Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, self

Chiefs Player Involved in Murder-Suicide (Posted Dec. 1st, 2012)

Minutes after fatally shooting his girlfriend Saturday morning in the home they shared, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher drove five miles to the team's practice facility and parked out front.

The 25-year-old player got out of his car, and, while holding a gun to his head, spoke briefly with Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel and General Manager Scott Pioli, who had come outside to meet him. He thanked them for the opportunity to play in the NFL.

When police arrived on the scene, Belcher turned, walked about 30 feet west toward an empty parking lot, pulled the trigger and took his life.

Around the same time, Belcher's girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, 22, was being taken to the hospital. She died about 30 minutes after she was shot. The couple had a 3-month-old daughter who was in the house at the time of the shooting but was in another room. It was Belcher's mother, who had recently moved into the home from New York, who called police.

“Think about your worst nightmare and multiply it by five,” Kansas City Mayor Sly James told the Kansas City Star after meeting with Pioli at the stadium. “Put somebody you know and love into that situation, and give them a gun, and stand three feet away from them and watch them kill themselves … . It's unfathomable.”

The Chiefs, who play host today to the Carolina Panthers, had scheduled a team meeting for 9:30 a.m. — about 11/2 hours before Belcher pulled into the parking lot — so there were about 20 people at the facility when he shot himself.

“The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by [Saturday's] events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a statement released by the team.

The horrific murder-suicide reverberated through the NFL on what is typically a quiet day of preparation for games.

“He was a great kid, one of my favorites,” said former Chiefs coach Todd Haley, now offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He hugged me after the game when we played them a couple weeks ago and was bragging about his new daughter.

“ ... It's crazy. In season, nothing like has ever happened, nothing of this magnitude that I can remember.”

Belcher and Perkins reportedly had a tumultuous relationship and, police said, had been fighting in the hour leading up to the shooting. Perkins had been out late Friday night, attending a Trey Songz concert. Haley said Belcher and Perkins had met through another Chiefs player.

On her Facebook page, Perkins, who is from Dallas, posted several pictures of the couple and their daughter, including one of Belcher gently cradling the baby. That photo's caption reads “My loves.”

Another picture features Belcher leaping over a player to get to Arizona's quarterback and is captioned “In LOVE with SUPERMAN.”

Among the “likes” on Belcher's Facebook page was one for “Male Athletes Against Violence,” a project founded at his alma mater, the University of Maine, aimed at raising awareness about the problem of male violence against women.

Belcher grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and was an outstanding wrestler. Maine was the only school that offered him a football scholarship. From there, he made the improbable rise from undrafted free agent in 2009 to starting inside linebacker for Kansas City.

“Coming from a small high school, a small college, you're looked down upon like you can't do some of the things that other kids are doing who went to bigger schools,” Belcher told the Star in 1999. “In my position, I've always been the underdog.”

He was second on the team with 87 tackles last season, and had 38 in 11 games for the 1-10 Chiefs this season.

“I am devastated and heartbroken,” Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen wrote on Twitter. “I'm sending prayers out to everyone involved. Always show love and never be afraid to talk.”

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Zynga shares slide after privileged status with Facebook ends

(Reuters) - Shares of gaming company Zynga Inc fell as much as 10 percent, a day after the "Farmville" creator reached an agreement with Facebook Inc that reduces its dependence on the social networking giant.

The companies reported in regulatory filings on Thursday that they have reached an agreement to amend a 2010 deal that was widely seen as giving Zynga privileged status on the world's No.1 social network.

Zynga gets a freer hand to operate a standalone gaming website, but gives up its ability to promote its site on Facebook and to draw from the thriving social network of about 1 billion users.

"Although Zynga investors have reacted negatively to Thursday's announcements so far, we view them as a long-term positive for both companies," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to clients.

"Zynga now has an advantage to offer more payment options which could result in additional subscribers who are not Facebook users," he said, maintaining his "outperform" rating and price target of $4 on the stock.

Both internet companies have been trying to reduce their interdependence, with Zynga starting up its own Zynga.com platform, and Facebook wooing other games developers.

In recent quarters, fees from Zynga contributed 15 percent of Facebook's revenue, while Zynga relies on Facebook for roughly 80 percent of its revenue.

