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But that all changed when a depositionin which the Georgia chef admitted to using the N-word and fantasizing about an antebellum-themed wedding, complete with slaves. Her lawyers , but then Deen : She canceled on the Today show, released bizarre videos left and right, then got fired by her network and her sponsors. On Friday, Kmart, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Walgreens dropped the cooking star, joining Target, Home Depot, and diabetes drug company Novo Nordisk less than 48 hours since  and claimed she wasn't a racist. "Would, I have fired me, knowing me? No. I am so fortunate that so many of partners, that know who I am," Deen told Lauer, speaking about partners she doesn't have today. 

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But book sales ! Her new one, , is now the No. 1 best-seller on Amazon (it's not even being published until October 15), making a huge leap from 1,580th place on Monday, . And you know why? It's not intrigue. It's because the deniers are sticking by their Southern belle of the fantasy slave ball. Indeed, while Deen has reached a public breaking point, her fans and supporters very much have not. The 66-year-old Southerner has continued to receive support from high-profile people you might expect, . But she also . And on Friday, fellow Georgian and former President of the United States came to her on-air rescue:

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And his determined face crossing the Delaware.

But how about in a pair of sporty sunglasses and earbuds?

(Photo: )

That 2013 look is part of the 's messaging to spark tourism: Weekends Rule!

"We wanted to bring a modern-day appeal to George," comments Bill Fitzgerald, president of the bureau. "Bump up his coolness factor."

Fitzgerald outlines the goals of the campaign: "We're looking for an increase in weekend tourism traffic throughout Valley Forge and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania," he says. "So this update to George is part of our messaging to neighboring states and beyond of the excellent shopping, history, culture and leisure opportunities we've got year-round."

Weekends Rule is also intended to increase the bureau'straffic. "New and return visitors to our site find it more than just a listing of places, dates and events. We're engaging the public, telling our story in ways that include a new blog, ," Fitzgerald explains.

"We honor our historical past, without being trapped by it," he says.

The updated Weekends Rule imagery sprung from both the bureau's new outlook and the ingenuity of its marketing agency, . BTC CEO Joseph Tamney recognized the riskiness of updating a historical icon, and therefore insisted that the makeover "contemporize George Washington without making fun of him. With billions of messages being pumped at people daily, if it doesn't have an edge, it isn't seen."

The Weekends Rule campaign is multi-faceted. In cooperation with the With Love, Philadelphia initiative, it includes a "station domination" of New York's Penn Station. With notes like "Dear Hikers and Bikers, Let's Rendezvous in Valley Forge," posters throughout the concourse are designed to catch the eye of the estimated 300,000 daily commuters who stream through the busiest transportation hub in the U.S.

More subtle messaging positions Valley Forge as an escape from big city hustle and bustle. Pictured under the tagline "Open Spaces/Fun Places," billboards depict couples strolling through park greenery, shoppers leisurely checking out new fashions and serene kayakers paddling through calm waters.

The reach of the ads extends northward to New York and northern New Jersey, but also westward to Harrisburg, Lancaster and York. "With Gettysburg celebrating its 150th anniversary, Pennsylvania is going to attract hoards of history buffs in the coming weeks. Valley Forge is about two hours away by car; in one weekend, visitors can easily experience two of the most historic conflicts in our nation," reminds Fitzgerald.

"We are a great destination for a weekend getaway or a full-on vacation," Fitzgerald says. "But our days as southeastern Pennsylvania's best-kept secret are over. We're flinging open the shutters and hanging the banners to 10 million potential visitors we expect to reach with the Weekends Rule messaging: Valley Forge is here; it's got shopping opportunities unlike any other; unique museums and attractions; some of the finest dining anywhere; and accommodations that range from swanky and plush to cozy and quaint."

Details on the many treasures of Valley Forge and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, are available at .

The Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ltd. is a nonprofit, membership-based sales and marketing organization that aggressively promotes the Valley Forge area and Montgomery County as a convention site and leisure visitor destination by encouraging patronage of its 300-plus member hotels, restaurants, attractions and services. The Bureau's website, , serves visitors, meeting planners, tour operators and residents. Follow our new blog, .

Contact: John Golden at 610.834.7985 or

SOURCE Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Snack food sold in U.S. schools must be lower in fat, salt and sugar, according to federal rules released on Thursday aimed at giving students more nutritious options and fighting childhood obesity.

In 2010, Congress passed legislation designed to improve child nutrition. Schools have until July 1, 2014, to implement the rules outlined on Thursday.

The regulations, originally due in 2011, largely mirror the U.S. Department of Agriculture's February proposal that limited the fat, salt and sugar content in school snacks and capped portion sizes.

School food administrators fretted about implementing the changes, some groups said the rules were inadequate, and the jury was still out among the target audience - children.

"I see a lot of my friends eating unhealthy lunches," said Max Parsons, a 9-year-old elementary school student in Maryland. "Some of my friends I know won't miss it, but I don't know about the others."

Many U.S. children eat more than half of their daily calories at school. The regulations will cover about 50 million children attending more than 100,000 schools that are part of the federal school lunch program.

The standards only apply to foods and beverages sold on school campuses during the day, and limit vending machine snacks to a maximum of 200 calories per item - less than many regular-sized candy bars.

"It's supporting what moms and dads are doing all across the United States," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a call with reporters.

USDA gave the public 60 days to comment after it released its proposals in February. The final guidelines, while mostly unchanged, have incorporated a stricter calorie limit on drinks in high schools.

Twelve-ounce drinks cannot exceed 60 calories, less than the calorie count of most sodas.

And the portion sizes vary between age groups. Younger students will be able to buy water, 100 percent juice, and low-fat and fat-free milk in 8-ounce servings, while high school students can also purchase 20-ounce calorie-free drinks.

Food sold at after-school activities, such as sporting events, is not subject to the regulations.

A HISTORIC SHIFT

By improving the choices available to U.S. students outside of breakfast and lunch, officials hope to make a dent in childhood obesity in a nation where one-third of those under age 18 are considered overweight or obese.

Obesity is one reason some young adults cannot join the military, so improving food options in schools will also strengthen the nation's armed forces, said Lieutenant General Norman Seip, a member of Mission: Readiness, a group of retired military leaders.

All foods sold must meet competitive nutrient standards, meaning they must have fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein in them, or contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of calcium, potassium, vitamin D or dietary fiber.

"This is an historic nutrition policy that will do a lot to improve children's diets and address high rates of childhood obesity," Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Reuters.

But Sandra Ford, head of the School Nutrition Association which represents school food service workers in school districts nationwide, said the "complex regulations" could burden schools already working to offer healthier menus. Many schools are still working to push though earlier regulations overhauling school meals like breakfast and lunch.

Some parents, worried about snacks that undercut their efforts to provide healthy options, said the snack rules were a positive step, but more needs to be done.

Karen Devitt, co-founder of Real Food For Kids - Montgomery, a Maryland-based advocacy group aimed at improving foods at schools in Montgomery County, near Washington, D.C., said the USDA effort allows sugary juices and does not address other issues such as caffeine content and chemical additives.

"It's natural sugar, but it's not anywhere near eating a real piece of fruit," Devitt, who has a school-age daughter, told Reuters.

The guidelines set a minimum standard for snacks, meaning schools can implement stricter rules.

For Vilsack, improving children's food options is a personal issue. He has spoken often of his own experiences as an overweight child.

"You really can't concentrate and you cannot be the student you were intended to be if you are worried about what people think of you, so weight has always been an issue for me," Vilsack said in a speech in Portland, Maine in March.

(This story has been corrected to remove reference to September in first paragraph)

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Ros Krasny, Stacey Joyce and Vicki Allen)

Lorenzo was caught out by standing water on the damp track while negotiating the speedy Hoge Heide section of the circuit.

