Danny Puff

NEW YORK (AP) -- A new TV commercial features a good-looking young woman on a beach vacation lounging next to a good-looking young man. He bemoans the glare on his iPad and she fills him in on the Kindle Paperwhite's sun-friendly screen.

He clicks to buy one himself and suggests they celebrate with a drink.

"My husband's bringing me a drink right now," chirps she.

"So is mine," smiles he as they turn and wave at their male loved ones sitting together at a tiki bar.

Welcome to the latest in gay imagery in mainstream advertising, where LGBT people have been waiting for a larger helping of fairness, or at least something other than punchlines and cliches.

While there are still plenty of those, something has happened in advertising over the last two or three years, nearly two decades after Ikea broke ground in the U.S. with a TV spot featuring a gay couple shopping for a dining room table a spot that ran only once in New York and Washington, D.C., and was pulled after bomb threats to Ikea stores.

Today, gay and lesbian parents and their kids are featured along with pitchwoman Ellen DeGeneres in J.C. Penney ads. Same-sex couples have their own, advertised wedding registries at Macy's and elsewhere and President Barack Obama offered his seal of approval by evolving into a supporter of gay marriage.

Two happy young men sit together eating at a dining table, with wine and romantic candlelight, in a section of a Crate & Barrel catalog marked "Us & Always." And we made it through a Super Bowl without any gay jokes at commercial breaks like the Snickers ad of several years ago featuring two men freaking out after kissing by accident while eating one of the candy bars.

Traditionally lagging behind TV and film content in terms of LGBT inclusion, advertisers in this country are facing considerably less trouble than they used to when taking on gay themes, observers said. Penney's rebuffed critics and launched a lesbian-focused catalog ad for Mother's Day that the company followed with a two-dads family a real family for Father's Day.

DeGeneres, who married Portia de Rossi in 2008, continues as a CoverGirl in magazines. Also recently? A lesbian couple was treated to fireworks in a commercial real ones flash on screen for K-Y Intense, a personal lubricant that makes their moment or two more memorable. They're shown spent and satisfied in bed, hair tussled. "Good purchase," one says to the other.

Though Crate & Barrel declined comment for this story and Amazon didn't respond to email requests for the same about the Kindle ad, LGBT-focused marketers and monitors think the Mad Men and Women of today's Madison Avenue and the companies that employ them might finally be getting it. Now, they hope, a greater degree of diversity in skin tone and ethnicity will follow.

"They're no longer just targeting gay and lesbian people. They're targeting people like my mom, who want to know that a company embraces and accepts their gay and lesbian family members, friends and neighbors," said Rich Ferraro, a spokesman for the media watchdog group the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Others, too, are celebrating the newfound bump in ad visibility, a mirror of cultural gains overall. It's a boost that comes as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up oral arguments later this month in key challenges that could lead to further recognition of same-sex marriage and spousal benefits.

Bob Witeck, who consults for Fortune 100 companies on LGBT marketing and communications strategies, put the buying power of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults at $790 billion last year. He estimated, roughly, the U.S. LGBT adult population at 16 million, though others say their ranks could be as many as 25 million.

There's no demographic evidence or social science that points to the LGBT segment as notably higher earning or wealthier than anybody else, though they're often louder in protesting offensive ad messaging and loyal to brands and companies that support them.

"Things have changed significantly in terms of risk and reward," Witeck said. "Businesses don't view this as a risk model any longer."

Particularly, he said, when it comes to portraying marriage.

"Marriage, at one time, was the third rail," Witeck said. "That terrified companies. Most of this happened when the president said he supported marriage equality."

A consumer lust for "truth-telling" isn't lost on major advertisers, including those that once restricted themselves to trotting out gay-friendly fodder as one-offs when Pride Month and its multicolored flag flies freely each June. One recent pride standout in advertising, restricted to digital markets, is an Oreo cookie with a mountain of multicolored filling.

The company fielded queries from consumers who thought it was available for purchase in stores. It wasn't.

American Airlines, in 2010, ran outdoor advertising at bus stops and subway stations in New York showing two men on a beach with the slogan: "Here's to his and his beach towels.Proud to support the community that supports us."

Generally, Witeck said, putting a human face on gay couples and families in advertising is where much of the effort lands today.

"For the gay consumer and their families and friends, and lots and lots and lots of Americans, they expect to see those couples appear everywhere, but they don't want them trotted out with a pride flag," Witeck said. "Amazon didn't ballyhoo the message. They just landed it."

Mark Elderkin, CEO of the Gay Ad Network, which focuses on the LGBT niche market, said mainstream gay messaging has "passed the tipping point, where there's more to gain than there is to lose" for advertisers.

