Buzzmakers: Dina Lohan's Black Eye And New The Voice Clips

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. Dina Lohan's Black Eye Photos

Following Dina Lohan's shocking claims that her husband Michael abused her during their marriage (and Michael's denial), ET has obtained vintage photos of the mother of four with a black eye.

Click here for the shocking pics.

2. 'The Voice' Coaches Dish on New Season

It looks like Adam Levine is off the hook for the upcoming season of The Voice, as Blake Shelton has a new man crush on Usher.

During the Television Critics Association Press Tour, the singers revealed that Shelton's uncomfortable advances towards Levine -- done in jest -- have now been turned to the newest male addition on the coaching panel.

"He's left me for Usher now," Levine joked. "So he gets to spend the season making Usher feel uncomfortable."

"And I think I'm doing a really good job of that, by the way," Shelton added. "I've said and done about everything that crosses the line."

While Shelton's focused on Usher, the rest of the fellas seem to have eyes for Shakira, who will also be joining the show for the upcoming season.

"She's so sexy," said host Carson Daly.

"She's a sweetheart," Levine agreed.

Season four of The Voice premieres March 25 on NBC. Click here for the panel's new interviews!

3. Miranda Lambert Defends Her Chris Brown Comments

Country crooner Miranda Lambert has no intention of retracting her statements made this past year about R&B singer Chris Brown and his domestic abuse in 2009 towards his on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna.

At the Grammy Awards this past year, Lambert, 29, tweeted following Brown's performance, writing: "He beat on a girl. not cool that we act like that didn't happen."

"I didn't feel right about not saying something. The loudmouth that I am, I say what I think," she told Redbook magazine of the tweet. "I wanted everyone to know that I don't agree with the message it's sending to young women."

Adding to her opinion of Brown, Lambert, who is married to The Voice judge Blake Shelton, said, "It's not okay. At all. To be celebrated after doing something like that. I don't think it's right, I never will, and I will stand by what I said till the day that I die."

4. Diane Lane After Husband Josh Brolin's Arrest

As news broke of Josh Brolin's New Year's Day arrest, ET caught up with Brolin's wife Diane Lane at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, where she appeared sans her husband.

Lane arrived cheerful and relaxed alongside her Nights of Rodanthe co-star Richard Gere, whom she presented the Chairman's Award.

"[Brolin] is actually with my wife [actress Carey Lowell] tonight, so everything's fine," joked Gere when asked how Brolin felt about missing the event.

"We have an arrangement," Lane kidded. "It's all good."

5. Fierce Fashions: The 2013 People's Choice Awards

The sparkling stars of film, TV and music donned their red carpet best as they kicked off awards season Wednesday night at the 2013 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles.

Visit our gallery for all the stunning styles!

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U.S. forces to move to Afghan support role in spring: Obama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday said U.S. and coalition forces will move to a support role in the Afghan conflict this spring.

Obama, during a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said he will announce the next steps in the U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan in coming months.

(Reporting By White House team)

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Video game retail sales continued to slide in December, down 22% from 2011

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Keith Urban Randy Jackson Hottest 'American Idol' Judge

With American Idol's season premiere less than a week away, ET's Rocsi Diaz sat down with judges Keith Urban and Randy Jackson to get their take on the upcoming season and the highly publicized feud between fellow panel members Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.

Keith admitted that things felt "a bit surreal" the first few days at Idol, but says he's since settled into his new role as a judge. "I mean the way I look at it is you've got four really passionate people -- and we are genuinely -- and we're all artists, so we're all sensitive darlings, all of us." 

VIDEO: Keith Urban Responds to American Idol Fight

He likened the experience to a bunch of people being thrown onto a dance floor with no specific directions or choreography.
Keith was also asked directly about reported cat fights between Mariah and Nicki. "Of course some toes get stepped on, and we try and figure it out," he said. "But then we get a groove, and I think we have a good groove going."

When Rocsi suggested to Keith that he's clearly "the hottest judge" on the panel, he responded, "No, that's Randy. He's just it -- he's the fashionista."

VIDEO: Nicki Minaj on Idol Drama: There is No Feud!

Randy also addressed the quarreling controversy between the judges, but said he thinks things are "all good" now. "You know, for all of the stuff -- the talk and the chatter out there -- it's really good," he said. "I mean, whenever you get a group of people together with that much energy, and that many opinions, and that distinctively different, it's always going to be a little of a dysfunctional happy family. But you know, it's good right now."  

Watch the video for more from the two judges, including Randy's assessment of this year's new crop of talent!

