U.S. officials to get secure Android phones

(CNN) -- Some U.S. officials this year are expected to get smartphones capable of handling classified government documents over cellular networks, according to people involved in the project.

The phones will run a modified version of Google's Android software, which is being developed as part of an initiative that spans multiple federal agencies and government contractors, these people said.

The smartphones are first being deployed to U.S. soldiers, people familiar with the project said. Later, federal agencies are expected to get phones for sending and receiving government cables while away from their offices, sources said. Eventually, local governments and corporations could give workers phones with similar software.

The Army has been testing touchscreen devices at U.S. bases for nearly two years, said Michael McCarthy, a director for the Army's Brigade Modernization Command, in a phone interview. About 40 phones were sent to fighters overseas a year ago, and the Army plans to ship 50 more phones and 75 tablets to soldiers abroad in March, he said.

"We've had kind of an accelerated approval process," McCarthy said. "This is a hugely significant event."

Currently, the United States doesn't allow government workers or soldiers to use smartphones for sending classified messages because the devices have not met security certifications.

Officials have said they worry that hackers or rogue apps could tap into the commercial version of Android and spill state secrets to foreign governments or to the Web through a publisher such as WikiLeaks. As many as 5 million Android users may have had their phones compromised by a recent virus outbreak rooted in apps found on Google's market, said security software maker Symantec.

But with a secure smartphone, a soldier could see fellow infantry on a digital map, or an official could send an important dispatch from Washington's Metro subway without fear of security breaches.

Developers in the government program have completed a version that has been authorized for storing classified documents but not transmitting them over a cell network, said two people contributing to the initiative. Smartphones cleared for top-secret dispatches -- high-level classified information that would compromise national security if intercepted -- are expected to be ready in the next few months, they said.

Rather than building special handsets hardwired with secure components, the government plans to install its software on commercially available phones, the people familiar with the project said. This approach is far less expensive and allows the government to stay up to date with the latest phones on the market, they said.

Android vs. Apple

There are hundreds of different Android models available, and more than half of all smartphones sold globally in a recent quarter use Android, according to industry research firm Gartner.

Verizon Wireless has sold more Android phones than any other U.S. cell carrier, thanks in part to its marketing emphasis interest on the Droid brand. About a year ago, Verizon also got the iPhone, ending AT&T's U.S. exclusivity with that device.

"There's a lot of interest in Android," Bryan Schromsky, a Verizon director for its wireless data services, said in a phone interview. "We are seeing Android sales across all branches of government."

Still, Apple's iPhone and iPad are also highly desired among U.S. officials, and people involved in the U.S. smartphone program said their goal is to support any type of smartphone. As CNN has reported, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, uses an iPad to read his classified intelligence by downloading cables and disconnecting from the network.

However, the government chose to work on Android first because Google already allows people to tinker freely with its code, said those working on the project. Federal officials have met with Apple, but they were told they could not have access to the core of the company's mobile operating system, said Angelos Stavrou, an information-security director at George Mason University who is working on the government project as a contractor, in a phone interview.

"Android was more cooperative in supporting some of the capabilities that we wanted to support in the operating system, whereas Apple was more averse," Stavrou told CNN. "They're shifting the strategy now."

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the meeting or any changes to its strategy.

Google publishes the source code for Android on its website for anyone to download and modify, and some partners are given access to the code before others. A Google spokesman declined to comment on the government project.

When Google releases a new version of Android or when a new version of its phones comes out, a compatible software update to the government's secure Android can be ready within two weeks, Stavrou said.

Emphasis on security

Government programmers are making security modifications to Android's kernel, which is the operating system's central component, the people involved said. The version will allow users to choose which data from Android and its applications can be sent over the Internet, they said.

"When you download an application on your phone, you don't really know what it does," Stavrou said. "We test the application in labs before the user consumes that application."

After testing more than 200,000 apps, the researchers discovered that many programs ask for access to far more personal information contained in the phone than they need and, more alarmingly, send some of that superfluous data to the app developers' servers, Stavrou said.

Even some well-intentioned features can compromise national security if left unchecked. For example, a weather app may automatically send a phone's GPS coordinates over the Internet to deliver a local forecast, or games may send the device's unique identifier along with a high score.

On government phones, officials will be prompted with detailed reports about what data may be sent, and they can decline or allow each transmission, the people involved said.

"People want to play 'Angry Birds,' and we do want our people to be able to download 'Angry Birds,' " Stavrou said. But he added, "If a clock application gets your GPS and transmits something over the network, that's not something that we would want to support."

Stavrou, along with seven others at George Mason and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, are developing the smartphone software. They are also consulting with several federal agencies, many within the Department of Defense, he said. He declined to name them.

"The government is actually working pretty hard in getting this technology to most agencies," Stavrou said. "Security is everybody's concern."

A secret project

Officials have not spoken in depth about the project until now. Reuters and some trade publications, including Government Computer News and FedTech Magazine, have previously reported some details.

"We are very cautious about what we release to the public," Stavrou said. "The details of the technology have been something that we have not publicly disclosed."

The project is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the group responsible for early development of GPS and the Internet, Stavrou said. The Defense Department, which houses the agency, has designated the smartphone project as a priority, he said.

The National Security Agency has been designated with evaluating the smartphone software for certification, Stavrou said. The NSA gave approval for an earlier version of the system to handle classified data stored on a device, he said.

