Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, an ex-bodyguard who took power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up eroding support ahead of an expected early election.

Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deep in a country where earnings are less than half the EU average and tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "Resign".

Moves by Borisov on Tuesday to blame foreign utility companies for the rise in the cost of heating homes was to no avail and an eleventh day of marches saw 15 people hospitalized and 25 arrested in clashes with police.

"My decision to resign will not be changed under any circumstances. I do not build roads so that blood is shed on them," said Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov.

A karate black belt, Borisov has cultivated a Putin-like "can-do" image since he entered politics as Sofia mayor in 2005 and would connect with voters by showing up on the capital's rutted streets to oversee the repair of pot-holes.

But critics say he has often skirted due process, sometimes to the benefit of those close to him, and his swift policy U-turns have wounded the public's trust.

The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov and political elites with perceived links to shadowy businesses.

"He made my day," said student Borislav Hadzhiev in central Sofia, commenting on Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."

POLLS, PRICES

The prime minister's final desperate moves on Tuesday included cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic by punishing companies including CEZ, moves which conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.

CEZ officials were hopeful on Wednesday that it would be able to avoid losing its distribution license after all and officials from the Bulgarian regulator said the company would not be punished if it dealt with breaches of procedure.

But shares in what is central Europe's largest publicly-listed company fell another 1 percent on Wednesday.

If pushed through, the fines for CEZ and two other foreign-owned firms will not encourage other investors in Bulgaria, who already have to navigate complicated bureaucracy and widespread corruption and organized crime to take advantage of Bulgaria's 10-percent flat tax rate.

Financial markets reacted negatively to the turbulence on Wednesday. The cost of insuring Bulgaria's debt rose to a three-month high and debt yields rose some 15 basis points, though the country's low deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product means there is little risk to the lev currency's peg against the euro.

Borisov's interior minister indicated that elections originally planned for July would probably be pulled forward by saying that his rightist GERB party would not take part in talks to form a new government.

MILLIONS GONE

GERB's woes have echoes in another ex-communist EU member, Slovenia, where demonstrators have taken to the streets and added pressure to a crumbling conservative government.

A small crowd gathered in support of Borisov outside Sofia's parliament, which is expected to approve his resignation on Thursday, while bigger demonstrations against the premier were expected in the evening.

Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communism but remains at 11.9 percent. Average salaries are stuck at around 800 levs ($550) a month and millions have emigrated, leaving swathes of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.

GERB's popularity has held up well and it still led in the latest polls before protests grew in size last weekend, but analysts say the opposition Socialists should draw strength from the demonstrations.

The leftists, successors to Bulgaria's communist party, have proposed tax cuts and wage hikes and are likely to raise questions about public finances if elected.

(Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Patrick Graham)

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Julianne Moore Wears Elizabeth Taylor's Famous Emerald Necklace

Julianne Moore stole the show at Bulgari's pre-Oscars party celebrating Elizabeth Taylor's jewels Tuesday night in Los Angeles, when she arrived in one of Taylor's most prized possessions -- the show-stopping emerald-and-diamond necklace which was given to Taylor by Richard Burton as a wedding gift while they were on location for Cleopatra in Rome.

The stunning necklace, which the Bulgari jewelry house purchased at her 2011 Christie's auction for more than $6 million, obviously had a special place in Taylor's heart -- she even wore it to accept her Best Actress Oscar for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1967.

Pics: The Grammys' Most Expensive Jewelry

"It's very touching, and it's so lovely to be able to wear something like this," a humble Julianne says. "It has so much sentimental value and is obviously such a beautiful, exquisite piece. It's really a work of art. "

The necklace is also very much in style today -- emeralds have been making a comeback all over the red carpet recently.

"I mean, c'mon, emeralds. It's hard not to like emeralds," she smiles.

Related: Elizabeth Taylor's Jewels Fetch Record $115 Million

Julianne's fellow A-listers came out to the event, including Drew Barrymore, who reflected on Taylor's incredible talent.

"Anybody who has to grow up in the world in front of everybody is a very interesting thing to watch, and a very interesting thing to live through, " Drew says, reflecting on her own childhood in the spotlight,. "But I think when you can transcend that, and create these incredible characters and so many iconic roles such as she did ... someone that could be so out there personally, but somehow transcend and become these characters and become devoid of the woman you think you know -- that's an incredible actress."

