Review: 'Joyful Noise' is a pop-gospel fairy tale

(EW.com) -- "Joyful Noise," a squeaky-clean pop-gospel fairy tale featuring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah in canned catfights, reflects the inspiration of "Glee" and God, in that order.

The "Glee" side, at least in my book, doesn't exactly amount to a recommendation, but it does mean that the movie's musical numbers are catchy and rollicking and, in their bright sunshiny way, rather soulful. In the small town of Pacashau, Georgia, times are hard -- every other storefront is empty -- but the Divinity Church choir has lifted local spirits by rising to become a semifinalist in the National Joyful Noise Competition. Can these spunky vocalists go the distance?

Not until they learn to work together in harmony. Which means that Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), the choir's new director, has to stop feuding with G.G. Sparrow (Parton), widow of the former choir leader, over the direction of the group's music. Vi Rose, feisty and smart-mouthed, favors tradition, while G.G., whose grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) is the new songbird on the block, is out to shake things up.

Parton now looks like a "Spitting Image" puppet (the film makes plastic-surgery jokes about her so that we don't have to), but she still has a way with lines like ''I'd call you stubborn, but that'd be an insult to mules!''

"Joyful Noise" also finds room for a teenager with Asperger's syndrome (Dexter Darden) who loves one-hit-wonder songs (but can he learn to love himself?), as well as a romance between Randy and Vi Rose's daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer). These two are pretty -- and as bland as balsa wood.

But each time the innocuousness starts to get to you, you're woken up by Randy and Olivia's swooning ''Maybe I'm Amazed'' duet, or a kid-choir rendition of Billy Preston's ''That's the Way God Planned It,'' or the final ''I Want to Take You Higher'' blowout. These numbers create a deep river of feeling, even when stuck in the shallow banks of a movie like this one. B-

See the full article at EW.com.

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Victoria Falls ... without the bungee jumping

(CNN) -- Video of a tourist plunging into the Zambezi River after her bungee cord snapped on New Year's Eve is enough to make anyone think twice before leaping from the Victoria Falls Bridge.

But anyone planning a visit to Victoria Falls will be relieved to know it's not just about bungee jumping. Often listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the falls and their surrounding gorges are a truly awe-inspiring sight.

They were named after the British Queen in 1855 by Scottish explorer David Livingstone, but their local name of "Mosi-oa-Tunya" -- meaning "the smoke that thunders"-- is far more descriptive.

The roar of the Zambezi tumbling from the falls is indeed thunderous, and the thick spray that swirls like smoke around the cascade can be seen for miles.

The falls straddle the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the heart of two national parks -- the Mosi-oa-Tunya park on the Zambian side and the Victoria Falls park in Zimbabwe, which collectively form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At 1.7 kilometers wide and up to 100 meters high they are not be the tallest or widest falls in the world, but many consider them to be the most spectacular.

Discovering the real Zambia

Some connoisseurs argue they are best see seen from the Zimbabwean side, others say from Zambia, but in truth if you visit at the right time both sides offer a mind-blowing view.

When to go

To see them at their most impressive you should visit when the Zambezi is in full flow, usually in February or March. At this time, they form the largest curtain of falling water in the world, with more than 500 million liters of water spilling over the falls each minute. Visit in November and you'll see the falls at their most tame, with barely a 50th of that amount flowing through.

What to do

Even if you don't fancy a bungee jump, there's plenty to give adrenaline junkies their fix.

The falls churn up torrents of raging white water, and where there's white water, there's white water rafting. Among the many outfits offering rafting thrills the Zambezi Safari and Travel Company is one of the best, offering one-day experiences from $135.

A more sedate aquatic experience can be had in a canoe or, for those who prefer not to rely on muscle power, on a river cruise along the Zambezi.

For the more culturally inclined, the town of Livingstone, some 10 kilometers from the falls, is the place to go. The colonial capital of Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) until its independence in 1935, it's home to the Livingstone Museum, dedicated to the 19th-century explorer. It preserves a variety of Livingstone memorabilia, including his letters and medicine box, and has an exhibit on Zambian history.

How Mozambique turned from war zone to tourist hotspot

Best Views

A truly vertigo-inducing experience can be had standing in the spray on "Knife Edge" bridge and daring yourself to look down at the seething waters below. But you can trump that by taking at dip in "Devil's Pool," a natural rock pool high above the Zambezi, where you can swim to the very edge of the falls and peer over.

The most dramatic views of the falls and the gorges can be had by hovering directly above them in a helicopter or microlight. For a short nostalgia trip, why not take a steam train ride across the historic Victoria Falls Bridge.

Congo's erupting volcano boosts tourism

Wildlife

Around the falls a fragile forest ecosystem thrives on the high humidity created by the spray from the falls.

Both national parks offer great opportunities for wildlife watching. Elephants, zebras, giraffes and hippos can all be found in the area, as can leopards, baboons and buffalo.

You can take a safari on the back of an elephant, or alternatively, a number of tour groups offer lion encounters that let tourists walk with captive-bred lions.

