Michael Schumacher's family in bedside vigil after ski accident

The family of German motor-racing champion Michael Schumacher is at his bedside as he fights for life following a skiing accident in the French Alps.

Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said his wife, Corinna, daughter Gina Maria and son Mick are in a state of shock at the Grenoble hospital.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion suffered head injuries on Sunday in a fall at the resort of Meribel.
He has been put in a medically-induced coma to relieve pressure on his brain.
"The family is not doing very well, obviously. They are shocked," Sabine Kehm told reporters.
Prof Jean-Francois Payen, of Grenoble University Hospital's intensive care unit, told a news conference that they could not give a prognosis for the 44-year-old driver.
"He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation. We are working hour by hour," he said.
Prof Payen said that if Schumacher had not been wearing a helmet "he wouldn't be here now".

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Michael Schumacher

• Born: 3 January 1969
• First GP win: Belgium 1992
• Last GP win: China 2006
• Races started: 303
• Wins: 91 (155 podium finishes)
• Championships: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

• F1 world rallies round Schumacher

"We had to operate urgently to release some pressure in his head," the anaesthetist said.

Neurosurgeon Stephan Chabardes said that a post-operative scan had shown "diffuse haemorrhagic lesions" on both sides of Schumacher's brain.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Grenoble says there are precedents for people surviving such injuries.
Schumacher is likely to stay in an induced coma for at least 48 hours, or even several weeks, she adds - and there can be many months of therapy in order to achieve as full a recovery as possible.
Doctors have lowered Schumacher's body temperature to 34-35C (93.2-95F) as part of the coma, slowing his metabolism to help reduce inflammation.
The driver had been skiing off-piste with his teenage son when he fell and hit his head on a rock.
He was first evacuated to a hospital in the nearby town of Moutiers.
Prof Chabardes said the driver was in an "agitated condition" on arrival in Moutiers and his neurological condition "deteriorated rapidly".
He was taken from Moutiers to the larger facility in Grenoble.
Messages of support have come from around the world.

Michael Schumacher won seven world championships during his career

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and her government were, like millions of Germans, "extremely shocked".
"We hope, with Michael Schumacher and with his family, that he can overcome and recover from his injuries," the spokesman said.
Former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who recovered from life-threatening head injuries he suffered at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, wrote on Instagram: "I am praying for you my brother! I hope you have a quick recovery! God bless you, Michael."
On Monday some fans had gathered outside the hospital in Grenoble.
Nuravil Raimbekov, a student from Kyrgyzstan who is studying nearby, described Schumacher as an inspiration.
"I'm worried, of course... but I still hope, and I will pray for him," he said.
Schumacher is held in a great deal of affection in the area, our correspondent says. He is seen as a kind a generous man who has done a lot for charity.
The former champion, who turns 45 on 3 January, retired from F1 for a second time in 2012.
He won seven world championships and secured 91 race victories during his 19-year career.
The driver won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.
He retired in 2006, and was seriously hurt in a motorcycling accident in Spain three years later, during which he suffered neck and spine injuries.
Schumacher managed to recover and made a comeback in F1 with Mercedes in 2010.
After three seasons which yielded just one podium finish, he quit the sport at the end of last year.
source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25556284

Errors show Bears' D needs change

CHICAGO -- Shortly after his season ended with another embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers, a sullen Lance Briggs pulled his luggage out of the restricted area of the Chicago Bears' locker room and quickly rolled it to the door to the outside. He didn't stop by his locker, and he avoided a reporter's entreaties to talk.
As the last available vestige of the Super Bowl Bears, No. 55 had zero words after Green Bay won the NFC North "championship game" with a 33-28 victory over the Bears.
Briggs could've talked about the indignity of the play on which the Bears' defense let a live ball -- a fumble by Aaron Rodgers -- sit idly on the field for receiver Jarrett Boykin to scoop up and score. The "Lovie Smith Bears" wouldn't let that happen, right?
But the linebacker's season, already truncated by injury, was now over, so he took off.

[+] Enlarge

Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty ImagesJarrett Boykin's scoop of Aaron Rodgers' fumble was a defining failure for a Bears defense that couldn't afford any mistakes.

