The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the renowned breast-cancer charity, faced an escalating backlash Thursday over its decision to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood. Some of Komen’s local affiliates are openly upset, and at least one top official has quit, reportedly in protest.

click image to enlarge

Nancy Brinker, Komen’s founder and CEO

Meanwhile, Komen has been deluged with negative emails and Facebook postings, accusing it of knuckling under to pressure from anti-abortion groups, since The Associated Press reported Tuesday that it was halting grants that Planned Parenthood affiliates used for breast exams and related services. The grants totaled $680,000 last year.

Planned Parenthood has been heartened by an outpouring of support in response to the cutoff. In addition to $400,000 in smaller donations from 6,000 people, it is receiving $250,000 from a family foundation in Dallas and a $250,000 pledge announced Thursday by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to match future donations.

In Washington, 26 U.S. senators — all Democrats except for independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — signed a letter calling on Komen to reconsider its decision.

“It would be tragic if any woman — let alone thousands of women — lost access to these potentially lifesaving screenings because of a politically motivated attack,” the senators wrote.

Komen’s top leaders, in their first news conference since the controversy erupted, denied Planned Parenthood’s assertion that the decision was driven by pressure from anti-abortion groups.

“We don’t base our decisions on whether one side or the other will be pleased,” said Komen’s founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker.

Komen has said the decision stemmed from newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations under investigation — affecting Planned Parenthood because of an inquiry by a Republican congressman acting with encouragement from anti-abortion activists.

Brinker said Thursday that there were additional factors, notably changes in the types of breast-health service providers it wanted to support. However, she said grants would continue this year to three of the 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates — in Denver, California’s Orange County, and Waco, Texas — because they served clientele with few other breast-screening options.

A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen’s headquarters in Dallas gave a different account, saying the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria’s impact on Planned Parenthood, and its status as the focus of government investigations, were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Karen Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.

Brinker, in an interview with MSNBC, said Handel didn’t have a significant role in the policy change.

The source also said that Mollie Williams, who had been Komen’s director of community health programs, had resigned in protest over the grant cutoff.

Williams, in an email, said she could not comment on her departure for reasons of professional confidentiality, but she was clear about her views.

“I have dedicated my career to fighting for the rights of the marginalized and underserved,” she wrote. “And I believe it would be a mistake for any organization to bow to political pressure and compromise its mission.”

Williams said she was saddened by the rift because she admired both Komen and Planned Parenthood.

Ellen

By Us Weekly

Kristen Bell spent a good portion of her 31st birthday in tears.

The reason? The “House of Lies” actress’ fiance, Dax Shepard, presented her with the ultimate surprise: playtime with her favorite animal.

PHOTOS: Celebs and their pets

“The day of my birthday, we’re sitting in the living room and I hear a knock at the door. He says, ‘Your present is here. Why don’t you grab the dogs and go in the back room?’” Bell tells Ellen DeGeneres on her eponymous talk show (airing Tuesday). “I was immediately overcome and I thought, ‘There is a sloth near! There is a sloth here! It’s close! It’s gonna happen!’”

VIDEO: Kristen Bell flirts with fiance Dax Shepard

Bell explains: “I didn’t know how to process that because my entire life had been waiting for this moment where I would get to interact — I’m serious! — with a sloth.”

The “Veronica Mars” alum assured DeGeneres, 54, that she often gets hysterical when excited. “If I’m not between a three and a seven on the emotional scale, I’m crying,” Bell said.

PHOTOS: Lavish Hollywood birthday parties

What happened when Shepard, 37, presented his bride-to-be with the sloth named Melon?

“I was sitting on my bed, knowing that my sloth is here, and I start to have a full-fledged panic attack. I don’t know how to compete with all this emotion so I just kind of crawl up on the bed and I’m crying so hard,” Bell says. “Dax knocks on the door and he has a video camera and he’s like, ‘Surprise! I want you to come out into the … are you alright?!’ And he sees me basically fetal on the bed.”

PHOTOS: Celebrity animal charities

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Ron Palillo in a 1977 “Welcome Back, Kotter” scene.

