Sean Lowe Blogs: Selma's 'Unwillingness to Compromise' Cost Her a Rose

TV Watch

The Bachelor

By Sean Lowe

02/06/2013 at 08:30 AM EST

From left: Selma Alameri, Sean Lowe and Tierra LiCausi

Kevin Foley/ABC(3)

Sean Lowe is the star of season 17 of The Bachelor, which airs Mondays on ABC. The hunky Dallas businessman and entrepreneur will be blogging about his romantic journey for PEOPLE.com.

I was anxious to get to Canada and forget all about my discouraging week filming The Bachelor in Montana. It started off so promising with Lindsay and then quickly unraveled with the drama surrounding Tierra. Canada was my chance for a clean slate, and I was eager to start the week off on a great first date with Catherine.

I had just recently started to develop real feelings for Catherine. Our relationship was slower to develop than some of the others, but being with her felt natural. There was never a shortage of laughs, and she seemed like someone who truly fit the "best friend" description I had been searching for.

Between driving the ice bus, sledding down hills and drinking hot cocoa, our glacier date was perfect and so much fun. We turned up the romance that evening in our ice castle. We were able to bounce between serious moments and goofy moments so well. The night ended with kisses in the falling snow and I didn't want to say goodnight. The date helped put me back in a positive mental state. I felt hopeful again.

Icy Group Date

I want a girl who isn't afraid to step outside of her comfort zone and will seize the moment. That's why the "polar bear plunge" was the perfect group date. Nobody wants to jump in freezing cold water – I know I didn't! – but I was looking to see who would step up and make a memory that will last forever. It was absolutely freezing that day. The air temperature was right at 32 degrees and the wind was blowing. The canoe ride alone made me want to head back to the hotel where it was warm.

Some of the women were willing to jump in the water, others were more reluctant – and then there was Selma. It didn't bother me that she didn't want to participate. It bothered me that she didn't even consider it. Later she told me that when she says no, nothing can change her mind. As if that's a good thing! I thought you were supposed to compromise and talk things through in a marriage. That reasoning was a large part of why I didn't give Selma a rose that week.

Anyway, we all took the plunge, and almost everyone was glad they did. Except Tierra, of course. She was whisked away by medics and I honestly thought she was experiencing hypothermia. In hindsight, I'm not so sure ... but she played the part well.

Later that evening I was convinced of something: I knew Sarah was not the one for me and I needed to send her home. I could have waited for the rose ceremony, but I wanted to explain myself. I didn't think it was fair to make her wait two more days when I'd already made up my mind. Sending Sarah home was one of the hardest things I did during the season. It hurts me that she left feeling the way she did. She's such a beautiful, bright woman, and some man is going to love her forever. I just knew that man wasn't me.

Date with Des

My final date of the week was with Des. She and I had chemistry from the beginning. I was anxious to spend the day with her because she started to lose confidence in our relationship in Montana. She's another woman I always have fun with. Between repelling down a mountainside, having a picnic in a meadow and climbing a tree, I couldn't have imagined a better date.

That evening we had dinner in the coolest teepee, tucked away in a forest of the Canadian Rockies. She opened up to me about her childhood and how growing up with very little money has made her who she is today. It made perfect sense to me after hearing her story why Des sometimes hides her true feelings behind a smile. She probably had to put on a brave face during tough times as a kid. I found myself wanting to be the man that supports her and makes her feel safe. Des and I finished the evening kissing and making finger puppets on the walls of our teepee. Once again, she was at the top of my list.

Tough Goodbyes

The rose ceremony was tough because I had to say goodbye to two great girls. I never imagined sending Selma home. After our one-on-one date in Joshua Tree, I thought she might be the one. But in the end, her unwillingness to compromise told me that she probably wasn't the girl for me.

And Daniella was equally as hard to say goodbye to, because she was so much fun to be with. We just ran out of time. Our relationship started too late and my feelings for the remaining women were a little bit stronger.

I can tell you, though, I felt so much better about the future after leaving Canada than I did leaving Montana. I felt rejuvenated and hopeful, and the women seemed to have their focus back on love.

Thanks for watching!
Sean

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

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Kids sever fingers during game of tug-of-war at school

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IHT Rendezvous: IHT Quick Read: Feb. 5

NEWS Gen. Moisés García Ochoa was blocked from becoming defense minister of Mexico after American officials expressed their concern that he had ties to drug traffickers. Ginger Thompson reports from New York, Randal C. Archibold from Mexico City, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.

On Monday, confirming what many historians and archaeologists had suspected, a team of experts at the University of Leicester concluded on the basis of DNA and other evidence that the skeletal remains were those of King Richard III, for centuries the most reviled of English monarchs. John F. Burns reports from Leicester, England.

