People's Choice Awards Preview: 'Hunger Games' Cast, Demi Lovato, More Set To Hit Stage

Stars of 'Twilight' and 'Harry Potter' also on star-studded lineup for show airing tonight on CBS at 9 p.m. ET.
By John Mitchell

Jennifer Lawrence
Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The People's Choice Awards may be one of the more democratic awards shows of the season. After all, it's fans, and not a faceless "academy" of industry professionals, that decide who'll take home the big PCA prizes in categories like Favorite Tour Headliner, Favorite TV Celebreality Star and Favorite Movie Star Under 25. And it's all happening tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

Host Kaley Cuoco, herself a nominee for her turn on "The Big Bang Theory," promised a fun-filled evening, telling Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, "I'm really looking forward to it and there are a lot of great musical numbers and it's going to be fun." She also joked with the "American Idol" host that she plans on "changing 47 times, 47 dresses. I'm changing every five minutes. I want to go down in the Hall of Fame with that. So we'll see how many times I can possibly change."

So who can fans expect to see on the red carpet? Only some of the biggest A-listers from the worlds of film, TV and music, including "Twilight" stars Robert Pattinson and Ashley Greene; "Hunger Games" leads Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson; as well as Emma Stone, Vanessa Hudgens, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Julianne Hough and "Glee" stars Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.

Also expected to attend are Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Tom Felton of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," which leads all nominees this year. "Potter" heads into the awards with nine nominations for Favorite Movie and Favorite Action Movie, Favorite Actor (Radcliffe), Favorite Movie Star Under 25 (Radcliffe, Grint, Felton and Watson), Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast and Favorite Book Adaptation.

One notable absence is nominee Katy Perry, who was set to make her first public appearance following the announcement of her divorce from Russell Brand at tonight's live event but canceled earlier this week. She apologized to her fans on Twitter, writing, "Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the People's Choice Awards. I want to thank u all for voting for me, fingers crossed! #KATYCATS."

Perry is nominated for a whopping seven People's Choice Awards, including Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Song of the Year ("E.T."), Favorite Pop Artist, Favorite Animated Movie Voice ("The Smurfs") and Favorite Music Video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)." PCA executive producer Mark Burnett clearly sympathizes with Perry's decision not to attend, telling E! News that her choice was completely "understandable."

The show will include musical performances from Faith Hill and Demi Lovato as well as comedy sketches featuring Jimmy Fallon, Jane Lynch and the casts of "Parks and Recreation" and Cuoco's own "The Big Bang Theory."

Among the other major nominees are "Bridesmaids," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," "The Help," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Potter" for Favorite Movie. Ryan Reynolds, Pattinson, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, and Radcliffe will vie for Favorite Movie Actor, while Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon are squaring off for Favorite Movie Actress.

In the music categories, the Favorite Male and Female Artist races are a who's who of MTV favorites, including Eminem, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Perry, Adele, new mom Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. The Song of the Year race includes Gaga's "The Edge of Glory," LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger," Perry's "E.T." and MTV's Best Song of 2011, Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."

Who are you rooting for on the 2011 People's Choice Awards? Tell us in the comments!

Catch the People's Choice Awards tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. And stick with MTV News for red-carpet coverage, winners, fashion and all the buzz.

Related Artists

• Demi Lovato

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677123/peoples-choice-awards-hunger-games-jennifer-lawrence-robert-pattinson.jhtml

marfan syndrome britney spears engaged craig smith craig smith eat to live eat to live ron paul money bomb

Scot Armstrong, 47, Georgetown, Texas

Scot Armstrong, 47, no longer suffering or in pain went home to be with the Lord, Thursday, January 5, 2012. Scot was married to the love of his life Linda for 21 years. Scot loved to work in the wood shop, golf and fish. For over 25 years Scot worked highway and heavy construction starting as a laborer and quickly moving up the ranks to the job he was born to do and most proud of as a crane operator.

Scot is survived by his parents, Jane Franklin of Georgetown and Melvin and Catherine Armstrong of Bastrop, Sisters Cathy Dickenson and husband Ken of Cypress, Jennifer Abreu and husband George of Humble, brother James Orlando of Virginia, 6 sister-in-laws and their spouses, numerous nieces and nephews and many friends who loved him dearly. Scot is preceded in death by his grandparents Helen Hickman Edgar, Doyle Hickman and Fred & Josie Armstrong.

A memorial service celebrating Scot's life will be held Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, Kyle, TX. Please come celebrate Scot's life. Donations can be made to the American Heart Association or the National Kidney Foundation.

