Obama girls rock out with military kids at concert

WASHINGTON (AP) — Usher sang “Yeah!” Katy Perry donned star and stripes for “Firework.” And a ballroom full of lucky kids got to rock out with Sasha and Malia Obama at Saturday’s Kids’ Inaugural Concert, a star-studded event that honors America’s military families.

“Now, inauguration is a pretty big deal,” first lady Michelle Obama, who hosted the event along with Jill Biden, told the assembled families at the Washington Convention Center. “But I have to tell you that my very favorite part of this entire weekend is being right here with all of you.” She paid tribute to the sacrifices that military families make, including their kids.

Pointing out that such kids often attend six to nine schools by the end of high school, always having to be “the new kid,” she said being a military kid meant “growing up just a little faster, and working just a little harder than other kids.” The concert was streamed live to several military bases around the country.

This was the second such concert for the Obama girls, and the choice of talent seemed to reflect the fact that they are four years older. While in 2009 they were entertained by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, this time it was Usher and Perry, along with the groups Mindless Behavior and Far East Movement. Also performing were cast members from the Fox TV hit “Glee.”

Usher, in black leather, kicked off the proceedings with his hit “Yeah!,” followed by “Without You” and “OMG,” earning a huge cheer from the crowd. In between acts, there were kid-friendly diversions like a dance-off, or a race among mascots of the Washington Nationals: oversized versions of presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

Three members of the “Glee” cast were greeted warmly by the crowd: Naya Rivera, who plays Santana; Darren Criss, who plays Blaine; and Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes.

Nick Cannon emceed the evening, but it was Mrs. Obama, sporting her new bangs and wearing a white peplum shirt over black pants, who got to introduce the top attraction.

“It is now my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Katy Perry!” she said, and the singer emerged in what looked like a vintage swimsuit, covered patriotically with stars and stripes. She sang her hits “Teenage Dream,” ”Part of Me,” ”Wide Awake” and then “Firework,” which was accompanied by a slide show of President Barack Obama: Obama in the Oval Office, Obama exiting Air Force One, Obama greeting LeBron James.

“I’m very proud to be here … and to see the Obamas and the Bidens here for four more years,” she said.

Perry was the favorite of concertgoer Dylan Garvin, 12, who came from Wilmington, Del. “I thought it was incredible,” Dylan said of the concert. “It’s a great way to celebrate.”

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.

The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.

Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's but it showed some promise against milder disease. Researchers think it might work better if given before symptoms start.

"The hope is we can catch people before they decline," which can come 10 years or more after plaques first show up in the brain, said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Alzheimer's center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

She will help lead the new study, which will involve 1,000 people ages 70 to 85 whose brain scans show plaque buildup but who do not yet have any symptoms of dementia. They will get monthly infusions of solanezumab or a dummy drug for three years. The main goal will be slowing the rate of cognitive decline. The study will be done at 50 sites in the U.S. and possibly more in Canada, Australia and Europe, Sperling said.

In October, researchers said combined results from two studies of solanezumab suggested it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease. Taken separately, the studies missed their main goals of significantly slowing the mind-robbing disease or improving activities of daily living.

Those results were not considered good enough to win the drug approval. So in December, Lilly said it would start another large study of it this year to try to confirm the hopeful results seen patients with mild disease. That is separate from the federal study Sperling will head.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

___

Online:

Alzheimer's info: http://www.alzheimers.gov

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org

___

Follow Marilynn Marchione's coverage at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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Obama girls rock out with military kids at concert

WASHINGTON (AP) — Usher sang "Yeah!" Katy Perry donned star and stripes for "Firework." And a ballroom full of lucky kids got to rock out with Sasha and Malia Obama at Saturday's Kids' Inaugural Concert, a star-studded event that honors America's military families.

"Now, inauguration is a pretty big deal," first lady Michelle Obama, who hosted the event along with Jill Biden, told the assembled families at the Washington Convention Center. "But I have to tell you that my very favorite part of this entire weekend is being right here with all of you." She paid tribute to the sacrifices that military families make, including their kids.

