Fed still gauging extent of hacker breach, FBI on case

Feb 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was still working to determine the extent its computer systems had been breached by hackers, adding that the incident was the subject of a criminal probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"We are in the process of a comprehensive assessment to determine what information might have been obtained in this incident," said Federal Reserve spokesman Jim Strader. "We remain confident that this incident did not affect critical operations of the Federal Reserve."

The online intrusion, which has embarrassed the U.S. central bank and raised questions about the effectiveness of its security, was publicized on Sunday by activist group Anonymous.

The integrity of the Fed's systems is vital to ensure confidence in its ability to securely transmit highly confidential information, including communications about U.S. monetary policy and the banks that it supervises.

The Fed statement on Thursday was its first explicit acknowledgment that it did not yet know the extent of the security breach. Cyber-security specialists say it takes time to thoroughly investigate a stealthy intrusion by skilled hackers.

Anonymous claimed that it had published personal information from more than 4,000 U.S. bank executives gleaned from a password-protected Fed website.

The website, called the Emergency Communication System (ECS), exists to provide bank contact information in the event of a natural or other disaster. It is managed by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.

A message sent by the Fed to ECS users and obtained by Reuters on Tuesday warned that personal information, including mobile and business telephone numbers, email and business addresses, had been obtained by the online intruders.

Strader said it was possible that more information might still be released by the hackers, but declined to spell out if data from a site other than the ECS had been obtained.

"This incident is the subject of an active criminal investigation with the FBI and we cannot comment further," he said.

The Fed also declined to comment on when the attack took place, how long it took for the breach to be discovered and what type of system or vulnerability was exploited.

A review by Reuters of the code on the ECS site home page shows it runs on ColdFusion, a program used to build websites that software maker Adobe Systems Inc patched in mid-January to repair several critical security flaws.

The company said hackers could take advantage of those bugs to break into computer systems, access restricted files and take control of affected servers. ((http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa13-01.html))

WARNINGS OF WEAKNESS

The Fed's inspector general recommended in a 2012 audit published in November that the central bank implement a security review process for third party systems located outside its system. The Fed was not immediately able to clarify if the ECS website breached by Anonymous fell in this category.

The information published by Anonymous so far has not ruffled feathers among the bankers affected.

"It hasn’t been much of a hassle," said Jo David Cummins, president and CEO of Community First Bank of the Heartland in Illinois. "The information that was on the contact system was the same thing that was on my business card, so it wasn’t like it was anything that could do any harm to me or the bank."

The hacking claim was made via Twitter over an account registered to OpLastResort, which is linked to Anonymous, a loosely organized group of hacker activists who have claimed responsibility for scores of attacks on government and corporate sites over the past several years.

OpLastResort is a campaign that some hackers associated with Anonymous have started to protest against the government's prosecution of computer prodigy Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on Jan. 11.

Swartz was charged with using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service. He faced a maximum sentence of 31 years if convicted.

Cyber-security specialists said they assumed the Fed is under constant attack from hackers, including by state-sponsored online snoopers, and that most strikes go unreported.

In a rare admission, the Cleveland Fed confirmed in 2010 that it had been attacked online. Cleveland Fed spokeswoman June Gates said a test computer was compromised, but the hacker failed to access any Fed information. The incident came to light when the crime was prosecuted in a New York court in November 2010.

(Reporting by Alister Bull in Washington, Jim Finkle in Boston and Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, N.C.; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Tim Ahmann and Andre Grenon)

((alister.bull@thomsonreuters.com)(+1-202-898-8329)(Reuters Messaging: alister.bull.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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Super Bowl blackout traced to preventive equipment

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An electrical device that had been installed expressly to prevent a power outage caused the Super Bowl blackout, the stadium's power company said Friday as it took the blame for the outage that brought the game to a halt for more than a half-hour.

Officials of Entergy New Orleans, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., said the device, called a relay, had been installed in switching gear to protect the Superdome from a cable failure between the company's incoming power line and lines that run into the stadium.

The switching gear is housed in a building known as "the vault" near the stadium that receives a line directly from a nearby Entergy power substation. Once the line reaches the vault, it splits into two cables that go into the Superdome.

Company officials said the device performed with no problems during January's Sugar Bowl and other earlier events, but has been removed and will be replaced. All systems at the Superdome are now working and the dome will host a major Mardi Gras event Saturday night, said Doug Thornton, an executive with SMG, the company that manages the stadium for the state.

