OTG Daily News

WASHINGTON, December 26, 2011 — For many department stores, today marks a kind of “Black Monday” as staffers gear up for the inevitable onslaught of Christmas gift returns. But for Hollywood, the entire month of December 2011 has been a kind of black hole into which year-end releases fall while rapidly losing escape velocity. Aside from the Tom Cruise thriller, “Mission Impossible—Ghost Protocol,” which topped this weekend’s box office numbers at the number 1 spot with $26.5M in domestic receipts (first-weekend full release), most of the remaining holiday-release films on the docket failed to win much traction. (UPDATE: Today, Reuters updated figures for the four-day weekend MI take to an even more impressive $46.2M.) The Cruise action flick gained a near-perfect score from the online reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes where it's described as “Stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces,” further noting that it is “big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works.” ...

Four years ago, 12-year old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache. Extreme neglect had led to an abscess that spread to his brain and killed him. The Drivers were a desperately poor family in Maryland that had trouble locating an oral surgeon who would work for Medicaid rates. But whether rich, poor or in between, regular dental care has declined as out-of-pocket costs have risen during the Great Recession. Few people know that good dental care can be the key to good overall health. According to the Mayo Clinic, a full menu of diseases can result from poor dental care, including endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of the heart), cardiovascular disease (clogged arteries and stroke may be linked to oral bacteria) and premature birth and low birth weight babies, to name a few. In the months after the Wall Street crash of 2008 , Dr. Aziza Askari faced her own financial crisis. Patients in her Farmington Hills, Mich., dental practice began asking for refunds on prepayments for...

It’s all about the bottom line. Whether your wedding budget is $5.00 or $50.000, these savvy strategies will save you serious change. by Francesca Castagnoli/BRIDES 1-Eat dessert first. Want a big bash, but don’t have the cash? Do a cocktails-and-dessert reception instead of springing for din-din 2-Off-peak is on the money. With the exception of the holidays, dates from November through April are less coveted—so less pricey—than other times. Set on June vows? Book ‘em on an off-night, like Friday or Sunday. 3-Know who your friends are. Nipping the guest list can shrink costs big-time. To avoid offending non-invitees, pepper wedding convos with words like small and intimate. 4-Say okay to day. Throw your party before 5 p.m: Brunches and lunches mean a lower tab for the location, meal, and bar. 5-Find a furnished space. Reduce rental costs by picking a site that’s already outfitted with tables, linens and chairs. 6-Stamp out overspending. Instead of shelling out a ton on...

Jennifer Hudson has revealed she turned down the title role in " Precious " because she didn't want to pack on weight to play the abused single mom. Fresh off her Oscars victory in " Dreamgirls ," director Lee Daniels approached the singer/actress and asked her to consider playing Precious -- but she wasn't interested. In her new memoir "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down," Hudson writes, "As much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight." Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe eventually won the role as Precious, while Hudson became a weight loss icon and WeightWatchers spokesperson.

NEW YORK — Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores will be closed, the retailer said Tuesday, after terrible holiday sales during what is the most crucial time of the year for retailers. Sears has yet to determine which stores will be closed, but there has been a clear shift in where the retailer will devote its resources. The company is moving away from its practice of propping up "marginally performing" stores in hopes of improving their performance . Sears said it will now concentrate on cash-generating stores. "Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model," said CEO Louis D'Ambrosio. "These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers." Sears would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut. Sears H...