The MotoGP official Twitter feed said he would be kept in hospital for observation and will fly to Barcelona on Friday for surgery.

Yamaha's Lorenzo is seven points behind fellow Spaniard and world championship leader Dani Pedrosa after winning the Catalunya grand prix last weekend. (Reporting by Josh Reich)

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Kato Kaelin she most certainly is not, but the grilling of Rachel Jeantel today reveals the sad new reality of the Trayvon Martin case as it turns from national conversation into courthouse spectacle: With every televised eye roll, sigh, and deep breath Jeantel takes in the trial this week, we are continuing to bridge the divides so many people saw after those three gun shots outside a gated community two years ago. Can we not just let her be the last friend who spoke to Trayvon? Or must the Trayvon Martin case have its Charles Ramsey/Sugar Brown/Antoine Dodson sideshow character before it can have real justice?

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It is a complex puzzle of race, class, and the law, perhaps best put together by Jeantel herself today on the stand at Seminole County Circuit Court in Sanford, Florida:

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"A predominantly white jury is not going to like Rachel Jeantel. Let's just be real here,"  in a powerful essay ahead of today's questioning by the defense. "They won't understand her, especially not her defensive nature, and this will unfortunately work against her. Even though it shouldn't." They didn't, and it did, as the young woman of Haitian descent struggled to make eye contact and grew increasingly bothered by West's increasingly piercing questions about why she had changed her story to remove slang and muddled earlier answers about personal details — indeed, as a nation watching did little else but pile on.

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West wasn't wrong about the facts, exactly. Prior to the trial, Jeantel did lie. She lied about going to Martin's memorial service, and she lied about her name, all because she says she didn't want to get dragged into a very public case. She also lied about how old she was: "Jeantel, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, admitted that she lied about her age, claiming to be a minor because she did not want to get involved," , who explains that Jeantel thought minors would get more privacy.

But after the prosecution got the basics out of their key witness , the defense's strategy intoday was clear through hours upon hours of questioning: West wants to connect Jeantel's confusion about herself with an apparent confusion about her story of that fateful night, which paints Zimmerman as the aggressor. West repeatedly asked Jeantel today why she failed to tell Martin's mother, during an interview with the family's lawyer in March, that Martin had described Zimmerman on the phone call as a "creepy-ass cracker" who was following him. West asked her if she had "cleaned up" the language of the call so as not to hurt his mother's feelings. "Yes, sir," Jeantel testified, barely making eye-contact with West, and she barely did all day. Her testimony was also littered with interruptions from the court reporter, who was making absolutely sure she understood Jeantel's mumbled words. 

Rachel Jeantel did not fit in with this courtroom where she very much matters.

And the defense really likes that "creepy-ass cracker" line that Martin delivered to his friend. West and his team have accused Jeantel in front of the cameras not so much of toning things down for the mother of dead 16-year-old as that Martin's slang somehow had some deeper meaning. The implication, in this transforming trial, has become that Trayvon Martin was the racist for calling George Zimmerman a "cracker," rather than that Zimmerman was a "creepy-ass" neighborhood watchmen who shot and killed a black kid after he bought some Skittles and an iced tea.

And the defense team has further implied that if Jeantel were really a star witness, she'd be able to explain this key line — and the whole call — a little better. But Rachel Jeantel isn't your average TV-ready star witness. Apparently, the defense has made her look, for all the world to see, like a dumb girl who can't keep her story straight:

Breaking: MSNBC signs Jeantel to co-host with Sharpton. Move to boost MSNBC hosts' mean IQ by 10 points.

Seeing ppl make excuses for Jeantel's behavior is hilarious. She's not stupid she's just not educated? Wtf?

