Bolshoi's artistic director attacked with acid

MOSCOW (AP) — The artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater's ballet troupe was splashed with acid and may lose his eyesight in an attack that the Bolshoi said appeared to be linked to struggles for influence at one of the world's most famous ballet companies.

Sergei Filin, a 42-year-old former ballet star, was approached late Thursday night by an unknown man who threw the acid at his face as he got out of his car outside his home in central Moscow, city police spokesman Arkady Bashirov said. Theater officials said the man was masked.

The theater's general director, Anatoly Iksanov, said he believed the attack was linked to Filin's work.

"He is a man of principle and never compromised," Iksanov said on Channel One state television. "If he believed that this or that dancer was not ready or was unable to perform this or that part, he would turn them down."

Filin knew that someone was trying to threaten him or undermine his position at the theater, Iksanov said. He said Filin's car tires had been slashed earlier this week and he was targeted in early January by hackers who posted his professional correspondence online.

"He said 'I have a feeling that I am on the front lines,'" Iksanov quoted Filin as telling him Thursday before the attack.

Filin, who danced for the Bolshoi from 1989 until 2007, was appointed artistic director of the Bolshoi's ballet company in March 2011. Before returning to the Bolshoi, he served as artistic director at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater, Moscow's second ballet company.

Bolshoi spokeswoman Katerina Novikova, who visited Filin in the hospital Thursday night, told The Associated Press that his condition is stable but he could lose his sight.

"We never imagined that a war for roles — not for real estate or for oil — could reach this level of crime," Novikova said on Channel One.

Several stars at the Bolshoi including Nikolai Tsiskaridze, one of its most celebrated dancers, have complained about what they call Filin's unfair treatment of dancers at the Bolshoi.

Alexei Ratmansky, who served as Bolshoi artistic director from 2004 until 2008, described an atmosphere of intrigue at the theater.

"What happened with Sergei Filin was not accidental," Ratmansky, now artist in residence at the American Ballet Theater, posted on his Facebook page. "The Bolshoi has many ills. It's a disgusting cesspool, of those developing friendships with the artists, the speculators and scalpers, the half-crazy fans, ready to bite the throats of the rivals of their favorites, the cynical hackers, the lies in the press and the scandalous interviews of staff.

"This is all one snowball caused by the lack of any ethics at the theater."

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The Neediest Cases: Medical Bills Crush Brooklyn Man’s Hope of Retiring

Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

John Concepcion and his wife, Maria, in their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They are awaiting even more medical bills.

Retirement was just about a year away, or so John Concepcion thought, when a sudden health crisis put his plans in doubt.

For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families and the elderly in New York. To celebrate the 101st campaign, an article will appear daily through Jan. 25. Each profile will illustrate the difference that even a modest amount of money can make in easing the struggles of the poor.

Last year donors contributed $7,003,854, which was distributed to those in need through seven New York charities.

2012-13 Campaign

Previously recorded:

$6,865,501

Recorded Wed.:

16,711

*Total:

$6,882,212

Last year to date:

$6,118,740

*Includes $1,511,814 contributed to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

“I get paralyzed, I can’t breathe,” he said of the muscle spasms he now has regularly. “It feels like something’s going to bust out of me.”

Severe abdominal pain is not the only, or even the worst, reminder of the major surgery Mr. Concepcion, 62, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, underwent in June. He and his wife of 36 years, Maria, are now faced with medical bills that are so high, Ms. Concepcion said she felt faint when she saw them.

Mr. Concepcion, who is superintendent of the apartment building where he lives, began having back pain last January that doctors first believed was the result of gallstones. In March, an endoscopy showed that tumors had grown throughout his digestive system. The tumors were not malignant, but an operation was required to remove them, and surgeons had to essentially reroute Mr. Concepcion’s entire digestive tract. They removed his gall bladder, as well as parts of his pancreas, bile ducts, intestines and stomach, he said.

The operation was a success, but then came the bills.

“I told my friend: are you aware that if you have a major operation, you’re going to lose your house?” Ms. Concepcion said.

The couple has since received doctors’ bills of more than $250,000, which does not include the cost of his seven-day stay at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan. Mr. Concepcion has worked in the apartment building since 1993 and has been insured through his union.

