Belfast police attacked in second night of riots

BELFAST, UNITED KINGDOM (AFP)

Police in Belfast were attacked with petrol bombs in a second night of violence by Protestant rioters in the Northern Irish capital.

A Orangemen confronts riot police on Shankill road in north Belfast, on July 13, 2013. Police in Belfast were attacked with petrol bombs in a second night of violence by Protestant rioters in the Northern Irish capital. (AFP)

Bricks, bottles, furniture and other missiles were also hurled on Saturday following riots that left 32 officers injured and a politician hospitalised on Friday.

Hooded youths, some with British flags covering their faces, were involved in the clashes in the north of the city.

Police responded by firing baton rounds and deploying water cannon.

The unrest was not as intense as on Friday night, when crowds attacked police with petrol bombs, sticks, fireworks, bricks, bottles, masonry and even a sword.

More than 600 police from mainland Britain had been sent to Northern Ireland in anticipation of tensions over the traditional Twelfth of July parades, the pinnacle of the Protestant Orange Order's marching season.

A further 400 were sent for Saturday following riots the night before.

Trouble flared Friday after police tried to enforce a decision by an adjudication body banning the Orange Order from marching through a Catholic republican area of Belfast.

"The scenes were both shameful and disgraceful," Chief Constable Matt Baggott of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told reporters.

He criticised leaders in the Orange Order who had called for protests against the decision to block their march through the republican Ardoyne area.

"Some of their language was emotive and having called thousands of people to protest they had no plan and no control," Baggott said.

"Rather than being responsible, I think the word for that is reckless."

The PSNI said 32 officers were injured in Friday night's violence. Leading Protestant politician Nigel Dodds was taken to hospital after being hit on the head with a brick and knocked out.

Dodds, who represents North Belfast in the British parliament, had been trying to calm the crowds down. He was discharged from hospital early on Saturday.

The July 12 parade marks the victory of Protestant king William III of Orange over the deposed Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

It is a flashpoint for tensions between the Protestant and Catholic communities in the province, which was devastated by three decades of sectarian violence in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The 1998 Good Friday peace accords largely brought an end to the unrest, known as The Troubles, although sporadic violence and bomb threats continue.

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'Glee' star Cory Monteith found dead in hotel in Canada

By Steve Almasy, CNN

Cory Monteith, who played heart throb Finn Hudson in the Fox hit "Glee," was found dead in a Vancouver, Canada, hotel room Saturday, police said. He was 31. Vancouver police said the cause of death was not immediately apparent, but they ruled out foul play.

Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy Monday. Monteith's body was discovered by staff members at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel after he missed his checkout time, acting Chief Constable Doug LePard told reporters.

Monteith apparently had several people over to his room at one point Friday night, but LePard said Monteith, who had checked in July 6, was seen on hotel surveillance video returning to his room in the early morning hours by himself.

The glue of Glee

Adam Shankman, who directed an episode for each of the past three seasons, told CNN's Poppy Harlow that he had talked to Monteith on Saturday morning. The actor said he wanted to come down to California to Jet Ski.
Shankman said Monteith was the glue of "Glee." He was always welcoming, whether it was to a guest director or a new cast member, Shankman said.

The actor knew all of his lines when filming began each time and would congratulate his fellow cast members when he thought they did well.

"He showed up every day and he was a delight," Shankman said.

'My heart is broken'

One of his castmates on "Glee," Mark Salling, tweeted a simple "no" after police held their news conference.
Dot-Marie Jones, who plays the football coach at the fictional William McKinley High tweeted: "I have no words! My heart is broken. Cory was not only a hell of a friend, he was one amazing man that I will hold close to my heart forever.

"I am blessed to have worked with him and love him so much! My heart is with his family and our whole Glee family! I love you all!"

Share your memories of Monteith

Offscreen, Monteith was dating co-star Lea Michele.

He was madly in love with her, Shankman said. "He felt like it had renewed his spirit."

Struggles with substance abuse

Monteith spent time in rehab this year, checking into a drug addiction treatment facility in late March.
He had been frank about his struggles with substance abuse, telling Parade magazine in 2011 that he began using drugs at 13, and by 19 went into rehab after his mother and friends intervened.

"I had several interactions with him yesterday where he said that he was doing amazing," Shankman said. "He even said I am feeling fantastic. I'm like everybody else, really devastated and confused by what happened."

Awards for show

Monteith had been on the musical comedy show since it began in 2009.

