R.A. Dickey, David Price win Cy Young awards

NEW YORK (AP) — R.A. Dickey languished in the minors for 14 years, bouncing from one team to another before finally perfecting that perplexing knuckleball that made him a major league star.

David Price was the top pick in the draft and an ace by age 25, throwing 98 mph heat with a left arm live enough to make the most hardened scout sing.

Raised only 34 miles apart in central Tennessee, Dickey and Price won baseball's Cy Young awards on Wednesday — one by a wide margin, the other in a tight vote.

Two paths to the pantheon of pitching have rarely been more different.

"Isn't that awesome?" said Dickey, the first knuckleballer to win a Cy Young. "It just shows you there's not just one way to do it, and it gives hope to a lot of people."

Dickey said he jumped up and yelled in excitement, scaring one of his kids, when he saw on television that Price edged Justin Verlander for the American League prize. Both winners are represented by Bo McKinnis, who watched the announcements with Dickey at his home in Nashville, Tenn.

"I guess we can call him Cy agent now," Price quipped on a conference call.

The hard-throwing lefty barely beat out Verlander in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, preventing the Detroit Tigers' ace from winning consecutive Cy Youngs.

Runner-up two years ago, Price was the pick this time. He received 14 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 153 points to 149 for Verlander, chosen first on 13 ballots.

"It means a lot," Price said. "It's something that I'll always have. It's something that they can't take away from me."

Other than a 1969 tie between Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain, it was the closest race in the history of the AL award.

Rays closer Fernando Rodney got the other first-place vote and came in fifth.

The 38-year-old Dickey was listed first on 27 of 32 National League ballots and totaled 209 points, 113 more than 2011 winner Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Washington lefty Gio Gonzalez finished third.

Cincinnati right-hander Johnny Cueto and Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel each received a first-place vote, as did Gonzalez. Kershaw had two.

Dickey joined Dwight Gooden (1985) and three-time winner Tom Seaver as the only Mets to win the award. The right-hander went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA, making him the club's first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990, and became the first major leaguer in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters.

Perhaps most impressive, Dickey did it all during a season when the fourth-place Mets finished 74-88.

"It just feels good all over," he said on MLB Network.

Dickey switched from conventional pitcher to full-time knuckleballer in a last-ditch effort to save his career. It took him years to finally master the floating, darting pitch, which he often throws harder (around 80 mph) and with more precision than almost anyone who used it before him.

"I knew what I was going to be up against in some regard when I embraced this pitch," Dickey said.

He was the first cut at Mets spring training in 2010 but earned a spot in the big league rotation later that season and blossomed into a dominant All-Star this year. He led the NL in strikeouts (230), innings (233 2-3), complete games (five) and shutouts (three) — pitching through an abdominal injury most of the way.

"I am not a self-made man by any stretch of the imagination," Dickey said. "The height of this story, it's mind-blowing to me, it really is."

A member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team and a first-round draft pick out of Tennessee, Dickey was devastated when the Texas Rangers reduced their signing-bonus offer from more than $800,000 to $75,000 after they discovered during a physical that he was missing a major ligament in his pitching elbow.

Undeterred, perseverance got him to the big leagues anyway. When he failed, the knuckleball brought him back.

Among those he thanked ceaselessly for helping him on that long and winding road to success were all his proud knuckleball mentors, including Charlie Hough, Tim Wakefield and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.

"It brings a real degree of legitimacy I think to the knuckleball fraternity and I'm glad to represent them and I'm certainly grateful to all those guys," Dickey said. "This was a victory for all of us."

Dickey said he received 127 text messages and 35-40 phone calls in the moments immediately following the Cy Young announcement.

The only call he took was from Niekro, a 318-game winner from 1964-87. The first texts Dickey responded to were from Wakefield and Hough.

"Most well-deserved," Niekro said in a comment provided by the Hall of Fame. "I'm super proud of him, as a pitcher and as an individual."

Dickey has one year left on his contract at $5.25 million and New York general manager Sandy Alderson has said signing the pitcher to a multiyear deal is one of his top offseason priorities. Alderson, however, would not rule out trading his unlikely ace.

