20 children, 6 adults killed at Conn. school shooting

Twenty children died today when a heavily armed man invaded a Newtown,
Conn., elementary school, killing his mother and spraying the school
with bullets.

The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was killed inside of the school.

Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died
later in a hospital. Six adults were also slain, bringing the total to
26.

In addition to the casualties at the school, a body was also found in the shooter's home, officials said.

In the early confusion surrounding the investigation, federal sources
initially identified the suspect as Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24.

LIVE UPDATES: Newtown, Conn., School Shooting

Sources said the shooter was armed with a Glock semi automatic handgun
and a Sig Sauer semi automatic handgun, law enforcement sources told ABC
News. Additionally, .223 caliber shell casings--a rifle caliber--were
also found at the scene. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he
opened fire in the elementary school.

Among the dead in the school was the gunman's mother, who was a
kindergarten teacher, sources told ABC News. Many of the students slain
were in class with her when she was killed.

First grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a class
bathroom and listened to "tons of shooting" until police came to help.

"It was horrific," Roig said. "I thought we were going to die."

She said that the terrified kids were saying, "I just want Christmas…I don't want to die. I just want to have Christmas."

A tearful President Obama said there's "not a parent in America who doesn't feel the overwhelming grief that I do."

The president had to pause to compose himself after saying these were
"beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10." As he continued
with his statement, Obama wiped away tears from each eye.

He has ordered flags flown as half staff.

The alert at the school ended when Vance announced, "The shooter is deceased inside the building. The public is not in danger."

The massacre prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools
and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today. Authorities
initially believed that there were two gunmen and were searching cars
around the school, but authorities do not appear to be looking for
another gunman.

It's unclear how many people have been shot, but 27 people, mostly
children, are dead, multiple federal and state sources tell ABC News.
That number could rise, officials said.

CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.

It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by
the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 were killed before the
shooter turned the gun on himself. Today's carnage exceeds the 1999
Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.

The Newtown shooting comes three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts
opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun
on himself.

Today's shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which
includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles
east of Danbury.

State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41 a.m. and immediately
began sending emergency units from the western part of the state.
Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a
classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State
Police source.

Lt. Paul Vance said that on-duty and off-duty officers swarmed to the
school and quickly checked "every door, every crack, every crevice" in
the building looking for the gunman and evacuating children.

A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.

Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page.

"Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat
Danbury Hospital is under lockdown," the statement said. "This allows us
simply to focus on the important work at hand."

Newtown Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June
said in a statement that the district's schools were locked down because
of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive
measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety
of all students and staff," she said.

State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown.

All public and private schools in the town were on lockdown.

"We have increased our police presence at all Danbury Public Schools due
to the events in Newtown. Pray for the victims," Newtown Mayor Boughton
tweeted.

State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school.

A message on the school district website says that all afternoon
kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no midday bus runs.

Also Read

Read More..

Menopause quality of life unchanged by soy supplements

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Menopausal women who took soy supplements during a two-year trial reported no differences in quality of life compared to their counterparts taking placebo pills, U.S. researchers report.

It’s possible that soy could still offer women some benefits through menopause, said the study’s lead author Dr. Paula Amato, from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, “but I think if you are similar to the subjects in the study, then probably taking supplements isn’t going to make a huge impact on your quality of life.”

In light of health concerns attached to taking hormones, soy has been seen as an attractive alternative for relieving menopausal symptoms. But research on the effectiveness of soy extracts for hot flashes and other bothersome symptoms has yielded conflicting results so far.

In the new report, published in the medical journal Menopause, Amato and her colleagues looked not just at specific symptoms but overall quality of life measures among healthy women, mostly in their 50s and six years or more into menopause on average.

Several hundred women were asked to take supplement pills three times a day for two years. Among them, 126 took a fake supplement that contained no soy extract, while 135 women took tablets containing a total of 80 milligrams a day of soy protein and another 123 women took 120 mg each day.

At the start of the study and again one and two years into it, the women filled out a quality of life survey that asked about mental, physical and sexual health as well as about hot flashes.

In each of the surveys, the women in all three groups scored similarly on the main measures in the questionnaire.

“From our study and the good amount of the literature to date it appears that taking soy supplements after menopause does not improve quality of life,” said Amato. “We can’t really recommend it to our patients.”

Mark Messina, president Nutrition Matters and an adjunct professor at Loma Linda University in California, cautioned against concluding that the key ingredients in soy supplements, known as isoflavones, don’t have any effect on hot flashes, however.

