Ashton Kutcher parties with three women

Has Ashton Kutcher gone international with his womanizing ways?

The 33-year-old actor partied into the early hours of Tuesday morning, Us Weekly can confirm. The "Two and a Half Men" star was joined by three women in Berlin, including one who shares an uncanny resemblance to Kutcher's soon-to-be ex-wife Demi Moore.PHOTOS: Demi and Ashton, the way they were

Once inside Odessa Bar, Kutcher and the Moore lookalike "sat at the open window, talking, flirting, drinking red wine and smoking one cig after another," an onlooker tells Us.

Just before 4 a.m., Kutcher "left the party with three girls in tow, including the Demi Moore lookalike," the onlooker adds. The foursome piled into the actor's chauffeur-driven car and continued their party at a private apartment.VIDEO: Sara Leal tells Us about her one-night stand with Kutcher

Moore, 49, filed for divorce from Kutcher in mid-November, ending their May-December marriage. "As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred," she said in a statement.PHOTOS: Biggest cheating scandals of 2011

The catalyst? Kutcher had a one-night stand with San Diego party girl Sara Leal, 22, on Sept. 24 -- Kutcher and Moore's sixth wedding anniversary.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45764662/ns/today-entertainment/

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Israel drops case against flotilla participants (AP)

JERUSALEM ? Israel's attorney general has decided not to prosecute Israelis who participated in a Gaza-bound flotilla that was raided a year ago.

The suspects included an Israeli-Arab lawmaker and an Islamist leader.

A statement released Thursday by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's office said the Israelis were suspected of trying to enter the Gaza Strip, which is barred to Israelis. It said the legal proceedings were stopped because of "the discovery of evidential and legal difficulties," without giving specifics.

Nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed when Israeli naval commandos stormed the Gaza-bound ships. The raid prompted an international outcry in which Israel was accused of disproportionate use of force.

Both sides said they acted in self defense.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_blockade

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Winn-Dixie Stores sold to Bi-Lo for $560M (AP)

GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The supermarket chain Winn-Dixie is being sold in a deal valued at $560 million to Bi-Lo LLC, the companies said Monday, creating a huge grocery operator in the South.

Shares of Winn-Dixie, which has more than twice the number of stores of its buyer, jumped over 70 percent Monday. The company had struggled in the past, entering into bankruptcy protection in 2005, but has been revamping operations in recent years.

The combined company will have about 690 stores and 63,000 workers in eight states in the southern U.S. Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. will become a privately held subsidiary and its ticker will be removed from the Nasdaq. Bi-Lo is a private company.

Each Winn-Dixie stockholder gets $9.50 per share in cash, a 75 percent premium to the Jacksonville, Fla. company's Friday closing stock price. At that price, the deal would be valued at slightly more than $530 million.

Bi-Lo, based in Greenville, S.C., runs 207 supermarkets in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

Winn-Dixie runs about 480 grocery stores, including approximately 380 in-store pharmacies, in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. It has about 46,000 employees.

The companies said Monday that no store closings are expected and the name Winn-Dixie will remain because of its strong brand recognition in the South.

"With no overlap in our markets, the combined company will have a perfect geographic fit that will create a stronger platform from which to provide our customers great products at a great value, while continuing to offer exceptional service," said Bi-Lo Chairman Randall Onstead.

Winn-Dixie's board has unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the next 60 to 120 days.

The management structure and headquarters location have yet to be determined, but the companies anticipate keeping locations in both Greenville, S.C. and Jacksonville, Fla.

Winn-Dixie emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006. In its most recent quarter, Winn-Dixie's revenues rose 3 percent, yet the company posted a loss of about $24 million.

Shares rose $3.81, or 70.2 percent, to close at $9.24 Monday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_re_us/us_bi_lo_winn_dixie

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Elated, last US troops leave Iraq, ending war

A soldier gestures from the gun turret of the last vehicle in a convoy of the US Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The brigade's special troops battalion are the last American soldiers to leave Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A soldier gestures from the gun turret of the last vehicle in a convoy of the US Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The brigade's special troops battalion are the last American soldiers to leave Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

The last convoy of solders from the US Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The brigade's special troops battalion are the last American soldiers to leave Iraq. The U.S. military announced Saturday night that the last American troops have left Iraq as the nearly nine-year war ends. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

The last vehicle in a convoy of the US Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division crosses the border from Iraq into Kuwait, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. The brigade's special troops battalion are the last American soldiers to leave Iraq. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Inthis Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, photo taken on an iPhone, the last convoy of U.S. Soldiers leaves Iraq and enters Kuwait at the Khabari border crossing. The U.S. military announced Saturday night that the last American troops have left Iraq as the nearly nine-year war ends. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

In this Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, photo taken on an iPhone, the last convoy of U.S. Soldiers leaves Iraq and enters Kuwait at the Khabari border crossing. The U.S. military announced Saturday night that the last American troops have left Iraq as the nearly nine-year war ends. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

(AP) ? The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their convoy's exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

The war cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all ? or whether the new government the Americans leave behind will remain a steadfast U.S. ally ? is yet unanswered.

