoned the meeting and he has made it clear to us,” one of the officers who attended the meeting told Capital FM News.
“He (the President) has assured us of his support logistically but urged us to do more in eradicating crime in the country,” another officer said.

Borno State: Troops capture Boko Haram’s camp

Culled from Punch

Early reports of military operations in the three North-East states under emergency rule, on Thursday, indicated that Nigerian soldiers had recaptured three of the local government areas where insurgents had been in control in northern Borno.

The names of the recaptured councils could not be confirmed out of the lot in possession of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The areas where the insurgents were said to have been in total control before the military operation launched on Thursday were Marte, Magumeri, Mobbar, Gubio, Guzamala, Abadamin, Kukawa, Kaga, Nganzai and Monguno.

Also, the troops reportedly invaded and took over a training camp of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, known as Sambisa on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, in the early hours of Thursday.

Borno as well as Adamawa and Yobe states fell under emergency rule by presidential proclamation on Tuesday.

President Goodluck Jonathan said all efforts to bring the violence in the area under control had failed hence the need to use force to force insurgents out of the states, especially Borno where the President said insurgents had taken control of the northern part.

A soldier who spoke to one of our  correspondents from Maiduguri, on the condition of anonymity, said, “We have succeeded in taking over Sambisa Games Reserve, which the sect had been using as its camp. Scores of people found in the camp were arrested.

“We will interrogate them and those who are not members of the sect will be set free. The operation is being carried out in such a way that there is no harassment. The innocent should not be afraid.”

The source however declined to comment on the number of casualties already recorded and the number of persons arrested.

The PUNCH learnt that troops on Thursday shut down almost half of the state as they attacked suspected Boko Haram enclaves.

A man who spoke to one of our correspondents on the telephone from Maiduguri narrated that the military operation in the city had disrupted normal life.

He said the number of roadblocks had increased and that “farmers are no longer going to the farm, only a few traders are venturing out to the market.

“Shop owners who sell provisions are finding it difficult to replenish their stock.”

The source further explained that even residents of Maiduguri, considered safe were living in fear.

This, he explained, was because they feared that the insurgents could sneak into town. The Boko Haram insurgency began in Maiduguri in 2009 and Borno State is seen as the operational base of the sect that has killed at least 2,500 persons in attacks on military and police facilities, drinking joints, worship houses and markets.

Director of Defence Information, Brig.- Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents that more troops had been deployed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

He declined to comment on the number of troops that were billed to participate in the major military operations planned to flush out the insurgents from the area.

Olukolade said that it was not strategic to disclose the number of soldiers or security personnel that would be used for the operation.

“All I can say is that more soldiers have been deployed today; that I can confirm to you. On the issue of the numbers that are being quoted, they are not from the DHQ. We are not quoting any number.

“The operation is continuing satisfactorily. Details will be made available to the public at the appropriate time.”

Another source in the besieged area said, “We now have more soldiers and weapons than I have ever seen in my life. Although some of them are moving towards the north, some are remaining here in Maiduguri.

“I have no idea what is going on in places like Bama, Marte, Magumeri, and Monguno where the Boko Haram people have taken control of some towns and villages. But movement in-and-out of these areas has been restricted.”

Fashola Envisions Self-Dependent, Middle Class as Artisans Graduate

 Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN)

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Thursday attended the grand finale of the fourth Tradesmen and Artisans’ Week and Graduation ceremony for re-trained artisans, stating that with the partnership forged by the state with artisans and tradesmen, he foresees a new middle class that is capable of generating employment and creating wealth.

The governor, who spoke at the Blue Roof Hall at the LTV8 premises, Agidingbi, added that the middle class he sees is different from the ones everyone knew in the 70s that was the middle class that wore suits and ties and were paid employees.

“This middle class doesn’t wear suit and ties but is the master of its own destiny. It is the employers and the owners of its own business. It is technology inclined. It has a cell phone and now hires its own corporate identity and corporate cards to formalise its own business.

