Like her boss, Manilova dismisses the criticism imperiously. “I don’t know what the British press is writing about Sochi – I am not living here – but the Olympics in Sochi will be a very special event,” she says. “The Games will be spectacular, they will be organised perfectly and everyone who comes will be made to feel welcome. The Olympic Games is a lady herself and she can answer all the questions. We just need to wait for it to happen.”

She may have a point. Once the Games start, interest will switch to the events – some of which, including the ski half-pipe and snowboard slopestyle – are being contested for the first time, and the performances of a British team that is in serious contention for medals.

To those who fear attacks by terrorists (not least the Islamist fighters of the North Caucasus), Manilova insists that, with 40,000 police and interior ministry troops forming a “ring of steel” around the venues, the Olympics will be “perfectly safe”.

As for homosexuals: “Of course they will feel comfortable. Nobody in Sochi cares about this issue!” (But then why would they? There are no homosexuals in Sochi, according to Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor interviewed for the BBC’s Panorama programme this week.)

Whatever the outcome, the hosting of the Games will put Sochi – and Russia as a whole – in the spotlight (“Just as Peter the Great made St Petersburg Russia’s window on to Europe, Sochi will be the window on to Russia.”) And Manilova is convinced the Games will have a positive impact on the way in which the country is viewed as a tourist destination.

She admits that there is a long way to go. Unlike some of its erstwhile allies in eastern Europe – and the former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – Russia remains a sleeping giant when it comes to tourism, a faraway, forbidding country still frequently perceived through the prism of Cold War antagonisms. Beyond Moscow, St Petersburg and the Trans-Siberian railway, Russia barely features on the radar of most British visitors, something which, given its immense size and diversity, is curious.

“We have never properly promoted tourism or let people know just what Russia has to offer,” Manilova says. “There has been an information vacuum, but that is going to change. The president has given us the goal of developing this segment. We are going to make this country tourist-friendly.”

At the moment, prospective visitors have to deal with a lack of information in English and a cumbersome, costly visa system. If they do go ahead, they will find most signs (including on the Moscow metro) in impenetrable Cyrillic. Practical initiatives aimed at rectifying this include the provision of an English-language version of the main website promoting tourism to Russia, strana.ru (intelligible only to Russian speakers) and the establishment of multilingual information booths and maps detailing nearby attractions in cities throughout the country – modelled on those already to be found in Manilova’s home town of St Petersburg.

The visa issue is perhaps the most problematic. At the moment British visitors need to pay at least £82.50 to enter Russia, and the procedure is slow and unwieldy. “It is even more difficult for us to get a visa to Britain,” retorts Manilova, “But we would like to improve it – on a reciprocal basis.”

One concrete change ahead is that from June 1 people wanting to stop in Russia in transit to destinations such as China will be able to stay for three days without a visa. And there will undoubtedly have to be an easing of restrictions in four years’ time when Russia hosts an even bigger sporting event, the football World Cup.

So, assuming a visitor has a visa and there is some linguistically-friendly signposting, which places in Russia would Manilova recommend?

“Siberia!” she says, without hesitation.

“Siberia is the best place for tourism in the world. There are sacred Shaman sites on Lake Baikal from which visitors return feeling 10 years younger. It is magical.”

For those seeking adventure of a more extreme kind, she suggests the far north-eastern region of Yakutia, where temperatures in the winter fall to -72C, where people somehow survive – and where, for sure, there isn’t a Starbucks in sight.

Then there is the republic of Altai: “A beautiful place with wonderfully clean air and almost untouched by civilisation. Here you can travel by kayak along crystal-clear freshwater rivers that flow straight from the mountains. This is virgin nature.”

Manilova is at her best when she goes off script (and off piste), and speaks straight from the famous Russian heart. There’s a passion and purity in her voice that piques my interest.

Note to self: put Siberia on the list.

Winter Olympics 2014: 10 reasons to be excited Winter Olympics 2014: Sochi before the Games Winter Olympics 2014: how to be an Olympian on the slopes Sochi hotel prices double for Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Team GB skiers and snowboarders

Moscow city guide St Petersburg city guide The Baron blows in on the Russians Winter in Russia: making tracks in Siberian snow Summer in Russia River cruise in Russia: in the wake of Peter the Great St Petersburg: the cats of the Hermitage The coldest inhabited place on Earth Moscow, Russia: a cultural city guide Trans-Siberian: Great Train Journeys

Summary: The Winter Games will kick start a massive PR offensive designed to get tourists past St Petersburg, says Adrian Bridge


This article originally appeared on EW.com.

Harry Potter mania is alive and well after the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script on July 31. Scholastic schl announced Wednesday that over 3.3 million copies of the script book have been sold since its release date.

“We’re delighted to see the sustained enthusiasm for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two which has also sparked more interest in the seven previously published Harry Potter books,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade, in a statement.

NBCUniversal Steals Harry Potter From Disney and Makes Friends With Snapchat

The script edition of the live play that is currently in production on London’s West End sold 2 million copies in the first two days on shelves in the U.S. and Canada. The release had bookstores and readers celebrating with midnight parties across the country as fans read the story, which picks up 19 years after Harry Potter has defeated Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, Cursed Child focuses on the next wizarding generation.

Readers can check out EW’s review of the script here and a spoiler-ific deep dive here.

Summary: The book's release had bookstores and readers celebrating with midnight parties across the country.


Buy a compatible game on Xbox One, and you can now play the Windows 10 version for free. It’s part of a new program called Xbox Play Anywhere, and Microsoft just unveiled it at its annual E3 press event on Monday.

The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson made the announcement as part of a Gears of War 4 tease, noting the latter will support the new program. Buy Gears of War 4 on either PC or Xbox One and you can play on both without having to double-dip.

The program (at least for Gears of War 4–it’s not clear this applies to all Xbox Play Anywhere games yet) will include sharing of in-game achievements, cross-platform multiplayer support and game progression tracking.

Summary: Xbox Play Anywhere unveiled at E3


BOXER Amir Khan has been hiding a sensational secret from his fans – for the last 13 YEARS he has been fighting with a BROKEN hand.

The former world champ’s medical condition means he has never been able to unleash the full power of a right hook.

But today The Sun can reveal he has undergone an amazing operation to rectify the problem – and now Amir cannot wait to get his gloves back on.

Surgeons spent two hours taking bone from his HIP and grafting it on to his damaged right limb – holding it together with metal pins, as shown in these exclusive photographs.

It will be another THREE months before Khan’s ‘new’ hand has healed properly – and he cannot wait to start training again in October.

Today he talks candidly about the secret injury which has plagued him for over a decade and admits: “I’ve only been punching with 30 or 40 per cent power because it was so bad.”

The two-hour operation came in the wake of a brutal knockout by Mexican Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez which left the Bolton boy flat on his back and some commentators calling on him to retire.

But Khan told The Sun that quitting never crossed his mind and he is eyeing a big-money return to the ring in January.

Last night he said: “I kept the news of my hand injury quiet from everyone. I had to because I didn’t want any of my opponents to know about it, I didn’t want to give away an advantage.

“I remember the days when I was boxing with one hand in training but I had to keep on fighting to keep my name up and to get that experience. I had to keep going and keep my name, but my heart wasn’t in it.

“I didn’t want to go into those fights but I had to do it to become a world champion one day. Since then, I have never really thrown a right hand hard with all my might.

“I know people might question why I didn’t get the operation sooner but I couldn’t – I was too set on chasing my dream to become world champion and I was in big fights.

“I was one of the brightest prospects in the UK, the pressure was on me and I had to fight. I couldn’t afford to take six months off for an operation.

“I was getting paid a lot so I didn’t want to kill off my deal with TV, I had such a good deal. I was getting paid for my earlier fights what world champions are getting paid now.

“I had to keep on fighting and keep myself busy. I didn’t want to take a step back because my dream to become world champion would have been delayed.”

Bolton-born Khan exploded onto the boxing scene with a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, which made him Britain’s youngest boxing medallist.

His star ascended, becoming one of the youngest ever British world champions five years later as he claimed the WBA light-welterweight title and went on to win fights by knockout an astonishing 19 times.

But knockouts at the hands of WBC champion Danny Garcia in 2012 and Canelo in May, where Khan had gone up two weight divisions, have left question marks hanging.

The dad-of-one, who has two-year-old daughter Lamaisah with wife Faryal, admits he has wondered how his career would have panned out without carrying an injured right hand.

He broke it in a quarter-final bout at the Junior Olympic Games in Louisiana, USA, in June 2003 after hitting a Cuban opponent on the top of the head.

And further damage occurred in his second professional fight, catching the elbow of Coventry’s Baz Carey in September 2005, leaving him punching with just 30 or 40 per cent of the power he was capable of.

It made him change his aggressive boxing style and weighed in the back of Khan’s mind throughout his career, fearing it could spell the end of his pursuit of glory.

Doctors told him the ligaments had worn away at the bottom of his metacarpal (hand) bones so Khan, with the encouragement of his wife, decided to go under the knife.

The two-hour surgery under general anaesthetic at Wrightington Hospital, Wigan, on June 8 left Khan bruised, in pain and with a three-inch scar on his hip.

He said: “After the Canelo fight I thought I’m not going to risk my whole career, I’m going to get this operation now.

“Every training camp I’ve done I’ve hurt my hand. I’ve had Cortisone injections in it and I’ve taken numbing agents for it.

“But I don’t want to live that life where I’m taking things in my hand to take away the feeling.

“I know in previous fights I have hurt guys with my injured hand, and doctors have said to me I was only punching with 30 or 40 per cent power because it was so bad.

“It has crossed my mind what I could have achieved without an injured hand. I would have more knockouts under my belt and I would have been a lot more confident going into fights.

