Danny Puff

WASHINGTON (AP) Schoolteacher Patricia Cooper gazed out at the many hundreds of thousands of people lining the National Mall, moments after Barack Obama had been sworn in for the second time as president.

"The media kept saying there were going to be so many fewer people," said Cooper, 51, from Upper Marlboro, Md. "But look out there!" she beamed. "We still have a pretty big crowd."

True, the crowd was roughly half that of Obama's momentous inauguration in 2009, and the sense of history, and pure excitement, far less potent. But despite a more sober national mood, there was plenty of enthusiasm even among people who'd been there the first time, like Cooper and oh yes, star power, as the capital threw its marathon, once-every-four-years party.

"I was there last time, and I was just so proud to be here again this time," Cooper said. "And the weather was great!"

It was a warmer day indeed, with a noon temperature of 40 degrees. And if the day was balmier, it seemed its whole aura was mellower, too, with not only the president but his whole family looser than four years ago. Malia and Sasha, no longer adorable little girls but rather stylish young women, chatted on the podium, showing how comfortable they'd become after four years in the public spotlight, and Michelle Obama sported a hip new haircut: blunt-cut bangs. Even Chief Justice John Roberts seemed more relaxed; well, he breezed through the oath of office that he had stumbled over four years ago.

Of course, it was lost on no one that the president was renewing his oath at a somber and difficult time for the nation. A still struggling economy. The fiscal crisis. The fight over gun control, in the wake of the horrific shootings in Newtown, Conn. The continued threat of terrorism. A general sense that the country is more polarized than ever.

But for a day, the capital city celebrated. And as always, it was a marathon, with more than 12 hours of public events for the president, beginning with a morning prayer service, through a parade that went past dark, with the president still standing and clapping and the Inaugural Balls, of course.

And though the president went home not long after 10 p.m., Washington was still buzzing. Downtown was gridlocked, as taxis, a hot commodity, tried to navigate closed-off streets. Stevie Wonder was singing at the cavernous Washington Convention Center, where the balls were held, and the Goo Goo Dolls and Ke$sha were performing at separate events elsewhere just a few of the happenings that turned Washington into Celebrity Central for the weekend.

But the biggest celebrities? That would be Barack and Michelle Obama, and their appearances at the Inaugural Balls three of them this year, much pared down from 2009 were the most eagerly awaited events of the night.

The Obamas first hit the Commander in Chief ball, held like the others in the vast Washington Convention Center, where the nation also got a first glimpse of The DRESS! Mrs. Obama again chose designer Jason Wu, this time a custom ruby-colored halter dress of chiffon and velvet that accentuated her bare shoulders and arms. And if she looked more ethereal four years ago in a frilly white Wu gown, this time she looked hipper especially with her new, much-discussed bangs. (The hairdo was described earlier by her husband as the most significant event of Inauguration Weekend.)

The first couple and the second, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill took a spin on the floor with selected members of the military. And the Obamas danced romantically to "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, sung here by Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson, whispering and laughing as they spun.

Meanwhile, the huge crowd at the downstairs official ball had its own entertainment. First up was Alicia Keys, who, like most of the celebrities on hand, made no secret of her affection for Obama. "Obama's on fire!" she sang, changing the lyrics of her hit song. "He's the president, and he's on fire."

Equally effusive was "Glee" actor Darren Criss, who attended the ball and had performed over the weekend at the Kids' Inaugural Concert. "I think the tagline of this weekend is that if there's anything cooler than electing the first African-American president, it's re-electing him," Criss said in an interview.

The entertainment also included the Mexican band Mana and country singer Brad Paisley, who joked that Americans have a democracy that's the envy of the world, so we celebrate by "getting drunk in a huge convention center." The audience milled around, buying drinks at the cash bar and bemoaning the skimpy snacks until the popular, Grammy-nominated band fun. came on, with lead singer Nate Ruess' energetic vocals inspiring much of the crowd to sing their anthem "We Are Young" even if they weren't.

Albert Wilkerson is 74, to be precise, but he was enjoying the evening immensely, he said, despite the noise, the crowds, the cash bar and food that consisted of pretzels and snack mix, $150 tickets notwithstanding.

"I like being here," said Wilkerson, who came from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. "I feel like a true American."

Caitlin Kelly wasn't quite so forgiving. "You diet for weeks to get into a dress, and then they give you pretzels?" asked Kelly, 28, of New York. "I'm gonna get tipsy fast."

It was a three-generation affair for the Sawtelle family, meanwhile, with grandmother Anna Kristina Sawtelle, 76, from Ogunquit, Maine, by way of Sweden, attending the main ball by wheelchair. Sawtelle's extended family traveled from Sweden to see the event, with her 12-year-old U.S.-born grandson a Boy Scout from Troop 698 of Burke, Va. serving as volunteer security for the parade.

"I am proud my grandson guarded the president,'" she said.

The Obamas soon came down and repeated their dance with Hudson, to huge cheers from the crowd and too many cellphone photos to count. After one more appearance at the third venue, the Obamas went home. But Stevie Wonder took the stage, his familiar hits "My Cherie Amour," ''Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and more luring a few brave souls to dance.

Over at the Harman Center for the Arts, meanwhile, there was a hipper vibe, with a big bash thrown by the Creative Coalition, an arts advocacy organization, featuring a full concert by the rock band the Goo Goo Dolls. There, everyone was up and dancing in their theater seats by the second song. At yet another venue, the 9:30 club, pop singer Ke$ha was performing, and praising Obama's speech. "I really appreciate him addressing equal rights" for gays, said Ke$ha. "It's an issue very close to my heart."

A slew of celebrities had also watched Obama's swearing-in earlier in the day. Katy Perry showed up in a chic orange coat and wide-brimmed hat. She sat next to singer/guitarist John Mayer. Up on the podium, folk icon James Taylor sang "America the Beautiful," and Kelly Clarkson performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

But the biggest attraction? Ask Jada Mason, age 8, from Tulsa, Okla. "I got to see the president AND Beyonce!" she beamed, when asked her favorite moment of the day. (Beyonce sang the national anthem.) Jada's family had taken a road trip from Tulsa in a 12-passenger van nine family members, and three generations to attend the inauguration. Just try telling their mother, Mattece, that this inauguration was less powerful than Obama's first.

"It was just momentous," said Mason, who is African-American. "More important than the first. Because it was based on his credentials, you know? Not someone giving us a chance because it was time to give us a chance."

Amber M. Whittington feels the same way. "This is a validation of our electing the first black president," she said, explaining why she felt the day was so important. "It wasn't a fluke."

And so, when a little boy started complaining about the cold early in the morning, the 26-year-old volunteer, who was waving people through a gate, knew just what to say.

"You will be very grateful to your parents one day," she told the boy. "This is history. You will realize that soon."

"It's worth it."

___

Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Kimberly Dozier, Josh Lederman and Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.

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PARIS (Reuters) - A cloud of harmless gas smelling of sweat and rotten eggs leaked out of a chemicals factory in northwest France and wafted across the English Channel as far as London on Tuesday.

The leak occurred on Monday morning at a Lubrizol France plant near Rouen, 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Paris, and winds blew the invisible gas cloud south over northern France on Monday night and then up into England on Tuesday.

The fire brigade in the county of Kent, southeast of London, warned residents to keep their doors and windows closed due to a gas cloud it believed had come from France and London police said it had reports of an acrid smell in southeast London.

Lubrizol France, which makes additives for industrial lubricants and paint, said the gas was mercaptan, also known as methanethiol, a colorless additive used in natural gas because its sulphurous smell enables gas leaks to be detected.

Internal operations director Pierre-Jean Payrouse said the company was battling to plug the leak, as the cloud spread over some 350 km (220 miles), but said it might take until the evening. The cause of the leak was still unknown.

"It's not so much a leak as a product that has decomposed, which smells very bad and which is escaping," Payrouse told RTL radio. "An investigation is under way (into what happened) but our priority is to deal with the problem."