There are also birding safaris that offer glimpses black eagles, peregrine falcons and taita falcons soaring among the gorges.

Where to stay

There is a wide range of accommodation in the area, from the cheap and cheerful to the expensive and extravagant.

In Livingstone, hostel Fawlty Towers, named after a British sitcom, has a large garden shaded by sprawling mango trees. It offers camping facilities, private rooms and dorm beds that start at $10. Facilities include a swimming pool, lively bar and wi-fi.

At the other end of the spectrum the Royal Livingstone provides five-star luxury right on the banks of the Zambezi. Consisting of 17 colonial-style buildings, it's within walking distance from the falls themselves. Rooms start from $700.

A little further away, and priced somewhere between the two, the boutique Stanley and Livingstone has suites from $245 per person, and is situated on a private reserve bordering the Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe.

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10 gyms with the most amazing views

(CNNGo) -- At these panoramic fitness centers there's no excuse to hang onto that post-festivity bulge

Basement fitness centers be damned. There are some places around the world that make your intentions to lace up the runners and don the spandex a whole lot more inviting.

1. MV Stella Australis, Chile

Ever wanted to jog around Cape Horn but thought it was impossible? Well, it's not.

Brand-new ship (in cruise ship terms any ship just past her first birthday is still brand-new) Stella Australis plies the glacier-lined route between Punta Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina.

The gym is positioned on the top deck with full-height double-glazed windows providing an ever-changing view of snow-dusted mountains and glaciers amid forest-clad fjords. The double glazing is important, as summer temperatures barely reach double figures in South American Patagonia.

There's no problem getting warmed up, however, on modern treadmills, steppers and bikes, as albatross soar on the Furious Fifties winds that buffet the land at the "end of the world."

Cruceros Australis, Ave El Bosque Norte 0440, Santiago, Chile; +56 2 442 3115; www.australis.com

Also on CNNGo: 15 hotel rooms with amazing views

2. Andaman Hotel, Langkawi, Malaysia

National Geographic film crews know a good location when they see one. So it's no surprise to find out that the same ancient rainforest that treadmill pounders gaze at from the Andaman Hotel is a favored habitat for filming wildlife documentaries.

Located on the northwest coast of Langkawi, the region abounds in rare wildlife on land and kaleidoscopic fringing coral reef beyond the beach.

Hotel designers didn't quite get it right for water babies but for those who find inspiration in lush plush jungle, you won't be disappointed with French windows allowing heady tropical aromas to waft around the gym.

Andaman Hotel, Jalan Teluk Datai, Langkawi 07000, Malaysia; +60 4 959 1088; www.theandaman.com

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3. Sasakwa Lodge, Tanzania

Unleash your inner safari man (or woman) when you drop into your own personal piece of African indulgence on the privately held 137,000-hectare Singita Grumeti Reserve.

Incongruously rising above the plains in the style of an Edwardian manor house, the main lodge is surrounded by a handful of secluded cottages, each with its own infinity pool and dreamy heat-haze views all the way to the horizon.

If you can drag yourself beyond poolside tranquilized stupor, the gym is a revelation for such a remote location. Equipped with modern machines, it's easy to imagine running across the sun-kissed plains, with bounding zebras kicking up their hooves beside you.

Sasakwa Lodge, Singita Grumeti Reserve, Tanzania; +27 21 683 3424; www.singita.com

4. Aqua Expeditions, Peru

If cruising little-accessible waters of the Amazon floats your boat, step onto the treadmill aboard luxury river expedition vessel MV Aria, departing from the forest-clad port of Iquitos.

Launched in the spring of 2011, MV Aria plies the upper reaches and tributaries of the Andes-fed Amazon, allowing up to 32 guests to immerse themselves in the wildlife and wild landscapes of Pacaya Samira Reserve encased in floating luxury.

Hitting the treadmill daily is recommended, given that menus are designed by renowned chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, otherwise known as the jungle chef, for his creative use of Amazonian wild foods.

More an exercise room bathed in natural light from immense picture windows than a fully blown gym, there's no denying the inspirational in-your-face view gliding by.

Aqua Expeditions, Calle Iquitos 1167, Punchana Maynas, Loreto, Peru; +51 65 60 1053; www.aquaexpeditions.com

Also on CNNGo: 8 secret acupoints to cure travel ills

5. Chobe Safari Lodge, Uganda

Recently restored to her former 1950s elegance and perched above the bank of the River Nile, water is the main focus of Chobe Safari Lodge.

That is, of course, once you've had your fill of the elephants, hippos and buffalo that hang out around this legendary waterway. Attracting wildlife by the safari-load, the three-level swimming pool, spa and gym all overlook the rushing, gushing Nile.

Within the largest National Park in Uganda, Murchison Falls National Park is not a bad spot for anglers to drop a line once they've finished buffing their biceps in the Chobe Health Club and Spa.

