W.H. blasts GOP 'obsession' with Rice

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee—flanked by fellow committee …The White House sharply escalated its attacks Tuesday on Republicans trying to stop Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice from succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. Press secretary Jay Carney described GOP lawmakers as being gripped by a politically fueled "obsession" with a series of television appearances Rice made shortly after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya in which she wrongly suggested the attack had stemmed from a demonstration over an anti-Muslim video rather than a terrorist assault.

Carney's comments came after Rice met privately on Capitol Hill with Republican senators who have said they intend to block her nomination if President Barack Obama chooses her to replace Clinton as the nation's top diplomat. Rice also acknowledged for the first time, in a written statement issued by her office, that her initial public comments on the Benghazi assault were wrong because there had been no protest outside the compound.

Carney said the U.S. still does not know who carried out the assault, which claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. But he said GOP focus on Rice's early statements was a politically motivated distraction from efforts to identify those responsible for the killings.

"The questions that remain to be answered have to do with what happened in Benghazi, who was responsible for the deaths of four Americans, including our ambassador, and what steps we need to take to ensure that something like that doesn't happen again." Carney said.

In appearance after appearance, Rice said that American intelligence had pinned the blame on the assault on extremists who took advantage of a demonstration outside the facility.

Tuesday, Rice acknowledged the initially information provided by the intelligence community had proven to be incorrect.

"Neither I nor anyone else in the administration intended to mislead the American people at any stage in this process, and the administration updated Congress and the American people as our assessments evolved," Rice said.

Rice, accompanied by Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, met with Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who have accused Rice (and the Obama administration in general) of misleading the public by tying the assault to the video. Republicans have suggested the administration hoped to blunt the potential political impact of the attack—the first to claim the life of an American ambassador in 30 years—shortly before the presidential election.

"Bottom line: I'm more disturbed now than I was before," Graham told reporters after the meeting. "We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get," McCain said.

Carney shot back, saying there were "no unanswered questions" about Rice's early televised statements.

"The focus on—some might say obsession on—comments made on Sunday shows seems to me and to many to be misplaced," Carney said. "I know that Sunday shows have vaunted status in Washington, but they have almost nothing to do—in fact zero to do—with what happened in Benghazi."

And neither, to hear Carney tell it, did Rice.

"Ambassador Rice has no responsibility for collecting, analyzing and providing intelligence, nor does she have responsibility as the United States ambassador to the United Nations for diplomatic security around the globe," he said.

So why, then, did the White House anoint Rice the administration point person to answer questions about a possible intelligence failure and consular security? Why not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Director of National Intelligence James Clapper? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta? National Security Adviser Tom Donilon?

"She is a principal on the president's foreign policy team," Carney said.

He added, "To this day it is the assessment of this administration and of our intelligence community … that they acted at least in part in response to what they saw happening in Cairo and took advantage of that situation."

In other words, according to one well-placed source, the perpetrators of the attack may have concluded that anger at the video gave them the maximum opportunity to get sympathy or support across the Muslim world, and might even inspire copycat attacks. Rice's much-dissected Sept. 16 comments broadly follow those lines.

Obama has fiercely defended Rice, while carefully declining to say whether he has chosen her to succeed Clinton. Another leading contender is the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry.

McCain and Graham have pledged to try to filibuster her confirmation, but they are well short of the votes needed to do so.

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Pakistani TV anchor survives attempted bombing

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Police on Monday found and defused a bomb planted under the car of a prominent Pakistani TV anchor threatened by the Taliban for his coverage of a schoolgirl shot by the militants, police said.

The bomb was made up of half a kilogram (one pound) of explosives stuffed in a tin can, said Bani Amin, the police chief in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, where the incident occurred. It was placed in a bag and attached to the bottom of Mir's car, said Amin.

One of Mir's neighbors noticed the bomb under the car after the TV anchor returned from a local market, and the police were notified, said Rana Jawad, a senior official at Geo TV.

No group has claimed responsibility.

The Pakistani Taliban threatened Mir and other journalists last month over their coverage of an assassination attempt against Malala Yousufzai, a 15-year-old schoolgirl activist who was shot in the head by the militants in the northwest Swat Valley.

The Taliban targeted Malala for criticizing the militant group and promoting secular girls' education, which is opposed by the Islamist extremists. She is recovering in Britain.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik offered 50 million rupees ($500,000) for information about those responsible for the attempted attack against Mir.