Source: http://kxan.tributes.com/show/Scot-Armstrong-93059208

winner of x factor cheesecake recipe leona lewis carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension the thin man

Hawaii hit by number of endangered seal killings

In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, a nearly blind, endangered Hawaiian monk seal swims at the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu. Hoailona, also known as KP2, has spent the past two years at a California research lab. He was first rescued when federal officials found him suckling on a rock three days after his mother abandoned him on Kauai. Hawaiian monk seals are so rare and under so many environmental threats that they're on a path to go extinct in 50 to 100 years. As if that wasn't enough, anonymous humans appear to have deliberately killed at least three and maybe four seals on two islands in the past two months. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, a nearly blind, endangered Hawaiian monk seal swims at the Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu. Hoailona, also known as KP2, has spent the past two years at a California research lab. He was first rescued when federal officials found him suckling on a rock three days after his mother abandoned him on Kauai. Hawaiian monk seals are so rare and under so many environmental threats that they're on a path to go extinct in 50 to 100 years. As if that wasn't enough, anonymous humans appear to have deliberately killed at least three and maybe four seals on two islands in the past two months. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

HONOLULU (AP) ? Two Hawaiian monk seals were found bludgeoned to death on a remote coast of Molokai ? one was killed in mid-November and the other shortly before Christmas. Earlier this month, a dead seal showed up on Kauai. A fourth possible killing on Molokai is also under investigation.

No one knows who is killing the seals ? a critically endangered species ? or why.

But the deaths are coming as the federal government steps up its efforts to protect the seals, leading to simmering resentment among some fishermen who fear new regulations will trample upon their right to fish. The killings are also happening as the misguided notion spreads that the animals aren't native to Hawaii and don't belong here.

"It's really serious. This attitude, this negative attitude toward the seals has overpowered the concern that this is a species that's going to become extinct," said Walter Ritte, a Molokai resident and longtime activist who has sounded an alarm about the killings.

Like pandas, the seals are adored by many humans for being cute, though their lazy demeanor and pudgy appearance belies the strength of a wild animal. Also like pandas, the animal is dangerously close to disappearing. There are only 1,100 left in the world, and scientists say the seal is on course to vanish in 50 to 100 years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last year proposed two initiatives to give the seals a better shot at surviving.

One would temporarily bring a few seals from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ? where competition for food and predators mean only a dismal 20 percent of seal pups live to be adults ? to the main Hawaiian Islands.

There aren't as many sharks to prey on seal pups, or large fish to compete with seal pups for food, around Kauai, Oahu, Maui and other places in the main Hawaiian Islands. This gives seals in this area, which is also where the state's 1.4 million people live, an 80 percent chance of living to adulthood.

NOAA is also proposing to expand federally protected zones ? or critical habitat ? for the seal to include parts of the main Hawaiian Islands. Parts of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been designated critical habitat since the 1980s.

Neil Kanemoto, a lifelong recreational fisherman, said he didn't know who was killing the seals. He pointed out the last person to be convicted of killing a seal, a 78-year-old man who shot a pregnant monk seal on Kauai in 2009, was not a fisherman.

But he said fishermen and locals are unhappy with the new regulations NOAA wants, and the agency wasn't doing enough to work with local people to manage the situation. People may end up taking out their frustration on the seals, Kanemoto said.

"The point is, don't shove this down people's throats," he said. "They're making it an issue, and as a result, the poor monk seal may ? I'm not saying it is ? may fall victim to repercussions from locals."

He said he wouldn't be surprised of if more seals were killed.

"It's not going to end. My position is, if the feds keep pushing in this way, it's going to increase," Kanemoto said.

Ritte said part of the problem was that older people, who didn't see many seals growing up or hear about them from their elders, are spreading the word that the seals don't belong in Hawaii.

A NOAA report released last year showed 35 percent of those surveyed at beaches and popular fishing areas on Kauai and Molokai believed the seals aren't native to the islands.

This is contradicted by archaeological digs that found monk seal bones in a human trash pit dating between the 15th and 18th centuries. The Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo, also mentions a creature like a monk seal ? "a rat running beside the wave."

By the early 1900s, however, most monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands had been hunted and killed for their meat and fur. Even until a decade ago, it was rare to encounter one in the main islands.

Ritte said the seals have been showing up regularly on Molokai, a rural island of just 7,000 people, for about the past seven years. They've started to compete with subsistence fishermen who are already catching less because pollution runoff and overfishing have depleted fish stocks in the area.

The issue is serious on Molokai, where the unemployment rate hovers over 15 percent and where people get one-third of their food from hunting, fishing, and gathering.

"So here you have a fisherman. He's been walking two to three hours to get to his fishing grounds over rough terrain. And then he runs into these seals. And it causes him to get only half his catch and a quarter of his catch," Ritte said. "I think that is the essence of why."