The 5-hour drive by the last convoy of MRAPS, heavily armored personnel carriers, took place under cover of darkness and under strict secrecy to prevent any final attacks on the withdrawing troops. The 500 soldiers didn't even tell their Iraqi partners they were leaving before they slipped out of the last American base and started down the barren desert highway to the Kuwaiti border before dawn Sunday.

The atmosphere was subdued inside one of the vehicles as it streamed down the highway, with little visible in the blackness outside through the MRAP's small windows. Along the road, a small group of Iraqi soldiers waved to the departing American troops.

"My heart goes out to the Iraqis," said Warrant Officer John Jewell, acknowledging the challenges ahead. "The innocent always pay the bill."

But after crossing the berm at the Kuwaiti border, lit with floodlights and ringed with barbed wire, the troops from the 3rd brigade of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division were elated. They cheered, pumped fists in the air and gave each other chest bumps and bear hugs. "We're on top of the world!" shouted one soldier from the turret of his vehicle.

"It's just an honor to be able to serve your country and say that you helped close out the war in Iraq," said Spc. Jesse Jones, a 23-year-old who volunteered to be in the last convoy. "Not a lot of people can say that they did huge things like that that will probably be in the history books."

Spc. Brittany Hampton joked that no one was going to believe her back home when she told them she was in the very last of the 110 vehicles in the convoy to exit.

"But we really truly were the last soldiers in Iraq. So it's pretty awesome," she said.

The quiet withdrawal was a stark contrast to the high-octane start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike in southern Baghdad where Saddam Hussein was believed to be hiding, the opening shot in the famed "shock and awe" bombardment. U.S. and allied ground forces then stormed from Kuwait across the featureless deserts of southern Iraq toward the capital.

Saddam and his regime fell within weeks, and the dictator was captured by the end of the year ? to be executed by Iraq's new Shiite rulers in 2006. But Saddam's end only opened the door to years more of conflict as Iraq was plunged into a vicious sectarian war between its Shiite and Sunni communities. The near civil war devastated the country, and its legacy includes thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and infrastructure that remains largely in ruins.

In the past two years, violence has dropped dramatically, and Iraqi security forces that U.S. troops struggled for years to train have improved. But the sectarian wounds remain unhealed. Even as U.S. troops were leaving, the main Sunni-backed political bloc announced Sunday it was suspending its participation in parliament to protest the monopoly on government posts by Shiite allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

President Barack Obama stopped short of calling the U.S. effort in Iraq a victory in an interview taped Thursday with ABC News' Barbara Walters.

"I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future," Obama said.

In the final days, U.S. officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high, but tried to paint a picture of victory ? for both the troops and the Iraqi people now freed of a dictator and on a path to democracy. But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes? And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats?

"We are glad to see the last U.S. soldier leaving the country today. It is an important day in Iraq's history, but the most important thing now is the future of Iraq," said 25-year-old Said Hassan, the owner of money exchange shop in Baghdad.

"The Americans have left behind them a country that is falling apart and an Iraqi army and security forces that have a long way ahead to be able to defend the nation and the people."

Some Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, neither invited nor welcome in a proud country. Others said that while grateful for U.S. help ousting Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls.

Iraq's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari said Sunday that his troops were up to the task of uprooting militant groups. Sunni militants continue to carry out bombing and shooting against police, soldiers and civilians, and Shiite militias continue to operate.

"There are only scattered terrorists hiding here and there and we are seeking intelligence information to eliminate them," Zebari said. "We are confident that there will be no danger."

The U.S. convoys Sunday were the last of a massive operation pulling out American forces that has lasted for months to meet the end-of-the-year deadline agreed with the Iraqis during the administration of President George W. Bush.

As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and less than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq ? a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by Bush in 2007, when violence was at its worst. As of Saturday night, that was down to one base ? Camp Adder ? and the final 500 soldiers.