This Rachel Jeantel girl is really blowing me!!! Like u can't really be this dumb and stupid..

  are having a field day slamming Jeantel and her testimony. And if the not exactly diverse jury — five of the women are white, and one is Latino — ends up with a similar perspective of the key witness as all the other onlookers have apparently obtained, well, Zimmerman's defense team must , terribleand all. At GlobalGrind, :

I can imagine George Zimmerman's defense is just hoping some of those 5 white jurors have some prejudices (as most people do), or hell, are even racist, because if they are, their tactic to make Rachel out to be less intelligent, rather than less credible than she actually is, might actually work.

Less intelligent and more confused. Less intelligent because of the "language barrier" and more confused because of the lawyers' failure to understand who Rachel is, where she comes from, what kind of life she lives.

...

Rachel Jeantel's attitude is exactly what I would expect from someone from the hood who has no media training and who is fully entrenched in a hostile environment. There's nothing wrong with it.

Which us brings us back to the big picture here, which was supposed to be the big picture surrounding the whole case: The only people, aside from the occasional legal expert on CNN today, who seem to be able to making the case that Jeantel's valuable testimony was just that... are people who understand what it's like to be a young black person in this country. The people who understand Rachel Jeantel are not writing conservative commentary blog posts on the Internet, really; they're people who understand that saying "creepy-ass cracker" and "retarded" is just a way of saying things, . But, no, the worst of the commentariat likes a stupid person, not a serious discussion, and if Jeantel couldn't be Kato, it looks like she's relegated to the same fate as Charles Ramsey, the man who saved three women's lives from slavery in a Cleveland basement but .

That said, everyone seemed to like that "retarded" line, as a kind of successful flipping-off of the aggressive West. And not everyone is blind to the fact that this young woman did something today, in front of a national audience, that she really really didn't want to do:

Rachel Jeantel ... Is brave! That's what I see!

Rachel Jeantel is being brave against her damn will and all we can do is poke fun at her like we did Charles Ramsey. We worse than Fox News.

Rachel Jeantel is like so many yng people who live in the shadows of America. Never recognized or counted for, so they grow angry and sad.

At the end of the (very long) day in court and on television (there's other stuff happening out there, networks!), Jeantel remains the last person Martin spoke to before he was killed — aside, of course, from Zimmerman, who is facing second-degree murder charges in a trial that's expected to wrap up within the next two to three weeks. If you strip away all the commentary, and all the positioning by the defense to make this friend into a dumb backtracker, there is the truth: Trayvon Martin was running for his life, and he made a phone call. :

That's pretty simple. What's more complex is the dilemma those six jurors and the general public watching — and watching and watching — are left with: We are being asked to trust this young black woman, a woman who's already double-crossed her stories and doesn't seem to care if we trust her or not. But at the very least, we should remember that it isn't Rachel Jeantel who's on trial for murder in front of all of us. It's that "creepy-ass" guy on the other side of the room.

I'm writing now to ask your help in getting the American people to ring bells again on this Fourth of July, and each Fourth every year from now on.

As a grateful American, I hope to resurrect this proud tradition. Let us tune in with each other and our history by ringing bells at 2 p.m. this July 4 in honor of the 237th anniversary of our independence. Encourage churches and civic buildings with bells to ring them. It doesn't cost any money to do it.

The first groups to support this national effort include baseball teams, the National Cartoonists Society, and the Iron Workers, Firefighters and Sheet Metal Workers unions along with other AFL-CIO affiliates.

As we celebrate our freedom, let us also honor the lives of those who sacrificed theirs for our precious liberty. Your millions of readers can help "let freedom ring." -- CARMELLA LaSPADA, FOUNDER, NO GREATER LOVE

DEAR CARMELLA: I'm pleased to join you in this national effort. Readers, engraved on the Liberty Bell are the words, "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof." So let's do it. Shake any bell you happen to have. Our freedom is something to celebrate!

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a married man for more than a year. He's my boss. "Gerry" has two kids with his wife and two more outside the marriage.

I have never been the type to date someone else's man, nor do I approve of it. I know that what I'm doing is wrong, but at times it just feels so right. We do everything together and enjoy each other's company.

