Nearly 20 years after 10-year-old Andrea Parsons vanished from her Florida neighborhood a convicted felon has been arrested and charged with her murder.

42-year-old Chester Duane Price was arrested Thursday and charged with killing Andrea, whose body has never been found. The arrest comes after Price voluntarily returned to the area to give testimony to a grand jury in the case, The Palm Beach Post reports.

Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder said in a news conference Thursday detectives were led to Price after a team was assigned to review the evidence in the case last year.

“The resolve to find Andrea and get answers surrounding the circumstances of her disappearance has never wavered,” he said.

Price has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1991. He lived in the same county as Andrea at the time of her disappearance, and deputies said they had their eye on him from the beginning, according to The Palm Beach Post

“We were aware of him from the beginning of the investigation … He was one of our people of interest,” Crowder told TCPalm.com.

Andrea vanished on July 11, 1993 after making a trip to a convenience store. She had been home with Pat Daniels, her mother's boyfriend at the time. He told authorities he had given her permission to walk to the store and to visit a friend because she was bored. She never returned.

The Palm Beach Post reports Andrea's neighbor, Claude Davis, told investigators he had seen men stuff Andrea  into a car the night she disappeared. He then said he had been collecting cans with the girl when she hit her head on a trash can and died. He said he drove around looking for help, but eventually dumped Andrea's body in a trash bin.

Davis was charged with false imprisonment but the case was dropped in 1994 due to lack of evidence. He later served nine years in prison on unrelated charged, and told The Palm Beach Post in 2000 he did not know where Andrea was.

Jared Leto is dedicated to his craft. So dedicated, in fact, that he has fasted for the past month to embody his "Dallas Buyers Clubs" character, whittling down to a shockingly thin frame that has made him virtually unrecognizable.

Leto opened up about his dramatic weight loss for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" during an interview with Vulture on Tuesday at the IFP Gotham Awards. "Your body goes through weird stages," Leto told Vulture of fasting. "Sometimes it's hard to hold on to water. But for me, it's not about the most weight I can lose, it's more to represent the character. I'm focused on what it means to be a transsexual woman."

At the awards show, some reporters didn't even notice the "My So-Called Life" heartthrob on the red carpet. "He actually looks like a young Courteney Cox," quipped Showbiz 411's Paula Schwartz. She added, "few journalists bothered interviewing him because they didn’t recognize who he was."

Leto apologized to the audience that night for his fast-inducing lightheadedness and his shaved eyebrows. Despite the physical toll, he has found deeper meaning in his transformation, telling Vulture, "Historically, people have done it for pursuit of self, to achieve a meditative state, so I'm hoping for that, and not the other things. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

This is not the first time Leto has drastically changed his weight for a movie role, ABC News notes. He lost 25 pounds to play a drug addict in 2000's "Requiem for a Dream," then gained 60 pounds to play Mark David Chapman in 2007's "Chapter 27."

In "Dallas Buyers Club," the 40-year-old plays Rayon, a transsexual woman with AIDS living in Texas in the 1980s. On-set photos of the actor dressed in drag surfaced earlier this month.

But, Leto is not the only one whose shocking weight loss is making headlines.

Leto's "Dallas Buyers Club" co-star, Matthew McConaughey, has also become dramatically skinny for his role. In the film, he plays Ron Woodroof, a drug taking, women loving, homophobic man who is diagnosed with AIDS in 1986.

McConaughey, who has had to drop 40 pounds from his 183-pound frame, also tries to view the weight loss goal differently. "If anything, it's as much a spiritual journey as it is physical," he told People magazine.

James Bond, Snow White and a whole lot of hobbits and superheroes are in the running for the visual-effects prize at the Academy Awards.

The superhero blockbusters "The Avengers," "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" are among 10 films that made the cut for visual-effects nominations for the Oscars on Feb. 24.

The other seven contenders announced Thursday include the Bond adventure "Skyfall," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Cloud Atlas," "John Carter," "Life of Pi" and "Prometheus."

Members of the academy's visual-effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the films on Jan. 3, and then pick five nominees for the Oscars.