“Those who doubt the capacity of what you can do should simply watch you take over the Nigerian economy. If we talk about an expected six to seven per cent growth in the African economy and in the Nigerian economy and it does not provide an opportunity for tradesmen and artisans and skilled people to fulfil their destiny and realise their dreams that economy has not performed,” the governor declared.

Fashola said he was glad to partner with the tradesmen and artisans to show that the Lagos economy is working because it is putting food on the table of artisans, adding that their challenges and problems would also be that of the state government.

He explained that the initiative to start the annual skill and entrepreneurship capacity training programme for the artisans was started to put them in the forefront of the business type that they chose.

“Our role would be to organise you and to educate and to support you so this skill training programme would continue. I have approved the training for another 1000 and as we go on we would measure the productivity back into the economy. But it is not enough for you to be trained but you must now become the trainers of the next generation,” he said.

With examples from other climes on how technicians like vulcanizers work in designated locations and not on the roads, the governor also charged Nigerians to stop defending bad business models and adopt better business models that give a win-win situation.

The adoption of better models, he said, would be the first step to bringing about dignity into the business that the artisans do.

“The Nigerian economy is changing. Those who know the history of these economy will tell you so but as it is changing, it is getting bigger as those who don’t want to change are being left behind and this economy is increasingly having very little room for those who are just out there to go and depend but it is creating a lot of room for those who are ready to do things with their hands and creating a lot of room for those who are ready to think.”

Solange Knowles Shows Off Her Bikini Body for Complex Magazine

Solange Knowles looks confident and beach ready in her cover feature for Complex magazine's June/July issue, but the DJ says she wasn't always so comfortable with her boldness. In her interview, Solange recalls being a quirky child and being teased for her outfits.

"I had my own little quirks as a child," Solange says. "I had a very vivid imagination, mostly through my style and fashion choices. The kids had a lot to say."

She credits her fourth-grade teacher for teaching her not to "bend or break because of who you are" after experiencing an upsetting moment.

"From that point," Solange says, "the idea of convention versus non-convention or mainstream versus indie or any of those quote-unquote 'conflicts' has never crossed my mind."

It definitely doesn't hurt to grow up with role models who knew how to forge their own paths and attain their goals. In the singer's case it was her mother, Tina Knowles, and father Matthew who taught her how to persevere and make things happen.

"I have a mother who never took no for an answer when it came to her creative pursuits," she adds. "She started a hair salon in her spare bedroom and four years later had 30 employees. I have a father who was the first Black student at his junior high and high school and had to do a lot to get to that point. So it's really in my bloodline when it comes to having an idea and making it happen."


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BET.com always gives you the latest fashion and beauty trends, tips and news. We are committed to bringing you the best of Black lifestyle and celebrity culture.

