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ASHEVILLE , N.C. — The Rev. Billy Graham was admitted to a hospital Wednesday near his home in western North Carolina to be tested for pneumonia after suffering from congestion, a cough and a slight fever, his spokesman said. The 93-year-old evangelist was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville , spokesman A. Larry Ross said. His personal physician, Dr. Lucian Rice, said he was in stable condition. A news release issued by the hospital said Graham was alert, smiling and waving to staff as he entered the hospital. Ross said Graham was admitted for observation and treatment and likely would spend the night there. Ross said Graham was in good spirits after undergoing a full afternoon of medical tests. His daughter, Gigi, visited him after dinner for prayer and Bible reading, Ross said. As the two watched television in the hospital room, Ross said they found a replay of Graham’s 1973 crusade in St. Louis . For six decades, Graham led a worldwide crusade-based ministry that packed ...

Thank God Double D lent his John Hancock to “Lincoln”! Hey, as disappointing as it was that after umpteen years attached to play the part Liam Neeson ultimately had to nix Spielberg’s “Lincoln” project (Neeson, of course, fronted Spielbuster’s “Schindler’s List”), you can’t bring out the whine card when it comes to the choice of his replacement – Daniel Day Lewis. Forget about replacement, the man’s just as good an actor as you’ll find. Full stop. In any film. Maybe even on the credit roll of “E-Street”. Even “Son of Mask 2″ would probably be worth a watch if Day Lewis was in it. Which he isn’t. All jokes aside, Day Lewis is going to do magic with such Lincoln bites as “Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose – and you allow him to make war at pleasure”, no!? Giddy. The “My Left Foot” and “There Will Be Blood” showp...

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show stole the spotlight Tuesday night, receiving its highest ratings ever (4.6 with adults 18-49) and its largest audience since 2002 with 10.3 million viewers. The show, which aired on CBS for the ninth time, wasn't merely models swaying down the catwalk but was more of an experience with a transparent view of the production. Viewers were allowed a behind-the-scenes look at the show with the chimes of crew communications urging, "Go! Go! Go!" and directors urging, "We need Adriana!" when the wardrobe crew had trouble undressing Adriana Lima from her superhero outfit. Recording artists Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Maroon 5 performed for the show. During Maroon 5's performance of "Moves Like Jagger," vocalist Adam Levine walked the catwalk hand-in-hand with Victoria’s Secret Angel and girlfriend, Anne V, planting a kiss on her cheek when they reached the end. Amid all the show's focus on beauty and extra...

This year, the academy is pulling out all the stops again with a glittering array of duets, from Lady Gaga joining Sugarland to sing You & I to the original members of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five teaming up with Common, Lupe Fiasco and LL Cool J for a rendition of 1982's The Message. We'll also find out who the nominees are in 78 categories. 10:57 p.m.: Topping off the night: Lady Gaga and Sugarland perform for the first time together. Gaga switches from skeletal face paint to raccoon face, and instead of panties and a bra, a giant bow-laden ballgown. Instead of dancing, she takes a seat at the piano, looking across to Sugarland's newlywed, Jennifer Nettles. The two women rarely break eye contact, while Kristian Bush, focuses on playing guitar nearby. 10:53 p.m. : LL Cool J checks on his friend, Bruno Mars. "Gimme a moment LL," says the beaming singer."Amazing." 10:51 p.m.: A bubblegum-pink Katy Perry announces the big one, album of th...

Country singer Mindy McCready said Wednesday she probably will not be able to bring her 5-year-old son back to Florida to fulfill a judge's order by Thursday afternoon -- because she is nearly seven months pregnant with twins. By not returning as ordered, she risks arrest. Speaking exclusively to The Associated Press, McCready said she and her mother have had a long custody battle over the boy, Zander. Her mother was awarded guardianship in 2007. The battle became more public this week, when the Florida Department of Children and Families said a missing person report was filed with police after McCready took Zander from her father's home. McCready was able to visit with the boy there under a court order, and the 36-year-old singer said she had spent much of the past month with her son at the home. Her mother and father are divorced. McCready alleges that her son suffered abuse while living at her mother's home and that is one reason why she left with the boy last week. ...