Republicans have rejected President Obama’s opening budget bid.

In a Capitol meeting with House Speaker John Boehner Thursday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner submitted the Obama administration’s proposal for addressing medium term deficits, and avoiding across the board tax increases and spending cuts at the end of the year.

Republicans called the proposal outlandish and brushed it aside as unserious. But it’s almost entirely comprised of policies Obama campaigned on and included in his budget for the current fiscal year. And by satisfying GOP demands that Obama offer up a plan that includes spending cuts, it paints Republicans, who have been reluctant to specify their own Medicare cut proposal, into a tight corner.

The White House formally proposes to increase tax revenues by $1.6 trillion over 10 years by increasing top marginal income tax rates and taxes on both capital gains and dividends, and by limiting tax deductions for top earners, according to Republicans.

Obama proposes to reinstate the estate tax at its 2009 level, as well as patch the alternative minimum tax.

The administration asked Republicans to boost the economy, too, by either extending the payroll tax cut, or replace the holiday with a similar stimulus, such as the Making Work Pay tax credit in the Recovery Act. They also want to extend emergency unemployment benefits.

On top of that, the administration proposes $50 billion in new infrastructure spending, as well as a mortgage refinancing program. The plan would prevent automatic reimbursement cuts to physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries, and would eliminate congressional control over the debt limit altogether.

In exchange, the administration proposes a tax reform proposal consistent with its $1.6 trillion in new tax revenues taken from top earners, and to cut 10-year deficits overall by $4 trillion, including $400 billion in savings from Medicare and Medicaid in Obama’s budget.

Meteorologists use the term "atmospheric river" to describe a long, narrow plume piping deep moisture from the tropics into the mid-latitudes.  One type of atmospheric river you may have heard of is the "Pineapple Express", a pronounced plume tapping moisture from the Hawaiian Islands to the U.S. West Coast.

Amazingly, according to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), a strong atmospheric river can transport as water vapor up to 15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River! 

Suffice to say, if an atmospheric river stalls over a particular area, significant flooding can be the result.  In fact, a study by Ralph et al. (2006) found atmospheric rivers responsible for every flood of northern Calfornia's Russian River in a 7-year period. 

That said, they're also important for western water supply considerations. 

According to NOAA/ESRL, 30-50% of the average annual precipitation in the West Coast states typically occurs in just a few atmospheric river events.

With that in mind, one such atmospheric river is now soaking parts of the West Coast and will continue to do so through the weekend. Let's get to the forecast details
Flood Threat Through the Weekend

The graphic at the top of this article depicts the upper-air pattern that will stay in place through the weekend. Namely, a deep dip, or trough, in the jet stream is currently in place over the eastern Pacific Ocean. 

This will continue to send a parade of frontal systems and upper-level disturbances into the West Coast.

The first storm arrived on Wednesday and brought rainfall from California to the Pacific Northwest. The combination of wind and rain led to hefty delays at San Francisco International Airport.

The upper-level pattern has now tapped into the atmospheric river of moisture extending from just north and west of Hawaii to the West Coast. This will continue to send the ongoing latest round of very heavy rain and gusty winds into northern California through Friday afternoon. Expect a very wet commute with more possible airport delays in the Bay Area Friday morning.

Though rain showers will continue Friday night into Saturday, the intensity should let up some before the next round of very heavy rain and strong winds arrives in northern California and southwest Oregon for Saturday night into Sunday.

Last March, when the people of America were drooling at the thought of winning a record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot, we poured an icy bucket of mathematical reality over your head: You weren't going to win.

And you didn't. Three winning tickets were sold, but you weren't involved. It was never going to happen. As we wrote then, you stood a better chance at hitting two consecutive holes in one than winning that jackpot.

Now, with a record $500 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs on Wednesday, we figured it was a great time to, once again, dash your dreams. We know, we know -- someone will win at least a share of the prize, if not Wednesday, then in some subsequent drawing. But it won't be you.