Check out the video to see Naomi Watts show off her own incredible jewelry that night, as well as Drew's favorite piece from Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry collection.

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Obama admin. tackles colonoscopy confusion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The new health law requires that most insurance plans cover all costs for preventive care, including colon cancer screening.

But it didn't turn out to be that simple.

Many patients ended up with a bill when the doctor performing the colonoscopy removed precancerous growths known as polyps. Why the bill? Because a preventive screening had turned into a procedure.

Now the Obama administration is trying to straighten out the confusion: Polyp removal is part of preventive care, and therefore free of charge to the patient.

Health plans also must cover an expensive genetic test for breast cancer if a woman's doctor orders it. And the lowly aspirin for heart trouble is covered too, if prescribed.

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Wall Street drops as energy sector drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, pressured by a drop in energy shares as investors found few reasons to buy equities following a rally that has propelled indexes close to all-time highs.

Stocks were volatile after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve suggested the central bank may have to slow or stop buying assets before seeing a pickup in hiring, raising the prospect of an earlier end to quantitative easing.

"What Wall Street wants to hear is an absolute sign that the Fed will continue with QE for the indefinite future. When it says we may end it faster, that just raises the uncertainty and the market hates that," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at Landcolt Capital in New York.

Energy companies' shares were among the weakest, hurt by disappointing results in the sector and a 2.3 percent drop in crude oil prices. The Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund fell 1.2 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> slipped 36.65 points, or 0.26 percent, to 13,999.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 9.50 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,521.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> lost 24.63 points, or 0.77 percent, to 3,188.96.

In the energy sector, Newfield Exploration tumbled 7.7 percent to $25.19 while Devon Energy Corp dropped 4.6 percent to $57.75. Both companies posted fourth-quarter losses, with Devon hurt as it wrote down the value of its assets by $896 million because of weak natural gas prices.

Equities have been strong recently. The day's modest decline was the largest for the S&P 500 since February 4. The index has jumped about 7 percent so far this year and is on track for its eighth straight week of gains.

However, many of those weekly gains have been slight, with equities trading within a narrow range for the past few weeks, suggesting valuations may be stretched at current levels.

"The market seems very tired and listless, and investors are prone to take profits now as they wait for the music to stop," said Matt McCormick, money manager at Bahl & Gaynor in Cincinnati.

Earlier in the day, unconfirmed rumors that a troubled hedge fund was selling assets added some downward pressure to the market. The rumors appeared to be unfounded.

"I heard the chatter about a hedge fund liquidating things today but how big, I don't know. Certainly, it sparks concern," said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.

Housing shares also declined, pressured by weaker-than-expected results at Toll Brothers Inc and a drop in groundbreaking to build new U.S. homes, also known as housing starts, in January.

Toll Brothers' stock fell 6.1 percent to $34.66, but is up about 7 percent so far this year, building on a jump of nearly 60 percent in 2012. The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction index <.djushb> lost 4.3 percent.

"Valuations appear a bit high at these levels, and if I was in a name that had seen a huge run, I'd want to take some chips off the table," said McCormick, who helps oversee about $8.2 billion in assets.

The Dow's losses were limited by Boeing Co , up 1.2 percent at $75.56 after a source told Reuters that the company had found a way to fix battery problems on its grounded 787 Dreamliner jets. Concerns over that line have weighed on Boeing recently, contributing to a 2 percent drop in the stock's price in January.

In economic data released on Wednesday, permits for future home building rose in January to a 4 1/2-year high while a separate report showed wholesale prices rose last month for the first time in four months. The U.S. Producer Price Index rose in January for the first time in four months.

Shares of OfficeMax Inc fell 8.5 percent to $11.87 while Office Depot slid 18.5 percent to $4.09 as the companies announced a $1.2 billion merger agreement. The shares had surged in Tuesday's session after a source said a deal would be announced. Rival Staples Inc fell 5.5 percent to $13.84 and ranked as one of the S&P 500's biggest decliners.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of the 405 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results so far, 71 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.7 percent, according to the data, exceeding a forecast for a 1.9 percent gain at the start of the earnings season.