The NSA is also working on a competing system called SE Android, or Security Enhanced Android, Stephen Smalley, a National Security Agency official, wrote this month in a brief e-mail to a group of software developers that was obtained by CNN. SE Android is less flexible in supporting new devices or Android updates from Google and is unlikely to be deployed widely, Stavrou said.

An NSA spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail, "The ultimate goal is to give war fighters, analysts and other intelligence professionals access to classified information on the go -- boosting innovation in the field, efficiency and productivity."

In an unusual move for the federal government, each version of the secure Android operating systems will only need to be certified once before it can be deployed to any U.S. agency, said two people involved in the project. Typically, each agency does its own independent security testing, they said.

Also atypical is that the NSA published the source code for SE Android online. The same will be done with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded project. Standardization group OpenSSL Software Foundation is helping with security compliance, said Steve Marquess, a co-founder for the company.

The NSA's Smalley announced the first release of SE Android with a two-sentence message two-sentence message on January 6 to a developer mailing list. He concluded by saying, "Enjoy!"

"We had to go through many hoops for that to happen," Stavrou said of the plan to open-source the software. "By handing the source code out, other people will be able to take a look and tell us about bugs."

Private interest

Many companies have expressed interest in the government smartphone project, officials said. The corporations that were among the first to adopt the BlackBerry are interested in Android, said Verizon's Schromsky. The Apple spokeswoman also noted that nearly all Fortune 500 companies are testing or have employees using iPhones and iPads.

Another obstacle for the government will be to figure out how to secure voice calls, Schromsky said.

"Voice is the immediate need," Schromsky said. "These devices are awesome. They can do so many things, but at the end of the day, I still need to make a voice call."

After the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project is certified for classified data, developers plan to work on securing the Android system for voice-over IP communications using apps such as Skype, Stavrou said.

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Big drop in unemployment rate for blacks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The unemployment rate for blacks fell more than 2 percentage points last month to its lowest level since March 2009.

The drop puzzled economists, who cautioned that it's too early to say that a job market recovery for blacks is underway. The rate for African-Americans didn't budge at all in 2011, ending the year at 15.8%. The overall unemployment rate fell nearly a percentage point last year.

But even at 13.6% for January, the unemployment rate for blacks is still far higher than the rate for other racial and ethnic groups, as well as the nation as a whole.

The white unemployment rate came in at 7.4%, inching down a tenth of a percentage point. Latinos had a 10.5% unemployment rate, down five-tenths of a point. The rate for Asians, which is not seasonally adjusted, came in at 6.7%. The national unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, from 8.5%.

The rate for black men, women and teens all fell last month.

The improvement may be due to warmer-than-usual weather, which allowed construction projects to proceed in January, said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal think tank. Also, the revival of the manufacturing sector, which employs many African-Americans, likely helped lower the rate.

Monthly jobless numbers, however, can jump around a lot, cautioned Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research group. Therefore, it's not indicative of a trend yet.

"Let's wait and see because it's such an anomalous drop," she said.

Shierholz also noted that despite the plunge, blacks still have a much tougher time finding work.

"The larger story doesn't change," she said. "Blacks have been hit harder by the downturn and its aftermath."

Bad news for college graduates? Another data point that left experts scratching their heads was the loss of employment among the college-educated, who have weathered the Great Recession better than other groups. The unemployment rate of those with bachelor's degrees stood at only 4.2% in January. But that was up a tenth of a point.

Friday's jobs report also showed that the share of employed college grads dropped half a percentage point, when taking their population into account, Baker said.

"It does seem strange to have all these people with college degrees not working," he said.

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Exclusive: Doctors cheating in dermatology exams

(CNN) -- Doctors studying to become dermatologists have, for years, shared exam questions by memorizing and writing them down after the test to become board certified, CNN has confirmed.

Reports of the use of what are known as "airplane notes" comes after revelations last month that radiology residents around the country for years also have used what are known as "recalls" to prepare for the written exam, which is one step in becoming certified by the American Board of Radiology.

In the wake of the CNN story, the group that oversees 24 medical specialties issued a statement condemning the use of the recalls.

The American Board of Medical Specialties said on its website that, "It should be made abundantly clear that recalling and sharing questions from exams violates exam security, professional ethics and patient trust in the medical profession. When it happens, the practice should be addressed swiftly and decisively. Whether someone is providing or using test questions, ABMS Member Boards enforce sanctions that may include permanent barring from certification, and/or prosecution for copyright violation."

CNN has confirmed the practice also exists with dermatology, where the recalls are known as "airplane notes," because residents write down as much as they can remember on the plane after taking the test.

In an anonymous e-mail to the American Board of Dermatology in 2008, a resident wrote: "The board needs to know that there is an organized effort year after year to, by verbatim, reproduce each and every question of the official ABD certifying examination minutes after its completion. So-called "airplane notes"...are well known to dermatology residents and are compiled, typed up and quietly distributed among residency programs across the country."

The resident, now a practicing dermatologist, wrote, "Each year, minutes after the certifying exam is complete, there is an almost ceremonial meeting of examinees at a local hotel or restaurant there in Chicago. A feverish and collective effort is made by examinees from many programs to reproduce on paper as many questions as they can -- verbatim -- that they had just encountered. This is then integrated into an updated "airplane notes," which then has questions from the year before, and the year before that, etc., in an organized fashion. These are even professionally bound at Kinko's at times."