Chobe Safari Lodge, MurchisonFallsNational Park, Northwest Uganda; +256 312 259 390; www.chobelodgeuganda.com

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6. Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa, Alaska

It's unlikely that master mariner Captain James Cook would recognize much about Anchorage these days. Things have changed a bit since he anchored in the bay, now known as Cook Inlet, beneath a couple of active volcanoes and a mountain affectionately known by locals as Sleeping Lady.

On a clear day Redoubt and Spurr mountains, all 3,000 meters of them, poke out above the clouds, all theatrical summits and look-at-me attitude.

Gazing out from the 15th-floor gym to the street below, gym junkies shouldn't be surprised to see one of the 1,000-odd moose who also call Anchorage home wandering the streets.

Sheraton Anchorage Hotel, 401 East 6th Ave., Anchorage, Alaska, United States; + 907 276 8700; www.starwoodhotels.com

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7. Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, California

Any hotel that puts step machines front and center behind frameless glass walls that overlook the Pacific Ocean gets my vote.

Add a crystal chandelier to enhance the theatrical movie star opulence, and you'll be seriously motivated to get your butt camera-ready.

Naturally, equipment is top-of-the-line Precor and Icarian with individual screens and multimedia connectivity. The team at Ritz-Carlton seem to know just how to prop up a narcissistic gym junkie's habit.

Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel; 1 Ritz Carlton Drive, Dana Point, California, United States; +949 240 2000; www.ritzcarlton.com

8. Wickaninnish Inn, Canada

The favored destination for storm chasers, those climate-crazy souls who time their holidays to encounter the worst weather, Wickaninnish Inn sits tall, proud and somewhat weather-beaten on a point jutting seaward. Beachcombers and surfer dudes also find their way to wild tumbled Chesterman Beach.

Looking west across the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver Island, 10 years ago the inn built a new wing to capitalize on their beachfront location, thrilling gym junkies no end by placing the workout room center stage.

Wickaninnish Inn, 500 Osprey Lane, Tofino, BC, Canada; +1 250 725 3100; www.wickinn.com

Also on CNNGo: 10 inspiring classes for travelers to take

9. Paresa Resort Phuket, Thailand

Phuket is home to sea gypsies who live on floating villages earning a living from ever-depleting fish stocks, as well as the seething, writhing, pumping tourism hub of Patong Beach which attracts modern-day travelers.

Treadmill joggers who bother to look south from the gym at Paresa can catch a glimpse of the ever-present partying integral to the beachfront strip.

But the real attraction is the uninterrupted cliff top view from high above the Andaman Sea, particularly at dusk as the blazing tropical sun disappears below the salt-laden horizon.

Paresa Resort, 49 Moo 6, Layi-Nakalay Rd, Kamala, Phuket, Thailand; +66 76 302 000; www.paresaresorts.com

Read more on CNNGo: Airplane Yoga -- 18 exercises for healthy flying

10. Hotel Icon, Hong Kong

Opened just two months ago, Hotel Icon represents the combined efforts of Hong Kong's most creative geniuses.

Clearly health-conscious designers who appreciate the benefits of positioning the pool and gym on the rooftop, it's hard to imagine a more exciting cityscape than Hong Kong's.

Particularly so at night, when all bets are off when it comes to conserving energy and the city lights up like a Christmas tree.

Naturally, being a brand-new luxuriously appointed hotel with a heavy focus on glamour, gym equipment is state of the art and the facility is open 24 hours.

Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 3400 1688; www.hotel-icon.com

Also on CNNGo: World's 15 most spectacular swimming pools

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NCAA president supports 4-team football playoff

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- NCAA President Mark Emmert would support a four-team playoff in college football -- as long as the field doesn't grow.

After giving his annual state of the association speech Thursday in Indianapolis, Emmert acknowledged he would back a small playoff if that's what Bowl Championship Series officials decide to adopt.

"The notion of having a Final Four approach is probably a sound one," Emmert said when asked what he heard coming out of New Orleans this week. "Moving toward a 16-team playoff is highly problematic because I think that's too much to ask a young man's body to do. It's too many games, it intrudes into the school year and, of course, it would probably necessitate a complete end to the bowl system that so many people like now."

Emmert spoke two days after the 11 Bowl Championship Series conferences met to discuss possible changes to the system starting in 2014, but there is no consensus yet.

BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said Tuesday that 50-60 possibilities for various changes were presented during a deliberate meeting in New Orleans, where Alabama beat LSU in the BCS title game Monday night. Hancock anticipates it will take another five to seven meetings to reach a conclusion in July.

One possibility is the four-team playoff, or the so-called plus-one approach, that would create two national semifinals and a championship game played one week later. The original proposal, made in 2008 by the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, was emphatically shot down by the leaders of the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big East, Big 12 and Notre Dame.

The BCS title game pits the nation's top two teams based on poll and computer rankings.

But momentum is clearly growing for a larger playoff system.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany acknowledged this week that he would now consider the prospect of a four-team field.

"Four years ago, five of us didn't want to have the conversation," Delany told reporters earlier this week. "Now we all want to have the conversation."

Then on Thursday, the BCS picked up another major endorsement for a potential playoff.