Free safety Chris Conte? He didn't talk to reporters, either, though everyone was curious about his role in the blown play that led to the winning touchdown. Despite a first-quarter interception that led to a touchdown, Conte was immediately looked at as the game's goat, a role he has been thrust into many times this season.
What could he say, besides he knew it was his fault?
Just a week after getting waxed 54-11 in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears were 46 seconds from winning the division. But they lost it in awe-inspiring fashion.
You might have been surprised at exactly how the Packers won, but no one should be shocked that it happened. It was the Bears' defense.
The two themes to this 8-8 Bears season were Jay Cutler's viability as a franchise quarterback and the sad crumbling of the "Lovie Smith defense."
Cutler's future can't be answered just yet. Most expect him to get a long-term deal done this offseason.
Defensively, it's obvious the Bears must clean house and start over. The wrecking-ball philosophy might very well go to the defensive coordinator position after just one season.
While he didn't have much to work with -- and he smartly tried to segue from the previous defense to a new one -- defensive coordinator Mel Tucker had a miserable first season replacing Rod Marinelli and Smith. It's hard to have much faith in him.
It's tough to know how much is his fault and how much should be pinned on the players, a thinner and less-talented core than we're used to here.
But after one season, it's safe to wonder if the defensive coordinator spot could be Marc Trestman's undoing, like the offensive coordinator was for Smith. Trestman takes care of the offense like Smith did the defense, and one side of the ball suffers.
The good news is general manager Phil Emery has carte blanche to bring in new players and the Bears can cultivate a new, aggressive defensive scheme. The offense, if Cutler is back, is in good shape.
Cutler played well enough to win, and the offense scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions in the second half. Matt Forte -- who proved to be a bargain, not a contract albatross -- had another explosive game.
But the Bears' defense, a sieve all season, provided one final twist of the knife to the glory days, when a missed blitz led to a too-easy touchdown to give the Packers the comeback victory.
On the winning play, it was fourth-and-8 from the Bears' 48-yard line with 46 seconds left and the Bears leading 28-27. Rodgers avoided an all-out blitz and found a streaking, wide-open Randall Cobb for a 48-yard touchdown.
How it happened is up for interpretation and further video review.
The Bears unleashed what cornerback Tim Jennings said was a "fire blitz," a common term for a zone blitz, and Conte was guarding Cobb in the left slot.
Cobb was in the left slot and Conte was waiting for him downfield. Cobb, seeing that there was no safety help deep, called for the ball before he even beat Conte around the 40, near the first down marker.
As Cobb ran by, Conte moved to switch to the outside receiver. Cornerback Zack Bowman gamely left his man on the outside to try to catch Cobb, but to no avail. Several players called it a "miscommunication."
"We had a blitz called, and not everybody on the back end was on the same page," Bowman said. "We all take full responsibility for it, and we have to get everybody on the same page. We're not blaming anybody. We need everybody on the same page."
By the look of it -- and we watched the play over and over after the game -- that's a nice way of saying it was Conte's fault.
Cobb said he saw Conte "was flat-footed, so I just threw my hands up and stayed on the move."
Like every blitz, the play is designed so that the ball doesn't get that far. While defensive end Julius Peppers nearly got Rodgers, he got chipped by fullback John Kuhn, and the Packers quarterback moved to his left and uncorked a perfect throw down the field, and Cobb scored to silence Soldier Field.
"That was the route," Rodgers said. "He had a vertical, but I didn't think that was going to happen."
That's why Rodgers gets the big bucks and no one ever calls for a 34-year-old backup to take his job. He makes that play happen.
The Packers had already converted two fourth-down plays on their final drive, and for the game, they went 9-for-18 on third down. But the Bears had picked off Rodgers twice, and it seemed like the Bears were going to escape with a win until that play.
As the ball sailed in the air, return ace -- and future free agent -- Devin Hester knew he might be witnessing the end of his Chicago career. He's a free agent and his record-setting days could be over.
"I was just hoping he'd drop it," Hester said. "To lose a game to go into the playoffs, it's tough. It wasn't like he made a great move or a great catch. He was just that open."
Just that open.
And that wasn't even the most embarrassing play of the game.
In the second quarter, with the Bears leading 7-3 and Green Bay at Chicago's 17-yard line, Peppers got home on Rodgers, nailing his arm as he prepared to throw. No whistle blew as the ball landed down the field, and no Bear made a move for the ball as Boykin picked it up and then realized the play was still live. He scored and the Packers took a 10-7 lead.

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In the Lovie era, players pounced on every ball that touched the ground. Of course, that's a common practice from junior high to sandlot leagues. But in a game the Bears had to win, everyone froze. "We all thought it was a dead ball," linebacker James Anderson said.
"I didn't hear a whistle," Trestman said. "So, you know, I was as curious as everybody else why nobody was moving toward the ball."
"One of those fluke plays that we just didn't finish," Jennings said. "That's not what we practice. If that ball [is] on the ground, it's our ball. That just simplifies how this year has been going for us, man. Just been up and down. To let something like that happen, that's not us. That's some of the things with the transition, the new style and everything we got going. Not making excuses. That's just how the year's going."
Past tense, Tim. The season is gone.
It figures. The season the Bears figure out the new-fangled forward passing game, and the defense falters.
One day, I'm sure they'll figure everything out at Halas Hall, but on a cold night by the lake, it was chaos as usual for one side of the ball.
And there's no defense for it.
source;espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/10213209/nfl-chicago-bears-defensive-lapses-green-bay-packers-expose-need-overhaul