The gas, which is non-toxic but is flammable in strong concentrations, prompted a flood of phone calls to emergency services in France in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Paris police department issued a statement saying the gas posed no health risks but warned that it smelled like a mixture of "sweat, garlic and rotten eggs".

A French Cup soccer match between Rouen and Olympique Marseille had to be postponed because of the stink, the French federation said.

A local news website said the gas had caused migraines, irritations and nausea among some residents of Rouen.

Britain's National Grid, which receives emergency phone calls when people smell gas, said it was experiencing a large volume of calls, as did smaller gas providers across southeast England.

London's Metropolitan Police tweeted: "We are aware of reports of a strong, noxious, gas-like smell in some South East London boroughs. No risks to public."

Ohio-based Lubrizol, founded in 1928 and part of U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc since 2011, has production facilities in some 19 countries.

Payrouse said the last time the company had experienced a similar incident was in the late 1980s.

(Reporting by Catherine Bremer, Geert de Clercq and Julien Pretot in Paris, Karolin Schaps and Stephen Addison in London; Writing by Catherine Bremer; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Amid all the pomp and circumstance of inauguration weekend, Vice President Joe Biden showed a few of his 2016 cards as he mingled with some constituencies that would be key if he decides to run for president.

On Saturday, Biden attended the State Society of Iowa "First in the National Celebration" where he slipped up and referred to himself as the president instead of as the V.P.

"I'm proud to be president of the United States, but I am prouder to be " Biden said as the crowd started to laugh and cheer. "I'm proud to be vice president of the United States but I am prouder to be Barack Obama, President Barack Obama's vice president."

It wasn't just the state of Iowa that he seemed to be courting. For his official swearing in at the Naval Observatory on Sunday, Biden invited members of two other early primary states - New Hampshire and South Carolina. Newly elected Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and other New Hampshire officials attended, and according to a pool report, and a seat at the ceremony was reserved for South Carolina Democratic Party chair Dick Harpootlian.

And who did the vice president select to swear him in for a second term? Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was the third woman and first Hispanic to ever issue the oath. On Sunday evening, the wooing of Hispanics continued when he made a surprise stop at the Latino Inaugural Gala.

"One thing that happened this election, you spoke, you spoke in a way that the world - and I mean the world as well as the United States - could not fail to hear," Biden said there. "The fact that the Hispanic and Latino community in this country was such a decisive voice in turning out in this election was noticed by the whole hemisphere .I think you underestimate your power. I think you underestimate what you've done for America and what you're about to do."

Then came Biden's jaunt through the Inaugural parade Monday when the vice president hammed it up with the crowd as he jogged up and down and zigzagged across the parade route, giving hugs and handshakes to supporters, wearing his penchant for retail politics on his sleeve.

So Biden left plenty of 2016 tea leaves to read as he heads into his second term as President Obama's number two.

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc has hired two senior engineers with experience at Qualcomm Inc and Apple Inc, its latest high-level recruitments as it diversifies beyond a slowing personal computer industry, sources close to the chipmaker said.

Charles Matar, with expertise in low-power and embedded chip design, joined as AMD's vice president of System-on-Chip Development, two sources said. Matar most recently worked at Qualcomm.

Wayne Meretsky, who has worked at Apple on processors used in the iPad and iPhone, was named vice president, software IP development, they said. Meretsky will lead software developments for AMD's chips.

AMD spokesman Drew Prairie also confirmed that AMD hired the two engineers to help the chipmaker expand into new markets, but he did not provide details.

AMD depends on the PC industry for about 80 percent of its revenue. With sales in that business falling due to a growing preference for smartphones and tablets, the company is rushing to expand into new markets for its chip processors and graphics technology.

One of Silicon Valley's oldest chipmakers, AMD has experienced major changes in its lineup of executives and senior engineers since Chief Executive Rory Read moved over from PC maker Lenovo in 2011 promising to make the struggling chipmaker more efficient.

In October, AMD announced it was laying off 15 percent of its workforce, its second round of job cuts in less than a year.

Matar and Meretsky both worked at AMD earlier in their careers. Their return follows chip guru Jim Keller, who joined AMD as chief architect in August last year.

Keller was previously a director at Apple in charge of designing mobile processors used in the iPad and iPhone.

Sunnyvale, California-based AMD hopes to increase sales in markets such as communications, microservers, digital signs and stripped down "thin client" computers. It wants those non-PC markets to account for as much as 50 percent of its revenue within three or four years.

Matar will focus on designing SoCs, or "system on a chips", which integrate several features found on a computer into a single piece of silicon. The technology is widely used in smartphones, tablets and embedded devices.

The chipmaker plans to ship a new low power processor, codenamed Temash, for tablets and hybrid laptops running Microsoft's Windows 8 platform in the first half of this year.

Its Kabini laptop processor, also planned for early 2013, will have 50 percent better performance than its predecessor, according to AMD.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich and Richard Chang)

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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Sebastian Junger wishes his latest Sundance Film Festival documentary never had to be made.

It's been a bittersweet return for Junger at Sundance, where his war chronicle "Restrepo" won the top documentary prize three years ago.

Junger's back with "Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington," a portrait of his "Restrepo" co-director, who was killed covering fighting in Libya in April 2011. The film debuts April 18 on HBO.

Junger and producer James Brabazon, a long-time colleague with whom Hetherington covered combat in Liberia, were glad to share the film with Sundance audiences but uneasy coming to a festival that's billed as a celebration of film.

"It's an odd feeling. James and I are maybe the only filmmakers in the town who are in some ways quite sad our film exists," Junger said in an interview alongside Brabazon. "But it's also our opportunity to sort of communicate how extraordinary our good friend Tim Hetherington was.

"So I'm walking around, I'm seeing restaurants and street corners where Tim and I had conversations. I'm sort of flashing back. Yeah, it's a very kind of poignant experience."

A portrait of a U.S. platoon in Afghanistan, "Restrepo" earned an Academy Award nomination for best documentary. Six weeks after attending the Oscars, Hetherington was killed by shrapnel from a mortar round.

"Which Way Is the Front Line" chronicles Hetherington's early life in Great Britain, where he studied photography and first went overseas in 1999 to cover young soccer players in Liberia. In 2003, he returned there with veteran war photojournalist Brabazon to cover rebels trying to overthrow President Charles Taylor.

In 2007, Junger, author of the best-seller "The Perfect Storm," enlisted Hetherington to shoot photos and video for "Restrepo." The two spent a year filming a platoon in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous war zones, capturing both the boredom of waiting around for the fighting and tragedy as U.S. soldiers lost close friends in combat.

Hetherington was not the usual objective, fly-on-the-wall photojournalist. The new film reveals him as a chronicler of combat but also a humanitarian who engaged with his subjects and put his own life at risk to help them.

Brabazon recounts a day in Liberia when a doctor treating rebels was accused of being a government spy. A rebel leader dragged the man away at gunpoint, and Brabazon, who already had witnessed executions in Liberia, was convinced he was about to shoot video of another.

Hetherington was shooting video right next to him and stepped in to grab the gun hand of the rebel leader. He talked the man down, telling him not to shoot the doctor because he was the only medic the rebels had to tend their wounded.

"That for me more than anything demonstrated Tim's courage, bravery and central humanity," Brabazon said. "That wasn't another picture or part of the story for him. That was something that he needed to involve himself in as a human being with a very specific and concrete outcome. That person survived and was able to continue treating the wounded. That's how Tim saw war."

Hetherington had talked about leaving combat coverage behind, starting a family and settling down in a less-dangerous lifestyle. Though Hetherington had called Libya his last trip to a war zone, Junger and Brabazon said they're not sure he would have followed through and given up the front lines despite new opportunities that "Restrepo" had opened for him.

Junger and Hetherington had enjoyed the glitz of the Oscars, but they definitely felt out of place.

"If you're in the Hollywood world, the red carpet is in some ways, it's a savage sort of competition for attention," Junger said. "It's their combat zone, and we were just visiting it. ... We're kind of going to the zoo and seeing the pretty animals in some sense."