By TODAY.com news services

Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein on 1970s hit “Welcome Back, Kotter,” has died at 60.

A spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., told the Star-Ledger newspaper that Hegyes, of Metuchen, arrived at the hospital in the morning in full cardiac arrest and died.

Hegyes’ Epstein was one of the Sweathogs, remedial wisecracking students taught by Gabe Kotter (Gabe Kaplan). His character, a Puerto Rican Jew, was known for constantly attempting to pass off notes he would write to try and get out of tests or class, always signing the notes “Epstein’s Mother.”

Hegyes, already 24 when he started in “Kotter” in 1975, was just six years younger than Kaplan. Hegyes also worked as a director on the popular show, which ran from 1975-1979 and helped launch co-star John Travolta as a major star. The show also produced numerous catchphrases, including “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”

Hegyes also appeared on numerous TV shows, including “The Love Boat,” “Chico and the Man” and “NewsRadio,” and movies including “Bob Roberts” and “Honeymoon Hotel.” He also starred in an award-winning Volkswagen Passat commercial dubbed “The Chase.”

Do you remember Hegyes on “Kotter,” or in his other roles? Tell us on Facebook.

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The Associated Press

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy — Divers searched the submerged part of a luxury cruise liner that went aground off Italy’s coast in case any of 70 people unaccounted for might be trapped inside, a coast guard official said Saturday, as passengers described a delayed and terrifying evacuation.

click image to enlarge

The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side as after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio. The luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, sending water pouring in through a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in the hull and forcing the evacuation of some 4,200 people from the listing vessel early Saturday, the Italian coast guard said. (AP Photo/Enzo Russo)

AP

click image to enlarge

The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia lays on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

AP

Related headlines

Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water.

One of the victims was a Peruvian crew member, a diplomat from the South American country said, adding that a Peruvian woman was also missing. The ANSA new agency identified the other two fatalities as French passengers, but didn’t cite a source.

Passengers described a scene reminiscent of “Titanic”, saying they escaped the ship by crawling along upended hallways, desperately trying to reach safety as the lights went out and plates and glasses crashed. Helicopters whisked some survivors to safety, others were rescued by private boats in the area, and witnesses said some people jumped from the ship into the dark, cold sea.

The ship was lying virtually flat off Giglio’s coast, its starboard side submerged in the water and the huge gash showing clearly on its upturned hull.

Passengers complained the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released.

Carnival Corp., which owns the cruise line that the ship belongs to, didn’t address the allegations in a statement it issued.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the grounding of the Costa Concordia and especially the loved ones of those who lost their lives. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers in the wake of this tragic event.”

Authorities have been checking names against the passenger list, but have had a hard time accounting for everyone. They still hadn’t counted all the survivors by the time they reached the mainland 12 hours later.

An evacuation drill was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, even though some passengers had already been on board for several days.

“It was so unorganized, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5 p.m.,” said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut, who had set out on the cruise of the Mediterranean hours earlier. “We had joked ‘What if something had happened today?’”

“Have you seen ‘Titanic?’ That’s exactly what it was,” said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean. They all bore dark red bruises on their knees from the desperate crawl they endured along nearly vertical hallways and stairwells, trying to reach rescue boats.

“We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing,” her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61 said. “We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls.”

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. “He said ‘take my baby,’” Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. “I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn’t want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn’t hold her.

“I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby,” she said.

“I wonder where they are,” daughter Valerie whispered.

The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel below.

Survivor Christine Hammer, from Bonn, Germany, shivered near the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland, after stepping off a ferry from Giglio. She was wearing elegant dinner clothes — a gray cashmere sweater, a silk scarf — along with a large pair of hiking boots, which a kind islander gave her after she lost her shoes in the scramble to escape. Left behind in her cabin were her passport, credit cards and phone.

Hammer, 65, told The Associated Press she was eating her first course, an appetizer of cuttlefish, sauteed mushrooms and salad, on her first night aboard her first-ever cruise, which was a gift to her and her husband, Gert, from her local church where she volunteers.