The power failure at Sunday's big game cut lights to about half of the stadium for 34 minutes, halting play between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.

The FBI had ruled out cyberterrorism as a cause.

Entergy's announcement came shortly before officials appeared before a committee of the City Council, which is the regulatory body for the company, to answer questions about the outage.

Entergy New Orleans CEO Charles Rice and Dennis Dawsey, an Entergy vice president for distribution, told the Council that SMG agrees the cause of the outage was a relay failure. Asked if the two corporations still plan to hire a third-party investigator, Rice said that possibility remains open.

Committee member Jackie Clarkson pressed for such an independent probe. "We've told the public we're going to have an outside investigation," she said.

"We'll work closely with SMG and if there is a need for a third-party investigation, we will do that," Rice said.

It remains unclear whether the problem with the relay was a design flaw or a manufacturing problem. Rice said Entergy is working with the manufacturer.

"I'm pleased that we were able to find the root cause," Thornton said.

Shabab Mehraeen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Louisiana State University, said the relay device is a common electrical fixture in businesses and massive facilities such as the Superdome.

"They are designed to keep a problem they sense from becoming something bigger, like a fire or catastrophic event," said Mehraeen, who holds a doctorate from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo.

The devices vary in size, and while Mehraeen noted he was not familiar with the specifics of the relay at the Superdome, he added, "I wouldn't be surprised if it was bigger than a truck."

Mehraeen said the reasons the devices fail are the subject of much academic research into the interaction of relays with the complex electrical systems they regulate.

"It's not unusual for them to have problems," he said. "They can be unpredictable despite national testing standards recommended by manufacturers."

Entergy and SMG had both upgraded lines and equipment in the months leading up to the Super Bowl. Rice said the new switching gear, with the faulty relay, was installed as part of a $4.2 million upgrade by Entergy, including the installation of a new power line dedicated solely to the stadium.

In a separate project, SMG replaced lines coming into the stadium after managers expressed concerns the Superdome might be vulnerable to a power failure like the one that struck Candlestick Park during a 49ers Monday Night Football game in 2011. That outage was blamed at least partly on a transformer explosion.

Thornton stressed Friday that the dome was drawing only about two-thirds of its power capacity Super Bowl night, and said typical NFL games in late August or September can draw a little more.

City officials had worried that the Super Bowl outage might harm New Orleans' chances of getting another NFL championship game.

But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell downplayed that possibility after the outage, saying the NFL planned to keep New Orleans in its Super Bowl plans. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city intends to bid for the Super Bowl in 2018.

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Southern diet, fried foods, may raise stroke risk

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.

It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain why blacks in the Southeast — the nation's "stroke belt" — suffer more of them.

Blacks were five times more likely than whites to have the Southern dietary pattern linked with the highest stroke risk. And blacks and whites who live in the South were more likely to eat this way than people in other parts of the country were. Diet might explain as much as two-thirds of the excess stroke risk seen in blacks versus whites, researchers concluded.

"We're talking about fried foods, french fries, hamburgers, processed meats, hot dogs," bacon, ham, liver, gizzards and sugary drinks, said the study's leader, Suzanne Judd of the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

People who ate about six meals a week featuring these sorts of foods had a 41 percent higher stroke risk than people who ate that way about once a month, researchers found.

In contrast, people whose diets were high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish had a 29 percent lower stroke risk.

"It's a very big difference," Judd said. "The message for people in the middle is there's a graded risk" — the likelihood of suffering a stroke rises in proportion to each Southern meal in a week.

Results were reported Thursday at an American Stroke Association conference in Honolulu.

The federally funded study was launched in 2002 to explore regional variations in stroke risks and reasons for them. More than 20,000 people 45 or older — half of them black — from all 48 mainland states filled out food surveys and were sorted into one of five diet styles:

—Southern: Fried foods, processed meats (lunchmeat, jerky), red meat, eggs, sweet drinks and whole milk.

—Convenience: Mexican and Chinese food, pizza, pasta.

—Plant-based: Fruits, vegetables, juice, cereal, fish, poultry, yogurt, nuts and whole-grain bread.

—Sweets: Added fats, breads, chocolate, desserts, sweet breakfast foods.

—Alcohol: Beer, wine, liquor, green leafy vegetables, salad dressings, nuts and seeds, coffee.

"They're not mutually exclusive" — for example, hamburgers fall into both convenience and Southern diets, Judd said. Each person got a score for each diet, depending on how many meals leaned that way.