Francisco-based Zynga's shares were down 7 percent at $2.44 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Facebook shares were down more than 1 percent at $26.98.

(Reporting By Aurindom Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

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Alabama holds off Georgia 32-28, advances to Miami

ATLANTA (AP) — Alabama got a hand on the ball, which wobbled into the arms of a Georgia receiver who wasn't supposed to catch it.

Before the Bulldogs could get off another play, the clock ran out.

The Crimson Tide is heading back to the national championship game.

By a mere 5 yards.

AJ McCarron threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 3:15 remaining and No. 2 Alabama barely held on at the end, beating No. 3 Georgia 32-28 in a Southeastern Conference title game for the ages Saturday night.

"I'm ready to have a heart attack here," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said.

As confetti fell from the Georgia Dome roof, the Bulldogs collapsed on the field, stunned they had come so close to knocking off the team that has won two of the last three national titles.

"We just ran out of time," Georgia coach Mark Richt moaned.

Alabama (12-1) will get a chance to make it three out of four when it faces top-ranked Notre Dame for the BCS crown on Jan. 7 in Miami.

This time, Alabama will head to the big game with a championship already in its pocket — unlike last year's squad, which didn't even make it to Atlanta, but got a do-over against SEC champion LSU in the national title game.

Even though the Tide left little doubt it was truly the best team in the country, routing the Tigers 21-0, there were plenty who thought Saban's team didn't deserve a rematch.

There will be no complaints when Alabama heads to South Florida for a dream matchup between two of college football's most storied programs. The Tide and Notre Dame have each won eight Associated Press national titles, more than any other school.

"This group has been fantastic," Saban said. "They were able to accomplish something of significance, and something that last year's team didn't accomplish, which is win the SEC championship."

What a game it was.

After an apparent game-clinching interception by Alabama was overturned on a video review, Georgia's Aaron Murray completed a 15-yard pass to Arthur Lynch, a 23-yarder to Tavarres King and a 26-yarder to Lynch, who was hauled down at the Alabama 8 as the clock continued to run.

The Bulldogs (11-2) were out of timeouts.

Instead of spiking the ball and gathering themselves, the Bulldog hurriedly snapped the ball with 9 seconds to go. Murray attempted a pass into the end zone but it was deflected at the line and ended in the arms of Chris Conley out in the right flats.

Surprised to see the ball coming his way, he instinctively dove for the catch at the 5.

Georgia couldn't get off another play.

Richt said the offense called the play it wanted at the end, a deeper route to Malcolm Mitchell, but Alabama ruined it by tipping the pass. If it had fallen incomplete instead of being caught by Conley, the Bulldogs would've had at least one more play, maybe two.

Instead, they were done.

"I told the guys I was disappointed, but I'm not disappointed in them," Richt said. "They're warriors. We had a chance at the end."

The consolation prize will likely be one of the second-tier bowls — the Capital One, Cotton or Chick-fil-A — though the Bulldogs certainly looked like a team deserving of something better.

"Do I think we're worthy of a BCS bowl?" Richt said. "Yes I do."

The Bulldogs even got props from Saban.

"It would be a crying shame if Georgia doesn't get to go to a BCS bowl game," the Alabama coach said. "They played a tremendous game out there. That was a great football game, by both teams. It came right down to the last play."

In a back-and-forth second half that looked nothing like a game in the defensive-minded SEC, the Crimson Tide trailed 21-10 after Alec Ogletree returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Alabama rallied behind a punishing run game, finishing with 350 yards on the ground, an SEC championship game record. Eddie Lacy — the game's MVP — rumbled for 181 yards on 20 carries, including two TDs. Freshman T.J. Yeldon added 153 yards on 25 carries, also scoring a TD.

After the game, Lacy hooked up with the guy he replaced in the Alabama backfield — Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, now with the NFL's New Orleans Saints.

"He just told me congratulations and that I did a great job running and it was it was the best he's ever seen me run." Lacy said.

But the Tide won it through the air.

With Georgia stacking the line, McCarron fooled the Bulldogs with play action and delivered a perfectly thrown pass to Cooper, who beat Damian Swann in single coverage down the left side.

Georgia played like a champion until the clock ran out, though.