In a response to the e-mail, the board's executive director, Dr. Antoinette Hood, wrote: "The board takes every precaution to discourage this practice amongst graduating residents: maintaining strict security of items, minimizing the number of previously used questions, and requiring an honor code statement (signed two separate times) declaring that information will not be shared. Unfortunately we have no mechanism for enforcing the honor code or controlling interpersonal communications that occur after an examination. The real issue is how do we police professionalism and how do we identify the offenders?"

Hood said she has addressed this issue for several years during the board's annual meeting by telling dermatology residents the practice is not allowed.

"I've never seen airplane notes, but I've heard about it," Hood said.

"We really try to do something to prevent it from happening," Hood said. "It's a high stakes examination and people are naturally very anxious about it and that brings out the potential worst in people."

Asked if she considered this cheating, Hood said, "Yes, but I can't prove it - period."

The board has warned residents that using airplane notes is illegal, because test questions are copyrighted.

"There are legal consequences to this practice, as the questions of the American Board of Dermatology are protected by copyright laws, and any reproduction, not approved by the board, illegal. But, of much greater importance, this practice is unethical and violates our professionalism and ethical standards, which are the basis for the trust given us by our patients," one board newsletter obtained by CNN reads.

Dermatology residents confirm the practice has been widespread, but the value of the actual airplane notes varies depending on the accuracy of the memorization.

The dermatology board scrambles the approximately 300 questions from test to test to make it more difficult to memorize them. About 20% of the questions each year are recycled from old tests, compared with about 50% for the written exam in radiology.

"We scramble the questions so that discourages the rote memorization," Hood said.

After a phone interview, Hood agreed to an an on-camera interview with CNN to discuss the recalls. But she abruptly canceled the interview two days beforehand, saying she had changed her mind.

While the use of airplane notes and recalls has been discussed for years in dermatology and radiology, they are not widely known outside those professions.

Dr. Gary Becker, executive director of the American Board of Radiology, said using recalls was cheating.

"I am saying it's cheating. It's a violation of our policy," Becker said.

Dr. James Borgstede, the radiology board's president-elect, said said the test-taking culture has changed since he took the exam in 1978.

"Right now, in radiology, jobs are hard to find. Board certification is very, very important. When I took the exam, you could still practice without being a board-certified radiologist. Now, that's virtually impossible," Borgstede said.

"So, a high-stakes examination, and the other thing is it's a difference in culture. These individuals sort of view us as a system, and them as outside the system, and there's this issue of sort of stick it to the man. You know, that we're the system, and they can do this and it's acceptable. We tell them it's not acceptable."

Becker said that despite the use of the recalls, the public is protected because of the overall training and an intensive oral exam that residents must undergo to become certified.

Next year, the board is rolling out a new exam for the first time in more than 10 years. Instead of two written tests and one oral exam, the first exam will be a "core exam" taken after three years of residency training, and the second certifying exam will be taken 15 months after graduation. The oral exam is being eliminated.

Meanwhile, The American College of Radiology, which does not certify radiologists, posted a statement on its website after the CNN story aired.

"The most troubling aspect of this report is the implication that all radiologists who pass these examinations are 'cheaters.' The allegation of cheating not only involves an unspecified and unidentified number of individuals, but smears the entire specialty with a broad and unjustified brush," the statement said.

"Whether one considers the sharing of mentally recalled questions to be unethical, or simply a type of study aid, board certification represents significantly more than passing an exam, and should not be impugned simply on the basis of examination methodology," it said.

Asked whether the group considered recalls cheating, a spokesman said it had no comment beyond the statement.

Other medical specialties contacted by CNN said they had not experienced that kind of systemic use of recalls.

The American Board of Family Medicine has sent investigators into test review company classes to ensure they aren't teaching from old test questions.

"When we've investigated these groups and (gone) through these classes, we've never found old exams," said board spokesman Robert Cattoi.

The board only re-uses "a very small number of questions" from old exams, he said. The American Board of Orthopedic Surgery re-uses about 20% of old questions each year.

"We know of no similar recall registry of questions such as was in your piece (about) the radiology residents," said the board's executive director, Dr. Shepard Hurwitz.

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Democrats retain Oregon seat in special election

Washington (CNN) -- A former Oregon state senator won the state's First Congressional District special election Tuesday night -- a victory that ensures a Democrat will continue to hold the House seat.

Suzanne Bonamici got 88,925 votes, finishing well ahead of Republican Rob Cornilles' 68,411 votes.

About 42% of registered voters cast a ballot in the special election conducted by mail only, a practice common in all Oregon elections.

The special election was called after former Rep. David Wu resigned over accusations of making unwanted sexual advances toward a fundraiser's daughter.

Though analysts expected the seat to stay with the Democrats, the race drew attention from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Emily's List, an organization that raises funds for female candidates.

In a relatively blue district, the committee painted Cornilles as a tea party supporter and ran an ad in which he brags about being "the original tea party candidate."

"Democrats successfully held the Republican accountable for his extreme tea party roots and his commitment to protecting the ultra wealthy at the expense of Medicare for seniors," Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

"This election is a win for middle class Oregon families who want someone to fight for them."

This was not Cornilles' first time running for the seat; the business consultant also challenged Wu in 2010.

Oregon's First Congressional District is a geographically diverse district that stretches from the state's largest city, Portland, to the rural Pacific coast. The district also includes the state's high-tech industry and Nike Inc. headquarters.

Though the district is geographically diverse, it has long been considered a Democratic stronghold -- as is much of Oregon. The first district has not sent a Republican to the House since 1975 and as of 2010, the state has almost 10% more Democrats than Republicans, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.

Additionally, President Barack Obama carried both the state and the district in 2008.