“I am going to go into fights now knowing I have power in this hand and it is alright. That in itself is a massive confidence boost.

“I’m really excited to get in the ring and punch somebody in the face.

“I was knocked out for the surgery. I remember I got a little injection and the surgeon told me to close my eyes and relax a bit.

“I woke up a few hours later and I was in a lot of pain, I was drowsy and didn’t know where I was.

“When I tried to move I was in so much pain from my hip and I couldn’t understand it, but they reminded me they had taken bone from my hip to my hand.

“I was in so much pain. When the doctor told me I wasn’t allowed to have any more painkillers, it’s the first time anyone has said ‘no’ to me.”

Dr Mike Hayton, a consultant orthopaedic at Wrightington Hospital, Wigan, Gtr Manchester, carried out the operation alongside a surgeon in training from Melbourne, Australia, on June 8.

He said: “The ligaments attaching Amir’s metacarpals, or hand bones, to his wrist had given way. When he punched, his hand buckled behind the wrist.

“It meant he maybe wasn’t getting as much force behind his punches as he possibly could.

“We removed those joints at the bottom of the metacarpals, put in some bone from his hip and then screwed it together with pins.

“I made an incision a few inches long on the top of his hip, under the area where you would wear a belt on your trousers.

“In terms of size, the amount of bone we removed from his hip would probably fill a matchbox.

“He had been carrying this injury for some time, so hopefully the surgery will help him come back stronger.”

All eyes are now on Khan’s next move as boxing fans watch how he comes back from a brave but brutal defeat in his last bout.

Manny Pacquiao, who this week revealed he is set to come out of retirement, has long been mooted as a potential opponent for a box office blockbuster against the British boxer.

But Khan, who is planning at least three fights next year, has his eyes firmly set on revenge against Danny Garcia and the WBC welterweight belt.

He added: “I’m ready to fight the top fighters in the world. I’m number one mandatory challenger in the WBC now so I’d like to take that fight against Danny Garcia.

“That’s a fight I believe really has to happen. I’m owed that fight because I gave him an opportunity and he now needs to give me that opportunity back.

“I’ll be fighting at 147 kilos because it’s more natural to me. I won’t be going back to middleweight.

“Pacquiao would be a massive fight. I have had good sparring sessions with him and that was with a bad hand, so imagine if my hand was right.

“There are big names and I don’t want to fight those guys in America, I want to bring them to the UK for the fans over here.

“I want to come back to my roots and put on a big fight over here.

“I’m going to fight in January, in May and in December next year. I’ll get back in training in October. I’m counting the days until I can get back. I’m really excited to get everything over and done with.

“I don’t want to have any excuses when I retire, I want to go in there ready.

“I think I have a good six fights left in me and I will keep going on. I will call it a day when my body is not functioning the way it has been doing.

“I’m not going to let boxing retire me, I’m going to retire from boxing before it’s able to do that.

“I want to finish my career with no excuses. I don’t want to be going into fights thinking about having pain in training.

“I want to be comfortable with it because it hasn’t been like that for years. If I lose, at least I’ve given it my go.

“My career has been amazing but I want to see now what it’s going to be like with a good hand.

“I’ve been fighting with one hand, but now I’ll be fighting with two.”

Summary: BOXER Amir Khan has been hiding a sensational secret from his fans – for the last 13 YEARS he has been fighting with a BROKEN hand. The former world champ’s medical condition means he h…


MOSCOW -- Vladimir Putin has given Russian citizenship to former world heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr.

A decree published on the Kremlin's website in the Russian president's name Saturday said the American, a four-weight champion once regarded by many as the world's best boxer, had been given Russian nationality.

Jones asked Putin for citizenship in August over a cup of tea when they met in Crimea -- the territory annexed by Russia last year -- saying it would make doing business in Russia much easier.

Putin said this would be possible if Jones planned to spend a significant part of his life in Russia, while the boxer said he hoped sport could help "build a bridge" between the U.S. and Russia.

After the decree was published, Jones told Russian news agency R-Sport that he planned to learn the Russian language.

"I want to speak so well in Russian that people understand me without any problems," Jones said. "I think that'll take about a year. I hope that next year I'll already be speaking like a Russian."

He added that he now wanted to "earn two or three billion dollars," open boxing schools in Russia and develop his rap career.

Still fighting at cruiserweight against mostly little-known opponents, the 46-year-old Jones has competed three times in Russia in the last five years, most recently knocking out Egyptian fighter Hany Atiyo last year in the southern city of Krasnodar.

While Jones insists he has no plans to hang up his gloves and still wants to win a world title, he has also begun working as a trainer for Russian fighters -- including unbeaten WBA super middleweight champion Fedor Chudinov and his brother, ex-WBA interim middleweight champion Dmitry Chudinov.


09/02/2016 AT 02:15 PM EDT

is opening up about the private heartache she endured when husband

's affair with White House intern

became a very public matter.

In a clip from an upcoming documentary set to air on CNN Monday night, the Democratic presidential nominee tells reporter Pamela Brown, "It was really hard. It was painful. And I was so supported by my friends. My friends just rallied around."

Hillary Clinton, who was first lady to then-president Bill Clinton at the time the scandal broke, adds that her friends would visit and "try to make me laugh, they would recommend books to read, we'd go for long walks, we'd hang out, you know eat bad food."

Are you planning on voting in this year's election? We want to know! Take our survey: https://t.co/b6KMj1ZeAt

"Just the kinds of things you do with your friends, and it was something that you just had to get up every day and try to deal with while still carrying on a public set of responsibilities," she says. "So it was very, very challenging."

The Clinton special will air on CNN Monday night and will be followed by a documentary on her Republican rival,

Summary: Hillary Clinton says she was "was so supported by my friends" throughout husband Bill Clinton's sex scandal


Nationals MPs are confident the 32.5 per cent backpacker tax is "soon to go", despite Treasurer Scott Morrison saying work could continue up until the end of the year.

Queensland Liberal-National Party MP George Christensen has been one of the most vocal opponents of the budget measure, earlier this year pledging to cross the floor to vote against it.

"The 31.5 % (sic) backpacker tax is soon to go, meaning local farmers will still have access to a workforce," Mr Christensen wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

"We are in there, fighting for outcomes like this every day."

Acting prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said a resolution on the tax is imminent, insisting farmers will know what's happening in the next month or so.

Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney the government was still working to its deadline of an announcement by January 1, 2017.

"We'll continue to work through the issues and act in the time frame we said we would," he said.

"If we can land that sooner, we will."

However, the government needed to "keep a steady eye on what the fiscal task is", finding savings to compensate for any changes.

"If there are changes to be made, it is my view as treasurer they will be made in a way that does not disadvantage the budget."

The so-called backpacker tax, due to start on January 1, will slug people on working holiday visas with a 32.5 per cent tax rate from the first dollar they earn, unlike other workers who don't start paying tax until their income exceeds $18,200.

About 40,000 of the 75,000 workers in the Australian horticulture industry are backpackers.

It is understood the preferred option is to almost halve the proposed tax rate and consult further on ways to maintain the working holiday maker program as an attractive option for young travellers.

A review by Deloittes has received 1700 submissions, many of which argue for a fair amount of tax to be paid but not at the expense of industry and regional economies.

Acting opposition leader Tanya Plibersek said Labor held grave concerns about the backpacker tax, and called on the government to fix its rushed plan as farmers report dwindling numbers of people willing to pick fruit as a result.

It was curious Mr Christensen was calling the shots, as he had on several issues including the same-sex marriage plebiscite, she said.

"It is about time that the prime minister and the treasurer took control of the nation's direction and finances rather than farming it out to George Christensen," Ms Plibersek told reporters in Melbourne.

Summary: Barnaby Joyce says a decision on the backpacker tax is imminent, insisting farmers will get an answer in the next month or so.


ariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson

has had to portray a lock of terrifying, disturbing scenarios in 17 seasons on

, but the actress and mother of three was especially impacted by one shocking scene in the season 18 premiere.

's season 18 premiere, "Terrorized," plot details will be revealed.

"I don't even [have] words," said Hargitay, 52, about this season's unsettling opening scene, in which a young boy points a loaded gun at Det. Olivia Benson and her son Noah.

"Nothing with children is comparable to anything in the past," Hargitay continued during a recent press event for the show. "Your brain can't even download it. I mean, when I read it I was like [

] and then doing it was the same. It was insane."

This season marks charter cast member Hargitay's 400th episode with

, and the actress was quick to acknowledge, "I feel like the luckiest person on the planet, I really do. Quite frankly, we all know that I am. I mean really, talk about hitting the jackpot goldmine. I can't believe it."

That said, the actress did set her sights on this particular brass ring even before she knew it might be within reach.

I thought all I wanted to do was be on

," she recalled of her 18-episode stint on the hit medical series opposite

(who, coincidentally, will be guest-starring on

After her contract ended, Hargitay remembered, "I called my agent I was like, 'What are we going do? I've been on the No. 1 show, this is the best show in the world, now what am I going to do?' And I said – this is a true story – I said, 'I guess I should be on

because that [show creator] Dick Wolf likes brunettes!' "

The kicker? "And I'm not kidding you, within like two months I got the audition for

. That was crazy. But who knew [it would last this long]? I mean we didn't know, I didn't know. I knew when I read it was the greatest show I'd ever read for and I got goose bumps and all of that, but I didn't know."

And Edwards is just one of several impressive guest stars this season, two of whom will join Hargitay next week in the ripped-from-the-headlines riff on

-inspired suspect of the episode's title, and Vice President

Hargitay, who has worked frequently with Biden to raise awareness around issues of rape and domestic violence through her Joyful Heart Foundation, calls the VP's appearance "a dream come true. Joe Biden is one of the greatest people on the planet. He's the real deal, I have so much admiration, respect, love. I don't usually throw out the word 'hero,' I don't, but he's probably mine. It was amazing, and he is just grace incarnate in so many ways. He puts everyone at ease. Talk about a heart and a mind being in the right place."