Hetherington enjoyed it and was bemused by all the attention, Junger said. Yet throughout Oscar season, the Arab Spring revolts were erupting in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in Middle East. Hetherington and Junger kept telling each other they should be there rather than parading around Hollywood in tuxedos.

Soon after, Hetherington was there, back on the front lines.

"He is probably the only person who's managed to do this. He went from the red carpet at the Oscars to dead in a war zone in six weeks," Junger said. "People who make films that go to the Oscars usually don't get killed in war zones, and people who go to war zones aren't often on the red carpet. And he managed to do both."

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was one of the biggest questions of Monday's inaugural celebrations: not what would President Barack Obama say, but what would his wife, Michelle Obama, wear?

The first lady cemented her reputation as an international style trend-setter with her choice of a Jason Wu red sleeveless ball gown in the evening, and a striking business-style blue navy coat and dress for the ceremonial daytime events.

It was a huge win for U.S. designer Wu making one of his ball gowns her choice for a second straight inauguration.

The first lady appeared for her first dance of the night with the president at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball for U.S. service members in a ruby-colored chiffon and full-length velvet gown custom made by the New York-based designer.

Her shoes were from the London-based Malaysian-Chinese designer Jimmy Choo, and she wore a diamond-embellished ring handmade by jeweler Kimberly McDonald of New York.

Michelle Obama helped make Wu a household name by choosing a white chiffon gown he designed for the balls celebrating her husband's first inauguration in 2009. Wu, now 30, has since had significant commercial success, but his creations in the two inaugurations has won him a place in U.S. fashion history.

Dressing the first lady, a Harvard-trained lawyer known for her style, can be a huge boost for a fashion designer or retail chain.

Praised for wearing high-end designers as well as pieces from mass-market stores, the first lady has won over fashion critics in her four years in the White House.

"Icon's a big word and it sometimes gets over used, but I think if we're going to use it, we can use it now," said Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, adding, "What makes her a real icon is the work that she does and the woman that she is."

Dresses, sweaters, shoes and belts she has worn have sold out at retailers from designer showrooms to mass market chains including Gap Inc., J. Crew and Target Corp., for which Wu has designed low-priced fashions.

Earlier on Monday, the first lady wore a navy coat and dress by designer Thom Browne, inspired by the fabric of a man's silk tie.

Her belt and gloves were from J.Crew, a chain that is a fixture in U.S. shopping malls; the necklace and earrings were designed by Cathy Waterman. The suede boots were by Reed Krakoff, as was the short blue cardigan she wore to a celebratory lunch in the Capitol.

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Best known for men's clothing, Browne boasts a string of design awards, most recently, a prestigious National Design Award for fashion from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution.

"She likes well-tailored clothes, so the inspiration was doing something that looked tailored and structured and fitted through the body and somewhat A-line for the skirt and the dress," Browne told the Los Angeles Times.

Style mavens credit the 49-year-old first lady with changing the way American women put together their outfits, and, by patronizing U.S. designers, bolstering a multibillion-dollar industry.

A 2010 study from New York University's Stern School of Business found that a single appearance by the first lady can generate $14 million in value for a company.

Famed for her toned arms, Obama set a trend for sleeveless tops. Her cardigans and belted dresses have prompted many working women to switch from blazers and suits in the workplace.

"Michelle looks good however, wherever, whatever she does. Michelle looks good in her sleeping gown," said Sharon Johnson, a therapist who came from Baltimore to watch the inauguration, and joked that she is still looking for the green leather gloves Obama wore on Inauguration Day four years ago.

"Her beauty is so far inside, and shines so far outside," Johnson said.

When Michelle Obama held the Bible for her husband during his official swearing-in on Sunday, she wore a dark blue dress by Reed Krakoff, the creative director for the Coach leather goods company, who has become a fashion designer.

On Sunday night, she wore a sleeveless black sequined dress by Michael Kors to an inaugural reception for supporters.

At that reception, President Obama weighed in on what he termed the most "significant" event of the inaugural weekend, his wife's hotly discussed new hairstyle.

"I love her bangs," Obama said. "She looks good. She always looks good."

Interest in Michelle Obama's clothing has extended to the outfits worn by her two daughters. On Monday, the White House said Malia, 14, was wearing a J.Crew ensemble and Sasha, 11, wore a Kate Spade coat and dress.

Obama is a far bigger influence on U.S. fashion than most of her predecessors. Laura Bush favored suits by Oscar de la Renta and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, is best known for wearing a range of brightly colored pants suits.

Even stylish Jackie Kennedy wore mostly European designers.

Obama's fashion choices have not always been applauded. Some Americans were angry when she wore a red gown from a British label - Alexander McQueen - to a 2011 state dinner for China's president.

Kolb dismissed such concerns, noting that fashion is a global business and that U.S. designers are thrilled when, for example, Kate Middleton, the wife of Britain's Prince of Wales, wears their clothing.

"At the end of the day, we get up in the morning and we look in our closet and we have to feel good about what we put on," he said.

At the end of the inaugural festivities, Michelle Obama's outfits and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Alistair Bell and Christopher Wilson)

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(Reuters) - Sony Corp's Sony Mobile Communications Inc said it will sell the new version of its Xperia tablet in Japan this spring, the Nikkei reported, citing Kyodo News.

The Xperia Tablet Z, whose price has not been announced, has a 10.1-inch display, is 6.9 mm thin and weighs 495 grams, according to the company's website.

Rival Google Inc's Nexus 10 tablet is 8.9 mm thick, while Apple Inc's iPad mini measures 7.9 mm.

Sony halted sales of Xperia in October, a month after launch, after discovering gaps between the screen and the case that made some of the machines susceptible to water damage.

The Nikkei reported on Sunday that Japanese smartphone makers seem to be regaining some market share they lost to companies like Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.

(Reporting by Krithika Krishnamurthy in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

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NEW YORK (AP) The second inauguration of President Barack Obama gave television networks a chance to bask in the majesty of a Washington event that unites Americans of all beliefs and ideologies at least for a moment.

Then it was back to business as usual: the dissemination of widely divergent views on what people had just seen for themselves.

ABC, CBS and NBC, along with the cable news networks, cast aside regular programming on Monday to carry the ceremonial swearing-in and Obama's inaugural address. It didn't carry the same sense of history that Obama's first inauguration did. In 2009, even ESPN and MTV covered the swearing-in. This year, ESPN stuck to talk about the upcoming Super Bowl, and MTV aired "Catfish: The TV Show."

Until the ceremony actually began, the networks were all challenged with the television equivalent of vamping for time. On MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell interviewed singer John Legend, who noted that one of his songs was on Obama's Spotify playlist. NBC discussed first lady Michelle Obama's new hairstyle.

"Well, what else are we going to talk about?" anchor Brian Williams said apologetically.

Obama's inaugural address lasted about 18 minutes, seemingly only slightly longer than the inaugural poem and definitely shorter than the evaluations of on-air pundits paid to dissect it.

CBS veteran Washington hand Bob Schieffer, sifting through a transcript of Obama's speech after it was delivered, said he "didn't hear a line that kind of sums it all up." His colleague, Scott Pelley, called it a civil rights speech and noted Obama's citation of key moments in fights for equality among black Americans, women and gays.

"I felt during much of the speech, I felt like I was listening to a Democratic Ronald Reagan," said ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl. "Where Reagan was unabashedly conservative, Obama was unabashedly progressive."

While Karl's colleague, conservative commentator George Will, said too much of the speech reprised campaign themes, he found links in language used by Obama and inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

On CNN, historian and Obama biographer David Marannis said Obama's address was much more positive and active than his first inaugural speech four years ago. "I could feel his heart beating this time," he said.

Chris Matthews said on MSNBC that parts of the speech were "going to drive the right crazy." A click away on the TV remote at Fox News Channel, analyst Charles Krauthammer was proving it.

"I found this sort of unrelenting," Krauthammer said. "You get a sense of a man who said, 'Alright, I've won my second election. I never have to face the electorate again. I'm going to be who I want to be, and I'm going to change the ideological trajectory of this country. That's my job, and that's why I'm here historically.'"