The couple are in an anxious holding pattern as they wait to find out just what, depending on their policy’s limits, will be covered. Even with financial assistance from Beth Israel, which approved a 70 percent discount for the Concepcions on the hospital charges, the couple has no idea how the doctors’ and surgical fees will be covered.

“My son said, boy he saved your life, Dad, but look at the bill he sent to you,” Ms.  Concepcion said in reference to the surgeon’s statements. “You’ll be dead before you pay it off.”

When the Concepcions first acquired their insurance, they were in good health, but now both have serious medical issues — Ms. Concepcion, 54, has emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Mr. Concepcion has diabetes. They now spend close to $800 a month on prescriptions.

Mr. Concepcion, the family’s primary wage earner, makes $866 a week at his job. The couple had planned for Mr. Concepcion to retire sometime this year, begin collecting a pension and, after getting their finances in order, leave the superintendent’s apartment, as required by the landlord, and try to find a new home. “That’s all out of the question now,” Ms. Concepcion said. Mr. Concepcion said he now planned to continue working indefinitely.

Ms. Concepcion has organized every bill and medical statement into bulging folders, and said she had spent hours on the phone trying to negotiate with providers. She is still awaiting the rest of the bills.

On one of those bills, Ms. Concepcion said, she spotted a telephone number for people seeking help with medical costs. The number was for Community Health Advocates, a health insurance consumer assistance program and a unit of Community Service Society, one of the organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. The society drew $2,120 from the fund so the Concepcions could pay some of their medical bills, and the health advocates helped them obtain the discount from the hospital.

Neither one knows what the next step will be, however, and the stress has been eating at them.

“How do we get out of this?” Mr. Concepcion asked. “There is no way out. Here I am trying to save to retire. They’re going to put me in the street.”

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Herbalife says fourth-quarter profit will exceed expectations

Herbalife Ltd. forecast that fourth-quarter earnings will come in higher than expected but said expenses could rise as the nutritional supplement distributor ramps up its fight with activist hedge-fund manager William Ackman.

The Los Angeles company said Thursday it also plans to buy back shares, a sign that management believes the stock is undervalued. It's a much-needed boost for a company that's been mired in a battle with an investor who says the company is on its way downhill.

"Herbalife is a financially strong and successful company, having created significant opportunities for distributors and positively impact the lives and health of our consumers over our history," company Chief Executive Michael Johnson said in a statement.

Herbalife said it expected fourth-quarter earnings of $1.02 to $1.05 a share, higher than Wall Street's expectation of $1.01 a share. Sales for the fourth quarter are expected to rise 19.9%, the company said, and its taxes will be lower than projected. The company plans to begin repurchasing shares Tuesday.

The company also said it expected expenses to be temporarily higher "because of recent events."

Herbalife has been battling allegations by Ackman, who said in a December presentation that the company is a glorified pyramid scheme. He's sold short about 20 million shares of the stock, expecting the company to tank. Herbalife is also reportedly being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A week ago in Manhattan, Johnson and other Herbalife executives rebutted Ackman's points one by one, proving, they said, that Herbalife has a stable business model and is not scamming anyone. Shares of the company, which had been slumping, began rising again after Johnson's presentation.

Ackman foe Carl Icahn stepped into the controversy this week, taking a stake in Herbalife, according to reports. Icahn could not be reached for comment.

Investors showed mixed reaction to Herbalife's preliminary earnings Thursday. The stock initially shot up in morning trading but leveled off in the afternoon and closed down $1.54, or 3.4%, at $43.52.

Herbalife will release its final fourth quarter results Feb. 19.

Analysts such as Timothy Ramey, of D.A. Davidson & Co., say they're optimistic about the company's future. Ramey also adjusted his expectations of the company's earnings.

In 2013, earnings will be $4.85 a share, up from his previous estimate of $4.55, he said in a note. He also adjusted his forecast for 2012 earnings to $4.05 a share from $4.03.

Ramey said he expects Herbalife stock to thrive once it emerges from the current controversy, which he expects will happen in 2013. In five years, the stock could hit $180, he said.

"There has never been a period of greater scrutiny for Herbalife," he wrote.

alana.semuels@latimes.com

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European regulators ground the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

European regulators ordered all Boeing 787 Dreamliners grounded Thursday, following the lead of U.S. aviation safety officials. (David McNew / Getty Images / January 17, 2013)

By Henry Chu

January 17, 2013, 2:27 a.m.