"I believe the Mets are going to be a lot better and I want to be part of the solution," Dickey said, adding that he hopes the sides can strike a deal and he'd be happy to end his career in New York.

"I want to be loyal to an organization that's given me an opportunity," he said. "At the same time, you don't want to be taken advantage of. I've been on that side of it, too, as a player."

Price went 20-5 to tie Jered Weaver for the American League lead in victories and winning percentage. The 27-year-old lefty had the lowest ERA at 2.56 and finished sixth in strikeouts with 205.

Verlander, also the league MVP a year ago, followed that up by going 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA and pitching the Detroit Tigers to the World Series. He led the majors in strikeouts (239), innings (238 1-3) and complete games (six).

Price tossed 211 innings in 31 starts, while Verlander made 33. One factor that could have swung some votes, however, was this: Price faced stiffer competition in the rugged AL East than Verlander did in the AL Central.

"I guess it's a blessing and a curse at the same time," Price said. "There's not an easy out in the lineups every game. It feels like a postseason game."

The No. 1 pick in the 2007 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt, Price reached the majors the following year and has made three straight All-Star teams.

Despite going 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA in 2010, he finished a distant second in Cy Young voting to Felix Hernandez, who won only 13 games for last-place Seattle but dominated most other statistical categories that year.

The two MVP awards will be announced Thursday. Verlander's teammate, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, is a leading contender in the American League.

NOTES: The last AL pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Youngs was Boston's Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000. San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum did it in the National League in 2008-09. ... Price and Dickey became the fourth pair of Cy Young winners born in the same state, according to STATS. The others were Jim Lonborg and Mike McCormick in 1967 (California), Viola and Orel Hershiser in 1988 (New York) and Pat Hentgen and John Smoltz in 1996 (Michigan). ... Niekro and his brother, Joe, both finished second in Cy Young voting, as did fellow knuckleballer Wilbur Wood.

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With TV and film production heading overseas, should Uncle Sam get into showbiz?

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Is it time for Uncle Sam to go Hollywood?

With the exodus of film and TV production to foreign shores – and with the states’ incentives plans frequently out-gunned by countries outside the U.S. – there is some thought that it may be time for the federal government to step in.

The idea of the federal government helping out Hollywood while it is drowning in red ink is sure to raise hackles in some quarters. But filmmaker Michael Moore, for one, thinks it’s an idea whose time has come. And he’s not alone.

“That is one good thing the government can do in terms of being helpful and supportive, whether it’s filmmaking or other artistic endeavors,” Moore told TheWrap.

And he added, it’s also time for the states to stop fighting each other with differing tax-incentive plans. “I’ve always opposed New Mexico against North Carolina, or Michigan against L.A. I don’t like that. It’s not right. We’re Americans.”

Moore is not alone.

There are reasons to keep TV and film production from going abroad. The industry provides more than 2.4 million American jobs and adds nearly $ 180 billion to the U.S. economy annually and $ 15 billion in federal and state taxes, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Joe Chianese, executive VP at showbiz payroll giant Entertainment Partners Financial Solutions, believes the idea of getting the feds involved makes sense.

“You watched the debates and heard both President Obama and Gov. Romney talking about how it’s all about jobs, and they talked about how the manufacturing industry has basically been lost to overseas,” Chianese told TheWrap. “Well, we’re looking at the same sort of situation with the TV and film industry if something isn’t done.”

As he spoke to TheWrap, Chianese was about to set off for Japan, where government and film-industry officials were considering an incentive program that would align them with the more than 30 foreign countries trying to lure U.S. entertainment productions.

“You can’t blame filmmakers for taking their business elsewhere,” he said. “They’re taking their work overseas for the same reasons manufacturers are: It’s cheaper.”

Until recently, the federal government provided some help. Section 181 of the current tax code lowered the cost of capital for domestic film and TV production by providing immediate expensing on the first $ 15 million of production costs. To be eligible, 75 percent of the production had to occur in the U.S.

But it expired at the end of 2011.