Pointing out that such kids often attend six to nine schools by the end of high school, always having to be "the new kid," she said being a military kid meant "growing up just a little faster, and working just a little harder than other kids." The concert was streamed live to several military bases around the country.

This was the second such concert for the Obama girls, and the choice of talent seemed to reflect the fact that they are four years older. While in 2009 they were entertained by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, this time it was Usher and Perry, along with the groups Mindless Behavior and Far East Movement. Also performing were cast members from the Fox TV hit "Glee."

Usher, in black leather, kicked off the proceedings with his hit "Yeah!," followed by "Without You" and "OMG," earning a huge cheer from the crowd. In between acts, there were kid-friendly diversions like a dance-off, or a race among mascots of the Washington Nationals: oversized versions of presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

Three members of the "Glee" cast were greeted warmly by the crowd: Naya Rivera, who plays Santana; Darren Criss, who plays Blaine; and Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes.

Nick Cannon emceed the evening, but it was Mrs. Obama, sporting her new bangs and wearing a white peplum shirt over black pants, who got to introduce the top attraction.

"It is now my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Katy Perry!" she said, and the singer emerged in what looked like a vintage swimsuit, covered patriotically with stars and stripes. She sang her hits "Teenage Dream," ''Part of Me," ''Wide Awake" and then "Firework," which was accompanied by a slide show of President Barack Obama: Obama in the Oval Office, Obama exiting Air Force One, Obama greeting LeBron James.

"I'm very proud to be here ... and to see the Obamas and the Bidens here for four more years," she said.

Perry was the favorite of concertgoer Dylan Garvin, 12, who came from Wilmington, Del. "I thought it was incredible," Dylan said of the concert. "It's a great way to celebrate."

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Problem Solver: Motorists get tickets while feeding meter

As is often the case in life, timing is everything.

For Anthony Latronica, it was also expensive.

On Nov. 3, the West Town resident parked his car on North Avenue near Wells Street and walked to the nearest parking meter to pay.

His wife put her credit card into the pay box but could not get the device to work.

According to phone records, she called Chicago Parking Meters LLC at 7:47 p.m. but had trouble getting through. She hung up and called again at 7:48 p.m., and a representative walked her through the procedure. Phone records show the call lasted three minutes.

The parking receipt printed out at 7:51 p.m., and Latronica went to put it on his dashboard. But in the rough-and-tumble world of Chicago parking, minutes can make a big difference.

In fact, Latronica was too late.

By the time he walked the half-block to his car, Latronica had already been ticketed for an expired meter, the citation time stamped at 7:49 p.m. — two minutes after his wife called Chicago Parking Meters to complain about the pay box.

Stunned, Latronica grabbed the ticket and tracked down the ticker writer.

"He told me that he did see us standing at the meter and he would cancel the ticket," Latronica said.

That didn't happen. Several weeks later, Latronica received a citation in the mail, telling him he could either contest the ticket or pay $60.

Latronica chose to contest.

He sent in an explanation of what happened, a copy of his credit card statement and a copy of the meter receipt.

In early January, he received the ruling: guilty.

Upset, Latronica called the Department of Administrative Hearings and asked how, given his circumstances, the ticket could be upheld? After all, he was in the process of getting a parking receipt when he received the ticket. It wasn't as if he could get the meter receipt before he parked the car.

He was told that since the receipt printed two minutes after the ticket was issued, he could have run back and paid for parking after receiving the citation.

Unable to make any headway with the city, Latronica emailed What's Your Problem?

He said what irked him the most was the fact that he did nothing wrong and still got dinged. To appeal the administrative law officer's ruling would cost more money, he said.

"It is probably not worth the time, money and effort to bring a suit, but it really bothers me that this can be happening every day across the city and citizens are just denied when they contest it," Latronica said.

In fact, his experience is not an isolated incident. The same week that Latronica emailed about his situation, another reader, Holly Mair, wrote in describing a similar experience.

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2 shot to death in separate attacks on South, West sides

Two men were shot to death in separate attacks within about 15 minutes of each other, one in Austin and one in Back of the Yards, authorities said.

About 9:15 p.m., a man was shot to death inside a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, 5500 W. North Ave.

