Zac Efron: Movie Star

The people who made 17 Again don’t want to waste time reminding the movie’s core fans why they’re there. So right away, we see a shirtless Zac Efron on the basketball court, practicing his moves, radiating an innocent musk, his smoothly muscled torso seemingly gleaming with — not sweat — dew. The camera not only loves the 21-year-old actor but laps him; it wants to wring the moisture from his socks and drink it

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Schoolgirl told to choose: Country or parents

The clicking of dozens of news cameras drowned out the sobs of the 13-year-old girl, but her face explained what was happening in the departure hall of Japan’s Narita International Airport. Noriko Calderon, wearing her school uniform, was being forced to make one of the most wrenching choices of her young life: To stay in the country of her birth rather than join her parents being deported to the Philippines.

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OMG! Hannah Montana (and Miley Cyrus) Tops the Box Office

Summoning millions of underage minions to the multiplex, the Disney Company landed its teen gold mine, Miley Cyrus, at the top of the Easter weekend box office. Hannah Montana: The Movie, a big-screen version of the Disney Channel series, exceeded the predictions of the industry swamis. It registered the biggest opening day for any G-rated movie and proved that Hollywood should never underestimate the drawing power of Hannah and her kid sisters.

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Swiss Minimalist Peter Zumthor Wins the Pritzker Architecture’s Top Prize

If further proof were needed that the world is in a chastened mood these days, there’s this: the Pritzker Architecture Prize, one of the most prestigious honors in the field, will go this year to Peter Zumthor of Switzerland. At 65, Zumthor is to architecture what Samuel Beckett is to literature, a man who has set out to draw maximum impact from a bare minimum of means.

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Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings

Authorities are still sorting out the details after a shooting rampage Friday at a Binghamton, New York, immigration center left 14 people dead, including the suspected gunman. A senior law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40s. Authorities executed a search warrant at Wong’s home in Johnson City, near Binghamton, and spoke to the suspect’s mother, the source said

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Endangered right whales appear to be on the rebound

North Atlantic right whales, sort of the homely underdogs of the whale world, birthed a record number calves this year off the coast of the southeast United States, giving some scientists hope that the uber-rare and often overlooked species can recover. “For me, personally, it is a source of optimism,” said Barb Zoodsma, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “I just think we’re on the right track.” The record 39 new calves — each of which weights about 3,000 pounds — were born off the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia

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Madonna’s adoption rejected by Malawian judge

Madonna’s petition to adopt a second Malawian child was rejected by a local judge Friday, an official said. “The decision came down to residency requirement and the fact that the judge believes she was being well taken care of in the orphanage,” said Zione Ntaba, a spokeswoman for the Malawi Justice Department.

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Thousands expected for London G-20 protest

The first major protest ahead of next week’s G-20 summit got underway in a cold and rainy London on Saturday, but police said they expected the event to be largely peaceful despite fears of violence in coming days. Such has been the Internet’s phenomenal and dizzying growth that much of the technology which supports it has grown organically and without much forward planning. But what if the Internet was to run out of space This isn’t just a theoretical debate, but something experts warn could become a real issue within a few years

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