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"Dear Abby" advice columnist Pauline Phillips dead at 94

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 19 Januari 2013 | 11.35

(Reuters) - Pauline Phillips, the "Dear Abby" newspaper columnist who dished out advice to millions of confused, troubled and lovesick readers in America and around the world, has died at the age of 94, her daughter said on Thursday.

Phillips, whose twin sister Esther wrote the rival "Ask Ann Landers" column, died in Minneapolis on Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

"I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend," daughter Jeanne Phillips said in a statement released by the syndicator of the "Dear Abby" column, Universal Uclick.

"My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honor her memory every day by continuing this legacy," Jeanne Phillips added

Phillips' family announced in August 2002 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Phillips had brought daughter Jeanne in to collaborate on the syndicated newspaper column in 1987 and in December 2002 turned over all responsibility for it to her.

(Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Sandra Maler)

(This story corrects name of her sister's column in 2nd paragraph)

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Schilling to sell bloody sock worn in Red Sox 2004 World Series

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, owner of a bankrupt video game company, plans to auction off a blood-stained sock he wore in the historic 2004 World Series championship.

The sock, worn by Schilling in Game Two of the first World Series won by the Red Sox in 86 years, is expected to fetch more than $100,000 when it hits the auction block next month, Chris Ivy, director of sports at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, said on Thursday.

Schilling took the mound after having an unorthodox surgical procedure done on his injured right ankle, enabling him to pitch in Game Two of the team's four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The sock had been on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, since 2004, Ivy said.

Online bidding for the sock will open at $25,000 on February 4, followed by a live auction in New York on February 23, he said.

Last year, the state of Rhode Island sued Schilling and the former head of a state economic development agency over a $75 million loan guarantee the agency made to 38 Studios, a failed video game company owned by the retired baseball player.

The quasi-public agency made the loan in 2010 to lure Schilling, who promised to bring 450 jobs to the economically depressed state from neighboring Massachusetts. The deal was brokered by former Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri.

38 Studios filed for bankruptcy in June, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers responsible for repaying roughly $100 million, including interest, to private investors who had bought bonds the state issued on behalf of the company.

The lawsuit charges some of the defendants committed larceny and permitted the video game company to rely on financial assumptions that were based on "known false assumptions."

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and David Gregorio)

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"Diff'rent Strokes" star Conrad Bain dies at 89

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 18 Januari 2013 | 11.35

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Conrad Bain, best known for his role on the 1970s and '80s television comedy "Diff'rent Strokes" as a wealthy, white New Yorker who adopts two young black boys from Harlem, has died at age 89, his daughter said on Wednesday.

Bain, who starred opposite the young Gary Coleman on the NBC sitcom as his adoptive father, Philip Drummond, died of natural causes at a comfort-care facility in Livermore, California, east of San Francisco, on Monday. He was three weeks shy of his 90th birthday, according to his daughter, Jennifer.

Born in Alberta, Bain served in the Canadian Army during World War Two, became a U.S. citizen in 1946 and went on to a career as an actor on Broadway and television. He often played erudite, professional characters such as lawyers, executives, politicians or doctors.

Following a recurring role on the daytime vampire drama "Dark Shadows" as an innkeeper, Bain broke into prime-time comedy with a supporting role on Norman Lear's "All in the Family" spin-off "Maude," which starred Bea Arthur in the title role.

On "Maude," Bain played a conservative physician and next-door neighbor, Dr. Arthur Harmon, who was frequently at political odds with the outspokenly liberal Maude but was best friends with Maude's husband, Walter.

At the end of that show's six-year CBS run in 1978, Bain landed his own sitcom, "Diff'rent Strokes," in which he played Drummond, a rich, widowed industrialist who takes in the two young sons of his housekeeper after she dies, creating a racially mixed family in an era when depictions of such households were rare on TV.

Joining Drummond's 13-year-old daughter, Kimberly, and a ditzy new housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett, the two boys, precocious 8-year-old Arnold, played by Coleman, and his quieter 12-year-old brother, Willis, find themselves in the lap of luxury as they adjust to a new life on Park Avenue.