While there are groups of "vocal antagonists," he said more advertisers bolstered by broader media exposure for gay characters and storylines in non-ad content "The New Normal," ''Modern Family," ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show," CNN's out-of-the-closet anchor Anderson Cooper have explored non-traditional families and included LGBT imagery in "normal" settings.

"It seems to be moving quickly forward. It's companies that want to be more on the leading edge, more for the next generation of this country," Elderkin said. "It's not your parents' brand anymore. It's your brand and your kids' brand."

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Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

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HANOI (Reuters) - Pot-bellied, short, or abusive traffic policemen will be barred from working on the streets of Vietnam's capital and assigned desk jobs instead as Hanoi police try to clean up their unsavoury image, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The city's traffic police are following the worst offenders closely and compiling lists of those to be reassigned. All police on traffic duty will be made to carry a book on the code of conduct to remind them how to behave, the official Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper said.

"Little officers, or those with too big a belly will be moved to work in offices instead of guiding traffic and settling violations," Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department, was quoted by Tien Phong as saying.

He said five teams of inspectors had been sent to monitor the behaviour of police on the street. Thang could not be reached for additional comment.

Tempers often flare in the city of 7 million famous for constant streams of motorcycles and sometimes haphazard driving. Complaints have mounted about the conduct of traffic police, including allegations of corruption and abusive behaviour.

The latest initiative follows the deployment in January of female traffic police, all part of a campaign to improve the image of the security forces.

Crackdowns on overweight policemen have taken place in Thailand, Pakistan, Britain, Indonesia and the Philippines in recent years. Several of those countries ordered officers to get fit and lose weight before they could return to work.

(Reporting by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - At Shanghai's Zhabei District marriage registration center, officials divorced a record 53 couples in a single day this week - that's about one every five minutes - as couples rushed to untie the knot to avoid tougher tax laws on home sales.

There were similar scenes in Wuhan, Nanjing and Ningbo as married couples opted for 'quickie', uncontested divorces - costing just a few yuan - that would allow them to split ownership of their properties and sell without having to pay capital gains tax of as much as 20 percent.

Beijing last week signaled it wanted local governments to be tougher in implementing rules to curb property speculation - the tax on gains from selling second homes has been in place for almost two decades but never strictly enforced. Chinese tend to park much of their wealth in real estate as they have few other alternative investment options, and home prices in the biggest cities have risen for 9 straight months.

Reckoning that primary residences owned for more than five years will remain tax exempt, some couples hope that divorcing and dividing up real estate assets will allow them to sell properties as individuals, and not pay tax. Once the sale is complete, they can remarry.

"It's a practical attitude," said Li Li, managing director of International Strategic Group, a real estate consultancy in Shanghai. "It's strange, but policy forces people to do it."

While homeowners and prospective buyers await details on how the tightened property rules will be implemented, the official Shanghai Daily quoted one unnamed official at the Yangpu District registration office as saying the rise in divorces was driven by unapologetic tax evaders, including a pregnant woman.

"I told all of them to come here again for remarriage registration as soon as their transaction is finished," the official told the newspaper.

Requests for city-wide data from the Shanghai civil affairs bureau were not immediately answered. The Shanghai Daily quoted Lin Kewu, deputy director of the bureau's marriage administration, saying the government did not want to release statistics for fear of encouraging the tactic.

The phenomenon is not new. In 2010 and 2011, state media reported that couples resorted to forging divorce certificates so they could skirt restrictions and buy more property.

"I know people who have divorced to evade taxes," said one man who asked not to be named as he waited outside a real estate trade center in Pudong on Wednesday. "But I think marriage is more important than property."

(Additional reporting by Anita Li and Reuters Shanghai bureau; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

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NEW YORK (AP) Valerie Harper, who played Rhoda Morgenstern on television's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff, "Rhoda," has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

People magazine reported on its website Wednesday that the 73-year-old actress received the news on Jan. 15. Tests revealed she has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain. The report says Harper's doctors have said she has as little as three months to live.

"I don't think of dying," Harper told the magazine in a cover interview. "I think of being here now."

Harper's character, Rhoda, was one of television's most beloved characters during the 1970s, and the tart-tongued, self-deprecating Rhoda made Harper a star. She won three consecutive Emmys (1971-73) as supporting actress on "Mary" plus another for outstanding lead actress for "Rhoda," which ran from 1974-78.

Harper began show business as a dancer in several Broadway musicals, and worked in summer stock and with the Second City improv group.

"I was a dancer but I was always a little overweight," she once told The Associated Press. "I'd say, 'Hello, I'm Valerie Harper and I'm overweight.' I'd say it quickly before they could. ... I always got called chubby, my nose was too wide, my hair was too kinky."

