Universal inks deal with Ferrell's company

Hollywood's Universal Media Studios says it has signed a deal with Gary Sanchez Productions Television, headed by producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.

Ferrell and McKay are the producers of "Step Brothers," "The Other Guys," "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Eastbound and Down." They also are the creators of the "Funny or Die" video Web site.

The deal between their production company and Universal was announced Monday by Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment.

"This development deal with Will and Adam is a major step forward for our studio," Greenblatt said in a statement. "They know how to make people laugh, aren't afraid to take risks, and are among the elite of the entertainment industry's creative leaders."

Ferrell began his career on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and recently appeared in a multiple-story arc on the network's comedy series "The Office."

McKay directed and wrote Ferrell's films "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Talledega Nights," "Step Brothers" and "The Other Guys."

Liu to appear in Season 4 of 'Southland'

Lucy Liu is joining the cast of "Southland" for the U.S. police drama's fourth season, TNT announced Monday.

Starring Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King and Ben McKenzie, the show is slated to begin its new season in January.

Liu will appear throughout the season as a member of the Los Angeles Police Department, the cable network said.

Her film credits include the "Kung Fu Panda," "Charlie's Angels" and "Kill Bill" films. She also was a co-star on TV's "Ally McBeal" and "Cashmere Mafia."

Buble to star in NBC holiday special

Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Buble is to headline his first network television variety special in December, NBC said.

The announcement was made Monday by Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment.

The 1-hour special is being produced by Emmy Award winners Ben Silverman and Lorne Michaels.

The program will feature Buble as he performs hits from his latest holiday CD, combined with sketch comedy segments,the network said.

"Michael Buble's popularity as a recording artist and performer transcends generations as he has entertained audiences across the world during his concert tours," Greenblatt said in a statement. "His 2010 appearance on ["Saturday Night Live"] was the top-rated network telecast of the night and demonstrated that his considerable talents extend beyond singing. NBC is pleased to kick off the holiday season by presenting Michael's first network television special."

DJ Sam Ronson arrested for alleged DUI

Celebrity disc jockey Sam Ronson, best known as Lindsay Lohan's ex-girlfriend, has been arrested for alleged driving under the influence outside Baker, Calif.

TMZ cited law enforcement sources it did not name as saying Ronson, 33, was pulled over by police for speeding as she drove home from Las Vegas Monday morning after working at the Lavo nightclub in the Palazzo hotel.

She failed a field sobriety test, refused to submit to a breathalyzer and was arrested, TMZ said.

The musician blew over the legal blood-alcohol limit when she finally took the breathalyzer test at the police station where she was booked, the report said.

DiCaprio is highest-earning actor

Leonardo DiCaprio is Hollywood's highest-earning actor, making $77 million between May 2010 and May 2011, Forbes.com said Monday.

Coming in at No. 2 during the same period was Johnny Depp with $50 million, followed by Adam Sandler with $40 million at No. 3, Will Smith with $36 million and Tom Hanks with $35 million.

Rounding out the top tier are Ben Stiller with $34 million at No. 6, Robert Downey Jr. with $31 million at No. 7, Mark Wahlberg with $28 million at No. 8, and Tim Allen and Tom Cruise with $22 million at No. 9.

Kings of Leon cancel U.S. tour

The Kings of Leon said on its Web site Monday the rock band has canceled the rest of its U.S. concert tour.

The announcement followed an incident in Dallas Friday night during which lead singer Caleb Followill left the stage, complaining of the heat and a failing voice. A subsequent show in The Woodlands, Texas, was canceled Sunday.

"We are so sorry to say Kings of Leon are canceling their entire U.S. tour due to Caleb Followill suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion," the group said in a statement Monday. "The band is devastated, but in order to give their fans the shows they deserve, they need to take this break."

Followill said the U.S. dates cannot be rescheduled due to the band's international tour schedule. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase, he said. Tickets purchased online or via phones will be automatically refunded.

The band will resume touring in Canada at the Rogers Center in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 28, he said. That show was originally scheduled for Sept. 14.