She adds, "It's such a beautiful scene, it's what he does. It was fantastic."

airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC.

Summary: Law & Order: SVU airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC


Britain will begin the formal process of leaving the EU by the end of March 2017.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that Britain would start the formal process for leaving the European Union by the end of March 2017.

"We will trigger before the end of March next year," Mrs May told BBC television.

"I've been saying that we wouldn't trigger before the end of this year so that we get the preparation in place."

Mrs May said it was an "important step" to trigger Article 50, which begins the formal withdrawal process for Britain leaving the EU, because it makes it very clear to the British people who voted to leave that's exactly what will happen, ITV News reports.

A "Great Repeal Bill" scrapping the legislation that took Great Britain into the EU over 40 years ago is also set to be introduced.

The legislation will overturn laws that make EU regulations supreme, enshrine all EU rules in domestic law and confirm the British parliament can amend them as it wants.

"It's important for us to set this out now so that we have the timing, so that when we leave the European Union there is a smooth transition. I think that's important for us all, for particularly for the economy and for business," Mrs May said.

"This marks the first stage in the UK becoming a sovereign and independent country once again,"the Prime Minister told The Sunday Times newspaper.

"It will return power and authority to the elected institutions of our country. It means that the authority of EU law in Britain will end."

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016

Summary: Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that Britain would start the formal process for leaving the European Union by the end of March 2017.


Matthew Leveson (right) from Cronulla with lover Michael Atkins. (Source: AAP)

A Sydney man acquitted of murdering his boyfriend in 2007 has failed to overturn a decision compelling him to give evidence at an inquest into the death.

Matthew Leveson's parents welcomed the chance to hear for the first time evidence from Michael Atkins about the disappearance of their son, whose body has never been found.

Michael Atkins tried to prevent authorities reinvesting the death of Leveson. (Source: AAP)

"We just want to bring Matt home," said Mark and Faye Leveson outside the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Mr Leveson, 20, vanished after leaving a nightclub with his de facto partner, Mr Atkins, 44, in the early hours of September 23, 2007.

In 2009, Mr Atkins was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter at a trial in which he did not give evidence.

An inquest into the death or suspected death of Mr Leveson began in 2008 and was suspended when Mr Atkins was charged; it resumed in late 2015.

The coroner determined that Mr Atkins would be required to give evidence with the protection of a certificate, meaning anything he said would not be admissible against him in any further criminal proceedings.

But he went to the Supreme Court, contending the inquest was unlawfully reopened and challenged the requirement for him to give evidence.

On Wednesday, Justice Lucy McCallum dismissed his case, saying the unusual step was taken after "careful deliberation" by the coroner.

Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott had noted "the family's all-consuming need simply to learn what happened to Mr Leveson, even at the price of foreclosing any further criminal prosecution.

"More than anything else, Mr Leveson's family wishes to bring his body home so that he might have the dignity and respect of a proper burial and they might have a place to visit and remember him."

The judge said the real issue raised by the application was "whether the coroner has authority at this point to determine the manner and cause of Mr Leveson's death".

Mr Atkins argued the inquest couldn't consider whether an acquitted person caused the death.

"I do not think this is correct," the judge concluded.

"I am not persuaded that Her Honour's reasons for requiring Mr Atkins to give evidence entail error."

The inquest is due to resume on October 31.

Summary: The former boyfriend of Matthew Leveson has lost his bid to challenge the inquest into his death.


A man has been charged with murder over the death of another man in a Launceston unit.

A 35-year-old Prospect man has been charged over the death of Peter John Fitzgerald at a Summerhill property in the early hours of Thursday.

Police are still forensically examining three crime scenes after the 56-year-old's death.

Detective Inspector Darren Hopkins said Mr Fitzgerald suffered "significant injuries" to his head and upper body.

He said four people were at the home when an alleged altercation took place.

Ambulance officers arrived at the Kerry Court unit at 1.30am to find Mr Fitzgerald dead at the scene.

The alleged murderer will appear before the Launceston Magistrates' Court at 11am on Friday.

Summary: A man in his 30s is in custody after a man's body was found at a property in Launceston.


As President-elect Donald Trump continues to fill out his cabinet, it is shaping up to be the most conservative in the nation's history. Several of his nominees have anti-LGBTQ records, including his Attorney General pick, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, and his Health and Human Services Secretary choice, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia. At the same time, Trump has continued the anti-immigration rhetoric that helped define his campaign. Most recently, he has reiterated his commitment to establishing a Muslim registry and a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants from the United States.

Given the openly anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigration positions taken by some members of the incoming administration, LGBTQ immigrant-rights organizations are bracing themselves for challenges ahead. They plan to fight many of the same battles as they did under the Obama administration, such as advocating for those facing detention, but must now attempt to prevent a rollback of the modest gains they achieved over the last eight years.

Incorporated in 1994, Immigration Equality works at the intersection of LGBTQ and immigration issues to preserve the human rights of LGBTQ and HIV-positive migrants. Aaron C. Morris, the organization's executive director, told NBC Out that after the adoption of same-sex marriage, the organization "pivoted toward legal services for LGBTQ immigrants and to focus on how badly our community is being treated in detention." Immigration Equality offers a hotline to answer questions and direct people to resources and provides legal services in 39 states.

"We identify individuals who cannot afford a lawyer and counsel them in house or place them with an attorney pro bono," Morris said. "We also do a lot policy work and public education work."

Jamila Hammami has served as executive director of the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP) since its inception in 2014 and said the group's "focus is to shut down all detention centers."

"Some say the system is broken … It's not broken. It's working the way it's supposed to. We see the current system as built to criminalize people, lock them up and deport them. We see it as a response to 9/11, a way to incarcerate women, immigrants. We don't believe in borders being closed," Hammami told NBC Out.

The organization spends a good deal of time and resources on raising bonds for this purpose. "We are on the front lines getting people out of detention," Hammami said. "We just raised another bond two weeks ago for $3,000. We are raising a bond right now for $20,000 to get someone out of detention."

As a grassroots organization, QDEP's work also includes rights trainings, community education, support groups and political organizing.

"We are our own best advocates. The people that should be on the front lines doing this work are the folks who are most affected. Everyone on staff is either immigrant or first generation, and all of us have dealt with the criminal justice system. Everyone is queer, trans or HIV-positive," Hammami explained.

LGBTQ migrants face some unique obstacles in the immigration system, according to Immigration Equality's Morris.

"When people come to us, they have often come to us seeking safety in the U.S.," he said. "They come from places where lesbians have been raped to correct them. Men are set on fire for being gay. There are places where it is not safe to be an LGBTQ individual."

RELATED: Coming Out Still a 'Life and Death' Decision in Many Countries

Many LGBTQ asylum seekers will still be detained and require bond to be released, even if they pass their "credible fear" interview, which establishes "they are not lying about being gay and under attack," Hammami explained.

"Judges can post bonds in whatever amount they want," she added, noting a client of hers has not yet been released because his bond is $20,000. "I've heard that they are [as much as] $125,000, and that was under the Obama administration."

"At the same time," Morris explained, the system is "stacked against" migrants. "Immigration courts are overwhelmed and under-resourced, and the Department of Homeland Security hires lawyers to deport these individuals," he said. Immigrants confront precarious housing and employment, and many living with HIV have trouble accessing health care, Morris added.

"There is no reason to not believe him," Morris said regarding Trump's campaign rhetoric. "Anyone who is sitting back to wait to see what happens is wasting time."

"Some of his positions seem to be dialing back rhetoric of his campaign, but at same time, he is appointing the most conservative—radically conservative—people to his cabinet positions that control the immigration system," Morris added. "[The appointment of] Sen. Sessions for the Justice Department is particularly disturbing to us. He is vocally anti-LGBTQ, and his record on human rights speaks [for itself]. This will be a remarkably conservative administration."

QDEP has already felt the impact of the changing administration, according to Hammami.

"We have seen an increase in arrests since the election … [and] I think the hate crimes have increased," she said, adding that she believes Trump's election and cabinet picks have emboldened hate groups.

"In my neighborhood there have been KKK flyers put up. They are coming out of the woodwork," Hammami said. "We are under siege."

A Trump/Pence administration will require a shift in focus from the executive branch to the legislature and courts, according to Morris.

"Over the last eight years, we had a heavy emphasis on lobbying Congress for progressive bills for LGBTQ people and a lot on administrative advocacy. The Obama administration has a mixed reputation in the immigration sphere but was open to LGBTQ reforms. We had more access to different agencies [and] to the White House than in the G.W. Bush administration." Under Obama, Morris explained, "[we had the] opportunity to identity problems and solutions and bring them to the administration and, depending on the agency, have success getting the problem solved."

Given what Morris calls the "remarkable authority" of the executive branch in issues of immigration, Immigration Equality will seek to identify members of Congress "who are immigration- and LGBTQ-friendly to be champions" and explain to them "why we need opposition to certain cabinet appointments and encourage them to oppose any new draconian law, defend due process and judicial review."

The new administration also means an adjustment of expectations, according to Morris. "We used to be in a position where we aggressively pushed for reform and aggressively pushed back against regression," he said. " Now, he added, the goal is to "slow down regression and stop dismantling of reforms that it took eight years to build."

Immigration Equality plans to supplement this with a "public messaging strategy" that demonstrates "why immigrants are good for America." In addition, the organization is "taking steps to protect as many people as possible—giving almost a clinic a week, providing rights training [and] pushing pro bono partners to help as many people as possible," Morris said.