David Beckham: product of Sir Alex Ferguson's school of hard graft

Sir Alex Ferguson, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

When Sir Alex Ferguson retired last week, the natural inclination was to celebrate his glorious years at Manchester United and Aberdeen. But Ferguson developed his managerial principles long before he won the European trophies that would make him famous.
His discipline and desire to run a club from top to bottom were evident while in charge of St Mirren in his mid-30s. One particular occasion – described fully and with great wit by Fraser Kirkwood in this month's edition of When Saturday Comes magazine – sums up Ferguson's managerial philosophy.
The year was 1977 and St Mirren were celebrating their centenary, so Ferguson invited Liverpool to Love Street. Bob Paisley duly obliged, bringing his European champions north of the border to play to a capacity crowd of 20,000 on a wintry December night.
The St Mirren players expected Paisley to put out a weakened team, but he did nothing of the sort. The Liverpool manager played his best 11, prompting Ferguson to go to work.
The young manager, still only 35 and with a team captained by a 20-year-old, told his players that this was their chance to make their names. They were playing a great team, but they too were great and now they had the opportunity to prove it. Inspired by that thought, Ferguson's men went out and battled their way to a 1-1 draw against the mighty Liverpool. Needless to say, St Mirren's equaliser was a late goal.
Ferguson manipulated his players into throwing everything they had into that friendly, as if a fine performance would fulfil their destinies. His powers of motivation are legendary – the half-time speech he delivered at the 1999 Champions League final is up there with Al Pacino's "game of inches" address in Any Given Sunday – but the bedrock to Ferguson's success has always been discipline.
When the two groups of players met for a meal in a local hotel after the match, only one set tucked into the free booze: the European champions. Ferguson's players were sworn off alcohol and his prying eyes were always watching over them.
Few managers in the late-1970s would have insisted their players remain teetotal after standing up to the best team in the continent, but Ferguson's standards were extraordinary. Those unwavering demands filtered through all of the teams he managed, no more so than the young squad that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992.
The emergence of Ferguson's so-called Fledglings is often credited to luck, or to the influence of Eric Cantona, but those players succeeded as they threw themselves into the challenge of meeting the standards demanded by their manager and his coaching staff. When David Beckham was asked on Thursday about how he wants to be remembered in his retirement, his answer was telling: "I just want people to see me as a hardworking footballer, someone that's passionate about the game, someone that – every time I stepped on the pitch – I've given everything that I have, because that's how I feel. That's how I look back on it and hope people will see me."
Beckham gave that quote to his old team-mate and Sky pundit Gary Neville, who is no stranger to hard graft. Neville's autobiography, Red, is an ode to the merits of discipline and hard work. He describes an ascetic youth dedicated entirely to the pursuit of footballing excellence. Neville always believed his contemporaries – Beckham, Paul Scholes and his younger brother Phil – were more natural footballers, so he worked harder and cut out anything that could hold him back.
"I was willing to ditch everything in my life apart from football and family," Neville wrote. "So much for my wild teenage years. If there was a game on Saturday, I was in bed by 9.15pm every Thursday and Friday night. I was a robot. I cast off all my mates from school, never saw them again. I decided, ruthlessly, that I was going to make friends with my new team-mates, who shared the same goals as me. As far as I was concerned the lives of athletes and non-athletes were incompatible. Between the ages of 16 and 20, I dropped women completely. They were always going to want to go to a cinema or a bar on a Friday night."
For most of us, this sounds maniacal. How many 19-year-olds deny themselves even the prospect of going on a date because a girl might "want to go to a cinema or a bar on a Friday night"? That's the whole point, Gary. And the later you stay out, the better. Neville and his mates only thought about one thing: football.
You only need to read the opening paragraph of Paul Scholes's autobiography, My Story to discover the love of his life: "I was always football daft. When I went to junior school, I would leave home half an hour early in the mornings and spend the time before the bell went for the first lesson kicking the ball around the schoolyard. Occasionally some mates would be involved, but often I was on my own and that didn't bother me in the slightest. I was happy as long as I had that ball."
Neither Neville nor Scholes produce exhilarating literature but, as documents on dedication go, they are up there with Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. In his book, Gladwell argues that greatness requires enormous time and drive. He picks out the example of the Beatles, who performed for over 10,000 hours in Hamburg between 1960 to 1964. Eric Harrison, the youth coach who led Neville, Beckham and Scholes to victory in the 1992 Youth Cup would relate to that idea. He never tired of telling his young men that "practice makes players".
Fergie's Fledglings owe as much to Harrison and Brian Kidd as they do to the outgoing United manager. In Andy Mitten's book of interviews with United players from the 1990s, Glory Glory, Nicky Butt explains how demanding Harrison could be on his young players. Butt tells the story of playing his first game for United, as a 15-year-old in the FA Youth Cup against Blackburn. He wanted to make a good impression, but in his enthusiasm he overplayed. Harrison was furious: "Eric gave me a roasting. He told me that I'd never play again. He asked me who the fuck I thought I was. He was right."
By the time Butt had learned his lesson – immediately – the issue was sorted. Harrison was there to instil in the player the discipline he needed to make it, like Ferguson had done with his sober St Mirren players in 1977 and has been doing for the past 39 years.
Ferguson will sit in the dug-out for the last time on Sunday, with Scholes and Beckham also stepping down as league champions. Only Ryan Giggs will remain from the group of boys who beat Crystal Palace in the Youth Cup final 21 years ago. Giggs will carry on influencing the younger players around him, but Ferguson, who has cherry-picked his successor, believes his club is in good hands.
At the Manchester United end-of-season awards earlier this week, Ferguson outlined why David Moyes is the right man for his job: "He's hard working and has integrity. He's got a work ethic about him and he's a serious football man. These are the qualities he's going to need." They were enough for Ferguson and his young players at St Mirren, Aberdeen and Manchester United.