The anchor said on TV after the incident that it would not deter him from speaking the truth.

"It was proven today that the Protector is more powerful than the attacker," said Mir.

He said he wasn't prepared to blame the Taliban for the attempted bombing, claiming he had received threats from others as well.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a bomb hidden in a cement construction block exploded in the southern city of Karachi, killing one person, said senior police officer Farooq Awan. Four other people were wounded, he said.

The bomb contained about one kilogram (two pounds) of explosives and was detonated by a mobile phone, Awan said.

Pakistan suspended mobile phone service throughout most of the country on Saturday and Sunday to prevent attacks against Shiite Muslims during a major religious commemoration.

Despite the ban, a pair of bombings over the weekend killed at least 13 people.

Awan said he suspected the bomb in Karachi was meant to target Shiites over the weekend, but militants were not able to detonate it at the time because of the mobile phone cutoff.

Shiites are observing the holy month of Muharram. Pakistani Shiites on Sunday marked Ashoura, the most important day of the month.

Pakistan has a long history of Sunni Muslim extremists targeting Shiites, whom they consider heretics.

Also Monday, police said 16 addicts have died in the eastern city of Lahore after drinking cough syrup suspected of being toxic, said police officer Multan Khan.

Khan said they died at various hospitals in Lahore over the past three days. Two people were still being treated at the city's main hospital.

Police arrested the owners of three drug stores where the cough syrup was sold and sent a sample for analysis to determine whether it was toxic, Khan said.

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Associated Press writers Adil Jawad in Karachi, Pakistan, and Zaheer Babar in Lahore, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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ChannelAdvisor says eBay sales up 57 percent early on Cyber Monday

(Reuters) – ChannelAdvisor said client sales on eBay Inc‘s online marketplace jumped 57 percent from a year before early on Cyber Monday.

The sales growth rate was five times higher than during the same period last year, said ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell more on websites including Amazon.com Inc and eBay.com.

Client sales on Amazon.com were up 52 percent during the first part of Cyber Monday, ChannelAdvisor also reported.

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Actor: CBS comedy 'Two and a Half Men' is 'filth'

NEW YORK (AP) — The teenage actor who plays the half in the hit CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men" says it's "filth" and through a video posted by a Christian church has urged viewers not to watch it.

Nineteen-year-old Angus T. Jones has been on the show since he was 10 but says he doesn't want to be on it. He says, "Please stop watching it. Please stop filling your head with filth."

The video was posted by the Forerunner Christian Church in California, where Jones says he went to meet his spiritual needs.

Show producer Warner Bros. Television has no comment. CBS hasn't responded to a request for comment left Monday.

The show stars Jon Cryer as Jones' uptight dad and originally featured Charlie Sheen as his hedonistic philandering uncle, but Sheen was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Bin Laden movie based on controversial first-hand accounts

It was the greatest manhunt of all time, the stealthy nighttime raid by the elite SEAL Team Six on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, which led to the death of the world's most wanted terrorist leader.

It is the subject of "Zero Dark Thirty," a riveting new film by director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, both of Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" fame. But when they began making a film about the hunt for bin Laden six years ago, right after they finished "The Hurt Locker," the movie they had in mind was about the failed attempt to find bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan.

That plan changed drastically on May 1, 2011 when bin Laden was killed. Boal, a meticulous investigative reporter, picked up the phone and started working his sources.

"It was a thrilling journey to go on and also thrilling to discover what the people who were involved in this mission were really like," Boal said.

In an exclusive interview with "Nightline," Bigelow and Boal talked about bringing "Zero Dark Thirty" to the screen based on Boal's interviews and Bigelow's dramatic vision.

"It was all based on first hands accounts so it really felt very vivid and very vital and very, very immediate and visceral of course which is very exciting as a film maker," Bigelow said.

Watch ABC's Martha Raddatz's exclusive interview with Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET

Bigelow said she and Boal were working in his office when they heard President Obama's now famous announcement that the United States had "conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden."

"It was a personal moment for me because I grew up in New York City," Boal said. "I think for a lot of people, just kind of an overwhelming moment."

All of a sudden, Bigelow said it put their project in a very different perspective.

"It was not just as a film concern, it was kind of a global concern," she said. "We both realized simultaneously that we had to pivot."