Using up their timeouts and forcing a punt, the Bulldogs got the ball back at their 15 with 1:08 remaining. Alabama broke into a celebration when a pass down the middle for Conley was deflected and Dee Milliner appeared to make a diving interception. But the replay showed the ball hit the ground, so Murray and the Georgia offense trotted back on the field for its last gasp.

And what a gasp it was.

Just not quite enough.

Todd Gurley led Georgia with 122 yards rushing, including a couple of TDs. Murray was 18 of 33 for 265 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

McCarron was 12 of 21 for 162 yards with an interception, only his third of the season.

After a defensive struggle in the first half, with Alabama kicking a field goal on the final play for a 10-7 lead, the last two quarters were nothing but run-and-gun.

The Bulldogs took the second-half kickoff and marched right down the field for the go-ahead touchdown. Gurley ran it seven times, capped by leg-churning, 3-yard drive up the middle to make it 14-10.

Alabama looked like it was about to answer, holding the ball for more than 5 1-2 minutes, before the drive stalled. Cade Foster came on for a 50-yard field-goal attempt, but his low kick was swatted down by Cornelius Washington. Ogletree scooped up the bouncing ball in stride and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.

Suddenly, the Bulldogs led 21-10.

But the Tide wasn't about to go away that easy. Yeldon broke off a 31-yard run, Swann was called interference on a throw down the middle, and Yeldon powered in from the 10. He ran it again for the 2-point conversion, pulling Alabama to 21-18.

Georgia went three-and-out, and the ground assault resumed. Lacy barreled over right guard for 32 yards. Yeldon got it down to the 1. Lacy returned for the first snap of the fourth period, bulling over to put Alabama ahead 25-21.

The Tide's momentum lasted about 2 minutes.

Murray found King down the middle for a 45-yard completion and Gurley finished off the lightning-quick possession with a 10-yard touchdown run up the middle, putting Georgia back on top, 28-25.

But Alabama knows a thing or two about comebacks, having rebounded the last two years from regular-season losses.

Just three weeks ago, the Tide was upset at home by Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M.

Now, Bama is off to play for another title.

"It's just the never-give-up attitude," McCarron said. "You've got to keep fighting through it."

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

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Strauss-Kahn in preliminary deal to settle case with maid

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has reached a preliminary agreement to settle a civil lawsuit brought against him by a hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault last year, sources familiar with the case said.

U.S. and France-based lawyers for Strauss-Kahn, who was once tipped to become French president, on Friday acknowledged a deal was under discussion, but said it had not yet been finalized.

They also denied as “flatly false” and “fanciful” a report that he agreed on a $ 6 million settlement.

“The parties have discussed a resolution but there has been no settlement. Mr. Strauss-Kahn will continue to defend the charges if no resolution can be reached,” Strauss-Kahn’s U.S. lawyers, William Taylor and Amit Mehta, said in a statement.

“Media reports that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has agreed to pay six million dollars to settle the civil case are flatly false.”

French daily Le Monde, citing people close to Strauss-Kahn, said he and the maid Nafissatou Diallo would meet a judge in New York on December 7 to sign a $ 6 million settlement and close an affair that ended the Frenchman’s International Monetary Fund career and wrecked his presidential ambitions.

“The discussions have been going on for weeks, months. The agreement should be confirmed at the start of next week,” Michele Saban, a friend of Strauss-Kahn who saw him recently, told Reuters in Paris. She could not confirm the sum involved.

“We are moving towards the end of a tragedy,” she said, adding that Diallo had always been open to negotiating a settlement despite reticence from her lawyers.

Le Monde said 63-year-old Strauss-Kahn planned to take out a bank loan for $ 3 million and would be lent the other $ 3 million by his wife Anne Sinclair, despite the fact the couple separated in the summer and now live on different sides of Paris.

Strauss-Kahn’s Paris-based legal team declined to comment on whether a deal had been reached with Diallo, but denied Le Monde’s report of the sum involved.

“Neither Dominique Strauss-Kahn nor his lawyers will comment on proceedings in the United States. That said, however, they strenuously deny the erroneous and fanciful information relayed by Le Monde,” said a statement from the Paris lawyers.

The New York Times, which first reported the development, also said the pair would appear before a judge in New York next week. It said the settlement sum could not be determined.

END OF THE AFFAIR

News of the U.S. deal comes as Strauss-Kahn is awaiting a decision by a French court on December 19 on whether to call off a sex offence inquiry involving parties in Lille attended by prostitutes, where he risks trial on a charge of “aggravated pimping”.