David Beckham not in Premier League's top 1,000 - Chris Waddle

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Former England winger Chris Waddle thinks David Beckham would not rank in the top 1,000 Premier League players.

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Beckham, 38, will retire from football at the end of the season.
"I would say he has been a good player, I wouldn't put him down as a great," Waddle, 52, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"You can go down a list of footballers since the Premier League and I don't think David Beckham would probably be in the first 1,000."

Beckham v Waddle

	Beckham	Waddle
England caps	115	62
Major English trophies	8	0
Major European trophies	1	0
League titles	11	3

Beckham, who signed a five-month deal at Paris St-Germain in January, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1991, making his first-team debut the following year and signing his first professional contract in 1993.

He went on to make 394 appearances for United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League, and 115 for England.
"I think there has been a lot more talented players in the world. But he made the most of what he has got," said Waddle, who played more than 100 times for Newcastle, Tottenham, Sheffield Wednesday and Marseille, winning 62 England caps.
Waddle added: "He has got a terrific image and used it very well. He never had a trick, wasn't particularly quick, but he was very good at set-pieces and deliveries, he made chances and made goals and was fantastic for clubs.
"He said the right things, he sold shirts, he put money in the tills wherever he went and conducted himself well."
Beckham became one of the world's most high-profile sportsmen during his time at Old Trafford - and a global celebrity following his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Adams in 1999.
He signed for Real Madrid in 2003 and won a La Liga title in 2007 before switching to the United States with LA Galaxy. He also spent time on loan at AC Milan.
"As a player I would say he was a fantastic crosser of the ball, a great athlete," said Waddle. "Now people will be talking about him and saying 'how great, how great'. I would say 'how good'.

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David Beckham scores 60-yard wonder goal for Man Utd

"I would not say he was a great. He was very good at his job, he worked very hard as a professional footballer."
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has added to the tributes to Beckham since his announcement on Thursday.
When asked if he was ever interested in signing Beckham, who trained with the Gunners  in January, the Frenchman said: "Yes, I was. It was at a period when I couldn't afford him. And after that there was a question mark before he went to Milan, but it was a position we didn't really need.
"It was always a pleasure to have him here because of his attitude and behaviour. He gained respect from everybody.
"At the end of the day no matter how strong a player he is, what remains in your memory is his genuine commitment and dedication and the natural humility which he always had. That will stay forever."
QPR manager Harry Redknapp was in charge at Tottenham when Beckham trained with Spurs in 2011. He said: "He was down to earth, everybody loved him, he treated everybody with great respect and he had time for everyone. He's had a fantastic career and is an absolute top-class fella.
"He's been a great role model for any young footballer."

Carlo ‘50-50’ to stay at PSG

ON HIS WAY? ... PSG boss Carlo Ancelo

 

CARLO ANCELOTTI has dropped his biggest hint yet he is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain.

The Italian has been linked with taking over at Real Madrid once current boss Jose Mourinho completes his expected return to Chelsea this summer.
And Ancelotti today admitted he is only "50-50" to stay with the French champions.
The former Chelsea manager said: “I have not talked with the club yet. We have a meeting scheduled on Friday, then we’ll see.
“I want to continue if it’s possible to continue. But I want to understand what happened during the season.
“Some things happened after our league defeat against Stade Rennes, then after the defeat at Nice.
“Today it’s 50-50. I have settled in well here and I don’t like to change.
“I was disappointed when I left Chelsea and if I leave Paris, I’ll be sad.”
PSG clinched their first title since 1994 last Sunday when they won 1-0 at Lyon.
They host basement side Stade Brest on Saturday before a final day fixture with FC Lorient.
Ancelotti’s PSG deal does not run out until June 2014 after it was automatically extended following the club’s qualification for the Champions League.