Drone attack kills 6 suspected militants

Six suspected militants were killed in a drone attack on a vehicle in Pakistan's tribal region of South Waziristan Monday, intelligence officials said.

The Pakistani officials told CNN a drone fired two missiles at the vehicle.

South Waziristan is on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and the majority of drone strikes have been in areas in North and South Waziristan, the officials said.

Intelligence experts say the areas are havens for militants.

The United States normally doesn't comment on drone strikes but is the only country in the region known to have the ability to launch missiles from remote-controlled drones.

Attacks by Yemeni government kill many

Yemeni military airstrikes and bombings throughout the country resulted in the deaths of four civilians and 15 militants, officials said Monday.

The Yemeni air force killed the suspected al-Qaida and other Islamic fighters and injured another 17 Monday in Zinjibar in the southern part of the country, the Italian news agency Agenzia Giornalistica Italia reported. The town's major buildings had been under the insurgent group's control since May.

Among the dead in Zinjibar was the local leader of the militant Islamic group Nader Shadadi.

In the Arhab district, outside of the nation's capital Sanaa, Republican Guard bombs killed at least two people and injured 12 others Sunday night and early Monday morning, the Yemen Post reported.

The attacks on Arhab were in response to tribes taking over a Republican Guard camp Thursday.

An airstrike in the northern region Taiz left two people dead and another three injured, the newspaper said. Two of the injured were children, one of whom was in critical condition.

Witnesses say the government targeted the homes of tribes who oppose to the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Taiz has been out of government control since May. Revolutionary youth groups in the region are condemning the government for attacks on civilians there, and asking for help from the international community.

In July, 45 people were killed by government forces, the Post said.

Missing prosecutor declared dead

A Pennsylvania district attorney who vanished six years ago has been declared legally dead.

The ruling last week on Ray Gricar allows the missing man's daughter to settle his estate but does not end speculation about what happened in April 2005, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday. Gricar, who was 59 at the time, was planning his retirement after 20 years as the elected district attorney in Centre County, a rural region that is home to Penn State.

A few hours after Centre County District Judge David Crine issued his ruling July 25, online speculation began about a man arrested for trespassing in Utah who had refused to identify himself. He has since been determined not to be Gricar.

Gricar told his girlfriend, who shared his home in Bellefonte, he was on a trip in search of antiques in Lewisburg, 50 miles away. His car turned up in a Lewisburg parking lot and his laptop computer was found in the Susquehanna River.

Investigators are split between suicide, homicide and a voluntary disappearance. One defense lawyer suggested to the Inquirer that Gricar is in the federal witness protection program.

Amos Goodall, who represents Gricar's only child, Lara, believes the district attorney is dead.

"I can't believe that he would have spent the last six years causing his family to be in the real purgatory that they have been in," he said. "If he were alive, he would've contacted his family."

House passes debt limit bill

The U.S. House Monday passed the deficit reduction bill and sent it to the Senate for consideration.

The vote was 269-161 with 95 Democrats joining 174 Republicans in voting in favor of the measure, and 95 Democrats voting with 66 Republicans against it.

The Senate is to vote on the measure Tuesday.

In a huge surprise, the "yes" votes included one cast by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who is recovering from a bullet wound to her head, suffered during a shooting spree at a constituents' gathering in Tucson in January.

Giffords, in her first appearance in Capitol Hill since being wounded, waved to those gathered in the House chamber for the historic vote to avoid the risk of a first-ever default by the U.S. government and blew them kisses. She was greeted with a standing ovation.

After the vote, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Giffords' "presence here in the chamber … brings honor to this chamber."

The debt reduction plan would cut deficits by at least $2.1 trillion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The CBO "estimates that the legislation … would reduce budget deficits by $917 billion between 2012 and 2021," in up-front savings and another $1.2 trillion in savings coming from work done by a special bipartisan, bicameral committee, the letter read.

The non-partisan office's review of the framework came a day after President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached agreement to raise the federal debt limit that includes steep spending cuts but no new taxes, breaking an impasse that flung the country toward default. Tuesday is deadline for a deal to be struck before the country loses its borrowing authority and risks the possibility of defaulting on its obligations.