Mike Leach will be back on the sideline next season. Washington State reached a verbal agreement with the former Texas Tech coach one day after firing Paul Wulff. The school said Wednesday that Leach had agreed in principle to a five-year contract and will be introduced at a press conference next Tuesday.Financial terms of the contract were not available, but according to a story by CBSSports.com, the deal is for five years and would make Leach the third-highest paid coach in the Pac-12. In a statement released through the school, Leach said: "I have always admired the tradition of Washington State. It's a university on the move that is experiencing growth. I'm excited about what they are doing with the facilities and it's a team that has battled through some hard times and shows great promise in the future. "I'm proud to be a part of this team." Leach, 50, was fired by Texas Tech in December of 2009 following a dispute over his handling of receiver ...

Congratulations to Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard: She is pregnant with their second baby. On top of expecting a wee addition to the Gyllenhaal-Saarsgard gang, this means Jake Gyllenhaal soon will be an uncle twice over (We're picturing lots of goo-goo noises and stuffed animals around him too). Maggie and Peter are already parents to 5-year-old Ramona, the teeny fashion plate they raise in -- natch -- Brooklyn. News of their pending second was first reported by People. Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard started dating in 2002 and wed in 2009. That same year, they took their act from home to the stage, co-starring in a production of "Uncle Vanya" on Broadway. But back to Uncle Jake. Caring for an infant can mean sleep deprivation for any mother, so Maggie is especially lucky to have her movie-star brother on deck: Jake is known to have a very, very calming effect.Sure, Melissa McCarthy would like to find herself wafer-thin one day, but for now the Emmy-winning "Mik...

Get a jump start on your New Year's Resolution.  Regenesis Wellness Center can help you lose those extra pounds and keep them off.  For the first 20 callers you will receive HCG for half price, that's $129.95.  You must enroll in the program by December 1st, 2011.  Lose weight with your friends!  Refer a friend and once they enroll in the program before December 1st, 2011 you will receive a $50 gift card. Disclaimer: Must have valid insurance card.  Weight loss will vary by individual and is not guaranteed. We also want to tell your viewers about the Well Woman Weight Loss Challenge!  Contestants will enter to win a chance to participate in the 8 week weight loss challenge.  The person who loses the most weight will win A Whole New You plus a grand prize goodie basket valued at over $500.  We will be following the contestants on Sonoran Living and documenting their progress.  If you would like to enter please go to www.regenesiswelln...

The Iraq war veteran-turned-"All My Children" star has been named the Grand Marshal of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade on Jan. 1, and has been personally invited to visit the Pentagon for a meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. "His outlook on life is admirable, and we couldn’t be happier to have the chance to celebrate the New Year with him as we entertain the millions of fans around the world during the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game," president of the Tournament of Roses Rick Jackson said in a statement. Read more: 'DWTS' Finale: The Kardashian vs. The War Hero And while Panetta invited Martinez to the Pentagon in a congratulatory phone call after his reality show victory last week, he also wrote the vet a letter, telling him, "Over the course of this competition, your spirit captivated the nation and your victory sends a powerful message about the strength and resilience of our wounded warriors." Martinez has also started wri...

  This year’s Day-Right after Thanksgiving sales are some of the most popular we have at any time seen. Virtually all significant retailer is presenting enormous reductions on the year’s most sought soon after products. Retailers almost everywhere are opening up early in a bid to seize the most money. We scoured the information for the most recent Cyber Week information obtainable so you do not have to. Latest Cyber Week Information Cyber Monday 2011: Xbox 360 PS3 Wii Video Recreation Specials Stay Cyber Week 2011 Walmart's “Cyber Week” event begins on Sunday, November 27, 2011 and goes via Friday, Dec. two. Likewise Amazon is set to kick off Cyber Monday this Sunday, but offers are by now flowing as we speak. Walmart's cyber week specials incorporate the Xbox 360 … http://hawtwired.com/weblogs/information/archive/2011/11/26/958.aspx Walmart's Cyber Monday Offers 2011 Feature ' Cyber Week Specials' Starting up Nov. 27 Cyber Week 2011 For those who h...