QDEP anticipates a more "reactionary" strategy for the organization moving forward. "As much as we want to invest our time in prison divestment, we are so busy trying to play defense. We just don't have a choice. We know it's only going to get worse," Hammami said.

In the near future, she anticipates being forced to spend less time helping clients get out of detention and lead stable lives and more time on political organizing. She said QDEP plans on "going out into the streets and doing rallies and actions and showing up to the Million Woman March and doing public appearances to show that LGBTQ and HIV-positive people have presence in this community and are not backing down."

"We have to fight like hell for our own community, because other people are not going to do it," Hammami added.

For both Immigration Equality and QDEP, the commitment to the LGBTQ immigrant community is unwavering.

"The reason why we provide this service is because it is life-saving and life-altering," Morris said.

(Julie Moreau is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. She tweets at @JEMoreau.)

Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Summary: Immigration Equality and the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project talk to NBC Out about how they're preparing for the incoming Trump administration.


A Tesla Model 3 sedan, its first car aimed at the mass market, is displayed during its launch in Hawthorne, California, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Joe White/File Photo REUTERS

Tesla is telling prospective buyers that new orders for its Model 3 will begin shipping in "mid-2018 or later."

As of Sunday, Tesla's website said deliveries for the new car "begin late 2017," but since then the company changed the wording to indicate that production on the car will begin late 2017 and that the delivery estimate for "new reservations is mid-2018 or later."

CNBC has reached out to the company seeking further comment.

Summary: Tesla has quietly pushed back delivery estimate for new Model 3 orders to mid-2018 — or later.


When it comes to healthcare, President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that he’s all in favor of dessert but doesn’t want any Brussels sprouts.

He was asked during a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night about health insurers not being allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions — by far the most popular aspect of Obamacare.

Would Trump maintain such a measure in whatever he and congressional Republicans come up with as part of their plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act?

“Yes,” he answered. “Because it happens to be one of the strongest assets.”

True. And polls consistently show that everybody likes this part of the health care reform law.

Here’s the thing, though: In the real world, you don’t get dessert unless you finish your veggies.

If Trump and his conservative cohorts want to keep this provision of the law, they’ll also have to accept what is arguably the least-popular aspect of Obamacare — the mandate that most people who don’t receive insurance from an employer purchase coverage on a state-run exchange.

They can fantasize all they want about separating the two elements. But in the cold, hard light of economic viability, there’s no pulling them apart. They are inextricably linked.

As I wrote in my Friday column, this is what’s known as guaranteed issue — the idea that health insurance is available to all, regardless of medical condition.

That has financial consequences. Guaranteed issue means an insurer has to cover more sick people, and sick people are expensive. They submit claims that have to be paid.

To balance that out and keep coverage affordable, insurers need more young and healthy people paying premiums. That’s what Obamacare accomplished with its mandate.

And that’s precisely where reality intrudes on Trump’s wishful thinking.

Even though Trump said in February that he sees the sense of Obamacare’s mandate, it doesn’t seem like the idea remains a part of his policy goals. He’s said far more frequently that he views the health care reform law as a “catastrophe” and a “disaster.”

Moreover, there isn’t a single prominent Republican in Congress who supports the mandate.

“If they don’t have a mandate, the whole thing unravels,” said Alain Enthoven, a Stanford University health economist. “You need a way to get young, healthy people into the program.”

This is how single-payer systems in other developed countries work. Using taxes instead of premiums and co-pays, they include everyone in the risk pool, sick and healthy, young and old. That spreads the insurance risk throughout the entire population and keeps costs down for all.

This is one reason that the average citizen of the European Union pays $3,600 a year for health care. The average American pays $9,400.

Unless Trump plans on nationalizing private insurers — thus creating an American single-payer system — there’s not much he can do to force private insurers to play ball. These are primarily for-profit companies and they’re not in the business of losing money.

No insurer would agree to guaranteed issue without a mechanism in place to expand their coverage of the young and healthy.

Even if the Republican-controlled Congress passed a law forcing them to do so, which would never happen, insurers would simply raise rates to the point where no one could afford policies.

Or the sick could be broken off into a separate “high-risk pool,” which would be similarly self-defeating. Yes, it would keep costs down for the healthy, but anyone with a pre-existing condition would find coverage so expensive as to be unthinkable.

That, in turn, would necessitate government subsidies, and then look — you’re pretty much back where you started with Obamacare, but in a much more inefficient form.

Incredibly, after all the political sweat, heavy lifting and heartache that went into crafting the Affordable Care Act, Trump still talks like health care reform is a relatively simple matter.

The way he describes it, we’ve been fools to pay so much for health care all these years when we could have had even better treatment at a lower cost.

“It’ll be great health care for much less money,” Trump said of his plans Sunday. “So it’ll be better health care, much better, for less money. Not a bad combination.”

President Barack Obama was a good deal more level-headed when he told reporters during his Monday news conference that “this office has a way of waking you up.”

"Those aspects of his positions or predispositions that don't match up with reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick because reality has a way of asserting itself," Obama said of Trump.

If the president-elect wants to keep guaranteed issue, he’ll have to wake up to the reality that insurance is the art of managing risk, and you can’t manage health care risk without increasing the number of healthy people in the risk pool.

If Trump truly wanted to create a system of better health care for less money, he’d call for expanding Medicare so it covered everyone — basically bringing us in line with the rest of the developed world.

But that too is a fantasy.

David Lazarus' column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.


(San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.)

John Albert Gardner III had only two words to say to prosecutors who charged him with murdering 17-year-old high school student Chelsea King - not guilty.

Gardner, a sex offender who was allowed to remove his monitoring bracelet two years ago, was arrested Sunday, after investigators say they had physical evidence tying him to the case. Chelsea King's mother, Kelly King, said that evidence was DNA on her daughter's underwear.

King disappeared last Thursday while running in a San Diego park. More than 1,400 people searched for her body over the weekend, but couldn't find her.

Yesterday, a dive team found her body in a shallow grave in a tributary of Lake Hodges, according to the . The grave was around half-a-mile from where King's BMW was found.

Gardner has a track record of attacking young girls. The 30-year-old pleaded guilty in May 2000 to molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor and served five years of a six-year prison term.

Prosecutors say he lured the victim to his home with an offer to watch "Patch Adams," a 1998 movie starring Robin Williams. The girl was beaten before escaping and running to a neighbor.

Investigators suspect Gardner could also be tied to a Dec. 27 assault on a female jogger from Colorado who fended off her attacker in the same park where King's body was found.

King was born in suburban San Diego but lived in the Chicago suburb of Naperville with her family for 10 years before the family returned to California. She was a straight A student at Poway High School.

During a Tuesday vigil for his daughter, Brent King told the thousands who came to honor her, "She's my angel forever."

"I want to thank you. Chelsea wants to thank you," he said. When someone shouted, "We love you," Brent King responded, "We love all of you."

Summary: 17-Year-Old Poway High School Student Went Missing Feb. 25; Body Was Found Six Days Later in Park Where She Disappeared Read more by Neil Katz on CBS News' Crimesider.


By RICHARD HUFF DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Monday, June 19th 2006, 7:10AM

Some New York-area residents will be among the 20 candidates vying for entry into CBS' All-Star edition of "Big Brother" this season.

The reality show gets underway Wednesday at 8 p.m. with a casting special in which America gets its first glimpse at the 20 contestants trying for a slot on the All-Star version.

Viewers will then be able to vote on which of the 20 actually get to be among the 12 in the house. "These are the people you love, the people you hate, they are the best gamers, they are the most controversial," said executive producer Allison Grodner. "It's a nice mix."

For five years, "Big Brother" has been a summer programming staple for CBS, spitting out 75 players overall. This season's players come from that pool. The show revolves around a group of people being sequestered in a specially designed home in California, where their every move and sound will be recorded. Once a week, one goes home.

Besides thrice-weekly television shows emanating from the house, the whole thing unfolds live, around the clock, on the Internet.

Grodner wouldn't disclose which of the past candidates made the cut for the new edition, but she did say some of the 20 All-Stars are from the New York area.

Producers started with a list of 40 names, Grodner said.

Some declined because they didn't want to go through the experience again. "It's a tough show," Grodner said, "because of the length of time they have to endure being in one place with no contact with the outside world. They don't see a cameraman, they don't see a producer, they don't see anyone but the people they go in with."

She did say that producers were not interested in putting back into the house people who broke the rules the first time around or may have been ejected.

That would seemingly rule out William Collins, a first-season contestant, who was revealed by the Daily News to have been an associate of controversial racist firebrand Khalid Abdul Muhammad, and perhaps Justin Sebik, who caused a stir when he held a knife to the neck of a female player during an early-morning tryst.

To that end, Grodner said each of the players had to go through new background checks as if they were new contestants. "We want to make sure our houseguests are completely safe," she said.

In a new twist, after Wednesday's special, viewers can vote for their favorite players. The top three male and top three female vote-getters will be guaranteed entry into the "Big Brother" house, with the producers selecting the remaining six.

Then, at a date not revealed, the 20 will line up outside the house and be told who gets in. That taped show will air July 6 at 8 p.m. to start the "living" part of the series.

Grodner promises alterations in the house - and how the game is played. "There are changes in terms of the challenges, in terms of how hard it is to live in this house," she said. "This is not your mama's 'Big Brother.' It's going to have more edge than it has in the past."

Summary: Some New York-area residents will be among the 20 candidates vying for entry into CBS' All-Star edition of "Big Brother"this season. The reality show gets underway Wednesday at 8 p.m. with a casting special in which America gets its first glimpse at the 20 contestants trying for a slot on the All-Star version. Viewers will then be able to vote on which of the 20


Tuesday, December 17th 1996, 2:01AM

A member of a Bronx school board in the city's lowest-performing district resigned after schools investigators found she lived outside the district.