LONDON – European air-safety officials followed their American counterparts’ lead Thursday by grounding Boeing 787 Dreamliner jumbo jets after a series of worrisome incidents aboard the new aircraft.

The European Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA, announced that it was adopting the Federal Aviation Administration’s directive, issued Wednesday, ordering all 787s taken out of service. Jeremie Teahan, a spokesman for the EASA, said the action was taken “to ensure the continuing airworthiness of the European fleet.”

As a practical matter, the decision by European regulators will affect only two 787s being used by the Polish airline LOT. But the move increases pressure on Boeing, which insists that its new passenger jet is safe but has promised to work with the FAA to resolve any concerns.

Doubts about the 787’s safety grew after a fire aboard a plane parked at Boston’s airport and an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways flight whose crew reported a strange smell and noticed indications of a problem with a lithium-ion battery.

The FAA’s directive was issued less than a week after U.S. transport officials deemed the 787 safe to fly. The agency said that Boeing now had to “address a potential battery fire risk in the 787.”

Teahan said the EASA would “carefully monitor the situation and is prepared to provide any support the FAA may require in their investigation.”

ALSO:

London copter crash kills 2

FAA grounds entire fleet of Boeing 787s

Germany to bring home its gold by 2020

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Sniping, then singing as 'American Idol' returns

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There was no hair-pulling between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on the season debut of "American Idol," although some viewers may have been reduced to it.

The pop divas exchanged insults worthy of middle schoolers, fellow freshman judge Keith Urban looked trapped between them, and there was a whiff of make-believe Wednesday about the show's touted feud.

"We can have accessories. I didn't know that was allowed. That's all I'm gonna say," Carey commented archly about Minaj's flashy, drum major-style hat.

The rapper took offense.

"Why'd you have to reference my hat?" Minaj said, with Carey then accusing Minaj of rudeness to her during an earlier elevator meeting.

Mercifully, a contestant arrived to break up the bickering and remind us that we tuned in to a talent show, not an episode of "Real Housewives of American Idol."

When the action resumed, Minaj demonstrated a magnificent talent for eye-rolling and upped the ante with a muttered insult.

"If she called me something that begins with a 'b' and ends with an 'itch,' I rebuke it," Carey declared.

Whether the clash is real or not, Minaj's scrappiness came off as far more entertaining than Carey's demure, even queenly manner. Carey is getting a truly royal paycheck: $18 million, to Minaj's $12 million.

The award for least self-absorbed judge goes to genial country singer Urban.

The two-hour episode opened by showcasing last year's winner, Phillip Phillips, and those alumni with established careers, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson.

Then host Ryan Seacrest brought "American Idol" back down to earth and to its new judges.

"Our legacy continues as a new era begins," he said, reciting the panelists' resumes, including record sales, Grammys won and, in Carey's case, vocal range (five octaves, "the definition of diva," Seacrest said).

Cue the parade of good, bad and touching performances and biographies, with contestants facing serious challenges once again an "Idol" hallmark.

The judges, including veteran Randy Jackson, hardened their hearts and rejected a young man who had lost a leg to cancer but melted for a teenage girl whose family fosters children with medical concerns and another singer with partial hearing loss.

Forty-one people survived the New York auditions to sing another day in the Hollywood rounds, with the action moving to Chicago on Thursday's episode.

"I feel like we jell well in a weird, crazy way," Minaj declared optimistically of the panel near the episode's conclusion.

Fox certainly hopes so. Last season, "Idol" lost its status as the most-watched TV program for the first time since 2003, eclipsed by NBC's "Sunday Night Football," and pegged its lowest-rated season since it debuted in summer 2002.

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Online:

http://www.fox.com

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The New Old Age Blog: Officials Say Checks Won't Be in the Mail

The jig is up.

Two years ago, the Treasury Department initiated its Go Direct campaign to persuade people still receiving paper checks for their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, S.S.I. and other federal benefits to switch to direct deposit.

“At that point, we were issuing approximately 11 million checks each month,” or about 15 percent of the total, Walt Henderson, director of the campaign, told me.

After putting notices in every monthly check envelope, circulating public service announcements and putting the word out through banks, senior centers, the Red Cross, AARP and other organizations, the Treasury Department has since shrunk that number to five million monthly checks.