biggest extraterrestrial explorer, NASA's Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars on Saturday on a search for evidence that the red planet might once have been home to itsy-bitsy life. It will take 8 1/2 months for Curiosity to reach Mars following a journey of 354 million miles. An unmanned Atlas V rocket hoisted the rover, officially known as Mars Science Laboratory, into a cloudy late morning sky. A Mars frenzy gripped the launch site, with more than 13,000 guests jamming the space center for NASA's first launch to Earth's next-door neighbor in four years, and the first send-off of a Martian rover in eight years. NASA astrobiologist Pan Conrad, whose carbon compound-seeking instrument is on the rover, had a shirt custom made for the occasion. Her bright blue, short-sleeve blouse was emblazoned with rockets, planets and the words, "Next stop Mars!" The 1-ton Curiosity -- as large as a car -- is a mobile, nuclear-powered laboratory holding 10 scien...

BATON ROUGE, La. - The knock on the Arkansas Razorbacks is they often start slow. The  No.1 LSU Tigers (12-0, 8-0) outscored the No. 3 Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2) 41-3 over the last 42 minutes of the game in a 41-17 win Friday evening in Baton Rouge.  The Tigers clinched the Southeastern Conference's Western division outright, likely earning a spot in the BCS National Championship game. "I am proud of our football team," said Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino.  "Our players came out, competed hard and stuck together as a team. The Hogs started off fast for a change.  After a scoreless first quarter, Arkansas got on the board first with a touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Wilson to senior receiver Jarius Wright.  Then, on LSU's next possession, running back Michael Ford fumbled, Arkansas linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, Jr. scooped it up and ran 47-yards for the touchdown.  Just like that it was 14-0. "We came in here wanting to start quickly and score fast,...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--RadioShack Corp. (RSH) plans to extend a promotion it offered this week that boosts the selection of free phones customers can get when they sign up for a wireless service contract. The move is the latest sign retailers are willing to compete aggressively for their share of rapidly growing mobile phone sales, particularly smartphones. The stakes are particularly high for RadioShack, which eked out growth in sales of mobile devices at company operated stores in the third quarter while other product categories saw significant declines. Each week through the end of the year, RadioShack customers who sign up for a service contract will be able to choose from at least 20 phones for free with their plan, Chief Merchandising Officer Scott Young said in an interview Friday. That's up from five to 10 normally, he said. The deal is an extension of a promotion the company offered this week in advance of Black Friday. "Given the response, we're going to forma...

Premium greeting cards choices are available. Mail the gift card inside of a personalized, 5×7 inch greeting card, which can added throughout Checkout. Retail merchants located nationwide Merchandise can’t be delivered to freight forwarding organizations. Amazon.com Present Cards cannot be employed as a strategy of payment for this product. JCPenney, one of Americas major retailers, operates more than one thousand department retailers all through the US and PR. JCPenney gives a wide array of brands at wise charges like loved ones attire, home furnishings, fine jewellery, footwear, accessories an Larger — then teenager — crowd stuffed the nation’s shopping then main box sites onto Black Friday, for being a all new creation discovered with in one particular of the largest merchandise functions of the majority. Stopping major crowd throughout the country for the purpose that cage doors initiated This the evening. As a youthful positions, the viewers close to Columbia Mall with Gr...

By Rick Pearson and John Byrne, Chicago Tribune reporters 12:36 a.m. CST , November 26, 2011 City flags were lowered to half staff and memorial bunting placed over the entrance to City Hall on Friday in silent tribute to Maggie Daley as the family of Chicago's late former first lady scheduled a public wake and funeral to honor her life. Mrs. Daley, 68, whose life was praised from the White House to the schoolhouse for her charitable and cultural contributions to the city, died Thursday evening with former Mayor Richard Daley and family at her side. She had been treated for metastatic breast cancer since 2002. The Daley family announced a public wake would be held from noon until 10 p.m. on Sunday in the Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St. A public funeral Mass was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 W. Adams St. The Rev. Jack Wall, pastor emeritus at Old St. Pat's and a longtime Daley family friend, sai...