Why you keep playing the lottery

The chance of a ticket winning a Powerball jackpot is 1 in 175,223,510 (slightly better than the chance of winning a Mega Millions jackpot, which is 1 in 175,711,536). Here are a few unlikely scenarios that, we're sorry to say, are much more likely than you taking home this jackpot.
Lottery winners' lives ruined

From the Harvard School of Public Health:

-- Dying from a bee sting: 1 in 6.1 million.

-- Dying from being struck by lightning: 1 in 3 million.

From U.S. Hole in One, which insures golf prizes for holes in one:

You, win the $500M Powerball jackpot

-- An amateur golfer making a hole in one on a par-3 hole: 1 in 12,500.

-- A golfer hitting a hole in one on consecutive par-3 holes: 1 in about 156 million.

From a 2011 State Farm study on collisions between vehicles and deer:

-- Hitting a deer with a vehicle in Hawaii, the state where State Farm says deer-vehicle collisions are least likely: 1 in 6,267.

Steven Spielberg won't be going to galaxy far, far away.

After the announcement of a seventh "Star Wars" film in 2015, speculation has run rampant about who might direct the massive project - with many high profile names being thrown around - but Spielberg won't be in the running.

PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: George Lucas & Steven Spielberg In Cannes, Part II (2008)

Access Hollywood caught up with the director on Thursday night at the premiere of his latest film, "Lincoln," where we asked the longtime friend and collaborator of George Lucas about the possibility of directing the upcoming "Episode 7."

"No! No!" Steven told Access.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Cast Of Star Wars: Then & Now

According to the Hollywood icon, lightsabers, stormtroopers and Wookies will be somebody else's responsibility.

"It's not my genre," the director explained. "It's my best friend George's genre."

For more on the direction Access is hoping the next "Star Wars" movie goes, CLICK HERE!

 A protest at the University of Mississippi against the re-election of President Barack Obama grew into crowd of about 400 people with shouted racial slurs as rumors of a riot spread on social media. Two people were arrested on minor charges.

The university said in a statement Wednesday that the gathering at the student union began late Tuesday night with about 30 to 40 students, but grew within 20 minutes as word spread. Some students chanted political slogans while others used derogatory racial statements and profanity, the statement said.

The incident comes just after the 50th anniversary of violent rioting that greeted the forced integration of Ole Miss with the enrollment of its first black student, James Meredith.

Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones promised an investigation and said “all of us are ashamed of the few students who have negatively affected the reputations of each of us and of our university.”

On Wednesday night, about 700 people held up candles and called for racial harmony outside the administrative building at the university in Oxford, countering Tuesday’s protest over Obama’s re-election.

Police were initially alerted to Tuesday’s uproar by people who saw Twitter posts about it. The students were told to leave, but about 100 came back later. One person was charged with public intoxication and another with failure to comply with police orders. There were no reports of injuries or property damage.

Rumors about the situation were fueled on Twitter after the university’s student journalists posted a video referring to the gathering as “riots.” The student newspaper posted a video of the crowd, but much of what the students said in it is unintelligible other than the “Hotty Toddy” cheer, which is common at football games and other school gatherings.

One picture that spread rapidly on social media shows people burning an Obama campaign sign, but the university hasn’t confirmed that the picture was taken on campus. The chancellor said some photos shared on social media showed things that were not seen by police on campus, but the reports of uncivil language and racial slurs appeared to be accurate.

The election laid bare a dual — and dueling — nation, politically speaking, jaggedly split down the middle on the presidency and torn over much else. It seems you can please only half of the people nearly all of the time.

Americans retained the fractious balance of power in re-electing President Barack Obama, a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, altogether serving as guarantors of the gridlock that voters say they despise. Slender percentages separated winner and loser from battleground to battleground, and people in exit polls said yea and nay in roughly equal measure to some of the big issues of the day.

Democracy doesn't care if you win big, only that you win. Tuesday was a day of decision as firmly as if Obama had run away with the race. Democrats are ebullient and, after a campaign notable for its raw smackdowns, words of conciliation are coming from leaders on both sides, starting with the plea from defeated Republican rival Mitt Romney that his crestfallen supporters pray for the president.

