OBAMA ARRIVES IN MYANMAR FOR HISTORIC VISIT: President Obama arrived in Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- Monday (November 19th) for an historic trip that's the first-ever to the Asian nation by an American president. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to cheer Obama, who praised the progress Myanmar has made and promised more U.S. help if its keeps building its new democracy, saying, "Our goal is to sustain the momentum." In addition to meeting with Myanmar's president, Obama also met with
democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest before gaining freedom and becoming a lawmaker. Long isolated because of its
repressive military rule, Myanmar began a transition to democracy last year. While some human rights groups say Myanmar, which continues to hold hundreds of political prisoners, hasn't done enough to earn a visit from Obama, the president says his visit is not an endorsement of the government, but an acknowledgment that dramatic progress is underway.

  • Myanmar is Obama's second stop on his Asian trip. He first visited Thailand, and travels next to Cambodia. 

PALESTINIAN DEATH TOLL RISING IN GAZA CONFLICT: The number of Palestinian civilians killed in the Gaza Strip in the latest military conflict with Israel grew on Monday (November 19th) as Israeli airstrikes hit densely populated areas. In strikes overnight, two
houses belonging to a single family were destroyed, killing four people and injuring 42, according to a Gaza health official, who said rescue workers were looking for 12 to 15 people under the rubble. So far, 84 Palestinians have been killed, half of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began last Wednesday after months of intensifying rocket fire from Gaza. Three Israeli civilians have been killed. International efforts to reach a cease-fire are ongoing, with hopes that a potential Israeli ground invasion of Gaza can be averted. President Obama affirmed that Israel has a right to defend itself, but also warned of the risk of a potential ground war.

LAWMAKERS WANT TO KNOW WHO CREATED BENGHAZI TALKING POINTS: Congressional lawmakers said Sunday (November 18th) that they want to know who created the talking points about the deadly September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that were used by Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, when doing TV interviews about the  attack five days later. Rice delivered the since-discredited information she'd been given, that the attack was the spontaneous result of a demonstration
against an anti-Islam video. The lawmakers also want to know why the final draft left out the CIA's early conclusion that al-Qaida-linked terrorists were involved.  Administration officials have said they were relying on the best information available at the time that didn't compromise classified intelligence, and that CIA and other intelligence officials signed
off on the final talking points. The inquiry comes after closed-door testimony
Friday by former CIA Director David Petraeus, who reportedly said the reference to al-Qaida was removed from the final version of talking points, although he wasn't sure who or which federal agency deleted it. But Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, told
reporters that any substantive edits would have come from intelligence agencies themselves. He said the only change the White House made, he said, was to correct a reference to the facility in Benghazi as a "diplomatic facility," instead of a "consulate."

TEXAS VETS' FLOAT ENTERED RAIL CROSSING AFTER ALERT STARTED: A National Transportation Safety Board investigator said Saturday (November 17th) that a parade float carrying wounded veterans that was hit by a freight train last Thursday in Midland, Texas, had
entered the rail crossing when warning bells and lights were already going off. Four of the veterans who'd been on the flatbed truck with their spouses were killed, and another 16 people were injured. NTSB member Mark Rosekind said the warning signals at the crossing went off 20 seconds before the collision, as the first float carrying veterans was safely crossing the tracks. The investigation is continuing. The "Show of Support" parade was to have kicked off a weekend of events to salute veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ISRAELI GOV'T. WEBSITES UNDER MASS HACKING ATTACK AMID GAZA CONFLICT: Israeli government websites have been under a mass hacking attack, with more than 44 million hacking attempts made since its most recent conflict with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began last Wednesday (November 14th), Israel said Sunday (November 18th). After days of rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel began airstrikes on the territory, including one that targeted and killed the head of the military wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza. The two sides have been exchanging airstrikes and rocket fire since. Israel's finance minister said just one hacking attempt was successful on a site he didn't want to name, but it was back up after just 10 minutes. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that while the attacks have come from around the world, most have been from Israel and the Palestinian territories.

TWINKIES WILL LIKELY STILL BE AROUND: There's good news for Twinkie lovers who've been in mourning or alternately racing around to buy and hoard every last Twinkie they can find since the news broke Friday (November 16th) that Hostess Brands is filing for
bankruptcy -- the cream-filled golden spongecakes are likely to survive. The Associated Press reports that despite its bankruptcy, Hostess has high brand recognition and well as $2.5 billion in revenue per year, and other companies  are interested in bidding for at least some parts of the company. Twinkies, which alone have brought in $68 million in revenue so far this year, is likely to be a prime potential acquisition for a company willing to pay for the name
and recipe.

SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS RETURN IN RARE NIGHTTIME LANDING: Three astronauts returned to Earth early today (November 19th) on board a Russian Soyuz capsule, making a rare nighttime landing in Kazakhstan after four months on the International Space Station. On board were NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide traveled to the space station in mid-July, with Williams becoming the second female commander of the station when she took charge earlier this year. There are three astronauts remaining at the space station -- one American and two Russians -- and three new crewmembers are set to arrive next month.

'CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II' MAKES $500 MILLION IN FIRST 24 HOURS: Activision announced Friday (November 16th) that Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the latest entry in the wildly successful Call of Duty video game franchise, made more than $500 million worldwide in the first 24 hours it was on sale. That makes it the biggest entertainment launch of the year, following the lead of Call of Duty releases for the past three years. Activision says that sales of all the Call of Duty video games top worldwide box office receipts for the Harry
Potter and Star Wars movies, the two most successful movie franchises of all time. Black Ops II's launch day take tops that of last year's entry, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which made $400 million in its first 24 hours.

SPORTS:

NFL SCORES -- WEEK 11: Here are the results of this weekend's National Football League Games (Home teams are listed in italics):

  • Atlanta Falcons 23, Arizona Cardinals 19
  • Dallas Cowboys 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (OT) -- Dallas QB Tony Romo was sacked a career-high seven times.
  • Green Bay Packers 24, Detroit Lions 20
  • Cincinnati Bengals 28, Kansas City Chiefs 6
  • New York Jets 27, St. Louis Rams 13
  • Washington Redskins 31, Philadelphia Eagles 6
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Carolina Panthers 21 (OT)
  • Houston Texans 43, Jacksonville Jaguars 37 (OT)
  • New Orleans Saints 38, Oakland Raiders 17
  • Denver Broncos 30, San Diego Chargers 23
  • New England Patriots 59, Indianapolis Colts 24
  • Baltimore Ravens 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

Tonight's Monday Night Football game on ESPN:

  • Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers (8:30 p.m. ET)

KESELOWSKI WINS SPRINT CUP: Brad Keselowski won NASCAR's Sprint Cup title Sunday (November 18th), bringing a first NASCAR championship to 75-year-old Penske Racing team owner and motorsports icon Roger Penske.
The 28-year-old Keselowski finished 15th in yesterday's race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway to easily capture the title by 39 points over Clint Bowyer and 40 over Jimmie Johnson.

DAVE GROHL NAMED KEYNOTE SPEAKER OF 2013 ‘SXSW’ FESTIVAL: Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has been named the keynote speaker for the 2013 edition of the annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival, held every March in Austin, Texas. Grohl will speak on Thursday (March 14th) at the Austin Convention Center as part of the music portion of the event, which features hundreds of acts performing on dozens of stages all over the Texas capital.  Grohl and Foo Fighters attended the South By
     Southwest festival last year for the premiere of Back And Forth, the acclaimed documentary about the band's 18-year history.

  • It's very possible that Grohl may debut another film at the event this year: he has spent much of the past year assembling his first documentary, called Sound City, which recounts the history of the legendary Los Angeles studio where artists ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Nirvana recorded classic albums.
  • The film, titled Sound City: Real to Reel, is expected to surface in 2013.
  • The music portion of South By Southwest will take place between March 12th and March 17th, 2013.
  • Foo Fighters are currently on hiatus since finishing out the touring cycle behind their 2011 Number One album, Wasting Light.

CHECK IT OUT: For more on the festival, go to http://www.sxsw.com

TWO NEW STONE SOUR VIDEOS RE-EDITED INTO ONE: Stone Sour unveiled the video for "Gone Sovereign" last month, and posted the video for "Absolute Zero" last week, with both tracks taken from the band's new House Of Gold And Bones, Part 1 album. But since the two songs are joined together on the record, and were always intended to be heard -- and seen -- that way, the group has just released a combined video that edits the two previous clips together.

While the "Gone Sovereign" half shows the group surrounded by hundreds of
frenzied fans as they play the song, Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor told Pulse of Radio that the "Absolute Zero" clip takes a different turn: "It follows one of the audience members into this weird world where he has to make decisions and whatnot. So there's a lot of CG and weirdness and I spike my -- I look like Wendy O. Williams in the video, let's put it that way."

  • House Of Gold And Bones Part 1, the first half of a two-record concept album,
         came out on October 23rd, while Part 2 will arrive next spring.
  • A four-issue comic book series based on House
         Of Gold And Bones     will debut on April 17th, 2013. It will be published by Dark Horse Comics and
         will visualize the short story that forms the basis of the album.