Anne McCaffrey, a fantasy fiction writer whose vision of an interstellar alliance between humans and dragons spawned two dozen "Dragonriders of Pern" novels, has died in Ireland. She was 85. Her publisher, Random House, said McCaffrey died of a stroke Monday at her rural residence south of Dublin, her home for four decades. She christened her self-designed house Dragonhold. McCaffrey turned to the male-dominated world of sci-fi writing after dabbling in singing and amateur acting. "I have always used emotion as a writing tool," McCaffrey told the science fiction magazine Locus in a 2004 interview. "That goes back to me being on the stage. The thing is, emotion — if it's visibly felt by the writer — will go through all the processes it takes to publish a story and still hit the reader right in the gut. But you have to really mean it." She was the first woman to win the top two prizes for science fiction writing, the Hugo and the Nebula, in 19...

Macy's Herald Square carries hundreds of thousands of things to buy. But it's no coincidence that so many shoppers left the store early Friday morning with one of the same four items: Rampage boots for women, Justin Bieber perfume, Ralph Lauren pillows and Black & Decker toaster ovens. The department store always promotes tried-and-true draws like jewelry, housewares and coats, but it starts mapping out less predictable best sellers almost as soon as the annual event ends each year. The company scours purchasing data, drafts shopper profiles and tests its customers' appetites to make sure products don't run out until the first round of sales ends at 1 p.m., said Patti M. Lee, district vice president of Macy's Herald Square flagship store. Getting it right on the highest-profile shopping day of the year is crucial if Macy's Inc. is to attract consumers' attention and boost its sales in what has become an fiercely competitive and discount-driven shoppi...

There is certainly something alluring about those cheerleaders in Dallas. Just two weeks ago, Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson celebrated a touchdown by jogging across the field to hand Cowboys cheerleader Kelsi Reich the football as part of his celebration. Reich -- who reveals in her bio at the Cowboys' website that she can hold Skittles in her dimples -- is dating Nelson, so the gift of the football made some sense. Of course, Dallas owner Jerry Jones still might not have been pleased to see one of his star-adorned ladies cavorting with the opposition. Perhaps inspired by Nelson's friendliness with the cheer squad, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten got up close and personal with Melissa Kellerman during Dallas' Thanksgiving win over the Miami Dolphins. Flashing across the middle of the field on a third down early in the fourth quarter, Witten latched onto a pass from Tony Romo. As he reached the far sideline, Witten was tackled at the legs by a Dolphins defender. As...

BOYNTON BEACH — A chill wind and full bellies didn't deter the more than 450 early-bird shoppers in the queue at Kohl's late Thursday night waiting for the special midnight opening. The earliest the department store had opened in the past was 3 a.m., and the line to take advantage of the extra three hours of savings stretched more than halfway around the building and into a darkened side parking lot. It took a full 10 minutes for the entire line to filter quickly, but calmly inside under the watchful eye of two Boynton Beach police officers. Another 100 or so people were waiting in a completely full parking lot where cars circled searching for open spots. What brought them? More than 500 advertised specials available between midnight and 1 p.m., including the $100 area rugs on sale for $29.99, which Charlotte Fields was hoping to snag. "I always do Black Friday at Kohl's," said Fields, a 4-year Black Friday veteran from Lake Worth. "I'm looking for ...