But after the most ideologically polarized election in years, Obama's assertion Wednesday morning that America is "more than a collection of red states and blue states" was more of an aspiration than a snapshot of where the country stands.

"It's going to take a while for this thing to heal," said Ron Bella, 59, a Cincinnati lawyer who lives in Alexandria, Ky. He is relieved Obama won, but some of his co-workers are in a "sour mood" about it.

"They feel like the vast majority of the country wanted Romney, and the East and the West coasts wanted Obama," he said. "I'm not sure exactly why that is, but there just seems to be such hatred for Obama out there."

Compromise was a popular notion in the hours after Obama's victory and an unavoidable one, given the reality of divided government. But the familiar contours of partisan Washington were also in evidence, especially the notion that compromise means you do things my way.

As Democratic Rep. Steve Israel of New York put it, "If you refuse to compromise, we are going to beat you." Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the election showed "if you are an extremist tea party Republican, you are going to lose."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said pointedly that Republicans will meet Obama halfway "to the extent he wants to move to the political center" and propose solutions "that actually have a chance of passing."

Actress Cynthia Nixon has been a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, women's health and President Barack Obama, but on November 1st, she informed Florida voters that Miranda Hobbes, the character she played on the hit HBO series "Sex and the City" from 1998 to 2004, would have supported the president as well -- and that Miranda's best friends Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones and Charlotte York also wouldn't vote Romney on November 6th.

Nixon, 46, made this claim last week when she was down in Florida volunteering for the Obama campaign. In a radio interview with 102JamzOrlando, Nixon said that her fictional counterpart, attorney Miranda Hobbes, would most certainly share her own political leanings. "I think Miranda Hobbes would rather shoot herself in the head than vote for Mitt Romney,” Nixon said. “Mitt Romney is so terrible on women’s issues.”

She also spoke for the other three "Sex and the City" main characters:

    I know that there are women who support [Romney], and it’s hard for me to understand, but certainly Miranda nor Carrie nor Charlotte nor Samantha, none of those women would ever vote for Mitt Romney. They would do something terrible first before they would ever vote for Mitt Romney.

Nixon told a crowd at the Ybor City Obama field office that she decided to come campaign for Obama in Florida after hearing Michelle Obama give "an amazing speech" at a New York City fundraiser, CL Tampa Bay reported. She went on to explain why she is supporting the president, mentioning the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Obamacare. She also discussed the importance this November has for her as a lesbian:

    You know, everybody used to say about Bill Clinton that he was the first African-American president, but I think that Barack Obama is the first gay president. My wife and I got married this May -- and I know it took him a little while to get there, but the fact that he came out fully for marriage equality for all Americans -- we've never had a president come anywhere close to that. And I know that if we can keep him in there for another four years, we're gonna see the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bob Dylan says he thinks President Barack Obama is going to win a landslide.

Dylan made the prediction Monday night midway through the song "Blowin' in the Wind" during a concert in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Dylan spoke to the Madison audience as he was wrapping up his concert that came just hours after Obama appeared at a morning rally in the same city with rocker Bruce Springsteen.

Dylan made his comments during his encore when he said, "We tried to play good tonight since the president was here today."

He went on to say he thinks Obama will prevail Tuesday.

Dylan says, "Don't believe the media. I think it's going to be a landslide."

After his comments, Dylan completed the song to the roar of the crowd.

Turns out you can’t dress a blonde white girl up as a Native American and make her dance around tepees sending smoke signals into the air anymore without accusations of racial stereotyping. That’s what happened with No Doubt’s video for Looking Hot. They pulled down the video mere days after putting it up due to complaints. No Doubt posted this message on their website.

    As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history.   Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people.  This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately.  The music that inspired us when we started the band, and the community of friends, family, and fans that surrounds us was built upon respect, unity and inclusiveness.  We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video.  Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are.

I was working full time (and then some) in advertising sales and had racked up $40,000-$50,000 in debt from student loans, car loans and credit cards, not to mention my mortgage. But it didn’t really worry me at the time -- I thought it was just how life worked.

image

Then I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

It was the last thing I was expecting. It never crossed my mind that I could get diagnosed with something like MS. In fact, when I was diagnosed, I was training for a bike ride to raise funds for MS research!