On the show, Monteith played the dim quarterback of the football team at the Ohio high school who is forced to join the glee club. After graduation, he comes back to town and helps direct a musical at the school.
In 2011, he won a Teen Choice Award for top actor in a comedy. The show's cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for an ensemble in a comedy the previous year.

He was in three projects that are in post-production, according to the Internet Movie Database.
One of them was a movie entitled "All The Wrong Reasons," also starring Kevin Zegers.
"I've never lost a friend this close. This feels like a mistake," Zegers wrote.

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Tim Lincecum tosses no-hitter as Giants beat Padres

Tim Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner whose struggles this season nearly got him banished to the San Francisco Giants' bullpen, achieved one of the high points of his decorated career Saturday night when he threw his first no-hitter, against the Padres in San Diego.

Lincecum dominated the Padres, recording a season-high 13 strikeouts and throwing a career-high 148 pitches in a 9-0 victory over the Padres.

"I'm kind of speechless right now," Lincecum said in a postgame TV interview.

BOX SCORE: Giants 9, Padres 0

Lincecum, a free agent after this season, had not recorded an out in the eighth inning of any start this season, and his outings have been at times erratic and dominant.

But his marketability will surely rise after Saturday's gem, which came after he showed some signs of returning to his dominant self. In his previous outing, he struck out 11 New York Mets over seven innings in earning a no-decision.

Saturday, he was far from perfect, walking four and hitting another batter. He also benefited from great defensive plays from third baseman Pablo Sandoval and right fielder Hunter Pence, whose diving stab of a sinking line drive hit by Alexi Amarista finished off the eighth inning. It also gave Lincecum and the 40,342 fans at Petco Park the sense that this thing was happening.

That Lincecum was at 138 pitches to start the ninth was of little consequence to he or manager Bruce Bochy.

"He wouldn't have talked to me the rest of the year," said Bochy, "if I'd have taken him out."

Lincecum's previous high pitch count this season was 114, on May 7 against the Phillies, but the thin right-hander is no stranger to running up his counts.

In 2008, he threw a then career-high 138 pitches, in a September start against the Padres. That was one of seven starts that season in which he threw at least 119 pitches.

He went on to win 18 games, strike out 265 and claim the first of his two consecutive Cy Young Awards.

Lincecum went on to win two games in the 2010 World Series, helping the Giants to their first championship in San Francisco, but he struggled the next two seasons as rotation mate Matt Cain, who threw a perfect game 13 months ago, established himself as the Giants' ace.

But Lincecum did not complain when the Giants relegated him to the bullpen during the 2012 postseason, and he played a crucial relief role as the club won its second World Series title in three years.

The going was far rougher earlier in the season. After two starts, Lincecum had a 4.91 ERA and 11 walks in 11 innings, and he told USA TODAY Sports, "Hitters are looking at me right now as a real nice piece of meat to eat."

As the season unfolded, Lincecum gave the Giants innings, to be sure, but his season could be best described as erratic. Yet he was just one of the many struggling starters contributing to the overall rotation demise as they sank to last place in the NL West.

But he and the team's struggles seemed very distant Saturday. A significant contingent of Giants fans populated Petco Park, and the entire house seemed to be rooting Lincecum on in the late innings, and they witnessed history after Lincecum got Yonder Alonso to fly out to left field to end it.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said later, "but I don't think I've really taken in the whole idea of what just happened."

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‘Pacific Rim’ review: A funny, imaginative film plagued with bad acting

By Justin Craig | FoxNews.com

What’s this? A summer blockbuster that isn’t a sequel or a remake? Surely, you can’t be serious.

And serious “Pacific Rim” is not. It may not be anywhere near one of the top films this year, but it certainly is one of the most eccentric and imaginative films of the summer. Part love letter to the genre of Japanese Kaiju monster films spawned in the wake of “Godzilla,” part raucous war-time flyboy film, Guillermo del Toro’s biggest movie to date is, at its core, quintessential del Toro beneath layers of megatons of screeching metallic gusto.

A fantastic prologue puts the audience into the mix immediately, showing how a rift in the bottom of the Pacific created a wormhole into another dimension where an army of monsters called Kaiju emerged and attacked our major cities. To fight the monsters, giant robots known as Jaegers were created, which humans would pilot from inside by using a device similar to an eliptical machine. When cocky pilot Raleigh’s (“Sons of Anarchy’s” Charlie Hunnam) brother is killed by one of the Kaiju, he must come to terms with his own inadequacies and join one of the sole remaining rebellions against the Kaiju.