The agreement would raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit in two stages by as much as $2.4 trillion.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hope of quick passage in the Senate could threatened by South Carolina Republicans Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, who said they would not vote for the bill, The Hill reported.

"I'm not going to tell Americans that we're doing everything when we're not," he said. "We're planning on adding another $10 trillion in debt."

DeMint said he will not permit a Senate vote until he and his staff have reviewed the measure thoroughly.

"I'll be asking for the right to read it and go through it. That takes a while. They need to get us the bill so that we can print it out and start going through it," DeMint told The Hill. "This idea that you have to pass it to find out what's in it doesn't work. I'd like to read it to find out what's in it, and I think a number of Republicans feel that way."

Graham, in a statement, said he couldn't "in good conscience" vote for the bill.

"Simply stated, it locks us into more debt, bigger government and most devastating of all, a weakened defense infrastructure at a time when we face growing threats," Graham said.

Reid said neither side got what it wanted in the legislation, "but it's the nature of compromise."

Fire destroys campaign HQ in Wis.

Fire officials in La Crosse, Wis., said they were investigating a fire that destroyed six apartments, a warehouse and a political advocacy group headquarters.

The fire Saturday destroyed the La Crosse offices of We Are Wisconsin 10 days before a Wisconsin state Senate recall election, the La Crosse Tribune reported Monday.

Kelly Steele, a spokeswoman for We Are Wisconsin, said the liberal advocacy group's offices were destroyed. She told the newspaper it was too soon to know whether the fire will have an effect on the Aug. 9 recall election in which Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Shilling is challenging Republican state Sen. Dan Kapanke.

Shilling's campaign staff had to evacuate its headquarters, which is adjacent to the building that burned. The campaign said it expects workers will be able to return to the office "very soon," the Tribune reported.

Capt. John Helfrich, a La Crosse Fire Department inspector, said it will be days before investigators can determine a cause, the newspaper said.

Residents of the apartments escaped unharmed, said Dave Vaslow, who manages the building

22 debt bill protesters arrested

U.S. Capitol Police arrested 22 protesters Monday for disrupting the House of Representatives' debt-ceiling debate.

Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider said the noisy protesters in the visitors' gallery were taken into custody about 3:20 p.m. EDT and cited with "disruption of Congress," The Wall Street Journal reported.

The protesters expressed disapproval of corporate tax breaks that were not eliminated in the compromise deal worked out by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama, the newspaper said.

The House later passed the deficit-cutting and debt ceiling-raising measure. The Senate is to take it up Tuesday.

China Defense Ministry Web site opens

China's Ministry of National Defense has begun operating its official Web site, saying it will help modernize China's armed forces and promote transparency.

The start-up of the site www.mod.gov.cn was part of the 84th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

A ministry statement said the Web site, authorized by the powerful Central Military Commission, is "a significant step in promoting transparency" and "an important move in the modernization of China's national defense and armed forces" and will carry features, up-to-date defense information, including defense expenditures, national defense white papers and transcriptions of new conferences.

A month ago, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who also chairs the military commission, had proposed implementing a "major strategic thinking" model of military development, urging priority be given "to accelerating the development of methods through which troops' combat effectiveness is raised."

The PLA Daily newspaper, in an editorial Monday, urged officers and soldiers to enhance risk awareness, noting international military competition has become increasingly fierce and modern wars are swiftly evolving.

China already has confirmed launching an aircraft carrier program which includes refitting a carrier originally built by the former Soviet Union.

Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, in his remarks about modernizing the military forces, said the army will continue to oppose and deter secessionist activities for "Taiwan independence," and make due contributions to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Woman falls, dies in Yosemite

A hiker from San Ramon, Calif., fell hundreds of feet to her death while descending Yosemite's Half Dome, officials say.

The emergency communications center at the park received a 911 call about noon PDT Sunday, informing them a climber slipped from the cables leading up to Half Dome, San Ramon Express News reported.

When National Park Rangers arrived on the scene, they found Hayley LaFlamme, 26, dead.

Yosemite Park Ranger Kari Cobb said it appeared LaFlamme fell while climbing down a 400-foot cable system that allows hikers to reach the top of Half Dome, a nearly 5,000-foot summit, without using personal rock-climbing gear. She then fell off a cliff, landing about 600 feet below.