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What will become of Romney's fortune?

Mitt Romney would be one of the richest presidents in history.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- If Mitt Romney is elected president, he will have to make some tough choices about what to do with his personal fortune.

In order to avoid conflicts of interest and satisfy ethics watchdogs, soon-to-be presidents often sell assets or relinquish control of their investments to a trustee.

Romney, who has spent the better part of a month answering questions about his massive investment portfolio, would be one of the wealthiest presidents in history.

The former Massachusetts governor has a few options.

He could put his investments in a government-approved blind trust, convert some or all of his assets to cash, or possibly take advantage of an obscure tax break for executive branch officials.

Blind trust

Romney is no stranger to the concept of blind trusts.

After becoming governor of Massachusetts, Romney created a trust managed by Boston lawyer Bradford Malt. That's where most of his assets, estimated to be between $85 and $264 million, are today.

But between federally required disclosure forms and the tax returns released by his campaign, the contents of Romney's trust are easily accessible and have been widely scrutinized by the media.

It's now far from blind.

As president, Romney would likely have to dissolve his current trust and create a new one. And this one, approved by the Office of Government Ethics, would require a truly independent trustee.

"Federal ethics guidelines for blind trusts are extremely strict," said Robert Kelner, a partner at Covington & Burling who has advised candidates and appointees on ethics. "Typically they are much stricter than what you find at the state level."

If Romney establishes a new trust, his communication with the trustee would be extremely limited, and he would not be informed of changes to his portfolio.

"He might learn the overall performance of his portfolio," Kelner said. "But he would not know anything about its particular holdings."

It's a popular tactic.

Bill Clinton, both Bushes and Ronald Reagan put their money into a blind trust.

President George W. Bush told CNN at the end of his second term that he had "no earthly idea" what had become of his assets.

"I met the trustees eight years ago and I haven't talked to them since," Bush said.

Unlike his immediate predecessors, Barack Obama does not have a government-approved blind trust.

Most of his assets are invested in U.S. Treasury bonds and bills, mutual funds and education savings plans for his children -- hardly the kind of assets that present conflicts of interest.

Establishing blind trusts is not just popular with presidents. Other wealthy executive branch appointees have followed suit -- sometimes with a little unease. Hank Paulson, who left the top job at Goldman Sachs to become Treasury Secretary, was one of them.

"Have you heard the joke, how do you make a small fortune?" Paulson quipped in 2009. "Give a large fortune to someone in a blind trust."

For Romney, who made his money by making savvy investments, relinquishing control might be particularly difficult.

"You're turning your assets over to someone who is essentially a stranger," said Kenneth Gross, a partner at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. "I think some people would not be entirely happy with that situation."

The Romney campaign would not elaborate on the candidate's plans for his wealth, but said in a statement that his "assets will be arranged in a manner that comports with all rules" should he become president.

Move to cash

Perhaps the simplest option would be for Romney to liquidate his holdings.

The Clintons converted their assets to cash in June 2007 as Hillary's campaign for president entered its final stretch, according to the New York Times.

The family's holdings had been in a blind trust, but -- like Romney -- those assets were disclosed in campaign filings required by the Federal Election Commission.

Instead of creating a new blind trust, the Clintons chose to liquidate.

There is a substantial downside to taking this route. The Clinton's likely owed huge sums of money in capital gains.

A fire sale of Romney's assets would likely create a similar tax burden.

It's also possible Romney could choose to divest -- or sell -- a targeted group of assets that are likely to cause conflicts.

But that would be difficult considering the breadth of decisions the president makes, and the vast diversification of Romney's holdings.

"Practically everything the president does could affect individual companies," Kelner said. "Romney might find that difficult to do."

A tax benefit?

Members of the executive branch who have to sell specific assets to avoid conflicts of interest are sometimes granted what is called a "certificate of divestiture" by the Office of Government Ethics.

Obtaining the certificate allows appointees to divest while deferring the payment of capital gains, provided they invest the proceeds in an approved asset like a diversified mutual fund or government bond.

The provision is designed to incentivize wealthy individuals to accept posts in the executive branch without forcing them to take a tax hit.

A president has never applied for the tax break, but law experts consulted by CNNMoney said it is conceivable the Office of Government Ethics would grant one to a president with a portfolio like Romney's.

"It would be unprecedented," Gross said. "But I don't know why a president wouldn't be entitled to the same deferral of tax if he felt there was a conflict."

The tax benefit for Romney would be huge.

"Oh my god," said Robert Willens, a tax expert and professor at Columbia Business School. "He'd be right in the sweet spot. This would save him millions or tens of millions."

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What shakeup means for 'X Factor'

(CNN) -- Having watched as countless contestants said their goodbyes on season 1 of "The X Factor," judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones will now do the same, without so much as a highlight reel to play them off.

Fox recently confirmed that Jones and Scherzinger would not return for the show's second season.

And on Tuesday afternoon, Abdul addressed speculation that she too would be leaving the show: "Yes, it's true; I won't be returning to 'The X Factor' next season," she said in a statement. "I want nothing more than for 'The X Factor' to exceed ALL of their wildest dreams. This truly has been a blessing and I am most grateful."

With only series creator Simon Cowell and record exec L.A. Reid left at the judges' table, the singing competition will look very different when it returns next season.

And the facelift is necessary, said Phil Gallo, Billboard's senior correspondent for film and TV.