Guillermo del Toro’s signature style is prevalent in almost every shot, despite an exponentially larger scope than the director may be accustomed to.  Everything from the production design to the costume’s (especially Ron Perlman’s funky glasses) to the angular features of the Kaiju are very much del Toro staples, as are the gritty and gothic Hong Kong street scenes. Fans of “Hellboy” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” will surely find “Pacific Rim” to be a culmination of the director’s visual oeuvre, plus discovering plenty new material. Even a recurring del Toro motif of a misunderstood or abandoned child makes its way into “Pacific Rim” with an interesting but slightly underdeveloped backstory for Raliegh’s counterpart Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi).

Del Toro weaves his very own mythology throughout the film, circumventing the massive battle sequences and creating some minor but zany depth to this world, like creating the “drift”, a temporal connection between the Jaeger pilots, which allow their minds to connect as one; or the mysterious monster world which exists in another dimension and is the true origin of our dinosaurs. This mythology is pure Guillermo del Toro but the director, as well as co-writer Travis Beacham only scratch the surface of what could be mined. They leave the fun mythology and “science” stuff to two wacky opposing “scientists,” both tongue-in-cheek stereotypes. The first is Charlie Day doing a wonderful Rick Moranis/Bobcat Goldthwait one-off as the overzealous and nerdy Dr. Newton Geiszler and the classically German mad-scientist Gottlieb (Burn Gorman). More than any other character in the film, these two embody that wildly imaginative del Toro mind.

The film does become stagnant in between the battle sequences. During these scenes the story relies on training montages or jealous in-fighting between the Jaeger pilots, which is rather dull compared to the battles and the mythology. The stale acting does not help these moments either. The film could be far better if the bridges between the battles were more involving.

The scenes of mass destruction are obviously frequent throughout this epic battle between 25-story tall robots and massive dinosaur-like monsters, but what separates this heap of destruction from other recent fare like “Man of Steel” and “Transformers” is that del Toro never stops to show us just how “awesome” the destruction is. Thankfully he spares us those overlong 20 to 30 second shots of skyscrapers crumbling to the ground, which would put “Pacific Rim” in the graveyard of broken cinema. The focus during the battles is almost always on the Jaeger and Kaiju.

“Pacific Rim” is never pretentious and is often funny, which makes it lofty and entertaining, despite some rancid performances. Except for Charlie Day, Ron Perlman and the sublime Idris Elba, the performances are often cringe-worthy. Under ordinary circumstances, bad acting can sink a film, but del Toro has presented such an extensive buffet of goodies that it’s easy to look past the acting (it’s not as if the characters require top-notch acting in the first place) and get lost in this brave new world. Elba, of course, steals the show as the no-holds-barred commander Stacker Pentecost. His great line “Today we are cancelling the apocalypse” has already made it into this year’s pop culture lexicon and is one of the highlights of the film.

Finally, props to Warner Brothers for releasing a wildly imaginative sci-fi romp of this scale which isn’t a sequel or remake. Despite “Pacific Rim’s” flaws, here’s hoping enough people see it and like it to send the message to all the studios that it’s not always a bad idea to produce new material, especially from directors like del Toro who certainly knows how to make a commercial film with a unique and visionary style.

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Five movie ideas that studios can steal from 'Sharknado'

Aubrey Peeples and a not-quite realistic shark
in SyFy Channel's "Sharknado." (SyFy)

By Steven Zeitchik

"What if we took 'Snakes on a Plane,' combined it with 'Jaws' and relocated the thing from an airliner to the Westside of Los Angeles?"

Someone, somewhere uttered those words before coming up with the idea for "Sharknado."

Which makes us wonder how one can then take "Sharknado" and turn it into a feature film. Like: "What if we did 'Sharknado,' changed the threat and used a different portmanteau?"

With the SyFy Channel movie a Twitter hit, studio executives around Hollywood on Friday morning are calling meetings to figure out how they can get in on the action. We came up with five ideas for similar movies to save them the trouble.

"Piranhacane" Sure, piranhas are fish and need to live in the water. But what if the water came from above, like from a hurricane, and the piranhas could be carried wherever they wanted to go? It would be scary, wouldn't it? The key scene takes place over a catchy Bob Dylan song, "Here Comes the Story of a Piranhacane." Brian Austin Green plays a wily fisherman.

"Twistquake" Helen Hunt has been having a rough time of it lately. Her storm-chasing life isn't the same since she was turned down for a Discovery special. Then she gets word of a new kind of twister: It's one that also causes an earthquake. She is at first perplexed, as a twister originates in the air and an earthquake originates under the ground, but then realizes that since wind also hits the ground, this was OK. The twistquake causes much destruction, until, watching a scene from “The Wizard of Oz,” Hunt realizes what she needs to do. Gabrielle Carteris stars as a feisty seismologist.