(Additional Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Syria "Scud-type" missile said to kill 20 in Aleppo

AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian missile killed at least 20 people in a rebel-held district of Aleppo on Tuesday, opposition activists said, as the army turns to longer-range weapons after losing bases in the country's second-largest city.

The use of what opposition activists said was a large missile of the same type as Russian-made Scuds against an Aleppo residential district came after rebels overran army bases over the past two months from which troops had fired artillery.

As the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, now a civil war, nears its two-year mark, rebels also landed three mortar bombs in the rarely-used presidential palace compound in the capital Damascus, opposition activists said on Tuesday.

The United Nations estimates 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict between largely Sunni Muslim rebels and Assad's supporters among his minority Alawite sect. An international diplomatic deadlock has prevented intervention, as the war worsens sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East.

A Russian official said on Tuesday that Moscow, which is a long-time ally of Damascus, would not immediately back U.N. investigators' calls for some Syrian leaders to face the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Moscow has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions that would have increased pressure on Assad.

Casualties are not only being caused directly by fighting, but also by disruption to infrastructure and Syria's economy.

An estimated 2,500 people in a rebel-held area of northeastern Deir al-Zor province have been infected with typhoid, which causes diarrhea and can be fatal, due to drinking contaminated water from the Euphrates River, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

"There is not enough fuel or electricity to run the pumps so people drink water from the Euphrates which is contaminated, probably with sewage," the WHO representative in Syria, Elisabeth Hoff, told Reuters by telephone.

The WHO had no confirmed reports of deaths so far.

BURIED UNDER RUBBLE

In northern Aleppo, opposition activists said 25 people were missing under rubble of three buildings hit by a several-meter-long missile. They said remains of the weapon showed it to be a Scud-type missile of the type government forces increasingly use in Aleppo and in Deir a-Zor.

NATO said in December Assad's forces fired Scud-type missiles. It did not specify where they landed but said their deployment was an act of desperation.

Bodies were being gradually dug up, Mohammad Nour, an activist, said by phone from Aleppo.

"Some, including children, have died in hospitals," he said.

Video footage showed dozens of people scouring for victims and inspecting damage. A body was pulled from under collapsed concrete. At a nearby hospital, a baby said to have been dug out from wreckage was shown dying in the hands of doctors.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Opposition activists also reported fighting near the town of Nabak on the Damascus-Homs highway, another route vital for supplying forces in the capital loyal to Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since the 1960s.

Rebels moved anti-aircraft guns into the eastern Damascus district of Jobar, adjacent to the city centre, as they seek to secure recent gains, an activist said.

"The rebels moved truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns to Jobar and are now firing at warplanes rocketing the district," said Damascus activist Moaz al-Shami.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told a news conference a U.N. war crimes report, which accuses military leaders and rebels of terrorizing civilians, was "not the path we should follow ... at this stage it would be untimely and unconstructive."

Syria is not party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and the only way the court can investigate the situation is if it receives a referral from the Security Council, where Moscow is a permanent member.

(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Jason Webb)

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Scott Foley Scandal Interview

While anyone who attempts to come in between Olivia and Fitz is bad news, fans had no idea just how shady Scott Foley's character, Jake Ballard, was until the closing minutes of last week's Scandal when it was revealed he'd been tracking Olivia's every move thanks to the most impressive array of hidden cameras since Sliver!

And given his job with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you can be assured Ballard isn't simply interested in watching Olivia sleep.

But just to make sure, I chatted with Scott Foley this afternoon about joining TV's hottest show, what lies ahead for Olivia Pope and who he'd like to sneak a peek of in real life.

ETonline: You had a very memorable arc on Grey's Anatomy, is that how this gig came about; Shonda called you up?

Scott Foley: That's exactly right. I had such a good time working on Grey's and Shonda was so kind to me. I really appreciated what she did with the character and the stories -- they're heartbreaking and honest and really romantic. She sent me an email over the New Year, while we were on break, telling me they were coming up with a new love interest for Olivia and was curious if I was available. I had just found out Fox wasn't sure what they were going to do with the show I shot last year, The Goodwin Games, so I was free. I asked about the character and all she wrote back was, "It's a love interest for Liv." I put my trust in Shonda, having a history with her and knowing her so well. When the first episode aired last week, my Twitter account blew up! People were calling me, I was getting Facebook messages from high school friends I hadn't talked to in years and the fact I get to be a part of a big moment like that is awesome.