Is it possible for him to be in love with us both? Why do men cheat? -- THE OTHER WOMAN IN ALABAMA

DEAR OTHER WOMAN: What you're doing with your boss may "feel" right, but as you clearly stated, it is wrong. It isn't fair to his wife, or to you or his children. While the two of you are doing "everything" together, he is cheating all four of his children of time that should be spent being a parent to them.

As to whether this man is in love with you and his wife, frankly I doubt it. He appears to be more in love with himself. Men cheat for a variety of reasons, and more often than not, it's more about the cheater than the spouse. Consider that fact carefully before wasting any more precious years with him, because you will never get them back.

DEAR ABBY: My husband needed a car to replace the old one, so he insisted on a manual transmission, which I don't know how to drive. Do you think that's fair?

He said, "Oh, you can learn." I am 58 and nervous, and I have heard it said that many a clutch got burned out by "learning." I don't want to do that. What do you say? -- SHIRLEY IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SHIRLEY: While I understand your concern about a stick shift, your husband has told you you can learn to use one. I recommend that you learn by driving his car.

While many a gear may have been stripped by a novice driver, some have not. Think of it this way: You may be a natural. And if you're not -- well, he asked for it.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: "Abby's Favorite Recipes" and "More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The game, at the 02 Arena on January 16, is part of the NBA Global Games London 2014 and is the fourth year in succession the NBA has taken the series to London.

A second game will take place in Mexico City between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs on December 4 as part of NBA Global Games Mexico City 2013.

It is the first time the league will stage regular-season games in two different countries outside of the U.S. and Canada in the same season.

"With the addition of regular-season games in London and Mexico City, we will play one of the most comprehensive international games schedules in our history next season," NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

"We will bring the NBA experience to more fans and provide showcases for basketball and the extraordinary talent of our players."

The Hawks, featuring two-times NBA All-Star Al Horford and guard Lou Williams, have qualified for the NBA playoffs for six consecutive seasons. The Hawks took part in the NBA's first pre-season games in London in 1993 with back-to-back clashes with the Orlando Magic.

The Nets are led by Deron Williams, three-times NBA All-Star and gold medalist with the U.S. men's senior national team at last year's London Olympics.

The games are the latest added to the NBA Global Games schedule that now features 12 NBA teams playing two regular season and eight pre-season games across 10 cities in seven countries and territories, including Istanbul, Bilbao, Manila, Manchester, Taiwan, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing and Shanghai.

It will be the most NBA teams to play internationally in a single season in the history of the league.

(Paragraph nine of this story has been corrected after NBA corrected international schedule)

(Reporting by Tony Goodson, editing by Ed Osmond)

The Deerfield, Ill., company missed Wall Street forecasts, and its earnings grew largely because of the comparison with last year's quarter, when a business split had hurt its performance.

Several analysts said they were surprised by a weaker than expected expansion in this year's quarter of Walgreen's gross margin, which is a basic measure of profitability. That could indicate that the nation's largest drugstore operator is losing faster than expected a key boost it had been receiving from generic drugs, said Edward Jones analyst Judson Clark.

An influx of generic medications has helped drugstore bottom lines for several quarters now because they come with a wider margin between the cost for the pharmacy to purchase the drugs and the reimbursement it receives.

The generic wave was driven by the expiration of patents protecting top-sellers like the cholesterol fighter Lipitor. But that benefit is expected to wane because there are fewer significant patent expirations waiting to refuel it.

That decreasing generic benefit plus a promotional push to boost sales in store front ends, or the area outside the pharmacy, could hurt Walgreen's profitability in future quarters, said Credit Suisse analyst Edward J. Kelly, who called the results released Tuesday "fairly disappointing."

"This quarter is not a great signal for the near-term," he wrote in an email.