“Unfortunately, because of the severe limitations of this study, very little if anything can be learned about isoflavones and hot flashes,” Messina wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

For one, he said, the levels of a particular type of isoflavone – called genistein – were lower than in other studies that have found benefits from soy extracts.

Additionally, the researchers originally set out to look at the effects of soy extracts on bone health, and did not recruit women specifically with hot flash or quality of life concerns in mind.

“So in my opinion, no useful information about isoflavones and hot flashes is provided by this study,” said Messina, who regularly consults for companies that make or sell soy foods and supplements.

Isoflavone companies market the supplements, sold for about $ 17 for 90 50-mg pills, as “potentially” easing the changes associated with menopause.

Amato agreed that the study has some limitations, and that the findings can’t be generalized to all forms of soy in all types of women.

For instance, “taking supplements just might not be the same as eating a high soy content diet your entire life,” she told Reuters Health.

But “if you look at this specific supplement for this particular group of women for this reason, quality of life, I’m convinced by this study it’s not terribly helpful,” she added.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/UsyPIY Menopause, online December 3, 2012.

Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Verizon Offering $5 Shared 4G Plan for Samsung Galaxy Camera

Imagine the powerful Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, except that it can’t make phone calls and its backplate has been replaced by a digital camera — handgrip, zoom lens, and all. That’s basically the Samsung Galaxy Camera in a nutshell, and whether it’s a small, awkwardly-shaped Android tablet or a digital camera that you can play Modern Combat 3 on depends on how you look at it.

When the Galaxy Camera launched last month, it was only available in white, and cost $ 499 on AT&T’s network with a month-to-month data plan. But on Dec. 13, it launches on Verizon’s network, in both white and black. The Verizon Galaxy Camera costs $ 50 more up front, but in return it has 4G LTE instead of HSPA+, and Verizon is offering a “promotional price” for the monthly charge: Only $ 5 to add it to a Share Everything plan, instead of the usual $ 10 tablet rate.

A 4G digital camera

While it’s capable of functioning as an Android tablet (or game machine), the biggest reason for the Samsung Galaxy Camera’s 4G wireless Internet is so it can automatically upload photos it takes. Apps such as Dropbox, Photobucket, and Ubuntu One offer a limited amount of online storage space for free, where the Galaxy Camera can save photos without anyone needing to tell it to. Those photos can then be accessed at home, or on a tablet or laptop.

Most smartphones are able to do this already, but few (with the possible exception of the Windows Phone powered Nokia Lumia 920) are able to take photos as high-quality as the Galaxy Camera’s.

Not as good of a deal as it sounds

Dropbox is offering two years’ worth of 50 GB of free online storage space for photos and videos, to anyone who buys a Samsung Galaxy Camera from AT&T or Verizon. (The regular free plan is only 2 GB.)

The problem is, you may need that much space. The photos taken by the Galaxy Camera’s 16 megapixel sensor take up a lot more space, at maximum resolution, than ordinary smartphone snapshots do. Those camera uploads can eat through a shared data plan, and with Verizon charging a $ 15 per GB overage fee (plus the $ 50 extra up-front on top of what AT&T charges) it may make up for the cheaper monthly cost.

On top of that, the Galaxy Camera’s photos are basically on par with a $ 199 digital camera’s — you pay a large premium to combine that kind of point-and-shoot with the hardware equivalent of a high-end smartphone.

It does run Android, though, right?

The Galaxy Camera uses Samsung‘s custom software for its camera app, and lacks a normal phone dialer app. Beyond that, though, it runs the same Android operating system found on smartphones, and can run all the same games and apps.

Some apps don’t work the same on the Galaxy Camera as they do on a smartphone, however. Apps which only run in portrait mode, for instance, require you to hold the camera sideways to use them (especially unpleasant when they’re camera apps). And while it can make voice and even video calls over Skype, it lacks a rear-facing camera or the kind of speaker you hold up close to your ear. So you may end up making speakerphone calls and filming the palm of your hand.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Cuban lawmakers meet to consider economy, budget

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban lawmakers are holding the second of their twice-annual sessions with a year-end report expected on the state of the country’s economy.

Legislators are also to approve next year’s budget.

Cuban leaders have sometimes used the parliamentary gatherings to make important announcements or policy statements.

Observers will be watching for word on the progress of President Raul Castro‘s economic reform plan and efforts to promote younger leaders.