Obama counter-attacks on scandal front

It looks like President Obama is on the counter-attack against Republicans claiming scandal and Democrats who say his response has been too tepid.
In a flurry of activity late Wednesday, Obama aides released talking points developed in the days after the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, while the president announced the dismissal of the acting director of the Internal Revenue Service.
Just for good measure, the Obama team -- also attacked for the Justice Department seizure of Associated Press telephone records in a news leak investigation -- announced support for a federal "shield law" to help reporters protect confidential sources.
In denouncing the IRS admission that it targeted conservative groups over their tax-exempt status, Obama said: "We're going to have to make sure that the laws are clear so that we can have confidence that they are enforced in a fair and impartial way."
And while pledging to work with Congress, Obama also had a warning for the GOP: "Congress, Democrats and Republicans, owe it to the American people to treat that authority with the responsibility it deserves and in a way that doesn't smack of politics or partisan agendas."
For their part, congressional Republicans have vowed more hearings and investigations over the IRS and Benghazi.
GOP members have accused the Obama administration of trying to cover up poor security and terrorist activity involved in the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya.
The administration initially attributed that attack to a protest over an anti-Islam film, but later acknowledged an organized terrorist operation. On Wednesday, officials released some 100 pages of e-mails tracing the development of "talking points" used by United Nations ambassador Susan Rice on television talk shows five days after the attacks.
The e-mails reflected State Department and CIA concern that there was no direct evidence of terrorist group involvement in the days right after the Benghazi attack. Officials also noted that the anti-Islam film had triggered protests at other U.S. facilities in the Middle East. Officials also indicated they did not want to make too many details of the attack public because of concern about undermining the FBI investigation of the attack.
"Collectively, these e-mails make clear that the inter-agency process, including the White House's interactions, were focused on providing the facts as we knew them based on the best information available at the time and protecting an ongoing investigation," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.
Congressional Republicans said the e-mails also showed State Department concern over being criticized for ignoring threats in Libya.
"The seemingly political nature of the State Department's concerns raises questions about the motivations behind these changes and who at the State Department was seeking them," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
As for IRS and harassment of conservative groups, there is one basic question: Was there any connection to the White House or the Obama re-election campaign?
The White House says no.
Congressional Republicans have vowed to investigate.
"If the President is as concerned about this issue as he claims, he'll work openly and transparently with Congress to get to the bottom of the scandal," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "No stonewalling, no half-answers, no withholding of witnesses."
Vowing to work with Congress, Obama said: "The government generally has to conduct itself in a way that is true to the public trust. That's especially true for the IRS."

Robin Williams CBS: New Williams Comedy Coming to CBS

This publicity image released by CBS shows Robin Williams, left, and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a scene from the pilot episode of "The Crazy Ones," a new CBS comedy premiering in the fall of 2013. (AP Photo/CBS, Richard Cartwright)