The show ran for eight seasons, 1978-1986, on NBC, and went into wide re-run syndication around the world. Coleman's oft-repeated line to his brother, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" became a pop culture catch phrase.

Coleman, who grappled with a series of financial, legal and domestic woes later in life, died in May 2010 at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Bain returned periodically to the stage during the show's network run and reprised the Philip Drummond role on a 1996 episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," which starred Will Smith as a young rapper from a tough Philadelphia neighborhood who ends up living with wealthy relatives in California.

Bain also briefly co-starred on prime-time TV in the 1987-88 season in the Fox network political comedy "Mr. President," as the loyal chief of staff to the title character, played by George C. Scott.

Bain is survived by his daughter and two sons, Mark and Kent.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Dan Grebler)

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"Dear Abby" advice columnist Pauline Phillips dead at 94

Phillips, whose twin sister Esther wrote the rival "Ask Ann Landers" column, died in Minneapolis on Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

"I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend," daughter Jeanne Phillips said in a statement released by the syndicator of the "Dear Abby" column, Universal Uclick.

"My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honor her memory every day by continuing this legacy," Jeanne Phillips added

Phillips' family announced in August 2002 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Phillips had brought daughter Jeanne in to collaborate on the syndicated newspaper column in 1987 and in December 2002 turned over all responsibility for it to her.

(Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Sandra Maler)

(This story corrects name of her sister's column in 2nd paragraph)

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A Minute With: Patti Smith on her photography show

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 17 Januari 2013 | 11.35

TORONTO (Reuters) - Singer Patti Smith is best known for her rock 'n' roll songs from the punk era of the 1970s, but visitors to a new photo exhibition will see a different side of the musician, poet and artist.

The 70 photos in Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) "Camera Solo" show, which runs from February 9 to May 19, include poetic images of gravestones, religious iconography and objects that belonged to dead writers and artists.

"The show expresses a lot about my inner life -- about a certain vision I have of the world, my travels, my aesthetic vision and some of the wonderful things I've seen, the people I've met," Smith said in an interview.

"Hopefully, it will inspire people to learn more about some of the artists or places I've shown, or to embark on their own studies or adventures."

The 66-year-old artist, whose songs include her rendition of "Gloria" and "Because the Night," hopes the Polaroid snapshots will rekindle a sense of appreciation for the commonplace.

The show includes photographs of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's slippers, author Virginia Woolf's bed, writer Susan Sontag's grave and poet Arthur Rimbaud's fork and spoon.

In a 2010 memoir "Just Kids" Smith wrote about her love affair and friendship with Mapplethorpe, which lasted until his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989 at age 42.

Smith, a mother of two was married to guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith who died in 1994. She released the album "Banga" last year and will begin a music tour in Japan.

She spoke to Reuters about the show and Polaroid photography, a pre-digital technique that produces an instant print.

Q: What inspires you as a photographer?

A: "Truthfully, I don't really think of myself as a photographer. I don't have all the disciplines and knowledge of a person who's spent their life devoted to photography. I've been taking pictures most of my life, but more seriously in the last decade ...

"Light inspires me. I'm drawn to architecture -- often graves, statues, trees -- things usually that are quite still ... I've been taking pictures continuously since 1995 until the end of Polaroid film. I'm taking very few pictures now because I have very little film left, most of it expired.

Q: Are your pictures about nostalgia or trying to hold on and remember that person?

A: It's not nostalgia. I'm not really a nostalgic person. I'm memory-oriented, so a sense of remembrance ... All of these things are to bring all these people and things up to date, to walk with us. These are artists, family, people that we love -- people that pass away. We can keep them with us always.

Q: So you aren't out there snapping everything -- you are being quite selective?

A: I never snapped everything. Polaroid by its nature makes you frugal. You walk around with maybe two packs of film in your pocket. You have 20 shots, so each shot is a world.

Q: Was there anything that you learned from Mapplethorpe in doing your photography?