Fox's Brit Hume drew a joking rebuke from a colleague when the camera showed a picture of Beyonce, and he said, "She looks stunning, doesn't she?"

"Watch out," Chris Wallace quickly said. "Brent Musburger got in trouble for that, my friend." After the recent college football national championship, ESPN announcer Musburger was scolded by his bosses for lingering on the beauty of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron's girlfriend, the 2012 Miss Alabama USA.

Beyonce "is an incredibly beautiful woman, and there's nothing wrong with pointing it out," Fox's Megyn Kelly said.

When the inauguration festivities moved indoors and cameras panned over politicians circling through the crowd, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow struck a note that a regular cable news viewer might question as too hopeful.

"I think the ceremony is cool, and the usual celebration is cool," she said. "It is also really nice to see Republicans and Democrats, and liberals and conservatives, chatting very casually with each other without talking politics."

As she spoke, the cameras focused on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts smiling but standing alone.

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TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Research In Motion surged to a 13-month high on Monday after its chief executive said the company may consider strategic alliances with other companies after the launch of devices powered by RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

In an interview with a German newspaper on Monday, Thorsten Heins, the chief executive, said RIM's ongoing review could potentially lead to the sale of its handset business or the licensing of its software to rival smartphone companies.

"The main thing for now is to successfully introduce Blackberry 10. Then we'll see," Heins was reported as saying.

The company, set to launch its new line of devices on January 30, played down the significance of the comments, saying that Heins's comments were in line with his prior statements.

"We do not have anything new to report on our strategic review at this time," said RIM spokesman Nick Manning.

The comments sent RIM's Toronto-listed shares up as much as 17.6 percent, with the shares up 15.3 percent at C$18.12 at 1400 ET. The company's typically more-active Nasdaq-listed shares were not being traded on Monday because U.S. financial markets were closed for a public holiday.

RIM announced a far-reaching strategic review last May in which it was widely expected to examine all options, from software licensing deals to an outright sale of the company.

The company virtually invented mobile email with its first BlackBerry devices more than a decade ago, but its market share has evaporated as consumers have flocked to Apple Inc's iPhone and devices based on Google's Android operating system. RIM now hopes its revamped line of touchscreen and keyboard devices will help it win back market share.

RIM shares are down almost 90 percent from an all-time high of over C$150 in 2008, but the stock has rallied in the last four months as the launch of the BlackBerry 10 devices nears. Its shares have nearly tripled in value since dipping as low as C$6.10 in late September.

The stock rose more than 6 percent on Friday alone, after an influential analyst raised his rating on the company and said that the BlackBerry 10 operating system performed as well or better than rivals in recent tests.

Byron Capital analyst Tom Astle on Monday raised his price target on RIM shares to C$18 from C$14.

"There are several emerging datapoints that suggest this may be a more successful product cycle than many expected," said Astle in a note to clients.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Frank McGurty and Leslie Adler)

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RENO, Nev. (AP) Long before Hostess Brands' plan to shut down made Twinkies the rage, Nancy Peppin found something special about the cream-filled snack cakes.

No, she doesn't have a sweet tooth for them.

But she has featured Twinkies in hundreds of pieces of quirky, satirical artwork because of an obsession with what she calls the "ultimate American food icon."

The prolific Reno artist says she was first influenced to focus on Twinkies in 1975 by Andy Warhol, who demonstrated that even a Campbell's soup can could be an object of art.

"He showed you a new way of looking at a familiar object," said Peppin, who has sold and exhibited her artwork. "That's what I'm doing with Twinkies. I'm having people look at Twinkies in a brand new way and in an entertaining way."

Shortly after Hostess Brands Inc. announced plans to go out of business last year, Peppin was among those who joined the rush to stores to fill shopping carts with boxes of the spongy cakes.

But unlike others, she didn't buy 12 boxes with 10 Twinkies each to turn a profit on eBay or Craigslist.

"I needed art supplies," said Peppin, who uses Twinkies and their packaging to create some of her pieces. She also features renderings of the snack cakes in watercolor paintings, mixed media, prints and artwork.

Her works include her "Twinkies in history series," which portrays how scientists such as John James Audubon, Charles Darwin and Leonardo da Vinci would have sketched and written about Twinkies in journals or books.

Peppin, an Oakland, Calif., native who earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1966, conducted extensive research to make the series seem as authentic as possible.

Her Audubon series on the "North American Twinkie (twinkopus hostus)" includes illustrations of three "important subspecies Cream-bellied Twinkie, Strawberry-throated Twinkie, Golden-backed Twinkie" as well as writings describing the "birds" and explaining their migration patterns.

"Twinkies radiate out from the spring St. Louis breeding area to the summer nesting habitats throughout the world. Populations are heaviest in the North American 7-11 meridian," she wrote. St. Louis and 7-Eleven stores both share a long history with Hostess and its brands.

She updated the Audubon series after Hostess shut down operations in November: "It went from being the most popular snack cake in the world to sudden extinction due to consumption by raptors capitalist vultures (cathartes wallstreetidae)."

Her painting titled "The Last Snack" is a takeoff of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" featuring Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and other Hostess products at a table with the same arrangement and background as da Vinci's classic.

Her parody of a "girly" calendar from an auto body shop features a partially undressed "Miss Twinkie" standing next to her Harley.

The artwork reflects the offbeat sense of humor of a woman who by day creates special effects animation for Reno-based International Game Technology, one of the world's largest slot machine makers.

Steven High, executive director of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla., said he finds Peppin's artwork and use of Twinkies as a metaphor to explore various subjects clever, humorous and imaginative.

"In some ways, she takes this kind of silly item and treats it as a cultural artifact and imagines it as a subject of scientific studies," he said. "She's an excellent illustrator and the way she pulls these (works) together is amazing. They're fascinating and draw you in, even though the subject matter is unusual."

Peppin foresees no end to her obsession. With many potential buyers lined up for Hostess brands, she says, Twinkies will survive into the future.

Hostess is expected to announce a bidder for Twinkies and its other snack cakes this month. Other interested parties will be able to make competing offers once the top bid is announced.

"It'll become a mutation of the species, but it'll perpetuate the species," Peppin said. "There are all sorts of history applications that I haven't exhausted like Twinkies being found in the ruins at Pompeii."

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LONDON (Reuters) - Violinist Vanessa-Mae has put music on hold for a year and is rehearsing for a new role - skiing for Thailand at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February 2014.

Vanessa-Mae, 34, is in training with the aim of competing in at least five internationally recognized events to qualify for the giant slalom and possibly the slalom at the Sochi Olympics.

"People are surprised when they see me skiing - a classical violinist, Oriental, who has lived in the city all her life," Vanessa-Mae told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"But it has been my dream to be a ski bum since I was 14. This is something I am determined to do."

The violinist is a British citizen but she also holds a Thai passport. She was born in Singapore to a Chinese mother and a Thai father but she was brought up in England when her mother remarried a Briton.

Vanessa-Mae, whose full name is Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, would be only the second Thai to compete at a Winter Olympics if she qualified. Academic Prawat Nagvajara represented Thailand in cross-country skiing at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.

"I wanted to compete for Thailand because there is a part of me which I have never celebrated -- being Thai," said Vanessa-Mae. "My father, like most Thais, has never skied but he's really excited about me doing this as is the Thai Olympic Committee."

Vanessa-Mae started skiing at the age of 4 but music has always been her priority. She made her international professional debut aged 10 and made her mark on the world stage when she broke from tradition and became known for her sexy, glamorous style and for mixing classical music with pop.

Her first techno pop-style album, "The Violin Player," was released in 1995 and reached No. 11 in the UK albums chart and she has not stop touring since, although she has not released a new album since 2004.

SECOND PASSION

Vanessa-Mae said she had always wanted to spend more time on her other passion, skiing, so moved to the Swiss alpine resort of Zermatt in 2009 where she is now in training for the Olympics. She hopes to compete in her first event by April.