Suddenly, “we heard a crash. Glasses and plates fell down and we went out of the dining room and we were told it wasn’t anything dangerous,” she said.

Several passengers concurred, saying crew members for a good 45 minutes told passengers there was a simple “technical problem” that had caused the lights to go off. Seasoned cruisers, however, knew better and went to get their life jackets from their cabins and report to their “muster stations,” the emergency stations each passenger is assigned to, they said.

Once there, though, crew members delayed lowering the lifeboats even thought the ship was listing badly, they said.

“We had to scream at the controllers to release the boats from the side,” said Mike van Dijk, a 54-year-old from Pretoria, South Africa. “We were standing in the corridors and they weren’t allowing us to get onto the boats. It was a scramble, an absolute scramble.”

Passengers Alan and Laurie Willits from Wingham, Ontario, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, said they were watching the magic show in the ship’s main theater when they felt an initial lurch, as if from a severe steering maneuver, followed a few seconds later by a “shudder” that tipped trash cans over. The subsequent listing of the ship made the theater curtains seem like they were standing on their side.

“And then the magician disappeared,” Laurie Willits said, adding that the panicked audience members fled for their cabins as well.

Once at their life boat station, crew members directed passengers to go upstairs from the fourth floor deck; Alan Willits said he refused.

“I said ‘no this isn’t right.’ And I came out and I argued ‘When you get this boat stabilized, I’ll go up to the fifth floor then,” he said. Eventually, his lifeboat was lowered down.

But things didn’t improve for passengers once aboard the lifeboats or on land.

“No one counted us, neither in the life boats nor on land,” said Ophelie Gondelle, 28, a French military officer from Marseille. She said there had been no evacuation drill since she boarded in Marseille, France on Jan. 8.

A top Costa executive, Gianni Onorato, said Saturday the Concordia’s captain had the liner on its regular, weekly route when it struck a reef.

“The ship was doing what it does 52 times a year, going along the route between Civitavecchia and Savona,” a shaken-looking Onorato, who is Costa’s director general, told reporters on Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometers) off Italy’s central west coast. The captain is an 11-year Costa veteran, he said.

He said Costa was cooperating with Italian investigators to find out what went wrong.

Costa Cruises said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.

Some 30 people were reported injured, most of them suffering only bruises, but at least two people were reported to be in grave condition. Several passengers came off the ferries on stretchers, but it appeared more out of exhaustion and shock than serious injury.

The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on Giglio. Those evacuated by helicopter were taken to the port of Porto Santo Stefano on the nearby mainland.

Passengers sat dazed in a middle school opened for them, wrapped in wool or aluminum blankets, with some wearing their life preservers and their shoeless feet covered with aluminum foil. Civil protection crews served them warm tea and bread, but confusion reigned supreme as passengers tried desperately to find the right bus to begin their journey home.

Tanja Berto, from Ebenfurth, Austria, was shuttled from one line to another with her mother and 2-year-old son Bruno, trying to figure out how to get back to Savona, where they began their cruise a week ago.

“It’s his birthday today,” she said of her son, rolling her eyes as she held Bruno and tended to her mother, who had grown faint and was lying on the ground. “Happy birthday, Bruno.”

Survivors far outnumbered Giglio’s 1,500 residents, and island Mayor Sergio Ortelli issued an appeal for islanders — “anyone with a roof” — to open their homes to shelter the evacuees.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo said the exact circumstances of the accident were still unclear, but that the first alarm went off about 10:30 p.m., about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, en route to its first port of call, Savona, in northwestern Italy.

The coast guard official, speaking from the port captain’s office in the Tuscan port of Livorno, said the vessel “hit an obstacle.”

The cruise liner’s captain, Paolillo said, then tried to steer his ship toward shallow waters, near Giglio’s small port, to make evacuation by lifeboat easier. But after the ship started listing badly, lifeboat evacuation was no longer feasible, Paolillo said.

Five helicopters, from the coast guard, navy and air force, took turns airlifting survivors and ferrying them to safely. A coast guard member was airlifted aboard the vessel to help people get aboard a small basket so they could be hoisted up to the helicopter, said Capt. Cosimo Nicastro, another Coast Guard official.

Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.

The Concordia had a previous accident in Italian waters, ANSA reported. In 2008, when strong winds buffeted Palermo, the cruise ship banged against the Sicilian port’s dock, and sustained damage but no one was injured, ANSA said.

While Casey Anthony sightings have been scarce in the six months since she was cleared of killing her toddler daughter Caylee, the 25-year-old has resurfaced in a video that she apparently recorded herself in October.

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In video diary, Casey Anthony speaks out for first time

Video: Casey Anthony speaks out in online video (on this page)

“It’s just a little surreal how much things have changed since July and how many things haven’t changed,” Anthony says in the 4 ½ minute video, which aired on TODAY Thursday morning.

NBC News confirmed that it is Anthony on camera. But one of her defense attorneys, J. Cheney Mason, while confirming she is the subject of the video, told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper Thursday that the video was ”unauthorized” and “inappropriate” and that his office is investigating how the video got before the eyes of the general public.

Mason told the Sentinel the video was the result of Anthony “maintaining some notes for her personal use and for future counseling purposes,” and that it may have been hacked. A woman who originally placed the video on YouTube claims she found the footage on several Facebook pages and used the links to post it, the paper reported.

But Mason told a Florida paper Thursday that the footage was released without his client’s consent.

Mason told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper the video was ”unauthorized” and “inappropriate” and that his office is investigating how the video got before the eyes of the general public.

The lawyer told the Sentinel the video was the result of Anthony “maintaining some notes for her personal use and for future counseling purposes,” and that it may have been hacked. A woman who originally placed the video on YouTube claims she found the footage on several Facebook pages and used the links to post it, the paper reported.

In the video, Anthony’s appearance is markedly different from her last public showing in the Florida courtroom as her “not guilty” verdict was read — she sports short, blonde locks and wears glasses. She revealed that she’ll remain in her hiding spot “at least until the end of February.” And as she talks about her new life, Anthony indicates this video diary may not be her last.

“I’m extremely excited,” she says. “I’m excited that I’ll be able to Skype and obviously keep a video log, take some pictures and that I have something that I can finally call mine,” she says on camera. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to call something mine.”

Story: Bestselling author goes ‘Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony’

Anthony doesn’t address the sensational six-week murder trial that ended with her acquittal last July, but does express optimism in her new life as she serves out a year’s probation in Florida on an unrelated charge.

“The good thing is things are starting to look up and things are starting to change in a good way. I just hope they stay — that things stay good, that they only get better. They’ll only get better.”

Story: ‘Ignore Casey Anthony,’ urges her former prosecutor

Anthony makes no mention of her daughter Caylee, first reported missing in July 2008 and found dead five months later. Nor does she discuss the more than 1,000 days she spent in jail before being acquitted. But she does speak of the loneliness of living in hiding — and says the video camera has become her friend.

“Now I in some ways have someone to talk to even when I am by myself so I am not bothering the poor dog who I have adopted and I love,” she says.

And while Anthony likely got used to having cameras trained on her during her long, televised trial, she expressed awkwardness at taping herself.

“I don’t know whether to look directly at myself or up,” she says with a laugh. “It’s a little scary because I hate being on camera.”

© 2012 MSNBC Interactive.  Reprints

-James Thurber

Do you wake up each day looking forward to it or do you dread getting through it? Are you re-living the past over and over again or living in fear and anxiety of what the future may bring? Begin to realize that what happened in the past and how and why it happened are merely tools to help build a foundation that will make you stronger in the future.

When you allow yourself to be hostage to dwelling on the past or hostage to thinking fearfully about the future you miss out on all you really have which is right now.

Each day is a new opportunity to get it right or do it better. We all make mistakes and have things happen that we wish didn’t. But, unless you let go of what happened and stop worrying about the future you might as well forget about today.

So often people are so consumed about why, what if, if only and how that they miss out on today.

Just for today release yourself from the mental prison you’re locked in and go out and breathe in the new day. Look around and see this day as a gift. Tear off the ribbons and bows and dive into the “present” and really enjoy it.

