Men of country dominate lineup at ACM Awards

FILE - This April 6, 2009 file photo shows musician Garth Brooks, left, presenting George Strait with the Artist of the Decade award at the ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert in Las Vegas. Brooks and Strait will perform together for a tribute to the late Dick Clark at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 7, 2013 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

FILE - This April 6, 2009 file photo shows musician Garth Brooks, left, presenting George Strait with the Artist of the Decade award at the ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert in Las Vegas. Brooks and Strait will perform together for a tribute to the late Dick Clark at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 7, 2013 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? More than a few people have suggested to the producers of the Academy of Country Music Awards that they extend the broadcast delay for Sunday night's show ? just in case.

With Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan co-hosting, everyone expects the unexpected ? and several off-color, unscripted moments ? as country music's biggest cut-ups collide on stage. A recent interview in Nashville with the two, who've given themselves the celebrity couple name "Bluke," veered wildly from a discussion of Bryan's unworthiness to host to crude jokes and Taylor Swift's fans.

"I would tell him to be prepared for the onslaught of hatred that will come from Taylor Swift's fan base if you say any sort of a joke or if she's any part of a punch line in the monologue," Shelton said when asked what advice he'd give Bryan. "By the way, you're getting all those jokes this year."

The 48th annual awards show kicks off at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday night live on CBS from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The night will be a showcase for country's men of the moment ? and for its two dominant male stars of the last two decades.

Many of the top names in country music will perform or appear, including top nominees Eric Church and Hunter Hayes, but most eyes will be on the marquee meeting of Garth Brooks and George Straight. Brooks and Strait, two of music's top-selling artists regardless of genre, have never performed together.

They will help honor the show's longtime producer Dick Clark, who passed away last year. The academy is naming its artist of the decade award for Clark, whose tenure with the show began in 1979.

The moment will be special ? and not just for the millions watching at home. It has country's biggest stars abuzz as well.

"Having George and Garth on stage together at one time on an awards show will become one of the most important pieces of tape in country music history," Dierks Bentley said.

Church leads all nominees with seven, while Hayes is up for six awards. Shelton, Bryan and Jason Aldean ? country's top three male stars of the moment ? are up for the fan-voted entertainer of the year award ? though they're facing off against academy favorite Miranda Lambert, who is Shelton's wife, and two-time winner Taylor Swift, a heavy favorite to three-peat given her relationship with fans.

Shelton is arguably country's most visible male today. "The Voice" coach has a weekly presence on national television, was the recent winner of the rival Country Music Association's entertainer of the year award and has risen to platinum status again after a mid-career lull that's a distant memory.

Aldean is country's best-selling male artist at the moment and Church and Bryan have recently joined him as acts who can fill arenas and reach multiplatinum sales.

They're so prevalent at this year's awards, they've elbowed out traditional nominees like Brad Paisley, who was shut out of the nominations for the first time since 1999, and Kenny Chesney, a perennial entertainer of the year nominee who was left out of the category despite putting on 2012's most talked about event ? his stadium tour with Tim McGraw.

Shelton will kick off the show with a performance of his new single "Boys 'Round Here" that will include appearances by Bryan, Brad Paisley, who's also hosting the academy's concurrent Fan Jam a mile down the road at The Orleans, Sheryl Crow and Lambert's trio the Pistol Annies.

Hayes will be joined by another performer who got his start as a precocious teen ? Stevie Wonder, making his first appearance on the show.

Aldean, Chesney, McGraw, Bentley, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson also are scheduled to perform.

Church was nominated for the second consecutive year for album of the year for his breakthrough "Chief." He's up against Swift's "Red," Underwood's "Blown Away," Bryan's "Tailgates & Tanlines" and Little Big Town's "Tornado." Producer Jay Joyce has two nominations in the category with Church and Little Big Town.

Shelton and Lambert will defend their male and female vocalist of the year wins. Shelton faces Church, Bryan, Aldean and Toby Keith, while Lambert competes with Underwood, Swift, Martina McBride and newcomer Kacey Musgraves.