California Republican Congressmen David Dreier has co-authored legislation to bring 181 back for another two years, but it is mired in Congress, along with a number of other tax-law extensions.

“Jobs are our No. 1 priority, and this bill will help more people find good jobs in California and across the U.S.,” said Dreier, who represents much of the San Gabriel Valley. “We need to create an environment that will keep entertainment productions here so that caterers, makeup artists and other small businesses that support them can create jobs too.”

Amy Lemistch, executive director of the California Film Commission, shares the world view on keeping show business here.

“We see California’s runaway production problem as a global issue,” she told TheWrap “not a state vs. state issue. People are going to the U.K. and Canada as much as they are going to other states.”

Smaller nations like Sri Lanka have begun offering breaks, and others like New Zealand have ramped up state-of-the-art production infrastructures. Even Iceland recently lured the HBO series “Game of Thrones” and the feature films “Noah” and “Prometheus.”

Particularly galling to California Film Commission officials is when productions set in the state are lured overseas. Recent examples would be the now-canceled Fox TV series “Alcratraz” and the L.A.-set movie “This Means War,” both of which shot in Vancouver.

Unlike Moore, Chianese, a tax specialist who worked with the commission when it was crafting its credits program, sees the federal incentives coming on top of state credits, rather than replacing them.

“You add, say, a 15 percent jobs credit, where companies would get 15 percent of the salary of every hire they make,” he said. “Add that on top of, say, the 25 percent credit California offers, and you’re up to 40 percent credit. That would make a real difference when it comes to keeping entertainment jobs here.”

Chianese said he’d be willing to see Section 181 go away in favor of more direct and immediate incentives. But with Obama and Congress focused on cutbacks and new taxes to pare down the national debt before the end of the year, the timing’s not good now.

It will always be an uphill fight, particularly with the House of Representatives controlled by the budget-conscious GOP.

“You’d face the same question you always do with incentives, which is: Why favor one industry over another?” Chianese said.

Not to mention major blowback from the segments of the right, which see liberal politicians as too tied to Hollywood already.

As for state credits, Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief in late September when California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a two-year extension of the state’s film and TV production-tax credit program. But no one expects it to be a game-changer when it comes to California’s fight to remain the world’s production capital.

New York, for example, is offering 30 percent tax credits, has $ 420 million available and recently added a 25 to 30 percent credit for post-production work. By comparison, California offers a 25 percent credit, has just $ 100 million available and has tougher eligibility rules.

Still, Lemisch said, the extension was critical.

“It sends a signal to the production community that California is committed in the short and long term,” she said. That’s vital, she pointed out, especially for the producers of TV dramas, which are the most desirable shows to land because they’re typically an hour long and shoot multiple episodes.

California’s output of TV dramas fell more than 11 percent last year, while While New York was hitting record production levels.

California does have some built-in advantages that aren’t going away. If you’re based in Hollywood, staying here can be cheaper than going out of state even with incentives, because you’re not paying to ship equipment and transport crews. The state’s infrastructure of studios and post-production facilities is still the most extensive.

But that doesn’t mean other states aren’t beating California to the production punch.

North Carolina – which made headlines when it enticed the feature film “Battlefield Los Angeles” to shoot there instead of in L.A. – is very busy these days. The first “Hunger Games” was filmed there, as was “Iron Man 3.’ NBC’s new drama “Revolution” and Showtime’s “Homeland” are in production there now.

Georgia, too, has seen a recent surge in feature filming. Paramount’s “Flight,” Fox’s “Parental Guidance” and Warner Bros.’ “Trouble With the Curve” all shot there.

(Steve Pond contributed to this report)

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Booze calories nearly equal soda's for US adults

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found.

Soda and other sweetened drinks — the focus of obesity-fighting public health campaigns — are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about 5 percent, the new study found.

"We've been focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages. This is something new," said Cynthia Ogden, one of the study's authors. She's an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which released its findings Thursday.

The government researchers say the findings deserve attention because, like soda, alcohol contains few nutrients but plenty of calories.

But a liquor trade association said the findings indicate there's no big problem.