International Ski Federation spokeswoman Riikka Rakic said Vanessa-Mae was one of five actively registered Thai athletes so she has a license to compete for Thailand but she needs a minimum of five starts in FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) competitions and certain points to qualify for the Olympics.

"She has a full year to quality and there are many events so there are plenty of options still," said Rakic.

A National Olympic Committee of Thailand spokesman said Vanessa-Mae would be welcome to race for Thailand if she qualified. So far no Thai athlete has qualified for Sochi.

Vanessa-Mae said she knew it would be tough to make the Olympics but she had given herself a year sabbatical from music to do this -- and always worked better with a deadline.

"When it comes to music I am a perfectionist but when it is skiing, I have no delusions about a podium or even being in the top 100 in the world," she said.

"Of course there is a risk that I could break something but life is short and you have to go for it. Just to qualify for the Olympics in my hobby would be a dream come true for me."

Once Sochi is over, she intends to return to music.

"It's time for a new album but doing this will give me a new perspective. Living my dream of being a ski bum is great but the best job in the world is being on stage, making music," she said.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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WASHINGTON (AP) Poet Richard Blanco has delivered an inaugural poem paying homage to the American experience.

Blanco, at age 44 the youngest ever inaugural poet, recited a poem that painted vivid scenes about America and included reflections on his experience growing up as Cuban exile in New York City and Miami.

His poem, "One Today," reflected on common American experiences, reciting: "My face, your face, millions of faces in morning's mirrors, each one yawning to life."

Blanco was born in Spain but moved to the United States with his parents. He was an engineer before he took up poetry. Blanco is the first Hispanic and the first openly gay person to serve in the role of inaugural poet.

He has published three books of poetry while maintaining his career as an engineer.

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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Despite equal representation of male and female filmmakers at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a new study shows there has been little change in the number of women working as directors and producers at the independent-film showcase over the past decade.

But women still fare better behind the camera in independent film than in studio productions.

The Sundance Institute and Women in Film commissioned the study last year and announced the results Monday in Park City, Utah.

Researchers at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism examined gender disparity in American narrative and documentary films shown at Sundance from 2002 to 2012.

Study director Stacy L. Smith and her team assessed the gender of more than 11,000 directors, writers, producers, cinematographers and editors of the 820 narrative and documentary films shown over this period and found that women represent less than one-third of those filmmakers.

"There has been no sustained or meaningful change across the last 11 years in the percentage of directors or producers at the Sundance Film Festival," Smith said.

There are more women working in documentary films than narrative films, but Smith said the research finds that "as commerce moves in, females move out."

The study found that female directors comprise a norm of 22.2 percent of narrative competition films and 14.5 percent of premieres and other non-competition films at Sundance over the past 11 years. During the same period, female directors made up only 4.4 percent of the top-grossing Hollywood films, a ratio of more than 15 male directors for every female. Of those women, though, more than 40 percent had come through the filmmaking programs of the Sundance Institute.

Women and men participate in the institute's programs in almost equal number, Smith said.

Female filmmakers find more equal representation in the documentary sphere, comprising nearly half of those represented at Sundance from 2002 to 2012.

Finally, the study found that films directed by women employ greater numbers of women behind the camera than those made by men.

The Sundance Institute and Women in Film aim to use the results of this study to create mentoring and support programs to increase the number of women working behind the camera in American filmmaking.

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is tweeting from the Sundance Film Festival: www.twitter.com/APSandy.

Online: www.sundance.org , www.wif.org

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WASHINGTON (AP) The first family headed out to Monday's inaugural festivities with Michelle Obama leading a very coordinated fashion parade in a navy-silk, checkered-patterned coat and dress by Thom Browne that were inspired by a menswear necktie.

The outfit was specifically designed for Mrs. Obama, but Browne said he wasn't 100 percent sure she was going to wear it until she came out with it on at Inauguration. "I am proud and humbled," he said.

The rest of Mrs. Obama's Inauguration Day outfit included a belt from J. Crew, necklace by Cathy Waterman and a cardigan by Reed Krakoff, whose ensemble she also wore to yesterday's intimate, indoor swearing-in ceremony.

President Barack Obama wore a blue tie with his white shirt, dark suit and overcoat. Malia Obama had on a plum-colored J. Crew coat with the hemline of an electric-blue dress peeking out and a burgundy-colored scarf, and her younger sister Sasha had on a Kate Spade coat and dress in a similar purple shade.

"It is an honor that Sasha Obama chose to wear Kate Spade New York," said the company's creative director, Deborah Lloyd, in an email to the Associated Press. "She epitomizes the youthful optimism and colorful spirit of the brand. We are so proud to have been a part of this historic moment."

Jenna Lyons, creative director of J. Crew, said it was "a huge point of pride for all of us" to be a part of the day as the brand was back in 2009 when the girls wore outfits by CrewCuts, its children's label.

"It's amazing to see the evolution of the family. I love the way Michelle looks. She looks beautiful in something so clean and tailored. It's such an elegant choice," Lyons said, "and they all look so sophisticated! You can see how the girls have grown up in the four years, and they're still so alive and vibrant, but more sophisticated."

The vice president's wife, Jill Biden, wore a gray coat and dress by American designer Lela Rose.

Mrs. Obama has worn Browne's designs for other occasions, including a gray dress with black lace overlay to one of the presidential debates last fall, and she honored him last summer at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards for his contribution to fashion.

Browne made his name in modern very modern menswear, but he launched womenswear in 2011. He was in Paris on Monday, just finishing previews for his next menswear collection. The idea to use the tie fabric came to him because he was indeed designing these men's clothes at the same time, he explained.

"I wanted 'tailored' for her. For me, she stands for strength and confidence, and that's what I wanted to design for her," he said.

Simon Collins, dean of the school of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, said the Obamas dressed in their typical fashion: one that shows pride in their appearance.

"They are a stylish couple and their children look fabulous. Too many people get dressed in the dark," he said. "They show it's good to dress up, take pride in how you look. ... It's a wonderful example for America and the rest of the world."

He also noted that the Obamas seem to understand that the fashion industry is a driving force in the U.S. economy and that its lobby is a powerful one. They don't treat fashion frivolously, he observed.

The first lady "is so supportive of so many American designers," Browne noted.

But Collins said he was a bit surprised the public doesn't pay much attention to the president's wardrobe. He joked that Obama should perhaps try one of Browne's signature shrunken suits the ones that show a man's ankles.

At the end of the Inaugural festivities, Mrs. Obama's outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

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Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at (at)AP_Fashion, and can be reached on Twitter at (at)Sam_Critchell.

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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Daniel Radcliffe doesn't mind hearing that schoolgirls were staking him out at the Sundance Film Festival, hoping for a Harry Potter sighting.

In fact, Radcliffe is happy if his Potter fame conjures up interest for what he wants to do with the rest of his career, such as his bold turn as young gay poet Allen Ginsberg in the Sundance premiere "Kill Your Darlings."

Radcliffe goes nude for an explicit sex scene with another man, makes out with co-star Dane DeHaan and also appears in another sex scene with a clerk in a library while DeHaan's character looks on.

As with his Broadway debut in "Equus," which also featured a nude scene, Radcliffe said his celebrity from the boy wizard franchise might draw in fans who would not have seen a film such as "Kill Your Darlings."

"I don't care why people come and see films. If they come and see a film about the beat poets because they saw me in 'Harry Potter,' fantastic. That's a wonderful thing," Radcliffe said in an interview alongside DeHaan. "I feel like I have an opportunity to capitalize on 'Potter' by doing work that might not otherwise get attention. If I can help get a film like this attention, that's without doubt, that's a great thing."

"Kill Your Darlings" recounts a little-known chapter in the life of Ginsberg, who met Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) at Columbia University during World War II.

DeHaan plays Ginsberg's early idol and infatuation Lucien Carr, whose relationship with an obsessive older man (Michael C. Hall) involves the future beat-generation icons in a seamy murder case.