CHECK IT OUT: Watch the combined "Gone Sovereign"/"Absolute Zero" video:

 

NEW AC/DC CONCERT STREAMING: AC/DC's new concert album and first one in 20 years, Live At River Plate, is now streaming in its entirety at RollingStone.com. The set
was recorded in 2009 during a three-night stand at Buenos Aires, Argentina's River Plate Stadium in the midst of the band's Black Ice world tour. Nearly 200,000 fans showed up for the gigs, which have been distilled into a 19-song package featuring AC/DC classics
like "Back in Black," "TNT," "Shoot To Thrill" and many more. The album is out Tuesday (November 19th) as a two-CD set and a three-disc red vinyl package. Check out the stream at http://tinyurl.com/brf8fdk

AUTOGRAPHED GUITARS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK: Over 100 autographed guitars from Slash, Tom Morello, Eddie Van Halen, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, members of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Metallica, Iron Maiden and more will go on the block at the Icons & Idols Rock 'N' Roll Auction at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, California on December 1st. Among the rarities are a prototype electric guitar made for and signed by Eddie Van Halen and a custom hand-carved Ronnie James Dio memorial guitar created by DBZ Guitars. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund and its mission of cancer prevention, research and education. Online bidding has already started
and items available for bidding can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/cba9w6t

REPORT: AEROSMITH MEMBERS ‘BARLEY SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER’: A
report published in the Friday (November 16th) edition of the New York Post
claims that the members of Aerosmith are "barely speaking to each other," with tensions rising in the group over the disappointing sales of its new album and the lack of sold-out
shows on its current tour. Adding fuel to the fire are continuing reports that singer Steven Tyler's engagement to Erin Brady is on the rocks, while his attorney and business manager, Dina LaPolt, is too busy filming her own reality show pilot to help Tyler through his problems.

  • A source told the Post, "The band isn't really talking. Aerosmith's record came in fifth after Taylor Swift, Now That's What I Call Music: Volume 44, Rod Stewart's Merry
         Christmas, Baby     and Ne-Yo's new release. Pretty bad for their first release in a decade. No dates on the current tour are sold out. Meanwhile, LaPolt is doing a reality show pilot instead of focusing on Tyler's career, and his career needs help."

KATIE HOLMES IS OPEN TO CREEK REUNION: Katie Holmes paid a visit to Jimmy Fallon and announced that she would love to reunite with her Dawson's Creek co-stars. She also
mentioned the difficulty of having Michelle Williams being involved since her character died in the series finale.

SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR AND FREDDIE PRINZE JR. REVEAL SON'S NAME: Sarah
Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. had their son back in September but have managed to
keep his name a secret until now. A rep for Gellar told US Weekly they've named their newborn Rocky James.

THE SITUATION SUING VODKA COMPANY: The Situation has filed a lawsuit against Devotion Spirits alleging that the company screwed him out of millions of dollars. The Jersey Shore cast member is part owner of the company and claims they did not hold up their end of the deal he had signed with them back in 2010.

TWINKIE PRICES ON THE RISE ON EBAY: Twinkies listed on eBay are going for
much more than usual, with prices reaching hundreds of dollars, thanks to Hostess Brands' announcement that they will close their plants and cease operations. Twinkie related items such as toys and lunchboxes are also attracting increased attention on the site, thanks to the news. (CNN Money)

CHECK IT OUT

POLL REVEALS TOP LINES PEOPLE USE TO END RELATIONSHIPS: The dating site SeekingArrangements.com polled 1,000 of its users to find out what lines they use when breaking-up. The most popular line used by women is: "I'm not ready for commitment
yet," with the second most popular being: "This is going too fast for me." The most popular break-up line men said they use: "It's just not working," followed closely by "I'm not attracted to you any more." (Daily Mail)

HOW MUCH ALCOHOL DOES THE AVERAGE AMERICAN DRINK IN ONE DAY? Researchers of the National Center for Health Statistics say they've used various data to determine that Americans drink an average of almost 100-caloriers-per-day in alcoholic beverages. The study noted that like sweetened beverages, alcoholic drinks have high-calorie counts but provide few nutrients. Results showed on a given day one-third of men, and 18-percent of women consume calories in the form of alcoholic beverages. (United Press)

NEW E-TEXTBOOK TOOL CAN TRACK STUDENTS' READING HABITS: Digital textbooks now have the ability to "tattle" on lazy pupils. The e-textbook publisher CourseSmart has
just revealed a tool called CourseSmart Analytics. The tool can determine how many pages a student read, how much time it took them to read them, how many notes they took, and how "engaged' they were by the reading. Three U.S. colleges will pilot the tool. (PopSci)