The cliché, live each day as if it’s your last isn’t such a bad philosophy especially when you’re living each day in only memories and regrets or bogged down by your fears of what’s to come.

The real regret is when you are given a new chance to enjoy your life and all you do is waste it away by thinking thoughts that hold you down. No one can control what you think, what you say or what you do, but you.

So decide if you are going to be one of those people who allow the adversities in life to take you down and not get up or if you are going to still have a great life in spite of things happening.

Don’t let all of the gifts you’ve been given and the blessings you have go unnoticed.

Starting today, make a list of all the reasons today is a good day and appreciate it. Instead of dwelling on negative, toxic things try dwelling on what’s good. Learn to be in the moment and leave the rest behind, it’s worth it!

J.R. Martinez danced his way to the top on “Dancing with the Stars” Season 13, claiming the coveted mirrorball trophy alongside professional partner Karina Smirnoff. Now, the Iraq war vet is about to receive an even more precious prize — a baby!

The 28-year-old actor and girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones are expecting their first child come spring, according to People.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Scenes From The ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 13 Finals

“We found out just last week it’s a girl and we are over the moon,” J.R. told the mag. “Diana has a little baby bump now and it’s the cutest thing ever. With the holidays coming up, this is the biggest and best gift we could get.”

J.R., who won the hearts of millions of “DWTS” fans this year with his seemingly unending optimism and triumphant story (he survived an IED explosion in Iraq and subsequently underwent 33 surgeries), said the excitement of becoming a father “is sinking in,” but admitted he’s overwhelmed by the tremendous joy this year has brought to him and his family.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Dancing’ Champion & Soap Star J.R. Martinez Over The Years

“2011 has been full of a lot of surprises and opportunities and ultimately, a lot of blessings,” he said. “Diana and I were just asking ourselves, ‘How is 2012 going to top 2011?’ Well, we have our answer!”

In addition to becoming a new daddy, the lovable veteran-turned-actor will serve as Grand Marshal of the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade on January 2.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, J.R. first met Diana when he joined the cast of “All My Children” in 2008, where she was working as the assistant to the soap’s executive producer.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebrity Baby Bumps

“We were friends, and, you know, it was a workplace, so you don’t want to cross the line. I was respectful of that, and for about two years we were great friends,” J.R. told Access Hollywood Live’s Billy Bush and Kit Hoover during a visit to the show last month.

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“Finally, something happened, something clicked, and I just said, ‘[Do] you ever look at me differently than just a friend?’” he continued, with a shy smile. “And she kind of paid attention to it, and here we are! It’s great.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: They Came, They Danced, They Conquered: ‘Dancing’s’ Mirrorball Winners

Though the relationship was slow to blossom, J.R. is glad he and Diana — who was frequently seen in the “Dancing” audience proudly supporting her man – built their romance on a time-tested foundation.

“I think we did it a great way — to have a friendship first, and then build on that,” he said.

A rep for J.R. was not immediately available for comment on the happy news when contacted by Access Hollywood on Saturday.

Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Just last week, special education teacher and football coach John Rhode warned his fellow “Biggest Loser” finalists that he wouldn’t be “happy until (he was) pulling confetti out of (his) hair” at the finale. As it turned out, he had plenty to be happy about on Tuesday night.

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The 41-year-old player felt the confetti rain down after he bested former NFL player Antone Davis and tattoo artist Ramon Medeiros on the scales and claimed the $250, 000 grand prize.

John started the competition weighing in at 445 pounds, but after his time on the ranch and continued efforts at home, he dropped a total of 220 pounds and almost 50 percent of his body weight. That success came as no surprise to Bob Harper, who served as John’s first trainer on the ranch and dubbed the contestant “the biggest competitor” in the Battle of the Ages game.

Slideshow: ‘Biggest Loser 12′ before and after (on this page)

Only he didn’t exactly mean that in the best way.

Weeks ago, after John switched teams to train with Dolvett Quince, Bob warned that losing weight just to win wouldn’t help in the long run.

“Mark my words, he will gain everything back — every bit of it,” Bob said.