RELATED: Keith Urban to Return to the Stage After Surgery

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is more widespread across the nation, but the number of hard-hit states has declined, health officials said Friday.

Flu season started early this winter, and includes a strain that tends to make people sicker. Health officials have forecast a potentially bad flu season, following last year's unusually mild one. The latest numbers, however, hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots.

Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. Many cases may be mild. The only states without widespread flu are California, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The hardest hit states fell to 24 from 29, with large numbers of people getting treated for flu-like illness. Dropped off that list were Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.

Recent flu reports have included the holidays when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to know if the flu has peaked in some places or grown stronger in others, CDC officials said Friday.

"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a teleconference with reporters.

Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu. There is no running tally of adult deaths, but the CDC estimates that the flu kills about 24,000 people in an average year.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older, and health officials say it is not too late to get vaccinated. flu reports.

Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, health officials say.

Hyrmete Sciuto, of Edgewater, N.J., got a flu shot Friday at a New York City drugstore. She hadn't got one in years, but news reports on the flu this week made her concerned.

As a commuter by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."

The flu vaccine isn't foolproof; people who get vaccinated can still get sick.

On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that's bad enough to require a trip to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine.

That's in line with how effective the vaccine has been in other years.

The flu vaccine is reformulated annually, and officials say this year's version is a good match to the viruses going around.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.

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AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.

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Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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Wall Street flat, pressured by Wells Fargo, banks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Friday after Wells Fargo & Co reported a decline in net interest margin despite a record profit in the latest quarter, weighing on bank stocks.

Dow component Boeing also weighed on the market after a cracked cockpit window and an oil leak on separate flights in Japan added to problems with some of its Dreamliner jets earlier in the week, compounding safety concerns about the new aircraft.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said the jet would be subject to a review of its critical systems by regulators. Boeing was the biggest loser on the Dow, falling 3.1 percent to $74.73.

Wells Fargo was the first major bank to report results and said its fourth-quarter net interest margin - a key measure of how much money banks make from loans - fell, even as profit jumped 24 percent. The bank also made fewer mortgage loans than in the third quarter.

"It (Wells Fargo results) is weighing on the sector. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this won't be a sector thing and more confined to Wells Fargo, but it's definitely playing a factor today," said Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets LLC in Boston.

The bank's shares fell 1.4 percent to $34.91. The S&P 500 financial sector index <.gspf> fell 0.7 percent after rallying more than 1 percent on Thursday and the KBW Banks index <.bkx> fell 1.3 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was off 3.24 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,467.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> fell 2.50 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,469.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> dipped 0.64 points, or 0.02 percent, to 3,121.13.

Bank of America Corp , JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc are due to report results next week.

Overall earnings were expected to grow by 1.9 percent in this earnings season, according to Thomson Reuters data. But analysts say that with the bar so low, there's room for companies to beat expectations, even if their results are not stellar.

"People are going to be looking for a slowdown in Europe to hit revenues for companies in the U.S. that are exposed to that. I don't think the market is going to react to that, that's already built in," said Troy Logan, managing director and senior economist at Warren Financial Service, in Exton, Pennsylvania.

Best Buy shares rallied after its results showed a small turnaround in its U.S. stores, though same-store sales were flat during the key holiday season. Shares jumped 13.4 percent to $13.85, making it the best performer on the S&P 500.

Basic materials shares were pressured after China's annual consumer inflation rate picked up to a seven-month high, narrowing the scope for the central bank to boost the economy by easing monetary policy. The S&P basic materials sector <.gspm> slipped 0.4 percent.

Dendreon Corp shares surged 17.4 percent to $5.99 after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the drugmaker's stock to "outperform" from "market-perform" and said it could be one of the best performers in 2013.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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String of bombings kill 101, injure 200 in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two cities in Pakistan on Thursday, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in the city of Quetta.

Two coordinated explosions killed at least 69 people and injured more than 100 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, on Thursday evening, said Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil.

The first of two coordinated attacks in Quetta on Thursday evening's attack, in a snooker hall, appeared to be a suicide bombing, local residents said. About ten minutes later, a car bomb went off, they said. Five policemen and a cameraman were among the dead from that blast.

The attack happened in a predominately Shia neighborhood and banned sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility. The extremist Sunni group targets Shias, who make up about 20 percent of Pakistani's population.

Earlier in the day, a blast in Quetta's market killed 11 people and injured more than 40, mostly vegetable sellers and secondhand clothes dealers, police officer Zubair Mehmood said. A child was also killed.