He said the NOAA's proposals are making things worse.

"It's like fuel to the fire," he said.

NOAA says moving a few seals to the main Hawaiian Islands was the only feasible and effective way to address the high mortality rate for seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Further, it says critical habitats aren't intended to prevent public access to beaches and oceans. The agency says it wants to continue talking to fishermen and to address their concerns.

Ritte believes no one would kill the seals if they understood the animals have been in Hawaii for millions of years.

He said the state and federal governments and environmentalists need to get the word out quickly that the seals belong here. Usually he would say everyone should focus on educating the children, so they'll grow up knowing better. But he said that approach may not work this time.

"I don't think we have that luxury because the seals might be gone by then. So we need to hit this generation. That's going to take a lot of effort," he said.

William Aila, the head of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the state was preparing a monetary award for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible. He said the department would also link its website to a page with information on the deep roots monk seals have in Hawaiian tradition.

"We have a responsibility to do our part to help this species recover," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-07-US-Monk-Seal-Deaths/id-b1d41ace848c4b0c9a452fef896aa530

cincinnati bengals bengals the stand josh mcdaniels nfl schedule wizards of waverly place cotton bowl

Amazing photos show space station crossing moon

Two photographers have snapped spectacular portraits of the International Space Station streaking across the night sky, catching the orbiting lab crossing the moon and slipping by Jupiter.

In one series of photos, NASA photographer Lauren Harnett captured images of the moon at the exact moment that the space station passed across its face in what scientists call a "transit."

Harnett took the photos on Jan. 4 from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. She then combined several images into a composite view that shows the space station just before and after it crossed the moon's disk.

"She had to struggle with a window of visibility limited by fog and clouds, and I think she got some excellent results," said NASA spokesman Mike Gentry at the space center. [ See the space station and moon photos ]

The International Space Station is the largest spacecraft ever built, with a main truss that is longer than a football field. ?It is currently home to six men (three Russians, two Americans and a Dutch astronaut) and flies 240 miles above Earth at a speed of about 17,500 mph.

At its brightest, the space station can outshine the planet Venus and be easily spotted with the unaided eye by skywatchers who know where to look.

"The space station can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye, and a pair of field binoculars may reveal some detail of the structural shape of the spacecraft," NASA officials explained in an image description.

In Harnett's photos, the moon appears in crystal-clear detail, and the shape of the space station's huge solar arrays and backbone-like main truss can be recognized.

Harnett was not the only one to photograph the space station this week.

On Thursday, photographer Mike Killian spotted the space station from central Florida as it passed near the bright planet Jupiter.

The space station "made a six-minute pass over central FL last night," Killian told SPACE.com in an email. "Viewing conditions were perfect."

There are several websites that can help amateur and seasoned skywatchers alike prepare for a night of space station and satellite observing.

Another good site is this one, which provides real-time satellite tracking and shows at any given moment during the day or night where over Earth the space station or shuttle happen to be.????

The International Space Station is not the only satellite that can be spotted by the unaided eye. Other bright satellites, such as China's Tiangong 1 space laboratory, can be seen from the Earth without telescopes (as could NASA's space shuttles, before they were retired in 2011).

And seeing satellites from Earth is not a one-time event. The International Space Station, for example, has been orbiting Earth since 1998 and completes one trip around the planet every 90 minutes.

"It's certainly not something that's limited to happening just a few times a year," Gentry said.

Editor's note: If you snapped an amazing photo the space station or any other skywatching sight and would like to share it with SPACE.com, contact managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

You can follow Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45911341/ns/technology_and_science-space/

aisha khan alanis morissette r kelly vanessa bryant vanessa bryant kurt busch kurt busch

Iran's currency crash a blow to Ahmadinejad

The Iranian currency ? the rial ? has been essential in shoring up a view of Iran as strong and independent in recent years. Now it's collapsing on President Ahmadinejad's watch.

As Iran experiences new, harsh US and international economic sanctions over its nuclear program ? a program considered by much of the country as a matter of national pride ? a stable currency has become a national security priority.

Skip to next paragraph

?Even though it's not necessarily good for the economy, amidst sanctions a stable currency creates an illusion of strength,? says a veteran analyst in Tehran. ?It reflects how nonvulnerable the Iranian economy is to sanctions.?

But in the past week Iran's currency ? the rial ? dropped almost 30 percent after President Obama approved new sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank. The rial has since rebounded significantly from a low of 17,800 rials to the dollar on Monday. However the Central Bank has tried to introduce a cap on the market rate of 14,000 rials to the dollar, and the government announced that anyone caught selling rials at a higher rate would be arrested.