That remains to be seen, but the veteran “Loser” trainer made no further predictions of weight-related gloom and doom on finale night. He, along with Dolvett and departing trainer Anna Kournikova, applauded John’s results. And as for the winner himself, he thinks someone else deserves the cheers.

“I made the most of every moment on the ranch because I knew (my wife) was at home struggling like a single parent, and with our two boys — and our youngest is autistic,” an emotional John revealed. “Baby, I didn’t waste a single minute on the ranch. The sacrifices I made on the ranch will never compare to what you did for me, making it so I could be there. I will owe you a debt of gratitude forever, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

‘Loser’ host Alison Sweeney sizes up the finalists

John’s wife might have been the secret to his success, but of course, he wasn’t the only player to succeed Tuesday night.

While John took the top honors, Antone made it to a respectable second-place finish by dropping 202 pounds, or 45.19 percent, and regaining his impressive, athletic shape.

“I can go play right now,” he said of his gridiron-ready condition.

And as for Ramon, his third-place effort, 154-pound loss and new, smoking hot look (seriously, rowr!) were just part of his win.

In the midst of life on the ranch, complete with tough challenges and grueling workouts, Ramon met “the love of (his) life” in former fellow teammate Jessica Limpert. Given all of the hints he dropped during the season, it seemed a safe bet that he’d get down on one knee during the finale. And as host Alison Sweeney pointed out, ” ‘The Biggest Loser’ has brought together more successful marriages than, you know, say, ‘The Bachelor.’ “

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But not this time, or more accurately, not yet. As Ramon’s lucky lady explained, they plan to take it sensibly slow.

“Everything is wonderful with Ramon,” she told Alison. “Not to disappoint, (but) there will not be an engagement or marriage just yet, OK? … You know, we just got ready to start our real lives, and we’re going to start them together. You’ll see it in the future.”

But Jessica wasn’t the only eliminated player to take the stage. Each of the other 11 contestants who missed out on a place in the finals returned for a shot at the $100,000 at-home prize.

Top contenders included Vinny Hickerson — or as Alison now calls him, Skinny Vinny — who went from a starting weight of 426 to just 242 in the end, and Patrick, who managed to shed 151 pounds for a show-ending weight of 236. But it was week-six eliminee Jennifer Rumple who proved to be the biggest jaw dropper of the bunch.

Story: Anna Kournikova won’t return to ‘Biggest Loser’

The 39-year-old kicked off the contest at 330. Now, 145 pounds lighter, Jennifer earned the at-home bragging rights and the cash.

Jennifer’s success and John’s victory served as more than just evidence of their personal winning ways. Each of them represented the middle-aged group in “The Battle of the Ages” and helped dash the notion that weight loss comes easier to the young — a point not lost on the 20-somethings they beat out.

Another group of contestants will soon have a chance to prove their own points. “The Biggest Loser” returns to NBC for an all-new season on Jan. 3.

Are you surprised by who took the title and at-home prize? What did you think of the season overall? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker!

Ree Hines was rooting for Antone and Ramon in the finals, but like Bob, she wasn’t surprised by John’s win. At least in “The Biggest Loser,” almost everyone is a winner where it counts — the battle for better health.

© 2011 MSNBC Interactive.  Reprints

By Stephanie Stassel Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Emmy Award-winning actor Harry Morgan, who played the crusty yet sympathetic Col. Sherman T. Potter in the sitcom “MASH” and the hard-nosed LAPD Officer Bill Gannon in the television drama “Dragnet,” died Wednesday. He was 96.

click image to enlarge

Harry Morgan won an Emmy for his portrayal of Col. Sherman T. Potter on “MASH.” He also acted in nine other television series, 50 films and on the Broadway stage.

1976 Associated Press file

Morgan died at his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles after a bout with pneumonia, his daughter-in-law, Beth Morgan, told The Associated Press.

Morgan’s eight-year run on “MASH,” the pinnacle of his seven-decade acting career, began when he was 60 and had already appeared on the Broadway stage, in dozens of television shows and more than 50 films.

Three years after it debuted, he joined the show in 1975 as commanding officer of the unorthodox 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which patched together the wounded during the Korean War.