The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for that blast. The group is one of several fighting for independence for Balochistan, an arid, impoverished region with substantial gas, copper and gold reserves, which constitutes just under half of Pakistan's territory and is home to about 8 million of the country's population of 180 million.

Sectarian attacks are also on the rise, and militant groups frequently bomb or shoot Shia passengers on buses travelling to neighboring Iran.

In another incident Thursday, 21 were killed and more than 60 injured in a bombing when people gathered to hear a religious leader speak in Mingora, the largest city in the northwestern province of Swat, police and officials at the Saidu Sharif hospital said.

"The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition and we are receiving more and more injured people," said Dr. Niaz Mohammad.

Police initially said the Swat blast was caused by a gas cylinder but later police chief Akhtar Hayat said it was a bomb.

It has been more than two years since a militant attack has claimed that many lives in Swat.

The mountainous region, formerly a tourist destination, has been administered by the Pakistani army since their 2009 offensive drove out Taliban militants who had taken control.

But the Taliban retain the ability to attack in Swat and shot schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousufzai in Mingora last October.

A Taliban spokesman said they were not responsible for Thursday's bombing.

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jason Webb)

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Can Social Media Help You Lose Weight?

At the start of the New Year, when weight loss is often a priority, building a support team to help keep us on track can be extremely helpful. This might typically consist of family members, friends, co-workers, or perhaps even a nutritionist or registered dietitian. But today, support can also be found online. Plenty of Web sites focus on losing weight, and include communities that provide support and encouragement. Since many of us spend a lot of time on social media sites–maybe too much if you ask my husband!–why not use these platforms as another tool for support? In fact, one study suggests employees participating in a workplace wellness program who also joined the company’s Facebook page, run by a registered dietitian, stayed with the program longer than those who didn’t.

[See Already Struggling With Your New Year's Resolution?]

Could it actually make sense that gluing ourselves to our mobile device or computer could help us shed pounds? It sounds like quite the oxymoron, since increased screen time doesn’t usually equate to weight loss. But here’s how to make social media sites work for you:

Facebook

Facebook is a place where you can share what’s going on in your life with friends, but you may not feel comfortable announcing what you weigh or that you’re trying to lose weight. On the other hand, you may enjoy posting fitness milestones, such as training for and completing your first marathon, or a bike ride for your favorite charity. Sharing your fitness goals with the Facebook universe may be helpful, because the more people who know about it, the more likely you are to stay committed.

[See Small Steps, Big Change: How to Lose 50 Pounds Without Really Trying]

Rather than simply connecting with friends on the site, you can also connect with health and fitness professionals, such as registered dietitians, or pages for diet books, like mine, The Small Change Diet. You can also “like” the pages of health and fitness magazines and your favorite brands. The folks who run these pages may post articles that provide you with helpful weight-loss tips, and many organize regular Facebook chats, allowing you to ask an expert your questions. The more that healthy information is “in your face,” the more likely you are to stick to it.

Most importantly, you may discover a weight-loss community on Facebook, where like-minded individuals share their weight losses (or gains) and offer support. Daily accountability could be just what you need, and knowing others are rooting for you can make a world of difference. If you can’t find a Facebook community you like, start your own.

Twitter

So many of my patients don’t have Twitter accounts, because they think they have nothing clever or witty to say. My advice to them is always the same: You don’t have to “say” anything; you can just follow, at least at the beginning. Registered dietitians (I’m @kerigans) have great tips and, if they’re like me, are more than happy to answer questions via Twitter. I’ve had followers tweet a picture of their dinner and ask what my dietitian colleagues and I thought of it–priceless information for free.

[See Best Plant-Based Diets]

Just as you do on Facebook, follow fitness professionals, health magazines, and other sources that provide weight-loss motivation. Once you feel comfortable, you may decide to join in the conversation, since that’s what social media is all about. Perfect example of how it can benefit you: One morning, I tweeted that I felt more like staying in my pajamas than going to yoga. Some of my followers chimed in that they were feeling the same way, BUT stressed that we should all still exercise. And so we all did. And trust me, none of us regretted going–rather, we were thankful for each other.

[See Are Mobile Health Apps Helpful?]

Seek out people on Twitter and Facebook who you find inspirational, and hopefully a little of what they do will rub off on you. Since nothing is etched in stone, you can unfollow, unlike, or unfriend them if they aren’t helping you. And please keep in mind that while social media can be another tool in your pursuit of weight loss, it’s not the end all. Healthy eating, fitness, and plenty of sleep actually need to happen away from a screen.