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Online:

http://acmcountry.com

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-07-US-Music-ACM-Awards/id-bdee5fd357bf43e6b761ed75b67060de

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House begins talks on debt ceiling, 2014 budget: Next week, the House Committee...

House begins talks on debt ceiling, 2014 budget

www.teapartypatriots.org

Next week, the House Committee on Ways & Means is having two important hearings. Below are some basic details to be aware of: First, on Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing for Members of Congress who have submitted or ...

Source: http://www.facebook.com/teapartypatriots/posts/113518158844395

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Spain's olive oil co-op Hojiblanca eyes Bankia's stake in Deoleo -report

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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Saturday, April 06, 2013
Spanish olive Oil cooperative Hojiblanca is considering buying nationalised lender Bankia's 16 percent stake in food group Deoleo , Hojiblanca's director general said in a newspaper interview. ...

Source: http://www.ibtimes.comhttp:0//www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/454247/20130406/spains-olive-oil-co-op-hojiblanca-eyes-bankias-stake-in-deoleo-report.htm

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Six Americans Killed in Afghanistan Attacks (ABC News)

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Ghana Line-Up World Cup Qualifiers Friendly Against Kenya - Snubs Japan, Mexico

Ghana will play Kenya in a friendly in June in preparation for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sudan that month.

The Black Stars will play the Harambee Stars in Nairobi on 1 June.

This comes after the four-time African champions snubbed approaches from Japan and Mexico to play the Black Stars on that same day.

Ghana will be using the match to prepare for their clash against Sudan while Kenya will use the game as their warm-up for the return World Cup qualifier against African Champions Nigeria.

The promixity of Kenya to Sudan looks to be another reason why the Ghanaian football authorities opted to play the Harambee Stars instead of Japan and Mexico.

Football Kenya Federation(FKF) chairman Sam Nyamweya has confirmed that Ghana opted to play Kenya because of the top form of the Harambee Stars following their performance in last month?s World Cup qualifier against Nigeria.

?I can confirm to you that Stars will play Ghana in an International friendly in Nairobi on June 1st,? Nyamweya told Supersport.

?The friendly will be used to prepare the team ahead of the Nigeria return leg to be played for days later at Kasarani.

?We are glad to line up such a high profile friendly match that will play a huge part of our continued preparations ahead of Nigeria.?

Ghana have in recent years made Kenya their traditional camping site ahead of crucial encounters due to its location and conducive weather.

Ghana lastly played Sudan whom they walloped 4-0 in Kumasi.

Source: http://sports.peacefmonline.com/soccer/201304/160356.php

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Syrian president warns of fallout if regime falls

BEIRUT (AP) ? President Bashar Assad warned the fall of his regime or the breakup of Syria will unleash a "domino effect" that will fuel Middle East instability for years to come, in his sharpest warning yet about the potential fallout of his country's civil war on neighboring states.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said the Syrian conflict has become "a massacre" that must be stopped through peace talks, and repeated the Kremlin's firm rejection of calls for Assad's ouster.

Speaking in an interview broadcast Friday, Assad accused his neighbors of stoking the revolt against his rule and warned they would eventually pay a heavy price.

"We are surrounded by countries that help terrorists and allow them to enter Syria," he told the Turkish TV station Ulusal Kanal.

"Everybody knows that if the disturbances in Syria reach the point of the country's breakup, or terrorist forces control Syria ... then this will immediately spill over into neighboring countries and there will be a domino effect that will reach countries across the Middle East," he said.

The Syrian regime is under growing pressure from an increasingly effective rebel force that has managed to pry away much of northern Syria and is making significant headway in the south, capturing military bases and territory that could offer rebels a staging ground to attack the capital, Damascus, the seat of Assad's power.

The rebel gains coincide with what Western and Arab officials say are U.S.-backed training of opposition fighters in Jordan and an influx of foreign-funded weapons into the south. The rebel advances have given the opposition momentum and put the government on the defensive in the 2-year-old conflict that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 70,000 people.