The unicameral parliament will reconvene in February with a new membership following elections. It is then expected to name Castro to another five-year term.

State-run media said Castro presided over Thursday’s session.

It was not open to international journalists.

Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Documents: Prisoner plotted to kill Justin Bieber

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — An imprisoned man whose infatuation with Justin Bieber included a tattoo of the pop star on his leg has told investigators in New Mexico he hatched a plot to kill him.

Court documents in a New Mexico district court say Dana Martin told investigators he persuaded a man he met in prison and the man’s nephew to kill Bieber, Bieber’s bodyguard and two others not connected to the pop star.

He told investigators that Mark Staake and Tanner Ruane headed east, planning to be near a Bieber concert scheduled in New York City. They missed a turn and crossed into Canada from Vermont. Staake was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Ruane was arrested later.

The two men face multiple charges stemming for the alleged plot.

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Rice drops out of race for top State post

Susan Rice (Stephen Lam/Reuters)Susan Rice, the embattled U.S. ambassador for the U.N., withdrew her name on Thursday from consideration to be Secretary of State.

"If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly—to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities," Rice wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama, NBC News first reported.

President Obama confirmed her withdrawal in a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, "While I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice in recent weeks, her decision demonstrates the strength of her character, and an admirable commitment to rise above the politics of the moment to put our national interests first."

Talk of Rice being nominated to succeed Hillary Clinton stirred significant controversy due to Rice's role in the handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Republicans accuse Rice of misleading the public about intelligence that indicated the attack was premeditated. (The White House has also been accused of ignoring requests for increased security at the embassy.)

Rice's withdrawal is a loss for the administration, which had staunchly defended Rice amid the criticism. It will be viewed as a win for Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and other Republican senators who had vowed to block Rice's confirmation.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers emailed Yahoo News to express that the senator "thanks Ambassador Rice for her service to the country and wishes her well. ... He will continue to seek all the facts about what happened before, during and after the attack on our consulate in Benghazi that killed four brave Americans."

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another leading Rice detractor, declared in a statement Thursday, "I respect Ambassador Rice's decision," and said Obama "has many talented people to choose from" to succeed Clinton.

Graham has accused the administration of stonewalling efforts to look into the Benghazi attack and vowed to keep "working diligently to get to the bottom of what happened."

Speculation regarding who will be chosen as the next Secretary of State now shifts to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Obama is expected to overhaul much of his foreign policy and national security teams for the coming term. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is departing, the position of director of the CIA is open following the David Petraeus scandal, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is rumored to be looking to replace Attorney General Eric Holder.

Read More..

U.S. faces task of running dozens of health exchanges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fourteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia so far have told the federal government they plan to operate healthcare exchanges under President Barack Obama‘s reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for at least two-thirds of the country.

On the eve of a federal deadline for states to say whether they will run their own exchanges, a top U.S. healthcare policy official told lawmakers that the exchanges will start enrolling eligible families starting on October 1, 2013.

“I am confident that states and the federal government will be ready in ten months, when consumers in all states can begin to apply,” Gary Cohen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, told a health oversight panel in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Cohen, whose agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), was among federal officials who testified alongside state health authorities at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

In written testimony, Cohen said 15 states have told the administration they will operate their own exchanges. He later explained under questioning that the count comprises 14 states and the District of Columbia.

Separately, HHS officials confirmed the count of 14 states but could not immediately explain why Cohen’s written testimony contained a higher number.

Some experts say the number of states planning to operate their own exchanges could reach 18 by the time the deadline arrives Friday. Still, the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks healthcare issues, says only two states – Utah and Florida – remain undecided.

That would leave at least 30 states in which the administration would be required to run exchanges, a challenge that is raising questions about how successfully U.S. officials can implement a key provision of the healthcare reform law, known to opponents and advocates alike as “Obamacare”.

“I don’t envy them for the job that they have,” said Dennis Smith, a former federal healthcare official who now heads health services in Wisconsin, a state that has decided not to pursue its own exchange.

“At the end of the day, you’re trying to connect a buyer to a seller. And the fundamental things required to do that are not yet in place,” he said.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which Obama signed into law more than 2-1/2 years ago, is expected to extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. Those who enroll starting in October would be covered by insurance from January 1, 2014.