The man, who witnesses said was about 21 years old, was inside a business when he was shot from outside by someone who fled on foot, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer. He was unresponsive on the scene, she said.

Three workers inside were cleaning up inside as police examined shell casings outside about 10 p.m. Someone fired at least four times from outside the restaurant, piercing a window and striking the man, police said.

An employee who was inside making up an order at the time of the shooting said the gunfire did not sound like shots but instead like someone hitting a table with a hammer.

Just 15 minutes later, a man in his 20s was found shot to death on a sidewalk about 9:30 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Laflin Street, Greer said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the face and was dead on the scene, she said.

Police found him in a gangway next to a house with vacant brick buildings on each side.

About 11:35 p.m., a male was shot in the leg in the 4400 block of South Washtenaw Avenue, Greer said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

Someone shot two teens in the 8400 block of South Constance Avenue about 9:45 p.m., Greer said. A 15-year-old was shot in the chest and taken to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition and a 16-year-old was grazed in the back and taken to Jackson Park Hospital in good condition.

Earlier, two men were shot in the Englewood neighborhood tonight. The shooting took place about 7:30 p.m. on the 7300 block of South Racine Avenue, and left one man wounded in the back and the other in the foot, police said.

The Chicago Fire Department said the men were taken to hospitals from nearby locations where they were found by emergency personnel.

A 20-year-old man with a wound to the back was taken from 74th and Racine in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, and an 18-year-old man with a wound to the foot was taken from 74th and Aberdeen Street to St. Bernard Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, according to Fire Media reports.

No further details were immediately available.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

lford@tribune.com
Twitter: @ltaford

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Dotcom says new site legal, no revenge for Megaupload saga

AUCKLAND (Reuters) - Kim Dotcom, founder of outlawed file-sharing website Megaupload, says his new "cyberlocker" is not a way to exact revenge on the U.S. authorities who planned a raid on his home, closed Megaupload, and charged him with online piracy for which he faces years in prison if found guilty.

The flamboyant Dotcom said his new offering, Mega.co.nz, which will launch on Sunday even as he and three of his colleagues await extradition from New Zealand to the United States, complied with the law and warned that attempts to take it down would be futile.

"One thing has to be clear: This is not some kind of finger to the U.S. government or to Hollywood," Dotcom told Reuters at his sprawling estate in the bucolic hills of Coatesville, just outside Auckland.

"Legally, there's just nothing there that could be used to shut us down, this site is just as legitimate and has the right to exist as Dropbox, Boxnet and other the other competitors in this space," he said, referring to other popular cloud storage services.

His lawyer, Ira Rothken, added that launching the new site was compliant with the terms of Dotcom's bail conditions.

U.S. prosecutors argue that, in a statement related to his bail proceedings last year, Dotcom said he had no intention of starting a new internet business until his extradition was resolved.

Dotcom will celebrate the launch will a party at his home, a mansion worth roughly NZ$30 million ($25.05 million), which features a servants' wing, hedge maze and life-size statues of giraffes and a rhinoceros in the grounds.

A year ago, New Zealand's elite special tactics forces choppered into Dotcom's home in a dawn raid to arrest him and his colleagues and confiscate evidence related to Megaupload, at the request of the FBI.

CODES AND KEYS

Dotcom says Mega is a different beast to Megaupload, as the new site enables users to control exactly which users can access uploaded files, in contrast with its predecessor, which allowed users to search files, some of which contained copyrighted content allegedly used without permission.

A sophisticated encryption system will allow users to encode their files before they upload them onto the site's servers, which Dotcom said were located in New Zealand and overseas. He declined to specify where.

Each file will then be issued a unique, sophisticated decryption key which only the file holder will control, allowing them to share the file as they choose.

As a result, the site's operators would have no access to the files, which they say would strip them from any possible liability for knowingly enabling users to distribute copyright-infringing content, which Washington says is illegal.

"Even if we wanted to, we can't go into your file and snoop and see what you have in there," the burly Dotcom said.

Dotcom - a German national who also goes by the name Kim Schmitz - and his colleagues face years in prison if they are convicted, although the case is expected to drag on for years.