On Saturday evening at Camp Adder, near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, the vehicles lined up in an open field to prepare and soldiers went through last-minute equipment checks to make sure radios, weapons and other gear were working.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commanding general for Iraq, walked through the rows of vehicles, talking to soldiers over the low hum of the engines. He thanked them for their service and reminded them to stay vigilant on their final mission.

"I wanted to remind them that we have an important mission left in the country of Iraq. We want to stay focused and we want to make sure that we're doing the right things to protect ourselves," Austin said.

The commander of the Special Troops Battalion, Lt. Col. Jack Vantress told his soldiers, "We are closing the book on an operation that has brought freedom to a country that was repressed. When the sun comes up, we'll be across the berm."

He added a warning to watch out for any final attacks. "Laser focus. Laser focus. You've got time, hours of road to go. There are people out there who still want to hurt you."

Early Saturday morning, the brigade's remaining interpreters made their routine calls to the local tribal sheiks and government leaders that the troops deal with, so that they would assume that it was just a normal day.

"The Iraqis are going to wake up in the morning and nobody will be there," said Spc. Joseph, an Iraqi American who emigrated from Iraq in 2009 and enlisted. He asked that his full name be withheld to protect his family.

In a guard tower overlooking a now empty checkpoint at the base, Sgt. Ashley Vorhees and another soldier talked about what they looked forward to most in getting home. The 29-year-old Vorhees planned to go for Mexican food at Rosa's, a restaurant in Killeen, Texas. Another joy of home, she said: you don't have to bring your weapon when you go to the bathroom.

At its height, Camp Adder boasted a Taco Bell, a KFC, an Italian restaurant and two Green Beans coffee shops. On Saturday, it felt empty, with abandoned volleyball and basketball courts and a gym called "House of Pain." Hundreds of vehicles ? trucks, buses ? waited in a lot to be handed over to the Iraqi military, which is taking over the site. With the Americans gone, the base reverts to its former name, Imam Ali Air Base.

Despite Obama's earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas, at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.

The U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, hoping to foster a lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region. Obama met in Washington with Prime Minister al-Maliki last week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship.

U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.

Capt. Mark Askew, a 28-year-old from Tampa, Florida who was among the last soldiers to leave, said the answer to the question of whether the Iraq war was worth the cost will depend on what type of country and government Iraq ends up with years from now, whether they are democratic, respect human rights and are considered an American ally.

"It depends on what Iraq does after we leave," he said, speaking before the final convoy departed. "I don't expect them to turn into South Korea or Japan overnight."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-18-ML-Iraq/id-3cb192ceba7c46869d22621d2dfc19b8

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Senate OKs payroll tax cut; House GOP irked

The Senate voted Saturday to temporarily avert a Jan. 1 payroll tax increase and benefit cutoff for the long-time unemployed, forcing a reluctant President Barack Obama to make an election-year choice between unions and environmentalists over whether to build an oil pipeline through the heart of the country.

The action set up a House vote Monday on the legislation, and some Republicans there were balking.

With the still-reeling economy serving as a backdrop, the Senate's 89-10 vote belied a tortuous battle between Democrats and Republicans that produced the compromise two-month extension of the expiring tax breaks and jobless benefits and forestalled cuts in doctors' Medicare reimbursements.

It also capped a year of divided government marked by raucous partisan fights that tumbled to the brink of a first-ever U.S. default and three federal shutdowns, only to see eleventh-hour deals emerge. It also put the two sides on track to revisit the payroll tax cut early next year as the fights for control of the White House and Congress heat up.

However, House GOP leaders held a conference call Saturday with rank-and-file lawmakers in which participants said strong anger was expressed about the Senate bill, including its lack of House-approved cuts in last year's health care overhaul law and its failure to erase the reductions in doctors' payments for more than two months.

"You can't have an economic recovery with this," said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said of the bill "If the Senate is incapable of doing that, we don't have to accept it."

A House GOP aide said afterward, "Members are overwhelmingly disappointed in the Senate's decision to just 'kick the can down the road' for two months. No announcement was made regarding the schedule or plans."

By 67-32, senators gave final congressional approval to a separate $1 trillion bill financing the Pentagon and scores of other federal agencies through next September. That measure avoided a shuttering of government offices that otherwise would have occurred this weekend when temporary financing expired.

The tax legislation delivers tax cuts and jobless benefits that some Republicans opposed. It also represents a rebuff of Obama's original demands for a yearlong payroll tax reduction for 160 million workers that was to be even deeper than this year's cut, extended to employers and paid for by boosting taxes on the highest-earning Americans.