Accordingly, she played Rhoda at first as a plump, wisecracking contrast to slender, winsome Mary Richards. But as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" evolved, Rhoda trimmed down and her own brand of beauty was acknowledged.

The character was wildly popular and soon inspired her own CBS sitcom, which saw Rhoda moving back home to New York City and even getting married.

After her success on TV, she returned to theater. Several TV movie and feature films followed, including "Chapter Two" and "Blame It on Rio."

In 2000, she reunited with Moore in a TV film, "Mary and Rhoda."

"Rhoda Morgenstern gave a wonderful impetus and propulsion to my career," she told the AP in 2001.

At the time, she had stepped into the role originated by former "Alice" star Linda Lavin in the Broadway comedy "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife."

Harper played what she described as "an angst-ridden Woman of a Certain Age," and she likened that character to Rhoda, whose shared creed, she said, is "Get into life, and enjoy it. Just stop with the white knuckles and relax. Be OK with yourself."

In recent years, Harper had guest roles on several TV series, and in 2010 was back on Broadway playing Tallulah Bankhead, a flamboyant star from Hollywood's Golden Age.

AP Drama Critic Michael Kuchwara wrote that "Harper submerges the iconic Rhoda Morgenstern" and "has a ferocious sense of comic timing."

In January, Harper published a new memoir, "I, Rhoda."

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Online:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20679402,00.html

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LONDON (AP) Never say never again? Sam Mendes says he won't be directing the next James Bond film but may work on the series again in the future.

Mendes has been praised for his work on "Skyfall," the first Bond film to rake in more than $1 billion in revenue.

But Mendes says he has made the "very difficult decision" to focus on other projects "that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond." They include upcoming London stage productions of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "King Lear."

In comments published Wednesday by movie magazine Empire, Mendes said he was honored to have been part of the Bond family, "and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again."

Mendes worked in theater before turning to film. He won an Academy Award in 2000 for "American Beauty."

"Skyfall," which stars Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench, won two Oscars last month, including one for Adele's theme song.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) A bloody Western and the comedic tale of a trash-talking teddy bear lead nominees for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards.

MTV announced Tuesday that "Django Unchained" and "Ted" each have seven bids at the annual kudo-fest, set to air live on April 14 from the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, Calif.

"Silver Linings Playbook" earned six nominations and "The Dark Knight Rises" collected five. Other top nominees include "The Avengers," ''Skyfall," ''Pitch Perfect" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

Fans can vote online for the winners in all categories, including the two newest ones: Best shirtless performance and best musical moment.

Double nominee Rebel Wilson will host the show. She'll be joined by Will Ferrell, who will receive MTV's inaugural Comic Genius Award.

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Online:

www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2013/

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CHICAGO (AP) Can't get rid of that paunch?

A Chicago-area gym suggests working out with your pooch.

K9 Fit Club offers bow wow boot camps and other classes for people and their puppies to exercise together in Chicago and nearby Hinsdale, Ill.

The fitness center opened last year after founder Tricia Montgomery exercised with her dog and lost 130 pounds. Montgomery says her late basset hound, named Louie, lost 22 percent of his body weight.

Fans of the gym say classes are beneficial to both man and man's best friend.

Montgomery says dogs struggle with the same weight issues that people face, including heart problems and diabetes.

People who work out at K9 Fit Club say exercising with their dogs keeps them motivated.

Classes cost about $20.

Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1687UdR

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Marvel Entertainment's renowned heroes find themselves in an unfamiliar and unsettling position in the pages of the just-released "Age of Ultron" series: defeated, demoralized and desperate.

After years of well-placed warnings that have gone unheeded, the ever-adaptive artificial intelligence that is Ultron a creation of Avengers co-founder Henry Pym has finally realized his potential as conquering villain. He has turned the planet into a dystopian landscape that is wrecked beyond compare with technology at the top of the food chain and humanity on the extinction trail.

In short, said Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the series that debuted Wednesday, Ultron has lived up to his promise.

"Ultron is one of the big villains of the Marvel universe, up there with Dr. Doom and Magneto," he said this week. "He's been a threat a constant threat and they've never been able to defeat him because of the nature of his being."

Now, with Ultron's ability to adapt, react and learn, his promise has gone global and what was once a vibrant planet is nothing more than piles of debris with androids and mechanized robots running roughshod across the surface and heroes like Iron Man, the Sensational Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Invisible Woman and Hawkeye in the shadows.

It is, Bendis said, a reckoning of sorts with the Marvel universe "destroyed" and "half the heroes dead and half the world is dead."