Known as much for his previous cyber crime-related arrests as his penchant for fast cars and yacht parties, Dotcom promised an extravagant launch for Mega as builders put the finishing to a festival-sized concert stage in the mansion's grounds.

Two helicopters circled overhead as workers erected a massive white replica of Mega's capitalized, block-lettered logo on the hills flanking the approach to the mansion. Dotcom was coy about what guests could expect from the event.

Expecting huge interest in its first month of operation, he said Mega's launch will be a far cry from when Megaupload went live in 2005.

Then, he and his colleagues were glued to their computer screens in a tiny office, cheering each time the counter showing the number of hits on the site ticked up towards 10.

"I would be surprised if we had less than 1 million users," Dotcom said.

($1 = 1.1977 New Zealand dollars)

(Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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Te'o tells ESPN: Not involved in creating hoax

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o insisted he had no role in the bizarre hoax involving his "dead" girlfriend and told ESPN on Friday night that he was duped by a person who has since apologized to him.

In an off-camera interview with ESPN, Te'o said Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old acquaintance who lives in California, contacted him two days ago and confessed to the prank. Deadspin.com first exposed the scheme on Wednesday and indicated Tuiasosopo was involved in it.

"I wasn't faking it," ESPN quoted Te'o as saying during the 2 1-2 hour interview. "I wasn't part of this. When they hear the facts they'll know. They'll know there is no way I could be a part of this."

Te'o said he first met Tuiasosopo in person after the Southern California game in November. Te'o told ESPN that Tuiasosopo told him he was the cousin of Lennay Kekua, the woman who Te'o believed he had fallen for through Internet chats and long phone conversations.

"Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," Te'o told ESPN. "I don't know. According to Ronaiah, Ronaiah's one."

Te'o said he never met Kekua face-to-face and when he tried to speak with her via Skype and video phone calls, the picture was blocked.

He also told ESPN that he lied to his father about having met Kekua. To cover that up, he apparently lied to everyone else.

After he was told Kekua had died of leukemia in early September, Te'o said he misled the public about the nature of the "relationship" because he was uncomfortable saying he had never met her in person.

"That goes back to what I did with my dad. I knew that. I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet," he said. "So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away."

Te'o's first interview since the story broke came at the end of a day that started with Notre Dame posting a podcast of athletic director Jack Swarbrick's radio show, during which he implored the Heisman Trophy runner-up to speak publicly about the episode. Already, it had turned the feel-good story line of the college football season into a dark and strange one.

Te'o took Notre Dame's advice, but this was no Lance Armstrong-with-Oprah Winfrey mea culpa.

ESPN conducted the interview with Te'o at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where Te'o is preparing for the NFL draft and hopes to be among the first-round picks. The network produced only still photos of the interview, with reporter Jeremy Schaap sitting at large table with the linebacker. Schaap then provided details on "Sports Center" and a story was posted on ESPN.com.

Some wondered whether Te'o had been in on the fake girlfriend scheme in an odd attempt to gain positive publicity and attention. Schaap said Te'o firmly denied that. The nation's best defender also said the hoax affected his play in the BCS national championship, a 42-14 loss to Alabama in which he performed poorly.

Te'o told ESPN that he wasn't entirely sure he was the victim of a hoax until earlier this week, just two days ago, when Tuiasosopo apologized to him via Twitter. As Notre Dame officials said earlier, he did get a call from the person posing as Kekua on Dec. 6 — but it was to tell him she had not died at all, and to carry on their courtship.

Te'o was confused. He finally confided in his parents over Christmas break in his home state of Hawaii and told Notre Dame coaches what was going on Dec. 26.

"My relationship with Lennay wasn't a four-year relationship," Te'o said. "There were blocks and times and periods in which we would talk and then it would end," but he offered her a "shoulder to cry on" when she told him her father had died.

Te'o said he was told Kekua was in a coma following an April 28 car accident, but she awoke the following month. He never made an attempt to visit her in the hospital.

"It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school," he told ESPN.

Then came the day in September when his grandmother died and the woman known as Kekua reached out to him.

"I was angry. I didn't want to be bothered," he told ESPN. "We got in an argument. She was saying, you know, I'm trying to be here for you. I didn't want to be bothered. I wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to be by myself. Last thing she told me was 'Just know I love you.'"