BATON ROUGE, La. — Tyrann Mathieu answered the call for a game-turning play when Louisiana State needed one, and the top-ranked Tigers piled on from there. Mathieu returned a punt 92 yards for a tying score and LSU punished third-ranked Arkansas with 286 yards rushing, wiping out a 14-point deficit with a 41-17 victory Friday that secured a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game. LSU (12-0 overall, 8-0 SEC) will play No. 13 Georgia next weekend in Atlanta for the SEC title. The rivalry game with Arkansas (10-2, 6-2) was billed as the biggest at Tiger Stadium since 1959, the last time two teams ranked among the top three clashed in Death Valley. Billy Cannon lifted No. 1 LSU to a 7-3 victory over No. 3 Mississippi in that game with an 89-yard punt return for a score, so it seemed fitting the Tigers would get a similar score against the Razorbacks. "I could hear my teammates in my ear saying, 'Man, we need you to go make a play,' " Mathieu said. ...

For the first season and a half of his young career, Ndamukong Suh could almost brush off talk about his penalties and fines, saying he would keep doing what was needed to help his Detroit Lions. On Friday, Suh's team publicly chastised the star defensive tackle after he was ejected during a Thanksgiving loss to Green Bay for stomping at an opposing player. "The on-field conduct exhibited by Ndamukong Suh that led to his ejection from yesterday's game was unacceptable and failed to meet the high level of sportsmanship we expect from our players," the team said in a statement Friday night. "Ndamukong has made many positive contributions to the Lions on and off the field. We expect his behavior going forward to consistently reflect that high standard of professionalism." It could be several days before Suh finds out the true cost of his third-quarter stomp in Detroit's 27-15 loss to the Packers on Thursday. An NFL spokesman said Friday that plays f...

They were the Black Friday novices: people who, drawn by the earlier-than-usual store openings or economic necessity, decided to try their hands at shopping on the busiest day of the retail year. The shoppers found good deals, like a $14.88 waffle iron and 40 percent off Ann Taylor Loft apparel. But assessing their initial Black Friday excursions later, many first-timers did not seem to think it was worth braving the crowds. And while most malls and stores were packed but relatively calm, in California, a woman pepper-sprayed fellow Wal-Mart shoppers, apparently to keep them from grabbing an Xbox she wanted. Two other Wal-Mart shoppers, in San Leandro, Calif., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., were shot in the stores’ parking lots, while police arrested shoppers who were fighting over products in Wal-Mart stores in Milford, Conn., Rome, N.Y. and Kissimmee, Fla. One first-time Black Friday shopper, Debra Banks, 48, was jostled by crowds when she entered a Toys “R” Us in New Jersey and missed ...

A day earlier but equally as intriguing, tonight’s The X Factor was all about “giving thanks.” However, leave it to Josh Krajcik ‘s performance to make me thankful to have The X Factor as a staple on my DVR.  Here are my thoughts on the contestants tonight: Rachel Crow : Rachel has been a strong contender all along, and she was giving thanks to her adoptive parents by singing “I Believe” by Yolanda Adams, w hich for me was actually quite forgettable. She has a great voice but there were moments that she seemed uncomfortable with the song. It was a little too preachy for my tastes. But the judges loved it so she will be safe. I would have picked a more fun song, but starting first means people will forget the performance anyway. So it was good to start the show with Rachel who will not be in the bottom 2 at all this week. Marcus Canty : Marcus made sure to give his thanks to his mother, who has been his everything. His song was “A Song For Mama” by Boys II Men, whic...

Unfortunately, Helena's appearance wasn't what it should have been as she played the Extras-style slightly-more-conceited-version-of-her-real-self and threw her arms up in disgust at having to work with a dwarf. Perhaps it was the material she had to work with, but the upshot of it all was that for someone so inherently likeable and talented, her turn was a disappointing one. Elsewhere, Davis gave another performance that made you realise he isn't a skilled enough actor to pull off what Ricky Gervais did as David Brent in The Office, try as he might. Meanwhile, Gervais' performance made you question exactly how he ever pulled off what he did as David Brent in The Office. Given that he and Stephen Merchant have crafted and moulded their own roles in Life's Too Short, they're surprisingly redundant and ineffective in the series. As they sit behind their desk receiving celebrities who are all apparently desperate to work with them, their roles take on a vaguely sin...