Rangers were still investigating the fall, but noted there had been a severe thunderstorm earlier in the day, the newspaper said.

Wet weather can make trails in the park quite dangerous, particularly the granite slope along the cable route, Cobb said, adding there are numerous signs alerting visitors to this issue throughout the park and on the permit required for hikers to access Half Dome, which LaFlamme had.

LaFlamme is the 14th person to die within the park this year, nearly triple the average in recent years, KABC-TV, Los Angeles, reported.

Mounties hunt suspect in brutal assault

Mounties in British Columbia are working with police forces nationwide on a manhunt for a man suspected of a brutal assault, officials say.

David Wesley Bobbitt, 35, is charged with the attempted murder of a 22-year-old woman who was found Sunday morning, tied up and savagely beaten inside of Bobbitt's second-hand store, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. The woman's 2-year-old child was discovered nearby, unharmed.

Police say the woman entered the Penticton, British Columbia, store sometime Saturday morning and was forced into confinement until she was discovered at 3 a.m. Sunday. Bobbitt had fled the scene.

British Columbia mounted police were working with police agencies across Canada in case Bobbitt attempts to leave British Columbia.

"With national attention on this case, given its brutality, it's going to be pretty difficult for Mr. David Wesley Bobbitt to move anywhere, and certainly we're making every effort to locate this man," said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.

Police said they were interested in talking to anyone who may have been in Bobbitt's store, Dave's Second Hand Store, Saturday.

"We might even have had customers that may have been into the store prior to this woman entering, so we're looking at establishing a timeline as to what exactly occurred on Saturday," Moskaluk said.

The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries but was expected to recover, the report said.

U.N. Security Council may meet on Syria

Germany and Italy called for a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday to discuss Syria's escalating crackdown on the four-month uprising against the Assad regime.

The call followed a harsh denunciation by the United States, European Union and United Nations -- and an appeal from Lebanon for the Arab world to end its "silence" on the crackdown -- following Syria's brutal military and security-force assault on Hama and other restive cities Sunday that residents and activists said killed at least 140 people.

The dawn-to-dusk assault the day before the holy month of Ramadan, when activists vowed to hold nightly anti-regime protests, was condemned as the broadest and fiercest crackdown yet by President Bashar Assad's government.

Activists described a massacre after armored units, ending a monthlong siege, smashed through makeshift barricades around Hama and other cities.

They said the massacre was carried out by troops and security agents accompanied by busloads of irregular militiamen known as Shabiha, or "Ghosts," who are part of the same Alawite Shiite minority group as the Assad family.

Human-rights groups said the death toll in Hama alone could reach 150, the English-language Daily Star of Beirut, Lebanon, reported.

More than 1,000 people were reported injured in the simultaneous raids on several Syrian cities, and the lives of people being treated at Hama's al-Horani Hospital were feared in danger as security forces stormed the hospital, the Coordination Committee of Syrian Peaceful Revolution told Dubai's Gulf News.

International media are still largely banned from Syria, but video clips posed on YouTube by Sham, a Web site sympathetic to the protesters, showed unarmed civilians taking cover from shelling and heavy machine-gun fire as hospitals struggled to cope with mounting casualties.

Bodies lay scattered on the streets, residents said.

"They started shooting with heavy machine guns at civilians, at the young men protecting the barricades," activist Omar Habal told Britain's The Guardian.

Sham said some soldiers in Hama and the northeastern city of Deir al-Zour on the Euphrates Rive deserted from the forces assaulting the cities.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency said two security-force members were killed in Hama and three in Deir al-Zour.

President Barack Obama described the government bloodshed as "horrifying," demonstrating "the true character of the Syrian regime."

He said Assad showed he was "completely incapable and unwilling to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people."

"In the days ahead, the United States will continue to increase our pressure on the Syrian regime, and work with others around the world to isolate the Assad government and stand with the Syrian people," Obama said in a statement that did not demand Assad step down, as he has with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

EU foreign affairs and security policy chief Catherine Ashton said the brutal attacks were "even more unacceptable coming on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan."

