Polanski's release from jail imminent, Swiss officials say 
Roman Polanski could be released from a Zurich jail any time now after Swiss justice officials said they would immediately comply with a court's ruling granting the famed director bail.
"Polanski will be released from custody as soon as bail has been transferred, ID and travel documents have been lodged and the electronic monitoring system has been installed and tested," said the Federal Office of Justice in a statement provided to Agence France-Presse.
Polanski is expected to stay at his Alpine chalet, under electronic monitoring.Legal experts say the bail probably will lengthen the battle over whether Polanski should be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old more than three decades ago. The decision also raises other questions, given that Polanski fled from the United States just before his sentencing in 1978. Swiss justice officials repeatedly have denied his bail requests, saying he is a flight risk.Under the terms of the bail, Polanski, 76, would be restricted to his chalet in Gstaad, a ski resort with mountain views. The village of 2,500 has long been known as a celebrity hangout, having been home to Elizabeth Taylor, Roger Moore and David Niven, among others.
Americans give thanks, see parades, feast in space
NEW YORK — Giant balloons, floats, marching bands and clowns with confetti brought smiles to hundreds of thousands of revelers eager to catch a glimpse of a parade as steeped in Thanksgiving Day tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie.
Crowds six to seven people deep lined the streets of Manhattan on Thursday for the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as merrymakers gathered nationwide for massive parades in cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia.
Soldiers in war zones received phone calls of appreciation from President Barack Obama, while astronauts hovering above the Earth's surface feasted on turkey smuggled aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
Polanski prepares for luxury Alpine house arrest
GSTAAD, Switzerland — After two months in a Swiss jail, Roman Polanski prepared Thursday for the splendid captivity of his $1.6 million chalet in one of world's most luxurious winter resorts.
Polanski will have views of snowcapped Alpine peaks, spacious rooms and the all the amenities of a town with a reputation for catering to the wishes of the rich and famous.
But he won't be able to go out the front door.
Swiss OK Polanski move to house arrest in Alps
GENEVA — Roman Polanski will be moved from jail to house arrest at his Alpine chalet as soon as he posts $4.5 million bail and meets other conditions set by a Swiss court, the Justice Ministry said Thursday.
The ministry said it would not appeal a decision by the Swiss Criminal Court to release the 76-year-old director, adding that he can leave jail after his pays bail, surrenders his identity documents and has an electronic monitoring system installed and tested.
The announcement means Polanski will be able to continue his fight against extradition to the United States in a 1977 sex case from the comfort of his $1.6 million chalet in the exclusive winter resort of Gstaad. Authorities in Los Angeles want him sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Community Standard or Double Standard?
It wasn’t really the man-on-man kiss or the simulated oral sex that marked Adam Lambert’s performance on the American Music Awards on Sunday as shocking. Mostly it was ABC’s reaction. By rescinding Mr. Lambert’s invitation to sing on “Good Morning America,” ABC self-protectively drew a line that networks usually prefer to keep blurred.
Or as Mr. Lambert said Wednesday morning on “The Early Show” on CBS, “There’s a lot of very adult material on the A.M.A.’s this year, and I know I wasn’t the only one.” Mr. Lambert, runner-up on this year’s “American Idol,” was referring to other risqué performances Sunday night, including Lady Gaga smashing whiskey bottles, Janet Jackson grabbing a male dancer’s crotch and Eminem talking about his character Slim Shady’s rap sheet of rape, assault and murder.
There is a lot of very adult material on television all the time, and mostly it flows unchecked and unpunished, except when it comes as a surprise and hits a nerve. Community standards are mutable and vague; lots of people don’t know obscenity until someone else sees it. Ms. Jackson transgressed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show because she exposed a nipple, which is one thing that network television normally doesn’t show. Mr. Lambert, who just released his first album, startled viewers because he did things akin to what outré rappers and female pop stars have performed onstage to get attention, only he did it as a gay man.
Roman Polanski gets bail -- if it sticks, will he skip again? [POLL]
Bail in the amount of $4.5 million has been approved for director Roman Polanski, who's been held in Zurich, Switzerland, facing extradition to Los Angeles to be sentenced for unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago.
But he's not out just yet -- the Swiss government has 10 days to appeal the decision.
Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli told the UK Daily Mail that Polanski is considered a "high flight risk."
Donny Osmond dances to victory on "Stars" finale
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donny Osmond danced his way to victory on Tuesday, winning the 9th season of the hit ABC television show "Dancing With the Stars" after wowing the judges with his irrepressible determination and final tango.
Osmond, a lifelong performer who started in show business as a member of The Osmond Brothers singing group in the 1960s and 1970s, beat out the front-runner for much the 10-week competition, Grammy award-winning singer Mya.
The third finalist Kelly Osbourne, daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne who was in the audience to cheer her, charmed the show's judges but placed third behind Mya based on scores for the three contestants' performances Monday and Tuesday nights, as well as votes from television viewers after Monday's show.
ABC cancels Lambert appearance on morning TV show
LOS ANGELES, Nov 24 (Reuters) - An appearance by "AmericanIdol" runner-up Adam Lambert on ABC television show "GoodMorning America" was canceled on Tuesday, following thesinger's sexually-charged performance at the American MusicAwards.
Lambert, 27, had been due to perform on Wednesday topromote his debut album "For Your Entertainment," but an ABCNews spokesperson said on Tuesday: "Given his controversialAmerican Music Awards performance, we were concerned aboutairing a similar concert so early in the morning."
ABC, which also aired the music awards program on Sunday,said it had received more than 1,500 complaints about Lambert.
ABC: Lambert's performance draws 1500 complaints
NEW YORK — Complaints poured in Monday about Adam Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards, including criticism of his kiss with a male keyboard player that was left out of rehearsals for the show.
ABC did not expect one of Lambert's dancers to stick his face in the singer's crotch during the S&M-themed performance of "For Your Entertainment," a moment that was cut out when the awards show was broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the West Coast on Sunday.
During a rehearsal last week that an AP reporter attended, Lambert thrust a male dancer's face toward his crotch, though the dancer did not get as close to Lambert in the rehearsal as he did on Sunday night. At one point during rehearsals, Lambert also caressed a male dancer's upside-down face, but he kept his hands off the dancer's cheeks Sunday night.
Final episode of TLC's 'Jon & Kate Plus 8' airs
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The series that turned Jon and Kate Gosselin into celebrity parents of twins and sextuplets has come to an end.
The final episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" aired Monday. The TLC reality show came to a somewhat abrupt halt in the wake of feuding and scandals consuming the estranged couple.
The Gosselins announced their split in June and since then had been fixtures on magazine covers and tabloid TV.