Emmert has long said he expected changes to the BCS system and has repeatedly offered to help the BCS debate if they want it. The NCAA licenses bowl games, but does not run them. It also has no direct authority over the BCS system.

But a small, four-team tournament could be the perfect remedy for what many still consider a flawed system.

"I see a lot of ways that a Final Four model could be successful," Emmert said.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Mexican actress: Drug lord could be 'hero of heroes'

(CNN) -- A well-known Mexican actress who has played crime bosses on television says she trusts the purported head of the Sinaloa cartel more than government officials.

"Today I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments that hide the truth from me even though it is painful," actress Kate del Castillo said in a message linked to her Spanish-language Twitter account this week.

Del Castillo starred as a drug trafficker in Telemundo's popular prime-time soap opera "La Reina del Sur" ("The Queen of the South") and also played Mexican crime boss Pilar Zuazo on the Showtime series "Weeds."

Her wide-ranging online post -- which outlines the movie star's beliefs on topics such as the goodness of the human race, the Roman Catholic Church and marriage -- came the same week that officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury called Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman "the world's most powerful drug trafficker."

Guzman, who is accused of running a major network that distributes cocaine and heroin, has been indicted by U.S. authorities in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. In 2004, the U.S. government announced a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Ghastly toll in 2011 Mexico drug violence: 13,000 killed

He is worth about $1 billion, according to Forbes Magazine, which began listing the drug kingpin on its billionaires list in 2009. The magazine ranks him as No. 55 on its Most Powerful People list.

Del Castillo's online post addresses the drug lord directly:

"Mr. Chapo: Wouldn't it be cool if you started to traffic in goodness? With cures for diseases, with food for children in the street, with alcohol for nursing homes. ... trafficking with corrupt politicians instead of with women and children that end up as slaves? With burning all the pimps that treat a woman like she's worth no more than a pack of cigarettes?" she writes. "With no supply there is no demand. Do it, sir, and you would be the hero of heroes. Let's traffic with love. You know how."

The post has sparked debate in Mexico and beyond the nation's borders.

Singer Ricky Martin re-tweeted it Tuesday. "Bravo Kate," he wrote.

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Why bankruptcy isn't a brand killer

Don't say goodbye to the Twinkie yet. Even if its bankrupt parent company shutters, a buyer is likely to revive the brand.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Neither bankruptcy nor a liquidation can kill iconic brands.

Before the ink was even dry on Hostess Brands' bankruptcy filing Wednesday morning, interested buyers were already digging into the potential value of the Hostess name and how Twinkie, Ding Dong or Wonder Bread could be repurposed into other consumer products.

For now, Hostess will continue to churn out Twinkies, but many in the bankruptcy world are questioning whether the maker of snack foods can survive.

This is Hostess Brands' second trip in bankruptcy court. It emerged in 2009 after a four and a half year restructuring.

Should Hostess Brands choose to liquidate rather than reorganize, the brand names - Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread - will very likely live on.

Buyers have made multi-million dollar bets on brand names like Polaroid, Sharper Image and even Borders that continue to resonate with consumers even after the parent company has liquidated.

"The marketplace has, without question, become a lot more sophisticated in terms of intellectual property since the world came to an end in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Jason Frank, a managing director in Hilco's appraisal business which values liquidated brands. "Before that everyone knew brand names were worth something but no one put much value on it."

Several private equity firms, including Hilco, Gordon Brothers and Authentic Brands, regularly show up at intellectual property auctions after a company has decided to liquidate. Rivals to the deceased companies often make bids too, driving up the prices of these brand names.

A big payoff can help the parent company pay back some of its debts.

After Polaroid filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008, a consortium of buyers paid $88 million in 2009 for the brand name.

Not only did Polaroid's creditors get that lump sum, they also gained a minority stake in the new entity. And that stake could turn out to be quite lucrative if the company sells itself or goes public.

Many potential buyers are also weighing the value of Kodak' (EK, Fortune 500)s brand-name since there's been a lot of talk that it may consider filing for bankruptcy. For now the company plans to restructure out of court.

Kodak's brand name (not its patents) could easily generate more than double Polaroid's sales price, said Jamie Salter, the CEO of Authentic Brands. "There are a lot of categories that Kodak could attach its name to. People would feel very comfortable using Kodak paper," said Salter.

Like Polaroid, Kodak has brand cache all over the world offering potential buyers the opportunity to tap global markets.

"Part of what drives so much of this is the Internet economy," said Richard Chesley, a partner in DLA Piper's bankruptcy practice and represented Polaroid's creditors in its bankruptcy. "It's so much easier to get products manufactured globally and consumers in the developing world are often looking for iconic American branded products."

While global consumers might be drawn to shaking lots of things like a "Polaroid picture," in the words of hip hop group Outkast, even brands with significantly less cache like Borders can attract eight-figure investments. Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) spent $13.9 million to buy the rights to its defunct rival's brand name.

A revived Twinkie may make its fans happy but it's unlikely to bring back the 19,000 jobs that would be lost if it decides to liquidate. Nearly 11,000 workers lost jobs at Borders when it liquidated.