"The Syrian army and security forces have the duty to protect citizens, not to massacre them indiscriminately," she said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the violence, urged Assad to heed Syrians' aspirations and reminded "Syrian authorities that they are accountable under international human rights law for all acts of violence perpetrated by them against the civilian population."

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri "condemned" the Ramadan eve "massacre" and urged other Arab leaders to end their "silence" on the crackdown by refusing to condemn Syria's "bloody" onslaught.

The Syrian people deserve "to define their choices freely and within their humanitarian rights," Hariri said in a statement.

Syria, which borders Lebanon to the north and east, occupied Lebanon from 1976 through April 2005.

Lebanon, a current non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, did not immediately respond to the German and Italian calls for an emergency closed-door council session likely to take place Monday afternoon.

Western European countries proposed a resolution condemning Syria's crackdown June 8, but China and Russia, both Syrian allies, threatened to veto

Federal judge Matthew J. Perry dies

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Perry, known for his civil rights work, died at his home in Columbia, S.C., officials said. He was 89.

Perry, who would have turned 90 this week, was found dead Sunday, apparently of natural causes, The State of Columbia, S.C., reported Monday.

His body was found by a family member who each Sunday went to the judge's home to prepare a meal for Perry and his wife Hallie, who is in poor health, said Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.

Perry was at work Friday at the courthouse that bears his name and he regularly worked a full schedule.

"He was a shining example of unflinching courage and leadership," said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. "Simply put, he was a giant and this world will be a lesser place without him."

Flags in Columbia will be flown at half-staff in the coming days, Benjamin said.

"Matthew Perry -- an iron fist in a velvet glove -- courteous, polite, even jocular … but unshakably determined," said S.C. historian Walter Edgar.

Perry was one of the first black men from the South appointed to a federal court. He was still as a senior U.S. District Court judge for South Carolina at the time of his death.

"I would like to see an improved quality of life for citizens around the state," Perry said last week. "I am very much concerned about those who remain uneducated and who are impoverished, living at the edge of society. "

Girl, 13, dies; her warning saved friends

A 13-year-old girl killed by a vehicle that crashed into her home warned other children to get out of the way before she was struck, New York City police said.

Investigators were still trying to determine the sequence of events that left Kira Goddard and the driver of the sport utility vehicle dead Saturday in the borough of Brooklyn, The New York Times reported.

Police said Kira and a group of friends were hanging out about 10 p.m. in front of the four-story building where they lived when a Range Rover sideswiped a row of double-parked cars. The driver, Sean Lewis, then put the vehicle in reverse and it overturned, crashing into the building where the children were playing.

"She said, 'It's reversing back -- run, run!'" said Alexia Joseph, 12, one of the children with Kira when the accident occurred. "That's when we ran back inside [the building], but she didn't because she was shocked."

Kira was crushed when the vehicle pinned her against the building, police said.

When police arrived, they discovered that Lewis had been stabbed and was apparently driving himself to a hospital when the accident occurred, the New York Daily News reported. Police were trying to find out the circumstances surrounding Lewis' injury.

Lewis, who was dead on arrival at Brookdale Hospital, had a string of petty-crime arrests, the New York Post reported. Lewis reportedly had an argument with someone over a debt a short time before the accident.

"[They] had been arguing over money the past couple of weeks," one neighbor said.

Mo'Nique's talk show gets the ax

U.S. cable network BET has canceled "The Mo'Nique Show," starring Oscar-winning actress Mo'Nique, after two seasons, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

"'The Mo'Nique Show' will be on production hiatus beginning in the fall," a BET representative told the newspaper Thursday. "Mo'Nique Hicks and 'The Mo'Nique Show' are important to the BET Networks family and we look forward to continuing our relationship our with her."

No reason for the hiatus was given.

The chat show was taped at Turner Studios in Atlanta.

Mo'Nique won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar last year for her portrayal of an abusive mother in "Precious."

Molly Parker lands role on 'The Firm'

Canadian actress Molly Parker has joined the ensemble of the upcoming legal drama series "The Firm," it was announced Friday.

