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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Nor'easter Threatens Thanksgiving Travel Chaos for East Coast

A holiday storm system played havoc Wednesday with the Thanksgiving travel plans of tens of millions of people wiping out hundreds of flights in the Northeast, dumping rain on busy roads and threatening more than a foot of snow in some places.

Rain fell on drivers getting an early start from the big cities Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington into the Carolinas. By midday, snow was falling in every state from Virginia to Maine.

"If this was any other day of the year, it would be a pretty big storm but nothing too out of the ordinary," said Kevin Roth, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel. "But it's come at one of the worst possible times, the day before Thanksgiving. It's going to be very, very tricky for anyone planning to travel today."

By the end of the day, parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey were expected to get 3 to 6 inches of snow, and interior New England as much as a foot and a half.

Flight cancellations began piling up at major airports. By afternoon, Newark Liberty airport in New Jersey, LaGuardia in New York and Philadelphia International each had more than 150 flights scrapped. Arriving planes at those airports were delayed as much as three hours.

Amtrak said it was in good shape: "The system is working, just busy," said Kimberly Woods, a spokeswoman.

The Defense Department said it would open unused military airspace for commercial flights through Sunday. The airspace, mainly on the East Coast and throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Southwest, will make available "more highways in the sky that we can move planes through to get people to their destination efficiently," said Michael Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Roth said the cut-off line between heavy and light snow was likely to be very abrupt. "Someone could go from an inch in the southeast of a city and drive 10 miles northwest and find themselves in more than 10 inches," he said.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings many upped from winter weather advisories across a large icicle-shaped area from the Canada Border to North Carolina. The snow was likely to wind up in most places by Wednesday night but would linger in Boston until early Thursday, according to Roth.

First published November 26 2014, 3:03 AM

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/noreaster-threatens-thanksgiving-travel-chaos-east-coast-n256426

Chuck Hagel in awkward position as a lame-duck defense chief still trying to ...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel left the White House Monday after announcing his resignation and headed back to the Pentagon, where he gathered his top aides and leaders of the various service branches.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Hagel delivered two messages during the brief meeting: Thanks for your continued support. And get back to work.

For him, its back to business as usual, Kirby said during a Tuesday press briefing.

Still, Hagel finds himself in an awkward situation. Its unclear just how long it will take for President Barack Obama to name a successor and for a soon-to-be-GOP-controlled Senate to confirm that person.

In the meantime, Hagel must try to continue the business of running the military despite his lame-duck status.

The Pentagon has cast Hagels departure as the result of a mutual agreement between the secretary and Obama.

But a flood of White House leaks to various news organizations paint a different picture. They suggest that Obama decided that a change was needed and that Hagel had to go.

Unnamed Obama aides have been quoted suggesting that Hagel wasnt up to the job in one way or another, further complicating Hagels relationship with the White House.

When pressed by reporters Tuesday about that dynamic, Kirby insisted that Hagel is unfazed by those pot shots.

He considers himself a very strong partner inside the national security team. That will continue, Kirby said. And his focus is not on the atmospherics and on the sniping by some anonymous officials in these various news accounts. His focus is on the men and women who wear the uniform and their families and on this very critical time period that we find ourselves in.

Kirby said Hagel wants to continue pressing forward on previously established priorities such as improving security at military installations and shaping up troubled aspects of the nuclear mission.

There are ongoing reviews of the military justice system and the awarding of medals, as well as the effort to combat the militarys epidemic of sexual assault.

On top of all that, theres the transition of the militarys mission in Afghanistan, the campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria and significant budget uncertainty.

Theres a lot of work to do, Kirby said.

Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, downplayed the potential for the gulf between Hagel and the White House to widen further.

Its fairly clear that there will be some uncomfortable moments, but I dont think there will be any kind of terrible situation or open breach, Ornstein said. He is a good soldier.

Ornstein even suggested that Hagel will feel liberated by his ouster.

Maybe h**l open up more now and ironically it may give him a little more influence.

Source: http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/chuck-hagel-in-awkward-position-as-a-lame-duck-defense/article_7bbc1797-29e2-5b51-983b-b0dec94fed75.html

Mass found in chest of Eric Berry

Updated: November 25, 2014, 9:47 AM ET

By Adam Teicher | ESPN.comBerry Discovered To Have Mass In Chest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry has what team officials believe is lymphoma -- a form of cancer -- and has been placed on the season-ending non-football illness list. Berry will undergo further testing at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to complete the diagnosis.