Assad also lashed out at Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was a close ally before the crisis began but has turned into one of his harshest critics. Turkey has been one of the strongest backers of the Syrian opposition, providing it with logistical support and shelter.

"When the prime minister (Erdogan), or the government or officials get involved in shedding Syrian people's blood there is no place for bridges between me and them or the Syrian people that don't respect them," Assad said.

The president criticized Erdogan for reconciling with Israel after three years of cold relations, and accused the Turkish leader of "working in coalition with Israel to strike against Syria."

Assad used the interview to quash rumors that he had been killed by one of his guards or that he has been in hiding. "I am present in front of you and not in a shelter. These are mere rumors," he said.

The Syrian revolt started with largely peaceful protests in March 2011 but has morphed into a civil war with increasingly sectarian overtones. Sunni Muslims dominate rebel ranks, while the Assad regime is composed mostly of Alawites, an offshoot Shiite group to which the president and his family belong.

Russia, a close Assad ally, has shielded Damascus from U.N. sanctions and largely stood by the regime, although it has also signaled that it is not tied to his remaining in power. At the same time, it has refused to back calls for Assad to step down, and has instead pushed for talks with the opposition.

Speaking to the German ARD television in remarks released by the Kremlin on Friday, Putin repeated Moscow's firm rejection of calls for Assad's ouster.

"What is going on is a massacre, this is a disaster, a catastrophe," Putin said. "It has to be stopped."

He added, however, that "when they say that Assad is fighting against his own people, we need to remember that this is the armed part of the opposition."

Putin said that negotiations between the government and the opposition are necessary to provide guarantees to all parties and prevent the country from sliding into turmoil, as befell Libya, Iraq and Yemen.

"Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to bring everyone to the negotiation table, so that all warring parties could reach an agreement on how their interests will be protected and in which way they will participate in the future governance of the country," he said.

Inside Syria, meanwhile, rebel forces continued to make gains in the south, overrunning an army garrison that defends the main border crossing with Jordan after a weeklong siege, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Earlier in the day, activists said a barrage of rockets slammed into a contested district on the northeastern edge of Damascus, killing at least five people and trapping others under the rubble. The attack on the capital's Barzeh neighborhood, where opposition fighters are known to operate, followed days of heavy fighting between the rebels and the military in the area.

Meanwhile, the Italian Foreign Ministry said four Italian journalists were kidnapped in northern Syria, the Italian news agency ANSA said. It provided no further details.

___

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-president-warns-fallout-regime-falls-184228790.html

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HTC First will ship with Facebook Home for $99 on April 12

Wilson Rothman , NBC News ? ? ? 12 hrs.

The first phone to come pre-loaded with Facebook's new Home mobile home screen/launcher will be the not-coincidentally named HTC First. AT&T will sell it exclusively starting April 12. The cost? $99.99.

With a 4.3-inch 720p display, 5-megapixel camera and dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it's not going to be the biggest, fastest or most up-to-date Android phone, but it may be a nice comfortable device, especially for those looking for a hyper social experience.

It will be available in four colors ? black, red, white and "pale" blue. AT&T's press release describes it this way: "The hardware is thin, modern and seamless, with soft edges to draw your attention to the updates from friends and family." We didn't know soft edges could do that, but it sounds smooth.

The phone will of course run on AT&T's super-fast LTE 4G network, provided you're in an area where that network is available.

The Home interface will let you jump right to Facebook, or use messaging, or run apps with Facebook-friendly overlays like "Chatheads," a tool for talking with Facebook friends, no matter what you're doing on your device.

People who already have an HTC One X, One X+ or Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II can download the Home launcher on April 12. Those shopping for a phone will, for the moment, have to choose between this HTC First, the new HTC One and Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S 4.

Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a584016/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cgadgetbox0Chtc0Efirst0Ewill0Eship0Efacebook0Ehome0E990Eapril0E120E1C9219171/story01.htm

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