A sign of national strength

In a country such as Iran, with a rich history of empire and a powerful literary tradition, national pride has remained strong even in the wake of growing discontent with the country's Islamic regime and mounting global isolation. A stable currency in recent years, in the face of economic sanctions, has shored up that pride.

Since Iran's 1979 revolution, which led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy and the eventual establishment of an Islamic Republic, Tehran has used massive state subsidies as a means of fulfilling its revolutionary promise to redistribute wealth and achieve ?economic justice? for all Iranians.

A stable, overvalued currency was considered a critical aspect of these programs. In the wake of the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980, a strong currency became a symbol to both the world and the Iranian population, which was beleaguered by war with Iraq throughout the 1980s ? that an Islamic government could keep the country as strong and stable as its imperial predecessor.

But the overvaluing of Iran's currency has come at a considerable price. It has worsened the country's imbalance in foreign trade by encouraging imports and discouraging non-oil exports. It has also reduced state spending on economic development programs, subsidized large-scale consumption of imported goods ? particularly among the country's wealthier urban classes ? and poured more of Iran's natural and state resources into commerce instead of production.

Bad for Ahmadinejad

For President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration, which has embarked on a controversial state program to cut national subsidies while engaging in large-scale government spending, a strong currency creates a sense of domestic economic strength and stability on the Iranian street, which is extremely sensitive to Iran's damaged standing in the eyes of the international community.

The recent precipitous decline of Iran's currency, has therefore been a big blow for the Iranian president ? and for Iranian pride.

?For Ahmadinejad, a strong rial is a part of this whole idea of, 'It's us against the world,'? the analyst in Tehran says. ?This breaks that image.?

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox.?Sign up today.

Follow Roshanak Taghavi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RoshanakT.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/kb5zgWengIU/Iran-s-currency-crash-a-blow-to-Ahmadinejad

chapter 11 bankruptcy big ten acc challenge 2011 john wayne gacy amr jack del rio fired jack del rio fired made in america

Downton Abbey, Reviewed

The heathens among my readership may not recall that, a few years ago, PBS?s Masterpiece Theatre?that cherished staple of upper-middlebrow media diets?split into Masterpiece Contemporary, Masterpiece Mystery!, and Masterpiece Classic. Contemporary, now hosted by David Tennant, ranges across genres in a tumultuous quest for West End class and BAFTA glamour. Mystery!, emceed by Alan Cumming, is where Inspector Morse and Miss Marple cock their eyebrows perspicaciously. Classic, with Linney at the helm and on the prow, is devoted?well, to shows about magnificently dressed aristocrats and their servants.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=59fd95e56cccf63b8b9287c2a156212b

arkansas football maggie daley black friday online deals black friday news gamestop albert haynesworth banana republic

Obama Plans to Trim Pentagon Budget; No Chance of that Happening This Year (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama made a trek over to the Pentagon to deliver sobering news: Pentagon spending cuts are on the way. It's about time.

Defense spending has exploded over the past decade and it's time to take a paring knife to that budget. A paring knife -- not an ax.

The Associated Press reported that Obama announced on Thursday dramatic defense spending cuts over the next decade in order to reflect new American defense and security priorities. While Obama didn't outline any details, his assumption that defense spending must drop is wise. Actually, it's always a good idea to enhance and tweak our defense strategy, including expenditures.

It is a bad idea to cut any programs that are already underway. Nothing irks taxpayers more than to hear that a previously funded project will be canceled because government changed its mind. Obama said future considerations for defense spending must include health care and retirement costs for those leaving military service.

What I don't want to see is a return to the Jimmy Carter era cuts that impeded the military's ability to respond effectively to a world crisis. We do not need to return to a time when active duty personnel were paid so poorly that they actually qualified for food stamps. We never need to find ourselves with so few spare parts that our fighters cannot take to the air.

Any comprehensive review of defense spending should also include a close look at how we spend money on domestic security as well. Homeland Security cannot claim to be doing a good job with their resources when millions of illegal aliens continue to pour across our southern borders every year, but ABC News reported a TSA agent in Las Vegas successfully seized a cupcake from a passenger before she boarded a commercial airliner at Christmas.

All things in moderation should be the key to any budget cuts. Obama has his plans -- I'm sure Congress has its own ideas. The true test will be for the administration to pass anything through a divided Congress in an election year. Good luck with that Mr. President.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120106/pl_ac/10798165_obama_plans_to_trim_pentagon_budget_no_chance_of_that_happening_this_year

amas 2011 black friday elliot elliot la galaxy la galaxy david blaine