That means 93 percent of those getting federal benefits are using direct deposit or, if they prefer or lack a bank account, a Direct Express debit card that gets refilled each month and can be used anywhere that accepts MasterCard.

“So people have been getting the word and making the switch,” Mr. Henderson said. Now, federal officials are pushing the last holdouts to convert to direct deposit by March 1.

Although officials say the change is not optional, the jig isn’t entirely up. If you or your older relative does not respond to their pleading, “we’re not going to interrupt their payments,” Mr. Henderson said. But the department will start sending letters urging people to switch.

The major motive is financial: shifting the last paper checks to direct deposit or a debit card (only 2 percent of recipients go that route) will save $1 billion over the next decade, the department estimates.

But safety enters the picture, too. One reason some beneficiaries resist direct deposit, Mr. Henderson said, is that they fear their electronic deposits can be hacked or diverted. Having grown up in a predigital age, perhaps they feel safer with a check in their hands.

But they probably aren’t. In 2011, the Treasury Department received 440,000 reports of lost or stolen benefits checks. With direct deposit, “there’s no check lingering unattended in a mailbox,” Mr. Henderson noted.

The greater reason for sticking with paper is probably simple inertia. “It’s human nature to procrastinate,” he said.

But unless you or your relatives want a series of letters from the Treasury Department, it is probably time for the last fence-sitters to get with the program.

They don’t need to use a computer. People can switch to direct deposit, or get the debit card, at their banks or the local Social Security office. More simply, they can call a toll-free number, (800) 333-1795, and have agents walk them through the change. Or they can sign up online at www.GoDirect.org.

They will need:

1. Their Social Security number.
2. The 12-digit federal benefit number found on their checks.
3. The amount of the most recent check.
4. And, for direct deposit, a bank or credit union routing number, usually found on the front of a check. They can have direct deposit to a savings account, too.

A caution for New Old Age readers: If you think your relative has not switched because he or she is cognitively impaired and can no longer handle his finances, you can be designated a representative payee and receive monthly Social Security or S.S.I. payments on your relative’s behalf. This generally requires a visit to your local Social Security office, documentation in hand.

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Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”

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U.S. finalizes rules for financial firms to avoid foreclosures

In a major effort to heal the $10-trillion U.S. mortgage market, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized rules designed to ensure financial firms offer every available option to keep delinquent borrowers in their homes.

The regulations, to be announced Thursday, address widespread complaints that loan servicers — the companies that collect mortgage payments and repossess homes — were woefully unprepared to help borrowers during the tsunami of foreclosures after the housing bust.

They are designed to complement previous settlements by major banks over allegations of widespread servicing and foreclosure abuses. But unlike earlier settlements, they will apply to all large mortgage servicers, not just banks, in all states.

Still, the rules drew immediate criticism from a prominent consumer group, which said they don't do enough to force servicers to consider easing the terms of mortgages and expressed fears that the rules might preempt stronger existing provisions.

"While the establishment of industrywide standards is important, the failure to require meaningful loan modification protections is a retreat from current safeguards under the soon-to-expire [Obama administration] loan modification program," said Alys Cohen, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

The consumer bureau was created when Congress passed the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial reform act in reaction to the mortgage meltdown and the global economic crisis that ensued. The law also required lenders to ensure that they only make loans that borrowers can reasonably be expected to repay.

Last week, the bureau issued major regulations providing a "safe harbor" from lawsuits under that new requirement for lenders who make certain types of presumably sound home loans. A key requirement is that total debt payments for borrowers — including principal, interest, taxes and insurance on home loans — be no more than 43% of gross income.

The rules to be released Thursday, which take effect in a year, bar lenders from pursuing foreclosure proceedings against borrowers while applications for loan modifications are pending — the much-criticized practice of "dual tracking."

The consumer bureau said banks also must provide "direct, easy, ongoing access" to employees who are required to alert borrowers to missing information, provide status reports on modification requests and ensure documents don't get lost.

Banks also are required to inform borrowers who miss two monthly payments about options to avoid foreclosure and to wait until loans go 120 days delinquent before beginning a foreclosure — a provision that would preempt a 90-day requirement under California law.

Richard Cordray, the consumer bureau's director, said distressed borrowers had not gotten the help and support they deserved, such as "timely and accurate information about their options for saving their homes."