The larger question for potential buyers of Hostesses brands is whether Twinkies and Ding Dongs can move into other products?

"For Polaroid and Sharper Image, buyers have been able to use the name and make products within a category of electronics that have a meaning to the consumer," said Cathy Hershcopf, a partner in the bankruptcy practice at the law firm Cooley. "Instead of having a non-name camera or a non-name appliance, suddenly you have a Polaroid camera or a Sharper Image one."

Hershcopf worked on the sale of Sharper Image's name to a consortium of buyers who now license its name to products sold at Target and Best Buy.

If Hostess does sell its brand-name, the question is whether in the low-carb, gluten-free age, will consumers want to see a Wonder Bread superhero?

Today's featured rates:

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Avlon: How 5 things to watch turned out in N.H.

(CNN) -- In the run-up to the New Hampshire primary, I wrote a column on the five things to look at while the votes came in. Now we've got the results, and here's how it played out:

Romney's benchmark -- Mitt Romney hit it. His 39% exceeded John McCain's 2008 total, and he increased his popular vote total by more than 15,000 votes. More important, and more impressive, was the breadth of his support in this state that borders on his own. He won both tea partiers and evangelicals. He won moderates and conservatives. He won rural, urban and suburban voters, every educational group and even won Catholic voters despite running against two Catholics.

He'll have a hard time replicating those margins in South Carolina, but it's a clear win and evidence that Romney at least has the potential to unify his party. Significantly, the attacks on Romney's Bain Capital record by the Newt Gingrich-supporting super PAC seem to have backfired, leaving Romney appearing like the last defender of unfettered capitalism to conservative activists.

Jon Huntsman's surge was real but too little, too late. He came in a distant and disappointing third place in a state where he bet his campaign. Nonetheless, in the wake of his best debate performance Sunday, he was raising money and gaining late-breaking support from many people I spoke to on the ground.

His problems were evident in the cross tabs -- the groups he won were tea party opponents and people not dissatisfied with President Barack Obama. These voters are not representative of the Republican base. Perhaps most striking was the fact that he came in third with independent voters.

Which brings me to my next point. ...

It's all about the independents -- and this year, they made up almost 50% of total turnout. Without independents heading out to vote, Republican turnout overall would have been significantly below its 2008 totals.

In the end, Rep. Ron Paul carried the day in the "Live Free or Die" state among libertarian independents, winning 32% of that vote. Romney came in a surprising second with independents, winning 29%, speaking to the depth and breadth of his support. Huntsman's 23% of independents was a disappointment to his campaign, showing a sizable split among centrist independents -- disaffected former Northeastern Republicans -- between Huntsman and Romney. Independents made all the difference in New Hampshire, but their bulk was split three ways.

Paul's high-water mark -- The libertarian congressman managed to triple his 2008 total in New Hampshire, winning roughly 24% of the vote. In addition to independents, he won young voters and people making under $30,000 as well as those who describe themselves as liberal on social issues. But the Ron Paul Revolution is a better fit for the "Live Free or Die" state than the Palmetto or Sunshine states. The key difference between Paul and all the other candidates is that he is running to promote ideas rather than simply to win the presidency.

His supporters have unmatched intensity, and they will help him raise enough money along the way to stay in the race and keep collecting delegates on the road to the Republican National Convention.

Gingrich vs. Santorum -- Gingrich edged out Rick Santorum in the battle for fourth place in New Hampshire, but his much ballyhooed anti-Bain Capital ad might burn bridges with the conservative activist community. Even with the post-Iowa bounce, Santorum found his social conservative views did not resonate with Granite State voters, but he'll find a better fit in South Carolina.

The fight between these two candidates -- and, for the time being, Rick Perry -- is the highest-stakes game playing out in South Carolina. If just one of them can consolidate the voters looking for that conservative alternative to Romney, they will be in good shape to play in a long primary battle to reach 1,143 delegates. But if the far-right field remains fractured, it will remain Advantage Romney.

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Romney leaves N.H. with wind at back

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Mitt Romney handily won his firewall state of New Hampshire on Tuesday, holding on to a substantial lead in the state after several difficult days on the campaign trail.

The former Massachusetts governor now heads to South Carolina and its January 21 primary with the wind at his back as the victor of the first two voting contests.

"Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we go back to work," he told supporters in a triumphant speech Tuesday night.

Romney, who for the most part has topped the polls in a volatile Republican primary campaign, held a 38% to 24% lead over Ron Paul with about three-quarters of the vote counted.

His New Hampshire speech was more of a celebration than when he eked out an eight-vote victory over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in Iowa.

Romney was given a hero's welcome at his victory party in the state where he scooped up almost every high-profile political endorsement.

Flanked by his five strikingly similar sons and his wife, Ann, Romney did not mention his rivals as he spoke before a sea of supporters waving white and blue signs.

Instead, the GOP candidate kept his focus on President Obama, a nod to a potential general election matchup that came a step closer to reality Tuesday.