Robin Roberts Comes Out, Reveals Relationship with "Longtime Girlfriend"

Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts came out via a reflective year-end Facebook post over the weekend, revealing a relationship with her "longtime girlfriend." In the post, Roberts writes: "I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together."
See other celebrities who are out and proud
Roberts' partner of 10 years is Amber Laign, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area who works as a massage therapist, People reports. She and Roberts met through mutual friends.
In the Facebook message, Roberts thanked her fans and loved ones for their support through her struggles with breast cancer and the bone marrow transplant she underwent last year
source:http://www.tvguide.com/News/Robin-Roberts-Comes-Out-1075051.aspx

Michael Schumacher in coma, 'critical' after ski accident

Grenoble, France:  Michael Schumacher, the retired seven-time Formula One champion, was in a critical condition on Monday after suffering severe brain trauma in a skiing accident in the French Alps, doctors said.

The German racing legend, who turns 45 on Friday, had been skiing off-piste with his 14-year-old son in the upmarket Meribel resort when he fell and hit his head on a rock. (Related: Schumacher haunted by love of speed and risk)

He was "suffering a serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation", according to the hospital in the southeastern French city of Grenoble where he is being treated.

"He remains in a critical condition."

Shortly after the accident Meribel resort director Christophe Gernigon-Lecomte said Schumacher, who had been wearing a helmet, was "conscious but a little agitated".

But when Schumacher fell into coma, doctors realised the damage was worse than initially feared.

Two mountain police officers who gave first aid to Schumacher said he was suffering "severe cranial trauma" when they got to him and a helicopter was brought in to evacuate him within 10 minutes.

A renowned Parisian neurologist, doctor Gerard Saillant, arrived at the Grenoble hospital in a police car to help take charge of the famous patient.

Schumacher's wife Corinna was at his side with his two children, the hospital said.

The hospital statement was signed by the facility's neurosurgeon, the professor in charge of its anaesthesia/revival unit, and the hospital's deputy director.

Schumacher a 'crazy daredevil'
News of Schumacher's accident stunned the Formula One community and his former teammates joined thousands on Twitter in wishing him a speedy recovery.

"My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher at this tough time.. Michael more than anyone has the strength to pull through this," tweeted British F1 driver Jenson Button.

Schumacher's former teammate at Benetton Martin Brundle wrote on Twitter: "Come on Michael, give us one of those race stints at pure qualifying pace to win through, like you used to. You can do it."

He added that the German was "a crazy brave skydiving/bike racing daredevil".

Brazilian Formula One racing driver Felipe Massa said he was "praying for God to protect you my brother!! I wish you a speedy recovery Michael", the former Ferrari driver wrote.

The next update on Schumacher's condition would be given at 1000 GMT on Monday, a hospital spokesman said.

Police kept guard at the hospital's entrances as journalists and fans, some wearing the colours of the Formula One legend's former stable Ferrari, gathered outside awaiting news of his health.

Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident, the ski resort said.

Schumacher, who won the last of his world titles in 2004, definitively retired in 2012 in the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which he finished seventh, after an abandoned attempt to quit six years earlier.

Since his debut in 1991, the German towered over the sport, winning more Formula One world titles and races than any other. He had a record 91 wins and is one of only two men to reach 300 grands prix.

Schumacher's duels in his heyday with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, fired by an unquenchable competitive spirit, have gone down in Formula One lore.

Schumacher was born in January 1969 near Cologne, Germany, the son of a bricklayer who also ran the local go-kart track, where his mother worked in the canteen.

By 1987, Schumacher was the German and European go-kart champion and was soon racing professionally. In 1991 he burst into Formula One by qualifying seventh in his debut race in Belgium and a year later he was racing for Benetton, where he won his first Formula One grand prix in 1992.

After joining Ferrari in 1996, Schumacher achieved infamy by trying to ram Villeneuve off the road at Jerez in the last race of 1997, and was disqualified from the championship as punishment.

Over the next decade, he went from strength to strength, dominating the podium, before trying to retire the first time aged 37.

During his retirement he survived a horror accident that knocked him out when racing a motorbike in Spain.

That time he was released from hospital after just five hours.

But the father of two could not resist the lure of the track and in 2010 he signed a three-year deal with Mercedes.

But slower reflexes and a less competitive car meant Schumacher could not reproduce his former glory and he quit for good in 2012. His helmet had a message for fans: "Life is about passions -- Thank you for sharing mine."
source:http://sports.ndtv.com/formula-1/news/218841-michael-schumacher-hospitalised-after-skiing-injury-reports

Home> Money Red Lobster Says It's Not Closing Its 705 Restaurants

Home> Money

A Red Lobster restaurant sign sits in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 23, 2009.