"(Cowell and Reid) were cheerleader types," he said. "The commentary Nicole produced was not as strong as the others, and going in, you already knew Paula wasn't going to be that harsh. (Having) two people (occupy) that space ultimately watered down the effect.

"Nicole won't be missed," he added.

The Fox singing competition show garnered respectable ratings, fluctuating from 8.5 to 12.5 million viewers week after week. However, despite winning its time slot and becoming fall's No.1 unscripted program, "The X Factor" fell short of expectations.

"The Voice" received similar ratings its first season, from April 26 through the end of June. But there's a reason the new NBC show earned more acclaim than its Fox counterpart: Fall shows need to have higher ratings to be considered competitors, Gallo said.

"If 5 million people are watching summer shows, execs are thrilled to death," Gallo added, noting that "The Voice" far exceeded that number.

Less-than-enthusiastic reactions to "The X Factor" might also have been brought on by Cowell's out of reach expectations for the program. Before the show's U.S. debut, Cowell told The Hollywood Reporter that based on the show's success in the U.K., he'd consider anything less than 20 million viewers to be a disappointment.

In spite of recently falling below CBS's "Big Bang Theory" in the 8 p.m., half-hour time slot, "American Idol" episodes typically attract more than 20 million viewers.

And while Cowell and Abdul played off each other well on "Idol," "(Abdul's) appeal is on the wane," Gallo said.

Death threats she and Scherzinger received after voting off favorite contestant Drew Ryniewicz on December 1 could have something to do with it.

One week later, Rachel Crow's exit -- the 13-year-old famously dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands upon learning that she'd been eliminated -- elicited even more criticism.

While Cowell ran to comfort the crying teen, Scherzinger wept in her seat, and a straight-faced Jones scratched his head and cued the farewell montage.

Displeased with Jones' reaction, one Yahoo contributor wrote: "Fellow contestant Marcus Canty spread his arms in an attempt to help the young pop star. Instead, Jones prevented him and redirected him off the stage. ... This was not the only moment in which Jones showed his heartlessness. When (Crow) was still bursting with tears ... Jones asked Crow her thoughts now that she was eliminated. This is a 13-year-old girl we are talking about."

"People are going to compare what any host does to what ("American Idol" host) Ryan Seacrest does," Gallo said. "Ryan tends to have a little bit more warmth. ... Steve brought a little too much of that traditional British cold that American audiences don't always warm up to."

Jones' and Scherzinger's dismissals were deemed unsurprising by Deadline's Nikki Finke, who wrote, "(They) had been considered the weakest links and likely casualties going into Season 2 after receiving mostly negative reviews for their performances last season."

Though for Finke, Abdul's exit came as more of a shock: "It'll be interesting to see if there's any backlash against Simon because of Paula's popularity."

This is the second time Cowell and Abdul have parted ways on reality TV. She left "Idol" after eight years as a judge alongside him and Randy Jackson.

"I've learned through my longevity in this industry that business decisions often times override personal considerations," Abdul said in a statement, adding, "Simon is, and will remain a dear friend of mine and I've treasured my experience working this past season with my extended family at Fox and Fremantle."

In addition to fresh star power, Gallo said, "X Factor," which focused on finding a contemporary pop star, would benefit from a less-confined point of view.

"Look at 'Idol,' " he said. "There's a country presence. And an old rock 'n' roll guy sitting on the judges' panel. 'The Voice' has Cee Lo with his background and Blake Shelton bringing in a country element. In the long run, 'The X Factor' winds up looking like the most limited show."

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Travel agents know something you don't

(CNN) -- By the time Costa Concordia cruise passenger Arthur Beach got to Rome, he knew how he would get home to Albuquerque.

Beach and his wife, Alex, had flown to Barcelona to celebrate Alex's birthday and boarded the Concordia there. They had been on the ship five days when disaster struck.

It took the rest of the night and most of the next day for the Beaches to escape the sinking cruise ship and get to shore, leave the island to get to the Italian mainland, board a bus to get to an airport hotel outside Rome and head into Rome to obtain temporary passports at the U.S. Embassy before they could leave.

Back at the hotel, Beach didn't call his airline. Instead, he called his son to contact his travel agent. Within a few hours, Jackie Berube, an agent with All World Travel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had booked him on an evening flight to Barcelona and a room at a hotel near the Barcelona airport. Berube, whose agency is a member of the Virtuoso network of travel agencies, moved their return flight to depart the next day.

"I thought Jackie did very well," said Beach, 66, who has booked travel with Berube for 20 years. "She had two to four hours from the time she was notified that we would like to get out of Rome, and she had us out."

Like many travelers, Beach usually books his own flights when he's taking a simple business trip within the United States. But he turns to his travel agent when his plans get more complicated or he's leaving the country or when there's trouble.

"She has more information and easier access to it and knows more about it than I do," Beach said.

Not your grandmother's travel agent

In an age where travelers of all ages turn to the Internet to book flight and hotel reservations, modern travel agents are offering expert advice on cruises and tour packages to far-flung locales, advice on the best a particular city has to offer, exclusive perks, hidden discount prices and the security of an adviser in case of inconvenience or disaster.

Successful agents know that their customers have access to lots of travel information -- often too much -- and want time-saving guidance, exclusivity and security in a complicated world. Whether they can convince younger Americans who may not have ever worked with a travel agent of that added value -- and ensure their industry's survival -- remains to be seen.

It's true that there are fewer U.S. travel agents today: 105,910 in 2010 versus 111,000 in 2006, according to the American Society of Travel Agents. And there are fewer agencies: 14,800 agencies in 2010, compared with 18,850 in 2006, according to ASTA.