Like in Iowa, Romney captured the majority of wealthy voters, but Paul was the favorite of those in lower income brackets, according to exit polls. But unlike in Iowa, Romney captured social conservative voters and those who identified themselves as tea party supporters.

Romney's camp had long been bullish about the former Massachusetts governor's chances for a healthy win in New Hampshire. The candidate owns a summer home in the state's Lake District and enjoys high name recognition from his days as a neighboring governor.

In early December, the campaign was pushed to action as Newt Gingrich began to surge in state polls. Romney stepped up his retail politicking here as his campaign touted its painstaking organization, far superior to that of any other candidate.

But as support for Gingrich fell in the weeks leading up to the primary, it seemed as though Romney's only real foe would be the high expectations that he could deliver a blowout on Tuesday. Coming off an eight-vote margin of victory in Iowa, a slam-dunk in New Hampshire would quell a potential coup for the would-be nominee.

In the days before the primary, Romney made a series of unforced errors, which played into his GOP rivals' attacks on his career in the private sector.

The multimillionaire candidate told an audience he feared getting a "pink slip" at certain points during his career and a day later said: "I like to fire people who provide services to me."

The first five words in that quote were quickly pounced on by rivals in New Hampshire while Rick Perry used the pink slip remark to attack the front-runner while campaigning in South Carolina, pointing to factories downsized by Bain Capital while Romney headed the firm.

The campaign quickly played defense, pushing back against widespread mockery by his opponents as an attack on free enterprise.

Meanwhile, Democrats signaled they would continue the same line of attack against Romney should he seal up the GOP nomination, an outcome many political analysts consider likely.

Romney did make reference to the controversy Tuesday night, painting his Republican detractors as "desperate" and tying them to President Obama.

"President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial. In the last few days, we have seen some desperate Republicans join forces with him," he said. "This is such a mistake for our party and for our nation."

Romney faces uncertain terrain in South Carolina, where social conservatives like Rick Perry and Rick Santorum see a potential opening.

Meanwhile, a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich planned to unleash a multimillion-dollar ad campaign attacking Romney for profiting off of failed companies.

But the GOP candidate will likely benefit from his success in Iowa and New Hampshire, as more voters begin to see Romney as the likely nominee.

A CNN/Time/ORC poll released Friday showed Romney leading likely GOP primary voters with 37%, Santorum with 18% and Gingrich with 17%. But the poll came three days after Santorum's near-win in Iowa and on the rise in most polls while Gingrich, a short-lived front-runner in the fall, sliding in most polls.

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Raiders fire Jackson following 8-8 finish

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders fired coach Hue Jackson on Tuesday after just one season at the helm in the first major move since Reggie McKenzie was hired as general manager.

The decision to get rid of Jackson came four days after the team announced the hiring of McKenzie as the team's first general manager since the death of longtime owner Al Davis in October. McKenzie was formally introduced later Tuesday.

The move marks a rapid fall for Jackson, who was in charge of personnel decisions and coaching after Davis died of heart failure on Oct. 8.

Jackson made the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone, costing the Raiders a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder.

While Palmer showed signs of giving the Raiders a big-time quarterback, he was unable to get Oakland to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, raising questions about how effective that trade was.

After starting the season 7-4, the Raiders lost four of their final five games to mark their ninth straight season without a winning record or a playoff berth. A late-game collapse at home to Detroit on Dec. 18 and a 38-26 loss to San Diego at home in the season finale did in the Raiders and ultimately Jackson.

GALLERY: ONE AND DONE NFL HEAD COACHES

Owner Mark Davis, Al's son, made the decision to bring in McKenzie last week and gave him the authority over the coaching staff. McKenzie will now get to pick a new head coach, providing the Raiders a fresh start in their first full season without Al Davis involved since 1962.

Jackson talked at the end of the season about having more involvement in 2012, but instead he will have none.

"I'm going take a stronger hand in this whole team, this whole organization," he said after the season finale. "There's no way that I'm going to feel like I feel today a year from now. I promise you that. There's no question. Defensively, offensively and special teams. I'm not feeling like this no more. This is a joke."

Jackson joined the Raiders as offensive coordinator in 2010 under head coach Tom Cable and engineered a dramatic improvement as Oakland more than doubled its point total and improved to 8-8. That helped him get the job when Davis decided not to retain Cable.

The offense wasn't quite as effective with Jackson as head coach as injuries to star running back Darren McFadden, receiver Jacoby Ford and Campbell played a part.

But the biggest problems this past season were an inability to curb the team's propensity for penalties and on the defensive side of the ball. The team committed 163 penalties for 1,358 yards, setting records in both categories, as Jackson was unable to instill the discipline he promised.

The Raiders also had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history.

FOLLOW COACHING INTERVIEWS, HIRINGS

Oakland joined this season's Tampa Bay team as two of the four teams to allow at least 30 TD passes and 5.0 yards per carry in a season, a distinction achieved previously by only the 1950 Baltimore Colts and 1952 Dallas Texans. The Raiders also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season.