The measure's $33 billion price tag will be paid for instead by raising fees that government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will charge to back new mortgages or refinancings, beginning next year. When fully phased in, those increases could cost a person with a $200,000 mortgage about $17 a month.

Video: Battle lines drawn with tax extension (on this page)
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Despite the changes, Obama praised the Senate for passing the bill and prodded the Republican-run House to give it final approval in a vote, which has been expected early next week. He exhorted lawmakers to extend the tax cuts and jobless aid for the entire year, saying it would be "inexcusable" not to.

"It should be a formality, and hopefully it's done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January" from their holiday recess, he said.

The Senate adjourned for the year after its votes Saturday.

While Obama and Democrats used the fight to portray themselves as defenders of beleaguered middle- and lower-income people, Republicans used it to cast themselves as champions of job creation.

Headlining that was a provision they inserted forcing Obama to make a decision within two months on whether to allow construction of the proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline, which is to deliver up to 700,000 barrels of oil daily from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. The language requires him to issue the needed permit unless he declares the pipeline would not serve the national interest.

Unions have clamored for the thousands of jobs the project could create. Environmentalists have decried the huge amounts of energy it would take to extract the oil. Obama originally announced he was delaying a decision until 2013, which would have allowed him to avoid choosing between two Democratic constituencies before Election Day next November.

When the House inserted the language into its version of the payroll tax bill this month, Obama said he would "reject" the legislation if it retained the Keystone provision. He abandoned that stance this past week as GOP leaders said they would insist on keeping the Keystone language and the final deal jelled.

Video: Obama: Payroll tax cut is 'lifeline' for millions of people (on this page)

"The only thing standing between thousands of American workers and the good jobs this project will provide is a presidential decision," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

An administration official said Friday that Obama would almost surely refuse to grant the permit, a stance echoed Saturday by congressional Democrats.

"We feel we're giving them the sleeves off a vest," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Democrats said when Congress revisits the issue of renewing the tax cuts and jobless benefits early next year, they would win the political battle because they would be viewed as protecting peoples' household budgets.

Republicans, though, said they would once again focus the fight on jobs, with some predicting they would try adding provisions to repeal pollution curbs and other government regulations that they say make it harder for companies to hire people.

"There are lots of issues Republicans are interested in as job creators that will still be alive in March," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

The tax bill would renew this year's 4.2 percent payroll tax through February, preventing the rate from bouncing back to its normal 6.2 percent on New Year's Day. Obama pushed that cut through Congress a year ago as a way to help spark the economy by leaving more money in people's pockets.

A $50,000-a-year wage earner would save about $170 during next year's first two months under the bill the Senate approved Saturday.

Obama had proposed reducing the payroll tax employees pay to 3.1 percent next year. The levy is the chief source of revenue for Social Security.

For two more months, the tax measure would also continue current jobless benefits that provide a maximum 99 weeks of coverage for people who have been out of work the longest. Without any extension, the White House said, 2.5 million people would have lost coverage by the end of February.

The bill also prevents a 27 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors that might have induced some to stop treating the program's elderly beneficiaries.

The spending legislation carries out budget cuts across government that Republicans won earlier this year and includes GOP provisions blocking energy efficiency and coal dust requirements. Democrats fought off Republican language that would have blocked limits on greenhouse gases and hazardous emissions from utility plants and other sources.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45707185/ns/politics/

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Experts call for strict limits on chimp research

Chimpanzees should hardly ever be used for medical research, a prestigious scientific group told the U.S. government Thursday ? advice that means days in the laboratory may be numbered for humans' closest relatives.

The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies of Sciences, said studies in chimpanzees should only be allowed in cases where not studying them would hinder progress in treatments for life-threatening or debilitating conditions.

The panel stopped short of recommending the outright ban that animal rights activists had pushed. Instead, it urged strict limits that would make invasive experiments with chimps essentially a last resort, saying today's more advanced research tools mean the primates' use only rarely will be necessary enough to outweigh the moral costs.

Chimp research already was dwindling fast as scientists turned to less costly and ethically charged alternatives. The government agency in charge of it ? the National Institutes of Health ? called the new recommendations "scientifically well-founded" and signaled that it would make some changes.

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These apes' genetic similarity to people has long caused a quandary. It is what has made them so valuable to scientists for nearly a century. They were vital in creating a vaccine for hepatitis B, for example, and even were shot into space to make sure the trip would not kill the astronauts next in line.

But that close relationship also has had animal rights groups arguing that using chimps for biomedical research is unethical, even cruel.