In the course of the film, Ginsberg comes to embrace his homosexuality. Hall said he hopes "Harry Potter" fans can come to embrace Radcliffe in the role and "expand their definition of what a magic wand might be."

"Kill Your Darlings" director John Krokidas said Radcliffe hurled himself into the role and treated the nudity and gay love scenes as just another part of the job, with no qualms or anxiety.

"None! None! None!" said Krokidas, who is gay and so became Radcliffe's coach in same-sex love-making.

"Radcliffe simply asked, 'John, you're gay. How does this work?'" Krokidas said. "I'm not kidding. And so perhaps there was a little dry run-through oh, she's going to kill me with me and the director of photography Reed Morano.

"I might have done it on purpose to make everyone laugh, too, but I also wanted to make sure that we got it right. And other films that have depicted certain moments of sexuality like this, it doesn't happen that way. And at least for cinematic history, I wanted to get that moment right. But Dan watched, observed, found his own connection like he did any other scene and dove right into it."

"Kill Your Darlings" premiered Friday afternoon at Sundance's main theater, which is adjacent to a high school where classes were just letting out for the day. A group of teenage girls rushed from the school to the back of the theater, trying to determine where Radcliffe and his co-stars would be coming in and out.

Some stars grow to resent that sort of fan attention resulting from past roles, feeling it overshadows the work they're doing now. So far, Radcliffe seems to see nothing but good things coming out of "Harry Potter."

"There was a generation of people who maybe wouldn't have gone to see a production of 'Equus,' had I not been in it, that came to see 'Equus,'" Radcliffe said. "Even if they came for the wrong reasons, you know, we got them there, and they stayed, and they watched. And they stayed for the right reasons."

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MILAN (Reuters) - Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi will not face a verdict in a trial where he is charged with paying for sex with a juvenile prostitute until after elections next month, according to a decision by judges that could help his political comeback.

A new timetable of hearings set by Milan judges on Monday shows the last session in the trial will be held on March 11, well after the February 24-25 elections.

The decision will be welcomed by Berlusconi, who had feared a verdict in the middle of his campaign for a fifth term in office. Milan judges last week rejected his request to have the trial suspended until after the elections.

Berlusconi, who has surged in opinion polls in recent weeks but still lags the centre-left Democratic Party, is charged with paying for sex with a minor, and denies all charges.

The judges on Monday again rejected a bid by Berlusconi's lawyers to have the trial halted.

The lawyers, Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo, justified their new request by saying they are both standing for Berlusconi's party in the Veneto region and would not be able to campaign if the trial went ahead.

Judge Giulia Turri said the argument was "too generic".

According to the new timetable, the prosecutor in the case is expected to make her final arguments and request Berlusconi's to be convicted on February 11.

Berlusconi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison but would not serve time unless he also lost the two appeals allowed by Italian law, usually a lengthy process.

The nightclub dancer at the centre of the case, 20 year-old Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, more widely known under her stage name "Ruby the Heartstealer", made a brief appearance in court last week.

Berlusconi is charged of paying for sex with her when she was under 18, which is a crime in Italy.

He is also accused of abusing the power of his office as prime minister to have her released from police custody when she was briefly held over separate theft allegations.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 28.

(Reporting By Manuela D'Alessandro, Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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WASHINGTON (AP) First Lady Michelle Obama is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress.

The fabric for the first lady's Inauguration Day attire was developed based on the style of a man's silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her necklace and earrings were designed by Cathy Waterman. She wore J.Crew shoes, and added J.crew gloves and Reed Krakoff boots for the outside ceremony.

Her daughter Malia is also wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.

At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the first lady's outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

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TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened higher on Monday, led by a 7 percent jump in Research In Motion Ltd shares on investor optimism ahead of the launch of its highly anticipated BlackBerry 10 devices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 18.17 points, or 0.14 percent, at 12,743.86 shortly after the open.

(Reporting by John Tilak Editing by W Simon)

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - A prank note in an Australian library declaring that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong's books would be moved to the fiction section has gone viral on the Internet, with one commentator declaring: "Hell hath no fury like a librarian".

"All Non-Fiction Lance Armstrong Books, including 'Lance Armstrong - Images of a Champion', 'The Lance Armstrong Performance Program and 'Lance Armstrong: World's Greatest Champion,' will soon be moved to the fiction section," read the sign posted at Sydney's Manly Library on Saturday.

A photograph of the sign posted on the Internet quickly sparked heated debate over whether Armstrong's fight against cancer and motivation of people outweighed his drug cheating in a sport rife with doping.

"As a cyclist the guy's work was inspiring, his foundation do amazing work and his story was great. ... You feel embarrassed for recommending his book to people, you stare at the books on the shelf questioning if the lessons and the inspiration is honest and real," said one commentator.

Manly Library said the printed notice, which was placed in a plastic stand on a bookshelf in the library, was a prank and that an internal review was underway.

"Libraries can't arbitrarily reclassify categories of books, because that depends on the ISBN number that is issued by the National Library," a spokesman at Manly Council, which runs the library, said on Monday.

(Reporting by Pauline Askin; Editing by Elaine Lies and Michael Perry)

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WASHINGTON (AP) Michelle Obama showed off her new bangs and a royal blue dress and cardigan by American designer Reed Krakoff at Sunday's swearing-in ceremony.

The first lady and daughter Malia matched President Barack Obama's blue suit, also complementing the Blue Room of the White House, where the small ceremony took place. Younger daughter Sasha, however, went her own way: She wore a lacy pink dress with a gold, wide-width, high-waisted belt a style her mother helped popularize and gold shoes.

It's not the first time Mrs. Obama chose a design by Krakoff. She previously has worn a gown and jacket by the designer, who also is the president and executive creative director of Coach, Inc. She has carried one of his tote bags, too.

Her hairdo, however, is a change and it has been the subject of online chatter since its debut on Thursday in a photo taken at the White House.

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SYDNEY (AP) Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launched a new file-sharing website that promises users greater privacy and defies the U.S. prosecutors who accuse him of facilitating massive online piracy.

The colorful entrepreneur unveiled the "Mega" site ahead of a lavish gala and news conference at his New Zealand mansion on Sunday night, the anniversary of his arrest on racketeering charges related to his now-shuttered Megaupload file-sharing site. The site Dotcom started in 2005 was one of the most popular sites on the Web until U.S. prosecutors shut it down and accused him and several company officials of facilitating millions of illegal downloads.

In Dotcom's typical grandiose style, the launch party featured a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the dramatic raid on his home a year earlier, when New Zealand police swooped down in helicopters onto the mansion grounds and nabbed him in a safe room where he was hiding.

"Mega is going to be huge, and nothing will stop Mega whoo!" a gleeful Dotcom bellowed from a giant stage set up in his yard, seconds before a helicopter roared overhead and faux police agents rappelled down the side of his mansion. Dotcom eventually ordered everyone to "stop this madness!" before breaking out into a dance alongside miniskirt-clad "guards" as music boomed.

Bravado aside, interest in the site was certainly high. Dotcom said half a million users registered for Mega in its first 14 hours.

U.S. authorities are trying to extradite the German-born Internet tycoon from New Zealand, where he is free on bail. Prosecutors say Dotcom made tens of millions of dollars while filmmakers and songwriters lost around $500 million in copyright revenue.

U.S. prosecutors declined to comment on the new site, referring only to a court document that cites several promises Dotcom made while seeking bail that he would not and could not start a Megaupload-style business until the criminal case was resolved.

"I can assure the Court that I have no intention and there is no risk of my reactivating the Megaupload.com website or establishing a similar Internet-based business during the period until the resolution of the extradition proceedings," Dotcom said in a Feb. 15, 2012, affidavit.

Dotcom argues that he can't be held responsible for copyright infringement committed by others and insists Megaupload complied with copyrights by removing links to pirated material when asked.

"Our company and assets were taken away from us without a hearing," Dotcom said. "The privacy of our users was intruded on, communications were taken offline and free speech was attacked. Let me be clear to those who use copyright law as a weapon to drown innovation and stifle competition: You will be left on the side of the road of history."