McKenzie will now have the opportunity to bring in a whole new staff, overhaul the roster and change the scheme if he deems necessary. The new coach will be Oakland's seventh in the past 10 seasons, following Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable and Jackson.

McKenzie, who had been director of football operations in Green Bay, is a former Raiders linebacker. He was well-respected for his role in helping to build a Super Bowl championship team with the Packers.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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An incredibly safe year for air travel

(CNN) -- This is starting to sound like a broken record, but once again, 2011 was an incredibly safe year for commercial air travel.

In fact, there were only 373 fatalities on 18 scheduled passenger flights worldwide. Considering that there are roughly 10 million flights per year in the U.S. alone, this is a remarkable feat.

Looking at the Aviation Safety Network's database, we see that there were 106 "occurrences" of all kinds during the year worldwide. This number includes military and cargo aircraft accidents as well as airplanes on test flights. One of the accidents last year was actually with an illegal crop-dusting operation in Russia. So this is pretty detailed.

Including all those various occurrences, 50 in total had fatalities; many of the rest were things like edging over the end of the runway. But once we narrow that number down again to just scheduled passenger flights, we get 18.

Now, 18 fatal accidents still sounds like a lot. After all, could you imagine hearing about one or two major accidents every month? Most of these, however, probably never made the news here in America.

In the U.S., not a single passenger was killed in an accident on a scheduled passenger flight the entire year. There was one tiny scheduled flight that crashed in Alaska, killing the pilot, but both passengers survived. A couple of bush flying accidents in Northern Canada claimed three lives as well, but that was it for this immediate part of the world.

But wait, weren't there some newsmakers in the U.S. this year? Sure, you heard about the Southwest 737 that had the fuselage tear open at cruising altitude, but everyone walked away in good shape. (OK, maybe nerves were rattled.)

The rest of the accidents happened in primarily developing areas.

The worst offender over the past year has been Russia, where three accidents killed 56 people. This was in addition to several landing accidents that were not fatal and one major crash of a charter flight that killed an entire professional hockey team. Though this does not make flying in Russia unsafe, it certainly was one of the hotspots that should cause alarm for Russian aviation officials.

There were two accidents in Indonesia as well as one in Congo. These were on airlines that have been put on the banned list by the European Union for being unsafe, so many people wouldn't even consider flying them in the first place.

There was an accident on a domestic flight in Iran, one on a tourist flight in Nepal, one on a prop in Papua New Guinea and five on turboprops in Latin America. In Europe, there was only one, a turboprop that crashed in Ireland in bad weather.

You're probably wondering what caused these accidents. As usual, none of these was caused by a single issue, but most of them were operating in challenging weather conditions at the time.

In some of the more remote places in the world, they don't have the same kind of weather detection systems or the conservative procedures that we have here in the U.S., and that can make a difference in the accident rate.

Looking through all this data, one thing is clear. Flying remains an incredibly safe mode of transport. Although there will always be an effort to get to zero accidents, that simply won't happen with something as complex as aircraft operations. But each year, more aircraft take to the skies, and the chances of something going wrong continue to drop.

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St. Louis Cardinals to visit White House

(CNN) -- The St. Louis Cardinals will visit the White House on January 17 to commemorate their victory in the 2011 World Series.

The Cardinals won the baseball title in October in a seven-game series against the Texas Rangers.

The victory gave the team their 11th World Series Championship and capped off manager Tony La Russa's career. He retired just three days after the win.

The long career of Tony La Russa

The White House said in a statement that the Cardinals will visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to thank wounded service members for their service before the event.

The president will also recognize various community service projects performed by the team, according to the statement .

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U.S. drivers face 12-cent hike at the pump

(CNN) -- Gas prices in the United States increased by more than a dime over the past three weeks, the first increase seen since mid-October, according to a survey published Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.35 as of Friday, the Lundberg Survey found. That's an increase of 12 cents from the last survey of 2011, conducted December 16.

"The price hike comes from higher crude oil prices, which pulled up wholesale gasoline prices, but retailers have yet to pass through to motorists all the hikes they received," publisher Trilby Lundberg said.

If crude oil prices stay steady, it's likely drivers will see an increase of a few more cents while retailers catch up, she said. "If crude oil declined substantially, then we would not see that increase. It would be hidden within an overall decline."

It's impossible to say how much the wholesale price increase was affected by a higher tax on ethanol, she said. On January 1, an ethanol price subsidy in effect for 33 years expired.

The Lundberg Survey tallies prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide.

The city with the lowest average price in the latest survey was Salt Lake City, at $2.86. The highest average was in Los Angeles, with $3.69.

Here are average prices in some other cities:

-- Tulsa, Oklahoma: $3.13

-- Houston: $3.17

-- Phoenix: $3.24

-- Atlanta: $3.32

-- Portland, Oregon: $3.40

-- Boston: $3.41

-- Miami: $3.43

-- Chicago: $3.68

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Debate coach: Romney skillfully fends off attacks

(CNN) -- After watching two Republican presidential debates in less than 12 hours, I was thinking about how I coach my debate teams when debating the same opponents in a very short period of time. My main advice: Correct your errors without overdoing it.