"At this point in time, we don't have a definitive diagnosis," Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "But the leading consideration for what he has right now is lymphoma.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Protesters in Hong Kong brace for more police action

Hong Kong unrest

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Protesters are bracing for more police action Wednesday
Hong Kong police: 86 arrested Tuesday in police scuffles
It developed after bailiffs initiated a court-ordered clearance of a street
Police fire "tear water" to push crowds; hold signs warning they'll use force

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Hundreds of protesters were holding a sit-in along four city blocks in Hong Kong on Wednesday morning, bracing for another day of clashes with police who plan on clearing more of the pro-democracy protest site in the bustling Mong Kok district.

On Tuesday, 86 protesters were arrested in scuffles with police.

Pro-democracy activist and lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, commonly known as "Long Hair," was among those arrested, his office confirmed.

Hundreds of police were in attendance to support bailiffs' efforts to remove barriers from Mong Kok's Argyle Street between Tung Choi and Portland streets.

The bailiffs were enforcing a court order obtained by a local bus company, following complaints by residents and businesses that the protests have disrupted life in parts of the city for nearly two months. Police warned that anyone obstructing the bailiffs in their work would face contempt of court charges.

Numbers at the protest site swelled dramatically during the day, prompting police to issue a "final warning" to disperse at about 2:45 p.m. Scuffles then broke out, and a number of protesters could be seen being taken away by police.

Arrests, injuries, 'tear water'

Eighty-six people were arrested, Hong Kong's Police Public Relations Branch said at 8 p.m., a few hours after reporting 32 arrests. Some of those were charged with assaulting police officers, others with not obeying court orders.

Three police officers were injured in the clashes. The Hong Kong Information Services Department earlier said that two people were injured at the site; it was not immediately clear whether police were among that number.

And it's not over. After the arrests and clashes, police began spraying liquid -- referred to by a resident and local media as "tear water" -- toward the remaining crowds, slowly pushing them back.

Dressed in riot gear, some of the police held banners that read, "Stop charging, or we use force."

Activists had messages of their own, as seen in the Hong Kong Federation of Students' official Twitter account: "More support urgently needed in Mong Kok! Bring helmets, (goggles), shields, umbrellas, towels and be careful!"

Who's who in the Hong Kong protests?

Plans to relocate?

Earlier in the day, some protesters had said they planned to relocate peacefully to other protest sites in the city, while others said they respected the injunction but would remain at the site as long as possible.

Protesters calling for universal suffrage remain camped at a main protest site outside government buildings in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island and at a separate site in Mong Kok, a busy commercial district in Kowloon.

As bailiffs announced their intention to clear the site, protesters joined in chants calling for universal suffrage and demanding the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive, C.Y. Leung.

Prior to leaving on a trip to South Korea on Tuesday, Leung said he had confidence in police to handle the situation in Mong Kok and said the government remained willing to engage in dialogue on political reform.

Universal suffrage

The protesters want to be able to nominate candidates for the election of the city's chief executive in 2017. Instead, China's National People's Congress has said they'll be able to vote only for canidates from a short list approved by a pro-Beijing committee.

Currently, the chief executive is elected by a specially appointed 1,200-member election committee.

At the peak of the protests in early October, tens of thousands of people were on the streets at three locations. But numbers have dwindled as the protests have continued, and local polling suggests support has dipped.

In a random survey of 513 people conducted by the University of Hong Kong, 83% said pro-democracy protesters should cease their eight-week occupation of major roads in Hong Kong, while just 13% said the protests should continue.

CNN's Elizabeth Joseph, Vivian Kam, Felicia Wong and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/world/asia/hong-kong-protests-mong-kok-clearance/

Iggy Azalea reinforces identity as redundant, recycled failure on rerelease

We all know how it goes: First things first, Im the realest. Fancy, released back in February 2014, is an empowering electro hop anthem flush with jagged synths, hip-hop chants and an undeniably commanding and memorable chorus.

I really wanted to like Fancy. It was a worthy addition to a burgeoning female-dominated pop landscape and neutral enough to please both genders. On Fancy, Azalea holds her own with an impressive performance while Charli XCXs chorus necessitates collective drunken chants atop bar tabletops.