A: "The one thing that we had in common is that both of us had a very good sense of composition. It's the same type of work ethic but I work quite differently. The atmosphere of my pictures is different. I drew a lot from 19th-century photographers and I don't really strive for the things that Robert strived for -- the deepest blacks and the most radiant whites.

"Robert was a real photographer. He was an artist, but he also really immersed himself in every aspect of how to project light in his work. In any event, we had a different eye, but we understood each other.

Q: How would you say photography intersects with your other creative work?

A: I think of myself really as a writer. So perhaps the pictures are somewhat literary, but I think they also stand on their own."

Q: Do you identify with the punk scene, a romantic tradition or is it more organic?

A: "I was involved in the pre- and post-punk scene in the 1970s ... I'm where I am today. I have two grown children, I've experienced a beautiful husband. I'm a widow. I'm doing my work. I feel unfettered by any scene. I feel like I've moved through many scenes, scenes before the punk movement and scenes after the punk movement, and the punk movement is in flux. It's still going on and it was going on before it had the name "punk movement."

Q: How do you reflect on the fact that you not only pushed music forward, but you also pushed things forward for women in the music scene?

A: "I think I work in two worlds. I'll always try to kick through a wall. I did that when I was younger and I still have my way of doing that ... People have said that I've opened up things for women, but look what they've done."

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Paul Casciato)

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In online baby shower, Shakira seeks mosquito nets, vaccines for the poor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué are asking fans to donate gifts like mosquito nets and vaccines for the world's poorest children in an online baby shower to mark the couple's first child.

The 35-year-old Colombian pop star, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and the FC Barcelona center back said on Wednesday they had launched a "virtual living room" for purchase of life-saving items which will be distributed to children and communities in some of the poorest parts of the world.

The singer, who has not announced her due date but has posted recent photographs indicating the baby is likely due later in January.

"To celebrate the arrival of our first child, we hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations," the couple said in an announcing the "Inspired Gifts" program.

Fans and supporters can enter the virtual shower and pay for items ranging from a $5 mosquito net, which protects babies from malaria or $10 for polio vaccines for 17 children, to the top-priced $110-item - therapeutic food, which is a peanut-based paste that can save an acutely malnourished child.

The virtual shower can be accessed at http://uni.cf/baby.

Shakira has also been working on her eighth studio album and will fill in for Christina Aguilera as one of the regular coaches for the next season of the U.S. singing competition "The Voice."

Shakira first publicly confirmed her relationship with Piqué in March 2011 and revealed in September that they were expecting their first child.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)

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Lindsay Lohan pleads not guilty to car crash charges

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 16 Januari 2013 | 11.35

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three charges related to a June traffic accident that led a judge to revoke the troubled actress' probation last month.

Lohan, 26, who did not attend the hearing, was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police when she said she was not behind the wheel of her sports car, which smashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California.

Lohan's not guilty plea was entered in a Los Angeles court by her attorney.

The "Liz & Dick" actress is on probation for a 2011 jewelry theft and could be sent to jail if she is found to have violated the terms of her probation.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey, who will also preside over Lohan's probation hearing, on Tuesday ordered the actress to attend a January 30 pretrial hearing. A date for Lohan's probation hearing will be set at that time.

Lohan has been in and out of rehab and jail since a 2007 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession.

The former "Parent Trap" child star was arrested in New York on a misdemeanor assault charge on the same day that the Santa Monica car crash charges were filed.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has not filed a criminal complaint in the assault case.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

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Stuart Scott's cancer back - but he tweets he's fighting hard

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - ESPN anchor Stuart Scott tweeted that his cancer has returned, but that he's fighting hard.

How hard? He went from tweeting Monday night about his health to hosting SportsCenter, as if nothing were wrong. As he hosted, he was inundated with supportive tweets.

"Blessed by prayers... I'm back in the Fight," Scott wrote. "C reared its head again. Chemo evry 2 wks but I'll still work, still work out..still #LIVESTRONG"

In another tweet, he said that after chemotherapy treatments he goes straight to work out, doing either P90X or mixed martial arts.