In a major victory for feminists and the rule of law, a Beijing court has granted a woman a divorce on grounds of abuse and made history by issuing a three-month protection order against her ex-husband — a first in the nation’s capital, Beijing, according to lawyers and the Chinese media. Didi Kirsten Tatlow reports from Beijing.

The Thai government faces the quandary of what to do with all the creatures it has saved — a sort of Noah’s ark of endangered species. Thomas Fuller reports from Khao Pratubchang, Thailand.

A strike by garbage collectors in Seville, Spain, is entering its second week and threatening to turn into a health and safety issue in one of Spain’s most touristic cities. Raphael Minder reports from Seville, Spain.

Days ahead of a summit meeting where leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states are to wrestle again with a proposed seven-year budget, a spokesman for the bloc’s executive body was forced to defend the salaries of some officials. James Kanter reports from Brussels.

It was only a few years ago that some economists were arguing that Europe was “decoupling” from its long dependence on trade with the United States, but German carmakers proved otherwise. Jack Ewing reports.

FASHION This month Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter and Internet guru to the fashion world, will throw her might behind London Fashion Week. Suzy Menkes reports from London.

ARTS Song Dong gathered multitudes in Hong Kong and asked them to help complete his autobiographical “36 Calendars” project. Joyce Lau reports from Hong Kong.

SPORTS A 19-month investigation found that criminal groups had infiltrated European and international soccer with hundreds of people involved in match-fixing, global law enforcement officials said. Sam Borden reports.

It would be naïve to believe that soccer is beyond corrupting, or to doubt that the allegations by police investigators in the Netherlands on Monday are anything but the smallest ripples on an enormous global pond. Rob Hughes reports from London.

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Pink: 'Beautiful Has Never Been My Goal'

02/05/2013 at 09:00 AM EST

Pink is well aware of what people say about her appearance.

"A 'girl like me' is someone who doesn't rest on her looks, who has had people tell me from day one, 'You're never going to get magazine covers because you are not pretty enough.' I'm totally comfortable with that," the music star tells Redbook for its March issue, on newsstands Feb. 12.

"I know my strong points: I work hard, I have talent, I’m funny and I’m a good person."

The singer, 33, whose The Truth About Love is nominated for Best Pop Vocal album at this year's Grammys, elaborates on just how she feels about her looks in a very superficial industry.

"Beautiful has never been my goal," she says. "Joy is my goal – to feel healthy and strong and powerful and useful and engaged and intelligent and in love. It’s about joy. And there's such joy now."

Much of that joy comes from life with her husband, Carey Hart, and their daughter Willow, who turns 2 in June. One way that Pink feels beautiful? "When I'm sitting on a mat and my daughter runs to me with complete joy," she says.

The first night after delivering Willow, Pink adds, a nurse in the hospital spent time helping her adapt to life with a newborn. "We sat up and talked all night with my baby in my arms, and it was like my whole life made sense, for the first time, ever."

The 55th annual Grammys will air Sunday, Feb. 10, on CBS at 8p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m.CT)from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.

The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the start, just over half of the 187 gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had been bullied; by 2010 that dropped to 9 percent of gay and bisexual boys and 6 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls.

The researchers said the same results likely would be found in the United States.

In both countries, a "sea change" in cultural acceptance of gays and growing intolerance for bullying occurred during the study years, which partly explains the results, said study co-author Ian Rivers, a psychologist and professor of human development at Brunel University in London.

That includes a government mandate in England that schools work to prevent bullying, and changes in the United States permitting same-sex marriage in several states.

In 2010, syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched the "It Gets Better" video project to encourage bullied gay teens. It was prompted by widely publicized suicides of young gays, and includes videos from politicians and celebrities.

"Bullying tends to decline with age regardless of sexual orientation and gender," and the study confirms that, said co-author Joseph Robinson, a researcher and assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. "In absolute terms, this would suggest that yes, it gets better."

The study appears online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said the results mirror surveys by her anti-bullying advocacy group that show bullying is more common in U.S. middle schools than in high schools.

But the researchers said their results show the situation is more nuanced for young gay men.

In the first years of the study, gay boys and girls were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By the last year, bullying dropped overall and was at about the same level for lesbians and straight girls. But the difference between men got worse by ages 19 and 20, with gay young men almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

The mixed results for young gay men may reflect the fact that masculine tendencies in girls and women are more culturally acceptable than femininity in boys and men, Robinson said.

Savage, who was not involved in the study, agreed.

"A lot of the disgust that people feel when you bring up homosexuality ... centers around gay male sexuality," Savage said. "There's more of a comfort level" around gay women, he said.

Kendall Johnson, 21, a junior theater major at the University of Illinois, said he was bullied for being gay in high school, mostly when he brought boyfriends to school dances or football games.

"One year at prom, I had a guy tell us that we were disgusting and he didn't want to see us dancing anymore," Johnson said. A football player and the president of the drama club intervened on his behalf, he recalled.