I'll be blunt: There was a lot of coaching that needed to be done in the past 12 hours. The front-runner, Mitt Romney had a great first debate, and his opponents were underprepared. Why was Romney so good in the first debate? He knows how to handle attacks better than his opponents.

The verbal aggressiveness stepped up in these two debates because money is flowing and advertising is flying. The attack ads against the front-runners (I'll focus on the three top vote-getters in Iowa) are now topics in the debates. This places those being attacked on the defensive, which requires a different debating style from what most of the candidates are accustomed to, and it showed.

There is a simple debating strategy when answering attacks: "Backward-step-pivot-forward." First, put up a robust defense -- defend your positions thoroughly (backward-step). And second, figure out how to turn your potential weakness into strength. In other words, start with defense and then attempt to make that same issue part of your offense (pivot-forward).

Who accomplished that in the first debate? Mitt Romney. He is especially good at the "pivot-forward" part of this formula. On the topic of jobs and the private sector, Romney was attacked in the debate on two counts. First, rivals said being a "manager" is not the same as being the commander in chief and running a country. However, Romney answered by stating that business leaders are not just managers. They are leaders. (Notice the pivot?)

Romney redefined the debate and then reminded everyone that our president needs to be a good leader, and being a business leader is similar to being president, especially when dealing with the economy. Once he redefined the term from manager to leader, it was all offense from there.

Romney goes from defense to offense better than anyone on that stage. The next attack was that the investment firm he ran downsized and broke up companies. Romney said that sometimes investments don't work and he learned from that. It "pained" him to downsize in order to make a company more successful (beginning the pivot-forward) and he asserted that he helped create over 100,000 jobs.

Romney finished by reminding the audience that if you want to create jobs as president, it would help if you had actual experience in the private sector doing just that -- creating jobs. Plus he got the bonus of being able to name companies that everyone has heard of, like Staples and Sports Authority. That is such sweet debating. Backward-step-pivot-forward.

Contrast that with Rick Santorum. He was attacked for the first time in these debates, and while his defense was fine, he remained on defense for the entire topic. Santorum was continually defending against Ron Paul's attacks that he was a big-spending, big-government insider. He was unable to make the pivot and turn this into anything potentially positive, keeping him off topic and off message.

Ron Paul also did not defend well against a particularly sharp criticism in the second debate, when Santorum said that Paul never passed any legislation of any importance and has no track record. His main criticism of Paul was that Paul cannot accomplish any of his agenda that Republicans might favor because Paul has been unsuccessful working with anyone to get anything done while he has been in Congress.

However, as commander in chief, Paul would be able to do exactly what Republicans do not want done (such as pulling troops out overseas). Paul's defense was that he has the support of the American people, and that if he did not work well with Congress, it would be because Congress is out of touch. But this defensive answer did not address Paul's main perceived weakness during this primary season: getting more Republicans to vote for him.

I began this analysis by saying that Romney's opponents needed some coaching for the second debate. At the beginning of the debate, it looked as though everyone had taken advice to be more aggressive toward Romney. There was a unified focus by Santorum, Paul, and Newt Gingrich to hammer away at Romney and not let him off the hook.

For a while, it was effective (especially on Romney being a career politician), and I thought Romney would be in real trouble. Remember, this was Romney's best point in the first debate (his private sector leadership) and the other candidates were not going to let him score on that point again.

But then they lost steam. After the first series of questions, the challenges to Romney disappeared. Why? Either the other candidates stopped the direct attacks because they were worried about overcorrecting, appearing rude, and alienating voters (Gingrich came close when he told Romney to "drop the pious baloney") -- or in the heat of the moment, they forgot their coaching once the second debate was under way (which I can assure you from experience happens way too often).

In either case, after two grueling debates, because of good debating by Romney and sometimes poor debating by his rivals, the former Massachusetts governor has probably only solidified his position with potential Republican voters.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

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Body on queen's estate identified

London (CNN) -- The body found on Queen Elizabeth II's estate in Sandringham last week was a 17-year-old who had been missing since August, police said Sunday.

DNA tests helped detectives identified the woman as Alisa Dmitrijeva, Norfolk police said in a statement.

Police had been offering a 5000 reward for information leading to the missing teen.

Police have not said what caused her death, but said detectives are "investigating the murder."

In interviews with British newspapers last week, her family said they had immigrated from Latvia.

Investigators were alerted last Sunday to the human remains, found by a member of the public near the village of Anmer, in the English county of Norfolk.

Police are investigating activities that occurred around the site between the end of August and the end of September, Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry said in a statement.

"We would like to identify people who may have worked in that area or were involved in organizing or running any specific events that may have taken place," he said.

The body had been at the site between one and four months, the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team said last week.

Sandringham House, at the heart of the rural estate, is where the royal family traditionally gathers to celebrate Christmas. It's been the private home of four generations of British monarchs since 1862, and is one of two private residences used by the queen.

Part of the estate is a 600-acre country park open to the public.

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