As I started learning more about the disease, it became clear to me that my excessive lifestyle -- spending too much, running around like crazy -- had contributed to my illness. So I started changing things. First my money, then my lifestyle.

Phase One: Money

First, I looked at our money situation. Our lifestyle simply wasn’t sustainable. I couldn’t figure out how my husband and I could both work full-time jobs and still live paycheck to paycheck. We had 401(k)s and were paying our expenses, but we also had a lot of debt.

Because we were working so much (my husband is a service director in the automotive industry), we had this mentality that we deserved to be rewarded. I was constantly spending on clothing and accessories; my husband and I would treat ourselves to dinners out and expensive vacations. Otherwise, why work so hard?

Sparked by my diagnosis, I made the decision to simplify my life, and paying down our debt was one of the first ways I did it. We stopped using credit cards and started saying no. Recently, we were invited on a European vacation with our family. In the past, we might have just charged it, but instead we stayed home.

We started chipping away at over $30,000 of student loans, car payments and credit card debt by paying off the smallest debt first, then used that momentum to keep paying the rest. My diagnosis means I do have significant medical costs, but we use a Health Savings Account to stay on top of that.

And our measures have paid off: As another benefit of living debt-free, I was able to leave my job in 2011 to concentrate on my writing, photography and business consulting.

Phase Two: Downsizing Our Possessions

Next, I started paring down my clothes. That effort was connected to my project of saving and paying down debt, since a lot of my money was going to clothing and accessories and gorgeous purses I thought I couldn’t live without.

I started Project 333 through my blog, which encourages participants to scale down their wardrobe to 33 items for three months at a time. I chose the threes because a) I live in a four-season state, so thought it made sense to plan three months at a time and b) I wanted to choose a number that was low enough to challenge me and blog readers, but not so low that it seemed too extreme.

With my own pursuit of Project 333 going so well for two years, I came across Dave Bruno’s 100 Thing Challenge, in which he challenged himself to pare down his possessions to only 100 things, to break free of American consumerism and prove that he could live with less.

I amended his rules to suit my own life (which he encourages) and decided to take part in the 100 Thing Challenge, myself. My version of the rules were:

As long as the total is 100, it’s okay to lose one thing and gain another–I can change my list any time.

If someone gives me a gift that I mean to keep, it must replace an existing item.

Underwear collectively counts as one item and so do another few groupings, like electronic chargers.

I would only reduce my personal items to 100 (clothing, makeup, accessories, gadgets), not household items.

I’ll continue to live within the parameters of Project 333, as I’ve been doing for two years.

If it’s too much, then I’ll modify it further or discontinue. Though after about four months, I still haven’t had to!

If you’re interested in which 100 things I chose to keep, you can see the complete list on my blog.

How Living With Less Changed My Family

People always ask how my family dealt with my paring down, and I answer that you don’t force your family to come on board -- they have to make that choice themselves.

My daughter is 17, and one of the best things that’s come from this is the open dialogue about money in our family. She will be heading off to college soon, and we’re being realistic about what we can and can’t afford, and what kind of grants and scholarships we might need. Student loans are a non-option (it took me almost two decades to pay off my student loans, and I don’t want that for her). With our new spending habits, my husband and I can put my daughter through school at a reasonably priced institution.

My daughter knows that I budget every two weeks, and if she wants or needs something within that time, she has to talk to me about fitting it into the budget. A lot is going to change for her as she becomes an adult, but hopefully we’ve instilled the lesson that you spend what you have, and no more. (Inspired? We have tips on setting up your own budget.)

President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney entered the final days of the presidential race tied in a state that the campaigns only recently began contesting, a Tribune-Review poll shows.

The poll showed the race for Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes locked up at 47 percent in its final week. Romney was scheduled to campaign in the Philadelphia area on Sunday, and former President Bill Clinton planned to stump for Obama on Monday. The campaigns have begun to saturate the airwaves with millions of dollars in presidential advertising.