Johnson hasn't been bullied in college, but he said that's partly because he hangs out with the theater crowd and avoids the fraternity scene. Still, he agreed, that it generally gets better for gays as they mature.

"As you grow older, you become more accepting of yourself," Johnson said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

It Gets Better: http://www.itgetsbetter.org

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Friends, investigators seek answers in killing of O.C. couple

They met in college, two highly regarded basketball players who seemed to have the same winning touch on the court and off.

After blazing through high school and college with her outside shot, Monica Quan became the assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton. Keith Lawrence, whose highlight shots are still there on his college website, became a campus officer at USC.

Now police in Irvine are scrambling for an explanation — and friends are looking for a way to express their shock — after Quan and Lawrence were found shot to death in their parked car on the top floor of a parking structure in an upscale, high-security condominium complex near UC Irvine.

The two had just announced their engagement and had recently moved into a condominium complex near Concordia University, where they played basketball and had gone on to earn their degrees.

Late Sunday, after a passerby noticed two people in the parked car, police said they found Lawrence slumped in the driver's side of his white Kia. Quan was next to him, also dead. The couple were shot multiple times, and authorities said they have tentatively ruled out the possibility of it being a murder-suicide or motivated by robbery. Nothing in the car, police said, seemed to be disturbed.

The couple's friends and family said they were shaken by the violent deaths of two people who seemed to have so much to offer.

Quan was a 2002 graduate of Walnut High School in the San Gabriel Valley, where she set school records for the most three-pointers in a season and a game. She played at Long Beach State and at Concordia, where she graduated in 2007. She went on to earn a master's degree before becoming the assistant coach at Fullerton.

Quan's father was the first Chinese American captain in the LAPD, and went on to become police chief at Cal Poly Pomona.

Quan was known for pulling students aside to offer encouragement, said Megan Richardson, a former player. Marcia Foster, the head basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton, described her assistant as a special person — "bright, passionate and empowering," she said.

Quan shared a love of basketball with her fiancee, Lawrence, whom she met at Concordia.

He too had been a standout basketball player, starting at Moorpark High, where he played point guard and shooting guard, said Tim Bednar, who coached Lawrence.

Bednar said that Lawrence, who came from a family of athletes, was talented, yet quiet and humble. After Lawrence graduated in 2003, he continued to participate in summer youth camps

When he returned for the camps, Bednar said, he was known as the "best basketball player that ever came through" the school.

"He was awesome with the kids," Bednar said. "They all wanted to be around Keith Lawrence."

Bednar heard from Lawrence when he needed a recommendation to become a police officer after graduating from the Ventura County Sheriff's Academy. In August, he was hired by USC's public safety department.

John Thomas, the executive director and chief of the department, said that Lawrence was an "honorable, compassionate and professional" member of the community.

"We are a better department and the USC campus community is a safer place as a result of his service," Thomas said in a statement.

On Monday night, Quan's friends gathered outside Walnut High School. One clutched a heart-shaped balloon, another carried a collage of her basketball playing days. Still another held a basketball.

Lawrence's friends and family put up a Facebook page. "RIP Keith Lawrence, you will be missed," it said simply. Within hours, 840 had left comments or indicated they "liked" it. Concordia put up a link to Lawrence's game-winning shot that carried the school into a post-season tournament.

Michelle Thibeault, 27, said in a Facebook message that she had known Quan for more than a decade. The two were on the same athletic teams and went to junior high and high school together. "Monica was loved by everyone," she said.

During a somber gathering at the Cal State Fullerton gymnasium Monday, Foster read a brief statement from Quan's brother Ryan.

"We just shared a moment of incredible joy on her recent engagement," he wrote, and then added: "A bright light was just put out."

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

kate.mather@latimes.com

lauren.williams@latimes.com

Times staff writer John Canalis contributed to this report.

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The Lede Blog: Frank Video of Mass Sexual Assault in Cairo Is Released by Anti-Harassment Activists

Egyptian activists released a brutally frank video on Friday, using images recorded during the mass sexual assault of a woman last week in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to urge volunteers to join their campaign against attacks during demonstrations.

The video, created by the filmmakers Aida Elkashef and Salam Yousry, uses disturbing overhead images of a crowd of men swarming around a woman being assaulted just out of view to explain the work of Op Anti-SH, one of two new initiatives to combat the sexual harassment and rape of female protesters.

A video produced by Egyptian activists uses images recorded during the mass sexual assault of a woman in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last week, on the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

While the video includes no graphic images and shows that volunteers did eventually manage to help the woman to a safe location — near the KFC in the square — the detailed description of the woman’s assault stunned some viewers.

After Egyptians expressed shock at another video clip — the images of police officers stripping and beating a male protester in Cairo that were broadcast live on Friday night — one activist, Sarah Naguib, argued that such brutality is depressingly routine two years after the Egyptian revolution began.