But it all seems phony. Maybe its just me, but theres something about an Aussie white girl rapping in vocal blackface that feels deceptive and tasteless.

Still, many would disagree never underestimate the culture of White America. Its popularity unwavering, Fancy broke records by holding the number-one spot on Billboards Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks.

But Azalea couldnt quite replicate that success. Two months later, she released her debut album, The New Classic, polarizing critics and listeners based on her questionable authenticity. And here we are seven months later with Reclassified, a trimmed re-release of The New Classic with five newly-recorded tracks.

Reclassified is just as nebulous as its predecessor. Azalea relinquishes her artistic agency to musical engineers and fails to highlight her strengths as a rap artist. In a way, Reclassified does exactly what its title articulates it reclassifies Azalea as a directionless, manufactured product whose success has not yet been legitimized.

Theres nothing new here on Reclassified, nothing characteristically Iggy Azalea to latch on to. Her vocal performances bastardize 90s rap flow and evoke a scratchy, feline tone. And what she lacks in originality and wordplay, Azalea overcompensates for with insipid lyricism and a feigned American accent.

Its like I loved you so much and now I just hate you/Feeling stupid for all the time that I gave you, Azalea raps on Black Widow. Azaleas trite lyricism communicates a lack of novelty and recycles exhausted hip-hop tropes of money, fame and s*x appeal. If I told you what Im worth, you would throw up/So have my money on time fore I show up, she continues on Iggy SZN.

But its on Heavy Crown, in a candid moment of irony, where Azalea is most telling. Get rid of the makeup let us just see who you is, she raps. For an Australian-born rapper who denies her roots and sits comfortably in American culture, Azalea seems to forget how much proverbial makeup she cakes on herself. Her lipstick is the illusion of originality and her eye shadow is the emphasis of fame. Azalea hides her true character. And with Reclassified, I still dont know who Iggy Azalea really is.

Perhaps that uncertainty is what makes her appealing; shes a cog in the music industry machine. On Reclassified, Azalea is placed into multiple genres to see what sticks: on Dont Need Yall, shes Drake; on Trouble, shes Motown; on Black Widow, shes Katy Perry; and on Change Your Life, shes Avicii. Besides Fancy, which reappears on Reclassified, Azalea has few ideas that she can truly call her own. Even Beg for It steals its chorus directly from Fancy. Azalea is trying to do too much, extending herself so much that theres nothing really there.

However, album opener, We In This b***h, deserves considerable praise. Here Azalea truly showcases her lyrical abilities. Unpolished product of my environment/Trying to get the same type of love and respect as the peers I be rhyming with, she raps. Its muffled beat, funky wah-wah guitar lick and spacey synth chorus gives Azalea ample space for lyrical play. The production is crisp and juxtaposes effectively with Azaleas corrosive performance that invokes early 2000s Eminem. Whats a world with no I-G-G in this b***h? she asks. On We In This b***h, she gives us a solid something to chew on.

But when the rest of the albums supposed highlights come from the featured artists (Charli XCX, Ellie Goulding, Jennifer Hudson, etc.), Reclassified starts to sound like an album by Various Artists, with Azalea rapping on the sidelines. And that says something.

In an interview with The Guardian, Azalea said, I dont think of other people when Im writing my songsSometimes a feature feels like asking for help. In the context of Reclassified, Azalea starts to look like a rapper made of contradictions.

And with all of Azaleas fame and fortune, First things first, Im the realest, sounds more like a coping mechanism rather than an actual declaration of success and originality.

Reclassified is composed of myriad re- words: redundant, rehashed, and recycled. And contrary to Iggy Azaleas boasts, real is not one of them.

2.0/5

Source: http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2014/11/24/iggy-azalea-reinforces-identity-as-redundant-recycled-failure-on-rerelease/

1D, Katy Perry win big at American Music Awards

American girls love British boys: One Direction won artist of the year at the American Music Awards, taking home three honors and was the night's big winner next to Katy Perry, who didn't attend the show.

One Direction also won favorite band, duo or group -- pop/rock and favorite album -- pop/rock for "Midnight Memories" at the fan-voted show Sunday night.

"This has been a real perfect day ... America feels like a second home to us," Liam Payne said onstage with his band mates when they won the night's first award. The group released its new album, "Four," last week.

Perry won three honors as well, including single of the year for No. 1 hit "Dark Horse," favorite female artist -- pop/rock and favorite artist -- adult contemporary.