"We understand and feel compelled by the moral cost of using chimpanzees in research," said bioethicist Jeffrey Kahn of Johns Hopkins University, who chaired the Institute of Medicine panel. "We have established criteria that will set the bar quite high for justification of the use of chimpanzees."

For biomedical research ? testing new drugs or giving the animal a disease ? that means using chimps only if studies cannot be done on other animals or people themselves, and if foregoing the chimp studies would hinder progress against life-threatening or other debilitating diseases.

The report was commissioned by the U.S. Congress, which has been considering legislation that would ban research on chimpanzees and other great apes, following the lead of the European Union, which issued a ban on research use of all great apes in 2010.

But that ban also includes a provision for research on the animals in cases where no other suitable alternative could be found.

The panel said NIH should require these studies to be performed only on animals that do not resist participating, using techniques that are minimally invasive and that minimize pain and distress.

Researchers who conduct studies with chimpanzees must house the animals in appropriate physical and social environments, or in natural habitats.

The report does not address use of chimpanzees in research done by industry, but Kahn, writing in the journal Science, urged companies to take up the same standard.

The panel said scientific advances in research tools makes the use of chimpanzees unnecessary in most cases. But it did say ongoing studies testing monoclonal antibody therapies, an engineered immune system hormone, and studies of a vaccine to prevent hepatitis C virus infections might be possible exceptions.

The group was split on whether chimpanzees should be used in research for a hepatitis C vaccine, a disease that affects 3.2 million Americans and can cause liver disease and cancer.

Chimpanzees and humans are the only two species that are susceptible to HCV infection, and no other suitable animal models currently exist to test a prophylactic vaccine.

The panel said it took into account the close genetic relationship between humans and chimpanzees, and the similarities in biology and behavioral characteristics -- traits that make chimps a great research subject, but also require greater scrutiny.

The U.S. is one of only two countries known to still conduct medical research with chimpanzees; the other is Gabon, in Africa. The European Union essentially banned such research last year.

Here, too, the practice is dwindling fast. The Institute of Medicine's investigation found over the past 10 years, the NIH has paid for just 110 projects of any type that involved chimps. There are not quite 1,000 chimps available for medical research in the country. While it's impossible to say how many have been used in privately funded pharmaceutical research, the industry is shifting to higher-tech and less costly research methods. One drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, adopted an official policy ending its use of great apes, including chimpanzees, in research.

Thursday's report was triggered by an uproar over the fate of 186 semi-retired research chimps that the NIH, to save money, last year planned to move from a New Mexico facility to an active research lab in Texas.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45684538/ns/health-health_care/

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Ben Flajnik Dishes on His Date with Jennifer Love Hewitt

Shortly after the world watched Ashley Hebert stomp on his heart, Ben Flajnik was spotted having a drink with admitted Bachelorette fan Jennifer Love Hewitt. At the time, Flajnik denied that he was dating anybody, tweeting that he was "far too busy" with his winery. But now that he's the new Bachelor, (premiering Monday, Jan. 2, at 8 p.m. on ABC) Flajnik is spilling some details about his get-together with Hewitt.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/bachelor-ben-flajnik-dishes-date-jennifer-love-hewitt/1-a-411175?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Abachelor-ben-flajnik-dishes-date-jennifer-love-hewitt-411175

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ABC nixes 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

What's going to make us sob like little babies now?!

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ABC has canceled "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" after nine heartwarming seasons of tear-jerking tales of sorrow and hardship bookended by even more tear-jerking scenes of joy and excitement when a family gets the keys to their brand-new house.

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"For nine seasons, I was blessed to have been given the opportunity to change lives across the globe with the help of loving communities, generous sponsors, and a cast that has become my second family," interior designer Michael Moloney said in a statement. "I was lucky to have this show as a perpetual reminder of my own blessings, but my work won't stop with the end of the series. It is with a somber heart I close this chapter, but with such excitement I begin the next one."

ABC says that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ? which back in 2005 was pulling in an average 16 million viewers a week but dipped to less than 9 million last season ? will continue in the form of periodic TV specials.

The Emmy-winning series will sign off in true "Extreme Makeover" fashion on Jan. 13 with its 200th episode, shot in the tornado-ravaged town of Joplin, Mo.

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Ty Pennington and crew headed over there in October to help not one, not two, but seven families who lost their homes.

That's seven-times the tears, people!

GALLERY: DVR DOA: The Shows You're Deleting

Which episode in the show's history was the most memorable for you? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45689473/ns/today-entertainment/

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