"The Day After the Stormcano" Jake Gyllenhaal is a climate scientist who has spent years investigating the effects of global warming when he realizes his thermometer has been upside down the whole time, and the Earth has in fact been cooling. As he ponders this discovery, an entirely unrelated volcano erupts near him. He then has to hotfoot over lava so he can tell the upside-down thermometer news to experts at a weather station on the other side. Tori Spelling stars a rather lonely volcanologist.

"The Surge" For 364 days of the year, the seas are calm. For one day they swell and surge, mowing down children, sandcastles and minor skyscrapers. Only one man, played by Ethan Hawke, can save them, which he does by building a fortified house and talking about life's existential problems with a really chatty Frenchwoman. It so scares the wave that the water beats a hasty retreat back to the sea. Luke Perry stars as a very untroubled lifeguard.

"White Housteroid" The problem with domestic terrorists taking over the White House is that there's always a plucky veteran who looks like Channing Tatum there to fight them off. But what if the threat came not from within but from above? Global warming has unloosed some meteors in a distant solar system, which as any scientist could tell you causes an asteroid the size of Jupiter to travel on an exact vector toward Earth. Tatum struts in and, with one hand, pushes the asteroid back into the solar system while uttering his signature line: "I got this." Jason Priestley stars as a very idealistic vice president.

PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
PHOTOS: Summer Sneaks 2013

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George Zimmerman trial: Closing arguments wrap up in case of Trayvon Martin killing

(CBS/AP) SANFORD, Fla. -- Closing arguments have ended in the case of George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

WATCH: Prosecutor's closing on Zimmerman following Martin
PICTURES: George Zimmerman on trial in death of Fla. teen

The jury is set to hear jury instructions from a judge after a lunch break. Once deliberations begin, they will weigh a second-degree murder charge against the 29-year-old, who shot Martin during a confrontation last year in a gated Sanford, Fla. community. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming he shot in self defense.


The panel of six women, which has been sequestered as the proceedings stretched into the end of their third week, will also weigh a lesser charge of manslaughter.

The panel will likely rely heavily on testimony - which was often conflicting - from police, neighbors, friends and family members. They will have to decide if they can determine who was yelling for help on a 911 call that recorded the shooting, and whether Zimmerman was a wannabe cop who took the law into his own hands or someone who was in a fight for his life, with his head being repeatedly slammed into the ground.

Aiming to prove that Florida teen Martin wasn't unarmed, defense attorney Mark O'Mara carefully placed a large cement block in front of jurors as he wrapped up his closing statements Friday morning.

O'Mara told jurors that injuries weren't necessary to prove a self-defense claim. Rather, it was Zimmerman's state of mind - and whether he was in fear of his life or great injury - that they will be instructed to consider as they deliberate.

"Injuries are icing on the cake of self-defense - it has nothing to do with the substance of self-defense," O'Mara said. "Not a thing."

In his rebuttal argument, prosecutor John Guy argued that Zimmerman had "hate in his heart" when he said he got out of his truck and followed Martin. "Was that child not in fear when he was running from that defendant? Isn't that every child's worst nightmare, to be followed on the way home in the dark by a stranger? That was Trayvon Martin's last emotion," said Guy.
Guy said Zimmerman did not "need" or "have" to shoot Martin.

"Your verdict is not going to bring Trayvon Martin back to life," Guy said. "It's not going to change the past. But it will forever define it."

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Credit Photo
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara holds up a chart during closing arguments for the defence in Zimmerman's murder trial July 12, 2013 in Sanford, Florida. / (Photo by Joe Burbank-Pool/Getty Images)

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Country music stars show their support for Randy Travis

He had brain surgery following a stroke Wednesday night.

Country music stars and fans joined together to urge prayers for Randy Travis overnight as he recovered from brain surgery following a stroke at a Texas hospital.

Travis remained in critical condition after surgery Wednesday night to relieve pressure on his brain, publicist Kirt Webster said. The 54-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer had been improving while being treated for heart failure caused by a viral infection when he had the stroke.

Photo:
Jerry Laizure, The Tennessean

Steady concern for Travis, a popular and pivotal figure in country music, turned to active support as stars like Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum and Martina McBride and the Grand Ole Opry used Twitter to join Webster's call for prayers. Hundreds of users reached out using the hashtag PrayforRandy.

"We're all pulling for you Randy," Brad Paisley said via Twitter.