Mega, like Megaupload, allows users to store and share large files. It offers 50 gigabytes of free storage, much more than similar sites such as Dropbox and Google Drive, and features a drag-and-drop upload tool.

The key difference is an encryption and decryption feature for data transfers that Dotcom says will protect him from the legal drama that has entangled Megaupload and threatened to put him behind bars.

The decryption keys for uploaded files are held by the users, not Mega, which means the company can't see what's in the files being shared. Dotcom argues that Mega which bills itself as "the privacy company" therefore can't be held liable for content it cannot see.

"What he's trying to do is give himself a second-string argument: 'Even if I was wrong before, this one's all right because how can I control something if I don't know that it's there?'" said Sydney attorney Charles Alexander, who specializes in intellectual property law. "I can understand the argument; whether it would be successful or not is another matter."

To Dotcom, the concept is very simple.

"If someone sends something illegal in an envelope through your postal service," he says, "you don't shut down the post office."

The Motion Picture Association of America, which filed complaints about alleged copyright infringement by Megaupload, was not impressed.

"We are still reviewing how this new project will operate, but we do know that Kim Dotcom has built his career and his fortune on stealing creative works," the MPAA said in a statement. "We'll reserve final judgment until we have a chance to take a closer look, but given Kim Dotcom's history of damaging the consumer experience by pushing stolen, illegitimate content into the marketplace, count us as skeptical."

Still, as much as Dotcom's new venture might enrage prosecutors and entertainment executives, it shouldn't have any impact on the Megaupload case.

"All it might do is annoy them enough to say, 'We're going to redouble our efforts in prosecuting them'," said Alexander, the attorney. "But I don't think it makes any practical difference to the outcome."

Dotcom denied the new site was designed to provoke authorities, but got in plenty of digs at their expense, saying that their campaign to shutter Megaupload simply forced him to create a new and improved site.

"Sometimes good things come out of terrible events," Dotcom said. "For example, if it wasn't for a giant comet hitting earth, we would still be surrounded by angry dinosaurs hungry, too. If it wasn't for that iceberg, we wouldn't have a great Titanic movie which makes me cry every time I see it. And if it wasn't for the raid, we wouldn't have Mega."

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Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat contributed to this report from McLean, Virginia.

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Research in Motion will look into strategic alliances with other technology companies once it has launched its new BlackBerry 10 models, its chief executive told a German newspaper.

German-born CEO Thorsten Heins told daily Die Welt in an interview published on Monday that the group's strategic review could lead to the sale of RIM's hardware production or the sale of licenses to its software, among other options.

"The main thing for now is to successfully introduce Blackberry 10. Then we'll see," Heins was quoted as saying.

RIM hopes its re-engineered line of Blackberry 10 touch-screen and keyboard devices will win back market share lost to rivals such as Apple's iPhone and devices powered by Google's market-leading Android operating system.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Potter)

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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Everyone's favorite Internet meme the cat video has hit the big time.

Behold the Catdance Film Festival, a one-night celebration of camera-worthy cats that was held Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival.

The five short films that were featured went beyond the typical surprised-kitty or cat-threatens-dog fare popular on YouTube. The Catdance films, culled from submissions by cat lovers across the country, told creative, feline-focused tales. There was the story of an aging Internet cat who can't cope with the loss of fame and "A Cat's Guide to Caring for a Human."

"Humans are inherently lazy," reported the latter film in a '50s-inspired instructional style. "Left to their own devices, they will sleep well past the break of dawn."

Other films included "Catalogue," where a couple orders a bedspread from a catalog and is surprised to see that the cat shown in the photo was shipped with the comforter. "Rocky" tells a heartfelt story of a man's 17-year relationship with his cat. In "A Change of Heart," a photo of a cat on a cellphone saves a failing relationship.

Each of the five finalists was awarded a golden cat-litter scoop.

Actress AnnaLynne McCord hosted the event, which was sponsored by the Fresh Step litter brand. The 25-year-old "90210" star is a lifelong cat lover who proudly displayed photos and videos of her cat, Christopher Buni, on her own cell Saturday.

"What's not to love about a cat?" she asked. "Cats have so much personality. They're very highly intelligent creatures, and if you're a highly intelligent creature, you respond to that."

McCord is known for taking her cat to work on set, and once dashed out of her house naked to chase away a coyote who was threatening her kitty companion.

The Catdance Film Festival was accompanied by a festive, feline-themed party on Park City's Main Street. Spoofs of famous movie posters dotted the walls, with cats replacing the stars of films such as "Top Gun," ''Pulp Fiction," ''The Big Lebowski" and "Clueless." Drinks such as the Feline Fresh and Kitten Kaboodle were served, along with tuna appetizers.

Catdance continues online: Fans can watch the feline films beginning Sunday and vote for their favorite until Feb. 28. The winning filmmaker will collect $10,000. Also available are limited-edition knit hats with cat ears, with all proceeds benefiting the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Cats have even clawed their way into the actual Sundance festival. They had their own official entry with the short film "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?", director Jason Willis' spoof of educational movies exploring social ills. The seven-minute film, which ran in Sundance's midnight-movie program, has commentary from the "Catnip Crisis Center" and other supposed scientific groups about the effects and hazards felines face when partaking of catnip.

Willis called it "mostly a home movie about my cats" and said the film's entire budget came to $25 to buy catnip.

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is tweeting from Sundance at www.twitter.com/APSandy.

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AP Movie Writer David Germain contributed to this report.

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Online:

http://apne.ws/10JOegj

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supporters of Aaron Swartz, the 26-year-old Internet activist who committed suicide last week, gathered in New York to remember the computer prodigy on Saturday, with some calling for changes in the criminal justice system they blame for his death.

Swartz, who at 14 helped create an early version of the Web feed system RSS and believed the fruits of academic research and other information should be freely available to all, was found dead a week ago in his Brooklyn apartment.

The city's chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.

He had been facing trial on federal charges he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service.

Swartz, who had also worked on the popular website Reddit, had faced a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.

"He told me about the 4.5 million downloads of scholarly articles, and my first thought was why isn't MIT celebrating this?" Edward Tufte, an emeritus professor of computer science at Yale University and a friend of Swartz, said to applause from the crowd gathered in The Cooper Union's Great Hall in Manhattan.

Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, Swartz's partner, criticized what she described as MIT's "indifference" to the saga, saying the school could have acted to end his prosecution.

The president of MIT said this week the school was investigating its role in Swartz's case. JSTOR has said in a statement it settled any dispute with Swartz in 2011 and praised his "important contributions to the development of the Internet."

CALL FOR CHANGE

At the memorial, attended by hundreds of friends and supporters, the strongest criticisms were reserved for prosecutors in the office of Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts.

Roy Singham, the chairman of ThoughtWorks, a software consultancy firm where Swartz worked, called the case against Swartz "an abuse of state power" intended to intimidate Swartz. He called for the reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act under which Swartz was prosecuted.

Swartz's partner said it all became too much for him to bear.

"He was so scared and so frustrated and more than anything so weary I just don't think he could take it another day," Stinebrickner-Kauffman said, adding the pair had discussed getting married after the trial.

Ortiz has defended her office's actions, saying prosecutors "took on the difficult task of enforcing a law they had taken an oath to uphold, and did so reasonably."

She said they offered Swartz a deal to plead guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud and computer fraud and spend six months at a low-security facility.

Swartz was remembered as a precocious talent who began addressing technology conferences as a teenager and whose quirks included being loath to wash his dishes and preferring bland foods like crackers and white rice.

Many speakers said he was by far the smartest and most intellectually curious person they had known, and called on those in attendance to continue his work of trying to widen the public's access to information and communication channels.

Stinebrickner-Kauffman said Swartz disliked grand ceremonies and would have been uncomfortable with some aspects of his own memorial.

"But memorial services are for the living," she said, repeating it several times like a mantra, "and last Friday he forfeited his right to decide that."