If that case is dropped and Diallo ends her civil case, Strauss-Kahn would have a freer rein to pursue his consultancy work and could even consider a tentative return to public life in France, where he has been shunned since the Diallo scandal.

Images of the then IMF chief paraded before TV cameras in handcuffs before being charged with attempted rape shocked the world and led to French media raking over smutty details of the former finance minister’s private life.

“That’s the end, not only of this affair, but of any potential affair because one of the reasons for signing this kind of agreement is that both parties agree that they will never again bring a lawsuit,” Christopher Mesnooh, a U.S. lawyer who practices in France, said of the Diallo agreement.

“There will always be people who wonder about what happened in New York and in Lille, but from a legal standpoint if he gets all this behind him, he’s a free man,” he added.

Diallo alleged that Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex on May 14, 2011, in his suite at the Manhattan Sofitel.

The criminal prosecution fell apart after doubts emerged concerning Diallo’s credibility as a witness and the attempted rape charges against Strauss-Kahn were eventually dropped.

Strauss-Kahn, who in May 2011 was days from entering this year’s French presidential election, has maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual, although he said in a TV interview after his return to France that he regretted his “moral error”.

He filed his own countersuit against the maid earlier this year, claiming that Diallo’s accusations had destroyed his career and harmed his reputation.

In recent months, Strauss-Kahn has been making a comeback under-the-radar with a handful of speaking engagements at private conferences and by setting up a business consultancy firm in Paris.

(Reporting by Noeleen Walder in New York and Emmanuel Jarry, Johnny Cotton and Thierry Leveque in Paris; Writing by Catherine Bremer and Brian Love; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Asperger's dropped from revised diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide "defines what constellations of symptoms" doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it "shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care."

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association's board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's.

"To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism."

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization's fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders."

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids' who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner .

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Katzenberg, Spielberg attend Governors Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stars such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are arriving at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles to pay homage to four industry heavyweights.

The film academy's fourth annual Governors Awards are being presented Saturday to honorary Oscar winners Jeffrey Katzenberg, stuntman Hal Needham, documentarian D.A. Pennebaker and American Film Institute founding director George Stevens Jr.

The four men will accept their Oscar statuettes during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' private dinner program in the Ray Dolby Ballroom. Portions of the untelevised event may be included in the Feb. 24 Academy Awards telecast.

Other guests expected at Saturday's ceremony include Quentin Tarantino, Bradley Cooper, Kristen Stewart, Bryan Cranston and Oscar host Seth MacFarlane.

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After a billion, what next for Facebook?

MENLO PARK — In just eight years, Facebook signed up more than half the world's Internet population.

Now it's going after the rest.

Facebook wants to reach every single person on the Internet whether they are logging on from a laptop in Santa Monica, an iPhone in Tokyo or a low-tech phone with a tiny screen in Nairobi.

It's parachuting into market after market to take on homegrown social networks by currying favor with the locals and venturing where many people have spotty — if any — access to the Internet.

In Japan, it lets users list their blood types, which the Japanese believe — like astrological signs in the Western world — give insight into personality and temperament. In Africa, Facebook markets a stripped-down, text-only version of its service that works on low-tech mobile phones.

International growth is crucial to maintain its dominance as the world's largest social network. The company's scorching pace of growth has cooled especially in the United States. Facebook must coax users to sign up — and make sure it remains popular with the users it already has — or risk being knocked from its lofty perch.

"We're not a company that is just trying to add more people," said Chris Cox, Facebook's vice president of product. "What we are trying to do is build a service that everyone in the world can use."

But overseas growth that once seemed to come so easily is slower now. Facebook has already saturated most major markets around the globe. Eight out of 10 Facebook users are outside of the U.S.

"I don't think that Facebook has a chance of attracting another billion users," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Inside Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters is a small army out to prove naysayers wrong. Above their desks they have hung flags from around the world that represent their nationalities. They obsessively scan screens that track user growth around the world.

They cheered and popped open champagne in September when the number of active Facebook users crossed 1 billion. But the moment of jubilation quickly passed as they redoubled their efforts to spread Facebook around the globe.