POLITICAL THEATER

About half of those newly insured individuals would purchase private coverage from online exchanges at federally subsidized rates. Ultimately, the number of people finding coverage through exchanges is expected to reach 26 million, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The remainder would be covered by expanding the Medicaid program for the poor to cover all adults earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $ 15,000 for individuals and $ 30,600 for a family of four.

Thursday’s hearing provided a political stage for partisan rhetoric about Obama’s health reforms, which have survived repeated Republican repeal efforts, a nail-biting consideration by the Supreme Court and the Presidential election campaign.

Republicans and state officials from Republican-led states complained about compliance costs and accused HHS of delaying the release of vital details and rules needed to move forward on the exchanges and on the planned Medicaid expansion.

“The uncertain regulatory environment and the overall lack of response from HHS are not encouraging the states or the health plans to move forward,” said Representative Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican.

In response, Congressional Democrats and their state allies stressed the law’s benefits for senior citizens, protections for young adults and the sick, and the prospective economic benefits from an expected influx of billions of dollars in federal money.

“The (Republican) move now is to delay implementation under the guise of lack of information,” said Representative Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat.

“The world in fact is not coming to an end,” he added. “The nation will be better because of the Affordable Care Act.”

States that don’t run their own exchanges would opt for one of two alternatives: a federally facilitated exchange that requires minimal state participation, or a federal partnership exchange in which states help by performing certain duties.

Kaiser Family Foundation expects six states to choose the partnership option and two dozen to opt for federally facilitated exchanges. Cohen said the count so far is four partnerships and seven facilitated exchanges.

States have until February 15 to say whether they intend to seek a federal partnership exchange. Four have done so already, Cohen said.

The administration will have to engineer an information technology system capable of processing operations in a way that meet the needs of healthcare consumers in different states.

Experts say the biggest challenge will likely be providing adequate customer service to handle enrollment, as well as fielding a technology system capable of interfacing seamlessly with the system of each state government.

Cohen told the panel the administration is building a website with interactive capabilities and a call center and has begun testing a data services hub to determine eligibility.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Ros Krasny, Jilian Mincer, Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio)

Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

AP PHOTOS: Top 10 Search Trends of 2012

NEW YORK (AP) — From the tragic to the downright silly, millions of people searched the Web in 2012 to find out about a royal princess, the latest iPad, a record-breaking skydiver and the death of a pop star.

Google released its 12th annual “zeitgeist” report on Wednesday. The company calls it “an in-depth look at the spirit of the times as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year.”

Here’s an Associated Press photo gallery of the top ten trending searches of 2012.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

The Hobbit: Richard Armitage Talks Preparations For Playing Thorin Oakenshield

British actor Richard Armitage admitted it wasn’t a walk in the park to play a J.R.R. Tolkien character in Peter Jackson’s reimagining of “The Hobbit,” the first installment of which is on its way into theaters.

Upon touching down in New Zealand, where the trilogy was shot, the cast had a lot of character preparation to do.

PLAY IT NOW: Martin Freeman Discusses The Hobbit’s ‘Good Chemistry’ & Playing Bilbo Baggins

“We arrived in February 2011 and we went straight into a training program, which was called ‘Dwarf Bootcamp,’ which was literally boots — these huge boots. We learned how to walk, we wrestled with each other, we did archery together, we did sword fighting, hammer fighting, horse riding — everything you could possibly think of,” Richard, who plays Thorin Oakenshield in the film told Access Hollywood at the film’s junket.

In addition, the cast, which includes his former “Cold Feet” co-star James Nesbitt as Bofur, found ways to get to know each other better off set.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — New York City Premiere

“We went round to each other’s houses and we cooked food together, we went to the pub and got drunk together, so there was an incredibly great bonding time between the dwarves,” he said.

Richard had plenty of experience sword fighting and horse riding in the BBC America series “Robin Hood,” but it was something else that came in handy during the long days on set.

“I’d done a number of shows where I’d had to use sword fighting and I’d also done horse riding. I’d also pulled guns out of my pocket. That was less useful,” he laughed, likely referring to his recent role in the PBS-import series “MI-5,” where he played a British spy. “But, yeah, you draw on everything. I’d worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company, so the vocal work was really useful to kind of pull that from there. I’d worked in a circus, there were… all sorts of things that were really useful, but the one thing that I do have — for lack of talent — is stamina and that’s the one thing I think everybody needed on this job.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Meet ‘The Hobbit’ Cast!

An imagination was useful also, but Richard said what turned out on the big screen was still wilder – and more beautiful – than he dreamed of.