"This research shows that the overwhelming majority of adults drink moderately," Lisa Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement.

The CDC study is based on interviews with more than 11,000 U.S. adults from 2007 through 2010. Participants were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours.

The study found:

—On any given day, about one-third of men and one-fifth of women consumed calories from beer, wine or liquor.

—Averaged out to all adults, the average guy drinks 150 calories from alcohol each day, or the equivalent of a can of Budweiser.

—The average woman drinks about 50 calories, or roughly half a glass of wine.

—Men drink mostly beer. For women, there was no clear favorite among alcoholic beverages.

—There was no racial or ethnic difference in average calories consumed from alcoholic beverages. But there was an age difference, with younger adults putting more of it away.

For reference, a 12-ounce can of regular Coca-Cola has 140 calories, slightly less than a same-sized can of regular Bud. A 5-ounce glass of wine is around 100 calories.

In September, New York City approved an unprecedented measure cracking down on giant sodas, those bigger than 16 ounces, or half a liter. It will take effect in March and bans sales of drinks that large at restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands.

Should New York officials now start cracking down on tall-boy beers and monster margaritas?

There are no plans for that, city health department officials said, adding in a statement that while studies show that sugary drinks are "a key driver of the obesity epidemic," alcohol is not.

Health officials should think about enacting policies to limit alcoholic intake, but New York's focus on sodas is appropriate, said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public health advocacy group.

Soda and sweetened beverages are the bigger problem, especially when it comes to kids — the No. 1 source of calories in the U.S. diet, she said.

"In New York City, it was smart to start with sugary drinks. Let's see how it goes and then think about next steps," she said.

However, she lamented that the Obama administration is planning to exempt alcoholic beverages from proposed federal regulations requiring calorie labeling on restaurant menus.

It could set up a confusing scenario in which, say, a raspberry iced tea may have a calorie count listed, while an alcohol-laden Long Island Iced Tea — with more than four times as many calories — doesn't. "It could give people the wrong idea," she said.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

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Erdrich wins her first National Book Award

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Book Awards honored both longtime writers and new authors, from Louise Erdrich for "The Round House" to Katherine Boo for her debut work, "Beyond the Beautiful Forevers."

Erdrich, 58, has been a published and highly regarded author for nearly 30 years but had never won a National Book Award until being cited Wednesday for her story, the second of a planned trilogy, about an Ojibwe boy and his quest to avenge his mother's rape. A clearly delighted and surprised Erdrich, who's part Ojibwe, spoke in her tribal tongue and then switched to English as she dedicated her fiction award to "the grace and endurance of native people."

The works of two other winners also centered on young boys — Boo's for nonfiction, and William Alexander's fantasy "Goblin Secrets," for young people's literature. David Ferry won for poetry.

Boo's book, set in a Mumbai slum, is the story of a boy and his harsh and illuminating education in the consequences of crime or perceived crime. The author, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist currently on staff with The New Yorker, said she was grateful for the chance to live in a world she "didn't know" and for the chance to tell the stories of those otherwise ignored. She praised a fellow nominee and fellow Pulitzer-winning reporter, the late Anthony Shadid, for also believing in stories of those without fame or power.

Boo was chosen from one of the strongest lists of nonfiction books in memory, from the fourth volume of Robert Caro's Lyndon Johnson series to Shadid's memoir "House of Stone." Finalists in fiction, which in recent years favored lesser known writers, included such established names as Dave Eggers and Junot Diaz. Publishers have been concerned that the National Book Awards have become too insular and are considering changes, including expanding the pool of judges beyond writers.

Winners, chosen by panels of their peers, each will receive $10,000.Judges looked through nearly 1,300 books.

Ferry is a year older than one of the night's honorary recipients, Elmore Leonard. Ferry, 88, won for "Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations," a showcase for his versatile style. He fought back tears as he confided that he thought there was a chance for winning because he "was so much older" than the other nominees. Attempting to find poetry in victory, he called the award a "pre-posthumous" honor.