Scott was treated for cancer in 2007 after doctors found malignant tissue following an emergency appendectomy. He returned to work at ESPN a month later.

In January 2011, Scott began undergoing chemotherapy after more cancerous tissue was removed. He again returned after a month.

Scott has become a symbol of hope for many who have loved ones fighting the disease or who are fighting it themselves. He traded tweets with some of them after his latest announcement.

He also tweeted Tuesday: "Don't like using profanity on Twitter but some of my fav well wishes R the good folks who say #F@$KCancer... I can't spell it out but I AGREE."

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Jodie Foster comes out as gay at Golden Globes

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 15 Januari 2013 | 11.35

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Hollywood actress Jodie Foster confirmed long-running speculation that she is gay by coming out at the Golden Globes awards on Sunday, but joked she wouldn't be holding a news conference to discuss her private life.

The notoriously private Foster stunned the audience of stars and Hollywood powerbrokers as she accepted a life-time achievement awarded by announcing she was now single.

"Seriously, I hope that you're not disappointed that there won't be a big-coming-out speech tonight," she said, "because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age."

Foster said she had always been up front with trusted friends and family about her sexual orientation.

"But now apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference ... that's just not me," she said.

Foster, 50, then talked to her "ex-partner in love" Cydney Bernard, from whom she recently split, and their two sons in the audience.

"Thank you Cyd, I am so proud of our modern family, our amazing sons," Foster said.

Over the years, Foster had come under withering criticism from the gay community for not publicly recognizing she was gay.

The two-time best actress Oscar winner for "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Accused" said she had valued her privacy because of her early acting career, which started at the age of three.

"If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you, too, might value privacy above all else," she said.

(This story is corrected with spelling of Bernard's first name to Cydney in paras 6 and 7)

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Mary Milliken; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Natalie Wood may have sustained bruises before drowning death: report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Natalie Wood had bruising on her arms and wrists and scratches on her neck when her body was pulled from the Pacific Ocean in 1981, suggesting she was injured before she hit the water, according to a report released by Los Angeles County Coroner's Office on Monday.

But the report, written in June 2012, said there was not enough evidence to say that her death was definitively "non accidental."

The body of the "West Side Story" star, 43, was found floating in a Santa Catalina Island cove off the coast of Southern California in 1981 after she had spent a night of dining and drinking on the island and on a yacht with her husband, television star Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken.

The case has been surrounded by mystery and suspicion for decades and Los Angeles homicide detectives reopened the investigation into Wood's death in 2011.

In June 2012, authorities changed Wood's death certificate to "drowning and other undetermined factors" from the original finding of accidental drowning, but did not explain why.

The change was based on a 10-page document, drawn up as an addendum to the original autopsy report, that said Wood died shortly after she entered the water.

"The location of the bruises, the multiplicity of the bruises, lack of head trauma, or facial bruising, support bruising having occurred prior to the entry into the water," the supplemental coroner's report states.

"This medical examiner is unable to exclude non-volitional, unplanned entry into the water ... Since there are many unanswered questions and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined by this medical examiner that the manner of death should be left as undetermined," it adds.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said on Monday the case was still open but declined to discuss any new evidence that may have been discovered.

The Sheriff's Department has said that neither Wagner, now 82, nor Walken are suspects.

Wood starred opposite James Dean in the classic 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause," and later in musical "West Side Story" and "Splendor in the Grass."

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Lakers star Kobe Bryant and wife reconcile, won't divorce

Written By Unknown on Senin, 14 Januari 2013 | 11.35

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have reconciled and are no longer planning to divorce, the couple said in separate posts on social media sites.

Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players ever in the National Basketball Association, and his wife filed for divorce in December 2011 after 10 years of marriage.

But they had been seen out together in recent weeks, leading to speculation about a possible reunion. They have two daughters, aged 10 and 6.

"I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family," Bryant wrote on Facebook on Friday.

Vanessa Bryant posted a statement on her Instagram page that read: "We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed."