The setback occurred hours after doctors said Travis was showing signs of improvement since the start of treatment Sunday for congestive heart failure.

It was not clear what kind of stroke Travis suffered. The most common type of stroke is caused by a blood clot that travels to the brain. The other kind happens when a blood vessel in the head bursts or leaks. Stroke patients who get treatment quickly are usually given a drug to dissolve the clot that caused the stroke.

William Gray and Michael Mack of the Baylor Health Care System in Texas described Travis' condition and hospitalization in a video statement earlier Wednesday.

"His condition has stabilized, and he has shown signs of improvement," Mack said in the video. "On behalf of Mr. Travis' family, friends and associates, we would like to express our extreme gratitude for the overwhelming affection and support that Mr. Travis has received."

The Three Wooden Crosses singer was in good health until three weeks before he was hospitalized, when he contracted a viral upper respiratory infection, Gray said.

The viral illness led to a weakened heart muscle that eventually worsened into heart failure.

Travis was admitted to Baylor Medical Center McKinney near his home in Tioga, about 60 miles north of Dallas, through the emergency room Sunday. The singer underwent a procedure to have a pump inserted by catheter that helps increase blood flow before being transferred to The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano.

Travis' illness comes as he's been trying to put his life back together following a series of embarrassing public incidents involving alcohol. Travis pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in January following an arrest last year and received two years of probation and a $2,000 fine. He was required to spend at least 30 days at an alcohol treatment facility and complete 100 hours of community service.

He recently made several public appearances, including a spot on the Country Music Association Festival's nightly concert lineup and a poignant performance at George Jones' funeral.

Webster said from the hospital Travis' fiancee Mary Beougher was at his side and that he is surrounded by family and friends, including his brother, Dennis Traywick, and his pastor, Jeff Perry. Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Chuck Norris and several others have called to check in on Travis.

The North Carolina-born Travis is a traditional country purist known for hits Forever and Ever, Amen and I Told You So. His 1986 Warner Bros. debut album Storms of Life sold 4 million copies, and helped return country music to the sound of Hank Williams and George Jones.

"I always feel like he's part of our family, he's in our family," Keith Urban said in an interview Wednesday morning in Nashville. "And I was one of those guys in Australia that bought Storms of Life and became a Randy fan very quickly in late '80s, and I really feel for him right now."

Response from fellow country county aritists was swift on Wednesday night as news spread that Travis was in surgery, with Twitter posts beginning minutes after the news was announced.

@RodneyAtkins: Just heard @randytravis had a stroke and is in surgery. Praying for Randy, the medical staff and his family. #PrayForRandy

@JoeNichols : Praying for @randytravis today. Y'all do the same. #countrylegend

Grand Ole Opry @opry: Please continue praying for @randytravis. RT #PrayersForRandy

Hillary Scott @HillaryScottLA: Praying myself, and asking all to pray for Randy Travis.

Lee Greenwood @TheLeeGreenwood: God be with the medical team that's working with @randytravis this evening.

Martina McBride @martinamcbride: Praying for Randy Travis..

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Steam Summer Sale 2013 Kicks Off With Steep Game Discounts

Steam today kicked off its annual summer sale, which will provide deep discounts on popular games until July 22.

The summer sale from Steam, Valve's online game retailer, will offer three options for gamers: daily deals, flash sales, and community's choice.

Daily deals will provide discounts on specific games for 24 hours. Now listed on Steam's website isBioshock Infinite for $29.99, down from $59.99, complete with trading cards. Defiance also gets a 66 percent discount, from $39.99 to $13.59, and Left for Dead 2 is 75 percent off at $4.99.

For the next 23 hours, Steam will also offer discounts on Endless Space, Mars: War Logs, Hotline Miami, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Call of Juarez Gunslinger, Toki Tori 2+, and Don't Starve.

The Steam Summer Sale also features shorter, eight-hour sales. Available now are Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition for $8.99 (down from $29.99), The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimLegendary Edition for $35.99 (down from $59.99), Grid 2 for $29.99 (usually $49.99), and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for $5.09 (down from $14.99).

Are there any titles you want to buy, but don't see on sale? That's where the "Community's Choice" section comes in. Every eight hours, Steam will offer up three games and ask players which one they want to get the discount. In the latest round, gamers have a choice between a 40-66 percent price cut on Dishonored, Borderlands 2, or Far Cry 3.

For other titles, Steam users can add games to their wishlists and get notifications when that game goes on sale.

For more, check out Too Many Games? Try the Two-Game Rental Challenge.

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