“They’re both in here because of exactly what you’re seeing” in this poll, said Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling & Research, which surveyed 800 likely voters Oct. 29-31. Most of the interviews occurred after Hurricane Sandy inundated Eastern and Central Pennsylvania. The poll’s error margin is 3.46 percentage points.

Nearly 60 percent of people say the country is on the wrong track, and economic concerns continue to dominate. Almost half of likely voters say economic issues are the primary driver of their choice for president.

“I’m concerned about all the young people graduating from college, whether they’re finding jobs,” said Pauline Hoxie, 84, a Republican from Jersey Shore in Lycoming County. Her grandson graduated with a degree in graphic design but works a manual labor job because he can’t find openings in his field, she said.

Democrats shrugged off the Romney campaign’s late play for Pennsylvania, sending emails to supporters and journalists showing past Republican presidential candidates doing the same thing. Pennsylvania hasn’t given its electoral votes to the Republican candidate since 1988.

The state’s urban, suburban and rural voters usually give winners narrower victories than Obama’s 10-point win in 2008. John Kerry won by 2.5 percentage points in 2004; Al Gore won by 4.2 in 2000.

Though Sean Connery is solidly cemented in cinematic history as the original 007, it's become a well-known bit of Bond lore that some legendary actors were initially considered for the part, including Cary Grant, David Niven, and Richard Burton. However, not so well-known are the talented actors that current Bond Daniel Craig beat out to become the fresh new face of the aging franchise.

In a casting process that lasted nearly two years, Craig beat out over 200 would-be Bonds before officially stepping into 007's no-longer-white dinner jacket for "Casino Royale" (2006). Part of the reason behind the lengthy casting process was that producer Barbara Broccoli and Bond's new distributor, Sony, couldn't agree on the right actor to help lead the franchise in a grittier, post 9/11 direction.

At Sony's behest, an extensive net was thrown across the British Commonwealth and beyond. Orlando Bloom, Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, Karl Urban, and Gerard Butler were discussed. Rumors also circled around Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, and Jude Law. But none of these men were ever considered serious enough to merit a screen test. Besides Craig, only four potential candidates made it that far.

Before making a household name for himself in "Avatar" (2009) and "Clash of the Titans" (2010), Australian Sam Worthington was offered to screen test to play Bond in "Casino Royale". Ultimately, he lost the role, but Worthington does credit the experience as a vital prelude to landing the part of Jake Sully in "Avatar" (2009). "I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I thought the least I'll get out of this is to act a few scenes with James Cameron, and that's a hell of an opportunity. I learned that from going for the James Bond audition," said Worthington.

Daniel Craig in Sony Pictures' 'Casino Royale'Another relatively unknown 007 screen tester who's gone on to heroic heights is Henry Cavill. According to the ultimate Bond fan site, CommanderBond.net, "Casino Royale" director Martin Campbell considered Cavil right up until the very end, when the director opted for Craig instead, feeling that at 22, Cavil would be too young to play the superspy. In another sour casting note, Cavill was "Twilight" creator Stephenie Meyer's first choice to play Edward Cullen, the part for which Robert Pattinson continues to make mad bank. Everything seems to have worked out okay though, as Cavill's set to play Superman in this summer's probable blockbuster, "Man of Steel".

After impressing Campbell in a screen test for "The Legend of Zorro" (2005), Croatian Goran Visnjic was invited to screen test for 007, even though English isn't his native tongue. Visnjic, who was best known for playing Dr. Luka Kovac on "ER," obviously didn't land the role, but he has worked steadily in film and TV ever since, including an upcoming part in Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" (2013), which also stars "Skyfall" baddie Javier Bardem.

Finally, another Aussie, Alex O'Loughlin screen tested for Campbell in full wardrobe. Since then, he's gone onto some choice TV roles, as Detective Kevin Hiatt on "The Shield" and as Steve McGarrett on "Hawaii Five-0".

Ultimately, both Broccoli and Sony agreed that their Bond should be reborn in the same dark vein as Jason Bourne, the part Matt Damon had successfully commandeered in "The Bourne Identity" (2002) and "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004). After nearly 200 candidates and five screen tests, the two sides finally came together and agreed on Craig, the thoroughbred Broccoli had been backing since before Sony came on board. Considering how savvy Barbara Broccoli is, in her mind, it was probably never really a competition at all.