At the same time, the Daily News has learned that a second member of the same board also lives outside the district.

A third member admits he has a home outside the district but says an apartment he maintains in the district qualifies him to stay on the board. But when pressed on his residency, he said he planned to quit.

The three, Blanca Feliciano, Amaury Ruiz and Israel Cruz, are members of suspended Board 12, which has been battling with Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew since August.

Crew suspended the board after it defied him and voted controversial Manhattan Principal Alex Castillo in as superintendent. The dispute remains in court.

In a report released yesterday, the special schools investigator, Ed Stancik, accused Castillo and others of aiding Feliciano in a residency charade to allow her to remain a board member. Feliciano was a Castillo supporter.

Feliciano who at one time lived in an apartment owned by Castillo moved out of the district after May's school board election.

She changed her registration to "parent voter," claiming to be the grandparent and guardian of a child at a district school.

But the child's records show that Feliciano is not the guardian, and the child was not listed at the residence Feliciano gave to the Board of Elections.

Board of Education rules require a school board candidate to live in the district or to have a "parental relation" and be "directly responsible for the custody and care of a child on a regular basis."

Feliciano who claims to be the guardian of another child whom she said attends a district elementary school nonetheless resigned earlier this month.

Crew called for her and Castillo to be "permanently removed."

The News has found two other members residing outside their district.

"I never realized you actually have to live in the district," Ruiz said, after a News reporter and photographer caught him leaving his apartment in District 7 around 7 a.m.

The third member, Cruz, and his wife were found living in a two-story home with a $143,000 mortgage on Newman Ave. in District 8. Cruz had listed his official address as an apartment on Fteley Ave. in District 12.

"I have several different residences," he said, coming out of the Newman Ave. home. "I live here as long as my wife and I are getting along."

"He is here at least 90% of the time," said a Newman Ave. neighbor. "He lives here, there is no doubt about that."


Monday, March 4th 1996, 1:95AM

A group of New York public school teenagers jetted to Israel last night to work on a kibbutz for 10 weeks hours after a third bomb in a week killed 19 people.

"When I heard about the bomb this morning my heart dropped to my stomach," said Michelle Crumpler, 17, of the Bronx. "But things happen everywhere, and I'm getting a big chance for a job here."

"I'm a Christian, but this will also help me open up my mind. I'm going," she added.

Her mother, Sonia, admitted some last-minute hesitation about the trip. "But you just have to pray and have faith," she said.

As their worried parents watched reports of the latest bombing, Crumpler and 12 other at-risk students from West Side and Washington Irving high schools headed to Netiv Halamed, a collective farm, or kibbutz, 40 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

For 70 days, the minority city kids will feed chickens, milk cows and learn the history of the troubled Jewish state.

The trip caps three months of preparation by a nonprofit group called Youth Works, which places the teens in summer internships when they return.

In an emergency meeting after last week's bombs, Youth Works promised to cancel the trip if parents wanted. Parents gave the go-ahead, but asked for specific security measures. Their children won't be traveling on public transportation, and they won't be allowed to leave the kibbutz without permission.

It has not been decided whether the group will visit Jerusalem.

"I want them to stay out of Jerusalem," said Leola Devaner at her grandson's send-off at West Side High School last night.

"You don't go to where the problems are. You stay out of trouble, just like a t home."

Ayala Donchin, Youth Moves' executive director, applauded the parents' choice.

"This is an opportunity most of these kids will never, ever have again," she said.

Former Youth Moves program graduates downplayed the risks.

"Hey, we live in Brooklyn, the Bronx, whatever, and there are gunshots, people dropping every day," said Jonell Quinones, 18, who worked on a kibbutz last year.

"You gotta go for it."

One mother, Theora Woodford, managed a laugh despite her fears.

"I'm just trying to keep a positive attitude and tell myself my daughter will come back a better person," she said.

"And maybe she'll learn to do the dishes."

Summary: A group of New York public school teenagers jetted to Israel last night to work on a kibbutz for 10 weeks hours after a third bomb in a week killed 19 people. "When I heard about the bomb this morning my heart dropped to my stomach,"said Michelle Crumpler, 17, of the Bronx. "But things happen everywhere, and I'm getting a big chance for a job here.""I'm a Christian, but this


Tuesday, June 13th 2006, 7:12AM

9:00 p.m. (ABC) "NBA Finals." The contest shifts to Miami, which Shaquille O'Neal (l.) calls home, for Game 3, and just in time for Heat fans: The Mavericks, enjoying the home court advantage in Dallas, won the first two games handily.

. 10:00 p.m. (SCIFI) "ECW." Extreme wrestling on the Sci-Fi Channel? Unless androids are involved, that's an extreme stretch for this channel's mandate. Yet here's this new series anyway. . 8:00 (NBC) "Fear Factor." Yesterday, NBC did a nice thing by postponing the beginning of its three-part "reality stars" edition of "Fear Factor." That good fortune didn't last, though, because the series begins tonight, giving us one more chance to see - or, if you take my advice, miss - such desperate-for-fame creeps as Jonny (Fairplay) Dalton from "Survivor" and Jonathan Baker from "The Amazing Race." Oh, well, at least we can adapt Marie Antoinette's sentiments to the modern age, and show disdain for these contestant peasants: Let them eat bugs.

. 10:00 (FX) "Rescue Me." It should be enough to have Susan Sarandon as a guest star to add to this show's feistiness quotient, but there's Tatum O'Neal as well.

. 8:00 p.m. (Fox) "House." Two very strong "House" episodes are repeated tonight. The second, one of my favorites, boasts a strong guest turn from Ron Livingston.

. 10:00 (MTV) "The Real World." This Florida edition of "The Real World" was filmed last October - which means the MTV gang was in place in tonight's episode to witness Hurricane Wilma.

Summary: TONIGHT SPORTS 9:00 p.m. (ABC) "NBA Finals."The contest shifts to Miami, which Shaquille O'Neal (l.) calls home, for Game 3, and just in time for Heat fans: The Mavericks, enjoying the home court advantage in Dallas, won the first two games handily. SERIES PREMIERES . 10:00 p.m. (SCIFI) "ECW."Extreme wrestling on the Sci-Fi Channel? Unless androids are involved, that's an extreme stretch for


BY JULIAN GARCIA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, April 17th 2000, 2:12AM

In a city known for its basketball, the Brooklyn/Queens division of the CHSAA is where everyone headed to check out the best, and there were plenty of players to gawk at. It's just a fantasy for so many college coaches, but we've managed to lock them all up on our team:

One of the most storied careers in the history of city hoops wrapped up in stellar fashion. McManus dominated - eight 30-plus games and four 40-plus games - and did it while being double or triple-teamed most of the time. Her seven points in the final 5.8 seconds to beat Loughlin won't be forgotten. Boston College is getting a spark plug.

When CK seemed more vulnerable than ever, Droesch provided stability and leadership. The junior forward, already one of the most recruited players in the country, gave the Royals a consistent threat from the outside, and with Tricia Tubridy formed the best one-two punch in the city. The Royals found themselves in more close games than usual this season and Droesch's accuracy from the free throw line helped seal many wins.

While Droesch is the player who has college coaches salivating all over their clipboards, Tubridy turned in the team's MVP performance. She didn't do it with flash, but instead was a consistent force that made the Royals an impossible team to defend. Tubridy averaged 14 points a game. She'll be deciding soon between Columbia and Harvard.

Olanrewaju gave Loughlin something few teams have: a dominating inside presence. Her 21 points and 10 boards helped the Lions pull off the upset of the year, an 18-point win at Christ the King, the Royals' first league loss in 16 years. She's headed to North Carolina State.

Kilduff averaged 17.1 points to help lead the Terriers to a 22-8 record and the state Catholic B championship. More impressively, she scored a 1280 on the SAT and has a 95 average, good for a place on the National Honor Society.

The Terriers exceeded everyone's expectations, winning the Catholic state class B title before losing in the state Federation class B title game. They did it all "without a real center or dominating player underneath," Finn said. "Our kids hustle all of the time and are always on the floor for loose balls." That's an attitude that comes from the top.

Danielle Chambers (Bishop Loughlin), Renee Taylor (Bishop Loughlin), Cigi McCollin (Christ the King), Meghan-Ann Collins (St. Francis Prep), Katelyn Raphael (Stella Maris), Dawn Gorynski (St. Francis Prep).

Victoria Wancel (St. Francis Prep), Theresa Williams (St. John's Prep), Kristen Hayes (St. Saviour), Lauren Hammer (St. Saviour), Tricia Lyons (Ford), Nicki Neis (Kearney), Diane Buono (St. Edmund), Elizabeth Fryer (St. Francis Prep).

Summary: In a city known for its basketball, the Brooklyn/Queens division of the CHSAA is where everyone headed to check out the best, and there were plenty of players to gawk at. It's just a fantasy for so many college coaches, but we've managed to lock them all up on our team: JANELLE McMANUS (Bishop Kearney) One of the most storied careers in the history of city hoops wrapped up in stellar fashion. McManus dominated - eight


There were some surprise nominations and snubs in the Golden Globe nominations announced on Tuesday morning.

First, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp were both nominated for "The Tourist," as was the movie itself, even though it was largely panned by critics, and limped into second place in its opening weekend box office.

Could the Hollywood Foreign Press, which puts on the big awards show, be currying those stars' favor and hoping to get their star power at their awards ceremony?

Along those lines, Halle Berry was nominated for her widely panned performance in "Frankie and Alice," where she played a woman with multiple personality disorder.

And Jennifer love Hewitt got a nomination for playing a prostitute in "The Client List" on Lifetime.

And as far as snubs go, "True Grit" star Jeff Bridges, who won the Oscar last year for "Crazy Heart," got nada for his Coen brothers film.