Over more than five years of follow-up, nearly 500 strokes occurred. Researchers saw clear patterns with the Southern and plant-based diets; the other three didn't seem to affect stroke risk.

There were 138 strokes among the 4,977 who ate the most Southern food, compared to 109 strokes among the 5,156 people eating the least of it.

There were 122 strokes among the 5,076 who ate the most plant-based meals, compared to 135 strokes among the 5,056 people who seldom ate that way.

The trends held up after researchers took into account other factors such as age, income, smoking, education, exercise and total calories consumed.

Fried foods tend to be eaten with lots of salt, which raises blood pressure — a known stroke risk factor, Judd said. And sweet drinks can contribute to diabetes, the disease that celebrity chef Paula Deen — the queen of Southern cuisine — revealed she had a year ago.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, drugmaker Amgen Inc. and General Mills Inc. funded the study.

"This study does strongly suggest that food does have an influence and people should be trying to avoid these kinds of fatty foods and high sugar content," said an independent expert, Dr. Brian Silver, a Brown University neurologist and stroke center director at Rhode Island Hospital.

"I don't mean to sound like an ogre. I know when I'm in New Orleans I certainly enjoy the food there. But you don't have to make a regular habit of eating all this stuff."

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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Rock pioneer Patti Smith receives Hepburn medal

BRYN MAWR, Pa. (AP) — Rock musician and writer Patti Smith is being honored by Bryn Mawr College with a medal named after the late actress Katharine Hepburn.

Smith received the 2013 Katharine Hepburn Medal on Thursday night in a ceremony at the women's liberal arts school in suburban Philadelphia.

Smith is recognized as a rock 'n' roll trailblazer whose work as a musician, writer, performer and visual artist influenced multiple generations. Her 1975 debut album, "Horses," is considered one of rock's greatest albums and she received the 2010 National Book Award for non-fiction for her memoir, "Just Kids."

Smith said when the college approached her about receiving the award, "I enthusiastically accepted without hesitation."

"Bryn Mawr is helping shape the futures of young women and providing them with the tools to be dominant forces in our society," Smith said.

College President Dr. Jane McAuliffe said Smith "conveys enormous passion and continues to transform herself throughout her artistic journey."

The college comprises 1,300 female undergraduates, two co-educational graduate schools and a co-educational pre-medical program.

The medal named after Hepburn, a Bryn Mawr alumna, honors women who change their worlds and whose work and embodies the intelligence and independence of the four-time Oscar winner.

It was awarded by the college's Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center, which memorializes Hepburn and her mother, an early feminist activist who share the same name, with programs focusing on the arts and theatre, civic engagement, and women's health.

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McDonald's January sales down 1.9%

McDonald's January comparable sales fell 1.9 percent, due to weakness in the Europe and Asia, the company said Friday. 

The Oak Brook-based burger giant warned during its fourth-quarter earnings release that sales at restaurants open more than one year would be down. But analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected a decline of 1.1 percent.

Shares rose nearly 1 percent in morning trading, to $95.38.

Of greatest concern to Wall Street, same store sales in Europe declined to 2.1 percent. The company cited particular weakness in Germany and France despite solid growth in the U.K and Russia. Europe is the chain's largest market.

Comparable sales fell 9.5 percent in McDonald's Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa division, for which the chain cited weakness in Japan, and declines in China, attributable to a calendar shift in the Chinese New Year, and the ongoing fallout from a poultry crisis.

In the U.S., comparable sales rose 0.9 percent. McDonald's cited popularity of its core menu and moving the grilled onion and cheddar burger onto the Dollar Menu.

Total sales rose in January 0.3 percent, or 0.7 percent adjusted for the impact of currency.

While McDonald's expects sales to improve later this year, the worst isn't over. The company said it expects a 3 percent hit to February sales as a result of a shorter month in 2013.

"While January's results reflect today's challenging environment and difficult prior year comparisons, I am confident that our unwavering commitment to delivering an exceptional restaurant experience will enhance our brand's relevance and drive long-term results," McDonald's CEO Don Thompson said in a statement.

In a Friday research note, Janney analyst David Tarantino wrote that McDonald’s performance in the U.S. was ahead of expectations and the broader quick-service restaurant industry.

Though he expects comparable sales to be down through March, "we remain optimistic that planned initiatives can support better operating momentum after the first quarter," he said.

eyork@tribune.com | Twitter: @emilyyork

Reuters contributed to this report.