While some agencies went out of business after the airlines eliminated commissions and consumers began to shop online, agencies have also consolidated and started offering more service than the Internet can provide. Many have shifted to home offices, doing most of their business over e-mail and the telephone.

To serve a generation that may have never dealt with a human being while making travel plans, travel companies are hiring young people to market to their own generation. American Express Travel launched a pilot apprentice program to teach the travel business to young people with strong customer service skills who were interested in travel but had no business experience. In the first class of 25 apprentices, 90% were promoted to full-time travel agents after a year, says Ellen Bettridge, vice president of the American Express U.S. Retail Travel Network.

American Express Travel, which allows customers to book online, via telephone or in-person, launched the NextPedition program last fall to attract young people, Bettridge says. People take an online survey to assess their travel interests and are offered mystery travel packages according to their personality type. A key element: Purchasing the trip requires a conversation with a human being, allowing the company to make the case for human interaction with its agents.

Yet as the numbers show, many consumers still aren't convinced. Singer-songwriter Marilyn Carino, who travels between homes in Atlanta and Brooklyn and often books touring gigs in Canada and Europe, prefers the simplicity of booking online, even for complex leisure travel.

"Booking travel online is way preferable to using an agent. You don't have to say 'What?' or 'Can you spell that?' to your computer screen,' " Carino said. "Enter your name, info, dates, just the facts, click OK, done."

Money still matters

When the economy tanks, the travel industry gets hit especially hard. The U.S. travel market declined 15% in 2009, according to PhoCusWright, a travel market research firm. Travel agencies were hit even harder, declining 21% because their bottom line is affected by corporate travel and complicated leisure travel, which includes international travel, cruises and tour packages. But they also recovered the fastest in 2010: up 15% while the total market gained 11%, says Douglas Quinby, PhoCusWright's senior director of research and author of an upcoming study of travel agents.

Where travel agents once relied heavily on a percentage of the price of an airline ticket, now they often charge flat fees for airline ticket purchases or creating a custom trip package. They still receive commissions from tour operators and cruise lines for sales, and may receive airline commissions if an airline wants to promote a particular route or if the agent purchases a significant number of one airline's products, says Lauri Reishus, vice president of operations at ARC, an airline-owned company that provides financial services to the travel industry.

Travel agents may charge a flat $35 fee to purchase an airline ticket or a $250 "plan to go" fee to organize a more complex travel package. (Some fees may apply to the cost of a trip.) Expert agents can charge an hourly rate for specialized services, and some even charge an annual retainer for customers who want an agent at their disposal.

"Other people will spend $35 and consider it a bargain to not only get the best price but to have someone there to help me when something happens," says Matthew Upchurch, chief executive officer of Virtuoso, a luxury network of affiliated travel agencies.

It's a relationship

Modern travel advisers want you to think of them like a financial adviser or lawyer, with whom you have a long-term relationship, says Upchurch. That person understands what you like from what you say about your preferences, from what you say you liked on previous trips and from the questions they ask that you might not have thought of.

"One of the biggest values of a good travel adviser is understanding what's important to you and being able to provide options you hadn't thought of," Upchurch said.

For many agents, specialization is the name of the game. Travel agencies (not including Expedia, Priceline and other online travel agencies) make up one-third of the U.S. travel market but grab a larger share of cruise and tour operator packages (about two-thirds) and corporate travel (more than three-quarters), says PhoCusWright's Quinby.

They may specialize in cruises, African safaris, Japanese trips, adventure travel or corporate travel.

"It's not just that a travel agent is a cruise specialist," Quinby said. "They're going to be a certified Alaska cruise specialist or a specialist for the Princess Cruise line. They take tons of destination and product training."

The average traveler is spending hours online booking their travel, perhaps time worth more than the dollars saved by not using an agent.

"The average traveler is spending something like ... nine web sessions and visiting 21 websites in order to book their travel," said Mark Orwoll, an editor of Travel + Leisure magazine. "Travelers are really looking for some advice, somebody who can answer questions for them, somebody who has experience in traveling, and they can't always get that online."

Travelers spending a lot of money on a complicated trip want to get it right, says Tony Gonchar, chief executive officer of the American Society of Travel Agents. "If I recommend Jordan, I've known your experience historically and talked post-trip about how you enjoyed your visit. I've assessed your risk tolerance."

While travel agents get a lot of buzz when they remove travelers from the mess of a cruise ship disaster or from the path of an erupting Icelandic volcano, they also can address the more ordinary disruptions of missed flights and lost luggage.

Before you go

Before you book, Gonchar recommends choosing an agent from ASTA membership at travelsense.org. If your agent is an ASTA member, he promises his association's code of ethics can be enforced up to and including expulsion.

"You have recourse if you do not have the ability to resolve your issue with a travel agent," he said. "It's like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval."

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UFC's White hacked after scrap with Anonymous

(CNN) -- Dana White loves a good fight.

But the Ultimate Fighting Championship president may have second thoughts about mixing it up with members of the hacker collective Anonymous on Thursday night on Twitter, where he was on the receiving end of a brutal punch.

White's personal information, including his Social Security number, cellphone number and address, was published online just moments after the exchange, in which he defended his company's support of the controversial -- and now-shelved -- Stop Online Piracy Act.

The UFC's website was also hacked for the second time in a week.