Naomi Gleit is the soft-spoken, headstrong 29-year-old product manager in charge of growth at Facebook. She says Facebook's future is on mobile devices, the medium by which most people will experience the Web in coming years. Facebook now works on more than 2,500 different phones, helping it gain a foothold in emerging markets. And it is forging relationships with mobile phone operators around the world.

Gleit's 150-member team has boots on the ground in far-flung places armed with low-tech phones and cheap data plans. Even team members here carry Nokia phones alongside their iPhones to update their status or check their News Feed.

"We originally built a product for ourselves," Gleit said. "This is different. Now we need to understand the experience of users who are not like us."

Analysts say Facebook already has established an impressive track record of uprooting entrenched competitors. In Britain, it displaced the dominant social network Bebo, forcing AOL to sell it at a huge loss. In Germany, Facebook overtook the homegrown StudiVZ. Facebook even broke Google social network Orkut's stranglehold on Brazil and India.

In 2009, it launched a clever tool to help Facebook users find their Orkut friends on Facebook and instantly send them friend requests. Two years later it swiped Google's top executive in Latin America, Alexandre Hohagen. Facebook sprinted ahead of Orkut one year ago, and now has 61 million active users in Latin America's largest country.

Facebook is treating India as a test lab for how it can spread in other emerging markets such as Indonesia. Facebook, which has offices in Hyderabad, India, has grown from 8 million users in 2010 to 65 million users today. It is aggressively targeting India's youth. A few hundred young Indian programmers recently jammed a Facebook hackathon at a Bangalore convention center to chug chai and brainstorm new apps that would appeal to their friends.

But Facebook has its eyes on a much bigger prize beyond the country's 100 million Internet users: the 900 million-plus Indians on mobile phones. Some analysts predict India will have more Facebook users than any other country including the United States by 2015.

The company also faces significant challenges in India. It must make the service captivating on low-tech mobile phones with unreliable Internet connections and it must gingerly navigate demands from the Indian government to remove objectionable content without alienating users.

Facebook is making some of its biggest moves in Russia, South Korea and Japan, the only major markets where it operates but has penetration of less than 50%, according to research firm ComScore.

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6 shot, 1 fatally, on S. Side

Six people were shot on the South Side of Chicago. Police investigate one of the crime scenes in the 4200 block of S. Wells St. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

A total of six people were shot, one fatally, in two shootings on the South Side, officials said.

In the first shooting, two 19-year-old men were reported shot on the 1100 block of West 51st Street, police said. The shooting was reported at 6:11 p.m., said Chicago Fire Department Chief Joseph Roccasalva.

The men were both taken in serious-to-critical condition to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

One of the men was reportedly shot in the back and the second man was shot in the hand, leg, side and buttocks, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer VeeJay Zala.

Minutes after that shooting, four people were shot on the 4200 block of South Wells Street at 6:21 p.m., said Roccasalva.

A 30-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the head and a 38-year-old man was shot in the neck, both were taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The younger man  reportedly died, officials said.

A 32-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach. A 27-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to Mercy Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Two of the victims were taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital, one person was taken to Mercy Hospital in fair-to-serious condition and one person was reported dead on the scene, said Roccasalva.

The four victims were shot inside and outside of a home in the 4200 block of South Wells Street, police said.

The man who was killed, 30-year-old William Martin, was shot in the head inside the home, according to police and the victim's family.

Martin was the second child Thelma Smith lost to gunfire this year, she said. Another son, Samuel Clay, was shot and killed in April near 45th Street and Saint Lawrence Avenue, she said.

"I don't know what this world is coming to, with all this shooting," Martin's mother, Smith, 48, said through tears from the porch of her mother's home on the next block.

She said Martin was in the home, where a friend of his lived, when the bullets pierced through the window and struck Martin and at least one other victim.

Smith, who has four other children, said Martin was studying to become a Jehovah's Witness. She said he had six children and got married last year. 

"Oh my God! I can't believe this! Another one of my kids is getting buried. I have to bury another one of my kids," said Smith.

Police said the gunshots may have come from an alley west of the home, across the street. No one is in custody.

Police couldn't say what led to the shooting, but the block is in the middle of an area where two gangs are in conflict with one another.

There's no indication the shooting is related to the other one at 51st and Wells Streets, police said.