Walgreen shares fell 5.9 percent, or $2.83, to close at $45.22 Tuesday, while broader trading indexes climbed slightly. But the stock price had already advanced 30 percent so far this year before Tuesday, and Clark said that gain is part of the reason shares fell so much after the company released earnings.

"We think this is still a good business and an appropriate price," he said.

Overall, Walgreen earned $624 million, or 65 cents per share, in the quarter that ended in May. That's up from $537 million, or 62 cents per share, a year ago, when the company had fewer shares outstanding.

Revenue rose about 3 percent to $18.31 billion.

Adjusted earnings amounted to 85 cents per share, excluding expenses such as acquisition and legal costs.

Analysts forecast earnings of 91 cents per share on $18.4 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Last year, Walgreen and the nation's biggest pharmacy benefits manager, Express Scripts Holding Co., had a contract squabble that kept them from doing business for about nine months. That hurt the drugstore chain's results as many Walgreen customers migrated to competitors for their prescriptions, at least temporarily.

The companies resumed doing business last September, and Walgreen says customers have been returning to its stores.

Walgreen said Tuesday that results in this year's quarter also were helped by its acquisition of a stake in European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots. That contributed about 10 cents per share to the U.S. company's adjusted earnings.

Walgreen said revenue from stores open at least a year climbed 1.4 percent in the quarter, but front-end sales barely rose.

Company leaders said that did not meet their expectations. They said a soft economy has hurt those results, especially in stores in lower-income neighborhoods.

"I can assure you that improving our front end is a high priority," CEO Greg Wasson said.

He said the company has started to customize its advertising circulars more toward individual communities. Walgreen also is using buying trends it gleans from its Balance Rewards customer loyalty program to tailor its promotions. The program lets shoppers pile up points for purchases that they can then translate into cash rewards to use at company stores, and it also gives Walgreen more insight into customer buying patterns.

Walgreen runs 8,097 drugstores nationwide, or 207 more than it did last year. That's more than the totals for CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The biggest operator of Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans is teaming up with the largest U.S. Spanish-language media network to explain Obamacare to Hispanics in California, New York, Colorado and Georgia.

A partnership announced on Thursday by WellPoint Inc, Univision Communications Inc and healthcare marketer HolaDoctor Inc will include 70 town hall meetings in the four states, 30-second TV and radio ads, regular newscast segments devoted to subject and an online insurance center to guide consumers through the intricacies of coverage.

The initiative, one of many outreach efforts expected in the coming months to help explain President Barack Obama's healthcare law, will begin next month and run through March.

America's 52 million Hispanics are a main audience for the roll-out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will offer health coverage to millions of uninsured people through new online insurance exchanges in all 50 states and expanded Medicare coverage in about half the country.

U.S. Census data show that about one in three Hispanics lacks health coverage, while many have low-to-moderate incomes that could qualify for Medicaid or federal subsidies to help pay for private insurance. In California alone, about half of the 2.6 million people with incomes low enough to qualify for subsidies are Hispanic, according to the administration.

But experts say most Hispanics are unfamiliar with the health benefits under Obamacare, which comes into full force on January 1.

"You really have to start at that square one. People need to first understand what the value of health insurance is and then what's coming under healthcare reform," said Robyn Gilson, WellPoint's staff vice president for multicultural marketing.

WellPoint is expected to become one of the biggest participants in the new insurance marketplaces, which are slated to begin enrolling consumers on October 1. The Indianapolis-based insurer currently sells health plans under the Blue Cross Blue Shield license in 14 states.

Gilson said WellPoint turned to Univision's television and radio operations as a trusted voice in the Hispanic community. New York-based Univision has two broadcast TV networks, 10 cable networks, 62 local TV stations and 69 radio stations.

California, Colorado, New York and Georgia are all WellPoint markets with large Hispanic populations.

Depending on the success of the initiative, Gilson said the outreach effort could be expanded to more areas.

(Reporting by David Morgan.; Editing by Caroline Humer and Andre Grenon)