Christie’s New York featured exceptional diamonds and pearls in their fall jewelry auction on October 16. It was Christie’s first auction of the autumn season and featured a dazzling array of magnificent jewels from rare gemstones to flawless diamonds, natural pearls and signed pearls, considered some of the best to come up for sale in the last five years.

Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewellery for Christie’s America and Switzerland, explained: “Our team of jewellery specialists has spent the summer months gathering the finest gems to match current collecting tastes, including top-quality diamonds, natural pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, rare vintage jewels and highly coveted, contemporary creations from the best designers.”

Stunning diamond jewels weighing more than 50 carats each and exceedingly rare double strand of large natural pearls were among the scores of top-quality gems offered from the finest makers. Diamonds in excess of 50ct each achieved in excess of $35 million from 369 lots. Selling for $3.1million, the 68.35ct fancy oval-cut intense yellow diamond is internally flawless and a magnificent sight.

Even more exquisite was a pear-shaped D-colour impeccable diamond pendant necklace going for an astonishing, $9.5million. This stunning necklace goes well with the diamond ear pendants that went for $4.7million. The stone is mounted in platinum and may be worn dangling from a necklace with a 2.28 carat, circular-cut D-color diamond surmount, available with a GIA certificate noting the stone’s exceptional polish and outstanding symmetry.

Although diamonds are a girl’s best friend, it wasn’t all about diamonds. Made up of 120 large pearls, ranging in colours from white to light creams, a rare double strand of natural pearls, complete with a 3ct D-colour diamond clasp signed by Cartier, reached its estimate of $3.5 million.

Also up for auction were a range of signed jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels … the more colourful of these were two mystery-set pieces. Tripling it’s estimate with a $278,500 sale, the “honeycomb” motif ruby and diamond bracelet uses the exclusive setting technique to great effect – the hexagonal stones create a brilliant contrast with the curve of the bracelet. A pair of ruby and diamond ear clips with matching brooch, also by Van Cleef & Arpels, in the form of a flower blossom with diamond pistils and leaves, went for nearly three times its estimate, selling for $260,500.

Adam Levine and fellow mentor Christina Aguilera are known to squabble on the set of "The Voice," but their relationship is like that of a brother and sister, and Levine is quick to defend Aguilera from critics who want to insult her.

Levine sat down for a press conference Q&A on Friday in New York City and had some pointed words for Aguilera's haters, who have criticized everything from her weight to her hairstyle.

“People shouldn’t say those kind of things, because, f—k you! Come on guys, grow up!” Levine said about Aguilera's critics, according to Wetpaint Entertainment. “It pisses me off, and of course I have her back, of course I defend her. It’s not nice to just have your bread and butter be trashing other people. That’s bullying.”

The Maroon 5 frontman doesn't think celebrities should be easy targets."The one thing about the culture right now, celebrity culture particularly, is people feel like they can just say nasty things about other people whether it's Christina or whether it's me," he said, according to People magazine. "She gets a lot and it pisses me off. Of course I have her back and of course I defend her."

Aguilera embraces her body, which has changed since motherhood. "I've always been one to make it very clear, love me or hate me, take it or leave it, this is who I am," she previously told People. "I embrace my body, and I embrace everything about myself. Coming full circle is a celebration of freedom and happiness because that's what [my new album] Lotus is representing. I'm embracing everything that I've grown to be and learned to be."

At the press conference, Levine dished on his relationship with Aguilera, denying that there was ever any bad blood between them.

“The fights that everyone thought we were having were fictional,” Levine said, according to GossipCop. “We never hated each other. We never were having some sort of secret battles that everyone thought we were having.” He adds, “There were silly bickering things like a brother and sister would do… it’s not nearly what everybody thought.”