When the “MASH” finale aired in 1983, 77 percent of the people watching television were tuned in, making it the most widely watched show in history.

Shortly before the final episode was broadcast, Morgan told the Los Angeles Times, “There’ll never be another ‘MASH.’ There’s nothing in the way of doing your best work on this set, absolutely nothing.”

Although he set out to be a lawyer, Morgan fell into acting and stayed. The son of an auto mechanic, he was born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit on April 10, 1915. He grew up in Muskegon, Mich., played high school football despite his small stature and was a member of the school’s champion debate team.

Morgan attended the University of Chicago but left in the 1930s to sell office equipment in Washington, D.C. As a salesman during the Depression he had free time, so he joined a theater group. Performing on a hotel stage he experienced success in “The Front Page” and “The Petrified Forest.”

He left his office equipment job to appear in summer stock. In the fall of 1937 he went to New York City and appeared in several Broadway productions.

“In my ignorance, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, this acting business is a great life!’ Little did I know! Things got rougher from then on. If I had had to struggle at the beginning like most actors … I’d never have stuck it out. But having such complete success at the beginning, I was stuck with being an actor for life,” Morgan said in the 1983 book “‘MASH’: The Exclusive, Inside Story of TV’s Most Popular Show.”

In 1941 he and his actress wife, Eileen, headed for Hollywood, and Morgan did hit a rocky patch of sorts – he didn’t work for five months.

After appearing in a one-act play in Santa Barbara, Calif., titled “Hello Out There,” he was offered a contract with 20th Century Fox and promptly made six movies, starting with “To the Shores of Tripoli.”Morgan went on to appear in such films as “High Noon” (1953), “The Glenn Miller Story” (1954), “Inherit the Wind” (1960), “Support Your Local Sheriff!” (1969) and his personal favorite, 1943’s “The Ox-Bow Incident.”

One of his early TV credits was “December Bride,” in which he played Pete Porter, the wry-humored, henpecked neighbor who cracked jokes about his wife, the never-seen Gladys. After seven years on “December Bride,” Morgan appeared opposite Cara Williams in an early-1960s spin-off, “Pete and Gladys.”

His TV career continued with the  “The Richard Boone Show” and with “Kentucky Jones.”

Until “MASH,” Morgan was best known for his role as Officer Bill Gannon in “Dragnet,” a show that he had first appeared on in the 1940s on radio. In 1967, Morgan replaced Ben Alexander as the partner of Jack Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday in the show that lionized the Los Angeles Police Department.

The role of Col. Potter in “MASH” came along when the fictional surgical unit needed a new commanding officer after McLean Stevenson left the show in 1975.

He received eight Emmy nominations for the role and won once, in 1980.

With his first wife, Eileen, Morgan had four sons. She died in 1985 after 45 years of marriage. A son, Daniel, died in 1989.

Survivors include his second wife, Barbara, his sons Christopher, Charles, and Paul; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Nice day for a country wedding!

Love certainly seemed to be in the air over the long holiday weekend, with Sugarland frontwoman Jennifer Nettles adding to the warm and fuzzy festivities, quietly tying the knot with her longtime entrepreneur beau Justin Miller over the weekend.

MORE: Sugarland sued over stage collapse

Nettles’ rep confirmed to E! News that the 37-year-old bride swapped vows with Miller in an intimate sunset ceremony Saturday, at a chapel in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. And, taking a sartorial cue from the year’s most famous bride Kate Middleton, the country cutie wore Alexander McQueen for the occasion.

And fear not, Sugarland fans: though the ceremony was small, and the guest list tight, Nettles’ bandmate Kristian Bush was indeed among those friends and family who bore witness to the nuptials.

The 37-year-old Grammy winner has dated Miller for more than two years, and he even appeared in the video for the country duo’s 2006 single “Want To.”

Meanwhile, the couple’s honeymoon plans appear to be taking a back burner for the time being, as Sugarland is performing both at the Grammy Nomination Concert Live, this Wednesday, and hosting the CMA Country Christmas Special, on Thursday.

Congrats, you two!

PHOTOS: Celebrity Weddings

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