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ETonline: Finding out he was pulling a Sliver was unreal. What was your reaction when you found out?

Foley: It was crazy! You always assume there's another twist coming with Scandal. So I saw their sweet scene at the coffee shop and thought, "What an interesting coincidence because she's working on a case about this woman who died in David's bed and it happened that she was doing work for Jake." I honestly thought that might be the twist. And then I saw he'd been watching her ... let me just tell you, when we did that scene at the table read, everyone on the cast and crew began to shout, "oooooooh!" It was amazing and I was excited to be part of one of those great "What the hell was that?" moments. And there are a bunch of those "Oh my God" moments coming up in the next two episodes I've filmed. It's so cool, man.

ETonline: And I would imagine now that we know this big secret, it makes his courtship of Olivia all the more unsettling.

Foley: I think it does. If you remember a few episodes ago when Olivia told Edison she didn't want to marry him because she wanted a different kind of relationship. So you either want her to find that with Jake or you think Jake's a total snake and she shouldn't be with him. There's a really divided audience there and I think that makes it all the more interesting.

RELATED - How Scandal Became One Of TV's Most Social Shows

ETonline: What can you tell us about this week's episode, Boom Goes The Dynamite? All ABC has released is that Jake is persistent in trying to date Olivia.

Foley: That's all they gave you? [laughs] Well, the last thing we saw was that great moment where you saw the cameras in his apartment -- but you have to remember, she called Jake to say, "Ok, I'll go on a date with you." We'll see them on that date, which Jake is very excited about. You know, he's made this interesting transition, and I'm not sure if he's allowed to do it. Someone has definitely hired him to keep an eye on Olivia, he's not choosing to do that on his own, and I'm sure when they hired him, they did not say it was OK to take her on a date. So he's definitely breaking some sort of code. And we see Olivia still fighting against having a relationship and that's a great thing they've done with the character: she wants love but is always fighting against it, so even though she agreed to go on this date, she won't call it a date. In the episodes I've shot, there's always going to be that tension of him looking for more and her pulling back.

ETonline: As you see Jake going deeper and deeper into this lie, as a Scandal fan, do you think about all the ways Olivia is going to ruin his life eventually?

Foley: Yeah. Totally. Although I don't even say Olivia, I say Shonda is going to kill my character [laughs]. I do know that she Olivia has a way, with Huck and Harrison and everyone at Pope & Associates, of getting the upper hand. You can never pull one over on Olivia, she always knows what's going on. At the end of the day, Olivia is Olivia's best client -- and that's terrifying for me, as an actor, to know my character is doing something that kind of has to blow up. If there's going to be any progress in the story, she's got to find out about this at some point, right? It can't just be the audience. She'll eventually put Huck on his ass, and once you've been waterboarded, nothing can hurt you.

RELATED - Scandal Star Teases The Next Big Bomb

ETonline: Lastly, in the creepiest way imaginable, I'd like to know whose apartment you'd bug given the chance.

Foley: I immediately go to political figures because we're talking about a political show, so I have to say The Oval Office. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in Obama's Oval Office. For me, that would be amazing. This is sort of childish, but I'd love to hear how they actually speak. I remember a few years ago, President Bush was at a big banquet dinner with Sarkozy, and he walked up behind him and said, "We gotta get this sh*t in order." He used a word I assumed two presidents wouldn't use with each other. There's an interesting thing about a media persona versus a real life, and I want to know about the real life of The White House.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.

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UK patient dies from SARS-like coronavirus

LONDON (AP) — A patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune system.

A total of 12 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease, six of whom have died.

The virus was first identified last year in the Middle East. Most of those infected had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan, but the person who just died is believed to have caught it from a relative in Britain, where there have been four confirmed cases.

The new coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. In 2003, a global outbreak of SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.

Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.

Britain's Health Protection Agency has said while it appears the virus can spread from person to person, "the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low."