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Xavier Briand)

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WASHINGTON (AP) Latinos are taking a more prominent role in President Barack Obama's second inauguration, from the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice swearing in the vice president to a star-studded concert celebrating Latino culture.

Eva Longoria, a co-chairwoman for Obama's campaign, hosted "Latino Inaugural 2013: In Performance at the Kennedy Center" as a salute to the president Sunday evening ahead of his public swearing-in Monday. Jose Feliciano, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno and Latin pop star Prince Royce all performed. The lineup also included Mario Lopez and Wilmer Valderrama.

Vice President Joe Biden and his family appeared onstage, drawing big cheers, to help open the show. He said he wanted to thank Latinos for their support in last year's election.

Biden said something profound happened with the enormous Latino support for Obama, and he said the Latino community underestimates its power.

"One thing that happened in this election, you spoke. You spoke in a way that the world, and I mean the world, as well as the United States, could not fail to hear," Biden said, calling the Latino vote decisive. "This is your moment. America owes you."

Feliciano opened the show by singing the national anthem.

Marc Anthony later drew big cheers when he applauded Latinos' growing political influence.

"Our united voice got us all here tonight and got the best man for the job in the White House," Anthony said.

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who gave the keynote speech at last year's Democratic National Convention, recalled the admiration Latinos held for another president more than 50 years ago. Portraits of President John F. Kennedy still hang in many homes, he said.

"As we said 'Viva Kennedy' 50 years ago, today we say 'Viva Obama,'" Castro said.

A children's choir from San Juan, Puerto Rico, closed out the show, singing "This Land is Your Land." They were joined by a larger Latino choir, including Hispanic members of the U.S. military, in singing "America the Beautiful."

Earlier Sunday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee who is the first Hispanic justice on the highest court, administered the oath of office to Biden. And Richard Blanco, a son of Cuban exiles, is Obama's inauguration poet.

Latinos have a distinct presence at this inauguration after raising funds and turning out the vote for Obama in the 2012 election. Hispanics voted 7 to 1 for Obama over his challenger, Republican Mitt Romney, whose Hispanic support was less than any other presidential candidate in 16 years. Analysts said Romney's hardline stance on immigration was a factor.

San Antonio philanthropist and business leader Henry Munoz III, who coordinated the Latino inauguration event with Longoria and other Obama supporters, said this is a special moment when the Latino community is positioned to take an expanded role in shaping the country's future.

"Without question, the presidential election of 2012 proves that Latinos are perhaps the most important influence from this point forward in the election of the president of the United States," Munoz said. "It's important that the leadership in Washington view us not as a narrow interest group but as a vibrant political force" that carries not just votes, but influence and financial resources.

Organizers planned a series of symposiums, dinners and events ahead of the inauguration to keep people talking about issues that matter to Latinos, from immigration reform to building a Latino history museum on the National Mall. Munoz led a presidential commission that called on Congress in 2011 to authorize such a museum within the Smithsonian Institution, but Congress has not yet passed such a bill.

Munoz said it's important to keep Latinos engaged through the inauguration and beyond.

"Our work is not done. It doesn't end," he said. "We have a tendency to look at this phenomenon as ending on Election Day, when the reality is now it's time to get to work."

Longoria said this is her first inauguration. She has taken on a new role as political advocate since her days on "Desperate Housewives," pushing for a Latino history museum in Washington and raising funds for Obama's re-election.

Even though this is Obama's second inauguration, Longoria said there is still much to celebrate, including Sotomayor's role swearing in the vice president.

"There's something special about seeing a president recommit himself to the people of this great nation," she said before the show.

Longoria said she hopes to help influence policies, including immigration reform, and hopes Obama will make that his top priority as an economic issue. She called the Latino fundraising effort for the president a historic turning point.

"I think we have a permanent seat at the table, and now we're going to be able to have influence on what affects our communities," Longoria said. "I take civic responsibility very seriously, and I want to do what I can to help my country."

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Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A 15-year-old boy remained in custody Sunday night as detectives tried to piece together what led to the shooting of five people, including three young children, who were found dead in a New Mexico home.

The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings, which happened Saturday night at the home in a rural area southwest of downtown Albuquerque, said Lt. Sid Covington, a Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman.

Detectives did not immediately release the victims' names, but word of the shootings traveled quickly through the law enforcement community, and officials began offering their condolences for Greg Griego, a spiritual leader known for his work with firefighters and the 13 years he spent as a volunteer chaplain at the county jail.

"Chaplin Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."

Jail Chief Ramon Rustin said Griego was instrumental in the creation of the Metropolitan Detention Center's chaplain program and worked to get inmates integrated back into the community.

Griego also was a former member of the pastoral staff at Calvary, a Christian church in Albuquerque. As part of his work there, he oversaw the Straight Street program for jail inmates.

Covington said detectives were working to positively identify the five victims as well as the teenager's relationship to them.

"Right now we're to the meticulous points of processing the scene and collecting physical evidence, and this is a vast scene with a lot of physical evidence," Covington said.

Authorities said each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, and several guns were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle. Investigators were trying to determine who owned the guns.

Authorities also declined to release details of any conversation that the 15-year-old had with investigators. The teenager was booked on two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.

On Sunday, a police roadblock cut off public access to the narrow dirt road that leads to the home, which is surrounded by trees and an agricultural field on one side.

Neighbors said they saw the first police cars and ambulances arrive at the home Saturday night. The road was blocked and word of the shootings began to make its way through the neighborhood.

Peter Gomez, a 54-year-old carpenter who lives about 200 yards from the home, said he had seen the family a husband and wife and their four children pass by many times but didn't know them personally.

"It's a horrible thing," Gomez said. "You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It's sad."

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Associated Press writer Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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(Reuters) - Veteran journalist Barbara Walters was admitted to a Washington. D.C., hospital over the weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, a spokesman for the ABC television network said on Sunday.

Jeffrey Schneider, a senior vice president with ABC News, said Walters fell on the stairs on Saturday evening while attending an event.

"Out of an abundance of caution," Walters, 83, went to the hospital, where she remained for observation on Sunday, Schneider said.

"Barbara is alert (and telling everyone what to do), which we all take as a very positive sign," Schneider said in a written statement.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher, editing by Stacey Joyce)

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NEW YORK (AP) Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.

A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work.

"It's a balancing act" between physical health and financial well-being, she said.

An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for a third of civilian workers more than 40 million people who don't have it.

Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race.

Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists some in surgical masks rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point.

The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. "There's people who say, 'OK, I get it you don't want your server coughing on your food,'" she said.

Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and "living wage" laws, and a public health priority.

But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.

Michael Sinesky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, "we're in survival mode."

"We're at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives," said Sinesky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can't work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn't include tips.

Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness.

"Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary.

Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia's mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011.

In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn't include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless.

The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women's groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents, including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote.

Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn't think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season.

While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn't be reached by telephone.

"I needed work," Palaguachi said after Friday's City Hall rally, but "I needed to see the doctor because I'm sick."

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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

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BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has decreed a four-day working week for public officials, making Friday a day of rest to allow residents in the small West African state more time for prayer and agriculture.

Jammeh said in statement the decision was made in light of demand from the general public. The shorter working week will take effect from February 1.

The new public sector working times in Gambia, a sliver of land stretching inland from the West African coast along the river Gambia, will be Mondays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"This new arrangement will allow Gambians to devote more time to prayers, social activities and agriculture - going back to the land to grow what we eat and eat what we grow for a healthy and wealthy nation," the presidential statement said.

Though it has a secular state, Gambia's population is overwhelmingly Muslim. Jammeh seized power in the popular European tourist destination in a bloodless military coup in 1994.

He has since been accused by activists of human rights abuses during his rule. In August, his government drew international condemnation for executing nine death-row inmates by firing squad, prompting it to suspend 38 other planned executions.

The government warned, however, that the executions would go ahead if the crime rate increases.

One of Africa's more controversial rulers, Jammeh said in 2007 he had found a remedy of boiled herbs to cure AIDS, stirring anger among Western medical experts who claimed he was giving false hope to the sick.

(Reporting By Pap Saine; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

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