Ben Affleck didn't win any acknowledgment for directing "The Town," or his role in the drama "The Company Men."

Leonardo DiCaprio was a box office draw for "Inception," but not so in the eyes of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

And no TV nomination for "The Office" in star Steve Carell's final year?

The British monarchy tale "The King's Speech" led all Golden Globe motion picture contenders with seven nominations, while the musical comedy "Glee" was out ahead of its competition in the television category.

"The King's Speech" earned nods for best drama and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.

Other best-drama nominees Tuesday were the dance thriller "Black Swan," the boxing saga "The Fighter," the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception" and the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network."

Nominees in the Globes' other best-picture category, for musical or comedy, are the Lewis Carroll fantasy "Alice in Wonderland," the song-and-dance extravaganza "Burlesque," "The Kids Are All Right," the action tale "Red" and "The Tourist."

"Glee's" Lea Michele earned a nomination for best actress in a comedy series, along with Edie Falco in "Nurse Jackie." Other nominees in the category include Tina Fey, "30 Rock" and. Laura Linney, "The Big C."

For lead actor in a comedy series, the nominees included: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; Thomas Jane, "Hung"; Matthew Morrison, "Glee"; and Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory."

"The Social Network" and "The Fighter" tied for second in the film group, with six nominations each. Among nominations for "The Social Network" were Jesse Eisenberg as best dramatic actor, Andrew Garfield as supporting actor and David Fincher as director.

"The Fighter" earned four acting nominations, best actor for Mark Wahlberg and supporting honors for Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Its nominations also included a directing slot for David O. Russell.

Johnny Depp earned two nominations, as best musical or comedy actor for "Alice in Wonderland" and as a dramatic actor in "The Tourist."

Along with Eisenberg, Firth and Wahlberg, best dramatic actor contenders are James Franco for the survival story "127 Hours" and Ryan Gosling for the marital tale "Blue Valentine."

Nominees for best dramatic actress are the aforementioned Halle Berry for "Frankie and Alice," Nicole Kidman for the grieving-parent tale "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for the Ozarks crime yarn "Winter's Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine."

Hollywood's second-highest film honors, the Globes traditionally were a solid weather vane for predicting which film might triumph at the Academy Awards. But the Globes have provided murky forecasts in recent times. In the last six years, only a single recipient of one of the Globe best-film prizes has gone on to win best picture at the Oscars -- 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire."

That came after a stretch of eight-straight years when a Globe winner in either the dramatic or musical-comedy category went on to claim the best-picture Oscar.

Like the Globes, the Oscars will feature 10 best-picture nominees, but in a single category, after academy overseers doubled the number of contenders so a broader range of films could compete.

With two acclaimed dramas -- the British monarchy tale "The King's Speech" and the Facebook story "The Social Network" -- considered front-runners this time, there are prospects of another divergent year between the Globes and the Oscars, whose nominations come out Jan. 25, nine days after the Globes are presented.

"The Social Network" already has snagged two key prizes as both Los Angeles and New York film critics groups picked it as the year's best movie. The National Board of Review, a group of film historians, educators and students, also picked "The Social Network" as best of the year.

The Globes and Oscars typically line up better on acting winners. Last year, "Avatar" won best drama at the Globes and "The Hurt Locker" took best picture at the Oscars. But all four Oscar acting recipients -- Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side," Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," Mo'Nique for "Precious" and Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds" -- also won prizes at the Globes first.

Clear favorites have emerged this season for best actor (Firth in "The King's Speech") and supporting actor (Bale in "The Fighter").

Musical or comedy actress nominee Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right" and Portman for "Black Swan" could wind up in a two-woman race for best actress at the Oscars, while the supporting-actress category is up for grabs among prospects that include Adams and Leo for "The Fighter," Bonham Carter for "The King's Speech" and 14-year-old newcomer Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit."

No matter how the two awards shows line up on winners, the stars generally can count on a good time at the Globes, a more laid-back, dinner-and-drinks affair than the stately Oscars.

The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas outlets. Actors Katie Holmes, Blair Underwood and Josh Duhamel announced the nominees.

Robert De Niro, an eight-time Globe nominee who won a best-actor prize there for "Raging Bull," will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.

Ricky Gervais is returning as host of the Globes ceremony, which will air live Jan. 16 on NBC.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Summary: 'The King's Speech,' 'Glee' Lead Golden Globe Pack With Most Nominations


Third-party developers have very little incentive to make apps for TV because they have to make at least a half-dozen versions of them, one for each manufacturer. Services like Yahoo! ( YHOO - news - people ) Widgets, a cross-platform service available on connected LG, Samsung, Sony and Vizio sets, could in theory make app creation more developer friendly, but it's been around for more than a year and there have been few significant developments.

So what should you take away from this? Basically, don't buy an HDTV just because it's a connected model--buy it because it has a fantastic picture. It'll probably be connected anyway, but you'll probably want to keep your Blu-ray player and cable TV hooked up, and maybe even look into one of those game-changing set-top boxes when they come out. If you do want to go connected, here are a few new HDTVs with great performance and connectivity.

Samsung UN55C8000: Samsung's latest and greatest LED (at least until the C9000 appears). This 55-inch, 3-D-ready beauty has a 240 Hz refresh rate and is less than an inch thick. The Internet@TV service includes Yahoo! Widgets for news, weather and the like, as well as Twitter, Facebook, Amazon and Blockbuster ( BBI - news - people ) on-demand, Netflix ( NFLX - news - people ), Vudu and Skype is coming this summer. You'll also get access to Samsung Apps. Price: $3,499.

Vizio VF552XVT: This slick 55-inch LED doesn't quite match the quality of the Samsung UN55C8000, but it's pretty close and significantly cheaper at $1,999. You also get access to VIA, Vizio's robust service featuring Netflix, Vudu, Twitter, Facebook, Twitter and a slew of Yahoo! Widgets. This may be the best Internet TV service out there.

LG 50PK750: Plasma is still the gold standard for picture quality. This mid-range, 50-inch model from LG won't match the top-tier models, but you'll still get deep blacks and a smooth picture for $1,399. You'll also get access to NetCast, one of the most well-rounded connected services available, including Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, Yahoo! Widgets, Facebook, Twitter and Skype, which is coming this summer.

In Pictures: How To Buy An Internet-Ready TV

Liam McCabe is editor of DigitalAdvisor.com, a site dedicated to making shopping online for an HDTV as easy as possible.

The Search For Eco-Friendly HDTVs

The 3-D TV Craze Hits Homes

In Pictures: Cool 3-D TVs And HDTVs

Summary: TVs that connect to the Web are evolving. Here are tips that can help you figure out what you need.


Andy Serkis grabbed our attention as Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but the English actor has now taken on another role he said is a little more like himself – an ape named Caesar in the forthcoming FOX science fiction flick, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” And Serkis says he's convinced there is very little difference between a human and an ape.

“The branches of the tree somehow split and we evolved at different rates, but we are 97 percent the same. This is why the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise does fascinate and warrant a re-appraisal every few years. We do go through these cycles of looking at apes because they are our closest cousin, and we do judge our behavior against them,” Serkis told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column while promoting the film at the Comic Con International Convention in San Diego. “And if there were species to take over this planet, it would probably be them because they are so clever in their own right.”

Serkis has done his homework. The English-born actor actually drew on a real-life ape to prepare for his role channeling the primate.

“When you’re playing an ape you obviously learn ape behavior, but I based this character Caesar on a real ape called Oliver, who in the 1970s was known as a humanize because his behavior was very extraordinary and very human-like,” Serkis explained. “He would walk around, behave totally like a human being, so I based a lot on him.”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” stems from the wildly successful “Planet of the Apes” franchise and centers on San Francisco resident Will Rodman (James Franco), who is working on a cure for Alzheimer's by performing tests on apes. The first test subject is Serkis’s character Caesar. Rodman's “cure” genetically modifies Caesar, and spurns a new breed of ape with human-like intelligence. Soon its a battle to see which species will dominate the planet.

Director Rupert Wyatt is confident the film will resonate with American audiences.

“All films relate in some way to the world in which we live, this film certainly does that, and we earn our heroes,” he added. “We are living in a world of conflict and economic strife and in those times our heroes are vulnerable and not powerful, and Caesar is the perfect super hero in a bizarre sort of way.”

Summary: FOX411 at Comic-Con: 'Planet of the Apes' Star Says if Any Animal Could Take Over Planet, It Would Be Apes


FRANKFURT - Unemployment in the eurozone rose to a new high in March, according to figures released Wednesday, a few days before crucial elections in France and Greece. The report is likely to intensify calls for an easing of the region’s austerity drive.

Unemployment in the 17 eurozone countries rose to 10.9 percent in March from 10.8 percent in February, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9 percent.

The monthly increase, the 11th in a row, translates into more than 17 million jobless people and is in line with other indicators showing the eurozone economy remains distressed. Manufacturing hit a 34-month low in April, according to a survey released Wednesday by the research firm Markit.

Greece and France hold national elections Sunday. Voters are expected to register discontent with the decline in living standards and public services that has followed government budget cutting. Leaders could come to power who are unwilling to continue the austerity programs pushed by Northern European countries, especially Germany.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to hold its monthly policy meeting Thursday. While its governing council is not expected to lower its benchmark interest rate from 1 percent, recent economic data may have increased the chances for a surprise cut.

The data on manufacturing “raise the likelihood of a rate cut,’’ Stella Wang, an analyst at Nomura, wrote to clients. “But,’’ she added, “we stick with our main call of no rate cut assuming that the ECB prefers to wait for more data before fundamentally changing its view of the economic outlook.’’