"Servicers failed to answer phone calls, routinely lost paperwork and mishandled accounts," Cordray said in remarks to be delivered at an industry conference Thursday.

"Communication and coordination were poor, leading many to think they were on their way to a solution, only to find that their homes had been foreclosed on and sold," he said. "At times, people arrived home to find they had been unexpectedly locked out."

The new rules don't apply to most small banks and credit unions. Bureau officials said they have had few complaints about these small institutions, which are more likely to keep loans on their books, rather than sell them, and generally devote more attention to individual customers.

Servicers often are collecting payments on behalf of loan owners, who may be the banks themselves but more often are trusts created on behalf of mortgage investors. The investors have mandated a wide range of relief programs for troubled borrowers in addition to government-sponsored programs such as the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program.

In the past, servicers would sometimes not inform troubled borrowers about all the options, instead steering them into foreclosure or programs that provided the servicers with greater financial rewards, bureau officials said.

The servicers are now supposed to clearly explain all alternatives to borrowers so they can pick the best one. The new rules also establish clearer opportunities for borrowers to appeal servicers' denials of loan modifications.

In addition to worries that the bureau has not cracked down hard enough on servicers, consumer advocates expressed concern that the new rules will not take effect for a year.

"While we understand that servicers need time to implement complex procedures, we're still in the middle of a foreclosure crisis," Cohen said. "Many people will unnecessarily lose their homes if we wait a year."

scott.reckard@latimes.com

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Confession could be bad for Lance Armstrong's bank account

Now that Lance Armstrong has finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his storied athletic career, the shamed cyclist could be pulled into courtrooms around the globe for legal battles with people seeking millions of dollars.

That's one of the many downsides to the confession of a once-adored athlete who for more than a decade not only denied doping but aggressively counterattacked his accusers.

But a significant question remains about whether there is an upside to his coming clean in an interview with Oprah Winfrey scheduled to air later this week.

The confession potentially represents a first step in trying to rebuild his tarnished public image. It might also help in persuading sports officials to reduce his lifetime ban so that the 41-year-old might someday compete in sanctioned triathlons and marathons.

Armstrong faces an uphill climb.

"For him to chart a course to redemption is really complicated and would take a lot of time," said Adam Hanft, a branding and crisis communications strategist. "It's not going to be reversed with a TV appearance."

In his 21/2-hour interview at a downtown Austin, Texas, hotel, Armstrong was forthcoming about the doping allegations that dogged him during a career that included seven Tour de France victories, Winfrey told "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday.

"I don't think 'emotional' begins to describe the intensity or the difficulty he experienced in talking about some of these things," she said, declining to provide further details.

Armstrong has come under increasing pressure in the months since the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency enforced the ban and issued a 1,000-plus-page report that accused him of leading "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

With 11 former teammates providing depositions, he was stripped of his Tour championships and lost several big-money sponsors, including Nike, that had made him one of the sporting world's richest endorsers.

Now, Armstrong stands to lose a large chunk of his personal wealth, reported at about $100 million.

His most pressing concern appears to be a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping. The suit accuses Armstrong of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, which sponsored his racing team for a number of years.

Armstrong's attorneys have met with government officials to discuss, among other things, how much the Postal Service was actually damaged by his misconduct, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

During those talks, settlement figures were discussed, the person said.

A lengthy federal investigation into Armstrong and his team was dropped early last year without charges being brought. It remains to be seen whether the criminal statute of limitations has elapsed, but the Department of Justice could join in the civil suit.

The False Claims Act, the basis of whistle-blower suits, carries heavy penalties, including triple damages and fines, said Mike Morse, a Philadelphia-based lawyer who specializes in such cases.

"Violations of the federal False Claims Act can expose him to some really significant monetary damages," Morse said. "There could also be a whole host of private lawsuits."

Reacting to early allegations of Armstrong's doping, a Dallas-based promotional company declined to pay him a $5-million bonus for winning the 2004 Tour de France. He sued and received a $7.5-million settlement.

Now SCA Promotions plans to sue Armstrong to get its money back. "We do expect to file soon," said Jeffrey Dorough, the company's in-house counsel. "We don't know what impact the interview will have until we see it."

The government of South Australia state has said it will seek to recoup several million dollars in appearance fees paid to Armstrong for competing in the Tour Down Under from 2009 through 2011.