Tom Uhlman/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Red Lobster restaurant chain today brushed aside reports that it will be closing its doors.

Rich Jeffers, a spokesman for Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns the chain, said the rumor may have started after the website LA Weekly published a story earlier this week that the company faced an "uncertain future." A torrent of tweets and other online media followed with reports that the chain was closing.

"We are not closing any restaurants," Jeffers told ABCNews.com on Friday.

The confusion may also be linked to Darden's announcement last week that it plans to sell or spin off the Red Lobster chain into a separate company.

There are 705 Red Lobster restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, Jeffers said.

In Photos: National Chain Restaurants Offer More Gluten-Free Menu Items

Shares of Darden, based in Orlando, closed up 0.02 percent on Friday to $54.33.

Darden calls itself the "world's largest full-service restaurant company," with a portfolio that includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille and other restaurants.

Darden owns and operates more than 2,100 restaurants that generate over $8.5 billion in annual sales, according to its website. But same-store sales fell 4.5 percent at Red Lobster in the company's latest quarter as it has had trouble going up against more-casual chains including Panera and Chipotle.

source:http://abcnews.go.com/Business/false-alarm-red-lobster-closing/story?id=21351799

Paul Walker Accused Of Faking His Own Death By Insensitive Website! Deplorable Rumor Upsets His Many Fans

This is just so rude!
We're not entirely sure we understand why someone would fake their death and cause their family and even the world all that grief! We understand it LESS when someone accuses a person who was taken so soon of doing such a deplorable thing!
Deceased Paul Walker has been accused of faking his own death with Roger Rodas in the fiery accident that occurred on November 30th.
The article on Nosinfo.com claims the Fast & Furious actor's family and friends are all pulling a fast one the world, claiming:

They are all lying. Paul Walker didn’t die. Nor did Roger Rodas. They are both alive and well, and their relatives well know it.
It has already been established that the relatives of Paul Walker are involved in a cover-up, that is the cover-up of faking the actor’s death. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, here, that the accident is a fabrication and that there wasn’t any real car crash. Rather, what is seen is imagery of a man-made car fire and a car pre-placed in position to be incinerated: without either Walker or Rodas inside.

WTF?! Boo! All kinds of BOOOOO!
This is just a terrible accusation to make. We don't know what's worse, shopping around photos of the deceased actor or trying to prove his death to be illegitimate?
And what would Paul or Roger gain from faking their death anyway?
Fans took to Twitter to express their feelings about this heartless report. A few tweeted:
source:http://perezhilton.com/2013-12-27-paul-walker-death-fake-insensitive-claims-reports-accusations#sthash.bfbXv7eK.dpbs

Arvind Kejriwal takes charge, vows 'We are here to serve'

Kaushambi, New Delhi:  Wearing his trademark white cap, Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in today as Delhi's youngest chief minister, as an estimated one lakh people cheered for him at Ramlila Maidan, a massive public park in the heart of the city. (Track Live Updates)

The bespectacled 45-year-old rode the metro to the ceremony. His decision to use public transport echoes his pre-poll promise to end the VIP culture of Delhi's political elite. (Poll: What should Arvind Kejriwal focus on most? | Your message for him)

Describing his one-year-old party's journey to power as "nothing short of a miracle", Mr Kejriwal delivered a heart-felt speech after taking his oath. "I appeal to my party let us never become arrogant," he said and added, "we are here to serve." (Highlights of Kejriwal's speech)
Making governance more transparent and inclusive and checking corruption was what he pitched in a highly effective marketing campaign ahead of the Delhi election.  Today, he urged the city, "Let us swear that we will never seek nor offer a bribe."  The sea of supporters roared its assent. (Watch Arvind Kejriwal's full speech)

For voters frustrated with endemic corruption, Mr Kejriwal has emerged as a new hope, and has been given a starling mandate.

His Aam Aadmi Party made a stunning electoral debut in the Delhi election, placing second. The ruling Congress was forced into a poor third, and is lending external support to his minority government.

The BJP won the most seats but did not get a majority and decided it would not try to form the government.

Unlike his predecessors, Mr Kejriwal has said he and his ministers will not occupy the sprawling bungalows surrounded by lush lawns in Delhi. He plans to keep living in his fourth-storey flat in the Delhi suburb of Ghaziabad and has declined police protection.

He asked to be sworn-in at a public park so that the aam aadmi or common man could attend the ceremony. The venue he picked is where he rallied a historic anti-corruption movement with activist Anna Hazare two years ago. (Confident Kejriwal will do good work: Anna Hazare)

They have been estranged since Mr Kejriwal decided to enter politics.