Alexander quoted fellow fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin in highlighting the importance of stories for shaping kids' imaginations and making the world a larger place than the one they live in.

"We have to remember that," Alexander said.

The ceremony was hosted by commentator-performer Faith Salie and went smoothly even though Superstorm Sandy badly damaged the offices of the award's organizer, the National Book Foundation, whose staffers had to work with limited telephone and mail access.

Honorary prizes were given to Leonard and New York Times publisher and chairman Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr.

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McDonald's U.S. chief stepping down

Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA has stepped down, the company said Friday. 

Fields, 57, will be succeeded by Jeff Stratton, currently the company's global chief restaurant officer.

"This was a business decision," said McDonald's spokeswoman Heidi Barker.  She added that Fields and CEO Don Thompson had "some long discussions about the state of the business and the decision was made that it was time to make a change in the leadership of the U.S. business."

Fields' departure comes days after the Oak Brook-based burger giant announced its first monthly same store sales decline in nearly a decade.

The company has cited sluggish demand and increased competition for the decline. Barker emphasized that the decision was not made based on one month of sales, but looking at the total business with an eye on the future. Her departure is effective Dec. 1.

Jeff Stratton, also 57, who currently serves as the chain's global chief restaurant officer, will take over as president of the U.S. business. A 40-year McDonald's veteran, Barker said Stratton is credited with overseeing a number of critical initiatives, including the multi-billion-dollar restaurant remodeling program expected to boost same store sales around the world, and a new point-of-sale system which has increased restaurant efficiency and speed of service.

In the U.S. Stratton's team oversaw the redesign of the majority of the chain's 14,000 restaurants to make room for the McCafe program, which has added $1 billion in sales annually.

Fields stepped into the role in 2010, succeeding Don Thompson who is now the burger giant's CEO.  She previously served as chief operating officer of McDonald's USA, stepping into that role in 2006. Fields is a 35-year veteran of McDonald's who began her career with the company behind the restaurant counter. Barker said Fields remains active in a number of boards, including Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Fields plans to spend time with family and friends, "maybe in a warmer climate," Barker said.

"She has been a great leader and an inspiration for many folks here," Barker said. "But we felt it was time for a change."

eyork@tribune.com | Twitter: @emilyyork

McDonald's Corp. said Thursday it is replacing Jan Fields, president of its U.S. business.

The move comes a week after the world's largest hamburger chain reported its first monthly decline in global restaurant sales in nine years.

Fields, 57, will be succeeded by Jeff Stratton, currently the company's global chief restaurant officer.

Company spokeswoman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem said the move was "a business decision by senior management."

"We feel that now was the right time to make a change in leadership for the U.S. business," Shekhem said. She said she did not know what Fields's future plans were.

McDonald's replaced its chief executive officer in July.

Fields has been with McDonald's for more than 35 years.

MCD data by YCharts

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Ex-Dixon comptroller pleads guilty in $53 million scam

A former longtime treasurer of Dixon pleaded guilty today to fraud in federal court in Rockford for stealing $53 million from the coffers of the small northwestern Illinois city over two decades.

Rita Crundwell will remain free on her own recognizance until her sentencing on Feb. 14.

When asked her plea to the one count of wire fraud, Crundwell responded quietly, “Guilty.”

Crundwell admitted to stealing the $53 million since 1990 and using the money to finance her championship quarter-horse business and a lavish lifestyle.

As part of her guilty plea, she also admitted she engaged in illegal money laundering.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, prosecutors believe Crundwell faces up to 19 ½ years in prison, while Crundwell’s lawyers contend she faces no more than 15 ½ years.

Federal prosecutors had sought to have Crundwell taken into custody.

In arguing to keep her free pending sentencing, her attorney, Paul Gaziano said, “She’s worked hard with the government.”

But the 25-page plea agreement gave no indication that Crundwell was officially cooperating with federal authorities.

Crundwell still faces 60 fraud counts in Lee County criminal court. Gaziano said he did not know how those charges would be handled in light of Crundwell’s guilty plea on the lone federal count.

