Quincy Actor Jack Klugman Dies Aged 90

Jack Klugman, who starred in TV's The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. has died at the age of 90.

Klugman seen at a charity benefit in 2004

His son Adam said he passed away on Monday afternoon in Los Angeles.

"He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it and he would encourage others to do the same," he said.

In the 1970s sitcom The Odd Couple, Klugman played sloppy sports writer Oscar to co-star Tony Randall's Felix, a fussy photographer.

In Quincy, M.E., which aired from 1976 to 1983, Klugman played an idealistic, tough-minded medical examiner.

He lost his voice to throat cancer in the 1980s but trained himself to speak again.

"The only really stupid thing I ever did in my life was to start smoking," he said in 1996.

He said of seeing people smoking in television and films: "It disgusts me, it makes me so angry. Kids are watching."

He returned to acting in a 1993 Broadway revival of Three Men On A Horse.

Klugman then split his time between TV, movies and the New York stage.

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Christmas Day Online Sales Surge Predicted

Bargain season begins in force today as online retailers slash prices ahead of an expected onslaught of consumers hitting the high street for the traditional Boxing Day sales.

Amazon's UK website said it had seen sales on Christmas Day increase by 263% over the last five years.

It expects this to be its busiest Christmas Day to date, partly due to the growth in home broadband and the popularity of tablets and smartphones.

The retailer is launching its Boxing Day deals a day early, which include clearance offers and "lightning deals" for a limited time and quantity of stock.

Shopping frenzies are moving from the high street to the internet

Trends seen on past Christmas Days on Amazon include an 11am rush for last minute gift cards, the spending of gift cards at midday and sofa surfing at 8.15pm.

Amazon's vice president of EU retail, Xavier Garambois, said: "The digital revolution has certainly played a part in this growth and Christmas Day is our biggest day of the year for MP3 and Kindle book downloads, as many people are buying content from new devices that they have just received.

"It's not just digital items though, we are seeing purchases of everything from baby products to women's clothing rapidly growing on Christmas Day.

"Many customers are shopping on Christmas Day in a way that has previously only been seen in the retail industry on Boxing Day."

According to MoneySupermarket.com, shoppers in the UK are set to spend a total of £2.9bn in the Boxing Day sales.

Furniture Village said visits to its website on Christmas Day last year peaked at 25,000 at 4pm, with that figure increasing to 50,000 on Boxing Day, suggesting that the majority of customers researched products online before buying from high street stores.

Chris Webster, a spokesman for technology analyst Capgemini, said: "Online tills will be ringing all the way from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, including a massive £300m spent on Christmas morning itself.

"Christmas Day will see a surge in online sales as new tablets and smartphones are put through their paces and vouchers are cashed in for virtual goods such as movies and music.

"This year we're as likely to be downloading Queen's Greatest Hits as watching the Queen's speech."

Meanwhile, high street spending was "acceptable but not exceptional" this festive period, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Head of media and campaigns Richard Dodd said poor accessibility on high streets, a lack of parking and weak consumer demand were to blame rather than an increase in online shopping.

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Timberlake Video: Mocked Homeless Man's Appeal

A homeless man from Los Angeles who featured in a mock video produced by one of Justin Timberlake's friends for his wedding wants the star to visit him on Skid Row.

The man, who goes by the name "Eddie", has lived for six or seven years in the neighbourhood which has a large homeless population.

The video, initially posted on the Gawker website, featured a series of LA vagrants, street musicians and others talking into a camera, sending wishes to Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel on their recent Italian nuptials.

Eddie was paid $40 (£25) to appear in the video but said he did not realise it was going to make fun of him.

High-profile lawyer Gloria Allred is representing Eddie who has written an open letter to Timberlake asking to arrange a meeting with him "very soon".

Gloria Allred

He said he wants to talk to the actor-singer "so you can understand my situation, and so that we can talk about this situation involving so many others who are homeless".

Ms Allred challenged Timberlake and his friends to "take action to provide meaningful assistance to 'Eddie' and others like him".

"This issue is not just about fans being upset or anyone being offended by a video," she said. "It is about people being down on their luck and in desperate need of help by those who are in a position to provide it."

Timberlake posted an open letter in October on his website about the video, saying: "I had no knowledge of its existence. I had absolutely ZERO contribution to it."

The video was titled Greetings from your Hollywood friends who just couldn't make it.

"I think we can all agree that it was distasteful, even though that was not its intention," Timberlake added.