NEW ORLEANS Once he watches the game replay, Drew Brees will be hard on himself. The New Orleans Saints quarterback will bemoan throwing two uncharacteristic passes into double coverage that were intercepted. He will feel just as badly about trying to call consecutive timeouts late in the second quarter, which is a Football 101 rules violation. There were 16 incompletions and three second-half drives that ended without a first down or points to prolong what had the early makings of a blowout. But immediately after this magical Monday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome came to an end, Brees had every right to proclaim a 45-16 victory over Atlanta as “perfect,” even though he wasn’t. New Orleans (12-3) defeated its archrival to clinch the NFC South title and notch a seventh consecutive win. The Saints were outstanding on the ground with 164 yards against the NFL’s fourth-ranked run defense. They also stymied a Falcons offense that simply couldn’t keep pace. And in the proc...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Silent film is taking over Hollywood's awards scene. The silent-era tale " The Artist " heads the Golden Globes with six nominations, among them Best Comedy or Musical and acting honors for its French stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. Tied for second-place in Thursday's nominations are the 1960s racial tale " The Help " and George Clooney's Hawaiian family story " The Descendants ." Both films are up for Best Drama, while Clooney was nominated for Best Dramatic Actor and "The Help" earned acting slots for Viola Davis , Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. Also competing for Best Drama: Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure " Hugo "; Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March"; Brad Pitt's baseball chronicle " Moneyball "; and Steven Spielberg's World War I epic " War Horse ." Joining "The Artist" in the Best Musical or Co...

For the Obamas, an awkward family holiday photo just isn’t an option. The first family released a new official portrait Thursday morning, showing them dressed in their holiday best. Taken by White House photographer Pete Souza in the Oval Office, the photo captures the Obamas smiling and clasping hands with daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10. The last official portrait was taken in 2009 in the Green Room by Annie Leibovitz , and since the first daughters have grown up so much since then, the Obamas wanted an updated photo together. More recently, the White House also released a photo of Bo. The Obamas’ pet is absent from the official family portrait. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy

Barbara Walters made an unprecedented choice for her No. 1 Most Fascinating Person of 2011. Walters' coveted title went to Steve Jobs. This was the first time that the honor was given to someone no longer living. The Apple co-founder passed away in October after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. Walters explained that the choice to honor Jobs was made before his death when he announced his retirement as CEO of the company he helped build. After his death, the choice remained because, as Walters simply stated, "Rules were meant to be broken." Other notable names to make the annual list include the Kardashians, Herman Cain, Donald Trump and Pippa Middleton. ET

By JoNel Aleccia A California man is vowing to continue his do-it-yourself sperm donor operation, despite efforts of federal health officials to crack down on the free service. Trent C. Arsenault, 36, of Fremont, Calif., told msnbc.com that he has fathered 14 children -- with four more on the way -- and donated sperm to between 60 and 75 families since he started the online operation in 2006. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy “Every time I log into Facebook, I’m overwhelmed with all the pictures from the families,” said Arsenault, who regards his donations as a way to help low-income people struggling with infertility. Last year, federal Food and Drug Administration officials delivered a letter ordering Arsenault to “cease manufacturing,” or halt his service, because the computer security expert had not followed regulations governing safety precautions for transmission of human cells or tissues through donor clinics. “We h...

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services Updated at 8:23 a.m. ET BAGHDAD -- Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta marked the end of the U.S. war in Iraq at a highly symbolic ceremony Thursday. U.S. soldiers rolled up the flag for American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve, formally "casing" it, according to Army tradition. Panetta said veterans of the nearly nine-year conflict can be "secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to cast tyranny aside." Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were invited to the ceremony but did not attend. Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in a war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad, but later descended into a bloody sectarian struggle between long-oppressed majority Shiites and their former Sunni masters. "After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and ...

Marriage rates are at an all-time low. Are people overthinking it? Posted by  Holly-TheNest.com I'll admit it: I always wanted to be married. I happened to find "the one" and tie the knot for love. But I'm not one of those married women. I know that a good man (or woman) is hard to find. In fact, a new study  reveals that only 51 percent of adults in the US are married. That's just half of the population, people! And it represents an all-time low: The marriage rate has dropped from 59 percent in 1960 to a mere 20 percent in the present day. And this cooling trend isn't expected to end anytime soon. I'm not sure why, but that scares me a little. Yes, many people have perfectly good reasons for staying single. Women can support themselves, so they can be pickier about whose socks they choose to pick up off the floor for as long as they both shall live. And, as the article states, women are no longer shunned by society for raising children alone . But, if g...