Since her arrest in April, Crundwell has agreed to the sale of her assets so that some of the lost money can be repaid to Dixon, bext known as the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan.

So far, about $7.4 million has been raised by auctioning off about 400 quarter horses, a luxury motor home  and other equipment. Additional auctions are planned.

After court, Gaziano said that, with her guilty plea, Crundwell is “saving the government the burden and the expense of a lengthy trial.”

“Rita since the day of her arrest has worked with the government to accomplish the sale of her assets including her beloved horses all with the goal of hoping to recoup the losses for the city of Dixon,” Gaziano added as he wrapped his arm around Crundwell outside the courthouse. “I think the people of the city of Dixon ought to know that.”

Gaziano wouldn't take questions from a throng of reporters, and Crundwell had nothing to say before entering a black truck and being driven off.

Crundwell served as comptroller of Dixon since 1983, handling all of its finances. To conceal the scheme, Crundwell told other city officials that budgetary shortfalls were due to late payments of tax revenue from the state.

Dixon’s mayor reported Crundwell to law enforcement authorities in the fall of 2011 after another city employee filled in for Crundwell during an extended unpaid vacation and discovered a secret account she had been using to funnel the money.

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Facebook stock jumps as share lockup expires

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Facebook Inc jumped as much as 11.2 percent on Wednesday, even as the biggest block of shares held by insiders became eligible for sale for the first time since the social media company's disappointing debut in May.

Facebook shares were up 8.5 percent at $21.54 in heavy morning trade on the Nasdaq, off an earlier high at $22.09.

"While the lockup is expiring, there is nothing requiring anybody to sell," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. "Given the low price, these long-term holders are deciding to hold the stock, and that is lifting it here as the fear of the expiration subsides."

Roughly 800 million Facebook shares were eligible for sale on Wednesday after restrictions on insider selling were lifted on the biggest block of shares since the May initial public offering.

The lockup expiration greatly expands the 921 million-share "float" available for trading on the market until now.

Facebook, the world's No. 1 online social network, became the only U.S. company to debut with a market value of more than $100 billion. But its value has dropped nearly 50 percent since the IPO on concerns about money-making prospects over the long term.

Insider trading lockup provisions started to expire in August, and the rolling expirations have added to the pressure on Facebook's stock.

Restrictions on Facebook insiders selling their shares have expired in waves. A restriction on more than 200 million shares expired on October 29.

COST OF SHORTING

Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said he did not expect Facebook insiders to sell all of their shares as the lockups expired.

"I would expect heavy volumes over the next few weeks, but not undigestible volumes," said Wieser. By his estimate, roughly 486 million of the nearly 800 million newly freed Facebook shares will be sold.

There is some evidence that the heavy interest in "shorting" the stock was dissipating, given the poor performance since it first sold shares in May. Investors who believe a stock will fall can bet against it by shorting the stock, that is, borrowing it and selling it in the hopes it will decline.

According to Markit's Data Explorers, about 28 percent of the shares available for short-selling were being borrowed for that purpose, down from a high of more than 80 percent in early August.

Similarly, SunGard's Astec Analytics, which also tracks interest in shorting, noted that the cost of borrowing Facebook shares is down more than 50 percent since the beginning of the month.

"Everything would seem to indicate the market is losing its appetite to short Facebook," wrote Karl Loomes, market analyst at Astec.

The cost of shorting Facebook has declined to 0.18 percent on an annualized basis, Astec said on Wednesday. By contrast, shortly after the IPO, the cost to short the stock ranged from 40 to 50 percent annually.

"It's become somewhat of a controversial stock - it always adds fuel to the fire if you have a sizable short position," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"But the unlock is not new news. It doesn't mean everyone is going to sell and it doesn't mean every order is going to come in today."

Several members of Facebook's senior management have sold millions of dollars' worth of shares in recent weeks through pre-arranged stock trading plans as lockup restrictions expired.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has sold roughly 530,000 shares this month, netting just over $11 million, though she still owns roughly 20 million vested shares in Facebook.

In August, Facebook board member Peter Thiel sold roughly $400 million worth of Facebook stock, the majority of his stake, when an earlier phase of lockup restrictions expired.