NBC, Entertainment One, Sony Pictures Television Networks and Global Television confirmed the casting news Friday.

Parker is to play Abby McDeere in the network's small-screen adaptation of John Grisham's best-selling novel, which is being executive-produced by Grisham and Lukas Reiter.

"Ten years ago, Abby helped her husband Mitchell McDeere bring down a Memphis law firm that was a front for the Chicago mob. Her life was never the same," NBC said in a synopsis. "Abby's a true partner to Mitch -- a smart, resourceful woman who after a tumultuous decade is excited to start a new life in Washington, D.C., as a school teacher."

Parker, who is known for her work in TV's "Deadwood" and "Swingtown," joins a previously announced cast including Josh Lucas as Mitch; Juliette Lewis as Tammy, who is now Mitch's receptionist; and Callum Keith Rennie as Ray McDeere, Mitch's charming yet volatile older brother, NBC said.

Denise Richards pulling for Sheen comeback

U.S. actress and TV personality Denise Richards says she hopes her ex-husband, actor Charlie Sheen, makes a comeback professionally.

Sheen was fired this year from his sitcom "Two and a Half Men" after eight seasons because of his erratic behavior and substance abuse. He recently signed on to star in a comedy series based on the film "Anger Management," but it is unclear on what network the show will run.

"He's a survivor," Richards told CNN's Piers Morgan. "If anyone can pick themselves up, make a huge comeback, it's Charlie."

Asked if she could imagine circumstances under which she might reconcile with Sheen, the father of two of her three daughters, Richards replied, "I'm way too old for him now."

"I'm way past his age range," his 40-year-old ex-wife joked.

Hilton and Katzenberg break up

U.S. hotel heiress Nicky Hilton and her producer boyfriend David Katzenberg have broken up after dating for about four years, sources told the New York Post.

Hilton is the sister of model-actress Paris Hilton and Katzenberg is the son of DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.

"They broke up quietly after four years together. The main reason was that they have been busy with their work schedules, and it has made it difficult to spend time together," one insider told the Post.

"Nicky has been back and forth traveling overseas a lot with her business. She has recently been in Asia promoting her jewelry line, and David is starting a new production company. Their schedules never seemed to match. ... There is no scandal or any third person -- they remain close friends, they have been friends since they were teenagers."

Harry Potter box office to top $1 billion Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2011/07/30/Harry-Potter-box-office-to-top-1-billion

The new Harry Potter film was expected to hit the magic $1 billion mark at the box office this weekend, The Hollywood Reporter said Saturday.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" had grossed $926 million worldwide heading into the weekend and showed no signs of slowing down.

The entertainment-industry newspaper said "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" would be the ninth movie to ever gross more than $1 billion. "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" grossed $659 million last year, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has led the franchise until now with a gross take of $974.8 million in 2001-2002.

"Avatar" is the only film to crack the $2 billion

Jolie wows Sarajevo Film Festival

The Bulgarian movie "Ave" won the special jury award and Angelina Jolie was given a lot of applause at the Sarajevo (Bosnia) Film Festival this weekend.

Jolie and husband Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance in Sarajevo where Jolie received an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for her humanitarian work.

Us Magazine said Sunday the long round of applause when Jolie walked on stage nearly moved the American star to tears.

Jolie directed "The Land of Blood and Honey," the love story of a Christian-Muslim couple during the bloody Bosnian war.

Bulgaria was well represented in the awards categories. Along with director Konstantin Bojanov's "Ave," Bulgarian films received awards for best film for "Breathing."

The acting awards went to Austrian Thomas Schubert and Ada Condeescu of Romania, the Sofia News Agency reported.

Workers asking for more time off

Since the recession, U.S. workers focused on keeping their jobs, but this summer there is a shift toward family, a survey indicates.

The survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Adecco Staffing US, a workforce solutions provider, indicates the desire for time and work flexibility this summer cuts across gender lines.

Fifty-nine percent of women are choosing "extra vacation days" as one of the three workplace benefits they'd most want, while 47 percent of men say the same. Sixty percent of men show a greater interest in having the ability to leave work early.