As growth has faltered, some policy makers have begun to talk more about the need to balance budget cutting with measures to promote growth. But it is not clear how they would do so when investors are reluctant to lend governments any more money, and citizens in wealthier countries like Germany are not willing to subsidize their neighbors.

Mario Draghi, president of the central bank, called last week for a growth compact and a reexamination of the euro. He appeared to mean that countries like Greece and Spain should redouble their efforts to make their economies function better, for example by making it easier to start a business or for employers to dismiss workers. But such changes may encounter political resistance, and during election campaigns in Greece and France the talk has been more of reducing the pressure on governments to cut spending.

Francois Hollande, the Socialist who is leading in the polls ahead of a runoff election Sunday against the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has promised to increase subsidies to industry.

In Greece, the main political parties have campaigned on a promise to renegotiate international aid terms.

The unemployment figures also illustrated the growing gap between Northern and Southern Europe. The jobless rate in Germany was 5.6 percent, compared with 24.1 percent in Spain and 21.7 percent in Greece. The Greek figure is based on January data, the most recent available.

But some economists said there were signs of weakness even in Germany, which has the largest economy in Europe. The Federal Employment Agency, which counts some people as unemployed who are excluded by Eurostat’s methodology, said Wednesday that the number of jobless people in Germany fell by 65,000 in April to below 3 million, a rate of 7 percent.

After adjusting for seasonal distortions, though, unemployment in Germany rose slightly.

“Compared with most other European countries, the German labor market is still a bright spot,’’ Thomas Harjes, an analyst at Barclays Capital, wrote. But he added, “Today’s figures highlight that the weak economy will not leave the labor market unscathed.’’

Greece received an upgrade from Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday, reflecting completion of a debt-reduction deal with creditors.

S&P raised Greek debt from selective default to CCC, still deep in junk bond territory.

Summary: Unemployment in the eurozone rose to a new high in March, according to figures released Wednesday, which come a few days before crucial elections in France and Greece, and which are likely to intensify calls for an easing of the region’s austerity drive. Unemployment in the 17 countries that belong to the eurozone rose to 10.9 percent in March from 10.8 percent in February, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9 percent, a number that illustrates the deterioration of the area’s economy during the past year.


Fans may be frustrated, and the decision caused a drop in its parent company’s stock, but Irrational Games made the right move this week when it delayed the debut of the newest BioShock video game until 2013, analysts said.

“I think it’s an admirable quality to finish things properly before putting them out,’’ said Billy Pidgeon, game analyst at M2 Research in New York. “High-quality games are done when they’re done.’’

The forthcoming release, BioShock Infinite, had been scheduled to go on sale in October, near the start of the holiday shopping season. But on Wednesday, Ken Levine, general manager of the Quincy-based Irrational Games, wrote in a blog post that the game would instead be released in February to give developers more time to make “some specific tweaks and improvements. . . . The great can be made greater.’’

Pidgeon said that delaying BioShock Infinite means it will not have to face off against a wave of major game holiday releases, including the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed III, Halo 4, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, all expected to sell millions of copies. “There’s only sufficient time to play a certain number of games,’’ said Pidgeon. “My point of view is, it’s good to spread it out.’’

Shares of Irrational’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. of New York, declined after the delay was revealed Wednesday, falling nearly 6 percent to $12.63 on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The stock rebounded slightly on Thursday, closing up about one percent to $12.76.

Both Take-Two and Irrational Games declined to comment further on the delay.

BioShock Infinite is a follow-up to Irrational’s 2007 BioShock, a grim and intellectually challenging game inspired by the libertarian philosophy of novelist Ayn Rand. BioShock received strong critical acclaim and was one of the best-selling video games of 2007; it went on to sell about 3.8 million copies. A sequel, BioShock 2, sold 3.4 million games, but that game was developed by 2K Marin, a Take-Two studio in California.

BioShock Infinite is a follow-up to Irrational Games’ 2007 BioShock.

The new game is not a sequel to BioShock but is supposed to be similar in style. Where BioShock was set in a decaying underwater city, BioShock Infinite takes place on a vast floating metropolis called Columbia during the early 20th century, with a storyline inspired by the rise of the United States as a world power.

The game’s designers had “aspirations [that] were more ambitious than the time they had to get it done,’’ said Michael Pachter, a game industry analyst at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. Pachter said that a delay that resulted in a better game would be welcomed by BioShock fans, mostly hardcore players who buy games year-round.

As a result, he said, missing the holiday season will probably have little effect on sales of BioShock Infinite. “As a practical matter, it’s not going to make much difference,’’ Pachter said. “That game’s not on grandma’s Christmas list.’’

Summary: Fans may be frustrated, and the decision caused a drop in its parent company’s stock, but Irrational Games made the right move this week when it delayed the debut of the newest BioShock video game until 2013, analysts said. “I think it’s an admirable quality to finish things properly before putting them out,’’ said Billy Pidgeon, game analyst at M2 Research in New York. “High-quality games are done when they’re done.’’ BioShock Infinite was scheduled for release in October.


(CBS) A new study claims that daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack in some high-risk patients.

The study published in the journal BMJ looked at 2,013 people with hypertension and metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical disorders that signals a risk for heart disease, and used a mathematical model to find that daily consumption of about 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate over ten years would decrease the risk of cardiac events.

Researchers found that, depending on how well people stick to eating their daily dark chocolate, between 65 and 85 cardiac events could be prevented per 10,000 people over 10 years.

In short, as researchers say, "Daily dark chocolate consumption could be an effective cardiovascular preventive strategy (for people with the above conditions)."

The study's authors noted that the study only applies to dark chocolate - not milk or white chocolate - probably due to the higher concentration of flavonoids, which are "known to have heart protecting effects," in dark chocolate.

Others are less certain about the study's daily chocolate recommendation.

"I suspect that consuming dark chocolate every day for 10 years may have unintended adverse consequences," Kenneth Ong at the Brooklyn Hospital Center told Reuters. Ong described the study as "more hypothetical than proven" and went on to point out that consuming additional sugar and calories is potentially not a good course of action for patients who are overweight or at risk for diabetes.

Summary: The study's authors found that "Daily dark chocolate consumption could be an effective cardiovascular preventive strategy" Read more by Kevin Hayes on CBS News' HealthPop.


When it comes to the volatile new lithium-ion battery technology, Boeing and Airbus are heading in different directions.

Faced with the potential of a lengthy investigation into what caused batteries on two Boeing 787 jets to catch fire or emit smoke last month, Airbus said Friday that it had dropped plans to use the technology on its forthcoming wide-body jet, the A350-XWB, to avoid possible delays in producing the planes. But Boeing, which has much more at stake, said later in the day that it would stick with the batteries and that it is working with regulators on how to reduce the risks even if the cause of the hazards is not clearly found.

All 50 of the 787s delivered so far were grounded in mid-January. And even though the problems have embarrassed Boeing and could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said Friday, ‘‘There’s nothing we’ve learned in the investigations that would lead us to a different decision regarding lithium-ion batteries.’’

To some extent, Boeing’s bravado reflects a sense among battery experts that they have narrowed down the ways that the batteries, made by a Japanese company, GS Yuasa, could fail. That then increases the chances that a handful of changes may eventually provide enough assurance that the batteries would be safe to use.

Airbus was planning on a more limited use of the lithium-ion batteries than Boeing, and by switching to the more traditional nickel-cadmium batteries, the company can make the necessary changes as it is building the planes. Boeing, on the other hand, has a strong motivation to stick with the lithium-ion batteries in hopes that a solution will emerge. Boeing might not have to go through as extensive an approval process if it redesigned the lithium-ion batteries as it would if it switched to the conventional batteries.

Airbus said it started informing airline customers Thursday that it would not move ahead with its original plan to use the lithium-ion batteries on its A350s.

“Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and reliability,’’ said Marcella Muratore, an Airbus spokeswoman.

Summary: Faced with a potentially prolonged investigation into what caused batteries on two Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets to catch fire or emit smoke last month, Boeing’s European rival, Airbus, said Friday that it had abandoned plans to use the same battery technology on its forthcoming wide-body jet, the A350-XWB. Airbus said that it began informing informed airline customers Thursday that it would not move ahead with an original plan to use the lightweight lithium-ion batteries to power a number of the A350’s onboard systems, and would revert instead to a conventional battery, made of nickel-cadmium, that is already used extensively on existing other Airbus models.


"It all began with Saddam Hussein's face," says Noma Bar. "When I was a teenager in Israel, during the first Gulf war, his picture was everywhere. One day, I saw a radiation symbol and realised it looked just like him."

Not many people would look at the three black wedges of the international radiation warning sign and see two bushy eyebrows and a moustache, forming the stare of the former Iraqi dictator. But then most people don't see the world like Bar. "I added a military cap and jacket – and it was the spitting image of him."

Twenty years after his teenage doodles, the graphic artist's skewed view of the world has earned him a reputation as the master of illusory illustration. His visual double entendres have graced the pages of the Guardian, the New York Times and Time Out, featured on book covers for Don DeLillo and Haruki Murakami, and appeared in ad campaigns for Google, Sony and Nike.

Bar's images have an uncanny likeness, given that they generally employ just a few shapes and lines. For a celebratory cycling cover of the Metro newspaper, he took the head-on image of a racing bike, gave it a mop of blond hair, and turned it into the face of Bradley Wiggins. For a series of Hollywood heads, a pair of boxing gloves became the bloodied eye and puckered lips of Sylvester Stallone, while strategically composed guns formed the profiles of Pulp Fiction hitmen John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson.

"I'm fascinated by faces," says Bar, when we meet at the Rook & Raven gallery in London, where his exhibition Cut the Conflict opens this month. "We all have two eyes, a nose and a mouth, yet everyone looks so different. These simple elements contain so much of our character." To find the essence of his subjects, Bar sits in front of the mirror for hours, contorting his own face until he catches a glimpse of the other person, goofing and gurning to locate their key distinguishing feature.