MCD data by YCharts

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Ex-L.A. police officer suspected in cop killing, other slayings

A manhunt is under way for a double murder suspect, himself a former LAPD officer, after three officers were shot overnight, one fatally.

Authorities in California launched a statewide manhunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in the Thursday morning shooting of three police officers after he threatened "warfare" on cops, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Former officer Christopher Dorner, 33, was suspected in the shooting of three police officers, one of them fatally, early Thursday, police said.

On Wednesday, police named Dorner as a suspect in the shooting deaths of the daughter of a former L.A. police captain and her fiance, whose bodies were found on Sunday.

"The violence of action will be high. ... I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty," Dorner wrote on Facebook, KTLA television reported.

Dorner's page appeared to have been removed from the social network site on Thursday.

The California Highway Patrol issued a "blue alert" on Dorner to law enforcement throughout the state after the shootings early Thursday in the Riverside area about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

"The suspect is considered armed and extremely dangerous," the alert said. "The suspect was involved in multiple shootings with multiple agencies in the Riverside CHP area."

One Los Angeles police officer was grazed on Thursday near Corona in Riverside County, Los Angeles police said. Later, two Riverside Police Department officers were shot in Riverside, and one of them died, Riverside police said.

Irvine police on Wednesday night named Dorner as the suspect in the shooting deaths of the recently engaged Keith Lawrence and Monica Quan, an assistant basketball coach at California State University Fullerton.

Police said they are searching for Dorner, whose last known address is in La Palma, and said he drives a blue 2005 Nissan Titan pickup with California license 7X03191. He is described as a 6-foot tall African American man weighing about 270 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call a tip line at (714) 724-7192.

Irvine police on Wednesday night named Dorner as the suspect in the double slaying in the parking lot of an upscale Irvine apartment complex Sunday. Officials warned that Dorner is armed and dangerous. Law enforcement sources said police have placed security at the homes of LAPD officials named in the manifesto and believe Dorner has numerous weapons.

In the online postings, according to the Los Angeles Times, Dorner specifically named the father of Monica Quan. Randy Quan, a retired LAPD captain, was involved in the review process that ultimately led to Dorner’s dismissal.

A former U.S. Navy reservist, Dorner was fired in 2009 for allegedly making false statements about his training officer.

Dorner said in his online postings that being a police officer had been his life’s ambition since he served in the Police Explorers program. Now that had been taken away from him, he said, and he suffered from severe depression and was filled with rage over the people who forced him from his job.

Dorner complained that Quan and others did not fairly represent him at the review hearing.

“Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family. There will be an element of surprise where you work, live, eat, and sleep,” he wrote, referring to Quan and several others.

“I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours,” he added.

Quan apparently served as Dorner’s representative, according to the manifesto. Of Quan, Dorner wrote: “He doesn't work for you, your interest, or your name. He works for the department, period. His job is to protect the department from civil lawsuits being filed and their best interest which is the almighty dollar. His loyalty is to the department, not his client.”

In the document, he threatens violence against other police officers.

“I know most of you who personally know me are in disbelief to hear from media reports that I am suspected of committing such horrendous murders and have taken drastic and shocking actions in the last couple of days,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately,” he added, “this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name.”

Quan, 28, and Lawrence, 27, had recently become engaged and moved into the condominium complex near Concordia University, where they had played basketball and received their degrees, authorities said. Lawrence worked as a campus officer at USC.

Dorner’s LAPD case began when he lodged a complaint against his field training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans. He accused her of kicking a suspect named Christopher Gettler. An LAPD Board of Rights found that the complaint was false and terminated his employment for making false statements. He appealed the action.

He testified that he graduated from the Police Academy in February 2006 and left for a 13-month military deployment in November 2006.

“This is my last resort,” he wrote. “The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now led to deadly consequences.”

Dorner said it was the LAPD’s fault that he lost his law enforcement and Navy careers, as well as his relationships with family and close friends. Dorner wrote that he began his law enforcement career in February 2005 and that it ended in January 2009. His Navy career began in April 2002 and ended this month.

“I lost everything,” he said, “because the LAPD took my name and knew I was innocent.”

Los Angeles Times, Reuters and KTLA contributed

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Greenlight's Einhorn sues Apple, seeks bigger payout

(Reuters) - David Einhorn wants Apple to "think different" ... about its cash.

The hedge fund manager's Greenlight Capital sued Apple Inc on Thursday, saying the company should give stockholders a bigger share of its huge cash pile.

Apple shares, which had fallen 35 percent from mid-September through Wednesday, were up 0.9 percent at $458.70 in morning trading.