About 20 onlookers gathered on sidewalks and stoops in the 4200 block of South Wells Street where beat cops and detectives were going door to door scouring for witnesses.

A female voice could be heard screaming down the block. Two others were consoling each other with tears in their eyes in the middle of the street.

One officer approached a group of people outside the yellow tape and asked loudly, "Did anybody see anything?"

Nobody said anything back to the officer as she walked away from them.

Rolita Lofton, 34, stood crying at the edge of the police tape Friday night near the shooting site on Wells Street.

"They hit my brother in the chest," Lofton said.

Lofton said her brother, Orivell Chester, 32, was one of the four shot Friday night.

Lofton said she was told her brother was in surgery but did not know the hospital. She said Chester worked at McCormick Place and recently got off work.

Marcus Keene, 38, said he heard the shooters came through the gangway on Wells Street and just started shooting at a group of men gathered on the porch.

He said two of the men shot were on the porch while the other two shot were sitting on the couch inside the next house over. Keene said he believes one of the men who was struck while inside the house had already died.

Keene, who works as a CTA bus driver, expressed frustration.

"Why? Who knows. Is this sad? Yes. The powers at be aren't doing what they should do and neither are the people here," Keene said.

Several police vehicles and an ambulance were also stationed on the block full of two-story apartment houses.

Linda McCullough was watching television at her home when she heard about five gunshots. She then went outside to see what was going on.

She says the neighborhood is usually quiet.

"We have some trouble maybe every four years," she said. "People start acting crazy."

In addition to those shootings, a man was found dead of apparent gunshot wounds on the 8200 block of South Dobson, police said.

The victim may have been dead for a few weeks, a police source said, citing preliminary information. The man sustained several gunshot wounds, police said.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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Zynga shares slide after privileged status with Facebook ends

(Reuters) - Shares of gaming company Zynga Inc fell as much as 10 percent, a day after the "Farmville" creator reached an agreement with Facebook Inc that reduces its dependence on the social networking giant.

The companies reported in regulatory filings on Thursday that they have reached an agreement to amend a 2010 deal that was widely seen as giving Zynga privileged status on the world's No.1 social network.

Zynga gets a freer hand to operate a standalone gaming website, but gives up its ability to promote its site on Facebook and to draw from the thriving social network of about 1 billion users.

"Although Zynga investors have reacted negatively to Thursday's announcements so far, we view them as a long-term positive for both companies," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to clients.

"Zynga now has an advantage to offer more payment options which could result in additional subscribers who are not Facebook users," he said, maintaining his "outperform" rating and price target of $4 on the stock.

Both internet companies have been trying to reduce their interdependence, with Zynga starting up its own Zynga.com platform, and Facebook wooing other games developers.

In recent quarters, fees from Zynga contributed 15 percent of Facebook's revenue, while Zynga relies on Facebook for roughly 80 percent of its revenue.

Francisco-based Zynga's shares were down 7 percent at $2.44 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Facebook shares were down more than 1 percent at $26.98.

(Reporting By Aurindom Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

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Hogan leads Stanford past UCLA 27-24 to win Pac-12

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Hogan has taken Stanford to a place Andrew Luck never could.

With the NFL's No. 1 overall draft pick and an elite class of seniors gone, a program that weathered the loss of coach Jim Harbaugh once again faced questions. Stanford coach David Shaw answered every one of them, finding a new clutch quarterback along the way.

Hogan threw for 155 yards and a touchdown and ran for 47 yards and another score, helping eighth-ranked Stanford beat No. 17 UCLA 27-24 in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night. The redshirt freshman won game MVP honors while leading the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl for the first time in more than a decade.

"Character," said Shaw, the Pac-12 coach of the year in his first two seasons. "Even when we don't play well, we still play hard. Our guys played with such heart. We made plays when we needed to make plays."

Hogan's biggest highlight came in the biggest moment of the game.

As a defender barreled into him, Hogan hurled a 26-yard tying touchdown pass to Drew Terrell on third-and-15 early in the fourth quarter. Jordan Williamson kicked his second field goal from 36 yards with 6:49 remaining for the go-ahead score, lifting Stanford to its first conference title since the 1999 season.

Many of the sparse crowd announced at 31,622 rushed the field. Players, wearing their all-black uniforms, danced on the sideline and later carried roses — or stuck them in their mouths — while parading around as confetti flew from a stage erected on the field.