“So many moments… Actually, apart from the eagles — which every single time I’ve seen this film absolutely blows my mind and I can barely keep the tears back and [it has] nothing to do with the pathos of the scene, just that feeling of flight moves me — is the throne of Aragorn, in the beginning of the prologue,” he told Access of the moment that moved him most. “When it got to [filming] that scene, I walked on and… it was just a green cross on the floor with a tiny green chair… [But in the film], they just made this incredible, almost space aged, sort of suspended seat in the middle of this stalagmite. It just blows my mind when I see that.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Brit Pack: Hot Shots Of Stars From The UK!

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” hits theaters on December 14, 2012, followed by “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” on December 13, 2013 and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” on July 18, 2014.

– Jolie Lash

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Australia / Antarctica News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

“Lincoln,” “Les Miserables,” “Playbook” lead acting nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood‘s actors cast their net wide on Wednesday, nominating performers from big awards contenders “Lincoln” and musical “Les Miserables” for Screen Actors Guild honors while also singling out the likes of Denzel Washington and Javier Bardem.

“Lincoln,” “Les Miserables” and comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” led the nominations for the SAG awards with four apiece, including the top prize of best movie ensemble cast.

Joining them with two nominations each were the cast of Iranian hostage drama “Argo” and, in a surprise choice, British comedy “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”

The awards from the Screen Actors Guild are among the most-watched honors during Hollywood film awards season leading up to the Academy Awards because actors make up the largest voting group when the Oscars come around in February.

SAG voters focus on performances rather than directing and writing, meaning that action and effects-heavy films like “The Hobbit” are usually sidelined.

Consequently, SAG largely shunned the expected Oscar contender “Zero Dark Thirty” about the U.S. hunt for Osama bin Laden, giving it just one nomination for Jessica Chastain’s performance as a CIA agent.

But the latest James Bond blockbuster “Skyfall” made it onto SAG‘s list, with nominations for its stunt ensemble and Spanish actor Bardem’s supporting turn as blond-haired villain Silva.

Other perceived Oscar-worthy movies, including slavery era Western “Django Unchained,” went unmentioned, while cult drama “The Master” had just one nomination – for actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Nicole Kidman made the best supporting actress list for her turn in the steamy but little-seen independent movie “The Paperboy,” while Britain’s Helen Mirren was recognized for her portrayal of Alfred Hitchcock’s long-suffering wife in “Hitchcock.”

The SAG awards will be given out in Los Angeles on January 27 in a live telecast on the TBS and TNT networks.

Golden Globe nominations are announced on Thursday and Oscar nominations will be revealed on January 10.

‘LINCOLN’ PICKS UP STEAM

“Lincoln,” director Steven Spielberg’s well-reviewed film about U.S. President Abraham Lincoln‘s battle to outlaw slavery, has been picking up multiple accolades from U.S. critics in the busy Hollywood awards season.

On Wednesday, it brought SAG nominations for lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis and supporting actors Sally Field as his wife, and Tommy Lee Jones as powerful Congressman Thaddeus Stevens.

Hugh Jackman was nominated for best actor while Anne Hathaway is in the race for her supporting role in the movie adaptation of hit stage musical “Les Miserables.”

Other actors nominated on Wednesday included the stars of quirky comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” – Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt also have a stake, for playing a disabled man and his sex therapist in heart-warming independent movie “The Sessions.”

“Being recognized by your peers is something I could only dream of happening and to be included in this group of actors is not only humbling but quite frankly, surreal,” Cooper, a first-time SAG nominees, said in a statement.

Washington, a two-time Oscar winner, was nominated for playing an alcoholic pilot in “Flight,” a role that has been largely overlooked in early critics award.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on Wednesday was “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” the story of a group of elderly Britons who retire to a ramshackle Indian hotel.

The film, which boasts a strong British cast including Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy, had two nominations – best ensemble and best supporting actress for Maggie Smith.

Smith also was nominated in SAG‘s television category for her role as a sarcastic countess in period drama “Downton Abbey.”

The popular British show was among the picks for ensemble acting in the TV category.

Other TV drama nominations went to the casts of “Boardwalk Empire,” “Homeland,” “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.”

In TV comedy, old favorites “30 Rock,” “Glee,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Modern Family,” “Nurse Jackie” and “The Office” were nominated for their ensemble casts.

(Editing by Xavier Briand and Bill Trott)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..