 Forecasters warned that the New York City region could face the worst of Hurricane Sandy as it bore down on the U.S. East Coast's largest cities Monday, forcing the shutdown of financial markets and mass transit, sending coastal residents fleeing and threatening high winds, rain and a wall of water up to 11 feet (3.35 metres) tall. It could endanger up to 50 million people for days.

Sandy strengthened before dawn and stayed on a predicted path toward New York, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia— putting it on a collision course with two other weather systems that would create a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 800 miles (1,280 kilometres) from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. Up to 3 feet (0.9 metres) of snow were even forecast for mountainous parts of West Virginia.

Airports closed, and authorities warned that the time for evacuation was running out or already past. Many workers planned to stay home as subways, buses and trains shut down across the region under the threat of flooding that could inundate tracks and tunnels. Utilities anticipated widespread power failures.

The centre of the storm was positioned to come ashore Monday night in New Jersey, meaning the worst of the surge could be in the northern part of that state and in New York City and on Long Island. Higher tides brought by a full moon compounded the threat to the metropolitan area of about 20 million people.

"This is the worst-case scenario," said Louis Uccellini, environmental prediction chief for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As rain from the leading edges began to fall over the Northeast on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people from Maryland to Connecticut were ordered to leave low-lying coastal areas, including 375,000 in lower Manhattan and other parts of New York City, 50,000 in Delaware and 30,000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the city's 12 casinos shut down for only the fourth time ever.

The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot, three-mast tall ship, was last marked about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras.

The ship has sunk, according to the Coast Guard at 8:45 a.m. Monday.

Just before 8 a.m., the Facebook page for the HMS Bounty says 14 of the 16 people who had to abandon their ship have been hoisted to safety.

There have been conflicting reports on how many people were onboard. The manifest reportedly listed 16 people, and that's the number the Coast Guard has."

WITN-TV Article: http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/Coast-Guard-Rescue-Underway-Now-16-People-In-Lifeboats-Off-NC-Coast-176228331.html

Seventeen people aboard a replica of the HMS Bounty abandoned ship early Monday while stranded at sea off the North Carolina coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a press release.

"The 17 person crew donned cold water survival suits and life jackets before launching in two 25-man lifeboats with canopies," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The ship issued a distress signal late Sunday after taking on water, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The owner of the 180-foot, three mast ship -- which was built for the 1962 Marlon Brando movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty" -- lost communication with the crew and alerted the Coast Guard to the situation.

The Coast Guard then received a distress signal from the ship showing its position. It sent out an aircraft to speak with the crew, which reported that the vessel was taking on water and had no propulsion. It's currently located about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C.

The ship, which is still floating upright and intact, is surrounded by 18-foot seas and 40 mph winds as Hurricane Sandy moves through the area.

The Bounty makes frequent trips around the country, offering a glimpse into maritime history, according to the ship's website. It was originally a British transport vessel, and the replica has appeared in several films, including the 2006 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest," with Johnny Depp. Its last stop before its winter hiatus in Galveston, Texas, was to be in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Nov. 10.

It is unclear why the boat set out to sea with Sandy bearing down. Sandy could be the largest storm ever to hit the United States, according to NOAA's website.

Alicia Richman of Granbury, Tex. has been declared the new Guinness World Record holder for "Most Breastmilk Donated," CBS DFW reports. Between June 2011 and March 2012, The 28-year-old mother of one donated 11,115 ounces -- or 694 pounds -- of breastmilk to charity, according to Guinness. By volume, that's about 87 gallons.

Richman told CBS that after she gave birth in March 2011, she began pumping and storing her milk, and quickly realized she was producing much more than her son could consume.

When two freezers were chock full of pumped milk, Richman contacted the Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas, an nonprofit that collects breast milk donations for critically ill and premature infants in need.

Her donations have fed "hundreds, and more likely, thousands of premature babies across the United States," Amy Vickers, executive director of the milk bank, says in a press release.

Richman says she went for the Guinness record because she wanted to raise awareness for the cause and encourage other women to donate to milk banks.

"I'm so thankful that I'm able to help not only my own baby, Drake, but all of the little babies who need it and are sick," Richman told News 8. "It really feels amazing and I'm so thankful that I'm able to do it."