In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault by an employee at a Colorado hotel. He denied the allegations, and charges were dropped after the woman refused to testify.

Vanessa Bryant, who married the Lakers star in April 2001, stayed with her husband during that scandal.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Peter Cooney)

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Miss New York is crowned Miss America

(Reuters) - Miss New York won the 2013 Miss America crown on Saturday at the annual pageant which tapped into the reality TV format by incorporating fan participation that pulled one contestant into the semifinals.

Mallory Hytes Hagan, 23, scored in the talent competition with a tap dance to James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing," and wowed judges with an unadorned, off-the-shoulder white evening gown.

"Oh, my God, thank you!" Hagan, from Brooklyn, said as she was crowned at the end of the two-hour live broadcast from Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on ABC.

The first runner-up was South Carolina's Ali Rogers, followed by Alicia Clifton from Oklahoma, Wyoming's Lexie Madden and Miss Iowa, Mariah Cary.

Montana's Alexis Wineman, who has spoken about having been diagnosed with autism when she was 11, was chosen by fans online and made it to the semifinals. Fourth runner-up Cary discussed having Tourette's syndrome.

The judging panel, which included teenage Olympic gold-medal gymnast McKayla Maroney, "Dancing With the Stars" dancer Cheryl Burke, former Miss America Katie Stam Irk, former "Entertainment Tonight" host Mary Hart and ABC weatherman Sam Champion, was permitted to return one eliminated contestant to the semi-finalists' pool. They chose Washington's Mandy Schendel.

In the competition's final segment, each of the five finalists answered a question about current events. Hagan was asked whether, in the wake of the Newtown school massacre, armed guards should be put in schools.

"I don't think the proper way to fight violence is with violence," she said, indicating she opposes the idea.

Hagan, whose crown comes with a $50,000 college scholarship, said education and other measures such as extended waiting periods for gun ownership were more appropriate.

The pageant, held since 1921, is put on by the Miss America Organization.

Contestants compete in local and state pageants before going on to the national competition. In all, 53 women representing the 50 U.S. states, the Virgin Islands, Washington and Puerto Rico vied for the title.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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Celina Father Accused of Making School Gun Threat

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 13 Januari 2013 | 23.14

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A Celina man who allegedly told elementary school officials he had a gun as part of an experiment on school safety is facing third-degree felony charges.

School officials said Ronald Miller went to Celina Elementary School, where his child is a student, on Wednesday and claimed to have a gun.

Administrators said Miller first approached a school greeter with whom he was acquainted and said he had a gun.

"He told her he was a gunman and his target was on the inside -- and 'I'm going inside. What are you going to do about it?'" Superintendent Donny O'Dell said.

O'Dell says the school greeter froze in panic, allowing Miller to walk through the school's front door while children were entering the building for the school day.

Miller then entered the office and made similar threats, he said.

"He told them that he is a shooter and 'you're dead, and you're dead,'" O'Dell said.

O'Dell said Miller then asked to speak to the school principal, telling staff he was conducting an experiment into school safety.

Miller never produced a weapon.

School officials called administrators and, eventually, police once Miller left the property.

"The main thing that you learn is that it could be anybody at any time," O'Dell said.

Celina parent David Sciano, who has two children at the school, said the incident illustrates how little the district has stepped up security in the wake of last month's school shooting in Connecticut.

"A guy walks in, makes threats. Everyone is sitting there terrified, doesn't know what to do," he said. "It shows that this is going to happen again."

Sciano said he had heard about the incident through word of mouth.

School officials said they had held off communicating with parents so it would not interfere with the police investigation.

A letter went home with students on Thursday afternoon.

"We're not perfect, but what we've got to do is get more perfect," O'Dell said.

The superintendent said the district has looked at its security protocols since the fall and often runs emergency drills.

He said the district has considered and will look into hiring a school resource officer.

In the meantime, parents such as Sciano said they feel bad for Miller for making what seems to have been a poor choice with lasting consequences.