But most of the time, his inspiration comes from sitting in the woods. Since he moved to London from Israel in 2001, he has made Highgate Wood his al fresco studio, diligently sitting among the trees with his sketchbook from 9am until 4pm every day, come rain or shine. "The work comes from a very quiet place," he says, describing the process of layering sketches by hand, before producing the final graphics later on his computer. "The software is what gave me my style," he adds. "Freehand and Adobe Illustrator make it so easy to make these simple shapes in flat colours."

Naturally, some inspiration comes from the content of the story itself: to accompany a New York Times article on the death of Princess Diana, Bar formed her profile from a paparazzo's zoom lens. Editors often seek him out for just such darker topics. "They see my work as a kind of painkiller for heavier subjects. While photography will give you a punch in the face, the overall look of my images is softer – but they still shock you in the discovery of the message." They frequently deliver an uncomfortable laugh, too.

To illustrate a Guardian article about the torture that took place at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad while George W Bush was president, Bar neatly conflated Bush and victim, forming Dubya's face from the caped silhouette of an Iraqi detainee, the wires of his imminent electrocution forming the outline of the president's head. He shows me another image that looks like a swatch of army camouflage. Closer examination reveals that the khaki patterns are made up of copulating bodies. "This was inspired by an article about the alcohol-fuelled sex parties that American soldiers have when they're not fighting," he says.

His style – bold block colours – has a rich range of precedents, with echoes of Russian constructivist propaganda and art-deco film posters, as well as the sharp, knowing tradition of designers like Alan Fletcher, Milton Glaser and Paul Rand – who famously rebranded IBM in 1981, with an eye and a bee alongside an M. Bar has followed in his hero Rand's footsteps, recently producing a series of posters and animations for the computing giant with a similarly pared-back approach.

Born in 1973, into a family of artists living in Afula near Nazareth, Bar was exposed to the art world from an early age. His neighbour made sculptures out of tractor parts, which introduced him to the idea of readymades: "I saw you could take something and make it into something radically different, just by composition," he says. "That is the basis of all my work now."

He spent his three years of compulsory military service in the Israeli navy, before going on to study traditional calligraphy and Hebrew typography in Jerusalem. These clearly left their mark: guns and tanks are recurring features, along with drops of blood – or is it oil? The ambiguity, which demands a double take, is deliberate. "I see the work like short stories or haiku poems," he says. "The multiple layers of meaning unfold the closer you look."

His Cut the Conflict exhibition will feature one image that shows the flags of Israel and Palestine separated by a soldier taking aim. But look again and you see a heart shape formed by the crook of the soldier's arm and the barrel of the gun. Much of rest of the work for the show has yet to materialise, as it will be produced by visitors in what Bar describes as "a scary experiment in democracy". In the gallery, the public will encounter a pile of ephemera – flags, maps, letters, bits of wood – gathered from conflict zones around the world, alongside a giant black dog sitting up obediently, its mouth gaping open (which, from the side, forms the outline of a cat's head). Looming over the space like an Easter Island head, this is Bar's cutting machine, capable of slicing with the force of 20 tonnes.

"The compositions reached such a level of simplicity that I realised it was enough just to cut shapes out, with no need for ink," he explains. Bar plans to sign all of the materials in advance and then leave them for visitors to experiment with. Depending on what they pick, a DIY collage will set them back anything from £300 to £500 – a reflection of his rapidly increasing collectibility value.

So will the gallery, rather than the news page, be his home from now on? "I've got to a stage where I can happily live off print sales," he says. "But as long as I get interesting briefs, I won't stop working for newspapers and magazines. That's what pushes me to be in the woods by nine every morning."

• Noma Bar will be running workshops on 30 November 12:30-4:30pm, and 7 December 12:30-4:30pm

Summary: Noma Bar's ingenious and uncanny illustrations have taken portraiture into a new dimension. The Israeli artist tells Oliver Wainwright how it all started with Saddam Hussein


While television history is dotted with military comedies — from “McHale’s Navy” to “M.A.S.H.” to “Major Dad” — when soldiers’ stories have been told in the last 20 or so years, during the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, they have generally, understandably, been serious affairs. There have been epic historical “The Pacific” and “Band of Brothers,” crime procedurals like “JAG” and “NCIS,” grittier contemporary fare like “Over There,” or the nighttime soap “Army Wives.”

Kevin Biegel, creator of the new Fox comedy “Enlisted,” premiering Friday at 9:30 p.m., is hoping that people are ready to put comedy and soldiers together again.

“People ask, ‘How do you do a comedy with all the heavy stuff happening [overseas]?’ I think that’s the exact reason you do a comedy right now, because it gives you something real underneath the jokes,” says Biegel, a Boston College graduate and previously a producer on the shows “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town.”

“Enlisted” centers on three brothers at an Army post in Florida. The eldest brother, Staff Sergeant Pete Hill, has returned from Afghanistan. While the troop has its share of misfits, in the vein of predecessors like “Stripes,” Biegel and his co-producers, cast, and crew are sensitive to striking a respectful balance between celebrating those who serve while poking fun at the quirks of their workplace.

“It’s super personal for me,” says Biegel, who comes from a military family and had always wanted to write about his relationship with his two younger brothers. “The people I love the most in the world did this job so we’ve had to work hard to kill this perception that we’re doing a show that’s mocking the military. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re doing a show that holds these people in incredibly high regard, but it’s a workplace comedy so we’re trying to find the funny in the characters. And sometimes,” he adds, “We go to some fairly heavy spots.” Those spots include Hill coping with PTSD and the brothers’ father being killed in action.

“It’s important to all of us to get it right,” says actor Geoff Stults, who plays Sergeant Hill. “It’s my giant head out in front on the poster so it’s important to me that military people don’t think that I’m making fun of them.” Stults, who notes he’s gotten positive feedback from his best friend, who is a major in Marine Corps, adds however, “It’s also important to me to make these guys laugh.”

In the interest of getting it right, the producers reached out to Musa Military Entertainment Consulting Inc. after making some mistakes in the pilot episode.

“When you’re in the military and you watch a show, if things aren’t right, it immediately takes you out the show,” says Musa partner Lieutenant Colonel US Army (retired) Greg Bishop. “And [the pilot] did that for us and we immediately knew we could help them, but we weren’t sure if we wanted to be a part of it because we knew what the military community reaction would be, because it was the same reaction that we had. But, we also knew that the story was good.”

From improper haircuts to disheveled uniforms to a lack of hats on soldiers working outside, Bishop says he and his crew went to work to correct things that a civilian might not notice but would jar a soldier. Musa offers input on everything from costumes to props to “Army atmospherics.”

(There were enough errors in the pilot that Biegel and his producers decided to run a “spot the snafus” contest, which impressed Bishop. “I can’t think of anyone in this town who’s done something like that.”)

“I feel awful that we got some stuff wrong in the pilot. We thought we did our due diligence but there are some things we missed and we shouldn’t have missed them so we got squared away after that,” says Biegel, who in addition to hiring Musa, tapped several vets to work as extras. “That was hugely important to me, not just because it’s a good thing to hire veterans, but also because they can help us get squared away out of respect for the men and women who do this job.”

Biegel was so concerned about the military response that he launched something of a charm offensive by reaching out to skeptical military bloggers and Tweeters who judged the promos as troubling, which he says he understands since it stitches together the wackiest elements of the series.

“If I ever see anyone on Twitter who says they think it looks offensive, I’ll single them out and contact them and I’ll send them episodes,” says Biegel, who contacted hundreds of people. “Every single time I’ve done it, they’ve all come back and said, ‘This show is not what I thought it was.’ Some people who initially were naysayers have become supporters, which means the world to me.”

Brookline native Scott Rutherford, a Milton Academy grad who writes for the show, is excited to be working on something that hasn’t been seen for a while.

“I love to feel like I can’t look in eight other directions and see this already out there,” says Rutherford. “Just the fact that it hasn’t been done in such a long time makes you wonder, once you’re working on it, ‘Oh yeah, why not? This world is so rich.’ ”

It is also politically delicate, and that is an arena that doesn’t interest Biegel. “That’s not our job,” he says. “Our job is to make people laugh and tell interesting stories.”

“The country has a large and diverse population; we’re not going to make everybody happy,” says Musa’s Bishop. “But anybody who has ever spent time in the military or around troops knows that while the mission is very serious, soldiers are really very funny people and they need to find the humor in things in order to deal with the seriousness.”

Summary: While television history is dotted with military comedies-- from “McHale’s Navy” to “M.A.S.H.” to “Major Dad” — when soldiers’ stories have been told in the last 20 or so years, during the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, they have generally, understandably, been serious affairs. There have been epic historical HBO miniseries like “The Pacific” and “Band of Brothers,” crime procedurals like “JAG” and “NCIS,” grittier contemporary fare like FX’s “Over There,” or the Lifetime nighttime soap “Army Wives.” Kevin Biegel, creator of the new Fox comedy “Enlisted,” premiering Friday at 9:30 p.m., is hoping that people are ready to put comedy and soldiers together again.


Filipino families across America are in the dark as details about the monster typhoon estimated to have killed at least 1,000 begin to trickle out of the already...

Going somewhere? Don’t forget to pack your friends and favorite celebrities! No, not literally, but through Trippy.com now you virtually can.

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Four female Airmen took to the skies last month on a mission in Afghanistan unlike any other Air Force mission before them. The all-female crew marked a first for the United...

“I’m Mrs. Mariam Ellis, a devoted humanitarian, with your assistance I want to set up a foundation (worth millions of dollars) to help the victims of Tsunami in Japan and other...

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