Facebook's 28-year-old chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has pledged not to sell any shares before September 2013.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

(This story corrects number of shares sold by chief operating officer to 530,000, not 530 million, third paragraph from bottom)

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Leftwich to start at QB for Steelers on Sunday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing for first place in the AFC North without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The team announced Wednesday that backup Byron Leftwich will start against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in place of Roethlisberger, who sprained his right shoulder in Monday night's victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers (6-3) have won four straight to pull within a game of first-place Baltimore (7-2), but Roethlisberger left the 16-13 overtime win over the Chiefs in the third quarter after getting slammed to the ground by a pair of Kansas City linebackers.

The two-time Super Bowl winner underwent extensive testing Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury to his throwing shoulder. It's still unknown how long Roethlisberger will be sidelined. Pittsburgh faces the Ravens twice in the next three weeks.

Leftwich completed 7 of 14 passes for 73 yards after replacing Roethlisberger. He will be making his first start since 2009 when he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The former first-round pick has been plagued by injuries the last two seasons and said he felt a little rusty after seeing his first regular season action in nearly two years, though coach Mike Tomlin anticipates the rust to wear off this week.

"I'll trust his assessment if that's his assessment, but I'm not overly concerned about it," Tomlin said. "We got a lot of ball in front of us this week. If he is the guy, he'll get a great opportunity to prepare and we'll expect him to play winning football."

The Steelers have managed to survive without Roethlisberger before. They are 7-5 in games without their franchise quarterback since 2005, including a 4-1 mark over the last two seasons. Roethlisberger missed the first four games of the 2010 season after being suspended for violating the league's personal conduct policy, but Pittsburgh started 3-1 behind Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch, who will serve at Leftwich's backup on Sunday.

Batch filled in nicely last December when Roethlisberger was sidelined with an ankle injury, throwing for 208 yards in a 27-0 win over the St. Louis Rams.

Leftwich is 0-6 in his last six games as a starter, his last victory coming on Oct. 8, 2006 while playing the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Leftwich with the seventh overall pick of the 2003 draft.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Actor Channing Tatum dubbed People’s sexiest man alive

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actor Channing Tatum, who set female hearts fluttering in the summer movie hit “Magic Mike”, was named the sexiest man alive by People magazine on Wednesday.

“My first thought was, ‘Y’all are messing with me,” Tatum told the magazine after hearing the news.

The 32-year-old actor, who is married to actress Jenna Dewan-Tatum, is training to play an Olympic athlete in his upcoming film, “Foxcatcher”.

The couple, who have been married since 2009, are ready to start a family, according to People.

“The first number that pops into my head is three, but I just want one to be healthy and then we’ll see where we go after that,” he told the magazine.

Tatum joins a long list of Hollywood heartthrobs who also have also received the “sexiest man” title from the magazine including Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Ryan Reynolds, George Clooney and Matt Damon.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Ireland probes death of ill abortion-seeker

DUBLIN (AP) — The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed that a miscarrying woman suffering from blood poisoning was refused a quick termination of her pregnancy and died in an Irish hospital.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he was awaiting findings from three investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian who was 17 weeks pregnant. Her case highlights the bizarre legal limbo in which pregnant women facing severe health problems can find themselves in predominantly Catholic Ireland.

Ireland's constitution officially bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling found the procedure should be legalized for situations when the woman's life is at risk from continued pregnancy. Five governments since have refused to pass a law resolving the confusion, leaving Irish hospitals reluctant to terminate pregnancies except in the most obviously life-threatening circumstances.

In practice the vast bulk of Irish women wanting abortions, an estimated 4,000 per year, simply travel next door to England, where abortion has been legal on demand since 1967. But that option is difficult, if not impossible, for women in failing health.

University Hospital Galway in western Ireland declined to say whether doctors believed Halappanavar's blood poisoning could have been reversed had she received an abortion rather than wait for the fetus to die on its own. In a statement, it described its own investigation into the death, and a parallel probe by the national government's Health Service Executive, as "standard practice" whenever a pregnant woman dies in a hospital. The Galway coroner also planned a public inquest.