"His intent was probably just to say, 'Hey, you've done nothing,' and that's what it showed, so if that's what it takes, that's a shame," Sciano said. "This guy gave up his life to make a point. I don't know if he was going to hurt anyone or not, but if there's anything that we've gotten out of this, is that we know that we are not prepared."

Miller was arrested late Wednesday on a charge of making a terroristic threat. He is being held on a $75,000 bond.

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Plano ISD Adds Project-Based High School

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The Plano school district will open in the fall a standalone, academy-style high school that uses a project-based, collaborative learning model.

Administrators say part of the Plano Independent School District's future lies in giving students and parents more choices.

"I think public education is taking a turn," said Renee Godi, principal of the district's new Academy High School.

The academy is one of three opening in the fall of 2013 but is the only new standalone campus.

The school will have a project-based setup focused on a science, technology, engineering, arts and math curriculum.

While a lot of schools focus on a science, technology, engineering and math curriculum or have project-based learning, few schools have done "true interdisciplinary work," said Jim Hirsch, assistant superintendent of academics and technology.

The school will do away the traditional, structured eight-period school day to create what the district calls a "collaborative environment," much like a real-world office.

The school is housed in a former office building, much of which is open space.

"Our day is not defined by the courses students have to take, but more in line with the projects that they're working on," Godi said.

For example, students would study the moon landing event by looking at it from every angle, from the science behind the discovery to the math applications involved and even the social context, administrators said.

"It's really about identifying with the way of learning," Godi said.

Plano ISD parent Raj Menon served on the academy steering committee during its design and development phases.

"If I were to go to high school again, I would definitely pick this school," he said. "I really think it allows the kids to be engaged at a different level."

His eighth-grader is one of the 400 or more students vying for the school's 300 spots for incoming freshman and sophomores.

The academy has found support from corporate sponsors such as Texas Instruments.

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AA Asks for Another Extension on Business Plan

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The Fort Worth-based airline asked for an extension until April 1. It's the fifth time the carrier has asked to delay the process.

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American Airlines late Friday asked a bankruptcy judge for a delay in filing a business plan to emerge from restructuring -- a sign a consensual merger with US Airways is unlikely anytime soon.

The Fort Worth-based airline asked for an extension until April 1.

It's the fifth time the carrier has asked to delay the process.

American was joined in the request by the influential Unsecured Creditors' Committee, or UCC.

The airline has made "significant progress" in its restructuring effort but still needs more time, the company said.

"The work proceeds on many fronts concurrently, but is time and resource demanding, and therefore, additional time is necessary," the airline's attorneys wrote.

The board of directors of American's parent company, AMR Corp., met this week but made no announcements.

Friday's request, filed as the bankruptcy court in New York closed for the day, is an indication the airline has chosen to continue to evaluate its options and has decided not to pursue an immediate merger with US Airways.

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Husband and Wife, Both Kelly Hildebrandt, Divorce

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Kelly Hildebrandt is no longer married to Kelly Hildebrandt.

Nope, that is not a typo.

The same-name couple whose whirlwind, heart-warming romance drew headlines in the United States and abroad has divorced, the male Hildebrandt, Kelly Carl Hildebrandt, told NBC 6 on Friday.

"How do they term it at the courthouse? Irreconcilable differences, that is what I would say," Hildebrandt said. "We gave it our best shot."

After the couple separated, male Kelly returned in March last year to his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, where family and friends live and where his tree-service business is situated, he said.

"She's a Florida girl, and I'm a Texas guy," he said. "We really did come from pretty different worlds."

For the first time since the couple separated, male Kelly returned to South Florida for a visit this week, he said. He met with female Kelly a few days ago and there were "no hard feelings," he said.

The tale of the two Kellys began in February 2009, when Kelly Katrina Hildebrandt, of Coral Springs, found the Facebook profile of her future spouse. She saw that they had the exact same first and last name and sent him a friendly greeting to note their shared name.

Same Name Couple Celebrates 1st Anniversary

They started having online exchanges and three weeks later, male Kelly, then 24, traveled from Texas to South Florida to meet female Kelly, then 20. They hit it off immediately and got engaged.