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“Banshee” head Greg Yaitanes: secrets galore, but hold the olives

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Like many TV creators, Greg Yaitanes isn’t crazy about the alternate identities people adopt online – and the Emmy-winning former “House” executive producer gets to explore anonymity and becoming someone else in the new Cinemax series “Banshee.”

“I’ve been harassed by ‘House’ Twitter fans for years now. I’m always kind of surprised at people’s level of saying something that they would never say to my face – that they would never say to another human being’s face,” he said.

Not that Yaitanes has a problem with social media – he was an early investor in Twitter, and used a litany of apps and new technology to make his pulpy drama, executive produced by Alan Ball, as scrappy as a tech startup.

With “Banshee,” Yaitanes gets to explore “the best of the wish fulfillment that people have of reinventing themselves or being able to disappear. In a way, all the characters are reinventing themselves.”

Those characters include a thief who steals the identity of the sheriff in Banshee, Pa., his cat burglar ex-girlfriend, who has eked out a new life as a homemaker, and the villain, a man who becomes a criminal mastermind after he is ousted from his Amish community. Then there’s the identity thief – Job – who keeps changing which gender he appears to be.

We talked with Yaitanes about how he made his show look expensive, how to describe Job, and the importance of counting olives.

The Wrap: The show looks expensive – starting with a sequence in New York in which a bus falls over and skids through an intersection. Can you talk about how you kept costs down?

Yaitanes: It’s a way of thinking from working with startups. They’re often one, two, three man operations when they first operate. Twitter was an example of that. You have to look at what is the simplest, most effective way to do this, to deliver to the consumer. We had a very specific box that “Banshee” could be made in, in terms of our budget.

The first thing that came to mind was what I call the “one olive.” The one olive is a story that originates with American Airlines back in the ’80s, when American Airlines took one olive out of their inflight meal – and saved $ 40,000. It’s all about challenging and making everybody their own producer and their own CEO and asking, ‘What is that one thing I can take out that either saves money or makes us that more efficient over the course of 100 days?’

Maybe $ 1,000 isn’t particularly exciting, but when you do it across a season, that’s an official day of shooting. That’s seven more minutes of content that we can get done that day.

We just looked for all these small ways that I feel put nearly an episode’s worth of saving back into the show, so we could make our show more robust and make the action scenes that much bigger and get the actor that we really want.

These are things that the audience gets to enjoy.

What are some of the cost-saving measures?

We also tried to find our olives by using the apps and technology that’s right in front of us, like Skype and Facetime and iChat so we don’t have to fly everybody around? I think probably 75 percent of the crew including directors were hired through some form of video conferencing. You saw the pilot, with the bus crash. We scouted all of that via Google Streetview. We could find blocks and circle around and look up and down and did all the legwork until we absolutely had to go to New York. So we saved on those flights, those hotels, those per diems.

You’ve invested in so many social media sites. Is there something that want to say on the show about the changing nature of identity when we can all take on different personalities online? Your main character, Lucas Hood (Antony Starr) actually takes on another person’s life.

Lucas does the most obvious adoption. A lot of people’s secrets and new identities and new lives are happening before the series starts, which is why we’ve shot an entire online series with our cast.

One of those characters, Job, is constantly in flux – even in terms of whether he appears male or female. Is he transgendered?

He’s straddling this line of androgyny. We specifically don’t want to answer questions about Job’s sexuality… he is a chameleon. He has something that he can tap into depending on his situation. By the time you get to the finale you won’t believe where Job goes.

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Chicago rapper facing jail for parole violation

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago rapper Chief Keef has been taken into custody after a juvenile court judge decided a video of him firing a semiautomatic rifle at a New York gun range was a violation of probation.

The artist, real name Keith Cozart, was sentenced last year to 18 months' probation after his conviction on aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charges for pointing a gun at police officers.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports (http://bit.ly/VJ1YUt) Judge Carl Anthony Walker said the video showed a disregard for the court's authority. Walker scheduled a Thursday sentencing hearing for the 17-year-old Cozart.

Defense attorney Dennis Berkson told Walker his client never took the gun outside of the range and the target practice was supervised.

Chief Keef's first album, "Finally Rich," was released last year to mixed reviews.

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Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index

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