Everyone is so shocked by the video. This is what happens to women during mob sexual assault.

— Sarahngb (@Sarahngb) 1 Feb 13

Despite that reality, the Op Anti-SH activists vow to continue their struggle.

Our fight against mob sexual assaults is at the heart of the revolution, against a regime & a mentality that are killing us. We won´t stop!

— قوة ضد التحرش (@OpAntiSH) 2 Feb 13

In a video interview on the initiative published on Saturday, one of the women involved in Op Anti-SH, Engy Ghozlan, said: “This is our country, and we will not be silent about sexual harassment, not the type that happens to us every day, nor that of Tahrir. It will end, it cannot continue, because we believe Egypt deserves better.”

“In Egypt,” she added, “there is no revolution without the participation of women or without their security.”

A video report by a journalist, Simon Hanna, on Op Anti-SH for the news site Ahram Online.

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This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 4, 2013

An earlier version of this post incorrectly described a comment from the activist Sarah Naguib as a response to the video of sexual assault in Tahrir, rather than to video of police stripping and beating a male protester on Friday.

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Estonian pleads guilty in U.S. court to Internet advertising scam

NEW YORK (Reuters) – An Estonian man pleaded guilty on Friday in U.S. federal court for his role in a massive Internet scam that targeted well-known websites such as iTunes, Netflix and The Wall Street Journal.

The scheme infected at least four million computers in more than 100 countries, including 500,000 in the United States, with malicious software, or malware, according to the indictment. It included a large number of computers at data centers located in New York, federal prosecutors said.

Valeri Aleksejev, 32, was the first of six Estonians and one Russian indicted in 2011 to enter a plea. They were indicted on five charges each of wire and computer intrusion. One of the defendants, Vladimir Tsastsin, was also charged with 22 counts of money laundering.

In U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday, Aleksejev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. He faces up to 25 years in prison, deportation and the forfeiture of $ 7 million.

The scam had several components, including a “click-hijacking fraud” in which the malware re-routed searches by users on infected computers to sites designated by the defendants, prosecutors said in the indictment. Users of infected computers trying to access Apple Inc’s iTunes website or Netflix Inc‘s movie website, for example, instead ended up at websites of unaffiliated businesses, according to the indictment.

Another component of the scam replaced legitimate advertisements on websites operated by News Corp’s The Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com Inc and others with advertisements that triggered payments for the defendants, prosecutors said.

The defendants reaped at least $ 14 million from the fraud, prosecutors said. However, Aleksejev’s lawyer, William Stampur, said in court on Friday that Aleksejev has no assets.

Estonian police arrested Aleksejev and the other Estonians in November 2011. One other Estonian, Anton Ivanov, has been extradited, and the extradition of the other four is pending, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan. The Russian, Andrey Taame, remains at large, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Aleksejev told Magistrate Judge James Francis he assisted in blocking anti-virus software updates on infected computers. Francis asked Aleksejev if he knew what he was doing was illegal.

“I thought it was wrong,” Aleksejev said in broken English after a long pause. “But of course I didn’t know all the laws in the U.S.”

Francis set a tentative sentencing date of May 31 for Aleksejev.

The case is USA v. Tsastsin et al, U.S. District Court in Manhattan, No. 11-00878.

(Reporting by Bernard Vaughan; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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Beyoncé's Halftime Performance Was Divalicious & Hooftastic

By Chuck Arnold

02/04/2013 at 08:40 AM EST

As soon as she first opened her mouth to do an almost-a cappella bit of "Love on Top," one thing was clear: Beyoncé was singing live.

And that was the case for the rest of her dynamic, divalicious Super Bowl halftime show.

Indeed, by the time Beyoncé slowed it down for the last number, "Halo," you could hear her running out of breath a bit from all the energetic, intricate choreography.

To make it further evident that this was not a repeat of her lip-synching the national anthem at the inauguration two weeks ago, she also punctuated her performance with many exhortations of the crowd for obvious effect.

Beyoncé's set was also marked by her much-rumored reunion with Destiny's Child, when Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams launched onto the stage for a medley of "Bootylicious" and "Independent Women Part 1."

The three then kicked into Beyonce's smash "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," but Rowland and Williams could barely keep up with the hair-whipping B, who took over the song solo.

Another fave collaborator, husband Jay-Z, was missing when Beyoncé did "Crazy in Love," their 2003 No. 1 hit. But while it would have been great to see Blue Ivy's parents work the stage together, this was her moment and she hardly needed him.

The show was rounded out with a hooftastic rendition of "End of Time," during which the star appropriately seemed to be backed by a marching band, and a special effects-laden "Baby Boy" with multiple "Beyoncés."

Through it all, Beyoncé, looking like a dominatrix in her black leather getup, was a live singer in full command.

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