Those that are left remnants of the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Hulks are living in the shadows, fighting back, Bendis said, and they aim to stop what happened from ever happening again.

"It's not an imaginary story. It's happening in Marvel continuity," he said of the tale, which has the first three issues out this month, followed by issues 4,5 and 6 in April, all illustrated by Bryan Hitch. The heroes "are going to break some rules with the space-time continuum."

The 10-issue story is illustrated by Bryan Hitch, Brandon Petersen and Carlos Pacheco, with a fourth artist that Marvel is keeping secret.

Tom Brevoort, senior vice president for publishing at Marvel and editor for "Age of Ultron," called the series one that will leave readers confused and, possibly, upset, too.

"Part of the ethos we're trying to adopt, as part of Marvel Now, is the idea that really, anything can happen and the sky is the limit," he said. "'Age of Ultron' is the exemplar of that. It's supposed to make people feel edgy and uncomfortable."

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Moore reported from Philadelphia. Follow him at www.twitter.com/mattmooreap.

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Marvel Entertainment is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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http://www.marvel.com

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The Pentagon's newest military honor, symbolized by a two-inch bronze medallion, has sparked fierce debate over the nation's growing corps of drone pilots and cyberwarriors and how to commend their service, which happens far from an actual battlefield.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal, approved by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last month, is the military's first new combat-related medal in nearly 70 years. It is intended to recognize extraordinary contributions to combat operations by a service member from afar and will rank as the eighth highest individual award behind the Medal of Honor.

But placement of the new medal in ahead of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, which are given for valor in the line of fire, has created significant stir.

Critics have panned it as the "Chair-borne Medal," "the Nintendo Medal," "Distant Warfare Medal" and "the Purple Buttocks," alluding to fact that computer-based warriors do their work from a chair, among other names.

Top veterans groups and a rare bipartisan alliance on Capitol Hill are intensely lobbying the Pentagon and President Obama to downgrade the award.

"We are supportive of recognizing and rewarding such extraordinary service, but in the absence of the service member exposing him or herself to imminent mortal danger, we cannot support the DWM taking precedence above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart," a bipartisan group of 48 lawmakers wrote new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday.

"Possibility of death or grievous bodily harm" are key factors that should elevate recipients of those awards above others who didn't face those risks, the group wrote.

The letter was penned by 34 Republicans and 14 Democrats, including Republican Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Darrell Isa of California and Democratic Reps. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Susan Davis of California.

Officials with the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars said they have already been pressing the administration to downgrade the award, saying that bestowing a higher-ranked medal to service members who fought from "behind a desk" is disrespectful to those serving in harm's way.

So far the administration has shown no sign of backing down.

Last month, in one of his final public events before retiring, Secretary Panetta hailed creation of the new medal as a reflection of an evolution in modern warfare and of the growing importance of the drones and cyberwarfare strategies.

"The medal provides distinct, department-wide recognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combat entails," Panetta said.

"I've always felt - having seen the great work that they do, day in and day out - that those who performed in an outstanding manner should be recognized," he said. "Unfortunately, medals that they otherwise might be eligible for simply did not recognize that kind of contribution."

A White House official declined to comment on the criticism. Obama, who has significantly increased drone warfare during his administration, on Tuesday awarded two purple hearts to wounded service members at Walter Reed military medical center in Washington.

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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If you were hoping to watch Tom Cruise's legal battle against "In Touch" and "Life & Style" publishers Bauer Publishing Company play out in public, you're out of luck.

Cruise's lawsuit against Bauer has been moved to private mediation, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Central California on Friday.

The move was expected; a motion filed last month indicated that the case would move to private mediation if the suit wasn't settled 45 days prior to the final pretrial conference. And judging from comments issued by Cruise's attorney Bert Fields since the suit was filed, the "Top Gun" actor doesn't seem to be much in a settling mood on this one.

Cruise filed his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Bauer in October, claiming that Life & Style and In Touch said he had abandoned his daughter, Suri, following his split from wife Katie Holmes.

Fields has adamantly denied the tabloids' reports, calling them "a disgusting, vicious lie." He's also characterized Bauer as "serial defamers."

Bauer has countered that its claims about Cruise are "substantially true."

As reported last month by TheWrap, Cruise's legal team said that it expected to seek discovery relating to Bauer's alleged "history of bigotry and hatred toward minority religious groups and their members" - presumably, in reference to Cruise's membership in the Church of Scientology.

Attorneys for Bauer said that they would likely seek discovery for the "role, if any, that Plaintiff's membership in the Church of Scientology played in his decisions regarding his visitation and communications with Suri Cruise after his separation and divorce."

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