Te'o was told later that day Kekua had died.

ESPN did not play audio of the interview, relying instead on descriptions of Te'o and his statements from reporter Schaap. Audio clips were posted later. According to the reporter, Te'o was calm, seemed relieved to tell his side of the story and had no interest in going on camera.

Te'o told ESPN the relationship with Kekua dated to his freshman year at Notre Dame, the 2009-10 season, and they met via Facebook.

The nation's best defender also said the hoax affected his play in the BCS national championship, a 42-14 loss to Alabama in which he performed poorly.

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FX May split off new FXX, targeting younger viewers: report

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – News Corp. may split its successful FX network into two, with the new network, FXX, focusing more on twentysomethings and comedy.

The new network could replace Fox Soccer, the Los Angeles Times said.Broadcasting & Cable reported the possible name and focus of the new channel.

“We’re constantly evaluating our programming offerings and this is just one notion we have considered over the past year or so,” a Fox spokesman told TheWrap.

The move would make sense given the vast content available to FX, said Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media.

“They’re probably going to get more viewers with a second entertainment network,” he told TheWrap. “Why not create a second?”

If Fox Soccer becomes FXX, Fox could potentially air its games on the new network it is developing to compete with ESPN, Adgate noted.

News Corp. also has the movie channel FXM.

The possible split for FX comes as the company has dramatically increased its content in recent seasons. Besides dramatic hits like “Justified,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “American Horror Story,” it also airs comedies including the highly rated “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the acclaimed “Louie.”

The network is also building a late-night lineup with “Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell” and “BrandX With Russell Brand.”

The split would follow the successful approach of other conglomerates. NBC Universal has USA, Bravo and E!, among other cable stations, while Turner airs its dramas on TNT and comedies on TBS. AMC Networks is taking a similar approach, airing dramas on AMC and developing new ones for Sundance as IFC focuses on comedy.

News Corp. may split its successful FX network into two, with the new network, FXX, focusing more on twentysomethings and comedy.

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Lilly drug chosen for Alzheimer's prevention study

Researchers have chosen an experimental drug by Eli Lilly & Co. for a large federally funded study testing whether it's possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease in older people at high risk of developing it.

The drug, called solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), is designed to bind to and help clear the sticky deposits that clog patients' brains.

Earlier studies found it did not help people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's but it showed some promise against milder disease. Researchers think it might work better if given before symptoms start.

"The hope is we can catch people before they decline," which can come 10 years or more after plaques first show up in the brain, said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Alzheimer's center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

She will help lead the new study, which will involve 1,000 people ages 70 to 85 whose brain scans show plaque buildup but who do not yet have any symptoms of dementia. They will get monthly infusions of solanezumab or a dummy drug for three years. The main goal will be slowing the rate of cognitive decline. The study will be done at 50 sites in the U.S. and possibly more in Canada, Australia and Europe, Sperling said.

In October, researchers said combined results from two studies of solanezumab suggested it might modestly slow mental decline, especially in patients with mild disease. Taken separately, the studies missed their main goals of significantly slowing the mind-robbing disease or improving activities of daily living.

Those results were not considered good enough to win the drug approval. So in December, Lilly said it would start another large study of it this year to try to confirm the hopeful results seen patients with mild disease. That is separate from the federal study Sperling will head.

About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

___

Online:

Alzheimer's info: http://www.alzheimers.gov

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org

___

Follow Marilynn Marchione's coverage at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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J.J. Abrams to produce Lance Armstrong biopic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He's already gotten the Oprah treatment. Now Lance Armstrong is headed for the silver screen.

Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, are planning a biopic about the disgraced cyclist, a studio spokeswoman said Friday.

They've secured the rights to New York Times reporter Juliet Macur's upcoming book "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong," due out in June. Macur covered the seven-time Tour de France winner for over a decade.

No director, writer, star or start date have been set.

Armstrong is in the midst of a two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he admits to using performance-enhancing drugs to reach his historic victories, something he'd defiantly denied for years. The International Olympic Committee stripped him of his 2000 bronze medal this week.

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