J.R Martinez, who was crowned the new champion of "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday night, in one of the closest and most thrilling finales ever, admits that the suspense before the show unveiled the winner was killing him. "I said to Karina … 'Can they just tell us already?' It seemed like the moment was just lasting forever when they were building up the suspense," the actor and war hero said today on "Good Morning America." "It's amazing. We've all been putting over three months of work into this. To be able to hold that [mirror ball trophy] up was a tremendous honor." It was also the first win for Martinez's professional partner, Karina Smirnoff. "I think I was screaming so loud, I lost my voice. It is an amazing feeling," she said today on "GMA," "and what a person to share it with." Martinez, who survived an IED explosion while serving in Iraq that burned 40 percent of his body, danced hi...

Thanksgiving Day brought parades and pies, sunshine and shopping plans for millions of Americans on Thursday — and joyful surprises for some, too. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords delighted diners at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson when she arrived at noon to help serve meals to active and retired military families. Sporting a ball cap and an apron emblazoned with "Gabby," Giffords, D-Ariz., served with her left hand, a reminder of the January shooting attack that killed six and gravely wounded her. The 85th Macy's Thanksgiving parade floated, tooted and marched through Manhattan, wowing an estimated 3.5 million people on the streets and millions more TV viewers. Forty balloons from old favorites such as Snoopy to movie tie-in newcomers such as a creature from director Tim Burton, were interspersed with performing stars promoting their latest recordings and Neil Diamond crooning from a Mount Rushmore float. The parade was loaded with lots of patriotism. Fifty veterans...

  As soon as the Dancing with the Stars winner was announced last night emotions immediately began running high as to whether the right couple won. JR Martinez and Karina Smirnoff were facing the finals with Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake at the beginning of last night’s show. Ricki was eliminated first, leaving Rob and Cheryl to compete against JR and Karina in the finals. While JR and Rob became really close friends on the show, it was clear that their dance styles and their journey’s on the show were very different. Rob, the underdog, was at the bottom of the leaderboard many times and he fought hard to make it into the finals. JR fought hard too, but in a different way. JR was a judge favorite from the beginning because he possessed the drive and the skills to win the competition. It seemed as though he was a shoe-in to win the mirror-ball trophy until he injured his ankle heading into the semi-finals and ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard. Regardless of...

Dancing with the Stars has awarded its mirrorball trophy to new champions Iraqi war veteran and former All My Children soap star J.R. Martinez and professional partner Karina Smirnoff were crowned Dancing with the Stars' thirteenth-season ballroom winners during Tuesday night's live finale results show on ABC. "Oh man, you know what? First and foremost, I want to thank everybody who voted for us for 10 weeks. Thank you America for believing in us, and I want to say you [Karina] are amazing, and I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of your first mirrorball trophy. Thank you very much!" Martinez said after Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron revealed the couple's victory. Martinez and Smirnoff were crowned Dancing with the Stars' champions based on the combination of their share of the judges' scoring points from Monday and Tuesday night's four finale performance rounds and their share of the home viewer votes that were cast im...

Dessert can be nearly as important as the main course for Thanksgiving feasts. And with so many options to choose from, it’s hard to decide whether to stick with the classics or try something new. So we’ve pulled the best traditional and unusual pie recipes from our Recipe Finder for your consideration: Mama's Pecan Pie . This recipe masters the goo-to-pecan ratio. Date Pecan Pie . Serve cold, with a scoop of maple-syrup-flavored whipped cream. Carolyn Gurtz's Pecan Pie . This take on the Southern classic won best-in-show at the 2006 Mongomery County Agricultural Fair. Double-Nut Pecan Pie . Nuts surround and top a filling flavored with bourbon. Abby's Blue Ribbon Pie . Cranberries and apples result in a great filling that is both sweet and tart. Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie . Can’t choose between pumpkin or apple? Go for both with this pie. Candied-Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Pie . This combines pecans and pumpkin, with an attractive result. Cappuccino Cream Pie . Chocolate-wafer c...