Hungry for more? Write to [email protected] with your questions, concerns, and feedback

Keri Gans, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian, media personality, spokesperson, and author of The Small Change Diet. Gans’s expert nutrition advice has been featured in Glamour, Fitness, Health, Self and Shape, and on national television and radio, including The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, Primetime, and Sirius/XM Dr. Radio.

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Golden Globes Ballot 2013 Pick The Winners

The Golden Globes air live this Sunday on NBC, and ET wants you to pick the winners!

Sign up with your Facebook account to use our interactive ballot, and vote for who you think should win come Globes night. You can even share your ballot on Facebook to see how your choices stack up against your friends.

Pics: The 2013 Golden Globes Presenters

From our Ballots Hub Page, you can see the trending favorites in each category, and even ballots from industry professionals including Nancy O'Dell!

Then, come back during the ceremony on January 13, 2013 to view the results and see how your ballot scored in real time.

Click here to fill out your ballot now and make your Globes choices known.

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China's one-child law: Less competitive adults?

BEIJING (AP) — They're called "little emperors" — the children born in China under a law that generally limits urban families to having just one child.

They grow up as the sole focus of doting parents. How does this affect them? What does it mean to Chinese society if generations of kids are raised this way?

Concerns about the "only child" practice in China have been expressed before. Now researchers present new evidence that these children are less trusting, less competitive, more pessimistic, less conscientious and more risk-averse than people born before the policy was implemented.

The study's authors say the one-child policy has significant ramifications for Chinese society, leading to less risk-taking in the labor market and possibly fewer entrepreneurs.

"Trust is really important, not just social interactions but in terms of negotiations in business, working with colleagues in business, negotiating between firms," said one of the authors, Lisa Cameron. "If we have lower levels of trust, that could make these kinds of negotiations and interactions more difficult."

China introduced its family planning policy in 1979 to curb a surging population. It limits most urban couples to one child.

The new work by Cameron of Monash University in Australia and co-authors is published online Friday in the journal Science. The researchers said the results don't necessarily apply to children born outside of the situation they studied: modern-day, urban China.

They recruited 421 Beijing men and women who were born within an eight-year period that included dates just before and just after the policy took effect in 1979. About 27 percent of the participants born in 1975 were the only child in their families, rising to 82 percent of those born in 1980 and 91 percent of those born in 1983. Researchers said the sample was better educated than the general population of Beijing but otherwise similar.

They administered tests to measure their altruism, trust, trustworthiness, risk attitudes and competitiveness, and gave them personality surveys. Cameron said the participants' ages and views on ideological changes in China didn't appear to affect the results.

The findings — including indications that those in the study were more sensitive and nervous — are no surprise, said Zou Hong of the School of Psychology at Beijing Normal University, who was not involved in the research.

"Only children in Chinese families are loved and given almost everything by their families and they can get resources at home without competition," she said. "Once they enter society, they are no different from other people. Having been overly protected, they feel a sense of loss and show less competitiveness."

Zou said parents of an only child tend to become overly nervous, when they are ill, for example, and "that feeling will be passed on to the children and make them become more sensitive and nervous."

The Chinese government credits the one-child policy with preventing hundreds of millions of births and helping lift countless families out of poverty. But the strict limits have led to forced abortions and sterilizations, even though such measures are illegal. Couples who flout the rules face hefty fines, seizure of their property and loss of their jobs.

Last year, a government think tank urged China's leaders to start phasing out the policy and allow two children for every family by 2015, saying the country had paid a "huge political and social cost." It said the policy had resulted in social conflict, high administrative costs and led indirectly to a long-term gender imbalance because of illegal abortions of female fetuses and the infanticide of baby girls by parents who cling to a traditional preference for a son.

The researchers in Australia noted that children born long after 1979 will have grown up with very limited extended family and in a society dominated by those born into one-child families. So the psychological effects of the one-child policy "would, if anything, be magnified," they wrote.

Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas in Austin who studies these children, was puzzled that the study's findings showed poor performance so consistently in virtually all measures. She said she would have expected a more mixed picture, and she hopes follow-up research is done.

In any case, there's no reason to think that the results would be similar for children in the United States, she said. In China the only child grows up with different expectations, Falbo said, with Chinese authorities emphasizing that "these kids have to be the best possible. Most Americans want their kid to be happy; they're not aiming for a world-class child of some sort."

Careful studies done elsewhere that look for certain qualities in the only child find that "on average, they're pretty much like everybody else," she said.

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Science writer Malcolm Ritter in New York and AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Online:

Journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

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