"I picked up the phone and started calling sources and asking them what they knew and taking referrals and knocking on doors and really approached it as comprehensively as I could," Boal said.

Almost immediately, the filmmakers found themselves in the middle of an election year firestorm, accused of receiving classified documents to bolster the president's role. It's something they both deny.

"I certainly did a lot of homework, but I never asked for classified material," Boal said. "To my knowledge I never received any."

In fact, President Obama makes only a fleeting appearance in the film. The star of this real-life drama is, surprisingly, a young female CIA officer, played by Jessica Chastain, who helps find bin Laden through a long-forgotten courier.

"It was a couple of months into the research when I heard about a woman, part of the team, and she has played a big role and she had gone to Jalalabad and been deployed with the SEALs on the night of the raid," Boal said.

"When I realized at the heart of this hunt, at the heart of this 10-year odyssey was this woman, this young woman who had a kind of tenacity and a dedication and a courage, she would never say no, I was excited to take it on," Bigelow said.

The Story Behind "Zero Dark Thirty"

Both Bigelow and Boal felt a responsibility to accurately portray the lives of the people who normally work in the shadows, their efforts rarely known to the outside world. While some of the dialog is word for word real, based on interviews with the young CIA officer and others, some of the dialog is dramatized and the decade-long narrative of events condensed.

"They were proud of what they had done, but they had more or less resigned themselves to the fact that what they had done is not something they could talk about publically," Boal said. "But one of the things a movie allows people to do is talk in a way that is a little bit freer because they know that movies can change the way people look, [and] that I don't have quite the same standards of having to reveal sources as I would if I was, let's say, running a front page piece in the New York Times."

The climax of the film is, of course, the raid that killed bin Laden. The scene was a challenge for the filmmakers who were presenting it to a world that knew how it ended.

"But they don't know how it happened," Bigelow said. "They don't know, OK what was the choreography of the assault itself, where did they land, where did they crash, who did they kill first?"

Although it only takes up about one-fifth of "Zero Dark Thirty" -- the title comes from the code for SEAL team's landing time of 12:30 a.m. -- the filmmakers said the assault on bin Laden's compound, like the rest of the film, is as accurate as possible. A full scale version of the compound -- no Hollywood facades for this movie – was built in Jordan, where they shot for almost four weeks. The floor, the tile, the carpet, the furniture and the marks on the walls, were copied from images seen in ABC News footage that Bigelow said they reviewed frame by frame.

And the famous stealth helicopters that swept over the border into Pakistan were real Black Hawks with computer generated graphics replicating the stealthy skin. Bigelow said the actors told of the terrifying and challenging conditions their real-life counterparts faced.

"You are in the elements, you are in the wind, you are in the sand, the sound of the rotor wash and you can't see anything. So you imagine what it would be like to land in this place," she said.

And Bigelow takes viewers beyond the clinical news accounts, the soundless descriptions and even though you might think you know how it ends, there is more to the story.

"For both of us I think it's fair to say the story itself and the making of it was really hard but really thrilling and exciting," Boal said. "Because you are at the center of something that is so epic and that doesn't come along very often and I think we were both aware of the fact that we probably won't have another story like this."

"I can't imagine," Bigelow said. "I think it's the story of a lifetime."

Also Read

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112 killed in fire at Bangladesh garment factory

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Fire raced through a garment factory that supplies major retailers in the West, killing at least 112 people, many of whom were trapped by the flames because the eight-story building lacked emergency exits, an official said Sunday.

The blaze broke out late Saturday at a factory operated just outside Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of the Tuba Group, which makes products for Wal-Mart and other companies in the U.S. and Europe.

Firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, told The Associated Press. He said 12 other people who were injured after they jumped from the building to escape died at hospitals.

Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, and authorities ordered an investigation.

Army soldiers and border guards were sent to help police keep order as thousands of onlookers and anxious relatives of the factory workers gathered, Mahbub said.

Tazreen was given a "high risk" safety rating after a May 16, 2011, audit conducted by an "ethical sourcing" assessor for Wal-Mart, according to a document posted on the Tuba Group's website. It did not specify what led to the rating.

Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner said online documents indicating an orange or "high risk" assessment after the May 2011 inspection and a yellow or "medium risk" report after an inspection in August 2011 appeared to pertain to the factory where the fire broke out. The August 2011 letter said Wal-Mart would conduct another inspection within one year.