The mixed-martial-arts promoter's parent company was a supporter of SOPA, which was intended to crack down on digital piracy. The company, Zuffa, says many of its fights are posted illegally online, either for free or with the pirate sites selling advertising on them.

The back-and-forth kicked off shortly after 9 p.m. when one of the more popular Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous called out White -- an avid Twitter user -- for comments he made in a recent interview.

After UFC's site was briefly hacked last weekend (traffic was redirected to a site associated with Anonymous) White called the Internet "a place where cowards live" and compared hackers to terrorists.

"The way this whole thing has gone down, them hacking our site is the best thing they ever could have done for us. Because what that does is, now, you look like terrorists and now a lot of people who were afraid of you now hate you," White told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting. "Is this bill perfect? No. No bill is perfect. I think this thing started off with the right idea. Stealing is stealing ... . It's not right and there's something that needs to be worked out."

He wrapped up with a UFC-style challenge.

"I'm not afraid of you," White said. "You don't scare me. Do it again. I don't care."

Of course, they did.

"Ahoy @danawhite - what do you have against the Internet? We're just curious, as we were quite surprised at the harsh tone of your comments," wrote the people behind the Twitter feed @YourAnonNews.

White responded: "I love the Internet. It helped us grow our biz. Stealing is stealing! And hacking into people's s--- is terrorism."

What followed was a sometimes profane back and forth with White defending his company's stance and Anonymous members or sympathizers either lobbing attacks or defending their own group's efforts, which have included attacking Mexican drug cartels and oppressive governments.

"If you guys want to change the world good for you!" White wrote. "Just don't steal my s---."

He argued that his fighters suffer financially when UFC money is siphoned away and cited the company's own "outsider" pedigree, noting that mixed martial arts were banned in many states before gaining widespread recognition. Between live bouts, pay-per-view sales, video games and other products, the UFC is now a billion-dollar industry.

For a brief moment Thursday, it looked like everyone would walk away happy.

"Why don't you read thru our dialogue with him. It was actually quite pleasant and civil...no s--- talking that we can see!" the YourAnonNews account tweeted to another Twitter user.

But minutes later, someone posted a document on the site Pastebin showing what appears to be White's Social Security number, cellphone number, address, legal cases and other information -- including his wife's name. (A later, edited version removed family information).

The UFC site also was hacked again, with Anonymous logos briefly appearing on its main page.

White did not mention either hack on his Twitter feed Friday morning, having moved on to promoting a fight card set for Saturday night.

Anonymous, of course, wasn't so quiet.

"We wonder if @danawhite will ask #Anonymous to hack him again tomorrow," YourAnonNews wrote.

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'The Grey' tops box office with $20 mil

(EW.com) -- Liam Neeson, fighter of wolves, may be the closest thing the box office has to an alpha male.

The 59-year-old actor's latest thriller, "The Grey," debuted in first place with a better-than-expected $20 million, according to studio estimates.

That places the R-rated film just below the openings of Neeson's "Taken" ($24.7 million) and "Unknown" ($21.9 million). It also represents a major win for Open Road Films, the new distributor formed by AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas. Although "The Grey" cost a reported $34 million to produce, Open Road acquired the wilderness-survival movie for just $5 million.

The well-reviewed but admittedly harsh film earned a middling "B-" rating from CinemaScore audiences. According to the market-research firm, 71 percent of the audience was at least 25 years old. Of particular interest, 67 percent of moviegoers listed Neeson as the reason they purchased a ticket to "The Grey," confirming the actor's drawing power. Neeson is now taking suggestions on what animals he should confront next. My vote: Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The weekend's two other new movies, "One for the Money" and "Man on a Ledge," witnessed less impressive debuts. Both films were promoted with $6 ticket offers through online coupon sites (Groupon for "One for the Money" and LivingSocial for "Man on a Ledge"). Also, with Lionsgate's recent acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the studio was essentially competing against itself -- "One for the Money" is a Lionsgate release, while "Man on a Ledge" is from Summit.

"One for the Money," a PG-13 action comedy starring Katherine Heigl as a bail-enforcement agent, landed in third place with $11.8 million. That's slightly better than what many industry experts predicted, but still represents Heigl's worst opening since breaking out in 2007 s "Knocked Up." There's a noticeable downward trajectory to the star's recent box-office performance, with each of her last four films opening to a smaller amount than the movie before it. "One for the Money" drew an audience that was 75 percent female, and CinemaScore participants gave it a "B-" grade.

"Man on a Ledge" underwhelmed with $8.3 million -- enough for fifth place. The PG-13 thriller stars "Avatar's" Sam Worthington, who has yet to prove he can open a film without being surrounded by big-budget special effects. According to CinemaScore, only 17 percent of audiences listed Worthington as their reason for buying a ticket. If there's a bright spot for "Ledge," it's that the movie received a "B+" rating from CinemaScore audiences.

Among holdovers, "Underworld: Awakening" fell 51 percent for $12.5 million. That's actually the best second-weekend hold for any "Underworld" movie. After 10 days, "Awakening" has grossed an estimated $45.1 million -- more than any of its predecessors had in the same time frame. The World War II action film "Red Tails" dropped 45 percent for $10.4 million, bringing its two-week total to $33.8 million.

Also, "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" crossed $200 million on Friday. After 45 days in theaters, "Ghost Protocol" has earned $202.6 million and is neck and neck with "Mission: Impossible II," which collected $201.7 million in the same period. It'll be a nail-biter as "Ghost Protocol" attempts to pass "Mission: Impossible II's" final tally of $215.4 million to become the franchise's top earner.