Eddie said Timberlake's letter showed he has a "good heart, but (does) not really understand the situation I face or that (is) faced by the thousands living on the streets of Los Angeles and around the country".

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Troops Send Christmas Cheer From Front Lines

British troops stationed at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan have sent Christmas messages back home to their loved ones.

Soldiers serving with the 21 Engineer Regiment wished family and friends a happy festive season, before celebrating with a traditional Christmas lunch and dinner.

Lance Corporal Kane Hollings said: "Big shout out to all my family, my friends, my little dog Bella. I'm sorry I can't be home for Christmas, but I hope you have a good time without me."

Corporal David Allan said: "I'd just like to say Merry Christmas to all my friends and family back home. My mum, my dad, and especially my beautiful wife Cheryl, I miss you and love you and I can't wait to see you in January."

Troops also celebrated the festive season with a Santa sleigh race at Camp Bastion, as some 9,000 troops serving in Afghanistan tried to make the most of a Christmas spent away from their families.

Senior officers serve mince pies and mulled wine to the troops

A major logistical effort saw two-and-a-half tons of turkey, 850kg of Brussels sprouts and 350kgs of Christmas pudding flown in for the troops.

Activities such as carol services, pantomime and sporting competitions were also being carried out at many bases.

At Lashkar Gah main operating base, soldiers are expected to take part in the Lash Dash, a Christmas Day fun run with prizes for the best costumes.

Senior-ranking officers are also keeping up with Army tradition by serving squaddies tea and coffee on Christmas morning.

Thousands of balloons, crackers, party poppers and hats have been ordered and around 130 tons of Christmas post has been delivered to Camp Bastion in the last week, to be dished out among bases.

Troops will also share the 23,500 mince pies and 40,000 After Eight mints flown in for the day.

Major Mark Yates, 40, from Manchester, who serves with The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, 1st Battalion, (1 Lancs), has a cameo role in the pantomime production of Aladdin in Lashkar Gah.

"We're all away from our families but we want to make sure we remember Christmas as it is a link with home," he said.

"Many of us have young children and would probably have gone to see a panto at this time of year.

"It's been a bit of fun between work, but not at the cost of any of our operations."

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Floods: UK To Remain On Alert For Another Week

Christmas has got off to a soggy start for many parts of the UK, as more rain falls on flood-threatened areas.

Hundreds of homes and businesses have been swamped with floodwaters as winter rain continues to fall on saturated land.

Staffordshire Police have closed the M6 northbound following an accident in which there were multiple deaths.

Police also closed the junction 10 exit of the M27 at Wickham and the A127 near its junction with the M25 due to flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) said widespread showers meant many places remain on flood alert despite the persistent heavy rain being expected to ease off by the end of today.

An EA spokeswoman said: "While the worse of the weather is behind us, the risk of flooding continues with rain falling on already saturated ground.

"As a result, flood warnings and alerts will remain in place for much of the week ahead.

"This is because river levels remain high and sensitive to further rainfall."

The rivers Severn, Trent, Avon and Thames are most at risk of flooding, the EA said, and another band of rain is expected to swamp the country on Boxing Day.

Golfers turning up at the fiirst tee of this course are in for a shock

Kempton clerk of the course Barney Clifford said he saw no need to call an inspection and that the William Hill King George VI Chase meeting on Boxing Day should go ahead as planned.

There are more than 150 flood warnings in place across the country, and 256 less serious flood alerts.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning - its second highest alert - for southwest England.

The Met Office said the wettest place in the UK since the heavy rain began last week was Tyndrum in Perthshire with 6.1in (155mm).

Cardinham, near Bodmin in Cornwall, is the wettest place in England with 5.1in (128.8 mm) of rain and the wettest place in Wales has been Mumbles Head in West Glamorgan with 4.2in (107mm) of rain.

Ballypatrick Forest in Antrim has been the wettest place in Northern Ireland, with 3.5in (89mm) of rain.

Swans paddle in the pedestrian area of a flooded park

Some areas have exceeded their full-month December average since December 19 - such as Plymouth, which has seen 5.1in (128.8mm) of rain compared with a December average of 4.7in (118.8 mm).

Lower-level yellow weather warnings have also been issued for much of southern England and Wales.

Following a an extremely dry start, Britain is now set for one of its wettest years ever, the Met Office said.

The UK's average rainfall in 2012, excluding December, is 1,202mm -  placing it 13th in the list of wettest years since records began in 1910.