Einhorn, a well-known short seller, is long on Apple shares. In a television interview on Thursday, he said that while he admires the company, it has a "cash problem" that it needs to fix by giving away perpetual preferred stock with a 4 percent yield.

"The idea is powerful, and when I have a chance to explain it to the shareholders, most will see it as an enormous win-win," Einhorn told Reuters.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

One analyst said there were merits to Einhorn's proposal.

"He's a huge holder in the stock, the shares are down and it's natural for a person like that to try and reverse that," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis. "Other shareholders may join, but whether it will change the tide remains to be seen."

Analysts have said stockholder pressure would increase as Apple's share price and clout declines, and investors have persistently called on the company to be more proactive in using its massive cash and capital hoard.

As recently as last month, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts on a post-results conference call that the company, which has the largest cash balance in the tech industry at more than $100 billion, was considering various ways to be more active on that front.

Money managers have also said that Apple's cash pile was underperforming the results peers had been able to achieve with their own money.

'UTTERLY MISVALUED'

Calling Apple shares "utterly misvalued" at current levels in a CNBC interview, Einhorn said the company no longer needs to grow at the near-triple digit rates of the past.

For every $50 billion in preferred stock that Apple gives away to shareholders, it could unlock $32 a share in value for investors, Einhorn said, without elaborating on how he arrived at that number.

In a statement, Greenlight said it spent part of 2012 in discussions with Apple on the idea of perpetual preferred stock, but that the company rejected it last September.

"We understand that many of our fellow shareholders share our frustration with Apple's capital allocation policies," Greenlight said in an open letter to other investors. "Apple has $145 per share of cash on its balance sheet. As a shareholder, this is your money."

Greenlight also filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York on Thursday to force Apple to modify a proposal in its proxy, which the hedge fund believes does not conform to regulatory rules.

Greenlight said it is opposed to the proposal, No. 2 on Apple's proxy, which the firm said would remove the company's ability to issue preferred stock from its charter.

(Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)

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USADA says it's been in touch with Armstrong

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says it has been in contact with Lance Armstrong and is giving him more time to decide if he wants to cooperate with its investigators and tell more about what he knows of doping in cycling.

USADA investigated the cyclist's performance-enhancing drug use and banned him for life from sports. It has given him an extra two weeks to work out an interview with investigators under oath.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart says in a statement his group has been "in communication" with Armstrong and his representatives and "we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling."

The agency says Armstrong must cooperate with its cleanup effort if his ban is to be reduced.

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Morrissey rules as The Governor in 'Walking Dead'

NEW YORK (AP) — "Brother against brother," says The Governor fiercely. "Winner goes free. Fight to the death."

Is this any way to run a town?

AMC's zombie drama "The Walking Dead" ended the first half of this season with a wrenching faceoff: roughneck brothers Merle and Daryl were pitted in a bloody test of loyalty to The Governor as he rallied his flock — the residents of Woodbury, Ga. — to goad them on.

That was last December.

Things haven't settled down as the hit horror serial returns for another eight episodes Sunday at 9 p.m. EST. The death match continues. The Governor, played by David Morrissey, is increasingly oppressive, even deranged.

"With Woodbury, he has built a sanctuary, a place of safety where humanity can start again," says Morrissey. "But the negative side of power is like a wobbly tooth for him. He just can't stop sticking his tongue in there. There's something gloriously painful about it, and he likes that."

He seems to be losing his marbles as he sees threats both within and beyond the town walls. This has placed on his enemies list not only the zombies — with their ploddingly persistent appetite for human flesh — but also mortals, who are far less predictable. These include the ragtag refugees led by Sheriff Rick Grimes hiding out in an abandoned prison nearby.

"You can adapt to the zombie threat, and that's part of what Woodbury is about," says Morrissey. "But the new problem that has emerged in Season 3 is human beings. What you have now is two communities of humans in conflict. That's much more complicated."

In other words: What's scarier than the undead? The living!

In the past, The Governor exhibited a softer side. His most touching moments showed his desperate attempts to stay connected with Penny, his undead little girl. Removing her from the cell in his apartment where he kept her chained, he lovingly combed her wiry zombie hair in one memorable scene, while she snarled and snapped ferociously.

Strange as it was, the scene made perfect sense to Morrissey.

"You have a sick child and you're trying to do normal things that just aren't normal anymore," he says. "There's great certainty and comfort in the past, and he was trying to re-create that."