Officials at the World Health Organization said the new virus has probably already spread between humans in some instances. In Saudi Arabia last year, four members of the same family fell ill and two died. And in a cluster of about a dozen people in Jordan, the virus may have spread at a hospital's intensive care unit.

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M&A deals lift shares, suggest value in market

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as this year's ongoing surge of merger activity suggested investors were still finding value in the market even as indexes hover near five-year highs.

Office Depot Inc surged 12.4 percent to $5.15 after a person familiar with the matter said the No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer was in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax Inc , which jumped 22 percent.

News of the potential move came just days after Berkshire Hathaway and a partner agreed to acquire H.J. Heinz Co for $23 billion, and a revised $20 billion takeover of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo by Anheuser-Busch InBev .

Deal activity has helped equities resist a pullback as investors use dips in stocks as buying opportunities. The S&P is up about 7 percent so far in 2013 and has climbed for the past seven weeks in its longest weekly winning streak since January 2011, though most of the weekly gains have been slim.

"Deals are good for the market," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. "The fact that they're being done is a positive."

More than $158 billion in deals has been announced so far in 2013, more than double the activity in the same period last year and accounting for 57 percent of global deal volumes, according to Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 54.19 points, or 0.39 percent, to 14,035.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 9.66 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,529.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 13.53 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,205.56.

Other stocks in the office supplies sector also rose. Larger rival Staples Inc shot up 12.9 percent to $14.61 as the best performer on the S&P 500.

"Equity investors have to be encouraged by M&A since, if the number crunchers are offering large premiums, that shows how much value is still in the market," said Mike Gibbs, co-head of the equity advisory group at Raymond James in Memphis, Tennessee.

On the downside, health insurance stocks tumbled, led by a 6.4 percent drop in Humana Inc to $72.99 after the company said the government's proposed 2014 payment rates for Medicare Advantage participants were lower than expected and would hurt its profit outlook.

UnitedHealth Group lost 1.9 percent to $56.25. The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index <.hmo> dropped 1.6 percent.

Wall Street's strong start to the year for was fueled by better-than-expected corporate earnings, as well as a compromise by legislators in Washington that temporarily averted automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that are predicted to damage the economy.

The compromise on across-the-board spending cuts postponed the matter until March 1, at which point the cuts take effect. Ahead of the debate over the cuts, known as sequestration, further gains for stocks may be difficult to come by.

"If there's no major contention with sequestration, it looks like stocks are prepared to handle it, but until then we'll probably stay in a consolidation period marked by sideways trading with a slow rate of ascent," said Gibbs.

Economic data showed the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index unexpectedly edged down to 46 in February from 47 in the prior month as builders faced higher material costs.

According to the Thomson Reuters data through Monday morning, of the 391 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 70.1 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies have risen 5.6 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Express Scripts rose 1.7 percent to $56.49 after the pharmacy benefits manager posted fourth-quarter earnings.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

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Merritt Wever Talks Nurse Jackie Season Five

It's always thrilling when a deserving actor has their work acknowledged with an Emmy nomination, but when Merritt Wever's name was announced as one of 2012's five Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy nominees, I felt Zoey-levels of frenetic jubilation because she's long been one of the most underrated actors on television and that kind of uniquely exhilarating talent tends to be celebrated by online devotees (like me!) but ignored by organizations like The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

But, in the end, there was no denying the hilarious, intimate and sterling performance Wever has been serving on Showtime's Nurse Jackie. Emmy night was doubly sweet for Wever as her good friend (and Tiny Furniture boss), Lena Dunham, also scored several nominations for Girls.

I recently caught up with Wever to talk about the sensational season four (now on DVD), what fans can expect from season five and how she learned to stop letting Girls criticism get her down.

ETonline: There was so much I loved about season four -- especially Zoey living at Jackie's house. Looking back, what did you enjoy?

Merritt Wever: I thought it was a really strong season for us. I think there was a lot of energy and things rolled along faster. Living with Jackie was Zoey's dream come true, but you might be a little disappointed in season five because Zoey moves out pretty early on this season. But I loved having the opportunity to be in the house. It was another way to, unintentionally, invade her space.