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Robin Williams CBS: The television company on Wednesday revealed a few nips and tucks it is planning next season for what is already network television's most successful schedule, including adding a comedy with Robin Williams playing an unorthodox advertising executive with Sarah Michelle Gellar as his daughter.
It will move "Person of Interest" to Tuesdays, pairing it with "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" to have television's three most-watched dramas on the same night and the same network.
Four comedies and one drama will debut on CBS this fall. CBS ordered only eight new series for the season, while rivals ABC, NBC and Fox are introducing a total of 41. CBS will end this season with the widest margin of victory in viewers of any network in 24 years and even win among the advertiser-desired demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds for the first time since the early 1990s, said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO.
Moonves took notice of how Jimmy Kimmel called CBS executives smug during ABC's schedule presentation on Tuesday, the late-night comic even adding an unprintable noun. If true, Moonves said, "I guess that means we're winning."
The company's stock just exceeded $50 a share for the first time, said Moonves, who was given a $22 million signing bonus upon extending his contract last year.
Dealing with such riches, CBS rejected pilots of a "NCIS: Los Angeles" spinoff and a TV remake of "Beverly Hills Cop" backed by Eddie Murphy. Melissa McCarthy's popular comedy "Mike & Molly" was left off the schedule and stuck in the bullpen, ready to return to plug any holes. CBS ordered 22 episodes of the sitcom.
Williams' comedy is called "The Crazy Ones," a reference to his comic style, and is getting a prime Thursday-night time slot after "The Big Bang Theory," television's most popular comedy. Among its producers is David E. Kelley.
"We think this is going to be the most talked-about show this fall," said Nina Tassler, CBS' entertainment president.
Chuck Lorre, TV's premiere comedy producer, is behind "Mom," a new Monday-night sitcom starring Anna Faris as a newly sober single mom with Allison Janney as her estranged mother. "We Are Men" is about four love-challenged single men living in the same apartment complex, with Tony Shalhoub as one of the stars.
CBS' other new comedy is "The Millers," with Will Arnett playing a recently divorced man whose plans to enjoy the single life are disrupted when his parents move in.
CBS is also trying something new in drama by ordering two limited-run series for its Monday-night schedule. "Hostages," produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, stars Toni Collette as a surgeon who is taken hostage the night before she is to operate on the president. After a 15-episode run, it will be replaced by "Intelligence," about an agent whose smarts are enhanced by a microchip implanted in his brain.
The network is canceling "CSI: N.Y.," ''Vegas," ''Golden Boy" and "Rules of Engagement."
The drama "Hawaii Five-0" will shift from Monday to Friday nights on the schedule. CBS usually runs drama reruns on Saturday, but next year will also air two comedies that night.
Midseason shows include:
—"Reckless," a legal drama set in Charleston, S.C., where a Yankee litigator and Southern lawyer have the hots for each other despite being on opposite sides of a long-running case.
—"Friends With Better Lives," a romantic comedy. Like its title suggests, it focuses on six friends at different stages of their romantic lives, all wondering if their pals have it better.

Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore's $10 Million Battle Drags Out Divorce (REPORT)

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It's closing in on two years since Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore announced they decided to split after six years of marriage, and a bitter fight over their millions continues to drag out their divorce.
The New York Post reports that the former couple are in a $10 million battle over A-Grade investments, the venture capital fund Kutcher formed with Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary and billionaire Ron Burkle, which was recently valued at $100 million.
Sources familiar with Kutcher and Moore's ongoing divorce proceedings told the paper that the actor has made a lot of money in the 18 months since they split, and he doesn't believe he owes her as much as she's asking for.
“Ashton set up A-Grade with Oseary and Burkle in 2010, when he and Demi were still together, but he recently told her lawyers the fund had not made substantial money. In fact, he claimed he had only put about $1 million into it," the source told the Post. “Now it seems Ashton and Oseary were working towards a private offering based on a valuation of $100 million. Ashton owns 20 percent of the fund, under California law, Demi should be entitled to half of his share — $10 million.”
The "Two and a Half" men star and partners announced they would be looking for outside investors at Techcrunch’s Disrupt earlier this month, and though they haven't confirmed all of A-Grade’s investments, some of the confirmed companies include Airbnb, Shazam, Path, Flipboard, Foursquare, Uber, Spotify, Fab.com and Soundcloud.
There have long been reports that the couple's divorce could be one of the most expensive in Hollywood history as Kutcher is TV’s highest-paid actor and reportedly worth $140 million. And while Moore doesn't need the money, having allegedly netted $90 million in her divorce from Bruce Willis, the Post previously reported that the 50-year-old actress was "shocked" and "really hurt" by Kutcher's decision to make the first move to file for divorce.
"Demi was asking for so much money, and [the negotiation] was dragging on so long, that Kutcher got fed up and filed papers, which means their divorce negotiations will become more public," a source previously told the Post.
With hurt feelings and millions of dollars on the line, it doesn't seem like the couple will agree on a settlement anytime soon.
Request for comment made to Kutcher's rep has not been returned at this time.