But in December's finale, Penny was stabbed by Michonne, an intruder out to kill The Governor.

"He loses the one thing he lives for," says Morrissey, adding with a bit of understatement, "Now he's full of anger."

The 48-year-old actor gravitates toward complex, off-kilter roles. He is celebrated for the 2003 British miniseries "State of Play," where he played an upright Member of Parliament who may have been involved in a string of killings. The same year, "The Deal" was a British TV film that starred Morrissey as MP (and future prime minister) Gordon Brown.

A few years earlier, he played a jazz musician with underworld connections in the British series "Finney." In the 2000 film "Some Voices," he was the long-suffering brother of schizophrenic Daniel Craig.

Morrissey approached the role of The Governor with his typical concern that the character display many facets and steadily develop.

"I wanted to be sure he didn't just become a cartoon buddy," Morrissey says.

Meanwhile, he began mastering the obligatory Southern accent.

Describing his happy, working-class childhood in Liverpool, England — "it was a tough environment, but tough in the right way" — Morrissey speaks in the singsongy lilt reminiscent of the Liverpudlian lads who formed the world's greatest rock band (and might pronounce "band" something like "bah-yind.")

He says he worked with the same accent coach assigned to series star Andrew Lincoln (who plays Rick Grimes), a fellow Brit. And he trained hard. "My children got very bored with me reading them bedtime stories in a Georgia accent," he says with a laugh.

The Woodbury scenes were shot in the town of Senoia, Ga., 40 miles south of Atlanta. Months of filming took Morrissey away from his family — sons 17 and 8 years old, and a daughter, 15, as well as his wife, novelist Esther Freud (who happens to be the great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud).

"The people who live there are great," says Morrissey, "because we do disrupt their lives." Shooting for the season wrapped in November, "and I had a lovely time there."

But will The Governor be back to rule over the ultimate gated community? Not surprisingly, Morrissey is cagey when replying to that question: "Contractually, I'm there for five years. But that's not to say that I don't die at the end of this season, Or whenever."

Whether or not he's back on "The Walking Dead," Morrissey means to keep taking risks with his roles.

"I want to go into a job feeling a bit of frisson, thinking things MAY not work," he explains before offering "Blackpool" as a prime example.

Retitled "Viva Blackpool" for its U.S. telecast in 2005, this was a quirky British miniseries in which he costarred with David Tennant, whose credits include The Doctor in "Dr. Who." Morrissey played the thuggish owner of an arcade in the seaside town of Blackpool, England, who becomes swallowed up in a murder probe.

What truly set apart the series was the penchant of its characters for bursting into a song-and-dance number at the drop of a hat. Think Tony Soprano channeling Elvis. Clearly, THIS was risky for all concerned!

"I remember halfway through the shoot they showed us a bit of the dailies," says Morrissey, laughing at the memory. "Then me and David Tennant walked away and got in the lift and the doors closed. And we went, 'We're NEVER gonna work again!'"

As it happened, "Blackpool" charmed viewers and won awards. And its stars did work again.

___

Online:

http://www.amctv.com

___

Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier

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Exelon cuts dividend by 41%

Exelon Corp. Thursday morning said it will slash its dividend by more than 40 percent in order to maintain an investment grade rating and free up money to "invest in growth."

Beginning in the second quarter, Exelon's divided will drop to $1.24 per share on an annualized basis from $2.10 per share. The company maintained the $2.10 dividend, among the highest of U.S. utilities, since late 2008.

Analysts predicted the move in light of stubbornly low natural gas prices that have been driving down the company's earnings and are largely responsible for the nearly two-thirds drop the company has seen in its stock price since a high in 2008.
 
Net income for 2012 fell to $1.16 billion, or $1.42 per share, from $2.5 billion, or $3.75 per share. In the fourth quarter, net income fell to $378 million, or 44 cents per share, from $606 million, 91 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue was $6.28 billion in the fourth quarter compared to $4.36 billion a year earlier. For the year, revenue rose to $23.49 billion, from $19.06 billion in 2011.

The results were within the company's guidance range.
 
Exelon said Thursday morning that lower prices for the energy it sells, as well as higher nuclear fuel costs,  diminished earnings. Storms, including Sandy, also affected earnings at its regulated utilities in Pennsylvania and Baltimore.
 
The addition of Constellation Energy's contribution to its margins since the merger and favorable weather elsewhere helped to partially offset some losses, the company said.
 
jwernau@tribune.com | Twitter @littlewern

EXC data by YCharts

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