NBC 6 first reported about the Kellys in July 2009, and their story soon after went worldwide. They appeared on the "Today Show," "Inside Edition," Fox News, the front page of Yahoo.com, their wedding picture made People Magazine and they were mentioned in the monologue of late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien.

On Oct. 11, 2009, Kelly and Kelly tied the knot in Lighthouse Point. Things were going well for the newlyweds: They lived together in Coconut Creek and celebrated their first anniversary with a trip to Key West.

Then last year, the pair filed for divorce. The court case is still listed as pending, Broward County court records show.

A Tale of Two Kellys

Male Kelly said he has been happy back in Texas. "That's where all my connections are. It's been really great since I got back," he said.

When he moved, he didn't have to travel back to Texas alone. "Kelly let me keep my dog," he said.

Female Kelly couldn't be reached for comment Friday. But in a statement, her mother told NBC 6: "Yes, I am sorry to say they have separated. I am happy to say they have remained good friends and are both doing well."

Male Kelly said he would be reluctant to marry anyone with the same name again. He said he suspected there would be another spotlight if that were to happen.

"I wouldn't want my future spouse to have to deal with everything from before," he said. "That wouldn't be a fair situation, given the media coverage."

Asked whether the media spotlight affected his marriage, Kelly said he didn't have an answer. "You know, I really don't know on that," he replied.

He was sure, however, that having the same name didn't impede their love, he said. That just happened to be the "cutesy side" of a real relationship, he said.

Female Kelly has since removed her Facebook account.

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Natural Gas Explosion Levels Lewisville Duplex

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A natural gas explosion destroyed a duplex in Lewisville hours after construction workers mistakenly cut a gas line.

The duplex behind the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church of God is owned by the Christian Community Actions, an organization that assists people who are in need.

The home exploded at 12:30 p.m., while crews were working to repair a gas leak. Construction workers mistakenly cut a 4-inch gas line in the area at about 10 a.m., investigators said.

Emergency crews at the time told NBC 5 they had the issue under control and that no evacuations were necessary. But fire officials later told another NBC 5 reporter that they had evacuated a block downwind of the gas leak.

The house that exploded was not included in the evacuations.

Atmos Energy said the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Two Lewisville firefighters and a man who was inside the duplex at the time of the explosion were sent to area hospitals after the explosion, according to fire officials.

Witnesses said the explosion "felt like a bomb went off" and said they could feel the shock wave from blocks away.

"Honestly, I didn't see anything at first," said Danny Vigil, who lives in the area. "What I felt was a huge explosion. It was almost as if you were sitting in a movie, a big action movie -- you hear bombs going, that's what it sounded like."

"Pictures were rattling, falling onto the ground," he said. "The first thing I did was run out the front door -- ran all around because I thought some car hit our home. [I] ran to the back, I saw flames, smoke, debris in the air, shingles, branches. It was just an unbelievable sight."

"I was sitting at my desk whenever was a loud explosion," Dwayne Ryaman said. "[I] literally thought maybe an 18-wheeler had ran into my building at first."

"When I came out of my door, I immediately saw the black smoke and flames," he said. "I got a little bit closer to the scene, saw the debris that was strewn out in the middle of the street."

Debris covered the roadway in the 500 block of East Main Street in Lewisville. The road was shut down while emergency crews worked near the scene.

None of the surrounding homes or businesses were damaged in the explosion.

The man who was inside the duplex was critically injured and taken to Medical Center of Lewisville. He underwent surgery and was later airlifted to Medical Center of Plano, where he was in intensive care Friday night. He is expected to survive.

The injured firefighters were released from the hospital later Friday.

Crews are put out hot spots at the location of the explosion. Atmos Energy crews assisted, along with fire crews from Lewisville, The Colony and Carrollton.

NBC 5's Ellen Goldberg and Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.

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Natural Gas Explosion Levels Duplex in Lewisville, TX

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A natural gas explosion destroyed a duplex in Lewisville, Texas, hours after construction workers mistakenly cut a gas line, NBCDFW.com reported.