In limited release, "Albert Nobbs," starring Oscar-nominated Glenn Close and Janet McTeer, debuted to a mediocre $770,000 from 245 theaters. A number of Best Picture nominees expanded this weekend to take advantage of their recent nominations. "The Descendants," which increased its theater count from 560 to 2,001, jumped 176 percent to pull in $6.6 million. Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" rose 143 percent for $2.3 million. And the front-runner "The Artist" earned $3.3 million, pushing its cumulative total to $16.7 million.

1. The Grey -- $20.0 mil

2. Underworld: Awakening -- $12.5 mil

3. One for the Money -- $11.8 mil

4. Red Tails -- $10.4 mil

5. Man on a Ledge -- $8.3 mil

See the full article at EW.com.

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David Arquette to guest on 'Cougar Town'

(EW.com) -- They've been separated for about a year-and-a-half , but Courteney Cox and David Arquette are proving once again they have no hard feelings.

EW confirms a report that Arquette is set to guest star on "Cougar Town's" season 3 finale as a concierge who crosses paths with Jules (Cox) and [spoiler alert] her bridal party.

As you might now, this season, (FINALLY) starting February 14, will see Cox's character getting engaged to Grayson (which, creator Bill Lawrence recently joked with EW, "pretty much makes it the worst [show] title in the history of television").

All of this, of course, comes at the end of a season riddled with as much fun as there is wine in the veins of the cul-de-sac crew. But what exactly is in store? In addition to what EW scooped up out at TCA, here's some more intel for you to drink up (some of which loyal readers of EW's Spoiler Room are already privy to):

- Travis (Dan Byrd) spends seven episodes in a helmet, following an accident that leaves him with a skull fracture. "Our loyal fans and the writers and staff of the show hated his hair last year, and I was trying to think of a suitable punishment," jokes creator Bill Lawrence. "He wears a big white foam helmet. But I think not only is it funny, but in a positive way, it teaches this young actor not to have ridiculous hair that people complain about." Adds Cox: "I don't know that his hair looks much better now."

- Laurie (Busy Philipps), who will later this season also get a new love interest, opens a cake business after she and Jules part ways. "That's funny in the way that unfolds," Lawrence teases.

- Bobby (Brian Van Holt) finds a girlfriend in "Scrubs'" Sarah Chalke. "Besides the fact that I think she's very talented and the episodes are funny, it was fun for Courteney and me and the others to have her around her because she's a friend," says Lawrence.

- Speaking of "Scrubs," Zach Braff will also appear, but, says Lawrence, "I can only smile because one of the agreements I always make with friends that do favors for me [is that] when they aren't doing big guest star parts, I [won't] use them to promote the show. But I am allowed to say that it is one little scene this year that will certainly melt the brain of different 'Scrubs' fans."

- Jules and Grayson go to marriage counseling, a storyline, in part, inspired by Cox, according to Lawrence. "When it comes to shrinks, one of the funniest things, between Courtney and me, is that she's a believer in counseling and therapy and stuff. And I've often heard her tell stories or jokingly say that I should go to therapy with her, so it makes me really laugh -- the idea that Jules not only believes in [therapy] for herself but for the people around her, both to help them and as a threat because they misbehave," he says.

- There's an appearance from The Worthless Peons, a.k.a. Ted's a cappella band from "Scrubs."

- Grayson's past comes back to bite him. Two words: Love child. "We pursued this story last year and for the first two years of Josh Hopkins' character, Grayson, wanting a kid and Courteney's character being up for anything. So as writers, we had to solve that, and I didn't think we wanted to do an adoption story because Courteney did that very well on 'Friends,'" he said.

In fact, Lawrence says, that's the situation they often run into.

"One of the worst things about working with Courteney Cox is that every time you come up with what you think is a big funny interpersonal story, someone in the writer's room -- because they all loved her on 'Friends' -- will be like 'Yeah, that's like when Chandler and Monica adopted a baby... ' And I'm like 'Shut up, I'm going to kill you.' I'm not as familiar with 'Friends' as I should be. I would have watched it constantly, but one of the people that created that show fired me early on, so I stopped watching it out of spite." "You think I don't have a filter?!" Cox responds with a laugh. "YOU don't have a filter."

See the full article at EW.com.

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911 tape: Demi Moore 'convulsing' after 'smoking something'

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A woman called 911 soliciting help for actress Demi Moore, whom she said was "convulsing" and "burning up" after "smoking something," according to a recording of the call obtained Friday from the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The star of "Ghost," "A Few Good Men," "G.I. Jane" and other films was rushed to a Southern California hospital late Monday night after the call.

The 911 call features an unidentified woman referring to Moore and saying, "She smoked something -- it's not marijuana, but it's similar to incense. And she seems to be having convulsions of some sort."

The same woman described Moore as "semi-conscious" and "barely" breathing. She claimed that, while Moore meant to smoke the unidentified substance, her reaction to it was "accidental."

Another woman then got on the phone to talk to the 911 operator, saying that Moore was "sort of shaking, convulsing (and) burning up."

"She's been having some issues with some other stuff," the woman added.

Earlier this week, a representative for Moore said after the incident that the actress -- who recently separated from her husband, Ashton Kutcher -- has been dealing with stress.

"Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health," the representative said in a statement. "She looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of her family and friends."

Moore had been slated to portray Gloria Steinem in the Linda Lovelace biopic, "Lovelace." But her representative said she is no longer working on the film.

The production said in a press release that "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker will take over that role.

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