TIME magazine revealed the 2011 choice for its iconic Person of the Year cover live on TODAY Wednesday. The Protester is this year’s choice, managing editor Rick Stengel told Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. “There was a lot of consensus among our people,” Stengel told the TODAY anchors as he revealed the magazine’s cover. “It felt right.” As it has for the past 84 years, the weekly newsmagazine selected the person (or sometimes group, or thing) that its editors deemed had the single greatest impact during the past year, for better or for worse. TIME’s Person of the Year has been a perennial topic of year-end debate ever since aviator Charles Lindbergh was chosen the first Man of the Year back in 1927 (the title was amended to Person of the Year in 1999). But the title is not necessarily an accolade; while many presidents, political leaders, innovators and captains of industry have been cited, some of the more notorious Persons of the Year include Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin in ...

AP reports : HANOI, Vietnam — A psychedelic gecko and a monkey with an "Elvis" hairdo are among 208 new species described last year by scientists in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, a conservation group announced Monday. The animals were discovered in a biodiverse region that is threatened by habitat loss, deforestation, climate change and overdevelopment, the WWF said in a report. The newly described species include a "psychedelic gecko" in southern Vietnam and a nose-less monkey in a remote province of Myanmar that looks like it wears a pompadour. "While this species, sporting an Elvis-like hairstyle, is new to science, the local people of Myanmar know it well," the Switzerland-based group said in its report. The region is home to some of the world's most endangered species, including tigers, Asian elephants, Mekong dolphins and Mekong giant catfish, the group said. "This is a region of extraordinary richness in terms of ...

These days it feels like everyone’s always in a hurry—and it’s not just our imagination. Americans’ leisure time has decreased in the past few decades, dropping from 26 to 16 hours per week between 1973 and 2008. With fewer minutes to spare, skipping your workout might seem like a quick fix. But it doesn’t have to come to that! If you pick the right routine you can squeeze a meaningful workout into even your busiest days. Whether you’ve got a 30-minute lunch break or can spare only 5 minutes in the morning, there’s a quick and effective, expert-recommended workout for you. 30 Minutes For most of the following moves you’ll need a 6- to 8-pound medicine ball. You’ll do each exercise 5 times, doing 2 fewer reps each round. So in your first round you’ll complete 10 reps, in your second round you’ll complete 8, in the third you’ll do 6, and so forth. “The volume for these exercises is pretty low, so your goal is to complete each rep with maximum intensity,” Baptiste says. “Think quick, pr...

Ask 50 people about jobs they held during their 30s and you'll likely get 50 unique stories. While some workers spend that decade progressing in a field they entered in their 20s, others change career paths altogether or modify their employment to better align with their personal life. Here, individuals reflect on how their jobs during that stage differed from jobs they held when they were younger and how these jobs influenced the rest of their lives. Balancing career and family During her 20s, Margaret Miller of El Paso, Texas taught English at private high schools in New England . But when she became a mom at 30, she decided to pursue a different path. "In my 30s, I was a stay-at-home mom and wrote articles about parenting and education to help pay the bills," Miller says. "This was ideal since I could work from my house and be there with my kids when they were young." Now that her kids have grown up and are out of the house, Miller has opted to blend...

It's back! With more and more consumers preferring not to use credit cards, stores have reinstated or begun promoting their long-lost layaway policies as a way for shoppers to spread out payments and stay on budget during the holiday season. "It's not just for the low-income shoppers. These days, layaway is just another part of a retailer's effort to give the most customer-service value possible to their customers," says Kathy Grannis, Director of Media Relations for the National Retail Federation. How it works: After selecting your merchandise, a store rings up the total and charges you a percentage of it (usually 10%) as a down payment, plus a nonrefundable fee (usually $5). You then agree to a payment plan (typically a percentage of the total to be paid weekly) with a deadline by which you must pay in full and pick up your stuff. There may be other rules — for example, individual items must cost a certain amount (Walmart requires a minimum of $15), or you...