"In the last few years, American workers have had more of a focus on keeping their jobs and perhaps less on other elements, including taking vacation and time off from work to spend with family and friends during the summer months," Joyce Russell, president and EVP of Adecco Staffing US, says in a statement.

"This summer we're seeing a bit of a shift from this way of thinking with survey respondents showing that maintaining one's personal life and a more relaxed work environment is valuable to them."

In addition to time flexibility, 42 percent of U.S. workers also want the option for casual workplace attire this summer, although 80 percent of women say mini-skirts are inappropriate at work compared to 61 percent of men, the survey says.

No survey details were provided.

Crystal Sugar workers reject contract

American Crystal Sugar said Sunday it would proceed with a lockout after union workers at five plants rejected the Minnesota-based cooperative's contract offer.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the rejection by the 1,300 employees at five plants in the Red River Valley Saturday was overwhelming.

The farmer-owned cooperative is the largest beet sugar producer in the United States.

American Crystal Vice President Brian Ingulsrud said the employee lockout would begin at midnight Sunday. The company has said it would bring in replacement workers, the Star Tribune said.

The contract offer that was turned down by members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 167A would have provided workers with a 13 percent pay hike over five years plus a $2,000 signing bonus.

Union President John Riskey said in a statement 96 percent of the union members voted against it.

Pay, he said, is not the key issue.

"The company's offer still has major loopholes allowing non-union contractors to replace union workers and makes health insurance unaffordable," he said. "Any raise is meaningless if our healthcare costs increase even more or if management can eliminate our jobs and replace us at will."

Ingulsrud said American Sugar would have to meet certain criteria before it could hire non-union workers and could not lay off union employees if it did.

The company said health costs would go up an average of about $1,000 per employee, which is significantly less than their pay increase.

U.S. budget-debt votes set with 1 day left

Congressional leaders said they hoped to pass a compromise bill by Monday night to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut spending $2.4 trillion, averting default.

The bill, worked out largely between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, provides for an initial $917 billion in spending cuts over 10 years followed by another $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in cuts that a special joint congressional committee would be charged with finding through a tax overhaul and changes to safety-net programs, the congressional leaders and White House said.

No one speaking Sunday night said they liked the bill -- in fact, virtually every politician said they would have preferred something different -- but the compromise "will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America," President Barack Obama said.

U.S. Treasury officials have said the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling had to be raised by Tuesday or the government could run short of money to pay its bills, including payments to veterans, contractors and Social Security recipients.

"Is this the deal I would have preferred?" Obama said Sunday on national TV. "No."

But the deal also ensures "we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months or eight months or 12 months," Obama said. "And it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told House Republicans in a conference call Sunday night: "If I wrote this myself, it would look different. But I wouldn't agree to it or put it on the floor if it violated our principles or would hurt the economy," Republicans who participated in the call told The Washington Post.

Boehner hailed "the courage of all of you for helping us take this giant step forward," the participants told the Post.

"It shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," The Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying.

In pressing Tea Party conservatives to support the compromise, he said voting against it would lead to a "job-killing default" that would further hurt the bleak employment picture, The New York Times reported.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Democrats might be reluctant to rally behind the bill.

"I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide," she said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he knew "this agreement won't make every Republican happy -- it certainly won't make every Democrat happy either."

But "the American people demanded compromise, and today they got it," he said, adding he was "relieved" leaders from both parties reached a compromise that ended "this dangerous standoff."

McConnell, R-Ky., said the measure provided a framework to "ensure significant cuts [are made] in Washington spending -- and we can assure the American people tonight that the United States of America will not for the first time in our history default on its obligations."

Asian stock markets responded favorably to the deal, with the Nikkei 225 stock index up nearly 2 percent in late-afternoon trading and the U.S. dollar rising against the Japanese yen and the euro.

McConnell and Reid said they planned for a Senate vote as soon as Monday afternoon. If the measure passes as expected, it would move to the House, which could vote as soon as Monday night, Boehner told GOP lawmakers in the conference call.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/01/US-budget-debt-votes-set-with-1-day-left/UPI-97521312185600/#ixzz1TmQSFBbh