Forecasters said December's deluge of rain means this year is now likely to finish among the country's highest rainfall totals on record.

The year 2000 remains the UK's wettest year, with an average rainfall of 1,337.3mm.

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Four Brits Injured In Burma Plane Crash

Three people have been killed and at least 11 injured, including four British nationals, after an Air Bagan flight made an emergency landing on a road in Burma.

The plane was carrying Christmas tourists, including 51 foreigners and six crew members, from Rangoon, via Mandalay to Heho airport in Shan state.

The fatalities were all Burmese citizens: a tour guide and an 11-year-old child on board the plane and a man riding a motorcycle on the road where the plane came down.

Airport officials in Heho said that injured passengers were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Taunggyi for treatment.

Air Bagan said the emergency landing was made on a road about two miles from Heho airport.

"While descending, the plane mistakenly landed ... due to fog beside the runway," state television reported. It said the aircraft made a hard landing on a road and then came to a stop in a nearby rice paddy field.

"The rear end of the plane broke and caught fire," state TV said, carrying a statement posted on Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut's Facebook page. Rescuers brought the fire under control about 45 minutes later, he said.

Witnesses said smoke filled the plane when it hit the ground and was still rising from the plane's badly charred wreckage hours later.

Air Bagan is one of several domestic carriers seeking to profit from a tourist boom in Burma as it emerges from decades of military rule.

It is owned by tycoon Tay Za, who is known for his close links to the former junta and has been blacklisted by the US Treasury which once described him as "a notorious regime henchman and arms dealer".

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Firefighters Shot Dead In House Blaze 'Trap'

Two volunteer firefighters have been shot dead and two others injured when a gunman opened fire as they were responding to a house fire in New York state.

The gunman, named as William Spengler, opened fired on the four men as they arrived shortly after 5:30am on Monday to put out the blaze in Webster, said police chief Gerald Pickering.

Spengler set fire to a car and house to lure the firefighters to his house on the shore of Lake Ontario.

"It does appear it was a trap," an emotional Mr Pickering said at a news conference.

Spengler, 62, had served more than 17 years in prison for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980 at the house next to where the attack happened.

Police said Spengler died at the scene after shooting himself in the head.

Webster is northwest of New York City

One of the firefighters who died, Mike Chiapperini, was also a town police lieutenant, but it was not clear whether he returned fire.

The other firefighter who was killed was named as Tomasz Kaczowka.

The two wounded firefighters, named as Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino, remained in a critical condition in hospital.

Police were concerned that Spengler's sister, Cheryl Spengler, was in the house where the fire started, reports said.

Spengler reportedly lived there with his sister and mother, Arline Spengler, who died in October.

The gunfire initially kept firefighters from battling the blaze

An off-duty police officer who was driving past the scene also has injuries from shrapnel, Mr Pickering said.

The fire spread and destroyed six other homes in the quiet lakeside town, around 340 miles (550 km) northwest of New York City.

The gunfire initially kept firefighters from battling the blaze.

The neighbourhood's residents were evacuated and searched by police, and a SWAT team was called to the scene.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the shooting was a "senseless act of violence" and offered his condolences to the victims' families.

"New York's first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger in order to keep our families and communities safe," he said.

Monroe county sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said: "It's sad to see that that this is becoming more commonplace in communities across the nation."

The shooting in Webster comes 10 days after the shooting rampage at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six adults were killed.

The Newtown massacre has revived debate in the United States on the country's gun laws, which are far more lax than in most other developed nations.

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Piers Unrepentant In Face Of 60,000 Petition

Piers Morgan has renewed his call for a ban on assault rifles as the number of Americans signing a petition to get him out of the country rises.

More than 60,000 people have now signed the petition on the White House website, ensuring the Obama administration will respond.

But Morgan, famous for his sharp tongue and straight talking interview style, has nudged back on Twitter, saying: "Merry Christmas! Even to those who want me deported."

He has also repeated his view that assault rifles should be banned in the US following the latest shooting in which two volunteer firefighters were shot dead in New York state.

The pair were killed, and two others injured, by a gunman who set fire to a car and a house and ambushed them when they arrived at the scene.

The CNN host and former Daily Mirror editor tweeted: "Americans murdered with assault weapons in movie theaters, temples, schools, shopping malls - now, as they put out fires. Where does it end?

"Come on America, ENOUGH: Ban assault weapons & high-capacity magazines, and enforce background checks on 100% of gun sales. Do it now."

Mr Morgan's outspoken views on gun control have sharply divided opinion in the States.