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ETonline: I thought the season also did a great job of reinforcing how much the staff of All Saints loves Jackie. What do you, as an actor, take away from a moment like the slow clap?

Wever: That this is a dysfunctional family but they really care about each other. I mean, it was awful when Akalitus and Eddie got fired. I hated that scene when they're sitting beneath the statue looking at their severance checks -- it was just so sad. Much like actors, [hospital workers] put in these crazy hours and see their co-workers more than their families most times. Accepting that support is an important part of struggling to stay sober -- more so than Jackie probably wants to deal with or admit. I don't think she wants to admit that to herself because it's unpleasant, but it's something she's really going to have to accept in the upcoming season.

ETonline: What else can you say about season five?

Wever: We return a couple of months later, there are a few new doctors on the floor and Dr. O'Hara decides she needs to live in London to be with her family, so right away Jackie loses her best friend and biggest ally in the hospital. There's a lot of transitions right in the beginning of the season -- especially for Jackie.

ETonline: What about for Zoey -- where do we find her in season five?

Wever: It's a much different season and I'm worried people may not like Zoey this year. I don't know, I don't think she's all that different, but I'm not sure how people are going to respond. Zoey is recommitted to her career this year, although after four years, it's not so much about her finding her way in the hospital any more. She's no longer a newbie, which is hard for me because I had trouble progressing the character when so much of her identity has been about being the fresh-faced new person. That was something I contended with this year. Zoey doesn't date, but she does have a casual encounter, which is very un-Zoey, but something that would happen to a girl in NYC.

VIDEO FLASHBACK - Edie Falco Wins The Emmy in 1999

ETonline: Speaking of, what's your take on Lena's vision of young NYC life in Girls?

Wever: I love Girls. I love it. I think Lena is crazy-talented and I love that she's on the air right now with this exciting show. Sometimes the conversations that get sparked are really annoying, but I love her.

ETonline: You mean like after the Patrick Wilson episode?

Wever: Yeah.

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ETonline: Is it tough to have that kind of second-hand experience with her work?

Wever: In the beginning I would read things are feel strangely overprotective of her. But I quickly realized that girl can hold her f*cking own. She's smart and capable and I don't need to worry about Lena. She's got a great family, great friends and she's doing it right. I get annoyed sometimes about the stuff around her that she has nothing to do with, but I'm glad for many, many reasons that Girls is on the air.

ETonline: Was it surreal to both find yourselves as first-time Emmy nominees this past September.

Wever: It was nice to be recognized when you weren't expecting it. It was really nice having her nominated too. I went with a friend of mine who is a writer on Nurse Jackie, so to be able to have a moment of personal life amid all the business stuff was really refreshing because the business stuff can make events like that not easy to enjoy. If you can bring a small part of you to events like that, it's very useful. I was relieved when I realized we were sitting near one another. It made me feel a little more normal.

Nurse Jackie: The Complete Fourth Season is now available on DVD, and season five premieres April 14 at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

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Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior

SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.

The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said.

"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel. What children watch is as important as how much they watch," said lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute.

The research was to be published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.

The study involved 565 Seattle parents, who periodically filled out TV-watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child's behavior.

Half were coached for six months on getting their 3-to-5-year-old kids to watch shows like "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" rather than more violent programs like "Power Rangers." The results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead.

At six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their TV watching.

By one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. Low-income boys appeared to get the most short-term benefit.

"That's important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression," Christakis said.

The study has some flaws. The parents weren't told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results.

Before the study, the children averaged about 1½ hours of TV, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. By the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. Those in the TV coaching group increased their time with positive shows; the healthy eating group watched more violent TV.

Nancy Jensen, who took part with her now 6-year-old daughter, said the study was a wake-up call.

"I didn't realize how much Elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own," she said.

Jensen said her daughter's behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what Elizabeth and her 2-year-old brother, Joe, watch. She also decided to replace most of Elizabeth's TV time with games, art and outdoor fun.

During a recent visit to their Seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching TV.

Another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended Christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive TV programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent TV.

"I think it's fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. Because no one's going to stop watching TV, we have to have viable alternatives for kids," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

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Contact AP Writer Donna Blankinship through Twitter (at)dgblankinship

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