Though she was absent -- she's on tour in Australia -- the 2014 AMAs was still jam-packed with star power at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Breakthrough newcomer Iggy Azalea, who was the top nominee with six, won favorite album -- rap/hip-hop for "The New Classic" and favorite artist -- rap/hip-hop, taking down rap heavyweights Eminem and Drake.

"This award is the first award I've ever won in my entire life, and it means so much to me that it is for best hip-hop because that's what inspired me to move to America and pursue my dreams, and it's what helped me when I was a teenager to escape and to get through my life and to better times," the 24-year-old Australian rapper said, as her mentor T.I. stood beside her.

"And it means so much that I can stand here against Eminem and Drake and come out with this," she continued.

Azalea performed her massive hit, "Fancy," which was nominated for single of the year, as well as her new song, "Beg for It."

Taylor Swift kicked off the AMAs as a mad woman and man eater by feeding a boy a poisonous apple, holding burning roses and giving crazy eyes during a performance of her song about her dating life.

She was aggressive, grabbing her male dancers by their blazers and singing in character on bended knee when performing her new No. 1 hit, "Blank Space." She even removed part of her dress to reveal a shimmery, leg-revealing gold number.

She later received the first-ever d**k Clark Award for Excellence, presented by Diana Ross.

"To the fans who went out and bought over a million copies of my last three albums, what you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you're saying you believe in the same thing I believe in -- that music is valuable and that music should be consumed in albums and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated," said Swift, who recently removed her music from streaming service Spotify.

Ariana Grande took the stage to sing lounge-y, piano-versions of her upbeat hits "Problem" and "Break Free." She followed that with a duet of her latest hit, "Love Me Harder," with The Weeknd, as Grande's older brother jumped up in joy, MAGIC! leader Nasir Atweh sang along and Heidi Klum bopped her head.

She returned again to sing "Bang Bang" with Nicki Minaj and Jessie J, who kicked off the song in the crowd. She was rubbing against Khloe Kardashian, singing closely in front of her boyfriend, R&B singer Luke James, and dancing next to Swift and Sam Smith.

Smith, who also performed, won favorite male artist -- pop/rock.

"Genuinely from my heart I didn't think I was going to be winning this. This is unreal," the British singer said, who beat Pharrell and John Legend. "But mainly, thank you to my fan base. You guys are amazing, and last year I wrote an album about being lonely and tonight, I couldn't feel further from lonely, so thank you so much."

Mary J. Blige performed "Therapy," a new song she wrote with Smith and host Pitbull performed with R&B singer Ne-Yo. Fergie gave a hip-hop flavored performance of her comeback single, "L.A. Love (La La)," while Selena Gomez slowed it down for the emotional "Heart Wants What It Wants."

Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer won new artist of the year, and they also performed a cover of The Romantics' "What I Like About You."

Beyonc, who didn't attend, won favorite female artist -- soul/R&B and favorite album -- soul/R&B for her self-titled effort.

Luke Bryan took home favorite male artist -- country.

"I wanna thank G*d above for letting me tour night in and night out on the road. I want to thank the fans for making it possible to stand up here and win the awards," he said, also thanking "my band, my crew, bus driver, momma and them, you know."

Carrie Underwood was named favorite female artist -- country and the soundtrack for "Frozen," the year's top-selling album, won top soundtrack.

Source: http://www.times-gazette.com/latest%2520headlines/2014/11/24/1d-katy-perry-win-big-at-american-music-awards

Monday, November 24, 2014

Diana Ross at the AMAs � stylewatch

Diana Ross arrives at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles.Photograph: John Shearer/John Shearer/Invision/AP

Oh, Diana. At last nights AMAs, the 70-year-old Miss Ross arguably upstaged everyone else she encountered on the red carpet, from Selena Gomez to her own daughter Tracee Ellis Ross. All it took? A cloak made from feathers, a velvet off-the-shoulder frock, Im expensive diamonds, red talons and that shock of trademark curls in place since the eighties. A bit Disney villain, a bit barn owl and a lot fabulous, our favourite element of the look comes at ground level with the humble pop sock peeking out of open-toed gold sandals. Its this kind of detail that only the likes of Diana can get away with. Watch and learn, people, watch and learn.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/nov/24/-sp-diana-ross-at-the-amas-stylewatch