Lanza used a Bushmaster rifle, similar to this one from Rock River Arms

The petition was launched after he interviewed Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt last week in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Mr Pratt suggested some of the victims could have been saved if the teaching staff had been armed, and were therefore able to stop gunman Adam Lanza.

Mr Morgan, who repeatedly interrupted Mr Pratt and shouted over him when he was talking, appeared incredulous when he claimed more guns were the answer.

Gun control advocates also want high-capacity magazines banned

"You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?" Mr Morgan asked him during the heated debate.

"You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don't actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America."

Following the interview, a Texas journalist went on the White House website and posted the petition to eject him.

It alleges Mr Morgan "is engaged in a hostile attack against the US Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment".

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M6 Crash: Three Children Killed On Motorway

Three children have died in a major crash which closed the M6 northbound carriageway at Staffordshire.

Two boys and a girl died in the crash, which took place just over an hour after two people were killed in a separate road collision near Basingstoke.

The M6 crash happened in the northbound lanes between junction 14 and 15 at about 11.25am.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service said that the two boys and one girl were pronounced dead at the scene.

"Crews arrived to find a single vehicle that had crashed and overturned," an ambulance spokesperson said.

The accident occurred on the M6 between junctions 14 and 15

"Three children that were travelling in the vehicle suffered serious injuries.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of ambulance crews, nothing could be done to save the two boys and one girl, and they were confirmed dead at the scene."

Two women were also taken to University Hospital North Staffordshire in a stable condition following the accident.

The Highways Agency has confirmed that the weather at the time of the crash was fine and dry.

Motorists on the M6 northbound carriageway wait for the road to clear

The motorway will remain closed in both directions for at least three hours while a recovery operation is in place.

Earlier on Christmas Day, officers were called to a collision on the B3349 Odiham Road near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Two people in the car were pronounced dead, while a man, believed to be the driver of the vehicle, received medical treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Road closures on the B3011 and the B3349 are expected to remain in place until mid-to-late afternoon.

:: Police are appealing for witnesses to the two fatal crashes to contact them by phoning 101.

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Queen And Royals Attend Christmas Day Service

The Queen has used her annual Christmas broadcast to express gratitude for the outpouring of enthusiasm for her Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year.

Delivering the broadcast for the first time in 3D,  Her Majesty said she was struck by the "strength of fellowship and friendship" shown by well-wishers to mark her 60 years on the throne.

"People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations," she said.

The Queen also paid tribute to the armed forces, "whose sense of duty takes them away from family and friends" over the holidays.

She also reflected on UK's hosting of the Olympics, praising the "skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes" and singling out the volunteers who devoted themselves "to keeping others safe, supported and comforted."

Earlier on Christmas Day, the Queen was joined other members of the royal family for a church service in Sandringham after recovering from a cold.

But there were some notable absentees from the festivities this year. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent the day with Kate's family, while Prince Harry is serving as an Apache pilot in Afghanistan.

The Queen was given gifts, including a teddy bear, by members of the crowd

Traditionally, the whole family would gather at the Queen's estate home over the festive period.

Wearing a turquoise coat dress and matching hat, the Queen was wished a merry Christmas by about 1,000 well-wishers at St Mary Magdalene.

She was given a variety of bouquets of flowers by around 50 young children who queued up meet her. She was also handed a bag of dog treats for her corgis by a girl in the crowd.

The Queen made the short journey from Sandringham House in a Bentley with princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 91, who missed last year's service with a heart problem, walked the few hundred yards from the house to the church accompanied by the Duke of York and the Earl and the Countess of Wessex.

As the Queen was driven away, the crowd gave her three cheers.

Meanwhile, William and Kate attended a service at Englefield Church in Englefield, Berkshire.

William with Kate as she left hospital

The Duchess has had a testing few weeks, having been forced to announce her pregnancy earlier than planned when she was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital in London following a bout of severe morning sickness.

The condition, known as hyperemesis gravidarum, leaves expectant mothers so ill they cannot keep food or liquids down.

Days later, she and Prince William found themselves offering their condolences to the family of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, 46, who was found hanged in her nurses' quarters after answering a prank call made to the hospital by two Australian DJs impersonating the Queen and Prince of Wales.

The Duke and Duchess are expected to follow their stay in Bucklebury with a visit to Sandringham at some point over the festive period.

In Afghanistan Prince Harry, like thousands of other servicemen, is celebrating Christmas with troops.

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