Gardner said it was not clear if that inspection had been conducted or whether the factory was still making products for Wal-Mart.

If a factory is rated "orange" three times in a two-year period, Wal-Mart won't place any orders for one year. The May 2011 report was the first orange rating for the factory.

Neither Tazreen's owner nor Tuba Group officials could be reached for comment.

The Tuba Group is a major Bangladeshi garment exporter whose clients also include Carrefour and IKEA, according to its website. Its factories export garments to the U.S., Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, among other countries. The Tazreen factory, which opened in 2009 and employed about 1,700 people, made polo shirts, fleece jackets and T-shirts.

Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about $20 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the U.S. and Europe.

In its 2012 Global Responsibility report, Wal-Mart said that "fire safety continues to be a key focus for brands and retailers sourcing from Bangladesh." Wal-Mart said it ceased working with 49 factories in Bangladesh in 2011 because of fire safety issues, and was working with its supplier factories to phase out production from buildings deemed high risk.

At the factory, relatives of the workers frantically looked for their loved ones. Sabina Yasmine said she saw the body of her daughter-in-law, but had seen no trace of her son, who also worked there.

"Oh, Allah, where's my soul? Where's my son?" wailed Yasmine, who works at another factory in the area. "I want the factory owner to be hanged. For him, many have died, many have gone."

Mahbub said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. Many workers who retreated to the roof were rescued, he said. But he said that with no emergency exits leading outside the building, many victims were trapped, and firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor alone.

"The factory had three staircases, and all of them were down through the ground floor," Mahbub said. "So the workers could not come out when the fire engulfed the building."

"Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower," he said.

Many victims were burned beyond recognition. The bodies were laid out in rows at a school nearby. Many of them were handed over to families; unclaimed victims were taken to Dhaka Medical College for identification.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock at the loss of so many lives.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said it would stand by the victims' families.

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'Twilight,' Bond, 'Lincoln' lead record weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bella Swan, James Bond and Abe Lincoln have combined to lift Hollywood to record Thanksgiving revenue at the box office.

Kristen Stewart's finale as Bella in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" was No. 1 again with $64 million during the five-day holiday stretch that began Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Daniel Craig's Bond adventure "Skyfall" came in at No. 2 with $51 million, while Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg's Civil War saga "Lincoln" finished third with $34.1 million.

According to box-office tracker Hollywood.com, the three films paced Hollywood to an all-time Thanksgiving week best of about $290 million from Wednesday to Sunday.

That tops the previous record of $273 million over Thanksgiving in 2009, when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" led the weekend.

This Thanksgiving also was a huge 25 percent jump from a year ago, when domestic revenues were a weak $232 million as some big holiday releases fizzled.

With a strong December lineup ahead, Hollywood has resumed its record revenue pace for the year after a brief box-office lull in late summer and early fall.

Domestic revenues for 2012 are at $9.75 billion, putting Hollywood potentially on track for its first $11 billion year, which would beat the 2009 record of $10.6 billion, said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

"We're barreling toward a record-breaking box-office year," Dergarabedian said. "It's built on the back of just a lot of really strong movies that have come out over the past few weekends. It bodes very well for the rest of the holidays."

The "Twilight" finale, "Skyfall" and "Lincoln" finished in the same top-three rankings for the second-straight weekend as new releases were unable to dislodge the holdovers.

Released by Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment banner, "Breaking Dawn — Part 2," pulled in $43.1 million from Friday to Sunday, raising its domestic total to $227 million. The movie added $97.4 million overseas to bring its international total to $350.8 million and its worldwide take to $577.7 million.

Sony's "Skyfall" also topped $200 million domestically, ringing up $36 million for the three-day weekend to put its U.S. total at $221.7 million. With $41.3 million more overseas, "Skyfall" raised its international revenues to $568.4 million and its worldwide sales to $790.1 million.

"Lincoln," a DreamWorks film distributed by Disney, took in $25 million over the weekend to lift its domestic revenue to $62.2 million.

Leading the newcomers was Paramount and DreamWorks Animation's tale "Rise of the Guardians" at No. 4 with $24 million for the weekend and $32.6 million since opening Wednesday.

Based on William Joyce's "Guardians of Childhood" books, "Rise of the Guardians" gathers Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and other mythical beings as a team of heroes battling an evil overlord.