Savita Halappanavar's husband, Praveen, said doctors determined she was miscarrying within hours of her hospitalization for severe pain on Sunday, Oct. 21. He said that over the next three days doctors refused their requests for an abortion to combat her surging pain and fading health.

"Savita was really in agony. She was very upset, but she accepted she was losing the baby," he told The Irish Times in a telephone interview from Belgaum, southwest India. "When the consultant came on the ward rounds on Monday morning, Savita asked if they could not save the baby, could they induce to end the pregnancy? The consultant said: 'As long as there is a fetal heartbeat, we can't do anything.'

"Again on Tuesday morning ... the consultant said it was the law, that this is a Catholic country. Savita said: 'I am neither Irish nor Catholic,' but they said there was nothing they could do," Praveen Halappanavar said.

He said his wife vomited repeatedly and collapsed in a restroom that night, but doctors wouldn't terminate the fetus because its heart was still beating.

The fetus died the following day and its remains were surgically removed. Within hours, Praveen Halappanavar said, his wife was placed under sedation in intensive care with blood poisoning and he was never able to speak with her again. By Saturday her heart, kidneys and liver had stopped working and she was pronounced dead early Sunday, Oct. 28.

The couple had settled in 2008 in Galway, where Praveen Halappanavar works as an engineer at the medical devices manufacturer Boston Scientific. His wife qualified as a dentist but had taken time off for her pregnancy. Her parents in India had just visited them in Galway and left the day before her hospitalization.

Praveen Halappanavar said he took his wife's remains back to India for a Hindu funeral and cremation Nov. 3. News of the circumstances that led to her death emerged Tuesday in Galway after the Indian community canceled the city's annual Diwali festival. Savita Halappanavar had been one of the festival's main organizers.

Opposition politicians appealed Wednesday for Kenny's government to introduce legislation immediately to make the 1992 Supreme Court judgment part of statutory law. Barring any such bill, the only legislation defining the illegality of abortion in Ireland dates to 1861 when the entire island was part of the United Kingdom. That British law, still valid here due to Irish inaction on the matter, states it is a crime punishable by life imprisonment to "procure a miscarriage."

In the 1992 case, a 14-year-old girl identified in court only as "X'' successfully sued the government for the right to have an abortion in England. She had been raped by a neighbor. When her parents reported the crime to police, the attorney general ordered her not to travel abroad for an abortion, arguing this would violate Ireland's constitution.

The Supreme Court ruled she should be permitted an abortion in Ireland, never mind England, because she was making credible threats to commit suicide if refused one. During the case, the girl reportedly suffered a miscarriage.

Since then, Irish governments twice have sought public approval to legalize abortion in life-threatening circumstances — but excluding a suicide threat as acceptable grounds. Both times voters rejected the proposed amendments.

Legal and political analysts broadly agree that no Irish government since 1992 has required public approval to pass a law that backs the Supreme Court ruling. They say governments have been reluctant to be seen legalizing even limited access to abortion in a country that is more than 80 percent Catholic.

Coincidentally, the government said it received a long-awaited expert report Tuesday night proposing possible changes to Irish abortion law shortly before news of Savita Halappanavar's death broke. The government commissioned the report two years ago after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland's inadequate access to abortions for life-threatening pregnancies violated European Union law.

An abortions right group, Choice Ireland, said Halappanavar might not have died had any previous government legislated in line with the X judgment. Earlier this year, the government rejected an opposition bill to do this.

"Today, some 20 years after the X case, we find ourselves asking the same question: If a woman is pregnant, her life in jeopardy, can she even establish whether she has a right to a termination here in Ireland?" said Choice Ireland spokeswoman Stephanie Lord.

Yet the World Health Organization identifies Ireland as an unusually safe place to be pregnant. Its most recent report on global maternal death rates found that only three out of every 100,000 women die in childbirth in Ireland, compared with an average of 14 in Europe and North America, 190 in Asia and 590 in Africa.

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