What a way to ring in the post-Luck Era: The Cardinal (11-2) will play the winner of the Big Ten title game between Nebraska and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

UCLA's Brent Hundley threw for 177 yards and a costly interception that set up a Stanford touchdown. He still almost brought the Bruins (9-4) back, but Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 52-yard field goal wide left in the closing moments of the disappointing loss.

Hogan completed 16 of 22 passes for a fourth win over a ranked opponent in his fourth straight start since unseating Josh Nunes at quarterback. After the Cardinal rolled past UCLA 35-17 last Saturday at the Rose Bowl, it took all 60 minutes to secure another victory in a rare rematch.

Scattered showers made the grass a bit slick, though the surface never seemed to slow down the Bruins, who ran for 284 yards with Johnathan Franklin (194 yards) leading the way. It was the most yards rushing allowed this season by Stanford, which yielded 198 in an overtime victory at Oregon two weeks earlier.

No matter.

The Cardinal did just enough to win their seventh straight game and advance to their third different BCS bowl in as many seasons. They have won at least 11 games each year, part of a run that began behind Harbaugh and Luck, and now has carried on with Shaw and Hogan.

Stanford had won 10 games only three times before in program history (1992, 1940 and 1926).

"It's been fun," Hogan said.

The Bruins made the final road block more difficult than expected.

UCLA converted a pair of third downs before Franklin burst through the middle for a 51-yard touchdown on the game's opening drive. He carried safety Jordan Richards the final 5 yards into the end zone.

Stanford answered quickly. Hogan ran 14 yards on a read-option keeper to convert a long third down, fullback Ryan Hewitt bulldozed through the line on a fourth-and-1 and Stepfan Taylor took a short pass 33 yards, to inches shy of the goal line. On the next play, Hogan faked a handoff and rolled untouched for the tying touchdown.

Taylor finished with 78 yards rushing to eclipse Darrin Nelson's school record of 4,169. Taylor, an outgoing senior, has 4,212 for his career.

Before the Cardinal offense even found their seats on the sideline, Hundley ran 48 yards and scrambled for a 5-yard TD to put UCLA back in front, 14-7.

With the Bruins about to go ahead two scores, Ed Reynolds intercepted Hundley's pass and returned it 80 yards to set up Taylor's short TD run.

Officials ruled that Reynolds, who has returned three interceptions for touchdowns this season, was tackled by Hundley short of the goal line and a replay challenge by Shaw was inconclusive. Reynolds moved into a tie with Oregon State's Jordan Poyer for the Pac-12 lead with six interceptions.

Williamson kicked a 37-yard field goal as the first half expired to give Stanford a 17-14 lead. Fairbairn answered with a field goal from 31 yards on UCLA's opening drive of the second half.

Franklin capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 20-yard TD run late in the third quarter. That gave the Bruins a 24-17 advantage and put Stanford on the brink of its first home loss this season.

Instead, the Cardinal came back in impressive fashion.

After shaking off the safety, Hogan heaved the long touchdown to Terrell just over the cornerback's head. Terrell caught the pass in the short corner and pointed to the poncho-wearing crowd.

"We knew we had to remain calm and play our style," Hogan said. "We kept to it. We pounded the ball, got field position, got the TD to tie it."

Stanford stuffed UCLA three-and-out and Terrell returned the punt 18 yards to the Bruins 43. That set up Williamson's tiebreaking field goal.

One last UCLA drive nearly sent the game to overtime.

Tight end Joseph Fauria caught a pass over the middle on fourth-and-7 and lateraled the ball to Jordon James to finish a 17-yard completion. That helped set up Fairbairn's field goal with 34 seconds left, and the kick never looked on target.

"There's a lot of tears and a lot of disappointment but I think they should be proud of what we accomplished," first-year UCLA coach Jim Mora said.

Stanford has beaten the Bruins five straight games. UCLA was going for its first conference championship since 1998.

The crowd was the smallest at 50,000-seat Stanford Stadium since the Cardinal drew 30,626 against Sacramento State on Sept. 4, 2010.

"It felt like the whole entire game we controlled our own destiny, controlled this ballgame," Bruins defensive lineman Datone Jones said. "We dominated the line of scrimmage and stopped big runs."

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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

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