Close behind at No. 5 was director Ang Lee's shipwreck saga "Life of Pi" at No. 5 with $22 million over the weekend. The 20th Century Fox release has taken in $30.2 million domestically since its Wednesday debut and added $17.5 million in four Asian markets.

"Life of Pi" was adapted from Yann Martel's best-selling novel about an Indian youth adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Many fans considered the introspective novel impossible to film, but Lee has charmed audiences and critics with an inspiring survival story told through dazzling 3-D images.

The weekend's other new wide release, a remake of the 1980s U.S.-invasion tale "Red Dawn," opened at No. 7 with $14.6 million, raising its total to $22 million since debuting Wednesday.

"Red Dawn" sat on the shelf for three years while studio backer MGM went through bankruptcy, with distributor FilmDistrict eventually picking it up for domestic release. The movie's cast includes Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") and Josh Hutcherson ("The Hunger Games") in a story of young guerrillas battling North Korean invaders.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight's "Hitchcock" opened solidly with about $300,000 in 17 theaters. The movie stars Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock in a behind-the-scenes story of the making of "Psycho."

The weekend's overall strength came from a broad range of films that clicked with various audiences, from action and family fare to thoughtful drama.

"This is a marketplace that has something for everyone," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox. "You have something deeper like 'Life of Pi,' yet you have a very successful sequel in 'Twilight' at the same time. Adult bio-drama, if you will, in 'Lincoln,' and you have Bond. That's the secret to a very successful and balanced marketplace."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $43.1 million ($97.4 million international).

2. "Skyfall," $36 million ($41.3 million international).

3. "Lincoln," $25 million.

4. "Rise of the Guardians," $24 million ($10 million international).

5. "Life of Pi," $22 million ($17.5 million international)

6. "Wreck-It Ralph," $16.8 million ($2.1 million international).

7. "Red Dawn," $14.6 million.

8. "Flight," $8.6 million ($723,000 international).

9. "Silver Linings Playbook," $4.6 million ($1.6 million international).

10. "Argo," $3.9 million ($6 million international).

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $97.4 million.

2. "Skyfall," $41.3 million.

3. "Life of Pi," $17.5 million.

4. "Rise of the Guardians," $10 million.

5. "Argo," $6 million.

6. "Hotel Transylvania," $5.5 million.

7. "A Werewolf Boy," $4.2 million.

8 (tie). "Don't Cry, Mommy," $3.6 million.

8 (tie). "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo," $3.6 million.

10. "Wreck-It Ralph," $2.1 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

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Utility worker pierced pipe before dramatic Mass. gas blast

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A utility worker responding to reports of a natural gas leak in one of New England's largest cities punctured a pipe and an unknown spark ignited a massive explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings, the state fire marshal announced Sunday.

Friday night's natural gas blast in Springfield's entertainment district was caused by "human error," State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said at a news conference. He didn't name the Columbia Gas Go. worker who pierced the high-pressure pipe.

The worker was trying to locate the source of the leak with a metal probe that tests natural gas levels when the probe damaged the underground pipe, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and a spark touched off the blast, officials said.

Columbia Gas planned a news conference for later Sunday afternoon. A message left for a company spokeswoman wasn't immediately returned. Columbia Gas, a subsidiary of public company NiSource Inc., announced earlier Sunday that it planned to open a claims center for residents and businesses affected by the explosion at City Hall on Monday.

Preliminary reports showed the blast damaged 42 buildings housing 115 residential units. Three buildings were immediately condemned, and 24 others require additional inspections by structural engineers to determine whether they are safe. The building that housed the Scores Gentleman's Club was completely destroyed.

After the pipe was ruptured, authorities evacuated several buildings. Most of the people injured were part of a group of gas workers, firefighters and police officers who ducked for cover behind a utility truck just before the blast. The truck was demolished.

Some officials said it was a miracle no one was killed. Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant praised the actions of city firefighters.

"The firefighters did an excellent job evacuating the area which certainly prevented additional civilian injuries and saved many lives," Conant said.

Columbia Gas officials have been cooperating with investigators and have determined that there are no more gas leaks in the neighborhood, Mayor Domenic Sarno said.

Coan said the investigation is being turning over to the state Department of Public Utilities. It's not clear whether investigators will ever be able to determine what caused the spark that ignited the explosion.

Springfield, which is 90 miles west of Boston and has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not near the blast site.

The city has been rebuilding from damage caused by a tornado in June 2011.

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