Obama picks Hagel for defense, Brennan for CIA

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday nominated former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, potentially setting up at least one Senate confirmation battle and establishing a tough tone to start his second term.

Obama moved ahead with the picks despite concerns raised by senators on both sides of the aisle about them. Hagel has made controversial comments about Israel and gays while Brennan faces questions over his views as a CIA official in the Bush administration on the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, widely considered torture, on terrorism suspects.

Dress for Success

This is a picture of my first dress design on Corel draw Graphic Suite X6.

Hmmm i see another business idea in the making........JCGold

More Celebrity Weight Loss

Celebrity Weight Loss

Exclusive: Tami Roman Flaunts Weight Loss In Bikini Photo!

The "Basketball Wives" star shared the new photo with toofab exclusively.

"My new years resolution is to NOT look at the scale! I'm more concerned with developing a healthier lifestyle and reshaping my body," Tami told toofab about her goals. "I plan to keep using NV Clinical because it contains a new weight loss complex that does just that...help you reshape, as long as you maintain a proper diet and stay active and they've got the clinical trials to prove it. So I'm all in!" 

Check out the before and after shots, below:

KIM KARDASHIAN Goes Bump in the Night

Showing the first itty bitty signs of a baby bump, newly pregnant media sensation Kim Kardashian rocked a sexy strapless form-fitting blue dress to dinner in Miami this weekend.

While this may be her first baby, Kim has never been shy about showing off her beautiful girls
.

ROCHAS OKOROCHA’S DAUGHTER MARRIES HIS COMMISSIONER

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Nigeria’s eastern state of Imo, has given out his first daughter, Uloma away in marriage to his commissioner for lands and survey, Uche Nwosu.

The marriage was consummated yesterday at the Holy Cross Catholic Church, in Owerri, capital of Imo state, following the traditional wedding at the bride’s family home in Ogboko, 3 January.

The first-son-in-law of Imo state hails from Umuokwe, Eziama-Obaire in Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State.

He was born on the 8 August, 1975. He had his early education at the Shehu Sanda Kerimi Primary School Maiduguri between 1982 and 1988 and finished his secondary education the Government Secondary School, Eziama-Obaire, Nkwerre, Imo State in 1994.

Uche then studied Urban and Regional Planning at the Imo State University and graduated in 2000.

Local News Update

• POPULAR ACTOR, IBRAHIM CHATTA WEDS SENATOR'S DAUGHTER

• MAYD/P SQUARE SAGA: DO ME, I DO YOU PLAYS ITSELF AGAIN

• Cocaine to Italy: Veteran Ex-Guitarist for King Sunny Ade, Fatoke Abiodun arrested for Drug Trafficking

• “We will never set our feet back in Uganda Again” – P-Square Vowed

• Monalisa Chinda unveils new beauty products line “M-CODE”

BETHENNY FRANKEL FILES FOR DIVORCE

Bethenny Frankel is taking her split from Jason Hoppy to the next level ... she's filed for divorce, TMZ has learned. 

According to court records in New York, Frankel began the divorce process by filing a summons for divorce -- the first step in the divorce process -- earlier this week.

West's sweet tooth gives Sudan gum arabic export success

(Reuters) - Counting piles of banknotes in front of his tiny warehouse, Sudanese trader Maaz Adam is arranging yet another purchase of a red gum which may find its way into a bottle of soda pop drunk a world away from this dusty town.

"I bought today 25 sacks for around 10,000 to 11,000 pounds (around $1,500 at the black market rate)," he says, putting the banknotes in the suitcase of another trader who is preparing to seek more supplies of gum arabic from village farmers.

Business is booming in the western Sudanese town of En Nahud thanks to rising global demand for gum arabic, a natural and edible gum taken from acacia trees growing in the area.

New Year's Fashion oops

Nicki Minaj looked like a fashion disaster New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. She looked like a New Jersey beautician instead of a 'HIP' Hop artist (December 31, 2012).

Brandy resembled a happy origami in this unflattering pattern white dress on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2012).

Tasmania fires rage on as police search burned homes

(Reuters) - Australian police and defense forces searched burned-out vehicles and homes in the towns worst hit by wildfires on the island of Tasmania, where more than 40 fires still raged on Sunday.

The blazes began on Thursday on the state's thinly populated southeastern coast, amid a fierce heatwave and strong winds.

The heat eased over the weekend, slowing the fires, but late on Sunday firefighters issued an emergency warning for residents in Taranna, 47 km (29 miles) east of the state capital Hobart, where a fire burning for more than three days threatened residents.

Obama to name former Senator Hagel for defense secretary: Democratic aide

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will nominate former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be his defense secretary, and an announcement could come on Monday, a congressional Democratic aide said on Sunday.

The choice will likely set up a confirmation battle in the Senate over whether the former Nebraska senator strongly supports key U.S. allyIsrael. Hagel also has been criticized for comments he made questioning the effectiveness of sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program.

This fight would come after the Obama administration backed down from a tough Senate confirmation battle over Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who was Obama's first pick to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Rice withdrew her name from consideration after drawing heavy fire from Republicans for remarks she made in the aftermath of a September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

THOMAS GIBSON Arrested for DUI

Thomas Gibson -- best known for his roles on "Criminal Minds" and "Dharma & Greg" -- was arrested early this morning for suspicion of DUI ... TMZ has learned. 

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Gibson was driving in downtown Los Angeles at around 1:00 AM when he attempted to drive through a part of down that had been sectioned off for a half marathon. The race had already gone through that part of town (it started at 9:00 PM) but the area was still blocked off.

We're told Gibson was stopped and him he couldn't drive through ... but he proceeded to anyway.

Four dead in townhouse shooting in Aurora, Colorado

(Reuters) - A gunman who barricaded himself inside a townhouse after killing three people in the home was shot to death by police on Saturday in Aurora, Colorado, the same Denver suburb where 12 people were slain in a movie house massacre last July, police said.

The gunman and his three victims, as well as a woman who fled safely from the home at the outset of the violence and alerted authorities, were all believed to be related to one another, police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson said.

But the motive for the killings was not immediately understood. "We're trying to find out what set this guy off," she told Reuters.